17522/A Collector's Folly

A Collector's Folly
Date of Scene:	29 March 2024
Location:	A country house about 20 miles north of Gotham
Synopsis:	Qira and Daniel go to retrieve a cursed item at the same time. A ghost dog objects said retrival.
Cast of Characters:	Daniel Ketch, Qira Quest

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Daniel Ketch has posed:
One of the cons of working with others is that they make requests. Daniel doesn't miss being alone and the quiet spiral into despair, but it has some drawbacks. Like... someone has to get this thing, and that means you as everyone is too busy.

Which is why he is sneaking around this renovated country house some miles off the main roads north-ish Gotham looking for a pocket watch called the Sixth Finger of Hyppokri. Why it is a pocket watch? He has learned not to ask questions if he doesn't want to know the answers.

Apparently some rich guy got it. But this is his summer house, he spends the summers in Tahiti or some other place. There is probably a security system, and all he has is a crowbar. But he also hopes to be far away by the time the police is sent to investigate the alarms.

Gotham police response times aren't that good.

Qira Quest has posed:
Qira has been running fetch gigs for Daimon Hellstrom, collecting items that are either demonic in nature, can be used by demons for bad things, or will otherwise likely cause mischief if just left out in the world. This isn't the first time she's been given a task with little information, she learned to do her own research and be ready to improvise long ago. But having been teleported to the current owner's 'country estate', she still plays it safe and moves slowly, carefully, keeping to long shadows and dark corners.

Mini scramblers are tossed at the cameras, giving her a ten minute window to get in, get the item, and get out. But there's other security measures, and there might even be a few guards wandering the grounds. So any alarm that goes off could bring rent-a-cops. Not that she's EVER been worried about guards, or even actual police. But it means that stealth and timing is of the essence.

She goes in through an upstairs window, one that isn't latched and isn't on the security grid for being 'too small' for someone to be able to get through. And, in general, they would be correct. But Qira is both small and preternaturally flexible, able to slip inside and ease into the house itself. Creeping through the house towards the 'display room' that would normally be a dining room or office, she pauses at what sounds like footsteps. Back to the wall, she peers around the corner...

Daniel Ketch has posed:
There is electronic security, but Qira didn't see any guard, and neither did Daniel. There are a few cameras outside, but they aren't the best, most expensive. Even Daniel managed to avoid them. There are no cameras inside, which would be suspicious if Qira had investigated a few rooms. But she had no time.

Because peering around the corner, she sees a dog.

Well, it is maybe a dog. Definitely canine in appearance. But five feet to the shoulder and likely 250 lbs. of 'dog'. A pony-sized dog. Also, sense of smell like a dog. He was going directly towards Qira, and when she peers, he growls.

It also has three rows of teeth, so maybe not a dog.

Qira Quest has posed:
Demon dog. Interesting.

Qira doesn't shriek or freak out or run away. She's seen far too much for that. Her eyes narrow as she draws a short blade with one hand and a few smoke pellets with the other. Unsure if she can kill it, she might at least be able to disable it long enough to get the item and get out. At least, that's the hope. Drawing in a breath, she tosses the smoke pellets at the floor between herself and the dog, filling the air with obscuring, acrid-smelling smoke. Moving quickly, Qira draws a length of cord as she moves, running fast and silent towards the creature, then dropping to the floor and trying to slide beneath it, the blade whicking through the air, slicing at it's legs just above the 'elbow/knee' joints, trying to take it out of the fight quickly. Quietly.

Daniel Ketch has posed:
The dog creature recoils from the foul-smelling pellets, like a real dog would. But that is all it does as a dog, because Qira's blades find only smoke when they go through the creature's legs. A demon dog, a ghost dog.

When the monster turns and bites, though, those teeth are real, and sharp. And those jaws are just as powerful as they looked.

Meanwhile Daniel, forcing a window shutters open, maybe triggering an alarm somewhere. But he felt something dark and creepy summoned and he is in a hurry. Shotgun in hand, he moves quickly, trying to find the stairs up in the darkness.

Qira Quest has posed:
Thankfully, when it bites, Qira is not there. She sprang up the second she was past it, tucking away the blade to go for something that is likely going to help her more. Stink bombs. It's going to require a noisier exit than she had initially planned, but this is why she's head to toe in her League garb, covered from the top of her head to her toes, with only a small opening in the mask for her strange eyes.

Now she definitely hears footsteps. Dropping one of the stink bombs as she races down the hall towards the display room, that *should* keep the demon dog (and hopefully whoever else is in the house) at bay. At least long enough for her to collect the item and get the Hell out of Dodge.

Daniel Ketch has posed:
The ghost dog is also rather fast, but he keeps missing Qira for fractions of an inch when he bites. Her size helps in the rather narrow corridors, the creature apparently still limited by some laws of physics. Although clearly only -some-.

He growls, and even barks, like a dog. And chasses like a bloodhound too!

Racing down the hall takes Qira to the stairs, and just as Daniel was climbing up. He stumbles on the girl and the dog, quickly raises his shotgun, and fires.

Over Qira's shoulder, right to the pouncing dog's head. A good shot. Which has about the same effect on the critter as Qira blades did.

Now, chances are high of a three body slam. That is also physics, and two out of three of them have to obey all those laws.

Qira Quest has posed:
Only mostly! Qira's not exactly human, she's not exactly sure WHAT she is. But she's got acrobatic moves that defy a few different laws.

As soon as Daniel shoots, Qira grabs his shoulder, swinging herself around behind him and launching herself up a few stairs. Turning to face the man and 'dog', she blinks at the sight of the man that helped her out on the highway on her way to New York. "What are *you* doing here?" He might not be able to recognize her with the hood on, but the voice is probably familiar.

"Nevermind.. can you kill demons? Pretty sure this is a demon. I've got nothing for demons."

Daniel Ketch has posed:
Whooos! The dog tears the shotgun off Daniel's hands, but misses as he spins and flails, falling on his back as the dog lands, ungracefully, on the lower floor. "You!" Daniel recognizes the eyes before he recognizes the voice.

The door scrambles back to his feet, and growls upwards. "I have something, but it is messy," offers Daniel, his eyes going red and glowy. "Get out of here," he murmurs, trying to stand up as the dog begins charging.

Qira Quest has posed:
"Don't have to tell me twice."

Qira spins and launches herself upward, taking stairs three and four at a time, then bolting for the display room so she can grab what she came here for. Pausing at the corner, she glances back, "If you get through this, meet me at the southeast corner of the yard." Then she's gone, around the corner and racing for the display room and it's contents.

Daniel Ketch has posed:
Qira vanishes and all she can hear is a smashing sound, wood getting crushed. Then the howl of a wounded puppy, followed by more smashing and shattering of stuff. There is also an alarm ringing, way too late.

The display room (actually a push office) has another camera, easy to spot. There are also some mystic symbols on the walls and carpet, but who has time for those? The pocket watch (gold, weird engravings) is one of the curios on display on the wall, behind a glass panel that is not even bulletproof. It takes her fifteen seconds to get the item and jump out through a window.

Someone set the house on fire. There is no one to meet her at the southeast corner of the yards. Just the sound of a powerful motorcycle fading in the distance.