Phantomlink959

The Bureau of Supernatural Affairs

@Searat
"If this was wild magic the only thing I would smell is decaying flesh and residual mana."the Djinn growled, his face quickly shifting back to the human form in a burst of flame, "Virus would smell toxic, like meat that's gone rancid from bacterial growth. This... the magic here stinks of corruption -black magic. We're definitely dealing with a necromancer." he concluded, pulling a cigarette from his pocket and lighting it up without thinking, "Lich or not I can't tell for sure, the smells have mingled too much for me to make out the conjurer from the undead. But, if we can find some material evidence, I should be able to pick up the trail. I've got that in common with bloodhounds." Argus offered humorously, crouching down to examine the soil, "Could take awhile to find but I think it's safe to say this is definitely the area to be looking. Although..."

The redhead looked around for a vantage point, spotting a tall, pillar-like gravestone a short distance away. "Necromancy is complicated stuff, you need a ritual circle to get things started." Argus observed, walking over to the stone and pushing on it gently to ensure it was stable. "Give me a boost, I need a higher angle. And yes, I'm pretty sure this counts as grave desecration; but it's easier than finding a ladder."

The Bureau of Supernatural Affairs

@Searat

Argus walked past a small group of senior citizens who seemed to be visiting some old friends in the graveyard, heading to the first corner and crouching down to set up the totem; quickly digging a small hole to plant the relic, "Zunten" the Djinn muttered the word quietly to avoid drawing attention to himself as the runes began to glow. It was about that time that the agent felt a rush of divine energy and the scent of purified ectoplasm filled the air. It was a familiar smell, but not a common one, "The priest must've met a wayward soul." he decided, moving to the next corner to plant the other totem. Repeating the process was quick and the red haired man immediately felt the barrier surge to life as he triggered the enchantment.

As soon as the barrier was active, Argus returned to the group of seniors he had bypassed previously, now apparently dazed and confused by the effects of the spell. With great care, he began to pick the elderly humans up one at a time and carry them to the gates. It didn't take long to remove them from the perception field and, not seeing anyone else at this end of the cemetery, he returned to the westernmost corner; transforming the entirety of his head into its natural reptilian state."Now, what's happening in these parts?" he asked himself aloud, taking a deep breath followed by several shallow and deliberate ones. The odors or death; embalming fluid, ash, and embalming fluid filled the Djinn's senses, followed shortly by the ectoplasm and divinity that had just recently filled the air. Underneath it all was a much fainter smell: rot and dark energies. "Smells like necromancy, but something's wrong..."

The Bureau of Supernatural Affairs

@Searat

"Yep. I think it's Old German or something. You'd have to ask Rost what it means, though." the red haired agent removed the other two totems and closed the trunk, leaving the case standing open inside, "We follow standard operating procedure; start in the far west corner where the report said they were, and work our way from there. I'll probably beat you to it, but that gives me more time to adjust to the air around here before I start tracking." Argus advised, spitting out his cigarette and stamping it out with one foot.

"Alright, let's move. If anybody sees you putting the totem down, tell them you're with the city historical society; these are old boundary markers that had to be restored after some kid vandalized them. Once he barrier is up and we clear them out, they'll forget why they were even here." with that, the Djinn paused briefly, pressing the alarm button on his key fob to enable the security system. As the security engaged, the SUV began to fade away; leaving behind a faint haze which only those possessing magical abilities could detect.

With the evidence of their arrival concealed, the Argus made his way into the cemetery to begin conducting his work.

The Bureau of Supernatural Affairs

Somebody remind me to have Argus teach Essie his brand of shapeshifting at some point, being able to create a solid (albeit artificial) human body around her natural form would probably be pretty helpful.

The Bureau of Supernatural Affairs

@Searat
The moment Argus was out of the SUV, he extracted a cigarette from hi jacket pocket. The redhead tucked the filter into the corner of his mouth and cupped his hands to mimic holding a lighter as he lit it with a small flame at the tip of his finger. ""I'm gonna need to be able to go transform for this one..." he considered, wlking around to the back of his car and opening the trunk. Inside the rear end of the utility interceptor was a seemingly normal secure storage vault, the Djinn transformed his right hand into its claws form, pressing the thumb against a fingerprint scanner to unlock the vault.

With a hiss the bottom most drawer opened and he returned the hand to its human form before removing a locked metal briefcase from within. "Alright Rich, we're gonna need to set up a secure perimeter." he explained, unlocking the case to reveal a set of four carved stone totems, "Take two of these, head over to the east end of the cemetery, and put one at each corner, then speak the command word; zunten. I'll do the same at the west, the four will bind together and generate a perception-clouding filter around the entire cemetery. People will see us, but not really register our presence. The word to disable them when we're done is lesken" the Djinn instructed, picking up a pair of the totems and handing them to Richard, "Soon as this is set up we can clear out anyone already inside, then we should be able to work in peace."

The Bureau of Supernatural Affairs

@Searat I'm good whenever.

The Bureau of Supernatural Affairs

@KatherinWinter I'll leave that decision up to @Searat, as I feel like I've been leading a bit.

The Bureau of Supernatural Affairs

@Searat

"I'll keep that in mind. Sorry for being so depressing this morning Rich, just had a lot on my mind since last night." Argus gave his most sincere apology, allowing the car to fall silent as they drove out towards the cemetery. If neither of them struck up a conversation, it wouldn't take the pair long to arrive.

The Djinn hadn't spent this much time thinking about his past in years, since long before he joined BOSA; he had always distracted himself by trying to work towards building bridges between his own race and the others, ending the Djinn's isolation. When that went wrong, he had simply worked towards surviving; and now he was doing his part as an agent, protecting humans and the magical races from colliding. "Would you be proud of me, Nerida?" he reflected, glancing away from the road to stare at a bottle shaped silver pendant hanging from the rear-view mirror. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Argus returned his attention to the drive.

The Bureau of Supernatural Affairs

@Raining

So long as you're careful to make sure her copying a given power makes sense, I don't foresee myself or anyone else having issue with it. And if you're unsure, you can always ask people for clarification on how it works.

The Bureau of Supernatural Affairs

@Raining

Being totally honest I was just mildly worried about another character jacking powers off of one of mine. Argus in particular, as I put a LOT of thought into what he can do.

I put a lot of work into Rost's abilities as well, but he actively teaches other people to do whath e does so it's not a big deal.

Power mimicry is just a weird pet peeve of mine, result of some much much older roleplays.