Play@YSDC

"Waitress," called the lady, "I'll have another refill," she slid her coffee cup across the tabletop.

"I'm a chef," she continued when the waitress returned with a cup of steaming black joe, "and am looking for a job. Know of a place?"

Agnes hustles over to the table with the coffee and places it in front of the woman. "Hi, I'm Agnes Baker," she says. "Actually, we could use a new cook here. You'll need to talk to Velma, she owns the place."

"Thanks, Agnes. I'm Zoey Samaras. And new in town, obviously"--she smiled. She gave Agnes an appraising look: "Fancy giving me the heads-up on Arkham when you finish your shift? I'm paying for the tab," she added quickly. "Unless you've got a husband to cook for?..."

Agnes chuckles and grins back. "No husband," she says. "I'm still looking for the right fellow. I'm also a lousy cook, especially compared to you. And don't let my name fool you, I'm not much good at baking either. Sure, I can fill you in on Arkham. Anything in particular you want to know?"

"I've the feeling that we're gonna share some wild-- I mean, good times!" joked Zoey.

"Well," she thought in response to Agnes's question, "I've a thing for men in authority," she stared straight into Agnes's eyes, neither blushing nor embarrassed at all, "where to the 'boys in blue' drink?"

ooc,I want this [img]https://arkhamdb.com/bundles/cards/02301.jpg[/img]

"Yeah, it'll be swell!" said Agnes. "The cops aren't supposed to drink, what with the Volstead Act and all, but I imagine some still do. The only speakeasy I know of is Hibb's Roadhouse. It's not far from here."

OOC,Yeah, that's even more awesome than the Shotgun!

The two women gained access to the speakeasy without a hitch. Sat in a booth with Agnes and sipping at a Gin rickey, Zoey nodded towards a table of boisterous officers.

"Looks like the cops don't give a damn about the alcohol law," she said. "And that's why"--a middle-aged, pot bellied soak was seating himself with his colleagues. "Must be the sheriff," added Zoey.

Zoey tugged down her dress, her already plunging neckline was a little deeper. She said apologetically, "It usually works," gulped her drink, and then produced a cigarette. "I'm gonna ask for a light. Coming?"

Agnes isn't wearing anything quite so revealing, though her own dress still highlights her figure. "You know, I've never done anything like this before," says Agnes. She deepens her voice and wags her finger. "'Only bad girls go to Hibb's,' my father told me. I've always tried to be a good girl. I guess you're a bad influence on me, Zoey." She grins and gets up to follow her.

A few mornings later at Velma's Diner, the sheriff and a few trusted lieutenants along with Zoey and Agnes, the girls simply adornments, put to right Arkham.

"Look," Sheriff Engel insists, "I know it sounds crazy, but that's really all there is to it." He sighs and sits back down, pouring a cup of joe for you and one for himself. "A dame in Uptown spotted a cracked egg wearing this mask and holdin' a blood butcher's cleaver," he says, motioning to the black leather mask sitting on his desk. It has a comically long nose and a strange symbol scrawled in yellow on its forehead. "So, she calls it in. My boys and I picked him up on the corner of Saltonstall & Garrison." The sheriff's jaw clenches and his brows furrow as he recounts the story. "Fella did nothing but laugh as we slapped the bracelets on him. Called himself Zanni. Said nothing except the 'carnival is coming,' whatever the hell that meant. Wasn't until the next day we found the victim's body. Defense wanted him in a straitjacket. We were happy to oblige."

There isn't much time to spare. If your research is right, there is more to this case than meets the eye. This "Zanni" wasn't talking about Darke's Carnival, but rather, the Carneval of Venice, which begins just before the next full moon...

Zoey unlooped her arm from Sheriff Engel's.

"A trip to Europe will take a few weeks," she said, "and the next full moon is in three."

"Oh, that does sound swell!" says Agnes, excitement obvious in her voice. "I've never been there before."

In the ladies' washroom.

"I'm glad you think so! Then let's go to Venice," replied Zoey. "I don't wish to alarm you, Agnes," she paused, as if struggling with an uncomfortable truth, "but now I know why He sent me to Arkham--to learn of this carnival and to meet you," she was deadly serious.

ooc,Here's a deck list I'm gonna emulate: https://arkhamdb.com/decklist/view/3251/zoey-samaras-fastest-gun-in-the-west-1.0 I'll take a closer look because I just noticed that Sleight of Hand is in the Carcosa set. Also you can have first dibs on all Mystic and Survivor cards. My intention is to only use 9 XP so as not to incur any additional Basic Weakness cards. Edit: Why not any available card from any expansion? If I don't possess a copy in my collection I'll use a proxy by slipping a note into one of my sleeved cards...

"He?" asks Agnes. The capital letter was practically audible when Zoey said it. "Do you mean God? He does work in mysterious ways."

OOC,I also plan to only use 9 XP. Weaknesses stink!

"Of course I do! Who else could it be?," she shouted rhetorically. "Look, Agnes," she was much calmer now, "I've been guided my whole life to do things--good things," she qualifies, "well, for the common good of humanity."

"I always try to do good things too," says Agnes. "I've never had much ability to do a lot of good for humanity. I'm just a waitress. But I have these dreams...dreams of another life, another time, where I'm extremely powerful."

Zoey hugged Agnes. "I knew that we were kindred spirits," she whispered into Agnes's ear. She pulled back, studying her at arm's length. "Let's get outta here. That greasy fatso, Sheriff Engels that is, won't be pawing me again--what a relief!"

"Yes, we were destined to meet," says Agnes. "I had no idea the sheriff was like that. He didn't try anything with me."

Agnes's start hand.



Mulligan?

Zoey's Cross is mega!