Ch2 - 2d Liz and Clay - top of the European Studies building
Posted: Mon May 20, 2013 1:14 pm
by ghill
Liz and Clay make their way to the top of the Archaeology building, where the Professor’s office is situated. A young lady (Clay identifies her as Shauna is wading through piles of paperwork scattered around the room clearly a case of organised chaos. There is an adjoining room which LIz thinks looks like it was the Professor’s study. The floor in both rooms is cluttered with boxes.
Security:,As they go Clay points out the lack of security, identifying for her routes and methods he would use to enter the building - these methods don't require any special skills just a modicum of preparation and desire.
Re: Ch2 - 2d Liz and Clay - top of the Archaeology building
Posted: Tue May 21, 2013 4:58 am
by Mr. Handy
"How do you want to play this?"Liz asks quietly. "It might be better if we enter separately and with some time between so that she doesn't realise we're together, just in case she gets suspicious of you. I could go in first and start talking to her, and then you could wait a few minutes before you start poking about."
Re: Ch2 - 2d Liz and Clay - top of the Archaeology building
Posted: Tue May 21, 2013 6:51 am
by ghill
"What am I going to tell her?" says Clay looking a bit worried by the prospect "I think I'd prefer to come in with you or just wait outside, then if we come back after dark no one has seen me."
Re: Ch2 - 2d Liz and Clay - top of the Archaeology building
Posted: Wed May 22, 2013 4:28 am
by Mr. Handy
"You're right, that's a better idea," says Liz. "Better if nobody even sees you. Besides, I can prolly get more out of Shauna if it's just me and her. Anything else before I go in?"
Re: Ch2 - 2d Liz and Clay - top of the Archaeology building
Posted: Wed May 22, 2013 3:31 pm
by ghill
"Nah I don't think so" says Clay turning to go. He pauses for a moment then turns back. "Look you know about facebook and ipads and stuff, but keep you eyes open for other stuff will you, we don't really have anything on this guy other than he was done by someone who tried to do us." Clay looks a bit surprised by his outburst smiles and walks off to the stairwell where he is out of sight.
Re: Ch2 - 2d Liz and Clay - top of the Archaeology building
Posted: Thu May 23, 2013 5:11 am
by Mr. Handy
Liz nods, walks up to the office door, and knocks softly on it.
Re: Ch2 - 2d Liz and Clay - top of the Archaeology building
Posted: Thu May 23, 2013 1:00 pm
by ghill
A slim girl of medium height looks up from the pile of papers she is sorting into piles, brushing a lock of blonde hair from her face as she does so.
"Hi can I help?" she says with a rather tired smile.
Re: Ch2 - 2d Liz and Clay - top of the Archaeology building
Posted: Fri May 24, 2013 5:15 am
by Mr. Handy
"Hullo," says Liz, grinning back. "I'm Liz Penhaligon. Are you Shauna WIlcox? I'll try not to take up too much of your time. I'm a research assistant too, and I know how busy you must be. I wanted to ask you some questions about Malta."
Re: Ch2 - 2d Liz and Clay - top of the Archaeology building
Posted: Fri May 24, 2013 9:08 am
by ghill
"Hi..." she puts down the stack of papers she's sorting through. "Everyone, seems to have questions for me today, but I wasn't expecting Malta."
Re: Ch2 - 2d Liz and Clay - top of the Archaeology building
Posted: Sat May 25, 2013 5:31 am
by Mr. Handy
"You must mean Dr. Gosshamm's murder," says Liz. "I've heard about it, and it's simply horrible. I must admit I'm curious about it, but I can understand if you'd rather not talk about it or you're too busy. His research into languages sounds simply fascinating, and that seems to connect to Malta too. Anyhow, the reason I asked about Malta is that I'm thinking about going there, and I wanted to find out what it's like from someone who's been."
Re: Ch2 - 2d Liz and Clay - top of the Archaeology building
Posted: Wed Jun 05, 2013 1:53 pm
by ghill
Shauna gives a rather weak smile "I never really thought of his work as fascinating, but he was very kind. It was the prof who managed to wangle me onto the trip to Malta. Anyway feel free to ask away, as long as you don't mind be trying to sort through this junk as we talk." she indicates a pile of papers stacked on the desk. "Its largely rubbish I think. The prof was crap at his personal admin."
Liz,Spot Hidden please.
Re: Ch2 - 2d Liz and Clay - top of the Archaeology building
Posted: Thu Jun 06, 2013 3:57 am
by Mr. Handy
"Oh, I don't mind," says Liz, grinning back and looking around the messy office carefully. "In fact, why don't I help you? I'm a research assistant too, so I've done this sort of thing before."
Re: Ch2 - 2d Liz and Clay - top of the Archaeology building
Posted: Fri Jun 07, 2013 9:37 am
by ghill
Shauna picks up a pile of papers from a seat and collapses into it. Well I could certainly do with the help but I'm not sure I'm allowed?
Poor Shauna,Clearly Shauna is open to the idea, [b]Psychology[/b] & [b]Persuade[/b] rolls please. NB Success at the Psychology will make the Persuade easy ( roll under skill x2)
Partially covered by a fallen pile of papers Liz spots a laptop docking station on the professor's desk; she can see no sign of a laptop or laptop bag.
Re: Ch2 - 2d Liz and Clay - top of the Archaeology building
Posted: Sat Jun 08, 2013 9:15 pm
by Mr. Handy
Lizisn't sure how best to convince Shauna, but she tries her best, which turns out to be pretty good. "I don't see why you wouldn't be," she says. "My prof never had a problem with another student helping out. It'll be less work for you. And it's not like I'd tell anyone anyway."
Re: Ch2 - 2d Liz and Clay - top of the Archaeology building
Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2013 12:06 am
by ghill
Shauna looks around the room. "OK, well why don't you gab a pile and start separating out any personal stuff and putting it into this box here, academic work here." Shauna points at the relevant piles for the papers then gives Liz a weak smile "Thanks, its such a depressing job, I'm so glad I don't have to do his house, although after the fire I think a lot of his stuff is in storage already."
Re: Ch2 - 2d Liz and Clay - top of the Archaeology building
Posted: Sun Jun 09, 2013 3:14 am
by Mr. Handy
"No problem," says Liz, picking up a stack of papers and starting to sort through them, taking advantage of the opportunity to see if there's anything of interest. "There was a fire too?"
Re: Ch2 - 2d Liz and Clay - top of the Archaeology building
Posted: Mon Jun 10, 2013 9:20 am
by ghill
"Oh didn't you hear? The prof started a fire at his cottage in Deerhurst, I'm not sure how badly damaged it was or whether it was just unlivable, mum had a fire in the kitchen a couple of years ago and the insurance people had us in a motel for a month."
Almost on top of the stack of papers sees a receipt from the IT department for the Professor’s laptop, which notes it was sent for the repair of a faulty screen.
OOC: Spot Hidden,please, Depending on how long Liz is prepared to spend looking through the stack of papers this is as easy task (2x skill) taking an hour or a normal task taking 15 minutes.
Re: Ch2 - 2d Liz and Clay - top of the Archaeology building
Posted: Tue Jun 11, 2013 5:24 am
by Mr. Handy
Liz memorizes any identification numbers on the receipt to make it easier to locate the laptop later if she gets access to the IT department. She takes her time sorting, doing a thorough job of examining the papers as she does so. "Oh, that's awful," she says. "So, how was Malta? I heard there was some local trouble there."
OOC,I'll gladly take the extra time to make sure I see anything. As it is, my roll was good enough to succeed regardless. I have plenty of questions to ask [b]Shauna[/b] during this time.
Re: Ch2 - 2d Liz and Clay - top of the Archaeology building
Posted: Tue Jun 11, 2013 9:16 am
by ghill
As Liz works her way through the pile of random papers and correspondence she come across a couple of other bits and pieces.
Finds,[i]A ticket stub for a British Airways economy class flight to Tirana in Albania made about a month ago.
Working through the pile of paper further she starts to put together what looks to be a printed copy of the first draft of a new untitled thesis by the professor. It looks incomplete and is covered in red pen and margin notes where Gosshamm has clearly edited it.[/i]
Oh the house fire was a right pain, he'd was nearly finished with his current paper then the house fire well he wasn't a happy bunny and certainly not someone you wanted to be around very much which was a hassle considering I worked for him. <she smiles> Malta, oh that was a 'jolly' the Prof wangled me onto. Actually, I think it was supposed to be a jolly for him as well, the Archaeology department probably felt they needed to show their thanks after he managed to them the funding with the same sponsors who fund...funded his studies.
Re: Ch2 - 2d Liz and Clay - top of the Archaeology building
Posted: Wed Jun 12, 2013 3:54 am
by Mr. Handy
'Who did fund his studies?" asks Liz, in what she hopes is a tone of casual curiosity.
Re: Ch2 - 2d Liz and Clay - top of the Archaeology building
Posted: Wed Jun 12, 2013 8:53 am
by ghill
"Its some funny foreign name..Shush something" She pauses "actually hold on" Shauna picks up a paper from a pile of correspondence "Oh yeah, here it is. Kush nderton. Not sure how long they've funded him but they've been very good about what he researches and stuff."
Let me Google that for you,As a registered charity it is simple to obtain the following details about the charity from the Charities Commission’s website:
The charity’s goals are stated as:
1. To preserve Albanian heritage and history wherever it is found, through the provision of grants for archaeological work.
2. Through the provision of grants to encourage the study of Albanian heritage and history.
3. To promote the education of Albanian history and culture.
The charity’s contact address is given as Reddrup and Vosper a firm of solicitors; Mr John Reddrup, Miss Claire Vosper and a Mr Alex Rudaj are named as the charities trustees.
The charity’s finances show approximately £500,000 coming in from charitable donations and nearly all of that going out on charitable activities.
Re: Ch2 - 2d Liz and Clay - top of the Archaeology building
Posted: Thu Jun 13, 2013 3:41 am
by Mr. Handy
"What exactly was the trouble in Malta?" asks Liz as she works through her pile of papers. "I don't know any details, but that's the main thing that has me concerned about going there."
Re: Ch2 - 2d Liz and Clay - top of the Archaeology building
Posted: Thu Jun 13, 2013 10:21 am
by ghill
Shauna looks up surprised. "Trouble in Malta? There wasn't any trouble in Malta. Oh god people haven't started that crap about me and the prof having an 'thing' again."
Malta,Remember the trouble in Malta seems to be a recent thing, whereas Shauna went out last year (actually, I'm not sure I made that clear in the description of the photos but that is the case)
Re: Ch2 - 2d Liz and Clay - top of the Archaeology building
Posted: Fri Jun 14, 2013 3:14 am
by Mr. Handy
"I've heard people spreading that gossip," says Liz, "but I know that's all a load of bollocks. I wouldn't be surprised if people were saying the same things about me and my prof. He'd like to have a thing with me, I'm sure, but I'm keeping things professional. No, the trouble there was something else, but I don't know what. It was fairly recent, so maybe it happened after you went. What was Professor Gosshamm's interest in Malta? Does it connect to his research on Albania? I know the Maltese Fragments were discovered on Malta, and the pictures I've seen of the symbols look a bit like Albanian ones."
OOC,Thanks, I hadn't known that.
Re: Ch2 - 2d Liz and Clay - top of the Archaeology building
Posted: Fri Jun 14, 2013 10:07 am
by ghill
"If its recent I wouldn't have heard about it, I don't really have anything to do with the Archaeology department they're not my crowd. The prof has always had this thing about some ethnic groups in Albania originally being from Malta. I think he persuaded his sponsors to fund the Archaeology Departments digs, he had the prospect of more gathering supporting evidence and the the Archaeology Departments got to scratch around in the dirt. I don't think he was that interested in it anymore he seemed more keen about getting back to Albania."
Re: Ch2 - 2d Liz and Clay - top of the Archaeology building
Posted: Sun Jun 16, 2013 3:34 am
by Mr. Handy
"What was Malta like?" asks Liz.
Re: Ch2 - 2d Liz and Clay - top of the Archaeology building
Posted: Sun Jun 16, 2013 11:29 am
by ghill
Really nice and sunny, I spent the whole week by the pool and there was this lovely taverna we'd all go to for evening meals which did this lovely lamb kebabs with mint sauce. It was great.
Further questions:,Liz quickly finds out that Shauna knows nothing about the digs themselves, but did indeed spend her entire time by the pool getting a tan. NB Liz can see this is quite possibly the reason why the affair rumor started up.
Re: Ch2 - 2d Liz and Clay - top of the Archaeology building
Posted: Sun Jun 16, 2013 7:50 pm
by Mr. Handy
"That sounds cool," says Liz. "I'll have to visit that taverna if I go." She pauses as she continues going through the pile of papers. "Say, what happened to the professor's computer?"
Re: Ch2 - 2d Liz and Clay - top of the Archaeology building
Posted: Sun Jun 16, 2013 8:33 pm
by ghill
"Oh he put it on a chair and it slipped off and broke the screen. It still worked when plugged into the monitor, but he couldn't use it anywhere else."
Re: Ch2 - 2d Liz and Clay - top of the Archaeology building
Posted: Mon Jun 17, 2013 4:55 am
by Mr. Handy
"Ooh, that's a bother," says Liz. "I'd be helpless if anything happened to my laptop. Well, I could still use my mobile for some things, but it's not quite the same." As she sorts the papers and puts the pieces of the late professor's new thesis together, she tries to make sense of it.
Re: Ch2 - 2d Liz and Clay - top of the Archaeology building
Posted: Mon Jun 17, 2013 8:56 am
by ghill
The papers will take some time to read and truly understand considering its a total mess of footnotes crossing outs and marginalia, even the proposition makes difficult reading as it seems to have been rewritten several times. From what Liz can make out the prof seems to be suggesting the Verbetoi (singular Verbti) are not ethnic Albanian, its hard to understand but he seems to be claiming they are in fact the last remaining elements of a progenitor civilization which existed over 15,000
years ago.
Re: Ch2 - 2d Liz and Clay - top of the Archaeology building
Posted: Tue Jun 18, 2013 4:42 am
by Mr. Handy
Liz glances up from the papers. "Did the professor leave behind any family?" she asks.
Re: Ch2 - 2d Liz and Clay - top of the Archaeology building
Posted: Tue Jun 18, 2013 8:58 am
by ghill
Shauna, pauses what she is doing for a moment as though thinking. Then without looking up "I'm not sure I don't think so, or at least no one he told me about." She puts down the stack of papers she's been sorting through. "So what are you studying?"
Re: Ch2 - 2d Liz and Clay - top of the European Studies buil
Posted: Wed Jun 19, 2013 4:02 am
by Mr. Handy
"Well, my main focus is in computer science," says Liz, "but I've got a lot of interests, and I'm taking the opportunity while I'm at uni to sample as many of them as I can. I'm also very keen on history, and I'm taking classes in physics and psych too. Basically, anything weird or unusual intrigues me. I'm the world's biggest geek." She gives Shauna a goofy grin. "I guess that's why Professor Gosshamm's work fascinates me. The idea of an ancient language that's at the root of all of them is just...wow! I do hope that someone will finish the research he started. I can't think of a better memorial for him."
Re: Ch2 - 2d Liz and Clay - top of the European Studies buil
Posted: Thu Jun 20, 2013 9:33 am
by ghill
Shauna gives a weak smile back "But we don't have a computer science course at Brichester? Do we?"
Re: Ch2 - 2d Liz and Clay - top of the European Studies buil
Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2013 5:07 am
by Mr. Handy
"Oh, I'm a student at Cambridge," says Liz, hoping Shauna will be impressed but not too jealous. "My prof is just visiting Brichester to do some research, so here I am."
Re: Ch2 - 2d Liz and Clay - top of the European Studies buil
Posted: Fri Jun 21, 2013 8:33 am
by ghill
Oh, OK. ...Look thanks for the help and everything, but you are going to have to leave me to it. I thought you were a student here. I really don't think they'll like it you helping.
Re: Ch2 - 2d Liz and Clay - top of the European Studies buil
Posted: Sat Jun 22, 2013 7:43 pm
by Mr. Handy
"Oh, all right," says Liz. "Well, I'm glad I was able to help. Maybe I'll see you around. Cheers!" She waves and departs the office to go find Clay and fill him in about what she's discovered.
Re: Ch2 - 2d Liz and Clay - top of the European Studies buil
Posted: Sun Jun 23, 2013 6:21 pm
by ghill
Shauna calls after her as she leaves "Thanks for the help I do appreciate it."
Outside Liz finds Greg sitting out in the stairwell. "Bloody hell. I thought you might have fallen asleep or something you were so long."
Re: Ch2 - 2d Liz and Clay - top of the European Studies buil
Posted: Tue Jul 02, 2013 9:34 pm
by Mr. Handy
"I think you'll find the wait was worth it,"Liz says with a grin. "Not only are Shauna and I chums now, but I found out all sorts of interesting things when I talked her into letting me help her sort the late professor's papers." She summarizes what she learned. "We may not need to get into his office after all. The good stuff is prolly on his laptop, which as luck would have it is currently in the IT department getting its screen repaired after a fall from a chair. Even if they haven't fixed it yet, I can always hook it up to my own laptop with a network cable and view its contents there if we can get access to it. I can then copy any significant files and leave his computer where we found it. Best thing would be to bring an external hard drive and just copy everything so I can look it over later somewhere else, just in case there isn't enough room on my own laptop. Nobody need even know we've been there."
Re: Ch2 - 2d Liz and Clay - top of the European Studies buil
Posted: Wed Jul 03, 2013 9:36 am
by ghill
Sounds like a plan shall we head back to the BSU Bar and get a drink? Sitting on these stairs is hard dry work.
Re: Ch2 - 2d Liz and Clay - top of the European Studies buil
