Play@YSDC

Early in the morning, the two men set out from Reg's flat in Derbyshire Street towards Limehouse. The carriage takes them through some of the more squalid parts of the East End, over the stinking Limehouse Cut and towards the Thames. After a brief conversation, the directions to Purbrights Emporium, the pawnshop in question, are easily gotten. When the two men get to the address given them, in Narrow Street at the base of the Cut, they find that it's a basement under a grocery store. Two tramps lie propped against the walls of the stairway leading down and the stench of unwashed bodies wafts out.

Gary excuses himself past the "ladies" and tries the door to the pawnshop.

Reg follows Gary to the door, keeping an eye out behind them and watching their backs.

A bell sounds as Gary tugs open the door to the shop. Inside, the shop is cluttered and dark - the only natural light filtering in is through two rectangular windows near the ceiling, although several gaslights provide more illumination. Being that this is the East End, it's likely that most of the items in the shop are the ill-gotten gains of Limehouse street toughs -- a glass display case at the desk displays a number of rings and necklaces of varying types and metals, a number of barrels are stuffed with walking sticks and canes of all sizes, jackets and trousers are hung along the walls, and there are even stranger things about. As the two mill aimlessly about, trying to find some proprietor, they're taken slightly aback by a large jar full of glass eyes.

After a few moments, a pale-faced man shambles out of a back room. There are large bags under his eyes, and he generally appears rather greasy and ill-rested. He coughs loudly as he mutters, "May I help you?"

OOC,Both of you may make Know rolls.

Gary does his best to keep his composure. While he often will get dirty and unkempt while working in his shop, this is different.

"Yes sir, perhaps you can, we are looking for someone." While talking, Gary attempts to locate something he could use in his workshop. Buying something, may loosen the mans tongue a bit.

Gary Knows,[url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3289168/]Know roll target = 65 (1d100=56)[/url]

The man looks the two up and down appraisingly and scratches his chin. "Alright then. Who are you looking for?"

OOC,Do you have the letter with you?

Both Gary and Reg,The man has the look of some people you've seen who are deep in the throes of addiction - most likely opium, you think.

"We are looking for Jakeswill, do you know him?" Gary asks.

"I know him," the proprietor says, seating himself in a battered leather chair sitting out among all the other items and grinning broadly, exposing yellowed teeth. "I'm Thomas Jakeswill. Do I know you?"

Gary smiles, "You don't know me, but I think you know a friend of mine, Arthur Godfrey." Then looks closely to see what reaction the name brings.

"We're here on Arthur's behalf," says Reg.

OOC,Yes, I believe I specifically mentioned that we should bring the letter to the pawnshop. I know I had it before, so I'd suppose I still do.

Jakeswill's brows raise. "Arthur?" He sighs and looks nervous. "What about him?"

"Lets start with how do you know Arthur?" Gary asks.

Jakeswill looks down towards the floor as he continues -- "He came at first to purchase a gun, a few times after that. He was one of those folks who rarely bought anything, but often looked around and things. I don't know why he was in Limehouse, we could tell he wasn't exactly the regular sort of bloke we got in here. Upper class, but I'm guessing you know Arthur's status."

"Did Arthur ever ask you to put him in contact with a certain person whose first initial is S?" asks Reg.

Jakeswill thinks for a moment and then looks somewhat unhappy. "I'm sorry! Dr. Salt's the one who actually owns this here shop, and... he's the one who gets me my stuff... I can see by the look on your face you know what I mean... anyway, Arthur was, ahh, fooling around with some stuff if you know what I mean, I told him about Salt... I'm sorry! They was both in the shop at the same time, Salt mentioned Arthur looked high-class, Arthur was the one who told Dr. Salt who he was like a ruddy fool! I ain't mixed up in nothing that'll see me danglin' from a rope, am I? This ain't gonna get to the coppers, is it?" He begins to sniffle a bit. "I mean, it's bad enough Salt's already got his thugs followin' me..."

"There won't be any cops involved as long as you keep cooperating. Now, who is this Dr. Salt and where can we find him? Also, what do you know of a man who dresses all in green?" Gary continues.

Reg nods and waits for Jakeswill's response.

"He's a doctor, yes indeed. He's not just... putting on airs. Though now he mostly gets money by blackmailing folk." The addict laughs. "You'll have a fun time of finding him. He used to live right up above, but now he's holed himself up in a lodging-house up on Virginia Road, up in the Jago. Green man? I don't know nothing about green men. Though... ask Salt about 'em. He knows about 'em." He grins a gap-toothed grin.

"I see. For some reason I think you know more than your saying. Hey Reg, how much of this stuff do you figure is stolen?" Gary states.

Psych roll,Wow hope this was worth it. [url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3295699/]Useless psych roll. Target = 5% (1d100=2)[/url]

"A fair bit of it, I'd imagine," says Reg, studying Jakeswill without much insight. "What is the exact address of Dr. Salt's lodging-house on Virginia Road?"

"No, no, no!" Jakeswill holds up his hands. "No need for that, laddie. These green folk you're talking about... I wonder now whether they might be Salt's thugs. The ones following me wear green. They always follow me from a distance or watch me from the other side of the street. Bloody bastard's got children working for him now...

"I believe his address might be 22 or 23. Not sure. You can't miss it, though. Big building."

Gary looks over at Reg. "What do you think? Shall we go pay Dr. Salt a visit?"

"Yes, let's," says Reg. "If we can't find him there, we can always come back." He turns back to Jakeswill. "What does Dr. Salt look like, so we'll know him when we see him?"

"Salt? A big brutish fellow." He laughs to himself. "Looks as much like a gorilla as anything. Don't tell him I said that. Dark hair, squarish head."

Reg chuckles. "I'm sure there will be no mistaking him, then," he says. "Just one more question. When was the last time you saw Arthur?"

"Not since the time he and Dr. Salt met here -- so, about three weeks or so. Quite a while, anyhow."

"Very well, thanks for your time. I don't see any need to involve any cops, do you Reg? I think Jakeswill been upright with us."
And Gary prepared to leave. "I think its time to go give Dr. Salt a visit."

"Yes, thank you, Jakeswill," says Reg. "You've been quite helpful." He leaves the shop with Gary. "Yes, let's pay a call on the doctor."

"The Jago's none too navigable by carriages," the second carriage driver says, as he drops Gary and Reg off at Redchurch Street. "Make sure you're out of here by nightfall. Wouldn't be too well for you to be caught in here." He points down the street a bit. "Just go straight up that road down there and you'll run right into Virginia Road. Just watch your purses. Good luck." He clatters off.

The two advance along the unnamed street, lined by some of the worst ghetto in London, the sort of place where Jack the Ripper wouldn't feel out-of-place. People glower menacingly at them as they walk along, or look at them surreptitiously through shifty eyes. Practically everyone they pass has the look of a criminal. They emerge into the road, which seems to be a slightly better neighborhood -- though not much -- and quickly find the boarding-house in question. Gary and Reg hurry up the steps, as a few men seem to be following them.

Reg pays careful attention to his surroundings and just generally tries to look tough. While he is sure he could handle one or two of this neighborhood's toughs if it comes to a fight, he'd stand no chance against a pack of them and would rather avoid hostilities. "We don't use our names in front of this chap," he whispers to Gary. He climbs the steps and knocks on the door.

After a moment, the door's answered by a stooped old woman. "Yes? Who might you be and what be your business?"

"We request a meeting with Dr. Salt." responds Gary.

"My name's Smith," says Reg. It's close enough to his real name to feel comfortable (some Smythes might even pronounce their names that way), but common enough to be anonymous. "We're here regarding Arthur Godfrey."

"Salt, Salt... oh, the doctor," says the old woman, seemingly a bit dotty in her old age, who seemingly hadn't heard Gary call him "doctor". "Oh, he's a nasty bloke, a real scary fellow. Neal!" A young lad, probably about ten or twelve years of age, appears. "Can you go see if Dr Salt is in? Tell him he has visitors. Come in, come in."

After a moment or two, the young lad comes back down the stairs, accompanied by a tall and massive man with a flattish face. A large scar runs down the right side of his face. "Come, Neal, let's allow these fellows to get to their business," the old woman says, as she and the lad disappear into the back.

"Yes? I am Dr Salt," says the large man, with a barely perceptible German accent.

OOC,I messed up and got [b]Arthur[/b]'s last name wrong in my previous post.

"Dr. Salt," says Reg, "we're here regarding Arthur Sommers."

A fearful look is plainly visible upon Dr. Salt's face when Reg says Arthur's name. He closes his eyes briefly and breathes deeply.

"Arthur, Arthur, Arthur. You weren't followed, were you?"

"Not to my knowledge," says Reg. "There were some chaps out front watching us go inside, but I presume you know about them already."

"The typical sort found in this... slum," Dr. Salt says. "Not who I meant. You'd know if you were followed by these fellows..." He touches his arm. "Arthur was devoted to her. Wrongly. Look what he's gotten in return for his devotion. Be careful -- you're now held in her eye."

"Are you referring to Countess Bogdansky?" asks Reg. "I've never even met her. How can I be held in her eye?"

A vaguely vulnerable, haunted look comes over Dr. Salt, a look which has a frightening, if somewhat humorous, contrast with his massive frame. "Bogdansky, yes, that's one of the names she goes by. Believe me, Smith, you may not have met her, but... if you found me, I take it you found Jakeswill. And if you found him, she's been watching you. Or rather, her servants have."

Reg watches Dr. Salt's reactions, but he can't tell much beyond the obvious. At least he is tall enough to look the doctor in the eye while looking straight ahead. "Thin lads dressed all in green with white faces?" says Reg. "I haven't seen them myself, but I have met Jakeswill and he has, and I know he's not the only one. You know Jakeswill as well, so that means you must have also fallen under her notice."

"Aye, that's the fellows. I feel horribly -- his connection with me is the entire reason they've got their beady eyes turned towards Jakeswill. Nothing he's done --" Salt pauses, "-- well, not entirely anyway. So yes, their eyes are on me. That's the reason I'm hiding out here in this slum. They've not found me -- yet..."

"What of Arthur?" asks Reg. "When was the last time you saw him? Do you know what's happened to him?"

"Last I saw Arthur was that night a week ago at his flat." He runs a hand through his hair. "Look, I make no pretenses as to what kind of man I am. I'd been supplying the vices of various members of the theatre crowd. They told me about an unnamed Madame, who could endure hurts, who could live to virtual immortality, because of an artifact like a mummy's arm she had in her possession... well, I had come to know that Arthur was also in association with this Madame. I asked him to retrieve the arm for me. He couldn't. Then the green chappies came, we fought, I shot at them, they carted off Arthur to her." He chuckles to himself. "I have no doubt he's now wishing for death. I didn't realize what I had gotten myself into until the fight at Arthur's. The Madame... she's not like us..."

"What is she like?" asks Reg. "If Arthur is still alive, then she must want him for something. What foul purpose does she have, and where might she be keeping him?"

"These will sound like the rantings of a drug fiend, but I suppose that the best way to say it is just right out. She's not human, of that I'm sure. Or not a normal human, anyway. She's capable of great and terrible things. And those green fellows are always around," Salt says, looking more confident now. "Anything to do with her, be sure that they're there, watching. The purpose she's keeping Arthur for? I can't say for certain, but I for one think that the Madame is building a larder... devouring men for some purpose unknown to me. Perhaps something else, who knows? One thing I'm sure of -- once she's watching you, you've got only two options -- find a way to kill her, or flee and keep yourself hidden."

"I've never been one to run and hide," says Reg. "I stood up to the Mahdi's fanatics, and I can stand up to this woman, whoever or whatever she may be. If we are able to put a stop to her, then you will be safe as well. Is there anything else you can think of that might be of help? Any weaknesses or vulnerabilities she has? Do you know of anyone else who has knowledge of her?"

"Nothing of which I'm aware. I do recall Arthur mentioning a fellow he called Max, worked at the theatre as well, apparently one of her playthings. He may know more. I believe Arthur said he lives in Greenwich somewhere," Salt says.

"Thank you, Doctor Salt," says Reg. He glances at Gary, who has been silent all this time. "Is there anything else you'd like to ask before we leave?"

Gary looks at Reg and shakes his head, having no further questions for Dr. Salt.

OOC,You can do whatever you want now. Just FYI, everyone else is back at Richard's manor now (in The Investigation thread). I wanted to give it a few days and see if Gary responded.

"In that case, we bid you good day, Doctor," says Reg. He takes his leave and exits the building with Gary. Once outside, he makes his way out of the Jago and tries to find a cab to take them to Richard's house.

OOC,His player's been missing from my game too and hasn't posted in almost a month, though he has logged on a little over a week ago.

The two make their way out of the notorious slum without further incident and hail a carriage, which clatters off along the road towards Richard's.

OOC,Both of you can move over to The Investigation.