Arkham, Massachusetts; during the late summer of 1921, two good friends and fellow Miskatonic University botany students Richard Cardigan and Henry Atwater strolled west from Arkham to camp along the Miskatonic River to gather samples and specimens of the local flora and fauna. They were expected to return on Saturday but failed to do so following the sudden freak storm during Friday night.
Early Sunday morning, Atwater was found wandering along west River Street, in a disturbed state of mind. Police took him to St. Mary's Hospital, where he was questioned and sedated.
Atwater's nearly incoherent ramblings led police to surmise that the campers had been struck by lightning on Friday evening while they slept.
Henry Jimmy and Sharon,As you ascend the steps to the verandah you pick up the trail with no problem. As you pass through the kitchen Georgia rises and follows you. "I tried to fight and clutched at the door handle in a attempt to get away but he were too strong fer me."
OOC: I'll assume Katherine follows - if not let me know?
The trail leads the group to the door of the cupboard under the stairs where Georgia was imprisoned, from there it leads to the double doors with the bloody smear on the door handle before it snakes back and goes up the stairs. Following the trail it leads to a room at the front of the house. Georgia says "If'n you folks don't mind I'll stay out here, it's a mite upsetting fer me."
The door opens easily and lying on the bed is the body of a frail old lady, her head nearly clove in twain from ear to ear and a bloody poker lies on the bed. Blood congeals on the white sheets staining the bed crimson-black. Her left eye lies on her cheek and a numeral "1" is carved on her forehead. "I came back and he came at me from the study and took me downstairs. I did notice that he had two of old Mr Hopes suits on the bed and was ransacking the place, but they are gone now. I presume he took them."
Playing;
Paris: City of Tears
Horror on the Orient Express
Henry's eyes narrow as he scrutinises the corpse and the bed. He takes in the entire crime scene, careful not to disturb it.
"One..."
He mouths the carving quietly and then looks up at the others.
"We'll have to move quickly if we don't want that number to go up."
OOC: Edit by Keeper,Sorry if I was unclear ... the servant saw the suits were on the bottom of the bed but they are no longer there - I have amended your post and mine accordingly.
"He said we were all cooked but we were all right as long as we did not know it. We were all cooked. The thing was not to recognize it."
"My thoughts exactly," says Katherine. "We need to find out who he's going after next before he gets there. My guess is it's the other living descendants of that mob."
The manner in which he had dispatched the old lady was not pretty, in fact it was horrid. Everywhere was splattered with blood from her smashed head.
I watched fascinated as Henry, with the cold, dispassionate eye of the professional, noted the number one, carved on the old womans forehead.
I shudder glad for once that I didn't take pictures. Henry's voice drifts through the silence of the scene, and I instinctively reach for my notebook, "So where to from here? Other than the deceased the only name we have is Philips" I glance slowly around the room, "Maybe the old lady kept notes for her writing somewhere in the house, notes that might give us an edge on the mysterious murderer."
We do not see things as they are, we see things as we are.
- Anais Nin
Katherine frowns at the grisly scene. "This is the devil's work," she says. "We must see that it is not repeated. Phillips is the only name we have right now, though Mrs. Hope may have known about the others. We don't know how much she may have told him, but she may have written something down somewhere. If we can't find anything in her writings, we should check back at the Historical Society to trace the Phillips family tree and find any living descendants."
Georgia looks back over her shoulder at the mention of the name Phillips as she heads towards a room at the back of the house. "There are a lot of Phillips' living in Arkham, but come and have a look at this."
Opening the door she adds, "He came at me fro ... oh my!" her hand goes up to her mouth. As you go to her you look in the room and note that it is a fairly large library. Books are scattered everywhere. some covered in fresh blood. Georgia says, "He must have come in fer somethin' after he ..." There is a thud as she hits the floor, fainted dead away.
You can hear the sound of approaching police cars in the distance.
Playing;
Paris: City of Tears
Horror on the Orient Express
I stare at the mess noting the blood stained books.
Jimmy thinking: Hmm, he must have been searching for something, but what?
I stoop and pick up one of the bloody books trying to see what its title is and whether it would give a clue to the subject of any particular book he had been in search of.
As Sr Katherine waves a bottle of smelling salts beneath the nose of Georgia I say aloud half musing, "Maybe the old lady didn't tell him what he wanted to know, and maybe he didn't have time to complete his search."
I stare around at the ransacked shelves, "When she comes round, see if she sees anything obvious missing"
We do not see things as they are, we see things as we are.
- Anais Nin
"The cops will be here any moment soon and we'll lose precious time if we're still here too."
He fishes a cigarette from his pocket and lights it, inhaling deeply.
"I suggest you bail, I'll talk to the cops on why we were here and what we're researching, but you should move on and start the chase. I'll catch up as soon as I can."
He draws his revolver and hands it to Jimmy.
"Flip this switch to release the safety, point a little under where you want to hit and squeeze the trigger. You have six shots."
"He said we were all cooked but we were all right as long as we did not know it. We were all cooked. The thing was not to recognize it."
Katherine,The maid coughs and splutters and pushes the acrid phial away from her continuing to cough as the salts catch at the back of her throat. [color=#FF4000]"Th ... thank you Sister, Lord but you seem to be stocking up on favours from old Georgia today. I'll be alright now thank you."[/color] She rises unsteadily to her feet and with your help manages to stagger over to a chair opposite the study door. [color=#FF4000]"Oh lord that will take some cleaning before the mistre ..."[/color] You can only watch in sympathy as her eyes well up with tears [color=#FF4000]"I guess there ain't no need fer all that now is there?[/color]" she asks as she turns her brown, tear filled doe eyes upon yours.
Jimmy,Jimmy picks up a book stained with blood at random and notices that it is a diary, little over a century old with torn and mangled pages hanging out. An endpaper identifies it as [i]"The Booke of Thoughts of Ethan Williams, for the Year of Our Lord 1814."[/i] One page seems to stand out, located towards the rear of the diary is the following extract;
[center][url=http://s255.photobucket.com/user/Cearlan/media/Condemned/EthanWilliamsBookeofThoughts_zps91998ec4.png.html][img]http://i255.photobucket.com/albums/hh150/Cearlan/Condemned/EthanWilliamsBookeofThoughts_zps91998ec4.png[/img][/url]
Excerpt from [i]'Ethan William's Booke of Thoughts 1814'[/i][/center]
Henry hands you his gun and gives you instructions about the safety catch.
Henry,You feel half-naked without your gun, but the nicotine from the cigarette seems to be calming your nerves a little. The maid seems to have recovered somewhat and with help from Katherine has managed to reach the chair opposite the study.
Sharon stands staring into the bedroom, at the ruined features of Mrs Hope, her face looking pale and pinched. In fact she looks as though she wants to be sick, though somehow is putting quite a brave face on it. Georgia looks around at Sharon with a look of pity on her face. "Come away there Missy, come away, it'll do you no good looking at her now. She's beyond your help and lies in God's lovin' arms now." Looking at the rest of you she adds "If you are agoin' to go and want to avoid the pollis then I can shore understand that well enough. I suggest you go now. I won't say anything about you all bein' here." She looks pointedly at Sharon, though the actress does not notice, her gaze still transfixed.
Her eyes meet Henry's "Though I would appreciate someone stopping back to help me explain what happened if you get my meaning. Just one thing though, what are you doing here ... it's not as though you could be just passing?"
Playing;
Paris: City of Tears
Horror on the Orient Express
"No, we came here to visit Mrs. Hope," says Katherine. "We wanted both to warn her that she might be in danger, and to ask her some questions. The escaped mental patient that I think is responsible may believe that he is Sermon Bishop, a wizard who lived in the eighteenth century that was ambushed by seven people and entombed in the bridge that was recently struck by lightning. I think he might be out for revenge and looking for the descendants of those seven, and we want to find them before it's too late. So far the only one whose name we know is Phillips."
I look at the book, "Seems we have another name - Williams, Ethan Williams. Unfortunately it gives no other names but does refer to the 'Band'."
I hand the book to Henry in exchange for the gun. For a moment i look at the small firearm, "Thanks - I think. I'm not sure that I can hit anything with it, but if all else fails I supose I can throw it at them". I flash a grin, but I don't feel very jolly with corpse lying next door, an uknown assailant lurking somewhere, the sound of the cops getting ever closer and our own pistol expert about to be taken away from us.
"Henry, it might be an idea to meet up back at the library in a couple of hours?"
Cearlan,I am moving on Thursday so will be without the computer for a while. Please run Jimmy as needed, but please be carefull with him I kinda like the guy :)
We do not see things as they are, we see things as we are.
- Anais Nin
"That sounds good," says Katherine. "I can help with the genealogical research." She turns to Georgia. "Take care of yourself, and I'm sorry for your loss. Take comfort that at least Mrs. Hope is with the Lord in paradise now. If God is willing, I'll come back sometime and explain things in more detail,"
Katherine,Georgia's eyes grow wide at your explanation about Sermon Bishop. [color=#FF4000]"Lord sakes girl ... I mean Sister, Where do people get fool notions like that from? I mean no disrespec' but dead is dead an' you either go to the good Lord or to Satan's domain as far as I hear tells of it."[/color] She looks agitated and slightly embarrassed to continue, but drawing a breath she says in a low voice that only you can hear.
[color=#FF4000]"Between you and me now, girls talk you understand, there were stories that were spoke of ... tales to frighten the kids an' keep us in line, or so I always thought. These stories were only said in hushed whispers, of certain things and certain people's who managed to cheat death. Now my family used to tells of a Bishop from hereabouts who was supposed to be mighty in the ways of evil though it twisted his mind and body fro' what it should be according to God's will if you get my drift. To hear that name in connection with this ... this ..."[/color] she waves her hand about. [color=#FF4000]"... is just too much. I think I'll go visit my sister down New Orleans way where she lives. The Ju-Ju down there is more friendly." [/color]She smiles as she makes this last comment.
In a louder voice she continues; [color=#FF4000]"There are a lot of folk round here called Phillips, Williams too I'm afraid, so sorry I can't help you there."[/color]
Henry Jimmy and Sharon,Henry refuses the proffered book. [color=#0040FF]"I know that this is material evidence but the cops would just either ignore it or file it away somewhere - you take it with you Jimmy, there may be more we can do with it later. As for meeting at the library ..."[/color] He takes Jimmy and Sharon off to one side as he looks at his watch. [color=#0040FF]" ... it's now after four o'clock, so the Library will be probably be closed in a couple of hours, I suggest you drop by the Historical Society and see if Lester has uncovered anything and handing over a handful of dollar bills over to Jimmy. "Jimmy, it seems we are going to be here for a few days so it might be an idea to get some rooms somewhere quiet and unobtrusive, though lodging with a nun might prove difficult to be unobtrusive."[/color] The sound of police sirens are getting closer. [color=#0040FF]"Go now or you won't be able to get away!"[/color]
Jimmy and Sharon,Sharon says, [color=#FF4000]"I'd offer her some of my clothes to try and blend her in but she's not as tall as I am so they may not fit too well, but we girls will sort something out between us. Put your money away Henry ... I can arrange some suitable rooms at the Hotel Miskatonic. but I think you idea about Lester Ropes at the Historical Society is a good one. Jimmy if you drop me and Sister Katherine off at the Hotel, I can sort that out while you speak to Ropes."[/color]
Playing;
Paris: City of Tears
Horror on the Orient Express
"Thank you all the same," says Katherine, "and you have been a help. I'd best go catch up with my friends. Godspeed, Georgia." With that, she takes her leave and goes looking for the others.
Henry,You await the police on the front porch and wave to the departing trio of Katherine, Jimmy and Sharon as they depart. About three or four minutes after they leave you see the first police car screech to a halt in the drive and a stern faced pair of officers get out quickly and their hands immediately go to their guns when they see you.
[color=#FF4000]"OK Mister, no funny business now, who are you and what are you doing here?"[/color]
A second and third car follow the first onto the drive with a further four officers and a detective pile out and suddenly you have three guns trained upon you. The detective holds his hand out in front of him as he steps forward towards the house.
[color=#FF4000]"Easy there boy, we got you covered. We've had a report of some bad business at this house, who's inside and what can you tell us about what's going on?"[/color]
Suddenly the door behind you opens and Georgia comes out on to the porch, limping heavily.
[color=#FF4000]"Now you be leavin' him alone Detective, he's one o' the good guys. It was him that let me out of the ... well I suppose you better be comin' in. It's Missy Hope I'm afraid, she done been killed.[/color]" The sound of hammers being drawn back on the police revolvers is deafening. Georgia limps over to stand in front of you. [color=#FF4000]"I told you he's nothing to do with it. He freed me, looked after me and let me call you boys over - does that sound like a killer to you?"[/color]
Jimmy Katherine and Sharon,You get in your car and pass the police car two blocks away from the Hope residence. You arrive back at the Historical Society and find Lester Ropes still working in the library.
[color=#FF4000]"Look at what I have managed to uncover for you!"[/color] he exclaims as he sees you enter the room. [color=#FF4000]"I have found a long winded rambling book covering many local witchcraft-related events. In this, lies a chapter titled [b]'Testimony Regarding the Disappearance of Sermon Bishop'[/b]: this convoluted and lengthy document is mostly useless, dealing as it does in times, places, and accusations. However, you notice that seven men offer most of the testimony. Their names are Peter Ames, Jeremiah Crane, Jebel Noyes, Elihu Phillips, James Pierce, Allen White, and Ethan Williams."[/color]
Playing;
Paris: City of Tears
Horror on the Orient Express
Henry,The detective ascends the steps but the officers shift positions so that they keep their guns trained on you.
[color=#FF4000]"So Mister, why don't you tell me just who you are and what happened here?"[/color]
Georgia steps in and explains. [color=#FF4000]"I already tolt you. A man broke into the house and done killt Missy hope and hog-tied me up and put me in th' cupboard. if it weren't fer this here man I'd be there still."[/color]
He looks you over and stands the officers down. [color=#FF4000]"It's OK boys, Johnson, you and Albertson come with me, the rest go round the back."[/color] He looks at you once more. [color=#FF4000]"I'm Detective Spillman and it looks like we have some business to talk over here. Craddock, why don't you take the servant here into the kitchen while me 'n' the boys talk out here for a bit."[/color]
Playing;
Paris: City of Tears
Horror on the Orient Express
"Hmm", I scratch my chin thoughtfully as I ponder the information, "More names out of the past. What we need to know now is if they have any modern descendants, and their addresses".
I pull the book, with its ominous bloodstains from my pocket and hand it to Lester, "We were too late for Mrs Hope, our unknown visitor got there before us. Hopefully he found no information to lead him to another unsuspecting soul. But if he did we need to get to them before he does".
"Tell me, is there a telephone book in the building?"
OOC: Not sure about the availability of a telephone book at the time?
We do not see things as they are, we see things as we are.
- Anais Nin
