IC: Ch 1. Welcome to M.A.P.S.

[BenTheRat]

Location: Boston Museum of Art
Date: March 20, 1921, 7:00 PM

OOC,I'm going to make this generic for everyone, feel free to post your version.

As you step in front of the Museum on this muggy March night, you wonder if you are doing the right thing. It's March 20th, 1921. The Red Sox are in spring training. You wonder if they'll do better than the 5th place finish they had last year. Figures as soon as they sold Ruth, he becomes a sensation in New York. Damn bad luck. And the heat, what is up with the heat. It got almost to 80 today and the news is saying it will break all heat records for March tomorrow.

You saw an add in the Boston Globe. It wasn't much and you aren't even sure why you read it. Its not like you usually read the personals. You didn't read any of the others, but this one caught your eye, like you were drawn to it.

"Ever wonder about the strangeness that goes bump in the night. The knowledge most men never dare to admit exists. Come take a peak behind the shadows, into a world that will change your life. 7 PM, March 20th, The Museum of Fine Arts on Huntington. Around the back, room 105b."

You notice most of the lights are off and the museum appears to be locked up. As you make you way around to the back of the building you see a small stair that leads to the basement of the museum. A dingy small sign with the numbers '105b' visible in the dim light.

You descend the stairs and you hesitate in front of the door. It is worn and weathered and the door handle is rusted and unkempt. There are words painted on the door that are barely legible in the dark. "Dr. Karl Chambers: Do Not Disturb". It looks old and has probably been there for years.

A light is visible through the cracks in the door frame that doesn't quite fit. Shadows can be seen moving about inside the room.

All players,This is where you jump in, feel free to fill in what led you from reading the paper to drawing you to this doorway at the bottom of a stair in the back of the Art Museum. And what you do next.

[Yigcredible]

Harrison took a deep drag on his cigarette as he stared down the stairs to the basement. He felt like a sap for doing as the personal ad instructed, but he had hit hard times... Well, harder times than usual. He owed his publisher another "weird tale" in less than a month but he hadn't yet written word one on his typewriter. For some reason, the words had dried up in his brain, and no matter how much he saturated himself with cheap liquor, Harrison could not break free of the block. He had to do something to trigger some inspiration. He had ransacked the library, going over books on cults and mysticism, but nothing was working. Truly desperate, he had seen the ad in the newspaper while drinking his morning coffee (with some Irish whiskey mixed in) and decided to see if this was anything more than horse manure.

He walked down the basement stairs and flicked his cigarette over his shoulder. He knocked on the basement door and hoped that this wacky Dr. Chambers actually remembered his own ad. The "Do Not Disturb" sign seemed to suggest otherwise. Then again, how inviting could a museum basement be?

[BenTheRat]

Harrison,As soon as you knock you hear a large crash on the other side of the door. This is followed by an annoyed females voice, [color=#0040FF]"Come in it's open."[/color]

[Occigon]

Charles sighed as he made his way towards the museum. There was really no reason for him to be here - but lately, reasons to do anything at all had been lacking. The advertisement had seemed strangely compelling and held out a vague wisp of hope of something that would jolt him out of the relentless ennui that he had been feeling for months now.

It occurred to him that this could be dangerous - the ad might have been a coded message pertaining to a criminal enterprise of some sort. The idea of danger did not seem to perturb him, however - again the ennui. As he reached the top of the stairs leading down to the door, he saw someone at the bottom knocking at the door. "Good evening," he called. "I imagine we're here for the same reason?"

[BenTheRat]

As Charles started down the stair, he sees someone else at the bottom of the stair knocking on the door.

Charles,feel free to edit your above post.

[Yigcredible]

Startled by the crash on the other side of the door, Harrison almost doesn't hear the invitation to enter. He puts his hand on the knob and is about to turn it when he hear someone speak behind him. Again surprised, he lets out a curse under his breath as he looks up at the stranger. "Well, I ain't here to fix the furnance," he grumbles over his shoulder. Without further introduction, he opens the basement door and walks inside.

[BenTheRat]

As Harrison opens the door and Charles comes down the stairs, they can see into a small room with a desk and one other door on the back wall.
A lady is putting some boxes up on a stack of another set of boxes. The whole room appears to be hastily piled with boxes and crates.



On the ground next to her is a wooden crate marked "Africa" on it. The lid has been knocked loose. Probably the most likely sound of the crashing noise Harrison heard.

"Sorry about the mess, Dr. Chambers said to expect visitors tonight, but to be honest, I didn't believe him." Then in a deeper voice she continues, "Clean out the sitting room for our guests." Then back to her normal voice. "Can't put stuff in storage or his room, so in my office it goes. Oh how rude, I'm Ms. Patton. The doctors secretary. Please come in."

OOC,Both of you make spot hidden checks.

[Occigon]

Spot Hidden,skill is 25% [url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4172330/]Spotted![/url]

[BenTheRat]

Charles,You notice what looks like small balls with fuzz inside the crate that broke open. Let me know if you want to look further.

[Occigon]

Charles steps forwards and "stumbles". "Shoelace," he mutters apologetically, kneeling to "retie" his laces and trying to catch a better glimpse of what's in the box.

[BenTheRat]

Charles,make a sneak check

[Occigon]

Rat,Sneak 10%; [url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4172726/]rolled 59[/url],failed

[Papa Gateau]

Sonny decsends the stairs and pauses, listening to the muffled voices coming from the other side of the door. He taps lightly on the door before opening it and stepping through.

He quickly surveys the scene and seeing a women in the room, tips his hat to her "Good evening, ma'am" and then nods to the other 2 men in the room "and gents".

He quietly shuts the door behind him, places his trumpet case by the wall "Can I help you with those boxes, ma'am?"

[BenTheRat]

Charles was kneeling by the box to get a better look inside. He is trying to be subtle, but that was never his strong suit.
He reaches for the box lid to move it aside. Another young man walks into the office, and this distracts Ms. Patton for a second, and Charles luck holds.

He picks up one of the fuzzy balls. Its about the size of his hand, and as he turns it over in his hand he realizes its a human head. A shrunken human head.


You had seen some in pictures before but never in person, or held one so close.

Charles,make a Sanity 0/1 check. If you pass you lose nothing, all is good. If you fail you lose 1 point, still no big deal but it pretty much disgusts you. Role-play appropriately.

As Sonny walks in and speaks, Ms. Patton seems to have been caught off guard. You had seen this before outside of the speakeasies, and your own neighborhood. But you keep hoping things will change. It's only for a second, then she seems to snap out of it. "Why, what a delightful accent. Where are you from sir?" No need to help with the boxes. Now the doctor will have to deal with them. Let me show you gentlemen to the lounge."

That is when she turns and notices Charles holding the shrunken head in his hand. "Oh my, put that down, doctor Chambers wouldn't want you going through his things."

[Papa Gateau]

Sonny steps further into the room, trying to get a better look at what the man on the floor is holding.

He speaks whilst moving "I'm from New Orleans ma'am and only recently arrived in Boston. My name is Sonny Goodman, I'm a musician, a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

[Occigon]

Sanity Check,[url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4172913/]Sanity Check for 55 passed[/url]

Charles drops the shrunken head back into the box, muttering a vague apology and brushing his hand vigorously against his coat sleeve. Seeing Sonny looking at him, he shakes his head in warning.

"Into the lounge then?" he says, moving towards the door.

[BenTheRat]

Ms. Patton walks over and puts the lid back on the box and stacks it with some of the other. "Follow me," she says as she opens the door at the rear of the room.

As the 3 men follow they enter into a hall, that ends just to the left. A door opposite the one you just exited has the word office on it.

To the right the hall goes about 25 feet where you see a curtain hanging across the hall. On the same wall as the office door is an opening. There are more crates and boxes lining the hall. There are names of dozens of countries written on the boxes. Africa, Egypt, China, Japan, Brazil, Venezula, Peru, S.Africa, Congo, Ukraine, Antartica, and more.

Ms.Patton leads you into the opening where you see a plush lounge.


There is a bar that seems fully stocked (despite prohibition). There are several portraits up on the walls. Most are young men and women. Names and dates are below them. You don't recognize any of them though. There is also a humidor by the bar.

Besides the entry way, there is another entrance on the wall that would lead to the "Office". It has a cheap folding door that slides to one side, and it doesn't seem to close all the way.

"Please make yourself comfortable, and have a drink or smoke. I have some water boiled and can offer coffee or tea also. Dr. Chambers said to expect a few more, so it will be a few more minutes." Ms. Patton says, then walks over to the bar where a small kettle sits.

[Papa Gateau]

Sonny walks over to the bar and pours himself a healthy measure of bourbon. He takes a sip "That's a mighty fine sipping whiskey" he beams.

He slowly walks around the room, taking in the decor and portraits on the wall, as he casually angles towards to the office 'door', adjusting his trajectory to allow him the best view through the gap where it doesn't quite close.

[Yigcredible]

Harrison follows Ms. Patton wordlessly, visibly perturbed that she did not expect anyone to actually come tonight. He is also somewhat put off by the unexpected appearance of a Negro, but other than that, he doesn't say or do much. He keeps his fedora and coat on as the woman leads them into the lounge, where his eyes widen and a smile forms upon his lips. Even before he gets permission from Patton to do so, he heads over to the bar and starts pouring himself some whiskey, neat.

He takes a big sip and then throws his hat casually on one of the sofas. He plops down next to it as he looks over the two men with him. "Well, boys, what's the rumpus? What do you think are the chances that this Doc Chambers fella is full of applesauce?"

[BenTheRat]

Sonny,You see this on the other side of the folding door: [img]http://imageshack.us/a/img199/4421/py0q.png[/img]