In Leagues of Adventure the characters are all middle and upper class Victorians who go on wild adventures in response to wagers, handsome payments from rich patrons, invitations from adventuring leagues, or
simply out of sheer boredom. Opportunities abound to thwart dastardly deeds, discover lost cities, mingle with new cultures, and plumb the darkest depths of the globe.
Nellie pauses in the doorway to take a look at the yard, trying to picture the events of a couple of evenings ago as related by Jacobs. Stepping into that yard Nellie watches Wellington as he too scrutinises the courtyard, pausing to peer at objects through his looking-glass.
Nellie thinking: The article said that the horse was found in the alley, perhaps something can be found from that location and I wonder where the nearest sewer access is? That was the 'basilisk's' point of egress from the basement, perhaps whatever killed the horse likewise preferred to keep to the tunnels below the streets.
Nellie then steps carefully past the busy Welington intent on giving the alleyway her attention. Stopping at the gates she looks left and right, paying attention to the floor and walls of the alleyway, also looking for a grating or manhole cover.
Nellie uses her Perception,Perception(8) [dice]0[/dice]
Suddenly the Inn's small yard and the alleyway become a hive of activity as our intrepid investigators hither and thither in the search for something out of the ordinary to confirm or refute the story of Jacobs. Wellington, magnifying glass in hand, bends to the occasional suspicious mark, but in most cases he obviously finds little as evidenced by the shaking of head and the clucking of tongue.
Wellington,It is a simple matter to identify the barrel that Jacobs had claimed to have been rolling on the night in question, as its apparent abandonment in mid roll is obvious. Further evidence of Jacobs presence at the gates can be ascertained by a discarded leather tobacco pouch bearing his initials being found just within the yard as if abandoned during a hasty withdrawal. Both the position of the empty barell and the dropped pouch would appear to lead into the alleyway, where it would seem Nellie has found something else.
Miss Bly, taking a more logical path, heads straight through the open gateway to the alleyway beyond. It appears that she quickly spots her target as she halts, takes a notebook from her purse and with a much used pencil stub begins to write.
Nellie,Your consinderation of [b]Jacobs' [/b]tale of that night, leads you straight to the alley. There you find two things of interest;
1) There is indeed a sewer cover several feet away from the gates which bears evidence of recent disturbance. Its cover having been pulled aside allowing access to the sewers below. It is impossible to tell whether this cover has been lifted from above or pushed from below, but filthy marks on the cobbles would deem to show that someone or something had recently used this access point as a means of exiting the sewers.
2) Just a few yards from the sewer entrance is a pile of animal dung.
Klevendon, not to be outdone in the investigative stakes, rushes butterfly like between the detective and the journalist in hope of finding something they may have missed.
Klevendon,None of the barells show evidence of anything untoward. However you will have noticed Wellington's discovery of the leather tobacco pouch and come to the same conclusions as the detective and obviously Miss Bly as to the alleyways importance indeed you may have spotted the animal dung before her. If only Roxborough was outside with you he may be able to identify it.
Of Roxborough there is no sign of his presence outside and it is quickly concluded that he is finding it difficult to leave his, several, plates. Yet there is no worry as to his actual whereabouts as sooner or later his natural inquisitiveness will overcome his appetite.
We do not see things as they are, we see things as we are.
- Anais Nin
Wellington leans down to pick up the pouch and pockets it. He strides over to Miss Bly and beckons her attention with a harrumph as he overlooks the alley.
Nellie looks over to Wellington as he asks her for her observations about the alley.
"Two things immediately stood out to me, Mr. Wellington."Nellie half turns and points to the man-hole nearby. "That probably leads to the sewers someone has opened the cover, recently and in some haste I would imagine as it hasn't been replaced properly. An entry point to the sewers would appear to link the missing Cabbie and the dreadful death of Mr. Higgins.
Nellie then points to the pile of dung
"I've not had a look at that but from here I can tell it wasn't deposited by the dead horse, totally the wrong texture. So, if not from the horse from what?"
Nellie thinking: I wonder if Wellington will add these 'clues' up the same as me? The sewers make a good way to travel unnoticed, especially if you have a body to transport. Maybe the cabbie's assailant arrived and departed via the sewers, I would definitely think they left in that manner. The dung is interesting, it's out of place and therefore I would hope important. Getting it identified will be important I have no doubt. If [b]Roxborough[/b] is unable to identify it then [b]Professor Atwood[/b] might prove invaluable.
Roxborough follows the others into the courtyard and then into the alley a couple of minutes later.
Sorry about that, just settling the tab with the good landlord. Now, what have we all discovered in my absence? he takes a quick glance around, quickly taking in the alleyway.
OOC: I'll take the average for perception as I'm just taking a quick look - if something takes my eye or if something is pointed out to me then I will roll appropriately
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
"Some astute observations, Miss Bly. Would you be able to extrapolate any theories or conclusions from them?"
Wellington steps over to the dung and crouches beside it. He takes out his pen knife and slices a section loose. He raises the knife up to his face and for a moment you think he might put it in his mouth, but he instead smells it, before carefully scrutinising it through his glass.
"It is the things we carelessly leave behind that tell most about us, Miss Bly. This piece of waste might just prove to be one of our more indicative clues."
Priest,Can I roll intelligence or some other stat to deduce whether the dung is from a carnivore or a herbivore? And more importantly, from a young or an adult?
"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."
Roxborough,
Following a large belch of intestinel satisfaction, your eyes are immediately drawn to the small pile of dung that is seemingly attracting your colleagues attention. By Jove, you think, is Wellington so hungry that he is about to eat a small potion? With a sigh of relief you watch as he simply sniffs at it then peers at it through his ever present magnifying glass.
You have difficulty seeing anything to get excited about, it being hardly large enough to have come from a creature of any merit, or fodder. Even from a distance you are able to discern that whatever its species of origin, this tiny pile of animal dung came from no beast you are aware of.
We do not see things as they are, we see things as we are.
- Anais Nin
Wellington! step carefully dear man! There may well be tracks or other spoor there. Whatever left that behind would have been stationary whilst it did so - any prints or the like will be set deeper and more likely still be visible.
Roxborough moves forwards slowly, examining the ground as he does so.
Roxborough thinking: bloody imbeciles! So bloody keen to get at the obvious that they've probably destroyed all the other tracks and evidence! Still, [b]Peter Roxbourough[/b] isn't just any old hunter, if there's anything to track here, I'll find it
OOC: Tracking: [dice]0[/dice]
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
Wellington raises an annoyed eyebrow at Roxborough.
"My dear man, do you honestly think that I have not the wherewithal to think of such implications myself? Indeed, if my faculties are this woefully praised, I might as well retire from this investigation."
Intelligence*2 roll (8!!! successes),[dice]0[/dice]
"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."
Nellie steps to one side to allow Roxborough through. Looks on aghast as Wellington gets rather closer than she would dream of doing, to investigate the droppings.
"I agree Mr Wellington this... spoor might allow us to identify whatever the assailant might be. Whether this is related to the case we have been charged with, remains to be seen of course. The closeness of an entry into the sewers may be indicative but could also be coincidental. Some nice tracks that we can compare would be nice. Nellie smiles.
Nellie steps to one side to allow the men to go about their tasks... mildly exasperated by the squabbling.
Nellie looks further along the alley
Nellie thinking: If we can't find anything here we should check the whole alley for tracks...
Gentlemen, is that any way for a person of quality to behave? To continue quickly and mayhap forestall fisticuffs;
Wellington,you have noticed a quantity of animal bone in the feces, of what animal you cannot tell without subjecting it to a proper analytical examination. Also you have noticed that the iron rungs of the sewer ladder bear scratches indicative of recent use.
Roxborough,Alas! your fears have been proved correct there are no tracks to be found, if they had existed they have long since disapeared. However you do notice that close to the dung deposit there are indications on the cobblestones of having been struck repeatedly by a sharp, pointed object. Possibly Jacobs' 'pitchfork'. Along with the others you spot that whatever had been here had either arrived from or exited into the sewer, as the iron rungs of the ladder show scratch marks indicative of recent use.
Klevenden,Apart from a nose full of noxious aromas, the iron rungs of the sewer ladder show scratches indicative of recent use.
Miss Bly,As the others you too notice the scratches on the sewer ladder. Seeing it as confirmation of your thoughts on the sewers use as a means of either arrival or departure. Alas, regular use of the alleyway has removed any sign of whatever may have been here on the night in question.
We do not see things as they are, we see things as we are.
- Anais Nin
"Indeed it has!" Roxborough moves to examine the marks on the steps and compares them to the marks on the cobblestones, wondering if they could have been caused by the same thing.
OOC: Tracking roll[dice]0[/dice]
He then moves on to the dung - picking a small piece up between his fingers, smelling it, crumbling it between his fingers - checking it's consistency and freshness. He takes a handkerchief from a pocket and places a decent size sample into it, folds the handkerchief and places it in a bag. He then takes another handkerchief and wipes his hands clean.
OOC: Tracking roll[dice]1[/dice]
Yeah, well, sometimes nothin' can be a real cool hand.
Nellie steps over to where Klevendon stands and joins him in looking at the scuff marks on the ladder leading to the sewers. Nellie hastily covers her nose and mouth with her dainty embroidered handkerchief to try and ward off the stench eminating from below.
"It certainly looks like the lader has been used recently; however we shouldn't jump to any conclusions. Those marks might have been left by someone, perhaps a police constable investigating the disappearance, for instance."
Nellie thinking: [i]something[/i] indeed.... not many creatures can use a ladder however... it's a shame we don't have any tracks to compare with the ones from earlier.
"We are quite close still to the Museum, I wonder if the sewer systems between there and here are connected?"
Klevendon wishes he had thought to offer his handkerchief to Nellie; he remembers that it is not as clean as it should be--he had a good blow into it before entering the museum, and thanks the gods.
"The smell is most distressing, Miss Bly, only a tough man like Roxborough could explore down there." Klevendon apologises to Nellie: "I am most certainly not a 'tough man'!"
"Explore down there!"Nellie says through her handkerchief. "Surely it would not be wise to explore or to try and track anything through the sewers!" She exclaims, wondering if that was what the impetuous Roxborough would plan to do.
Reaching out Nellie places a hand lightly on Roxborough's arm as if to deter him from diving headlong into the sewer.
"We should not contemplate taking any actions in haste; one man has already lost his life and another is missing." Nellie doesn't add that they haven't made a firm connection between the events here and back at the Natural History Museum. "If indeed the bas.. whatever it is we seek, makes it home beneath our feet in the London sewer tunnels, then I fear we shall have to venture there to confront it. However now is not the time. We need to deduce exactly what our quarry is and make plans accordingly."
Nellie looks to each of her companions, hoping that their earlier actions won't push them to make rash decisions.
"We should take the sample of that Mr Roxborough has collected to Professor Attwood in the hope that he can identify from whence it came. The other prong of the investigation is to determine the whoever sent the egg to Professor Hawthorne".
Nellie steps back, away from the manhole.
"Please, re-seal the cover and let us be about our tasks."
Whatever the creature was that dropped this was certainly a carnivore. However, the size of the droppings and the dimensions of the animal remains within suggest a smaller animal, not one wont to attack a horse or human, let alone slay them in such a manner. I indeed agree with Miss Bly advice. We continue the investigation as planned and meet up for tea.
He nods at Klevendon.
"Come along, old boy, we've a gentleman's club to investigate."
"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."
