Scene Six: Naushau Village

[Priest]

The American, at least you presume he’s American from the much worn college football jersey he wears, reaches over and shakes Tony’s offered hand, “James Axelby at your service”.
As soon as he speaks you realize that the only thing American about him is the jersey, he speaks with a British accent.
“Whisky, good choice a proper blokes drink unlike the rice water the nips produce”
He proceeds to pour out generous measures of the amber fluid, and pushes the glasses across the stained and scarred counter towards you.
“Good to see westerners…Americans I guess?” he eyes your clothing, “We don’t get many visitors here…and them we do don’t stay long”
He turns to Bridget, “Yeah I’m the owner alright. Won this place in a poker game” he looks around at the lobby, “Now all I need is to find a buyer and I can leave this land of never-never and return to dear old Blighty, Liverpool to be precise”

[Mr. Handy]

"Cheers!" says Tony, raising his glass in a salute before knocking it back. "Speaking of visitors, we're looking for a friend of ours named Veronica Chadwick. She would have arrived about five days ago." He shows James the photo.

[Priest]

Axelby picks up the photo and looks at it, “Sure, Miss Chadwick. She booked a room for a week stayed one night. Went off the next day without her luggage”
He places the photo back on the counter and slides it back to Tony.
“Pity, nice looking girl. Bit strange though, but then aint they all?”
With that he pulls a glass from below the counter, breathes on it and wipes it with a cloth before pouring himself a more than generous amount from a bottle marked with several Japanese letters.

Paul Wellington,(Dr V), The letters spell out a brand name, one you've never heard of.

[Mr. Handy]

"Do you still have her luggage?" asks Tony.

[BenTheRat]

Ted Nelson
.
"So was that about 5 days ago?" Ted asks. "Do you remember if she said where she was heading?"

[Priest]

Axelby looks up at Tony, “Sure I still have her luggage. See the sign? If it’s still here after 90 days then the management, me, reserves the rights to ownership”
He reaches beneath the counter produces a pack of Japanese cigarettes, takes one and lights it. “Nip fags, taste like perfumed shit, but there’s little choice” he indicates the open pack, “Help yourselves, unless you have something better”
As Ben Nelson speaks, Axelby blows a thin stream of tobacco smoke upwards to the ceiling where a fan hiccups through its revolutions.
“Yeah five days ago. She left with Ferret, the Aussie who styles himself as a guide,. Where was she heading? Where they all go I guess - to the forest.”
He takes another drag on the cigarette, realizing he has your attention, he continues, “All of the westerners who come here stay at my place, then go up to the forest and that’s that. The locals say that there are demons that live in the woods, and that they call to people from all over the world to come to the forest, but once they actually get there the demons make them kill themselves. It’s rubbish, of course, the kind of thing these heathens all believe. But it’s true that people kill themselves in the forest - every year they find bodies up in the trees - every year dozens, some years hundreds of bodies. The local authorities try to downplay it, of course, but everybody in this stinking place knows all about it. Your girl…” he nods at the photo of Veronica, “…came here and I’m sorry to have to be the one to tell you this, but she either up and done for herself out there in the green, or she’s wandering around waiting for the mood to strike before she does and no mistake. If you don’t believe me you should check out my luggage room. I got a room full of luggage that people left. You wouldn’t believe some of the stuff folks have left. Anyway, I never go in the forest and you shouldn’t either. People get lost too, every year. Compasses don’t work none, and there are paths that just take you round and round in circles”

[Mr. Handy]

"I believe you," says Tony, "but I wouldn't mind a look at the luggage room all the same. We'd also like to talk to Ferret. Maybe he can take us where he took Veronica. We might still catch up with her before it's too late."

[BenTheRat]

Ted Nelson
.
Ted pulls out a pack of American Cigarettes, "maybe these will taste a bit better." He takes out one and slides the pack across the counter, then lights up. "So you said she rented a room, can we take a quick look in there, it might give us a clue as to where she was headed. And where can we find Ferret, I think it would be worth it to hire him."

[Priest]

(posted in the absence of kabukiman)
Francis leans on the counter. All though tired from the journey, Axelby's talk of demons has excited his writers curiosity,
"Demons in the forest? Tell me more...Oh and do you have a beer by chance rather than whiskey or saki?"

**********

Axelby shrugs and pulls a bottle off a shelf behind the counter, "Beer. Well almost its chinese, well technicaly I suppose you'd call it German as it comes from the former colony of Tsingtao. Not the best but okay if your thirsty I guess" he pops the top and pours it into a beerglass. The liquid looks insipid and yellowish with no head to speak of, he pushes the glass towards the writer. "Theres not much to add. Its rubbish anyway nothing but a ghost story to frighten the natives. These superstitious locals will believe anything, after all they think the bloody emperors divine"

He turns to Tony, "Sure you can look at her luggage if you like. The Ferret comes and goes, but if I see him I'll tell him you would like a word with him"

He looks at Ted and notes his almost empty glass, "Another? Yeah you're welcome to have a look in the room, but it has been cleaned out so I doubt you'll find anything in there."
Looking the group up and down, he asks, "So why the interest? And I take it you'll all be requiring rooms. I can fit you all in, but some of you will have to double up so as the lady can have a room to herself. I charge a nominal fee for the rooms of 10¥ per night and if you want me to store your luggage that costs another 1¥ a day. Of course the usual rule applies any luggage left unclaimed after 90 days etc"

[Mr. Handy]

"Like I said, we're friends of Veronica's," explains Tooy. "In the last few weeks, she's been acting very strangely, sending letters to her family cutting off all ties, and we're worried about her. From what you've just told us, it seems we have good reason to worry. We were able to track Veronica's path, and it led us here. And yeah, we'd like some rooms."

[jbibblesworth]

Bridget listens raptly to their host's recounting of the forest's true forest, her eyes wide and unblinking. It's several minutes before she realizes that she's actively jotting down shorthand in her notebook.

'Cripes! This isn't simply a scoop, this is the story of a lifetime!' she thinks excitedly. Her thoughts turn to the The Eagle[/b] and the cub reporter actively researching Japanese mythology. She'd never considered herself superstitious (long talking-to's and cross pastors during Sunday School in her youth had long since convinced her of her own skepticism) but odds were odds. Whether Axelby preferred to stay comfortably pickled and deny that anything beyond depression and a travel budget was at work, the same explanation wouldn't float for Bridget.

"Sorry for being forward," she says, smiling demurely. "but do you happen to have a telephone that I could call back to the States with? I'd pay you for the charges of course."

She replaces her notepad and drums her fingers excitedly across the bartop.

"And we'll take rooms." she states flatly, popping open her hangbag. "All of us."

[Priest]

Axelby clamps his cigarette between his lips and turns to take a selection of keys from a pegboard on the wall to the right side of the counter. As he does so he slides a registration book across the counter towards you.
"Phone? Yeah there is a phone though you may find the imperial telephone services somewhat limited" he nods at a almost ancient looking unit mounted on the wall near the door.

Handing out keys he nods at Ted and Tony, "Come with me and you can have a look at Miss Chadwicks luggage"...

***************

The room labelled 'Left Luggage' turns out to be little more than a converted broom cupboard on the second floor. Axelby opens it with a key, but the lock looks old and hardly secure. Inside a number of shelves are stacked high with pieces of luggage.
Axelby points at two small valises close to the door, "Your girl, left them you are welcome to take a look but I doubt you'll find anything of interest. Unless your into looking at ladies smalls" with a curt laugh he steps to one side allowing you access.
As he said there is nothing of interest within the cases. However it would seem that her intended stay was not going to be of any length given the amount of clothing contained within.

Ted and Tony,Please make luck Rolls +10%

[BenTheRat]

Ted Nelson
.

Luck roll,target = 55+10 = 65%, [dice]0[/dice]

.
Ted snorted at the response that we wanted to look through Veronica's 'smalls.' Like that's what he enjoyed doing or something twisted. But he did stumble on something of interest.

[jbibblesworth]

Bridget gives an appreciatory nod and picks up the phone's receiver in an attempt to reach The Eagle[/b] and see what, if anything, their research staff was able to uncover. She also decides it wouldn't be the world's worst idea, given the forest's ominous reputation, to leave them with the hotel's contact information and Mr. Alexby's name.

[Mr. Handy]

Tony hopes Ted has better luck, as he can't find anything. He takes care to avoid looking at Veronica's undergarments; he thinks of her as a daughter.

[DrVendetta]

Paul looks around at the other items in the room trying to pick out any luggage labels to see where all of the people may have come from. As he is looking Paul ask "So when was the last time someone came in prior to Veronica? Do these people come at any type of regular intrevals, right before full moons or any other crazy type time?"

[Priest]

Ted Nelson (Ben),Amongst the collection of garments you can feel something. To your touch it feels like an arm a child's arm cold and lifeless. With a curse you pull the clothing away from it to uncover...Not a childs arm but that of a doll like the one that you had dreamed of back in Arkham. As you pull, it rises towards you, opens its mouth to reveal long sharp teeth and screams "Beware". [b]Sanity Rol[/b]l please 0/1

******************

Bridget Barrett (jB),
You lift the reciever and after what seems minutes of crackling, a voice speaks in Japanese, "Hai"

[BenTheRat]

Ted Nelson,
.
Ted pulls the doll out of the suitcase and seeing it, he throws it back down into the clothes and slams the lid down. "What the hell damnation is that?"
.

ooc,not sure if others can see that or not, if not you might want to explain that. And that was luck?? sanity: [dice]0[/dice]

[jbibblesworth]

Bridget pinches the bridge of her nose in frustration. Of course. How was she expecting to communicate her intent to the operator? Rookie mistake.

Spoiler:

Luck Roll - 50% - 1d100 → [37] = (37) Success

"Kon-Konnichiwa. Er..." she falters momentarily before trying her luck. "Do you speak English by chance?"

[Priest]

Axelby turns to answer Paul's question. "People are coming any time without ryme or reason. The last people here were about three weeks before Miss Chadwick. Peterson, or something like that, Dutch couple." he waves at a collection of green leather suitcases, "Thats their stuff still there"

Suddenly Ted's actions cause Axelby and the rest of you to jump.