Play@YSDC

Ian takes the ledger and examines it for a few moments. "Well, I'm no accountant but..." He stops and take a look around before continue. "Apparently, the Henslowe's finances are really bad. Their fortune has been badly hit in recent years, and no effort whatsoever has been done to reconstruct the investments and recover the losses. By the look of it, I would say that... In about 5 years the Henslowe will run out of money."

Clarence looked at the photo, as he listened to the others mentioning the graveyard and the tombstones. "I dare say this photo was taken from the graveyard, and if we go to the graveyard I can pinpoint exactly where his photo was taken from. Maybe then the notes on the back will make sense."

"Yes, that makes sense," says Holly. "The position from which the picture was taken must be point number 1. Then I think we need to imagine lines drawn from 1, to 2, to 3, to 4, then back to 1. They should produce a shape. I'm guessing we'll find the journal buried at the exact center of that shape. We should bring the shovel and flashlight with us."

While Ian studies the ledger found by Father Flanagan in the parlor; Clarence, Christopher and Holly head outside the mansion. While they were inside, it has started raining. Not strongly, at least not yet, but looking at the sky, the impression is that it can only get worse. Under the rain, you walk towards the cemetery. Once you reach the tombstones, Clarence move around a little, looking alternatively at the house and the photo. Then he stops near David Henslowe's tomb, a tall stone cross rising from the muddy ground - that's the spot the photo was taken from.

Holly locates the other three grave markers that correspond to the names on the back of the photo and walks from each one to the next in order, counting the paces and returning to the starting point. "It's almost a square," she says. "If my hunch is right, we need to dig here." She measures the distance to the center of the shape and indicates the spot in open ground between two tombstones.

OOC,The tombstones 6, 8, 15, and 13 correspond to the corners of the square. The center is between 7 and 14.

Christopher Fontana

"That's great work, nicely figured out Dr Chastain and Mr Lanalor" he looks up as the brooding clouds .. "I suppose we should be digging before we get too wet!" he offers the spade he carried from the study... "Normally I'd oblige.. but this damn bite might open up again..." he says apologetically, indicating his bitten shoulder.

Ian quickly re-read the last entries of the ledger to see if his not making any mistakes then closes it. "Father, it looks like it's starting to rain, and the others just went outside. Should we go after them and see what they have found?" He says, dropping the ledger on the table.

"Well, I thought of it," says Holly. "I suppose I should do the honors." She takes the shovel and begins to dig in the spot she indicated. While she might ordinarily allow Clarance to do the digging instead, she is young and strong enough to do the work herself, and she is excited to unearth what might be buried here.

Ian goes outside the house, looking for his companions, finding them in the manor cemetery, with Holy digging. "Gravedigging... *sigh*... Yeah, why not?" And joins his partners at the graveyard.

You start digging in the spot identified by Holly, taking turns while Christopher holds the flashlight. The rain gets heavier, and heavier again, so that after a little while you're digging under a downpour. The task is not easy, but after about half an hour of hard work, you have managed to dig about fifty centiemeters deep - but still haven't found anything of interest.

Cleaning the water from his eyes and starting feeling disappointed and tired, Ian says to the others: "I don't know... this is not taking us anywhere. What about this twine you found? It looks like it's a measure of some kind, doesn't it? It has five ink dots, and we have five reference points in the photo, making the square. If we stretch the twine along this square, would the distance between each ink dot match with the distance between each tomb? Because if it does, this knots could mark the place we have to dig. What do you think?"

Christopher Fontana

"That's good thinking, I'll go get the string." Christopher heads back to the dilapidated mansion, glad of some small respite from the rain. Returning a few minutes later he starts to unravel the string... "So the first name was, Grant.. Henslowe"he stands by the tombstone "So if you take this and make your way over there..." he offers the ball of string to Ian indicating the monument carved with the names 'John and Mary Cockeridge'. "I'll hold this end."

"Yes, great idea!" says Holly. "We should also set up a tarp or something over the spot where we'll dig when we find it."

Christopher and Ian move around with the twine, circling it around the tombs. There are four knots on the twine, at the distance of several feets from one another. There are also five areas marked with blue ink. Probably, the twine should be placed in a specific way - the question is, how?

"Actually, if the list behind the photo starts at 2, I would say the first spot must be David Henslowe's tomb, as Lanalor has established it as the place where the photo was taken from." Ian says to Fontana. "Maybe the tomb has any kind of mark or peculiarity, like something to tie the twine."

He then turns to Holly. "If we're going to dig any further, that's probably a good idea."

Clarence wades in the hole, and rests on the spade. He rests to catch his breath. The water has risen past his shoes. "The tarp is a fine idea, but we'd better hurry."

"I'll go look in the sheds for a tarp and some poles to hold it up," says Holly. She heads off.

"I'll see what I can do to help Dr. Chastain," Father Flanagan says as he follows Holly. "I'd rather not actively participate in the desecration of a gravesite if I can help it. He gives the group an apologetic smile as he leaves.

Holly and Father Flanagan explores a couple of sheds abandoned in the mansion grounds. There's not much useful inside, mostly ruined tools and a persistent smell of mold. You manage to find an old tarp, though, worn out and perforated - but better than nothing at all. You take it and head back to the graveyard.

Back at the graveyard, the three men take a closer look at the tombstones. You discover that the ones noted in the back of the photo - plus the one where the photo was taken from - present traces of blue ink.

Holly looks around alertly as they return, already all too aware of the possible presence of alligators.

OOC,Sense Trouble roll (no points spent; [b]Father Flanagan[/b] has far more than I do, so I'll hold onto my points in case I'm not around him at some later point): [dice]0[/dice]