IC

[Victoria Silverwolf]

"Doctor John Tyner. My friends call me Doc."

Tyner offers his hand.

"I'm trying to track down what happened to Major Ellis. I understand it can get pretty bad out there. I'm sure you've lost some friends. They tell me you were close to Him. Is there anything you can tell me about what he was doing here, and what might have happened to him?"

[Cotton]

Booker says,
"I wouldn't really say I was close with Ellis. I talked to him a lot because it was something to alleviate the boredom. You'd be surprised how much down time you get on a base that's standing down. Also, Ellis had a seemingly endless supply of booze so that did't hurt. As to what happened to him; thats easy. Whatever CIA spy mission he was on wasn't going as he'd hoped, and that was clearly taking its toll on him. He drank a lot to... to cope, I guess. And when he got really deep into his cups he used to talk about this place. This village hidden away in the mountains; he called it 'The Black Valley' or something like that. When I first started talking to him, he used to say that, if he ever found it, he'd like to drone strike to hell. But later, in the last couple weeks before he left, he started talking about how he'd just like to go there, and see a place so old that it wasn't Islam or Christian or anything like that. So, if you ask me, I think he went off to find his special village."

[Victoria Silverwolf]

That sure sounds like Delta Green business. I guess we'll have to check out this Black Valley, whether we like it or not.

"Thanks for the info. That helps a lot. Would you have any idea where this Black Valley might be located? It sounds like a place that would interest a lot of scholars. I'd hate to have the Taliban destroy the place, the way they have with so many historic sites."

I wonder if Alex found any kind of map in that hut.

[Cotton]

Booker replies,
"Ellis made it sound like it was somewhere East of this base, and if he set out to walk there he must not have thought it was too far. Honestly though, if you ask me, if the place ever even existed it was probably destroyed by the Talibs a long time ago. Like you said, it's kinda their thing."

[Victoria Silverwolf]

"I see. Thanks again. I owe you one."

Tyner heads back to the hut to see if Alex found anything. They can't just head out blindly trying to find this Black Valley, but if it's really close enough to walk, somebody should have run into it by now. Maybe there's a detailed map or some aerial photos of the area on the base. Wouldn't hurt to ask, but that can wait.

[maelstrom]

Alex will search through any documents and files he can find around the office, in particular maps. He will also look for any signs of hidden or consealed stores. Knowing Ellis was delta green, he wasn't going to leave anything interesting in plain sight, unless he was careless.

[Mr. Handy]

OOC,Is [b]Bryant[/b] in the motor pool?

[Cotton]

Because you guys split up, we'll assume that this happens while Tyner is still locating and talking to Brooks.

Alex Baxter:
Ellis's hut is completely spartan, if you didn't know better you would assume no one had ever lived in it. Looking underneath the bunk reveals a large canvas bag with the U.S. State Department seal and a “Diplomatic Pouch” logo with warnings against opening it without permission. The bag is locked, but breaking it is an easy task. Looking through the bag you find gun-cleaning supplies, 18 used 9mm shells, a laptop computer that has been shot several times, the somewhat charred remains of a notebook, and a small mountain of empty mouthwash bottles. There doesn't appear to be anything else left in the hut.

Craig Reynolds:
Specialist Bryant is short and wiry, with a shock of red hair and a multitude of freckles. He is currently the only person in the motor pool. You find him resting in a back corner, reading a magazine.

[Mr. Handy]

"Specialist Bryant?" says Craig, extending his hand. "Hi, I'm Craig Reynolds. I'm looking into Major Ellis's disappearance, and I'd like to ask you a few questions about him."

[Cotton]

Bryant will sit up and put down his magazine. He is obviously put on edge by the mention of Ellis.

"Um. Yeah. Go ahead."

[Mr. Handy]

"Do you have any idea why Major Ellis left?" asks Craig. He keeps his tone calm so as to reassure Bryant.

[maelstrom]

Alex picks up the shot up laptop and tries to determine if the hard drive has taken any damage, if its ok, then maybe accessing the drive may be possible.
He looks at the mound of empty mouthwash bottles, shaking his head, either Ellis had some serious dental issues or he wasusing the stuff for something, but what it could it be?
Taking up the charred note book, Alex flicks through the pages to see if there is any useful information remaining in it.

[Victoria Silverwolf]

Tyner walks into the hut and notices the pile of bottles.

"Maybe he hid his booze in those containers. Does it smell like mouthwash or like whiskey?"

[maelstrom]

"Is that the voice of experience Doc"Alex says with a grin. He picks up one bottles and unscrews the cap and takes a sniff.

[Cotton]

Craig Reynolds:
Bryant informs you:
"Well. Uh. When Ellis would get really drunk he would talk about this place on Varjita Mountain, sometimes he'd call it 'The Black Valley' and other times he'd call it 'Kali Ghati'. He talked about this place like it was Shangri-La, so I would guess he'd head there."
Reynolds, you can tell that Bryant seems nervous about something, and you're pretty sure he's not saying everything he knows about Ellis.

Alex Baxter:
The laptop's hard drive has unfortunately been damaged. After spending a few minutes examining it you don't think you'd be able to repair it yourself, but maybe there's someone else on the base who could.
Flipping through the notebook you find a few pages that are still undamaged enough to be readable. The only problem is that whoever it belonged to wrote in a code of some kind. Deciphering it would definitely require a lot of time and patience.

Doctor Tyner will have walked in at about the time you finish examining the laptop and notebook. Upon taking his suggestion you bring the mouthwash bottle to your nose for a whiff, and can tell that it was most definitely filled with alcohol at some point.

[Mr. Handy]

"Can you think of anything else that might be helpful?" asks Craig. "Don't worry, you're not in any trouble, and what you say can remain confidential. We just want to find Major Ellis."

OOC,Do I know the translation for "Kali Ghati?"

[Cotton]

Craig Reynolds:
You know that Kali Ghati means roughly "Black Valley" or "Black Canyon" in Dari.

Bryant hesitates before responding.
"Ellis was crazy. And I don't mean like that weird kid you knew in school. I mean crazy like that homeless guy who's always drunk and shouting on a street corner. One night, a couple weeks ago, Ellis starts telling me about how he doesn't believe in God. I say ok. Tell him that he can live his life however he wants, as far as I'm concerned. But then he starts saying that he doesn't believe in God with a capital "G" because there's more than just one god. He starts talking about how were always surrounded by gods, all the time, and that he wanted to see one just once before he died. He says we can't see them but they're there. We were both pretty drunk at this point and I was freaked out so I just left. I know it sounds crazy, but I think he really meant what he said. So when I heard he'd disappeared I knew he must of gone to that mountain to look for his gods."

[Mr. Handy]

"Thank you," says Craig. "You've been a great help. If you think of anything else, please let me know. I'll leave you to it." If Bryant has nothing further to say, Craig heads back to the hut to rejoin the others.

[Cotton]

Bryant still seems kind of nervous, but is obviously greatly relieved to have gotten that story about Ellis off his chest.

You head back to the hut, and since this was all happening simultaneously you will arrive only a couple minutes after Tyner and Baxter discover that the mouthwash bottles recently held alcohol.

[Mr. Handy]

Craig fills the others in on what he has learned. "'Kali Ghati' simply means Black Valley in Dari, or possibly Black Canyon," he says. "I think Ellis meant the former, as that's what he called it in English. Still, climbing gear would be advisable for when we inevitably go out there. Find anything interesting?"