Chapter 3: Hey! Mr. Trumpet Man

Boston, August 1928. The jazz age is in full swing, but there’s one trumpet player whose music does a lot more than merely inspire people to dance. An encounter in a nightclub will lead to the investigators being plunged into a sanity-shattering chain of events while they try to prevent greater catastrophe.

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Re: Chapter 3: Hey! Mr. Trumpet Man

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OOC,You'll have to move to the building if you want to hear anything, you're too far away now.
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Re: Chapter 3: Hey! Mr. Trumpet Man

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"Benny should stay here with the cab, keeping the motor running," suggests Alice. "We may need to get out of here in a hurry. The rest of us can then get closer and try to find out what's happening."
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Re: Chapter 3: Hey! Mr. Trumpet Man

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Benny nods. “You best be careful folks. I want to collect my fare!”

The heroes leave the cab and move quietly towards the garage. There is no-one outside; it seems that the gang are not expecting any visitors. The companions find that they can move behind the trucks which face out of the garage. At the rear of the garage is a wide room, a depot perhaps, which faces onto an alley.

The door to the depot is open, and the windows which face the alley have drawn blinds, but these are old and ragged, so it will be possible to see and hear what goes on inside. Daring souls might even try entering through the door…
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Re: Chapter 3: Hey! Mr. Trumpet Man

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"I think these guys might work for Archie 'The Boss' Bonato,'" Alice whispers as she creeps closer to a window so she can hear and see what's going on inside the depot.
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Re: Chapter 3: Hey! Mr. Trumpet Man

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Everyone looking inside can see two of the men from the car tying Turner to a chair in the room, passing the ropes around his body so that his arms are free. He looks apprehensive, and is sweating freely.

“Wot you want?” he says “I dint do nuthin to you gentlemen”.

“Shut up” says the third man from the car. The investigators recognize him as the gunman. He is holding Turner’s trumpet and is regarding him coldly.

As the other two men finish their tying, a fifth man walks in. He is a large, powerful looking man in his forties, a little fat around the belly but still tough-looking, wearing shirtsleeves. A long cigar is sticking from his mouth.
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Re: Chapter 3: Hey! Mr. Trumpet Man

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Balzac pulls out his little Colt 38 Special but holds it carefully pointed at the sky. He indicates to the others to keep quiet and keep watching.
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The big man stands silently regarding Turner, who visibly grows more apprehensive.

Eventually the man says, “Is this the boy?”

“Yes” says the gunman.

“Tell me again what you saw, Joey. More briefly, this time.” says the big man.

Joey recounts the previous events from his perspective.

“I followed that group who was at the Blue heaven to the funeral. That jazz band was there too. As this boy started playing his horn, the guy in the coffin bust out and started walking. I couldn’t believe it, but then I remembered that last night people saw Manusco walking around after I shot ‘im. And this boy was playing then, too.”

Joey suddenly smacks Turner across the back of his head. “My girl, Laurette, she’s colored see, she tells me it’s that voodoo shit. Mebbe we could use it.”

The big man snorts derisively. “Still sounds like bullshit to me, Joey. Are you sure about this?”

“Sure I’m sure Boss replies Joey eagerly. He’s sweating though.

The Boss is silent again, puffing on his cigar. Eventually he says “No screw-ups Joey, like with Manusco”.

Joey stiffens. “No way Boss.”

“Cause that was a dumb piece of work, Joey. Keeping Blue Heaven closed is costing me a lot of dough. We got two trucks full of booze to offload out there, remember? All you had to do is warn the guy, and you went and blew his damn head off. Now I gotta get a new accountant.”


He puffs some more, while the other men shift their feet anxiously. A look passes between the boss and one of the men next to Turner, beside Joey.

“Okay Joey says the Boss. “I’ll bite. Let’s give this a try. I want you to shoot yourself.”

The room seems to suddenly stand still.
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Re: Chapter 3: Hey! Mr. Trumpet Man

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Alice watches silently, horrified and fascinated.
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Re: Chapter 3: Hey! Mr. Trumpet Man

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Isadora Carmichael

Isadora unconsciously grabs Alice's arm and holds on to her while watching the events unfold.
"I feel as if my soul would be torn out of my body," she gasped. "I am being drawn into a whirlpool. What is happening? What does it mean?" - The Secrets of Dr. Taverner
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Re: Chapter 3: Hey! Mr. Trumpet Man

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Joey’s face visibly twitches, but otherwise he doesn’t move.

The Boss sighs. “Look Joey, this here black boy, according to you, can bring you back to life. So what’s the problem? Shoot yourself.”

Turner’s eyes are wide with panic. “I can’t do nuthin’ like that. You folks is crazy”. The man on the other side of him smacks him across the head to silence him.

The Boss spits on the floor in disgust. Little Jimmy, you do it” he commands.

Joey’s hand goes to his jacket as he turns to the man next to him. Meanwhile, the Boss has pulled his own weapon. He shoots Joey, and as he collapses, he shoots him again in the heart. The reports of the gunshots echo though the room.

Little Jimmy bends over Joey. “He’s dead, Boss”.

The Boss shakes his head. “I always told him that gun was too big for a fast draw.” He turns to Turner. “Okay jazz man, do your thing. Give him the trumpet.”

Little Jimmy
hands over the instrument. Turner is shaking in panic, his wide eyes fixed on the Boss. “Blow goddammit!” shouts the Boss.
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Re: Chapter 3: Hey! Mr. Trumpet Man

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Balzac, fearing what may happen next, crouches down and squeezes his eyes shut. He no longer feels strong enough for such assaults on his psyche.
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Re: Chapter 3: Hey! Mr. Trumpet Man

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Shakily, Turner raises his trumpet to his lips. The light in the room reflects off the instruments crackled finish. He swallows hard, moistens his lips, and soon the sound of ‘High Society’ fills the room.

Sure enough, Joey’s blood-drenched corpse begins to twitch. Recoiling, Little Jimmy and the other thug step away, towards the Boss. Slowly, Joey sits up.

The room now becomes filled with the curses of the astounded watchers. These include Turner, who has stopped playing and is watching in amazement.

“Keep going boy!” shouts the Boss. Turner begins to play again.

Seeing the Boss, Joey starts to lurch toward him, blood streaming from his mouth. As the men back away, Little Jimmy picks up a Thompson gun from a desk, and fires a burst into Joey.

As the corpse spasms and twitches, Turner begins to giggle. To those watching, it seems that maybe something has torn itself loose within him. He starts to play ‘Tiger Rag’. As the music plays and the bullets spray, the corpse dances and jerks in a macabre waltz. Soon the room is splattered with blood and gore as the heavy .45 slugs tear Joey apart. His shredded body falls to the floor, and Little Jimmy drops the empty weapon.

The men cross themselves and go to the desk where they start to fix drinks from some bottles, shaking their heads. They are obviously very shaken up. Turner stops playing, and silently sits regarding the corpse, his eyes wide, his face twitching and drenched with sweat.
OOC,Everyone must roll for SAN, if your character dared to witness this awful event. Penalties are 1/1d6. Please also roll Luck. And lastly, you can roll Psychology, or Ron and Balzac can roll Medicine as to Turner's mental state.
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Re: Chapter 3: Hey! Mr. Trumpet Man

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Alice did not have enough time to look away, and the sight overwhelms her.
OOC,Sanity roll (current level 64) for seeing [b]Joey[/b] rise: [dice]0[/dice] Sanity loss for seeing [b]Joey[/b] rise: [dice]3[/dice] Idea roll (65% stat) to avoid temporary insanity - failure is good: [dice]4[/dice] Luck roll (65% stat) outside the depot: [dice]1[/dice] Psychology roll (60% skill) about [b]Turner[/b]: [dice]2[/dice]
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Re: Chapter 3: Hey! Mr. Trumpet Man

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Mr. Handy,It looks like temporary insanity for poor Alice. You can choose something suitable for the situation if you like, if not roll 1d10 and we'll see if something appropriate comes up.
OOC,Don't forget to keep track of your sanity everyone! This scenario is quite a drain on it. There's likely more horror to come.
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Re: Chapter 3: Hey! Mr. Trumpet Man

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Isadora Carmichael

Isadora's curiosity triumphs over her instinct of self preservation. She cannot avert her eyes, and witnesses everything - yet she is somehow able to process it. She holds on even tighter to Alice, and tries to comfort her. "We... we will think of something..." she whispers.
Rolls,[b]Sanity 58[/b] [dice]0[/dice] [b]Luck 65[/b] [dice]1[/dice] [b]Psychology 20[/b] [dice]2[/dice]
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Re: Chapter 3: Hey! Mr. Trumpet Man

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Spoiler:
Dice
Sanity check failed
http://orokos.com/roll/561039

Sanity loss 6
(new sanity 19)
http://orokos.com/roll/561040

Luck passed (13 / 35)
http://orokos.com/roll/561041
Ron bangs his fist on the window.
"Let him go, you bastards" he screams, face going red with fury. "Let him go!"
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Re: Chapter 3: Hey! Mr. Trumpet Man

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Spoiler:
Henry Sanity 60 [dice]2[/dice]
Spoiler:
San Loss [dice]3[/dice]Sanity now 57
Spoiler:
Henry Luck 65 [dice]0[/dice]
Spoiler:
Henry Psychology 11 [dice]1[/dice]
Henry half screams and clutches on to Alice and Isadora.
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Re: Chapter 3: Hey! Mr. Trumpet Man

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Swooning, Alice faints dead away in Henry's arms.
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Re: Chapter 3: Hey! Mr. Trumpet Man

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Zeppo,It looks like Ron has temporary insanity too. You can choose to have a fit, or you can roll 1d10 and we can pick a condition. Just be aware of the possible consequences of what Ron has done above, you can change if you like.
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Re: Chapter 3: Hey! Mr. Trumpet Man

Post by Zeppo »

Spoiler:
OOC,
Sorry, I'd meant for the outburst of anger to be his temporary insanity. I'll roll with it anyway, since I've said it, but feel free to roll 1D10 for a condition for him.
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