[IC]Prologue 0.1: The Beginning - Lima, March 1921

[Mr. Handy]

Amy smiles back at Jesse, feeling an instant connection with him. "Yes, Professor Lawrence is my father," she says. "It really is a small world. Here we are from the same place, having never met before, only to find each other on the other side of the world. It must be destiny." She gapes, wide-eyed, when he reveals who he truly is. "I haven't seen de Mendoza suck anyone's body fat, but he certainly sucks the life out of a room. I count myself lucky that he completely ignored me, and he positively loathes you. That makes him a monster in my book. Do you think he might suspect you?"

[Silver Priest]

Marcus has to avoid rolling his eyes at John's enthusiasm. He tells himself the kid's still young, and unaccustomed to the world's horrors.

"I don't doubt that de Mendoza Is an unpleasant enough sort, and he doesn't need to be a vampire to be very dangerous. He and Larkin could be pulling some sort of scam, tempting us into this expedition with promises of wealth and fame, only to kidnap us once we're away from the city. Not meaning to alarm anyone, you understand. But the dangers these types represent is very real, even if the tales are not." And here he looked over at John carefully, hoping to sober the lad up.

He leans forward. "But you mentioned hearing something about Larkin, Mr. Elias? "

[Raiko]

"Yes, I know that Augustus Larkin was in Puno a few months ago," replies Jackson.

"He spent some weeks there attempting to recruit locals to join him exploring the pyramid, but he was unable to find anyone willing to join him. That is what caused Larkin to turn to foreigners to flesh out the expedition."

Elias pauses thoughtfully for a moment, then continues, "It is not so suspicious in itself that local superstitions have forced Larkin to look elsewhere for help. However, I have met a professor at the local university, the National University of San Marcos, who was very interested in joining Larkin's expedition.

"But Larkin has so far refused to even meet with Professor Sánchez, who is one of Peru's most eminent archaeologists, which seems strange to me. His obvious close relationship to de Mendoza, suggests that both Larkin and the pyramid are connected in some way to the criminal activities of the death cult, but I'm not yet sure exactly how.

"Unfortunately, as Amy suggests, I think that de Mendoza might be onto me. I've been asking a lot of questions, both in Lima and Puno, before I asked to join the expedition. I think that word of my activities might have gotten back to him."

[Zero]

Atauchi had stuck around, but elected not to partake in the consumption of any alcohol. He instead sat at the end of the bar and puffed away on his pipe while the others chatted about several aspects of the expedition. The tracker remained silent as he took in everything the man who was not Hughes had relayed to them. He had made some fantastic claims about both Larkin and de Mendoza, but for all any of them knew, this Jackson had his own agenda and was trying to sabotage Larkin's expedition for some yet unknown purpose.

"Qayqa." he muttered to himself.

However, while he did not believe the American's claims about Larkin or de Mendoza, he didn't think it would hurt to look into both men ahead of the expedition's departure date. A search of their rooms and personal effects could glean much.

"We need learn truth." the man said in heavily accented English.

OOC: Making another Occult check, this time to see if Atauchi knows anything about the kharisiri since it's a local legend and such.

Occult (31%),[dice]0[/dice]

[Raiko]

Jackson looks at Atauchi and nods, "Yes, the truth. Professor Sánchez believes that the university has some old documents and some artefacts related to the pyramid site.

"He is going to show them to me tomorrow morning at the university. Perhaps you'd all like to join me?"

[VashShotFirst]

"This is a lot to take in all at once, but I agree with Marcus, these guys don't have to be outlandish 'vampires' to be some sort of danger." Olivier responds when hearing the news. "It's hard to trust even your word Mr. ....Elias?"

After hearing of the possibility of finding more information: "I'll go along to the University, but I've got my eye on you as well, Jackson." She says with a wink, slightly trusting his forthcoming and seeming honest attitude after hearing some of what he's has to say.

[Mr. Handy]

"I'd be delighted to join you, Jackson," says Amy, beaming. The glass of wine she sips is her first drink, as by the time she was old enough to partake, it was illegal to buy alcohol. "We New Yorkers have to stick together."

[Silver Priest]

"I don't mind, but if Larkin or de Mendoza are dangerous, it would help to get some proof. Have you considered breaking into their rooms when they're off on business somewhere? We might be able to find something." Marcus was used to straddling both sides of the law, and the detective in him wanted to know just what he was dealing with.

[Raiko]

Returning Olivier's wink Jackson says, "Quite right, I'd recommend trusting no one until you know exactly what's really going on..."

Then he laughs as he clinks together wine glasses with Amy, ".or you could just stick together with us New Yorkers, make it a bit of an East Coast thing?"

Jackson listens to Marcus's suggestion and nods in agreement, "I haven't resorted to breaking and entering so far, but I'm not above bending the law a little to get to the bottom of things.

"Larkin and de Mendoza aren't staying at the same hotel as the rest of us though. They've taken rooms at the Hotel España and booked all of the rest of us into the Maury.

[Zero]

Atauchi, pipe in hand, stayed within his own thoughts for awhile as the debate continued among the others. As he saw it, the crux of this situation hinged upon which of the two men, Larkin or Jackson were telling the more complete truth. While Jackson seemed to be completely forthcoming, the Quechuani man suspected that he too was withholding information from them. However, for the time being, it made sense to follow the American's lead and visit the university. The other questions would have to wait.

"Okay, we hear what Sanchez has say first." he finally said.

[Silver Priest]

Marcus nods, then looks towards the others.

"That could be worth digging into then, but I'll defer to the group. After all, such an action carries risk, and I don't want to expose the rest of you. But if any of you are good at breaking and entering and up for the challenge, I'd be happy to have you along. Failing that, I'll have to hope a few Sols in the right hands will get me access to their rooms while the pair are out."

[Mallet]

Antoine D'Estaing:

Having remained silent up till now, Antoine D'Estaing interjects:

"More information is definitely required, by all means possible, if necessary."

He is reluctant to reveal his real thoughts about all this to the rest of the group.

[Mr. Handy]

"Well, I wouldn't make a very good burglar," says Amy, "though I can probably be a good distraction."

[Raiko]

"Should we visit Professor Sánchez first, in the morning? That would still leave the rest of the weekend to gain access to our friends' rooms at the Hotel España.

"I would say that Larkin appeared to be genuinely in need of some rest, and so is probably in his room. Luis de Mendoza generally sticks pretty close to Larkin, but he could be up to anything."

Jackson has another long puff of his pipe, "Regardless of whether you choose believe me or not, for now I would advise that all of you remain cautious. My information about the so called kharisiri isn't yet good enough to guess at how big the cult is.

"From the stories I uncovered though, I'd estimate that they number in the dozens, and they have been active for many years. The flu epidemic appears to have given their activities cover in the past, but since the outbreak ended, the number of disappearances in the Andean highlands has been impossible for them to conceal.

"It's possible that only Larkin and de Mendoza are here is Lima, but please be careful."

[VashShotFirst]

"Sounds good, see you first thing in the morning." Olivier replies to Jackson.

[Mr. Handy]

"Good night, Jackson," says Amy with a smile and a wave. "See you in the morning."

[HelplessBystander]

John, being the most low-profile of the group, had long finished his meal and were waiting by the door for Marcus finish up before moving back to their hotel room, eager to finish reading Plato's The Republic, a book that he had started reading three years ago as a course assignment for Philosophy that he haven't quite gotten around to finishing, but thought that now would as good a time as ever to finish the book.

He was extremely disappointed that no one commented on his Very Sexy Hat. He went through a lot of work to buy something that interesting.

[Silver Priest]

Noticing John's disappointment, Marcus throws him a bone.

"I like the hat, sir. Very stylish."

[HelplessBystander]

John’s face brightened up almost immediately into a childish smile. “Really? You think?”

He beamed happily at his cherished bodyguard.

[Zero]

Atauchi quietly slunk out one of the less prominent exits to the bar (if any) and lingered outside for a short while, sure to keep to the shadows when possible. He tailed the other members of the expedition party as they made their way to the hotel Maury. This entire situation bared with it far more intrigue than the Quechuan man had expected, and he would be on the lookout for anyone who would seek to do the group harm.

Spot Hidden (60%),[dice]0[/dice]

Stealth (50%),[dice]1[/dice]