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

[Mr. Handy]

"I wonder why the door was left open," says Amy. "I'd have thought he might have left that way, but it looks like he went out from the balcony. Maybe we should make a more thorough search of de Mendoza's room."

[Zero]

Atauchi didn't react to the girl's attempt at humor. To another person, the comment may have evoked a response, but the joke was simply lost on the normally austere man. When she dialed the hotel lobby, the Quechua man stood by and took in the parts of the conversation he could. If the girl decided to run off on some personal endeavor, he may be required to intervene. She needed rest after what she had been through, not excitement.

[jp1885]

Cynthia thanks the manager and replaces the reciever.
"Ah well, nothing doing... Maybe I should've ordered room service and put it on Larkin's tab. What d'you think - chef's special and a couple of piscos?"
Her grin fades at the sight of Atauchi's impassive features.
"Strong but silent type huh?" She flops down onto a chair. "Well maybe I've done enough talking for both of us - classic compensation behaviour - talking too much to blot out the recent trauma I've suffered."
She studies her companion intently.

Psychology 65%,[dice]0[/dice]

"You've suffered too I think - silence is also a good defence mechanism. I may talk too much, but I can also listen. What happened to you today?"

[Raiko]

Hotel España

All that Amy can find while searching room 13 is that the bed is not as perfectly made as it first appears. A bit of the sheet is untucked, as though someone has pulled something from under the mattress. She takes a look under the mattress, but there is nothing there now.

Outside the Hotel España

Marcus and Dr. Sánchez find a bloodstained shirt on the roof of the adjacent building, it looks very much like de Mendoza's. Looking down to the street they see that there is a boy selling newspapers near to the bottom of the fire escape.

They go down and Sánchez speaks to him. He tells them that two men descended the fire escape earlier, an angry looking man who carried a suitcase and a sword while helping a drunken man to walk. The drunken man's shirt was open and he had a large tatoo on his chest.

When pressed for details, the boy's description of the sword sounds like a rapier, the drunken man's tatoo was a black spiral or perhaps concentric circles that covered his whole chest.

The boy saw them walk to the nearest tram stop and boarded a tram heading inland out of the city centre, but it was at least an hour ago.

OOC:   I've had Sánchez go with Marcus, because he speaks Spanish. If Anatomist prefers then I could have Jackson Elias go instead.

[Zero]

Atauchi frowned at the prospect of ordering room service. There was no telling what sort of pull Larkin may have over members of the hotel staff.

"May be good idea not to get food from hotel kitchen. If Larkin know what happen to de Mendoza, he may tell chef to poison meal ordered from room he pay for. Do not think you target, but everyone else are." he said coolly.

When the young woman inquired about his own experiences from earlier in the day, he was not at all forthcoming. In his native tongue, the Quechua man simply muttered, "Allillanmi, allillantagmi."

OOC:   "Allillanmi, allillantagmi." translates as "I am fine."

[Silver Priest]

Marcus fishes a few sols out of his picket and hands it to the newspaper kid, then writes a brief note to the others.

S. And I pursuing lead. Don't wait for us.

M.


Then he instructs the kid to take it inside the hotel and deliver it to the rest of their group.

OOC:   Let me know if I need to use credit rating for this, please.

Turning to the professor, he speaks. "Well at least we know De Mendoza is wounded.We could try and retrace their steps. We're working at a time disadvantage, but they're a severely wounded man and a heroin junkie, so we may be able to catch up. I'm sure they attracted attention as well, so it should be fairly easy to retrace their path.

If you feel it's worth doing, we can catch the tram they took and see if we can track them down."

[jp1885]

Allillanmi, allillantagmi.

Cynthia doesn't understand the words, but the meaning is obvious.
"Well okay, but if you need to talk..." She curls up in the chair. "Seems all we can do is wait..."

[Mr. Handy]

"We don't know where they are now," says Amy, "but we know where they're going. I guess we should go back to our hotel."

[Anatomist]

Turning to the professor, he speaks. "Well at least we know De Mendoza is wounded.We could try and retrace their steps. We're working at a time disadvantage, but they're a severely wounded man and a heroin junkie, so we may be able to catch up. I'm sure they attracted attention as well, so it should be fairly easy to retrace their path.

If you feel it's worth doing, we can catch the tram they took and see if we can track them down."

With zero hesitation the doctor replies lead the way

[Raiko]

OOC:   Ok Silver Priest, post a quick IC description of Marcus' plan here, either carrying it out, or explaining it to Dr Sánchez and we'll move onto another scene.

[Silver Priest]

Marcus suggests the pair head to the tram the boy says they had taken. He asks the professor to translate a description of both men to the driver and asks if he had seen them. Once they get off at the stop, the detective will continue asking around, asking any locals who seem to have been around for awhile(such as another newspaper hawker or cigar seller) if they had seen De Mendoza or Larkin or knew where they might be heading. Hopefully eyewitness accounts would help them track their quarry down.

[Raiko]

OOC:   Okay, first of all make a luck roll (don't worry, I'm not making your actual plan hinge on a luck roll)

[Silver Priest]

luck 45%,[dice]0[/dice]

[kabukiman]

Luck:55%
[dice]0[/dice]

[Raiko]

OOC:   Because it take a while to get the right tram driver, there is enough time for any others from the Hotel España group to join Marcus and Dr. Sánchez if they wish. From Mr. Handy's last post, I'm assuming that Amy is also returning to the Maury, but she's got time to change her mind if Mr. Handy likes

John's room - Hotel Maury - Lima, Peru
5:00pm - Saturday 19th March, 1921

Jackson Elias is delighted to see Cynthia sat up when he enters the hotel room with the investigators who accompanied him, "You really are a feisty young lady, I thought you would be laid low for days. I'm afraid we might have lost Larkin and de Mendoza, but Marcus is following up our slim last hope of catching them in Lima."

Jackson sits down and lights his pipe, then he starts discussing plans for the next move, "I plan to take the steamer from Callao to Mollendo in the morning. If Larkin is travelling to Puno overland, we will beat him to Puno by at least a day. The pyramid is the key to this cult's activities, it we go to Puno and locate the ruins I am sure that Larkin will come to us."

[Raiko]

A Tram stop near the Hotel España - Lima, Peru
5:40pm - Saturday 19th March, 1921


Marcus' plan turns out to be a good one, although it takes so long to get the right tram that they are close to giving up. Eventually, after waiting for over an hour, a tram bound for the coastal town of Chorrillos arrives with the correct driver. He remembers the two unusual passengers boarding - a man carrying a sword and an ill looking man with a tattoo on his chest. Larkin had partly buttoned his shirt by the time he boarded the tram, but the top of his tattoo was still visible. The driver did not notice whether de Mendoza was wounded.

According to the driver, Larkin and de Mendoza rode the tram all the way to its terminus in Chorrillos.

Lima trams, 1920s

Tram Terminus - Chorrillos, Peru
6:15pm - Saturday 19th March, 1921

Chorrillos was a thriving upper class beach resort throughout the 19th Century until it was sacked in 1881 after the Battle of Chorrillos, during the Peruvian civil war. Much of the town was razed to the ground during the slaughter that followed, and while the town has recovered much during the intervening decades, nearby Miraflores now holds the beach houses of Peru's elite.

The tram journey to the terminus at Chorrillos takes around thirty minutes, the journey would normally be an enjoyable one, but with every passing minute de Mendoza's trail gets colder. As the investigators step off the tram, the sun is setting over the Pacific and the street lights have been turned on.

It doesn't take long to find a store owner closing his shop, who remembers the unusual couple, then two elderly ladies who were threatened by de Mendoza when they asked if Larkin needed help - "My master requires no help from chattle! Get out of my way or die!" was de Mendoza's snarled reply.

Chávez Brothers' haulage - Chorrillos, Peru
6:50pm - Saturday 19th March, 1921

Finally, as the last of the sun's rays disappear behind the horizon, the group encounter a young man walking with his dog who remembers seeing the pair entering the yard of a local haulage firm. The man's dog was unsettled when it was close the two men.

El Transporte de los Hermanos de Chávez,
estableció 1919

The neatly painted sign hangs above the gates of the premises. Two trucks sit near to some small stacks of crates in the yard - one of the trucks appears to have been loaded. To the left of the yard is a timber hut containing the family company's small office.

There are no people visible in the yard, which is only dimly illuminated by the street lighting.

There is a dim light on in the office, probably from a desk light.

STANDARD SPOT HIDDEN PASSED,The tires of both trucks have been slashed. If the Spot Hidden was a HARD success: [spoiler]Tracks in the gravel indicate that a third truck has recently driven out of the yard - This is the same result as for a successful Track roll - give yourself a tick for both skills! A man's body lies in a pool of blood concealed behind the loaded lorry.[/spoiler] Additionally if the Spot Hidden was an EXTREME success: [spoiler]Even from the gate you can see that the frame of the office door has been broken around the lock. It's very difficult to say for sure in the poor light, but you think you can see bloody footprints leading from the body by the truck towards the office.[/spoiler]

HARD LISTEN ROLL PASSED,A man is crying out in pain inside the office hut.

STANDARD TRACK ROLL PASSED,Tracks in the gravel indicate that a third truck has recently driven out of the yard - This is similar to the results for a successful Hard Spot Hidden roll - give yourself a tick for both skills! Additionally if the TRACK roll was an EXTREME success: [spoiler]It's very difficult to say for sure in the poor light, but you think you can see bloody footprints leading from the loaded truck towards the office.[/spoiler]

[Anatomist]

El Transporte de los Hermanos de Chávez,
estableció 1919

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

Listen extreme success (40%) a frikkin 1,[dice]1[/dice]

failed Track (10%),[dice]2[/dice]

"Marcus see! the tires of one of the trucks have been slashed The Dr moves towards the light in the timber hut next to the yard "Marcus! someone is yelling inside! he seems hurt!" The Dr draws his pistol and moves as stealthy he can inside, towards the cry of pain"

failed Stealth (40%),[dice]3[/dice]

[Silver Priest]

Spot Hidden 50%,[dice]0[/dice]

Hard Listen 25%,[dice]1[/dice]

Track 50%,[dice]2[/dice] Don't suppose the extreme success here could count as an extreme for the spot hidden as well? :D

With the aid if the professor Marcus notes the same details, as well as another. "And these trails here look to show a third truck has recently driven out of the yard. I'm guessing our 'friends' were on it." Damn it, if only I had been a little faster!

Hearing the man's cry, The imposing man pulls out his own gun and rushes towards the office. At first he does not bother with stealth, both because the Professor seemed to struggle with it and the fact that he believes De Mendoza is likely already gone.

And then he takes another look and sees the footprints. "Look, down there! I think that's a footprint, bloody by the looks of it. It looks like it's leading from the truck into the office. Be careful! De Mendoza could still be in there!"

Caution reignited in him, he attempts to stealth his way forward. If De Mendoza was still inside, hopefully he'd not hear him at least, enabling him to get the drop on the maniac.

Stealth 60%,[dice]3[/dice]

[jp1885]

John's room - Hotel Maury - Lima, Peru
5:00pm - Saturday 19th March, 1921

Jackson Elias is delighted to see Cynthia sat up when he enters the hotel room with the investigators who accompanied him, "You really are a feisty young lady, I thought you would be laid low for days. I'm afraid we might have lost Larkin and de Mendoza, but Marcus is following up our slim last hope of catching them in Lima."

Jackson sits down and lights his pipe, then he starts discussing plans for the next move, "I plan to take the steamer from Callao to Mollendo in the morning. If Larkin is travelling to Puno overland, we will beat him to Puno by at least a day. The pyramid is the key to this cult's activities, it we go to Puno and locate the ruins I am sure that Larkin will come to us."

"Takes more than a 'vampire' to put me down." Cynthia grins at Jackson. "They murdered my friend. I think a bracing sea voyage followed by some fresh mountain air might be just what I need to recover from my injuries."
She lights a cigarette, drawing on it deeply. "But first, tell me exactly what's been going on."

[Raiko]

OOC,[ooc]Edit: ignore this post, all fixed. :lol:[/ooc]