Play@YSDC

Posted: **Mon Aug 06, 2018 2:09 am**

Prologue - Part 1:
Lima - Peru

After years of decline and hardship, Lima of the 1920s is a city in the process of economic recovery and rapid expansion. The population is currently over 200,000 and growing fast. Sanitation conditions have recently been modernized, and visitors can expect to find all of the amenities of any large Western city.

The city lies on a bay and straddles both banks of the river Rímac. The bay is also home to the neighboring city of Callao, although recent expansion makes it hard to tell where one city ends and the other begins. Between being an international port and its status as capital, Lima sees a lot of international visitors.

Bar Cordano, Lima - Peru
7:00pm Friday 18th March, 1921

: Bar Cordano Exterior

Established in 1905 by Italian immigrants and just a few steps away from the train station and the Presidential Palace, the Cordano is a popular haunt for travellers, politicians, bureaucrats, and even presidents.

After a sunny late-summer day, the last hints of twilight are rapidly fading as the investigators each make their way to Lima's famous Bar Cordano. The temperature has fallen to around 70⁰F from 80⁰ earlier in the afternoon, but the humidity has increased into the evening will remain overpowering for most of the night.

This part of Lima is popular with both locals and visitors, the streets are well lit, the pavements bustling and the sound of music and revelry escapes from the door of the bar.

: Bar Cordano Doorway

Posted: **Mon Aug 06, 2018 3:27 am**

Amy Lawrence arrives at the Bar Cordano, brimming over with excitement. This expedition is a golden opportunity for her and promises to be the adventure of a lifetime. Though she couldn't wait to get started, she did check into the hotel and put her things away before coming here. There wouldn't be a point to showing up too early anyway. Amy wears a flowing, sleeveless red dress that is light enough to help her endure the sweltering heat. While it is still the tail end of winter back in New York, here in Lima it is late summer, and the tropical location near the equator makes it hotter than it usually gets back home. She sweeps into the bar, taking a look around for someone matching Augustus Larkin's description.

Posted: **Tue Aug 07, 2018 2:30 am**

Bar Cordano, Lima - Peru
7:00pm Friday 18th March, 1921

The inside of the Bar Cordano is busy, the restaurant is simply but tastefully furnished, with wood paneling and fixtures and a tiled floor - most of the patron appear to be eating fish dishes, or sitting at the bar drinking. Amy turns a few admiring glances as she steps inside - standing out from the locals with her pale skin and eye-catching red dress. She realises that she doesn't actually know what Augustus Larkin looks like - fortunately it requires no knowledge of Spanish to ask for a man by name, and Amy is quickly directed to a table where three men are seated.

To the left is a black man of average height and build, wearing a tweed suit, and a fedora hat and smoking a pipe, he smiles at Amy as she approaches. Opposite the black man sits a gaunt man with pronounced cheekbones and deep-set, piercing blue eyes. His medium-length brown hair is unkempt with no apparent attempt having been made to style it, and he wears light cotton clothing which is tatty a well worn, but clean. He does little more than glance at Amy, preferring to watch the black man intently. He looks rather angry.

In the middle of the other two, across the table from Amy's direction of approach is a pale, thin white man with greasy blond hair and pale blue eyes, wearing a white linen suit which looks a little too large. He also smiles at Amy and says, "Miss Lawrence I presume? Please take a seat, I'm Augustus Larkin. I trust your journey was agreeable?"

"Allow me to introduce my aide Luis de Mendoza," he indicates the unkempt man, who continues to play Amy little attention; Larkin then indicates the black man to his right, "And Jesse Hughes a folklorist from New York City like yourself - Mr Hughes arrived in town yesterday taking us quite by surprise, and will be joining our expedition."

Posted: **Tue Aug 07, 2018 4:20 am**

"Thank you, Professor Larkin," says Amy, beaming as she slides into a seat at the table. "I'm pleased to meet all of you. My journey here was pleasant, yes. A nice cruise from New York via the Panama Canal. I'm just thrilled to be part of this expedition!"

Posted: **Tue Aug 07, 2018 5:32 am**

John Smith rolled up wearing a pale grey shirt and beige overalls as well as a Very Sexy Hat on his head. He had just checked into his hotel room and ran out to meet with the trip organiser. Seeing the four people crowding around the table, he referenced his leaflet, remembering that the best way to make an impression is to smile. He smiled. "Pleasure to meet you all, esteemed sirs and madam. I am named John Smith. If I may humbly extend my greetings to all."

Posted: **Tue Aug 07, 2018 6:41 am**

Marcus had found the whole trip tiring. He wasn't much of a traveler; France in 1917 had largely burned the wanderlust out of him, and he had returned home with a scar just under his left eye and the occasional nightmare as the only souvenirs of his time there. He'd have been perfectly content to live the rest of his life in New York.

But his client wanted to go off on some grand adventure, and Marcus was obligated to come along.He had carried their luggage into the hotel, happy to be out of the oppressive heat. He could already tell he was going to dislike Peru, and as they entered the bar he wiped the sweat once again from his brow.

Following a few steps behind John over to the crowded table, Marcus does not hasten to introduce himself. Far as he could see, he was the hired help here. He gives a curt nod to any who look at him, but won't introduce himself or even speak unless addressed.

Posted: **Tue Aug 07, 2018 11:04 am**

Anderson had just arrived the day before, He wasn't very satisfied with the weather, but at least it wasn't raining. Well, at least it was a true expedition, not just digging some worthless pottery.
He entered the bar and started to look for someone that may be Professor Larkin

Posted: **Tue Aug 07, 2018 2:57 pm**

Olivier walks in to the bard wearing a well fitting pant suit and a stylish fedora. It's much to hot and humid for these clothes, but only the most perceptive could notice this on her. Noticing a crowd of non-locals starting to form around a table she assumes this is the group she's looking for and heads their way.

"Hello, I'm looking for Augustus Larkin, this the place?" She states with a matter of fact tone.

Posted: **Wed Aug 08, 2018 2:10 am**

Augustus Larkin introduces himself to each investigator as they arrive, he thanks them for making the journey and asks them to take a seat and order some food.

"All of the sea food dishes are excellent, but I recommend the escabeche, which is exquisite."

Larkin is wearing a little too much eau de cologne, it would be almost enough to spoil the meal for someone sat next to him - fortunately the closest seats are already taken. He is also clear quite ill, despite his relative youth, his skin is saggy and he has noticeable bags under his eyes. Rather than being too big, on closer inspection his linen suit is probably oversized due to Larkin losing a lot of weight. His accent is English, rather than American, but the exact region of the accent is difficult to place.

The New Yorker Jesse Hughes shakes each investigator's hand as they take a seat, greeting them with a jovial smile. Luis de Mendoza meanwhile, does not speak at all, he regards each new arrival with a cold gaze, before seeming to turn his barely concealed rage back towards Hughes.

Posted: **Wed Aug 08, 2018 4:19 am**

"Thank you, I will try the escabeche," says Amy. She doesn't know what it is, but the spirit of adventure has overtaken her. She greets the new arrivals with a smile, glad to see that she isn't the only woman on the expedition. "Hi, I'm Amy Lawrence."

Posted: **Wed Aug 08, 2018 5:26 am**

"Enchante, Miss Lawrence, I am John Smith." John said, extending his hand. He tried to place some emphasis on his British accent, since British accents often sounds cultured and posh.

Posted: **Wed Aug 08, 2018 5:45 am**

"Marcus." The man notes, offering Amy and the others a curt nod. He raises an eyebrow at Larkin's wretched state, but figure it was his business. Though he would be rather annoyed if the man died halfway through their expedition.

Posted: **Thu Aug 09, 2018 3:11 am**

Amy shakes John's hand. "Likewise," she says, and she does appreciate his British accent. "I'm a history student from New York, though I'm also studying archaeology and anthropology. Unless I'm mistaken, you're from Britain, but where in Britain? And what is it you do?"

Posted: **Thu Aug 09, 2018 3:59 am**

Antoine D'Estaing:

Antoine D'Estaing is under the impression that his arrival is a late one, and he introduces himself to the group:

"Antoine D'Estaing, at your service. I hope I am not too late ?" he asks with an ingratiating smile.

Posted: **Thu Aug 09, 2018 5:01 am**

Atauchi's journey to Lima had not been an easy one. The tracker had surreptitiously crossed the Peruvian border on foot, then, after several more days of tramping on jungle trails, he managed to stow away on a truck packed full of produce bound for the capital. Eventually he arrived in the city, and after some mild difficulties, successfully navigated the winding streets and alleys until he caught sight of the Hotel Maury. Already slightly delayed, Atauchi decided to bypass the hotel and instead head for the bar to seek out this Larkin fellow to discuss the details of the expedition. After a moment or two, he identified the man whom he believed to be his quarry and quickly closed the distance between them. He then pulled a sheet of paper from the inside pocket of his jacket and thrust it down upon the table before him. To anyone else gathered around, the paper is quite clearly a telegram virtually identical to the one they themselves had received.

Posted: **Thu Aug 09, 2018 1:53 pm**

Bar Cordano - Lima, Peru
7:05pm - Friday 18th March, 1921

Larkin returns Antoine's smile and says, "Not at all Professor, please take a seat. I hope your journey from Paris was a pleasant one - you are not the last to arrive, and we are still ordering food anyway."

After staring at the professor as he approached, de Mendoza nods in agreement with Larkin and returns to brooding. Hughes meanwhile smiles broadly and transfers his pipe to his left hand while using his right to shake hands with Antoine, "Pleased to meet you Antoine, I'm Jesse Hughes."

***

As Antoine takes his seat Atauchi arrives, making his way to the table so abruptly that Luis de Mendoza is half way out of his seat with a murderous look in his eyes, before Larkin puts a calming hand on his companion's shoulder, "Hello Atauch, I'm glad that you could make it, I was worried for a minute that you may have been held up at the border. Please take a seat, we are about to begin."

Atauchi Huaman's arrival, as well as signalling the beginning of the serious discussion about Augustus Larkin's proposed expedition, seems to give de Mendoza another person to subject to his silent hostility. He alternates his attention between Hughes and Atauchi, and also looks angrily in the direction of both Marcus and Anderson from time to time. Other than that he just nods in agreement every time Larkin speaks. So far, he has not uttered a single word himself and he pays no regard to Professor D'Estaing or either of the two ladies at all.

***

Once the food arrives things become much more pleasant, despite the air of hostility that surrounds de Mendoza; all of the dishes are very well made and tasty - particularly the escabeche that your host recommended. Once everyone has been served, and has made introductions to each other, Larkin begins to talk about his expedition.

"A few months ago, I purchased some interesting artefacts and information from an alpaca farmer near Puno, which lies on the edge of Lake Titicaca."

Larkin reaches inside a bag and places two items on the table: One is a pendant in the form of a man holding two rods or staves, embellished with rectangular shapes. The second is a golden cup carved with geometrical patterns and circles and inlaid with turquoise.

"The farmer told me that his grandfather had recovered the objects from beneath a pyramid high in the mountains. He explained that his grandfather claimed that many more treasures are still in those tunnels, but despite the obvious value of the items, his grandfather never returned to the pyramid due to superstitious fear.

"Although the farmer did not know the exact location of the site, my own research has indicated not only that the pyramid almost certainly does exist, but I have a very good idea of its exact location"

He looks around the table with a smile, "If I am correct, then we can come out of this not only famous for discovering a lost archaeological wonder," Larkin pauses for effect, "but also very rich."

Posted: **Thu Aug 09, 2018 2:02 pm**

Mr. Handy wrote:Amy shakes John's hand. "Likewise," she says, and she does appreciate his British accent. "I'm a history student from New York, though I'm also studying archaeology and anthropology. Unless I'm mistaken, you're from Britain, but where in Britain? And what is it you do?"

John laughed and proceeded to moved about in a calm and collected manner. "Indeed I am, though my maternal grandmother, bless her heart, was Irish. I came from London, hailing from the Soho district, West-ended through and through. If my estimates are correct, I would be submitting one undergraduate paper for an arts degree by the end of the year, but that’s hardly important nor interesting. Moving on, let’s take a look at these VERY INTERESTING ARTEFACTS."

He tried to pivot focus away from his multiple degrees in the works and turned his attention to the artefacts brought onto the table.

Posted: **Thu Aug 09, 2018 8:56 pm**

After sitting and throughout the meal Olivier is not impolite but short. She speaks only when asked a question and spends most of her time trying to measure up the others.

Did not have the escabeche, as she generally doesn't trust people shes first meets, but didn't make a scene of it or anything.

At the mention of becoming rich anyone watching could notice she perks up a bit, more interested now.

"What's the deal with this guy?" She motions to Mendoza, asking Larkin "He seems to have some sort of problem. I'd ask him myself, but he doesn't seem to have the time of day form me."

Posted: **Thu Aug 09, 2018 10:18 pm**

Marcus gets the escabeche, and it indeed quite good. He quietly enjoys it, and contents himself with thinking this trip won't be all bad.

Despite having no skill in archaeology, he briefly looks at the artifacts to see if he recognizes any of them.
But predictably, he does not.

Posted: **Thu Aug 09, 2018 11:52 pm**

Atauchi slipped the telegram back into his pocket as Larkin began to provide the first real details regarding the proposed expedition. The tracker sensed the overt hostility directed at him by de Mendoza. He knew that if he wanted to secure the respect of his host or anyone else for that matter, he couldn't allow himself to be intimidated by Larkin's toady. Atauchi stared coldly at his antagonist and took a stance much larger than his 5'8" frame would normally permit.

When the food arrived, Atauchi picked at whatever was familiar to him, and did not converse with any of his fellow invitees, unless directly addressed. The man had never had food of this kind before. He was far more accustomed to simple military-style trail rations or whatever he himself could harvest from his surroundings when working in the field. All that effort to prepare a meal seemed a waste of time to the man.

Finally, when Larkin revealed the artifacts he had collected, Atauchi gave them only a cursory look. He was here to help guide these people through the potentially treacherous terrain they sought to trek across, not make a study of a bunch of old relics.

Posted: **Fri Aug 10, 2018 4:39 am**

Amy looks at the artifacts with fascination, but she isn't yet knowledgeable enough to tell much about them. While money wouldn't go amiss, she is far more interested in the possibility of making a great discovery. "These are amazing!" she says. "Are they Incan?" She has of course heard rumors of lost treasure of the Inca, to whom the last man to arrive seems to bear some resemblance. "Maybe this pyramid is where the Inca hid some of their wealth. Pizarro couldn't have found all of it."

Posted: **Sat Aug 11, 2018 8:17 pm**

VashShotFirst wrote:"What's the deal with this guy?" She motions to Mendoza, asking Larkin "He seems to have some sort of problem. I'd ask him myself, but he doesn't seem to have the time of day form me."

Jesse Hughes chuckles quietly at Olivier's question, "Now that is a very good question."

De Mendoza glares at Olivier, he doesn't speak aloud, but mutters something under his breath which she imagines was very rude, though nothing worse than she'd heard a thousand times before back in Atlantic City. Larkin though just laughs, "Ah you must forgive my friend," he claps de Mendoza on the back, "Luis speaks very little English. Plus he dislikes cities intensely.

"Once we are up in the hills, then you will get to know the true Luis de Mendoza!"

Larkin laughs loudly at this and even de Mendoza smiles for a second, as he nods in agreement.

"Luis is truly invaluable though, being the fine figure of healthy that I am, I'd struggle to accomplish any of this without his assistance."

Mr. Handy wrote:"These are amazing!" she says. "Are they Incan?" She has of course heard rumors of lost treasure of the Inca, to whom the last man to arrive seems to bear some resemblance. "Maybe this pyramid is where the Inca hid some of their wealth. Pizarro couldn't have found all of it."

"I suspect the site to be much older than that Miss Lawrence, although it is certainly possible that the Incas may have been aware of it."

Posted: **Sun Aug 12, 2018 2:26 am**

"That's even more interesting, Professor Larkin", says Amy. "The pyramid could belong to a precursor of the Incas, or maybe even a previously unknown civilization. I've always found it fascinating that disparate ancient cultures separated by long distances all built pyramidal structures. Of course, it could simply be the best shape to build something tall and stable before the invention of mortar."

Posted: **Sun Aug 12, 2018 3:02 am**

John nodded along, squinting at the object every once in a while to show his interest.

Posted: **Sun Aug 12, 2018 10:10 am**

Atauchi's expression remained stoic as he continued to observe de Mendoza's behavior from his position across the table. When the other man did finally speak, the tracker turned an ear toward him in an effort to pick up what had been said, or at the very least to identify what tongue had been used.

Based on Larkin's remarks on his aide, it seemed plainly apparent that he held the man in high regard and believed him to be an integral part of the coming expedition. That would remain to be seen, after all, deeds said far more than words. Only time would reveal his true worth.

At the mention of a pre-Inca civilization, Atauchi's attention was drawn from the hostile aide to the young woman their host had referred to as Miss Lawrence for the first time. She was filled with plenty of enthusiasm and curiosity, two traits that would make his job of protecting her all the more difficult. Perhaps de Mendoza saw this in her as well. However, there was something vaguely familiar regarding such a prospect.

Posted: **Sun Aug 12, 2018 9:24 pm**

Marcus adds nothing, most of the discussion going over his head. Sure, he'd like to be as rich as Larkin claimed, but he remained skeptical. If the man had any real compelling evidence he wouldn't have needed to hire outsiders.

As the others eat and chat, he spares De Mendoza a glance. His antagonistic nature suggested could be trouble, and he made a note to watch him.

Posted: **Mon Aug 13, 2018 10:53 am**

Bar Cordano, Lima - Peru
8:10pm - Friday 18th March, 1921

Most of the excellent food is finished by now, and the meal has been an enjoyable experience despite the brooding hostility of de Mendoza. The host Augustus Larkin, and the American folklorist Jesse Hughes are both friendly and good humoured.

Larkin smiles at Amy and takes a sip of his wine, "I'm no professor I'm afraid, merely an enthusiastic amateur. But yes, I believe the pyramid to belong to a precursor civilisation in the Puno region, possibly an offshoot or outcasts from older settlements on what is now the Bolivian side of Lake Titicaca."

Luis de Mendoza continues to nod in agreement with everything that Larkin says, while Hughes asks, "How do you intend to travel to the pyramid site?"

"I have hired three trucks and drivers to transport all of us, plus some supplies as far as Puno," Larkin stops to mop his brow with a handkerchief, the evening humidity is affecting him more than most, "They are arranged for first thing on Monday morning, which is when we will depart."

Posted: **Mon Aug 13, 2018 12:58 pm**

"Is that all?" John said, slightly disappointed.

Posted: **Mon Aug 13, 2018 1:37 pm**

"Well no," replies Larkin.

"I plan to purchase pack animals and fresh food once we reach Puno. We'll need to travel overland to the site itself, the journey should take about three or four days."

Posted: **Mon Aug 13, 2018 7:11 pm**

Though content to stay in the background, a good meal has made Marcus slightly more talkative. "Are you sure you're up for the trip? You don't look well at all." He asks Larkin bluntly.

Posted: **Mon Aug 13, 2018 8:47 pm**

"Oh I'll be fine, I'm the picture of good health," says Larkin with mock sincerity.

He laughs, "I'm afraid that I've never quite recovered from a bout of malaria, I should probably count my blessings to still be alive.

"I'll be fine after a day's rest, although I should be getting back to my hotel, It's been a long week for me."

Posted: **Tue Aug 14, 2018 12:19 am**

John, being nothing more than a simple layman, had completely missed any signs of illness.

Posted: **Tue Aug 14, 2018 3:30 am**

"I've heard you never fully recover from malaria," says Amy with some sympathy, almost noticing something. "How high up is the site?" she asks, wondering if she'll need to do some climbing.

Posted: **Tue Aug 14, 2018 8:44 am**

Atauchi returned his gaze to Larkin when the question had been raised about his health. He had little medical knowledge, but had to agree that the man did appear somewhat fatigued, though no more than anyone else at the table by his estimation. It was entirely possible that the man was merely unaccustomed to the heat and humidity of the region. Still, it would be prudent to keep him under closer observation for a time, the tracker surmised.

Posted: **Tue Aug 14, 2018 10:52 am**

Larkin nods in agreement, "I have good days and bad days, today is a bad one, but as I say it's been a busy week. I shall be able to rest fully during the weekend, as everything is in place now.

"As to the location of the site," he continues, "You understand of course that I cannot risk giving precise details until we are underway, but Lake Titicaca is a little over twelve thousand feet above sea level. The pyramid site is on a higher plateau, probably at about fourteen thousand feet.

Gesturing towards de Mendoza and Atauchi, Larkin says, "With the guidance of our experts though, we should be able to reach the site with pack animals. The farmer indicated that his grandfather found the pyramid by accident, so it shouldn't be too inaccessible."

With that Larkin drains the last of the wine from his glass and he and de Mendoza look ready to depart. He reaches for his wallet and places enough money on the table to cover the food and drinks and a generous tip.

"If it's okay with you all, I really should get some rest now.

"Enjoy a relaxing weekend in Lima, we shall see you outside the Hotel España at 8 o'clock sharp on Monday morning."

As Larkin and Luis de Mendoza leave the table, Jesse Hughes asks, "Would the rest of you like to join me for a drink? Get to know each other better?"

Looking at Amy with a smile, he says, "I believe I may already know your father; Professor Lawrence of Columbia University?"

OOC: Amy has never met Jesse Hughes before. Her father has also never mentioned meeting him.

Once the two expedition leaders have left Jesse asks those who've stayed for a drink, "So, how much do you believe of what we've just heard? Do you trust this Larkin?"

Posted: **Tue Aug 14, 2018 1:58 pm**

"Well, the alternative is to stay here in Peru and pretend to be cultured, so I would say I trust him only about as far as he's more interesting than the alternative; wild goose chase or not." John said, shrugging.

Posted: **Tue Aug 14, 2018 3:07 pm**

Bar Cordano, Lima - Peru
8:15pm - Friday 18th March, 1921

"Perhaps," replies Hughes, "and what about the delightful Luis de Mendoza?"

Posted: **Tue Aug 14, 2018 3:30 pm**

"I'll always have a few drinks." states Olivier. As she orders and downs some as the conversation goes on.

In response to Jesse:"Eh, I'm willing to go along for now, nothing he's said sounds too outlandish." she says with a shrug. "Why? you don't believe him?"

Posted: **Tue Aug 14, 2018 3:39 pm**

"No, I'm afraid that all is not as it seems and that Augustus Larkin is planning to lead you all into great danger."

He pauses for a second, to allow his words to sink in and then continues, "I am not Jesse Hughes, my real name is Jackson Elias.

"I have been researching for a book about secret societies here in Peru. In particular I've recently spent some time travelling around the area near Lake Titicaca looking for evidence of a death cult that may have operated in the region since the arrival of the conquistadors in the 16th century."

Elias takes a puff of his pipe and goes on, "While in Puno I was warned of a dangerous man named Luis de Mendoza, who the locals believed to be a 'kharisiri' - that is a kind of vampiric monster from local folklore that sucks the body fat from people."

Elias chuckles at that, "Obviously such monsters do not exist in reality, and the legends likely started with the arrival of the conquistadors, but it was continued links to stories of these kharisiri that first brought me to Peru. I believe that if the local death cult does exist, then they are using superstition and tales of these mythic monsters as a cover to conceal their very real crimes.

"So I made note of the name Luis de Mendoza - imagine my surprise when I crossed paths with de Mendoza here in Lima. I observed his activities and learned that he was working with one Augustus Larkin arranging to explore a long lost pyramid near to Puno.

"And Larkin was another name that I'd already come across in Puno..."

Posted: **Wed Aug 15, 2018 12:08 am**

“Great...golly darn me! This whole business with fake names, death cults, and mythical pyramids sounds like it’s a plot ripped straight outta one o’ those Pulp Magazines. This is simply too-too. Count me in!” John said in excitement, smiling.

Posted: **Wed Aug 15, 2018 2:26 am**

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?"

Posted: **Wed Aug 15, 2018 4:32 am**

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? "

Posted: **Wed Aug 15, 2018 8:13 am**

"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."

Posted: **Wed Aug 15, 2018 8:42 am**

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.

Posted: **Wed Aug 15, 2018 9:45 am**

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?"

Posted: **Wed Aug 15, 2018 8:54 pm**

"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.

Posted: **Thu Aug 16, 2018 2:44 am**

"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."

Posted: **Thu Aug 16, 2018 5:09 am**

"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.

Posted: **Thu Aug 16, 2018 1:37 pm**

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.

Posted: **Thu Aug 16, 2018 9:02 pm**

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.

Posted: **Thu Aug 16, 2018 11:44 pm**

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."

Posted: **Fri Aug 17, 2018 2:14 am**

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.

Posted: **Fri Aug 17, 2018 2:44 am**

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

Posted: **Fri Aug 17, 2018 2:19 pm**

"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."

Posted: **Fri Aug 17, 2018 9:06 pm**

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

Posted: **Sat Aug 18, 2018 4:25 am**

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

Posted: **Sat Aug 18, 2018 11:03 am**

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.

Posted: **Sat Aug 18, 2018 7:09 pm**

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

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

Posted: **Sun Aug 19, 2018 1:05 am**

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

He beamed happily at his cherished bodyguard.

Posted: **Sun Aug 19, 2018 1:30 am**

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.

Posted: **Mon Aug 20, 2018 12:46 am**

Hotel Maury - Lima, Peru

The walk back to the Maury is uneventful and Atauchi is relieved that nobody seems to be trailing the group as they make their way to the hotel.

OOC: No tick this time for Atauchim, sorry.

Although he's not staying there himself, Augustus Larkin cannot be faulted for the hotel that he selected for his expedition members; located in the centre of the city the Hotel Maury is one of the finest hotels in Lima. As well as dozens of well-furnished rooms, the hotel offers a well-appointed banquet room and an extravagantly stocked bar, famous for its Pisco Sours (a cocktail created by American bartender Victor Vaughn Morris).

: Grand Hotel Maury, Lima

After an good night's sleep the investigators are met in the banquet hall for breakfast by Jackson Elias, over the course of a leisurely breakfast Jackson talks about his past and, without seeming too pushy, learns as much about the investigators as they are prepared to reveal. Apparently he has already written six books on the subject of death cults, both discussions of historic cults and exposés of the activities of modern day cults. The modern day investigations have often involved Jackson putting his own life on the line to get close to or inside of the cult. Despite his research, Elias remains a sceptic, claiming that he has never found any evidence of supernatural powers, magic or dark gods, just leaders who manipulate the fears and insecurities of their followers.

After everyone has finished their breakfast Jackson takes them all to meet Professor Sánchez at the University.

Museo de Arqueología y Antropología, University of San Marcos - Lima, Peru
11:00am - Saturday 19th March, 1921

: University of San Marcos

Jackson explains that the University of San Marcos is the oldest university in the Americas, established in 1551, although the Museo de Arqueología y Antropologí (Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology) is a much more recent addition to the campus, only opening in 1919. It is housed in a long, two-story stone building painted dark yellow, fronted by the University Park.

: Museo de Arqueología y Antropología

Professor Sánchez's office is located on the museum's ground floor; it is an airy, tall-ceilinged room with white walls and shelves full of books and artefacts, the windows have been left wide open which keeps the room airy despite the summer heat. The office is dominated by the professor's large hardwood desk which is piled high with papers, books, and journals.

When the investigators follow Jackson into his office, it is obvious that Professor Sánchez is not expecting any visitors other than Elias, none the less he is happy to talk to everyone. Although Sánchez's English is not perfect, it is understandable to everyone.

"So you are all new recruits of Augutus Larkin and his huaqueros?"

"These people were recruited by Larkin, yes," replies Elias, "but I have warned them of my suspicions about Larkin. Obviously they are sceptical about my story for the time being, but they would like to see the information that you have, and to hear about your own dealings with Augustus Larkin Professor."

The professor gives a solemn nod, "Trinidad has been working through most of the night to complete her translation of the document that we located written by the conquistador Gaspar Figueroa. She has almost finished and at this moment is in the museum basement collecting an artefact that she says is related to the both notes and to the pyramid.

"She will return momentarily. In the meantime, perhaps you would all like a coffee? And I will try to answer any of your questions?"

Posted: **Mon Aug 20, 2018 1:42 am**

"Good morning, Professor Sánchez," says Amy with a smile. "Thank you, coffee would be swell. I'm Amy Lawrence, an history student from New York, but I'm also studying archaeology and anthropology. What can you tell us about Augustus Larkin?"

Posted: **Mon Aug 20, 2018 2:43 am**

Atauchi stood by as the introductions were made by Jackson, and merely nodded as the professor's eyes fell upon him. He had very little interest in these academic sorts, but he was curious to hear what he had to say about Larkin and his activities in the region. When the man uttered a word in his native tongue, he felt it necessary to relate its meaning to the others given the negative connotation it held for their potential employer and his associates.

"He say people who work for Larkin, ladrones de tumbas, err.. apology..." he said, paused for a long moment, then continued, "Grave robbers."

Posted: **Mon Aug 20, 2018 6:07 am**

Marcus finds himself liking Jackson. The man had lived an interesting life, and seemed willing to take risks to achieve his goals. Perhaps he'd check his works out once he was back home.

At the university he remains quiet, content to listen and fade into the background. He would accept a cup of coffee, however. He viewed it as his reward for putting up with the heat.

Posted: **Mon Aug 20, 2018 1:06 pm**

"Yes Larkin, five times I try to contact him to join his expedition, five times! Nothing!," Professor Sánchez bangs his hand on the desk in frustration.

"I read about Augustus Larkin and his pyramid in the newspapers and so I write to him all of these times offering the assistance of the museum and all of its staff, I even try to visit him at his hotel, but nothing. Nothing at all! And then I meet with Jackson Elias and he explains to me about Larkin's connections to what is maybe a cult of murder and a band of criminals and then it all makes sense to me.

"Huaqueros! Yes grave robbers! They do not want to be joined by a learned professor of the finest museum in all of South America, no they wish only to gather all of the treasures from this national monument and secrete them away to fund for all of their criminal dealings.

"But my assistant, she has been working very hard on her summary of the Final Confessions of the Conquistador Gasper Figueroa. With her notes we can locate the pyramid for ourselves and arrive there before Larkin can return."

The professor stops his tirade while he pours cups of strong coffee for all his guests. Slim and dapper in well-cut linen suit, neatly oiled black hair and a well-groomed beard, Sánchez's eyes still burn with anger behind his glasses. "What is taking that girl so long? I told her to be ready for eleven o'clock promptly."

Taking a sip of his coffee, "Still she will not be long I expect. Where was I?

"Ah yes, it is most important that we pin point the precise location of this pyramid and reach it before the expedition of August Larkin. Always archaeologists will take away some of the treasures to their own county, but always some must stay for their local museums. These artefacts must not be stolen away by criminals!"

Posted: **Tue Aug 21, 2018 3:52 am**

"That's a good idea," says Amy. "We've got a headstart, and the notes should help us find it first. Could Larkin know about the document? We need to make sure he doesn't get his hands on it."

Posted: **Tue Aug 21, 2018 4:17 am**

Atauchi accepted the piping hot mug from the professor and listened to the man expound on the history between himself and Larkin. Their prospective employer had recruited skilled individuals from a variety of fields, but refused to even give one of the foremost experts on the subject matter the courtesy of a reply. Most unusual. When Sanchez mentioned that his assistant was overdue, he became uneasy about the situation. Had someone learned of the task she had been assigned and intercepted the woman en route? If she didn't turn up in another ten minutes or so, the tracker would voice his concerns to the group.

He turned his gaze toward Amy and queried, "Are you suggest we go without Larkin?"

Posted: **Tue Aug 21, 2018 5:10 am**

"It was Professor Sánchez's idea," says Amy, "but yes. We form our own expedition and get there first."

Posted: **Tue Aug 21, 2018 4:01 pm**

"Yes, yes, this is what we must do," says Professor Sánchez enthusiastically, "Under no circumstances must you join Larkin's expedition. What do you expect will become of you or the artefacts if you travel with the cult of murder?"

Posted: **Tue Aug 21, 2018 8:18 pm**

Marcus also has a bad feeling.

"Your assistant," he asks the professor, "Is she the type to run late? Or is she usually prompt? Did anyone else know that she was working on the notes?"

Posted: **Tue Aug 21, 2018 8:45 pm**

The professor looks suddenly worried, "Trinidad Rizo is my very best student, and always very punctual. I thought that only myself and Jackson knew what she was working on, but it is a possibility that we have been watched. The university is open to all."

"Do you think Trinidad is in danger?"

Posted: **Tue Aug 21, 2018 11:13 pm**

The primary reason Atauchi had come to Peru in the first place was the offer of wealth Larkin had made to him. The tribal man had accumulated little in the way of money or assets, and the opportunity to elevate his social standing was one he could not refuse. However, in hindsight, perhaps the proposition had been too good to be true. All that said, an expedition could not proceed without funding, and Larkin had the wealth to make it happen.

"Larkin have resources we need." he commented on the plan.

Once again, the Quechuan man heard his thoughts spoken aloud by another. A strange coincidence, perhaps, but worth monitoring.

"Where your assistant working?" he asked the professor, ready to move on the woman's location should the others decide to.

Posted: **Wed Aug 22, 2018 2:53 am**

"Yes, we must go make sure she's all right, and quickly!" says Amy. "I was a bit worried. That's why I was wondering if Larkin knew about the document."

Posted: **Wed Aug 22, 2018 8:15 am**

Pointing back the way the investigators arrived, Sánchez says, "Of course, the nearest stairs down to the basement are at the building entrance.

"The storage room is at the end of the corridor."

Posted: **Wed Aug 22, 2018 7:17 pm**

Marcus takes off, following the professor's instructions.

Hopefully they were not too late.

Posted: **Thu Aug 23, 2018 2:55 am**

Amy hurries after Marcus, knowing that she might be able to help Trinidad if she's hurt, but she has a sinking feeling that it may already be too late.

Posted: **Thu Aug 23, 2018 3:34 am**

Atauchi nodded in understanding and proceeded out into the hallway on the heels of the others. He placed a hand on the handle of his survival knife to ensure that he could draw it at a moment's notice. He didn't know what to expect, but he desired to be prepared for the worst.

Posted: **Thu Aug 23, 2018 5:48 pm**

At the bottom of the stairs a long basement corridor lead to the storeroom. It is poorly lit by two humming electrical lights. At the far end, the door to the museum's cavernous storeroom stands ajar.

Posted: **Thu Aug 23, 2018 7:37 pm**

Marcus makes his way forward quickly, keeping an ear out for any signs of trouble.

Posted: **Fri Aug 24, 2018 1:43 am**

Jackson Elias brings up the rear as Marcus, Atauchi and Amy make their way along the dimly lit corridor.

Stepping through the doorway Marcus sees that the storage room is huge, filled with evenly spaced rows of floor-to-ceiling shelves. Most of the shelves are packed with crates, boxes, and bags containing a huge variety of artifacts of historical interest. The shelves and containers are all neatly labeled, and everything is clean and well kept. Between the dim electric lighting and the packed shelves, it is difficult to see very far in the storeroom, but Marcus hears the faint sound of footsteps over to the left. It sounds like the footsteps are coming from the far corner of the room.

Posted: **Fri Aug 24, 2018 3:38 am**

Amy also hears something as she enters the basement.

Posted: **Fri Aug 24, 2018 6:48 am**

Amy also hears the faint sound of footsteps somewhere the storeroom.

OOC: As does Atauchi if he passes his listen roll.
An extreme success (1/5 listen) gives a more accurate location (the same as Marcus)

Posted: **Fri Aug 24, 2018 4:59 pm**

Atauchi moved along at the group's pace. When he reached the slightly ajar door, he turned an ear toward it and gave a listen.
Hearing nothing, the tracker then stepped into the room behind Marcus as he followed the other man's lead.

Posted: **Fri Aug 24, 2018 9:53 pm**

Marcus looks back at the others and wordlessly points out where he hears the footsteps coming from. Then slowly and carefully, he attempts to move over there undetected.

Posted: **Sat Aug 25, 2018 3:12 am**

Amy nods, having heard the footsteps but not being sure in which direction they had been, and follows Marcus silently.

Posted: **Sat Aug 25, 2018 2:57 pm**

John remained with Professor Sanchez for the time being, trying to calm his nerves with a cup of hot coffe of the local blend before darting his eyes back at the good professor, "My body guard left without me, I...don't think that's good body-guarding right there. You think I should try sneaking off to follow him?"

Posted: **Sat Aug 25, 2018 8:52 pm**

Atauchi had noticed that those whom had accompanied him were taking particular care to move cautiously upon entering the storage room. Perhaps they had heard something he had not? Given the degree of plausibility, the Quechuan man decided that their actions were prudent and he too attempted to move forward with stealth.

Posted: **Sun Aug 26, 2018 1:14 am**

Basement Storage Room - Museo de Arqueología y Antropología, University of San Marcos - Lima, Peru
11:15am - Saturday 19th March, 1921

The chaotic layout of the storeroom's huge shelves, compounded by the tight spaces between them and the occasional box on the floor, frustrates the efforts of the investigators to approach the source of the sound. Despite trying their best to remain stealthy, one of them must have made a sound that alerted the intruder, because suddenly running footsteps can be heard for a couple of seconds followed by the sound of a door banging shut at the far end of the room.

Professor Sánchez's Office - Museo de Arqueología y Antropología, University of San Marcos - Lima, Peru
11:15am - Saturday 19th March, 1921

The professor nods thoughtfully, "Perhaps your bodyguard thinks that you would be safer here until he finds out what the problem is."

"I hope though, that this is just a fuss about no problem, and that Jackson will soon return with Trinidad and your friends."

Posted: **Sun Aug 26, 2018 5:22 am**

This is really not part of my contract. I shouldn't get involved.

But alas, Marcus knew he was already in to deep. With a imperceptible sigh he takes off running for the door and after the footsteps.

Posted: **Sun Aug 26, 2018 6:26 am**

"You know...you might not be wrong, so I think I'll stay here for another 30minutes before I head off to find my bodyguard." John said, sipping some more hot chocolate.

Posted: **Sun Aug 26, 2018 6:24 pm**

Atauchi also took off at a run in the direction of the footfalls. He heard a door shut and wondered what lay beyond it. Another room? A hallway? Stairs perhaps? The tracker tried to visualize where they were in relation to the known areas on the floor above, though truthfully, he was out of his element here.

"I heard door. We know where that go?" he asked Marcus.

Posted: **Sun Aug 26, 2018 6:46 pm**

"Don't have a clue," Marcus says. He's already regretting getting involved. But if the professor's assistant was in danger, he had to try and help.

Apparently he was more gallant than he thought. It was both annoying and refreshing.

Posted: **Sun Aug 26, 2018 11:41 pm**

Basement Storage Room - Museo de Arqueología y Antropología, University of San Marcos - Lima, Peru
11:15am - Saturday 19th March, 1921

Rounding two more corners of the storage shelves, the investigators can see the door around ten yards ahead of them; Trinidad Rizo's body is much closer, just a few feet away.

Half-buried under a pile of artefacts that have been pulled off the shelves, her body is horrific, nothing like a fresh corpse; she is emaciated, almost mummified, and there is a large disc of torn, bloody flesh on her upper chest. Her face is shrivelled up beyond recognition - frozen in a mask of terror, eyes still wide and staring.

OOC: Viewing Trinidad Rizo's body causes a SAN check: Lose 1d6 Sanity on a fail (1d3 points for even for hardened wartime veterans) / 0 loss if successful. The description above is all that can be seen at a glance. Stopping to inspect the scene may provide more detail, but lose further ground on the murderer.
Also make track roll: See below if successful.

Professor Sánchez's Office - Museo de Arqueología y Antropología, University of San Marcos - Lima, Peru
11:15am - Saturday 19th March, 1921

"Yes, that's probably for the best. Would you like a biscuit?" Professor Sánchez opens a well stocked biscuit barrel and tilts it in John's direction.

OOC: Apologies HelplessBystander, I wasn't expecting you back until tomorrow.

Posted: **Sun Aug 26, 2018 11:49 pm**

Amy claps a hand over her mouth when she sees the body. While horrified, she manages to refrain from screaming or fainting.

Posted: **Mon Aug 27, 2018 12:26 am**

Jackson Elias stops in his tracks, his revolver is drawn, but hangs limply in his hand. He stares at his young friend's emaciated and mutilated corpse in disbelief, "How could? What....?"

Posted: **Mon Aug 27, 2018 3:25 am**

Atauchi glanced down at the corpse long enough to ensure that he did not trip over it and continued after the woman's assailant. The scene was a truly horrific one, but one that he would have to put out of his mind if he wanted to catch the individual responsible for this.
Now that there was a confirmed killer on the loose, the Quechuan tracker withdrew his survival knife from its sheath, but fumbled with it and it went skittering across the floor into a small pool of blood. The blood likely belonged to Miss Rizo and would help them locate their quarry. He regained some of his composure and gained control of the knife which he held in a reverse grip so the blade would be concealed behind his forearm.

OOC: Wow... not my game so far with regards to die rolls. Nearly had a 100, so I gave myself a self-imposed fumble when trying to draw the weapon, however then I saw that I also got a maximum of 6. I'll let the GM decide what Atauchi's fate is now.

On the bright side, he did manage to make his Track roll.

Posted: **Mon Aug 27, 2018 5:49 am**

Marcus is shaken by the scene, especially the state of the body. But he also knows the killer was still in the area, and he couldn't let them get away.

Pulling out his gun, he looks back at Amy, not wanting the young woman to put herself in any danger. "Stay back!" Then he runs for the door and after the killer.

Posted: **Mon Aug 27, 2018 8:42 am**

Jackson quickly regains his composure and joins Marcus pursuing the murderer.

OOC: Zero, please make an INT roll for Atauchi, if the roll is failed then Atauchi does not see the body as it really is: Trinidad's shrivelled face is, in fact, a tribal mask that fell from the shelf, there is no hole on her chest and the "very small" pool of blood is because she banged her head on the shelf during the struggle. She's probably just unconscious and Amy will be able to look after her.

Atauchi is free to join the pursuit.

If the INT roll is successful:

Posted: **Mon Aug 27, 2018 8:46 am**

OOC: Sure, you got it.

Atauchi went wide-eyed as the shelves around him appeared to be collapsing around him. He felt as if Supay himself had come to claim him as his own. Fearfully, the Quechuan man ran headlong towards the door ahead of him, nearly knocking the other pursuers off their stride as he charged ahead. Atauchi held a hand to his chest as he gasped for air, but delayed only momentarily, then dutifully continued after the others in pursuit of the killer.

OOC: Oh that's brilliant, if I had to choose a phobia from the start, this might have been it. It suits the character so well.

Posted: **Mon Aug 27, 2018 9:32 am**

Marcus and Jackson pause for a second, preparing to go through the door, but Atauchi barges straight past, crashing through the door with such force that slams loudly against a wall as it flies open.

On the other side is an almost unlit stairwell, the only light coming from daylight spilling through an open door at the top. Atauchi cries in horror, but runs headlong up the winding stairs towards daylight.

Posted: **Mon Aug 27, 2018 10:12 am**

Professor Sánchez's Office - Museo de Arqueología y Antropología, University of San Marcos - Lima, Peru
11:16am - Saturday 19th March, 1921

Drinks and biscuits is interrupted by the sound of a woman screaming in terror somewhere in the university park outside the office windows - the scream is abruptly cut off as the woman cries in pain.

Professor Sánchez's cup rattles against its saucer as he jumps to his feet and rushes to the windows.

OOC: Anyone who is not currently involved and doesn't want to be at the hotel, you have another 24 hours to join in at Sánchez's office.

Posted: **Mon Aug 27, 2018 5:15 pm**

Antoine D'Estaing walks swiftly with the rest of the group who is at the Sanchez place.

Posted: **Mon Aug 27, 2018 7:10 pm**

Marcus follows his eager colleague up the stairs, going as fast as he can.

Posted: **Tue Aug 28, 2018 1:51 am**

Amy stays behind with the body, realizing that she'd be of little use in a fight and would only get in the way. She gives the scene a closer look, careful not to touch anything. She looks to see if there's anything that could possibly be Trinidad's translation notes or the original document, hoping that the killer had either not had enough time to seize them or had dropped them while fleeing.

Posted: **Tue Aug 28, 2018 11:20 am**

The door at the top of the stairs leads to a side entrance to the museum.

As Atauchi, Marcus and Jackson reach the door they hear a woman scream and cry out in pain around the front of the museum, somewhere in the park outside Professor Sánchez's window.

Atauchi sees a few faint bloody footprints leading away from the side entrance towards the park.

OOC: Anyone running directly toward the park rounds the corner at the same time as the following paragraphs, and so can make the same HARD Spot Hidden roll as those in Professor Sánchez's office

Meanwhile in Sánchez's office, he, John and Antoine look out of the window and see a young lady crouching on a path no more than thirty yards away. She begins to scream for help as she clutches her stomach. Blood is pouring through her fingers and soaking into her elegant summer dress.

The park is otherwise quiet, and although a few passers-by have turned to look, they are a long way from the incident.

Professor Sánchez is very shocked, he looks to his companions, eyes wide with panic, "Quickly! We must help!"

OOC: Make HARD Spot Hidden rolls (half skill):

The Storage Room in the Basement.

Looking at Trinidad's body, Amy notices a notebook sticking out of her jacket pocket.

Next to the body is a small wooden crate that has been smashed into pieces. The top of the crate has clearly been levered off indicating that the damage to the crate is not entirely due to a fall from the shelves. The remains of the crate are packed with straw, and poking out from the mass is a section of what appears to be a large piece of worked gold.

OOC: Make a Spot Hidden roll for Amy:

Posted: **Tue Aug 28, 2018 2:18 pm**

OOC: To clarify, Atauchi is now over his Bout of Madness and, although suffering from temporary insanity, can now act freely.

Posted: **Tue Aug 28, 2018 5:53 pm**

Atauchi continued to head in the direction indicated by the bloody footprints. When he heard the new cry, he knew immediately that their quarry had struck again, but also that it was most likely a diversionary tactic meant to delay pursuit. He was determined to catch up to the attacker, whomever it may be, at any cost.

OOC: Nope! lol...

Posted: **Tue Aug 28, 2018 6:07 pm**

OOC: Lol! Hopefully he'll survive long enough for his luck to change.

Atauchi can see the wounded lady ahead through the park as she begins to scream for help.

She is about fifty yards away, between him and the windows of Sánchez's office.

Posted: **Wed Aug 29, 2018 12:45 am**

John looked at the scene outside the window in shock, dropping the cookie that he had intended to take from the cookie tray onto the floor in the process. "Oh my! What is happening outside?"

Posted: **Wed Aug 29, 2018 2:25 am**

Amy's eyes well up with tears looking at this poor dead young woman not so different from herself. That could have been me, she thinks with a shudder. However, she is still able to see the burnt flesh on the end of the gold object and refrains from touching it in case it's hot. She does carefully remove the notebook from Trinidad's pocket and examines it, hoping that it's in English. Even if it isn't, the professor should still be able to translate it later.

Posted: **Wed Aug 29, 2018 5:13 am**

Marcus's first attempt at spotting anyone is disrupted by the woman's screams. He is torn between going over to her and continuing to search for the killer.

Posted: **Wed Aug 29, 2018 1:08 pm**

Luis de Mendoza has been stealthily moving back towards the museum entrance, using the cover of the park's trees and monuments to escape from his victim unseen, but inside his office Professor Sánchez catches sight of the assassin.

"He has a knife!" the professor throws open the office window and shouts in Spanish and in English, "Look out he has a knife!"

He points to some trees midway between the wounded woman and the main entrance.

Now that his subterfuge has been foiled, de Mendoza breaks cover and sprints towards the museum entrance, a large and bloody knife is in his hand. He attempts to keep the nearest of the universities monuments between him and his pursuers for as long as possible.

Posted: **Wed Aug 29, 2018 1:53 pm**

Meanwhile, down in the basement storeroom...

There is a little blood on Trinidad's notebook, but it hasn't made anything unreadable. Unfortunately Amy sees that the notes that the book contains are all in elegantly handwritten Spanish.

OOC: Please make another Spot Hidden though as Amy flicks though the pages.

The golden strip of metal doesn't appear to be hot, at least there is no sign of scorching to the smashed wooden box or to the straw that protected the item, just the freshly seared flesh. When Amy holds a hand near to the metal, she cannot feel and heat radiating from it.

But does she dare touch it?

Posted: **Wed Aug 29, 2018 7:48 pm**

Marcus hears the professor's screams and spots his quarry. When De Mendoza begins to run, he follows in hot pursuit. Though he could attempt a shot from this range, it was risky. And while Marcus knew he was a damn good shot, he also knew that if he missed there was a good chance he would not get a second one. Besides, he wanted De Mendoza conscious.

As he runs, he yells out. "De Mendoza! Stop where you are, I have a gun and will shoot! Last warning!" The man spoke little English, but hopefully he'd know the word gun.

Posted: **Wed Aug 29, 2018 7:55 pm**

De Mendoza keeps running towards the museum entrance. He looks in Marcus' direction though and the bodyguard could swear that his quarry grins.

Posted: **Wed Aug 29, 2018 8:00 pm**

In the office

Professor Sánchez turns frantically to his companions, "Oh no! He is coming for us! Do you have guns?"

Posted: **Thu Aug 30, 2018 3:49 am**

Amy gasps when she looks through the notes. That name is the one thing she understands, even in Spanish. She is still afraid to touch the gold object with the burnt flesh on it, at least with her bare skin, but she does muster the courage to use her handkerchief to pick it up without touching it directly.

Posted: **Thu Aug 30, 2018 7:57 am**

Atauchi didn't believe it prudent to bring any of his firearms with him to the university, they were all much too large for him to conceal. This left the Quechuan man with just one recourse to apprehend their quarry, and that was to outpace this individual. Whether he brought his own knife to bear on them remained to be seen. He continued after their target at his topmost speed.

OOC: Atauchi's pretty swift with a movement of 9. He must be gaining ground I would think.

Posted: **Thu Aug 30, 2018 1:33 pm**

Atauchi is fast, faster than Marcus, more importantly faster than de Mendoza. With every stride he closes the distance to the killer, but he knows he's not getting there quickly enough to catch him before he reaches the door.

Behind Atauchi, Marcus has as clear a shot as he's going to get, it's now or never.

Jackson is lagging behind, not as fit or fast as he once was, he lets the youngsters pursue de Mendoza and runs to try and save the wounded student.

Inside his office Professor Sánchez tries to take the initiative, he grabs John and urges him towards the door, "The door! Help me to block the door!"

Unfortunately John can see that the door is half-glass and will not keep out a determined killer for long, "Antoine! Climb out of the window quickly!"

OOC: We'll be switching to the chase rules, if/when de Mendoza enters the door. If Marcus wishes to shoot, he must decide whether to stop (extreme skill) or fire on the run (extreme skill with a penalty dice!). Otherwise he can just run as fast as he can, without shooting. His choice will determine his starting position in the "chase".
Use 1d10*10 for any bonus or penalty dice.

OOC: Looking at what I posted above, and having seen HelplessBystander's reply, I think that I should clarify that it is Sánchez who shouts to Antoine to use the window - while he's urging John to help block the door. I wasn't meaning to post John's intentions.

Posted: **Thu Aug 30, 2018 2:01 pm**

Down in the Basement

The metal strip does not feel hot at all through Amy's handkerchief.

It is a single length of worked gold, around two feet long, three inches wide, and is perhaps one-third of an inch thick. Both ends are rough, as though the piece was ripped or broken from a larger design. It's quite heavy, Amy guesses that it weighs at least twenty pounds, not too heavy for her to carry easily, but she wouldn't like to carry it around all day.

The piece is largely a straight band, although four sections jut out at right angles into short spurs or squared off spirals. The surface is imprinted with a series of nonrepeating geometric shapes, mostly squares and rectangles, with no obvious meaning to them. None of these shapes resemble any form of writing that Amy has ever seen.

Posted: **Thu Aug 30, 2018 2:34 pm**

"Marcus, we're meeting back up at the hotel!" John said, valiantly running off as quickly as possible and started helping with the doors.

OOC: Okay, made the necessary edits

Posted: **Thu Aug 30, 2018 3:15 pm**

Posted: **Thu Aug 30, 2018 6:10 pm**

Marcus realizes he's not going to catch De Mendoza. Loath as he is to do it, he needs to take the shot and protect John and the others.

He stops running, aims at the fleeing murderer, and fires a bullet.

Posted: **Fri Aug 31, 2018 1:13 am**

Marcus' shot misses Atauchi by inches and hits the wall of the museum, well above de Mendoza's head.

De Mendoza bursts through the museum entrance and heads straight for the office of Professor Sánchez with Atauchi in pursuit.

Atauchi is shocked to see that de Mendoza has almost completely knocked the museum door off it's hinges!

OOC: Please could everyone (even Amy) make a CON roll, at the same time as saying what they're doing next.

Posted: **Fri Aug 31, 2018 1:48 am**

Posted: **Fri Aug 31, 2018 1:57 am**

Amy keeps the gold artifact at arm's length. It's a good idea not to touch it anyway, so as not to cause damage to it, which is something any would-be archaeologist knows. She gasps when she hears the gunshot. Not knowing who has fired the gun or the circumstances, though aware that there's still danger, she decides the best thing she can do for now is to remain here. She examines the body, trying to figure out how it could have gotten into such a state.

Posted: **Fri Aug 31, 2018 2:12 am**

John decided that this was no time for a heroic confrontation and yelled at the assailant, “Don’t shoot my bodyguard! He’s got life insurance!”

Then he ran out the window.

OOC: Made a CON on the post above. I edited it to maintain continuity.

Posted: **Fri Aug 31, 2018 2:51 am**

Antoine D'Estaing pulls out the sword out of his cane and get's ready to confront the attacker !

He was a French officer during WW I, and comes from a family of avid swordsmen.

As soon as the aggressor will be in range, he will lunge at him with his weapon !

Posted: **Fri Aug 31, 2018 4:25 am**

Atauchi instinctively ducked when he heard the shot ring out behind him. The move nearly threw him off stride, but he managed to maintain his sure footing.

"Wanu!" he swore as a bullet ricocheted off the wall nearby. The tracker quickly glanced over his shoulder at Marcus, then continued at his breakneck pace.

OOC: Guess you can't add dice to an existing post?

[dice]1[/dice]
[dice]0[/dice]

OOC: Or maybe you can, I have no idea what's happening right now.

Posted: **Fri Aug 31, 2018 4:51 am**

Cursing as his shot misses, Marcus prepares to resume running after De Mendoza, though he doubts he'll be able to catch him.

But as John begins to climb out the window, Marcus instead redirects to meeting up with him. Given the situation, protecting his employer had to be his top priority.

Posted: **Fri Aug 31, 2018 2:17 pm**

John and Sánchez quickly drag the desk in front of the of the door, before John runs to the window and Antoine readies his sword.

After smashing through the museum entrance, Luis de Mendoza heads straight for Sánchez's office, tipping a stone pedestal topped by a priceless vase onto the floor behind him as he runs down the corridor.

When the office door refuses to budge, de Mendoza smashes the glass window with a violent blow from his knife and attempts to climb through the window before Atauchi can catch him.

LOTS of OOC stuff - PLEASE READ!,[ooc][b]Atauchi [/b]can make either a Jump or Dodge roll to avoid the rolling stone pedestal without slowing. [list][*]FAILURE: just means that you are slowed and de Mendoza makes it into the office before you catch him. [*]FUMBLE: means that he is tripped and also loses 1d3 hit points[*]SUCCESS: means you catch him in the corridor. [*]EXCEPTIONAL SUCCESS: means that you've gained ground so quickly that you catch de Mendoza off guard – gain a bonus die on your next roll.[/list][/ooc] [ooc][b]Antoine[/b], you can stab de Mendoza through the window – the cover gives you a penalty die. Or you can stab him as he climbs through the window (might not happen if Atauchi stops him) – this will give you a bonus die instead.[/ooc] [ooc]de Mendoza will be attempting to fight back against the first investigator to attack him, and so if Atauchi catches him outside the door, he'll be staying there for now.[/ooc] [ooc][b]John[/b], make a climb roll to get out of the window in a hurry: [list][*]FAILURE: It takes you another 1d3 rounds to get out [*]FUMBLE: You get out quickly but fall out onto the path, lose 1d3 hit points [*]EXCEPTIONAL SUCCESS: You more or less vault out of the window, with the grace of an Olympian – give yourself a pat on the back and consider yourself half way to the Hotel Maury already![/list][/ooc] [ooc][b]Marcus[/b], you are outside the window by the time John gets out (unless he makes that acrobatic vault . Depending on whether John is stuck getting out, you may be able to help him. You can also see the office door through the window, and so might get a shot at Mendoza. As with Antoine's sword attacks, if Atauchi manages to stop de Mendoza outside the window this will have a penalty die, but if he's climbing though the smashed window then you’d have a bonus die. If John's stuck climbing out then you've no shot, but can still see inside. If you shoot, then roll a 1d10*10 anyway as you'll definitely have either a bonus or a penalty.[/ooc]

Posted: **Fri Aug 31, 2018 2:18 pm**

Posted: **Fri Aug 31, 2018 3:50 pm**

Not being a particularly athletic person, John had a wee bit o' difficulty climbing through the window.

Posted: **Fri Aug 31, 2018 7:00 pm**

Marcus attempts to help John out of the window once he reaches it.

Posted: **Fri Aug 31, 2018 7:05 pm**

Atauchi deftly dodged to one side as the rather sizeable pillar rolled in his direction, knife in hand, ready to strike the moment he is within melee range. He suspected that his quarry's strength was considerable, and braced himself for what he anticipated to be a very violent physical confrontation.

OOC: Yes that was a success... I know, almost unprecedented. No damage hath been scored.

Posted: **Sat Sep 01, 2018 12:39 am**

De Mendoza whirls to face Atauchi, grinning evilly, his big knife still stained with the girl's blood.

Atauchi sees that the other man's face is also smeared with lots of blood around his mouth, Trinidad's? Surely not!

As Atauchi lunges, de Mendoza attempts to turn the attack aside and strike a vicious counter.

Posted: **Sat Sep 01, 2018 1:11 am**

In the park the wounded student has collapsed to the ground and is almost unconscious, Jackson attempts to stop her from bleeding out.

Posted: **Sat Sep 01, 2018 1:30 am**

Atauchi was surprised when the attacker whirled about and his identity was revealed to him. He delayed for a moment, then slashed at de Mendoza with his own blade.

Posted: **Sat Sep 01, 2018 1:32 am**

Marcus attempts to help his employer out of the window and to safety, so he can hopefully fire through it.
He all but yanks his young charge outside, before firmly but gently helping him down onto the ground.

Posted: **Sat Sep 01, 2018 2:44 am**

"Thanks Marcus! I knew I could count on you!" John whispered, "I...think I might be a bit outta my depth here, I'll go grab That Jackson Elias Guy and the girl on the groun an' drag her somewhere safe, hos 'bout that?"

Posted: **Sat Sep 01, 2018 2:47 am**

Antoine D'Estaing attempts to hit the attacker through the window with his sword.

Posted: **Sat Sep 01, 2018 5:09 am**

What little knowledge Amy has comes readily to mind.

Posted: **Sat Sep 01, 2018 1:48 pm**

John went to the side of Elias and the girl and asked, "Hey, uh, you need some help here sir?

Posted: **Sat Sep 01, 2018 2:27 pm**

"Yes, thank you."

Jackson moves aside for John, "See if you can stop the bleeding, she's lost consciousness, I don't know if she's going to make it."

As he stands up, Jackson pulls his .45 back out of its holster, "I'm going to try and help the others."

Posted: **Sat Sep 01, 2018 3:57 pm**

De Mendoza fails to avoid Antoine's sword, but hardly finches from the damage.

He speaks in Spanish as he presses his attack against Atauchi, the first sentence that anyone has heard from the Spaniard, "You are no match for Luis de Mendoza, you have no skill."

Although Atauchi can understand the words, de Mendoza is speaking in an archaic dialect that he's unfamiliar with.

Posted: **Sat Sep 01, 2018 4:14 pm**

Posted: **Sat Sep 01, 2018 4:24 pm**

Atauchi called upon Epunamun to give him the skill to survive the savage assault as he attempted to avoid the man's bladed attack.

"¿Qué hay de la mujer? Un verdadero guerrero no asesina a los débiles. Entrégate a nosotros y rescata tu honor." he replied.

OOC: Translates as: What about the woman? A true warrior does not murder the weak. Surrender to us and salvage your honor.

OOC: Don't really have a choice here, the unluckiest character is going to spend 5 luck to make that a hard success to avoid the damage.

Posted: **Sat Sep 01, 2018 5:10 pm**

Professor Sánchez shouts, "Antoine! I am leaving!"

Then he runs to the window.

Posted: **Sat Sep 01, 2018 5:30 pm**

De Mendoza curses as Atauchi narrowly evades his knife thrust, he also utters a single word, which is both extremely old fashioned and extremely offensive to Atauchi and his people.

Atauchi has no idea whether the word is directed at him or the poor student stabbed outside.

Posted: **Sat Sep 01, 2018 7:19 pm**

"Okay, but be careful!" Marcus tells John.

His focus is on De Mendoza. Seeing him through the window, Marcus once again tries to shoot him. It will be a tough shot, but he's quietly confident he can manage it.

Posted: **Sat Sep 01, 2018 7:56 pm**

Marcus hits de Mendoza in the chest and the Spaniard crashes to the ground, hitting the wall as he falls.

He remains conscious though and, still gripping his knife, he stares murderously at Atauchi as he tries to get back to his feet.

Posted: **Sat Sep 01, 2018 8:04 pm**

Posted: **Sat Sep 01, 2018 10:25 pm**

Posted: **Sun Sep 02, 2018 12:40 am**

Amy gasps again. "How can that be?" she asks herself. "It's just a legend...isn't it?" She is so focused on the corpse that she doesn't hear the gunshot upstairs.

Posted: **Sun Sep 02, 2018 5:08 am**

John looked at the body, and tried to recall all that he learned about emergency first aid treatments about 3 semesters ago and recalled with vivid memory of how to sterilise and treat the exact type of wound in front him. Pulling a few pieces of improvised medical equipment out of his backpack, including a flask of rubbing alcohol and a clean cloth, he set about his work.

Posted: **Sun Sep 02, 2018 5:46 am**

Antoine D'Estaing swings again at the attacker (target:50):

Posted: **Sun Sep 02, 2018 12:56 pm**

John's efforts have stemmed the girl's bleeding for now. She is still unconscious, but will hopefully live long enough to make it to a hospital.

Posted: **Sun Sep 02, 2018 1:30 pm**

Antoine's attack misses de Mendoza, he falls out of sight behind the door when Marcus' shot hits him in the chest.

Posted: **Mon Sep 03, 2018 12:15 am**

Atauchi sensed the advantage, moved in and struck at his prone opponent with a balled fist. The Quechua man knew de Mendoza was grievously wounded, and he didn't want to kill him, yet. For his crimes, this man certainly deserved death, but he also had answers they required. However, given what he had observed of the Spaniard thus far, Atauchi strongly doubted he would be forthcoming.

"¡Quédate abajo!" he ordered.

OOC: Nope, no luck.

OOC: ¡Quédate abajo! means Stay down!

Posted: **Mon Sep 03, 2018 12:27 am**

As Atauchi moves close de Mendoza attempts to grab hold of him to pull him closer.

Posted: **Mon Sep 03, 2018 12:28 am**

Having treated the wound the best he could, John carried the girl and decided to heroically run off back towards the general direction of the hotel. He is quite sure there'll be a phone at the hotel.

Posted: **Mon Sep 03, 2018 1:12 am**

As de Mendoza pulls Atauchi towards him, his mouth distends, thrusting out into a disc shape larger Atauchi's hand. The insides of de Mendoza's puckered lips are covered with small, hook-like barbs upon which Atauchi can see little bits of flesh and gore left from the murder of Trinidad Rizo.

He moves his head towards Atauchi's chest.

OOC: Please make a sanity check, lose 1d6 SAN if you fail, 0 if you pass.

Posted: **Mon Sep 03, 2018 1:29 am**

Antoine D'Estaing attacks without a moment's hesitation the monstrosity that de Mendoza has become !

Posted: **Mon Sep 03, 2018 1:44 am**

Antoine D'Estaing's sword thrust punctures straight through Luis de Mendoza's heart and out through his back. As Antoine pulls back his blade de Mendoza's limp body flops down onto the floor, a pool of blood slowly forms beneath him.

Posted: **Mon Sep 03, 2018 2:09 am**

Posted: **Mon Sep 03, 2018 2:36 am**

Atauchi's eyes opened wide in horror as he saw the form of de Mendoza morph into some hellish monstrosity. He fought hard against the thing's powerful grip as he remembered the state the hapless student was found in. Then, out of the corner of his eye he saw a flash of steel, and his opponent suddenly fell limp before him.

"Supay!" he exclaimed, as he frantically struggled to release himself from the creature's grasp.

OOC: Supay translates from Quechua as "creature from hell"

Posted: **Mon Sep 03, 2018 10:54 am**

As Atauchi watches, the hideous maw of the monster that called itself Luis de Mendoza contracts back into the shape of a normal human mouth, by the time Jackson and Marcus arrive, there is nothing to suggest that de Mendoza's corpse is not a human body - although presumably those rows of barbs are still inside de Mendoza's mouth somewhere.

Jackson looks down at de Mendoza's body, "I never trusted that guy, but I didn't expect him to kill in the middle of Lima."

Turning to Atauchi he asks, "Are you okay? You're too fast for me, I'm getting too old for this sort of thing."

OOC: The point of sanity that Atauchi lost should have restarted his bout of madness, but the corridor is roomy and well-lit enough that he doesn't need to worry about claustrophobia, and as the fighting is over his anxiety will quickly pass.

Posted: **Mon Sep 03, 2018 7:01 pm**

Atauchi breathed deeply for several moments as he peered about the hallway, and then back down at de Mendoza's remains. He tucked his survival knife back into its sheath and looked over at Jackson who had apparently just arrived.

"Si, okay." he replied, then added in a hushed tone, "You right about de Mendoza, he not human. The mouth..."

Posted: **Mon Sep 03, 2018 7:39 pm**

"Damn. I was hoping we could catch him alive, see if Larkin planned this.

"What about his mouth?" Marcus asks, then leans down to turn the man over and inspect him himself.

Posted: **Mon Sep 03, 2018 11:22 pm**

Luis de Medonza's corpse looks normal enough to Marcus at first, taking a closer look in his mouth though reveals rows of fish-like barbs turned back against his gums and the roof of his mouth. The barbs are slowly retracting and will soon be undetectable.

"Oh my," mutters Jackson, looking over Marcus' shoulder.

"No, I was wrong Atauchi, I believed de Mendoza was human. Creatures from mythology, how is this possible?"

He stands up and says, "Maybe we should get the others and go pay a visit to Larkin's room as Marcus suggested after all. Amy is still in the basement!"

"I shall call for the Republican Guard, and try to explain what has happened, it is best you all leave quickly they are not so trusting of foreigners," says Sánchez, "Where is Trinidad? Is she okay?

"And the other girl outside? I think she was another of our students, Cynthia Vallier, a friend of Trinidad's I must check on her!"

OOC: John is still on his way to the Hotel Maury - carrying Cynthia who is still unconscious.

Posted: **Mon Sep 03, 2018 11:25 pm**

OOC: Oops, almost forgot Marcus, make a SAN roll - only 1d3 loss if you fail - de Mendoza doesn't look as bad now. 0 SAN lost if you pass.

Posted: **Tue Sep 04, 2018 3:03 am**

Though he does not say anything, Marcus pales visibly at the sight of De Mendoza. He's never seen anything like it. He distracts himself by responding to the others.

"I'm afraid Trinidad is dead," he tells the professor. "De Mendoza was finishing her off when we startled him. As for your other student, her wounds were severe, but Mr. Smith said he was going to try and stabilize her."

"I'm all for the idea of seeing what Larkin and De Mendoza have in their rooms. Hell, at this point I'm all for grabbing Larkin and making him talk. Not that I'm, ah, suggesting anything illegal." He adds lamely, realizing that most of the group may not be flexible with the law as he himself was.

Posted: **Tue Sep 04, 2018 4:28 am**

John muttered curses as he marched on, slightly tired and drained, he wants another cup of hot chocolate.

Posted: **Tue Sep 04, 2018 6:49 am**

Atauchi nodded in agreement when Jackson suggested that he and the others leave the scene prior to the authorities' arrival. He had witnessed first hand some of the injustices that could be inflicted upon those who had run afoul of a particularly ambitious or corrupt government official. The man would prefer to avoid such a fate if possible, himself.

"Maybe we need keep body for study." the tracker suggested.

The Quechua man wondered how Larkin might respond should his loyal henchman not return, and what it could mean for each of them.

Posted: **Tue Sep 04, 2018 8:17 am**

OOC: I've edited my post above, as Peru has no formal police until 1923. Currently law enforcement is handled by the Republican Guard and they.only started such duties in 1919, so best get the hell away.

Posted: **Tue Sep 04, 2018 10:03 pm**

"I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get to the bottom of this Marcus, says Jackson grimly, "Trinidad was just a kid, and so's the other girl, and they're far from the first victims of de Mendoza and his cult - is it even a cult if these things are real damned monsters?"

He shakes his head, "We need to know what Larkin knows, and how many of these things there are. Just need to get Amy and John first, there could be dozens of them in Lima or just Larkin and this thing."

He points at de Mendoza's body with his .45.

"I'll go back down, an' check Amy's safe."

Professor Sánchez looks in horror at de Mendoza's body and speaks to Atachi, "I could perhaps store de Mendoza's corpse here, and would take much pleasure helping to dissect and burn it when there's time, but how do I explain Trinidad's death to the Guard? They will lynch me or worse if they suspect I have murdered my own student."

Posted: **Tue Sep 04, 2018 10:21 pm**

At the Hotel Maury

John arrives at the Hotel Maury sweating and panting in the intense humidity from carrying de Mendoza's victim across town.

As soon as he staggers into the Maury's foyer hauling Cynthia's bloody body the hotel manager dashes to assist him - anything to get the victim out of public sight!

John is helped as to carry Cynthia to a spare room, and the manager makes a telephone call to, "The best doctor in Lima! Only the best for our guests and their friends."

He also arranged for a cup of hot chocolate to be brought to John.

By the time the steaming cup arrives, Cynthia is beginning to wake up.

There's no sign of Olivier or Michael at the Hotel Maury.

OOC: This isn't aligned in time, but it'll never matter. I'm using "Hollywood time" to synchronise scenes when you split up - if you can't see each other, it doesn't matter what the time is.

OOC: I'm going to be very generous thanks to John's spectacularly good first aid roll (and Cynthia now being a PC), and will put Cynthia back up half hit points. So she suffered a major wound, but no more. De Mendoza cut an artery rather than stabbing deeply, so Cynthia lost a lot of blood, but no serious muscle or organ damage.

Posted: **Wed Sep 05, 2018 12:18 am**

"Hello, miss. Are you okay?" John asked.

Posted: **Wed Sep 05, 2018 4:27 am**

Atauchi turned toward the professor and considered his query for a long moment. Unfortunately, there really was only one answer to their dilemma. They would have to conceal everything. Monsters didn't exist until he had seen one with his own eyes. The fewer individuals who knew about what happened here, the better. If this information reached the general public, there would be panic.

"You need hide her body too, she go missing if anyone ask." he replied bluntly.

Posted: **Wed Sep 05, 2018 4:45 am**

Amy nearly jumps when she hears footsteps approaching, but she lets out a relieved sigh when she sees that it's Jackson. Though she is blinking back tears, she manages a weak smile. "I'm so glad to see you, Jackson," she gushes. "I heard a gunshot earlier. Is everyone okay? I found some things while I was waiting here." She shows him the notebook. "It was in her jacket pocket, but it's all in Spanish. I'm sure the professor can translate if nobody else can, but I don't need to know the language to understand 'Luis de Mendoza.' His name is in there several times. And this." She hoists the gold object, still using the handkerchief to grip it. "It was in that crate. The killer must have broken it open. There's freshly burned flesh on it, but it didn't seem to be hot. Still, I didn't want to touch it with my bare hand. There are strange shapes on it, like no writing I've ever seen before. And poor Trinidad...she's all skin and bones, and there's a round hole in her chest. It...it looks like all the fat's been sucked out of her through it. I...I know it sounds crazy, but it's just like the story you mentioned about the kharisiri! I wonder if I am crazy...I hope I'm crazy..."

Posted: **Wed Sep 05, 2018 4:53 am**

"Have to agree," Marcus adds. "De Mendoza is a dangerous man,the more publicity you give your assistant's deaths, the more likely his friends are to retaliate. Still, with the gunshot and assault outside, my guess is someone's going to be calling the guard."

"Probably the safest thing you can do is say you scared an unhinged man off who was assaulting someone, but you didn't get a good look at him. Leave Trinidad out of it." he advises.

Posted: **Wed Sep 05, 2018 8:48 am**

: Cynthia Vallier.jpg (18.47 KiB) Viewed 583 times

HelplessBystander wrote:"Hello, miss. Are you okay?" John asked.

Cynthia groans and tries to sit up, but winces in pain as it all comes back to her - the guy with the mad staring eyes... his wicked grin... the knife....
"Son of a bitch stabbed me!"
Her blurry vision clears and she focuses on John, vaguely recognising him as one of the men who helped her and carried her to wherever she is.
"Sorry, I'm a little sore... I guess you saved my life huh? I owe you one..." She pauses, the effort of talking tiring her out. "I'm Cynthia, Cynthia Vallier. Who may I ask are you? Where the hell am I and more importantly, did they get the nutjob that shanked me?"

Posted: **Thu Sep 06, 2018 1:52 am**

"I'm John. John Smith. Pleasure to meet you." John said, shaking her head, "I don't know what happened next, I ran off the moment there's any sign of conflict."

Posted: **Thu Sep 06, 2018 2:08 am**

Museum - Ground Floor.

Sánchez is visibly upset by Atauchi and Marcus' suggestions, but reluctantly agrees, "Okay, help me move his body then."

He points a little further along the corridor, "We can put him into that cleaning store, the cleaners won't come until Monday morning.

"My brother has a truck that we can use to move the body out of the city after dark. I am not happy to do the same with Trinidad, but yes you are right, we must do what is necessary to stop de Mendoza's friends without anyone knowing the truth."

Posted: **Thu Sep 06, 2018 2:18 am**

Museum - Basement

"I'm afraid you're not crazy at all Amy, although you might wish that you were - it's the world that seems to be going crazy. De Mendoza is a kharisiri, he killed Trinidad, stabbed a girl outside and then tried to kill Professor Sánchez."

Jackson spends the next few minutes bringing Amy up to date with recent events.

Posted: **Thu Sep 06, 2018 3:35 am**

Amy wraps her arms around Jackson, crying into his shoulder before collecting herself. "At least he's no more," she says. "How can such things exist in the world? The girl he stabbed, maybe I can help her."

Posted: **Thu Sep 06, 2018 8:50 am**

HelplessBystander wrote:"I'm John. John Smith. Pleasure to meet you." John said, shaking her hand, "I don't know what happened next, I ran off the moment there's any sign of conflict."

"Well I don't blame you John - if I'd have seen that creep coming before he got the jump on me, I'd have probably done the same." Cynthia smirks. "If I hadn't left my revolver in my dorm he'd be sorry though."
She shifts, sitting up as much as she can without pulling her stitches in order to take in the hotel room. "Say, this is one swanky hospital, I definitely owe you one." She pauses, her memory of the recent events becoming clearer. "There was another guy too wasn't there? I think I recognised him - Ellis? Elias? A friend of Professor Sanchez anyway." Suddenly, she slaps her forehead. "Sanchez! Damn! I promised Trinidad I'd help her dig out some artefacts in the basement today - that where I was headed when that maniac got me! I can't be late else she'll be cussing me - I gotta get outta here." She tries to climb out of bed, feebly battling with the sheets before woozily dropping back in a wave of nausea. "Or maybe not..."

Posted: **Thu Sep 06, 2018 6:15 pm**

The Museum - Basement

Jackson embraces Amy, and holds tenderly her until she has finished crying. Once she has stopped, he finds two tarpaulins on the storage shelves. He covers Trinidad's body as delicately as possible with the first, and uses the second to wrap-up the mysterious band of gold, "I'll carry this if you like? It's pretty heavy, you take care good care of Trinidad's notepad.

"I no more idea than you how such creatures can exist outside of folk-tales Amy, and I'll never be allowed to put any of this into a book, but I'm going to stop everyone responsible for hurting these girls.

"Let's get back upstairs and see if we can help the injured girl."

Posted: **Thu Sep 06, 2018 8:46 pm**

Atauchi nodded curtly in agreement with Professor Sánchez. He performed a quick search of de Mendoza's body and garments for any personal effects that may contain a clue to his true nature or the whereabouts of any of the other cultists. The tracker then assisted the professor in moving the corpse to the storage closet that had been indicated.

Posted: **Fri Sep 07, 2018 5:25 am**

"Thank you, Jackson," says Amy, letting him take the artifact and holding his arm. "Yes, let's go." She heads back upstairs with him.

Posted: **Fri Sep 07, 2018 9:19 am**

Michael returns to the hotel after a loooong walk; suddenly he sees a lot of people entering and leaving (more than usual) and starts wandering if he missed something...

Posted: **Fri Sep 07, 2018 1:10 pm**

The Museum - Ground Floor

By the time Amy and Jackson get back to the others, de Mendoza's body has been moved into the cleaning cupboard, the blood cleaned up, and Marcus also knows that John was last seen heading in the direction of the Hotel Maury carrying Sánchez's injured student.

Atauchi's search of de Mendoza's pockets revealed nothing, the man - if you can call him that - was carrying absolutely nothing except for the large knife.

As soon as Professor Sánchez sees Amy and Jackson he says, "At last! Now you must all go quickly before the Guard arrive.

"Take the items with you, I shall meet you at your hotel as soon as I've dealt with the authorities. It should not take long, they will care little for a 'missing student.' Please do what you can for Cynthia, we will be the worst university in all of South America if two of our best students are murdered in a single day! I shall try to be there soon."

Posted: **Fri Sep 07, 2018 1:16 pm**

At the Hotel Maury, Lima, Peru

The "best doctor in all of Lima" arrives and is directed to Cynthia, he quickly sets to work on her injuries, which are not as bad as they first appeared, although she has lost rather a lot of blood. He compliments John's excellent first aid, which has almost certainly saved Cynthia's life. She needs to take it easy for the next couple of days, but she should recover fine.

Asking what's going on, Michael is told that "that young man in a nice hat" returned to the hotel carrying a wounded girl. He quickly learns the room number that John and Cynthia are in, and arrives just in time to see the doctor leaving.

OOC: If everyone is happy to leave Sánchez to deal with the Republican Guard, then the rest of your investigators can arrive back at the Hotel Maury now as well.

Posted: **Fri Sep 07, 2018 2:10 pm**

Cynthia breathes a sigh of relief when she learns that she's not so badly hurt after all. She thanks the doctor for patching her up as he packs his medical bag. Feeling a little less nauseous, she sits up straighter and turns to John as the doctor leaves the room.
"The doc's right, you did a great job - I owe you and Elias a drink when I'm on my feet again." Suddenly a thought occurs to her: she's dressed in very little and lying on the bed in what is presumably John's hotel room. "Oh, er, just a drink though okay?"
Suddenly, the door to the room opens. Cynthia grips the bedclothes, frantically looking around for a bedside lamp or something else she can grab hold of as a weapon.
"If it's that creep again, he's toast!"

Posted: **Fri Sep 07, 2018 2:31 pm**

OOC: The person opening the door can be any of the other investigators, as the others arrive back at roughly the same time as Michael. So no need to wait for kabikiman to post a reply.

Posted: **Fri Sep 07, 2018 5:08 pm**

"Hi! I was just informed that Cynthia is wounded, how did that happened?"
Anderson is very worried and feels guilty for not being there when he was needed.

Posted: **Fri Sep 07, 2018 7:15 pm**

Marcus returns to the hotel, the adrenaline from the chase and shooting De Mendoza starting to wear off. He enters John's room and is relieved to see his client is safe.

"Glad you made it, Sir. And from the looks of things you saved the young lady as well; the professor will be glad to hear that."

He pauses for a well deserved smoke; heavens knows he really needs one. "De Mendoza is dead. But until we can tell how many of his fellows lurk in the city, none of us are safe."

Posted: **Fri Sep 07, 2018 8:08 pm**

Cynthia's frantically grasping hand finds an ashtray as Anderson, closely followed by Marcus, walk into the room. Seeing no sign of alarm from John, she relaxes.
"Friends of yours John? Well thanks for your concern fellas - my knight in a fancy hat has been looking after me real peachy." She carefully climbs out of bed, wrapping herself in a bedsheet to cover the remains of her dress. "Do me a favour guys? Can you send up for some clothes while I powder my nose? We can save the intrductions for when I'm properly dressed."
"Oh, and De Mendoza? Is he the guy who shanked me? If he's dead, then I shall sleep a lot easier...

Posted: **Sat Sep 08, 2018 5:34 am**

Amy raps lightly on the open door and pokes her head around it. "Hi, I'm Amy Lawrence," she says to the girl. "I've got some spare clothes I could lend you, but they might be a bit big on you. It's good to see you're doing better."

Posted: **Sat Sep 08, 2018 10:41 am**

Cynthia grins. "Hey, thanks!"

Play@YSDC

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

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

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