PROLOGUE - PART 2:
PUNO - PERU, MONDAY 21st MARCH, 1921
Puno is a small city of approximately 20,000 residents, located in the southern Andean highlands. It stretches back from the shores of Lake Titicaca, up into the overlooking hills, with the more prosperous areas located closer to the water. The majority of the buildings are low one or two story structures made from stone or brick, and the streets they line become increasingly narrow and more maze-like the farther uphill one goes. The centre of the city is dominated by a broad plaza ringed with neat greenery and trees and overlooked by the imposing edifice of the Cathedral Basilica of St. Charles Borromeo.
Although settlements have existed along the Western edge of Lake Titicaca since pre-Columbian times ,the city itself was established in 1668 by viceroy Pedro Antonio Fernández de Castro as capital of the province of Paucarcolla with the name San Juan Bautista de Puno. The name was later changed to San Carlos de Puno, in honour of King Charles II of Spain. Many of the city's buildings date back to the colonial era.
The countryside surrounding the city is home to a large number of farms, with staples such as maize, potatoes, and quinoa dominating the crops due to their hardiness and ability to grow at high altitudes. Local farmers also raise alpacas and llamas, with large herds being a common sight.
Adjacent to Puno is Lake Titicaca, the largest lake in South America it is over 100 miles long and up to 50 miles wide at its broadest point. It straddles the border of Peru and Bolivia, and at over 12,000 feet above sea level it is considered the highest navigable lake in the world. The waters of the lake are brackish, due to evaporation, and it is home to large fish populations and thick growths of reeds. The area of the lake nearest to Puno holds dozens of floating islands. These man-made structures are platforms of reeds and mud, large enough to hold several reed huts. These house small settlements of the Uru people, who fish the waters.
As Jackson Elias had said, the steamer journey from Lima's Callao district to Mollendo takes a full day, the weather is pleasant and the cabins are adequate - the cruise is a relaxing diversion after the previous chaotic day in Lima.
After arriving in Mollendo, the investigators waste no time in boarding the first available train to Puno. An eight hour journey itself, the railway climbs from the coastal port up to the small city on the edge of the beautiful Lake Titicaca, high in the Andes. It is much cooler, the afternoon temperature of a little below 60°F is twenty degrees colder than a March afternoon in the heat of Lima. The air is thinner as well, enough so that care must be taken to avoid suffering from altitude sickness.
The railway station is on the edge of the city's historic centre, a walk of about ten minutes from the Palza de Armas and Puna's magnificent old Cathedral. Jackson recommends that the group book rooms at the Casona Colon Inn, one of better of the city's very few hotels - recently converted from a large colonial era mansion, mid-way between the railway station and the Cathedral Basilica.
Casona Colon Inn
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Casona Colon Inn - Puno, Peru 5.30pm - Monday 21st March, 1921
"Nayra normally lives in a hut in the hills about a mile outside the city," explains Jackson. "When I met her last though, she suspected that she was being followed, ever since warning me about de Mendoza.
"She was planning to lay low, with some Uru friends on their islands. We should contact her as quickly as we can - we should be at least a day ahead of Larkin, but I'm certain that he already knows the location of the pyramid - so he and de Mendoza may head directly for the ruins."
SUCCESSFUL SPOT HIDDEN,Many of the locals are watching you all suspiciously as you walk through the town.
[b]If your roll was also a successful Psychology roll:
[/b][spoiler]Some of the locals are afraid of you.[/spoiler]
HARD SPOT HIDDEN ROLL,You have been followed since you left the railway station by a man in a wide rimmed hat and a poncho (like many of the other men here!), he was doing a good job and you only realised when he made a mistake as you reached the hotel.
Dr Sánchez while covering the last meters to the Casona leens into Marcus Ambler "se the man in a wide rimmed hat and a poncho behind us?" Dr. Sánchez gives Marcus a perfect description of the man "hes following us from the station. Keep going past the door of the Casona and go around the block, lets try to catch him alive. I'll tell the others whats going on wile you do go as fast as possible"
If Marcus do as Dr.Sánchez asks him he will uther in low voice but high enough to the group to hear "get in, get in, we got a tail, Marcus will go around the block to catch him, Atauchi cross the street as you are about to buy something over there take Cythia with you, be ready to spring a trap on this guy"
Dr Sánchez grabs Amy Lawrence by the arm at the entrance of the Casona "lets pretend we are talking"
OOC: hey all. trying to involve several of you in this plan. take a look at the text please
failed CON 55,[dice]2[/dice]
Last edited by Anatomist on Wed Sep 26, 2018 7:06 am, edited 11 times in total.
Cynthia, no doubt tired from the long rail journey and breathing heavily due to the altitude, notices nothing amiss...
OOC: Extra bit added in light of Anatomist's post
"get in, get in, we got a tail, Marcus will go around the block to catch him, Atauchi cross the street as you are about to buy something over there take Cythia with you, be ready to spring a trap on this guy"
...until she hears Dr. Sanchez's whispers.
Knowing better than to look around for whoever as tailing them, she instead links an arm around Atauchi's and wheezes.
"Looks like we're going shopping buddy."
Last edited by jp1885 on Wed Sep 26, 2018 9:03 am, edited 6 times in total.
OOC,[ooc]I'm afraid Jackson is already walking into the hotel when you spot the tail.
You and Marcus haven't gone in yet though.
You notice the tail as he pretends not to watch you all going in.
There's not a lot of places to stay though anyway. Puno has no tourism on 1921.[/ooc]
Marcus does not see the man following them, but trusts the professor. He continues walking past the hotel and hopes to circle around and catch their tail unaware.
Stealth 60%,[dice]2[/dice] Not sure roll is needed but put it just in case.
Last edited by Silver Priest on Tue Sep 25, 2018 10:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
OOC: There's no need to make a separate psychology roll. If you succeed at the spot hidden and the roll is also good enough to be a successful psychology roll, then you get both results.
So Sánchez should have got the psychology result as well.
Amy doesn't see anything. Her breathing is still a little shallow due to the thin air. She is taken aback when Sánchez takes her arm, though she imagines that there may be cultural differences. "Pretend to talk?" she asks with a grin. "But aren't we actually talking?"
OOC,CON roll (55% stat) to adjust to the altitude:
[dice]0[/dice]
Spot Hidden roll (64% skill) at the inn:
[dice]1[/dice]
Atauchi kept his distance from the group, still within sight, but he felt that he would be able to blend in with the locals far better than anyone else, including the Professor. When the young woman drew near enough to snatch his arm, he pulled away and slipped down a side alley. When out of line of sight, the tracker positioned himself in a doorway and observed their tail casually.
"No, I get out of sight, watch our shadow. He not get jump on us." he said.
OOC: Atauchi is going to try to spot and spy on the tail. Based on the description, it may be easier for him?
Cynthia allows Atauchi to shake off her arm without comment. The man is far more in his element than she is, as her breathlessness attests and would function better without her hanging off his arm and wheezing like an asthmatic.
Trying to ignore the headache she is developing, she sidles nonchalantly up to John and Anderson. "What d'you think guys? I'm no good on my own at this altitude, but maybe together the three of us could be useful?"
Outside the Casona Colon Inn - Puna, Peru 5:30pm - Monday 21st March,1921
Atauchi notices the tail as well now, thanks to Dr. Sánchez's words, but unfortunately the man realises that he has been made and is about to walk into a trap. He immediately starts to cross the avenue and then breaks into a run, this startles some of the other nearby pedestrians who stop and look around to see what is going on. His hat blows off his head and now flaps around behind him as he runs.
He is running off this wide avenue, fleeing into one of Puno's many narrow, winding streets.
OOC,[ooc]When he begins running, everyone notices the man. Nobody has had a good look at him yet, because of the hat. He's average height and has black hair, his poncho is colourful and might be distinctive enough to recognise again.
If you decide to pursue the fleeing man, remember that as well as some of you suffering from altitude sickness, you are all carrying the backpacks, rations, tools, etc that were taken from the haulage yard.
Some of you might also be carrying rifles or shotguns (if anyone has brought one on the expedition) and Atauchi has his bow and arrows.
So you all look a suspicious bunch at the moment.[/ooc]
Dr.Sánchez sights as he see the tail fled into the alleys "Stop! dont follow him, we dont know if there more of them, and this one definitely knows these streets way better then us" "Excuse me miss" he says to Amy kissing her hand "you can enter if you want, ill wait here for Marcus"
Assuming he can see the man begin to flee, Marcus curses and rushes after him. As he's doing so, he struggles to remember the word for thief and shouts it at the man he's pursuing, hoping to at least sell his pursuit as motivated by theft rather than something else.
OOC,Not sure what to roll here, or if this plan is even feasible. My Spanish skill is low single digits, but I'm hoping Marcus knows enough to say something simple like 'thief' or 'criminal.'
Cynthia notices Marcus starting to run after the guy whilst obviously struggling to shout something. She instantly cottons on to what he's trying to do. "Marcus! The word's 'ladrón'!"
Atauchi cursed beneath his breath when their tail realized he had been made and took off at a run. They had lost the advantage. When Marcus took off in pursuit, the Quechua man decided it was best if someone kept eyes on him, especially after the events in Lima. He felt that he was the best candidate for this task. The tracker took off at a swift pace, apparently unaffected by the high altitude, intent on keeping both Marcus and the unknown man in sight at all times.
OOC: Atauchi will tail Marcus and mainly rely on his observations of him to determine where their quarry is. If they lose their former tail, so be it, but let's see how this goes.
The man flees along the narrow street and into a market square, with Marcus chasing and shouting, "¡Ladrón!...¡Ladrón!"
All around the marketplace, traders are packing up their goods for the evening. They glare angrily at the man and he halts in the middle of the market and turns back towards his chasers shouting in Quechua and then in halting English,
Marcus is still cautious, but the man stopping and trying to explain things serves to ensure he does not pull his gun out just yet. As far as he knew De Mendoza and his fellows were not much for talking.
"Friend, eh? Well talk." He shows his hands indicating no hostile intent at present.
