During a sweltering August in 1881, one of the members of the Seekers of Enlightenment receives a letter from an old friend, requesting help in solving a family mystery. It will soon become a matter of life or death…
"I'm certain what we seek is in one of the fireplaces," says Alexander, "but I havena found the right one yet. I just have to keep searching them all until I find it, unless there's some way to narrow it down to a particular room or area. Aye, I can help you with a little task, so long as it willna take too long."
"As standard practice for The Seekers of Enlightenment, I have assessed the energy levels of the house and they seem perfectly normal; there is some slightly raised paranormal activity but this is to be expected in a house of this age.
I'm also tempted to test the levels in some of the outbuildings." Isolde says as she picks over her lunch. She says nothing about George, not wanting to get him into any trouble, but does give him a wink.
She tries to see Harry's sketches without seeming too obvious and then says,
"Vic, I can help you with the libary this afternoon if you wish."
OOC: It’s not realistic for a house that size to only have one fireplace. Expect to see one in every major room. For a clue, go back to the posts in Day One.
After lunch is finished, the investigators go about their business. Harry takes Alexander aside so that he can talk to him privately.
Meanwhile, Vic and Isolde head to the library to find the location of relevant information.
Harry says to Alexander'I did genuinely want your help opening the sarcophagus in the mausoleum, but I also found some items at the quarry'. He shows Alexander the sketches he made of the mask and gloves, 'there was also a sack that seemed to have been adapted to wear over the torso. I think somebody is playing games with Mr Forby. We need to show these to him to get his reaction, I suspect this might be what he saw that night. But we must not tip off anyone else in the house in case they're involved'.
Isolde takes a turn around the room and finishes at the painting of Nicholas Forby. She looks carefully at the moulding to see the design. She then takes a folio and starts leafing through it. "Did we find out what happened to Mr Forby's father? And did the grandfather build this house? It's about the right age." She asks Vic.
"What an odd material to use for a picture frame; it's so heavy, what would be the point? I must tell Alexander." Isolde murmurs as she pulls out another folio.
OOC,The search for the folios and their perusal will take the rest of the day, unless Vic and Isolde get additional help from the other characters. There is still more to be found with successful Library Use rolls. I won’t reveal the whole contents at once, but pace them out a little to give you time to think about it.
We will also have to wait for Harry and Alexander to discuss their plans.
Finally, some major success. Isolde locates Nicholas’ folios, a dozen books in total. She sorts them into three distinct periods of his life.
The early volumes range from around 1789 until 1817, and are filled with sketches and plans of his work and his writing – discussions of his works and philosophy, which seems to be a passionate rendered blend of atheistic cynicism and fatalism. As he becomes more successful, especially with his ceilings, a mystery malady begins to plague him. He complains of “painful and disparate’ fits of lethargy, alternating with frenetic fits of energy, in which he works like a man possessed. At length these fits become so bad, bringing him to the edge of madness, that he is forced to leave off work and retire to the country.
"It says here that he did ceilings. Maybe frescos ? I think we should look at the ceilings here a bit more carefully. Maybe they've painted over them. It also sounds like he licked his brushes too often; he went mad in the end." Says Isolde behind a pile of folios.
Vic,No – it occurs to Vic that she’s read about this before. The symptoms are identical with those of lead poisoning – this must have been the material that Forby worked with.
The investigators skim through the middle books in the series of folios, which range from around 1817 to 1825. The bulk is of sketches and notes on his work, but the location is new. Nicholas, his wife Alison and their servant Bains live quietly at Forby House, and Nicholas partly recovers his health. His friend, artist Christopher Lehman, is a frequent visitor. Nicholas notes that he now uses bronze for his ceilings, and uses a casting pit at the back of the house to make statues.
But his health begins to deteriorate again, and he loses the use of his legs. Bains becomes “indispensable” – Nicholas calls him “my limbs”, and insists that Bains be included in a portrait of him that Christopher paints. Nicholas sketches the frame he makes for the portrait. His philosophy becomes darker in the face of persistent pain and disability. He also notes finding a secret passage from which he can observe other rooms, particularly those of Alison and Christopher.
An entire section has been cut from the end of the last of these middle books, some time ago it would appear.
OOC,You can roll Psychology for an insight on Nicholas.
Alexander goes upstairs and knocks at Forby’s bedroom door. Gertrude answers, her face brightening when she sees him.
“Yes, Doctor” she says softly. “What can I do for you?”
