IC - Day 2 - Dr Clermont's Office - Everyone

[SunlessNick]

Florence stays with Marise. "Was he right, my darling?" she asks, barely registering what Fabrice has said.

[Mephistophilis]

Marise just looks in confusion at Florence, 'Right about what?'

-----

Laurent quickly returns with the aged Dr Clermont struggling some distance behind. Fabrice has managed to catch his breath and explains that Lulio Bazile, the captain of a cargo ship out of Cap Matelot has arrived in Pointe Pierre with Elizabeth Langer. He claims to have found her out in the sea between Cap Matelot and Ile du Vent.

[Mr. Handy]

"What condition is she in?" asks Laurent.

[SunlessNick]

Florence takes Marise a little further away from the men. "Are you pregnant?" she asks, doing her best to keep any trace of anger out of her voice.

[Mephistophilis]

At Florence's question she sees that look of defiance again, defiance mixed with disgust as Marise rolls her eyes and says nothing.

-----

Fabrice gives a little shrug to Laurent, 'Bof, nearly drowned he says. And half crazy. Go on, see for yourself.'

-----

While Fabrice waits for Florence and Marise, Pierre leads the old doctor ahead of them, down to Pointe Pierre.

[Mr. Handy]

Laurent hurries to catch up to Pierre and the doctor, going with them to Pointe Pierre.

[SunlessNick]

"Then what is happening with you?" Florence says, doing her level best not to snap. "I barely recognise you any more."

[Mephistophilis]

‘I barely recognise myself anymore’ whispers Marise, and then she stands and strides off once more, but this time after Laurent and Pierre.

-----

Laurent catches up with Pierre and Dr Clermont and they rush down to the jetty at Pointe Pierre as fast as the elderly physician can walk. There’s quite a scene at the pier where Lulio Bazile’s cargo boat, the Celeste, is tied up. There are crates and boxes scattered across the deck of the rickety looking vessel. A younger man remains onboard, aimlessly fussing about the cargo, a look of fright on his face. On the wooden landing is the aged figure of Bazile himself, a leathery, wizened man several years older than the doctor. He is surrounded by a crowd of people who Lieutenant Etienne is trying to keep at bay, the telédiol, the St Joe rumour-mill working as quickly as ever to spread the word that something is happening. At Bazile's feet someone is lying across the wooden slats, wrapped in a ragged blanket, and tended to by another person. In the blanket Laurent can see it is a young white woman, around her mid-twenties, skin pale and blue tinged, another white woman, a bit older, maybe in her thirties, crouches by her side, rubbing her arms which are deathly white and covered in goose bumps.



Once Dr Clermont arrives, he greets the other woman as ‘Nurse Palmer’ and sets about examining the woman in blankets who he refers to as ‘Elizabeth’, presumably Elizabeth Langer. In French, Lt Etienne says to Pierre and Fabrice, ‘Good work getting the doctor so quickly, I can’t get anything sensible out of her.’ Captain Bazile looks unperturbed and rolls his eyes, in Creole he says ‘Fished her out the bay, on the way back from the Ile du Vent. Half swimming, half floating, and close to drowning I’d say. Raving she was, out of her mind, drunk I’d say. Screaming that the boat, the Ti Maman, that it went down with all three others gone, including her husband. Didn’t see no sign of it, sea was calm as a washtub.’

[Mr. Handy]

"Could something have made a hole in the boat?" asks Laurent. "Maybe it struck something that was underwater."

[Mephistophilis]

'Water's deep out in the bay, there's nothing to hit' says Bazile, who seems pretty unconvinced by the woman.

'Well that's as maybe, I need to look into this,' says Lt Etienne coldly. 'Where's the Ti Maman and George Benson? And where's her husband?'

[Mr. Handy]

"She said the Ti Maman sank," says Laurent, peering out to sea. "If it didn't, it has to be somewhere else."

[Mephistophilis]

'We brought back Mr Benson this morning,' says Fabrice. 'He left the Ti Maman in Cap Matelot with some politicians to take for a joy ride.' 'And Mr Langer,' chimes in Pierre, 'And his wife...'

Frowning, Lt Etienne asks, 'So you saw Elizabeth Langer in the Ti Maman this morning?' Pierre nods.

[Mr. Handy]

"Do the Americans have any vessels equipped with sonar near the island?" asks Laurent. "If a ship sank, that will find it."

[Mephistophilis]

Etienne looks disgusted at the mention of the Americans. Some kind of conflict can be seen working its way across his face as he eventually spits out, 'Mon Dieu, I will see if I can put in a call to the American base on St Albin.'

[Mr. Handy]

Laurent understands that not everyone thinks as highly of the Americans as he does, but he holds his peace on the subject, as Etienne has agreed to enlist their aid.

[Mephistophilis]

Lt Etienne heads off to the army post to put a call in to his superiors and hopefully the Americans.

Meanwhile, Elizabeth Langer seems to have perked up a bit and Dr Clermont has her sitting up. Old Man Samuel has brought her down a hot cup of coffee and she's cradling it in her hands, swathed in several blankets. Her plump and clammy skin looks almost blue-grey from her time in the water, the dregs of her makeup greasy and pealing, a dull look, little low set ears, and a small mouth on an otherwise pretty young face with sad hazel eyes.

OOC:   No sign of SunlessNick so we might as well press on

[Mr. Handy]

"is there anything I can do to help?" asks Laurent.

SunlessNick was supposed to return in early January and was unable to access this site while away. I found out because I got a PM on Yog-Sothoth.com in late December, but I haven't seen SunlessNick there either since then.

[Mephistophilis]

Dr Clermont shakes his head but Elizabeth Langer fixes her gaze on Laurent. She speaks French haltingly, in the stilted old fashioned manner of the Europeans. She intersperses it with some other language, it sounds a bit like English but it isn't. 'You have to help him, find Jan. Oh mijn arme man. You must go back there and find all of them. They're still out there.'

[Mr. Handy]

"We'll look for them," says Laurent, who thinks the other language could be Dutch. "Is Jan your husband?"

[Mephistophilis]

'Ja, Jan Langer, my husband, and Felix Abry and his wife Jeanette. And the man in the water. They're all missing. We moeten terug voor ze. There was some kind of whirlpool. The boat, it was sucked under.'

Bazile rolls his eyes, mimes a circular motion with his index finger, and whistles.