Play@YSDC

Duc's Palace, Workshop - Vyones, Auvergne, France
9:40 AM - Monday, April 20, 1517

As Jean Luc reached the door, it was suddenly thrown open from within by Jacques du Baudin. Behind the knight, he could see the three women he had seen earlier as well as Leonardo da Vinci. They also recognized him as the man who had vouched for Gui l'Argot.

Brook scurries back to the controls of the automaton and raises it’s arms defensively.

“What are you doing snooping around?” she demands.

Jacques:

Jacques steps back into the room, left hand still holding his scabbard

"Answer the young lady!"

Elizabeth stands very still, only arching one beautiful eyebrow.

"Ah well, clearly this isn't the lavatory! It was supposed to be the second door on the right, perhaps one of you could point me in the right direction?" Jean Luc tries to quickly but subtly take in the scene.

Jean Luc couldn't see much with Jacques in the way, but he did notice that Brook was standing behind a suit of armor, which had apparently struck a six foot tall man-shaped wooden figure in the chest with a halberd before it raised the weapon overhead.

“What lavatory has ‘Da Vinci’ on the door?” Elizabeth asks Jean Luc.
“Really Monsieur, please tell us the truth; what is your name and who are you working for?”

"Clearly there's no fooling you. This is embarrassing, my name is Jean Luc de Monet, occasional purveyor of works of art to the duc, among others. The truth is I had hoped to glean some wisdom from Master da Vinci but clearly you all are busy. I'll just be going then..."

Jacques:

Jacques' right hand swiftly moves to the grip of his sword, but he makes no move to draw it.

"You will step inside and discuss this further with us, fellow." His tone is even but clearly this is a command. Jacques' hunter's smile returns.

“Yeah, join the party,” says Brook. “Maybe you can help us solve this mystery.”

She turns to Leonardo.

“I guess the room’s been swept since last night? No chance of finding possible tracks from my metal friend here to a secret passage? The place is riddled with them.”

"Indeed, the room was cleaned this morning," said Leonardo. "The servants cleaned up the blood as well. I don't believe the automaton has gone anywhere on its own, however, nor would it need to do so. I am not surprised that there are secret passages. They tend to be part of the architecture of castles such as this."

Jean Luc enters with a gracious bow and hands in plain sight. "Ahh, a mystery I knew something was afoot but you have me at a disadvantage perhaps you could introduce yourselves and this mystery?"

Jacques:

"Stop simpering, fool. You will already have heard my name and Master Da Vinci needs no introduction. Why did you vouch for that knave L'Argot? I do not believe you are acquainted."

Brook rolls her eyes and, leaving the two men to butt heads, addresses Leonardo, Story and Elizabeth.

“Let’s look for secret doors. I know they get used a lot, but we might find some footprints in the dust.”

She pauses, remembering something.

“I think we planned to examine the jewel the thief was looking for too, didn’t we?”

"What's wrong with performing small acts of kindness monsieur Jacques, was it? I certainly can't stand to see anyone falsely accused, knave or not and I do believe the boy seemed innocent."

Jacques:

All trace of smile drops from Jacques' face. His expression turns to stone instead. Very deliberately, by conscious act of will, his hand lets go his sword and drops to his side. Otherwise, Jacques is very still.

"That is Sir Jacques du Baudin, or Chevalier, to you, fellow. And I may have heard wrong but I think you just accused me of lying. My report to the Duc was completely accurate and contained no false accusations."

"Do you wish to clarify your comments?"

[41] = 41
Spot hidden 60 d%: [ 41 ] = 41

Having already found some secret doors, Brook quickly finds what she’s looking for.

Elizabeth rolls her eyes at the gentlemen’s conversation. “This could go severely pear-shaped any minute.” She says to Story. “Any excuse for a duel and I don’t fancy Monsieur Luc’s chances.”
She turns back from the wooden panelling and addresses Jaques and Jean.
“Gentlemen, we have bigger issues at stake here and we’ll need both of you fit with full faculties; missing limbs will not help.
“Chevalier, you are not helping our cause by picking fights left right and centre. Please set a date for your duel or whatever it is you need to do but make it a week hence.” She says sternly, looking cross.

Looking up from her search, Brook grins.

“You tell ‘em Elizabeth!”

Brook soon found the secret passage entrance, now that she knew for what she was looking. The hidden catch was actually behind the wardrobe, and the panel beside it opened to reveal the hidden passage when she flipped it.

“Hey, look what I’ve found!” hisses Brook. “This time I’m not going to go blundering in.”

Instead, she checks around the aperture for footprints and other clues.

Ignoring the excitement around him Jean Luc stays calmly attentive to the angered man. "I have not called you a liar so please don't put words in my mouth. I humbly asked for an introduction Sir Jacques du Baudin, or Chevalier but if that is what you prefer be called that I shall call you. But a liar, no. Is it not true that by your own testimony the only thing you know the young man to be guilty of is being in the wrong place at the wrong time?"

There was a layer of dust in the passage near the entrance, which suggested that nobody had used it recently.

Jacques:

Jacques groans. "Another one who likes to talk a lot. Wonderful." At the moment, he seems to be completely ignoring everyone but Jean-Luc

"No, in fact, it is not true that L'Argot's only crime was being in the wrong place at the wrong time. Being in these apartments at all in the middle of the night was anything but innocent. Being here and helping yourself to a gem in the temporary possession of a dead thief?"

"But that is all beside the point. The only issue that matters right now is this. You just said I made a 'false accusation'. I repeat, my report to the Duc was completely factual. Once again, I invite you to withdraw your statement or clarify it."

"I cannot otherwise allow an allegation of dishonesty by me to go unchallenged. Please consider your response carefully."

Frustrated at her inability to find clues, Brook closes the secret door and marches over to the arguing men.

“Will you two shut up?” she yells, barging in between them.

“A man has died in suspicious circumstances and we’re trying to work out how, why and who! We can’t do that with you two busy alpha-males dick waving at each other!”

Jacques:

Jacques actually appears quite calm and has not raised his voice. He has just gone very humorless and icy. His eyes never leave Jean Luc's.

"Miss Brook, I'm afraid this is a matter between me and this fellow now. The cause of the thief's death is of no great concern to me and I do not know why it is of any great concern to you. Were the thief caught alive, there is a good chance he would have been hanged from a tree by now on the Duc's orders."

"What does concern me is my honour. Perhaps Narnia is different. Here in France, a knight who is found to have lied would be disgraced. He would lose all his position, titles, and possessions. He would be disowned by the Church. He would never be able to speak to friends or family again. He would never be able to marry. His life would become very cheap indeed."

"So, however much I dislike the practice of duelling, I am forced to seek an explanation from this fellow or consider that option."

“Well take it outside at least,” Brook harrumphs. “We get to investigate a murder mystery with the actual Leonardo da Vinci and you two are spoiling it: squabbling like...”

She waves a hand in a vague motion.

“…two people who are squabbling,” she finishes lamely, before rallying.

“We’ve need to do an autopsy, study a jewel, figure out how someone sneaked into here to operate my robot pal and also stop a play which apparently drives people nuts. So go off and satisfy your honour somewhere else… please.”

Elizabeth stifles a laugh behind her hand and then has an idea.
“We don’t often duel in Narnia but there is often cause for competition to settle an argument. You could both assist M. da Vinci with his autopsy; the winner being the most useful and, er, boldest assistant.”

Jacques:

"No, thank you. I simply require a response from M. de Monet. Nothing more."

Jean Luc staying focused on the imposing man, becoming slightly more animated tho not angry-"How many times must I repeat myself? I'm not accusing you of lying! If I were to accuse you it would be of lacking imagination and a fundamental understanding of language. Solve a mystery indeed let's work on basic comprehension first shall we? I will not be bullied or cowar to a man on account of words I did not speak. Surely you're not so dense to understand this- two things can be true simultaneously. You saw what you saw, fine but there is more to the story!"

Jacques:

Jacques snorts. "You, M. De Monet, need to choose your words more wisely. Claiming false accusation is a very serious matter. And I still wonder why you saw fit to vouch for that man. But as I said, I do not approve of needless dueling."

"Master Da Vinci, I believe I have overstayed my welcome. Ladies, good luck determining why the thief died. I would not trust this fellow overly," he indicates Monet

With a curt nod, primarily to the famed master, the still clearly unpleased Jacques departs.

“Oh dear.” Elizabeth exclaims. “The Chevalier claims to dislike duelling but he seems to find any excuse for it. He must be a very good swordsman to have survived this far.
“Now, M. Monet. You seem to know something of this case. Would you be happy to enlighten us? We are helping M Da Vinci of course.” She smiles encouragingly.

"Know something? Oh goodness no. As I said I only had a hunch at goings on behind the scenes. But I can promise to be more deductive than that brute, and I'm sorry you had to witness that. Now, shall we?" He gives an overly polite bow and extended open hand as if to jester 'ladies first'.

“Where are we going?” Brook asks, relieved that the alpha-male nonsense has ended. “Autopsy?”

"A smashing idea! With master DaVinci's well, masterful understanding of anatomy we'll be sure to know if a single hair is out of place. Perhaps we return and investigate the Secret passage when activities have died down and we may go about our business unperturbed."

"Yes, I shall examine the dead man," said Leonardo. "You are all welcome to attend, if you wish."

Once I know where Elizabeth plans to go (Story's player hasn't yet returned, so I'll run her as an NPC for now), I'll split the thread.

“Before we go; would it be sensible to examine the jewel, M. Da Vinci? We three have some experience in old artifacts and might be able to shed some light on the who and the why of the theft.”
Elizabeth says.

“Yeah, good call,” Brook concurs. “Beats watching corpses being cut up.”

"Of course," said Leonardo, taking the puzzle box out of a large pocket of his outer garment. His hands worked over it too quickly to see, and within seconds he had it open. He pulled out a small, dull green crystal that fit in the palm of his hand. It was long and symmetrical, with pointed ends. "It used to glow faintly, with enough light by which to read. I have used it for that purpose before."

Elizabeth, you may roll Cthulhu Mythos. Everyone, including Elizabeth, may roll Occult.

[12] = 12
Occult 33 d%: [ 12 ] = 12

"Kinda reminds me of something..." mutters Brook, peering at the jewel.

“Hey, I remember seeing something like this on the Discovery Channel; or was it in the Sunday Sport? Anyway, it’s a soul crystal; supposed to come from Atlantis.”

“Apparently you can transfer your life force into it…” Her gaze turns to the automaton and she frowns. “I wonder if you can transfer it to other things too…?”

cthulhu Mythos (5) roll: 3 occult (5) roll: 56

Elizabeth peers at the jewel too. “You say it used to glow, implying that it doesn’t anymore?”

Jean Luc is distracted wondering what a discovery Channel is but thinks better than to ask and show his ignorance instead nodding wisely.

"That is correct," said Leonardo. "It is a dull green now, but it used to be luminescent."

What Brook said brought something to Elizabeth's mind, though she was unsure how she knew this. The soul crystal was indeed an artifact of lost Atlantis, the invention of an ancient sorcerer named Eibon. It could indeed hold the life force of not just a human, but of any living thing or even supernatural entity. A ritual could be used to trap the soul in the crystal. From there, it could discharged into a suitable receptacle with little effort. The glow meant that the crystal contained a soul, but the lack of a glow meant it was empty.

Two Cthulhu Mythos successes! Impressive!

“I wonder…”

Brook waves a hand in front of the automaton’s face.

“Hello? Are you in there?” she asks.

“It means the, er, energy has been discharged into another receptacle. I think you’re right, Brook. This is an Atlantean Artifact; it’s tremendously old.
“My guess someone knows of its powers and wants to use it. I would think they might try again.
M. Da Vinci, can you remember when you last saw it glowing?”

Mr H, Yes, a jammy roll. It makes up for all my sad rolls everywhere from Bolivia to Pluto at the moment.

The automaton did not respond.

"I used it to read by its light in the evening on my way to Auvergne," said Leonardo. "The last time was a few days ago. It was glowing then." He glanced at the automaton and then at the crystal, stroking his chin.

“Which means the soul, I mean, energy has been transferred to something else since then; possibly last night. But why would they waste it on the automaton which doesn’t need power to work? Just to kill a thief and then leave the jewel behind.”
Elizabeth shakes her head. “It doesn’t make any sense. Unless all they wanted was the energy. For something.” Her eyes narrow whilst she thinks it through.

“Hmm…” Brook ponders in turn.

“So where is this life-force, what does it want and, I guess, who’s life-force is it?”

“Leonardo, you’re the cleverest person in the room: what do you know of Atlantis?”

"I've read Plato's Republic, of course," said Leonardo, "and I've also done some more obscure studies on the subject. I have heard many myths and legends about it. Why don't we discuss this further in the Duc's library? He may have some books on Atlantis in his collection."

Leonardo da Vinci's Occult roll (75% skill) about Atlantis:
d%

“What a fabulous idea!” Elizabeth’s eyes light up at the mention of ancient books.

“Gotta be worth a try,” concurs Brook.

"Perhaps whatever this mysterious energy was could have been moved to another receptacle. Maybe we should also make time to have a chat with the boy I defended."

"Yes, he was in the room," said Leonardo da Vinci. "He may know more. Let us go." He placed the crystal back inside the puzzle box, closed it up, and returned it to his pocket. Then he led everyone out of the room.

Jacques is moving to the thread linked below:

The Horse's Mouth

Everyone else is moving to the thread linked below:

The Mystery Deepens