Play@YSDC

New Row is in the heart of swanky Covent Garden; lined in the main with restaurants, bistros and, of course, bookshops. The Cappucino Lounge, a typical coffee shop where the word 'barrista' is taken seriously, lies approximately 20 yards away from Stonewaters Bookshop, on the same side of the narrow street. Sitting inside, clutching a glass cup of what looks like the eponymous frothy coffee, is Warwick Anderson.

He is accompanied by a uniformed officer out of Charing Cross Police Station: PC Singh, according to his name badge. Dressed in beige chinos and a red and white checked shirt, with a button-down collar, Anderson looks exhausted and somewhat rumpled; spiky bits of blonde hair sticking out at wayward angles (although that may just be the way he styles it). Occasionally glancing nervously over his shoulder, he starts as the entrance bell jangles when you walk in, but relaxes slightly when PC Singh acknowledges your arrival.

What PC Singh thinks of the appearance of such a motley crew is hidden behind the well-practised ceiling gaze of your typical Bobby on the beat.

"Um, a-are you the police people they said were coming to interview me?" Anderson asks.

"That would be us," says Izzy, as she introduces herself by showing Mr Anderson her warrant card, flashing it towards PC Singh as well to confirm her identity. "Sorry there's a few of us, but the boss insisted. Last thing we want to do is intimidate you though."

’Speak for yerself!” snapped Des. ”Dey’re feds. Fuck knows what I’m doing ‘ere!”

Jordan lets the cops do the talking, though he's ready to contribute if his input is needed.

Skipper inhales reply and bee-lines for the counter to politely order a coffee. He's happy to lurk near the counter and just listen in to the story while checking out the other customers.

Despite Izzy's attempt to calm the young man, Anderson is somewhat taken aback by Des' outburst and shrinks back in his chair.

PC Singh harrmuphs and suggests that perhaps it'd help if Anderson gives a statement regarding what happened to him.

"Uh, yeah, I suppose," Anderson replies.

"I was working in the basement. It was around midnight, give or take, moving the celebrity chef books to the other end of the cookery section, when I was hit in the back by something. I turned around to find Banksy's Wall and Piece at my feet - the paperback, not the hardback, or else that would have really hurt.

Thing is, I was supposed to be the only one in the shop. There was no sign of anyone who could have thrown it, so I'll admit, I was spooked. I went upstairs to take a look around and make sure no one had broken in, but all the doors were locked, and I couldn't see anyone. I was feeling a bit annoyed by this point, so I gave up looking and went back to re-shelving the books.

Next thing I know, I get hit on the head by a soft toy, like the ones we keep at the till points. I was just about to turn around and catch whoever threw it red-handed when a ton of books smashed into me from the art section and flattened me! A couple of really big Taschen art books caught me in the back of the head, but I managed to stagger to the phone at the downstairs till and dialled 999.

It's all a bit hazy after that, but someone helped me up tp the ambulance, where they told me I had a mild concussion. I went home, then I got a call asking me to come back in so I could be interviewed by some special crimes unit - you lot, I'm assuming? I told them there was no way I was going within 500 metres of that place, but eventually, they convinced me to meet you here instead."

OOC:   Skipper, by all means make an Observation skill test - this is the same as how you'd do a test in CoC 7E: roll a d100 - a success is equal or less your skill rating, with a Hard success being half or less (there's no such thing as an extreme success in RoL). You can spend luck to improve your score, and push the roll, as per CoC, if you wish (though I wouldn't worry about that in this instance).

Jordan looks around, taking in everything.

Observation roll (60% skill) in the coffee shop:
d%
Critical success!

Izzy nods sympathetically as she hears Mr. Anderson's tale of woe and potential cranial trauma, and jots down everything in her notepad, getting as much detail as she can.

"You say the doors were locked, and you were the only one working that night, yes? Can you give us a list of everyone who would have keys to the shop and could have entered while you were in there?"


(RE Observation - 60%:)

Des rolled her eyes. ’Flyin’ books!’ She’d never heard the like!

Observation (60%) 1d100

1d%30%

OOC:   Oh dear. Not a good start. Very definite fail.

Skipper is unfortunately distracted by some attractive caffeine consumers and fails to see anything much else.

Anderson takes a moment to consider Izzy’s question.

“Only my boss, Saffron: she’s the store manager. But we’re good mates; she wouldn’t go around throwing books at people, especially me. Look, I know the building is old and the shop’s a weird shape, so there’s plenty of places to hide; but I’m certain there wasn’t anyone else there last night.”

You see nothing out of the ordinary. Jordan, great roll! You spot some particularly good flapjacks for sale at the counter.

Clutching a large latte in a disposable cup, Skipper ambles over to the table. "Who's running the shop today then, your boss? Time for a quick nose around, I'm thinking. I'm always looking to add to my Beatrix Potter collection anyway."

“Um, I think she’s waiting to talk to you anyway,” replies Anderson. “I expect she’ll want to be ready to open at eleven.”

”Come on,“ grumbled Des. ”I’ve no idea what I’m doin’ ‘ere and dis is gettin’ borin’!“

"I suppose there's not much more you can tell us then, if you didn't see anyone. Leo, any questions from you?"

Despite the clear antagonistic attitude of the girl accompanying them, Izzy accepts that they should probably head over to the store itself, if there's nothing else that Warwick can assist with.

"Wait!"

Anderson chews his lip, weighing up the pros and cons of saying what he is about to say.

“You know what I reckon? I reckon it was a poltergeist!”

Izzy settles back, glancing at Leo as she does so with a knowing smile. "Now we're getting somewhere." Something to think about when they arrived at the store, but at least that would explain why Nightingale had been given the call. She looks across at Des.

"Happy now? Might be we need your special talents after all."

Des sighed heavily and rolled her eyes. ”Poltergeists? You been havin’ too much spliff, grandma!“ she snorted derisively.

Skipper looks at Des with mild amusement. "Whadda you care if it's true or not? To quote Winston from Ghostbusters, if there's a steady paycheck in it, I'll believe anything you say."

He looks at an old fashioned CWC analog watch on his wrist. "We've got plenty of time before 11 then. Lots of poking around opportunity."

Skipper pulls a digital SLR camera out of his backpack and speedily changes the telescopic zoom lens for a much stubbier close range version. Camera in one hand, coffee in the other, he grins. "I'm good."

Jordan bought the flapjacks and ate them during the interview. He finishes them in time to follow the others to the store. "I've heard of poltergeists," he says. "Never believed in them before, but I've come to understand that anything's possible."

"Grandma? I'm twenty-two..." Izzy mutters, feeling outraged and rather upset at Des' comment. Still, it doesn't matter. She knows that sooner or later, Des will get a sharp shock when she sees precisely what sort of cases the Folly deals with regularly...


Magic roll (60%):

1d100

"Mr. Anderson, how long has the shop been operating for? Was it always a bookshop, or did it used to be something else?"

22?! Wow, that seems ancient to Des…

Unless I’m mistaken, Des has neither Magic nor Occult. Would Sense Vestigia work, or is the trace too old?

"Might I examine your injuries, Mr. Anderson?" asks Jordan. He doesn't know anything about magic, but at least this would be within his realm of expertise.

Snapper wrote: ↑Thu Jan 05, 2023 6:37 am

While the magic people are doing their thing, can Skipper try a Read Person to make some assessment of Anderson? Assuming that's how Read Person works.

Yes, go for it.

1d%dp30%

Skipper keeps half an eye on Anderson but can form no judgement.

Anderson is pretty shook up by his ordeal and, having already been treated by paramedics, might be reluctant to be examined again. Maybe a Social roll might persuade him?

“I don’t know how long the shop’s been open for; I’ve only been working there a couple of years. The building’s eighteenth century I think,” Anderson replies to Izzy’s question.

“I’ve no idea what it used to be before, but I know it was originally three shops: the one on New Row and two adjacent ones that back onto it from Garrick Street. Someone back in the day knocked the walls through and turned it into a single shop. It’s a total nightmare when it comes to shoplifters - lots of dead space.”

Des made a mental note of that last comment, should she feel the need to come back at a later date. Not that books were easy to move on, but if times got hard…

Izzy makes a note of the building's estimated date and history, as relayed by the unfortunate Mr Anderson.

"Thanks for that. You've been a great help, I think that might be enough for us for now, unless the others have more questions. If anything else comes to mind that you think could help, please get in touch," she says, handing him a card with her name and work mobile number, Force ID number, and the address of the Folly.

"He does have a crime reference number, yes?" Izzy asks PC Singh as an aside.

PC Singh nods.

"Yes, a crime number has been provided. Does anyone else have any questions, or can I let Mr. Anderson go on his way?"

"I'm a doctor," says Jordan. "I know you were already treated in hospital, but I may be able to find some clues that would help us bring your assailant to justice."

Social roll (60% skill) to convince Anderson:
d%
Hard success.

"I don't have any further questions at this time," Leo added. "Thank you both!"

"No questions from me, I'm good."

Skipper throws his camera's sling strap over his neck, the backpack over a shoulder, and drifts just outside the coffee shop, clutching his latte. One-handed, he starts taking a few snaps of Stonewaters down the lane.

Before the team leaves the Cappuccino Lounge, Jordan quickly examines Anderson.

The bruising is consistent with the man’s account: he has been hit by a number of blunt objects, seemingly thrown from a few metres away.

Skipper looks back at his newfound, apparent colleagues, gestures that he is taking some photos, then wanders off. He crosses to the other side of the New Row and ambles along until he is roughly opposite Stonewaters, taking a few photos as he goes. And sipping coffee.

It is a short walk along New Row to Stonewater’s, with Skipper pressing on slightly ahead to take photos.

OOC:   By all means make a Photography roll.

One of the glass door panels has been replaced by a length of plywood; evidence of the paramedics’ forced entry, but without closer study, nothing seems otherwise amiss outside.

OOC:   Does anyone have either the History or Art/Craft (Architecture) skill? If so, you may roll. If no-one has either skill, someone can try their luck and spend 10 Luck points to roll against their INT characteristic instead.

OOC: I don't have History or Art/Craft, but my INT is 80 so I'd like to roll for that and spend ten Luck points.

Luck: 55/65

INT roll (80%):

1d100

OOC:   By passing that test, Izzy now has the option of spending an additional 10 Luck points to acquire either History or Art/Craft (Architecture) at half her INT, so at 40 in this case. Everyone, bear the option to try your luck in mind when I call for a roll on a skill no-one has

Izzy knows something of the city and deduces that the building is indeed Georgian as Anderson suggested. Moreover, it is most probably a listed building.

1d%pHpH60%

OOC:   Crit success.

Skipper takes a few excellently framed photographs of the bookshop. Zooming in through the camera display, he is able to look into the shop.

Within, he sees a tall black woman at the till. It looks like she’s busy setting up.

Izzy approaches the main door and knocks a couple of times, holding up her warrant card with the other hand to show the group are here on official business.

Upon seeing the investigators, the woman strides towards the door.

"I'm sorry, we're not open until-" she stops upon seeing Izzy's warrant card. "Oh! One second!"

Hurrying forward, she unlocks the doors and ushers you in. She is tall, slender Black woman with a long face and relaxed hair cut into a pixie bob. Dressed in a crisp, ivory-coloured blouse, smart suit trousers, and patent Leather Oxford shoes, she smiles apologetically.

"Sorry, I thought you were early birds," she says. "Are you here about last night? Have you spoken to Warwick? He'd gone by the time I got here. How is he?"

You may make a Read Person roll if you so wish.

Ms Jackson is pleased to see you, if slightly irritated by events. Like many people when presented with police credentials, she is babbling somewhat.

The store itself looks like any other large bookshop, with the shelves split up into various sections. The till is situated at the far end of the store, before it doglegs to the left.

Please make an Observation roll.

You notice a large, apparently glazed dome set into the ceiling over the till.

Also of note is a convex mirror mounted above the left-hand door that you just came through, presumably to cover one of the dead spots Anderson mentioned.

Read Person (60%):

1d100

Observation (60%):

1d100

Izzy glances at her colleagues for their own opinions. "He's... okay, as far as I can see. Definitely shaken, but that's understandable. No lasting damage though."

She takes care not to mention Warwick's suggestion of a poltergeist, preferring to keep the supernatural cards close to her chest for the moment.

Des looked the woman up and down, then peered around the shop…

Observation (60%) 1d100

Read Person (60%) 1d100

Jordan smiles at the woman in greeting, then looks around and up at the dome above.

Read Person roll (60% skill) in the bookshop:
d%
Observation roll (60% skill) in the bookshop:
d%

Skipper drifts on, sipping coffee.

1d%dp30%

1d%30%

He seems slightly out of place in this environment and not really able to focus.

For those of you who are examining the store, you notice that, just as Warwick Anderson mentioned, the bookshop is a very strange shape. The entrance from New Row leads to the central section, which lies in the wedge-shaped gap between the buildings fronting onto New Row and Garrick Street. Just beyond the central section’s halfway point, a spur leads to one of the Garrick Street entrances and, just beyond that, a set of glass-sided stairs leads down to the basement. Finally, another spur leads to the second Garrick Street entrance.


Click image to enlarge.

Remember that Nightingale requires investigators to perform an Initial Vestigia Assessment at the scene of any potential Falcon incident. If you wish to do this, please state where in the shop you are testing.

The woman smiles at Izzy.

"That's good news; Warwick is a model employee. I'm glad he's okay."

She extends her hand.

"Saffron Jackson. I manage the store. I suppose I've got to give a statement? Do you need to look around or something?"

"So a statement, yeah? I got a phone call in the early hours from a police officer asking me to come to the bookshop to take care of the door," Jackson says, eyes darting from investigator to investigator. "They said they'd had to break in to get inside to see what had happened to poor Warwick. They left shortly after that because it was all kicking off in the piazza; a fight outside a bar or something - I don't know."

"Next, I called the maintenance company to send someone over to board up the door and clean up the glass. Once the maintenance guy got here, I checked around to see if anything was missing. It didn't look like it, but it was hard to tell in all that mess downstairs. I've not touched anything down there because one of the officers told me not to until you'd been down to see it."

"So if you'd like to follow me, I'll take you to the basement. I don't want to tell you how to do your job, but I'd really appreciate it if you could hurry it up - I'd like to get everything all squared up before opening time."

Izzy writes everything down quickly, taking the statement from Saffron. She doesn't need to worry about memorising the layout of the shop floors, however, being a regular customer herself, and vaguely recognising Saffron in passing from previous visits, even if they never spoke beyond the usual customer/staff exchange at the tills.

"Thanks for that. I'm happy to check out the basement then if we're all ready, just one thing though. Nobody else would have keys to this place, would they, aside from yourself and Warwick? No disgruntled ex-employees who might have made a copy before being fired, for instance?"

"Ready when you are," says Jordan.

Skipper continues snapping a few photos of the ground level as the moment seizes him. "Ready when you are."

"Let me know if you have any good books on photography."

“Extra keys? Stonewaters is a national chain, so there might be one stored in our headquarters in Durham, but nobody else would have one here,” Saffron says to Izzy.

“I can’t think of any disgruntled employees - we’re all a pretty happy bunch and Stonewaters is a good company to work for.”

She turns to Skipper and Jordan

“We do have a small photography section. As it happens, it’s in the basement, just behind the art section. We moved them downstairs as part of the reorganisation that Warwick was doing. You’re welcome to take a look. Please follow me.”

She leads you past the till, turns left and heads down the glass-sided stairs.

Please make a Sense Vestigia roll.

As you pass the till, you catch a faint whiff of something: the stench of a slaughterhouse combined with rotting straw.

In addition, you hear shouting and a sense of excitement, desire and disappointment.

You realise these impressions are concentrated under the dome.

Sense Vestigia: 60%

1d100


As she follows Saffron, passing by the till, Izzy can't help but retch a little as the smell hits her. She tries to hide it, but it's clear to anyone looking or listening that she is forcing herself not to gag. Perhaps the local bobbies were right to get the Folly involved after all.

Des noticed Izzy’s involuntary shudder as she walked past the tills but didn’t sense anything herself. She shrugged. Must have been an allergic reactions to books or summit!

Sense Vestigia (30%) 1d100

Leo listened to Saffron and followed the others down the steps. He reached out with his feelings, trying to figure out if anything happened, magic wise.

Jordan descends the stairs, not noticing anything out of the ordinary.

Sense Vestigia roll (30% skill) in the basement:
d%

1d%30%

Skipper heads off in search of the photography section, oblivious to magical miasma.

Those of you who failed your Sense Vestigia roll only sense the standard background vestigium of central London (pain, joy, sweat, tears, and something that sounds very much like a sheep bleating forlornly).

Down the stairs lies the basement. Its main section runs beneath part of the upstairs’ central section. On the far wall, a security door leads out to a staff area. Two spurs mirror those on the ground floor; both have fire exit doors leading into a stairwell that emerges on the ground floor opposite the main stairwell. At the bottom of the stairs, to the right, is a till point - this must be the one Warwick Anderson used to call the emergency services.

Just beyond the till, between it and the door to the staff area, lies the cookery section, where Anderson was attacked. The art section is located in the right-hand spur (as you look at the drawing). The photography section is behind this in the left-hand spur.

Saffron points to a large, disorganised pile of books in the middle of the cookery section. The mess appears to have originated from five shelves in the art section.

"There. That's where Warwick was standing."

She turns to, looking somewhat concerned.

"Are you alright? You've gone very pale."

OOC:   Everyone please make an observation check.

You spot a CCTV camera, mounted to cover a dead spot behind the till.

Observation (60%):

1d100

"I'm... fine. Just thought I smelled something... odd." Izzy looks at her fellow investigators to see if they sensed anything as well, studying their faces to see if any of them register the same kind of reaction as she did. She then looks up at the camera behind the till.

"Have you checked the CCTV from that thing?" she asks Saffron, pointing up. "Or have you passed on the footage to the officers who were on scene?"

Jordan hadn't even noticed the camera, but that was no surprise. Those things were everywhere in London. One got used to being watched.

Observation roll (60% skill) in the basement:
d%

1d%30%

OOC:   Regular success. The curse is lifted!

Skipper starts looking at the bookshop more carefully, less in jest. He ambles back to Saffron. "Would you be able to tell us something of the history of this bookshop?"

Saffron frowns at Izzy’s question.

“The CCTV footage should still be on the computer, but it’s company property. Plus there are privacy issues. I’m not sure I can let you look at it.”

At Skipper‘s question, her frown deepens.

“I don’t know much about the building’s history, except it’s a couple of shops knocked through. I suppose there’s something on the internet maybe.”

OOC:   Okay, you have a number of options: to persuade Saffron to let you check the CCTV, I need a Social roll. To look up the building’s history on your smartphone, it’s a Research roll. Additionally, those of you with magical training would do well to recall what you’ve learned about ghosts/poltergeists, and how they are attracted to magic…

Social (60%):

1d100

Hard success!

Izzy considers her options, looking to Leo for support. "If we can determine that an offence has indeed taken place, then we will need to see the footage anyway under the Police and Criminal Evidence Act, Section 19," she says, recalling her days at Hendon memorising the relevant laws and regulations. "In which case, it would save time if we can take a look earlier on, since it might give us more of an idea on what we're searching for."

She speaks in an apologetic tone, trying to find a rapport with Saffron to gently persuade her to come around to the same point of view.

Leo caught up with Izzy and nodded. "Yes, I believe that would satisfy that requirement, if you can find it," he said reassuringly to Saffron.

"By the way, ghosts...real ghosts, anyway...are actually attracted to magic. I heard Abigail talking about how they set up a werelight as a sort of ghost trap in the subway. It doesn't really trap them like in Ghostbusters. It was more of a bug being attracted to a bug zapper. Without the zap, of course."

With an expression on his face of 'good idea', Skipper hauls out a phone in a very rugged, rather scuffed case and starts researching the building's history. Sipping coffee.

1d%H60%

OOC:   Good grief! Skipper will spend 15 Luck to make that a success.

At the mention of ghosts, Des’ ears pricked up, not that that affected her outward demeanour of bored indifference.

She wandered deeper into the store, looking around the shelves.

Jordan looks at the books at the scene of the crime without touching anything, trying to determine what kind of books were there and which particular books were thrown, in case it's significant.

Can I also roll Forensics while I'm examining the crime scene?

Mr. Handy wrote: ↑Thu Jan 12, 2023 5:21 am Jordan.png

Jordan looks at the books at the scene of the crime without touching anything, trying to determine what kind of books were there and which particular books were thrown, in case it's significant.

Can I also roll Forensics while I'm examining the crime scene?

OOC:   Yes, by all means.

SaintMeerkat wrote: ↑Wed Jan 11, 2023 11:54 pm DC Leo Dansby.jpg

Leo caught up with Izzy and nodded. "Yes, I believe that would satisfy that requirement, if you can find it," he said reassuringly to Saffron.

"By the way, ghosts...real ghosts, anyway...are actually attracted to magic. I heard Abigail talking about how they set up a werelight as a sort of ghost trap in the subway. It doesn't really trap them like in Ghostbusters. It was more of a bug being attracted to a bug zapper. Without the zap, of course."

OOC:   Are you talking about magic out loud and in front of Saffron?

Jordan has absolutely no clue.

Science(Forensics) roll (30% skill) at the crime scene:
d%

Skipper, it takes a little time to find search results other than the pages from the Stonewaters website, but eventually you find something on a local history Facebook page. This confirms that the shop is a listed building, dating from the Georgian era. It's known for it's glass dome, which is an original feature. The original use of the building is unknown and could have been anything from fancy balls to cockfighting.

OOC:   For further information, you'd have to push the roll in an attempt to get a Hard success. However, failing a pushed roll usually has consequences...

Des, you take a good look around. There is a large, disorganised pile of books in the middle of the cookery section. The mess appears to have originated from five shelves in the art section. To have thrown them, someone would have had to sneak round behind Anderson without him noticing — extremely tricky, but not completely impossible if he was engrossed in his work.

Please make an INT roll.

The main problem with this theory is: where did they hide when Anderson searched the shop? And how did they throw so many books at once?

Izzy and Leo: Saffron cocks her head at the mention of magic. She gives Leo an odd look, before looking at Izzy as if to say 'what the hell?'

"Um, yeah, you have a point. If you'd like to follow me, I'll show you to the office."

To Leo, she raises an eyebrow.

"You can come too I guess."

OOC:   Leo, take a penalty die whenever making Social rolls when dealing with Saffron.

Saffron leads you both through the basement door into a plain, grey corridor, past the storeroom and staffroom, and into her office. After fiddling with her keyboard for a moment or two, she turns her computer monitor towards you and shows you the recording. The footage’s time stamp reads 12:30 am. Warwick Anderson appears on the far left of the screen, almost out of shot. because of the camera angle. Suddenly, books appear, entering the frame in mid-flight, shortly before hitting him. The force of their impact pushes him further into the frame as well as knocking him down. Warwick then pulls himself up and staggers drunkenly towards the till, disappearing out of shot again.

Please make a magic roll.

You are well aware that magic can destroy microprocessors, disabling electronic devices. If the books were thrown using some kind of spell, then why is the CCTV still working?

Jordan, you continue to inspect the scene, taking a close look at the trail of art books. You take a step back and unfortunately trip on a heavy art portfolio that lies midway between the pile and the shelves of the art section. Staggering backwards, you crash into the shelving!

OOC:   Nasty fumble there! Take 1 Damage, meaning that you're Hurt (Injuries in RoL go from Hurt, Bloodied to Down - 1, 2 and 3 Damage). Being Hurt doesn’t give you any negative modifiers, just some bruising and a knock to the ego.

While you wrestle with the bookshelf, please make an Observation roll.

At least you're able to look at the shelves up close! While most of the shelf labelling relates to art, one shelf is labelled 'pre-school fiction', even though the books are all related to art.

As Saffron turned away to lead them to the office, Leo turned toward Des. Once he was sure Saffron's back was to him, he caught her eye, and silently mouthed an expletive, clearly embarrassed at his slip up. Magic isn't official. Not yet. The Nightingales are supposed to help keep it that way. For now, anyway.

Once they were in the office, he turned his attention to the recording. "Great googly moogly..." Leo said softly as the books suddenly took flight. "Poor guy..."

Magic (60/30): 1d100

INT (65%) 1d100

Des studied the scene carefully. Yeah, she could see how someone might’ve got around the shelves if Anderson had his nose in a book, but how did all those other books fly off the shelves? She went a stood behind the shelves and tried to think how she could do it, but there was no way as far as she could see. If she was stood on the other side and swept the books off with her arm, she could’ve moved the books but then she’d have been seen.

She glanced up at the CCTV camera. Perhaps the tape would provide more information? As she contemplated that, Jordan clumsily barged into the shelves, almost knocking them over! Des just shook her head and rolled her eyes… …

OOC:   Won't try pushing a roll just yet, given Skipper's abysmal track record so far.

Skipper puts the phone away and looks for any interesting photos to take. He looks around for any left over clues as to the premises' original, or at least earlier, purpose, pre Stonewater.

Jordan is too distracted to notice anything else, and he holds the bookshelf steady to keep it from collapsing. "I'll be okay," he says, grinning sheepishly. "It could have been worse. I could have been the one to use the M word in front of a muggle. I wonder if that's what we actually call them."

Observation roll (60% skill) at the crime scene:
d%
May I roll Medicine to treat my injury? Does my Natural Toughness help?

In the office, the noise of Jordan crashing into a bookshelf causes Saffron to look up from the computer screen.

“What the-?”

Walking back into the main basement area, she sighs.

“You know what? I still haven’t finished re-shelving the children’s books upstairs. I’ll leave you lot to it - please be finished within the hour.”

Shaking her head and muttering something about ‘weirdos’, she heads back upstairs, leaving you to your investigations.

OOC:   Is there anything else you want to do before you report back to the Folly?

Skipper hastily catches up with Saffron. "Don't mind my colleague, he's an epic clutz. Big guys, you know." He shrugs.

"Can you just help me, I'm still trying to get this shop's layout straight in my head. There's a space connecting to Garrick Street on the Ground Floor that's inaccessible. What's in there?"

Saffron pauses her ascent.

“Oh, that’s just the entrance to the offices on the upper floors. The door is between the two Garrick Street entrances. It opens up to some stairs.”

“Anything else, or can I get back to sorting out the Julia Donaldsons?

Izzy doesn't say anything to Leo immediately, but she gives him a look as if to say "what the hell?" as soon as he begins talking openly about magic. She then glances at Saffron and gives her more of a sympathetic look, trying to suggest that her colleague is simply talking nonsense, and that she has no clue what he means either.

"Thanks for showing us the footage. It looks like those books were thrown with a hell of a lot of force, to knock him down like that." Izzy speaks with an air of disgust that anyone would treat books in such a disrespectful manner. "It's useful, though. We should be able to pinpoint where they were thrown from, and take a look there."

Magic (60%):

1d100

OOC:   Wow! Can I please spend 1 luck to make that a hard success?

OOC:   Of course you can!

In addition to realising the information above, you also estimate the best place to cast a spell in the basement without frying the CCTV. Please award yourself a bonus 10's die when casting a spell in the basement.

Leo looked over at Saffron as she left. "Thank you again, miss..."

Once Saffron was well out of earshot, he looked over at his fellow practitioner. As they made their way up the stairs, he quietly asked "I tried to get a feel for vestigia, but there was too much background noise for me. Did you get a sense anything happened that was worthy of Falcon hours?"

Izzy recalls the smell from the residual magic left behind near the ground level till, and it takes effort not to retch again. The discomfort is clear on her face.

"I didn't think anyone else caught it, or you'd have the same look as me. There was something by the till upstairs, it smelled like a slaughterhouse. Last time I smelled anything like that was when I was back on the murder team, my first case working with the Folly. Found a body drained of fluids and it turned out to be some weird vampire thing from Rotherhithe. Lived under a converted abattoir, hence the vestigia. Actually, that's what got me started with the Folly to begin with."

She turns her head to look around the space, mentally calculating distances between the spot where the CCTV suggested the books had been thrown from, and the camera above the till. "I have an idea, if we can get away with it before Saffron comes back." As she speaks, Izzy glares at Leo, unwilling to let his earlier comments on magic slide so easily, though there is clearly a camaraderie in the look alongside the annoyance.

"The camera still worked, so I guess nobody was using magic, but Warwick said something about a poltergeist. If I can figure out where to cast something simple, like a werelight, that it won't damage the camera, then maybe we can draw something out. Assuming it is a Falcon case after all."

Izzy proceeds to take her disposable phone from her pocket (having left her expensive iPhone at home, safe from harm), and removes the battery so as to protect the chips inside prior to any magic being cast.

"Does it cause an electromagnetic pulse or something?" asks Jordan when he sees this, removing the battery from his own mobile phone, just in case.

"Something like that," Izzy replies. "When you get to meet DC Grant he can explain it, he understands it way more than I do, but magic kind of destroys the microchips in anything nearby that uses them. Taking the battery out of your phone seems to protect it though, like there needs to be an electrical current for the chips to be wiped."

She looks at the stairs slightly nervously, hoping Saffron isn't coming back any time soon, before calling across to the others as well. "Hey, if you don't want your phones destroyed, take the batteries out and put them in your pocket or something!"

Turning back to Jordan, she lets out a very subtle smile. "You know, I'm surprised you're taking all this so well. You've seen magic before? And I don't mean Derren Brown at Shephard's Bush Green."

"I'm a medical examiner," says Jordan, pocketing his battery. "I saw the corpse I was about to autopsy get up and walk away. I'm sure he was dead, or I'd have chalked it up to him being mistaken for being dead by someone else. I haven't seen anything else weird, but I guess that was enough. I figure it's part of this world, so I may as well get used to it. Once you've woken up, you can't go back to sleep. How did you get involved in all this, Izzy?"

jp1885 wrote: ↑Sat Jan 14, 2023 1:54 pm “Anything else, or can I get back to sorting out the Julia Donaldsons?

"Last question, I promise. Any idea why the basement doesn't extend all the way to level with New Row, like the ground floor does?"

Saffron shrugs.

“Don’t know. The shop used to be two buildings. I guess one had a cellar and one didn’t. Can I get on with my work now?”

The smile is slightly wider now, as Izzy imagines a corpse just nonchalantly walking out of its own autopsy. Presumably Grant and Nightingale had already dealt with that particular mishap.

"Just dumb luck, really. I joined straight from my A-Levels, did my two years at Hendon, a year on the beat, and then transferred to MIT. Major Investigation at Belgravia, mostly murder. It was going well for about a year or so, then we had a corpse that was drained of literally every fluid. No water, no blood, no spinal fluid, nothing. I was checking out the crime scene, and noticed it smelled like an abattoir, but no-one else caught it. Didn't realise at the time that I was sensing vestigia, but DI Stephanopolous did, and she made me the Folly liaison for the case. Turned out to have been some kind of vampire thing out of Rotherhithe. Anyway, we dealt with it, and then The Nightingale asked if I wanted to transfer across and start learning magic. DCI Seawoll didn't want to lose me, but he said it was my choice, and honestly, I've been loving it ever since."

As Izzy speaks, it's clear that she's becoming more animated the more she continues, as if excited to have someone outside of the Folly she can safely talk about it all to.

"Once the coast is clear, you'll get to see a bit of proper magic too, bit of a treat for you..." she continues, beaming.

jp1885 wrote: ↑Sun Jan 15, 2023 11:40 am “Don’t know. The shop used to be two buildings. I guess one had a cellar and one didn’t. Can I get on with my work now?”

"Of course, much obliged."

Saffron nods and scurries up the stairs, leaving you all alone in the basement…

Leo nodded slowly, sympathizing with Izzy as she described her unpleasant reaction to the vestigia and nodded agreement with her suggestion. Once he was sure Saffron was gone, he responded, "First, based on your experience, there is no question in my mind this is a Falcon case. Given what I heard from Abigail about a werelight working as a ghost lure in the past, I think we should at least give it a try here. As far away as possible from the camera, and as low power as you can manage."

Izzy smiles once more. "Way ahead of you on that. Just waiting for these..." she points towards Skipper and Des, "to take their phone batteries out."

She turns to the pair. "Oi, you listening? I'll tell you this for nothing, the Folly won't be paying to replace your fancy Samsung or whatever if the chips turn to dust."

She actually has no idea if Nightingale would be willing to pay for replacements through the department budget, but she'll be damned if she's going to get the blame if he isn't.

Jordan stands back and prepares to watch the show with interest.

Skipper looks at Izzy blankly, with a side of irritation. "Keep your Alan Whickers on, DC Hermione. I do not have clue one what you are talking about. Batteries out of my phone? I take it that's not a pick up line?"

Leo turned around, shaking his head. "She's serious, mate" he said as he reached into his two opposing suit pockets and pulled out a battery from one and a cheap plastic phone in the other before replacing them with a well-practiced move. "S.O.P. that I learned the hard way on day one.Any electronics that are currently receiving juice will get fried...or more accurately, sanded. You will want to keep phones and digital. watches well away."

Skipper sighs. "Oh well, when in Hogwarts..." He quickly drops the battery out of his camera with practised ease. Getting the phone battery out takes more effort. Getting the phone out of the rugged, scuffed case is the first battle. Getting the battery out of the less rugged but still scuffed phone is the second.

He holds his wrist up, showing the battered CWC analog watch. "Definitely not digital but they do have a battery operated motor. No circuits. Hope that won't blow up? I'm a bit partial to this watch."

"And as a matter of interest, are you meant to be reporting back to your guv'nor at some point?"

"Thank you," Izzy says, "and sorry for getting a bit snappy about it. Just trying to make sure your stuff is protected. And it's definitely not a pickup line. No offence, but you're not exactly... my type." She gives a knowing glance to Leo as she says this.

"We'll report back once we're done here. May as well have something concrete to report on."

Izzy then turns to Des. "You too, Miss Orivo, come on. Phone battery, I'm not having you blame me if your stuff gets bricked. And what's your first name, anyway? You still haven't told us that yet."

Des looked at Izzy for a long moment, then slipped a old mobile out of her back pocket, opened it up and removed the battery.

”Des. Short for Destiny, but if anyone calls me dat, I shove dis batt’ry where de sun don’ shine, ok?“

"Got it. Nice to meet you, Des." Izzy gives Des a smile as she tries to get the rather wild young woman to warm up to her a bit, but she realises it will likely be an ongoing task. "Okay then. If we're all ready, time to wow you."

She moves across to where she has guessed the best place to cast a spell will be, without frying the circuits in the CCTV system. One more glance towards the stairs to make sure Saffron isn't on her way back, and Izzy holds out her hand, palm outstretched and facing upwards. She concentrates, conjuring up the forma in her mind, closing her eyes, and whispers a single word - "Lux."

Magic (60%) - Casting a werelight, bonus 10s die from earlier hard success:

1d100
1d10

OOC:   Well, I think I'm keeping that 22 for the hard success

Those attuned to such things instantly feel Izzy's vestigia: the deep contented purr of a cat; the scent of lavender; a clockwork tick-tock precision.

From out of nowhere, a ball of shimmering light forms above her upturned palm, seemingly radiating no heat. If there was a ghost in the vicinity, the light would dim as the spirit feeds on the magical energy. However, no spectre forms.

The glowing ball changes colour from a milky white to a deep crimson before slowly fading away, but still no ghostly figure appears. It seems there's definitely something in the basement feeding on the werelight, but it doesn’t seem to be a 'normal' ghost.

You feel a faint tickling sensation, like feathers being brushed across your skin...

OOC:   If your character has never seen anyone spellcasting before, this must come as quite a shock! Please make a POW roll. If you fail, you become Impaired, which means you fumble on a 90+, not a 100 for the remainder of this scene.

For the briefest of moments, perhaps less than a second, Izzy imagines that it's Jennifer's hand stroking her, feeling the sensation of feathers being brushed against her, but as she just barely lets out a contented sigh she is brought back to Earth by the realisation that something here is draining the energy of the spell. She closes her palm, and ends the spell as she looks across to the others, satisfied with the discovery.

"There's definitely something down here. Maybe not a ghost in the traditional sense, but something. I think it's time we let the boss know."

Before they set off, however, she looks at each of the group in turn, to gauge their reactions (other than Leo, of course) at witnessing her using real, proper magic.

”Wot dafuq was dat?!” breathed Des, before recovering herself, hunching her shoulders and fixing Izzy with a suspicious look.

POW (70%) 1d100

1d%p55%

OOC:   Success.

Skipper jumps back but then nods in interest, eyebrows raised, wishing his camera was working. "Much nicer than the last bit of weird I saw."

"Let me know when I can put the battery back in my camera."

Jordan's jaw drops.

POW roll (30% skill) for witnessing magic:
d%

With that expert display of magic over, the basement returns to normal.

Assuming there’s nothing else you want to do in the basement, you head back up to the ground floor, where Saffron is making the finishing touches to the children’s section.

This job complete, she seems a little more relaxed.

“There; that’ll save everyone having to carry pushchairs up and down the stairs. Have you all finished?”

OOC:   In response to the others, before re-joining Saffron:

Izzy grins widely at them all. "That, Des, was magic." She looks across to Skipper and nods.

"It's probably okay now, I won't be doing any more while we're here at least, but I'd maybe wait until you're outside with the batteries just to be safe. Just because I won't be casting any more spells doesn't mean the... thing, whatever it is that's down here, won't do something similar."

She holds off on asking the obvious question to Skipper as they ascend to ground level. She wants to know what the 'bit of weird' was that Skipper claims to have seen, but that can always wait for later. Instead, she turns to Saffron and answers her query.

"I think we're all done here, yes, unless my colleagues have anything else they want to look at. We'll likely have to come back to make further inquiries, but we'll try not to get in your way as much as possible."

jp1885 wrote: ↑Tue Jan 17, 2023 9:34 am “There; that’ll save everyone having to carry pushchairs up and down the stairs. Have you all finished?”

Skipper looks intrigued and turns back to Saffron. "Have you been doing a bit of reorganising then? Moving the kids' section up to ground level or something like that?"

Saffron nods. “Yes, exactly that. Every celebrity chef has a book out nowadays, so we needed to expand the cookery section. On top of that, Saturday Story Time is getting really popular, and people couldn’t get their pushchairs up and down the stairs easily. This is a listed building, so we can’t fit a lift. So I asked Warwick to swap the sections over.”

"Sounds like a reasonable plan. I don't have kids but I am a bit partial to Jamie and Nigella's cookbooks myself."

"Was everyone happy with that, though? No parents who loved being downstairs or disgruntled celebrity chefs who wanted their books above ground?"

"Yeah, I'm done too," says Jordan. "Maybe I'll bring my kids by for Saturday Story Time some weekend." After the ghost is gone, he thinks.

Saffron frowns at Skipper’s question, as if this is something she hadn’t considered.

“Um, I’ve received no complaints… I think most parents are quite relieved and there have been no angry chefs barging in - I guess we’d know about that!”

She smiles at Jordan.

“You’d be more than welcome. Especially if you can find out who attacked Warwick!”

She looks at her watch and grimaces.

“Look, I’ve really got to get on. I haven’t even touched the basement yet and we’re opening soon.”

She turns to Izzy.

“To answer your question: why don’t you all come back at eight pm? I’ll be shutting up shop and you’ll have more time.”

OOC:   If you’re all ready, I’ll start a new thread back at the Folly soon.

Izzy nods. "Eight sounds fine to me. We'll be on our way then for now and report back to our inspector."

Privately, Izzy is a bit annoyed, since she was hoping for a night out with a few friends, maybe try and pull some pretty young student, or at least get in a few rounds of bowling at her local, Rowan's, but she sighs and accepts the situation. She knew when she joined, after all, that police keep unsociable hours. Besides, maybe she could swing for some overtime pay.

Leo nods, smiling, and offers his hand to Saffron to shake, but doesn't force it. "Thank you so much for your time, then. We will get out of your hair and let you resume your day. We should be able to a little homework before we return."

Then, heading for the door, he turns around and says, "Oh, just one more thing... How will we get in? Will there be someone here after hours? Are you going to let them know to expect us?"

“Like I said, I’ll still be here, shutting up shop,” Saffron replies. “Just tap on the door.”