Play@YSDC

The Tech Cave; situated in the Folly's rear courtyard on the upper floor of what was once a coach house; is your link to the outside world when ensconced in the stuffy confines of Russell Square.

Optical fibres link a HOLMES 2 terminal to various police databases and the wi-fi is pretty decent. There's a drinks fridge, a widescreen TV and a comfortable couch (although perhaps less relaxing when your guv'nor Nightingale is in residence, glued to the Rugby with a beer in his hand).

A more recent addition is a PlayStation 5 and a selection of games.

However, when DC Peter Grant, apprentice wizard and your immediate superior, sends you a WhatsApp asking you to meet him there ASAP, you suspect it isn't an invitation to play Spider-Man 2...

(For a start, it's extremely difficult to prise the controller from Molly)

Des slouched in. She was tired from lack of sleep and training, making her moody and grouchy, like a wounded bear. She scowled around the room, daring someone to make something of it…

Jordan enters promptly, eager to see what's happening. He wouldn't mind watching rugby with Nightingale, though he'd rather play than watch it. Still, he knows there must be something much more important to do.

Skipper drifted in, backpack over a shoulder, take away coffee in one hand. He looked quite relaxed, by his standards.

Izzy arrives, thick coat and Doctor Who scarf bracing her against the cold, over her flannel shirt and flared jeans with walking boots - it's clear she's arrived straight from an otherwise relaxing (as much as she can be these days) day off duty. Gregg's sausage roll in hand, hoping against hope that Molly doesn't spot her eating it on the way in. She's usually all for a bit of downtime in the Tech Cave, catching some international rugby with Alice, Nightingale, and Izzy's brother Anthony, but it's pretty clear from the urgent message that this is anything but downtime...

Eli stands outside the address looking up at the building,feeling a chill in his bones as he ponders what wonders and horrors await him this time. Its the first time he's seen the others since the...incident, he hasn't been avoiding him he's just been busy...grading papers, dealing with students problems....all pretty mundane....just took up a lot of his time. Wrapping his scarf around his neck he opens the door and enters.

Leo was busy studying in his bedroom in The Folly when he got the message. His mother's Alzheimer's was steadily getting worse, and on his last visit last week, didn't know his name. His sister had already experienced this, so he thought he would be somewhat prepared, but the blow was a stunner. They are going to move her into assisted living, so he has been helping visit places when he can. He had been spending a little more time studying in his room. He wasn't really one of the stiff upper lip crowd, so that was probably best for everyone.

Given that he only had to cross the lot, Leo didn't bother layering up. He put on a vintage black coat with a faux fur collar that looks like it could have belonged to Mick Jagger or David Bowie back in the day. On anyone else, it would look over the top, but somehow Leo is able to pull it off. Or at least, he believes he has.

Leo nods as he slips in the tech cave with his notebook. There wasn't any sneaking in here. He grabbed a beer from the fridge. "We're not on duty, right?"

When he found a seat, his accent suddenly shifted. "See that ludicrous display last night?"

Grant audibly tuts, clearly not his normal affable self. Snatching the beer out of Leo's hand, he places it back into the fridge,

"Consider yourselves back on duty. We've had a call from the Dyfed–Powys Economic Crime Team. They want to brief us on something and are Skyping from Wales. DS Singh is waiting..." he checks to make sure he's on mute. "...and I don't think she likes to be kept hanging around."

Turning the laptop to face you, the frowning face of DS Sandra Singh, an irritated-looking Sikh woman in her 40’s, fills the screen.


“Can you hear me now?” she asks. “Am I off mute?”

“Good. Now let me get this done before the internet drops out again.”

“We’ve been investigating Councillor David Short, something of a big deal in the town of Cwmllyn. We’re conducting inquiries into some dodgy dealings: backhanders from property developers and the like. You don’t need to know the details.”

“What you do need to know is that he’s gone missing. Done a runner you think? Panama maybe? Well, watch this...”

After a little muttering, her face is replaced by some traffic-cam footage.

“Look at the lanky bloke: that’s Councillor Short,”

The footage shows what is obviously a school crossing. Parents and children are being ushered across by a lollipop lady. It all seems very ordinary until a tall, gangly man barges imperiously through the children.

“Here we go…” DS Singh says.

Halfway across the road, the man vanishes!

Strangely, nobody else seems to notice. The children troop across the road, the lollipop lady waves in thanks to the waiting vehicles and the traffic moves on.

“You can see why we called you lot. You’ve been designated as our Falcon liaison; we need you over here to check for weirdness and… well, whatever it is you lot do. Help us find Councillor Short so that we can throw the book at him. The Met is sending a car round in a couple of hours.”

Briefing over, she nods.

“In advance, welcome to Wales.”

The call is abruptly terminated.

"There - now you know as much as I do," says Grant ruefully. "Looks like you've got a little time to do some research before your ride turns up."

She sighs, looking a little guilty.

"Sorry to dump this on you, but I've got a tonne of work to catch up on and the twins are teething. Nightingale reckons some mountain air will do you all good so..." he shrugs "...off you go!"

Skipper used his coffee cup to hide the fact he was talking, then (rather loudly) whispered to the others, "You know the regular plods call him Peter Explosion Grant."

Izzy simply looks at Skipper, not quite sure she's hearing him correctly, talking rubbish about DC Grant whilst he's still in the room... before looking across to their superior (by experience and department seniority, even if she is technically the same rank as him) and asking a question.

"Might be a dumb question, but do we think it might be Fae related?"

She wonders, simply because invisibility seems a bit too unlikely to have two cases on the trot dealing with the same issue, and besides, DC Grant has already had his own run-ins with the Fae near enough to the Welsh border...

"Oh, and if you need some help with the twins, Alice did say she's got a bit of a break from coursework for the next week or so. Just a heads up."

"If it is invisibility again, it's not Devil Flower Juice this time," says Jordan. "No way he would have survived. Could be teleportation. I'd like to research similar occurrences in the past, particularly in that part of Wales."

Skipper clicked fingers loudly. "No, idiot! It's demolition! Demolition Grant, they call him! As they run the other way." He paused for a second or two. "Ah, did I say that or think it?" Pause. Embarrassing silence. "Ahem."

Hastily, he hauled his battered looking and allegedly 'rugged' tablet computer from his backpack. "We actually have Wi-Fi here, right? Lemme get on with finding what the internet thinks of this Welsh plonker, Councillor David Short. Jordan, the un-computer-ised snail-library next door is all yours."

Skipper hastily started an in-depth internet search of said councillor, including newspaper articles, unflattering gossip, and the Welshman's social media output. He avoided Grant's gaze and hoped fervently the man did not know Slugulus Eructo.

1d%H70%

Success.

Des spoke for the first time. ”Wales? Where’s dat den?” she asked, obviously never having heard of it before… …

"It's west of here," says Jordan, "and I don't mean Hammersmith." He heads for the library and begins his research into similar phenomena, only to have a bookcase almost fall on him, reminding him of his first case.

Research roll (60% skill) in the library:
d%

Clearly, the answer is yes. They are back on duty. Leo digs in his coat pocket and produces a pencil and starts taking notes.

Adding to Izzy's suggestion, "If it is fae-related, maybe there is some homework we can do in the libraries before we leave."

"Wales has some beautiful men's choral traditions. I don't suppose we'll have time to take in a concert while we're there..." he said sadly.

" Judging by the reaction or lack of from the people around him, especially children i don't think this is another case of invisibility or at least not as we know it. Maybe a shift in perception? We should maybe look into any spells which could do that? I'm going to look into the local history, folklore and see if any similarities pop up." Eli says from the back of the room.

”W.A.L.E.S.” said Des to herself, as she typed into Google on her phone…

Research (30) 1d100

Mr. Handy wrote: ↑Sat Jan 13, 2024 3:20 am

How much Luck do I need to spend?

Just 1 point to turn it from 100 to 99 - a fumble to a failure.

"There's a H in it," Skipper called over to Des absent-mindedly, as he searched the internet himself. "You're spelling it wrong. It's W H A L E S."

Izzy hangs around for Peter's response to her own musings, whilst also getting her own phone out. She sends a quick message to Alice to apologise and let her know that she's going to be away for a bit for work - whilst also promising her a trip to Cardiff themselves to make up for it.

She then switches to her own research, looking up the town itself - she's never heard of Cwmllyn, much less knowing how to pronounce it (even after hearing DS Singh say it...), and figures that if the others are looking up the guy himself, she can look up the place he helps run.

Research: 30%

1d100

Success!

As a London copper, DC Grant knows when someone is trying to wind him up, so he ignores Skipper's name-calling (besides, it's not too far off the mark.)

"Possibly Fae - who knows? If it is, you'd best call me or Nightingale before barging into their realm. Last thing we need is a diplomatic incident."

Skipper - You discover that Councillor Short has been a town councillor at Cwmllyn for over a decade and, while obviously holding great sway over his fellow councillors, is very unpopular with the populace - 'Shady Short' is one of the more polite epithets for him.

And no wonder - there is an ongoing fraud case against him by the Dyfed–Powys Economic Crime Team. You do not have the necessary clearance to review the actual evidence, but it's clear that Short has been taking bribes from property developers in exchange for granting planning permissions, overlooking environmental and safety concerns and otherwise facilitating a building boom in the town.

Looking at Police notes, it seems that investigations into specific property developers are also ongoing. Successful prosecution of these developers hinges on the arrest and interrogation of councillor Short.

Eli - Your research into magic that could alter perception uncovers a couple of potential 5th order spells. Seducere acts in a similar way to the Glamour cast by Genius Locorum and could be used to make someone see something differently, although it would take an extremely powerful practicioner to cast it over an entire town.

Another candidate is the Vultus Occulto, essentialy a disguise spell. In more recent records you find references to this spell connected with a dangerous villain known as the Faceless Man. You also find hints of a more drastic solution linked to an associate of his - former MET Police officer and Folly member Lesley May, who somehow managed to repair her damaged face.

You find little else about magic spells, but do stumble upon the diaries of Major Horace Wergyn: a County Practitioner, who operated in Wales a century-or-so ago:


Des - Wales (without an H), is, you find, a country located in the West of Britain, not far from Herefordshire. With England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, it makes up on of the constituent parts of the United Kingdom.

It has it's own government, located in the capital city Cardiff, and it's own unique culture. You find many references to coal mining, rugby, male voice choirs, mountains, sheep, valleys and beaches.

Digging a little deeper into the town itself, you find an old website, detailing the local history of Cwmllyn and some sort of religious revival that happened there back in the day:


Izzy - Looking into Cwmllyn, you find that it was originally a small town in mid-Wales, but has expanded rapidly in recent years thanks to the opening of a dual-carriageway linking the town to Cardiff and Swansea. New housing developments are springing up, turning Cwmllyn into a commuter town.

There isn't much on HOLMES2: Very little crime has been officially reported in the area. The only major incident on record is an attempted robbery in 2018. The perpetrator, a Caucasian male, approximately 6’ tall with a slim build and wearing a hooded top, was chased out of the shop by the owner, who lost sight of him as he ran over the school crossing. Despite extensive enquiries, no progress was made on the case and the perpetrator was never apprehended.

Jordan - while reaching for some musty tomes that might contain information about invisibility and teleportation, the floor of the library creaks alarmingly...

"Lost sight of the robber, huh?" says Jordan when he hears about the HOLMES2 record. "That could be related."

Then I'll definitely spend the 1 Luck.

Somewhere further along the bookshelf where Jordan is looking, a grimoire falls to the floor.

Perhaps this is enough to distract him, for he can find nothing of relevance to the case.

”Oh, ha ha!” Des snapped as a large, blue-gray aquatic mammal filled the screen of her phone…

Having corrected the spelling, she started to read, determined to have something to show for her efforts. ”It sez ‘ere dat der was a riot. Oh, but dat was a hundred years ago. About de time ‘e wos born!” She stuck her tongue out at Skipper.

I've found two possible spells that loosely fit the parameters i was looking into, both fairly advanced though, in recent history i found mention of a 'Faceless man and a Lesley May?" Eli says shrugging his shoulders. "More interestingly I discovered entries in the diary of a Major Horace Wergym a country practioner from around a century ago. In it he states that in Cymllyn around 1904-05 the villagers seemed to be in the process of embracing Christianity and leaving the old gods behind. He mentions a sacred Grove in the village that's been 'grubbed' up. This was followed by reports of rioting as the villagers were whipped up into a religious fervour by a itinerant preacher, reports that people were 'strung up' as sinners were denounced. This preacher promptly vanished and the sacred Grove trampled all over. It would be interestingbto find where this Grove is."

OOC:   As new to the group and all things fae, I'm assuming that Eli doesnt really know about the Faceless man and Lesley May.

Izzy shares her findings with the others, before taking a quick glance at Des. Seriously, she's never heard of Wales? The girl is what, five years younger than her, but she doesn't know what nations make up her own country - schools can't have gone that downhill since Izzy did her A-Levels, right? She doesn't say a word though, not wanting to cause an argument, and decides that for Des's birthday (whenever that is...) she'll have to buy her some decent fact books. Or a Kindle (Izzy has to choke back a gag of revulsion at the very idea) loaded with an almanac or reference guide.

"Hopefully not Fae then, but sure, we'll let you know if it is."

To Jordan, she replies, "Might be, but it could just as easily be that the robber outran the shopkeeper and disappeared behind some parked cars or another building. Worth looking into though."

She notes down Eli's findings in her notebook, with a chill down her spine. Izzy has never had the misfortune to run into the Faceless Man, lucky for her, but she remembers Lesley May, having briefly worked with her at Belgravia before Lesley joined the Folly. Right at the very start of Izzy's career. She had quite fancied the blonde, smart, gorgeous Essex girl back then, but had never made a move... would have been awkward when it turned out that her crush was straighter than a Roman road. Probably a relief now, and besides, Alice was the best thing to happen to Izzy for years. But the horrors of what the Faceless Man did, that Lesley had aided him in, still weigh heavily on Izzy's mind. Not to mention Operation Jennifer. But Izzy knows better than to bring that up in front of Peter.

"A sacred grove, and a riot or frenzy in 1905... might not be much to go on, but it's a start. Peter, do we know of any local practitioners or hedge wizards who might have an idea about the magical history of the area? Or where this sacred grove might be located? Or even a river god nearby..."

How far away is the place from Cardiff, anyway, she wonders? Does the River Taff go anywhere nearby...?

Look towards Izzy, Eli says;" That incident you found on HOLMES2, where the suspect disappeared was it the same crossing?"

A good point, Izzy thinks. She checks her notes and the record again.

"There's not much detail on the record, but it does say it was a school crossing... and the footage the DS showed us was also a school zone. Doesn't mean they're definitely the same, but it stands a good chance... how many schools is a place that small likely to have, anyway?"

She makes a mental note to check the street name of the incident from 2018 and cross reference it with the councilman's disappearance as soon as possible.

" I'll look through some old ordance maps, see if i can find where the grove is/was" Eli mentions.

"I'll see if this matches any fae-related lore or activity," Leo replied.

Research (60/30): 1d100

Skipper deftly flicked the pertinent info he had located to the team via the group messaging app of choice.

"Oy, plods, I can't get access to the investigation into the councillor but I'm guessing you can."

"Economic crime? In proper English I assume that means well shady dealings, right? Villainy in a bag of fruit."

"Can you find out who the property developers are that our leek-eating roadman could grass up and send to His Majesty's? They have a fairly good reason for seeing him in a concrete column propping up the M25."

"Should be easy to check if they're the same crossing," says Jordan. "If it is, then maybe it's something to do with the location rather than any power of the people who disappeared. Could be a tear in the fabric of reality or something."

Peter's face harden's when the Faceless Man and Lesley May are mentioned, but he keeps his own counsel on the matter.

"I can't think of any practitioners out that way, but that's not to say there aren't any. The most westerly river I know of is Miss Tefeidiad in Herefordshire. She told me the rivers in Wales were done in by the Methodists back in the day. That was before Lugg came along though, so who knows what's sprung up recently?"

Sketching out a map of Cwmllyn town centre, there is only one school, so presumably one crossing, situated on Grove Road.


Leo, you find plenty of material concerning the myths and legends of Wales, from the Mari Lwyd to the bandit Twm Sion Cati, but alas nothing that points to fae activity in this instance.

Peter looks at his watch.

"Your car will be here soon - unless you know anyone who works in the Welsh Economic Crime Unit, you won't have time to look into the property development thing."

By all means, one of you can make a Hard Luck roll to see if you know someone.

I may be wrong but it'd be down to the two plods, wouldn't it? Des apparently doesn't visit foreign kingdoms like Wales, so won't have many friends there I'm thinking...

Skipper shrugged and stashed his tablet again. "Driver aside, we can keep researching on the way. No Folly library obviously. Nothing beats the A1 eyeball though, visual inspection of the location of interest. It's a rule of the RN."

"We should stop at a services along the border somewhere, get a Welsh phrase book for Des so she can order at a Welsh pub."

Another thought struck him. "Oy, Hogwarts grads, what's the story with this Major? County Practitioner? I take it that doesn't mean local GP before the NHS started? He knew about vestigia."

OOC:   I had the same thought. Although she has the highest luck, the chance of Des knowing anyone there who works for the Police is effectively zero.

Des studied the map. It was right next door to England - strange that she’d never heard of it! ”Don’ dey speak English, den?” she asked, having visions of hordes of people talking to her in a language she didn’t understand.

She looked around the team and shrugged. The same as any other day, really… ….

Luck roll: 54%

1d100

Fumble...

Not only does Izzy not know anybody in the Economic Crime Unit in Wales, but she remembers a rather embarrassing incident the last time she was in Wales, where she was caught skinny dipping in Tiger Bay on a drunken dare from an ex-girlfriend who she was visiting at Cardiff University. Fortunately she'd gotten away with a fine and a caution, and no proper reprimand from her Hendon tutors... unfortunately, Leo had found out during a game of truth or dare down the pub with Izzy, Peter, Beverley, Fleet, and Abigail (who of course was on soft drinks).

She hopes it doesn't get brought up on the journey...

"Sorry, got no-one I know there. Can't help on that front. County practitioner though... yeah, I know what that means. Back in the old days, before the Folly became part of the Met, each county had a designated practitioner who reported back any incidents. Kind of like an old style countryside policeman. They dealt with things like we're doing now, so the Folly didn't have to send someone all the way from London to the other side of the country."

Izzy gives Des a slightly withering look.

"They speak English, you'll be fine. Well, except up in the far north parts. They give you funny looks up there if you use vowels."

Time flies when you're having fun, and soon your vehicle arrives: not a Ford ASBO alas - that would be a tight squeeze. No, a people carrier of some description is you chariot today.

Which will lead you to Statement 2 shortly!

Luck roll from a cop (59/29): 1d100