Play@YSDC

With Skipper, Jordan and Izzy already declaring that they were going to visit Dansen, that just left Des to go with Leo to see Archie. She sighed heavily, rolled her eyes and said, ”Looks like I’m comin’ wiv you… …”

"It's your lucky day, my friend," Leo said, grinning at Dez. "I am the brains of this operation, after all..."

"All good," Skipper tells Jordan and Leo, grinning. "There's room for us all as subs, no one needs to withdraw. And I'm telling you, my first results were an epic fluke. Don't expect it to happen again."

He goes back to quietly whistling, now a surprisingly decent rendition of Sir Rod's 'I am Sailing.' Evidently, the prospect of the coming warrior (skittle) clash cheers him.

Once again, time is going to be slightly flexible

Des & Leo

Heading in the opposite direction of the church, it is a short walk around the corner to the address given to you for Archie.

‘Elmhurst’ is a modest and rather shabby looking bungalow, set slightly away from the road. A rusty metal gate leads to the building up a cracked concrete path. Along this runs a narrow, un-mown lawn, from which protrudes a faded plastic child’s slide.

A group Luck roll please (I.e. roll against the lowest Luck score of the group.)

Izzy, Jordan & Skipper

According to the satnav, Dansen’s address is only ten minutes’ drive away. A quick journey through agricultural countryside and up a steep hill lined with fine Victorian houses leads you to a roundabout.

Turning left, driving past a large college of some kind, brings you to a narrower street that winds through rows of soulless 1970’s terraced houses.

As you draw near to your destination, Izzy’s phone rings. It is Harold Postmartin…

Izzy answers her phone, having replaced the batteries earlier after the business at the church graveyard, and puts it on speaker so that the others can hear and input as needed.

"Dr Postmartin, thanks for calling. All okay with what I sent you earlier?"

Jordan looks for the house, and for a nearby parking spot, as he approaches.

As Leo walked next to Dez toward the facility, he could feel time bending, stretching so that the short walk took much longer than it should have. Struggling for a moment to keep his Pimm's down, he looked over at Dez, a little blue around the gills. "I love it when things get wibbly wobbly timey wimey..."

Certain that the time-space disturbance is over for the time being, he resumes his walk normally, breathing deeply a few times until his stomach is back to normal.

He turns to Dez, turning his back to the building. "Seen better days..." he said softly.

Skipper idles the travel time away googling, Facebook stalking and otherwise searching social media and the wider Internet for any references to Ken Dansen, chair of the local skittle league.

1d%H60%

OOC:   Just in case. Extreme success.

Des & Leo

You ring the doorbell and after a minute or so, see a figure shuffling towards through the frosted glass of the door.

It cracks open slightly and a wrinkled, weather-beaten face peeps through the gap.

"Hello? What d'you want? I ain't buying anything mind." says a quavering, yet deep voice.


Izzy, Jordan & Skipper

You pull the car over, finding a space on the side of the road a few doors down from Dansen's address.

Skipper, you find his Facebook profile, but it's set to private. However, it does lead you to the Facebook page of the Hereford and District Invitation Skittle League (https://www.facebook.com/HerefordSkittles).

Most of the posts are about the latest match results, changes of venue and such. However you do notice something interesting in the comments of one match report. It covers a recent home match between the Nutters and another local team, the Tattibogoes. The Nutters beat the Tattibogoes comprehensively, causing some members to post comments about 'cheating bastards'. Someone also replied 'Not a new thing. They've always cheated. My dad swears they used to do black magic!'

Izzy, Postmartin breathes a sigh of relief when you answer.

"Ah, DC Cooper! Yes, I received the photograph. Took me a while to get it enlarged, but as soon as I saw those runes I felt most troubled. You're familiar with the Whitechapel vandalism? Striking parallels."

"Anyway, I've done some research and have found something troubling in Al-Jahiz's treatise on Bishr ibn al-Mu‘tamir - Hart's nineteenth century translation of it anyway."

"There's a description that almost exactly matches your photograph. Al-Jahiz retells a legend that this urn was the possession of a Central Asian sorcerer who attempted to attain immortality. This fellow devised a ritual where certain important personal items, strongly imprinted with his vestigia, could be burned and then placed in a stone urn, subjected to black magic rituals and carved with symbols of occult power. In the event of their death, part of the essence that lingered in the burnt items would be concentrated and amplified by the urn, creating a revenant spirit."

"Yes, that's correct - a revenant. I trust I don't have to tell you how dangerous this is..."

Des nudged Leo to indicate that he should do the talking. He was the copper, after all… …

I think we should put a post on the Hereford & District Skittle League Facebook group and ask for clues…

Skipper reads the Facebook posts aloud. "Well, it does line up with the whole 'Use the Force, Luke' skittles unfair advantage thing. Personally, if I could do that, I'd choose to win the lottery, not a bloody local skittles comp."

"You're good enough at skittles you don't need the help," says Jordan, "but I wouldn't do it either. I don't really know anything about revenants. All I know is it's someone who doesn't want to stay dead, and that can't be good."

Leo smiled warmly as the older man opened the door, doing his best to engender trust. His pulse always went up a notch or two before he pulled out his warrant card. Most of the time, everything went fine, but every once in awhile, you get someone with a genuine skeleton in their closet, unrelated to the case at hand, that slams the door in your face...or worse.

Steeling his nerves, he smoothly slipped out his warrant card. "Oh, we're not selling anything, guvnor. Good afternoon, DC Leo Dansby here, and this is my colleague, Destiny. We just wanted to have a chat with Mr. Archie Buttress, former skittles star player for the Nutters. Maybe get an autograph. You wouldn't happen to know him, would you?"

On hearing Postmartin's words, Izzy's blood runs cold. Though she's never seen a revenant before, she's all too well aware of them.

"Harold, are you absolutely sure?"

She turns to the others in her seat and explains briefly, "A revenant is a type of ghost that comes back for revenge against someone or something. I have no idea what Lee's ghost might want revenge for, if it is him, but they feed on the magical force in other people. Like Leo and myself. If this is a revenant, we're dealing with something really dangerous.

"Harold, can you get a message to Nightingale, please? He needs to know, if that's what we're up against."

It's clear to anyone listening, the tremor in her voice. Normally unflappable and the cheeriest one of the group (and that's saying something), it's telling just how shaken Izzy is at discovering that a revenant may be involved here.

Skipper looks completely unperturbed, and may even be smiling slightly. "The worst that's happened to me since scoring this gig with your guv'nor - and long may it last and pay - is I got hit in the face by a book. Didn't even bleed. I get worse bruises every week on training night at the gym. I'm sure Jordan has copped some much fiercer bollocking playing rugby."

"Bring on your 'reverent ghost'. By the way, the late Lee the skittle captain didn't sound like he had much to be seeking revenge for. I mean he died young, but it doesn't sound like nobody's fault, does it?"

Des rolled her eyes. ‘Pulls out ‘is warrant card an’ den ses ‘e’s ‘ere for an autograph… …’ She shook her head.

Not the biggest fan of splitting the action into spoiler tags, but probably best given the circumstances...

The old man squints suspiciously at Leo's warrant card, then both of you in turn.

"What're you waffling on about? I ain't in trouble am I?"

I think Social rolls are required

.

"I have never been more sure DC Cooper," replies Postmartin. "And please tell whoever I can hear scoffing at the notion just how dangerous these entities can be!"

"Naturally I have already contacted Thomas. He and young Grant are somewhat indisposed, alas. You are to locate and secure the urn, but please be careful!"

"Maybe he wants revenge for his death," says Jordan. "Could there have been foul play involved, or does he blame someone? If we can identify his target, we'll be in a better position to stop him."

Leo's Reply

Leo shook his head to indicate that there was no trouble involved. "No, far from it, I assure you," Leo replied. "Des and I were just wanting to have a little chat with the Nutter's star player from back in the day. You are not in any trouble, I promise."

"While we are here, I don't suppose we could trouble you for a cuppa?"

Social (30/15): 1d100

Just in case I get a Bonus Die for showing my Warrant Card: 1d10

"Assuming he even has a target..." Izzy's mind is racing as she tries to reassess all the information they have so far, from all sides. She takes the opportunity at Harold's urging to reaffirm to Jordan, and especially to Skipper, how dangerous revenants can be.

"Look, you've seen small fry so far. That genius loci in the bookshop, that was like a domestic disturbance. Easy to deal with, almost no harm done. Plod work. A revenant is like... I don't know, like getting an Airwave call that someone's running down Whitehall with a machete, slashing anyone who goes near. It's nowhere near the same league. When we say a revenant is dangerous, we're not messing around."

She's still clearly worried, but she sounds a little calmer now. More in control, taking charge. "I've never dealt with one before, they're new to me too. But our first priority needs to be the urn. Find it, secure it, like Dr Postmartin said. We can worry about the whys afterwards. If we're lucky, maybe Dansen will know more about where it came from and where it might be now."