Statement 1: A Trip to the Countryside

[jp1885]

OOC:   Certainly

[Trivun]

Izzy's first roll is terrible, ending up in the trough before it even reaches the halfway point of the lane. She looks annoyed, knowing she's better than this.

"Hmm... maybe the lane isn't completely level. Tilting slightly to the left, throwing off your aim... not surprising for a village pub, you can't expect them to have the same kind of resources as a big bowling alley..."

It's all bluster, of course, trying to find an excuse for her awful attempt. Still, the second one seems to go somewhat better.

1d10

This time, she manages to knock down a decent number of skittles.

"Told you," she says to nobody in particular, hoping the bluff paid off. She lines up for her third roll, and this time adjusts her aim very slightly, feeling like she knows the lane a little better after her first two tries. The ball heads down just right of centre, with a little bit of spin bringing it back to the middle... and this time, she gets a strike. All nine pins come down, and she marks the score on the board, her name underneath Skipper's.

"Sweet sixteen. Not bad for a first try."

1d100

[Philulhu]

Des looked up from the photograph and frowned. She seemed to be the only one doing any work and she was a civilian.

”When y’all have finished playing, praps you wanna take a look at dis,” she said tartly.

[Trivun]

Izzy turns from the scoreboard and glances over at Des, apologetically. "Sorry, I'll come and have a look. We just don't usually get much chance to have fun when we're working..."

She walks across and examines the photograph that Des is holding.

"Mike, do you recognise any of these faces? I'll hazard a guess that they're an old team from the pub?" She wonders about the pot as well, and leans in to try and make out the words, squinting as she does so.

[jp1885]

"Not bad - not bad at all," says Mike, watching the skittlers critically. "We'll have you on the team in no time."

Des - zooming in on the photograph, you see that the container is inscribed with runes of some kind.



For some reason, the markings make your skin crawl...

OOC:   Anyone who looks at the runes is welcome to make a Magic or Occult roll.

Ambling up, Mike takes a look at the group in the photo.

"Oh, Neil put that up when he refurbished the hall - never paid it much attention to be honest. There's a bunch of them - newspaper cuttings too - in the bar as well. Hmm... don't recognise anyone. Must be from when skittles was last played here, back in the eighties, before they packed it in. We're all relative newcomers to the village. Take it out of the frame - does it say anything on the back?"

[SaintMeerkat]

DC Leo Dansby.jpg (16.73 KiB) Viewed 710 times

After Leo was done embarrassing himself on the skittles pitch, he joined Des at the table examining the photo. Suddenly, all of the good feelings from the outing evaporated, and he shuddered noticeably.

"That vase is proper creepy," he murmured to Des.

Magic (70/35): 1d100

[Trivun]

As she squints, Izzy realises that the markings on the pot definitely aren't words, as she had thought - she was operating on the assumption that it had been a trophy or something for the skittles team, maybe when they last won a game based on Mike's gloomy assessment. However, she can't help but feel something strange when she looks at the picture...

Magic: 60%

1d100

"What the hell are those runes? They look like... I don't know, Norse or something?" She can't tear her eyes away, both repulsed and intrigued at the same time.

[Philulhu]

Des shuddered, her skin crawling. ”Dat’s well nasty!” she exclaimed. She flipped the photo fame over, glad not to have to look at the photo no more, and started to uncoil the frame.

[Mr. Handy]

"I'd like another go when it's my turn again," says Jordan, looking at the photo. "I wonder where that vase is now?"

[jp1885]

Des - There is a short message written on the back of the photo: “RIP Lee 1982”

Izzy and Leo - You can't decipher the runes, but you've seen similar. Shortly after transferring to the SAU, you were with Nightingale when he investigated a graveyard in Whitechapel. Someone had supposedly been carrying out 'black magic' rituals, but Nightingale could not pick up any unusual vestigia. However, you did find symbols like these scratched onto a gravestone.

Jordan - Butterfield peers at the container and shrugs. "Nope, never seen it before - maybe Neil's got it stashed away somewhere."

Suddenly, he grimaces and looks at his watch.

"Christ, look at the time! I’ve got to get back home, else I’ll be late for lunch and the missus will have my guts for garters. I’m still convinced something isn’t right here. Maybe you need to watch us play – we’ve got a match tonight. Get yourself something to eat – the fish and chips is pretty good – and then do a bit of snooping. Here’s my mobile number – give me a call if you need anything. I’ll meet you back here at six-thirty.”

He ushers you all out of the hall, shutting the double doors behind you.

"Don't want to get the place messy - it's an important match tonight! If we win, our position at the top of the league will be unassailable!"

Assuming you're following him, he heads back into the pub.

“Neil!" he shouts. "These are the people I told you about. Look after them will you?”

He turns and nods.

"Skipper, I'll look for those score sheets. See you later - oh, and thanks for looking into this for me."

Clearly he doesn't live too far away, as he sets off down the road on foot - surprisingly quickly for such a big man.

[Mr. Handy]

"Hi," says Jordan. "I'm Jordan Schneider. Mike mentioned you've got fish and chips. Say, do you know where the vase in this picture might be?" He shows him the photo, or asks whoever has it if someone else does to show it to him.

[Snapper]

"Oi, Des, text me a copy of that photo you were gawking at."

OOC:   What's the time? Before lunch, evidently.

[jp1885]

OOC:   It’s about 13:30.

[Snapper]

"Right, anyone fancy a stretch of the legs? Bit of area fam?" Skipper looks out a door of the pub.

[Trivun]

As they head back into the pub proper, Izzy walks beside Leo, speaking quietly to him. "You remember those runes on the grave in Whitechapel? What are we thinking, could there be a connection?"

She pulls out her phone and makes a quick Google search to see if anything comes up - Whitechapel grave runes - and relates the results. "Des, can you send it to all of us please? I'll forward it to Nightingale too, see if he's ever seen anything similar before." If nothing else, disturbing the boss's lunch might serve as a bit of petty payback for sending the team to the opposite side of England on such a simple and routine job.

Research for the Google search on Whitechapel runes: 30%

1d100

OOC:   Spend 2 luck to make it a normal success - below luck roll is still below 52% so unchanged

As for lunch, she's on board with the idea of fish and chips, but at the same time she remembers Molly's packed lunches from the people carrier. "Hold on, Skipper. We've got plenty of time for a walk after we eat. Might want to see what was in those sandwiches first, you never know with Molly."

Luck roll to see what was in Molly's sandwiches: Current score 54%

1d100

OOC:   Hard success!

[Philulhu]

Des pulled a face as she took a quick snap of the photograph.

She opened WhatsApp on her phone and added everyone’s names to a new group. She typed ‘weirdos’ then realised everyone else would see the name too, so deleted it and named the group ‘folly’ instead before sharing the image…

[jp1885]

Since your sojourn to the skittle alley, the pub has emptied somewhat.

The guy behind the bar looks up as you enter and smiles.

“Come on in. Friends of Mike are you?” he says in a slightly posh voice.



Now you have a chance to get a good look at him, he looks older close up - you put him somewhere in his late 40’s. He is slightly built, with a careworn face. His smile seems fixed and somewhat desperate.

“Neil Sholto-Jones at your service. Are you dining? The restaurant closes at two.”

He smiles at Jordan - “Fish and chips? The best around! My husband is a great chef.”

He looks at the photo. “No… can’t say I’ve ever seen that before. The photo looks familiar though - there's a newspaper cutting on the wall somewhere. Why do you ask?”

Izzy - Your internet search reveals nothing about the runes, just a few complaints about graffiti in churchyards.

OOC:   No need to spend that luck.

As you unwrap some sandwiches (beef and horseradish) Neil’s face falls.

“Dom’s cooking is very good,” he says. “And I’m afraid patrons aren’t allowed to bring their own food in.”

At that moment, Nightingale replies to Izzy’s message:

“Interesting. Will forward to Harold.” Meaning of course Harold Postmartin.

[Snapper]

"Fish and chips for me please, Guv."

Skipper goes hunting for the newspaper cutting on the wall.

OOC:   Is there any further research that can be done by phone on either the runes of the village?

[jp1885]

OOC:   If it helps, write down what you've all learned in the 'Evidence Board' thread. Perhaps that'll suggest some lines of enquiry.

[Trivun]

With just the slightest sigh of regret, Izzy puts the sandwiches away, mildly disappointed but still happy for some decent pub grub. "Guess we'll have these later then. Fish and chips sounds great Neil, thanks. I'll have that too. And another pint of the Rosie's Pig, please."

She tries to justify the second drink to herself as being with food, so it won't affect her as much. Besides, she's not driving anywhere, and she's not planning to have anything else until much later - as long as she can remain focused on the task at hand. Izzy is still working under the theory of an ex-member of the skittles team, coming back as a ghost to try and help their old team to victory.

As she waits for the food and drink to arrive, Izzy sits down with Skipper and checks her phone. She takes another look at Alice's last message, firing off a short reply, with a wink and a smile, before hurriedly switching to Nightingale's message in the hopes that nobody else saw the rather personal message from Alice. She reads the text, and sends a quick thumbs up to acknowledge receipt, before turning to the others.

"Nightingale's going to forward the picture of the pot to Dr Postmartin. He's our archivist, based in Oxford," she explains to those who may not have met him before. "Basically, he's the guy who might have a better chance at recognising it than we do."