Play@YSDC

Cwmllyn library/museum is a small building set back a little in a row of terraced houses situated opposite the school. Outside is a free-standing sign labelled ‘Cwmllyn Museum and Library’.

Judging by appearences, the building serves several purposes; municipal library, museum of local history, local archives, and isitors information centre; all crammed into a single room which takes up the whole of the ground floor.

Inside, it smells musty and feels unloved and appears to be empty.

Skipper wandered in with Eli, looking unthrilled to put it mildly.

"I should have gone to the house. Why did I choose this?"

He looked about. "Anybody here?!"

Eli stepped into the museum behind Snapper, taking a deep breath, "You can just smell
the history." Sensing Snappers joy at being here he smiles. "When we find the curator, you could maybe look through the 'ol micro fiche while I get stuck into the musty tomes.
"

"Microfiche? I remember looking at that at school. The only thing that can make you car sick while you're sitting on a chair in a library."

Bored already, Skipper started prowling around. "Gordon Bennett...
Hopefully, no books fly out and hit me."

1d%30%

Fail.

1d%60%

Hard Success.

Skipper; you detect no vestigia to speak of, but with a keen eye you can quickly see how the room is split.

One section, the library, consists mainly of second-hand books of the kind usually found in charity shops. Scattered among these are a few books on local history.

The microfiche section, so cannily predicted by Eli, appears, judging by the tattered user guide tacked on the wall next to them, to enable the user to view local birth, marriage and death records and also copies of old local newspapers. An elderly computer terminal is also available to access digitised records.

The museum, such as it is, consists of two display cases set against one wall of the room. They contain old farming implements, broken clay pipes, an old miner’s helmet, and various pieces of ephemera relating to the town.

Your exploration soon attracts the attention of the curator: Judith Trindle, according to her name badge. She is a tall, stern-looking woman in her late
fifties. She looks every inch the stereotypical librarian, glasses on a chain et al.

"Yes? Can I help you?" she asks, appearing somewhat irritated at your intrusion into her sanctuary.

" Ahh, good afternoon. My name is Eli Venturini and we were just admiring your splendid museum. Im a History lecturer and was wanting to learn some about your town, local folklore, legends, main events in the history of the town. Oh and any old maps which may show the towns development over the centuries. "

With resignation, Skipper gravitated over to the elderly computer...

Eli - Mrs. Trindle looks at you as if you've admitted to tipping a bucket of manure on the floor.

"Well, if you must. We've plenty of books on the subject in the library. I can pick some out for you if you wish. Make sure you don't crack the spines though."

She peers over your shoulder as Skipper sits at the computer.

"And be careful! That's a very expensive piece of equipment!"

Please furnish me with a Research roll each to see what you can unearth. Is there anything in particular you want to research?

OOC:   Eli would like to research any mention of the Grove in the history of the town be it in folktales or actual accounts linking to people, also its location on any of the maps

Skipper settled at the computer, cracking his knuckles. "I'll be very careful, Missus, barely touch it." He pulls out some chunky old, black-rimmed, NHS-issue glasses and puts them on. Being surprisingly light (in the sense of gentle) fingered, he tapped and scrolled away, trying to find anything on the riots of 1904 to 1905, the religious revival leading up to the riots, and what happened to those fervent preachers and converts after.

Also, any newspaper articles on the missing Councillor Short.

1d%H70%

Extreme Success.

The pair of you positively ace the research!

Working at an efficiency and pace that would make the cleverest Oxford don weep, you soon uncover plenty of information on the history of the town - to wit:

The history of Cwmllyn:
There has been a settlement at the site since at least the Bronze Age. The town has served the local agricultural community for centuries, with hill farmers bringing their livestock to market before the advent of the railways allowed them to trade in larger cities further afield.
Apart from small-scale coal mining in the 18th-19th century, the town has seen little in the way of industry and suffered a decline in population between the world wars. This depression lasted until the late 20th century, although contemporary reports show that the town remained content and largely crime-free despite being moribund economically.
Cwmllyn is currently experiencing a significant change, thanks to the arrival of a major road artery, linking the town to larger cities in a way never seen before. This has led to a building boom, with many newcomers looking for a semi-rural base from which to commute.

The religious revival of 1904-5:
Wales was swept up by a religious revival, starting in 1904. Methodist preachers toured the country, holding prayer meetings, and filling churches to over-capacity. The effects were considerable: rough miners, for example, forswore alcohol and bad language, and took to prayer and hymn singing. The revival only lasted for a couple of years, but influenced other religious awakenings across the globe.
By the end of 1905, a minority of preachers had become disillusioned with how the movement was weakening and became more fundamentalist in their sermons.
A fellow called Preacher Jones operated exclusively in and around Cwmllyn. His sermons became increasingly fiery, leading up to the riot of 1905, which was quelled by the local militia.

A treatise on religious practices in Bronze Age Wales says the following:
Little is known about the subject. Archaeological evidence suggests that offerings of foodstuffs were left at certain sites. Archaeologists have found pottery shards, cooked animal bones and grains.
In addition, a number of folk tales have been recorded, in which spirits of sacred groves were honoured with gifts. Communities would ‘cleanse’ themselves, asking these spirits would seize the unworthy and send them to the underworld for punishment.

The exact location of the grove is unknown, but looking at old maps, Grove Road has always been the main thouroughfare through the town.

Looking through the (mainly national) newspaper archives, you find nothing on Councillor Short than you don't already know, but Cwmllyn does get the occasional mention:

1904: Religious revival spreads – Emlyn Jones is noted as holding his first sermon at Cwmllyn chapel.
The crowd was so large that Jones went outside and preached on the lane next to the school.

1905: Militia quells riot in Welsh town – Preacher Jones is blamed for inciting a lynching in Cwmllyn.
The local authorities dispatched the militia to keep the peace and shots were fired. Several people were killed or injured. A search for Jones was carried out, but he was never found.

1917: Trail for army deserter goes cold in Cwmllyn – A deserter from the Monmouthshire Regiment went missing from their depot in South Wales. He was last seen in Cwmllyn.

1952: Dead wife found in missing farm worker’s cottage – A farm worker was reported missing by his employer the day before. He was never found.

The only other mention of the town you can find is on an archived news website from 2003:

Skipper sent a summary of their findings to the rest of the team by group message.

He looked over to the curator, trying harder now to be polite. "Ms - ah - Trindle? There's an article about a long serving lollipop lady, a Mrs Evans. Would that lady still be alive, by any chance?"

"The lollipop lady? Yes, I believe she's still alive," Mrs. Trindle replies, hovering behind you to ensure her precious computer isn't abused. "Why do you ask?"

Soaking it all in, Preacher Jones....sites I worship/offerings....deserter disappearing, farmer disappearing and his wife found dead. His hands holding his chin, deep in thought. Villagers making offerings to spirits in return for making their enemies disappear.....a long serving lollipop lady, guarding a crossing...a modern day Charon? He thinks, eye brows arching. Letting out a sigh, no location for the grove, but a road bearing its name. A road leads somewhere, maybe its at one end of the road.
Overhearing Snappers conversation with the amenable Ms Trindle and thinks he should ask her for a current map of the village to check what lies at either end of the road.

jp1885 wrote: ↑Thu Feb 08, 2024 8:27 pm "The lollipop lady? Yes, I believe she's still alive," Mrs. Trindle replies, hovering behind you to ensure her precious computer isn't abused. "Why do you ask?"

"It's always good to speak to a few living witnesses to history. It adds some colour and brings a bit of life to the facts. Someone who has been part of the village for decades should have good memories to share. Helps Eli here not to be so boring for his students."

"Would you be able to tell us where we might find the lady? She might even consent to being audio-recorded, perhaps? We would bring chocolate hobnobs or tea cake or something nice, of course."

"I don't know where she lives," Trindle replies. "But she'll be at the school crossing, seeing the children across, when they finish. That's at three-thirty, so you've about four hours. Thankfully they seldom come into here - the little darlings are usually straight off to the sweet shop."

"Now is there anything else I can help you with? A guided tour of our exhibits? Or can I get on with my cataloguing?"

"Although i cant speak for my companion here, i would love a tour of your exhibits.
To get a real feel for your beautiful town and its local geography." Eli says with a smile.

"Is there a local village council, or town council? I might wander over to it if there is ."

Could we create an RoL forum topic for messages sent to the team's group chat?

(I realise the weird redundancy of a folder for an RPG group chat.)

I'm happy to start another thread for group messages, but rather than clutter up the board too much, would using the Evidence Board thread be a good place to post such stuff?

"The town hall is just up Grove Street, opposite the war memorial, but I doubt you'll get much help from them," Trindle tuts. "They were pretty useless before - mainly Short's lackeys - but since he ran away they're nothing but a bunch of headless chickens!"

She fixes a withering stare on Eli.

"That was sarcasm dear. The exhibits, such as they are, are in that glass cabinet over there."

She points to the far wall, which is dominated by a long glass display cabinet.

"By all means take a look, but don't touch the glass!"

Eli gives the curator a warm smile."Why thank you kind lady, I can see why the museum is so popular under your friendly guidance." And walks over to the case.

Actually, using the General Chat seems to be working fine.
Disregard my request!

Skipper (who had been busy texting) winced at what he presumed was Eli's sarcastic return-fire. Deciding this was a good time to hit the Welsh cobbles, he quickly rose, cleared the results of his computer searches, and headed off.

"Thank you, Missus, have a good day."

With that, Skipper headed for the Town Hall.

Sighing and shaking his head at Snappers leek comment, Eli puts his phone away and walks towards Ms Trimble.
" Sorry to keep bothering you but i must say this is an amazing building, so beautiful. Can you tell me when it was built? I must say it is refreshing in this day and age that a town is keeping its original buildings, it gives soo much charatcter to a place All to often you see all these classic buildings being torn down and replaced with concrete monstrosities all in the name of progress."

Eli - Trindle considers your statement for a second before nodding.

"Indeed, it's important to preserve our architectural heritage. This old pile is Victorian - a private dwelling for a grand family. In the 1930's it was bequeathed to the town and became our library. The museum section opened in 1967."

The 'museum' is the aforementioned display cabinet. It contains old farming implements, broken clay pipes, an old miner’s helmet, and various pieces of ephemera relating to the town.

Of particular interest are the following:

Pottery fragments. Labelled ‘Bronze Age? Found during the widening of Grove street. Thought to be have held offerings to a local deity.’
Large and heavy stone tablet. Labelled ‘Possibly Celto-Roman. Found during the building of the new primary school.’
A battered bible. Labelled ‘The bible of Emlyn Jones, radical preacher and instigator of the riot of 1905.’

" It most certainly is. What was the name of the family who lived in it? Were they the ones who bequeathed the building to the town?" Eli asks as he studies the artifacts in the case.

Skipper - the town council office (calling it a town hall would be a gross exaggeration) is a few buildings down from the museum. Stepping into the foyer, your way is barred by a perspex-shielded reception desk. Behind this sits a balding, chubby, middle-aged fellow.

He positively jumps as you approach, as if the existence of other people on this earth comes as a great surprise.

"Oh! Hello! What can I do for you?"


Eli - Trindle frowns in thought.

"The family? Oh...I'm not sure. The census records are on Ancestry-dot-com, which is free to access on our computer. It'll say there I'm sure."

It's difficult to get a good look at the exhibits. You can see some kind of figure carved on the stone tablet, but without removing the items to get a look up-close, that's all you can see through the smudgy glass.

"Thank you, I'll be sure to check that out thank you. One last question and I'll get out of your hair, I'm intrigued by the stone tablet here, is there anything you can tell me about it?" Eli asks hopefully.

Skipper grunted by way of greeting, smiled wolfishly, and pulled out his legit PI licence.

"Morning old son, name's Ray Pearson but call me Skipper, everyone does, some-it I picked up in my navy days. I'm a private enquiry agent, here on behalf of an interested party in London."

"I'm just after any publicly available information about the recent plan to sell the local library and museum. Minutes of council meetings where it came up, meeting agendas, that sort of thing."

"I expect there will be some paperwork that is confidential, letters from the lawyers and whatnot, I'm just after the stuff that isn't confidential, right now."

Eli - "The tablet? Hmm, I don't know much about it," Trindle replies. "It was here when I took over as curator. Ghastly looking thing though."

You'll need to pass a Social roll to get a closer look - Trindle is reluctant to open up the cabinet to strangers.

Skipper - The clerk recoils at your license like a vampire to garlic.

"Y-you're not the press are you? We're not allowed to talk to the press."

Yep, you've guessed it, you'll need to pass a Social roll to get this guy's co-operation.

Would you Adam and Eve it lol

OOC:   To look up the ancestry on the computer would i have to make another roll?

Eli peers through the murky glass but can't make any details out on the tablet.

1d%L30%

Fail.

Skipper briefly looked at his own PI licence in mistification. "Ah..."

Any chance Skipper can make a Law roll to convince the guy this is a Freedom of Information / Public Access matter and he better assist or face the complaints?

Eli - Trindle is disinclined to open the cabinet, lest you molest her treasured exhibits with your heathen London hands.

She is, however, content for you to return to the computer, where, looking up the 1891, 1901, 1911 and 1921 censuses, you find that the building was previously occupied by the Llewellyn family. Llewellyn senior was a prominent lawyer and a father to three daughters and a son. The son, alas, seems to have perished in the Great War, and Mrs. Llewellyn a year later in 1917. Later, the two eldest daughters married and flew the coop, leaving a Miss Ada Llewellyn to rattle around the place until she passed away in 1937, aged 84.

No need to roll for this - the information is pretty easy to find.

Skipper - The clerk is likewise unwilling to assist, convinced that you are a gentleman of the press. Clearly the local council are extremely jumpy and defensive, lest they be tarred with the same brush as Short and his nefarious activities.

Yes, a Law test is a good idea.

"Could you point in the right way for land registry? It seems the last owner of the building died in 1937. Any record of any owners followimg on?" Eli asks.

Skipper continued to smile in predatory fashion. "Rest assured, my son, I am a licenced private investigator, and I am not working for the media."

"Now, as you will be aware, local council authorities, like any other government body, are required to regularly publish - as in to the public - reports of their activities. On top of which, any public meetings, agendas for those meetings, minutes at cetera, well, they cannot possibly be confidential if members of the public were able to attend said meetings at the time with a nice cup of tea."

"So I am interested in seeing any of the above that related to this plan to sell the library and museum."

"And I would also like to see any other relevant documents and reports that would be available under Freedom of Information. If any of this cannot be provided now, I would very much like to know why for the subsequent complaint to the Home Office and the FOI request that will be submitted."

1d%L60%

Extreme success.

Eli - Trindle sighs.

"Where you not listening? I said the building was bequeathed to us - to wit: the town! For the use as a library."

"The land registry is available online. Check if you wish, but it will list the place as under the ownership of the Cwmllyn civic trust - and long may it remain so!"

Skipper - Your apparent mastery of law is enough to make the clerk fold faster than a bad poker player.

"No no no, I-I can find what you want! Wait there please!" he squeals.

A short while later, he returns, red-faced, bearing a sheaf of papers.

"H-here you go. There's not much I'm afraid."

A quick glance through them proves the fellow correct. They mainly consist of letters from the town council, signed by councillor Short, enquiring as to the ownership of the library/museum building.

Following each enquiry are increasingly curt retorts from Mrs. Trindle, stating that the place is held by the Cwmllyn civic trust in perpetuity.

The latest correspondence is a letter from Short, musing on how a larger, more modern library might suit the growing town. Build, it suggests, on the outskirts near the new housing development.

" Thank you again for your help, youve been most...accomodating." Eli says, giving Ms Trindle his best smile.....

Skipper speedily and efficiently photographed the correspondence with his phone before handing the lot back to the clerk. "Most helpful, old son. I shall leave you in peace now."

He wandered back out to the street, pausing to send a message to the group chat. After that, Skipper pulled out a camera and started stalking the main streets, taking photos.

Unless you have any further business in this end of town, perhaps it's time to catch up with the others at the school.

The most convenient walk to the school is via the school crossing. If you wish to go this way, please roll Sense Vestigia.

Despite all your distractions and, dare I say, lack of concentration, you nonetheless feel that something is different about the road crossing: a build-up of some kind of power. It is difficult to identify, but you'd put money on something Falcon related. This failure to pick anything up leaves you with a vague sense of unease and guilt.

Concentrating, you immediately pick up the sense of happy children and busy parents, chatter, shouting, and the occasional beep of a horn. Cutting through all this a feeling of calm and steadying presence; guiding, reassuring yet also judging.

Then it hits you.

Memories of all the bad things you have done rise unbidden in your mind.

What do you most feel guilty about? Describe it.

As the knowledge wracks you with remorse and shame, you find yourself being dragged towards a yawning black portal to face the judgement you so rightly deserve.

Shame.

Wickedness.

Guilt.

Then suddenly, as if the portal doors are slammed shut in your face, you find yourself back on the school crossing - bleak rainy wind tousling your hair.

Avoiding the crossing will entail walking across Grove Street elsewhere. While traffic is relatively light, you'll still need a successful Observation roll to spot oncoming vehicles - the school crossing is there for a reason!

1d%30%

Fail.

Feeling nervey, Skipper crossed and headed to the school...

Leaving the Museum Eli walks along Grove Road towards the crossing out of curiosity, looks around and steps off the curb....when safe to fo so.....

And safely crossed the road, looking back over the other side of the road, arms crossed , stroking his chin, gives his head a shake and makes his way to the school.