IC: Prologue

[Decrepit]

"Shame about Pabodie," Jack says. "A bit of bad timing, I guess.

"Unless you know of someone else we can talk to here, Clark, or unless I can find a decent lead by skimming Dyer's report, I guess there's not much to do but head back to New York.

"We could always go ghost hunting, I suppose," Jack says impishly.

[Henrik]

"Well, thanks for your time, Professor Moore. It has been nice talking to you. I'm eager to get underway. This waiting is killing me. As every expedition member I'm eager to set my foot on Antarctica."

With that Olof left. In the corridor he suddenly became certain that there was more the professor knew, but for some reason hesitated to tell him. Why?

[OrionUK]

James is pleased with the Irishmans information "how much are you asking for the Colt? and would this gun be a reliable one in colder than average temperatures or would there be another you would recommend?" James asks. He turns to his companions and says "It appears our guy Lawrence was a little distraught for quite a time"

[Charles Graves]

"I don't know about you chaps, but I still think there may be a lot to learn from a trip to the University", says Graves. He checks the time on his pocket watch. "It's still early, I'll read the report tonight in bed but today I'd like to talk to some of the faculty to see what they know. Would you gentlemen care to join me?"

[Decrepit]

"Lead on," says Jack. "I'm not adverse to doing some legwork."

[Raiko]

Kelly’s Place – 420 West 45th Street, Hell’s Kitchen, New York
01:46pm – 27th August 1933

"The gun'll cost you $50. Oy'd say it's pretty reliable, the army use them."

"Bullets for it cost $5 of a box of fifty, or $8.50 for a hundred."

[OrionUK]

"OK I will take the gun & a box of 100 bullets please" he turns to his companions "is there anything else you wish to ask or do before we head back?"

[Steerpike]

McRaven blinks for a second as what the gun dealer has said begins to sink in. . ."Oy sold him a .38, but he called every day while he was waitin’ fer the permit."

He did it legal, thinks McRaven. He sat fretting for a week til he got the paperwork, then came in and bought the gun. He'd thinking about this for a while, but he got the gun above board.

"Hey mac, when he came in to pick up the 38, was anyone else with him...did he say or do anything strange"

As he he is saying this he hands over a 5 dollar bill

[Charles Graves]

Upon arriving at the University The Professor makes his way directly to the main library and asks one of the librarians if it would be possible to look at a list of the faculty. Scanning down the list, Grave's finger comes to rest first at the name Daniel Desmet and then the name Dr James Ortega. "Here Gentlemen, the Professors of Psychology and Cryptozoology. I think they may be particularly useful to us. What do you think?"

[Decrepit]

"I suppose it's possible that these people know Pabodie--aren't they in the same school?--but I want to make sure that we try to find some people who know Pabodie fairly well," Jack says.

[Charles Graves]

"I feel that these two may have a particular interest in the last expedition considering what happened and what was found. If not hopefully they will be able to point us in the right direction."

[Decrepit]

"I appreciate having someone who knows his way around the hallowed halls of academe," Jack says. "I tend to deal with a slightly less lofty class of people." Jack smiles.

"In any case, I suspect you're right. I'm happy to just follow your lead if you think they'll open up better to a fellow academic. But I'm going to have to tell them I'm with the paper or else I can't use anything they say ... ethically, anyway. I do know how to go off-the-record, however."

[Charles Graves]

"Very well," says Graves, "I think in that case we should first pay a visit to Daniel Desmet from the Psychology Department to see if he can help us." He examines a map of the University to familiarize himself with the campus layout before heading off to find the lecturer.

[Ghost_1971]

"Have you just about done here guys? I dont fancy hanging around here. The natives dont loook too friendly." Callum says from his postion by the door. He peers out into the street through the dusty window.

I'll keep an eye on things out here just to be sure.

[OrionUK]

"well do you fancy getting a cab back to the hotel or should we take a stroll back?" James emphasises the first part with a lighter voice & the second slightly lower tone trying to insinuate his preference....

[Raiko]

Kelly’s Place – 420 West 45th Street, Hell’s Kitchen, New York
01:50pm – 27th August 1933

Kelly pockets McRaven’s five dollar bill and says, “There’s not much ta say, he was real nervous like, fretting all the time ya know. Didn’t say much, but he looked so happy to get the gun, gave me the creeps.”

“He was on his own, didn’t see no one waitin’ outside neither.”

Kelly agrees to call a taxi to take the three investigators back to the Amherst, but as it turns out the taxi wasn’t really necessary. The group of thugs had decided to look for trouble elsewhere after seeing the trio enter Kelly’s gunstore.

Within minutes they are back out of Hell’s kitchen, the taxi pulls up outside the Hotel and the three step out into the clutches of the collected media.


Miskatonic University – Arkham, Massachusetts
28th August 1933

It turn out that both Daniel Desmet and Dr James Ortega know Pabodie well, or rather they knew him well. Both tell the same story, Frank Pabodie was an active and sociable man until the 1930 expedition. After that he kept himself to himself, immersing himself into his work during the day, and spending all of his free time at home with his family. He has had little contact with any of the other faculty staff, with the exception of Professor Dyer.

William Dyer another survivor of the ill fated 1930 Antarctic expedition was Pabodie’s closest friend and confidant, after returning from the ice the two spent a lot of time together, but seemed to shun other company.

However Dyer took an infinite leave of absence from his duties last December, after the board of trusties approved William Moore’s proposed second expedition against the strong objections of his one-time friend and mentor Dyer.

The two professors (Moore and Dyer) had a huge argument over the new expedition, with each of them presenting their own views to the board of trusties. In the end Moore won, the board backed his expedition, but only on condition that the second expedition was better organised than the first, and lead by an experience explorer, and a dedicated team – rather than a team of academics like the 1930 expedition.

Dyer was furious and departed on leave immediately, he has not been heard from since, with his friend gone Pabodie withdrew further from public contact.

*******

Regarding the finds from the 1930 expedition both professors explain that for academics such as themselves, they would be better served reading Professor Dyer’s summary report than believing reports in the media. They explain that many reports from Lakes camp prior to the disaster appear to have been exaggerated (or at least overstated). Dyer’s report is extensive and includes details of his discoveries at the shattered Lake Camp.

OOC: It’s very late so I’ll have to continue this at lunchtime tomorrow (I’m PMing a copy of Lakes “Summary Report” to the three “Arkham Investigators.”

I’ll be starting Chapter One tomorrow , after I’ve detailed the trip to Kingsport to meet McTighe

Thank for your patience

[Steerpike]

McRaven exits the cab and holds the door open for the others to get out.
As the press descend on James and the others, he neatly sidesteps the rush and heads on in.

Lighting up another cigarette, he waits in the lobby for the others. He looks troubled, not at all put at ease by what they learned at the gun store.

If only we could figure who he had been talking to leading up to this

[OrionUK]

Thanking McRaven for holding open the door James steps up to the waiting reporters and with a warm grin explains that they have had a nice little sight seeing trip to get some air & heads back inside. Once inside he joins McRaven and once Callum catches up he offers a tipple in his room to his two companions to discuss to their trip.

[Decrepit]

"Well, fellows," Jack says, "after reading some of Dyer's report and hearing from Pabodie's friends, I feel like all I've got are more questions. When we get back, I'd like to ask Moore some questions about that row with Dyer. I'd ask Dyer, too, but it looks like he doesn't want to be found, and even if we did find him, I'm not sure he'd talk."

[Raiko]

Miskatonic University - Arkham, Massachusetts
28th August 1933

After talking to the two Professors, Graves, Jack and Clark are allowed to take a look at the university’s exhibits from the Miskatonic Expedition. A few rock samples are publicly displayed in the Geology department, but most of the things brought back from the Lake camp are held in the university’s stores – only viewable with the permission of the university staff.

Within this store the three investigators find a huge collection of rock shards, core samples and tubes of ice melt from various depths, each one carefully labelled and catalogued. They also find fossils from a whole range of prehistoric eras from the Silurian to the Oligocene, taken from the underground cave discovered at the site of Lake’s camp.

However of the “barrelbodied animals” reported by Lake there is no sign, Dr Ortega explains that many of the samples unearthed by Lake were lost forever to the same storm that wiped out the Lake Party.

“There is some controversy about those finds anyway, as you’ll see when you read Professor Dyer’s report, it seems that Lake’s report of animal fossils and footprints was the result of snow-madness. We prefer not to publicize this too widely, as there seems little point in desecrating the memory of poor Professor Lake, but all the details are in the report.”

After leaving the Miskatonic University, the three spend the evening in Arkham itself, sampling some more of Clark’s “medicine” and studying Dyer’s Summary Report on the Miskatonic University Expedition to the Antarctic 1930-1931 before retiring for the night.

Kingsport Head Wireless Station – Kingsport, Massachusetts
01:00pm – 29th August 1933

The three investigators rise again late in the morning and make the short journey out of Arkham to Kingport. They head straight to the Arkham Advertiser’s Wireless Station at Kingport Head where they hope to meet Arthur McTighe, another member of Dyer’s rescue team.

After a few minutes wait at the reception they are greeted by a tall angular man in his late twenties, he has a shock of black hair, and a firm handshake, “Hi I’m Arthur McTighe, pleased to meet you gentlemen, what can I do for you?”