Alyssa and Olsen

[welsh]

OCC- good question.

IC- Bruno looks about the town as they exit. He looks to Alyssa. "Got an ideas on where we should continue looking?"

[Mr. Handy]

"The only people I can think of that Rebecca mentioned who might be able to help are the Averills," says Alyssa. "She said even the Marshes are afraid of them, but she didn't know if that's good, and people say they have strange powers. They may know about things that are going on in Innsmouth, but I don't know if they'd be willing or able to help us."

[welsh]

Bruno shakes his head. "I don't like that idea. Could be Marshes and Averills are both competing over the same prize, but it might be that their interests coincide enough that both might oppose us. Think of it this way- two gangs might have a shared interest in criminal enterprises, say bootleg booze, but they might compete over territory- say a town like Arkham or Innsmouth. That doesn't mean either gang would look kindly on the police trying to enforce the law, or a third gang moving into their territory. THe right third party might even get two enemies to ally against the newcomer. Let's be honest here. We're planning on interrupting a little party run by a bunch fishfaced religious whackos, among whom probably are Marshes and Averills. Might be that neither one wants us to ruin the party and will try to stop us if they can."

Bruno pauses, "I think our best bet is to figure out what prison they got Miguel. Could be the Custom House, but it might be something else. If go gate crashing the Custom's House and he's not there, we might forfeit our chance to rescue the boy from the knife. So we probably should look for guards, and where there are guards perhaps we can find a prison."

"But thinking on this a bit more, we should have a cover that works. Something that means that the locals will allow us to stick our noses out where it doesn't belong because we're not threatening, but also that we have some friends who will miss us and might cause more problems if we don't show up. So far, we've gotten lucky that they haven't tried to stop us, but when they do, we'll need to figure a way to convince them that we're not worth the trouble. ANy ideas for a cover story? Perhaps, journalist explores coast for historic stories. Innsmouth and Devil's Reef- Peril to Mariners? Innsmouth, ripe for urban renewal? Innsmouth, future vacation getaway by the sea?" Bruno adds the last with a bit of sarcasm.

[Mr. Handy]

"I know what you mean," says Alyssa. "Of all the people Rebecca mentioned, the Averills are the ones I'd be the least inclined to trust, but they'd also be the most likely to have the information we need. The Customs House is the most likely place for Miguel to be, and we do know there were guards out front, but we can't be absolutely certain yet that he's there. Just poking around various places is unlikely to be helpful. Even if we spot guards, that still won't tell us what they're guarding unless we go inside, and it may get us spotted. The only way to know for sure is to find out from someone who already knows, and we don't have much time. We have to make a move tonight. As for a cover story, while it's best to make a lie as close to the truth as possible, I don't know about letting people know I'm a journalist. Someone might connect me to the articles I wrote about the break-in and kidnapping, even if I don't use my real name. There aren't all that many girl reporters, after all. Perhaps I could pose as a graudate student from Mistkatonic University doing historical research on Innsmouth for a professor. Then they'll know that the professor would miss us."

[welsh]

Bruno shrugs. "To be honest, I could pull one of these bastards aside, stick a gun in his mouth and ask him where Miguel is. Its crude but it might be more effective."

[Mr. Handy]

"I don't think that's such a good idea," says Alyssa. "Not only would that blow our cover, but the one you grabbed might not even know. The ones that would be sure to know probably wouldn't be easy to get alone."

[welsh]

Bruno shrugs. "Yes, well I will agree.. the brutal way isn't always the best. But I would like to know where Miguel is, or is likely to be, because if he's not in the Customs House, we may not get another shot."

"Speaking of which, I think we need to keep an eye out for a potential way out. Should something happen to Luke and Felix, or should our way out fail, we may need another way out of here. I don't like the idea of trying to hold off a hoard of fishman from an abandoned house with only a pistol and a shotgun. Maybe we should plan.. what do you call it... a distraction... a deception... a decoy, that can draw attention away from the place that we plan to grab Miguel."

[Mr. Handy]

"If we do go for the Customs House," says Alyssa, "we could gain entry through that window at the back, or even by climbing to the upper floor. We know the upstairs rooms weren't occupied earlier, but that doesn't mean they won't be at night. I was thinking that we could distract the guards out front to cover escaping from the building. That room in the abandoned house we found that overlooks the Customs House could be the place to try it. If we set a metal bucket full of flammable material on the floor, below the windows, and then light it on fire and slip away before the it gets going, smoke will be visible coming out of the window and the guards can't help but notice it - unless those who have gone inside are detected and the guards already went in there. If they think there's a fire, they might leave their posts, but it could backfire if they decide to go in and take their prisoner somewhere else. If it works, we can then meet the others at the truck and get out of town fast. I'm sure I could also distract those guys just by walking down the street where they can see me, but if the alarm's already been sounded it would be too late for that. If you want a big distraction far away, that complicates things. That means we'll not only have to split up, but we'll have to put a great distance between our groups. We wouldn't all be able to escape together, and we might not all escape, but it would make it more likely that someone would escape. But where could we create this distraction, if we do it? Anyway, first we need to confirm that Miguel is in the Customs House, since we're still not completely certain. Do you want to try talking to the Averills?"

[welsh]

Bruno's expression is one of discomfort with the idea. "YOu are sure we've exhausted other alternatives? Look, they got to feed their prisoner, don't they? Or at least they need to relieve guards, so there should be some kind of change of staff." He shrugs, "I don't like this idea of announcing our presence to the Averills. What are we going to say, 'Hi, we're from Arkham and we're here to get our man back before you fishfaced freaks sacrifice him to some demon God... so will you give him back please?' I can't see that really persuading anyone."

Bruno pauses. "But what if we told them something that might convince them that they need to cooperate with us. For instance, what if we said that I was a doctor and you were my nurse, and we were looking for a man we believe had been abducted from Arkham, and that we had medicine for this man that was vital or the man would be terribly, probably fatally ill, within a short span of time. Either they let us see the man or the man will die before they have their big religious party."

[Mr. Handy]

"Even better, we also say that he's highly contagious!" says Alyssa. "That ought to light a fire under them - figuratively, that is. We can also say that if they won't let us see him, at least they could let Doctor Bloom see him. If they agree, we can talk to the doctor afterwards and find out where he is. We don't even have to pretend to be medical professionals, which might be a hard bluff to pull off. We can just use part of the truth, that he's your crewmate, and that you know he's very sick. Getting Doctor Bloom in to see him would be easier than getting in ourselves. We also don't know if the Averills are fishy. They could be normal for all we know, and we'll only know when we see them - or smell them. As for staking out the Customs House, that's the sort of thing we could do if we have more time, but we don't. We could wait and watch for the guards to be changed, but that might take several hours. If they're planning on murdering Miguel tomorrow night they might not feed him at all before then, unless he's very weak from hunger."

[welsh]

Bruno nods but is still uncertain about the Averills. "Well then, lets see if Dr. Bloom will cooperate."

[Mr. Handy]

Alyssa nods. "While we're there, we can ask him what he knows about the Averills," she says. "Then we might get a better idea of how to approach them."

[welsh]

Bruno nods. "Ok, let's go then."

He also keeps an eye out on the town to see any other potential buildings that might be used as a prison. He looks for individuals who appear to be guards as well as roads in and out of Innsmouth and potential hazards that might be lit afire- useful distractions in the event of a prison breakout.

[kabukiman]

You just see some furtives shadows, like if they were avoiding you. Finally you arrive at Dr Bloom House.

[Mr. Handy]

Alyssa knocks on the door. "Doctor Bloom?" she asks once he responds. "It's Alyssa again. I've thought of something else, and you might be able to help."

[kabukiman]

-What now?
He open the door

[Mr. Handy]

Alyssa looks around nervously. "May we come back in?" she asks. Then she lowers her voice. "It might be best if nobody overhears us. It will only take a couple of minutes."

[kabukiman]

-Enter then but be quickly. Somebody may see you.

[Mr. Handy]

Alyssa moves quickly inside and motions for Bruno to follow her. "We have an idea of how to find out where Bruno's friend is being held," she says, "but we need a little help from you. We want to find a way to make his captors think he's very sick and contagious, and that if he's not treated, he'll not only die before the ceremony, but he'll spread the sickness to others. We want to indirectly arrange for you to be sent to 'treat' him. If we can make this work, someone will bring you to him, you can pretend to cure him and pronounce him healthy, and then you can go home. Once you're back, you can just tell us where he's being held. The only problem is how to make the people who have him think this without directly talking to them. I was thinking of going to the Averills and seeing if maybe they could arrange something, but I don't know much about them. Is there anything you can tell us about them? Can they be trusted?"

[kabukiman]

-And how do you pretend to do that? You planne to say randomly: "Ey, the guy you kidnaped has a mortal and contagious disease, but don't kill him, just take him to a certain doctor in this village"?