IC: Chapter 1 - NEW YORK, Starts 12th Jan 1925

[Decrepit]

"Yes, I suppose you're right about Elias," Caroline says, "though I do wish I knew a bit more about him. He's Elizabeth's friend, of course, but, well, Elizabeth is rather trusting, more so than I am.

"But I think your plan is better. I'll go research Huston. Maybe I can check out a copy of one of Elias's books. I could borrow one from Elizabeth, but I don't want her to know I'm checking up on him, as it were. At least not yet."

[Raiko]

Outside Carlyle House, Westchester County, New York State
1:32pm – Tuesday 13th January 1925

"Unbelievable!"

"That's it I'm calling the cops."

The gatekeeper walks back to the small 'lodge' outside the gate, ignoring any protests.

[Laraqua]

Maksim frowns, his initial enthusiasm sputtering out like a dying flame as he reverses the car and attempts to drive off.

"Well, that was a dead end, thanks to Elizabeth for not bothering to call ahead and use her contacts to get us an interview," he says, trying to remove the blame from himself.

Timour would likely recognise that Maksim has slumped into a mood of apathetic despair and that, if not roused from it, would lead to a very silent drive back to the apartment building. Whether that's a good or a bad thing, is entirely up to Timour...

[coffee demon]

Elizabeth gladly accepts a cup. "Well, Mr. Kensington, to tell the truth, I'm here to ask you about Jackson. I can tell he doesn't have any new books out, since I'm sure you would have told me. Are there any in the works? He's always investigating such interesting things."

Andrei smiles pleasantly and slides down comfortably in his chair, listening and sipping coffee. He tries not to make eye contact with the publisher, quickly glancing across at Elizabeth if Jonah looks at him. People are sometimes discomfitted by his bright blue eyes.

Three things Andrei has learned from high-class social situations all his life.

1) If he looks comfortable, other people become more comfortable.
2) If he looks smaller (i.e. low in a chair), people aren't as intimidated by him. Sometimes they might even ignore him.
3) When you need to convince a man, let a lady do the talking.

Andrei waits to hear the publisher's answer, while studying the publisher's reactions. He may pipe up later in the conversation.

[OOC: If necessary, these actions are like using "Persuade" and "Psychology to look less intimidating, and to put the focus on Elizabeth while he observes. These things come naturally to him, he's barely conscious that he's doing it.]

[thewhatchamacallit]

Timour did his best to help his brother fight off his darkening mood but such interactions were never his strong point. As a creature of passion he didn't try to understand people anymore than he cared if they understood him.

His brother though was a special case, one of the few people close to him and one of the very few he truly cared for. Assuming his bestest and broadest of smile, he nudged his brother's arm, "that guard was just jealous of us. Later on, we'll find out his name, look him up in the directory and trash his house while he's at work," then Timour added a wink to show Maksim that he was being only a little bit serious.

OCC psychology I'm guessing...

[Laraqua]

Maksim arches an eyebrow and slouches down in his seat. He's got that intense look in his eye that means he's thinking a little too long and hard about that criminal prospect. "That's one way of getting some cash. We're broke. No money at all after that club. If we want this job, we'll need to be more than a little less homeless. But then, that man does have a very big gun."

[Raiko]

Prospero House – Lexington Avenue, New York
1:00pm - Tuesday 13th January 1925

Jonah sits thoughtfully sipping his coffee, as if making his mind up what to say to Elizabeth. Eventually he says, “Erm, yes, Jackson is working on a new project. He’s been travelling extensively, researching some new death cult, you know how he likes to debunk such things.”

“I haven’t heard from him very often recently, you know how secretive he can be, though he did get in touch just last month. He was in London and his wire said that he’d be back in New York this month. I’m expecting to see him any day.”


Main Reading Room, New York Public Library
5:00pm – Tuesday 13th January 1925

Thomas and Caroline spent another productive two hours searching through the library’s records for information about Aubrey Penhew, and Robert Huston. They discover that the fashionable New York psychyologist Dr Huston received extensive coverage in the society pages of New York newspapers, while Sir Aubrey has had a biography written about his life,. Caroline also manages to pick up a copy of Jackson Elias’ most famous book Sons of Death.

[OOC: Note that I wrote Robert Huston instead of Aubrey Penhew in Thomas' dice roll by mistake]

On the road – Westchester County, New York State.
1:45pm - – Tuesday 13th January 1925

Unfortunately the driving conditions haven’t improved, so it looks like the drive back into New York will take just as long as the wasted drive out to Carlyle House.

[OOC: No need to make rolls for everything, just roleplay as you see fit when interacting with the other player characters, if you’d like to roll now and then as an aid, then feel free ]

[imme]

"Ah, that would explain it." Elizabeth looks relieved. "You see, I got a telegram from him yesterday, saying that he would be in town on Thursday and would like my help. He must be hoping that I can help him with a bit of research or put him in contact with someone. I was worried that he had gotten himself into some kind of trouble. You never know, what with all the crazy people he investigates." She leans back in her chair, smiles at Andrei to share her relief with him. Abruptly she sits forward again and turns to Mr. Kensington, as if struck by a new thought. "I don't suppose it would be helpful, perhaps, for you to fill me in on Jackson's recent investigation, so that I'll be briefed for his arrival?"

[thewhatchamacallit]

Timour looked at Maksim and noticed his brother's mood had not improved. Talk about being short on funds and their failed attempt at the Carlyle estate hadn't done anything more than sink him deeper into his funk.

"Excuse me," he apologized to Elizabeth's bodyguard, "but I have to speak with my brother in our native tongue for a moment."

It wasn't so much that he didn't trust Johnny, it was just that conversations about family and money were a deeply private things to Timour.

Then to Maksim he said in Russian, "how much money do you think this lady will pay us? She has at least three servants along with her and Andrei is likely living the high life on her tab. Do you think we'll make enough to get Tatiana and Yula away from the motherland?"

[Decrepit]

"This Huston is a fellow alum," Caroline says to Thomas. "Lived quite a scandalous life, I gather, which means Elizabeth might know something about him." She smirks a bit. "Not that I think Elizabeth is scandalous, mind you, Mr. Allan.

Rubbing her brow tiredly, she asks, "How about that drink now?"

[Grafster]

Johnny leans back in his seat and stares out the window. He didn't rouse himself for the approach to the mansion.

"Getting an introduction may be a good idea the next time we go," his voice is pitched low, and neutrally.

This was a more fruitful trip than I thought it would be," Johnny's mind skips about "No heiress I know has guards with tommy guns. They're something fishy about this broad.

During the ride back Johnny periodically pulls out his shiny silver cigarette case and fiddles with it. A casual glance back might catch him examining his reflection in it.

[coffee demon]

Andrei keeps smiling politely, sipping coffee, and listening. The conversation is between the publisher and Elizabeth, and for the moment he is content to listen and observe.

[warhammer]

Thomas writes down all he finds on Sir Aubrey Penhew.

"I've researched Penhew thoroughly." he says to Caroline. "But I've not found much about him that would interest us, I mainly found generic biographies and the likes, you know. He was a rich dog, he set up his own foundation and apparently did much for archeology, and egyptology more specifically."

"But as you can tell, the man himself remains a mystery, so I got nothing juicy on him... for now."

Thomas finishes his cigarette butt and quickly packs all his things.

"I've got a bottle of scotch waiting at home." he says. "I'm gonna have one, you can join in if you'd like. You can tell all of us about Dr Huston later on, let's have a break first."

Thomas will also call his associate at the office and tell him to take care of business for him for the next couple of days, as the case turns out to be more interesting than he had expected.

[Laraqua]

Maksim sighs and looks even more annoyed. "Doubtful she'll pay us more than the pittance she pays her servants. You remember what father's like? She has money because she doesn't pay her people well enough. I doubt we'll have enough to get anyone out of the old country. You forget, we are her servants now, and if we ask for too much, she will merely find new servants."

"Have no doubt that we will likely be earning our keep and barely more than that, particularly if we go to any other country. Travel expenses alone will be exceptionally high."

Having finished his pessimistic rant, Maksim hunches up his shoulders and scowls at the road.

[thewhatchamacallit]

Timour nodded at the logic behind both Maksim's and Johnny's remarks. But he didn't hold himself accountable. His job was to bring his gun, and he had

"I'm hungry," he said at length, "let's get back so we can get something to eat."

[Decrepit]

"I've got a bottle of scotch waiting at home." he says. "I'm gonna have one, you can join in if you'd like. You can tell all of us about Dr Huston later on, let's have a break first."

"I think I'll just start with a glass of scotch first, and see where that leads," Caroline says teasingly.

She didn't make it a habit to drink in a strange man's residence, but she didn't usually spend the day hanging around dusty stacks with a strange man, either. Maybe Elizabeth's influence was rubbing off on her.

[warhammer]

Thomas drives back to his flat with Caroline and chats with her while drinking some scotch and listening to one of his records. Thomas seems to have a good tolerance for alcohol, although he stops drinking before he gets drunk. He is polite and friendly all throughout the afternoon, although he does not reveal all that much about himself. Being a lawyer taught him to be careful about his brash instincts, and he makes sure not to confide in people too easily. Caroline probably gets the feeling that, while he seems like a nice person, it takes a while to gain his trust and get close to him.

When the time comes, Thomas will drive to Elizabeth's place and join the others for the meeting.

[Decrepit]

I'm not sure whether what we learned was of all that much use, Caroline thinks to herself, but it was an interesting day. Thomas, as she had finally come to call him, seemed like a decent sort, although he hardly seemed to open up, even with the consumption of alcohol. Caroline herself didn't say a great deal, either, although she could feel the scotch starting to unloosen her tongue a bit. It was just as well that the time with Thomas had ended when it did, for she knew from experience that she tended toward the moody when drinking, and she didn't do that often enough to be very tolerant of it.

And she had some reason to be moody. It seemed that Carlyle kept some odd company, if Huston was in the mixture, and the way the expedition had ended cast something of a pall over the present investigation, no matter how much Elizabeth's bounciness sought to lift it.

Caroline would meet up with Elizabeth and the others when the time came. In her spare moments, she hoped to begin reading--or at least skimming--Elias's book.

[Grafster]

Johnny snaps his cigarette case closed and leans foward.

"Gentlemen," his speech is more rapid, perhaps tenser, than usual "it appears we have roused an unfortunate degree of interest in our counterparts. We are being followed."

"I hope you understand why I feel it is necessary for us to lose our tail promptly."

[Grafster]

OOC: In case I get busy in the next 24ish hours I just wanted to give some info so the game isn't slowed down.

Johnny would accept other alternatives to losing the tail such as driving off into some neighborhood with no connection to the group, spending some time driving around in the ice and the snow to see how aggressive thetail-ers are, or even trying to do a switchback and get a good look at who's following them (license plates?).

He won't suggest any of that himself, but he'll go along and assist as he can.

He -will- be strongly opposed to leading the tail to the Downings, or to Miss D.'s NY apartment. He thinks some other place connected to the Russians would be dumb but if that's what people want to do he'll make a single ,studiously neutral, comment on how it might be "inadvisable" and leave it at that.