Chapter One - Day 3 - An Early Morning Meeting

[Cearlan]

As you reach out to open the door to Peabody's study, you find it locked. Just then you all hear the soft moan and a crash coming from the direction of the library. As you enter you are confronted with the sight of the empty library. Books are strewn everywhere and suddenly a bloodied hand reaches up from behind one of the desks, grabbing onto the side of the desk it proceeds to pull the desk over which is followed by a cry of pain, as the desk, with all the books on top tumble over on top of whoever pulled it over. In horror you recognise the voice as belonging to E. Lapham Peabody.

The Arkham Historical Society

[Priest]

"Christ! Henry it's Peabody" I push forward in an attempt to get into the library. All thoughts of evil birds are pushed from my mind. Well almost, I just keep hearing Henry's voice muttering about something shambling. I shudder as I run.

[Mr. Handy]

"Quick, get this off of him!" says Sister Katherine, racing to Peabody's side and kneeling down to help him. She is not strong enough to lift the desk, but the others should be, and she has the medical skills.

[DrPeterson]

Henry curses loudly and races into the library, trying to free the man with the assistance of Jimmy.

[Cearlan]

The desk is surprisingly light and Henry and Jimmy manage to lift it with no problems. Under the desk is the bloodied body of Mr Peabody. He is unconscious but breathing - it looks as though he has been beaten pretty savagely. He sports cuts and bruises to his head, arms and torso. Your initial examination shown no broken bones, but, and this is perhaps more worrying, you cannot rouse him.

A fresh bruise is beginning to form along the side of his head, which corresponds to where he was pinned under the desk.

[Mr. Handy]

"Quickly, call for an ambulance and the police!" says Katherine as she treats Peabody's injuries. "There must be a telephone here somewhere."

[DrPeterson]

Henry kneels next to the sister and the injured man, relieved to see he's still alive. His breath is still rasping, the quick climb up the stairs appears to have exhausted him more than you'd thin.

"Jimmy, I think there's a phone in reception. "

Henry stands up and looks around, hoping to either see that the stones haven't been taken or that at least some notes remained.

Spot Hidden-Fail,[dice]0[/dice]

[Priest]

With the desk lifted and Peabody revealed I gasp at all the blood, "Whoever did this sure meant it".
Henry's voice breaks the moment, "Telephone...reception...yeah, on it"
Still feeling a bit shaken and wary of unseen 'shambling' things, as well as black feathered birds, I race back down to the reception and the telephone. A sudden thought hits me,

Jimmy thinking:   Where are the other employees Janice and Lester?

[Cearlan]

Henry,The stones were on the floor in Peabody's office, not in the library, sorry if that wasn't clear. Looking around the floor by Peabody as Katherine tends to his wounds, you can see that the books scattered around his head and on the desks are, like he discussed yesterday, regarding the families of Arkham's great and good.

Katherine,roll 1d3 for Peabody's recovered hit points. As you are administering your first aid you notice that the books scattered around him are, like he discussed yesterday, referencing the families of the great and good of Arkham.

Jimmy,As you head down the stairs to reach the telephone, you are thinking about Janice and Lester and the state of the poor old man upstairs. As you get off the bottom step you see the familiar face of Janice in the doorway. [color=#0040FF]"What are you doing here Jimmy Vecchio? How'd you get in - has he opened up early again?"[/color] She smiles at you as she removes her coat and hat, giving them a good shake before going to put them in a cupboard under the stairs. [color=#0040FF]"Where is he then, upstairs with your friends I guess. I'll best do him a coffee,"[/color] she says as she heads towards the kitchen which is behind you.

[Mr. Handy]

Katherine is only able to improve Peabody's condition slightly, and she is unable to do much to aid his long-term recovery. "I think that's all I can do for him until we get him to a hospital, other than making him comfortable," she says. "These books on the floor nearby might be of interest."

[DrPeterson]

Henry picks up one of the books and gives the title a cursory glance.

"Peabody suspect it had something to do with some of the earlier settling families. Looks like he was looking into it when he was attacked."


He walks back to the door and then retraces his steps towards where Peabody was buried under the table, looking for those footprints he found downstairs.

Track or Spot Hidden?,[dice]0[/dice]

[Cearlan]

Henry,neither - a roll was not needed to see the same footprint pattern you saw downstairs, or at least the blood from Mt Peabody was trod in and the shambling gait heads towards the door. You can see several steps before the blood wears off.As Katherine tends to him, his eyes flutter open and he flutters his eyes, shouts out and raising his arms as though he is warding off blows. Katherine manages to calm him downs and he tells the following tale.

Katherine,Peabody's eyes flutter open for a second and he brings his arms up as if to ward off a blow. You quieten him down and he relates the following tale to you.

Katherine and Henry,Peabodytakes a few moments to bring things back into focus and starts to tell you the following; [color=#FF4000]"I opened up early as I am sometimes wont to do and as I opened up there was a strange young man waiting outside. His stance was ramrod straight, almost too straight as though he carried a injury of some sort and his face betrayed little or no emotion. Also he carried a limp on his left leg. But his speech was the strangest thing about him, all thees and thou's if you get my meaning, the likes of which has not been heard hereabouts for over two hundred years, I reckon. The student's clothing was rumpled and slightly soiled, but I think that was more academic neglect than anything else. He had a voracious interest in the genealogies of a variety of local families, which I was glad to help him with ... it is so rare to find one as interested and surprisingly well versed in the old times of Arkham. As I told you last night I have a keen interest in this so I showed him some of the old maps we have while we talked about the families. He did not give his name now that I come to think of it, but he showed a surprising amount of knowledge about mid-18th century Arkham, and that he even pointed out two or three errors in the records."[/color] His eyes roll back in his head as he starts to lapse back into unconsciousness but Katherine keeps him from doing so.

[Mr. Handy]

OOC,I think you mean [b]Peabody[/b], not [b]Atwater[/b]. ;) Does his description of the student match [b]Henry Atwater[/b]'s?

[Cearlan]

OOC,Corrected my mistake - thank you; The description could fit anyone. He never actually gave a solid description of the character.

[Priest]

Spoiler:

Caught off guard by the sudden apearance of Janice, I splutter, "Ah, yeah...I mean no...Look the old man has been in an accident we need to call an ambulance and the cops"
In an attempt to forestall her panic I add, "Dont worry Sister Katherine is with him. She's a nurse, so he's in good hands"

[DrPeterson]

Henry frowns as he listen to Peabody's tale. This was all too weird.

"Mr. Atwater, the stones, did you find anything out about the script on the stones?"

[Cearlan]

Jimmy,"Oh No, Janice cries out. I got to see to him." She barges past Jimmy and runs up the stairs. Finding the telephone on the table Jimmy calls the operator and raises the alarm. Whilst he is on the phone Lester enters the building and is surprised to see Jimmy holding the phone, Jimmy gestures for him to hang on whilst he finishes the call. Lester looks less than pleased to see Jimmy, especially considering the tail end of the conversation he has just overheard.

Henry and Katherine,Peabody drifts back to consciousness. "Well, suddenly the boy strikes me from behind and ... well you see the results for yourselves. The stones? Ah yes the stones ... sorry my boy. I have been up all night working on them you know."

Peabody looks groggy but attempts to pull his focus back into the preset. "The stones now let me see ... can you help me up to that chair please and bring over the maps - the ones dated 1742 and 1803 if you would be so good." Once he is seated, he fingers a pocket in his waistcoat and hands it to Henry. "Best go see if they are still all in my office, but due to the fact that the key is still in my pocket I presume they are all there."

"Sister, could you pass that slim black book over as well."[/color]

Henry checks the office and finds the stones all as they were left last night as far as he can recall. He returns to the Library to find Janice has just entered the room crying out "Mr Peabody ... what has happened to you?"

Peabody gestures her over. "These good people are raising the alarm Janice and I'd like you to get Lester to help them with their work and if you could come over to the Hospital which is where I assume I will be going." Once seated in front of the desk Peabody points out the bridge where you found the stones. "Here is where the stones were found right? It was known in the 18th century as the 'witch bridge.' Listen people, we don't have much time before they come to take me away. Well what I have found out is this." Taking the slim volume off Sr Katherine he opens the book at a pre-marked page. "This is Strange legends of New England by Wheeler Jenckes.

One story, "Miskatonic's Witch Bridge", draws the eye. The entry positively identifies the bridge as the one called Bishops' Bridge and is accompanied by a pair of photographs, one of which offers a full view of the bridge before it collapsed. The article claims that in 1752 a local wizard was entombed in the central pillar of the bridge. The stone facing was then decorated with a magical sign supposedly keeping the wizard from returning from the dead. Before he died, the wizard placed a curse upon his persecutors and their descendants.

The second photo shows the centre bridge support from the south side. The magical sign decorating the stone can just be seen. The photograph is taken from the riverbank, of course, and the reader requires the aid of a magnifying glass to make a good copy of the magic symbol.

"If you could pass that brown book over please." Henry passes the heavier book over and notices it is called @A History of Arkham Township. This makes it interesting and casts some light n the way people thought back in the day.

...Another such individual was the hunchback Sermon Bishop who, like earlier relatives, was accused of witchcraft. This man lived on the western outskirts of town, on Hill Street (then called Bad Water Road), and was thought a powerful wizard. Rumors of his activities gave rise to grave suspicions, and crop failures and dry cows were often blamed on him. Bishop disappeared one night while returning home from a visit to Dunwich and was never seen again. Rumors flew that the Devil had finally come and taken him away. The sheriff conducted what all agreed was a thorough investigation but no suspects were ever brought to trial. Though he likely was the victim of foul play, Bishop's body was never found.

[Mr. Handy]

"Thank you, Mr. Peabody," says Katherine. "I wonder...the stone is intact in this picture, but it has since been blown to pieces. Could lightning have struck it, perhaps?"

[DrPeterson]

Henry frowns as he observes the writing on the photograph through a magnifying glass.


"The families that persecuted that witch, one of them wouldn't happened to be the Atwaters, would it? And would that be what the boy was asking about?"

He puts a hand on Peabody's shoulder.

"We'll find who did this to you, Mr. Peabody, and we'll bring them to justice."

[Priest]

"Yeah, as quick as you can" I finsh talking to the hospital and replace the receiver before i turn to answer the suspicious looks from Lester.
"Somebody broke in and gave the old man a pasting. The others are upstairs with him now and the ambulance is on its way"
Without waiting for a reply I quickly make my way back upstairs to the others.

I raise an eyebrow in Henry's direction, "So do we know what happened?"