Play@YSDC

Queensway, Bayswater- London, England
8:10 AM - Tuesday, September 10, 1940

Archie and Benjamin went to the alley behind the row of houses and found the back door to Madeline's house, but there were no windows at ground level on this side. There were some higher up, as well as a drainpipe that could potentially be used to reach them. The lowest windows were ten feet above the ground here, the curtains spread wide open. There were more windows some twenty feet up, and the blackout curtains there were still drawn. The back door didn't look quite as strong as the front door, though the lock was still decent. There was also an Anderson shelter in the alley opposite the house.

"There's no way I'm climbing up that drainpipe at my age! But perhaps we can see about those doors?"

Benjamin will investigate the back door and perhaps try to pick the lock with a safety pin.

As expected, the back door proved to be locked. However, it was a simple lock, so there was a chance to pick it even for someone who wasn't expert at it like Seamus.

OOC,[b]Benjamin[/b], please roll Mechanical Repair. Since it's a simple lock, you can use that skill instead of Locksmith. If you fail, [b]Archie[/b] may try as well.

While Benjamin monkeys around with the lock, Archie pokes his head in the Anderson shelter, looking for anything unusual.

Benjamin goes to work with a safety pin he pulls out of his pocket.

Mechanical repair 20%,[dice]1[/dice]

[dice]0[/dice]

The shelter was about six feet high, so tall occupants would need to duck in order to fit inside, though once seated they would not risk bumping their heads. It went about the same distance back, and it was a little less wide. Inside the shelter were two benches, one on either side, stretching to the back of the shelter upon which the occupants could sit or even lie down. It seemed rather ordinary, similar to other Anderson shelters in this alley and throughout London.

Benjamin fiddled around inside the lock with the pin. While he had very skillful hands, he could not manage to trip the lock. The movies always made this look so easy.

OOC,[b]Archie[/b], please roll Spot Hidden

Spot Hidden 40%,[dice]0[/dice]

Archie peers about the dim shelter while at the same time cleaning the spectacles that he should perhaps have been wearing...

Archie could see nothing of interest in the Anderson shelter.

Bored with the shelter, Archie wanders back to the door that won't open and takes a shot at picking the lock, mechanically inept as he is.

Mech Repair 20%,[dice]0[/dice]

OOC:   Wow.

The pin Archie borrowed snapped off in the lock, jamming it. There was now no way to pick this lock, nor could it even be opened with the key any more.

"Well that's torn it. We'll have to find another way in." Archie looks at the lock he has now jammed. "Right, let's see how the drain pipe goes."

OOC:   Archie attempts to get up the drain pipe to the closest windows.

Climb 40%,[dice]0[/dice]

Archie, being short and clumsy, was never a tree climber as a child and it shows.

Archie wasn't able to make any progress. He kept sliding down the pipe as soon as he tried to climb up it.

OOC,[b]Benjamin[/b], you may attempt a Climb roll if you wish.

Benjamin felt himself way too old for climbing up drainpipes...

"Hmm, what shall we do now..."

Idea 70%,[dice]0[/dice]

Archie ponders...

Idea 90%,[dice]0[/dice]

Both men realized that they could still force open the back door. That would make it very obvious that entry had been gained, however. Of course, it was quite possible that their tampering would be discovered anyway as soon as someone tried to open the back door, with the lock jammed. The front door's lock was of higher quality, and they did not have the skills to pick that lock even if they were willing to risk being seen in front of the house. Benjamin also could still make the attempt to climb the drainpipe if he wished. If he could get in the window, he could then just open the front door and let Archie inside. There was also another possibility, which came to mind from having read Bram Stoker's Dracula. They could attempt to hire a locksmith, explaining that they'd been locked out of the house and pretending it was one of theirs. However, this was a very risky proposal, as it would involve someone else in their escapade and could risk exposure.

Archie sighs. "Benjamin, we are already in for a penny with that jammed lock, time to go in for a pound. I think we just force the door before someone notices us."

"I believe you're right! Also, desperate times call for desperate measures..." Benjamin starts rolling up his sleeves.

Archie, in a low voice, counts, "One, two, three..." He shoulder slams the door.

Neither man alone was strong enough to force the door open, but by ramming it together, they managed to break it down with a loud crack! They crept into the darkened room beyond the door. There were no windows, which only served to heighten the darkness. The only light came from sunlight streaming through the open doorway behind them. They couldn't make out many details in the darkness, but the room appeared to be a study. There were bookshelves, a desk, a couch, and chairs. Interior doors were straight ahead and to the right, and there was also a staircase leading up at the far end of the room.

Keeper only,Listen roll (25% base skill) to hear the door break: [dice]0[/dice]

Archie quietly shuts the door behind them. He pulls out a box of matches and lights one, looking about for a candle or some other portable light source.

The door had been knocked off of its hinges, but Archie was able to place it over the doorway. Anyone seeing it would know that something was wrong, however. There were no portable light sources that Archie could find, but Benjamin did carry a hooded electric torch. The desk was an old Victorian-era piece with a rolltop. It contained writing paper, pens, ink, stationery, envelopes, postage stamps, and similar things on its surface and in its drawers, as well as a lamp. There was also a clock there, which indicated that it was 8:20 AM. The bookshelves were fully stocked, There were numerous titles on the shelves about Egypt, but they wouldn't be able to tell much about their contents without reading them, which would take quite some time.

"Shall we go up the stairs?" Benjamin whispered?

Archie nods and heads further into the house, looking out for a candle or the like as he goes.

"We might come back and properly search this room once we've checked the rest of the house," he whispers.

Archie and Benjamin headed upstairs, and they soon discovered that the study had been in the basement and that they were now on the ground floor. At the top of the staircase was a door on the right which led into a dining room, which featured a long mahogany table and six chairs in the middle. Leading out of the dining room were a closed door to the left and an archway to the right that led into the living room.

Archie pokes his head into the living room and if it's clear, heads back to open the closed doors.

Archie glanced through the archway and saw the living room, which was narrow but long. A sofa, an armchair, and a wireless set were present in the room. A telephone sat on a small table beside the armchair. A staircase led up, and the front door led back outside. There was a window beside the front door, the blackout curtains still drawn. There was only one closed door in the dining room, as the other door was the one from which they had come which led back to the study. Beyond the door was the kitchen. It contained an icebox, an oven with a range on top, a sink, and various cabinets. A window at the back had its blackout curtains drawn tightly shut.

Benjamin quickly and quietly goes through the cabinets and the ice box.

Benjamin found nothing much of interest in the cabinets. There were foodstuffs, glassware, silverware, a tea set and tea bags were inside them. He then looked inside the icebox, which contained various foodstuffs. Mostly fruit and vegetables, though there was a small quantity of bacon there too. There was also some milk, but not much. Such were the effects of rationing, at least on those who didn't patronize the black market.

Archie has a quick look in th kitchen for a candle. He points upwards to Benjamin and starts quietly up the stairs...

Luck 90%,[dice]0[/dice]

OOC:   The dice are hating on me at the moment.

Archie could find no candles. While it would have been a sensible precaution to have them in the house in case the power went out in the bombing, it had only started a few days ago. Perhaps the Steadmans had been too busy murdering people to go to the shops and buy some.

OOC:   Oh well...

Archie creeps quietly up the stairs, relying on feel and the light from Benjamin's torch to help whatever light makes it through the black-out curtains.

Benjamin tries to be as quiet as possible, wincing every time a stair creaks...

Archie and Benjamin passed through the living room, which was narrow but long. A sofa, an armchair, and a wireless set were present in the room. A telephone sat on a small table beside the armchair. The staircase led up, and the front door led back outside. There was a window beside the door, with the blackout curtains closed. They then headed upstairs. The upstairs hallway went straight ahead for a short distance, where it ended in a closed door. It also went just a few feet to the right, where there was another closed door. From there the hallway turned right again, running back toward the front of the house before ending in a third shut door. A wooden railing separated that stretch of the corridor from the stairs.

Archie opens the first closed door he comes to and peers in.

Archie opened the door on the right, which was just a few feet away. Inside was a featureless bedroom. The bed was made, and the furnishings showed no signs of use. Perhaps a guest room?

"Nothing here... On the next door then?" Benjamin whispers.

Archie nods nervously and opens the next closest door.

Archie and Benjamin went down the hall to the right to the next nearest door, at the front of the house. This was the master bedroom, with a queen-sized bed, a dresser, nightstands, and two other doors, one on the same wall as the door to the hall, to the left, and the other on the right wall.

Archie heads into the bedroom and checks the two doors, left then right.

The left door led to the bathroom, which didn't seem out of the ordinary. The door on the right led to a large closet, where both the Steadmans' clothes hung from a rack.

Archie backtracks to the corridor and opens the last unexplored door.

The last room was in the process of being renovated into what looked to be a nursery. A wooden crib on rockers was in one corner, still under construction.

Curious, Archie wanders into the nursery for a minute to have a look. "Devil worshippers and expectant parents, so we think?"

"Right, Benjamin, shall we have a closer look at the main bedroom and the study downstairs?"

OOC:   Are there any rooms unchecked? Is there an attic or a cellar besides the study?

Archie turns to Benjamin. "Shall we head back to the study first, give it a good search and check those last two doors at the same time?"

Archie nods, amused. "Very good, I love to see a dedicated craftsman at work. The wardrobe first it is." He heads back towards the master bedroom.

Benjamin opened up the closet and looked through the clothing. There were men's and women's outfits, including a couple of RAF uniforms. Some of the clothing was very fashionable, if a couple of years out of date. They had been purchased prior to rationing. Other outfits were more utilitarian and had obviously been purchased with ration points. They were all well made.

OOC,Both of you may roll Spot Hidden.

Archie:

Spot Hidden 40%,[dice]0[/dice]

"Aha!" exclaims Benjamin, pulling out a notebook from one of the uniforms.

The notebook was RAF issue, and it looked like an appointment book. According to it, he had an appointment today at 1400 hours (2:00 PM) with a Squadron Leader Reeves, and a note for 1800 hours (6:00 PM): "Meet Madeline at Liverpool Street Station. Tonight's our last chance, as I go back up tomorrow." Listed on tomorrow's date at 0700 hours was: "New planes arrive. Going back up with Barrow and the rest of the wing."

Archie beams at Benjamin. "I say, well done old boy, you have the eyes of a master craftsman. The others will be interested in this."

"Well, shall we head back to the study, check those last two doors and have a look about down there?"

Archie and Benjamin went down the two flights of stairs to the study and checked the doors. One led to a water closet, the other to the regular kind of closet. The latter seemed to be full of various odds and ends.

Archie gives the study and the regular closet a more careful search, feeling they might be rooms containing useful clues, devil-worshipping paraphernalia etc.

Archie:

Spot Hidden 40%,[dice]0[/dice]

There was nothing of interest in the closet, but both men found some documents in the desk.

Benjamin found some old correspondence stored in one of the desk drawers that the Steadmans had apparently been saving. Most of the letters seemed irrelevant, but he did find one of interest. Holding it up to the lamp, he was able to read it:

"September 25, 1938
Providence, Rhode Island, USA

Dear Captain Steadman,

Thank you for showing an interest in my discovery. To be honest, I had had no idea of its value when I first found it. One finds all sorts of detritus when fishing on an industrial scale, but this is the oddest thing I have ever seen. It looks nothing so much like a tiny coffin, undoubtedly very old. I did not want to risk opening it, for fear of damaging it or its contents, but I had it X-rayed at Brown University. There is some kind of small stone within, perhaps a crystal or gemstone. They believe it to be at least five thousand years old. If you are ever in Providence, feel free to drop by and examine it, though that does not seem likely to happen any time soon considering the current political situation. I fear your country may be at war within a week, and you will doubtless be called to duty in its defense in that event. Should you wish to purchase the artifact, I will entertain your offer, though you will need to make it a good one. There has been interest in it from both Brown University and Miskatonic University in Arkham, Massachusetts.

Sincerely,
Captain Dominick Travers"

Archie found a ledger in another of the desk drawers.

OOC,Both of you may roll Accounting if you want to look through the ledger.

Archie:

Accounting 21%,[dice]0[/dice]

OOC:   Unexpectedly, Archie has a few points in this skill! But no luck.

Being a tailor, Benjamin knows a thing or two about book keeping, but these ledgers seem a bit beyond him.

Accounting 40%,[dice]0[/dice]

Both men reviewed the ledger, but they couldn't see anything that caught their attention.

Archie pauses to think what else should be done. "Benjamin, I don't think we should stay much longer, we don't want to be discovered. One last thing I'd like to check are their bedside cabinets. I might just do that quickly now."

Archie quietly heads back to the master bedroom to so check.

The clock on the desk said it was almost 9:00 AM now. They'd been burglarizing the house for most of an hour.

Archie and Benjamin went back upstairs to the master bedroom and checked the bedside nightstands, but there was nothing out of the ordinary in their drawers.

While they're there, Archie checks under the bed and generally searches the room.

"Ok, shall we get back to the others and tell them about the 6 o'clock appointment?" Benjamin whispers.

Archie found nothing further under the bed or elsewhere in the room.

Archie nods. "Let's get out of here." He makes for the broken back door.

Benjamin and Archie left through the back door, into the alley behind the house.

OOC,[b]Benjamin[/b], please roll Luck, as you have the lower Luck score.

The alley was as deserted as it had been when they had arrived. By setting the door in its frame, Archie and Benjamin were able to make sure that it didn't look the slightest bit out of the ordinary. Nobody would know there was anything amiss with it until trying to open it.

Archie nods, satisfied with their work. "Right, Benjamin, I think we should make best time back to the sanitarium. We can show the others what we've found. I suppose we head for the tube but keep an eye out for a taxi."

OOC:   I'm not sure what became of the famous London cabs with petrol rationing. If Archie can see a cab, he'll hail it. He can afford it.

Benjamin started looking around for a cab.

Luck 55%,[dice]0[/dice]

Archie and Benjamin were in luck. When they reached Queensway, they saw a black cab pulled up alongside the curb not far from the Tube station entrance. The driver was a young woman with black hair and a friendly smile. "Hop in, gents!" she said. "Where to?"

Archie gives the driver a friendly nod. "Maxwell's sanitarium if you please old son."

The cabbie guffawed. "I'm neither old nor anyone's son," she said, "but all right." She pulled out once the two men got in and headed east on Queensway.

OOC,It'll take a little while for the other thread to advance enough in time before I merge them, but feel free to converse in the meantime.

Archie laughs. "I do beg your pardon young lady. I was in a world of my own and I'm still used to taxi drivers being generally, ah, men. Please forgive my lack of attention. I don't know where we should be if so many young women were not prepared to start taking on these hard jobs as the men head off to serve."

"Quite all right, sir," said the female cabbie, "and thank you. I'm rather suited to the job. My father's a cabbie too, and he taught me the Knowledge. The name's Rebecca Hanson."

"Delighted to meet you Miss Hanson. Archie Pennyfeather, navy chaplain, at your service. Of course, we've all heard of the famous 'knowledge' that taxi drivers must have. You should be very proud to have achieved that."

"Likewise," said Rebecca. "It isn't easy. I do have an advantage though. I've always had an excellent memory, which is essential for this job. Especially this week. You never know which streets are going to be blocked off by craters or UXBs from the night before. I always have to prepared to find the best alternate route."

Archie nods. "Well, I think you're very brave and clever."

He pauses and thinks for a moment, before going on in a 'making conversation' tone. "Tell me, as a matter of interest, what's the strangest sight you've encountered on the streets in the last few weeks? I imagine you've seen a great deal since the blitz started."

"Thank you kindly," said Rebecca. "The strangest sight? Well, yesterday morning I saw a parachute stuck on a lamppost. At first I had to wonder if maybe a parachutist or a downed pilot had dropped in, but then I saw it had an unexploded mine attached to it. Had it struck the ground or a building nearby it would have gone off. Sheer luck, I suppose. Well, I drove away right quick, found the nearest phone booth, and called it in."

Archie shakes his head. "Heaven forfend! Demonstrating my point about your bravery though. Well, all taxi drivers shall be added to my evening prayers now."

Archie lapses into a meditative silence. A moment later, he turns to Benjamin. "I say old boy, let's have a quick look through that notebook you found. We have a little bit of time."

Archie:

Know 90%,[dice]0[/dice]

Archie hadn't heard of Squadron Leader Reeves before, but he had to be fairly high up in the RAF given his rank, which was higher than Steadman's.

As the cab entered East London, the bomb damage became more evident and some roads were blocked off, but Rebecca was good at finding alternate routes. She soon pulled up outside Maxwell's Sanitarium, and the gentlemen paid her and bade her farewell before entering.

OOC,Everyone is moving to the thread linked below:

Burning Daylight