Chapter 2: Day One

[Mephistophilis]

'Oh dear, I could have sworn he said you would have the key, well, never mind'. Harry puts his hand in his pocket and feels the reassuring outline of his lock picks, he makes a rather elaborate show of looking in his other pocket, 'oh bother, I seem to have dropped something, I will just retrace my steps and be back in a minute'

He strolls nonchalantly back to the mausoleum, runs his hands over a few carvings appreciatively, and casually tries his picks on the lock.

Spoiler:

[dice]0[/dice]

[HoneyDog]

Spoiler:

Is it really necessary to break in? Why not just ask Harry for the key as Meddler suggested? Then you can all have a look.

[Mephistophilis]

Spoiler:

Not really, I was only going to see if I could open it and then I'd be able to come and take a look later if we couldn't get the key - I had a hunch he might say no

As the last pin clicked into place Harry tried the handle which turned easily. 'Still got it' he laughed to himself. He quickly locked the door again and turned to walk back to the others. After all, it would be rude to just break in to a gentleman's property without asking first. However, Mr Forby was currently somewhat unpredictable and Harry always liked to have a backup plan.

[aine]

"We can always come back to the mausoleum this evening after dinner." Isolde with a strange glint in her eye. "It will be dark at any time of day. I feel we need to hurry up with finding the treasure if there are other people looking for it too."

[Philulhu]

”Perhaps we need to go back and study Mr Forby’s papers some more?” suggested Vic. “We don’t really seem to have an idea of where to look so that might give us some clues.”

[Mr. Handy]

"Aye, further research is in order," agrees Alexander.

[HoneyDog]

Spoiler:

Harry won't object to providing the key. Are you sure you want to visit the mausoleum in the dark?

[Mephistophilis]

'We still have to take a look at the ice house and quarry. Best we do that in the light then we could do a bit more research in the house. I would rather not look around the mausoleum at night' shivers Harry, 'it can wait until tomorrow I'm sure'.

Spoiler:

If there's no objection I'll take my last entry out of the OOC tags into a normal entry and Harry will have locked the door again

[Mr. Handy]

"All right, then, we'll use the light while we've got it," says Alexander. "The books aren't going anywhere, and I can always do research by candlelight. Though I think electricity would make a far more efficient light source."

[HoneyDog]

Fred agrees to fetch the key, and about twenty minutes later the companions are back at the mausoleum.

Harry unlocks the door, which creaks slowly open to reveal a square chamber with empty wall niches for coffins. On the walls are carved friezes of Forby House as it must have been in Nicholas’ time, with the sculpture of Icarus depicted in the center of a smooth lawn. Behind the house, a curious hollow in the ground is represented.

In the center of the vault is a stone sarcophagus, bearing the name Nicholas Forby. The panels are carved with biblical and other scenes; there is Saturn devouring his young, Leviathan, Lazarus rising from the dead, and Christ casting demons into a herd of pigs. The detail is evocative and quite grotesque.

Spoiler:

Roll SAN on viewing the carvings! If you fail, you lose 1 SAN point.

[Mephistophilis]

Harry Brown shuddered at the sight of the carvings, there was something malevolent about the work, as if the sculptor took some kind of pleasure in the grotesque scenes.

Spoiler:

[dice]0[/dice]

'I am very glad we did not follow your suggestion to come here in the dark Isolde'. Harry strikes a match and holds it up to the frieze, 'what do you suppose that hole is supposed to be? I wonder if we could find its location now?'

[aine]

Isolde smiles, "Yes, these friezes are macabre enough in the daytime, I'm glad we got the key now. Look, no roses are depicted here. And we might be able to find the hollow; can you use your scientific methods, Alexander?" She looks carefully at the artwork; is it the same style as the work outside?

[Philulhu]

Vic walked around the mausoleum, slightly awestruck at the depictions within. They seemed the product of a talented, if disturbed, mind. Looking carefully at the hollow, she said to Alexander, ”This seems to have some significance. Do you think the hollow is still there?”

Spoiler:

SAN check (60%) - [dice]0[/dice] Tweaked my original post, given Fred’s absence.

[Mr. Handy]

"He was quite the striking artist," says Alexander. He goes over to examine the carving showing the hollow. "Aye, let me work out where exactly this is on the grounds."

Spoiler:

Sanity roll (current level 83) for seeing the carvings: [dice]0[/dice]

[HoneyDog]

Spoiler:

Sorry, Fred isn’t there. Isolde still needs a SAN roll.

[aine]

Spoiler:

[dice]0[/dice]

[Philulhu]

Spoiler:

Sorry, Fred isn’t there. Isolde still needs a SAN roll.

Spoiler:

I’ve amended Vic’s post so she talks to Alexander.

[Mr. Handy]

Spoiler:

The spoiler button for Isolde's Sanity will not open because there is an apostrophe in the spoiler button's display text. It's okay to have apostrophes inside the spoiler button, but if the display text contains them, the button will not open. You can still read the contents by quoting or editing a post, but you can't see what the dice roll results are that way. You should edit the spoiler button text to remove the apostrophe.

[HoneyDog]

Spoiler:

Thanks everyone for your adjustments and edits. Sorry, I've been away last couple of days. What would you like to do now? Will you explore the mausoleum further? Or go back to the house with your questions? The time is now about 4pm and there is plenty of daylight left, but the companions will be feeling quite tired from the day's heat. If you have the patience, it's worth reading through the thoughts and actions you've already had and taken - it's easy to forget small details which might be important because of the length this format of playing forces us to undergo. 我慢!

[Mr. Handy]

Spoiler:

I wanted to find the location on the grounds corresponding to where the hollow was depicted in the carvings and see if anything is there.