[D20 CoC] Mountains of Madness - Chap 4: Departure; Recruiting Alternate Players

You officially depart the Amherst Hotel on the evening of September 6th, taking all of your belongings in a cab ride to the ship. Your cab pulls up in front of the pier and you exit into the crisp night air. Even from the street, you can clearly hear the hiss and roar of winches and the cries of the men across the water. The driver exits the cab and circles to the rear to retrieve your luggage from the trunk, leaving it at the curb while you pay him.

You pick up your luggage and make your way through the entrance as the guard checks you in with a familiar nod.

The Gabrielle is brightly lit against the darkness of the early evening. The scene is loud and confusing, with shouts, the clang of gasoline barrels, the hum of winches, hammering stevedores, and rumbling dollies. Crews struggle under the lights and the cargo booms are in nearly constant motion overhead. Three of the pier shed's rolling doors are open, facing the Gabrielle and there are clusters of men engaged in activity all along the docks and on the ship's deck.

Bright yellow drums of gasoline are being hoisted aboard and stowed below in an area that you recognize as the number two hold, forward of the deckhouse. Groups of stevedores work in the pier shed and dockside of the ship, moving the drums up to the point where a crane hoists a pie plate sling high into the air to carry them aboard, five drums at a time. You notice that more men labor on the ship's deck at the hatch and you can hear yells from men echoing from below in the hold who are stowing the drums.

At the number three hold, a large gang of stevedores and some of the ship's crew are shoring and tying down two large crates.

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Job (the tortured one).

Øyvind Raknes Sled Driver

The morning had been perfect... Packing up the last of things before the journey, write some final fast postcards to the girl he had knowed in the last weeks in N.Y., promising red roses and champagne at his return, a huge breakfast and read the paper.
At last was the day here when the ship was to leave the pier in seek of adventure and recognition. He was ready he though as he saw Gabrielle been loaded with the final fuel and crates.

'What a day!' 'seems like this baby is going south today' he comments to himself and take the way to Upper Deck and the Crews Mess Hall and look for Mr. Mooretelling him if he was there, if he could be at any assistance.

He does as usual slip a big chunk if snuff under his lip and grab a mug of coffe.

George Barrow - Scientist

George has been worried the last day had he remembered all from the list? was the lab correctly assembled? did he remember to pay that last bill from the apartment, was all his equipment in place at the right hatch?
He arrives the Gabrielle a bit earlier and store his las equipment into his lab and goes to the Crew's Mess Hall and settle down waiting for Dr. Moore to come for the usual morning briefing.

Drowned Hero said:

'What a day!' 'seems like this baby is going south today' he comments to himself and take the way to Upper Deck and the Crews Mess Hall and look for Mr. Mooretelling him if he was there, if he could be at any assistance.

He does as usual slip a big chunk if snuff under his lip and grab a mug of coffe.

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Øyvind is met at the top of the gangway by a crewman who takes him to the Ship's Mess where you meet a blonde-haired man of medium build, dressed neatly in a ship's uniform. You've seen him around the ship before. His collar is unbuttoned but he seems very businesslike, crisply introducing himself as First Officer Paul Turlow. He asks your name and checks it off on a pad of paper, then shows you to your cabin which is just off the messhall.

"You'll be bunked here in cabin 14, Mr. Raknes, and sharing your room with two other crew members: Francisco Guerini, a polar guide, and Martin LeBlanc, a journalist. I'm sure that you've gotten to know the ship pretty well over the past couple of weeks and don't need a tour. Do you have any questions?"

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Job (the tortured one).

Øyvind Raknes Sled Driver

Job said:

"You'll be bunked here in cabin 14, Mr. Raknes, and sharing your room with two other crew members: Francisco Guerini, a polar guide, and Martin LeBlanc, a journalist. I'm sure that you've gotten to know the ship pretty well over the past couple of weeks and don't need a tour. Do you have any questions?"

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'14.. ok yes yes' the journalist ive seen around but a polar guide i haven't seen at all and i think a Italian polar guide i would have noticed' 'going to be fun anyways i think, i cant wait to see one of those king penguins... they say they are quite big animals...

Drowned Hero said:

George [Barrow] ... arrives the Gabrielle a bit earlier and store his last equipment into his lab and goes to the Crew's Mess Hall and settle down waiting for Dr. Moore to come for the usual morning briefing.

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As George departed his room, he noticed a sealed envelope from the Amherst Hotel under his door. Being in a hurry to get to the ship, he tucked it in his suitjacket pocket and left himself a mental reminder to look at it later. "It's probably just a guest survey..," he thought, as he walked down the hallway to the elevator.

Upon his arrival at the SS Gabrielle, George is led by First Officer Turlow to cabin number 13, just off the Mess Hall. Turlow stated that George would be bunking with Vittorio Luzzi, an engineer and demolitionist, and with James Poole, a cartographer and surveyor. He asked George if he had any questions, then left him to settle in.

Similar to the cabin of Øyvind Raknes, the cabin was cramped, barely including enough room for a triple bunk along one wall, a small desk and chair to be shared by the three occupants, and a separate grey metal locker for each man. The circular porthole above the desk provided a small view of the outside, but even so, someone with a touch of claustrophobia would not want to spend much time in here.

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Job (the tortured one).

Drowned Hero said:

'14.. ok yes yes' the journalist ive seen around but a polar guide i haven't seen at all and i think a Italian polar guide i would have noticed' 'going to be fun anyways i think, i cant wait to see one of those king penguins... they say they are quite big animals...

Click to expand...

At that moment, a man of average height and solid build with a deeply tanned and lined face, dressed in a flannel shirt, leather belt, and wool pants, moved into the cabin doorway with his rucksack. “Please excuse me, First Officer." he said as he smiled and slipped into the small room.

He looked over at Øyvind and said “Buenos dias, señor. I am Fráncisco Guerini.” while reaching out to shake his hand. Fráncisco's handshake was very firm, his hands rough to the touch, extremely callused and strong. “I am sorry but I could not help but overhear señor. I am not from Italy. I am from Chile, South America. It is an honor to meet you."

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Job (the tortured one).

Øyvind Raknes Sled Driver

Job said:

He looked over at George and said “Buenos dias, señor. I am Fráncisco Guerini.” while reaching out to shake his hand. Fráncisco's handshake was very firm, his hands rough to the touch, extremely callused and strong. “I am sorry but I could not help but overhear señor. I am not from Italy. I am from Chile, South America. It is an honor to meet you."

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'Chile! is it not Chile that is the last stop before the frozen continent?' 'Yes yes i got a friend from Bergen that travels with the bigger ships that does not fit in the panama canal, making the route from Stavanger to Valparaiso' Øyvind slips a portion of snus under his lip and walks out to the mess hall in search of the days first coffe.

George Barrow Scientist

George has been going from the mess hall to his room and back tending to his personal gear and cloths, organizing and cleaning his locker. After an hour or so he settles down in the mess hall catching a magazine about the latest science discoveries. Why a Yale Scientific Magazine was on board he did not know. But the issue was interesting in this number, applied physics was a quite out of his field but nor less interesting.

Drowned Hero said:

'Chile! is it not Chile that is the last stop before the frozen continent?' 'Yes yes i got a friend from Bergen that travels with the bigger ships that does not fit in the panama canal, making the route from Stavanger to Valparaiso'

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Fráncisco Guerini looked up at Øyvind and said, "Si, señor, my home country is at the end of the Americas. I grew up in the mountains. The mountains of Antarctica will be different, but I will learn their ways. I will feel much better once we leave this city of New York, where life is very noisy."

Fráncisco then opened his rucksack and began to carefully organize his things in an unused locker. While doing that, he commented to Øyvind, "Your friend is from Bergen, the town between the seven mountains? I have heard that it is beautiful there, in Norway."

Pointing to the three levels of bunkbeds, he asked Øyvind, "Have you chosen which bed is yours, señor?"

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Job (the tortured one).