[D20 CoC] Beyond the Mountains of Madness Campaign - Prologue

[Job]

The Ballroom

Once the police arrived, the ballroom was sealed. Any guests who had not departed the ballroom by that time received a brief questioning by the police, their names and pertinent information written down, and one by one they were escorted to the lobby desk where further information was collected by another uniformed officer.

James Starkweather, William Moore, and a few other individuals were each led from the ballroom by armed policemen.

Anyone caring to later revisit and search the ballroom on their own would see armed guards posted at each entrance and numerous officers milling about in the corridors.

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Job (the tortured one).

 

[Dallas4lr]

double post, sorry

 

[Dallas4lr]

did it again

 

[Dallas4lr]

As the fog of sleep begins to fade, the swaying motion of the carriage gently rouses Father Rucker as they depart Salem. The driver gives a few quick shakes of the reins and steers the horses south to Arkham, their final destination. With the driver quickening the pace the ride has become a bit bumpy helping Father Rucker in shaking off the last remnants of sleep. At that moment Father Rucker noticed his two colleagues fast a sleep. Almost instinctively he reached for the handbag that has been at has side since boarding the carriage. While watching both Mrs. James and Father Brown out the corner of his eye, Father Rucker carefully opens the clasp and slowly opens the bag ever so slightly. He gingerly slides his hand inside the bag, carefully confirming that nothing is missing. Once he is satisfied that all is well, Father Rucker carefully closes the bag and becomes engaged in some deep thought.

Father Rucker ponders his future meeting with his dear friend Dr. Moore, and considers how jubilant he will be to discover that he intends to accompany Dr. Moore to the Antarctic. With the duties of the parish far behind him, Father Rucker realizes how much of his time will be free during the long journey.

“That will be the perfect opportunity for me to further my studies, I am determined to crack these ciphers” he thought hardly containing his excitement.

As evening took hold and the sun began to abate, the carriage arrives at the Arkham train station. As the driver dismounts a bunch of porters rush over to the carriage to assist the passengers with their crates and baggage. As the removal of these items come to a close Father Rucker realizes the mood of the group becoming more somber, as they realize this may be their last moments together.

 

[The Shaman]

Emerging from the bathroom with the traces of the madman scrubbed away from his skin and hair, Paco exchanges a bathrobe for a pair of longjohns. The bloody suit is hung from the hook on the back of the bathroom door, to be dealt with later.

Paco looks to his roommate. “Señor Liuzzi...” he begins, then stops. “Señor, it appears we may be traveling to the end of the world together, if the...” he pauses, choosing his words carefully, “if tonight did not jeopardize our chances, that is. I am Fráncisco, or Paco, if you prefer.” The Chilean offers the engineer a wan smile.

Before he continues there is a loud knock at the door. The policeman in the hall looks at Paco with the intense diffidence of the keepers of the peace. “Certainly, señor,” Paco replies. “One moment.” From his trunk he hurriedly pulls a pair of trousers and a shirt and slips them on over his union suit, followed by socks and boots. He picks up his passport and the letter from Starkweather and slips them into his pocket, then slides the chain from the door.

 

[Taokan]

A sudden knock on the door of her room interrupted Camille's half-hearted focus on the exciting world of a French to English dictionary that had been mistakenly packed with her clothes. It was a lucky find, as she tended to lapse into French as her sketchy knowledge of English simply could not cover complex situations or, indeed, frustrating ones. May all the dearly departed Kings help her if she ever had to explain the inner workings of an engine.

Warily peeking through the tiny opening the locking chain permitted, Camille was extremely glad that she had cleaned herself up. The dour-looking policeman (or what the Americans passed off as such) peering back at her would decidedly not have been impressed by a gore-splattered Frenchwoman. "Hello, Ms. Bardier? Would you come with me, please? Our detective has a few questions he'd like to ask you."

Once again, Camille's survival instincts restrained undue sarcasm. Barely. "I am only too eager to...," here she quickly glanced at the dictionary she still held, "facilitate the proceedings. If you'll m'excuser..." Hurriedly stuffing the dictionary, her international passport, and her letter to Monsieur Starkweather into her travel carry-on bag with one hand, and grabbing her flight jacket with the other, Camille spun back around to the policeman.

"La police shall question at will, sir." Unhurriedly exiting her room and heading to the hotel lobby, where Camille presumed the interrogation would take place. It would most likely be a mass questioning of the hotel, too. Bloody Americans...

 

[Job]

To the waiting

Each policeman separately leads Paco, Martin, and Camille from their rooms to the elevator down the hall, descending to the basement level.

OOC - None of the characters see each during this trip.

You follow your escort through a maze of service corridors, stopping at one of a number of doors along the way. The policeman opens the door and motions for you to enter. The room appears to be a small conference room decorated with wood paneling and gold rug, comfortably furnished with a 5-foot round wooden table in the center surrounded by four dark brown leather chairs, a matching leather couch against the wall, and a small buffet table with a pitcher of ice water and glasses.

The policeman tells you to make yourself comfortable and that a detective would be arriving soon to ask you a few questions. He leaves and closes the door.

 

[Job]

Questioning Paco

Here follows some descriptions of the private questioning of Paco.
[sblock]
After you waited a fair period of time in the small room, you heard a soft knock on the door just before it opened. An elderly uniformed policeman entered your room followed by a man in a rumpled shirt, slacks, and overcoat. The detective seated himself in the leather couch without saying a word. The policeman, standing ramrod straight with a crisp, military-like bearing, remained standing and began the questioning.

“Good evening Mr. Guerini. Thank you for joining us to answer a few questions. I am Supervisor Mills of the New York City Police Department and with me is Detective Hansen.”

OOC – To speed things up, I’m skipping some of the opening questions that we already know the answers to; for example, I’ll not trouble you to write an answer to Supervisor Mills’ general questions asking for your character’s descriptions about what happened. We now rejoin the questioning in progress.

Supervisor Mills continues: “Mr. Guerini, please tell me what prompted you to follow Mr. LeBlanc and run towards the individual who was approaching the stage.”

Supervisor Mills immediately follows your answer with this question: “Did you actually see the gun in the hand of the individual who was approaching the stage?”

Then another: “Mr. Guerini, now that you’ve told me what happened and how you came to be here this evening, I’d like to ask a few questions about some of the other guests at the banquet. What do you know of Mr. Martin LeBlanc?"

And another: “Perhaps, Mr. Guerini, you noticed a woman who appeared to be calmly sitting, and eating, at a table near the struggle? Do you know her?”
[/sblock]
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Job (the tortured one).

 

[Job]

Questioning Martin

Here follows some descriptions of the private questioning of Martin.
[sblock]
After you waited a fairly long period of time in the small room--you would guess at least an hour or more--you heard a single sharp rap on the door just before it opened. An elderly uniformed policeman briskly walked into your room followed by a man in a rumpled shirt, slacks, and overcoat. The detective seated himself in the leather couch without saying a word, looking disinterested. The policeman, standing ramrod straight with a crisp, military-like bearing, remained standing and began the questioning.

“Good evening Mr. LeBlanc. I am Supervisor Mills of the New York City Police Department. I need your help, Mr. LeBlanc, and I trust that you'll answer my questions truthfully and to the best of your ability?” As the policeman speaks, you become aware that he is carefully studying you, searching your face and taking notice of any body movements.

Apparently waiting for an acknowledgement from you, Supervisor Mills pauses and fishes in his jacket pocket to retrieve a cigarette case and box of matches, then puts a cigarette in his mouth, lights it while taking a deep pull, then forcefully blows the smoke towards the ceiling. After he puts the cigarette case and matches back in his pocket, he returns his attention to you.

OOC – To speed things up, I’m skipping some of the opening questions that we already know the answers to; for example, I’ll not trouble you to write an answer to Supervisor Mills’ general questions asking for your character’s descriptions about what happened. We now rejoin the questioning in progress.

Supervisor Mills continues his questioning: "Mr. LeBlanc, had you ever met Lawrence Longfellow, the individual who was walking towards the stage, before tonight?"

He follows that question with another: “And Mr. LeBlanc, how do you suppose that you were the only one in a crowd of well over 100 guests--the only one--to see a gun in the hand of Mr. Longfellow as he approached the stage?”

Then he asks another: “Mr. LeBlanc, after you noticed the gun and yelled, why would you risk your life to chase down an individual who you knew had a gun?"

And another: “Mr. LeBlanc, do you know the woman who appeared to be calmly sitting, and eating, at a table near your struggle?”
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Job (the tortured one).

 

[Job]

Questioning Camille

Here follows some descriptions of the private questioning of Camille.
[sblock]
After you waited a long, long period of time in the small room--you would guess at least two hours--you hear a soft knock on your door just before it opens. A man in a rumpled shirt, slacks, and overcoat--the same man you had seen enter the hotel lobby earlier that evening with an elderly policeman--walks into your room, leaving the door partially open. He nods to you and says "Hello Ms. Bardier. I am Detective Hansen and this gentleman...", his voice trails off and he waves in someone who's standing outside the room. His partner, the elderly cop, walks in, smiling, and the Detective continues, "This gentleman is Supervisor Mills. We have a few questions that we need to ask you about tonight."

Detective Hansen closes the door and both policemen take seats around the table.

In a low voice, Detective Hansen begins speaking, “Ms Bardier, please accept my apology for keeping you waiting so long, and for asking you to come out to talk to us after such a difficult evening."

OOC – To speed things up, I’m skipping some of the opening questions that we already know the answers to; for example, I’ll not trouble you to write an answer to Supervisor Mills’ general questions asking for your character’s descriptions about what happened. We now rejoin the questioning in progress.

After some leisurely questioning during what can best be described as a friendly chat, Detective Hansen asks: "Ms. Bardier, had you ever met Lawrence Longfellow, the individual who was walking towards the stage, before tonight?"

After your response, he immediately follows that question with another: "And what of Mr. LeBlanc and Mr. Guerini, the two guests who ran up and struggled with Mr. Longfellow?"

And then another: "Ms Bardier, this is very important. Before Mr. LeBlanc knocked Lawrence Longfellow to the floor, did you actually see which individual had the gun?"

After a few follow-up questions, Detective Hansen then gets a very serious look on his face and says “Ms. Bardier, I need your help. I'm hoping that you can clear up some confusion for me. You see, I've checked the guest listing and it's not there. I've looked the guest list over a couple of times now, but can't seem to find your name anywhere. I'm sure that there's probably some simple explanation, but for the life of me, I can't figure it out. Who invited you to this dinner, Ms. Bardier?
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Job (the tortured one).