[D20 CoC] Beyond the Mountains of Madness - Chapter 1; Recruiting Alternate Players

[Taokanf]

"Miss Bardier! Are you alright down there?"

Camille made her way over to the trapdoor, tugging her boot on along the way, which resulted in a curious sort of shuffling hobble. When her whole form was illuminated by the square of light, Camille raised her hand to wave but ended up shielding her eyes from the bright light of the electric torch. "I'm just fine, monsieur! The orginization down here leaves much to be desired though, I must admit. Have we brought along rat poison by any chance?" She added cheerfully.

 

[Job]

Martin quickly reaches into the folder and takes the papers within (and stuffs them into his pocket). He then turns nonchalantly towards the door...

A heartbeat later, the silhouette of a man of medium build walks to the hatchway and stops, looking in. He then steps into the mess hall and you recognize him.

Willard Griffith, Geologist

Willard looks at you for a moment, glances down at your jacket, then scans the makeshift office area, and finally asks, "Have you seen Doctor Moore? I have some equipment problems that require his attention."

[OOC - Martin's rushed attempt to hide the papers][sblock]Martin rolled a 10 (plus Sleight of Hand: 4 (1 Rank, +3 Dex, Non-Core)) = 14
You are unsure whether this succeeded.[/sblock]
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).

 

[Morpheus]

"Alas, I came here looking for the good Doctor also and found him to be absent. I thought I heard a noise over behind the file cabinet and looked to see. You wouldn't happen to have a giant rat trap with you?"

 

[Job]

Camille made her way over to the trapdoor, tugging her boot on along the way, which resulted in a curious sort of shuffling hobble. When her whole form was illuminated by the square of light, Camille raised her hand to wave but ended up shielding her eyes from the bright light of the electric torch. "I'm just fine, monsieur! The organization down here leaves much to be desired though, I must admit. Have we brought along rat poison by any chance?" She added cheerfully.

Professor Moore looked through the floor hatch and down the ladder at Camille, then said, "I must admit that I'm impressed with your tenacity, Miss Bardier, even in the face of our apparent rodent problems. I'm coming down."

Moore grabbed hold of the ladder, swung himself over the opening, and carefully descended. At the bottom, he stepped away from the ladder, nodded at Camille, and then turned his attention to surveying the hold. The professor swept his beam of light over the half-completed wooden structures and scattered clusters of oil drums, then began shaking his head. "This will not do!", he exclaimed, then yelled up the ladder, "Mr. Barrow, please immediately find First Officer Turlow and bring him to me. He should be on the main deck, working with the stevedores. We are in no shape to receive that shipment of aeroplanes!"

In the dim light of the hold's hanging lamps, Camille could see Professor Moore's jawmuscles clenching and unclenching.

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Job (the tortured one).

 

[Job]

"Alas, I came here looking for the good Doctor also and found him to be absent. I thought I heard a noise over behind the file cabinet and looked to see. You wouldn't happen to have a giant rat trap with you?"

Willard eyed Martin momentarily, then replied, "Yes, rats do tend to be a problem on large ships." After a slight pause, he continued, "And you might check with the ship's quartermaster about those traps", then turned and departed the mess hall.

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Job (the tortured one).

 

[Morpheus]

Willard eyed Martin momentarily, then replied, "Yes, rats do tend to be a problem on large ships." After a slight pause, he continued, "And you might check with the ship's quartermaster about those traps", then turned and departed the mess hall.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).

Seeing that the coast is clear, Martin heads to the nearest empty head to look at the papers he found.

 

[Job]

Seeing that the coast is clear, Martin heads to the nearest empty head to look at the papers he found.

Ducking into the hallway's nearby water closet, Martin opens the folder to find a single piece of paper with the following notes, all handwritten in small, neat script:
[sblock]
M.U. Expedition Members

Douglas - Ship's Captain. Returned alive. Hired on as captain for Starkweather-Moore Expedition.

Professors
Atwood - Physicist and meteorologist. Dead.
Dyer - Geologist. Led the rescue at Lake's Camp. Returned alive; current location unknown.
Lake - Biologist and leader of the Lake's Camp group. Dead.
Pabodie - Engineer. Returned alive; currently teaching at Miscatonic University.

Graduate Students
Brennan - Physicist. Dead.
Carroll - Geologist and Pilot. Dead.
Danforth - Biologist and Pilot. Returned alive, hospitalized at Arkham Asylum.
Daniels - Biologist and Pilot. Dead.
Gedney - Engineer. Missing and presumed dead.
Moulton - Geologist, paleontologist, radioman, and pilot. Dead.
Ropes - Physicist and pilot. Returned alive. Location unknown.

Mechanics
Boudreau - Dead.
Fowler - Dead.
McTighe - Returned alive. Radioman at King's Head radio station.
Mills - Dead.
Orrendorf - Dead.
Sherman - Returned alive. Location unknown.
Watkins - Dead.
Williamson - Returned alive. Location unknown.
Wylie - Returned alive. Location unknown.
[/sblock]
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Job (the tortured one).

 

[Morpheus]

Perhaps speaking to this Professor Pabodie before we set sail would be prudent, thinks Martin.

 

[Job]

Perhaps speaking to this Professor Pabodie before we set sail would be prudent, thinks Martin.

Martin ponders the trip to Arkham, Massachusetts, a small town athwart the banks of the Miskatonic River, about 22 miles North-Northeast of Boston. The total distance from New York City is approximately 250 miles, one way, perhaps 8 hours of travel by motorcar, bus, or train.

How might he gain Professor Moore's agreement for his absence?

Another option might be through use of the telephone. If Professor Pabodie would speak to him of such matters over the phone...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Job (the tortured one).

 

[Job]

The professor swept his beam of light over the half-completed wooden structures and scattered clusters of oil drums, then began shaking his head. "This will not do!", he exclaimed, then yelled up the ladder, "Mr. Barrow, please immediately find First Officer Turlow and bring him to me. He should be on the main deck, working with the stevedores. We are in no shape to receive that shipment of aeroplanes!"

In the dim light of the hold's hanging lamps, Camille could see Professor Moore's jawmuscles clenching and unclenching.

In a spasm of furious activity, a multitude of carpenters and stevedores decended into the lower hold and attacked the unfinished scaffolding. While Moore bellowed orders and gesticulated, Camille tested the structures and George stayed out of the way. Øyvind, Enke, and Olav, of course, lifted and carried and pushed and sweated.

Eventually, hours later, all was in order. Professor Moore wiped his brow and dismissed the crew, then thanked the team for their efforts. Before leaving the hold, he flipped through papers on his clipboard to find empty space, touched a pen to his tongue, and began taking copious notes.

So ended another day of preparation.

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Job (the tortured one).