Resurrection City 1: The Adventure of the Sealed Room

[Ferrix]

Aiolos gives a warm smile to those who greet him, nodding as introductions are held and proffering a hearty handshake to everyone.

"Good, good. The dig in el-Amarna went quite well, there were a number of paintings and artwork we excavated from the palace there. Quite a wonderful find, Petrie and I did discover. But, what brings us here, to your estate?"

 

[Andrew D. Gable]

But, what brings us here, to your estate?

"Ahh, to the point as always, Mr. Shaw. Please, come in." Arthur turns and leads the group into a foyer, with Italian marble floors and walls panelled in a rich, dark wood. A carpeted staircase rises against the right wall, and at the base of this are a set of double doors. Before these, Arthur pauses, a servant emerging from the door opposite. "Jeremy will take your hats and jackets."

He leads the party through the double doors into a sitting-room, done up in a red-and-gold motif. Exquisitely carved reproductions of Michelangelo's "Bacchus" and other Romanesque sculpture alternates with the windows in the room. He ushers the group to take seats in the room, and he offers brandy to anyone who wants a glass. He pours himself one and sits down in a leather chair.

"Now then, gentlemen, I suppose I had better explain the affairs here. Trevor, perhaps you remember hearing of my grandfather Thomas? The one who married your aunt Andrea in '42? Well, at any rate, my grandfather was a sorcerer and alchemist of no small talents. His wife, by all accounts, was a slattern - no judgment on your own breeding, Trevor. As the story goes, one night in 1843, I believe it was, around the same time as my father's birth, Thomas caught Andrea in the midst of a forbidden tryst with one of the servants. Angered, he cast one of his magicks upon the servant, and cast him into Limbo, never to be seen again. The other servants were told that the man had been caught stealing, and fled to Australia. At this, he had finally broken my grandmother's will.

"Not long thereafter, my grandfather's experiments with the beings of what that man Carnacki calls the Astarral proved too much for him. He called up some sort of elemental that tore him to shreds."

[Make Spot rolls]

 

[JimAde]

"Now then, gentlemen, I suppose I had better explain the affairs here. Trevor, perhaps you remember hearing of my grandfather Thomas? The one who married your aunt Andrea in '42? Well, at any rate, my grandfather was a sorcerer and alchemist of no small talents. His wife, by all accounts, was a slattern - no judgment on your own breeding, Trevor.

Trevor's brandy snifter pauses halfway to his mouth. Sorcerer? Alchemist? What is Arthur playing at?

As the story goes, one night in 1843, I believe it was, around the same time as my father's birth, Thomas caught Andrea in the midst of a forbidden tryst with one of the servants. Angered, he cast one of his magicks upon the servant, and cast him into Limbo, never to be seen again. The other servants were told that the man had been caught stealing, and fled to Australia. At this, he had finally broken my grandmother's will.

"Not long thereafter, my grandfather's experiments with the beings of what that man Carnacki calls the Astarral proved too much for him. He called up some sort of elemental that tore him to shreds."

[Make Spot rolls]

[OOC: Spot Check=5 + 0 for, well everything. 5 total. I'll assume I missed whatever it was...]

"Arthur, I believe that is the most preposterous thing I have ever heard. And believe me, that takes some doing. Bad enough that you drag us out her on such a ludicrous pretext, but to insult my grandmother's sister into the bargain is really a bit much." He pauses for a moment, swirling his glass. "If you didn't have such excellent brandy I believe I'd leave," he says, finishing off his snifter.

 

[Old Fezziwig]

"I, of course, am Arthur Pellgraine. Welcome, Frater DEDI, and who is this with you? And Mr. Shaw, I see. I trust you've been well since our last meeting?" He gestures toward the well-dressed man and the priest. "Allow me to introduce my cousin, Trevor McAllistair, the Baron Walsingham, and our local priest, Andrew Miller."

Jamison smiles pleasantly and introduces himself politely, but somewhat informally to each of the men as "Jamison O'Fingal Diggory of the Metropolitan Police."

He leads the party through the double doors into a sitting-room, done up in a red-and-gold motif. Exquisitely carved reproductions of Michelangelo's "Bacchus" and other Romanesque sculpture alternates with the windows in the room. He ushers the group to take seats in the room, and he offers brandy to anyone who wants a glass. He pours himself one and sits down in a leather chair.

"Brandy? Wouldn't mind if I did, thank you." Jamison finds a seat from which he can observe all of the people in the room. In the event he can't do this, he finds a seat that allows him to watch both DEDI and Pellgraine.

"Now then, gentlemen, I suppose I had better explain the affairs here. Trevor, perhaps you remember hearing of my grandfather Thomas? The one who married your aunt Andrea in '42? Well, at any rate, my grandfather was a sorcerer and alchemist of no small talents..."

Although attentive at first, at the mention of Pellgraine's grandfather Thomas, Diggory begins to daydream a bit, short meditations on the notion of free will in Milton's Paradise Lost and the apocryphal gospel of Nicodemus. Before he can really direct his mental energies into this, however, he hears the word "sorcerer" and snaps to attention, carefully looking at Pellgraine...

"Arthur, I believe that is the most preposterous thing I have ever heard. And believe me, that takes some doing. Bad enough that you drag us out her on such a ludicrous pretext, but to insult my grandmother's sister into the bargain is really a bit much." He pauses for a moment, swirling his glass. "If you didn't have such excellent brandy I believe I'd leave..."

Jamison shakes his head, smirking. "There are more things in heaven and earth, Baron Walsingham, than are dreamt of in your philosophy."

[Spot Check: roll of 11 on 1d20, +6 Spot, total 17]

 

[Ferrix]

He ushers the group to take seats in the room, and he offers brandy to anyone who wants a glass. He pours himself one and sits down in a leather chair.

"Ah, brandy would be just right," Aiolos says as he accepts a glass.

"Now then, gentlemen...that tore him to shreds."

Waits as the story goes, enjoyably wafting the brandy under his nose and taking the occasional nip.

He pauses for a moment, swirling his glass. "If you didn't have such excellent brandy I believe I'd leave," he says, finishing off his snifter.

Aiolos chuckles agreeably, taking another sip from the snifter.

OOC: Spot roll 18 + 4 = 22

 

[Andrew D. Gable]

"Perhaps, Arthur, I should elaborate on your story before you unintentionally insult any other of our visitors," says DEDI, rising to his feet. The London occultist surveys the others before continuing. His voice plainly shows that he is of Irish, or possibly Scots, and not English, extraction. "Arthur speaks the truth about Thomas' deeds, at least in part. He was an occultist, and one with much potential, but, alas, he died whilst young and before his talents were truly developed. I would somewhat hesitate to term such a man a 'great sorcerer'."

Arthur scowls at DEDI as he seats himself after his speech, and continues his tale. "At any rate, I've heard tell that the servant who was assigned the task of cleaning the room wherein Thomas was killed worked for a week at the bloodstains on the floor and walls but every day they returned, fresh as ever. When this was brought out, Andrea insisted that the study be walled over and sealed, and it was shortly thereafter that she became mad. She was sent to Essex Hall asylum in Colchester. And that you can verify, Trevor, can you not?" He smirks a bit, and continues. "Since that day in 1845, there have been strange sounds to be heard in this house, groans and occasional screams, all seeming to have their centre in the old study. Today, gentlemen, we are to break down the wall Andrea built, and be the first folk in nearly a half-century to venture into my grandfather's study. I feel certain DEDI's order would find these things of interest, as I am likewise certain all of Thomas' occult books, papers, and other apparatus are there in that study." He pours himself another brandy, and once more offers more to anyone else who would like another. "And now I shall endeavour to answer any questions you may have."

[Check the OOC thread for the results of the Spot checks]

 

[Karl Green]

[OCC sorry I am slow]

Spot roll 7 +5 =12

Listening to Arthur, Andrew shakes his head, thinking poor deluded fellow. When the DEDI chap speaks Andrew is more worried about the poor soul of Arthur then ever before, but he remains silent... often times it is best to deal with charlatins and con artists by tripping them up in their lies. Ones he gets more information he will expose this...fellow.

[Sense movite roll 9 +11 =20 to get the feel for this DEDI]

 

[Old Fezziwig]

Jamison cocks an eyebrow briefly at what he sees. He makes a mental note to look into it later, if possible.

"And now I shall endeavour to answer any questions you may have."

"A couple thoughts, sir, if you don't mind me offering them." Jamison clears his throat. "Are you sure that Andrea had no interest in the occult? How do you know that he was killed by some sort of conjured creature? I guess, I should be clear -- although I am sympathetic to your story and certainly interested in the contents of the study and its books, my training and vocation demand that I ask these questions. It's not to say that it isn't possible or true, just that something isn't adding up here. What did you say your source for this story was?" Jamison looks up hopefully, unsure if he's asking the right questions; the thought of the study being filled with occult lore has clouded his judgement somewhat, regardless of his training and vocation.

 

[JimAde]

Trevor shakes his head in disbelief. "Arthur, I'm as interested in family history as the next fellow, so I'll participate in this parlor game of yours. But surely you don't take all this 'sorcerer' claptrap seriously." He takes a sip of his new brandy. "And my Aunt Andrea, God rest her soul, was an ill woman. But that's all the more reason to avoid dragging her dirty linen into public." He finishes the brandy with another swig and looks pensive. Then quietly, almost to himself, he says, "One should never speak ill of the dead."

 

[Andrew D. Gable]

"A couple thoughts, sir, if you don't mind me offering them." Jamison clears his throat. "Are you sure that Andrea had no interest in the occult? How do you know that he was killed by some sort of conjured creature...What did you say your source for this story was?"

"As to the question of Andrea's interest in these occult matters, I'm fairly certain she had none. As to the source of the story - Rachel!" A girl of no more than perhaps sixteen sticks her head through the doorway from the library she is cleaning - "please fetch my grandmother's diary, will you?" She comes in a moment later toting a small book bound in burgundy leather and lays it on the table. Arthur nods slightly when she does so. "There's a fine girl," he says, gazing at her approvingly as she leaves the room.

"There is my source for the majority of my story, Inspector," says Arthur. "Except for the bit about the bloodstains. That story has been passed about and circulated through the household for a half-century now."

"Arthur, I'm as interested in family history as the next fellow, so I'll participate in this parlor game of yours. But surely you don't take all this 'sorcerer' claptrap seriously."

"But of course I do. Why should I not? As the inspector here says, truth is often stranger than fiction. As to whether you take it seriously, we shall see, we shall see."

[Karl:

Spoiler

Sense Motive on DEDI reveals that he's telling the truth of the matter in an attempt to placate Baron Walsingham. Arthur was the one elaborating the story. Moreover, DEDI seems eager to rush things along and get his hands on the stuff in the room; basic psychology tells you he doesn't like Arthur's company too much.

]