Resurrection City 2: The Adventure of the Iron Knives

[Old Fezziwig]

[Intelligence check against DC 14, roll of 10 on d20, +1 Int, total 11, failure]

Diggory quietly listens to the medical men talk. Revoked? "Er, 'revoked,' Dr. Westcott? I'm not sure that I'm followin' ye right now."

 

[Andrew D. Gable]

"Er, 'revoked,' Dr. Westcott? I'm not sure that I'm followin' ye right now."

Diggory listens again, and still can't place exactly where he had heard Westcott's voice before. But there it is, right on the tip of his tongue...

"Yes, revoked. Think of this dead man as a tool, animated by... whatever black magician or necromancer would do such a thing. A portion of the will was introduced, then taken back when the shell's purpose - the killing of Mr Cartwright - was complete. Like a golem, Inspector, you recognize that tale, surely. But - oh, I fear we've lost Inspector Longtree."

Longtree lounges against an empty slab next to the blind man's. He shakes his head, grinning. "You're an odd one, Dr. Westcott. Why, if I had to guess, I'd say you spent all your time up there at the British Museum with that Yeats fellow and that strange Mathers couple."

(Diggory only)

Spoiler

...Vita brevis, gloria aeternum...

That's it! Now Diggory places Dr. Westcott. One of three masters of the Golden Dawn, and the "founder" of which Yeats spoke earlier...

Dr. Westcott scowls at Longtree.

 

[Jarval]

Richard chuckles at Longtree's quip, but quickly stops when he sees the black look Dr. Westcott directs in the Inspector's direction.

"Ah, while I've got very little experience on such matters, doesn't some magical reanimation of a dead man seem a little far fetched. There must surely be some scientific explanation?"

 

[Old Fezziwig]

Diggory nods in response to Westcott's answer, as he reminds himself to reread Shelley's novel. His eyes briefly get wide before returning to a more neutral state when Longtree interrupts. Grinning at Dr. Hewitt, Jamison says, "Must there always be a scientific answer fer everything, Doctor?"

 

[JimAde]

Diggory nods in response to Westcott's answer, as he reminds himself to reread Shelley's novel. His eyes briefly get wide before returning to a more neutral state when Longtree interrupts. Grinning at Dr. Hewitt, Jamison says, "Must there always be a scientific answer fer everything, Doctor?"

"Not long ago, I would have said 'Yes' to that question," Trevor interjects. He looks at the body on the slab and continues, "Now I'm not so sure. Or at least not sure science has advanced to a state where it can answer all questions."

He turns to address Inspector Longtree. "Even if this fellow died hours before he got on the train, that is still today. Any hope of figuring out who he might have been?"

 

[Jarval]

Diggory nods in response to Westcott's answer, as he reminds himself to reread Shelley's novel. His eyes briefly get wide before returning to a more neutral state when Longtree interrupts. Grinning at Dr. Hewitt, Jamison says, "Must there always be a scientific answer fer everything, Doctor?"

"Perhaps not, but I am reluctant to abandon all logic or methodical thought to the possibility that something supernatural may have been involved." Richard replies. "I've spent too many years as a man of science to so quickly lose my confidence in its ability to find solutions to even the trickiest of problems."

 

[Andrew D. Gable]

"Ah, while I've got very little experience on such matters, doesn't some magical reanimation of a dead man seem a little far fetched. There must surely be some scientific explanation?"

Westcott grins under his massive beard. "I suppose if the body was stored post-mortem under certain conditions, that could account for this," Westcott says. "But I find none of those conditions present in Longtree's story. Possibly..." he points towards where the knife pulled from Cartwright's chest lies on the side-table. "Possibly it is some property of contact with this knife? Though I know of no substance which would cause such a reaction. Longtree tells me you gentlemen found a similar knife at Jeremiah Oldacre's? Have any of you noted any... odd conditions?"

"I was the one who found the knife," Miller pipes up. "And I did feel... rather light-headed just a bit ago. Like my feet were weighted to the pavement."

"Even if this fellow died hours before he got on the train, that is still today. Any hope of figuring out who he might have been?"

"It's possible, though it'll take some time," Longtree responds. "I think it's probably safe to assume that whoever he was in life, he was native to Chiswick, where you first encountered him, Middlesex almost certainly. I can send some men to comb funeral homes and mortuaries for deaths that occurred today. Whoever he was, he won't have been buried yet. Then we'll have to call in families to do some viewings of the body. I can probably get the aid of the Chiswick constabulary, and most of the other departments of the Metropolitan Police here in the Middlesex sections of London. I've no idea how long it'll take to do that."

There is a knock at the door to the morgue, and Longtree excuses himself and answers it. "Send them in," you hear him say. "The lads I sent 'round to Cartwright's home, in Mortlake," he says, turning to the group. A moment later, a small gang of constables rushes in, toting a cardboard hatbox, which they deposit on one of the vacant slabs. They open it and remove its contents.

"Here ye are, sir, everything that looked to be of interest," one of the men says. He removes a small stack of papers, covered in a bizarre jumble of three number sets. Next to it, he sits a small box. A cursory examination reveals that, unsurprisingly to the group, it bears the address of John McCarthy. Finally, he withdraws a small book.

Everyone give me two checks: two Sense Motive rolls, DCs are 12 and 20 respectively.

 

[Old Fezziwig]

[Sense Motive DC 12, roll of 16, +2 Wis (unskilled), total 18, success]
[Sense Motive DC 20, roll of 13, +2 Wis (unskilled), total 15, failure]

Jamison gapes at the stack of papers. Bloody hell. That's quite the hobby he had there. "Would ye be minding my takin' a glance at the book there?" Diggory reaches into his pocket, removing his identification. "Inspector Diggory, if it helps."

 

[Jarval]

Richard looks with interest at the papers, the number sets having particularly caught his eye.

(OoC: DC 12 Sense Motive check: 18 (roll) + 0 (Wis) = 18.
DC 20 Sense Motive check: 7 (roll) + 0 (Wis) = 7.
Knowledge (Physical sciences) check: 3 (roll) + 9 (skill mod) = 12.)

 

[Andrew D. Gable]

"Would ye be minding my takin' a glance at the book there?" Diggory reaches into his pocket, removing his identification. "Inspector Diggory, if it helps."

The constable looks briefly to Longtree. When he nods, the patrolman slides the book over to where Diggory stands.

The book is a diary, belonging to Horatio Cartwright. Entries are mundane and tedious, noting a bank transaction here, a seduction there, and so on inanely for many pages. The entry marked '24 June' details the death of Horatio's father, Elias Cartwright, in a cab accident.

Thereafter, the entries become more interesting. On 28 June - the day of Elias' funeral and Jeremiah Oldacre's death - Horatio says that after the ceremony, he returned to the house and began going through his father's things. He finds a package addressed to himself, and within is a smaller package marked For Use at the Black Lion Hotel, Truro, a letter to Horatio, and a letter to Oldacre - the one Cartwright had on the train. Horatio has folded and slipped in between the pages the letter addressed to him.

My dear son Horatio,
Be assured that despite the appearance of things, I am still of sound mind and judgment. By the time you read this, I shall be dead. Unless someone has been very careless, you doubtless think of my death as an accident. I assure you it was nothing of the sort. Do not waste your time going to the police, however, as those responsible are sure to have covered their tracks well. Instead, please carry out the following instructions to the letter. In this, do not fail me. Rest assured that this is of vital importance to London, the British Empire, and quite possibly the world.

1) Mr Oldacre will doubtless have come by the house a few days ago, asking for a book I have in my collection, the Oedipus Ægyptiancus by Athanasius Kircher. I hope and pray you have given it to him.

2) Go with all speed to Truro, in Cornwall, and you are to book yourself into the Black Lion Hotel. Do not use your real name. They will be expecting you. Rise very early in the morning, before 5am, and open the package marked 'For Use'. It contains a candle and a piece of paper. Light the candle and whisper aloud the verses on the paper three times. Then leave at once. Do not extinguish the candle.

3) Upon this being done, go to London and deliver the letter to Mr Oldacre.

Please do all these things as quickly as possible, and further please take great care for your safety as there are many who would wish you ill. I would not advise staying in this house, but putting it up for sale. Oh, that I knew what Oldacre and myself had become involved with in our youth! Perhaps then you could be spared these tasks -- but I implore once again, that you do not fail me at the last, for all our sakes.

--Your father,
ELIAS CARTWRIGHT.