Innsmouth Day 2: People and Places

Early morning arrived for our investigators, and learning that the Gilman House Hotel did not have a continental breakfast, they decided to head to the local cafe.

The second day of Innsmouth fun started off with a little bit of bloodshed as Braxton was hit in the face with a rock. Some of the kids were laughing and pointing at him as Braxton attempted to stop the bleeding and Burney and Seamus set off after the kids. Alas, they were much quicker than the two and ducked into an alleyway and disappeared.

Disappointed that none of the kids accidentally fell onto a bullet, they slunk off and had a nice breakfast. As they drove to the "lawyer's" office, Braxton noticed that the car had less gas than the night before. Innsmouth is not like the brochure had promised.

Seamus and Burney waited for Ralsa Marsh, law consultant, inside his office. Braxton hung out by the car, in case some slingshot-wielding kids happened by. As they all waited, Braxton noticed a man in a top hat hurry by and an older gentleman behind him, unleashing a furious litany of curses towards the man.

Inside, Seamus heard it all. He heard everything. Someone was cursing the name of "Ralsa Marsh" and telling him that he would burn like his forefathers before him.




The top-hatted man happened to be Ralsa Marsh, and with him present, they could get on with acquiring the paperwork and keys to Jeremy Crawford's home. He gave them directions to the home, mistakenly called it a "fixer-upper", and advised them to grab some groceries.








Outside, Braxton caught up with the older gentleman and introduced himself. The gentleman was Quentin Averill, and it was apparent that he had no love for the Marsh family, and did not fear them as the rest of the town did.




Stopping for gas, gas station attendant Bernard Slocum sullenly filled up their gas tanks. He asked if they were locals, and when proven not to be, he asked Braxton if he was a doctor. A question quite out of the blue.







At the First National Grocery store, Seamus and Burney went in and went shopping as Braxton kept up his vigil for the delinquents. The store manager, Brian Burnham, was a big fan of Die, Witch, Die and Burn, Space Mutant, Burn, two films in Burney's oeuvre. Burney got him to spill the beans about town. Brian told them to avoid New Church Green and to avoid the Marshes. People that annoy them tend to end up disappeared. Curiosity killed the cat and all.


With a loaf of bread autographed by stuntman supreme Burney Burns, the trio made their journey to the Crawford Estate.

The house was not a fixer-upper. The exterior was in exquisite condition. Inside, while a bit dusty, was in very good shape. They explored the ground floor until they found the pantry and kitchen and set Seamus to grab the groceries and store them. Upstairs there were many empty bedrooms. Braxton found Jeremy Crawford's journal hidden under the bed while Burney found a journal to Elizabeth Crawford, whom Burney assumed to be his great-grandmother.

A trip to the attic found a stuck door that was easily forced open, only to find themselves with the stink of fish, excrement, and rot. In an alcove they found torn pillows and smashed plates, on which were dried pieces of food. There was no telling how old the food was. As Burney looked around, he noticed multiple claws marks on the back of the attic door and around the west alcove.

With nothing to do for the rest of the day, the boys settled in to do some diary reading. Burney read Elizabeth's diary, much of which consisted of a teen girl's life as she grew up. It mentions marrying Jeremy Crawford and her happiness after the union. The last entry, dated 1846, talks about the arrest of Obed Marsh and how the town should return to normal.

Braxton read Jeremy's diary, which was much thicker than Elizabeth's. It starts off with a typical teenage boy's life. He later speaks of marrying Elizabeth, and also of the growing unrest in the town of Innsmouth. In 1846, his writing becomes erratic and despondent as he talks about Elizabeth's disappearance after Obed Marsh's arrest. 1847, he is forced by the Esoteric Order of Dagon to remarry. They soon have three children. His wife "returns home" and later entries talk about his sons' death. In the later years of his life, Jeremy hires a caretaker for the home. In 1925, shortly before his death, he complains about fierce chills that have wracked his body.

They compare notes, and realize that Elizabeth Crawford is not Burney's great grandmother. Who is?

Something Fishy's going on in Innsmouth

Burney, Seamus, and Braxton ended up in the town of Innsmouth. They arrived rather late, due to Burney not wanting to stop and ask for directions. With no way to get in touch with the law consultant Ralsa Marsh, the trio consigned themselves to an evening stay at the Gilman House Hotel.




They met kooky clerk George Habbitt. He rented them some rooms and made some interesting remarks when Braxton inquired about hunting in the area.











They met out of towner Lucas Mackey in the lobby of the hotel. He's a plump man, loud and boisterous. He's there to inspect the factories, making sure they're up to code. He's also not a fan of the Prohibition, judging by the way he offered the three gents a sip from his flask.

The players' thoughts when they met him? "Red shirt."

If Deputy Pritchert Falls at 25 MPH...

Yeah, nothing topped the events of last week. Guard duty was more or less a snooze fest. I reread the copy of The Book of Five Rings. I need to pull out some choice quotes if I expect to inspire my compatriots.

The week ended uneventfully. Father asked to meet him on top of Stratosphere Casino. I didn't realize he was being literal until he led me to the top of the Stratosphere. We sat down at a table, again, at the top of this casino, and he proceeded to tell me about kamis. (I thought he said "commies".") The kami in the table appeared and started chatting us up. He...it...the table had never had a view like this one.

Father needed my help. The Harmon Hotel was scheduled for demolition in 2012, but it was fast tracked to this week. He needed me to get in and extract the kami so he could bring it to a better place.

I drove by there the next day, seeing if I could just waltz in. The place was guarded and I could not see any alternate ways in. It's not like I can fly. Well, that Esperonda guy can jump really far, maybe if I try hard enough I can fly...

I attempted a bit of subterfuge to gain entry but that didn't work either. I parked around the corner and start running towards the hotel. When the guards stopped me, I identified myself as being with the Sheriff's department and asked if they had seen a suspect duck into the abandoned building. No go. I gave them a fake description and set off running again.

The Taoka Corporation really wanted this building demolition.

Not having much luck, I gave Gunnar Esparza a call and asked for some help. He didn't very interested until I mentioned the Taoko Corporation. He must've had some dealings with them or something. In the mean time, I would give him a hand tracking down some guy. Discreetly, of course. He also mentioned something about cyclopses. Cyclopsi? More than one cyclops.

Ms. Laurel Kladokas needed finding someone, so I joined them at the Luxor. As we went up the elevator, Gunnar pulled his piece, and I did the same. Not knowing the full situation, I probably should have asked questions. Laurel stepped out and spoke with someone while we stayed out of sight. She gave a short scream for help and Gunnar jumped out and fired a shot. I don't think it made much difference. Whomever shoved Laurel back into the elevator, and then they made an appointment.

Thinking a strategic retreat was in order, I told Laurel to accept the offer and then pressed the elevator door closed. The guy didn't seem to bad, considering Gunnar took a shot at him. Looks like we made a bad choice here.

We went our separate ways for the evening. I proceeded to stake out the Harmon Hotel and noticed that a shift change occurred at midnight. However, the efficiency of the change was something I had rarely seen before. Cops aren't this precise, and neither are the feds. This smelled of former military or mercenaries.

The next morning, I traveled to the Mirage to help Gunnar find a guy named Sylvester Guiler. We set about casing the casino floor until we spotted him. Once found, Laurel went in and did her thing, entrancing the guy with her looks. Gunnar stepped in and they spoke about stuff. Something about a pool convention.

I hung back and pretended to be part of the crowd. Another guy joined the group. Victor something or the other. After a few moments of chit chat, Victor and Sly excused themselves and went towards the back. Gunnar followed them, and then I did. We got there just as they pulled away in a Ferrari. Gunnar did get the license plate, but as I punched in the info, what spit out was a squeaky clean record for Sylvester Guiler. The record was too clean.

Laurel went to her appointment while Gunnar and I cruised about town for a bit. We listened to the Eagles. This Hotel California sounds like a cool place to visit.

We adjourned to Gunnar's hotel room and started planning for tonight. We decided that Laurel was going to distract the guards while Gunnar and I snuck in and extracted the kami. What could go wrong, right?

We drove up there in Laurel's car and she dropped us off a few blocks away. We got closer and saw that there was a crowd in front of the Harmon. Lights lit up the exterior. Yeah, something went wrong. The building was coming down. Tonight.

With the front of the building lit up and the focus of hundreds of people, we found an adjacent building and climbed to the top. We were lucky that someone had thoughtlessly left a door unlocked. Once on the roof, Gunnar jumped into the other building.

I made it across too.

We landed, and we waited to see if anyone was around. All that was heard was some clicking sounds and hissing. Hydraulics, most likely. I was able to get the kami to show itself and it tried to enter the magic bottle, but it said that something was tethering it to the building. We had to find out what was happening and free it.

Several floors down we found a large circle with a magical symbol etched into the ground. Well, Gunnar said it was a magic symbol. There was also a large spike that embedded into the circle. And bombs. Bombs everywhere. And the bombs were set to detonate in sixty seconds.

Gunnar ran over to the spike and tried to wrench it from the ground as I tried to defuse a bomb. I have minimal bomb training, so I wasn't having much luck. It was much harder when Gunnar yelled out something about shinobi and I saw one attacking him. I told the bombs to go screw itself and started rushing over to help Gunnar.

Halfway to Gunnar I got caught by surprise by a shinobi and I got slashed pretty hard. Not fun. I had to help defend Gunnar so I ignored the once attacking me and shot at Gunnar's shinobi. Well, rather than get slashed with his hands full, Gunnar dropped the spike and pulled out his axe. We were able to kill one. The other one threw a ninja star at a bomb and set one off.

Jerk.

As the building began to collapse, Gunnar ripped the spike from the ground and I ran and got the kami into the bottle. I was a bit further along than Gunnar when another bomb went off, throwing Gunnar towards the window as I dived out.

I fell a long way down and hit the ground with a thump. Quite surprised I was alive. I got up, gave a thumb's up and started hobbling towards Laurel. Then some lady in a limo looked at me, twisted something, and my leg felt like it was on fire. I hit the ground pretty hard. Again.

We escaped by the skin of our teeth. Laurel patched me up a bit.

The next day, there was a report about the implosion of the Harmon Hotel and about mysterious figures that were spotted leaving the building. Wonder who that could have been.

I called in sick. I was a walking mass of bruises and I don't think the Sheriff would appreciate me coming in like that. After a few days I was almost in perfect health, so I gave Gunnar a call to see if he still needed help with Sylvester. To the Mirage!

When I got there, I was going to talk to management about Mr. Guiler and see if I could get a room number, but Ms. Laurel had beaten me to it. Sometimes feminine wiles beat police badge.

Gunnar jumped into the room and searched it while Laurel and I stood watch in the hallway. Gunnar found a claim ticket, but he needed Sylvester to claim the package. So we planned to spring a trap. Gunnar would wait for Sylvester in his room while Laurel and I stood watch. So Laurel waited around the corner and I stood by the elevator.

And we waited.

Around five, Sylvester, covered in dirt and carrying a large bag, exited the elevator. I held the door open for him as he stepped out and I stepped in. He seemed a bit nervous to see me. As the doors closed, I sent a text to Laurel and Gunnar that the target was on it's way.

After a minute or two, I exited out the elevator and proceeded to stand watch outside the room. Laurel joined me and we waited. Then we heard someone taking a shower. We think it was one person. We were texted by Gunnar about Laurel accepting a date from Victor. I decided to disappear before Gunnar and Guiler left their room, so my involvement with this was possibly a bluff by Gunnar.

Downstairs, The four of them met up and went to dinner. I looked in and could notice the awkward silence. Boy was I glad I wasn't there. I peeked in a bit later and noticed that they were having lobster. Dang, I sure wish I was there.

Victor excused himself, leaving the three to finish their meal. They got up and headed towards the claims desk. Again, I followed. Discreetly. They got the case, and Gunnar headed off. We all met up at Gunnar's other hotel room where we got a chance to take a peek at it's contents. It was the black raven cloak that Baron Samedi took from us!

At this point I'd like to note, for the record, that I called dibs on it when we first found it.

Deputy Nathan Pritchert's Report

Date: January 15th, 2011
Time: 2230-2245
Location: A theater in Las Vegas

I attended a performance of the show "Panegyris" with my associates Gunnar Esperanda and Lorelei Shehasabirdnamednevermore. Partway through the show, the lights went up and the lead actor of the show came on stage and told everyone that the next act would need a volunteer from the audience. After a few moments, the victim, Jane Redshirt, was led on stage by a performer.

Ms. Redshirt was placed on an altar and her arms and legs were bound to it. The suspect, Mr. Donald Jackson, then stood beside the altar and from his costume pulled out a stone dagger and raised it above Ms. Redshirt.

At this time, I heard my associates whispering to each other, mentioning how the altar looked like a genuine Aztec sacrificial altar, and not a stage prop. Having a front row seat, I was afforded the opportunity to examine the stone dagger at a closer distance. The way the light glinting off of the dagger's edge told me that the dagger was authentic and my gut instinct told me that Ms. Redshirt was in danger.

I sprung from my seat and leapt onto the stage. I unholstered my firearm and leveled it at Mr. Jackson as I advanced towards the alter and the bound Ms. Redshirt. I ordered Mr. Jackson to drop the knife but he did nothing but mutter "How did they know? This wasn't supposed to happen." I grabbed Mr. Jackson's arm and forced him to drop the dagger, and my associates joined me on stage and began freeing the victim. As I struggled to place Mr. Jackson into handcuffs, a gun shot went off and hit another suspect that was attempting to escape out the backdoor. Unfortunately, my attention was on Mr. Jackson as I brought him to the ground and I am uncertain as to where the gunshot came from.

During this struggle, several other suspects had fled, but luckily a good Samaritan was able to overpower one and hold him until I was able to place him under arrest. My associates took the wounded suspect to hospital while I stayed behind to take control of the situation.

The two suspects in my custody were read their Miranda and were taken to the police station. Ms. Redshirt was shaken, but unhurt, from her ordeal. I attempted to reassure her that everything would be okay as I escorted her to an awaiting patrol car to take her home.

Back at the station, the suspects were booked and processed. Tonight was the show's fifth night, and searches are being done for reports of any missing persons. I suggested to the captain that a patrol unit be placed in front of Ms. Redshirt's home, to provide a sense of protection to her and as a deterrent to any accomplices.

Deputy Nathan Pritchert
January 16th, 2011
0215

Welcome to Innsmouth!

Innsmouth, founded in 1643, is a small coastal city located in New England. Innsmouth main trade was shipping and fishing, but numerous shipwrecks and the War of 1812 diminished the amount of sailors and ships available to this town. The town became stagnant until the mid-1800s, where the town's fortunes turned and the fishing industry began to boom once again. But their new fortunes came with misfortunes, when a plague decimated the town's population.

Perhaps the town's future will change once our investigators stop by Innsmouth for a visit. And no, they won't just all happen to be in town for no good reason.