The Hunt - Marius and Eddie Take Aim

[Starbeard]

Marius sits at the table eating ham and eggs with his family in silence, his mind preoccupied and wholly unable to engage with the social formalities of dining. Since the ghastly and unnerving events of the past days—the mutilated body, the freak show in Innsmouth, the bodiless howling in the night and the disappearance of his goat—all weigh on his mind heavily, causing a visible lapse in his mental vigour.

He replays the scene from earlier over and over in his head, observing the midget pilfering his mailbox and escaping away in the truck, hoping that in one of these mental replays he will capture the face of the man and identify him as the one he encountered at the carnival, or if he was carrying any letters with him when he stole away.

Marius has not yet told his family of this last event, not wanting to worry them any more. Eventually, he decides, he will, but not until he has made any more sense of its portents himself.

[Grognardsw]

"Here I found this at the murder site." Pulling out the ticket he shows it to the seer. "This ticket and the bodies were found together at an archeology site that was being used by students from Miskatonic University. And this ticket brought me here to hopefully find some clues. Than I saw that necklace of yours and the school ring...

Marius remembers his confrontration with the gypsy "seeress" at the Dark Pharoah's Freak Show and Carnivale. That ring still nags him, it seems more than coincidence she had it. The police don't know about that. The hunter wonders if he should tell them. He's due to go into town to deliver a rack of pelts to the furrier.

Marius unfolds today's edition of the Arkham Gazette. His eye is drawn to a story about the murder written by his reporter friend Eddie Sharpe. A factual piece, nothing Marius doesn't already know. He wonders how Eddie is doing in Providence, since he last sent him that telegram.

Then Marius hears his daughter scream at the front door!

[Starbeard]

Marius is, to all intents and purposes, knocked from his seat at the table. 'CHRIST ALMIGHTY,' he shouts reflexively, and stumbles over the legs of the chair he kicked out from beneath himself when he bolted. As he makes a rush for the door with table cutting knife in hand, he hazards off an order to his son ('Grab the gun!'), hoping that he can pick up his own firearm along the way.

Here's a Luck test to see if he happens to have his gun with him, subject to whatever modifiers you deem necessary:
Luck 85: [1d100] = 38

[Grognardsw]

Marius rushes through the short hallway, scoops his gun, and arrives at the front door to find his daughter traumatized by a dead cat in the doorway.

"Daddy, Whiskers is dead!" she sobs.

[Starbeard]

'…Dammit! You just nearly gave me a stroke!' The hunter lifts his daughter up and plops her down out of the way in irritation, still shaking from the splash of adrenaline. He hollers back to his wife in the kitchen. '—nothing, dear, just the cat's dead is all. …No, there ain't nobody, just the cat—Ruth found it on the porch is all, I said. Jumpin' Jehoshaphat, nearly stopped my beating heart.'

Within a few breaths Marius calms down enough to rest his gun to the side and shoo Ruth away, telling her that he'll have to take care of Whiskers and promising that they'll give him a proper burial later that day. As he turns to get a spare sack from the kitchen common sense returns, and he quickly scans the area in front of the house for any animals or visitors. He then crouches down to get a better look at the cat, quickly attempting to ascertain a cause of death, and whether any tracks lead to or away from the corpse.

I was going to give you a few rolls in case you need them (Spot Hidden, Listen, and Track), but it seems UnseenServant.com is down right now).

PS: is there a campaign ID I should copy onto the dice rolls?

[Grognardsw]

Marius calms his daughter. He examines the dead cat; she has bits of vomit around her mouth and a distended stomach. Marius suspects poisoning. The hunter steps outside, gun at the ready, and scans the area looking for tracks and anything unusual.

Campaign code is 221 for those rolls. Thanks!

[Starbeard]

Listen (25) [1d100] = 93
Spot Hidden (25) [1d100] = 24
Track (35) [1d100] = 32

[Grognardsw]

Marius finds tracks near the edge of the property, as it transitions into woods. They are small booted tracks, like that of a child, yet the weight is heavier than a youth. They trail into the woods paralleling the short dirt road that connects Marius' house to the main street.

[Starbeard]

Marius drops the sack onto the porch. Stepping back inside for moment, he takes his hat off the coat rack by the door and fixes it to his head. He then collects his ammunition bag and fills his pockets with shells. 'Gina, come pick up the cat and keep the children inside. Lock the doors.'

Once outside, Marius scans stalks up the dirt road and into the woods, following the tracks.

Sneak (10) [1d100] = 79

…and in case another Track roll is needed:

Track (35) [1d100] = 47

[Grognardsw]

The tracks parallel the dirt road driveway out to the main street. Marius suspects whoever did this probably came in from the main road up to the edge of the property woods, gave the poison to the cat, and left the way he came. The hunter's mind goes back to the dwarf he spotted going through his mail.

[Starbeard]

Content with this new lead, Marius heads back to the house as he mentally reorders the recent events, his imagination conjuring up all manner of hideous, unfathomable conspiracies involving the short man and mysterious caravan. Where did that advertisement say they were headed after Innsmouth? Worcester? I wonder if they've already headed that way. As a man used to imminent action, Marius is growing increasingly agitated at his inability to simply confront his hidden adversary. He requires a solution to these implied threats, and at this point even violence would not be beyond his stodgy principles.

Still, as a seasoned outdoorsman, he understands the slow and deliberate pace of the hunt: while his anger has driven him to action, his steps will be purposeful and resolute. Before anything else, he decides to contact Eddie Sharpe at the Gazette and see if there are any new leads from him.

Do the Albertoni's own a telephone, or will he have to go into town for that?

[Grognardsw]

Marius drives into town to use a telephone at the post office. He needs to go in anyway as he has to deliver a rack of raccon and fox pelts to the furrier. As his Model T pick-up bumps along the road, the hunter recalls that the Dark Pharaoh Carnivale and Freak Festival is now in Worcester, MA, about an hour drive west. That ring still nags him, it seems more than coincidence she had it. The police don't know about that. The hunter wonders if he should tell them. And the strange noises a few nights ago and the missing goat have him further disturbed.

Marius rings up Arkham Gazette reporter Eddie Sharpe at the number he left in Providence. He reaches the journalist and they talk...

- Anders can respond in this thread, I'll let him know in case he's not reading this.
- The strange noises and the missing goat were mentioned, if not in this thread, then in 'The Language at the Threshold' thread.

[Anders Molin]

I am following events in this thread as well as the Language at the Threshold thread.
This telephone conversation occurs just before Eddie takes a cab to Club Zothique and has chance encounter with Agent Baines.

As Eddie gathered his thoughts and prepared to head over to the jazz club where Carcosa's band had been playing, the telephone at his borrowed desk rang.

"Sharpe," he answered, and was relieved to hear the voice of Marius Albertoni on the other end. Eddie had lost quite a bit of sleep last night pondering the hunter's news about missing goats, lurking midgets, and shrieking noises in the night. Just hearing Marius's voice was somewhat reassuring, and Eddie had no problems filling him in on some of the details of the case so far.

"Yes, I'm still down here in Providence following up on the story," Eddie continued. "This thing seems to go deeper and broader than I thought at first. This is not just a case of some carnie killing local unfortunates up in Arkham, Marius. There's been murders in Providence as well, in the same gruesome manner. A local book dealer's clerk by the name of Timothy Carver is under arrest and has confessed to six murder-mutilations - but there's an unknown number of murders he won't confess to - and just this morning there came news about the murder of a BOI agent - yes that's right, with the Carver fellow still in custody."

"I've met with a motley crew of BOI agents, book dealers and an old half-crazy fellow who seem to think this is some sort of international cult, possibly with ties to a drug ring. Yes, as I said, the roots run deep and afar if they're right. I'm going to check on a jazz club with possible ties to the cult, and then I'll meet up with the other bunch to see what they have to say - but I think checking out the Freak Show is pretty high on my to-do list at the moment."

[Starbeard]

Marius sits huddled into a corner of the post office, occasionally peering over his shoulder when his nerves become paranoid that someone is listening in on the call.

'Incredible! Providence too? Same thing? That's a kicker. —Well, I reviewed the freak show's schedule in the papers and it looks like they should be in Worcester now… no, they should already be there, which makes me wonder why that carnie's been stalking around my property. The first time he came by it could've been on the way to Worcester, since they'd have to pass by Arkham anyway, but after this second time, it must be either the little carnie's still hanging around here or he took a special trip back up just to send a message.'

Marius listens intently to Eddie's side of the story, trying to take in all these bizarre twists involving international conspiracies, jazz clubs and drug rings. It all seems so weird and unbelievable.'Well hey, listen Eddie: I'm thinking of heading down to Worcester to scope out the freak show, if you're free maybe we can meet up there. But first I think I'll head to the police and report the trespass, see if they've seen the midget skulking around town… yeah, there's the deal on the seeress' Miskatonic ring, too, I don't think they know about that yet. You think I should tell 'em?'

[Anders Molin]

"I don't know about telling the police about the ring - I mean, at some point we need to tell'em for sure, but now might not be the time. Listen, I'm heading over to meet up with the others involved in this case - let me see what they think about the ring and the freak show, and I'll get back to you later tonight or in the morning. And Marius - keep your eyes and ears open as long as you're near your house."

After finishing the conversation with his hunter friend, Eddie gathered notebook and cigarettes and headed towards Wilkins' bookshop. He did not really know what the others were planning for this night and how he might be able to contribute, but at least he would get their thoughts on the Arkham situation.

More on Eddie's story in the Language at the Threshold thread.

[Starbeard]

Marius hangs up the phone, lights a cigarette and takes a few drags, using the pause for one last nonchalant scan of the post office lobby and windows for anyone who might have been listening in on the call.

Assuming that he finds no one…

On the way out he observes brief pleasantries with the postman, then gets in his truck and heads to the police station—regardless of how far it is, he's not leaving his auto in town out of sight for any period of time. At the station he approaches the service and claims desk.

'Good day, I'd like to make a complaint. Sorry—could I?' He motions to the ashtray by the receptionist, and upon taking it puts out the stub of his cigarette. 'Thank you. I'm here to file a report of trespass on my property. You see, I'm the man who found the body out in the woods the other day, and since then I've been harassed. You wouldn't believe it, but yesterday I found a midget and a large man rifling through my mailbox, but when I shouted they stole my mail and drove off; and today he snuck onto my property and poisoned my cat. He just snuck up and left it on my doorstep! I caught him running away through the trees back into town, but I lost track of him.'

I'm not sure if I got the chronology right in terms of days. Either way, Marius is content to lie a little about the events to get the information and/or police assistance he wants.

[Grognardsw]

Marius is reporting his complaints when an officer walks by who recognizes the hunter.

"Marius, good to see you," says Officer Ashton, who was in the group that went with Marius to find the body and explore the old mill. "Though not good I suppose that you are here."

He brings Marius back and listens to him. "We'll send regular patrols around. Maybe have the family stay at relatives? The circus has left town. I wonder why they'd bother you now, if it is them. Did you see or know something? We investigated the circus because of that ticket stub we found, but didn't turn anything up. Those carnies - they don't like us coppers."

"Between you and me, the case is building but no solid suspects. We've been askng around pools and swimming areas - the dead girl was in a swim suit you remember - and were able to identify her as a student at Miskatonic University. The father is rich and hired a private investigator. There were similar murders in Providence and Boston. They have someone who confessed to six of the killings, but not the Arkham ones."

[Starbeard]

'That's terrible, Officer Ashton, just terrible,' says Marius, shaking his head. 'I heard about the other murders from a friend working in the papers.' He takes a breath and continues. 'I'm not sure why they targeted me, though. All I did was the same as you: went out to the circus to look around, but as soon as I mentioned anything about the murder they shut up and made a curtain call, if you know what I mean. They must've figured I saw something, because I can swear to you—that little guy at the circus, I saw him again prowling my house twice, plain as day. D'you think it's because of me being the one who found the body and all?'

Marius, his troubled face looking about the room, puts his hat on his head like he's meaning to leave, and then takes it off again. He sighs. 'I guess you're right, Ashton. I guess I got in over my head nosing around at the circus, should've left it to you professionals. I was just curious, 's all. I'll get the family away to the relatives for a bit, just until we know this murder business is taken care of.'

He makes to leave for real this time. 'Thanks for your help. I'll let you know if anything else happens at the house. Say, who was the private investigator that's working the case of the Miskatonic girl? I've got a friend in the papers who's been working on the other murder stories, and the private eye might want to get in touch with him if you think those are related.'

[Grognardsw]

"I don't think its because you found the body, because the public didn't know that," answers Officer Ashton.

"The private investigator is Gordon Pym. Here's his number. I hear he's interviewing the dead girl's friends, and the students and teachers in the summer dig. We did some of that but didn't get anywhere."

[Starbeard]

Marius thanks Officer Ashton for the information and excuses himself from the station.

He climbs back into his vehicle and drives back to the post office so he can place another call to Eddie Sharpe.

Assuming he gets there without incident and Eddie is still around to answer…

'Yes, operator: ELmhurst-7, please.' He lights up another cigarette while he waits for the operator to patch through to the Providence exchange number at Eddie's current address.

'Hello, Eddie? Sorry to bother you again so soon. I just came from the clubhouse, and the police say they're about dead on leads, the officer sounded about ready to give up. Don't know if this is any use to you, but the girl was definitely a Miskatonic student; they learned that from asking at pools around town. Her family's apparently rolling in gold, but—ah, 'nabbit, I never thought to ask for the family name! Anyway, the father's hired a private eye to scope out the case, name's Gordon Pym. I've got his number if you're interested.'

He takes a deep drag to make sure to give Eddie time to respond, then ends the conversation. 'Today I'm sending Gina and the kids out of town, then I'll try paying this P.I. Pym a visit. Let me know if you got time to head out to the freak show again, I'll tag along.'