Investigation #5: Joker, Roy, & Mac: The Haunting of 601 North E Street

[Bluehorse]

Investigation #5: Roy & Joker: The Haunting of 601 North E Street
At the Curb
September 10, 2018, 10 am
Cool and cloudy

Coming from here the Firehouse:
viewtopic.php?p=512693#p512693


POST PENDING


Actions?

Brownie Point Pool:
Roy O'Dowd: 157/157 @
Dzjokar "Joker" Jelal 257/260

@ = One free re-roll without ghost die.  Merry Christmas 2019!

[Bluehorse]

Investigation #5: Roy & Joker: The Haunting of 601 North E Street
At the Curb
September 10, 2018, 10:15 am
Cool and cloudy

Coming from here the Firehouse:
viewtopic.php?p=512693#p512693

Joker & Roy easily get an Uber to the house in question. The driver rolls down the window. That's $2.

The dossier attached to the work order reads as follows:

Customer: Buck Hrumph.

Date of Call: 8-23-18

Location: 601 North E Street.

Status: Unoccupied. Rental Property.

Notes: Mr. Hrumph complains of his tenants constantly breaking lease saying his house is haunted. He wants a full investigation and a bill of certification to say it is not haunted so he can have proof. The house is ready for investigation and the key is under the flowerpot that looks like a cat. The house [Image from Streetview enclosed] is three stories, plus attic and basement.

Tenants complain about slamming doors, sounds, eerie presence, and shadowy figures at night. Has been ongoing for at least since purchasing of the property in 2016. No before disclosure about haunting.

HauntedHouse601N.Est.jpg (135.79 KiB) Viewed 1735 times

Actions?

Brownie Point Pool:
Roy O'Dowd: 157/157 @
Dzjokar "Joker" Jelal 257/260
David "Mac" McAuslan 191/191

@ = One free re-roll without ghost die.  Merry Christmas 2019!

[GreyWolfVT]

Roy takes out his phone and opens his app and tries to take some readings from the outside of the house to start with.

[Rex]

Mac

Mac takes a good look around, starting with the outside and if he doesn't find anything moving inside.Checking is phone now and then for anything odd. "I will start outside as well Roy."

[Bluehorse]

Mac

Mac takes a good look around, starting with the outside and if he doesn't find anything moving inside. "I am still missing my phone so I will handle the physical search."

Doh! I never specifically said it but your phone is back. You can pick it up when you get back to the firehouse or retcon and have it now. However you like.

[Rex]

I will retcon, only because I will most likely forget otherwise, editing above post.

[Urson]

Joker
-on the trip- I am sorry, guys- I would have invited you along, but I was under the belief that you had other tasks. I am glad for the assistance.

-At the house-
Please record any data you collect- and take many photos. I will begin in the basement and work up.
Joker uses the key, and replaces it when the door is open. He makes his way to the basement, his dedicated PKE active.
IF there's no disturbance before, he will thoroughly search the basement. He takes PKE readings everywhere, physical measurements of room dimensions, audio recordings on his phone, photographs of each area with visible light, IR, and UV.
After 15 minutes, he contacts the others. Check in. Anything to report?

[Bluehorse]

Investigation #5: Roy & Joker: The Haunting of 601 North E StreetAt the Curb
September 10, 2018, 10:15 am
Cool and cloudy

Uber is paid and zooms off, letting you know he will be in the general neighborhood for a few hours if you need a ride back. 

-$2 Joker  I'll update the bank later when I am home, but I'd like everyone to keep a running total in your Character Sheets.  Your private account is also in the Bank.  Maybe put Dollars in Gold and Cents in Silver or something like that.

Joker has a plan and as Everyone opens their phone apps for the PKE, you get the usual ambient readings, but due to Joker's previous research at the cemetery, this is much more "sorted" on the readout.

What everyone sees immediately:  
Ambient readings from mostly south of your location as normal, now displayed as an independent set of wavelengths on the display.  
This is the furthest north any of the team has been, save Etta when she went to Belmont's church just north of here.  
There is, at this range, a mild fluctuation that could be from that location, and is just close enough to play with the overall readout, but is easily adjusted out like static on an old radio.
There are some weak but suspicious readings coming from the house.  Likely from inside.

Joker with the dedicated PKE extension connected to his phone, sees a little more:
Energy fluctuations do no exceed the visible property line.
Readings seem to shift within the interior of the house as they near, some appearing to mirror the team's movement, concentrating around windows and doors.  
There are readings on all levels of the house.
One wavelength of energy gets stronger and more centralized as Joker approaches the porch, but does not seem to do anything.

Roy moves with Mac around the exterior of the house, both of them are able to see that readings are weaker on the lawn, and not unlike a divining rod, moving around the phones indicate stronger readings towards the house and a shed/storm shelter/root cellar in the SE corner.  There is a defined line where all the energy readouts seem to stop at the fence along the property line, where the energy seems to come to an abrupt and total halt, like water behind a dam of some sort.

Joker uses the key, and replaces it when the door is open...  The door unlocks as one would expect, but when he turns to replace the key to its hiding place, the pot is gone.  He does spot a glimpse of the tail of an orange cat jumping off the porch and out of sight...

Roy & Mac are to the East side of the house.  South of their position is the old root cellar, and to their West is a carport connected to the house, an old screendoor leading into the structure is there and another door that is likely locked.  From what you can see there is nothing remarkable here.  Just an old elm tree that is likely old as the house and some now semi-ignored flowerbeds that were likely well-tended before.  The lawn is cut and the house is well painted, and everything looks like it is just waiting for occupants. If not for what you read in the report, it would actually be a very appealing place and location.

A crow in the tree Caws.

601NrthEst-SatPhoto2.jpg (85.01 KiB) Viewed 1711 times

Actions?
Brownie Point Pool:Roy O'Dowd: 157/157 @
Dzjokar "Joker" Jelal 257/260
David "Mac" McAuslan 191/191

@ = One free re-roll without ghost die.  Merry Christmas 2019!

[Rex]

Mac

"Lets see what Joker has found. Looks like maybe something in the storm cellar."

[Urson]

Joker
Joker hesitates when he sees the apparent 'transformation' of flowerpot to real cat. He steps to the edge of the porch to see if he just knocked the pot off the porch.
TEXT I have a strong reading inside- I will update when I know more.

Once that's resolved, he steps inside, PKE hot and ready. For the moment, he's noting all the readings he gets, his main intent is to locate the strongest reading.
Brains roll: [5d6] = 18 ghost [1d6] = 1 Crap!

[GreyWolfVT]

Roy "Go ahead I'm going to try going in the screen door there if it's not locked or latched." he says to Mac and moves to the screen door and attempts to open it and enter through it.

Moves: [3d6] = 13 G:[1d6] = 1

[Rex]

Mac

Mac texts back to Joker, "Going in here. Storm cellar reads a bit higher in our sweep."

[Bluehorse]

Investigation #5: Joker, Roy & Mac: The Haunting of 601 North E StreetAll Around the Property
September 10, 2018, 10:25 am
Cool and cloudy

Joker can't seem to believe his eyes and looks around the corner of the porch in search of an orange cat.  There is nothing there, however.  When he gets back to the front door, everything still feels pretty ordinary other than a bit of an eerie feeling, but that could be nerves, right?  Upon entry, he sees a mostly empty foyer/family room.  The house is old but fairly well kept.  There has been some money put back into the old house and the work shows.  The old hardwood floor is not unlike the floors back at the station, but there is a large rug over it that was either left or comes with the house.  Testing the lights, they are working, but there is plenty of light shining in from the numerous windows. When he looks at the PKE... Hmmm... He was certain that it was working just a moment ago... You even celebrated it... After a brief check, you realize that your phone has lost power. Did you forget to charge it? Without your phone's software to run the device itself, the whole contraption is useless.

Did it just get cold? You wonder to yourself as you see the puff a breath before your eyes.

Roy Tries the side door under the carport, and as far as carports go, this is a very nice one. Plenty of space for a big car or truck. A half-wall around the perimeter, lights, and even a small workbench with a mounted fan on the end. Apparently, there was a shade tree mechanic that lived here back in the day. When you try the old screen door it opens easily enough. It is in good repair and so is the lock on the kitchen door. Looking through the glass of the door window, you can make out a general kitchen with lots of cabinets, nothing too out of the ordinary.

Mac makes his way over to the shed. The door here has a padlock on it, but someone has left it unclasped, probably meaning to come back and secure it later and forgetting. It has earth heaped up on it on three sides, which you would know was common practice for storm shelters for safety against tornadoes even if it was imperfect, but also for controlling temperature and humidity for root cellars, which these old structures usually were also used for. When you open the door and peer inside, it takes a moment for your eyes to adjust. but you do find a naked lightbulb and pull chain hanging off the ceiling after you duck inside. It is a good thing you find it too, because you almost walked into a steep set of stairs on the opposite wall about 10 feet in. There is an assortment of general gardening tools on the walls, and a few rotting boxes of fertilizers and pesticides.

Map: Trying something new for this map by using a spreadsheet, mainly because I am horrible with house plans and this seems to help me sorry it out a little better. Feedback welcome!

1stFloor-1.jpg (46.57 KiB) Viewed 1667 times

Actions?

Brownie Point Pool:Roy O'Dowd: 157/157 @
Dzjokar "Joker" Jelal 257/260
David "Mac" McAuslan 191/191

@ = One free re-roll without ghost die.  Merry Christmas 2019!

[Rex]

Mac

Mac will take out his flashlight just in case and then checkout the stairs.

Map looks good.

[Urson]

Joker

Joker scowls, and taps at his phone. He knows it was fully charged- he'd be more likely to wet the bed than to let his phone discharge. He steps back to the door and pulls his note pad out, sketching the room layout he can see.

He yells, hoping the others can hear him. My batteries are dead! We may have an energy siphon here!

[GreyWolfVT]

Roy tries the door to the kitchen to see if it is locked, never know even a good looking lock might not be locked. If it's too dark he turns on the flashlight app on his phone.

Map = I Like it!

[Bluehorse]

Investigation #5: Joker, Roy & Mac: The Haunting of 601 North E Street
All Around the Property
September 10, 2018, 10:25 am
Cool and cloudy

Joker inwardly expresses his disgust with his phone or at least the situation before calling out a sudden realization that there might be something that siphoned off the energy in the battery itself. He then gives the Arkansas Holler Caller to warn his team about the revelation. As he moves into the room he is sure that the AC must be on or have just shut off. The room is certainly cool inside. As he sketches the room, nothing else really jumps out other than that.

Please, roll me an easy cool.

Roy Yup, it's locked. It is after trying the door that he hears Joker's call that there might be something that can siphon off from the batteries. You can see Mac investigating the shed with a flashlight and there is an orange cat looking at you from around the corner to the southern end of the carport.

Please, roll me an easy cool.

Mac Sees nothing too out of the ordinary inside the old shed itself apart from the stairs. There is the usual earthy smell of old sheds like this. When he shines the light down the stairs, they definitely head down to another room of some kind. When he moves down the stairs, the old wood groans in protest but holds the big man's weight all the same. They are steep and need to be used with caution. Mac has to duck slightly until his feet are firmly on the ground below at the landing. He can then (just barely) stand up straight. You are now in a brick and mortar room of similar dimensions as the shed above, and to the right and left are dark passageways, and before you is an old set of wood shelves with preserves in cloudy looking mason jars that seem long forgotten.

Maps: Glad you like it Not saying it will be the standard, but I kind of like getting everything on a real grid and symmetrical.
Ground floor = No notable change.

Basement1.jpg (3.99 KiB) Viewed 1657 times

Actions?

Brownie Point Pool:Roy O'Dowd: 157/157 @
Dzjokar "Joker" Jelal 257/260
David "Mac" McAuslan 191/191

@ = One free re-roll without ghost die.  Merry Christmas 2019!

[Rex]

Mac

Mac will head whatever direction he thinks takes him towards the house, thinking it most likely connects to the basement.

[GreyWolfVT]

Roy heads off to try and locate Joker while scanning as he goes.

Cool: [4d6] = 16 G:[1d6] = 5

[Urson]

Joker The new map is good. I'm all in favor of anything that makes the GM's job easier.

Cool 3 [2d6] = 7 ghost [1d6] = 6

Joker hesitates, then heads for the dining room. He occasionally scowls at his gadgets, annoyed that they've failed him. When he gets to the dining room doorway, he stops to visually inspect.