Project MONUMENT 025: 4-8 May 2010, Paris, Rome
INTERNAL MESSAGING - LEVEL 2 CLEARANCE REQUIRED
To: Agent Block, 2/557-780
From: O5-3/780
Block, please send the attached report at your earliest convenience.
[Attached Report: Requisitions Response 03-05-2010]
INTERNAL MESSAGING - LEVEL 4 CLEARANCE REQUIRED - EYES ONLY
To: O5-3/780
From: SCP-780
On the afternoon of May 4, the subjects gathered at the Gare de Bercy to take an overnight train from Paris to Rome. They brought with them a variety of supplies that they thought would be useful during the dig, including the items and information that they had previously requested from SCP. At the station, the subjects were introduced to Julien Brunelle, Robert's cousin and the leader of the dig, and his three team members, Heloise Barteaux, Dominique Grimard, and Martin Duhamel. Everyone boarded the train and got to know each other over a meal in the dining car, except Bo, who once again got travel sickness and would spend the next several days recovering.
That night, Aðalsteinn, Roland, and Souna were all awakened by the sound of heavy footsteps and groaning coming from the corridor of the train. They opened the doors to their compartments and saw Martin stumbling around in his underwear, saying things like "Lord Neptune will have his revenge" and "The seas will run red with the blood from his trident." Roland realized that he was sleepwalking and shook him awake; Martin apologized and claimed that sleepwalking and -talking was a side effect of his insomnia medications. However, in light of the information contained in the SCP dossier, Aðalsteinn suspected that something more might be going on, and spent the rest of the trip researching whether there had ever been any temples to Neptune in the area of the Catacombe di Antonio Bosio (there weren't).
The next day, the subjects arrived in Rome and settled into their hotel, which was fairly near to the small Piazza di San Martino where the entrance to the catacombs was located. Julien had wanted to get started right away, but upon arriving he learned that the 2010 Coppa Italia soccer final was set to take place that night, and the local team Roma was competing against Internazionale for the championship. For this reason, most of the city was more interested in watching the match than in anything else, so the beginning of the dig would have to be postponed until the next day, since they would need to speak to the local archaeologists who would be helping out before they could get started. The subjects spent the evening settling in to their hotel rooms and continuing to prepare for the next day's events. Robert had a strange experience when he walked to a nearby grocery store to purchase wine and snacks for the hotel room, and was spat and shouted at by angry-looking Gypsies who were sitting on the steps of a church. The subjects also viewed the Coppa Italia finall; Robert and Souna in the hotel bar with Julien and the other team members, and Aðalsteinn and Roland in a nearby local café. Ultimately, Internazionale beat Roma 1-0.
On Thursday, the dig began. The subjects and Julien's team went to the Piazza di San Martino and met the Italian team, led by a fairly well-known archaeologist named Igor Onio and consisting of three assistants, Benedetto Rizzo, Galdino Monaldo, and Delfina Ferri. The two teams discussed their plans and decided to begin by sending sonar sensors down into the flooded catacombs to create a basic map of the area and to determine whether it would be safe to send anybody down in SCUBA gear to get a clearer picture and/or retrieve anything before draining the catacombs. Roland handled communications while Aðalsteinn aided the French and Italian teams in moving the sensors around and taking measurements and data. Robert and Souna observed, taking pictures and notes for Robert's blog entries (which Souna was now in charge of writing since she was a better writer than Robert). However, partway through the process of taking sonar readings, the sonar probe stopped returning data, and Julien realized that the cable had somehow been broken, leaving the probe to sink. A replacement could be ordered, but this would take time and money that the dig did not really have, so Aðalsteinn volunteered to suit up in SCUBA gear and take the risk of going in after the probe.
Aðalsteinn's SCUBA expedition (during which Roland outfitted him with a radio earbud so he could receive instructions from above, and a camera and light on his head so that the others could see what he saw) went off without a hitch. He found the probe at the bottom of the catacombs and noted that the cable seemed to have been worn away. He noted some rocky outcroppings or ledges that could have accounted for this through wear and tear, but the possibility also existed that it could have been cut by something. Aðalsteinn did not see anything unusual in the catacombs during his dive, but noted that although many of the frescoes had been damaged beyond repair by water, there were some carvings and sealed vases and niches that might yield something of value. He also would later tell the other subjects that he had not seen any ghosts in the water. The probe was repaired and the archaeologists concluded their mapping of the catacombs. Julien also said that because Aðalsteinn had not encountered any hazards in the water, the rest of the team could probably dive soon.
However, when the subjects returned to the catacombs the next day, they found that the metal lid covering the entrance had been secured with a heavy padlock. A nearby police officer told them that the local authorities had found irregularities with the permits for the dig, so they had sealed the catacombs to further investigation. Julien gathered the team and told them that they were not to attempt to access the catacombs again until the permits were worked out, since to do otherwise would make them grave robbers and jeopardize their careers. He told them that he was going to try to work things out and not to give up on the dig yet. Everyone went back to the hotel, but the subjects decided to take matters into their own hands. Aðalsteinn and Roland decided to get a better sense of the neighborhood, while Robert and Souna would get involved with the process of regaining access to the site by contacting Robert's former teacher, Marie-Cécile Pellerin, who is now the representative of a Dominican order of sisters in Rome.
Marie-Cécile was happy to hear from Robert and met him a a coffee shop in Vatican City to catch up on old times. He told her about the dig's difficulties and asked her whether she might know who was responsible for securing the permits. Marie-Cécile did not know offhand but agreed to look into it. Aðalsteinn and Roland, on the other hand, were beginning to wander through the neighborhood of the hotel when they encountered the same Gypsy woman who had spit and cursed at Robert. They were able to speak to a young boy who spoke a small amount of French, and who stated that the archaeologists had released "something bad" when they opened the catacombs. Aðalsteinn and Roland decided to investigate this claim further, and started out by looking for ghosts in the area of the dig site who might have seen something. Aðalsteinn encountered a ghost named Maria in the piazza's church, but she spoke little French and stated that she never left the church (which she apparently believed to be "Purgatorio"). Aðalsteinn and Roland decided to move on. They continued through the neighborhood until they saw large, wet footprints in the middle of one street, leading up to the door of a house. They knocked on the door but discovered that the source of the footprints was a small child who had been wearing her father's sandals and playing in a nearby fountain. During this time, however, Roland thought he saw someone wearing a black and white vertically striped shirt following them, and encouraged Aðalsteinn to keep an eye out for this person later.
On Saturday, Robert received an early-morning phone call from Marie-Cécile stating that the person in charge of issuing permits for archaeological excavations in Rome was named Bartolomeo Colombo. She said Bartolomeo was claiming that the permits had been lost, but she was not sure if there was more to it, because some Italians did not like the idea of foreigners coming in and removing artifacts from Italy. Robert then contacted his friend Walter Ventroni, the former mayor of Rome, in the hopes that Walter could introduce him to Bartolomeo. Walter stated that he was having a cocktail party that night and invited Robert and Souna to meet him there. At the party, Walter became a bit guarded when he heard Bartolomeo's name, and said that "he is involved with things you don't want anything to do with." Robert and Souna took this to mean that Bartolomeo had Mafia or organized crime connections. Robert's response to this was to speak to Benedetto, one of the archaeologists, who he had noted as having ill-hidden Mafia tattoos. Benedetto was not very pleased to be bothered by Robert, but ultimately said that with the correct bribe, a person like Bartolomeo could probably be encouraged to cooperate.
The other archaeologists spent the day touring the Roman Forum and the Coliseum, but Aðalsteinn and Roland declined their invitation and continued to search the neighborhood. Once again, they did not find any evidence of evil things escaping from the dig site (as the Gypsies had suggested) or sea monsters (as the dossier from SCP had suggested). However, they once again noticed that someone seemed to be following them - a man wearing a soccer jersey that Roland recognized as belonging to the Venice football club. Aðalsteinn and Roland entered a bar after the man, and Roland decided to get his attention by buying him a drink and passing him notes in French. It turned out that the man spoke some French and was able to begin a conversation with Aðalsteinn and Roland, who faked being fellow fans of the Venice football team somewhat convincingly. He gave his name as Lagunari (which Aðalsteinn thought was curious, since that is one of the nicknames for the Venice football team), and said that he had come to Rome looking for work but was currently unemployed. Aðalsteinn and Roland had a pleasant conversation with Lagunari until Lagunari's phone rang and he said his girlfriend was telling him to come home. He left after shaking the hands of both Aðalsteinn and Roland, telling them, "Good fortune to you."
Aðalsteinn and Roland returned to the hotel to meet Robert and Souna for dinner. On the way, Roland found a 20-Euro note in the street. At dinner, he and Aðalsteinn were mistakenly given better cuts of meat than they had ordered and told to keep them. The hotel also admitted to having made a mistake with their credit cards, and gave them a gift certificate for dinner at an expensive nearby restaurant as an apology. Everyone shared what they had learned, and agreed that in order to keep things moving, it would be a good idea for Robert to try to get on Bartolomeo Colombo's good side. A little research into Bartolomeo's likes and dislikes revealed that he was a collector of sports cars, so Robert ordered a set of expensive custom leather seat covers (using some of the money from SCP to do so) and had them sent to Bartolomeo's home, hoping that this would encourage him to help out.
INTERNAL MESSAGING - LEVEL 4 CLEARANCE REQUIRED - EYES ONLY
To: SCP-780
From: O5-3/780
Peach,
I wanted to thank you for your continued hard work relating to observation of the Project MONUMENT subjects. I understand that it can be difficult to watch the subjects when they are having interpersonal difficulties, and I appreciate the fact that you have carried on with your thorough reporting.
Malus Sylvestris
INTERNAL MESSAGING - LEVEL 4 CLEARANCE REQUIRED - EYES ONLY
To: O5-3/780
From: SCP-780
Uhhh...thanks...but...how did you know that was bothering me? ._.;;;;;;;;;
This session went a lot smoother than its predecessor - not that all of the inter-character drama has fully worked itself out, but it at least diminished to a manageable level. One of my goals was to give Robert a chance to distinguish himself in this session, since both player and character were not feeling awesome enough, hence all the stuff with the botched permits. Hopefully this subplot will see itself resolved tonight and Robert will be proven the hero of the day.
One thing that didn't quite make it into the summary was the, shall we say, unique personalities of Julien's and Igor's assistants. When generating background NPCs like this, I often take a page from the book of tankmancr and ask the players to give me three adjectives or qualities that are immediately obvious about these characters. It's fun and humorous and gives the players some narrative control over the game - which is how we ended up with things like Martin from the French team being unhygienic, tall, and "incredibly well-endowed," or Delfina from the Italian team displaying lots of cleavage, being a chain smoker, and missing a finger. It also interacted with the plot in an interesting way when someone (I forget who) described Benedetto as having badly hidden Mafia tattoos, thus causing Robert to hassle him for information - which is why I keep on using this little tactic, really!
I'd also like to suggest that you check out the PDF document linked in the summary above if you have the time. I worked hard on it and I'm proud of how it came out!
What is this?
To: Agent Block, 2/557-780
From: O5-3/780
Block, please send the attached report at your earliest convenience.
[Attached Report: Requisitions Response 03-05-2010]
INTERNAL MESSAGING - LEVEL 4 CLEARANCE REQUIRED - EYES ONLY
To: O5-3/780
From: SCP-780
On the afternoon of May 4, the subjects gathered at the Gare de Bercy to take an overnight train from Paris to Rome. They brought with them a variety of supplies that they thought would be useful during the dig, including the items and information that they had previously requested from SCP. At the station, the subjects were introduced to Julien Brunelle, Robert's cousin and the leader of the dig, and his three team members, Heloise Barteaux, Dominique Grimard, and Martin Duhamel. Everyone boarded the train and got to know each other over a meal in the dining car, except Bo, who once again got travel sickness and would spend the next several days recovering.
That night, Aðalsteinn, Roland, and Souna were all awakened by the sound of heavy footsteps and groaning coming from the corridor of the train. They opened the doors to their compartments and saw Martin stumbling around in his underwear, saying things like "Lord Neptune will have his revenge" and "The seas will run red with the blood from his trident." Roland realized that he was sleepwalking and shook him awake; Martin apologized and claimed that sleepwalking and -talking was a side effect of his insomnia medications. However, in light of the information contained in the SCP dossier, Aðalsteinn suspected that something more might be going on, and spent the rest of the trip researching whether there had ever been any temples to Neptune in the area of the Catacombe di Antonio Bosio (there weren't).
The next day, the subjects arrived in Rome and settled into their hotel, which was fairly near to the small Piazza di San Martino where the entrance to the catacombs was located. Julien had wanted to get started right away, but upon arriving he learned that the 2010 Coppa Italia soccer final was set to take place that night, and the local team Roma was competing against Internazionale for the championship. For this reason, most of the city was more interested in watching the match than in anything else, so the beginning of the dig would have to be postponed until the next day, since they would need to speak to the local archaeologists who would be helping out before they could get started. The subjects spent the evening settling in to their hotel rooms and continuing to prepare for the next day's events. Robert had a strange experience when he walked to a nearby grocery store to purchase wine and snacks for the hotel room, and was spat and shouted at by angry-looking Gypsies who were sitting on the steps of a church. The subjects also viewed the Coppa Italia finall; Robert and Souna in the hotel bar with Julien and the other team members, and Aðalsteinn and Roland in a nearby local café. Ultimately, Internazionale beat Roma 1-0.
On Thursday, the dig began. The subjects and Julien's team went to the Piazza di San Martino and met the Italian team, led by a fairly well-known archaeologist named Igor Onio and consisting of three assistants, Benedetto Rizzo, Galdino Monaldo, and Delfina Ferri. The two teams discussed their plans and decided to begin by sending sonar sensors down into the flooded catacombs to create a basic map of the area and to determine whether it would be safe to send anybody down in SCUBA gear to get a clearer picture and/or retrieve anything before draining the catacombs. Roland handled communications while Aðalsteinn aided the French and Italian teams in moving the sensors around and taking measurements and data. Robert and Souna observed, taking pictures and notes for Robert's blog entries (which Souna was now in charge of writing since she was a better writer than Robert). However, partway through the process of taking sonar readings, the sonar probe stopped returning data, and Julien realized that the cable had somehow been broken, leaving the probe to sink. A replacement could be ordered, but this would take time and money that the dig did not really have, so Aðalsteinn volunteered to suit up in SCUBA gear and take the risk of going in after the probe.
Aðalsteinn's SCUBA expedition (during which Roland outfitted him with a radio earbud so he could receive instructions from above, and a camera and light on his head so that the others could see what he saw) went off without a hitch. He found the probe at the bottom of the catacombs and noted that the cable seemed to have been worn away. He noted some rocky outcroppings or ledges that could have accounted for this through wear and tear, but the possibility also existed that it could have been cut by something. Aðalsteinn did not see anything unusual in the catacombs during his dive, but noted that although many of the frescoes had been damaged beyond repair by water, there were some carvings and sealed vases and niches that might yield something of value. He also would later tell the other subjects that he had not seen any ghosts in the water. The probe was repaired and the archaeologists concluded their mapping of the catacombs. Julien also said that because Aðalsteinn had not encountered any hazards in the water, the rest of the team could probably dive soon.
However, when the subjects returned to the catacombs the next day, they found that the metal lid covering the entrance had been secured with a heavy padlock. A nearby police officer told them that the local authorities had found irregularities with the permits for the dig, so they had sealed the catacombs to further investigation. Julien gathered the team and told them that they were not to attempt to access the catacombs again until the permits were worked out, since to do otherwise would make them grave robbers and jeopardize their careers. He told them that he was going to try to work things out and not to give up on the dig yet. Everyone went back to the hotel, but the subjects decided to take matters into their own hands. Aðalsteinn and Roland decided to get a better sense of the neighborhood, while Robert and Souna would get involved with the process of regaining access to the site by contacting Robert's former teacher, Marie-Cécile Pellerin, who is now the representative of a Dominican order of sisters in Rome.
Marie-Cécile was happy to hear from Robert and met him a a coffee shop in Vatican City to catch up on old times. He told her about the dig's difficulties and asked her whether she might know who was responsible for securing the permits. Marie-Cécile did not know offhand but agreed to look into it. Aðalsteinn and Roland, on the other hand, were beginning to wander through the neighborhood of the hotel when they encountered the same Gypsy woman who had spit and cursed at Robert. They were able to speak to a young boy who spoke a small amount of French, and who stated that the archaeologists had released "something bad" when they opened the catacombs. Aðalsteinn and Roland decided to investigate this claim further, and started out by looking for ghosts in the area of the dig site who might have seen something. Aðalsteinn encountered a ghost named Maria in the piazza's church, but she spoke little French and stated that she never left the church (which she apparently believed to be "Purgatorio"). Aðalsteinn and Roland decided to move on. They continued through the neighborhood until they saw large, wet footprints in the middle of one street, leading up to the door of a house. They knocked on the door but discovered that the source of the footprints was a small child who had been wearing her father's sandals and playing in a nearby fountain. During this time, however, Roland thought he saw someone wearing a black and white vertically striped shirt following them, and encouraged Aðalsteinn to keep an eye out for this person later.
On Saturday, Robert received an early-morning phone call from Marie-Cécile stating that the person in charge of issuing permits for archaeological excavations in Rome was named Bartolomeo Colombo. She said Bartolomeo was claiming that the permits had been lost, but she was not sure if there was more to it, because some Italians did not like the idea of foreigners coming in and removing artifacts from Italy. Robert then contacted his friend Walter Ventroni, the former mayor of Rome, in the hopes that Walter could introduce him to Bartolomeo. Walter stated that he was having a cocktail party that night and invited Robert and Souna to meet him there. At the party, Walter became a bit guarded when he heard Bartolomeo's name, and said that "he is involved with things you don't want anything to do with." Robert and Souna took this to mean that Bartolomeo had Mafia or organized crime connections. Robert's response to this was to speak to Benedetto, one of the archaeologists, who he had noted as having ill-hidden Mafia tattoos. Benedetto was not very pleased to be bothered by Robert, but ultimately said that with the correct bribe, a person like Bartolomeo could probably be encouraged to cooperate.
The other archaeologists spent the day touring the Roman Forum and the Coliseum, but Aðalsteinn and Roland declined their invitation and continued to search the neighborhood. Once again, they did not find any evidence of evil things escaping from the dig site (as the Gypsies had suggested) or sea monsters (as the dossier from SCP had suggested). However, they once again noticed that someone seemed to be following them - a man wearing a soccer jersey that Roland recognized as belonging to the Venice football club. Aðalsteinn and Roland entered a bar after the man, and Roland decided to get his attention by buying him a drink and passing him notes in French. It turned out that the man spoke some French and was able to begin a conversation with Aðalsteinn and Roland, who faked being fellow fans of the Venice football team somewhat convincingly. He gave his name as Lagunari (which Aðalsteinn thought was curious, since that is one of the nicknames for the Venice football team), and said that he had come to Rome looking for work but was currently unemployed. Aðalsteinn and Roland had a pleasant conversation with Lagunari until Lagunari's phone rang and he said his girlfriend was telling him to come home. He left after shaking the hands of both Aðalsteinn and Roland, telling them, "Good fortune to you."
Aðalsteinn and Roland returned to the hotel to meet Robert and Souna for dinner. On the way, Roland found a 20-Euro note in the street. At dinner, he and Aðalsteinn were mistakenly given better cuts of meat than they had ordered and told to keep them. The hotel also admitted to having made a mistake with their credit cards, and gave them a gift certificate for dinner at an expensive nearby restaurant as an apology. Everyone shared what they had learned, and agreed that in order to keep things moving, it would be a good idea for Robert to try to get on Bartolomeo Colombo's good side. A little research into Bartolomeo's likes and dislikes revealed that he was a collector of sports cars, so Robert ordered a set of expensive custom leather seat covers (using some of the money from SCP to do so) and had them sent to Bartolomeo's home, hoping that this would encourage him to help out.
INTERNAL MESSAGING - LEVEL 4 CLEARANCE REQUIRED - EYES ONLY
To: SCP-780
From: O5-3/780
Peach,
I wanted to thank you for your continued hard work relating to observation of the Project MONUMENT subjects. I understand that it can be difficult to watch the subjects when they are having interpersonal difficulties, and I appreciate the fact that you have carried on with your thorough reporting.
Malus Sylvestris
INTERNAL MESSAGING - LEVEL 4 CLEARANCE REQUIRED - EYES ONLY
To: O5-3/780
From: SCP-780
Uhhh...thanks...but...how did you know that was bothering me? ._.;;;;;;;;;
This session went a lot smoother than its predecessor - not that all of the inter-character drama has fully worked itself out, but it at least diminished to a manageable level. One of my goals was to give Robert a chance to distinguish himself in this session, since both player and character were not feeling awesome enough, hence all the stuff with the botched permits. Hopefully this subplot will see itself resolved tonight and Robert will be proven the hero of the day.
One thing that didn't quite make it into the summary was the, shall we say, unique personalities of Julien's and Igor's assistants. When generating background NPCs like this, I often take a page from the book of tankmancr and ask the players to give me three adjectives or qualities that are immediately obvious about these characters. It's fun and humorous and gives the players some narrative control over the game - which is how we ended up with things like Martin from the French team being unhygienic, tall, and "incredibly well-endowed," or Delfina from the Italian team displaying lots of cleavage, being a chain smoker, and missing a finger. It also interacted with the plot in an interesting way when someone (I forget who) described Benedetto as having badly hidden Mafia tattoos, thus causing Robert to hassle him for information - which is why I keep on using this little tactic, really!
I'd also like to suggest that you check out the PDF document linked in the summary above if you have the time. I worked hard on it and I'm proud of how it came out!
What is this?