Sunday Afternoon Game Report - The Troubleshooters RPG, Session 3
Yesterday afternoon, the Sunday afternoon gaming group came out and continued play in their The Troubleshooters RPG campaign. With the Omicron COVID-19 variant still being very prevalent and case counts of the virus up, the group practiced a level of distancing and protection as deemed necessary by the group. You can read about the previous session of the game by following the link. This post is somewhat longer than usual (for reasons noted in my final comments), so I've put it behind a cut so that folks who don't want to read any detailed rpg posts don't have to.
CHARACTERS:
Félix Travert (SteveR) - Wilderness Photographer
Yvette Zay (Tammy) - Security Consultant
Margareta Rosenqvist (GM NPC) - Air Stewardess
Thursday, April 13th, 1963
After leaving the small conference room after conversing with the Vincoeur family, the player characters return to their rooms and have a chat about matters as well as trying to plan out what to do. Félix Travert says they have more questions than answers. Magareta Rosenqvist says they need to start the next morning with a tour of the winery and its facilities, and Yvette Zay adds that they need to find out what records they do have. The winery should have some records of what they've sent to the distributors. Félix adds they need to talk to François Marchaud about what he knows about the wine that's been sent back. Margareta adds that they also need to see if they can talk to Yves Fournier about what he knows. The group also needs to talk to the Vincoeur distributors, and that means a trip back to Reims. Yvette says that since some of the missing wines were showing up in various wine shops and restaurants, were they able to track down what shipments they were supposed to be in, but Margareta says probably not. That said, given the disappearance of various stuff, wine shop and restaurant shipments likely went to where they had to go, but perhaps there were actual bottles or cases that shouldn't have gone to them that did. They will have to talk to Marchaud. Yvette says they have to talk to people at the winery about who has access, how they keep track of stuff moving around in the winery, who has access to visit. Félix says it would be interesting to see the paperwork that came with the extra bottles. Yvette wants to know what was meant about Yves transporting faulty wines; what is considered faulty wine? While Margareta isn't a connoisseur of wine, she talks about what she learned from Alain about what makes wine "faulty." Then there's the issue of the susceptibility, but Yvette points out having too much wine can cause susceptibility, but Margareta questions whether the victims were giving away personal secrets or other, such as government or business, secrets. Yvette also questions the cases of wine that disappeared in Greece on the downed Air Majestique flight, and would they have records of those bottles and vintages. Both F&eaccute;lix and Steve believe they would, but Yvette wonders if any of those wines and vintages have been reported as having shown up (likely in Greece). They talk about the quality of those wines, being international shipments, and come to think that they would be of higher quality, though not necessarily of older vintage.
Yvette puts a darker spin on things, speculating that if those wines were meant for people of importance or dignitaries, they might have been doctored or will be doctored, so they could be given the wines and then be susceptible to revealing secrets and information. Margareta says that she sees where Yvette is going with this, and doesn't like it. That perhaps the disappearance of the Air Majestique flight was not an accident at all, and may have been arranged. Félix says that it seems to be a convoluted way of getting hold of the wine, but if Alain is right as they still don't know if the wine is being doctored and how it's being doctored, there may be a connection to the sabotage of their own flight and the one from Air Majestique. Margareta asks in light of all this, where do they start? Yvette says they start with a tour of the winery, look at the records they do have, possibly check out the news about the winery and what information leaked, talk to at least the distributor in Reims, LaFleur et Fils, since they can't get back to Paris to talk to the international distributor. Since the weekend is coming, proper businesses will be closed, so they have to talk to the people at LaFleur et Fils the next day (Friday), so one of the characters will have to take the 1-1/2 hour drive back to Reims to do so. The characters decide to go to the winery together, and Margareta says they have to trust the expertise of the Vignoble Vincoeur staff to get the information they need (though she says that she thinks someone at the winery is the mastermind of the whole affair). Yvette says there is also the Vincoeur family, and whether there is a split in the family and what the family dynamics are. They discuss the various people in the Vincoeur family. Margareta says she can't see Jacques or Alain being behind the thefts, but says that she doesn't trust Remy at all, and that she hasn't since she met him. [Margareta rolls an 80 on Subterfuge, and flips the roll for 2 Story Points.] She tells them that Remy has tried to seduce her since they met, and doesn't understand why Natalie puts up with him. She tells them there's also François Marchaud, whose been the Winery Manager for as long as she's known Alain. Before they part ways for the evening, since tomorrow promises to be a long day, Margareta asks Yvette and Félix whether they saw the winery when they went outside. They did, and she tells them that it's a good half-hour's walk to the winery, a "good constitutional", though obviously faster by car. Since the weekend is approaching, Margareta adds there may be wine tastings but she doesn't know for sure, as the time of year is not the peak wine-growing season.
The characters wake on the morning of Friday, the 14th, to find a small amuse-bouche [bite-sized hors d'oeuvres and appetizers] waiting for them in their rooms, and they go through their morning ablutions, and have breakfast. Yvette is somewhat disturbed that someone came into her room to leave the food, and that she didn't wake up. [The time is roughly 7:30am.] Alain and Chloe are the only family members present for breakfast this early in the morning. He comments that they are up very early, to which Margareta says they have a lot of stuff to do. Alain says that he or Chloe can give them the tour of the winery, but there is also the winery's tour hostess who can take them on the tour. Chloe says that she'll take Margareta and the others on the tour, though Alain asks if she's sure she wants to and not leave it to Annette. Chloe says that Annette will be busy with work as the weekend tourists and all have to be dealth with. Chloe says she handles largely the accounting, but her expertise doesn't go to the wine-making business. They agree to take the tour of the winery in about half-an-hour after breakfast. Chloe tells them that the distributor in Reims will close at 4:00pm since it's the weekend. Chloe tells them that the public tour of the winery will take about an hour, and besides whoever is going to Reims shouldn't drink and drive.
The characters set off half-an-hour later for the winery, Chloe driving them to the structure. The winery is very old-fashioned in appearance, as it is a former monastery converted over. Margareta tells them that the winery is larger than it seems, due to the underground levels, and when asked by Chloe, says that Alain has given her the tour of the winery several times. "Better him than Remy," Chloe says quietly. The player characters are led on a proper tour of the winery, seeing the main entrance, the reception area, the wine-tasting section, the patio (near which are several barbeque pits), and the first of the warehouses. The characters learn a bit about the warehouses of the facility, and the various egress points to the various buildings and warehouses. Yvette inquires about the security arrangements [she fails the Security roll, rolling an 84, but spends two Story Points to flip the roll for success], and learns that in Shipping and Receiving there are cameras hidden at both of the docking doors, but not the entrance for people to enter. The camera in a far corner is also aimed at the entrance to the warehouse. Chloe says they only keep the camera recordings for a certain amount of time, and then they are given over to a security firm in Reims that stores them called Rochefort Securité Ltée. She says their contact there is one Guy Boucher. Yvette asks if there is any means of getting from the underground levels and winery facilities below ground to the upper, ground level structure other than the elevators and is told there is not; the ground level warehouses are pretty much contained to one building. Chloe says there are only two ways down to the wine caves (as they affectionately call them), and she leads them down there via elevator. The lighting in the wine caves is different, dimmer and fainter than on the main floor. Chloe tells them that the more recent vintages aren't stored down in the wine caves, they're stored up in the (relatively large) attic area. They meet a tall Frenchman, with an angular head, goatee, black hair, wearing goggles and a lab coat. Chloe introduces them to François Marchaud, the Winery Manager. Marchaud says he knows Margareta, but not the others, and introductions are made. François knows why they are at the winery, Jacques and Alain having told him. Chloe says they are just wrapping up the tour of the winery, but François says that if they had wanted a proper tour of the winery they should have asked Annette Robert, who is the Winery Hostess (and also works partially in accounting). Annette arrives, looking for François, to ask him a couple of questions about the wine-tasting coming up at 10 am. They are folks who are opening a new restaurant in Reims. Annette asks if he's seen Claude, but he tells her that he's busy at the moment working on details of the next shipment for today. They learn that Claude Arcand is the Inventory Manager, but is also the liasion with their importers and exporters. Margareta says she's not seen Annette before, and Annette tells her she's only been working at the winery for just over six months now.
Finally the characters go to the attic, and see what vintages are there. They find Remy in the attic, who is somewhat startled to see them. Yvette asks Remy a few questions about the distribution of the wines, since he is the Marketing Manager. She sees that there are no security cameras or arrangements up here, but Remy says there's no real need for security here, as one can only access the attic via the elevator or the stairs available. Margareta questions Remy about the wines, as there are individual bottles packed in crates. Many of the bottles here are used for testing purposes, as well as "other things" Remy tells her. Yvette asks if the bottles are all mixed up, and questions this but Remy says, yes, the same wine but not the same vintages. He holds up his list, and tells her that this is how he keeps track of what wine is which and where it's located.
Chloe says that wraps up the tour of the winery, and she has a young, red-haired, freckle-faced youngster by the name of Charles [Azoreux] drives Felix and Yvette back to the chateau, while Margareta remains at the winery. Charles is basically a go-fer, who's been working for just over six years at the winery. Yvette tries to ask him questions about his time at the winery and the Vignoble Vincoeur, but he's loyal to Jacques and Alain, and refuses to talk to them about the business or his time there. They arrive back at the chateau.
Meanwhile, back in the reception and wine-tasting area, Margareta enters and sees that there are quite a few people who've shown up for the wine-tasting. She sees and catches the attention of Annette [Robert] and the two talk. Margareta tells her that she's not there for the wine-tasting, but to help out Alain and the winery with the problems they're having. Annette tells her to keep her voice down. [Several people turn and watch, because they've heard some of that conversation.] For just a moment, Margareta thinks she catches sight of one of the fake mechanics from the airport in Paris, but she also sees that Yves Fournier is present as well. Annette says that Margareta seems distracted, but she tells her that she's fine, and that she wants to look at the records for shipping and receiving that the winery keeps on hand. Annette leads Margareta to a large office with a primitive computer and a filing cabinet. Annette leaves her to it, and returns to the wine-tasting. Margareta searches for the shipping and receiving records, starting in October of 1962, and if there are any notes about what's missing and any discrepancies. She realises they have the records of what they sell to the locals, through wine-tastings, and what they sell to the distributors in Reims and Paris, and the distributors have the records of what they've received from the vineyard and what's actually gone out. She successfully finds the files she's searching for, but doesn't fully find the material she's looking for. She searches the records and sees that all of the records for the most part are signed for by Claude Arcand, the Inventory Manager. The remainder are signed off for by the Marketing Manager, Remy Vincoeur. She looks for any patterns that she can find. Supplies come in on a semi-daily basis, but it depends on the season, receipts going to Inventory and Marketing. Various supplies also go to other departments for various reasons, for example, chainsaw parts going to the engineering department. Aside from wine, excesses of grapes and herbs go out, as well as various by-products of the wine-making business. There is lots of business in glassware and wood; lots of oak barrels come in at certain times of the year, notably when the processing of wine is at its peak. Oddly, a shipment of (excess) iodine was sent out to Oceanic Products, Ltée. in Marseilles; they are signed for by Remy Vincouer from the Marketing department. There are also patterns of restaurants and other businesses receiving wine and other products, though there isn't one when it comes to individual clients. The records of loading and actually shipping records are to be found in the warehouses themselves, bills of lading being stored in the warehouses and their filing system.
Elsewhere and some four hours earlier, Félix has dropped Yvette off in Loisier proper, and then he proceeds to drive down the highway and heads for Reims. She wanders around the small town, taking in the feel of the place, and goes to the local newspaper offices. She looks up both the Vignoble Vincoeur and Loisier and what she can learn about the winery and the town in detail. She learns a great deal about the winery [she fails the Investigation roll, but flips the roll for 2 Story Points], though she's not as successful with the roll on Loisier when she goes to the town library. She also learns a bit about the wine-making business, but does find out that iodine is used as a solvent and part of a cleaning solution, though not as part of the wine-making business. Yvette decides to go in search of the Le Clione wine bar, but learns from the lunch crowd in the area that the place only opens at 3:00pm. She then joins the noon-time regular crowd, and goes in search of a restaurant for lunch. She goes to a restaurant called La Boucherie, and finds the wine list does have Vincoeur wines; they are notably higher priced (20% to 30%) than others. She makes a mental note of the Vincoeur vintages available, and their prices.
After finishing lunch, Yvette decides to go to the somewhat famous art gallery devoted to wine and wine-making. Directed to the location, she finds La Galerie de l'Histoire des Vins relatively easily. She goes inside, talks to one of the agents there, and wanders around looking at the exhibits and the materials on display. After leaving the Galerie, Yvette decides to wander the streets until Le Clione opens up, looking at the businesses on the streets and to see if she spots anyone familiar. Every so often, Yvette gets the feeling she is being followed, and occasionally spots what might be one of the fake mechanics from Le Bourget or a red-headed woman.
Félix arrives in Reims, the drive having been quite uneventful, though he's managed to enjoy the lovely northern France spring day. He arrives in the city just in time for the lunch hour to start. He starts with a stop at Rochefort Securité, and is surprised to see that the building is out of place - it's in an older part of the city, but it's modern and flashy, almost reminding him of a Parisian hotel. An attractive, green-eyed receptionist greets him. He asks to see Guy Boucher, but Boucher is on his way to lunch and since he doesn't have an appointment to see him, will have to wait until after lunch. Félix makes an appointment for 1:30pm, and then leaves. He goes to the offices of LaFleur et Fils, but they are already closed for lunch and will re-open for business at 1:00pm. He walks over to a phone booth and checks the directory for the newspapers of Reims. He checks out a small, local paper, Les Chronicles de Reims, and goes to their offices. There's a skeletal staff at the office, since many of them are off at lunch in one of the local cafés that dot the area. He goes up to the reception desk, and inquires about information on some wine thefts. The receptionist perks up at this, and he tells her that the thefts occurred some six months ago from a winery in Loisier. She tells him that she doesn't know anything about that, being that the paper is local to Reims, but she will look into it if he's interested.
Feeling frustrated, Félix decides to go and eat some lunch in one of the many restaurants of Reims, and finds himself in L'Agneau au Chocolat (The Chocolate Lamb). After ordering the lunch special, Félix asks the server for a wine list. He looks around to see more about the restaurant. The waiter returns with the wine list, and the list has only three offerings of Vincoeur wines, somewhat more expensive than the other vintages. He wishes to order some wine, but decides not to at this point due to the cost [he fails the Credit task check].
After lunch, Félix returns to Rochefort Securité. There is plenty of activity, with various clients of the firm being assisted. Guy Boucher is a tall man, thin, slightly balding. Félix introduces himself to Boucher, and says he's working with a friend of Alain Vincoeur on a job. After inquiring how Alain is, Boucher asks him his business. Boucher says he knows nothing of the disappearances of wine, and notes this in a small notebook. Félix says the wine first started to disappear six months ago, and Boucher still knows nothing of the matter and is somewhat shocked and a bit upset. Félix tells Boucher what he knows of the disappearances of the wine. He tells Boucher of the security cameras in the winery warehouses, but Boucher tells him they do not have security cameras at the winery, but provide security guards and the like to the winery and other businesses that Rochefort provides security for. Félix tells him what they were told: that the security camera records were sent to Rochefort after a while for storage and safekeeping. Boucher tells him to wait there, and he goes to check into the matter. Boucher returns 15 minutes later, and tells him they do indeed have the tapes from the security cameras at Vignoble Vincoeur. Félix asks if he can check the tapes, but Boucher tells him they have over 300 tapes - from each camera! Boucher says he wouldn't know if there was anything unusual on the tapes, as he handles the Vincoeur account, not the actual security work and such. Félix asks if he can look at tapes from October, 1962 until the present, but Boucher says he can do so only with permission provided by Remy Vincoeur, which Félix doesn't have. He tells Félix he must get the permission from Remy or his wife, Natalie. He eventually manages to get in touch with Remy, and satisfied, Boucher leads him to the record storage room. There are hundreds of records to look through, but Boucher points him to the Vignoble Vincoeur records section. After three hours of blinding work looking through the tapes, there is nothing unusual on the security tapes but he has the feeling that he missed something in the process. He thanks Boucher for his time, and then heads to LaFleur et Fils.
LaFleur et Fils is not busy, but there are several clients there being helped by customer representatives. He tells the receptionist that he's working with a friend of Alain Vincoeur's on the situation of the missing wine. Looking around, the receptionist tells him not to talk so loudly. She leaves and comes back with an older gentleman, with salt and pepper hair, very cultured, whom she introduces as André LaFleur. After introductions, LaFleur takes him to his office and Félix inquires about the wine robberies and what he knows about them. LaFleur asks for proof of his friendship with Alain Vincoeur, but the line is engaged, and LaFleur says he cannot help him without the winery's permission. Félix says he only wants to know one thing: when some of the missing wine turned up, was the paperwork accurate? LaFleur says that all the wine that they receive from the Vignoble Vincoeur is documented, and that until he has proof of his identity LaFleur cannot help him. [At a cost of 2 Story Points], Félix gets through to Alain and gets his permission. André LaFleur tells him that there was no reason to check the documentation on the missing wines that showed up in wine shops and restaurants (among other places), but yes, there was documentation on official Vignoble Vincoeur stationery. When Félix asks if there was anything unusual about the stationery or paperwork, André says that the signature on the paperwork the restaurants and wine bars provided him was that of Remy Vincoeur, but a forgery it turned out to be; he didn't recognise the signature. André LaFleur names off seven restaurants in Reims that received bottles or cases of the missing wine, but adds that the vintages were quite poor, the sort affordable to the average man. When asked, LaFleur says that the restaurants discovered the wines were stolen, saying the wines were not Vincoeur vintages as far as they know. The sommeliers in the restaurants identified them as not being Vincoeur vintages, though they were bottled in true Vincoeur bottles with real labels. LaFleur says that Vincoeur gets their labels from the reputable maker of trademark and copyright business labels.
The Sunday session of the The Troubleshooters RPG campaign went...as well as could be expected. It's of reason to note that this was the first session of the game that I audio recorded on my phone (with the permission of the players, of course) and I feel the write-up on the session is a bit...bloated, with too much detail. This is something that I will have to work on as I continue to record the game sessions. The reasons for recording the game sessions are varied, but include the fact that my hands are very bad and holding a pencil/pen for long periods of time is uncomfortable. Not to mention that my handwriting is atrocious these days. The players had a lot of research and investigation to do in this game session, and weren't as successful as they might/should have been, the sequence in Reims with SteveR's character, Fé, being a bit of a disaster in some ways. Both players were looking for a bit of action, I think, in the session and it just wasn't there due to the amount of investigative work they needed to do. Additionally, with just the two player characters and an NPC, they didn't split up in the right manner so as to have the right skills in the various circumstances, but that's another matter that the players ended up discussing after the game session was over. The players didn't really remember what was going on in the plot to start because of the fact that the players had not played since before Christmas in December, 2021 due to Tammy's work schedule, holidays, and a few other factors. That's just Real Life(tm) getting in the way and all that.
Overall, I really hope the players had a good time of the session. I know that I enjoyed it, and am looking forward to their next session of the game.
CHARACTERS:
Félix Travert (SteveR) - Wilderness Photographer
Yvette Zay (Tammy) - Security Consultant
Margareta Rosenqvist (GM NPC) - Air Stewardess
Thursday, April 13th, 1963
After leaving the small conference room after conversing with the Vincoeur family, the player characters return to their rooms and have a chat about matters as well as trying to plan out what to do. Félix Travert says they have more questions than answers. Magareta Rosenqvist says they need to start the next morning with a tour of the winery and its facilities, and Yvette Zay adds that they need to find out what records they do have. The winery should have some records of what they've sent to the distributors. Félix adds they need to talk to François Marchaud about what he knows about the wine that's been sent back. Margareta adds that they also need to see if they can talk to Yves Fournier about what he knows. The group also needs to talk to the Vincoeur distributors, and that means a trip back to Reims. Yvette says that since some of the missing wines were showing up in various wine shops and restaurants, were they able to track down what shipments they were supposed to be in, but Margareta says probably not. That said, given the disappearance of various stuff, wine shop and restaurant shipments likely went to where they had to go, but perhaps there were actual bottles or cases that shouldn't have gone to them that did. They will have to talk to Marchaud. Yvette says they have to talk to people at the winery about who has access, how they keep track of stuff moving around in the winery, who has access to visit. Félix says it would be interesting to see the paperwork that came with the extra bottles. Yvette wants to know what was meant about Yves transporting faulty wines; what is considered faulty wine? While Margareta isn't a connoisseur of wine, she talks about what she learned from Alain about what makes wine "faulty." Then there's the issue of the susceptibility, but Yvette points out having too much wine can cause susceptibility, but Margareta questions whether the victims were giving away personal secrets or other, such as government or business, secrets. Yvette also questions the cases of wine that disappeared in Greece on the downed Air Majestique flight, and would they have records of those bottles and vintages. Both F&eaccute;lix and Steve believe they would, but Yvette wonders if any of those wines and vintages have been reported as having shown up (likely in Greece). They talk about the quality of those wines, being international shipments, and come to think that they would be of higher quality, though not necessarily of older vintage.
Yvette puts a darker spin on things, speculating that if those wines were meant for people of importance or dignitaries, they might have been doctored or will be doctored, so they could be given the wines and then be susceptible to revealing secrets and information. Margareta says that she sees where Yvette is going with this, and doesn't like it. That perhaps the disappearance of the Air Majestique flight was not an accident at all, and may have been arranged. Félix says that it seems to be a convoluted way of getting hold of the wine, but if Alain is right as they still don't know if the wine is being doctored and how it's being doctored, there may be a connection to the sabotage of their own flight and the one from Air Majestique. Margareta asks in light of all this, where do they start? Yvette says they start with a tour of the winery, look at the records they do have, possibly check out the news about the winery and what information leaked, talk to at least the distributor in Reims, LaFleur et Fils, since they can't get back to Paris to talk to the international distributor. Since the weekend is coming, proper businesses will be closed, so they have to talk to the people at LaFleur et Fils the next day (Friday), so one of the characters will have to take the 1-1/2 hour drive back to Reims to do so. The characters decide to go to the winery together, and Margareta says they have to trust the expertise of the Vignoble Vincoeur staff to get the information they need (though she says that she thinks someone at the winery is the mastermind of the whole affair). Yvette says there is also the Vincoeur family, and whether there is a split in the family and what the family dynamics are. They discuss the various people in the Vincoeur family. Margareta says she can't see Jacques or Alain being behind the thefts, but says that she doesn't trust Remy at all, and that she hasn't since she met him. [Margareta rolls an 80 on Subterfuge, and flips the roll for 2 Story Points.] She tells them that Remy has tried to seduce her since they met, and doesn't understand why Natalie puts up with him. She tells them there's also François Marchaud, whose been the Winery Manager for as long as she's known Alain. Before they part ways for the evening, since tomorrow promises to be a long day, Margareta asks Yvette and Félix whether they saw the winery when they went outside. They did, and she tells them that it's a good half-hour's walk to the winery, a "good constitutional", though obviously faster by car. Since the weekend is approaching, Margareta adds there may be wine tastings but she doesn't know for sure, as the time of year is not the peak wine-growing season.
The characters wake on the morning of Friday, the 14th, to find a small amuse-bouche [bite-sized hors d'oeuvres and appetizers] waiting for them in their rooms, and they go through their morning ablutions, and have breakfast. Yvette is somewhat disturbed that someone came into her room to leave the food, and that she didn't wake up. [The time is roughly 7:30am.] Alain and Chloe are the only family members present for breakfast this early in the morning. He comments that they are up very early, to which Margareta says they have a lot of stuff to do. Alain says that he or Chloe can give them the tour of the winery, but there is also the winery's tour hostess who can take them on the tour. Chloe says that she'll take Margareta and the others on the tour, though Alain asks if she's sure she wants to and not leave it to Annette. Chloe says that Annette will be busy with work as the weekend tourists and all have to be dealth with. Chloe says she handles largely the accounting, but her expertise doesn't go to the wine-making business. They agree to take the tour of the winery in about half-an-hour after breakfast. Chloe tells them that the distributor in Reims will close at 4:00pm since it's the weekend. Chloe tells them that the public tour of the winery will take about an hour, and besides whoever is going to Reims shouldn't drink and drive.
The characters set off half-an-hour later for the winery, Chloe driving them to the structure. The winery is very old-fashioned in appearance, as it is a former monastery converted over. Margareta tells them that the winery is larger than it seems, due to the underground levels, and when asked by Chloe, says that Alain has given her the tour of the winery several times. "Better him than Remy," Chloe says quietly. The player characters are led on a proper tour of the winery, seeing the main entrance, the reception area, the wine-tasting section, the patio (near which are several barbeque pits), and the first of the warehouses. The characters learn a bit about the warehouses of the facility, and the various egress points to the various buildings and warehouses. Yvette inquires about the security arrangements [she fails the Security roll, rolling an 84, but spends two Story Points to flip the roll for success], and learns that in Shipping and Receiving there are cameras hidden at both of the docking doors, but not the entrance for people to enter. The camera in a far corner is also aimed at the entrance to the warehouse. Chloe says they only keep the camera recordings for a certain amount of time, and then they are given over to a security firm in Reims that stores them called Rochefort Securité Ltée. She says their contact there is one Guy Boucher. Yvette asks if there is any means of getting from the underground levels and winery facilities below ground to the upper, ground level structure other than the elevators and is told there is not; the ground level warehouses are pretty much contained to one building. Chloe says there are only two ways down to the wine caves (as they affectionately call them), and she leads them down there via elevator. The lighting in the wine caves is different, dimmer and fainter than on the main floor. Chloe tells them that the more recent vintages aren't stored down in the wine caves, they're stored up in the (relatively large) attic area. They meet a tall Frenchman, with an angular head, goatee, black hair, wearing goggles and a lab coat. Chloe introduces them to François Marchaud, the Winery Manager. Marchaud says he knows Margareta, but not the others, and introductions are made. François knows why they are at the winery, Jacques and Alain having told him. Chloe says they are just wrapping up the tour of the winery, but François says that if they had wanted a proper tour of the winery they should have asked Annette Robert, who is the Winery Hostess (and also works partially in accounting). Annette arrives, looking for François, to ask him a couple of questions about the wine-tasting coming up at 10 am. They are folks who are opening a new restaurant in Reims. Annette asks if he's seen Claude, but he tells her that he's busy at the moment working on details of the next shipment for today. They learn that Claude Arcand is the Inventory Manager, but is also the liasion with their importers and exporters. Margareta says she's not seen Annette before, and Annette tells her she's only been working at the winery for just over six months now.
Finally the characters go to the attic, and see what vintages are there. They find Remy in the attic, who is somewhat startled to see them. Yvette asks Remy a few questions about the distribution of the wines, since he is the Marketing Manager. She sees that there are no security cameras or arrangements up here, but Remy says there's no real need for security here, as one can only access the attic via the elevator or the stairs available. Margareta questions Remy about the wines, as there are individual bottles packed in crates. Many of the bottles here are used for testing purposes, as well as "other things" Remy tells her. Yvette asks if the bottles are all mixed up, and questions this but Remy says, yes, the same wine but not the same vintages. He holds up his list, and tells her that this is how he keeps track of what wine is which and where it's located.
Chloe says that wraps up the tour of the winery, and she has a young, red-haired, freckle-faced youngster by the name of Charles [Azoreux] drives Felix and Yvette back to the chateau, while Margareta remains at the winery. Charles is basically a go-fer, who's been working for just over six years at the winery. Yvette tries to ask him questions about his time at the winery and the Vignoble Vincoeur, but he's loyal to Jacques and Alain, and refuses to talk to them about the business or his time there. They arrive back at the chateau.
Meanwhile, back in the reception and wine-tasting area, Margareta enters and sees that there are quite a few people who've shown up for the wine-tasting. She sees and catches the attention of Annette [Robert] and the two talk. Margareta tells her that she's not there for the wine-tasting, but to help out Alain and the winery with the problems they're having. Annette tells her to keep her voice down. [Several people turn and watch, because they've heard some of that conversation.] For just a moment, Margareta thinks she catches sight of one of the fake mechanics from the airport in Paris, but she also sees that Yves Fournier is present as well. Annette says that Margareta seems distracted, but she tells her that she's fine, and that she wants to look at the records for shipping and receiving that the winery keeps on hand. Annette leads Margareta to a large office with a primitive computer and a filing cabinet. Annette leaves her to it, and returns to the wine-tasting. Margareta searches for the shipping and receiving records, starting in October of 1962, and if there are any notes about what's missing and any discrepancies. She realises they have the records of what they sell to the locals, through wine-tastings, and what they sell to the distributors in Reims and Paris, and the distributors have the records of what they've received from the vineyard and what's actually gone out. She successfully finds the files she's searching for, but doesn't fully find the material she's looking for. She searches the records and sees that all of the records for the most part are signed for by Claude Arcand, the Inventory Manager. The remainder are signed off for by the Marketing Manager, Remy Vincoeur. She looks for any patterns that she can find. Supplies come in on a semi-daily basis, but it depends on the season, receipts going to Inventory and Marketing. Various supplies also go to other departments for various reasons, for example, chainsaw parts going to the engineering department. Aside from wine, excesses of grapes and herbs go out, as well as various by-products of the wine-making business. There is lots of business in glassware and wood; lots of oak barrels come in at certain times of the year, notably when the processing of wine is at its peak. Oddly, a shipment of (excess) iodine was sent out to Oceanic Products, Ltée. in Marseilles; they are signed for by Remy Vincouer from the Marketing department. There are also patterns of restaurants and other businesses receiving wine and other products, though there isn't one when it comes to individual clients. The records of loading and actually shipping records are to be found in the warehouses themselves, bills of lading being stored in the warehouses and their filing system.
Elsewhere and some four hours earlier, Félix has dropped Yvette off in Loisier proper, and then he proceeds to drive down the highway and heads for Reims. She wanders around the small town, taking in the feel of the place, and goes to the local newspaper offices. She looks up both the Vignoble Vincoeur and Loisier and what she can learn about the winery and the town in detail. She learns a great deal about the winery [she fails the Investigation roll, but flips the roll for 2 Story Points], though she's not as successful with the roll on Loisier when she goes to the town library. She also learns a bit about the wine-making business, but does find out that iodine is used as a solvent and part of a cleaning solution, though not as part of the wine-making business. Yvette decides to go in search of the Le Clione wine bar, but learns from the lunch crowd in the area that the place only opens at 3:00pm. She then joins the noon-time regular crowd, and goes in search of a restaurant for lunch. She goes to a restaurant called La Boucherie, and finds the wine list does have Vincoeur wines; they are notably higher priced (20% to 30%) than others. She makes a mental note of the Vincoeur vintages available, and their prices.
After finishing lunch, Yvette decides to go to the somewhat famous art gallery devoted to wine and wine-making. Directed to the location, she finds La Galerie de l'Histoire des Vins relatively easily. She goes inside, talks to one of the agents there, and wanders around looking at the exhibits and the materials on display. After leaving the Galerie, Yvette decides to wander the streets until Le Clione opens up, looking at the businesses on the streets and to see if she spots anyone familiar. Every so often, Yvette gets the feeling she is being followed, and occasionally spots what might be one of the fake mechanics from Le Bourget or a red-headed woman.
Félix arrives in Reims, the drive having been quite uneventful, though he's managed to enjoy the lovely northern France spring day. He arrives in the city just in time for the lunch hour to start. He starts with a stop at Rochefort Securité, and is surprised to see that the building is out of place - it's in an older part of the city, but it's modern and flashy, almost reminding him of a Parisian hotel. An attractive, green-eyed receptionist greets him. He asks to see Guy Boucher, but Boucher is on his way to lunch and since he doesn't have an appointment to see him, will have to wait until after lunch. Félix makes an appointment for 1:30pm, and then leaves. He goes to the offices of LaFleur et Fils, but they are already closed for lunch and will re-open for business at 1:00pm. He walks over to a phone booth and checks the directory for the newspapers of Reims. He checks out a small, local paper, Les Chronicles de Reims, and goes to their offices. There's a skeletal staff at the office, since many of them are off at lunch in one of the local cafés that dot the area. He goes up to the reception desk, and inquires about information on some wine thefts. The receptionist perks up at this, and he tells her that the thefts occurred some six months ago from a winery in Loisier. She tells him that she doesn't know anything about that, being that the paper is local to Reims, but she will look into it if he's interested.
Feeling frustrated, Félix decides to go and eat some lunch in one of the many restaurants of Reims, and finds himself in L'Agneau au Chocolat (The Chocolate Lamb). After ordering the lunch special, Félix asks the server for a wine list. He looks around to see more about the restaurant. The waiter returns with the wine list, and the list has only three offerings of Vincoeur wines, somewhat more expensive than the other vintages. He wishes to order some wine, but decides not to at this point due to the cost [he fails the Credit task check].
After lunch, Félix returns to Rochefort Securité. There is plenty of activity, with various clients of the firm being assisted. Guy Boucher is a tall man, thin, slightly balding. Félix introduces himself to Boucher, and says he's working with a friend of Alain Vincoeur on a job. After inquiring how Alain is, Boucher asks him his business. Boucher says he knows nothing of the disappearances of wine, and notes this in a small notebook. Félix says the wine first started to disappear six months ago, and Boucher still knows nothing of the matter and is somewhat shocked and a bit upset. Félix tells Boucher what he knows of the disappearances of the wine. He tells Boucher of the security cameras in the winery warehouses, but Boucher tells him they do not have security cameras at the winery, but provide security guards and the like to the winery and other businesses that Rochefort provides security for. Félix tells him what they were told: that the security camera records were sent to Rochefort after a while for storage and safekeeping. Boucher tells him to wait there, and he goes to check into the matter. Boucher returns 15 minutes later, and tells him they do indeed have the tapes from the security cameras at Vignoble Vincoeur. Félix asks if he can check the tapes, but Boucher tells him they have over 300 tapes - from each camera! Boucher says he wouldn't know if there was anything unusual on the tapes, as he handles the Vincoeur account, not the actual security work and such. Félix asks if he can look at tapes from October, 1962 until the present, but Boucher says he can do so only with permission provided by Remy Vincoeur, which Félix doesn't have. He tells Félix he must get the permission from Remy or his wife, Natalie. He eventually manages to get in touch with Remy, and satisfied, Boucher leads him to the record storage room. There are hundreds of records to look through, but Boucher points him to the Vignoble Vincoeur records section. After three hours of blinding work looking through the tapes, there is nothing unusual on the security tapes but he has the feeling that he missed something in the process. He thanks Boucher for his time, and then heads to LaFleur et Fils.
LaFleur et Fils is not busy, but there are several clients there being helped by customer representatives. He tells the receptionist that he's working with a friend of Alain Vincoeur's on the situation of the missing wine. Looking around, the receptionist tells him not to talk so loudly. She leaves and comes back with an older gentleman, with salt and pepper hair, very cultured, whom she introduces as André LaFleur. After introductions, LaFleur takes him to his office and Félix inquires about the wine robberies and what he knows about them. LaFleur asks for proof of his friendship with Alain Vincoeur, but the line is engaged, and LaFleur says he cannot help him without the winery's permission. Félix says he only wants to know one thing: when some of the missing wine turned up, was the paperwork accurate? LaFleur says that all the wine that they receive from the Vignoble Vincoeur is documented, and that until he has proof of his identity LaFleur cannot help him. [At a cost of 2 Story Points], Félix gets through to Alain and gets his permission. André LaFleur tells him that there was no reason to check the documentation on the missing wines that showed up in wine shops and restaurants (among other places), but yes, there was documentation on official Vignoble Vincoeur stationery. When Félix asks if there was anything unusual about the stationery or paperwork, André says that the signature on the paperwork the restaurants and wine bars provided him was that of Remy Vincoeur, but a forgery it turned out to be; he didn't recognise the signature. André LaFleur names off seven restaurants in Reims that received bottles or cases of the missing wine, but adds that the vintages were quite poor, the sort affordable to the average man. When asked, LaFleur says that the restaurants discovered the wines were stolen, saying the wines were not Vincoeur vintages as far as they know. The sommeliers in the restaurants identified them as not being Vincoeur vintages, though they were bottled in true Vincoeur bottles with real labels. LaFleur says that Vincoeur gets their labels from the reputable maker of trademark and copyright business labels.
The Sunday session of the The Troubleshooters RPG campaign went...as well as could be expected. It's of reason to note that this was the first session of the game that I audio recorded on my phone (with the permission of the players, of course) and I feel the write-up on the session is a bit...bloated, with too much detail. This is something that I will have to work on as I continue to record the game sessions. The reasons for recording the game sessions are varied, but include the fact that my hands are very bad and holding a pencil/pen for long periods of time is uncomfortable. Not to mention that my handwriting is atrocious these days. The players had a lot of research and investigation to do in this game session, and weren't as successful as they might/should have been, the sequence in Reims with SteveR's character, Fé, being a bit of a disaster in some ways. Both players were looking for a bit of action, I think, in the session and it just wasn't there due to the amount of investigative work they needed to do. Additionally, with just the two player characters and an NPC, they didn't split up in the right manner so as to have the right skills in the various circumstances, but that's another matter that the players ended up discussing after the game session was over. The players didn't really remember what was going on in the plot to start because of the fact that the players had not played since before Christmas in December, 2021 due to Tammy's work schedule, holidays, and a few other factors. That's just Real Life(tm) getting in the way and all that.
Overall, I really hope the players had a good time of the session. I know that I enjoyed it, and am looking forward to their next session of the game.