Sunday Afternoon Game Report - Rivers of London: The Roleplaying Game, Session 6
Yesterday afternoon, the Sunday afternoon gaming group came out and continued their campaign of the Rivers of London: The Roleplaying Game game. You can read about the previous session by following the link. This post is somewhat long, 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
PC James Rourke (SteveR) - Police Constable
Dr. Emma Thorpe (Tammy) - Forensics Specialist, Practitioner
PC Halley Caton (GM/NPC) - Police Constable
Game Date: Wednesday, April 13th, 2016
At 8:00am, Dr. Emma Thorpe arrives at the Public Mortuary and makes her way to the Iain West Forensic Suite. One of the lab techs, Bruce McIver, informs her that the evidence from the Odham Walk kidnapping case has arrived; it came in at around 2:00am. She's told that before she starts work, she's to go and see her superior, Dr. [William] Thorndike, first. Thorndike tells her that while the child kidnapping case is a priority of sorts, she's not to ignore the rest of her work for the day, as several other bodies require her attention as well.
Going back to her laboratory, Dr. Thorpe starts to look at the kidnapped child case evidence, beginning with the shoe. She begins by using her computer skills and checking for a match on the make, model, and size of the shoe. [She spends 20 Luck Points, succeeds at the roll, and gains the Computer Use Skill at 30.] The shoe is a New Balance running shoe, Model NB-218CS, Size young boy B4, which comes only in the dark red and dark blue colours. It is modestly priced for shoes of its type and size, and is usually found in shoe stores that cater to children's sizes as well as sports stores. She notices a dark material in the shoe treads, and takes a swab of that, and also swabs the interior of the shoe as well as taking one off the laces in the hopes of getting a DNA trace. Several hours later, the analysis on the dark material from the shoe tread comes back and is revealed to be horse manure, the primary components of which appear to be oats and barley, with traces of confectioner's sugar as well. The analysis of the interior of the shoe fails [she fails the roll, and fails to Push the roll], the expensive machine being used starting to vibrate and then starts to emit plumes of smoke. She calls in a forensics tech, and repairs begin on said machine. Around the same time, the analysis of the shoe lace comes back, and the DNA on the lace is that of Billy Sykes.
Dr. Thorpe then turns her attention to the samples of blood that she took from the ground in the courtyard of the Odham's Walk estate. The analysis confirms that it is human blood, but that it's not Billy's blood. It appears to be some six weeks old, and when she checks several other forensic databases, she learns the blood is that of Abigail Votumbé, who disappeared some six weeks ago. Dr. Thorpe turns her attention to the chocolate candy from Woolery's Confectionery next, being cautious. She senses the vestigia from the chocolate packet once more (the smell of cigarette smoke, the taste of chocolate and the sound of horse hooves on cobblestone). She takes photographs of the chocolate packet from all angles, and then attempts to get a set of fingerprints off the candy. The fingerprints are smudged, but from what she can tell there are two sets. She opens the chocolate packet and sees a good Belgian chocolate (confirmed by chemical analysis), and the wrapper is quite standard. Finally, she turns her attention to the three cigarette butts that she took as evidence. She puts the cigarette butts through the evidence procedures and determines that the cigarettes are Pall Mall, they were smoked by the same person, the DNA comes back that the smoker was male but there is no DNA file on the person in question. She is also able to determine that the cigarettes were all smoked on the same day (the 12th of the month).
She writes up her report for the police, making sure to omit any details about the magic from it, which does go into the report for her Folly superiors, and goes about her other work for the day, as she waits for the other shoe evidence to arrive. She determines that it is a match to the one she already has, with one exception: there is a second set of fingerprints on the shoe, which come back as belonging to Lara Sykes. [She spends 17 Luck Points to bring the roll to a normal success.] Once she finishes with the second shoe, she bags and tags it again, and then heads home. Late that night, Dr. Thorpe receives a call from DI Stephanopoulos. She thanks her for the forensic reports, they were most thorough and quickly done. She asks Dr. Thorpe to please report to the meeting at Charing Cross Police Station the next morning at 8:00am sharp - and tells her to bring her Folly ID with her.
Thursday, April 14th, 8:00am
The various player characters and other individuals involved with the case assemble in one of the meeting rooms at Charing Cross Station. Introductions are made all around, the various police officers are introduced to Dr. Emma Thorpe of the Mortuary's IWFS office, and Dr. Thorpe notices that Peter Grant is sitting out of the way in one of the corners of the meeting room. The meeting begins on a sombre note, as DI Stephanopoulous informs the assembled people that Billy Sykes did not return home, as Lara had expected him to. They go over how the investigation is proceeding and Stephanopoulos informs them all that the new person of interest, Oliver Derving (black) is the adopted brother of Victor Derving (white), the owner of Woolery's Confectionery, established 1876. They go over what they intend to do now: either have Lara Sykes take them to see Oliver Derving, or to go and investigate the leads they have at the Covent Garden Market. Stephanopoulos tells them in no sweet words that the goal is to bring Billy Sykes home, and the other missing children as well if possible. When the subject of what to do with Oliver Derving comes up, DC Peter Grant asks for the room to be cleared, with the exception of DI Stephanopoulos, Dr. Thorpe, and PCs Roarke and Caton.
Once the room is cleared, PC Halley Caton questions why Dr. Thorpe has been allowed to stay. Peter reveals that Emma Thorpe is a practitioner of the SAU (also known as the Folly), and has been for some time now - long enough that it's time for her to get some experience in the field. Stephanopoulos appears to be somewhat upset about something, but Peter says he'll talk to her about it later. They talk about magic, and Peter explains that it can be used to disrupt electronics (such as keycards and keycard mechanisms), can mask how an individual might have gotten out of a building (such as Odham's Walk estate). Peter tells them that the horse manure may well connect with the vestigia of hoof prints on cobblestone. Peter tells them that there's no record of an Oliver Derving in the Folly's records that he could find, but that the man may have changed his identity. That's usually done by practitioners who don't age the same as humans. If Oliver Derving is a practitioner, he could be very dangerous and they will need to be careful. PC Caton asks what a practitioner is, trying to get her head around the concept of magic, and Peter gives her a very basic answer to the question. Dr. Thorpe asks Peter what he wants her to do about Oliver Derving. Peter tells her that it will be up to her in the moment, and Thorpe is left not feeling all that happy or confident. They also talk about Alex Westbourn, the original and still owner of Odham Printers. Peter tells them that he has a sister descended from Mama Thames, one of the rivers of London given incarnation, who is a goddess of the lost river. Peter says they need to be very careful if they have to deal with the rather fluid river personalities...
Stefanopoulous tells them that Robert and Sylvia Sykes are on their way to the station with their daughter, Lara. She says that the team of three, PCs Rourke and Caton and Dr. Thorpe, will be going with Lara to see Oliver Derving while her parents remain at the station house. Stephanopoulous is informed by the officer at the main desk, DS [Bert] Clovill, that the Sykes and their daughter have arrived. The Sykes arrive, young Lara somewhat quiet and downtrodden, but she lights up when she sees PC Caton. DS Clovill brings tea and biscuits (with cookies for Lara), and then departs. Stephanopoulous and Peter talk to the Sykes, and tell them how things are going to go down, and while the Sykes are not happy and accusations are thrown around about mishandling of the case and the points of omission on the part of the Sykes, they agree to let Lara take Roarke, Caton, and Dr. Thorpe, Sylvia Sykes saying that she trusts that PC Caton won't let any harm come to Lara. Lara emphatically states that Oliver wouldn't harm her, or any of the other kids! Once matters are cleared up, the Sykes are taken away to a room where they can relax and receive updates.
Piling into a large, unmarked police vehicle, Lara directs the investigators with PC Roarke driving to go to Covent Garden Market. Once there, she directs them left onto Goody Street, which consists primarily of residences, a few shoppes, as well as some agricultural and horticultural structures and a museum; then left onto Folson Hill Road, which consists once more of modern day residential buildings and shoppes; and finally right onto Cottage Gate Road, which consists of a myriad of old-fashioned cottages. Dr. Thorpe spots what appears to be a hilly rise, at the top of which can be seen a mansion. Lara tells her that that is their destination.
Entering the private road way leading to the mansion at 123 Cottage Gate Road, the investigators and Lara see a large, Victorian mansion that is in good repair, with a stables nearby and a gardener working on the just sprouting shrubbery and some of the trees near the manse. Roarke stops the vehicle to the left of the main entrance, and the group pile out of the vehicle, Caton and Lara leading the way to the main doors of the manse. The investigators, Caton and Lara climb the steps and ring the bell of the mansion's main door. The door opens, and they are greeted by a manservant of the place, [Francois "Frenchie" Johnson] who greets Lara warmly, and asks the investigators who they are and what they want. They explain they are the London Met, and are there to see his master, Oliver Derving, about the missing child Billy Sykes. The manservant shows them into the house, and has them wait in a small lounge while he goes to fetch "Master Oliver."
While the investigators wait in the lounge, they discuss how they intend to approach matters with Oliver Derving and what they plan to do if Derving won't release Billy back to his family. Oliver Derving enters the room from a hallway; he is a tall black man with hair cut short, piercing green eyes, a slight hook to his nose, and a Pall Mall in hand, wearing a chic shirt, tie, dark vest and well tailored pants. To Dr. Thorpe and PC Roarke, he radiates power (though the latter doesn't know what he's sensing). Eying them sharply, Oliver Derving senses the magic in both of them, and shields himself from their prying. He is accompanied into the room by a proper butler, whom he addresses as [Geoffrey] Hendricks.
Oliver Derving engages the player characters, notably Dr. Thorpe, in a battle of words and wit, neither side giving the other any real information. He senses that Dr. Thorpe is Nightingale's new apprentice, and as part of their conversation, he asks Hendricks to go and bring Billy and the other children into the lounge and to fetch them snacks and to bring tea and biscuits for the adults. Billy and the other children, Ellie Barton, Abigail Votumbé and Morry Frankland, come into the room. The children look somewhat worn and tired, but claim it is from their intense physical gym lessons that they have just come from. [The children are actually being drained of their magical potential, in the form of their POWer, occasionally, as they all share in common the fact that they are potential future practitioners.] The player investigators learn that there are two other children also at the house, Bobby [Matson] and Annie [Vardelos], both from Chelsea.
The player investigators cut to the chase, telling Oliver Derving that they want him to release the children and return them to their parents. Oliver tells them that he's more than willing to comply, but that he's not holding the children hostage. He tells them that he's their tutor, paid for by their parents who know all about the fact that the kids are living at the mansion and studying there. Oliver adds that he's a teacher by profession, and has his diploma if they insist on seeing it. Using his magic, Oliver Derving freezes both PC Caton and PC Roarke into immobility and not permitting them to speak. He tells Dr. Thorpe to tell Nightingale not to interfere with him, and they can have the children back, as he has gotten all that he wants and needs out of them. Oliver Derving tells them that he knows Nightingale from back in the Great War (WW I), though Nightingale knew him under another name. To quote one of Nightingale's favourite authors, "The Game is afoot." Oliver Derving tells them that he holds Peter Grant responsible "for the death of his apprentice, and I am coming for that son of a bitch!" When Dr. Thorpe tells him that Nightingale will protect Peter from him, Oliver says that he's counting on it. Oliver tells the player investigators that "the children are a sign of what is to come", but says that for now, an agreement will hold between Nightingale and his Folly and himself, in exchange for the children.
The player investigators and PC Caton prepare to take the children back to Charing Cross Police Station, calling for an extra car to carry the extra passengers. However, they notice that Lara is missing. Billy and Caton realise simultaneously that she's gone to the stables to see her favourite horse, Lady. Caton goes to the stables, and meets [Rory] Wilkinson, the stableman and groom, there. He gestures to one of the stalls, and Caton sees Lara talking to one of the horses. And Lady is a talking horse, but as she and Lara leave the stables she forgets that part of the matter [through the use of Demi-Monde magic].
Saturday, April 16th
Some two days later, the case is completely wrapped up.
At Charing Cross Police Station, DS Woodrow thanks both PC Roarke and PC Caton for their exceptional work during the case of the missing Billy Sykes, and that the case is resolved as far as the Met is concerned, and they've also revised the findings of the case of the other three missing children and those taken from Chelsea. Caton asks how the children are doing, and Woodrow says they're recovering, but that they'll be having psychiatric treatment for some time as will their parents, all of whom are suffering from mixed memories of the disappearances of the children. Woodrow tells them that DI Stephanopoulos wants to see them before she returns to Belgravia. She dismisses Woodrow, and after he's left talks to both Roarke and Caton about the supernatural things of London, the Folly, and their involvement with the case. She says they're not to discuss the magic aspects of the case with *anyone*, and that they need to file two reports: one mundane for the official report, and a second report including the events surrounding the supernatural aspects of the case which she'll see reaches the "right people" [i.e., the Folly]. She then dismisses them.
At the Folly, Dr. Thorpe talks with DC Peter Grant and DCI Thomas Nightingale about the events that occurred at the mansion. Thorpe tells them what happened, and what Oliver Derving told her about his relationship to Nightingale and the blame he places on Peter Grant for the death of his apprentice. Peter has no idea what he was referring to, and neither does Nightingale, who doesn't recognise Oliver Derving from Thorpe's description of him. He tells Peter and Dr. Thorpe that he's going to have to look into the matter, but of course, he'll also protect Peter to the best of his ability if the need arises. Needless to say, Peter tells Thorpe that when the police returned later to the mansion, it had been cleaned out and Oliver Derving was gone. Nightingale adds that he believes they need to keep an eye on PC James Rourke. Based on what Oliver Derving hinted at when speaking to them at the mansion, as well as Peter's having read Roarke's report for the Folly, Roarke may or may not have the potential to be a practitioner. He thinks it may be best to have Emma Thorpe keep an eye on Roarke, as she'll be able to access cases in which Roarke is involved on behalf of the Folly. "Just keeping an eye on things, as it were," he tells them. Dr. Thorpe isn't happy at the thought, but Peter tells her that she's to think about other matters for now, as she has her work to do as well as her next training session at the Folly.
Sunday afternoon's session of the Rivers of London: The Roleplaying Game campaign went very well, and the players and their investigators progressed to the final sequence and their encounter with the "villain" of the piece. The battle of wits between Oliver Derving and Tammy's Dr. Emma Thorpe was quite a lot of fun, the player enjoying getting to play her actual investigator (though she also played PC Caton at certain points as well). I dropped a couple of hints of things to come in the campaign, and the scenario wrapped up with concessions being made on both sides and a denouement that made sense given everything that had gone down in the five previous sessions. In terms of the investigation itself, the plot wrapped up with a nice bow-like ending, but it was not a clear cut ending to matters, and I think the players realise that they haven't seen the last of Oliver Derving.
Overall, it was a good session of the Rivers of London: The Roleplaying Game RPG, and a nice way to wrap the first case file up - especially given the botch I made of things during the first couple of sessions. The next session will see the players begin a second case file, but I think I'll keep the plot simpler for the next one. I thought the players had a good time with the game, and both seemed to like the system and mechanics quite a lot. Tammy continues to struggle with the game world elements, for reasons that are somewhat murky to me, but we'll see how things go with the next session, whenever that is due to Tammy's work schedule. I'm looking forward to the next session. :)
CHARACTERS
PC James Rourke (SteveR) - Police Constable
Dr. Emma Thorpe (Tammy) - Forensics Specialist, Practitioner
PC Halley Caton (GM/NPC) - Police Constable
Game Date: Wednesday, April 13th, 2016
At 8:00am, Dr. Emma Thorpe arrives at the Public Mortuary and makes her way to the Iain West Forensic Suite. One of the lab techs, Bruce McIver, informs her that the evidence from the Odham Walk kidnapping case has arrived; it came in at around 2:00am. She's told that before she starts work, she's to go and see her superior, Dr. [William] Thorndike, first. Thorndike tells her that while the child kidnapping case is a priority of sorts, she's not to ignore the rest of her work for the day, as several other bodies require her attention as well.
Going back to her laboratory, Dr. Thorpe starts to look at the kidnapped child case evidence, beginning with the shoe. She begins by using her computer skills and checking for a match on the make, model, and size of the shoe. [She spends 20 Luck Points, succeeds at the roll, and gains the Computer Use Skill at 30.] The shoe is a New Balance running shoe, Model NB-218CS, Size young boy B4, which comes only in the dark red and dark blue colours. It is modestly priced for shoes of its type and size, and is usually found in shoe stores that cater to children's sizes as well as sports stores. She notices a dark material in the shoe treads, and takes a swab of that, and also swabs the interior of the shoe as well as taking one off the laces in the hopes of getting a DNA trace. Several hours later, the analysis on the dark material from the shoe tread comes back and is revealed to be horse manure, the primary components of which appear to be oats and barley, with traces of confectioner's sugar as well. The analysis of the interior of the shoe fails [she fails the roll, and fails to Push the roll], the expensive machine being used starting to vibrate and then starts to emit plumes of smoke. She calls in a forensics tech, and repairs begin on said machine. Around the same time, the analysis of the shoe lace comes back, and the DNA on the lace is that of Billy Sykes.
Dr. Thorpe then turns her attention to the samples of blood that she took from the ground in the courtyard of the Odham's Walk estate. The analysis confirms that it is human blood, but that it's not Billy's blood. It appears to be some six weeks old, and when she checks several other forensic databases, she learns the blood is that of Abigail Votumbé, who disappeared some six weeks ago. Dr. Thorpe turns her attention to the chocolate candy from Woolery's Confectionery next, being cautious. She senses the vestigia from the chocolate packet once more (the smell of cigarette smoke, the taste of chocolate and the sound of horse hooves on cobblestone). She takes photographs of the chocolate packet from all angles, and then attempts to get a set of fingerprints off the candy. The fingerprints are smudged, but from what she can tell there are two sets. She opens the chocolate packet and sees a good Belgian chocolate (confirmed by chemical analysis), and the wrapper is quite standard. Finally, she turns her attention to the three cigarette butts that she took as evidence. She puts the cigarette butts through the evidence procedures and determines that the cigarettes are Pall Mall, they were smoked by the same person, the DNA comes back that the smoker was male but there is no DNA file on the person in question. She is also able to determine that the cigarettes were all smoked on the same day (the 12th of the month).
She writes up her report for the police, making sure to omit any details about the magic from it, which does go into the report for her Folly superiors, and goes about her other work for the day, as she waits for the other shoe evidence to arrive. She determines that it is a match to the one she already has, with one exception: there is a second set of fingerprints on the shoe, which come back as belonging to Lara Sykes. [She spends 17 Luck Points to bring the roll to a normal success.] Once she finishes with the second shoe, she bags and tags it again, and then heads home. Late that night, Dr. Thorpe receives a call from DI Stephanopoulos. She thanks her for the forensic reports, they were most thorough and quickly done. She asks Dr. Thorpe to please report to the meeting at Charing Cross Police Station the next morning at 8:00am sharp - and tells her to bring her Folly ID with her.
Thursday, April 14th, 8:00am
The various player characters and other individuals involved with the case assemble in one of the meeting rooms at Charing Cross Station. Introductions are made all around, the various police officers are introduced to Dr. Emma Thorpe of the Mortuary's IWFS office, and Dr. Thorpe notices that Peter Grant is sitting out of the way in one of the corners of the meeting room. The meeting begins on a sombre note, as DI Stephanopoulous informs the assembled people that Billy Sykes did not return home, as Lara had expected him to. They go over how the investigation is proceeding and Stephanopoulos informs them all that the new person of interest, Oliver Derving (black) is the adopted brother of Victor Derving (white), the owner of Woolery's Confectionery, established 1876. They go over what they intend to do now: either have Lara Sykes take them to see Oliver Derving, or to go and investigate the leads they have at the Covent Garden Market. Stephanopoulos tells them in no sweet words that the goal is to bring Billy Sykes home, and the other missing children as well if possible. When the subject of what to do with Oliver Derving comes up, DC Peter Grant asks for the room to be cleared, with the exception of DI Stephanopoulos, Dr. Thorpe, and PCs Roarke and Caton.
Once the room is cleared, PC Halley Caton questions why Dr. Thorpe has been allowed to stay. Peter reveals that Emma Thorpe is a practitioner of the SAU (also known as the Folly), and has been for some time now - long enough that it's time for her to get some experience in the field. Stephanopoulos appears to be somewhat upset about something, but Peter says he'll talk to her about it later. They talk about magic, and Peter explains that it can be used to disrupt electronics (such as keycards and keycard mechanisms), can mask how an individual might have gotten out of a building (such as Odham's Walk estate). Peter tells them that the horse manure may well connect with the vestigia of hoof prints on cobblestone. Peter tells them that there's no record of an Oliver Derving in the Folly's records that he could find, but that the man may have changed his identity. That's usually done by practitioners who don't age the same as humans. If Oliver Derving is a practitioner, he could be very dangerous and they will need to be careful. PC Caton asks what a practitioner is, trying to get her head around the concept of magic, and Peter gives her a very basic answer to the question. Dr. Thorpe asks Peter what he wants her to do about Oliver Derving. Peter tells her that it will be up to her in the moment, and Thorpe is left not feeling all that happy or confident. They also talk about Alex Westbourn, the original and still owner of Odham Printers. Peter tells them that he has a sister descended from Mama Thames, one of the rivers of London given incarnation, who is a goddess of the lost river. Peter says they need to be very careful if they have to deal with the rather fluid river personalities...
Stefanopoulous tells them that Robert and Sylvia Sykes are on their way to the station with their daughter, Lara. She says that the team of three, PCs Rourke and Caton and Dr. Thorpe, will be going with Lara to see Oliver Derving while her parents remain at the station house. Stephanopoulous is informed by the officer at the main desk, DS [Bert] Clovill, that the Sykes and their daughter have arrived. The Sykes arrive, young Lara somewhat quiet and downtrodden, but she lights up when she sees PC Caton. DS Clovill brings tea and biscuits (with cookies for Lara), and then departs. Stephanopoulous and Peter talk to the Sykes, and tell them how things are going to go down, and while the Sykes are not happy and accusations are thrown around about mishandling of the case and the points of omission on the part of the Sykes, they agree to let Lara take Roarke, Caton, and Dr. Thorpe, Sylvia Sykes saying that she trusts that PC Caton won't let any harm come to Lara. Lara emphatically states that Oliver wouldn't harm her, or any of the other kids! Once matters are cleared up, the Sykes are taken away to a room where they can relax and receive updates.
Piling into a large, unmarked police vehicle, Lara directs the investigators with PC Roarke driving to go to Covent Garden Market. Once there, she directs them left onto Goody Street, which consists primarily of residences, a few shoppes, as well as some agricultural and horticultural structures and a museum; then left onto Folson Hill Road, which consists once more of modern day residential buildings and shoppes; and finally right onto Cottage Gate Road, which consists of a myriad of old-fashioned cottages. Dr. Thorpe spots what appears to be a hilly rise, at the top of which can be seen a mansion. Lara tells her that that is their destination.
Entering the private road way leading to the mansion at 123 Cottage Gate Road, the investigators and Lara see a large, Victorian mansion that is in good repair, with a stables nearby and a gardener working on the just sprouting shrubbery and some of the trees near the manse. Roarke stops the vehicle to the left of the main entrance, and the group pile out of the vehicle, Caton and Lara leading the way to the main doors of the manse. The investigators, Caton and Lara climb the steps and ring the bell of the mansion's main door. The door opens, and they are greeted by a manservant of the place, [Francois "Frenchie" Johnson] who greets Lara warmly, and asks the investigators who they are and what they want. They explain they are the London Met, and are there to see his master, Oliver Derving, about the missing child Billy Sykes. The manservant shows them into the house, and has them wait in a small lounge while he goes to fetch "Master Oliver."
While the investigators wait in the lounge, they discuss how they intend to approach matters with Oliver Derving and what they plan to do if Derving won't release Billy back to his family. Oliver Derving enters the room from a hallway; he is a tall black man with hair cut short, piercing green eyes, a slight hook to his nose, and a Pall Mall in hand, wearing a chic shirt, tie, dark vest and well tailored pants. To Dr. Thorpe and PC Roarke, he radiates power (though the latter doesn't know what he's sensing). Eying them sharply, Oliver Derving senses the magic in both of them, and shields himself from their prying. He is accompanied into the room by a proper butler, whom he addresses as [Geoffrey] Hendricks.
Oliver Derving engages the player characters, notably Dr. Thorpe, in a battle of words and wit, neither side giving the other any real information. He senses that Dr. Thorpe is Nightingale's new apprentice, and as part of their conversation, he asks Hendricks to go and bring Billy and the other children into the lounge and to fetch them snacks and to bring tea and biscuits for the adults. Billy and the other children, Ellie Barton, Abigail Votumbé and Morry Frankland, come into the room. The children look somewhat worn and tired, but claim it is from their intense physical gym lessons that they have just come from. [The children are actually being drained of their magical potential, in the form of their POWer, occasionally, as they all share in common the fact that they are potential future practitioners.] The player investigators learn that there are two other children also at the house, Bobby [Matson] and Annie [Vardelos], both from Chelsea.
The player investigators cut to the chase, telling Oliver Derving that they want him to release the children and return them to their parents. Oliver tells them that he's more than willing to comply, but that he's not holding the children hostage. He tells them that he's their tutor, paid for by their parents who know all about the fact that the kids are living at the mansion and studying there. Oliver adds that he's a teacher by profession, and has his diploma if they insist on seeing it. Using his magic, Oliver Derving freezes both PC Caton and PC Roarke into immobility and not permitting them to speak. He tells Dr. Thorpe to tell Nightingale not to interfere with him, and they can have the children back, as he has gotten all that he wants and needs out of them. Oliver Derving tells them that he knows Nightingale from back in the Great War (WW I), though Nightingale knew him under another name. To quote one of Nightingale's favourite authors, "The Game is afoot." Oliver Derving tells them that he holds Peter Grant responsible "for the death of his apprentice, and I am coming for that son of a bitch!" When Dr. Thorpe tells him that Nightingale will protect Peter from him, Oliver says that he's counting on it. Oliver tells the player investigators that "the children are a sign of what is to come", but says that for now, an agreement will hold between Nightingale and his Folly and himself, in exchange for the children.
The player investigators and PC Caton prepare to take the children back to Charing Cross Police Station, calling for an extra car to carry the extra passengers. However, they notice that Lara is missing. Billy and Caton realise simultaneously that she's gone to the stables to see her favourite horse, Lady. Caton goes to the stables, and meets [Rory] Wilkinson, the stableman and groom, there. He gestures to one of the stalls, and Caton sees Lara talking to one of the horses. And Lady is a talking horse, but as she and Lara leave the stables she forgets that part of the matter [through the use of Demi-Monde magic].
Saturday, April 16th
Some two days later, the case is completely wrapped up.
At Charing Cross Police Station, DS Woodrow thanks both PC Roarke and PC Caton for their exceptional work during the case of the missing Billy Sykes, and that the case is resolved as far as the Met is concerned, and they've also revised the findings of the case of the other three missing children and those taken from Chelsea. Caton asks how the children are doing, and Woodrow says they're recovering, but that they'll be having psychiatric treatment for some time as will their parents, all of whom are suffering from mixed memories of the disappearances of the children. Woodrow tells them that DI Stephanopoulos wants to see them before she returns to Belgravia. She dismisses Woodrow, and after he's left talks to both Roarke and Caton about the supernatural things of London, the Folly, and their involvement with the case. She says they're not to discuss the magic aspects of the case with *anyone*, and that they need to file two reports: one mundane for the official report, and a second report including the events surrounding the supernatural aspects of the case which she'll see reaches the "right people" [i.e., the Folly]. She then dismisses them.
At the Folly, Dr. Thorpe talks with DC Peter Grant and DCI Thomas Nightingale about the events that occurred at the mansion. Thorpe tells them what happened, and what Oliver Derving told her about his relationship to Nightingale and the blame he places on Peter Grant for the death of his apprentice. Peter has no idea what he was referring to, and neither does Nightingale, who doesn't recognise Oliver Derving from Thorpe's description of him. He tells Peter and Dr. Thorpe that he's going to have to look into the matter, but of course, he'll also protect Peter to the best of his ability if the need arises. Needless to say, Peter tells Thorpe that when the police returned later to the mansion, it had been cleaned out and Oliver Derving was gone. Nightingale adds that he believes they need to keep an eye on PC James Rourke. Based on what Oliver Derving hinted at when speaking to them at the mansion, as well as Peter's having read Roarke's report for the Folly, Roarke may or may not have the potential to be a practitioner. He thinks it may be best to have Emma Thorpe keep an eye on Roarke, as she'll be able to access cases in which Roarke is involved on behalf of the Folly. "Just keeping an eye on things, as it were," he tells them. Dr. Thorpe isn't happy at the thought, but Peter tells her that she's to think about other matters for now, as she has her work to do as well as her next training session at the Folly.
Sunday afternoon's session of the Rivers of London: The Roleplaying Game campaign went very well, and the players and their investigators progressed to the final sequence and their encounter with the "villain" of the piece. The battle of wits between Oliver Derving and Tammy's Dr. Emma Thorpe was quite a lot of fun, the player enjoying getting to play her actual investigator (though she also played PC Caton at certain points as well). I dropped a couple of hints of things to come in the campaign, and the scenario wrapped up with concessions being made on both sides and a denouement that made sense given everything that had gone down in the five previous sessions. In terms of the investigation itself, the plot wrapped up with a nice bow-like ending, but it was not a clear cut ending to matters, and I think the players realise that they haven't seen the last of Oliver Derving.
Overall, it was a good session of the Rivers of London: The Roleplaying Game RPG, and a nice way to wrap the first case file up - especially given the botch I made of things during the first couple of sessions. The next session will see the players begin a second case file, but I think I'll keep the plot simpler for the next one. I thought the players had a good time with the game, and both seemed to like the system and mechanics quite a lot. Tammy continues to struggle with the game world elements, for reasons that are somewhat murky to me, but we'll see how things go with the next session, whenever that is due to Tammy's work schedule. I'm looking forward to the next session. :)