Call of Cthulhu Campaign Session 6
Taylor, Atkins and Jones made their way back to camp, where Jones was hospitalised. The next morning Lieutenant Gull sent a provost sergeant to wake up Atkins, who came very quickly, and Taylor, who had to be beaten up a little bit and have water poured on him, by a sergeant who was not taking the word 'tired' as a reason not to jump to it. Gull then tore into the unlucky duo, especially Taylor, who was late and not as well shaved as Atkins. However, they managed to convince him that there was reason to investigate the house.
Being an officious little bastard, Gull came by to check on Jones and his wounds, and then organised some provosts and went into town. The next day, Taylor and Atkins were woken up again. Taylor finally exhibited learning behaviour, by getting up when first told to. All three soldiers were called in front of Gull, including a barely-vertical Jones. Gull was obviously badly-slept and for once could find little to complain about. He made everyone write out a report (which is still owed to me, IC!) and then dismissed them. He did reveal that Selwyn was probably dead, but that the body had not yet been identified.
A week later, with Jones mostly recovered and the others in the best of health, Gull ordered the trio to liaise with the Brighton and Hove police in bringing the murderer of Pte Morgan to justice. So once more, they traipsed into Brighton, and through it to Hove. There, they finally had a stroke of luck, as the Detective Inspector who was heading the investigation decided to trust them. His name was Roderick, and they went straight to first-name terms, and so never found out exactly who he was. The DI gave them a map of the house, including where Selwyn's body was found, and where the poor Lieutenant Gull had been violently sick. A bulletin was put out for the man answering the description given by the soldiers, and Roderick called in an expert to look at Selwyn's handwritten note to Taylor, and the note that Tubby Joe had given them, with an address on.
Roderick went to talk with Tubby Joe, while the soldiers went to talk to the man who had performed the autopsy. Selwyn had died either of massive exsanguination, or of having his brain removed - it was difficult to say which was the actual cause of death. The muscles of his long bones, save at the joints, had been chewed on by what the doctor said 'resembled a wolf'. The doctor was not going to speculate as to how that had happened.
However, one thing could not be put off. They had to go and look the house over. When asked by Jones, Roderick pointed out that while he could not issue them with weapons, a nightstick would be admirable for each of them, in helping to move aside any slimy clutter. He himself had a perfectly serviceable revolver. In the house, they discovered a document written on papyrus, which Roderick was able to read easily, having been schooled in Greek. (The parchment was in English, but the lettering was very strange, and Roderick was used to the shapes of the letters.) It was instructions on how to do something that required taking out a brain. Everyone got their first Mythos Point here, and a d4 sanity loss. Roderick, who had seen the body, managed to say weakly that it had been arranged according to the diagram on the papyrus.
They had a police carriage to drive them around, and while the others were not looking, Roderick casually, automatically, offered Sammie Atkins his arm to help her up. Later, he took Sammie aside and did not say anything.
It was nearly lunchtime, and nobody was hungry, but they still took a break for lunch, while Roderick had his men wire to London for details of the owner of the Church of the Starry Brethren. The soldiers went to see the Church, and found that to nobody's surprise, the man from the ice-cream shop was drinking coffee in the little shop near to its back door. Jones tried to talk to him, and got sent back by his friends after failing. The man insisted he sat down, and then started pressing against his leg, making Jones uncomfortable. However, the only thing that James Carlton would admit was that he had lost a receipt from a turf accountant, and that someone had been following him to return it. Suspicious behaviour? Never!
After lunch, Roderick finally got around to mention he was sorry to hear what had happened to their Regiment. Then he realised they did not know; the Brighton Pals had been at Verdun, and the black-edged obituary list was three pages long. On that day, the printed names included Captain Baset Marks, and many of their good friends. Roderick left them alone for a while.
That afternoon, the Land Registry telegrams came back. 126 Neal Street was owned by Dr Ravjit Singh, with an address in London given. For the grand prize, the Church of the Starry Brethren also leased their property from Dr Ravjit Singh. He was the same man who had witnessed Alex Gold's will, leaving everything to the Church. They decided to go to London!
End of session...
Being an officious little bastard, Gull came by to check on Jones and his wounds, and then organised some provosts and went into town. The next day, Taylor and Atkins were woken up again. Taylor finally exhibited learning behaviour, by getting up when first told to. All three soldiers were called in front of Gull, including a barely-vertical Jones. Gull was obviously badly-slept and for once could find little to complain about. He made everyone write out a report (which is still owed to me, IC!) and then dismissed them. He did reveal that Selwyn was probably dead, but that the body had not yet been identified.
A week later, with Jones mostly recovered and the others in the best of health, Gull ordered the trio to liaise with the Brighton and Hove police in bringing the murderer of Pte Morgan to justice. So once more, they traipsed into Brighton, and through it to Hove. There, they finally had a stroke of luck, as the Detective Inspector who was heading the investigation decided to trust them. His name was Roderick, and they went straight to first-name terms, and so never found out exactly who he was. The DI gave them a map of the house, including where Selwyn's body was found, and where the poor Lieutenant Gull had been violently sick. A bulletin was put out for the man answering the description given by the soldiers, and Roderick called in an expert to look at Selwyn's handwritten note to Taylor, and the note that Tubby Joe had given them, with an address on.
Roderick went to talk with Tubby Joe, while the soldiers went to talk to the man who had performed the autopsy. Selwyn had died either of massive exsanguination, or of having his brain removed - it was difficult to say which was the actual cause of death. The muscles of his long bones, save at the joints, had been chewed on by what the doctor said 'resembled a wolf'. The doctor was not going to speculate as to how that had happened.
However, one thing could not be put off. They had to go and look the house over. When asked by Jones, Roderick pointed out that while he could not issue them with weapons, a nightstick would be admirable for each of them, in helping to move aside any slimy clutter. He himself had a perfectly serviceable revolver. In the house, they discovered a document written on papyrus, which Roderick was able to read easily, having been schooled in Greek. (The parchment was in English, but the lettering was very strange, and Roderick was used to the shapes of the letters.) It was instructions on how to do something that required taking out a brain. Everyone got their first Mythos Point here, and a d4 sanity loss. Roderick, who had seen the body, managed to say weakly that it had been arranged according to the diagram on the papyrus.
They had a police carriage to drive them around, and while the others were not looking, Roderick casually, automatically, offered Sammie Atkins his arm to help her up. Later, he took Sammie aside and did not say anything.
It was nearly lunchtime, and nobody was hungry, but they still took a break for lunch, while Roderick had his men wire to London for details of the owner of the Church of the Starry Brethren. The soldiers went to see the Church, and found that to nobody's surprise, the man from the ice-cream shop was drinking coffee in the little shop near to its back door. Jones tried to talk to him, and got sent back by his friends after failing. The man insisted he sat down, and then started pressing against his leg, making Jones uncomfortable. However, the only thing that James Carlton would admit was that he had lost a receipt from a turf accountant, and that someone had been following him to return it. Suspicious behaviour? Never!
After lunch, Roderick finally got around to mention he was sorry to hear what had happened to their Regiment. Then he realised they did not know; the Brighton Pals had been at Verdun, and the black-edged obituary list was three pages long. On that day, the printed names included Captain Baset Marks, and many of their good friends. Roderick left them alone for a while.
That afternoon, the Land Registry telegrams came back. 126 Neal Street was owned by Dr Ravjit Singh, with an address in London given. For the grand prize, the Church of the Starry Brethren also leased their property from Dr Ravjit Singh. He was the same man who had witnessed Alex Gold's will, leaving everything to the Church. They decided to go to London!
End of session...