Murder Most Foul (SECOND WANDER PHASE OPEN)

Started by Mandle, Mon 10/09/2018 15:07:06

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Mandle

Dr. Gerald Killmurray whispers something to Penelope Lancaster.

dayowlron

Colonel Burnes
Sorry for not talking before.
As for me knowing Graham Harlington, I do believe his face is a little familiar but I know there was never a Graham Harlington in my company. I may have just seen him on base or at a local bar during the quiet times.
Pro is the opposite of Con                       Kids of today are so much different
This fact can clearly be seen,                  Don't you know?
If progress means to move forward         Just ask them where they are from
Then what does congress mean?             And they tell you where you can go.  --Nipsey Russell

Riaise

Mary Dorsey

So I wonder what Madame Sky's vision means, then?

Perhaps...and I apologise if this seems insensitive, but given the circumstances...perhaps someone should search the body, to see if Mr. Harlington is carrying anything that could help us work out what is going on? Or has someone searched him already? Ms. Crosley, Madame Sky, you stayed in the dining room before, did either of you find anything?

cat

Angelica Crosley

I searched him and found nothing - not even a billfold or wallet. Strange, isn't it?

Mandle

GAME HOST NOTE: Sorry again for delay folks. Should be up and running again tomorrow!

tzachs

Madame Sky

Same here, I didn't see a thing. Well, except for the visions. Meaning to say, I didn't see a thing in the physical world.

Stares at Benny Green

I'm still waiting to get my cards back, you know.

Mandle

Angelica Crosley whispers something to Penelope Lancaster.

Mandle

Benny Green hands something to Madame Sky.

Mandle

Madame Sky sorts through a deck of Tarot Cards and then puts it away again.

Benny Green whispers something to Madame Sky.

Mandle

Madame Sky whispers something to Benny Green.

Mandle

#190
THE INVESTIGATION CONTINUES.

Spoiler

MURDER MOST FOUL
EPISODE #1:   A GOOD VINTAGE GONE BAD

The Time:   Night, September 17th, 1921.
The Location:   Lancaster Manor, New England, USA.



The Situation:   
After the dramatic events in the dining room are over, everyone imbibes in a bit of sustenance from the banquet laid out, and then decide to spread out in an effort to cover more ground.

The storm seems to be diminishing but rain still falls in sheets against the windows of the manor and the occasional thunder-clap sounds off in the distance now and then.


Spoiler

The Guest List:








Angelica Crosley is a local writer, based in Applewick, but of nationwide reknown. She writes mystery novels, or at least tries to while avoiding autograph hunters on her way to buy the groceries.

Angelica is amused that a hand-delivered invitation has arrived at her door and expects an evening of staged entertainment to rival such novels of hers as:

"And Then There Were Nine." and "The Murder Of Dan Ackroyd".

Angelica is really looking forward to this dinner at Lancaster Manor!

Let the entertainment commence!
Benny Green is an ex-cop from New York City who moved to Applewick four years ago after having been discharged from the force on charges of corruption.

He now runs a disreputable P.I. business out of a shady upstairs office where mostly those with doubts about their spouse's fidelity tread.

Why a low-life like Benny was even considered on the list of guests to such an upper-class event is a mystery in and of itself to the other attendants.

Or is it...?
Dr. Gerald Killmurray is the only doctor in Applewick with the full credentials of actually holding a license to practice medicine.

Gerald is getting a bit on in years and his memory isn't quite what it used to be...

Not by a long shot...

He still recalls all of his medical training from his younger years but has a spot of trouble remembering, at times, exactly who the patient he is currently seeing is, and also remembering to turn up at dinners he is invited to.

However, he has written this one down and shows up on the right date...
Madame Sky, as she is now known as after having legally changed her name, is a self-acclaimed psychic.

The Great War was followed by a boom in the public interest of occult and psychic phenomena and there are just as many in Applewick that feel the Madame is a fraud, riding the wave of that interest, as there are those who believe in her "abilities".

Her past is a mystery, having arrived in town and set up shop only about two years ago. "Madame Sky's Emporium Of Arcane Wisdom" also had the wisdom, it seems, to provide an extra, and convenient, back-door entrance for those who were too shy to enter through the front door.
Ret. Col. Maximus Burnes is a heavily decorated colonel and a hero of The Great War, now retired.

The entire nation knows of his descisive, but ultimately tragic, charge against the Hun, which casued enough disruption in its wake to open the way for the enemy front to break and the Battle Of Hummenberg Province to be won.

The same nation grieved over the news that Colonel Burnes was the only soldier recovered alive from the battle and that he was pulled out from amongst the bodies of fallen comrades-in-arms kicking, and screaming out to bring them all back with him... Even though this was impossible and their final battlefield remains their graves to this day.
Graham Harlington wandered into Applewick perhaps somewhere around three years ago, mostly under everyone's radar.

Little is known of the man, except that he has been civil and polite within Applewick society, if a tad twitchy now and then, and, despite his ragged appearance, seems more than able to support himself financially. He bought a property and modest house on the outskirts of town where he lives alone. He is seen in town now and then taking meals at "The Applewick Cafe And Grill" and otherwise shopping for groceries in the normal fashion.

Mr. Harlington, however, has never seemed motivated to establish much of a social relationship with his new home of Applewick and, in turn, Applewick has neither sought such from him.

It's a bit of mystery, therefore, why he would be invited to a dinner at Lancaster Manor.

The Manor Occupants:





Penelope Lancaster, the sole offspring of James and April Lancaster, inherited the Lancaster fortune when her parents died in a yachting accident just over a year ago.

She also inherited the family debt.

Forced to sell off most of the Lancaster estates and business ventures, Penelope now lives at the family's old country retreat, albiet quite comfortably for a young unmarried woman.

She has kept on only two of the staff from the old days: Mary Dorsey, the maid who rose to Head Of Service, and Hank Fellows, the best of the groundsmen.
Mary Dorsey is the last remaining service staff of Lancaster Manor.

She has been employed at the manor for a little over a year, during which time her drive to provide the best possible cleaning and service both terrified the other staff and propelled her to the position of Head Of Service well ahead of male butlers and other maids who had been with the family for, in some cases, a decade or more longer than herself.

When the yachting disaster struck, killing Penelope's parents, and most of the Lancaster family empire collapsed, Mary was chosen to remain at the manor by Penelope, the Lancaster heir.
Hank Fellows, born a deaf-mute, is the remaining groundskeeper at the Lancaster Manor.

Despite no formal education, he has learned to lipread at an intuitive level and can understand what is being said, even during complex conversations.

He cannot, however, communicate except through gesturing and facial expressions.

Perhaps this is what grants Hank the greenest of thumbs in his gardening duties:

His immobile "friends" in the garden having similar limitations?
[close]
[close]
Player Character List:

VampireWombat is Dr. Gerald Killmurray, the town doctor.
CaptainD is Benny Green, the local PI.
tzachs is Madame Sky, the local psychic.
Riaise is Mary Dorsey, the Manor maid.
dayowlron is Ret. Col. Maximus Burnes, retired WWI vet.
cat is Angelica Crosley, local mystery writer.
Kastchey is Penelope Lancaster, the Manor owner.
Stupot is Hank Fellows, the Manor groundsman.

WANDER PHASE!!! ONLY PMS TO GAME HOST PLEASE!!!

SECOND WANDER PHASE OPEN

The start of the second Wander Phase is now open.

During this start of the Wander Phase each guest may PM to the game host which room they are going to in this fashion:

QuoteGo to >room name<

One other movement option available is:

QuoteFollow >character name<

This would land you in the same room as the followed character. The followed player may or may not be aware they were followed depending on which character they and you are playing and a random dice roll. If they are not aware of having been followed it will only appear as if you happened to choose the same room by coincidence, otherwise they will be notified via game host PM that they were deliberately followed by you.

The next step is to PM the game host with whatever action you may wish to perform in that room.

For example, some basic ones are:

QuoteSearch >hotspot<

or

QuoteHide >item< in >hotspot<

Note that a character hiding an item in a certain location will only appear to the other players present in the same room as if they were searching that location.

More in-depth searching/hiding gameplay will be available to players in the second half of this Wander Phase, as will more movement options and also private interaction options between players that find themselves in the same room together.

For now, here are the available rooms players can move to and perform a secondary Search/Hide action in:

NOTE THAT ALL MOVE, SEARCH, AND HIDE ACTIONS MUST BE ONLY SENT VIA PM TO THE GAME HOST AND MUST NOT BE MENTIONED IN THE THREAD!

AVAILABLE LOCATIONS:
Spoiler

DINING ROOM
Location: The dining room is a long rectangular room, running west to east, with an impressive dining table down the middle. The dining table is surrounded by chairs and is decked out with beautful flatware, silverware, condiment trays, and candelabras. There is a fireplace at one end but it is inoperative due to modern steampipe-heating having been installed throughout the Manor some years before. There is a glass case full of china ornaments, trophies, and other nicknacks against the south wall, between several high, curtained windows. An impressive wallnut dining-room cabinet lies against the north wall.

Graham Harlington lies dead on the floor, covered by a linen tablecloth.

Hotspots: Glass Case, Cabinet, Fireplace, Dead Body.

Exits: North to Kitchen, East to Entryway.



KITCHEN
Location: The kitchen of Lancaster Manor has an expansive island counter for the preperation of food, overhung by racks of pots, pans, and cooking utensils. Ranging around the available wall-space are units of lower drawers and upper cabinets. An oven complete with a brass-hooded chimney-flume above it sits against the west wall. On the east wall lies the door leading down to the cellar. A door to the back yard is set into the north wall, and the door to the dining room lies south.

Hotspots: Drawers, Cabinets, Oven.

Exits: North to Back Yard, Down to Cellar, South to Dining Room.



CELLAR
Location: The dim light and dusty odor of the cellar of Lancaster Manor only adds to the oppressive feeling of a great weight of physical structure and family history pressing down from above.

The cellar includes a wall of wine-racks, mostly empty, a locked chest, a steam furnace, boiling away nicely, and a coal-chute full of coal at the bottom in the bin and with a rusty-looking trapdoor at the top of the chute.

Hotspots: Wine Racks, Locked Chest, Steam Furnace, Coal-Bin, Coal-Chute Trapdoor.

Exits: Up to Kitchen.



ENTRYWAY
Location: The entryway to Lancaster Manor is paved with a diamond-shaped checkerboard pattern of black and white tiles. The walls are of deeply, and expertly, stained oak. A sizable wrought-iron and crystal chandelier hangs over the center of the room. A staircase leads up to the second floor along the eastern wall, on the side of which is a storage closet door. Next to the impressive main door to the south is a rack of coat-hooks from which all the guests' overcoats hang. To the north is a door marked with a sign reading "W.C." and to the east an open archway leads into the parlour. A door to the west leads to the dining room.

Hotspots: Storage Closet, Coat Rack (If searching and/or hiding in coat rack then a particular guest's coat must be specified).

Exits: North to W.C., East to Parlour, South to Front Yard, West to Dining Room, Up to Second Floor.



W.C.
Location: The W.C. of Lancaster Manor is a spotless yet tiny room, ensconced tastefully next to the staircase of the entryway. Every surface gleams with cleanliness, from the polished brass tap fixtures over the china sink, to the gleaming toilet, and to the expensive-looking framed mirror. Under the sink is a cabinet. There is a small, wire trash can for the disposal of paper towels after hand-washing. The single door in the south wall leads to the entryway.

Hotspots: Sink Cabinet, Mirror, Trash Can.

Exits: South to Entryway.



PARLOUR
Location: The parlour of Lancaster Manor, draped all around with deep blue velvet hangings, is an intimate-feeling space despite its size. A lovely black harpsichord sits in the south-east corner. A gramophone on a delicate spider-like table lies in the south-west corner. A liquor cabinet presides over the north-west corner. And an elegant tea-table with four chairs lies in the center of the room. An open archway leads west to the entryway. A door leads north to the study.

Hotspots: Harpsichord, Gramophone, Liquor Cabinet, Tea-Table.

Exits: West to Entryway, North to Study.



STUDY
Location: This study is charmingly wallpapered all around with sepia-toned maps of the world from the century just passed. A massive row of leaded-glass windows dominates the northern wall, providing the majestic vista over the back-yard garden area. Ensconced within this wall is a modest glass door providing access to the outside but, for now, too much rain still lashes against it to make going outside a viable option.
Within the room itself is an impressive oak desk, with a drawer on each side, and a massive bookcase divided into four quarters: A-G, H-M, N-S, and T-Z

Hotspots: Left Desk Drawer, Right Desk Drawer, Bookcase A-G, Bookcase H-M, Bookcase N-S, Bookcase T-Z.

Exits: North to Garden, South to Parlour.

[close]

Mandle

Current actions have been moderated.

Players may now PM secondary actions to the GM as per the same rules.

Mandle

ARGH.... Real life sucks! Hopefully issues are dealt with for now.

Finally I've updated all player's actions via PM and now the second part of this wander phase can continue.

Please send me the next actions via PM.

As before this is a two-action phase: You can move and act, or act twice, or interact with someone in the same room in some way, or with two people in your room.

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