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| wod:geist:recap:3_chapter_3 [2020/09/08 21:16] – anagramofbrat | wod:geist:recap:3_chapter_3 [2020/09/12 12:36] (current) – [Friday, October 2nd, 2009] anagramofbrat | ||
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| ===== Friday, October 2nd, 2009 ===== | ===== Friday, October 2nd, 2009 ===== | ||
| - | After reviewing the Botanica’s finances, [[wod: | + | After reviewing the Botanica's finances, [[wod: |
| - | Anita ends up venting about Del to the cat, and asks if he knows of any way to keep a troubled teenager in one spot. The cat retorts sarcastically, | + | Anita ends up venting about Del to the cat, and asks if he knows of any way to keep a troubled teenager in one spot. The cat retorts sarcastically, |
| - | Anita closes the store on time, at 7 o’clock and finishes the end-of-day at 7:30, which is early for her but for good or for ill today was fairly dead, and she’s really only had the cat for company. She heads home and finds [[wod: | + | Anita closes the store on time, at 7 o'clock and finishes the end-of-day at 7:30, which is early for her but for good or for ill today was fairly dead, and she's really only had the cat for company. She heads home and finds [[wod: |
| - | As [[wod: | + | As [[wod: |
| - | Lt. Gardner asks why they intervened at Central High, which falls in the Pines Point precinct. Peter explains his friendship with [[wod: | + | Lt. Gardner asks why they intervened at Central High, which falls in the Pines Point precinct. Peter explains his friendship with [[wod: |
| - | Lt. Gardner confirms that Doug and Peter were on the first floor and did not witness the confrontation between the officers and [[wod: | + | Lt. Gardner confirms that Doug and Peter were on the first floor and did not witness the confrontation between the officers and [[wod: |
| - | David heads home after the police investigation wraps up at Central High. He’s still wired, so he grabs some “probably Chinese” takeout and a six-pack of beer on his way. He settles in for the next two hours and catches a Family Guy marathon on Fox. [[wod: | + | David heads home after the police investigation wraps up at Central High. He's still wired, so he grabs some "probably Chinese" |
| - | David, Peter, Isobel, and Anita gather at the pub at 9 o’clock, but [[wod: | + | David, Peter, Isobel, and Anita gather at the pub at 9 o'clock, but [[wod: |
| - | By 9:30 there is still no sign of Erika, so David calls her cell phone. It rings four times before going to voice mail, so David leaves a message. As David is talking Peter mutters that the coffee here is terrible. David wants to know why Peter is sticking to coffee while they’re all in a bar, and Peter holds up his Alcoholics Anonymous poker chip as a reminder. The women mock David for forgetting something that important, but they eventually decide to walk over to Erika’s house to check on her. | + | By 9:30 there is still no sign of Erika, so David calls her cell phone. It rings four times before going to voice mail, so David leaves a message. As David is talking Peter mutters that the coffee here is terrible. David wants to know why Peter is sticking to coffee while they're all in a bar, and Peter holds up his Alcoholics Anonymous poker chip as a reminder. The women mock David for forgetting something that important, but they eventually decide to walk over to Erika's house to check on her. |
| - | Erika’s house is only three blocks from the bar, so it’s a ten-minute walk. They arrive to find Erika’s car in the driveway but no lights on. They’ve never been inside Erika’s home before, and realize the house itself is a three-story century-old colonial modified to look like a Victorian – or it might be a century-old mini-Victorian modified to look colonial, they’re not entirely sure. They head up to the porch and knock, and they find the door is slightly ajar. They step inside, and immediately notice that the power appears to be out; no appliances are lit up. Peter’s cop instincts flare and he immediately begins searching the house after no one responds to the krewe’s calls to Erika. Isobel assists Peter while David and Anita step outside. Anita checks on the electrical meter and discovers that someone deliberately snipped the power line to the house. David checks the mail and finds nothing backed up; Erika’s mail is sitting neatly on her kitchen table. David recalls that Erika was at Central High this morning, and she seemed perfectly fine. | + | Erika's house is only three blocks from the bar, so it's a ten-minute walk. They arrive to find Erika's car in the driveway but no lights on. They've never been inside Erika's home before, and realize the house itself is a three-story century-old colonial modified to look like a Victorian – or it might be a century-old mini-Victorian modified to look colonial, they're not entirely sure. They head up to the porch and knock, and they find the door is slightly ajar. They step inside, and immediately notice that the power appears to be out; no appliances are lit up. Peter's cop instincts flare and he immediately begins searching the house after no one responds to the krewe's calls to Erika. Isobel assists Peter while David and Anita step outside. Anita checks on the electrical meter and discovers that someone deliberately snipped the power line to the house. David checks the mail and finds nothing backed up; Erika's mail is sitting neatly on her kitchen table. David recalls that Erika was at Central High this morning, and she seemed perfectly fine. |
| Peter finds the first floor – foyer, living room, dining room, and kitchen – all neatly in order, so he and Isobel sweep upstairs. They are immediately hit with the stink of bleach, and find several gouges in the plaster of the walls of the master bedroom. A small bedroom has been converted into a workshop of some sort, but it has been quickly cleared out of anything occult-related. Peter examines the gouges in the wall and concludes someone dug out bullets to confound forensics investigations. He initially worries that Erika has been killed, but figures the shots must have come from silenced pistols on single-shot mode, as the houses in this neighborhood are very close together. He wonders if she was hit with tranquilizer darts instead. | Peter finds the first floor – foyer, living room, dining room, and kitchen – all neatly in order, so he and Isobel sweep upstairs. They are immediately hit with the stink of bleach, and find several gouges in the plaster of the walls of the master bedroom. A small bedroom has been converted into a workshop of some sort, but it has been quickly cleared out of anything occult-related. Peter examines the gouges in the wall and concludes someone dug out bullets to confound forensics investigations. He initially worries that Erika has been killed, but figures the shots must have come from silenced pistols on single-shot mode, as the houses in this neighborhood are very close together. He wonders if she was hit with tranquilizer darts instead. | ||
| - | Anita borrows Peter’s police pad and pencil, and sits down in the master bedroom to utilize the //Distant Voices// ceremony. She concentrates on Erika and asks, Are you alright?” After three minutes of being in a trancelike state, automatic writing kicks in as Anita gets a response. Unfortunately, | + | Anita borrows Peter's police pad and pencil, and sits down in the master bedroom to utilize the //Distant Voices// ceremony. She concentrates on Erika and asks, Are you alright?" |
| - | The Sin-Eaters head outside to continue their investigation. There are no footprints or tire tracks in the street, as relatively clean pavement prevents such easy clues, but Peter does discover a fresh pool of motor oil in front of Erika’s house which he estimates is a leak from a big van. They swing into the tiny backyard and look around; they find a yellow and black bandana by the kitchen window! David immediately hits on Luis as a suspect, but wonders if the ganger even knew Erika. Peter hesitates and opines that the bandana was either from another potential crime, or was planted. He argues that the “snatch and grab” of their krewe-mate was too professional and clean for Luis’s thugs. | + | The Sin-Eaters head outside to continue their investigation. There are no footprints or tire tracks in the street, as relatively clean pavement prevents such easy clues, but Peter does discover a fresh pool of motor oil in front of Erika's house which he estimates is a leak from a big van. They swing into the tiny backyard and look around; they find a yellow and black bandana by the kitchen window! David immediately hits on Luis as a suspect, but wonders if the ganger even knew Erika. Peter hesitates and opines that the bandana was either from another potential crime, or was planted. He argues that the "snatch and grab" |
| - | The Sin-Eaters debate what to do next; Peter initially suggests going to talk to the neighbors to see if they saw anything, but at 10:30 at night that’s stretching things, especially since Peter is unwilling to flash his badge quite yet. David agrees to call it in and claim he and his friends were at the pub waiting for Erika to join them for a beer, and they came here to check on her when she didn’t show and called the cops when they smelled bleach. Since that’s essentially the truth anyway Peter isn’t too worried, but he wants to keep his presence on the down-low so he snatches the bandana and stuffs it in his pocket before ambling back to the bar. | + | The Sin-Eaters debate what to do next; Peter initially suggests going to talk to the neighbors to see if they saw anything, but at 10:30 at night that's stretching things, especially since Peter is unwilling to flash his badge quite yet. David agrees to call it in and claim he and his friends were at the pub waiting for Erika to join them for a beer, and they came here to check on her when she didn't show and called the cops when they smelled bleach. Since that's essentially the truth anyway Peter isn't too worried, but he wants to keep his presence on the down-low so he snatches the bandana and stuffs it in his pocket before ambling back to the bar. |
| - | David gives him a ten-minute head start and then calls the Springfield police. The female dispatcher remembers his voice from this afternoon but listens to David’s story and promises to send a car to Erika’s house – in twenty minutes or so. There’s been some gang violence in Metro Center, so most of the local cops are tied up there. David understands, | + | David gives him a ten-minute head start and then calls the Springfield police. The female dispatcher remembers his voice from this afternoon but listens to David's story and promises to send a car to Erika's house – in twenty minutes or so. There's been some gang violence in Metro Center, so most of the local cops are tied up there. David understands, |
| - | The Sin-Eaters spot a cruiser with lights on but no sirens swing onto Erika’s street and come their way. The cruiser parks and two cops get out, Officer Eric Chamberlain and Officer Manuel Vargas. They swing through the house after taking brief statements, and then they call it into dispatch in the usual babble of numbers that means nothing to non-cops. Within several minutes an unmarked car pulls up and a Caucasian man gets out, his face deeply lined by the stresses of his job. He introduces himself as Detective Michael Grayborn, and takes more detailed statements from the three Sin-Eaters. After the statements are recorded, he does a walk-through of Erika’s house with David, Isobel, and Anita separately, to eliminate their fingerprints. The Sin-Eaters find Det. Grayborn to be focused and methodical, but not overly friendly. | + | The Sin-Eaters spot a cruiser with lights on but no sirens swing onto Erika's street and come their way. The cruiser parks and two cops get out, Officer Eric Chamberlain and Officer Manuel Vargas. They swing through the house after taking brief statements, and then they call it into dispatch in the usual babble of numbers that means nothing to non-cops. Within several minutes an unmarked car pulls up and a Caucasian man gets out, his face deeply lined by the stresses of his job. He introduces himself as Detective Michael Grayborn, and takes more detailed statements from the three Sin-Eaters. After the statements are recorded, he does a walk-through of Erika's house with David, Isobel, and Anita separately, to eliminate their fingerprints. The Sin-Eaters find Det. Grayborn to be focused and methodical, but not overly friendly. |
| ===== Saturday, October 3rd, 2009 ===== | ===== Saturday, October 3rd, 2009 ===== | ||
| - | Isobel, Anita, and David are sent away a little after midnight, and hike back to the bar to find Peter reading a book in his car. The Sin-Eaters debate postponing their trip below, but decide to go through with it anyway. They hike down to Forest Park and slip inside without being spotted. Mindful of security guards on carts, Anita, Peter, and David sneak carefully to the Barney mausoleum – and they’re halfway there when they realize they have utterly no idea where the hell Isobel is! For her part, Isobel slips into Forest Park and masterfully skulks her way to the mausoleum – all in a fugue state broken with flashes of sneaking across no-man’s-land to get to the German trenches of World War I! | + | Isobel, Anita, and David are sent away a little after midnight, and hike back to the bar to find Peter reading a book in his car. The Sin-Eaters debate postponing their trip below, but decide to go through with it anyway. They hike down to Forest Park and slip inside without being spotted. Mindful of security guards on carts, Anita, Peter, and David sneak carefully to the Barney mausoleum – and they're halfway there when they realize they have utterly no idea where the hell Isobel is! For her part, Isobel slips into Forest Park and masterfully skulks her way to the mausoleum – all in a fugue state broken with flashes of sneaking across no-man's-land to get to the German trenches of World War I! |
| - | When the other Sin-Eaters reach the mausoleum, they find Isobel straddling one of the stone lions cheerfully. She slits her palm as the others approach, and smears her blood over the central gate. The gate vanishes with a faint rumble, revealing the utter blackness that is the Avernian Gate to the Underworld. As soon as the gate opens Anita, David, and Peter feel their respective geists perk up; The Corpsman is already active. They enter the gate and feel their way along the skull-corridor to the sloping tunnel, when Isobel turns to find Anita reaching for her! The Witch is very aroused, which isn’t helping Anita. Peter mocks them both and Fallen Snow mutters, | + | When the other Sin-Eaters reach the mausoleum, they find Isobel straddling one of the stone lions cheerfully. She slits her palm as the others approach, and smears her blood over the central gate. The gate vanishes with a faint rumble, revealing the utter blackness that is the Avernian Gate to the Underworld. As soon as the gate opens Anita, David, and Peter feel their respective geists perk up; The Corpsman is already active. They enter the gate and feel their way along the skull-corridor to the sloping tunnel, when Isobel turns to find Anita reaching for her! The Witch is very aroused, which isn't helping Anita. Peter mocks them both and Fallen Snow mutters, |
| The Sin-Eaters clamber down the slope to the grotto without trouble, but find the grotto itself to be oddly placid. Peter is leery of getting his crotch bitten again, but he wades in bravely. David follows, and then Anita while Isobel brings up the rear. The four Sin-Eaters see the feral ghost-children pop up from the water and watch them warily, but the ghosts do not approach. They submerge and swim through the tunnel, and Peter feels something child-sized scrape along him! He lashes out and whatever touched him swims towards the grotto, wiggling past the other three Sin-Eaters in the process. | The Sin-Eaters clamber down the slope to the grotto without trouble, but find the grotto itself to be oddly placid. Peter is leery of getting his crotch bitten again, but he wades in bravely. David follows, and then Anita while Isobel brings up the rear. The four Sin-Eaters see the feral ghost-children pop up from the water and watch them warily, but the ghosts do not approach. They submerge and swim through the tunnel, and Peter feels something child-sized scrape along him! He lashes out and whatever touched him swims towards the grotto, wiggling past the other three Sin-Eaters in the process. | ||
| - | The Sin-Eaters surface in the dead garden without further trouble. They head into the hallway, which is raucous for about ten seconds – and then it dies down as the ghosts realize their landlords are here! The Sin-Eaters estimate it’s about 1:30 in the morning, so they are a bit late. On a whim, Anita decides to count the number of apartments. After twenty minutes of walking, she’s reached one hundred and three, and her brain refuses to count any more. She’s pretty sure the hallway itself is unstable, with apartments vanishing and reappearing at random. The only fixed points seem to be the blue silk brothel and the Professor’s apartment. | + | The Sin-Eaters surface in the dead garden without further trouble. They head into the hallway, which is raucous for about ten seconds – and then it dies down as the ghosts realize their landlords are here! The Sin-Eaters estimate it's about 1:30 in the morning, so they are a bit late. On a whim, Anita decides to count the number of apartments. After twenty minutes of walking, she's reached one hundred and three, and her brain refuses to count any more. She's pretty sure the hallway itself is unstable, with apartments vanishing and reappearing at random. The only fixed points seem to be the blue silk brothel and the Professor's apartment. |
| - | As soon as they reach the brothel, [[wod: | + | As soon as they reach the brothel, [[wod: |
| Peter asks Anita if they should formalize the arrangement with the brothel now, but she decides to wait until next week. The others agree, so Peter nods. He decides they should claim one apartment here for their own use, and tries to find one where there is no noise. The Sin-Eaters discover that the quietest apartments are the ones closest to the brothel, so they walk directly across the hall and force that door open. | Peter asks Anita if they should formalize the arrangement with the brothel now, but she decides to wait until next week. The others agree, so Peter nods. He decides they should claim one apartment here for their own use, and tries to find one where there is no noise. The Sin-Eaters discover that the quietest apartments are the ones closest to the brothel, so they walk directly across the hall and force that door open. | ||
| - | The apartment opens into a kitchen stocked with all the modern appliances – from the 1930s. A breakfast bar separates the kitchen from the living room, which trails to the right of the door. The front room seems to be an exact copy of the Soviet-era cinderblock apartment buildings, with saggy furniture. A tiny hallway leads to a bathroom of indeterminate age and a bedroom. The Sin-Eaters open the bedroom door… and stare dumbfounded. The bedroom itself is very opulent, with a massive four-poster bed from the 1760s taking up almost all of the room. Delicate silk curtains obscure the bed, which is big enough that all four Sin-Eaters could sleep on it without being cramped. A dresser and a linen chest are squeezed in the room as well. | + | The apartment opens into a kitchen stocked with all the modern appliances – from the 1930s. A breakfast bar separates the kitchen from the living room, which trails to the right of the door. The front room seems to be an exact copy of the Soviet-era cinderblock apartment buildings, with saggy furniture. A tiny hallway leads to a bathroom of indeterminate age and a bedroom. The Sin-Eaters open the bedroom door... and stare dumbfounded. The bedroom itself is very opulent, with a massive four-poster bed from the 1760s taking up almost all of the room. Delicate silk curtains obscure the bed, which is big enough that all four Sin-Eaters could sleep on it without being cramped. A dresser and a linen chest are squeezed in the room as well. |
| - | The Sin-Eaters return to the living room and agree to try and stake a claim on this apartment, although Anita wonders if the apartment will “wander” down the hallway. Peter is not sanguine about the idea of his office constantly shifting in a long hallway, and the others agree that they need to do something to make this place a fixed point in the hallway – but they have no idea how to go about doing that. They head back out to the hallway, and traipse down to [[wod: | + | The Sin-Eaters return to the living room and agree to try and stake a claim on this apartment, although Anita wonders if the apartment will "wander" |
| - | Sitting in one of the skull’s eye sockets is a tube of glowing blue… stuff. Isobel shrugs and grabs this one. She slugs it down after a few jokes and cribbed lines from //Repo! The Genetic Opera//, and discovers that the liquid gave her plasm – and a massive high as its essentially liquid speed. Isobel starts babbling immediately although The Corpsman is quite happy, and the other Sin-Eaters rear back slightly as they’re definitely not used to Isobel being chatty. | + | Sitting in one of the skull's eye sockets is a tube of glowing blue... stuff. Isobel shrugs and grabs this one. She slugs it down after a few jokes and cribbed lines from //Repo! The Genetic Opera//, and discovers that the liquid gave her plasm – and a massive high as its essentially liquid speed. Isobel starts babbling immediately although The Corpsman is quite happy, and the other Sin-Eaters rear back slightly as they're definitely not used to Isobel being chatty. |
| - | The door next to the Professor’s apartment is the “Frogger room” and David notices a can of old-fashioned Mountain Dew sitting outside. Assuming that’s the [[wod: | + | The door next to the Professor's apartment is the "Frogger room" |
| - | Sighing, Anita fishes out Peter’s pad and pencil and scribbles a note to [[wod: | + | Sighing, Anita fishes out Peter's pad and pencil and scribbles a note to [[wod: |
| - | Anita explains in broad terms that she needs to keep her sister safe for a period of time, but Del has a habit of making trouble. The Assistant points out that Dell could be stashed in the Underworld, but should she? After all, Del would likely go completely insane if subjected to even the Autochthonous Depths for a brief period of time. Anita acknowledges that as Peter runs by and asks for the mind-control serum. The Assistant angrily retorts that the serum is strictly regulated by the Professor, but winces when she realizes Peter just goaded her and she fell for it. She tries to recover and coyly offers to renegotiate the rent if Anita needs Del held for a bit. Anita promises to consider all options, but for now she’s just gathering data. The Assistant also suggests claiming an apartment in the hallway to use, and also as a place where Del will be relatively safe. | + | Anita explains in broad terms that she needs to keep her sister safe for a period of time, but Del has a habit of making trouble. The Assistant points out that Dell could be stashed in the Underworld, but should she? After all, Del would likely go completely insane if subjected to even the Autochthonous Depths for a brief period of time. Anita acknowledges that as Peter runs by and asks for the mind-control serum. The Assistant angrily retorts that the serum is strictly regulated by the Professor, but winces when she realizes Peter just goaded her and she fell for it. She tries to recover and coyly offers to renegotiate the rent if Anita needs Del held for a bit. Anita promises to consider all options, but for now she's just gathering data. The Assistant also suggests claiming an apartment in the hallway to use, and also as a place where Del will be relatively safe. |
| //Recap originally published on [[https:// | //Recap originally published on [[https:// | ||