The Haunting (CoC)

[Lycan 01]

Well, might as well take a shot at it... Good luck, guys! :smallbiggrin:

----


Its July 17, 1923. Its raining in Boston, Massachusetts, but that doesn't bother you much right now. You're sitting in a nice little diner in the cities downtown area, enjoying breakfast with four other people. Three of them are complete strangers, but you know the fourth one. He's Eddie Fraunk, an old friend. The aging gentleman in suspenders is a landlord over a few houses, and he seems to be having quite some trouble with one piece of property. He's gotten you and three of his other friends to come down and see him. Apparently, he's got some sort of deal for you...

"Well, you see..." the middle-aged fellow sighs, placing his coffee mug down on the table and running his hands through his thinning salt-pepper hair, "I've got a problem with one of my houses I'm renting out right now. It seems there was an incident, and it was abandoned by its current tenants. They... they said they saw a ghost, or something. I dunno..." Eddie shakes his head, "Its all so silly. But whatever it was, it freaked 'em out. The parents were institutionalized, and the kids are off with some relatives, still screaming into the night about whatever they saw..."

"At any rate, I need your help. You guys are my friends, and I know I can count on you. You see... I hate to sound greedy, but I've got to run a business. And the longer that house stays empty, the more money I lose. So I need to prove its perfectly safe to live in. And that is where you come in. I need you guys to check it out and give it a clean bill of health. You know, just make sure there's nothing fishy going on up in there... I'll pay you each 50 bucks a day, plus an extra 50 each when you can prove that there's nothing wrong with the house. Easy money..."

"The house is in the older part of town... Its pretty ancient, but me and the tenants have spruced it up over the years. We call it the Old Corbitt Place, after the guy who originally built it. I've got the key to the front door right here, and it'll also open most of the locks in the house. There are a few I could never find the key for, though. Weird... Well, at any rate, its been abandoned for a couple of weeks now, so if you see any rats or smell anything bad, the food the kitchen has probably gone bad... Oh, and watch out if you decide to check the basement. The lightswitch is a bit faulty, so if it goes busto, be sure to check the fuse box."

"So, what do you say? Quick cash for an easy job... You guys up for it?"

[Mysterious Dr D]

Looking up from his bacon, and lighting up a cigarette, Avery looks at Eddie for a moment, gathering his thoughts.
''Fifty a day? I won't even get out of bed for fifty stinking bucks. What do you think I am, Eddie? Some sort of moron? Anyway, you make this more worthwhile for me and I'll take a look at this spookhouse of yours.''

[Yukitsu]

"Anything for an old freind, Fred. I don't need the money, as it were, so please, do forget about that. So long as I may return to my office in the day, and see my wife and daughter in the afternoon I shall be fine."

Gillespy picked somewhat disdainfully at the eggs scattered about his plate before continuing.

"Though from the sounds of things, I dare say it would be best if we brought with us a maid and an electrician. People oft confuse the supernatural with the natural in the places which become run down over time. Are there any companies of repute that you would prefer I hire?"

[Lycan 01]

(50 bucks back then is the equivalent of about 250 today at the least. :smalltongue: But if you must convince him, try a "Bargain" roll, as that is what you use to make money-related speech checks.)

Eddie furls his brow at Avery, caught off guard by his remark. He then turns to Gillespy and replies: "I insist, take the payment. I'll make more than enough to balance it out once I get the house rented out again. And I tried getting some sort of services down there, but no one could do the job. Too many schedule conflicts and fools who don't quite like the idea of working in a "haunted" house... And besides, I'm sure you fellows can take care of any glaring issues that may arise, like a moldy piece of bread or a faulty fuse. I trust at least one of you has basic electrical skills... Besides, who would want to do the job while four fellows are gallavanting around "ghost hunting" in the house? Few, few people, that's who..." Eddie chuckles.

[Verdigris]

James spoons the last of his eggs into his mouth and wipes it daintily with a napkin. "You can count me in, for sure. I'll even take a look at those wires for you, if things are quiet enough. Though I daresay the ghosties like it dark. Anything else you can tell us about the place?"

[Yukitsu]

"Well, if you insist, to solve this bit of negotiations, I'll give Avery half my pay, and spend the other half on cigars and drink for our stay. An amount more than fair for our self centered associate here. Now if you'll excuse me, I must discuss this with Clarice before I pack. I will be at the Corbitt residence in the morrow."

*Gillespy will place down payment for his food, as well as a 1 dollar tip before heading out the door*

[Mysterious Dr D]

''I'll gladly take the fine idio- I mean gentleman's money. I'll be there.'' Avery says, with a smirk on his face.
Walking out the door, Avery says under his breath ''There's one born every day...''
*He leaves his bill to be footed by Eddie*

[Calinero]

Daniel raises his eyebrow at the assignment. That was quite a bit of money for simply checking out a house...the rumors must be of the particularly vicious variety. Then again, as a newspaper man, he knew exactly how vicious rumors could be.

"Sounds like a good deal, Eddie. I'd be glad to help out."

He leaves, paying for his food, pausing, then grumbles to himself and places a bit of money to cover at least part of Avery's bill. I can't believe this guy, he thinks, Way to go, antagonizing your new employer. He rushes off to catch up with the others.

[Verdigris]

James watches the others leave, then rises to go himself. "I guess they already know everything," he remarks to Eddie. "I'll see you later, once this matter is all sorted out."

He will leave some money for his bill, and tip his cap to the waitress on the way out.

[Yukitsu]

"Applies speed wip to thread"

[Calinero]

Daniel blinks. It seems that they have forgotten something.

"Um, everyone?" He tries to gain their attention. "Hi, I don't think we've all been introduced, but I'm Daniel. And....do you think we should go back and find out where the house is?"

[Yukitsu]

As Gillespy heads out the door, he says "I'm a freind of Eddies, and a freind of a freind is a freind to me, and that's all the introduction I need. You can call me Jacob. And the house is in the old part of town. Called the old Corbitt place. I'm sure the local chaps will know which is which."

OOC: Questions make games slow. Bad assumptions make it faster. :smalltongue:

[Verdigris]

James nods. "Besides, how hard could it be? It's just a house, after all. Oh, and before I forget, the name's James--James Barret. Strange how we never met; I though I knew all of Eddie's other friends."

He pauses for a moment, considering. "I'll go round to my house to pick up my tool kit--we'll want it, if we're to have lights in the house. Maybe some of us can look up the address of this house? No sense not being efficient."

[Calinero]

Daniel shrugs.

"I suppose if we're getting paid fifty dollars, we might as well earn it. I'll look up where to find the house, it shouldn't be too hard. While I'm at it, I guess I'll look through a few of the Globes's archives to see if anything interesting pops up. Does anyone know a good place we could rendevouz?" As a reporter, Daniel is used to hunting down locations and people, as well as information. Should be fun.

[Lycan 01]

(OOC: I'm assuming all of you are still in the Diner, or somewhere near the exit... :smalltongue: Be sure to put an OOC note when you want to move on to the next location. I don't want to skip ahead before you guys do all your research...)


Eddie sits at the table, an eyebrow arched at his friends. "Guys?" he says, reaching into his pocket and producing a set of keys, "Don't you need these?" He also holds a scrap of paper in his hand, which has the address of the old building scribbled on it.

[Verdigris]

"Well, I'll be damned," says James with a smile. "Of course we'll take the keys, Eddie. You got us so worked up about this house, we were ready to lay its ghosts once and for all! But we had best not lose our heads like that again, or it could cost us."

[Yukitsu]

OOC: See, my bad assumption that he would meet us there. :smalltongue: Also, I'm ready to go. Will arrive in character the next day in me car with a packed bag. Also, my character sheet died on mythweavers. :smallannoyed: Will make it up again, but unfortunately, it will be different.

[Mysterious Dr D]

''Keys? I was hoping to kick the door in. Shame, I like to exercise the long legs of the law sometimes. Fine, I'm ready to go check this house out when the rest of you pansies are''.

[Calinero]

Daniel nods at the keys, feeling more prepared for the task already. Adjusting his collar slightly, he leans forward over the table.

"All right....tell me, Eddie, is there anything else we should know about the house that might be helpful?"

[Lycan 01]

Eddie scratches his chin, pondering the question. "Well... Not really. If there was anything overtly important, I'd let you know... Well, if there's nothing else I can help you boys with, I think I'll be headin' on home."




How 'bout you guys just meet up at the house in the morning? :smallbiggrin: Just let me know when you're ready, and describe what you're taking with you...

[Verdigris]

Sign me up for a teleport to the mysterious house!


James will arrive early in the morning, armed with large toolkit, Coleman lantern, and a flask of brandy. (To say nothing of the .38 tucked in his waistband.) He will wait on the porch until the others arrive, whistling a jaunty tune and examining the exterior of the house, trying to appraise its value.

[Calinero]

Daniel will also meet at the house tomorrow morning. He will bring a flashlight with him, a notebook, and a pencil--he isn't expecting violence. After all, it's only a house, right?

After leaving the cafe, though, he would like to spend a bit of his afternoon time going through the records at the Globe to see if the house has any mentions in old issues. He'll finish in time to get a good night's rest before the next day's excursion.

Library Use: [roll0] out of 85

[Mysterious Dr D]

Avery will be at the house tomorrow morning with his .38, Cigarettes and Lighter. He'll be travelling light, leaving any heavy lifting to the rest of the group.
He'll also take a look at the records at the Globe this evening.

Library use: [roll0] vs 75

[Lycan 01]

Avery and Daniel head over to the globe later that evening for a bit of research. Avery discovers that the old house has a record of strange occurances, ranging from domestic disturbances to reports of families moving out without much reason or explaination given. He is unable to find much else, though...

Daniel, however, does discover something else. He discovers something more... unsettling. (Check your PM box later for more information. :smallwink:)



Edit: (I'll wait to hear Calinero's reaction before we head on to the house, since everyone needs to be ready...)

[Calinero]

*is ready*

[Lycan 01]

Sorry guys. I'm afraid I'm going to have to call this off. I've been very busy with finals, family stuff, and person things lately, and I just don't have enough time to devote to this game. I probably won't have much internet access over the summer, so it's better if I just go ahead and call it off.

I'll relaunch the game in the fall. You guys will be the first ones to recieve invites. :smallsmile:

Sorry to dissappoint you, fellas... :smallfrown: