MightyLemur's Paper Chase IC

[MightyLemur]

Collin takes a look around the room, "This will be far better than paying for a hotel room. And I'll have some lemonade, thank you, but who is Mary?"

[zingbobco000]

Thomas at first looks confused, "I mean s-she's... oh, I didn't tell you that. I have a wife, Mary. She works at this time, but she m-might be home for dinner, she makes a mar-marvelous meatloaf." He then smiles and asks, "So, is the-there anything else you need to know? I would, well, I would be happy to answer whatever, um, questions you have."

[MightyLemur]

“I think that is all I need for now. I will let you know if I ever have any further questions.”

[zingbobco000]

Thomas nods, and puts the lemonade away (it was really quite good!) and heads up to his room to work on some accounts, leaving you free to begin your investigations.

[MightyLemur]

Collin goes back to the study to see if he can find anything further from a deeper search of the room.

[zingbobco000]

Arnoldsberg, 3:02 PM, October 1st, 1921

You head into the study and immediately find yourself overwhelmed by the sheer volume of books. They are of all shapes and sizes and it could take a whole day to dig through the entire pile, and there is most certainly no record of his books, at least, one that you can obviously find. Instead light from the window falls upon many of them that are simply piled haphazardly for Kimball the elder to simply grab whatever book fit his fancy. A quick look through a few books allows for you to realize that Douglas Kimball was quite a well-read man. There are books upon almost every single subject, from numerology to theses concerning the tenants of the Christian church.

You briefly look around through the piles of stacks. With the exception of the six aforementioned spots (made obvious by the dust marks, and are from a wide variety of different places in the study), you find nothing except a rather intriguing story concerning sea creatures deep below the ocean who could communicate with people. You expect you could spend a whole day rifling through these books and dig up absolutely nothing. On the other hand, you might be able to find something, but in all honesty, it probably would take the rest of the day.
----

Given that you said that you were doing a deeper dive of the place, I'm going to assume you're going to begin organizing it. Therefore please give me a Spot Hidden roll.

[MightyLemur]

(1d100)[22] Spot hidden

[zingbobco000]

Arnoldsberg, 10:37 PM, October 1st, 1921

You've spent almost eight hours pouring over and cleaning up all of the books in Douglas Kimball's study, hoping to discover information. Mary Kimball eventually comes home and the two give you a rather tasty meal of meatloaf while you continue your job. The sun sets in the window and you're still loooking through the study. Thomas pokes his head in now and again to see how everything is going, but you feel like you're barely making any progress. Nothing here hints to what the burglar actually stole or Douglas Kimball's own whereabouts. Even more time passes as moonlight shines through the window. You feel weariness wash over you as you're about to turn in and resume your search in the morning when you notice it, there's a key. Looking around the room, you suddenly realize that underneath one of the masses of books is actually a desk, removing the books you find a lock... and put the key inside.

It's not a distinguished book per se, but unlike literally every single other book in his study, this one does not have a title. It's rather small and appears to be... a journal. Realizing this could contain the answers you seek, you head back to your room to pour over its contents.

Arnoldsberg, 11:16 PM, October 1st, 1921

With a brief skim it seems quite clear that Douglas did not lead a very interesting life, and yet, every book that he read seemed to give him immense pleasure. It was as if he was living out a myriad of interesting lives all at the same time, or at least, that's how he describes it in his journal. Eventually, you reach the end, wherein you find the following two pages.

Spoiler: Journal Entries

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You happen to ask Thomas for more information about Douglas' disappearance and you realize that the final entry is dated the day before Douglas vanished.

Arnoldsberg, 8:37 AM, October 2nd, 1921

You have just finished a most marvelous breakfast of bacon, toast, and eggs, courtesy of Thomas (who appears to actually be a decent chef himself). As while you're eating, he happens to ask. "So, Collin, did you happen to find anything?" You notice he seems to be more at ease now that you're on the case. As they await your answer both husband and wife lean in closer.

[MightyLemur]

Collin finishes chewing his bite of eggs and swallows, then replies with, “I found his diary last night. He seems to have left because there was apparently ‘nothing for him’ here. Shortly before he did disappear he claimed to have seen some creature in the local cemetery, then the night before he left he said he was going ‘below’...”

[zingbobco000]

Both Thomas and Mary stare at eachother with a mix between fright and confusion. "I did tell you he was getting a bit on in age, Thomas..." She shakes her head, "Going 'below,' seeing strange creatures. We really should've made the case to have someone with him."
Thomas sighs, "I guess, well, I guess you're right... I guess he simply wandered off out of town thinking he was going below or something..." He looks down defeatedly. "I should've, um, I should've known he was crazy. It was only a matter of time before something like this happened."
Mary nods towards you, "Well, thank you for putting my husband's mind at ease. He's been so distraught about this all, and with the break-in -"
Thomas immediately sits up straight, "Wait, did you, um, did you find anything about the, erm, the break-in? Maybe some clue the burglar left behind?"

[MightyLemur]

“Nothing that hasn’t yet been mentioned already, although I do have a... hunch. I suspect that the thief is your uncle. Breaking into his own home, taking his own books... he may still be here.” Collin then pauses to gauge Thomas’s reaction.

[zingbobco000]

Thomas looks shocked, and Mary does as well (albeit Douglas was only her uncle-in-law, so not to the same extent). He begins to look around him, eyes darting this way and that. "But, but, that doesn't make any sense? He's, he's, here? How would, w-why, why wouldn't he just ask for the bo-books? This... this doesn't..." He then simply gets up and walks up the stairs to his room.
Meanwhile, Mary simply looks at you, then looks up the stairs towards her husband, then back towards you. "Look, say what you want to say, but Thomas is not really in the best state of mind right now. I thought he was mostly over Douglas' disappearance, but with the break-in... Please try to take it easy on him, ok? He's been through a lot." She then gets up to assist her husband.

[MightyLemur]

After a short pause, Collin opens his mouth to apologize, although too late as Mary had already left. Not sure what else to do in the house currently, he decides to take a look at the local cemetery.

[zingbobco000]

Reminder that this isn't D&D, sometimes saying things that are strange isn't treated as "Ah, well that makes sense, the wizard probably did get polymorphed into this toad!"
----

Arnoldsberg, 9:12 AM, October 2nd, 1921

As you bid goodbye to the Kimball family you notice that it the weather is actually quite nice, with clear skies and the sun passing overhead. Nevertheless, you press on towards the graveyard.

When you arrive you notice in the bright light that it is reasonably well-tended, although the vegetation is quite abundant. There are many tall bushes and ancient trees which dot the spaces between the gravestones and tombs. It's quite clear that the cemetary has been here for many years.

However, as you begin to explore you notice a gardener digging out weeds at the far side of the cemetary. He notices you poking around and gives you a simple wave of hello before returning to his work, not really going out of his way to make conversation.

[MightyLemur]

Yeah, that makes sense. I’ve been sort of trying to work a general awkward frankness into Collin’s character, but it’ll apparently take a bit more work to make it seem more believable...
—
Collin nods to the gardener and pauses for an awkward moment before sauntering up to him. “I don’t suppose you’ve seen anything strange here... or at least heard of anyone mentioning anything strange.”

[zingbobco000]

I apologize, I did not realize that was what you were going for. In that case, it might make sense, but I would recommend stepping of the gas just a little bit (not too much though, as it is your character after all).
----

The gardener simply looks at you, surprised as you address him. He looks at you with a bit of a scowl, "Bit busy, here bud, don't have much time to talk none."
----

If you wish to actually try and get him to talk, please give me a combined Charm and Persuade roll where only one of them needs to succeed. Otherwise, you can simply head away.

[MightyLemur]

Collin nods, “My apologies,” then simply leaves the cemetery, deciding to take a look around the town to see if he can find any more leads before nightfall when he will return to the cemetery to see if he can find the “creature” Douglas wrote of. He will see if he can find a copy of the local newspaper.

[zingbobco000]

Arnoldsberg, 9:26 AM, October 2nd, 1921

As you head into the Arnoldsberg Advertiser you find yourself immediately overwhelmed by the sheer amount of activity going on in the small building. It seems quite clear that things are rather chaotic in this place. However, as you enter, one of the workers, comes up to you and remarks in one long breath. "Why hello there, I'm Artie Mallory, and I'm afraid that we're a bit busy at the moment, but why don't you come back tomorrow, I'm sure that you'll be able to... ask any questions or do whatever it is you want to do when we're much less busy, thanks, bye!" She then starts to turn away from you in order to resume her work (but said action has not been completed).

[MightyLemur]

“I was just coming to see if you had any extra copies of your most recent newspaper,” Collin says quickly, but still in a semi-relaxed manner.

[zingbobco000]

Given your approach, please give me a Charm roll.

[MightyLemur]

Oh boy...
(1d100)[20] Charm
I’m hoping you can see these rolls, as they aren’t really showing up on mobile for me

[zingbobco000]

They are showing up for me. You may have to go into "Desktop Mode" to observe them.
----

She turns back around and says, in the same hyperactive speech: "Sorry, it's just that you've caught us at literally the worst time of the day, and then we're closing, and there's just..." Her trail-off is for but a moment, but compared to the rest of her speech it seems like forever. "How about you check the library, they have copies of our stories, and if it's not there can you please come back tomorrow? Preferably before we're about to print?" She then disappears into the mass of people.
----

Reminder that you do leave tomorrow morning.

[MightyLemur]

Collin shrugs and turns to leave, now heading to the library as the woman had mentioned.

[zingbobco000]

Arnoldsberg, 9:37 AM, October 2nd, 1921

You head into the library, which, while rather small, is still sizable considering the size of this small town. Several townsfolk are milling around, reading books, piling them into a stack, checking some out, and so on and so forth. You then begin delving into the periodicals, other books, whatever you can find about Douglas Kimball, the graveyard, et cetera.

Spoiler: Successful Library Use Roll

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Spoiler: Normal Success (not Hard/Extreme)

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Arnoldsberg, 1:58 PM, October 2nd, 1921

Spoiler: Hard Success (not Normal/Extreme)

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Arnoldsberg, 11:20 PM, October 2nd, 1921

Spoiler: Extreme Success (not Normal/Hard)

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Arnoldsberg, 9:51 PM, October 2nd, 1921

You search for some time until eventually, you find it! Although... you're not entirely sure what it is. You were searching for anything and this just... happened to catch your eye, given the title it's quite understandable, but when you had an actual read you realize there might be something there other than simply sensationalist journalism.


You also notice on another page it mentions how a report has been filed due to the patrols, but nothing seems to have emerged from this.

Spoiler: Failed Library Use Roll

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Arnoldsberg, 3:42 PM, October 2nd, 1921

You've searched and searched and searched, and it's getting a bit late. The crowd has mostly left at this point and it's really just you and a couple of stragglers. They'll probably close up soon, but you still haven't found anything. Nevertheless, you're positive that maybe with a bit more time...
----

You may Push the roll if you so wish. I don't want to do too many layers of spoilers, so if you want to Push the roll, just make the roll and I'll make an appropriate post. Of course, you don't have to push the roll. Feel free to do whatever you want.

[MightyLemur]

(1d100)[88] Library use

[MightyLemur]

Collin glances outside, then at his stack of books, grimacing. He then hurriedly begins to put back the books, leaving some on a table. He walks out shortly before the library closes.

[zingbobco000]

Standing back in the center of town, you still have quite some time before the sun sets, so what would you like to do?

[MightyLemur]

Collin will see if he can find any information at the local police station before he heads back to Thomas’s for dinner.

[zingbobco000]

Arnoldsberg, 4:09 PM, October 2nd, 1921

After going into the library, you walk over towards the Police Station. It's not entirely full to the brim, but the occupants are nevertheless quite busy, filling out and reading over forms. As you enter the desk officer looks up for a moment from his work only to return to it, asking "Hello sir, do you have a crime to report? How may I help you?"

[MightyLemur]

“I’ve just come to ask a question: have you had any reports of people seeing a strange creature in the cemetery during the night?” Collin shuffles from side to side, suddenly aware that his question seems rather strange.