Monday, May 14, 2012

First Session - Arrival in Boston (Part the Second)

I'm going to try and keep the rest of this overview brief (or at least moreso than the first half)

Our erstwhile investigators took the rope with which Goodman Kellar had been hanged, and also found footprints of a man who was obviously heavy (or burdened) with smallish feet.   The footprints were lost in the general muck of the main street once they got to the end of the alley, but the person had stepped into a large horse dropping and investigating it closely, the managed to make out the cobbler's mark on the heelprint.

Asking about the mark, they learn the name of the cobbler, one Angus MacKray, whose shop is located just a few blocks from where they are currently, so the crew decided to pursue that line of investigation immediately.   There is a tavern directly across the alley from the constable's office, so they decide to return there after they see if they can get a description of the man whose boot print they found.

Arriving at the cobblers, which is located next to a gunsmith's shop, they find MacKray engaged in a friendly game of checkers with the gunsmith, Fredrich Glock (yes, I did.   At some point the players all want to be sure to get a Flintlock Glock now :D)   Herr Glock excused himself so that MacKray could speak with the party.  They learned that the description of the boot size and depth brings him to think of "Herr Rath", a Prussian mercenary whom MacKray has made several pairs of boots for when he is in the area.   The heel in question was just replaced the day before, and Herr Rath waited on it, for he said he would be returning to the Innsmouth Bay area shortly thereafter.    MacKray didn't know for sure if Rath would be going to Fort Innsmouth, or to the small fishing village of Whately.  

He did know that the mercenary was staying with one of the 'dock side sallies' in Widow Staven's 'Boarding House', which is located directly across from the Tavern next to the constable's office.

Heading next to a rope and net maker's place just down the street, the group learn that the rope they found was made there, although the metal threads (which no one had spotted to this point, having made a cursory examination of the rope) were not in there when it was made.   The foreman also confirmed that Ian Kellar worked for him, but that he hadn't seen him since the day before.

Examining the metal threads embedded in the rope, Ardeth determines that they are an alloy that contains Orichalc, a compound that facilitates the transmission of magical energy.

Returning to the area of the Constable's office, the trio spot the young lady that was fleeing the hound the night before, as she exits the building they had been told was Widow Staven's 'Boarding House'.   Approaching her as she comes down the street, the group first inquires as to her health and then begin to ask her about Rath and Kellar.   She said that Rath had spent the past several days with one of the other girls, but that he had left the evening before around midnight and hadn't returned.   Kellar, she said, was a strange little man who seemed to have an obsession with Nancy O'Shannon, the other girl that was with her the night before.

At the tavern, they get confirmation that both Rath and Kellar had been in there from time to time, and get an improved description of Rath and confirmation that he had been in the tavern the night before around midnight and that he had a coil of rope with him.

Returning to the house of Lord Makeway, the group decides to make use of his library and to ask some questions to determine what their next step should be.

Several people they spoke to during the day said they did not know of a Crooked Street in Boston, but had heard of one in Knickerbocker City.    During dinner they discuss what they have learned with Louise Makeway and ask her to provide them with horses for a few days, as they are going to head to Knickerbocker City and see if they can learn who or what "Mawtan" or "Martin" as several people suggested the name could have been spelled phonetically.  And from there, perhaps to find Herr Rath in  the Innsmouth area.  

Louise tells them horses will be ready when they are in the morning and suggests that if they go to Innsmouth to speak with Captain Horatio Balden, and to mention that she had sent them, as she is engaged to him and she is sure he would happily assist them as he can.

The next morning the group rides south and spends a quiet evening in an inn in Plymouth Bay, then travel on the next morning to arrive in the port of New Rochelle, where they will be able to catch a ferry the next day for Knickerbocker City.

Ardeth decides to spend the evening studying, while Bottle and Killian head down the street to a tavern.   Arriving in the Tavern, they spot a man who is the spitting image of Ian Kellar sitting at a table with a tankard in front of him.   Kellar looks up, and they see the bruising from the rope around his neck.  He sees the pair and lurches up and heads for the back door, with Bottle and Killian in hot pursuit.

By the time they make their way through the crowd and reach the alleyway, they see Kellar climbing up the side of the neighboring building with what appears to be preternatural ability.   Sending Kellar around to the front to make sure he doesn't get away, Bottle, who is quite the natural climber himself, bounds up the side of the building and gives chase across the rooftops.    With a couple of missteps (putting his foot through a roof and the like), Bottle is gaining upon the fleeing Kellar.  Killian gets ahead of the pair (he thinks) and decides to try to shoot Kellar from the ground when he leaps between the buildings.

Ardeth has decided he needs some air, and opening the window, sees a couple of people running across the rooftops in the general direction of the Inn, recognizing the one in the rear as having the same general build as Bottle.   Leaving the window standing open, Ardeth moves back into the room out of sight and takes up his walking staff and waits.  

In the alley, Killian sees a dark shape cross the opening and he fires.  Fortunately, it is a near miss, that tears through the buffcoat that Bottle is wearing.  Realizing his near disastrous mistake, Killian quickly heads back out on the street and sees that they are approaching the Inn, so he heads quickly up to the room, reloading his pistol on the run.

Kellar, seeing an open window ahead of him as an opportunity, leaps through, landing in the room, where Ardeth let's loose a deafening shout, which shatters the windows of his room and the rooms on either side, and leaves Kellar lying unconscious upon the floor.

Bottle and Killian arrive shortly behind Kellar and truss him up tightly before bringing him around.

Upon questioning him, they learn that Rath came around to the coroners and used some type of magic to bring Kellar back from the dead and commanded him to report to Mawtan in Knickerbocker City, and to make himself available to Mawtan from that point.   He cries and apologies for the things he has done, for he has seen hell itself during the time he was dead and hopes to never see it again and asks that the group kill him but forgive him and to see if a priest could be convinced to bury him in holy ground and at least send him to purgatory.   They agree and Bottle kills him quickly, wrapping him up in a blanket, carries him back down into the alley and down the street to where he had passed a church earlier.

Rousing the priest, Bottle explains the entire sequence of events up to and including the last request of Kellar.  The priest agrees to give him last rites and to bury him in the small cemetery behind the church.   Bottle helps him by digging the grave and burying him.  He spends a little time speaking with the priest who gives him a bottle of holy water 'just in case'.  

Thus ended the first session.


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