The Flame in the Dark IC

[WarKitty]

Dale looked around the bar for a minute. "Before we go, is there anything else you can tell us about the history of the house? Knowing what happened before it became haunted might be useful."

[Madmal]

"Also, any construction papers would be useful, or a way to get to them." Eleanor chimes in, breaking her silence only after finishing her drink.

[Inigo Montoya]

"One final question before you go sir. Would you like us to keep our investigation quiet? More to the point, are we going to be arrested for trespassing? Word spreads in a small town."

[Destro_Yersul]

Francois picked up his cane and adjusted his hat. "If there are plans for the house, they'd be in the town hall with the rest of the local archives. I don't think you need worry about keeping things quiet, people here are used to the occassional visitor looking into the house. No need to worry about being arrested, either. I'll have a word with the Sheriff, let him know you're acting on behalf of an interested investor."

After a moment's consideration, he picked up the nearly empty rum bottle as well, tucking it under his arm. "I think you've got the general details of what happened before it became haunted. It used to be a plantation, then it was empty for some time. The fellow who bought it and restored it was a rich gambler. A very lucky gambler. Lucas Bond, I believe his name was. He made it into a successful hotel, threw extravagant parties... Then, one day." Francois shrugged. "Gone. Him and everyone else in the place. That was when the hauntings started."

The story told, Francois pushed open the door and headed outside.

Spoiler: OOC

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Ok, so, options that I think have been tabled:
1) Go to the boarding house and get rooms.
2) Go to the town hall to look at old records
3) talk to people around town

Either pick one of those, or come up with something else and do that.

[Artemis97]

Dr. Cunningham knocks back the last of his hurricane and stands. "I wonder just how wild those parties got." He says, frowning. There might have been something occult involved.

"So what do we do now, gents, lady? Get settled in before we do some digging?"

[WarKitty]

Dale frowns. "Personally, I'd rather have as much information as we can before we settle in, so we can look at it right away."

[Madmal]

Eleanor looks through a window. "Sun's definately still up. You guys think the Boarding house might run out of rooms?"

[Inigo Montoya]

"I vote we do some digging, but when we go to rent rooms...I'll let you speak to the man at the front desk."

Bruneau grinned ruefully and looked out over the town. "I wonder if there is anyone still around who attended one of those famous parties. Do you suppose we could find someone?"

[Destro_Yersul]

It looked like doing some digging was the consensus, before checking in on rooms. There were a few places they could start, and Francois had suggested three: The town hall was where all the archives and records were kept, likely dating back as far as the town unless some disaster had wiped them out at some point; the local priest hadn't answered Dale's letter, but talking to him directly was less likely to be ignored or lost, and he likely knew everyone in town; finally, there was the local newspaper. It wasn't much, based on the articles Francois had showed them, but they could always talk to the man who ran it, see what passed for journalism in this place.

[WarKitty]

"I would start with the town hall archives. We will be better able to talk to people if we have as much written information beforehand as we can gather."

The old priest pauses for a moment.

"I don't believe our contact was being quite forthright. He was honest, as far as what he said, but I do not think he's telling us everything about his connection to this place."

[Artemis97]

Dr. Cunningham nods, starting with the archives seemed logical. He frowns, though, at Father Dale's accusation.

"What makes you say that?"

[WarKitty]

"He was far too intense for someone with mere financial interest. The man plays his part too well. He's clearly trying very hard to appear disinterested, and he is a very good actor, but he has the air of a man acting. And he drops it, just a touch, sometimes. Whatever happened in there, it is clearly personal to him."

[Artemis97]

"Interesting." Edmund says, frowning. "Well, I'm sure we'll learn the truth of it if he wants to divulge it, given time. Best not to pry so soon, I think."

[Destro_Yersul]

The town hall was a squat wooden building, in the same sort of style as the bar, but clearly older. The white paint on the boards was chipped and peeling in many places, a side effect of building in an area as humid as this. One could only imagine what the heat and moisture had done to the old records. The archives were located in a room to the left of the entrance, behind a barrier of metal bars and a door secured with a large old lock. They'd need to find someone with the key if they wanted legitimate access, but there had been a clerk at the desk in the foyer, hunched over an old typewriter.

[Artemis97]

The doctor approaches the clerk. "Hello." He says cheerily. "I'm Dr. Cunningham, and my colleagues and I were hoping to access your archives today."

[Destro_Yersul]

The clerk looked up from the typewriter, peering at Cunningham over the top of his half-moon spectacles. A small nameplate on the desk, the brass somewhat tarnished, proclaimed this to be Mr. Clarke.

"Oh," he said. "What did you want to look for? We've got to be very careful about them, because of all the humidity."

[WarKitty]

Father Kelly steps up behind the doctor, his clerical collar clearly visible. "We were looking for the history of the Hôtel du Carrefour, in particular any information in the archives on the original owners. Records of who went in would also help. Also, do you keep vital records here?"

[Destro_Yersul]

"Ah, the old Hotel. I should have guessed, I suppose. Most interesting place in the whole town. I'm not sure if we have anything for who went in, maybe in the old newspapers, but most of those didn't get kept. Original owners, construction permits, and vital records, though, those are all things I think we could help you with. Assuming, of course, that you have some sort of authorisation?" Mr. Clarke adjusted his spectacles, taking them off and fidgeting with them for a second before putting them back on. "Some of these aren't really public record, and some of the older ones would be with the Parish, though I expect Father Bishop would help you."

[Inigo Montoya]

Bruneau stayed toward the back, hoping that with the two other men in front of him, the clerk wouldn't be able to see who was speaking. "In addition, do you know if there is anyone still alive from when the hotel was active? Alive, and living in the area, I should say."

[Madmal]

Eleanor doesn't say much, preferring to check for any unwanted attention or curious stares.

Wits+Investigation (5): (5d10)[5][9][6][8][1](29)

[WarKitty]

The old priest blinks rapidly twice. "Can you tell me a bit more about the restrictions on these records? What legal authority they are held under? I suppose there's rather a variety."

[Artemis97]

"We're here representing a man looking to buy the property. He wants us to make sure everything is A-OK before he buys." Dr. Cunningham adds.

[Destro_Yersul]

"That sounds perfectly normal," Mr. Clarke said, searching inside his desk for a moment. "Construction records and original ownership should be a simple matter of presenting your credentials to me. Given that you're hired investigators, I do assume you have some? The vital records are a little more carefully controlled, I'm afraid. You'll need to fill out these forms," he presented them with a stack of papers, "and wait for approval from the state. As for who's still living nearby... well, I should think there's a few. Any of the older residents, really. People don't tend to move here, so most of us have been around for a while. Probably the one most likely to speak with you today would be the Father, once again. He's not very busy on weekdays, mostly pokes about in his garden."

[WarKitty]

Father Kelly takes the stack of papers and puts them into his backpack, at the same time fishing his ID card out and placing it in the man's desk.

[Artemis97]

Dr. Cunningham produces his own ID from a billfold pulled from a pocket inside his suit jacket.

[Destro_Yersul]

"Torchlight? I've not heard of your agency before." The clerk inspected the cards, checking to make sure they carried some form of license to investigate on them, then returned them. "Give me a few minutes," he said, and got up from his desk to go unlock the archives.

He returned a short while later, and waved them in. A box of materials had been placed on a table in the center of the room. "Here's what we have," he said. "All the permits for construction, certificates of land title and ownership on the building..."

Spoiler

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What are you guys looking for in these, specifically?

[Artemis97]

"Are there any blueprints in there?" Edmund asks.

[Destro_Yersul]

There were blueprints, they determined after a moment of looking. Several of them, for each level of the house. The originals were badly worn, but a new set from when the plantation had been remodelled into a hotel were also there. These would most acurrately reflect the current state of the house, though who knew how badly things in there had decayed or collapsed since they were drawn up...

[Artemis97]

Dr. Cunningham looks over the blueprints for anything unusual in the architecture. Secret rooms, strange confluences, numbers that don't quite add up.

[WarKitty]

"Do you have vital records on any owners or residents, especially those who were there during the initial vanishing? Any records on the settlement of the estate would be helpful as well, along with any records of usage prior to that time."