The Baskerville Case Re-Opened

[improbablenotimpossible]

Who: Vivi, Kisara, Nekane, Lia Brooks, Sherlock Holmes (Arthur Bell)
What: Ghost Dog in the Dartmoors – the unofficial sequel to The Hound of the Baskervilles
When: August 6-9
Where: Devon, England
Warning: Mentions of animal abuse and death



Initially “Arthur” wanted to deal with the matter of the dog on his own, but thanks to certain incidents that occurred in July the administration insisted that they investigate in groups, and while he got to pick two of them, the seer’s secretary insisted on having an actual faculty member and a certain young lady along.

He’ll have to work around it, he has done it before. The flight over to England was uneventful and from London to Exeter they would take a train, the first class car and the late hours of the night allow them the privacy to discuss the case. The vampire laid out clipped newspaper articles glued to sheets for ease of reading, all about the sightings of phantom dogs and the reports of several people attacked and sickened by the attacks they suffered. And next to the clippings is a map of the moors, with three areas marked with a red circled X and several black dots around pathways.

“Black Dogs are a particularly British sort of spirit.” He started, steepling his hands together. “And the Dartmoors are especially rich in the story of such spirits, but generally the Dartmoor Dogs are more omens of ill-fortune, and rarely directly attack except to act in retribution. It’s quite unlikely that all of these victims have managed to give the Black Dog cause to attack.”

Kisara delicately picks up one of the larger-print articles with an artist’s rendition of the dog, speaking a little haltingly. “Does that mean - someone could be forcing them to attack? Using magic?” The silver-haired girl suggested.

At that, the man’s green eyes seem to glint, as a smile crosses his lips. “Right to the chase! Yes - that is the likely scenario that we’re facing. Ah right, you were on the Phantom Train mission, so it is possible that if we are truly dealing with Black Dogs that someone’s - not the same person's - wicked hands is behind this case… incident too.” The man seem to catch the slip before continuing.

“As for the Moors themselves, they’re quite treacherous – the areas in red were artillery ranges for the British Army, and while they had been put out of operation with the end of the Cold War - it could still contain live ammunition so we should take care to avoid those in our investigation unless given no other option. Furthermore, unless we make use of a guide, we must not stray from the paths – as while the moors may look dry and stable, they may suddenly give out from underneath a person – effectively acting as quicksand, though the weight and stickiness of the muck will make it nigh impossible to free oneself, and not helping matters is the fog that will easily disorient people. The Will O’Wisps would be simple enough to deal with: do not follow unfamiliar lights, and if we get separated – call out, Will O’Wisps cannot answer back… really, knowing of their existence only a complete imbecile would fall for it.”

Vivi was rapidly googling unfamiliar terms, his glowing eyes peering from under the hoodie. “Mr. Bell, what should we do if we get lost?”

“I brought some signal whistles, they could be heard over everything short of a jet taking off. And most have a pitch that dogs do find horribly unpleasant, though I would not rely on it in the event of a spectral hound.”

“You say it as if you think it might be a different kind of dog.” Nekane pointed out, folding their arms against their chest.

“Well there has been cases of nefarious people training dogs to attack people - taking advantage of legends. We cannot entirely rule it out until we get a look at first-hand evidence. At any rate, aside from the whistles, with the torches - there’s a simple visual signal: Three short bursts of light, three longer flashes, and three more short ones - that’s S.O.S, and is an international shorthand for being in trouble. Cellphones will work in town, and the edges of the moor, but the signal is unreliable in the interior.”

With that, the rest of the ride was uneventful and from Exeter they would take a rental car to Ashburton, a tiny town within the Dartmoor National Park, and to a small Inn that thanks to the recent attacks meant they would have an entire building to themselves save for the family working there and a few locals stopping by to have a few pints.

The group has about three days to investigate the incident before a predicted thunderstorm rolls through, which would render the already hazardous moors even more treacherous, which would force them to call off the investigation if they hadn't been able to resolve it by then.

The Game is afoot!

(post created with input from players so Sherlock isn't monologuing the entire time)

Comments

DAY 1 - INVESTIGATION START!

[improbablenotimpossible]

Like the last time he's been to England, the Vampire chose to alter his appearance somewhat, messier hair, horn-rimmed glasses and business casual rather than suits, and his chosen accent was from the Swansea area.

The Inn was like most of the buildings from the Tudor era, while the interior was late Georgian, the door was low enough that the vampire had to duck his head to enter. Right at the bar was a middle-aged woman with a pleasant, round face who immediately seem besotted with the kids, fussing over Lia, Kisara and Vivi while a red-headed woman in her early twenties helped carry their bags upstairs to their room, but seeming to be giving the green-eyed vampire the stinkeye after apparently starting.

"My, I was shocked to get the reservation, what with all the incidents, I do hope you're not putting these dears in harm's way," the owner - Rose Baker chatted cheerfully, a tinge of worry in the edge of her voice. "But you'll find the Gray Hound to be a cozy little place to stay, since you're my only guests, I suppose supper is for whenever you feel hungry. Brochures for the local attractions are at the bar, but feel free to ask me or my niece Violet any questions."

Which might be a good idea, but one could also try to get the lay of the land before settling in.

[alreadyhuman]

Vivi had been given a pendant to disguise himself before leaving Daybreak; he'd been warned, briefly, that people weren't as open to nonhumans as they were at the Academy, and he knows enough to step cautiously for that reason.

He's even dressed in more modern clothing - apparently it's weird to wear clothes like his on Earth, and he doesn't want to do anything that might interfere with Sherlock's investigation; his shadowed face is easily explained away by an oversized hoodie.

He doesn't have the slightest clue about how to go about asking for information, so instead he's going to try and figure out what he can from just...poking around.

[improbablenotimpossible]

If Vivi stays in the Inn, he'll notice something a little unusual near the doors and windows, as if someone scratched a knot-like design, and from how bright the scratched up sections look - it appeared they were made recently and there was faint traces of magic from whoever made them.

[alreadyhuman]

Magic designs in the windows...if it was the Outlands, he wouldn't think anything of it, but this isn't the case.

He looks around to see if anyone's watching him, and then presses his gloved hands lightly against the window he's standing by. Seeing if he can sense anything from it; the traces of who might have made it, and for what purpose.

[improbablenotimpossible]

He would be able to tell it was made by a human, and it seem to be a very specific ward, as if it's trying to keep out something.

[ahew_kha]

Being fussed over still feels really odd to her, but in appearance and actual age of this form, she supposes she is still a teenager. Even if she's trying to wriggle her way out of the whole grouping mess and trying to keep to the outskirts of it. In theory she could probably take this time to get a map of the area, knowing full well that if they were the only guests then maybe she could do her own scope.

Who would honestly be out in the middle of the night to see a huge lizard taking in the moors anyway, right?

She's huffing softly as she glances towards Sherlock, motioning for him to come over there for a second. Clearly this is going to be a good answer.

[improbablenotimpossible]

He notes the gesture, and approaches - pausing to order tea for the both of them from Rose, to give them some time to not be overheard.

"Do you have something in mind?" The vampire asked curiously.

[ahew_kha]

Good, that's what she wanted, a distraction. She's taking a soft breath and managing to keep up a smile, for now.

"I don't know how good of an idea it is, but given I can... fly, in my actual form, would it make it easier to get a lay of the land than a map? Or to see if there's anything strange out there given there's probably no one out there?" Bad idea. Stop it.

[improbablenotimpossible]

Instead of immediately shutting down the idea, he actually seems to be considering it, fingertips drumming against the table. "How large is your dragon form?" The man asked thoughtfully.

[buddinghopes]

All things considered, the fussing wasn't entirely unwelcome. Violet had been spared a glance during that time, however, and Lia frowned when she noticed the woman giving Arthur the stink-eye. She simply filed that bit of information away, just in case.

Instead, Lia made her way over to the bar to quietly start looking through the brochures. No questions had come to mind immediately, but maybe after looking through these she could get some idea...

[improbablenotimpossible]

The Brochures on the counter were listed in neat little slots, a mixture of natural and historical attractions, and a foldable map of the national park.

Some locations that might catch her eye is Baskerville Hall: Trace The Detective's Steps!, an old stately manor with intimidating gates that depict a pair of hellhounds stabbing themselves with spears, Ghost Tour - The Mausoleum of the Devil's own Richard Cabell , and finally Myth And Legends: The Sacred Tours of the Moors. The slot with the Baskerville pamphlets had a red sticker declaring the attraction CLOSED.

[buddinghopes]

She'll just go ahead and help herself to a map of the national park first. And then she'll pick up one of each of the brochures that caught her eye.

Out of those, though... Naturally, the first one she decides to look through is the Baskerville Hall one, even if the attraction's closed. The information there still might be useful. She makes a face at the gates before opening the brochure up.

[improbablenotimpossible]

Like most Brochures, the information is brief and done with bulletin points and pictures, inside of course is the famous outline of a certain detective in a deerstalker, along with dates and times for the tour that is not currently running.

What she will gather is the venerable old hall dates back to the English Civil War period, founded by a wicked man named Sir Hugo Baskerville who according to legend had his throat torn out by a spectral hound while chasing after an innocent girl, but the hall's true claim to fame was being the centerpiece of a mystery novel in which a detective expose a criminal's attempt to exploit the legend of the Black Dog to murder his relatives in order to gain the Baskerville fortune for himself - events that took place over a hundred years ago.

"Ah, that's a popular tourist spot, but it's currently closed for renovations." Rose pipes up when she notices what Lia was reading. "Given how old the Hall is, they had to close it up every few years so it doesn't collapse on anyone."

[opheliaafterdeath]

Much like Vivi, Nekane is under a heavy glamour. For someone who hated their ruined wings Nekane was also heavily against glamouring them and the cracks on their face. But they did eventually cave and hide away everything except for their red eyes and usual manner of dress. It earns them stares but Nekane learned long ago to simply stare back.

They've avoided looking in any mirrors or other sorts of reflective surfaces as best as they could on the way here.

The detective notes the mention of brochures but decides to look at them a little later. Instead they wander around the inn to get the layout into their memory. Locked doors are a little problem for them so when no one is looking, Nekane slips a shadow under the gaps of doors to get a look inside while pretending to look interested in a painting or something just in case someone stumbles across them.

Nekane's obsession with information was powerful, so even if they see something useless behind locked doors it is something the log into their perfect memory for now.

[improbablenotimpossible]

The Inn was two stories plus a root cellar that's only accessible from the outside. Upstairs was the rooms, with Nekane, the Vampire, and Vivi having the room to the right of the stairs, with Lia and Kisara the left - they and the rest of the rooms had a uniformed lay out of beds two to three beds, a dresser and vanity, with public washroom on either end, an artifact from the sheer age of the building - and given only the cursory updates for safety reasons and the addition of electrical wiring. During his search, he'll notice the same marks that Vivi did of knotted scratches made near exterior windows and doors, with small specks of dust betraying their recent additions.

The ground floor was divided roughly between an open dining room with bar, a kitchen nestled in the corner, and a small hallway that lead to two smaller bedrooms. In one room, it was a sort of tidy clutter where things were organized but never managed to be put away, the bed was almost too large for the room. On the end table was a tablet on top of a stack of sudoku puzzle, sitting next to a half-empty bottle of chanel no. 5 perfume and hand sanitizer. This room was the only one without the knotted marks by a window

In the other room the furniture was more proportionate to the room's size, and was relatively sparse, as if the owner had barely started to live there, with the unmade bed as the first obvious sign of life. A cellphone is left charging on the nightstand next to a hardback copy of The Hound of the Baskervilles with numerous sticky notes poking out of it. Hanging from a hook on the door is a dufflebag that's clearly filled with something.

The red-headed woman spots Nekane seeming to be staring at a framed picture. "That's the Foggintor Quarry," she called out, her accent was not the same as Rose's, hinting her origins lies elsewhere. "Think they used to mind granite out there, but I don't think the water in it is safe to swim in." She hitches a shoulder carelessly.

[opheliaafterdeath]

The rooms aside from the ones the group were in are about how Nekane thought but it was better safe then sorry. The marks on the windows are given more scrutiny, especially since there is apparently one room that doesn't have the marks.

The rooms are interesting even without that. The first either was a different type of room that was converted into a bedroom without much thought, given the weird sizing, or the person simply didn't care about being cramped. More lived in, maybe by a woman (although the perfume isn't a confirmation of that). The second is the opposite, someone who maybe just moved in or a room that went unused up until now.

Nekane wanted to see what was in the dufflebag or the pages marked in the book (and read it themself since they loved books) but trying to work both their shadow sight and hands at the same time was difficult and a lot more obvious. They'll note it for now.

When the red-headed woman calls out, Nekane closes the eyes before answering. "Good thing I don't plan on swimming." Their own voice is dry and devoid of any sort identifiable accent, but they hold back on the sarcasm. Nekane was playing nice since they're not the only one on the case.

"Was it closed down or something?" 'Used to', the woman said after all.

[improbablenotimpossible]

"Yeah, a really long time ago, long before I was born." She answered with a detached air, though her eyes seem to be giving Nekane another look, as if trying to figure them out.

"Heard from Aunt Rose that You're part of some kind of school study, so what you're here to look at?"

DAY 1 - PLAN OF ACTION!

[improbablenotimpossible]

After everyone has gathered some information, or brainstormed some ideas, the sky was becoming colorful - foretelling the setting sun. At this time, several older men and a couple of women enter, one of them being addressed as Mr. Tiptree, and they started to knock back stout. Tiptree was pointed to the group, and he wave them a wave, a thin, somewhat insincere looking smile appearing under his mustache.

The vampire had during the afternoon read the local paper to see if new attacks had been reported, and taken a walk around the small town itself, before joining the group. Dinner was ordered - and it's of British fare: hearty, strangely nostalgic and more than a touch on the greasy side. One may wonder how a vampire can feign eating, but the answer became clear as anytime the group - and Violet was distracted, food disappeared off his plate and onto the others in small pieces - and his drink in a dark-colored glass bottle served to make it difficult if anything was drunk from it at all.

It was uneventful until Violet knocked over a salt shaker, lid popping open as it spun on the table, sending it's contents scattering all over the table and onto their laps. The woman mutters an apology before hastily wiping the salt off with a napkin, observant eyes may notice there seems to be dirt under her fingernails.

Once the young woman was busy with other tables and the din of locals made it hard for them to be heard from a distance, he starts to speak after information was exchanged. "Miss Brooks pointed out that The Sepulchre - a tomb of a notorious knave - had been wrecked some point ago, but the investigation into it had stopped when the attacks started, it seems to be prudent to take a look at it. What else should we keep in mind?"

[alreadyhuman]

"I think looking for more marks would be good." Vivi is just steadily eating, because supernatural origins or not, he's a kid and is therefore hungry. "Maybe looking at the attack sites is good too? Um, seeing if there's any connection between where the attacks happened and the tomb, maybe..."

[opheliaafterdeath]

Nekane was not eating. It's not because they do not like the food - it smells really good - but they're more focused on the task at hand and eating can wait.

"Took a look around and this inn is covered in those damn marks. Windows and doors, and it's all new shit."

How they 'took a look around' Nekane skips explaining in favor of pulling out a brochure and placing it on the table. Inside, if anyone looks, is a hand-drawn map of the inn. They probably didn't need to put it in a brochure but Nekane is just that paranoid.

"There's only one room that doesn't have a mark. Kinda looks like it was converted into a bedroom from something else. Can tell you want else is in there or the other rooms, if anyone wants."

But they'll wait for everyone else to say their pieces first.

[ahew_kha]

All of these sound like great ideas and she's quietly nibbling on her food before taking a moment of silence to sigh and at least say something. "I think it'd be better if I used the night to get a lay of the land outside and see if anything ends up smelling... off, or looking off, depending on how well the fog wants to play with me." She's from a desert, what the hell is fog even?

But she's keeping her gaze on the table or the plate for the time being, letting everything run through her mind first. "I wouldn't be landing anywhere unless I absolutely had to, but I doubt there'd be a reason to do so." Famous last words, probably.

NIGHT 1 - Buckfastleigh Church and Cemetary

[improbablenotimpossible]

It was not a long drive at all to the burnt out remains of the old church, burned into a shell of it's former self in the early nineties. Jackdaws cawed as a light fog rolled in over the grounds, with the moon struggling to be seen through the clouds.

Flashlights were lit, and a brighter camp lantern was brought by the Englishman for the benefit of those who don't have night vision. The Sepulchre - a squared, steeple roof building with iron grate was now in rubble, looking as if someone had taken a sledgehammer to it, knocking large holes in the stone wall, and the lid of the stone coffin was visible through the iron bars, and it was clear it was split in half.

"Don't worry about seeing any sort of corpse - with this clime, it'd have long decomposed before this happened." He ducks inside, placing the lantern to give the group plenty of light to poke around.

[alreadyhuman]

"It's all busted up," Vivi notes, in a hushed voice. He's not sure how to feel about it - it's a little discomforting, for reasons he can't fully explain himself. He wanders around the room, trying his best to find anything magical and new - if it's all burned out and abandoned, there probably isn't a good reason for anything new to be here. So goes his logic.

[buddinghopes]

"Somehow, I'm not as worried about the corpse as I am regarding what else might be here..." It's grumbled as she crosses her arms, giving a glance around before she starts looking more thoroughly. In response to Vivi's comment, she simply murmurs, "Busted up sounds like an understatement if you ask me..." Lia's on edge as she picks her way through the room. She's carefully examining anything she comes across.

The place being burned out and abandoned is, counter to Vivi's logic, all the more reason to look for something new--who'd bother looking at this place, after all? That makes it the perfect place to hide something shady.

[improbablenotimpossible]

Vivi would feel old magic, almost untraceable - a more daemonic kind of energy if he concentrated on it - but all strictly on the exterior of the tomb. It's old enough that whatever left it there was not likely the culprit of the destruction, but still curious.

"Judging from how the lid is cracked - it looked as though someone hit it square in the middle with a chisel and hammer..." The vampire noted as he lifted one piece of it with startling ease, revealing the contents.

Or the lack of it - it was extremely clean, save for a thin, recent layer of dust. His brows knitted at the sight. While in a far corner Lia may notice a small blackened pile, and the iron bars themselves were intact.

As the man started to speak, he jolts, pulling out his phone, quickly looking at it. "Ah, didn't expect them to get back so soon... I'm going to have to take this, Please keep note of anything unusual." With that, he accepted the call, ducking out of The Sepulchre and disappearing around some gnarled oaks.

Five minutes later, a ghastly howl could be heard from extremely close by - followed by a cry of alarm.