002d: Lair of the Snake Person

On/Under the streets of Yuggoth
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Joshua
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002d: Lair of the Snake Person

Post by Joshua »

Level 4, Lower-middle-class neighborhood. In a series of apartment buildings, one stands out. One of it's residents has died, killed for reasons currently unknown. Yet, that's only half the mystery, as this resident was not human.

As a group of investigators stand outside the building, they may find that a series of locked doors bar their entry into --- The Lovecraft Zone.
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The apartment itself is fairly affluent for the area. It's a fairly modern style, with a locked entryway into a mail room. It is nestled among two similar but less upscale* buildings, no alleyways between them. This block is one of the few in this area that have electricity**, with a small panel of buttons and apartment numbers ranging from 1-A to 5-C. Half of them are not labelled, and Ms. Ryan's name does not appear.
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*: Based purely on the number and extensiveness of the awnings.
**: Basically, it's right at the edge of how high up on the ladder you have to be to have electricity.
kitsunenotsume
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Re: 002d: Lair of the Snake Person

Post by kitsunenotsume »

The nobleman among them peers over the buttons from beneath the wide brim of his gambler, before tapping the empty space where miss Ryan's name aught to be with the bejeweled topper on his cane. "I'll hazard a guess that even if we were to push the button for her abode, that it having an occupant might be unlikely. Besides resorting to less salubrious methodologies, I don't suppose either of you have any bright ideas?"
Wyvern
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Re: 002d: Lair of the Snake Person

Post by Wyvern »

(( I presume that, despite the lack of labeling on the building, the information we were provided includes both address and apartment number. I also presume that Ms. Ryan was, at the time of her demise, carrying keys. If either of these assumptions are false, I can re-write. ))

"Unlikely, but I suppose not impossible; that may be worth double-checking. As for methodologies - I would go with trying her keys first."

And - unless Miss Spurling has any better ideas - Kin will match action to words and see if the doors in their way can be simply unlocked.
Veyska
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Re: 002d: Lair of the Snake Person

Post by Veyska »

"Unless there was some mention of a roommate in the notes you perused that you failed to relay on the trip here, I'd rather hope that ringing her apartment wouldn't get a response, under the circumstances... Still, hopefully won't hurt to try that and failing a response if you did in fact get keys then using them would be rather less suspicious than alternative means of ingress. I had to scramble up to a second-story balcony once to treat a patient who'd had a stroke and whose door rebuffed my admittedly rather feeble attempts at forcing it but that was in an alley with a plethora of hand- and foot-holds and even were those present here I'd really rather not try that again if I can avoid it..."

((Can also edit to redact the existence of relevant keys if necessary.))
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Joshua
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Re: 002d: Lair of the Snake Person

Post by Joshua »

(yeah, definitely keys. and it's reasonable you'd grab them.)

The doors can be unlocked, and let's say she's on the third floor. So, big questions: Do you ring the bell first? Does everyone go in?

Sorry to ask, but it's important.
Wyvern
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Re: 002d: Lair of the Snake Person

Post by Wyvern »

100% OOC post.

The original post was written in a way that made it unclear if we had the apartment number, nevermind the keys to it, so that's probably why the replies here seemed a bit more tentative than definitive.

If Augustus doesn't want to use scrying to check for anyone in the apartment, or if he does check and there is someone there, then we can re-assess desired actions from that point.

On the other hand, if he does check and the apartment's empty of inhabitants, I don't see any reason to assume any of the three of us would wait around outside, and skipping to entering it would not be unreasonable.
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Joshua
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Re: 002d: Lair of the Snake Person

Post by Joshua »

IT makes sense you have the apartment number, as I said. I confirmed you had that, and I hadn't thought of the keys, which also made sense. Now, there is someone in the apartment. If you ring the bell they will think you're police and hide in the hidden room. If you do not, they will assume you're assassins and jump out the third story window... so do you ring the bell or not?
kitsunenotsume
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Re: 002d: Lair of the Snake Person

Post by kitsunenotsume »

Assuming no-one objects, Augustus will take the Key to Miss Ryan's apartment. It is a well known fact that most keys are designed to fit specific locks, and that in many cases, those locks are intimately familiar with the key and vice versa. "Excuse me, Mister Key, but I am looking for your associate, Madame Locke, I was hoping we could ask her a few questions, maybe look around the apartment a bit." As he mutters, he holds it up, talking to the trinket as one would any proper gentleman, and focusing on using the small scrap of metal as a conduit to find Miss Ryan's abode within the larger building. "I know, I know, it is quite unusual, but we are performing an investigation for her employer, and well, you saw what state she had been left in."

Starting from the perspective of what a key would have, the mentalist will begin by peering through the lock, followed by flowing his perception through into the room beyond and spying about. He will continue his general banter with the brass with occasional comments of his discoveries if they seem relevant to his organic companions. "Oh, a visitor! Miss Locke didn't say you two had guests over. They don't look all that threatening, so I suppose we aught to go introduce ourselves. No scene standing out in the weather, and the rain does terrible things to my Jacket; he complains about the lightest downpour."
Wyvern
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Re: 002d: Lair of the Snake Person

Post by Wyvern »

"Well, it would be quite impolite to simply barge in if someone's at home." And Kin will ring the bell for Ms. Ryan's apartment.
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Joshua
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Re: 002d: Lair of the Snake Person

Post by Joshua »

So, inside the well-furnished apartment, with dozens of books, maps, and adventuring equipment layed out... A tall man is rummaging through papers at a desk. When the buzzer rings, he swears, and pulls a hidden switch somewhere in one of the bookshelves, which opens. He ducks into a secret room* and closes it behind himself.

He doesn't emerge, although, there are windows in the back of the building that would open to that room**.
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*: The room is 'shielded'. I'll post more about this in the OOC board (to explain how rare/expensive this is and fine-tune it), but it's either got some form of weird science psionic dampener, or is warded against it. On the other hand, even if you can't see into it, it means that the occupant spent more than the worth of the street on that room.
**: Exiting out the back into the back alley is a straight shot through the building. The keys you have will let you through. (basically, there's a central hallway through the building.
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