(SK) A Skeleton and a Ford in the Key of E

[Chrisie]

"...that woman didn't seem the type to give up easily. We might want to watch out to make sure we aren't followed."

With these words of wisdom in their ears, the gang can soon board the van and get underway.



Ricardo can carefully pull the Ford van out into the flow of traffic with ease.

There is ample space in the cargo area of back of the Ford E-350 'private ambulance' for Callum and Aileen to move about.

As Callum can easily open the outer crate to investigates the contents in detail. Within the wooden crate he finds a simple and unadorned sarcophagus. Within which he finds a humanoid mummified remains. The body lays on a bed of packing straw. The corpse has only a thin parchment like covering of skin stretched tight over the skeleton. It is almost fully wrapped in heavy duty and highly dusty cerements...yellowed with age and the staining of strange decay.

The contents have been clearly jostled and slightly disturbed by recent movements; but nothing appears destroyed.

At first glance nothing seems to catch Callum's attention*...though Aileen may spot something...

While Ricardo drives and begins, with professional care, to scan his surroundings for tailing or pursuit.

This allows time for Aileen and Callum to make a more detailed investigation of the crate...if they wish to, of course...



Callum McCann @Bigpaw

* To judge by a PM'd roll which failed.

NB: I'll ghost @Ricardo for the moment while Ebon is deflected from play by RL and also to avoid conflict of having him in two scenes as a Player.

[Aileen McFarlane]

Even though she was so far from her field of comfort, Aileen knew that Callum had done more than his fair share by fighting the woman away, and she wanted to prove herself up to the man's doing. Examining thoroughly the remains, it triggered some uncomfortable memory... I'm not so sure...

  4 successes

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2012-11-04 14:06:47		Aileen McFarlane rolls 8 to Int 5 + Occult 3 (10 Again)		6, 10, 10, 2, 9, 3, 1, 7, 9, 2		4 successes

[Chrisie]

Aileen's investigation of the contents of the sarcophagus reveals, once she peels aside the outer cerements, a complete, well preserved, male skeleton. At this closer inspection, it is clearly no fake.

The skin is parchment textured and seems...desiccated. As Aileen pays close attention to the skull, she can find the evidence of vampirism...the fangs appear to be there in the strong dentition. The strange preservation of the skin. It is easy to see that the skull is well protected by a Spanish style 'combed' morion helmet which is elegantly decorated with floral motifs inlaid with some bright metal...probably not the ceremonial wear of parade ground or court...but the functional armour of the Tercio.

The torso was...is...protected by the standard black metal Cuirass breastplate, very typical of the Spanish armour of the 17th century. There is a large puncture hole in the breastplate close to the heart. Whatever penetrated the armour also managed to penetrate through the protective shell of the rib cage. At the side of the corpse is a Spanish style cross hilt rapier. The weapon's scabbard looks to be in poor condition, but no worse than the Cuirass.

Rags and the dust of fabric, patches of leather, scattered bits of red silk and other textiles have sloughed off the corpse over the years and lay scattered around the casket.

Ricardo is driving the Ford with care along the street...trying to think of a safe place to take the cargo and is beginning to watch out for any pursuit.

In the back of the van, as Aileen and Callum peer into the casket they both spot a small metal box...roughly the same dimensions as a stack of four or five standard Blu-Ray or DVD boxes.

The box appears to made of a black metal similar to the armour and appears to have roughly the same distress of age. The upper most face of the box shows a heraldic device embossed on the metal which occupies most of the centre face. The shield design is in the pattern thus:-



Under the heraldic symbol is an embossed motto scroll bearing the Latin phrase: 'Plus Ultra'.

Anyone going to investigate the box or anything more closely?

[Aileen McFarlane]

The spanish regalia was something of a surprise for a supposedly hungarian skeleton, but Aileen was rather sure it was a genuine torpid kindred they could see in front of them, and told it to Callum. I can't be affirmative, but I think we're looking at a torpid spanish Elder right now...

The Shadow then held the box in front of her, gazing into it as if she intended to pierce it with her eyes. She then put it to her ear, and softly shook it, listening for its content.

  1 success

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2012-11-06 16:41:18		Aileen McFarlane rolls 7 to Int 5 + Academics 2 (10 Again)		4, 3, 4, 4, 3, 6, 10, 5		1 success

[Chrisie]

Aileen can hear something in the box which sounds, solid heavy and metal inside freely sliding around as she shakes it. She quickly decodes the shield to be the ancient heraldic symbol of the Kingdom of Castile - the geographic and political centre of the old Spanish kingdoms prior to its domination of the eventual union of the kingdoms of Aragon and Castile and the unification of Spain.

Her initial surprise at the armor and regalia may subside when she considers the identification of the Castillian badge with the age of the armor and the beginnings of sporadic and dispersed Spanish conquest and exploration in the New World.

Callum can detect the puncture injury to be, as he suspected, some spear or lance. Within the desicated chest cavity he can see the splintered and decayed remains of the wood shaft that no doubt once held fast in the corpse.

Meanwhile, Ricardo is carefully staying alert for threat.

[Aileen McFarlane]

Unsure of what to expect, Aileen started to try and find a way to open the box, but the ancient enigma eluded her.

  Failure

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2012-11-07 16:20:05		Aileen McFarlane rolls 2 to Int 5 + Investigation 0 - Untrained 3 (10 Again)		3, 3		failure

[Chrisie]

No sooner has Callum said that then Ricardo turns to quickly look your way and says; "Hey...guys...I think we're being followed...someone on a bike...coming up through the traffic. What you want me to do about it? Try and loose them?"

He had a few ideas, but it wasn't his operation...Aileen and Chase seemed to have more ideas about what might be needed next.