The Other Half

Feb 27th, 2016 03:45 PM

"No, it hasn't. People keep trying to tell me it's just this or that, but... you know, I just really want to be sure." A mixture of tiredness and relief tinged the woman's voice as she opened the door fully, revealing a view into the house proper. "Oh, I haven't introduced myself have I? I apologize, this whole thing has me in a bit of a state; it's been hard to sleep. I'm Frances. Please, come on in." That taken care of, she lead the way toward her infamous wall on aging bones, the progress slow.

Speaking over her shoulder to them, some of the earlier shyness began to wear off in the comfort of her home. "I don't know how much Jeff told you, but every night like clockwork the crying starts. At first I thought it was a child, there are so many families nearby now and I thought maybe a little one had fallen down in my yard, in the dark. I don't do much gardening anymore. But then it happened again, and again, and finally one evening I was down in the kitchen and I noticed it was coming right from the wall behind my stove. And I thought, well that's not right. Everybody's trying to tell me it's pipes or a cat but if it was an animal I think it would cry all day, don't you?"

Despite the outward appearance of the house, it was easy to see that the interior was taken care of. While the furniture and decoration were modest, perhaps a little dated to modern sensibilities, everything was clean and free of dust; even the corners of the ceiling boasted no visible cobwebs. Photographs lined their path toward the kitchen, a host of faces in black and white and fading color.

Gimme a Wits+Comp if you're actively looking at the photographs

**InvertedMonkey** · Feb 28th, 2016 06:14 PM

Perception: 1 success

They say the past is a different country. In that way, the elderly are sort of immigrants to the present. Foreigners even in their own birthplace. Sometimes they're ignored. Sometimes celebrated. Often, they like to talk. A long life tends to produce stories, after all. So, where such talk is not objectionable, Ramona tends to let them. It can be interesting to listen, and learn of that other country, sequestered from all visitation by time.

She stays quiet, letting Green take the lead for the group. He's the one that brought them here, after all. Instead, she looks around. There's the usual reasons; trying to figure out where a weapon might be hidden, looking for escape routes, etc. But also out of simple curiosity. When Frances' voice fades, Ramona encourages it with something vaguely affirmative, like "Yeah, you're probably right," and a nod.

Mar 1st, 2016 01:00 PM

Bump Gwydden Yumyumcrow (I know you're out for the moment, whenever you can)

**Malcolm Green** · Mar 2nd, 2016 04:25 AM

Green took the lead, squeezing into the house's narrow hall as he followed Francis. At first he simply grunted in understanding as the old woman made her introduction. He kept is eyes out too, not just for photographs (did any show children?) but for the occult accoutrements he had been warned of by his contact.

A thrill of fear rubbed against his spine - what if those little wards and crystals and things tripped off the Wyrd?

"Yeah... Uh... That is really odd. Yeah. When did this all begin, like? I mean, when did you first notice it like you said. Clockwork. And what time? Might be important, that. If it is the pipes, it could be due to boiler timers and such. Just saying?"

For the moment he tried to keep this professional and within normal bounds of conversation.

"Man... You keep a clean house, ma'am." He added courteously. He was acknowledging fact.

**Nathan Griffin** · Mar 2nd, 2016 06:01 PM

He followed the old woman without a word, both hands in his pockets and his head looking around slightly bent down. He knew it gave him the look of a well-behaved but diligent cub, and it was as non-threatening a posture as he could fathom. He listened to her story, but mostly he looked at the walls. The photographs caught his attention. Old an grey, like the display in his father's old country house. It had always disturbed him, that procession of dead Irishmen and women who seemed trapped in some kind of personal black and white hell. The memory made him turn his attention back to their host quicker than he had intended. He tried to ask something, as a distraction.

"Has anything like this happened before?"

fail

Sorry it took me so long, guys. Midterm season's a bear. And to be fair, I'm a master procrastinator on all counts xD

Mar 4th, 2016 01:43 AM

To Ramona and Green, it was easy to see the logic behind the arrangement of the photographs they stumped past, family lineage wending its way across the walls. Older styles and clothes, posed portraits next to candid shots at some holiday or another, few faces repeating until a particular couple: their wedding, their house, their babies seated under a tree in a yard. Their twin girls turned into young women in a quick series of shots, childhood to adolescence to womanhood always with arms linked and conspiratorial faces. And then, abruptly, photos of a solitary sister, much older, expression guarded even as the people surrounding her smiled tentatively. She continued to age, other family faces slowly vanishing and no others replacing them reliably. The last photos seemed to be from roughly twenty years ago.

The Mountain's watchful gaze picked up little oddness beyond what he had already been warned about, though after a moment a pattern began to show itself: any door or window leading out of the house had a small, dark smudge just beneath the lock. The nature of the smudge would require closer inspection, and maybe a less watchful host.

"Oh it started, about... about three weeks ago? It usually begins around nine thirty or ten o'clock, when it's quieting down outside. I wish I had a recording to play you all, it's very eerie. And no, I've never had any sort of problem like this before." Frances answered their questions dutifully, trying to give them whatever might help. At the mention of her home's cleanliness, however, she was silent; a shallow nod accepted Green's compliment.

And, at long last, they were in the kitchen. An old gas stove sat proudly against what could only be the offending wall, flanked by built-in cupboards. A small table and a couple of chairs sat beneath a window with a view of the neighbor's yard, and the occasional shout of an excited child could be heard. As sweet as everything looked, there was a faint, sour smell like food going off. "Well, there it is. I'm going to let you get to work, I'll just be a shout away if you need me." Frances looked between them, hesitating as if she wasn't quite sure what to do with herself before she finally turned to go.

Unless stopped, Frances retreats to another part of the house

**InvertedMonkey** · Mar 4th, 2016 03:52 PM

Watching the progression those pictures is like watching someone's life get sliced in half. A stop-motion tragedy, with little in the way of context. As they reach the kitchen, she watches Frances depart, then glances up at Green. Keeping their covers while investigating this problem might be a challenge, and he has the most expertise at it. Might be a good idea to get her cues from him this time around. In the meantime, Ramona hefts her tool bag up onto the counter next to the stove, and kneels down to examine the appliance.

May I make an Intelligence + Craft roll, or something similar, to thoroughly inspect the oven?

Mar 4th, 2016 04:55 PM

Go for it, Int+Craft works

**InvertedMonkey** · Mar 4th, 2016 05:11 PM

3 successes

**Malcolm Green** · Mar 4th, 2016 05:17 PM

Green appeared to be giving the kitchen the once-over, appraising it with a critical eye. When Frances made to leave, he turned and asked:

"Uh. One question, like. How long have you lived here? See, there was talk of animals in the walls so I was wondering if you knew of any alterations or changes that had been done to the place. It might help... find the source of your problem, see. Anything can help."

While he spoke, he subtly tried to draw his companion's attention to the mysterious sigils daubed on the windows and doors.

"And uh look. We have to cut the power, gas and water for a bit while we work. Wouldn't want to cause an accident now, right? You... uh... You okay with that?"

At this point, the mountain was quite happy to check the oven and other fixtures for leaks, breaks and other problems - if only to rule out the mundane before moving onto the occulted.

For Clarification: Green is checking the shape of the kitchen, looking for signs it has been extended or shortened, looking for false walls, etc. He is using his Stonemason speciality as I think it may come in here.

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2016-02-28 18:04:18		Ramona Bohannon rolls 5 to Perception (TOH) (10 Again)		10, 3, 5, 4, 5, 6		1 success

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2016-03-02 04:25:41		Green perceives rolls 4 to Wits + Composure (10 Again)		7, 9, 3, 7		1 success

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2016-03-02 17:57:30		Nathan rolls 4 to WIT + COM for perception (10 Again)		1, 5, 1, 5		failure

Date		Action		Roll		Result
2016-03-04 17:11:23		Ramona Bohannon rolls 5 to Int + Craft (TOH) (10 Again)		8, 9, 10, 5, 3, 7		3 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2016-03-04 17:13:59	Green to check out the structure of the Kitchen rolls 6 to Intelligence + Crafts + Specialty (10 Again)	9, 3, 6, 10, 4, 6, 3	2 successes
2016-03-04 17:12:48	Green to subtly point things out rolls 5 to Manipulation + Subterfuge + Mantle Effect (10 Again)	3, 7, 5, 3, 2	failure

The Other Half

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