Thrilling Adventure Tales- Chapter 1: Murder in New York!

[Spam]

Envoy's Story

Now just who exactly does this guy think he is?

Looking at Patch he presumes, he gives him an odd look, and raises an eyebrow.

"Excuse me, sir. But until I get my phone call, I would rather not have you write anything down on that little pad of paper about me, judging me by that double take you gave. Yes, I saw you do that."

Envoy to GM

[spoiler]Envoy is trying to piss him off enough so they'll give him his phone call. He's trying to be smart and witty so he can get out of there.[/spoiler]

[Glitch Girl]

Lizzie, Ashikyo

"I'm not a kid."

"Coulda fooled -HEY!"  I grab at my vest as the kid takes off. Even if he makes a break for it, at least I can keep what's mine. 

Okay Lizzie, you'd make a lousy mom.

If I get my vest back, I'm not following the kid unless it looks like he's in real trouble.  If I don't I am going after him and hope there are too many people for Filcher to make a scene.

[spoiler]  Question: did Ashi see Filcher before he ran off?[/spoiler]

[Viking]

Looking at Patch he presumes, he gives him an odd look, and raises an eyebrow.

"Excuse me, sir. But until I get my phone call, I would rather not have you write anything down on that little pad of paper about me, judging me by that double take you gave. Yes, I saw you do that."

Patch deliberately makes a point of pulling out a notepad and pen, speaking as he writes.

"Observation 1: Suspect appears to be rather self-conscious.  Observation 2: Suspect apparently has 20/20 vision."

Patch flips his pad shut, and smirks at the stranger behind bars.  "Relax, pal.  You should get your phone call before you're questioned, and if that's the only thing they brought you in for, they should let you loose shortly after."

[Alaric]

kkhohoho-

The direction I run, incincendentally, happens to be the man I ran into earlier.

Out of game- Anything inside a spoiler is intended only for the player of the character named before the spoiler. Similarly, if a player posts a spoiler directed at me, that information is intended for me. While I obviously can't stop people from reading each other's spoilers, I would ask that if you do so, you not in any way mention any information from that spoiler in your posts. It's not just a matter of what your character does and doesn't know, in this case- if it's in a spoiler not addressed to you, you should play as if YOU, the PLAYER, don't know it, either. If you have trouble remember what was in a spoiler and what wasn't, then I'd suggest that you not read other people's spoilers.

As far as I'm aware, you, as a player, have no reason to know that the man you're refering to is anywhere nearby.

[Alaric]

Patch, Envoy:


"Yeah,", says Bruntman, loudly. "That's him. Calls himself Envoy, if you can believe that."

"So - has your newest guest been officially charged with anything yet, or are you just holding him for questioning?" asks Patch.

One of the officers speaks up. "So far, just for questioning," he says. "We'll get something on him, though." He galres at the man in the cell with undisguised contempt.

Patch- [spoiler]It's not so much that you can't pay attention to his face, as that you don't really like to look too closely at him. It's not so much that he's ugly- though he certainly wouldn't win any beauty contests- there's just something about him that makes you immediately dislike him. Of course, a man with your talents and abckground knowns that first impressions can be misleading... and nothing about him "feels" wrong to you, in any sense you would normally understand. There's just something... repulsive about this man, and the more closely you examine him, the more you don't want anything to do with him.[/spoiler]
[/quote]

Looking at Patch he presumes, he gives him an odd look, and raises an eyebrow.

"Excuse me, sir. But until I get my phone call, I would rather not have you write anything down on that little pad of paper about me, judging me by that double take you gave. Yes, I saw you do that," Envoy says, sounding confrontational.

Patch-[spoiler] Your dislike for this strange man is increasing. Something about the way he said that is starting to get to you. You don't like being in the same room as him.[/spoiler]

Patch deliberately makes a point of pulling out a notepad and pen, speaking as he writes.

"Observation 1: Suspect appears to be rather self-conscious.  Observation 2: Suspect apparently has 20/20 vision."

Patch flips his pad shut, and smirks at the stranger behind bars.  "Relax, pal.  You should get your phone call before you're questioned, and if that's the only thing they brought you in for, they should let you loose shortly after."

One of the officers, not the one who spoke before, mutters under his breath, "And good riddance."

Bruntman turns to Patch and says, "You got anything you want to ask him, go right ahead. As long as he's right here and stuff."

[Alaric]

Hertzy, Frank, Ray:

The large man notices Hertzy being led off by Ray. He looks at Frank, then back at the others. He's obviously undecided.

At that moment, the sound of approaching sirens is heard.

"Jeez! We gotta get outa here!", exclaims the smaller man. The larger man seems to weigh his options for a moment. Then, he turns toward Hertzy, examines him closely for a moment, and the two men turn and run.

[kkhohoho]

Lizzie, Ashikyo

"I'm not a kid."

"Coulda fooled -HEY!"  I grab at my vest as the kid takes off. Even if he makes a break for it, at least I can keep what's mine. 

Okay Lizzie, you'd make a lousy mom.

If I get my vest back, I'm not following the kid unless it looks like he's in real trouble.  If I don't I am going after him and hope there are too many people for Filcher to make a scene.

[spoiler]  Question: did Ashi see Filcher before he ran off?[/spoiler]

GM-The Filcher thing has been fixed.  Ashikyo does not know he is there anymore in that particular post.

IG: I run as quick as I can.  I catch a quick glimpse of that man I ran into earlier, but I quickly get back into focus, and keep running, while making sure my round, flat circular hat stays on.

[Alaric]

Lizzie, Ashi:

Lizzie grabs at the vest Ashi's wearing, barely catching it. Ashi manages to quickly wriggle out, but is thrown off enough to fall over in the process.

This attracts a lot of attention, not surprisingly. People turn and look. Fortunately, most of them obviously don't want to get involved. They look, then move on. However, there's at least one individual who reacts differently...

You both see the man who Ashi ran into earlier approaching, looking right at the two of you, with a big, nasty grin on his face.

[Alaric]

Lizzie, Ashikyo

"I'm not a kid."

"Coulda fooled -HEY!"  I grab at my vest as the kid takes off. Even if he makes a break for it, at least I can keep what's mine. 

Okay Lizzie, you'd make a lousy mom.

If I get my vest back, I'm not following the kid unless it looks like he's in real trouble.  If I don't I am going after him and hope there are too many people for Filcher to make a scene.

[spoiler]  Question: did Ashi see Filcher before he ran off?[/spoiler]

GM-The Filcher thing has been fixed.  Ashikyo does not know he is there anymore in that particular post.

IG: I run as quick as I can.  I catch a quick glimpse of that man I ran into earlier, but I quickly get back into focus, and keep running, while making sure my round, flat circular hat stays on.

Just a couple more out-of-game notes.

1: I'd rather that you didn't change posts you've already made after other people have already reacted to them, even if it's a minor change and/or there was something wrong with that particualr post.

2: Lizzie was just trying to grab you. You need to wait to see whether see succeeded before continuing.

3: If you see new posts from me, and none of them continue your part of the story yet, that probably means I'm in the process of writing that part, and it's probably not a good time to add something.

I'm posting all rules clarifications publically, in this thread, rather tha, say, PMing them, because I want to make sure all the palyers understand them. I'll probably get around to adding to the "rules" section at the beginning with these clarifications at some point. For now, just note the kkhohoho's last post did not actually happen "in game".

[Glitch Girl]

Lizzie, Ashi:

Lizzie grabs at the vest Ashi's wearing, barely catching it. Ashi manages to quickly wriggle out, but is thrown off enough to fall over in the process.

This attracts a lot of attention, not surprisingly. People turn and look. Fortunately, most of them obviously don't want to get involved. They look, then move on. However, there's at least one individual who reacts differently...

You both see the man who Ashi ran into earlier approaching, looking right at the two of you, with a big, nasty grin on his face.

I straighten up and slip my vest back on, meeting Filcher's gaze.

"Ah nurtz," I mutter under my breath.

[BlueBard]

Hertzy, Frank, Ray:

The large man notices Hertzy being led off by Ray. He looks at Frank, then back at the others. He's obviously undecided.

At that moment, the sound of approaching sirens is heard.

"Jeez! We gotta get outa here!", exclaims the smaller man. The larger man seems to weigh his options for a moment. Then, he turns toward Hertzy, examines him closely for a moment, and the two men turn and run.

Frank's Story:

"Good Ri-riddance," Frank mutters under his breath as he watches the men run away.  Knowing there's no way that he can hide from the police, given his size and deformities, he decides to wait quietly for their arrival.  Frank looks around to see if he can figure out where the gentleman he was trying to protect got off to.  If he sees him and if the man is looking at him, he will wave to him.  He knows better than to try to run after him.

It would be nice to have a collaborating witness, he thinks.  Otherwise, I'm probably going to spend the night in jail.  With no one to testify against him, though, he figures the worst that can happen is that they'll charge him for disturbing the peace and fine him.

[Viking]

Patch's Story

Bruntman turns to Patch and says, "You got anything you want to ask him, go right ahead. As long as he's right here and stuff."

Patch rubs his chin thoughtfully.  Something about Envoy was just rubbing him the wrong way.  Which was odd, because Patch had only just seen him for the first time.  He keeps his distance from the bars.

"So... Envoy, is it?  What the heck did you do to cheese these guys off at you so much?"

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

The large man notices Hertzy being led off by Ray. He looks at Frank, then back at the others. He's obviously undecided.

At that moment, the sound of approaching sirens is heard.

"Jeez! We gotta get outa here!", exclaims the smaller man. The larger man seems to weigh his options for a moment. Then, he turns toward Hertzy, examines him closely for a moment, and the two men turn and run.

"See, my lad?  No more problems are in store for us at this time."

Hertzy leaves hiding to approach the deformed man.

"Thank you for the help, my friend.  Thank both of you.  My name is Dr. Mortimer Hertziwits, M.d., but my friends call me Hertzy.

"Oh my!  I think I'm going to need something to settle my nerves after that, and I had a rather light breakfast.  I've no appointments for a while, so how about you gentlemen joining me at a diner I frequent nearby, as soon as the police are done with us?"

[Panther_Gunn]

Ray's Story:

"See, my lad?  No more problems are in store for us at this time."

"I still don't think it's safe enough to approach that...."

Hertzy leaves hiding to approach the deformed man.

"....thing."  Letting all of his breath out in one semi-sigh, he reluctantly follows the Dr., keeping back from the rather large figure, but still keeping an eye on him.

"Thank you for the help, my friend.  Thank both of you.  My name is Dr. Mortimer Hertziwits, M.d., but my friends call me Hertzy.

"Pleased to meet you, Doctor.  My name is Dr. Kostanzis, Ray."

"Oh my!  I think I'm going to need something to settle my nerves after that, and I had a rather light breakfast.  I've no appointments for a while, so how about you gentlemen joining me at a diner I frequent nearby, as soon as the police are done with us?"

"The police?  Are you sure?  I mean, do you think this is something that we *have* to discuss with them.  We could just be on our way....  I doubt there's anything they can do about it, anyway."

[Uncle Yuan]

Steve's Story

"I'll see what I can do, sir!"

I hang up, grab my briefcase and hat and head down to the lobby.  I ask the doorman to get me cab and soon I'm standing in front of the desk sargeant at the precinct.

I give him a sunny smile and hold out my hand.  "Good morning, officer.  My name is Steven Littlefield, of IDT Enterprises.  I'm here to see a detective Brintman."

[BlueBard]

Frank's Story:

Frank is pleasantly surprised that the gentleman would approach a monster like him in such a friendly way.

"Muh-My  N-name is F-Frank St-stein.  I'm glad yuh-you are o-okay, S-sir."

He turns to the other man, struggling to speak plainly.  "And th-thank you for h-helping, Doc-t-tor K-k-kost-kostansis.  I have to wuh-wait here for the police, though.  Th-there's nowhere a muh-mon-- man.  A man like me c-can't hide.  And I have no-nothing to hide.  All I d-did was hu-help.  But the police m-may not see it th-that way.  Th-they j-judge a buh-book by it's cover, and I can h-hardly blame th-them."

[BlueBard]

Frank's Story:

Up close, the two men can't help but notice Frank's pale, greyish complexion and the many whitish scars criss-crossing his face.  His neck and hands bear similar scarring.  Also apparent up close is the fact that his eyes are each a different color.  The right eye is blue and the left eye is brown.

[Spam]

Patch's Story

Bruntman turns to Patch and says, "You got anything you want to ask him, go right ahead. As long as he's right here and stuff."

Patch rubs his chin thoughtfully.  Something about Envoy was just rubbing him the wrong way.  Which was odd, because Patch had only just seen him for the first time.  He keeps his distance from the bars.

"So... Envoy, is it?  What the heck did you do to cheese these guys off at you so much?"

Envoy's Story

"Excuse me good sir, but didn't you just say that I would get my phone call BEFORE I would be questioned?" Envoy says, putting emphasis on "before."

"But, if you insist, I suppose I'll tell you my story. Last night I was walking to my home after getting supplies for my business. The same old streets, the same old houses in the neighborhood, nothing seemed wrong. But something was wrong. I find a dead body at the end of a street corner. He was wearing some sort of name tag, like a doctor. I couldn't read it since the police showed up at the scene of the crime, probably only twenty or so minutes late, like they usually are." Looking at Bruntman rather strangely.

"I raise my hands as they shower me in light, and point their guns at me. They tell me to remain silent as anything I say could supposedly backfire at me, at least that's what they tell everybody." Now turning his attention towards the other officer, Patch.

"So, they stick me in their police vehicle, and rush out of the place. Of course, a few officers put that yellow tape around the scene, as I also thought I saw some of them sipping coffee, and eating plain donuts. Typical cops, eh?" Looking at Bruntman and Patch back and forth, giving them both strange looks.

"So, here they put me, here I sat as the only innocent person in this entire cell. And here I waited for hours on end, leaving my business at home. But I guess you don't really care much about how I make a living, don't you?"

Now leaning against a nearby wall while still paying very close attention to the two officers.

"Any more questions, or is my riddance about to be made good?" Looking at the officer who spoke up, giving him a Hannibal Lecter look.

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

He turns to the other man, struggling to speak plainly.  "And th-thank you for h-helping, Doc-t-tor K-k-kost-kostansis.  I have to wuh-wait here for the police, though.  Th-there's nowhere a muh-mon-- man.  A man like me c-can't hide.  And I have no-nothing to hide.  All I d-did was hu-help.  But the police m-may not see it th-that way.  Th-they j-judge a buh-book by it's cover, and I can h-hardly blame th-them."

"Yes, it's an unfortunate habit, which I'm sad to say that I once had as a boy.  But now I've been a family doctor for over twenty years.  I've had a few patients with obvious physical scars and problem, I've seen their struggles, and I know who they really are.  Some of the best people I've met were ones who look frightening or unusual.  Some of the worst looked like movie stars.

"You nothing to fear with me here.  I'm a respectable professional, and I know a few of the police who frequent the area, although I don't know if any of them will show up or not.  They'll listen to my side of the story."

Up close, the two men can't help but notice Frank's pale, greyish complexion and the many whitish scars criss-crossing his face.  His neck and hands bear similar scarring.  Also apparent up close is the fact that his eyes are each a different color.  The right eye is blue and the left eye is brown.

Herty's trained physicians eye will be examining, though from a distance, and as subtlely as he can, Frank's many cars and complexion.  It is doubt that he could do anything, but depending on what kind of scars, their likely cause and any other observations he makes, he may know a specialist who could be of some help.  He'll also be on the lookout for any less obvious injuries that he may have somehow sustained in the scuffle, although he does't expect to find any.

[BlueBard]

"Yes, it's an unfortunate habit, which I'm sad to say that I once had as a boy.  But now I've been a family doctor for over twenty years.  I've had a few patients with obvious physical scars and problem, I've seen their struggles, and I know who they really are.  Some of the best people I've met were ones who look frightening or unusual.  Some of the worst looked like movie stars.

"You nothing to fear with me here.  I'm a respectable professional, and I know a few of the police who frequent the area, although I don't know if any of them will show up or not.  They'll listen to my side of the story."

Frank's Story:

"Th-thank you, D-Doctor Huh-Herz-i-witz," Frank replies gratefully.  He knows he's mangled the hard-to-pronounce names of the men and is embarrassed by that, but he is resigned to his limitations and pushes the thought aside.

"Th-those men.  They-they said s-something about a re-replacement right before th-they, um, grabbed yu-you.  Wh-what did they want?"

[Viking]

Envoy's Story

"Excuse me good sir, but didn't you just say that I would get my phone call BEFORE I would be questioned?" Envoy says, putting emphasis on "before."

"But, if you insist, I suppose I'll tell you my story...

"Any more questions, or is my riddance about to be made good?" Looking at the officer who spoke up, giving him a Hannibal Lecter look.

Patch's headache is stubbornly refusing to go away, and he rubs his forehead in annoyance.

"I said you'd get your phone call before THEY questioned you," he responds testily.  "I'm just being nosy as a private citizen.  You think I'm a cop that likes to eat plain donuts?  Hah!  I don't carry a badge... and I prefer my donuts with sprinkles."

What the heck is he doing to get under my skin so much? he wonders.  I mean, his insults aren't even that good!

Patch chuckles ruefully.  "You didn't even answer the question I asked, which is what you did to cheese these cops off at you.  Though I'm beginning to get an idea.  Bit of advice?  Insulting the guys that have you locked up isn't that likely to make them respect your rights."

[Spam]

Envoy's Story

Oh my... What am I doing? I'm trying to get out of here, not make enemies.

"Um... Mr. Detective. If you want, when I get out of here, how about we sit and chat?" Envoy says, which was most more then likely out of the blue.

"You like coffee sir?"

Alright... I don't like jail anymore...

[Alaric]

Lizzie, Ashi:

At that moment, you hear the sound of approaching sirens. Filcher stops for a moment, seems to consider something, then given a "see you soon" wave, turns, and runs, not too anxiously or quickly, in the opposite direction.

[Alaric]

Hertzy, Frank, Ray:

Hertzy- [spoiler]You've never seen anything quite like Frank. Something about him just looks... wrong. It's not just the scars- unusual though they are. His whole body shape seems... not quite right, somehow. Not to mention the quality of his skin... The eyes aren't just different colors, you'd swear (if you were a swearing man) that they're different shapes. [/spoiler]

A single poilce car, siren blasting and light flashing, comes driving down the street, and pulls to a stop. A poilceman gets out and approaches Frank. "We had a report of a fight breaking out, and some sort of..."

He breaks off as he gets a better look at Frank.

[BlueBard]

Frank's Story:

Frank returns the officer's gaze calmly.  He does not speak unless spoken to, makes no sudden movements, and does as he is told.  He's content to let Dr. Hertziwits handle the situation.

[Alaric]

Patch, Envoy, Steve:

A gum-chewing police woman leads Steve back to Bruntman. "Hey, Cal- it's the guy from IDT."

Bruntman turns, then reaches out to shake Steve's hand. "Detective Bruntman. Gonna ask you a few questions." He thinks for a moment, then turns to Patch. "Hey, Briarson, you done there?"

[Glitch Girl]

Lizzie, Ashi:

At that moment, you hear the sound of approaching sirens. Filcher stops for a moment, seems to consider something, then given a "see you soon" wave, turns, and runs, not too anxiously or quickly, in the opposite direction.

Whew. Crisis averted, for now at least.

Something's going on, and right now, my gut's telling me it's bad.

Then there's that kid...

If Ashi is still on the ground, I crouch by him and say "Look, I don't know what this thing is you're so all-fired up about that you have to do, but right now, I'm offering you a free meal and someone to talk to.  It's your call, you can go if you want, but frankly, my poppa always said never pass up a free meal, espeically if you don't know where your next one is coming from."

"Besides," I add, "if you're good, I might even take you flying with me sometime."

[Viking]

Patch's Story

Bruntman turns, then reaches out to shake Steve's hand. "Detective Bruntman. Gonna ask you a few questions." He thinks for a moment, then turns to Patch. "Hey, Briarson, you done there?"

Patch is more than a little stunned at Envoy's sudden change of attitude, but recovers quickly.  "Yeah, I think so," he murmurs.

He leans in to speak quietly to Detective Bruntman:

[spoiler]"I think your hunch about this guy not being the culprit is right, but there's definitely something Weird about him, with a capital W.  If you can process this guy and get him released as soon as we're done with this guy from IDT, I'll tail him and see what I can dig up.  Weird stuff is what you hire me for, after all."[/spoiler]

Patch then also shakes Steve's hand.  "Patch Briarson, Private Investigator - Third Eye Detective Agency.  I'm working with Detective Bruntman as an independant consultant on this case."

[Spam]

Envoy's Story

Well, I wonder why people are so obsessed about this murder anyway... And just who was the victim, anyways?

"If your done with me, then I guess that means I can take my phone call?" Envoy asks, not looking at any particular person.

I wonder who he is? The man that just entered the room. I hope he doesn't have any questions for me...

[Panther_Gunn]

Ray's Story:

He turns to the other man, struggling to speak plainly.  "And th-thank you for h-helping, Doc-t-tor K-k-kost-kostansis.  I have to wuh-wait here for the police, though.  Th-there's nowhere a muh-mon-- man.  A man like me c-can't hide.  And I have no-nothing to hide.  All I d-did was hu-help.  But the police m-may not see it th-that way.  Th-they j-judge a buh-book by it's cover, and I can h-hardly blame th-them."

"Oh, that's qu-quite alright.  Th-think nothing of it.", he stammers, a little taken aback at being addessed directly by the "creature".

Herty's trained physicians eye will be examining, though from a distance, and as subtlely as he can, Frank's many cars and complexion.  It is doubt that he could do anything, but depending on what kind of scars, their likely cause and any other observations he makes, he may know a specialist who could be of some help.  He'll also be on the lookout for any less obvious injuries that he may have somehow sustained in the scuffle, although he does't expect to find any.

GM:  [spoiler]Ray will also be giving Frank the once-over, but aiming more towards trying to recall if he's ever read or otherwise heard about anything like what this person appears to be.....outside of the writings of Mary Shelley, of course.[/spoiler]

A single poilce car, siren blasting and light flashing, comes driving down the street, and pulls to a stop. A poilceman gets out and approaches Frank. "We had a report of a fight breaking out, and some sort of..."

He breaks off as he gets a better look at Frank.

Ray will let Hertzy take the lead with the explanations, but is prepared to pipe in if asked, or if it looks like more clarification is needed.