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

[Viking]

Patch's Story

Patch purses his lips momentarily, and then suddenly closes his eyes as if in deep thought.  A second later, he opens them again.

"I've got a hunch that I want to follow, Bruntman.  Either of you know a guy, slightly overweight with white hair and a beard, regularly checks a pocketwatch?  I've seen this guy by chance only recently, seems like he might be a science type, and kinda nervous.  Which typically means that he either has something to hide, or he's worried that somebody's out to get him.  Definitely stood out from the crowd to me.  Could be connected to all this."

[spoiler]Patch will continue to provide as detailed a description as he can from the momentary flash of vision that he had.[/spoiler]

[Uncle Yuan]

Patch's Story

Patch purses his lips momentarily, and then suddenly closes his eyes as if in deep thought.  A second later, he opens them again.

"I've got a hunch that I want to follow, Bruntman.  Either of you know a guy, slightly overweight with white hair and a beard, regularly checks a pocketwatch?  I've seen this guy by chance only recently, seems like he might be a science type, and kinda nervous.  Which typically means that he either has something to hide, or he's worried that somebody's out to get him.  Definitely stood out from the crowd to me.  Could be connected to all this."

Steve's Story

"Gee, there I can't help you Mr. Briarson.  I only got to town this morning."

[Alaric]

Hertzy, Frank, Ray:

With that Hertzy consults the Watch yet again.

Hertzy- [spoiler]Oddly enough, the usual phrase seems to be blinking on and off. It's never done that before...[/spoiler]

Curiosity piqued, Ray trys to surrepititiously glance over the Dr.'s shoulder at the watch.

Ray- [spoiler]You seem to see some words rapidly blinking on and off. Between the blinking and your attempts not to let Dr. Herziwtz notice you looking, it's hard to read, but you'd swear you saw the word "idiot".[/spoiler]

[Alaric]

(oog- Sorry, I have to run. I'll update the story for the rest of you when I get back, which will be pretty late.)

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

"Well that's strange," Hertzy mutters to himself.  "It's never done that before.  Very strange.  Very strange indeed."

Turning back to Ray and Frank, he turns the Watch to them so they can see.

While it looks exactly like any other pocket watch on the outside, with nothing at all distinctive about it, the inside is very peculiar.  There is no watch face, no dials, in fact, nothing at all, just a bare white face.  On that face one phrase keeps blinking on and off.  It's hard to read, but they manage to catch what appears to be the words "you are an idiot!"

Putting it away again, Hertzy continues, "I apologize for the rather rude choice of phrase.  I built this thing hoping for a way to discern the outcome of various medical treatments.  It has never quite worked how I intended, but it's gotten close than most of the my creations.  Whenever something I have just done or am about to do is about to result in something troublesome, that phrase appears.  When all is good, it does not.

"That is how I knew there was no danger in my staying to render medical attention.  At the time, the Watch was blank."  Frank and Ray notice that Hertzy puts special emphasis on the word Watch when referring to his device.  "But I have no idea what this blinking on and off means. It's never done that before.  Oh dear, I hope I haven't broken the thing somehow.  It's been handy a time or two."

[Panther_Gunn]

Ray's Story:

"But I have no idea what this blinking on and off means. It's never done that before.  Oh dear, I hope I haven't broken the thing somehow.  It's been handy a time or two."

"While I would love to discuss the principals of such a device with you, I don't think we'll have that much leisure time on our hands in the very near future.  I have a feeling this is about to turn bad.....*very* bad.  Unfortunately, our option to flee is no longer available, since they've seen us, *and* have our names.  As much as I hate to put my fate into the hands of the authorities, I don't believe we have much choice at the moment."

Turning to Frank: "Please take no offense, but is there anything that you might have done recently that would have the police looking for someone of your description?"

[BlueBard]

Ray's Story:
Turning to Frank: "Please take no offense, but is there anything that you might have done recently that would have the police looking for someone of your description?"

Frank's Story:

"N-no.  I wuh-work as a buh-bodyguard, b-but I haven't had an-any problems re-re-recently.  In f-fact, I'm out of wuh-work at the mo-moment."

[Alaric]

Hertzy, Frank, Ray:

The policeman comes back.

"Okay, everything seems to check out... Not sure if we can do anything in this case. You could come back to the station with us, maybe look at some pictures... Otherwise, let us know if there's any further trouble. And be careful... there're some strange things going on around here these days..."

[Alaric]

Patch, Envoy, Steve:

"I've got a hunch that I want to follow, Bruntman.  Either of you know a guy, slightly overweight with white hair and a beard, regularly checks a pocketwatch?  I've seen this guy by chance only recently, seems like he might be a science type, and kinda nervous.  Which typically means that he either has something to hide, or he's worried that somebody's out to get him.  Definitely stood out from the crowd to me.  Could be connected to all this."

"Gee, there I can't help you Mr. Briarson.  I only got to town this morning."

Bruntman looks at Patch a little funny, then says, "Sorry, don't know anyone like that. What makes you think he's-"

Another cop, who was just entering the room as Patch was talking, suddenly interupts.

"A watch? Cal, Bill just radioed in. Y'knew how all officers are supposed to report anything unusual within a ten-block radius of the murder scene? Well, Bill was talking to some guy- claimed that some people who attacked him wanted his watch or something. There was more to it than that... he said he'd made the watch, and these guys wanted him for some reason... Uh, and Bill said one of the other guys was... well, kind of weird looking..."

[Alaric]

Lizzie, Ashi:

As Lizzie attempts to continue listening to the nearby conversation.

"I heard he was some kind of-"

At that moment, a man in a trenchcoat walks up to your booth, his eyes on Ashi's sword.

"Hey, that sword- is that real?"

"Yes," I say in a rather unpleasent voice, "yes it is.  You are just one of the many people who have asked me that question.

"Isn't it nice?" I chime in quickly.  "His father's going to absolutely love it when he gives it to him. I wasn't sure it was going to get here in time for the brithday party, but looks like we got lucky.  It's going to look so perfect in the collection."
   
GM [spoiler]If I can without the guy in the trenchcoat seeing me, I flash Ashi a black look and then go back to smiling at the guy.[/spoiler]

Ashi- [spoiler]Lizzie gives you a nasty look- at least, you think it's supposed to indicate she's not entirely happy with you. Of course, with the cultural differences, who knows what the look actually means?[/spoiler]

The man looks from Ashi to Lizzie, a little suspisciously. Then, he seems to decide you both look harmless. He shrugs.

"Well, just be careful with that thing. You should get it home as soon as you can. There's strange stuff going on. And put some regular clothes on that kid- I don't care where his dad's from, these days, you don't want to stick out too much, y'know?"

[catwhowalksbyhimself]

Hertzy's (reluctant) Story

The policeman comes back.

"Okay, everything seems to check out... Not sure if we can do anything in this case. You could come back to the station with us, maybe look at some pictures... Otherwise, let us know if there's any further trouble. And be careful... there're some strange things going on around here these days..."

"Thank you officer.  I'm sure a trip to the station won't be necessary.  I'd rather get back to my day, thank you."

Glancing at his real watch to note the time, while putting the Watch away, Hertzy turned to his new friends.

"Well, gentlemen, we still have some time before my next appointment.  Would anyone care to take me up on my offer of breakfast?  Or a cup of coffee at least."

[Spam]

Envoy's Story

I tap my fingers frantically as the phone keeps ringing.

Please pick up...

[Uncle Yuan]

"A watch? Cal, Bill just radioed in. Y'knew how all officers are supposed to report anything unusual within a ten-block radius of the murder scene? Well, Bill was talking to some guy- claimed that some people who attacked him wanted his watch or something. There was more to it than that... he said he'd made the watch, and these guys wanted him for some reason... Uh, and Bill said one of the other guys was... well, kind of weird looking..."

"Whoa . . . what are the chances?!"

[Spam]

Envoy's Story

Finally, the phone picks up, and a rowdy hello is given.

"Hello, Steve? Hi, this is Envoy from-"

"Sorry, Steve is out on lunch. Do you need me to leave him a message?"

"Is this still a supervisor?"

"Yes, this is Erik, I'm a supervisor. Is there anything you need today, sir?"

"Yes, could you leave Steve a message for me?"

"Yeah, hold on."

Strange noises come from the other side as if he put the phone down. Envoy waits for a few seconds until Erik speaks up.

"Okay, what did you say your name was, sir?"

"Uh, my name is Envoy."

"How do you spell that?"

"E-N-V-O-Y, please, this is very important." Envoy says, sounding disrupted.

"Alright, alright. Now, what was your message?"

"Tell Steve that I'm in jail, and that I'm sort of freaked out. Tell him that if its okay, if he could come pick me up after they let me go. You got that, sir?"

"Yeah, I-"

"Good." Envoy says, slamming the phone down. He walks towards the guards as if he's ready to go back to his cell.

[kkhohoho]

Lizzie, Ashi:

As Lizzie attempts to continue listening to the nearby conversation.

"I heard he was some kind of-"

At that moment, a man in a trenchcoat walks up to your booth, his eyes on Ashi's sword.

"Hey, that sword- is that real?"

"Yes," I say in a rather unpleasent voice, "yes it is.  You are just one of the many people who have asked me that question.

"Isn't it nice?" I chime in quickly.  "His father's going to absolutely love it when he gives it to him. I wasn't sure it was going to get here in time for the brithday party, but looks like we got lucky.  It's going to look so perfect in the collection."
   
GM [spoiler]If I can without the guy in the trenchcoat seeing me, I flash Ashi a black look and then go back to smiling at the guy.[/spoiler]

Ashi- [spoiler]Lizzie gives you a nasty look- at least, you think it's supposed to indicate she's not entirely happy with you. Of course, with the cultural differences, who knows what the look actually means?[/spoiler]

The man looks from Ashi to Lizzie, a little suspisciously. Then, he seems to decide you both look harmless. He shrugs.

"Well, just be careful with that thing. You should get it home as soon as you can. There's strange stuff going on. And put some regular clothes on that kid- I don't care where his dad's from, these days, you don't want to stick out too much, y'know?"

GM
[spoiler]I can tell that Lizzie's look isn't freindly, and is rather hostile.[/spoiler]

"Excuse me, sir.  Exactly what "strange stuff" are you referring to?  Is it anything...demonic?"

[Glitch Girl]

Lizzie, Ashi:

The man looks from Ashi to Lizzie, a little suspisciously. Then, he seems to decide you both look harmless. He shrugs.

"Well, just be careful with that thing. You should get it home as soon as you can. There's strange stuff going on. And put some regular clothes on that kid- I don't care where his dad's from, these days, you don't want to stick out too much, y'know?"

GM
[spoiler]I can tell that Lizzie's look isn't freindly, and is rather hostile.[/spoiler]

"Excuse me, sir.  Exactly what "strange stuff" are you referring to?  Is it anything...demonic?"

De-WAHT? I think to myself. Even that line catches me a little flat footed. Still, I try to cover.

"Heh, kids. You know how they are. I think his poppa's been reading him those foreign stories again, I'll be lucky if he gets to sleep tonight."

[kkhohoho]

Lizzie, Ashi:

The man looks from Ashi to Lizzie, a little suspisciously. Then, he seems to decide you both look harmless. He shrugs.

"Well, just be careful with that thing. You should get it home as soon as you can. There's strange stuff going on. And put some regular clothes on that kid- I don't care where his dad's from, these days, you don't want to stick out too much, y'know?"

GM
[spoiler]I can tell that Lizzie's look isn't freindly, and is rather hostile.[/spoiler]

"Excuse me, sir.  Exactly what "strange stuff" are you referring to?  Is it anything...demonic?"

De-WAHT? I think to myself. Even that line catches me a little flat footed. Still, I try to cover.

"Heh, kids. You know how they are. I think his poppa's been reading him those foreign stories again, I'll be lucky if he gets to sleep tonight."

GM
[spoiler]If I can without the man with the trenchcoat seeing me, I attempt to give a look of "WTF" to Lizzie, but since I can't show emotion that well, I may not be very succesfull.[/spoiler]

She's still trying to cover me.  Hm...I suppose if I can't get rid of her after I leave this "diner", I'll have to tell her why I came to this country.  Otherwise, she might keep covering me, and I might get nowhere in my search.  For now though, I'll have to make the best of it.


"Yes, and that is why I want to know if there is anything unordinary happining here.  If I can not confirm that there is not anything like in "poppa's" stories here, I, like my "momma" said, may not sleep tonight.

[Panther_Gunn]

The policeman comes back.

"Okay, everything seems to check out... Not sure if we can do anything in this case. You could come back to the station with us, maybe look at some pictures... Otherwise, let us know if there's any further trouble. And be careful... there're some strange things going on around here these days..."

:huh:  "Well, whaddya know about that?"

"Thank you officer.  I'm sure a trip to the station won't be necessary.  I'd rather get back to my day, thank you."

Glancing at his real watch to note the time, while putting the Watch away, Hertzy turned to his new friends.

"Well, gentlemen, we still have some time before my next appointment.  Would anyone care to take me up on my offer of breakfast?  Or a cup of coffee at least."

Yes, most definitely.  I could use a good cup of coffee or two to calm my nerves down a bit.  Thank you."

[Viking]

"Whoa . . . what are the chances?!"

Patch flashes a grin to the company representative.  "It's why I went into private detective work, pal.  I've got something of a knack for seeing connections."

He casually jerks his thumb over towards Envoy while he's making his phone call.  "Take that character over there.  Calls himself Envoy.  Doesn't give a last name or nothin'.  He was picked up at the murder scene last night.  Doesn't look like he's the killer, but he might have seen or heard something interesting before the cops picked him up.  And from what I can tell, he's got a knack for getting under people's skin in a matter of seconds.  That's just too much Weird to put down to coincidence."

Patch shrugs his shoulders expansively.  "That's more or less my philosophy on cases like this.  When a number of weird things start going down in a short span of time, I don't chalk it up to chance.  I figure they're connected."

He rubs his chin thoughtfully.  "Of course, figuring out what those connections mean takes a bit of legwork.   I should probably follow up on that guy with the watch and his 'weird-looking' friend.  Did Bill report a location on where he found these guys?"

[BlueBard]

"Thank you officer.  I'm sure a trip to the station won't be necessary.  I'd rather get back to my day, thank you."

Glancing at his real watch to note the time, while putting the Watch away, Hertzy turned to his new friends.

"Well, gentlemen, we still have some time before my next appointment.  Would anyone care to take me up on my offer of breakfast?  Or a cup of coffee at least."

Yes, most definitely.  I could use a good cup of coffee or two to calm my nerves down a bit.  Thank you."

Frank:

"It r-really isn't n-necessary, D-Doctor.  I-I'm just glad to he-help.  I sh-should be going.  I n-need to f-find another j-job."

And I'm not so sure about spending any more time around a medical doctor than I have to, much less two of them, he thinks to himself.

OOC: Yes, I know Ray is not a medical doctor, but Frank doesn't.

[Alaric]

Hertzy, Frank, Ray:

Frank- [spoiler]While your concerns about medical doctors are well-foudned, it does occur to you that Dr. Herziwitz may be in need of a body guard. Those men might make another attempt to grab him, and you do need a job... On the other hand, he is a doctor...[/spoiler]

The policeman and his partner get into the car and leave, giving the three of you a slightly odd glance.

[Alaric]

Did Bill report a location on where he found these guys?" asks Patch.

"Um, yeah. It was on Mulberry Street."

[Alaric]

"Excuse me, sir.  Exactly what "strange stuff" are you referring to?  Is it anything...demonic?" says Ashi.
"Heh, kids. You know how they are. I think his poppa's been reading him those foreign stories again, I'll be lucky if he gets to sleep tonight,"  Lizzie quickly adds.

Lizzie- [spoiler]Ashi shoots you an... angrily confused look, to put it politely.[/spoiler]

"Yes, and that is why I want to know if there is anything unordinary happining here.  If I can not confirm that there is not anything like in "poppa's" stories here, I, like my "momma" said, may not sleep tonight," says Ashi, his accent seeming a bit thicker than usual.

The man looks at you both oddly, then smiles. "Kids," he says. "They're all the same. You two be careful. And don't worry, kid, if there're any monsters around, they're the every day kind." He turns to go.

[Glitch Girl]

Lizzie & Ashi

The man looks at you both oddly, then smiles. "Kids," he says. "They're all the same. You two be careful. And don't worry, kid, if there're any monsters around, they're the every day kind." He turns to go.

Whew.

As soon as he's gone look Ashi right in the eyes and say in a low voice, "Okay kid, I admit, I'm a bit of a sucker for a good sob story.  However, if it's true what you say about being alone in this world, you're going to need all the friends you can get because right now, you stick out like a white cat in a room full of daschunds.  So let's come clean, shall we?  Who are you, how'd you get here, and what happened back in that alley."

[kkhohoho]

Lizzie & Ashi

The man looks at you both oddly, then smiles. "Kids," he says. "They're all the same. You two be careful. And don't worry, kid, if there're any monsters around, they're the every day kind." He turns to go.

Whew.

As soon as he's gone look Ashi right in the eyes and say in a low voice, "Okay kid, I admit, I'm a bit of a sucker for a good sob story.  However, if it's true what you say about being alone in this world, you're going to need all the friends you can get because right now, you stick out like a white cat in a room full of daschunds.  So let's come clean, shall we?  Who are you, how'd you get here, and what happened back in that alley."

Time to come out with it...

"Alright.", I say in a low voice. "What I am about to tell you is all true.  As you may have already guessed, I'm from Japan.  I learned how to handle a sword as I grew up.  When a demon nearly killed me, I became a demon slayer, and travelled the world searching for demons to slay.  Now, this will be hard to believe, but one day, a demon transformed me from a man into a child.  I am actually in my late 20's.  I have been upset with you treating me like one.  I came to America because I decided to search for demons there.  Now, about the alley.  That man who waved at us and then ran away ran into me in that alley.  I had a bad boat trip, and was already angry because of that, so I threatened him with my sword, and demanded he tell me what he was doing.  Well, what do you think?"

[Glitch Girl]

Lizzie & Ashi

"I think you should pull the other one, it's got bells on it."

I sigh.  "Look, I can't help you if you aren't straight with me.  That's all there is.  I mean, it's great to have an imagination.  Heck, when I was your age, I told my poppa I was Rainbow Princess Peablossom, heir to the throne of Oz and Princess Ozma's long lost sister.  It was nice, but we both know it wasn't true."

[kkhohoho]

Lizzie & Ashi

"I think you should pull the other one, it's got bells on it."

I sigh.  "Look, I can't help you if you aren't straight with me.  That's all there is.  I mean, it's great to have an imagination.  Heck, when I was your age, I told my poppa I was Rainbow Princess Peablossom, heir to the throne of Oz and Princess Ozma's long lost sister.  It was nice, but we both know it wasn't true."

"What do you want me to say?  That I am a child  who was fed too many wild tales?"  I sigh.  I've already told her the story.  I can't back out now, or else, I'll dishoner myself. I take out my "lucky" coin, look at it, and decide to keep going with this.

"Lizzie, let us go somewhere private.  I want to show you something."  I pick up my sword and look at it.  I then stand up and move out of my seat.  I look at Lizzie, motioning her to follow me.

[Glitch Girl]

Lizzie & Ashi

My eyes narrow and lock in on the coin he's holding.

Why that little...

My hand goes automatically to the pocket with my good luck charm.  Is it still there?

[Alaric]

Lizzie & Ashi

My eyes narrow and lock in on the coin he's holding.

Why that little...

My hand goes automatically to the pocket with my good luck charm.  Is it still there?

Lizzie- [spoiler]Yes, it's still there.[/spoiler]

[Glitch Girl]

Lizzie & Ashi
My hand closes on the charm and the frown fades.

Hmmm... what do ya' know...

"You know kid, you are full of surprises," I say and withdraw my hand from my pocket.  In it is a small oriental coin I hold for display.