DM Morvius's Into the Void (Inactive)

Game Master Tourach

The waitress is congenial after the Persuade, but doesn't really have much to say unless pressed. She confirms the fear that you are there to relocate them by any means necessary and the general feeling that it is likely some crazy outsider that is trying to prey on the local residents. Recommendations are simple but hearty food - lots of protein and then glasses of water, which is all well purified.

Quinton did not head to the dining facility after sharing the information that had been gained with the group: he went walking. During his stint as a homicide detective, he had learned the hard way that looking at a picture of a place was not the same as seeing a place with his own eyes.

Taking a list of the closer dig sites where materials had been taken from, he headed to the closest one, carrying all his gear with him. He kept the front half of the zipper of his shoulder bag open, so that one of his firearms was in easy reach but not visible; the best compromise that he was going to get.

Arriving at the first site on his list, he would check the areas where the equipment was stored, and look specifically for method of entry. Should he find nothing, he would head to the next site: otherwise, he would take notes and samples and share his information with the group (either via wristcomp or face to face should he not have reception) before heading to the next site. Should anyone be on station, he would try to gather information from them, using the "hapless city official who just wants to get back off planet as fast as possible" persona.

Phineus sighs and looks around the cafeteria. Where the hell is Quinton? I assumed he'd be here when he left.

He leans back as he finishes his food. This needs to stop. People are disappearing here. Who in their right mind walks around alone, in a place they don't know, with the threat of disappearing?

He shakes his head, Just hope those two don't run into any trouble. Looks like it's just you and I for the moment. When you're done we can head back to the Sheriff's office, grab a deputy, and see if we can't run down a couple of leads.

Kaylee shrugs. "I have no idea why they just up and head off without a partner or at least giving us notice and details of exactly where they are heading."

"Heading back to the Sheriff's office sounds fine. We can let the others know via the wristcomps where we are going and that they can meet us there if they want."

Before entering the store Hoss feels his wristcomp vibrating. He pulls up a display and reads the message. He types out a few words and sends it off.

General Store. Edge of town. 15 minutes max.

Hoss straiten's his duster, hoping it will cover up most of his Warden insignia's, this was going to be sketchy. Then he takes a deep breath and exhales harshly, he hates talking.

"Afternoon. M'name's Hoss Delgado, but you can call me Hoss. My father was a miner off in the Keiper Belt for a while, simple stuff - but honest. He taught me everything he knew and I've been thinkin' for some time of getting into more honest work such as that. Do you know who I can talk to about the purchasing or use of some fine equipment that yer boys use?"

Deceive: 4d6 ⇒ (3, 3, 1, 6) = 13
1 success...well it's not a perfect lie I suppose.

Quinton, the closest dig site takes approximately an hour to reach on foot. You end up stopping often - the thin atmosphere makes exertion extremely difficult. The first site you reach is the reported location of the theft of explosives. There are miners on site, though they seem extremely off put by your attempts to dissemble. They make it clear that you know that you are a Warden and they don't at all conceal the fact that they consider your presence a waste of their time. Still, they don't interfere with your search and you discover the following:

- The security fence that kept the excavation explosives secure was cut open in some manner for the thieves to gain access. A full dozen charges are missing. The theft happened late in the night.

- The fencing was not cut open, but rather appears to have been melted in some manner.

- A small tuft of grey hair was missed by the sheriff. It looks like it was torn from the thief’s head as he went through the hole in the fence.

I'm assuming that you aren't trying to be intimidating. If that's the case, you have generated 3 of the 4 (or 6) needed Plot Points for Demeanor + Savoir Faire and receive no information from the miners.

--

Phineus and Kaylee, you are easily able to get back to the Sheriff's Office. The deputies are present, but seem reluctant to go with you. That said, the Sheriff offers to take you out in his truck if you are interested.

--

Hoss, you receive a cold stare from the shop attendant. He shakes his head and seems actively upset. "Look, Warden, don't insult our intelligence. You are here to investigate the thefts. Have at it. I won't get in your way. But don't lie to me about wanting to be a miner. Do what you need to do and get out."

The shop owner, Sergei, has a social defense of 2.

--

Kit, you are able to get back and hit the hay. Let me know roughly how long you intend to sleep for.

I will try to get about four hours sleep.

"Thank you Sheriff. We'd appreciate a ride out to question a the reporters of missing people and dog. I believe that was Angelina Sanchez, Alise Alenin and Philip Van Hooser."

"First though, what can you tell us about any recent excavations being done?"

Actually, it'd probably be better if you pointed us to any excavation specialists. We'd like to get a few opinions from them.

He sends out a message on his wristcomp, Kaylee and I headed out to chase down our leads. Starting with interviews. Possibly meeting with excavation specialists.

Thanks for the ride Sheriff, we appreciate all the cooperation we can get. I know the locals think we're here to shut down the mines, so it's an uphill battle to get their confidence. But we'll need it.

Hoss holds up his hands and raises an eyebrow. "Fair enough, let's talk. I'm investigating the disappearance of a long list of equipment, I'm wondering who I might talk to about the reports seeing as they seem to be missing a few key details." Hoss sighs as he pulls out his flex screen and opens up some of his notes. "I am wondering if you, or anyone else you know, seems to keep an inventory of what is at the various work-sites."

Kit, we'll let everyone finish their first round of investigations and then you'll wake up.

The Sheriff responds, "Well I'm not a miner, so I don't quite know who the experts are. Generally, aside from the rookies, every miner here is a professional and capable of starting a site themselves. The only one that stands out is Stepan Alenin - people used to send him out on the unstable sites when they figured no one else could get it done." He takes you into his truck, a simple pick-up that is weighted down as is usual for vehicles in places like Mars. "Where to first?"

--

At the general store Sergei seems uninterested in assisting. He simply shrugs, responding, "You would probably have to check those sites."

Assuming you look around, you can find out that the batteries that were stolen can be used in a large number of different tools that the colony uses. The door to the store also shows signs that it was forced open.

Hoss, you generate 3 of the needed 6 (or 8) Plot Points needed on Awareness+Investigate to search the scene physically so find no additional information. Similarly, unless you are attempting to be intimidating, you generate 2 of the 4 needed on Demeanor + Savoir Faire to get information from Sergei and so he tells you nothing.

Let's head to see Alise Alenin first. Ask her about her husband. Anything we should know about her?

He takes a seat and leans back, ready to go.

The Sheriff shrugs as he drives you there, shaking his head. "They've always seemed like average people. Been here for more than ten years."

The house you are brought to is the same prefabricated simple structure that most of the building are. Alise opens the door when the Sheriff knocks and she's clearly pretty stressed, but she invites you in and sits you all in the living room. Joe asks her to talk to you and she seems willing, though shaken.

"I...I'm not sure exactly how long he's been missing. Stepan was often gone for days at a time...his job was time consuming and sometimes took him out quite a ways," Alise says, shaking her head.

Kaylee takes a seat and speaks in a low and calm voice, trying to do her best not to further agitate the upset woman.

"Mrs. Alenin, please know that we are here to do our best to find out what happened to your husband and that any information you can give us will help us with our search."

"Now, we were given to understand that your husband was often sent out to work on unstable dig sites since he is the best here at that sort of job. Did he happen to mention anything to you about where he was heading last or for whom he was working for? Perhaps we could have a look around his office to see if he had made any notes about the job?"

"We don't wish to intrude upon you, but being able to find the site that he disappeared from would really help our investigation into finding him."

insight to judge her mood during the conversation and to make sure she isn't hiding anything: 7d6 ⇒ (2, 6, 6, 6, 5, 4, 2) = 31

If possible, I'd also like to roll for an appropriate social skill to help calm and reassure her while we are talking at the -1 penalty?: 6d6 ⇒ (2, 5, 3, 5, 5, 2) = 22

You are able to calm her slightly and you don't think she's hiding anything, but she also doesn't seem to know a whole lot. Through the conversation you are able to discover that he had his own work site, but also took jobs for other employers more often than not - she is able to dig up a list of a few recent employers. She doesn't seem to know any details about what they asked him for or where he went, but the information she provides includes names and addresses for the employers.

The Sheriff notes that he has checked Stepan's personal work site and found nothing. He says that there is a workshed there, but no "office" per se.

Phineus let's Kaylee lead the interview, interjecting only to ask a few questions.

Thank you ma'am, you've been very helpful. He looks around, Does your husband keep his work material here, by chance? A copy of his files, records, or whatever software he uses to do his work.

Not to worry ma'am, we're doing everything we can to find your husband. We have the best that the Wardens have to offer here working on this case.

He gives a reassuring but sympathetic smile.

Persuade: 7d6 ⇒ (2, 4, 6, 1, 5, 3, 6) = 27
3 Successes, +1 Empathy.

The comment about Wardens actually seems to make her more on edge, but overall your words calm her a bit. She shakes her head before responding, "I just have the bills from his employers. I don't know where Stepan kept his files, other than on his wristcomp. He was always so exhausted when he got home...he tried not to do any work when he was here."

how close is the nearest site from here?

Collecting what physical evidence he can, Quinton will say nothing to the miners other than to let them know he was done.

what sort of check is it to ID the hair?

"We'd like to go ahead and take a look at those bills then, if you don't mind. I think that after that, I am out of questions for now. We'd like to thank you for taking the time to talk to us Mrs. Alenin."

After they make note of the names on the bills, Kaylee nods to the Sheriff to indicate that they are done here.

Once in the vehicle: "Sheriff, we'd like to speak to Philip Van Hooser next, if you know his location."

Quinton, you collect a sample of the melted fence as well as the tuft of hair and bag them for testing back in town.

You'll need the facilities back at the Sheriff's Office to do the testing, but the fence takes Cleverness + Science: Physical or Cleverness + Science: Earth and the hair requires Cleverness + Medicine: Physical or Cleverness + Medicine: Animal. The nearest location you suspect an elevator could potentially be built remains the construction yard which is a few days walk. You can reach another dig site within 2 hours in which case you'll have to sleep out at a site (or just in the chasm) or you can turn back to town now.

--

Kaylee and Phineus, the Sheriff takes you to Phillip's office and heads inside with you. Phillip is fairly willing to talk, though it is clear he is doing so because he is worried that he'll be seen as a suspect.

He provides the following information:

- They had a work site about six hours out of town and Phillip left Li there when he went back to town for supplies. When he returned she was nowhere to be found.

- Initially he figured she had just cut out on their partnership and went to join someone else - he admits that they had substantial disagreements - but when she didn't show up in town for over a week, he figured something bad had happened.

- Phillip notes that all of her tools and supplies were also missing when he returned to the work site.

--

Kevin, we'll say that you wake up about now since people seem to be moving on to their second investigation site. So feel free to get up and act.

Kevin wakes up, then calls the others.

"Where are you guys and where do you want me?"

Thank you Mr. Van Hooser. Just a few more questions. What is Mrs. Zau's specialty?

What were your disagreements about? And is there anyone else that she had disagreements with?

And finally, tell us a bit about Mrs. Zau. What kind of work does she usually do? Friends? What's her private life like? I realize that I may seem to be prying, but any information could help. Sometimes it's a minor detail that makes the difference.

Persuade: 7d6 ⇒ (4, 4, 6, 6, 4, 5, 2) = 31
3 Successes, +1 Empathy.

---
Once finished with the interview he calls Kevin, Hey, we can swing by the Sheriff's office on the way to the next interview. We can catch you up along the ride. Haven't heard from Hoss or Quinton yet. Hopefully they're doing alright.

"They are about what every business partnership argues about - money. And she didn't have any family that I know of and I couldn't tell you her friends. Not any more than that she was a resident here at least. She was just a miner, like me, like most of us...generalists I guess. We are all used to surveying and then excavating. Otherwise we wouldn't be out here in the middle of nowhere."

Phineus nods, I understand that you're frustrated, Mr. Van Hooser. I'm sure you've answered all these questions before. But like I said, anything may help.

He smiles reassuringly, How long have the two of you been partners? You never talk about your personal life? It's a small town, Phillip. Not much to do.

He chuckles slightly to lighten the mood and leans back, joking, I grew up in a small mining town. In my experience there are only three things to do, drink, screw, and gossip about it. Doesn't appear there's a whole lot of drinking being done in this town. So I expect there's a whole lot of the other two.

He gives you her address, but otherwise shrugs. "Look, we've only been partners for about six months. Just for this particular job. We didn't talk much...it gets loud out at the site, and neither of us were much for small talk. The few times we grabbed food together, she talked mostly about her past - I know she was from Earth and mined some out in the Saturn belt - but I don't know who she might have spent her days off with. Maybe they've seen her with someone down at the cafeteria, but I doubt it. Like I said, we were both pretty solitary."

Sorry guys, I thought I had posted already, but apparently I just previewed it and then closed the tab without thinking anything of it.

Hoss looks at Sergei and sighs impatiently. He pulls out his flex screen, stares down at it and starts typing a few things into it. As he does so, he begins to talk, "Ya' know, they send us to help. Things go missin', people get lost, bodies turn up and yer law can't fix it, they call us. You familiar with the Law, guy?" Hoss' eyes flick up before moving back down to the screen, his fingers still typing away. He doesn't wait for a response, [b]"We have a thing call Jurisdiction. Yer Sheriff is a good guy, but his jurisdiction is only really this town, that means this town - it's his Law." Hoss stops typing and looks up, his eyes shining, "I have my own jurisdiction, because ya' see - I'm nuthin' more than a lawman, just like good ol' Sheriff over here in Dust City. See for yer self!" He shows off what he's been doing on his flex screen. In the middle is a rotating model that seems to be the Solar System, with proper labels of each object, overlaying that model is a semi-transparent circle of Red that is labeled HOSS. The bottom of the screen reads, in big, bolded print;

HOSS DELGADO; JUDGE. JURY. EXECUTIONER. SYSTEM - SOL

Hoss gives a cough, "It appears, that this place fall squarely in my own jurisdiction. When I write my report, I wonder...what will it say of this place. I wonder, if it's still 'habitable'." Hoss' smile fades and a sterner look comes across his face as he slides his flex screen back into his jacket, his side-arm clearly visible. "Right now, Dust City is under Hoss' Law. So...maybe I noticed yer door was kicked in, maybe I came to check on the locals. Maybe, I found some sort of sympathizer to some madman. Possibly I found the culprit of the missing equipment." Hoss shrugs his shoulders a bit and raises an eyebrow, "Or, maybe I found a true and good man, who gave all the information he had on the subject, clearing his name of any suspicion, and setting a good example for all of the townsfolk here in... Hoss looks around, finally finding the name of this dusty hellhole, "Presidia. Hoss suddenly moves close to the man, his hands slamming down on the counter with a loud *BANG* like a gunshot, and he stares hard at Sergei."So I'll ask again, and ya' better be straight shootin' me Sangria. Who can I talk to about this missing equipment, who has an equipment manifest and keeps track of this rather large dog and pony show ya'll got running here!?"

Intimidate: 3d6 ⇒ (6, 2, 5) = 13
2 sucesses.

That ties his defense which is enough to shift him one step to Ambivalent.

Sergei seems a bit concerned, but not terribly frightened. He grits his teeth, but tries to respond in a civil manner. "Look, Warden, you will have to ask at the dig sites. It is not my job to keep records of other people's missing equipment. Now, if you would please go, I think you'll benefit from a head start."

Persuade: 4d6 ⇒ (2, 3, 6, 3) = 14

1 success, +1 for Gift of Gab

Sergei also shifts your attitude from Unfriendly to Ambivalent.

Hoss sighs and runs a hand through his hair as he straightens up. "Alright then." He pulls his flex screen back out and returns to his notes. Pointing towards the door he asks, "Could you at least tell me the time and date that you noticed your door forced into, and all items, possessions, etc. I am trying to build a timeline of events and it seems that some of those details are missing..."

Since I'm not trying to shift his attitude at the moment will I need to roll a social check for just asking questions?

He won't talk to you at Ambivalent. At least not about anything you want to know about.

As an aside, let me clarify that you do have huge amounts of information from the Sheriff. You just were able to pare it down to the information that seemed most relevant. You don't need to ask the simple things like date of thefts (when those things are obvious) or generally names and addresses of people that you might find of interest. So who might have seen the thefts from sites is important, but you know when the thefts happened at the store. Other than the overarching timeline, was there something specific you were trying to piece together? Timing on disappearances and thefts from places outside of town is shakier, so you can't really put details together, but if you are trying to come to a specific conclusion, let me know and I may be able to help.

Edit: And, noted previously, the things lost from the general store specifically are batteries and general mining tools, just in case that was forgotten.

Can I reach the group with my wristcomp?

Quinton, yes, though you'll have a hard time reaching anyone if you move out any farther.

Thank you again, Mr. Van Hooser. We'll be on our way.

---
Once they're on their way, Sheriff, we're going to drop back to the office and pick up one of our other agents. Then head out to...Mrs. Sanchez. That alright?

The Sheriff nods, heading back toward the office.

At this point Kevin, if you would like to join them, you can certainly do so.

Once I rejoin the group"So, what are your thoughts so far?"

Phineus meets Takenachi for a short brief in their "office", and fills him in.

So far we've mostly just confirmed the Sheriff's reports. A dozen people have disappeared. No signs of struggles, no evidence left behind. All the people missing seem to be miners. In the case of Mrs. Zau, she just up and disappeared while at a mining site. But she was taken with all her gear and supplies.

Phineus sighs and leans against the wall, If I had to take a guess, these people are being taken to work on something. We know what's being taken can help with excavating and create an elevator. We know at least two of the missing are experts on excavating. If they're all being kept for a project it can't just be one person kidnapping them.

But why the animals? What use are they? We're about to visit the home of one of the owners of a pet that's missing. Hopefully there'll be something there that we can chase down for some clues.

Beside that, this is the oddest mining town I've ever been to. It's dark almost all the time. People still don't drink much. And so far they seem to have no interest in each others personal lives. In a community of less than a thousand people, you'd think everyone would know everything about everyone else. We haven't met a lot of people yet, so maybe we've just run into the odd ones, but my gut says something's weird here.

He shrugs, That's what we've got so far. Haven't heard back from the others yet.

"Well if it is truly one for us, then the critters are either food for the overlords, or being driven off by something in the air. Shrugs Just my two cents"

Quinton will attempt to create the future version of the conference call with the group, and after connecting, will say "I found a clue at the first site I selected, which is here." he will send a picture of the map marking the site he just left "I found what appears to be either hair or fur on the gate into the area where the explosives were taken. The fence also appears to have been melted, but I took a sample of the fence to see if we can determine the specific corrosive that was used. I'm walking back towards town, but I just wanted to add the observation that the air out here is thinner than the air in town. If we're going into deeper dig sites, we might wanna have a portable oxygen tank on standby in case the air gets thinner. It took me about an hour to walk out here, so it should take me roughly the same amount of time to walk back. I have all of my equipment with me, so should trouble arise, I am as prepared for it as I am going to be. I haven't found anything yet that would be of interest to our particular field, but I'm not ruling anything out yet. How have the rest of your investigations gone? turn anything up while I was out?"

Just to clarify two points - the atmosphere outside of the town is no thinner than the atmosphere inside. As noted Mars just has a very thin atmosphere. Buildings however tend to be oxygenated and obviously a lack of exertion reduces the effect of low oxygen. Second it will likely take you longer than your walk out to get back as you slept little the previous night and have been exerting yourself outside almost all day - with breaks to rest it could take 1.5-2 times as long.

That makes sense, but Quinton doesn't really know that, so that's why he posted what he did.

That makes sense, but Quinton doesn't really know that, so that's why he posted what he did.

No worries at all. We're fast and furious here, so I just wanted to make sure that there were no OOC misunderstandings.

I was trying to figure out happened first, like where everything started, and then kind of "work my way through" the events that happened after. After I knew when and where things started I could start looking to see if there were any innocuous events (like a new mine shaft, a collapse, someone visiting, etc.) that happened around the same time.

Also I was wondering if anything else had been stolen besides batteries and general tools. Maybe that was all he had reported, or that I cared about, but if this incident also had lost him cash and other things then it might have been nearly or completely unrelated.

So basically, 1) I'm trying to work my way through the series of events in the order they happened, hoping to understand more by following the pattern, 2) I'm studying events to make sure they all fit and aren't just red herrings, and 3) once we have all the related events mapped out and followed through, we can start looking at what might have happened before this all started and see what might have caused it, which will all lead to telling us - at the very least - knowing where the thing might be holed up/hiding if not telling us exactly what it is as well.

In the end, I'm not really looking for a specific conclusion. I'm just trying to make sure that this robbery is related to our investigation, that it happened in the appropriate time, and it isn't just coincidence.

Hoss stares at Sergei as he stares back, "Fine, I get it. Sorry for wasting your time." Hoss walks over to the door, and checks it out.

I don't have Investigation, so I was just going to roll my basic Awarness. I'm looking to see if the forced entry seems off, like the door wasn't Kicked in maybe, but pulled off it's hinges.

3d6 ⇒ (2, 3, 5) = 10
Only 1 Success

Hoss notes his findings of the door and straightens up to leave. He looks back to Sergei once more, "If you know anything, tell me now. After I leave I'm not coming back, and believe me, I'm not going to have any trouble sleeping at night whether write 900 saved or [899 saved, 1 bloody corpse from the guy that refused to help[/i] on my report. I may be a 'big, bad, Warden' but I'm not whatever is snatching you all in the night."

Intimidate: 3d6 ⇒ (6, 6, 1) = 13
2 successes

Fair enough. And yeah, you don't have much of a timeline. You know the rough outline of how the things progressed, but you'll need to get more details of the thefts not in the general store to get the full timeline.

For the Investigation, you'll need plot points - your Awareness+Investigation just isn't high enough to figure things out about the door other than the forced entry.

Sergei seems more shaken, but still tries to convince you to leave. "Warden, honestly, you'll need to speak with the individuals at the dig sites if you want to learn more. I don't keep their inventories."

Persuade: 4d6 ⇒ (3, 6, 5, 6) = 20

3 successes + 1 for Gift of Gab

You are both shifted to Friendly which ends the exchange in a Stalemate. Unless something else happens to shift your attitudes from Friendly, neither of you will assent to further requests from each other with the understanding that you both realize neither will best the other.

If there is a wait time, I will start playing with common tools and see how they can be used as improvised weapons.

If there is a wait time, I will start playing with common tools and see how they can be used as improvised weapons.

There's a little bit of time - I was actually just waiting for you guys to finish your conversation, but I'll progress things now. As for making improvised weapons, with no ranks in Armorer, you aren't very successful, but you can wield lethal tools poorly in their current states (pneumatic hammers and the like).

The Sheriff takes the three of you to the residence of Angelina Sanchez. By now the day is getting on into what might be considered the "evening" and Angelina is home when you arrive. Joe knocks on the door and she lets you in, though seems less enthusiastic about talking with you than Alise was.

Through brief conversation, she tells you that her dog, Sand, was regularly out during the night but knew how to find warmth in the wilderness and always came back in the morning for food. A few days before he vanished he came back with a wound along one side - a scratch. Angelina assumed it was made by another dog but took him tot he vet nonetheless; the vet treated the wound, prescribing antibiotics but determining that it was nothing serious or dangerous.

I did not mean any sort of crafting, more like picking up a wrench and giving it a few test swing, checking balance, things like that.

In response to Quinton's message, We're running down our leads now. Off to see Mrs. Sanchez. So far we've got some more info to work out. Former employers, some work sites, and such. We'll check back in when we're done for the day and give a full brief.

I did not mean any sort of crafting, more like picking up a wrench and giving it a few test swing, checking balance, things like that.

Ah, then yeah, unsurpringly to you, the tools are horrible. Generally they are clearly unusable as actual combat weapons, but welding torches, large cutting tools, and similar items may be useful in a pinch.

Kaylee asks for the name of the vet and then has no more questions for the lady.

Once back in the vehicle with the sheriff and Phineus: "I'd like to talk to the vet just to see if he had any idea if it was a weapon or something natural that caused the scratch. I'm wondering if maybe someone had tried to run the dog off from something they were trying to hide and then finally gave up and killed the dog when it came back."

Angelina pulls out the vet's card and hands it to you when you ask. Once outside the Sheriff nods to the three of you and speaks up, "We should be able to catch him as he is closing up shop. After that I think I should turn in for the night, but you are welcome to borrow my truck if you'll still need it."

As the day is winding down, I'll let you know this - Quinton, from all of the exertion you'll need to sleep/rest 10-12 hours. Anyone that slept less than 6 hours the previous night that remained in town will need ~8 hours of sleep.

"We really appreciate all your help Sheriff. I just hope we can use the info we've been getting to figure out some useful leads on whatever is happening around here. After we pose a few questions to the vet, we should probably consider getting some rest ourselves, right after a good meal of course since we seem to have skipped lunch today. Been so busy running around I didn't even think about it."