Eugene Daniel Hansen's page

Gene rushes out onto the street, following Stevie. Seeing Ted's car, the student stops, not quite sure what to do. "Ted, what's happened? Are you hurt? Shall we get help? The Hospital's right here if they've done any physical harm, whoever they are."

As Gene enjoys his Insalata Capreses, he glances around anxiously, eager to hear the the details of the visit to Danvers. Whatever happened there seems to have shaken both participants more than he had expected it would, so he's trying not to rush them.

Spot Hidden vs 54: 1d100 ⇒ 76

Right, I misread that the first time through and thought that the papers were left to Danvers. I knew there was a reason that we ended up next to the Hospital just now. Thanks for the heads up!

Gene looks over the menu, trying to settle on something as humble as possible without seeming to be too humble. He's just finish reading about the Insalata Capreses, his mind spinning over various details from the past few days, when realization hits. "Wait a minute, conflicting health claims wouldn't be the interesting bit about the Salem Hospital, it's that this is where Dr. Shine bequeathed his collection of papers. If there's a clue about what's happening about the hospital, or anything related to the granite slab, that's where we should be looking, not the Paranormal Society."

Gene looks a bit more sheepish than normal as he realizes the time that's been wasted. "Depending on what you learned at Danvers we might want to stop in at the Hospital here and see if they'll let us take a look at the connection after our meal."

Passing the Salem Hospital on the way to the Bella Verona gets Gene to wondering. As they group enters the restaurant and waits to be seated he leans over to Dr. Bellwether. "What would happen if two conflicting medical institutions made health claims about the same patient? What if someone from the Salem Hospital here were to show up at the asylum and needed to see a former patient that a new concern had arisen for? Would they have any special recourse to do so? Sorry, I'm not very familiar with these things."

Gene gives a somewhat nervous chuckle at Dorothy, "You say that now, but you didn't see the pictures of the pencil which inched it's way across the room over the course of hours. There was nothing useful; nothing about the stone or the asylum at all. It sounds like you've got a story to tell though."

Gene, not knowing the urgency that Stevie and Dorothy are feeling about Mr. Croswell, dwells on less important topics. I think that I can get away ordering a salad again, but, wow, these are circles I can't afford to run in for long.

Gene, looking less enthusiastic than this morning, nods. "I think that comparing notes is probably a good idea, though hopefully yours are more interesting than ours." Turning to Ted he smiles weakly, "Should have listened to you and saved some time. A bunch of goof-balls indeed."

Gene nods at the answer, but doesn't look any happier than he did before. "I do than you for the help in answering our questions. If I didn't have this other pressing issue to try to work out I'd be interested in seeing more of your evidence, but right now I need to work on tracking down leads that would be of help to Mr. Croswell. I hope you understand. Was there anything else you wanted to ask before we go Dr. Bellwether?"

Gene's slumps a bit at the lack of recognition, but he nods and tries to keep the disappointment out of his voice. "I don't suppose that any of the other members of the Society here might be more likely to have heard of it? Anyone that's an expert on things connected to the Salem Witch Trials? The earliest references that I've found of something like it date back to then."

Gene looks at the pictures and nods seriously. "That's fascinating. Do you know the mechanism ..." He shakes his head and turns back to Mr. Hendric. "I'd love to spend time talking with you about what happened there in the future, but right now I need to keep my focus on anything that might help Mr. Croswell.

"It doesn't sound like his direct correspondence to you can shed any light, but I wonder if you know anything about a granite or stone disk that's been linked to the grounds of Danvers. The former curator, Dr. William Shine, seemed to think that had it pacifying or protective powers of some sort, but apparently the current director, Dr. Bergen, had it removed when he had the amphitheater built. In the research that I've managed to do it's come up a couple times and I'm hoping you might have heard of it and know more than I've been able to discover so far."

Gene takes a seat in the chair, glancing around the room in wonder. "My friend Randy, back in Arkham, would have a field day here. It's quite the collection. As for Mr. Croswell, the research idea is my theory right now, but we haven't actually been to see him yet, so I could have that wrong. I wonder if you could tell me what phenomena in the area Mr. Croswell was corresponding with you about? Was any of it connected to Danvers in an obvious way?"

"It's good to meet you Mr. Hendric. My name's Eugene Hansen, but you can call me Gene. This is Dr. Bellwhether. We're both trying to help Mr. Croswell as he seems to have been committed at the Danvers Asylum. Apparently he checked himself in, and now that he's in he fears for his mind and his life and can't get out. I think that he probably didn't lose interest in the area, but that he was trying to get closer to paranormal activity at the Asylum."

Gene pauses as he realizes that he's sharing more than Mr. Hendric want to hear right at the start. Taking a breath, he starts again.

"I don't know if I count as a believer, but I'm not a denier. I've seen too many things both back in the North Woods in Wisconsin where I grew up, and more lately in Arkham and Miskatonic University, to believe that I understand everything this world holds. Call me an open mind, maybe? Could we come in and talk with what you were corresponding with Mr. Croswell about, if it's a good time?"

Gene gives an awkward smile and offers his hand to the paranormalist for a shake. "Good morning, sir! We were hoping that you could help us with a couple things today. The more important is an aquintance of ours that we're trying to help, Mr. Larry Crowsell. We know that he was researching unusual things in the area and thought that there'd be a good chance he might have been here to see you at some point. We were hoping that we could talk with you to learn any news you might have of him and what he would have been up to."

Gene chuckles, "Now there's some insight. Thanks Ted! See you soon!"

After pressing the buzzer Gene waits for a bit, looking over at Dr. Bellwether and raising an eyebrow questioningly if it takes more than half a minute to get an answer.

Gene climbs out of the Model T with a nod to the driver. "Thanks, Ted! I don't suppose there's anything we should know about the folks here at the Salem Paranormal Society before we should head in, is there?"

After hearing whatever advice Ted may have to give, Gene heads towards the door with Dr. Bellwether and, after reading the brass plate, pushes the buzzer by the door.

That sounds like the plan as I understand it.

"On the plus side, if this article is right Dr. Shine thought highly of him, so we may be able to reason with him if we meet him. Unless the granite disk's effect is somehow real and it's changed him from when Dr. Shine would have known him, in which case he'd be part of the potential problem. But in any case, you're right, it's time to head back to meet the others."

Gene nods, though his eyes are focused up again, rather than looking at Dorothy. "I agree, Ms. Crick, though I don't think that you should bring that up today when you visit with Stevie. Your there to check on Mr. Croswell, both in fact and as a cover story. Hopefully you'll get in to see him and talk with him and this granite slab, whatever it is, will just have to wait. It's possible that should your trip be frustrated we could use the a biography on Dr. Shine, and that collection of papers as a reason to get into the hospital not related to a particular patient, though then we'd have to slip away to search for Mr. Croswell..."

Gene shakes his head and brings his eyes back into focus, looking at Dorothy. "There are too many variables for right now. We're getting lots of pieces into play here, but we need some to fall into place before we can figure out what to do with them I think. We should tell the others about this, Stevie for sure. I know he's not eager to snoop around the Asylum, but if the chance happens to arise while you're there with him, he'd be well equipped to make something of it."

Gene is with Dorothy, yes. He'll also check to see if there's any mention of Andrew's altercation with the police if he can find it as well as looking for anything of interest about Danvers that we haven't run across yet.

Library Use 70: 1d100 ⇒ 54

The next morning Gene frowns when he hears Stevie's report on Mr. MacBride. "That's troublingly in line with the pattern that the old articles and books point to for behavior. I wonder if there's something to that stone." Fidgeting and thinking, he turns to Dr. Bellwhether. "I wonder if you saw anything about a stone or granite disc with strange inscriptions in Mr. Crowswell's journals? If we're seeing this much this about it this quickly, I imagine that he would have come across the stories as well. Did he have anything to say about it that you can recall?"

Gene nods. "I wouldn't mind poking about in the offices of the Danver Herald in the morning before you head in, and then perhaps I'll stop by the Salem Paranormal Society in the afternoon while you and Stevie try to visit Mr. Croswell. Perhaps Dr. Bellwether will come with me, if he has any questions about the journal he's read, that's probably the first place he might want to ask them."

Gene will pass on the Billiards hall in favor of spending some time studying this evening. Even though he's not on campus, he's still got his game theory research he needs to put time into now and then.

Gene smiles, thankful. "I hope that I'm getting worried over this for nothing, but I'd feel better if they didn't know us all on sight, just to keep some options open if they're not receptive when we try to visit Mr. Croswell. Thanks! And if you do happen to find Mr. McBride down at the Billiard Hall he might be able to provide insight into the grounds of the asylum as a whole as well as what happened to that granite slab."

Gene looks to the others, eager, "So what do we think, have we got a plan we're happy with? We open with Ms. Crick working for the publisher, follow with Dr. Bellwether talking our way in if that doesn't work, and me along as an editor, or whatever other cover we think would work better on the fly? Hopefully we get in to see Mr. Crosswell and can confirm that he is indeed in good hands, but if not we assess the situation and figure out the next steps to take?"

Gene's brow furrows a bit in confusion at the position Stevie lays out. "Hmm. That goal that you're describing doesn't seem to match what we've been doing up until now. If we were just checking in on Mr. Croswell and the facilities, then why were we stopping to break into his appartment, and eventually steal his journal, along the way? Surely that was an action which put your freedom at risk?"

Gene frowns, "The way I see, and the assumption that I've been acting under is that we're starting with the position that the hospital is holding Mr. Croswell against his will. The first letter, the one which seems much more likely to be genuine, points to that. If that's true then we've got a reason to look into the history of the hospital, and find out what we can about Mr. Croswell's mental health before approaching the hospital itself.

"I was also working with the assumption that apparently we don't trust the authorities to act in a way that would protect Mr. Croswell appropriately if that were true. Otherwise we should have just let Ms. Crick take her concerns to the authorities without involving us in the first place.

"Assuming then that we care for Mr. Crowsell's well being, which I was, since why do all this otherwise, I think that having some alternate plan to get into the Asylum to see him in person should the on our plate already. I don't know that we're talking about trying to steal him away from the grounds at this point; if do come to a conclusion that he is in fact not safe where he is, then I think we have to consider what our options and best course of action are again. I think that there's a good chance that involving the authorities then does make sense."

Gene looks up, examining the ceiling as though he'll find answers to whatever questions are passing through his head somewhere above him. It's not clear what he might have seen, but when he looks back he shrugs as he's wont to do. "We are, if Danver's doesn't let us in and we try to find some other means to access increasing our involvement. I think it's to a level that I was expecting from the start, when we'd tossed around the idea of acting as a patient. That doesn't mean that anyone else here had that expectation. If we're crossing a line for riskiness for anyone then I think that backing away would be entirely acceptable."

Gene nods absentmindedly as Stevie speaks, his fingers tapping out their patterns on the table while he thinks through the implications. "I like it on the whole. The only thing that I'm worried about is that if we're right to be worried for Mr. Croswell and Danver's won't cooperate with us then we're showing the people there all of us at once. If we need some sort of backup plan to try to get in and figure out what's going on we won't be able to easily go through the front door with a cover story."

Gene shrugs a bit. "I mean, I'd love to be wrong here, and have this work out perfectly, but if it doesn't, what's the backup plan?"

Gene's shoulders slump a bit as everyone else advises against reading Larry's journal, and it's clear that he's putting on a brave face despite being disappointed. "OK, I'll skip the journal for now. It does make some sense that if I'm going to give an unbiased opinion on Mr. Croswell it might be more easily done with just the knowledge I have now. So our next step is to get in to try to see him, right? As Ms. Crick asks, what's our approach? I'm much less enthusiastic about someone posing as an incoming patient now, but could we bluster our way in by asserting that Dr. Bellwether needing to see Mr. Croswell, or someone else perhaps? Or should we send someone in first to ask outright to see a patient and see where that goes? I don't have much experience with this sort of thing"

Gene listens with interest to what everyone has to share, but when Dr. Bellwether describes the journal he leans closer, clearly rapt with attention. "I wonder if I could read through that journal of Mr. Croswell's. I realize you're saying that it gets pretty far out, but he's such an expressive author it'd feel like I missed something if I didn't have a chance to read his personal writings. That is if it doesn't feel like it's pushing any boundaries of social norms too far."

With a shake of his head Gene seems to come back to the situation at hand some. "So what do we think the next move is then? Is it time to try to visit the Asylum or do we want to spend more time gathering information? At this point I sort of think that we need to get to Mr. Croswell as soon as we can rather than waiting until we have prefect information, if that makes sense?"

"Thank you for your time, it really means a lot. I can tell that you're about to head out, but is there any way you could point me in the direction of anyone who might have survived Dr. Shine or where he might have lived during his retirement? You've been so helpful already, and I realize that you're getting ready to shut things down, but this could mean a lot for finding our friend!"

Persuade vs 75: 1d100 ⇒ 22

When the group meets up for dinner to talk, Gene shares what he's been able to put together so far from the investigations. He's made a quick timeline of the history of the Asylum as well as a quick list of things that might be done next based on what he and Dorothy have learned.

"A lot of this is getting a bit far fetched, but it's what we've got. I wonder if our best bet isn't just to try to go and talk with Mr. Croswell directly if we can get in and do so."

Gene nods, "Perfect, that's just what I wanted! Our friend is almost certain to have stopped in there."

After the hours spent pouring over the materials and gleaning a few interesting facts Gene pauses to stretch, and looking up from the book in front of him sees Dorothy looking over the bookshelf without much purpose. A glance at the clock shows that it's nearly 5 PM. The hours have flown by.

"I think that we should probably call it a day here for now, don't you Ms. Crick? I've found a couple things to share that are most curious when combined with the information you managed to dig up at the library. Shall we see if we can find Stevie and Dr. Bellwhether and share it all over dinner? I can fill you in on our walk."

As the two head towards the entrance, Gene stops to talk with the assistant at the front desk. "Thanks again for the referal to the Salem Paranormal Society. I was wondering if you could help me with two more things very quickly as I know it's getting late and you're probably ready to go. Do you happen to know if either Andrew MacBride, who would probably be in the construction industry, or Dr. William Shine, a world traveler and former superintendent at the Danver's Asylum, live here in Salem or nearby? I don't know how well known Mr. MacBride would be, but I imagine that Dr. Williams might have been the sort to stop by a Historical Society from time to time. I believe that he was replaced at the Asylum about 10 years ago and don't know if he moved away when he left his position."

At the Historical Society Gene stops to ask whoever the apparent curator of the collection here might be a few questions before jumping into the material to joins Dorothy in the hunt for more about the Asylum.

"Hi there, my name is Eugene Hansen, but you can call me Gene. My associate Ms. Crick and I were hoping to make use of your resources here for a little research on the history of the Danver's Asylum if you don't mind. I was also hoping that you might be able to point us in the direction to any local experts on the paranormal or ghost stories in the area. The sorts of local myths that everyone knows, but might not make it into newspapers or books. We're trying to figure out what happened to a friend of ours, and think that he might have been looking into that sort of information around here. Finding someone he might have talked to about it could help us out a lot potentially." With his friendliest smile he nods thanks in advance. "Anyone you might be able to point us to could help!"

After receiving whatever answer there is to receive.

Library Use 80: 1d100 ⇒ 32

"I can start with the newspapers, sure! Also, keep an eye out for anyone who is cited as a local expert on any paranormal phenomena, anyone they might have interviewed or used as a source, that might still be around. Maybe we'll find them at the Historical society later, but there are bound to be some around town, and they're still the most likely to have talked with Mr. Croswell most recently and have a feel for how he was doing."

With that Gene heads to the newspaper archives and gets to work.

Library Use 70: 1d100 ⇒ 75

After working for a while Gene starts to get frustrated. [i]It's not like figuring out what some Professor decided to call their latest theorem. This organization is much worse![/b]

When One o'clock rolls around, Gene meets up with Dorothy again to compare notes. "I think that I'm starting to make headway, but right now I haven't got more than passing references that don't quite connect together to give me anything interesting. I don't know, I want to visit the Historical Society, but I really feel like I'm close here. Do you want to see what I've got, compare it with anything you've found over in the books, and see if one of the staff here can help out with any connections we might not see because we aren't local?"

I'd push this if help from Dorothy or the staff would be enough to do so and Dorothy thinks it's worth the time. Maybe she found something good enough to work with already and it won't be justified.

Gene nods to Dorothy, "That sounds fine, Ms. Crick. The library to start and then we'll check at the Historical Society. It'll be good to see the town some as we walk there, I think. I don't take may cabs around Arkham, and it'll be good to get back on my feet to get about again. I find that I get some of my best thinking done while I'm walking."

As they walk down the streets of Salem, Gene makes some awkward small talk and keeps his eyes open for any place that's particularly noteworthy or that he thinks might have provide a lead of any sort along the way.

Gene check into his room, drops off his bag and heads down to the lobby to rejoin the others. While he waits he talks briefly to Mrs. Waitley.

"Thank you Mrs. Waitley. The Peabody Institute Public Library sounds excellent and I think Ms. Crick and I will head there shortly, but I wonder if you could recommend any local experts on local legends, ghost stories, tall tales and what not. We're here collecting the local lore and our cab driver had some good leads to start with, but I'd love to go right to the resident expert if one exists. We're looking for the sort of things that everyone know that might not make it into the newspapers for whatever reason."

When the others have gathered and before the group splits to take care of individual investigations Gene tries to reassure them that he's not just chasing ghosts down a rabbit hole. "I know it sounds like I'm in this for the ghost hunting, but it's a convenient angle that might give us some leads to work with. We know that Mr. Croswell would have been trying to find the sort of information that I'm asking about now. Learning it ourselves helps us figure out what he might have been looking for, and if we can track down the local experts we'll be able to ask them about him as well because surely he would have talked to them himself. Knowing from the locals how he was doing before checking into Danvers could help us figure out what's happening."

Gene claps his hands once, excitedly. "That's it! That's exactly the sort of story we're looking for! What do they have to say about it up at the Asylum? Is there any chance they'd give a tour to see places where the ghosts have been spotted?" Gene's tone dials back as tries to show the implications sink in for the sake of the story. "Though, I can't imagine they'd like stories like that getting out to potential patients, would they?"

Gene leans forward, intent. "But surely Judge Hathorne didn't have anything to do with the Asylum did he? That must have been built something like 200 years after the trials. No one, no matter how nasty, has that sort of reach, do they?"

Gene passes a light bag in and nods his thanks. "Thanks Ted! I'll be hopping out at the library after we drop our bags off at the Waitley Inn."

Gene then takes a breath before launching into a spiel that could be coming from any uniformed fanatic searching for information on their area of obsession. "I know that it's a crazy question, but while we're driving I'd love to hear anything you know of any local ghost stories. It's kind of peculiar, but we're collecting any tales that folks who have been around long enough to hear them all might have to share. Anything's good, but we'd especially love to hear any tall tales around here about the local hospitals and asylums. Every region has it's share of stories of the weird and unexplained, and we're compiling an anthology of New England tales. If you grew up around here I'm sure you've heard some we have yet to catalog."

Having shared his finding about the size and overcrowded state of Danver Asylum and listened to Dorothy's report that Larry was researching local legends and ghost stories, Gene spent most of the train trip watching the country-side go by, his fingers casually drumming against his leg. Once the group disembarks at the Salem Depot Train station, and they make their plans to start the day, the student speaks up. "So I do want to hit the library here as well before we go to Danvers itself. Based on what I've learned and what Ms. Crick has told us I've got this theory forming. Mr. Croswell would have known the area well, given that he had been researching here; Danvers Asylum doesn't sound like the sort of place that that he'd be likely to check for his health. What if it was a cover story so that he could do more research for some local legend or ghost story about Danvers itself? I want to see if I can find anything in the archives, maybe even head over to the local newspaper and dig around there if the library comes up blank, but it feels like there should be something there.

"If there rest of you could ask around town a little about Ghosts in Danvers without seeming too, crazy maybe is the term I want, that could be helpful. Sometimes stories the locals know don't make it to the papers even though everyone knows them."

Gene pauses and takes a breath, steeling himself a bit, "Um, and I know it might sound a bit foolish, but I'm getting nervous about any attempt to get into the hospital undercover. If I'm doing anything other than chasing a wild goose here, it could be that would be more risky than we were thinking, in addition to the added difficulty of finding Mr. Croswell is an institution the size of Danvers. I, well, I'll go with what we think is best of course, but something's feeling wrong here."

I'll try the history check, but it's not Gene's strength at all.
History Check: 1d100 ⇒ 75

Gene starts with the newspaper archives to see if there are any major stories about the asylum that made it either to the major papers or whatever local papers he can find. After that tries some free association of topics in the card catalogue to see what might come up. His mind is racing with ideas and anticipation of meeting such a premier author of weird tales, even if potential danger exists.

Library Use 70: 1d100 ⇒ 57

Gene who has been staring off into space, lost in thought snaps to once more. "Hmm, I think that if we're heading out tomorrow morning I should head to the library here in Boston now just to see if there's anything I can dig up that would help us tomorrow. It sounds like there's still planning to do here perhaps, so if the three of you want to keep at it that's fine, but if I'm going to have a chance to look things over at all I can't wait too much longer."

Turning to Dorothy he blushes a little again. "It's just Gene, really. I'm still a student and although I can hope that I'll be Professor Hansen eventually, that's a long way off now. My address if you need to reach me in Arkham might not be too stable, but you can reach me through the Mathematics Department at Miskatonic University fairly reliably. For my trip here I'm staying at the Uptown Hotel, room 208. If you phone the desk they should be able to get me."

Gene prepares to head out to the library to get a couple hours of research in while there's still time today.

As Dr. Bellwether introduces himself Gene nods a hello, and anyone can see that there's some deference happening here. "It'd be great to have your help getting this sorted out. Especially if you might know a contact or two to help with any cover story we might try to figure out. Even if you don't know the internal operations well, any connection can help!"

Turning to Dorothy, Gene nods again. "I know my way around a reference room, Ms Crick. Newspapers aren't exactly my expertise, so much academic libraries are, but I bet I can figure out how they have things organized, and once I know that I should be able to track things down. Can't be any trickier than guessing what terms old Mathematicians are using for new work they're doing that might be relevant to what I want to know. I'm happy to bus down to the Boston Library and get to work on that and meet you all later."

Gene turns thoughtful again and his fingers begin their tapping. "Where do we want to meet after today anyhow? And if something goes wrong, ... hmmm, maybe if there are four of us it'd be better to work in pairs, just so someone can try to alert the others if things end up going south on us?" Gene looks a little embarrassed. "I only bring it up because in all the stories when an investigator is off on their own, well, that's when things go the worst and I can't help but feeling this seems like one of those stories. Silly of me, right?"

Gene snaps his fingers, "That it! Danvers, the town anyhow, was a big deal back when the Salem Witch Trials were happening. In fact, it was Salem, but they've changed the name since! There's a huge history of witch craft, the occult and lots innocent people being accused and probably executed. That's not a place of good omens at all, but I can see why Mr. Croswell would be interested in the area. Not why he'd want to check into an asylum there, but interested in general."

Looking thoughtful again Gene's fingers start tapping on the table again, though he likely doesn't notice them. "I wouldn't mind poking around a bit if we were to head out that way. There are probably records of when the Asylum was built, stories about anything that might have happened after and so forth. I could spend some time in a library here, but if there's a local one that would be even better. A lot of times these smaller towns have news locally that just never makes it to the bigger cities like Boston here."

"As for what to do when we get to the asylum itself, yeah a cover story might be a good idea. I'm not much of an actor, but I think that I can pull off anxious if we need me to." Gene's attention now focused on himself, he now notices his tapping fingers and stops it with a chuckle. "Yeah, I could be looking for a place to get some help, but we'd need to be sure that we had a plan to actually see Mr. Croswell if we were trying that. He's not going to recognize any of us except for you Ms. Crick."

Know roll vs EDU 80: 1d100 ⇒ 47

As Gene picks up the menu his face turns a bit pale looking at the prices, but he recovers as he sees Stevie order without hesitation. Still he mumbles a bit when giving the waiter his order. "I'll have a roll as well with a side of the winter vegetables please. Thanks."

As his attention turns back to the task at hand, he looks thoughtful. "OK, so we're thinking about heading to see Larry in, uh, Danvers Asylum was it? It seems like I've heard of this place somewhere else. In some other context maybe? Let see here ..."

Yeah, grad students in mathematics aren't known for their wealth. If we're spending much cash on fancy things I'm going to be tapped out almost before we even start.

Gene takes the offered cigarette from Stevie and looks up at the ceiling as he takes a drag, eyes open, apparently intent on something. When he lowers his head again he looks at the letters.

"So these do seem like they were written by two different people. I can see why you'd be concerned. I like the question about the name, it's a telling difference. Did Larry every correspond with you via letters before? Do you know if that second one was anything like he'd write on his own, or even dictate to someone else to write?"

Gene starts tapping his finger slowly on the table as he focuses on the first letter, eventually he reaches for it with a "May I?" Once he's got it in front of him he turns it over and peers closely at the torn part on the bottom.

"I also can't tell what was written here on the torn part, but this paper was clearly used for something else as well. Might be numbers maybe? Do you know Larry's writing well enough to be able to tell if that's probably in his hand? Or does that look like it's from a different source altogether? It looks like it was pretty unsteady from the little bit we've got."

Gene pushes the first letter away and looks up at Dorothy, puzzled. "Before we say anything more, is there anything you were thinking about this you'd like to share?"

Hearing the name Larry Croswell Gene's eyes widen a bit. This had to be what Randy was hinting at. "Larry Croswell? I, ... I've got his book back at Arkham! The Exceptional Case of Harrison Park. He's excellent, he captures detail so efficiently in his prose. Sometimes it's hard to think how he would be able to conjure the things on the page with just his imagination. And you say he's in danger?"

Gene chuckles shyly when introduced. "It's Gene, Ms. Crick. And Stevie gives me too much credit, I'm just a student for now. I'm mostly along for the ride, but I've got a bit of free time just now that Professor Wagner is done with his presentation, so I'd be happy to help if I can before I head back home. Stevie says there's something wrong with a friend of yours? A writer maybe?"

Gene looks around nervously, not quite sure what he's getting himself into. When he'd told Randy he'd be in Boston over his birthday Randy had made some offhanded comment about watching for the writing on the wall. Randy says a lot of things, but there's almost always a reason for them, so Gene was on his toes now that he was apparently dealing with Authors.

OK, Gene's backstory is typed up. It fell into place almost just as I'd been putting it together in my head, so that's nice.

Some possible ways to hook Gene into the story would be:

His advisor, Professor Claus Wagner could be giving a talk in Boston and Eugene has come along either for a minor presentation or because attending Mathematics talks and conferences is something graduate students do.

His aunt Mary Jane Smith at the Arkham Police department knows about something and has asked him to help her help an old friend out.

His friend Randy Warbington has any number of contacts that Gene doesn't understand and could direct him that way somehow. If there's any reason to think that it might be connected to the occult this could play into things.

One or more of those could be combined, depending on what we want for the story.

What time of year will this take place?

Right, Zorblag's character here. I still need to type up my backstory, though I've got it figured out other than names. Here are the basic stats if you want to take a look and see if anything looks off. I did go with Scientist as Occupation (though Student would have fit as well.)

I'm good for a purchased adventure; I won't have read it and if it saves you some work that sounds like it's worth it to me!