The Village of Arkham, Friday

[lockestheway]

Life had gone on in Arkham while the blasted heath made its reappearance elsewhere. These villagers had chosen to stay over the years, despite the inhospitable land that surrounded them. While the farmhouses up on the hills were abandoned, here, business was still done. Work happened. Life did.

It was a town of sagging gambrel roofs and Georgian balustrades; it was a town that was crumbling, mouldering. Old, very old, and wrong somehow, at least according to those men and women who passed by from time to time.

Not too far away - a few miles, at best - rested Miskatonic University, on lands the previous taint had never quite reached. It was safer, unlike the reservoir that laid so close to the town, and that seemed so very unreal.

This was Arkham. This was where answers might be found - if you found someone willing to part with them.

[[ for the detectives, please, and wait for the ocd up! ]]

Comments

Shores of the Reservoir

[lockestheway]

Meet up, pair up, discuss plans before heading further into town.

Here, at the edge of the causeway on the mainland side, the air seems somehow less pressing than in Fandom, and the wrongness less apparent.

Re: Shores of the Reservoir

[i-am-the-rat.livejournal.com]

Hank kicked his heels up, pulled his lid down over his peepers, and waited for the rest of the gumshoes to ankle it across the causeway. Somewhere out there, in the dirty streets of this dismal town, there were birds with the skinny on this case, and it was his job to make them sing.

Re: Shores of the Reservoir

[dontvotemeout]

As much as Jason had discussed threatening the townsfolk with Deadpool yesterday - although it really hadn't been a discussion as much as Jason trying to tone down the vice principal's bloodlust - he was hoping that people would just be upfront about what they knew. Especially since he wasn't sure what certain people from Fandom were capable of.

"Do you think we'll find anyone around here willing to chat?" he asked, looking around subtly.

Re: Shores of the Reservoir

[i-am-the-rat.livejournal.com]

"Every stooge sings, if you know the right tune," Hank answered. "Or the right audience. My pal Andrew Jackson says they'll talk."

Re: Shores of the Reservoir

[thecolourfromfh.livejournal.com]

Nearby, a boy was picking up sticks, waving each one around to test it before either throwing it back on the ground or adding it to the pile in his arms. He hadn't noticed that there were new arrivals in the village yet, too focused on building his collection.

Arkham

[lockestheway]

.

Arkham - Main Square

[lockestheway]

Some villagers mill around here, either rushing to their next destination or pausing to look at the newcomers with suspicion. None of them look particularly eager to talk, but that can always change...

Re: Arkham - Main Square

[exactlyaverage.livejournal.com]

In which Jack talks to some villagers (http://exactlyaverage.livejournal.com/4845.html).

And gets creeped out.

Arkham - Butcher's

[lockestheway]

The butcher looks awfully uninterested in anything that's going on around him, and the meat he's selling doesn't look all that appetizing. Still, the odd grunt he produces insinuates that he is actually capable of speaking.

Re: Arkham - Butcher's

[shagthis.livejournal.com]

Jake wasn't entirely sure how he ended up with a teenager as a partner for this little venture, but she wasn't Des, so that already made her about 30% less annoying by default. "Why don't we try in here?" he suggested, giving a nod towards the butcher's shop.

Re: Arkham - Butcher's

[annieadderall.livejournal.com]

"Looks kind of... gross," Annie said, making a face even at just the look of the shop. She couldn't imagine what the inside might be like. "But I guess we can try it. It'll be an experience."

Someone was trying desperately to see the bright side today.

Re: Arkham - Butcher's

[shagthis.livejournal.com]

"Gross is part of the job, luh," Jake said with a shrug. "So long as you come out with the same number of fingers you went in with, you're good." Terribly reassuring, really.

Arkham - Creepy Alleyway

[lockestheway]

It's fairly dark here, and it smells like a public toilet. A few shifty-eyed youths are hanging around here, looking like they'd rather be anywhere else.

Re: Arkham - Creepy Alleyway

[locointhecoco]

It wasn't that Pinkie was oblivious to the creepy. It was that she'd learned long ago that things that seemed creepy weren't necessarily dangerous. Sometimes, they just needed a hand or a friend.

"Hi!" she said brightly to the shifty-eyed youths. "I'm Pinkie Pie. What are your names?"

Re: Arkham - Creepy Alleyway

[thecolourfromfh.livejournal.com]

The nearest boy, a sullen-looking fellow in a slouch cap with a cigarette in his mouth, just stared at the.... tiny. pink. horse. that. TALKED.

A second, with a pipe that he'd probably stolen from somebody actually old enough to be smoking it, pulled said pipe out of his mouth and stared at the bowl like he was wondering about the contents. "You see that thing there, Eben?" he finally asked his companion, not directly acknowledging the ...thing.... in question.

The sullen one didn't look especially happy to have his vision confirmed. "Ain't sayin' I do, ain't sayin' I don't," he mumbled around the cigarette, "but if I did see somethin', would it be the sorta thing that might mean things've started fallin' out the sky again?"

Re: Arkham - Creepy Alleyway

[locointhecoco]

"That would explain the tail twitching," Pinkie said, as though the boys should know precisely what she meant by that. "And I hope you see me, 'cause if not, it would mean I turned invisible, and I'd rather not be invisible in general."

Arkham - Market

[lockestheway]

Whether this small collection of sorry-looking stands could technically be considered a market is up to the beholder. The women manning them look in no way motivated to do anything, though one or two are more mobile than others.

Arkham - Street of Stately Manors

[lockestheway]

Or manors that have once been stately, anyway. Right now they're all looking a bit crumbly and foreboding, but most of them also look occupied. You might find one or two people willing to speak to you here.

Re: Arkham - Street of Stately Manors

[willbethenight.livejournal.com]

If there was anyone who knew a thing or two about stately manors, it was definitely Bruce. Even if he was used to stately manors that were kept up better than these....

"Have any specific houses you want to try out?" Bruce asked his sidekick partner in detecting.

Re: Arkham - Street of Stately Manors

[batwaffles.livejournal.com]

"Well," his sidekick Stephanie began slowly, casting a look around the way-more-upscale-than-she'd-ever-lived-in neighborhood, "seeing as none of them are throwing a You can get rid of your giant evil rock, ask me how! party complete with banner, I'm leaning toward whichever one looks like it's got people in it."

She glanced to one side and pointed toward one of the houses. "How about that one?"

Unless the movement she thought she'd spotted through a window was just a curtain. That'd be annoying.

Miskatonic University

[lockestheway]

A few miles away from Arkham and the reservoir lies Miskatonic University, a grand old institution that occupies itself with the occult. Miskatonic as of yet only accepts male students. It possesses a medical wing and a vast library.

It may be that the researchers within are more interesting to visitors right now.

This far away from the blasted heath, the world almost seems normal again. The wrongness does not linger here - it never reached it.

Re: Miskatonic University

[bitten_notshy]

William Murdoch	One of the locals had mentioned something about researchers from the University coming to investigate the town, so William and Jack decided to head out that way, in hopes that they might be able to find someone who'd been a part of that original research team. "It looks rather foreboding, doesn't it?" William observed as they neared the gates. Not that anything about this trip wasn't chock full of creepiness, so really, they were about par for the course here."
Jack Priest	"Older than I thought it would be," Jack agreed, wrapping his jacket more tightly around his body. "Do we know where the geology department is? Something about this place discourages lingering."
William Murdoch	"Perhaps there's a map within the main building?" William said hopefully. "Or someone would be kind enough as to point us in the main direction." Not that there seemed to be very many people out and about today, so they'd probably have better luck with that first option.
Jack Priest	Jack's eyes skipped over the courtyard, taking in the lack of anyone who looked friendly -- or indeed, much of anyone at all. "Let's hope for a map," he decided, wheeling briskly toward an information kiosk, "or we night be here for a very long time."
William Murdoch	"Ah, yes, here we are," William announced, locating the needed map and tracing over their path with a finger. "The geology department's in the East wing." As they made their way over, he sincerely hoped it would be somewhat less deserted than the rest of campus.
Dr. Dyer	That would be far too easy for them, wouldn't it? Unfortunately, they stumbled into a mildly dystopian world where people were madness reigned! "Can I help you?" an older man asked, clutching a book to his chest as he eyed them both warily.
Jack Priest	"If this is geology, perhaps you can," Jack said gently. "I'm Jack Priest, and this is my partner, William Murdoch." Partner just sounded professional. Jack trusted William wouldn't argue. "We're researching some incidents at our school, and we heard you were looking into something similar in Arkham...? Perhaps something with a meteor?"
William Murdoch	Tipping his hat at the older man at Jack's mention of his name, William continued hopefully: "One that had- adverse effects on the local wildlife?"
Dr. Dyer	The man looked from Jack to William before nodding and turning away. "Follow me," he said, leading them to the more private setting of his office. Where they could have this conversation without anyone listening in on the insanity.

Re: Miskatonic University

[bitten_notshy]

Jack Priest	Well, this was ... easier than Jack had expected. He shot a slightly nervous grin toward William before following quickly along. "We appreciate you taking the time to do this," he said, mostly to fill the silence.
Dr. Dyer	Once they were there and he'd taken a nice, safe seat behind his desk, the man finally relaxed. Slightly. "My name is Dr. Dryer. I was the lead on the investigation into the--stone in that town."
William Murdoch	"Can you tell us about your research?" William asked, sitting down in one of the chairs across from the desk and doing his best to restrain himself from leaning forward intently.
Jack Priest	Jack took the other seat and nodded. "Anything you remember might be helpful."
Dr. Dyer	"The stone fell from the sky, landing in the family's well," Dryer said, looking away from the pair as though lost in thought. "And we arrived to investigate the unearthly material. And unearthly it truly was."
William Murdoch	"Do you know where it came from?" Well, beyond 'from space'.
Dr. Dyer	"No." Whatever it was he'd been thinking of had been shaken from his mind. "We went back to that farm after our sample evaporated. What we found there, no man should see. Those of the family that weren't dead, were close enough to it that the only way to offer them peace was with the blade of an ax. And the thing that came out of the heath--"
Jack Priest	"Not human at all?" This was very bad.
Dr. Dyer	"It's existence was enough to shake the faith of any man." So, that was a yes, Jack.
William Murdoch	"So that's a yes," William interpreted.
Jack Priest	"Were any of the people alert enough to say what had happened?" Asking questions helped Jack control his overwhelming urge to shudder.
Dr. Dyer	Dryer shook his head. "Whatever it was, where ever it had come from... that night it returned." He looked back at the pair. "But now I'm not certain of that."

Re: Miskatonic University

[bitten_notshy]

William Murdoch	"What do you mean?" William prodded. "What happened that night?"
Dr. Dyer	"The stone disappeared, that light of it shooting back up into the sky. Once it was gone, the affects faded," Dryer said. "Last I heard, they flooded the land."
Jack Priest	"Surprised they didn't salt and burn it," Jack observed. He still wanted to shudder. "What did they do to make the rock leave? Was there some sort of ritual?"
Dr. Dyer	"I think," Dryer said, leaning forward so he forearms rested on the desk in front of him. "That perhaps it had taken all that it could and was ready to return."
William Murdoch	"So if we can figure out some way to launch it back into space, we can reverse the damage it's done," William reasoned.
Jack Priest	"We'd have to do that without handling it more than we already have," Jack pointed out. "Not to mention building a rocket." He said this lightly, though. It was the first hopeful idea they'd had.

[OOC: Preplayed with mouthy_merc and faithandscience.]

OOC

[lockestheway]

Dearest sleuths! Feel free to go with any piece of OCD that draws your interest. Let us know here if you need anything else.