Lovecraftian Detective 1

>The police station

Once Tony is committed or medicated any information he has might be inaccessible. Everything else isn't time-sensitive.

>>1184228
>The police station

I agree with other anon

>>1184254
>>1184265

Yes, let us go to the local police station.
Also, can our name be Roger Chistof Puccileni?

You climb into your rickety car and start her up before heading over to the precinct. You look out at the ocean and feel a deep dread before focusing back on the road.

Mistview Police Department is far from the bustling centers for policing like you've seen in New York. As you park you see most of the cruisers are still in the parking spots with only one or two missing, for a party town the law seems relaxed. Stepping out you nake your way to the front door, the camera watching it is rusted and facing the ground limply.

You push open the heavy metal doors and make your way to the electronically locked ones, stopping at the plexiglass window.

A bored looking man in his late 40's sits on the other side while reading a magazine with a german sheperd on the cover.

He looks up with deep dark circles under his eyes.

"Whaddya need?" He grumbles

"I'm a private investigator looking for Tony Vitso." You say handing over your registration.

"Yeah uh..name?"

"You have my registration roght there." You retort

He sighs and looks at you again, furrowed brow.

"Name."

>Name?

>>1184304

Eric Helden

>>1184312

Or Eugen. Either way.

Matt Lion

>>1184318
Seconding this.

I wonder where the rest of the people went...

>>1184312
>>1184304
+1

"I'm Detective Matt Lion." You say through gritted teeth

He scans the documents and your silver badge before handing it back.

"Please wait." He says while he dials a rotary phone.

You stare at the antiquated technology surprised a police station would even allow something like that, but then you look around. Small holes in the drywall, peeling paint from the doors, stained ceiling tiles and the rusted door handles prove this place isn't exactly a priority when it comes to budgeting.

You step through the doors after a buzzer sounds and they swing open. You are immediately grabbed by a pair of strong hands.

>Take a swing at him
>Pull your gun
>Try to get away
>Submit
>Other

>>1184358
>Try to get away, but also try and figure out if the person grabbing you is a friend or foe.

>>1184228
>First post. San Loss. Current stats not even known.

Oh. It's going to be one of those quests, uh?

Well, I'm in nonetheless.

>>1184358
Tense up, turn to face whomever grabbed us but otherwise wait for them to speak.
If they don't, ask why we're being manhandled.

>>1184368
This is sort of an intro to the story proper before I start giving some heavy stats. More of an establish character area we're in. Please hold out

>>1184358
>>Try to get away

>>1184375
Ah, okay. Don't worry, I wasn't really bothered, just not sure whether to take it at face value or as a joke about how frequent san loss is in Lovecraftian settings.

You tense up and spin towards whoever is grabbing you while trying to back up at the same time. You stare silently at a man with a large red moustache and slicked back hair.

He pushes you against the wall.

"Not a good idea to resist against a police officer, son." He says

"Well it isn't polite to try and manhandle guests in your station" you reply before he reaches under your coat in the small scuffle and bumps your gun.

You watch his eyes go wide as he shoved you back hard, putting a hand on a stungun from his belt.

"I fucking knew it. Private Detectives always walk around like fucking cowboys. Put it on the ground. Now." He says sternly

>Hand over your weapon
>Keep a hold of your gun
>Demand to speak to his Commanding Officer
>Other

>Demand to speak to his Commanding Officer

He can't treat us like this!

>>1184393
I agree. Whats is his problem? I suspect he maybe cultist who's job is to discourage private investigators learning the true nature of this town.
It seems out of place for a civic office to attack someone out the blue with no justification!

>>1184416
But if you're right, will antagonizing him really help?

"I need a captain, get me the captain now. You cant do this!" You scream

He reaches for his stungun and you consider drawing your weapon as well.

The door behind him slams open as a large man in a deep blue suit comes out.

"What the hell is going on out...Taylor? What are you doing?" He says as he grabs the mustachioed by his shoulder

You watch as Officer Taylor's eyes refocus and begind darting around.

"I uh..I don't know. I'm sorry Cap I've been watching that kid all day, I'm just tired." He says rubbing his eyes as he approaches you.

His eyebrows are knitted in worry, he seems more the gentle giant type now. He puts a hand on your shoulder and apologizes as he leaves. The Captain watching him the entire time.

"You want to explain that stranger?" He asks, you look at the name tag: Bradshaw.

>Your man assaulted me out of nowhere.
>It was nothing, don't worry about it.
>Other

>Tell the captain it was just a misunderstanding.

No point in antagonizing what could be a potential cult member.

>>1184443
"He got a little frisky. Grabbing me out of nowhere and pulling his trusty stun gun on me for being a PI with a gun. The lad looks tired. You giving him enough rest?"

>>1184448
>lad
Correct it to "man"

>>1184447
>>1184448
Combine these: tell the captain what he wants to know, that his man roughly demanded us to unholster your gun and put it on the ground for no reason discernible to us, but be diplomatic and say it was probably just a misunderstanding, no harm done.
Introduce yourself as a PI.

Odd..does this have something to do with the kid and his cult connections

>>1184448
This, but without mentioning any guns

So
>Mention your gun
>Don't mention your gun

>>1184485
I think a PI is entitled to a gun.

>>1184485
What's the status of gun rights in this setting? (And state/location)
Both with regard to open carry and concel and carry?
Either way, given our line of work, I assume we have a permit, right?

>>1184485
>mention gun after explaing what happened and everything has calmed down

>>1184485
if we have permit, yeah mention it, if we don't give him an excuse and get the fuck out of the police station

"I'm a provate eye, your man grabbed me as I came through to door and demanded I put down my gun, which was holstered, and put his hand on his tazer when I didn't comply. I know laws are different up here in New England but I'm licensed to carry this. It was all just a misunderstanding." You say

The captain narrows his eyes.
"You know your license doesn't allow you to carry in Police Stations correct?" He asks

You grimace, you had been too busy checking out what it looked like to remember how this could be a bad idea.

You slowly pull the gun with your two fingers and hand it over to the Captain. He pulls back the slide and knocks on the door to the small booth controlling the doors.

He hands it to the bored man and turns to you.

"Get it back on your way out. Why are you here?"

"I need to talk to Tony." You say

"The nutjob? He hasn't said anything we could understand for the past few days, you wanna take a crack?" He looks at his gold watch.

"You have 10 minutes until the next officer comes in to take Taylors post. My name is Luke Bradshaw, I'm the new captain of this station." He extends a hand and you shake it.

He points you in the direction of the holding cells and excuses himself to some paperwork. You scribble his name down in your journal along with "Taylor (suspect?)"

You push open the door to the holding cells and the place is a time capsule. Dirty tiles and rusted iron bars are the only things in the room besides the desk in the corner with a cup of coffee and some scattered papers.

You see tony, given a white tshirt he sits indian style in the center of the cell slowly letting his head roll from side to side, his eyes closed whispering to himself too quietly for you to hear him.

>Talk to Tony (say what)
>Investigate the cell
>Investigate the desk
>Other

>>1184528
>>Investigate the desk
>Investigate the cell

if he engages in conversation while we are doing it we respond

>>1184528
>Greet Tony with a simple hello
> Investigate the desk, followed by the cell

>>1184528
I don't really see the reason to examine a police cell, can't we just strike up a nice conversation with him to not antagonize him?

>>1184528
Investigate the desk
Write down some of what he's saying

>>1184528
10 minutes. Gotta make the best of it.
Let's try talking Tony out of his stupor. First we ask him the simplest questions about himself, stuff that should come to him spontaneously and hopefully bring him back from where his mind gone off to (his name, the names of his parents, where he lives), then if that works we can gradually shift the topic to his friends and what may have happened to them.

>>1184581
You dont think they've already tried that? We should try to learn what he's saying. We should repeat the chants back to him.

>>1184591
You may be right, though honestly this place didn't strike me as staffed by gentle and caring people. It's just as possible that they assumed him to be involved in whatever caused the disappearence of the others and treated him with the same tenderness as Rambo was at the beginning of the first film.

You wander over to the desk and begin looking over it. The papers are covered in indecipherable scrawlings and sketches of bloblike entities. You take the papers and fold them up for the dossier later. The coffee cup is completely full and still warm to the touch.

You make your way back to the cell door and call out to Tony.

"Hey, Kid." You say

Tony continues rolling his head but has stopped whispering

"I have a few questions for you kid, I'm a Private Detective." You continue, as you speak you examine the bars they seem sturdy enough to hold anyone back even though the lock is ancient.

Tony stops moving his head and opens his eyes slowly.
"Hello Detective." He says

His voice sounds distant, like he's waking up from a long sleep.

You look at him as he stands up. For being a visitor locked up in a random town he seems relaxed.

"Please, tell me Detective. What are questions?" He says cocking his head

You freeze for a moment.
"You mean what are my questions?" You ask

"Yes, my english isn't great. Sorry." He says

You don't remember in your file it saying anything about him having difficulty with english, but anyways you decide to continue with your questions.

>What do you ask?

>>1184615
Actually, I think the kid drove Mr. Ginger crazy. The dude with the red hair that just left. Not in the figurative sense, but the supernatural and literal sense. It seems he was involved in something related to the infernal: demons. Nonetheless, it doesn't matter if they're nice or caring. They know to be so, it's their job to get information and if their usual angles arent working, they'll have to try other approaches. Moreover, this kid is crazy, being kind wont help. is mind has become severely introverted as a coping mechanism to the trauma he experienced. He wont be hearing us unless if we tap into the trauma.

>>1184629
Mention the girl. Sandy Bouler and see how he reacts.

>>1184629
Looks like we aren't talking to Tony after all. Let's see if that's actually the case. We may only have ten minutes but let's not be too direct. Rather than ask something like "What's the last thing you remember before the cops found you." let's ask him what he was doing earlier the day of the disappearence.
If we are talking to Tony (doubtful) we might be able to get some information out of him before the memory of what happened comes back to him and makes him a gibbering mess again. If it's not Tony, we may be able to spot some flaws/inconsistencies in what he'll tell us (though perhaps not right away).

>>1184637
This

>>1184637
>>1184667
I take it back. Let's combine these two. Show him the picture of Sandy Bouler and say:

"Do you know this girl? Her name is <input fake name>. Last week she went missing."

If he's Tony he'll likely know that's the wrong name and react the right way.

"Listen Tony. I need you to remember for me, every detail matters. What do you remember before the police found you?" You ask

He stares at you with glazed eyes.
"I don't remember much, Detective. Sorry." He smiles, for some reason the smile feels like a gut punch.

"Well try to remember. Anything, especially about Sandy." You say through a stiff jaw

The smile disappeared at the mention of Sandy.

He narrows his eyes and leans close to the bars.

"What are you looking for detective? You shouldn't expect to find anything." He says, frustratipn evident in his tone

"I always find what I look for." You say as you also step closer growing bold from anger at the games this kid is playing.

"Well sometimes detective.." he trails off whispering again

"Sometimes what?" You demand grabbing the bars leaning to hear him

His hand shoots out and locks your wrist in an iron grasp

"Sometimes you have to look within yourself!" He yells as he pulls you forward bouncing your head off the iron bars

You go limp but he holds you up and reaches through with his other hand pressed into your forehead. He begins speaking again but you dont understand, the speech sounds like he's drowning. Wet gurgling emits from his throat as he presses harder on your fprehead and all of a sudde. It feels as if you'd been hit by a flashbang.

Your vision goes white, your heads pounds and aches and burns. As you hit the floor the relief for Taylor comes in and radios for help pulling his baton.

You hear Tony's hand crack from the repeated blows of the heavy metal baton as countless bones are snapped and shattered in his hand, still he keeps his grip.

"Be careful what you look into detective, sometimes the answers can be maddening." He finally lets go and steps back into the center of the cell. His body goes limp and he collapses on the ground, a few moments later he cradles his hand and quietly sobs.

The Chief comes in and goes directly to you, the questioning look on his face makes it obvious that you have some explanations to give.

>What do you tell the chief?

Also brief side question. How do you guys like this so far? Is my writing okay? I'd like to know your opinions because then I can improve and it always helps to know if your story is engaging enough to make people want to continue going with it.

>>1184707
Can't help but notice that none of the suggestions included "Let's get close enough to the bars that he may grab us".
Ah well, I suppose it could be argued that it was on us to input "let's NOT get too close".

Not sure what the chief could be expecting from us really other than a "You were definitely correct about his mental state. Damn! I should have known better than to get so close to him, scrawny as the kid may look."

>>1184707
Tell the chief that the man seems to be going through some trauma and should be kept a close eye on.

>>1184716
Your writing is just fine. Keep it up :D

>>1184716
You're doing well. Keep it up!

>>1184707
He's suffering from some pseudo-multiple personalty disorder. He's sincerely traumatized. Tell the Chief this and ask if he's checked the church yet and what happened to the previous police chief. Was he on the case before the current chief took his place? If so, what happened to the guy? There's more to the church than they had initially thought--just like the kid said.

>>1184716
Sure. It's not immersive story-setting wise (this can be fixed with word choice; for instance, instead of "Rain drizzles down and dark cloud swirl on the horizon" go with "Rain slaps against the rough tar road, furious as the swirling black clouds that devour the sky"--haven't written for long so I don't know if this is actually a good example) but in terms of investigative potential, its good. You give information that can be interpreted in multiple ways.
For instance, that bit where you included the inconsistency of English not being his first language. That can mean four things:
1. He's mad
2. He isn't Tony
3. He has DID, dissociative personality disorder, more commonly known as multiple personality disorder.
4. He's possessed, if you're including the supernatural in this quest.

>>1184748
>He's mad
Mad as in insane.

>>1184707

The kid is crazy beyond hope, just up and attacked me out of nowhere

>>1184716

I like the writing and a like the theme, just wish you kept the options, usually as a collective game is hard to reach a consensus if all we have is write in

>>1184748
>Lovecraftian Detective
>is supernatural included
I should hope so. Isn't it what we've all clicked this thread for?

>>1184806

yeah, but I think our detective guy doesn't know anything about it yet, right? like it usually is on the start of these things

>>1184806
JUST making sure.

I prefer to give players the freedom in most conversation or social encounters. So then it isn't a "pick which one of 4 ways you can tell this guy to back off" when you guys can respond and I can have a response back to make it feel a little more natural.

And yes as of now our Sleuth has no idea of the supernatural world.

Story resumes in 20 min or so gotta drive somewhere.

"You weren't kidding that kid is really unstable." You say rubbing your head and giving a chuckle

"No shit. I told you that kid was something else." He steps closer and examines your forehead

You take the moment to ask a question that had been burning in your mind.

"So uh..you said you were new here. What happened to the last chief?" You say meekly

He looks at you confused for a moment before stepping away from you.
"Some sort of mental breakdown, guy was a war vet probably PTSD or something like that." He says shrugging.

"Look, The kid hurt you while we let you in here so, I'm hoping you aren't looking to pursue legal action?" He says lightly

You look at him and force yourself to hide a smile.

"Well I could be persuaded if I could take a look at Tony's possessions from when he was brought in." You say

The Cheif gets a stern face and begins to speak but you grab your head and stumble.

"Oh jeez I'm seeing double. This might be a concussion." You say theatrically

He purses his lips and sighs.

"You can't take anything of course. But I'll have Officer Tsun escort you.


You go through the brightly lit halls of the station, the air devoid of sound or movement, the atmosphere is chilling you but the investigation has to continue. You go into the evidence room and find the box marked for Tony.

Inside is a wallet, some keys, and a photo of Tony and Sandy and Ryan.

One of the other three friends, Ryan Barker, long history of domestic abuse in his family and a few minor charges for possession of lsd and marijuana. His deep tanned face is stretched into a smile. The smile reminds you of Tony's and you start to feel sick.

The date on the picture sets it as 2 days before Tony was picked up.

>Examine the Wallet
>Examine the keys
>Other

>>1185073
Examine keys. I want to now if any of them may be to the Church. Or perhaps somewhere else.

Check the wallet after.

>>1185114

yes this, maybe he had a hotel room or something

>>1185114
>This

>>1185073
Examine both, we're not on a time limit now.

Afterwards ask if you can be escorted by Officer Dere instead.

>Lovecraft
>Detective
Is this quest lewd?
http://view-comic.com/category/neonomicon/

You look at the key chain, immediately you notice a large rectangular piece of purple plastic that says "Pier 5"

You examine the other keys, a normal house key, a car key and another key that has the "Salty Seaman Motel" etched into it. You have a laugh at the name, you know it's juvenile, you set the keys down scribbling the name of the pier, motel and room number into your journal.

You pick up his wallet next, it's one of those ones made of duct tape, apparently Tony was into arts and crafts, you go through it finding 146 dollars in cash, a credit card under his father's name and a drivers and boating license. As well as a blank keycard with no writing on it.

There's a knock at the door and Officer Tsun opens it to the Chief they begin chatting and for a small moment they're both distracted, you probably have enough time to grab 2 things before the conversation ends and you have to leave.
What do you grab?
>Driver's License
>Boating License
>House key
>Car key
>Motel key
>Plastic 'Pier 5' chip
>Blank Keycard
>Cash
>Credit Card
>Take nothing

You can try for 3 things but I would need a d20 roll.

Rolled 1 (1d20)

>>1186044
>Blank Keycard
>Motel key
>Plastic 'Pier 5' chip

>>1186044
I say we go for Motel Key and Blank Keycard.

Rolled 12 (1d20)

>Motel Key
>Car Key
>House Key

Rolled 6 (1d20)

>>1186044
>>Take nothing

>>1186044

Blank card and motel key

You grab the motel key and blank keycard jamming them in your pockets as if you're frustrated.

"Find anything?" The chief asks

"Jack shit." You reply

He shakes his head and begins walking with you.

"I'm sorry about that, but we have Tony under control now and no offense to you but I think it's time you left." He says as he hits a button that activates a loud click opening the maglock doors.

You step through with a farewell nod and retrieve your gun before heading back into the parking lot. The rain is now heavy, thick droplets strike at your coat and head like small punches from nature itself.

You climb into your car again and shake off the rain from your coat when you notice. Your glovebox is open and the contents left scattered on the passenger seat.

Nothing is missing but it's clear someone was looking for something.

>Investigate the parking lot (roll a d20)

>Head to a new location:
>The Pier
>The Motel
>Your Motel
>Basketball court
>Bookstore
>Other?

>>1189007
>>The Motel

Let's check where he lived

Rolled 1 (1d20)

>>1189007
Rolling, let's have a look around.

If we fail, we can head to the motel.

Rolled 11 (1d20)

>Investigate the parking lot

You decide to give a quick sweep of the parking lot but the rain is falling heavily and obscuring your view.
You don't find much of anything except a small dull key, no bigger than your thumb. You pocket the key and decide to give up the hunt.

You get in and start up your wipers before heading for the Salty Seaman hotel.

Driving through the town you notice it's eerily empty. The minimal bustle of the town died completely with the heavy rainfall. You mark it down in your mind as you pull into the motel and hurry to get inside away from the downpour.

The man behind the counter has a thin layer of brown wispy hair, his lazy eye perpetually stares at the window behind you and he looks away from his small television.

"May I help you today, sir?" He asks through yellowed teeth and the stench of the cheap wine you see in the garbage can behind him.

"I'm a private investigator looking into a missing persons." You say

His steady eye lights up

"A real detective in the flesh, amazin. Anything I can do to help sir!" He says enthusiastically

You hold up the motel key.

"I need the other keys that go with this one, Tony Vitsol is the name, he had friends with him. Maybe under a Ryan or Sandy even a Juliette." You say

He clacks the ancient computer and you hear a clicking as he opens a small safe behind him that exposes a gold key with a mirror shine. He takes the motel key and scribbles on a piece of magazine before handing it and the key to you.

"A master key, and their room numbers. Now don't try anything funny sir, I got myself some cameras and I'll be watching." He says softly

You feel a slight chill but shrug it off.

Which room do you visit first?
>Sandy's
>Tony's
>Ryan's and Julie's

>>1189288
Uh. This was oddly easier than expected.
Not gonna lie, had the author not made us go directly to the owner, I would have opted to sneak into Tony's room and would have gotten us busted by the cameras.
On the other hand, that means stealing the motel key was a waste. I regret now not voting for the purple chip.

Regardless, it seems strange that this guy is so enthusiastic at the idea of a P.I. nosing around his business, but you know what they say about a gifted horse.
Still, let's stay vigilant and keep an eye out for anything unseemly, wouldn't want this to be some kind of trap.

Seeing as our main objective is to locate Sandy and no obstacle is between us and her room, I believe we should start there.

>>1189288
Sandy