Call of Colthulhu: Team One's Adventures

Lyntermas wrote:"...Aaaand this isn't helping her case. Pinstripe, you wouldn't happen to be friends with any pegasus stallions, would you?" Torque decided to keep quiet about the blood while peering closer at the locket. "Curious. The locket seems a bit thick for simply holding a pair of pictures. I wonder..." Torque pulled some tweezers out of his toolkit and tried to see what was under the pictures. "Let's see...hidden compartments may require additional measures, but I think the primary security feature is not knowing it's there...are they meant to be removed from a certain angle or..."

Rolling Mechanics...6 (1d20) + 13 + 5 (Nimble Hooves, 4 uses remaining)= 23

The photos slip out after a bit of fiddling. The locket's two sides each have a hidden compartment, with something in both. The front side, under Pinstripe's image, has a small folded up piece of paper, while the other contains several capsules of some sort of... crystalline liquid? It is difficult to explain, but it is a viscous red liquid that has appearances and a glossiness akin to that of crystal.

The paper reads as follows:

Message:

AleneShazam wrote:The photos slip out after a bit of fiddling. The locket's two sides each have a hidden compartment, with something in both. The front side, under Pinstripe's image, has a small folded up piece of paper, while the other contains several capsules of some sort of... crystalline liquid? It is difficult to explain, but it is a viscous red liquid that has appearances and a glossiness akin to that of crystal.

The paper reads as follows:

Message:

As Torque read the note, his concern turned to anger. "...Not theoretical. Those murdering little..." Torque tried to take a deep breath and compose himself. He passed one of the capsules to Aurora. "Aurora, see what magic you can detect from one of these capsules. Try to keep it whole, and definitely don't try tasting it." He then took the picture of the stallion he had got from the locket and brought it over to Pinstripe. "Do you...recognize him?"

Lyntermas wrote:As Torque read the note, his concern turned to anger. "...Not theoretical. Those murdering little..." Torque tried to take a deep breath and compose himself. He passed one of the capsules to Aurora. "Aurora, see what magic you can detect from one of these capsules. Try to keep it whole, and definitely don't try tasting it." He then took the picture of the stallion he had got from the locket and brought it over to Pinstripe. "Do you...recognize him?"

"No..." Pinstripe squints at the picture. "Not really."

"Wait, what?" Torque looked at the picture in confusion. "B-but the locket, why would there be pictures of both of you in the same locket if you don't even...remember..." Torque turned to Dada and Verity. "Here, do either of you recognize this stallion?"

"Right," Aurora nodded, checking the capsules and pointedly keeping it away from her mouth. It was an odd liquid inside, she couldn't say as she'd seen much like it.

---

Arcana checks! FOR SCIENCE!
1d20+15 = 17+15 = 32
...On a side note, when the other shoe drops, there will be blood at this rate.

(Maybe there was a bit of Miscommunication: the image of Pinstripe and the image of the stallion are separate images, as in two different photos)

Caden2112 wrote:"Right," Aurora nodded, checking the capsules and pointedly keeping it away from her mouth. It was an odd liquid inside, she couldn't say as she'd seen much like it.

---

Arcana checks! FOR SCIENCE!
1d20+15 = 17+15 = 32
...On a side note, when the other shoe drops, there will be blood at this rate.

Given the kind of experimental magic Aurora dabbles in, she is very sure that this substance is the fabled philosopher's blood. It can only be created when a powerful soul mage, often a necromancer or spiritual alchemist, separates a part of their soul energy and condenses the energy into physical form. Experiments over the years on using other souls, or the soul energy of animals, have returned that the soul energy itself rejects the alien magic, therefore soul mages can only use their own soul for the production thereof. As such, philosopher's blood is exceedingly rare, and to those who dare create them, a single drop is more than enough to secure them enough funding for years of research or to live a modest life without any worry for money.

For capsules of this size, each capsule would require soul energy equivalent to at least a couple years off of a pony's life. There are three capsules.

(OOC: Write down that you have three capsules, should you decide to keep them. When absolutely necessary, the philosopher's blood can be catalysed to energise a spell or magical endeavour, giving a +20 bonus per capsule. Yes, this is a double magic point purely for Arcana.)

"...Wait a minute." Torque facehooves. "Wow, my mind took a wrong turn. I was thinking there was some far-fetched scenario where Mirrored cast some sort of amnesia spell on Pinstripe to make her forget about some stallion, when there's a much simpler solution: this is Mirrored's locket, and this stallion is probably Mirrored's fiance. Hence, nopony in this room would recognize the picture. The blood in the locket is a bit disconcerting, though."

"Wait...Is this...It IS! This is incredible! To be able to make this...There's either a -lot- of collaboration going on, or Mirrored's a prodigy if she could make this! Though...Combined with the journal...This may not be hers, but then whose...This is an amazing find, though!" Arcane gave a soft laugh, stunned for a moment...To be fair, most ponies didn't get ahold of such immensely powerful artifacts so easily...

"I'm sensing a pattern here," Flashpoint cuts in, annoyed, "Of the two of you learning something of interest, and making sure we all know you've discovered something... and then not actually telling any of the rest of us what it is. This is a very time-sensitive matter, so perhaps you could explain first, and save the admiration for when we're on the move?" He turns to Skyline. "Where do we find Warfield?"

Skyline raises a hoof to gain the two unicorn's attention. "Uh... can somepony explain what's going on with the locket? And what should our next course of action be?"

He turns to Flashpoint. "That, I can answer. Warfield's probably in the Clover wing, where most of the history and soft science classes are held. If we're sure that we've gotten all we can from this room," he glances at the unicorns, "I can lead you there double time."

"Hmm? Oh, right!" Aurora looked at Flashpoint for a moment, trying to process. "Sorry, I just...Wow. This is Philosopher's blood! It's...Exceedingly rare. Like, most who make these live that kind of life where they basically have anything they want. It's...Basically condensed soul energy in physical form...Normally, the maker's, but combined with the notes in the journal, I'm wondering if they found a way around that. Still, this much...This is at least six...Seven years? Sorry, it's...Just this would be like finding...I dunno, Celestia's crown just lying around." She looked at Skyline. "Right, we should..Probably look into it. Hopefully, he's fine." She was still kind of riding the high of finding something so amazingly rare...Not to mention valuable.

Torque felt a bit sheepish. "I apologize, I got wrapped up in my own theories and forgot to explain. The locket contains pictures of Pinstripe and this pegasus stallion, which seems to have traces of blood on it." Torque put the pictures back in their appropriate spots in the locket. "Behind the pictures were those capsules and this note. Somepony called "E" says that the pills are the first sample of a year's worth of research, and that Mirrored sacrificed much for it." Torque passed the note and locket to Flashpoint.

"Our next course of action is most certainly finding and detaining the accomplices listed in the notebook. I believe we should take the notebook, locket, capsules, and the Avantine gem as evidence. Heading to Warfield is the best next step. I think we've gleaned all we can from the items in Mirrored's nightstand; have all the other roommates's desks been searched?"

Just for the sake of completeness, Torque looked under Mirrored's bed for any other clues.

Rolling Perception...8 (1d20) + 8 = 16

Lyntermas wrote:Just for the sake of completeness, Torque looked under Mirrored's bed for any other clues.

Rolling Perception...8 (1d20) + 8 = 16

There is nothing out of the ordinary under the bed.

Lyntermas wrote:Torque felt a bit sheepish. "I apologize, I got wrapped up in my own theories and forgot to explain. The locket contains pictures of Pinstripe and this pegasus stallion, which seems to have traces of blood on it." Torque put the pictures back in their appropriate spots in the locket. "Behind the pictures were those capsules and this note. Somepony called "E" says that the pills are the first sample of a year's worth of research, and that Mirrored sacrificed much for it." Torque passed the note and locket to Flashpoint.

"Our next course of action is most certainly finding and detaining the accomplices listed in the notebook. I believe we should take the notebook, locket, capsules, and the Avantine gem as evidence. Heading to Warfield is the best next step. I think we've gleaned all we can from the items in Mirrored's nightstand; have all the other roommates's desks been searched?"

Just for the sake of completeness, Torque looked under Mirrored's bed for any other clues.

Rolling Perception...8 (1d20) + 8 = 16

Skyline nods. "They're in the clear, as far as we know."

AleneShazam wrote:Skyline nods. "They're in the clear, as far as we know."

"Right, then." Torque grabs the Avantine gem from the drawer and puts it in his satchel. He looks over at Pinstripe, Dada, and Verity. "Thank you all for your cooperation. We'll do our best to make sure that Mirrored Clear is found as quickly as possible."

He then turned to Skyline. "We've no time to lose. Please lead the way to Warfield."

Lyntermas wrote:

AleneShazam wrote:Skyline nods. "They're in the clear, as far as we know."

"Right, then." Torque grabs the Avantine gem from the drawer and puts it in his satchel. He looks over at Pinstripe, Dada, and Verity. "Thank you all for your cooperation. We'll do our best to make sure that Mirrored Clear is found as quickly as possible."

He then turned to Skyline. "We've no time to lose. Please lead the way to Warfield."

"Yeah, right this way. We should be able to cut across the dorms to the Clover wing that way." Skyline holds up the map of the school, gesturing at a path through the dorms. "Are we all good to go?"

"I think we're done here. I figure we've pretty much found all the evidence here we're gonna, at least," Aurora responded, putting the capsules away and getting ready to move.

"I'm ready," Flashpoint says, closing remaining drawers and heading for the door.

The walk towards the Clover wing is relatively uneventful. 

You reach the history classroom in short order, and the classroom, from the outside, seems to be quiet except for the occasional scratching of a pen.

"If there's a class in session, barging down the door and shouting about arrests may cause things to escalate faster than we can handle. Best to enter innocuosly and have Skyline introduce us to Warfield." Torque opened the door to the classroom and peered inside.

Rolling Perception...3 (1d20) + 8 = 11

Lyntermas wrote:"If there's a class in session, barging down the door and shouting about arrests may cause things to escalate faster than we can handle. Best to enter innocuosly and have Skyline introduce us to Warfield." Torque opened the door to the classroom and peered inside.

Rolling Perception...3 (1d20) + 8 = 11

It appears empty save for a stallion, old but still very fierce looking, sitting at a desk tucked away in the corner of the room. He's an earth pony, with a white mane and a sandy coat. The desk has a large stack of paper on it and he seems to be writing something.

"...Right then." Torque gave a few deliberate knocks on the door to announce his presence before stepping into the room. "Professor Warfield? My name is Torque Szarnowski. We hate to interrupt you, but we're part of an investigation with Skyline, and we need to ask you a few questions."

Aurora entered, nodding to Warfield, though she glanced around. Shouldn't there have been a class in session? Something seemed off about this. But what? Then again, maybe it was just an off period for him? Still, she remained silent for the moment, letting Torque take the lead with negotiations for now.

Warfield glances at the group, his eyes wandering over Torque and Aurora before settling on Flashpoint and Skyline.

"Investigation, eh?" He shuffles away some of the papers, and beckons for them to come closer. "You, brown pegasus, you part of the guard?"