Rosalie gave Abraham a long look before shaking her head.  "Other than scribbled field notes, I am not writer.  I might be useful in the physical research, but Jackson was the expert in all matters of the occult.  I have had a minor introduction to such things under his tutelage, but hardly anything of this magnitude.  It makes me uneasy.  He... he had traveled all over the world in pursuit of his accounts and delved so deeply that it killed him.  We are all amateurs by comparison.  I am almost afraid of what we might uncover if we keep searching for his killers."

"Jonah, would you mind if we borrowed Jackson's research materials?  I would like my uncle to see them to get his opinion.  He is the expert on matters of the mind and could offer insight on some of this.  If you do not wish to part with them, would you have them copied and sent to my uncle's address?"

"Of course the notes from Jackson will be kept in the strictest of confidences. If you were not his family, I would not have even shown them to you, but as you seem to be looking into this and are his kin I thought it would do well to give them into your possession. Rosalie, you may keep these and give them over to Dr. Elias. I'll make sure to phone him up to offer my condolences, and to let him know that I've given some of Jackson's things into your care," he said.

"Since the project was still going, I already had copies made of these when they arrived, so have no fear that I'll lose the information should you need it again. I'm an old man and am afraid I'm not much for gallavanting about, but Jackson was a dear friend of mine. I was always a key contact point for him. If there is something I can help with or someone I can put you in touch with, please call. Were I a younger man, I'd be looking into this myself, but all the same I must advise you all to take care as you do so."

Abraham nodded accepting the truth of her words.  ”As you say then.  But don’t sell your gifts short.  None of us possessed our cousin’s particular drive toward anthropology’s most dark and arcane corners.  And you are not the only one who’s afraid.”

”Thank you, Jonah, for all of your help.  If you think of anything else that might be helpful, please phone the Elias household.  I believe we have all of the information we need form Prospero presently, unless there’s something else.”  He glanced toward Rosalie to see if she had anything to add.
This message was lightly edited by the player at 18:36, Thu 28 Aug 2014.

"Yes, thank you, Jonah."  She gathered up Jackson's materials and sealed them inside a provided envelope.  She pulled on her gloves in preparation to face the cold outside and then held out her right hand to the editor. "If we discover anything of note, I will call you myself.  I think you deserve to know what happened as much as any of us.  Thank you for all of this.  I am sure it will be vastly helpful."

Once again exchanging both pleasantries and sincere condolences as they left, Jonah bid the two of them goodbye, encouraging them once more to contact them should they need any information or assistance.

OOC:

It turns out that Abraham and Rosalie are now only a few blocks from the train station. Shall I go ahead and proceed with their trip to Boston, or did you two have something else in mind?

Train station sounds good to me.

This message was last edited by the GM at 21:05, Mon 08 Sept 2014.

The train ride had given Rosalie ample time to sift through Jackson's notes, though none of it really made any sense to her.  She hoped that her uncle would understand some of it.  The rest of the journey to Harvard was uneventful, for which she was thankful.  The events of the previous day were all too fresh and the memory of Jackson's mutilated body leaped to mind all too easily.

In the library, she unwound her scarf and removed her gloves, clutching them in the same hand as her purse.  "Isn't this charming?" she whispered to Abraham, not wanting to disturb those studying.  "Let's see if we can find our Miss Atwright, shall we?"

Abraham seemed equally enchanted with the library, taking in the scent of old books and the sight of people reading and writing all around. Undoubtedly with a little bit of whiskey or perhaps absinthe, he could find a comfortable corner here to begin writing his next volume, but there was work to be done now.

"Most certainly a sound plan," he said, approaching the nearest desk. "Excuse me, we're here looking after one Miriam Atwright. Could you perhaps direct us in the appropriate direction?" he asked, certain to keep his volume low.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:40, Thu 11 Sept 2014.

"Yes, she has an office right this way," a young man replied quietly, but beckoned with a hand indicating that he would lead them in the proper direction. Walking quickly, he lead them to a small office in which stacks of books were found piled on a desk. "Miss Atwright? Visitors for you." That was all he said, leaving them to the tender mercies of the librarian.

"Yes, how may I help you?" she asked, looking a bit distracted. She had a friendly way about her.

"Hello, Miss Atwright.  I hope we are not disturbing you.  I am Rosalie Elias and this is Mister Abraham Hargrove.  I believe you have had some correspondence with my late cousin, Mister Jackson Elias?  He was searching for a particular book or information from your library.  We were hoping that you might able to help us uncover what he was looking for."

"Oh, indeed! Yes, I was quite an admirer of your cousin. He was looking for a book called Africa's Dark Sects." She paused for a moment and then took stock of what Rosalie had said to her.

"I'm sorry, did you say just refer to Jackson as your...late cousin?" she asked.

Rosalie nodded sadly.  "Tragically, I did.  Jackson was the victim of a crime most heinous and we, his family and friends, are attempting to uncover what he was researching in hopes of finding those responsible for his death.  Mister Hargrove and I came on the train this afternoon with the intention of seeing you specifically in hopes that you might be able to shed light on the information Jackson wanted."

The librarian looked quite upset at the news of Jackson's passing.

"You have my condolences, my dear. I cannot say that I knew Jackson intimately, but I've known him for many years and have a great respect for his works and his research. Over the years, I've occasionally been able to point him to a particular book or otherwise aid him in his research and we've been periodically in touch. I will sincerely miss him."

"As I mentioned, Jackson was looking for a volume called Africa's Dark Sects by one Nigel Blackwell, a self-funded explorer of sorts. The topics in the book vary widely, but the focus is on African cults and esoteric religious practices - the more gruesome or vile the better. Cannibalism and bestiality are some of the more comparatively tame practices discussed. He focuses on the Kenyan Crown colony and German East Africa, the Belgian Congo, and West Africa. We did have one of the only remaining copies of this book in the world in our collection, but it seems to have simply disappeared from our collection."

"Still, I knew Jackson was mainly interested in African cults, and I was to help him look for some material on the subjects of his interest when he came here."
This message was last edited by the player at 14:38, Tue 16 Sept 2014.

"I am so very sorry to spring this news on you suddenly.  I had no idea you had assisted Jackson with his novels.  He must have been so thankful to have a skilled researcher to help him."  She sighed softly and glanced back at the library.  "I wish that book had not disappeared from your collection.  It would have been very helpful." 

Turning back, she asked, "Tell me, have you ever heard of any mythology about a deity called the 'God of the Black Wind' or the 'Cult of the Bloody Tongue'?  It was something of the African legends that Jackson was pursuing."

"The names do ring a bell - in fact, I believe they were mentioned in the missing volume that Jackson was looking for, but I'm not sure I have much information about them at the tip of my tongue." She purses her lips as she spends a moment in thought.

"Do you think you might be able to help us find out more about them here in the library, perhaps pointing us in the right direction?" he asked.

"I would be most happy to do just that," she said, "though if you would allow me, I might be able to better do justice to the research myself. The subject is I'm afraid a rather esoteric one, and even with me assisting you in the research, it might take you as much as a full day before you were able to unearth even the most rudimentary details."

"If you'll allow me, if you can provide your contact information, I would be glad to conduct some research over the next few days for you and tell you what I can about these people."

"That would be most helpful.  Heaven knows that I am a novice at library research.  I prefer a more hands on approach.  Probably the best place to reach us would be at my uncle's house."  Rosalie opened her clutch and pulled out her consulting business card and a pen.  Turning the card over, she wrote down the address and phone number to Leo's.  "My information is on the front if you need it.  We would be most interested in hearing about anything that you might discover."

"Most certainly Miss Elias. Are there any particular details you might give me, other than those two names, which might guide my search?" she asked, carefully filing the card away. She was by all appearances a very neat and organized woman.

"I'm afraid there is little else I can tell you about Jackson's research, other than he was looking into the mysteries surrounding the Carlyle expedition in that particular area of Africa.  He thought the myths I've previously mentioned might be somehow related.  According to his notes, Jackson believed that this cult or cults were likely based in the mountains north of Nairobi. I know this all seems somewhat vague, but we are still attempting to piece this all together.  As I said, anything you might find could be helpful."  Putting her things away, she tucked her purse under her arm and then offered her hand to the woman.  "Most of all, thank you for your time and your friendship with my cousin.  It is very heartwarming to hear there are others outside of our family that will miss him."

"I join Rosalie in giving you my thanks for your concern. Jackson was very dear to us all, and we look forward to hearing back from you at your earliest convenience," he said.

After exchanging farewells with Miriam Atwright, he escorted Rosalie out of the library and they found themselves soonafter on the front steps once again. "Well, I daresay we should try to catch the next train to New York so that we can get back by nightfall, unless you think there's more to do here."

"No, I think we should head back and check in with the others.  Hopefully Miss Atwright will be able to turn up something.  Let's hurry back to the station and see if we can't catch the next train home."