Good news!

Harry finds no dead bodies! Nor bleeding, mortally-wounded bodies! No bodies at all except herself!

Bad news: No bodies except herself. The door to the secret room of the mausoleum is open, and there's no one inside.

Whatever form he might currently be in, there's definitely a werewolf running around loose somewhere.

Harry wedges the the secret room's door open before searching for the mechanism which allows the door to be opened from the inside. She also searches the room for anything which might have been left behind by its most recent occupant(s).

---

14:58, Today: Harriet MacLeod (aka 'Harry') rolled 2 using 1d20.  Check Vs. WIS 13.

There's nothing left behind of any interest.

Except sort of... Harry does find that there's a stone on a hinge that swings out. Underneath is a switch or latch or whatever one would call it that makes a click at the door when pushed.

So... maybe... he let himself out, as a human. Surely the werewolf couldn't have stumbled upon it and also activated it?

...Or was the truth more complicated? Did someone come, open the door from the outside, and then they were grabbed, thrown in, trapped inside, the werewolf ran off, the person knew the secret of how to open the door, they let themselves out...?

Or something else...?

There's just no way to tell.

There's no drops nor spatters of blood on the ground, though, at least...

Harry leaves the secret room and closes the door behind her, then makes her way to the caretaker's cottage. "Any strangers visit the cemetery of late?"  she asks the old man. "The Collins mausoleum in particular?" She offers him the bread, cheese, and beer she had brought for the absent Bigby. "Is it the mausoleum where Miss Abigail will be laid to rest?"

"Not my job to guard the place. Just to take care of it. I seen strangers around here and there lately... none of 'em linger in the cemetery fer very long... Which is good... the dead must rest in peace..."



The food and beer soften the old man's attitude... slightly. "Naw. Mausoleum's full. She'll be laid in a reg'ler grave later today."

Harry thanks the old man and leaves him to enjoy his repast. She hikes back down to town and, at a loss for what tack to take next, stops at the Blue Whale for a drink.

Hmm. There's another Collins in here... Daniel? Yeah, Daniel. Having a glass of wine, and staring at the reflection of the light off the water hitting the windows and ceiling...

Harry pulls up a chair at Daniel's table after ordering a pint of ale. "Aught troublin' you, Master Collins? Y'seem a wee bit distracted. Any of the search parties report back? Fair enough morning for it, though the weather's apt to shift before long. Fickle, autumn is."

(Hmm... CHR roll, please...)

Harry takes a long draught of her ale and skims the tavern's other occupants as she awaits Daniel's response.

---

10:44, Today: Harriet MacLeod (aka 'Harry') rolled 10 using 1d20.  Check Vs. CHA 13.

"Yes, I find many things troubling. Aunt Abigail's death can be explained away, as far as I know, but the disappearance of young Leo's tutor and two doctors in a row... And-- again, so far as I am aware-- the search parties have so far turned up nothing... Mysterious things are afoot... I cannot help but feel that there is... Well, I feel that something unpleasant hangs over the town, and my family in particular. ...Tell me, do you believe in the supernatural?"

Harry simply grunts. "Superstitious lot, we sailors. Prefer t' hedge our bets. Safer t' believe than not."

"I see..." He frowns, thinking. "...Did you know any of the missing persons at all? Personally, I mean...?"

Harry takes another draught of her ale. "Just the common bond of fellow travelers in a strange place. Faces and names y'know in a sea of strangers. Ne'er met a one ere crossing paths in Collinsport or en route. Save folk I've no ken of. Who all's missing, apart from Willoughby, McKenzie, Gallow, that Regina woman, and that bloke who escaped gaol? Oh, and there's that vagabond camped out on Eagle Hill."

"'Gallow?' 'Regina?'" Then he sort of does a double-take. "...Vagabond...? What vagabond...?"

Harry shrugs. "Macintyre was his name. Scotsman from his accent. Have t' ask th' Constable about Gallow. Was helpin' investigate the fella who escaped. Regina is a handsome redhead the Professor and your cousin Gerard know. Only met any of 'em once, myself."

Daniel seems slightly more unnerved than he was already. "It would appear that there is more going on in Collinsport's demi-monde than I ever suspected," he says. "I--" He looks-- really looks-- at Harry for what feels like the first time. "Do you know..." he says, "I feel... that I've seen you somewhere before... Or someone very like you..." He frowns. "Tell me... have you ever heard of the I Ching...?"

Harry downs the last of her ale. "Heard th' name before, aye. Some kinda Chinese sortilege." She returns Daniel's gaze. "Just saw me th' other day. Been drinkin' a while, have ye?"

"I have not." He muses about what to say next. "...The I Ching can be... Well, I happen to own a very special set of I Ching wands. The professor and I experienced... certain things, on one occasion. Things..." The bartender passes by with a broom... "...that should not be discussed here. ...Would you be willing to meet me... elsewhere... to discuss them? I can choose the place, or it may be a place of your choosing. The thing that concerns me more is time. I would prefer to speak to you of these things sooner than later."

Harry grunts a reply. "Know th' lay of th' land, should be able t' find anywhere ye care t' meet. Beach road is close. Lookout Point, private. Gazebo, bit of both. Gotta preference?"

"...What if, this evening, you might join me at Seaview-- er, I have an informal little study set up at a house called Seaview... You know the fork in the path right before one goes to the Old House? If one takes it to the left instead of to the right, it goes past Eagle Hill Cemetery, and then onward to a house on the edge of the family property, called Seaview. For a time, it was where they were storing all the furnishings they were eventually going to install into Collinwood... but now that they have, I've been using the peace and quiet out there for some... thought experiments of my own..."
This message was last edited by the player at 20:01, Fri 23 July 2021.

Harry simply nods. "Aye, know it. Out at the end of the north trail. What time?"

"Around sunset, perhaps...?"

Harry rises from her seat, nodding. "Sunset 'tis. I've business, will see ye then."

Harry leaves the tavern and heads to the general store. "Where might a man purchase a musket and a brace of pistols?" she asks the shopkeeper. "Meanin' t' practice me marksmanship, now I'm a lubber."