( SETTING INTERACTION. )

[silentspringmods]

Non-Event Explorations


As of 2/3/24, this is the new page where all character interactions with the setting/explorations/etc unrelated to events will reside. Here are some examples of the types of things to post on this page:

- My character would like to search the library for xyz, would they find anything?
- My character is going to approach an NPC outside of an event and do xyz, what happens?
- If my character goes asking around for x, what will they be told?

Examples of things that should still go on the FAQ:

- What kind of books does the library have on x topic? (Character is not specifically searching the library IC).
- Does the town have x facility?
- Is my character able to do x?

And, when in doubt, it's fine to just post the question on your best guess and I can move it as needed!

Comments

Searching Norman's House

[silentspringmods]

The Gang finds that Norman's address is easily obtained through the phone book, and isn't protected or anything like that. It's a very nice house, a two-story colonial revival a bit smaller than Marjorie's, rectangular in shape, with white siding and deep green shutters framing the windows that decorate the front. The bushes and yard in the front are very well maintained; it's clear that Norman pays someone more skilled than himself to maintain them.

Dr. Pollock's office is pretty unremarkable; a medical degree from Yale University hangs framed on the wall. Maybe that's where he got a taste for architecture more suited to states further north than mid-Atlantic Maryland?

The interior of the house makes a few things abundantly clear: Norman is unmarried, and has no children. A dog begins to bark from one of the rooms as soon as the door opens, scratching at the door separating it from the new arrivals. There are photographs of him with his father that seem to have been taken about a decade ago, two men in white coats bearing a faint facial resemblance to each other standing in front of a clinic with the long arms of a maple tree reaching out into the parking lot behind them. Ashtrays decorate many of the surfaces. There's some art in the home, not much, but clearly quality: a Chinese-style painting of a red-crowned crane in flight, a pastoral landscape with cows drinking from a lake rendered in oil paints. Both are originals, not prints. There's also an oil painting of a red-and-white springer spaniel in the dining room—the same dog carrying on behind the bedroom door?

In the bathroom, there is a medicine cabinet with a mirror front, and behind it, there are shelves. Among the household standards such as paracetamol, there is also a bottle labeled BENZEDRINE SULPHATE TABLETS and a much larger bottle, with brown glass blocking the light from reaching quite a number of ovular round pills inside. There is no formal label on this bottle—only handwritten in permanent marker in the doctor's scrawl, 103.

There is a locked desk in Norman's office, and a 1-foot-by-1-foot safe on the ground. Does either character have experience picking locks or cracking safes?

Re: Searching Norman's House

[lestercraft]

Arthur has experience with picking locks, even with unorthodox tools, and has brought a few different sizes of hair and safety pins to use and will definitely want to open the safe when he's made aware of it.

The Safe

[silentspringmods]

With effort, Arthur and Numbers are able to open the safe; when the door swings open, it's not money but several vials and bottles that glare back at them, what appears to be the deed to his house and title to his car, and one final object:

— Haloperidol
— Pancuronium bromide
— Potassium Chloride
— Scopolamine
— Sodium thiopental

— A pistol with a narrow barrel and unattached suppressor.

How extensive is Numbers' and Arthur's combined knowledge of the history of firearms?

[workingthenumbers]

I'd say he has greater than average knowledge of firearms! Numbers probably wouldn't know super historic or niche information, but otherwise he's got a decent grasp on it. Probably anything he could reasonably encounter between 1980 and 2006?

[lestercraft]

Arthur has no knowledge of any of those drugs, as they don't exist in 1934 in a commercial aspect, but he would recognise common gun brands from the 20s and early 30s.

Examining the Gun

[silentspringmods]

The gun was manufactured by High Standard, and bears resemblance to its more modern .22 competition target pistols, but it's not a model Numbers would have commonly seen during his time. Like many of the HS target pistols, its magazine holds 10 rounds. All identifying information has been filed off of the gun, not even leaving a model number.

Re: Examining the Gun

[lestercraft]

You have no idea how tempted Arthur is to steal the gun just so he has one, lmao. He won't but STILL. The safe gets away without being looted by this pseudo-RPG protag.

The boys would like to explore the basement next!

Exploring the Basement

[silentspringmods]

In a strange twist of events considering everything that came before it, the basement in Norman's house is just that—a basement. There's a sofa, a coffee table, and an emergency radio, presumably for use in a fallout situation. The back walls are lined with hand-built shelves, simple pieces of plywood that run from one end to the other, stacked with MREs and cans. There are fingerprints in the dust on the emergency radio—looks like he was one of the ones who sheltered at home instead of the bunker?

There are also food items, suggesting that he uses the space as more of a New England style root cellar: bags of potatoes, cans upon cans of dog food on some standalone pantry shelves, flour, and similar.

Re: Exploring the Basement

[lestercraft]

Is there anything to suggest the dimensions of the basement are atypical for one of the time, or that it doesn't line up accurately with the house overhead? SECRET TUNNEL WHEN

[workingthenumbers]

Numbers is also gonna do some physical poking and prodding around the shelves and floor, just in case said secret tunnel is a thing.

[silentspringmods]

The basement's footprint is completely typical, and there are no hidden switches, levers, etc. If they're talking, the acoustics of the space will also sound a little different from the basement Arthur remembers. This doesn't seem to be the place.

[lestercraft]

Damn.

In that case, time to give the upper floor one last quick sweep! Knowing there is a dog there, the boys will raid the fridge for a dog-appropriate treat, probably some kind of raw meat, so they can bribe it into letting them into the room it's being contained in.

[silentspringmods]

As soon as the door opens, a red and white springer spaniel matching the painting in the dining room launches out of it, decidedly more animated than its cousin in oils. The dog leaps around, eyes bright and mouth hanging open, wagging its docked tail, jumping up on them, and scrambling around the hallway.

The dog is delighted to accompany them into the bedroom, still wagging. It's neat, like the rest of the house, the bed made and bordered by a large, quality dog bed. Aside from some run of the mill sleeping pills on the side table, everything seems normal - except for the top shelf of Norman's dresser, which contains a gas mask.

[workingthenumbers]

Numbers will try and avoid the very cute very handsome dog to take a closer look at that gas mask, see if he can make out any further information about maybe if it's military issued or the like! And if not, he'll suggest to Arthur that they put the dog back in the room and try to leave like they were never there.

[silentspringmods]

It's a military model, although whether or not it was issued by the military itself or obtained aftermarket is unclear. It doesn't look like something someone could buy in the town, although gas masks are of course available with all other civilian preparedness devices.

[lestercraft]

Was there anything else in his house that would suggest active military service from Norman in the past? Would the gun they saw be typical for army weaponry?

[silentspringmods]

The gun they see isn't terribly typical to any military. There is a small leather box containing a few ribbon bars kept with his watches atop the dresser, suggesting some form of past military service, but the duration and nature of it is unclear. If they compare the graduation date on the diploma Norton encounters in the clinic, it will seem most likely that he was present during the Korean War.

[lestercraft]

Arthur's gonna try the mask on. J u s t i n c a s e. And try and prompt Numbers to, too.

[workingthenumbers]

Numbers will reluctantly put it on if prompted LMFAO

[silentspringmods]

The boys' dress-up session is fun, but unremarkable. No magic masks here!

[lestercraft]

...Arthur is still gonna pocket the mask, lmfao. HES SUS OKAY. Slips it into his inside jacket pocket before they leave the way they came.

It's not a trademark Arthur Lester Investigation unless he steals something.

Tiny Comment for Doctor's Office

[pharadyne]

Norton will chat with the receptionist, casual conversation, smiling brightly. He asks her how long she's lived in Sweetwater and the history of the town, not expecting any Deep Secrets from her, just general information gathering.

...and during the doctor's appointment itself, he'll subtly flirt with Norman, because why limit oneself to only one bad decision a day?

[silentspringmods]

[ Norman seems to recognize exactly what's going on, but he doesn't respond to it, at least not until he's stripping off his latex gloves at the examination's end. The image of professionalism! ]

You seem perfectly healthy. But may I give you a free piece of advice, Mr. Folgate? [ A beat as he pulls a cigarette from the pack of Lucky Strikes on the counter and lights it. His voice is less conversational when he exhales. ] Don't try that. Not here.

Ms. Wilkinson will check you out up front.

[pharadyne]

Thank you, Doctor Pollock.

[Norton replies politely. And because he's not entirely sure if Norman means "here" at work or "here" in Sweetwater (or maybe even "here" in America, for all he knows), he adds:]

Perhaps we'll see each other socially some time.

[He keeps his voice casual and expression innocent.]

[silentspringmods]

[ Norman smiles thinly, a quick tightening of the mouth and squinting of the eyes in line with what social decorum necessitates. ]

Is that right? Well, we'll see.

Be careful, Mr. Folgate.