( 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

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.

[silentspringmods]

Numbers and Arthur make it midway through the house before sirens come down the street and stop in front of Norman's well manicured lawn. Town police chief Dick Clark and another officer meet them face to face as they try to exit the same way they entered, looking decidedly unamused.

"Hands on your heads, boys. We're going to take a ride down to the station."

[workingthenumbers]

Numbers is going to initially resist being arrested but then give up pretty quickly--he's been arrested multiple times, both intentionally and unintentionally, so he's aware that trying to drag this out longer is going to result in hell for him.

[lestercraft]

Arthur will be perfectly calm while they put cuffs on him - until they search him, thanks to the obvious distortion of the mask in his jacket, and he will fight back with intent to injure out of sheer panicked reflex.

[silentspringmods]

It hardly seems to be Dick or his partner's first rodeo where struggling arrestees are concerned, and while Arthur lands a few hard hits, the only effect is to clearly annoy his apprehenders.

The patrol car takes them to the police station, where they're detained for three hours before being brought into an interrogation room to sit side-by-side at one of the tables, handcuffed at the wrists and ankles. They're left to simmer for thirty minutes or so before the door swings open and Chief Clark and Dr. Pollock both enter, walking astride. Dick holds the stolen gas mask in one hand, setting it down between them, and first addresses them while standing; Norman sets a black doctor's bag down a yard away from his chair, out of the shackled prisoners' reach.

"Boys," Clark says, in greeting. Nothing else.

Norman doesn't look thrilled to be presented with the men who have broken into his home while he was away—and although appearances would suggest that he is the companion to the police chief, brought in by Clark, the balance of power in the room seems to be equal, if not tilting slightly in Norman's direction.

Norman folds his arms, watching them with a cold, contemputuous eye. "Did you find what you were looking for?"

[workingthenumbers]

Numbers waits patiently while being detained, and when the two of them are brought to the interrogation room, he's able to maintain a neutral-to-pleasant expression, even though right now, the thing he wants to do the most is to leap across the table and strangle Norman. But that would most certainly get him shot, and he doesn't want to test if he can die after having died once already.

He meets Norman's contemptuous gaze.

"You know, you really shouldn't leave your dirty magazines out for just anyone to see." Deflecting the question. Being stupid and overconfident. His tone is level and casual, as if he wasn't literally handcuffed to the table. He shakes his head, going 'tsk, tsk'. "You'd give anyone a heart attack with what's in those things. It's a good thing this guy couldn't see the pictures."

He jerks his hand towards Arthur's direction.

[lestercraft]

Arthur is less polite-looking but no less patient, letting himself sit vaguely hunched with a furious glower for the whole time, putting that resting bitch face cold, calculated demeanor to good use.

Even if his head cocks, sharp and immediate at the sound of footsteps, of something heavy being dropped nearby, out of reach.

And Numbers gets a cold smirk out of him. "I'm not sure what you expect me to contribute, Officer, quite frankly." He lifts his hands in mock deference, jangling the cuffs. "I'm hardly a reliable witness."