Chapter One: Rhapsody in Blood

Lenny: you inspect the vents. Nothing looks immediately wrong or strange. You are sure you saw something in there a moment ago, but it's not there now. You look back into the room. Henshaw is orchestrating the care of the guests. Thad is in the center of the room. He has put away his pistol but he is still a commanding presence in the room. He seems to be trying to figure out what happened, which is probably a good thing, even if his methods are not subtle. You also see Helena standing off to the side. She looks to be deep in thought.

Thad: you can't get any straight answers out of the guests at this point. Most are still suffering the shock of seeing Ladona's body and won't even respond to you. The few people that are not are looking after their friends and cannot or will not say more than stating that they were out on the lawn having dinner. Henshaw seems to have the clearest head on his shoulders. He is giving orders to servants to move and care for the guests that are the worse off. But he is also lending a hand. By this point, he's taken off his jacket and rolled up his sleeves. You can tell he's not the typical aristocrat.

All: the storm is starting to pick up. The wind is howling and rain is battering against the mansion walls and windows.Most of the guests have been moved out of the hall and been made comfortable. Ladona's body is still on the floor. You three are in the hall along with Henshaw. He's breathing heavily from stress of the situation and the exertion of moving the guests all around the mansion. He fishes a cigarette out and lights it up, taking a long drag. He exhales and groans. "Well, this sure is a fine mess."

OOC: Booya




Thad watches as Henshaw removes his jacket and walks his way.

"Look, I was the one who was affected by her and her "magic" and honestly it worried me. Now she is dead so i cant find out what had happened. Can you inform us as to why she was here and what her purpose was to serve at this party?"

Thad continues to eye Henshaw up and down look to see if his body language reveals anything.

Lenny: Henshaw nods in agreement and waves at a few servants. They move to draw the curtains. He glances at you, and senses your desperation. He extends his cigarette case to you with a friendly grin. He stretches out a kink in his neck and thinks for a moment. "You're right Mister Salvesen, she's not from a carnival or any other sort of entertainment company. I met her in my home town back in Massachusetts several years ago. She was visiting from Europe. I can't recall where. Maybe somewhere close to Russia. Anyway, she was a special guest of the university for a scientific experiment testing the validity of psychic powers. I watched them prove countless carnival folk and hucksters to be frauds. But Ladona passed every test they threw at her. It was amazing. I contacted her after that and begged her to become my personal adviser. She travels the world, but we communicate via telegram and radio. Everything she's ever told me has come true. When I learned that she would be back in the states, I scheduled this event so that my friends might experience her skills. I never thought anything like this could've happened."

Thad: Henshaw is speaking to you as much as to Lenny. You hear this entire explanation. You sense nothing but honesty from Henshaw. He's pacing a bit, and there is a slight tremble to his hands, but that seems to be from the horrific events of the evening, not from any deception. He looks at you directly. "I want to find out what happened to her as much as anyone, Mister Cromcastle. She was a dear friend to me. I must say, though, your concern is a curiosity to me. I know you are a man of science and history. I would not have thought you to be so interested in someone like Ladona who stands opposed to logic and reason."

Lenny: No-one immediately reacts to you dropping the "murder" phrase. After you talk to a dozen servants, you piece together that a Ladona came in the use the facilities. On her way back outside, she acted distracted and kept looking over her shoulder, like someone was talking to her. She abruptly changed her direction, entered the library, and shut the door. One servant thinks she heard voices, but she's not sure. They were all told to not interfere with her methods and behaviors, so they left her alone and attended to dinner.

Lenny is going to head to the library for a look around


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Thad looks around once more as Henshaw follows Lenny. He turns to Helena and whispers.

"I don't know why she was killed, but that hocus focus she dealt was real. "

Thad fills in Helena on what happened, and then says,

"I think that no one should move alone in the house because whoever killed her is still here. I will accompany you to the basement."

Thad undoes the snap on his holster and motions Helena towards the door the the basement


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Helena laughs a little "Thad we've been to a lot of places together. Crypts, bogs, deserts. Have you ever seen me there dressed like this? I'm changing first. I sent someone to retrieve my bag from my train, they should be returning shortly. I'm going to head to the front door to meet them." She turns and walks towards the door.

As Helena's walking she passes Henshaw and Lenny standing outside the library. She can easily see the mess inside and it stops her in her tracks. "What in the world happened in there?"