Cycle 1063 (Winter): Day 2

[atpollard]

Josephine Baxter-Smith, Remy Hernandez, Mercutio Routledge, Samuel Linkletter, Jacques Bonnet (Manhole in tunnel)
Cycle 1063 (Winter): Day 2: Shift 3: Hour 8:20 [Hamlet of Gwynedd: 45N,25W]

Josephine lifted the board, cleared away the straw, and then removed the other boards one by one. She worked slowly to avoid making any noises. Once her head was above the manhole, the full smell of the room hit her. The party followed her up.

The goat was friendly enough, but his stall was the only stall with a living animal in it. The barn did indeed occupy the lower level of a house with a large, double door located in the center of the north wall. The goat stall occupied the NW corner of the barn.

To the right of the Goat stall, the area was filled with stacks of white animal flesh folded over on each other or rolled into a tube shape and placed in a barrel of water. An examination of the skins revealed they were coated with a thick layer of salt.

The next stall contains a giant barrel full of liquid that gives off a strong chemical odor. Animal skins lie submerged in the tub as a layer of hair floats at the surface.

Hanging from the south wall are a variety of long and broad knives. Some have long wooden handles and most seem to have very straight cutting edges. All appear razor sharp and oiled. None appear rusted.

An enormous barrel, 5 feet deep and 6 feet in diameter occupied the next stall, in the SE corner. It was filled with a dark brown liquid that smelled bad.

A roller press separated the enormous barrel from the next stall, which contained many tanned hides hanging from racks on the ceiling.

The last stall, in the NE corner, contained several small covered barrels. Also in the stall was a wheelbarrow leaning against a wall and covering a pick and a shovel. The stains on the wheelbarrow were not from soils found near the surface. They were from soils found deep underground.

An examination of the floor revealed wheelbarrow tracks led from the Goat Stall out the main door. Cracking the main door to peek outside, you see nobody around. The door appears to open onto a pasture full of animals.

[Urson]

Josephine
Jo wrinkled her nose at the stench. Worse than the bilges... she muttered.
She looked around the workshop as the others climbed up (assuming they do). A tannery, I think. I didn't know making leather stank so strongly.

[ffilz]

Linkletter (who has Mechanical (Cloth)-1 will share: Yes, tanning requires soaking in an alkaline solution, often urine or another process is to use dung.

Did we see any bat guano piles? They might be using bat guanine for the process.

[atpollard]

Did we see any bat guano piles? They might be using bat guanine for the process.

Based on your skill:
No piles of guano. They are using salt to dry the skins, a lime bath (from shells) to remove the hair and vegetable tannin (Oak) to tan the leather. So the Tanner has no legitimate reason to be in the caves.

[AsenRG]

Remy explores the skin, wondering what kind of animals they are from. The island didn't seem really densely populated, so it was unlikely that they were from free-roaming animals. There simply weren't many of those...at least from what he had seen. Which admittedly wasn't much.
Although one species constituted an exception.
If these were farm animals, he was going to recommend exploring the cave further.

[Zhym]

"A tannery," says Routledge, echoing Jo's assessment. "Stinky—but hardly nefarious on its surface. What are we missing here?"

[Urson]

Jo
Jo studies the floor of the tannery, despite the fact that tracks are unlikely. I do not believe we are missing anything, Mr. Routledge. I suspect the important bit is the exit from the caves, not where that exit is.

[Zhym]

"You may be right," says Routledge, "but I remain puzzled. Who would need a secret—and difficult—passage between that cave and here? Or are these two different entrances, and we have yet to find the true place of interest?"

He looks around the barn, wondering if he's not seeing something. "This powerful stink could hide many other smells a person might want to leave unsmelled," he says. "And that dirt on the wheelbarrow puzzles me. Is there a reason a tanner would need soil from deep underground? I cannot help but wonder if we're missing something here."

[atpollard]

Remy explores the skin, wondering what kind of animals they are from.

The skins come from rabbits and goats and reptiles and sharks (and other large aquatic life).

I ultimately need to know whether the group leaves the barn or returns to the tunnel to post further. Until then I can only answer questions about the Tannery.

[Monsieur Rose]

Jacques

As Jacques leaves the tunnel he breathes freely for the first time in hours. And immediately regrets it. "Oh, for...what fresh hell is this?" He looks around, holding his nose and nods along as the others suggest a tannery.

"Well, then. This is all well and good, but I've had enough cave exploration for a bit. Let's cover our tracks and get out of here. We need to know whose barn this is." He looks at the others. "Based on the look of you all, we need to get cleaned up. And maybe a nice meal."

[ffilz]

Do you think we can leave less of a trace of our presence if we go back the way we came, or if we slip out of the barn (hopefully not being seen doing so)?

[AsenRG]

"But monsieur Jacques, the best way to cover our traces is to go back through the cave", Remy pointed out.

[Urson]

Jo
My apologies, gentlemen. I am not ready to go through all that climbing and scrambling again. The door is right there- let us use it. Additionally, the tide has changed by now- we might get back into the caves and find ourselves trapped by rising water. Jo begins replacing the boards and closing the trapdoor.

[atpollard]

Jacques Bonnet, Remy Hernandez, Mercutio Routledge, Samuel Linkletter, Josephine Baxter-Smith (Manhole in tunnel)
Cycle 1063 (Winter): Day 2: Shift 3: Hour 8:30 [Hamlet of Gwynedd: 45N,25W]

At Jacques’ suggestion, Josephine replaced the boards and did her best to hide any trace that they had ever used the passage. Others debated the relative merits of returning to the tunnel vs returning to town, but the discussion quickly felt more “academic” as the reality that the decision had somehow been made. The group was returning to town to wash up and eat.

Jacques led the way out the barn door and into the pasture. You were behind the Tanner’s House (#15) in Company Town. Alert for any sign of anyone, you made your way by starlight under the watchful eye of a herd of goats around the building and to a stairway up to the Main Street Elevated Boardwalk between buildings (#15) and (#17). No one seemed to notice you and the few people out and about on the Boardwalk seemed more in a hurry to get to or from wherever they were going to. Just a normal change of shift.

Standing in the road, you had a choice … East to the Grogg and Tankard (#19: where Linkletter has been staying) or West to the Gwynedd Hotel (#8: where Routledge has been staying).

Cycle 1063 (Winter): Day 2: Shift 3: Hour 1:30 [Hamlet of Gwynedd: 45N,25W]
Once you clean up and Doc Linkletter traces the map in his head over a map of the town, the group can study the following:

[AsenRG]

"I'd say we should go to where the most trouble is likely to be", Remy said. "It can help save some lives."

[Urson]

Jo
I have no opinion. Lead on.

[atpollard]

Jacques Bonnet, Remy Hernandez, Mercutio Routledge, Samuel Linkletter, Josephine Baxter-Smith (Grogg & Tankard)
Cycle 1063 (Winter): Day 2: Shift 3: Hour 3:30 [Hamlet of Gwynedd: 45N,25W]
Long baths or showers, a fresh change of clothes and a hearty meal at the Grogg and Tankard behind you, the group felt refreshed enough to view things through fresh eyes and plan the next move. Gottard had loaned you a large room on the second floor so you could meet in private. The map of Company Town with the sketch of the tunnels and cave that you had explored sat in the center of the table with the brass magnetic key next to it. The group reviewed all of the information they had collected so far …

RUMORS TOPIC

… and planned how they would spend the last 4 hours of the day.

Since this adventure is all about clues, and has gone on far longer than most people will remember details, I gathered all of the important interactions into a single topic with a reference to Where, When and Who. Data from people that have dropped out will have been heard second hand by the group and you know exactly what is written. Any information that YOU were present at, the player can ask for OOC clarification on anything the CHARACTER might have noticed at that time.

[atpollard]

Jacques Bonnet, Remy Hernandez, Mercutio Routledge, Samuel Linkletter, Josephine Baxter-Smith (Grogg & Tankard)
Cycle 1063 (Winter): Day 2: Shift 3: Hour 7:30 [Hamlet of Gwynedd: 45N,25W]
The group spent hours exchanging stories and sharing recollections from the past eight days in Gwynedd, trying to piece together the bits of information that they had collected. As the hour grew late, you all accepted Gottards offer and slept in the meeting room.

The room had four full-size beds with another four single “Pullman Bunks” that folded down above them if needed. There was a stove to heat the room, a large round table for meeting and many chairs that could be easily rearranged. A large double door opened onto a private balcony furnished as a quiet sitting area.