Eustace & Hitomi and the Case of the Rambler's Inn, Chapter 9. Family Time.
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| RESIDENTS AT GARDEN PARK REPORT SEEING MEN IN BLACK From Maidenstead Monitor. July 16, 1985. "Chief of police Elmer Raylon says that citizens should stay aware of possible government surveillance." |
- A Couple of Quick Notes
- "Previously on..." and Campaign Summary
- CHAPTER 9 - Family Time
- A Delmont Takes Charge
- Elsewhere in Maidenstead
- Under the Watchful Eye of Child
- Cat and Mouse
- The Reverend Pastor Maurice Meyers and Daughter
- The Irregulars Once Again Are In Twane
- Updates to Progress Tracks and Threads This Session
- Download for Threads, Characters, and Features List (as of this chapter)
- Doug's Commentary
- Mechanical and Story Notes
- Credits
Previously, on Eustace & Hitomi and the Case of the Rambler's Inn
Eustace and Hitomi have finally conveyed their feelings for each other. Daphne Meyer and Raymond Clark have joined the group. The team each took their own time to figure out feelings (emotional and physical) and are rested and ready to bring things to a close. After trusting the Betamax to the Meyer family attorney, the team now realize that they will not be able to find Amy without learning more about the inside of the rambling Rambler's Inn. The plan to find Patrick Yost and bring him on board to help is back on.
What they don't know is that Amy Patel is free and working a plan of her own. One involving a shady character named Johnny Blue. What she doesn't know is that Johnny's real name is Jani Blum and he is an FBI detective working his own case about Maidenstead. One that will lead directly into the path of Eustace Delmont.
About Eustace & Hitomi and the Case of the Rambler's Inn
See the "..and the Case of the Rambler's Inn" campaign-arc page for more information.
It is 1996 and Eustace Delmont is a geek in his mid-20s who has moved back to the town of Maidenstead and now drifts as a slightly big fish (with curly hair and a beard) in a small pond. One day, while helping a minor electronics kerfuffle at town's main landmark—the weird and overlarge Rambler's Inn Hotel—with a long and storied past, Eustace met the girl of his dreams: Hitomi Meyer. Staying with her estranged father and step-sister, Hitomi is down and out and distressed as she gets caught up in a scheme to help launch a subscription VHS ghost hunting video series. Eustace and Hitomi team up, and fall in love, while trying to solve a constantly spiraling collection of mysteries.
Content Warning: Smoking, Drinking, Drugs, People Being Held Against Their Will, Dog Theft, Foul Language, Murder (?), Other Crimes, Violence, Sex, Pornography.
This post is in the standard Doug Alone post style. See Anatomy of a Post for more details. The Image Oracles described in the post (gamemaster phases and mechanic notes, especially) are from the Maidenstead Mysteries one-sheet. They can be seen on the Tricube Image Oracles page.
Attribution for the tools and materials used—including the splash art—can be found in the Credits below along with some details.
A Couple Quick Notes
As linked above, there is now a "..and the Case of the Rambler's Inn" campaign-arc page that has a long list of characters and short list of locations but is the primary place for me to store information about this specific arc before the standard campaign page gets very, very full.
Second, I have been using the recent Mythic app to play this arc since Chapter 4. Though I do recommend it, I am going back to my hand-rolled and own document approach starting here. I tend to have a lot of rotating threads and characters so it sometimes is easier for me to have my own approach. It also allows me to make a page for Features (places and people who might not be on the main list but might still show up) and Themes (concepts that repeat). The former will give me a quick "where might this person be" kind of thing while the latter gives me essentially a custom table with ideas that show up a lot so we tend to get only elements that have already been well established. Words like { hidden | family | self | recordings | video | ... }.
I plan to make a download available of my lists every few chapters.
Chapter 9. Family Time.
Sun dogs fire on the horizon
Meteor rain stars across the night
This moment may be brief
But it can be so bright
Reflected in another source of light
When the moment dies
The spark still flies
Reflected in another pair of eyes
Dreams are sometimes catching
Desire goes to my head
Love responds to your invitation
Love responds to imagination
Respond, vibrate, feed back, resonate
— Rush "Chain Lightning"
We know the rough plan — get plans for the Rambler, get into the Rambler and locate places where those plans are hiding something, find Amy Patel — and we know that Hitomi and Daphne are expected to go their dad's place to explain the whole thing about the wedding. This means they have a limited time. In some ways, this SCENE SETTING will be less about the GM Phase and just thinking about the kind of things the characters might need. This might take a couple of scenes to actually play out but this lays out a few hours in the characters' lives.
What are some rough themes to focus on this chapter from our new Themes List? → 1,2 Family + 1,6 Glitches + 2,3 Family. Family came up twice so this scene will definitely involve bringing in some family members. As well as glitches.
Is Patrick Yost the kind of person to work on a Saturday? (50/50) → 59 No. It'll be Monday before they can approach him unless they (a) break-in to steal the plans or (b) confront him at his home. I mean, this group might do such a thing but I think they are going to take another approach.
Just to clarify, though, whom does Morgan think would be the best person to approach Patrick right at this moment? [she might change her mind by Monday] { Eustace | Hitomi | Morgan | Daphne | Elly | Jenny | Raymond | (Roll Twice) } → Morgan. She knows him, she thinks it is her. During the scene we will figure out if this is a good idea or not. She's supposed to be at work on Monday so she'll need to call out sick.
Setting the Scene. A Delmont Takes Charge.
Saturday, June 22, 1996. 10:30am.
Hitomi Meyer's Apartment over Ralph's (off Main).
This leaves Daphne and Hitomi roughly 3.5 hours to prepare for the family meeting and get their stories straight. Eustace wants a disguise that stands out less. Maybe they can take the time to get that. We can work during the scene what a slightly more planned out disguise might be. Also, Eustace needs pants. Maybe time to bring on MILLY.
Chaos Factor: 4
Expected Scene: Eustace, Hitomi, and the Irregulars are gathered in her apartment waiting for a guest.
Actual Scene: 6, as expected.
Let's generate a little sister using all the sort of tools we tend to use! Universal NPC Emulator (UNE) → 27 Lazy 56 Magician + 13 Idealistic 49 Governor. Nice, ok, she is very capable at accomplishing things but tends to be pretty lazy about bringing them about. On the other hand, she has plenty of ideas of how things should go. Her motivation (at least for right now, it gets volatile at 15) is 72 Suggest 67 Pride. She is trying to get Eustace to get up and get out of the dang house. Which we kind of knew. Let's look for a couple more prompts. Using our Arc Theme Table (and being very generous since she is 15 → 5,9 Technology + 8,4 Weed. Hmmm. { for | against } → For. A couple of Image Oracles → 6,3 Strongbox + 2,6 Footprint. How much does she know about the stuff going on with Eustace? (Likely) → 67 No (meaning not much in this case, she probably has overheard a few things going on but not enough to make an opinion). Good enough for me!
Millificent "Milly" Delmont is a Brainy Student who is Good at Cybersecurity but Lazy. She shares Eustace's tendency towards height (5'10" at 15) but is more athletically built. She has curly hair. She reads 2600 magazine and researches a lot of cutting edge technology at the library. She is a stoner and tends to laziness, though. She will know Elly really well and Raymond pretty well. Overall she is kind of in different circles.
In a couple of scenes, we can have Eustace and Elly can work on fixing the disruptor and making it better. This is a (3d6+1 method): Standard Brainy Challenge requiring one effort from each. Pretty much exactly in their wheel house. I mean, it makes sense.
We'll figure out in the scene what Raymond and Jenny will be up to...
Immediately after this scene, we'll have our first JOHNNY BLUE scene. Those will play out a bit differently, though.
A Delmont Takes Charge
Saturday, June 22, 1996. 10:30am.
Hitomi Meyer's Apartment over Ralph's (off Main).
"I don't understand why you can't meet her!," shouts Hitomi from outside. The gang has gathered at Hitomi's apartment and in respect for Jenny's asthma the smokers have gathered on the balcony. Hitomi, Daphne, Elly, and Morgan are to keep an eye out for Milly Delmont, Eustace's little sister. Apparently "little" is a bit of a misnomer. Also, Eustace describes her as "the devil spawn" but Elly has assured Hitomi that he adores his sister. He's just a bit intimidated by her. She wants Eustace's bedroom so she can turn her room into her "hacker lair."
"Because," shouts Eustace back, "If she sees me wearing a skirt she will demand I take her dress shopping and it will take too long to catch her up! She takes a long time to shop!" [1]
"But why not have Morgan or Ray run you out there?"
"Because, wait, dammit...," Eustace steps outside still in Aunt Elvis's outfit and shuts the door behind himself, talking in a quieter voice, "Because I gently prodded if anyone was asking about me and she asked if...look, she said mean things...but even if the cops haven't been at the door, they might still be watching."
"Ray says they are not, though," offers Daphne helpfully.
"I know, but..."
"I mean," notes Elly, "If they were watching, won't they just follow her...," leans forward dramatically, "...here." Hitomi lets out an "ooooh." The women are in too good a mood for Eustace's tastes.
"It's because he wants Milly to meet Hitomi!," shouts Morgan, figuring it out first because of course she would. [2]
Eustace is forced to flee back inside from the embarassment. Hitomi joins in on the teasing but deep down she is turning fairly nervous herself. As the day warms up, she has changed out of her sweater and back into her standard t-shirt and jeans. She wishes she had something own. She starts fiddling with her hair. Elly catches this and shakes her head, "No, don't show weakness in front of this one."
It is half an hour later and most of the smokers have drifted back inside where Eustace has been coming up some rough plans. He wants an outfit that makes him feel less like he is sticking out. "I need to look like a handyman, but one with just enough seniority that people assume they are getting in my if they pay too much attention. Clipboard. Jacket. White shirt. Basically, what I am wearing right now but a cap to hide the hair. The beard is...deceased, alas." [3]
"Alas, poor Yorick, I knew him well!," intones Raymond who has watched the Mel Gibson version of Hamlet dozens of times and enjoys watching the local high school yearly Shakespearean production.
"Ray!," says Eustace, opening his arms wide in a dramatic pose.
"Euc!," returns Raymond with a similar arms wide pose.
Before the two men can do their best dialogue rendition, a knock on the door causes Eustace to jump and run into the bedroom.
Hitomi, strangely feeling very nervous now, gets up to open the door. She sees a teenager almost the same height as her and wider. Despite the heat she is wearing a thin hooded sweater. Her curly hair sticks out the edges of the hood, slightly obscuring her round glasses. She has a paper sack from IGA clutched in her arms. Hitomi gets a whiff of potsmoke off her jacket.
"Is my dumb brother, here?," asks Milly, with put upon angsty surliness.
"Milly, get your silly butt in here. Your brother is in the bedroom wearing a skirt that looks amazing on him and you have to see it. Also, this is Hitomi. This is her apartment. Her and your brother are going are apparently getting married," says Elly, deciding the best way to handle the younger Delmont is just to let her in and just throw caution to the wind. [4]
Hitomi doesn't have time to react before the surly teen turns into a ball of young glee and shoves the clothes into Hitomi's hands, stares Hitomi in the face, and then runs into the room and turns in circles until nearly everyone else points at the bedroom. She runs into the bedroom and the group can hear high pitched squeals and a very loud, "Euuuuuustace!" It also sounds like Milly might be chasing Eustace around the room.
"Like I said, no weakness," comments Elly, knowingly.
Elsewhere in Maidenstead
Gunther Strange is surprised to find a stranger in his office. The stranger is dressed in a well-fitted suit that is perfectly tinted to bring out the stark blue of his eyes. Whoever he is, he is amazingly relaxed like he owns the room.
"Who in the hell are you?"
The stranger pulls out an object from his pocket and sets it down on the soup-can covered desk. Gunther stares at it carefully and then looks up with wide-eyes.
"Umm, I can..."
"No, no, I am not here for you. Not yet, anyhow. I am looking for something else."
Gunther swallows. "What's..."
"A Betamax tape. My contact said you had it only I suspect it's no longer here in this hotel." [5]
"It went...missing."
"Around the same time a particular fat man wearing an ill fitted delivery uniform ran from some cops. Said particular fat man being a person knowing for unflenchingly getting in over his head trying to do things for folk?" [6]
"How'd did you..."
"I am very good at what I do. One of your maids said a lot with a little bit of flirting. We have a date tonight. I'll make sure she gets her money's worth. Alas, she was missing a piece of information that you know."
"What do you want me to..."
"Gunther Juniper Strange, who might just be the rightful heir of the Rambler Inn, all I want you to do is answer just a single question I'll be on my way. Where can I pretty please find Eustace Delmont?" [7]
Since Jani is rapidly closing in on Eustace's location (around a day faster than I expected, really, I was worried it would take too long), the Chaos Factor is going up.
Under the Watchful Eye of Child
June 22, 1996. 12:15pm.
Hitomi's Apartment.
Chaos Factor: 5
Expected Scene: The group tries to come up with a plan with only around a half hour to split up for the time being.
Actual Scene: 9 As Expected.
First big thing, does Milly go home (maybe at the end of the scene)? (50/50) → 74 No. Despite their fussing, they truly love one another and from her perspective (not knowing about the arrest) her brother just disappeared a couple days ago, showed up late at night and was gone before she was up. Then has been gone for over 24 hours. Plus, let's see: How much does Milly like Hitomi at this stage (given that she slightly wants to get Eustace gone)? (50/50) → 49 Yes. She likes her. Not 100% sure but at least slightly edges towards wanting to like her.
Under the Watchful Eye of Child
June 22, 1996. 12:15pm.
Hitomi's Apartment.
After an hour of interrogation in which the group did their best to let nothing slip of importance to Milly, which surprisingly seemed to work, Raymond ran over to The Bamboo Cornucopia to grab some noodles and various fried foods in sauce. [8]
Now Milly has settled in Elly's lap — like a large lapdog with braces — and Elly is playing with Milly's hair while Milly pets Libby. Jenny and Raymond went out together, somewhere, but promised to be back later tonight. Elly has yet to explain where they went but Elly likes catching up with Milly and wanted to stay.
As Hitomi comes in from outside, leaving Daphne and Morgan outside to talk about favorite men, Milly turns the ever-watching eye of a protective younger sister upon her.
"You smoke a lot."
"I do. Is that a problem?"
"I don't know. You are pretty."
"Thank you."
"I like your accent."
"Oh, thank you."
"Is my brother dating you because you sound like Sarah?"
"Sarah?," Hitomi asks as a very red faced Eustace jumps and asks Milly if she should be getting back home.
Milly ignores him entirely and looks down at Hitomi's stack of cassettes near the sofa. "You have good music, here."
"Thanks. Eu, who is Sarah?" [9]
"Me?," asks Milly? "She's the cute one from Doctor Who. Eustace said she was the love of his life."
Eustace sighs and sits back down. "I said Leela was the love of my life. I also didn't...why aren't you leaving, Milly?" [10]
"Eu, are you using me for my accent?," asks Hitomi, feigning hurt.
Eustace has no way out of a conversation so defaults to his normal helpfulness, "I love your accent. Tick tock, though. Hitomi and Daphne need to get going very soon. So...what would make you leave like right now?"
She continues to pretend to ignore him and pushes a few more tapes around.
"Hmm, I told you normal people don't listen to Rush, Eustace. Oh, I don't know, promise to make Raymond give me some pot and I'll go."
"If OFFICER CLARK ever gives you marijuana I will toss the Magic deck he let me borrow into a shredder. And you can't use my Godzilla toys to make your movies ever again."
"Didn't you say it has two Black Lotuses in it?"
Eustace gets up and sits down right beside Elly and pulls Milly over in this lap which is much harder than it would have been just two or three years ago. "I love you, Milly."
"I know."
"But for reasons I cannot say, I need you to go for right now. I'll come over tonight and you can show me how C++ is going."
"No." [11]
Eustace scratches at his beardless face and then hugs his sister so long she starts trying to get free and stands up and away from Big Brother's crushing embrace. "Ok, but three rules. (1) You can't tell mom and dad anything you overhear, (2) You actually listen to me, and (3) You stay behind me at all times."
"Ok."
"Jesus, really? Ok?"
"Yeah."
"Fine, I'll go and call the parents and say you are with me until bed time. Until. Bed. Time. And NO smoking anything. Or drinking anything. And you eat your vegetables."
"You said three rules!"
Eustace ignores this and heads outside to use Ralph's phone.
Cat and Mouse
Tiffany has her headphones in and is jamming out to Mariah Carey, barely keeping an eye on the switch board, when she notices the light change slightly over her shoulder. She spins around, all smiles, fully expecting that Jackson Horton (with his new moutache!) has planned some romantic gesture on a sleepy Saturday, and is now face to face with the most cat-like eyes she has ever seen in a man. A man that looks like he is right out of the X-Files and maybe not on the good-guy side. [12]
She gives an involuntary shout but he puts his fingers to his lips and winks.
"Um, sorry sir, if you are looking to file a report, Officer Horton should be back any minute and he can take your statement. You can wait on that side of the desk."
"I don't need a police officer. I need a person who actually talks to people and listens. I reckon you have way more information about where people might go."
"I can't really...," she starts to explain, sending out a prayer that Jackson return right now, and then he pulls something from his pocket. Opens it so she can see. She stops talking and changes tack. "You are FB..."
"Shhhh, let's not make this formal. I just need to know where to find a Mr. Eustace Eugene Delmont." [13]
After a few minutes talking with some specific clarifications and stipulations, the man gets up and leaves.
Since the game is likely to get fairly Eustace heavy fairly shortly, wanted to go ahead and figure out what everyone is doing besides Eustace and Elly. They are going to be in the workshop with Milly.
Setting the Scene: The Reverend Pastor Maurice Meyers and Daughter
Saturday, January 22, 1996. 2:45pm
Maurice Meyer's Residence in Mobile, Alabama
Chaos Factor: 6
Expected Scene: Hitomi talks to her father about things.
Actual Scene: 8 → As Expected.
The actual major determinant of the scene is how much Jeremiah James told Pastor Meyer. While the two men have worked together for decades, there is some degree of confidentiality. Daphne is also quite charming and already deflated it a good deal. Overall, would call it (Very Unlikely) for the question of Has Jeremiah James explained anything to Maurice Meyers? → 92 Exceptional No. James has been very mum. He didn't even mention there's a tape. Maurice is going entirely on the initial phone call.
Do the Meyers know that Daphne has broken up with Frank? (Likely) → 84 No. Somehow it has not filtered through the grapevine. We'll expand the lore and say that the Deacons and the Meyers are not necessarily close as families. We know that Frank's dad work's for Daphne's dad, but we also know there are factions within the church that show up eventually.
Did Morgan come with (possibly as driver) Daphne and Hitomi? I'll leave this one 50/50 since Morgan is in development → Yes. She won't be in the scene (I am trying to keep scenes to just a couple-three people at a time so everyone gets a shout even if it makes it seem like the rest are just sitting around being quiet). She's with Julia Meyer being pampered as Hitomi's step-mom goes out of her way to encourage Hitomi's friends to stick around.
The Reverend Pastor Maurice Meyers Daughter
Saturday, January 22, 1996. 2:45pm
Maurice Meyer's Residence in Mobile, Alabama
The three arrived a little before two and then Julia Angstrom, mauve pantsuit wearing and carrying a glass of white wine, had showed up and almost immediately pounced on Morgan and drug her off into the house to offer her food, drink, and merry of all sorts. Mostly involving showing off some family photos and fresh baked cookies. Daphne and Hitomi had no real choice but to tag along while waiting and Libby was left outside to run around and pester the other Meyer dogs, a couple of which are from the same litter. The sound of barks can still be heard all over the house. Libby will sleep well, tonight.
Pastor Meyer had been caught up in some church business and finally has gotten free to chat with Hitomi. He snagged her, and a cookie, from Julia and brought her into his study. Like his current wife — and Hitomi — he is tall and thin. 6'2. 160lbs. Balding, wearing his normal coffee-and-cream colored coat. He made small talk while eating the cookie and, upon finishing it, has grabbed a cigarette from a box on the desk and lit up. He offered one to Hitomi but in slightly uncharacteristic fashion, she refused.
"It's for the best. Dr. Shaw suggests I cut back at my age. Besides, Jansen Reedy thinks Alabama will eventually follow California and start banning smoking indoors. Can you imagine?"
"No, Daddy."
"What is up with you? Did I do something wrong?"
Hitomi shakes her head.
"You gonna tell me about that phone call? Julia's been having trouble sleeping in the heat and she was so nervous about it she was up to 3am last night. The man you are going to marry, Mochi?" He uses the nickname he and Tomoko gave her when she was very little. A semantic shift of Hitomi-chan to Mi-chan to Mochi. One of the only remnants, outside of her first name and general appearance, to her Japanese heritage. She can't even remember ever having eaten mochi.
"I panicked."
"About what?! Jeremiah is a good friend but a better attorney. He wouldn't say. Only told me it was actually all ok and then charged me $150. No, don't, I don't want to hear anything about the money. You are worth it and you being ok is worth it even more. I don't think you owe me an explanation, but I would like one."
"I have a very good friend who I thought was in trouble but it turns he was actually helping the police and I panicked."
"How good a friend?"
Despite all her feelings — and there have been a lot of feelings this week — Hitomi has no idea what language would suffice to explain them. "Good enough that...I just kind of want to be there with him right now but also good enough that it's nice knowing he's there when I'm not."
"Good enough to want to marry him?"
"I don't know. Maybe. It sounded nice at the time. It just sort of slipped out."
"How long have you known him?"
"A...a bit."
"A few months? ...less than? How long, Mochi?"
"A few days."
"A few days and you have such strong feelings for him that you had your sister place a panicked phone call? He must be something else."
Hitomi's neverending list of confusions about Eustace refuse to settle out so she can make sense. "I think he's just kind of...this guy, but I do really like him."
"More than like, I assume."
"I think so. I don't really have a lot of experience knowing what I feel."
"Hitomi, it was kind of the same way with your mother and I. Tomoko just made me feel so happy and so confused and so alive that it was what people might call love at first sight but also it was just...kind of scary, you know?"
"I think so... I went a bit where all I could think was that I was terribly mad at him for not being there and now I know he was kind of in the same boat but also it's almost so big that I hate it."
"Can you tell me anything about him?"
"He's tall. Comfy. Has great friends. Great listener. Very sweet to his little sister. Always tries to do the right thing even when the right thing is hard. Or dumb. He's good at dumb. He kind of washed out in his life but I think it's because he is deeply afraid of leaving people behind."
Maurice stubs out the cigarette and comes around to sit next to Hitomi. He pulls his daughter in so that her head is resting on her shoulder. "God is good at making love a lot of things, you know? Love of silly stuff like funny stories. Love of tasty stuff like food. Love of a neighbor. Love of self. Love of quiet moments. Love of a friend. Love of a daughter. Charitable love. Angry love. Love of just some guy."
He laughs a bit but there is a sadness in his voice, "Sometimes love is not enough. I loved your mother so much it was hard to breathe. But, at the end, I had to build a life and the stone wasn't there. She is a lot of things, your mother, but we were not able to make a house. Just a temporary little happy home."
In the smallest voice she has used in years, Hitomi asks half of the question she has never had the courage to ask. "Do you regret...it?" The other half she can't speak because it scares her too much.
"Regret my years with Tomoko? No, baby. Those years gave me you."
Silence — as much silence as you can have with barking dogs outside and laughing friends and family inside — takes care of the scene for a moment more.
"Just promise me one thing, ok? Well, two things."
"I'll try."
"One, you have a good time. You are young. Love is weird in that sometimes people meet and they know right away and sometimes it takes years and years. Don't worry about that. You'll know eventually. Just have a good time and live your life and don't try guessing God's plan before he tells you, you got it?"
"I got it."
"Two, on the other hand, take some time to find you. Not you and him you. Just you. You were caught up in your mom's thing so when you came out here I made a promise to myself that I wouldn't catch you up in my thing. Daphne snagged you instead. I was actually a little happy when you said you wanted to stay in a nice place nearby and do your own thing. Now there's this guy and a lot of confusion. I'm not saying you have to go to college or get a job or any of that. Just don't shut off that prospect."
He grabs her hand and pokes her gently in the thigh.
"At the end of the day, no matter who comes or goes, this guy or that girl, love of your life or just a friend with a glass of wine: this wonderful, amazing, beautiful, loving, smart woman remains."
Before we build the scene, what did Raymond and Jenny go off to do? Image Oracle → 2,5 Flashlight + 2,2 Pocketwatch. Meaning Table Actions → 40 Energize 82 Riches.
This is exactly the sort of roll that sometimes makes you go "hmm". My first thought was "supplies" but then I thought maybe something like "searching for time". Energize riches fits weirdly on that platform, though. I like going back to supplies but with the idea of "synchronize watches" and Maglights. Kind of how people who aren't used to heists might plan a heist. The riches are going to be Raymond needing Jenny to get money. How? Going back to our "...and the Rambler's Inn" concept table, we get 8,5 Weed. Jenny, who doesn't smoke, knows folks who would be willing to buy marijuana off Raymond in kind of a hurry. Let's get three basic details that we can tie in later if ever needed (we'll use Tricube Tales: Solo Rules' Urban People to get a very broad overview of occupation + one Image Oracle result for each):
- 6,3 Spy/Renegade + 4,6 Photo Camera → A rebelious photographer who takes protest photos and covers the "movement"
- 3,3 Engineer/Architect + 2,2 Pocket Watch → an architect who is very anal about the time
- 1,6 Chef/Cook/Baker + 6,4 Swipe Card → a chef at a fancy restaurant in Maidenstead
Jenny's extended circle includes several passionate artsy types with some pretty heavy quirks. They might not trust a cop but a a cop that Jenny recommends might be ok. Much like with Tammy, Jenny has a particular hold over a group of folk that don't fit in with the Nerds.
I'm getting that out of the way because I want the next scene to be pretty quick and more the aftermath of that scene so we can close out the chapter. More possible hooks for the future. Before we go, though, (3+1)d6 to figure out what they needed to do this task correctly: Standard Charming. { Jenny | Raymond | Both } → Raymond.
Setting the Scene: The Irregulars Once Again Are In Twane
Saturday, June 22, 8:17pm.
Hitomi's Apartment
Chaos Factor: 5
Expected Scene: Hitomi and co return home to find that Eustace, Elly, and Milly are gone.
Actual Scene: 8 → As Expected.
The Irregulars Once Again Are In Twane
Saturday, June 22, 8:17pm.
Hitomi's Apartment
Hitomi, Daphne, Morgan, and Libby enter the apartment. After the meeting with her dad, Hitomi and the others had a early supper cooked by Julia. They went out and bought Eustace a couple of "reasonable" outfits for him to use that might more fit his style. One was from a thrift store and has a padlock patch and the label "Jazzy Loc Smith". The other was from a clothing outlet and is a large plaid jacket with patches which, when paired with a black turtleneck, would put Eustace anywhere from a professor moonlighting as barista to a practicing occultist, and maybe both, depending on flair. 14]
Hitomi feels mostly relaxed and has been enjoying the company — and the talk with her dad has made her happy in a way she is afraid will lead to her crying if she dwells on it, just big ugly happy tears — but there are a couple things she is trying to sort while keeping up outward conversation about recent TV shows she has never seen. First, despite Morgan being a perfectly willing and enthusiastic participant the night before, her friend seems to have gone straight back to being a cheerful BFF rather than a potential girlfriend. Treating both Hitomi and her sister as a couple of gal pals out on a night about town. That actually fine with Hitomi who finds herself equally preferring to drift back towards BFF status, she just feels like it is something that maybe should be discussed. Is it a birthdays and holidays only kind of arrangement? Do you get each other gifts? [15]
Secondly, what her dad said about her and Eustace is exactly right. Hitomi feels the potential long term nature of the relationship map in front of her, a relationship worth taking time to learn. She also wants to maybe lock the front door with everyone but Eustace outside and spend a week going really fast before slowing down. Even then, how do you ask a man you've already been intimate with to maybe back up slightly so you can figure out what you want to do with your life without it sounding like you are telling him it's something wrong with him? Does Hallmark make cards that say, "Thanks for the sex. It was awesome. I would adore some more but let's try again in six months after going through a few dates and getting to actually know things about each other first? By the way, what's your favorite color since I kind of found out you had a sister just this morning and I realize there is a huge amount of stuff I don't know about you. Ok? Thanks. Bye. Hugs. Kisses. Mwah!"
Hitomi sets the clothes down on her table and looks around. The apartment is in the same condition as when she left. Coffee and food cups unmoved and unused since this early afternoon. "Eustace?," she calls back to the bedroom but entering it, finds the light out and no sign of any of the others. 16]
Morgan asks, "Maybe they are still down in the workshop?" Her and Daphne are on the couch and the two have hit it off so well that both seem a bit different than last night. Morgan is acting older and a lot more confident while Daphne is just letting herself be herself (something only Hitomi tends to get and not all the time).
Hitomi gives it some thought and decides it might be a good time to run some snacks down to the pair. She has no idea if Milly might still be with them. She waves at the other two and heads downstairs, trying to sort her confused thoughts into more Hallmark cards.
Daphne spots something and jumps up to run over to a small bookshelf where she sees her old Ghosthearts books on it. "Oh my god, I loved these growing up! Did you read them? Volume 22 is my favorite, that's where Skiff, the new student, goes missing when..."
She is interrupted by the door reopening and Jenny and Raymond entering. They are carrying bags from Wal-Mart and Dollar Bash.
"I am starving! What's for dinner?," asks Raymond as he sets the bags down next to the clothing.
Morgan wanders over and looks inside and there are flashlights, stopwatches, ski masks, gloves, and three packs of dollar-store walkie talkies. "You guys got supplies! NICE!" [17]
Raymond, whose stomach is quite loud when he has been smoking product with potential customers, insists on the food angle, "No one is up for eating? Eustace?"
"Hitomi went to get them. He's still down in the workshop."
"No, he's not," says Hitomi who has re-entered, "I think you guys need to see this."
Updates to Progress Tracks
In the updating of the threads list, I decided to finally shunt aside the dog show as a separate thing. A much more minor thread. I also trimmed up a lot of threads, shifted around a lot of characters, and so forth.
No progress this time around. Probably will be next time.
| The Mystery of the Rambler's Inn | |||||||||||||||||||
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| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5F | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10F | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15F | 16 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20E |
| P | P | P | P | F | F | P | P | F | F | ||||||||||
New Characters and Threads
+ Character: Maurice and Julia Meyer. I'm going to treat them as a pair for now but they are loving (step-)parents who might just help Hitomi and Daphne if the chance turns up.
"Eustace Kidnapped" is not exactly a thread. It'll all make sense in time.
+ Theme: Friends.
+ Theme: Time. This one is both in the sense that time is running out and giving yourself time.
+ Feature Person(s): The Bohemians (Jenny's Friends). There is no good reason to stress on this any more but could be fun backdrop just in case.
+ Feature Artifact: Ghosthearts. I already references this fictional once before, why not.
+ Feature Place: The Bamboo Cornucopia.
Here is the full list of Threads, Characters, and Features for Eustace & Hitomi and the Case of the Rambler's Inn as of the end of Chapter 9.
DOUG'S COMMENTARY
January 9, 2025
There was going to be a note where I had already made the graphic for it but it got cut as more of the FUTURE SIGHT problem. It was going to be a reference to a scene originally included where Jani Blum catches up to Eustace (and Elly, and Milly) and that scene's intent was to try and work out the Elly + Eustace problem a little but things are prone to be complicated and I stand the risk of having to work towards a one-off gag for 1+ chapters so ehhhh.
I liked using the little "micro-clocks" in this one. I might use that more as things get more tense and wind down since the next week in the game world should be where multiple things start playing out however they are going to play.
I used some tricks to character-center this one. First, when at all possible, I baked scenes down to just two or three characters with usually a focus of two characters at a time. Then, nearly every scene ends around half- to two-thirds-the-way through their potential length. Eustace gets up and walks out. The scene with the dad cuts off right after the moment of praise/advice. That kind of thing. The benefit of this last bit is obvious (saves me time to move on to other scenes) but it was also a way to strengthen the scene by bailing just as soon as the most consequential element played out. Clearly other things happen but it's a Saturday with a bunch of friends just chilling, mostly.
Both Milly and Maurice were envisioned at start to be a bit more antagonistic, with Maurice particularly being a potential roadblock as he shuts down Hitomi's dreams. As soon as I started writing them, though, it just didn't fit and I quickly shifted it to a happier family dynamic for both families. Part of this is the music selection (see below) but also we have no real reason to introduce roadblock characters at this point. We are very much in the back half with probably only four or five chapters left.
Besides, as soon as I started both I just let my love light shine, basically. Milly might be a bit surly and put-upon, but I feel like Eustace would be the kind of older brother that would have a contentious but supportive brat of a younger sister. Likewise, Maurice not only was the kind of young rebel to move off to England and marry Tomoko but the sort of dad who traveled regularly to meet his estranged daughter and welcomed her to visit. He adopted Daphne. It is easy to paint the 90s preacher as a stern and unloving kind of figure but it did not fit right. I thought about talking to my daughter at 20 if something happened between my partner and myself and I knew I had missed thirteen years of her growing up besides in glimpses. I would want my words to shine, not hurt.
That is likely going to be a pivotal scene for the rest of the series. We have seen Eustace and Hitomi moving steadily together but that kind of "loser meets loser and bangs" relationship has plenty of inherent problems so now we will see, in different ways, those two take a step back and try to figure out how to make it work for the long haul.
Hitomi's nickname of "Mochi" being remarked as semantic shift is exactly how I got it. I was trying to think of a slight hook to her and her mom's Japanese heritage and went "Tomi-chan" before "Mi-chan" before "Mochi."
The bit about Hitomi not knowing how to navigate the post-Morgan situation is because I don't really know how to do it. I was thinking the answer was probably no and if it was yes I was going to work towards a no. Birthdays and holidays we'll talk about.
I had to look this up, but the Alabama Clean Indoor Air Act was in 2003. Originally I wrote in stuff about the 1996 Alabama government but cut it. Likewise, I did brief research on the cost of lawyers but just said a number that felt good enough.
MUSICAL SHOUT OUT: The album for this chapter was Rush's 1989 Presto. The music up to this point, the few times I have used it, has been essentially diegetic music from Hitomi's extensive alt- and art-rock cassettes she carries around and listens to on her Sony Walkman. Rush is not really in her wheelhouse so instead we get some music that Eustace might listen to instead (as lampshaded by Milly). It was almost a mistake. Playing that album after a couple years caused me to stop a few times and just rock out. On the more positive side, the sheer infectious energy of it reframed both the Milly and the Maurice scenes. It was also hard to pick just one set of lyrics and not paste multiple songs but the "Chain Lightning" ones felt like the most appropriate to the whole thing.
MECHANICAL AND STORY NOTES
- Did the cops ever go to Eustace's house? (50/50) → 56 No. As was sort of discussed last time, the investigation was mostly to keep Eustace from the Rambler and not actually based in any kind of crime.
- This would probably be either Alert or Charming. Standard difficulty. Morgan gets one success.
- Image Oracles → 6,6 Tinker + 1,6 Diamond Ring.
- Standard Charming to see if Elly can get Milly to drop the act. Elly gets two successes so she exactly hits the right note.
- Does Jani have a good idea where the tape is and maybe who has it? (50/50) → 02 Exceptional Yes. He is sooooo good. This means he will have a clock of just 6 segments to find Eustace. Standard Crafty (he plays by Arcane Agent Traits). One success. ☑☐☐☐☐☐.
- Did Eustace remember to cose the tunnel? (50/50) → 34 Yes. Shockingly yes.
- Does Gunther Strange give Jani precise instructions of places Eustace might be? (Very Likely) → 14 Yes. One point off for a second Exceptional Yes. We'll give Jani another roll based on this, down to Easy. 2 more successes. He figuring out fast. ☑☑☑☐☐☐.
- Milly has a Standard Alert to pick up on things. She gets no successes. For a food type, Chinese seems 90s enough for me and we can bring back Random Realities to pull a few symbols: 3,4 → the Bamboo sticks out to me + 2,5 → It's the cornucopia that jumps out. The Bamboo Cornupia seems overblown but why not.
- Does Hitomi know enough about Doctor Who to get the reference? (Very Unlikely) It is the 90s and she already established she didn't watch much TV → 41 No.
- Did Eustace even notice Hitomi had the remnants of a British accent? (50/50) boy has his mind on things → 62 No. He's a dumbass.
- Is she listen to Eustace this time? up to (50/50) → 56 No.
- Raylon seems unlikely and too strong, we need someone younger and more able to manipulate: { Jackson | Tiffany } → Tiffany.
- Does Tiffany know about Ralph's back room and the apartment? (Very Likely) → 08 Exceptional Yes. Seriously, every roll to find Eustace has been astounding. In this case, it sounds like Tiffany Willikers is going to be related to Ralph. We'll say his niece. Give Jani two rolls at this point and he gets four successes. ☑☑☑☑☑☑+1
- Image Oracles → 4,4 Padlock + 1,2 Archives/Research + 1,4 Coffee Cup + 4,5 Pentacle. You're a wizard, Eustace! No, I got it...
- I had an idea in my head but it might be best to test it. Does Morgan expect the sexual aspects of her relationship with Hitomi or Eustace to continue? (50/50) → 86 No.
- Are Jenny and Raymond already back? (50/50) → 83 No.
- For Standard Charming, Raymond only gets one success. He has ok equipment.
- This scene was meant to be after the scene that will not start off Chapter 10. FUTURE SIGHT RETURNS!
CREDITS
Eustace Delmont and The Case of the Rambler's Inn is played primarily using Richard Woolcock (Zadmar Games)'s Maidenstead Mysteries Tricubes one-sheet and Tana Pigeon's Mythic Gamemaster Emulator is used to handle a lot of the scene management and basic oracle checks. Various tables Tricube Tales Solo (also by Woolcock) and various articles from Mythic Magazine also show up.
Other sources used include:
- Cesar Capacle's Random Realities
- Madeline Hale's Table Fables: Modern
- Matt & Erin Davis's Book of Random Tables: Modern, Book of Random Tables: Eldritch, and Book of Random Tables: 1980s - 1990s
- Zach Best's Universal NPC Emulator.
ART CREDIT AND EXPLANATION
The opening photo is Carol Highsmith's large collection of photographs in the Library of Congress archives. This one is described as "Almost literally within the shadow the the glittering Strip, the Tropicana Motor Park, Las Vegas, Nevada, was a vestige of Vegas's hardscrabble days". Here it is transposed as the Garden Park trailer park. As usual, the original (which is released into the public domain) was processed through desaturation, tweaks to the overall layout and contrast, and finally processed through GIMP's "newspaper" distort after first downsizing and then re-upsizing it to help make it feel like a old copy of a newspaper photo that has been itself copied and then rescanned into digital.
Carol Highsmith's excellent photography was used before in this campaign. Though in that case it was showing Gulf Shores for a post that took place in Gulf Shores.
The note was made using Canva with the Beth Ellen font. I had orginally thought about trying to draw it in the same "red chalk" method using GIMP as the Rambler drawing from last chapter but there was no way I could make another handwriting without spending a LONG time at it. I've made a lot of Call of Cthulhu props using a handful of handwriting fonts and I am fine with this one.
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