A Walk in the Park

Chapter 2 of the Tatters of the King campaign began with players returning to London after a brief visit to Weobley in Herefordshire, to interview Alexander Roby, and ultimately, fellow resident of the St. Agnes asylum, Lucius Harriwell.

Home sweet home
Plagued by snow and ice on the tracks, the investigators made slow progress on the return journey to London. It was early evening by the time they arrived at the station, leaving them to go their separate ways, picking up some of the pieces of their everyday lives and seeing to any wanting errands they may have.

Upon returning to his home, Leonid was flagged down by his neighbour, who informed him that a tall "taxi driver," had been looking for him. The man had wanted confirmation that the home was indeed owned by Dr. Slutski, but hadn't wanted to wait to see if or when he would return.

Meanwhile, Grace discovered a letter had been delivered in her absence. It was from Talbot Estus, the playwright of The Queen and the Stranger. He was still keen to lend her his copy of the King in Yellow, but did not wish to part with it through the postal service and requested that she attend him at his house for further discussion about the play and the Yellow Sign.

The next morning the investigators split into pairs, with Grace and Betty heading to the Scala theatre to investigate the play's apparent cancellation, while Leonid and Eloise attempted to find more about the Roby murders through interviews with the local police. The former were able to blag their way into the theatre thanks to a surprised and bewildered cleaner and were able to talk to Frank Noble, the theatre manager. He updated them on the play's cancellation and confirmed the address for Talbot Estus. He seemed most excited about Betty's promise of contacts within the industry for a future play.

They then travelled to Talbot's home, where they noticed a tall man just slipping out of sight around the corner. They were soon invited inside by Talbot himself. The house was impressively haphazard and messy. Talbot seemed to be far from well rested and almost surprised at their appearance. He confirmed details of his ongoing book research and his continued interest in the Yellow Sign and the King in Yellow. While fetching his copy of the book, Grace and Betty discovered some other copies of Talbot's personal works and pocketed one of them for later study.

Talbot ultimately did hand over his copy of the King in Yellow to Grace, but required a pledge that she would keep it safe and return it to him shortly. As Grace later began to study the volume, she found the Yellow Sign as compelling as ever, as was the play itself. The second act, in particular, seemed to have a lasting effect on her and she would spend many an evening following that day studying the tome.

Meanwhile, Eloise and Leonid were discovering that the police were not keen to reveal details of the Roby case to just anyone. However, with perseverance and bamboozling local constables with credentials, they were able to have a member of the Scotland Yard police force dig up the Roby case file and reveal details about the murders.

The bodies of Herbert and Georgina were found in the drawing room. Both bodies had sustained grievous wounds -- Herbert a single, large jagged attack in the upper body which appeared to have drained him of all blood, while Georgina had left and right-handed slashing attacks that seemed to have been caused by a large bladed weapon like an axe. Both attacks would have required a tremendous amount of force.

Alexander, who claimed responsibility for the deaths, was found weeping in his upstairs bedroom. House staff said that he had been there all evening. The front door of the property and Alexander's glass balcony had been smashed in from the outside, though both were unlocked.

The second doctor
Moving forward with their investigation, the two pairings came together after their respective tasks and organised a meeting with Dr. Trollope, the Roby family physician. Upon meeting at his establishment in Long Acre, near Covent Garden, the investigators spotted what appeared to be the tall man who had previously shown so much interest in Leonid's home. Deciding to ask the man some questions, Leonid and Betty hopped back in Grace's car and sped after him, while Grace and Eloise were invited in by Dr Trollope's housemaid, Mrs Hughes.

Shown through to a well-presented sitting room complete with lavish artwork, the pair were soon joined by Dr. Trollope, who looked tired and drawn, claiming to be overworked. After seeking assurance of privacy for the Roby family, he confirmed more details of the murders themselves. He was called to the home on the night of the death of Herbert and Georgina and reiterated that the deaths had been bloody and passionate, with large wounds to both persons.

Trollope claims that Alexander expressed guilt that the murders were his fault, though did not confess to being the murderer himself. His sister's death, in particular, seemed to affect him greatly. Despite this, Trollope claims he finds it hard to imagine Alexander having committed the murders himself, having known him to be a well presented young man for all of his life.

Despite these personal thoughts, however, he continued to believe that Alexander should remain at the asylum and that there was little hope for his recovery.

Although he appeared to be about to share more, the meeting was interrupted by a heavily wounded Leonid, supported by Betty, at the door. The pair had chased down the tall man, who had gotten into a scuffle with Leonid. Unable to wrestle the larger man to the ground, Leonid suffered a nasty kick to his head and could have been killed had Betty not interrupted the man as he pulled a large knife from his coat. The tall man threatened the pair to cease their ongoing investigations or he would kill them, before running off.

Dr. Trollope helped patch up Leonid, but seemed keen to end the meeting shortly afterwards, professing that he must return to his patients.

Upon returning home, Leonid received a call from Dr Highsmith at the St. Agnes asylum. He wanted to "get ahead of the papers," and inform him of another murder at the asylum. The death was in a similar manner to the previous one, with vast amounts of blood coating the walls and floor, though this time an orderly was targeted. He hoped that such an attack would not dissuade Dr Slutski and his fellow investigations from continuing their work, assuring him that Alexander nor Leonid appeared to have been responsible.

In search of staff
The investigators then decided that the best port of call would be to discuss what happened the night of the murders with the domestic staff of the Roby household at the time. At first, they attempted to access the Roby home itself through various schemes involving tricking the guards, standing on one another's shoulders to look over tall hedges, but no avail. Ultimately though, through a measure of bribery, they were able to learn the location of the Roby mansion cook, who now worked exclusively for Alexander's brother, Graham Roby.

Finding her on her way home from work, the group took her to a nearby pub and she was only too happy to gossip about the event. She stated that all staff were present in the parlour, eating during the attack. Although she didn't see the bodies herself, one staff member later told her that when the police carried out the bodies it was grisly.

She gave the investigators the working addresses of the other staff members who worked at the house at the time: George Lowell, the butler; Peter Dodd, the valet, and Louise West, the housemaid.

Later, the investigators interviewed the other staff members from the household, who confirmed several details of the night of the murders. That a strange, breathy whistling sound hand been heard before the attack took place, that the murders had been quite bloody, that Alexander Roby had been in his room all evening, and that doors and windows had been locked and shuttered before the commotion.

Upon waking the next morning, however, the investigators were shocked to read a newspaper article that informed them that Doctor Trollope had been murdered the previous evening.

The black whistle
Drawing inspiration from the newspaper report, the investigators visited the scene of Dr. Trollope's murder in St. James' Park. There, they met the young newspaper boy who had witnessed the attack. He described in greater detail how the Doctor had been approached by a tall man, who drew himself very close to the doctor. As the tall man swiftly exited the park, Dr. Trollope fell to the floor and bled to death while the boy called for help.

He showed the investigators the bloodstains that were still present on the park's pavement, but upon closer inspection he appeared to be hiding something. With further bribes, he was persuaded to part with a strange object. Made of a jet-black material that appeared to reflect no light at all, the investigators struggled to make sense of the object. It was shaped like the head of some sort of carnivorous creature, though even Grace and Eloise struggled to identify the material it was constructed from.

After visiting several experts in anthropology, geology, and evolution, they discovered that the device was some sort of whistle. It was organic, incredibly hard, but light as a feather. It was not made of a material from any kind of any known creature.

When blown, it emitted a breathy, screaming, whistle. Beyond the terrible noise, blowing it alone seemed to have little effect. The investigators attempted to blow it within the theatre where they had originally seen the King in Yellow play, but beyond Grace appearing to see some sort of apparition of whatever the whistle depicts, it had no effect. Grace would go on to see several strange mirages, or visions in the days that followed.

Another letter
Upon returning to Grace's expansive home to regroup, the investigators discovered Dr Trollope's housekeeper, Mrs. Enid Hughes, waiting for them. Distraught at the death of Dr. Trollope, she wanted to follow through with his wishes to deliver a letter he had written after his meeting with the investigators. It contained much more detail about his dealings with the Roby family and his thoughts on Alexander's wellbeing, opening up several new potential avenues of investigation.

A transcription of that letter can be read here.

Noting repeated instances of the name Bacon, the investigators visited his antique shop in Liverpool Road, Islington, but after repeated attempts to meet with him he rebuffed their entry and threatened to call the police.

Taking matters into their own hands, the investigators circled around to the alley that backed Bacon's abode. Noting a garden full of detritus, Eloise made a flying leap over the wall and landed expertly -- without noise -- within it. There was nothing of interest in the garden though and with a door that appeared nailed shut, there was no way to enter. When a curtain at one of the windows twitched, she made a swift escape and the investigators moved on when a policeman approached and inquired at what they were up to.

After a call to Dr. Highsmith to update him on the state of their investigation, the team visited the offices of Graham Roby, who showed no love for his brother and a keen interest in maintaining his confinement at St. Agnes. After choking on his moustache, he pushed them in the direction of Vincent Tuck, a private investigator he had hired some years prior to look into his brother and his dealings, and Alexander's once fiancé, Delia Harston.

The investigators visited a local library and after much searching, discovered an address for Tuck's offices, which were located in Wapping, by London's main docks. Travelling there, they discovered it was a rough area, with Tuck's offices hidden above a stationer.

Inside, Tuck's office was drab and dreary, smelling of cheap gin -- a bottle of which was spotted hidden behind a plant pot. There was paperwork everywhere, though how active any of the cases are was hard to fathom.

Tuck himself was a heavyset man, who breathed heavy with minor exertion and wore a stained, shiny suit. He informed the investigators that he had been hired by Graham Roby in November 1925 to follow Alexander for a period of three weeks. During that time Tuck noted the following:


 * Alexander met nightly with three men, listed below. They would always meet at Bacon's shop and home. Roby and Edwards would sometimes stay the night, but Quarrie never did.

When the investigators later jointed Tuck at his local pub and got him sufficiently loosened by booze, he admitted a hidden report of his still kept him up at night. It discussed a sighting he had of Bacon near a canal where he seemed to suck the life from a homeless man, leaving his corpse "as dry as dust."
 * Alexander once visited the reading room at the British Museum in Bloomsbury, exiting later with Edwards in his company.
 * Lawrence Bacon: Middle class, around 55 years of age, six feet tall, greying hair, bearded and heavily built. Runs an antique shop in Islington.
 * Malcolm Quarrie: Mid-30s, upper-middle class, 5'10. Black hair, clean shaven, slim built -- perhaps some sort of scientist. Worked at the Royal Society in Picaddilly in the West End and lived at Moreton Street in Westminster. Seemed respectable, but unmarried.
 * Edwards (no other name known). Around 40 years old. Upper middle class, 5'8", brown hair, neat beard and moustache. Average build, and unknown profession. Lived in shortterm lodgings on 50 Berriman Road in Islington, north from Bacon's residence. No wife or children, but had a car.

After a hefty advance, Tuck's services were retained to help the investigators keep a closer eye on Bacon.

Four friends
Following the meeting with Tuck, the investigators made every effort to track down Alexander's friends. Having been rebuffed by Bacon already however, they endeavoured to find the other two. Edwards' home appeared empty and a neighbour informed them that no one had lived there for the best part of a year.

Quarrie too had moved on, with his home's new resident suggesting that he had bought the house from Quarrie in 1926 and that the man had since moved to Europe. Attempting to find out more from the Royal Society where Quarrie once worked, the investigators were initially asked to leave by the secretarial staff. However, they returned later with clipboards in hand and faking a social study of their own, they managed to secure an interview with Rupert Adams, a colleague and friend of Quarrie's.

He confirmed that Quarrie had quit his post at the Royal Society in February 1926 and was travelling the continent. He also told them that Quarrie was very bright, had no wife or girlfriend, and had attented Pembroke University. He was also the author of a book on Anglo Saxon gods. After a call to the publisher at Oxford University Press, the investigators found the book was titled: The Old Gods: Religion and Myth in the Western Kingdoms of Anglo-Saxon Britain.

The final acquaintance of Alexander that the investigators were aware of, was his once-fiancé, Delia Hartson. After meeting her mother at her last known address, they travelled to her new home that she shares with her new husband. Grace opted to stay outside and enjoy the stars, with Leonid keeping a close eye on her mental state. Betty bluffed her way in, pretending to be old, forgotten friend of Delia's and discovered some intriguing information about Delia, Alexander, and his interests in the occult. Amidst this information was the suggestion that Delia's new husband, Peter, could be violent, but that he was out drinking at the time. Digging through her old things, Delia found Alexander's book, mentioned by Dr Trollope in his letter before his death: Der Wanderer Durch Den See. Betty was able to borrow it from her.
 * She and Alexander met during occult history lectures in March 1925. They were engaged later that year.
 * She admired his writing, especially his poetry.
 * She eventually broke off the relationship in September, not liking the company he kept, nor his increasingly erratic behaviour. They kept in touch until November, but ceased talking after that.
 * She attended one meeting of his friends and remembers men named Bacon, Quarrie, Edwards, and Coombs attending.
 * She claimed Coombs was dangerous and Edwards was the leader.
 * They discussed a planned meeting with great excitement, set to take place in the village of Clare Melford in Sussex.
 * Alexander mentioned, "nine teeth" that they had prepared, and that they were "beautiful."

With all other avenues of investigation exhausted, the foursome pledged to catch the next train to Clare Melford the following morning.

Tomes and states of mind
During the course of their investigations in recent days, Grace completed her study of Talbot Estus' copy of the King in Yellow. Although it granted her great insight into the play and Estus' interpretation of it, it drained her mind to such an extent, that she found herself wandering among disused market stalls in the middle of the night. Approached by a tall man who fitted the description of "Coombs," and the man who assaulted Leonid, she fled, though was shaken by the experience and continues to be fascinated by stellar objects.

Leonid has now begun his own study of Alexander's book, Der Wanderer Durch Den See, with aid of a German translator.