The Houdini Hole
Michael
I'm going to follow up on our exploration of the area under the stage at the Stanley Hotel tomorrow, but just to remind us where we left off: Mitch had sensed with Detect (History B) what felt like a "pinhole" of History B energy under the stage where Houdini had set up a trap door for one of his escapes. When Mitch and Marshall went down there, Marshall (if I remember correctly) recalled Houdini's involvement in pre-SANDMAN action against History B, and Mitch began hearing a voice whispering in German.
And honestly, both of you can give me Observation rolls at a -1 to your skill when you get a chance.
Brant
>> SUCCESS by 4
Jeff
>> SUCCESS by 1
Michael
Marshall's Observation: In the dirt of this storage area under the performance stage, Marshall sees by flashlight illumination a sliver of paper sticking out. He crouches down to pick it up and emerges with this:
Mitch's Observation: He listens to the spectral voice whispering in German, and it soon becomes clear that the words are a poem, or the lyrics to a song sung, as they rhyme in German, and also seem to repeat. If Mitch wants to try to commit the words (as best he can) to memory, he can do so with an unmodified IQ roll, then a further IQ roll to recall them when he's got pen and paper handy/re-telling them to another party.
Jeff
>> FAILURE by 1
Michael
That damn German tongue.
Jeff
Can I get a couple of words or phrases?
Michael
Yeah, missing by 1 should give you a few unrelated snippets and words, absolutely! Like I said, we'll see exactly what's left in your memory once you get the chance to scribble it down. The stanzas repeat about 3 or 4 times and then fade into silence.
Brant
Marshall will show Mitch the prop list. “This a common thing for you? Finding secret forgotten magician chambers?”
Jeff
Mitch eyes the paper suspiciously. "Nah. I like his letterhead, though. Picture of himself. Very Hollywood."
"Did you hear singing in German, just now? Something-something-die-something-something?"
Brant
“I don’t ... think so? Die as in ‘no longer living’ or die as in, y’know, der die das?”
Michael
Mitch does remember a particular pair of lines, the shortest ones in the recitation: "Stock und Hut/Steht ihm gut." I would imagine both of you know "gut" means "good."
Jeff
"' ... Steht ihm gut.' No?" Mitch shrugs. "I heard somebody singing that, I thought. I dunno. I dunno what we're looking for. Cool to find the parts list, though." Mitch sips his drink.
Brant
Marshall nods. “Alright, well — back to the bar?” He sips his drink.