Arcane Madness Club

As much as Frank tried to recall anything his parents might have mentioned, there was nothing. There were no tales of strange lights bright enough to pierce through his eyes and affect his sanity. It was odd, truly peculiar, something he had never witnessed before. Lost in his thoughts, Charlie approached him once more. His sister cared for him more than she'd admit.



She hurried over to Emilia, partly to offer comfort, but also to see the unfolding situation. Emilia appeared confused, as the manager spoke to her.


Emilia's confusion and discomfort were becoming increasingly apparent. Perhaps it had something to do with the strange light presence, or was it related to what the farmer had mentioned earlier?


@Frank Flower

Frank was distantly aware of chiding sounds coming from his sister. It was a familiar sound and soothing in a strange way. Frank ignored her, as he was well practised at doing, and decided to risk taxing his brain by thinking hard. There was a risk of some sort of injury to his brain, but he was keen to somehow make sense of the emotionally awkward scene that was rapidly unfolding in front of him. Frank felt a strange popping sound somewhere deep within his skull and decided to try a simpler approach. He would bide his time for a moment and listen to the conversations that were going on in the diner. He couldn't help but overhear many tedious and pointless conversations earlier, so that shouldn't be too hard?

Frank rolls for Listen1d100

The atmosphere in the diner grew tense as all eyes turned toward Emilia. Everyone, except Mary, who had vanished, presumably off to fetch coffee or attend to other waitress duties. A dialogue began to unfold.




Charlie appeared just as invested in the conversation as Frank. However, amidst the strange exchange, Frank picked up on something else. There was someone in the kitchen, Mary, pacing back and forth with an air of unease. Her heels made a distinct click-clack noise as she moved around, clearly trying to soothe her nerves. Frank was intrigued by the sound and ventured closer to the kitchen. What could be troubling this young lady so profoundly? Fetching coffee certainly didn't seem to be her purpose in there.

Franks eager detective instincts kicked back in. Perhaps there were mysteries afoot with this young lady, but now wasn't the time to insert himself into the strange conversation with this 'Emilia'. Frank hitched up his trousers, and made some inquisitive harumphing noises as he navigated his corpulent bulk in the direction of the kitchen to interview the waitress. As he approached her, he suddenly felt shy and painfully aware of his unkempt appearance. He slowed his stride a little and tried to contort his face into something sympathetic and approachable. He tried to catch the eye of the waitress, so as not to startle her before he fully entered into his official 'reporter mode'.

Suddenly, the waitress recalled that Frank was indeed her customer, likely waiting for his order. She attempted to regain her composure, although it wasn't easy, given her startled state.

Frank saw the alarm on the waitresses face and sought to reassure her: "Madam, er Miss, please do not be alarmed! I merely saw that you were in some sort of distress and, um, thought I should inquire as to whether I could be of assistance. There are strange goings on, and you have been so kindly towards me on such a bleak day that I feel obliged to, um, assist if at all possible. Perhaps there are thoughts you have, or knowledge pertaining to these goings on and if you were to share them with me I should then be able to use my skills to get to the bottom of things. I should mention, and not in a boastful way, that I am a reporter, and more to the point I am a gentleman reporter. I am currently on a quest with my sister to find my lost parents and fate has placed this strange woman into our brief care and now we find ourselves at your door."

Frank paused for a moment, unsure of what point he was making. He took a deep breath. "Please allow me to assist you if it is within my power to do so. Perhaps you could start by shining the purifying light of truth onto current events?". Frank paused, to see whether he'd said the right thing.

Poor Mary found herself completely unprepared for this. In the midst of it all, she snapped, her breaths coming deep and ragged, her mind racing with fear of Frank. Could he really inform the authorities about her behaviour? But a more significant question loomed—was she truly responsible for any of this?
Mary's words held an overall air of honesty, but beneath them, there lingered a subtle hint that she might be concealing something. Whose fault could it have been?

@Frank Flower

Frank was at first startled, then annoyed to have his delicately worded inquiry so abruptly rebuffed. As the, clearly mad, womans chiding words washed over him, he considered how to proceed. Frank tried to remember what a detective might do from one of the radio plays he listened to. What clever mind tricks or acts of observation might they employ? Frank had no idea, so decided to try bullying her a little. Perhaps that was fair? Fight fire with fire?

"Madam, I do not appreciate your sudden lack of hospitality. It is a black mark against your profession and your sex. I insist that you pull yourself together. I assure that you I am a better ally than an enemy. I would like to give you this final opportunity to speak the truth of things. If you choose to turn towards darkness and hide your knowledge of these serious and clearly illegal goings on, I will have no choice but to use my extensive reporter connections to talk to the relevant authorities and ask them to apprehend a violent uprising of mad women. But as an ally, I have other resources I could draw upon to help protect you from whatever has made you so agitated"

Roll for intimidate

Frank succeeded after spending 1 point of luck

Poor Mary, she was not expecting that. In the midst of this outburst, she totally snapped. She started taking deep breaths, absolutely out of her mind and scared of Frank. Could he really report her? But the main question arised - was she responsible for this?

Mary's words were honest in the overall, yet, there was a small hint that she might be hiding something beneath them. Whose fault might it've been?

@Frank Flower