Rata Mall - Basement PHASE 2 - Locked

[ambic]

The Curse of Rata Mall - Basement

Room Map

Present:

Groza529

is Johannes Berger: Male, Mid-Late 40s Tall, Skinny, South African accent, Dark Hair - Dressed in a suit and tie. Carrying Briefcase.

Description

There are two generators here, one is running one is not. They are on the south wall, raised up off the ground on a platform. You have to climb the stairs to get to them.

Running around the South and West walls is a pipe with 3 valves. It's unclear if they are on or off, or even important. They all appear rusted. There are a number of other pipes around the walls
There is a wooden cupboard on the north wall, and next to that are more pipes, and a lever.

The ceiling in here is cracked and damaged. There even appears to be blood on both the roof and floor. Something happened in here.

There is a switchboard next to the steps.

For anything else (if anything else) you will need to search the room carefully.

Room Deadline

(expired on 2020-08-20 08:00:00).

[groza529]

As mentioned in chat, as long as I'm alone I'm going to post a lot of things at once to save time.

- Use a corner of the scrap of paper to test the blood on the floor, to determine whether it is wet. If it is, avoid touching it for all further instructions.
- Examine blood. Use my private investigator abilities to analyze the spatter. For example, does it appear to have dripped from the ceiling to the floor, or splattered up to the ceiling?
- Look underneath platform
- Carefully touch the pipes in several places, to determine if there are any temperature variations
- Open cupboard and examine what is inside
- Look for the controls to turn the generators on and off
- Inspect the lever. Look for any clues as to what it might control, as well as whether it is on or off.
- Examine switchboard

[ambic]

- Use a corner of the scrap of paper to test the blood on the floor, to determine whether it is wet. If it is, avoid touching it for all further instructions.

The blood is dried

- Examine blood. Use my private investigator abilities to analyze the spatter. For example, does it appear to have dripped from the ceiling to the floor, or splattered up to the ceiling?

It dripped from the ceiling

- Look underneath platform

There is nothing under the platform, apart maybe mouse droppings.

- Carefully touch the pipes in several places, to determine if there are any temperature variations

The pipe near the valves is about room-temperature - neither hot nor cold. They sound empty
The pipe near (and behind) the lever feels full of liquid. Its probably water or sewerage, and your best guess is that its a water pipe.

- Open cupboard and examine what is inside

There is:
A Mop
A Spanner
A Wrench
The spanner is small and pathetic. THe wrench is cast iron. It looks strong.

- Look for the controls to turn the generators on and off

There are control panels on both generators.

- Inspect the lever. Look for any clues as to what it might control, as well as whether it is on or off.

The lever is currently in an UP position. There are no clues to what it does, and it is unlabelled. It can only move to a DOWN position

- Examine switchboard

The switchboard has an odd series of buttons, that seem to be set to ON (o) or OFF (x)

[ambic]

I will be back in about 10 hours to process actions

[groza529]

O O X X O X O X
X O O X X O X O
O X O O X O X X
O X X O O X O X
X O X X O O X O
O X O X X O O X
X X O O X X O O
X O X O O X X O

[ambic]

The switchboard springs to life. You hear a noise from upstairs, like a garage door opening.

[groza529]

Can you post pictures showing what a "spanner" and "wrench" are? I think they would both be called wrenches in the US

[ambic]

They are both wrenches. One is just a lot smaller. But yes, i will, a bit later on

[groza529]

-Use the mop handle to prod the cracked part of the ceiling
-Turn on the generator that is off.
-Take spanner and wrench. Are either of these considered "large"?
-Can I tell if the "valve" pipe is connected to the "lever" pipe?
-Listen to the liquid in the "lever" pipe to (try to) determine whether it is flowing.
-Test all three valves to see whether they will turn in either direction.

[ambic]

The ceiling tile drops to the floor and smashes. An arm drops from the gap. The arm appears severed, and there is no sign of the body. THe arm is mummified - it's been there a while. There is a very small gap above the arm that fresh air seems to be coming from.

The spanner is what would be used to undo nuts and bolts. Its a fixed width.
The wrench is a LOT larger. It can be used for plumbing work, and is adjustable. It would make an excellent +1 weapon, though its too large to easily conceal.
The valves are NOT connected to the lever. They seem to have different purposes.
The water in the pipe is flowing.

All three valves will probably turn, but you wouldnt be able to do it alone, even with the wrench. THey are very rusted.

[ambic]

The off generator is a mystery of buttons and knobs. YOu try comparing the settings between the machines, but you can't make head nor tail of it. You are going to need help, or at least some instructions on how to turn this beast on.

You do notice a cable running between the two machines, that is only plugged into the ON generator.

[groza529]

- Throw the lever to the DOWN position. Listen for any change in the water.
- Use the wrench to remove the pipe with the valves.
- Examine the arm.

[groza529]

-Examine cable. Where does it appear to lead? Does it appear removeable?
-Search for other cables of a similar type which may be disconnected

[ambic]

The water starts running faster. Quite a bit faster. YOu've probably done something.... but you dont know what.

You remove the pipe with the valves. There is a distinct smell of gas as you do so.

The arm has a Ring on the hard with a Trident symbol on it, not totally dissimilar to the Maserati logo. It doesnt mean anything to you. The arm has a slight green tinge to it, but it does at least appear human.

The cable looks like it should be plugged into both generators, but is currently plugged into one. There are no other cables present. It looks pretty removable.

[ambic]

You can hear water gushing somewhere.

[ambic]

The pipes are shuddering. THe water seems to be almost flowing too fast.

[ambic]

A strobe light in the ceiling starts flashing.

[ambic]

And the smell of gas is getting stronger

[ambic]

The water suddenly stops flowing. Its not clear exactly what happened there. Was it something you caused?

[ambic]

But the smell of gas remains.

[groza529]

Crap, the gas could be a problem. Can't let it leak, but don't want someone else finding a way to weaponize it is there's an outlet somewhere. Time for some pre-emptive sabotage.

- Unscrew the head of the mop (if it's not a screw-type, break it) and stuff it tightly into the removed section of pipe. Replace the pipe to where it belongs and re-tighten.
- Hide the mop handle under the platform.
- Take the ring.
- If a suitable fitting is available, plug the cable into the second generator.

[groza529]

OK, was it actually a strobe light, or just a regular light that is malfunctioning?

Flip the lever to UP

[groza529]

Then

Put the wrench in my briefcase

[ambic]

Thats a good solution - you block the pipe with the mophead, and return the pipe. For a more permanent solution, you will probably need to work those valves.

That should suffice for now however.

You pocket the ring.
The cable is now plugged into the second generator. In doing so it causes a very brief dip int he power.

The Strobe Light turns off. The lever is now up.

You have the wrench.

[groza529]

OK, I'm not sure there's much more to be done here, just one last thing I want to take care of while I'm alone.

Eat scrap of paper