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disco-elysium-via-polls · 10 months ago

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🎵 Instrument of Surrender

It's not quite late enough for us to get the evening light bonus on the wall. Let's come back to that later.

ESPRIT DE CORPS - The sight of bullet holes stirs something in you, making you forget the lieutenant's surname.

Look closer first.

"Kim, look, bullet holes!"

[Discard thought.]

ESPRIT DE CORPS - The fading marks are too degraded to draw any forensic conclusions. Just chips in the sandstone.

VISUAL CALCULUS [Medium: Success] - They look pretty ancient...

"Kim, look, bullet holes!"

KIM KITSURAGI - "Where?" He looks around.

(Point to the chips in the wall.) "Someone has been shot! We're cops, we should solve it."

"Nothing, forget about it." [Finish thought.]

KIM KITSURAGI - "There?" He looks to the wall. "Those are *old*."

"Oh, you mean like from the Revolution?"

"What do you mean old?"

"Oh, okay then." [Finish thought.]

KIM KITSURAGI - "Yes, the one that happened half a century ago." He blinks. "Those bullets were fired during the Revolution and do not warrant an investigation by officers of civil law."

"Okay. What can you tell me about this Revolution?"

"Alright then." [Finish thought.]

KIM KITSURAGI - "Not much. I don't have a *fresh perspective* on it. Shall we go?"

Not sure why that didn't trigger before, but it would have given us +1 to the Visual Calculus check to reconstruct the execution scene.

Anyway, we actually didn't quite finish our conversation with Gaston and René before.

GASTON MARTIN - "It is such a pleasure to see you again, officer. How may I aid the Citizens Militia on this fine day?"

"You mentioned Jeanne-Marie Beaulieu. Who is that?"

GASTON MARTIN - "Oh, sweet Jeannie..." He gets a dreamy look in his eyes. "She was the finest woman in all of Revachol. Maybe the entire world."

RENÉ ARNOUX - "Do not *defile* her memory, Gaston." There's an almost imperceptibly small tremble in his voice. "Let her rest in peace."

AUTHORITY [Easy: Success] - His tone lacks its usual intensity, like he doesn't feel he has the right to speak on the matter.

"So you both know her?"

"What happened to her?"

"Sounds like this is between you two. I have other matters to address."

GASTON MARTIN - "We knew her, alright..." His friendly face lights up. "Lived on the same street our entire lives, just two houses apart. The three of us have been best friends since we were four."

"She was René's first girl, back when the prick was sixteen." He looks at the carabineer almost gently. "They were courting till he decided he'd rather die for some great *idéal* than just be hap---"

RENÉ ARNOUX - "AND THEN YOU STOLE HER FROM ME!" He jerks forward, but then grabs his chest and stops.

"Easy fellows, no need for this to get ugly."

Do not intervene.

"Sorry, but I *really* wanted to just ask some questions."

GASTON MARTIN - "Oh, officer..." Gaston is unfazed by the outburst. "It already got ugly nearly eighty years ago when the three of us were just learning to walk and talk."

RENÉ ARNOUX - "You stole her from me," René repeats, trying to steady his breathing and still clutching his chest.

GASTON MARTIN - "Well... technically *you* stole her from *me*, because we'd been pretty close ever since you two had that falling out over the ink you spilled over her pretty yellow dress..."

+5 XP

RENÉ ARNOUX - "We were just boys, then. This was different. *You*..." The tall veteran looks at you and nods.

"No point starting this all over again, for the thousandth and the first time. Especially when we have company." He turns to you: "Officer?"

2. "What happened to her?"

GASTON MARTIN - "She died of pneumonia two winters ago. It was a quiet passage. Peaceful." He smiles faintly.

"René and I were both by her bedside when she..." He pauses, searching for the right word.

RENÉ ARNOUX - "Died," he sharply fills the silence and adds: "No use sugar-coating it. Won't bring her back, will it now?"

GASTON MARTIN - "Departed," his partner finishes his sentence, then chuckles: "Until the very end she couldn't decide between us. The most indecisive woman I've ever met."

3. "Why do you think she was indecisive?"

GASTON MARTIN - "She could never make up her mind about anything. What to have for breakfast, favourite colour or which one of us to marry." The look in his eyes is happy and distant.

"She was always leaving one of us for the other, but never long enough to actually get married."

"Nothing wrong with weighing your options first."

"That's a bit odd."

GASTON MARTIN - "Heck," he says with a chuckle. "*Technically* we're both still engaged to her."

RENÉ ARNOUX - "You always confused her, couldn't let us be happy..." He says with heavy resentment. "Seduced her with your fancy words and *pastries*."

+5 XP

He suddenly remembers *you* are still there, falls silent, and turns away.

4. "Thanks for sharing." (Conclude.)

GASTON MARTIN - "Of course, officer," he says with a smile. "Memories are all we have left."

+5 XP

RENÉ ARNOUX - "Vigilance, officer!" He salutes you. "What can this old carabineer do for you?"

2. "I understand Jeanne-Marie meant a lot to you?"

RENÉ ARNOUX - "There's nothing for you to *understand* here," he snaps. "It is not *her* death you are investigating."

"Were the circumstances of her death in any sense...*unusual*?"

"Where was the photo of you two taken?"

"What happened with you, Gaston, and Jeanne-Marie?"

"Alright, let's back up to a less sensitive subject, okay?"

RENÉ ARNOUX - "Absolutely not." His voice is coarse. "She died of pneumonia in her bed at the age of 79. This is highly... usual."

2. "Where was the photo of you two taken?"

RENÉ ARNOUX - "Revachol Fair of '91 in the Faubourg district." His eyes turn to the sea. "A parade was held to honour Guillaume *Le Lion's* name-day. And the carabineers marched in the place of honour."

"You looked happy in the picture. Smiling."

"Okay, thanks."

RENÉ ARNOUX - "This was the happiest day of my life." This is said in such a matter-of-fact tone, it leaves no room for doubt.

3. "What happened with you, Gaston, and Jeanne-Marie?"

RENÉ ARNOUX - "I was 22 when I returned from King Guillaume's Ikeira Operation in the south and found my sweetheart in the arms of this wretch..."

ENCYCLOPEDIA [Medium: Success] - 'The Ikeira Operation' was a seven-year campaign during which Suzerain Guillaume's army forcefully united the people in the southeastern part of Le Petit Continent, collectively known as the Ikeira tribes, under the Revacholian banner.

RENÉ ARNOUX - He gives Gaston a hateful look. "I won her back, but while I was dealing with some... issues..."

GASTON MARTIN - "You were like a dark cloud sucking the joy out of every living thing around you, and you..." He quickly glances at you. "You... *hurt* her."

INLAND EMPIRE [Easy: Success] - Dark cloud? That sounds unpleasantly familiar...

RENÉ ARNOUX - "I... uh... I..." He looks down at his boots, lips moving, but the words are inaudible.

GASTON MARTIN - "Those days and memories are gone." He nods and looks René with something resembling compassion.

RENÉ ARNOUX - The old soldier says nothing, but when his glance quickly runs over Gaston's face, there's an odd look in his eyes.

+5 XP

EMPATHY [Formidable: Success] - Could it be... guilt?

COUPRIS KINEEMA - In the cabin you see a set of steering levers, a radio on a hook, a pull-out toolbox and the soft glow of the fuel pre-heater gauge.

4. Tap on the fuel pre-heater gauge.

COUPRIS KINEEMA - As you tap on the gauge, the indicator pin jerks as if startled. It's in the large orange sector, indicating the engine is warm. Next to the gauge is a red switch labelled HEAT.

KIM KITSURAGI - "Now-now. That's enough fun with the foldable headlights. I know they're mesmerising. They're also fragile. I'm not going to turn it on for you again."

Pick up the radio again.

ALICE - "This is Precinct 57," the operator greets you through the static. "How may I assist you?"

"Alice, please connect me to the 41st again."

"Please connect me to Sylvie again."

"Connect me to Jamrock Public Library."

"I need to report a dead body on the Martinaise boardwalk."

"I'm done with the radio for now." (End call.)

ALICE - "One moment..." You can hear her shuffling through some papers.

"Can you please describe the body -- age, sex, cause of death?"

"An unidentified middle-aged man. Height 170-175 cm, dark hair, medium build. Looks like he slipped, fell through a hole in the boardwalk and hit his head against the metal bench."

KIM KITSURAGI - "We suspect he might have been inebriated when he fell -- there were bottles all around him, and traces of vomit on his shirt."

ALICE - "Any signs of violence?"

"No, seems like it was an accident."

"Someone might have… pushed him?"

"There might be a *sequence killer* on the loose."

ALICE - "No field autopsy necessary..." she repeats.

PERCEPTION (HEARING) [Medium: Success] - You can hear her quickly typing in the background.

ALICE - "What about his belongings? Did you examine his clothes?"

"He was wearing boots, trousers and an old leather jacket with a bright blue lining. I found a library card from his pockets."

ALICE - "Any information on the library card?"

"It's from Central Jamrock Public Library. It belongs to someone named Billie Méjean."

ALICE - "Good, you have a lead."

"Do you and Lieutenant Kitsuragi want to take the case or should I assign it to someone else?"

"We're taking the case."

ALICE - "I have assigned the case to Lieutenant Kim Kitsuragi. Please follow up on this library lead to identify the man. We'll send someone to take the body to the morgue."

"That's all for now. Thank you for reporting in. Is there anything else I can do for you?"

3. "Connect me to Jamrock Public Library."

ALICE - "Hold on, officer."

"…"

"I've got Central Jamrock Public Library on the line and I've already introduced you to their librarian. Connecting the call in 2... 1..."

JAMROCK PUBLIC LIBRARY - "Yes, this is Central Jamrock Public Library here." A male librarian answers the call. "How can I help you, officer?"

EMPATHY [Easy: Success] - He sounds worried, yet ready to assist. This is how people get when the police call.

"I'm looking for any information that you can provide on Billie Méjean, a reader."

JAMROCK PUBLIC LIBRARY - "Billie, Billie *Méjean*, you said? Give me a moment, I'll have to check our database." He puts down the receiver.

"..."

SHIVERS [Medium: Success] - On Meroe drive in Central Jamrock -- in a darkened hall lit by orange desk lamps -- far away from the noise outside -- a middle-aged man taps commands into an old radiocomputer. A printout falls on the desk. Behind him, a lonely reader scours some dusty bookshelves, looking for a paperback...

JAMROCK PUBLIC LIBRARY - "Yes, hello, are you still there?" You can hear him fiddle with the printout. "I found Billie Méjean's home address, is that alright? No phone number unfortunately."

LOGIC [Medium: Success] - They're too poor to have a phone line.

"Yes, home address is fine."

"I'm not really that good with addresses."

JAMROCK PUBLIC LIBRARY - "Here we go, sir: Rue de Saint-Ghislaine 33B, apartment no 20. It's in Martinaise, I believe... Capeside Apartments, it says. That's all."

REACTION SPEED [Easy: Success] - That's where the smoker on the balcony lives, isn't it?

A couple doors down, I believe.

"Do you have any other information on Billie Méjean?"

"Thank you. That's all from me, I have no other questions." (End call with the library.)

JAMROCK PUBLIC LIBRARY - "It says here that they returned their last book just a few days ago, but I wasn't at work that day."

"Do you know someone who was?"

JAMROCK PUBLIC LIBRARY - "Marie?" He covers the phone with his hand and yells out into the room behind him: "Marie! Do you remember a reader named Billie Méjean? They returned a Thibault book the other day..." You hear someone answer from afar.

PERCEPTION (HEARING) [Challenging: Success] - "Maurice, what?!" a woman yells. Then: "Yes-yes, okay, if it was the police..." She starts explaining something.

JAMROCK PUBLIC LIBRARY - "Yes, it was my colleague Marie," the librarian is speaking into the phone again. "She said that it was Billie's *husband* who returned the book. He also asked for this new sci-fi release "Loos, Radio City '87", but we don't have it yet."

LOGIC [Medium: Success] - Good. You have a name now.

"So Billie Méjean is a woman, not a man? How did your colleague know that it was her husband?"

"Do you know the husband's name?"

"Can Marie describe to me what the husband looked like?"

"Thank you. That's all from me, I have no other questions." (End call with the library.)

JAMROCK PUBLIC LIBRARY - "Marie knows Billie, she's been working here longer than me. Sometimes her husband returns some books for her."

EMPATHY [Easy: Success] - And then goes for a little drink later, on the lookout...

2. "Do you know the husband's name?"

JAMROCK PUBLIC LIBRARY - "Sorry, no -- Marie only knows him by sight."

3. "Can Marie describe to me what the husband looked like?"

JAMROCK PUBLIC LIBRARY - "Marie..." A moment passes.

"She said it was an older man... And that she's pretty sure he had had a drink or two the last time she saw him."

"What was he wearing?"

JAMROCK PUBLIC LIBRARY - "Uh, one second..." The librarian turns away from the phone again and relays the question.

"Sorry, Marie wasn't really paying any attention to that."

4. "Thank you. That's all from me, I have no other questions." (End call with the library.)

JAMROCK PUBLIC LIBRARY - "Happy we could help. Good bye, officer." The librarian hangs up and the call gets redirected back to the station with a soft click...

+5 XP

Level up!

ALICE - "Anything else you need from me?"

3. "I'm done with the radio for now." (End call.)

ALICE - "Fifty-seventh, over and out." Her voice disappears into the void.

One more small task to attend to while we're still out and about.

BIRD'S NEST ROY - "Hello hello! Let me know if I can help you with anything."

"Hey, do you know how to fix this?" (Show him the bundle of magnetic tape.)

BIRD'S NEST ROY - He looks at the bronze-coloured bundle in your hand. "You mean re-spool it? Yeah, I do, but..."

"Great! Could you do it, please? This is important, I need to be able to play this tape for someone."

BIRD'S NEST ROY - He slowly finishes his thought: "...but I'm not some Mr. Fixit, I'm a pawnbroker. If you want to pawn the tape, sure. Although it looks pretty... worthless."

SUGGESTION [Trivial: Success] - Just explain why you need this so much. He's bound to understand.

"Wait, but you tinker with film tapes all the time. Isn't that the same?"

"Worthless? It's not worthless, Roy. This could be the next big thing for the local dance music scene."

"Hmh, maybe you can help me some other way, then."

BIRD'S NEST ROY - "No, it's different... those film tapes actually *mean* something to me, but this is just a worthless bundle of old tape."

"Worthless? It's not worthless, Roy. This could be the next big thing for the local dance music scene."

BIRD'S NEST ROY - "Huh?" He slowly taps his fingers on the counter. "What do you mean?"

"Do you know that old church down the coast?"

BIRD'S NEST ROY - "Yes. What about it?"

"I met some young ravers near the place. They want to turn the church into a nightclub and play some weird neo-disco beats there -- they call it *anodic dance music*. I promised to help them with that."

BIRD'S NEST ROY - "Is it any good? The music, I mean."

"No, that's the thing -- you can't believe how unbelievably thin the beat is. There's nothing to it, no bass! It just goes *bzoot-bzoot-bzoot*. But this tape could make it *hard core*.

"Not very. I need to funk it up."

BIRD'S NEST ROY - "Man, you're really invested in this." He looks at the bundle of tape in front of him. It shimmers under the shop's dazzling light show.

"Okay, I'll help you out. It's going to take a moment though, so just sit back and relax..."

You take some time to look around the store… The play of visuals all around the pawnshop is mesmerizing. Suddenly, Roy turns back to you with a reel of tape in his hand and coughs.

(Look at the clock.) "Wait, this took more than just 'a few moments'. That was at least fifteen minutes!"

"Well, thanks for the help." (Proceed; take the repaired tape.)

BIRD'S NEST ROY - "Yeah." He nods. "It was. Re-spooling isn't that difficult, although I had to mend the tape in a few places."

"Anyhow, it's yours now..." He slides the tape closer to you on the counter top.

2. "Well, thanks for the help." (Proceed; take the repaired tape.)

BIRD'S NEST ROY - "Yeah. My pleasure. I do what I can for true passion projects... Just try not to use this tape for negative photon emissions. Take responsibility, okay."

The bronze-coloured tape found in the branches of a hawthorn tree has been reconstructed into an usable reel of magnetic tape. It's pretty fragile and in an odd format which doesn't fit into any portable tape players. Nevertheless, Egg Head will be stoked.

#disco elysium #kim kitsuragi #harrier du bois #rene arnoux #gaston martin #alice demettrie #billie mejean

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