Casting Shadows

The entry this week for Serial Setting 1 for Ubiquity adds an additional location to the beautiful, yet deadly Windlet Islands. The Serial Settings series of posts is intended to provide usable setting material for busy GMs. Series 1 is for those looking to run Daring Tales of Adventure or Hollow Earth Expedition.

38) The disappearance of the Carol Ann and ‘The Rat’, Lysette Isle

The worst storms in recent memory took place in 1934. The destruction of property and the rearrangement of  terrain is still fresh in people’s minds, and discussed when a new storm starts busting up the neighborhood.

According to port records at several stops in French Polynesia and log entries of sightings by freighters and fishermen, a personal yacht registered out of San Francisco and bearing the recently married film stars Kent Dormer, and Mae Champlain, was headed in the general direction of the Windlet Chain when the storms were due, and was never seen again.

Years have passed and most fans and reporters have made the assumption that the newlyweds, known for their passionate kiss at the end of ‘Captain Raider versus the Demon Men,’ were overtaken by the storm and lost at sea.

This is not precisely true.

A sharp-eyed reporter from San Francisco, on a routine assignment in 1935 to interview John Ghast about job creation in the Bay Area, noticed a yacht he was certain was the missing Carol Ann in a promotional picture of the dock facilities of Greater Windlet Island. Saying nothing to Ghast, he pitched his editor and headed out for the islands on his own, to see if his hunch was more than just a hunch. After a series of harrowing adventures at sea, the reporter, one Mortimer Bush, finally made it to the island chain in early 1936. His direct approach and city manners alienated many of the residents and he was unable to uncover any leads. Shifting his attention to Lysette Isle, he filed a few reports on general and business interest topics, and then… disappeared. No one has heard from him since.

More than one contact and colleague has been wondering what has befallen him,

Usual Suspects: Mortimer ‘The Rat’ Bush

Sharp of face, tongue, and eye, Mortimer is the sort of person with whom most cannot wait to end a conversation. His long nose and receding hairline invite lots of unkind thoughts and comparisons to certain ill-regarded animals, and his blunt personality makes even the kindest of people consider saying those comparisons out loud.

Friends describe him as pushy, impatient, arrogant, and too clever for his own good. Enemies describe him without referring to his cleverness.

He was last seen wearing a brown suit and vest – even in this heat and humidity, and a grey hat that had seen much better days.

Rumours: Heard mostly among those who work in and around the docks

• He was last seen among the warehouses on Lysette Isle, chewing a pencil and talking to himself
• He had gotten into a fight with a sailor the night before on the docks
• The Administrator had refused to speak with him during his entire stay on the island
• He complained loud and often about the food, but never the heat
• He tried to butter up the Fence Guards and the dock workers with Scotch, and they miss his gifts
• He was very excited for the last few days on the island… his questions become more pointed and he took a lot of pictures of boats
• He bought a paint scraper the night before he disappeared
• He had a powerful crush on Mae Champlain

Truths:

Seek and thou shalt find!