A folklorist in mysterious Innsmouth, Part 1

That was fun, getting dragged to my death by a fish monster. And in a couple of days will be the Lovecraft Film Festival in Portland. To pre-celebrate, let’s play The Tides of Innsmouth again.

I’m Kohaku, a folklorist. A few weeks ago a Dr. Addison put an ad in the paper asking for an assistant to investigate Innsmouth, an unfortunare town. It once had a bustling fish industry, and a respectable shipping harbor, too, but ever since that plague some 80 years ago the town has been almost abandoned. Addison is looking for a shipwreck and treasure – a common enough story known to practically every seaside town around these parts. It’s silly to think this one is any different, but shipwreck or not, it’s still a great opportunity to visit this mysterious, backward town and learn about its inhabitants.

I take the bus into town, and immediately lose 1 Sanity because the driver is weird looking. Ouch. I guess I don’t have a strong stomach. Speaking of stomach, the book says I’m hungry so I hit up the grocery store, which actually looks well-kept. Inside is just as nice as outside, and just as different as the rest of town – clean, lit, well-stocked. The young man behind the counter says hi, and I mention that I’m seeing a professor about a sunken ship legend. That changes the tone quickly – he tells me to get out of town quick, that visitors who stay after dark often go missing, especially if they nose around. That scares me a bit, +1 Clue and a second -1 Sanity. Oh boy. But he relents a little, and draws me a map of town and some sightseeing locations, and still reminds me to be out of town by dark. So I buy a couple of Snickers and a Monster energy drink, and leave for the hotel.

I ask the desk clerk about Addison’s room, then invite myself up. There’s no answer at the door and it’s a bit after 2. I go down to ask the clerk for the key, and rightfully the clerk declines to give some random stranger a guest’s key. But, to move the plot along, I insist and I pass the charm check. Easy peasey, one hotel keysey. I let myself in, and find that Addison is indeed gone, having left behind a diary, a newspaper, and a tide table.

Obviously, I go for the diary first. She was interested in some tunnels leading from the beach to the book store, at low tide. So I grab the tide table, and it says the low tide is at 4:36 this afternoon. I hear someone moving out in the hall, though, and I decide I’d best skip the newspaper and just get moving.

I’m at a hub, the town square, able to visit some shops, a the cannery, and the harbor.

I have about two hours until low tide, so I have some time to kill… Where next?