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=== 102 Pen and Paper Adventure | Beta Age | Hunting an Unknown Hunter ===

====== SCENE 2d — BUYING A MORTICIAN’S CART ======

{{:102_pnp_schmitz_funeral_home_scenic2d_02.png?direct&400|}}

===== 1 | Scene Overview =====

  * **Location:** [[schmitz_funeral_home|Schmitz Funeral Home]], Public Services Ring, New Kourou
  * **Type:** Social · Negotiation · Acquisition · Conditional Exposure
  * **Era:** [[beta_age|Beta Age]]
  * **Tone:** Eerie · cynical · oppressive · pragmatic

**Atmosphere & Sensory Cues:** The acrid stench of a slaughterhouse and battlefield · polished ironwood furniture · the wet snap of heavy rubber gloves · steel container ceilings · narrow chapel-like windows overlooking the intersection · muted activity outside

**The Vehicle:** The **Mortician’s Cart** is an enclosed Hoo-drawn hearse built from dark wood and oxidized copper plates. After this introduction, use **Mortician’s Cart** as its standard name. It is one vehicle, not a cart and a separate hearse.

===== 2 | Read-Aloud Description =====

==== Initial Read-Aloud — Scene Opening ====

Schmitz Funeral Home is built from two repurposed cargo containers stacked atop one another, salvaged from the belly of the Last Frontier.

Polished wood covers the interior walls in an attempt to create an air of dignity, but the illusion is shattered by the smell. The acrid stench assaults your nostrils like a mixture of slaughterhouse, battlefield and failing refrigeration.

The flat echo of your footsteps bounces from the cold steel ceiling. There are no bells, no music and no immediate answer to your call.

Then a heavy velvet curtain at the back of the room slides aside.

Ernest Schmitz steps through. He is tall and painfully thin, wearing a bloodstained rubber apron and thick black gloves that glisten with moisture. His expression carries the distant calm of someone who has seen every way a human body can break.

Slowly, he removes the gloves. The rubber snaps against his skin with a wet, clinical sound.

 //"Pardon the bouquet,"// he says, his voice as dry as old wood. //"I’ve been waiting six months for a proper Quantum Fusion Battery, but the Syndicate thinks the living need the energy more than the dead need to stay cool. I have twenty-five penal laborers from a tunnel collapse waiting out back."//

{{ :hauh_scene_02d_buyingamorticianscar_revised.mp3 |}}

===== 3 | Scene Intent =====

| **Scene Type** | **Player Intents** | **DM Function / Story Link** |
| **Negotiation and Acquisition** | Inspect the Mortician’s Cart · assess Jop · secure enclosed transport · decide whether the price is justified | Provides a versatile transport option for passengers, equipment, injured companions, a prisoner or a recovered body. |
| **Conditional Exposure** | Preserve disguises · recognize suspicion · avoid or survive the Ticking Clock | Applies the established New Kourou exposure mechanic if PCs with a High Exposure status blow their cover. |
| **Preparation** | Acquire transport · understand the rear latch · obtain provisions for Jop | Establishes resources that may affect the journey to Morningstar, the approach to the compound, the extraction and the return to New Kourou. |

===== 4 | Key (N)PCs and Dynamic Cues =====

| **Name / Role** | **Motivation / Function** | **Dynamic Cues — How They React in Play** | **Wiki Link** |
| **Ernest Schmitz** | Mortician · owner of Schmitz Funeral Home | Wants 500 Kourou for the Mortician’s Cart and has no urgent need to reduce the price. He is cynical, difficult to impress and eager to return to his work. Money and practical arguments influence him more reliably than charm. | [[schmitz_funeral_home|Schmitz Funeral Home]] |
| **Guarding Trooper Patrol — conditional** | Identify wanted fugitives · investigate reports · make arrests | A nearby patrol responds when the Micro Clock expires. The Troopers dislike remaining inside the funeral home and avoid disturbing closed coffins unless they have a concrete reason to search them. | [[guarding_troopers|Guarding Troopers]] |
| **Jop** | Older draft Hoo · included with the Mortician’s Cart | Slow, gentle and dependable. Jop cooperates readily when treated well and supplied with Bilax Roots. | [[hoos|Hoos]] |

===== 5 | Triggers, Actions and Consequences =====

==== Resource States — Record Before Continuing ====

| **State** | **Possible Results** | **Application** |
| **Mortician’s Cart** | **Not Acquired** · **Acquired** | Record whether the PCs leave with the vehicle. |
| **Jop** | **With the Mortician’s Cart** · **Separated** | Jop is included in the purchase unless later events separate him from the vehicle. |
| **Rear-Door Key** | **Not Acquired** · **Acquired** · **Lost** | The copper key operates the rear loading doors. The temperamental latch must be lifted while the key is turned. |
| **Bilax Root Supply** | **None** · **Starter Supply** · **Depleted** | Ernest includes a starter sack sufficient to support Jop during the initial journey toward Morningstar. |

=== Phase 1a — The Ticking Clock (Wanted & Compromised) ===

//This phase applies only if the PCs have a High Exposure status AND blow their cover inside the funeral home. It also applies if Schmitz Funeral Home is the +1 Location visited after the Ticking Clock was triggered elsewhere on the streets of New Kourou.//

| **Trigger / Cue (Player Action)** | **Immediate Reaction** | **Clue / Consequence** |
| 🚨 **Ernest recognizes the PCs — The Micro Clock Starts** | Ernest pauses while inspecting the group. His eyes settle on a recognizable face from the bounty wire. He steps back toward his workshop and tightens his grip upon the rubber gloves. //"I just need to fetch the ledger,"// he says. A WIS (Perception) probe (DC 12) detects him reaching for a compact [[short_wave_communications_device|Shortwave Device]]. | __The Clock Starts:__ The PCs have exactly 1d4 rounds to prevent the report, secure Ernest’s cooperation, conceal themselves or flee before a Guarding Trooper patrol locks down the funeral home. |
| 💬 **The PCs attempt to prevent Ernest from completing the report** | Ernest keeps the Shortwave Device beyond their immediate reach and demands a reason not to alert the authorities. | A credible CHA (Persuasion) probe (DC 15) or an immediate bribe of at least 50 Kourou secures his silence and stops the Micro Clock. Threatening or attacking him may interrupt the report, but Ernest becomes hostile and may identify the PCs later. |
| ⚰️ **The PCs ask Ernest to conceal them** | Ernest glances toward the entrance, calculates the danger and names the price of his cooperation. | A bribe of at least 50 Kourou or a credible CHA (Persuasion) probe (DC 15) convinces Ernest not to reveal their location. This secures his cooperation but does not automatically hide the PCs. |
| 👁️ **The PCs hide inside the funeral home** | Empty coffins, the enclosed Mortician’s Cart and the rear preparation rooms provide possible hiding places. | Resolve concealment separately with a group DEX (Stealth) probe (DC 13). Hiding inside an empty coffin grants Advantage unless the Troopers have a specific reason to open it. If Ernest has not agreed to help and knows where the PCs are hiding, he reveals their location. |
| 🚪 **The PCs flee before the Micro Clock expires** | The PCs may escape through the rear yard, leave through the main entrance or use another plausible route. | A successful group DEX (Stealth) or CHA (Deception) probe (DC 13) allows them to leave without being identified by the approaching patrol. Failure begins a pursuit through New Kourou. |
| ⏳ **The Ticking Clock Expires — The Location Trap** | If the PCs linger, or if Schmitz Funeral Home is their +1 Location after triggering the Clock on the streets, time runs out. Heavy fists strike the front door while additional Troopers enter the rear yard. //"Guarding Troopers. Open the door and step away from the exits."// | The funeral home is locked down. The PCs must remain concealed, attempt a final deception, surrender or force their way out. |
| 💥 **Guarding Troopers attempt to arrest the PCs** | The Troopers enter with stun batons and restraints ready. They order everyone to keep their hands visible and move away from the exits. | __If the PCs submit:__ Arrest and detention at the local Guarding Troopers Station. __If the PCs resist or flee:__ A violent breakout or pursuit begins in the Public Services Ring. |

=== Phase 1b — Inspecting the Mortician’s Cart and Jop ===

| **Trigger / Cue** | **Immediate Reaction** | **Clue / Consequence** |
| **The PCs ask why Ernest is selling the Mortician’s Cart** | He points through a chapel-like window toward the oxidized copper vehicle outside. His brother has built a new funeral cart with a roof of salvaged starship glass. //"Everyone wants the glass now,"// Ernest says. //"It isn’t mourning anymore. It’s a parade. That old unit offers privacy, and privacy is out of fashion."// | The enclosed structure is well suited to concealing passengers, equipment or cargo from casual observation. |
| **The PCs inspect the Mortician’s Cart** | Dark wood encloses a frame plated with oxidized copper. Heavy rear loading doors seal the interior from view. | Characters or cargo inside receive visual concealment while the doors remain closed. This does not prevent a determined physical search. |
| **The PCs inspect the rear loading doors** | The copper key turns reluctantly, and the latch catches unless the door is lifted at the same time. | Record Ernest’s instruction: **Lift while turning the key.** Forgetting this under pressure may require a DEX or STR probe (DC 11) to open the doors quickly. |
| **The PCs inspect the animals in the yard** | A black-coated Hoo waits near two young, slender white Veyras. Ernest identifies the Hoo as Jop and explains that the Veyras belong to his new funeral cart. | Jop is included with the Mortician’s Cart. The Veyras are not part of the transaction. |
| **The PCs approach Jop calmly** | Jop sniffs their hands and equipment before settling again. | A WIS (Animal Handling) probe (DC 10) establishes that Jop is old, gentle and accustomed to pulling the vehicle. |
| **The PCs ask how to care for Jop** | Ernest recommends Bilax Roots and retrieves a starter sack from the stable. //"Keep him fed and he’ll drag you to the end of the universe and beyond."// | Record the **Starter Supply of Bilax Roots**. Depletion, loss or replacement may matter during later travel. |

=== Phase 2 — The Cold Transaction ===

| **Trigger / Cue** | **Immediate Reaction** | **Clue / Consequence** |
| **The PCs ask for the price** | Ernest states his terms without hesitation. //"Five hundred Kourou. I won’t negotiate. The Free State produces more dead bodies than it has morticians. I can afford to wait for someone who accepts a fair price."// | The price is fixed at **500 Kourou**, equivalent to five Oppenheimer notes. |
| **The PCs attempt to haggle** | Ernest listens without visible interest and repeats the price. | No probe lowers the purchase price. The PCs must pay 500 Kourou or choose another transport option. |
| **The PCs pay 500 Kourou** | Ernest takes the notes, places them inside his apron and slides a heavy copper key across the counter. | The PCs acquire the **Mortician’s Cart**, **Jop**, the **Rear-Door Key** and a **Starter Supply of Bilax Roots**. Record all four resources separately. |
| **The PCs refuse the price** | Ernest drops his gloves onto the paperwork like two dead hands. //"Safe travels, then."// | The PCs leave without the Mortician’s Cart and may seek transport at Mandala’s Mounts or the Courier Station. |
| **The PCs attempt to steal the Mortician’s Cart or its key** | Ernest attempts to protect himself while reporting the theft to the Guarding Troopers. | If the theft succeeds, record which resources the PCs obtained. Increase their exposure as appropriate and begin the **Micro Clock** if Ernest completes his report. |

==== Acquisition Record ====

If the PCs complete the purchase, record:

  * **Mortician’s Cart:** Acquired
  * **Jop:** With the Mortician’s Cart
  * **Rear-Door Key:** Acquired
  * **Bilax Root Supply:** Starter Supply
  * **Purchase Cost:** 500 Kourou
  * **Current Location:** Schmitz Funeral Home until the PCs depart

Carry these resources into Scene 3 and preserve their location whenever the PCs leave the vehicle behind.

===== 6 | DM Notes =====

  * **One Vehicle, One Name:** The Mortician’s Cart is the enclosed funeral vehicle described in this scene. Do not treat “cart” and “hearse” as separate resources.
  * **Use the Established Ticking Clock:** The Micro Clock follows the same rules as the other New Kourou scenes. Once PCs with a High Exposure status blow their cover, roll 1d4 rounds. The countdown represents the brief dramatic window before the Location Trap closes, not the literal travel time of a patrol starting from a distant station.
  * **Remember the +1 Location Rule:** If the Ticking Clock was already triggered on the streets, Schmitz Funeral Home may become the next Location Trap. In that case, the Guarding Troopers arrive when the PCs linger, even if Ernest does not independently recognize them.
  * **Separate Cooperation from Concealment:** Convincing or bribing Ernest prevents him from revealing the PCs’ location. The PCs must still hide successfully from the patrol.
  * **Ernest Values Practical Leverage:** Money and credible self-interest influence him more effectively than flattery. Threats may force immediate compliance but make him hostile and create future legal consequences.
  * **The Price Is Fixed:** Ernest knows that the vehicle is useful and that demand for his services is steady. Do not call for a haggling probe to reduce the 500-Kourou price.
  * **The Cart Provides Concealment, Not Immunity:** Closed doors hide passengers and cargo from casual observation, but determined Troopers, Hands or other searchers can still open and inspect it.
  * **Remember the Rear Latch:** “Lift while turning the key” can create a brief moment of tension when the loading doors must be opened quickly.
  * **Track Jop Separately:** Jop normally remains with the Mortician’s Cart, but later events may separate the animal from the vehicle.
  * **Track the Bilax Roots:** The starter supply supports the initial journey. Prolonged travel, loss of provisions or demanding terrain may deplete it.
  * **Preserve the Resources:** The Mortician’s Cart, Jop, the key and the Bilax Roots may affect the approach to the compound, the escape and the return to New Kourou. Record where each remains.

==== DM Tutorial: How to Approach the Scene ====

{{ :dmbriefing_scene2d_new2.mp3 |}}
===== Related Pages and Further Information =====

  * ↑↑ **Start:** [[hunting_an_unknown_hunter|Hunting An Unknown Hunter]]
  * ★ **Overview:** [[all_scenes_of_hunting_an_unknown_hunter|All Scenes of Hunting An Unknown Hunter]]
  * ☞ **Resolution:** [[hauh_case_resolution|Case Resolution and Discoverable Backstory]]
  * ← **Previous Scene:** [[hauh_2_travel_preparations|Scene 2 — Travel Preparations]]
  * → **Next Scene:** If the PCs finish their preparations, continue with [[hauh_traveling_to_morningstar|Scene 3 — Traveling to Morningstar]].

==== New Kourou Hub Overview (Travel Options) ====

| **Location** | **Type / Activity** | **Primary Opportunities** | **Tone / Difficulty** | **Leads To Scene** |
| **[[new_kourou_courier_station|New Kourou Courier Station]]** | Travel · Ticket Purchase | Buy caravan tickets · Check departures · Assess risk if wanted | Bureaucratic · Busy | → [[hauh_2a_courier_station|Scene 2a – Courier Station]] |
| **[[mandala_s_mounts|Mandala’s Mounts]]** | Travel · Mount Rental | Rent Veyras · Speak with Mandala · Handle “dead/lost Veyra” conversation | Loud · Mildly tense | → [[hauh_2b_mandalas_mounts|Scene 2b – Mandala’s Mounts]] |
| **[[new_kourou_food_market|New Kourou Food Market]]** | Supplies · Provisions | Buy trail food & water · Spot Sola Enu’s Tandora stall | Crowded · Friendly | → [[hauh_2c_food_market|Scene 2c – Food Market]] |
| **[[schmitz_funeral_home|Schmitz Funeral Home]]** | Vehicle Purchase | Inspect & buy mortician’s cart| Quiet · Slightly eerie · Low pressure | → [[hauh_2d_buying_mortician_cart|Scene 2d – Buying a Mortician’s Cart]] |