Edward jumps in and helps to uncover the object. "Careful, Commander," he says. "Careful. We don't want to get into too much of a hurry here. We should treat this as a crime scene, Scotland Yard, all that, even if it's just the three of us, so as not to lose a key piece of evidence in our hunt for, for..."
Edward trembles slightly as a wave of anxiety washes over him. His words trail off, and he resumes helping to remove the debris from around the object. What was I just saying? He knits his shaggy brows. Edward honestly cannot remember what he was just talking to the LCDR about.
Ever so carefully you extricate the thing from its hiding place, and bring it to the center of the room. It is light, and very obviously hollow.
Henry carries it to a lighted area and sets it down. "What is this? A cache of some sort? Let's open it." He begins looking for a latch or lock.
Your blood runs cold as you recognize the dreaded eagle and swastika symbol embossed on the lid.
"Nazis! Curse their eyes! " Henry works doubly hard to open the thing and thwart Hitler's plan!
Edward leans over, narrows his eyes. "It has been corrputed by Hitler and his thugs. The Hindis and Buddhists have been using this symbol all over the Far East since time immemorial. We have an ancient stone sculpture of one back at university. It boils my blood that those goons in Berlin have coopted such a sacred icon."
Edward tightens his fists until his knuckles are white and his hands are trembling.
Excitedly LCDR Readington-Smythe fumbles with the latch. It is an agonizing anti-climax when he pulls the lid back to reveal that the canister is empty.
Edward immediately covers his nose and mouth. Memories of poison gas attacks during the Great War haunt him.
LCDR Readington-Smythe is sure that the canister is some kind of container for the air-dropping of supplies. This is material proof of some kind of Nazi activity in the country-side around the lake.
Emrys whispers, "What an interesting contraption cousin. That's a small container for anything meaningful unless said Nazi is a field shrew..."
He looks curiously over the LCDR's shoulder as if hiding behind him to shield himself from an hypothetical imminent blast.
Calling for a Sense Trouble test.
Edward nods to his cousin. "London has all manner of contraptions for espionage these days. I imagine Berlin has the same. There are most likely spies afoot. We must be cautious."
:
As Carter looks around he thinks he sees a bobbing light across the dark moors.
Replying to his cousin, "While I do not think otherwise of your suggestion, I am completely and utterly in the dark with such matters, but were we to begin a discussion about hydrotherapy, I would be much more useful."
Emrys rambles on incoherently talking about the nuances of hydrotherapy, forgetting the fear that overcame him and caused him to hide behind the LCDR. His voice rises and lowers in excitement over the various points he covers.
Edward, trying to shut out his mentor's droning monologue, is unable to spot again the light he thought he saw moments ago.
Edward wheels about and puts his fingers to his lips, a shushing gesture. "Out there, mates. A light. Like swamp gas if it were a swamp, but I'm thinking more like a lurker with a latern or an electric torch, out there on the moors."
Edward points, his finger shaking with agitation.
Henry shakes himself from his thoughts and draws his sidearm. The Webly sits heavy in his hand as he moves toward the lights that Mister Carter pointed out.
All right a Difficulty 4 Stealth test for Mr. Carter. LCDR Readington-Smythe, and Dr. Hanmer; you'll need a Difficulty 6 Athletics test.
LCDR Readington-Smythe sprints across the heather, disappearing into the darkness.
Edward, with a boost of youthful energy, is able to follow the younger and more athletic officer across the heather, somehow "knowing" he cannot be detected.
So there are two men, marching across the moors. The first is carrying a MP-38 submachinegun. The second a lantern and a shot-gun.
Action order is a follows (as determined by combat ability pool rating).
--LCDR Readington-Smythe.
--Mr. Carter.
--Man with SMG.
--Man with shotgun.
--Dr. Hanmer.
So LCDR Readington-Smythe rushes them, and is about twenty feet from them when they see him dashing out of the gloom into the pallid light of their lantern.
Henry's mind races, as it always does when he's in the pilot's seat. He takes in the machine gun, the shotgun, and begins to whirl. 'What if I'm mistaken? Best not to aim to harm too quickly.'
He drops his shoulder and flies into the one with the SMG with a rugby tackle!
Edward Carter levels his pistol and takes aim at the ankle of the man with the lantern, hoping to disable him, knowing he cannot afford to hit an artery. He has done this before, he thinks he can do it again.
C'mon, old chap. Do it a'gin.
Edward squeezes the trigger.
LCDR Readington-Smythe: Make an Scuffling test.
Mr. Carter: Well, that's a hit. What kind of pistol is it? (Is the caliber greater than .38)?
Emrys follows behind his cousin, and puts his hand on his revolver. He has not intention to utilize it unless absolutely necessary but does place his hand on the grip ready to draw like an American West gunman.
I really hope I shan't need to draw but here's to being prepared old boy. Just like in the war... ready and willing should the need arise
If I may, I'll use my preparedness trait and use 1 point.
LCDR Readington-Smythe : All those years of playing Right Wing on the fields of your old school have paid off, as the two of go heavily to the ground! Roll 1d6 for damage.
Dr. Hanmer : So Preparedness means, like the Boy Scout proverb, you are always prepared. A successful roll means you get to name one piece of equipment that you 'luckily' remembered to bring along. With that roll I'll allow to have name one 'minor' hand-held item; but again, it'll only be a 'minor' item: a book of matches, a couple feet of twine, a hand mirror, etc.
Edward's weapon is a 0.455 Webley revolver.
So Mr. Carter, that's a heavy fire-arm: your damage is 1d6+1.
LCDR Readington-Smythe : So your opponent is trying to throw you off, no doubt so he can bring his 'schmeisser' to bear. .
Mr. Carter : The other man blasts you with his shot-gun .
LCDR Readington-Smythe: He cannily rolls you over, pinning you to the soggy ground. Its an Athletics test with the Difficulty equal to his roll to escape this position. If you want to simply scuffle (and do further damage) you may do so; but that will mean he will be able to 'free' the gun that currently pinned between your bodies.
Mr. Carter : He shoots, wildly, flinging gun-shot skyward. Which is unfortunate for him as its an older, breech-loader.
Dr. Hamner : You watch, stunned, this display of brutal violence.
- Is Carter able to return fire given that he just took a shotgun blast, albeit with low damage?
- Is the 1 point of damage he just took to be removed from his Hit Threshold?
- Can he use 2 points of Firearm to take dead aim to kill the man with the shotgun?
Edward gains his balance, plants his feet, channels his experience from the Marne, and squeezes the trigger of his Webley, aiming directly for his assailant's head.
Edward pulls his revolver back to see if he hit. His shoulders slump. He thinks it was a miss.
Henry tries to keep the gun pinned!
Mr. Carter: Yes, that was unfortunately a miss.
LCDR Readington-Smythe: Your opponent's weight and strength begins to tell, as he slowly wrests the gun back.
Dr. Hamner : Apparently the elderly gentleman is reeling in stupefied shock.
Emrys gathers his concentration and rushes over to a position behind the gentleman wrestling with the LCDR and aims to hit the butt of his pistol grip upon the man's skull.
Edward fires again at his own assailant, simply hoping for a hit, not necessarily a kill shot. He steadies his weapon, squeezes the big revolver's trigger.
C'mon, ol' boy, you can do it!
Dr. Hamner : Well you have two points in Weapons.
Mr. Carter : That's a hit.
As the LCDR and the other man roll about, Emrys turns his pistol about, holding the barrel in hand and wielding it like a hammer. Taking careful aim, he swings with intent to knock the man out.
Dr. Hamner : You rap the back of the skull of the oaf that has the LCDR pinned: 1d6-1 damage.
Man with SMG: Attempting to shoot LCDR Readington Smythe.
Man with shot-gun: Frantically reloading.
LCDR Readington-Smythe's assailant fires a round into the airman's gut; a wound that would immediately put most men out of the fight.
Edward will use his only point of scuffling skill to do a waist-high tackle of the man re-loading the shotgun. Edward is hoping that combined with his wound from the revolver, that the takedown will be in Edward's favor.
"Oooph." The Leftenant suddenly doesn't feel so good..
LCDR Readington-Smythe: Alright, your turn again. I'm going to ask that you give up two points from your Athletics pool just to stay conscious.
Mr. Carter: So you grapple your man, and push him back but he doesn't quite go down (you do another 1d6 damage).