James Chilcott |
Sanity Check 1d100 ⇒ 11 Boom! The crazy has begun.
James recoils in horror from the scene in the cellar, stumbling and tripping as he climbs back up the stairs, pistol held loosely and one hand covering his mouth. As he emerges into the sunlight his stomach follows the farmer's example and empties itself on to the dry cracked ground. He completely misses Daniel's urgent shout, too intent on the small patch of ground in front of his feet.
Dr. Victor Alden |
Victor heads back outside at the sound of Daniel's shout. Seeing where he is looking Victor holds his gun at his side and says to the man with the shotgun Put down the gun. There doesn't have to be anymore bloodshed.
Readying an action to shoot if threatens us with the shotgun.
Dm Zyren / Heart of Madness |
Instead of pointing the gun at you, the stranger suddenly begins to laugh hysterically and shouts
I've saved me family from ye demons, and no, ye won't get me soul, I know haow te prevent this, I embrace light instead of the death ye offer!
Then, with one swift movement, he takes the shotgun muzzle into his mouth and pulls the trigger...a fountain of blood and gore sprays from the back of his head and instantly the young man collapses.
Terrified the farmer next to Charlie covers his mouth with both hands and whispers
Holy God, wha' has 'appened here? That was Henri, the Arkin's eldest son!
Oh, I hope we're not too gritty for anyone.
Daniel Tauber |
I'm fine, though my character might not - aka what is the difficulty of the sanity check?
The soothing words are stuck in Daniels throat as he sees the man going down. His hand that just a moment ago rested on the farmers shoulder drops as if there was no strength left in his arm. He stares at the szene with his mouth open, unble to speak for the moment.
Dm Zyren / Heart of Madness |
The farmer, pale as the facade of his white painted farm, nods and trots away
I'll call them.
Cummings looks over to the cemetary, shakes his head and sweeps some beads of sweat from his forehead.
So he shot the whole family and then himself...what a freaky shit is that?
would you like to investigate anything before the police arrives?
Daniel Tauber |
Daniel is not quite in shock, but at this moment it wouldn't come to his mind do go skulking around the terrifying szenery on his own. Since Mr Cummins used to be a cop (and I belive is closer then Murphy), Daniel keeps close to him. He has always been curious, so he look at about everything he encounters where Mr Cummins goes, but he won't go digging in the blood and dirt ...yet.
Charlie Poolsworth |
The metagamer in me really wants to go get that guy's shotgun, but I don't think Charlie would resort to that quite yet :P
Charlie merely seats himself on a large rock near the cellar and inspects the grass at his feet, not saying anything unless spoken to. The shock of what they just witnessed only hinting at the horrors of what's in the cellar, he eyes the cellar door with intimidated fear, afraid to see with his own eyes the horrors of down below.
Murphy O. |
With the matter now being somewhat quietened down, Murphy continues his sweep to ensure there are no 'hidden surprises'.
Forewarned about the grusomeness of the crime scene, he braces himself up and goes in with camera and notepad... takind details and conducting a basic analysis of the crime scene.
"Holy smoke, what in Hell happened here?"
James Chilcott |
James jerks upright at the boom of the shotgun and gapes for a few moments at the bloody headless corpse before seeming to regain control of his features. Fishing a handkerchief from his pocket he carefully cleans the remains of his regurgitated breakfast from around his mouth and folds the soiled cloth before tucking it away again. The small act of self grooming seems to calm James and he glances around at his surroundings as if taking them all in for the first time. Finally, taking care to give the entrance to the storm cellar a wide berth he walks over to the cemetary to take
a closer look at corpse.
Arriving next to the body, James realises that his experience in the cellar had somewhat inured him to the bloody gore the shotgun had caused. He crouches down next to the corpse to try to see any physical reason for or sign of the dead boy's obvious mental instability, other than the fact that he had just methodically executed his entire family and then himself for no obvious reason.
Daniel Tauber |
Then, unless another reason then watching the full gory horror of this terrible tragedy presents itself, Daniel will not enter (he is neither an exCop, nor a Journalist, nor can he do anything for that poor woman after all).
He stands at the other side of the doors, though and will surely take a look at what his fellows are doing down there.
In case this calls for the same sanity check: 1d100 ⇒ 95 - phew, that should keep Daniel OK for now...
Murphy O. |
Fort 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5
Murphy is normally a hardened reporter and his experience as a beat cop has hardened him menatlly to shocking and gruesome scenes, however in the cramped confines of a basement, the stink and the rank odours summon his breakfast up from his belly...
He races upstairs and heaves out whats left of the morning repast, before covering his face with a cloth and stalwartly returning to work...
"Swell..."
Dm Zyren / Heart of Madness |
Before you reach the stairs to get up again, you suddenly notice that Victor has changed! You can now see it clearer, Lord Jesus has send you a vision: Victor is no human, he's a demon in disguise. But Jesus has also given you the power to fight him! In one of the shelves here in the cellar lies a silver dagger, you just have to take it and plunge it deep between his shoulders, than you will be saved!
@ Victor:
The woman is unconscious now and you think she won't survive the next two minutes...the strange smell is nearly overwhelming now.
James Chilcott |
James examines the corpses dirt covered hands for a few moments but concludes that they are just the result of life as a farmer. He stands and steps away from the body, only pausing to use the toe of his shoe to slide the shotgun away from the corpse before returning to the back of the house and the rest of the group.
"I had thought the young man might have consumed some form of hallucinogen that could have caused his horrific behaviour, but until he has been examined by a coroner there is no way to tell. Are Dr. Alden and Murphy still in the cellar?"
Dr. Victor Alden |
Murphy stop! I was with you! How could I do this? Victor keeps himself between Murphy and the woman on the ground. He has his hands out in front of him and is in a purely defensive posture trying to talk Murphy down. He has seen men crack at sights like these but usually it happens immediately not several minutes after the fact.
Charlie Poolsworth |
Realizing he is completely alone, Charlie sits a moment, cursing life, and then grabs the baseball bat and runs downstairs.
Sanity 1d100 ⇒ 99 cooool, almost max
Charlie gasps at the ghastly sight, but maintains his cool as he sees what is happening. "Whoa whoa whoa!" he yells, "Stay calm, everyone!"
Dm Zyren / Heart of Madness |
@ All who ran dwonstairs:
Fort Save DC 10
Cummings Fort.1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20
As Cummings enters the root cellar and sees the wide-eyed Murphy, he doesn't think twice and smshes his shoulder into the ex-cop's side.
In a flaying heap of arms and legs both come down and Murphy regains his senses momentarily.
You are also aware that the strange smell has caused your vision and that it comes from a very small gap right under the shelf you are now lying next to.
Daniel Tauber |
As soon as he sees Murphy is clear right now AND warns about the gas, Daniel helps him up and starts to shove all those down there near his reach to the exit.
He starts shouting "Gas! Gas! Move out! Out! Out!" hoping that the cellar is clear of people within moments. (He, of course heads for the exit, too.)
Daniel Tauber |
"Damn it, probably some poisonous fumes from moonshining!I think Mr Poolsworth cought one breath to much, too."
Daniel will wait for a moment and take a deep breath , once he is a few yards of the cellar. He will give Mr Poolsworth a moment to come to his senses, but if he keeps running, Daniel will start following him a good while before he is out of sight.
Dm Zyren / Heart of Madness |
As soon as you are outside, the vision you just had begins to fade and the warped surroundings start to become normal again...you momentarily feel better and realize what Harry's word about gas meant.
You all leave the cellar as fast as possible and outside, out of the strange smell, you all feel better very soon.
After a moment of orientation, you all suddenly hear the song of whippoorwills, and really - on the roof of the house sit about twenty of these birds lined up singing eerily.
Confused you still stare up to the birds as the farmer suddenly jogs around the farm's corner
Called the police, guess they'll be here in like thir'y minutes!
The birds take his arrival as the sign for departure and fly off.
Charlie Poolsworth |
"That was..." Charlie searches about for the word he's looking for as he sits down on a rock, suddenly exhausted from the day's mysterious events, "...odd."
"I was so convinced that you were all demons or something, and I was filled with this horrible feeling that I was in danger. Or that you were all evil. What sort of gas leak could that have been, I wonder?" he ponders.
James Chilcott |
James had been hovering at the entrance to the cellar, not quite able to put himself through the ordeal of seeing the bodies again so soon after the first time. He sags with relief as everyone tumbles out of the storm door unharmed but straightens up again almost immediately at Charlie's words.
"Some form of hallucinogen would be my hypothesis, a shame I have no equipment with which to take a sample. But if there is a hallucinogenic gas leaking into the cellar of the house it does readily explain the actions of the boy."
Dm Zyren / Heart of Madness |
Cummings nods and scratches his forehead
Jus' wanted to collect some bills, damn...does anyone know if this gas is also dangerous once it leaves the cellar? We should better stay away from the storm doors. Hey, I have an idea, I know someone from the Miskatonic University, someone who dabbles in supernatural stuff, you know. Prof. Armitage, I think I'll call him, kay?
James Chilcott |
Without the threat of imminent danger clouding his mind James begins to go into full on scientific curiosity mode, with his arms crossed and staring intently at not much at all he begins speaking, half to the group and half to himself.
"The gas does not appear to have penetrated the rest of the house, otherwise the rest of the family would have been just as crazed as their killer. As the gas has not risen through the floor boards of the house we can surmise that it is denser than air and should remain safely in the cellar. Its density should also make it simpler to take a sample.
Mr Cummings, when you contact Professor Armitage perhaps you could request that he brings a hand pump and a sealable container to sample the gas? I am by no means an expert in the field of analytical chemistry but with a properly outfitted lab I could make a stab at identifying the agent that caused the boy's madness."