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Indeed, I apologize to everyone. I was really excited about this to start, but last week I was on vacation and this week I've found that I'm really struggling to get into it with the recent changes. Thank you all for giving it a shot, and I've been thoroughly impressed with the effort an intention those of you that remain have put into it. Again, I'm not sure what I can do other than apologize sincerely for my role in letting this drop.
In fact, here's the most significant decision point I currently see: my guess is that you're either after Father Lazarus himself, or good information regarding what's happening here. If you want a good chance to really check everything out, Father Lazarus is getting away. But if you want to capture him, he's going to destroy and tamper with the situation first to try to keep you all in the dark. There may be other more significant priorities, but those are the two that seem most clear to me.
Certainly, Amaziah! As for now, I'm pretty sold on conceding. This is something that PCs can do (and I encourage you to make use of it! It's counter-intuitive to how most games work, but is really powerful in Fate games). A concession is something that anyone may offer in the midst of a conflict. To concede, you remove yourself from the conflict and your opponent achieves what he/she/they are after. Beyond that, however, you get to dictate some of the remaining terms. For example: You could concede in a conflict, but dictate that rather than being killed you are left for dead, or perhaps captured. You could also concede, letting the opponent capture whoever you were trying to protect, but declare that they left something significant behind or you were able to gather important information out of it, etc. The degree of compromise in a concession depends on how far the conflict has progressed by that point. If you concede early in a conflict, little has already been decided so you have lots of leeway in being able to claim that you escape, or stowaway, or capture something first, etc. If you wait until you are nearly incapacitated, you become much more limited on what you can still declare. For example: You end up in some massive barroom brawl and almost immediately decide that this isn't really a very valuable "victory" for you. You concede and state that maybe you get pushed around a bit but leave quickly. You'll lose a little face for what looks like fleeing, but that's it. -OR- You could play a lot of it out, but by the time you're really roughed up and pinned on the ground with a gun pointing at you, you finally decide to concede... this time you can really only state that you get out with your life, and maybe the clothes on your back, but don't expect to hang onto your cash, weapons, or anything else... and you're sure as hell going to be sore! Most importantly, conceding gets you free Fate Points. It's a mechanical way of representing the common story arch of taking a beating early to kick butt later. You get 1 free Fate Point when you concede, as well as an additional free Fate Point for each consequence you received during that conflict. So if you got really beat up before raising the flag, you get more points out of it. --------------------------------------- This really is an incredibly valuable tool, especially since the way this game is set up gives me a fairly constant flow of Fate Points to use against you. This means that while you also have the means to use your own points to make sure that you're awesome, it's not feasible to do so constantly. I believe the idiom that gets thrown around is, "Your characters can do anything, but not everything." So it's a valuable skill being able to recognize what stakes are worth burning Fate Points on and which ones are worth letting go early (so you can gain Fate Points to spend on what really grabs you). ---------------------------------------- In the current situation, I am offering to concede on behalf of Father Lazarus. However, things haven't gotten very difficult for him, so I have a lot of leeway in how this plays out. The most important element is ensuring that you guys get what you desire most out of this -- you win the conflict after all. However, several other things are on the table for you to compromise. If you aren't solely after capturing Father Lazarus, I can guarantee that he'll get away. If your main goal is to capture him, then it's likely that he'll have time to sabotage some things or complete other goals first. Huey already destroyed the ritual fire, so him completing his ritual isn't on the table anymore (see how waiting to concede slowly dwindles options?), but he might be able to destroy the body, cover up his tracks, or even do something to himself. Hence the reason I ask: what is the highest priority out of this conflict, because when I concede that is something that cannot, by any means, be taken from you.
Dungeon World games typically get a decent response on these boards from what I've seen. The rest of those should receive equally good reception (and Uncharted Worlds just came out with a fantastic expansion!) I'm locked up currently in other games, but I love this system (PbtA) and wanted to boost this so more people get a chance to try it out!
So we may have lost Nora and Amaziah. It's been a slow moving game and I understand completely how interest and motivation drops along with the pace. Here's my thought though, to run by Serra and Huey if still interested: I offer a concession for this conflict--moving us ahead to a new scene focusing on the two of you. But to do so, I want to know what you two are after in this scene, so I can grant you a victory but still narrate a compromise. What are you after most? Information? Stopping Father Lazarus? Recovering Lester for a proper burial? Be warned that whatever you choose puts the other ones on the table as potential compromises.
Thanks for giving it a shot, Orland. And yes, this game works far better in person. Hopefully you got a taste of it and I appreciate your willingness! And yeah, you have a really good point Serra. Often games with less people move quicker as there's less to coordinate. We'll see how it moves with four now. I also disappeared for nearly two weeks, as it was the break between terms and we went out of town for a while.
Serra, your thrashing assault doesn't break you free, but it does cause two of these earthen spirits to collide with incredible force as you flip it over yourself and into the other. The dull smack of wet soil rings in your ears, and several of the bones drop into the mud beside you as the spirit breaks apart. "Well Ah'd love to give ya a sermon, Mr. Bienville, but now's really more of a time for a eulogy. If you really want to understand better, prehaps you should come to church on Sunday. I don't have the time to go into it all at the moment, however. I'm sure you undahstand." The father's focus remains solely on Amaziah, pacing backwards slowly toward the exit tunnel at his back.
Apologies for the radio silence! My birthday was this week and my wife surprised me by kidnapping me for a vacation. Things will return to normal for me next week!
Serra, you get plunged deep into the mud that surrounds this reservoir, joining the cadavers that infest it. To the others, you're merely knocked down to the earth beneath these conjured spirits; but to you, you're buried alive. That's when you sense it. It doesn't speak, but you know that it's here. That HE's here. And he notices you as well. Even as you come more to your senses, realizing that you're hardly in the tragic situation you feared, you have no doubt that this presence remains. It has something it wishes to say. Orland, you're clearly right at home even in the midst of this turmoil. Your clear and commanding voice resonates loudly in this cavern, amidst the rattle and chime of the various fetishes. There's a bolstering atmosphere that it creates, and even these dire circumstances hardly seem as pressing as they did a moment ago.
Although honestly, if you have an idea there that you would want to run with, you can create it as an advantage as if you "realized" or "noticed" it. It would probably use your Occult/Faith skill.
It's just color :) there's no secret hints there.
Good advice! And yes, these guys are mooks. It's big numbers, so they're nasty in groups, but you'll notice that Nora's 3 stress hit took one out completely and another partially. These are tougher than your typical mooks, but they have some serious hindrances as Serra is noting as well. Likewise, you don't have a lot at stake here, so it's a great place to take a concession if you start feeling overwhelmed. What do you really have at risk here other than yourselves? (And what happens to yourselves can be heavily mitigated by concession).
On the other side of this stale water, six of the spirits drag themselves toward the rest of the interlopers. Two pairs each try to drag Huey and Orland to the ground. Orland's attacker latches onto his arm with the slumping skull while the spirit at his back slings awkward earthen arms over his shoulders. Likewise, Huey is barely able to unleash his shot the blasts the ritual flame steaming and bubbling into the reservoir before two of his own attackers grasp at his clothes, scraping mud and boney hands against his cheeks and face.
Those that are dragging Serra to her knees, even as she calls out her accusations against Father Lazarus, start to pile on top of her -- digging at her with muddy hands and monstrously misshapen forms.
As Amaziah casually strolls forward, trailing his cane through the rattling, resounding fetishes above, Nora rushes around the right side of the reservoir away from the others. Four of these soil and bone spirits have pulled themselves from the mud on this side as well, but the bounty hunter charges into them, sliding one of the massive knives free from her belt as slashing into the gangly, earthen spirits.
One of the spirits collapses as Nora's blade slices through root and bone. The broken ribcage slumps with the animated mud, and the oddly positioned skull tumbles back to the edge of the reservoir. She also manages to remove one of the appendages of a second spirit beside the first, severing the long bone holding the mass of soil and stone resembling its arm.
.......................... The other three remaining, including the one just injured, lunge over the slumping form of the first spirit Nora removed, attempting to pin the bounty hunter in the same manner as Serra.
No worries, Nora. I was out of town for about 4 days myself. I brought the phone, but no computer, so I wasn't able to update regarding Serra's roll. I'm back now and should be more on top of that since I'm back in town.
Serra, you hear the laughter first, echoing in the cavern as if coming from all around you. You can see the dangling fetishes, almost disappearing into the smoke above you as the muddy creatures drag you down. "Why, I'm releasin' a soul, mah child." There's a chill that runs down your spine as the word 'child' echoes in that silken southern drawl. "Lester he-ur deserves better than an open coffin and a sign 'round his neck. I'm he-ur to release that soul, in a manner of speakin'. He's part of mah brood, and I do mah best to watch over those given to mah care." It's interesting that he refers, presumably to his congregation, as his 'brood'. Isn't the term typically a 'flock', as sheep tend to be the traditional metaphor?
Immediately following Orland's shot, Huey's iron calls out as well, but his is aimed at the ritual fire at Father Lazarus' feet. It seems a rather peculiar place to send a bullet, until the area suddenly ignites in a pillar of fire that reaches to the ceiling of the cavern. The blast of heat fills the room and sends the flaming logs tumbling down into the reservoir where they're doused in a squeal of steam. Father Lazarus is knocked backwards by the sudden conflagration, but gains his composure quickly. Cursing the now extinguished flame, instead of dealing with the interlopers he squats down to hastily lift this body resting in the dirt beside him. It's an incredible strain to lift him, but the father is a rather hefty man himself, eventually raising the body and turning to face the five of you using the corpse as a shield between.
Even summoning his reserve of personal strength and composure, the body slumps in his arms--too much for the man to hold upright and shield much of himself for more than a second or two.
Hey! I'm up! Huge apologies everyone. Posting as soon as I have a chance. I think I missed Huey's latest post and was under the impression that I was waiting.
Exactly. As frustrating as it is, they provide a pretty awesome service.
Yes! Same with me. I'm not even getting the "sorry, paizo must be down" goblin. I'm just unable to connect most of the time. So it probably isn't just us.
Hey, here's a cool article for those trying to get their head around this fate thing. I really enjoyed it at least.
Orland's bullet splatters out the back of the spirit with the tilted skull, spraying mud and bone shards into the smoke; but it does nothing to the creature beyond mangling its already unsettling grin. You don't doubt that bullets can take them down, but that apparently wasn't a very vital spot.
Father Lazarus will not be deterred from his work, no matter how persuasive Mr. Bienville may be. Whatever he's up to, the man appears quite singular in his intention to complete it.
At the same moment, Serra is lost beneath a trio of muddy apparitions. One, with it's long, boney arms dragging along the damp earth, grasps her around the shoulders pinning her arms to her side. The other two likewise grasp at her face and her legs, working to drag her to the ground. --------------------------
I'm on my phone, so the answers are brief to save me typing :) - You can resist things, defend, or provide active opposition immediately. That doesn't take you action for the round either. - Yes, you can then take one of the actions to either attack or create an advantage. Taking things out is an attack, and because these guys are looks you can take out more than one at a time depending on how many shifts of success you have (every shift is 1 point of stress). Creating an advantage is anything else, such as cover fire, drawing attention, shooting a w soon out of these r hand, etc.) And you're correct, from up class she the smoke isn't an issue. - You can spend a Fate Point for a +2 bonus to either the resist or the action following (or both) or for a refill on either (or both). But every time you do it is another Fate Point and you need to explain how one of your aspects or an aspect on the table helps you excel here. I also recommend waiting until after a roll to spend Fate Points. That's always allowed and there's no reason not to. - Stunts affect actions, so yes, you could take an action with a relevant stunt after the resist. - Cool, and I'll give you all a chance to rearrange skills if you want. - Finally, so that means you don't want to take that compel? Don't worry, this one won't cost a Fate point to buy off, but you won't gain a Fate point from it either.
If the conflict map at the top isn't making sense to you, here's a quick rundown on Fate Core conflicts: First, the orange chips are the PCs, labelled by the first letter of your first names.
There's no grid in fate, just zones. On your turn you can move anywhere in your zone without struggle (typically). You can also move up to one zone away without any extra rolls. After this movement you may still take an action (Attack or Create Advantage or Discover). However, if trying to move within a zone could understandable by blocked by characters in the zone (such as the mud spirits filling zone 2), they may actively oppose your movement. The reservoir in the middle is marked as [Obstacle +2], because crossing through that zone to another one requires a Swim check of +2 or better. Crossing either of the streams that flow into or out of the reservoir are free, as those no difficulty there. *Finally*, and this is important, whether aspects have free invokes on them or not, they are still true. This means that they affect the fiction. For instance, the Thick, Scented, Supernatural Smoke is going to set a minimum difficulty that any shooter would have to pass (regardless of opponents ability to dodge). Likewise, if Serra gets grappled, she won't be able to take any actions that would prevent until she is able to overcome that aspect. So on and so forth. People first exposed to this system tend to seriously underestimate the power of the Create Advantage move.
Orland's Investigate:
Orland, your mind is trying hard to put together all the pieces -- the dangling poppets, the scattered bones, the strange smoke. There have been a lot of dead brought here... drawn here perhaps? You suspect that the second figure up by Father Lazarus is another one, offered up in whatever sacrament this is. This is a sacrifice, albeit a dead offering, at least in one sense of the word. Amaziah steps briskly into the light, forgoing any effort at stealth. "Gentlemen, it seems most unusual that you are setting fires and butchering folks in my basement. This seems like most uncivilized behavior. Perhaps you could explain yourselves?"
You can hear the southern drawl of Father Lazarus' voice. It has that silken, sonorous tone that resonates so powerfully from the pulpit. The reverberation of this cavern is no less impressive. "We're a long way from your basement... Mr. Bienville, right?" There's something both discomforting about the fact that he recalls your name from your voice, but also insulting that he acts as if your impression hasn't been strong enough for him to be certain. "In fact, I'd say you're a mighty distance from anywhere you could claim as your own." As he speaks, the massing figures of silt and bone coalesce, lurching in on Serra before she has a chance to get very close to the father. Rising up around her, three of them grasp at her with muddy claws in an attempt to drag her to the ground.
One, which forms directly between Orland and Serra, quickly flings mud in the Sergeant Major's face, attempting to blind him even further than the smoke already has. This one has a skull of sorts, submerged at a tilt upon the muddy shoulders, as if caught in an inquisitive shrug. A second, unseen effigy grasps at Orland's back as well, hindering is ability to dodge.
All around the lake, like dust devils lining the reservoir's shore, swirl more bones and soil, silently rising from the ground. The five or six directly beside Orland and Serra only seem to be about half of them. ---------------------------------------------
Alright, the conflict map is up in the Info bar at the very top of the thread. Sorry I'm spotty on weekends, but I'll try tonight to get that surprise round in. The kids are up though, so I'm out!
So conflicts are run with a turn order, much like Pathfinders, so that should seem familiar. Instead of rolling for order, it's determined by Survival stats for Physical Conflicts (which this would be). According to stats, this is where everyone lies: Huey (+3)
If we were playing at the table, this would be the order (however, some of the Mud Spirits will get to go first on account of surprise). You've likely noticed from other games that turn order gets clunky in PbP, where you'll have someone waiting to post, but it isn't their turn. To remedy this, All PC slots in the turn order are open for ANY PC to use. So in this case, the turn order will be: PC
Once you've taken a spot, you won't be able to act again until next round; but this allows any player who's ready to take the next available spot and should minimize waiting. I also advise that you work with the assumption that ALL FREE INVOKES for the PCs are open to everybody, regardless of who they actually belong to. So if you can justify using one of your team's invokes, feel free to do so. If you create an advantage and earn an invoke that you want to keep for yourself, please designate it as such. So then we can be confident that anything not specifically noted as personal can be shared with whoever might need it. Does that all make sense? Once I get the map up I'll take action for some of the Mud Spirits and include Amaziah's conversation, then we'll roll into the conflict.
As Serra creeps forward, weaving through the thick smoke as if parting curtains, she notices that hundreds of effigies hang from the roof of this cavern (wherever that may be, up in the smoke). Dangling all around are beaded poppets and wicker or bone trinkets that rattle as you brush against them. Serra becomes so focused on avoiding these hanging baubles that she fails to notice the way the piles of bones gathered around the edge of the reservoir are beginning to swirl and gather. Orland, however, notices as he quickly follows the undertaker's daughter in an act of chivalry. He too is unable to react in time, but thankful that he's there to lend a hand as several of the remains gather together with mud and silt--forming misshapen humanoid forms, pulling themselves up from the ground.
Right on Serra, compel coming in full this evening when I have time to write it out.
The lingering mark, in your case is physical (the snake bite) but mostly spiritual. You'll see more of what this indicates as the game goes on, but those serpents have more to them than simply snakes in cages. You've overcome the poison, which is great, but you're still spiritually marked by the situation. To overcome that will take some more effort in the fiction. And good question on the invoke. It's one of those pieces of game vocabulary that gets pretty confusing at the beginning. You can invoke ANY aspect in play, using a Fate Point, for a bonus (which I'll list shortly). However, you may also earn free invokes by creating advantages (either creating a new one or utilizing an aspect already in play). This is a way to cash in on those bonuses at a later time without paying any fate points. Invoking an aspect means you may do ONE of the following:
This is true of all invokes, whether it is a GM or a player that they belong to. But anytime you invoke an aspect, whether with a Fate Point or free invoke, that player must justify how that aspect is able to affect the roll within the fiction. (e.g. If you created a 'Distracted' aspect on an opponent, that would be easy to justify any bonuses to you affecting that person as well as any allies doing the same; however, it wouldn't help you, say, climb a wall any better... bad analogy, but you get the point) So in the previous case, overcoming the poison was only a +2 challenge. But that aspect had 2 free invokes on it belonging to the GM (me). When Huey overcomes that aspect, I lose any of those invokes on it, so it would be ridiculous NOT to use them if needed. Since I did need them, they were used to raise that opposition by +2 for each invoke used--boosting the opposition to +6. The GM also got a free invoke on the advantage you tried to create (a failed create advantage still can create an aspect, but the opposition gets the free invoke), when cutting your arm. That got invoked as well to push the opposition up to +8, which is nigh insurmountable. But good news, even on failed overcome rolls, there is often the opportunity to succeed at a major cost. In this case, the cost is that you remain spiritually marked, though the venom is removed. I hope some of that makes sense. I really do remember how confusing this all was when I started.
Let me explain what happened with the poison/venom :). I tried to do this earlier, but forgot about it this time. Because we're on a forum, it's difficult to do the back-and-forth that would occur at a table as one roll exceeds another and fate points or invocations are spent. So most of the time, I will try to set up contingents when I'm prepared to spend them (e.g. If your roll exceeds this, he will invoke "blahdy-blah" to try and raise the mark.) In this case, I set up the obstacle to overcome, but I forgot to mention that I would certainly use the 2 free invokes on it to hinder the roll/raise the challenge (especially since they would be lost if the aspect is overcome). Orland's attempt at creating an advantage also granted the venom another free invoke it could use. So unless you were willing to spend a lot of your own fate, it's incredibly unlikely that the venom would be overcome without a cost (since those 3 bonuses effectively raise the challenge rating to +8!) But I often prefer the option of success with a cost. So in this case, Huey still removed the venom--there's no fear of it damaging you now or in the future. But the cost is a lingering mark, since the source is somewhat supernatural.
The scent certainly isn't attractive to your senses, Serra. It's reminiscent perhaps of something you've smelled without trepidation before, though you don't recognize where. This time, however, there is a deep corruption in it.
The five of you delve deeper into these tunnels, pushing through the thickening smoke like curtains that twist and flurry at your touch. Nora and Amaziah are the first to emerge into the natural cavern, trailing wisps of the fog in a wake behind them as they do. From another tunnel, the trio of Huey, Orland, and Serra also emerge cautiously. It's likely that even through the scented fog you all are able to at least passively recognize each other. Perhaps a few inquisitive looks and explanatory gestures put to rest the prodding questions of what each is doing here. But this hardly seems the moment to ask directly. Deeper into the center of this spacious grotto is the source of the smoke--a large fire piled with branches that billow the oddly scented fumes like a locomotive's stack. It crackles and surges on the far side of a large reservoir that covers a majority of the floor. Even through the smog you can see that this reservoir is rimmed with piles of bones, stripped of flesh but unbleached by the sun, loosely piled upon each other as if gathered haphazardly. There are also two silhouettes, largely masked by the cloud, just beside the fire. One is a large figure, waving his arms and cane as if trying to lift the smoke into the surrounding atmosphere himself. Serra, you recognize the rotund figure without needing any detail that the fog conceals. You can picture the bald head, with the bearlike beard spilling over the man's impressive girth. Your mind's eye fills in everything, down to the man's clerical collar, simply through the recognition of Father Lazarus' outline. The second silhouette is of a figure beside him, lying flat and rigid upon the ground. It rests just low enough beneath the cloud of smoke to recognize it as a body, but without the details it's hard to say whom. Further from the flames, it's likely that none of you have been seen yet. Your own sources of light must be masked by the flames so near the other figures; but any careless noise or significant gesture is likely to reveal your presence. What do you do?
Orland, you try to draw some of the blood out, but the injury seems to quicken it instead. You know enough about poisons to recognize that this isn't normal. With Huey's aid, you're able to quickly get a good portion of the venom out of your system. At least the man claims he got quite a bit out, which should at the very least lower it to a non-lethal dose. However, you can't help but shake the feeling that something's still swimmin' around in your blood. Call it premonition, call it instinct, but whatever it is you don't quite feel out of the woods yet.
Serra, you smelled it up above, but the pungent stench is rampant down here. While the others may smell smoke, you can sense the supernatural in it. This is clearly part of some ritual, and the thicker the smoke the nearer you come. Furthermore, it was hard to notice on the snakes as you descended, but you can smell something else unnatural about Orland now, something that wasn't present before.
Huey's large presence, enhanced by the stretching shadows, sends both serpents winding further up the tunnel; but not before the rattler was able to pierce the sergeant major's arm. A bit of blood soaks into the man's shirt, marking the spot where he was struck. The pain is mild at most, and for the moment Orland doesn't even feel it as long as he allows himself to think of anything else. There's no doubt that he's poisoned, however, so it won't be long before he starts feeling the effects. Serra eventually touches down within the tunnel as well, lit with a flickering halo of light from the prayer candle. The smoke is thicker down here, and appears to grow even thicker in the opposite direction the snakes retreated--where the gradual slope of this tunnel appears to go down. Above, the strange well--filled with penned serpents--also sheds the slightest bit of moonlight that manages to break through the cathedral and the hole beneath the altar.
Several of these recesses in the stone walls that line this well, while serving practically as a sort of ladder, also house wire cages--each with some manner of serpent within. There are several rattlesnakes, a handful of vipers, and even the odd exotic cobra. More importantly, you notice that every third recess is empty, serving as a safe spot to find your grip should you need to travel this way again. Reaching into any of the other ones, however, is sure to get one struck by the caged reptiles. You also recall that 3 is one of the more significant religious numbers as well, giving context perhaps to the strange pattern.
Just as Amaziah finishes his explanation, ending with the admonishment to "touch nothing [as] we wouldn't want to disrupt them," the two push off to explore deeper down the tunnel. The camera zooms in on a portion of the strange markings where it has wrapped around the tunnel to precisely where Nora was leaning. The markings there are now scuffed and worn from the soft earth, no longer recognizable. The bobbing lantern lights shrink out of view, leaving only the ambient light from the open cellar door. Nora, Amaziah, the two of you continue for several more yards down this narrow path. Eventually your tunnel opens up into a corridor nearly twice as wide, where the ground is worn and packed from frequent and recent travel. The scent of smoke is much stronger here, in fact the light from your lanterns struggles to cut through the hazy air. There are several tracks at your feet, though its hard to tell whether they come from different sources or simply several trips. There are also at least half a dozen furrows dug into the path as if several heavy objects had been dragged through here is well. It's difficult to tell direction at all down here, underground, but down this corridor to the right is where the smoke appears thickest. To the left it is more clear. Who knows where either of them lead. What do you guys do from here?
Huey's position is my fault. After you stated you were going to climb down, I attempted to pause that action by re-stating something I didn't think I had made clear enough--that there were greater dangers to climbing down than just the physical component, which now hopefully you know are those caged snakes. I was far from clear on my intentions. My assumption was that I would offer you a compel to do what you said, with obvious consequences, for a Fate Point; but if you bought out of the compel you would still be up top, having not rushed down like a hero into a mysterious but dangerous situation. But clearly several of you missed that intention. So yes, you are down at the bottom. Usually that would require a roll, so those that are working to understand this game shouldn't wrack their brains to figure out why he didn't roll where others did. The simple answer: GM error :) I will continue to work more on making things as clear as I can, since in this context it's not easy to have that simple dialogue that usually clears up any misunderstandings.
As Orland pauses and listens, the loudest noise is the loud rattling from the darkness nearby. Whatever he just felt against his leg is down here with him in whatever this space is. The moment he lights a match, he discovers what.
Immediately upon seeing the flash of light, the coiled serpent strikes out at the hand holding the match. Huey notices another serpent, much darker than the diamond-patterned one striking the scotsman. This second serpent coils in the man's elongated shadow, pausing for a second in preparation of its own attack.
----------------------------- Huey, as soon as the flickering match-light appears, you notice both serpents (including the second that's prepared to strike as well). The brief glance you have of your surroundings is a tight earthen room, like a tunnel that continues off in opposite directions. To one side, North most likely, there are stacks of small, wood and wire boxes as well as a few barrels. You hear loud rattling from the serpent and smell the strange smoke from earlier much stronger here.
Amaziah, as we flash back to you and Nora, it's clear that a bit of time has passed. You've been studying these markings for a while, probably 15-20 minutes. They remind you of some Native markings you've seen before, enough so that you're fairly confident these must be indian markings as well. But you can't tell at all what they say. That would usually be enough to move on, but there's something about them that seems familiar, like an itch at the back of your mind that you can't find. Eventually it clicks--not the symbols themselves, but the pattern in which they're etched--is the precise pattern you've seen before in a warding circle. These would typically be inscribed to keep supernatural things out of a designated space... or possibly within.
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