Rita's page

Sorry guys, having a nightmare here. I've been ill and then lost my job and my PC in the same week (three different incidents - the pc went bang during the heatwave).
I'm recovered from my illness, but still out of work...I'm on a "borrowed" PC at the moment. I'm hoping to get back online agin in about a month but until then I'm a bit stuffed.

Rita looks worried for a moment
Maybe we were followed by one of those creatures we saw at the lake...or maybe I didn't wash off all that horrible smelling grime...
...then she smiles and does her best to look pleasant but vacant headed.

While they wait for the door to be opened, Rita stands back a step or two and subtly looks around to check if anyone seems to be about, watching the house, etc

"He certainly seemed unfriendly, didn't he. I think ya handled that very well !" Rita thinks for a moment... "Didnt the Professor tell us about the Whateleys looking kinda odd and such? I wonda if he's a relation ? Lets make a point of asking the squire when we get back...or Granny, even."

Rita scowls at the mans back as he leaves.

Rita frowns slightly.
"Only problem....the only place I've seen nearby is that store... Obournes of whatever. Do you think they'll ahve shawls ? They didn't seem like that kinda place"
She shrugs. "I suppose it can't help ta ask"

"I've been giving it some thought, and I don't think its safe wid all'a us in different places. Mebbe we should try and find a place that can put all 3 of us up."
Rita adds thoughtfully
"I'm not sure I trust anyone afta the father going missing yesterday. Who did it ? Did they drug you or somethin' ?"

Back in her room, Rita paces the floor, unable to sleep. Her eyes darted to the door and back again frequently.
Visions of the creatures they saw in the caves flittered before her eyes, and then the image of Fergus as he was found...did they come after him ? will it be me next ? she wondered

Do we still have any players around besides Evelyn or is this game done?

Rita picks at her food, seeming to have little appetite.

"There were caves under da hill." she says finally, " And wierd things too, like these huge bugs - whadya call them -centipedes...I guess." she shivers.

She looks to the others."I'm not sure WHAT to call da thing in the water."

She then goes silent again, stiring her food around the plate in a fairly absent way, as if she's forgotten what its for.

Rita nods."That makes sense to me. What *was that thing?" she shivers

Rita jumps a little at the sound of the shutter.

She shines the torch around again, impatient to be moving on but trying hard not to show it.

"Shall we..?" she says in a faked cheerful voice, gesturing toward the way out.

Rita nods. "Thats very brave.I heard alot of folks got killed even before they got out of training. "

As they return to the pipe-organ chamber,she does another sweep with her torch.
"You know," she adds as they start heading back to the rope." the first thing I'm gonna do when I get back is have a bath. And then maybe anudda one".

Rita seems unusually quiet and pale, her eyes darting left and right nervously.

After a long silence she finally says 'So Robert, what unit did you serve with ?"

Her tone suggests an uneasy need to fill the oppressive silence with conversation rather than genuine interest.

np, was just posting while I was in the neighbourhood

"I think that if this is going to make us ill, we should get out right away.."

"We've been down there ages ...like, several hours at least." Rita breaks out some sandwiches "...so I guess the question is, do we intend to spend the whole day here ?"she adds around a mouthful of egg and cress.

Rita looks relieved to have Evelyn with her.
"This is all very exciting" she whispers nervously "Is this what you and da Father get up to on all your investigations ? "

Rita as far as you can tell, the area is free of any nasties.

Rita cautiously began to make her way down the corridor, , until she was startled by a sudden noise.

After a brief moment of panic she realised it was just her stumoch rumbling.

Deep breaths....calm...I'm calm...I'm calm..." she repeated to herself over and over.

She took a moment to recover her composure, and then carried on.

Rita will go about 100 foot then report back..

" Rita what do you say to finding out what is down that tunnel over there? Be careful where you step though as I doubt the floor is very even and you can't tell with all this stuff all over it."

Rita nods and cautiously moves over to the tunnel. She makes sure to keep the others in sight.

Skin flakes ? Eww.. she thinks to herself.

As she reaches the tunnel., she first shines her torch up and around to make sure there's no crawlers on the walls, floor or ceiling near her, the thoughts of the peculiar insects making her skin crawl.

Shining your light up at the ceiling, you see that the strange white fluff seems to be coming out of the walls of the upper part of the cave. Perhaps there are small holes or slits in the walls, which could also explain the piping noises.

Rita squints up at the holes.

Without realising it she moves a little closer to the menfolk.

She shines her torch around the walls and ceiling of the cavern, worried there might be more of the crawlers about.

due to work,. I might have to be offline for a couple of days - if necessary my next 1d100 roll is 96...oh dear....
link

Rita looks a bit green at sight of the critter but otherwise seems mostly unpurterbed.

San check:
01, thats a turn up
I'm assuming I still lose a point of San ?

"Is everyone alright ? Are there more of those things about ?"
Her voice sounds calm but as she shines the torch around at the floor, walls and ceiling, she looks very pale .
"I never saw one a dose in my national geographic - what is it ?"

If its still alive, Rita looks around for soemthing big and sticklike to beat it with.

cave images

Nice

As they progrss, Rita says
"The stalactites, they're just like pipes in a giant church organ. I wonder if they're causing those sounds?"

Rita looks around. "I have some chalk for marking which way we've come" She'll chalk an area close to where they came into the current location.

When the scuttling sounds begin she looks up and jumps back as she shines her torch upwards, looking panicky.

Rita nods, and says
"Lets rest for a moment before we move on."
Rita doesn't seem particuarly out of breath, but she nods slightly in Fergus's direction when he isn't looking.
" Its hard work doing all this climbing about"

...thirded...

"I suggest we go up the side passage first. There's more room for us...what do you think ?"

Rita comes back to the rope
"The side passage is wider, we might get a few of us down there,if we're careful."

Rita returns to the rope.
"It looks like there's a side passage down here that someone has dug out. Its all very narrow. I'm going to have a quick look down them both to see if there';s somewhere we can all stand. "

After that, Rita will go and explore the man-made tunnel a ways to see if there's a room at the end of it.

"I've reached the bottom, it seems to flatten out a bit into a narrow tunnel.I can stand up but its a real squeeze. It looks a bit too cramped for too many of us."

If Ritas descent has broken off any crystals, she'll put a bit into her backpack (or pocket), provided its not too large.

"I'm going to go down the tunnel a little way to see if it opens out a little, so that we could all come down. I won't go far."

Rita gives a glance down but steels herself .
"Sure, I'll give it a go...Besides, why should you have all the fun ?"
She adds to Evelyn with a a faint nod.
"While I'm gone....don't do anything I wouldn't do."
She leans closer to Evelyn and whispers something.

Rita walks over and ties herself to the rope. If you didn't know her so well, you could be entirely taken in by the innocent look on her face.

Rita scowls and mutters under her breath.
"What, like we women are incapable or somethin' ? Jeez ! At this rate it'll be another century before we get a woman in the whitehouse... "
...although she actually looks quite relieved at not having to deal with heights again anytime soon.

Rita looks concerned "If you're sure Evelyn. "
She sighs. "I guess I'm the next lightest one to lower on a rope ." She sounds a combination of worried and excited.
"Just youse guys make sure you got hold of it tight."

She readjusts her bag on her back, stands with her feet apart and spits on her hands and rubs them together. In her attempts to look tough and prepared she looks rather naively comedic.

[ooc] Ah ! Right -done.[/occ]

Rita's eyes glint "Crystals ? What kind of crystals ? Some of dem vcan be worth a fawtune."

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1929855/

54 ...that'll be a failure then

Evelyn yelps at Rita's inexpert adminstrations. ...

Rita clucks over Evelyn, and pulls some first aid bandages from her bag.

"Whistling ? Well, the wind does that between the buildings in New Yawk, so I don't see why caves would be different. Or it could be moonshiners, I suppose."

No, as far as I understand it. Rita and Fergus are at the bottom. .

Rita keeps her eyes on the lake,chewing her lip
Its not safe down here, I wish I'd gone with Evelyn - I'm sure she's much safer.... she thinks.

Sorry...are we assuming we're now all at the top apart form Evelyn ?
Thats fine..

Rita's nervous frown deepens.
"Okay...sure..."
She doesn't sound sure.
She clutches the handle of her torch tightly, her knuckles white

Rita giggles at Evelyns comment.

As Evelyn climbs the ladder, Rita shines her torch out onto the lake, searching,searching ...searching for any sign the critter is still out there.

"Jumpinmg sounds dangerous too.....we have all the demolished wood from the house. Could we rig a plank bridge, do you think ?"

"Perhpas 3 of us could make lots of noice close to the ladder as a distraction, while 1 of us dashes across the small inlet to the door. Is anyone good at swimming"
Rita shivers.
"Its a bit dangerous though"

Having trouble posting at times - technical difficulties !

"Lets have the discussion of what to do next..but lets have it a bit further away from the lake and close to where we came in, eh ?"

Rita hides behiond Evelyn, trembling.
"I can't believe a single shot would have killed something that size"

san check =35

Rita gives a little squeal, says something very unladylike, and backs up against the wall.Her fingers whiten where they hold the torch.

Is it definitely moving/animate/alive, or a partially submerged statue ? I'm assuming the former..

After a moment or two she recovers a little of her composure ,although she still looks pretty wild around the eyes, and likely to panic at any moment.
Rita looks towards Robert "Whaddya think it eats ? I'm ...ah...kinda hoping it likes broccoli."
Her voice wavers, showing how false the attempted levity is.

She edges back a bit more.

Rita seems to pick up Evelyns nervousness.
She peers into the gloom for a few moments.
"Yes. Fish, I guess." she whispers.
Her tone is brittle, an undercurrent of fear barely held in check. She looks back at the ladder so recently descended, clearly calculating if she has the bravery to go through that ordeal again so soon.
No, she concludes, which means I'm committed down here, at least temporarily. She straightens a bit, her decision made. She sucks in a breath, seeming more confident now.
"Alright, we saw you." she addresses the lake loudly, her Brooklyn accent stronger than usual. "You moight as well stop hiding !"
A ripple passes over the lake.
Silence.
She shrugs and turns to Evelyn
"Maybe you were mistaken." she whispers.

Unseen by the group something moves silently out in the water. Just a ripple caused by a draft ? A fish ? Something more sinister ? Who knows...

"Jeez...look at the size of that thing."
She shines her torch around briefly.
"Its like Phantom of the Opera down here. Think we'll find Lou Chaney ?"

Rita clambers down the ladder next, her eyes shut the whole way...by the time she reaches the bottom she looks pale and panicked, but recoveres a little once she realises she's back on firm ground.

Rita takes one look down, turns pale, and then backs off from the edge, turning her back so she doesnt have to look at the chasm.
"Tell me when she makes it to the bottom"

I hate heights, I hate heights,I hate heights....think calm, Rita, think calm...

Thats where the tape & string come in ...we could tape/wrap a torch to evelyns leg at an angle so it shines down when shes braced her legs against the wall.
:
Diagram:

O .....
---..... <---------Arms
¦ .....
---..... <---------Legs brace against wall at angle
. ^..... <---------Torch shines straight down

Laughing quietly, "I bet I am quite the sight now."

Rita laughs as well as she compares her dungarees and hat with Evelyn. "If only Hymie could see me now."

She adjusts her mittens,pulls the heavy torch from her bag and looks towards the hill with a determined expression on her face. "Shall we ?"

Merry yithmas everyone...