Evelyn sighs, "I suppose I'll go first with a rope tied around me. That way if something happens than you strong men can pull me back up. I don't weigh nearly as much as Rita."
Rita:
The iron spikes that are driven into the ground, which hold the rope ladder look pretty secure. It is easy enough to tie the rope to one of those. The men can then hold the rope if they wish as you go down the ladder. It would be difficult for you to climb down the rope ladder and use a light at the same time. What do you plan to do for light?
you could do that, but the filaments are pretty fragile, and if it smashes against the wall of the crevas it could break easily. Alternatively, someone could tie a lantern or other light (say Rita) and lower it down on a second rope, which would grant a little more control.
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
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
Robert lets Rita and Evelyn sort out the details of the torch.Tying things to her legs might be going one step too far just now.
I'll assume you implement your plan (to keep things moving)
Evelyn cautiously makes her way down the rope ladder into the darkness below. Her light shines down ahead of her to guide her way. The air down here is cool (about 55 degrees F) and extremely humid. The sounds of dripping water can be heard from almost every direction, and the walls are wet and slippery.
Evelyn
Judging by the light, there is a relatively level cavern floor about 150' down the fissure. Once you get about 60' down, you notice that there is a opening in the wall, not too far from the ladder. The opening is big enough for someone to get through if they crouched really low or crawled, but with your light pointing down you can't really see how far back the recess goes. It wouldn't be terribly hard to climb from the ladder into the opening. At this point, it is still a good 90' or so down to the floor of the fissure.
You can't help but feel a little tense, you have never gone caving before, and after some of the things you seen and learned of over the past couple of days, you feel more uneasy than you'd probably like to admit.
After going down about 20' feet Evelyn stops and examines the rope ladder for a moment. Glancing back up with an uneasy smile she says, "Looks like it has suffered some rot. I don't think it will hold more than one of us at a time" She then continues her decent but with a bit more caution and testing each rung than before.
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...
Evelyn stops for a moment part way down the ladder and seems to be attempting to angle her light towards the wall to examine something.
She then continues down the ladder until she makes it to the cave floor.
Evelyn
You shine your light around the cave, and you can see that it is much larger than your light is able to illuminate. It appears to be dominated by a huge pool of water. You can't tell how big the pool is because your light can't shine far enough to light it all, but it is certainly much larger than the average duck pond. You are standing pretty close to the edge of the water, which is very dark. The water doesn't quite lap up to the walls of the cave where you are, so you could start walking around the perimeter of the pool if you wanted to.
"What do you see Evelyn"? Fergus questions. "I guess I'll descend next". Fergus then waits for an answer before beginning his slow descent.
Evelyn stays at the ladder and shines her light back up at the others. She raises her voice and yells, "Come on, there is a lake down here!" After which she turns her light on the lake and walls around her examining them more closely as she waits for the next person to descend. When that person gets halfway down she will shine her light up on them to help them see what they are doing.
The water of the lake is dark, and the cavern appears to be naturally formed. You shine the light up for Fergus and he carefully makes his way down the ladder. It seems to hold him well enough and he safely makes it to the cavern floor to stand beside you.
The water of the lake is dark, and the cavern appears to be naturally formed. You shine the light up for Fergus and he carefully makes his way down the ladder. It seems to hold him well enough and he safely makes it to the cavern floor to stand beside you.
Evelyn's face is in shadows as she shines the light showing Fergus the lake, "The lake is over there. Who would have thought all this was under that house? I wonder what they were doing down here."
I'll wait until tomorrow for anyone else to post and then I will be assuming that one by one you all make your way down the ladder.
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 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.
Evelyn gives Rita a big hug and says to take her attention off of the climb she just did, "Look, there is a lake down here and I think if we hug the shore we can get around it."
"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 ?"
Robert soon climbs down to join you. Everyone has now gathered by the side of the lake.
Evelyn
Robert soon climbs down to join you. Everyone has now gathered by the side of the lake.
Evelyn
** spoiler omitted **
"Rita, what was that?" Seeing that Rita has no idea what she is talking about Evelyn grabs Rita's hands and light and redirects them back at the spot she just was illuminating. Seeing nothing she lets go, "That's odd I thought I saw something on the surface of the lake or come to the surface. Thought it might be a rock but it's gone. I don't know maybe it was just a trick of the light. (she looks a little scared) What lives in lakes? Just fish right?" A shiver passes through her as she recalls all the spooky stories she has heard about this case so far. She holds herself as if for warmth.
Evelyn
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...
Robert waits till Rita clears the Ladder then descends..he picks up his lantern and peers towards the pool then drawing his pistol he moves towards the waters edge.
It is only a few steps to the edge of the lake. Robert moves to it cautiously with his pistol drawn. He then shines his light out over the water, scanning for whatever could possibly be out there. A few ripples mare the surface of the water, and all around you can be heard the sound of dripping water. Most of the ripples are caused by the dripping, for there is enough water coming off the ceiling of the cave to make it almost look like it's raining in the lake. You now notice an odor that smells like a combination of sulfur and rotten fish. You continue scanning the lake for several moments, but you see nothing.
What now?
If there is room around the edge of the lake. Fergus puts on a brave face and moves to his right. "Well were here now, lets go ahead and see what is here."
Fergus starts leading you along the perimeter of the cave. The shoreline is only a couple of feet wide, so you have to walk in single file. Beyond your own light sources there is nothing to save you from being lost in total darkness. The rock is wet and slippery, so you have to go slowly. You walk for several minutes, until you come to a point where there is no more ledge to walk on. The water comes right up to the wall of the cave. About 20' across the watery gap the ledge continues and even gets wider. With your lights you can see that there appears to be some kind of man made structure not too far up ahead on the other side of the watery gap. From what you can make out, the structure looks like some kind of door built into the slope of the cave wall. The door sits on about a 45 degree angle to match the slope of the cave wall in that spot, and it reminds you of the kind of door that a home might have on the outside to access a coal cellar.
As you shine your light across the gap, you suddenly hear a loud bellowing sound from out on the water. The thing that it most closely resembles to you is the sound of a bullfrog, but there is something decidedly different about it.
As you shine your light across the gap, you suddenly hear a loud bellowing sound from out on the water. The thing that it most closely resembles to you is the sound of a bullfrog, but there is something decidedly different about it.
"What was that?" Evelyn whispers shining her light out on the lake.
Rita matches her, shining out a second light. She shifts her pack uncomfortably.
Your lights scan across the surface of the lake, searching for the source of awful sound, but with little success.
Rita
Robert swiftly holsters his pistol and unslings his rifle in a practised movement..the sound of the bolt working echoes in the cavern. as he scans the waters.
"Back up away from the lake ladies..NOW"
His voice changes..the soft southern accent assuming that tone the Military call command voice
Robert you keep your rifle trained out on the water. Suddenly you all see something emerge partially from the water only about 40' away from you. It appears to be an almost frog like head of great size (maybe 2 feet in diameter). You only see the top portion of the head, the rest of the thing is below the surface. It has 3 large amphibious eyes that sit on very short, stalk like appendages. You get the sense that it is looking directly at you. You have never seen or heard of anything like it before, and though you can only see a small portion of it, you feel its very existence gnawing at the foundation of your world's reality.
Sanity checks all around please.
Robert you keep your rifle trained out on the water. Suddenly you all see something emerge partially from the water only about 40' away from you. It appears to be an almost frog like head of great size (maybe 2 feet in diameter). You only see the top portion of the head, the rest of the thing is below the surface. It has 3 large amphibious eyes that sit on very short, stalk like appendages. You get the sense that it is looking directly at you. You have never seen or heard of anything like it before, and though you can only see a small portion of it, you feel its very existence gnawing at the foundation of your world's reality.
Sanity checks all around please.
Sanity check: 1d100=4
Evelyn lets out a small gasp, "My god! Robert what is that thing?!" She backs up involuntarily still keeping her light on it.
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.
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.
"The lord is my Sheppard. I shall not want..."Fergus begins as he levels the shotgun at the beast.
Roberts mind reels his sanity threatening to snap but he manages to control himself for now...he raises the rifle taking careful aim.
"Ah don't know what it is Miz Evelyn..but taint' natural...Why don't you and Miz Rita just step back towards the ladder a ways"
It's noticable that the more stress he is under Robert's accent gets more pronouncedly Southern
By this point you have moved along the ledge of the lake quite a ways, so the ladder is no longer nearby (see my earlier post). In fact, there isn't much space for you to move back.
Robert (take a loss of 3 to your sanity)
Whatever it is, it seems to be alive, and it slowly moves closer to you and the shoreline.
What are you doing?
Whatever it is, it seems to be alive, and it slowly moves closer to you and the shoreline.
What are you doing?
Pressing herself against the wall Evelyn quickly glances back into the darkness toward the ladder and thinks better of it. Her baser instincts take over and she slides along the wall to put Robert and his gun between herself and the creature with the blessed side effect of also blocking her view.
Shaken by the things appearance yet determined not to show his fear to the womenfolk Robert fires at the approaching creature. The crack of the Springfield echoes through the cave
The sound of the shot echos through the cave. The shot seems to hit the thing square in the top of the head. The eyestalks writhe for a moment and then it vanishes beneath the water.
Tense moments pass as you wait for it to resurface, but nothing happens.
Rita hides behiond Evelyn, trembling.
"I can't believe a single shot would have killed something that size"
Rita hides behiond Evelyn, trembling.
"I can't believe a single shot would have killed something that size"
Evelyn is somewhat taken offguard as Rita all but pushes her into Robert. "Rita! Wha....." Evelyn grabs ahold of Robert almost knocking them both into the lake but manages to steady herself, "I'm.... Rita..." Thankful that Robert can't see her blushing she looks over his shoulder finally seeming to get ahold of her wildly swinging emotions too, "Do you think it's dead Robert?"
What next? (keeper rolls check to maintain momentum in pbp)
Fergus's heart begins to pound in his chest as he sees the monstrosity rise from the lake.
"Quickly! move back towards the entrance". "I don't think that things done with us yet".
He then keeps the shotgun trained towards the lake. If the other PC's move towards the entrance, he takes up a position in the rear, still facing the lake, and looks for an opportunity to take a swig from his flask.
Robert moves the ladies along the lake side as fast as he can whilst still keeping an eye on the water....he stops as soon as the cavern widens a little
"Ok Fergus..I got you covered you can fall back now"
The adrenline rush wearing off somewhat and curiousity getting the better of her, "You seem to have either killed it or at least scared it off. Do you think there is a way to get around to that door on the other side of the lake?" Evelyn shines her light along the opposite shore. Shaking her head slightly as if to clear cobwebs, "Still have a ringing from that gun going off."
"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 ?"
Here's a little map. The green dot with the x through it, is where you saw the monster. You guys are near there, but on your way back towards the ladder from the sounds of things. The black is cave wall, the yellow is the ledge that you've been walking around. The rest is water. The lake is too far across to shine your light to the other side.