[20:04] <TesKin> Alim reports.
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[20:05] <TheRaven> Will shows up with his usual gear.
03[20:05] * Dr_Leonard (ten.mocrie.rgm-cbd.kdd.2gga.A4283BF3-CRInys|tibbiM#ten.mocrie.rgm-cbd.kdd.2gga.A4283BF3-CRInys|tibbiM) has joined #homeimprovement
[20:05] <TesKin> Alim, on the other hand, has his usual light kit. Suit and duffle bag.
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[20:06] <Talonair> Gregory strides in, dressed in less noticable clothing than his usual safari uniform, a field sack on his shoulders and a satchel bag over one shoulder
01[20:06] <@Nemi> It's Motorpool! There's already a van loaded up and rumbling at the ramp. A sleepless-looking man in his thirties waves them over. "Got an emergency call from Captain Baker over by Brookridge, Maine. Get in the van, we've got field kits if you don't have any. We're leaving now."
[20:07] <TesKin> Alim mounts up.
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[20:07] <Bananaman> Shawn shows up with one hand wrapped up in bandages. He's sniffling a bit from his nose, and he hops in the car when he's instructed to.
[20:07] <TheRaven> Will boards.
[20:07] <Talonair> Gregory climbs in after him, setting his bag between his legs. He looks at Alim. "I don't believe I've had the pleasure." He extends a hand to shake. "Sir Gregory Posonby, at your service"
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[20:08] <TesKin> Alim ignores the shit outta Gregory.
01[20:08] <@Nemi> The van interior is cramped. There's a driver, no passenger seat, fold-down benches against the walls. In place of the seat is a large metal case, presumably containing standard field kits as needed. The man pulls himself in after the last person boards and shuts the doors behind him. He remains standing, hanging from a running bar on the interior.
[20:09] <Talonair> Gregory raises an eyebrow and retracts his hand
[20:10] <Bananaman> Shawn wipes his nose.
01[20:11] <@Nemi> The gates rumble open and the van's already off. "Right! So! I'm Captain Morgan, yes like the rum. We just got a comm transmission from Captain Baker, who's leading a security team keeping the old Maine tourist town of Brookridge under control after sea monsters and undead started popping up. We're not going to the town— his team's got the remaining survivors safe in the town hall. But you"
01[20:12] <@Nemi> Morgan points at the assembled team. "Last time, fog rolled in off the sea and brought the things with it. Now? Fog's not just in town again. It's thickest on one of them old private boarding schools! You know, for the /old money/ people!"
[20:13] <Talonair> Gregory raised an eyebrow at Captain Morgan at the old money comment
[20:13] <Bananaman> "So we're going to be killing some monsters in the fog, eh?"
01[20:14] <@Nemi> "Now, this is a bit of a immediate response sort of thing so we don't have maps or photos on hand, but the place is called Brookridge Academy! Place schools ya from middle school on even to university! Smallish place, but still about two hundred people on site. Woulda been more but most of them already left for summer. Baker's busy keeping the civvies alive in townYou lot, we're going back to school."
01[20:15] <@Nemi> The van rumbles at high speeds across the interstate and then the Masspike. "We want you to get in, figure out what's going on in that school, secure the site, and retrieve any survivors! We're scrambling more response squads right now but you get to be first in!"
01[20:15] <@Nemi> "Am I clear?"
[20:15] <Bananaman> "Yessir!"
[20:15] <TheRaven> "Roger that. Any info on what we might be dealing with?"
[20:15] <Talonair> Gregory nods. "Of course, Captain" He checks his elephant gun before opening his bag, transferring his howdah pistol to the holster at his waist
01[20:17] <@Nemi> "Right! We've got a bit of a road trip ahead of us, so I'll give you what we've got. Primary hostiles we encountered on our first visit, mostly some sea-life-encrusted humanoids, partly rotting, but apparently alive. And then we've got zombies. Ones we ran into first time were coming out of the sea, slow as molasses and half falling apart, but they were some kind of gestator for more of the sea monsters."
[20:17] <TesKin> Alim just looks out of the window.
[20:18] <Soulless> Gwen is there >_> She quiet.
[20:18] <Bananaman> "Are they vulnerable to punching?"
01[20:19] <@Nemi> "Since then, Baker's been reporting seeing all kinds of other things. Hulking crawling things in the woods, various assorted semi-corporeal humanoid entities. So far we know they are killable with the usual methods. We're not too sure on what's up down at the Academy, though. Anything else?"
[20:20] <Talonair> "Do the entities appear to be organised in any way? Do they co-ordinate their attacks?"
01[20:23] <@Nemi> "Hard to say! Last time they had some kind of mind-effecting sea thing with them, nearly broke Elkin's brain— again. Mostly they just seem to be wandering, but if you get their attention, they'll chase you for fuckin' days!"
[20:26] <Soulless> "…"
[20:26] <TheRaven> "Oh, that doesn't sound promising."
[20:28] <Bananaman> "If they come to us, we don't need to go looking for them, eh."
[20:28] <Talonair> Gregory simply nods. "How aware of their surroundings are they? Are they attracted to sound, sight?"
01[20:29] <@Nemi> "Can't say for sure. Just assume if it's shambling, it's probably hostile, and enough noise will draw a whole pack." Time passes. Finally, as night descends upon the eastern seaboard, the van departs the highway and starts traveling down shore-hugging roads. Broken space by sand cordon off the sea, and the rising moon shines off the living water.
01[20:29] <@Nemi> "Almost there, Psi-7! Last call!"
[20:29] <Soulless> She watches the water.
[20:29] <TheRaven> "So try for quiet takedowns, then."
[20:30] <Soulless> "…I have rope."
[20:31] <Talonair> "Rope is always useful" He smiles at Gwen
[20:32] <Soulless> Gwen mimicks his smile.
03[20:32] * Baby_Boo (ten.labolgcbs.acnvri.deepsthgil.4721A2CF-CRInys|tibbiM#ten.labolgcbs.acnvri.deepsthgil.4721A2CF-CRInys|tibbiM) has joined #homeimprovement
[20:32] <Soulless> "…I will follow."
[20:32] <TesKin> Alim just looks at Will, then to Gwen. "Try to stay out of harms way Gwendolyn, I'd like to keep you in one piece."
[20:33] <Soulless> "Yes, Alim."
[20:34] <Bananaman> Shawn does some stretches
01[20:34] <@Nemi> The van rounds a curve and ahead, across a bay, can be made out the faint lights of a town through the thick soupy fog that has descended upon the place. There's the occasional echoing report of gunfire. Morgan looks deathly serious as he peers over the driver's shoulder. "That there's Brookridge. We're not quite hitting it." And indeed, the van continues its turn and makes a detour off a side road, into the thickness of the New England forest.
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[20:35] <TesKin> Alim watches the trees fly by and removes the pieces to his rifle from his duffle bag, assembling them with expert quickness.
[20:35] <Soulless> "…"
[20:35] <Soulless> Gwen watches, tenses up, gets ready for a 'fun' time.
[20:37] <Talonair> Gregory calmly checks the sights on his elephant gun, before loading two soft lead rounds into his howdah pistol
[20:37] <TheRaven> Will loads his BAR, and checks the rest of his gear. Bigass pistol? Check. Ka-Bar? Check. Longsword? Check.
[20:38] <TesKin> "If need be, I can proceed in myself and investigate."
[20:38] <Bananaman> Shawn, noticing the tenseness, pats Gwen's shoulder. "Don't worry, eh. We'll be fine."
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01[20:39] <@Nemi> The van continues onward. The forest soon becomes foggy, the headlights of the vehicle doing little but to make the encroaching haze nearly opaque. And it thickens, and thickens, yet the driver skillfully keeps the vehicle on the narrow two-lane road. Finally, it rounds a corner where from the fog looms a decorative wrought iron gate stretching between brick walls that disappear out of sight to either side.
[20:39] <Talonair> Gregory nods to Alim. "If necessary, the additional intelligence could mean a great deal"
[20:40] <Soulless> Gwen leans into the patting and nods.
01[20:40] <@Nemi> Above the gate, in wrought iron, is spelled BROOKRIDGE ACADEMY. It seems to be partly ajar, one door having been torn outward and left bent in its hinge. More worrying is the dark smear spreading up the red brick wall nearby and down to the black pavement below.
[20:40] <Soulless> "It is part of my duty to worry."
[20:40] <TesKin> Has the van stopped yet?
[20:40] <TheRaven> Will thinks. "If we're lucky, the team in the town hall will be drawing most of the hostiles their way. If we can avoid making too much noise we might have a better chance."
03[20:41] * EldritchCyanide is now known as EldritchCyanide|Grad
01[20:41] <@Nemi> Morgan salutes the team. "Donny and I will be nearby for evac, and the other response teams should be getting here in a few hours. You've got your orders, team. Good luck." The van slows to a stop after pulling alongside the gate, where Morgan pushes open the doors. "And, if you forgot yours, we have flashlights, first-aid kits, and hand radios. Won't get you too far but you should be able to keep up with each other."
[20:41] <Soulless> "I will be quiet."
[20:41] <Bananaman> Shawn hops out of the van.
[20:41] <Soulless> Gwen takes a radio, turns on her flashlight, takes an extra medkit atop her own for good measure.
[20:41] <TheRaven> Will grabs one of the field kits and disembarks.
[20:42] <Soulless> "Thank you."
[20:42] <Talonair> "And having a forward observer will allow us to indentify pockets of resistance." He smiles to Alim, stepping out and taking a field kit
[20:42] <TesKin> Alim clips a raido to his waist band, dismounts the van, loads his rifle, and walks up to the wall.
[20:42] <TesKin> 4df+8 (PERC + SHARP EYES) Anyone hiding nearby?
[20:42] <Glacon> TesKin: (PERC + SHARP EYES) Anyone hiding nearby?: 8 (4df+8=0, 4-, 0, 3+)
01[20:43] <@Nemi> The opening of the van doors lets in cold but heavy and humid air with the faint scent of the sea. Morgan supplies, "Near as we can tell, there's four buildings on site. The actual school-school, then dormitories, then the gymnasium and auditorium, and a boathouse. River cuts through the back to the ocean."
[20:43] <Soulless> Gwen nods and heads out to follow Alim.
01[20:44] <@Nemi> Alim: There's no-one you can see through the thick mist, but your expertise tells you that the smear running near the broken gate is, as one may expect, blood. And the chunkiness suggests a tad of gore as well.
[20:44] <TesKin> 4df+4 (AGI) Up and over the wall!
[20:44] <Glacon> TesKin: (AGI) Up and over the wall!: 6 (4df+4=0, 3+, 0, 3+)
[20:44] <Talonair> Gregory shoulders his elephant gun, peering around as well, checking the broadsword at his waist
[20:45] <TheRaven> Will slings his BAR, and goes full pirate. Big double-barrel pistol in one hand, sword in the other.
[20:45] <Bananaman> Shawn follows after Alim.
[20:45] <Bananaman> 4df+4 slidin' over a wall
[20:45] <Glacon> Bananaman: slidin' over a wall: 4 (4df+4=4-, 0, 3+, 0)
[20:45] <Soulless> Gwen attempts to follow Alim.
[20:46] <Soulless> 4df+3 what is this wall shirt
[20:46] <Glacon> Soulless: what is this wall shirt: 1 (4df+3=4-, 3+, 4-, 4-)
01[20:46] <@Nemi> The wall's only about ten feet tall. Ignoring the nice open gate, Alim instead displays his remarkable athleticism for a humble scholar-man and flings himself over the brick wall and its decorative capstone to land in wet but neatly trimmed grass.
[20:46] <Soulless> oh, redact
[20:46] <Soulless> Gwen does the reasonable thing and goes through the gate.
[20:46] <Bananaman> Shawn is still climbing over
[20:46] <TheRaven> Will sticks with Gwen.
[20:46] <Talonair> Gregory carefully advances through the gate with Gwen
[20:46] <TesKin> "Oh. The gate is opened."
[20:47] <Soulless> "…'
[20:47] <TesKin> 4df+8 (SNK + TOTT) Alim heads of ahead of the group in search of A) A nice sniper hide, and 2) Information.
[20:47] <Glacon> TesKin: (SNK + TOTT) Alim heads of ahead of the group in search of A) A nice sniper hide, and 2) Information.: 6 (4df+8=4-, 4-, 0, 0)
[20:47] <Soulless> There is the tiniest of snickers from Gwen's vague direction.
[20:47] <TesKin> If Alim heard that, he'll have some words for Gwen after the mission.
[20:48] <Soulless> She lets Shawn, Will and Gregory lead where they go.
01[20:48] <@Nemi> Shawn, being a cool strong guy, does much the same. But being a cool strong guy it's more a case of 'hopping up, getting hands on the wall's top, then literally flinging your body mass over.' The dark (and wet) asphalt pavement below continues off into the fog, but even from here the shapes of Morgan's aforementioned school building, dorm, and presumably the gymnasium stand out as hulking and elaborate brickwork silhouettes.
[20:48] <TheRaven> "Follow the blood?"
[20:49] <Talonair> "If there's a trail to follow, certainly"
01[20:49] <@Nemi> Alim: Visibility is /bad/ here. You can make out larger buildings, backlit by the moon as it is, but the closer details start getting foggy past about fifteen feet. It's dark, it's incredibly foggy, and this is the time for a PER check from everyone. Alim again, even.
[20:49] <Soulless> She keeps her flashlight shining to give them light to go by.
[20:49] <Soulless> 4df+5 percep
[20:49] <Glacon> Soulless: percep: 3 (4df+5=3+, 4-, 4-, 4-)
[20:49] <Soulless> jeez
[20:49] <Talonair> 4df+3
[20:49] <Glacon> Talonair: 0 (4df+3=0, 4-, 4-, 4-)
[20:49] <TheRaven> 4df+3
[20:49] <Glacon> TheRaven: -1 (4df+3=4-, 4-, 4-, 4-)
[20:49] <Bananaman> 4df+5 shawn looks for a blood trail
[20:49] <Glacon> Bananaman: shawn looks for a blood trail: 7 (4df+5=3+, 3+, 4-, 3+)
[20:50] <TheRaven> Will has less eyes than usual, even.
[20:50] <TesKin> 4df+5 (PERC) EYES
[20:50] <Glacon> TesKin: (PERC) EYES: 6 (4df+5=3+, 0, 3+, 4-)
02[20:51] * Wixelt (moc.duolccri.notlrahc.C0F84341-CRInys|74798diu#moc.duolccri.notlrahc.C0F84341-CRInys|74798diu) Quit (Quit: Connection closed for inactivity)
01[20:51] <@Nemi> Will and Gregory, in a fantastic moment of disorientation, smack into one another. Gwen simply doesn't note anything out of the ordinary as they proceed toward the school buildings. Shawn and Alim, however.. The bloody smear ceases about five feet past the gate, leaving just the road to the centre as a path to follow. There's something of a heavy, wet stepping sound coming fairly close by, from just off the road.
[20:52] <Talonair> "Oof. I do beg your pardon." He sounds apologetic
[20:52] <TesKin> 4df+8 (SNK + TOTT) Into the shadows.
[20:52] <Glacon> TesKin: (SNK + TOTT) Into the shadows.: 8 (4df+8=0, 3+, 0, 4-)
[20:52] <TheRaven> Will grunts.
01[20:53] <@Nemi> Alim: Fortunately, once out of Gwen's light beam, it's very easy to hide in all this dark and fog. Unfortunately, it's also nearly impossible to tell where anything is. Hm. That may be problematic.
[20:53] <Bananaman> Shawn holds up a hand. "Somethin's fishy here."
[20:53] <Soulless> "…"
[20:53] <TheRaven> "No shit."
[20:53] <Soulless> Gwen stops when Shawn holds up a hand.
[20:53] <Soulless> Waits.
[20:53] <Talonair> Gregory stops, raising the stock of his elephant gun to his shoulder
[20:53] <Bananaman> "No, I mean, I hear somethin' specific."
[20:54] <Bananaman> Shawn peers in the direction of the wet footsteps.
[20:54] <TesKin> 4df+8 (PERC + SHARP EYES) Alim tries to identify the wet sound, and the team.
[20:54] <Glacon> TesKin: (PERC + SHARP EYES) Alim tries to identify the wet sound, and the team.: 9 (4df+8=0, 0, 3+, 0)
[20:54] <Bananaman> 4df+5 perc
[20:54] <Glacon> Bananaman: perc: 4 (4df+5=4-, 0, 3+, 4-)
[20:55] <TheRaven> 4df+3 Will scans
[20:55] <Glacon> TheRaven: Will scans: 1 (4df+3=4-, 4-, 4-, 3+)
[20:55] <Talonair> 4df+3 Gregory looks around
[20:55] <Glacon> Talonair: Gregory looks around: 6 (4df+3=3+, 0, 3+, 3+)
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01[20:55] <@Nemi> At least, Alim, you have the beacon that is Gwen's flashlight to easily point your way. Those craning their eyes will spy a person! Or rather, a young man in the shorts, running shoes, and BROOKRIDGE ACADEMY tank top of a track runner. That his neck is bent at a seventy-degree angle is of mild concern, moreso all the blood and the fact that he looks remarkably .. fresh.
01[20:56] <@Nemi> He's just walking, limping, apparently in circles. One leg drags uselessly behind him before catching up, giving him a strange lurching walk.
[20:56] <TesKin> Alim slips the garrote wire out from his jacket, waiting for weird dude to make a move.
[20:57] <Talonair> Gregory aims his rifle at the young man, holding fire for now
[20:58] <Bananaman> Shawn advances, keeping a distance of only about three yards away from the kid, and putting up his dukes.
02[20:58] * Dr_Leonard (ten.mocrie.rgm-cbd.kdd.2gga.A4283BF3-CRInys|tibbiM#ten.mocrie.rgm-cbd.kdd.2gga.A4283BF3-CRInys|tibbiM) Quit (Quit: http://www.mibbit.com ajax IRC Client)
02[20:58] * Daedalus (~moc.rr.ser.lacos.11E767B-CRInys|enahtanoj#moc.rr.ser.lacos.11E767B-CRInys|enahtanoj) Quit (Ping timeout: 183 seconds)
01[20:58] <@Nemi> He swivels as his circular ambulations bring Gwen's light, and thus the group, into his cone of vision. There's wet, gurgling whimpers. "No.. No.. get away.. please.." Which repeat themselves like an empty mantra as the runner's body lurches toward the light.
[20:59] <Soulless> "…"
[21:00] <Soulless> She looks concerned and starts backing up.
[21:00] <TheRaven> Will's grip on his sword tightens.
[21:00] <Bananaman> "…" Shawn backs up, a chill running down his spine.
01[21:00] <@Nemi> Shawn is biggest and most obvious thing, of course. And the walking, babbling dead student-athlete thus attempts to deliver a flailing bodyslam to Shawn. It's completely uncoordinated.
01[21:01] <@Nemi> Instead, it just flomps onto the grass and twitches, babbling.
[21:01] <Talonair> "Ms. Gwen, stay behind me" Gregory pulls the hammer back on his rifle
[21:01] <Bananaman> Shawn stares at the kid. "Um."
[21:01] <TheRaven> "Hold your fire. It's down."
[21:01] <TesKin> 4df+8 (MELEE + TOTT) Alim, who doesn't actually feel emotion, does his job as best as he can, and tries to put whatever this thing is out of it's misery.
[21:01] <Glacon> TesKin: (MELEE + TOTT) Alim, who doesn't actually feel emotion, does his job as best as he can, and tries to put whatever this thing is out of it's misery.: 9 (4df+8=4-, 3+, 3+, 0)
[21:02] <Soulless> She keeps behind Greg and keeps the flashlight up.
01[21:03] <@Nemi> The kid clearly has a broken neck. Alim and Gwen, no strangers to injury, may figure that he fell from a good height and landed badly. There's no bite marks on him, just a broken neck and broken ankle. Alim, you're.. well, a few initial strikes tells you that bodily injury doesn't do it, so finally you kick it in the head and it ceases moving. There's a squish at your toes.
01[21:03] <@Nemi> He has also been dead for about 12 hours.
01[21:03] <@Nemi> Whatever happened, this happened right bright and early in the morning.
03[21:04] * GraemeCracker (~ten.elbacwahs.mf.8FEFB825-CRInys|arCemearG#ten.elbacwahs.mf.8FEFB825-CRInys|arCemearG) has joined #homeimprovement
[21:04] <TesKin> Alim steps back, recoiling the garrote wire and sticking it back in his suit jacket.
[21:04] <Bananaman> Shawn looks slightly aghast.
[21:05] <Soulless> "…"
[21:05] <TesKin> "This boy has been dead for about 12 hours. Bodily injuries do nothing to harm them."
[21:05] <Soulless> "He should not be-…"
[21:05] <Talonair> Gregory frowns, looking around for any more. "We aim for the head then"
[21:05] <Bananaman> "These are kids…"
[21:06] <Soulless> Gwen looks concerned.
[21:06] <Soulless> "…We keep going…?"
[21:06] <TheRaven> "Still got a mission to do."
[21:07] <TesKin> "Do not discharge firearms, the man in the van said sound attracts them."
[21:07] <Talonair> Gregory looks back at Gwen and nods. "We keep going"
[21:07] <Soulless> She nods.
[21:07] <TesKin> Alim slides up next to Gwen. "He looked like he fell from quite high up, did he not?"
[21:08] <Bananaman> Shawn takes a deep breath. "Okay. This is a rescue mission, innit? Let's see if we can't, uh, get some of these kids out okay, eh?"
[21:08] <Bananaman> he seems to be reassuring himself as much as anyone else
[21:08] <TheRaven> Will holsters his pistol and switches the sword to his right hand. Better to slice thing that way, and he can two-hand it if necessary.
[21:09] <Talonair> Gregory nods, hanging the rifle over his shoulder by its sling and drawing his broadsword. "Can you determine where the body fell from?"
01[21:10] <@Nemi> There's nothing to fall from here. Maybe he walked out here. The grounds, if the group opts to check it over before examining the buildings more closely, seems to be host to several of the wandering, pathetic husks. The grounds themselves are unsettlingly well-kept. The bushes are trimmed. Flowers have been planted in a lovely little garden and gazebo near the centre of the grounds, the view only spoiled by a girl lying facedown across a patch of pansie, staining the violet flowers with darkening blood.
01[21:10] <@Nemi> There's picnic tables with mouldering breakfasts and schoolwork. There's even a pair of tennis courts.
[21:10] <Soulless> She nods to Alim.
[21:10] <Soulless> "Large fall. Should be dead."
[21:11] <TesKin> Alim nods back. "But he is not. Something is very wrong here and I would like to be out as soon as possible."
[21:11] <Soulless> "Yes. Where do we go?"
[21:11] <Soulless> She motions to the buildings.
[21:11] <Talonair> Gregory nods. "If we are here to rescue students and faculty members, I suggest we begin with the dorms"
[21:12] <TesKin> "That will most likely have the highest concentration of hostile targets."
[21:12] <TheRaven> Will looks at the buildings. Which seems sturdiest and most defensible?
01[21:12] <@Nemi> The buildings are rather nice. Big. Multiple floors. Deep red brick. Decorative masonry. One, by its height and relative simplicity, suggests the dormitories. Another, built in a pseudo-victorian style, is likely the school itself. And the last, of newer construction, must be the basketball court and auditorium.
01[21:12] <@Nemi> All of the buildings are in excellent condition barring some neatly arranged creepers what have crept up the otherwise bare walls of the dormitory building.
[21:13] <Talonair> "True enough. Any other suggestions?"
[21:14] <Bananaman> "Dorms seem like a good, uh, place to start."
[21:14] <Soulless> "Okay."
[21:14] <TheRaven> "As good as anywhere."
01[21:16] <@Nemi> The dorm building isn't far from the boathouse. Its front door hangs open, the painted wood smeared with yet more blood, as if someone or something impacted it from the inside with great force.
[21:16] <Talonair> Gregory nods, looking to Alim. "We will need your skills to avoid the largest groups of enemies"
[21:16] <TesKin> "The auditorium would be the first location to check for students and staff, as they would have been gathered there to be briefed on the situation."
[21:16] <Soulless> "…"
[21:16] <Soulless> She waits for the dudes to make a deicion. In the meantime she keeps her flashlight about, looking for any dangers approaching.
[21:17] <Talonair> "He makes a good point. Begin with the auditorium, then move to the dorms?"
01[21:17] <@Nemi> Gwen, Per.
[21:17] <TheRaven> "Works for me."
[21:17] <Bananaman> "We could split up. We have radios to stay in contact, eh?"
[21:17] <TesKin> "that is the last thing I want to do in this situation."
[21:18] <Soulless> 4df+5 percvep!
[21:18] <Glacon> Soulless: percvep!: 8 (4df+5=3+, 3+, 0, 3+)
[21:19] <Bananaman> Shawn shrugs
[21:19] <Soulless> "We can go to the auditorium."
02[21:19] * ObserverSeptember (~androirc@9031EA63:5C553470:4CE5B26B:IP) Quit (Client exited)
01[21:19] <@Nemi> Gwen, you peer through a brief break in the fog and you spy that the boathouse is.. its larger doors are open, said doors presumably to allow easy removal of boats, but where one would expect to find some rowboats you instead see nothing. Perhaps some made it out via the river? Cold comfort.
[21:20] <Talonair> "We stay together, if we separate we are more easily overwhelmed. The auditorium then?"
[21:20] <Bananaman> "Sounds like a plan."
[21:20] <Soulless> "…"
[21:21] <Soulless> "No rowboats. Maybe some survivors made it out."
[21:21] <Soulless> She moves to stick behind Greg.
[21:22] <Bananaman> Shawn takes up the rear.
[21:23] <TheRaven> Will is presumably on point, and starts heading to the auditorium.
03[21:23] * Daedalus (~moc.rr.ser.lacos.11E767B-CRInys|enahtanoj#moc.rr.ser.lacos.11E767B-CRInys|enahtanoj) has joined #homeimprovement
[21:23] <Talonair> Gregory keeps his eyes open, looking around carefully
01[21:24] <@Nemi> It's easy enough to cross the lawn without disturbing the wandering lost souls. The hollow vessels shuffle aimlessly about, mumbling pleas for help, begging for mercy, sometimes just crying or shrieking through torn throats. The auditorium building is easily reached. Clearly the newest construction, it prominently displays postwar pride, being built big and fresh, of concrete and decorative masonry. A sodden banner stretching over the entrance reads GO WILDCATS!
[21:24] <TesKin> 4df+8 (SNK + TOTT) Alim sticks in the heavier fog, staying quite and out of sight.
[21:24] <Glacon> TesKin: (SNK + TOTT) Alim sticks in the heavier fog, staying quite and out of sight.: 11 (4df+8=3+, 3+, 0, 3+)
01[21:26] <@Nemi> These doors too hang open. There's no lights inside.
[21:27] <Bananaman> 4df+5 Shawn looks for any signs of life inside the building
[21:27] <Glacon> Bananaman: Shawn looks for any signs of life inside the building: 5 (4df+5=4-, 0, 3+, 0)
[21:27] <Soulless> Gwen looks increasingly unhappy and shines her light in.
[21:28] <Talonair> 4df+3 Gregory looks for signs of life as well
[21:28] <Glacon> Talonair: Gregory looks for signs of life as well: 2 (4df+3=4-, 4-, 3+, 0)
[21:28] <TheRaven> 4df+3 Will looks around.
[21:28] <Glacon> TheRaven: Will looks around.: 4 (4df+3=3+, 4-, 3+, 0)
[21:29] <Soulless> 4df+5 percep since errywun doin
[21:29] <Glacon> Soulless: percep since errywun doin: 5 (4df+5=0, 0, 3+, 4-)
[21:29] <TesKin> 4df+8 (PERC + SHARP EYE) Alim is good at finding hidden people
[21:29] <Glacon> TesKin: (PERC + SHARP EYE) Alim is good at finding hidden people: 8 (4df+8=0, 4-, 3+, 0)
01[21:31] <@Nemi> The interior of the building.. Ah. Seems Morgan may have been incorrect. This looks to be more of an athletics centre. One supposes a boarding school would need a place for its students to spend their energy. The tile floor of this lobby area is muddied, as if many feet passed through. The trophy cases along the walls are unbroken, bearing trophies both home-grown and received from tournaments. Photos of team rosters— seems this year the school's track team was scheduled to have a race with a few other similar schools with pleasingly generic names.
[21:32] <TesKin> What was the date on the race?
[21:33] <Soulless> "…."
01[21:33] <@Nemi> Alim: January 26, 1956. Their best runner came in fourth. David Powell. Alim, Gwen, Shawn: An eye for detail— or perhaps, in Shawn's case, being aware of small and potentially dangerous objects— causes you to note that every light source in the room has been broken and rendered inoperable. Across the way, between where halls spread to either side with signs like POOL and WEIGHT ROOM, sits a pair of double doors, presumably the visitor's entrance to the court.
[21:33] <Soulless> "…Someone broke…. all the lights."
[21:34] <TesKin> Alim nods. "Mmm. Odd."
[21:34] <TheRaven> "Something doesn't like the light."
[21:35] <Talonair> "Or is trying to disadvantage us"
[21:35] <Bananaman> "I get the feeling this might be a trap."
[21:35] <TheRaven> "Definitely."
02[21:39] * Bananaman (suruas.eht|esohw#suruas.eht|esohw) Quit (Ping timeout: 180 seconds)
02[21:39] * Baby_Boo (ten.labolgcbs.acnvri.deepsthgil.4721A2CF-CRInys|tibbiM#ten.labolgcbs.acnvri.deepsthgil.4721A2CF-CRInys|tibbiM) Quit (Quit: http://www.mibbit.com ajax IRC Client)
01[21:40] <@Nemi> [ well. rip roget. ]
01[21:40] <@Nemi> [ pausing for a few moments. ]
03[21:42] * Roget (suruas.eht|esohw#suruas.eht|esohw) has joined #homeimprovement
03[21:42] * ChanServ sets mode: +qo Roget Roget
01[21:42] <@Nemi> [ and there you are. since your last post was as follows in PM
[21:43] <TesKin> 4df+8 (SNK + TOTT) Alim heads off to the WEIGHT ROOM to GET SWOLE (look for students)
[21:43] <Glacon> TesKin: (SNK + TOTT) Alim heads off to the WEIGHT ROOM to GET SWOLE (look for students): 9 (4df+8=0, 0, 0, 3+)
[21:44] <Soulless> "We go?"
03[21:44] * LemurLord (~ten.nozirev.soif.jnndmc.E2478796-CRInys|droLrumeL#ten.nozirev.soif.jnndmc.E2478796-CRInys|droLrumeL) has joined #homeimprovement
[21:45] <~Roget> "I mean… maybe we should take some time to check this place out, see if we can avoid springing a trap, eh?"
01[21:45] <@Nemi> Alim: It's just a stairwell away. It's a pretty nice weight room, all considered. There's dumbbells and barbells and kettlebells and bells of all kinds, along with squat racks and neat storage areas for all the other goodies an athlete might want. It is, like upstairs, wrapped in darkness, for the lights here are also broken. The wall-spanning mirror on the far side of the room is splattered with a worryingly large quantity of what is almost certainly blood. It smells vaguely of citrus in here.
[21:45] <Talonair> Gregory nods, headed to the changing rooms
[21:45] <TesKin> 4df+8 (PERC + SHARP EYES) Anyone hiding in the dark?
[21:45] <Glacon> TesKin: (PERC + SHARP EYES) Anyone hiding in the dark?: 7 (4df+8=0, 4-, 0, 0)
01[21:46] <@Nemi> Alim: No-one.
[21:46] <Soulless> She follows Greg.
01[21:46] <@Nemi> Greg: There's probably a few different changing areas. Likely one between the weight room and gymnasium proper, and likely one for the pool.
01[21:47] <@Nemi> It's still and quiet as the grave.
[21:47] <Talonair> He heads for the one ajoining the gymnasium
[21:47] <TesKin> 4df+8 (SNK + TOTT) Alim heads for the pool.
[21:47] <Glacon> TesKin: (SNK + TOTT) Alim heads for the pool.: 8 (4df+8=4-, 3+, 0, 0)
[21:48] <~Roget> Shawn takes up the rear again.
[21:48] <TheRaven> Will just kinda waits for sneakydude to check things out.
01[21:48] <@Nemi> So Greg goes through the weight room, Gwen and Shawn in tow, to the locker room! There's.. well, some lockers are still open, with clothes and personal effects sitting pristine as if only just placed inside. But there's no-one around. There is, however, something shining on the handle to the door up to the gym proper.
[21:49] <Talonair> He frowns, carefully approaching the door
[21:50] <~Roget> ~This is the trap. This is where it happens.~
01[21:50] <@Nemi> Alim: It's actually down a flight of stairs to what must be basement level. It's a decent sized pool, all considered, that you step out to see. Very blue from pool chemicals, bleacher style seating- prsumably there's competitions here as well as relaxation- and checkered tiles of tawny and white that actually makes for a rather pleasant backdrop. It smells strongly of chlorine, but again, no sign of anyone.
[21:51] <TesKin> 4df+5 (PERC) Anything strange sticking out?
[21:51] <Glacon> TesKin: (PERC) Anything strange sticking out?: 6 (4df+5=0, 0, 3+, 0)
01[21:51] <@Nemi> Team GGS: The knob on the door to the gymnasium is one of those brushed steel affairs, very new. The shine comes from a sticky tarrish substance that seems spattered here and there about the handle and about the lock.
[21:52] <Soulless> Gwen goes to the shiny thing.
[21:52] <TheRaven> "Anybody see anything?" Will's in the main hallway, making sure the escape route stays clear.
01[21:52] <@Nemi> Alim: Good eyes and careful searching. Peering under the bleachers, you note something odd. Bits of fabric, but more pertinent, a roughly basketball-sized glob of shiny tar smeared up into the bottom of the seats second-from-top.
[21:53] <Talonair> Gregory frowns at the tar. "Nothing yet" He calls back
[21:54] <TesKin> Alim notes the location for the containment team to pickup later and moves back into the lobby, waiting for the rest of the team.
[21:54] <~Roget> Shawn waits by the door. He ain't going into the basement. Momma didn't raise no fool.
01[21:55] <@Nemi> Alim, Will: The doors to the gym and court proper beckon. The other three remain down in a locker room, staring at a door splattered with tar.
[21:55] <Soulless> Shiny thing?
[21:55] <Soulless> Oh wait
[21:55] <Soulless> redact
[21:56] <Soulless> She heads over and tries to collect a sample, open the door.
[21:56] <TesKin> 4df+8 (SNK + TOTT) Time's wasting. Alim heads off to the gym.
[21:56] <Glacon> TesKin: (SNK + TOTT) Time's wasting. Alim heads off to the gym.: 6 (4df+8=0, 4-, 0, 4-)
[21:56] <~Roget> Shawn follows to the gym.
[21:56] <TheRaven> Where's Gwen?
01[21:57] <@Nemi> Gwen can easily collect some in a vial without even getting it on herself! It's viscous and tries to stick to itself. And so, from different sides, the group opens doors to the basketball court.
01[21:57] <@Nemi> Through the double-doors.. is a basketball court. Fairly sizeable, likely with its own attached storage rooms beyond the rows of bleachers. Presumably used as an assembly space and perhaps even music room, judging by the instruments pushed off into a corner.
01[21:58] <@Nemi> In near centre of the court is a man in a tweed suit. Balding. His features and body seems distorted somehow, as if being seen through water, and he appears to be floating about six inches off the floor. ".. it'll be okay, we'll get the wards up.. we'll get through this.. it'll be okay, we'll get the wards up.." He repeats to himself as if from very far away. All around him are arrayed folding chairs, empty. He flickers now and then like a poor film projection.
[21:58] <Talonair> Gregory nods at the other two, before looking at the man, frowning
01[21:58] <@Nemi> The shiny wooden court is ruined by a thick layer of something dark, red, and foul-smelling about the chairs.
[21:59] <TheRaven> "You alright in there, Gwen?"
[21:59] <TesKin> Alim just stays in the doorway, watching the guy.
02[21:59] * Cris_To_Baal (PI.A0B3CEDF.78EC52F9.BF6E9BFA|tibbiM#PI.A0B3CEDF.78EC52F9.BF6E9BFA|tibbiM) Quit (Quit: http://www.mibbit.com ajax IRC Client)
01[21:59] <@Nemi> Gwen's over there, with Greg and Shawn! Hooray. The flickering, floating man remains nonresponsive, just repeating the words over and over again.
[21:59] <TheRaven> Will just goes to the rest of them.
01[22:00] <@Nemi> Across the court floor or out and around through the weight room?
[22:00] <TesKin> 4df+8 (PERC + SE) Any hidden hostiles hanging around?
[22:00] <Glacon> TesKin: (PERC + SE) Any hidden hostiles hanging around?: 9 (4df+8=3+, 4-, 0, 3+)
01[22:03] <@Nemi> Alim: There's the disconcerting sight of.. well, Gwen's light cone casts enough light for shadows to be placed on the wall across. The chairs, the floating man, all are there.. and the seats are occupied. Smaller silhouettes.
[22:03] <Talonair> Gregory glances at Will, before moving forwards carefully
[22:04] <TheRaven> "…okay, that's not good."
[22:04] <~Roget> "I think… everybody died here."
[22:05] <TesKin> "Really? I thought it was an ice cream social."
01[22:05] <@Nemi> The floating man continues to repeat his mantra, unceasingly and still as if from far, far away.
[22:05] <TesKin> "Smaller silhouettes sitting in the chairs. Stay away."
[22:05] <TheRaven> Are the smaller silhouettes consistent with the walkers outside?
[22:05] <Soulless> "…"
[22:05] <Soulless> Gwen looks at the man, scared.
01[22:06] <@Nemi> About the same size, yes. Teens.
[22:06] <~Roget> How many are there, approximately?
[22:06] <Talonair> "Wards… Wards to keep the monsters out, perhaps?"
[22:07] <TheRaven> "Could be…don't know enough about that kind of shit to say for sure."
01[22:07] <@Nemi> Shawn: Enough to fill the chairs, so.. Only twenty. Out of the expected two hundred students and faculty still on site.
[22:08] <TesKin> Do the shadows flicker like the man does?
01[22:08] <@Nemi> They do not.
[22:10] <TesKin> Alim squints, and looks around the room. Is there a way he could get over to the chairs without touching the goop?
[22:12] <Soulless> She shines her light around.
[22:12] <Talonair> Gregory approaches one of the storage room, keeping clear of the goop
01[22:14] <@Nemi> Not to the folding chairs, no. They're quite literally mired in it. The man could be reached, however, and he remains nonresponsive. Gwen's light illuminates various hanging banners. "WEEK OF WELCOME" "SUMMER PROGRAM 1956," "1955 REGIONAL CHAMPIONS", so on so on. Greg, stepping out into the room proper and heading to the storage room, finds himself unmolested, but for the horrendous scent of decay coming from behind the closed metal doors.
[22:15] <TesKin> 4df+8 (PERC + SE) It's a long shot, but its there a projector anywhere?
[22:15] <Glacon> TesKin: (PERC + SE) It's a long shot, but its there a projector anywhere?: 9 (4df+8=3+, 0, 3+, 4-)
[22:16] <TheRaven> "There's nothing alive in here, I say we keep moving."
[22:16] <Talonair> Gregory looks back towards the group. "Something is rotting behind these doors"
[22:16] <~Roget> "Let's keep them there."
[22:17] <~Roget> "Maybe check the dorms for living people."
01[22:17] <@Nemi> No projector, Alim. Seems but for the unsettling echoes there's no life left here.
[22:18] <TesKin> He frowns. "This is a lost cause. Let us move on."
[22:18] <TheRaven> Will leads the way out.
[22:18] <Soulless> "…We go."
[22:18] <Soulless> "Sir Gregory, let's go."
03[22:18] * BusyPotato is now known as DiePotato
[22:18] <Talonair> Gregory nods, backing away from the doors, keeping an eye on them
01[22:19] <@Nemi> The group remains unmolested on the way back outside. Whispers and hollow sobs can still be heard, echoing through the mist-filled commons.
[22:20] <TesKin> 4df+5 (Pe) Directional hearing to attempt to locate the sobbing, or at least gain a bearing
[22:20] <Glacon> TesKin: (Pe) Directional hearing to attempt to locate the sobbing, or at least gain a bearing: 3 (4df+5=3+, 4-, 4-, 4-)
[22:20] <TheRaven> "Dorms next?"
01[22:21] <@Nemi> Alim: You can't get a bearing, but it sounds like just more of the walking lost.
[22:22] <Talonair> "Seems to be the most logical location." He looks at Alim. "Do you think you can climb the building, find where the greatest concentrations of these…. Unfortunates are?"
[22:23] <Soulless> "I do not believe scaling a building will be good."
[22:23] <TheRaven> "Won't be able to see far in this fog anyways."
[22:23] <TesKin> Alim stares at Gregory with his characteristic flat expression. In deadpan monotone: "I could, if I was partial to falling from the building in foggy semidarkness."
[22:24] <TesKin> "Also the obvious drawbacks of low-light conditions and limited visibility."
[22:24] <~Roget> "We can clear it out, floor by floor, check every room for survivors. Shouldn't take long. The… unfortunates don't seem to be a huge threat, so we can probably stay safe if we stick together."
[22:25] <Talonair> Gregory nods. "Very well then"
[22:25] <TesKin> "Mister Thronton raises the best point so far."
01[22:25] <@Nemi> The door to the three-floor building remains open as it was, still smeared with blood still wet from the sodden air.
[22:25] <Soulless> "Okay."
[22:25] <~Roget> Shawn takes the lead this time! He heads over to the dorms with sudden resolve.
[22:25] <Soulless> She wrinkles her nose at the stench. Follows Shawn.
[22:25] <TesKin> Alim trails at a distance.
[22:26] <~Roget> 4df+5 as he approaches, he looks for any signs of movement from windows/the front door.
[22:26] <Glacon> Roget: as he approaches, he looks for any signs of movement from windows/the front door.: 6 (4df+5=3+, 3+, 0, 4-)
[22:26] <Talonair> Gregory follows Shawn, looking for movement as well
[22:26] <Talonair> 4df+3 (PER)
[22:26] <Glacon> Talonair: (PER): 3 (4df+3=3+, 0, 4-, 0)
[22:26] <TesKin> 4df+8 (Pe + SE) Rear security!
[22:26] <Glacon> TesKin: (Pe + SE) Rear security!: 8 (4df+8=4-, 3+, 3+, 4-)
01[22:27] <@Nemi> No movement at all. The windows are actually a bit off the ground- the entrance is raised on a small set of stairs, thus conveniently making windows a less viable entrance or exit (or peeping hole).
[22:27] <TheRaven> Will is presumably somewhere towards the middle
[22:27] <~Roget> Shawn heads to the front door, then. He opens it, if it's unlocked.
01[22:28] <@Nemi> The front door remains open as it was before.
[22:28] <Soulless> She shines her light in.
[22:28] <Soulless> People?
[22:28] <~Roget> Shawn heads inside, keeping his guard up.
[22:28] <Talonair> Gregory is right behind Shawn
[22:28] <TesKin> Alim watches the courtyard and windows.
01[22:30] <@Nemi> No immediate signs of people. A pleasant little landing and common room with attached kitchen is the first thing sighted, with a long corridor stretching away and lined with openings to the rooms. It's very much like a (rather nicer, if dark and quiet) typical college dorm building. Off to the side of the commons is a robust wooden spiral staircase leading up and downwards. The lights here, as well, are all smashed.
01[22:30] <@Nemi> In the common room, some papers and textbooks, and even a half-finished (and terribly mouldy, given the damp) sandwich and cup of.. something, remain on the table as if just set down.
[22:31] <Talonair> "They left in a hurry"
01[22:31] <@Nemi> Morgan did say that the first occurance of the mist led many of the Brookridge townies to walk into the sea, returning as the shambling dead days later. Shambling dead implanted with.. something.
[22:31] <TheRaven> "Wouldn't you?"
[22:32] <~Roget> Shawn heads down the cooridor. "Let's keep focused. Anyone who didn't leave could be a surivor."
01[22:32] <@Nemi> But the floating, flickering professor spoke of wards. Most schools don't have wards.
[22:32] <TesKin> "Or infected with whatever is causing this."
[22:33] <~Roget> How many rooms are in the cooridor?
[22:33] <Soulless> "…Wards. Sea."
[22:34] <Talonair> Gregory nods, before looking at Gwen. "Pardon?"
[22:34] <Soulless> "What if the wards were meant to keep the sea out?"
[22:34] <Soulless> "Whatever is in the sea. The wards have broken?"
[22:34] <TesKin> Alim looks at Gwen. "That is a brilliant idea."
02[22:35] * Talonair (ten.mnigriv.elbac.6AA7BC18-CRInys|tibbiM#ten.mnigriv.elbac.6AA7BC18-CRInys|tibbiM) Quit (Quit: http://www.mibbit.com ajax IRC Client)
[22:35] <Soulless> "We can recover the wards, maybe."
01[22:35] <@Nemi> To save time and effort, the first and second floors are nearly identical. About twenty rooms— really, more 'suites' than anything, given their size, space and beds enough for four persons per room. Most rooms have decorated (and now damp and mouldering) doors, with cheerful drawings, decorated names. Each room is empty but for strewn clothing, personal belongings, books and homework.
[22:35] <TheRaven> "So whatever was here, they knew about it…and whatever they knew is probably around the college somewhere."
[22:36] <~Roget> Can we just say Psi-7 checks them all out and finds nothing of interest on the first two floors, if we're expediating?
[22:36] <TesKin> 4df+7 (ACAD + 'Alim') Any religious wards help with this situation?
[22:36] <Glacon> TesKin: (ACAD + 'Alim') Any religious wards help with this situation?: 8 (4df+7=0, 0, 0, 3+)
[22:36] <Soulless> She says to Alim: "Thank you for the compliment, but I'm quite plain."
03[22:37] * Talonair (ten.mnigriv.elbac.6AA7BC18-CRInys|tibbiM#ten.mnigriv.elbac.6AA7BC18-CRInys|tibbiM) has joined #homeimprovement
[22:37] <TesKin> "Far from. Now, let's get on with it, shall we?"
01[22:38] <@Nemi> Expediting, yes. The third floor, however. Here, the commons looks to be in disarray. There's soggy footprints, apparently having come from the stairs, in the carpeted floor of this room, unnoticed on the hardwood of the prior two. Some look barefood, a few shoed, some with only one shoe.. And the window is open. Most of the surfaces here are ruined by rainwater and moisture. There's specks of blood about the window.
[22:38] <TheRaven> "Looks like someone jumped."
[22:38] <~Roget> "… or got pushed."
[22:38] <TesKin> Alim looks to Gwen. "Maybe the boy we encountered in the court yard?"
[22:39] <Talonair> Gregory looks around for any other tracks
[22:39] <Soulless> "…"
[22:39] <Soulless> "Maybe."
03[22:40] * EldritchCyanide|Grad is now known as EldritchCyanide
[22:41] <TesKin> 4df+8 (PERC + SE) Anyone hiding about?
[22:41] <Glacon> TesKin: (PERC + SE) Anyone hiding about?: 9 (4df+8=0, 3+, 0, 0)
[22:41] <~Roget> Shawn heads into the corridor, cautiously.
01[22:41] <@Nemi> A cursory inspection of the rest of the floor picks out one particular oddity. In one room— names listed being "GREG!" in all caps, written in marker; "JOE BROWNING" with some pictures of baseball mits and the like.. one that's smeared with something that looks like dried blood and is thus unreadable.. and one that says "Rasmus". Inside the room.. well, on one of the beds there's a handcuff around one bedpost and the other end open on the mattress, as if recently and hastily doffed. The key is on the floor, as is a set of young women's clothing and two pairs of very different shoes.
[22:42] <Soulless> "…"
[22:42] <~Roget> "…"
[22:42] <TesKin> "…"
[22:42] <TheRaven> "…looks like someone was having fun."
[22:42] <Talonair> Gregory quirks a brow at the handcuffs. "Well then"
[22:42] <Soulless> "I do not understand."
01[22:42] <@Nemi> Unlike the other beds, this one shows signs— sweat staining- that it was inhabited relatively recently.
[22:42] <Soulless> Of course Gwen doesn't understand.
01[22:42] <@Nemi> Perhaps the runner boy had one reason he didn't walk to the sea.
[22:43] <TesKin> "Damnit. I did not check the runners body for ID."
[22:43] <TheRaven> "Could have survivors here…look around a bit."
[22:43] <~Roget> 4df+5 Shawn investigates!
[22:43] <Glacon> Roget: Shawn investigates!: 6 (4df+5=3+, 0, 4-, 3+)
[22:43] <Talonair> Gregory nods, going down the corridor
[22:44] <TesKin> 4df+8 (PER + SE) Alim does so!
[22:44] <Glacon> TesKin: (PER + SE) Alim does so!: 7 (4df+8=4-, 4-, 0, 3+)
[22:44] <Talonair> 4df+3 (PERC) Searching for signs of life
[22:44] <Glacon> Talonair: (PERC) Searching for signs of life: 2 (4df+3=0, 0, 0, 4-)
01[22:44] <@Nemi> Expediting things. There's no other signs of life in the building besides the following: The bottom floor contains a laundry room and maintenance room, as well as the heating and electrical controls. Very mundane. There's still a load of laundry in one of the dryers. The fusebox has been torn open and appears to be encrusted in still-dripping algae.
[22:46] <~Roget> "… They came from the sea, then. Sophisticated enough to cut the power."
[22:46] <~Roget> "Maybe they came in from the third floor, eh? Cut the power, took them by surprise."
[22:46] <~Roget> "Other two floors had a chance to run."
[22:46] <Talonair> "This bodes poorly, they /are/ coordinated"
[22:46] <Soulless> "…"
[22:46] <~Roget> Shawn looks grim. "Very poorly."
[22:46] <TheRaven> "Fuck."
[22:47] <TesKin> "…"
[22:47] <Soulless> "We need to find a source quickly."
[22:47] <TesKin> "We need to end this as fast as possible."
[22:47] <Soulless> "They do not like light. They do not like electricity."
[22:47] <~Roget> "What are the buildings we haven't checked?"
[22:47] <TesKin> "I do not find out odds of survival very high if we stay much longer."
[22:47] <Talonair> "I'm inclined to agree with him, we should make haste"
01[22:47] <@Nemi> Just the boathouse— which Gwen already saw was empty— and the academics building.
[22:48] <~Roget> Shawn descends the stairs, then, and heads to the academics building. "There's only one place left to go."
[22:48] <TheRaven> Will follows.
[22:48] <TesKin> Alim nods. "Yes. I will go ahead and check the lobby."
[22:49] <Talonair> Gregory follows
[22:49] <Soulless> Gwen follows, keeping her everything ready.
[22:49] <TesKin> 4df+8 (SNK + TOTT) Alim heads off to the academics building, trying to keep quiet and out of sight.
[22:49] <Glacon> TesKin: (SNK + TOTT) Alim heads off to the academics building, trying to keep quiet and out of sight.: 8 (4df+8=4-, 3+, 3+, 4-)
[22:49] <Soulless> She'll have to ask them about the handuffs later. She still doesn't get it.
[22:49] <~Roget> Shawn follows behind, leading the rest of the group.
[22:49] <~Roget> He waits outside the entrance for Alim to finish scouting.
01[22:50] <@Nemi> The big one. This building's doors still remain shut. This is the oldest structure on campus, and clearly the most extravagant. It lacks the height of the athletics building, but makes up for it in breadth and that curious late-1800s red-brick-Victorian-Gothic style. Tall narrow windows, delicate masonry.
01[22:50] <@Nemi> Even the doors are tall. Painted wood, brass furniture.
[22:52] <TesKin> Alim heads inside, looking about the lobby
[22:52] <Talonair> Gregory holds position just outside the door
[22:53] <~Roget> Shawn does the same on the opposite side of the door.
01[22:53] <@Nemi> Alim: The lobby /would/ be rather grand. Spacious, with a receptionist's desk, and tastefully subdued furnishings. Plants, chipped marble tile floors. An administrative office over there, staircases up, a wide round window above the desk that perfectly frames the moon's light shining through…
[22:54] <TesKin> 4df+8 (SNK + TOTT) He moves deeper into the building, looking for survivors.
[22:54] <Glacon> TesKin: (SNK + TOTT) He moves deeper into the building, looking for survivors.: 7 (4df+8=4-, 0, 0, 0)
01[22:54] <@Nemi> Too bad the scene's ruined by an enormous amount of blood splattered about the area, along with piles of spattered glop, dessicated sealife, seashells, and burned flesh.
[22:55] <Soulless> Gwen wrinkles her nose.
[22:55] <Soulless> She tries to look for things.
[22:55] <TheRaven> "…jesus."
01[22:55] <@Nemi> That and the Admin office being barricaded with furniture as seen through the broken glass frame it once held. A brass plate reads "HEADMASTER JOHN RAMSAY"
[22:55] <Talonair> "How distressing…"
01[22:55] <@Nemi> Per quick, everyone.
[22:56] <~Roget> 4df+5
[22:56] <Glacon> Roget: 9 (4df+5=3+, 3+, 3+, 3+)
[22:56] <~Roget> (holy shit)
[22:56] <Talonair> 4df+3
[22:56] <Glacon> Talonair: 3 (4df+3=0, 3+, 0, 4-)
[22:56] <TesKin> 4df+8 (PERC + SE) Ambush situation? Alim does those real gooder.
[22:56] <Glacon> TesKin: (PERC + SE) Ambush situation? Alim does those real gooder.: 10 (4df+8=4-, 3+, 3+, 3+)
[22:56] <TheRaven> 4df+3
[22:56] <Glacon> TheRaven: 2 (4df+3=0, 4-, 4-, 3+)
01[22:56] <@Nemi> Well /dang/.
01[22:58] <@Nemi> While SIR GREGORY and Will don't pick up much, the jumping-spider-esque vision of Alim and Shawn notes quite a few little interesting things. Namely that the doorframe around the admin office appears to have been scrawled with flickering sigils, which occasionally sputter with white light that might haveo therwise been lost in the moonlight.
01[22:58] <@Nemi> Secondly, there's muffled voices from behind the barricade. They sound distressed.
01[22:59] <@Nemi> Whispering, but distressed.
[22:59] <TesKin> Alim slips up to the barricade, looking for a way over and into the office.
[22:59] <~Roget> "Survivors."
[22:59] <TheRaven> "We hope."
[22:59] <TesKin> Barring that, he'll try and make contact from the outside.
[22:59] <Soulless> "…Where?"
02[22:59] * LemurLord (~ten.nozirev.soif.jnndmc.E2478796-CRInys|droLrumeL#ten.nozirev.soif.jnndmc.E2478796-CRInys|droLrumeL) Quit (Quit: The LemurLord giveth, the LemurLord taketh away)
[22:59] <~Roget> Shawn points to, and then moves quickly to catch up with, Alim.
01[22:59] <@Nemi> The barricade is on the inside, Alim. Clearly an attempt to keep something out. Alim feels a faint tingly sensation as he nears the runes, but seems otherwise unharmed.
[23:00] <Talonair> Gregory frowns and steps inside the door after Shawn
[23:00] <TesKin> "Hold. Something different here. Strange tingling sensation."
[23:00] <TheRaven> Will stays outside. He's /probably/ not what the survivors of whatever happened here want to see.
[23:00] <TesKin> Alim turns his attention to the barricade. "Hello? Is anyone in there? We're here to help."
[23:01] <Soulless> "Tingling… wards?"
[23:01] <TesKin> Alim nods. "Something. I am not sure."
[23:01] <Talonair> Gregory looks around for any hostile entities
[23:02] <~Roget> Shawn knocks on the barricade, shave-and-a-haircut style.
01[23:03] <@Nemi> There's hissed whispers behind the barricade, before finally a table is pushed aside just far enough for an older man to peek out. He looks sleepless, haggard, but his dead eyes suddenly brighten. ".. oh thank god. I don't care /who/ you are but.." He turns away. Muffled, he can be heard saying, "Helen! Irene! David! There's people out there!" "What?" "Real people!"
[23:04] <Soulless> "We are here to rescue?"
[23:04] <Talonair> Gregory nods. "We're here to get you out of here"
[23:04] <TesKin> "Yes, we are here to get you, and any other survivors, out."
[23:04] <~Roget> "Can you take down the barricades, or do you need help?"
[23:04] <~Roget> "I can /definitely/ help with that, eh."
01[23:06] <@Nemi> A few moments pass and the barricade is pushed aside and the door opened. "No— no, come in, we have worse things than just rescue.." The older man ushers everyone into the room. It's quite spacious. There's blankets, what looks like scavenged mattresses— presumably from a nurse's office, given the clinical look of them— small stocks of candy bars and other foods. Also inside is a similarly exhausted-looking matronly older woman whose look almost screams 'schoolmarm'.
[23:06] <~Roget> Shawn steps inside. "What happened here?"
[23:07] <TheRaven> Will leans against a wall and lights a cigarette.
[23:07] <Talonair> "How many others are there?"
01[23:07] <@Nemi> And kneeling by a very sickly looking brunette girl, spattered heavily with blood on her far-too-large BROOKRIDGE ACADEMY hoodie— looks like a men's size, maybe- are two other students. A hollow-eyed boy, perhaps sixteen, and a girl maybe seventeen. They seem to be tending to the sickly one, who looks as if she's lost a terrible amount of blood.
[23:08] <TesKin> "Gwendolyn, can you care for the girl?"
01[23:08] <@Nemi> The older man swallows and licks at his dry lips, despite the pervasive cold damp. "My- alright. I'm Howard Duran. Literature and.. occult studies, for the more advanced students. Please, sit— and close the door behind you, we don't want it sighting us.."
01[23:09] <@Nemi> The kids eye the team's many weapons with big eyes.
[23:09] <Talonair> Gregory nods, closing the door. "/It/?"
[23:10] <TesKin> Alim slips the rifle off his back and leans it against the wall. "Brief me on everything that has happened here."
[23:10] <Soulless> "…"
[23:10] <Soulless> Gwen checks out the sickly one.
[23:10] <Soulless> Are they ok?
[23:10] <TheRaven> Will stands guard at the door.
01[23:10] <@Nemi> Meanwhile, the woman— Helen, presumably— is fretting and sitting at what must be the headmaster's chair. Behind her is a portrait of an older man with an oddly piscine appearance. Eyes too big and bulging and rather widely-spaced.
01[23:10] <@Nemi> Gwen: Looks like extreme blood loss and exhaustion.
[23:10] <Soulless> "Blood loss. Exhaustion. Requires time."
[23:11] <Soulless> She sees what's made them lose so much blood- maybe she can patch a wound.
[23:11] <TesKin> Alim nods, handing his full canteen over.
01[23:11] <@Nemi> Howard swallows again. "We… teach very gifted students here, and because-" He's interrupted as the kneeling girl, Irene, whispers to Gwen, "She's Cait, she um, she helped us get here but then she fell over and I don't know what to do!"
[23:12] <Talonair> Gregory looks at Howard. "/What/ don't you want sighting us?"
[23:13] <Soulless> She nods.
01[23:13] <@Nemi> Howard continues. ".. I don't know who you are but you were brave enough to find us. We teach gifted students." The stress is clear. "When the Calling came to Brookridge, we attempted to set up our defenses.. Professor Beck and the most talented of the upperclassmen went to the gym to try to bolster the wards. Then.."
[23:13] <Soulless> She offers the canteen to the student.
[23:13] <Soulless> "Wards failed."
[23:13] <TesKin> "… Do you know what this Calling is?"
01[23:13] <@Nemi> Irene is trembling as she takes the water. Ignoring her own dry lips, she tries to help Cait drink, to little success.
[23:13] <TesKin> "Or what is causing it?"
[23:14] <~Roget> If there's a window or some other opening to look back from whence they came, Shawn peers out of it.
[23:14] <Soulless> She nods to Irene.
[23:14] <Soulless> She takes the canteen back.
[23:14] <Soulless> "We get them out."
[23:14] <TesKin> "Can we move them safely?"
01[23:15] <@Nemi> Howard shuts his eyes and inhales. "Please— let me finish, it's important. The nurse's office— these students were ill, Helen and I were delivering work to them" The schoolmarm nods, silent. "And it was the best protected place, at first. So the mist came again and… it was very sudden. We could only watch them walk out entranced and.."
[23:15] <Talonair> "Walk into the sea?"
01[23:16] <@Nemi> "No! No. Not yet. Don't go out. It's the headmaster." Helen interjects, suddenly. "He /did/ something. He .. I don't know. We were close" she frets her fingers. "Then he went to a conference and.. something happened on the way, he came back different, I didn't think anything of it until.. he did something to Professor Beck, and now— he did all this! I don't know why! He's not the man I knew forty years!"
01[23:17] <@Nemi> Helen is about to cry, but gamely quenches it. "We can't leave while he.. it is still here. He's doing something. We're safe.. here for now, but.. The attic. You need to find him and stop him before it gets you too!"
01[23:17] <@Nemi> The kids stare at the heavily armed team— and at the gentle and helpful Gwen- with what might be the faintest shred of hope.
[23:18] <TesKin> Alim nods. "George, you Will and Gwendolyn stay here and keep an eye on these people.
[23:18] <~Roget> "Crazy old man in the attic, we need to go end his crazy. Got it. Where's the attic?"
[23:18] <TesKin> Shawn and I will head up and investigate this attic."
[23:19] <TheRaven> "Roger. Radio if you need backup."
01[23:19] <@Nemi> Howard takes over for here. "It's a.. special attic, used for sighting the stars.. not quite an observatory, bit more eldritch than that. Top floor, behind the plain old door."
[23:19] <~Roget> Shawn nods.
[23:19] <Talonair> Gregory nods, assuming Alim meant him by 'George'
[23:19] <TesKin> He did.
[23:19] <TesKin> Alim can't be bothered to learn names right now/
01[23:20] <@Nemi> Alim and Shawn, #tooltime! And don't worry, #homeimprovement. You'll have your own excitement.
01[23:23] <@Nemi> As the kids continue tending Cait and Helen rests her chin on her hands, staring at nothing, Howard peers out the opening left by the door's broken window. ".. oh— no it's /back/." Perception, Office team!
[23:23] <TheRaven> 4df+3
[23:23] <Glacon> TheRaven: 2 (4df+3=4-, 4-, 3+, 0)
[23:23] <Talonair> 4df+3
[23:23] <Glacon> Talonair: 2 (4df+3=4-, 3+, 0, 4-)
01[23:24] <@Nemi> By tending, one means 'kneel by and occasionally wipe at the face of.' Hard to tend with nothing, and Gwen found no actual wounds but for a small cut at the inside of Cait's palm.
01[23:27] <@Nemi> Well. As Howard hurriedly tries to push the standing table over the opening, you make out something dark, with the sheen of black feathers and the glint of dagged steel. A humanoid figure in a dark coat, face hidden by a cowl and all skin covered by bandages if not clothing, forces its way through the tiny gap and hurls Howard aside. Many pairs of red dots peer out from the interior of its coat, and in its hand is a worn and cruel-looking sickle. There's a scent of carrion and the sound of crow's wings.
[23:28] <Talonair> Gregory levels his elephant gun at the figure
01[23:29] <@Nemi> The kids scream. Helen throws herself over the desk to get between it and them. Cait burbles in unconsciousness.
[23:31] <Soulless> Gwen looks confused, and then is panicked at the screaming.
[23:32] <TheRaven> Will turns at the scream, and gets ready for a fight.
[23:33] <Talonair> "Madam, step aside, if you would"
01[23:33] <@Nemi> The being brandishes its sickle, and apparently forgetting Howard, lunges for the kids. It is incredibly quick, leaving feathers and even flickers of carrion birds in its wake. Will and Gregory, it's going right for Helen..
[23:34] <TheRaven> 4df+7 (melee + spec) interception!
[23:34] <Glacon> TheRaven: (melee + spec) interception!: 7 (4df+7=0, 4-, 0, 3+)
[23:34] <Talonair> Can I apply spec for monstrous creatures?)
[23:34] <Soulless> Gwen tries to defend the kids, putting herself before them and getting her gun- her anomalous gun.
01[23:35] <@Nemi> [ I'd say you can, this thing is clearly not a human
[23:35] <Talonair> 4df+10 (RAN+Monster Hunting) Gregory fires!
[23:35] <Glacon> Talonair: (RAN+Monster Hunting) Gregory fires!: 8 (4df+10=3+, 4-, 4-, 4-)
[23:37] <Soulless> She waits in case she doesn't need to shoot.
01[23:37] <@Nemi> Gwen and Helen make a valiant human wall about the students. This is, fortunately, unnecessary as Will slams into the thing from the side with great force, sending shrieking crows and feathers about the room. The figure lands, hard, in time for Gregory to neatly line up a shot. The boom is tremendous in such tight quarters, sending more shrieking and bloodied crows in all directions. Bonelessly the thing slithers out from Will's grasp and turns its attention to Gregory, swinging its sickle in an arc that carves the air bloody red.
01[23:37] <@Nemi> Gregory, Pdef or agility.
[23:38] <Soulless> Gwen gets her rope. She tries to see if she can rope the thing?
[23:38] <Soulless> wait, redact
[23:38] <Talonair> 4df+4 (PDEF)
[23:38] <Glacon> Talonair: (PDEF): 4 (4df+4=0, 4-, 0, 3+)
[23:38] <TheRaven> (Er, that was a sword attack, if it matters)
01[23:39] <@Nemi> [ I figured, but you'd want to use force to intercept it, right
[23:39] <TheRaven> (Fair enough)
01[23:42] <@Nemi> The sickle slice carves through Gregory's torso. It leaves no wound, but seems to be dragging snapping gossamer strands away from his body. The pain is incredible, but more worrying, you feel less.. whole. [-2 Phealth, -1 PDef for duration of scene]
[23:43] <Soulless> Her eyes widen. "How do we- how do we end it?"
[23:44] <TheRaven> 4df+7 Will swings at it. His form is rather lacking, but brutally efficient.
[23:44] <Glacon> TheRaven: Will swings at it. His form is rather lacking, but brutally efficient.: 6 (4df+7=4-, 4-, 0, 3+)
[23:44] <Talonair> Gregory cries out, stumbling backwards and clutching where the wound hit, dropping his rifle. He steps back, drawing his howdah pistol
[23:45] <Talonair> 4df+10 (RAN+Spec) And fires!
[23:45] <Glacon> Talonair: (RAN+Spec) And fires!: 9 (4df+10=0, 4-, 4-, 3+)
03[23:45] * ProcyonGone is now known as ProcyonLotor
[23:46] <Soulless> Gwen tries to usher the kids out.
01[23:47] <@Nemi> Will's blow is true, as is Gregory's gunshot. The thing lets out a terrible din, a chorus of shrieking crows all together, and disperses into a flock of carrion birds that swarm about the room, pecking and biting and slapping. Pdef, everyone.
[23:47] <Talonair> 4df+3 (PDEF)
[23:47] <Glacon> Talonair: (PDEF): 3 (4df+3=4-, 0, 3+, 0)
[23:47] <Soulless> 4df+4 pdef
[23:47] <Glacon> Soulless: pdef: 7 (4df+4=0, 3+, 3+, 3+)
01[23:47] <@Nemi> Helen, meanwhile, is thinking nothing beyond shielding the kids with her body. Howard is trying to rise, but now can only cover his hands with his face.
[23:47] <Soulless> Gwen tries to shield the kids best she can.
01[23:47] <@Nemi> Rather, his face with his hands. The former would be horrifying.
03[23:47] * ChanServ sets mode: +o ProcyonLotor
[23:48] <TheRaven> 4df+5
[23:48] <Glacon> TheRaven: 4 (4df+5=4-, 0, 4-, 3+)
01[23:51] <@Nemi> Will and Gwen are able to withstand the avian onslaught, Gwen even doing so much as to slap away any offending crows from harming Irene, David, and Cait. Greg is a bit less fortunate— already weakened by the rending sickle, he's further buffeted by pecks and bites, tearing the flesh and even gouging an eye. [-1 phealth, -2 per until healed]
01[23:51] <@Nemi> And then, just as swiftly as it burst out, the crowstorm is gone. The murder flees through the opening in the office door, leaving naught but pain and black feathers in its wake.
[23:52] <Talonair> Gregory collapses to a knee, clutching his injured eye
[23:52] <Soulless> Gwen grabs her medkit and starts attending to Greg's injuries.
[23:52] <TheRaven> "Yeah, that's right, run!"
01[23:55] <@Nemi> Howard is a bit pecked up, but mostly in the arms and neck. His eyes were spared, as were those of Helen. Amazingly, and due to Gwen and Helen's coverage, only Irene suffers a few bite wounds at the back, staining her jumper in dark blood.
[23:56] <TheRaven> "Everyone alright?"
[23:56] <Talonair> "Mostly.."
[23:58] <TheRaven> «Shawn, Alim, report! We're good down here.»
[23:58] <Soulless> 4df+10 (Just the nurse) Gwen tries to help Greg's injuries.
[23:58] <Glacon> Soulless: (Just the nurse) Gwen tries to help Greg's injuries.: 6 (4df+10=4-, 4-, 4-, 4-)
[23:59] <Soulless> …wow
Session Time: Mon Jun 08 00:00:00 2015
01[00:01] <@Nemi> Gwen.. You're a fantastic nurse. You've dealt with worse than this. But this ragged wound to the eye.. He's leaking ocular fluid and blood is pouring in. That much you can tell. You're going to need to do something major to save that eye.
[00:01] <Talonair> "How bad is it?"
[00:02] <Soulless> "Bad."
[00:02] <TesKin> «No. Please come and help us before this… Whatever it is kills us both.»
01[00:02] <@Nemi> Meanwhile, Helen and Howard are groaningly rising. Exhausted elderly folks attacked by horror monsters are not folks who are doing well. The kids, however.. While Irene is whimpering 'ow ow ow ow' and David is shaking, they seem mostly intact.
[00:02] <Soulless> "Mr. Cassidy. Go help them."
[00:02] <Soulless> "Sir Gregory, this is going to hurt."
[00:03] <Talonair> He smiles, clearly in pain but hiding it to the best of his abilities. "I'm sure it's worse than it looks!"
[00:03] <Soulless> She puts a cloth at his mouth. "Bite down."
[00:03] <Talonair> He nods, doing so
[00:04] <TheRaven> "Hold the fort, you two." He unslings his BAR and heads off.
[00:05] <Soulless> 4df+10 (Just a nurse) Gwen gets what she needs- she double-times the eye injury with whatever drastic measures she got. I ain't got the brains right now, sorry.
[00:05] <Glacon> Soulless: (Just a nurse) Gwen gets what she needs- she double-times the eye injury with whatever drastic measures she got. I ain't got the brains right now, sorry.: 9 (4df+10=0, 4-, 4-, 3+)
[00:05] <Soulless> She has a mechanic's stuff, medic stuff, lighter and rope.
01[00:06] <@Nemi> Temporary fixes are enough. Ocular fluid is hard to replace. Sear shut the bleeding wound on the eyelid— that hurts plenty— stitch shut the eyeball itself— that'll be rough healing and amazingly painful for even longer— cauterize that…
01[00:06] <@Nemi> It's not your best work. But it's enough. Greg may be blinded for a few weeks, but the eye should be salvageable.
[00:07] <Soulless> "Don't try to see out of that eye." She cleans and handles the rest of the pecks.
[00:07] <Talonair> Gregory bites hard on the cloth, his face paling and fists clenching
[00:07] <Soulless> When she's done with Gregory, she deals with Helen and Howard.
01[00:08] <@Nemi> Oh yeah. That /hurts/. Anyone who said a medical procedure might sting a little clearly never imagined this. No anesthetic and work on your eyeball. That hurts a /lot/. Enough for an Mdef check.
[00:08] <Talonair> 4df+3 (MDEF) Why you do this?
[00:08] <Glacon> Talonair: (MDEF) Why you do this?: 4 (4df+3=3+, 0, 0, 0)
01[00:10] <@Nemi> Despite the horrendous pain, you manage to grit your teeth and keep a stiff upper lip like a proper English gentleman. Let no man say Sir Gregory Posonby cringed at a little bit of earthly injury.
[00:11] <Soulless> "Can you still fight? Can you shoot with one eye?"
02[00:11] * GraemeCracker (~ten.elbacwahs.mf.8FEFB825-CRInys|arCemearG#ten.elbacwahs.mf.8FEFB825-CRInys|arCemearG) Quit (Ping timeout: 181 seconds)
[00:11] <Talonair> He grins, chuckling. "I only need the one to look down sights"
[00:12] <Soulless> "If you can, take my gun."
[00:12] <Soulless> "It's anomalous and creates vacuums."
[00:12] <Soulless> "Either go to shoot yourself, or give it to someone who can."
[00:12] <Soulless> "I will tend to the other injured."
[00:12] <Talonair> He blinks, then nods, taking it and handing her his howdah pistol and ammunition for it
[00:12] <Talonair> "Take good care of that"
[00:13] <Talonair> He picks up his elephant gun and runs up to join the group upstairs
[00:13] <Soulless> Gwen goes to work on the other injured.
[00:13] <Soulless> "When they come up, we will leave this place together."
[00:14] <Soulless> "Do not worry; they are excellent at their jobs."
[00:14] <Soulless> She tries to comfort them.
01[00:15] <@Nemi> The kids are just making small sounds at the constant gunfire from upstairs, while Howard and Helen— perhaps in shock from pain and weakness— can only let their twitchy eyes go ceilingward.
[00:18] <Soulless> She tries to stabilize Howard and Helen.
[00:18] <Soulless> "It will be alright. You will see."
01[00:20] <@Nemi> Helen is trembling again. This time she can't hold back her tears. "We— we— we never expected this, we just wanted.. to help the different children have a better life.."
01[00:20] <@Nemi> There's an odd intonation on 'different'.
[00:23] <Soulless> "I understand."
[00:23] <Soulless> "I am sorry."
[00:23] <Soulless> "I am sure your intentions were the best."
01[00:25] <@Nemi> Helen is silent, covering her face with her hands. Howard continues for her, even as Irene and David try to comfort Helen. "We.. knew of the things below. Draug, Feigr, Blodugr.. we thought them sated. We didn't realize that… no, to them we gave a /feast/, delivered right into their arms."
[00:26] <Soulless> "…"
[00:26] <Soulless> She nods.
[00:26] <Soulless> "I understand. It was an error of judgement."
[00:27] <Soulless> "We have survivors. You did a good job with what you had."
[00:27] <Soulless> Gwen hears her radio go.
[00:27] <Soulless> "I'm going."
[00:27] <Soulless> "Please wait here."
[00:27] <Soulless> She heads out.
01[00:27] <@Nemi> Howard nods. "We.. should be fine now. I heard the howl. I felt the.. things lightened. Just a little."
~FIN~
03[23:22] * Roget (suruas.eht|esohw#suruas.eht|esohw) has joined #tooltime
03[23:22] * ChanServ sets mode: +qo Roget Roget
01[23:22] <@Nemi> The trip up the stairs is quick and easy. These are much more ergonomically designed than the spiral stairs in the dormitory. You pass rather nicely appointed classrooms, most with desks toppled over or abandoned mid-lesson. Finally, at the top, and framed by the light shining through that great round window, is naught but a simple, wooden door. A bit worn and old, with tarnished knob and hinges, even.
[23:22] <~Roget> "I'm gonna kick it down, I figure we can storm in and take them down quick with the element of surprise."
[23:23] <TesKin> "I try to avoid such bravado, but if you insist."
[23:23] <TesKin> Alim draws his dagger, readying himself.
[23:24] <~Roget> 4df+12 tagging Power Play, Shawn kicks in the door and, presuming success, storms inside.
[23:24] <Glacon> Roget: tagging Power Play, Shawn kicks in the door and, presuming success, storms inside.: 10 (4df+12=4-, 4-, 4-, 3+)
03[23:24] * TheRaven (nodnol.fo.rewot|nevar.a#nodnol.fo.rewot|nevar.a) has joined #tooltime
01[23:28] <@Nemi> Shawn: No mere door can match your peerless Canadian might. That doesn't mean it won't try, however. Though it looks aged and fragile, it puts up splendid resistance. The weak point, here, was the hinges. The door collapses inward, but what is revealed is…
01[23:28] <@Nemi> [ pause for desc ]
01[23:32] <@Nemi> At least all the grisly discoveries earlier clued you in to what to expect. And the two of you, being tuff mans, are like as much not so much terrified and left quavering by what you see, and instead more appalled. This is an observatory, sure. But it also seems to be a ritual chamber now, with items of power, lines of note, sigils and signs, all written with the broken flesh of still-twitching youths. A tall, bulky man, the same face as seen in the portrait in the office below and clad in the clothes of a doddering old professor, stands before an end table converted to a profane altar by a drapery of still-slick human skin.
01[23:32] <@Nemi> [ let me know if that cutoff
[23:33] <TesKin> (You're good. The last sentence was the bit about the altar with the hooman skin, correct?"
01[23:33] <@Nemi> [ yup!
01[23:33] <@Nemi> [ okay
[23:33] <~Roget> (looks like it's all there)
[23:33] <TesKin> Alim just stares, confused as fuck. He looks at Shawn like "Why did I sign up for this shit."
01[23:34] <@Nemi> The Headmaster turns. Behind him, an ancient brass telescope stares out into the night sky. Moonlight and starlight streams in from above, casting him in a macabre spotlight. He is grinning so wide that his cheeks are actually splitting, bleeding flesh parting to reveal his teeth.
01[23:34] <@Nemi> "Ah. School is now in session."
[23:34] <~Roget> Can Shawn skip the pleasantries and roll to try and elbow drop the old man in the head?
[23:34] <~Roget> He's pretty pissed
01[23:34] <@Nemi> Of course he can.
01[23:35] <@Nemi> I'm not going to force you to monologue. That's stupid.
01[23:35] <@Nemi> He just wanted to do a one-liner.
[23:35] <~Roget> 4df+12 "THEY WERE KIDS!"
[23:35] <Glacon> Roget: "THEY WERE KIDS!": 13 (4df+12=4-, 0, 3+, 3+)
[23:35] <~Roget> (I didn't expect a monolouge, skip the pleasantries was just a turn of phrase)
[23:36] <TesKin> 4df+4 (SNK) Alim tries to get into a flanking position, angry he left his rifle in the office downstairs.
[23:36] <Glacon> TesKin: (SNK) Alim tries to get into a flanking position, angry he left his rifle in the office downstairs.: 1 (4df+4=0, 4-, 4-, 4-)
01[23:40] <@Nemi> Alim: Your movements are poor in the bright stellar lighting. Fortunately, the Headmaster's eyes are not on yoi. For Shawn is delivering a bucketload of Canadian rage into the Headmaster, whom is smashed down and backwards by the blow, knocking over the impromptu altar and smearing his face across the wooden floor. And as if gelatinous he slithers to standing. Behind the face, skin falling away and eyes popping out, is a great mass of… it looks vaguely human, if pallid and rotting and with a beard of live writhing eels.
01[23:40] <@Nemi> It should not have fit in the Headmaster, and yet.. It grins, teeth like sharp barnacles. "They were /potent/."
01[23:41] <@Nemi> And yet, the thing wearing the elderly man's flesh still stands there, arms wide open. "And they served their purpose." It's like he's daring Shawn on further.
01[23:41] <@Nemi> Alim, despite knocking over a— that's a torso, and it's twitching— you're able to flank…
[23:43] <~Roget> (http://stream1.gifsoup.com/view5/2546685/anchorman-bad-hair-o.gif) Shawn grabs a hold of the thing. "I'M GOING TO DESTROY YOU."
01[23:43] <@Nemi> The Headmaster makes no move to resist.
[23:44] <TesKin> 4df+8 (Melee + TOTT) Alim tries to stab this dood in the back of the head, where the skull and spine connect.
[23:44] <Glacon> TesKin: (Melee + TOTT) Alim tries to stab this dood in the back of the head, where the skull and spine connect.: 6 (4df+8=0, 4-, 4-, 0)
03[23:45] * ProcyonGone is now known as ProcyonLotor
[23:47] <~Roget> 4df+12 tagging power play, final tag of the night, Shawn repeatedly bashes the thing, hitting it until his fists are bleeding for the second time today.
[23:47] <Glacon> Roget: tagging power play, final tag of the night, Shawn repeatedly bashes the thing, hitting it until his fists are bleeding for the second time today.: 8 (4df+12=4-, 4-, 4-, 4-)
03[23:47] * ChanServ sets mode: +o ProcyonLotor
01[23:49] <@Nemi> The dagger impacts the base of the Headmaster's skull, while Shawn punches away at the stout man's torso like a speedbag. He remains standing as he is, arms spread wide, and a wicked grin spreads across the pallid features below those of John Ramsay. The other eyeball falls out as the man's face-skin falls away like a bad latex mask, dripping blood and fat as it does.
[23:49] <TesKin> Alim grunts, pulling away from the engagement. ~Something is not right here.~
01[23:50] <@Nemi> "And now for the lesson."
01[23:50] <@Nemi> Mdef, Shawn and Alim.
[23:50] <~Roget> 4df+2 uh oh
[23:50] <Glacon> Roget: uh oh: 4 (4df+2=0, 3+, 3+, 0)
[23:50] <TesKin> 4df+3 (PDEF) This is where bad things happen.
[23:50] <Glacon> TesKin: (PDEF) This is where bad things happen.: 2 (4df+3=4-, 0, 0, 0)
01[23:53] <@Nemi> Indeed. Despite your hardened wills and experience, you're not prepared for what comes next. The Headmaster's skin sloughs off in its entirety, revealing something that could not, should not be— the pallid 'head' merely one segment of an enormous squidlike monstrosity. It's near all head and brain-sack, supported by a tangle of writhing arms. The humanoid face with the eel-beard is atop this octopoid menace, which itself has two deepset eyes the size of baseballs and glowing with some internal luminescence.
01[23:54] <@Nemi> It's hard to look at. Harder to comprehend, in the strange light of the moon. It's translucent in places, showing signs of inner systems that can't adequately be conceived as functional. Alim, take 2 mhealth. Shawn, take .5. This thing Should Not Be.
01[23:54] <@Nemi> Upstairs team also likely heard the booming retort of a very large gun followed by a slightly smaller one.
03[23:56] * Talonair (ten.mnigriv.elbac.6AA7BC18-CRInys|tibbiM#ten.mnigriv.elbac.6AA7BC18-CRInys|tibbiM) has joined #tooltime
[23:56] <~Roget> Shawn takes a step back. "…"
[23:57] <TesKin> Alim, who is usually incapable of feeling emotions, lets a slight twitch pass his face.
[23:57] <TesKin> 4df+7 (ACAD + 'Alim') What does this ritual shit mean?
[23:57] <Glacon> TesKin: (ACAD + 'Alim') What does this ritual shit mean?: 9 (4df+7=0, 3+, 3+, 0)
[23:58] <~Roget> 4df+6 Shawn shakes his head, and bumrushes the thing again. It's all he knows.
[23:58] <Glacon> Roget: Shawn shakes his head, and bumrushes the thing again. It's all he knows.: 7 (4df+6=3+, 4-, 0, 3+)
01[23:59] <@Nemi> This is something you've only heard whispered about. Profane rituals in service to forgotten entities of the deep, all for the purpose of bringing them closer to shrouding the world in mist and propagating their brood. It's not just using the populace as hosts for its brood— it's actively trying to spread its influence over the land as well.
01[23:59] <@Nemi> Shawn: You impact the rubbery body. It's soft and gives, but feels oddly like wet sandpaper. "You have been showing poor behavior. For that, I assign you.. out-of-school suspension." The arms snap out like whips for Shawn! PDef or Agility!
Session Time: Mon Jun 08 00:00:00 2015
01[00:00] <@Nemi> Will's radio call is heard. «Shawn, Alim, report! We're good down here.»
[00:00] <~Roget> 4df+6 Shawn takes it. Pdef.
[00:00] <Glacon> Roget: Shawn takes it. Pdef.: 7 (4df+6=0, 0, 3+, 0)
[00:02] <TesKin> «No. Please come and help us before this… Whatever it is kills us both.»
[00:03] <TesKin> 4df+6 (Melee + TOTT) Alim slips in, attempting to stab… Creature in the eyes while it's distracted.
[00:03] <Glacon> TesKin: (Melee + TOTT) Alim slips in, attempting to stab… Creature in the eyes while it's distracted.: 4 (4df+6=0, 4-, 4-, 0)
[00:04] <TheRaven> Will is heading for the attic.
01[00:04] <@Nemi> Shawn. You're tough. That's good. Because what was a smooth head sack abruptly unhinges, opening into a madman's nightmare of writhing sea life, tube worms with bladed mouths and anemones with foot-long stinging tentacles. And thrusts you inside. The worms bite and gnash but only cause superficial damage, and while the occasional touch of an envenomed polyp is astonishingly painful, you're more or less unharmed. You are, however, inside its mouth, which is far too large even for something of its hlking scale.
01[00:05] <@Nemi> Alim: You stab the eye! The bioluminescent sack bursts and spills hot glowing fluid on your hand. It burns horribly. Pdef.
01[00:05] <@Nemi> Will: Doubletiming it up the stairs.. It's a hustle, but you're able to hit the doorway to see.. No sign of Shawn, and Alim desperately wrangling an eldritch horror.
[00:06] <TheRaven> 4df+8 he opens up with the BAR
[00:06] <Glacon> TheRaven: he opens up with the BAR: 7 (4df+8=0, 0, 0, 4-)
[00:06] <~Roget> This isn't the first time Shawn's been swallowed by a monster. Can he roll to rip and tear his way out?
01[00:07] <@Nemi> Shawn can indeed!
[00:07] <TesKin> 4df+3 (PDef) Burns suck. They also make nasty scars.
[00:07] <Glacon> TesKin: (PDef) Burns suck. They also make nasty scars.: 0 (4df+3=0, 4-, 4-, 4-)
[00:08] <~Roget> 4df+12 Shawn, full of rage, RIPS AND TEARS.
[00:08] <Glacon> Roget: Shawn, full of rage, RIPS AND TEARS.: 11 (4df+12=4-, 0, 3+, 4-)
01[00:09] <@Nemi> Alim, the corrosive fluid gnaws and melts the flesh of your hand. The pain is incredible, but it swiftly gives way to numbness. A relief until you see that much of your hand has been eaten away to the bone. [-2 Phealth, hand disabled ]
[00:10] <TesKin> Alim just stumbles back, more interested in the fact that he just lost his fucking hand instead of the Horror in front of him.
02[00:11] * GraemeCracker (~ten.elbacwahs.mf.8FEFB825-CRInys|arCemearG#ten.elbacwahs.mf.8FEFB825-CRInys|arCemearG) Quit (Ping timeout: 181 seconds)
01[00:12] <@Nemi> Will, you see your shots from the high-caliber weapon impact the things flesh and dig in a few inches before stopping. It draws no blood. Shawn, you punch your hand into a worm cluster here, you tear out a tooth-like coral here.. you're aware that you're in a sickly warm, wet place, immersed in fluid. And the maw continues trying to gnash you like a piece of bubblegum. Pdef.
[00:12] <~Roget> 4df+6 thank god for high pdef
[00:12] <Glacon> Roget: thank god for high pdef: 8 (4df+6=3+, 0, 0, 3+)
01[00:13] <@Nemi> The thing makes an odd sound, something that your minds involuntarily translate as laughter. "You are nothing," the words echo through your skulls even louder than Will's gunshots. "Class dismissed."
[00:13] <TesKin> Alim just stays starring at his skeletal hand, confused as to how the skin is now gone. Shock'll do that.
[00:13] <TheRaven> 4df+8 Will keeps hammering on it, though he's mildly unsettled by its resistance to .30-06 AP rounds.
[00:13] <Glacon> TheRaven: Will keeps hammering on it, though he's mildly unsettled by its resistance to .30-06 AP rounds.: 9 (4df+8=4-, 3+, 0, 3+)
[00:13] <Talonair> Gregory runs in, pausing only to aim his elephant gun
01[00:14] <@Nemi> "Let none say that the new Lord Below is not merciful." The abomination slowly lifts into the air, the arms below it unfurling to impossible lengths. All that was forced into one human shell? More bullets hit home, digging in to the gelatinous form but seemingly causing no real damage. Again, Shawn is able to suffer only superficial injuries from the grinding corals and gnashing mouths, but now drowning is a concern.
[00:15] <TesKin> At the sound of fully automatic gunfire, Alim looks up from his hand. "DON'T FUCKING SHOOT AT IT YOU MORONS, SHAWN IS INSIDE!"
[00:15] <~Roget> Shawn looks up. Is it possible for him to climb out the way he came in? Or can he roll his medical skill to look for anything vital?
[00:16] <~Roget> (yes shawn has points in medical)
01[00:16] <@Nemi> Shawn can medical! It doesn't look like there's /anywhere/ to go at first glance, but maybe…
01[00:16] <@Nemi> Actually, better. Shawn, Per.
[00:16] <~Roget> 4df+5 Shawn looks for anyplace to be but here
[00:16] <Glacon> Roget: Shawn looks for anyplace to be but here: 5 (4df+5=3+, 3+, 4-, 4-)
[00:16] <Talonair> Are there any eyes to shoot?)
01[00:17] <@Nemi> Greg: There are.. One is popped, and seems to have vented horrific corrosive fluid all over Alim's hand, burning it away terribly. Maybe it's just a lure, like what many deep sea creatures have?
01[00:17] <@Nemi> Shawn: There's— the membrane looks thinner there, if you could grab the tube worms, tear them away, maybe you could pull yourself out..
[00:17] <TesKin> Can Alim disengage and slip out of the room?
[00:18] <Talonair> Does Gregory's experience with hunting monsters give him any clues to a weak spot?
[00:18] <~Roget> strength?
01[00:19] <@Nemi> Alim: Yes. It isn't caring much about you now, as it starts levitating out of the opening for the telescope, writhing arms caressing the brass instrument almost lovingly. Greg: This thing follows no anatomy you're aware of. Nothing about it makes sense. It's partly translucent and the inner seems to take up more space than the outer which was able to fit in a man's skin on the ground and the room is covered in blood and desecrated bodies of youths and children and everything is wrong.
01[00:19] <@Nemi> Mdef, Greg.
01[00:19] <@Nemi> Shawn: Strength.
[00:19] <~Roget> 4df+6 SHAWN IS STRONK
[00:19] <Glacon> Roget: SHAWN IS STRONK: 7 (4df+6=3+, 4-, 0, 3+)
[00:19] <Talonair> 4df+3 (MDEF)
[00:19] <Glacon> Talonair: (MDEF): 5 (4df+3=3+, 0, 0, 3+)
[00:20] <TesKin> 4df+4 (SNK) It's hard to be quiet when you had a hand melted off by acid.
[00:20] <Glacon> TesKin: (SNK) It's hard to be quiet when you had a hand melted off by acid.: 4 (4df+4=4-, 3+, 4-, 3+)
01[00:22] <@Nemi> Shawn IS strong. Perhaps by strength of desperation, or simply dumb luck, he's able to tear through the nest of gnashing tubeworms to force his fingers through the rubbery membrane outside. It burns and near flays his fingers, but as his lungs almost give out and his blood seeps from many small wounds to fill the thing's maw…
01[00:24] <@Nemi> Greg: You're shockingly okay with looking at something literally impossible existing in front of you. Alim, you are clearly out of the Thing's cares right now. It quivers, bulges briefly, and then Shawn, mangled and breathless, soaked in some foul-smelling fluid that dries sticky in the air, covered in innumerable tears and wounds and burns.. flops out a hole too small for him, bouncing off the telescope and landing in a heap on the gore-strewn attic floor, not far away from the twitching headless torso of, what you assume to be, a teenage girl.
[00:24] <TheRaven> Will is reloading.
[00:24] <TheRaven> 4df+8 as soon as Shawn is clear, he opens up once again
[00:24] <Talonair> With Shawn clear of the creature, Gregory opens fire once more!
[00:24] <Glacon> TheRaven: as soon as Shawn is clear, he opens up once again: 10 (4df+8=3+, 3+, 4-, 3+)
[00:24] <Talonair> 4df+5 (+5 again if Monster hunter spec applies)
[00:24] <Glacon> Talonair: (+5 again if Monster hunter spec applies): 5 (4df+5=3+, 3+, 4-, 4-)
[00:25] <~Roget> Shawn struggles to get to his feet, fails, and settles for crawling away from the dead body. "nobody… eats… shawn thronton…."
[00:25] <TesKin> Alim beats feat to the resident medic. Infection is probably a thing with this kind of injury.
[00:26] <TesKin> If he can that is.
[00:26] <TheRaven> «Need you up here ASAP, Gwen!»
01[00:26] <@Nemi> The parting shots ping into the hulking form even as the last of its trailing manifold arms slithers out the opening. It swims with undulating movements into the sky, blotting out the moon….
01[00:26] <@Nemi> and then it is gone.
[00:26] <TesKin> "Wha-
[00:27] <TesKin> What the fuck just happened."
01[00:27] <@Nemi> The Academy is left still and lifeless but for the last feeble twitches of far-gone dying, five survivors, and the team.
[00:27] <~Roget> With the creature gone, Shawn lapses into unconsciousness.
[00:27] <Soulless> Gwen gets up on over there.
[00:28] <Soulless> She shows up!
[00:28] <Talonair> Gregory doesn't lower his rifle, pointing it at where the creature used to be. «Captain, I believe we could use an evac»
[00:28] <Soulless> "I am here."
[00:28] <TesKin> Alim just kinda stares at SkeletonHand! still confused as to how there is no skin on it.
[00:28] <Soulless> She stares at Alim.
[00:28] <TheRaven> Will just points her at the wounded.
01[00:29] <@Nemi> Gwen: Good god what. The place is… It looks as if a madman decided to make some elaborate arcane artwork using the flesh and bones of children and teenagers as the media. From your position, it hurts to look at, dismantled by violence and splattering fluid as it is.
[00:29] <Soulless> She blinks, hard, and focuses her attention to where Will points.
[00:29] <Soulless> Who is the most injuredd?
[00:29] <TesKin> Despite his missing hand skin, Alim is mostly okay.
[00:29] <TesKin> Shawn probably needs more care than he does.
01[00:30] <@Nemi> « Morgan here. Understood, Cassidy. Security team just pulled up. Looks like the fog's starting to lift- had to kill a few of those sea things on the way. Found uh… you know, think I'll spare you the details. They'll be in shortly. »
[00:30] <Soulless> Gwen tends to Shawn.
[00:30] <Soulless> 4df+10 medkitting
[00:30] <Glacon> Soulless: medkitting: 8 (4df+10=3+, 4-, 4-, 4-)
01[00:30] <@Nemi> Shawn looks like he was chewed up, swallowed, and thrown up again.
01[00:30] <@Nemi> Greg, of course, has his amazingly and horribly ruined eye that you've repaired as best as humanly possible.
[00:31] <Talonair> «Rodger that Captain, we're in the attic of the academnic building. There are survivors in the headmaster's office»
01[00:31] <@Nemi> Alim… well, at least his thumb was spared.
[00:31] <TesKin> Alim gives a thumbs up if he can.
[00:31] <Soulless> She tries to clean wounds, cauterize the worst of the bleeding, stitch up what she can, bandage up what else she can.
[00:31] <Soulless> Her hands work methodical, the rest of her trembles.
01[00:32] <@Nemi> And this is where the PCs' role ends. The response team, armed and ready, finally moves in to secure the site. The survivors, traumatized or unconcious as they are, are loaded into a vehicle for extraction, and the team is swiftly brought into a mobile medical vehicle in order to stabilize them for the long trip home.
01[00:32] <@Nemi> A horrible, horrible thing happened here in Brookridge. And with the Lord's mocking departure, one can only assume far worse is yet to come.
01[00:32] <@Nemi> ~fin~
[00:44] <Talonair> Kit 'wakes up' once again, contacting the Collective