Valentine Pilman - Kamchatka Guide

[Steerpike]

PIlman decides against the walk...he might end up being too late to secure accommodation. He goes back to his 4x4 puts trip up in front then clambers. Much quicker to drive secure the family a place to sleep while they doing the tourist thing, then come back and get them. Yes...much better plan altogether.

[Laraqua]

It's a very short trip to the house on this deserted little strip of road. The house itself was made up of slabs of multi-colored rock cut from the nearby foothills. Bright green creepers crawled across the stone work. Trees and shrubbery lended more color to the bright display. There's a dented, yellow 4x4 car sitting in the garage. Torn remnants of the garage door hang lop-sidedly from the garage. The front door hangs open, beckoning.

[Steerpike]

Pilman shakes his head slightly as the disrepair...but then his party will probably think this adds to the charm. He walks up and knocks loudly on the door calling out to see if anyone is in.

[Laraqua]

"Really, this is it?" Mrs. Lubova shakes her head. "I was hoping for something a bit more comfortable."

"Well, we did want an exciting adventure," said Mr. Lubov though even he sounds unsure. "There's nothing more adventurous than roughing it, I suppose. Besides, this is probably a historically registered building."

"Right.... Yes." Mrs. Lubova doesn't seem convinced.

Trip lowers his head to sniff the path and whines deep in the back of his throat.

[Steerpike]

Valentine Laughs at Lubovs observation "It's historic all right, but I doubt it's listed anywhere...it's a little homely, sure but it'll only be for one night...and the people are ok" When they're in he thinks to himself and knocks on the door more loudly.
"HELLO IN THE HOUSE"
waiting for a reply he tells the Lubovs to wait back at the 4X4, while he walks round the back.
"They might have left for some reason...I'll have a quick look round the back"

[Laraqua]

Lubov steps around to the rear of the building and something crackles underfoot. Broken glass litters the wooden floorboards of the wrap-around verandah from one of the windows of one of the bedrooms. It looks like something was thrown through the window though there's no sign of what that might have been. The rear door has been partially ripped from its hinges.

Roll Spot Hidden and Listen.

[Steerpike]

Pilman strains to hear anything from within the house as he peers in through the broken rear door.

(Spot Hidden - 58%)1d100=28, and (listen 70%)1d100=36

[Laraqua]

Pilman notices a complete absence of birdsong. Only Trip's low, rumbling growls and the soft sound of leaves rustling in the nearby trees breaks the silence. It's never been this quiet. The gentle hum of the nearby generator that is kept in a shed behind you has also ceased. Perhaps it has run out of fuel. Pilman has been here before on occasion. He knows this is the best accomodation this far out, even if only because of the excellent hospitality offered - certainly not because of the style of the accomodation. There should be a family of seven, including a grandmother that bakes the most delightful biscuits, and another dog that ran around loose and absolutely adored Trip. This place has never seemed so unsettling.

Looking around, Pilman sees a lot of the glass shards have been brushed about, as though someone tumbled through the glass, landed amongst it, and then kept running. He can see a pair of footsteps heading off into the wilderness in the soft topsoil. Bare feet. Probably one of the older children or the mother. The father was quite large and his tracks would be the same.

Spoiler:

Sorry I got the name wrong!

[Steerpike]

There is a cold feeling in the pit of Pilman's stomach. something very bad has happened here, one of the children maybe wandering about the wilds...frightened and alone...his first instinct is to enter the house, his second to track down the child...but his thoughts turn to Lubov and his Family...like it or not, his first duty is to their safety.
He turns and runs back to the 4X4 and gathers the family into the vehicle.

"I am afraid the trip is going to be postponed...possibly cancelled...something very wrong has happened here. I can't have you or your family in a position were they could be in danger"

He starts the vehicle and starts down the road back to the village.

"I need to alert the militia...then come back out here with them. I am sorry but I am sure you understand"

[Laraqua]

"Why? What is happening?" asks Lubova, her voice slightly shrill.

"Is there something wrong? Is someone hurt?" asks Lubov.

The children just look at each other and then stare out the window at the house as they pass it by on their way along the road toward town.

[Steerpike]

Pilman looks over to Lubov and glances around to the rest of the family.
"Someone has broken into the house, but I think one of the children has run off into the wilds. I need to get to the police, drop you off then head out here with them. As much as I need to see this matter resolved, i need to insure that your family is safe"

[Laraqua]

"I appreciate that," said Lubova.

"What do you think has happened?" asked Lubov.

"Was there blood?" asked Olga.

A light rain begins to fall, slanting through the headlights and pattering off the windshield. It is going to be a 20 minute drive to get to the nearest police station at the very least. Pilman's knuckles tighten around the steering wheel as he follows a bend in the high, rocky walls before the headlights spill over a number of rocks and pebbles that are clattering down the cliff to his right to cover the road before him.

[Steerpike]

Pilman puts his foot down and drives as fast as he dare, knowing that the 20 mins will be the longest in his life and trying to convince himself that it was the right thing to get the Lubovs to safety first

[Laraqua]

As Pilman puts his foot on the accelerator, he hears a rumbling sound up to the right of him, in front of his car, as something heavy is dislodged from one of the walls. He can hear the clattering, grating sound as it tumbles down the cliff, gathering speed and momentum. His fingers tingle on the wheel as he grips it tighter as he tries to control his car on the pebbles so far at these much increased speeds.

Roll a Drive check to keep control of your vehicle.

[Steerpike]

"This was not one of my better ideas...get your seatbelts on in the back please"

Drive roll 40%1d100=33

[Laraqua]

The children scream in the back as Lubova wraps her arms around them, desperately drawing them close to her, as the car picks up a tremendous amount of speed. Lubov grips the overhead bar just above the window, his knuckles turning white, as the blood drains from his face. Trip whimpers as the increased speed knocks him against the rear door of the 4WD. The car skips along the gravel, wrenching the wheel left and then right, but Pilman manages to keep the car relatively in the middle. The high cliffs slant up and away, dribbling rocks and pebbles, and then a large boulder comes crashing down, slamming into the road just behind the car and coming to a rest against the other cliff.

Pilman keeps the car going at top speeds, speeds strong enough to shake its body, until he brings them out from the cleft in the rocks and starts along the winding road back to town. He can even catch sight of some of the house lights winking in the distance.

"Is it over?" asks Olga. "Are we safe now?"

Trip just whines.

[Steerpike]

"It shouldn't be long now...I'll leave you with the militia and I'll probably head back out with them"

[Laraqua]

The rest of the trip is made in silence but for the crackle of loose stones beneath the wheels of the car. It takes awhile to reach the local militia station that is actually open at this time of night but once Pilman slides that car into the car park it's as though a giant weight has been lifted off his shoulders. Lubova and Lubov each carry a child who have fallen asleep in the back of the car - perhaps rendered exhausted by the sheer fright of the escape.

Pilman leads up in through the front door into a cramped office where a militia man in uniform sits behind a desk, watching something on his computer and laughing. Hearing the bell ding above the door, he straightens and turns off the volume. Suddenly all business, he says: "How can I help you?"

[Steerpike]

Pilman gives as detailed an account of what he saw at the house, and his fear that one of the children ran out into the wilderness.

"I came back here to alert you, but also to drop a party of holiday makers...they have two children with them, and I didn't think it safe to have them out there, but we need to get back as soon as possible officer... I am willing to help in the search"

[Laraqua]

The officer nods and picks up the telephone, making a few quick calls to off-duty officers to bring them in to the station. "It'll take about fifteen minutes for them to start rolling in. Please take a seat. You can wait here while we do what we need to do and then we'll have someone drop you off at, well, we don't have hotels but I'm sure someone can put you up for the night." He turns to regard Pilman. "You can't come into the house with us. We don't want to damage any evidence. However, if someone has run off into the woods then you can always assist us in a search party. We could certainly use your skills there."