Play@YSDC

Posted: **Wed Jan 30, 2008 3:00 pm**

Here are the last IC posts from the two separate threads:

Elizabeth, Caroline & Timour’s thread wrote: “Ah yes, the Russian’s!”

The constable smiles, “Your friends are perfectly ok miss, in fact they are the heroes of the hour I think.”

“I’ll take you through to them now, although you may not be able to speak to them until the inspector has finished dealing with them.”

The constable turns towards the museum entrance and leads Elizabeth and Caroline inside, leaving his colleagues to deal with the crowd for now.

He leads the ladies through a few of the museum’s huge halls, as they enter the Egyptian exhibitions Elizabeth and Caroline spot Andrei, Maks and two others (one man and one lady), being led towards them by another uniformed police constable.

*******************************

Timour sneaks quietly through the west wing of museum, most of the halls are currently deserted, the few people (all policemen) that he does spot seem to be mostly heading towards one part of the huge building.

Following one of them as discretely as he can Timour finds himself inside the museum’s famous Egyptian exhibition. Across the hall he sees the same police constable that was outside leading Elizabeth and Caroline towards another group of people...

...a group that includes his brother and Andrei!

Andrei, Maksim, Nathaniel & Gwen’s thread wrote: Barrington agrees that Gwen will probably be safe with her rescuers.

“Ok you can all go for now then.”

He turns to the constable who has watched over the four investigators the whole time that they’ve been detained, “Davis escort these gentlemen and the young lady off the premises please.”

The constable nods and gestures in the direction of the museums main entrance, “Yes sir.”

PC Davis leads the investigators back through the Egyptian exhibition, towards the front of the museum, Alison’s body has been removed now, though the blood has not all been cleaned up yet.

As they near the end of the Egyptian exhibition, Andrei and Maksim notice another uniformed policeman leading Elizabeth and Caroline towards them, they both look rather worried.

*******************************************

OOC:

Please note: You are under no obligation to remain together, I manipulated things in order to resynchronise the times of the various IC threads, rather than with any intention of getting you back together, so have your characters react to each other however you desire.

The time sync problems came about because I allowed Andrei to do something too quickly early in his thread. I’ll be more careful in future.

Note about the museum: The police have closed the museum for the day (it would be closed to the public now anyway). They aren’t planning on allowing any of you to remain on the premises for any longer than necessary (Gwen included).

Once you’ve all made a couple of posts the cops will be escorting all of you (possibly excluding Timour) out of the museum.

Posted: **Wed Jan 30, 2008 3:41 pm**

A genuine smile breaks across Elizabeth's face. Unless restrained by the police, she runs over to Andrei and Maksim. She pauses before them, looking momentarily confused, as if she had planned a further action but was now questioning its appropriateness. Nevertheless, she smiles again and says, "We were so worried about you."

Posted: **Wed Jan 30, 2008 4:18 pm**

Caroline steps over to Maks, relief washing over her, the hard angles of her face softening. She reaches for his hand to squeeze it. "Yes, we were so worried. We ... oh, it's too complicated. Thankfully, you're all right."

Posted: **Wed Jan 30, 2008 10:34 pm**

Andrei takes a few quick steps towards Elizabeth, then pauses when she hesitates. He's looking only at Ellie, wide-eyed. For the first time in a long time, his defences are down. The darkness of the past few weeks is momentarily washed away.

"A-Are you okay?"

He swallows hard and wipes his sweaty palms onto his trousers, still staring at her. It's impossible to misjudge his adoration for this woman.

Posted: **Thu Jan 31, 2008 2:51 pm**

Elizabeth takes the last step forward, wraps her arms around Andrei's torso, and leans her head on his chest. "Yes."

Posted: **Thu Jan 31, 2008 8:19 pm**

Andrei dips his head, smelling Elizabeth's hair, holding her. His heart is pounding.

"Everything is going to be okay," he gently whispers. "It'll be alright."

Elizabeth can't see it, but his eyes soon shift back into sadness and distance.

After a moment, he pulls away a bit, still holding Ellie by the shoulders. "They're here as well, Ellie. That cult. The police said they're going to do something about it." He swallows hard, suddenly remembering what happened to the police in New York.

His eyes widen.

"Oh Lord. Remember what happened last time, when the police invaded the Juju House in New York? The... the dreams? And Timour?" He thinks for a minute.

"It's in Soho, they know the place where the assassins are headquartered. The inspector said they'd take care of it!" He looks around wildly, panicking. His voice raises. "We can't hide, Ellie! They can get us in our sleep! What are we supposed to do? We need that book!"

He hesitates for a minute, then leans in close, and whispers excitedly into Elizabeth's ear...

Posted: **Thu Jan 31, 2008 9:21 pm**

Nathaniel watches the reunion takes place and feels genuinely happy for all those involved. Alienated.... but glad. He moves closer to Gwen to get out of everyone's way. Once he feels as though everyone has sufficiently caught up, her interrupts.

So that's that then..... Mystery solved! I'm sure the inspectors will get what they need from the Arab to properly close the case. Unless you feel we're still in a spot of danger Andrei. Should I be concerned for Gwen's safety?

Posted: **Fri Feb 01, 2008 4:01 am**

Timour watches from the shadows as the group reunites. Seeing Elizabeth in Andrei's arms, and watching the two, his thoughts wandered to Anastasia, his missing bride-to-be, and he felt a peculiar twinge of jealousy. He begins to walk away, looking down the long hallways and wondering what secrets this ward may have that would help their group. Then, as an afterthought, he begins to whistle his favorite tune, knowing full well that Maks will hear it and know that he's safe and sound.

The museum must have some untold secrets related to these mysteries. Trying hard to conceal himself, he skulks around, watching the crowds and paying attention in particular to the police and their conversations.

O.C. Listen

Posted: **Fri Feb 01, 2008 5:01 am**

Elizabeth looks up at Andrei with concern. Her frown deepens as she sees the look in his eyes. But she cocks her head to the side and takes a deep breath. "I believe you." She glances at 'Gwen', back at Andrei, and returns her attention to Gwen and the man beside him.

"I'm sorry, I don't believe I've made your acquaintance, I am Elizabeth and this is my friend Caroline." She indicates the woman with her. She judges the distance to the nearest police officer and steps closer to the man and woman. "Yes, sir, I do not know how you have been involved in this so far, but it is very possible you may both continue to be in danger." She sees the constables politely, but determinedly, waiting to escort them from the building. "Perhaps you would like to come with us and learn more?"

Posted: **Fri Feb 01, 2008 6:20 am**

"This is my dear wife," said Maksim cheekily, wrapping an arm around Caroline's shoulders and giving her a playful, albeit somewhat rough, hug. He is clearly in an affectionate mood -- though the hug seems more brotherly than husbandly.

Posted: **Fri Feb 01, 2008 2:03 pm**

Davis, the constable who was accompanying Andrei, Maks, Nathaniel and Gwen indicates Maksim and says to Caroline, “Your husband is a very brave man marm. He and his friends certainly saved this young lady’s life,” he points to Gwen, “and they appear to have solved the ‘Egyptian Murders’ case.”

He coughs then continues, “Unfortunately I’ll have to continue escorting you all outside now, I’ll be for it if the Inspector finds you all still in the museum.”

************************************

OOC:

Spoiler:

Posted: **Fri Feb 01, 2008 5:57 pm**

"That, uh, sounds like my husband, all right," Caroline says. Maks's rather forceful embrace puts her in an ill humor. I'm genuinely worried about him, and he just wants to ham it up, the oaf.

Posted: **Fri Feb 01, 2008 9:31 pm**

Andrei follows everyone out of the museum, sidling up closer to Gwen and Nathaniel. Once out of earshot from the police, he speaks, with exaggated confidence.

"No, I'm afraid this isn't over yet. The police only know a small part of the story, and one of them got away. Who knows how many others are living in London. These are the same people that have been hunting us for weeks. They're probably hunting you, now, too."

He pauses for a minute to let this sink in.

"One of them had a card, what did it say again, Nathaniel? The Blue Pyramid Club, in Soho..."

His voice loses a bit of confidence, and he looks nervously towards Gwen without making eye contact. "Madam... do you know why they attacked you? Did they say anything about a.. an... an artifact, or a book, or anything?"

He stuffs his hands into his pockets and guiltily surveys his companions, as though he just said something inappropriate.

Posted: **Sat Feb 02, 2008 10:07 pm**

Elizabeth follows along, looking pensive.

Posted: **Mon Feb 04, 2008 5:25 am**

Nathaniel nods his head and smiles cheerfully.

Nathaniel Moore....The pleasure is all mine Miss Caroline.. Miss Elisabeth... I was beginning to worry about Andrei and Maksim. I wasn't quite sure they were on the up and up if you catch my meaning? Having a few rightous birds on the roster somehow adds a bit of creedence to these sinister blokes wouldn't you say Elisabeth?

Nethaniel smiles at both ladies in a gentlemanly fashion and then looks back to Andrei. He starts to fiddle with his crossbow, awkwardly trying to put it back into its case while walking.

It would seem to me that if this book you've been going on about is important enough to bring you and your mates to london and to force this dream cult out into the open, then we should probably get our hands on it now shouldn't we?

Nathaniel continues talking as they walk.

We're onto something big here Gwen. You got to get us back into the stacks... we need to get access to the Museum's private collection.

Posted: **Mon Feb 04, 2008 10:31 pm**

"Mr. Moore," Caroline says, acknowledging his greeting. "I'm afraid I may need to hire a translator for your 'lingo.'" She smiles briefly, then frowns again. "The sooner we're in some place of relative safety, the happier I'll be."

Posted: **Tue Feb 05, 2008 11:44 pm**

OOC: Sorry for the delay. I got stuck in a long transit and then had a couple missions once I got settled.

IC: Gwen is a bit taken aback with the situation. So many new faces and a dangerous new reality make her slow to respond as gracefully as she'd like.
To Nethaniel: I don't think it a good idea to linger here. Let's go someplace public. I am famished! We can all talk there."
To Elizabeth and other new people: Hello. I'm Gwendolyn Everettson. I've been helping Nethaniel with his research into cults, specifically Aegyptian cults. Very pleased to meet you all. Let's get out of here. I'd like to hear more of what's going on. Where are you people from?
To Andrei: They didn't say anything! They just attacked and were dragging me out of the building. It might have been about one of the books in the restricted section that I have access to. We could come back tomorrow and check. Are you interested in a particular book?

Posted: **Mon Feb 11, 2008 3:27 pm**

OOC:

Spoiler:

Posted: **Mon Feb 11, 2008 5:08 pm**

OOC:

Spoiler:

(OK, so the text doesn't go between the tags? What am I missing here.)

Posted: **Mon Feb 11, 2008 5:20 pm**

Decrepit wrote:OOC:
Spoiler:
Leaving's fine with me--Caroline would feel the need to assess the situation before taking the next step.
(OK, so the text doesn't go between the tags? What am I missing here.)

You can't use other bbtags (ie )inside the spoiler.

You also need to use 'curly quotes' rather than straight ones, which is a pain if you're using the forum to type your post, rather than a word processor or something.

Grafster's started using exclamation marks within spoilers instead of quotes (ie Leaving!s, rather than Leaving's).

I fixed your spoiler tags, but if using them is a pain then you don't need to bother.

Posted: **Tue Feb 12, 2008 3:15 am**

Gwen wrote:They didn't say anything! They just attacked and were dragging me out of the building. It might have been about one of the books in the restricted section that I have access to. We could come back tomorrow and check. Are you interested in a particular book?

"I'm not... well... I think, yes, they're after a certain book. And, so... obviously there is something in that book that we need." He drops his voice to a whisper, and ensures no one is listening before he continues. "It's called the Pnakotic Manuscripts. Do you... have you heard of it? It's very rare. I'm fairly certain this book is the key to... to all of this."

OC: Andrei is definitely walking out of the museum.

Posted: **Tue Feb 12, 2008 3:21 am**

Spoiler:

Posted: **Tue Feb 12, 2008 4:49 pm**

OOC:

Spoiler:

Posted: **Tue Feb 12, 2008 7:07 pm**

Spoiler:

Posted: **Wed Feb 13, 2008 11:42 pm**

OOC: Took me a while to find the PM with all the BM's tomes. But I found it. On a different note, a little over 2 more months and I'm out of this country! Woo!
Gwen collects her coat and handbag and walks with the group out of the Musuem. As they get to the street Gwen fills Andrei in on what she knows of the Pnakotic manusripts.
"Well Andrei, we might be in luck, or not. The manuscript isn't in the restricted section, so I should have no problems in letting you read it. Seems an odd sort of thing to stage a murder and kidnapping for. The manusript is in the Greek collection, unless I'm mistaken, but I think it might be in a previously unkown language. A very fascinating exhibit, that.
"I know a place just down the road where we could all get a bite to eat, and perhaps some tea. Once there I have some questions I'd like answered, if you don't mind."

Posted: **Fri Feb 15, 2008 7:29 pm**

"I think we all have some questions," Caroline offers understatedly. "Personally, I always like to eat right after I have two or three awful experiences in a row." She smiles.

Posted: **Mon Feb 18, 2008 2:14 pm**

Outside the British Museum

As the investigators walk out of the Museum and pass out through the police line they find themselves besieged by reporters from London’s many tabloid newspapers – all keen to learn the gory details of the latest massacre perpetrated by the ‘Egyptian Murderer,’ and also details of the gun battle inside the Museum.

Cameras flash all around them as the heroes of the hour find their path blocked by notepad wielding journalists. There are so many of them shouting questions, that it’s difficult to even hear what they are asking.

“…just a quick word!”

“…did you find the body?”

“…escaped?”

“…more than one…”

“…brave…”

“…hear…gunshots…”

“…Russians?”

Posted: **Mon Feb 18, 2008 9:16 pm**

"Shit!"

Andrei covers his head, trying not to be seen by photographers, and pushes through the crowd as quickly as possible. If anyone pushes a camera in his face, he will shove the camera away roughly, "Get away from me!"

Posted: **Mon Feb 18, 2008 11:21 pm**

IC: Gwen wraps a scarf around her face. She does not stop for photos or interviews, but remains polite. She holds on to Nethaniel's hand and guides them out of the crush and down the street and attempts to lose the crowd.

Posted: **Tue Feb 19, 2008 3:30 am**

Nathaniel smiles at the cameras and begins to explain.

Well... it's quite complicated .. ripe with.......... whuh!

When Nathaniel is jerked away by Gwen he trails off yelling to the cameras.

...... iiiiiirony!

Posted: **Tue Feb 19, 2008 2:03 pm**

OOC:

Spoiler:

Posted: **Tue Feb 19, 2008 5:08 pm**

"Oh, Lord," Caroline says as she takes in the commotion. We're even less safe--if possible--than we were before. We'll be in the papers, and everyone'll know what we look like. We'll have to leave the city soon ...

Posted: **Wed Feb 20, 2008 4:19 pm**

Elizabeth also attempts to cover her face, but knows from experience that she will be in the paper anyway. She wishes Johnny were there ... and hopes that at least he has managed to stay out of trouble. She follows behind Andrei, in his considerable wake.

Posted: **Wed Feb 20, 2008 6:43 pm**

J. Lyons & Co. Tea Room - Tottenham Court Road, Bloomsbury, London
8:00pm - Wednesday 28th January, 1925

Most of the journalists realise that they won’t be getting any answers from the investigators and choose to stay where they are and await news from the police.

One or two of the more insistent reporters follow and shout questions for a short distance, but even they eventually give up and allow Gwen to lead her new friends away through the foggy evening streets of Bloombury. She leads them back to Tottenham Court road and into a small but homely tea room of the famous J. Lyons & Co chain.

OOC:

Spoiler:

Posted: **Thu Feb 21, 2008 2:02 am**

Maksim walks along jovially enough, stepping along behind Caroline and flashing a dashing smile at the cameras. "Nyet," is all he says, with a handsome shrug. However, he's not feeling particularly lucky.

Posted: **Thu Feb 21, 2008 4:54 am**

Caroline stays close to her "husband," knowing that she should play up the "couple" angle. She may need his protection, for this clearly just isn't her day. She may, in fact, want to watch out for the stray banana peel.

Posted: **Thu Feb 21, 2008 3:31 pm**

Elizabeth orders tea and sandwiches for everyone, feeling lucky that they found the tea room still open.

"Perhaps we can start with what happened at the museum just now?"

Posted: **Thu Feb 21, 2008 11:01 pm**

"Thanks for the tea Miss. Now that we're all settled and away from the jackals, how about a round of inrtoductions? I'm Gwendolyn Everettson, but please call me Gwen. I must say I'm feeling lucky to have met you all."

Posted: **Fri Feb 22, 2008 3:01 pm**

"Yes, pleased to meet you. I am Elizabeth Downing. I suppose you could say that I am the reason all of these people are here. We started in New York, but had to leave because of the ..." she glances around the tea shop and makes sure to keep her voice lowered. "Well, maybe we can get to that once we know what happened here."

Posted: **Fri Feb 22, 2008 11:01 pm**

Nathaniel begins pour unhealthy amounts of sugar into his tea, smiling politely as each of the investigators takes their turn. When it’s his turn to introduce himself, Nathaniel straightens his bow tie and tries to look as dignified as possible. He’s lucky to keep his composure with all the excitement of the day rushing through his head. He feels like he’s back at Oxford with his old mates fighting the good fight. Good vs. evil and all that rubbish.

Names Nathaniel More, owner and proprietor of the Dodgy Pages. An occult literature establishment and café when required of it. It’s a pleasure to meet all you lovely ladies and strapping chaps… Can’t says I knows to much of what’s been happening of late, but if your searching for a cult in England, I’m sure I can be of some service. You Americans should probably start from the get go if you’re going to give Gwen and me a proper chance to have at it. Your mate Andrei keeps on about a lot of wicked dreams and such. So before I write him off as a dodgy bugger, I’d say I’d like to hear a fair bit more on the subject now wouldn’t I?

Posted: **Sat Feb 23, 2008 9:07 pm**

"I'm Dr. Caroline Ward," Caroline says. "I'm a close friend of Beth's here and the, um, wife of Maksim. I'm probably not the best one to be telling the story here--we ourselves have had a frightful time tonight, and I admit to being a bit in shock regarding the latest events."

Posted: **Sat Feb 23, 2008 9:12 pm**

Andrei pulls up a second table so everyone can sit around. He sits back from his companions, where he can watch everyone, and see out the window of the cafe onto the street. His arms are crossed. Most of his time is spent watching Elizabeth, staring out the window at passersby, or tapping his foot impatiently and frowning at Gwen.

[OC: Passed his luck roll. ]

Posted: **Mon Feb 25, 2008 2:33 pm**

OOC:

Spoiler:

Posted: **Mon Feb 25, 2008 3:58 pm**

"And Timour, Maksim's brother, also came with us to the museum, but went off to go sneaking about, I suppose." Elizabeth pauses for a moment and considers Gwen and Nathaniel. "Yes, perhaps we should start after all. This all began when a friend of mine, Jackson Elias, contacted me about some mystery he was investigating. He tends to uncover cults and the scams behind them. I should say tended, he's ... he was murdered by the cultists he was currently investigating before we could speak with him." She carefully keeps herself under control with a deep breath.

"As I said, this was in New York. We started to investigate this 'bloody tongue' cult there, but quickly realized that we were now in danger for our own lives." She glances at Andrei. "We did indeed all share a dream in which we saw a failed police raid, one that actually happened, mind you, and our friend Timour was ... well, I don't know what exactly, but somehow something got him in the dream and he remained asleep. Luckily, he eventually woke up.

"Realizing the cultists were determined to do us harm, and with clues that led us out of the States anyway, we came here. There really is not much else to say. We," she glances at Andrei with an expression that's difficult to interpret, "separated to follow different leads. We came to find you here because ... well, when we get back to the car I have something to show you, but I don't imagine you will believe me until you see it." She shivers.

Posted: **Tue Feb 26, 2008 1:21 am**

Nathaniel, acting rather jovial and excitable listens carefully to Elizabeth as she tells her story. When she finishes, Nathaniel rubs his chin and ponders what she said, taking on a much more serious scholarly expression.

You were right to contact me… Jackson Elias was an associate of mine. We’ve worked together in the past on various cult related studies. He often sent his papers my way… for a second opinion I imagined… or to gloat the old codger.. God rest his soul. I was sorry to hear that he had past. As for the item in your auto… I’m honestly on pins and needles just thinking about it. As I said before, this is all terribly exciting.

Nathaniel looks over to Andrei searching about and shifts in his chair to try and catch a glimpse of what he’s looking at.

You’re paranoia is quite contagious old boy! Is there someone specific we should be watching for?

Posted: **Tue Feb 26, 2008 7:01 pm**

IC: Gwen thinks about what Elizabeth just told her.
"What makes you think this "Bloody Tongue" and my assailants are connected? And this shared dream sounds frightfully dangerous! All I know from my end is that my assisstant was killed and I was almost kindapped by Arabs. I don't know, but if what Andrei says is correct it might have to do with the books at the museum. Speaking of which, Andrei, I'm not sure if I can let you read the Manuscripts. You're not a professor, no credentials. Even if you were, it would take a week for the paper work to get through. I could let Nethaniel in, probably. Sorry, but I stand to lose my job."

Posted: **Tue Feb 26, 2008 7:57 pm**

Andrei huffs contemptuously at Gwen's statement. He looks genuinely upset.

"Okay, then, lets get out of here and see what's in the car."

He speaks over top of everyone else, expecting his statement to be the final say on the conversation. He grabs his hat, preparing to go, watching to see if the others follow his lead.

Posted: **Wed Feb 27, 2008 2:39 am**

Maksim merely arches an eyebrow but waits to see what the others do.

Posted: **Wed Feb 27, 2008 6:59 am**

Nathaniel stands up and sets his tea on the table.

Indeed! Let's go have a gander in your trunk! If it's half as intriguing as any of this, Elisabeth, I'll find whatever you need in those texts... with Gwen's permission and exclusive narrative rights to any publication that might arise from this thrilling scenario... naturally...

Posted: **Wed Feb 27, 2008 3:18 pm**

"Well, okay then." Elizabeth stands as well and moves toward the door. To Nathaniel she says, "Please, call me Lisa. My full name is so formal."

Posted: **Wed Feb 27, 2008 5:04 pm**

J. Lyons & Co. Tea Room - Tottenham Court Road, Bloomsbury, London
8:15pm - Wednesday 28th January, 1925

As everyone stands up to leave the tea room, Elizabeth, Andrei and Gwen suddenly stop and look around the tea room, looking quite startled. It is apparent though that they don’t find what they are looking for though.

Posted: **Thu Feb 28, 2008 3:04 pm**

Elizabeth notices Andrei's and Gwen's reactions and says to them, "We should leave, but I do not want to go back to the hotel until we don't feel them watching anymore. I don't know what is happening, but I do not like it." She turns to Andrei. "We are all staying at the same hotel now."

Posted: **Thu Feb 28, 2008 6:53 pm**

Andrei is stricken with terror. The blood drains from his face. He barely hears a word that Elizabeth says. He's looking up into the sky fearfully.

"Oh god. Oh god. They know where we are. We can't sleep." He surveys his companions, hoping they'll understand.

"They're watching us, like last time. Shit. Shit shit shit."

"Let's get out of here, quickly. We need to... we need to... lets look at the car, then, we need to find whoever's doing this, whoever's watching us, before we go to sleep..."

Posted: **Thu Feb 28, 2008 11:50 pm**

IC: Gwen asks fearfully, "Did anyone else feel that? What do you mean like the last time? Is this what happened before your friend was hurt!?" She stands up, "we should go, I think."

Posted: **Fri Feb 29, 2008 1:55 am**

"Feel what?" asks Maksim, his brow wrinkling in confusion. "Watching who?"

Posted: **Fri Feb 29, 2008 2:47 pm**

To Maskim, Elizabeth says, "It feels like we are being watched. I don't know how, and I don't like to think about who it is, but we should go." With that she turns to Andrei and puts a hand on either side of his face to gain his attention. Sternly, she says, "Andrei, listen. If we can feel them watching, it means that we will know when we have lost them. It will be okay, but let's get out of here." Matching action with words, she walks to the door.

Posted: **Sat Mar 01, 2008 3:56 am**

"We'll go to Soho, afterwards," Andrei says aloud, as he follows Elizabeth out the door.

"That's where they are."

Posted: **Sat Mar 01, 2008 4:50 pm**

Caroline hasn't the foggiest what's going on, but she follows the others. She decides that Andrei is under some kind of mania and, more than anything, needs some sort of respite from the shocks that have hit him. Well, we all do, she thinks, it's just getting that time to get our bearings isn't very logical right now. She wonders how the others know that the group was being watched, but she knew better than to question it at this time.

Posted: **Sat Mar 01, 2008 9:20 pm**

As they walk, Andrei asks Elizabeth, gruffly, "What happened to Timour?"

He tries not to make a big deal out of the question. He looks away after asking it, so she can't read his face.

Posted: **Sat Mar 01, 2008 9:50 pm**

OOC: SAN loss (1d3=3)

IC: Gwen is happy to leave the tea room, but something Andrei says makes her pause. "SoHo? Why would we go there? With all that's goingon we might as well go to Dog Island! I'd rather find somewhere safe tonight. If Lisa thinks we'll know when we lose them we should try!"

Posted: **Mon Mar 03, 2008 3:20 pm**

Elizabeth doesn't worry about where to go next; instead she tries to remember where they parked the car. In response to Andrei, she says, "Hopefully not getting himself into trouble. When we first arrived at the museum he went to find some way in that was not past the police."

Posted: **Mon Mar 03, 2008 8:32 pm**

Andrei doesn't respond. If Elizabeth is trying to tell him something between the lines, he doesn't get it.

He sighs and watches for people following or watching them.

Posted: **Mon Mar 03, 2008 9:47 pm**

Nathaniel follows the group urging Gwen to stay close. As they walk and try to locate Elisabeth’s’ car, Nathaniel speaks confidently to Eilsabeth and Andrei who seemed to be the mopst effected by whatever strange presence is watching them.

Miss E…er... Lisa? I understand your uncomfort in dealing with these strange feelings, but I was hoping you might describe them in detail to Gwen and I. Between the two us and the numerous case studies related to the occult I’m sure we’ve both encountered; perhaps we might be able to properly identify your affliction?

Posted: **Tue Mar 04, 2008 3:38 pm**

Elizabeth stops and considers Nathaniel for a moment. "Well, perhaps you could. But it's really just this odd sense of being watched. It is unnerving, especially as it continues to last ... and since these people seem to have been able to find us magically before." She shivers and keeps walking.

Posted: **Tue Mar 04, 2008 8:20 pm**

"They can attack us in our dreams", Andrei adds. "We can't sleep. Not until we find them. One of the men had a card that mentioned a place in Soho..."

Posted: **Tue Mar 04, 2008 10:42 pm**

IC: Gwen stays with the group, particularly Nethaniel. Every minute or so she scans the rooftops and alleyways for danger. As she walks she talks to Nethaniel about what she feels. "This feels so wrong. It's like someone is inside my head!" She catches up to Andrei. "Andrei, what is the place in SoHo? And what's in the car?"

Posted: **Wed Mar 05, 2008 1:53 pm**

The group arrive back at the car, close to the museum. Unfortunately Timour hasn't returned yet.

Posted: **Wed Mar 05, 2008 3:35 pm**

"At Timour's insistence we went off to see some painter that had interested Jackson. He was ... strange, but his paintings even more so. There was one of that beast we saw in the dream, and men in those damned masks dancing around it. But then we saw this. I bought it and we came straight here." Elizabeth pulls out a painting and shows it to the others.

The painting shows a large room in a museum, the room contains Egyptian exhibits - sculptures and statues - a young woman's body lies in a pool of blood. Two men stand over the body, one is Maksim. Andrei Zatisov flees from the scene - holding a revolver. He's running towards something insubstantial that lurks in the shadows.

Posted: **Wed Mar 05, 2008 4:50 pm**

The second man viewing the body, stood next to Maksim is clearly Nathaniel, although Elizabeth, Caroline and Timour obviously couldn't have known at the time.

OOC:

Spoiler:

Posted: **Wed Mar 05, 2008 7:47 pm**

OOC: 1/1d6 for painting San 63 (1d100=22)

IC: Gwen is shaken at seeing the uncanny likeness. She knows that the scene is an accurate representation, and wonders what lies in the shadows besides the fat arab. "My God, it's the spitting image!"

Posted: **Wed Mar 05, 2008 7:53 pm**

"Amazing," Caroline whispers. "Simply beyond belief."

Posted: **Thu Mar 06, 2008 11:21 pm**

Nathaniel takes off his glasses to get a closer look at the painting.

When was this painted? The likeness to Maksim and Andrei is unsettling to say the least.

oc - Sanity check : http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1518796/] Pass (with an 18)

oc – does Nathaniel recognize any of the cult items in the picture. Occult roll: Pass (with a 6)

Spoiler:

Posted: **Fri Mar 07, 2008 10:14 am**

Looking closely at the painting Nathaniel sees that it is a perfect depiction of the scene at the British Museum, he and Maksim stand over the butchered body of Gwen’s assistant Alison. Nathaniel remembers that Andrei was the first to react to the sounds of Gwen’s stuggles.

Disturbing though it is, the painting is a masterpiece, perfectly depicting the museum in great detail. The ‘creature’ is nothing that he recognises, indeed it is more a suggestion of something dreadful and insubstantial lurking in the darkest shadows - waiting for Andrei to approach.

OOC:

Spoiler:

Posted: **Fri Mar 07, 2008 11:26 pm**

Andrei lets out a low moan and covers his mouth with his hands.

"Oh my lord, please, no...."

He steps back from the painting, staring his companions in horror. He stares up at the sky behind them and sees something... He lets out a horrific shriek, and runs at full speed for the nearest doorway. The door is locked - he tugs at it with all his strength, cutting his hand with the fierceness of his grip.

OH SHIT!

He holds his hands over his head like he's shielding himself, and rushes down the street. His precious satchel lays on the sidewalk.

[OC: If there are no open businesses nearby, Andrei tries every door until he gets inside somewhere...]

Posted: **Sat Mar 08, 2008 10:43 pm**

IC: Gwen is startled by Andrei's reaction. She scans the sky, frightened.

Posted: **Sun Mar 09, 2008 3:11 am**

Caroline races after Andrei, realizing how unstable he's become and hoping that she can try to talk him down from his ledge of paranoia.

Posted: **Sun Mar 09, 2008 4:06 pm**

Elizabeth stands in stunned paralysis for a moment. After Caroline takes off, Elizabeth also follows, grabbing Andrei's satchel on the way.

Posted: **Mon Mar 10, 2008 1:38 am**

Maksim is a little disturbed but shrugs it off. After all, considering all they've been through already... Then he sees Andrei's reaction and groans. The Russian man was meant to be in charge, he'd roped the twins into this, and all he'd been doing was adding trouble to more trouble. Maksim sighed and joined the chase, readying himself for a tackle. Screw it, if Andrei got a bloodied nose that's his problem.

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1522397/ - 16 outta a lot. Only 1 san loss taken.

Posted: **Mon Mar 10, 2008 6:33 pm**

Nathaniel stares at the painting and eyes the roof tops nervously. He hopes all this paranoia won't start making him all sketchy like Andrei.

Dodgy wankers!

Nathaniel looks at Gwen and shrugs.

Bunch a wee dodgy children if you ask me. It's a painting for crying out loud. Even if it is some sort of precognitive premonition, there's no point in wetting our britches about the damned thing now is there?

Nathaniel looks around at a few windows across the street and shivers. He fights the childish urge to run with them screaming down the street. Rubbish and Poppie-cock! He certainly won't let a bunch of bloody out of towners make him lose his calm and collected British composure.

I'm afraid they've gotten me all jumpy Gwen. Should we take the painting and follow them. I'm still not quite sure if they're afraid of the painting or someone in the adjacent lot. Perhaps a sniper of some description.

Nathaniel takes another paranoid look to the rooftops.

Posted: **Tue Mar 11, 2008 2:17 pm**

The shops that line the street here are all closed at this hour, but there is a pub - The Dog and Partridge - that is open for business.

Andrei darts in through the front door, it’s dark and smoky inside - the murmurs of conversation die out immediately as Andrei crashes through the front door. There are about a dozen patrons inside the pub, as well as the landlord and his barmaid working behind the small bar - all turn and stare at the paranoid Russian.

Posted: **Tue Mar 11, 2008 6:33 pm**

IC: "Right Nethaniel. No sense in it at all. That's why it's bothering me. Things don't seem to make sense at all now. Right, lets roll the painting up and join them in that pub. They might need help with Andrei.

Posted: **Tue Mar 11, 2008 8:53 pm**

Andrei rushes to a booth at the far end of the bar - furthest from the windows. He sits with his back to the wall, facing the front door, chewing his nails, tapping his fingers on the table and swaying back and forth with excessive nervous energy.

At the moment, he barely notices the other patrons of the bar, or anyone following him. He intently watches the windows for any signs of movement that seem... inhuman...

Posted: **Tue Mar 11, 2008 10:06 pm**

"Andrei," Caroline says when she catches up to him, trying to gain his attention. "Andrei, I think we should talk about what's bothering you. Clearly, something is, and you behaving this way isn't helping anyone, including yourself." She has no specific idea about what prompted his outburst, so she's treating it as mental instability only.

OOC:

Spoiler:

Posted: **Wed Mar 12, 2008 12:03 am**

Decrepit wrote:OOC:
Spoiler:
LMK if a Psychoanalysis roll is called for.

OOC:

Spoiler:

Posted: **Wed Mar 12, 2008 6:30 pm**

Caroline begins to talk with Andrei, and what she says seems to be helping. "Andrei, you're right that there are some genuine, serious problems that we're facing, but your behavior is counterproductive--it's only calling attention to us, not keeping us safe." Attempting to stroke his ego, she says, "You're the strong one here, Andrei, the one keeping us together. We need you to be strong for us."

Posted: **Wed Mar 12, 2008 9:01 pm**

Nathaniel rolls up the painting and puts it in his jacket. As he and Gwen head for the bar, Nathaniel continues to discuss the precognitive artwork.

I wonder how old this is Gwen. It would take months to paint such a piece now wouldn’t it? This describes the attack on your assistant in great detail. Absolutely fascinating! We should inquire as to the artist and if they have painted any others like it.

When they finally get inside the pub and spot the terrible mess Andrei is in, Nathaniel makes certain the painting is out of sight.

Is he all right? Andrei old boy! It’s just a painting. Would you rather we destroyed it?

Posted: **Wed Mar 12, 2008 10:16 pm**

IC: "Our foreign friends must know something more about it. They said they bought it directly from the artist, right?" Once she enters the bar she positions herself near Caroline. She seems to know what she's doing.

Posted: **Thu Mar 13, 2008 2:54 pm**

Elizabeth enters the bar, but remains close to the door. She finds Andrei's behavior frightening, and is well aware of the curious eyes of the other patrons. She stands by the door, eyes fixed on Andrei, with her arms hugging herself.

Posted: **Thu Mar 13, 2008 7:57 pm**

Andrei covers his face and lurches further back into the bar, heading for the bathroom, until Caroline spins him around and confronts him.

Caroline wrote:"Andrei, you're right that there are some genuine, serious problems that we're facing, but your behavior is counterproductive--it's only calling attention to us, not keeping us safe."

"What?" He's barely listening to her, mostly looking at the ground, but occasionally glancing behind her at the windows, in case something comes through. He's stepping backwards and forwards nervously, wringing his hands, pulling his hands through his hair - he doesn't know what to do with himself. His breaths are quick and shallow.

Caroline wrote:"You're the strong one here, Andrei, the one keeping us together. We need you to be strong for us."

Something about this resonates for Andrei. Now he's listening. Still standing far back in the bar, in the hollow that leads to the bathrooms, he tries to slow down his breathing.
"You don't know..."

"Caroline, it's coming! I saw it, I keep seeing it! It's looking for me! It's going to get me next!"

Tears are streaming down his face now. He wipes them away, looking away from the bar so no one sees.

"It knows me! It's up there, in the sky. It's going to keep following me, forever. I'm so trapped! There's nothing I can do!"

Posted: **Thu Mar 13, 2008 11:49 pm**

"We believe you, Andrei," Caroline says. "God knows, we've seen enough strange and terrible things in the last few days to last a lifetime. But succumbing to our fears isn't the way to beat these things, Andrei, and I know you know that."

Posted: **Fri Mar 14, 2008 12:14 am**

"It's NOT a fear!" Andrei's voice raises to a shout for a moment, then he lowers his voice and presses close to Caroline. His face is covered in a thin sheen of sweat.

"This is real! It's real!" he hisses.

"I've seen it in the sky, I've seen it in my dreams, I've seen it chasing me, it's watching me wherever I go! This is real, Caroline! Believe me or not... you'll believe me soon enough, when you find me comatose, or with my belly slit open!

SHIT!"

Andrei pounds the wall again, in frustration.

"What am I supposed to do? Show me something! Show me something I can get my hands on, and I'll do something! I'll tear the bastards to pieces with my bare hands, I swear it! Just... give me something...!"

Andrei's fear is turning to frustration and anger...

Posted: **Fri Mar 14, 2008 5:12 pm**

"Andrei," Caroline says, trying to sound a bit sterner. "We're going to get the ... the bastards that did this. But whining and crying about it isn't going to help. It just makes things easier for them. Look, we need to get to someplace out of the way here; your behavior is just exposing us to more danger."

Posted: **Fri Mar 14, 2008 9:18 pm**

"Whining?!? Pfft!" He looks over Caroline's shoulder, at the crowds in the pub staring at them. He stares directly back at one patron until he turns away. Then he notices Elizabeth standing by the entrance, and turns away quickly, pretending he didn't see her.

"We can't hide. I refuse to hide." Andrei is convincing himself as much as Caroline.

"I have an address in Soho. If I'm going anywhere with you, it's straight to this place. I've had enough of this." He lets out a shuddering sigh and glances warily back up at the windows, and at Elizabeth, across the pub.

"Soho, then?"

Posted: **Sat Mar 15, 2008 12:49 am**

Nathaniel speaks to Elizabeth entirely uncomfotable with Andrei's extremely excitable mood swings.

What's in bloody Soho?

He straightens his tie and nods at the bar patrons as he tries to ease their suspicions.

One two many guiness! heh! heh! heh!

Posted: **Sun Mar 16, 2008 3:55 pm**

"Yes, Andrei," Caroline asks, "what's in Soho? Before I agree to go anywhere with you, I need to know what you plan on doing."

Posted: **Sun Mar 16, 2008 7:26 pm**

Elizabeth replies to Nathaniel, her eyes still glued on Andrei. "I have no idea."

Posted: **Mon Mar 17, 2008 6:18 pm**

"The Blue Pyramid Club is in Soho."

By now Andrei is near the front door, near Elizabeth and Nathaniel.

"That's where the killers... one killer was a member there. He had a card in his pocket saying so - remember?" He cocks a glance at Nathaniel.

Andrei peers out a front window, looks upwards and shudders. He puts his hat on and pulls it down over his brow, shading his eyes from the night sky.

"We can't just go home and go to sleep, they'll get us. We need to find them tonight."

Posted: **Mon Mar 17, 2008 6:51 pm**

IC: Gwen feels uncomfortable. "Andrei, what ae we supposed to do when w find them? These poeple killed Allison and were probably going to do the same to me!"

Posted: **Mon Mar 17, 2008 8:46 pm**

"Andrei, be reasonable," Caroline says. "We can't just go charging in there."

Posted: **Tue Mar 18, 2008 5:29 am**

"Reasonable, yeah, that'll work," mutters Maksim under his breath, taking a seat and trying to ignore the whole thing.

Posted: **Tue Mar 18, 2008 2:26 pm**

Elizabeth speaks up, in the same tone of voice her father used when he wanted no argument. "Andrei. Do you remember the raid in Harlem? Those were armed, trained officers and it didn't go so well. Besides, Timour is still back at the museum somewhere and Johnny is God knows where. If nothing else, I would at least like to know what happened at the museum tonight. But you have caused enough of a stir here that I think we should go elsewhere to speak." She glances around at the others in her group, and heads for the door.

Posted: **Tue Mar 18, 2008 9:49 pm**

Caroline watches Beth prepare to leave. "Andrei," she says, "you know Beth's right. Every time we've divided up, something awful's happened. We need to stay together, find our friends, learn what we can about what's going on, and then make plans. If people really are out to get us, we'll only be helping them out by going in half cocked." She gets up and follows Beth, hoping that Andrei will follow but realizing also that there's not much more she can say to convince him in his state of mind. He at least seemed calmer and marginally more rational; what happened next was up to him.

Posted: **Wed Mar 19, 2008 12:31 am**

Andrei looks visibly upset - both because everyone is disagreeing with him, and because they're all going back outside.

"I'm not..." he calls out, as they file out the door.

He peers hesitantly through the open door, looking up at the sky. Cursing to himself, he pulls his jacket up over his head (like it's pouring rain out), and runs past everyone towards the car, "COME ON THEN! HURRY!"

He leaps into a rear car seat, shielding his face from the windows. "QUICK, GET IN!"

"We'll be lucky if we weren't spotted there," he mumbles, as everyone gets in the car. "Fine. We'll find the others, but listen to me. It's going to do no good hiding. We can't hide. And remember, we can't sleep, either. We have no choice."

He says all this as though it's perfectly logical. Which it is.

Posted: **Thu Mar 20, 2008 12:47 am**

Maksim, having turned his attention to his vodka flask, waits a few long moments after everyone has leaved before strolling out after them.

Posted: **Thu Mar 20, 2008 3:51 am**

Elizabeth can't help but glance up at the sky; Andrei's madness is unnerving. Nevertheless, she ignores his mad dash and follows him to the car at a walk. She turns to the others. "Whatever is the matter with him, it is at least true that we are somehow being watched, which puts us all in danger. I propose that we do not return to our hotel until we lose the sensation of being observed ... although I really do not know how we are going to be able to stop it." She frowns. "First thing we need to do is find Timour, who presumably is still sneaking around the museum."

Posted: **Thu Mar 20, 2008 3:58 pm**

There is still no sign of Timour, as Andrei jumps into the back of the Bentley.

He glances into the night sky again as he climbs inside the car, but it doesn’t help - the fog seems much thicker now than thirty minutes ago when they left the museum. To Andrei it seems oppressive, he can still sense the unseen eyes watching him from afar - unaffected by this dreadful, stinking brown mist - but he Andrei Zakovich cannot see more than a few feet beyond his the end of his own nose.

As the others walk slowly towards the Bentley automobile, the closest street light goes out, it’s filament expiring with a sharp crack, the pool of illuminated fog near to the racing car darkening immediately. The light going out is creepy, the noise startling, but bulbs fail all the time, it’s just a spooky coincidence surely?

The street is quiet, and other than the nearby pub, all of the shops are closed, their lights off. It is quite dark near to the car now, the closest working light is thirty yards away. As the investigators resume their stroll towards the Bentley that lamp goes out as well, the closest light is now the Dog and Partridge pub, and that’s fifty yards behind them.

**********************************

OOC:

Spoiler:

Posted: **Fri Mar 21, 2008 12:49 am**

Nathaniel looks up into the sky after Elizabeth and then shakes his head.

Oh Bollocks!

He hangs back with Gwen as they walk up the street. He looks from side to side and into the poorly lit shops, wrapped up in the party's paranoia.

You know luv.. Even if these blokes are off their bloody bird, they would all make excellent case studies now wouldn't they? Mass occult based hysteria or some rubbish like that. It's bloody fascinating I tell you. I honestly feel as though I could wet my nickers I'm so bloody shakey.

oc - Spot Hidden : Fail : 92

Posted: **Tue Mar 25, 2008 3:38 pm**

It is hidden inside the fog, almost a part of misty vapours. Andrei doesn’t notice it as he stares fearfully out the Bentley’s side windows, nor do Nathaniel or Caroline outside.

Elizabeth notices though, and so does Gwen as she walks alongside Nathaniel. Maksim sees it as well as he walks along casually behind the others. An insubstantial foggy shape, like some huge ghostly octopus, it sparkles in the feint, distant illumination from the pub, like a million specks of starlight. Elizabeth remembers the ghostly creature in Miles Shipley’s terrible painting.

The entity seeped into the darkness as the last streetlight went out, flowing soundlessly though the night towards the lonely Bentley. Now six thin misty tendrils emerge from the shapeless whole and reach out for the car. Like spectral serpents they writhe and probe, testing the almost airtight seal between the windows and the soft-top. Trying to find a way inside.

From inside the car Andrei can see the look of horror on Elizabeth’s face, then as the first of the entity’s tentacles seeps into the interior of the Bentley and drifts silently, almost invisibly towards him Andrei smells something most peculiar, the scent of burning hair.

OOC:

Spoiler:

Posted: **Tue Mar 25, 2008 7:01 pm**

OOC:SAN 62- Fog Thing (1d100=86)
SAN loss (1d10=6)

IC: Gwen stops and stares into the fog in horror. Her muscles clench and her mouth opens in a silent scream.

Posted: **Tue Mar 25, 2008 7:43 pm**

"Andrei! GET OUT OF THERE!" Elizabeth screams into the night.

Posted: **Tue Mar 25, 2008 9:39 pm**

"What in the hell is going on?" Caroline yells at her friend. Has everyone gone insane?

Posted: **Wed Mar 26, 2008 2:20 am**

Inside the Bentley.

"Andrei! GET OUT OF THERE!" Elizabeth’s voice sounds strangely muffled to Andrei inside the car, as though she is calling him from far away.

The smell of burnt hair grows stronger, as finally Andrei spots the thin tentacle of mist reaching over the top of the car window towards his face.

He feels the wispy tendril force itself between his lips, invading his mouth and filling throat. Andrei panics - I can't breathe! The stench of burning hair is overpowering now.

With horror Andrei notices that two more foggy tentacles have found a way into the car’s interior and are now groping towards him.

OOC:

Spoiler:

Link to Gwen’s insanity roll.

Posted: **Wed Mar 26, 2008 5:11 am**

IC:
Maksim sees the insubstantial mist and doubts his gun will do anything against it. Wishing he'd had a bit more to drink, he draws his gun and fires at the fog, aiming for a part that isn't directly before Andrei, as he's quite sure the bullet will pass through. Rolled a 41.
OOC:
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1538277/ - 99 outta a 100 - FAIL
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1538279/ - 2 sanity lost

Posted: **Wed Mar 26, 2008 2:31 pm**

Inside the Bentley:

Andrei manages to free himself from the entity’s probing for the moment.

Out on the street:

Maksim’s bullets pass though the entity with no apparent effect, the sparking mist isn’t even disturbed.

OOC:

Spoiler:

Posted: **Wed Mar 26, 2008 7:57 pm**

Elizabeth cannot imagine anything she can do to help Andrei, and watches helplessly as he struggles against the Thing.

Caroline wrote:"What in the hell is going on?"

Elizabeth grabs Caroline's shoulders and shakes her. "Can you not see it? In the fog! It has sent a tentacle into the car after Andrei!"

Posted: **Wed Mar 26, 2008 8:26 pm**

Nathaniel strains his eyes as he looks into the blackness. He jumps; visibly startled when the gun shots begin to thunder into the night.

What in bloody hell are you firing at? You’re going to kill someone.

Nathaniel looks desperately for any sign of their attacker.

Spot Check 23 : pass 23 http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/search/189367/

He finally spots the tentacles oozing into the car and the terrible creature wielding them. He cocks his head to the side and straightens his spectacles, quite unclear what he is looking at. He wrestles with reality for a quick moment then quickly gains control of his faculties.

Sanity check : Pass http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1539967/

Good Heavens!

He thinks back to the hours spent in the museum’s private stacks, hoping that something might ring a bell.

Cthulu Mythos roll. :61 : Fail http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1540014/

oc – Is Nathaniel in the car? Not quite sure.

Posted: **Wed Mar 26, 2008 9:04 pm**

Inside The Bentley:

Andrei howls and flaps his arms around his face madly. He sucks in a deep breath when the tentacle finally retracts from his mouth, and pulls himself across the backseat to the other side of the car.

IT'S HAPPENING!

Andrei scrabbles madly at the car door, trying to open it, so he can escape onto the street-side of the car...

Posted: **Thu Mar 27, 2008 12:27 am**

imme wrote:Elizabeth cannot imagine anything she can do to help Andrei, and watches helplessly as he struggles against the Thing.

Caroline wrote:"What in the hell is going on?"
Elizabeth grabs Caroline's shoulders and shakes her. "Can you not see it? In the fog! It has sent a tentacle into the car after Andrei!"

Caroline strains to look, following the direction Beth's eyes had been following. "I -- I can't see anything!" she shouts, "apart from Andrei flailing around and Maks shooting things that aren't there!"

She hears Nathanial's call, but still doesn't see an attacker.

Feeling that everyone's gone mad, she rushes to the side of the car that Andrei has shifted to, hoping to pull him out herself if need be.

Posted: **Thu Mar 27, 2008 2:13 am**

DSIFUSS, I've removed the content of this post as Nethanial is interupted by Gwen before he can move.

Please see my next post.

- Raiko

Posted: **Thu Mar 27, 2008 2:22 am**

Maksim is frustrated and feeling helpless. He waves his arms, hoping to draw its attention. "Come after something your own size you bastard!"

Posted: **Fri Mar 28, 2008 2:26 pm**

Caroline gets the Bentley door open and Andrei staggers out of the car.

The ghostly entity adjusts, morphing, extracting tendrils from the car back into it’s central cloudy ‘mass.’

At the same time four more tendrils emerge from the sparkling cloud, quickly snaking their way down towards Caroline and Andrei.

Nathaniel was about to run over to the car, but is halted as Gwen lunges at him, sinking her fingernails painfully into his neck as she grabs him. “You Bastard! BASTARD!!! What have you done to him!”

Gwen’s eyes are wild with fury and fear, and she doesn’t seem actually focused on him at all.

OOC:

Spoiler:

Posted: **Fri Mar 28, 2008 3:36 pm**

tentacle attacks (trying to roll above 50) (1d100=87, 1d100=3, 1d100=59, 1d100=49)

Posted: **Fri Mar 28, 2008 3:47 pm**

The opening of the car door brings Elizabeth out of her scared paralysis. She inhales deeply and rushes over to help Andrei and Caroline get away, carefully keeping an eye on the tentacles.

Posted: **Fri Mar 28, 2008 6:13 pm**

Spoiler:

Caroline staggers as if struck--indeed, realizes that somehow she has been struck, although by what, she has no clue.

Posted: **Fri Mar 28, 2008 6:34 pm**

OOC: Damn, almost missed my first homicidal urges! Well, I got something here... 25% for bite ok? Can Nethaniel hit a lady?
Bite 25 (1d100=33)
IC: Gwen bears her teeth and lets out an ungodly screech. She lunges toward Nethaniels ear and attempts to bite it off. She misses.

Posted: **Fri Mar 28, 2008 8:17 pm**

Andrei bursts from the rear seat of the car and tries to run away as fast as he can without looking back, batting the air behind his head like he's being swarmed by bees...

Posted: **Sat Mar 29, 2008 2:12 am**

ooc – Of coarse Nathaniel would never strike a woman. He’s a proper English gentleman. He has other options however… It’s like Chris Rock says. “You can’t hit a woman… but you can sure shake the shit out of them.”

Nathaniel tries desperately to peel Gwen off his neck.

Oh Bollocks!!! What’s gotten into you yah wee dotty bird? Can’t yah see the bloody astral squid?

OOC - Nathaniel STR resistance roll:
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1542566/

Posted: **Mon Mar 31, 2008 2:18 am**

Maksim fires his gun in the air and lunges toward the misty thing, trying to draw it after him. "Come on, ya clown! Come after a real man!"

Posted: **Tue Apr 01, 2008 1:42 pm**

As she helps Andrei out of the car Caroline notices the scent of burning hair for the first time, at the same time something wraps itself around her neck in the darkness, tightening as it does so. She involuntarily opens her mouth and feels the choking mist surge inside her. Another tendril attempts to wrap itself around her leg, but fails to get a grip as she staggers backwards clutching her throat. Horrifyingly she cannot feel what is gripping her, her hands grasp helplessly at her own neck, but she still feels the pressure increasing.

Andrei keeps his mouth closed, but it’s no good - one of the entity’s foggy tentacles wraps around his face like a blanket, flooding up his nostrils and flooding into his chest, attempting to snuff all of the air from his lungs.

The entity ignores Maksim’s shooting and shouting entirely, seemingly intent only on murdering or carrying away its two victims. Fresh tentacles form perversely from the cloudy central portion of the octopus like creature, swirling down over the Bentley towards Andrei and Caroline as it attempts to gain a tighter grip on it’s victims.

*** The next bit might need editing later
<<Fixed now! - Raiko>>

Behind Maksim, Nathaniel just manages to wrench himself free from Gwen’s tight grip, she’s much stronger than she looks! As he pushes the madwoman away they both stumble on the slick surface of the damp cobbled side street.

*************************

OOC:

Spoiler:

Posted: **Tue Apr 01, 2008 2:51 pm**

OOC: Lovely.

First San loss for the attack: 5
Final Spot Hidden check: 45, a failure

In case you want:
Idea roll: 11, a success, of course.

Posted: **Tue Apr 01, 2008 10:48 pm**

ooc - Nathaniel wanted a low roll right? I rolled a. 27 if you are unable to see the link.

Posted: **Wed Apr 02, 2008 2:34 pm**

OOC:

Spoiler:

Posted: **Wed Apr 02, 2008 6:10 pm**

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/search/193341/

Nathaniel keep his balance and continues fending off Gwen, his brain madly trying to come up with a solution to this problem.

Posted: **Wed Apr 02, 2008 6:15 pm**

Elizabeth tries to grab Caroline to pull her out of the grasp of the tentacles ... but keeps an eye on the Thing, not wanting to get caught herself.

Posted: **Wed Apr 02, 2008 7:49 pm**

IC: Gwen staggers back. She remains standing. She lets out a screech and swings her handbag at Nethaniel's face.

Posted: **Thu Apr 03, 2008 2:20 am**

OOC: Sorry; actually *didn't* get sidetracked today, which is why I haven't been posting.

I'spose I better roll this, as there are some obviously poor options in the table.
First roll for effect: 6
Second roll for duration: 8

A weird contortion comes over Caroline's face. In place of the normal rationality lay a sort of madness that seems little different from that of the raging lunatic killer or the self-destroyer.

OOC: I guess, Raiko, you can decide whether it's "homicidal" or "suicidal" mania. My dice rolling is certainly suicidal.

Posted: **Thu Apr 03, 2008 6:01 pm**

OOC: (IC Post to follow in a couple of hours)

Decrepit: You did know that you didn’t have to choose an insanity from the table didn’t you? I’ve allowed other players to suggest their own madness, using the table in the book as a fall back.

Anyway, if you’re happy to use the result from the table, then I’d kind of decided on ‘suicidal’ this time if you rolled a 6 (from the bad guys point of view Invisible Castle is being really obliging at the moment). So suicidal it is, after all an unseen extra-dimensional force is strangling her, why fight it?

I’ll post later, to give you time to choose not to use the table if you like. Otherwise the entity will concentrate all of it’s attacks on it’s ‘willing victim’ while Andrei flees.

Coffee: I see Andrei has adapted to the English lifestyle already. First sign of trouble, he runs straight for the nearest pub!

Laraqua: I could do with that 1d6 + DEX init roll if you’re online. If Maksim acts before the entity he has a better chance to pull Caroline free.

Imme: Elizabeth will definitely get there after the Entity’s next action. Hopefully between her and Maksim they can free Caroline even it seizes her with all it’s tentacles.

Jtull and DSIG: I’ll resolve Gwen & Nathaniel’s situation at the same time (homicidal maniac with a handbag?

)

Posted: **Thu Apr 03, 2008 8:14 pm**

Andrei is in a total panic. He imagines the Thing is right behind him, tentacles stretching... he can almost feel them on the back of his neck...

He doesn't turn around until his hand is on the handle of the pub door. Down the street, the scene at the Bentley is total chaos. The women are screaming and clawing madly, the men are barely in control, and the glimmering beast...

It's too much to take. Andrei lurches into the pub, praying that the whole world hasn't just turned upside down, that he hasn't gone completely mad. Praying that everything is normal inside the pub...

Posted: **Thu Apr 03, 2008 8:50 pm**

OOC: I did know, but I sorta felt like it'd be better in this case not to pick the obviously helpful ones. But, anyway, I think that "suicidal" actually isn't an unreasonable reaction here for her.

Caroline suddenly looks deflated, as if the air has gone out of her proverbial tires. This is insane, she thinks. How can we fight invisible powers? That are trying to get us? Andrei was right! I was wrong! It's all so foolish, so pointless. She hasn't the will to fight on anymore.

Posted: **Fri Apr 04, 2008 10:28 am**

IC:

The entity continues to ignore Maksim’s curses, so he joins Elizabeth attempting to drag their friend clear of the ghostly creature’s deadly grasp. Startlingly the doctor puts up a fight, resisting their attempt to save her!

As the two investigators tug at Caroline, all of the entity’s misty tentacles descend on her, wrapping around her limbs and torso, tightening around her neck, filling her lungs.

Nathaniel avoids Gwen’s flailing handbag for now and looks desperately for a way to combat this horrific beast.

*************************

OOC:

DSIGFUSS: I’ve replied to your PM.

Here’s the dice rolls:
The Thing's initiative modifier(1d6=1); Maksim's initiative modifier(1d6=5); Tied Initiative, Luck(70%) Roll for Maksim(1d100=29)[/quote]

Initiative was a tie, so I allowed a Luck Roll for Maks to act before ‘The Thing’ gets a better grip on Caroline. He succeeded so he gets one chance to do something.

I didn’t realise that Elizabeth moved over to the car before Maksim did. This means that she’s in position to help as well, providing she beats The Thing for initiative. As I don’t have invisible castle access from work, I’ve used my dice roller macro 1d6 = [06] + DEX = 20

This is looking like Caroline’s lucky day after all. Both Caroline & Maksim act before the entity does, so it still only has one tentacle gripping Caroline. To free her they must make a combined STR roll (9 + 9 = 18) verses the tentacle’s STR (5) plus Caroline’s STR (as she’d prefer to die at the moment). (5 + 10 = 15)

So you have a 65% chance to free Caroline. I’ll accept rolls from either Laraqua, Imme, or Decrepit for this. (Though for Decrepit it’s a 35% chance to resist being saved instead!)

The other tentacles will almost certainly be successful against the willing Caroline this round, so it’s looking bad if this roll fails.

Caroline didn’t have chance for a ‘deep breath’ before being attacked, so she needs to make a CONx6 roll (72%) this round if her friends don’t release her.

Posted: **Fri Apr 04, 2008 2:26 pm**

OOC: I think I'll let someone else roll it ... Either way, I'm not confident.

Posted: **Fri Apr 04, 2008 6:14 pm**

65 to free Caroline (1d100=1)

!!!!!

Posted: **Fri Apr 04, 2008 7:16 pm**

imme wrote:65 to free Caroline (1d100=1)

!!!!!

OOC:

Posted: **Sun Apr 06, 2008 7:00 am**

Nathaniel quickly scans the nearest building for any porch lights. He then runs from Gwen to the closest building with a outside light. He tries to open the door, praying to a wide variety of gods and godesses that the door was left open.

ooc- if the door is open he turns on any outside lights. If it's closed he tries to kick it in.

Posted: **Mon Apr 07, 2008 1:28 pm**

DSIGFUSS wrote:Nathaniel quickly scans the nearest building for any porch lights. He then runs from Gwen to the closest building with a outside light. He tries to open the door, praying to a wide variety of gods and godesses that the door was left open.

Nathaniel looks, but none of the deserted shops that line this side-street have porch lights. The closest easily available source of light from any of the buildings appears to be the pub that Andrei is fleeing to.

OOC:

Spoiler:

Maksim and Elizabeth drag the struggling Caroline free from the creature’s misty tentacles. The Thing’s six tendrils contract rapidly back into the sparkling cloud itself. Abandoning it’s attack on Caroline the thing seeks a more vulnerable target, it slides through the shadows of the foggy night, surging towards the raging Gwen.

OOC:

Spoiler:

Posted: **Mon Apr 07, 2008 4:35 pm**

Spot hidden (25) (1d100=52)

Posted: **Mon Apr 07, 2008 6:11 pm**

ooc - How far away is the pub? If the lights were on would they even reach the car?

If Nathaniel thinks yes, he’ll run to the pub. If No… he’ll look for something to throw through one of the windows in hopes of rising more people out of their beds. Either way he shouts.

Wake up England! Wake up and bloody well account for yourselves. Wake up! Wake up now! You bloody wankers!

Posted: **Mon Apr 07, 2008 8:15 pm**

"Let me go, you fools!" Caroline shouts to Maks and Beth. "Can't you see how pointless this is? There's no hope for any of us! Andrei was riiighhht." She sobs.

Posted: **Tue Apr 08, 2008 2:01 am**

"Andrei, Nethaniel, fer fuck's sake, get the car started! If we can get these two nut cases in before the thing takes another swing, we can drive the fuck outta here. We can't fight it, just run away! And can someone grab that nutter, Gwen!"

Maksim considers bashing Caroline's head against the car to knock her out but thinks better of it. No telling what kinda permanent damage it would do to her brain. Where was the chloroform when you need it? Or a decent set of handcuffs...

OOC: Shame Timour's not here. He'd be bound to have a set of handcuffs! Come to think of it, I'm surprised Maksim doesn't.

Posted: **Tue Apr 08, 2008 3:37 am**

Andrei is still sprinting towards the pub, and pays no heed to Maks' shouting.

Posted: **Tue Apr 08, 2008 4:17 am**

Maksim, in a suitably disturbed mood due to all of the sudden insanity and the being's own existence, has the inexplicable urge to release Elizabeth, draw his gun and shoot Andrei in the spine. It's not like he needed it. Not like he ever used it, really. He could blame it on a fit of madness. Not even like he would be lying, really.

Instead, he shakes Caroline, careful to keep his grip: "For God's sake, snap out of it! You're a doctor! We need you! Your friend needs you! Who cares if it's hopeless? We have today, we have this very moment, and you are a doctor! It's your job to keep moving, keep fighting, no matter how fucking hopeless it is! Welcome to the war, Doctor Caroline! Welcome to the war and help us!"

If that doesn't work, he considers either kissing or slapping her to snap her out of it. At the moment, it's a coin toss.

OOC: 19 on the Persuade/Psychoanalysis, etc. roll that might be able to bring her to her senses. http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1554962/ Which, if the roll is allowed, is a successful roll.

Posted: **Tue Apr 08, 2008 9:04 am**

OOC:
A Psychoanalysis roll is allowed; your successful roll means that Caroline’s ‘temporary’ insanity is ‘temporarily’ suppressed.

Caroline can act normally again.

*********************************

IC:

The Thing had ignored Maksim’s shouting before, but this is not the case for Nathaniel. As he stoops down to grab a stone from the gutter, the entity reacts - either responding to the investigator’s shouts for help or sensing that he was more vulnerable as be bends down, it surges across the open space from the car with terrifying speed - descending upon the hapless Nathaniel.

As it falls onto him, Nathaniel suddenly notices the almost overpowering scent of burning hair. The entity’s long, glittering tendrils of misty alien starlight seep out again, twisting and stretching as they circle around him, attempting to ensnare him in their deadly embrace.

OOC:

Spoiler:

Posted: **Tue Apr 08, 2008 2:07 pm**

ooc: for the Thing, 1d100=100, 1d100=23, 1d100=58, 1d100=59, 1d100=79, 1d100=4

Elizabeth watches in horror as the Thing glides away to its new victim, but maintains a strong hold on Caroline until she can tell if Maksim's words have had any effect on her.

Posted: **Tue Apr 08, 2008 2:55 pm**

Gwen lets out a bellow of rage and rushes towards the thing. She throws her body into it at a full run. Her hands and teeth rip at the creature.

ooc: Could this give nethaniel a chance to run?

Posted: **Tue Apr 08, 2008 3:34 pm**

The Thing is as insubstantial as fog, exerting it’s horrific attacks through it’s tentacles via some kind of telekinetic force. Gwen crashes into nothing, stumbles and struggles to remain on her feet as her mad charge meets no resistance whatsoever.

OOC:

Spoiler:

OOC (Decrepit):

Spoiler:

Posted: **Tue Apr 08, 2008 5:44 pm**

Timour slowly approaches from the shadowed wall of the museum, with his gun at the ready, peering out into the darkness as best he can. So far he can't make out what's going on, and appears somewhat disoriented.

OC

Spoiler:

Posted: **Tue Apr 08, 2008 5:49 pm**

As though coming out of a fog, Caroline starts to come back to the world. After calming down, she listens to what Maks is saying to her about duty and responsibility, and that somehow seems to help her pull herself together.

"Of -- of course, Maks, you're right." she stammers. "I don't know what happened there."

Suddenly, she looks past Maks to finally see what everyone else has been yelling about and fighting for this long. "My God! What is it? What can we do?" This time, though, hers isn't a question of panic but one of genuine desire to act.

Posted: **Tue Apr 08, 2008 9:23 pm**

ooc-

Spoiler:

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1556050/

Posted: **Wed Apr 09, 2008 2:20 pm**

OOC:

Jtull: I still need a DEXx3 roll for Gwen.

Timour Rukov wrote: OC
Spoiler:
I wasn`t sure if I should post here or my private thread

Posting here is fine, welcome back.

BTW: The current location is a couple of minutes walk away from the museum.

I needed to make a few minor rolls myself in order to post:
Timour: Spot Hidden = [07]
Timour: Idea = [28]
Maksim: Spot Hidden = [20]

IC:

Realising what is about to happen Nathaniel dodges to one side, but not quite quickly enough, one of the ghostly creatures tentacles wraps itself tightly around his leg - arresting his movement - a second tentacle grasps Nathaniel’s neck, squeezing his windpipe. A he fights to stay on his feet and break free, wisps of the vaporous tendril slide up through his nostrils and slip horrifyingly between his closed lips.

OOC:

Spoiler:

****************************************************

Maksim spots his brother approaching through the fog, from the direction of the museum.

As he gets closer, Timour finally sees Maksim and Elizabeth holding Caroline tightly by the Bentley. Andrei is nowhere to be seen.

A little further down the street from the Bentley, the man that Timour saw with Maksim and Andrei inside the museum is struggling, as though he is being choked by a gas or something. Next to him a screeching young woman (also from the museum) stumbles and attempts to stay on her feet.

As Timour’s eyes focus on this bizarre scene he notices that the fog around the pair appears to sparkle faintly with it’s own light. Several wispy tendrils of this sparkling mist encircle the man, one is wrapped around his throat!

Timour remembers the article about the attack on Alan Groot that he read at the Scoop earlier today.

OOC:

Spoiler:

****************************************************

Running as fast as his legs will carry him, Andrei has almost reached the safety of the Dog and Partridge, behind him he faintly hears people shouting, but all that matters is the welcoming door of the small pub.

OOC:

Spoiler:

Posted: **Wed Apr 09, 2008 4:50 pm**

OC Sanity check failed ,

lost 5

Spoiler:

IC
Timour stands wide-eyed, mouth agape at the situation. It was hard for him to decipher just what to do first. Sweat beaded at his forehead, and his heart beat loudly in his ears. He clutched the gun in a white knuckled grip and raised it at the thing clutching Nathaniel.

This is going to end badly....I just have an awful feeling....

Timour inches closer to the beast, hoping to sneak up on it while it was engaged with Nathaniel. He wistfully hoped for a slower reaction time considering it's attention was occupied.

Posted: **Wed Apr 09, 2008 7:33 pm**

Caroline wrote:"My God! What is it? What can we do?"

"I don't know, but we need to try something." Elizabeth moves toward Nathaniel. She's scared, but hoping to find a way to pull him free, as well.

Posted: **Wed Apr 09, 2008 9:27 pm**

Caroline is briefly unsettled by her viewing of the Thing, but it doesn't faze her as much as it might have.

Posted: **Thu Apr 10, 2008 2:26 pm**

Gwen surges through the fog-like thing, snarling all the way. As she emerges from it's midst, she wheels around to face it, standing tall.

Posted: **Thu Apr 10, 2008 5:10 pm**

OOC:

Spoiler:

Posted: **Thu Apr 10, 2008 9:58 pm**

OOC

Spoiler:

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1558799/

OOC

Spoiler:

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1558809/

OOC

Spoiler:

Posted: **Thu Apr 10, 2008 10:20 pm**

OC Idea roll failed

Spoiler:

Posted: **Fri Apr 11, 2008 9:22 am**

OOC:

Spoiler:

OOC (Timour):

Spoiler:

OOC (Nathaniel):

Spoiler:

OOC (Gwen):

Spoiler:

********************************************************

IC:

People in the surrounding buildings are now reacting to the noise of Maksim’s shouting and gunfire, and also to Nathaniel’s shouted appeal for help. They peer out from behind the curtains of the apartments over the shops, looking down into the darkened and foggy side-street. One old lady must have spotted the entity, for she screams shrilly and continually. Her cry eventually disolves into insane giggling.

From the direction of the museum many voices can now be heard, as well as the sound of police whistles. They are still some distance away though, help from the police might not arrive in time for Nathaniel.

Andrei reaches the doors of pub, he is about to fling them open, but several men exit the pub at the same time - trying to see what the disturbance is. As he tries to push past them he notices something....
OOC:

Spoiler:

Posted: **Fri Apr 11, 2008 9:37 am**

OOC:

Spoiler:

Posted: **Fri Apr 11, 2008 1:36 pm**

chapter 2 - spot hidden (25) (1d100=67)

Posted: **Fri Apr 11, 2008 3:16 pm**

Caroline thinks she sees something.

Posted: **Fri Apr 11, 2008 8:06 pm**

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1560147/

OOC

Spoiler:

Posted: **Sat Apr 12, 2008 9:17 pm**

Gwen swings at Nethaniel with her handbag abdmisses horribly.

Posted: **Tue Apr 15, 2008 3:33 pm**

Suddenly, Caroline calls out, "Light! We need more light! It hates the light!," hoping that that made some kind of sense.

Posted: **Wed Apr 16, 2008 2:16 am**

Elizabeth dives into the car. She frantically tries to start it and switch on the headlights.

Posted: **Wed Apr 16, 2008 1:49 pm**

IC:

The entity wraps another of it’s misty tentacles tightly around Nathaniel’s right arm, further restraining him.

The choking mist has now flooded into his lungs, Nathaniel can’t breath at all as he struggles to break free.

*********************************************

OOC:

Spoiler:

4x d100 rolls for “The Thing in the Fog’s” remaining tentacles = [63][91][69][09]

Spoiler:

DSIGFUSS:

Spoiler:

Imme:

Spoiler:

Trixie:

Spoiler:

I'll post once more tonight if you're ready for me, then I'm off on my hols.

Posted: **Wed Apr 16, 2008 4:02 pm**

ooc:

Spoiler:

Chapter 2 - drive (20) - get car started, quick! (1d100=96)
Chapter 2 - car stalled for x rounds (1d6=6)

Posted: **Thu Apr 17, 2008 12:31 am**

Timour hauls off and belts the monster from behind, attempting to surprise it. He misses horribly though, and his face constricts into a mixture of fear and frustration. He then keeps an eye on the tentacles, doing his best to dodge them.

Posted: **Thu Apr 17, 2008 8:32 pm**

Nathaniel's eyes roll into the back of his head as he enters complete panic mode. Rolling and struggling in some bloody hentai nightmare.

OOC

Spoiler:

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1568441/

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1568444

Posted: **Fri May 02, 2008 5:58 am**

Hearing the engine stall, Maksim goes to knock Elizabeth out of the driver's seat, shoving her over into the passenger's side, cursing her for managing to make the car not start (perhaps by flooding the engine?). If he is successful in moving her out of the way and is allowed another check (Mechanical Repair? Drive?) - he simply makes it worse in his anxiety.

Rolled 100.

Posted: **Tue May 13, 2008 1:40 pm**

Maksim pushes into the driver’s seat of the Bentley, forcing Elizabeth into the passenger seat, and desperately tries to start the stalled car. In his panicked state though things don’t go as planned and Maksim stares in horror at the remains of the car key as it snaps off in his hand.

Meanwhile the fog creature succeeds in wrapping a fourth tentacle around the unfortunate Nathaniel, despite the attentions of the flailing Timour and Gwen. Seemingly responding to the faint rays of light from the over-shop apartments across the road, or possibly the sound of the approaching policemen, the entity retreats towards a pitch dark alleyway - dragging Nathaniel with it.

OOC:

Three more tentacle attacks: [49][91][87]
Drag Nathaniel (STR20 vs STR10): [67] Pass

This could be your last chance to free Nathaniel.

DSIGFUS: You need to succeed against STR20 to escape, and roll under CONx4 to resist suffocation

Posted: **Tue May 13, 2008 8:17 pm**

ooc - what happens if I make the resistance check and fail the Conx4 check?

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1595162/

ooc - I'm not sore about the resistance check: rolled an 11.
ooc - The Con check should be close : rolled a 56

Posted: **Wed May 14, 2008 5:54 pm**

Oh dear, unfortunately the resistance table is more brutal than I remembered - you can’t beat STR20 with less than STR11, so Nathaniel can no longer free himself.

As he failed his CON roll, he’ll begin to suffocate this round unless anyone can think of some way to free him. If no one has any ideas then I’ll accept idea rolls from anyone who isn’t either insane, or being throttled to death by the fog. This may be penalised for some of you however, as I think we've already had one round of idea rolls during this encounter.

Suffocation damage is 1d6 HP per round.

The policemen will arrive in another 4 rounds.

I think that Gwen can act normally again after this round.

Posted: **Wed May 14, 2008 11:52 pm**

Maksim, startled, proceeds to attempt to hot wire the car, reaching behind the ignition for the cords.

Posted: **Thu May 15, 2008 1:11 pm**

Elizabeth stares in disbelief at the broken key in Maksim's hand. As he starts playing with the wiring she desperately tries to think of something useful she could do.

Chapter 2 - Idea (75) (1d100=32)

Posted: **Thu May 15, 2008 1:39 pm**

Inside the Bentley

Maksim quickly locates the ignition wiring and gets to work, Sitting next to him Elizabeth remembers seeing a small toolset in the trunk of the hired sports-car; if she’s lucky there might be a flashlight in there.

OOC:

Spoiler:

Posted: **Thu May 15, 2008 2:29 pm**

OOC: luck for lighter to fall out of handbag (1d100=47)
Handbag hit (1d100=35, 1d3=2)
Alright, firgure I'll have to wait for the next turn for the idea roll. Gwen couldn't hear the doc shout about the light, good old insanity.

IC: Gwen lets out a furious howl as she swings her heavy handbag at Nethaniel's face. Luckily for Nethaniel, the bag harmlessly bursts open when it hits his chest. As it does so, Gwen's ciggarrete lighter falls out and hits the ground with a sharp ringing noise. Gwen's eyes widen as a sense of reality returns to her. She gasps as she realizes her situation.

Posted: **Thu May 15, 2008 4:58 pm**

GGGIGGELLLLPLIKKKKITHHH!

Spoiler:

Posted: **Thu May 15, 2008 6:47 pm**

Caroline yells hoarsely, calling to the people in the apartments, "Lights! Lights! We need light down here!" She knows it sounds fairly insane, and she should know, but acting crazy often draws some attention. Of course, the gunfire may scare more people away than her voice draws ...

While shouting, she tries to head to the pub to see whether they have any portable light sources. All the time, she keeps yelling.

Posted: **Fri May 16, 2008 6:24 am**

Maksim tries to get the car started but he was never that good at dealing with wiring. Plain old steel was always best.

OOC: Sure he can't use Mechanical Repair? It's still part of a car!

Posted: **Sat May 17, 2008 1:57 am**

"The tools!" Elizabeth jumps out of the car and runs around to the trunk, flinging open the hood. She grabs the toolbox and pries open the lid.

ooc:

Spoiler:

Chapter 2 - Luck (75) - flashlight in the toolbox? (1d100=88)

Posted: **Sat May 17, 2008 3:03 pm**

OOC: We're having trouble catching a break here.

Posted: **Sun May 18, 2008 11:47 am**

Decrepit wrote:OOC: We're having trouble catching a break here.

It's not looking good for Nathaniel is it?

I'll write a new post later today (ASAP), I've got to go out in a few minutes.

Posted: **Mon May 19, 2008 12:05 pm**

In the dark alley.

The entity wraps another tentacle around Nathaniel, he can't breath now and has no chance of freeing himself. He knows that he'll soon loose consciousness...

In the street.

Timour's punches had no effect on the strange creature, and now it's dragged the Englishman away into the shadows. By his side the mad woman appears to be fumbling on the ground to retrieve the contents of her handbag.

Some distance away Caroline is running in the direction of the pub, shouting loudly for help.

The cops are closer now.

In / around the Bentley.

Maksim has got the right wires pulled out, but it's taking too long! Nathaniel is dying!

Elizabeth reaches the trunk and throws it open.

OOC:

Spoiler:

EDIT: Fixed the spoiler text, and here's the rolls that I'd forgotten to post:
2 Tentacle Attacks on Nathaniel (1d100=84, 1d100=9)
Suffocation damage (1d6=3)

Posted: **Mon May 19, 2008 12:14 pm**

Gwen reaches down and retirieves her lighter. She turns to Timour, and asks, in an eerily calm fashion, "Timour, do you have any vodka? We need to burn something to hurt that thing."

Posted: **Tue May 20, 2008 3:06 am**

"Wait, there's a torch in my jacket pocket!" Maksim calls out, recalling - finally - what that bulge in his inner jacket it but he's just having some success with the car so he doesn't draw it himself.

OOC: You're going to kill me, I know, but it's been in his equipment all along!

Posted: **Tue May 20, 2008 7:25 pm**

"Vodka? Uh....I don't think...." Timour looks at her oddly, then begins to slap his jacket pockets, rustling through his jacket pockets. He produces a flask of brandy after a moment, then finds his own torch, hidden somewhere within the folds of his large jacket.

"Woah! I forgot I was carrying this!" Timour flips it on and exclaims loudly, rejoicing this newfound treasure, then runs after Nathaniel and the beast.

OC Oh ya....helps to check your inventory?

Posted: **Tue May 20, 2008 10:07 pm**

GAGGLE-SPAGGLE-KLUK-KLEK! FWAHGUHA!

Spoiler:

Posted: **Fri May 23, 2008 3:13 am**

OOC: Leave it to the twin disasters.

Posted: **Fri May 23, 2008 4:36 pm**

SPAGGLE-GLICK-HUKLUK!

Spoiler:

Posted: **Thu May 29, 2008 6:57 pm**

Maksim finally guns the Bentley's big engine into life, meanwhile Timour leads Gwen into the alleyway shining his flash-light ahead of them.

As the torch's beam contacts the misty entity the effect is immediate, the faintly sparkling creature evaporates into the London fog, slain or merely retreating? It is impossible to tell, but Nathaniel's unconscious body is dumped onto the ground.

Tragically when Gwen and Timour reach the Englishman's body they learn that they may be too late - Nathaniel's lifeless body has no pulse.

Back on the street Caroline notices a few faces at windows ducking back inside, either to answer her cries for help, or to hide.

OOC:
I'm prepared to stretch out the normal 'first aid' period to a full minute (which seems more realistic), rather than only a single round, so you may yet save poor Nathaniel.

He's lost a total of 13 Hit Points, which leaves him on -1, I'll say you have 6 rounds left to make a successful first-aid roll to revive Nathaniel. The first aid must also get 2 or more on the 1d3 roll to bring him up to 1 hit point.

EDIT: Spoiler Tag didn't work - no time to fix at the moment.

Play@YSDC

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