IC: The Penhew Foundation - Andrei, Caroline & Timour

[Raiko]

OOC,Coffee demon has let me know that he'll be here for the rest of the chapter, and it looks like Decrepit will be too, so I'll wait for them both to post. As soon as they do I'll continue posting. Since it's a holiday weekend (in the UK at least), I'll be patient, so I'll wait until Tuesday if necessary, but I'll keep an eye on the thread and will post as soon as I konw what Andrei and Caroline are doing. [b]Rbiddle:[/b] I'm afraid you're still getting our two Russians muddled up, no worries though. :D Timour is the one who Helen has bonded with. He was with her and Caroline in the library / archive up until the violence started. Then he helped out Andrei both in the corridor (against Malcolm the crazy guard) and down in the secret cellar (against the fog monster), and also saved Helen from the crazy cleaner. He's also the one who searched the offices with Helen. And he's just spotted the cops. Andrei is the one who sneaked into the foundation alone, got into a confrontation with the crazy guard, discovered the secret room and got attacked by the fog monster. He's currently with Caroline after taking a sanity bashing, and is currently on a bit of a crusade to bring down Edward Gavigan. You can edit your post if you like, but don't worry about it. Helen obviously knows her way to Paul's flat via the back streets just as well as walking along Tottenham Court Road, so using the back door won't be a problem as long as there's no cops out at the back. As I posted earlier in the thread, the railings might be more of a challenge when you're rushing though.

[Decrepit]

Caroline is feels as if she's in a daze, given all that's happened, but she still clutches the materials the group hopes to secret away from the cursed foundation. She curses herself, too, for failing to help Andrei and hopes that getting to Paul's will give her a chance to make amends.

Looking at the huddled group of people who were only strangers to her a short while ago, before her world turned upside down, she marveled a little at how much she had come to care for them, even depend on them, as the only safe harbor in a mad universe. Her mind wandered, too, to her friends not there--and how much they had all lost, and how far they had to go to try to get any of it back. Strangely, too, her thoughts lingered on Maks, so like and so unlike his twin, a man whose boorishness seemed to know no bounds and yet whose presence made her feel a little safer despite the sometimes childish hostility between them.

She tries to brush that aside and focus on the matter at hand, clutching the chest even tighter.

[coffee demon]

Andrei follows the other three. He looks haggard and dazed and not quite present.

When he sees the dead people in the hallway, he stops and looks at them for a long time. He crouches next to one of them and tries to arrange the body so it looks more respectful. Less like a dead sack of flesh, more like someone who has fallen to sleep.

Andrei will continue to position the bodies nicely until one of the others drags him away.

OC,Did someone put any of those books, especially Fienes' notes, into Andrei's satchel? Are we taking anything out of here from the basement?

[SuAside]

Timour simply grabs Andrei by the collar and continues to herd the ladies towards the other exit.

OC@coffeedemon,Timour grabbed the passports and pocketed them. He also took the chest (with daggers), filled it up a bit with books that looked important, as well as the note paper left behind (in the hope to crayon it later to see what was written on the pad), the crumbled paper and the ledger/diary. He then handed it over to Caroline with the task to fill it up with important looking books & notes without being weighted down too much.

[rbiddle]

OOC,I got my coat... that is all :D

Coming up to the exit, Helen takes a peek around to see if anything suspicious stands out to her and whispers back to the group, "If we head out here, I can lead everyone back to Paul's flat. Are you ready to depart?"

OOC,If there's no objections to making haste, I vote for getting a move on. Assuming I don't see anything concerning, I start heading out to lead the party to Paul's

[Raiko]

OOC,Caroline was showing Fiennes' book to Andrei before he lunged at Timour. It's now either in Andrei's satchel or in the box Caroline's carrying (doesn't really matter, so whichever you prefer). The box contains the small chest with the daggers, plus as many things as Caroline could quickly grab from the cellar. At the very least you're leaving the Foundation with Fiennes' book, the passports, the crumpled letter, the rest of the letter paper, the chest with the daggers and scroll, plus another couple of books and scrolls from the bookshelf and the ledger. You'll probably need to get to Paul's flat or Johnny's rendezvous to check everything you've taken.

The coast appears to be clear outside the back door for the moment. Helen can see that the gate to the loading area is chained shut, so the only way out of the yard is to climb over the railings.

[coffee demon]

Andrei swats Timour's hand off of him when the Russian tries to physically move him. He follows the other three closely, watching for police and too-curious passersby. His heart isn't in it, though. He feels like he's just going through the motions. Something feels wrong, false, distant about everything.

His brow is knitted, and he looks distracted as he puzzles over this.

What has changed? Why do I feel so different?

[SuAside]

"Up and over." Timour says as he braces himself with his back against the railing with his knees bent, making a makeshift stairs.

"Give me the chest, I'll pass it on once you're over." he adds.

[rbiddle]

"I'll go over the fence first just in case I see anyone. I have a decent excuse for being here if I do see any onlookers and might be able to shoo them away if needed." With that, she steps up to Timour and takes his hand to steady herself going up an over the fence. Somewhat clumsily, she manages to flip herself over the obstacle while trying to keep her coat as well shut as she can.

Dropping back to the ground on the other side, she turns to keep an eye out for any onlookers or police.

OOC,I assumed I made it over easy enough, if you need me to go back and roll-to-see, let me know. Was this a solid wall type fence that Caroline/Andrei/Timour could hide behind if need be or a wrought-iron type fence that you can see through?

[coffee demon]

oc,i believe it was a wrought - iron fence.

[Raiko]

OOC,Yes the railings/fence is a wrought iron fence, with somee nasty spiky bits on top. As I posted earlier in the thread (on the way in), there's no problem climbing over so long as you don't need to rush. So Helen's ok, I'll be making a luck roll in a second to see if it stays that way.

[Raiko]

With Timour's help Helen clambers over the railings without much difficulty. She takes a look around and the coast appears to be clear for the time being. A nearby alleyway will take them north, towards Paul's flat, without heading back towards the policemen.

[coffee demon]

Andrei tosses his satchel over the fence, hops it easily, and retrieves his satchel. The exertion puts him back into the present moment. He starts walking quickly away from the Penhew Foundation, glancing behind him to ensure the others are following.

[Raiko]

OOC,You'll all have time to get over the railings unnoticed thanks to Helen's luck roll. I'll wait until you've all had a chance to post IC once or twice before updating further. :)

[SuAside]

Once everyone was over the fence, Timour passed his (wrapped) BAR through the fence and climbed over with ease.

"Off we go. Try not to look suspicious. Act natural." Timour says as he pats himself down and grabs the BAR "Lead us to the appartment, if you will, Helen."

[Raiko]

OOC,Coffee can correct me if I'm wrong, but i think Andrei has already set off ahead of anyone else. He's walking away from the Penhew Foundation which means he's currently walking in the right direction, but he obviously doesn't know the way to Paul's flat, so if nobody responds to his actions (which are perfectly in character) then you'll potentially end up getting split up. (And I won't be doing any more 'summarising' that negates Coffee Demon's roleplaying :))

[SuAside]

OOC,Ignoring [b]Andrei [/b]was on purpose. Unless he's walking away with the chest, [b]Timour [/b]won't attempt to stop him. If he's going the right way for [b]Paul[/b]'s appartment, that's good, but [b]Timour [/b]doesn't know if he is or not.

[Raiko]

ooc,That's fine, and a perfectly reasonable response from Timour :) Please try to remember to post IC if your character is ignoring another one though, just trying to prevent a 'pregnant pause'. :lol: I'll post for Caroline, as I'm not sure how active Decrepit is at the moment.

After passing the BAR back to Timour, Caroline picks up the crate again and sets off after Andrei as quickly as she can manage, "Slow down, Andrei! We don't even know the right way."

"Help me with this box."

[coffee demon]

OC,Sorry, I was going to post that I would go with the others if they went in a different direction.

Andrei stops and takes the box from Caroline, then turns and keeps walking, but veers more in the direction of the other two. He doesn't dare stop and wait for them, but he slows down until they catch up.

"Where are we going?" he asks in a hoarse (and probably unnecessary) whisper.

Despite the evening temperature, he removes his jacket and wraps it around the box. His shirt has become untucked sometime in the last half hour, and one side of his collar is askew, but he makes no effort to clean himself up.

[rbiddle]

"This way," Helen says as she guides the party to the alley leading to Paul's flat.

Leading the group to their destination, Helen turns up her collar against the January chill and tries to piece together in her mind everything that happened in the Penhew Foundation. Turning to the others, she inquires "Why would my friends have attacked us? Could they have been in a part of the cults you mentioned? I've known them for such a time and they seemed so strange and almost mindless tonight."