IC-SWORD-In Harm's Way(Lara Voronova/Steve/Caitlin/Sven)

[Wryce]

"Easy there. Easy." Steve mutters to the horses. He collects the lantern and switches it on (or lights it with his lighter if it isn't electric).

He opens a stall, and starts saddling up one of the horses. He had a few moments till the zombies broke through the doors, hopefully.

[Mr. Handy]

In the loft-
Caitlin was able to expertly treat Lara's injuries, which she saw were consistent with a fall from significant height onto a hard surface. She cleaned and bandaged the many minor cuts and put ointment on her abrasions. Lara felt a good deal better - at least physically - but it would be days before she would completely recover.

OOC,[b]Lara[/b], you may try to unjam the gun again if you wish by rolling Handgun (with the -5 penalty for exhaustion). If you succeed, roll 1d6 to see how many rounds it will take to finish, including this one.

In the stables-
The lantern wasn't electric, so Steve ignited it. He opened the stall and hastily saddled the horse as banging on the stable door began. He had just mounted up when the door was smashed inwards by the three zombies that had been chasing him.

[Wryce]

Steve rides the horse to the far end of the stable, away from the oncoming zombies, where he shoves the doors open and rides back out into the night.

[Dave Syrinx]

Failing to eject the cartridge from the jammed round last attempt Lara closes her eyes and makes the process step by step. Going through the steps listening and feeling her way through. She pushes the magazine eject button at the bottom of the pistol grip and removes the magazine from the Ruger's handle. She then slowly pulls back on the slide to eject any round that might have been chambered in the pistol barrel. When having examined the pistol she checks the magazine for displaced rounds in the mag, pulling them out one by one then putting them back in. Lastly she pushes the magazine back up the grip and it is ready for use. She counted 12 rounds left. That would be enough for three encounters at the most. That is if she´s lucky. Hopefully it will be enough to get them safely in the truck.

"Da! Fixed!"

[Wryce]

Steve rides the horse out of the stable, towards the front of the barn, and shouts up to the girls in the loft.

"I'm alright! I've got one of the horses, I should be able to lure them away safely now!"

[Mr. Handy]

Outside the barn-
Steve spurred his horse to a gallop after he exited from the stables, leaving the zombies behind inside, though he could see they were still following him and heading for the rear exit when he rounded the corner. He raced around to the front of the stables, then across the open ground to the barn, and finally around it to the front. When he reached the front of the barn, the two zombies that had entered in his absence stepped over the broken barn doors and emerged, just a few yards away from him.

OOC,[b]Steve[/b], roll Sanity for seeing these new zombies. Sanity loss is 0/1d10 as before. If you lose more than 6 Sanity, it only counts as 6. If you lose 5 or more Sanity, you must roll Idea. As long as you fail the roll, you're okay, but if you succeed then you go temporarily insane. As long as you do not go insane, you may act freely. Note that if you fire at a zombie (both of which are at point blank range), any surviving zombies will get to attack you, and there is no time to aim at the head.

In the loft-
Lara continued to work on clearing the jammed pistol while Caitlin treated her many cuts, scrapes, and bruises. When Steve shouted, she was almost - but not quite - done. The zombies that came out of the barn were now visible.

OOC,All of this was too much to do in one round, but I sped things up since everybody was busy doing something that would take multiple rounds. This update covers four rounds. [b]Lara[/b], it will take you one more round to finish unjamming the pistol. You cannot fire it this round, but you may spend this round finishing so that you could potentially fire in the following round. [b]Caitlin[/b], you may fire up to two shots now if you wish. There is no danger of hitting [b]Steve[/b] if he rides away, and you may aim at the head in that event.

Caitlin Bell,Several zombies emerged from the barn, but there were still plenty left inside and even more had remained outside.

[Dave Syrinx]

Lara gets ready to take two shots when she has gotten the weapon ready.

[Wryce]

Steve tugs on the reins and turns the horse away from the oncoming zombies. Throughout this he shouts at the monsters, and also encouragements up to the women.

"Just stay quiet up there girls, they should follow me! Just hang in there! Get in the truck as soon as you are sure they are gone!"

Steve's mind is hardened by the events of the day and his need to protect his daughter.

[SSior.27]

Worried that the cruel monsters would find a way up to the loft, Caitlin fires two shots into the throng beneath her inside the barn, firing wide both times. "Why don't we just let them all in and set the whole place on fire while we climb out the window? Would be better than me trying to shoot all of them!"

[Mr. Handy]

On the road-
Steve spurred his horse west, following the dirt track that led away from the barn to the edge of the paved highway running north to Crawford and south away from it. The horse didn't need any encouragement; it was just as eager to get away from them as he was. The two zombies from the barn trudged after him, but they couldn't keep up with a man on horseback.

OOC,[b]Steve[/b], you may fire your shotgun safely this round if you wish to do so. The zombies are far enough behind you that there is a darkness penalty, cutting your skill to 1/5 of its normal level. If you aim at the head, there is a -5 penalty on top of that. At this range you would do 4d6 damage per hit. The same rules as before apply for shooting at zombies.

In the loft-
The two women were safe enough up here for now, but they couldn't stay here forever. There was that tree within reach of the edge of the window which one of them could use to climb down and then set up the ladder, in addition to the possibility of jumping onto bales of hay. Those bales could be tossed to the base of the tree to soften any fall from that as well. Lara finally finished clearing the jam and her pistol was ready to fire.

Lara Voronova,The two zombies shambled off to the west in pursuit of [b]Steve[/b], though they moved much slower than he did. They were now barely visible in the darkness. [spoiler]There is now a darkness penalty if you wish to shoot at either of the two zombies following [b]Steve[/b]. Your effective skill is only 1/5 of its normal level, and there the a -5 penalty on top of that for exhaustion. Aiming at the head adds another -5 penalty.[/spoiler]

Caitlin Bell,Some of the zombies trailed off after [b]Steve[/b], but plenty of them remained. They were inside the barn and outside the barn, swarming all over the place! How could anyone hope to kill all of them? [spoiler]If you wish to shoot at the zombies following [b]Steve[/b], a darkness penalty now applies. Your effective skill is 1/5 of its normal level, which gives only a 4% chance. If you aim at the head, you'll only hit on a 1 on 1d100. The zombies around the barn do not have the darkness penalty.[/spoiler]

OOC,You may attempt to get down if you want to do so. Only one of you may try to climb the tree this round. Whoever does this would need to roll Climb. If you fail the roll, roll Jump. If you just jump off the loft, roll Jump. There are currently no hay bales in place, but one of you may push them off of the edge either inside or outside of the barn this round to help the other get down.

[Dave Syrinx]

Feeling more confident as she has managed to clear the gun, Lara hauls some bales down the bottom of the tree. While doing so she tells Caitlin "You climb - get the ladder! I shoot the fucks! I´m better." She waits for Cait to hustle and a target to present itself coming out of the barn.

[SSior.27]

Caitlin nods and, setting the gun down for the moment, starts to move the ladder into place.

[Wryce]

Fire his shotgun back at his pursuers. He misses, but he didn't expect to hit. He keeps the zombies at a safe distance, but trys to insure they keep chasing him. Essentially, he's herding them, just like cattle. Only the cattle is chasing him in hopes of eating his flesh.

[Mr. Handy]

OOC,[b]Caitlin[/b], you are still in the loft and the ladder is on the ground. Before you can replace it, you must climb down. You'll need to roll Climb (and Jump if that fails). The base skill for Climb is 40%, and the base skill for Jump is 25%. Your action this round will be climbing, and you will not be able to do anything with the ladder until the following round. [b]Steve[/b], you may fire the second barrel this round if you wish as well. You may not, however, move until the following round.

Lara Voronova,Both of the zombies that entered the barn have emerged. There shouldn't be any left inside.

[Wryce]

OOC,So I can't move and shoot, even from horseback? Or is that just if I stop to aim for the head? I'm not firing the other barrel at the moment.

[Mr. Handy]

OOC,If you move and shoot, it will impair your accuracy, and since you are aiming at the head you do need to stop to take careful aim.

[Dave Syrinx]

Having thrown down the bales. Lara returns to aim at the area around the tree, in case some of the zombies would return.

[SSior.27]

OOC,Sorry, thought we had pulled the ladder up to the loft when Steve climbed up. Must remember these things...

Caitlin nervously approached the edge and climbed downdespite her nervousness of the nearing danger.

[Mr. Handy]

On the road-
Buckshot sped off into the night as Steve emptied one of his barrels. The two zombies continued towards him unhindered, and they were now less than ten feet away.

OOC,[b]Steve[/b], you are currently at point blank range, but if you remain here the zombies will get to attack this round. If you ride away and fire, your skill will be halved (effectively negating the point blank bonus), but there is no darkness penalty this round because they are so close. However, you cannot aim at the head this round, also because they are so close. If you move, make sure you specify which direction you're going. You may reload while moving if you do not shoot.

In the loft-
Lara waited while Caitlin scurried down the tree.

Outside the barn-
Caitlin scaled the tree like Spider-Man and made it to the bottom in record time, then picked up the ladder and leaned it against the barn, so that the top was now accessible from the loft.

Caitlin Bell,[b]Caitlin[/b] realized to her horror that she was now surrounded by the infected. They closed in on her from every direction, from outside of the barn and from within. There was no escape!

OOC,You had pulled up the ladder when [b]Steve[/b] climbed up, but you had later placed it against the outside of the barn when he climbed back down. Then more zombies showed up and knocked the ladder over on their way into the barn. Since you critically succeeded on your Climb roll, you got down with enough time to set up the ladder last round. Now [b]Lara[/b] may spend her action this round climbing down. She does not need to roll anything. [b]Lara[/b] and [b]Caitlin[/b], please roll Listen in addition to whatever action you take. [b]Lara[/b], remember your -5 penalty for exhaustion.

[Dave Syrinx]

Seeing how swiftly the farm girl had scaled the tree, Lara holds the 9mm in her right hand and holds on to the ladder with her left and starts climbing down, slowly. She keeps a look out fro any zombies closing in on Caitlin. "Can you start the car? I´m right behind you!"