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Seven Dials (Day 2)

Posted: Sat May 26, 2012 4:58 am
by Taavi
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One of the poorest locales in London, the area is a stark contrast to the fashionable West End surrounding it. While there is no longer a St Giles Rookery, and the streets no longer feature the signs of alchemists and astrologers, the area is still known for both poverty and eccentricity.
What happened to Laura,On Harwood's instructions, you unobtrusively (Stealth) followed the foreigner in red. He strolls casually up Jermyn Street, eventually reaching the Piccadilly Circus tube station - where he goes down the stairs, and then promptly comes up them again! Now his demeanour seems altogether different. He strides rapidly with his head downwards, seemingly focussed on his shoes and paying no attention to those around him, although he doesn't collide with anyone - in fact, he seems to ease through the crowds with uncanny smoothness, for a non-Londoner. Only your superb Knowledge of the streets of London enables you to both keep up and keep out of sight. The man walks rapidly towards the Strand and the theatre district. He strides east along back roads paralleling the Strand, then turns north to parallel Kingsway. Passing the Freemason's Hall, he seems about to head for Holborn Station but then turns west down Oxford Street, before walking south down Charing Cross Road. He walks right past Grant's, then turns west again and heads back noth to Soho and Oxford Street, where he walks East until Tottenham Court station is reached - where again, he goes down the stairs and back up them. Before he reaches the point on Oxford street where he was before, he cuts north a bit and heads northwest until he reaches Kingsway, along which he walks south, repeating the down-and-up act at Holborn station. He then walks west parallel to the Strand (though not the same roads), almost reaching his previous route, then again changes direction and walks back up the Strand itself, this time until he has crossed Kingsway, where he walks north in streets parallel on the east side, past Lincoln's Inn. He then walks west along Great Russell Street towards Tottenham Court, passes it, and heads south through Soho again - this time, though, he sticks to the West side of Soho square, whereas before he was on the East side. The man's pace is simply staggering through the densely crowded streets of Saturday afternoon - the light is dimming, people are strolling or sitting outside the pubs, but he strides like someone headed to an important meeting. He crosses Charing cross and heads to Leicester Square, where he turns north, heading into the Seven Dials district. He heads almost as far north as Oxford Street before turning east, crossing High Holborn and heading south again, paralleling his earlier route past the Freemason's hall, towards the Theatre Royal on Drury Lane. He then turns west, past the Royal Opera House and Covent Garden, and heads north towards the heart of Seven Dials - where he skirts the east edge of Seven Dials square itself, heading south again down Endell Street and past Covent Garden tube, where he does the now-familiar down-and-up the stairs thing. At this point, despite your good health, this rapid walking is starting to make you feel dizzy. You have a disturbing feeling of something not being quite right. Glancing down a street, you gasp when you see a second man in red, following his earlier route - and then catch sight of yourself tailing him! You lose sight of the double(s) as he (and you) head past the other side of the Opera house and up the north end of Drury Lane onto High Holborn. It's getting dark, the gaslamps are being lit by the lamplighters, and there are now few Hansom cabs to be seen. The man slows slightly as he walks west along High Holborn, before heading south down the west side of Seven Dials square (Tower Street), then heads into the centre of Seven Dials. It occurs to you, from your Knowledge of London streets and street culture, that the man was headed for the centre of Seven Dials all along, but has followed a path which spiralled around and around it, without ever crossing his own tracks. Also, if you put his movements on a map, they would resemble a hopscotch-like game/dance played by street kids, called the Troy Game. He knocks three times on an inn-door - the sign shows a man with a bandage over his eyes, holding an unlit lantern - you know every pub in inner London, but you've never seen this one before - and enters. As you hesitate, the moon rises. Then the moon rises. Then the moon rises.The seven clocks of Seven Dials all show different times. By the light of three moons, Seven Dials, one of the most crowded places in the West End, appears deserted of people. However, it is not deserted of the shadows of people; you can see them clearly, moving around on the ground. One of the triple shadows strides up to you. "I say", it says in a plummy voice, "Would you like to sell your leg? Looks in good condition - I'll give you three guineas for it!" Terrified, you aim a kick where his/its crotch should be, and run blindly. As you careen down the black cobbled streets, in the triple moonlight and the guttering streetlights, you see, or hope you didn't see, terrible and fantastical things: A hansom cab drawn by a white toad the size of a horse. A butcher calmly cleaves up his own body, hanging the parts on meat hooks, until only the forearm and hand holding the cleaver are left. A string of wretched men and women dressed only in rags, chained together, being whipped along by a man dressed like a Roman soldier. A hideous winged shadow blocks out one of the moons - everyone and everything you see (including the buildings and streetlamps), turns and bows to the East three times, before resuming what they were doing. When the sun rises on Sunday morning, you find yourself standing, sobbing and exhausted, next to Cleopatra's Needle on the Thames embankment, in something that looks like the London you know. Gazing around, you hear a loud Splash, as if something or someone had just fallen in the river - however, there is nothing to be seen. You are cold, tired, scared, and very very hungry. Harwood. Harwood got you into this!

Re: Seven Dials

Posted: Mon Jun 11, 2012 10:43 am
by Quinch
After a brief walk, Luke finds himself in Seven Dials. It's not an area he's very familiar with but, once you scratch the surface, most run down areas of London share much in common. he leans back against a building, not trying to be noticed, not trying too hard to escape attention, and lights up.

he's in no rush to find the Spanish guy so he takes his time, watching the people walking around, paying more attention to those people that are doing little more than standing around like he is. They might be sentries. Who knows how much control the red dressed Spaniard has in this place?

After a few minutes, assuming nothing strikes him as suspicious, Luke stretches and starts walking around. If there are street hawkers or he can find a shop with someone willing to talk, he asks about the hotel Laura described; with a sign showing a blind man holding an unlit lantern.

Re: Seven Dials

Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2012 8:48 am
by Taavi
The seven-way junction at the heart of Seven dials is infamous (or famous, depending on your point of view*) for having a pub on every corner, and so there is no shortage of people standing around, or for that matter lying in the gutters. However, none of them appear to be paying particular attention to Luke.

It strikes Luke as bizarre that a titled nobleman, even if foreign, would be in such a neighbourhood. Even if he was pursuing obscene and obscure vices, there are more salubrious places to get them.

Luke asks around about the sign of the blind man and lantern, distributing cigarettes liberally. After being advised by a toothless old geezer to "asthk 'Arry ath th'Bar'n'Bear" he finds Harry, the publican of said pub, who thinks it is an interesting question, as he thinks his pub was called something like "The Blind Man's Lamp" when his great-grandfather owned it. "In fact, that's where me old Granda said we got th'saying that someone was 'Blind Drunk', ha ha!" he chortles. "Pint, squire?"


* "Work is the curse of the drinking classes" - Oscar Wilde

Re: Seven Dials

Posted: Mon Jun 18, 2012 8:30 am
by Quinch
"One of your finest," replies Luke with a nod and a laugh at the publican's joke. He's beginning to think that Laura's vision was the result of drugs.

"Tell me, squire," he says as the publican hands over his pint. "You don't happen to have any pictures of this place or the old sign back in the day do you? I've got a friend in the hospital. She's old, she's sick, and she's blathering on about this old pub. I'm not sure whether she used to come here or someone showed her pictures and told her stories but the place means a lot to her. I wanted to find it out of sentimentality I suppose, but she'd love it if I could show her a photo."

Re: Seven Dials

Posted: Tue Jun 19, 2012 1:37 pm
by Taavi
Quinch wrote:"One of your finest," replies Luke with a nod and a laugh at the publican's joke. He's beginning to think that Laura's vision was the result of drugs.

"Tell me, squire," he says as the publican hands over his pint. "You don't happen to have any pictures of this place or the old sign back in the day do you? I've got a friend in the hospital. She's old, she's sick, and she's blathering on about this old pub. I'm not sure whether she used to come here or someone showed her pictures and told her stories but the place means a lot to her. I wanted to find it out of sentimentality I suppose, but she'd love it if I could show her a photo."
"Weyell..." Harry drawls, "I don't know about photos, but I think the old sign's up in the attic somewhere. I suppose you could 'ave a poke round."

Re: Seven Dials

Posted: Wed Jun 20, 2012 9:47 am
by Quinch
"That would be sweet," says Luke draining the pint as fast as he can in excitement. "Lead the way."

"Brilliant," he thinks to himself. "I get the sign and the chance to root around for any other tasty valuable that might be lurking around up there."

Re: Seven Dials

Posted: Mon Jul 02, 2012 3:34 am
by Taavi
Harry asks a girl to mind the bar and leads Luke up the stairs, then pulls down a ladder leading to a trap door in the hall ceiling. "There ain't no light" he mutters, "hope y'got a torch."

Pulling one out of his satchel, Luke cautiously ascends the ladder into a dark, cobwebby space full of outmoded furniture.

Re: Seven Dials

Posted: Fri Jul 20, 2012 4:52 am
by Taavi
Luke pokes around the debris, endeavouring not to become coated with spiderwebs. After several minutes, he finds the old sign, stuck between the wall and a dresser which might have fetched a quid if not so scratched and banged up. The sign showsan old, bearded man in a robe. His eyes are bandaged, but he holds aloft a lantern - in which the candle has gone out. The man is being guided by a girl or young boy, who seems to be steering him towards a cliff! Around the lower edges of the picture, boschean gargoyle-like creatures caper and leer at the pair in the centre. The sign is badly faded and covered in soot and dust, however Luke is struck by the uneasy notion that the face of the guide rather resembles Laura.The name at the bottom says 'The Blind Beggar's Lantern".

As Luke tugs at the sign to get a better look, he hears something slide inside the dresser drawer. Pulling it open, he finds what looks like a mint copy of a calf bound book. Flipping it open, the title page reads "Azathothel and Other Horrors. by E.P. Derby. ed. D. Upton. Second Revised Edition. 1935."

Re: Seven Dials

Posted: Mon Sep 24, 2012 4:50 am
by Taavi
Luke picks up the impossible book, brushing off a sticky strand of cobweb, slowly turning it over and over in his hands.
So intent is he on puzzling over the strange volume that he does not see the shadows dance while the torch remains still, or feel the trembling of the cobwebs, or hear the faintest scape of chitin upon timber.

Re: Seven Dials

Posted: Wed Oct 03, 2012 3:40 am
by Cearlan
Luke's eyes light up at the prospect this second edition volume will bring him ... a first edition would have been preferable, but second is almost as good.

The calfskin binding, (at least it feels like calfskin , but something tells him instinctively that it it is not any form of the high quality leather binding he has come across before), is a deep green colour, and even in the dim light Luke can see a blue, almost pearlescent sheen on the cover. At about 6 " x 9" and 250 pages, this almost flawless 8vo edition is a rare and exceedingly precious find indeed. Also, in two years time it will be officially considered an antique and as a result it's value will increase exponentially.

Hold on ... dated 1835 ...

"No that .. that's impossible!" mutters Luke under his breath. Looking closer at the flyleaf he sees the date 1935 ... two years from now.

"What in the name of all the nine hells the have we here - surely this is a misprint? I had better take this and give it closer examination." Lukes heart slows down again as what he thought was a nearly antique book turns out to be something else completely.

In the dim light of the attic, it is difficult to male too much out, but quickly leafing through the pages reveal no obvious flaws other than the date misprint - indeed this could be the squiz to cap them all! A frown creases his brow as he racks his memory for mention of the title or the author (OOC; a 1 point spend I think if needed) whilst his concentration is fully on the book, even the soot covered Blind Beggar sign is forgotten about, and even Lucy's strange behaviour back at the shop has been pushed to the back of his mind.

(OOC: edit:- misread the year as 1835 - sorry).

Re: Seven Dials

Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2012 2:12 am
by Taavi
a Bibliographic spend recalls some details to Luke's mind:

Azathoth and Other Horrors, by Edward Pickman Derby, a "Boston Brahmin", was published in a small print run 1919 in New York, was hailed as modernist poetry of startling symbolism and power by critics, and almost immediately banned in Boston and various other states and by the postmaster general as obscene. As well as the poetry, it contained a dozen plates by the now-vanished decadent artist Richard Upton Pickman, a distant relative of the author. The combination of small run, high quality, nice plates, and illegal status makes it a very valuable and collectable work.

However, Luke is unaware of any second revised edition (revision extending to the title, apparently - "Azathothel"? what's that about?), and it seems most implausible that Daniel Upton, the man currently incarcerated in a madhouse for Edward Pickman Derby's murder, would be picked as the editor of his poems. This volume just does not add up.

Re: Seven Dials

Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2012 1:33 pm
by Cearlan
Deciding that he would be better able to make sense of this back at the shop Luke secretes the book about his person then ...

Re: Seven Dials

Posted: Thu Oct 04, 2012 2:41 pm
by Taavi
finds that the mysterious book is stuck to his hands - or, to put it another way, his hands are stuck to the book. Tugging futilely at it, Luke sees the sticky strand of spiderweb that he thought he had brushed away, coating his fingers, gleaming with the nacreous sheen of the book's cover. The strand pulls upwards, into the dark loft space above the door. Slowly, with scalp-crawling dread, Luke lifts his gaze towards the shadows.

Re: Seven Dials

Posted: Fri Oct 05, 2012 3:29 am
by Taavi
Luke lifts his eyes and looks upon Horror.

Baby-handed, scaly-legged, cerulean-glowing, dog-headed, globe-eyed, proboscised, car-sized Horror hangs from swirling clouds where the ceiling should be, reeling Luke towards its probing, steel-gleaming mouth with its sticky thread.

It tilts its head and makes a noise like a badly tuned radio picking up morse code. Although the noise should make no sense, images suddenly flash across Luke's mind

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Another series of hisses and squeaks is uttered
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Stability Test time! Luke needs to make a test at difficulty 7, or lose 5 points of Stability. Remember points spent lower the difficulty by 2, not one -see the "House rules" thread.

Re: Seven Dials

Posted: Sat Oct 06, 2012 6:28 am
by Cearlan
(OOC: This is never going to go well is it? Right - spend a point to lower the difficulty to 5 - gives me a little chance anyway.)

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3723682/ (OOC: that'll be a 2 in case the link don't work properly - bugger :roll: )

As Luke looks up his mouth opens to scream, though nothing comes out other than something like a gurgling, choking almost death rattle as he is drawn inexorably upwards. All rational thought has fled his mind as terrifying visions of his impending fate play out across his psyche. The book drops from his nerveless fingers, but falls against his trouser leg where the sticky web catches the book before it hits the floor.

Upward he is drawn towards the space where the roof should be. The insane creature before him defies all rational description, and despite the horrors he witnessed during the Great War, there could be nothing to prepare his mind for this. He tries to avert his eyes, but even when he does manage to shut them, the visions are still there somehow, and somehow more terrifying as a result.

Totally out of the blue he thinks of colleagues like old Smithers who were blinded during the Great War, how other senses seemed to grow stronger to seemingly compensate for the loss of their sight.

And that sky ... surely no sky has ever been that colour before ... "Arrrrggggghhhhhh!!!!!!" escapes his throat. To his ears it is a giant's bellow, surely able to be heard for the surrounding area, but unbeknownst to him, it really comes out as a strangled croak

Re: Seven Dials

Posted: Mon Oct 08, 2012 5:52 am
by Taavi
Luke loses 6 stability in total - dear oh dear

As Luke is drawn upwards by the silken threads, his gaze fixates on the damn book, still stuck to his hands - it shimmers and shines like the monstrosity he attempts not to acknowledge - with sudden insight he sees that the book is simply a crystallisation of desire, that another man entering the room might have found an aged bottle of whiskey, or a semi-nude showgirl pouting coyly.

It seems this insight may be his last into the book trade, however, as the many-appendaged thing spins him in its cords until he faces away from it, and then there is a sting at the back of his head as the proboscis plunges into his brain.

Strangely, there is almost no pain - instead, Luke, who survived the Archangel campaign in a north russia winter and saw men's fingers amputated when they froze to the barrels of their rifles - experiences cold as he has never experienced it before. His blood, his very thoughts seem to crystallise in ice. He can't even remember ever being warm. The flow of his life story freezes and cracks like a river becoming a glacier.

Revoltingly, the next sensation Luke feels is a distant pleasure - some strange link with the thing with the sucker in his brain, he realises, as, having rendered his life more palatable, it begins to consume Luke's life story, one icy granule at a time.

Re: Seven Dials

Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2012 6:26 pm
by Cearlan
The ice in his veins sheltered Luke, he reasoned, from the pain of the stinger that plunged straight into his brain through where the spine attaches itself to his skull.

Starting from when he was a young boy, memories, some of which were long forgotten were being drawn from his mind. There were the many beatings off his father which he had endured as a child, beatings that had turned arguments and fights once he was more able to take care of himself, the last one being the worst by far with them both ending up in hospital. In fact, being confronted by his life in this manner, he feels a degree of shame looking back, like the time he, Colin and 'Blinky' had tied Pete up and left him in the cornfields - he got hell off his ma and pa for that one. There were also events during the Great War that he was definitely not proud of such as when he shot that Bolshevik officer in the back of his head ... ironically right where his own memories were being dissected and scrutinised; sloughed away like whiskers under the attentions of a sharpened razor.

Then there are the many underhand things he has had to do in order to earn his living as a catalogue agent for Grant's Military Bookshop amongst other clients, some of which are less than savoury. Gerry Carse for example, his Corporal during the hellish Operation Polar Bear had turned out to be a career criminal of the lowest water. They became friends but Carse turned when he started to blackmail Luke over his shooting of the Bolshevik officer. This would have been the end had Luke not dealt with the situation in a similar fashion as he had the German.

It wasn't all bad memories though, there was his first kiss with Rita Westerbury, his relationships with his Ma and his younger sisters, especially Wendy, and the unmarried Abigail and Pauline. There is also the thrill of the chase - there is little as exciting as getting a squiz to a client ... for a good profit of course.

Each reminiscence, as it is played out before his eyes leaves an impression, however fleeting as it is replaced by the next memory, and the next. In a detached manner he ruminates that this must be how a roast chicken would feel if such a thing were possible.

Re: Seven Dials

Posted: Wed Oct 24, 2012 8:50 am
by andyw666
Jory:

Jory scoots quickly into the Seven Dials, and after some hurried questioning of denizens, strides into the Bar-N-Bear.

Barelling up to the bar, he says to the barkeep, "A pint of your best Old Boy. I say, I'm looking for a friend who's supposed to be meeting me here for a drink. Carse, Luke Carse. May have been asking questions about an old pub in the Dials with a picture of a blind man and an unlit lantern. Have you seen him by any chance?"

Jory has his best, dogged-won't-be-worn-down smile on. He is, however, rather expecting trouble sooner or later (although hopefully not from the publican).

Re: Seven Dials

Posted: Fri Oct 26, 2012 12:29 am
by Taavi
The publican smiles professionally and taps a pint.
"A blind man with a lantern, you say? I think the old place was called something like "The Blind Man's Lamp" when me great grand-da owned it. In fact, that's where me old Granda said we got th'saying that someone was 'Blind Drunk'!" The publican begins to laugh at his own joke, then stops abruptly, a puzzled look on his face.
"Er... did I say... was there someone..." He polishes the bar absently, an incogruous vacuity smoothing his features. Jory has the feeling that he is looking at a wax dummy which is having its face redone.
Suddenly, the face recontorts itself into a traditional English squint. "Ah, good evening squire. What'll it be?" he inquires cheerfully, seemingly unaware of the pint in front of Jory.
This experience is eerie enough that I'm calling for a 1 point Stability test, difficulty 4

Re: Seven Dials

Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2012 12:10 am
by andyw666
Jory Stability,Jory spends 1 pt of Stability for +2 and rolls a 4 - http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3757333/
Jory:

Jory smiles a ghastly smile and staggers away from the barman, mopping his brow with a hanky. Feeling he must be in the right place based on this odd behaviour, he starts searching for Luke, politely asking the odd patron if they have seen him too, or anyone interested in the history of the pub.

Re: Seven Dials

Posted: Tue Oct 30, 2012 3:35 am
by Cearlan
Despite the frozen state of his bloodstream, Luke, hanging with his head down sweats profusely. His saliva drools from his open mouth across his cheek and pools in his eye, mingling with the tears that flow unbidden with each passing bad memory that is being bought forward by the cruel barb in the back of his skull.

The entity above him shudders with what could only pass for it's pleasure as it draws the energy from the recumbent form dangling beneath it.

Re: Seven Dials

Posted: Wed Oct 31, 2012 1:52 am
by Taavi
andyw666 wrote:Jory smiles a ghastly smile and staggers away from the barman, mopping his brow with a hanky. Feeling he must be in the right place based on this odd behaviour, he starts searching for Luke, politely asking the odd patron if they have seen him too, or anyone interested in the history of the pub.
A few elderly patrons agree that this place indeed used to have a sign with a blind man, or a lantern, or something like that.

While wandering around, Jory's keen eye for minutiae and incongruity (aka Evidence Collection) spots what looks like the treadmark of Luke's shoe in the grime on a back stair. Old Luke always was a bit foppish about those American shoes of his.

Re: Seven Dials

Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2012 12:06 am
by andyw666
Jory:

Jory pauses for two quick seconds to drain the pint still clutched in his hand. And in a moment of paranoid caution, he pulls a Grant's business card out of a shirt pocket and leaves it on the bannister, should anyone come looking for him too.

Then, Jory makes sure his hat is firmly on his head, braces his shoulders, reaches in and gets a firm grip on the Enfield still tucked in his jacket, and quietly heads up the stairs.
Being Quiet,This seems a prime opportunity for Jory to use his [i]Stealth[/i] ability spending a point if possible to show off those hunting skills honed in the Late Unpleasantness.

Re: Seven Dials

Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2012 5:14 am
by Taavi
Stealth is a General ability, so Jory needs to make a Stealth test, adding as many points as he sees fit. Also a Sense Trouble test.

Re: Seven Dials

Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2012 2:20 am
by andyw666
Oh dear,This can not end well.
Stealth Test,2 point spend. http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3765713/ Rolled 2 + 2 = 4.
Sense Trouble Test,2 point spend. http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3765715/ . Rolled 2 + 2 = 4 (again!).

Re: Seven Dials

Posted: Mon Nov 05, 2012 3:34 am
by Taavi
At the top of the stairs, Jory comes to a short corridor, at the end of which is a rusty-looking ladder leading up to an open trap door. A yellowish light shines obliquely out of the trap - perhaps a flashlight lying on the floor above? There also seems to be a faint, greyish lambency to the air, like moonlight shining through a dirty window, perhaps?
At the base of the stair, Jory listens carefully, but only hears a faint rustling noise, like smooth fabric rubbing together or curtains fluttering in a light breeze. Stepping out of his shoes so as not to make a noise, Jory quietly ascends the ladder, Enfield in hand. He peeks through the opening, then jerks his head down again convulsively, a cold sweat forming on the back of his neck.
What was that? A trick of the light? It had a shadow like a housefly the size of a Sopwith - in an attic this size, how can that be? Was it hovering, somehow? Am I seeing things? Did it get Luke?
Above him, the rustling noise and the greyish light both fade away.

Fleeting glimpse of monstrosity = 3 point Stability test, Difficulty 6

Re: Seven Dials

Posted: Thu Nov 08, 2012 8:25 am
by andyw666
Jory:
Stability Test,Sorry, this is a bit messy but I was experimenting with the dice function on the forum. Jorys roll was done in the OOC thread but he spent 2 points, rolled a 5 and got a total of of 9. Jorys maintains his form.
Equipment,Just looking at the Preparedness skill, can Jory safely assume he has a flashlight in his own satchel? Sounds from the rules like that is a given. If so, he pulls out his flashlight and shoves it firmly into his belt.
Steadying his nerves, and grateful for the fortification of the earlier whisky and later pint (hic), Jory creeps back to the ladder, Enfield in hand. Then in his best parade ground voice, trying to sound jovial, he yells at the trapdoor:

"Come on lads! I bet the barman that we could fit the whole rugby team up here in the attic, now prove me right! Follow me lads, I'm sure you'll all fit!"

With that Jory climbs up to the trapdoor and sticks his head, and gun, through it, particularly looking for whatever it was he glimpsed before.

Image

Re: Seven Dials

Posted: Mon Nov 19, 2012 1:42 pm
by Taavi
Jory charges up the stair, wondering if this is how the Tommies in the trenches felt when sent over the top. No hail of german gunfire greets him, only the creak of elderly timbers - there is no sign of any opposition. Staring around wildly, Jory flinches at the sight of Luke's shoes, hanging near his eye level, twitching spastically. My God, he's hung himself is his first thought - but Luke is not hanging from a rope, but rather looks to be wrapped in some kind of sticky gause - rather like a fly left to hang by a spider...

Stability tests: For Jory, 2 points, difficulty 6; for Luke, 4 points, difficulty 7 (remember each point spent lowers difficulty by 2)

Re: Seven Dials

Posted: Sat Dec 01, 2012 5:52 am
by andyw666
[dice]0[/dice]

Re: Seven Dials

Posted: Sat Dec 01, 2012 5:55 am
by andyw666
Jory:
Stability,Jory spends 2 points and rolls 2 + 4 total 6. Bare success...

Re: Seven Dials

Posted: Sat Dec 01, 2012 6:14 am
by andyw666
Jory:

Jory gasps slightly in horror. Steadying his nerve, he aims his little revolver at the roof, away from Luke, and fires a shot into the darkness, hoping to attract attention from the patrons inside, people on the street etc. and perhaps frighten off things lurking in the dark.

He will then grab Luke's leg and start pulling down...

Re: Seven Dials

Posted: Wed Dec 05, 2012 1:36 am
by Cearlan
7 point stability test - sorry I missed this.

Add 3 points + http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/3812901/ (OOC - 3+2 = 5 - gibber gibber gibber)

Re: Seven Dials

Posted: Thu Dec 06, 2012 8:43 pm
by Taavi
Remember that one point spent adds two to your roll. So 3 points spent (to avoid a 4 point loss...) would add 6, so Luke ppasses - although I think he is now at zero stability or below anyway and hence is Shaken.

Jory finds that the material is springy, like rubber or elasticised fabric, and so he must pull down quite hard to drag Luke dwn from his gallows. He is relieved to hear footsteps approachin below. 'What's all this banging...' begins the barman indignantly, before traling off in vacant-eyed horror at the grostesque scene of one man pulling on a hanged cocoon's legs.

Re: Seven Dials

Posted: Tue Dec 11, 2012 3:56 am
by andyw666
Jory:

Jory quickly shoves his pistol back into his jacket.

"Lend a hand old son! This poor fool has got himself caught in some kind of net in the attic. Help me get him down and free before he stops breathing! "

With that, he starts hauling on Luke. First priority is to get him down, second to get his mouth free so he can breath, third get the web off.

Re: Seven Dials

Posted: Tue Dec 11, 2012 12:10 pm
by Taavi
Jolted into action, the barman assists Jory to drag Luke free of the "net". Once his head is about the same level as Jory's, Jory sees that his nose and mouth are indeed free, indeed Luke seems to be mumbling something that Jory can't make out. Jory is also alarmed to see some kind of wound, that looks a bit like a long-healed bullet hole or some kind of suction burn, on the back of Luke's head. He pulls Luke's hat down over it before the barman notices.

Re: Seven Dials

Posted: Sat Dec 15, 2012 1:22 am
by andyw666
Jory:

Jory quickly frees Luke as best he can, using his pocketknife if necessary. Turning to the barman, he says, "Look Old Bean, I think he's a bit under the weather. Help me get him outside and I'll take him home."

With or without aid, Jory will try to get Luke on his feet, downstairs, outside and will then grab a London cab. The plan then is to get Luke to the nearest hospital (except Kings College) quickly.

Re: Seven Dials

Posted: Sun Dec 16, 2012 10:25 am
by Taavi
Jory is able to get Luke to the somewhat puzzled medical establishment without any difficulty.

End of Scene

Re: Seven Dials

Posted: Wed Dec 19, 2012 10:49 pm
by andyw666
And Jory got to fire a shot in anger! Or at least in panic...

(Exit scene left...)

Re: Seven Dials

Posted: Fri Dec 21, 2012 1:17 am
by Cearlan
Gibber, Drool, Gibber, poor Mathews ... never stood a chance once I told Patrique where his skeletons lay ... wibble ... and as for Thomas, he never knew that I was the one who bid against him and stole his supposed greatest treasure. Right from under his very nose! Gibber, Drool, Gibber!!!

Re: Seven Dials

Posted: Fri Dec 21, 2012 8:44 am
by andyw666
No drooling on the Captain!

(Personally, I'd suggest a good shot of morphine, Doctor.)