The Trapdoor

[Laraqua]

The trapdoor is heavy but the hinges allow it to swing open easily enough. It lets them out into a cellar that contains a military-style cot and a small larder full of tinned food. A radio sits in one corner. A wardrobe sits in another, alongside some junk furniture. There's no vibrations of any bombs dropping but the air is laced with smoke even here. There's also a cupboard lined with shelving that contains a variety of pickled 'things' that look alternately like organs or strange worm-like shapes. A desk sits shoved up against a wall, piled high with books. There's another set of stairs. This one with a door at the top.

[Mr. Handy]

Irene carefully and quietly approaches the desk, curious to see what the books are and if there are any important papers there.

[royya]

I wonder if we can hear some news, thought we are probably too deep underground
Doug says as he goes to the radio and tries to turn it on while lowering the volume

[dormire]

William advances toward the wardrobe and opens it slowly.

[Laraqua]

The radio is filled with static but there is the vague sound of snatches of conversation from BBC presenters. The wardrobe contains a wide array of outfits - for men, for women, for children of all different shapes and sizes. The floor of the wardrobe is filled with a variety of shoes as well though there seems to be no pattern to the sizing. The books seem to discuss zoological, archaeological, and anthropological subjects. The notes seemed to be drawing some sort of conclusion from them though it'll take a bit of time (and appropriate rolls) to learn more.

[royya]

Doug turns off the radio and goes to the wardrobe, his shirt was stained and torn a little bit so he tries to find another that match his size. He search around the shoes and in the pockets for clues about the owners of the cloth.

[yockenthwaite]

Florence tentatively approaches the cupboard, to get a better look at the pickled 'things' on the shelves. She braces herself for what she might find, rather expecting the worst after what they have seen below.

[Mr. Handy]

"Those clothes and shoes would be perfect for the folks downstairs," says Irene softly. "Some of them probably even belong to them."

[dormire]

William begins grabbing articles of clothing from the hangers. "Good thinking, Irene. I can carry a few things back down on my shoulder. I would still like to keep my gun free." Having grabbed a load, he begins to limp back down the stairs. "Hold off on investigating that door until I can get back, if you please."

[Mr. Handy]

"Thank you," replies Irene with a smile. "Here, let me help you with those." She gathers up a double armful of clothes and shoes and follows William.

[Laraqua]

Those going downstairs should move to the other thread once I've posted.

For Doug

There are indeed clothes that are roughly his size though unfortunately the pants from one suit are too big and the jacket from another too small, so he'll have to wear a tweed jacket and black trousers.

For Florence

The jars contain a variety of flesh growths, some appearing to be mutated organs, though the majority contain floating specimens with suckers at one end and a toothy maw at the other, roughly as long as Florence's hand and as wide as her thumb. "There are more things on Heaven and Earth than the imagination could ever think of," murmured Hewitt behind her.

Hewitt went over to rifle through some of the books on the desk. "These zoological treatises seem to focus on undersea creatures though one would have to go through them all to see much of a connection to those things." He gives her a wry smile, turning his flashlight to illuminate his smile in a way that made it garish. "And here I was thinking it was a butcher attempting to fill his shelves with meat."

[yockenthwaite]

"This is bizarre," says Florence. "Books about sea creatures, combined with strange specimens in jars with suckers on them. What on Earth is going on here?" She looks briefly around the room to make sure that there isn't anything they've missed, before going over to join Hewitt at the desk, and look at the books in more detail.

[royya]

What things?
Doug raise his head from the shoes and go over to see the cool things that float in the jars. He tries to open one of the jars and pour the content on the ground. If the thing in there will try to escape he will nail it with the knife he holds.

[Laraqua]

There was no identification in any of those pockets as far as he could find, anyway. The jar lid is quite tight upon the jar but it does give, slowly, beneath the might of Doug's hands. Is he going to crouch down to tip it out? After all, if it does try to move he'll have to throw the knife if he's standing.

The room itself seems kind of homey, in a disturbed madman kind of way. Its probably thought of as somewhat of a refuge for the owner, wherever he is.

The books are mostly old, Victorian relics with well-worn spines though there are a few more modern ones. There's even a book or two on submarines and U-boat explorations. It would take a bit of Natural History or another similar skill to make heads or tails out of these books (you may roll more than one skill). Though Florence can't see Doug's actions, she can hear the creak of a rusted lid and could see it if she cared to turn around.

[yockenthwaite]

OOC fail Natural History,[url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4061633/]Rolling Natural History (stat 35%) on looking at strange books (1d100=70)[/url]

Florence turns round as she hears the jar creak ...

[Laraqua]

Doug upends the contents of the jar and pulls his knife, eyeing the thing suspiciously. Florence and Hewitt turns to see as the little worm begins to twitch. "You dolt!" snaps Hewitt but that's all he gets to say before events begin to unfold.

Show,Doug, Hewitt and the worm all have the same Dexterity and therefore the same Initiative. Doug may use Kick or Throw due to the synchronicity of events. If he picks Kick, [b]Hewitt[/b] will go first as ranged goes first and he has a gun. Due to the size of the creature, all ranged attacks are at a -20%. Florence won't attack until the end of the round as her Dex is the lowest

[dormire]

Upon hearing the report of the gun, William moves as quickly to the upper room as he can, gun drawn and ready.

[royya]

What?! It's just a worm ...
Doug says and tries to kick the thing to the end of the room.

Kick (1d100=14) - pass, it's 1/5 from my kick score.
Kick damage+dmg bonus (2d6=7)

[Mr. Handy]

Irene helps William up the stairs as fast as she can.

[Laraqua]

The worm hits the wall with a spatter and leaves a greasy smear behind it as the other two come rushing up the trapdoor. Hewitt stands with his gun held in both hands, staring at the bullet hole in the wood while his chest heaves with the effects of a sudden shock. Florence stands beside him, hands to her mouth, shocked by the sudden outburst.

"You don't know," murmurs Hewitt, slowly lowering the gun. "You don't know...." He rubs at his jaw. "Another time..."