Ch3: The Madness

[Mr. Handy]

Percy's eyes goggle as he sees things nobody else can crawling out of the Toad King's charred corpse. "Of course!" he cries. "They wanted their king to die so he could rise again, and now he will!" He scurries up the nearest tree.

OOC,Hallucinations it is. It's a +5 bonus to Cthulhu Mythos for the first Mythos-related temporary insanity. Each incident after that is +1. May I roll Cthulhu Mythos now as well? Idea roll (65% stat) for insane insight. [dice]0[/dice]

[Priest]

Carstairs' scream of anghuish makes Baxter leap with momentary fear. He quickly studies the burning remains of the thing but fails to see any of the things Percy is screaming about. "Pull yourself together man, it's bad form to lose your self respect in front of the natives. Not British you know"
Reloading his pistol, he snaps the cylinder shut, "Stay alert chaps, this may not be over"

[Supercape]

The toad people had largely scattered. The odd wail, the odd insane laugh, the odd dance, these were just fodder for the guns of the French and English. The rest were either asleep or so intoxicated as to be as good as.

Unfortunately, along with many of the toad people, Scar and Wessex had ran. Scar was understandable; he was traumatised by the toad people and had simply fled into the Jungle. Wessex had stayed but a minute before slinking off. It was not clear if he was simply a coward or had been affected by the drugs in the air.

The smoke in the air was unpleasant, and the smell more so. A few toad people had been roasted, and the smell of cooked human flesh was in the air.

The wooden cage still swung above them, suspended from a high tree. Closer now, they could see a skeleton inside, with a rotting French soldiers uniform, almost nothing but tatters, wound over the bounds.

In the centre, a heap of smouldering and burning wood where the Toad King had come from. The smell was appalling.

[Mr. Handy]

"Why are you lot still standing around down there?" Percy calls from up in the tree. "Can't you see them coming?"

[Tabs]

Burton looked at Baxter and then up at Carstairs. Shaking his head he inspects the melted carcass, holding a handkerchief to his nose.

[Supercape]

The melted carcass was a horrible thing indeed, all burnt and red skin....the fumes were still sickly and pungent, and Burton was in the thick of it. His handkerchief was all that kept him from the potent gas.

Spoiler:

The horror of closely examining a burnt corpse, plus the fact it is a giant mutant, is a 1/1D4 Sanity loss for Burton

OOC:   Idea roll for Burton Spoiler: You notice that the Toad King seems to be emaciated. The corpse also had no genitalia, either it never did or it has dropped off, so to speak

[Tabs]

Sanity check[dice]0[/dice] lose 1 San

Idea [dice]1[/dice]

"I say, chaps, Mr. Toad's got no knob!" said a stressed Burton.

[Priest]

Baxter looks toward the slightly queasy looking Burton, breaking free from the contemplation of throwing bits of smouldering nasty at the tree where Carstairs lurks.
"Really? I would definately have thought that some form of genitalia was required for the act it was indulging in before we toasted the blighters ass". He switches his gaze toward the hut in which they had first encountered the monstrosity, "Perhaps it dropped the thing back there, or maybe its partner ran off with the article?"

[Supercape]

The smoke was starting to clear, and the screams beginning to die. Many, many toad people lay dead - or at least, seemed to. No doubt a goodly proportion of them had fled to the jungle, but it would be a fair estimate that the madness and fire had decimated the tribe.

The Toad King seemed to shrivel before their eyes. He was barely skin and bones when he had lurched out of his hut. Now, even his skin and bones seemed to emaciate in front of them.

From the central hut, now ashes, came a scream, and out of it tumbled the young woman Baxter had seen with the Toad King. Her eyes were dilated and fixed, staring but not seeing. Her body had been burnt in several places. A few rags, charred, lay on her body and did little or nothing to hide modesty.

She turned her glassy eyes at the expedition, gasped, and fell to the ground, unconscious.

[Tabs]

"We ought to help her," said Burton; humanitarian notions aside, he had the germ of an idea for his next book, to do with what Baxter had seen inside the hut. . . .

[Priest]

"As you say, old chap. Yet having seen her cavorting with that...thing earlier I have no desire to get too close". Baxter turns and looks towards the tree in which Carstairs had sought refuge, "You help her and I'll see if I can coax our heroic journalist down from his hideaway, and see if you can find our brave doctor", he glances around at the dead and dying, "There might be a few that could use his services about now"

[Tabs]

"Of course," replied Burton. He goes to the unconscious young woman.

[Supercape]

The young woman was badly burnt, weeping sores and black, ghastly flesh. Even a medical novice would recognise that she was gravely ill, and very probably mortally injured. She looked horrible, like a nightmare. How she was even alive was difficult to fathom.

Spoiler:

A burnt body like that means a 1/1D3 Sanity check for Burton

Her skin, the little left unburnt, was african but pale, drained. The light in her eyes was burning fierce but blind. She uttered not a word, but collapsed into Burton's arms, caking him with burnt oozing flesh.

The Jungle itself was quiet. Baxter nor Castairs could see the good doctor, or Scar. Perhaps, if they went off deeper, separately...

[Mr. Handy]

Percy sheepishly climbs down from the tree once he realizes that the army of toad-spawn he had seen were a mere figment of his imagination, but he still looks around at the jungle nervously in case they are hiding there. "I say," he says, "where has Dr. Wessex gone off to? We could use him about now. And where's Scar?" He looks around for any tracks.

[Mr. Handy]

Percy cannot find any trace of either of them.

OOC,Track roll (10% base skill) looking for [b]Dr. Wessex[/b] and [b]Scar[/b]'s tracks: [dice]0[/dice]

[Tabs]

Burton's Sanity check [dice]0[/dice] --he loses 1 Sanity.

"This one's half-dead," said Burton with distaste, holding the woman at arm's length. He is very disappointed-- that is his book idea scuppered. "Unless we find the Doc. there's little we can do."

Burton tracking [dice]1[/dice]--but he does not have the slightest clue as to where Wessex had gone.

[Priest]

Seeing that neither Burton or Carstairs seem to have the first clue about tracking, Baxter applies himself to the task. Carefuly studying the ground for any indications as to where the doctor had gone.

Track,[url=http://orokos.com/roll/379477]Track (10%)[/url]: [u]1d100[/u] [b]32[/b]

However from the perplexed look that continues to cross his face, it is obvious he has nothing to offer.
"I have no idea as to where the doctor went. What about the boy Scar? He ought to be able to track one useless white man"

[Mr. Handy]

"He could," says Percy, "if he hadn't disappeared himself. Perhaps he went off looking for Dr. Wessex. If we're going to find them, we have to go into the jungle."

[Tabs]

"The tribe is decimated," said Burton looking around at the carnage. "This was our task. Let's go home. Wessex, useless bugger, can shift for himself?"

[Priest]

Baxter considers Burton's words carefully for a few seconds. Secretly he wants to agree with him and would like nothing more than to 'bugger off' as Burton puts it back to civilisation. Ruefully he eyes his dwindling supply of gin, "Sadly we can't do that. Wouldn't look to good if Wessex wandered back to civilsation and started whining about being abandoned in the jungle. Not the done thing old chap"
He listens as Carstairs points out the disapearance of the boy, Scar, as well, then shrugs, "Hmm, well maybe one of these Frenchies can track the bugger then?"