IC-Ep 5-Watery Grave(Sergeant Valentine Hale only)

[Mr. Handy]

THE SHADOW OVER DUNWICH

EPISODE 5

North Sea, off the coast of Dunwich, England
12:31 AM- Saturday, September 7, 1985

Sergeant Valentine Hale and his Royal Marines paddled their three boats towards the cliffs where they had been told the underwater entrance to the caverns was. They were most of the way there when a sudden rushing sound from behind them attracted their attention, and they glanced back. A massive wave, some thirty feet high, was coming in from the sea, towering over the HMS Brighton behind them.

"Holy hell!" cried one of the Marines.

The wave crashed against the destroyer with its full force, knocking her onto her side and capsizing her. Then it continued, looming over the tiny dinghies and the Marines in them...

"We'll be dashed to pieces!" shouted another Marine.

"Dive, everyone!" ordered Valentine, thinking quickly. He toppled backwards over the side of his dinghy, holding his breath, and the five Marines under his command quickly followed suit. The tidal wave smashed the empty rubber boats against the cliffside!

A moment later, Valetine's head bobbed up above the surface, followed by all but one of his Marines, who was still underwater.

OOC,[b]Valentine[/b]'s Swim roll (75% skill): [dice]0[/dice] Marines' Swim rolls (50% skill): [dice]1[/dice] [dice]2[/dice] [dice]3[/dice] [dice]4[/dice] [dice]5[/dice] Marine's CON x 10 roll (120% stat): [dice]6[/dice]

[Mr. Handy]

The sunken Marine soon righted himself and resurfaced. One of the others pointed beneath the waves at the base of the cliffs. "I see the entrance!" he called. Then he glanced back to the north and pointed again. "Sharks, two of them!"

OOC,Marine 2's Swim roll (50% skill): [dice]0[/dice] [b]Valentine[/b]'s Spot Hidden roll (75% skill): [dice]1[/dice] Marine 1's Spot Hidden roll (50% skill): [dice]2[/dice]

[Mr. Handy]

One of the sharks pulled ahead of the other and leapt out of the water at one of the Royal Marines...only it wasn't exactly a shark. The thing was enormous, over a dozen feet long. Some of its features were shark-like, but others resembled more the description of the Sea Devils. Before anyone could react, it chomped one of the Marines in half. Then the other one, which was a real shark - a huge bull - clamped down on another man, causing him to pass out. The water was drenched in their blood.

"Draw knives and dive!" ordered Valentine, seeing they were outclassed. They could not hope to kill the enemy with the blades considering their tough hides, but they might be useful for parrying. "Make for the cave!" He and the three remaining Marines dove beneath the surface.

OOC,[b]Valentine[/b]'s Sanity roll (current level 40) for seeing [b]Fang[/b] [dice]0[/dice] Marines' Sanity rolls (current level 45) for seeing [b]Fang[/b] [dice]1[/dice] [dice]2[/dice] [dice]3[/dice] [dice]4[/dice] [dice]5[/dice] [b]Valentine[/b]'s and three Marines' Sanity losses for seeing [b]Fang[/b] [dice]6[/dice] [dice]7[/dice] [dice]8[/dice] [dice]9[/dice] [b]Fang[/b]'s Bite attack (75% chance) on Marine 1 [dice]10[/dice] Marine 1's Dodge roll (42% skill) to avoid [b]Fang[/b]'s Bite attack [dice]17[/dice] [b]Fang[/b]'s damage to Marine 1 from Bite attack [dice]11[/dice]+[dice]12[/dice] [b]Dirktooth[/b]'s Bite attack (65% chance) on Marine 2 [dice]13[/dice] Marine 2's Dodge roll (42% skill) to avoid [b]Dirktooth[/b]'s Bite attack [dice]18[/dice] [b]Dirktooth[/b]'s damage to Marine 2 from Bite attack [dice]14[/dice]+[dice]15[/dice] Marine 2's CON x 5 roll (60% stat) to stay conscious [dice]16[/dice]

[Mr. Handy]

The huge shark-thing lunged at another Marine as they swam for the cave. He could not swim fast enough to evade it, but he did manage to jam his knife in its mouth. The blade was shattered, but thankfully the man was not. The lesser shark then moved in for the kill, but it narrowly missed him, its teeth clamping down on water.

Then the Sea Devils came from the direction of the cave entrance, spears gripped tight in their claws. Valentine did not give in to panic, but the Marine who had lost his knife did. He shuddered but kept going. The Sea Devils seemed to sense his fear and came for him first. The first two lunged too soon and missed, but most of the others were more accurate. The Marine almost got away from the first thrust, but it nicked him in the side as he went by. He couldn't avoid the next one either. It ran him through, and he passed out, slowly floating to the surface. The next Marine successfully ran the gauntlet. Valentine Hale and the two surviving Marines under his command swam through the dark tunnel.

The three survivors surfaced, gasping for breath. They were in a dark cavern, though a faint glow came from somewhere above and ahead. The tunnel opened up into a large, round chamber. Once they emerged from it, the water was only about two feet deep. It surrounded a raised dais of dry land in the middle, as if it were a moat. On the platform stood a rectangular altar made of obsidian with horns on its four corners. Three additional tunnels led out of this room. The one in the left wall and the one in the right wall both sloped downwards, where the water got deeper. There was another tunnel opposite the one through which they had entered. This one slanted upwards, rising out of the water.

On the dais stood three Sea Devils, green, scaly creatures between six and seven feet tall. All of them wore long mesh vests that appeared to be made out of silver string. Their huge webbed hands ended in sharp claws, in which each of them carried a long spear and a weighted net. They had gills on their necks and large, bulging eyes, and they had features that seemed to be a combination of various aquatic and amphibian creatures. There was also something else with them. This thing resembled the other creatures somewhat, but it was a good twelve feet tall and had a face full of writhing tentacles, and it also had numerous slimy tentacles in addition to its arms that ended in vicious-looking claws. From the shape, it seemed vaguely female. The monster got down on all fours, revealing a large dorsal fin on its back. "Manflesh!" it bellowed.

[Mr. Handy]

More Sea Devils didn't alarm Valentine, but the huge creature with them was another matter. He was terrified beyond reason. Was it looking at him with...lust? He couldn't understand what was happening. The two Marines screamed in terror, one of them breaking down completely, his mind blown. He knelt down and began drinking the seawater. He took little notice of the big creature, but the other man recoiled in sheer terror. He soon recovered and went for his rifle.

One of the pursuing Sea Devils rose up in the water behind them and thrust wildly at the standing Marine. The huge creature lumbered forward and tried to seize Valentine, but he managed to avoid her grasp. He moved a little slowly, and before he could react another Sea Devil surfaced and also failed to stab the Marine.

Valentine opened fire at the huge creature and the three Sea Devils in front of them, devastating the gigatic thing and hitting all but one of the fishmen on the dais. Only one shot struck the massive monster, but the Sea Devils were riddled with bullets. The horrible thing was badly wounded, but far from dead. One of the Sea Devils was utterly eviscerated, and another was instantly killed as well.

Then the Sea Devil he had missed charged forward, and two more came out of the tunnel and attacked. The Marine was quickly surrounded. The Sea Devil in front of him got him, gutting him badly. He fought to stay upright and fled before the one behind him could finish him off. He raced up the slope, leaving a trail of blood. Valentine was left alone, and then the last two Sea Devils came up behind him. "You shot Emilia!" roared one of them, stabbing him in the back. The pain was overwhelming, and he blacked out.

[Mr. Handy]

OOC,Everyone is moving to the thread linked below: [url=http://www.callofcthulhu.org.uk/pbp/viewtopic.php?f=233&t=5440]In Over Their Heads[/url]