'The Strangeness of Hezekiah Mason' - chpt 1

[Priest]

The girl ignores the detctives question paying him liitle attention other than a minute flinch as he steadies the bell rope. She continues to stare defiantly at Anne, as if being happy to indulge in a stare battle, "My name is Molly, not that it is of any business of yours. As to what I am doing here, that is my concern" For a brief instant her stare flicker from Anne to Tommy, in that brief instant he seems to feel an icy cold draught that comes from nowhere and dissipates immediately.

Anne,Give me an idea of what you are looking for and I will decide whether it requires a roll or not.

[Grognardsw]

Rebecca reaches the shed. The reporter starts looking for a crowbar or saw.

[Mr. Handy]

OOC,I want to know what her intentions are and why she's here.

[Priest]

Anne,At this stage there is nothing to be gained from a roll. She is little more than a blank canvas, you can see nothing which would give you any indications. The whole situation seems odd, from her clothing to why she is here, but you can definately get a feeling of danger from the girl, and something deep inside your being seems to shout "don't ask too many questions, you may not like the answers"

Rebecca,As you root around the shed trying to find a crowbar, you spot one amongst a pile of overturned tools. As you reach for it you hear distant voices and fast moving footsteps heading towards the cemetery gates. It seems that others may have heard the ringing bell, and are coming fast

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[Supercape]

Harry was slumped on one of the Churches cold hard seats. He felt cold. He felt a cold sweat on his brow.

He didn't speak. He hardly moved. Instead, he studied the girl with his fierce eyes. For all his blustering bulk, behind that cumbersome flesh was a sharp mind. A mind that knew people. That was how he wrote.

"Molly...Molly..." he whispered under his breath. How did she get here? Why that dress?

Why is a child ringing a church bell?

It was preposterous, the whole thing. But this was a preposterous night. Was there some symbolism to Molly, some reason for her insane appearance, not to mention demeanour? Harry had read plenty of superstitions, mythologies, and anthropologies. Hell, he had often recycled them in his novels...

Spoiler:

If that studious eye warrants a puzzle things out roll, then [dice]0[/dice] +2 for Passion and "Creative Thinker". Makes 8, a partial success so I think 2 questions with "Creative Thinker"? if its appropriate, the how she got here and why the dress (or yellow bow!)

[Mr. Handy]

Anne is about to ask Molly how old she is, but then she thinks better of it. She has a feeling that she won't like the answer. The girl seems far more mature than her apparent age.

[Priest]

The child, Molly, turns her intense stare to ech of you in turn. As she stares at each of you there is something deeply unsettling in it as if she is seeing through to the very core of your being. Then with a hint of venom that catches you all by suprise coming from a young girl, she hisses,
"No matter, they will be here soon so if you are gonna run you might start now" then she turns to the hulking form of Harry Blake still taking wracking breaths due to the climb up the stairs, "However running may not be such a good idea for a fat man like you". She smiles but it is not one born of pleasantness.
In the silence that falls following her acidic comment, you hear the sound of distant voices heading towards the church...

Anne,the girl looks to be in her early teens.

Harry,you gain nothing from staring at Molly, just more questions. However your study does reveal words scratched into one of the posts supporting the bell apparatus.

[Grognardsw]

Rebecca grabs the crowbar, cracks open the door, and sees if the coast is clear. If not, she stays until it is. If it is clear, she runs to the coffin and starts prying at the seams of the coffin where the measurements she took earlier showed a discrepency.

[Supercape]

"Nasty child!" said Harry, clenching his fists. "I may be to fat to run, but I'll tan your hide!" he said, aggressively. Still, he refrained himself. Hitting children was a step to far. Instead, he turned his attention to the bells.

"I wish there was a reverse signal. Stay away! Don't come here!" he suggested, and brushed his hand to the posts, and the word he had seen...

[Mr. Handy]

"You can't unring a bell," says Anne. "Come on, we have no reason to stay here any longer." She hurries down the stairs.

OOC,When I can, I'd like to use my Lore move on the dagger. I have a point of Lore from the Puzzle Things Out roll earlier, but it was never updated on my character sheet.

[Priest]

Rebecca,It is but the work of moments to rip the casket, despite the noise produced. Checking the area of discrepancy you find that there is sufficient space left between the bottom of the casket to include a hidden space, if such was needed, however there is no evidence of the intention or its use. From the direction of the cemetery entrance comes the sound of feet and voices, it seems the investigators of the bell are within the cemetery near the door to the church. At the sound of wood being pried open the voices stop as if the owners were listening.

Harry,Carved into the post are the following words, [b]'Leave the Point be, you have been warned!!'[/b]. The carving looks fairly recent as if done in the past few days.

Anne,you rush down the stairs into the main area of the building. The main door is open as you had left it, ouside you can hear the crunch of many feet on the gravel of the path accompanied by voices and the flicker of lights. From somewhere ouside comes the sound of wood being torn apart, the voices stop abruptly and for a moment the cemetery is silent, then,[b] "It came from yonder, you four go check out the bell. The rest of you come with me"[/b]

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[Grognardsw]

Rebecca swears like a sailor. Clutching the crowbar, the dame reporter moves off into the night to avoid the approaching men.

[Priest]

Rebecca,As you quickly disapear into the darkness, putting as much distance as you safely can between yourself and the abandoned grave site, you see a flashlights beam play in the direction of Mason's empty grave. Then a voice is raised, obviously they have reached the scene you so recently vacated. [b]"There's no one here it must have been..What the hell?"[/b] For a moment the lights beam sweeps around the cemetery,[b] "Quick get to the church tell Otis that someones been up to no good...Oh yeah keep an eye out for that nun that Murdoch reckoned was up here, she has some questions to answer I reckon"[/b] You hear the sound of running footsteps heading away towards the church, as whoever is holding the flashlight begins a more carefull search of the area. You reckon you have but minutes before you are found... [size=150]What do you do?[/size]

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[Grognardsw]

Rebecca peeks at the scene from behind a gravestone. She sees the man with the flashlight begin to search. The journalist throws the crowbar far to the right, hopefully creating a distraction, then crawls left keeping behind the row of concealing gravestones. She makes her way to the edge of the cemetary near woods and the road.

[Mr. Handy]

Anne quickly looks around for another exit from the church, or failing that a hiding place, staying out of sight of the open door.

[Papa Gateau]

At the sound of the voices Sister Frances Mary heads back towards the lich-gate. Seeing the flashlight and hearing the mention of the 'nun' she quickly looks for cover and somewhere to hide, shielding her face with the dark cloth of he wimple.

[Supercape]

Harry rued his ungainly physique as his "comrades" fled to hide. He could neither run fast, or far, and his belly would make many hiding places uncomfortable at best, and most likely redundant.

"Well this is a sorry state" he appealed to himself, before lumbering off to find some hiding place...

[carnage_lee]

Tommy Stone

Tommy left the girl, following Anne into the main body of the church. Looking around he quickly selected a hiding spot near to the main door where he would remain in the shadows. He planned to slip out the main door once those tasked with 'checking the bell' has entered.

OOC:   It's normal for churches in England for the 'bell-ringers' to be on the ground level, is this the same in the USA? Or in this Church? Was the girl in this room, or up in the belfry itself?

[Priest]

OOC:   It's normal for churches in England for the 'bell-ringers' to be on the ground level, is this the same in the USA? Or in this Church? Was the girl in this room, or up in the belfry itself?

OOC:   Good point, I hadn't thought about it, I just assumed that she was in a small room halfway up the tower just below the actual bellroom.

With possible moments to spare those within the church manage to find hiding spots. As you do so the crunch of feet on grave approach the door, "Best not be in too much of an all fired hurry to push the door open, you aint knowing what might be within the church waitin'". The voice seems harsh filled with smoldering violence and viciousness, it is not a voice you recognise but it isn't one you would soon forget.
"No worries boss, Hennesey and his scattergun will make sure we don't get any nasty suprises" The statement is followed by several barks of laughter showing that as well as this 'Boss' character there must be at least five people outside the door.
"Okay Orv take it slow" the cold voice speaks again, and the door slowly opens.
At that moment running feet crunch across the gravel, "Sherrif, Marv sent me to tell you that someone has dug up old Masons grave and scattered it to the winds"
In answer the icy voice raises "Shit, Orv you, Hennesey and Kilroy take a look inside. The rest of you come with me, and Murdoch tell me again about this nun you seen".

Anne,your glance around the church in search of a hiding place reveals a partialy hidden door to the left of the altar.

Sister Frances Mary,Luckilly there are lots of grave markers and various bushes to provide cover. It seems the visitors are heading for the church when several of them seem to be drawn to noises from further into the cemetery. Within moments thay have moved past you.

Rebecca,the flashlight beam seems to come directly at you as you slide through the graves heading for the boundary of the road, Please roll 'Act under pressure' roll+reason.

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[Mr. Handy]

OOC,Is that where I've hidden?