Play@YSDC

Jacques rests a hand on Andre's shoulder, recognizing the symptoms of shell shock. "I know, my friend," he says. "It is horrific indeed, but we must be staunch so that we can prevent this from ever happening again. Right now the plans for the weapon are in the wrong hands - though I feel in my heart that all hands are wrong. We must complete our task here so that we may recover them. I think we need to take photographs. There must be proof of what happened here, so that people remember. Then we should explore the buiildings. I'd start with the church."

holding a handkerchief to his face Francois walks over to the church and looks inside

Now that you're out of the car and moving among the bodies, you notice the blood. It's hard to find trace on the dirt and the ground, after weeks have passed, rain has fallen. But on the bodies, on the uniforms, sometimes on the walls, you find it. What killed these men after all? Was it really a chemical weapon?

Andre e Jean-Luc move around the carnage, taking pictures. Andre finds his hands shaking, but at least doing something seems to help the mind. The illusion of control, of being useful. Funny the things we seek as anchor when things take a turn for the worse. A photo, a few steps, one more photo. These won't win any prize, perhaps, but there's a lesson in them. A testimony, one that regretfully will go unheeded. Under a weak and sad sun, the two men keep working.

Andre and Jean-Luc,Roll Sense Trouble.

Jacques and Francois enter the church. Part of the wall has collapsed on the outside, and anything precious has long been taken to safety, or stolen, but a wooden crucifix remains lonely on a wall. Apart from that, the inside is completely empty... except for a body, in the middle. It lies on its back, its unmoving gaze staring at the ceiling. Maybe because it's inside, it's slightly better conserved than the others. And the blood... near his head, a stain of dried blood. The head, half destroyed. This man was shot... or did he shot himself? Anyway, a direct hit to the head, there can be no mistake about that.

Forensics,It's hard to be 100% sure, but judging from the wound and the position of the body, it most likely seems a suicide. There's no trace of the gun used, though. Most likely the French soldiers that entered the city took all the weapons from the bodies.

As Andre goes from one photograph to the next, he finds that the process gives him a sense of inner calm that he didn't think he'd experience again just a few minutes ago, despite the grisly content of the pictures he takes almost in an almost robotic state.

Taking a deep breath after one particularly gruesome shot, Andre stiffens as he gets a feeling like ice-water down his spine. A feeling so intense that he can even feel it in his lame foot

Sense Trouble - wrong,[dice]0[/dice] oops wrong system - sorry

Sense Trouble,[dice]1[/dice]

"This is not happening. This could not have happened, could it?" - Jean-Luc thinks to himself as he tries to follow Andre.

OOC:   rolled 1d6 = 2

"I believe this man took his own life," says Jacques, studying the corpse. "He may have wanted to avoid a worse death. There is no sign of the gun, but it could have been removed after Verchanne was taken. Still, it is strange that they left the bodies here to rot."

OOC:   Considering people who shoot themselves typically hold the weapon close to if not touching their body is there any obvious sign of powder residue blackened skin by the entrance wound or on the bodies clothes. This would be enough in Francois mind to confirm the man did indeed commit suicide (or was extremely lax in his weapon handling)

Francois looks the body over and then moves around the church as careful as possible not to disturb things he then goes back to the doorway.

"Considering the passage of time I suspect there is little chance of finding any meaningful spore outside but perhaps inside where we are under cover or in the lee of the church there may still be clues as to the events of the day" Francois says absently to Andre

[dice]0[/dice] - Outdoorsman

Francois,From what you can tell, this looks like a suicide, but you lack the proper skills in medicine and crime scene analysis, so it's hard to make a conclusive statement on the matter. Jacques is probably the most expert among you, so if he says it's suicide, then that's probably what happened here. As you investigate the interior of the building, you find nothing that alarms you, nor any trace of significance. [ooc]No need to roll any dice for Outdoorsman, as it is an investigative ability. I think you're probably used to CoC's d100, but in Trail of Cthulhu, if you possess an investigative ability, you always succeed in collecting any information it can provide. Only general abilities require dice rolling.[/ooc]

Andre,You hear a faint sound... someone moving? A man, or an animal? You turn around quickly, but you don't see anything. If there was someone or something moving, it disappeared quickly behind a corner.

Andre and Jean Luc,As you take more photos, you realize that most if not all of the bodies have bullet wounds on them.

Francois straightens up from where he was kneeling by the doorway to the church. "nothing I can see but our footprints" there is a slight tone of relief in his voice he is happier now he can find no sign of cloven hooves

"D'accord," says Jacques. "Let's check the town hall next."

"This place has me jumping at shadows." Andre says to Jean-Luc

"I can understand" says Jean-Luc with a mixture of horror and interest. "All those bodies have bullet wounds. I thought this was a gas attack."

While Jean-Luc and Andre are still busy taking photos, Jacques and Francois cross the square to get into the town hall. The building has been fortified, and was probably the local headquarters for the German forces in the area. The front door leads to a large room, with maps on the walls, a table in the center, and three more working desks placed in a corner. A door on your left, closed, probably leads to another room, while on your right there are stairs to an upper floor.
The smell of blood is intense inside. You immediately see two bodies, facing each other at the table. They apparently died while sitting which, all things considered, seems quite strange. Even more strangely, and unfortunately familiar, you see one of the bodies is missing its head. Two more bodies are on the floor. There's blood on all of them, from what you can tell. There are pieces of paper on the table, the desks, the floor. They are scattered around, in complete disorder. Probably the French soldiers searched through them after taking the city, but it is also possible that the Germans were getting ready to leave in a hurry.

Outside, Jean-Luc and Andre take a break from the work. These people, they all seem to be dead by... traditional means. Bullet wounds.
While standing there, in the middle of the carnage, the two men notice... the silence. Absolute silence. Not even crows can be heard, nor insects, and both should be feisting around.

Andre,You are feeling watched. You should probably be alone, and yet.. Is it really only paranoia?

Andre wheels around looking at every available position.

"Jean-Luc, I have the strangest feeling that we are not alone out here ... that we are being observed. Can you not feel it too mon ami?"

"Let's try the door next," says Jacques. He heads over to the door on the left and tries the knob.

"My dear colleague" says Jean-Luc to Andre. "I've never felt so alone in my life." he adds as he soaks in the silence.