Play@YSDC

You wake the following morning under a clear sky, the sun starting to rise above the horizon, painting the austere camp in cheerful shades of red and orange. It's 6 AM, and around you the soldiers are already awake and starting their day. You dress up and get ready for the important day ahead.

Andre,You had nightmares tonight. You can't recall them well, but there was darkness, and a lot of running. You wake up tired, muscles aching as if you really had been running all night.

A soldier is waiting for you outside the dormitory you were allowed to use yesterday. He salutes Jacques as he sees him, and says: "Colonel, General Gallieni has requested to speak with you at the Army HQ as soon as you return to Paris". He salutes again after having delivered the message and leaves.

While eating breakfast with the troops, you make your plans for the day.

OOC:   Verchanne is about 15 kilometers from here. You can ask the camp commander to provide you transport, including a driver. Or you could ask directly for a car to be provided and left at your complete disposal (1 Credit Rating spend from Jacques). You could also try to get a taxi up here, although there might be some delay. Any other idea, I'm here to listen

Jacques speaks with the camp commander and, after calling on his rank's privileges, manages to arrange a car ready for you, no questions asked.

It's a sunny day and the trip to Verchanne, while short, it's pleasant. Here, at least, you can almost forget there's a brutal war going on... if only for a few minutes. Then, after a turn of the road, a military checkpoint come into view... and you're thrown back into the usual, harsh reality.



A soldier blocks your way, holding a dog that seems only too eager to dash towards your car. You are a little puzzled, as both the man and the dog wear a gas mask. Not only this is the first time you see a dog wearing a gas mask, it's also strange for a soldier to wear a mask if there's no attack with chemical weapons going on... and if there was one, you'd already be dead by now, or at least severely damaged. These masks are very uncomfortable, after all, and wearing one at all times would be very stressful, almost maddening. A few meters behind the soldier blocking the road, three more soldiers stand, pointing their weapons at you, all wearing a mask.

The man with the dog speaks, his voice muffled by the mask: "Stop and turn back. Nobody can access this area". The menace in his voice is clear, even in Jacques's presence.

"It's all right, soldier," says Jacques, producing the passes he had acquired at headquarters. "We have authorization to come this way."

The soldier controls the passes, then signals the men behind him. One of them grabs a handful of gas masks and runs up to you, passing one of them to each of you. "Take these. You might find them useful", the soldier with the dog says, "Be careful", he adds lastly. The coldness of his voice strikes you, and he makes no sign of saluting Jacques, as his rank should demand.

"Thank you," says Jacques, accepting the gas mask and turning to the others in the car. "Put them on now, gentlemen, and keep them on until we've left this area." He dons his own gas mask, certain that the soldiers are taking this precaution for good reason.

"Do they really work?" says Jean-Luc with a worry in his eyes.

Andre woodenly dons his mask, ensuring the ties are tight.

"From the reports I've read, they do," says Jacques.

Francois pulls what amounts to little more than a canvas sack with goggles over his head it smells strongly of its last owner and something slightly chemical which makes his nose itch and his eyes water slightly. He determines that as soon as they are out of sight of the checkpoint he will remove the mask.

You wear the masks and the the the soldier moves out of the way, allowing you to continue towards Verchanne. The masks are extremely uncomfortable, restricting your field of view and making it difficult to breathe. In a few minutes, you start feeling claustrophobic. This makes driving hard, and the remaining couple of kilometers to the city takes you several minutes. Francois takes the mask off after the first turn of the road, feeling the wind on his face with relief. For the others, though, the discomfort is almost unbearable.



You first see the defenses. The Germans had the place fortified, with barbed wire, and trenches, and defensive positions that would have been equipped with machine guns. The weapons had been removed, but the rest is still there - the Germans wanted to hold this position, that much is clear.

Francois,As you get closer to the village, you start smelling a strong stench of death and putrefaction. You quickly realize why.

Then you enter the village itself. There has been some fighting here, in the past, but you can tell most of the houses and buildings are intact. The streets are obviously empty, since the place has been declared off-limits. The air is still, but somewhat... filled with tension. It's not the quiet calmness of a summer evening, it rather seems the silence of a wake. The empty sound of mourning.

You see the first one on a doorstep, half inside a house. Then a second one sprawled across a side street. A third one, sitting against a wall. Bodies. Bodies everywhere. Left to rot in the open, and by now, almost reduced to skeletons. Your horror grows until you reach the central square of the village, with an old church, an empty fountain, and the town hall, heavily fortified and probably turned by the enemy into the local command center. Here, the bodies are more than two dozens, sprawled all over the place. Watching you with empty sockets, scraps of flesh and muscles still clinging to the bones. Now you understand why Proulx called this place Death's sanctuary. You would not be able to find a more fitting name.

[dice]0[/dice]

François looks around he is quite used to death, but the scale here is quite repellant. He slaps the gas mask against his leg in aggravation "What an absolute waste of human life even if they are Boche, someone should sting the Kaiser and his lackies up"

OOC:   Rolled 1d6 = 4

Jean-Luc doesn't take off his mask even though the view makes him sick. He tries to say "Is this what we've become?"

I'll spend a point I think, due to the appaling visions before me, reminding me of my late brother, who could quite easily have been left discarded like this when he died.

[dice]0[/dice]

(bugger)

"The Kaiser didn't do this," says Jacques, his face drained of color. "We did. Another victory like this and we'll be ruined. This must have been that secret weapon. Francois, put your gas mask back on. There could still be residual gas in the area."

OOC,Stability roll (no points spent) for seeing Verchanne: [dice]0[/dice]

Francois shrugs. "I do not remember the people of France inviting the Kaisers troops to visit" Francois twirling the mask in his hand "I know my chemistry my friend, out here in the open there is little risk or I would already be affected, if we go inside, or into low-lying ground it will certainly stand ready to put my mask back on but while we are here looking for clues it is better to be able to see what we are doing. Do not worry I will keep it always at hand"

The village is silent, and looks empty. For those of you not wearing a mask, the stench is terrible, coming at you at waves, making you feel sick. There are bodies scattered around the main square, sometimes sprawled one on top of another. Four buildings overlook the square. One is completely in ruins, and unrecognizable. Another one is a small church, doors open, the interior shrouded in darkness. Then there is the town hall, now heavily fortified. And finally what was once a cafè, still standing but barely recognizable, as tables and chairs lay half-destroyed, bottles were emptied and then shattered, or left on the ground.

Andre

I am feeling hemmed in and the gas-mask, although not put on tightly, feels as though it is getting tighter by the moment. My breath starts to come in ragged pants and the cold salty sweat of fear runs down into my eyes. I take one step back then another. I almost shout our loud when I find myself backed up against the remains of a wall. Looking down at the uneven ground I realise in terror that I am actually standing upon the arm of a rotting corpse. My head shakes from side to side and I am getting increasingly claustrophobic being all tied up in this mask that is preventing me taking a breath of fresh air - yes that's all I need, to get away from this corpse and take off the damned mask.

I step to the side and whisk off the mask, casting it down. I take a deep breath and go to rub my face with my hands. Are they worms, no - just my fingers? Surely just a flashback to my 'Sapna episode.'

"Get a grip mon Dieu!" I mutter to myself

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.

Inside the town hall, Jacques pushes the door, and finds it open - more than that, it looks to have been forced open in the past, and never repaired, so it can be closed but not locked. On the other side there's a room, about five per five meters, mostly empty - just a simple bed and a couple pieces of furniture. There's another body on the floor, with a wound on his head, again compatible with a suicide.

Andre and Jean-Luc keep taking photos. The next body seems to be smiling, at least his skull is. On his chest, several bullet wounds.

Andre,As you look around, nervous, you finally see someone. It's just for a second, but it looks like a human, watching you from behind a corner, hiding again as soon as you look at him. You are not entirely sure, but he... or she... looked naked, the skin an unhealthy pink turning to grey. You feel naseous as the color remembers you that of a worm.

"Jean-Luc, look ... over there ..." Andre says pointing towards where the figure had been standing. "Quick follow me!!!" he shouts as he scampers towards the corner.

Jean-Luc,Looking where Andre is pointing, you don't see anything.

OOC:   Those inside the town hall do not hear Andre talking, or running.

"Upstairs next," says Jacques, proceeding systematically in his search of the building and heading up the stairs.

Oui, says Francois lets get this horrible task finished as fast as possible

"Wait, where are you going?" shouts Jean-Luc trying to follow Andre.

"I ... I saw someone, or something move over here. It was watching us and went around this corner ahead." Andre pants as he stumbles forwards

Jacques e Francois reach the second floor, where they find three more small rooms, possibly used as offices or storage rooms back when the building was the town hall of a living city. Now they're empty, except for one, where a small hole was opened in a wall, and surrounded by sandbags to guarantee protection. It looks like a sniper position, covering one of the streets leading to the main square. As a matter of fact, one dead soldier is laying near the hole, in the right position to shoot from the hole, except he has no weapon in hand. As seen in other bodies, he has a gun wound to the head.

Forensics,Although it's hard to guess why he would do so, it seems the man pushed a pistol in his mouth and pulled the trigger, blowing his brains out.

Evidence Collection,There are a couple of cartridge cases on the floor near the body, suggesting that he shot with a rifle before dying.

Andre runs past the corner to discover... an empty street? Did he imagine everything? He looks to the ground and is relieved to see some traces... meaning someone was actually there... but he doesn't know how to make sense of them. Jean-Luc arrives running after him, one second later.

"This man was a boche sniper," Jacques explains to Francois. "He had a rifle and a pistol, but our soldiers must have taken the weapons. See these shell casings?" He points them out on the floor. "He had fired the rifle a couple times before he died. He used his pistol to kill himself, it seems, by shooting himself through the mouth. There's nothing else to see here. Let's go back outside and check a different building."

D'accord says Francois I gathered as much when we first came in he adds Its is a hide we use them in hunting, the prey is different then as he stands in the doorway ready to leave a thought strikes him and he returns to the body and checks his ammo pouches looking to see if the soldier had any ammunition for his rifle left.

Jaque does it not strike you as strange that a man apparently in a safe space with no sign of being inflicted by gas takes the time to put his rifle down and take out a pistol, which I assume is not issue for the rank and file and has enough presence aforethought to put it below his chin to blow his brains out. I would have thought in the heat of the moment one would have used your rifle, then again what motive would you have? The Boche have gas masks upstairs inside a closed building he would have had the time to put a mask whereas those poor devils downstairs in the open would not. It is not the habit of our soldiers to kill the Boche out of hand unless we know they have committed horrors of war or so I am told. If you are safe why kill oneself? You haven't mentioned any signs of violence in the room, so I assume you found none?

So a man who us apparently safe from gas or obvious violence chooses to take his own and not in any apparent hurry but deliberately and with aforethought...does this not strike you as strange ...or am I missing something your trained eye can see and takes for granted.

Overlord,So still trying to get a better understanding of the when and how we use skills but it would seem the details Jaques gathered with Forensics and evidence collection would have been apparent to anyone who was looking at the scene with a reasonable eye and common sense, assuming Mr Handy has told me everything shouldn't there be more detail? I would have expected those skills to tell us more about the circumstances under which he died? For example, does the suicide look hurried or planned and deliberate.

OOC:   Sense-trouble rolled 1d6 = 4

Andre and Jean-Luc can feel it... something is not right... and it"s not only the carnage that's troubling them. They can feel a presence, someone watching them. They look along the street, first in one direction, then the other. Nothing. Then up... and they see it. Crouched on a roof, no more than three meters from them. Something human, and yet clearly not human. Pale, sickly skin, with spots of gray. Thin, so much that you can easily make the lines of the skull under the thight skin, and the ribs, the ribs you can count one by one. Its mouth is open, drooling a yellow spit, and red malicious eyes are fixed on you. But what strikes you the most are its fingers, or better... its claws. Long, pointed, and probably deadly. It looks ready to jump at you.

OOC:   This probably won't end well as I'm down to 1 stability already

Andre,Stability 1/9
[dice]0[/dice]

"He placed the barrel of the pistol in his mouth," says Jacques, "but you are right. These were battle-hardened soldiers. They would not have killed themselves lightly, and not over gas - especially when they show no signs of exposure. Yet no violence was done to them by any hand but their own. Let us go back outside." He leads the way downstairs.

Francois says "This place simply doesn't smell right" he then gently rolls the body out the way and lies down to look out of the loophole to see if he can see anything interesting.

OOC:   OK I understand I just assumed that the two skills combined might have provided more context, whereas what they seem to do is simply ensure we have all of the clues and the context is up to us? Would that be a reasonable interpretation? And yes of course its strange if it wasn't this would be D&D

Francois looks from the hole on the street below, empty except for two dead german soldiers, laying one next the other, face up, about twenty meters from the building. It's too far to see for certain what kind of injuries are on the body, but judging from the position... it almost looks like... if it wasn't impossible... that they were shot from here.

OOC:   Yes, exactly. The whole concept of Trail of Cthulhu is removing the random element of CoC and make sure all investigative abilities always succeed in gathering the required clues. From there on, putting them together is the investigator's work

OOC:   Why does Francois believe it was impossible? Is it simply because parties would be German?

Strange says Francois getting to his feet and brushing off his jacket and trousers

There are two of his comrades out in the street who might well have been shot from here says Francois That might explain why he took his own life, it would be oe thing to shoot the enemy quite another to shoot your own comrades

Satisfied with his own explanation he follows after Jaques

"Ah," says Jacques as he leads the way back outside. "That may explain it. Perhaps the gas wasn't lethal, but it caused the Germans to turn on each other, possibly by making them see things that weren't really there. When it wore off and the survivors realized what they had done, they may have taken their own lives."

OOC:   Rolled Stability, dolled 1d6 = 6

OOC:   Sorry to be late. Had email inbox problems

The creature jumps and slashes with its claws at Andre, who raises an arm to cover himself. The brutal weapon cuts through flesh and muscles, spraying blood around - it's a miracle the arm is not cut clean in one single strike. The creature licks the blood on its face, extending a thin tongue long at least 20 centimeters, and it looks like it's savoring the taste.

Jean-Luc,You loss no Stability and might act normally, right now.

Andre,Good luck is definitely not with you in this adventure. You lose 7 Health, and 5 more Stability. I'll send you a PM with more details. Read that, then you can also act.

Overlord,If these actions take too long, then feel free to curtail them at whatever point you wish

As the creature attacked I tried to defend myself by raising my right arm which now hangs loosely at my side, blood flowing freely. My mind in tatters and my arm afire with a strange mixture of both pain and numbness, I am all at sixes and sevens with myself and I have, in modern parlance, totally lost it. Images flash before my eyes and I stand for just a moment in mute shock. Images that I never wanted to see in the first place, let alone when faced with this terror in front of me at this moment.

Grey slimy, ichor covered worms, chanting figures, nameless horrors it's all to much and all Andre can do for the moment is scream at the top of his lungs. Leaning towards the creature he opens his mouth and screams.

"AAAAAAAARRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!"

He then turns to his right seemingly shutting the monster out and starts to push the wall aggressively with his left hand.

"What do you mean there's a war on - Are you blind man? Can't you see that we've never had it as good as we have in the last twenty five years or so."

Andre starts to push the wall harder and harder till eventually he starts to punch it.

"Why can't you see what I'm saying - are you oblivious to the evidence of your own eyes man?"

As Jacques and Francois exit the town hall, they hear an almost inhuman scream of pain and horror, coming from behind a corner, more or less fifteen meter along a street on your right. You also norice that there's no trace of Jean-Luc and Andre in sight.

Jacques doesn't hesitate. He draws his pistol and races or the corner, then leans against the wall and takes a careful peek around it.

"We were apart from one another too long," says Francois pulling his pistol from his pocket and following in Jaques wake, but he does not display the same caution as the Gendarme instead he takes the corner wide so as to give himself the best shot at whatever it is hidden from view.

Jean-Luc look at Andre in horror as his friend's arm is almost ripped off. He does the only think he can think of. Look for a rock throws it at the monstrosity shouting and runs away behind the corner in hopes he can find a small place where can can cower.

OOC:   I assume Jean-Luc was not armed and thus treat him more or less as defenseless

Jean Luc grabs a brick from the ground and throws it at the creature, but it's a frantic shot, taken without really aiming, and it just flies over the creature's head. Still, it succeeds in catching its attention, and instead of finishing Andre, it runs after Jean-Luc, now fleeing towards the square where they come from... and running just past Francois as he dashes in the opposite direction. Meanwhile, Jacques warily looks behind the corner.

And they see madness. Andre, blodded, throwing punches at a wall and gibbering incoherently. And running towards them, a ghastly humanoid, almost human indeed, and yet unmistakably a monster. A face resembling a skull, the skin so taut it looks like it could lacerate any moment. Gray skin, like that of a gravely ill man, emaciated, showing all the bones. And the claws, in the place of fingers, long and sharp. A mouth open, showing canine teeth and a long, red tongue. The creature is running directly towards Francois now, who can feel, quite literally, like death is running towards him.

Jacques tries to remain cool and collected in spite of the abomination attacking his friend.

OOC,Stability roll (no points spent): [dice]0[/dice]

Stability,Stability roll: [dice]0[/dice] +1 spend

Francois doesn't really take much in other than his friend fleeing towards him a look of fear on his face, while behind him follows some beast out of nightmares, Francois tightens his grip and sights on the beasts chest nothing fancy he thinks, a thought flashes across his mind as he pulls the trigger. "Does it have hooves?"

Shots,Shot fired: [dice]1[/dice] [dice]2[/dice] not sure how granular combat is but if possible Francois will shoot multiple times on the 'charging rhino principle' - there is no point running you keep shooting until you see it drop.

The gunshot noise resounds in the still atmosphere of the dead village like a cannon. The bullet flies sure and impacts the creature on its left shoulder, piercing the thin skin and letting out a spurt of a disgusting red-yellowish liquid that looks half blood, half pus. The creature continues its charge, almost as if unaffected, or at least immune to pain, and jumps at Francois, swinging its arms savagely. Good reflexes, honed by years of hunt and life in the wilderness, save Francois, as he leans back and out of reach of the deadly weapons. Still, the creature is not finished, as it pushes further ahead and bites Francois on a leg - catching him as he's still retiring, and taking off a good chunk of skin. The pain is strong, but the wound luckily looks only superficial.

Francois,You lose 5 Stability, plus one for the spend, and 2 points of Health. Also, you permanently lose one point of Sanity from the Stability loss. At the moment you're feeling an adrenaline rush, but the effects of the loss will kick in as soon as the combat is over. After the end of combat, all your General abilities tests will have difficulty increased by one. Also, while you'll be able to use Investigative abilities normally to gather clues, you won't be able to make spends anymore. You cannot check if the creature has hooves now, you'll have to wait until the end of combat. Surely, at a first glance, it doesn't seem to have human feet. Wait for Jacques and Jean-Luc to act, then it will again be your turn.

Jacques,You lose 5 Stability. It's now your turn to act.

krzspymac,You can take another action, either by continue running, or doing something else.

Cearlan,You are still out :twisted: You can keep describing your madness, or simply wait for the combat to end, as you prefer.

Horrified, Jacques quickly aims and fires at the monstrosity.

OOC,Firearms roll (2 points spent): [dice]0[/dice] Damage: [dice]1[/dice]

"At last you are starting to see reason" Andre shouts at the wall before pounching it one last time. He punches it so hard that he falls onto his back. As his right arm is hanging useless beside him he has to use his left to lever himself up. As a result he is now facing a slightly different direction, fortunately for him he now has nothing in front of him. He continues to throw wild punches as he shambles forwards, his eyes vacant and drool hanging down from his slack mouth. His limp hampers him considerably but despite this he manages to stagger forwards into a run. After a few yards he trips and lands with his head on top of a skeleton. As he raises himself once more he comes face to face with two empty eye sockets and the deaths head grin of a skull.

"Why are you doing this to me?" Andre screams! He stands and kicks out at the skeleton and the skull goes flying off.

Jacques's bullet hits the creature on a leg, throwing it off balance and giving Francois some time to recover and get his gun into firing position again. More slimy ichor is coming out of the wounds, and the creature is now hissing, possibly showing pain... or maybe just anger.

Jean-Luc frantically tries to look around for any firearms laying around. "This is a war zone, there should be firearms around! There should be tons of firearms around? Where is a Browning when you need one!" he thinks to himself.

Jean-Luc looks around, but there are no firearms in sight. Indeed, he doesn't remember seeing any since his arrival. Surely all these dead soldiers had one, but they must've been gathered and hidden, or more likely taken away.

Francois stumbles back trying to gain some distance from the beast he then shoots again[

Bang bang,[dice]0[/dice] Does this count as an investigative ability? if not +2 spend. Damage: [dice]1[/dice]

Francois stumbles back, trying to get another shot on target, but this time the bullet flies high over the head of the creature. Before Francois can even curse his bad luck, he feels the sharp claws of the horror piercing his belly, sending a blaze of pain up his body until it explodes in his brain, blurring his vision for a few moments.

Francois,You have to declare a spend [b]before[/b] you roll the dice, in particular I think you can insert it in the roll, like '1d6+1' or '1d6+2' (or how many you want to). Anyway, in this case, you miss even with the 2 points spend. You also lose 7 points of Health from the attack.

OOC:   Jean-Luc and Jacques can act now if they want.

Jacques quickly takes another shot, determined to protect his friend. This one is devastating and perfectly aimed.

OOC,Firearms roll (3 points spent): [dice]0[/dice] Damage: [dice]1[/dice]

The creature, hit on its neck, staggers to its left. It tries to scream, but it only manages to spit out more reddish ichor, some of which lands on Francois's face with a disgusting, slimy sound. The rancid liquid smells like rotten eggs and human excrements, unpleasantly sticking to the skin.

OOC:   Now it's Jean-Luc's turn to act, if he wishes.

The creature tries to hiss menacingly, but only more blood comes out of its mouth. It then turns to run, leaving a trail of yellow and red ichor behind. After a few meters, it jumps, still incredibly strong and nimble despite its wounds, reaching the window of one of the houses, a few meters from the ground.

OOC:   Moving things along. Each of you can act now. You can either take a single shot, or run after the creature, or both (but if you shoot while running it will be harder to hit). Keep in mind that as the adrenaline rush fades, you'll feel the Stability loss. In particular, Francois is now Shaken, which means the Difficulty of all you General Abilities tests is increased by one and you cannot make spends of Investigative Abilities (although you can still use them normally). Your wounds are lighter than they seemed, but you're still bleeding from your belly, and you can't help but fear the possibility of an infection.

Francois bites his lip, his stomach burns, but no more than when that boar gored him on that hunt in the Alsace just before the war. Shrugging his shoulders he straightens his arms aims and shoots. At least this beast is running from him.[dice]0[/dice](+2 spend)

OOC:   Not sure what 4:2 means did I roll a 2 and get a four or a 4 and got a six? Hopefully the latter.

Francois aims for the creature as it runs, but his hands are slightly shaking. Maybe it's the pain, maybe it's sheer revulsion. He surely feels like throwing up after the creature spouted its slimy ichor all over Francois's face. Anyway, the bullet flies harmless on the creature's left, ricocheting on a wall and getting lost somewhere.

OOC:   It's 2+2 unfortunately. It normally would be enough, but as you're Shaken, you'd need a 5 instead.

Jacques fires one last shot at the fleeing creature's back, intent on preventing it from escaping.

OOC,Firearms roll (3 points spent): [dice]0[/dice] Damage: [dice]1[/dice]

As the creature jumps towards the window, Jacques carefully takes aim, trying to kill it before it can get away. He pulls the trigger at last, hitting his target, but it's only a grazing hit, scratching the creature's arm without managing to stop it. The next second, it lifts itself inside the building and disappears from sight. It leaves behind a trail of slimy blood, the smell of gunpowder, and a screaming Andre, still acting irrationally.

Jacques rushes to Andre's side to restrain him from further injuring himself and treat his injuries.

Andre's life doesn't look to be in immediate danger, but he's still losing blood and needs some first aid as soon as possible. His mental state seems to be much more troubling.

As his "friends" approach him Andre does not see them as his erstwhile companions, indeed no, they are a cross between the spawn that debilitated his arm and... and when they speak all he can hear is that infernal chanting he heard when under the influence of the Sapna tea back in the quiet of Paris - "Hakuu gatha thsathun - Hakuu gatha thsathun."

Andre's eyes take on a far away, glassy look as he begins to mouth the words again, feeling drawn to the sound and rhythm of the chant.

"Easy there," says Jacques. "We're here to help you." Though he cannot do anything for Andre's broken mind, at least he can treat his broken body.

OOC,I'll use First Aid on him.

Jaques reloads his pistol placing it within reach he then takes off his jacket and lifts the tattered remains of his shirt. Seeing his injury properly for the first time he curses the beast then looks around at the nearby corpses to see if any have a field dressing he can apply.

Jean-Luc runs back. It seems he's been running for a while now. Search to no avail for a gun he decided he can't let his comrades go down with him only to find Andre shaken.

OOC:   Sorry guys. Seems email notifications are playing tricks on me :/

Andre luckily doesn't struggle as Jacques tends to his wounds, instead standing still, staring into the void and chanting those strange words. Meanwhile, Francois looks for field dressing among the bodies, and find something he can use. Apparently, whoever cleaned the place was only looking for weapons and intelligence.

First Aid,Jacques can heal Andre with First Aid up to 1/3 of his total Health points, that is, up to 2. This means he can spend only 1 point to bring Andre back from 0 to 2. Same goes for Francois. He is at -1 and can only go up to 3. He can apply First Aid to himself, but the ratio is only 1:1 for self-healing. Otherwise, he can ask Jacques, who can treat him at a rate of 2 Health points for 1 point of First Aid spent. Jean-Luc, too, has two points he can use.

Jacques tends to the wounds of his friends as best as he can. Half an hour later, his uniform is a mess of blood, but he has saved Andre's arm, and blocked Francois's blood loss.

OOC:   Andre is now at 2 Health, and Francois at 3 Health. Jacques spends 2 points of First Aid.

Francois struggles with the dressing, turning the air blue with a number of earth country sayings. But struggle as hard as he might the simple truth is he needs another arm to hold the dressing in place while he wraps the bandages tight around his torso. Pain, frustration and no little shock as he ponders what he saw in the street nearly drive the stoic man to tears. Looking up in his frustration he notices the gendarme waiting patiently with hand outstretched, he sighs and passes him the dressing.

We should follow it's tracks while they are fresh he says as he holds up his arms for Jaque to pull the bandage tight. If it bleeds we can kill it*

OOC:   *Always wanted to say that in an RPG

"It certainly looks like it almost killed us, whatever *it* was" says Jean-Luc looking about his perturbed comrades.

Although physically a lot better than he was, Andre has taken on a glassy-eyed, thousand yard stare and repeats the same chant over and over again.

"Hakuu gatha thsathun - Hakuu gatha thsathun. Hakuu gatha thsathun - Hakuu gatha thsathun. Hakuu gatha thsathun - Hakuu gatha thsathun."

At one point he becomes somewhat agitated and the chant becomes louder, but this passes after a minute or two and he reverts to his almost catatonic state once more.

"We almost killed it too," says Jacques. "That is why it fled. It has been a long time since I last fired a gun in anger, but I have not forgotten how. We can track it down and finish it off, especially since we can follow the trail of its blood. We know it went into that building."

Francois looks around at the others. Perhaps now is not the right time to rush off after the beast, perhaps it would also be wise to have something with a bit more heft than these pistols before we bait the creature in its lair?

"We're not going to find a stray rifle laying about," says Jacques. "Our soldiers cleaned out all the weapons from here, and if we leave this place, it will escape for certain. It is almost dead. While it is true that it makes it more dangerous, it should also be less difficult to kill. It should be dead already. A man would have been, but that was no man..."

"If it leaves a trail like that" says Francois pointing at a splash of blood on the road "Then I will have no difficulty following its trail, whether now, this afternoon, tomorrow or next week. The saying "Do not rush to hunt a bear in its cave, or a boar in its cover is a phrase which has held me well these long years in the chasse. Even so, if we go after it now, who will care for Andre? If we split up who is to say other creatures will not come and kill us in detail.

Jacques stops, nodding. "Perhaps discretion is the better part of valor," he says. "We have seen what we were supposed to see here, and we do have wounded men. I do not think there is any reason for us to return here - or for anyone, for that matter. Let us leave Verchanne to the dead. It is theirs now. I have an appointment with General Gallieni when we return to Paris, and then one with Madeleine Morvan."

You leave behind the dead Verchanne and drive back to Paris. The soldiers at the checkpoint watch you go without a comment, their expression unreadable behind the gas masks. Andre seems to get better the more you get away from Verchanne, stopping his senseless mumbling as his eyes get back into focus. By the time you enter Paris, he seems to have recovered a somewhat stable state of mind.

OOC:   So, I guess Jacques will head directly to speak with General Gallieni. Do you want to accompany him, or is there something else you would like to do?

Cearlan,You look back to normal, and you can act normally, but remember that with that value of Stability, you are still very much on edge. And you are still convinced there is no war going on.

OOC:   Roughly what time is it by the time we get back to Paris?

Before Francois leaves he checks all around for the creatures spore he wants to determine if its tracks are the same as those he found in the garden the night before last.

I am tempted to go back to my 'apartamente' and get one of my long guns and then stake out the accommodation of Miss Morvan says Francois he pauses for a moment. It might be better if we don't all turn up with Jaques, interview with the General, only one of us is a Gendarme after all

"A good idea," says Jacques. "While I trust the men guarding her, some extra protection couldn't hurt. Just make sure you make them aware of your presence, lest they spot you and mistake you for an enemy."

OOC:   You can reach Paris shortly before lunchtime.

ghill,The creature left behind the same traces you found in Dupont's garden.

"Thank you, that is useful to know," says Jacques. "One or more of them must have killed Monsieur Dupont and left his body where we found it. They could easily have ripped off his head."

"If there are more of these things out there - we must have means to protect ourselves. We almost died!" says Jean-Luc with a frantic voice. "This thing looks like it could take a whole battalion, and it looks like it just did." He suddenly feels naked without a gun.

"I'll see what I can do to requisition some weapons for us," says Jacques, "and perhaps some soldiers to go with them."

Andre looks around him with a bewildered look on his face.

"Wha... what happened here. How did we end up in what I can only assume is a kind of living, terrible event. Surely such things cannot be." He grimaces as a lance of pain shoots through his mangled arm.

OOC:   Jean-Luc can go home as well and meet everybody once we've rested.

That sounds like a plan says Francois. Although, I intend to find a place outside to watch and will be there as soon as I have grabbed my rifles, warm clothes and a bit to eat. Naturally, I shall introduce myself to the Gendarmes on guard first

You drive back to Paris and reach the city slightly before noon. Jacques heads right away to meet with General Gallieni. The other three head to their homes. Upon entering, they find a folded piece of paper on the floor, probably pushed under the door from outside. It says: "My friend, I tried to contact you yesterday, but couldn't find you. I would like to know how things are proceeding on that important matter. I'll be having lunch at Le Grand Cobert. If you can, please join me there. Julien".

back in his apartment Francois debates his options then takes a shotgun down from its resting place on his wall, then after further consideration takes down a rifle designed for larger game. He then grabs a game bag from above his wardrobe with rounds for both guns. Finally then places both guns in carrying slips so he can carry them out on the street without being arrested. Satisfied he has made adequate preparations he heads onto the street and hails a taxi directing him to Le Grand Cobert.

Andre staggers into the apartment where he lives and doesn't see the note on the floor at first. He makes a cup of normal tea and is just carrying it through to the sitting room when he sees the slip of paper.His face contorts with pain as he bends to pick the note up and continues on his way into the sitting room. Once seated he opens the paper and reads, then re-reads the missive.

Glancing up at the clock he stands suddenly, knocking over his tea and soaking his trousers in the process.

"Damn and blast ... ah well I'd have to change for Le Grand Cobert anyway!"

He rushes though to the bedroom and changes, wincing as he removes the blood stained shirt from his wounded arm. After cleaning himself up as best he can he dresses in a more appropriate style for the meeting. Ensuring that he carries his revolver with him, as well as some spare ammunition, he heads out into the night for Le Grand Cobert and his rendezvous with Julien, hoping he is not too late.

Jean-Luc pushes the note with his shoe almost missing it. He reads the note, swears by all that's good and holy, gets himself some whisky for courage, grabs the old family MAS revolver in hopes that it works and rushes to Le Grand Cobert.

Francois arrival at the Le Grand Colbert causes somewhat of a stir and he is rather unceremoniously stopped at the door by the Maitre De and a waiter. About to lose his temper when he catches sight of himself in the window and realises what a state he looks. In such haste to get to Madeleine's hiding place, he has taken no care of his appearance. The dirt and muck which covered his clothes from scrambling around the village of Verchanne, the blood on his hands and smeared on his cheek and the tattered state of his shirt and jacket from where he was injured by the creature.

Francois tears a page from his notebook scribbles and a quick note on it. He hands it over to the waiter standing by the door along with a couple of francs for his trouble and repeats the message for Julienne 'he shall be across in the cafe having a large glass of much needed Anis'.

With that, he turns and trudges across the street.

OOC:   Props to Cearlan for reminding in his post me that Francois past few hours have not been uneventful