Play@YSDC

Jacques starts sweating, his hands shaking slightly. This is not the first time he has found himself surrounded by enemies, but these creatures, these monsters, are enough to shake him. More than that, it's the thought of dieing here, failing his country, that almost pushes him over the edge. But his training takes over where his mind might fail - for now at least. Meanwhile, the gendarme escorting them seems frozen in shock, and Francois has to push him ahead with decision, or risk leaving him behind.

And finally you are standing in front of the house. Silently, the front door opens, moving on perfectly oiled hinges. One more ghoul emerges from it, but this one is different. He looks much older, somehow. While all of them look like a dead body, this one looks like an old dead body. Decomposed. Wrinkled, like old parchment. But it's the depth of the eyes that really gets to you - these eyes have seen through centuries, and witnessed horrors than even you, even now, can only imagine. More strangely, he wears clothes. A black robe, like that of a judge. It's a little too large for him, and it falls around his body in a funny way - if anything can be really funny in a situation like this.

He looks at you and flashes a smile, something so repulsive that almost makes you puke on the spot. "Madeleine, dear, welcome back. I... We... we were expecting you. We did not like your betrayal. But now you have come to make amends, yes? One way or the other. One way or the other", he says, with more than a hint of menace in his voice.

Jacques says nothing, afraid he might say the wrong thing and offend this...person, but he observes carefully.

François is really at a loss as to what to do next, events simply so far outside his frame of reference

"It's good to see you too, Nicolas", Madeleine answers the creature. "You will not have my head. Not today, for I have come to retrieve the book, and you shall let me pass - me and my friends, unharmed". She speaks with a commanding tone, apparently not afraid despite the situation and the overwhelming odds.

The ghoul called Nicolas starts laughing: "Oh, look at you child. Look at you. Always the funny one. I will have your head if I so choose. And once you are reunited with our old friend Sebastien, I will get back the book, and put it to good use. I need only to lift a finger...", he lets his voice trail off menacingly.

"No, you won't". She moves fast, in the split-second you need to react, grabbing the gun from the hands of Francis, as the poor gendarme seems in shock and unable to act. She points the gun to her head, removing the safety as she resumes speaking: "I too need to only move a finger, Nicolas, and your precious book will be lost forever. Shall we see who is faster?"

You see a kaleidoscope of very human emotions pass on the face of the ghoul: anger at first, then fear, then doubt. He finally seems to reach a decision and says: "Very well. You've played me. I shall grant you passage, and you shall bring back the book into the world. That shall be enough. But you still have to pay for the passage - the usual fee. That is the rule".

Madeleine grimaces, then nods. "Go on", she whispers. And then the ghouls are on you, rushing from every direction. You get ready for the feeling of claws slashing your flesh and tearing you open, but the ghouls just ignore you. Instead, they grab Francis and lift him up, dragging him back towards the darkness. He finally breaks free of his stupor, and starts screaming. It's over in less than five seconds. The ghouls disappear into the darkness with their prey, the screams fading away and then disappearing abruptly. Nicolas heads back into the house, closing the door behind him. And you're left alone in the cave.

History or Occult,Hearing the name Nicolas makes you remember of Nicolas Flamel (1330 - 1418), a famed alchemist who is said to have cheated death.

"That...was a high price to pay," says Jacques, lowering his head and doffing his hat.

"Sacre bleu" mutters François thinking that Madeleine has a great deal to answer for and that at some time she must.

There is silence now. Madeleine turns towards you, seeing the horror on your faces. "Don't be hypocrites. We are here because you wanted the book, and because you did not want to kill me. I warned you there would be a price to pay", she says with a harsh voice.

"I did not realize that someone else would be paying the price, or what it would be," says Jacques, returning his hat to his head. "In any case, it is too late now. Let us find the book."

She keeps staring at you for a couple more seconds, then nods: "This way".

And after her you walk, past the big cavern and into more tunnels, natural this time. In the darkness, broken only by your flashlights, you lose all sense of time and distance. Sometimes you seem to be going further deep down, sometimes up towards the surface. You find no other living creature, nor anything else of interest. Just rock, and darkness. Fatigue is creeping up on you as the tunnel abruptly ends and you can finally feel fresh air on your face. It's dark outside, so you imagine you must not have been walking for more than a few hours. Still, there's something strange about the sky, as there are no stars you can see. It's not that there are clouds, the sky seems clean, it's just... black. Completely black. No moon, no stars. There seems to be a faint light that allows you to see, but you can't discern any source this light might come from. As you lower your gaze to look around, you can see a vast plain of black sand, here and there broken by stone edges of what appears to be obsidian. As far as the horizon, it's just black sand and rocks. The view looks utterly alien to you, and you know of no such place within walking distance from Paris.

Jacques looks around in wonder. "What is this place?" he asks.

François looks around they have travelled some distance. perhaps this is some vast cavern, he has seen the sea glow through small creatures in the water perhaps it is the same here and this he decides would explain the light.

Madeleine answers to Jacques as she keeps walking: "We thought the book was too dangerous to hide it in our world. The cultists of Mordiggian would be searching for it, and the ghouls, and God knows who else. Also, it would have been dangerous just by falling into the hands of some regular person, with no knowledge of the occult. We could not take the risk. We already knew about the existence of other dimensions thanks to the tea, the Sapna. As you know, it is not just a common tea. It also helps people unlocking the true potential of their dreams. Anyway, by visiting this world, we discovered that there were other ways to enter it, not only as a physical projection, but along with one own's phisical body. One such way is through the catacombs of Paris".

Stability,You can either roll Stability now, or deny what you're hearing. This will allow you to not lose any points, but if later faced with undeniable proof that you are in a different world, you'll risk a more severe loss. Your choice :twisted: Remember to roleplay accordingly.

"Well, why not?" says Jacques, taking it in stride. "I thought not so long ago that it would one day be possible to go to the moon, so this does not seem quite so farfetched, especially after all I've seen already. We clearly are not in Paris any more."

OOC,Stability roll (no points spent) for realizing that they are in another world: [dice]0[/dice]

If I am honest I am not sure what to believe anymore says Francois but frankly, it is not important to me at the moment mutters Francois shrugging off yet another revelation.

Stability straight roll: [dice]0[/dice]