1. An encounter on a lonely road

Despite racing against the rain on your way northwards, the storm finally caught up with you in earnest and with it the night has fallen, abyssal black and riven by lightning. Conditions on the rain-swept road force your speed down to a virtual crawl so that your head-lamps can pierce the gloom and keep you on the path. The only thing certain now is that the weather behind you is worse than that which surrounds you, driving you onwards. What should have been an eventless journey has become something dangerous and unpredictable....

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1. An encounter on a lonely road

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1. 'An encounter on a lonely road'


‘Despite racing against the rain on your way northwards, the storm finally caught up with you in earnest and with it the night has fallen, abyssal black and riven by lightning. Conditions on the rain-swept road force your speed down to a virtual crawl so that your head-lamps can pierce the gloom and keep you on the path. The only thing certain now is that the weather behind you and coming fast is worse than that which surrounds you, driving you onwards. What should have been an eventless journey has become something dangerous and unpredictable’

This adventure begins in media res sometime in October 1933 on a lonely stretch of road about half distance from Arkham to Ipswich. It is about ten thirty pm…

You are half involved in a conversation. William Kieffer nervously whistles an almost unrecognizable tune and half laughs at Maynard Heldstom's almost funny comment. The worsening weather conditions make you all nervous and eager to see the lights of the small gas station of Orchard Run a ways down the road, where you might find hot coffee and shelter from the storm that is coming fast. The heavy rain, now falling in an almost constant deluge, is flooding like a river down the car’s windshield so fast that the wipers are hard pressed to clear it. Maybe you should have stayed in Arkham until morning, but some pressing need had you heading north on the Ipswich road hoping to outrun the storm which had begun to overtake you a while back.

Inside the somewhat cramped Ford, the distressed whine of the wipers and heater makes any real attempt at conversation difficult, while the distant rumble of thunder that seems to draw nearer with every muted crash sets nerves jangling and hearts racing as with each boom an increasing volume of driving rain is hurled toward you from a relentless sky. Outside, the blackness of the storm is broken by flaring lightning forks, the gap between flashes and the crash, boom of thunder decreasing as the heart of the storm closes. It is not a good night to be on the road.

The Ford’s engine strains with effort as the combination of weight, weather conditions, and the sharp upward incline of a road that is fast becoming a river conspire to slow progress to a crawl. The stuttering rumble of its overworking engine, so close to stalling at at moment, is almost lost amidst the deeper rumble of the advancing thunderstorm. In each flash of lightning you can easily make out the dense forest that lines the edge of the road close enough to each side of the car to allow a passenger to reach out and break off a wind whipped branch.

Suddenly!! an explosion of forked lightning, so close that it makes each of you jump with its intensity and violence…
OOC:   You are in Sean O’Rielly’s 1927 Model ‘A’ Ford, so we begin with him making a Regular Drive Auto Roll. While everyone else makes a Regular Luck Roll.  
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Re: 1. An encounter on a lonely road

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"Jumpin' catfish!" Dorothy nearly leaps out of her skin. "That was too close!"
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Luck = 60 [dice]0[/dice]
She has a feeling that it could have been even worse.
Last edited by Victoria Silverwolf on Mon Feb 13, 2017 9:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: 1. An encounter on a lonely road

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Luck,Luck - 25% [dice]0[/dice]
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Re: 1. An encounter on a lonely road

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Alister Sergeant

Packed like sardines in a tin box! But at least it's cheaper this way, besides, this car was the only one available for the road... Alister tries to "entertain" the ones sitting next to him by showing off the hefty tomes New England genealogy he acquired at the auction, but it is too dark to read the script and the small handwritten notes on Wests and Carters and Marshes are dancing before his eyes, making him dizzy.

Then there is a screech of tires!

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Re: 1. An encounter on a lonely road

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Kieffer

The intensity of the rain reminds Kieffer of the Atlantic storms he endured in his navy days. He begins to worry if they will be able to carry on their journey in this weather.

The sudden flash of lightning nearly blinds him, causing him to inadvertently duck his head.
Luck,Luck 60%, [url=http://orokos.com/roll/485648]Luck[/url]: [u]1d100[/u] [b]16[/b]
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Re: 1. An encounter on a lonely road

Post by Mr. Handy »

Image

Sean O'Reilly tightens his grip on the wheel, barely maintaining control of the car only due to his superior skill.
OOC,Drive Auto roll (70% skill) driving the cab: [dice]0[/dice]
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"Gracious!" Judith exclaims, startled.
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Re: 1. An encounter on a lonely road

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Image
With a snarled curse Sean pulls the car to one side as he slams the brakes hard. Luckily the slow pace of the vehicle combined with his reaction speed stopped the Ford from going into a spin despite the slickness of the rain lashed road.

For in that sudden enormous explosion of nature’s power, that had violently ripped apart the blackness of the storm, had been revealed appearing as if from nowhere in the road a few feet in front of the Ford’s bonnet, a pale figure. In what seemed no more than a heartbeat, that burst of light had revealed through rivulets of rainwater and breath fogged windscreen what appeared to be a young female, her eyes wide and her mouth open in a scream of fear.

Hands sweating, knuckles white where they gripped the steering wheel Sean breathed a heavy sigh of relief, as his muscles relaxed and the ice cold tension began to ease. For a few nerve jangling moments the interior of the Ford was a well of tense silence which even the violence of the storm failed to breach. It seemed that even to draw a harsh breathe would end that moment of calm in a rush of reality.

What had happened? Who had the mysterious figure been? Where was she now, and was she injured?

As the initial shock fades the interior of the Ford becomes a hive of frenzied activity. Car doors fly open in defiance of the wind and the vicious rain, as stunned occupants spill forth to see if the young woman is okay.

The young woman, for indeed you can now see that the figure is female, stands, seemingly oblivious to her close brush with death, hair flying in rain drenched coils in response to the ever increasing wind. Her face, probably attractive in a different circumstance, is pale and in the dim light of the Ford’s headlights appears quite gaunt, her forehead bears a livid bruise above her left eye. Her eyes blaze large with fear and thin lips twitch as if in readiness to unleash a scream. Yet it does not seem to be fear of you or the narrowness of injury avoided, for she does not seem to be aware of your presence at all.

You guess that, despite her ragged and forlorn appearance, she is in her early twenties, and from her lack of suitable clothing could not have come far, her dress once a pretty gingham, now a disheveled mess of tears and mud stains, is hardly the thing anyone would wear out of doors on a night like this. She also appears to have lost her left shoe, yet any discomfort this would have caused seems unnoticed, as she stands unmoving in the downpour.

A new flash of lightning reveals the presence of a silver chain at her throat, yet whatever charm or medallion it might hold is lost around her back, no doubt from running. All this you notice between the crash and rumble of thunder that now seems to be right above you…
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Re: 1. An encounter on a lonely road

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Kieffer

“Let’s get her inside the car” shouts Kieffer, his voice struggling to be heard against the noise of the rain. “Somebody help me”.

He moves closer to the girl. “Miss, can you hear me?” he asks, wondering what on earth has happened to her. "Are you alright?"
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Alister Sergeant

Alister follows in Kiefer's footsteps. He knows from experience that this part of the county can be a rough place, and the girl clearly needs help.
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Judith peers anxiously off into the dense forest close by the edge of the road, wondering where the girl had sprung from, and in such a disheveled state, too. Had she been attacked by an animal? Judith shudders at the thought of all those wild creatures to be found in American forests: bears, wolves, sasquatches, inbred hillbillies with guns...
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Dorothy lets out a little shriek at the sight. She knows she's something of a Nervous Nellie, and this is enough to give anybody the willies. She takes a deep breath and tries to act like a pro. What would Nancy Drew do in this situation?

"I learned a little bit about shock in the Girl Scouts," she says at last, as the men help the young woman into the car. "We've got to keep her warm and keep her head elevated."

Somewhere in the back of her mind, behind the anxiety, she can imagine the headline. REPORTER SAVES MYSTERY WOMAN FROM DEADLY STORM!
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Re: 1. An encounter on a lonely road

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OOC:   I'm assuming that with the young girl in the car there will not be enough room for everyone else? Not so much for this minute, but moreso for when we move off ... if we move off that is ;-)  
Maynard watches thee edge of the forest where the girl came from, and leaves those better suited to the task of looking after the mysterious stranger. "Can you see anything Miss ... Miss Howard was it? I'm afraid that All I can see is the nearest of the trees, after that it's total darkness." The rain is starting to soak through his clothes he asks "Would you want my coat my dear - this weather is most inopportune."
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Re: 1. An encounter on a lonely road

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Cearlan wrote:
OOC:   I'm assuming that with the young girl in the car there will not be enough room for everyone else? Not so much for this minute, but moreso for when we move off ... if we move off that is ;-)  
OOC:   It will be a very tight squeeze (I'm using a slight handwave for this) But given the weather I doubt very much that antone will want to give up their place in the car :D  
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Despite the violence of the downpour which has made keeping your footing amidst the seeming river that is rushing back down the road, and the constant threat of a sudden lightning strike, it seems that William Kieffer is first to the side of the forlorn female. The first thing you note is just how close to impact the girl had come, but for the quick reactions of your driver Sean O’Rielly the heavy Ford would have likely killed her. Her frail form providing little defense against the Ford’s heavy chrome bumper.

William shouts loudly, but against the power of nature it seems to fail to carry to the girl. He takes a step closer almost hurling his words directly into her ear. But even at this closeness there seems no reaction. It is as if she is unaware of your presence at all.

Nor does she seem to notice the arrival of Alister Sergeant who quickly follows William’s steps, slipping and sliding with the force of the downhill flow as he answers Williams’s call.

Still sheltered from the rain in the car Judith Howard peers into the darkness, squinting against the rain, and wonders. (Please roll a Hard Spot Hidden, equal to or less than half your skill)

William, assisted by Alister is quickly able to guide the woman towards the car. It is like leading a child, she offers no resistance, even allowing Allister to gently lower her into the firm grip of Maynard.

Dorothy Leigh, cub reporter for the Ipswich Weekly, nervously gives vent to a small shriek whose volume is drowned by the continuous rain on the Ford’s metal roof. Even the young reporters fussing draws no response from the female, who continues to stare fixedly ahead as if seeing something that is not there.

As the woman is gently coaxed into the Ford’s interior, amidst the groaning of the already tightly packed travelers, Maynard turns his attention to Judith Howard, the British librarian, who is steadily peering into the rain soaked night, towards the edge of the woods on the right of the road.

Then once again a moment of pure bedlam seems to descend upon the car’s interior as the woman, until now utterly compliant, draws a long shuddering breath. For a brief moment her eyes seem to blaze with a mixture of loathing and hatred; her lips twist into a feral snarl of anger and scream, “Grandfather!! The LIGHT!!!!”

Two shouted words, nothing more…
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Re: 1. An encounter on a lonely road

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"It's a tight fit," says Sean, "but we can manage. She can't have come from far away. She was walking towards us, so if we keep going this way, we're bound to find whatever town she's from. Poor girl must be terrified of this storm."
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Re: 1. An encounter on a lonely road

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Kieffer inadvertently recoils from the young woman, surprised at the force of her scream. The look of hatred in her eyes is shocking too. He is left wondering again – what could have happened to her?

“Miss, what’s your name? What are you doing here?” He privately agrees that she must be in shock. “We should get this young lady to a doctor” he tells the others who are listening.
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Spoiler:
Hard Spot Hidden = 25[dice]0[/dice]
"I'm afraid I can't see anything out there either," Judith replies distractedly. At the young woman's shriek she turns away from the window. "Thank you, but perhaps you should give your coat to this poor unfortunate instead," she says to the gentleman. At the youthful reporter's mention of shock she adds, "I have a little skill in first aid. My sister works as a nurse at a hospital in London." She moves to help.
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Re: 1. An encounter on a lonely road

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Alister Sergeant

Alister is startled by the sudden scream. For a second he considers hugging the trembling girl, but then thinks that it would not be decent and would only scare her more. He peels off his coat and passes it on to Julie instead.
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Re: 1. An encounter on a lonely road

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As Sean O’Reilly said it was indeed a tight fit, but at least it was dry and as long as the engine kept running warm. He knew that about a mile from here the small gas stop of Orchard Run would allow some respite from the weather which was worsening all the time. And that it would be likely that someone there might be able to identify the woman. Nonchantly he guns the Ford’s motor as a none-to-subtle hint that he is eager to be gone from this spot. The increasing rain bothers him, within a short time this road will become a fast flowing torrent carrying all manner of debris, and to stay too long is to court disaster. Attempting to return to Arkham would be suicide for by now several of the small creeks they had crossed would have been swelled to river proportion with their respective bridges washed away. Already he can feel the heavy Ford starting to sway as the force of the current threatens to set the car adrift.

Inside the Ford it is warm with the small heater working overtime, however with the warmth on wet clothing the threat of condensation and reduced visibility is increased. Within moments any opportunity for Judith to see anything through the windows is gone, if she had seen anything she failed to note it. Anyway it would seem that her skill at first aid is needed as the strange young woman is suffering, not only from the effects exposure, but also from a myriad of small scratches to her arms and legs, no doubt from the thick undergrowth that lines the woods on either side of the road, and the nasty looking bruise that sits just above her left eye. (Please Roll Regular First Aid)

Maynard does his best to look through the rapidly misting window to see if there was anything that Dorothy might have missed, but other than darkness he sees nothing. Then he is busy shrugging off his overcoat to give to the soaking wet female. His coat arriving at the same time as Alister’s, who seems confused as to how to respond to the sudden scream.

William, despite his reactive recoil, persists in his attempts to gain answers from the woman, yet other than her scream “Grandfather” and “The Light” she stays silent. It seems she has, but for that brief moment, relapsed into confusion.
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