Play@YSDC

Absolom Peredue Somerhayes

For a moment following Bidwell’s speedy departure, Absolom, with his brows furrowed in concentration, seems distracted. Dismissing Williamson’s unnecessary comment he rises from his seat and moves closer to the door through which Bidwell had just passed listening intently.

Listen,[url=http://orokos.com/roll/529851]Listen 25%[/url]: [u]1d100[/u] [b]4[/b]

Gordon perks up a bit when it's time to leave. This experience was rather a bore, and he's glad to leave. But then he hears something . . .

"Well, that was a big disappointment...," James thought. "I knew I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up..."

He sighs and is just about to leave the room when he thinks he can hear something.
He listens for a while, and then shrugs it off. "Must have been my imagination..."

The door proves too thick even for Diane's keen hearing.

OOC,Listen roll (55% skill) to hear through the door: [dice]0[/dice]

Absolom Peredue Somerhayes

“Quick!!” shouts Absolom, “I think Mr Bidwell may have had an accident within”. Trying desperately to control his breathing and regulate his speech, he steps up and raps on the door, “Mr Bidwell are you alright? Is aught amiss?”

The only answer which comes is a series of disturbing noises from inside the den, now audible to all within the library: first a savage, inhuman growl, followed by a sharply cut-off cry of alarm, then the sounds of a violent struggle.

Cecil rushes to the door and attempts to open it. If it is locked, he'll attempt a shoulder barge. (All in the heat of the moment of course - this is very unlike him. Must be Dutch courage after all the champagne.)

The door is not locked.

Inside the candle-lit room you behold the sight of John Bidwell evidently attempting to strangle his butler Hanson. Another savage, inhuman growl issues from Bidwell's snarling lips as he tears murderously at the other man, who desperately tries to fend off the berserk attack.

In that moment Hanson's flailing hand finds a fireplace poker. He swings wildly at his master. The tip of the poker plunges into Bidwell's chest.

As the butler looks on in horror, Bidwell, impaled by the poker, slumps to the floor and lies still.

Ann Veronica's hands go to her mouth in horror, and she turns away, trying to block the sight from her mind. She’s never witnessed anything like the sheer brutality of the event.

James takes in the scene and gasps. He rushes to his old friend Bidwell to check his vital signs, somehow managing to push to the back of his mind the fact that moments ago their host tried to strangle someone...

"Hanson, what happened here? Why were the two of you fighting?"

"If I can be of any assistance, sir," Gordon says. He kneels by the side of the fallen man. "I know a little about medicine, although I'm no physician." Besides concern for Bidwell, he feels sympathy for the terrified butler. "I have heard that Mister Bidwell was subject to nervous disorders. I had no idea it might express itself violently."

Diane follows Gordon and kneels beside him. "Neither am I a nurse," she says, "but I can assist you. He may yet live."

"I ... I don't know what came over Mr. Bidwell," Hanson stammers, clearly shaken. "The master was looking at that cube when suddenly he collapsed to the floor and began writhing terribly. I went to help him but he sprang up and began attacking me. I didn't mean to harm him, it was an accident..."

Upon examination it is evident that Bidwell is grievously injured beyond medical aid. Stabbed in the heart, his breathing grows weaker by the second and he lies unresponsive. A trickle of blood seeps from the corner of his mouth.

Then suddenly his eyes widen, staring about him as if in horrified confusion. And, too, there is something odd, something different about his gaze...

James Powell, Gordon McKerry and Diane Siddons:Abruptly Hanson falls silent. The butler staggers jerkily forward and leans down to snatch up an object from the floor -- you glimpse the crystalline cube Bidwell was holding at the seance -- then dashes out of the library and away down the stairs.

Ann Veronica

“What on earth…” she exclaims. She wants to run after the butler, but her skirts prevent her. “Damn these foolish garments” she thinks to herself. She is feeling quite powerless in the face of all these bizarre events.

Looking into Bidwell's eyes, James wonders for a moment whether he didn't see something odd there.
When he sees Hanson acting as if possessed and making off with the cube, he doesn't hesitate for a moment and darts out of the library. "Quickly, don't let him get away!"

Absolom Peredue Somerhayes

Events catch Absolom with the pace of their unfolding, no sooner had he come to terms with the violence, than the Butler stoops, grabs something from the floor and races from the room. All Absolom can do is watch him flee, already he can feel the tightness of his chest beginning to grow making breathing difficult. Casting quickly about him he finds a chair and sits down...

Wruter,I shall be away until next Saturday (8th July). Please NPC Absolom until my return.

Knowing that all hope for the man's life is gone, Gordon turns away from the unfortunate victim. The way that butler dashed away is disturbing. He stands and addresses the others.

"Summon the police. This may be a tragic case of madness and self-defense, but it must be investigated thoroughly."

Ann Veronica notices the Reverend Somerheyes sit down, obviously distressed. She goes to him, concerned about his expression.

“Reverend, what’s the matter? Do you need help?”