Play@YSDC

The sun begins to sink lower in the sky as the cab arrives at Dorchester North. This is a very old cemetery, containing the graves of both rich and poor alike. An air of peaceful repose hangs over the location, but the companions know that this tranquility may yet be shattered. What will await them as they step through the leafy gates, and how will they proceed?

Isadora,Isadora in particular will feel a deep sense of foreboding, of something awful waiting to happen.

Benny remains in the cab. “Remember what I said. You seem like nice folks, I’m not sure why I think that, but I don’t wanna get killed! So 40 dollars now, see.”
He holds out his hand.

Alice gasps as she sees the cemetery. "All those graves..." she says. "If he plays that trumpet here...we'd better hurry!"

Isadora Carmichael

Isadora digs into her purse and, hopefully, finds enough cash to give to Bennie. "Thank you!"

"I don't even dare to think..." she replies to Alice. She had the same thoughts, but didn't dare to speak them out loud. "Now to find Marnie Smeaton's grave..."

Isadora looks around - is there an office or register of some sorts?

There is a small office next to the gate, but there are not many people here in the cemetery at the moment.

Which means that its easy to spot a lone figure in the graves ahead, who could be Leroy Turner.

Isadora Carmichael

"Quick, let's... let's move!" Isadora points to the lone figure and quickly moves towards the presumed Turner (she doesn't run, just walks quickly).

Sure enough, as the investigators come closer, the figure is revealed to be Taylor. He is standing looking down at a gravestone, and is unaware of their approach. He is swaying slightly on his feet. As always, the trumpet is in his hand.

The name on the grave reads 'Marnie Smeaton'.

Suddenly conscious of our heroes, Turner looks up.

Balzac clears his throat nervously. "M. Turner, please forgive our intrusion but we are hoping to save you from the terrible mistake."

"Can I tempt you to a good French cigarette?" Balzac pulls out his blue packet of Gauloises and offers one to Turner.

Turner doesn't seem to see Balzac's outstretched hand. His cheeks are wet with tears.

"I wanna play for her" he says. "I want her back again".

"I know you love her," says Alice, with a sad look in her eyes, "but this isn't the right way. Everyone who comes back when you play that trumpet comes back wrong, and all the dead in this cemetery will hear it as well. How would you feel if, after your death, you woke up trapped in a coffin buried six feet underground? Don't put her through that. When she wakes up, let it be in Heaven, and you can one day join her there, when Gabriel blows his trumpet."

"That's a real sweet speech, Miss" says Turner sincerely. "and it's probably true. But I gotta see her now."

He raises the trumpet to his lips, and begins to play.

All of Turner’s torment pours out into the music. The wasted opportunities and regrets of a life spent searching for something he could never find, music he’ll never make, everything he’ll never do, his dependence on booze, and most of all the life he couldn’t make with Marnie produce a sound of enduring melancholy sweetness. The notes fill the air around the graves.

Isadora Carmichael

For a few seconds, Isadora is captivated by Turner's beautiful playing, but then she feels a sudden burst of anger and terror.

"NO!" she screams, steps forwards, and shoves Turner with all her strength.

"Don't let him play his wretched song!! Get his trumpet!" she shouts to the others.

Isadora’s shove causes Turner to stumble, and the trumpet leaves his lips.

Isadora,Roll Luck.

Isadora Carmichael
Luck 65%
[dice]0[/dice]

Although he stumbles, Turner doesn’t let go of his trumpet. He begins to play again.

Around the companions, the ground begins to stir. Several tombstones tilt and crack; the wing of a marble angel breaks and falls from a nearby mausoleum. The investigators can hear a groaning coming from beneath several graves, combined with creaking and scratching noises. The earth atop Marnie Smeaton’s grave begins to stir.

Henry Glynn

Henry attempts to punch Turner in the gut

Balzac flings his cigarette pack aside and attempts to rugby tackle Turner.

Grapple,45% and he rolls... [dice]0[/dice]

Unprepared for the attack, Turner gasps as Henry's punch connects with his stomach and he doubles over in pain. At that moment, he is hit by the solid form of Balzac. Unable to resist, he lays on the ground, with Balzac on top of him.

Balzac & Henry,Roll Luck. If either of you succeed, Turner drops the trumpet.

The scratching sounds around the heroes intensify, however. The earth on Marnie’s grave starts to scatter, as something beneath it is digging its way out. Shortly, the companions can see a withered hand poke its way through the earth. In the graves around them, this process is being repeated.

Everyone,The heroes should be used to seeing dead bodies come back to life by now, so no SAN roll is necessary (although they're probably shitting themselves). Alice however had temporary insanity earlier, so she is obliged to roll. If she fails, roll 1d3 for loss Mr. H.

Ron holds his hand out towards Balzac.

"Pass me your gun, old chap, I was always the better shot."

Luck,Is 65% and Balzac rolls... [dice]0[/dice]

OOC:   Critical success with the luck!

"You threw my gun away!" Balzac grunts at Ron.

Balzac has managed to knock the trumpet away from Turner, who struggles vainly to retrieve it. He is interrupted though by the sight of his former girlfriend scrabbling through the earth of her grave. The sight of her wrinkled, dessicated face, the teeth bared in a ferocious grimace as the skin has been pulled back from her mouth, eyes sunken in their sockets, makes Turner scream in anguish. Marnie groans as she sees her lover, and moves towards him.

Around the companions, six other corpses have also animated. Their screams and groans are almost unbearable, as to their horror they realize their predicament. In what little comprehension they have, they seek to search out the living who have wronged them, wanting vengeance on those who have failed them.

"Oh, right," mutters Ron. "I don't suppose anyone else brought a gun along?"

He looks about him for something that could be used as a makeshift weapon.

Isadora Carmichael

Isadora reaches out and tries to grab the trumpet. Then she sets off running into the direction of the cemetery exit.

"We cannot stay! RUN!"

Balzac frantically racks his brain, trying to imagine what point of a decomposing corpse would be weakest, the head, the limbs, the spine?

He gets up and tries to dodge around the moving deceased as best he can, trying to get out.

OOC,Can Balzac make a medicine roll to try to identify what part of a decomposing corpse would be - ah - softest? (Yick.)

Henry Glynn

Henry flees with his companions but makes sure Alice doesn't fall behind him.

Screaming in terror, Alice flees with the others.

OOC,Sanity roll (current level 58) for seeing the dead rise: [dice]0[/dice] Sanity loss: [dice]1[/dice]

The heroes turn and flee back to the entrance, Isadora clutching the horn, and Henry supporting the petrified Alice. Turner remains, and the companions can hear his screams as Marnie advances on him.

One of the undead has moved to block the way, however. Can they escape past him?

Everybody,Luck rolls please!

Isadora Carmichael
Luck 65%
[dice]0[/dice]

Luckily Isadora put on sensible, low heeled shoes today...

Henry Glynn

Luck,Balzac's Luck is 65% and he rolls... [dice]0[/dice]

Balzac is lucky...

Alice shrieks again, her path blocked by the walking dead man.

OOC,Luck roll (65% stat) to get past the dead man: [dice]0[/dice]

OOC,Henry's roll was higher, so the undead targets him. Undead Fellow Grapple 25: [url=http://orokos.com/roll/568294]Grapple[/url]: [u]1d100[/u] [b]45[/b]

With an awful groan, the undead reaches his wizened claw of a hand and tries to grab Henry's jacket. Luckily, he doesn’t get hold of it.

Henry,You can make an attack, or keep fleeing.

Isadora Carmichael

"Run! Run, everybody!" Isadora keeps on running, clasping the evil trumpet.

Henry Glynn

"Sorry, can't stop!" says Henry, dragging Alice past the corpse.

Benny looks at the companions’ faces as they pile into the cab, and shakes his head.

“I don’t wanna ask” he says. “By God, you people are gonna owe me.”

The cab pulls away, leaving the cemetery behind.

Henry Glynn

"What do we do with the trumpet? Tie a rock to it and throw it in the Charles River?"

"Maybe we can play it in a certain way and the dead will go back to rest," Ron suggests.

Isadora Carmichael

Isadora presses the trumpet against her chest.

"Maybe... yes, you might just be right," Isadora says to Ron. She is so shocked by the ordeal, that she doesn't realize that this is the first time she agreed with the man. Usually Balzac's mate just annoys her...

"I think we should hold on to it. We need to study it."

“The dead go back to rest”? repeats Benny. “What the hell are you talking about? Listen, you better tell me where to drop you. I need to get a drink after the day I’ve had.”

Henry Glynn

"Well don't go playing it near graveyards, hospitals or Indian mounds." advises Henry.

Balzac lights a Gauloises. "Surely we cannot throw it away. What if, played a certain way and seconds after death, it could revive a person safely?"

"At the least, we should study it in case more of those poor creatures appear in Boston. It may be a reversible effect."

"On the topic, should we alert the authorities to trouble in the cemetery? None of the other unfortunate re-animated souls lasted very long, these ones could reasonably be presumed to go the same way. Should we think about going back in case the trumpet man is still alive?"

Alice leans against Henry, sobbing. "Melt it down," she says. "Nobody can play it if it's melted down."

"Are you listening to me?" shouts Benny. "Graveyards, animated souls? You people are freaks!"

The cab screeches to a halt, and Benny turns around in his seat to address the investigators squeezed into the back.

"I'm not going any further! Pay me now and hit the road, or I'll call the cops!"

Balzac sighs. "Monsieur, I will pay you another $20 to drop us downtown. Otherwise, we get out here."

"No way"! replies Benny. The cab screeches to a halt.

"Just pay me what we agreed, but I want nothin' more to do with your crazy shenanigans"!

OOC:   I suggest someone pay Benny and you sort the money out later among yourselves. $40 I believe.

Henry Glynn

"I'll keep the trumpet safe ... until we decide what to do."

Henry attempts to take the trumpet from Isadora.

Isadora Carmichael

Isadora holds on to the trumpet.

"Don't... don't fret, Henry, I can keep it at my house in my safe."

OOC:   Where are we now? How far are we from the cemetery?

OOC:   You're about halfway to downtown, well away from the burial ground.

Benny is red with rage. He jumps out of the cab and comes round to the back. Wrenching the door open, he shouts "Out! And give me my goddamn money!"

Henry Glynn

Henry pays Benny what he was promised and then attempts to flag down another cab.

OOC:   You might want to finish the discussion more discreetly! You're liable to attract unwanted attention otherwise.

There are no cabs in the street, but the investigators are in the vicinity of Highland Park. The evening is drawing in, and the park looks quiet and serene.

Isadora Carmichael

Isadora takes off her scarf and wraps the trumpet in it. Her movements are mechanical, her eyes gaze into emptiness. She handled the events better than Alice, for example, but she is still in the state of shock.

"Turner... is he dead? And what about the other people at the graveyard?" she whispers. She thinks about the re-animated dead roaming the streets of Boston.

She looks around - is there a telephone nearby?

"We should call the police," she says to the others. "Just to tell them to go to the cemetery, and take care of some, uh... drunks? Drug fiends?"

"Okay," says Alice, too shaken to think.

The companions find a public phone and call the police. It seems that a complaint has already been made by the cemetery attendant, and officers were dispatched.

Henry Glynn

"I think I should get Alice back to Arkham" says Henry.

Isadora Carmichael

"We can go to my house, it's closer. Alice can take one of the guest bedrooms," Isadora proposes. Then it dawns on her, that sooner or later she will have to tell her loving husband something, to explain the psychological state of their motley crew.

Henry Glynn

"That's very kind. if you're sure we won't be imposing on Auden?"

Isadora Carmichael

"He never objects to me inviting guests. And we can call him in advance. I'm just... I'm just afraid he will want an explanation. Well, he is entitled to one, I mean, he really cares for me, and for you folks too, to an extent. And I don't know what to tell him."

Henry Glynn

"Tell him the body fell out of the coffin at the funeral we were attending and that we're all a bit shook up?"

Isadora Carmichael

"Yes... yes, that's a good idea. Oh how much I hate lying to him... But this is safer this way."

Isadora tries to call her husband, George Auden, in his office or at home, to tell him that she and her friends are coming around to the house, and that one of them, Alice, will stay at the guest room for the night.

George is at the office. He’s happy to have Isadora’s friends visit, although he may have to work late and so won't be home until later. However, he offers his fine Canadian Whiskey in order for the heroes to take the edge off their day. This also gives them time to take care of business.

Later, they arrive at Isadora’s house as the sun is setting. Exhausted and hungry, the cook fetches them something to eat. They are able to finally sit down in private and discuss the one outstanding issue left from their adventure – what to do with the trumpet.

OOC,You've discussed three options: keeping it, destroying it, or playing it. Let's have your final decision.

Isadora Carmichael

Indeed, Isadora proposes to put the trumpet in her safe. At some point, she will want to study the strange hieroglyphs.

The safe box (hidden under her art supplies) already contains the quick sketches she made of the alien creatures up on the mountain, and the salvaged weapon. Isadora always carries the key to the safe on a silver chain around her neck.

The trumpet is deposited in the safe, where it should be unable to cause any mischief, at least for now.

Later, George returns, and noting the companions' flagging spirits, regales them with tales of salacious gossip about members of Boston society. But exhaustion sets in, and soon everyone is asleep.

The morning papers carry an interesting story; it seems that several graves in the Dorchester North Burying Ground were vandalized, and some corpses were disinterred. Some local residents claimed to see what appeared to be walking corpses in the vicinity, but these reports are not seen as credible by the police, especially as they believe they have a culprit.

Leroy Turner, a jazz trumpeter with a record for marijuana possession, was found at the grave of his girlfriend Marnie Smeaton, holding her disinterred corpse. Turner's face was deeply scratched and he was babbling incoherently, apparently quite insane. He has been remanded to a state institution where he will undergo psychiatric evaluation, but one police insider stated that he is unlikely to stand trial.

Things begin to return to normal for the investigators. But a few weeks later, Isadora receives a package from Mitch Wester . It is a copy of the first album by the 5-Star Band, recorded a few days before the Manusco murder. One track contains a trumpet solo credited to Leroy Turner. The tune is entitled 'Dead Man Stomp'.

OOC,That's it guys, thanks again for playing.

Thanks HoneyDog!