Play@YSDC

The masked man staggers back as the bullet hits home, but then resumes his advance. He is almost upon Preston.

The other two are in the room, and one dashes forward and picks up the scrolls from where they lay next to Jordan. In his other hand he plunges a dagger into Jordan’s chest. Jordan comes awake with a gasp of agony, and a huge gout of blood spurts from his mouth. He writhes around on the floor.

OOC,Preston has time to shoot again. It's point blank - you can increase your chance to 60%.

Dr. Francis Preston
Preston manages to squeeze off another shot at the advancing assailant.

Reg tries to use his strength to roll the body of the jackal-man off of him so that he can intervene.

OOC,That first shot, which hit with a 7, was 1/5 of your effective skill or less, which makes it an impale. That should mean you roll for damage twice for that one shot and add the total together.

Preston’s assailant sinks to his knees and falls on his face, inches from our hero. As Reg manages to remove the corpse atop him, the other two masked figures flee from the room, carrying the scrolls with them.

Jordan is still alive. He is gesturing at a writing desk in the corner.

“File…copy” he says weakly.

There is a thin paper file on top of the desk.

"Well fought, Doctor!" says Reg, rushing to Dr. Jordan's side. "We may still be able to save him." Though he has treated battlefield wounds before, he can do little more than assist the more highly skilled Dr. Preston.

OOC,First Aid roll (60% skill) trying to save [b]Dr. Jordan[/b]: [dice]0[/dice]

Dr. Francis Preston
Treating the gravely injured man as best he can, Preston's mind races. "Did he say something about a copy on his desk? A copy of the scrolls, perhaps?"

Jordan is almost dead from shock and blood loss, but thanks to Preston’s excellent medical skills he now has a chance. But he must get to a hospital immediately. Thankfully, police whistles can be heard in the street outside.

Preston,Roll 1d2 for SAN gain, for saving Jordan’s life against the odds.

Dr. Francis Preston
While waiting for the police to arrive, Preston also quickly examines the bodies of the two slain attackers for some clue as to their nature.

Removing the mask from the man he shot, Preston is can see that the man is simply that – a man wearing a mask. But on closer examination, he sees something which horrifies him to his very soul. For the man actually appears to have been dead for some time. This is true of both attackers – they show evidence of decomposition. This defies nature, but the evidence is before them. For a man of science, it is shattering.

OOC,Both roll SAN! If you fail, lose 1 point.

Voices can be heard from downstairs – it seems that the police have arrived.

Reg is startled when he sees that the men they had fought were already dead before the fight began. He had just thought they were opium fiends or the like. While Dr. Preston looks after his patient, he goes over to the writing desk to see if there is a copy of the writing that had been on the scrolls.

OOC,Sanity roll (current level 52) for seeing that the men were already dead: [dice]0[/dice]

Reg looks at the papers in his hands. There is a lot of writing which seems directly translated from the original, perhaps an alphabetized version of hieroglyphics, but some are in English.
The police finally enter the rooms. “Wot’s goin’ on ‘ere, then?” says one constable, surveying the scene.

Jordan is whisked away to hospital by carriage. The police secure the scene, staring in puzzlement at the bodies. Jordan’s landlady is found, unhurt, but babbling in panic about the ‘dogmen’ she saw.

Craddock returns, and apologises to the heroes about leaving them. After seeing the corpses and the jackal masks, he concedes that despite the illogical nature of the evidence, Jordan must have been telling the truth. He assures Reg and Preston that no charges will be made against them, and that he will work with them to get to the bottom of the events.

OOC,Again, it's up to you about how much you want to share, and how much help you want.

Dr. Francis Preston
"We now know that we are facing a gang or group rather than a lone killer and that at least two still remain at large, Inspector. Dr. Jordan implicated an Egyptian scholar named Mounir Faez. He believes Colonel Hollingsworth is innocent yet it seems that a mummy in his possession is the cause of all this. I am loath to credit this talk of prophecies but, after seeing what I have seen, I believe that mummy must be destroyed or at least returned from whence it came."

OOC:   returned from whence it came."

OOC:   Nice.

“Very well. I’ll be taking a statement from Dr. Jordan if I can. I expect I’ll be talking to Colonel Hollingsworth very soon. I’ll inform you of when I will make my visit. I suggest you gentlemen get some rest.”

Craddock has a carriage ordered to take our heroes to the Army & Navy Club.

OOC:   We can move back to the Chapter 6 thread now and you can rendezvous with the others, unless you have anything you'd like to pursue here.

Dr. Francis Preston

After this encounter Preston considers it prudent to keep hold of Dr. Jordan's revolver for the time being.

Dr. Francis Preston
As they are leaving, he also tends to Reg's injuries from the fight.