Ch.13a. All Unquiet on the Western Front (Alex, Lawrence, William)

[Bullfrog]

"If only; it's a long story, and I don't think we should stay around here for much longer. Thanks for the help, though." Lawrence says, climbing,back into the ambulance; he wondered what any "normal" people would think of his story, if he ever decided to tell it. They'd probably think he was crazy, unless he somehow presented undeniable proof that he travelled through time.

His thoughts drifted briefly to the money he had received in Brichester; that could prove useful, possibly.

[Mr. Handy]

"We'd better get moving," says William. "We don't want to stick around here and get hit ourselves. Thank you!"

[Silver Priest]

Alex also gives his thanks before returning to the ambulance.

[Philulhu]

Can I have a spot hidden roll from everyone, please? If you succeed, can I have an occult roll as well.

Thanks.

[Bullfrog]

Spot Hidden 26%:1d100

Lawrence doesn't notice anything out of the ordinary. Going slightly insane has a way of distracting a man, it seems.

[Mr. Handy]

William is a little too focused on getting out of here to notice anything.

Spot Hidden roll (61% skill) heading back to the ambulance:
d%

[Silver Priest]

Spot Hidden 75 1d100

Occult 5 1d100

[Philulhu]

As they climbed back into their own ambulance, something made Alex look back over towards the wreck that they had moved to the side of the road. Oily black smoke curled up from the engine block, which appeared to be on fire. As he watched, a flock of ravens seemed to appear from within the smoke, cawing loudly and flying down the road in the direction they were travelling.

[Silver Priest]

"Hey, look at that," Alex points the unusual sight out to the others. After what he's seen so far, something about the ravens spooked him; but perhaps that was just him being paranoid.

[Mr. Handy]

"There must be more dead bodies in that direction," says William. "I guess they didn't get their fill here. We'll have to be careful when we keep going. I'm in no mood to feed the birds."

[Bullfrog]

Lawrence, still unnerved by basically everything that had happened in the past few hours, along with the fact he was currently in an active warzone, watches the birds with an expression of mild unease.
"My grandfather used to say that ravens are an omen of death, or something like that. It's common sense, really, since they're always eating dead things. Grandfather got a little strange in his later years, though, so he'd blow those birds full of holes with the old twelve-gauge whenever he saw them."

It felt good to share an anecdote in this fearful, dangerous time.

[Philulhu]

To judge by the scared look on the face of their driver, Lawrence’s folksy wisdom had really hit home… …

It took them almost an hour to reach their destination, a field hospital a few miles behind the front line. Eventually, their ambulance pulled into the courtyard of a large villa that had seen better days. The walls were pockmarked with bullets and shell fragments and a tarpaulin had been stretched over a hole in the roof.

A stream of orderlies and nurses came out to meet the ambulance, along with a young doctor who assessed the wounded and issued clipped instructions so that the wounded men were sent to the correct part of the hospital. Alex, Lawrence and William, with slight burns and shrapnel wounds were nevertheless deemed to be ‘walking wounded’ and were soon packed off to a small dormitory, where eight beds were squeezed into a room.

In turn, they were checked over by one of the nurses and their wounds dressed. One of the nurses treating another patient took one look at the outfits they wore and said, ”Where are your uniforms?”

[Mr. Handy]

"It's a long story," says William.

[Silver Priest]

"We're war correspondents," Alex adds, knowing William's answer won't satisfy the nurse. "We were out here to report on the conflict and were caught in the middle of it. If you have a few moments we would like to ask you a few questions about your recent experiences." He inquires, hoping his boorish behavior will get them thrown out of the hospital and maybe on a ship back home. The detective doubted they would find any answers over here, but didn't want to be conscripted into fighting the war a second time if he didn't have to.

[Bullfrog]

"I'm their assistant." Lawrence brusquely states, nodding in the direction of Alex and William; he knew nothing about journalism, and thus thought it would be best to not even try to pretend to know anything about it. He was just their hired muscle in this act.
"Do suppose you could tell us where we are, exactly?"

[Philulhu]

Can I have a persuade or credit rating roll as you try to persuade the nurse of your story?

[Silver Priest]

1d100

Alex looks towards his friends for assistance in selling his story.

[Mr. Handy]

William finds himself tongue-tied.

Persuade roll (65% skill) to convince the nurse:
d%

[Bullfrog]

Credit Rating 40%:1d100

Lawrence isn't too convincing, himself.

[Philulhu]

The nurse didn’t say anything, just pursed her lips and continued to dress their wounds. That done, she left the room briskly without another word.

A minute later she returned with a soldier in tow. ”These are the men, Sergeant Major. I fear they may be German spies… …”