Ch.12b. Caught somewhere in time

[Philulhu]

Date unknown. 6.45am.
Location unknown.

The lamp had given out light but not much heat (and in any event appeared to have run out of fuel during the night) so they awoke cold and stiff the next morning. Lying under the blankets, they could hear the occasional noise from outside the tent, some low murmured greetings but mainly birdsong from a few trees nearby.

[Silver Priest]

Alex lets out a groan-- much of the man's traditional enthusiasm for police work is nonexistent without his first cup of coffee. But when he remembers what happened, he quickly forces himself awake. He checks to make sure the others are still with him.

"What's our current objective? I suppose finding a paper or something like William suggested to tell us where-- and when-- we are. We need to be careful however. For all we know everyone here is involved with Brophy in someway, so keep your guard up, gentleman."

[Bullfrog]

"Our objective is getting out of here, immediately. Preferably without anyone noticing, but there's no guarantees." Lawrence quietly replies, having awoken very recently. He gets up to peek out of the tent flap, looking around to see how many people are now in the camp.

[Mr. Handy]

"And go where?" asks William. "We must at least get our bearings first. We can bluff being actors like the others, as long as we avoid giving away information. There is a reason Brophy came here and now. We must find out what that is so we can get back on his trail. We also must find a way back home, and only he knows how to do that. The first thing we should do is find a copy of the morning paper. Some breakfast would be nice too."

[Philulhu]

Outside the tent, Lawrence can see a couple of people sat around a fire, smoking and trying to get it going to heat a kettle of water perched on a makeshift frame. Whatever the film is that is being made, accommodation and catering arrangements don’t appear to have been a high priority...

[Bullfrog]

"Well, it doesn't look like there's much when it comes to breakfast here." Lawrence states after closing the tent flap behind him.
"Bluffing is only going to get us so far, William, so it's best that we find somewhere else to stay in case our stay here ends up being longer than expected. There's a church somewhere around here, so there's bound to be some kind of settlement in the area."

[Silver Priest]

"Good idea. Brophy only came through a few seconds before us, so he couldn't have gotten far. Perhaps in the future we should describe him rather than use his name however; he is likely operating under a pseudonym."

[Philulhu]

OOC,What’s your plan of action?

[Mr. Handy]

"Don't forget that Brophy is in Miss Dufresne's body," says William. "I think we should go out there where the others are and find out what's going on here, and preferably find a newspaper. We're adrift otherwise. We need information."

[Bullfrog]

"What if we had only one person go out there and ask questions, then relay the information to the other two of us? That way, if the one person asks questions that seem weird and obvious, these film people will only find that one person to be strange." Lawrence suggests, quite proud of his own plan.
"Though I'm not really sure about what the other two of us would do. I only came up with this a few seconds ago."

OOC,I think our plan of action is still up in the air.

[Silver Priest]

"Sounds reasonable. I'd go, but they may already be a little suspicious of me given the questions I asked last night. As for the otyher two, we're new here anyway, so maybe asking where we're supposed to set up and be would seem normal."

[Mr. Handy]

"Maybe I should go," says William. "I think I've aroused the least suspicion."

[Philulhu]

It was still quiet outside, with the two sat around the fire being the only people visible.

[Bullfrog]

"You may as well, seeing as you're the best talker out of the three of us. While you're out there speaking with the cast and crew, I'll tell Reynolds a bit more about what we're dealing with, then have a look around the camp." Lawrence concurs with William's suggestion, being a bit lacking in persuasive talent in comparison to his compatriots; he has his skills, they have theirs, that's just how it goes. Out of curiosity, he tries to open up the ex-army trunk to see what's inside; perhaps the contents would explain what he and the others were apparently sent here to do.

[Philulhu]

Inside the trunk, Lawrence found some neatly folded clothes. Both men’s and women’s, they looked to be in reasonable condition, worn, but serviceable. The only thing of note was the design. Lawrence thought they looked like something his parents or even his grandparents may have worn to church on Sunday.

[Mr. Handy]

"Those must be costumes for the movie," says William. "Must be a historical picture." He examines the clothing to try to determine what era based on the style. "Probably from late in the last century."

[Philulhu]

The style of the clothes certainly suggested that era to William.

From outside another voice could be heard. Louder, with seemingly little consideration for anyone who might still be asleep. ”’Morning, Barry! Have you got a fag I can cadge? I’ll be buggered if I’m walking to the village at this time of the morning!”

William,Spot hidden, please.

[Mr. Handy]

William doesn't notice anything else about the clothes.

[Silver Priest]

Alex looks to Lawrence. "So, what exactly are we dealing with?" He asks.

OOC:   I've read the past games, so feel free to give just a brief summary.

[Bullfrog]

"Honestly? I don't know much, but I know this for sure: there is a hell of a lot more to the world than most people would think. There are other things besides what was living in Squatter's Lake: awful insect-things that can disguise themselves as men, a creature that was just a pile of meat covered in eyes, and dead-looking people that walked like they were still alive." Lawrence feverishly explains the awful and unnatural things he's seen; there was a sense of catharsis in letting other people know what he'd experienced without the risk of getting called insane.
"But there's worse out there: gods, or things that are worshipped just like them. Yig, the god of serpents; the Egyptians, the Aztecs, the Indians, they all praised it under different names. There was this thing Brophy worshipped, he called it Gla'aki; he said it granted knowledge and eternal life."