Ch. 14c. Together Again (all)

[jp1885]

As usual, Ivy’s concern manifests as irritation. She waves her hand and snaps her fingers in front of the others’ faces.

“Hey! Stop shilly-shallying! We don’t have time to mess about gawping!”

[Bullfrog]

Sanity 50%: 1d100
San Loss 1d4: 1d4

Jerry rolls around on the ground, flailing around in a spirited effort to rid himself of the snakes that were not there. He is stricken by a disturbing thought as he writhes and babbles to himself: what if the snake-men in the mural were the original serpents that once inhabited the Garden of Eden, before they were cursed by God to crawl on the earth? What if it was not man who was made in the image of God, but the serpents who lived and walked before them?

[Philulhu]

There was no immediate response to Ivy. The three men continued to stare ahead blankly.

Please describe your responses to the vision in front of you.

[Silver Priest]

1d100

1d4

Alex has never been afraid of snakes before, but he reacts as anyone would when hundreds swarm him possessed by an alien intelligence. He screams and backs up, trying to brush them off of him.

"No, please, get off, get off!" He trips on a loose rock and falls to the floor, eyes filled with terror as the giant one's tongue flicks out and touches him.

Mostly just for curiosity sake, given all of Alex's adventures so far should he have gotten past boosts to Cthulhu Mythos? This is the first time I've added points to it.

[Philulhu]

You’d normally add Cthulhu Mythos if the scenario specifically states there’s a CM gain, or if you go insane.

[Mr. Handy]

William screams in terror as he turns and tries to run away.

Was my temporary insanity Mythos-related? If so, I should gain 5 points of Cthulhu Mythos for that, as it's my first.

Sanity roll (current level 41) for seeing the snakes:
d%
Sanity loss:
1d4
Also, I'm now indefinitely insane at this point.

[Philulhu]

Investigators get 5 points of CM the first time they go insane, and one additional point every episode thereafter. Did William not go insane in France (when he was catatonic)? If I didn’t award CM then, 5 points are due. If this is his second bout, then he gains an additional point of CM.

William is going to have to spend some time convalescing if/when he gets out of here but for the purposes of the game here and now, it will just reinforce his very urgent desire to get out of here so we’ll carry on as we are (indefinite insanity being a slower burn than temporary insanity, if you get my meaning). Going forward, William is going to have some very real issues with snakes and being underground in confined spaces.

[jp1885]

As William turns to run, Ivy grabs his arm.

“Snap out of it man!” she yells. “What’s the matter with you all?”

[Mr. Handy]

I did go temporarily insane then, so that means I gain +5 for that and +1 for this time, and the +2 gives me a total of 8.

[Philulhu]

Tha’s correct.

[Bullfrog]

Does my previous post count for Jerry's reaction? I was still typing it up when you made your post, Phil.

[Philulhu]

Sorry, I missed your update for Jerry.

1d6
1d6

CON

Alex (18) 1d20
Ivy (13) 1d20
Jerry (11) 1d20
William (11) 1d20

As quickly as the visions had come, they vanished again. Alex and Jerry (from his position on the floor) blinked as the room reverted to its natural state, if a huge pillar carved into a snake god could be considered in any way natural…

Before anyone else could move, William was on the move again, running pell mell from the room and back down the corridor.

Alex can react quickly enough to give chase but Ivy and Jerry are caught flat-footed. Can I have Alex’s move please? Is he waiting or chasing after William?

[Silver Priest]

Confused and relieved in equal measure, Alex forces himself to worry about snakes later. For now he takes off after William and tries to restrain him if he can reach him.

[jp1885]

Ivy has grabbed William’s arm. Is that enough to slow him?

[Philulhu]

1d100
1d10

William was able to shake off Ivy’s hand so his movement was unaffected.

[jp1885]

Seeing Alex running after William, Ivy rolls her eyes.

“Come on!” she yells to Jerry, before taking off after the others.

[Bullfrog]

Jerry looks around for a moment, bewildered by what he has just experienced, and lifts himself up from the floor to chase after William. It seemed that William was going to get everybody lost, or even worse, killed; it might be safer for everone to cut their losses before they're all accidentally led into an ambush.

[Philulhu]

William ran out of the room that held the statue of the snake god and straight over the first junction. At the second, he veered suddenly right and found himself at the entrance of a large cavern, populated by strange fungi and lichen, some of which were easily as tall as him. Some of the degenerate ape creatures appeared to be tending to the growths, as if they were farmers looking after their crops. Seeing William and Alex enter, the nearest one gave out a warning growl…

Slower to react, by the time they got out of the cavern, neither Alex nor William were in sight. They came to a junction - straight on or turn right? Which way to go?!

As you’re separated, please post your updates in spoilers, using the Spoiler-Button. You can read the update of the person you’re with.

[Mr. Handy]

Am I still temporarily insane?

[Silver Priest]

"William, please!" Alex continues to yell, to little apparent use. He stops abruptly when he sees the horrid ape creatures, and points his gun at them, but makes no move to approach them. He hopes the sight of them will cause William to flee, but if he's foolish enough to venture further in Alex isn't sure what he'll do.