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

[Mr. Handy]

"Thanks again," says William. "Sounds like a plan."

[Philulhu]

Are you heading outside?

[Silver Priest]

OOC:   Sounds good.

[Bullfrog]

Sounds alright to me.

[Philulhu]

It seemed that everyone was busy as none of the nursing staff were in the corridor when they looked outside their ward. A few quick steps were enough to reach the front door unseen and they were quickly outside into the courtyard that surrounded the building.

The guard on the door ignored them - whether the patients crept outside for a smoke was none of his concern - and off to their left they could see what they presumed was ‘corpse shed’, as their fellow patient had described it. A doorway in the wall next to the shed lead off to what looked like an orchard beyond.

[Mr. Handy]

"There it is," says William, pointing out the shed. "I can guess where it got its name. Shall we take a closer look?"

[Silver Priest]

"I can't imagine why you'd want to, but I have no objection," Alex says.

When he's sure he's far enough away, he talks to the others. "Loathe as I am to say it, this may be the closest we get to home. Brophy knew the exact details of the rituals, and I'm not sure we'll be able to reproduce it. Anytime soon, at least.

"There's no real reason to stay around here. And while I would like to end the war-- especially as we now know it will only lead to bloodier one a few decades later-- I'm not sure how we can hope to given we're already in the last months of it and without being suspected as spies. We need to consider alternatives. Our former lives are probably out, especially given the age difference. With makeup I may be able to pass and blame the horrors of war for aging me prematurely, but the two of you would still be more or less children! We should probably start new lives. At least with the knowledge we've gained there's nothing stopping us from becoming successful." He laughs bitterly, reasoning that's one advantage to all the horrors they endures, even if it feels like cold comfort.

"Alternatively, we know here Brophy will be in around a decade. Maybe we can prevent all of this from happening before it starts. Save James and any of your other friends who were lost in all of this."

[Mr. Handy]

"I had been thinking of that myself, but I hadn't wanted to say anything in front of Brophy that would give my thoughts away," says William. "I'd been thinking of going to 1929, not all the way back to 1918, though. There are other things we can change too. We know when the market will crash, and we can prepare for it. We may also be able to prevent the next war. That Hitler fellow fought in this one, somewhere on the other side. One bullet could change the course of history. Of course, we'd probably never find him in all this."

[Philulhu]

The shed was thankfully empty. In the distance they could see a burial party interring the former inhabitants in a local graveyard, watched over by two men standing under a small copse of denuded trees.

A flock of birds was scudding across the sky in the direction of the trenches, just a few miles away.

Can I have a Natural History roll, please?

[Mr. Handy]

"There must be more dead over that way," says William, glancing at the birds.

Natural History roll (10% base skill) about the birds:
d%

[Silver Priest]

Alex glances up at the birds.

1d100

[Bullfrog]

"I don't know much about how time works, but I think changing history could have consequences we can't really expect. Nobody's done it before, as far as we know, and if someone has, they aren't around for us to ask any questions." Lawrence speculates, having put as much thought into this as his admittedly-unimpressive wits allowed. That insight into the true nature of reality he had gained in his fit of madness probably helped him reach a conclusion.
"So, if we kill Brophy... Then we never meet him, so we never get sent back to this time, so we never kill him... I think? Hell, this stuff is confusing. I miss when life made sense."

Lawrence, being a bit of an outdoorsman, knows a lot more about animals than his companions.

Natural History 51%
1d100

[Philulhu]

In the distance, beyond the birds, there is the sound of thunder, marking the start of a barrage of shellfire. It isn’t clear which side is shelling which, but it goes on for some time…

[Mr. Handy]

"Doesn't sound like the shells are falling anywhere close," says William. "The hospital's behind the lines, so they probably won't hit us here. Of course, we may end up with new patients soon."

[Bullfrog]

"I'm glad I was too young to serve, to be frank. It seems like a miracle that Reynolds managed to get out of this in one piece." Lawrence says, looking out over the graveyard and the desolate environment beyond. To think that there could be a war greater than this seemed to be impossible, yet Lawrence unfortunately knew better.
"I think our best bet is to may low for a while and start a new life, like Alex said. But ever since we first got stranded in Brichester, I've thought of something: Brophy had to have learned that... spell from somewhere. We need to find it."

[Silver Priest]

"It wasn't my most pleasant experience... though it's no longer my least, either." Alex responds, frowning.

"That would mean going back to England. I'm not necessarily opposed. Though part of me wants nothing to do with any of this. It's knowledge I think man is better off not knowing. As for the matter of changing history, we're already made a few changes. Seth died because of us showing up in the 1970's. That paramedic was possessed as well. Even the man here who was blown up when we arrived may not have died had we not appeared here.

"I'm not sure we should go out of our way to change things, especially taking direct action in killing Brophy, but we do seem to have some leeway to act. And, frankly, given the evils Brophy has unleashed on the world I'm willing to take the chance to stop him. But I understand and respect if neither of you are. Being honest, I expected to be nothing but a helpless puppet of that depraved man by now, so I do appreciate my good fortune in getting something of a second chance."

[Mr. Handy]

"I'm not sure why the spell didn't work quite right when we did it," says William, "unless of course Brophy tricked us again. I'm also willing to try to stop him. If the spell is that inaccurate normally, though, this may be as close as we're going to get."

[Philulhu]

”Ahem!” There was the sound of someone clearing their throat behind them, and they turned to see a petit, blonde nurse staring at them.

”Having a constitutional, gentlemen?” she asked, trying to hide an amused smile. ”I think it best we get you back to bed before Mrs Ogilvy sees that you’re missing. Come along…”

[Mr. Handy]

"Of course, Miss," says William, following her back.

[Silver Priest]

Alex thinks to protest, but the thought of being sent to the front line deters him for the moment. Besides, it had been a long time since he had a chance to rest. He follows the others back.