Ch. 12c. A Walk in the Woods (Lawrence)

[Philulhu]

With Lawrence in tow, the ambulanceman set a brisk pace back towards where the ambulance was parked, but after less than ten minutes he was blowing heavily and came to a halt with hands on his knees. Pulling out a handkerchief, he mopped his brow.

There was a noise from somewhere in the woods - the sound of a twig snapping - and he looked up sharply. “What was that?! Is there someone there?” he said, trying to take cover behind Lawrence.

[Bullfrog]

"I don't think that's someone; I think that's something." Lawrence corrects, recalling the deformed footprint he'd found in these woods yesterday; if that creature was what made that sound, and it probably was, this situation was about to get very dangerous.
"I think we need to get out of here, right now."

[Philulhu]

“What if it’s faster than we are?! We might need something to fight it off!” cried the ambulanceman, sounding panicky. He looked around and found a stout branch.

“Let’s go now!” he urged Lawrence, but before he could move, there was another, closer, “snap” in the woods nearby…

Spot hidden, please.

[Bullfrog]

Lawrence, being a seasoned outdoorsman, easily catches sight of the source of the sound.

OOC:   https://www.orokos.com/roll/899121

[Philulhu]

In the woods, half obscured by a tree, a figure lurked. Dirty, evacuated, almost ghoulish, it started to shamble towards them.

With mounting horror, Lawrence spotted a network of reddish veins coalescing in a deep red hole in the chest of the creature that took him back to the horrors they had faced at Squatter’s Lake…

Another Spot Hidden, please.

[Bullfrog]

Lawrence raises his fists, ready to fight with this monstrous creature; right now, he was really starting to wish that he'd bought a replacement for his lost .32 revolver while he was still in Arkham.

Lawrence is distracted by the creature and thus fails to spot something else.

OOC:   https://www.orokos.com/roll/899273

[Philulhu]

Keeper’s dice rolls

#1 1d100
#2 1d100
#3 1d8
#4 1d100

The ghoulish creature lumbered forward, but its coordination was poor and Lawrence easily avoided its attack. He was about to retaliate when he felt a sharp ‘crack’ and pain erupted at the base of his skull. He staggered forward as he heard a snarling voice from behind.

“You couldn’t just leave me alone, could you?!” Twisting to look for his assailant, Lawrence saw the ambulanceman hefting a large tree branch. His face was contorted with a look of feral rage. It was a face Lawrence had come to recognise all too well - it was the face of Wiiliam Brophy!

Lawrence has lost 4 HP.

[Bullfrog]

"And you just couldn't stay dead, you son of a bitch!" Lawrence angrily retorts as he regains his footing; he wasn't expecting a brazen attack like this from Brophy, although it was no surprise the old fiend would attempt an unfair fight.

Lawrence throws a punch at the possessed ambulanceman, but the throbbing pain from getting bashed in the skull causes him to miss.

OOC:   https://www.orokos.com/roll/899630

[Philulhu]

Keeper’s dice rolls

#1 1d100
#2 1d100
#3 1d8
#4 1d100

Brophy laughed harshly as Lawrence’s punch failed to land. “I think I’ll turn you into one of the master’s creatures,” he cackled evilly. “Your suffering will be a joy to behold!” and he struck out at Lawrence with the branch again, catching him with a painful blow that sent sent shards of pain shooting up his arm…

Although that registered as a hit, Lawrence can opt to dodge.

[Bullfrog]

OOC: Is Fighting Back an option, or is that just a 7e thing?

[Philulhu]

Fighting back is 7th edition, sorry!

[Bullfrog]

https://www.orokos.com/roll/899893

Lawrence manages to backstop his way out of the makeshift club's trajectory, retaliating with a nasty right hook directly to Brophy's jaw!

https://www.orokos.com/roll/899894

https://www.orokos.com/roll/899895

[Philulhu]

Attempted dodge - 1d100

Whether his feet got caught or whether it was unfamiliarity with the body he was inhabiting, Brophy failed to get out of the way and Lawrence’s punch caught him good. He went reeling back, blood spraying from mouth, cursing and spitting out a broken tooth.

“What are you going to do, boy?! Kill this fellow like you killed James?” he snarled, as he swung the branch at Lawrence again, catching him on the arm.

As the blow landed, Lawrence was suddenly aware that the creature had closed the gap on him while he had been fighting Brophy and its arms encircled him with a vice-like grip…

I forgot to ask for a SAN check when you first saw the creature so could you do that now, please?

#1 1d100
#2 1d8
#3 1d100

Brophy has landed a successful hit, causing the loss of a further 3 HP. The creature has also caught ahold of Lawrence. He has one dodge action, if successful he can avoid the blow or the creature but not both, so let me know which one.

[Bullfrog]

"I had to do it! I had to do it, you bastard!" Lawrence wildly bellows at Brophy, convulsively struggling to get out of the creature's grasp as he is suddenly gripped in a paroxysm of terror. It seemed like his life was coming very close to getting cut short.

https://www.orokos.com/roll/899947

https://www.orokos.com/roll/899949

[Philulhu]

Brophy laughed cruelly as Lawrence struggled in the creature’s grip. It smelled of wet earth, like something that had been left out in the rain too long, but its sinews were iron hard.

Brophy moved closer and Lawrence stared with horror as his face and the ambulanceman’s contorted, as if the two were vying for control. The voice, when he spoke, was definitely Brophy’s though. “You owe me, and it’s time to collect,” he said with an evil grin and he turned towards the car park. “Bring him,” he said to the creature holding Lawrence, who felt himself being lifted off his feet and being carried down the path…

SAN loss for seeing the creature is 1 point.

[Bullfrog]

Lawrence did not intend to learn what he evidently "owed" to Brophy; if he had to guess, that damned old man intended to make him into one of those shambling men, or whatever horrible thing James had been turned into.

Lawrence was not going to rush into action, for once; if he tried to escape the creature's grasp, Brophy would still be ready to bash his skull in with a branch. He waits for the possessed ambulanceman to avert his attention or drop his guard for just a second; Lawrence was sure he could outrun them both, if he only had that window of opportunity.

[Philulhu]

Lawrence was feeling sick by the time they reached the car park, the jerking movement of the ghoulish creature that carried him causing his stomach to lurch alarmingly every step it took. The two youngsters were still hanging around but quickly scarpered when Brophy threatened them with the bloodied branch and snarled in their direction.

He unlocked the rear doors of the ambulance and pushed them wide. With a nod of his head, he indicated that the creature should put Lawrence in the back, where, to his horror, Lawrence could see that a corpse of another man in uniform lay upon the stretcher, presumably the partner of the man whose body Brophy now controlled.

[Bullfrog]

I'm currently paying a visit to the coast, so I don't have any access to my rulebook. What roll would be required to escape this grapple?

[Philulhu]

It would be an opposed roll. Lawrence’s strength vs the creature’s. If you say what you’re trying to do then I’ll work out whether it succeeds.

[Bullfrog]

Seeing that there isn't much time left, Lawrence tries to tear himself from the creature's grasp with a sudden burst of effort; he thrashes about fiercely, shifting his weight around in an effort to unbalance the creature as he tries to pull himself free. He even tries to bite at the thing a few times!

https://www.orokos.com/roll/900574