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Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Sun Feb 05, 2023 11:39 pm
by Philulhu
Saturday, February 7th, 1931 9.30am
The home of William Preston, Arkham


The rattle of the letterbox caught William’s attention as he sat drinking his morning coffee. Walking through to the hallway, he saw a handful of letters on the mat in front of the door. Picking them up, he skimmed through them as he made his way back to his coffee. One caught his attention, not least because it was merely addressed to ‘Mr Willm Preston, Arkham’. In a different hand, one he recognised as Frank Young from the post office, his address had been written in a neat copperplate.

Slitting open the envelope, he pulled out a letter on rough paper, accompanied by a newspaper cutting. The letter said,

“Dear Mr. Preston,

I hope my leter finds you well.

I saw dis in the newspaper a couple o days ago. Wasn’t dis man a frend o yors?

Best wishes,

Oscar.”


The picture was instantly familiar and William was transported back to that night in Louisiana when they had tracked down William and Robert Brophy, the night they had been attacked and taken away to be sacrificed in some unholy ritual.

They had escaped, but one man had been left behind, the man whose face was now glowering back from the artist’s impression. It was Emily Livingstone’s brother - George Livingstone!

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Saturday, February 7th, 1931 9.30am
The Gillman Farm, Arkham


Uncle Lawrence! Uncle Lawrence! The cry made him look up from feeding the animals to see his young niece Sophia, calling him. She waved a buff-coloured envelope that he recognised as coming from the press-cutting service he’d been employing these last few months.

The results had been mixed to date. He’d asked for anything to do with anyone called Brophy, anything to do with snakes or any unusual cults in the area, but it seemed that the service had struggled to get their heads around what he wanted as he’d had stories about people being bitten by snakes, and stories about revivalist ministers but nothing what he’d really wanted.

Amidst this month’s snake bite stories and the miracle cures, one cutting stood out. Dated just the week previously, the face was instantly recognisable. He’d last seen it at that hotel where they’d tracked down those infernal Brophys but he hadn’t seen it again after they’d been attacked by those rival cultists who wanted to sacrifice them to their damned snake god.

On the cutting about a mystery man, he saw the familiar face of Emily Livingstone’s brother - George Livingstone!

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Nothing to report for you guys, as the start of the story links back to events which Lawrence and William were involved in. It’s just an ordinary Saturday morning so feel free to describe what you’re doing.

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2023 12:28 am
by Mr. Handy
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William is pleased to hear from Oscar, who had helped them escape from Louisiana, as it means the man is still alive, and that Georgie is apparently still alive too after all this time, though he worries about getting dragged back into the madness they had barely survived the first time. The first thing he does is call Lawrence, who had been there with them.

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2023 12:36 am
by Philulhu
As Lawrence stared at the cutting, the telephone rang in the house. He heard his mama answer the call, then heard her footsteps on the porch.

Lawrence, there’s a William Preston on the line. Says he needs to speak with you,” she said.

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2023 3:28 am
by Bullfrog
Lawrence stares and stares at the scrap of paper, seemingly entranced by it; for a brief second, he is returned to Louisiana. He smells gunpowder, blood, and gasoline; he hears the chirping insects in the swamp drowned out by screams as James Fraser, a man he once called a friend, burns to death; and he watches himself beat William Brophy to death in a muddy ditch.

Lawrence is jolted back to reality by his mother's calling; hearing from William would normally be a welcome occurence, but the arrival of the news from Louisiana made for an unusual and uncomfortable coincidence.
"Alright, Mama, I'll tend to it. He's just a friend of mine." Lawrence offhandedly states as he hurriedly walks past his mother to answer the phone, holding the clipping and envelope it came in in a white-knuckle grip. Lawrence speaks over the phone in a hushed voice, glancing around to make sure none of his family are eavesdropping on him:
"Hello, William, it's good to hear from you again. I finally got a lead from that clipping service- do you remember that Livingstone girl's brother, by any chance? I think they found him..."

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2023 3:48 am
by Silver Priest


Alex is feeling fairly good this morning. His therapy had been going well, and his therapist seems to think he is making improvement. He's even managed to sleep some nights without bad dreams,a first since his adventures through time. Alex wishes he could tell the man the truth of the nightmares he had experienced, but he knows that would be an easy way into a sanitarium. So he continues to couch his traumas in mundane explanations. It helped that his biggest issue presently was feeling guilt over the death of Lawrence's brother. Monster or not, the main cause of his guilt was that he hadn't shot fast enough, and the therapist was able to help him process that.

He has the day off and is thinking he'll head back to see Winscott's neighbor, the kindly old woman who had offered him some light. He had spoken to her a few times since the events of that day. Him dropping by clearly made her happy, and it was a simple kindness he could offer, really. It also helped wash him in pleasant mundanity, which was a feeling he had grown to increasingly appreciate.

For now he sips his coffee and reads the morning paper. Ah, Amelia Earhart got married.

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2023 4:09 am
by Mr. Handy
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"I just got a letter from Oscar," says William. "I had feeling you might have too, but I guess you heard about it another way. He enclosed a clipping about Georgie. We should contact the sheriff in Baton Rouge and let him know who he is."

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Mon Feb 06, 2023 1:44 pm
by jp1885
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Slamming the store door behind her, Ivy stomps back to her apartment. Paper shopping bag jammed under an arm, her feet pounds the sidewalk while her clenched jaws grumble about lackadaisical store clerks and their inability to read perfectly legible shopping lists.

“Shaky handwriting indeed!” she huffs, glaring at anyone daring to intrude into her eyeline.

Eventually she reaches her apartment, stuffing her frugal provisions into cupboards. She switches on the radio, but, finding the normally relaxing music grating, switches it back off again.

Sighing, she plonks herself into a chair, grabbing a magazine and then flinging it down seconds later. She drums her fingers on the reading table, muttering to herself. Maybe Alex is free? Perhaps she should call him?

“Oh stop it you foolish woman!” she snaps. “Acting like a simpering schoolgirl!”

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2023 4:37 am
by Bullfrog
"I didn't get a letter, so I don't know if we got the same clipping, but mine said that George looked like he'd been held captive. I think we're due for another trip, William..." Lawrence replies, a hint of apprehension creeping into his voice; even after witnessing the face of death itself, the events of the last trip to Louisiana still weighed heavily on the young farmer's mind. However, his hatred for the forces that had arguably ruined his life now outweighed his fear of engaging them; even as he stared at the wall in the asylum, Lawrence had vowed to himself that he would crush that cult under his heel like the serpents they worshipped, or die trying. Either way, he would be free.
"Do you think we should tell Detective Reynolds about this? He's seen the elephant, just like us. He could be a lot of help for this kind of thing."

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Tue Feb 07, 2023 5:56 am
by Mr. Handy
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"Yes, we should probably talk to him," says William. "Do you want to call him, or should I?"

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Wed Feb 08, 2023 6:40 am
by Bullfrog
"Maybe it's best you do it," Lawrence suggests, audibly shooing away an eavesdropping nephew. "I'm with family right now, and I still have some farm work I need to finish. If you can get the Detective's help, I say that we should meet up at your house around noon. Certainly less people running around there than at mine..."

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Thu Feb 09, 2023 6:44 am
by Mr. Handy
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"All right," says William. "I'll give him a call. Anything else you want to talk about before I go?"

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Fri Feb 10, 2023 7:38 am
by Bullfrog
"Should I tell Ms. Livingstone about this? You know how badly she took it when she lost James, and that became a whole problem itself later..." Lawrence trails off for a few seconds, seemingly contemplating something. "I don't know. If you asked me before we got into all this stuff, I'd say she has a right to know what happened to her brother; these days, I guess that I'd say that ignorance is bliss. That still doesn't make me feel good about leaving her in the dark."

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Sat Feb 11, 2023 5:47 am
by Mr. Handy
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"You're right, she does have a right to know," says William. "Do you want to tell her while I contact Alex?"

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Sun Feb 12, 2023 3:11 am
by Bullfrog
"I'll deliver the news to her, then; here's hoping she takes it better than last time." Says Lawrence. "Goodbye, and good luck."

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Sun Feb 12, 2023 9:34 pm
by Philulhu
OK, so we have William calling the Sheriff and Lawrence is going to pay a visit to Emily Livingstone.

Are you involving Alex and Ivy at this stage?

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Sun Feb 12, 2023 10:33 pm
by Bullfrog
I believe William will be calling Alex. I don't think Lawrence knows Ivy quite well enough to pull her into mythos business, but he'll bring it up later if nobody else does.

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Mon Feb 13, 2023 5:55 am
by Mr. Handy

Yes, I'm calling Alex first. After that, I plan to call the Sheriff.

Re: Ch.15a (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2023 12:02 am
by Philulhu

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Wed Feb 15, 2023 3:45 am
by Mr. Handy
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After he gets off the phone with Lawrence, William gives Alex a call.

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2023 11:37 am
by Philulhu
’Ring, ring… ring, ring… …

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Fri Feb 17, 2023 8:37 pm
by Silver Priest
Alex takes a swig of his coffee and answers the phone. "Detective Reynolds speaking."

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Sat Feb 18, 2023 6:09 am
by Mr. Handy
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"It's William Preston," says William. "I just got a newspaper clipping in the mail from an old friend in Louisiana who helped Lawrence and me get out of a bad situation. Georgie Livingstone, Emily's brother, had disappeared down there, but he's just been found, though the locals don't know who he is yet. Lawrence is coming over to my place at noon, and we'd like to join us. Miss Ripley too if she's interested."

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Sat Feb 18, 2023 8:11 am
by Silver Priest
Alex's good mood fades. "Oh. Yes, hello William." He already wasn't fond of the man for the world he had led him into. The lawyer's cowardly actions during their last incursion had grown that into dislike. Still, no reason to be uncivil. He takes a deep breath.

"This does seem like the sort of affair a police officer would be well suited for. I assume this is some sort of unusual situation you think I would be well suited for? I'm not entirely sure we should bring Ms. Ripley, if so. She had a tough go of it last time, and I would hate for her recovery to be compromised. but her skills could be most useful here... I'll give her a call, I suppose. Until then."

He ends the call before dialing Ivy's number. He hopes he's doing the right thing here, but he knows she'd never forgive him if he neglected to contact her.

"Good morning, Ms. Ripley. It's Detective Reynolds... Alex. I hope you are well. I just received a call from Mr. Preston. Something about an old friend of him and Lawrence turning up after being missing for some time. It sounds as though they're planning to go see him and asked if we wanted to come along."

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Sat Feb 18, 2023 10:10 am
by jp1885
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“Oh! Um…” Ivy is momentarily flustered, but recovers with her usual acerbity. “You know full well that you can call me Ivy; um, Alex.”

“A missing persons case? Well, the warmer climate would do me the world of good, I’m sure. Count me in.”

She puts down the receiver for a moment, half excited, half horrified. What had she just committed herself to?

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Sun Feb 19, 2023 7:12 am
by Mr. Handy
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William makes sure that lunch is prepared before his guests arrive.

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2023 5:23 am
by Bullfrog
A heavy-handed knock on the door announces Lawrence's arrival at William's house before he lets himself in.
"I've delivered the news," Lawrence says, a pensive expression on his face. "I managed to convince Ms. Livingstone not to accompany us on our trip, which I think is for the better. You know as well as I do how dangerous this stuff is... I've outlived more people than any man my age ought to."

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2023 6:01 am
by Mr. Handy
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"That makes two of us," says William. "I wouldn't want to drag her into this. It would, at the very least, set her back. Lunch is ready, so help yourself."

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2023 6:15 am
by Silver Priest
Alex is the next to arrive, having picked up Ivy if she proved agreeable.

"Hello Mr. Preston." He says with a brief nod. "Mr. Gilman. Very glad to see you feeling better. I am... sorry, for your brother. I wish I had been a bit faster. He'd be standing here today if I was." He admits with a sigh, one of someone who had relieved a terrible moment his fair share of times hoping for a different conclusion.

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2023 10:59 am
by jp1885
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Ivy nods curtly, unsure how to feel about meeting William and Lawrence - both reminders of an extremely unpleasant experience - again.

“Gentlemen, I trust you are well. Ale- Detective Reynolds contacted me to assist you in your problem.”

She forces herself to suppress a shudder at the mention of Lawrence’s brother.

“I too am sorry for your loss,” she says, memories of a Molotov cocktail sailing towards that horrible snake man flooding into her head.

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2023 1:50 am
by Bullfrog
"Jerry was a good man, or at least a better one than he would ever admit, and if I had lived a different life I would say that his death was the worst thing that ever happened to me. But he knew the risks of my business, and I know that you did what you could, Reynolds. Like I said in France thirteen years ago: we all lose the people we love, and we all have to live with it." Lawrence divulges, looking hollow and resigned; his experiences clearly weighed heavily on his mind, and judging from his sunken eyes, he hadn't been getting much sleep at all.
"This isn't a very happy luncheon at all. We should probably talk about what we were all called in here for, the Louisiana business."

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2023 6:38 am
by Mr. Handy
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"Yes, you're right," says William, who doesn't know what happened to Jerry after he got out of the tunnels. "Though the Louisiana business was unpleasant in its own right. We barely got out of there alive, and that was in large part thanks to Oscar the cab driver. He's the one who sent me these clippings." He shows them to the others. "This man is Georgie Livingstone, Emily's brother. We met him down there, but he didn't get out with us."

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2023 12:04 pm
by Philulhu
Just in case anyone hasn’t seen the cutting:
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Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2023 2:46 pm
by jp1885
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I can’t remember if anyone told Ivy what happened in Louisiana, but if they did, a bout of insanity and a kick in the head from a horse has probably dislodged the information.


“What exactly happened in Louisiana?” Ivy asks. “More specifically, what happened to Mr. Livingstone?”

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2023 8:47 pm
by Silver Priest
"I would like to hear this as well," Alex says. "Perhaps over lunch-- I confess I'm famished."

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2023 6:36 am
by Mr. Handy
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"Of course, help yourselves," says William, gesturing to the food laid out for them. "Well, Louisiana was really bad. I'm not looking forward to going back. Of course the train ride back was probably worse. It was in Louisiana that we ran into Brophy. We went down there hunting for him, and we ran into a whole mess of trouble."

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Thu Feb 23, 2023 5:25 pm
by jp1885
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"Ugh, that horrible man," says Ivy with a shudder. "I sincerely hope he got his commupance.

"As painful as it might be to recount - we've had some horrible experiences recently - what trouble? How did Livingstone fit it?" she asks, reaching daintily for a morsel.

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2023 1:41 am
by Bullfrog
"Brophy is dealt with forever; beaten and burnt in the past, beaten and burnt in the future. He's an even worse man than you think he was." Lawrence grits his teeth in resentment, recalling the death he was forced to give to James Fraser; he'd had nightmares about it for weeks, returned in his dreams to that stretch of backwoods road.
"We weren't the only ones hunting the Brophy brothers. Georgie was following behind us - we met him at the hotel - and a local gang of snake-worshippers got the drop on us all. We were outnumbered and forced to surrender, after which they hauled us off to their church to keep us prisoner in the basement. Brophy was being held down there, along with James. I could barely recognize him, Brophy had made him into... Into something. We had to work with Brophy to escape and steal a truck, but we lost track of Georgie somewhere in the commotion. While we were driving away..." Lawrence hesitates. He doesn't want to talk about what happened next. "Brophy turned James into something worse. I had to kill him, it was his life or ours. I put a rag in the truck's gas tank, lit it on fire, and beat Brophy to death in a ditch while James burned. I once thought it was the worst thing I would ever experience. I have been proven wrong."
It goes without saying that Lawrence doesn't seem very interested in his lunch.

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2023 5:35 am
by Silver Priest
"Brophy was irredeemable," Alex says with conviction. "I nearly gave him my body to possess to get us home, but thankfully his plan was foiled at the last moment."

He listens to Lawrence's tale. "Snake worshipers?" It's alarming to know yet another group of evil cultists were out there and as far as he knew still active. "It sounds like there are many of them. If they're still in the area we and Mr. Livingstone, could be in grave danger. We also must consider that they let him escape to lure you all back." He thinks for a moment. "Do you have any evidence we could use to bring to the authorities?"

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2023 6:16 am
by Mr. Handy
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"In Terrebonne Parish, they were the authorities," says William. "The Sheriff there was in on it. We can talk to the Sheriff in Baton Rouge about Georgie, but he has no jurisdiction in Terrebonne. Let's just hope we don't have to set foot there, and that nobody from there comes to Baton Rouge. The only evidence we have is our eyewitness testimony."

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2023 10:53 am
by jp1885
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“Snakes…”

Ivy shivers, putting down her fork.

“I assume you got separated from Livingstone? How so?”

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Fri Feb 24, 2023 7:56 pm
by Bullfrog
"It was all a mess." Lawrence shakes his head. "I think he was held somewhere separate from us, and we were so desperate to get out that we didn't go back to look for him. We were all going to be sacrifices to Yig, you see, their god; I'm surprised he didn't turn up dead earlier. For all we know, he could have fallen in with them."

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2023 5:23 am
by Silver Priest
Alex's eyes widen. "That's most concerning. We can't just allow a cult to operate, especially through legitimate channels. Perhaps I should investigate further and see if I can bring any evidence to the police in Baton Rogue. I'd like to think my own credentials hold some weight, but it's likely not going to be that much down south. But if Mr. Livingstone is competent enough to testify about his experiences, that would help us a great deal."

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2023 6:49 am
by Mr. Handy
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"This may be a trap to lure us down there," says William, "but we have to do what we can to get Mr. Livingstone back home. I think we should place a long-distance call to the Sheriff in Baton Rouge, let him know who the man is, and find out the circumstances first."

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Sat Feb 25, 2023 9:47 pm
by jp1885
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Talk of snake gods reminds Ivy of the hideous snake idol in those horrible caverns.

“What do you know of this Yig? Perhaps there are records of the cult that we could dig out?”

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2023 12:15 am
by Mr. Handy
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"Not much, but it's certainly something we can research," says William.

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2023 5:48 am
by Silver Priest
'I'm of two minds as to calling the Sheriff," says Alex. "Doing it myself would likely be the most effective, but if it's a trap, it alerts the cult to me. I think it would be best if myself and Ivy keep a low profile. Right now we are not known to be affiliated with you. If circumstances require investigation down in Terrebonne, we can do so hopefully without blowing our cover.

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2023 6:08 am
by Mr. Handy
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"Yes, that's a good idea," says William. "I can call the Sheriff."

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2023 9:31 am
by Philulhu
Sheriff DuPont, how may I help you?” came the voice from the telephone when William’s call was connected.

“I understand that you’re calling about our mystery man,” the Sheriff drawled.

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2023 9:26 pm
by Bullfrog
"Yig is a god of snakes and their kin, as you may have guessed; the Egyptians called him Set, I think, the Aztecs called him something with a Q in it, and the Indians had all sorts of names for him. He is a vengeful god, especially if you kill his children." Lawrence speaks to Ivy in hushed tones, recalling what Brophy had told him during that brief alliance. In his eyes, there was a look of utter, mad conviction; to Lawrence, this god was just as real as gravity, an indisputable fact of life.
"The library in Baton Rouge had some papers on the snake-worshipping practices of some of the local Indians. I don't remember seeing the name Yig, but we weren't looking for it at the time."

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2023 10:10 pm
by jp1885
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While William talks on the telephone, Ivy mulls over Lawrence's words. Casting her mind back to that strange Indian visitor who demanded she return Brophy's spirit to Squatter's Lake, she wonders what the Indian knows of this Yig.

"Most... unsettling..." she replies after a while. "To think people still worship such beastly things in this day and age."

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Sun Feb 26, 2023 10:16 pm
by Mr. Handy
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"That's right," says William. "His name is Georgie Livingstone. He's from up here in Massachusetts, the same as me. My friends and I met him when we were all in Louisiana almost a year ago."

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2023 12:06 am
by Philulhu
William could hear the Sheriff’s voice grow muffled and he could envisage DuPont tucking the phone receiver between his ear and shoulder as he took notes of the conversation, carefully repeating Georgia’s name to make sure it was spelled correctly.

Mr Livingstone is unfortunately in a bad way and hasn’t regained consciousness since we picked him up,” said the Sheriff. ”Do you have any idea what happened to him?”

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2023 1:31 am
by Mr. Handy
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"I'm not sure," says William, "but I have some idea who may be responsible. We were in Terrebonne Parish, and my friends and I ran afoul of Sheriff Digbe when we weren't with Georgie. The man is corrupt as they come. He and his goons grabbed us, but they didn't place us under arrest. They locked us up in some cells, but we were later able to escape. We barely got out of Terrebonne Parish with our lives. We didn't have time to try to find Georgie, but it's possible they got their hands on him."

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2023 3:57 am
by Silver Priest
"I think we should do some research on this Yig," Alex suggests. "Though I am curious how this cult apparently took over the entire police force of one parish, however rural. Regardless, I would like to root them out. I highly doubt yours was the first group they attempted to sacrifice, so they are a public danger."

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Mon Feb 27, 2023 10:56 am
by jp1885
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“We should be careful though,” Ivy cautions Alex. “If they can control local police, we can assume they have their hooks in local government too - at the very least.”

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2023 1:00 am
by Philulhu
Mr. Handy wrote: Mon Feb 27, 2023 1:31 am Image

"I'm not sure," says William, "but I have some idea who may be responsible. We were in Terrebonne Parish, and my friends and I ran afoul of Sheriff Digbe when we weren't with Georgie. The man is corrupt as they come. He and his goons grabbed us, but they didn't place us under arrest. They locked us up in some cells, but we were later able to escape. We barely got out of Terrebonne Parish with our lives. We didn't have time to try to find Georgie, but it's possible they got their hands on him."
There was a long pause and a certain tightness when Sheriff DuPont spoke again. Corrupt or not, perhaps the Sheriff didn’t appreciate one of his colleagues being spoken about in that way. ”Ahem, well, Sheriff Digne has moved on and Terrebonne parish is under our jurisdiction now,” he said.

”Where were these cells in which you were held?”

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2023 5:20 am
by Bullfrog
"It was in the cellar of a church. Must have been... An hour out of town, maybe?" Lawrence quietly reminds William before turning back to converse with the other two. "The cult only had the one sheriff, as far as I know; they had him snake-bitten, and gave him an antidote once we surrendered. The one we should worry about is their leader, a man who called himself Nyatanga; I figure he was one of the Indian snake-worshippers we read about, and he was trying to summon his god as revenge against civilization for moving in on the swamp. A dangerous man, probably even more so than Brophy himself; I'm surprised he hadn't already gone after us, especially me. I think I may have killed one of Yig's children."

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2023 5:43 am
by Silver Priest
"Sounds like the sheriff was coerced," Alex responds thoughtfully. "I'm not sure how we can hope to track down their leader, but our primary focus should be figuring out the state of Mr. Livingstone and if he can tell us anything."

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2023 5:52 am
by Mr. Handy
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"That's good to hear," says William, "but the others may still be around, and they're dangerous. I'm not sure exactly where it was, but they took us to this church in the swamp on a skiff, about an hour out of town. We were locked up in the cellar, which is unusual in the swamp. I don't know how they kept it from flooding. The real guy in charge called himself Nyatanaga. He and his bunch of madmen worship snakes, and they forced Digne to work for them. They'd apparently poisoned him with slow-acting snake venom and made him do their bidding because they had the antidote." He describes the route they took to get back to town after they escaped.

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Tue Feb 28, 2023 6:43 am
by Philulhu
There was another pause as the Sheriff considered what William had told him. ”Based on the description,” he said eventually, “I think I might know the place you mean,” he said.

There was another pause, then Sheriff DuPont continued, “I’ll level with you, Mr Preston. If it’s the place I think it is, we’ve had our eye on it for some time. Digne seemed to be in cahoots with that Nyatanga fellow, though nothing we could prove. If you’d be willing to come down here and identify the place they held you and make a statement to that fact, then we might be able to use that to put him away. What do you say?”

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Wed Mar 01, 2023 5:53 am
by Mr. Handy
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"That sounds fine to me," says William. "I'd want to come down anyway because of Mr. Livingstone. It's going to take some time to get there, of course."

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Wed Mar 01, 2023 4:17 pm
by Philulhu
”Thank you,” replied Sheriff DuPont “That will be a big help to us.”

“Now, I expect that it will take you a couple of days to travel down here by train, so how soon do you think you might arrive? We’ll pay for your travel and put you up in a local hotel, naturally,”
he said.

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2023 5:57 am
by Mr. Handy
Image

"You're welcome, and thank you," says William. "I may be bringing one or more friends too, one of whom was with me at the time. I was thinking of driving down rather than taking the train, though. I'm thinking of starting my trip tomorrow morning. It would probably take a few days." He is none too fond of trains any more.

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2023 2:52 pm
by jp1885
Image

Listening to William‘a side of the telephone conversation, Ivy arches an eyebrow at the mention of driving down to Louisiana. Surely the railroad is considerably more efficient?

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2023 5:15 pm
by Philulhu
”Are you sure, Mr Preston? That’s going to take you about four days to drive down here,” said the Sheriff. “That’s over fifteen hundred miles!”

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Thu Mar 02, 2023 9:14 pm
by Silver Priest
Alex would strongly prefer taking a train as well, but decides to wait to voice this complaint until William's conversation is over.

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Fri Mar 03, 2023 5:10 am
by Bullfrog
"Look, William, we should just take the chance and travel by rail. We can't give the cult time to prepare; with that article about Georgie out, they know we may come back." Lawrence protests, although he is clearly apprehensive about traveling by rail, himself. He'd nearly died on that train, and Howard did die, but Lawrence knew that he needed to wrap this all up as soon as possible. How could he carry on with life, completely aware that he had left loose ends behind to snag other people?

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Fri Mar 03, 2023 6:13 am
by Mr. Handy
Image

William nods. "All right," he says reluctantly. "We'll take the train. We can leave tomorrow morning."

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Fri Mar 03, 2023 8:28 am
by Philulhu
Is there anything you wish to take with you?

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Fri Mar 03, 2023 3:18 pm
by jp1885
Image

Ivy will pack a valise with some changes of clothes and toiletries. After a minute’s consideration, she also puts in her nightstick and pops her newly-purchased pistol - an .22 short - into her handbag.

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Fri Mar 03, 2023 9:01 pm
by Silver Priest


If possible, Alex will see about purchasing a shotgun to take with him down south.

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Sat Mar 04, 2023 12:53 am
by Philulhu
They’re commonplace enough that buying one won’t present any problems.

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Sat Mar 04, 2023 5:00 am
by Silver Priest


Looking at my skills I'll stick with my hand gun, I'd rather get a near confirmed hit. Though if allowed I'll buy some extra ammo for it.


After hearing William's information, Alex ponders things for a moment."Hopefully the sheriff is telling the truth, but it does concern me he already knows of this Nyatanga. The man has already essentially blackmailed one sheriff into working for him; we can't be sure he's not pulled the same trick again. I would advise being a bit cautious.

"For starters, given Ivy and myself are not known as being associated with you and Lawrence, I suggest we book a separate compartment on the train and interact with you both as little as possible. We should also have a cover story; perhaps a couple in town for a vacation. This will allow us to conduct investigations of our own while also preventing the cult from identifying us as working together right away. That may be our biggest advantage right now, and I'd like to keep it for as long as possible."

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Sat Mar 04, 2023 5:10 am
by Mr. Handy
Image

"Yes, I agree," says William. "I deliberately left it vague who I was bringing with me for that reason."


I'll be bringing my pistol, shotgun, and ammo for them both.

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Sat Mar 04, 2023 6:15 am
by Bullfrog
OOC, Clothes and all that mundane travel stuff, naturally. As for weapons, he'll bring along Jerry's pistol and a .30-06 rifle (an M1903 Springfield, or something like that), and spare ammunition for both. Anything else can probably wait until we get a better idea of what we may be dealing with.


"God, Reynolds, I wish he'd had you on the first trip! If we have to meet anyone, we should do it somewhere real crowded; that way, they can't just throw bags over our heads and kidnap us, or shoot us dead on the spot." Lawrence suggests. "You and the 'wife' could stay nearby in case something does happen, maybe reading newspapers or something like that."

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Sat Mar 04, 2023 8:39 am
by Philulhu
Just waiting for Ivy’s reaction to being called ‘the wife’…

Weapons, ammo, clothes, etc. all ok. Anything else before you go?

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Sat Mar 04, 2023 12:33 pm
by jp1885
Image

Feeling her face flush with anger, embarrassment or excitement - she can't be sure - Ivy glares at Lawrence, not daring to catch Alex's eye.

"We, uh, would make, um, quite a mismatched couple," she stammers, mentally slapping herself.

"There's a good ten years between us and I resigned myself to the role of spinster many years ago."

She juts out her jaw defiantly.

"Of course, I'm sure I could play the role of the 'little woman' if required..."

Only now does she steel herself to look at her 'intended'.

"If you think it'd work of course."

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Sat Mar 04, 2023 1:08 pm
by Philulhu
Maiden aunt?

(Runs away! 🤣)

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Sat Mar 04, 2023 1:36 pm
by jp1885
(Ivy wallops Keeper with handbag) 😂

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Sat Mar 04, 2023 7:31 pm
by Mr. Handy

I'd also like to bring some antidotes to snake venom.

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Sat Mar 04, 2023 8:14 pm
by Silver Priest
"That is true," Alex admits concerning the age difference. "But we've experienced a lot together, Ivy. The kind of experiences that forge a bond between people. I believe we could sell the intimacy required of a couple in love."

On his end he could, at least. He did love Ms. Ripley. Perhaps not romantically, but he had never met one quite like her, and her spitfire nature and willingness to face the horrors they so routinely encountered made her one of the most compelling people he had ever met. When he thought of how close she had come to death in those tunnels he felt physically sick.In truth, he knew she was the person he cared for most in this world, and he would lay down his life for her without question.

OOC,

The game now shifts from Lovecraftien horror to overwrought romance. :lol:

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Sat Mar 04, 2023 8:57 pm
by Philulhu
Mulford’s presumably?

Image

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Sat Mar 04, 2023 9:01 pm
by Mr. Handy

OOC,
Mulford's sounds good to me!
Silver Priest wrote: Sat Mar 04, 2023 8:14 pm The game now shifts from Lovecraftien horror to overwrought romance. :lol:
Now it's the monsters' turn to roll Sanity!

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Sat Mar 04, 2023 9:04 pm
by Philulhu
And the Keeper’s! 😬

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Sat Mar 04, 2023 9:49 pm
by jp1885
The game’s certainly taken a turn I didn’t predict. Time to brush up on my Mills & Boon!

Re: Ch.15 (No) Southern Comfort

Posted: Sun Mar 05, 2023 10:27 pm
by Philulhu
We’re going here: Southbound.