Play@YSDC

The group leaves the West hills and goes down the hill, heading towards the northeastern part of the city, where Kenneth beach ends and the breakwater begins. As the get there, they realized the city fog concentrated and became thicker. They found the area so degraded that seems to have risen from the fog itself, as the outcome of a space-time dislocation, which has introduced into Greyton the vestiges of a place ravaged by war and famine.
If life in this neighborhood were to be summed up by the state of the buildings, derelict and worn, people here would be in a great deal of trouble. Great husks of old wooden buildings appear like rows of broken teeth. There are grimy roof with broken pieces, windows staring down, remnants of shattered glass in rotting wooden frames, planks crumbling, invasive vegetation in walls, black and empty doorways, garbage scattered everywhere, and stink of urine.
Dwellings looks like they were beamed in from an abandoned and partly demolished village. Nothing good could come from buildings so beaten down by endless seasons of weathering.

Amanda Weeks house is no exception. The roof has been neglected for decades and passed its intended lifespan. Once windows have been fancy mullioned sash types, now they are mostly broken. Where there is still glass, it is grey with the grime of twenty years. The birch wood door has been left hanging on a single hinge. A disturbing silence reigns over the neighborhood, but, as soon as the investigators approach, it is immediately broken by rapid movements inside the surrounding houses. Undefined shapes get to the windows and quickly disappear.

A woman suddenly comes out of the door, kicking it open. She holds a rifle and points it to the unwanted comers. She has long straight blond hair, left to grow confusedly and undisturbed. She wears a checked shirt and a pair of trousers. The face bears a large and conspicuous scar under the right eye, which reaches up to the cheek. Her facial expression is one of absolute disdain, like that of someone who learned to recognize in any human being a potential enemy.

“Get the hell out of here. This here is not a place for you.”

Ivy shivers as broken buildings loom out of the fog.

"Just when I thought this place couldn't get any more grim..."

Her mood is not improved by the mad woman pointing a rifle at her...

She raises her hands.

"No need for that madam; we're here on official business. There is the possibility of a reward..."

She trails off, leaving the sentence, and the possibility of financial reward, hanging tantalisingly in the air.

Kathryn puts up her hands as well. "Please, we mean you no harm," she says in her most soothing tone. "We only want to talk."

OOC,Charm roll (55% skill) to calm [b]Amanda[/b]: [dice]0[/dice]

Amanda keeps pointing her gun. She clearly does not want them to make any step forward.

"What do you want to talk about? And what do you have to offer?"

"We'd like to talk to you about Martin Thompson and Jason Carson", says Kathryn. "As for what we can offer...what would you like?"

Michael has faced a lot of situations like this.

"Drop the hardware, lady. You might get off a lucky shot, but I'm a tough target."

Ivy sighs, growing impatient with such foolish nonsense.

"I'd listen to the detective if I were you..."

She takes a step forward, placing herself in front of the rifle.

"Or you could shoot an unarmed woman and deal with the consequences. We are want to speak to Amanda Weeks about her boyfriend Martin, as part of a larger investigation. Anyone who helps us will be rewarded financially."

The woman studies the strangers, looking at them from head to toe. Amanda was probably a beautiful woman, before the necessities of a miserable life forced her to assume masculine attitudes.

"I ain´t that much to tell ya ´bout Martin. He stayed with me until the day he decided to go out to sea and never come back."

She seem to realize right now that most of the group are women

"We ain´t worth anything for them... you know?"

"He was looking for something... his mind was somewhere else and I´ve never known where ... but I don´t give a shit anymore.
Carson is his friend. I never been close to him... and I ain´t seen him around for a long time. That´s it!"

Martin´s stuff is still here. I bet you wants to put your hands on it. I want ... whiskey .... it's been a while since the last time...
I know those motherfuckers keep it locked in the Inn... "

Despite his rough appearance, Michael is still not used to such language, particularly from a woman.

"Take it easy, lady. We don't mean you no harm. If you're sayin' that the inn's got bootleg booze, that's good to know. I could put a little pressure on the innkeeper, seize a coupla bottles as evidence, bring 'em back here."

Part of him feels bad about supplying Amanda with cheap rotgut, possibly poison, but part of him feels that everybody's got the right to go to Hell in his or her own way.

"If you'll let these ladies take a look around, examine Martin's stuff, I'll make a run back to the Inn. OK?

The woman lowers the gun but her voice is still firm.
"You get the stuff first. Then then I'll let you all in. Take it or leave it."

"Nobody's gonna harm nobody.Don't worry"

Ivy looks at Michael, raising her eyebrows.

"Not exactly someone you'd take home to meet mother... What do you say: head back to the bar and give her time to make her escape, or bust her for obstruction and go take a look now?"

"I think you ladies can handle the situation until I get back with the booze,"Michael says. Besides, he could use a snort himself. He plans to offer the innkeeper a few bucks for the best stuff he's got hidden. If the guy plays dumb or makes trouble, he'll flash his badge.

Ivy sighs.

"Well be quick about it Detective; and lay off the stuff yourself - I know what you're like!"

Then she focusses her ire on Amanda.

"Can we at least wait inside? Or will you have us hang around the street like a bunch of harlots?"

Ivy, Kathryn and Emma

The rugged woman makes a gesture with the head as an approval, but doesn´t drop her gun.
"...but you ain´t gonna touch anything until he comes with the whyskey."

The three women enter Amanda´s house. The first room is a living room, in which a simple cooking place is included. There´s a wooden staircase leading to a second floor. Although the house is poor and modest, it does not lack care for certain details. Some portraits pictures are hanging on the wal. Amanda allows the women to have seat on the chairs.

"What do ya city pukes are doing in a place like Grayton?"

Michael

In fact, Michael must use his badge to get whyskey. The innkeeper sees from the badge that Michael is not a damn fed, and this is a relief. The whyskey, however, is quite expensive. In the end, Michael has to spend a lot more of the few bucks he thought. There´s no way to low the price. The innkeeper says that their supplies have been interrupted for a while, and he really seems pissed off because of that.

Finally, Michael gets the bottle, and sets off for Amanda's house.



OOC: let me know if there are any actions before Michael´s getting back

Ivy will give a noncommittal answer and await Michael's return.

In about twenty minutes, Michael comes back with a bottle in his hands.
As he enters, Amanda stares at the bottle and a frantic impatience dominates her face.

For Ivy Kathryn and Emma,When the three women saw throught the window Michael coming back, they realized someone was following him, walking about a hundred yards behind him. They could distinguish no more than a shadow in the mist. As soon as Michael´s got closer to Amanda´s house, the figure sinisterly ran away and hid among the nearby houses.

"You were followed."

Ivy whispers to Michael, nodding imperceptably to the foggy street outside the window.

She turns back to Amanda.

"There's your hooch madam, now please show us Martin's things."

"Somebody tailing me, huh? I better have a look."

Michael steps outside the hovel and lights a cigar, as if that's all he's got on his mind. He makes sure to take a good look around by the light of the match. He's ready to grab his pistol if need be.

Kathryn takes the bottle from Michael before he steps outside and offers it to Amanda. It wouldn't do for the bottle to get broken if Michael gets in a scuffle with whoever followed him.

Ivy situates herself so that she can see Michael out of the window, but also keep tabs on Amanda.

Emma sits down next to Kathryn to keep a close eye on Amanda.

Michael goes out but sees no one around. The neightbouthood is silent and no one is in the street. If someone had followed him, he must have hidden somewhere before Michael entered the house.

Amanda takes the bottle, and points her finger at a closet placed next to the entrance door. She´s about to say something, but her voice suddenly stops.
Her face is frightened as she holds her breath. She has a foreboding, something she herself wouldn´t be able to explain.
Everybody hears the sea waves massively withdrawing from the shore, like a powerful orchestra that plays a single note. When their movement stops, they leave behind a deadly silence and a feeling of anguishing emptiness that penetrates everybody. The fear of something unknown, like the announcement of an impending cursed harbinger, conquers the faces of everyone. In the nearby houses, a number of doors and windows slam, as if a terrible hurricane had just been announced.

Instinctively, everyone reaches a window and looks at the sea. The investigators realize Amanda's home is close to the shore. What they see leaves them incredulous and petrified. A brownish wave 50 feet high and wide enough to embrace Amanda's house is coming at high speed. It has almost reached the hedge of the garden.

"We need to secure the house!" cries Kathryn, knowing that it's too late to flee before the wave hits. Getting caught out in the open would be worse. She hurries to shut the windows.

"What the hell . . ."

Rushing as fast as he can't, which isn't saying much, Michael tries to get inside and latch the door.

"I hope everybody here can swim,"he says grimly.

"Good Lord!"

Ivy's eyes widen as she sees the approaching tsunami.

She quickly joins the others in securing the windows, drawing the curtains in a vain attempt to keep out any broken glass.

If there is time, she will look for a big enough closet or cupboard to take shelter in.

The mass of seawater comes from the East wall and penetrates the house with force, opening the doors and windows. The occupants are pushed to the center of the room. The water fills the room and forms a puddle that bathes the occupants’ body up to their hips. At this point, the wave interrupt its movement, becomes stagnant and maintains this level. The water is muddy and dense, being sand and fragments of algae dissolved in it. As soon as the wave stops, at four different points in the room, something emerges from the bottom. They are four disform beings that surround the group and slowly approach them threateningly.

Each thing is a shapeless mass of organic material, as if randomly taken from the ocean floor, emitting a tangy smell of marine plants and brackish. There are fragments of biomass at different states of decomposition, including algae and plankton, but also fragment of other materials such as bones, debris, shells and corals. Their surface is brownish and rippled like a liquid, being the consistence that of a pulp, like rancid and sticky mucus. The central core is a somewhat cylindrical body and the size of a dog. Out of nowhere they begin to emit frog-like calls, while their mass generate long stretchable limbs, allowing the thing to float and swim on the water's surface. One of the ends has something that seems to vaguely act as an eyeless head. Here, the brownish mush opens its mouth, where fragments of sharp corals are arranged like threatening teeth. Apart from the mouth, there´s nothing that might vaguely suggest organs of sense. The skin is nothing more than chaotically and shapeless aggregated biomass.

OOC:   Everybody rolls for Sanity

Emma runs into the landward part of the house. "Brace yourselves!" She screams while searching for something to hold on to.

Sanity 75%,[dice]0[/dice]

Ivy stands dumbfounded as the figures rise out of the water.

"What in the name of-? Is this some kind of joke?"

Holding her nerve, she fishes her nightstick out of her sodden coat.

"You stay back now, whatever you are! What do you want?"

Kathryn screams when she sees the things, wading backwards away from the nearest one while fumbling for her gun.

OOC,Sanity roll (current level 65) for seeing the creatures: [dice]0[/dice]

VictoriaSilverwolfv» Thu Feb 28, 2019 8:30 am:
Away for six days.

OOC:   Let´s wait to give VictoriaSilverwolf chance de react Turstrigo, your sanity roll...

Emma has just managed to regain her balance, when she noticed the creatures.

Sanity: 80%,[dice]0[/dice]

"What in The Lord's name are these things?" She reaches for her gun as quickly as she can.

Michael keeps his cool, figuring these so-called figures are just flotsam and jetsam (what the heck is the difference, anyway?) tossed up by this crazy storm.

"Hang on tight, ladies,"he shouts over the roaring water. "This can't last very long."

He doesn't pull out his pistol, seeing no need for it. Hanging on to something solid is his main concern now.

Michael´s mind tries to classify the animal standing before him and gets terrified when he cannot find an answer.

Michael,Michael loses 1 Sanity point

Amanda points her weapon at the being standing near the stairs and shoots. At the same time, the other three things open their horrifying jaws and leap from the water to bite Kathryn, Emma and Michael.

NPC attack rolls,Amanda attacks Monster 1 [dice]0[/dice] damage [dice]1[/dice] Moster 1 attacks Amanda [dice]2[/dice] damage [dice]3[/dice] Moster 2 attacks Emma [dice]4[/dice] damage [dice]5[/dice] Moster 3 attacks Michael [dice]6[/dice] damage [dice]7[/dice] Moster 4 attacks Kathryn [dice]8[/dice] damage [dice]9[/dice]

As the monsters seem to be leaving Ivy alone, she will race to the closet to grab Martin's stuff.

If they attack, she will defend herself.

If anyone seems to be struggling, she will help them out and attack.

While they are still trying to figure out what is happening, Michael, Emma and Kathryn sees one of these things jumping on them and feel. Their body is bitten by something sharp. Michael and bitten on the arm

Michael,Michael loses 3 hit points

Kathryn,Kathryn loses 2 hit points are

, while Emma is bitten by the side, near the neck. Her injury is serious and she faints immediately.

Emma,Emma loses 7 hits points. Sorry.. bad dice roll

The shot fired by Amanda creates a noise that makes the glasses shake and leaves the three monsters bewildered.
Amanda, realizes about Emma´s situation. She gets prepared for her second shot, aiming at the body of the thing killing Emma. She points her weapon so as to prevent the bullet´s trajectory from hitting Emma by mistake.

Ivy reaches the closet. Fortunately, Martin's things are recognizable because they are piled in a corner with ruffled men's clothes, and they have not been reached by the water. Beside its clothes, there´s a hand-written notebook with a letter inside. As she takes a look back to the room, Ivy sees that the water level is slowly rising.

Seriously wounded and bleeding badly by whatever the heck is in the water -- sharks? -- Michael finally whips out his pistol and fires, hoping to hit something, even with a crippled arm.

Crying in agony, Kathryn tries to shoot the thing attacking her, but its bite on her arm throws off her aim.

OOC,Firearms(Handgun) roll (65% skill) shooting at the creature attacking her: [dice]0[/dice] Bonus die for point blank range: [dice]1[/dice] Am I allowed to fire more than one shot per round?

Ivy stuffs the notebook & letter into her bag and grabs a handful of clothes to use as bandages.

If Amanda has kept the creature off Emma, she will rush to the girl and administer first aid. If she cannot reach Emma, she will attack the creature with her nightstick.

If she can do first aid (65%),[dice]0[/dice]

If she has to brawl (25%),[dice]1[/dice]

Michael,Since the creature is now closer, you have a bonus dice Firing [dice]0[/dice] Eventual damage [dice]1[/dice]

Kathryn,yes you can fire other two shots. The crature now is closer, so you should have bonus dice. However, since you are firing multiple shots, you should get penalty dice as well, so you got other two normal shots Firing [dice]2[/dice] Eventual damage [dice]3[/dice] Firing [dice]4[/dice] Eventual damage [dice]5[/dice]

Creatures,Attacking Amanda [dice]6[/dice] Eventual damage [dice]7[/dice] Attacking Michael [dice]8[/dice] Eventuual damage [dice]9[/dice]

Amanda fires a shot, at close range. The creature explodes, making the slime splash on her face full of anger and fear. Ivy reaches Emma and manages to dab his wound. The water level is rising, however, and now it has reached the waist of the characters.

One of the creatures bites Michael to his stomach, just as he was about to fire, so that his shot is deviated. The detective pushes the thing away from him, but the water around his waist begins to turn red, while the pain seems to devour him from the inside. The sound of the shot fired by Amanda has left the creature disoriented, as it seems to blindly search before preparing to hit again.

Michael,Michael loses 4 hit points. Still conscious but week

Kathryn shoots two more shots, and one of them seems to have hit the shapeless agglomeration in a critical point, maybe the core of something vaguely working as a nervous system. The mud seems to melt and its components are diluted with water in front of Kathryn's eyes.

The last creature attacks Amanda but bites the handle of his rifle.

Seeing how grievously Michael is injured, Kathryn fires at the creature that did it. Her knowledge of these things' weakness serves her in good stead, and she is able once again to hit it in that vulnerable spot. She empties her revolver, but her last two bullets aren't quite as accurate, though one of them does strike a remaining creature.

OOC,Firearms(Handgun) roll (65% skill) shooting at the creature attacking [b]Michael[/b]: [dice]0[/dice] Bonus die for point blank range: [dice]1[/dice] Woohoo! 8-) Another impale: Damage to creature from impaling .38 bullet: [dice]2[/dice] Firearms(Handgun) roll (65% skill) shooting at a creature (the one attacking [b]Amanda[/b] if the one attacking [b]Michael[/b] is now destroyed, which it probably is): [dice]3[/dice] Firearms(Handgun) roll (65% skill) shooting at a creature (the one attacking [b]Amanda[/b] if the one attacking [b]Michael[/b] is now destroyed, which it probably is): [dice]4[/dice] Spending 1 Luck to make that a hit. Damage to creature from .38 bullet: [dice]5[/dice]

Michael collapses into the blood-stained water, quickly oozing life. It looks like this might be the end.

"Hail Mary, full of grace . . ."

Alarmed at the rising water level, Ivy cries out.

"We need to get upstairs! Kathryn, can you help Mike? Amanda, cover us!"

Dodging what remains of the creatures as best she can, she begins to help Emma towards the stairs.

Kathryn continues to fire and as the last two creatures are hit, they disappear quickly in the salt water that generated them. The group can breathe a sigh of relief. Everyone reaches the stairs. The waters still rise a little, but does not reach the upper floor. The water soon become stagnant, and then level down following the tide. Amanda has an incredulous and desperate face, she doesn't know whether to be scared or full of anger.
"There is an infirmary in the city. I will take you there. They will give you a bit of serum and, make a bandage and sew the wounds."

When she sees that her misfortune bringer visitors are out of danger,s he allows herself to worry about his home. Much of what little she had got lost, and she will have difficulty in buying it back.

Salt water causes wounds to burn, but helps avoiding serious infections. No wounds have damaged vital organs, but Michael and Emma have lost some blood, and are still weak. Emma comes back to her senses, and finds herself on the upper floor, in this setting of calm after the storm.

Ivy is stunned by what has just occurred. However, once satisfied that Emma and Mike are stabilised, she ventures back downstairs to see if any more of Martin's belongings survived the flood.

After that she is happy for Amanda to take them to the hospital.

"Thanks," says Kathryn, exhaling with relief. "We could sure use that. I'm the least injured of all of us, but I could do with a visit to the hospital too. I don't know what those things were, but at least they can be killed. I've never fired a gun at anything living before, only inanimate targets." She reloads, just in case there any more of them out there.

"Wha . . . what just happened?" Michael hopes the sawbones have got some morphine, because he's hurting bad.

"A tidal wave hit, and four sea creatures attacked us," says Kathryn, scarcely believing it herself. "Somehow, I managed to kill three of them. Amanda got the other one."

"I am at a loss. What on earth were those things? At least I have Martin's notebook; maybe this will provide us with some clues." Ivy frowns. "This isn't just a simple missing child case, is it?"

"I've no idea what they were," says Kathryn, "but it's good to know they're mortal. You're right, we're in way over our heads. We'll have plenty of time to read those notes while we're in the hospital."

While he's recovering, Michael asks for some reading material from the hospital staff.

"Any old newspaper reports, almanacs, whatever, about sudden ocean floods like what just happened? Somethin' like that gotta be news."

"We were also planning to go to the docks weren't we? However I think we've had enough of the sea for a while. Perhaps I should head to the local library and see what I can find there."