[IC]Prologue 0.1: The Beginning - Lima, March 1921

[Mr. Handy]

Amy also hears something as she enters the basement.

OOC,Listen roll (45% skill) in the basement: [dice]0[/dice]

[Raiko]

Amy also hears the faint sound of footsteps somewhere the storeroom.

OOC:   As does Atauchi if he passes his listen roll. An extreme success (1/5 listen) gives a more accurate location (the same as Marcus)

[Zero]

Atauchi moved along at the group's pace. When he reached the slightly ajar door, he turned an ear toward it and gave a listen.

Listen (50%),[dice]0[/dice]

Hearing nothing, the tracker then stepped into the room behind Marcus as he followed the other man's lead.

[Silver Priest]

Marcus looks back at the others and wordlessly points out where he hears the footsteps coming from. Then slowly and carefully, he attempts to move over there undetected.

Stealth 60%,[dice]0[/dice]

[Mr. Handy]

Amy nods, having heard the footsteps but not being sure in which direction they had been, and follows Marcus silently.

OOC,Stealth roll (20% skill) in the basement: [dice]0[/dice]

[HelplessBystander]

John remained with Professor Sanchez for the time being, trying to calm his nerves with a cup of hot coffe of the local blend before darting his eyes back at the good professor, "My body guard left without me, I...don't think that's good body-guarding right there. You think I should try sneaking off to follow him?"

[Zero]

Atauchi had noticed that those whom had accompanied him were taking particular care to move cautiously upon entering the storage room. Perhaps they had heard something he had not? Given the degree of plausibility, the Quechuan man decided that their actions were prudent and he too attempted to move forward with stealth.

Stealth (50%),[dice]0[/dice]

[Raiko]

Basement Storage Room - Museo de Arqueología y Antropología, University of San Marcos - Lima, Peru
11:15am - Saturday 19th March, 1921

The chaotic layout of the storeroom's huge shelves, compounded by the tight spaces between them and the occasional box on the floor, frustrates the efforts of the investigators to approach the source of the sound. Despite trying their best to remain stealthy, one of them must have made a sound that alerted the intruder, because suddenly running footsteps can be heard for a couple of seconds followed by the sound of a door banging shut at the far end of the room.

Professor Sánchez's Office - Museo de Arqueología y Antropología, University of San Marcos - Lima, Peru
11:15am - Saturday 19th March, 1921

The professor nods thoughtfully, "Perhaps your bodyguard thinks that you would be safer here until he finds out what the problem is."

"I hope though, that this is just a fuss about no problem, and that Jackson will soon return with Trinidad and your friends."

[Silver Priest]

This is really not part of my contract. I shouldn't get involved.


But alas, Marcus knew he was already in to deep. With a imperceptible sigh he takes off running for the door and after the footsteps.

[HelplessBystander]

"You know...you might not be wrong, so I think I'll stay here for another 30minutes before I head off to find my bodyguard." John said, sipping some more hot chocolate.

[Zero]

Atauchi also took off at a run in the direction of the footfalls. He heard a door shut and wondered what lay beyond it. Another room? A hallway? Stairs perhaps? The tracker tried to visualize where they were in relation to the known areas on the floor above, though truthfully, he was out of his element here.

"I heard door. We know where that go?" he asked Marcus.

[Silver Priest]

"Don't have a clue," Marcus says. He's already regretting getting involved. But if the professor's assistant was in danger, he had to try and help.

Apparently he was more gallant than he thought. It was both annoying and refreshing.

[Raiko]

Basement Storage Room - Museo de Arqueología y Antropología, University of San Marcos - Lima, Peru
11:15am - Saturday 19th March, 1921

Rounding two more corners of the storage shelves, the investigators can see the door around ten yards ahead of them; Trinidad Rizo's body is much closer, just a few feet away.

Half-buried under a pile of artefacts that have been pulled off the shelves, her body is horrific, nothing like a fresh corpse; she is emaciated, almost mummified, and there is a large disc of torn, bloody flesh on her upper chest. Her face is shrivelled up beyond recognition - frozen in a mask of terror, eyes still wide and staring.

OOC:   Viewing Trinidad Rizo's body causes a SAN check: Lose 1d6 Sanity on a fail (1d3 points for even for hardened wartime veterans) / 0 loss if successful. The description above is all that can be seen at a glance. Stopping to inspect the scene may provide more detail, but lose further ground on the murderer. Also make track roll: See below if successful.

Successful Track Roll,Whoever murdered Trinidad has stepped in the pool of her blood, bloody footprints lead to the door.

Professor Sánchez's Office - Museo de Arqueología y Antropología, University of San Marcos - Lima, Peru
11:15am - Saturday 19th March, 1921

"Yes, that's probably for the best. Would you like a biscuit?" Professor Sánchez opens a well stocked biscuit barrel and tilts it in John's direction.

OOC:   Apologies HelplessBystander, I wasn't expecting you back until tomorrow.

[Mr. Handy]

Amy claps a hand over her mouth when she sees the body. While horrified, she manages to refrain from screaming or fainting.

OOC,Sanity roll (current level 70) in the basement: [dice]0[/dice] Track roll (10% base skill) in the basement: [dice]1[/dice]

[Raiko]

Jackson Elias stops in his tracks, his revolver is drawn, but hangs limply in his hand. He stares at his young friend's emaciated and mutilated corpse in disbelief, "How could? What....?"

[Zero]

Atauchi glanced down at the corpse long enough to ensure that he did not trip over it and continued after the woman's assailant. The scene was a truly horrific one, but one that he would have to put out of his mind if he wanted to catch the individual responsible for this.

Sanity (70),[dice]0[/dice]

Track (70%),[dice]1[/dice]

Sanity Loss (1d6),[dice]2[/dice]

Now that there was a confirmed killer on the loose, the Quechuan tracker withdrew his survival knife from its sheath, but fumbled with it and it went skittering across the floor into a small pool of blood. The blood likely belonged to Miss Rizo and would help them locate their quarry. He regained some of his composure and gained control of the knife which he held in a reverse grip so the blade would be concealed behind his forearm.

OOC:   Wow... not my game so far with regards to die rolls. Nearly had a 100, so I gave myself a self-imposed fumble when trying to draw the weapon, however then I saw that I also got a maximum of 6. I'll let the GM decide what Atauchi's fate is now. On the bright side, he did manage to make his Track roll.

[Silver Priest]

San 52%,[dice]0[/dice]

Track 50%,[dice]1[/dice]

san loss,[dice]2[/dice]

Marcus is shaken by the scene, especially the state of the body. But he also knows the killer was still in the area, and he couldn't let them get away.

Pulling out his gun, he looks back at Amy, not wanting the young woman to put herself in any danger. "Stay back!" Then he runs for the door and after the killer.

[Raiko]

Jackson quickly regains his composure and joins Marcus pursuing the murderer.

OOC:   Zero, please make an INT roll for Atauchi, if the roll is failed then Atauchi does not see the body as it really is: Trinidad's shrivelled face is, in fact, a tribal mask that fell from the shelf, there is no hole on her chest and the "very small" pool of blood is because she banged her head on the shelf during the struggle. She's probably just unconscious and Amy will be able to look after her. Atauchi is free to join the pursuit. If the INT roll is successful: Bout of Madness,Add the phobia [i][b]claustrophobia [/b][/i]to Atauchi's character sheet. During his initial [i]bout of madness [/i]that lasts 1d10 rounds he sees the massive towering shelves bearing down on him, the boxes and artefacts are unstable and about to bury him in an avalanche. He must get out! Now! There is a 50% chance that he heads for the door in front of him - surely that door leads to freedom! Otherwise he runs in terror, back the way he came - becoming hopelessly lost in the unending labyrinth of tightly packed storage shelves... Bout of madness duration: 1d10 combat rounds: [dice]0[/dice] 50% chance of fleeing through the door ahead: [dice]1[/dice] Underlying Insanity duration: 1d10 hours [dice]2[/dice]

[Zero]

OOC:   Sure, you got it.

Intelligence (75),[dice]0[/dice]

Atauchi went wide-eyed as the shelves around him appeared to be collapsing around him. He felt as if Supay himself had come to claim him as his own. Fearfully, the Quechuan man ran headlong towards the door ahead of him, nearly knocking the other pursuers off their stride as he charged ahead. Atauchi held a hand to his chest as he gasped for air, but delayed only momentarily, then dutifully continued after the others in pursuit of the killer.

OOC:   Oh that's brilliant, if I had to choose a phobia from the start, this might have been it. It suits the character so well.

[Raiko]

Marcus and Jackson pause for a second, preparing to go through the door, but Atauchi barges straight past, crashing through the door with such force that slams loudly against a wall as it flies open.

On the other side is an almost unlit stairwell, the only light coming from daylight spilling through an open door at the top. Atauchi cries in horror, but runs headlong up the winding stairs towards daylight.

OOC Atauchi,[ooc]Fortunately Atauchi's bout of madness will end by at the same time as he reaches the top of the staircase. You will regain full control of him then. For the 7 hour duration of underlying insanity, and for all future periods of insanity Atauchi will receive one penalty die for all rolls in a claustrophobic environment - rolls to fight or flee and sanity / reality check rolls are not affected. The ground floor of the museum is not a claustrophobic environment. Any further sanity loss for the next 7 hours will reactivate his bout of madness, luckily only a problem in a confined space. I may also cause Atauchi to suffer delusions during the next 7 hours, which you can ignore by making a sanity check (failure would cost you 1 sanity and reactivate your bout of madness). Once the underlying insanity period is over, Atauchi keeps his claustrophobia, but it does not impose any penalty dice when he is not suffering for an insanity. There is no [i]Cthulhu Mythos [/i]gain at the moment (but there's could be before the 7 hours is up).[/ooc]