[IC]Prologue 0.5: The Ranch

[jp1885]

SAN 49,[dice]0[/dice]SAN loss[dice]1[/dice]SAN now at [b]46[/b]

A slack-jawed Cynthia can only gape as the stinking mist pours out of the collapsing man in front of her. To see this happen is bad enough, especially as whatever the monster was had mentioned her by name, but the thing that hits the student most is when the man's eyes return to normal.
Forget fat-sucking vampires and black-eyed fiends - she has killed a Human being.

For a few seconds it is only Amy's tight hug that keeps her upright as her knees buckle, but a tough ex-street urchin like Cynthia doesn't show weakness for long. Aware that Marcus is also speaking to her, she stops clinging to Amy and straightens up.

"Huh? Oh, yeah... peachy... Ahem, I mean, yeah, I think he tried some kind of magic on me, I could feel it in my head, but somehow it didn't work. I don't think I did anything - more of a screw-up on his part."

She looks down at Larkin's body and shudders.

"So that's Larkin ? Looks like we both had a narrow escape of sorts..."

Escape? Really? You're card is marked now kid... She thinks to herself.

[Raiko]

ooc,Dr. Sánchez is the only person who was definitely not in a position to witness Larkin's death. SAN check for John: [dice]0[/dice]

John firebombs the final kharisiri corpse. He is shaken by the manner of Larkin's demise.

"What was that? Was it inside Larkin all along?"

[Mr. Handy]

"It must have been some sort of demon...or something," says Amy. "We can't blow up the pyramid. Not just because we'd be blowing up a priceless piece of antiquity, but also because it would destroy the ward and set free whatever it is that's being held there. We have to repair the ward and then keep the pyramid's location secret."

[Anatomist]

Dr.Sánchez updates himself on what happened to Larkin.
"So mystical and strong forces are unleashed here... wonder what awaits at the Pyramids"

Dr.Sánchez will try to search the remains of every kharasiri for any clue or belongings that would help, he will also walk to the truck Larkin and de Mendoza arrived in and do a search there. Clearly affected by the situation Dr.Sánchez is not able to discover anything of interest.

failed Spot Hidden 62%,[dice]0[/dice]

[Zero]

Atauchi stared down at Larkin's corpse, not entirely sure what to make of what he had just witnessed. The man had spoken in his own voice at the end, and seemed relieved to be free of the evil spirit which had taken possession of his body. Nevertheless they had survived this encounter and the threat these unnatural creatures presented was ended. Their task to restore the ward could resume at once, presumably with no further interference.

Sanity (62),[dice]0[/dice]

OOC:   -1 Sanity

[jp1885]

Cynthia shudders at Dr. Sanchez's words.

"Whatever possessed Larkin was bad enough..."

She pulls herself together.

"I agree with Amy, we can't blow the place up; we need to put the ward back in place. After that we could seal the entrance to stop other people getting in there to damage them."

"I still don't think it's a good idea to travel to the pyramid by night - who knows how many more kharisiri are lurking around? Let's get some rest in a while, taking it in turns to keep watch, and head out first thing in the morning."

She watches Dr. Sanchez start his search.

"Yeah, let's see if they've left any clues. Though someone else can search Larkin's body if they don't mind... Maybe make a drawing of the tattoo he supposedly had? Might be useful."

She heads off to search the truck, hoping that doing something practical will help clear her head.

Spot hidden 50,[dice]0[/dice]

However, apart from a bag on the bench seat, she finds nothing of interest.

OOC,No, I'm not going to spend a point of luck - I have a feeling I'll need it later!

[kabukiman]

"But the leaders dead, the others should easier to defeat right?"- says Anderson.

[Raiko]

Rancho con Vistas al Lago - Near Puno, Peru
7:15pm - Tuesday 22nd March, 1921

"Hopefully Michael," Jackson Elias crouches down to examine Larkin's corpse.

"De Mendoza should be dead for good this time, and we can hope that whatever that whatever that awful fog was, it won't reappear.

"I think Cynthia is right though, travelling through the highlands at night would be dangerous even without the risk of meeting other kharisiri. It's going to take us another three or four days to reach the ruins anyway. So best to travel as safely as possible."

"We can borrow a couple of Eliza's llamas to carry the ward and our supplies, Husiy can look after them. What about his cousin? I'd rather send him back to Puno now, while the coast is clear."


Elias opens Larkin's blood soaked shirt - underneath the shirt, Larkin's torso is darkened by corruption, the smell of decay is noticeable even through the strong smell of Larkin's cologne and the lingering smell left by the black fog. It would appear that Larkin was close to death even before Cynthia shot him.

A large tattoo covers most of Larkin's torso, - it resembles a large, ragged spiral that covers Larkin's chest, radiating out from the centre of his sternum. The spiral ends above his diaphragm, where it connects to a stylized, misshapen humanoid figure with large, outstretched hands that appear to end in claws.

Inside Larkin's jacket pocket Jackson finds a case holding an ornate syringe, there is also a nearly full vial of heroin identical to the empty one from his hotel room.

The only thing of interest that can be recovered from the burning bodies of the kharisiri is an immaculately maintained rapier that de Mendoza was carrying. The sword appears to be a genuine 16th century Spanish weapon.

[Raiko]

Larkin's Truck
7:20pm - Tuesday 22nd March, 1921

The truck's livery is the same as the two that Nemesio Sánchez saw in the Chavez brothers' haulage yard back in Lima. While Nemesio and Cynthia don't find any documentation or maps in the truck there are some trinkets in a cloth bag sitting on the truck's bench seat.

There are three golden items inside the bag, neither investigator has seen any of the items before (although Larkin did show two of them to those present at his original meeting in Bar Cordano).

The first item is a golden goblet, carved with geometric patterns and circles and inlaid with turquoise.

goblet.jpg (22.81 KiB) Viewed 767 times

The second is a pendant in the form of a man holding two rods or staves, embellished with rectangular shapes.

The final item is a small mask, approximately six inches square. It depicts a stylised face, largely made up of blocky geometrical shapes raised from the surface. It is solid, with no eye holes. The back of the mask is unadorned and polished to a high sheen.

[jp1885]

Although Dr. Sanchez is by far the most experienced archaeologist of the two, Cynthia can't help but cast her eye over the three items.

Archaeology 26,[dice]0[/dice]

"Nope, haven't a clue..."

[Raiko]

OOC:   Dr. Sánchez can have a bonus die for his archaeology roll, as these items fall within his area of expertise. He'll also get some details for free, but I'd like a roll first.

[Anatomist]

Dr.Sánchez brings the item near a lantern to examine them with care.

success Archaeology 80%,[dice]0[/dice]

[Mr. Handy]

Amy does a thorough job of searching the truck. She examines the artifact she hasn't seen before, but it's no more familiar to her than the other two had been.

OOC,Spot Hidden roll (64% skill) searching the truck: [dice]0[/dice] Archaeology roll (41% skill) examining the third artifact: [dice]1[/dice]

[jp1885]

Feeling slightly jealous of their superior knowledge of the subject of antiquities, Cynthia watches as Dr. Sanchez, Anderson and Amy examine the items.

"The workmanship is incredible. Do you recognise them? Is that one a ceremonial cup of some sort? And the other a decorative pendant? What's that face thing - a mask, a mirror?"

[kabukiman]

Anderson: archaeology: 71
[dice]0[/dice]

[Raiko]

Dr Sánchez and Anderson,The goblet and the pendant were the items that [b]Larkin [/b]used to entice the investigators to join his expedition. He claimed that they were taken from the ruins by a farmer. However [b]Nemesio [/b]knows that this is a lie. The cup is an Incan item, probably dating from the 15th Century. It certainly wasn't recovered from pre-Columbian ruins. The pendant closely resembles items [b]Dr. Sánchez [/b]has seen at Tiwanaku, and probably dates from the 5th Century. It is possible the this item originates from the pyramid, but only if the construction was more recent than [b]Larkin [/b]suggested. (I'm happy to say that [b]Anderson [/b]also knows the above, although I think he failed his roll in Lima - perhaps he didn't look closely enough at the time, with no reason not to trust Larkin). The mask on the other hand may well be genuinely from the pyramid site. Although the markings are similar to those of items from Tiwanaku, they are not the same and the mask appears to match the artistic style of the golden ward piece. It is curious that Larkin chose to show two "fake" items, from other eras, when he apparently processed a genuine item.

Amy,Amy doesn't find anything of particular interest in the truck. Larkin must have kept his plans in his head.

Larkin's Truck
7:20pm - Tuesday 22nd March, 1921

The back of the truck has some of the supplies intended for the expedition. This includes tents, rations, spades, a pick axe and somewhat surprisingly a crate of dynamite.

OOC:   As the first two to examine the mask please could Cynthia and Nemesio make POW rolls? Anyone else who examined it can also roll - but I suspect you'll handle it with care once one person succeeds.

At the Farmhouse

Meanwhile Jackson begins to clear away the bodies of the kharisiri.

"I'm not sure what to do about Larkin's body. Burn it as well?"

OOC:   Nobody took any interest in Larkin's tattoo, but anyone who was present when Jackson revealed it can make an anthropology roll. Larkins Tattoo - Anthropology,The artistic style of Larkin's tattoo is almost certainly East African in origin and depicts some sort of evil creature or demon. If your roll was an [b]extreme[/b] success, or would have also been good enough for a [b]hard occult success[/b] then you can also get this result:[spoiler]The tattoo depicts [i]The Bloody Tongue[/i], a deity/demon once worshipped by a few particularly vicious tribes in the area. As far as you are aware worship of the Bloody Tongue was stamped out by the British during the Victorian era.[/spoiler]

[jp1885]

POW 50,[dice]0[/dice]

OOC:   Why do I get a bad feeling about this...?

[Anatomist]

POW 50,[dice]0[/dice]

OOC:   spending 2 luck to make it a success

OOC:   i totally forgot to write about the tattoo, can i roll anthropology as well?

[Zero]

While Jackson disposed of the remains and others mulled over the artifacts from the truck, Atauchi wordlessly set to making preparations for the group to spend the night at the ranch. Sending Husiy's cousin back to Puno seemed like a good idea. The two of them had been brave, far braver than he expected, truth be told. He studied the perimeter for signs of wild animal activity, specifically jaguar and puma.

Spot Hidden (67%),[dice]0[/dice]

Natural World (40%),[dice]1[/dice]

OOC:   Well, my rolls seem to be back to normal now...

[Silver Priest]

Marcus glances down at the tattoo when Jackson reveals it.

Anthropology 1%,[dice]0[/dice]

"May as well burn it, I say. Prevent the thing from coming back."