Play@YSDC

"Right, off we go."

OOC: Sneak rolls?

Certainly; by all means.

Cynthia is practically invisible.

OOC,Stealth roll (60% skill) sneaking past the church: [dice]0[/dice]

{Stealth Roll},{[dice]0[/dice]}

Professor Garrett is a clumsy oaf and seems to have stepped on a dry twig.

Stealthy or not, it would be difficult for all but the most eagle-eyed of folk to spot you through the ever-increasing drizzle and the fog that seemingly hangs around the ruins.

Nevertheless you keep an eye out for any rough labourers as you skirt around said ruins. So much so in fact that you fail to notice a muddy trench in front of you!

Please make a DEX roll and if you fail, deduct 1 HP as you trip into it.

{DEX Roll},{Need to roll 50% or less.}[dice]1[/dice]

[dice]0[/dice]

Not sure why I've got a second roll but obiously I've made a mess of the spoiler button. Anyway, taking the first result: Professor Garrett stumbles unceremoniously into the ditch: "Ouch. Who put that there?"

One Hit Point deducted.

Cynthia easily sees the ditch in time and stops short. "Stop, look out," she hisses, a hair too late.

OOC,DEX roll (60% stat) to avoid the ditch: [dice]0[/dice]

Henry Joseph Lewis III proceeded along the path chosen by the group. He didn't really care whether he was discovered or not as the men's silence could easily be bought for a handful of shillings. As he continued to trudge across this terrain, the dilettante became increasingly more distressed by the amount of mud that was coating his Italian leather walking boots. They may very well be ruined. However, this preoccupation managed to prevent Henry from duplicating the professor's fate as his eyes caught sight of the ditch well in advance. He pranced to one side and avoided the entire group as they clustered near the edge.

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

OOC:   Extreeeeeeme success, heh

Grigori stepped silently over the ditch. He was brooding and increasingly damp. He even forgot to offer Miss Knight the appropriate chivalrous assistance over the obstacle.

The breech in etiquette brought him somewhat to his senses.

"My apologies Miss Knight. I have not been as much of a gentleman as I would like. Are you managing this rough ground alright?"

While most of you manage to avoid the ditch (with Mr. Lewis practically skipping over it), Professor Garrett is not so sure-footed. Following an ignoble tumble, he climbs out, his hands and clothes covered in mud.

Being able to study the ditch up close, it is clear to the professor that until recently it was a small watercourse. A quick glance at the map confirms that you have come across the former course of Scheld Brook. Peering through the drizzle, you can follow this ghost of a stream as it curves roughly in parallel with the ruined walls of the old churchyard.

Mr. Pritchard if you are still with us,This ditch reminds you of something... You realise with a start that this is the scene of your dream! The nullah your dream-self found itself in was actually this ditch! The fact that the place you dreamed of is actually real disturbs you greatly. Are the other horrible visions you and your companions have suffered also real? Please make a 1/d4 SAN roll (i.e lose 1 SAN if you pass, 1d4 if you fail).

As the day is reaching it's dotage, the weak sunlight is failing, but not too far ahead of you squats the dark shape of a building.

Please can everyone make a listen roll.

If you succeed,Though muffled by the mist and blocked somewhat by the ruins, you hear a shouting, presumably from the men toiling in the Watch field. No, it is more a cheer than a shout - an ironic cheer of tired men finally completing a gruelling task.

"Thank you, Mr. Tereshchenko, I'm all right," says Cynthia, gladly accepting his help across the ditch. "I'm sorry, Professor. Perhaps you can have a bath at Mr. O'Kent's." She cocks an ear. "I hear the men shouting, but they haven't seen us. They're cheering because they've finished whatever they're doing."

OOC,Listen roll (55% skill) beyond the ditch: [dice]0[/dice]

Listen roll at 20%

[dice]0[/dice]

"Really Miss Knight? I can't hear a dicky-birdy myself, but I am getting on a bit as my recent failure to notice that blasted ditch all too clearly shows. I'm happy to take your word for it. Not a good sign methinks."

Henry Joseph Lewis III waited for the professor to climb out of the ditch. He tilted his ear towards the direction he last saw the workmen and also detected the commotion.

"Hmm, they do seem to be carrying on over there. That's probably not good for whatever it is you're trying to do here, yes?" the dilettante said.

Listen (20%),[dice]0[/dice]

OOC:   So that's a critical success, heh. These dice are hot.

"Yes, I'm quite sure," says Cynthia. "When you work in a library, you develop good hearing. I could hear a pin drop when there's no other noise."

Let us assume that, following the curve of the dried-up brook, you are continuing towards O'Kent's cottage (assuming the dark, squat shape ahead of you is indeed that edifice). As you grow near, the wind strengthens, swirling the cold, damp mist out of the ruined church to your right so that it flies raggedly around you.

Keeper only,[dice]0[/dice]

Mr. Lewis,Feeling thouroughly fed-up with this pointless nonsense, you trudge on, hoping that this [b]O'Kent[/b] fellow at least has a warming fire in the grate. A little further along, where, judging by the map, you assume the cottage to be, you see something flapping about. What foolishness to hang one's washing out to dry at such a late hour! Well, you assume as such, having never had to hang your own washing out in your life! In fact, you can't help bark out a sarcastic chuckle at such a notion!

Everyone else,The air grows increasingly chilly as you trudge towards on, hoping that O'Kent at least has a warming fire in the grate. Such a thought seems to cheer Mr. Lewis, for you notice a manic smile spreading accross his face. When he laughs, his eyes seem to blacken as they retreat into the shadow that grows across his visage. He begins to stoop, his posture becoming that of an old man, hands clawed and grasping with malicious intent. And when he turns his malformed head towards you, his rictus grin reveals rows of rotten, pointed teeth. Please make a SAN roll (1/1d4).

Suddenly and most uncharacteristically, Mr. Pritchard yelps in alarm.

"No! It ain't right! That ditch - it's the same as in my dream! The stream, the stones and now they've beaten down the flames: can't you see what they're taking away? The walls! The walls!"

With a strangled scream, he barges past you and runs off through the mist towards the ruins. Within seconds he is lost frm sight.

Mr. Lewis,What an odd turn of events! Clearly the chap is rather unstable.

Everyone else,This sudden outburst does not help the situation at all. Although the decrepit [b]Mr. Lewis[/b] appears to find it highly amusing.

OOC:   Alas Speshul has decided to leave us, so I'm writing Mr. Pritchard out of the story.

Cynthia manages to refrain from screaming or panicking. "My, what big teeth you have," she says as she backs away. She realizes that this whole thing is probably an illusion, but she's staying away in case it isn't.

OOC,Sanity roll (current level 79) for seeing the transformation: [dice]0[/dice]

Listen =20%,[dice]0[/dice]

OOC:   Sorry to be so intermittant here. My notifications seem to have completely given up. I'lll put it on my start page for Firefox - it's the only way I'll remember to look!