Chit-Chat

[trixie]

hahaha!

[Laraqua]

So who's still on board? Let's get this helicopter landed at the cinema! (I'm presuming Cael re-directed the flight from what Nurse Sarah said).

[Mr. Handy]

I'm ready and raring to go!

We can probably still find Andrew (Cael), DSIGFUSS (Ronald), Trixie (Brianna and Dahlia), and Kabukiman (Agnes), as they've still been active recently. You may need to PM them so that they know the game is back on.

[Laraqua]

I'll do a big update later on once I've finished reading the other chapters (which by the way, I just realised this campaign has cooler stuff in it than I remembered, nicely done everyone!). Thus far in Chapter Three, Jill, Charlie, and Lionel hurried into a library to find a particular book (which he has grabbed) while Agnes and Young Lionel came in looking for two individuals in response to a message.

Also, here's a summary from Mr. Handy in one of the threads:

"Ronald and Brianna managed to get out of the room where you (as in Louie) left them and found themselves in some kind of secret temple under the hospital. Unfortunately, they weren't alone. There were these ghostly children down there that they managed to escape from, and something else too. One of the patients from the Children's Ward, a teenager with terminal cancer named Jason, had apparently been burned to death, and his reanimated corpse pursued them. They found a secret passage into the boiler room in the basement and then fled upstairs, and that's when I met them. I don't know exactly at what point they made the transition, but Jason followed them back.

"I had been hoping to find other people in my situation, and the hospital seemed a good place to look. Others could have been wounded in the air raid and taken there. Before that, I had been helping Daniel and Annie look for other survivors, and that's when I found Jennifer's body. Near it was a shard of glass, debris from the bombing. In it I saw the reflection of a horrible canine creature's face, but there was no sign of the hound itself. It was a terrible sight, and I hid the glass under the rubble so nobody else would have to look at it. Jennifer had a lot of useful things on her: a high-powered sniper rifle, a pistol, extra ammo, a taser, a machete, her mobile, and other things on her belt and in her backpack. Daniel and Annie confiscated the guns and were under the mistaken impression that the poor girl was a German spy. I could have simply headed off on my own at that point, but I had a feeling about the two of them. I knew they were important and that I needed their help, so I went with them to the warden's post rather than head to a shelter. As I did, I tried to convince them of the truth of Jennifer's origin, while still leaving out my own. I demonstrated the mobile's functions for them, but they still weren't convinced and were very suspicious of me. I convinced them to come to the hospital to look for others like her, since it was unlikely she would be alone. That's where we met Agnes, Ronald, and Brianna - and then Jason.

"Daniel and Annie tried to shoot him, but none of their shots hit. I told Daniel to pass me the rifle, and I shot that thing multiple times. Didn't even seem to slow it down. Ronald and Brianna ran away into a room, and the creature crawled past me after them. I pursued it, and since the rifle had proven ineffective, I hit upon the idea to use the taser. Before I could close with it, an unexploded bomb outside the hospital went off. It killed a doctor, but the four of us got off with only light wounds. While the zombie was pinned under the rubble, I gave it a jolt and it worked like a charm, stunning it. Unfortunately there were a bunch of people who saw me use the device, but one benefit of the times in which we find ourselves is that people are accustomed to maintaining secrecy, so they'll figure that that piece of advanced electronics is classified. While it was stunned, I put a bullet in its head, then went to treat the other people who had been wounded in the blast, thinking that had done it. Of course, it turned out not to have, and the thing grabbed Agnes by the ankle. I gave it a second shock before it could cause any damage, and then sent Agnes to retrieve a bone saw while it was immobilized. When she got back with it, I amputated the creature's limbs, which did the trick. Daniel and Annie missed all this, but they came by afterwards and saw the result. At that point I explained everything to them and Agnes, and they believed me."

Anyhow, Daniel and Annie left, as we were all exhausted, and they told us to meet them the next day at the library. I presume they meant this one. They took all of Jennifer's things, and Daniel had already taken my mobile and my wallet before, back when he was suspicious of me, so he's still got them. The rest of us went back to Agnes's flat for some delicious Woolton pie that she cooked for us, and then we all slept through the entire day. We were awakened by air raid sirens that night, and we all went to the nearest shelter. There was a woman there who was rather shocked to see Brianna. She told us had a daughter who looked exactly like her, but the girl is gone now. I don't know if she's simply missing or passed on, but I have a hunch that the cult may be involved. By the way, do you have any idea how you got where you are now? If only Sarah could have gone with you."

"There was a nurse listening in on our conversation in the hospital. I'm not sure how much she heard, and Agnes didn't recognize her. When I asked her who she was and invited her to join us, she refused and rudely slammed the door. Later we got sealed in the pantry somehow when we were storing the remains. The door seemed crusted over and we could not open it, but that ghost child let us out. She knocked three times on the door from the other side, and when I knocked back three times it opened. She was gone, leaving only a puddle of water and her laughter. Before we left the hospital, we paid a visit to the Children's Ward. While we were there we all caught a glimpse of what it must have looked like in our time. The one that I believe sent us here communicated with me while I was in there, speaking through the nurse who was on duty. The voice was very disturbing and sounded like it was coming from within my mind, and it said that I had better do my duty quickly, whatever that means. My best guess is that it means we must stop the cult and save the children, and that we only have a limited amount of time.

"When we were in the air raid shelter, I had a sort of vision of the future. I was back in the ash in some room filled with chemicals, and Dahlia was with me. Then something decidedly odd happened to Ronald. His flesh began to bubble, though it did not appear to be harming him. Then he simply vanished. The people gathered there saw the whole thing and feared it was a gas attack, but I managed to keep them from rushing out in a panic. I believe he returned back whence he came, but what you've told me gives me hope that maybe he's where you are, and Brianna as well. She vanished in the same manner while we were walking to the library, and there was nothing we could do to stop her. She was so upset when Ronald was taken and missed him terribly, but perhaps she's with him now. I miss them both as well. Brianna has so much in common with my daughter Sarah, and I'd grown rather attached to her in the short time we had. I fear it is only a matter of time before I'm taken away as well, so we had best act quickly and do whatever it is I was sent here to do. I just wish I knew what exactly that is."

[Laraqua]

The book Lionel grabbed was the Tome of Ibn'Kha. The cover appears to have been cut from the skin of a scaled reptile and the interior pages are loose leaf and hand-written. There is something nerve-wracking about touching the cover in order to take it out of the book case.

Lionel's Perspective:

Louie gets a distant look in his eyes as he thinks about all that has happened. He shakes his head slightly to clear it and answers the Doctor. Well most you know from talking to Ronald, and Brianna. Only from my perspective I was saving their lives, not betraying them. If I had betrayed them maybe things would be back to normal by now. Betraying Brianna, and sacraficing her to the lake was supposed to....Louie stops and thinks of the best wording to use...appease the spirits below. I was the betrayer....that was my job, but I wasn't strong enough. I loved Brianna like she was my own child. Her parents died in the crash that burned her, and she was chosen because of that. I was to lull her into loving me, and then betray her by sacrificing her to the lake. But I loved her more than I thought I could, and I couldn't do it. It was the only thing I could do...he trails off for a moments as he wipes a tear from his eye. He thinks about Brianna, and his heart breaks that she thinks he could ever hurt her.

I put on my black robe and wandered the halls of the hospital looking for people who might need help. I helped save some people...who are all dead now....I think. That's around the time that I ran into Sarah. She to was trying to help people....you would have been proud. We parted ways and I left the hospital.

I was driving around in the ash for what seemed forever. It's kind of like the Gunslinger in those Steven King novels. Time just didn't seem to function properly...The world seemed to have moved on is what they said in the books...or something like that. by what you said you've done much more than me since this has all started. I think that might explain it. It's like in those books we keep jumping from reality to reality, and time to time, only we don't have doors, and don't control it ourselves.

Louie looks at the Doctor and shrugs. Anyways...I fazed out of that realty, and had a head on collision with Jill and him....Louie points at Charlie with a look of disgust. And now we are here. He finishes his story, and hangs his head as he thinks more about Brianna.

[Laraqua]

The the helicopter with Cael, Blackworth, Sarah, Ronald, and the kids arrives, this is how they look:

A few figures come out of the helicopter, moving cautiously, the stink of carnage flowing over and around them. Where they step, chunks of gore come loose and fall on the ground, leaving a trail of blood behind them. Their flesh, now that you can see them more clearly, writhe with worm-like shadows that twist beneath their shuddering skin. Each figure have eyes shrouded in shadows, and when they open their mouths, their teeth gleam bone-white.

But for the two little girls and Ronald, who are recognizable, the ones appear as recognizable as monsters.

[Laraqua]

Agnes theory about that: -So, we can only see those we have already meet. Unless the others are monsters in disguise, and only we can see them by their true form, but it's better not to think of that... Lionel, ask something that only your daugther could knew

[Laraqua]

When Dahlia used psychometry on Blackworth (before he turned to ash), she saw that the ash was a monster that was searching for them. Sarah wasn't sure if that meant there was a monster hiding in the ash, like the Hound, or something else. Then Blackworth becomes 'possessed?' and starts turning into ash. Sarah dumps special powder on him.

Dahlia still has seven doses of powder left in her bag. Sarah now has five after the one she just threw. There are six other full bags of powder held by various characters. Cael, Ronald, and Brianna have bags too, as do Annie and Phil. Daniel has a sack too that someone who doesn't have one might be able to pick up, but I'm not sure if there's enough time to also fling some. Someone pouring powder on Dahlia as a precaution to keep it off of her would be helpful too. I'm not sure if Sarah is actually able to get between the eyes and Dahlia, as both of us are strapped in and I'm not sure where we're sitting in relation to each other.

Which leaves: Stephen (piloting), Cael (piloting), Aidan, Louie, Ronald, Sarah, Lionel x2, Charlie, Jill, Brianna and Dahlia, Agnes, Phil, Anna Blaize.

[Laraqua]

Possible locations = Mercy Cross Hospital. Someone's house. The Cinemaplex.

[Mr. Handy]

Thanks! This is my favorite game, and I'm glad to see it moving again.

It was Louie who was with Jill and Charlie in NOR. Lionel was never there (except as one of the comatose characters).

You missed three characters on the helicopter (all the ones originally from HF, though Phil never appeared in that section): Agnes, Annie/Anna Blaize, and Phil.

Also, Sarah later did pick up Daniel's full bag of powder. Lionel has six doses left in his, and I believe Dahlia has six now as well (she's used at least two).

[Laraqua]

Sweet, thanks. I recall that Anna Blaize was Blackworth's friend, right? And who was Phil? I remember Aidan.

[Mr. Handy]

You're welcome! Yes, Annie was Daniel's friend, a WVS volunteer in HF, and she was Anna Blaize in the modern Ash setting. Phil McGrew had been a machinist's apprentice in World War Two and was a sixteen year old "soldier" in the Ash setting. Sarah and Cael found him hiding in a cupboard after everything went pear-shaped. He's pretty good with computers and electronics.

[Laraqua]

DSIGFUSS, if you could get Trixie to have the kids post -- just the once -- in response to Louie's suicidal impulses, that'd be great.

I half expect Brianna to yell encouragement for him to top himself!

[Mr. Handy]

That would be great if she came back! Even better if Piano man/Bundles came back with her to play Louie again. I know he's active on Dark and Moody.

Brianna might do that, but you never know. And I can see Dahlia trying to talk him out of it.

Sarah is ready to mace Louie if he tries to open the door, and she moves a lot faster than he does (plus she's expecting it). Hopefully my successful Psychoanalysis roll makes that unnecessary.

[kabukiman]

I'm very sorry, but for the next 2 weeks, I won't be able to post, I'm absolutely full of work. I'l resume as soon as possible.