Play@YSDC

The Students' Campsite
On the banks of the Miskatonic River
Monday June 6, 1927 1:10 pm

Albert, Mickey, and Donald pull up to the end of Cabot Road in Albert's Ford. They park the car a little off to the side of the narrow road and get out. In front of them is the darkly muttering Miskatonic River. It's flowing fast today, likely a result of the weekend's storms. A slight wind has picked up and it seems a bit cooler here than it was in town. As the three get ready to head up the river, the hear another car approaching.

After a moment, a taxi appears and drops off Gregory, Ondine, and Jack. Gregory asks the cabby to pick them up around sundown. He nods and says, Hey, it's your dime, Mack. Reunited, they all decide to make the half-mile hike together. It's somewhat slow going as much of the bank is overgrown, but they make it without too much trouble.

The bank opens up into a sandy strip where Atwater and Cardigan were camped. Surprisingly, the tent is still up, but the group doesn't see much of anything else. There seems to be a lot of crows around and everyone can hear them constantly cawing. A police officer is stationed by the tent and informs them that the rest of the cops and the civilian volunteers are already in the woods looking for Cardigan. You're welcome to join them, of course. Or you can take a look around here, but there ain't much to see as far as I know.

You're welcome to join them, of course. Or you can take a look around here, but there ain't much to see as far as I know.

Thank you officer. I think I'd like to look at the campsite first then I'll join the others in the search for the boy. Winston says to the Policeman.

Albert will systematically search the campsite looking for any clue, any footprint, anything that could help him to have an idea what had happened there and where Richard could be.

Spot hidden.
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1485475/

Be my guest, says the officer. Albert spends the next 20 minutes or so searching around the campsite. There's no much of anything at all in the tent or its immediate surrounding area. All of the footprints, unfortunately, have been either washed away by the heavy storm and rains of the weekend or trampled by the civilian volunteers or the police so there's not much unusual there.

The only thing that strikes Albert as odd as that the crows they saw and heard when they first arrived don't seem to be going away. If anything their caws seem to be increasing. Albert looks up and down the bank and notices a small group of crows huddled around a small area of beach a short way up the sandy beach.

Albert Winston

It's odd those crows around here. There is one logical explanation for that, but I don't want to think about it now... He shakes his head to push these dark thought away of his mind.

Discretely Albert signalize to his colleagues to follow him and heads to the small group of crows huddled around a small area of beach a short way up the sandy beach.

Gregory Atkinson

Miss Scarlet wrote:Albert Winston
Discretely Albert signalize to his colleagues to follow him and heads to the small group of crows huddled around a small area of beach a short way up the sandy beach.

Gregory goes with the others and indicates to Jack to follow (since he is employed by the firm, I will volunteer to have him as my "henchman" [in the classic D&D sense] until HellBlazer gets back, just to keep the story moving). I can't imagine the cops would miss a body this close to the campsite, but then again...wolves?!?

Donald Lutherhagen

He looks around the campsite for anything out of place in a normal campsite. The positioning of the tent, the fire, and if there was one he kicks the ashes.

Donald follows Albert after the find.

Nothing strikes Donald as particularly odd. Really the only thing left to see at the site itself is the tent which doesn't yield any readily apparent clues. He sees where the student's had their fire, but he can't deduce anything from it.

Ondine Dumont

Completely ignoring Albert's waves Ondine approaches the tent enters, and proceeds to give it a once over. Arkham's finest, why isn't this site protected?

Spot hidden in the tent please
Tent Spot hidden (1d100=31)

The Tent
Ondine spends a bit of time searching through the tent. Nothing much presents itself as the tent is mostly empty. No blood, no nothing really. The officer walks over to her and explains how they went through the tent thoroughly, and took everything back to the station. So far, nothing has turned up as a clue. Ondine is a bit skeptical of the police thus far, though, so she doesn't know how reliable this information is.


The Crows
Albert, Donald, Gregory, and Jack approach the bustling murder of crows. The big black birds don't pay much attention to the four until they're almost on top of them--at which point the birds fly off cawing madly at the interruption. The resulting image is horrifying. The group sees a face-down, rotting corpse. The crows had eaten much of the flesh off the left shoulder, and were moving on to the higher reaches of the back before being disturbed. Most of the left ear is gone as well.

The body is not fully uncovered and some of it still lays beneath the sand. The stench is awful, though, and supremely revolting. Clouds of flies buzz around the bloated thing. It looks as if the body has been here for a few days. The river had risen substantially over the weekend because of the storm and now that it's abated, the water has receded a bit which must have uncovered this much of the corpse.

SAN (1/1d4+1) checks for the four who see the corpse (well three, I'll worry about Jack for now).

Albert Winston

Albert looks at the semi-buried corpse for a moment before reacting. We should call the Police and check who this is. I think we shouldn’t move the body without Police's knowledge. Saying this, Winston calls the Policeman who was guarding the campsite.

Officer, there is a body here! He shouts.

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1495789

Gregory Atkinson

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1495885/

After taking a few moments to get over the shock with some deep breaths, Gregory says: Jack, get on the other side and help me keep those crows from coming back, Mr. Lutherhagen, please go back and keep Ondine and the kid (Mickey) from seeing this and and tell that idiot cop to hurry up!, omit the last part if the officer has responded or is hurrying over, but Greg definitely says it if he is silent and is taking his time.

Wow, I thought I'd roll a 99 for sure!

To Albert, much more quietly: Lutherhagen knew Richard, right? When we get this body turned over I'd rather he did an ID than Mickey.

Christ, Saltonstall is going to flip! How did the morons at the department miss this? That Atwater kid must have really lost it. Yeah, he's jumping to conclusions here, but it seems like the obvious ones for the situation.

Albert Winston

I can ID him too, if it's him. Richard is my student. Albert comments with Gregory, being positive until there is no more hope.

Ondine Dumont

amarriner wrote:Ondine spends a bit of time searching through the tent. Nothing much presents itself as the tent is mostly empty. No blood, no nothing really. The officer walks over to her and explains how they went through the tent thoroughly, and took everything back to the station. So far, nothing has turned up as a clue. Ondine is a bit skeptical of the police thus far, though, so she doesn't know how reliable this information is.

Officer as the items we're removed did you by chance see a book or any article that would be out of place on a camping trip

Miss Scarlet wrote:Officer, there is a body here! He shouts.

Ondine then stairs dumb founded toward the direction of the others. when the officer leaves she follows behind

Should donald wish to stop her he won't have a problem

Donald Lutherhagen

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1497580/

Dear Lord! cries Donald turning away and fighting nausea. He recovers quiclky though and seeing Ondine and the officer walking towards the river walks away from the horrid site to intercept Ondine.
Please Ondine. You shouldn't be seeing this. Walk with me please. Let's leave it to the Police. Mickey, you too. Please. A bit pale, Donald takes her hand and walks her away from the corpse.

Mickey O'Dwyer

Updated equipment: Bag containing pen, paper, magnifiying glass, sampling kit, botany book, basic first aid materials, small scalpel for extracting samples, electric torch.
Let me know if anything not ok.


Mickey had been feeling unwell on the ride over to the campsite. Sure that it must be the stress of the morning catching up with him, he elected to remain in the car until his wave of nausea passed.

After about half an hour, Mickey grabbed his bag, tugged on his cap and made his way over to his group of new friends. He heard them before he saw them, and realisation that something was very wrong hit him with full force.

Jogging over to them, he yelled What is it? What have you found? Catching up with Donald and Ondine, his voice rising hysterically, It’s Richie isn’t it? Starting to shake and tears rolling down his face, he tries to push his way past them , only to be gently held back by Donald, who leads him back with Ondine. Mr Lutherhagen? Miss Dumont? Will somebody tell me what’s happening? Put me out of my misery, ok? as he starts shaking.

The Tent

Ondine wrote:Officer as the items we're removed did you by chance see a book or any article that would be out of place on a camping trip

Hmm, not that I'm aware of, Miss. There were a couple of botany textbooks, but from what I understand these kids were students at MU so that's not really unusual. Certainly there was nothing out of the ordinary.


The Corpse

Jack didn't fare as well as the rest of you guys did for the Sanity roll. He failed the roll and then proceeded to lose 5 Sanity. He then failed (or succeeded depending on your point of view!) his Idea roll to prevent temporary insanity (because he lost 5 or more Sanity in a single roll). So the long and the short of it is Jack is temporarily insane and is not moving or talking right now. Geez, you'd think a PI would be used to this sort of thing.

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1498774/
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1498778/

Albert wrote:Officer, there is a body here! He shouts.

At this, the cop turns and runs towards the spot where Albert, Gregory, and Jack are passing the returning Donald along the way. Gregory is shouting for Jack to help keep the crows at bay, but Jack's eyes are glazed over and he's not moving at all. He's just standing bolt upright staring at the corpse.

The crows are trying to get back at the corpse a bit. They aren't too close yet, but they're gaining confidence and inching slowly back towards the group. Gregory does his best to keep them away but there are a lot of them.

Once the cop reaches the body he yells at everyone, Okay keep back! I've got to take a look at this. I don't want anyone tampering with evidence! He hears them discussing identifying the body, though, and thinks it might be a good idea to do that and so he kneels down and reaches to turn the body over as best he can since it's still partially buried in the wet sand.

At this point, more awfulness happens. The officer only moves the corpse slightly when suddenly from beneath it a hand shoots out and grabs the officer's arm! This is accompanied by a horrendous screech and screaming. The cop falls a little and backs away from the body in shock. The hand is wrinkled and old, but very human and very alive! From the angle, those present can see that it's a different person than the one they've been looking at! There's another body underneath the corpse ... and it's alive!!!

In the chaos, one of the crows seizes the opportunity to swoop in and and succeeds in plucking off a finger from the newly exposed hand that grabbed the policeman. This elicits even louder and stronger screams from the trapped person below the corpse ...

More Sanity rolls!
I need a Sanity roll (1/1d6+2) from Gregory and Albert for seeing the hand and then another roll (0/1d3) for the bird taking the finger. I'll roll Jack's in a few minutes and post the results in the OOC thread. Needless to say he'll be useless for a short while.

Ondine Dumont

Mon dieu ! Donald is it him. what happened, you've gone ashen.

Mickey O'Dwyer

Torn between running over to the tent to check out for himself the latest discovery, Mickey instead, awaits by the reassuring presence of Donald. Trying his best to regain his composure, Mickey's nerves are further frayed by the sounds of more commotion coming from the campsite.

Making an irrational mental note to check out the botany textbooks, to determine if they're Richie's, Mickey says absently What's with all these crows?

Taking a few faltering steps back, Mickey's confidence eludes him, as he comes to the conclusion that even if the body is Richie's, I'm not sure I'm up to the job of ID'ing him.

Gregory Atkinson

amarriner wrote:More Sanity rolls!
I need a Sanity roll (1/1d6+2) from Gregory and Albert for seeing the hand and then another roll (0/1d3) for the bird taking the finger. I'll roll Jack's in a few minutes and post the results in the OOC thread. Needless to say he'll be useless for a short while.

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1499316/ 100
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1499329/ 3
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1499330/ 70
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1499331/ 3

Gregory says: Gurgle.....

7 points in a few minutes, more than 10% of total, shall I begin rolling a new one?

Albert Winston

Sanity rolls

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1499591/
Lost 1

http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1499597/

Winston is shocked by seeing a hand coming beneath the corpse, but it seems he has seen too much odd things in his life that his reaction is to reach for that hand. Unfortunately the crow gets it first, but still he tries to pull that hand to see what is attached to it.

Albert tugs on the hand a little, but the bloated corpse is weighing down whatever (or whomever) is beneath. The tugging brings more screaming from underneath. The cop finally snaps out of his temporary shock and moves in to help Albert. He begins pulling on the corpse to get it out of the sand and turn it over while Albert pulls on the living arm.

After some intense straining, the policeman gets the corpse turned over and off what's attached to the arm. Albert notices, with dismay, that the rotting corpse is, in fact, Richard Cardigan. The body is in very bad shape because of the crows, the river water, the sand, and just general decay. Albert feels awful for the boy.

What's now plain, too, is that the arm that reached for the cop is attached to a living person. The cop and Albert both haul him up out of the shallow grave. He appears to be a very old and hunchbacked man. His skin seems to be charred black and he has very little hair on his head. Small scraps of cloth are the only clothing he wears. His eyes dart from Albert to the cop and back again. They're wide open, and Albert thinks he's either scared or in shock or both.

Before either the cop or Albert can question him he screams again and then shouts very loudly, HENRY ATWATER! With that, he collapses on the sand. At first, Albert thinks he's dead, but then notices the man's chest slowly moving up and down rhythmically.

Mickey O'Dwyer

Witnessing the proceedings at the campsite, Mickey can no longer restrain himself upon hearing the cry of Henry Atwater's name. Getting no answers to his questions where he is, he rushes forward to the others at the tent, shaking the arm of the nearest person and exclaiming breathlessly What's going on?, the pitch of his voice reaching a high level.

OOC - Time to join the party I guess!

Donald Lutherhagen

All the screams and shouts have made Donald even paler. His bare hands suddenly draining of blood and unnaturally cold. He seems weak and strained. Not saying anythin and definitely not looking back, he slowly walks away. This is too much for me.

Albert Winston

You better don't come here, Mickey. I can tell you we found Richard. He's dead, and it's not a good sight... Please, stay with M.lle Ondine. Winston asks as he sees the young student approaching.

And now Officer, I'm a doctor. Do you allow me to examine this person? And Albert points to the old man who shouted Henry Atwater. And I think it's better to call for reinforcement.

Ondine Dumont

Ondine is pulled toward the river by Mickey stunned by the revelation some one is still alive. Winston who is that, who's with you?

From two to three what in the world is going on here?

I'll roll san if we make it their

Okay you can examine him, but be careful. We'll be needing to question him! I'm going to get some backup now ... With that the cop runs back towards the tent to call in some more police.

Before Albert even attempts to examine this new person he notices that the man looks very, very old. Charred black skin and tatters for clothes. It's hard to focus with the sudden realization that Richard is dead, but if Albert wants to examine this new figure now is the time.

Roll Sanity (1/1d3) for seeing Richard dead, Miss Scarlet (thanks for the heads up about this! ) Anyone else who gets close enough to see the corpse will have to roll Sanity (1/1d4+1) as well. If Mickey or Donald see it, roll an extra Sanity (1/1d3) as well.

Mickey O'Dwyer

Miss Scarlet wrote:
You better don't come here, Mickey. I can tell you we found Richard. He's dead, and it's not a good sight... Please, stay with M.lle Ondine.

As Mickey heads over to the campsite, Albert’s words pierce him like knives. The realisation that his friend’s corpse has been discovered prove too much for him, and he begins to sob uncontrollably. Reaching out for comfort from the nearest person, he clutches Ondine for support. My friend…..Richie……dead. Oh my God.

A part of him is sure that a mistake has been made. Maybe Dr Winston got it wrong? This kind of thing only happens to other people after all. About to head over and point out that the body can’t be Richie, Mickey is struck by the force and severity of Albert’s words. Veering away from the campsite Mickey feels the need to vomit…..it must be the shock.

OOC: I haven't rolled for sanity...Mickey's skirting around the edge of the campsite. If you feel that he's seen enough to warrant a sanity roll, particularly in view of the fact that he's got the closest relationship to the deceased, then let me know and I'll roll up next post!

Ondine Dumont

What is going on
she looks over at the scene and remains surprisingly calm
2 san checks, and san loss (1d100=49, 1d00=1, 1d4 1=4, 1d3=1)

Sacrebleu! Ah.. Dorctor do you need assistance removing that, err.. ah him! or should I get more police!


Edit: lost 2 is that right. Yay!

After a few minutes some police come spilling out of the forest. They'd been on the search for Cardigan, but the officer stationed at the tent who witnessed the recent events had gone off to retrieve some of them. They're now starting to mill around and several more come in periodically. There's now about 8 cops around the body and this new person.

They're mostly talking amongst themselves and asking the posted officer what happened and who this person is. He doesn't have many answers for them, but the group can tell that they're getting ready to transport the living person back to Arkham--possibly to St. Mary's Hospital--and then also trying to work on getting Cardigan's body back to the morgue.

Right, I don't think Mickey has to roll until he comes in full view of Cardigan's body. He's okay for now.

Yep, Ondine lost two. Nicely done!

I'll probably end this scene on Monday so if there's anything else you'd like to do before it ends post now. If I have to extend it I will, but it can probably be finished up by then. You'll know where everyone is being taken so you can make your decision on your next move when this comes to a close.

Mickey O'Dwyer

After taking a few moments to pull himself together, Mickey breathes deeply and decides to do what he does best - make a study and analysis of the plant life and natural environment around the campsite. In his own way, he wants to feels like he's contributing something to this investigation, plus it helps take his mind off the circumstances. Feeling sure that none of these cops are experts in this particular field, Mickey thinks Who knows, maybe there'll be some kind of clue here?

Mickey works efficiently at scouring the area, and without realising it, veers too close to the campsite and bears witness to the remains of his friend.

OOC - Sanity checks (sorry, I cocked up my first lot of rolls!): http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1504219/

Choking back tears, Mickey continues to work diligently around the campsite, taking samples and using his botantical knowledge to determine whether he can detect anything unusual.

OOC - Natural History check: http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1504225/

Albert Winston

Sanity roll for seeing Richard dead. Lost 1.
http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/1504565/

Ondine Dumont wrote:Winston who is that, who's with you?

It's Richard, M.lle Dumont. We found him... He's dead... Winston express his grief through the tone of voice he says the last sentence.

Police Officer wrote:Okay you can examine him, but be careful. We'll need to question him! I'm going to get some backup now...

I'll just check his condition, to know how he is and which kind of care he needs now.

When the other policemen arrive, Winston points at the dead body: It's Richard Cardigan. He was my student. I could recognize him.

Then he points the old man: I don't know who he is, but he isn't in good condition. He needs special care, so it would be good if you could provide transportation back to Arkham and take him to a hospital. The only thing he said was "Henry Atwater" then he passed out.

Albert steps back and lets the officers to do their jobs.

Miss Scarlet wrote:I'll just check his condition, to know how he is and which kind of care he needs now.

From what Albert can tell the man looks very old. He's not sure if it's because the man's skin looks charred or if he really is old. He's breathing steadily and seems healthy enough. Albert's best recommendation would be to get him to the hospital as soon as possible. The man must be pretty hungry and dehydrated by now--and in his current condition there's no way to determine his mental state. It appears as if he's been stuck under a rotting corpse buried in sand for at least a day or two now ...

Albert Winston

Winston will reinforce his opinion that the man should take to a hospital immediately.

Then he'll look around to see if his colleagues are well, after all it was a shock after a shock. Dead body, old man buried beneath Richard...

His attention will be called by Jack, who seems to be in shock. He'll check on him and recommend he'll be taken home for resting until next morning, at least.

Donald Lutherhagen

Donald walks to the nearest tree stump and sits down to catch his breath and recover a bit. He hangs his head between his knees and takes a few deep breaths. When color returns to his face, Donald walks over to Ondine. I'm sorry I left you Dear. Come, let us leave this dreadful place and catch our breath.

Dondero wrote:Choking back tears, Mickey continues to work diligently around the campsite, taking samples and using his botantical knowledge to determine whether he can detect anything unusual.

Mickey does a fairly thorough search of the area (or at least as thorough as can be given he's upset about Richard). Nothing seems odd or out of place at all, really.

Finally some more cops show up and they begin the work of carrying both the body of Richard Cardigan and the still alive and as yet unidentified man back to the cars on Cabot Rd. Jack asks a few of them where they're being taken. It appears Richard's corpse will be sent to the morgue, of course, and this new person is being sent to St. Mary's Hospital initially so he can be stabilized and given everything he needs.

With that many of the police disperse. A few remain to round up the rest of the civilian volunteers. Some of the volunteers are still spilling from the adjoining woods and aren't really sure what's going on. They're simply being told to leave and being thanked for their assistance. The police don't feel it's in their best interest to give these people all the facts just yet. They'll just have to read about it in the papers tomorrow morning ...

Ondine Dumont

zielonobrody wrote:Donald Lutherhagen

Donald walks to the nearest tree stump and sits down to catch his breath and recover a bit. He hangs his head between his knees and takes a few deep breaths. When color returns to his face, Donald walks over to Ondine. I'm sorry I left you Dear. Come, let us leave this dreadful place and catch our breath.

yes, it's fine Donald you we're needed, I think it would be best for us to return now. Gregory and Jack seem disposed my I ride to Arkham with you.

I just need to get home, I don't need to know this.

let's just hope the Doctor finishes soon

Mickey O'Dwyer

Having kept busy and his mind occupied, Mickey notices the activity slowing down around the area. Making a mental note that the injured man has been taken to St Mary's hospital, Mickey packs up his gear and wanders over to the others. Not feeling up to offering comfort to Jack and Gregory, and seeing Albert is still busy, Mickey makes his way over to Ondine and Donald, and hovers nearby not really saying much to anybody.

Finding it difficult to comprehend that Richie is actually dead, he mumbles We gotta find out who....what....did this. Are we sure we've thoroughly searched this area? These cops don't look as if they know what they're doing that well.

Albert Winston

Winston manages to keep a shovel when the cops are leaving. After this, he'll begin to dig at the same place they took the old man. When the others come around he says:

I'd like to see if there is anything here that could have some importance...

Albert wants to dig where the old man was to check if there is any clue left.

Donald Lutherhagen

Seeing Albert start to dig and not noticing any Police intervention as of yet, Donald decides to keep watch over him in case some Policemen think of interrupting him. Lousy Police. On the other hand Albert seems to be keeping his cool and his mind focused.

To Ondine and Mickey:
Why don't you two go back to the car and wait for us a few minutes. This won't take long. Take a breath and get a drink of water.

The police are so focused on getting Cardigan's body out as well as the other man they don't pay much attention to Albert. Besides, many of them are busy herding the volunteers out anyway. Albert digs down a bit, but there's not much to be found, alas. He just sees more wet dirt ...

Albert Winston

Since there is nothing else to find there, just wet dirt, Winston straights his body feeling a bit the effects of this effort.

Then he turns to Donald. There is nothing there... Better get out of here. Now I need a bath. I think will be too late, but if it's possible I'll try to check on the old man at the Hospital. If not today, tomorrow morning.

Albert heads to his car to get back to the city. He looks back once again, trying to see the crows. Where are they now? He asks to himself.

He'll drive back to Arkham and take Donald and Mickey, and Ondine if she comes too, where they want, then he'll go to his home to bath and change. If it isn't too late he'll go to the St. Mary's Hospital.

Mickey O'Dwyer

Events of the day had taken their toll on Mickey, and he was feeling drained and in need of some rest and familiar surroundings. Nodding numbly at Albert, he gets into his car, and merely mumbles, I think we'd all be better off with a nights rest. God willing, the man will still be around in the morning.

Feeling himself begin to drift off into a doze, Mickey woke up with a start, It's the shock, as he shivers and rubs his hands down the sides of his shirt to try and get warm.

One of the cops overhears Albert saying how he might visit the man at St. Mary's and offers his unsolicited advice, May want to hold off on that 'til the mornin', pal. Not likely they'll let you talk to him before then. We'll have to question him, too, of course ...

Gregory Atkinson
Shaking off the daze he has been in, he realizes that much has happened since he received a couple of shocks, and has been wandering around like a zombie. He immediately asks one of the exiting cops for a ride.
Gregory will explain his urgency for the fastest possible transportation (possibly along with Jack, if he can swing it) by pointing out someone has to tell the family, and who better than the father's lawyer. Let me know if there is any argument and I will roll and role play out the scenario.
I've got to tell Saltonstall about this ASAP!