CHAPTER ONE: Cole's Journey: Lock & Key

Herein you will find the earlier chapters of those unlucky enough to visit the quaint little tourist town with a weight in their hearts.

Moderator: Laraqua

User avatar
Laraqua
Son of Yog-Sothoth
Son of Yog-Sothoth
Posts: 12656
Registered for: 17 years 8 months
17
Location: Australia, Adelaide
Contact:

CHAPTER ONE: Cole's Journey: Lock & Key

Post by Laraqua »

Image

Cole finds himself driving along Sagan Street from over the bridge to Central Silent Hill. The town is rather quaint with its somewhat faded paint and very 1990s feel. The sun has already fallen behind the hills and the sky itself is a smattering of yellows and pinks reflected against the clouds and in this waning light he can see people heading home after a long day of retail. It is, after all, the tourist season, which works for him because people are less likely to notice a stranger in a tourist town during the tourist season. The town itself is a little cooler than the summer months suggest, sheltered as it is between hills and a lake whose glittering blueness was glimpsed many times during his winding drive through the hills.

There's a police station to his left as he crosses the crossroads and it seems rather large compared to the stores and stalls that crowd the streets around it. One street later and he follows Simmons Street left. Well, with the police so close to his location there's a good chance their response time will catch him in the act if he's not suitably cautious and cunning. He passes the Silent Hill Town Center, an enormous mall, and spots the Antique Green Lion stall to his right and beyond that, down the street, is Father Vincent's home.

Image

At least there's not much in the way of security fences and the balconies would give him access to a second floor. Besides which, people often forget to lock their balcony doors. Unfortunately, the whole front of the house is very much exposed by the street lighting and anyone gazing out their windows would see his approach. Heading further down the streets, he finds the houses and buildings quickly peter out into farmland. There doesn't appear to be a proper grid layout street that folds back behind Simmons Street so maybe there's just forrest and farmland behind that as well.
Is it bad that I listen to this about ten times a day?

Oh, also, check out my new blog on roleplaying and running games: http://stwildonroleplaying.blogspot.com/
Garrett
Adept
Adept
Posts: 793
Registered for: 11 years 10 months
11
Location: Gardner KS, USA
Contact:

Re: Cole's Journey: Lock & Key

Post by Garrett »

I let out a disappointed sigh, it always makes me feel powerful to go straight through the front door with my lock-picking skills; makes me feel like some kind of bad ass wraith. Looks like that wont be possible here, well regardless I'm certainly not gonna try anything during daylight; even if the sun is going down. I pull the car around trying to find a hotel, preferably one within walking distance to the church. A bar would also help; someplace I can socialize.
User avatar
Laraqua
Son of Yog-Sothoth
Son of Yog-Sothoth
Posts: 12656
Registered for: 17 years 8 months
17
Location: Australia, Adelaide
Contact:

Re: Cole's Journey: Lock & Key

Post by Laraqua »

Tramps Bar and Restaurant Dai Dai are both possibilities and sit on the corner of Koontz and Wilson Street, within easy walking distance of the location he has in mind. Tramps Bar is a very small little booze place with rundown brown wallpaper, a few booths by the cramped windows, and a row of stools by a rather scarred counter. It'd look like a nice and seedy pub if someone hadn't thought to decorate a series of shelves with a series of porcelain animals or put up family friendly posters for community theatre group productions over at Artaud Theatre.
Is it bad that I listen to this about ten times a day?

Oh, also, check out my new blog on roleplaying and running games: http://stwildonroleplaying.blogspot.com/
Garrett
Adept
Adept
Posts: 793
Registered for: 11 years 10 months
11
Location: Gardner KS, USA
Contact:

Re: Cole's Journey: Lock & Key

Post by Garrett »

I pull my car to Tramps parking lot and park as far away from the bar and street as I can. I stroll in with a light hearted grin on my face as I enter. I take a seat at the bar, light a cigarette and look around to see if there's anything or anyone of interest.

ooc: What day is it in game?
User avatar
Laraqua
Son of Yog-Sothoth
Son of Yog-Sothoth
Posts: 12656
Registered for: 17 years 8 months
17
Location: Australia, Adelaide
Contact:

Re: Cole's Journey: Lock & Key

Post by Laraqua »

The bar is pretty full for a dingy place but he manages to find a stool amongst the tourists as they babble about sightseeing locations and show each other photographs on their iPhones. It's a Thursday night in a tourist town. Tomorrow would be even worse. The bartender is a pretty rough looking guy with tattooed arm 'sleeves' visible under his short-sleeved top. His elderly mother can be seen making coffees from the barrista machine.

The male bartender looks him up and down. "Look, there's no smoking in bars in this state so you better not light that thing."
Is it bad that I listen to this about ten times a day?

Oh, also, check out my new blog on roleplaying and running games: http://stwildonroleplaying.blogspot.com/
Garrett
Adept
Adept
Posts: 793
Registered for: 11 years 10 months
11
Location: Gardner KS, USA
Contact:

Re: Cole's Journey: Lock & Key

Post by Garrett »

"Terribly sorry sir, I just entered the state and wasn't aware." I say quickly pocketing the unlit cigarette and smiling warmly.
"I'd sure love a cup of that coffee there mad'am" I say politely to the elderly woman, thinking it might piss off this man if I didn't order something. Once she is out of ear shot I turn back to the bartender, looking around first and trying to appear uncomfortable.
"Hey uh... your a local right? Would the local priest still be at the church, I uh, kind of need to make a confession."
User avatar
Laraqua
Son of Yog-Sothoth
Son of Yog-Sothoth
Posts: 12656
Registered for: 17 years 8 months
17
Location: Australia, Adelaide
Contact:

Re: Cole's Journey: Lock & Key

Post by Laraqua »

"What's your denomination?" asked the bartender, now kindly once the cigarette has been put away. "We have a few. There's the Balkan Church over on Bloch Street though I think that's more of a local faith, the Lutheran Church just off Acadia Road by the theatre but that priest is probably in bed by now, St. Stella Church which is Catholic and the priest is likely in, and that's about it."
Is it bad that I listen to this about ten times a day?

Oh, also, check out my new blog on roleplaying and running games: http://stwildonroleplaying.blogspot.com/
Garrett
Adept
Adept
Posts: 793
Registered for: 11 years 10 months
11
Location: Gardner KS, USA
Contact:

Re: Cole's Journey: Lock & Key

Post by Garrett »

"I'm catholic, sorry I didn't realize that all Christians made confession here. ... Ugh, I'd hate to bother the priest this late though, do you know when he'll be in tomorrow?"
User avatar
Laraqua
Son of Yog-Sothoth
Son of Yog-Sothoth
Posts: 12656
Registered for: 17 years 8 months
17
Location: Australia, Adelaide
Contact:

Re: Cole's Journey: Lock & Key

Post by Laraqua »

"I know jack all about what Christians do," says the bartender. "I just know where the churches are and a bit about some of the priests."
Is it bad that I listen to this about ten times a day?

Oh, also, check out my new blog on roleplaying and running games: http://stwildonroleplaying.blogspot.com/
Garrett
Adept
Adept
Posts: 793
Registered for: 11 years 10 months
11
Location: Gardner KS, USA
Contact:

Re: Cole's Journey: Lock & Key

Post by Garrett »

"Fair enough, well thanks pal I'll let you get back to your customers." As soon as he's gone I start making friendly small talk with other patrons and drink plenty of caffeine. Around two A.M if I'm talking to anyone I excuse myself for a cigarette and leave the bar. I quickly sneak to my car and retrieve my coat and gloves, which I don, my tazer, my rope, and my safe cracking gear. I then creep from behind the houses carefully, keeping them in sight until I reach Father Vincent's home. I look carefully before proceeding.
User avatar
Laraqua
Son of Yog-Sothoth
Son of Yog-Sothoth
Posts: 12656
Registered for: 17 years 8 months
17
Location: Australia, Adelaide
Contact:

Re: Cole's Journey: Lock & Key

Post by Laraqua »

Cole has to head further on down the street to get behind the houses without being too obvious about it because the buildings here are generally quite crowded around the town center. The streets themselves are deserted and a light mist has begun to roll in off the lake, causing the street lights to emit an almost eerie glow. Somewhere, in the distance, a dog yowls. But for that, it'd be easy to convince himself that the town was deserted if not for the chinks of light coming from behind the curtains. The chill seems to seep through his clothing though there isn't any wind to drive it. Stepping out on a dirt path that weaves off the road amongst the farmland, Cole strides into the darkness, guided only by the wan light of the moon bleeding through the clouds. He follows the path a short while, then hops a fence and heads past a barn filled with softly clucking hens, and continues in a relatively straight line until he finds the line of fencing that backs the various houses. He follows that line of fencing for a short while until he spots the right house, and then he peeks up and over it.

It's a small yard with several rose vines scrabbling over the brick fence, a Maple tree off to one side, and a large dog house in the corner with a bowl of water in front of it. There's two rear balconies onto the second floor and a rear door set into an alcove.
Is it bad that I listen to this about ten times a day?

Oh, also, check out my new blog on roleplaying and running games: http://stwildonroleplaying.blogspot.com/
Garrett
Adept
Adept
Posts: 793
Registered for: 11 years 10 months
11
Location: Gardner KS, USA
Contact:

Re: Cole's Journey: Lock & Key

Post by Garrett »

"Shit. That dog can only be a nuisance." I whisper to myself as I take out my tazer. I use my expertise to silently hop over the fence and to the dog house,
-if its inside I quickly zap it with my tazer while it has no room to dodge.
-if it isn't I hide behind the dog house away from the manor waiting for it to come.
User avatar
Laraqua
Son of Yog-Sothoth
Son of Yog-Sothoth
Posts: 12656
Registered for: 17 years 8 months
17
Location: Australia, Adelaide
Contact:

Re: Cole's Journey: Lock & Key

Post by Laraqua »

Cole fails to climb over the fence on his first try and the sharp rose thorns dig into his hands. He takes a deep breath and tries again, this time successfully climbing up and over it. He does it all without so much as a whisperfrom his clothing. Landing nimbly on the other side, he drops to a duck and creeps over to the dog's house only to find a small, white fluffy dog in the kennel.

http://www.animalsource.co.uk/ekmps/sho ... 1625-p.jpg

It looks up at Cole as he approaches and licks the air in a yawn. Cole has plenty of room to taze the dog while it waits inside.
Spoiler:
Show, I tried to include the picture but it won't do it so I'm linking it instead. Tell me if you're still going to taze the dog. It's all good but I figured that the slightly different information than what you may have expected may, or may not, change Cole's actions and I wasn't going to decide for you.
Is it bad that I listen to this about ten times a day?

Oh, also, check out my new blog on roleplaying and running games: http://stwildonroleplaying.blogspot.com/
Garrett
Adept
Adept
Posts: 793
Registered for: 11 years 10 months
11
Location: Gardner KS, USA
Contact:

Re: Cole's Journey: Lock & Key

Post by Garrett »

As soon as I see a living thing in the house I lash out at it, seeing it's a small dog I have tazed I pause for a moment. It still might throw a barking fit and alert someone, don't screw up your job. With a sigh I pull out my knife and slit the small animals throat, careful not to get any blood on my clothing. Poor thing. I think as I briefly watch the crimson blood make a growing stain on its white fur. It's almost beautiful in a screwed up way. I then proceed to check the house, careful to stay in the shadows, for any alarm systems. Staying out of view of the front of the house.
-if there are none I immediately pick the lock and enter the back door, making my way upstairs to the master bedroom, silently of course.
-if there are I attempt to disable it before doing the following.

P.S. I don't know if I ever specified this but Cole's tazer is a hand held not the gun version.
User avatar
Laraqua
Son of Yog-Sothoth
Son of Yog-Sothoth
Posts: 12656
Registered for: 17 years 8 months
17
Location: Australia, Adelaide
Contact:

Re: Cole's Journey: Lock & Key

Post by Laraqua »

There's a sticker on the rear door saying that it's protected by Incarda Security although there's a chance that it's just a dummy sticker. Unfortunately, Cole doesn't know anything about electronics so while he can get the door
Show,I figured it was hand-held. Since you probably didn't figure Electrical Repair would be the skill for this kind of roll, feel free to re-distribute your points. On the other hand, if the core book states that Locksmith also covers electronic locks and security systems, feel free to copy / paste the write up in the OOC section. I don't have the book at hand.
Is it bad that I listen to this about ten times a day?

Oh, also, check out my new blog on roleplaying and running games: http://stwildonroleplaying.blogspot.com/
Garrett
Adept
Adept
Posts: 793
Registered for: 11 years 10 months
11
Location: Gardner KS, USA
Contact:

Re: Cole's Journey: Lock & Key

Post by Garrett »

OOC: I only have a physical copy of the book but it says The user may repair locks, make keys, or open locks with the aid of skeleton keys, picks, and other tools. Especially difficult locks may lower the chance of success. A locksmith can open car doors, hot-wire autos, jimmy library windows, figure out Chinese puzzle boxes, and penetrate ordinary commercial alarm systems... I wouldn't have bothered with this skill in modern day if it couldn't handle alarm systems. =)
Still doing what I said above after I'm in.
User avatar
Laraqua
Son of Yog-Sothoth
Son of Yog-Sothoth
Posts: 12656
Registered for: 17 years 8 months
17
Location: Australia, Adelaide
Contact:

Re: Cole's Journey: Lock & Key

Post by Laraqua »

Cole quickly figures outthat the security system isn't connected to anything - the priest must'n't have bothered to keep up the payments or even do a full installation. All is quiet. The neighbours are hopefully all in bed and Father Vincent likely is as well. Or perhaps he'd be pouring over the Bible in preparation for getting a good night's rest. Cole unlocks the door and creeps inside a stubby corridor, flanked by doors, and with a painting hung against the wall.

Image

A quick peek in the left door shows that it leads into a rather modern kitchen, all sleek black-and-white cupboards and stainless steel appliances. There's even a coffee machine sitting on a counter top that is the sort of top of the line normally reserved for expensive cafes. This priest really likes his coffee. There's likely another door in that room though Cole didn't see it in his quick peek. To the right is a dark and gloomy room as there's not much in the way of windows, or perhaps the curtains are really heavy, but there's a smell of old socks and washing powder that pervades the air.
Show,it's still useful in the modern day. Locked doors, cars, filing cabinets, drawers.... But I see what you mean that you'd need points elsewhere. You might want to consider re-distributing some points into Climb, though. 80% in Lockpick and Sneak is probably all you'll need but you don't want to have over a 1 in 2 chance of falling off that balcony you climbed onto.
Is it bad that I listen to this about ten times a day?

Oh, also, check out my new blog on roleplaying and running games: http://stwildonroleplaying.blogspot.com/
Garrett
Adept
Adept
Posts: 793
Registered for: 11 years 10 months
11
Location: Gardner KS, USA
Contact:

Re: Cole's Journey: Lock & Key

Post by Garrett »

I silently go through the kitchen looking for a staircase, figuring that the master bedroom is probably upstairs, I only take a brief look around before going through the next door in the kitchen.
-If I find the master bedroom and father Vincent I shock him with my tazer and tie him to a chair, I keep one of my strong hands on his throat to keep him from screaming before waking him up.
OOC: feel free to stop me if I skip ahead of something. On the note of what you said yesterday a big reason I have Sneak and Locksmith at 90 is for the sanity bonus. (I want my character to be very cool headed)Also I don't know what you mean about climbing on the balconies I said I entered through the back door, if a house like this didn't have a ground level back door it would have stairs or something leading up to the balcony, wouldn't it? Either way I don't plan to redistribute.
User avatar
Laraqua
Son of Yog-Sothoth
Son of Yog-Sothoth
Posts: 12656
Registered for: 17 years 8 months
17
Location: Australia, Adelaide
Contact:

Re: Cole's Journey: Lock & Key

Post by Laraqua »

The kitchen door opens up into a dining room with heavy dark curtains that block all of the light from outside but Cole's eyes have already adjusted and he can make out the shapes of the furniture ahead. Paintings hang on the walls, their images lost to the gloom. He steps carefully across the floorboards until he reaches an archway into a carpeted hallway and he slowly treks up the stairs to the upper floor. Light spills out from around the edges of one of the doors, revealing cream coloured carpet and simple darker cream wallpaper hung with other paintings that show places in silent hill. The light house, an earlier version of the police station, Artaud Theatre, and several of the lake and the hills. There's a total of five doors on this floor with one at the very end. It's a door to the left that has that light coming from it.
Show,you don't get a Sanity bonus unless your skill reach 90 through in-game skill bumps so if you want those Sanity bonuses you'll need to re-distribute anyway and wait for the next chapter. Feel free to copy/paste the alternative from the book if you can find it as I don't have access to the book during my breaks at work. As for Climb, I get what you mean, but figured that as a burglar you might sometimes need to climb walls. You've already had to climb a fence. It's all good, though. As for jumping ahead, you're giving me If / Then statements so that's cool with me. When you're with another player I'd suggest you just post your immediate next action and perhaps intentions, simply for pacing needs and because I normally have it be a Player - Player - Storyteller posting sequence and if you post a list of If / Then's, the other players won't know how to respond properly. So basically, for now it's all good and helps us speed things along. Later on, though, you'll need to stick with your immediate actions.
Is it bad that I listen to this about ten times a day?

Oh, also, check out my new blog on roleplaying and running games: http://stwildonroleplaying.blogspot.com/
Garrett
Adept
Adept
Posts: 793
Registered for: 11 years 10 months
11
Location: Gardner KS, USA
Contact:

Re: Cole's Journey: Lock & Key

Post by Garrett »

I slowly make my way to the room with the light, once I reach the outside of the door I take my gun out and quickly glance inside.
-If father Lawrence is in there and sees me I point my gun at him and tell him to be silent.
-If he isn't facing me I approach from behind and zap him with my tazer.
-If he isn't in the room I take a quick look around before checking the rest of them.

OOC: I modded my character sheet a little as per your advice.
Locked

Return to “Earlier Chapters”

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 1 guest