Play@YSDC

Dunwich Beach - Dunwich, England
2:35 PM - Thursday, September 5, 1985

Leonek drove down the street to the phone booth, where Raymond and Salem squeezed into the vehicle. With it now fully loaded, he turned around and drove back to the beach. Luckily the Land Rover had four-wheel drive, so it had no problem going over the sandy, rocky surface. Leonek made his way back down the beach and pulled up past Horsham's shack, close to where the land came to an end at the base of the cliffs. The small boat was right where they had left it.

"We should takes some paddles from the shack. And if Horsham is in, we should try to subdue him, but allow him the chance to get away. If he's innocent, he'll run to the police and that should attract sufficient attention from the fishmen. If he's with them, he'll put all those bad guys on our tail, giving the other a chance to liberate Dr. Kirby. Well, that's what I'd suggest anyway..."

Leonek stops the engine and shifts in his seat, his drying underwear causing him some discomfort, although Elizabeth's presence seems to be more unnerving.

Tobias sees Leonek shifting uncomfortably and is reminded, "Gee, I feel almost naked without a weapon; are we really going in empty handed?"

"Anything you don't have you can find in the field. Anything you can't find you didn't need anyway," as Salem looks towards Tobias in a reassuring manner.

Salem adds to Leonek's statement, "Don't forget about lifejackets!"

Chad tries to reassure Tobias. "Don't worry old boy. I've still got my trusty Luger, so not totally empty handed."

Salem raises an eyebrow, "A Luger? That's quite the antique you're handling there. I hear they run for quite a bit of cash these days, especially after the Second World War." Salem rummages around in his satchel and hands two 9mm magazines to Chad, "I imagine you must've paid an arm and a leg for it," Salem closely studies Chad's scars, "...And your face as well," Salem gives a timid smile, as he jumps out the cramped car and move towards Horsham's shack.

Tobias barely disguises his disgust, "Bloody hell, what an organisation." He mutters, but only Lucius and Story, sitting next to him, overhear. He awaits his turn and then jumps down onto the sand.

Story merely smiles at Tobias and patiently awaits his turn to exit the vehicle. His thoughts dwell on the violence that is sure to occur in the moments to come.

One by one, the group emerged from the Land Rover.

OOC,The magazines don't fit the Luger, but the bullets could be extracted manually and loaded into an empty Luger magazine (if it becomes empty). Everyone approaching the shack may roll Listen.

Leonek leaves the engine running and gets out of the car, making towards the shack.

Listen 45% success!,[dice]0[/dice]

Listen 25%,[dice]0[/dice]

OOC,InvisibleCastle is down :[

Story walks over to the shack with the others.

Listen 34%,[dice]0[/dice]

Leonek slowed down, signalling to the others that there was one individual in the shack. He then proceeded to make a gun with his hands, quietly suggesting the people with the guns go inside.

Tobias shrugs and falls to the back of the group. He scans the surrounding area and the sea.

rolls,Listen = 53 Spot Hidden = 64 (fails) (I used D&Moody but haven't learnt how to get the links for the rolls yet, sorry)

Elizabeth walks with the others, and seeing Leonek's signal makes sure that she is really quiet. She looks around for any sign of life, or anyone watching or following them.

OOC,Trying Listen roll (stat 34%) [dice]0[/dice]

Brook also proceeds with caution as Leonek signals.

Salem follows Leonek's lead, however, as he crouches down to stay alert, a stabbing pain spreads in his upper body from the drowning incident, and leaves Salem uncomfortable.

roll listen,IC is down, you'll have to trust me. (Rummages through mansions of madness to find his ten sided die. ) 69 fail

After taking the extra magazines Chad follows the others out of the Rover. After freeing himself from the crowded vehicle he once again readies his pistol. He looks at the shack briefly sizing up the geography and architecture to determine how best to make a tactical approach that would accomplish their goals. The resident may be disposed to flee, then again maybe not. They needed not to suffer casualties over the simple.

ooc,I'm having a hard time visualizing our approach. Can I get a scene description? I don't remember ever coming here

Elizabeth Young,[b]Elizabeth[/b] could hear someone moving around inside the shack.

OOC,I've activated the built-in dice roller for this forum, so you're free to use that if you wish. Unfortunately, there's no way to link individual rolls on Dark and Moody; it appears that those rolls were not logged anyway (I think you may have to be logged in for that to work). I gave a brief description of the area in the first post of [url=http://www.callofcthulhu.org.uk/pbp/viewtopic.php?f=233&t=4703]this thread[/url]; it's the same place where [b]Leonek[/b] and [b]Salem[/b] came ashore at the start of the chapter.

Salem crouches towards the shack, he ducks underneath the window of the shack, and gets ready to peak his head into the window once everybody is in position.

Chad observes Salem getting into position at the window. He then makes a similar approach to the entrance being as quiet as possible. [dice]0[/dice] Chad takes up position to the knob side of the door and crouches down ready to make a forced entry. Chad then focuses on Salem waiting for a signal.

Suddenly Chad has a flashback to a crashing Helicopter.

Tobias creeps around the back of the shack to check there are no secondary exits.

Salem Shields,[b]Salem[/b] peeked through the window and saw [b]Horsham[/b] shuffling through the store, apparently checking his inventory. His back was to both the window and the door at the moment.

Tobias Maddox,[b]Tobias[/b] circled around to the rear of the shack and saw that there was in fact a back door. A pair of trash cans flanked it, and they reeked of rotting fish.

OOC,That probably was a Sneak roll, in which case it definitely failed. You won't need to roll Sneak unless you're trying to enter the shack quietly. When you use the built-in dice roller, please include an OOC comment specifying what you're rolling for if I haven't asked for a roll or it isn't clear, as the dice roller doesn't have a Note field like Invisible Castle does.

Salem signals a hushing gesture with his finger towards the group, indicating that Horsham is still in the shack.

Tobias waits, listening for the others to storm the shack. Then he'll push the trash cans in front of the back door to hopefully block it.

Elizabeth nods in response to Salem, and stays as quiet as possible, at a distance from the shack.

In the meantime, Leonek sees if he can find a pair of paddles from where he is standing. They'd have to move quickly once Horsham bolted off.

Leonek found that the upturned boats that were arrayed in front of the shack had paddles beneath them.

Chad nods to Salem as he gets set to make make entry. He waits for a go sign.

OOC,yes it was supposed to be sneak I'll mind the annotation for future posts. It was kind of a learner for me to use the embedded roller.

Brook hunkers down next to Elisabeth. Looking towards the shack, she whispers: "I wish I had a bathing suit or something...."

Elizabeth smiles at Brook's comment, but says nothing in response, lest they be heard.

As Salem watches everybody ducking cover against the wall, Salem tries to devise a plan as he looks at the sand and his damp wet clothes.

OOC,Is it possible when earlier I peaked into the window, I could use [b]Psychology[/b] to tell if [b]Horsham[/b] was either in a rush looking through his inventory, or not?

Salem hunches over on the beach, and starts rubbing sand on his clothes and kneading the sand into his hair, as Salem tousles it. Looking at his companions without any approval, Salem makes sure everybody is concealed and in position. Salem fumbles through the front door, crashing into the floor and scrambling around for something to prop himself up, Salem looks up, feigning fear in his eyes "W-what are those things?!"

Horsham turned around when Salem burst in, startled. "What happened?" he asked. "Are you all right?"

"I-I don't know, m-my friend and I were fishing. All of a sudden a big bang went off and something grabbed me into the water!" Pushing himself to relive those frightening moments when he barely wrestled his way out of the ocean.

Tobias quietly puts his ear to the shed wall so he can hear what's going on inside.

Chad listens closely to the action. Maybe they should have come up with a signal for this little stunt. Oh well too late now. He pays close attention to the dialogue to determine if he needs to rush the scene.

Horsham frowned. "Might have been a shark attack," he says, looking Salem over. "They been seen in these waters. You don't look bit, at least. Do you want me to call the doctor?" He glanced back at the phone on the counter.

OOC,[b]Tobias[/b], you'll be able to hear shouting and loud noises from behind the large shack, but you'll need to make a Listen roll to hear normal conversation.

Salem had remembered when visiting Horsham earlier today, he had noticed webbed fingers that were starting to develop on Horsham, "I need your boats! I gotta save my friend! I swear I saw somebody take my friend!"

Story patiently waits outside with the others.

"All right, I'm coming," said Horsham, shuffling towards the door. "Maybe it's a diver, but nobody rented any diving gear from me today. What happened to the boat you rented from me? Why can't we just use that?"

Tobias listens,but can't hear anything yet. At least there's unlikely to be any mad gambits through the back door. He waits.

"The boat got turned over and I lost the paddles. Not a strong swimmer, so I flipped the boat over and paddled my way out with my hands." Salem pauses and catches his breath, "You'll think I'm crazy, but I swear someone or something grabbed my friend with claws and gills!" Salem, trying to gauge Horsham's reaction.

Elizabeth watches and waits patiently and quietly, trying to make sense of what is going on, and rather wishing the plan had been explained to them all more clearly in advance!

Horsham's eyes widened. "I think you've been talking to too many drunken fishermen," he said as he reached the front door. "All right, let's go out and look for your friend."

OOC,[b]Salem[/b], please roll Psychology.

Leonek wonders what the hell is going on inside and moves closer to one of the boats, trying to give Horsham less incentive to escape via the sea.

When Salem saw the look of deception in Horsham's eyes, he was a little disappointed as Salem had a deep genuine interest in helping this town and curing their illnesses. It may seem nobody in this town can be trusted. Salem looks around briefly for anything useful, like a rope or fishing net, "The boat is to your right mister," as Salem follows Horsham out the door.

Horsham stepped outside ahead of Salem, who did see lengths of rope and fishing nets hanging from the interior walls of the shop. Horsham was a thirtyish man in a gray fisherman's mackintosh and a matching hat that partially obscured his face. He was startled to see the large group of people assembled outside. "Quite a crowd here, eh?" he said.

OOC,Everyone except [b]Tobias[/b] (who is behind the store), [b]Leonek[/b], and [b]Salem[/b] (who already made this roll earlier), please roll Spot Hidden. [b]Tobias[/b] you can hear what's going on in front of the shop.

Please roll for me

Tobias shifts his weight and gets ready in case Horsham makes a break for it; he doesn't show himself yet.

OOC: Rolling Spot Hidden (stat 38%) [dice]0[/dice]

Chad remembers the waitress in the bar. And feels like its time to clarify. He brings his Luger to bear on Horsham. "So yer not with the fishes then eh? Let's see your hands then! Spread them fingers wide!"

Brook noticed no more details.

Horsham stopped and raised his hands high above his head. his eyes wide in shock. "Wh-what do you think you're doing?!" he cried.

OOC,[b]Chad[/b], I'll still need that Spot HIdden roll.

Salem quickly grabs some rope from the shack, and proceeds to tie Horsham's hands behind his back, "Seems they're all eager to catch big game."

Horsham offered no resistance as Salem tied him up. "You'll never get away with this!" he protested.

"Quickly, into the boat!"

Leonek put the paddles into the boat and started pushing it out into the surf.

"We don't have much time."

Brook rises from her hiding place, and hurries to the boat, grimacing a little when she feels the water splash into her boots. Perhaps it would be better to take them off. She climbs into the boat and waits for the others.

"Wait! What are we going to do with him?!" As Salem finds a post or a chair to tie Horsham up into.

"Just dump him in his shack so he can't warn anyone about us storming the cave and freeing the TARDIS!"


Leonek makes sure the last part of his sentence is pronounced loud and clear.

Salem tied Horsham to a post inside the main room of the shop.

The boat that Leonek had was a small one, with room for only two people, as were most of the other upended boats in front of the store. There were also two larger boats, capable of holding four, or five in a pinch. No one boat was big enough for everyone.

OOC,[b]Leonek[/b] and [b]Salem[/b], please roll Idea.

Once Horsham is tied up, Tobias relaxes and looks around. He grimaces at the stench of rotting fish coming from the trash cans and then wonders if it is actually just fish inside. He steels himself, takes a deep breath and lifts the first lid for a look.

Salem hastily looks around for a rag or a cloth to wrap around Horsham's mouth.

Idea Roll 80%,[url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4335778/]Success 79%[/url]

Story though interested in what he noticed about Horsham chose to ignore it for the time being and proceeded to follow the others to the boats.

Elizabeth heads towards the boats too.

On second thought Story spins around heading for the shack and says, "Wait! Perhaps we should bring him with us. After all, he appears to be mutated and possibily connected to the creatures in the water. Taking him along will provide a hostage that could be traded for the TARDIS. If it came to that. Besides with or without him we are going to be attacked, and he might know a quicker route.".

Leonek's frowns worriedly and speaks up, his accent showing his obvious agitation.

"No no, that is bad idea! Ve have to svim underwater for a qvuite a stretch. Ve cjan't drag him along!"


He gets out of the boat again, looking rather silly in his undies with the knife strapped to his shin.

"If you vant to use him as hostage, people vill need to stay behind to guard him. If ve take him in the boat, they vill topple it from under the water and he will be free again!"

Story stops and looks at Leonek and says, "Somethings not right! We've got a mutated human, and you're louding proclaiming where we're going as if you want this half-man, or perhaps someone else, to know exactly where we're going and what we're after. Not to mention the fact that you wish to leave him in the shack for someone to find him, assuming he doesn't just free himself first."

Story runs his hand through his hair before saying, "Perhaps it's best to leave someone behind."

"I don't mind staying, I have some portable lab equipment back in the car to keep me busy. " Salem looks over to Horsham, "If we are going through this plan, I need a helping hand with me. I can't hold the fort by myself."

Chad listening to the conversation tries to add a little perspective. "If we leave someone behind here with a hostage then they become a target and possible hostage themselves if the fish come to free Horsham. If we leave two people, they both might be captured if the Fish have observed us and come back here with any force. So either Horsham is moved to another location, and we are seriously short of secure locations where a hostage could be kept, as the doing so is suspicious to the normal folks and the fish alike in town, the inn is right out. Or everyone comes with to maximize our force and chance of success. Leaving someone here to be captured just seems silly." Chad begins moving toward the boat to join the team that is to swim to the TARDIS.

Salem gives an amusing look to Chad, "You make it sound like we can't hold our ground. We're UNIT christ sakes, if the Brigadier heard you talk like a pansy, he'd probably make you drop and do twenty, whip your attitude back to shape."

Leonek and Salem both recalled that Horsham's shack had diving suits that could be useful. There were six of them, of varying sizes. There weren't enough for everyone in the group, which had nine people, but most of them could have one.

Salem found a rag and gagged Horsham with it.

Tobias lifted the lid and was struck by a wave of stench. One glance inside told him that it indeed contained rotting fish, and one whiff made him want to retch.

OOC,[b]Tobias[/b], please roll CON X 5.

Salem resumes back into the shack, and begins to rummage around barrels, boxes, and front desk for anything useful.

Brook looks a bit worried at Story, then towards Leonek. "Perhaps he's infected....like on Pluto."

There is a loud retching noise as Tobias throws up. He wipes his mouth, furious with himself and walks around to the front of the shack with a face like green thunder.

Foraging around the shack, Salem may have found something interesting.

Spot Hidden 80%,[url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4338083/]Success 28%[/url]

"Uhm, what? Ugh...He won't be found, no one ever comes here...."

Leonek frowns, scratches his hair, and paces around.

"Look, there's five or six diving suits in the shack. We can use those and then the three who stay behind can wait in the car with the prisoner, so they can drive away when things get hairy."


He looks around uncertainly.

"Is that a plan?"

Salem looked behind the counter. On a shelf below the cash register, he found a ledger that contained a listing of items sold and rented, the date and time, and a running tally of the money Horsham had taken in for them. The most recent entry matched his and Leonek's rental of the boat and purchase of fishing gear and bait. None of the entries for the last few days showed any diving equipment being rented.

"Well I'm definitely going." Says Tobias shortly. "We'll need a techy down there." He says as an afterthought.

The ledger appeared trivial in nature, and Salem couldn't think of anything useful to look into. Throwing it aside, Salem gathers up any equipments that may appear useful. Wet suits, knives, life jackets, scuba tanks, etc, and sets it outside by the boats.

Salem gathered the six diving suits with oxygen tanks, six knives, and nine life jackets.

Lucius Verres,Though [b]Horsham[/b] had held his hands with his palms forward, [b]Lucius[/b] had managed to get a glimpse at their backs. He had slightly scaly skin and webbed fingers.

OOC,[b]Lucius[/b] and [b]Raymond[/b] never made Spot Hidden rolls, so I rolled for them. Spot Hidden roll (57% skill) for [b]Lucius[/b]: [dice]0[/dice] Spot Hidden roll (25% base skill) for [b]Raymond[/b]: [dice]1[/dice] Sanity roll (current level 32) for [b]Lucius[/b]: [dice]3[/dice]

Leonek helps Salem carry the gear and quickly puts on one of the wetsuits, glad to be somewhat dressed again and he ties his knife to his left leg.

So? Shall we get going?


He carries his oxygen tank to the small boat and gets in.

"Hmmm, there's only six tanks and suits, and there's eight of us," Salem announces, "Like I said before, I'll stay behind and study our friend. Actually, he might know a thing or two around here," Salem makes his way back to the captive prisoner.

Leonek put on the largest of the diving suits, which fit him nicely.

Salem went back inside the store, where the gagged and bound Horsham glared at him with his big fishy eyes.

OOC,There are nine of you here, not eight.

Tobias quickly strips to his pants and takes a wet suit before anyone can say anything. He struggles to put it on, hopping from one leg to another. He straps on a weight belt, turns on his air for the tank and lifts it onto his shoulders and then grabs a mask and fins.

"Ive never used a diving suit before," Brook says. "Perhaps I can hitch a ride with someone wearing a suit, and I'll just try my best to hold my breath."

"I've never used one either," says Elizabeth. "So those of us coming to the caves, and I presume that includes us TARDIS crew, all have to put on diving suits? If so can someone give us quick instructions on how to use one, particularly the breathing bit?" She smiles hopefully, and starts to look for a wetsuit that would fit her.

Elizabeth found a diving suit in her size.

"I haven't used one either," said Raymond, "but they look simple enough to use. I'm sure I can figure it out." He took a quick look at the SCUBA gear and assisted anyone who needed help with it.

OOC,That's three suits accounted for, but who gets the other three? Who is staying behind, if anyone, aside from [b]Salem[/b]?

"Ok no peeking people as I put this on," says Elizabeth, grinning. She walks away from the group, trying to get a bit of privacy while she puts on the wet suit. She will try initially to put it on over her clothes (jumper and skirt if I remember correctly). Failing that she'll remove the top items - so long as no-one is looking - and have another go that way.

Elizabeth went around the side of the shack, between it and the base of the cliff, where she could get some privacy. She quickly found out that the diving suit wouldn't go on over the skirt, as the suit's legs separated high up, so she ended up having to put it on over her underwear.

Chad looks at the remaining wetsuits attempting to find one in his size to put on. "Yes it seems at someone needs to stay behind. Not that I'm fond of the idea mind you but it does seem necessary. I do expect we will meet resistance down there though. My swimming isn't necessarily any better than a duffer. Perhaps I should have tried a bit harder on it in pilots training."

OOC,sorry about the delay, seasonal merriment caused my memory to lapse.

Chad found a suit in his size and put it on, while Story and Lucius wore the remaining two suits since Brook had declined one. Raymond helped Lucius with the unfamiliar apparatus, and Brook waited around the corner with Elizabeth while the men changed.

The wet suits covered the torso, though they left most of the arms and legs exposed. There was a transparent mask worn on the face that was hooked up to the oxygen tank, which was worn strapped to the back. The suits were watertight but not uncomfortable, and while they were not designed for deep sea diving, they would suffice for the group's purposes. Each one also had a waterproof electric torch clipped on to the front made to work underwater. There happened to be three each of two different sizes. Story, Lucius, and Leonek had the larger ones, while Elizabeth, Chad, and Tobias had the smaller ones. Elizabeth also had the only one of the six suits shaped to fit a woman.

"While I'd truly like to come with the rest of you and see this...TARDIS," said Raymond, "I can't leave Salem here by himself, so I'll stay with him and watch the prisoner. We'll have the Land Rover nearby in case we need to get out in a hurry, but we'll try to stay here and await your return." He motioned to the six knives that had been gathered. "I don't need one of those, as I still have my pistol, but the rest of you should each take one. They'll be of more use underwater anyway. Since there's seven of you going, you can take Leonek and Salem's smaller boat and one of the larger boats out to the cave. Good luck, everyone. I have a feeling you're going to need it."

OOC,[b]Lucius[/b] and [b]Leonek[/b] already have knives, so there's enough for everyone else except [b]Salem[/b] to each take one if you want it.

Looking though the window of the shack, Salem gives a relaxed salute to the rest of the team, "Good hunting," under his breath. Salem resumes back to studying the abnormalities of Horsham's condition.

"Good luck to you too!"


Leonek pushes the smaller boat into the water and, after someone else has boarded, starts rowing towards the cave.


"Be careful, last time we were out, one of those things toppled our boat like it was nothing."

Story looks at his companions and says, "While we've only heard that there are monsters in the water we know they are there. Have no fear...stay alert. Be prepared for anything."

"So how long you've been looking like this for?" Removing the cloth off of Horsham's mouth, Salem studies the strange bulging eyes that seems to express malicious intent.

Medicine 80%,[url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4345432/]Success 37%[/url]

"A few years," Horsham said. "What's it to you? Got a problem with the way I look, do you?"

Salem Shields,[b]Horsham[/b] had features that seemed like they belonged to a fish or an amphibian, only they were not complete. It was almost as though he was partway between man and some sort of aquatic or amphibian creature. Nothing about this matched the symptoms of any known disease, and it definitely seemed to be genetic in nature. Comparing notes on his condition with [b]Dr. Kirby[/b] would most likely be very enlightening. There was not much more he could tell about [b]Horsham[/b] without running tests and examining him in a lab or medical facility, though the portable pathology lab in the Land Rover could be helpful for taking and analyzing samples.

OOC,Which one of you will be going in the small boat with [b]Leonek[/b]? The rest can fit in the large boat. Once someone decides, I can move things along. Also, is there anyone who doesn't already have a knife that [i]doesn't[/i] want to take one of the knives? They all come with sheathes that can be attached to the belt of a diving suit (or a regular belt, if you don't have a diving suit).

"A few years? You don't seem like you want to get any better." Salem digs around in his pockets, looking for a flashlight to examine Horsham's unusual eyes and test his pupil dilations.

OOC,I believe I still have my Forensics Kit and Portable Lab equipment in the Land Rover, may I use that?

Elizabeth nods in response to Story. "I'm not fond of weapons," she says to him, "as you know. But I don't know how dangerous this might get. So I think, for once, I will take a knife." She takes one of the knives, reluctantly, looking at it with some concern.

Salem didn't have a flashlight; everything he had been carrying had been lost when he had been unceremoniously dumped into the sea, except for the contents of his pockets, which had been thoroughly drenched.

Horsham glared at him. "I'm getting better all the time," he said.

Elizabeth attached one of the knives in its sheath to her diving suit's belt and inspected the knife. The blade was eight inches long and very sharp. In addition to being a potential weapon, it could also be useful as a cutting tool.

OOC,Yes, [b]Salem[/b], you may use the portable lab. I'd edited that into the post above last night when I remembered it, but you probably read it before I made the edit. If you want to take a blood sample from him and analyze it using the lab, please roll Biology, though it will take some time to get results.

Brook nods at Story, and also picks out a knife. She removes her boots in the boat as they row.

Chad takes one of the knives, and attaches it to his wetsuit using his belt. "My Luger will be fine enough once we get dry, but won't be much good under the waves. No need for me to be in that little boat I think. I'll ride with the rest in the bigger one." Chad moves to push the larger boat out to sea.

OOC,[b]Raymond[/b] and [b]Salem[/b] are moving to the thread linked below.

The Prisoner

OOC,Everyone else is moving to the thread linked below.

Warriors of the Deep