Play@YSDC

Liverpool Street Station - London, England
7:00 PM - Sunday, September 8, 1940

Brook and Eugene followed the Steadmans toward the surface from a discreet distance, moving slowly so as not to overtake them, as the major's limp slowed them. The Steadmans walked past the Central London Railway employee, a bewhiskered man in his late fifties, who was collecting fares from people entering the station. As they began to ascend the final stairway leading to the surface, Brook and Eugene were approaching the fare collector. Just then, the warbling of air raid sirens began above. The old man, moving quickly for one his age, stepped into Brook and Eugene's path and turned to face them. "Better stay below," he said. "You're technically not allowed to shelter in the Underground, but you've already paid your fare, so you'll be safer staying. If you leave, you'd have to pay another fare to get back down."

Eugene grimaced in panic "bloody Luftwaffe!" He looked at the Steadmans as they disappeared up the stairs, then back at the bewhiskered employee.
"Sorry, but we're on fire watch duty - must dash!" He grabbed Brook's hand and made for the stairs, after their quarry.
"I must be mad..." he muttered.

"Right you are, sir," said the man, getting out of the way. Eugene and Brook dashed up to the surface, in time to see their quarry heading east thanks to Major Steadman's slow gait. A few other people were out on the street, and they seemed to be heading towards the Underground station from which they had just emerged.

Eugene followed the Steadmans at a brisk pace, trying to look like he and Brook were heading for a shelter, despite the close proximity of the Underground station. As the air raid sirens howled and the dark sky lit up with searchlights, the import of what he was doing suddenly hit him.
"Listen miss, this is dangerous - the bombs could be dropping at any moment. If you want to go back to the Underground, I can give you money for another ticket. I'll continue on my own if need be - it's no trouble."

"I think we've got a bit of time before that," said Brook as they followed the Steadmans. The sun was only just setting, but it looked like it was setting in the direction they were walking, to the east, as well as in the west. Were the docks still on fire from last night? "We're not terribly far from the church, and I left a message for Story that I'd meet him there, but it wouldn't hurt to give me enough for a fare in case we get separated. But I'm not missing this, and I'll know Catherine Exeter when I see her."

OOC,[b]Brook[/b]'s History roll (24% skill) about air raid sirens: [dice]0[/dice]

Eugene nodded. "Fair enough miss. Here you are then, just in case." He gave Brook and handful of change for her fare.
It occurred to him that, with the already quiet streets rapidly emptying, their tailing of the Steadmans would be difficult to conceal for long.
"Listen miss, I think we're likely to be spotted soon. If that happens, I think we should pretend to be father and daughter; lost, frightened and looking for shelter from the bombs. We're following the Steadmans because, him being in uniform, we hope they can lead us to a place of safety. What d'you reckon?"
He continued after the Steadmans, heading in the direction of the docks and the strange glow.

"Right, good thinking," said Brook, "but I don't think they'll spot us."

As they progressed, the sun finally sank, leaving them in nearly total darkness thanks to the blackout. Both Brook and Eugene proved to be stealthy, and their quarry didn't even appear to suspect anyone was following them. They made their way into the warehouse district, in fact not far from where Nell Murrow's body had been found. That particular warehouse had of course been flattened, and Brook looked at it longingly. Other warehouses were similarly destroyed and still others damaged from yesterday's bombing, but many others were still intact. It was to one of these intact warehouses that the Steadmans went. They approached the front door, and Madeline took out a ring of keys and proceeded to unlock it.

"I..." whispered Brook. "I've been here before. This is where it happened, ten years ago. This is where the Exeters had their secret underground lair, where they tried to kill Grit Wilson back in 1930."

OOC,[b]Brook[/b] and [b]Eugene[/b], you may both roll Listen.

Eugene didn't like the sound of underground lairs and attempted murders. He gulped, wondering what he'd got himself into.

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

"Hang on a second, I can hear something..."

Eugene could hear the distant drone of aircraft to the east. He knew enough about the sound of aircraft engines by now to be able to tell the difference. He could tell that these were German planes, and there were a lot of them...

The droning sound to the east stopped Eugene in his tracks.
"Jerry aircraft, and lots of them!" He grimaced. "Underground you say? The best place for us I reckon - get that door unlocked miss!"

Madeline opened the door, and she and Major Steadman slipped through, closing it behind them.

OOC,If you want to follow them into the warehouse without delay, you'll need to roll Sneak.

Sneak 20%,[dice]0[/dice]

Eugene makes way too much noise.

Eugene didn't even hear Brook slip in behind him. Fortunately, the Steadmans were so focused on what they were doing that they took no notice of him. They were a short distance ahead, walking across the darkened warehouse floor.

OOC,[b]Brook[/b]'s Sneak roll (30% skill) entering the warehouse: [dice]0[/dice] [b]James Steadman's[/b] Listen roll: [dice]1[/dice] [b]Madeline Steadman's[/b] Listen roll: [dice]2[/dice]

Eugene winced at the noise he made, but the Steadmans didn't seem to react. He wiped his brow and shrugged apologetically to Brook.
He was about to follow the Steadmans, but stopped briefly to wedge a piece of debris in the doorway, lest they needed to make a quick exit.
That done, he motioned to Brook and continued onwards.

Brook and Eugene followed the Steadmans down a lengthy hallway. There was a door to the left nearby, across from another door on the right. Two more doors were further back on the right, at regular intervals. At the end of the hall, it went around a corner to the left. The Steadmans went all the way to the last door on the right, opened it, and stepped through.

Eugene hestidated, wondering if going through the far right-hand door straight after the Steadmans would be a good idea. So far they had been lucky, but barging into the same room? Pretty difficult to say hidden!
"Let's just hold up for a moment, shall we? Scout the area a bit?"
Eugene studied the doors and turned to Brook.
"Would you like to pop your head around the first door on the right? I'll look into the second."
He walked to the second door on the right and turned the handle.

Brook and Eugene tried their respective doors on the right, but both proved to be locked.

"I remember from the last time I was here," whispered Brook. "That door they went in leads to a guard room, and that's where the stairs are that go to the secret temple. Maybe we should listen at the door?"

OOC,[b]Brook[/b]'s Idea roll (70% stat) in the warehouse: [dice]0[/dice] [b]Eugene[/b], if you want to try this, please roll Listen.

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

Eugene listens at the door, but can't hear anything.

Brook put her ear to the door. "They're walking downstairs," she whispered. "That's what I'd be doing with bombers on the way. I think it's safe to follow them now, and not so safe up here."

OOC,[b]Brook[/b]'s Listen roll (55% skill) at the door: [dice]0[/dice]

Eugene nodded. "I agree. Let's go."
He cautiously opened the door and stepped through the threshold.

The door opened to reveal a guard room, as Brook had said. There was a small card table in the middle of the room with a folding chair next to it. Behind it was a stairway leading down, the only other exit from the room. A faint light came from below.

"They're far enough ahead that we should be able to follow them," whispered Brook.

Eugene agreed but, feeling increasingly nervous, quickly looked around for something to use as a weapon, before descending the stairs.

The only thing in the room that might be used as a weapon was the chair, if Eugene was desperate enough. It could do someone a decent amount of damage if he clocked someone with it, and he was free to take it.

Brook led the way down the stairs, which ended in an ordinary-looking basement. A lit bare light bulb hung from the ceiling, with a slender chain that hung beside it. In one wall was an open wooden door. Brook peeked through it. "This is the place," she whispered. "They're still some ways ahead of us."

Eugene, gripping the chair like a second rate lion tamer, followed Brook down the stairs and into the chamber.
"Hopefully we won't be spotted, but if we do, remember we're looking for shelter."
He carefully stepped through the open door.

"Right," Brook whispered back, "and you're carrying a chair because...I might want to sit down, I guess."

On the other side of the door, the corridor beyond was very different. The walls, floor, and ceiling here looked like sandstone, and they were covered with Egyptian-themed murals, reliefs, and hieroglyphics. It was lit by flaming torches in brackets on the walls. There were two more doors here, one on the left in the middle of the hall, and another at the very end of it. That one was open, and Brook pointed towards it. "They're went through there," she hissed.

"Um..."
Eugene looks at the chair, feeling slightly foolish, but this is swiftly forgotten as he notices the details of the corridor.
"Blimey! I thought we were in London, not bloody Cairo!" Still gripping the chair, he walks towards the open door. "Too late to go back now I suppose..."

"If you think that's something," whispered Brook, "wait until you see what's past the door. That's where it happened." She and Eugene slipped through.

On the other side of the door was a vast room, supported by stone pillars with more burning torches in brackets. The walls here were of similar design. At the far end was an altar made of the same type of stone as the walls. It had four horns, one on each corner. Past that was another open door.

"They're in there," whispered Brook. "Not sure what's through there. This was as far as I got."

Eugene's jaw dropped. "Stone the crows! I had no idea this kind of thing could be found under Town - after the war we could make a fortune selling guided tours." He gulped. "Assuming it's safe of course..." He peaked through the open door. "Only one way to find out..."

Beyond the door, Eugene could see a large room with similarly Egyptian-themed walls. It contained a bed at the back of the room, and bookshelves lined the sides, filled with rows of books. A woman in her forties who matched the description of Catherine Exeter sat on the bed, looking toward the door, but Major Steadman and Madeline stood in front of her, their backs to the door, blocking her view. Catherine wore a black dress that made it clear that she was still attractive. He could see the resemblance between her and her daughter.

"Mother, are you well?" asked Madeline.

"About as well as can be expected," said Catherine.

"I'm sorry I had to move you here, but I couldn't risk you staying at home with that lady from Maxwell's poking about, and a good thing too. We had more odd visitors this evening."

"The sirens have gone," said James Steadman. "We haven't much time. Jerry will be here soon."

"Then we shall need to bring forth another of the creatures to meet him."

"I...I'm none too keen on paying that price again. Last night was awful. I can still hear her screaming."

"She deserved to die," said Madeline. "She was a wicked person. For heaven's sake, James, she knew you were married and she still went after you."

"I know, but..."

"We cannot win this war unless we are prepared to do whatever it takes. I agreed that we'll only offer up someone who is unworthy of life."

"Very well, a looter then. There was some of it last night. Shouldn't be too hard to find one."

"Then let's go," said Catherine, rising to her feet.

Eugene listened with puzzlement and alarm. Clearly they were responsible for the grisly murder of that poor girl, but what was this talk of creatures? Regardless, 'let's move' meant that they would be leaving the room, possibly to kill again.
However, at least one of them was having second thoughts...
"Brook, get out of here and alert the others while I try to stall them."
No need to get his young friend into trouble.
Swallowing deeply and hiding the chair so that it was out of view, but still within reach, Eugene stepped into the doorway and into the of the view of the Steadmans and Catherine.
"Um, hello..."
He raised his hands in what he hoped was a placatory manner.
"My name's Eugene and I've been investigating the death of an acquaintance of yours. Please, please, don't do this. You're no worse than the Nazis if anyone else dies because of you today. Looters, ladies of questionable morals - they deserve to be jailed maybe, but not murdered. That's the kind of thing Hitler does, not decent, right-thinking Britons like us. Please, think about what you're about to do..."

Persuade 65%,[dice]0[/dice]

Eugene hoped his words would have any effect, and prepared to run in case they didn't.

Brook didn't need to be told twice. She vanished from sight before Eugene stepped out into the open. When Eugene suddenly appeared, James Steadman swiftly drew a large revolver from his belt, and Madeline fished a small automatic pistol out of her purse.

"Speaking of looters..." said Madeline.

"I don't know what you think you're on about," said James, "but you're trespassing on private property. Our private property."

Catherine began chanting under her breath, making a series of bewildering hand gestures.

OOC,[b]Brook[/b], please stop reading at this point. You are moving to the thread linked below:

Lost Girl

Eugene instantly regretted his decision.
Without pausing, he grabbed the chair and flung it at the trio, before slamming the door shut and running as fast as he could back the way he came.

Guessing that James would be the better shot, Eugene flings the chair at him.

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

Possible damage,[dice]1[/dice]

The wooden chair clattered on the floor in front of James. Then Catherine extended a hand toward Eugene before he could act further. Sudden, intense agony ripped through his body, worse than any pain he had ever felt before!

OOC,Resistance Table roll: [b]Catherine[/b]'s MP 18 vs. [b]Eugene[/b]'s MP 9 (95% chance): [dice]0[/dice] [b]Catherine[/b] exercises POW ((21 - POW 18 = 3) * 5 = 15% chance): [dice]1[/dice] [b]Eugene[/b], please roll Sanity. Sanity loss is 1/1D6+1, so you lose 1 Sanity even if you succeed, and if you fail, you lose 1D6+1 Sanity. If you lose 5 or more Sanity, please roll Idea. If you succeed at the Idea roll, you will go temporarily insane. Either way, you still do not get to act.

Mr. Handy wrote:Eugene, please roll Sanity. Sanity loss is 1/1D6+1, so you lose 1 Sanity even if you succeed, and if you fail, you lose 1D6+1 Sanity. If you lose 5 or more Sanity, please roll Idea. If you succeed at the Idea roll, you will go temporarily insane. Either way, you still do not get to act.

SAN currently at 42,[dice]0[/dice]

SAN loss roll,[dice]1[/dice]

SAN loss 4+1 = 5

IDEA 65,[dice]2[/dice]

OOC:   So 5 SAN lost, but failed IDEA roll so no insanity (yet)? Hopefully I've done that correctly!

Eugene collapsed in a heap of twitching anguish and suddenly found that he had gone blind and could not voluntarily move a muscle, not even to scream. The only thing that kept him from losing his mind entirely was that he could not understand what was happening to him, let alone how. He could feel liquid ooze from his pores all over his skin. He didn't know if he was dying or not, but it certainly felt like it.

"He knows too much," said Madeline. "It has to be him. He did just fall into our laps, after all."

"Yes, yes, of course," said James. "Saves us some trouble and time, I suppose."

He could feel himself being lifted up off of the floor and carried.

"How did he find us?" asked Catherine. "Were you followed?"

"I didn't see anyone," said James. "Granted, it is pitch black out there. I don't recognise him, though."

"After what I just did, nobody will recognise him, let alone after your secret weapon gets through with him."

"Someone must have followed us from the house," said Madeline. "That woman, Anna Jerkins, from Maxwell's had been poking about earlier, like I said. There was some government chap with her, Lord Rufus Colville. This bloke must be associated with them somehow."

"I remember Dr. Jerkins from the sanitorium. She's too clever by half. Who else might know?"

Eugene could feel himself being carried upstairs.

"Group Captain Barrow has heard about the creature," said James. "Some German airman who got downed was blabbing about it. That's no bother, but he's also somehow linked it to the Murrow girl's death. There was a girl with Barrow too, Elizabeth something or other."

"Elizabeth who?"

"I don't know. She never gave a surname."

"Describe her."

"Scottish, maybe five foot four, slender. Young."

"Young? Not Elizabeth Young? She'd be ten years older now, of course, but she's one of the bunch that stopped us ten years ago. Did she perhaps have a scar on her forehead?"

"Why, yes, she did. But ten years ago she'd have been a teenage girl."

"That's her, then. Maybe she's just well-preserved. No matter. We have an ample list of people to feed the beast on future nights."

"Not Barrow, he's a damn good pilot. We need him. He's on a three-day pass right now, but I'll see about getting him back in the air right quick. I know he'd like nothing better. Hell, so would I, but I'll give up my place in the queue to let him ahead of me. I'll be back up there soon enough regardless. Madeline can handle this bit without me now that you're out."

Eugene's vision gradually returned, and he found himself being carried through the hallway to the warehouse's front door. Madeline and James were carrying him. Madeline had his legs, and James his arms. Catherine followed just behind them. He still could not move, and the pain was no less intense. He supposed that the liquid oozing out of him had covered his eyes and now had drained away.

They brought him outside, in front of the warehouse. The drone of the German bombers was loud enough now that there was no mistaking it. Explosions sounded in the distance, and they were creeping closer.

"Set him down," said Catherine. "We'll do it here."

The Steadmans lay Eugene on the ground. James walked around in front of him and looked him in the eyes. "I'm truly sorry it had to happen this way," he said, "but know that you give your life in the defense of your King and country. Your sacrifice is a regrettable but necessary one. The weapon your death will bring forth shall wreak havoc among those barbarians attacking our fair city. The RAF cannot hold out much longer against their onslaught, not without help. Otherwise, invasion will surely follow. You die so that others might live, and live free."

Madeline removed another object from her purse. It resembled nothing so much as a tiny sarcophagus covered in hieroglyphs made of dots, made of a yellow metal, too dull to be gold. She turned it towards Eugene and opened the hinged lid, revealing a black gem-like stone within, though one with crimson striations through it that looked oddly like blood. The thing was no more than four inches across, but it transfixed his gaze.

OOC,Yes, you did that exactly right. Blindness duration: [dice]0[/dice] Incapacitation duration: [dice]1[/dice] [b]Eugene[/b], please roll 1D100 against POW x 3.

Eugene's POW times 3 is 27,[dice]0[/dice]

A montage of alien vistas overwhelmed Eugene, and he could not tear his eyes away from it. His will was wholly consumed by them. They filled his vision, and he barely even noticed Madeline chanting. He saw...

An icy world with mountains and strange rock formations, where indistinct forms flew in the distance...

A bizarre city with a castle on the shore of a yellow lake, with two moons in the sky overhead...

A barren wasteland reminiscent of the battlefields of the last war, where strange machines that look like the deranged offspring of a miniature tank and a pepperpot trundled across the terrain...

Then Eugene felt an alien presence, searching, probing...watching him!

OOC,Contact roll (10% chance): [dice]0[/dice] [b]Eugene[/b], please roll POW x 3 again.

Eugene's POW times 3 is 27,[dice]0[/dice]

As much as he wanted to, Eugene could not avert his gaze. His vision clouded over again, and he saw only darkness. Then, in the darkness, he saw a single terrible fiery red eye with three lobes - and it was staring right back at him!

OOC,[b]Eugene[/b], please roll Sanity. Sanity loss is 1/1D6. Again, if you lose 5 or more Sanity, you will need to roll Idea. Success at the Idea roll means you go temporarily insane. In addition, if you lose at least 4 more Sanity, you will have lost enough recently to go indefinitely insane, regardless of the Idea roll.

SAN currently at 37
[dice]0[/dice]
SAN loss
[dice]1[/dice]
SAN now at 35

Eugene clung on to his sanity with his fingernails.

Suddenly, Madeline snapped shut the lid of the little yellow box, and Eugene found himself lying on his back staring up at the sky, where aircraft roared overhead and searchlights roamed back and forth trying to shine on them. He was still in intense pain, and his muscles remained locked, though he could move his eyes and direct his gaze now. Then something shimmered in the darkness in front of Madeline, and to his horror he saw a large bat-like shape materialize there. It was much larger than a man, and it had that same horrid tri-lobed burning red eye. It was gazing right at him...

OOC,I'm retroactively moving the cliffhanger here, as this is a much better one that I was not expecting to happen. [b]Eugene[/b], you are moving to the thread linked below:

Fire in the Dark