Lynch frowns when she finds the outfit. "Hrrrmph....quite a strange man. He bring a change of clothes I just didn't notice? Or..." The young woman flusters at the myriad possibilities. Unsure, but with the vague feeling something was off about all this, she folds Emmet's outfit and places it into her bag. She'd make sure to return it to Emmett when she saw him tonight (or, barring his further absence, Leopold)
The sky is a bruised orange lost behind undulating waves of slowly falling snow. You quietly meet on the street leading to the river bank Lynch hide her boat. There are ordinary houses either side of you.
Lynch: What do you see in the window of a house that surprises you?
As Lynch continues her sneaky advance towards the boat, she finds herself glancing into windows of the houses along the river. The (old-beyond-her-years) young woman allows herself the rare luxury of daydreaming about the life she might have lived along this block, had things turned out differently, and…
Lynch comes to a *HALT* as she sees something quickly move behind one of the windows. She holds her breath and tries to subtly fade into the shadows, but she feels eyes, still seeking her out from the light. Heart fluttering and knowing as she does so that it's foolish, Lynch lets herself glance up at the figure between the curtains. She Immediately regrets it
No, that’s not real. It can't be, Lynch begins to reassure herself, before she's even properly processed what she just saw. You obviously just imagined it…too much Laudanum, maybe. Think you’re seeing monsters *everywhere* now, gonna be jumping at shadows. Need to be careful, maybe take a night off here soon; think this all might be starting to get to me.... Lynch doesn’t really believe *any* of this, but she repeats it to herself like a mantra or prayer, eyes cast down on the steady, reliable cobblestone beneath her feet as she walks (almost runs) away from the horrible vision.
Lynch continues her walk to the meetup, but she isn’t herself. She walks blindly unaware of overhead lights and down the middle of the street, head cast downwards, not taking in the environment and lost in deep thought...
Leo walks beside Lynch a way, and suddenly finds himself alone. He curses momentarily, thinking he had forgotten to watch his pace again, but as he turns he sees Lynch stopped and staring into a nearby house. She stands for a moment, before charging herself ahead, clearly shaken by whatever she saw. Not one to let a moment of curiosity like this slip by, Leopold quickly jogs over to the window, peering in between curtains, eyes straining to pick up sight of whatever it was that had caused Lynch's reaction.
Leopod, however, sees nothing. No movement, no shadows, just a dark room, as you'd expect at this time of night. He shrugs, thinking it strange, and hurries himself back to catch up to Lynch. He is silently for a moment as he walks next to her, but unable to find any better way to ask, he finally says, "Hey...uh....what's going on?"
Lynch shakes her head roughly, dismissively. "Nothing... it's just...nothing! Ha!" She laughs, loudly but without humor. "Don't...just don't worry about it, alright?" Whatever it was the young woman just saw, it clearly wasn't nothing, and she's still very much shaken from it but trying to play it off cool. Attempting to distract from her nervousness, Lynch pulls out a cigarette and starts to try to light it, but her hands are noticeably shaking, and she soon stops.
"Please," Lynch pleads, although Leopold isn't sure if she's pleading with him, or own her thoughts. "... it's...old ghosts. Just, please drop it..." Shuffling along, Lynch grumpily roots around inher bag. The young woman withdraws a familiar suit coat, which she hands over to Leopold, eyes cast downwards. "Your partner, Emmett, left this over at my place. Wasn't sure if he'd forgot it, or...in any case, here."
Lynch looks around the street, embarrassed (and slightly defensive) at having been caught spooked. As they come upon the boat and Lynch begins to clear the reeds off it, she asks, "Guess your partner's not joining us this evening?"
Leo opens his mouth to say something, but pauses, holding it back. He could tell that Lynch wasn't ok, she wasn't hiding it, but he also didn't know her well enough to know when pushing harder would work versus when it would hurt. So he let it drop, but took a mental note.
His eyebrows furrow when she holds out the suit coat. It certainly was Emmett's, but when would he leave it at her place and why? Questions that he also didn't fee comfortable enough to ask so he just takes it from her hands. "I guess not. I haven't heard from him in a bit, so hopefully everything is ok."
He considered showing her the pistol but hesitates again, not sure if it will raise more questions. They had to focus tonight, they were still in the trail of something dangerous and distractions probably wouldn't make it any easier.
The snow has become a thin layer across the world. Your boots crush it with ease, revealing the dark ground beneath—Leaving obvious foot prints for the time being.
The boat looks even more weathered than last night, but it’s in serviceable condition. No one has tampered with it, every bit if kit Lynch acquire for it is exactly as she left it.
Unfortunately a number of reeds and wild grass have got caught in the propellers, wrapped tight. It’s like they’ve had time to grow there. You’ll have to pull them off before you haul the boat into the river.
Lynch!You’re acting under pressure until you succeed at a challenge, roll with -1d6.
Leo!Once on the water, you’ll need to steer the boat safely down the river—I’ll tell you when that becomes a challenge, if at all...
Leo shivers as he adjusts to the snow, his body rebelling against his mind for a moment, wanting to just return somewhere safe and warm. They force on, finding the boat where they left it, still looking similar, though as Leopold inspects it further, there are plants wrapped around the propeller. He shakes his head in annoyance, pulling out his knife to cut them away, tossing them to the side as he internally grumbles about how annoying this place could be. It seemed like every little chance it got to make your life a little bit harder, it took.
The boat finally freed, he held it steady for Lynch to jump in, then climbed in behind her. He got the motor running, and turned back to face the river, starting them off towards the Nunnery.
Leo was born here, with his parents moving into the city from the countryside when they got married, so while he has family outside the city and he's aware of more than the city, he's lived here his whole life.
Lynch spins the creaky wheel, steering the boat through icy waters of the river. She's silent for a long while, lost in deep thoughts...trying to shake off a feeling she's sure of, but doesn't want to put to words...
She finally clears her voice to get Leopold's attention. "...let's try to take extra care in there tonight. Langleich and their whole lot can go *spit*, but if we messed with a sister of the cloth...well, let's just say I got enough on my conscience as it is, yeah?"
The boat glides down the river. An ever darkening gray sits across the land, and flakes fall steadily, dissolving as they hit the iron tub. Just ask him, the voice tells her. She nods, and turns to the kind young man. "Hey, Leo? I'm, sorry..
.about all that "Green" shit...and, I'ppreciate you showing up tonight. You're good people." She says definitively.
"...listen, I know you don't owe me nothing...but I got a big favor to ask. It's, *very* important to me..." Lynch grits her teeth, and tries not to make eye contact. Licking her lips, she follows, "...if you see me go down, if one of the Nightmares takes the life from me...I need you to cremate my remains. Make sure there's nothing left. I know it's a weird ask, and we just met...." Lynch has a thousand yard stare in the dim light. She looks incredibly tired right now. "I'm afraid of what it means, that we can do this. I think that if I were to die here, in the Midnight Hours...I'm afraid of what I might become."
"I.." Leopold opens his mouth to respond, but words don't really come out. He had intended to agree, but in the moment between that thought, and a full understanding of what she said hitting his brain, it wiped whatever words he had. He stared at her blankly for a moment, his mouth moving but nothing coming out before he spit out, "Yeah, sure Lynch."
It felt insensitive as soon as he heard himself speak. She had essentially shared one of her fears with him and that's how he responded. His brain worked overtime to try and save himself. "I mean, I get it. I've seen things that...." he trails off for a moment as the gravity of what he'd see comes back up from that dark hole he pushed it down into. " well, we've both seen things." His eyes focus on her again, sympathetic to what she was afraid might happen to her, suddenly wondering why he hadn't been afraid of it to this point. "I promise, Lynch. I'll do right by you."
A small smile touches her lips, and Lynch quickly looks away from Leopold (but Leo could've swore he saw her eyes start to glisten in that half-moment)
"Thank you, Leopold," she eventually says quietly, but sincerely. She takes a breath and sighs, deeply, a weight having been released from her soul. Doing everything she can to move her thoughts from bodies on slabs or faces in the windows, she steels herself for the night's endeavors...
You’re about to cross beneath a low bridge, the Old Bridge, as they say.
Above and beyond this bridge the edges of the nunnery fade into the oncoming snow, pale grey on white. The river reflects the billowing snowfall perfectly—its as if there are a multitude of hectic, white fauna dancing beneath the boat on all sides.
In the distance... you can’t say where... you hear the queer howls of beasts echo through the streets of your city... or is it a siren?
That’s when the boat snags. It spins to port, throwing you both against the side! The engine is burning up, steaming in the bitter cold, but you’re making no headway! Around you mud is getting kicked up, blackening the water.
You’re a fair few feet from the river’s edge, though you’re close enough to the bridge to see it’s stonework, and perhaps only a quarter of a mile from the nunnery itself. There is something hanging over the side of the bridge, a foot above the waterline, swinging in the wind. It’s hard to say what exactly as the snow gets heavier and heavier...
As you both pull yourself upright the boat swing around the other way!
Lynch, your eyes only:
What is the name of this city? We’re you born here, you were, weren’t you?
The boat starts head under a bridge, and Leo looks up at it. He hated this bridge, it had always seemed creepy, even in daylight. At night....well let's just say that the list of profanities he was muttering in his head was lengthy. Then suddenly they were stuck, Leopold slamming down into the boat floor as he was caught looking up at the bridge. He pulls himself up, looking around, not sure why they would get stuck in the middle of the river like this. But, he could see the mud being kicked up, so he shuts off the boat engine. If they were stuck, they would only damage it by trying to force through.
Gripping the sides to steady himself, Leo starts to assess the situation. They swung one way and then another. That could mean they had run up on shallow water and gotten stuck, but then, wouldn't they just be stuck still? They could have run into something, but what would be under and why would they swing back and forth. Finally, something was hanging off the bridge nearby. He couldn't make out what it was, but all of this together was a puzzle. Leopold grabs the lantern, and while steadying himself, holds it up higher, trying to see if the light can pierce their surroundings.
Lynch *FUMED* as the boat became further stuck in the muck. She tried to force it through for a moment, hammering the throttle…but when Leopold comes over and insists she hold off, she angrily acquiesces, cursing their ill luck. She tries to think on their options. They could try to force it again, but the going would be hard: they would likely trap the boat on the shore, or potentially flood the engine. Lynch hated to consider leaving the rusty tub in the middle of the snowy river after just acquiring it, but…
As Leopold lifts the lantern towards the thing swinging from the bridge, Lynch peers from a few feet behind him. Slowly, subtly, she slides the Shotgun over her shoulder and holds it in her hands, nervous but ready...
Lynch wants to examine the swinging rope with Leo, but she’ll have the Shotgun equipped (not aimed) just in case it’s a trap. Lynch would prefer to get the boat to shore if possible, but if they have to ditch it, it’s better than being sitting ducks out here!
---
Lynch was born right here in Niscova. She was the only daughter of a highly affluent family. Her mother fell to sickness when she was young, and her father was murdered in front of her getting out of a motorcar, as an incident leading up to the War.
After their deaths, extended family descended upon the family fortune with a series of lawyers and injunctions. Found to be inconvenient, Elizabeth Markovich was (likely illegally) stripped of her inheritance in the legal shuffle, and sent off to the Orphanage.
Leo
The moment your lantern lights up you hear another round of strange, strangled howling from the city. You hold your light to the expanse of falling snow, but see no moment. You crouch again in the boat.
As you shine your lantern over the edge you see that the propellers of the boat are caught on the narrow window ledge of a building. The whole structure is covered in a layer of silt, though while there definitely mud in the water... you think there’s black... ink? Something dark and thick in the water. Did something try to pull the boat down through this small window? Can’t have understood what it was flailing it...
With the engine cut the boat stops spinning. Your quick action saved the propellers from snapping off against the stonework!
Lynch
You can’t tell what it is, something heavy, maybe 6 foot tall swinging from the rope. As Leo swings his lantern around your vision turns black, a world of shadows. The snow is getting heavier in the dark. The thing continues to swing. Is it really windy enough to make it swing like that? Is it alive?
You could easily hit it from here with the spread of shotgun fire.
Lynch's thoughts keeps flashing back to the cursed, obscene Raven which had come upon them last night; the Langleich forces, keeping careful watch over dead bodies; Emmet's disappearance; the "faces" in the window. She feels herself on edge, the tension weighing on her until she feels she just can't take it anymore...
With a sudden *YELP*, Lynch swivels the shotgun up at the dangling figure, taking on her best authoritative tone and yelling up through the storm and snow, "ONE CHANCE; FRIEND OR FOE? SOUND OFF IMMEDIATELY," Lynch centers the gun, digs it into her shoulder, and places her finger firmly along the trigger. "...OR BE ELIMINATED."
Lynch will use One Momentum Dice to move things along, and One Further Risk Dice because if this feels like this is all about to go *horribly* wrong....
You see a long, narrow leg break free from the black lump. It spasms wildly, disgustingly, like it’s grappling with thin air, blind and feverish.
From behind you... or... somewhere, you hear the howling bend and twist until it isn’t a noise, but words, “One chance. One chance!”
Your shouting has alerted, and changed, the nightmares of this Midnight Hunt. You’re going to want to get this boat running again, perhaps push it off whatever it’s caught on. What is that lad Leo even doing?,
Leo stares down at the building in a mix of confusion and awe. Something that large, to have folded under the water, must mean it's a whole lot deeper than he thought. But at the same time, why is there a building here? It doesn't appear like it fell from nearby, or if it had, it must have been so long ago that they rebuilt the banks around it. He couldn't remember a building falling in his lifetime, so it would have to be older than that, but he also couldn't think of any stories he had heard either. This doesn't make any sense.
He was snapped out of thought by Lynch yelling. He lifts the lantern up at her as she does, just in time to hear something around them answer. Whatever it was, it wasn't friendly, and they needed to get out of here. Searching his pack for something of use, he pulls out an old foldable shovel that he had stored in case of use. It wasn't the longest, but it should probably be able to pry them off the building they seemed to be stuck on. Maybe... Unfolding it, he holds the lantern over the side for another glimpse of the building, then sets it down, gripping the side of the boat and leaning to push the head the shovel into the building and generate enough force to shove them further into the water, and free of the stone trapping them.
Before the thing has a chance to even properly hatch, Lynch executes it with an awful *snarl*. The gun blast rings out, echoing along the banks of the river and bouncing off into the corners of the night.
Well, there goes the element of surprise, Lynch ruefully mulls over...but, a small part of her is almost *glad* to be done skulking in the dark. Fuck it...let them come..they won't take us lying down...
"Leopold, my buddy, we gotta move." Lynch puts her good ear out and feels like she hears things, crawling along the alleys and climbing amongst the architecture. She turns to Leo with a half-mad grin. "You can feel it too, can't you? It's a...busy night out there tonight." Lynch licks her lips and reloads the shotgun, trying to calm her nerves and clear her thoughts. Enough time had been spent on reflection; tonight was about action...
---
Lynch stands ready to guard or otherwise assist Leo in getting this hunk of junk moving or unstuck!
As the engine kicks into gear Leopold falls flat on his back from the force of pushing it off the masonry. Lynch, you drop to a knee, shotgun still level with your shoulder.
You glide under the bridge, snow, jet black shadow, snow. Thing is, the boat begins to curve towards the river’s edge. No one is driving! But it’s nothing you can’t rectify in time... Right?
Succeed, or even come close, and you’ll moor up safety and arrive at the nunnery. A twisted result (1, 2, 3) will undoubtedly end with the boat in poor condition... unless you then seek a means to roll again.
Lynch's blood was still pumping, and her nerves fully alert when the boat suddenly started up again, and the surprise threw her down along the deck.
She takes careful note to see that Leo is uninjured, and that there aren't other fleshbags tucked in under the bridge as they glide through...The Wheel! *Shit*, nobody's driving this thing! Pulling herself unsteadily up and swinging the shotgun over her shoulder, the young girl dashes towards the Wheel, hoping she can jerk the ship away from the edge in time...
Using Lynch's Meticulous Aspect, and hoping to shake off her fear!
You crash full speed up a muddy bank and are both thrown from the boat! Fortunately, Lynch’s landing is softened by a tree. Leo tumbles inches by it, landing surprisingly on his feet. You couldn’t have done it if you were trying.
Lynch! Take the condition bust up face! When you try to persuade or intimate someone, you’ll have to accept a less potent outcome, even on a success.
The nunnery isn’t something anyone talks about. Not for fear or awe; the nuns are just a nondescript part of the city. Maybe you knew a girl pregnant out of wedlock go there and not return, but only because she’d become a nun after... after it all. Usually they’re just woman willingly stepping outside of ordinary society in pursuit of holiness. You’ve never given much thought as to why, or... you never used to. Perhaps it sounds inviting, or ignorant, now you’ve seen all you’ve seen.
The nunnery is a large building on a decent estate of flat fields and willow trees. Nuns don’t go in for flowers, but their are nice enough looking herbs and pumpkins gathering snow. Like most places, there is an old stone wall around it, built way back when the city was more or less an expansive fort. Nothing you can climb over though, it’s only 6 foot high and has no spikes adorning it. Who’d break into a place like this?
Looking back, you see the boat is upturned, the tools Lynch acquired scattered to the winds. The front is cracked cleaning. It might last a quick run up the river, if one of you focused on nothing but bailing water out... maybe not.
Lynch rolls off from the tree, adrenaline still pumping at its fullest. Breathing frantically, she checks herself, her legs, her jacket....Okay, okay, deep breaths, Lizzie..maybe, should've learned how to drive it first. But! It seems like you're still in one piece...
Snow melts into her right eye, and she goes to brush it away. She realizes when she withdraws her hand, and sees the heavy and free-flowing blood sticking to the glove, that everything isn't alright. The place where the glove touched her head *burns and chafes*. Her right eye winced itself nearly out from her head when she touched it, and the ridge along the nose felt as though it were made of chunks of floating bone fragments, and pain. Lynch *spits* away an awful hunk of blood and matter, and as she does so, her tongue rattles against a pair of loose teeth along the front.
Shit, I think I really did it this time. Lynch's heart goes to beat out of her chest, and she tries with all her will to hold down the awful feeling creeping upon her. You're lucky to be alive, girl...now do what you need to do, and think about the rest in the morning. The adrenaline is starting to wear off. Hands trembling and trying to look away from Leopold, Lynch reaches into her bag....
Making my first pull of the night for some bandages, dressing, and cleaning agent -1 for Lynch's facial wounds, to wrap her broken nose, and bruised eye socket, and head wound, and limit our blood trail/make Lynch less of an obvious target
The fact that Lynch might end up looking something like the people she saw in the windows even if she does survive tonight is just "quality horror tropes 101"
It all happened in a flash, he was pushing to free them, they were suddenly free, but then they were heading directly for the shore. Lynch reacted first, getting her hands on the wheel, but she wasn't able to react in time. They thudded into the shore at speed, Leo almost seeing the world in slow motion as he and Lynch went flying. He closed his eyes for a moment, tensing as he expected the impact of the ground, not fully aware of what he was even doing, but then, suddenly, his world righted, his feet made contact with the ground, and he instinctually braces his knees for impact. He opens his eyes slowly and realizes that he is standing upright on the bank, which he is not able to comprehend how he could have possibly done.
As he turns to exclaim his disbelief, he spots Lynch roll off the tree, visibly bleeding. "Shit! Lynch!" he says, his voice alternating between a whisper and normal volume as he tries to control himself. He seems her pull out bandages quickly and start to clean herself, and he heads over towards her. "I can help. Let me help wrap here. Are you going to be ok?" it was a spew of words, but his adrenaline had kicked in at the sight of her blood.
Lynch nearly tries to resist, but her hands are shaking to much to properly tie the wrap. Hesitantly, but gratefully, the injured young woman accepts Leopold’s help wrapping up her (rather extensive) facial wounds:
“Heh,” Lynch giggles morbidly as Leo tightens the bandages, still shaken but trying her very best to keep it together. “Helluva start to our night so far.” She goes to pop her ears, and then spits another bloody mouthful into the snow.
Gradually, but willfully, she gets back to her feet. She’s unrecognizable under the bandages, and they immediately begin to puff up from the blood underneath. But the bleeding eventually stops, and she seems to be “otherwise” unharmed...
“I think…I think I should be alright. It’s bad, but it’s not the worst off I’ve ever been in the field. But,” Lynch swivels the shotgun around front, and tries to give Leopold a reassuring grin (through reddened teeth), “If it’s all the same with you, I’ll take the rear flank tonight, yeah?”
"You sure you're alright to do this?" Leo asks as she stands. "If it started this way...." He lets the thought drop off. His hand pats the coat pocket where the revolver that he had found in his hand was stashed, now suddenly more aware of how likely he was to need to use it.
His eyes turn towards the nunnery before he looks back to the cracked boat. "We're likely on foot tonight, I can't imagine that thing is useful anymore. So, I have to ask and I need you to be honest," he looks her straight in the eyes, "Can you do this?"
She stares back unblinking, hard-as-nails through even-now blackening eyes. The silence sits heavy between the odd pair, and for a long while she glares back with an offended intensity. But the stony gaze cracks some; she finally smiles, slightly at the kind young man (but with her mouth, not her eyes).
"So you found yer stones real quick, didn't ya, "Green"?" The young woman looks away finally, and stares off into the dimming grey light. The wind howls between the buildings, and for a moment it seems as though Lynch means to walk away, and leave for the Nunnery without Leopold...
But she turns back to him, face grim. "In the war...me and my squad ended up swarmed one night, two hours out from contact. They'd laid a trap along the rails, see...and...." Lynch's tortured expression lets Leopold fill in the rest of the tale on his own. Calming herself with deep, phelmy breaths, Lynch addresses Leo matter-of-factly. "...the reinforcements woke me up later, after they found us. My... *whole team* was dead. But....someone had blown the debris off the line, cleared the track for the shipment to go through. Someone had given the signal. Someone had, had..." Lynch trails off, and her hands dig in her pockets, searching out a familiar blade like a safety blanket...
Lynch, fierce and dangerous even under her heavy bandages, *growls* up defensively at Leopold. "You ask me if I can *do* this, Leo? Yeah, *of course* I can. I fucking have to- who else will?"
The nunnery looms over you both, thick with shadow, silent and judging.
Once within the nunnery grounds its clear you’re going to have to ascend the outer steps leading to the main pair of doors (E). There is a oddly small, a mere four foot high side door lower down (A), but it’s got a large padlock and two thick wooden planks keeping it shut.
You have no idea what lies beyond either entrance.
In addition: To your left you see a well, the classic sort, with a hanging bucket.
Lynch examines the area, pulling her hood up to keep the snow from her bandages. She grunts in irritation at the padlocked door. "Looks to just be the one entrance, then. That's...very less than ideal." Her breath billows out in the cold weather, and she approached the front door. There's an odd, slightly puzzled look in her eyes as she turns back to Leopold. "Well, partner...you ready?"
Lynch had assumed Emmett had gotten pinched by the Langleich authorities, or possibly...*worse* things had happened to him. But then...hadn't Leo been talking with authorities just earlier today? He'd admitted as much, hadn't he? Lynch feels an insidious thought begin to worm into her head. Oh God...he isn't working for them, is he?
Of course Lynch knows Tomos. He was her old squadmate in the war. Tomos was the one who told her she'd need an alias, if she ever ran. He died horribly during the train ambush, laying down covering fire to provide Lynch an opportunity to plant the explosives
Leo stares at the padlock. "Could always try and pick it, though, can't say I've been very good with that." He rummages in his bag, realizing that he hadn't brought any picks with him, but take the moment to examine Lynch out of the corner of his eye. "Never mind, didn't bring them. Looks like it's the front door."
Leo can't remember Tomos. Was that even a person?
Lynch hasn't snapped yet, but Leo is definitely watching her closely. No one takes a hit like that directly to the face and just shakes it off without issue.
The floor is painted a plain off white, and the paint curls away in long strips, rising up to the ceiling. There’s no furnishings save for a queer glass ornament in the middle of the room. Dark patches of damp squelch beneath your feet as you enter. The far wall is lined with shelves of books, each on place upside down.
You look up. Ah. Something is wrong.
A statue leans in towards you, a beaten, pious visage stares, her arms reaching, palms held out to receive some holy reprieve. The far wall has a rolling ladder, but the tracks are fixed to the ceiling. Something is wrong.
Posts
Lynch’s eyes only.
Busy with work! Much more to come!
The sky is a bruised orange lost behind undulating waves of slowly falling snow. You quietly meet on the street leading to the river bank Lynch hide her boat. There are ordinary houses either side of you.
Lynch: What do you see in the window of a house that surprises you?
Leo: Why is Lynch over reacting to it?
Lynch comes to a *HALT* as she sees something quickly move behind one of the windows. She holds her breath and tries to subtly fade into the shadows, but she feels eyes, still seeking her out from the light. Heart fluttering and knowing as she does so that it's foolish, Lynch lets herself glance up at the figure between the curtains. She Immediately regrets it
No, that’s not real. It can't be, Lynch begins to reassure herself, before she's even properly processed what she just saw. You obviously just imagined it…too much Laudanum, maybe. Think you’re seeing monsters *everywhere* now, gonna be jumping at shadows. Need to be careful, maybe take a night off here soon; think this all might be starting to get to me.... Lynch doesn’t really believe *any* of this, but she repeats it to herself like a mantra or prayer, eyes cast down on the steady, reliable cobblestone beneath her feet as she walks (almost runs) away from the horrible vision.
Lynch continues her walk to the meetup, but she isn’t herself. She walks blindly unaware of overhead lights and down the middle of the street, head cast downwards, not taking in the environment and lost in deep thought...
Leopod, however, sees nothing. No movement, no shadows, just a dark room, as you'd expect at this time of night. He shrugs, thinking it strange, and hurries himself back to catch up to Lynch. He is silently for a moment as he walks next to her, but unable to find any better way to ask, he finally says, "Hey...uh....what's going on?"
"Please," Lynch pleads, although Leopold isn't sure if she's pleading with him, or own her thoughts. "... it's...old ghosts. Just, please drop it..." Shuffling along, Lynch grumpily roots around inher bag. The young woman withdraws a familiar suit coat, which she hands over to Leopold, eyes cast downwards. "Your partner, Emmett, left this over at my place. Wasn't sure if he'd forgot it, or...in any case, here."
Lynch looks around the street, embarrassed (and slightly defensive) at having been caught spooked. As they come upon the boat and Lynch begins to clear the reeds off it, she asks, "Guess your partner's not joining us this evening?"
His eyebrows furrow when she holds out the suit coat. It certainly was Emmett's, but when would he leave it at her place and why? Questions that he also didn't fee comfortable enough to ask so he just takes it from her hands. "I guess not. I haven't heard from him in a bit, so hopefully everything is ok."
He considered showing her the pistol but hesitates again, not sure if it will raise more questions. They had to focus tonight, they were still in the trail of something dangerous and distractions probably wouldn't make it any easier.
The boat looks even more weathered than last night, but it’s in serviceable condition. No one has tampered with it, every bit if kit Lynch acquire for it is exactly as she left it.
Unfortunately a number of reeds and wild grass have got caught in the propellers, wrapped tight. It’s like they’ve had time to grow there. You’ll have to pull them off before you haul the boat into the river.
Lynch! You’re acting under pressure until you succeed at a challenge, roll with -1d6.
Leo! Once on the water, you’ll need to steer the boat safely down the river—I’ll tell you when that becomes a challenge, if at all...
The boat finally freed, he held it steady for Lynch to jump in, then climbed in behind her. He got the motor running, and turned back to face the river, starting them off towards the Nunnery.
Leo’s eyes only:
The City is named: Moriviller
She finally clears her voice to get Leopold's attention. "...let's try to take extra care in there tonight. Langleich and their whole lot can go *spit*, but if we messed with a sister of the cloth...well, let's just say I got enough on my conscience as it is, yeah?"
The boat glides down the river. An ever darkening gray sits across the land, and flakes fall steadily, dissolving as they hit the iron tub. Just ask him, the voice tells her. She nods, and turns to the kind young man. "Hey, Leo? I'm, sorry..
.about all that "Green" shit...and, I'ppreciate you showing up tonight. You're good people." She says definitively.
"...listen, I know you don't owe me nothing...but I got a big favor to ask. It's, *very* important to me..." Lynch grits her teeth, and tries not to make eye contact. Licking her lips, she follows, "...if you see me go down, if one of the Nightmares takes the life from me...I need you to cremate my remains. Make sure there's nothing left. I know it's a weird ask, and we just met...." Lynch has a thousand yard stare in the dim light. She looks incredibly tired right now. "I'm afraid of what it means, that we can do this. I think that if I were to die here, in the Midnight Hours...I'm afraid of what I might become."
It felt insensitive as soon as he heard himself speak. She had essentially shared one of her fears with him and that's how he responded. His brain worked overtime to try and save himself. "I mean, I get it. I've seen things that...." he trails off for a moment as the gravity of what he'd see comes back up from that dark hole he pushed it down into. " well, we've both seen things." His eyes focus on her again, sympathetic to what she was afraid might happen to her, suddenly wondering why he hadn't been afraid of it to this point. "I promise, Lynch. I'll do right by you."
"Thank you, Leopold," she eventually says quietly, but sincerely. She takes a breath and sighs, deeply, a weight having been released from her soul. Doing everything she can to move her thoughts from bodies on slabs or faces in the windows, she steels herself for the night's endeavors...
Lynch is ready for the Nunnery!
———
You’re about to cross beneath a low bridge, the Old Bridge, as they say.
Above and beyond this bridge the edges of the nunnery fade into the oncoming snow, pale grey on white. The river reflects the billowing snowfall perfectly—its as if there are a multitude of hectic, white fauna dancing beneath the boat on all sides.
In the distance... you can’t say where... you hear the queer howls of beasts echo through the streets of your city... or is it a siren?
That’s when the boat snags. It spins to port, throwing you both against the side! The engine is burning up, steaming in the bitter cold, but you’re making no headway! Around you mud is getting kicked up, blackening the water.
You’re a fair few feet from the river’s edge, though you’re close enough to the bridge to see it’s stonework, and perhaps only a quarter of a mile from the nunnery itself. There is something hanging over the side of the bridge, a foot above the waterline, swinging in the wind. It’s hard to say what exactly as the snow gets heavier and heavier...
As you both pull yourself upright the boat swing around the other way!
Lynch, your eyes only:
What do you do?
Gripping the sides to steady himself, Leo starts to assess the situation. They swung one way and then another. That could mean they had run up on shallow water and gotten stuck, but then, wouldn't they just be stuck still? They could have run into something, but what would be under and why would they swing back and forth. Finally, something was hanging off the bridge nearby. He couldn't make out what it was, but all of this together was a puzzle. Leopold grabs the lantern, and while steadying himself, holds it up higher, trying to see if the light can pierce their surroundings.
Using an item tick to have a lantern again.
What can Leo see?
As Leopold lifts the lantern towards the thing swinging from the bridge, Lynch peers from a few feet behind him. Slowly, subtly, she slides the Shotgun over her shoulder and holds it in her hands, nervous but ready...
Lynch wants to examine the swinging rope with Leo, but she’ll have the Shotgun equipped (not aimed) just in case it’s a trap. Lynch would prefer to get the boat to shore if possible, but if they have to ditch it, it’s better than being sitting ducks out here!
---
After their deaths, extended family descended upon the family fortune with a series of lawyers and injunctions. Found to be inconvenient, Elizabeth Markovich was (likely illegally) stripped of her inheritance in the legal shuffle, and sent off to the Orphanage.
The moment your lantern lights up you hear another round of strange, strangled howling from the city. You hold your light to the expanse of falling snow, but see no moment. You crouch again in the boat.
As you shine your lantern over the edge you see that the propellers of the boat are caught on the narrow window ledge of a building. The whole structure is covered in a layer of silt, though while there definitely mud in the water... you think there’s black... ink? Something dark and thick in the water. Did something try to pull the boat down through this small window? Can’t have understood what it was flailing it...
With the engine cut the boat stops spinning. Your quick action saved the propellers from snapping off against the stonework!
Lynch
You can’t tell what it is, something heavy, maybe 6 foot tall swinging from the rope. As Leo swings his lantern around your vision turns black, a world of shadows. The snow is getting heavier in the dark. The thing continues to swing. Is it really windy enough to make it swing like that? Is it alive?
You could easily hit it from here with the spread of shotgun fire.
With a sudden *YELP*, Lynch swivels the shotgun up at the dangling figure, taking on her best authoritative tone and yelling up through the storm and snow, "ONE CHANCE; FRIEND OR FOE? SOUND OFF IMMEDIATELY," Lynch centers the gun, digs it into her shoulder, and places her finger firmly along the trigger. "...OR BE ELIMINATED."
Lynch will use One Momentum Dice to move things along, and One Further Risk Dice because if this feels like this is all about to go *horribly* wrong....
Your voices echoes into the night.
“Friend... or... foe?”
You don’t sound so deep, do you?
You see a long, narrow leg break free from the black lump. It spasms wildly, disgustingly, like it’s grappling with thin air, blind and feverish.
From behind you... or... somewhere, you hear the howling bend and twist until it isn’t a noise, but words, “One chance. One chance!”
Your shouting has alerted, and changed, the nightmares of this Midnight Hunt. You’re going to want to get this boat running again, perhaps push it off whatever it’s caught on. What is that lad Leo even doing?,
He was snapped out of thought by Lynch yelling. He lifts the lantern up at her as she does, just in time to hear something around them answer. Whatever it was, it wasn't friendly, and they needed to get out of here. Searching his pack for something of use, he pulls out an old foldable shovel that he had stored in case of use. It wasn't the longest, but it should probably be able to pry them off the building they seemed to be stuck on. Maybe... Unfolding it, he holds the lantern over the side for another glimpse of the building, then sets it down, gripping the side of the boat and leaning to push the head the shovel into the building and generate enough force to shove them further into the water, and free of the stone trapping them.
Another -1 tick for equipment.
Well, there goes the element of surprise, Lynch ruefully mulls over...but, a small part of her is almost *glad* to be done skulking in the dark. Fuck it...let them come..they won't take us lying down...
"Leopold, my buddy, we gotta move." Lynch puts her good ear out and feels like she hears things, crawling along the alleys and climbing amongst the architecture. She turns to Leo with a half-mad grin. "You can feel it too, can't you? It's a...busy night out there tonight." Lynch licks her lips and reloads the shotgun, trying to calm her nerves and clear her thoughts. Enough time had been spent on reflection; tonight was about action...
---
Lynch stands ready to guard or otherwise assist Leo in getting this hunk of junk moving or unstuck!
You glide under the bridge, snow, jet black shadow, snow. Thing is, the boat begins to curve towards the river’s edge. No one is driving! But it’s nothing you can’t rectify in time... Right?
Succeed, or even come close, and you’ll moor up safety and arrive at the nunnery. A twisted result (1, 2, 3) will undoubtedly end with the boat in poor condition... unless you then seek a means to roll again.
She takes careful note to see that Leo is uninjured, and that there aren't other fleshbags tucked in under the bridge as they glide through...The Wheel! *Shit*, nobody's driving this thing! Pulling herself unsteadily up and swinging the shotgun over her shoulder, the young girl dashes towards the Wheel, hoping she can jerk the ship away from the edge in time...
Using Lynch's Meticulous Aspect, and hoping to shake off her fear!
Lynch! Take the condition bust up face! When you try to persuade or intimate someone, you’ll have to accept a less potent outcome, even on a success.
The nunnery isn’t something anyone talks about. Not for fear or awe; the nuns are just a nondescript part of the city. Maybe you knew a girl pregnant out of wedlock go there and not return, but only because she’d become a nun after... after it all. Usually they’re just woman willingly stepping outside of ordinary society in pursuit of holiness. You’ve never given much thought as to why, or... you never used to. Perhaps it sounds inviting, or ignorant, now you’ve seen all you’ve seen.
The nunnery is a large building on a decent estate of flat fields and willow trees. Nuns don’t go in for flowers, but their are nice enough looking herbs and pumpkins gathering snow. Like most places, there is an old stone wall around it, built way back when the city was more or less an expansive fort. Nothing you can climb over though, it’s only 6 foot high and has no spikes adorning it. Who’d break into a place like this?
Looking back, you see the boat is upturned, the tools Lynch acquired scattered to the winds. The front is cracked cleaning. It might last a quick run up the river, if one of you focused on nothing but bailing water out... maybe not.
What do you do?
Snow melts into her right eye, and she goes to brush it away. She realizes when she withdraws her hand, and sees the heavy and free-flowing blood sticking to the glove, that everything isn't alright. The place where the glove touched her head *burns and chafes*. Her right eye winced itself nearly out from her head when she touched it, and the ridge along the nose felt as though it were made of chunks of floating bone fragments, and pain. Lynch *spits* away an awful hunk of blood and matter, and as she does so, her tongue rattles against a pair of loose teeth along the front.
Shit, I think I really did it this time. Lynch's heart goes to beat out of her chest, and she tries with all her will to hold down the awful feeling creeping upon her. You're lucky to be alive, girl...now do what you need to do, and think about the rest in the morning. The adrenaline is starting to wear off. Hands trembling and trying to look away from Leopold, Lynch reaches into her bag....
Making my first pull of the night for some bandages, dressing, and cleaning agent -1 for Lynch's facial wounds, to wrap her broken nose, and bruised eye socket, and head wound, and limit our blood trail/make Lynch less of an obvious target
As he turns to exclaim his disbelief, he spots Lynch roll off the tree, visibly bleeding. "Shit! Lynch!" he says, his voice alternating between a whisper and normal volume as he tries to control himself. He seems her pull out bandages quickly and start to clean herself, and he heads over towards her. "I can help. Let me help wrap here. Are you going to be ok?" it was a spew of words, but his adrenaline had kicked in at the sight of her blood.
“Heh,” Lynch giggles morbidly as Leo tightens the bandages, still shaken but trying her very best to keep it together. “Helluva start to our night so far.” She goes to pop her ears, and then spits another bloody mouthful into the snow.
Gradually, but willfully, she gets back to her feet. She’s unrecognizable under the bandages, and they immediately begin to puff up from the blood underneath. But the bleeding eventually stops, and she seems to be “otherwise” unharmed...
“I think…I think I should be alright. It’s bad, but it’s not the worst off I’ve ever been in the field. But,” Lynch swivels the shotgun around front, and tries to give Leopold a reassuring grin (through reddened teeth), “If it’s all the same with you, I’ll take the rear flank tonight, yeah?”
His eyes turn towards the nunnery before he looks back to the cracked boat. "We're likely on foot tonight, I can't imagine that thing is useful anymore. So, I have to ask and I need you to be honest," he looks her straight in the eyes, "Can you do this?"
"So you found yer stones real quick, didn't ya, "Green"?" The young woman looks away finally, and stares off into the dimming grey light. The wind howls between the buildings, and for a moment it seems as though Lynch means to walk away, and leave for the Nunnery without Leopold...
But she turns back to him, face grim. "In the war...me and my squad ended up swarmed one night, two hours out from contact. They'd laid a trap along the rails, see...and...." Lynch's tortured expression lets Leopold fill in the rest of the tale on his own. Calming herself with deep, phelmy breaths, Lynch addresses Leo matter-of-factly. "...the reinforcements woke me up later, after they found us. My... *whole team* was dead. But....someone had blown the debris off the line, cleared the track for the shipment to go through. Someone had given the signal. Someone had, had..." Lynch trails off, and her hands dig in her pockets, searching out a familiar blade like a safety blanket...
Lynch, fierce and dangerous even under her heavy bandages, *growls* up defensively at Leopold. "You ask me if I can *do* this, Leo? Yeah, *of course* I can. I fucking have to- who else will?"
Making your way over the wall is a nonissue.
The nunnery looms over you both, thick with shadow, silent and judging.
Once within the nunnery grounds its clear you’re going to have to ascend the outer steps leading to the main pair of doors (E). There is a oddly small, a mere four foot high side door lower down (A), but it’s got a large padlock and two thick wooden planks keeping it shut.
You have no idea what lies beyond either entrance.
In addition: To your left you see a well, the classic sort, with a hanging bucket.
Leo, consider:
Both of you:
Of course Lynch knows Tomos. He was her old squadmate in the war. Tomos was the one who told her she'd need an alias, if she ever ran. He died horribly during the train ambush, laying down covering fire to provide Lynch an opportunity to plant the explosives
Lynch hasn't snapped yet, but Leo is definitely watching her closely. No one takes a hit like that directly to the face and just shakes it off without issue.
The main door is unlocked. It creaks open under Lynches touch.
When I update with what’s actually beyond the door, both of you ask me one or more questions about the situation.
You look up. Ah. Something is wrong.
A statue leans in towards you, a beaten, pious visage stares, her arms reaching, palms held out to receive some holy reprieve. The far wall has a rolling ladder, but the tracks are fixed to the ceiling. Something is wrong.