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[Call of Cthulhu - IC] Whispers in the Darkness

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Posts

  • PeffPeff Registered User regular
    "Yeah, I suppose that could be it. I'd like to think a doctor would know better but I suppose greed knows no bounds."

    Turning to Mason, "At least it seems this may have not be a failed excursion after all. Do you know the place? Anything else on the card?"

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  • rucdocrucdoc Crazy guy in the corner ClassifiedRegistered User regular
    Mathew walks over to where he dumped the envelope staring at it for a long time. He study's it looking for any clues about, well anything, without opening it, or touching it to much

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  • PsychoLarry1PsychoLarry1 Registered User regular
    [rucdoc]
    The envelope seems to be a simple manilla envelope, sealed with a bit of scotch tape. It only weighs a few ounces. You can feel the rigid square in the center, there is a small cylindrical object on the bottom of the envelop. You can hear a crinkle of paper.
    [Peff, El Skid and Captain Marcus]
    Mason nods. "Yup, he's over in the Alameda estates. I can get us over there in...half an hour? S' a nice neighborhood." He flips the card back over and reads off it in a monotone. "Dr. Jackson Appleton MD. County Coroner. Alburquerque General Hospital - Morgue. 505-555-6491. That is the whole thing."

  • PeffPeff Registered User regular
    "Well...that settles it then, eh?" Turning to Todt, "Do you still want to make a stop for 'supplies' ?"

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  • Captain MarcusCaptain Marcus now arrives the hour of actionRegistered User regular
    "Yes, that'd be prudent. Mason, can we stop by the hotel again first? There's some things we need to pick up."

    You guys this next encounter is totally the time to run skill checks for things you don't have! Practice your Bluff and Persuade on the hotel employees, rucdoc!

  • rucdocrucdoc Crazy guy in the corner ClassifiedRegistered User regular
    "well, I always wanted to die horribly. " Mathew mutters under his breath as he opens the envelope.

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  • El SkidEl Skid The frozen white northRegistered User regular
    Guy looks at the departing figure of the girl and scratches his head. Something was definitely wrong with her...

    Shaking the thought off, he said "Yes, let's go to visit ze doctor. I need nothing from ze hotel, but feel free to stop zere first."

  • PsychoLarry1PsychoLarry1 Registered User regular
    [rucdoc]
    Out of the envelope slides a 5 1/4" Floppy Disc, a typed note in BASIC, and a human pinky finger.
    [El Skid, Captain Marcus, and Peff]
    Mason takes you back to the hotel and heads in with you to help carry your gear, humming Woody Guthrie to himself. Nothing remarkable seems to be happening in the hotel that you can see.

  • PeffPeff Registered User regular
    Leaning in close to Mason, "Mason, can you stow my rifle in the back of the car...? I don't think we're going to need it but Todt seems to be think we'll need some 'protection' and he's not usually wrong." Winking, "I'd also rather not lug it around town, I'm sure you can understand why."

    "I'm gonna head up to the room and grab a few things. Has anyone heard anything from Mathew since last night?" Javier heads toward the elevator.
    Grabbing a first aid kit, my camera, a canister of film, and sheathing my knife at my belt, under my jacket.

    Mason can grab my rifle and a box of ammo.

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  • Captain MarcusCaptain Marcus now arrives the hour of actionRegistered User regular
    Dr. Todt follows Javier up to the room. He puts on his shoulder holster under his clothes, and holsters his .45 handgun. He puts a few spare clips in his pockets as well. (3 clips)

    "No, I haven't. I don't think Guy has either. Do you think we should check in on him?"

  • El SkidEl Skid The frozen white northRegistered User regular
    "I have heard nothing from Matthew. We should check in on him while we are here... not to suggest I think he would be playing video games instead of helping us, of course..." said Guy, clearly implying that is exactly what he thought.

  • PsychoLarry1PsychoLarry1 Registered User regular
    [Captain Marcus, El Skid, Peff]
    Mason hefts the rifle case and looks over at Dr. Todt holstering his gun. "You guys aren't fucking around today are you? Ok, I'll meet you at the car."
    [rucdoc]
    00011010110011110000Iä' Iä' The slick sound of leather stretched until it rips apart, and the dusty smell of dessicated organs, turning to dust in the acrid, ammonia air. Someone is crying, deep in the woods, a screaming, tortured voice through the speakers as the throat is ripping, tearing shredding apart in your hands. The stars, it's the stars, the spaces between the spaces and the hole where God should have been. How is it so cold, darkest blue dry cold Iä, is it a soft and forgiving appendage that reeks of regret and burns all yellow in its hate. It is festering hooves in the infinite abyss Iä! That buzzing hum of no-earth hive clicking scales and cutting wings in the so cold and in fuck Yub comes to the copper home Iä! A voice with no mouth. Black star death cut11011101110000101101101

    Sitting on the bed of the hotel room, you watch your breath in the air as the shivering slows and the blood drips from your nose onto your shirt. Your jaw aches and you slowly release your left fist, clenched so hard it broke the skin and gouged deep cuts. In your right hand you hold the disk, and you can see it now, the symbol had always been there, printed in black ink on black plastic.
    bjjZC.jpg
    Rucdoc loses 2 sanity and gains 2 Cthulhu Mythos

  • Captain MarcusCaptain Marcus now arrives the hour of actionRegistered User regular
    edited April 2012
    Todt inquires at the desk where Matthew's room is. Finding out, he and his companions walk down the hall to Matthew's door.

    (skipping "asking the clerk" narration, because we really want to speak to Matthew! We're friendly like that)

    Captain Marcus on
  • PeffPeff Registered User regular
    "I wouldn't say that Mason, just seems like Appleton might have more going on than it looks like."

    Javier follows Todt to reception, to Matthew's room, and waits for the door.

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  • PeffPeff Registered User regular
    Knocking on the door "Matt, open up...its us."

    Thinking for a ridiculous password Matthew would be likely to use, "Uh...the fat man walks slowly at midnight."

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  • rucdocrucdoc Crazy guy in the corner ClassifiedRegistered User regular
    Mathew gets up dropping everything on the bed and walks to the door.

    "I doubt highly that a fat man is gonna be walking slowly that late." mathew said as he opened the door.

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  • PeffPeff Registered User regular
    Pushing past Matthew and into the room, "Yeah, well its hard to know what you're thinking some days, figured you'd respond if we mad something crazy up."

    Javier sits at the edge of the bed, ignoring the finger and disk for the moment, "The organ bank doesn't seem to have anything to do with this, they weren't happy when they found out why we were there. They pointed us at Dr. Appleton and it's looking like things might get rough so we're loading up. You want to tag along or are you going to keep playing with all your new toys?"

    Turning his attention to the items on the bed and noting the blood on Matthew's shirt "What's this all about? You ok?"

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  • rucdocrucdoc Crazy guy in the corner ClassifiedRegistered User regular
    "Oh you know crazy messages, odd symbols, dudes finger, and I think someone is telling us to back off or you might end up dead. you guys ever seen something like this?" Mathew says picking up the disk and shows everyone the symbol.

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  • Captain MarcusCaptain Marcus now arrives the hour of actionRegistered User regular
    "Schiesse! That's the symbol Guy's lady friend drew in this weird blue cocaine before she passed out. It looks like your friends are into drug dealing."

  • rucdocrucdoc Crazy guy in the corner ClassifiedRegistered User regular
    edited May 2012
    "I wouldn't say that. They were suits, either with the company or one of the alphabets. They knew we were staying here, and I'm pretty sure the finger used to belong to my smoking friend from the office."

    rucdoc on
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  • PeffPeff Registered User regular
    "Well that's a little too quick to be a coincidence. Now I wish we had a chance to talk to Guy's girlfriend about the symbol. What were you into at the office that'd have them send you this kind of warning?"

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  • El SkidEl Skid The frozen white northRegistered User regular
    Guy shakes his head. "Something's not right here. The girl we just ran into was totally not responding correctly, the reporter definitely DID respond correctly, but was drawing strange government signs, and suits are coming in with fingers instead of just roughing us up and/or taking us in. And really, who should care what organs go into whose body- there was all sorts of falsification of documents and malpractice...and for what? To get slightly different organs into people, who ended up surviving the operation and recovering fine?"

    Guy stared at the wall for a moment, musing. "Whatever this is, it's much bigger than some dude going cuckoo and running off with a girl. And I don't like it one bit."

  • rucdocrucdoc Crazy guy in the corner ClassifiedRegistered User regular
    "I've got most of the facilities database backed up back at the head office now. From what I heard the research group has gone completely off reservation with their work. The whole research section of the facility is locked down. And what did the person who donated the organs used die from, and if he died from something bad, couldn't that be transfered with the organs. Could this have been a second attempt to get rid of the doctor?"

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  • Captain MarcusCaptain Marcus now arrives the hour of actionRegistered User regular
    edited May 2012

    "It might have. Diseases can definitely be transmitted via organs; it's happened with HIV and tuberculosis."

    Captain Marcus on
  • El SkidEl Skid The frozen white northRegistered User regular
    "Are there any diseases or viruses they could have been trying to give the doctor to drive him insane, then? I still don't know what good it would do, but I guess this is something..." said Guy, carefully.

  • Captain MarcusCaptain Marcus now arrives the hour of actionRegistered User regular
    "No virus I know of could change a man's personality, except rabies. And rabies is invariably fatal. It also wouldn't produce the kind of personality changes that Dr. Mason apparently went through."

  • El SkidEl Skid The frozen white northRegistered User regular
    Guy was obviously a bit out of his element, but logic had saved him many times before, so...

    "If not a disease or virus, maybe a drug? They must have been trying to deliver something to Dr. Mason to go through all this trouble, I just can't imagine what good it'd do. Although there were definitely drugs involved with my reporter friend as well..."

  • PeffPeff Registered User regular
    "A drug would make sense with the major behavioral changes. I don't know how much of a chance we'll have to look around but we should keep a look out for that symbol and any suspicious substances at Appleton's office."

    Turning to Matthew, "We should really get going though, you want to tag along on this one?"

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  • Captain MarcusCaptain Marcus now arrives the hour of actionRegistered User regular
    "In case you didn't know, we found out that a Dr. Appleton, the county coroner, erased the organ donation records from both the hospital and the organ bank. We're on our way to confront him."

  • rucdocrucdoc Crazy guy in the corner ClassifiedRegistered User regular
    "Sure, let me grab gear and ill go with you, sounds like you guys might need a little help on this."

    Mathew grabs his pistol and two clips of ammo. he adjusts his vest then puts on his jacket and hat.

    "When ever your ready."

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  • PsychoLarry1PsychoLarry1 Registered User regular
    edited May 2012
    [All]
    As you get to the truck, Mason comes out of the lobby. "Hey guys, don't wanna leave you out on your own, but the company just called me up to 'check in'. Once I drop you off, you're going to have to fend for yourself for a few hours. I can call you a cab to the house I guess. Hey, just try not to get into too much trouble without me, yes?"

    The route to Dr. Appleton's house takes you through the north eastern part of town, past trailer parks and adobe ranch homes surrounded by dirt yards and dead trees. The scattered stores look sun bleached and run down, and half of the trees in the area are dead dry rotting. After cresting a slight rise and passing what appears to be a defunct packing plant that long ago fell into disrepair, the dead and barren landscape falls away. Mason pulls the truck into an obviously new housing development, full of beautiful two story homes selected from three architectural varieties and freshly watered sod grass. Dr. Appleton's house is near the back of the lot, and looks to be one of the older homes, with some of the glean worn off.
    V2pcX.jpg?1

    In spite of the garish looking porch that extends from the back of the house which clashes with the southwestern style of the home, and the clear lack of care that has gone into maintaining the home, it seems to radiate a sense of warmth and welcome.

    PsychoLarry1 on
  • PeffPeff Registered User regular
    "So who wants to knock?" Javier says with a smile. "Really though...are we just going to walk in and go 'the jig is up Appleton!' and hope he comes clean? It might be best if we just appear to be following up on Dr. Morgan and leave out some of the details we've found so far, yeah?"

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  • El SkidEl Skid The frozen white northRegistered User regular
    edited May 2012
    "Yes, we should talk our way inside, sit ze bastard down and zen let him know ze jig is up." said Guy, taking out a pair of wire cutters. "I think we should maybe cut his phone line as well, just to keep things...quiet."

    El Skid on
  • rucdocrucdoc Crazy guy in the corner ClassifiedRegistered User regular
    "I can take out his phone no problem, it'll take me a few minutes." Mathew says holding out his hand for the wire cutters.

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  • Captain MarcusCaptain Marcus now arrives the hour of actionRegistered User regular
    "I agree that talking our way in is our best bet. Let's tell him we're investigators hired by EON to find Morgan, which is the truth after all. Then offhandedly mention that some documents and records weren't matching up and they had his (digital) fingerprints on them. Who knows, perhaps Appleton erased records for a good reason. Maybe those off-the-reservation guys Matthew ran into threatened him."

  • PeffPeff Registered User regular
    "Alright, do you two want to kill the phone lines, quietly, and then we'll go up and see if the good doctor is in?"

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  • PsychoLarry1PsychoLarry1 Registered User regular
    Mathew and Guy trace the line to a spot on the side of the house, near the porch. With a few minutes of work, they open the junction box and clip the small wires, severing the phone lines.

    As Javier and Kristopher approach the front door, they notice that it sits slightly ajar, and a strong stream of cool air is emanating from the home.

  • Captain MarcusCaptain Marcus now arrives the hour of actionRegistered User regular
    Kristopher lightly knocks on the slightly ajar door.

    Knock, knock.

    "Anybody home?"

    He calls, as he gives the door a slight push.

    "Javier, something might've happened to Appleton. Be ready."

  • PeffPeff Registered User regular
    "Always am." Javier peaks through the door past Todt, reaches back and touches the hilt of his knife, just to be sure.

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  • PsychoLarry1PsychoLarry1 Registered User regular
    edited May 2012
    Javier notices a few scattered drops of blood on the door sill.

    Looking in, you see a living room. The remains of a fire are still smoldering in the fireplace, and you can see a can of lighter fluid, a box of matches and an empty cardboard box beside the fireplace. Towards the back of the room a spiral staircase leads up to the second floor. A hallway extends next to the stairs.

    PsychoLarry1 on
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