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[Call of Cthulhu - IC] Whispers in the Darkness

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  • rucdocrucdoc Crazy guy in the corner ClassifiedRegistered User regular
    "Oh hey yeah, I need to grab some more stuff." Mathew said looking around. "My computer, is rather expensive."

    Original Creepy Janitor

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  • CayrusCayrus Consul Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears!Registered User regular
    "Sure man, no problem."

    Nathan unlocks the jeep.

    "So, uhm, I heard you got an interesting package in the mail earlier."

    Former Secret Service Agent Nathaniel Ford in Call of Cthulhu: Whispers in the Darkness

    Henri Emmanuel Gratien St Pierre in Where No Man Has Gone Before

    Lord Augustus Cumberbatch in Eclipse Phase
  • rucdocrucdoc Crazy guy in the corner ClassifiedRegistered User regular
    "Let me ask you, what do you know about the local office?" Mathew said as he collected his things from the jeep.

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  • CayrusCayrus Consul Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears!Registered User regular
    As the two men walked back the the motel, Nathan said "Not much really. I've never worked for them before. The head EON office called me two days ago and asked me to come out to New Mexico for some field work. En route, the local HQ diverted me to your location and assigned me as your security."

    He stops and turns to Matthew. "Why do you ask?"

    Former Secret Service Agent Nathaniel Ford in Call of Cthulhu: Whispers in the Darkness

    Henri Emmanuel Gratien St Pierre in Where No Man Has Gone Before

    Lord Augustus Cumberbatch in Eclipse Phase
  • rucdocrucdoc Crazy guy in the corner ClassifiedRegistered User regular
    "We normally work out of the Virginia office. We got called in here to check out what is going on. I've found a few things that shouldn't be going on, been warned to stay out of it, been warned that some members of the local office have gone off the reservation, had a human pinky handed to me in an envelope by a pair of suits from the local, and been stabbed by nut bag." Mathew said, then took a deep breath. "Look, I have no idea what is going on here. But there is something messed up going on here. Mr. Jurgen is not gonna be happy, if we can't keep this contained and out of the press."

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  • CayrusCayrus Consul Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears!Registered User regular
    "I'm just here to provide support and to see that you guys don't get hurt. What ever is happening here is way above my pay grade."

    Nathan looks around and then heads to the motel room door. "I suggest we get some sleep. You guys have had a long day."

    Former Secret Service Agent Nathaniel Ford in Call of Cthulhu: Whispers in the Darkness

    Henri Emmanuel Gratien St Pierre in Where No Man Has Gone Before

    Lord Augustus Cumberbatch in Eclipse Phase
  • PsychoLarry1PsychoLarry1 Registered User regular
    DAY 3
    Has it really only been 2 days in the desert? Four of you drop exhausted to sleep almost immediately, while the newcomer stares at the ceiling, trying to process the strange turn his career has taken. The throb of knife wounds pierce through the horrible dreams that plague Javier and Mathew. Guy quickly sweats through his sheets and feels his blood run cold as the vaguest memories of his vision float through his mind. von Todt simply replays the crumpling of that not-corpse over and over in his mind, and his skin crawls.

    You awake in the morning feeling no better than you had before, and you all spend a great length of time at the bathroom sink, trying to wash the thick acrid taste out of your mouths. Outside, the sky is blocked out by thick grey clouds from horizon to horizon. Nevertheless, it is oppressively sweltering, and far more humid than you would have expected for the region. Haggard and poorly shaved, you head back out to finish the job.

  • rucdocrucdoc Crazy guy in the corner ClassifiedRegistered User regular
    "We need to find a phone, and call Mr. Jurgen." Mathew says adjusting his hat to decrease the ammount light getting to his eyes.

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  • Captain MarcusCaptain Marcus now arrives the hour of actionRegistered User regular
    "We also need to find lab space for rent so we can analyze our samples."

  • CayrusCayrus Consul Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears!Registered User regular
    "There's a payphone down the street, I saw it as we drove in. As for lab space, I suggest the yellowpages."

    Former Secret Service Agent Nathaniel Ford in Call of Cthulhu: Whispers in the Darkness

    Henri Emmanuel Gratien St Pierre in Where No Man Has Gone Before

    Lord Augustus Cumberbatch in Eclipse Phase
  • PeffPeff Registered User regular
    edited September 2012
    Hair disheveled, shirt untucked, as he enters from the bathroom, "Haha, what's to analyze? How dead that thing was? How much kool aid was in the Columbian marching powder that Guy's girlfriend was snorting? What will our adventurers find next! I hope we only have to kill a unicorn or something next time, zombies are gross. Oh, we can get a punch card! Who want's to keep score?" Still chuckling awkwardly, "World isn't going to save itself, you slackers!" Javier pushes past the group and exits the room in the direction of the jeep.

    Peff on
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  • Captain MarcusCaptain Marcus now arrives the hour of actionRegistered User regular
    Dr. Todt watches his colleague worryingly as he exits the room.

    "Poor Doktor Cubillo. I hope he feels better."

  • El SkidEl Skid The frozen white northRegistered User regular
    Guy sat on the side of his bed, rubbing his temples. Today was NOT going to be a fun day...

    After a few minutes he got up and scrambled to get himself looking presentable.

  • Captain MarcusCaptain Marcus now arrives the hour of actionRegistered User regular
    "Matthew. I am going to use the phone to rent laboratory space. Feel free to accompany me so we can call Mr. Jurgen."

    After freshening himself up as much as possible (not that much), Todt heads downstairs and asks to see the phonebook from the clerk.

    He then scans the pages, and having found what he wants, heads off to the payphone with whoever wants to come along.

  • CayrusCayrus Consul Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears!Registered User regular
    Nathan follows Todt to the payphone.

    Former Secret Service Agent Nathaniel Ford in Call of Cthulhu: Whispers in the Darkness

    Henri Emmanuel Gratien St Pierre in Where No Man Has Gone Before

    Lord Augustus Cumberbatch in Eclipse Phase
  • PsychoLarry1PsychoLarry1 Registered User regular
    Once a deal is made with the manager of the lab, you hang up the phone, add some more change and dial headquarters. After a healthy wait on hold, Jurgen comes on the line. "I hope to hell you have some good news for me Kristopher."

  • Captain MarcusCaptain Marcus now arrives the hour of actionRegistered User regular
    "We have good and bad news, sir. The good news is that we have some information on Dr. Morgan's breakdown. His heart transplant was done illegally. Records were falsified or destroyed, but we did find them and we're going to be doing more investigations today. We don't know where he is at present, but we're trying to find out why he had a breakdown so we can predict where he would go. We're very close to finding out why, I assure you.

    The bad news is it seems the local branch of EON has gone rogue. We've received threats and they really don't want us here. Apparently a "Codburn" and a "Noun Samphan" are using company facilities for personal black projects without permission. However, they have sent over a bodyguard of sorts. He's right here, if you'd like to explain things to him."

  • PsychoLarry1PsychoLarry1 Registered User regular
    Todt spends a fair amount of time speaking very seriously on the phone and nodding with a very serious look on his face. In all the conversation seems quite serious.

  • PsychoLarry1PsychoLarry1 Registered User regular
    As you all head to the van, you catch a faint glimpse of something out of the corner of your eye. As you turn to look, each in a different direction, you feel a faint unease flow through you. Was that a man with no face there at the corner of the building? Before you even process the thought, the sensation ends, and you realize you are looking at nothing at all.

  • PsychoLarry1PsychoLarry1 Registered User regular
    Everyone trundles into the car and you drive to the lab complex. Located on the outskirts of the University of New Mexico, the site looks fairly nondescript, set against the backdrop of the newly constructed UNM research library. The lab attendant, a relic of the Wilson administration it would seem, totters out to meet you, and shows you to the lab space, regaling you with stories of Verdun and how much better the state has been since Mechem came back. The lab is all ready, with a full array of standard chemistry equipment, and after you hand him the check, the old man leaves you to your work.

  • El SkidEl Skid The frozen white northRegistered User regular
    Guy walks around the lab, careful not to touch anything. This is going to be pretty boring he thought miserably. I'll let them get set up and then take a look around. Maybe there'll be some college girls hanging around I could chat with...

  • CayrusCayrus Consul Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears!Registered User regular
    Oh great, now they're doing science experiments.

    "Doctors, what exactly are you planning to do here?"

    Former Secret Service Agent Nathaniel Ford in Call of Cthulhu: Whispers in the Darkness

    Henri Emmanuel Gratien St Pierre in Where No Man Has Gone Before

    Lord Augustus Cumberbatch in Eclipse Phase
  • PeffPeff Registered User regular
    Finding a brief moment of clarity in the familiarity of the lab space, Javier inhales deeply, taking it all in.

    Calmly, "We have a few samples from our recent...adventures." eye twitch "The weird goo we found from Dr. Appleton's house as well as a sample of the drug that Guy's lady friend took before her incident. We're hoping to figure out what happened to her as well as why Appleton was in the...state...he was in." Whatever serenity he found had passed. Javier quickly takes a seat at the nearest microscope, head in hands, shaking.

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  • Captain MarcusCaptain Marcus now arrives the hour of actionRegistered User regular
    Dr. Todt looks worriedly at his colleague before turning to Nathan.

    "Ahem... We have three samples. One is a bodily fluid sample from Dr. Appleton. He was 're-animated' when we found him. I know that sounds preposterous, but he shrugged off several rounds at point-blank range and had...whatever this fluid is instead of blood.

    The next two samples are related.

    Guy seduced a local reporter. When he woke up, she had overdosed on this blue cocaine. Thankfully, Dr. Cubillo and I were able to stabilize her and get her to a hospital in time, but her symptoms were very unusual. This is a sample of her vomit.

    What's unusual about the cocaine, aside from the color, is that there's a quite powerful foreign substance in it. Normally drug dealers cut their supply with flour or corn starch in an effort to save money. This is pure, aside from the mystery substance. In addition, it visibly reacted with the vomit. So she either had chemical supplies for lunch or something else is going on. "

    Todt puts on a lab coat, pulls on gloves, and gets to work.

    Appleton Sample
    Biology vs 81- 68 pass
    Medicine vs 80- 58 pass
    Cocaine Sample
    Biology- 4 pass
    Medicine- 56 pass
    Vomit Sample
    Biology- 43 pass
    Medicine- 6 pass

  • CayrusCayrus Consul Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears!Registered User regular
    "Do what you need to do Doctors. I'll be outside if you need me."

    Nathan followed Guy out the lab door.

    Former Secret Service Agent Nathaniel Ford in Call of Cthulhu: Whispers in the Darkness

    Henri Emmanuel Gratien St Pierre in Where No Man Has Gone Before

    Lord Augustus Cumberbatch in Eclipse Phase
  • PsychoLarry1PsychoLarry1 Registered User regular
    [Cayrus and El Skid]
    The campus is fairly well populated, with students lazing about sun bathing or hurrying from one class or another. Most of the students seem to be affluent, and the yuppie crowd is there in force. The research library seems to be especially popular, though by the look of them, the students using it probably aren't.
    AzhVX.jpg
    [Captain Marcus and Peff]
    While Mathew fiddles about with a computer system in the corner, Dr. Todt sets to work with the samples, trying to discern some kind of clue to their makeup.
    Appleton sample:
    The cells here give every indication of normal physical decay, but something has arrested the process. After a bevy of tests, you detect some sort of minute growth on the nucleus of the cells, something that does not match up with any cellular mutation that you've ever come across. It's as if the cell was self-cannibalizing in order to continue functioning. If such a thing were possible, it's certainly not a phenomena you've ever heard mention of. You attempt to test it for a few chemical reactions, and half the sample simply dissolves, leaving nothing, not even a residue.

    Cocaine:
    Aside from the obvious strange hue, it appears to be normal cocaine. Judging by the young woman's reaction though, it's clear that it is in some manner abnormal. If only you had the time and permission to examine her more thoroughly.

    Vomit:
    Your suspicions about the Appleton sample are reinforced in this one. The cells seem to be self-cannibalizing and mutating strange formations that are unnaturally geometric. It's little surprise that the reporter was so violently affected, if this drug was eating away at her stomach lining so dramatically. You attempt to examine the sample under a UV light, and it begins to quiver violently. When you switch off the light, the substance alters

  • Captain MarcusCaptain Marcus now arrives the hour of actionRegistered User regular
    "Augh!"

    Dr. Todt scrambles backwards, knocking over his chair as he falls to the floor, breathing heavily.

    Seeing his fellow investigators staring at him, he stands up, swallows hard, and rights the chair.

    He tries to begin. "It's different."

    He shakes his head and starts over.

    "What happened to the reporter also happened to Appleton. Her stomach lining is present in the vomit. It looks exactly like the sample from Appleton. Something's growing on the nucleus, something that shouldn't be there. I've never heard of anything like this. The cells are auto-cannibalizing and forming ordered geometric shapes on the inside. When I used Benedict's solution on the Appleton sample, half of it disappeared. There's not even a residue..."

    He moves back to the UV light.

    "Here. Come look at this. Brace yourself, however. When I switch on the light, it's going to start shaking. When I shut it off, it will be... different."

    "We can't do a damn thing with this cocaine, though, none of us are chemists. Perhaps we can pay a graduate student to analyze it for us."

  • PeffPeff Registered User regular
    Todt's reaction brings Javier's mind back from wandering. "Where did the lab manager go? We can ask him if there's anyone qualified nearby or even on staff. I'll even go across campus to get someone!" Pausing, likely knowing what Todt saw, "I'll...uh...take your word for what you saw."

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  • CayrusCayrus Consul Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears!Registered User regular
    Nathan walked around the exterior of the lab building keeping a lookout for anymore faceless men or zombies or whatever else these crazy men seem to think were after them.
    Spot Hidden vs 75
    1d100=55
    Success!

    Former Secret Service Agent Nathaniel Ford in Call of Cthulhu: Whispers in the Darkness

    Henri Emmanuel Gratien St Pierre in Where No Man Has Gone Before

    Lord Augustus Cumberbatch in Eclipse Phase
  • El SkidEl Skid The frozen white northRegistered User regular
    Guy walked around to the campus until he found the Library. Walking inside, he passed by several students and was dismayed by what he saw. Sure, they were young, but there was entirely too many pimples and loose clothing for his taste.

    He wasn't here for the students, anyway... he wanted to talk to someone who was a bit more... experienced. Scanning the various desks, he found a likely young librarian at an information desk. She appeared to be in her thirties with mousy brown hair and a pair of almost stereotypical librarian glasses, and she sat in front of a large bank of catalogue cards. Obviously she wasn't going to win any beauty contests, but he saw some potential if he could get the glasses off. And maybe some other things...

    Slipping smoothly into his french accent, he walked tentatively up to her, looking worried and slightly lost. "Excusez moi, madame. I was hoping you could help a poor lost soul find some information about your beautiful campus." As she looked up, he peered deep into her eyes, his eyes widening with the connection he hoped she would make with him in that first, crucial instant.

  • PsychoLarry1PsychoLarry1 Registered User regular
    [Peff and Captain Marcus]
    It takes a few minutes for Todt's heart rate to return to normal, and though he feels a bit more at ease, he's still unwilling to recheck the sample in the microscope. After a long wait, the doddering old man returns to the lab, and after an even longer wait, he returns with his graduate student assistant. He's about what you might expect, with 3 or 4 days of stubble on his face, and a palor inconsistent with the tans you've grown used to in the region.
    Brian, as it turns out his name is, is nearly finished with a masters degree in metallic chemistry. After a brief explanation of what you need, he agrees to analyze the sample for $100. After a brief trip to the storage area for supplies, he sets to work studying the "mysterious powder that is definitely not cocaine".

    Mathew continues to type away at his computer, seemingly oblivious to the world around him.
    [El Skid and Cayrus]
    The campus of the University of New Mexico is almost sickenly cliche. Nathan wanders around, seeing nothing but naive children and burnt out professors.

    Inside the library, the coed at the main desk lays down her copy of Gravity's Rainbow and looks up at Guy. Her look of bored indifference fades as he talks.

    "Oh, um sure...well how can I, um, help you Mr., um sir?"

  • El SkidEl Skid The frozen white northRegistered User regular
    Guy forward leaned on the desk and gazed into the enraptured eyes of the young lady.

    "I can tell that I have come to ze right place for thees. I urgently need to speak with a membre of your faculty who might know someseeng about symbology, perhaps some very old symbols with occulte significance. I am sure someone as obviously knowledgeable and...beautiful..." Guy paused, his eyes smoldering as he held her gaze, "...as yourself can find ze right person for me to speak with. Please."

  • PsychoLarry1PsychoLarry1 Registered User regular
    edited March 2013
    [El Skid]
    "Well of course!" She flips through a directory for a moment, while coyly biting the end of a pen. "Dr. Halvardsen is the head of our ancient languages and cultures department! I'm sure he could tell you something about it! Or, did you want the occult archives? Our theology department maintains a really great one! I could..er...show you the way."
    [Cayrus]
    Except for a pair of men dressed in torn dress shirts, suspenders, and plaid shorts that begin to kiss passionately on the lawn, things continue on much as they had outside the lab.
    [Peff and Captain Marcus]
    Brian hems and haws to himself as he works, prodding the material and placing some of it into a petrie dish. He steps away for a few minutes and comes back with a slip of paper from some professor, and a stack of reference books. He goes back to work on the substance.

    PsychoLarry1 on
  • El SkidEl Skid The frozen white northRegistered User regular
    Guy looked at the woman and smiled conspiratorially. "Archives, eh? Thees sounds...very... promising. I may need some assistance finding ze right materials, however. Would you be able to stay and help me out for a leetle while?"

  • Captain MarcusCaptain Marcus now arrives the hour of actionRegistered User regular
    Todt watches Brian hopefully.

  • CayrusCayrus Consul Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears!Registered User regular
    Not noting anything particularly dangerous outside (though he did give the kissing men a wide berth), Nathan headed toward the nearest cafeteria, asking directions as necessary.

    Former Secret Service Agent Nathaniel Ford in Call of Cthulhu: Whispers in the Darkness

    Henri Emmanuel Gratien St Pierre in Where No Man Has Gone Before

    Lord Augustus Cumberbatch in Eclipse Phase
  • PeffPeff Registered User regular
    Javier watches the student from across the lab, he's hopeful that he finds nothing but afraid for the kid if he does.

    steam_sig.png
  • PsychoLarry1PsychoLarry1 Registered User regular
    [El Skid]
    Jenny, the librarian Co-ed, leads you giggling past the shelves full of uniform books bearing titles like "Peasant Agrarian Reforms of the 16th Century in Burgundian France". After following her down three flights and through a heavy door, you arrive at the Occult archives. These book are largely older and more decrepit than the scholarly texts upstairs. Most of them are bound in heavy leather or sit with crumbling pages suspended in thick plastic cases. The girl stands, awkwardly rocking on her heals, looking around and coughing lightly at the dust. "Well, I don't like, really know what you're looking for....sooo."
    [Cayrus]
    As you wander about the campus searching for something to eat, you pass by a submerged stairway, leading into some student building. You can hear a low moaning, and you can tell by the sound of it that something is wrong.
    [Peff and Captain Marcus]
    After another hour of pecking away at his notes and puzzling over the sample, Brian grunts and slides away from the work table. "I think I've got it." He says, walking over to where you had set up your impromptu game of cards. "It was...strange. The substance certainly possessed many of the attributes of pure cocaine, it pretty clearly wasn't. I haven't seen a compound like this before, and I don't know of many texts that could even begin to describe it. I remembered though some older texts I had read in my History of Chemistry course, from the turn of the century, on prisimatic compounds and Werner Aufenbaum's theories." Though he seems to be physically sound, as Brian is speaking, you can see the blood vessels in his eyes burst, one by one, until his eyes are a deep crimson.

  • CayrusCayrus Consul Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears!Registered User regular
    Nathan's instinct to protect kicked in as he heard the moaning. He rushed to the stairwell.

    "Hello? Are you hurt?"
    Listen Check vs 55
    1d100=62
    Fail.
    I'm gonna die, aren't I?

    Former Secret Service Agent Nathaniel Ford in Call of Cthulhu: Whispers in the Darkness

    Henri Emmanuel Gratien St Pierre in Where No Man Has Gone Before

    Lord Augustus Cumberbatch in Eclipse Phase
  • El SkidEl Skid The frozen white northRegistered User regular
    Guy turned to Jenny and looked at her appreciatively. Smiling sadly, he said: "I suppose business must be first... I am looking for symbols such as these" he took out the pair of symbols he had accumulated and showed them to her. "I will start over here. If you need any help with... anysing... Please let me know."

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