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[Call of Cthulhu - IC] Whispers in the Darkness

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  • CayrusCayrus Consul Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears!Registered User regular
    "Looks like I found something too," Nathan said as he scooped up the journal.

    Suddenly he heard a terrific crash outside.

    Nathan walked toward the door with a sigh. "Looks like this place is deserted. Let's go see what those fools are up to."

    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 shrugs and heads into the middle of the shed, removing the covering from the...whatever it was in the middle.

  • PsychoLarry1PsychoLarry1 Registered User regular
    [Peff and El Skid]
    Javier scours the sides of the shed, but doesn't find anything else particularly interesting. Mostly just moldering piles of boxes and rusted tools.

    Guy looks at the object, a tall oval mirror lined with bronze sitting atop two ornate clawed feet. The frame of the mirror is made of intricately detailed metal tendrils that snake away from the glass. At the top and bottom are two fantastic fanged jaws, and inscribed at their corners is an inscription "опасность". The mirror itself is a dull black, and does not seem to make any reflection. Despite the state of the rest of the shed, the object is impeccably clean.

  • PeffPeff Registered User regular
    "Hey Guy...you find anything?" Javier comes back around the corner of the shed and sees the massive...object. "What the hell is that?"

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  • El SkidEl Skid The frozen white northRegistered User regular
    "Looks like a mirror with...a Cyrillic inscription. I was kind of expecting some sort of devil painting or a statue of whatshisname..."

    Guy knocked carefully on the "glass", just to see what the surface felt like.

  • Captain MarcusCaptain Marcus now arrives the hour of actionRegistered User regular
    Todt jumps a little when he hears the crash. "...that's a good idea. Let's get out of here."

  • PsychoLarry1PsychoLarry1 Registered User regular
    edited July 2013
    [Captain Marcus and Cayrus]
    Before leaving the cabin, von Todt notices a lone board beside the filthy mattress that stands out as far newer and cleaner than the others. With a little bit of kicking, the board comes up, revealing another cache. Inside, he pulls out a fraying hardbacked portfolio and a yellowed, crumbling scroll wrapped in a dark grey ribbon of some coarse material. The bit of the scroll you can see seems to be covered in some sort of Asiatic symbols. The two of you tuck your material into a satchel and step out into the yard. Javier is visible through a gap in the collapsed structure, looking into the interior of the shed.
    [El Skid]
    For just a moment, it is just you and the dark glass. The shed drops away, and there is only the great black disc, leaning over you. You see yourself in the glass, and watch your reflection walk away laughing to the point of tears. The reflection walks into the distance, where you just manage to make out the hazy form of a vast eye, hued in that same impossible green-orange, and hear the first syllable, "Sza," of some awful phrase.

    Then you snap back, stooping a bit, with your hand still raised, gazing at the flat black surface of the mirror. Though you're still sweating as heavily as you have been all day, you feel chilled.
    [Peff]
    You watch as Guy leans over to tap on the mirror thing. There's a dull soft knocking sound, and he sits transfixed for a long time. Ford and von Todt come out of the cabin and cross the yard to stand beside you before the glassy-eyed stare drops from Guy's face.

    PsychoLarry1 on
  • El SkidEl Skid The frozen white northRegistered User regular
    Guy lets out a quiet "...Sza?" shakes his head vigorously and looks around, hiding his surprise at seeing Ford and von Todt suddenly standing there gawking at him admirably.

    "That was uh,,,, bizarre." said Guy, struggling to remember one of his memorized French words. "Monsieur Ford, could you please take a look at zis surface and give it a knock? I have an experiment I wish to attempt."

  • Captain MarcusCaptain Marcus now arrives the hour of actionRegistered User regular
    "...the hell is that? Also apparently there is an escaped convict living in this house."

    Todt takes the portfolio out of the bag and starts reading.

  • CayrusCayrus Consul Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears!Registered User regular
    "Take a look at this too," Ford says as he hands Todt the journal. He then turns toward the mirror and Guy.

    "You want me to touch that thing? I'm not sure what the point is, its just a fancy mirror. I'm surprised no one has stolen it yet, given the condition of the house."

    He moves in closer and and looks the mirror over. "Are you expecting more zombies or vampires or mythical deities to appear when I touch this?" He chuckles to himself, "Well, here goes nothing..."

    Ford places his right hand on the mirror.

    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]
    For just a moment, it is just you and the dark glass. The shed drops away, and there is only the great black disc, leaning over you. You see yourself in the glass, and watch as your reflection begins to scream, its face melting away, just as you recall from the hallway at the university. From the ashes an arm reaches out, crusted with some sort of hardened ooze and dotted with long strands of curled hair. The arm continues to stretch, bending at the joint, then bending again, and again, and again until it resembles some sort of horrible impossible fleshy child's scrawling. A grainy whisper sounds in the darkness, spraying the pile of ash violently. "Qu'them-" and then you're back in the dingy shed, and every hair on your body is standing at attention.
    [Captain Marcus]
    You crack the portfolio, which appears to be a collection of photographs. The top one is a much better quality image of the old man, Gammell. Slipping past it, you see him, younger and far more vibrant, in front of a very handsome Victorian mansion. He stands with a wry grin on his face, surrounded by a number of other excited looking people in ornamental robes of some sort. The photo appears quite faded, with a small penned note on the back "1963". Next is an old and battered recreation of the familiar image from Guy's book, with Gammell looking haggard and intense in sweat stained and tattered colonial jungle dress in some Asian ruin.

    The next photo is badly yellowed and aged nearly to the point of disintegration Only the plastic sleeve has held it together from the effects of time. Gammell is proudly holding an old style bolt action rifle in one hand, with a braided haired scalp in the other. The burnt remains of an American Indian community are behind him. Next (the photos do not appear to be ordered in any particular way) Gammell is standing in front of an ornate Middle Eastern building identified as the Cairo Museum of Antiquities. He is holding some sort of idol in his hands, and behind him a tank is driving through the street, draped with uniformed British soldiers. There must be over a hundred photos in the book, and as you flip through images that stretch back to the invention of photography you see only one constant. The youthful face of Jedediah Gammell and his dark sneering eyes.
    [Peff]
    Just as you grew used to the uncommonly silent outdoors, you hear the loud snap of a large tree branch breaking, a skitter of rolling dirt and stones, and a kind of hissing gasp. The sound came from around the back corner of the house.

  • PeffPeff Registered User regular
    Whisper-shouting at the two at the mirror "Guy! Ford! Stop playing with that thing and get over here! I think I heard something from behind the house! Let's go have a look..."

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  • El SkidEl Skid The frozen white northRegistered User regular
    Guy looked at Fred staring blankly into the mirror and shrugged. "Let's go zen."

    And with that he stepped out of the shed and turned to look toward the back of the house.

  • CayrusCayrus Consul Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears!Registered User regular
    ""Qu'them..." Ford whispers as he stares blankly at the glass where the haunting images recently vanished. It seemed like an eternity before Javier's whisper breaks him out if his trance.

    "Quiet, all of you!" he whispers harshly. Ford takes out his gun again and approaches the source of the noise.

    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
    The group turns the corner with Guy and Agent Ford shaking off their strange visions and taking the lead. A small...man? in an orange robe sashed by a dark green belt glares at you with hateful yellow eyes from under a faded olive military hat of some type. In one hand he holds a nasty looking knife nearly as long as his diminutive arm. In the other he has clenched some sort of small flute against a length of chain. "ການຂ້າສັດ" he says in a rasping voice.

    Your eyes finally follow the length of chain up the small rise: attached to the chain by a collar at the neck, a blued skin corpse-thing shuffles towards you, emitting a dusty keening screech. The skin of the corpse-thing is leathery and rigid, stretched over bones that have pierced through in some places. The bones that you can see appear to be tinged themselves with some color your eyes refuse to register, only filling you with some sick feeling. As the half-man speaks its phrase, the thing begins to stumble towards you, swiping its long, curved, and cracking nails as it moves.

  • El SkidEl Skid The frozen white northRegistered User regular
    "What the f...." Guy's eyes narrow in determination as he walks over to the hammer and hefts it in his hands, advancing on the beast cautiously (and trying to give Ford a clear shot)

  • PeffPeff Registered User regular
    "ZOMBIE!!!!"

    Javier side steps and draws up his rifle. His blood pumping and head reeling, he fires without scoping in on the target.

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  • Captain MarcusCaptain Marcus now arrives the hour of actionRegistered User regular
    Todt sways slightly, nauseous, until he remembers that in his hand he holds a handgun, chambered for .45 Magnum rounds. He raises his arms, steadily aims it at the Oriental holding the blasphemous thing's leash, and fires.

  • PsychoLarry1PsychoLarry1 Registered User regular
    As Guy grabbed the nearest available weapon, and cautiously steps toward the strange leather skinned...thing, Ford gives a sort of startled dull grunt. In spite of his slack face and dull eyes, he snaps off an accurate shot without issue. Years of training and instinct pay off, and the heavy slug strikes the shambling form square in the center of mass.

    The creature doesn't slow, or even seem to register the damage, as a purple viscous fluid seeps from the wound. It continues to heave its way towards Guy, and rakes a clawed and putrid hand across his arm, cutting him deeply. It begins to emit a low ululating wail, like glass scraping against steel.

    Von Todt decides to deal with the midget that seems to be directing the creature, and puts a round in its gut. Given the course of events thus far, he's gratified to see that the man bleeds normal blood. The small man looks badly injured, and glares at you with a hateful expression.

    Shouting "Zombie!" Javier takes aim and fires a bullet straight through the thing's skull. The back of its skull explodes, spraying the hill behind it in more of the dark fluid. In spite of everything Javier learned from movies, the thing does not die, and continues to wail and slash at Guy.

    The small man drops the chain and holds the hand with the flute up towards von Todt. "ຄວນສະຖິດ" he says, as smoke begins to curl from his hand and his eyes go wild. He flicks his long and wicked knife at the doctor and it buries itself into his thigh.

  • El SkidEl Skid The frozen white northRegistered User regular
    "Keep the lead coming!" said Guy as he continues to stand toe-to-toe with the beast. Instead of attacking it, though, he uses the end of the mallet to keep the creature from grabbing him as he continues dodging and weaving away from the creature's razor-sharp claws.

  • PeffPeff Registered User regular
    "I...what?! DAMN IT! Guy! Watch out for that thing!! It's not real...or...or SOMETHING! Just watch your ass!" Javier slides the bold back in and fires another shot, this one aimed at the creature's mass.

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  • Captain MarcusCaptain Marcus now arrives the hour of actionRegistered User regular
    Todt yells as the knife enters his thigh, but still stands upright.

    Aiming his massive handgun, he shoots the evil little man again.

    "Gehen in die Hölle, Teufel," Todt growls.

  • PsychoLarry1PsychoLarry1 Registered User regular
    Guy continues to duck and weave while prodding the monster, whose skin is growing dark and sticky with the fluid seeping down its shoulders and chest. Agent Ford's next round catches it in the knee, and it sways unbalanced for a long moment, stopping the strangely melodic wail. Swaying as it is, the creature is easy to dodge when it swipes a clawed hand toward Guy. In fact, he's so focused on avoiding the first claw, that he never sees the second, stabbing an inch into the flesh over his ribs and raking under his right arm. Before the thing manages to do any more, Javier lands a 30.06 round to its chest, a match to the one left by Agent Ford.

    When the round hits, the things sways more erratically, then begins to crumple. It's left arm separates from the shoulder near the rifle wound, and another spatter of purple marks the dirt behind it, and a thin spray of blue dust puffs from its nostrils as it falls.

    Von Todt's .45 round strikes home, a bullet designed to put down just this type of troublesome oriental warrior. The round smacks into the small man's palm and vanishes in a puff of copper smoke, without any noticeable effect on the man. Seeing his creature collapse, he begins to back away towards the treeline, his hand still smoking slightly as he brings the flute to his lips.

  • El SkidEl Skid The frozen white northRegistered User regular
    Guy winced- not so much at the pain (he'd had far worse wounds), but more from the chance of infection presented by the strange things they had been encountering. Well, nothing to do now but take down the one with the flute.

    As he clumsily swung the rusty hammer, he wished he had his sword, which was of course back at home. Of course, he hadn't known he'd be needing it, but in the current situation he longed for its comforting weight in his hands.

    Geth, roll 1d100 for hammering flute dude (TN 25)

    hammering flute dude (TN 25):
    1d100 59 [1d100=59]

  • PeffPeff Registered User regular
    "Heh...not so tough now, are you?!" Javier slams the bolt back and take a shot at the small man.

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  • Captain MarcusCaptain Marcus now arrives the hour of actionRegistered User regular
    edited August 2013
    Todt shakes his head in disbelief at the horrendously violated laws of physics, and then decides to shoot the little man.

    Captain Marcus on
  • PsychoLarry1PsychoLarry1 Registered User regular
    Guy leaps over the dusty lump of not quite flesh that had been swiping at him, and promptly trips himself over the chain running from its neck. As Guy thrashes to regain his balance, he falls into Ford's sights. The agent curses, and pulls his pistol high, cracking off a round that flies off into the tree branches.

    von Todt is able to see the mishap in time, and takes a step to the side. Again he places a round right into the small man's face. As before, von Todt's aim is true, and the round fizzles into smoke, but this time the smoking effect from his palm evaporates and a hideously voluminous jet of blood sprays from the dwarf's nostrils. His hand is still up when Javier's rifle round hits him in the forearm. There's an awful crunching sound as the bone is splintered apart. The slivers of bone pock the crazed hateful face like bits of shrapnel. The effect is so horrifically mesmerizing that you hardly notice the sucking chest wound that has formed in the small man's chest, a few inches above the man's gut wound.

    Crippled and soaked in dark blood, the half-sized man gasps out a brief sound into the raised flute before collapsing to the ground. The flute emits some...it could not truly be considered a sound...not-sound, and the group all feel a dark haze slide across their eyes. Then it is quiet, the only noise is the familiar ringing of your ears that follows every gunfight.

  • PsychoLarry1PsychoLarry1 Registered User regular
    [Captain Marcus, El Skid and Peff]
    Ford takes a long breath, and looks around the forest for a long moment with a glazed expression on his face. He nods slowly as he looks down at the pistol in his hand. Dropping to his knees, Ford pulls a roll of cloth from his pocket, rolls it out on the ground, and begins to break open the revolver and clean it with a brush and oil that had been wrapped in the cloth. He is muttering to himself.

  • PeffPeff Registered User regular
    "HAHAHAHA! Victory! Well done friends, he never stood a chance against our group, crazy flute or no! Come my slightly injured, French friend, let us tend to your wounds. Though its not a bite, a zombie-inflicted wound is no joke. Mr. Todt, your assistance please!"

    Chest puffed out and rifle slung over his shoulder, Javier turns on his heel and starts back toward the Jeep.

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  • Captain MarcusCaptain Marcus now arrives the hour of actionRegistered User regular
    "Is anyone else hurt? Nein? Ok."

    Todt then glances down and notices that there is a knife sticking out of his thigh. He starts, and winces in pain.

    Hobbling, he follows his medical colleague and yells after him, "Javier! I'm hurt too."

  • El SkidEl Skid The frozen white northRegistered User regular
    Guy looked with disgust at the thing and then the claw marks running through his shirt. Wrinkling his nose, he submitted himself to the doctoring.

  • PeffPeff Registered User regular
    Javier gets back to the Jeep and tries to shake off the battle high. He takes a moment, one hand pinching the bridge of his nose, and exhales. He pulls the hatchback open, slides his medical kit out and very matter-of-factly call out "First patient, please."

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  • PsychoLarry1PsychoLarry1 Registered User regular
    Javier pulls out some gauze and dabs softly around both of the wounds. Then steps away satisfied.

  • Captain MarcusCaptain Marcus now arrives the hour of actionRegistered User regular
    Todt gives Cubillo a strange look, and pulls out his medical bag and gets to work. He applies a compression bandage to his thigh after he pulled the knife out (after swabbing the surface of the wound with alcohol) and rolls it tight with adhesive tape.

    He then treats Guy's lacerations with more antiseptic liquid and more bandages. He (and Todt) will still have to go to a proper hospital to ensure the wounds don't get infected, but it's better than nothing.

  • El SkidEl Skid The frozen white northRegistered User regular
    "So" said Guy, for the moment dropping the French accent and wincing as the doctors put something stinging on his wound, "now that we've possibly just woken up the neighborhood and have roughly 5 minutes before the police might very well arrive....Let's save the 'what the hell was that' for later and decide if we want to destroy that mirror-thing. I don't think we can take it, and it's obviously evil (for lack of a better word, feel free to look into it and poke it if you disagree). I call for a vote now, and I vote 'hell yes' to destroying it."



  • Captain MarcusCaptain Marcus now arrives the hour of actionRegistered User regular
    "Sure. You can destroy it if you like. I'm more worried about the escaped convict that's supposedly hiding in the house. I have no idea who the hell these crazies were- perhaps the Asian man was the man Gammell met when he was in Indochina?"

  • PeffPeff Registered User regular
    Clearly nursing a terrible headache "Yeeeaah...I don't know about the mirror thing. I'd be more worried about the convict, especially if he's armed. Did you search the house for him already?"

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  • El SkidEl Skid The frozen white northRegistered User regular
    Well, you might want to step back while you discuss the fugitive... hopefully this will be a bit messy...

    After giving people time to scramble back, Guy takes the hammer and with all his considerable strength strikes the mirror...

  • PsychoLarry1PsychoLarry1 Registered User regular
    Ford finishes cleaning his gun, reloads it slowly, and snaps it back into place. He can be heard to mutter "against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely..."

    As Javier and Kristofer sit discussing the convict and dead man, Guy delivers a massive blow to the black mirror. The glass doesn't so much shatter, as it oozes off of the frame. There is a sound, a deep ommming moan that rapidly rises to a shriek, like a far off voice is screaming from a torn and bloody throat through layers of chalked bone and thick slime molds.

    Todt, Cubilla and Ford all feel the onset of a nasty headache. Laperdue falls over, unconscious in the onyx sludge that has sloughed off the mirror frame.

  • Captain MarcusCaptain Marcus now arrives the hour of actionRegistered User regular
    Todt winces. "What der Holle vas that?" He spots Guy.

    "Nein! Guy!" He runs over and pulls him out of the sludge.

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