The Gathering

1. Re: The Gathering

   #121

   "Show me a woman that makes sense and I'll show you a man in drag." Luc sighed, but gave a half-hearted smile to Marcus before rolling up in his bedroll.

2. Re: The Gathering

   #122

   Marcus half-smiled at Luc's comment, before turning his attention to the fire and his journal, scribbling in the day's adventures, while keeping senses tuned for danger and the elusive Carnegie.

3. Re: The Gathering

   #123

   Carnegie kept gasping for air between violent sobs as she barged through the woods. She broke off a branch and started swatting all around with it, as she stumbled on. After a while, she had almost run out of tears. She wiped her face on her sleeve. She must look awful, she thought. She wasn't one of those girls who could cry and still look pretty, her face got all red and blotchy, almost as if she was allergic to her own tears. I'm an idiot, she thought. No! HE's the idiot! He keeps treatin' me like I'm one of his..his..stupid drinkin' buddies, she grumbled. She sighed and walked on in silence for a while, starting to regret having stormed off, it was gonna be hard returning after that. Where was she anyways?
   
   And that's when her boot squelched on something moist. What the...? She thought, and snapped back to her senses. A carcass could mean something was close by. She readied her rifle and hunched down, scanning the surrounding area for movement. Maybe she was an idiot after all...
   
   Perception check to check my surroundings, +6.
   Stealth to keep quiet(although that's probably pointless by now :p ) +10.
   Survival check to see what kind of tracks surround the carcass,+7 and how fresh it is, +6.
   Nature to see what kind of animal it was that got killed, +5.
   And finally I ready an action to shoot anything hostile coming at me.

4. Re: The Gathering

   #124

   Nothing was moving nearby that she could tell - not that much could be seen despite the lightening on the horizon that signified sunrise not being that far off.
   
   The corpse appeared roughly coyote-sized, and even in the dim half light she could see what killed it.
   
   The throat was torn out.
   
   

5. Re: The Gathering

   #125

   Carnegie surveyed the scene as close as she dared while keeping on the lookout for anything moving. The kill was fresh, that didn't make her feel any better. Only coyote tracks though, were they killin' their own now? Perhaps a rivaling pack, or those bigger mutated ones were behind this. In either case, it was nothing she couldn't handle. Even the biggest ones had gone down in one shot afore. Still, she supposed she would have to swallow her pride and return to camp sooner or later.
   
   She slowly began backtracking, eyes nd ears wide and head scanning her surroundings, she followed her own all too obvious trail heading back to camp.
   
   Still have the readied shot, I hope.

6. Re: The Gathering

   #126

   It took only a few minutes to make it back to camp. Everyone was awake when she arrived.
   
   Kreadle was industriously sharpening a knife. 

7. Re: The Gathering

   #127

   Carnegie emerged from the bush, shouldering her rifle. When she spotted Luc, she promptly looked away and ignored him, mustering her courage and headed instead for Marcus, Elvis met her mid-stride and tailed her with an adoring gaze.
   
   "Hey uh..." As Marcus swung his gaze on her, she almost lost her nerve, but she swallowed and continued.
   
   "I just saw a dead coyote out there with its throat ripped out. I think there mite be more'n jus the one pack. Or that... Maybe the big uns we saw are eatin the small uns." She scratched her nose and looked away, shrugging. "Anyway...Thought you should know..." She finished lamely and patted Elvis, then she returned to her abandoned bedroll and started packing up her stuff, it was time to get started on breakfast.
   
   I'm assuming it's morning since everyone's up. Oh crap, I seriously rolled a 1 for breakfast. I'm blaming emotional trauma!
   
   Carnegie stabbed ferociously at the fire, muttering to herself. She then went and fetched some water, when she returned, the bugs she had been grilling had turned charcoal black. She angrily blew some hair out of her face and grimaced. Then she angrily cut the things to pieces and served it anyways, she handed everyone a plate except for Luc, then she plopped down and ate in silence.

8. Re: The Gathering

   #128

   Waiting to see how Carnegie would react when she came back Anya went over and sat next to her. Seeing the distressed look on her face she tried to calm her down "It's not that bad I'm sure we can still eat it if we scrape off the outer layer ey!".
   
   She noticed that this wasn't all, and after those hurried and nervous (?) words with Marcus she decided to enquire further. "Is everything ok dear? Anything I can help you with, woman to woman?"
   
   OOC: Don't get too excited guys, I don't know how often I'll be able to post. I do want to keep this going though and will do what I can if I'm near a computer and have a few moments.

9. Re: The Gathering

   #129

   Carnegie almost choked on her food, was she that obvious? She looked shyly at Anya and looked around to see that Luc hadn't joined them yet. "Oh uhm. It's nuttin, don't worry bout it... Sorry bout the food, I've never cooked bugs afore t'day." It really did taste horrible. Not even Elvis would eat this. She blushed in shame, close to tears yet again, but she managed to choke it down and calm herself. She repeated to Anya what she had told Marcus.

10. Re: The Gathering

    #130

    Marcus was, in certain cases, blind. Thanking and congratulating Carnegie for the meal, he wolfed it down. He'd made worse things by his own hand in his time amongst the trees. He then started clearing up his portion of camp, and placing it all in its assigned places in his bag.
    
    When this was done, he sat down on a handy rock and waited for everyone to finish breakfast and get ready to leave. As he did, he said, "so. Do we head back to Kenebac, report back, get more supplies, and return, or do we head out and finish the job now?"

11. Re: The Gathering

    #131

    Carnegie was feeling miserable, she didn't really feel up to the task at the moment, but the job wasn't finished. She didn't feel brave enough to speak her mind in front of the whole group though, especially now with things being the way they were with Luc. She whispered and conferred with Anya, and made her voice it instead, that the job was still unfinished and the abandoned building which was seemingly the 'yotes lair still beckoned.

12. Re: The Gathering

    #132

    Luc was in a foul mood. While the others ate, he kept to himself and peered into the woods, though his eyes were unfocused. Carnegie was pissed with him for some reason he couldn't fathom, and his beloved crossbow was now cinders.
    
    the smell of the burnt bugs caused him to wrinkle his nose, and he glanced to the group. Carnegie was sitting, talking quietly to Anya, and Marcus was complimenting her on her meal. Kreadle was silent; unreadable. When their meal was done and Marcus's question asked, Luc stood, still not facing the group. Back turned, he answered, "We have a job to do. We hunt." He grabbed his wrench from his belt - since his crossbow was no more - and glanced to Anya, taking care not to acknowledge Carnegie. "Anya. Kreadle. Show us the way."

13. Re: The Gathering

    #133

    Kreadle nodded. 
    
    Anya, having accompanied Carnegie on the first scouting trip new the way, but kept quiet.  The air was thick with unresolved anger, and then a could of foreboding descended as the
    structure came into view.  It looked to once have been a school, a massive wooden playground nearby built to resemble a fanciful castle. 
    
    
    The tracks lead into a set of double doors that were smashed and lying to either side.  The building brickwork was dotted with the scars of small arms fire, though none of it looked recent.
    
    A faint familiar scent of carrion wafted from the doorway.
    
    All was silent.

14. Re: The Gathering

    #134

    Luc was on a mission today; he refused to talk to anyone - even Marcus - with more than a few words. At the sight of the doors, he looked around at the building. "Marc, i think you, Anya and Carnegie should scout out this entrance. Kreadle - wanna come with me and we will search for other entrances?"
    
    if all is good, Luc will take Kreadle and see if he can find a window to look in and possible climb through. Luc wants a bit of space from Carny at the moment :p things are a little tense and his usual humor is gone.

15. Re: The Gathering

    #135

    Marcus nodded silently. His recent brush with explosives left him with a desire for protection, and thus he gripped his shield at the ready and his axe raised for attack.
    
    He slowly, carefully, and stealthily approached the entrance.
    
    stealth and perception checks

16. Re: The Gathering

    #136

    Carny had washed the dishes and taken the opportunity to answer the call of the wild before they set off.
    
    She didn't recognize Luc at all, it was like he had become a stranger. He had no right to be mad, he had been the one to hurt her! She had been planning to make him suffer a bit, but he wouldn't even offer an apology, it was all really vexing. And as if that wasn't bad enough he kept ignoring her, well two could play that game, she decided, though her anger didn't do much to replace how hurt she felt.
    
    Standing in front of the large building, Luc went off with Kreadle. She felt a sting of worry, but refused to acknowledge it. She took in a deep breath, cocked her rifle and focused on the job ahead, Elvis by her side.
    
    Stealth and perception here too please.

17. Re: The Gathering

    #137

    Nodding to Luc Anya unshouldered and made ready her rifle.
    
    Whatever was going on between Luc and Carnegie would have to wait, now was not the time nor the place to let emotions boil over. Emotions that could lead to lesser alertness, rash decisions, and possibly end with disastrous consequences. With this in mind she looked back at Luc and Carnegie and said; "Whatever's the matter with you both either resolve it now, or put it away until we're home. This place is dangerous enough without us fighting amongst ourselves. Please." She added in an attempt to cool things. "We need to focus and work together properly, I don't want any of you getting hurt" Or worse.., she shuddered at the thought.
    
    "Right, let's take a look."

18. Re: The Gathering

    #138

    As with many occupied or recently occupied structures, the ground floor of the building had been fortified.  Sheet metal, car doors, wood, and piled dirt covered virtually all of the windows.  There was the main door they had already found, and a second metal door which appeared to be locked and bolted from the indoors. This second door was about 30 meters from first open door.
    
    Most of the reinforcements, save for the piled earth, looked like they could be pried back or chopped through, but not silently.  The second floor had many windows, but they were partially boarded up and did not offer easy egress either.
    
    While circumnavigating the structure, Marcus noticed a very rusty, yet serviceable machete lying near a few scattered fragments of clothing.
    
    Successful Perception Roll for Luc

19. Re: The Gathering

    #139

    Luc studied the other entrances for a while, before shaking his head and moving quietly back to the main entrance - he decided the noise made by breaking and entering was not worth the risk, so he followed the others into the door.
    

20. Re: The Gathering

    #140

    Marcus picked up the machete, and examined it for a moment, before stowing it in his pack. Who knows, he might need a spare weapon. He then returned to the door.
    
    "Shall I kick it down?" Whispered Marcus with a feral grin.

21. Re: The Gathering

    #141

    Luc smiled at Marcus's suggestion, "you can try... I'll go in this way - your racket may cause a disturbance though!"
    with that, the man sneaked through the door, eyes open and keen for any nastiness - the explosion from the day before had made him a very wary man!

22. Re: The Gathering

    #142

    The interior of the school was quite sparse and dirty, and the smell of both blood and offal filled the air.  Bloodstains and bloody paw-prints were in abundance on the battered tiled floor.
    
    Lockers lined the hallway walls, most hanging open and empty, though here and there old mouldering clothing could be seen.  There were plenty of doors, open and closed, but the tracks ignored them and proceeded deeper into the structure.
    
    At this point, what little light that came in from the door no longer allowed the prints to be followed.  What windows were there were boarded up or otherwise blocked.
    
    The yawning darkness beckoned, and nothing could be heard save for the companions breathing.
    
    
    

23. Re: The Gathering

    #143

    "Goddamn, it's dark... Gimme a second..." Luc spoke softly, then rummaged through his pack. He withdrew a torch and his flint and steel. After several unsuccessful strikes the torch finally lit, and he raised it high to illuminate their surroundings. In his other hand, he grabbed his wrench and gripped it tightly.

24. Re: The Gathering

    #144

    The torchlight pushed back the darkness and revealed the bloody pawprints that led inwards. It seemed clear that there were no bloody prints going outwards.
    
    Before long they came to a very large room with a basketball net on the nearby wall. Further down the room where some kind of foam pads and what appeared to be furry forms sprawled on them. 
    
    

25. Re: The Gathering

    #145

    Seeing her quarry, Carny silently raised her rifle and lined up her shot.
    
    Readying an action to shoot at the biggest form, 14 +7 Dex+weapon prof +1 for Readied shot against an animal (22 total). If it moves, I fire.
    7+8, 15 damage total.
    +10 for Stealth.

26. Re: The Gathering

    #146

    Luc gripped his wrench tight - he wished he had his crossbow right now! Getting too close with the torch may rouse the beasts. A worrying thought came to him, though, as he remembered overhearing Carnegie this morning - something about finding a Coyote with it's throat ripped out. He turned and rested a hand gently on the top of Carnegie's rifle, speaking to her directly for perhaps the first time today, his voice gentle "Hold for just a moment; I have a bad feeling. Mark," He turned to Marcus, "Can you hold the torch for a sec? I want to go make sure they're breathin'. What if that 'yote from last night was killed by something even meaner?"
    
    He passed the torch to Marcus and quietly padded towards the coyotes. His eyes were peeled for signs of life - breathing, murmuring, shifting... an intact throat.
    
    (08:30:54) Minion: Shadoweagle rolls 1d20 and gets 11 + 7 Stealth: 18 (Unless you want to roll it yourself, Val!)

27. Re: The Gathering

    #147

    Indeed. The light from the torch should have roused them already.
    
    As Luc appoached, it was clear his suspicious were correct.  None of the four animals sprawled about would trouble people any more.  All lay motionless on the pads which served as their bedding.  Apart from some gunshot wounds, none obviously lethal, the cause of death of these coyotes was not immediately obvious.
    
    
    
    

28. Re: The Gathering

    #148

    Luc swore softly underneath his breath and quietly stalked back to his companions, "They're dead. Dunno how - some are shot but that ain't what killed 'em." He exhaled quietly - the man was thoroughly spooked. What if Carnegie had shot, and it alerted whatever killed the 'yotes? Then again - who's to say what killed 'em. They could have drunk some polluted water and come back here to die, for all he knew.
    "I don't like the stink of this place. I'd say we should go, but the Mayor will probably send us straight back out to make sure whatever killed these won't threaten the town... What do you think? Search the place?"

29. Re: The Gathering

    #149

    "I say we find this new threat and let it taste my axe," Marcus said. "I have no pressing need to return to Kenebac. Carnegie, ya think you can track it down?"
    
    While saying this, Marcus headed over to the corpses himself and knelt and examined them. Then, he searched the room himself.
    
    know (nature) I suppose, and search check, please.

30. Re: The Gathering

    #150

    Only when Luc's suspicions proved correct, did Carnegie lower her rifle. She should have realized that herself, no animal would remain sleeping in the invading light of the torches. She wouldn't normally make such a mistake, but maybe her instincts had told her to hold her fire at least.
    
    She sighed and knelt down by the massacred bodies, the bullet wounds must have been her doing, meaning this happened fairly recently.
    "I'll try...It's so dark in here though. Bring a torch over."
    
    Survival check +6 +1 to tracking, to look for prints.
    And Perception +6 to check out the room and to see if the wounds match the one I saw earlier.

31. Re: The Gathering

    #151

    Looking about carefully, no tracks lead away from the dead coyotes.
    
    Marcus noticed as he handled the corpses, that the dead coyotes eyes were heavily bloodshot and that blood seemed to have flowed out of the ears of both coyotes he examined to that point.  It seemed they had curled up and died, even though none sported wounds that appeared mortal.
    
    Looking around the room he found mostly small scattered bones - rabbits and the like.  There were moldy pads that had served as beds for the coyotes, and in one corner a metal baseball bat.
    
    

32. Re: The Gathering

    #152

    The fact that there were no other tracks than 'yotes could mean either three things that Carny could think of; whatever killed them doesn't leave tracks(and could possibly still be around 'ere), they encountered this danger elsewhere and came back ta die or lastly, disease.
    
    "Better not touch the corpses, they mite be dat they're infected wit sumthin... Either that or sumthin strange killed em. Some of em don't even have any gunshot wounds, mite 'ave been bludgeoned ta death... Or a loud noise...bleeding outta their ears. Probably bled out internally."
    
    Carnegie stood up, she didn't want to stay too close in case disease was behind their deaths.
    
    "Let's keep on looking..." She said, and tried to find another route leading out of the gymnasium, further into the school.

33. Re: The Gathering

    #153

    The school had obviously been picked over in the past, but not completely empty.  The warren of rooms and passages afforded many places to hide things, and so a truly thorough search would perhaps take days.
    
    The gymnasium yielded a number of wooden baseball bats.
    
    Lockers in the hallway yielded a couple of usable jackets, some size 6 (youth) shoes and a pair of baseball caps. Hundreds of moldy books are available as well.
    
    The cafeteria yielded a half-dozen cans of various foodstuffs, and an array of metal pans.  There is a pop machine.
    
    Near a window on the second floor were four spent rifle casings and nearby that, a lunchbox with 30 caps inside. 
    
    
    If there is anything specific you would like to attempt to scavenge, apart from finished goods of course, please let me know.
    
    

34. Re: The Gathering

    #154

    Carnegie, while looking for a janitors room or the like, managed to find a heavy metal door set at the bottom of a short staircase down, leading below ground level. It appears to be locked or perhaps stuck.
    
    Luc's torch is starting to sputter out.
    

35. Re: The Gathering

    #155

    (13:33:06) Minion: Shadoweagle rolls 1d20 and gets 15.
    With a swing of his wrench, Luc mashed the soda machine open. Six cans rolled out onto the floor, which he quickly scavenged. He also snatched a couple of the frypans for scrap metal.
    
    Luc sidled up behind Carnegie as she found the door, still stuffing his bags with the cans he scavenged from the soda machine. "Ya wanna check it out in there, Carny?" he asked, his frustrations were beginning to fade with time, "I'll have to light another torch. Reckon we should head back to town soon, though! I wanna let the mayor know about these dead coyotes."

36. Re: The Gathering

    #156

    Carnegie was surprised to hear him address her directly again, though she welcomed it. Maybe there was no need for apologies, at least not now. They had both done wrong. "I'd hate ta leave like this, we still dunn know what killed 'em 'yotes. But I guess we cannae comb the whole place. Let's get Marcus and Anya, check out this last room n' call it a day, then." Together they climbed the stairs back up to find the others.

37. Re: The Gathering

    #157

    They found Marcus thumbing through the books, looking for one that was blank and could be written in. He looked up at their approach.
    
    "Aye, let's go check out the basement. Mebbe we'll get lucky and there won't be a bomb in this one," he said, throwing another useless book behind him. "Anya's over there, I believe."
    
    Let's go kill some things in the basement!

38. Re: The Gathering

    #158

    The small group assembled near the door apparently leading into the basement.  The metal door appeared to be quite strong, and Marcus's attempt to pull it open was unsuccessful - it was clearly locked or very badly ceased.
    
    No window pierced the door, and above it could be seen a mount point which likely once housed a camera.  Now the metal bracket is twisted and careful search of the nearby debris turned  up what might once have been a security camera before it was apparently smashed.
    
    The door itself shows no signs of attempted forced entry - yet.
    

39. Re: The Gathering

    #159

    "I really want to bust this door open," Marcus said. "Screw stealth, we'll rip it open and charge forward. Plus, it'll give us an easy way to retreat if things go sour."
    
    He got a good grip on the door for the removal of it. "So, on the count of three?"

40. Re: The Gathering

    #160

    Carnegie stepped back, took position and readied her rifle. Ripping off doors wasn't her kind of job.
    
    Readied shot against anything that tries to attack us. Rolled a 9 +6.

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