The Firehouse. Home sweet home.

[Urson]

Joker

[1d100] = 85

Joker shrugs at Roy's question. I have a habit of trying to find the worst case and figuring out a solution. In this case, I wondered what I would do if the Containment needed to be turned off- we all know how that turned out in New York, he grins.

[Pulpatoon]

Etta looks up the contact information for the archaeologist and gives them a call.

[GreyWolfVT]

Roy "Hmm well Joker do we want to cannibalize stuff here for parts or see if we have money enough to go get the right parts we need for this?"

[Bluehorse]

Roy "Hmm well Joker do we want to cannibalize stuff here for parts or see if we have money enough to go get the right parts we need for this?"

We will say add 2 zeros to those numbers for cost, so...

Total $7,600 if you buy the parts outright.
Parts $3,900 if you use what is around you.
===========
Net: $3,700 what you would need to spend no matter what.


Or, you can both roll some impossible brains with your specialties and hope you get >40 to get some real Mad Scientist level innovation and I will say you can cobble it together from parts and appliances in the firehouse which you will then replenish outright later.

[Taaz]

Hey, Jason says firmly but in a warm way I saw both sides of what you did, it wasn't weird. I told you feelings, emotions, the effect the world and I saw both sides of that. He pauses, Whatever you can do is special...and a little weird. But I just had conversation with the dead and we bust Ghosts. Weird is our bread and butter.

When Jason listening, struggling to make out all the words with his function but not great Vietnamese. Maybe, he motions for the book and begins to read.

Brains(Diminished): [2d6] = 5 Ghost:[1d6] = 5

Jason reads through several books but after going over and over paragraphs and no knowing what they meant realize Gabby was right and maybe he wasn't up to the task quite yet. I think I'm gonna go rest, I'm not making any headway here, I'll be better if I rest up. And walks down the hallway to his room with Gabby but before leaving tells Etta and Mac Let me know if you find anything, or if you need me. I just not all there yet.

[Urson]

Jokerw
We are prototyping. I would rather scavenge the parts, until we have proof of concept.

[GreyWolfVT]

Jokerw
We are prototyping. I would rather scavenge the parts, until we have proof of concept.

Roy nods his head "You remind me a bit of an old friend I used to work with he liked to build things from stuff we had around too. Alright prototype it is and making our own probably is more cost effective right now."

[Bluehorse]

Jokerw
We are prototyping. I would rather scavenge the parts, until we have proof of concept.

Roy nods his head "You remind me a bit of an old friend I used to work with he liked to build things from stuff we had around too. Alright prototype it is and making our own probably is more cost effective right now."

So you want to roll for mad scientists for >40? Is that what I am seeing? You would both roll, otherwise you can use the average you rolled earlier.

[Bluehorse]

Jason reads through several books but after going over and over paragraphs and no knowing what they meant realize Gabby was right and maybe he wasn't up to the task quite yet. I think I'm gonna go rest, I'm not making any headway here, I'll be better if I rest up.

Gabby helps Jason to his bunk but other than that leaves him alone, and unless she is confronted by others, she will also take a leave from them. Jason, call me if you need anything.

As Jason lays down he falls quickly asleep and at some point what Gabby says makes a little more sense as he half dreams and half thinks about it all. Though he cannot quite put his finger on the details, something feels right about it.

Jason sleeps for:
[1d6] = 5 hours Odd=no change Even=+1Bp

But you do feel more rested when done.

[Bluehorse]

Etta looks up the contact information for the archaeologist and gives them a call.

*Wing-wing.... Wing-wing* Hello, Professor Tim Mulvihill speaking. the voice seems remarkably average.

[Pulpatoon]

Etta introduces herself and explains the circumstances that led to her call. "We'll be heading out to the Mound this evening to investigate reports of supernatural activity. Any insight you might be able to provide us would be deeply appreciated."

[Bluehorse]

Etta introduces herself and explains the circumstances that led to her call. "We'll be heading out to the Mound this evening to investigate reports of supernatural activity. Any insight you might be able to provide us would be deeply appreciated."

Dr. Mulvihill there is a long pause. Do you have permission of the land owners? You should be careful of snake and whatever you do, keep off and out of the mound.
It is dangerously unstable and is an archeological site.

[Pulpatoon]

Etta: "Yes, we were called in by the church where the mound is located. And we are painfully aware of the snakes. You said to avoid going into the mound—is there an accessible interior?"
While on the phone, she catches Julia's eye and holds up a post-it note, reading: "Signed Contract? Waiver?"

Continuing to talk on the phone, she asks, "Have you worked the site at night? Have you heard drumming?

"What can you tell us about drumming in the Caddo culture? And on the New Moon ceremonies?"

[Bluehorse]

"Yes, we were called in by the church where the mound is located. And we are painfully aware of the snakes. You said to avoid going into the mound—is there an accessible interior?"

While on the phone, she catches Julia's eye and holds up a post-it note, reading: "Signed Contract? Waiver?"

Continuing to talk on the phone, she asks, "Have you worked the site at night? Have you heard drumming?

"What can you tell us about drumming in the Caddo culture? And on the New Moon ceremonies?"

Julia Makes a face and holds up a pen, mouthing "Needs to sign!"

Mulvihill Okay. Well that will get you to most of the site other than the cutaway on the east side. So I would say that if you keep off the mound itself then you will be fine other than the snakes. They are slightly less active at night when it cools off. Make sure you have somekind of protection like heavy boots and a few flashlights. I wouldn't go tramping through there this time of year.
I usually stay off-site until mid-autumn and don't head back out there after the last frost. There is more than snakes out there. Plenty of spiders out there too, plenty of mosquitos. Just not a good place to be in the hotter months. If I sound like I am trying to discourage you, I am.

Now about the Caddo, they are a fascinating tribe to research and sounds like you have done your homework if you have already connected them to the mound and brought up the new moon. They were known to do a ghost dance on the new moon cycle to speak with ancestors. They danced to drum music and lit bonfires. That mound, near as we can tell, would have been a gathering place.
The mound-building civilizations didn't build them by accident. You can typically divide them into a few categories,
1. someone important needs an important structure. You raise the earth to show the status of the structure built on top to match the purpose and the person.
2. Sacred space. Sometimes religious, sometimes just what we think of as a public square, often though, both.
The third purpose was as a burial mound. Rather than digging individual graves into the earth, you lay the body out, perform the proper rituals which varied widely among different peoples, then you would heap the dirt on top of them. You spread these graves out over time for each family and then as one generation passes you add another layer so the mound itself grows both out and up.
The final reason is more practical, like levee systems and cold storage, even defenses. The Cavanaugh mound falls into either the second or third of these, but there is so much damage done to the site we are having trouble piecing it all together with other than an outright process of elimination.
Now if, and I mean big if there is a ghost there, playing drums, then you can bet it fits there guesses we have made about the site being either a public/religious meeting place or a burial mound. The ghost dance would have been performed at either of these spaces.

[Pulpatoon]

Etta: "The Ghost Dance? That... ins't that a dance done in preparation for battle? Sort of a 'drive-the-white-man-away' sort of thing? Hmm. That might mean the ghosts have more disruptive plans that late night drumming. Are they any... um, signs or rituals of reconciliation in Caddo culture that might ease communication with any upset spirits?"

[Bluehorse]

"The Ghost Dance? That... ins't that a dance done in preparation for battle? ...

No that was a version by the more western tribes.
This is more akin to the Celtic Sabbath of Samhain... you know, halloween? The Caddo saw the ritual as a time each month when they could communicate across the viel that separated the earthy and spiritual worlds. They would gather usually at a cross road. Erect a pole carved from the heart of a cedar tree. Painted black on one side, green on the other, it was erected with the black side facing north, the green side south. The leader stood on the dividing line or “road” at the west side of the pole. Facing east, he began the first song telling that the feather signifying the right to lead the Ghost Dance was given to seven men. Sometimes a person in the dance-in-a-circle would fall in a trance. On waking, the person would tell of a vision and a new song would be made. Sometimes healing miracles occurred... at least that is the story.

[Taaz]

If I may be so indulgent as to do a dream sequence since I wanted to have something before Jason wakes up

Jason sleeps soundly but his dreams are filled with thoughts and people that don't quite make sense. He dreams of shamans of First Nations people speaking languages he cant understand, surrounded by totems and artifacts, in a nondescript forest. He watches them but he cant help himself as he walks past them deeper into woods with a carpet of fog beginning to roil. He sees more people, groups of people. He doesn't know them, but somehow understands they are druids, sin eaters, priests, shamans, and more. He sees people from every part of the globe all speaking or dancing; completely unaware of his presence. They are all surrounded by paraphernalia of some sort, rosaries and antique bibles for some, ceremonial swords or drums for others. All of them too preoccupied to take note of a lone husky scientist in their midst.

He keeps moving unable to stop at any one group as his legs carry him on. Jason was amazed at the the sight of seemingly every aspect of humanities connection to the spirit world in one place. It was incredible confusing but also incredibly peaceful. Despite some of the fearsome tools and appearances many of those he encounters it feels like a place of peace, the darkness of the wood welcoming Jason as opposed to attempting to frighten him. He continues, walking an unseen path until he comes to a familiar sight. A small desk covered in papers, books stacked to one side and a laptop to the other. He is drawn to the desk and walks to it getting close and reaching out to touch it, when the fog begins to roll thicker and heavier until he cant see it anymore, or his hand, eventually blocking everything.

And he blinks, the bare he sees the wall of the headquarters. With one eye partially open he sees his footlocker, table and realizes he had been dreaming.Its never that I won the lottery or something he mumbles as he rolls over drifting back to sleep.

[Urson]

Joker

Joker runs a finger through the thicket of his moustache. There are likely a few parts that we could salvage from our gear- but we should buy what we need. If I took a power converter from a proton pack, Murphy dictates that I would need that pack... He grins.
Since this is my idea, I would have no problem taking an advance on my salay to pay for the parts.

[Bluehorse]

If I may be so indulgent as to do a dream sequence since I wanted to have something before Jason wakes up

Beat me to the punch!

[Pulpatoon]

Etta, on the phone: "Ah, that's good news. So, should there be genuine paranormal activity at the site, any spirits might be up for talking. Tell me, Doctor, do you speak Caddo? And, if so, any interest in the chance to talk to one? You know there is now precedent for citing interviews with the departed, as long as it is rigorously documented."