The Past is Prologue - The Accounts of Clarke, Archer & Finn

[Grognardsw]

As the two Turks peek around the rock and aim their guns, the quick trigger finger of Archer fires his own pistol. The gumshoe's first bullet hits stone near their heads, then the Turks shoot. Two bullets tear into Archer! (8 HP damage total.) Archer's second shot also hits stone.

Then Archer hears Dr. Clarke answer him from around the bend above him. "Yes, yes we do! Mr Emre is with us. He is Turkish."

.



Two Impale (critical) hits. Another damage die is rolled for each. My initial "To Hit" roll was an error (due to a capital 'D'), but I will keep the damage roll (2). So the damage is (2+3) and (2+1), for a total of 8. Archer has 6 HP left. The Turk's guns are older pre-WW1 models that shoot only one bullet a round.
64778 Turk impale damage [1d8] = 1 7/22/2015 10:25:32 AM
64777 Turk impale damage [1d8] = 3 7/22/2015 10:25:25 AM
64654 Turk gun [1d100] = 1, damage [1d8] = 2 7/21/2015 1:04:50 PM
64653 Turk gun [1d100] = 2, damage [1d8] = 8 7/21/2015 1:04:02 PM
64652 Turk gun [1D100] = err, damage [1d8] = 2 7/21/2015 1:03:46 PM

The 90% cover the Turks have make it a very tough shot (6%).

[Inferno]

Sam Archer, private eye:

Hit and bloody, Archer cursed himself that, in all his time in wait, he didn't choose a more advantageous position!

Archer desperately broke into a run, up to the bend, to get better cover!

[DadsAngry]

Dr. Clarke:

Exclaims "No! We can not give up the gem. Raymond is still alive. I know it to be true. The gem is the key to get him back." He looks to Dr. Morgan and the bulge in his jacket insuring the item is still in their possession. "Mr. Erme it's time for us to leave this place in great haste. Please show us the other way down."

[Grognardsw]

Sam Archer, private eye:

Hit and bloody, Archer cursed himself that, in all his time in wait, he didn't choose a more advantageous position!

"Horace, we have the big red gem. If you don't stop shooting right now, we'll throw it off the goddamn mountain!" Archer yelled. He gave Horace an instant to register that and begin to tell his Turks, and then Archer desperately broke into a run, up to the bend, to get better cover!

I don't think Archer knows about the trapezohedron, unless I missed Morgan telling him about it.

[DadsAngry]

It's possible he saw him holding it as we descended. It wasn't until we were huddled behind cover that Dr. Morgan hide the gem under his jacket. Either way Whatley is not going to get his hands on that gem.

"That can't happen that can't happen that can't happen that can't happen that can't happen that can't happen that can't happen that can't happen that can't happen that can't happen that can't happen that can't happen that can't happen that can't happen that can't happen that can't happen," Dr. Morgan mumbles, clutching the trapezohedron crystal.

He and Dr. Clark, Edith and Emre scramble down the path, grasping rocks, sometimes slipping, often glancing back. They reach the steeper areas and slow, eventually coming to the ropes. They round a bend and see Sam Archer resting in an alcove, holding his gun.

Archer glances up, expecting the Miskatonic party but alarmed at their small size. Then the private eye hears noise from down below. Someone is coming!

[thesniperknight1]

Morgan holds on to the artifact a little too tightly, "Y-yes! We can't let go, this holds the life of Reymond as well as some archeological mysteries beyond anything we have ever imagined! And what if he knows how to use it? What if he takes control over....over these...things", Morgan shudders from fear once the recollections of the winged beings slashing off heads with one swoop.

He takes out the big red gem and starts fiddling with it, he tries to study the patterns and look for buttons or anything that might be a clue to how he can use it, "I know there is a secret!! But where?? WHERE??", he almost forgets about the mad turks shooting at them, the discovery in itself is what's captivating him most.

[Inferno]

I don't think Archer knows about the trapezohedron, unless I missed Morgan telling him about it.

Sorry. I thought Archer saw them carrying the big heavy rock. I didn't think they were hiding it but rather, clinging to it tightly.
If not, please let me know and I'll happily repost.
Thanks.

[Inferno]

Either way Whatley is not going to get his hands on that gem.

Agreed. It's only useful as a bargaining chip to keep us alive, so long as Whately doesn't get his hands on it.

[Grognardsw]

I envisioned the Miskatonic group coming around the bend and you waving them back quick cause the noise of the impending Turks. Emre the guide in front, probably then Dr. Clark and Edith, followed by a shock-recovering Dr. Morgan. So the trapezohedron (and its possible significance) wasn't seen by Archer.

[Grognardsw]

Sam Archer, private eye:

...then Archer desperately broke into a run, up to the bend, to get better cover!

Archer breaks for it and makes it around the bend to join Dr. Clarke, Dr. Morgan, Edith and Emre. He's shocked to find so few of the original crew. Doubtless the others are back at the cave excavating. Dr. Morgan is holding up a massive, odd shaped rough crystal.

Edith is trembling and pointing to the sky. Archer looks up to see one hell of a large bird flapping toward them. No, make that two, and they're not birds. The dick squints his eyes against the sun to get a better look.

"Quick quick we must go!" urges Emre.

Archer's higher Dex. gave him Initiative in this round.

[Inferno]

Sam Archer, private eye:

Thank god for that.
Ok. Fixed my post.
I found where I wrote that Archer saw the ruby. It was only in an if-then statement in OOC.
My bad.

Archer squinted at the queer, buzzing vultures. And the hat-sized ruby. He must be delirious. Head shot. Or blood loss. His face grew pale and wooden, and he swayed in his shoes.

"Quick quick we must go!" urges Emre.

Archer blinked hard twice and muttered, "All right."
He shook his head and checked his gun. "Lead on, Gunga Din," he growled.

[Grognardsw]

The Miskatonic expedition rushes west along the mountainside, intending on traveling laterally for some distance then downwards. They move about five yards when two more gun shots ring out. The Turks trying to finish off Archer, but the detective isn't there.

Great shadows cross over the investigators. The buzzing noise increases as the flying things pass over and down. Eyes glance up in fear.

"God please no please no please," Edith whimpers, rushing ahead and bumping Dr. Clark.

Archer looks up and is transfixed in momentary horror (Sanity roll please.)

They were pinkish things about five feet long; with crustaceous bodies bearing vast pairs of dorsal fins or membraneous wings and several sets of articulated limbs, and with a sort of convoluted ellipsoid, covered with multitudes of very short antennae, where a head would ordinarily be....  

The hideous bug-like creatures flap over the investigators to the Turks, perhaps attracted by the gun shots. The party is relieved. They cannot see what happens, but hear terrified screams, gun shots, hysteria.

The investigators rush ahead hoping to make it down the mountain.

[Inferno]

Sanity: (45%): [1d100] = 57

Nope.
It's been decades since I've played CoC and don't recall the details of the sanity rules.

Right now, Archer's been shot twice, lost blood, and thinks he's in shock and hallucinating.

Grog, please let me know what this roll means and then I'll post IC accordingly. Thanks!

[Grognardsw]

Archer beholds a sight that shakes his practical, pragmatic world-view. It cannot be, yet is. The private eye suddenly expunges the horror, disassociating himself from the terror but also losing memory. He blinks, shakes his head, and wonders where he is, how he got there, and why.



The Miskatonic party heads down the mountain. Archer suddenly stops and looks confused.

- Archer Sanity loss [1d6] = 5 With loss of 5 or more, an Idea roll is done. If succeeding in the roll, you realize the full significance of what you've seen and go temporarily insane.
- Archer Idea roll [1d100] = 35 Yes
- Archer Temporary Insanity duration [1d10] = 10 I'll keep private the result.
- Insanity type: Dissociative Amnesia. Inability to recall information related to how, why and what you saw that caused insanity. Mental rejection of the horror by memory loss, but with broader implications due to associated memories leading up to event.

[Inferno]

Sam Archer, private eye:

Archer stopped and blinked. His eyes darted around, taking in everything they could. He noticed he was bleeding. Shot. He looked down into his hand and found a gun there. It had recently been fired.

Archer said nothing. He observed the others. Their body language didn't indicate they had been fighting Archer, let alone shooting him. They were scared, fleeing, beckoning him to follow them.

Mountains. A guide. What the hell?!

Something was wrong. Archer needed help. He touched his head, feeling for blood. He'd stick with these people who seemed to know him. Go along with them until he could figure out what was going on, and get to a doctor, or at least somewhere safe where he could sort this all out!

What's the last event Archer can remember, please? Thanks.

“The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents...”
― H.P. Lovecraft, The Call Of Cthulhu

[Grognardsw]

The climb down is a rush of adrenalin, a treacherous ordeal down steep rock. The screams of the Turks are thankfully short. Are the flying horrors in pursuit of the Miskatonic men now?

Archer seems to have lost his memory from the terrible sight. The detective moves along with the others, having no reason to mistrust them. His last memory is talking to a beautiful Italian woman on the Orient Express.

Several hours later the remains of the Miskatonic expedition reach more level ground. A few more hours and they reach their truck. The engine hood has been forced open; the spark plugs are missing.

The dirt road back to the village is long, but the hike back up to Whateley and his crew - who must surely be dead? - seems a return to the nightmare.

[Inferno]

Sam Archer, private eye:

Archer recognized these people. The Miskatonic Expedition. They were headed to Mt. Latmos in Turkey. So was Archer, tracking down the stragglers of Hazradbad's smuggling gang. From the looks of things, they'd reached Turkey, and something had gone wrong.

When he saw the open hood of what seemed to be the party's truck, Archer looked around for another vehicle, that the truck's saboteur would have driven.

Archer tried to treat his wounds with a first aid kit from the expedition's truck. From his expression and demeanor, it was clear he was at a complete loss. Archer stammered, "Professor Clarke, I... don't know how to tell you this, but I can't remember a thing since the Orient Express. What the hell happened here? ...Is that girl okay? ...Did the smuggling ring ever show? ...Who shot me? ...And where's Finn McClain? "

[thesniperknight1]

Morgan is at first surprised but then simply nods as if it was something he expected, "I may have gone through some sort of insanity when I witnessed the flying abominations.....creatures, which ever you wanna call them but I suppose loss of memory is a way for the brain to preserve its state of well-being", he catches himself as he tries to diagnose the detective and realizes that doing so isn't as urgent as figuring out how to get out of here.

"Should we....go back..?", images of the flying creatures flashed in his mind instinctively making him fall on the ground with fear overpowering his endless curiosity, "Maybe we should just walk...?"

[Grognardsw]

One Month Later

August 12, 1925
Arkham, MA

Dr. Clarke, Edith Walton, Dr. Morgan and Sam Archer set foot on the welcome ground of Boston.



It seems so long ago now, that nightmare expedition. It still plagues their dreams.

After the harrowing mountain climb down, the investigators found their stalled truck. Following clear tracks for almost a mile, they came upon a wagon drawn by two horses. This must have been Whateley's hijacked transport. For a moment the team considered returning to the caves, but Emre and Edith would not go. A bumpy two-hour wagon ride later they reached the village of Kapikiri. There the Miskatonic party procured an automobile ride to Instanbul. Dr. Clark telegrammed James Ford, the investor behind the expedition, to inform him of the situation. Ford, alarmed and concerned, paid for the party's prompt return by train and plane.

"I want to meet with you all upon your return," said Ford.

Now in a taxi to Miskatonic University, Dr. Clark and Dr. Morgan consider how to explain what happened to their department head. How to inform Dr. Randolph's wife of her husband's disappearance - or is it death? Not to mention the deceased Finnegan McClain's relations.

Private detective Sam Archer calls in to his boss in New York. He considers getting help for his amnesia.

Of deeper concern to all are the ramifications of what was seen in the caves.

"I don't want to develop those photographs," confides Edith to Dr. Clarke. "Yet I feel I must. What do you think David?"

Feel free to state any actions along the way on your journey home. Dr. Clark's telegram explanation to James Ford is assumed basic, with detail to be provided in person, unless you post otherwise.

[DadsAngry]

Dr. Clarke:

"Edith, there is a lot I wish I did not have to do. Meeting with Dr. McTavish and Dean Elliot will be a breeze compared to my meeting with Ellen Randolph, Raymond's widow, eh... wife. Just how am I going to explain his disappearance. I can't tell her the truth, that her husband vanished before our eyes into thin air. She would think that I'm mad. And what of Dr. Ashley and his wife and family. What do I tell them? I don't even know what happened to Francis. For all I know we left him alone and alive with those large, pinkish, fungoid, crustacean-like creatures." Dr. Clarke speech lower as if he is talking to himself.
"That buzzing. I hear it all the time in my head. The flapping of those winged appendages, the screams, oh god, the screams." Dr. Clarke shuts his eyes and composes himself so he can continues speaking in a more normal and dignified manner as before.
"Edith those pictures are all we have to show from this excursion. As painful as it will be to relive these events through the silverly imagery, it is our only link to help understand what happened in that cave. Dr. Morgan when we reach the university I need you to assist me in going through Raymond's notes to locate the next of kin for Mr. McClain. If only had I been stuck with an illness of the mind, as poor Mr. Archer has, I would not have so many trouble I think and be able to sleep through the night."