The Hunt - Marius and Eddie Take Aim

[Grognardsw]

August 10, 1:30 pm
Arkham, Massachusetts
Woods between Arkham and Marblehead
Marius Albertoni, hunter



Marius Albertoni enjoys the silence of the woods, the sounds of nature enveloping him like a blanket against the cold of society. The breeze carries the chirp of birds, rustle of squirrels, flow of distant water. This stretch of land, past the old mill ruins, near the river is a good spot for hunting. The woodsman eyes the tracks and spoor of deer.

The hunter pursues. A few more pelts and he’ll have a big enough batch to sell to the furrier in Arkham. Business is picking up with all these flappers wanting fur coats. Marius follows the trail another twenty minutes then comes upon a group of three deer. He pauses, surveying the landscape for the best place to set up a shot. A group of bushes over there, that will due.

Marius creeps over, careful not to make noise. He stays focused on the deer. Reaching the bushes, he crouches and brings the rifle to bear. Ready – aim –thud, his foot brushes a hump of body lying under the bushes!

Marius glances downs. Yes, its’s a sleeping or dead body. He glances up. The deer are about to depart.

Actions?

- If you shoot please roll for rifle.
- I made up your last name, given one wasn't listed. I did a variation on Albertus, who seems to share the same world view. We can change if you like.

[MrHemlocks]

Marius, feeling a body next to his feet gives him an uneasy feeling."Whatever the hell is next to my feet isn't paying the bills nor feeding me tonight!"

Pulling the rifles trigger and feeling the shape recoil of the gun, followed by a BANGE, he watches the deer rear up, as if to run, than it drops down.. silent. Marius smiles and stands up. Looking down toward his feet and moving the brush away with the rifle barrel, "now what do I have here?"

[1d100] = 30 to hit
[2d6+4] = 6+4 = 10 damage

for 30-06 I rolled the damage that was given in the 7e rulebook. Not sure if that is the same for 3e.

[Grognardsw]

The deer lies dead.


Satisfied, Marius examines the body in the bushes. He has to move some branches. It’s a woman in her early twenties, dressed in a bathing suit swim skirt, and her hands and head missing. Even the hardened hunter is shocked.

[MrHemlocks]

"God...what happened to you!" Marrius jumps back after seeing the corpse."Now first things first." He heads over toward the fallen deer and skins it with his hunting knife than sections it for the best cuts of meat. All the while he looks about his surroundings for a possible killer that might still me lurking about.

Hastily he packs his backpack with the deer meats and places the fur across his shoulder. Than while heading over to where murdered lady lays he searches for any signs of tracks or a means that brought her to this location. "Whoever killed you did a poor job of hiding your body, and why the mutilation!" When reaching the body he examines it and the surrounding area for anything useful that might help answer his questions.

[Grognardsw]

Marius investigates the dead girl. The corpse is several days old, maybe a week, judging from the hunter's experience with dead animals. Wearing a bathing suit skirt - killed near a beach or pool?

Though missing her head, the smoothness of skin and tautness of bust makes Marius think she is young. Perhaps a student? The skirt looks expensive.

Marius looks about for tracks and other clues.

Please roll Spot Hidden and Track.

For successful skill use Rifle, you can roll 1d100 and if you get above the skill number, you may increase the skill by 1d3. This is a bit different than the normal 1d6. Every real-time month successful skills are rolled they’ll be a chance to improve them. This pace is a bit different from FtF play.

[MrHemlocks]

To see if he can determine how the limbs were separated from the body. (Outdoorsmanship (05%):30)
rolled [1d100] = 11

Track... rolled [1d100] = 100

If allowed to he will try is tracking skills again...after about a 10 minute rest track 2 [1d100] = 50

He tries to recall if there are any local places that people would use to go swimming. For he finds it real odd that a young lady in swimming clothes would end up here...middle of the woods.

[Grognardsw]

Marius studies the girl's wounds closely. He has some experience with knives, skinning animals and descaling fish. The hands and head were cut off with no particular skill, most likely with a regular knife. It could be a kitchen cleaver or machete, it’s hard to determine exactly what.

The swimming skirt perplexes the hunter. He thinks hard about local swimming locales. There is the pool at Miskatonic University and several lakes in the region, though none have formal beaches. She must have been brought out here into the woods.



Marius searches for tracks and finds only very recent animal tracks. Perhaps the rain early yesterday obliterated the tracks he’s looking for. Marius decides to continue search, widening his circumference. He circles outward 100 yards, 200 yards. He’s about to give up when he spies (at 300 yards) tracks of one or possibly two people!

[MrHemlocks]

He makes a note of where the body is and the tracks are by marking their locations on his map. Than he packs up his hunting gear, deer fur and meat and heads back to his home. There he will telegraph the police and inform them of what he saw.

Marius than locks down his house and stands guard within it while waiting for the police to come. Walking from window to window he whistles an old Italian tune that his mother use to sing to him when just a little one. "Whoever killed that girl out there might still be around and one thing is for sure, I'm not going to let the same thing happy to my family."

[Grognardsw]

As Marius gathers his gear and considers the trail, he realizes the tracks head in the direction of the old mill ruins next to the river. Just last month he saw a group of archeology students from Miskatonic University digging up the place. Looking for old artifacts from the days when the mill put out barrel rings, farm tools and light machinery parts.

Views of the old mill ruins


Views of the old mill ruins

The hunter returns to his home and contacts the Arkham police. They soon visit, interview him and ask him to show them the tracks.

“You know these woods Marius,” says officer O’Malley. “Show us the trail. If you’re worried about your family we’ll leave one of our men here.”

[MrHemlocks]

Marius hands a pistol over to his oldest son."Take this and shoot anything that threatens the family. I will be back in a short while. Just need to show the officer where the body is located at."

Pulling out his map he shows officer O’Malley where the location of the girl is. "She is here and the tracks I saw lead toward the old mill ruins next to the river."With shotgun in hand he leaves the house and walks away with the officer. " Thanks for leaving another cop behind to guard my family, I feel better already. Now let's go and see what we can find out."

[Grognardsw]

August 10, 5:30 pm
Arkham, Massachusetts
The Old Mill Ruins
Woods between Arkham and Marblehead
Marius Albertoni, hunter, and Arkham police


Marius leads three Arkham police officers through the woods to the body. They are shocked, not having seen such a degree of mutilation before. The youngest officer pukes. The group moves on to the trail. Marius the hunter leads the way and indeed the tracks end at the old mill site.

The sun is beginning to set. The officers spread out and search. Evidence of the recent archeological dig here by the Miskatonic graduate archeology class can easily be seen. There are many straight geometric holes dug out, ranging in size from two-square-feet to ten-square-feet. Strings stretched between ground spikes mark out other areas. It is difficult to distinguish clear tracks among the many footprints.

Crows caw and fly out from a nearby tree. Marius’ trained eye surveys the crumbled walls and collapsed stonework. Like a black maw opening into the earth, a stairwell is in the southeast corner leads down to what must be a basement. Does the hunter see a splash of red on the stones there?

Marius can make a Spot Hidden roll please and of course any other investigative actions he wants.

[MrHemlocks]

[1d100] = 18 spot hidden

Marius calls out to the police."Officers, over here! I think I see something."

[Grognardsw]

Marius and the police officers approach the stairs. The hunter’s suspicion was true: That is a spot of blood on the stairs. Together they go down. One of the officers turns on an electric torch. The stairs descend about 15’ into a large basement that is 20’ by 40’. The opposite end to the stairwell is collapsed from above. It is eerie. The room is full of old rotting barrels, rusting machinery parts and other detritus. Cobwebs drape about much of the room. There is an earthy, musky, dank smell. The skittering of rats can be heard. Several square archeological holes have been dug, carefully outlined in string horizontally and vertically, marking geologic level. Suddenly a bat swoops by Marius’ head on the way out up the stairs.

“I checked with Miskatonic University and they said the dig was done about three weeks ago by an archeology class of Dr. David Clarke,” says Officer O’Malley. “They left their markings here for the next class to visit and continue in the Spring. But no one’s been out here in any official capacity for three weeks.”

The officers and Marius spread out and search the basement, hoping to find the source of the blood, and any other clues.

[MrHemlocks]

Marius, looking for clues of the murder, keeps alert for any signs of danger. He spends a lot of time looking at the dig sites and than examines the crumbled walls and barrels. After those are searched he looks at the machinery to see if they could of been used to cut the limbs off the girl.

He will take special interest in those dig sites and make sure all these are searched. spot hidden [1d100] = 36

If allowed to roll again after ten minutes... 2nd spot hidden [1d100] = 32

Not sure if you allow and bonuses to the spot hidden rolls since he is not under any immediate threat.

[Grognardsw]

Marius first examines the dig sites. They are square and rectangular holes of 8'x8' and 10'x5' respectively. Each is tiered in three levels. Strings mark the edges horizontally and depths vertically. Little flags are posted in spots. The hunter is not sure what to make of it, not being an archeologist. He does realize that there was another structure here, over which the mill was built. Not seeing any blood or suspicious features in the holes, Marius turns next to the crumbled walls.

Time and exposure has crumbled parts of the basement walls. The east end of the basement has a collapsed ceiling. Marius pokes about but finds nothing. He sees the Arkham police investigators doing the same.

The old barrels are rotting, falling apart as the rings rust. They are empty. The decrepit old machinery parts, mostly for farm equipment, lie about like sharp edged metal bones. Marius looks at those edges for blood, wondering if they could serve as murder tools, but finds only rust.

Then a discovery! There near a set of thatching blades is a torn ticket from a traveling carnivale - 'Dark Pharaoh's Fantastic Freak Show.' As Marius considers whether this means anything, one of the officers yells out, "I found something!"

All gather around and see, hidden behind a large loose stone in the west wall near the collapsed end of the basement, two decapitated heads and four hands.

The young officer pukes again.

[MrHemlocks]

Marius, takes the ticket stub and tucks it away deep within his hunting jacket. Than heading over to where the body parts are found he stops near the officers."This is far worse than we could ever imagine! Looks like we have some crazy serial killer on the loose."Taking the ticket from his pocket he shows it to officer O’Malley. "Here I found this. Thought you might be interested in it. Never know, it might be a clue as to where the people have gone and where possibly killed."Taking out a pencil and some scrape paper, Marius doodles done the information found on the ticket and places it into his pocket."Here take this," handing over the ticket, "I seen enough and will heading back over to my house. Nothing else I can do here, but if you need me, you know where I live."

Marius starts to leave the dig site but stops long enough to say on last parting piece of advice to the cops. "Maybe send some officers to that theater to look around. Also, one of these heads, down here, might match the dead girl up top. You might also ask the Arkham school department that dug here what they saw or if any of their students are missing."

"Well, good luck but I need to go now. See enough madness to last awhile."

[Grognardsw]

“Thank you Marius,” says Officer O’Malley. “You’ve been a lot of help. We’ll check the bodily remains. Yes the freak show and Miskatonic University will be followed up with. Who knows, maybe it was some freak in the circus or an insane student?”

Marius climbs the stairs out of the basement. It’s good to be back in fresh air. As the sun sets the hunter makes his way back to his woodland home.


The officer stands watch at the front porch. Marius’ family is safe inside. His wife greets him. “What did you see Marius?” she asks with concern.

Marius notices a recent newspaper on his table. His eye is drawn to a back-page advertisement for 'Dark Pharaoh's Fantastic Freak Show,” including its travel schedule. This week it is in Innsmouth, the coastal town 45 minutes drive away.

[MrHemlocks]

Marius tells his family what he saw at the ruins. Than goes on telling them that the homestead might not remain a safe place to stay while some crazed murder is out an about. So, tomorrow he will call his younger brother to him watch over things while he takes off for Innsmouth. While telling his wife and children that he will head to town for a day or two at best and talk to the police and locals about the killings and what can be done to stop them from happening again. As for his brother, John, he tells him the entire truth. That Marius is going to town but not Arkham. He is instead headed to Innsmouth and will check out this 'Dark Pharaoh's Fantastic Freak Show. For this show might be the same place the ticket came from and might be a link to the ghastly murders.

That afternoon Marius packs his bags and readies himself for the trip to Innsmouth. He plans on leaving early, the next day, and to make it to town before noon. He finally goes to bed and mumbles to himself before sleep takes hold of him. "Those cops are doing a fine job trying to locate the murder but I need to do this myself. My family relies on me to protect them."

[Grognardsw]

August 11, 11:30 am
Innsmouth, Massachusetts
Dark Pharaoh's Fantastic Freak Show and Carnival
Marius Albertoni, hunter


Marius Albertoni drives his beat-up Ford Model T car north on the Newburyport Turnpike on his way to Innsmouth. He thinks about the torn ticket to 'Dark Pharaoh's Fantastic Freak Show.’ Did an archeology student drop it, or the murderer? The whole site was quite clean, probably tidied up by the students after their dig project was complete. The heinous nature of the crime reflected a deeply disturbed mind. The presence of two heads meant another victim! To think another mutilated body was somewhere about Arkham. It sent a shiver down the hunter’s spine, quickly replaced by anger.

Marius spots the tents of the carnival at the outskirts of Innsmouth. The old coastal town has seen better days. Even without entering the city proper, Marius can still see the run-down nature of the buildings, the down-trodden look on many of the faces of its citizens. He parks his car a little ways from the carnival and surveys the lay-out.



A main circus tent is surrounded by a half-dozen smaller tents, most likely housing oddities or small attractions. Scattered about are a multitude of booths for games of chance. A ‘House of Horror’ figures prominently. There is a modest ferris wheel and merry-go-round with fish of the sea instead of horses. There is a gated enclosure with ponies and mules for kiddy rides. A half-circle of carnival trucks, trailers and cars form an enclosure of sorts in the back of the carnival. Business is light at this hour. From the distance Marius can make out some garish and shocking posters advertising the freaks within.





Marius girds himself to enter this strange place.

Map of Innsmouth

Innsmouth is based on Newburyport, MA, and Arkham, Salem

[MrHemlocks]

Marius heads to the ticket booth. "Just one pass today please." Taking the bought ticket he looks up at the clerk. "I saw a poster over there showing a headless girl. How can she be alive without a head? Can you please tell me where I might see this woman's show?"

Marius, keeps an eye out for any strangers that might be trying to scout him out.Spot Hidden (25%): rolled [1d100] = 75