Book Three: Out of Time

[Mant72]

Dr. Francis Morgan:

Frank rushes into the apartment, makes his way to the bedroom, and stands in the doorway, ”David! Are you all right? What’s going on here?”

[Grognardsw]

Dr. Morgan leads the way in, closely followed by Reginald, Marius and Baba. The bedroom door, ajar, is pushed open. What they see is shocking.

Dr. Clarke is violating an unconscious Edith Walton on the bed. He is bleeding from the shoulder, his face is bruised, but the ex-Miskatonic University professor has maniacal smile on his face and is mumbling incoherently. Edith is bruised and battered, bleeding from her head, her clothes ripped.

[DadsAngry]

Marius:

Marius quickly moves over to Dr. Clarke and takes hold of his shoulder and attempts throws him off of Edith.
"What's the hell is wrong with you!"

Marius: Grapple (25%) [1d100] = 46

[Mant72]

Dr. Francis Morgan:

”David! Get control of yourself!” Frank screams as he tries to pull David off of Edith.

Grapple (25%): [1d100] = 74

[Grognardsw]

Marius and Frank pull the crazed Dr. Clarke off the body of Edith Walton.

“She tried to kill me! The bitch shot me!” yells Dr. Clarke, pointing at his shoulder. He is pale, sprays spittle, sways from his wounds. ”She must be punished!”

Frank is shaken by the sight and talk of his good friend Dr. Clarke. Doubts and dark thoughts arise. This investigation has cracked several men. Is David another? What is it that could cause such a turn in his behavior? He seemed okay yesterday. Did something happen today while he was alone?

Professor Balandabar checks Edith’s pulse. “She’s alive!”

[SocraticLawyer]

Reginald Wilkins, bookdealer
Reginald rushes to Edith, trying to work out what is going on. If his suspicions about Edith are correct, then perhaps it would be best just to let her bleed to death. But the little sanity remaining in him knows he must at least try to help.

First Aid (38) [1d100] = 24

David, what have you done?

[DadsAngry]

Marius:

In a fit of rage, the Italian give Dr. Clarke a good right cross.
"Pezzo di merda"
Marius: Fist/Punch (50%) [1d100] = 53

[Grognardsw]

As Frank and Marius pull Dr. Clarke away from Edith, Reginald kneels down and examines her wounds. He rummages in the bathroom to find some bandages and stabilizes her.

Dr. Clarke seems listless but gives a sudden jerk just as Marius tries to punch him. The blow is only grazing.

"Vaffanculo!" snarls Dr. Clarke to Marius. It occurs to the hunter that Dr. Clarke never mentioned he knew Italian all this time.

"Unhand me!" Dr. Clarke growls. He stands unsteadily, gingerly touching his bleeding shoulder. "I must get medical attention and report this madwoman. She seduced me then shot me."

To the men who have known Dr. Clarke for some time, he seems not himself.

[DadsAngry]

Marius:

Hot-tempered and ready to throw another punch Marius is thrown off by Dr. Clarke's use of Italian. He stands with his fist up ready to strike again.
"Touch her again and I'll break your face. I swear to god, maiale."

[Mant72]

Dr. Francis Morgan:

”Everyone calm down!” Frank shouts.

”Marius, there has clearly been enough violence as is.” He gently puts his hand on the hunter’s shoulder to try to quell his anger.

Frank moves to examine Dr. Clarke’s shoulder, ”Now, David, try to calm yourself and tell us what happened here.”

[Grognardsw]

Dr. Clarke sits down in a chair while Frank looks at his wound.

"Edith came over to visit. I tried to send her away but she implored me to let her talk. She claimed to have been mistaken about me."

Dr. Clarke wipes his forehead and pauses. "Women can be persuasive when they want to be, if you know what I mean. We had tea. She begged forgiveness, then more. Our passions were given free rein. I felt dizzy. Had she poisoned the tea? Then she tried to kill me in the midst of our intimacy!"

Dr. Clarke's face gets angry. "She hit me on the head. I barely stopped her from knifing me. Then she got a hold of my pistol and shot me before I knocked her out. Is there no end to the perfidy of women!"

"I must get to a doctor. I don't feel good."

[DadsAngry]

Marius:

Marius now calmer and less heated up is not sure about Dr. Clarke, but his story is feasible. Could he have overreacted? He goes over to Reginald.
"Is she going to alright Reginald?" he asks questioningly. "The docs story sound feasible but with the past incident, I'm not sure. What do you think?"

[SocraticLawyer]

Reginald Wilkins, bookdealer
Reginald can hardly believe what he has seen. The inevitable conclusion is as he feared, but even so he resists believing it.

Reg knows that his mind is slipping slowly into insanity. What is real? How can he believe that Edith, David, Asenaith, who know how many others, have exchanged consciousness? The idea is utterly unthinkable.

And yet it must be true.

Reginald knows that he must choose his next words very, very carefully. He hopes that Baba remembers their brief conversation on the sprint here.

To Marius, he says,she'll live. He approaches David. It's a good thing Dr. Balandabar is with us. He is a highly skilled physician. I don't think you've met him yet, David.I 'm sure he can fix you right up. Reginald glances over at Edith for any sign of recognition.

[Mant72]

Dr. Francis Morgan:

Frank absent-mindedly examines David’s wound, trying to piece together all that has happened here. Edith has been acting strangely of late, but is she really capable of murder? David has always been a true friend, surely he is telling the truth. Frank’s mind fails to grasp any certainty.

He looks over to Dr. Balandabar, gesturing to David’s shoulder, ”Doctor, can you have a look?”

[Grognardsw]

Dr. Balandabar pauses for a moment. "Yes, I would like to take a look." He steps away from the unconscious Edith.

"I suppose so," Dr. Clarke says.

The Indian makes a show of looking at the shoulder, and bruises on the head.

"How is your sight? Any dizziness? You may have a concussion from these head blows. The bullet appears to have gone through judging by the hole on the other side. Yes, you'll need to go to a hospital to have that sewn up proper."

Edith is stabilized, but still unconscious.

[DadsAngry]

Marius:

Marius bends down and scoops Edith in his arms.
"Alright, Reginald, find the professor's car keys and start up his auto while I load Edith in the back seat. Frank help David into the front seat. Doc would you ride with them just in case. Frank and I will go back to his place for his car and meet you at the hospital."

[Grognardsw]

"Thank you doctor," says Dr. Clarke when Prof. Balandabar is done.

The men follow Marius' directions and Dr. Clarke and Edith are soon on their way to the hospital.

Upon arrival, Dr. Clarke tells his story to the doctor. He is taken to a room for treatment.

Edith is revived after a few hours. David opens her eyes, perhaps hoping it was all a bad dream, but he is still in his former amore's body.

Feel free to take actions in the time this all took. Or pick up from here.

[DadsAngry]

Dr. Clarke:

Waking up in Edith's body was disturbing enough but where was he? He/she looks around the room for familiar faces.

[SocraticLawyer]

Reginald Wilkins, bookdealer
Before going to the hospital:
Reginald observes David's reaction to the ruse. He thinks to himself, That proves it. The real David has met Baba, and knows him as a scholar of ancient languages, not a medical doctor.

Reginald wonders what would happen were he to knock out or kill the imposter. Would David be stuck in Edith's body indefinitely? Would David's consciousness be destroyed?

Reginald decides not to risk it. Instead, he hopes to feed misinformation to the cult.

At the hospital:

David, what have you discovered? What can we hope to find about the cult on our upcoming Greenland trip?

[Grognardsw]

“I think this concussion has done more damage than I realize,” answers Dr. Clarke. “My mind is hazy. I’m having trouble remembering such basics.”

He rubs his temples with both hands.

“I think I need get some sleep. Let’s continue this conversation tomorrow, and pray my mind is clearer.”

———-

In another room in the hospital, David-within-Edith wakes up. She looks about the room. It appears to be a hospital room. No one else is in the room. There is a bell on the nightstand, presumedly to summon a nurse.