Book Four: New Orleans - The Big Uneasy

[Grognardsw]

Ignatius Skinner, BOI agent
Skinner checks his gun, making sure it is fully loaded. One way or another, he is ending this abomination of a ritual.

Is Skinner close enough to fire a shot at the idol? If so, he does.
Shoot idol (75) [1d100] = 39
If not, he fires a warning shot into the air.

Get back, all of you! On the ground, now! Anyone who moves gets three in the chest!

The idol is too far away. I'll give the others a chance to respond, in case you all want to discuss options before doing the warning shot (if that is what you ultimately decide to do.)

[Mant72]

Dr. Francis Morgan:

Frank attempts to grab Agent Skinner’s arm to get the officer’s attention before he speaks out. He whispers, “I don’t see Carcosa in the midst of these madmen. We should bypass them. He is the orchestrator we seek.”

Frank wipes away the sweat that beads on his forehead and clutches his pistol as his head swivels to penetrate darkness of the fetid swamp.

[Grognardsw]

Frank (and any character looking) can roll a Spot Hidden to see if he can see Carcosa among the cultists.

[Mant72]

Dr. Francis Morgan:

Dr. Morgan holds his hand above his brow to obtain a better view of the throng, but he is unable make out the elusive Carcosa.

Spot Hidden (45): [1d100] = 56

Sorry, guys...

[DadsAngry]

Marius:

Marius raises his shotgun and takes aim. He searches the crowd for Carcosa. No other target will do.

Spot Hidden (25%) [1d100] = 62

[Grognardsw]

Marius and Frank stare at the ritual, hoping to spot the elusive Carcosa. But the gloom, the many dancing mostly naked cultist bodies, and the writhing shadows by bond-fire light reveal no Carcosa. The investigators estimate up to 75 cultists. A high number, but Callahan’s Tommy gun has 90 rounds left, in addition to the others’ weapons.

The smell of burnt flesh wafts towards the men. The xaqluoi chants continue.

Perspiring, Frank sees ghost-like worms, eels and otherworldly fish swimming through the air around the ritual, snipping and eating at the open wounds of the hanging dead people. The other investigators seemingly do not see this, for they make no comment about the astoundingly horrifying sight.

Agent Skinner’s paranoia seemingly under control, he is poised to fire his warning shot and yell his announcement when Frank offers the other idea...

To confirm, what does Skinner do?

[SocraticLawyer]

Ignatius Skinner, BOI agent
Skinner nods at Frank's suggestion. He holds off on firing for now. Let's try to sneak around these ... cultists, he says to the group. He is glad Callahan is here with the tommy gun.

Skinner checks the crowd for Carcosa, but can't see him.

Spot Hidden (65) [1d100] = 86

My last character murdered Mulder in cold blood, so he's not doing anything this round....

[DadsAngry]

Marius:

Marius lowers his weapons slightly and leads the way around the cultist. He keeps one eye on the ground so he doesn't stumble in the dark with glance looks into the crowd to spot Carcosa.

[Grognardsw]

Marius, Frank, Skinner and Callahan circumnavigate the horrid scene before them. The investigators continue to peer into the smoky, shadowy bacchanalia of death hoping that with different angles of sight they may spy Carcosa. The drum beats drone, the Xaqloui chants murmur madness to come, victims wail, the air is acrid with burnt flesh.

Many male naked men are cavorting. Perhaps one of them is Carcosa; it is not possible to discern in the gloom and flame-dancing shadows.

Frank is perspiring heavily and feels compelled to stay - no, to move forward amid the cultists, toward the standing stone in the center. (Make Will percentile roll please.)

Then Frank’s otherworldly vision reveals a strange glow around one of the men! But he moves out of sight around the fire counter-clockwise in the sway and ritualistic dance.

Frank with a shock beholds himself walking naked amid the cultists, approaching the glowing man.

The other investigators seem oblivious, but they do notice that Frank has stopped and is intently staring at the ritual.

[Mant72]

Dr. Francis Morgan:

Frank continues to sweat profusely and begins unbuttoning his shirt. He tries to speak, but his cry for help only surfaces as a dry croak. He looks down at his hands as if they have animated on their own and finally wills them to stop.

Pow Check (60): [1d100] = 24

“There!” The wild-eyed professor whispers hoarsely and points to the figure he sees glowing among the mass of cavorting culitists. ”There’s Carcosa!”

[SocraticLawyer]

Ignatius Skinner, BOI agent
At the mention of Carcosa, Skinner immediately turns and looks in the direction indicated by Frank. His pistol is ready to fire if necessary.

[Grognardsw]

The investigators peer into the horrible scene before them but don’t see Carcosa, despite Frank’s gesticulating and unsteady pointing.

Frank sees - whether with his eyes, or possibly unbalanced imagination, or with otherworldly ocular ability - what he perceives as a glowing Carcosa round the bonfire. If the cult leader continues his orbit, he should come back around in a minute.

Frank feels the hot trapezohedron crystal on his chest. His eyes widen as he sees it has absorbed into his chest about half an inch! It is part of him. The Miskatonic University anthropology professor is dumb founded and alarmed (San. check. Yes= 1 point, No = 1d3).

Seen only by Frank, the strange ghost like fish-snake-worm things are floating and slithering in the air about him, circling now, closer, closer.

Frank’s colleague’s see that he has unbuttoned his shirt and is rubbing the trapezohedron crystal on his chest, with a look of exhilaration and horror on his face.

[Mant72]

Dr. Francis Morgan:

Frank cradles the crystal against his chest. Its tranquil warmth soothes and suppresses his fears. He presses the alien stone closer...closer...closer. Frank feels both elation and horror as he peers down to see his flesh meld with the crystal; two become one.

Sanity Check (65); Current Sanity (35): [1d100] = 55

Sanity Loss: [1d3] = 1

The faces of David and Edith swirl among the undulating fish-snake-worm things. Edith’s visage floats forward. She hovers before Frank and leans in for a kiss.

Frank frantically shakes his head to banish the feverish visions. He reaches out to grab Marius and Skinner by the shoulders and whispers, “Run!”

Wiping the sweat from his brow, he points his pistol at the glowing figure of Carcosa and waits for the shape to circle around.

[DadsAngry]

Marius:

Marius about to fire blindly into the crowd but stops when he observes Dr. Morgan's odd behavior. That damn crystal is warping the man's mind again. He going to get us all killed. Marius drops his rifle and wrestled Dr. Morgan for possession of the crystal.

I'm assuming the action above is a fantasy. Dr. Morgan's in his head is acting out these action and he is really just rubbing the crystal to his chest.

[Grognardsw]

Dadsangry’s assumption is correct, Frank is rubbing the crystal on his chest.

Marius can roll a Grapple attack to get ahold of the crystal. If successful, then a Str. check roll Vs. Frank’s Str. check to see if he rips it out of Frank’s hands.

[DadsAngry]

Marius:

"Give me that!"
Grapple (25%) [1d100] = 13
Marius str is 13.

[SocraticLawyer]

Ignatius Skinner, BOI agent
Dammit! This is all he needs. Stuck in the bayou with a hundred or more cultists all ready to tear his flesh from his bones, the mysterious Carcosa among them, and now these two take to fighting.

Skinner tries to break up the fight. If he can, he helps Marius try to get the crystal from Frank.


If needed: Grapple (50) [1d100] = 16

[Grognardsw]

Marius manhandles the trapezohedron crystal away from Frank just as Agent Skinner joins in the effort.

Frank feels a psychic pull from his soul and wants to feel whole again. His vision is starting to shift from the extra-dimensional to normal.

He also realizes that Carcosa could come around at any moment. Would he even be able to see the glowing man now?

Marius had a 55% chance to get the crystal. He made it. I rolled normal dice, as with the U.S. redesign there is no longer a dice roller icon in the upper right corner. How do you get to the roller besides going to the page in a different tab?

[SocraticLawyer]

Ignatius Skinner, BOI agent
Get it together, man! whispers Skinner, with a quick slap to Frank's face. He hopes that the cultists have not noticed them.

Skinner checks the crowd to see if the investigators have been noticed.

[Mant72]

Dr. Francis Morgan:

Frank rubs his cheek after Skinner’s stinging slap, and the delusional professor feels as if he has been doused with ice water. “I can no longer see Carcosa! The glow, it has vanished!”

Torn between flight and fight, Frank crouches in the dark gripping his gun.