(IC) HtV STL by Night

[Thundercracker]

In between the please for help, Anna can hear nothing. No foot falls, no breathing, no wind, no animal sounds; NOTHING.

Jen tried to get comfortable in the little space they had beneath the bush. If she was hallucinating it was better to wait it out then try to wander off through the woods in the dark. Other than that, a bunch of speakers or a drone or something calling for help couldn't actually harm her. She'd stay awake all night if she had to, until the sun came up and she could see what was out there...

[Daishain]

Unable to properly hold his rifle, Frank keeps his hand on his knife, and stays close enough to Jenn to feel her presence and avoid separating. This was freakish beyond belief, and the idea that they'd been drugged somehow was seeming more and more likely.

[Bennosuke]

Complete and utter silence falls over the forest as Jen and Frank bundle together in their little shelter. The crying voice stops out of nowhere, leaving the two campers in near total darkness. Deprived of sight of anything farther than just a few feet, and with a maddening silence falling over them, both Jen and Frank quickly become aware of the scent on the stale night air. It is not overpowering, but the woods are filled with the scent of wet rotting wood. It is like the earth and the trees are all moist with decomposition. With little other stimulus, the scent seems to slowly grow stronger and stronger, as if spores are unavoidably invading their nostrils, filling their lungs, worming deep inside of them.

[Thundercracker]

Complete and utter silence falls over the forest as Jen and Frank bundle together in their little shelter. The crying voice stops out of nowhere, leaving the two campers in near total darkness. Deprived of sight of anything farther than just a few feet, and with a maddening silence falling over them, both Jen and Frank quickly become aware of the scent on the stale night air. It is not overpowering, but the woods are filled with the scent of wet rotting wood. It is like the earth and the trees are all moist with decomposition. With little other stimulus, the scent seems to slowly grow stronger and stronger, as if spores are unavoidably invading their nostrils, filling their lungs, worming deep inside of them.

If both of them were healthy, Jen might consider trying to move away, but with Frank injured, she figured it was probably best to wait until morning. Then again, if the mushrooms were really what was causing them to hallucinate, it might be a good idea to get away from them.

She tapped Frank on the shoulder and leaned in close so he could easily hear her.

"Stay or go?" she whispered as quietly as she could into his ear.

[Daishain]

Frank blinks rapidly, trying to clear his head, then whispers back, "Go I think, anywhere's got to be better than whatever this is, even just sheltering by that river we left. But we need to pick a direction and keep as straight as we can. Wandering in circles isn't going to help."

[Thundercracker]

Frank blinks rapidly, trying to clear his head, then whispers back, "Go I think, anywhere's got to be better than whatever this is, even just sheltering by that river we left. But we need to pick a direction and keep as straight as we can. Wandering in circles isn't going to help."

"Alright, we're going to have to use the flashlights then, can't walk when it's this dark, we'll both end up injured," Jen replied.

She looked up to try and find any stars to orient herself. Whether she can find any or not, she'll flick her flashlight on, cast it around quickly to see if anything was nearby, then she started leading them, away from the bushes they'd hid in.

[Bennosuke]

The two hikers gather their courage and push into the forest, trying their best to choose a direction that takes them back toward the ravine. Their flashlights seem to be their only light, and somehow the pale yellow light seems to die out at Jenn and Frank's feet. The tree line claws at the sky, blocking almost all the star and moonlight, and making it impossible to find any star by which to navigate. In fact, peering upward only forces Jenn's eyes to fall on the strange stick figures hanging from the branches. The poppets seem to stare back at Jenn, their strange angles causing a painful spasm of nausea to claw at her throat and stomach.

Looking up causes Jenn and Frank to almost stumble over the slumped dark figure on the forest floor. A boot hits the soft heavy body crumpled in a heap. Even in the darkness you can make out a broken human shape, head arms and legs.

The voice returns, "Hello? Anyone? Hello! HEEEELLLLLOOOOO!!!" ringing out; echoing loud enough to fill the entire park with it's inhuman screech.

[Thundercracker]

Jen Gibbs

"Cover me," Jen said. She fully suspected this thing could be a trap but she couldn't simply leave a potentially injured person in the middle of the forest without at least checking them first.

She knelt down by the body and inspected it with her flashlight alone, without turning it over, to try and get an idea of the extent of the injuries. That damn disembodied voice was going to drive her crazy soon; she did her best to block it out.

Spoiler

Show

wits + medicine(?): (3d10)[9][3][5](17)
10 again:(3d10)[2][1][6](9)

[Bennosuke]

It takes only a moment for Jen to ascertain just what she is looking at. This is a human. Female. Dead. Skinned! The flashlight falls across moist fatty tissue, shiny gristle and underlying strips of ribbed muscle. The body has been stripped perfectly from head to toe; not even lips, or eyelids. It's like a cadaver at the body museum. The stench of the dead body suddenly hits Anna, the heavy smell of blood and fresh meat, forcing her gorge to rise instantly. As Jen stumbles back, she realizes something terrible, this poor stripped thing was Lydia, the poor teenage girl they had met the night before!

[Thundercracker]

Jen Gibbs

What the!

Jen stumbled back and cast her flashlight around.

“Keep your head, keep your head,” she thought frantically, “don’t panic!”

On a whim she also checked above them. She forced herself to breathe slowly, to not hyperventilate.

She suddenly wanted to bind her flashlight to her rifle, so she could carry it in two hands and shine a light at wherever she was aiming. Did they have any duct tape with them?

[Bennosuke]

Both players, please give me an Integrity roll of Resolve + Composure +1

[Daishain]

Frank's eyes go wide as he takes in the grisly sight. F***, this was even worse than he'd thought... F*** F*** F***!

Forcing himself to pause and breathe, the normally rather composed man has a difficult time keeping himself together. But after a moment he looks up again and whispers, "Let me handle the light while you get the rifle, call out if you need me to light something up. Let's get the hell out of here."

[Bennosuke]

Neither Jen nor Frank have steady hands as they work together (assuming Jen takes the rifle), but neither individual truly loses control. The beam from Frank's flashlight darts and quivers as he struggles to keep it steady.

The voice continues to call out, but each time it does, it sounds like the source is in a different direction.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Neither Frank or Jen fail their breaking point. They both keep their integrity intact, but must choose either the spooked or shaken condition.

Shaken: Something has frightened your character extensively. Anytime your character is taking an action where that fear might hinder her, you may opt to fail the roll (before you’ve made the roll), and shed this Condition. This Condition can be imposed by a successful degeneration roll.

Spooked: Your character has seen something supernatural — not overt enough to terrify her, but unmistakably otherworldly. How your character responds to this is up to you, but it captivates her and eats her attention. You can shed this Condition when your character’s fear and fascination causes her to do something that hinders the group or complicates things (she goes off alone to investigate a strange noise, stays up all night
researching, runs away instead of holding her ground, etc.).

[Thundercracker]

“C’mon let’s go, anywhere’s better than here,” Jen said.

She led the way forward, based on the way she’d first seen the body.

Spoiler

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Jen will take the spooked condition, because that one seems more interesting.

[Bennosuke]

Jen rushes forward, barely even waiting for Frank as she begins marching forward. Her mind is racing faster than her feet, playing over and over the image of the skinned young girl. The impossibility of everything that had happened was enough to drive one mad, but by focusing on what she needed to do, Jen was holding on tight to her sanity.

As she leads, Jen's flashlight beam, shaking though it may be, begins to play on some sort of structure up ahead. Despite any other judgement she has, Jen finds her feet walking forward, closer and closer to bring the mound into view. As she does, the flashlight pulls into view a stooped figure standing before the mound. The yellow light reflects off of the figure's flesh as if her skin were made of some sort of rumpled mirrored glass. The figure looks up at Jen and Frank, round eyes seeming to catch the beam of the flashlight and reflect it back like a wild animal. This time, there is no doubt where the voice is coming from. "Hello, help please!" the voice screeches, forming words without any meaning behind them, the voice of a parrot.

Now Jen and Frank can see the creature's simian form, stooped forward such that it's long limbs nearly touch the ground. It's skin was slick but wrinkled, long heavy breasts aged and withered. For a moment, Lydia's face stares back at the two, before unreality sets in and the two realize that this thing was wearing Lydia's flayed skin like a body suit. The thing throws its head back, mouth slick with black gore, and cackles, long thin arms raising up to the sky.

(OOC: No point in a second breaking point here, but still waiting on Daishain's choice of condition!)

[Thundercracker]

Jen Gibbs

"It's like something out of a horror film," Jen thought, "shoot first, figure it out later."

While one part of her brain starting utterly freaking out, her training took over the rest of it and forced her limbs to react.

On instinct, Jen shouldered her rifle and fired at whatever it was that had skinned Lydia and now wore the gore as a costume.

Spoiler

Show

Firearms style 1 - fire first, add firearms skill to initiative, rifle -5 initiative
initiative dex4 + composure 3 + fire first 4 - 5 rifle: (1d10+6)[12]
attack: (8d10)[9][8][1][3][6][7][10][2](46)
10 again: (8d10)[3][5][3][9][4][10][8][7](49)
rifle damage = 4

[Daishain]

Frank takes a few steps back, clutching the flashlight hard enough to hurt his hand as Jennifer opened fire, wishing he'd brought a pistol or something he could use in spite of the injured arm.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Taking Spooked as well for the same reason.

[Bennosuke]

The report from Jen's rifle thunderously cuts through all noise in the forest, drowning out The Wytche's cackling laughter, and fills the darkness for just a moment in blazing yellow light. In that moment you can see the overlay where the skin suit hangs off of The Wytche's own greying fetid flesh, her massive owl's eyes reflecting the fiery discharge. The instant is interrupted as the Wytche is nearly thrown off her feet by the impact of the rifle shell. The figure seems to explode into a cloud of dark feathers that gather around her, but as the impossible shrapnel slowly floats towards the forest floor, you can see that The Wytch is still standing, a massive cavity blown into abdomen, dripping black ichor.

The Wytche raises both hands outward, her bony appendages like the long branches of the trees overhead. Jen and Frank can feel heat gathering in the forest, and an airless breeze begins to whip the tree limbs overhead. The Wytche was jibbering something low and incomprehensible in some sibilant language long ago forgotten. Every hair on your neck and arms begins to stand up on end, and the smell of ozone begins to fill the air, as if right before a lightning strike.

(OOC: I'll give you this chance to flee before bad things start happening, though if you want to stay, I'll let you resolve your Spooked condition... and you will probably face another more severe breaking point)

[Thundercracker]

“Ozone comes after lightning,” Jen thought.

Now completely out of her depth, Jen let one hand off her rifle and grabbed Frank’s arm, and ran. Something was coming, and she wanted to find cover behind a large tree or boulder before it hit.

[Daishain]

Frank is stunned for a moment. He'd been prepared for weird inbred cultists maybe, but this... And then Jennifer is yanking on his arm, almost causing him to drop the flashlight. Feet moving more on instinct than conscious control he follows her towards cover.

[Bennosuke]

Jen and Frank flee, simply picking a direction that takes them away from The Wytche, and running. Her strange discordant laughter echoes in the forest, and something like foot falls seem to chase the two. At some point, you think you pass another dead body, but with Frank's torchlight floating this way and that as he runs, you can't be sure, and the two are too too focused on getting away to stop and double check.

For whatever reason, mercifully, the two arrive at the ravine. The shallow bank can be easily descended, and despite everything wrong with navigating in the forest, the tree trunk/bridge is right there waiting for them.

(OOC: Assuming you want to descend down the side of the ravine and cross the tree trunk bridge, please give me Dex + Athletics + 3)

[Thundercracker]

Jen Gibbs

Jen's heart pounded in near-panic as they fled through the forest. Whatever the hell that was, it wasn't natural. Nothing could take that kind of wound and stay standing. And that wasn't blood leaking out of it either. Fight or flight took over, and she ran flat out without even feeling an ounce of fatigue. Then the ravine was in front of her.

She slid to a stop near the edge of the ravine and pulled her light out to shine behind her. Assuming she doesn't see anything chasing them, she set it on the ground, still pointing back the way they came, and propped it slightly on a stone or something so it was angled up a little bit, so as not to be blocked by the ground. She then moved into a kneeling position, aiming back into the forest, scanning the trees for any movement.

"You go across first," she said, "I'll cover you, then when you get there set up you light and cover me."

[Daishain]

Frank nods, he didn't like it, but it made sense with his arm. He does his best to keep his balance going across.

Once on the other side, he unshoulders his rifle, finding a branch or rock to rest the end on as he aims back across the stream to cover Jennifer as she makes her own crossing.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

dex+athletics+3 (7d10)[8][2][7][6][5][9][10](47)
ten again (7d10)[9][5][8][1][5][5][8](41)

[Thundercracker]

Jen slung her rifle and picked up her flashlight to make her way across the ravine.

She focused on putting one foot in front of the other, and tried her best to trust Frank to cover her.

Spoiler

Show

dex+ athletics +3(9d10)[7][4][3][3][10][7][7][6][2](49)
10 again: (9d10)[10][2][10][10][9][1][6][7][2](57)

[Bennosuke]

First Frank, and then Jen are able to make it across the makeshift bridge onto the other side of the ravine. As if it were like stepping through a magic wardrobe, the forest suddenly becomes filled with noise again. The rushing river suddenly comes to life with the thunderous sound of water shifting and moving quickly. The canopy even seems less thick, allowing for bright starlight to shine through and illuminate the forest so that you don't need a flashlight to see what is immediately before you.

Standing now on this side of the ravine, Frank and Jen see a loping deer path that climbs its way up steep bank wall. But far off on the other side of the river, the two think they can hear a mad cackling voice calling out incoherently to them, slowly growing louder!

[Thundercracker]

“C’mon, let’s get outta here,” Jen said, and she led the way up the deer trail, only pausing long enough to make sure Frank is keeping up with her.

[Bennosuke]

Mercifully, the two almost immediately find the deer trail, and are able to start back tracking towards their campsite. If someone checks their phone or watch, they find that it's (or maybe already) a little after midnight. No matter how slowly or quickly the two go, there is no sign of the Wytch, or the nightmare the two left behind, though it is very probable that every noise in the forest causes the two to jump with sudden fear.

(OOC: Are the two going to talk about this, or is this a silent march? Also, are we walking back to the campsite, or doing something else?)

[Thundercracker]

Jen Gibbs

"Okay, what the hell was that back there?" Jen asked quietly, "that was totally insane wasn't it? Was I completely tripping, or did that just happen?"

She kept her rifle close and her senses peeled for anything approaching. She was jumpy, and she knew that was dangerous, but given what had just happened, she figured it was a miracle she wasn't tearing through the woods screaming in terror.

"You saw me shoot it, right? Dead center, that would have dropped a grizzly," she said, "and it just laughed at us."

[Daishain]

Frank slings the rifle over his shoulder again, he'd dearly like to hold onto it, but couldn't do much with it on the move, so...

He tries to stop his hands from trembling as he says, "I... I don't know. I'd say we had a really bad acid trip or something, but I've never heard of two people seeing the same things while on a bender like that. Lets get out of here and clear our heads."

[Bennosuke]

It is not too long before the two find their way back to the camp. As far as they can tell, the site is undisturbed. Their tents stand in flimsy defense, the smell of last night's campfire still hangs warm and welcoming in the air. As far as the two campers can tell, they are safe; though at the same time, one can't help but recognize how vulnerable they are with their tents out in the middle of these dark woods.