Call of Cthulhu: Hunting the Darkness
Jan. 14th, 2015 11:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
eveglassNew game time! Call of Cthulhu, because we’re all masochists! This week’s lines of the night are entitled, “Session 1, part 1.” It’s just two of our agents this time, but two is more than enough to cause plenty of trouble…
The cast of characters so far:
- Marie-Eve Vermeil, “The Painter” (played by Julie) – an artist from France who can paint the Eldritch patterns
- Simon Collins, “The Warden” (played by Tony) – a psychic from Louisiana; he sees dead people
- Kyn the GM
Setting: New York, 1883. Our Heroes (tm) are brand-new operatives for Aegis, a branch of the United States Government tasked with hunting down the things that go bump in the night.
[Picking up on some information from our prelude sessions. If nothing else, it shows the priorities of the organization.]
Kyn the GM: “People are starting to worry. Captain Faraday might be dead. Even Batu might be dead. Elizabeth… she’ll turn up.”
[Captain Faraday, Elizabeth, and Batu have been MIA for about six months.]
Julie: “Did anyone ever tell me why they went to India?”
Kyn the GM: “They tell you it’s classified. Which you’re coming to understand means, ‘We don’t know.’”
[Marie is greeted one day by a woman named Suzanne, who will be her new handler for Aegis.]
Marie: “Was there something I could do for you?”
Suzanne: “I was trying for small talk.”
Marie: “If you’ll forgive me, you don’t seem the sort.”
Suzanne: “True. But I figured this was the best way to make you comfortable around me.”
Marie: “…I see.”
[Suzanne is a very details-oriented, down-to-business sort of woman.]
Suzanne: “I came here to break the ice.”
Marie: “I appreciate that.”
Suzanne: “I think I’m failing.”
[Suzanne informs The Painter that her first mission will begin the next day.]
Julie: “I have no idea how long the trip’s gonna be. …Eh, I’m sure someone will deal with the packing.”
[The next day, Marie goes to check in at Aegis HQ.]
Kyn the GM: “Aegis is a sturdy government building.”
Julie: “This is why I don’t have apartments here. Sucks the creativity right out of you.”
[Kyn the GM gives some context for our organization.]
Kyn the GM: “Aegis receives all the newspapers from… everywhere. That’s 90% of Aegis: reading the newspaper for clues.”
Julie: “I’m glad I’m not them.”
[At HQ, Marie is greeted by a Texan named Chuck Thompson. He’s a man whose demeanor screams ‘Texan rancher.’]
Chuck Thompson: “You must be Miss Vermee… Vermail… Vermile…”
Marie: “Vermeil.”
Chuck Thompson: “…Can I call you Mary?”
Marie: “You may.”
[It’s morning. Everyone needs a pick-me-up.]
Chuck Thompson: “This is good Texan coffee!”
Kyn the GM: “It doesn’t pour. It sloops.”
[Mr. Thompson is also be one of our handlers. Which means he has certain questions.]
Chuck Thompson: “Miss Marie, how much trouble are you planning on being?”
Marie: “I’m not planning on being any trouble.”
Chuck Thompson: “Were you planning on being any trouble in Chicago?”
Marie: “…That was different.”
[In Aegis, it’s always important to be precise in your terms.]
Chuck Thompson: “The mission that picked you up involved only two people.”
Marie: “Two operatives, anyway.”
[Marie and Chuck discuss The Painter’s artwork.]
Chuck Thompson: “Is this some of that new-age painting I’ve heard about?”
Marie: “Yes.”
Chuck Thompson: “I don’t like that.”
Marie: “You’re not paid to like it.”
[Ah, the clash of personalities…]
Suzanne: “Shall we go, Mr. Thompson?”
Chuck Thompson: “Chuck! It’s Chuck!”
Suzanne: “Very well, Mr. Thompson.”
Chuck Thompson: “You’re breaking my heart.”
[Meanwhile, Tony’s character Simon Collins has been in an asylum for the past year.]
Doctor: “The way to get better is to acknowledge you have a problem.”
Simon: “I do have a problem: I’m mad as a hatter.”
[Simon learns he’s being released, and that one of Aegis’ agents has prepared clothing for him.]
Doctor: “From what I understand, this agent is very meticulous.”
Simon: (completely deadpan) “I would not expect anything less from an agent of our esteemed government.”
[Chuck and Suzanne pick Simon up from the asylum. They know… less about him than they’d like.]
Chuck Thompson: *opens file to reveal it’s completely redacted*
Simon: “Well, it seems to you know exactly what you need to know about me from this file.”
[More of the same.]
Suzanne: “What can you tell us about yourself?”
Simon: “I’m not going to make any of your lives difficult… intentionally.”
[Simon reveals that he can see the spirits of the dead.]
Suzanne: “So you’re a medium?”
Simon: “Yes.”
Chuck Thompson: “Shit. Those usually don’t last.”
[Simon also reveals that he’s schizophrenic.]
Simon: “Don’t we all have voices in our heads?”
Suzanne: “No.”
Simon: “Hmm… pity.”
[A few more revelations about Aegis’ new operative.]
Suzanne: (whispering) “Are you a magic user?”
Simon: (whispering) “Yes.”
Suzanne: “Master level?”
Simon: *laughs* “No. More on the level of idiot dabbler.”
[Simon and Marie meet each other for the first time. The players describe their characters.]
Julie: “Marie dresses in the sort of way you’d expect if you gave a starving artist a lot of money.”
[Simon and Marie exchange pleasantries.]
Simon: “Exactement.”
Marie: “Oh? You speak la belle langue?”
Simon: (hesitantly)“…Oui.”
[Simon looks at some of the artwork in Marie’s apartment.]
Simon: “I like the way you captured the emotion in that painting.”
Marie: “You should see some of my other work.”
Suzanne: *clears throat*
Marie: “…Or perhaps you shouldn’t.”
[Our mission will be to go to Smithville, North Carolina, to investigate some recent sightings of ghouls.]
Suzanne: “Ghouls are usually a symptom.”
Marie: “Of what?”
Suzanne: “Something else.”
[Kyn the GM gives a little more detail about the mission.]
Kyn the GM: “The mission will take about two weeks, if you don’t fuck up.”
Julie: “We’re first-time operatives. Of course we’re going to fuck up.”
[As we head down to North Carolina, we prepare our cover story.]
Suzanne: “Miss Marie, you get to choose: Mr. Thompson or Mr. Collins.”
Marie: “For what?”
Suzanne: “Your husband.”
Marie: (looks at The Warden) “…Darling!”
[Chuck is offended that Marie didn’t choose him to be her husband.]
Marie: “He speaks French.”
Chuck Thompson: “I speak French!”
Marie: “I’d love to hear that.”
Chuck Thompson: *attempts to open his mouth*
Suzanne: *covers Thompson’s mouth*
Simon: “There are some things our ears should not hear. I believe it’s a spell or a summons if he attempts to speak French.”
[We establish that Marie and Simon will be newlyweds, Suzanne will be our secretary, and Chuck will be our bodyguard.]
Chuck Thompson: “Why am I always the bodyguard?! For once, I’d like to be something other than the bodyguard!”
Marie: “Would you like to be the secretary?”
Chuck Thompson: “…I’ll be the bodyguard.”
[Poor Chuck still can’t get over things.]
Suzanne: “If she were your secretary, everyone would assume she was your mistress.”
Chuck Thompson: “…And?”
[How to mess with Mr. Thompson’s head, part 1.]
Chuck Thompson: “Blackbeard? Calico Jack?”
Marie: *shakes head*
Simon: “They hung out with Wyatt Earp and Doc Holiday.”
Chuck Thompson: *has an aneurism*
[Simon and Marie try to help with building the cover story. Which is a mistake.]
Marie: “When was the wedding?”
Simon: “I’m thinking July.”
Marie: “Fourteenth?”
Suzanne: “…But that isn’t what I wrote down.”
Kyn the GM: “You guys are trying to ruin her perfectly planned thing. Do not do that to this woman. She can’t handle change.”
[Suzanne gives Simon the choice of posing as a lawyer, and accountant, or a notary.]
Suzanne: “Mr. Thompson, look at Mr. Collins. No one would believe he is an accountant.”
Simon: “I am far too handsome to be an accountant.”
Julie: “What’s your appearance?”
Tony: “Completely average.”
[Chuck still hasn’t forgiven Marie for choosing Simon over him.]
Chuck Thompson: “I’d sweep her off her feet.”
Simon: “I’d love to see you try.”
Chuck Thompson: *makes what he thinks is a sultry expression and clicks tongue”
Simon: “I believe he is calling his horse.”
Chuck Thompson: “…I’m simply warming up.”
[Chuck tries harder, to ever more hilarious results.]
Chuck Thompson: “Obviously the French aren’t as romantic as they think they are. A good Texan girl would have been swept off her feet by now.”
Marie: (deadpan) “Clearly no one can hold a candle to the Texans.”
[Marie decides to paint Chuck making funny faces.]
Julie: *rolls 13 on painting*
Kyn the GM: “You fall into a trance.”
Julie: “With him?! Fuck you!”
[Chuck has something of the mythos about him from being attacked by ghouls, but he doesn’t realize it. Suzanne sends him off to get Marie some ‘water’ so the rest of us have a moment to talk. Eventually, he comes back.]
Marie: “Oh, with cream and sugar – you remembered! Thank you!”
Marc: “I thought he was bringing her water.”
Kyn the GM: “When someone says ‘water’ to a Texan, they assume coffee. Or whiskey.”
Julie: “We have an understanding between us.”
[Suzanne snatched Marie’s painting away before it could do any damage and threw it out the window. But some things can’t be unseen.]
Suzanne: “Are you okay?
Simon: “Yeah.”
Kyn the GM: “She rolled 2%. Are you okay?”
Tony: “No.”
[Given that Marie and Simon will be posing as newlyweds, Marie wants to make sure no one has any problems with public displays of affection between unmarried people.]
Chuck Thompson: “I’m a personal believer in the oldest profession.”
Marie: “I’m not one of those.”
Chuck Thompson: “I’m not saying you were, ma’am. But you were, ma’am.”
[Simon decides to have a few drinks before we arrive. And by ‘a few,’ we mean ‘more than a few.’]
Suzanne: “Mr. Collins. Have you had enough?”
Simon: “I don’t know.”
Suzanne: “I must have given you the wrong impression – you’ve had enough.”
[Simon has more than a few drinks, which he’s been specifically told by his doctor not to do.]
Tony: “I have to have one session where I’m like, ‘I know better than the doctor.’ And then it’ll be, ‘I don’t know better than the doctor.’”
[Suzanne tries to get Simon back to the rest of us. She’s not gentle about it.]
Suzanne: “Mr. Collins, your wife is waiting for you.”
Simon: “I’m truly blessed.”
Suzanne: “Yes, Mr. Collins, you are blessed to be out here. You wouldn’t want to go back to your office, now would you?”
[It’s always good to know why things are going wrong.]
Marc: “Are you being fucked by circumstance again?”
Julie: “No, he’s being fucked by his inner demons.”
[Just as we’re about to arrive in town…]
Kyn the GM: *spills pasta sauce on Chuck Thompson’s character sheet*
Julie: “I think he’d appreciate that.”
Kyn the GM: “I’ll just have to kill him now.”
[We arrive in town.]
Kyn the GM: “Suzanne gets you a carriage to the hotel.”
Julie: “Is there more than one hotel in Smithville?”
Kyn the GM: “Well, there may be more than one, but there’s only one main…”
Julie: “There’s only one hotel that’s the hotel.”
[The newlyweds are given the honeymoon suite. Other ‘staff’ get different sleeping arrangements.]
Kyn the GM: “As your secretary, Suzanne has a small adjoining room to the bridal suite. Chuck has a spot in the commons downstairs.”
Tony: “I’m glad that the person protecting us is so far away.”
Kyn the GM: “Don’t worry – the person protecting you is right beside you.”
[We get a look at the honeymoon suite.]
Chuck Thompson: *whistles appreciatively* “This is mighty fine! And a mighty fine… one bed.”
[Simon and Marie prepare for bed.]
Julie: “She’s much more comfortable with the concept of nudity than you might expect. Both hers and yours.”
Tony: “And he’s like, ‘Oh, good, you’re not like everybody else.’”
[We are woken up bright and early the next day by Suzanne.]
Marie: “What time is it?”
Suzanne: “7:30, ma’am.”
Marie: “Why can none of you people wake up at a respectable hour?!”
Suzanne: “7:30 is a respectable hour, ma’am.”
Marie: (resigned) “My sister would agree with you.”
[Reflecting on Suzanne’s personality.]
Marie: “She’s very much like my sister. They would get along famously. And then you wouldn’t need a bureaucracy for anything – they’d just handle the entire city.”
[We have a quick meeting over breakfast to discuss what we know so far.]
Suzanne: “I did some research.”
Marie: “And what did you find?”
Suzanne: “Nothing. Absolutely nothing.”
Marie: “Does that mean there is nothing, or that it’s being covered up?”
Suzanne: “There’s never nothing.”
[We take a tour of Smithville.]
Kyn the GM: “It’s a port town that was built on trade. However, this close to the end of the war, it’s still a touchy subject as to what was traded. Let’s just call it… trade.”
[Over the course of the morning, Simon saw a spirit chained to the ground in the shantytown inhabited by Smithville’s former slaves. We inform Suzanne of our discovery over lunch.]
Simon: “Do we have a map of the city?”
Kyn the GM: “Suzanne gives you a look like, ‘Please.’”
Simon: “I know you have a map of the city. That was my way of asking you to take it out.”
[How to mess with Suzanne’s head, part 1.]
Simon: “More touring this afternoon, if your feet are up for it.”
Marie: “I can walk for a long time.”
Simon: “Are your feet up for it, off your feet?”
Suzanne: “Mr. Collins!”
Marie: “I believe he was speaking about a carriage ride. What were you insinuating?”
Suzanne: *blushes* “If you’ll excuse me…”
[We have a suspicion that there may be another spirit in the shopping district. Simon starts to get a bead on it…]
Kyn the GM: “The feeling is coming from a clothing boutique. The sort where the windows are blacked out.”
Julie: “The sort that under no circumstances should we as respectable people be seen entering?”
Kyn the GM: “Well, maybe a French demoiselle…”
[We enter the lingerie shop.]
Shopkeeper: “It’s so rare I get to meet someone from the Old Country!”
Julie: “Does she have a Parisian accent?”
Kyn the GM: “Cajun.”
[The shopkeeper is less impressed with Simon.]
Shopkeeper: “Which part of Louisiana?”
Simon: “Northern.”
Shopkeeper: “Shame. All the fun is in the south.”
Simon: “That’s why I like to go down south, my dear.”
[Marie has ‘insisted’ that Simon stay with her in the lingerie shop. We’re looking for spirits. But it’s so easy to get distracted sometimes…]
Kyn the GM: “You’re walking around like, “Damn, those are really nice… socks. Ahem. Yes, socks.’”
Simon: “These pants are mighty tight.”
[Simon comes face-to-face with another chained spirit and runs out of the shop. Marie follows him and pulls him into a side alley before anyone notices his plight.]
Julie: “I’m playing the whole act of, ‘I just came out of a lingerie shop with my new husband. I have to take him around the corner and away from prying eyes for a minute.’
Kyn the GM: “Ah, the French.”
[To avoid people realizing what’s really happening, Marie kisses Simon. Kinda passionately.]
Tony: *rolls 14 on persuasion to kiss*
Julie: *rolls 2 on persuasion to kiss*
Kyn the GM: “That’s a damn good kiss!”
Tony: “…Fuck Aegis! Let’s go back in the shop.”
[We consider the shop with the spirit.]
Kyn the GM: “On the other hand, she really did have some beautiful stockings.”
Julie: “I’m not made of stone.”
Tony: “I am now.”
Kyn the GM: “I think the correct response is, ‘That makes one of us.’”
[We managed to fool even a suspicious person who was looking at us with more than usual interest. Huzzah!]
Julie: “I did not expect to roll that well. Good job, dice. You’ll fail me at a critical moment later, but for now you’re doing quite well.”
[We suspect there may be spirits in a residential part of town and also in the docks. Which to go to first, though?]
Simon: “A lady as beautiful as yourself around the docks would...”
Marie: “Draw attention?”
Simon: “Cause trouble.”
Marie: “I think we’ve already caused trouble.”
Simon: “…Yes.”
[Before dinner, we inform Suzanne of what we saw.]
Simon: “It was another specter. The same as before. I turned the corner of a bookshelf and there it was.”
Suzanne: “The way I hear it, it wasn’t a bookshelf.”
Simon: (firmly) “Bookshelf.”
Suzanne: “…Very well.”
[Simon and Marie go for dinner.]
Julie: *fails credit rating roll*
Tony: *succeeds*
Julie: “It’s okay. We’ve already proven which of the two of us is the respectable one as far as the rest of the town is concerned. Clearly he married me for my looks. And the fact that I’m French.”
[Meanwhile, Chuck Thompson was out investigating the ghouls and bit off more than he could chew. Or, more to the point, they bit him.]
Suzanne: “The Doctor has assured us that this will counteract the ghoul’s infection.”
Julie: “Are you doing this just because you spilled stuff on Thompson’s sheet, Kyn?”
Kyn the GM: “Would I kill a character just because…”
Tony: “Yes.”
[Chuck’s ghoul hive consisted of two dozen of the creatures, apparently being controlled by someone.]
Marie: “What does one use ghouls for?”
Suzanne: “Muscle.”
Simon: “Body disposal, sometimes.”
[The next morning, Simon and Marie go on a tour of the town, ostensibly to buy some real estate but actually to hunt for more spirits.]
Marie: “Such flattery! If I wasn’t already married…”
Real Estate Agent: “Ma’am, I am a happily married… I am a married man.”
[Simon feels that there’s another spirit in the basement of one of the houses.]
Kyn the GM: “Gotta love this power – the only way for it to work is for you to go insane.”
Tony: “Nice.”
[The spirit is in the basement. We descend.]
Kyn the GM: “You’re psyched? You’re prepared?”
Tony: “Yes.”
Kyn the GM: *rolls* “…Wow, my dice really don’t like you.”
Tony: “It’s okay, neither do mine.”
[Simon has a bit of an episode and we go back to the hotel for him to rest. Meanwhile, Marie does some painting.]
Julie: “I set up my easel and paint.”
Kyn the GM: “Do you paint Simon?”
Julie: “No.”
Kyn the GM: “Don’t you want to know?”
Julie: “Nope! I know that he’s broken.”
[A little later in the afternoon, Simon and Marie open up a bit about their respective histories.]
Simon: “The first time for me was when my brother came back from the war. He told me he’d watch over me until his dying day. He was true to his word, and then some.”
[We prepare to go to the theatre, which many of the town notables will also be attending.]
Julie: “I don’t let him leave unless he looks good.”
Kyn the GM: “C’mon, do you really think Suzanne wouldn’t pack…”
Tony: “No, I just can’t dress myself very well.”
[Marie helps Simon get dressed.]
Kyn the GM: “You do look good. She is a model.”
Julie: “I’ve dressed many people over the years. Also undressed them. But dressed too!”
[We meet Mayor John Rackham and his wife Rachel.]
Mayor Rackham: “Ma’am, my pasture was very clear that I was to wag my finger at you.”
Marie: “You’re doing an excellent job of it, monsieur.”
Mayor Rackham: “Though personally, any woman who can make my pasture turn that shade of purple is a woman after my own heart.”
[Suzanne has prepared gifts for the mayor’s wife for us to give to her.]
Rachel Rackham: “These really are beautiful flowers. But I know everyone in this town. And I know you have an exceptional secretary. So I know it wasn’t you who picked these out.”
Marie: “Then you should know that she also got you these chocolates.”
Rachel Rackham: (delighted) “Oh, I was really hoping those were for me.”
[Our cover story for the last few days is that Simon is a notary and looking to move to Smithville. Mayor Rackham reveals that there is already a notary in town, though.]
Mayor Rackham: “The town’s current notary thinks throwing money at a problem will fix it.”
Simon: “No, that’s only halfway to the solution.”
[Simon does a very good job of convincing the mayor that he’d be a better notary than the one the town already has.]
Mayor Rackham: “Why, if you could do a tenth of what you just said…”
Simon: “Then I’d be a tenth of the man I claim to be, and a gentleman never claims to be what he is not.”
[Simon and the mayor are getting along quite well.]
Mayor Rackham: “Join us in our booth.”
Simon: “I would be honored. Let me find my wife.”
Mayor Rackham: “She’s right there, with my wife, heading towards our booth. That’s why I invited you – now I can make it seem like it was my idea.”
[Meanwhile…]
Mayor Rackham: “Mrs. Collins, are you trying to seduce my wife with chocolate?”
Rachel Rackham: “’Trying’?”
[We get the sense of the mayor and his wife.]
Kyn the GM: “The Mayor launches into a speech that’s so patriotic…”
Tony: “A bald eagle sprouts from his loins.”
[The evening comes to a close and we take our leave.]
Rachel Rackham: “I expect to hear horrible, scandalous rumors tomorrow.”
Simon: “Us?!”
Marie: “Perish the thought!”
Rachel Rackham: “Lovely!”
[When we get back to the hotel, Suzanne is waiting for us with some helpful advice, as always.]
Suzanne: “Make some noise tonight – there’s been gossip among the staff that you’re very quiet for a French demoiselle.”
[Simon is a bit embarrassed by Suzanne’s request.]
Marie: “So still all of a sudden!”
Simon: “Forgive me – it’s been a long while since I thought anything like that: a whole five hours.”
[On the topic of ‘making some noise…’]
Marie: “So the question before us is: are we making noise legitimately, or not.”
Simon: “I did not know that was the question. I just assumed we were smashing the bed against the wall or some such.”
Marie: “That is certainly one of the options.”
[Simon is a proper Southerner. Marie is not.]
Simon: “I don’t know what the right thing to do is. I apologize. I am out of my depths.”
Marie: “Well, I suppose smashing the bed against the wall it is.”
Kyn the GM: “Ooh! Missed opportunity!”
[We smash the bed against the wall a bit.]
Both: *roll well on persuade*
Kyn the GM: “So there’s moans, rickety bed…”
Tony: “If there are moans, then after a few minutes he’s like, ‘Well, if we’re making such an effort faking it, we might as well do the real thing and enjoy it.’”
[Marie and Simon decide to make some noise ‘legitimately’.]
Tony: “Fuck you, priority! Out the window! I tried to be civil!”
[More of the same.]
Tony: *rolls* “Fifteen.”
Julie: “For your performance?”
Tony: “Yeah. It’s like riding a bike.”
[The next morning…]
Marie: “We need to get dressed for lunch.”
Simon: “Dressed involves putting clothes on, doesn’t it?”
Marie: “Yes, unless you want to be quite a bit more shocking to the town than you have been up to now.”
[Simon goes down to the front desk of the hotel.]
Kyn the GM: “People are smiling at you.”
Tony: “I’m smiling back with the biggest, whitest teeth they have ever seen.”
[We arrive for lunch at the mayor’s house.]
Rachel Rackham: (to Marie) “I should really warn you: the bridal suite has thin walls.”
Mayor Rackham: (to Simon) “Good job, son.”
[Some pleasantries before lunch…]
Rachel Rackham: “I tried painting once.”
Marie: “Did you?”
Rachel Rackham: “When I say I tried, I mean there was this charming instructor…”
[The mayor is a true politicians.]
Mayor Rackham: “I don’t work with innuendo. I work with half-truths, quarter-truths, full-truths on rare occasion, and most importantly no-truths.”
[Marie asks to paint the town from the top of the clock tower. After some resistance, the mayor agrees, on the condition that Marie have a rope tied around her, that they wait one day so the area can be properly secured, and that Rachel’s manservant George be there to watch over her.]
Simon: “Is that a good idea, having a manservant guarding my wife instead of me?”
Rachel Rackham: “George, get in here!”
Kyn the GM: “A hulking black man enters, easily 400 pounds of nothing but muscle.”
Simon: “…I stand corrected.”
[The way you know that there are unfortunate plans afoot for your character.]
Rachel Rackham: “Don’t worry – George will only be there to ensure that if anything happens, he can pull on the rope and make sure you don’t fall. It is a very long fall.”
[While Mayor Rackham goes to work, Marie decides to paint a portrait of Rachel. In the process, she realizes that Rachel has something of the Mythos about her. Sadly, Rachel figures out that something is up.]
Kyn the GM: “I can’t believe you decided to paint her. Was that just on a lark?”
Julie: “Yeah. Just a lark. There was no ulterior motive behind it.”
Kyn the GM: “Damnit!”
[With our cover potentially blown, we leave and sneak out to the house where Chuck Thompson has been recuperating from his ghoul wounds. George is already there, watching the house from the shadows.]
Kyn the GM: “You reach the back door.”
Simon: *moves to open door*
Julie: “Wait. I’m looking for a tripwire or bells or something that would make noise if we open the door.”
Kyn the GM: “There is one. That was fast thinking.”
Julie: “I know how this works!”
[We remove the bells from the door. And then we realize it’s locked.]
Kyn the GM: “Roll locksmith.”
Tony: “I… can! I have 40% in locksmith!”
Kyn the GM: “Why would you have 40% in locksmith?!”
Tony: “I feel like some of really wealthy people might have been alleviated of some minor other items.”
[As we find Chuck, unconscious and bound, we are attacked by four ghouls.]
Simon: *kills two ghouls using five bullets*
Kyn the GM: “You only have one bullet left.”
Tony: “I know. I’m gonna make it count.”
[Things go poorly for Marie.]
Kyn the GM: “The ghoul has pinned you to the ground and is gnawing on your neck.”
Julie: “I’m gonna try to get my knife hand free. I’m gonna add 20 luck.”
Kyn the GM: “What’s your strength?”
Julie: “Nine. That’s why I’m adding luck.”
Kyn the GM: “…Good plan. Awesome choice, adding luck.”
[We finally gain the upper hand of the situation.]
Kyn the GM: “The one that’s left, who’s been shot… Ghouls are not known for their courage.”
[Marie has been bitten by a ghoul. Simon attempts to administer an antivenom.]
Marie: “We don’t even know what the dose is!”
Simon: “Do you want to risk it?”
Marie: “…No.”
Simon: “There you go, then.”
[Marie does first-aid on Simon and herself. Conveniently, she manages to heal all her own wounds.]
Julie: “Other than the poison, I’m doing okee-dokee.”
Kyn the GM: “You’re not poisoned – you made your roll.”
Julie: “So I’m just burning my veins for the hell of it? Good to know.”
[Chuck Thompson finally recovers from being cholorformed.]
Chuck Thompson: “How the hell did you two manage to screw this up so badly?”
Simon: “I don’t know, but if you don’t want us to screw it up more…”
[People finally realize something is up.]
Kyn the GM: “It’s the docks, there are bullets. People aren’t running towards them, they’re running away.”
Julie: “Good! They are smart people!”
[George has had enough of waiting for the ghouls and starts breaking down the frong door. We sneak out the back way.]
Kyn the GM: “George is not a smart man and he has no spot. You can lose him pretty easily.”
[One agent down and our cover blown, we plan our next move.]
Marie: “We need to find Madame Suzanne.”
Chuck Thompson: “She’s an agent of Aegis – she knows the drill. We’ll find her before they do anything too… We’ll find her.”
[Chuck arranges for us to stay overnight on board one of the boats in the hrbor.]
Simon: “Water is an excellent annulment of magical energies.”
Chuck Thompson: “Also, ghouls can’t swim.”
[The plan is still to get Marie to the clocktower so she can paint the town from a proper vantage point. There are other possibilities, however.]
Chuck Thompson: “There is another option.” *looks up*
Julie: “Where’s he looking?”
Kyn the GM: “Did I mention this is a sailing ship?”
[Marie prepares to climb the mast, disguised as a sailor.]
Simon: “Should I stay down here, then?”
Chuck Thompson: “Hell, no! She’s gonna be a pretty lady with pants on. You’re gonna make sure anyone who looks at her funny gets a bullet between the eyes.”
[Kyn the GM loses track of time at a critical moment.]
Kyn the GM: “I’m sorry, guys. I’m gonna have to call it.”
Julie: “But we’re so close!”
Kyn the GM: “We’re not even close.”
And that’s it for this week! Join us in a few days for the thrilling conclusion!
The cast of characters so far:
- Marie-Eve Vermeil, “The Painter” (played by Julie) – an artist from France who can paint the Eldritch patterns
- Simon Collins, “The Warden” (played by Tony) – a psychic from Louisiana; he sees dead people
- Kyn the GM
Setting: New York, 1883. Our Heroes (tm) are brand-new operatives for Aegis, a branch of the United States Government tasked with hunting down the things that go bump in the night.
[Picking up on some information from our prelude sessions. If nothing else, it shows the priorities of the organization.]
Kyn the GM: “People are starting to worry. Captain Faraday might be dead. Even Batu might be dead. Elizabeth… she’ll turn up.”
[Captain Faraday, Elizabeth, and Batu have been MIA for about six months.]
Julie: “Did anyone ever tell me why they went to India?”
Kyn the GM: “They tell you it’s classified. Which you’re coming to understand means, ‘We don’t know.’”
[Marie is greeted one day by a woman named Suzanne, who will be her new handler for Aegis.]
Marie: “Was there something I could do for you?”
Suzanne: “I was trying for small talk.”
Marie: “If you’ll forgive me, you don’t seem the sort.”
Suzanne: “True. But I figured this was the best way to make you comfortable around me.”
Marie: “…I see.”
[Suzanne is a very details-oriented, down-to-business sort of woman.]
Suzanne: “I came here to break the ice.”
Marie: “I appreciate that.”
Suzanne: “I think I’m failing.”
[Suzanne informs The Painter that her first mission will begin the next day.]
Julie: “I have no idea how long the trip’s gonna be. …Eh, I’m sure someone will deal with the packing.”
[The next day, Marie goes to check in at Aegis HQ.]
Kyn the GM: “Aegis is a sturdy government building.”
Julie: “This is why I don’t have apartments here. Sucks the creativity right out of you.”
[Kyn the GM gives some context for our organization.]
Kyn the GM: “Aegis receives all the newspapers from… everywhere. That’s 90% of Aegis: reading the newspaper for clues.”
Julie: “I’m glad I’m not them.”
[At HQ, Marie is greeted by a Texan named Chuck Thompson. He’s a man whose demeanor screams ‘Texan rancher.’]
Chuck Thompson: “You must be Miss Vermee… Vermail… Vermile…”
Marie: “Vermeil.”
Chuck Thompson: “…Can I call you Mary?”
Marie: “You may.”
[It’s morning. Everyone needs a pick-me-up.]
Chuck Thompson: “This is good Texan coffee!”
Kyn the GM: “It doesn’t pour. It sloops.”
[Mr. Thompson is also be one of our handlers. Which means he has certain questions.]
Chuck Thompson: “Miss Marie, how much trouble are you planning on being?”
Marie: “I’m not planning on being any trouble.”
Chuck Thompson: “Were you planning on being any trouble in Chicago?”
Marie: “…That was different.”
[In Aegis, it’s always important to be precise in your terms.]
Chuck Thompson: “The mission that picked you up involved only two people.”
Marie: “Two operatives, anyway.”
[Marie and Chuck discuss The Painter’s artwork.]
Chuck Thompson: “Is this some of that new-age painting I’ve heard about?”
Marie: “Yes.”
Chuck Thompson: “I don’t like that.”
Marie: “You’re not paid to like it.”
[Ah, the clash of personalities…]
Suzanne: “Shall we go, Mr. Thompson?”
Chuck Thompson: “Chuck! It’s Chuck!”
Suzanne: “Very well, Mr. Thompson.”
Chuck Thompson: “You’re breaking my heart.”
[Meanwhile, Tony’s character Simon Collins has been in an asylum for the past year.]
Doctor: “The way to get better is to acknowledge you have a problem.”
Simon: “I do have a problem: I’m mad as a hatter.”
[Simon learns he’s being released, and that one of Aegis’ agents has prepared clothing for him.]
Doctor: “From what I understand, this agent is very meticulous.”
Simon: (completely deadpan) “I would not expect anything less from an agent of our esteemed government.”
[Chuck and Suzanne pick Simon up from the asylum. They know… less about him than they’d like.]
Chuck Thompson: *opens file to reveal it’s completely redacted*
Simon: “Well, it seems to you know exactly what you need to know about me from this file.”
[More of the same.]
Suzanne: “What can you tell us about yourself?”
Simon: “I’m not going to make any of your lives difficult… intentionally.”
[Simon reveals that he can see the spirits of the dead.]
Suzanne: “So you’re a medium?”
Simon: “Yes.”
Chuck Thompson: “Shit. Those usually don’t last.”
[Simon also reveals that he’s schizophrenic.]
Simon: “Don’t we all have voices in our heads?”
Suzanne: “No.”
Simon: “Hmm… pity.”
[A few more revelations about Aegis’ new operative.]
Suzanne: (whispering) “Are you a magic user?”
Simon: (whispering) “Yes.”
Suzanne: “Master level?”
Simon: *laughs* “No. More on the level of idiot dabbler.”
[Simon and Marie meet each other for the first time. The players describe their characters.]
Julie: “Marie dresses in the sort of way you’d expect if you gave a starving artist a lot of money.”
[Simon and Marie exchange pleasantries.]
Simon: “Exactement.”
Marie: “Oh? You speak la belle langue?”
Simon: (hesitantly)“…Oui.”
[Simon looks at some of the artwork in Marie’s apartment.]
Simon: “I like the way you captured the emotion in that painting.”
Marie: “You should see some of my other work.”
Suzanne: *clears throat*
Marie: “…Or perhaps you shouldn’t.”
[Our mission will be to go to Smithville, North Carolina, to investigate some recent sightings of ghouls.]
Suzanne: “Ghouls are usually a symptom.”
Marie: “Of what?”
Suzanne: “Something else.”
[Kyn the GM gives a little more detail about the mission.]
Kyn the GM: “The mission will take about two weeks, if you don’t fuck up.”
Julie: “We’re first-time operatives. Of course we’re going to fuck up.”
[As we head down to North Carolina, we prepare our cover story.]
Suzanne: “Miss Marie, you get to choose: Mr. Thompson or Mr. Collins.”
Marie: “For what?”
Suzanne: “Your husband.”
Marie: (looks at The Warden) “…Darling!”
[Chuck is offended that Marie didn’t choose him to be her husband.]
Marie: “He speaks French.”
Chuck Thompson: “I speak French!”
Marie: “I’d love to hear that.”
Chuck Thompson: *attempts to open his mouth*
Suzanne: *covers Thompson’s mouth*
Simon: “There are some things our ears should not hear. I believe it’s a spell or a summons if he attempts to speak French.”
[We establish that Marie and Simon will be newlyweds, Suzanne will be our secretary, and Chuck will be our bodyguard.]
Chuck Thompson: “Why am I always the bodyguard?! For once, I’d like to be something other than the bodyguard!”
Marie: “Would you like to be the secretary?”
Chuck Thompson: “…I’ll be the bodyguard.”
[Poor Chuck still can’t get over things.]
Suzanne: “If she were your secretary, everyone would assume she was your mistress.”
Chuck Thompson: “…And?”
[How to mess with Mr. Thompson’s head, part 1.]
Chuck Thompson: “Blackbeard? Calico Jack?”
Marie: *shakes head*
Simon: “They hung out with Wyatt Earp and Doc Holiday.”
Chuck Thompson: *has an aneurism*
[Simon and Marie try to help with building the cover story. Which is a mistake.]
Marie: “When was the wedding?”
Simon: “I’m thinking July.”
Marie: “Fourteenth?”
Suzanne: “…But that isn’t what I wrote down.”
Kyn the GM: “You guys are trying to ruin her perfectly planned thing. Do not do that to this woman. She can’t handle change.”
[Suzanne gives Simon the choice of posing as a lawyer, and accountant, or a notary.]
Suzanne: “Mr. Thompson, look at Mr. Collins. No one would believe he is an accountant.”
Simon: “I am far too handsome to be an accountant.”
Julie: “What’s your appearance?”
Tony: “Completely average.”
[Chuck still hasn’t forgiven Marie for choosing Simon over him.]
Chuck Thompson: “I’d sweep her off her feet.”
Simon: “I’d love to see you try.”
Chuck Thompson: *makes what he thinks is a sultry expression and clicks tongue”
Simon: “I believe he is calling his horse.”
Chuck Thompson: “…I’m simply warming up.”
[Chuck tries harder, to ever more hilarious results.]
Chuck Thompson: “Obviously the French aren’t as romantic as they think they are. A good Texan girl would have been swept off her feet by now.”
Marie: (deadpan) “Clearly no one can hold a candle to the Texans.”
[Marie decides to paint Chuck making funny faces.]
Julie: *rolls 13 on painting*
Kyn the GM: “You fall into a trance.”
Julie: “With him?! Fuck you!”
[Chuck has something of the mythos about him from being attacked by ghouls, but he doesn’t realize it. Suzanne sends him off to get Marie some ‘water’ so the rest of us have a moment to talk. Eventually, he comes back.]
Marie: “Oh, with cream and sugar – you remembered! Thank you!”
Marc: “I thought he was bringing her water.”
Kyn the GM: “When someone says ‘water’ to a Texan, they assume coffee. Or whiskey.”
Julie: “We have an understanding between us.”
[Suzanne snatched Marie’s painting away before it could do any damage and threw it out the window. But some things can’t be unseen.]
Suzanne: “Are you okay?
Simon: “Yeah.”
Kyn the GM: “She rolled 2%. Are you okay?”
Tony: “No.”
[Given that Marie and Simon will be posing as newlyweds, Marie wants to make sure no one has any problems with public displays of affection between unmarried people.]
Chuck Thompson: “I’m a personal believer in the oldest profession.”
Marie: “I’m not one of those.”
Chuck Thompson: “I’m not saying you were, ma’am. But you were, ma’am.”
[Simon decides to have a few drinks before we arrive. And by ‘a few,’ we mean ‘more than a few.’]
Suzanne: “Mr. Collins. Have you had enough?”
Simon: “I don’t know.”
Suzanne: “I must have given you the wrong impression – you’ve had enough.”
[Simon has more than a few drinks, which he’s been specifically told by his doctor not to do.]
Tony: “I have to have one session where I’m like, ‘I know better than the doctor.’ And then it’ll be, ‘I don’t know better than the doctor.’”
[Suzanne tries to get Simon back to the rest of us. She’s not gentle about it.]
Suzanne: “Mr. Collins, your wife is waiting for you.”
Simon: “I’m truly blessed.”
Suzanne: “Yes, Mr. Collins, you are blessed to be out here. You wouldn’t want to go back to your office, now would you?”
[It’s always good to know why things are going wrong.]
Marc: “Are you being fucked by circumstance again?”
Julie: “No, he’s being fucked by his inner demons.”
[Just as we’re about to arrive in town…]
Kyn the GM: *spills pasta sauce on Chuck Thompson’s character sheet*
Julie: “I think he’d appreciate that.”
Kyn the GM: “I’ll just have to kill him now.”
[We arrive in town.]
Kyn the GM: “Suzanne gets you a carriage to the hotel.”
Julie: “Is there more than one hotel in Smithville?”
Kyn the GM: “Well, there may be more than one, but there’s only one main…”
Julie: “There’s only one hotel that’s the hotel.”
[The newlyweds are given the honeymoon suite. Other ‘staff’ get different sleeping arrangements.]
Kyn the GM: “As your secretary, Suzanne has a small adjoining room to the bridal suite. Chuck has a spot in the commons downstairs.”
Tony: “I’m glad that the person protecting us is so far away.”
Kyn the GM: “Don’t worry – the person protecting you is right beside you.”
[We get a look at the honeymoon suite.]
Chuck Thompson: *whistles appreciatively* “This is mighty fine! And a mighty fine… one bed.”
[Simon and Marie prepare for bed.]
Julie: “She’s much more comfortable with the concept of nudity than you might expect. Both hers and yours.”
Tony: “And he’s like, ‘Oh, good, you’re not like everybody else.’”
[We are woken up bright and early the next day by Suzanne.]
Marie: “What time is it?”
Suzanne: “7:30, ma’am.”
Marie: “Why can none of you people wake up at a respectable hour?!”
Suzanne: “7:30 is a respectable hour, ma’am.”
Marie: (resigned) “My sister would agree with you.”
[Reflecting on Suzanne’s personality.]
Marie: “She’s very much like my sister. They would get along famously. And then you wouldn’t need a bureaucracy for anything – they’d just handle the entire city.”
[We have a quick meeting over breakfast to discuss what we know so far.]
Suzanne: “I did some research.”
Marie: “And what did you find?”
Suzanne: “Nothing. Absolutely nothing.”
Marie: “Does that mean there is nothing, or that it’s being covered up?”
Suzanne: “There’s never nothing.”
[We take a tour of Smithville.]
Kyn the GM: “It’s a port town that was built on trade. However, this close to the end of the war, it’s still a touchy subject as to what was traded. Let’s just call it… trade.”
[Over the course of the morning, Simon saw a spirit chained to the ground in the shantytown inhabited by Smithville’s former slaves. We inform Suzanne of our discovery over lunch.]
Simon: “Do we have a map of the city?”
Kyn the GM: “Suzanne gives you a look like, ‘Please.’”
Simon: “I know you have a map of the city. That was my way of asking you to take it out.”
[How to mess with Suzanne’s head, part 1.]
Simon: “More touring this afternoon, if your feet are up for it.”
Marie: “I can walk for a long time.”
Simon: “Are your feet up for it, off your feet?”
Suzanne: “Mr. Collins!”
Marie: “I believe he was speaking about a carriage ride. What were you insinuating?”
Suzanne: *blushes* “If you’ll excuse me…”
[We have a suspicion that there may be another spirit in the shopping district. Simon starts to get a bead on it…]
Kyn the GM: “The feeling is coming from a clothing boutique. The sort where the windows are blacked out.”
Julie: “The sort that under no circumstances should we as respectable people be seen entering?”
Kyn the GM: “Well, maybe a French demoiselle…”
[We enter the lingerie shop.]
Shopkeeper: “It’s so rare I get to meet someone from the Old Country!”
Julie: “Does she have a Parisian accent?”
Kyn the GM: “Cajun.”
[The shopkeeper is less impressed with Simon.]
Shopkeeper: “Which part of Louisiana?”
Simon: “Northern.”
Shopkeeper: “Shame. All the fun is in the south.”
Simon: “That’s why I like to go down south, my dear.”
[Marie has ‘insisted’ that Simon stay with her in the lingerie shop. We’re looking for spirits. But it’s so easy to get distracted sometimes…]
Kyn the GM: “You’re walking around like, “Damn, those are really nice… socks. Ahem. Yes, socks.’”
Simon: “These pants are mighty tight.”
[Simon comes face-to-face with another chained spirit and runs out of the shop. Marie follows him and pulls him into a side alley before anyone notices his plight.]
Julie: “I’m playing the whole act of, ‘I just came out of a lingerie shop with my new husband. I have to take him around the corner and away from prying eyes for a minute.’
Kyn the GM: “Ah, the French.”
[To avoid people realizing what’s really happening, Marie kisses Simon. Kinda passionately.]
Tony: *rolls 14 on persuasion to kiss*
Julie: *rolls 2 on persuasion to kiss*
Kyn the GM: “That’s a damn good kiss!”
Tony: “…Fuck Aegis! Let’s go back in the shop.”
[We consider the shop with the spirit.]
Kyn the GM: “On the other hand, she really did have some beautiful stockings.”
Julie: “I’m not made of stone.”
Tony: “I am now.”
Kyn the GM: “I think the correct response is, ‘That makes one of us.’”
[We managed to fool even a suspicious person who was looking at us with more than usual interest. Huzzah!]
Julie: “I did not expect to roll that well. Good job, dice. You’ll fail me at a critical moment later, but for now you’re doing quite well.”
[We suspect there may be spirits in a residential part of town and also in the docks. Which to go to first, though?]
Simon: “A lady as beautiful as yourself around the docks would...”
Marie: “Draw attention?”
Simon: “Cause trouble.”
Marie: “I think we’ve already caused trouble.”
Simon: “…Yes.”
[Before dinner, we inform Suzanne of what we saw.]
Simon: “It was another specter. The same as before. I turned the corner of a bookshelf and there it was.”
Suzanne: “The way I hear it, it wasn’t a bookshelf.”
Simon: (firmly) “Bookshelf.”
Suzanne: “…Very well.”
[Simon and Marie go for dinner.]
Julie: *fails credit rating roll*
Tony: *succeeds*
Julie: “It’s okay. We’ve already proven which of the two of us is the respectable one as far as the rest of the town is concerned. Clearly he married me for my looks. And the fact that I’m French.”
[Meanwhile, Chuck Thompson was out investigating the ghouls and bit off more than he could chew. Or, more to the point, they bit him.]
Suzanne: “The Doctor has assured us that this will counteract the ghoul’s infection.”
Julie: “Are you doing this just because you spilled stuff on Thompson’s sheet, Kyn?”
Kyn the GM: “Would I kill a character just because…”
Tony: “Yes.”
[Chuck’s ghoul hive consisted of two dozen of the creatures, apparently being controlled by someone.]
Marie: “What does one use ghouls for?”
Suzanne: “Muscle.”
Simon: “Body disposal, sometimes.”
[The next morning, Simon and Marie go on a tour of the town, ostensibly to buy some real estate but actually to hunt for more spirits.]
Marie: “Such flattery! If I wasn’t already married…”
Real Estate Agent: “Ma’am, I am a happily married… I am a married man.”
[Simon feels that there’s another spirit in the basement of one of the houses.]
Kyn the GM: “Gotta love this power – the only way for it to work is for you to go insane.”
Tony: “Nice.”
[The spirit is in the basement. We descend.]
Kyn the GM: “You’re psyched? You’re prepared?”
Tony: “Yes.”
Kyn the GM: *rolls* “…Wow, my dice really don’t like you.”
Tony: “It’s okay, neither do mine.”
[Simon has a bit of an episode and we go back to the hotel for him to rest. Meanwhile, Marie does some painting.]
Julie: “I set up my easel and paint.”
Kyn the GM: “Do you paint Simon?”
Julie: “No.”
Kyn the GM: “Don’t you want to know?”
Julie: “Nope! I know that he’s broken.”
[A little later in the afternoon, Simon and Marie open up a bit about their respective histories.]
Simon: “The first time for me was when my brother came back from the war. He told me he’d watch over me until his dying day. He was true to his word, and then some.”
[We prepare to go to the theatre, which many of the town notables will also be attending.]
Julie: “I don’t let him leave unless he looks good.”
Kyn the GM: “C’mon, do you really think Suzanne wouldn’t pack…”
Tony: “No, I just can’t dress myself very well.”
[Marie helps Simon get dressed.]
Kyn the GM: “You do look good. She is a model.”
Julie: “I’ve dressed many people over the years. Also undressed them. But dressed too!”
[We meet Mayor John Rackham and his wife Rachel.]
Mayor Rackham: “Ma’am, my pasture was very clear that I was to wag my finger at you.”
Marie: “You’re doing an excellent job of it, monsieur.”
Mayor Rackham: “Though personally, any woman who can make my pasture turn that shade of purple is a woman after my own heart.”
[Suzanne has prepared gifts for the mayor’s wife for us to give to her.]
Rachel Rackham: “These really are beautiful flowers. But I know everyone in this town. And I know you have an exceptional secretary. So I know it wasn’t you who picked these out.”
Marie: “Then you should know that she also got you these chocolates.”
Rachel Rackham: (delighted) “Oh, I was really hoping those were for me.”
[Our cover story for the last few days is that Simon is a notary and looking to move to Smithville. Mayor Rackham reveals that there is already a notary in town, though.]
Mayor Rackham: “The town’s current notary thinks throwing money at a problem will fix it.”
Simon: “No, that’s only halfway to the solution.”
[Simon does a very good job of convincing the mayor that he’d be a better notary than the one the town already has.]
Mayor Rackham: “Why, if you could do a tenth of what you just said…”
Simon: “Then I’d be a tenth of the man I claim to be, and a gentleman never claims to be what he is not.”
[Simon and the mayor are getting along quite well.]
Mayor Rackham: “Join us in our booth.”
Simon: “I would be honored. Let me find my wife.”
Mayor Rackham: “She’s right there, with my wife, heading towards our booth. That’s why I invited you – now I can make it seem like it was my idea.”
[Meanwhile…]
Mayor Rackham: “Mrs. Collins, are you trying to seduce my wife with chocolate?”
Rachel Rackham: “’Trying’?”
[We get the sense of the mayor and his wife.]
Kyn the GM: “The Mayor launches into a speech that’s so patriotic…”
Tony: “A bald eagle sprouts from his loins.”
[The evening comes to a close and we take our leave.]
Rachel Rackham: “I expect to hear horrible, scandalous rumors tomorrow.”
Simon: “Us?!”
Marie: “Perish the thought!”
Rachel Rackham: “Lovely!”
[When we get back to the hotel, Suzanne is waiting for us with some helpful advice, as always.]
Suzanne: “Make some noise tonight – there’s been gossip among the staff that you’re very quiet for a French demoiselle.”
[Simon is a bit embarrassed by Suzanne’s request.]
Marie: “So still all of a sudden!”
Simon: “Forgive me – it’s been a long while since I thought anything like that: a whole five hours.”
[On the topic of ‘making some noise…’]
Marie: “So the question before us is: are we making noise legitimately, or not.”
Simon: “I did not know that was the question. I just assumed we were smashing the bed against the wall or some such.”
Marie: “That is certainly one of the options.”
[Simon is a proper Southerner. Marie is not.]
Simon: “I don’t know what the right thing to do is. I apologize. I am out of my depths.”
Marie: “Well, I suppose smashing the bed against the wall it is.”
Kyn the GM: “Ooh! Missed opportunity!”
[We smash the bed against the wall a bit.]
Both: *roll well on persuade*
Kyn the GM: “So there’s moans, rickety bed…”
Tony: “If there are moans, then after a few minutes he’s like, ‘Well, if we’re making such an effort faking it, we might as well do the real thing and enjoy it.’”
[Marie and Simon decide to make some noise ‘legitimately’.]
Tony: “Fuck you, priority! Out the window! I tried to be civil!”
[More of the same.]
Tony: *rolls* “Fifteen.”
Julie: “For your performance?”
Tony: “Yeah. It’s like riding a bike.”
[The next morning…]
Marie: “We need to get dressed for lunch.”
Simon: “Dressed involves putting clothes on, doesn’t it?”
Marie: “Yes, unless you want to be quite a bit more shocking to the town than you have been up to now.”
[Simon goes down to the front desk of the hotel.]
Kyn the GM: “People are smiling at you.”
Tony: “I’m smiling back with the biggest, whitest teeth they have ever seen.”
[We arrive for lunch at the mayor’s house.]
Rachel Rackham: (to Marie) “I should really warn you: the bridal suite has thin walls.”
Mayor Rackham: (to Simon) “Good job, son.”
[Some pleasantries before lunch…]
Rachel Rackham: “I tried painting once.”
Marie: “Did you?”
Rachel Rackham: “When I say I tried, I mean there was this charming instructor…”
[The mayor is a true politicians.]
Mayor Rackham: “I don’t work with innuendo. I work with half-truths, quarter-truths, full-truths on rare occasion, and most importantly no-truths.”
[Marie asks to paint the town from the top of the clock tower. After some resistance, the mayor agrees, on the condition that Marie have a rope tied around her, that they wait one day so the area can be properly secured, and that Rachel’s manservant George be there to watch over her.]
Simon: “Is that a good idea, having a manservant guarding my wife instead of me?”
Rachel Rackham: “George, get in here!”
Kyn the GM: “A hulking black man enters, easily 400 pounds of nothing but muscle.”
Simon: “…I stand corrected.”
[The way you know that there are unfortunate plans afoot for your character.]
Rachel Rackham: “Don’t worry – George will only be there to ensure that if anything happens, he can pull on the rope and make sure you don’t fall. It is a very long fall.”
[While Mayor Rackham goes to work, Marie decides to paint a portrait of Rachel. In the process, she realizes that Rachel has something of the Mythos about her. Sadly, Rachel figures out that something is up.]
Kyn the GM: “I can’t believe you decided to paint her. Was that just on a lark?”
Julie: “Yeah. Just a lark. There was no ulterior motive behind it.”
Kyn the GM: “Damnit!”
[With our cover potentially blown, we leave and sneak out to the house where Chuck Thompson has been recuperating from his ghoul wounds. George is already there, watching the house from the shadows.]
Kyn the GM: “You reach the back door.”
Simon: *moves to open door*
Julie: “Wait. I’m looking for a tripwire or bells or something that would make noise if we open the door.”
Kyn the GM: “There is one. That was fast thinking.”
Julie: “I know how this works!”
[We remove the bells from the door. And then we realize it’s locked.]
Kyn the GM: “Roll locksmith.”
Tony: “I… can! I have 40% in locksmith!”
Kyn the GM: “Why would you have 40% in locksmith?!”
Tony: “I feel like some of really wealthy people might have been alleviated of some minor other items.”
[As we find Chuck, unconscious and bound, we are attacked by four ghouls.]
Simon: *kills two ghouls using five bullets*
Kyn the GM: “You only have one bullet left.”
Tony: “I know. I’m gonna make it count.”
[Things go poorly for Marie.]
Kyn the GM: “The ghoul has pinned you to the ground and is gnawing on your neck.”
Julie: “I’m gonna try to get my knife hand free. I’m gonna add 20 luck.”
Kyn the GM: “What’s your strength?”
Julie: “Nine. That’s why I’m adding luck.”
Kyn the GM: “…Good plan. Awesome choice, adding luck.”
[We finally gain the upper hand of the situation.]
Kyn the GM: “The one that’s left, who’s been shot… Ghouls are not known for their courage.”
[Marie has been bitten by a ghoul. Simon attempts to administer an antivenom.]
Marie: “We don’t even know what the dose is!”
Simon: “Do you want to risk it?”
Marie: “…No.”
Simon: “There you go, then.”
[Marie does first-aid on Simon and herself. Conveniently, she manages to heal all her own wounds.]
Julie: “Other than the poison, I’m doing okee-dokee.”
Kyn the GM: “You’re not poisoned – you made your roll.”
Julie: “So I’m just burning my veins for the hell of it? Good to know.”
[Chuck Thompson finally recovers from being cholorformed.]
Chuck Thompson: “How the hell did you two manage to screw this up so badly?”
Simon: “I don’t know, but if you don’t want us to screw it up more…”
[People finally realize something is up.]
Kyn the GM: “It’s the docks, there are bullets. People aren’t running towards them, they’re running away.”
Julie: “Good! They are smart people!”
[George has had enough of waiting for the ghouls and starts breaking down the frong door. We sneak out the back way.]
Kyn the GM: “George is not a smart man and he has no spot. You can lose him pretty easily.”
[One agent down and our cover blown, we plan our next move.]
Marie: “We need to find Madame Suzanne.”
Chuck Thompson: “She’s an agent of Aegis – she knows the drill. We’ll find her before they do anything too… We’ll find her.”
[Chuck arranges for us to stay overnight on board one of the boats in the hrbor.]
Simon: “Water is an excellent annulment of magical energies.”
Chuck Thompson: “Also, ghouls can’t swim.”
[The plan is still to get Marie to the clocktower so she can paint the town from a proper vantage point. There are other possibilities, however.]
Chuck Thompson: “There is another option.” *looks up*
Julie: “Where’s he looking?”
Kyn the GM: “Did I mention this is a sailing ship?”
[Marie prepares to climb the mast, disguised as a sailor.]
Simon: “Should I stay down here, then?”
Chuck Thompson: “Hell, no! She’s gonna be a pretty lady with pants on. You’re gonna make sure anyone who looks at her funny gets a bullet between the eyes.”
[Kyn the GM loses track of time at a critical moment.]
Kyn the GM: “I’m sorry, guys. I’m gonna have to call it.”
Julie: “But we’re so close!”
Kyn the GM: “We’re not even close.”
And that’s it for this week! Join us in a few days for the thrilling conclusion!
