Bay 12 Games Forum

Please login or register.

Login with username, password and session length
Advanced search  
Pages: 1 ... 16 17 [18] 19 20 21

Author Topic: The Far West-Ch.1/Light for Some-others, A Deeper Darkness (Game thread)  (Read 22288 times)

Dwarmin

  • Bay Watcher
  • Where do we go from here?
    • View Profile
Re: The Far West-Ch.1/Light for Some-others, A Deeper Darkness (Game thread)
« Reply #255 on: September 27, 2015, 02:41:27 pm »

"Hm," Immanuel Jade continues to nod, steepling his fingers. "I must see. Excuse me."

Action: Immanuel Jade examines the locked door carefully, scanning for unusual patterns that he can discern. How is this door not like any other?

And once headway or at least an examination is made, how is the broken stairwell like this locked door, and unlike a broken stairwell? Immanuel Jade thinks on this a while.


Hmm.

Immanuel decides the door isn't actually a door. He's in the door. The door is only place that's safe...relatively speaking, of course. This place you in is a small space between the walls, for the rats to hide in, and gnaw at the wires.

Hiding from what?

Cats, of course.

...

The broken stairwell is just a hole in the wall, that lets you crawl out and search for crumbs...though, according to your new friends at least, it just leads into a pipe-that will always loop you right back around to where you started. Unless you find another hole, into another pipe. Or, maybe into the den.

It occurs to him that this place is very dangerous for the curious.

Being that Tir has spotty internet at the best of times, Hiraya will help Vic patch the dog up.

"I don't know some help would be appreciated."
Spoiler: OOC! (click to show/hide)
[/me]



Doublepost!

"Strange seeing such a creature here. Suppose it knows the place or something? I'll take care of it from here." It needs a friend. He, I think?

Do the bandaging and the taking care of, and also wonder what it may have been doing in such a location--as with other clues (like that collar and its age, and its breed or commonality to the area)

?

Dirty work. Mending wounds. Hiraya goes about the difficult task with calm efficiency, Vic meditates on how a single half pound of pressure on a trigger did so much damage, Wen-Li tries not to be sick, and Sal hover with a drawn gun like the proverbial angel of death, every sound of pain from the poor animal strumming his overwrought nerves.

...

The Dog lives, though. In case you were wondering. It's tough to kill any animal that wants to live.

Bandaged heavily, likely will limp through the rest of it's scant years of remaining life, no doubt. But the bullet is gone like a bad dream, the wound cleaned, and disinfected. It will live...at least, if it gets something to eat and drink. And maybe a trip to the vet.

...

Hiraya thinks the old hound is over the hill-probably more than ten years old, a family dog, well taken care of...until recently, anyway. It's overgrown fur is at least a summers length and more. She can't determine it's breed, and it likely has none-a common dog, is all. The crude collar is a worked strip of rawhide, likely a castoff-a Childs small, nimble hand likely made the bold, wide cutmarks that spell the dogs name-'Xìngyùn'. Lucky.

As to why it is in the area, no doubt it belonged to the family that occupied the farm house. Any answers may be there, if one dares to look.
« Last Edit: September 27, 2015, 02:57:28 pm by Dwarmin »
Logged
Dwarmin's fell gaze has fallen upon you. Sadly, Your life and your quest end here, at this sig.

"The hats never coming off."

SeriousConcentrate

  • Bay Watcher
  • The Hollow Street Hero
    • View Profile
Re: The Far West-Ch.1/Light for Some-others, A Deeper Darkness (Game thread)
« Reply #256 on: September 27, 2015, 03:04:10 pm »

"Maybe we can find food or at least water out that way. Come on, Lucky." She picked up the dog - somewhat awkwardly, but she didn't want to force the creature to be walking on a fresh wound - and looped the stump of her arm through her horse's reins. "I'm going to go check it out. If you want to come with, feel free; otherwise, maybe we'll meet again in Sevenforks.

Vic goes to look around the farmhouse and the surrounding area.
Logged
SerCon Shorts: This Is How You Do It - Twenty-three one minute or less videos of random stupidity in AC:U, Bloodborne, DS2:SotFS, Salt & Sanctuary, and The Witcher 3.

GiglameshDespair

  • Bay Watcher
  • Beware! Once I have posted, your thread is doomed!
    • View Profile
Re: The Far West-Ch.1/Light for Some-others, A Deeper Darkness (Game thread)
« Reply #257 on: September 27, 2015, 03:50:52 pm »

"If it means we're likely to find something to drink, we might as well. You can get out the sun for a while, as well."

The bard was, of course, always out of the sun, thanks to her parasol, but she was being considerate.
Logged
Old and cringe account. Disregard.

Harry Baldman

  • Bay Watcher
  • What do I care for your suffering?
    • View Profile
Re: The Far West-Ch.1/Light for Some-others, A Deeper Darkness (Game thread)
« Reply #258 on: September 28, 2015, 04:14:02 am »

"Soon," Immanuel Jade says in a hopeful tone, turning away from the stairwell.

Action: Immanuel Jade takes a closer look at the drunk soldiers placed in cells. How are they like the door, and not like drunk soldiers at all?
« Last Edit: September 28, 2015, 05:12:33 am by Harry Baldman »
Logged

Dwarmin

  • Bay Watcher
  • Where do we go from here?
    • View Profile
Re: The Far West-Ch.1/Light for Some-others, A Deeper Darkness (Game thread)
« Reply #259 on: September 28, 2015, 09:29:06 am »

"Soon," Immanuel Jade says in a hopeful tone, turning away from the stairwell.

Action: Immanuel Jade takes a closer look at the drunk soldiers placed in cells. How are they like the door, and not like drunk soldiers at all?

Well, these doors actually are doors-the barriers here are purely physical to you...and yet, you wonder exactly how real they are. If you learned the secrets of this place, could you step through the walls?

And, if you learned to subvert this reality, perhaps you could learn to do the same to the 'outside' world. Though you suspect your captors have not yet grasped the entirety of the existence they know is just another rusty pipe, churning away in the grand works of creation.

...

And, insofar as drunks are concerned, they exist as well. At least as much as you exist. They snore, they breath, they mumble in their sleep. You can't quite make out what it is they are saying-you'd have to get closer, which could be awkward-but, both of them seem to speaking in numbers. How odd.

"Maybe we can find food or at least water out that way. Come on, Lucky." She picked up the dog - somewhat awkwardly, but she didn't want to force the creature to be walking on a fresh wound - and looped the stump of her arm through her horse's reins. "I'm going to go check it out. If you want to come with, feel free; otherwise, maybe we'll meet again in Sevenforks.

Vic goes to look around the farmhouse and the surrounding area.

~

Vic begins her search by finding the water pump-a bit rusty, but a little elbow strength sends clear, cold water flowing into an old, cracked bowl. You place Lucky down gently, and he begins to drink. Leaving you free to explore...

...

You find surprisingly little, at least to your untrained eye. You discover no signs of violence and few clues to the fate of the people that lived here. The Barn, once filled with hay for animals, now lies fallow. The small stables and pens have been knocked flat, as if the livestock fled out of fear, or desperate hunger and thirst. You innocently lay a hand on a sad little doghouse, and the entire thing falls over into the dust with a rotten *clump*.

Lucky stares at you from the distance, and you can't help but feel a bit guilty.

What else you find is...discomforting. Tools seem to have been dropped where they lay, jobs abandoned right in the middle-you find a pitchfork roughly thrown to the ground, a half bale of dusty hay in one corner, never to be finished baling. A hammer and a spread of rusted nails lying on the ground, creating a yellow shadow of dead grass underneath-below a window shutter that won't be repaired any time soon. A small crack in the cellar bulkhead, a can of sealing wax laying empty on it's side, never filled in-the cracked widened and split-water has trickled down over the summer, and the basement smells dense and humid with old, brackish water, and a plenitude of rotted vegetables in neatly lined glass jars. You even find plates, cups and silverware (It was decent silverware, you note-the sort one lays out when expecting company) laid out on the table as if someone was eating, but any food is long rotten, or gone to the local animals.

Most surprising is the place hasn't been looted yet. The farmhouse has four rooms on the second floor, and a combination dining and living room taking up the entirety of the first. There are many things even the least callous of men might take for a gift-old clocks, fine brick-a-brack, a few good iron tools not gone entirely to rust. Of the bedrooms, only three were occupied. One was a childs room, surely, and the other the adults-the third, seems like a guest room. It seems less comfortable, but more finely furnished, as if in the expectation of guests. The fourth is entirely empty, except for some old bones scattered on the floor-looks sort of like prairie chicken bones to you, though much larger than you would have expected.

You may choose to search any of these rooms more closely, but at some point the words 'ransack' and 'robbing the dead' start bubbling up in your mind. Not, of course, that they are dead...
Logged
Dwarmin's fell gaze has fallen upon you. Sadly, Your life and your quest end here, at this sig.

"The hats never coming off."

Harry Baldman

  • Bay Watcher
  • What do I care for your suffering?
    • View Profile
Re: The Far West-Ch.1/Light for Some-others, A Deeper Darkness (Game thread)
« Reply #260 on: September 28, 2015, 09:39:01 am »

Action: always in need of good company, Immanuel Jade listens carefully to the soldiers, stepping closer. What are these numbers? Listen to them. How are they like other numbers, and what are the dissimilarities?
Logged

GiglameshDespair

  • Bay Watcher
  • Beware! Once I have posted, your thread is doomed!
    • View Profile
Re: The Far West-Ch.1/Light for Some-others, A Deeper Darkness (Game thread)
« Reply #261 on: September 28, 2015, 10:00:29 am »

"I wonder what happened here... I doubt anything good."

Wen-Li cupped her hand under the tap, catching some water and turning away from the others to lift up her mask enough to take a sip. The horses were probably thirsty, so Wen-Li fetched a large pot from the kitchen and filled that, leaving it near the animals.

That done, she ventured back into the farmhouse. Out of curiosity, she poked around in the adult's room. Perhaps there was some hint of why this place was so abandoned...
Logged
Old and cringe account. Disregard.

Dwarmin

  • Bay Watcher
  • Where do we go from here?
    • View Profile
Re: The Far West-Ch.1/Light for Some-others, A Deeper Darkness (Game thread)
« Reply #262 on: September 28, 2015, 10:43:21 am »

Action: always in need of good company, Immanuel Jade listens carefully to the soldiers, stepping closer. What are these numbers? Listen to them. How are they like other numbers, and what are the dissimilarities?

You lean against the door, much to the consternation of your jailers, and listen. The dreamer mutters an endless stream of ones and zeroes, just under his breath.

...01001001011100110110010101100101011110010110111101110101010010010111001101100101 011001010111100101101111011101010100100101110011011001010110010101111001011011110111010100100000...

"I wonder what happened here... I doubt anything good."

Wen-Li cupped her hand under the tap, catching some water and turning away from the others to lift up her mask enough to take a sip. The horses were probably thirsty, so Wen-Li fetched a large pot from the kitchen and filled that, leaving it near the animals.

That done, she ventured back into the farmhouse. Out of curiosity, she poked around in the adult's room. Perhaps there was some hint of why this place was so abandoned...

~

Wen-Li's eyes are sharper, even behind her many masks-she notes the subtle lines where the wallpaper was recently peeled away in a square, then rolled back to cover something. She also notes marks of violence that Sal missed-mostly because they are not directed in anyone place, but scattered around the room, not unlike a short tempered man would throw a fist against a wall or a table in frustration.

She brushes the wallpaper away (yellow wallpaper with white flowers, honestly-sort of ugly) and notes the stolid iron face of a small vault, built right into the wall. It's only slightly touched by rust. An experimental tug reveal it's locked, and solidly sunk into the wall. There is a small display of numbers-behind-glass on it's face-approximately eight digits long, and operated by round, flat dials. A flat red, solid steel button to the far left no doubt spins all the tumblers back to a resting position.

The readout currently stands at...

Quote
00000000

Being fairly learned at math, you deduce there are 208827064576 potential solutions to the code. So randomly guessing might not be the best way to open it...
Logged
Dwarmin's fell gaze has fallen upon you. Sadly, Your life and your quest end here, at this sig.

"The hats never coming off."

GiglameshDespair

  • Bay Watcher
  • Beware! Once I have posted, your thread is doomed!
    • View Profile
Re: The Far West-Ch.1/Light for Some-others, A Deeper Darkness (Game thread)
« Reply #263 on: September 28, 2015, 11:48:50 am »

"Hey, a safe. I guess someone else wasn't able to find the passcode, either." She stroekd her masked chin in thought. "We have two options here. Well, three, but I'm intrigued now. We can search the rest of the house and see if we can find anything. I can attempt to crack it myself. Or we can give up and keep moving."

In a way, a combination like this was much easier than a lock. She didn't know how to pick a lock, but she remembered a conversation with her sister. Apparently, with a good ear - and that was something Wen-Li had, for sure - each number would make a louder click on the correct number. Do it for each, and well - safe cracked. Thinking about it, it was done in the story Two-razor Jack and the Furies' Heart, when he had to crack the safe in the cathouse. That was one story she'd learned that she hadn't told her sister.
Logged
Old and cringe account. Disregard.

Dwarmin

  • Bay Watcher
  • Where do we go from here?
    • View Profile
Re: The Far West-Ch.1/Light for Some-others, A Deeper Darkness (Game thread)
« Reply #264 on: September 28, 2015, 12:29:46 pm »

Her long lost (So long lost, o Woe, o Discordia) sisters voice runs out of the past and speaks to her-the ordinary ghosts we all deal with, as our life persists and our losses accumulate. She remembers well her sister was animated and lively, despite her ailments. Though, she had a tendency to put herself down, was (in her hidden heart, perhaps) shamed of thinking herself such a burden. Had she more time, she would have no doubt become a storyteller in her own right...a little more time...

"...I forgot the numbers, We-li. (Sic) A brain full of jelly, just like my legs... (heel of her left hand lightly smacking her forehead. She had small, nimble hands-a shame she never had a chance to put an instrument in them.)

...But, I remembered your story... (A snap of the fingers)...about the house with the pretty cats, and Jack O' Two Razors. I took Dads hear-heart*, (miming picking up a thing carefully) and I put it against the safe, and I listened real close (she acts this out perfectly, a born dramatist). I could hear it, click-click-clickety~click! I just listened for the heartbeats in the metal...and it opened! (Both hands spread wide, here) I'm so dumb...it was just one-two-three-four... (Head buried in her hands)...Still, I got what you wanted. (She handed you something you had wanted. What was it? The memory is yellow around the edges, like a burnt photograph...but you remember a bright, hopeful smile and an infectious laugh, one that could shake your even then, dour nature. She was so young...)"


*A stethoscope
Logged
Dwarmin's fell gaze has fallen upon you. Sadly, Your life and your quest end here, at this sig.

"The hats never coming off."

Harry Baldman

  • Bay Watcher
  • What do I care for your suffering?
    • View Profile
Re: The Far West-Ch.1/Light for Some-others, A Deeper Darkness (Game thread)
« Reply #265 on: September 28, 2015, 01:23:48 pm »

Action: Immanuel Jade listens for a while, nodding carefully. He checks if both are speaking in unison, and what are the differences if they are not.
Logged

SeriousConcentrate

  • Bay Watcher
  • The Hollow Street Hero
    • View Profile
Re: The Far West-Ch.1/Light for Some-others, A Deeper Darkness (Game thread)
« Reply #266 on: September 28, 2015, 01:27:38 pm »

"I'm no good with safes, though if you want to try to crack it I'll wait for you." Vic went back outside and gave Lucky a few reassuring pats and ear-scratches and back-scratches. With the Young Man dead, there really wasn't that much of a rush to get to Sevenforks. "So, how about it boy? Anything you want to show us around here?"

Pet the dog. Observe the dog to see if it goes anywhere in particular around the farm grounds.
Logged
SerCon Shorts: This Is How You Do It - Twenty-three one minute or less videos of random stupidity in AC:U, Bloodborne, DS2:SotFS, Salt & Sanctuary, and The Witcher 3.

Dwarmin

  • Bay Watcher
  • Where do we go from here?
    • View Profile
Re: The Far West-Ch.1/Light for Some-others, A Deeper Darkness (Game thread)
« Reply #267 on: September 28, 2015, 01:33:16 pm »

Lucky doesn't seem to want to move much, but eventually he finishes drinking, and limps under the front porch of the house to lay down in the shade. Probably the only place he feels safe, anymore-there's a bit of space underneath.
Logged
Dwarmin's fell gaze has fallen upon you. Sadly, Your life and your quest end here, at this sig.

"The hats never coming off."

SeriousConcentrate

  • Bay Watcher
  • The Hollow Street Hero
    • View Profile
Re: The Far West-Ch.1/Light for Some-others, A Deeper Darkness (Game thread)
« Reply #268 on: September 28, 2015, 01:36:14 pm »

Vic crawls under the porch, too. Maybe there's something under there other than a wounded dog and an old idiot bounty hunter.
Logged
SerCon Shorts: This Is How You Do It - Twenty-three one minute or less videos of random stupidity in AC:U, Bloodborne, DS2:SotFS, Salt & Sanctuary, and The Witcher 3.

Dwarmin

  • Bay Watcher
  • Where do we go from here?
    • View Profile
Re: The Far West-Ch.1/Light for Some-others, A Deeper Darkness (Game thread)
« Reply #269 on: September 28, 2015, 02:09:38 pm »

Action: Immanuel Jade listens for a while, nodding carefully. He checks if both are speaking in unison, and what are the differences if they are not.

Immanuel Jade notes with some interest that he is completely unable to tell if they are speaking in unison, being they are in different sides of the room-and, in any case they both seem to repeating the same numbers over and over. He discerns no pattern. Perhaps he is not yet evolved enough.

Vic crawls under the porch, too. Maybe there's something under there other than a wounded dog and an old idiot bounty hunter.

Lucky licks your face as you crawl under the porch with him, feeling more than a bit foolish. The old hound seems to be happy you're here, though. His tail beats a steady drum on the ground.

A rudimentary search shows more of those overlarge bones you saw, scattered around, a few canine chew toys-corn husks, tough leather knots, old rubber balls and the like.

Deep in the dust, however, you find something of interest...It's about the worst thing you could have ever hoped to find.

You know what it is.

It looks a bit like a lumpy can of beans, but with a bowl shaped nozzle on one end, and triangular lightning bolt marks on the sides, the insignia that is common in imperial weaponry. You're careful not to touch it, though if it was active you'd already be...well, dead is one thing, this is considered worse. You can only guess that it was from an old battle-poor Lucky dug it up, brought it to the house...and it did for everyone in the immediate area, surely.

The War had a lot of terrible weapons, used on both sides-this one, you recall, was Orinost in design originally...though the Empire used them as well, near the end. They called it a Yí wèi Zhàdàn, or just 'Yiwis'. A shapeshifter bomb. They would lob them into the lines and trenches, or plant them as traps..the deadly force of it's explosion completely invisible...you couldn't see the end coming, it was enough to really freak you out if you thought about it...well, these sorts of bombs didn't kill men directly-it changed them. Tore their flesh apart, and turned them into...monsters. Flesh eating monsters. They hunted other men. Not particular to any side, civilian, or military. They wouldn't stop. Until they were killed. You only saw it once or twice yourself...

A queer whistling, a hollow thump. Men would laugh. A dud bomb. Then, the nosebleeds, and the confusion, the panic. Then, the screaming would start...then the sounds of voices becoming not quite human...then, the sounds of them coming for you...

Lucky angles his head at you, confused at the emotions on your face. You always thought it was odd, the bomb never affected animals. Only humans.
« Last Edit: September 28, 2015, 02:12:37 pm by Dwarmin »
Logged
Dwarmin's fell gaze has fallen upon you. Sadly, Your life and your quest end here, at this sig.

"The hats never coming off."
Pages: 1 ... 16 17 [18] 19 20 21