"Come on, it's just a bunch of thorns. You were a soldier, weren't you? Stop being so cautious and be a man."
Help Alexander remove the thorns. As soon as they're off the trapdoor, open it and enter.
Name: Guile
Appearance: Guile Backstory: A former United States Air Force major who was forced to retire after uncovering deep corruption within the organization. He's since dedicated himself to exposing corruption and taking down criminal syndicates--which has left him with a staggering number of both allies and enemies, though even his enemies tend to have a healthy respect for his ruthless dedication and merciful nature. Recently, his family was murdered gruesomely
because syvarris doesn't want to bother with them because he had called police on several high-ranking members of an occult organization (after beating them senseless, as Guile is wont to do). Ever since he has been singlemindedly pursuing any hint of the occult, as a personal vendetta, which has left him homeless, penniless, and inventory-less. Of course, Guile has never needed anything more than his fists to fight the good fight.
Physical stats:Strength: d12 (+)
Dexterity: d6
Speed: d8
Endurance: d8
Awareness: d6
Guile: d12
Knowledge: d4
Willpower: d6
Occult stats:Corruption: 0
Madness: 0
Favor: 1-1=0
World Stats:Connections: d12
Possessions: 0
Money: 0
Standing: d12Inventory: His sonic fists are all he needs!
"Soldier or not, I'd like to be able to actually hold this shotgun when we go down there. It would help if you, you know, helped."
Nothing much to do but keep at it.
Name: Alexander Sill
Appearance: A well-built man in his late thirties, who walks with a slight limp.
Backstory: A career soldier, though that career was brought to an abrupt end after the invasion of Grenada left him discharged with a shiny medal and a leg wound which will probably never fully heal. Since then he has struggled along, through a series of short-lived, dead-end jobs, searching for a new purpose in life. He now seems to have found one.
Physical stats:
Strength: d10
Dexterity: d8
Speed: d6
Endurance: d12
Awareness: d8
Guile: d6
Knowledge: d6
Willpower: d6
Occult stats:
Corruption: 0
Madness: 0
Favour: 0
World Stats:
Connections: d8
Possessions: d6
Money: d6
Standing: d8
Inventory:
Murphy's Shotgun (Remington 870, shortened barrel, pistol grip; loaded), pocketfull of shells.
Toolbox (wrench, pliers, jeweler's saw, tire iron)
Kaiser Jeep M715 (dark blue)
$497 cash
"Not everything is about macho-ness, Guile," Alexis said as she rolled her eyes. "Those thorns look painful anyway."
Grabbing a stick or some other long object, Alexis will help the others remove the thorns and open the hatch.
Name: Alexis Ledbetter Cromwald
Appearance: Early thirties. Comely appearance and figure. Back-length curly blond hair. Coppery eyes. Wears an apron with pockets on the front.
Backstory: A former teacher who is the housewife of a domineering businessman, Alexis oftentimes fantasized about dealing with her husband Michael in brutal but creative ways. However, murder is social suicide in the age of improved forensics and profiling and divorce is out of the question as her husband provides her 'income' in the form of allowances. However, her chance encounter with the darkest mysteries of the world may very well give Alexis the power she craves... or it could send her plunging into a fate much worse than slaving to her idiotic brute of a husband.
Physical stats:
Strength: d4
Dexterity: d8
Speed: d6
Endurance: d6
Awareness: d8
Guile: d12
Knowledge: d10
Willpower: d6
Occult stats:
Corruption: 0
Madness: 0
Favor: 1
World Stats:
Connections: d10
Possessions: d6
Money: d4
Standing: d8
Inventory:
$129
Purse
The three of you together, using the saw and fallen tree branches manage to cut or pry or shove enough of the plant away to expose the hatch. You all get a bit bloodied in the process, but the injuries are nothing beyond stinging and annoying. Guile steps in to open the hatch while Alexis and Alex hold the thorny branches back. The hatch doesn't come easily; the hinges are badly rusted and practically solid at this point. Once Guile does manage to brute force the thing open it breaks one of the hinges and tears the other one free from the wood. He looks at the broken hatch, now detached and in his hand, with annoyance before tossing it aside. He lowers himself down to his belly and sticks his head into the hole, looking around. Its totally dark inside, cool, damp and smells like standing water and mud. From the dying sunlight above, he can see the ground beneath the hole, about 10 feet down. Its dirt, raw and uncovered, but at least somewhat flattened. There's a wooden ladder down into the room made from pieces of branch and wood held together with wrappings of rope. He tests one and despite a very unsettling groan and shedding of dust, it seems to hold his weight.
Guile carefully climbs the ladder down, placing his weight on the rungs a little at a time till he's sure it will hold him. Not so much for the climb down- he could just lower himself down and fall the few extra feet- but for the climb back out. Once at the bottom he looks around, waiting for his eyes to adjust a bit. The room is maybe 5 meters long and 3 wide, all bare dirt except for wooden braces holding up the ceilings and walls like the interior of a mine shaft. the room is mostly bare except for three things: there is a wooden cabinet against the left wall. There is a circle made of what looks like braided barbed wire set into the floor. And there is what is unmistakably an altar against the back wall. It is what looks like a repurposed end table with a white bowl placed on top of it and a remnants of dozens of red candles around it. On the wall behind it is a black cloth, a banner, with a symbol drawn on it in white paint.
Oh well. Have a quick meal. Grab a sleeping bag and head back to the abandoned building. Want to make sure it's not left unattended for just anyone to find. And that nobody just takes it home with them before we have a place to set up.
Name: Ailn
Appearance: Wrinkly, frail, and raggedy. She's actually not very old, and much faster than she looks, but certainly has an unhealthy look about her. Dark hair and eyes.
Backstory: Child of wealth, persistent illness, oddly unbreakable will. She left, of course. She doesn't see much use in money, though her family makes sure she has plenty of it. She'd like to be able to cure her illness, and maybe make some sense of this crazy world. Maybe going a little crazy will help, if that's what it takes.
Physical stats:
Strength: d6
Dexterity: d8
Speed: d8
Endurance: d6
Awareness: d6
Guile: d10
Knowledge: d6
Willpower: d12
Occult stats:
Corruption: 0
Madness: 0
Favor: 0
World Stats:
Connections: d4
Possessions: d6
Money: d12
Standing: d4
Inventory:
old messenger bag
coffee mug
pair of dice
key ring
notebook
pen
$897
[3]
You dig through your closets, looking for your old sleeping bag. You only manage to find an old air mattress that, if you remember right, has a bad habit of going flat. Eh, whatever. You eat some snacks you have sitting around before taking the bus back to the abandoned building, underinflated mattress and bike pump in your arms.
You set it up near the old summoning circle and after an hour of pumping finally lay down.
Then try to use my connections to find out about libraries that might have occult books. If that also fails, then maybe go ask the orb for guidance.
Name: Micolash Cage
Appearance: A man with messy curly black hair and an eternal grin on his face.
Backstory: He used to work as a librarian, in which he found a book about the occult, and decided to join a cult for fun and knowledge. Fascinated in learning and gaining insight of the world and the cosmos.
Physical stats:
Strength: d4
Dexterity: d6
Speed: d6
Endurance: d6
Awareness: d8
Guile: d8
Knowledge: d12
Willpower: d10
Occult stats:
Corruption: 0
Madness: 0
Favor: 0
World Stats:
Connections: d8
Possessions: d12
Money: d4
Standing: d4
Inventory:
$197
Notebook
Pen
Flashlight
"Necromancer" Book
[5]
You call up the university library and ask about books that talk about this particular cult or anything to do with the Eye of Thoth. They tell you there are a few books on the subject, but they are shutting down for the night in a few minutes so You'll have to come in tomorrow. You put the books on hold for now.
Helen considered stealthily following the man to his home, but such a boring man would probably be no fun to stalk. She considered setting up some prank in his office but he'd probably be doing him a favor. Instead she opted to go find something fun to do.
Do I know anyone working in the labs here? If not, then time to meet someone! I bet someone working here at this hour must be working on either something important or something fun. Preferably both.
Name: Helen Hywater, though she insists on calling herself "The Recorder" during cult related activities
Appearance: A young girl with short dark hair and green eyes. Tends to wear a dark brown trenchcoat and fedora during cult related activities to avoid suspicion.
Backstory: Has a fascination with recording stuff for posterity and specifically cameras. Makes her way through life doing odd jobs and videotaping things, sometimes things she probably shouldn't record. She's even managed to make some short films. She's a bit weird and she knows it but she doesn't care. As for why she's with the cult, she mostly just wants to record stuff and then sell them for fame and loads of momey. Maybe she can make the world's first real found footage film.
Physical stats:
Strength: d4
Dexterity: d6
Speed: d10
Endurance: d8
Awareness: d12
Guile: d8
Knowledge: d6
Willpower: d6
Occult stats:
Corruption: 0
Madness: 0
Favor: d4 (The Scholar in Red)
World Stats:
Connections: d10
Possessions: d4
Money: d4
Standing: d10
Inventory:
Clothes
A high-end handheld camcorder with flashlight and infrared nightvision capability
193$
You walk down the halls of the lab building until you come across a room with the lights on, visible out through the thin, metal wire laced window. You peek in and see three young people in lab coats working on something. One is using a microscope, the other is sitting on a stool, head in his hands, watching fluid bubble in a beaker over a Bunsen burner, and the last is carefully squirting fluid from a pipette onto microscope slides. You try the door and immediately jerk to a halt as it hits the metal pin of a deadbolt after moving maybe a half an inch. The bang of trying to open the door causes everyone in the room to look over their shoulders at you and just kind of stare.
Go to a library and check for occult books that have references to the scholar and his sigil.
Name: Richard Reed
Appearance: A well dressed man in his mid-twenties, he sports short brown hair and a well kempt mustache.
Backstory: Richard discovered the cult when one of his less prestigious connections informed him about otherwordly beings and of the knowledge these beings possess. Intent to learn this secret knowledge, he set out to join the cult.
Physical stats:
Strength: d4
Dexterity: d6
Speed: d6
Endurance: d6
Awareness: d8
Guile: d12
Knowledge: d10
Willpower: d8
Occult stats:
Corruption: 0
Madness: 0
Favor: d4
World Stats:
Connections: d12
Possessions: d4
Money: d6
Standing: d8
Inventory:
Notebook
Pen
Drawing of the sigil and the visions.
$694
Gonna save you the price of a bus ticket: libraries won't be open by the time you reach them. But a fellow cultist has gotten leads on books and reserved them. Stuff to do tomorrow
Purchase the Canon T-50. (already subtracted the price from my inventory.) Go home, pick up the vehicle, and buy some dinner, (a rotisserie chicken), a can of concentrated drink (just add water), a picnic cooler (to fill with water at home), a few paper plates, paper cups, a sleeping bag, and a set of kitchen knives. Finish by buying a jar of peanut butter and a couple of mousetraps. If I need more money, withdraw it from my bank account. Then take all this stuff over to the abandoned house.. if the people don't come back by the night, I want to be ready to remain with the orb overnight, and to, perhaps, please the god while waiting for the explorers to report in.
Name: Sean O'Malley, Phd.
Appearance: A trim, short man in his mid-40s, with a jovial expression and short reddish-brown hair.
Backstory: After completing his doctorate in Philosophy, he found his life unexpectedly limited after promoting some rather nonstandard views, after discovering and investigating some minor secrets. His position was since removed, and he no longer commands the respect he once had among his peers.
Physical stats: (list in order)
Strength: d4
Dexterity: d6
Speed: d8
Endurance: d8
Awareness: d10
Guile: d6
Knowledge: d12
Willpower: d6
Occult stats:
Corruption: 0
Madness: 0
Favor: 1
World Stats:
Connections: d6
Possessions: d8
Money: d8
Standing: d6
Inventory:
$119
Bicycle
Drafting Board
Datsun Maxima
Canon T-50
Bought. You take the bus home (-$3) and grab your car. You head to the nearest supermarket and grab a cheap but edible rotisserie chicken (-$5) a jar of concentrated drink mix (-$3) a plastic picnic cooler (-$15) a box of 100 paper plates (-$2) some cups (-$2) and a cheap set of knives (-$12). You then hit up a nearby department store and grab a sleeping bag from the camping section (-$30) along with some rat traps (-$5) and some peanut butter (-$2). The total of all your shopping is $79. You pile the plastic bags into your trunk and drive back to the abandoned building after stopping home to fill the cooler with water. You unload everything and carry it in, joining the guys already in there.
Check out the notations in the bible, does anything seem off here or is it just regular bible study? Also read the leather bound journal some more, is there any sort of common thread to these ramblings, some kind of method to the madness? Or is it really just completely random rambling?
Regardless, go join the other while they're faffing about with the trapdoor.
Name: Walton J. Murphy
Appearance: A man of 64 years old. Walton sports a bald head and a grey
beard. Not as fit as he used to be. His body is marked with a variety of scars.
Backstory: Walton joined the military when he was 18 years old in 1939, just in time for WWII to ramp up. He has since served in the pacific theater in WWII, the Korean war, and the Vietnam war. It was in 'Nam where he was gravely wounded for the last time, effectively ending his military career. He currently works a desk job for the local government, a fact that does not particularely please him. He's been in a world war, a cold war, a drug war and a gang war. Now, seeing the appalling amount of respect veterans get from younger generations, he's decided that he wants to add a holy war onto his résumé.
Physical stats: (list in order)
Strength: d4
Dexterity: d6
Speed: d6
Endurance: d6
Awareness: d8
Guile: d10
Knowledge: d8
Willpower: d12
Occult stats:
Corruption: 0
Madness: 0
Favor: 1
World Stats:
Connections: d8
Possessions: d8
Money: d4
Standing: d8
Inventory:
299$
Leatherman multitool
Notebook&Pen
Bicycle
Duct Tape
A bible
unlabeled
black leather bound book, some kind of diary
a pencil
a crucifix
about a dozen Morgan Dollar coins
It seems pretty regular aside from some more...erratic notes and scribbling in genesis and revelations. Reading through the journal will take several hours; and better light than you're gonna get inside a dark room at twilight. You'll need to work on it later.
You head out and join the rest just as Guile lowers himself into the room below.
Lance is passed out, snoring loudly in his gritty little corner. His head rest on top a pile of magazines, with a bodybuilder's magazine draped across his face.
Beer bottles are stacked on top of each other, creating a structure similar to a house of cards, but with cheap beer instead of playing cards. On the top of this house of beers lies the red orb the Scholar in Red has given the cult.
Name: Lance Robbins
Appearance: Bruised and batter, a shaved head, a smile like a serial killer, he's nearly the text book definition of "thug"
Backstory: Lance grow up in household with lower expectations, and managed to not even reach that. He spent his years boozing, smoking, and brawling his time away. He overheard a drunk in the alley talking about type of "ritual thing" and decided to check it out. Not as if he has anything better to do with his life.
Physical stats:
Strength: d8
Dexterity: d12
Speed: d10
Endurance: d8
Awareness:d6
Guile: d6
Knowledge: d4
Willpower: d6
Occult stats:
Corruption: 0
Madness: 0
Favor: 1
World Stats:
Connections: d4
Possessions: d12
Money: d8
Standing: d4
Inventory: [Money roll: 1] [Possessions roll: 4]
$91 U.S dollars
Spanner
Flask of Alcohol
Carton of cigarettes
Zippo lighter
Cooler full of ice and beer
Magazines found around my house
[4]
You can't quite get them to stay up like a house of cards. Instead you sort of make a 3d pyramid with a base of several bottles in a bunch and then several more on top of those, then one on top of those, then the Eye on top of the last bottle.
Duncan
Name: Duncan
Appearance: A man in stylish but somewhat dusty suit
Backstory: works as archeologist and egyptologist, salary is not greatest, but, well, it exists.
Physical stats:
Strength: d4
Dexterity: d6
Speed: d6
Endurance: d6
Awareness: d8
Guile: d8
Knowledge: d12
Willpower: d10
Occult stats:
Corruption: 0
Madness: 0
Favor: 0
World Stats:
Connections: d10
Possessions: d10
Money: d4
Standing: d4
Inventory:
$200
Pen
Notebook
Latin dictionary
Go to the university I work in.
Its going on 8pm right now. Chances are almost everything will be closed around the university, save for a few places where students are still working. You might be able to use your keys to get into your office and around some parts of the school but you're pretty limited till morning.
IT IS NIGHT
Author
Topic: CULT (Read 76724 times)