Heroica: Glory Amongst the Stars - Mission #9: He's Dead, Jim

Duvors · April 3, 2022

3 hours ago, Endgame said:

"Ah, jus' a concerned citizen is all. Wanted to make sure you were all set. Take care, alright?"

"Very Vell. Err, You too."

3 hours ago, Endgame said:

Decker walks back to Ronin. "Ronin, I don't think there's anything left to squeeze outta anyone here. We know the Meat Blob has been grownin', so, that's not encouragin', but... well, we could head to the police station, but honestly? I don't feel cozy involvin' others in this. That just seems like we're setting people up to get devoured. If we've explored the whole network and still haven't found Greg, I think our only two options are that he got eaten by the blob, or that he's behind one of those secret doors. And I'd rather see what's behind door number two, literally. That blob o' lard didn't seem too fast. Let's head back down into the sewers, double back to that secret door, and take a closer look at it. If we combine our strength I bet we can pop it open."

As you return to the sewer, Vintej calls out after you.

"Be seen' ya! Try to come back in one piece!"

With that encouraging remark ringing in your ears, you make your way back down into the dark.

~~~

You decide to take the long way around, through the gate you cut through earlier, in hopes of not meeting the blob. It's a tense experience, your ears straining for every sound of the creature as you creep forward. Fortunately you manage to make your way to the place where you found the corpses without difficulty.

Making your way to the far end of the passageway, you tentatively peek around to corner. There's nothing in the direction where you found the secret door, but looking the other way you barely catch a glimpse of a massive, shuddering bulk making its way round the far corner and out of sight. Deciding to avoid that, you make your way back to the location you just so recently fled.

Faced with what you know is the location of a secret door, you now have two choices ahead of you, either forcing it open, or trying to find the switch now that you're no longer pressed for time. What will you do?

Endgame · April 4, 2022

Decker's internal clock ticked faster, knowing that the wall of flesh was still... somewhere down here. With it's dozen eyes and awful sounds and...

"Breathe, bud," Decker says, inhaling, then exhaling. His breath rattles around in his helmet, recycling stale air, but it still has the desired effect. "Let's try to be just a bit more deliberate about this this time 'round..."

Decker hunts for the secret door's switch. Decker turns on his flashlight and paces up and down the immediate area, swinging it across the walls, ceiling, even across the surface of the water in case it was hidden at their feet.

"If the door was jammed that tight, it was either locked, or some sorta mechanism was keepin' it sealed tight... there's gotta be somethin'..."

Duvors · April 4, 2022

7 hours ago, Endgame said:

Decker hunts for the secret door's switch. Decker turns on his flashlight and paces up and down the immediate area, swinging it across the walls, ceiling, even across the surface of the water in case it was hidden at their feet.

As I have said before, the flashlight is always considered 'on' as long as you have it equipped. The reason you still have Obscurement penalties here is because the flashlight reduces them by two, but there are three levels in this area. If you want to reduce them to zero, Ronin would have to equip his light as well.

Decker Perception Check (DC 0, ~~Heavily~~ Lightly Obscured {Flashlight}): (4,2,4,1,-2) Zero successes.

Despite your best attempts, you cannot positively identify anything that might be a switch.

In order to save time, I'll be assuming you two make a combined strength check to force the door open, as indicated in Endgame's last post.

Combined Strength Check (DC 3): (1,4,4,4,2) Three successes.

Giving up on finding the entrance, the two of you put your shoulders to the wall and heave, and then you heave again since it didn't move the first time. Finally, after much pushing you feel something give and, with a grinding moan, the doors swing slowly open.

Oh dear.

Endgame · April 4, 2022

The door groans open, and Decker groans as he rolls out his shoulders. "Rough on the joints, eh, Ronin?" Decker chuckles, his laughter dying in his throat as he sees the scene in front of him. His eyes are drawn to the green light, and then the... yep, that was a person. "I don't have a good feeling about this, Ronin..."

Decker rushes to the person strewn across the table, reaching for their wrist to see if he felt a pulse. At the same time, he casts his eyes to the strange device on the floor, seemingly connected to the bed they were laying across - trying to figure out what he was looking at.

"You with us, bud?" Decker mutters.

Duvors · April 4, 2022

34 minutes ago, Endgame said:

Decker rushes to the person strewn across the table, reaching for their wrist to see if he felt a pulse. At the same time, he casts his eyes to the strange device on the floor, seemingly connected to the bed they were laying across - trying to figure out what he was looking at.

"You with us, bud?" Decker mutters.

As you feel the man's wrist, you feel dried blood crumble under your fingers, and feel a deep gash across the radial and ulnar arteries. The bud is definitely not with you. The 'bed' you see, is in fact a plastic folding table with a hole cut through the middle, unconnected to the device. Turning the body over you see his face, and a deep gash across his stomach.

From what you can see, this man's body matches the description you received of Investigator Machen. It appears he found the people he was looking for. Unfortunately, you fail to find anything on his person, his pockets seemingly having been rifled already.

As for the device, from what you can tell it appears to be an Ætherdiving chair connected to two large computers. However, it seems to be a homemade model rather than one available to the public market. Notably, it seems to have included a helmet that's been torn off and is now lying on the floor to one side.

Decker Occult Check (DC 4): Automatic failure.

There's... something wrong with the chair you can't identify. But it may have something to do with the symbol drawn on the floor around it.

Decker Religion Check (DC 1,3): (6,1,1) One success.

You can immediately see that it appears to be a rendition of the basic triangle-in-circle of Telahn, however there are several deviations from the normal version. For one thing, it's an isosceles triangle instead of an equilateral one - that might actually be a mistake. Second, its apex is pointed toward the entrance of the room, which is never done in Telahn as it's considered an inversion of the symbol. Finally, it seems to be drawn in dried blood. This is a severe taboo in Telahn, as blood is considered a highly impure substance, especially when shed by violence.
As you circle the scene in contemplation, you stumble over something in the darkness. Just barely catching yourself on the paper-strewn table, you look down to see another body, dressed in that same black robes as the others you found.

Yzalirk · April 5, 2022

"Me neither, Decker. This is something I did not expect to find. Do you have any idea what that machine could be? It looks rather crude."

Ronin walks over to the cultist corpse and rolls it over, searching for anything on it.

Duvors · April 5, 2022

51 minutes ago, Yzalirk said:

Ronin walks over to the cultist corpse and rolls it over, searching for anything on it.

The corpse is of a young man, his tousled brown hair matted and spiked by his own blood. Examining him soon reveals the cause of his death - a stab wound directly in the heart. Removing the outer layer of clothing reveals nondescript clothing, a button-up shirt and cargo pants with waterproof boots. In his pants pocket you manage to find a wallet containing a years-old coupon for Ozzorli's Pizza and three credits. In their shirt pocket you find a small booklet soaked through with blood, with the handwritten letters '-pf, D-' barely legible on the cover.
Most of the pages are fused into a single mass, but there are a few near the end that you can peel apart, some even have writing on them.

-at there's an Investigator on our
-e so that they may serve as our Offering.
-days until we're ready. The- -ldiver is almost
-only a few tweaks and some calibration needed.

Looking further ahed, you find more of interest.

-ion Maintenance is sending someone down
-ipes in preparation for some project to overhaul
-ystem. He says they will make the perfect Vessel.
-ay the wait has been fun. We've already had 'Machen'
-wn here for two days and he's been a pain in my -
Thankfully- -ll be able to drug the Vessel, none of th- -ure
blood' bu- -like with the Offering.

You look ahead again, hoping or dreading further enlightenment.

-ive- -ing days the wait is finally over!
-onight the alignment of the heavens will be
-nauspcious' for our purposes. Finally I'll be able to
-odsforsaken tomb and breathe real air. No more watching
-e bastards. Soon we will receive our revelations from
-low. Soon t- -ruth of our reality!
Soon-

The rest of the pages are blank.

Endgame · April 6, 2022

23 hours ago, Yzalirk said:

"Me neither, Decker. This is something I did not expect to find. Do you have any idea what that machine could be? It looks rather crude."

Ronin walks over to the cultist corpse and rolls it over, searching for anything on it.

"It's an Aetherdiving rig, I think. I've seen 'em in holovids, but, this one is... they're not going on VR Vacations with this, I can tell you... Gods, did they build this thing themself? And the blood. This ain't just tech, they're trying to do something magicky here. Of course, we knew Flatfoot deals in occult crap, so that's no surprise... This symbol is from Telahn, I think? I think they're the reincarnation fellas... I don't know much but I don't think dead people and meat blobs are their normal thing."

Decker glances at the black-robed corpse. "There's our fifth, plus poor Machen. That leaves out... Greg, Flatfoot, and Avery..."

He turns his attention to the documents scattered on the table near the robed corpse. "You find anything on the body? We may wanna try to log into the computers hooked up to the Aetherdiving rig, see what these guys were up to. Maybe they were kind enough to write all their thoughts into a digi-document."

Duvors · April 6, 2022

59 minutes ago, Endgame said:

He turns his attention to the documents scattered on the table near the robed corpse.

As you cast your eye over the table, the very first thing you see (practically under your hand) is a map of the sewers. From what you can see it's a professionally made blueprint of the network, the words 'Ebria Station Department of Maintenance and Infrastructure' printed in the bottom corner. Now you know why Arno couldn't find any blueprints, they were stolen.
Underneath that, you find a scroll written in an unknown language. No, wait...

Decker Insight Check (DC 3): (5,5,2) Two successes.

As you gaze at the paper, you realize that it's written in ordinary writing. It's even clearly legible;

To begin;
First, you must find a place close to the dark.
Once done, await the inauspicious day.
Then, you must prepare a Channel, to call the power forth.
Secure an Offering, and draw the inverse symbol in their pure blood.
At the points, place lights of purity, to contain the dark thing.
In the Channel, place a Vessel to be filled.
Speak the words of the Nameless One.
And the Vessel will be filled.

Then, suddenly, it's unreadable again.

To the side of this, there's a pizza box, a receipt from Temple Row Pizza in the name of Avery Mann, and a small blue booklet.

Machen's Notebook: (Tool) Adds +1 Occult and Religion successes, my be used with ??? to ???

MM note: I'll get on to the contents of the notebook later, my mind's a bit too fogged to do it right now.

Duvors · April 6, 2022

Machen's notebook is difficult to read, partly due to the color of the paper and partly due to how small the man's handwriting is. Each page is densely packed with notes and drawings of minute scale and fine detail. It takes a moment to find something directly pertinent to your investigation.

15/11/9: Arrived in Ebria today, lodged in tenament in Blackcoin. Have avoided introducing self to local chapter. He may be watching.
15/11/10: Visited stationmaster's office today, gained access to shipping manifest for Grey and Brown. According to logs, shipment
consists of 'rice' and 'lighters'. One crate stands out from the others, marked 'Fragile' and listed as 'specialty electronics'.
15/11/11: Visited Grey and Brown last night. Witnessed unloading of containers into warehouse. He was there, Flatfoot definitely acting
under His influence. Witnessed them unloading the 'specialty electronics', overheard the workers complaining about how difficult it wo-
-uld be to 'get this down there'. I left soon after. This morning I visited the Department of Maintenance to get permission to view plans
view plans for that part of the station. Will be able to do so tomorrow.
15/11/12: Visited department today. Discovered that plans for part of the sewer system in area were missing. Was able to find likely entr-
-ances by cross-referencing street-maps with surviving plans. Multiple possible entrances found. One off Blackcoin Main, one in Temple
Row, one in Golkan Plaza, and one outside Grey and Brown. Will disregard Golkan, too public.
15/11/13: Today's papers report the vanishing of on Alex Kampf yesterday. Reported by landlord. Kampf was a out-of-work Ætherdiving
-diving technician living near to Blue Moon. While likely unrelated, the association with 'specialty electronics' too obvious to ignore.
Visited manhole off Blackcoin Main. Nothing found. Leads directly into street with no obscuring sight-lines. no witnesses to anything.
15/11/14: Moved into Kampf's former apartment building, made inquiries about his disappearance under guise of old friend. Of note;
four associates - Reid Catlow, Rosco Bisque, Erik Sharpey, and Jet Stoyer - were seen in his company almost every day prior to disap-
-pearance, but did not report vanishing and do not seem concerned. Did not approach them. Landlord describes Kampf and co. as inc-
-reasingly hostile and secretive prior to his vanishing. All fit profile of possible recruits; dissatisfied with life, unemployed, living in poor
conditions. Tomorrow will visit Temple Row and make inquiries.
15/11/15: One Vendor - Pip, adamite - has direct line-of-sight on manhole. Flustered by questioning in manner indicating guilt and fear.
Possibly acts as lookout for smugglers? No other vendor has clear view of manhole. No-one knows about Kampf. Vinoq, information
broker, confirms suspicions re: Pip. Flatfoot bribing police. All investigations in area stalled. Confirms Him witnessed in company with
Kampf and friends.

15/11/16: Examined Kampf's apartment today. Lock undamaged. Found rudimentary notes on ætherdiving rig design - notable deveat-
-ions from the norm noticed. Refers to design as 'helldiver'. Bad, very bad.
15/11/17: Men working for Flatfoot made attempt to kill me. They have been disposed of along with weapon. Am now defenseless.
15/11/18: Have made direct contact with Society. No other Investigators on Ebria. Local police untrustworthy and vulnerable to Him.
15/11/19: Inquiries in local area reveal that Kampf's associates have made several purchases over the past few weeks - tables, buckets,
electronics, blessed candles (?), black clothing, knives.
15/11/20: Society ritual calendar indicates that an Inauspicious Day of ancient Tehanui calendar will fall on 28th. Investigator Blackwood
recalled to station. Will not arrive for three weeks. To long.
15/11/21: Have been purchasing equipment for sewer exploration. The Society has provided a ghanta for my use. If needed, I can att-
-empt an exorcism with provided materials. I have a new gun, I hope it will be enough.
Well it wasn't, was it?

Decker Insight Check (DC: 3) (5,1,4) Two successes.

I'll be taking this gun, wouldn't want my friends to be able to hurt themselves would I?

Endgame · April 7, 2022

Decker shakes his head to clear out the mental cobwebs as text appears and then vanishes before his eyes. This place was getting into his head, almost too literally, and he wasn't remotely a fan. "Maybe I spent too long next to Elfonn, spores screwin' with my head," Decker sighs.

Decker begins pacing around the room nervously, processing the information before the text fades from his mind altogether. "Okay, place of darkness? That's this damn sewer. Inauspicious day, hell if I know why one date or another is of import... Channel, that's the triangle they drew. Because it's in Machen's blood, yeah? Um, um, the Offering... That's Machen. Poor bastard. The points, lights of purity? The points of the triangle? But there's... Wait a tick."

In the dark room Decker realizes he may have missed a detail. He glances at the floor and tries to ascertain if the tipped over cylindrical white objects around the blood symbol (sans the discarded helmet) were candles, and if they were, whether they had been lit.

"Bad feeling the Vessel is Greg. Words of the Nameless One, hell if I know what those would be.." Decker sighs in frustration, as his memory of the text already begins to fade around the edges. Onto the next evidence, Machen's notebook.

"So Flatfoot is under Avery's control, eh...? And the Inauspicious Day is the 28th... Last entry was the 21st... Machen went missing 10 days ago, if we can still trust ol' Vinoq... Machen was last in public on the 19th... Shit, he wouldn't have been missing then. I think their ritual day already passed." Decker says as his face flushes pale. "I'm ramblin' at this point, Ronin, but I really hope I am dead wrong... And who the hell is the last person to write in this? Their handwritin' looks bigger than Machen's."

The scrapper attempts to eyeball the two sets of penmanship, to see if it was the same person or not. Did Machen go nuts and start writing weird shit in his own notebook, or did somethin' else start writin' in his notes?

Hushing himself, at least to quiet his own thoughts, Decker decides to check out this 'Helldiver.' He walks over to the two large computers and slaps his palm down on the keypad, wondering if the screens would wake up.

"Maybe there's more on here... Helldiver. What a gods-awful name."

Duvors · April 7, 2022

13 hours ago, Endgame said:

In the dark room Decker realizes he may have missed a detail. He glances at the floor and tries to ascertain if the tipped over cylindrical white objects around the blood symbol (sans the discarded helmet) were candles, and if they were, whether they had been lit.

You can see they are indeed candles, and that they have been lit. Notably, the one at the apex seems to have been kicked over, while the other two burned down to lumps of wax. Examining the fallen one, you find it's much the same as the ones Meroi gave you.

Holy Candle: (Consumable) Prevents unholy enemies from entering a space adjacent to the user for three turns.

13 hours ago, Endgame said:

The scrapper attempts to eyeball the two sets of penmanship, to see if it was the same person or not. Did Machen go nuts and start writing weird shit in his own notebook, or did somethin' else start writin' in his notes?

The large red text is clearly in a different hand.

Decker Insight Check (DC 2): (5,3,3) One success.

Unfortunately, you cannot see any distinctive features that- wait, what were you thinking of? You look down again at the book. It ends with Machen's entry on the 21st. Wasn't there more?

13 hours ago, Endgame said:

Hushing himself, at least to quiet his own thoughts, Decker decides to check out this 'Helldiver.' He walks over to the two large computers and slaps his palm down on the keypad, wondering if the screens would wake up.

finding a keypad, or a screen for that matter, is something of a challenge. It takes you a moment of fumbling to find a panel that opens up and reveals a screen.

Decker Coding Check (DC 3): (5,2,1) One success.

Unfortunately, you aren't a software programmer, so the scrolling lines of code mean nothing to you.

Decker Occult Check (DC 3): (6,3,2) One success.

There's something off about the code, but again you lack the necessary expertise to identify it. As you stand up from your fruitless investigation, you see something sitting atop the computer.

Ghanta: (Tool) Once per battle, may be used to Stun all unholy enemies as an action. Can be used with Machen's Notebook and a Holy Candle to ???

Yzalirk · April 7, 2022

"I am not very good with riddles Decker but I think there is some merit to your conclusions. I found some journal of sorts but most of the pages are torn. From what I can gather that is legible, it does appear that Machen was their sacrifice. It also describes a maintenance worker being sent down who will make the perfect vessel. I assume that would be Greg. They planned to drug and capture him. Sadly I cannot form an opinions based on the rest. Maybe something will make more sense to you?"
Ronin proceeds to show Decker the torn up booklet he found on the corpse.
He also searches around for the sections that were torn off.
"I think we should check the other secret room next then go back to the warehouse. If Flatfoot is working with, or for Avery, perhaps we can find more answers in there. If we have to kill the beast inside then so be it."

Duvors · April 7, 2022

1 hour ago, Yzalirk said:

Ronin proceeds to show Decker the torn up booklet he found on the corpse.
He also searches around for the sections that were torn off.

There are no torn sections. The reason for the missing text is that most of the book is soaked through with blood and illegible.
Since there's nothing else for you to really find here, and the additional features of the Ghanta and the Notebook can be learned without having to stay in this room, I'll be moving you along to the other door shortly.

Duvors · April 7, 2022

Despite scouring the room, you're unable to find anything further of note. A knife, a bucket whose interior is stained by dried blood, some discarded chains, and nothing more. Disquieted by what you've found, and by what you haven't, you make your way back along the passage. As you go, you look about nervously for the creature, but thankfully you see no evidence of its presence.

Reaching the other dead end, you can now see the outline of the hidden door in the end of the passage. But how to open it?

Party

Ronin (Yzalirk) (Duelist)
[REDACTED] Male [REDACTED]
Character Points: 0/19
Vitality: 7/7
Velocity: 3
Strength: 1
Skill: 4
Smarts: 3
Spirit: 0/0
Proficiencies: Athletics 1, Artillery 1, Deception 1, Melee Weapons 2, Perception 1, Stealth 1, Survival 1
Known Spells: None
Credits: 222
Equipment: Cloaking Generator, Hard Light Katana (Calibrated Energy Melee Weapon), Workman's Outfit (Standard Kinetic Armor) Filtration.
Inventory: Gator Tooth (Can be converted into either a Kinetic or Elemental Standard Melee Weapon by a craftsman), Ion Laser (Calibrated Energy Artillery Weapon), Haast Flamethrower (Substandard Short Range Elemental Weapon) Overcharge: Once per battle, add +2 to next attack, all subsequent attacks have -2, Rocketpack - Armor Attachment (+1 to Velocity when wearing this armor), Flashlight (Tool), Frozen Blood (Consumable) ???, Sleep Gel (Consumable) ???, Lamplight (Consumable) ???, Æther Shroud (Consumable) ???, Cytherian Salts x2 (Consumable) ???, Holy Candle (Consumable) Prevents unholy enemies from entering a space adjacent to the user for three turns. Inventory Full!

Decker DaCabe (Endgame) (Bystander)
24 year old male Human
Caracter Ponts: 0/19
Vitality: 7/7
Velocity: 2
Strength: 4
Skill: 3
Smarts: 1
Proficiencies: Melee Weapons 1, Short Range Weapons 2, Medicine 1, Perception 1, Athletics 1
Credits: 52
Equipment: Double Barrel Voltaic Shotgun (Calibrated Energy Short Range Weapon), Workman's Outfit (Standard Kinetic Armor) Filtration, Flashlight (Tool)
Inventory: Unloaded Pistol (Calibrated Kinetic Melee Weapon), Sandblasted Cuirass (Standard Kinetic Armor), Old Wolfclaw Veteran's Shield (Substandard Kinetic Armor) Dented Iron, Telescopic Stock - Weapon Attachment (Spend an action to change this weapon's optimal range by 1 category), Plasma Potion 2x, Holy Candle 2x, Machen's Notebook (Tool) Adds +1 Occult and Religion successes, my be used with the Ghanta and a Holy Candle to ???, Ghanta (Tool) Once per battle, may be used to Stun all unholy enemies as an action. Can be used with Machen's Notebook and a Holy Candle to ???. 10/12 items.

MM note: I recommend you take this opportunity to shuffle a few items around.

Edited April 8, 2022 by Duvors

Endgame · April 8, 2022

4 hours ago, Yzalirk said:

"I am not very good with riddles Decker but I think there is some merit to your conclusions. I found some journal of sorts but most of the pages are torn. From what I can gather that is legible, it does appear that Machen was their sacrifice. It also describes a maintenance worker being sent down who will make the perfect vessel. I assume that would be Greg. They planned to drug and capture him. Sadly I cannot form an opinions based on the rest. Maybe something will make more sense to you?"
Ronin proceeds to show Decker the torn up booklet he found on the corpse.
He also searches around for the sections that were torn off.
"I think we should check the other secret room next then go back to the warehouse. If Flatfoot is working with, or for Avery, perhaps we can find more answers in there. If we have to kill the beast inside then so be it."

"The journal pages certainly line up with what we were thinkin'. The weirdo is writin' like they never saw the surface before, but weren't these all people recruited from Ebria? As for my thoughts, well I... Well, I think we're in some deep shit. I hope I'm wrong. But after everything we've seen? I think we're too late. Machen's journal seems to say that their inauspicious day was either yesterday or th' day before, and, well, the candles were burnt. Whatever ritual they did might already be done. Greg may not be Greg anymore, if he really is the vessel for whatever messed up thing these people are tryin' to do."

Decker sighs and shakes his head. "Let's keep goin'."

---

The duo eventually reach the "dead end."

"You're lookin' a little encumbered there, Ronin." Decker notes. "I think I can consolidate some o' this stuff, so I would have room to take stuff outta your hands... I can also swap ya for anything. You're lookin' light on potions. And maybe ya wouldn't mind another holy candle?"

Decker mounts the Telescopic Stock to his shotgun, presumably freeing up an item slot?

Decker looks at the recessed outline of what he had to presume was a secret door. He sees a slight protrusion to the right of where the door would be... the rest of the walls in this sewers were flush. He inspects it closer and pushes on it.

Duvors · April 8, 2022

16 hours ago, Endgame said:

Decker mounts the Telescopic Stock to his shotgun, presumably freeing up an item slot?

Decker looks at the recessed outline of what he had to presume was a secret door. He sees a slight protrusion to the right of where the door would be... the rest of the walls in this sewers were flush. He inspects it closer and pushes on it.

That'll definitely free up a slot. Also, take note of what's in each other's inventories. I also noticed a few mistakes I made when copying your stats, so that's been fixed now.

The protuberance, which you previously dismissed as the result of metal fatigue, slides gently into the wall with a 'click'. A moment later, there's a whirr of motors and the double doors swing inwards, revealing a ladder going up.

Kinda hard to see with all the white around the picture, but there is a ladder there.

Duvors · April 9, 2022

Having nothing better to do, the two of you make your way up the ladder single file. At the top of the ladder is a trapdoor, which you attempt to open. The going is difficult. Not because the trapdoor is locked, but because the trapdoor has been covered by a heavy blue object made of fabric. Fortunately you're able to lift the trap enough to grab the offending material and drag it to one side, briefly blinding yourself by the bright electric glow of interior lights. Hauling yourselves up, you take a look around the place you find yourselves in.

The room is spartan in furnishings. Bare walls, bare ceiling, and bare floor all made of foamcrete panels. The only furnishings are a wall-mounted radio-clock, a pair of filing cabinets with some sort of calendar atop them, a shelving unit with miscellaneous items, a spinning office chair, and a desk with some notes and a pair of newspapers strewn on top.
The only other feature in the room is a door. A metal door painted brown, exactly like the one you saw through the peephole in Grey and Brown.

Endgame · April 9, 2022

Decker sizes up his own clutter of items. "They did the ritual with a triangle and 3 candles, right? I got a buncha occult stuff... Machen's book, the ghanta... plus two candles. If I had your third, Ronin, maybe I could do some sorta magic thing, a reverse of whaever ritual they did, banish this thing back to whatever pit it crawled outta." Decker pauses. "Can you hear me right now?" he grumbles. "I always thought this stuff wasn't real. Maybe it isn't, and we're just dealing with a half dozen nutters doin' nothin' in particular that's magical. But maybe not..."

Decker grits his teeth as the tarp is flung away, and a familiar door is spotted. "I get the feelin' we'll be meetin' whatever chucked your sword, Ronin," Decker adds, checking the calendar to see if the "inauspicious day" (or any others) were highlighted, before flinging open the filing cabinets.

Yzalirk · April 9, 2022

"Good idea Decker. I suppose if fighting this demon outright does not work, some holy magic should do. I know little to nothing about the supernatural but this does make sense to me."
Ronin hands Decker his Holy Candle.
"Anything else I have you think you may need? I have some ideas how these potions can be useful. I am just not sure how to get them to work."

OoC: Regarding the potions, do I have to physically use them / or apply them to a weapon to work, like Frozen Blood, in order to use them. Or is it possible to throw them at an enemy? And for Lamplight, how longs does that potion last for?

Duvors · April 9, 2022

35 minutes ago, Endgame said:

Decker grits his teeth as the tarp is flung away, and a familiar door is spotted. "I get the feelin' we'll be meetin' whatever chucked your sword, Ronin," Decker adds, checking the calendar to see if the "inauspicious day" (or any others) were highlighted, before flinging open the filing cabinets.

On closer inspection the calendar appears to be a list of arrival and departure times for ships, along with cargo manifests for each. However the manifests and the names of the ships have all been scribbled over with black pen, and a note at the bottom reads 'The hell was I thinking?'. The filing cabinets, on the other hand, are empty. The only thing you do find is a handful of lint and a coin of unknown denomination.

21 minutes ago, Yzalirk said:

OoC: Regarding the potions, do I have to physically use them / or apply them to a weapon to work, like Frozen Blood, in order to use them. Or is it possible to throw them at an enemy? And for Lamplight, how longs does that potion last for?

All of these are one-use single action potions with a one round duration. I'll allow you to apply them to weapons, but they'll cease to deal their effect after the first successful hit. As for throwing them, I suppose that would be possible. I'll allow them to be thrown up to two squares.

I should also mention that, since the notebook and Ghanta are tools, they have to be equipped in order to use them, which takes a round to do.

Duvors · April 9, 2022

MM Note: Due to the time crunch I'm under, I've decided you have 24 hours for final preparations.

Endgame · April 10, 2022

21 hours ago, Duvors said:

On closer inspection the calendar appears to be a list of arrival and departure times for ships, along with cargo manifests for each. However the manifests and the names of the ships have all been scribbled over with black pen, and a note at the bottom reads 'The hell was I thinking?'. The filing cabinets, on the other hand, are empty. The only thing you do find is a handful of lint and a coin of unknown denomination.

All of these are one-use single action potions with a one round duration. I'll allow you to apply them to weapons, but they'll cease to deal their effect after the first successful hit. As for throwing them, I suppose that would be possible. I'll allow them to be thrown up to two squares.

I should also mention that, since the notebook and Ghanta are tools, they have to be equipped in order to use them, which takes a round to do.

"The hell was this guy thinkin'?" Decker wonders aloud. He swaps from the flashlight to Machen's notebook, figuring quick access to the occult text would be more useful. Surely a warehouse must have a lightswitch, worst comes to worst.

22 hours ago, Yzalirk said:

"Good idea Decker. I suppose if fighting this demon outright does not work, some holy magic should do. I know little to nothing about the supernatural but this does make sense to me."
Ronin hands Decker his Holy Candle.
"Anything else I have you think you may need? I have some ideas how these potions can be useful. I am just not sure how to get them to work."

OoC: Regarding the potions, do I have to physically use them / or apply them to a weapon to work, like Frozen Blood, in order to use them. Or is it possible to throw them at an enemy? And for Lamplight, how longs does that potion last for?

"I think all those bizarro concoctions you got can stay on you. If I can't banish whatever it is, you might just be able to kill it outright. Say, though, you're gonna want this if a fight breaks out." Decker tosses Ronin a Plasma Potion.

"Once more into the breach, eh, friend?"

Yzalirk · April 10, 2022

23 hours ago, Duvors said:

All of these are one-use single action potions with a one round duration. I'll allow you to apply them to weapons, but they'll cease to deal their effect after the first successful hit. As for throwing them, I suppose that would be possible. I'll allow them to be thrown up to two squares.

I should also mention that, since the notebook and Ghanta are tools, they have to be equipped in order to use them, which takes a round to do.

Thanks for the clarification. :thumbup:

I think that Lamplight should last longer, in my opinion, since it has no combat-related effects. It simply just makes the consumer glow. And I also have a very amusing idea for it too. :laugh:

1 hour ago, Endgame said:

"I think all those bizarro concoctions you got can stay on you. If I can't banish whatever it is, you might just be able to kill it outright. Say, though, you're gonna want this if a fight breaks out." Decker tosses Ronin a Plasma Potion.

"Once more into the breach, eh, friend?"

"Very well. I hope these things turn out to be useful and not just colored water or something."
He accepts the Plasma Potion.
"Many thanks, Decker. Lets do this."
He shows him the glowing bottle of Lamplight as they begin to proceed.
"I have an idea for this one. It sounds almost too mad to explain but... I think psychological warfare on top of physical warfare will be enough to defeat this evil for good. Or have I lost it?"

Duvors · April 10, 2022

Your resolve firm, you open the door and step out into the warehouse.

You make your way into the emptiness of the warehouse. The walls on either side are lined with shipping containers, while large crates lie scattered about. A shelving unit on one side of the door is the only other thing of note. You take another step...

.. and stop. There, where there was nothing an instant before, is a figure. It seems to be wearing a workman's outfit, but it's head and hands are a matte black. You have a slight moment of consternation as you register this, and you try to think of what to say.

Your eyes water. Like an image in a slideshow, the figure is now looking toward you without having turned around. And yet... and yet it did turn. Somehow you are as certain of this as of your own heartbeat. It moved without occupying the intervening space, it skipped moving to arrive at its destination ahead of time.

What will you do now?

Heroica: Glory Amongst the Stars - Mission #9: He's Dead, Jim

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