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 The Carnival of Life   It was called Major Chumleigh's Amazing Traveling Carnival and Combined Pandemonium Shadow Show, though no one really remembers the name outside of the carnival owner. Major Chumleigh long since passed; but the carnival still survives under the current owner, the protoge of Chumleigh, known simply as Ajax; whether its a combination of his full name or his first name no one knows. Either way he managed to get this small time carnival at the major winter extreme games being held in Colorado Springs in 3 months. While everyone is really excited about it, the fact is that it is unlikely the rides that the extreme sports show wants and its the freak show that this carnival still runs. The contortionists, the human blockhead, the sword swallower and fire breather couple, the snake chamer and their collection of cobras and all the others. The sideshows are all a family and are generally what people really want to see since they are so rare in this day and age. The small city of Scottsbuff, home of fifteen thousand is your current destination. It resets on the west side of nebraska with the remains of the Hiram Scott College located north of the city. The city was small enough that getting around was no problem and everyone seemingly knew each other and lived near each other. That was no issue. Around the same time that the carnival came in to set up last night a group of strangers came in as well in a series of SUVS wearing all black hoodies, cargo pants and meat carver aprons. They didn't seem to care about you or the carnival - however the distinct smell of formaldehyde could be whiffed as their caravan drove by you - osbtinately towards the old Hiram Scott College. It is heavily overcast today and seems to be for the next week. You all sit in the van on the outskirts of the carnival, the smell, or what you assume is the smell, of food fills your nostrils. A small camp stove made from a canned fuel under a metal grate and a small pot boiling ontop. As you sit inside the van; a group of voices, a bunch of high schoolers from the local school whho were skipping class to come here and waste time it sounds like, talk about an old farmhouse in the outskirts of town that was overgrown with weeds, where strange things were happening. Apparently rumor had it that a boy no one liked here that seemed to constantly cause trouble for everyone, constantly chased, and generally hated by the community ran into last night - right after the firehouse caught on fire. There is a knock on the door; Jake, the tilt-a-whirl guy, knocked on the door to the van. "Oy Arizona! Strong Guy Baron Von Dipshit needs your help carrying all the weights quickly; and Talulah your Tent is set up for whatever it is you do" he leaves after giving the message. He walks away with both hand in his pocket. Louie Blue-Eye can be seen running around trying to get everything set up - but something seems off - his jacket's left arm was completely ripped off and his arm was covered in a bandage. It's really weird. Ajax walks up and knocks "Okay, you five, this is just a friendly reminder, I don't want a repeat of last time where you had to wait out of town for us to move - It wasn't your fault I know, but even then, I can't have you in the caravan if you constantly get chased out." with that he walks away. As you all get out of the van eventually you notice on a stone on an old building nearby some pilgrimage marks:  Arizona - What is the strong man's real name; why did Jake call him such a name? Do you know? Toby - It seems like no one needs you today! That's great isn't it? What do you want to do today? Why did Cleo quit the night they got here? Talulah - The world is your oyster to get people to come in what do you do for your tent? Or do you even go to your tent right now? Dolly - When you leave the van it seems that Louie Blue-Eye is always following you around, criticizing your appearance, why is he doing that? Marx - Do you feel afraid like the creator of those pilgrimage marks?
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Sep 5, 2016 03:21
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| # ¿ Apr 25, 2024 14:15 |
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Toby you stare at the plastic item for a bit until a soft elderly voice is heard behind you.  "Hello there little man; what is it you are holding there?" she asks dotingly, with a warm smile. She seems to be holding a first place award from what you can tell. "Are you lost? Why don't you follow me to the tent over there" she points to the pie contest tent "And I will get someone to look for your parents while you enjoy my prize winning apple pie" She seems old and doesn't have anyone with her from what you can tell and she didn't seem to be looking for anyone in particular, she offers you her hand to take so she can lead you to the tent. Arizona Killer; you can be reasonably sure that a lone pandoran would not seek to interact with people unless the people had what they wanted. While they probably know you are there; as long as you are around people you can be reasonably sure that you are safe Marx The Writing you know is Promethean Carving; as for why, its probably where the prometheans were passing by and needed to write it as its a very visible spot for other prometheans. However these pilgramage signs are filled with pyros - meaning that they are not actually carved and only you and perhaps pandorans can see, when a normal person stares at the wall it is just a normal looking wall. As for what stands out - the only thing you can think of that stands out the most is the wreckage of the fire station. Near the van the four remaining are togehter when they see something strange; it looks like Louie is getting drawn to what appears to be a rickety old build, almost mesmerized. He ignores anyone's requests or calls to him, but they all just seem to think he has something to do - however the four in the van know differently; he wouldn't go to some strangers house while at work. Instead he would hit up the bars and then to other peoples houses. As far as you know, he has never gone yet to any bar. A few minutes after he enters the house you hear it - a loud scream of terror; oddly enough it is a scream that only you four seem to witness. There is rumor that Louie went to the house of the old woman named Mina; who would never interact with people except when it came to any sort of pie cook off; which only happened when a carnival came to town.
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Sep 15, 2016 00:16
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 Toby: The pie is sustenance; can you even taste the pie? Or does your robotic brain synthasize what you think it should taste like? And how would you describe the taste? She come back shortly while you are eating the pie and with a sigh says "No one here has seen your parents young man, however the people that someone that works in the carnival says you live with went up to the old house on the hill over there" she says and points "You should probably hurry along and join them; I bet they are worried about you" There is more pie to taste; do you let your friends go off or do you eat more pie?  As you ponder this question, something sends a chill up your circuits - you can see it what first appears like a shadow moving through the crowd - moving towards the fortune teller's wagon that she uses as a set piece even though she is not as far as you know, in fact, a romani at all.  Marx, Dolly, Tallulah, 'Zona The path towards is old, unkempt, muddy, and worst of all: deserted. The cracking of the twigs announce your presence as you head down the path. As you walk this reminds each of you of something you learned along your travels alone - what is it? Eventually you reach the old, dilapidated house...  It looks as if it could fall over with just a soft breeze...but yet it stands. Outside of the house a lady, who appears to be carved with the woes of the world upon her face; the fragility of her smile is obvious; she has a white handkerchief upon her lap, with stains of red dribbled throughout the blanket. It's very apparent that she is not very social...and she never strays from this house as the footpath here has been over grown. She doesn't look at you straight in the eye, she does however, tighten her grip upon her afghan and her handkerchief...the book Death be not proud falls from her lap as she looks a bit afraid of you all. "I..." she begins before coughing into her handkerchief violently, laying it back down on her lap "Do not get much in the way of visitors these days...how can I help you? I am afraid I don't have much in the way of food to offer...but I am sure I can find something in my house if needed" She looks frail...like she could turn to dust at any moment. How does she make you feel?
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Sep 22, 2016 00:08
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The sky is overcast - a sense of foreboding fills the air, the house heaves a bit almost like a deep breath. How does it make you feel? As it settles a bit more of the roof falls off. The house is old...very...very old. It seems like its been around the late nineteenth century. The old lady doesn't seem to move from the chair though, she simply sits there, rocking on the chair. Talulah: She smiles, most of her teeth seem to be missing, and she seems to not get out of the seat. However you hear her say to your question "Oh dear, yes, I saw him. He went into the house after I told him not too and he hasn't come out since. And yes deary I am fine...I just got a bit of the chills you know?" she smiles "As long as I am near my home though I am fine" Dolly How does it make you feel that she is basically ignoring you for Talulah and giving her information? Zona Tell us about a memory that you had. In the trees however you see nothing, except the trees begin to bleed, dripping down onto the ground below, bodies hanging from each and every tree. The scene disappears when you blink. What do you think it represents and why only you can see it? Marx With your roll you see that there was coagulated blood around the door, only one set of foot prints and the door itself looks broken. "I saw a man walk into the house a little while ago" she said with a pleasent voice, not really knowing about any sound that was produced. Toby: The shadow disappears as soon as you get near but you feel the presense of Flux nearby. It feels like it might be getting closer. Senior Scarybagels fucked around with this message at 15:48 on Oct 2, 2016 |
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Oct 2, 2016 15:43
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Marx You question her...but you notice with your investigation that there is only one set of foot prints outside of your own in the area. Its as if she has never moved from that spot in years. You hear her speak though "I...I am Mary belle Sophia, my family has lived in this house for hundreds of years..." she begins before Zona & Dolly: You both utterly terrify the woman - great job; you see her fall to the ground, struggling to get away with her hands. You notice as the skirt gets pulled and tattered by the ground that her legs...they've atrophied. They are black as the night sky...they are thin; almost mummified. She can't talk. She can't even really get away. The scare you put her in is so horrific that she can't even speak... Dolly: For your dramatic failure, gain a beat and gain the condition Callous other than that you feel as though you have done nothing to help elleviate her fair in fact you feel as though you joined up with Zona in terrifying her. How does that make you feel? Promethean 2e pg 307 posted:The manipulation of another’s emotions has caused the Zona You however with your exception success (gain a beat) find something responds to you...blood starts trickling out of the house's doorframe as you can hear it shutter...most likely from the wind. A trail of blood is moving inside. Question: With seeing her like this, the fact that she is unable to even move now...or talk. Does Zona feel good about the fact she has basically scared a handicap person nearly to death with what she knows now? Talulah - You see Zona and Dolly appear to be accosting this woman with Marx not far behind in joining them, what do you do in this case. The woman is obviously handicapped and she isn't in the best of health. You saw the book about death, do you find anything forming? Toby It doesn't take you long to get to the scene where you find Zona and Dolly standing over an old woman, whose legs are completely black. How does this make you feel? All: The wind is heavy, the trees are scratching against each other. The sky is overcast and dark. In the far distance you hear distorted music coming from the carnival; as if something is changing the pitch and speed at random. It is getting colder, but the area around you is getting tenser. What will you do? Senior Scarybagels fucked around with this message at 03:12 on Oct 17, 2016 |
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Oct 17, 2016 02:25
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Marx Your attempt to be inspiring has failed - no one seems to be paying attention to you. How does that make you feel? You do see however, that there is a heavy wind blowing through the house. Talulah With one success in spirit hunting you see that this place has spirits in it, however you are unable to tell much more than that with the roll. The old woman calms down slightly, but instead of trusting you, she just lays there calmly. You can see now that the roof of the house has almost completely collapsed in on itself, the roof tinged with red. Toby Everyone seems to be on edge, the woman on the ground seems the most pressing and at point - it seems that most are backing off of her after seeing that she can't do anything. If someone is in that much pain, do you think that their suffering should be ended? Dolly The house's actions allude you, however, the door remains open and entering is certianly a possibility if you wish to do so. Zona Oh boy, you know the black legs are not flux, its something you were taught by Texas Red that its a thing called necrosis - however this looks more akin to blackened skin due to frostbite with atrophied muscles. In other words she isn't going anywhere easily. The visions that danced in your head they weren't about an imminent firestorm, but maybe something bad is about to go down soon to the people. You may take a beat due to your condition. Everyone Episode 1 - Act III - Scene I (starting to do this now) The sky is gloomy, a heavy overcast and drips of rain coming down from the sky. It is likely going to rain soon, and the sun is setting. You hear voices inside the house, nothing you cna make out, but the emotion you can easily tell - anger - or is it fear? It might be a mix of different negative emotions but either way it feels as if the house is about to attack you when it goes...silent. Completely silent and with the house going absolutely silent you see that the old lady is no longer breathing. With the silence comes a rainfall that has no sound as well. The cracking of light in the distance flashes a figure standing inside the house and the next flash the figure is gone. Arizona you can feel this sensation that screams in your mind. Flux - it is coming towards you right now, quickly. It thirsts, it desires, and wants to feed. You all turn to see three pandorans with fires burning in the distant town below. With this everyone roll initiative, my next post will post you in order of who went first
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Nov 2, 2016 23:07
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| # ¿ Apr 25, 2024 14:15 |
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Initiative Order: Tallulah: inititave+5: 1d10+5 13 Marx: Initiative +5: 1d10+5 11 Toby: Initiative +4: 1d10+4 11 Dolly: Initative +7: 1d10+7 10 Pandorans: Initiative+5:1d10+5 10 Arizona Killer: Initiative+4: 1d10+4 9  The three pandorans circle you, smoke starts escaping the city. Toby - in the shadows of the trees you see a figure, one you were chasing earlier, however he seems to be the less pressing of the concerns as the three pandorans circle you, slowly getting closer while staying far enough away that they cannot be targeted at the same time. Their teeth snap at you and their tongues loll out hungrily. They start to move back though heading towards the trees. the figure in the back does not move nor care what the pandorans do, he simply watches. Dolly - Your acrobatics are impressive and you are hidden in the woods, watching from the shadows you can feel like an outsider looking in, describe something you notice about your group that you didn't notice while actually interacting with them. Marx - I will let you describe this, but in essence you cause everyone to now have -1 in fighting the pandorans starting next round. 'zona - You manage to slug one hard, sending it into a tree, it staggers up and the three moves slowly into the trees, disappearing. The Pandorans are in camoflauge right now, moving at half speed, in order to actually hit again you must a perception check at -2 to the roll Toby/Tallulah you are free to make a move right now and I will add it into this post when I get them in. Senior Scarybagels fucked around with this message at 03:02 on Nov 18, 2016 |
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Nov 17, 2016 23:34
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