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dont be mean to me
May 2, 2007

I'm interplanetary, bitch
Let's go to Mars


AB

I may change this to just A if C falls away.

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Natalie Fartman
Apr 5, 2013

I selflessly rescued an abandoned cat during the COVID-19 Pandemic :3:

B.

sheep-dodger
Feb 21, 2013

A

malbogio
Jan 19, 2015

A. We're playing a smarty pants character who actually figured out what was going on. This is our chance for a proper whodunit speech.

Mr Wendigo in the Caves with the Four Axes.

HiHo ChiRho
Oct 23, 2010

AB

Toughy
Nov 29, 2004

KAVODEL! KAVODEL!

AB all up front but with concern and sympathy.

Loel
Jun 4, 2012

"For the Emperor."

There was a terrible noise.
There was a terrible silence.



A

Sion
Oct 16, 2004

"I'm the boss of space. That's plenty."
Chapter 1 - The Van Hagan Compound 6

You wondered how you were gonna handle this... Figured it was probably best to be upfront about it - these guys are in serious trouble and you need to know what's going on and don't have time to gently caress around. Lay it all out there for 'em. Spirit world, wendigo, that guy in the suit. The whole shebang.

Plus, you were smart enough to deserve that scene in the mystery novel where the detective gets to lay it all out there. You made your way to the trailer, gave a nod to Bryan and stepped inside in front of him. It was a pretty big trailer, really. Low ceilings, especially for a guy like Jimmy. A nice big living space with a kitchenette, two bedrooms off to the far end of the trailer. The furniture in here must have been nice once upon a time but that was a few years ago. The leather recliner couch looked like it'd been scratched at and slept on pretty extensively. There was a low coffee table, stained with rings from the bottom of coffee cups and beer cans. A huge TV, sound system and xbox looked like the only things that were kept up to date. Jimmy and Alex stood up seeing you enter before Bryan did.

"Hey, who's this?" asked Jimmy.

Bryan moved to get past you, holding a hand up as if ready to explain. You cut him off. With the full force of your knowledge, you gave a scowl to the pair of them. "Okay, so, you're Jimmy and you're Alex, right?" you ask, pointing at Jimmy and Alex as you ask. You get a slightly confused look and a slow nod from the two of them. "I'm Barbara June Morgan, and I'm basically the only chance you guys have of getting out of the mess you're in right now."

Jimmy narrows his eyes at that. "Well, poo poo, Barb, when you put it like that, how can a guy be real suspicious of you an' your lawyer buddy o'er here?" He folded his arms.

Alex looked far more interested. You started to pull your backpack off and bring it around in front of you.

"You guys, Sharn and Harry snuck into the cave up on the hill recently and tried to run a ritual there to see if you could get the spirits to chill the gently caress out. All four of you have been hearing voices in your heads since you were teenagers, and you figure that maybe you could do something no one else thought they could," you said, starting to pace towards them. "The thing is, the spirits that are here aren't mad because of something that can be fixed with a ritual. They've got a legit grievance an' just asking them to stop isn't gonna cut it, no matter how nice you ask or how often you ask them." Jimmy flared his nostrils and furrowed his brow. He took a step forwards and you realised right then and there that he was a big guy. Big enough to pretty easily throw you out of any room he wanted. "What I don't get is why you brought along four axes," you said. You reached into your backpack and pulled out the possessed axe, the plastic bag around the handle keeping you safe. "I have one of them here-"

Jimmy and Alex both recoiled, as if someone was waving a loaded handgun around in front of them. "poo poo!" shouted Jimmy. "Venus-gently caress!" cried Alex as he stepped back. "Are you fuckin' crazy, bitch?"

You rolled your eyes and looked at Alex. "I really don't like that word."

"Dude, don't loving call her crazy."

"Not that word, dipshit," you sighed. "The thing is, you brought along a fifth person. I have no idea who this fifth person is but you said it was one of Them," you said, pointedly at Alex. "You said it was difficult to convince one of 'them' to come out here. Who was it?" Alex was pretty clearly put out by this and Jimmy was being held back by his friend. Then again, you were toying with an axe that, judging by their reaction, they knew was loaded up with bad stuff. "I also don't know where the other three axes are. I'm guessing since only one of the four of you is dead right now, the other three axes were thrown in the bottom of a lake or-"

"Mine's under my bed," said Alex, stepping past you. Jesus, he's keeping it under his bed? 'My atomic bomb is being kept safe, I keep it under my bed.' He walked towards the kitchen and grabbed a towel before disappearing into the bedroom on the left side of the trailer.

"Where's yours?" you ask Jimmy.

"Up your rear end," he grunts. "How the gently caress'd you know any of this poo poo?"

"You're a real charmer, you know that, Jimmy? An' I know it because I went up that hill, went on a lil' vision quest of my own. Quick trip to the spirit world. Just your regular, everyday poo poo." Alex re-enters, holding his axe. It's wrapped up in the towel and you can, almost instantly, see the same black vapor rising off it. You're guessing no one else can see it. He holds it out to you before going 'oh' and finding a second towel. "Thanks, I'll- see if I can disarm these," you say. Alex rubs his hands on his pants, looking glad to be rid of the axe. "If you could see fit to find yours, Jimmy, that'd be most appreciated," you say, staying courtious for the moment. You look over at Alex who, by this point, is the far more cooperative of the pair. "So what was the plan with the axes? Was it always to have a spirit enter it that when you held it made you wanna go kill people from a rival family?" you ask.

Alex shook his head. "It- it was for a dance. There's an axe dance and- we- I figured that if we did it with nice, fancy axes it might be worth more-"

You winced. Manitou spirits wouldn't give a poo poo if you chromed an axe and gave it spinners. "You brought four axes along, one for each of you, and the fifth guy. You got embarrassed and bailed on the ritual idea and then had him do a summoning, but what I wanna know is where you found this guy and who he is."

"Uh- Doctor Kwanbe Mundolo," said Alex. "An' we found him on Craigslist. He said he was a scion of Papa Legba an' you know what they can be like. Scions, man, they can do crazy poo poo!" said Alex, going wide in the eyes as he spoke. "Like, he walked up the side of a totem and moved like he wasn't a man no more. He twisted himself around and spoke this crazy language and then started to scream and froth at the mouth and growl."

Jimmy finally seemed to relent from his position. "Like, I've seen some serious poo poo. But this? This poo poo's gonna stick with me."

"An' when he finished doing that, he just said somethin' and left. Didn't even take the money we owed him for coming up here an' doing a proper ritual," said Alex. "Like, he's onna them African godlings, right? We figure he can do that possession voodoo stuff an' we can talk to the spirit directly, try an' explain what's the deal with the earth around here. Maybe get it to ease the gently caress up on us," he said.

And there it was. The reason they brought in a fifth man. A Scion of Papa Legba was brought in to help augment a Manitou axe-dance ritual. "And... you trusted this guy? You trusted a scion of Papa Legba?" you asked, beginning to sound increasingly incredulous. "Did you do any research into who that is before signing him on, or did you go 'oh poo poo, it's the first godblooded we can get our hands on, lets get them in'?" You stuff the twin axes into your bag.

"W-well, finding someone that'll come up here from the city is-"

"No. We needed help. We'd take any help we could get."

You sighed. "Papa Legba has another name. Èshù Elègbará," you say. "Papa Legba is the gentleman that invites you into the underworld. Èshù is the trickster. He's the deceiver, the chaotic stormfront and storyteller. You hit the first entry on Google, decided that was enough research, and went on your merry," you sigh deeply.

"Hey, we didn't mean for this to happen," said Alex.

"Well, it loving did happen. Don't gently caress with spirits if you aren't sure you know what the gently caress you're doing with them. You say what you want about Matthew, but he's been doing this poo poo for long enough to actually know which way is up, and not to trust the Scion of a loving trickster god that you find on Craigslist!" You bring your hands up to your head. "Don't- don't loving trust anything you find on Craigslist, you-" you take a breath and settle. The two men look like children being punished by a school teacher. Another breath. You point at Johnny. "You. Where's your axe? This is a loving occult- citizens arrest or something, hand it over."

He almost said something back before just heading out. You could hear a shovel scrape on the soil outside. Bryan had been quiet through all of this and was just- looking at you with a sense of amazement. Jimmy came back in after shoveling for a few more, awkward, lingering moments. He was holding a cooler which he placed on the table. "We- we did the ritual yesterday but- I got so freaked out by the poo poo I was seeing with Kwanbe that I didn't wanna fuckin' even touch the axe for long. I carried it back down here, put it in this box and buried it." He popped the box open and there, inside, wrapped in a blanket is a military spec green tomahawk. He looks at you and then back at the axe. "Sharn still has hers, an' I'm guessing you already have Harry's. How did you get that, by the way?"

"I'm a woman of many mysteries," you said, not being willing to admit to being witness to anything, let alone stealing evidence from a crime scene.

Since the gang brought the axes down from the hill while touching them, you figure that maybe just touching the axe for a moment isn't going to be enough to let the Wendigo spirit inside it take over. There's either got to be some agreement between you and the spirit, or it's a proximity and time thing. Then again, you've been hauling this thing around in your backpack and now you've got two more. If it is a proximity thing, then you might want to find somewhere to stash them.

There's a commotion outside, and Matthew bursts in through the front door of the trailer, a look of panic on his face.

"Sharn-" he said, breathing deep and fast. "Sharn is- Sharn's gone to- Ah, poo poo, Sharn's gone to Peakmist Valley. Her mom said she was acting all weird an' she- she was going out to that country club."

The color drained from the collected foursome in the trailer's faces.

You turn to the three men with you. Someone's going to have to stay here and help keep everyone calm.

"Okay, stay calm.

A - Alex, you stay here. Bryan, Jimmy, you guys are with me. We'll head to the country club and see if she's there." You figured Bryan could talk your way in and Jimmy would be good in a fight. Alex seemed a little meek to hold a place like this together in something that, to the uneducated, might look like a crisis but hopefully you'd have this solved quick enough to stop a panic.
B - Jimmy, you stay here. Bryan, Alex, you guys are with me. We'll head to the country club and see if she's there." Bryan could talk your way in, and Alex seemed mechanically savvy. Could be call for that. Jimmy was certainly strong enough to brute force people into being calm if needed.
C - Bryan, you stay here. Jimmy, Alex, you guys are with me. We'll head to the country club and see if she's there." You needed people that could talk Sharn down. Then again, if she's gone full Harry, talking might not really be an option. Bryan could keep these people calm easily.
D - Everyone stay here, I can handle this myself."

Sion
Oct 16, 2004

"I'm the boss of space. That's plenty."
A slightly more In-Depth look at Èshù Elègbará from the book.

Èshù Elègbará, the Opener of the Way
Aliases: Eleguá (Sp), Exû (Pt), Papa Legba (Fn/Kr), Papa LaBas (Kr)

Èshù can make and unmake a community, and is seen as behind all unusual occurrences in any place. First and last and always, Èshù Elègbará opens the way to begin every ceremony, then closes it at the end. Wanna talk to anyone else on the list? Get at him first.

When Olódùmarè upended his basket of Purviews, Èshù Elègbará shouldered everyone else out of the way to catch the most: travel, language, play, timely and untimely arrivals, ordered and chaotic paths, stories, sex, the passage between life and death — everything between point A and point B. He is the divine messenger, the prime manipulator of the universal energy called àshe. As a lover of games and storytelling, you’re his charge. If you feel thankful, he likes rum, toys, candy, and cigars. Leave them at any crossroads. He’ll get ‘em.

You’ll know it’s him if you see a kid or an old man in a black-and-red outfit, anything from a linen suit to a Deadpool cosplay. His adult Incarnations tend to have a permanent Omen in their pants, which Olódùmarè probably intended as a curse, but was not received that way. He leans
on a staff or cudgel, and not just for dick jokes; Èshù usually has a missing leg and/or a back injury. His sexual appetite is legendary, his Scions many. He expects them to do whatever they want and not bother him about it, although if you manage to buttonhole him and make him laugh, he’ll probably take you out for drinks or dinner and somehow charge Obàtálá for it.

Lord Zedd-Repulsa
Jul 21, 2007

Devour a good book.


AC

JesterOfAmerica
Sep 11, 2015
AC

sheep-dodger
Feb 21, 2013

A

malbogio
Jan 19, 2015

C

Toughy
Nov 29, 2004

KAVODEL! KAVODEL!

Can't Matthew keep the peace here or is he definitely coming with us?

Sion
Oct 16, 2004

"I'm the boss of space. That's plenty."

Toughy posted:

Can't Matthew keep the peace here or is he definitely coming with us?

I'd say Matthew is in a bit of a panic at the moment. He knows that Harry died with the axe in his hand and now knows that another of the kids from the compound has gone missing after 'acting weird' that day. You could do that if you wanted. He most likely won't be coming with us.

Toughy
Nov 29, 2004

KAVODEL! KAVODEL!

Sion posted:

I'd say Matthew is in a bit of a panic at the moment. He knows that Harry died with the axe in his hand and now knows that another of the kids from the compound has gone missing after 'acting weird' that day. You could do that if you wanted. He most likely won't be coming with us.

Counterpoint he wasn't upset or overall distraught over Harry.
He wasn't his kid so it's sad and sucks but whatever.

Natalie Fartman
Apr 5, 2013

I selflessly rescued an abandoned cat during the COVID-19 Pandemic :3:

A.

:black101:

Blasphemaster
Jul 10, 2008

We need to get Papa Legba to owe us a favor and cash it in as a Vegas trip with him as our Party Pal.

Sion
Oct 16, 2004

"I'm the boss of space. That's plenty."
Chapter 1 - Country Clubbing 1

"Okay, stay calm," you say, looking to a pretty rattled Matthew. He was sobered up but, well, he was an old man that was a big fan of day drinking. He probably wasn't going to be much use in a potential incoming axe-fight. "Alex, you stay here. Bryan, Jimmy, you guys are with me. We'll head to the country club and see if she's there." You figured Bryan could talk your way in and Jimmy would be good in a fight.

Jimmy moved into another room in the trailer. You and Bryan headed out towards his car before being called out to and stopped. "Nah, we ain't drivin' to a country club in that. We're taking my truck," he said moving over to the beat up pickup. Jimmy pushed past the student and the lawyer, a box of 12 gauge shells in one hand and a Remmington in the other. He pulled the door open, tossed the shells in to the footwell of the passenger seat. "Get in the bed, lawyer. Ain't room for three up front and the lady ain't riding in the open air."

Bryan looked at the back of the truck, paused, and nodded before going over. He clumsily hopped into the back of it and gripped onto the sides, the sound of beercans and clutter shifting around him as he found a perch. You looked at Jimmy and bit your bottom lip. "What's with the shotgun? What's your plan with that?"

The big guy stared at you. "I ain't really the kind of guy that plans stuff like that in advance," he says, moving over to the driver seat. You climbed in to the truck and sat at the passenger's seat. "'sides, anyone tries to get to Sharn I'll probably fire off a shot or two. Most folks find their priorities shifting when buckshot's flyin'," he muttered. He stuck the truck in drive and peeled out from the compound.



It was a 20 minute or so drive, almost entirely in silence. You and Jimmy pulled up to the Country Club. A low wall ran around the entire location, capped with a line of well trimmed trees that blocked the view of anyone that couldn't afford the rather absurd rates that Peakmist Valley charged. You had a half dozen mental images of what you'd find when Jimmy rounded the corner. Overturned cars, dozens chopped up by a New Jersey Princess on an Axe Rampage. Instead, it was finely tended lawns, a pool in the distance under a large veranda, a manor house in the distance and a lovely looking collection of peacocks wandering around making a hell of a noise at each other. The pond on your left seemed to stretch off into the horizon, tall trees lining the path on your right.

"Fuckin' look at this place," grunted Jimmy. "You got people like us living twenty minutes from places like this an' sixty minutes from that fuckin' city," he growled. He had a lot of anger issues.

He put his foot down on the accelerator and there was a slam of protest on the roof of the truck from the bed. Rounding the next corner, the truck moves over the small wooden bridge over the pond, headed up to the manor house. Three floors, white walls, huge windows. Columns that looked like they belonged on the Parthenon. A statue of Athena standing in the middle of a large, round fountain. There was money here; gold leaf, white marble, silver highlights. There was a parking lot off to the side and, even in the middle of the week, this place had only a few visitors, including one beat up looking Rolls Royce. 'SH4RN' as a vanity plate. The door on the drivers side was open. There were a few SUVs, an audi, a BMW. All very fancy; tinted windows, vanity plates, clearcoat.

"Ah, gently caress..." said Jimmy pulling up and parking.

There was no one inside the car. No one at the entrance to the club. Valet parking wasn't gonna be an option today. There was a pounding coming from the roof of the van. The small window in the back of the cabin slid open. From his lofty perch, he'd spotted something.

"Uh- you guys-" said Bryan, looking into the lobby of the country club. "I- I think she's here and- I think she's gotten to work."

Jimmy and you climbed out of the truck's cabin. He grabbed his gun, a handful of shells, and dashed for the entrance. He slammed a shoulder into the doorframe and stuck his head around the corner to look inside. You arrived at the door moments later and almost threw up. The valet is laying there on the ground clutching his stomach, a huge swathe of red spilling out onto the ground. He's alive but bottoming out hard. Unless he gets some medical attention he'll be dead in a matter of minutes. You can hear some sirens far off in the distance, but they're quiet enough to suggest that there's ten minutes between where they are and where they need to be.

You decide...
A - to ignore him. He looks like he's a goner. Plus, you need all the back-up you can get to make sure that Sharn isn't in here adding to her kill count.
B - to tell Bryan to get him out of here. Talking seems like it might not be an option anymore.
C - to tell Jimmy to get him out of here. Hopefully he'll take that loving shotgun with him. The less deadly weapons there are floating around right now the better off everyone'll be.


You push forwards into the hallway. To the left there's a dining room and to the right there's a lovely looking sitting room. The sitting room leads into a bar. Beyond that is a huge conservatory that doubles up as a place to take high-tea. The dining room leads to the kitchen, back offices. There's a gym somewhere in this building, and an indoor pool.

You step forwards, checking...
D - the dining room side of the building. It's early for lunch, but there's more corridors in the back. If Sharn is here and she's being operated by a Wendigo spirit that's hunting revenge, it's probably going to be looking to strike from places no one expects. Tight corridors would make it feel right at home.
E - the sitting room side of the building. This whole thing could have been a morning tea-with-the-ladies that's gone real wrong, real fast. Could be that Sharn's pushed through here and into the back.
F - to make sure you've got Sharn's phone number. You could call it and use the ringtone to track her down. That might alert her that someone's coming for her, though.
G - to make sure there's nothing you've forgotten.
Write in.

Toughy
Nov 29, 2004

KAVODEL! KAVODEL!

B F if she's tranced out she'll ignore the phone but hopefully the ringer works

Lord Zedd-Repulsa
Jul 21, 2007

Devour a good book.


A
DE

dont be mean to me
May 2, 2007

I'm interplanetary, bitch
Let's go to Mars


Valet AB
Hunt DF

malbogio
Jan 19, 2015

BC
F


The advantage of surprise isn’t much use unless we’re planning on initiating by tackling Sharn. Personally I’d rather try reasoning with her than risk getting axed. Hard to tell what’ll be most effective though until we find her.

malbogio fucked around with this message at 09:28 on May 21, 2018

Natalie Fartman
Apr 5, 2013

I selflessly rescued an abandoned cat during the COVID-19 Pandemic :3:

A

Sorry Valet.

F.

JesterOfAmerica
Sep 11, 2015
1. AB
2. EF

Ripley
Jan 21, 2007
BC

F

Blasphemaster
Jul 10, 2008

BF

Hexenritter
May 20, 2001


BF

Sion
Oct 16, 2004

"I'm the boss of space. That's plenty."
Chapter 1 - Country Clubbing 2

You decide to tell Bryan to get him out of here. Talking seems like it might not be an option anymore. It's just a hand signal from you to him to the valet and then to the door.

Bryan nods his head before moving forwards. He wraps his arms under the valet's armpits and drags him out backwards. He knows to apply pressure to a wound which, fingers crossed, should be enough to help this guy out. He pulls his jacket off and begins to plug the rather significant hole in the valet with it.

You push forwards into the hallway. To the left there's a dining room and to the right there's a lovely looking sitting room. The sitting room leads into a bar. Beyond that is a huge conservatory that doubles up as a place to take high-tea. The dining room leads to the kitchen, back offices. There's a gym somewhere in this building, and an indoor pool.

You step forwards, checking to make sure you've got Sharn's phone number. You could call it and use the ringtone to track her down. That might alert her that someone's coming for her, though. You figure it's got to be worth the risk. Finding her in a place this big, especially if she's outside, would be like hunting an axe murderer in a country club needle in a haystack.

"Hey, Jimmy. Gimmie Sharn's phone number. I'm gonna call her and see if we can find her with the ringtone," you said. He rattled off the number quickly. You punched it into your phone and pressed call, swallowing down tension as it went. You took a moment, closed your eyes and focused. For a long moment you hold your breath, afraid that any sound is going to block out your chance of hearing the clarion call of a ringtone. Those sirens in the distance are annoying. You reach out with your senses and- hear it.

You could hear the ringtone.

Placing it was, initially, pretty challenging for a few seconds until it gets a little louder. It's probably been pulled out of a pocket. You begin to head to the left of the building, towards the sitting room. The hunch about high tea was right. After about twelve seconds, the ringer stops. With the phone against your ear, you hear it go to voicemail. You hang up, dial again, and get a little closer. Left turn, right turn, out into the conservatory looking over the outdoor pool, the tennis courts and the first tee on the nine-hole short course. The second ring sequence carries through and then it stops ringing. This time, though, it doesn't go to voicemail.

There's a very scared sounding female voice on the other side of the call. "H-hello?" it says.

You...
A - Ignore it
B - answer back. Who're they? Maybe someone managed to get Sharn's phone off her.
C - channel your inner Liam Neeson and start making threats.

Hexenritter
May 20, 2001


C, but clearly taking the piss.. Sharn needs to get caught up in Fate and be a recurring character. Thanks to OP explaining fatebinding, it appears that is actually a thing too.

Lord Zedd-Repulsa
Jul 21, 2007

Devour a good book.


BC, with C being not too serious

JesterOfAmerica
Sep 11, 2015

Hexenritter posted:

C, but clearly taking the piss.. Sharn needs to get caught up in Fate and be a recurring character. .

This

Blasphemaster
Jul 10, 2008

[b]B
C(be nice maybe)[/b ]

malbogio
Jan 19, 2015

Toughy posted:

Give it to Jimmy, have him talk to her and try to calm her down, tell her about the axe, all the while walking towards her.
+1

malbogio fucked around with this message at 05:39 on May 28, 2018

Toughy
Nov 29, 2004

KAVODEL! KAVODEL!

Give it to Jimmy, have him talk to her and try to calm her down, tell her about the axe, all the while walking towards her.

Natalie Fartman
Apr 5, 2013

I selflessly rescued an abandoned cat during the COVID-19 Pandemic :3:

Toughy posted:

Give it to Jimmy, have him talk to her and try to calm her down, tell her about the axe, all the while walking towards her.

This. If it's Sharn she needs to hear someone she knows.

Blasphemaster
Jul 10, 2008

Quick. Call NJ101.5 and request callers provide advice!

Sion
Oct 16, 2004

"I'm the boss of space. That's plenty."

Toughy posted:

Give it to Jimmy, have him talk to her and try to calm her down, tell her about the axe, all the while walking towards her.

This is a real good idea that I'm annoyed I missed an' didn't think of.

Blasphemaster
Jul 10, 2008

It's all the more dramatic if it backfires. :getin:

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Sion
Oct 16, 2004

"I'm the boss of space. That's plenty."
Chapter 1 - Country Clubbing 3

You channel your inner Liam Neeson and start making threats.

You slowly brought the phone up to your ear and cleared your throat. "Sharn," you began. "You don't know me, but I know you. I know you're not the bad guy here and you've done nothing-" much "-that could cause you to be in serious trouble. I have a very particular set of skills, that I will bring down upon you-" you say, starting to smile. "I'll cloud compute the poo poo out of you if you don't come out here an' talk this through-"

There was just a deep, ragged breathing on the other end of the line. You've heard Sharn's voice before, through the dream that you and the Spirit of Man shared. This doesn't sound anything like her. It sounds like someone's slowed her down, dropped her pitch a whole lot and taught her how to speak Haitian Creole. "Sharn pa isit la kounye a..."

"Yeah, well, I had a feeling you'd say something like that."

"Ou gen odè nan move lespri yo sou ou..."

"Uh huh..."

You listened to the area around you. "Pran sant maladi a, kansè sa a. Fèb la, repons enpotan nan move lespri yo. Ou kouvri nan fetidite li yo-" it said. You kept tracking it down only to hear a scream in the background followed by the sound of wood splintering. The screaming got louder. You figured it was no longer being muffled by a door in the way.

You broke out into a run, following the sound of the screaming. Through the sitting room, sprinting into the bar. As you move through the building you can begin to spot a little more detritus here and there; an overturned chair. Tables that had been cleared quickly, drinks left half consumed. You could hear the sound of an axe thwacking against a door. You sped up and rounded the corner to find Sharn 'here's Johnny'-ing her way through a door into a store cupboard. It was marked staff only, but it felt like there were probably some scared customers from the Sonoma family on the other side of it.

Jimmy grunted and levelled his shotgun at Sharn.

You-
A - told Jimmy to wait. You could talk her down. (Manipulation + Occult)
B - told Jimmy to wait. You could try to banish the Wendigo spirit. You're not sure how, but it can't be that hard, right? (Cunning + occult - 2)
C - told Jimmy to wait. You could speak directly to the Wendigo. You know enough about what's going on right now to be able to try and talk through its issues. (Intellect + Culture)
D - told Jimmy to shoot. Fingers crossed the shot wouldn't go through the door.
E - told Jimmy to charge in and fight. You'll follow in behind him! (Dexterity + Close Combat)
F - told Jimmy to wait. You reach into your backpack and pull out an axe. Sure, it's probably gonna hurt but you know about the wendigo spirit, and you're real strong willed. You can resist. Maybe even harness it. Channel the rage in one of these axes into something good...

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