Cthulhu Dark -- A Secret Everest Expedition

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Dr. Gerard
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Re: Cthulhu Dark -- A Secret Everest Expedition

Post by Dr. Gerard » Thu Mar 27, 2014 1:07 pm

[No need to roll exhaustion, since no one tried to race Wangdi or unusually push their limits. Things get increasingly more physically taxing as the air gets thinner -- at some point even normal tasks might require an exhaustion roll, but not yet. Riq, I searched our game thread, but couldn't find past references to your Insanity and Exhaustion scores. Can I assume that you have only gained one Exhaustion and one Insanity? If so, that would mean you are: Insanity 2, Exhaustion 2. Let me know if I'm wrong!]
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Re: Cthulhu Dark -- A Secret Everest Expedition

Post by Riq » Thu Mar 27, 2014 10:04 pm

Dr. Gerard wrote:[No need to roll exhaustion, since no one tried to race Wangdi or unusually push their limits. Things get increasingly more physically taxing as the air gets thinner -- at some point even normal tasks might require an exhaustion roll, but not yet. Riq, I searched our game thread, but couldn't find past references to your Insanity and Exhaustion scores. Can I assume that you have only gained one Exhaustion and one Insanity? If so, that would mean you are: Insanity 2, Exhaustion 2. Let me know if I'm wrong!]
[I think that's about right, but I can't access my old profile under 'Tariq', so can't be completely sure... I don't see either remaining quite so low for much longer though]

Wangdi arrived at Camp I, and quickly set up the tent...

[I anticipate having to roll to ensure it's done well enough to survive people sleeping in it and any strong winds / moderate snowfall... I rolled 5 - http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4448474/ ]

After this the dedicated Sherpa began searching for Odell's tracks [i'm assuming he and his tracks are currently out of sight], by walking in a ascending corkscrew-like curve up from the right end corner of the Camp gradually bearing left and forwards... with the electric lamp illuminating the darkening mountain and gently testing the path in front of him for man made depressions that might be covered with a crust of freshly fallen snow.

[for this I'd roll twice - one for experience and one for exhaustion... I rolled 2 and 2 - http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4448475/ ]

Wangdi continues up the mountain until he either:

(a.) sights Odell by pure luck, at which point he will roll on catching up with him; or
(b.) sights any demons, at which point he will roll San, then roll to return to the monastery as quickly as possible; or
(c.) reaches the point of no return, whereby he has reached the limit of his endurance before having to head back to Camp I or risk a night exposed on the mountain, at which point he will roll to successfully navigate an exhausted safe path back, in the dark.

Given the lead Wangdi had over the others, the length of time it would have taken to erect the tent, and with the pace Wangdi is taking in tracking Odell, it is highly likely that he is not far from Camp I and only just out of sight of the others as they arrive.

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Re: Cthulhu Dark -- A Secret Everest Expedition

Post by Dr. Gerard » Thu Mar 27, 2014 11:08 pm

Wangdi sets up the tent and stakes it down securely -- a task he is able to do with expert care in his sleep.

Cinching down the last guy line, he looks up for a moment and catches a little bit of motion far up the valley toward the Camp II site. A dark figure seems to dart against the great wall of the glacier edge in the distance. Possibly Odell, but possibly those others he was following. (Or possibly just nerves playing with his eyes?)

If that's Odell, he must be hours ahead. No foreigner Wangdi had known could make it that far in a single day at this altitude, though Odell has been adapting for weeks and is exceptionally fit.

Then, Wangdi hears a noise. Something crunches against the crust up ahead and closer to the western edge of the valley. It's something close.

He begins a winding search for tracks in that direction, ever watchful as he goes. The sound is difficult to locate, and following it draws him away from the tent site. He can see the others behind, maybe an hour's travel before they arrive. The sound is not coming from that direction. It's ahead. But off the trail.

He finds a depression in the crust, and cracks radiating out from it. Something fell here.

After a moment, he notices other fissures, and a kind of trail. Following along, yet being careful not to stray too far from camp, he follows these marks for a hundred meters or so.

Though it's still day, the sun is now well below peaks to the west, and light could be playing tricks. Colors in this strange sunset light are deceiving.

At least that's what Wangdi clings to when he notices a spot in the snow that appears -- convincingly -- to be a large, fresh spot of red blood.

And again, he hears a scuffling in the snow. It's coming from behind a great glacial boulder ahead that juts out of the snow cover.

[Riq, from here you can decide which course of action is best. If you want to approach the sound, you may do so without rolling dice. If you want to search some more around this spot on your own, give me at least two dice (human and expert), and add other dice as you see fit. If you want to forge ahead to Camp II on your own, you have daylight and perhaps just enough energy to do so, but it would likely mean being alone for the night. You would be able to pack enough gear to survive -- though of course Wangdi knows this would be a bold and dangerous move. This option would require an Exhaustion die. Or, you could return to Camp I and wait for the others. At midnight New York time on Friday, if I don't hear from you, I will just dictate what happens next. I hope I haven't already pushed Wangdi in directions you feel he wouldn't take in this post!]
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Re: Cthulhu Dark -- A Secret Everest Expedition

Post by Riq » Fri Mar 28, 2014 12:15 am

Dr. Gerard wrote:
[Riq, from here you can decide which course of action is best. If you want to approach the sound, you may do so without rolling dice. If you want to search some more around this spot on your own, give me at least two dice (human and expert), and add other dice as you see fit. If you want to forge ahead to Camp II on your own, you have daylight and perhaps just enough energy to do so, but it would likely mean being alone for the night. You would be able to pack enough gear to survive -- though of course Wangdi knows this would be a bold and dangerous move. This option would require an Exhaustion die. Or, you could return to Camp I and wait for the others. At midnight New York time on Friday, if I don't hear from you, I will just dictate what happens next. I hope I haven't already pushed Wangdi in directions you feel he wouldn't take in this post!]
[hey Doc, very happy with the way you're keeping Wangdi's adventure and the game as a whole!]

Carefully stepping around the patch of sunset reddened snow, Wangdi unharnessed his back-pack and slips his left arm through the straps raising it up like a shield, then holding the torch in his left hand, Wangdi takes a firm grip on his ice pick and cautiously moves around to the side of the galacial boulder. Giving the outcropping a berth of a dozen feet, Wangdi moves around it and towards the sound, tracking the beam of his tortch in a wide arc in front of him... He remembers tales of daemons that live high up in such places, and how they confuse honest Sherpas in order to kill and consume them! Fearfully he stalks forward.

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Re: Cthulhu Dark -- A Secret Everest Expedition

Post by Dr. Gerard » Fri Mar 28, 2014 3:48 am

As Wangdi steps slowly closer to the boulder, he hears the rhythmic hiss of soft, labored breathing.

Peeking around the boulder and the scant protection of his pack, Wangdi spots a bit of cloth...a scrap of brown tattered robe. Circling at some distance, an oblong bundle comes into view. It is moving a little.

Wrapped tightly inside, a stout, child-sized figure is slumped against the rock, wrapped from head to toe in a discombobulation of rags and robes. Breaths slow with each exhale. A stain of some color...probably red..spreads across the snowy crust and melts into thin pools.
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Re: Cthulhu Dark -- A Secret Everest Expedition

Post by Riq » Fri Mar 28, 2014 2:54 pm

Dr. Gerard wrote:As Wangdi steps slowly closer to the boulder, he hears the rhythmic hiss of soft, labored breathing.

Peeking around the boulder and the scant protection of his pack, Wangdi spots a bit of cloth...a scrap of brown tattered robe. Circling at some distance, an oblong bundle comes into view. It is moving a little.

Wrapped tightly inside, a stout, child-sized figure is slumped against the rock, wrapped from head to toe in a discombobulation of rags and robes. Breaths slow with each exhale. A stain of some color...probably red..spreads across the snowy crust and melts into thin pools.
Weary of what could be a demon, Wangdi slowly approaches the figure and calls out in Tibetan, then Sherpa:

"Friend, what are you that the great Bhudda has created? And do you ask for help from this Sherpa?"

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Re: Cthulhu Dark -- A Secret Everest Expedition

Post by Dr. Gerard » Fri Mar 28, 2014 8:52 pm

In heavily accented sherpa, very weakly, he says the word for "help."
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Re: Cthulhu Dark -- A Secret Everest Expedition

Post by Riq » Sun Mar 30, 2014 1:34 am

Dr. Gerard wrote:In heavily accented sherpa, very weakly, he says the word for "help."
Wangdi carefully hurries forward to examine the fallen child sized bundle.

Despite the terrifyingly bizarre events of these last few days Wangdi will still aid those in need, and if Mister Odell us responsible for having harmed someone then he would be duty bound to help undo the Westerner's mischief.

Having said that, Wangdi is still weary of this being a demon.

[if this turns out to be an innocent (perhaps even one of the lepers from the monastery) Wangdi will try to move him/her to Camp I for medical aid. If it is a demon, who is n need of help Wangdi plans on bartering aid for a magical favour... If the person or demon is hostile Wangdi's ice pick has a sharp point to it.]

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Re: Cthulhu Dark -- A Secret Everest Expedition

Post by Dr. Gerard » Mon Mar 31, 2014 9:05 pm

As he draws closer, Wangdi recognizes the figure as one of the lepers from the monastery.

"Help me, please." The person repeats. Speaking seems to require a strenuous effort and wheezes words out slowly. The man is soaked in warm blood and unable to walk on its own. Wangdi, though weary, begins to carry the man back to camp.

On the way, he whispers softly..."do not let them kill me. Please do not let that monster dishonor the graves of my ancestors..."

Trafford, Finch and Ansfrid are scanning the site for signs of Wangdi, when Hingston points in the direction of a distant rock and shouts "he's there!"

Wangdi approaches, carrying a bundle. As he draws closer, the men at camp can see that he is carrying a small figure, soon recognized as one of the pygmy pilgrims from the monastery. The light is dimming, but even from a few paces away it becomes clear that both the little man and Wangdi are covered in blood.
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Re: Cthulhu Dark -- A Secret Everest Expedition

Post by Scriven » Tue Apr 01, 2014 11:25 pm

For a moment, Finch is struck dumb -- the memory of the anguished and bloodied Champo La still fresh in mind. "Quick, get them into a tent!" he cries, unsure if the blood comes from the leper only, of Wangdi as well. Ushering the staggering figure of Wangi toward the tent opening, Finch begins feverishly casting about for some clean material to form bandages.
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