Cthulhu Dark -- A Secret Everest Expedition

[trevlix]

Hearing Finch's cry to action, Trafford snaps out of the shock of seeing Wangdi and his companion covered in blood and rips open the tent doors, ushering them in. Once they are in, he starts using bandages and clothes to wipe away the blood and determine who is hurt and what happened.

[Dr. Gerard]

At a glance, it seems the wrapped figure is the one who is bleeding. Hingston also springs to action, unfolding his basic base camp medical kit. The man writhes under Hingston's touch, and resists as he tries to unwrap the bloody rags.

"Trafford, Finch -- hold this man's legs down. He's too restless!"

The hood of his heavy quilted garment falls back, partially pulling with it a rag that covered his face. His features are strange -- skin scarred and warty, eyes clouded over white, with a short forehead and a chinless jawline. The middle of his face is a mere socket and two slits where a nose might once have been...perhaps lost to frostbite or leprosy. His lips are pulled into an exaggerated grin as he searches the faces of those in the tent. His eyes, such as they are, lock onto those of Wangdi.

"My Brother!" he shouts to Wangdi in broken Sherpa, "They bring demons to Mother Mountain! Do not let them kill me! Help!"

"Hold him down, I say!" Hingston snaps, rolling up his overcoat sleeves.

[Hingston rolls [2] [3] for his medical skill to assess the damage and stop the bleeding. He does, though the wound is still serious. http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4454518/]

"Ack, it's bad. He's been shot. It's in the belly, and didn't go clean through. I can hold back the bleeding with pressure for now but..."

He pauses. He shakes his head.

"I'm sure we know who's responsible." Hingston's eyes flair. Then, his brow tightens. "What is this...some kind of tumor?" He cuts back some more of the rags with a pair of medical shears, revealing an spongy, apple-sized bag of flesh attached at the lowest rib above the wound.

It slowly expands and contracts.

A piercing groan, almost feline, starts deep inside the man and grows louder like an alarm. His eyelids yawn open and his grin stretches back to reveal sharp, triangular teeth.

The man explosively shrimps out of the others' grasp with a burst of uncanny strength. He sits up, flings his short arms around Hingston, and bites deeply into the doctor's exposed arm at the elbow.

There is a sound of grinding bone.

[trevlix]

"Dear God!" Trafford yells, urging himself to keep what food he has eaten inside him. Hingston screams in pain, and Trafford is instantly transported back to the horrors of the Great War, and the wounds he saw suffered by men on both sides.

He jumps at the man...the thing...biting Hingston and attempts to punch him.

not sure what to roll here, if anything

[Dr. Gerard]

[Cool. First, tell me a little more about what you hope to happen. That will help me interpret a poor or exceptional result. Trafford is a trained soldier, so I'll allow two dice for this. You may add Insanity or Exhaustion (or both) if you want better chances, but you don't have to. Be warned that if you get a [6], you might somehow exceed your goal -- and I'll add something extra to the outcome. And here's how combat with relatively mundane entities works. Assuming you don't get a [6], I'm probably going to declare what I would like to see happen, generally on behalf of the opponent, and then roll against you. I may ask for a roll against your Insanity or Exhaustion if the result I describe seems to warrant it.]

Hingston screams as teeth grind deep into his elbow. His primal bellow resonates down the valley.

[Scriven]

Seeing the sac of flesh on the figure's abdomen, Finch's mind is racing back to the glabrous lump of tissue they found outside the monastery . . . and it is a moment before his stunned brain can register the attack on Hingston. "Christ Jesus!" he shrieks, reaching for the handle of the doctor's medical kit, intending to bring the metal box down on the back of the creature's head. . .

It seems to me that two rolls are called for here -- insanity and a human capability roll to determine the outcome of Finch's action, yes?
If so, here are the rolls: Insanity: 3 http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4455234/ Human capability: 2 http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4455238/

[George Finch - Exhaustion: 2 Insanity: 3]

[Dr. Gerard]

[Scriven is right, folks. Everyone must roll against their Insanity when seeing the strange growth on the man, particularly when it moves. Scriven, I take it that your Insanity has remained at 3, so you're able to find a rational cause for odd features and unusual growths.]

[I think it would be very interesting if Finch were to catch Trafford on the back of the head instead. I roll to beat a [2], and succeed. Narrative rights are mine!! http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4455251/]

Trafford braces and swings his fist at the man. He connects squarely, but then sees nothing but a burst of stars behind his eyes.

[A little time bending here -- I'll still allow Trafford's punch and we'll determine the flavor of the result pending a roll (rolls?) from Trevlix.]

Finch swings the medical box downward, just as Trafford steps in to box the biting man. Trafford strikes the man. Too committed in his panic to stop, Finch catches Trafford square above the ear with the metal corner -- which sounds a meaty crunch. The latch of the box gives way, and the contents go flying -- small knives, scissors, bandages and glass medicine bottles scatter in an arc about the tent. Trafford collapses to the floor, badly disoriented and left ear ringing fiercely, but still conscious.

[trevlix]

I'm good with what you just described. I assume you don't want me to roll for punching still.

Sanity roll: 6

Sanity increased by 1! I'm also going to roll my exhaustion as well regardless since Trafford is tired from the journey and didn't expect to fight...plus getting hit in the back of the head.

Exhaustion roll: 6

OK up to you if that counts as a tie or not with the sanity roll. Let me know, and if so, I'll up my exhaustion by 1.

[Dr. Gerard]

[Thanks, Trevlix. Actually, if you don't mind, I think it would be best for you to roll two dice for the punch, and we'll consider that exhaustion die as your third. Because of the way we've been handling the matching mechanic, Exhaustion needs other dice in the pool to boost risk, and the Insanity fail is its own standalone result here. To move things along in case you don't get a chance to post today, I will just consider the punch result to be a [6], since it's going to be the highest result of your fighting pool anyway. Obviously, I'm not going to make an opposed roll against that. For now, your Insanity ticks up another notch! Can't wait to hear how this manifests!]

As leopard spots fade from Trafford's vision, he sees the wounded little man crumpled against the opposite wall of the tent. His mouth and eyes are open, but he's not moving. Though he barely recalls connecting the punch, he knows from the way his knuckles tingle that it was a solid knockout strike. From the distance, he must have truly sent the man flying. And yet, there was something strange about that man's skull. Softer. And misshapen.

[This realization is to indicate some extra insight that a [6] can trigger. As an option, deeper insight from a [6] can trigger an Insanity roll. In this case, let's just consider this extra knowledge to be part of the same lost Insanity point, so no need to roll a second time.]

Hingston grasps his elbow and bellows in pain.

"The bone!" he shouts. "Straight ***** through the ***** bone!"

[trevlix]

Thanks, Trevlix. Actually, if you don't mind, I think it would be best for you to roll two dice for the punch, and we'll consider that exhaustion die as your third.

Punch rolls: 2, 6

ooc: This means by exhaustion goes up by 1 as well, right?

Trafford stares at the man, confused by what he just experienced. His head still aching, he tries to concentrate. Then he starts laughing.

His mind flashes back to a toy he had in his youth. A silly, mishapen stuffed doll that was dressed in a clown costume and had a pointy and soft head. A large grin appears on his face.

"Its Mr. Jiggles!" Trafford yells out, pointing at the crumpled body. "Mr. Jiggles! Mr. Jiggles! He's come back to me!"

The sound of Trafford's laughter and glee contrasts with the cries of pain from Hingstom. Between the laughs and cries, the wind can be heard outside.

[Dr. Gerard]

[Yes, Trafford's Exhaustion increases by one because of the [6]-[6] match. Egad, that's a lovely reaction, too!]