Pulp 011

March 15, 2021

[7:10 PM] Raconteur: Your first meeting of the Aeon Society went ... well, it went. There was a lot of arguing and the upshot was that Sandy was going to lead a team to find the Fang and Alan would try to build some defenses at the likely locations the Fang could be used. Because you guys were here the previous morning, all three of you meet in the kitchen in the mid-morning, and apart from a couple staff members washing dishes you're the only ones there.

[7:11 PM] August: sips coffee.

[7:12 PM] Sandy: will grab a cuppa tea.

[7:13 PM] Ke: will enter and get a cup of tea

[7:14 PM] Ke: interesting meeting if you could call it that.

[7:14 PM] Raconteur: ((Goodness, you guys are quiet today.))

[7:15 PM] Sandy: "What meetings are you used to?"

[7:15 PM] Ke: much more organised and direct, more structure

[7:15 PM] August: There’s less punching than I expected.

[7:16 PM] Sandy: "...guess we found a happy middle."

[7:16 PM] Ke: Some people looked like they wanted to punch each other

[7:16 PM] Sandy: "Probably lucky Wild Jack wasn't there."

[7:17 PM] August: I just figured, that many egos with magic powers.

[7:17 PM] Ke: I dont see how the society gets anything done

[7:18 PM] Raconteur: Joseph wanders in, clearly tired, but wearing what certainly looks like a freshly-pressed suit that's just beginning to acquire that rumpled look he always gets.

[7:18 PM] Raconteur: Joseph: I have good news and bad news. Which do you want first?

[7:18 PM] Raconteur: He beelines for the coffee.

[7:19 PM] Ke: bad news always

[7:20 PM] Raconteur: Joseph: Someone is going to be heading for Russia in the near future. Or whatever they call it now. Union of Soviet Socialist Thingummies.

[7:20 PM] Sandy: "You got us a location?"

[7:22 PM] Raconteur: Joseph: It was mostly Nemo, really. It turned out it wasn't just an obscure Babylonian dialect but that it was also a cipher. I've a headache just thinking about it. Have they decided who's going yet?

[7:22 PM] Sandy: raises her hand.

[7:23 PM] Raconteur: Joseph: Really? I'm surprised your guardian didn't kick up a fuss.

[7:24 PM] Sandy: "He suggested it.  I'm leading the team."(edited)

[7:25 PM] Raconteur: Joseph: Good. I have confidence you'll find the thing and... destroy it, or keep it in here with the rest of the terrifyingly powerful, dangerous artifacts.

[7:26 PM] Sandy: "If it can be destroyed.  These types of things are usually very sturdy."

[7:26 PM] Raconteur: Joseph grabs a piece of fruit and a pastry and sits at the kitchen table with his coffee.

[7:26 PM] Raconteur: Joseph: Who else is going?

[7:26 PM] August: She tends to die if I don’t go.

[7:27 PM] Sandy: "This is gonna be a thing now?"

[7:27 PM] Raconteur: Joseph: ... really? She looks remarkably hale and hearty for a corpse.

[7:28 PM] August: She needs someone to tell her her ideas are suicidal sometimes.

[7:28 PM] Sandy: ".......is this about my experimental fuel supplement again?"

[7:29 PM] Ke: Sometimes a crazy idea works, often  it doesnt.

[7:29 PM] Raconteur: Joseph: ... but did it work?

[7:29 PM] Sandy: "...it may have exploded a little bit."

[7:29 PM] Raconteur: Joseph: ... did it work before it exploded.

[7:30 PM] Sandy: "Yes."

[7:30 PM] August: Briefly she was going very fast.

[7:30 PM] August: Flying a little.

[7:31 PM] Raconteur: Joseph: Well, then, a resounding success.

[7:32 PM] Raconteur: Mort wanders in, evidently without his nurse again. He's carrying a very large and quite fluffy black tabby.

[7:33 PM] Sandy: "...that your cat?"

[7:34 PM] Raconteur: Mort: No. He doesn't belong to anybody.

[7:34 PM] Raconteur: Joseph: He's enormous. Sort of a house panther, isn't he? How'd he get in here?

[7:36 PM] Sandy: "Good question.  Mort, he come from a dream?"

[7:36 PM] Raconteur: Mort: No, he says he just lives here.

[7:36 PM] Raconteur: Joseph walks up to him and scritches the cat under the chin, eliciting an impressively rumbly purr.

[7:37 PM] Sandy: "Joseph, have you met Mort?"

[7:38 PM] Raconteur: Joseph: I believe I have not. Good to meet you, I'm Joseph Blackwell, ne'er-do-well. Are you flying to Russia as well?

[7:38 PM] Raconteur: He shakes Mort's (gloved) hand, awkwardly, given that it's still mostly full of cat, and then also shakes the cat's paw. The tabby is unimpressed.

[7:39 PM] August: waves.

[7:39 PM] Raconteur: Mort: I don't think "ne'er" is right.

[7:40 PM] Raconteur: Mort: We're flying to Russia together. Not the cat, though. He doesn't like planes. Especially overseas flights.

[7:41 PM] Raconteur: Joseph: We are?

[7:41 PM] August: I can’t blame him.

[7:41 PM] Sandy: "I'll be talking to Alan about it, first."

[7:41 PM] Sandy: "Assuming you don't have better things to do, Joseph."

[7:41 PM] Raconteur: Joseph: Quite right. Until they manage to get the temperatures under control up there it's uncomfortable at the best of times.

[7:42 PM] Raconteur: Joseph: I never have anything better to do. I'll go. Let's see, so it's you, and me, and Mort, but not Sir Cat. Ke, you joining us? Anyone else?

[7:42 PM] Sandy: "August."

[7:43 PM] Raconteur: Joseph: And August, who will keep you alive, yes.

[7:44 PM] Sandy: "He'll keep us all alive."

[7:45 PM] Raconteur: Joseph: That's good. Russia's a bit... dangerous, these days.

[7:45 PM] Ke: I guess why not, never been to Russia

[7:45 PM] Ke: everywhere is dangerous

[7:45 PM] August: nods.

[7:46 PM] Raconteur: Joseph: Yes, but not everywhere's had a revolution and a host of starved peasants.

[7:46 PM] Raconteur: Joseph: Still, I suppose it could be worse. This Italian war in Africa is ... concerning. Glad I don't work for the League of Nations, I suppose.

[7:47 PM] Raconteur: Joseph: You ought to bring Nemo if you can, she's the one who worked out the cipher.

[7:48 PM] Sandy: "If she's up for it.  I'd also like someone who knows more about artifacts like this."

[7:48 PM] Sandy: "So, that' a team of six.  Probably enough."

[7:48 PM] Sandy: "...unless...would Casper be a good idea?  He seems a very powerful person to have if a fight breaks out."

[7:49 PM] Raconteur: "I'm going. If you'll have me," a voice says from the doorway.

[7:50 PM] Raconteur: It's Inari. Unlike the rest of you, she's not dressed; she's wearing a long silk robe, all in white.

[7:51 PM] Sandy: narrows her eyes. "You sure?"

[7:52 PM] Raconteur: Inari: Why not?

[7:52 PM] Ke: Why not,  the more help the better

[7:52 PM] Raconteur: She pads over to the coffee machine and pours herself some.

[7:53 PM] Raconteur: Inari: And Nemo can't come, I'm afraid. Alan's got plans for her. Something about leylines.

[7:53 PM] Sandy: "...no reason's coming to mind.  You know anything about this Fang or the cypher?"(edited)

[7:54 PM] Raconteur: Inari: No, but you'll need someone who speaks Russian, won't you?

[7:54 PM] Ke: That would be helpful

[7:54 PM] August: I certainly don’t.

[7:55 PM] Raconteur: Joseph: I understand it better than I speak it.

[7:55 PM] Sandy: You speak Russian?

[7:55 PM] Raconteur: Inari: Well, then. I'm sure I'll be very helpful.

[7:56 PM] Sandy: ...ok then.

[7:57 PM] Raconteur: Joseph: Not well, but I can usually make myself understood if somebody's patient enough. Provided they're not an angry shouty person who is partially paralyzed from a stroke. ... it's a long story.

[7:57 PM] Raconteur: Joseph: It's a shame Nemo can't come, though. I'm not half the cipher-solver she is.

[7:58 PM] Sandy: "...Mort could be useful for that."

[7:59 PM] Raconteur: Mort: Not really.

[7:59 PM] Raconteur: Mort: Cats like me.

[7:59 PM] Sandy: "You understand the desires of things."

[7:59 PM] Sandy: "Or...that's how it seemed last night."

[8:00 PM] Raconteur: Mort: Most things don't have any.

[8:00 PM] Raconteur: Joseph: I missed the meeting, what happened last night?

[8:01 PM] Ke: A lot of arguing and tension and not a whole lot of direction

[8:02 PM] Sandy: "Alan's setting up some parties.  We're on the search team while he has others building defenses.  I learned a bit about Mort's power, but not much."

[8:02 PM] Sandy: "Inari, do you know anyone who's good at codebreaking?"

[8:02 PM] Raconteur: Inari points at Joseph. "He is, apparently."

[8:02 PM] Raconteur: Joseph: Really, it was mostly Nemo.

[8:03 PM] Raconteur: Inari: You're much too modest.

[8:04 PM] Raconteur: Joseph: Well. Does Alan have a plane, or do we need to charter one? Or buy one, I suppose that's an option.

[8:04 PM] Sandy: "He should, assuming it still flies."

[8:04 PM] Sandy: "Give me the coordinates and I'll get us there."

[8:07 PM] Sandy: "...did the cypher say anything else of interest?"

[8:07 PM] Raconteur: Joseph: Well, it's in the Church of Our Lady of Kazan, which is near St. Petersbu... excuse me, it's Leningrad now, I keep forgetting.

[8:09 PM] Raconteur: Joseph: And let me think, I think it was "Use the key in the proper lock and find the treasure you seek."

[8:09 PM] Sandy: "...huh...pretty straight forward."

[8:10 PM] Raconteur: Inari: Nothing is straightforward in Russia these days.

[8:11 PM] Raconteur: Joseph: Well. Do you suppose it's safe to go home to pack? I can't possibly go to Russia on only two changes of clothes. ... for one thing, I'm going to want a warmer coat.

[8:11 PM] Ke: So the goal is go in, get the thing ,beat any other interested parties and get out.

[8:11 PM] August: I’ll go get my guns.

[8:11 PM] Ke: I think we would all like a day or two to prepare

[8:12 PM] Ke: Or at least an afternoon(edited)

[8:12 PM] Raconteur: Inari: Furs are appropriate.

[8:12 PM] Sandy: "Sounds fair.  I'll see what planes we have for leaving."

[8:12 PM] Raconteur: Mort: It's all right. We'll be back for Christmas.

[8:13 PM] Raconteur: Inari: I'm so glad you're coming with us, Mort. It'll be good to see you out and about. ... we'll have to see about getting you some sturdy boots.

[8:14 PM] Raconteur: ((It is? Last I checked it was November.))

[8:14 PM] Sandy: ((Is it? I thought it was mid Winter.))

[8:14 PM] Ke: ((I believe it was november or early december))

[8:15 PM] Raconteur: ((Well, the game started on Nov. 10.))

[8:15 PM] Sandy: ((Oh, nevermind then.))

[8:15 PM] Sandy: ((My mistake.))

[8:16 PM] Ke: If we are going to be gone a month or more I have to talk to some people i cant just vanish.(edited)

[8:16 PM] Raconteur: Joseph: It'll probably take us two or three days to get there and another two or three to get back, assuming we find the thing.

[8:16 PM] Sandy: "Let's take two days of prep before we leave.  Make sure all affairs are set straight."

[8:17 PM] Raconteur: Inari: "Affairs," hmm?

[8:17 PM] Raconteur: Joseph reddens. The cat meows.

[8:17 PM] Sandy: "Oh for Pete's sake."

[8:21 PM] Raconteur: Inari smiles. "So many irons in the fire. Well. We'll meet back here what, the day after tomorrow?"

[8:21 PM] Ke: Depends on how urgently we want to leave

[8:22 PM] Raconteur: Inari: Mmm. Tomorrow, then? Sandy, what would be best?

[8:23 PM] Sandy: "If people can be ready by tomorrow, then we should do tomorrow.  As quickly as possible."

[8:25 PM] Raconteur: Inari: Tomorrow, then.

[8:25 PM] Sandy: nods.

[8:26 PM] Sandy: "I'll finalize things with Alan."

[8:26 PM] Raconteur: Inari smiles, and sweeps out of the room. Despite wearing, essentially, a bathrobe.

[8:26 PM] Raconteur: Joseph: She's rather frightening, somehow.

[8:27 PM] Ke: She seemed to be smelling us when she first met us last night

[8:28 PM] Raconteur: Joseph: I do use aftershave.

[8:28 PM] Sandy: "I don't trust her."

[8:28 PM] Raconteur: Joseph: Then why is she coming with us?

[8:29 PM] Sandy: "I didn't have a reason I could think of not to, I'd almost rather keep her where I can see her...and we do in fact need someone with a real firm grasp on Russian."

[8:30 PM] Raconteur: Joseph: I wonder why she wanted to go. Well, I'd better get on with it, I've got a lot of phone calls to make.

[8:30 PM] August: Why don't you trust her?

[8:31 PM] Sandy: "She's cozy with Alan, she is very careful with what information she gives away...and have you seen her hair?  No way that color's natural."

[8:31 PM] August: ....

[8:31 PM] Ke: None of that seems like a reason to not trust her

[8:32 PM] Ke: and isnt everyone careful with information?

[8:32 PM] Sandy: "Not like she is."

[8:33 PM] Raconteur: Joseph: ... he's a grown man, one would expect him to be, erm. "Cozy with" somebody.

[8:34 PM] Raconteur: Joseph: And quite a lot of women's hair owes more to art than nature these days.

[8:34 PM] Sandy: "Ugh, don't be gross, Joseph."

[8:34 PM] August: It's not like he's a 300 year old monk.

[8:35 PM] Sandy: "Definitely too old for her."

[8:35 PM] August: For anyone, really.

[8:35 PM] Ke: You dont know how old she is

[8:35 PM] August: True. She could be 1000.

[8:35 PM] Raconteur: Joseph: And he looks fifty at most.

[8:36 PM] Sandy: "Yeah, old."

[8:39 PM] Raconteur: Joseph: ... I can't imagine that I'll be so old at 50 that I wouldn't notice somebody like her. Well. I shall adjourn to my calls.

[8:39 PM] Raconteur: He heads out. The cat jumps down and follows him out.

[8:39 PM] August: She is very pretty.

[8:40 PM] Ke: aggressively so

[8:41 PM] Sandy: "Yeah, sure whatever.  August, we're gonna need to close up shop.  I've got some sick days to take at work and I need to speak to Alan.  And Ke, you have 24 hours to contact whoever these "people" are."

[8:42 PM] August: I'l take care of the shop.

[8:42 PM] Ke: I could use a ride back to the city if possible

[8:42 PM] August: You can come with me.

[8:42 PM] Ke: thanks

[8:45 PM] Sandy: "Yes, thank you August."

[8:45 PM] Raconteur: All right! You guys take a day and get your shit sorted out. Sandy talks to Alan, who does indeed seem extremely distracted by his own preparations but finds time to point Sandy to a plane.

[8:46 PM] Raconteur: This turns out to be a rather small plane with an experimental design that's on loan from the west coast Aeon Society.

[8:46 PM] Raconteur: Is Sandy going to fly herself?

[8:46 PM] Sandy: will

[8:46 PM] Raconteur: Roll Pilot.

[8:47 PM] Sandy: ((One sec, wanna check if my abilities give me anything for this.))

[8:49 PM] Sandy: ((It says I can add my intuitive facet. So, I add all those dots to my roll))

[8:49 PM] Raconteur: Yep!

[8:49 PM] Sandy: ((4 successes))

[8:52 PM] Raconteur: Sandy finds a shortcut, somehow, and though you do have to slow down a bit to have another pilot spell her, you get to Russia in a remarkably short period of time, and with a remarkable smoothness virtually unheard of in air travel at this point.

[8:53 PM] Sandy: ((Found an air current going our way that gave us a push. ))

[8:53 PM] Raconteur: For one thing, turbulence is usually so bad you avoid using the lavatory unless it's dire--we hadn't got that quite worked out. It is still very cold inside the plane, as we hadn't gotten that worked out yet either, but for the most part, it's a very good trip.

[8:54 PM] Raconteur: Someone certainly pulled some strings to get you into the country as well. While Russia hasn't gone fully into lockdown yet, it's still... a bit tricky.

[8:55 PM] Sandy: "Guess we have allies here still."

[8:55 PM] Ke: or someone owed someone a favor

[8:56 PM] Raconteur: You land at a tiny rural airport several hours away from St. Petersburg and probably about an hour away from the church you're heading for. There's a car there and a driver, should you want one; you can leave all your luggage on the plane as it will be safe there.

[8:57 PM] Raconteur: It is snowing very lightly when you arrive.

[8:57 PM] Raconteur: Mort did not bring the cat, and apparently Inari arranged his wardrobe for him--it's top of the line, but very practical and warm-looking, with an earflapped fur hat.

[8:59 PM] Sandy: "Anyone object if I drive?"

[8:59 PM] Raconteur: Inari is also dressed surprisingly practically, though a bit more stylish--her hair is up in braids and pinned to her head, underneath a white fur hat and fur-lined parka. Still has bright red lipstick, though.

[8:59 PM] August: Go ahead.

[8:59 PM] Sandy: takes the driver's seat.

[9:00 PM] Raconteur: Joseph looks at the "road" out of the airport. "I'm not even sure that counts as a road, so you're welcome to it."

[9:00 PM] Raconteur: He's got a parka too, though it looks a bit less worn in than Inari's.

[9:01 PM] Raconteur: Roll Driiiiiiiive.

[9:01 PM] Sandy: has a very nice coat on.

[9:01 PM] Sandy: ((3 successes, two of which are criticals if that means anything.))

[9:02 PM] Ke: is dresed for warmth but the coat looks like it has seen better days.

[9:03 PM] Raconteur: It might or might not be worth noting that Mort's nurse did not go with him, but apparently did give some instructions to Inari about calming methods and some other things.

[9:04 PM] August: had some decent cold-weather clothes already.

[9:04 PM] Raconteur: Sandy has a pretty easy time controlling the car, and can even fishtail it a little bit to scare the bejesus out of her passengers if she wants. August has the map, with Inari looking over his shoulder to translate when needed, though it's got a red inked circle around the church.

[9:08 PM] Sandy: is best at driving.

[9:08 PM] Sandy: "So, what am I looking for?"

[9:08 PM] Raconteur: She really is!

[9:09 PM] Raconteur: Inari: Spires, I think. This church is famous for its emerald-green spires and beautiful brickwork.

[9:10 PM] Raconteur: August, roll... hmm, survival, I think. Or Drive, whichever you prefer.

[9:10 PM] August: (4 survival successes.)

[9:10 PM] Raconteur: Wow, nice!

[9:10 PM] Ke: will keep an eye out for green spires or anything else of interest as we drive

[9:11 PM] Raconteur: You have no trouble directing Sandy where to go, despite the map being in a different language and also 20 years out of date.

[9:11 PM] Raconteur: Unfortunately, when you get to the church, which is on the outskirts of a small Russian village, you spot a problem.(edited)

[9:12 PM] Sandy: "Joseph, Inari, you both keep up to date on this stuff, I assume.  What's the political climate here like and how likely is it to effect us?"

[9:14 PM] Raconteur: Joseph: Well, the Communists are in charge. Stalin. It's a fake name, it means "Steel." It's a bit... well it tells you a lot about someone.

[9:15 PM] Sandy: "Indeed it does."

[9:15 PM] Raconteur: Joseph: He's trying to get their military and industry up to snuff and he's already started cracking down on opposition. I think it'll get worse before it gets better.

[9:16 PM] Ke: Hopefully it wont effect us and we can just be in and ou

[9:16 PM] August: That is definitely the way the world works.

[9:16 PM] Raconteur: Inari: They murdered the Romanovs, you know. But they won't admit it.

[9:16 PM] Sandy: "...not exactly shedding a lot of tears for them."

[9:17 PM] Raconteur: Joseph: They're related to half the crowned heads of Europe. And some of them were children.

[9:18 PM] Sandy: "Ok them I feel bad for."

[9:18 PM] Raconteur: The church, when you reach it, WAS once a beautiful structure, and enough of it remains that you can tell this. Its domes have a sort of scaled effect, and the domes that still exist are still topped with crosses, some visible through the snow. The brickwork that still exists is ornate, planned to a T with complex patterns and curves, different colored bricks creating many designs.

[9:19 PM] Raconteur: Unfortunately, it's also clear that something happened to the church at some point in the past, as a big portion of it has collapsed and has several inches of snow over it; one of the domes is even lying on the ground.

[9:19 PM] Raconteur: There's enough snow on it that even from the car, you can tell it's not new damage.

[9:22 PM] Sandy: "Ok, so...who's ready for some digging?"

[9:23 PM] Ke: We might still find a working entrance

[9:23 PM] Raconteur: It does look like you can just walk right into the wreckage, although of course you should probably check to make sure the roof won't cave on you first.

[9:25 PM] Sandy: will park the car.

[9:25 PM] Raconteur: Easily done, though there's no parking lot of any kind. Probably there aren't many people with cars in the village.

[9:25 PM] Ke: at least we should not run into anyone inside

[9:26 PM] Sandy: will pick up a snowball and fling it at the ceiling to test durability.

[9:27 PM] Raconteur: Roll... Athletics. And also Engineering. Anyone can roll Engineering. Or a straight Int check on that one.

[9:27 PM] August: (2 atheletics, 2 engineering.)

[9:28 PM] Sandy: ((6 success on engineering, 2 on athletics, crits on both))

[9:30 PM] Raconteur: The snowball doesn't seem to bother the ceiling at all, but some snow blorps down from it. Both of you dodge it.

[9:31 PM] August: Seems pretty solid.

[9:31 PM] Sandy: "...these scorch marks...this wasn't just a burning.  I think it was bombed somehow."

[9:32 PM] Ke: So do we know where in the church we should look?

[9:32 PM] Ke: surprisingly intact for a bombing

[9:32 PM] Sandy: "Yeah.  Also, doesn't track with the history.  WWI was never fought this far into Russia.  It was barely fought on Russian soil at all."

[9:33 PM] Raconteur: Joseph: "Use the key in the proper lock and find the treasure you seek."

[9:34 PM] Sandy: "...I think the explosion occurred inside.  The scorch marks are patterning outward."

[9:34 PM] Ke: so whats the key and whats the lock?

[9:43 PM] Sandy: will go inside.

[9:44 PM] Ke: enters as well(edited)

[9:47 PM] Raconteur: Inari: Where do you usually find treasure?

[9:47 PM] August: nods. "It's a deliberate explosion.  Chemical explosives."

[9:47 PM] Raconteur: She climbs in and starts looking around. So does Joseph. Mort crouches inside the church and brushes some snow away from the floor.

[9:48 PM] Ke: why would someone want to blow this place up?

[9:48 PM] Ke: will look around as well

[9:48 PM] Raconteur: Joseph: Maybe so that no one finds what we're looking for. There was a lot of violence right after the Revolution.

[9:49 PM] Raconteur: Inari: I don't think I'd want Joe Steel to have the Fang. He sounds as bad as the Italian jackanapes.

[9:49 PM] Sandy: looks around the church.

[9:50 PM] Raconteur: Joseph: The League doesn't seem to want to stop him, do they?

[9:50 PM] Sandy: "Why would they?  Not their problem."

[9:51 PM] Raconteur: Roll Investigation, all of yas.

[9:51 PM] Sandy: ((2 successes))

[9:51 PM] Raconteur: Joseph: Selassie wants it to be their problem. But you're right, they don't seem to care.

[9:51 PM] Ke: ((3 successes))

[9:52 PM] Raconteur: Inari: No one cares about Africa unless they're carving it up.

[9:52 PM] Sandy: "Yep.  No changes there."

[9:53 PM] August: (Only 1)

[9:53 PM] Raconteur: Mort: It's still here.

[9:54 PM] Raconteur: All three of you more or less converge on a single point in the church, where there's about an inch more snow on the ground than anywhere else.

[9:55 PM] Sandy: wipes it away. "You hear it, Mort?"

[9:55 PM] Raconteur: It's in the easternmost side of the church where there are the ruins of a stone altar, probably marble, though its hard to tell with all the weathering.

[9:56 PM] Raconteur: Mort: No, but I hear them.

[9:56 PM] Ke: hear who?

[9:56 PM] Raconteur: Mort: The people down there.

[9:57 PM] Sandy: "...people people?"

[9:58 PM] Raconteur: Mort: People.

[9:58 PM] Raconteur: Inari: Christian churches used to bury people right inside, isn't that interesting?

[9:59 PM] Sandy: ".......Inari...are you suggesting zombies?"

[9:59 PM] Raconteur: Under the snow is a big trap door made of wood.

[9:59 PM] August: We’ve already dealt with ghosts.

[9:59 PM] Raconteur: Inari: Of course not. I was suggesting grave robbery.

[10:00 PM] Sandy: "Well, I hope so.  We can shoot grave robbers."

[10:00 PM] Sandy: "Ke, you ok going in first?"

[10:00 PM] Ke: sure

[10:00 PM] Ke: will open the trap door

[10:01 PM] Raconteur: Roll Might!

[10:02 PM] Ke: ((2 succeses))

[10:03 PM] Raconteur: You pop that door open like it's nothing even though it weighs several times your weight.

[10:03 PM] Raconteur: Inari: I think we're the ones robbing graves, at the moment. I wonder if the Fang is the only treasure.

[10:03 PM] Raconteur: There's a ladder going down into the darkness.

[10:04 PM] Ke: anyone have a light?

[10:04 PM] Sandy: pulls out a lighter for her.

[10:04 PM] Ke: will take it and cimb down

[10:04 PM] Raconteur: Mort: They don't mind.

[10:05 PM] Raconteur: Ke climbs down first, about 12 feet, onto a stone pavement.

[10:05 PM] Raconteur: Inari follows her.

[10:06 PM] Ke: will light the lighter once she gets down there

[10:08 PM] Sandy: "Ke, let us know when it is clear."

[10:10 PM] Ke: It seems clear and no sign of anyone else being down here recently

[10:10 PM] Sandy: "Ok, August you ok bringing up the rear?"

[10:10 PM] Raconteur: Inari: It's a crypt!

[10:11 PM] Raconteur: Inari: A big one.

[10:12 PM] Raconteur: Joe and Mort both climb down.

[10:12 PM] Ke: looks like a rather large room(edited)

[10:12 PM] Sandy: follows Joe.

[10:12 PM] August: nods, bringing up the rear.

[10:13 PM] Sandy: looks around. "...it is big."

[10:14 PM] Ke: Its a large space to search

[10:15 PM] Raconteur: It IS a crypt, but it's very unlike the one in Indiana Jones. It's very spacious--it seems to open up into a large room. The ceilings are low, but there are stone pillars holding them up, and large... well, sarcophagi, more or less, but not the Egyptian sort, the ancient European kind, rough-hewn and very plain, every few feet.

[10:15 PM] Ke: will look for any type of torch or lighting system on the walls

[10:15 PM] Raconteur: No visible skeletons or anything, and quite neat, though you definitely don't see any recent footprints in the dust. There IS a fair amount of dust, and it's clearly been a very long time since anyone was down here.

[10:16 PM] Sandy: "Still hear people, Mort?"

[10:16 PM] Raconteur: Mort: They're all here. But they're quiet now.

[10:16 PM] Raconteur: Joseph: How do they feel about erm, visitors?

[10:16 PM] Raconteur: Inari takes out a lighter of her own and stars moving forward into the crypt.

[10:17 PM] Sandy: follows her

[10:17 PM] Raconteur: Mort: They don't mind.

[10:18 PM] Ke: will also head forward checking the area

[10:19 PM] Raconteur: Inari: This church was built starting in 1670. Probably some of these people have been here almost since then.

[10:19 PM] Sandy: "...odd attitude for grave robbers."

[10:19 PM] Raconteur: Mort: We're not going to take anything from them.

[10:20 PM] Raconteur: As you move ahead, the stone coffins start getting a bit more ornate, fancier.

[10:21 PM] Raconteur: So do the columns, with a bit of brickwork around them helping shore them up.

[10:21 PM] Raconteur: As you reach the more gaudy eras, there are statues of the people entombed, and then all sorts of other statues--cherubs, angels, mourning women, flowers, all kinds of random crap.

[10:21 PM] Ke: Interesting the bombing did no damage to this bit of the structure

[10:22 PM] August: It was mostly fire.

[10:22 PM] Raconteur: Silhouettes, crowns, random shit.

[10:22 PM] Raconteur: Like, there are clearly some wealthy people buried here who had taste like an 18- 19th century Donald Trump.

[10:24 PM] Sandy: "....anyone see something that looks like a key or a lock?"

[10:24 PM] Raconteur: Inari: Look at that stonework. And that's hammered gold leaf, if I'm a judge. It's a shame Alan isn't here.

[10:25 PM] Raconteur: Once you get to the Ugliest Sarcophagus with the most crap on it, the passage ends with a door, seemingly made of stone? It's a very unusual door even apart from that, however, as it appears to be entirely composed of locks. Easily 200 or more of them.

[10:25 PM] Sandy: "I'm sure he's seen all this before."

[10:26 PM] Ke: thats a lot of locks

[10:26 PM] Raconteur: Inari: Beauty never gets old.

[10:26 PM] Sandy: "...ok...this seems like the right door."

[10:26 PM] Sandy: will analyze the keyholes for tricks.

[10:27 PM] Ke: will look at the locks as well

[10:28 PM] Raconteur: There are an awful lot of them! Roll Investigation!

[10:28 PM] Raconteur: They are packed tightly together, too.

[10:29 PM] Raconteur: Or Awareness.

[10:29 PM] Sandy: ((2 successes))

[10:29 PM] Raconteur: Either will work.

[10:29 PM] Ke: ((1 success))

[10:29 PM] August: ((3!)

[10:30 PM] Raconteur: All the locks look like pretty functional locks to you guys.

[10:31 PM] August: ...hold on.

[10:31 PM] August: points to a lock. "This one."

[10:32 PM] August: Someone's been trying to get this one open. See the scratches?

[10:32 PM] Ke: will look

[10:33 PM] Raconteur: There are indeed a few barely-visible scratches in the stone around that lock.

[10:33 PM] Ke: so we need a key

[10:33 PM] Sandy: tries to memorize the shape of the lock.

[10:34 PM] Ke: or we could try without it

[10:35 PM] Raconteur: Inari: Where do you put your keys?

[10:36 PM] Sandy: checks the stones in front of the door for a loose one.

[10:37 PM] Raconteur: There aren't any, unfortunately.

[10:37 PM] Raconteur: Joseph: Good thinking, though. Hm.

[10:37 PM] Sandy: "...that would be a bit obvious though."

[10:38 PM] Ke: maybe on one of the caskets?

[10:38 PM] Raconteur: Joseph: They probably thought you have to know which lock to use for it to work anyway.

[10:39 PM] August: Does the style of the door match any of the caskets?

[10:39 PM] Raconteur: It does not!

[10:39 PM] Sandy: "...is there a top lip to the door?"

[10:39 PM] Raconteur: It's just a rough-hewn stone door with a zillion locks in it.

[10:39 PM] Raconteur: There is.

[10:40 PM] Sandy: "...second place I'd put a key...can anyone reach?"

[10:40 PM] August: checks up there.

[10:41 PM] Raconteur: August, being a tall kid, can. And grabs a very old iron key, dusty but not rusted.

[10:41 PM] August: .... really.

[10:41 PM] Sandy: "...apparently."

[10:42 PM] Sandy: "Let's try it before we gloat, though."

[10:43 PM] Ke: who wants to try it?

[10:43 PM] August: will.

[10:43 PM] Raconteur: Mort seems to mostly be inspecting the statues on the more ornate tombs.

[10:44 PM] Sandy: "...he's a good kid."

[10:45 PM] Raconteur: August puts the key in the lock and turns it, carefully; there's a click, and you can hear the very old mechanism working. The door ... rolls open? You're not totally sure how it works, but the whole door pushes itself back and you see that it was in fact several feet thick stone. But it's open now.

[10:45 PM] Raconteur: Joseph: Seems a bit odd, but aren't we all?

[10:45 PM] Raconteur: It's a small room inside, with just one very plain sarcophagus in it, unadorned with even a cross.

[10:46 PM] Ke: so in that casket we think?

[10:46 PM] Sandy: "...this is more advanced than I'd assumed it would be."

[10:47 PM] Raconteur: Joseph: There's nothing else in here that I can tell.

[10:47 PM] Sandy: "...who first?"

[10:47 PM] Raconteur: He inspects the walls with a lighter, checking them for writing or carvings; there aren't any.

[10:48 PM] Ke: goes in and checks the lid and sarcophagus

[10:48 PM] Raconteur: The lid and sarcophagus are both made of stone, probably very heavy indeed.

[10:48 PM] Ke: anyone want to give a hand opening this?

[10:49 PM] Sandy: will come help.

[10:49 PM] Raconteur: Joseph does too. Inari has stayed back with Mort.

[10:50 PM] August: does too!

[10:50 PM] Sandy: "On three...one....two....THREE!"

[10:50 PM] August: If I knew we were robbing graves I would have brought my kit.

[10:50 PM] Sandy: lifts

[10:52 PM] Raconteur: Everyone, roll Might!

[10:52 PM] August: ((1 success)

[10:52 PM] Ke: havent really robbed graves before usually different obstacles to robbery

[10:53 PM] Ke: ((2 successes))

[10:53 PM] Sandy: ((Holy shit, 3 successess))

[10:53 PM] Sandy: ((How the fuck did I do that?))

[10:56 PM] Raconteur: The lid slides off the sarcophagus, and inside, you see...

[10:56 PM] Raconteur: A CLIFFHANGER UNTIL NEXT TIME WE PLAY.

[10:56 PM] Raconteur: So there.

[10:56 PM] Raconteur: And there we stop for the evening.