Episode 08: Trapezoid Mountain

[Mushgnome]

Where are Fated and Pack Slave in all of this?

[crusssdaddy]

Fated and Pack Slave seek the nearest cover outside.

[Mushgnome]

Shadow and Breath shut the door and take cover in the desk room.

Fated takes cover among the large spools of metal wire, and motions for Pack Slave to do the same...

[1d6]

This is what he sees:

Some type of strange cart rolls out through the open garage door. It appears to be moving on its own power, with no driver or beast of burden to pull it. It is made out of metal in the shape of a trapezoid. It rolls smoothly over the rough terrain with six independently-suspended tires. The contraption is topped by a long metal tube that swivels back-and-forth a few times, then suddenly stops and points straight to the southeast (towards Aylesbury).

The metallic trapezoid rolls in a wide arc around the building that takes it dangerously close to your hiding spot. However, it rolls past you and accelerates. Soon it is hurtling noisily down the steep gravel slope toward Aylesbury.

Soon all is quiet on the plateau. The garage door is still open and the light remains on. A distant rustling and crashing sound suggests that the metal trapezoid has reached the edge of the forest below. The distant church-bell continues to ring in alarm.

What next?

[crusssdaddy]

Fated to Die motions Pack Slave to remain hidden, while Fated crouch-runs carefully over to the open door of the garage and peers inside...

[Mushgnome]

Fated sees this: The floor of the garage appears to be some kind of platform that can lower a vehicle down into the earth. There is also a work area neatly arranged with tools, in particular tools used to work with wire and fabricate metal objects. Hanging from pegs in the wall are disks and cogs of various sizes, like those you saw on the top of the light-tower.

The left-hand wall of the garage is dominated by a large window. However you cannot see through this window because the blinds are shut on the opposite side. To the left of this window is a broom/mop alcove with a sink and a normal human-sized door. If Fated's geometry is correct, it opens into the desk room where Fated and Shadow are hiding.

[crusssdaddy]

Fated goes to the door in the alcove and tries it -- if it opens and goes where he thinks it does, Fated will call out softly to the others to come out of hiding.

[Mushgnome]

Fated's assumption is correct, and the party is reunited in the Desk Room. (Assuming you will invite Pack Slave inside as well?)

[crusssdaddy]

Fated whistles and Pack Slave pokes his head in: "Stay hidden among the spools. If you see anyone returning, knock on the wall loudly."

Fated peeks back out into the garage... is the lighting electrical or other?

To the others: "I think I have an idea..."

[kipper]

"Well, what is it?" Breath of New Moon asks quietly. She eyes the garage for a prying-tool. If she she sees something suitable nearby she will retrieve it and return to the Desk Room, where she will try to use it to pry the desk drawer open.

[Mushgnome]

Fated observes that the garage is brightly lit by a half-dozen overhead lights. Electrical is a good guess (but you never know in CARCOSA; they might be powered by gamma radiation or the tormented souls of jale men).

Breath finds an awl that looks just the right size. A few noisy [1d6...] taps with a hammer poke through the flimsy lock and the desk drawer opens easily. Inside you find several more scissors, of different sizes and materials, some of them quite ornate. Also there are some pencils, empty manilla folders, rubber stamps, and ink pads.

[ehiker133]

The Shadow peers over Breath's shoulder as the lock is jimmied.

"Nice haul," he observes with a smirk.

"Let's get on our way before anything else comes along."

[Deleted]

Minion of the Unholy Fragnog, after some consideration (of a duration determined by the GM,) changes his mind and follows the small party up toward Trapezoid Mountain.

[crusssdaddy]

Fated takes an interest in the desk and closely eyes its length & width, looking for any added dimension that might indicate a secret compartment. He taps it looking for same. As he examines, he explains his plan:

"How many crew do you think that strange vehicle has? 1? 2? 4? No more than that, certainly. We wait in ambush, create a minor distraction to draw them out of the contraption, and then pounce from surprise. After that, why... we have a free vehicle!"

"Someone should keep an eye out that window to make sure nothing comes up the elevator in the garage..."

[kipper]

Breath gives an invisible grimace of disgust at the contents of the desk, then eyes the doors.

((OOC: IIRC there is another door out of the desk room we haven't tried yet? If so, she'll go over and open it up.))

"Not a bad plan, but there may be more people still around here as well. We also don't know how long it will be before they return. It could be hours." She says to Fated.

[Mushgnome]

Welcome back, Migellito!

Minion of the Unholy Fragnog has had quite the adventure... in the excitement following the battle in the graveyard, he became separated from the group. He tried to catch up, but was interrupted by the return of the Green Men. Rather than risk discovery, he lurked in the shadows and watched the drama unfold.

The Green Men are, initially, ecstatic. They laugh and boast of their easy victory over the pale men of the tunnel, with only a few minor injuries, and of the treasure they recovered from the lair.

However, their celebration is short-lived as one of the Matrons comes running up to Train Boss. She does not say a word, but gestures for him to follow. The Pastor's body is discovered, speculations about they mysterious strangers ensue, and a manhunt is underway!

Minion decides to take his chances in the woods and follows Breath's verbal directions to the beacon. However, he is soon hopelessly lost in the dark forest, surrounded by frightening nighttime noises. Always the frantic clanging of the church-bell is at his back.

After climbing a tall tree, Minion sees the blinking light and is able to get his bearings. As he is about to climb down, there is a mighty clamor ahead! He holds his breath and squeezes himself to the tree trunk as a bulky metal trapezoid on wheels barrels down the side of the mountain, towards the town, passing within a hundred yards of his perch.

After a few anxious minutes, all is quiet, and Minion begins to pick his way up the slope. Despite his most cautious effort, traveling through the loose gravel is a noisy, frustrating affair--two steps forward, one step back. Yet the sight of the beacon gives him hope, and he climbs on.

[Mushgnome]

Fated and Breath, there is also a larger filing cabinet under the desk. It has the same type of cheap lock as the drawer and could be opened similarly (100% chance to open with the right tools, but I will roll a d6 to see how much noise you make).

There are two doors in this room: the right-hand door leads to the garage as you know; and the left-hand door is unexplored.

The blinds can be easily raised by pulling on a cord, if you wish to open them so you can keep an eye on the garage/workroom area beyond.

Meanwhile, Pack Slave, standing watch outside, raps excitedly at the door. "Master, something is coming up the hill!" he whispers to Fated.

[kipper]

Breath sticks with her plan of checking out the left-hand door first.

[crusssdaddy]

Fated and Pack Slave step into the garage and carefully peer out from cover to see what is coming.

[Deleted]

Did the metal trapezoid seem to have some sort of sensory apparatus? Eyes, head, etc? Were there 'doors' on it anywhere?

[Mushgnome]

Minion got a quick look at the metal trapezoid as it sped by. The only apparatus of note was a swiveling, turret-like structure on its top, with a protruding metal tube about 4" diameter and 2' length. There was indeed a closed hatch of some sort on its side, perhaps large enough for a man to crawl into.

Minion has now reached the edge of the plateau and can see the beacon-tower ahead. At its base is a wooden shed with a large garage door and a smaller man-sized door.

Fated observes Minion's hesitant approach and may react as he wishes.

Meanwhile in the desk room, Breath moves toward the unexplored door. The first thing she notices is the following Green words written in gold leaf: "Supervisor Whitman."

Breath shrugs and tries the doorknob, which is unlocked. The door swings open with a creak, and Breath illuminates her head-lamp to have a look inside.

This room is a small, windowless office with no other exits. There is a bookcase full of books, a wicker basket containing rolled-up blueprints, and a large drafting table with various art supplies (charcoal, pen & ink, compass, protractor, straight-edge, etc.) and a half-finished propaganda poster.

The poster depicts a group of happy, muscular Green Men hard at work in the shadow of Trapezoid Mountain. Due to the partial state of the artwork, it is impossible to tell exactly what they are building. There are several large spools of wire (like the ones you saw outside) and one of the workers is carrying a large wire-cutting tool.

Written in Green using block patriotic letters is the slogan:

The Green Machine Needs YOU!!!

[crusssdaddy]

Fated steps out of the garage, whistles to Minion in the manner of a spotted wood finch, waves, then steps back into the garage and walks into the office.

"Let's get this file cabinet open!"

[Mushgnome]

A few pokes with the awl [1d6 noise check...] and the file cabinet lock is punctured. Fated opens the cabinet and peers inside.

The files are tagged with names written in Green (which Fated happens to read fluently). He recognizes a few of the names: The Orphan, The Orphan's Mother and Father, several of the Matrons, and Train Boss Whitman. In fact, there at least two dozen folders with the surname Whitman. Interesting.

Thumbing quickly through the files, Fated sees that a few are empty, but most of them contain one or more sealed manilla envelopes. Some of these have been stamped APPROVED or DENIED.

[Deleted]

Minion moves on up to the shed after hearing the peacock.. er.. finch. Proceeding inside, he declares "Hello, it's Minion of the Unholy Fragnog. Did that rolling machine come from here?"

[crusssdaddy]

Fated opens the envelopes for The Orphan, his Mother & Father, and the Train Boss. He sends Pack Slave back outside to watch for visitors from the cover of the spools.

[kipper]

Breathbegins a search of the Supervisor's Office. Again, she's mainly looking for a key.

[ehiker133]

The Shadow welcomes Minion back to the group.

Glad to see you made your way back up here. Did you run into any trouble on the way? We ended up dispatching the tentacled beast when we found it nursing its wounds in a small pond.""

[Mushgnome]

While Shadow and Minion get reacquainted, and Pack Slave stands watch...

Fated pulls a few select folders from the file cabinet and spreads them on the desktop. Sinking into the incredibly comfortable chair, he studies the contents...

The Orphan's folder contains but a single. blank manila envelope. Fated tears open the envelope [save vs. death ray = 5] and gets a nasty papercut on his thumb!

Inside the envelope is a lock of hair, curly in texture and colored black with greenish tints.

Fated next considers the parents' folders. The Mother has several envelopes, all stamped APPROVED, and the Father's envelopes are stamped DENIED.

Train Boss Whitman has more envelopes than the others combined, none of them stamped.

Wisely using a scissor this time, Fated opens a few more envelopes, and sure enough, all of them contain a neatly-snipped lock of hair.

Meanwhile Breath searches the office for a key. [Roll for surprise = 6] Luckily she hears the strange sound and looks up just in time!

A heavily-armed Green Man in plate armor has appeared from thin air a few feet above the ground; he crashes into Breath and both tumble into opposite corners of the small room. He reaches for his two-handed sword and shouts an untranslatable curse!

Hit Points for the battle:

Breath: d10=3, d6+1=4
Fated: d10=1, d4+1=3
Minion: d10=2, d4+1=5
Shadow: d10=5, d8+1=3

Terrible rolls! The party is completely taken off-guard by the sudden materialization of the attacker.

Initiative is rolled: Breath 1, Green Man 4

The Green Man takes a mighty swing at Breath and rolls 2d6 = IRRELEVANT as the maneuver is only a feint! The actual attack comes a moment later as something massive tackles into her legs from behind [d6=3]! Breath tumbles harmlessly away, but when she spins around to identify this second attacker, there is nobody there!

The Party's intention for Round One?

[ehiker133]

Hearing the ruckus from the other room, The Shadow drops his spear, grabs his flail, and charges into the room to see what's happening to Breath and Fated.

He'll take the opportunity to swing at the nearest non-party member, should it arise.

[crusssdaddy]

Fated backs warily into a corner, nursing his papercut and flourishing his sword at potential evil...

[kipper]

Breath of New Moon brings her glaive around in front of her, and backs into a corner where (hopefully) she cannot be attacked from behind again. She slashes the glaive in front of her a couple times to ward off any invisible opponents.

"Hey, wait, what's the meaning of this? We're on your side." She says to the Green Man.

"Be careful, there's something else in here too with us." She warns The Shadow when he enters the room.