Psychosis IC

[SlyJohnny]

Let's begin. Spoiler tags are there mostly to break things up, feel free to read each other's and collaborate in the OOC thread, if you like.

Spoiler: Centaurion

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You wake up, or perhaps die, the sensation has elements of both. Your head is pounding like a soft-boiled egg being cracked open by a steel spoon. Your stomach seems to contain an enraged squirrel. Your tongue has apparently been replaced with a small strip of the Sahara desert, and the muscles of your limbs with moist twine.

In short, you are elaborately hung over.

Struggling your sight-holes open, you see by the glaring and scratchy light that you are lying on the bunk of a small cabin of some kind, and wearing a uniform that is... dark-coloured. There is a crest embroidered on it, but your vision is too bleary at the moment to make it out. A strangely-angled window admits the light, and shows only grey mist. A small washbasin and a dirty mirror are the only ornamentation. The room is bare, and has a worn, uncared-for sort of feel.

You wait for the sluggish clarity that normally comes with waking up, but it doesn't arrive. You have no idea who you are, or how you got here. You don't even remember your name.

The pain in your head becomes much sharper at the sound of a series of brief detonations. Either you are under artillery bombardment, or someone is knocking on the cabin door.

(Centaurion's starting hand: 5 and 8 Cups, 2 and 4 Swords, Page of Rods)

Spoiler: Iceseer

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Your awareness is vague. In the distance, spotlights search the night sky, and irregular flashes of light mark the horizon. You hear the rumble of distant bombs, and the faint pop-pop-pop of bursting flak.

A pressure on your chest and shoulders makes you aware that you are strapped into the cockpit of a fighter plane. The cockpit window is shattered, and broken shards lie in your lap and on the floor. You smell fuel on the air. Over your shoulder, you hear the crackle of flames.

You have crashed! If you do not escape soon, you will burn to death!

(Iceseer's starting hand: 6 and 7 Cups, 7 and Knight of Swords, Queen of Pentacles)

Spoiler: Ceyx

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You feel like you've been hit by a truck. Possibly a convoy of trucks. You feel hot, but the sweat on your brow feels far too cold. Taking stock, you realise that you have no clue where you are, or why everything hurts, and- perhaps more alarmingly- you have no idea who you are. You have a faint memory of... some type of work with atomic explosives? Which is possibly the most alarming detail of all. You try to remember more, press your brain for details, but the memory flutters away from you like a forgotten dream.

You're lying on a hard, uncomfortable floor, looking up at both the sloped tin roof of a small building of some description, and the concerned face of a young woman in a lab coat. She's waving three fingers at you as she speaks.

"-hear me, Doctor? Are you alright? How many fingers am I holding up?"

(Ceyx's starting hand: 3 and 7 Pentacles, 3 and 6 Swords, 7 Rods)

Spoiler: Plerumque

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Your vision is spinning. Your muscles ache. You can't move your arms and legs. You're having trouble recalling... well, anything. Have you been drugged?

Your surroundings have that faint, ugly scent of hospital disinfectant. Your eyes focus on a dim lamp in in the corner of the room, which is providing inadequate illumination over what appears to be some kind of medical operating room. There are tables with neatly arranged surgical tools, some of which are catching the faint light at the right angle to gleam, even in the near darkness of the room. There's a mirror taking up most of the wall to your left; you fancy you can see a shadow flit from one side of it to the other, before sinking down behind the wall.

You realise that your arms and legs aren't actually paralysed, they're merely strapped down to the table you're lying on. You're also completely naked. Perhaps you were to be operated on, but the anaesthetic didn't take?

Maybe the figure standing by the door knows. He's wearing medical scrubs and a surgical mask, and is facing away from you with his arms crossed. He gives no sign of having noticed you awaken.

(Plerumque's starting hand: 3 and 6 Rods, 2 and Knight of Pentacles, Queen of Swords)

Spoiler: Kartoffelbrein

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You open your eyes, but for a moment, all you can see is colours and indistinct shapes. The first thing you become aware of as you struggle to focus is a repetitive, mechanical rumbling sound coming from all around you, which followed by the gentle bobbing and swaying of whatever surface you’re lying on.

A proper-looking gentleman with an impressive moustache is examining you with a stethoscope. When he realises you're stirring, he steps away, looking down at you. "Steady on." He says. "You'll be feeling better soon."

You’re lying on the lower bunk bed of two, which are set into the wall of what appears to be a railway car compartment, with a single door leading out. The compartment is lit by a small yellow lamp. There’s a window directly to your left, but through it you see only vague shapes, rushing past in the darkness. The walls are adorned with wood panelling and a dark red fabric of some kind. The bed is soft and comfortable.

You realise you can’t remember when or where you boarded this train. Or where the train might be going. Or your name. Or any facts about yourself at all.

(Kartoffelbrein's starting hand: 4, 5, 8 Pentacles, 4 and King of Cups)

[Iceseer]

Spoiler: Iceseer

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In panic not being able to smell the fuel but being able to clearly see the airplane was falling. I fumble with the controls and try to find the ejection button. Which I knew about due to knowledge I have had over reseacrhing planes years ago.

[SlyJohnny]

Spoiler: Iceseer

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You act fast. You flick the ejection switch, but nothing happens, not even a mechanical whine of protest from your stricken craft. You try the emergency release on your harness next, but it's jammed tight.

[Iceseer]

Spoiler: iceseer

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Well I use my knife given to me years ago by my half-brother Kyle. He served in the air force and gave me the knife before his death. I smile that his knife might save me now. With haste and cursing my relatively weak strength. I look around to see if there is any building, or high up landscape I might jump onto to leave the plane.

[SlyJohnny]

Spoiler: Iceseer

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You pat down your flight suit, but there's no sign of a knife anywhere nearby or about your person. There's plenty of shattered glass lying on you that might work as a knife; you might saw through your harness straps, if you're quick.

Do you have a half-brother? For a moment, you're convinced that you do, but the thought unravels. You realise you can't remember the names or faces of any of your family members or friends, or any happy memories you may have had about them.

You appear to have crashed onto the side of a small hill, judging from what you can see and the angle that you're sitting, looking up at the stars. You'd need to get out of the plane to see the terrain better, though.

There's a sudden breeze of chill night air on your face, just as a human-shaped figure looms out of the darkness, heading towards you, bearing a knife. A French-accented voice says, "Do not struggle, Monsieur. I will help you."

((Cutting yourself free before the man reaches you is a Swords 10 challenge.

Iceseer's hand: 6 and 7 Cups, 7 Swords
Trace: Knight of Swords, Queen of Pentacles))

[Ceyx]

Spoiler: Ceyx

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I manage to focus my eyes, meeting the gaze of the woman in the coat. "I'm... fine. Three fingers," I blurt out, distressed by the sudden return to consciousness and the pain coursing through my body. After a moment, I realize that I'm in no way sure of that fact, and begin to pat myself down, checking for physical injury.

Even as I do so, however, a detached part of my mind reviews my circumstances. I'm disoriented, I think to myself.
My memory will surely return to me soon, after whatever trauma I've endured has faded. "What happened?"

(Spending my 7 of Pentacles to review my surroundings, trying to gain clues to take stock of the situation, specifically of what type of facility this is, or inform me of why I'm hurt.)

[Centaurion]

Spoiler: Centaurion

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You wake up, or perhaps die, the sensation has elements of both. Your head is pounding like a soft-boiled egg being cracked open by a steel spoon. Your stomach seems to contain an enraged squirrel. Your tongue has apparently been replaced with a small strip of the Sahara desert, and the muscles of your limbs with moist twine.

In short, you are elaborately hung over.

Struggling your sight-holes open, you see by the glaring and scratchy light that you are lying on the bunk of a small cabin of some kind, and wearing a uniform that is... dark-coloured. There is a crest embroidered on it, but your vision is too bleary at the moment to make it out. A strangely-angled window admits the light, and shows only grey mist. A small washbasin and a dirty mirror are the only ornamentation. The room is bare, and has a worn, uncared-for sort of feel.

You wait for the sluggish clarity that normally comes with waking up, but it doesn't arrive. You have no idea who you are, or how you got here. You don't even remember your name.

The pain in your head becomes much sharper at the sound of a series of brief detonations. Either you are under artillery bombardment, or someone is knocking on the cabin door.

(Centaurion's starting hand: 5 and 8 Cups, 2 and 4 Swords, Page of Rods)

Spoiler: Centaurion

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I instinctively try to roll over from my back onto my belly, because it's easier to stand up then, emitting a groin as the pain again rushes to my head. Wha-? I try to speak but my throat is too dry. I try to clear my throat to shout an angry "What?" towards the door, apparently not grasping the full gravity of the situation, or possible implications of it.

[SlyJohnny]

Spoiler: Iceseer

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(You pass this check with the Knight of Swords card in your trace, and then don't discard it, because it's in your trace.)

By the time the beret-wearing man with the knife has made it to you, you have already slashed your harness away with the shard of glass. He tucks his knife away, and reaches down to help you out.

You clamber out and run into the dark countryside, feeling the heat of your plane fireballing behind you. You are slightly dizzy; perhaps a concussion from the crash?

"Hurry, Monsieur!" cries the man. "The soldiers cannot help but see that, they will come."

You hear the roar of an engine, and see a truck approaching along a nearby road. It's blackout headlights are dimmed, but you clearly make out the silhouettes of armed men riding in the back. Your companion is leading you directly away from them to where, a few hundred yards away, squat the gates of a town.

Spoiler: Centaurion

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The door opens, and a young man in a sailor's outfit comes in. He is somewhat out of breath.

"Hauptmann Grubel has killed Ludwig," he says, panting. "Now he wants to see you." He and another sailor enter the cabin and take you by the arms. "You'll hide, and we'll tell Grubel we couldn't find you."

They attempt to roust you from the bed, and lead you from the cabin.

Spoiler: Ceyx

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She beams at your response, and is already reaching down to haul you to your feet. "Yes, that's right. I was worried that wonderful brain of yours had been scrambled in your fall. Phew!" She has quite a grip; she's small and stocky, but strong. "You were out for a while, Doctor. I worried you wouldn't wake up."

Your headache is clearing, your vision is swimming less. You don't appear to be obviously injured. As you rise, you peer around you at what appears to be a small laboratory inside a Quonset hut, with orange walls and floors. Metal tables bear large, heavy-looking flasks, many stenciled with the symbol for radiation. There are no windows, but two closed doors appear to lead out of the room. It's warm in here. There are air con vents in the corner of the room, but they don't seem to be working. You're wearing dark slacks, a white shirt, a bow tie, and a white lab coat similar to the woman's, but cleaner. You find your ID badge clipped to the front of the coat, but the name on it means nothing to you. It's indigo coloured, and identifies your profession as a nuclear engineer.

(Keep the card for now, I'll tell you if I need a check.)

[Ceyx]

Spoiler: Ceyx

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I straighten myself up as my mind clears, brushing the dust from my clothes. Still not remembering anything about the situation in which I find myself, I attempt to jog my memory. "I'm sorry, but I think my brains were scrambled a bit," I say to the woman, a sour smile on my face. "I don't quite recall what happened..."

As I prompt her, I try to see if there's a tag similar to my own on the young woman, to learn her name without revealing the extent my embarrassing and worrying amnesia.

[Centaurion]

Spoiler: Centaurion

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The door opens, and a young man in a sailor's outfit comes in. He is somewhat out of breath.

"Hauptmann Grubel has killed Ludwig," he says, panting. "Now he wants to see you." He and another sailor enter the cabin and take you by the arms. "You'll hide, and we'll tell Grubel we couldn't find you."

They attempt to roust you from the bed, and lead you from the cabin.

Spoiler: Centaurion

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"He did what?" The words come out without further pondering. I do not resist them trying to pick me up though. "Why? And why do you help me?"

[Iceseer]

Spoiler: Iceseer

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I jog with him trying to hurry up but knowing that i tire quickly with my relatively weak fortitude. Cussing how i don't exercise. (I use the knight of spades again. I am loving how convenient this is though realize the fact i need an ace to pop up eventually to remove this guy and be able to replace him)

[SlyJohnny]

Spoiler: Ceyx

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The woman has no badge, but something about the way she's sucking up to you makes you think "lab assistant". She's giving you a sort of automatic deference, and she's keen to share even her lack of knowledge with you. "I just came on shift, doctor, so I'm not sure what happened. Uh, do you remember what you do here? About the Project? Today is going to be a big day, you know. We all need you sharp."

There's a commotion from behind the door on the right. Several voices, soft at first and getting louder. Shifting furniture. A man shouts, "What do you think you're doing, sergeant? You can't just take my notes!"

The Keen Lab Assistant goes pale. "Oh, crap. I was hoping we had more time. We need to get out of here, now."

She heads for the door at the opposite end of the room, opens it, looks both ways down a dusty street outside. She turns back to you and gestures for you to follow her.

"Come on!" she hisses, urgently.

Spoiler: Centurion

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You leave the cabin and step out onto a narrow companionway. You are led right, down past several doors; through their small portholes, you can see small double-bunked cabins inside. Most are unoccupied, though you glimpse people in some. At one point, the three of you flatten against the wall to allow a woman in an elegant skirt and blouse to move past you, and she hurries on without paying any special attention to you.

The Nervous Crewman speaks softly and urgently to you. "Grubel was a passenger. Herr Loeper – the Reich Governor – was found dead in his cabin. Grubel revealed himself as Gestapo, and suspects foul play. He has been questioning the passengers, brutally. When he laid hands on Fraulein Weiss, Ludwig protested. Grubel shot him dead! He says, that resistance means all the officers are suspects now. We are helping you because it is our duty, Herr Fromm."

You pass by a large, rectangular room with a long table and seats for sixteen. Four men and women are loitering in there, sitting or pacing, talking or brooding with nervous expressions. The Harried Crewman reaches up and starts to pull a steep gangway of shiny metal down from the ceiling.

(Make a Pentacles 10 check to notice something, if you like.)

Spoiler: Iceseer

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You both break from the cover of the hill and run towards the town. Almost immediately there are shouts from behind you, and the sound of booted feet in pursuit, but you have a good lead, and it'd be a difficult rifle shot at this distance. No one is shooting at you yet, anyway.

You reach the gates well ahead of your pursuers. Your companion runs down an alley, waving for you to follow with one hand and pressing a finger to his lips with the other. It would be easy to lose him at any point in the streets of this little town, distracted as he is by choosing your route.

Even at night, the town is picturesque, with cobbled streets and alleys that wind up and down gentle hills, small townhouses and cottages, and larger buildings from the depths of history. You glimpse many plazas and intersections holding sculpted stone fountains. But the buildings are dark, the doors barred, the windows shuttered, and many are in poor repair.

After a while, you emerge from the ally into what appears to be a bustling open air night market, lit by street lanterns. All around you, people haggle in French, selling, buying, or bartering for various goods. Your guide leads you through the throng. Ahead of you, you spot two German soldiers flanking an officer in a greatcoat and cap, who appears to be buying a brace of pheasants from a market stall. Your guide abruptly changes direction, leading you away.

(Make a Pentacles 10 check to notice something, if you want to.)

[Iceseer]

Spoiler: iceseer

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Scared I look around me to make sure that the threatening figures weren't sneaking up on us. (okay i use my queen of pentacles)

[SlyJohnny]

Spoiler: Iceseer

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Most of the French peasants are ignoring you, but one wiry-looking man, standing on a doorstep and smoking a roll-up cigarette while he watches the crowd, stares hawkishly at you as you pass. He abruptly drops his lit cigarette and stubs it out with a boot, and then steps into the crowd with an affected casual manner, trying to blend. He begins to follow you. He's trying to keep a discreet distance, but pushes closer whenever you threaten to be lost from sight by the press and motion of the crowd. You don't think he knows he's been seen.

Your companion, the Plucky Partisan, gives no sign of having noticed this tail. He's leading you towards another alleyway at the far end of the market. "Just a little further now, monsieur. I have friends up ahead, who will be most eager to meet such a capable pilot! They will shelter you, and help us." He says. He smiles, encouragingly.

[Konatsat]

Spoiler: Kartoffelbrein

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I remain lying down in bed, after all, the motion of sitting up may cause me to feel sicker. Then, addressing the man, I express my gratitude, "Thank you," and attempt to learn more about the situation "I, um, don't mean to impose or anything but do you know who I am, how I got here, and where this train is going? I seem to have forgotten a lot."

[Iceseer]

Spoiler: iceseer

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"Sir there seems to be a tail" I say in a whisper. Scared the man might notice and kill me. (I use a 7 of cups)

[Ceyx]

Spoiler: Ceyx

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With the arrival of some sort of armed forces, my casual appraisal of my situation has become totally secondary to survival and continued freedom. Whatever has caused this strange amnesia, I can't take things slowly and try to maintain my dignity while waiting for it to resolve itself. With a dumbstruck backward glance, I follow the Keen Lab Assistant into the street. "What. Is. Happening?" I demand in a whisper, vitriol spilling into my voice.

[SlyJohnny]

Spoiler: Kartoffelbrein

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"What do you mean?" The Evasive Doctor asks. He averts his eyes from you, making a show of fishing a silver pocketwatch attached to a chain out from his waistcoat pocket, and checking the time. You catch your reflection in the shiny lid, and see that your face is darkened by soot, and there's a thin patina of it covering the gray overalls you're wearing.

"You just need time to recover." He answers, eventually. "Perhaps a hot toddy from the refreshment carriage will set you to rights, eh? The train is going... well, it's rather... involved. The important thing is that we shan't be going anywhere until the problem with the engine is seen to. Nasty business."

The door suddenly swings open, and a short, pale man in a bowler hat bursts in. "You must go immediately!" He says. The Evasive Doctor grimaces, then nods. He reaches down to haul you to your feet.

Spoiler: iceseer

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The Plucky Partisan frowns as he leads you from the market. "We're not being followed. Do not worry, for I am watching most-"

He glances out of the corner of his eye at the man you describe, who has begun to follow you down the street.

"Merde. You're right. 'e must be an informant. He will want to tail us, and then tell the soldiers where we go."

You companion hesitates, unsure how to handle this situation.

"What should we do..." he murmurs. It's unclear if he's speaking to you, or just himself.

Spoiler: Ceyx

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You step out onto the dusty road, which is lined by piñons and the occasional alpine tree. The sun is shining in the cloudless sky, and the air smells fresh, as if it had been rubbed with astringent. The bright blue sky seems to go on forever.

You're in the middle of what seems to be one part university campus, one part army base; a veritable ant farm of dull green army-issue buildings, Quonset huts, and barrack apartments. A giant watertower is the tallest structure in evidence. The roads are evenly split between new paved streets and dirt roads. Soldiers and civilians are striding through them, with the quick steps of people who have somewhere to be, kicking up thin clouds of the ever-present dust. One woman in a maid's uniform glances at you as you walk past, slowing her pace to examine your face, but then hurriedly looks away when you meet her gaze.

The Keen Lab Assistant murmurs quietly as she leads on, "It's... complicated. There's a lot to catch you up on. Basically, the administrators are trying to interfere with the final test. They want the Project to fail, doctor. They've had the MPs arresting the key scientists on charges of espionage, and they're coming for you, next. We need to complete the test before it's too late."

She seems to be leading you towards a large gate set in to the perimeter fence that surrounds this place. The building you just left has a crowd of soldiers wearing MP armbands standing by the front door. You watch as one struggling, protesting man in a lab coat is carried out of the building, shoved roughly against a jeep and patted down.

"Don't look. Don't make eye contact with any MPs. Keep your eyes forward, walk like you know where you're going."

[Ceyx]

Spoiler: Ceyx

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I nervously adjust my coat, squinting in the sudden change of light. My eyes dart about as I keep my head down, following the instructions of the Keen Lab Assistant. I lick dry lips, trying to keep my movements quick and natural as I avoid the soldiers' gaze. "How..." I try to shake myself into proper wakefulness. Why can't I remember anything? "How much longer until the Test begins?"

[SlyJohnny]

Spoiler: Ceyx

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"We're not sure of the timeframe, but we know it has to be soon. We were kind of hoping you'd know. After all," she says, beaming at you with both patronizing encouragement and no small amount of hero worship, "You're the one that's going to set off the bomb."

You approach the perimeter fence, where four bored-looking MPs are waving people and vehicles on through, hardly glancing at ID badges. You can see that past the gates, the road slopes down, leading to more buildings further out.

There's a shout from behind you. The woman in the maid's outfit is standing beside two MP's and pointing in the direction of you and your companion. The soldiers run towards you, yelling at you to stay where you are. They're some distance away, but the MP's on the gate about thirty metres ahead of you are taking note of the commotion; two of them leave their post and start booking it in your direction.

"They made us. Go. Go!" The Keen Lab Assistant shouts, and sprints off to the right, following the perimeter fence. Further along, there seems to be a small hole in the base of it that she's heading towards.

((Swords test if you want to try to outrun the MP's. You might also try to lose them by hiding amongst the nearby buildings with a Pentacles test, but it might mean ditching your companion. Or try something else entirely!))

[Ceyx]

Spoiler: Ceyx

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The b- what bomb?! I only barely manage to keep my cool as we approach the guards. No. I have to have had a reason for... whatever this is. Everything will be fine if I just go with the flow, and do what I have to until I know more about what's going on.

It was at that point that our cover was apparently blown.

The girl in the lab coat is my only real link to my life. For a moment, I consider the benefits of just trying to hide, but even though I like the sound of hiding safely more than running away from trained, fit soldiers, I would have to stay hidden indefinitely, never knowing who would be able to tip off the soldiers like the maid had. Instead, I have to hang on to the thread of my past. One thing's for sure - with something like this, I can't possibly keep trying to play it cool and hope my memory comes back. I need answers. So far, only one person has them. I take off after her, the desperation pushing my body to ignore tiny things like twinging muscles or awkward footfalls. I wasn't going to let her get away.

(Using: 3 of Swords, 7 of Rods. Hand Remaining: 6 of Swords, 7 and 3 of Pentacles. Trace: None.)

[SlyJohnny]

Spoiler: Ceyx

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((Guard 1 draws 8 and 9 Swords, 4 Rods, 9 and Page of Pentacles. Plays first three, discards the last two, for 21.

Guard 2 draws 10 and Page of Swords, 2 and Queen of Rods, 9 Cups. Plays all.))

You take off, sprinting as fast as you can. But either the two nearest guys run track in their off-duty time, or you're still slow from your fall (or accident, or whatever happened to you). They close the distance to you, and one tackles you at a run, knocking you both to the ground. "Stay down, doctor!" The MP snarls at you.

The Keen Lab Assistant turns back towards you and viciously kicks the MP in the head a couple of times, before reaching down to pull him off you, hurling him onto his back. Before she can press the attack, the second MP reaches her and strikes her with a large baton. She takes the hit on her arm, but the pain makes her stagger back. "Get out of here! Go hide in Los Alamos!" She yells to you. She positions herself between you and your assailants.

The MP who tackled you is getting up. Two more MP's are approaching you, though they're some distance away, even running flat out.

[Konatsat]

Spoiler: Kartoffelbrein

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Looking down I observe my clothes and try to see if the soot will get off of my face. Then, seeing as this sounds urgent, I get up, look around the room for anything that may be useful and - if there is - quickly nab it, then follow the evasive doctor. There wouldn't be much point in disobeying now, especially when it might be dangerous to do so. As I'm walking, I give myself a quick pat-down to determine what I have on me and whether it would be anything useful in determining what had lead up to this moment.

[Iceseer]

Spoiler: iceseer

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"Well he doesn't know that we know about him why don't we mislead him? It should work pretty well take me somewhere pretend to be talking to another member of your team who is actually just a random stranger then go into the sewers if there is one. It's disgusting but he would have to either follow us forcing himself to show he's following us or more likely not follow us anymore then we go up in another sewer and go to the meetup. At least that's my suggestion" I say in a quiet tone. Trying to act calmly about the thing.(I spend a 6 of cups)

[Ceyx]

Spoiler: Ceyx

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It's clear that I'm not at 100% yet, and that means that discretion will be the better part of valor for now. I decide to follow the Lab Assistant's advice, leaving her to her fate with only a backward glance. I attempt to use my lead to shake the guards, taking a confusing route.

(If this is an ongoing conflict, I play the 7 and 3 of Pentacles, and discard the 6 of Swords.)

[SlyJohnny]

Spoiler: Kartoffelbrein

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There’s a pitcher of water in the compartment, and a small mirror. You try to clean your face up as best you can. Despite their obvious urgency, your companions wait with impeccable Victorian politeness, even making a show of appearing to be busy or preoccupied rather than standing around and obviously waiting for you.

The soot comes off your face easily enough, with a bit of scrubbing (when they understand your intention, the two men practically trip over themselves to offer you their white handkerchiefs for this purpose), but there’s a lot of it. You’d need a shower or bath to get completely clean, and getting the soot out of your overalls would need a serious wash.

Other than the mirror and the pitcher, there’s nothing useful in the room, which seems sparsely appointed and rather tired and worn. Your pockets contain more soot, a scrunched-up stripy felt cap with a deep crown and a thick forward-facing brim, and several old train ticket stubs; they all seem to be for the same few routes, on the same line. The latest one is for an Express service from Manchester to London, and dated 7 August 1899.

When you are ready, the men usher you out of the compartment, out into the train carriage. Suddenly, all the lights go out, plunging the train into darkness. The Evasive Doctor swears, nervously. If you wanted to slip away, now would be the perfect time to do it.

(If and only if you choose to stay and follow the men, make a Pentacles challenge to notice something if you want.)

Spoiler: ”Iceseer”

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((Informant draws 2 cards, Knight of Hearts and 5 Swords. Wins opposed check with the Knight, discards the 5 swords))

The Partisan nods in agreement with your plan. You sidle over to an edge of the market, and accost an old man selling old paintings and framed black-and-white photographs, engaging him in an intense, secretive-seeming conversation about his wares while looking around conspiratorially. Your tail doesn’t seem diverted by this ploy; he’s still watching you like a hawk, barely sparing a glance for the man you’re talking to.

One of the framed pictures being sold catches your eye. It appears to be a hand-drawn map of both the town you’re in, and a network of mine shafts and natural caves in the hill adjoining it. You have no memory of ever having been to this place before, and yet, something about the map and its layout seems naggingly familiar.

The Plucky Partisan murmurs to you. “Monsieur, now that you mention it, there is an entrance to the aqueducts around the corner just there. ‘e might realise where we’ve gone, but there are several exits down there; if we move through quickly, ‘e won’t know which one we used. We will need to be fast. Are you ready?”

((Shaking off the informant without losing the partisan will be an opposed Swords test.

Iceseer's hand: 7 Cups, 7 Swords
Trace: Knight of Swords, Queen of Pentacles))

Spoiler: Ceyx

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((You empty your hand and redraw. You draw the Ace of Swords! It is discarded, and another card is drawn to replace it. You also draw a card from the Major Arcana deck, and get... The Emperor. It stands for Political Leadership, Government. It does not activate immediately, but remains in play, waiting.

Ceyx's new hand: King of Swords, 6 and King of Pentacles, Knight of Rods, 2 Cups
Major Arcana: The Emperor))

You turn and dart for the opening. It’s rather small, but you lift it up in just the right place to allow your body to slide through easily. The Keen Lab Assistant grapples with an MP for a while, before he knocks her down beats her unconscious with his truncheon (at least, you think it’s just unconsciousness). You wriggle out from under the fence, and away down the hill, into the trees. The MP who tackled you is hot on your tail, but he you have the lead now, and he struggles under the fence slower than you did.

You rush down the hill, through the cover of the trees. After a few minutes, you emerge right onto the outskirts of a small New Mexican town. You realise you can no longer hear any sounds of pursuit. There’s a large billboard sign near the road that warmly welcomes you to Los Alamos. You can see people wandering around, sleepily performing chores and errands- all civilians, no soldiers. A middle aged woman drinking lemonade as she sits in a folding chair on her porch is eying you curiously, but there’s no sign of recognition or alarm in her eyes, and she’s the only one that’s taking any note of you at all.

This area is a maze of small suburban houses and yards, with haphazardly strung washing lines and kid’s tricycles and bikes festooned all over the place. There’s a dusty open area to your left, and beyond it, a section of the town that seems run-down and unoccupied, adjacent to the areas that show obvious signs of habitation. The trees and dusty buildings are covering this area with shade, and the grass over there is paler and drier than the well-tended lawns near where you are. Further into town, there seem to be strip with various shops and a communal square up ahead.

[Ceyx]

Spoiler: Ceyx

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Alert, my eyes dart back and forth as I scan my surroundings. I'm no longer sure of anything, just waiting for the next threat to reveal itself. My paranoia brings up a cold sweat, triggers a nauseous dread that hangs over me even as I try to play it cool. Ignoring my skyrocketing heartrate, I size up my options.

While the rundown area seems to be less populated, I have no doubt that a man in a lab coat would stand out like a sore thumb. An empty house would be an ideal place to hide out and try to make sense of the impossible situation I'm in, but I can't take the risk that I'd just be leaving a trail of witnesses.

The more logical course of action would be to blend in among the more diverse crowd in the commercial district. Trying to fix my appearance with shaking hands, to look more presentable and hide the signs of my desperate flight, I make my way to the strip.


(Adding Kings of Swords and Pentacles to Trace. Current hand: 6 of Swords, Knight of Rods, 2 of Cups. Current Trace: King of Swords, King of Pentacles. That was a pretty nice draw, assuming The Emperor doesn't do something like adding your Trace to the opposition of your next challenge.)

[SlyJohnny]

Ceyx

You pass through a cold, empty street where all the lamppost lights has been smashed in or damaged, and then you're out into the busiest part of town. The centre of the town has a sleepy midday bustle. Mostly pedestrians, though small jeeps cross over the intersection occasionally. Grocery stores nestle side by side with places selling tourist gimmicks, and there's a surprising array of small shops selling various crafts or second hand goods, as well as more practical hardware shops.

You're getting differential nods from people now. "Just come up from the base?" A woman selling hotdogs natters to you.

A man spots you in the crowd. He's walking away from a car dealership a white shirt with the sleeves rolled up, a really sharp silk tie, and smart slacks. He's staring at you in disbelief.

"Doctor? Doctor Simms?" He asks, momentarily stunned. He strides towards you. "What are you doing off base, wandering around?"

[Iceseer]

Spoiler: Iceseer

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"As ready as I'll ever be." (Play knight and 7 of swords)

[Ceyx]

Spoiler: Ceyx

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Damn! I didn't plan for this! I thought frantically. I hadn't expected anyone in Los Alamos itself to recognize me, just thinking that they might point the soldiers in the right direction if they were questioned.

The man approaching me seems to be well-dressed, and he clearly has access to the base if me being in town in unusual, but he knows me anyway. If he's coming from a car dealership, then he's probably civilian - a military man would have no place for a car. Considering that I had recently been accosted by the military while I was guided by a friendly civilian, that came as a relief. I decided not to run, but not to trust this man, yet, either.

"Oh, there was some sort of disturbance," I claimed, fabricating a lie on the spot. "I got trapped outside in the confusion."