Oh, Chicago... (Call of Cthuhlu)

[DJDeMiko]

Jimmy

Jimmy ignores the noise.

"Well Deano that sounds like fun, I got some time to kill."

[UserClone]

Phil shakes his head. "I dunno. So what was in there? A dead antelope or something? I've heard those things drop down, probably fell in there when the bank was under construction y'know."

"That didn't look like no antelope ta me." remarks Frank with a bit of a distressed look.

Inside the fissure Cole scrambles on his hands and knees, then gets to his feet. You hear a loud bang, like that of something striking rock. Then you hear a screamed expletive. The patter of feet on ground echoes for a second, then you hear a collapse, another scream and a series of thuds.

"Whawazzat?!" shouts Frank, unable to control his knee-jerk reaction.

"Oh, blimey." Phil turns toward the gap, and with his turn so too turns the lantern. It still fails to illuminate the skull inside. But it also fails to illuminate Cole.

"Cole!!" hollers Frank, hoping to get the fellow's attention.

[Rapscallion]

Ben


The reporter will look to the miners

"How many are working right now ?"

Spoiler

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Going on vacation, will post as I can over the next 5 days.

[DarkCloud]

OOC; thanks for the notification Rapscallion.
----
FRANK

Listen Check

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You hear a moan from inside the fissure.

Phil waits to hear a response, then he also calls. "Cole, what in the blimey heck did you get yourself knocked into, a stalagtite. Get tha hell out'a there."

---
BEN

The tall miner, MacPhee, looks at you. "Just us guys. they didn't wanna hire too many. Wanted ta keep this low key. See we're off-the-books, just like youse guys. Don't pay income taxes, don't get no government trouble. Course it means we gotta live down here, but hell- the job's only about two months long. If ya can't take hell for two months, then ken ya really be a real man?"

OOC: No one's mining currently There's just the guy with the cigarette, the tall guy, Cole (in the fissure), Phil, and one other fellow.

OOC: Jalor... are you by any chance going to pipe up at all at any point? You could ask the NPCs questions relating to anything you'd like about the neighborthood of this place or your personal character goals. Feel free to get chatty if you can talk to one privately or something.

[DarkCloud]

Jimmy

Deano and his "honey" accompany you and the gentleman to the gentleman's table. Bill still has not yet returned from below, and Slade is looking increasingly agitated. Tina keeps blushing and looking nervously toward the seller, and she starts whistling something. From time to time, she fills a drink order for one of the newly arriving patrons.

Introductions pass around the table, and Deano produces a pack of cards, then starts dealing. "What'll it be?" He asks. "And are we playing for fun, for nominals, or for real cash?" He regards Jimmy and the Gentleman with a discerning stare.

[Rapscallion]

Ben

"Oh I understand all about some of the most fantastic buildings were constructed under hellish conditions. You and your crew could never be described as weak. Have you seen beyond the fissure over there ?"


Ben will indicate the crack in the earth where Cole went through.

[UserClone]

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Ok, which one is Cole and which is Phil? You've swapped the names at least once, and I think twice in the last two pages.

Listen - (1d100)[76] vs 80%

Barely hearing a faint moan from within the cave, Frank groans, "D'ya hear that? C'mon, Phil, I think he's hurt. Come in there wit' me an' help me get your boy out."

((Edit@V: good question, sounds like a little bit of money, that you can easily afford to lose, or something of similar (lack of) value.))

[DJDeMiko]

ooc - whats a nominal

[DarkCloud]

DJDeMiko
- "Nominals"... as in a "nominal amount of cash." FLWiPig is right about his assumption.

---
FLWiPig- Oh... Shoot, I was worried about that... need a digital table with notes so when I update this from different locations I don't have to carry around a little chart... Cole's in the fissure; Phil's outside.
---
Phil looks at Frank. "Yeah. Let's get in here."

Both of you scramble into the fissure. The light from Phil's lantern is now the only source of light. (The blue light has disappeared, perhaps a figment of your imagination). The lantern casts shadows on the limestone walls and ground. This area seems almost to be a hewn cavern. There appears to be black soot stains on its far wall. The entire room is about six feet by four.

In the corner by the opening the miners' made is the human skeleton. The light barely casts on it and Phil doesn't notice it. Instead, he walks forward. "Cole? Where are you guy?"

You hear another light moan. And Phil turns the light to catch the direction the moan came from. The light shines, and illuminates a corner of the room. Phil approaches the corner and shines the light. It appears that the room descends down at a sloping, beveled angle.

"Cole?" Phil asks, walking near to the slope.

SPOT HIDDEN

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The slope appears to be hewn rock... and actually chipped away. It is degrading, but defintely appears to be worked rather than natural.

"M' here." Cole's voice drifts up. "-Fell down. Went wrong way."

[UserClone]

"Alright, fellas! We need hardhats, lights, and muscles! Anybody gotta rope? We gotta hurt man down here!" shouts Frank after sticking his head back out of the fissure. "And watch your step, I think the floor is slippery in here or somethin'!"

[DarkCloud]

In the Cave

"Sheeout. We're comin' for ya Cole, Just hold on. Your brother here's gonna get you out of that mess." Phil calls down to his relative.

Macillhenry curses. "He fell down a sinkhole. Blast. O'Doul, you go run and get the ropes."

The guy who had been smoking the cigarette runs a hand through his greasy red hair and laughs nervously, then runs back toward the cavern's entrance.

"And bring a coupl'a lanterns n' hats while your at it." Macillhenry adds.

OOC: Here's the complete Roll Call of Miners:
Macillhenry ("foreman"), Towser, O'Doul (guy with the cigarette), Phillip, Cole


O'Doul runs back and he gets to the counter by the door, where he sees Tony knocking against the locked place.

"Dang." He says, then he laughs. "Guess they've shut us in for the night. There ain't no use in banging. Slade won't let that door budge." He laughs again and whacks Tony on the back, then grabs the remaining hardhat from the shelf, and the last lantern and canister.

OOC: Note, just waiting a bit longer to see if Tony or Jalor "Donald" are going to do anything, then I'll have O'Doul hightail it back.

[DJDeMiko]

Jimmy

credit rating check (1d100)[30] target is 40


edit

"A game isn't a game unless theirs some real money on the line. Lets put some money on the line."

[DarkCloud]

OOC: In that case you have around 300 dollars cash on hand... only problem is, you probably only have about 1000 more stashed away in addition to that... In today's terms it would be about 4000 on hand; and about 17,000 in savings... so you probably want to play it safe... while putting on airs that you're rich- a tough task! :)

Jimmy's answer to what type of stakes is eagerly awaited by the table.

[DJDeMiko]

Jimmy

"Let's keep the game friendly, small bets," jimmy says. "I have a meeting later and after that we can make it a bit more interesting. For now though, next round is on me.

[Baerdog7]

Tony Carlotti

In the CaveO'Doul runs back and he gets to the counter by the door, where he sees Tony knocking against the locked place.

"Dang." He says, then he laughs. "Guess they've shut us in for the night. There ain't no use in banging. Slade won't let that door budge." He laughs again and whacks Tony on the back, then grabs the remaining hardhat from the shelf, and the last lantern and canister.

Tony stares at the man upon hearing the news that they were locked in.

Locked in...? Slade be damned! You boys may be content to live in a rat hole like this, but I ain't staying down here all night to catch Hell from my wife when I get home.

Tony works on the other hinge. If he can get it loose, he may be able to pry open the door.

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Mechanical Repair: (1d100)[29] vs. 65
Strength: (1d100)[60] vs. 64[/roll]

[DarkCloud]

In the Cave
O'Doul returns with the hard hat, the rope, another lantern and a canister full of fuel.

He dumps it down next to "Bruno", Donald, Frank, and the Saxaphonist.

"This is all I could carry what with the hats." He says, and tosses one to Macillhenry.

"Just give me that thing." Macillhenry grabs the helmet and the rope. "Hey you." He looks at Frank. "You look tough. How about bein' my ballast in case there's trouble- you and O'Doul can hold on.

Macillhenry ducks into the room with the skeleton, and makes to the far wall, one lantern in hand toward where you heard Cole fall.

"Hell, I don't need to rappel down here." Macillhenry peers down toward where Cole fell. Still, he ties the rope around his waist and gives it a good tug, then tests the ground with his foot. "Seems most about like solid ground." He gives it a tap, then starts walking down.

After a few moments, you can hear him call faintly. "Lord Almighty. I don' believe I'm seein' this." The tone sounds suprised, rather than concerned.

-----
Tony
Tony jiggles the door's hinges, and gets another one off, then he bangs it with a piece of wood that cracked off one of the mine's supports. The pins fall out. He heaves and manages to pull the door back off the hinges, but it is wedged tight.

Still, he managed to crack it open at the bottom so that it juts about half a foot up in the air. If he were a ferret, he could go under the door, but he is not a ferret.

OOC: Feel free to yell, shout, whatever, or try another strength+luck check at +40 additional difficulty to get the door completely off its hinges and angled so that the beam jamming the door is shook loose.

---
All

OOC: I think that drum n' bass, the Saxaphonist quit the game. I'm still waiting to hear back from Jalor who is playing Donald but if you know of any good players who'd be glad to fill in for Jalor, you can keep them on alert. I'll make a formal announcement in the recruitment thread in a few days.

[UserClone]

"Well, spill the beans, Mac, what the devil is it?" calls Frank.

((I have sent a PM to the DM of a D&D game I am currently in; hopefully he'll be interested.))

[DarkCloud]

"It's like, some sorta cavern down here. I ken barely make it out, but I found Cole and just beyond him is some sort of hewn passage- lined with cut stone."

[Rapscallion]

Ben

"Well keep a steady hand on the rope, there could be a sinkhole or other nasty surprise in there."

Ben will peer over to the skeleton and examine it while providing light for the searcher.

Spoiler

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(1d100)[74] versus Anthropology 80

(1d100)[65] versus archeology 60


(1d100)[56] versus spot hidden 70

[UserClone]

"What? I thought you said you boys hadn't got this far yet ...Sheeyit! That has to be ancient, if it wasn't you's guys' work."

[DarkCloud]

Frank, Etc.
"Yeah." MacIllhenry says. "Hey, why don't you tie that rope to something and get me some more light down here. Seems to be a room.

Maybe we hacked into the sewers or something."

OOC: By the way, thanks! I hope if he accepts that he's into roleplaying, Donald's character has a lot of possibilities.

Although whoops, just checked my PMs- while drum n' bass is definitely out, Jalor replied with a "too busy at the moment request." Although he has not posted since december 18th in any of his PBP games. I'll send a PM and clear things up on if he's in or out.
----
Ben

You examine the skeleton. The face seems to be that of a middle aged human being, and its body appears to be that of a 5' 5'' man. There are chunks of his skull missing, as though they were smashed by a rock or clawed, or bit into.

The scraps of clothing are interesting, and would imply that the body is of relatively recent vintage, but if this room had been sealed, the cloth could be up to perhaps 400-500 years old. If you had more time, you could investigate that.

The clothing has lost any color it may have once had and hangs loose around the skeleton, in scraps that in total take up no more than perhaps three feet square.

You look up to see if the body could have fallen or been thrown down. The ceiling is close and the dirt above appears tightly packed.

You know that this area is known for having Snake Mound culture Missippian Amerinds who lived in the caverns beneath present-day Chicago, so perhaps that explains the man. Either his body is an ancient one, or it was placed here for longer than a year- otherwise the skin would not have decayed where the clothing was, somewhat preserved.

[DarkCloud]

*.*Bumping*.*

[Rapscallion]

Ben

"Hurm, this guy was hit pretty hard, some of his skull missing, as though they were smashed by a rock or clawed, or bit into. This is guy from our time period from the clothing but his size and skull formation suggests American indian. Fascinating."


Ben will take a few scraps of cloth to look over topside.

[Jalor]

Donald finally speaks up.

"Bit into? I don't like the sound of that."

"Now, I don't think that's a sewer; we'd smell it if it was. What do ya say we should do? It looks ancient and abandoned to me."

[Baerdog7]

Tony Carlotti

Tony jiggles the door's hinges, and gets another one off, then he bangs it with a piece of wood that cracked off one of the mine's supports. The pins fall out. He heaves and manages to pull the door back off the hinges, but it is wedged tight.

Still, he managed to crack it open at the bottom so that it juts about half a foot up in the air. If he were a ferret, he could go under the door, but he is not a ferret.

OOC: Feel free to yell, shout, whatever, or try another strength+luck check at +40 additional difficulty to get the door completely off its hinges and angled so that the beam jamming the door is shook loose.

Tony briefly tries to pull open the door, giving up when he realizes that it's jammed. Instead, he drops to the floor and begins waving his cane out through the hole he has created and shouting at the top of his lungs.

HEY! HEY! GET ME OUT OF HERE! HELP! HEEEEELP!!

((Apologies about the delay in posting, I have been wrapped up in post-holiday shenanigans.))

[DarkCloud]

OOC: Thank you all for posting. I had some trouble logging into GiTP yesterday- must have been due to the comic updating.

and Baerdog... amusing
and Jalor- welcome back. :)
----
In the cave
Cole looks at "Bruno" and frowns. "What are you, some sort of archaeologist or something?" He laughs a nervous twitter.

MacIllhenry looks at Donald. "Yeah, you might be right about that. But this is some sort of tunnel thing here. I'm going in to see what it's about."

Phil, lying at MacIllhenry's feet, moans. "Hey, I think I might have broke something."

"Don' worry." Macillhenry says. "We'll get ya out of here...Eventually."
---
In the Speakeasy
Jimmy

Those seated somewhat near to the hidden door leading into the mine hear the banging and the screaming. Jimmy-0 here's what you hear:

"ME OUT OF HERE! HELP! HEEEEELP!!"

And Spot hidden

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You see a cane being waved from under the door where your fellow PCs entered.

[DJDeMiko]

Jimmy

Spot hidden target 70 (1d100)[43]

Jimmy looks up confused and then heads for the door. If he gets there first he will try to open it.

[DarkCloud]

Jimmy
Everyone at your table, save the older Gentleman's wife seems to notice the screaming, they look around nervously toward the bar, Slade and Tina. Tina returns their stares with a nervous smile. Slade grimaces and turns toward the door.

Jimmy jumps up and heads over to the corner door and gets there about the same time as Slade. Jimmy yanks at the door, and pops off the bar that had been pulled across.

From inside, he hears pushing, but the door does not budge.

Slade reaches into a vest pocket with one hand and pushes Jimmy aside with the other. Grunting, he whips a keychain out and sticks it in a tiny lock near the door's hinges, then twists.

Slade steps back and waits, arms folded and one hand reaching into his vest pocket.

[DJDeMiko]

Jimmy

Jimmy stands back, not sure whether to laugh or be afraid.

[UserClone]

Frank looks around for something suitable for tying off a rope.
[roll0] vs 60%