illinois ♔ and the message coming from my eyes

[spellfile]

WHO || Andrew, Zero, Han, Rocket, Klaus
WHAT || The Knights investigate some strange events  around a farmhouse in Illinois
WHERE || Metropolis Kansas
WHEN || April 20th, 2015
HOW || Actionspam

The route to the Moore residence is a secluded, gavel-topped county road that meanders through fields and farmland.  The roiling stormclouds and lack of city lights make the countryside seem unusually dark and forbidding.  A battered mailbox on the right side of the road indicates the Moore farm, and a pothole-filled drive leads up to the farmhouse.  On the right side of the long driveway, nestled among the snow, lies what appears to be a small family graveyard.

Beside the dilapidated house, stands a large German Shepard tethered on a leash, barking furiously as they pull up.  An older man stands on the porch looking highly displeased.  The man says something to the dog, but the barking continues unabated.

"You can just turn right around and head back the way you came," he yells from the porch.

Comments

[parsecs]

[Han raises his eyebrows at Andrew, then he saunters over to the man with an easy, lopsided grin.]

Hey, easy, we don't want no trouble.

[He shoots Rocket a glare because he'd be more convincing if a certain raccoon weren't growling.]

We just want to talk. I promise it'll be worth your while.

[He holds out a hand to shake and by shake I mean offer a bribe since that definitely is a nice crisp $50 bill visible in his hand, though it's cleverly concealed enough that just the man can see it, not the rest of the group (diplomacy 21, sleight of hand 27).]

[spellfile]

[ the man stares down at the bill but doesn't reach for it.

"Who sent you here?" he demands. ]

[beatupgrass]

[while han tries to talk sense into Old Man Jenkins over there, rocket's gonna use his natural abilities to see if he can feel out anything. (wisdom 20 (for smell), listen 26, and spot 36.]

[parsecs]

Who sent us? [Han raises his eyebrows and touches his chest innocently (bluff 31).] No one sent us. We're just enthusiasts.

[spellfile]

[ the old man reaches down behind the porch railing, pulling up a shotgun, and aiming it right at them. "Well, take your damned enthusiasm elsewhere. If you ain't cops, I don't got a damn thing to say to ye!" ]

[asuma]

[As tempting as it may be to watch this little backwoods scenario end with violence, Klaus steps up beside Han to get a better look at their uneducated friend here. Rather, he makes certain that he will become this man's focus as he moves toward the front of the group so that he can make eye contact with the man. Once he has that, he immediately asserts his will in an attempt to make him more compliant.]

On the contrary. I believe that you'll be more than accommodating toward my associate here. [That will be will save 17 vs. domination, Billy Bob. Although if it fails at least he still has a front row seat to that violent scenario mentioned earlier..]

[spellfile]

[ with a will save of 11, his eyes sort of glaze over, and he slowly lowers the shotgun to his side.

"Uh, sorry... I, uh--" he blinks a few times, as if trying to remember his own train of thought. "What can I do for you?"

zero raises both eyebrows, but then says: ] Huh. [ and folds his arms, approving. ]

[beatupgrass]

[Rocket squints up at Klaus for a second and then gives Han a whap on the leg.]

Now's your chance, Mr. Smooth-Talker.

[badexample]

[Andrew is here. Watching. Hanging back with Zero. He's probably checking his phone, just ready for the talking back to be over.]

[parsecs]

...that's just cheating.

[Han looks kind of cranky about it, but... yeah, it's helpful, so he leans in.] There were reports of demons running around your property. Know anything about that?

[spellfile]

[ "I don't believe in demons. This all started a few months ago. My wife - her name's Alice - told me she heard people talking inside the house. Then my son, Tim, claimed he saw weird balls of light floating through the fields at night. I didn't really believe either one of them until I saw- I swear - a shadow... thing... walk inside a wall of the barn!"

the dog interrupts his story to start growling at klaus, but the noise annoys moore, who yells at it. "Quiet, King!" the dog abruptly stops barking and lies down with a cowed whine.

"The thing that really got me was that it said my name," he continues. "It kept saying 'Oscar! Oscar!' I know that sounds weird, but it's the truth. I don't believe in any of that crazy stuff you see in the movies, but I can't explain this either." ]

[badexample]

[Andrew just starts to slowly shake his head. N o p e. He's basically the Shaggy of this Scooby gang. He watches all of the horror movies. He knows how this shit goes down.]

[beatupgrass]

[Rocket rolls his eyes dramatically and pushes his way past the ocean of legs he's been mostly covered by.] Okay, I heard enough. Look, buddy, we're gonna deal with your issue, we just gotta see your barn.

[yeah, he doesn't believe in all that crazy shit, but there's a raccoon wearing two pistols just waltzing up over here. clearly he is a puppet.]

[spellfile]

[ maybe it's the appearance of a talking raccoon that gives him another will save, but he starts to shake his head slowly, as if under a heavy fog that he's struggling free of.

"I'll call the police. You aren't authorities... don't even.... have a warrant. Thinking you can walk in and .... take my farm... just like those suits..."

zero steps forward enough to put a hand on rocket's shoulder like calm down boi. ]

[parsecs]

Hey, we don't want your farm. [Han sounds almost offended. Does he look like the kind of guy who would be caught dead anywhere near a farm? Besides right now, of course.]

...wait, what suits?

[beatupgrass]

None of us are even wearin' suits. [Rocket's just muttering for the sake of muttering as he shrugs off Zero's arm. wtf, old man.]

[asuma]

[Whose genius idea was it to allow Rocket to run loose anyway? The sight of a talking raccoon was attention grabbing on its own, and apparently Klaus is too busy watching the dog back down after its' little outburst to realize that the shock of Rocket's presence might be countering the effects of his domination (wisdom 4). Time to wrap it up, gentlemen.]

[spellfile]

[ "Those mooks from Armitage Industries. I told them I'd make up my mind when I'm good and ready about selling." ]

Farm's in trouble, then?

[ moore snorts. "I'm almost bankrupt, that's what. Now I got plenty to deal with without tourists and believers haunting my damned property. Scram."

rather than protest, zero just nods to the others slightly. ] C'mon. Sorry for wasting your time.

[badexample]

[Andrew is going to follow Zero, content to fall back and regroup. He's also trying to use his phone to find some deets on Armitage Industries and got himself a nat 20 research check. What up.]

[beatupgrass]

[Rocket spits on the ground as he walks, because he's a classy and dignified knight.] The bastard's a wash, anyway. He don't even know what he's seein'.

[spellfile]

[ as they get back in the car, he speaks up: ] We should come back when it's dark. Probably not tonight - he might be expecting that. Think we'll find out more looking around without him over our shoulders.

[ meanwhile, andrew pulls up a bunch: armitage industries is a multimillion dollar software and hardware manufacturer in the computer industry. the owner, maxwell armitage, has a reputation as an eccentric. those who know him claim that he has a passion for blending ancient thought with modern technology. armitage industries purchased the land next to the moore farm a year ago. ]

[beatupgrass]

[Rocket normally would never really think about using certain advantages he has over the humanoid population in a pinch unless it was "crawl into that much tighter space" or "avoid getting shot because you're smaller and faster." Astrid, however, did try to instill a sense of... racconoid pride in him, which mostly went in one fuzzy ear and out the other, because THERE IS NO PRIDE IN BEING AN ANIMAL.

Still. If something happens while they're off waiting for the old man to calm his geriatric tits and he could have done something, he might feel moderately bad... In the sense that he will be stuck in bumfuck nowhere for a much longer period of time.]

I could stay here. Scope the joint out. He ain't gonna be able to tell me from anything else around here if I keep my trap shut.

[he better fucking get promoted for this shit, Astrid.]

[badexample]

That Armitage place he was talking about? They work with computers. Bought the land next to his farm last year. Looks like the guy running the place is one of those "mix the old with the new" types. Wonder what he wants with Moore's place, then.

[spellfile]

Wait a minute. I think I've heard of those clowns. They tried to buy some of my technomancy secrets back in the 90s.

[ he looks unsettled by the connection, especially with the news about the other farm. he frowns and looks at rocket. ] If you stick around, it's recon only. You don't stick your snout in to any trouble.

[beatupgrass]

I won't even have my stuff. [said bitterly with a bitter expression as he undoes his gun belt as a show of proof that he... is totally committed to sparkle motion here. ARE U PROUD, ASTRID.] I can be subtle. I just choose not to be, all right?

[it's not untrue, okay.]