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

[asuma]

Unless you had a better idea.

[S-such a reassuring team member. He's even a gentleman, Andrew!]

After you. [:)]

[parsecs]

Hope the ewok is okay. [He knows Rocket's not an ewok, but he's not... sure what else he is. Seems closer than anything else. He draws his blaster, holding it at hip level as he gets out of the car.] C'mon.

[spellfile]

[ as they get out, anyone who makes a 15+ spot check can notice that the noisy german shepard's leather leash is still by the porch, torn off near its point of attachment, and the ground nearby it is spattered with blood. drag marks lead off through the dirt to the cornfields to the north. ]

[badexample]

[Andrew doesn't spot shit. Probably because he's still nervous as fuck about fieldwork. Especially zombie fieldwork. No thanks. He will finally get out of the car, though. And grab his gun. And look nervous.]

[asuma]

[Klaus doesn't spot shit either. Or maybe he did and he's just happy it's zombie fodder since the dog fucking growled at him earlier we just don't know.]

[parsecs]

[Yeah Han is a little too busy looking around for Rocket to pay attention to the other animal that had been around. He joins the not spotting shit club (spot 13)... BUT. Something naggles at him and he takes a second look thanks to his lucky talent. He's not so sure he's feeling lucky when he notices the leash (spot 15 EXACTLY).]

Wasn't there a dog here earlier?

[Blaster held by his side, he moves towards the spot slowly, looking wary. The blood isn't making him feel any better.]

[spellfile]

[ zero looks back at where han's indicating, his face falling as he sees the bloody trail ] Well, shit.

Maybe we should check the fields first.

[ at that point, they hear someone shouting inside the house, yelling "Oscar!" over and over. even over the wind, the voice sounds slightly distorted, as if the speaker is underwater. ] Or that. [ he frowns. ] Rocket's somewhere out near the barn. We gonna split up or what? [ THREE CHOICES: house, barn, cornfields ]

[badexample]

M...aybe we don't need to split up? [Andrew squeaks out. He's very squishy and he's seen way too many horror movies okay.] We can go get Rocket and then check out more of the creepy zombie farm. Together.

[asuma]

Something tells me our friend in there won't last that long.

[Klaus doesn't look ... particularly concerned though. Or particularly eager to run off in one of three directions ~before it's too late~..]

[spellfile]

He's right. [ he says grimly, nodding to klaus ] We need to get in there. Rocket's just gonna have to stay hidden for now and hope the zombies can't smell raccoon brains. [ with that, he heads up the steps of the porch, which wraps around the front of the house and along the west side. three rickety-looking chairs stand beside the front door, grouped as though for relaxing in the evening. as the open door swings in the wind, a whiff of some horrible, noxious odor emanates from within the house. a 15+ spot check reveals a trail of some foul-smelling slime leading up from the front door, which has been smashed open, evidently by several heavy blows. zero puts a sleeve over his face, grimacing at the smell. ] Oh, that's just nice.

[parsecs]

[Now that he's actually paying attention, Han sees the slime at once (spot 18) and starts following the trail.] I've smelled worse. Come on.

[spellfile]

[ the living room is furnished with a tv, a sofa, and two shattered reclining chairs. a gun rack above the quaint fireplace holds a shotgun and a rifle. the kitchen extends around behind the staircase in front of them, towards what seems to be a dining room. ]

[badexample]

[Andrew's spot was terrible. So he's going to step off to one side and start looking at things in the living room.]

[asuma]

[Klaus actually crit failed his spot, so I guess some dust from the raging fucking wind got in his eyes or something and he hangs back to like rub that shit out? I don't even know...]

[spellfile]

[ on the dining room floor lie the remnants of a large table that has been smashed to bits. pools of blood stain the carpet in several locations, along with puddles of some foul-smelling, clear ooze. a muddy-sounding voice from the other door to the room says "Oscar..."

also by 'the kitchen extends around the stairs' in the last tag, i meant the living room. that they were looking at. #readingcomprehension

zero grimaces, staring at the door, knowing they've gotta look in there but not eager to be the one to do so ]

[badexample]

[Andrew is still clueless and just looking around until there's that single word in a creepy voice. He turns towards the door with wide eyes, glancing to Zero and shaking his head.]

Shit, shit, shit... We're going in there, aren't we?

[Such a knight]

[asuma]

[And Klaus comes bringing up the rear like what did I miss after all is said and ... not really done yet, still wiping one of his eyes. /useless]

[spellfile]

[ zero sighs heavily, so very put upon, and moves to shove the door open with a creak.

the kitchen is in complete disarray, and the cupboards and drawers have been ransacked. four horrible-looking figures stand over the corpse of a middle-aged woman. though they are humanoid in shape, they look like bloated zombies, with oozing flesh that sloughs off to the ground in puddles and eyes that glow with a green, unholy light. "Oscar," says one in a muddy voice, raising its head to affix them all with a hungry stare. ]

Wrong grouch.

[ one of the zombies roars and heads straight for zero, slamming into him with a nat 20, and following it up with a weighty blow (atk 20, total dmg 22). ]

[badexample]

Hey! [Andrew lets out a shout as Zero is attacked. That's like his not!dad, okay. He's not okay with this. So he fires his gun at that one!!! And only get an attack of 8.... But he has heroic surge so he tries again!!!

And seriously got the exact same fucking thing. So appropriate that it hurts.]

[herebemonsters]

[ the 4th zombie goes for andrew, clawing at him with a 7, so even he can duck it ]

[asuma]

[The zombie attacking Zero is obviously the bigger threat here, but since Klaus is standing right the fuck here he will go ahead and attempt to knock the zombie that is coming for Andrew back by slamming a bitch toward the interior of the kitchen with a lil vampiric strength (attack 26, damage 15 if it hits).

And if it staggers back or falls or dies (again) he will go ahead and move inside to put him that much closer to the one assaulting Zero and make himself a bigger target since Andrew's ass is probably the squishiest one here rn.]

[parsecs]

....nothing's right about this. [Seriously that is just karking wrong. Han lifts his blaster and shoots a blast of laser sharp energy at the zombie that's trying to eat Zero's face (atk 16, dmg 13 if that somehow hits).]

[spellfile]

[ klaus' fist sinks into the flesh of the thing, which feels like it has the consistency of pudding, making a sizable dent, but it doesn't go flying backwards because of how much it gives way.

han's blaster cuts into the other zombie...and liquified tissue comes spewing out, dealing 1 dmg to zero, andrew, and klaus, and they all get to make a fort save :') it gets zero right in the face tbh. ] Oh, for the love of--

[ he raises both hands and a cone of searing flame shoots out of his fingertips. a close look at it might reveal what looks like lines of code coursing through the flames. every last one of them fails their ref saves, given that zombies aren't the fastest fuckers (13 dmg each). it melts the one that han shot and klaus punched, but the other two further back vent bursts of steam from their mouths and then keep coming.

one of them tries to slam zero again but he sidesteps it, while andrew can easily avoid the slow fist of the other (atk 4) ]

[badexample]

[Andrew's fort was only an 11. Is he puking bc of zombie guts? Or is his flesh dissolving or something??? Anyway, he tries to shoot but lmfao no it's still single digits. He's the worst at this.]

[asuma]

[Klaus got 30 for his fort save.

He takes the opportunity to attempt to shake off some of the liquefied zombie innards that are probably making a mess all over since he literally punched through the thing's chest before Zero melted it, and then Han went ahead and hosed them down with more gore splatter by shooting the one mounting Zero.

When that doesn't seem to work he just wipes his hand and forearm on the back of Andrew's shirt instead. :')

Yeah that was how he chose to spend his full round. #priorities.]