[2017-10-06 20:33:41] -->| YOU (Andrew_Bachmann) have joined #Arkham
[2017-10-06 20:38:49] =-= Mode #arkham +o Andrew_Bachmann by Jagenzollern
[2017-10-06 20:46:43] -->| Halycon (Halycon@ihw-a37ouf.cable.rogers.com) has joined #Arkham
[2017-10-06 20:46:56] =-= Halycon is now known as Albert
[2017-10-06 20:47:02] =-= Mode #arkham +o Albert by Jagenzollern
[2017-10-06 20:47:42] -->| Beckman (OrdoXenos@ihw-j6uijm.sd.cox.net) has joined #Arkham
[2017-10-06 20:47:50] =-= Mode #arkham +o Beckman by Jagenzollern
[2017-10-06 20:50:57] <Jagenzollern> By 10 AM the next morning practically every able bodied man in the whole town is assembled in the Police Station. Captain William Keats, second in command behind Chief Nichols, is the one addressing the mob, with Nichols standing a short distance behind and flanking him along with a despondent Lucas Strong on the opposite side. There is a map of Essex county with a number of lines streaking...
[2017-10-06 20:50:59] <Jagenzollern> ...north and then turning west and ending somewhere north of Lake Wenham.
[2017-10-06 20:54:56] <Jagenzollern> "Our preliminary investigations have led us to believe that the suspects are Sidney Harris and Eugene Clayton along with, most likely, one or more other members of Harris's gang who stayed behind to guard Jane. Meaning, we are on a manhunt for three or more men in the woods following these routes for maximum coverage of the forest."
[2017-10-06 21:00:06] <Jagenzollern> "You will all be organized into small teams to comb the forest and deputized as a sheriff's posse. The first priority is the safety of Jane Strong, followed by the apprehension of the suspects, then finally the recovery of the ransom money. These men are armed and to be considered dangerous, but be warned - the forest is not empty. There are hunters, a group from the university, and possibly...
[2017-10-06 21:00:07] <Jagenzollern> ...others also in the forest. Make sure that no harm comes to them through misunderstanding."
[2017-10-06 21:01:46] <Jagenzollern> He steps aside, sweeping his arm aside "I've been told that Mr. Strong would like to say a few words."
[2017-10-06 21:07:16] <Jagenzollern> Lucas Strong, eyes puffy from sobbing, take the podium and grips the sides with shaky hands. "Thank you all for coming to help my little Jane..." he's only barely able to muster the energy to project to the crowd "you're good men and I know that with all of you looking for her she's in good hands."
[2017-10-06 21:09:13] <Jagenzollern> "As a show of appreciation I'm going to pay all of you who were so kind as to show up and put your lives on the line for my little girl $25 a day. And with a reward of $5000 for the team that brings her home safe."
[2017-10-06 21:12:13] <Jagenzollern> After the reward sum is announced the air leaves the room and everything is silent despite being volume of people crammed into the room. Nobody want to cheer, out of respect for the gravity of the situation, but greed dances on the eyes of men palpably throughout the mob.
[2017-10-06 21:14:19] <Jagenzollern> It's Strong who finally breaks the silence "And I would consider it a real kindness if Harris was brought back dead."
[2017-10-06 21:15:19] <Jagenzollern> "Ah! Ah! Ah!" Asa Nichols surges forward and tries to smooth that over "Do everything possible to apprehend the suspects alive and uninjured. We're a civil society gentlemen."
[2017-10-06 21:18:00] <Jagenzollern> "Manhunt begins at noon. Are there any questions?"
[2017-10-06 21:20:33] <Andrew_Bachmann> "Do we know of any property in the search area? Any cabins or shacks?"
[2017-10-06 21:24:31] =-= Jagenzollern is now known as Keeper
[2017-10-06 21:27:50] <Keeper> "There are a couple old cabins strewn throughout the woods, but the only real concentration of buildings is a survey site that's been set up near the lake took look for precious metals. When this was announced the Water Board meant the kind of precious metals that could hazardously contaminate a water supply, but apparently Sidney Harris through it meant gold which instigated the whole thing."
[2017-10-06 21:28:24] <Beckman> "What about roads and trails?"
[2017-10-06 21:30:09] <Keeper> "There are a couple dirt roads leading to the survey site and the general area of the lake, but during most of the search you'll be dealing with game trails at best."
[2017-10-06 21:31:24] <Beckman> "Do we know what the current headcount we're dealing with is on both sides?"
[2017-10-06 21:35:09] <Keeper> "Three or more in Harris's gang and...eighty or so men in the posse." He guesses the last bit based on a headcount of the room.
[2017-10-06 21:36:37] <Albert> "I'd count on more showing up knowing our luck." Albert whispers to Beckman.
[2017-10-06 21:37:30] * Andrew_Bachmann nods, liking the odds there. "We'll need to be careful. If they feel like there's no escape they might do something hasty. A cornered fox and all that." He says, mostly to himself but it's easily loud enough to be heard.
[2017-10-06 21:40:53] <Keeper> The groups are given their route in the search pattern and assembled. The teams are three men each and, by sheer coincidence, Bachmann, Beckman, and Weaver are assigned to a group. One of the first to set out, in fact.
[2017-10-06 21:58:44] <Keeper> The investigator's group begins at the site of yesterday's shootout  The site is a newly formed clearing about a hundred yards across on the edge of the forest, forming part of a wider area marked for logging. A dirt track from the main road heads over a small field to the edge of the clearing. It is littered with short stumps and a couple of piles of fallen tree-trunks, surrounded by tall,...
[2017-10-06 21:58:45] <Keeper> ...looming trees that stand close together. Scattered over the site is evidence of the events of the previous night: discarded shotgun shells and bullet casings; bullet holes in the trees and stumps; and a couple of heavy bloodstains. Otherwise the area is still and quiet, save for the occasionally pop of a tree branches straining under the weight of snow.
[2017-10-06 21:59:21] <Keeper> From here you're directed to head north northwest.
[2017-10-06 22:01:01] <Keeper> You easily manage to find two sets of footprints in the snow about where Harris and Clayton were and heading off in roughly the same direction they did. The snow makes the tracks fairly easy to follow but the light snowfall overnight prevents it from being trivial.
[2017-10-06 22:01:21] <Albert> "Guess we'd better hurry along, I don't wanna be out all night in this goddamn cold." Albert moans.
[2017-10-06 22:21:48] <Keeper> The first few hours, once you've been hiking for a while, aren't so bad. The brisk air blows through the naked trees and against you, trying to push you in the opposite direction. There is little wildlife, save for the occasional deer running through the thicket. You path at this point is downhill so the hiking is fairly easy and less than treacherous despite the lack of a clear trail. You...
[2017-10-06 22:21:49] <Keeper> ...can tell it's beginning to thicken as you proceed.
[2017-10-06 22:28:02] * Beckman quickly puts up his off hand and swivels his aim toward the offending sound.
[2017-10-06 22:32:22] <Keeper> A shot rings out, just grazing Beckman. As far as grazes though it's a bad one and immediately starts pouring blood. A voice follows the shot "George, no!"
[2017-10-06 22:35:22] <Beckman> "Ow! Sheriff's deputies, cease fire and come out of cover!"
[2017-10-06 22:35:44] <Beckman> His hand clutches the arm wound, trying to stem the blood.
[2017-10-06 22:36:03] <Keeper> A man and a young boy come running out of cover looking mortified. The young boy's hand's are shaking and when gets close he flat out drops the rifle on the ground.
[2017-10-06 22:36:31] <Albert> "Ah hell..." Albert remarks, pinching the bridge of his nose.
[2017-10-06 22:36:50] <Beckman> "Are you part of the posse?"
[2017-10-06 22:36:58] <Keeper> "Good Lord, I'm so sorry! He thought you were a deer." The father explains. "We need to get that looked at!"
[2017-10-06 22:37:19] <Keeper> "Uh, no. What posse? I'm up from Boston to teach my son to hunt."
[2017-10-06 22:37:52] * Albert lifts away Beckman's hand, trying to get a better look at the wound.
[2017-10-06 22:38:26] <Andrew_Bachmann> "They're hunters, Beckman." He approaches the father. "There's been an incident in the woods here, a missing person. Have you seen some men and a girl?" He shows the man Jane's picture.
[2017-10-06 22:38:57] * Albert sets to inspecting the wound, cleaning it with a damp cloth and then bandaging it. "Doesn't look too bad, at least I hope not."
[2017-10-06 22:40:17] <Keeper> Tears are welling up in the kid's eyes now "I'm sorry sir, I didn't mean to!"
[2017-10-06 22:41:36] <Keeper> "Ah...you mean the artist's camp?" the man asks. "I'm Alistair by the way. Alistair Lawson. And this is my son George."
[2017-10-06 22:41:57] <Keeper> "What kind of incident? Is it safe here?"
[2017-10-06 22:44:23] * Andrew_Bachmann shakes his head. "The men are armed and dangerous. You need to take your son out to safety, just in case. If you happen to see any other hunters, let them know as well. And what did you mean by the artist's camp?"
[2017-10-06 22:44:35] <Beckman> "Look kid, make sure your target isn't human and you're fine. I've had worse wounds." Beckman looks at Alistair. "It's safe, but I'd move to the road and talk to the sheriff. Being an unfamiliar man in the forest isn't a safe proposition right now."
[2017-10-06 22:48:51] <Keeper> "There are other hunters! We came with here some friends of ours, Brian Hall and his son Arthur. Can't miss 'em, Brian has a big cowboy hat. They went deeper into the woods but we...uh...we turned back. Oh and the artist's camp is just a camp full of art students from the university, painting wildlife and such."
[2017-10-06 22:49:39] <Keeper> "And the truck!" the kid interjects. "There's a loud old truck that rumbles around on one of the trails around here. You can hear it."
[2017-10-06 22:50:58] <Beckman> "That's part of the camp?"
[2017-10-06 22:52:20] <Keeper> "I don't think so. It's further west and then it goes south."
[2017-10-06 22:54:47] <Andrew_Bachmann> "Either way, you two need to head back to safety. Things might get ugly." He glances at the kid, smiling a bit. "And thankfully this can be a lesson in trigger discipline for later as well."
[2017-10-06 22:55:00] <Albert> "Yeah, O
[2017-10-06 22:55:34] <Albert> "Yeah, let's make sure I don't have to bandage anyone up until we at least find something."
[2017-10-06 22:58:39] <Keeper> The kid averts his eyes and mumbles "Sorry again." Alistair puts an arm around his son "Well, we'll head on out then. Come on George, we'll hunt another time."
[2017-10-06 22:59:30] * Albert gives Beckman a sympathetic look, "Off to a good start."
[2017-10-06 22:59:49] <Albert> "Just think about the five thousand dollars, it'll dull the pain."
[2017-10-06 23:04:33] <Beckman> "Save it. I'm in this for the girl's sake."
[2017-10-06 23:05:56] * Albert offers a glib smile to Bachmann. "Let's not waste any more time then."
[2017-10-06 23:06:14] <Keeper> You pick up the trail again rather easily and follow it for another couple hours before night begins to fall. When it begins to get dark it feels like it then comes on all at once and then you're suddenly trekking in the darkness amidst the ancient trees.
[2017-10-06 23:08:10] <Keeper> The eerie quiet of the woods during the day is now a distant memory and every couple of minutes you hear movement from somewhere in the darkness. Fortunately it's not difficult to find a clearing to make camp for the evening.
[2017-10-06 23:09:24] <Albert> "This is probably the longest I've spent outside in years." Albert says, stretching his legs.
[2017-10-06 23:12:20] <Andrew_Bachmann> "Never gone camping before?" Andrew asks, keeping his voice quiet, though it still sounds loud to his ears in the chilly night air.
[2017-10-06 23:13:37] * Albert shakes his head. "My old man never much cared for it." Albert bundles his jacket tighter. "I'm beginning to see why."
[2017-10-06 23:14:38] <Beckman> "It's not so bad. When you're poor it gets to be a common recreation, though."
[2017-10-06 23:17:18] * Albert eases his rifle sling off his shoulder, setting the rifle on his lap. "Should we start a fire... or..?"
[2017-10-06 23:19:33] <Andrew_Bachmann> "We're not going to be able to see much in this light, just as likely to end up walking into a gun as finding Ms. Strong."
[2017-10-06 23:26:12] <Keeper> After straightening out their camp, the investigators bed down for the evening.
[2017-10-06 23:30:46] * Beckman startles awake in the dead of night.
[2017-10-06 23:30:47] <Keeper> ...
[2017-10-06 23:33:14] <Keeper> You all wake the next morning in highly varying states of exhaustion. Albert, at least, managed to sleep like a baby. The others, Andrew especially, look kind of haggard.
[2017-10-06 23:34:03] * Albert yawns. stretching out his arms before scratching his lower back. He rises, blinking away the remainder of sleep from his eyes.
[2017-10-06 23:34:31] <Albert> "That wasn't so bad, I wonder what my old man was so afraid of." He mused, wandering off to take a morning leak.
[2017-10-06 23:37:15] <Beckman> "Yeah yeah..."
[2017-10-06 23:37:18] * Andrew_Bachmann rubs his eyes with one hand as he sits up, small bags under his eyes as he attempts to wake himself up. He grumbles as he reaches into his clothes, pulling out a match and a cigarette and lighting up.
[2017-10-06 23:37:20] * Albert returns a few minutes later, ambling back to camp.
[2017-10-06 23:38:02] * Beckman looks over at Bachmann, only briefly loathing their similar names. "Your eyes are as red as mine feel."
[2017-10-06 23:39:33] * Andrew_Bachmann looks around tiredly for a moment, his eyes widening as he grabs his gun and looks around.
[2017-10-06 23:40:48] * Beckman snatches his rifle and swings his head around too. "What, what?" he whispers urgently.
[2017-10-06 23:41:42] <Andrew_Bachmann> "Look at the snow. There's more footprints. Someone was here, or still is." Andrew whispers, unsure if anyone can hear them, though his frantic motions don't really lend to subtlety at the moment.
[2017-10-06 23:42:30] * Albert Albert ducks down, quickly scrambling for his rifle and looking around.
[2017-10-06 23:43:53] <Beckman> "While we were asleep?"
[2017-10-06 23:44:04] * Andrew_Bachmann nods.
[2017-10-06 23:46:33] <Beckman> "Maybe I could feel it... I woke up with a nightmare..."
[2017-10-06 23:48:31] <Albert> "What do you wanna do then?" Albert keeps his head low.
[2017-10-06 23:49:44] <Keeper> You scan and don't see anything, it looks like you're alone out here.
[2017-10-06 23:51:42] * Andrew_Bachmann thinks for a moment, slowly putting his pistol away. "I think Beckman is right. I felt something too last night."
[2017-10-06 23:51:49] <Andrew_Bachmann> "They're probably gone by now..."
[2017-10-06 23:52:33] * Albert shakes his head, "Let's wrap this up then, and not spend another night out here..."
[2017-10-06 23:56:37] * Andrew_Bachmann starts to pack up the camp, keeping an eye over his shoulder, a little paranoid now from the footprints.
[2017-10-06 23:56:46] <Keeper> You set out again in the dim light of the early morning, moving into the heart of the forest. There trees have begun to change from purely bare deciduous trees to having more clusters of evergreens. A short time after you've been hiking you hear a series of distant gunshots, rifle fire but too far away to pinpoint.
[2017-10-07 00:02:14] * Andrew_Bachmann waves them over, pointing out a few fallen and broken branches. "It's over here, I think the snow covered up the tracks, but the twigs are down. C'mon."
[2017-10-07 00:02:42] * Albert collects his pack and rifle and follows after him.
[2017-10-07 00:09:24] * Albert raises his rifle towards a nearby bush, suddenly apprehensive. "Guys..."
[2017-10-07 00:10:13] * Albert calls out to the bush, "If you're human speak up now or else!"
[2017-10-07 00:10:48] * Andrew_Bachmann aims his gun. "This is the police. Come out of the bush, slowly, with your hands up."
[2017-10-07 00:11:17] * Beckman readies his gun, but keeps eyes peeled for an ambush.
[2017-10-07 00:13:23] <Keeper> A black bear strides heavily  out of the brush on its hind legs and gives a long, hateful roar. It drops down and lowers its head, charging forward toward you like a black meaty juggernaut.
[2017-10-07 00:14:06] * Albert fires the elephant gun immediately.
[2017-10-07 00:15:14] =-= Keeper has changed the topic to ``Albert 130, Beckman 105, Bachmann 85, Bear 50''
[2017-10-07 00:20:48] * Albert fires wide, not even coming close to hitting the rampaging beast. Fearful of gaining it's attention he backs away, quickly scuttling off.
[2017-10-07 00:24:45] * Beckman does the same, though with more effect. He promptly scuttles the hell away.
[2017-10-07 00:26:59] * Andrew_Bachmann joins Beckman and Albert in the scuttling business, firing his .45 revolver into the bear as he does so.
[2017-10-07 00:29:58] <Keeper> Beckman's shot cleanly hits the bear but doesn't slow it down, and it doesn't look like it even registered Bachmann. It closes the distance between you with alarming speed and bears down on you group, focusing on Andrew and Albert.
[2017-10-07 00:41:28] * Albert Albert suddenly realizes he died in an alternate reality and deftly falls over, dodging the bear's claw.
[2017-10-07 00:44:17] <Keeper> The bear seems surprised that it missed, so surprised that his blow whiffs Bachmann completely.
[2017-10-07 00:47:10] * Albert aims the rifle point blank in the ugly furball's face and the rifle fires like a crack of lightning.
[2017-10-07 00:49:23] <Keeper> The elephant gun obliterates the bear's head, scooping the top half of it off entirely. The body shudder and flops backwards and then down onto its side.
[2017-10-07 00:50:13] * Andrew_Bachmann pants, catching his breath. "Christ...I thought you were a goner..."
[2017-10-07 00:50:27] * Albert blinks, peering down at the dead mass at his feet. "I uh, I think I did, you know?"
[2017-10-07 00:50:41] <Albert> "I sort of felt like, I did die, I mean. Uh..."
[2017-10-07 00:50:51] * Albert just sort of gapes before pinching his cheek.
[2017-10-07 00:52:07] <Albert> "I think I get now why my father was so against camping."
[2017-10-07 00:52:10] <Beckman> "Stop, stop, don't say that, you know we take that seriously. You're alive. Come on, up."
[2017-10-07 00:52:37] * Albert nods somberly, a little more assured now. He gives the bear a stiff kick with his boot. "Yeah, shitty mongrel."
[2017-10-07 00:53:08] <Albert> "Let's go, I don't wanna stay here any longer than I have to."
[2017-10-07 01:07:32] <Keeper> A short walk later you come across what looks like blood splattered across the snow, amidst foliage that has clearly been disturbed with broken twigs and branches indicating something moved through quickly.
[2017-10-07 01:08:34] <Keeper> It leads off into the woods, perpendicular to your assigned search route. You'll need to make a detour to see what's down this trail.
[2017-10-07 01:10:29] * Andrew_Bachmann points to the trail. "Someone or something is injured. Maybe our nighttime peeper ran into that bear?"
[2017-10-07 01:11:38] * Albert nods, "Couldn't hurt to look."
[2017-10-07 01:13:15] <Beckman> "God forbit it's another bear."
[2017-10-07 01:15:43] <Keeper> You follow the new trail for a short distance. It's not hard, whoever it was wasn't  moving very carefully. A half mile down the road you see a discarded hunting knife just laying on the ground. It's old, rusty, and covered in sticky, semi-dried blood.
[2017-10-07 01:16:32] <Albert> "Well, that can't be a good sign..."
[2017-10-07 01:17:22] <Andrew_Bachmann> "The blood's not dry all the way...it's somewhat fresh." He looks around, searching for footprints in the snow to see where the person went.
[2017-10-07 01:20:43] <Keeper> The footprints are easily visible, whoever it was clearly was staggering by this point. A little way further down the path you find what you're looking for. It's a man, dark haired a little overweight splayed prone on the ground. He's wearing a yellow shirt under a pair of overalls, both of which are torn at the man's side from a wound that's stained that material and the ground around him...
[2017-10-07 01:20:44] <Keeper> ...dead. The overalls elsewhere are also stained, but with paint rather than blood.
[2017-10-07 01:21:42] <Keeper> You get the feeling that seeing such a thing might have strained the mind of one of your earlier selves, but this degree of violence just washes over you.
[2017-10-07 01:22:49] * Albert approaches, dropping to a knee to inspect the wound.
[2017-10-07 01:24:38] <Keeper> The man has clearly been stabbed, only a single time. Based on the size of the wound it looks to Albert like it was the knife they've just found. He probably bled to death steadily over the last day.
[2017-10-07 01:24:54] <Keeper> The is an impromptu bandage, but it was shoddy and did nothing.
[2017-10-07 01:25:04] * Albert informs the group of his findings, adding "Bad way to go."
[2017-10-07 01:27:12] <Albert> "Looks like one of those artist kids..." Albert muses, thumbing a sploch of paint on the man's shirt. "He could lead us to their camp if we uh, wanted to tell them..."
[2017-10-07 01:27:59] <Albert> "Someone could be looking for him, sibling or friend... I'd rather they not meet his fate."
[2017-10-07 01:29:29] <Andrew_Bachmann> "We should. If he got stabbed, there might be more people in danger. It's possible our hostage takers found out about the shootout and decided to take more hostages there."
[2017-10-07 01:35:02] <Keeper> Picking up the new trail after backtracking a little you eventually stumble across a trail of tire tracks that have cut through the forest floor, snaking northwest somewhere.
[2017-10-07 01:39:30] <Andrew_Bachmann> "Huh, these tracks should lead north of Bolton. Can't imagine why though...there's nothing there to even merit a road."
[2017-10-07 01:39:39] <Andrew_Bachmann> "You think that's where our kidnappers are hiding?"
[2017-10-07 01:40:14] <Albert> "You're the officer, what does your gut tell you?"
[2017-10-07 01:41:31] <Andrew_Bachmann> "That's what it's telling me." He confirms.
[2017-10-07 01:42:24] <Keeper> You hear a sound, the popping and rattling of an old engine to big truck of some kind. It sounds like it's getting closer and, looking down the road you can see it approaching in the distance. It's a large green flatbed filled to almost tipping with crates stacked upon each other.
[2017-10-07 01:47:48] <Keeper> The driver is fearless, driving quickly heedless of the narrowness of the road or the fact it's covered in snow and mud. He drives with a heavy foot on the gas and weaves between a set of trees, streaking up the road to you. He gets uncomfortably close before hits the breaks, the first indication he's even seen you. You see a young man with a strong jaw and closely cropped hair sitting in...
[2017-10-07 01:47:49] <Keeper> ...the drivers seat. He stares at you for a moment, inscrutable.
[2017-10-07 01:59:12] |<-- Keeper has left irc.irchighway.net (Quit: ChatZilla 0.9.93 [Firefox 56.0/20170926190823])
[2017-10-07 01:59:16] [INFO] Disconnecting from IRC.  Click close again to exit now.
[2017-10-07 01:59:17] [QUIT] Disconnected from irc://irc.irchighway.net/ (irc://irc.irchighway.net/). [[Reconnect][Reconnect to irc.irchighway.net][reconnect]]