PrP BIBF The Bookstore

[Colonel Worm]

Two people? Two?? Worm had recently gone up against a monster made out of spare limbs who'd killed and dismembered countless children. Compared to that, this is just...quaint.

Still, he's here. And things are happening. Might as well see it through. And anyway: the old man is entertaining. His question seems to hit a nerve and Worm enjoys watching the store owner squirm.

We'll need to talk to Steampunk Grandpa later, Worm notes to himself. Glancing behind him to see where the geezer might be.

Gerrit nudges him and the Colonel leans in, listening to what the Ogre has to say. "Roger that, buddy," he replies in hushed tones. "I'm on you like glue." It would never even occur to the Goblin to ditch his comrade. Just not his style.

With that, Worm prepares to be thoroughly underwhelmed by purple prose. And no outbreak of mass hysteria.

1 success

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-09-12 08:05:44	Colonel Worm rolls 5 to Clarity (10 Again)	5, 2, 2, 1, 8	1 success

[James Turner]

John was unfortunately beginning to make a habit of being late to everything. Literature and music were two of his favorite past times, a Lovecraftian tale with real life intrigue attached to it? It was like the King in Yellow was real. Which both terrified and excited the Darkling, because if it was Otherworldly influence with people going mad and going missing? He could only think of one, absolutely biased, source. Arcadia.

1 success

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-09-12 15:03:38	James Turner rolls 4 to Slipping in Unnoticed: Dex + Stealth (9 Again)	3, 8, 7, 6	1 success

So beyond a personal interest he also had a professional one. He did his best to slide in like the shadow he was, more so for the sake of decorum than anything. He'd shown up in the middle of everything and it would have been rude to disturb the others who'd come for some reprieve to their mundane lives. The first thing he did was look around the room and note that CW stuck out like a sore thumb, a small half smile noting the other Winter taking appropriate precautions. There was a little pride there, he wasn't immune to it.


His own mask was hardened and the t-shirt advertising Siousxie and the Banshee's was out on display. He wouldn't engage them directly, not yet, he still had to get his bearings as the situation developed and get up to speed as rapidly as possible. He pulled out his phone to shoot his fellow courtier a text

Text to Gerrit

Sorry I'm late. I'll keep an eye out.

Sorry about the delay, been crazy for a bit!

[James Turner]

Bookkeeping, also do you need me to roll Clarity too?

[Scourge]

Gerrit and Worm both sense it. The increase in fear. And they are both able to tell… it is not from their own minds. A contract… or something else has wormed itself into their minds. Eroding their minds against the inky blackness that pervades the shop. Making it appear more of a threat. And you can see it spreading among the crowd.

The steampunk grandpa stands resolute. Looking determined… and angry.

John

Arriving late has its advantages. No clarity needed.

The black robed owner raises the book. His lips begin to move. And you can see the darkness inside. Black as pitch. Shapeless infinity within his lips. His eyes... barely lit by the lantern in his hand... turn down to read.

[Gerrit]

'On you like glue'. That was a true Worm-ism, all right. Still, hearing it confirmed took away one worry for the moment.

Gerrit didn't notice his phone going off with John's text - his mind was preoccupied with the tampering of an outside force. Someone or something was indeed trying to get to him. Was the book really magical? Was the owner not satisfied with the crowd's reaction to his theatrics and decided to amp it up? Could maybe Queen Ann be behind this, gathering Fear-laden Glamour for a bigger scheme?

The Ogre pressed his lips together and balled his hands into fists. Whatever the source, he did not like this at all and before he realized it, his eyes moved around the room looking for motes of dust, residues of lit candles or other remnants of Smoke dancing in the darkened air. Maybe it was careless, reckless but he wanted to keep the owner from reading this book and and for that he called upon a Contract.

4 successes; deduct the target's Resolve + Wyrd

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-09-13 00:33:36	Gerrit rolls 6 to Invoke Murkblur (Int 3 + Wyrd 3) (10 Again)	8, 10, 3, 9, 5, 5, 10, 3	4 successes

Gerrit tensed up even more as he felt the offer of Glamour being accepted - would it have the intended effect? Did stopping the lecture break whatever magic was forming around them?
Did he just expose himself?

[Colonel Worm]

Worm's reaction to the rising tide of fear? Rage. It's only natural. In moments of terror, a person falls back on what is most native to their constitution. And for the Colonel, that is wrath.

He shakes with it, his anger at this assault. Knowing that someone, something, is doing this to him. Knowing that he will make them pay.

White-within-white eyes sweep the room, looking for any additional targets, other than the speaker of course. Pause on the Old Dude. Definitely mad as well. For a moment, he considers harvesting some of that anger, but passes on the opportunity. Instead, he gives the guy a nod, his own lips in a tight line. Hoping that Steam Punk Grandpa can see their shared outrage.

Keeps searching the crowd, trying his best to ignore the waves of fear pulsing through the room. Trying to stay ready.

2 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-09-13 07:08:31	Colonel Worm rolls 5 to Wits + Composure (10 Again)	7, 5, 10, 6, 2, 8	2 successes

He does spot John, slipping in the back, mask hardened. And though he's glad for the back-up, he does not acknowledge his fellow Lost. No need to tip their hand.

[James Turner]

John had stepped into the middle of something, and he could feel it, there was something that washed over the room he could feel it in the emotions around him. Fear, trepidation, worry, anxiety, and…anger were the weird ones. Eyes briefly meeting worms, his own hidden behind the mask the dark black orbs replaced by a deep, dark brown there was no return of acknowledgement beyond a brief meeting of eyes. Grandpa seemed to be starring daggers at the hooded man as the hooded man continued to read. He was new to the situation and nothing rang out as particularly unusual yet but Worm and Gerrit had to be on edge for a reason. Worm could be a hot-head for all he knew but Gerrit was on edge for some reason.

So the Darkling fell into old patterns and routines, stand in the back, silent, still, and unnoticed Observe, collect information and then make a decision. Gerrit and Worm had eyes up and were ahead of the situation, so John had to get up to speed and assess the situation as best he could.

2 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-09-15 11:11:30	James Turner rolls 7 to Perception (Wits +Comp) (10 Again)	10, 5, 8, 3, 4, 6, 7, 1	2 successes

[Scourge]

The owner raises his lantern for reading light as if the glint of his eyes goes dark, shadows swarming across his brow.

“Oh my god! I’m blind!” he said shocked with horror, true horror starting to set in. He looks up desperately at the crowd, his breath beginning to hyperventilate “It took my eyes!” he screamed.

That’s when it happens. You can feel the books. Like they’re pulsing behind him in the lamp light. And you know. You know because it has happened to all the Changelings before. The books are reaching out. There is liquid issuing from the covers like black bile that hangs and snakes along the air. And you have the certain knowledge that it is reaching out for you. To drag you away to the pages within where you will fall and fall through pools of burning ink till you reach…

The unseen woman who screamed before, screams again. As if awakened to the terror, almost the entire is suddenly moving. Some pressing against each other in a desperate need to get away. They might soon start to trampling people. Others, with eyes like crescent moons shining in the night, are moving towards the front desk with manic angry grimaces on their mouths.

Gain the Schizophrenia derangement for the rest of the scene. Source of trauma feeling like the Paradise of Shelesh is trying to capture you back to Arcadia. Feel free to adjust what voices or hallucinations you experience, but the source of trauma is always the books.

Res+Comp needed for everyone. -3 penality for Worm and Gerrit. Failure means you either flee or attack (your choice).

This is also a Clarity 3 breaking point. Two dice. (If failed: Roll new Clarity score to check for derangement development)

John

Even as he feels his mind breaking, the Darkling notices one thing before the halucinations rob him of his sense of reality. Grandpa's demeanor did not change. Then the crowd sweeps past and the old vanishes into it.

3 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-09-16 17:59:23	PrP ST rolls 4 to Stealth (10 Again)	8, 7, 10, 8, 2	3 successes

[Gerrit]

The good thing? The Contract took hold, temporarily blinding the owner and keeping him from reading out of the book. The bad part? This apparently didn't stop the sinister energy coming from the books to take hold of the bookstore. You're worthless. You just made it worse - the poor owner got blinded and his hysteria was the tipping point for the crowd.
His father, as gentle and loving as ever was chiming in on the situation, just when Gerrit noticed the ink dripping out of the pages, taking form, searching. What's worse: a few strands of ink gathered and Gerrit could clearly see the faceless visage of his Keeper.

He could see it more clearly now: the ink wasn't black, it was crimson. Those books were written in blood!

1 success

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-09-17 10:46:54	Gerrit rolls 2 to keep it together (Comp 3 + Res 2 - 3; Ogre Weakness)	6, 10	1 success

His first instinct was to charge, to rip those books apart as he had killed his Keeper to escape. But maybe that was exactly what It wanted. Gerrit had always had his doubts about how easy it was for him to kill the Other, but this just verified his fears. It was back, it needed to teach him another lesson.But you never learn, do you? Those lessons just. Wouldn't. Stick. No matter how hard I worked to make something out of you. The Ogre suddenly jerked his gaze away from the books and turned around - how did his father find him here?

Clarity Break failure; new Clarity is at 6

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-09-17 10:53:02	Gerrit rolls 2 to check for Clarity (2 dice) (10 Again)	2, 5	failure

Degeneration roll 1 success

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-09-17 10:57:28	Gerrit rolls 6 to check for Degeneration (6 Dice) (10 Again)	2, 1, 3, 8, 3, 3	1 success

He felt something slip, like ink slips on paper, like blood ran down his broken body. The book wanted to bring him back to Arcadia, so it was only reasonable to believe that it brought Arcadia into this world. How could he have missed this the entire time? His eyes now opened anew it took the Ogre a few moments to stop gazing at the faces in the wood, the voices of Smoke and Stone and the captivating tendrils of crimson-black ink.
Are you going to just stand around here like a fucking disappointment?

You're worthless.

Do something!

So Gerrit moved, trying to ignore his father's growing presence and looking for Colonel Worm. If his Keeper was looking for him, it wasn't to hard to believe that the other Lost were also in danger. Gerrit grabbed the Goblin's arm and tried to pull him away from the books. "We gotta get out."
With so many new stimuli and distractions the Stonebones still hasn't noticed John also being here.

[Colonel Worm]

Colors.

How long has it been since Worm really thought about colors? How they are data, information about light transmitted by the eyes, along nervy pathways, to the pulsing brain. How they are basically interchangeable as far as information goes, the colors. Yellow for orange for brown for purple for green for red for all of them (white). All data. Except for black. Because black is the absence of color. Of information. Black swallows all colors.

And spits them out. Yes. Spits them out.

So out of the black comes the green. The jungle, stinking, getting into your skin, your flesh. He’s seen rotten feet. Rot eating toes, rot setting into the heal, burrowing there. Seen how fast the face of a dead woman collapses into rot and stink. Because of the wet and the heat. Because of the jungle. Because of the green. And the green comes out from the black.

And so does the Red. And that is the true terror. That the Red should come out of the black. And take him back. And take him back. That the black is a way to the Red. That an opening to the Red appears as black on this side. That isn’t so strange. Stranger things have happened. Not so strange that the Red should come out of the black or the black should be a way to the Red.

AND HE’S NOT GOING BACK AND HE’S NOT GOING BACK AND HE’S NOT GOING BACK——

THE BOOKS ARE THE BLACK.

THE GREEN COMES OUT OF THE BLACK.

AND THE RED COMES OUT OF THE BLACK.

OR THE RED LEADS BACK TO THE BLACK.

NOT GOING BACK NOT GOING BACK NOT GOING BACK.

All of that in a paralyzed second as the curse of Shelesh take hold. All those connections, images, free floating words unmoored, instantly fused into one, monolithic THING, an ungraspable but utterly TRUE reality. A reality he must either FIGHT or FLEE.

(That he must separate himself from, because this isn’t right something is wrong something—)

(OR ELSE HE MIGHT GO BACK)

He is gripped by a terrible certainty. A certainty that he has glimpsed the truth of the world. That he understands how everything works. And how it’s a trap. To take him back. Back to the Red. And the Lords of the Red.

The Lords. The terrible Lords in their red Red Robes. Are they here? Have they arrived? Have they come out of, through, the black, through the Black of the Books? Is that them, screaming? Pushing? Herding? Are they here to take him back, back through the black and into the Red?

NO—this isn’t right—it’s something else—something doing—

For a moment, Worm resist. Resists the urge to flee or kill. Tries with all his might to hold on. To not be completely consumed.

Resolve + Composure, 1 success

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-09-17 15:52:09	Colonel Worm rolls 2 to Res + Comp -3 (10 Again)	7, 10, 3	1 success

Clarity Break, 1 success

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2021-09-17 15:53:12	Colonel Worm rolls 2 to Clarity Break (10 Again)	10, 1, 3	1 success

Worm can feel his mind bending, bending, but not breaking. He fights the urge to either flee or kill.

The Goblin stands tall in the face of madness and terror.

WHO'S THAT??? Who's that grabbing his arm? ONE OF THE RED LORDS??

No. No. Gerrit. It's Gerrit. There should be comfort in that, but there isn't.

The Colonel manages to focus on the Ogre, his eyes wild, his face a grimace of terror and rage.

"No," he sputters. Spits. "Can't go. Gotta stop this. Gotta...close the black. The path. Gotta make sure nothing comes out." It's like he's straining to stay upright in the face of hurricane force winds.

But how? How do they make this stop??