PRP Railing against the dark

[Seraphina]

This was always a fun Contract to watch work, seeing what was old turn new. Except the joints,
“Huh,” pointing out the still rusted joints, “seems those have been sabotaged to jam shut. So not much I can do with them.” But hey, the door looked better!

Beaming to the Summer, “What can I say, it was shiny!” jokes the Fairest. “Maybe they’ll be worth something and we can invest in tools and whatnot for down here.” Might as well put them to good use.

“I have no need for them, so I have to problems with you taking them. I can try and restore some of them if you like.” New…ish…tools were better then rusted ones. At least, she thinks.

A tiny smirk at the declaration about the Hedge being full of rocks, “We must be near a mountainous section.” There were mountains in the Hedge.

The Nix was quick to jump into help ratchet the door with Circe.

2 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-02-18 16:20:13	Seraphina rolls 3 to Ratchet Door(Strn+Ath) (10 Again)	1, 10, 7, 9	2 successes

Equipment

Bottled water(2), trail mix, notebook and pencil, research, first aid kit, two flashlights, two headlamps, handheld GPS, pair of sturdy gloves, dagger on hip, compass, maps from the historical society as well as hand drawn maps, cell phone on vibrate and chalk

[Vincent Black]

Vincent glances at his big buddy, not wanting to insult him, "Sometimes backup requires the verbal diplomatic kind my friend, not that brute strength is helpful. And I am sure between you and Circe not many of us Lost would try to fight you, but sometimes just giving your support verbally would be enough of a deterrent for the most desperate. And I am fully aware what desperation can do to even the most mindful people."

[Circe]

Narration:
The two Fairest monarchs manage to trade off the spinning of the multitool. Instead of ratcheting it a quarter turn, resetting, and restarting they are doing it as a spin. This allows theme to get the door to move a good amount before the rusted joints snap. The door thuds to the ground, kicking up dust, but is not blocking the path behind. This new tunnel covered in dust, dirt, and fragments of the faux earthen covering of the broken door. It would take time to restore that to be the camouflage it previously was. The path is an incline that goes about 200' further back. The lost will find that it ends in a brick wall. In the shape of a door archway. Like someone had sealed up a passage.


What lies beyond this wall? Well, they'd have to either punch a hole through or have someone that could phase through things to check, depending upon how deep it is. Scratching in the walls, plus scurrying sounds of both rats and cockroaches can be heard through the other side.
---
Circe:
"I got everything in one," she declares as she and Seraphina are spinning the, currently, steampunk looking wrench. "Plus mundy stuff. Go fer it." She looks to Seraphina, "Wine, gold, silver. What other treasures are down here?"

Circe wanted to find a 1920's gangster armory. Was that too much to ask?


"I'll take ya up on that Kray," she thanks him sincerely. "Let me know if ya want arms or armors in return bro," Circe puffs up in pride, "I can find the modern stuff or make the archaic. Fer both," she nods towards the cart where her bigger gun is located. "And diplomacy is more profitable Vincent, but always be ready for the alternative. Plus, ya know, more fun."


Rocks? "Heh, well, we are underground." The could explain it too. If there was no open other side to go to. Right? Hopefully.


BOOM! Goes the door. "Wow, that was loud. We'll hafta fix that later," Circe rushes back to get her gone, of course, and sweeps the other side. Paranoid? Circe is a Summer Changeling.


It won't take her long to see the end of it, "Dead end?" Circe will knock on the wall. It certainly sounds quite solid. Well, there was a way to check upon that. "Wonder how solid this is. Gimme a minute."


Circe lowers the gun, takes a deep breath, and checks.

3 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-02-19 20:07:06	Circe rolls 7 to Separation 5 (10 Again)	8, 2, 6, 6, 8, 9, 7	3 successes

By walking into and through the wall.

Narration:
Circe is gone for a few minutes.

ooc: Have a family function tomorrow, so I will likely be late in posting the final discovery. I actually didn't have Separation before I came up with the map for this at all

[Kray]

Kray blinks at Vincent, clearly having missed some context. 'Uh. I know.' Thumbs at Circe 'Didn't sound like a conversation to me though is all.' It hadn't but if it fed into a stereotype all the better. 'Besides Circe seems happy enough to accept.' Which means I can't have been to far wrong. 'If you don't think I can be intimidating you might want to get some fresh air.' The Ogre oozes menace unintentionally just by existing. 'Besides if its lost we need to fight. Some of us can be out right insane not just crazy. Much harder to reason with.' You never know what your going to get when meeting new lost. He nods acknowledging Circes offer but won't ask for anything till he's made himself useful a few times first.

A mountainous zone hm. 'Ah. Nothing a lot of elbow grease and some pickaxes can't turn to advantage right.' A lot of digging to do around here.

He winces as the door BOOMS. 'Ah. Well good thing we are underground.' While Circe is doing her exploring he will help himself to the tools then. 'Uh. If you can Sarah that'd be nice. But only if it doesn't cost you anything.' He had ideas for them either way.

[Seraphina]

Catching the conversation as she and Circe worked, “Well, if it’s diplomatic you need, just call me! I can talk my way out of anything and talk anyone into just about anything.” It wasn’t a secret that she got along with everyone and could turn on the charm. Just most of them hadn’t seen the full extent of her charm yet, and she hoped they never did. “Sometimes I think it’s important to have both, someone to intimidate and someone to charm.”

But the sudden snap brought her fully back to what she was doing and she jumps back. It was instinct, hear a snapping noise with an old ass door, you move back.

Sapphires sparkle at Circe, “I hope we find all of them! Treasure hunts can be fun!” says the Treasured. “Oh! If we find a bunch and don’t want to sell them, I say we set up a pirates chest as a display with them in it!” Rhodes had dressed like a pirate once for Halloween, mostly to make her happy as she always dressed up, and looked quite handsome.

A sly smile to Circe, “Or you just make your enemy work for you and think you walk on water.” Had she done that before? Of course. It was how she was made…literally.

Watching as Circe does her thing, a thing Sera had been working on, she grins, “Go Circe!” she was almost there with her studies, and couldn’t wait until she could do it too.

Kray had the right of it, fighting other Lost was a whole different thing. Many unknowns. Nodding to him, “Other Lost bring a lot of unknowns to the table, and should be handled with caution if possible.” Could she work another Lost? Maybe, she hadn’t really tried before. But she just might be able to.

“Nope, costs me nothing!” well, some Glamour, but she had that to spare. “I’ll get to work on them when we’re top side.” Happy to be able to help with something.

[Vincent Black]

Vincent shrugged, "Not saying you didn't know, and did not mean to offend you if I did. Just thought it was worth mentioning. Especially since our friend here," as he nods to Circe, "tends to have an itchy trigger finger."

When Circe disappears, Vincent decides to walk around and do a bit of scouting of the room itself. Looking for any kind of evidence that would show why the would block off the exit with bricks.

4 successes

Date	Action	Roll	Result
2024-02-20 11:54:07	Vincent Black rolls 7 to Perception Roll (Wits2 + Composure3 + Beasts Keen Senses2) (10 Again)	7, 10, 8, 5, 1, 9, 9, 5	4 successes

Beast’s Keen Senses: +2 dice bonus to all Wits rolls relating to perception for the next full scene.
In addition, he gains the chosen animal’s most notable sensory ability

Equipment

Vest:
Tactical Flashlight
Flares
6 Magazines of Beretta Ammo
Holster with Beretta M92 (Damage 2L)
Compass


Backpack:
20ft of Climbing Rope
Bottle with Water
MRE's (Meals Ready-to-Eat)
Road Flares
Glow sticks
Reflective Tape
Mylar Blanket

[Circe]

Circe (didn't mean to ditch conversation):
"True Kray," she agrees with him. Sometimes violence WAS the answer. As for Seraphina's objection, that makes the elfin gunner shrug, "Really? That almost sounds like having different courts. A novel concept," she jests with Seraphina. "And I still wanna find an armory. Even if old, we can cheat."
---
Narration:


Vincent discovers that the brick wall they are facing is the backside of the wall. Whoever built the wall, they were doing it from the opposite side. Further, the mock stone on the broken secret door? Sealant on the sides Vincent could smell, old but still present. Somebody sealed the passage from the path of going into it at the secret door and at this new wall. Vincent can combine this with Seraphina's reveal of intentional sabotage to conclude the following. The secret door was shut down and well camouflaged. Then the wall was built on the other side. Somebody was sealing off the tunnel to not be found.


Circe has found herself in the basement of someplace abandoned. The walls have plastic slats covering it in faux wood, well where it hasn't fallen off. Going up the damaged stairs, Circe will discover it is a small basement to an old ranchette the is fenced off amongst other old ranchettes. And she gets distracted by the literal battles going on between roaches and rats. Not quite up to Rick and Morty standards, but still quite visceral. And unpleasant sounding to most. Outside, Circe will see that this abandoned ranchette does have a for sale side. And some other signs of warning of some hazards. The place does stink and she can see a street sign. Giving her an address to research. The ranchette does have the silhouette of the building number, though the number is missing.


The Contract doesn't expire prior to her return, unless she lingers to search the house.
---
Circe:


"Neat," Circe is less than disturbed by the violence. This wasn't at the placing bets level, but it was close. And the outside? Circe is careful but the area is abandoned? She can notes the rusted street sign and numbers. Then she will do another check, watching the additional violence for laughs. "OH ho ho ho ho! Crunch 'em," she cheers on a albino rat that has some distinct traits. Not important, she heads back to the basement. And tests that her contract is still good. It is. So she rushes through before it ends.


"Hi!" She loudly greets her fellow Lost with a wave. "Didn't ditch ya," she jerks her thumb over her shoulder, "There is this abandoned neighborhood on the other side. Got some signs up everywhere, but no people. More important, I saw the address. We can look it up later. Anybody find aught else?"

ooc: Last day folks. We have found an exit to the Tunnels, huzzah! Is everyone good to wrap? Could have a followup scene.

[Kray]

Kray will hand the tools out to Sarah. 'Uh. Yeah then that would be great.' The smile is toothy, but it seems to be trying for appreciation.

He shrugs to Vincent. 'No Offence taken.' He had thick enough skin to be okay with people thinking he was a little socially inept. All Ogres are to some degree.

His attention is grabbed as Circe pops back out. Now this gets interesting. 'Ah. That's something we will need to monitor isn't it.' Just because something looks abandoned doesn't mean it is.

Yep all good to close. Thank you for the fun adventure . and yeah would be down for a follow up.

[Circe]

Circe:


"Probably," she says, "I mean, I had ta hold my breath for a bit ta get through, lot of dirt. So, it is thic!" She gives a thumbs up. There was also the matter of the warning signs posted. Depends on what it is.
---
Narration:


It took Circe several seconds to walk through the sealed section. Meaning there is a couple of yards of dirt between the two brick walls. Not impossible to overcome, given the Lost know it is there, but still an issue. And certainly good enough to deter casual exploraiton.


The Lost return from whence they came after a rest. The Internet tells them the ranch house is 26 miles East of Sacramento, in the Glenborough area, and required clean up from a chemical spill. An expensive clean up that gets cheaper with decades. This is easy enough to find using Google.


End scene.

ooc: Sorry for the delay. Family took priority. Thank you for the fun scene everyone.