The first question is whether my 1@3 Clairvoyance P3@6 will work to bring me views from inside the mansion. Whether or not it works, I'll also try my 1@1 Clairaudience P3@5 to see if I can pick up any conversation or other sound within.
If the clairvoyance does not help, I will attempt to get a closer look with the 1@4 Telescopic Vision P5@1.
It appears that my psi bias is 6@ and my BRA is 2@7.
--M. J. Young
Your clairvoyance doesn't come to you but the clairaudience comes in loud and clear. You can hear a high, screechy woman's voice complaining to the maid about the quality of the food. The girl responds with deference and you gather the first voice is Mrs. Hogg. The maid (Millie) is very light on her feet but when Mrs. Hogg walks about the house you can clearly hear her footfalls. You wonder why you can't see the building shaking with every step.
(Dice rolls: 78, 27)
I'll continue my clairaudient scrutiny, moving the focal point around as I am able and trying to get some feeling for where things are relative to each other from the sounds.
I am assuming from the roll of 27 that I have just under half an hour to use this, and I want to gather as much information as I can from it.
--M. J. Young
Again, sorry about my extended absence. I was travelling around a lot over December and I just haven't had the energy to think about game posts lately. January came with a new term, a new experiment to design and set up and I have to get a conference paper written in short order.
Over the next half an hour you are fairly confident you know where the kitchen, sitting room (with the TV), and bathrooms (one up, one down) are.
I'll try the telescopic vision, focusing primarily on windows, doors, and scanning the ground and roof for anything unexpected.
Whether that works or not, I think I'll look around for a different vantage point, hopefully a secluded spot on the opposite side of the property so I can see what's on the other side of the house.
If I get that far, I'll try the clairvoyance again from there.
--M. J. Young
You can't get your telescopic vision to kick in so you decide to head around to the other side of the house to try from there. You work your way around to the barn/garage and are planning your route from there when the door suddenly opens and a tall man in a plaid shirt and cowboy hat steps out and is looking right at you.
"What are you doing here, sir?" he asks.
(Telescopic vision roll:78. Stalking roll:76)
Well, there's nothing like a well-spun story.
"Dang," I start, bringing the accent into play. "I guess Buford really warn't lyin' about that telly-porter thingy. Is this Newark? He said that he could send me all th' way from Sardis to Newark in a couple minutes. Hot darn, did it work?"
--M. J. Young
"Where in Sam Hill is Sardis?" asks the guy. He pushes his hand up under his cowboy hat to scratch his head.
"You don't know where Sardis is?" I say incredulously. "Well, I guess that makes us about even, 'cause I'm not at all sure where Newark is. Buford said it was pretty far away, but I ain't never been there and I don't knows anyone who was. Listen, can you spare a bit of water? I'm terrible thirsty here."
--M. J. Young
"Oh yeah, in here." He turns around and heads right back in the door he just came out of. The garage is large and retains the hayloft of the original barn. There is a well-kept Rolls Royce - well, mostly a Rolls - it has been cobbled together the best they could and has some unorthodox parts. There is room for at least one other vehicle to be parked in here.
The cowboy goes to a barrel to get you a cup of water. "I don't get it. There's no way you could get from somewhere so far away I ain't never heard of it to here in a couple o' minutes!"
"Yeah, that's what I told ol' Buford, but he was sure he could do it. Said he got the idea from some thingy called Star Track, or somethin' like that, that they could make someone vanish and appear somewhere else using this telly-porter thingy, and that he had built one and wanted to try it. I figured it couldn't possibly work, so I didn't think it could hurt to let him try. And here I am. Where am I, anyway?"
--M. J. Young
"You're near Newark, on Boss Hogg's property. But what you say about that - uh - tella-porta-potty? That ain't possible! You musta just been drunk and woke up here."
"Well, I didn't think it was possible, either, but I'm here. Now, maybe I got drunk and wandered here, but if that's so, you should be able to point me back to Sardis, because I can't have walked too far--my shoes ain't wored out."
--M. J. Young
He looks down at your shoes suspiciously. "They ain't new neither. Well, Newark's thattaway. Good luck. Name's Bud." He shakes your hand goodbye.
"New? They got new shoes fer sale in Newark? I wish I'd brought more bottlecaps with me. Anyway, thanks, Bud."
I shake his hand, and head out, looking around as I go. I figure this is as close as I'm likely to get to the house (which, if I'm lucky, I have to pass near between the barn and the road), and it will give me the chance to see some stuff I wouldn't otherwise.
If it doesn't look too suspicious, I'll pass it close to whatever section I have not seen clearly from a distance.
I'll head out the road far enough to vanish into the trash, and then look for a place to wait out the rest of the day.
--M. J. Young
You pass fairly close to the front of the house. There are a couple of chairs on the porch along with a few potted plants. Nothing out of the ordinary.
You find a secluded spot from which to watch the house. As the sun sets a strong wind picks up, kicking up blowing paper. Methane lights come on in the house. Most of the staff taking care of the grounds walk home. You don't see a maid (or a woman who sounds like the main) or the man you were speaking to in the group of servants. They chat to each other as they go, complaining about another day working for the Hoggs.
At this point I will complete the change into The Visitor, stashing whatever clothes I can't easily have with me somewhere where I can recover them. (The scriff sense will direct me, so I'm not too worried about it.)
As the darkness envelops the house, I will move closer, watching for movement closer to the house, using my 1@9 Stalking B0@6 skill to move undetected.
I will watch the lights extinguish, taking note of which windows go dark when. I'm balancing the number of lights out against how long I've waited, because on the one hand I'd rather to let the entire house go dark before entering but on the other hand it's possible that they leave a light or two on all night and I'm not going to be deterred by that.
I'm also reconstructing what I know about the interior of the house, with a specific intent to identify the most probable location of Boss Hogg's bedroom.
--M. J. Young
Most of the lights go out fairly early but two stay on for a while. One at the back of the house on the second floor where you think the master bedroom is, and another on the first floor. The grounds do not have lights and there are no outside lights.
After a while the light upstairs goes out, followed about an hour later by the last one. You wait a bit longer then make your way up to the building making a slow circuit to get a good feel for the situation. Just as you are rounding the back porch, you step on a cat's tail. It howls bloody murder, runs painfully up your body, then proceeds to knock potted plants, bottles, and all manner of loud, clangy objects from the railings as it makes its escape.
The back door crashes open and standing in it is the largest shotgun you've ever seen. It is being held by a slight woman, long dark hair down for the night, dressed in a very sheer night-dress and fluffy bunny slippers.
"You'd best be on yer way," she says menacingly.
I'll give +10 sit-mod for darkness on the Stalking roll. Dice roll=100. That's a botch, so I won't bother with an Intuition roll...
The first thing that comes to mind is 1@2 Invisibility by Suggestion P1@4 which I will attempt; she shouldn't know I'm trying it anyway if it fails.
If that does not result in her no longer seeing me, I'll try 1@1 SEP P1@4 (that's Somebody Else's Problem, she should conclude that I'm the gardener or or something and go about her business).
If neither of these tricks works, I'm going to have to combine a 1@6 Strike of the Adder B7@1 steal initiative (chain weapon) with a 1@4 Thieving Monkey B7@5 disarming. By wrapping the chain weapon around an opponent's weapon, it can be wrested away. Resisted task against the opponent's Strength. Can choose to throw it away RS/2 feet or drop it at your feet to take that shotgun away from her.
Does she sound like the maid, or like Mrs. Hogg, or like someone else?
--M. J. Young
She sounds like the maid.
The world swirls around, dizzying and painfully wrenching. Suddenly, it feels cold and draughty and you are pointing a very heavy shotgun at a man in a grey mask.
(Your dice luck continues in a similar vein. Roll for invisibility by suggestion is 97 - another botch. Here's the list:
1 = Brain burn
2 = Set off gun
3 = Broadcast thoughts
4 = Switch brains with maid
5 = Unconscious
6 = Speaks in Japanese only
7 = Fear by illusion
8 = Telepathy with cat
9 = Summon police telepathically
10 = Brain burn
And the roll is: 4 You seem to have some sort of affinity for doing this!)
"Houston, we've got a problem," I say in a barely familiar voice.
"Well, for the moment this changes everything. I don't guess I have to sneak inside and threaten Hogg to get him to stop trying to crush the orphanage; but I'm going to need an entirely new plan I'm also going to have to figure out how to get you back in your body, and me back in mine. It might be temporary; it was temporary once before, but it lasted quite a while.
"You should probably not scream; my vocal cords won't get you the shrill volume you need anyway, and if anyone comes to see what the sound is, they'll shoot you, not me, because you're in the strange body.
"The easy solution would be for me to take this gun and go kill Hogg; from everything I hear, he's this world's biggest problem. Then if I killed you, one of two things would happen. Either my body would leave this world and I would go with it, knocking you back into your body and leaving you holding the bag for Hogg's murder, or we'd both find ourselves in a different world. Either way, I don't guess there's much chance of Daisy May going with me. But that kind of stuff happens.
"I've had some luck with psi skills, although most of it's been pretty bad. Maybe I can devise a way to switch us back; maybe it's not possible. Maybe it's something I can do with magic instead, but I'm leery of using a magical solution to a psionic problem if it's a do instead of an undo--none of this is making any sense to you, I'm sure. Probably you should just faint, and let me figure out what I'm doing with Hogg. You're welcome to come with me, if you like. I'm thinking on my feet here, and if you have any suggestions as to how I can get this--I'm a Christian man, so I can't call him what he really is--this scoundrel from crushing the life out of the orphanage, I'll gladly entertain your suggestions. I'm really not unreasonable, even if my superhero powers sometimes go awry."
With that, I'll check the gun to see what's in it, and head inside looking for the stairs to the bedroom level. I will pay attention to whether my body is following me.
--M. J. Young
The woman in your body looks around and down with fear in her eyes. Then she bolts, running off into the night.
You crack open the shotgun and find both barrels loaded with slugs.
Closing the gun you move inside. You pass the maid's bedroom on one side and a closed door on the other as you move into the kitchen. It is empty and dark. You move through into the dining room. There is a living room off to the left towards the front door and you see stairs leading up from there.
(GE = 19)
I close my eyes and relax for a moment as she departs. That's my body, not to mention my clothes, so it should show up as a scriff object and be easy enough to track. I'm not certain how I'm going to fix this if it doesn't correct itself, but for the moment that's not my prime concern.
I'm going to stop in the maid's room and glance around for the box of shells. She probably keeps the gun in her room, given how quickly she appeared with it, and she probably keeps the shells here, too. I'll look for a pocket in her clothes that will hold a box of shells, and take the whole box. If I don't find them in about five minutes, I'll figure I was mistaken and glance around the kitchen as well as I can on my way through.
Then I'll continue as described and head up the stairs. I'll try to get my bearings on where the room is that I think is Hogg's (I'm good at that, so I'll ask for an intellect check 2@6 on it), but if that doesn't work I'll try my 1@2 Internal Mapping P3@2 to locate him.
--M. J. Young
You easily find the box of shells in the drawer of her night table but you are wearing very skimpy pyjamas with no pockets.
It is not hard to find Hogg's room - once you get to the top floor the loud snoring is a dead giveaway.
O.K., there's probably a lot I need to do while I'm in the maid's bedroom.
Looking at her, how old would I take her to be? I'll hold off on other descriptive features--I don't yet need to know whether she's petite or large or of a particular racial background or pretty or muscular or anything, but having a sense of her age would help.
I am looking for:
- A housecoat or bathrobe to throw over the pajamas; if there is anything of that sort, I will don it.
- A pocketbook or purse, preferably with a strap. I'll check the contents briefly, and add the box of shells, and find a way to put it over my shoulder or arm so I can take it with me.
- An overnight bag; a duffel type with a strap would be ideal, but even a suitcase would do. If I find such a thing, I'm going to fill it with clothes from the room, with special attention to shoes, socks/stockings, ample undergarments, and a couple of changes of shirts and pants. I'll carry the suitcase in the easiest way possible.
- If there's anything else that looks like tools or weapons (e.g., a knife) I'll toss that in one or the other of my travel packs.
- I'll also look around to see if there's anything that is obviously this woman's loved possession--a bible, a photo, a placard--and toss that in the suitcase. If I wind up solving the body swap problem (which at the moment does not strike me as terribly likely) I'm going to want to be able to give her her things. If I can't find a suitcase, I'll wrap those things in the blanket from her bed, including the pillow if I can, and try to tie it into a bundle with any cord-like object I find, such as the rope from the blinds or a belt or sash from her clothes. It will be more difficult to carry, but I'm hoping to survive this and not have to depend on it being in hand when I verse out.
Then I'll follow the snoring.
--M. J. Young
The maid is in her mid-20s. She is white, pretty and slight of build.
Except for the night-table drawer full of shotgun shells, the rest of the room is a complete and utter mess. Most of the clothes are in a huge pile or what may or may not be clean laundry. The rest are strewn across the various pieces of furniture that jam the small room. You hunt through piles for nearly a half an hour before you find a housecoat (trimmed with pink faux-fur), a purse for the shells, and a laundry bag for the clothing. You also find a diary and a framed photo of what must be her parents. You don't find any other tools or weapons.
You head upstairs - the snoring continues - and you come to the master bedroom. The door is ajar. You can just see a window opposite the door. From the snoring the bed must be to the right. The room also continues to the left.
(This is a good new use for the Scrounge skill. Die rolls= 60 (fail), 89 (fail), 31 (success). Now 1@2 Scrounge. A GE is required for what is available. Die roll=12.)
I hesitate a moment, testing my fingers, my lips and tongue, making sure I know how to use this body for such things as talking and operating the weapon. It's not on my sheet, but I've got average amateur skill with shotguns, and with flintlock and matchlock rifles and pistols. I've done some skeet shooting.
I will creep slowly toward the sound, feeling each step cautiously. If my toe finds anything, I will hesitate until I know what it is, and make decisions accordingly.
I'm also listening for any sound that suggests that there might be anyone (or thing) else in the room.
I hope to maneuver myself alongside the bed.
--M. J. Young
(I'm going to give you 1@4 Use Shotgun T6@1 and, since you've probably had less time on archaic weapons, 1@3 Use Flintlock and Matchlock Rifle and Pistol T@1)
I think the maid, being a servant, will have 1@5 Move Silently B0@6 and a Bod Bias of 6@1. Dice roll=59, which is a fail but not by too much.
You do your best to creep in this body but the slippers keep flicking against your heels. It sounds extremely loud to your ears but the snores continue. You arrive at the bed, next to the enormous lump under the covers. The blankets have been pulled up over the head - perhaps in response to the racket you made earlier.
I want to peer around this room and assure myself that this is a man's bedroom. It would not be any good for me to threaten Mrs. Hogg.
--M. J. Young
It definitely has a woman's touch, but there is evidence a man uses this room as well.
All right, looks like there's nothing for it. Holding the gun in my right hand crooked under my arm, I will use my left carefully to draw down the covers from the face, to attempt to confirm who this is.
--M. J. Young
You pull back the sheets to reveal an enormous mass of pink curlers above a fat face. The small eyes flicker open at the disturbance. It takes a moment of blinking before they focus on you. At that point the woman begins to shriek and wail in the most horrid, eardrum-splitting noise you've heard in a while.
Remember that I'm in the maid's body, I say in the maid's voice and my best southern accent, "Hush, Ma'am. I thought I heard a prowler up here."
Of course, by now things have gone pretty wrong, and probably Hogg is awake and coming to find out what the problem is; but I should be able to fake this--after all, who is going to think that I am not the maid? And it's obvious that she keeps the gun specifically to ward prowlers.
--M. J. Young
Follow the continuing story at
http://gamingoutpost.com/groups/multiverser/forum/topic/mj-stands-for-maid-in-joisey/?#post-11508