[X] Call dibs on the shotgun
"Dibs." You say, pointing to the shotgun. "I call dibs."
"On... the shotgun?" Lily looks at you, slightly concerned, "Do you... know how to use a shotgun?"
"No. But I've always kind of wanted to learn?" Walter shakes his head disapprovingly in the doorway, "No time like the present!"
You now have a shotgun. God help you.
[X] Examine the bodies.
You kneel down, taking in a deep breath to steady yourself. You've seen dead bodies before. Well, one dead body. And it was... not quite at fresh as these ones. Still, you've got this, right? You turn to the Doctor first, deciding that the partially disintegrated corpse can be examined last. Flipping him onto his back, you take a moment to investigate and search his body. You do your best to not get his blood all over you, but it is a losing battle.
1D100 → 96 Iris EDU Roll: DC 55, Roll 96. Failure.
Despite your best efforts, you are neither a doctor nor a detective. You can reach only a few conclusions: Firstly, Doctor Webb is definitely dead. Secondly, he hasn't been dead for too long, as he doesn't smell yet. You're pretty sure that's how it works. Thirdly, he had a key in his pocket. You now have a key in your hand. It is a small, dark thing. Newer in design. You briefly look over at the Coffer, but it lacks a lock. You slip the key into your pocket. Questions for later. You take another deep breath. This one is going to be rough. Slowly, reluctantly, you turn the other figure over.
1D100 → 11 Iris Sanity Roll: DC 54, Roll 11, Success. 1 Sanity lost( 53/60)
You gag as the smell assaults your nose, the scent of seared flesh and warm blood. Holding down your lunch, you look at the wreckage of the body below you. He (whoever he was) was a young man in his early twenties, but now his features are contorted in agony and almost unrecognizable. His jawbone and many of his joints have been self-dislocated in the throes of violent convulsions and he lies before you like a discarded and broken marionette on the floor. The lower half of his body is ash, pouring out of his burned and tattered pants. On the remains of his upper body, his skin is blood-blotched and blackened as if his veins had exploded within him, and his eyes are red-black masses of hemorrhage. Why the rest of his body remains intact, you can only guess.
You quickly search through the remnants of his outfit, doing your best to avoid looking at his face. On him you find two loose shotgun shells, a single dollar bill, and an aged leather wallet. The drivers license within gives the man a name: Clement Taylor. You show the card to Walter and Lily.
"Guess we found Clem."
[X] Have Lily/Walter help:
-[X] Investigate the Coffer (Walter) and Hole (Lily) or vice-versa.
Lily steps over to the hole, shining her flashlight around the edges. The wall here has been scorched to black, and a thin path of burned earth leads through the yard and into the woods.
"The wall's been... burned through, if I had to guess." Lily places a hand on the charred structure, "No heat though. It's actually... cold. Very cold." She shines the light out the hole, onto the thin, blackened line that stretches from the house to the treeline. Kneeling, Lily begins to inspect the wet ground. "Alright, so we've got... footprints? Yeah. Somebody running away, then the scorching after that. I think." She directs the beam towards the woods, "Not my area of expertise, but it certainly looks like somebody booked it out of the house and into the trees at high speed." She shines the light back on the ground, "And it followed them."
"Billy."
"Yeah. If I had to guess." Lily replies.
Walter shakes his head, "Well. I guess we should try to talk with him at some point." He crouches down next to the Coffer. "Any idea what this thing is?"
"Vaguely." You say, "Webb was making them in the basement. He had dozens of different iterations of the design. I guess that one was the one he got right."
Walt runs his hands along the surface of the box, feeling the intricate carvings. Perhaps sixteen inches wide, by nine inches tall. It is mounted on small, clawed metal feet. The remnants of an oddly smelling wax seal remain around the edges of its hinged lid. Walter hefts the coffer up, and examines the inside. "Some kind of coating on the inside. Lead maybe? I dunno. Metal isn't my thi-"
roll 1D100 → 92 Walter Sanity Roll: DC 40, Roll 92. Failure. (2 Sanity Lost)
Walter drops the Coffer onto the floor, and doubles over, gagging. He collapses onto his knees, dry heaving desperately. You rush over to him, but by the time you are kneeling by his side, he has already begun to gasp for air, tears running down his face. He waves you off, and raises himself back onto his legs. Wiping the tears away, Walter takes a deep breath before looking back at you.
"What the hell was that, Walter?" You ask, "Are you alright?"
"I... I don't know. I was looking inside and then- It was cold and dark and empty and
disgusting. I felt sick just holding it." He glances at the Coffer, now laying half-open on the ground. "Keep that thing away from me. Alright?"
"Yeah, sure." You say, gently reaching over to the coffer and closing the lid. "But I'm taking this with us."
"What? Why?" He asks, backing away.
"Walter. There's a deadly, floating Light wandering around the forest. It's already killed one person, maybe more." you point at the ruined body of Clem Taylor, "And I think it's pretty obvious that it came out of this box. Why did Doctor Webb have a monster in a box? I don't know, but I think Clem and Billy let it out when they apparently tried to
rob him. Now, we need to find a way to kill it, or if that's not possible, put it back in the box, or we're all fucked."
"I'm in the camp for killing it, if that's an option." Says Lily, "We do have a shotgun now."
"Will a shotgun work on a living Light?" Asks Walter.
"Worth a shot." she replies, "Pun slightly intended."
He shakes his head, "I don't care what we do, but we need to do it fast. There's no telling where the Light is no-"
Billy screams from the other room. You all share a panicked look, before you rush out of the lounge.
"It's there! It's coming for me. The Light! The
LIGHT!" He is cowering in a corner, varying between a panicked shrieks and mournful sobbing. "TheLightTheLightTheLightTheLightTheLightTheLightTheLightTheLight-" His words degrade once more into indecipherable blubbering as he pulls the blanket over himself.
The three of you stare out the window, frozen. Far in the distance, wandering slowly and barely visible among the trees, is the silvery cold luminescence. As you look at it, you can feel the pressure in the back of your mind begin to build once more. Your grip tightens on the gun in your hand. It's back. It found you. It's still
hungry.
But something is different. The Light bobs closer and closer, but stops at the treeline beyond the illuminated garden. You still can't make out its form, as the thick forest blocks your view, but you can see that it is no longer moving towards you.
"Why is it just... floating there?" Whispers Walter, as if he is afraid it will hear him.
"No idea, but it gives us time." You hand the Coffer to Lily. "We need to act. Now."
The Light has returned. What do you do?
[] One room left, search the bedroom.
[] Observe the Light. Why is it not moving?
[] Interrogate Billy.
[] Other?
