The Arwich Grinder

[Raven_Crowking]

Beyond the door is a modestly-furnished sitting room, with coals still burning in the fireplace. The room smells of age and mildew. A small unlit lamp is placed on a table near a shelf containing a few mouldering books. A hallway leads to the south, and a stair goes up to the second floor.

[drpete]

Godwin goes to pick up and light the lamp, pausing for a moment to examine the books.

"Which way?"

[GlassEye]

Badr Balik stays outside a moment to douse the torch (wouldn't want to burn the house down before we figure out what's going on). He then joins Godwin inside but pauses to listen and see if he can hear the feeble voice again.

Below, Randow Lammerson continues his search of the barrels and bags.

[fireinthedust]

Bron motions for silence, listening for more wimpering sounds.

OOC: if he hears it, he'll head in that direction. If not...
IC:

Bron nods to the hallway. "Let's secure this floor before taking the stairs."

The trapper goes first, then Bron the mercenary, down the hallway, quietly, cautiously.

[Raven_Crowking]

Up above, the hallway goes forward, past a door on the left, and then turns to the right. The hallway is carpeted with a reddish-brown dyed wool carpet, and yellow paper hangs on the walls. There is no noise at the moment.

Down below, in addition to the large iron sausage grinder with a wooden hopper, there are bags of salt and various herbs piled neatly at hand – well, neatly until you searched them. There are also barrels of cleaned intestines for casings and barrels containing salted meat. There is meat in the hopper as well.

[MrHemlocks]

Pratel, Zorathus, Balin and Thulan will each take turns listening at each of the two doors. Also, they are looking for signs of light coming from under them of through a key hole. After, listening and looking for light, from the two doors, they will move the bags and barrels than look under them for more clues.

Pratel, spits on the floor. "I bet you these meat scraps are more than just farm animals." Nodding in agreement, Balin speaks up. "Yes, I feel that these Curwens are fattening up humans and grinding them for food."

[Raven_Crowking]

It seems silent enough at the moment, and you see no light, so I guess you start moving barrels and bags.

[drpete]

Godwin will peek into the door on the left, looking to see if the voice came from there.

Down below, Bill opens the door to the south (? Not 100% sure which one we came through) hoping to find something more relevant to the search.

[Raven_Crowking]

ABOVE:

Sorry; I flipped that around in my head; door is to your right, hallway turns to your left. The hallway carpet is spongy, and smells of mould as you step on it. You can see places where leaks have damaged the yellow wallpaper. Opening the door, you see a kitchen. You hear scratching and furtive movement from within.

BELOW:

Opening the south door, you see a hallway leading to another wooden door.

[MrHemlocks]

Finding nothing of interest, after moving the bags and barrels, Pratel, Zorathus, Balin and Thulan will move to the SE door. Balin opens it while the others stand guard in case of attack.

[Raven_Crowking]

Sorry; that was another unintentional reversal. Don't know what is wrong with me. That door is in the southwest, not southeast. I would claim that it is the Lovecraftian, non-Euclidean geometry of the place, but really it is probably just Aging Brain Syndrome.

In any event, you see a short stone hallway, after which is what appears to be a storeroom. There is a rank, almost animal scent upon the air.

[MrHemlocks]

"Not liking that smell one bit, no not one bit all!" Pratel turns to the others. "Let's get behind one of these barrels and roll it in front of us like a moving barricade."

Placing a barrel on its side, so it can be rolled easy, they move it past the southwest door and into the tunnel. With a push of hand and shove of foot they always keep it a few feet in front of the party. Using it as a mobile barricade they head toward the smell and storage room beyond. Balin and Thulan lead with Zorathus, mouth full of cheese and torch in hand, and Thulan following.

[GlassEye]

Badr Balik wrinkles his nose at the moldy smell. He draws his dagger and, holding it inexpertly out in front of him, he enters the kitchen looking for whatever is making the scratching sounds.

Down below Abram Cove makes a quick head count. He thinks it is ten people running around down in the tunnels under the Curwen farm but he isn't so good at numbers (unless it's counting coins or cards) and everyone is moving around so he isn't sure. Regardless, he thinks there are way too many people around for him to make any sort of profit if the opportunity should arise. He pulls Robin aside. "If there's any profit to be made in this place we might want to split off from this crowd. Maybe take Bill or Balin with us for a little extra muscle."

Rogett and Randow Lammerson think Pratel's idea to be splendid, not to mention lots of fun. They eagerly move over to help (or at least to follow along).

[drpete]

Robin nods to Abram, and steps over to the south door with Bill. While the barrel activity is going on at the southwest door, they prepare to explore south.

Milo, excited by the barrel plan, prepares to follow that group.

Godwin follows Badr into the kitchen, not sure if this is rats or something more sinister.

[MrHemlocks]

Robin nods to Abram, and steps over to the south door with Bill. While the barrel activity is going on at the southwest door, they prepare to explore south.

Milo, excited by the barrel plan, prepares to follow that group.

Godwin follows Badr into the kitchen, not sure if this is rats or something more sinister.

OOC...I think my group, with barrel, are below ground, drpete. Your group is above and not anywhere near mine.

[GlassEye]

OOC: Drpete and I have characters in two locations: Rogett, Randow, Abram, Robin, Bill, & Milo went down the ladder in the slaughterhouse while your Balin, Pratel, and co. went down the well shaft. Our explorations put us in the bottom well room about the time that yours descended so, yeah, there are 10 characters in this same room.

Godwin, Badr, and Fireinthedust's four characters are up in the house. I think there are another four characters floating around somewhere but I can't remember who the player is or when they last posted.
EDIT: Marshal kt had characters but I don't think he's posted in some time.

[fireinthedust]

ooc: yeah, my head's spinning with four characters in pbp, so I'm keeping mine together. I'm really not clear on what's Above or Below. Are we all looking at the same building? I wasn't clear on that (sorry).
That and the non-euclidian nature of our GM's early-onset dimensia (hey, could be a uti, get it checked out! ), I'm way lost.

Could we have headings for different areas: if we're checking the Pig Pen, the GM could put "Pig Peg: you see pigs", while those of us at the Well would have "Stone Well: You find a bucket, rope, and several pints of water". ?

IC: Bron and the misfits wander down the hallway, looking for more rooms.

[drpete]

OC: fireinthedust, your guys are with Badr and Godwin, in the house. We were going down the hallway, and opened the kitchen door. Hearing noises in the kitchen, Badr and Godwin went into the kitchen. You are now separating from us by going down the hallway instead (which is cool with me, just sounds like you are having trouble with who is where)

[fireinthedust]

ooc: I'll stick with you in the kitchen then.

[MrHemlocks]

Noticing that Milo, is tagging along, Pratel, Zorathus, Balin and Thulan continue rolling the barrel down the tunnel to the room beyond. "Nice to see you Milo," says Thulan. "Now where did the rest of you go?"

[GlassEye]

Rogett Lammerson reaches across and taps Thulan on the shoulder. "We're right here and the others are..." He looks around in surprise as he realizes that their numbers are less than they were a moment ago.

Randow Lammerson, standing next to his brother, looks around. "They was just here. Maybe they stayed back to have themselves a sausage or something." He looks a bit nervous like he doesn't believe it and thinks it likely that something gruesome has happened to them.

Elsewhere down below Abram Cove moves along with Robin and Bill. He holds his torch high with one hand and pats the club tucked into his belt ready to go should something dangerous occur. "Ready when you are."

Above, in the kitchen, Badr Balik begins cautiously looking around the kitchen thinking that someone may have become trapped in a cabinet or something when the Very Large Men began their rampage through the farm. "I don't see anything. Yet."

[Raven_Crowking]

KITCHEN: The odours of rotting vegetables and mouse are strong here. The vegetable odour comes from a large open bin where slops are composted for the Curwen livestock. The kitchen is slovenly – mice run from light brought in here, and cockroaches can be seen scuttling into cracks in the wooden walls. Herbs and smoked meat hang from the ceiling. The cutting board has not been cleaned after bloody meat was cut on it, and now there is a loaf of bread on the stained board. Mice have been nibbling from the loaf.

BARREL ROLLERS: Bloody gibbets of meat fall from the barrel as you roll it, trailing you down the hallway. You see before you a room lined with shelves along the west wall for various storage items used to make sausages and cure meat. The north wall is lined with empty, but blood-stained, barrels. The room seems to be L shaped, bending to the left along the far wall.

THOSE GOING SOUTH: You enter a room that appears to be almost empty, save for an iron ladder going upwards, a few bags near the door you entered by, and another door to your right.

[MrHemlocks]

Pratel, Zorathus, Balin and Thulan now noticing that Milo along with Rogett Lammerson and Randow Lammerson are behind them continue to roll the moving barrel barricade along the L-bend that's seems, least to Balin's dwarven senses, to head westward.

"Careful guys!" Zorathus says with a mouth full of cheese, "this place gives me the creeps!" Looking back at Zorathus, Balin yells, "not as much as these Curwens give me the creeps!"

"Can one of you guys, in the rear, take a fast look at this room we are passing up", says Thulan? "As the rest of us drive forward we might miss something that is useful."

[drpete]

In the kitchen, Godwin looks around briefly to see if he can locate the source of the sounds. If it seems to have just been the mice, he suggests continuing to a different area of the house.

Milo follows the barrel rollers without inspecting the sausage supplies, worried about being left behind.

In the room to the south, Bill makes his way over to the door, and opens it.

[Raven_Crowking]

KITCHEN: Apart from the mice, there seems no obvious source of the sounds, so you are now back in the hallway. After the bend in the hallway, you can see two doors to the right, two to the left, and a door at the end of the hall. Of course, there is also upstairs.

L-SHAPED ROOM: As you approach the bend, you find yourself confronted by a shaggy-headed drooling mass of muscle armed with a club. With a snarl from his chinless, bearded mouth, he smashes the barrel with a single blow of his club. His yowl echoes through the stone chambers and halls, and the echoes seem both monstrous and pitiful, as though he were joined by a spectral chorus.

SOUTHERN ROOM: Opening the door, you see a stone corridor. about 30 feet long and opening into a wider space. There is a noisome taste to the air. Ahead and behind you, you can hear an echoing snarl and moaning cries. Where they are coming from is impossible to pinpoint.