oh right I have to do skill increases

when did we last do them? need to go find all my successes

We did them after the last group dream night, which was the island dream and the Spawn chase dream.

So any success after that, I think

\o/

\\oo/

\o

:3c

\o

We pick up as Brune is about to call Alex, Darri is waiting for Kiko to show up, and Jack is coming to terms with the fact that it's been a week in a coma.

by the way, Darrion's Firearms (Handgun) skill got to 50 after last session

he will now hit things half the time

pew pew

(might be a bit if I have to do any rolls, I don't have my character sheet on hand at this exact moment)

Any other interesting notifications on Darri's phone?

Brune waits tersely to see if Alex will pick up, at the same time staring anxiously at his chair to confirm that it's not wet.

The fact that he's been effectively dead for a week hasn't quite processed in his mind yet.

Jack slumps into his bed

@bobble Going through your phone, you have a number of unread messages in various uni group chats. It seems like Dr. Bardot was gone for a few days but has now returned, and you've missed a couple meetings with her, as well as a couple missed direct phone calls. Other classes seem to have continued again more-or-less normally. The archeology classes are still cancelled indefinitely.

(does my phone ring?)

@Sciborg The chair seems to be dry.

@Ginger It does.

Darri sends woke up in hospital to lab Slack and wantonly dismisses all the missed calls. He'll be scrolling messages until Kiko shows up - he doesn't feel quite strong enough to get off the bed and walk around yet

Brune screws his eyes shut, trying to remember if he has any spare clothes left - they would be at his rental. He can't imagine dragging himself all the way there after being in a coma for a week, having a sore shoulder, and being subjected to involuntary liver surgery. The fire and brimstone he had in the Unwaking seems so far away now.

@Ginger do you pick up?

Alex stuffs their cell phone back into their pocket, collapses into their desk chair, and almost falls out of it in surprise when their phone immediately rings again. They fumble it back out of their pocket with numb hands (it's pretty cold in the basement) and stab at the Accept Call button.

"Alex?" Brune's voice sounds much weaker than usual. "Are you all right?"

"Brune?! I- What the hell is going on??"

"We've been asleep for a week. Jack is - and Darrion is - and I don't know if -" Brune clears his throat and attempts to compose himself. "Are you somewhere safe? Where did you fall asleep? Are you hurt?"

The line is silent for a moment; only the low hum of Alex's computers' fans is audible. "I'm... I'm in my office. I don't think I'm hurt, just cold."

Jack, after around an hour, you're cleared to stand up and move around.

@Mithical As soon as he's cleared, and can wear something that covers his back (he knows all too well that Hospital gowns never come in his size) he tries to find his way to Brune.

Safe. Brune massages his forehead with his palm. "All right. Lie down for a bit and drink some water, and keep an eye on your pulse if you can. I need to see if Jack and Darrion are awake. I -" He trails off, painfully. "Just stay safe. Please."

"Understood. I'm assuming you're at the hospital?"

Darrion, after around half an hour, you faintly hear the telltale rumble of a motorcycle. Ten minutes after that or so, a tired-looking Kiko enters your room.

"Yes." Brune looks at the nurse again. "If you feel well enough to bike over, I would much appreciate if you stopped by my rental and picked up some clothes. There's a sweatshirt in the bottom left drawer that should still fit."

"Kiko!" Darri makes grabby hands at her.

"I can arrange for that, yeah... assuming my bike is charged. See you soon."

"Stay safe," Brune repeats, a bit pleadingly. He hangs up and hands the phone back, and falls back against the pillows, covering his face with his palms. A week...

"Woah, woah!" She manages a smile. "Someone's feeling energetic after their nap." She offers you a hug, if you'd like one.

Darri hugs her back.

She feels real and solid, although she smells slightly like motorcycle exhaust.

In the not-silence of their office, Alex returns their phone to their pocket and lets out a long sigh. "Why me, huh?"

They swivel around and glance over the new tickets in their inbox.

"So, um, Dr. Krath. Took Brune's liver? And is feeding body parts to monsters in a pit? And some Big Brother vice boomed about how we didn't accept its gifts? And the world might be ending? Or something."

@Sciborg A little while after that, a Jack appears, wearing an ill-fitting hospital gown, led by a clearly nervous nurse.

(specifically looking for any mail that isn't a support ticket, or otherwise looks suspicious)

@Mithical "... And these things never fit..." Jack says to the world, before spotting Brune.

Brune lets his hands drop back to his sides. "Oh, thank God." His voice cracks a bit. "Jack. Did you... are you hurt?"

@Sciborg "...Me...? Would you stop worrying about me?" Jack says irritably, then less frustratedly.. "Yeah... Yeah I am... But are you, and the ... Liver?"

@bobble "And I thought I was having nightmares." She inspects your face. "After what you said last week, I'm almost ready to believe you."

"...goddammit, I didn't ask him where he lives." Distracted from their inbox, Alex fires off a text to Darrion: where does brune live? need to fetch some clothes for him on my way over and crosses their fingers that he's awake and has his phone.

(Jack is disregarding the nurse)

"Brune would probably explain it better. Or Alex, the IT person? They went to the pit with me. Are they in the hospital?"

Brune meekly lifts the gown enough to show the scar on the upper right side of his chest. "I appear to have lost some of my capacity to drink myself to death," he says, in perhaps one of his weakest ever attempts at a joke.

@bobble "I don't know, I only got you over here because I couldn't wake you up and I got worried. I haven't seen Alex."

@Sciborg Jack curses under his breath.

"Think you could help me walk around to find them?"

Speaking of Alex, your phone buzzes with a text from said individual.

"We won't have any time for that, did anyone tell you it's been a week? A whole week!"

Darri checks it. "Oh, Alex texted me." He tries to remember where Brune lives

"Yes." Brune drops the fabric and slumps back into the pillows, wearily. "I feel like I've had a bad night in Glasgow. My head is swimming. Alex is all right - they're in their office. Your neck, did they...?"

@bobble Have you been there?

(I think only Jack has been there, if memory serves.)

I don't think so?

Darri texts back dunno

then kiko here

well then. maybe I have something that could fit him

@Sciborg "... What about my neck?" Jack says frozen in horror, only remembering his dream after asking

"I should probably..." Something seems to occur to Brune, and he foggily paws for the phone again to text Alex his address. It has a few misspelled letters and definitely comes across like it was texted by someone who just woke up from a heavy coma, but the gist comes across.

"They told me when I came up here not to let you walk around yet. I think someone's supposed to come clear you soon?"

@AncientSwordRage (That wasn't a dream, that was in the waking world.)

"Well. Um. Were there any explosions or whatnot while I was out?"

@Mithical (🤦‍♂️)

@Sciborg (sorry that was to Darri)

(oop)

Alex doesn't have Brune's number saved as a contact, predictably enough. ...I'm assuming this is Brune?

@Sciborg "Oh... Not the thing... The ... Yeah I think I'm okay now."

@Ginger yes it is brun, comes the drowsy response.

@bobble "Uh, I don't think so? The weather's been terrible, lots of fog, but no explosions that I've heard. Were there supposed to be?"

@Ginger Not surprising, since Brune doesn't actually possess a cellphone, and is borrowing someone's.

oh right :p

I forgor

"Still a little time left, then."

"Okay then." Alex sends a 👍 in response, and goes back to looking their inbox over.

@Sciborg Jack waits for Brune to finish texting, "So ... What next? Do we go after Kra...“ Jack pauses and lowers his voice, "...Her? Seapo?"

"There you go being ominous again." Kiko gives a weary smile. "If something's going to blow up soon, I'd really prefer to know about it."

"Something about the nuclear power plant and a cult trying to release an ... um ... thing"

"...I'm not sure. We have a much more limited time in which to act." Brune sounds more awake now. He rolls his shoulder and massages his bicep, trying to test if the wound is healed enough that he can push the chair. "Bardot instructed us to talk to Antonelli, and we have not yet done so."

"Again, I think Brune understands more than me."

@Sciborg "I'm glad someone is keeping track of everything..." Jack says sullenly, feeling a little helpless not knowing as much of what's going on as he'd like.

Darri texts Alex brune n jack in hosp, linebreak ?

(Alex is specifically looking for any potential communiqués from eldritch entities)

@Ginger (👀)

"Honestly I was hoping that I could point you at the problem and you'd give it one of those movie-worthy grandstanding speeches and then everyone lives happily ever after"

"You were quite courageous, back in those tunnels." Brune painfully, slowly, starts to push his stiff legs towards the side of the bed, preparing to try and sit up and see if he can do so without passing out. "I just look at the symptoms. You're keeping track of the most important thing of all - the disease itself."

@Ginger You find, in your mass of tickets, one outlier. It's addressed to the support email. The subject line is "Courtesy of Mr. Z.", and it contains a single attachment. The body of the email reads simply "found it". The sender is you; that is, the general support email itself has apparently sent this email to itself.

(👀)

It was sent a couple days ago.

@Sciborg "I've just been following the good doctors instructions so far..."

"And there it is. Shocking"

@bobble With a yawn, she responds "If only. Nuclear power plants are kinda removed from the usage of color in the Qing dynasty. But there's nothing you can't tackle with your tenacity, fashion sense, and friends, so don't worry!"

"I don't recall telling you to do that, Mr. Rivers," Brune says, affectionately. He grits his teeth and slowly pushes himself up to a sitting position, swaying slightly as spots flash in front of his eyes. "Mmf."

Alex replies with "Thank you for your time" and marks the ticket as closed.

In the next few minutes, you are cleared by a doctor to leave the bed, although given strict instructions to avoid strenuous physical activity for the time being.

@Sciborg Jack goes to help

"Where are Dr. Brune and Jack?"

Brune gives said doctor an amused look as he leans on Jack's shoulder. "Do I strike you as the type of individual who would be engaging in strenuous physical activity of my own volition?"

Locking their computer, they key in the address Brune provided and step out into the hallway. A fluorescent light buzzes overhead; in all their years working here they've never seen those lights turn off.

@bobble You're directed downstairs, where Brune is being given similar instructions.

@Sciborg Jack can't help but let out a soft huff of a laugh near Brune's face, at that

@Sciborg The doctor clearly stifles a laugh. "Standard advice, sir."

After doubling back for their laptop, they make their way up the stairs, out the building's front doors, and head directly for the bike rack.

"Hey, Doc! Can you do your explanation again for Kiko?"

"Yes, I do seem like the type of person who would be dirt biking in Glasgow, don't I." Brune slides into his wheelchair as he says it and begins adjusting it slightly, since he'll now be pushing with one arm more than the other.

@Ginger Your tires have been slashed.

"Fuck's sake."

Brune smiles, weakly, at Darrion's arrival. "I see they've let the fashionable extraordinaire out of bed."

"And I have an entourage this time."

Kiko waves.

Are the buses running?

and for that matter what's the weather like?

@Ginger Probably.

Alex wearily trudges over to the bus stop, glancing at the posted timetable.

@Ginger Slightly overcast, chilly but not freezing. Fog stretches out over the water, but over land it seems to be clear for the moment. The sun peeks out every once in a while from behind a cloud.

Brune nods politely back at Kiko, clearly sheepish at being so visibly disheveled in front of company, and hangs his bag on his chair in an attempt to cover the dried bloodstain. "Good morning."

"Good morning. I see we're a lively, healthy bunch this morning. Sorry, what was that about nuclear reactions, explosions, and something being released? Darri said you could explain."

Brune gives Darrion an incredulous look. "You told her?"

@Ginger Long story short, it takes you around a half hour to get to the hospital via bus. You'll arrive shortly after the first few minutes of this scene.

well, I have to stop by Brune's house to fetch his clothes

shrug

"...Oh, dear," Brune murmurs, wearily.

@Ginger Ah, that's true. Although the hospital is kind of in between you and Brune's house.

"The more the merrier, right?"

Brune gives Jack a look that is clearly asking for his opinion on this.

Darri did not even consider if the others would mind about him telling Kiko

"Well, unless you have a mind-wiping device, I've been told and you can't undo that, so what's the point of arguing about it now?"

he just trusts her enough to think that he should obviously tell her his troubles

@Mithical guess I'll have to double back then :p

"...Fair," Brune allows. He massages his forehead with his palm. "Let's get out of this place first. We have a friend coming our way. Once we're all together we can work this out."

@Ginger Make a Luck check to see if you can get a good bus schedule to do it quickly.

ah shit now I have to actually roll for luck increase

Brune looks around to see if there is a blanket or something he can throw over his legs before they head out, since he has no interest in medical students walking by and seeing him rolling around in a shower curtain.

@Sciborg Jack shrugs

well, my Luck is now 99

:p

(lucky cat)

@Mithical 70 < 99

Success. You manage to get there and back to the hospital in under an hour, quite fast for getting across town and then backtracking. You enter the hospital to find Jack, Brune, Darri, and Kiko together.

wonderful

"Alex!" Brune sounds extremely relieved to see them up and about.

(are they in the lobby?)

"Alex!" Jack rumbles

@Ginger No, you were directed to a room that had been Brune's

ah

Alex closes the door behind them and slumps against it. "Thank god you're all okay. I think some of us have some explaining to do"

"You bet."

"I thought we could use a token female character so I dragged in Kiko"

"I would kindly prefer to do the explaining while wearing trousers," Brune says, in utmost politeness.

"Thanks a lot, Darri. Always been my goal in life."

"See how supportive she is"

"Your trousers, good doctor." Alex digs around in their backpack and tosses a crumpled pile of clothes in Brune's direction

Brune promptly catches them, rolls behind the curtain and proceeds to emit muffled curses for a few minutes.

"Remember, no strenuous physical activity!" Kiko calls in the direction of the curtain.

"This is hardly strenuous -" The proclamation is followed by a string of swear words that sounds like he is fighting the clothes for dominance.

"How many free pizza events did I miss?" Darri asks Kiko

"None, actually. They've been avoiding all social events recently so that people aren't gossiping about archeology. It's not working, but since when does uni management make the best decisions?"

"No free pizza?!?" Darri's tone makes it clear that this is the worst tragedy of all.

"Bardot was looking for you, though. Maybe she wanted to give you pizza."

Brune rolls back out begrudgingly wearing black sweatpants and a baggy novelty gray sweatshirt that was probably given to him for Father's Day, with a white handicap logo on it and I'M JUST IN IT FOR THE PARKING. He gives Alex a sidelong look like he knows they're going to make a joke about it. "Jack, I presume you also need clothes?"

Alex makes a heroic effort to keep a straight face

"Maybe she wanted to take my liver," mutters Darri

@Sciborg "Yeah I don't much fancy wearing this gown out of here. But think we need to fetch clothes yet."

Jack is waiting for the explanation it seems

@bobble "Huh?"

Brune sighs and looks at Kiko. "Well, you're in it now, so there's quite frankly no turning back. Where did Darrion leave off?"

"He never really started, actually, just dropped some vague hints about nuclear reactors, explosions, monsters, and livers. I'm seriously considering calling Psych at this point."

"Unfortunately for us all, it is all true. At least, as far as we can understand." Brune drags a hand across his face as he considers where to start. "Well, you see... how long have you lived here, Kiko?"

(She's a 4th year PhD student)

@Sciborg "Wow.... seven years now? Came to study."

"Well, as far as we understand..." Brune proceeds to explain for several minutes, in very sparse detail and in something of a quiet monotone, most of what they know thus far about the "Deep One" and the people on the island who are attempting to bring it back into the world, using the power plant, and that it is connected to the disappearances of specific people and whatever happened to the archaeology department - carefully avoiding his own part in matters in the process.

@Sciborg Jack attentively nods along

"...and we believe that for some reason we do not yet fathom, we are the only ones with the knowledge to stop it, or at least the capacity to walk in dreams as we do." He trails off, watching Kiko's face warily for signs that she already knew any of this or traces of mistrust.

"Gonna call psych on all of us now?"

"I would, but... unfortunately, that fits with my nightmares."

"Your nightmares?" Brune sharpens, taken aback. "What nightmares?"

"NIGHTM..." Jack starts alarmed, then quietly, ".. nightmares?"

She yawns again, visibly exhausted. "Mostly incoherent flashes of stuff, usually with water. Sometimes there's this green thing in the water, but I don't remember them very well. I just keep waking up in the middle of the night. I thought it was just me, maybe out of stress from when I couldn't wake Darri up and not knowing what was happening with him."

Green... in the water... Brune studies her. "So you have reason to believe some of this, at least."

“Do us all a favour... Don't look at the green light too long." Jack warns

"Wasn't planning on it, big guy."

Brune rolls - with some effort, on his sore shoulder - slowly to the door and peers out, seeing if Antonelli or anyone else he knows is wandering about.

@Sciborg You don't spot anyone at the moment, but Antonelli's office isn't that far away.

"You four keep talking. Tell her everything else. I'll be back." Without further explanation, Brune starts rolling towards Antonelli's door.

glance at Jack

Alex, who has remained silent during Brune's monologue, waits a few seconds and quietly steps out into the hall, watching him roll away.

Jack's mouth opens and closes like a fish suddenly on dry land

"Well, any further questions?"

@Sciborg It's closed.

@bobble "I'd prefer not to have my brain explode today, so I think I'll wait with the questions."

Brune pounds vigorously on the door with his fist - bam, bam, bam.

"D'yah know why Dr. Bardot was looking for me?"

The lock clicks and the door swings open. Antonelli stands there. "What do you - Abernathy."

"My eyes have been opened," Brune says, curtly, without preamble. "We need to talk. Privately. Now."

He eyes you suspiciously. "What happened to your ward? Are you armed?"

"They've been in a coma for a week, just like I have," Brune says, coldly, and gestures to his disheveled appearance. "And unlike you, I don't go around the hospital armed."

"Not the child, your..." He gestures towards your neck.

Brune instinctively touches the place over his collar where it once sat, his expression shifting slightly into something less angry and more weak and desperate. "I... that's a story that will take quite some time to tell. Terrence, please."

@bobble "Dunno. I think she was going to come visit you in the hospital?"

@Sciborg "Fine. You have five minutes to prove to me that you have not been corrupted." He steps back to allow you to roll into the room.

Darri DMs Dr. Bardot on Slack, I'm up. You wanted to see me?

Alex clenches their fists and stares directly at Antonelli as the door closes, their expression unreadable.

@bobble The message is sent. She's currently offline.

Brune rolls in, haltingly, with one last glance over at the hospital room. He steels himself. "I know more than I once did, but not enough. We're not as armed as we once were. Tell me what proof you want from me."

(I need to head off, feel free to have Jack act gormlessly)

He inspects your hands, checking for any new rings. "Swear to me, on all that is holy to you, that you have not allied yourself with the enemy of mankind. Swear that you will do anything necessary to keep it chained."

"I swear," Brune says, soberly. "Upon God. I swear to you, Terrence."

(pick up next week? I need to head off as well)

sounds good

good game!

i would die for kiko

(:

Alex stays staring at the door for a long moment, before turning around and returning to Brune's room.

do you enjoy having a token female character along

also, was I supposed to raise luck?? how does Alex have 99

the bro squad needed some girl power

I started with 35 and have never touched it

and I didn't count? smh

you're the token enby

@bobble excellent question lmao

I'm just that lucky

i raised mine to 67 since i realized very late that you could go above the luck cap

darri is the token gender nonconforming

unfortunately I think jack and brune are both boring cis dudes

those durn cisgenders and their checks notes asexuality and bisexuality

nah, they have Gay Tension

why save the world if you can't do it with bromance

@Ginger that's impressive but not impossible

also: even though i knew ooc what antonelli meant, it was extremely intentional that brune mistook "ward" for darrion :p

@Sciborg oh the necklace!