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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Goonalan" data-source="post: 3909511" data-attributes="member: 16069">Yep that's the way of it-"Do you know where the entrance to the dungeon is?""Nope.""Ok. Next."That and a little grandstanding by the characters about sums up the investigation so far, they're not used to this roleplaying malarkey.Thanks for the comments, much appreciated.Anyway from bad to...Dungeon Crawl Classic #24 Legend of the Ripper Level 1-3 (Scaled to level 4)Turn 56: The X-Files Anya and Jim are in the interview room at the Nuns Corner Watch House, with Sergeant Dickens.“So, you’re the Goodman Gang, we’ve been hearing things about you.”“Good things I hope?” Anya smiles at the Sergeant.“Good and bad, but that’s not what you’re here for is it, so let’s get down to business- what do you want to know?” The Sergeant shuffles his papers, and looks mildly interested.“Tell us what you know about Corporal Klean, last night’s victim, I believe.” Jim leans in and onto the Sergeant’s desk. He’s met with a stare.The silence goes on a while.“Corporal Klean worked here on the Watch for the last fifteen years, before last night, he was a good Watchman.”“That’s not what we heard?” It’s Anya’s turn to lean in.She stares back at the Sergeant, who eventually looks away.“Corporal Klean had a way with the ladies…”“That’s not what we heard.” Anya bangs her fist hard down on the desk.The silence extends.“Corporal Klean used to go down to The Nunny and hassle the hookers, he used to… ahem, how can I put it- he used to get a little heavy, smack them around a little… but hey they’re only hookers, right.”Sergeant Dickens tries a half-smile on Jim.It gets him nowhere.“Anything else Sergeant?”“No. Nothing I can think of, but if I do remember anything, well… I’ll get right to you.”The Sergeant gets up.“We done? Nobodies going to miss Klean. Only I have work to do, real work.”Ten minutes later Jim and Anya are out of the building, and are still angry.“What do you want to do?” Anya meets Jim’s look.“I…” Ten minutes later they’re back in the Wheatsheaf Inn and all over each other, like a rash. Then later that night…Ala and Anya are dressed to the nines, they look beautiful- stunning. Bec is tonight’s chaperone; he’s also dressed up for the occasion, wanna be pimp wearing the latest fashions, a pair of flared pants with various sigils on them, a purple sombrero style hat, and a pink shirt- open to the navel. With a gold medallion.Bec seems to be taller.He’s wearing platform shoes.Over the street are the rest of the gang; Cas, Jim and Newt; mostly hidden from sight. “I don’t like this.” Cas worries.“Neither do I.” Jim concurs.Newt gives the pair a stare.“What are you two worried about, they’ve got Bec over there.”Jim and Cas look across the street, at Bec- he doesn’t look that tough. He does look busy, it seems Anya and Ala have attracted quite a crowd.“How much?”Bec shrugs- this wasn’t part of plan.“For both of them?”Bec looks confused.“Whatever he’s offering I’ll double it.”Bec’s out of his depth.“I…” Bec stammers.A wannabe customer grabs out to paw Anya.Bec breaks his arm; it’s as easy as that.Which causes a bit of a fuss.Ten seconds later there’s a crowd and they’re not happy, Bec is doing the best he can, hands dart out from the from all directions, Ala’s shirt gets ripped.“Pelor damn you, how much for the pair- I won’t take long?”It’s all getting too much for the harassed Barbarian, he loses control, pushing and shoving trying to keep the crowd at bay, who aren’t happy.It gets out of hand very quickly.Cas, Jim and Newt are quickly on the scene, trying to push their way through to the beleaguered trio but there are too many people.“Come on, come on, plenty to go round.”Jim and Newt stare at the Gnome, that’s not the kind of thing they want to hear.It takes a good while to push through the mass of irate punters, and when they do…Bec, Anya and Ala are gone.“Where…” Jim starts.Cas scans the area, there’s not a lot to see, apart from the milling punters.“They can’t have gone far, can they?”The crowd begins to break up, there are alleys everywhere, in fact they could have gone anywhere.Anya and Ala drag Bec down the alley, further into the shadows, the darkness; the Barbarian is still frothing at the mouth, gibbering incoherently.The trio come to a halt, out of breath, now where are they?The high, windowless brick walls of the buildings flanking the narrow alleyway rise up prison-like on either side, causing the walls to echo every sound. A huge rat stalks through the rubbish that lies scattered about, glaring at Ala with hungry eyes.“Where are we?”The three look about.A strange smell clings to the air, but not the festering stench of rotting refuse. It’s something altogether different. There’s a bundle stretched across the cobblestones, it looks like a pile of rags at first.Then their eyes adjust to the dim light, they realise the mass before them is actually the twisted shape of a human male, his throat torn open, eyes wide and staring. Out of the shadows comes a hunch-backed, emaciated figure covered with oozing sores and festering ulcers, the figure lurks over to the corpse, like a wolf guarding its hard-earned prey, then it notices it has company, its eyes glisten in the dark. With a speed that belies its diseased appearance, the creature springs…And is all over Ala before the Priestess of Correllon can defend herself, a claw scratches her right wrist, another across her right cheek, a deep cut, the fiend leans in and snarling bites a chunk of fresh from above Ala’s breast, she screams, almost feints away. The Ghast’s poison courses through her, she can feel her whole body clench, she shakes her head, lashes out blindly, the poison has no affect.The creature exudes an unholy stink, Bec, already startled from his previous predicament, slumps over, and voids his stomach.Anya reacts in an instant scatters backwards, looking for cover, “Smidgin”, a Magic Missile thumps into the Ghast causing the creature to fumble its grips on Ala who does all she can to wrench the thing from her, prevent it from attacking again.“Death to you priestesssssssss.”The creature chatters and spits in her face.But Bec is back up in an instant, he grabs Anya and guides her over to the creature, it has it’s facing away from the pair, they stab and slice at the creature’s back, as Ala, having spotted the plan, now struggles to keep a hold of the thing.The fight is bloody, but short, the Ghast is no more.“What the hell was that?” Anya enquires.“A Ghast, an undead creature of the night.” Ala replies.“D’you think it was the Ripper?”“Too simple, now where the devil are we?”Bec begins to have a look about; Ala meanwhile sets to healing herself then quickly scurries over to the body.“Who was he?” Anya wanders over.“EEeeeerrgghh. Don’t touch it. Rot Grubs.” Ala backs off sharpish.“Out the way.” Anya steps forward wand in hand, “Flame on.”And bathes the corpse in fire, killing the vermin instantly.“BUFFET.” Bec shouts as Jim, Cas and Newt scuttle into view.“Where in Pelor’s name did you escape too?”Cas spots the burning body.“And who the hell is that?”Ten minutes later, stories told, the gang are ready again for action, when Jim makes an interesting discovery.“Cas.”“What Jim?”“That Ghast, came from down here.” Jim points to a loose sewer grate, it looks to have been recently removed and only slid back into place.“Pass me a sunrod.” Newt hands one over to the Ranger.Jim lights the rod and flings it through the drain, there’s a sewer pipe below.“What do you think?”“I think we should investigate, it’s the only clue we’ve found so far, even if it is just a pack of undead at least we will have made some progress.”And so it is decided- Bec, Anya and Ala will head back to Wheatsheaf Inn replace their street clothes with their adventuring gear. Jim will head to the nearest Watch House tell them about the latest death, and the Ghast. Cas and Newt will check out the area, see what they can discover, while keeping an eye out on the sewer grate.The various factions head off to do as they’ve been instructed.Cas and Newt have been waiting quite a while when a light comes on across the way, “Blackburn’s Bakery.”“I’ll just pop over, see if I can find any sustenance.” Cas states, “You coming?”“I’ll keep an eye out here.” Newt thinks better of it, remembers his last encounter with the Baker.Ding-a-ling.“Shop?” Cas grips the counter, Blackburn appears from a door in the back of the shop.“We’re closed yet, half-an-hour we’ll be open.” Blackburn moves behind the counter.“Do you know who I am?” Cas asks.“Nope.” Blackburn shakes his head and grips the handle of his club, the one with the nail in it.“Good, hush-hush”, Cas nods, “Well I’ll be off, have a good night sir.” Cas salutes the man, and almost as an after thought slides a gold coin onto the counter.Ding-a-ling.“Sir?” Blackburn calls over.“Yes, what can I do for you?” Cas wanders back into the bakery.Ding-a-ling.“It’s just that I’ve seen you out there, can I ask you something?”“Fire away.”“What are you doing? Out there?”“Oh.” Cas looks about a bit, there’s no one else around. “We’re looking for the Ripper, all these murders, working for the Church of Pelor.”“Oh.” Blackburn scratches his chin.“Well, I’ll have to get back, nice to have met you.” Cas opens the door again.Ding-a-ling.“The Ripper sir?”“Yes.”“Is he the ‘orrible looking feller, dressed in a jacket as black as pitch but with eyes that glow like red hot embers. The gent that goes in before the rise ‘o’ the sun, and don’t come out again until the moon reaches well into the sky…”Ding-a-ling.“Yes, that might be him, anything you can tell me about him?”“He lives over there.”Blackburn points into the darkness.“Near the Inn, the old Ten Bells, over there.”Blackburn points again.“In the sewers, I think- good luck to you sir.”Blackburn heads out to the backroom.Ding-a-ling.Twenty minutes the later the Gang are all together; they descend into the sewer, armed with Cas’ new information, in search of the ‘orrible looking feller.Next Turn: “Did Black Alley Clah send you?”</blockquote>

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