NOW LIVE! Today's the day you meet your new best friend. You don’t have to leave Wolfy behind... In 'Pets & Sidekicks' your companions level up with you!

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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Desdichado" data-source="post: 357241" data-attributes="member: 2205">Part II: Farmyard FrolicsOK, here's the second half of our first session.  I'm already running a bit behind, I'm afraid -- we've had a second session already.  Unfortunately, due mainly to some "meta-game issues" I wasn't able to take good (or any) notes on the second session, so a lot of detail may slip through the cracks.  Let me make the first session part II update quickly, and I'll try to jump right on our second session while the memories are still relatively fresh.  Interestingly enough, our DM told us that we still haven't gotten to the point he thought we would during our first session, so we've obviously been overanalyzing this whole game! While on route to Yeager in Jenny's 2001 Ford Windstar, we each spilled the beans on what our "secret" was that brought us to this point in the first place.  A lot of really weird stories ensued. <ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Julie, while showering, noticed a strange lump on the back of her neck.  When she went in to have it x-rayed, she discovered that she had some kind of artificial implant of some sort.  Then, when she went to look at it again, it was gone.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Trisha disappeared for three monthes.  She went to bed one night, and woke up three monthes later (on June 21) without having any idea of what happened.  More, she had a strange symbol scarred into her face, which she covers with make-up now.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Amanda saw, in June 21st, her dead mother.  She tried to chase her in the crowd, but lost her.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Matt recieved, on June 21st a series of pictures, apparently taken in the 1880s, of some archeological digs in Central America, where a number of odd boxes were being excavated.  What's even odder, and he had these authenticated by photography experts, is that he is in the photos, and what's more, after seeing Trisha, she is also in the photos.  Tim also recognizes someone from the photos as well.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Tim (he didn't actually tell us at this time, but he told me later, so I'll just include it here) was hired by a company called Venture Resources to equip and supervise a dig in Russia.  During the course of the dig, they came across a large natural cavern, and while in the cavern, Tim was attacked by some -- creature -- that looked like nothing so much as floating red eyes.  He woke up several days later in the camp hospital to find that the dig had been completed, and he was free to go home.  The person Tim recognized in Matt's picture was one of the guys from this Venture Resources.  Somehow, he associated the word 'Croatoan' with the creature, although we didn't yet figure out how he made that association.</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Jenny went to bed with something in her pocket that a friend gave her (she later admitted that it was a bag full of diamonds) and woke up just a few minutes later in a hotel in Bangkok.  Somewhat bewildered, she managed to get the airport and take a plane back home.  This also happened on June 21st.</li> </ul>When we arrive at the Strohbel farm, we find it to be located well out of town, and dark.  It is surrounded by cornfields.  The house itself looks fine, but a shed nearby is still smoldering and shows signs of having been recently sprayed with water -- it is drenched and a thick steam still hangs over it.  A yellow police line surrounds the shed.  Closer to the shed, we can see tire tracks in the mud, presumably from the fire trucks.  Inside, there is a strange burn pattern, reminiscent of the symbol in my room, yet blotted out by extreme burn conditions.  In the center of the burn pattern is a charred and blackened human skeleton.  We did some quick searching -- Julie examined the body and some other folks looked in the house.  In one room, presumably son Scott's, some notes were found about the Dragons and a delivery of some box.With this strange assortment of cryptic clues, our investigation is cut short -- a police car seems to be approaching.  Everyone piles in the van and tries to sneak away except me -- I hide in the cornfields.  When the police car doesn't leave, I creep closer to the house to investigate.  Looks like Ma and Pa Strohbel have arrived -- they appear very distraught.  The deputy talks to them for about an hour, by all appearances trying to console them.  Finally he leaves, and I'm able to use my cell phone to call for pickup, telling the group that I suspect that Scott Strohbel is the body in the shed.Note -- from this point on, I wasn't able to take good notes, and our group also split up to accomplish more, so I probably lost track of a lot of clues.  I'll try to write what I can as I remember it, but I may have to post updates or edits that add more stuff as I remember it.Late that night, I decide that things are getting a little weird, and I need a back-up plan.  I hack into various bank organizations, subtly creating false accounts that give me as much money as I would need if it turns out I'm in over my head.  A few of us also go shopping the next morning for a cheap used car -- we buy a 1985 Honda Civic, which we figure is just about good enough to let us get around.  I also decide to hack into the Strohbel's AOL account, which we saw open briefly at the house.  The account is fairly cluttered with older e-mails, but I do find two e-mail addresses for Scott, one from AOL and another from the Unversity of Chicago.  I hack into both of these accounts fairly easily as well.  One e-mail in particular catches my eye -- a Doug Trenton, apparently a local boy who goes to school with Scott, writes to tell him that he shouldn't be messing around with that Dragon stuff anymore -- he got out of it and if Scott knew what was good for him, he would too.  And he especially shouldn't try what he thought he was going to try without Marcus' supervision, as if something went wrong the results could be catastrophic.  This e-mail was sent yesterday afternoon.Jenny and Trisha go to the local sherriff's office, trying to get a story -- Jenny poses as a reporter.  The deputy sees through her, but thinking quickly, Jenny says that actually she's a freelance reporter trying to get a story.  This loosens the guy up a bit, and he tells her a little bit about the Dragons, that they're troublemakers who go around in brown cloaks (at least when making trouble) and they are all young guys, he also mentions several bars where they occasionally hang-out.  Amanda, after talking to a local martial arts instructor, finds that attendance has dropped off lately amongst young boys, as they have been recruited by some other pasttime at the local computer games store  Joshua goes the computer game store, and makes some conversation with the attendant.  When I mention Doug's name, oddly enough, he's in the back room on the network PCs playing Unreal.  I pay for an hour of playtime and go in as well, sitting so that the other two folks in the room have their back to me.  I log into Doug's game, and rather handily hunt him down and kill him three times in a row.  After this, he turns around to talk to me for a minute or two.  When I mention Scott's name (saying I know him from the University) he gets suspicous.  How come he doesn't know me too, when he takes at least half of the same classes as Scott, for instance?  And am I mixed up with those Dragons, because he's quit all that and doesn't want any part of it.I get some more info out of him, after calming him down a little, saying I freelanced on some projects with the University and just met Scott briefly while doing that, and what the heck are the Dragons?  Turns out they have a warehouse just over the Indianna border -- they recruit kids (high school and college mainly) and get them to come do some freaky LARP stuff or something like that, but then it gets real serious, and they start messing around with some seriously scary occult stuff.  Not only that, they seem to have funding from some company called Venture Resources, and guards with Uzis started showing up.  Doug's frankly scared of them, and has been trying to talk Scott out of messing around with them anymore.  I thank him for his warnings, and he goes away, leaving me to wonder what in the world is going on.Next issue: -- autopsy of the body, and more info from Doug.</blockquote>

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