"Ghoul School" RPG

Lucien

The good news was that nobody died from the flash grenade.

The bad news was that the grenade still went off.

There was a loud BANG, and Lucien's panicked shriek was cut off by him whiting out.

Fortunately, he came to only seconds later, ears ringing and vision blurry. "Argh...goddammit, why did I do that..." He groaned, pressing a hand against his face to ward off the inevitable headache.

Someone was shouting. The robed group? Lucien narrowed his eyes, trying to focus on what they were saying. He didn't catch all of it, but he heard enough to know they were trying to escape.

"Somebody stop them..." he tried to yell. He was too groggy to shout properly...and, quite honestly, he didn't trust any of the students to be competent enough to help.

Edited by LilyTheLitten on Nov 10th 2020 at 11:21:17 AM

Luna: "Anyone in particular, or just a random somebody go and try to stop a nebulous 'them'?"

Dr. Herringbone: "This is no time to be playing the pronoun game! I can't see."

"'I' is a pronoun!"

"It doesn't matter!"

"It! That's another pronoun! This pronoun game is fun."

Edited by Nodrog on Nov 10th 2020 at 1:32:29 PM

Although John was blinded visually, he could still hear from the leader's yell. You won't get away with this, you bastard! John practically yelled in his head. He then readied his robotic hand and stumbled towards the leader in the chaos that was occurring in an attempt to keep him down. His human arm lunged forward in an attempt to grab onto the leader in some form. As soon as he could see again, John would be ready to beat him up.

Precious Leblanc

Precious was pleased to note that despite the chaos around her, her vision had not been obstructed by the blinding lights. She hadn't been tested against weaponry, after all, so it came as a pleasant surprise, even if it was partially attributable to the interference of the smoke.

She watched silently as her would-be kidnappers stumbled toward the docks, content to make observations for later follow up until she noticed the classmate with the metal arm stumbling after them.

Well, if he wanted to capture one, she would not object. She moved toward her classmate.

"About thirty degrees to your left!"

Edited by furnacedoor on Nov 10th 2020 at 11:37:52 AM

"Oh, Fish Fingers!" the leader says, as his robe is seized. He tries to pull the robe off but is hampered by the fact that his right hand is pretty much useless except as a source of agonizing pain. He takes a moment to look John over. "I don't suppose I could convince you to smash the abomination and swear off trying to merge the realms of the monsterous and the mentally acute?"

Goon one: "He thinks we're cute?"

Goon two: "Ye gods you're dumb. Keep running."

Edited by Nodrog on Nov 10th 2020 at 1:41:45 PM

Precious Leblanc

Precious smiled slightly, lowering her voice so her classmate, but not her kidnapper, could hear.

"I would prefer not to be smashed. My parents would sue you for everything your family had."

Edited by furnacedoor on Nov 10th 2020 at 11:48:33 AM

John starts laughing uncontrollably at the man's suggestion. "Are you a fucking idiot? You really think I'd even consider siding with your discriminatory ideals, which are mainly aimed towards those such as me?! Why, I should beat you up the moment I regain my vision, but instead I'll just turn you over to the cops. You better not give them too much trouble." John said, sounding like he was on the verge of violently lashing out as he was talking to this man, but was actually quite in control. He was not holding back his words at all.

Edited by dusk0bish on Nov 10th 2020 at 3:21:44 PM

"Oh, yes, turning me over to the mundane police DOES sound like a wonderful idea." the man says. "I just have one question: Is your skin like that of the abomination's?"

The man pulls the taser from his holster with his left hand and tries to use it to shoot John. Something about the man's awkward movements alert John to the man's intentions and John manages to dodge out of the way, temporarily losing his grip on the man's robe.

If the dice had rolled 1 - 4, John would have been hit by the taser. 5 (John's Monster number) John would have dodged AND held onto the robe. I rolled a 6, so partial success.

Rather then trying to reload, the man drops the taser and begins running after his fleeing minions.

"This will not be the last you see of the Brotherhood of Edis...."

Edited by Nodrog on Nov 10th 2020 at 3:02:09 AM

A trim, graceful ankle extends from out of the clouds of smoke, firmly blocking the ranting man's pathway. Before he can finish his fleeing taunt, the man finds himself falling, face forward, into the deck.

As everyone's visions clear, they find Precious standing triumphant, one dainty foot grinding the man's hand any time he tries to stand up. The other two robed figures have vanished.

"Cheese and crackers, that hurts! I give up! I surrender!" the man cries out.

"What's going on?" demands Professor Herringbone.

"I suggest you interrogate this man." said Precious, calmly.

Professor Herringbone looks down at the man. "As head of Ne... I mean, Post-Vitalus Communications and by the seven seals of Solomon, I command though to speak, foul shade!"

There is a long, dramatic pause.

Then a slightly longer pause.

The pause continues with Professor Herringbone continuing to look down and the man still pinned to the deck.

"I'm NOT actually DEAD yet, you idiot." the man finally says. "As a necromancer... and yes, I said that... you only have powers over ghosts and other undead."

Edited by Nodrog on Nov 10th 2020 at 3:34:00 AM

Lucien

By now, Lucien had recovered enough to get back up and stumble over to Precious and that weird kid with the metal arm. "I don't know who you are," he mumbled to the metal-armed one. "But you were actually helpful, so I shall thank you."

With that out of the way...he turned to glare at his fellow students—and the professor. "What just went on," he said, voice icy, "is that you were all thoroughly...incredibly...blind to the fact that people were being attacked on this ship. You never heard me shouting for help? Never saw the men take out mundane electrical weapons? Hell, you barely reacted when the freaking grenade went off. You disgust me."

Lucien turned on his heel and went off to find a secluded corner. He was pretty sure he'd basically committed social suicide before they'd even gotten to school, but he didn't care. In fact, given the brilliant way they'd reacted to this situation, he wouldn't want to befriend any of these people anyway.

Idiots, the lot of them.

Luna goes over to Lucien. "I'm sorry I didn't help with the men carrying the potatoes." she says. "You have to understand that most of us, as monsters, aren't used to mundanes.... well, mundanes in general. Normally mundanes don't even know about us or can see us due to the Veil. We're not used to surprise attacks, and the only Professor up on deck is Professor Herringbone." She shrugs. "The field of Post-Vitalus Communications is very powerful against things like... well, me.... but not mortals. That's why we have.... and why we need... the Veil."

Underneeth Precious's foot

"Look, you have three options." the man says. "Join my side and destroy the abomina.... -AAAAAAAHHHH- the young lady stepping on my hand, hand me over to the police, or... oh, I don't know... ask me an ACTUAL question?"

Precious Leblanc

Precious smiled ingratiatingly at the gathered crowd, looking for all the world as if she was making conversation at a dinner party rather than crushing the wounded hand of the man who had just attempted to kidnap her.

"Although Mr. Vaugeouis is perhaps harsh in his assessment, he is correct about the substance of the attack. As this is a mortal and not a ghost, perhaps, Professor, there is a staff member more suited to this interrogation on board, or at the school itself."

She looked down at the man she was holding underfoot as if only just noticing him.

"Until a proper candidate should be selected, I'd suggest we relieve this individual of any further weaponry before he can do more harm, yes? And perhaps restrain him more thoroughly?"

The insinuation, of course, being that she did not intend to assist with such distasteful tasks.

One of the crew men comes out and coughs. "Excuse me, we're behind schedule... I have to charge extra is we're taking him across. But either the boat starts moving in the next couple of minutes or the rest of the crew and I will be getting paid overtime."

Edited by Nodrog on Nov 10th 2020 at 3:44:25 AM

Resting in the water as he was, Basil had still witnessed the explosion of the flas grenade. Once the chaos and shouting had been settled, he decided to resurface clambering onto the dock. It would be sub optimal were the occupants of the boat to be deceased but these hings did happen.

He was pleased to that nobody appeared to be harmed (save of course the leader of the vigilantes). Thoroughly unperturbed by what had just transpired, not realizing or perhaps not caring that he had only reverted to his semi-human form. He wondered idly who Ed's son was but was soon lost in other thoughts.

Doctor Herringbone scratches his head. "Well, I'm pretty sure it's against school guidelines to destroy a student before school actually starts, and I don't want to have to pay out of own pocket.... does anyone know how to actually summon any police?"

"My gumballs, you people are dense." complains the pinned man. He looks over at Lucien. "You see? This is why the whole field of... super-naturally gifted IDIOTS need to be kept away from things like nuclear bombs."

Precious Leblanc

If Precious hadn't been affecting an impenetrable air of calm she would have looked aghast.

"Professor, I sincerely hope it is against school guidelines to destroy a student at any point at all!"

She then extracted a cell phone from a dress pocket, still keeping an eye on the captive underfoot.

"If the expense is the only barrier to holding this man at the school for questioning, I'm sure my parents will be perfectly happy to wire over the necessary funds. I don't know how well this device will work on campus, but it will be simple to contact them now."

With that, she began the somewhat laborious process of coaxing the phone to respond to her chilled porcelain touch, dialing her mother's cell number.

"Besides, they will be quite interested to know about this attempt on their abomination's life."

Seeing as the man was now incapable of acting and his underlings were likely not returning soon, John took this opportunity to disarm the man and also take the amulet and just keep it. After all, its unique properties could prove useful later on if they attacked again and used similar tactics.

"Let me take these off of you. You won't be needing them anytime soon." John said as he disarmed the man of any weapons or gadgets he could find. He would keep any items that were of interest to him, but not taking too much. He may have been looting a downed man, but he still had standards.

Edited by dusk0bish on Nov 11th 2020 at 6:42:32 AM

Lucien

Lucien waved Luna off with a muttered, "Got it, thanks for informing me." It didn't make up for how they hadn't reacted at all, but he supposed it was something of an explanation.

"You're not wrong," he said, approaching the man held underneath Precious's foot. "Of this group, I have seen two—" Here, he pointed at Precious and John "—people who have any sort of common sense. Fortunately for me, I happen to complete that trio. As such..."

Lucien's eyes narrowed. The temperature suddenly dropped a few degrees.

"I will ask the questions. Who sent you, and where are they hiding?"

Precious Leblanc

Precious was heedless of the interrogation at her feet, because she had finally dialed her mother successfully. Though only her side of the conversation was audible, Precious' increasingly rapid speech made it obvious an argument of some sort was taking place.

"Hello Mother, this is Precious speaking. Oh, yes, everything is just fine. A group of very rude men just attempted to kidnap me on behalf of-"

A burst of noise could be heard through the phone, though any words spoken were unintelligible.

"Mother, really, there's no need for such agitation, I'm quite alright- yes, really- as I was saying, they said they were from the Brothers of Edison, but that is beside the point-"

Precious' eyes widened slightly.

"No, Mother, tell the driver not to turn around, everything is under control- Mother, would you please hand the phone to Father?"

A pause.

"Hello, Father. Yes, I've been making friends. Yes. No, I'm not currently being kidnapped, please tell the driver to turn the car back around. No, I'm-"

Precious sighed quietly.

"Fath-Father, pass the phone to the driver if you'd be so kind."

Another pause. Precious assumed a serene expression.

"Hello Marius, I hope you're well. Please don't worry about returning Monsieur and Madame Leblanc to the docks, just convey them to the townhouse as planned. Thank you, Marius."

Precious cocked her head, a strategy occurring to her.

"Also, Marius, would you pass along a message?"

Precious relayed her request for assistance with transportation fees in the driest terms possible and informed the driver that an invoice forwarded by the school would be delivered in the near future.

"Thank you, Marius, now would you pass me back to the Madame? ....Mother-Mother, I'd love to stay and chat, truly, but unfortunately I must go for now as I have school business to attend to. I've left a message with the driver, please stay calm and listen to-"

Another burst of noise, and Precious' lips tightened imperceptibly.

"Okay goodbye I love you drive safe!"

Precious hastily jabbed at the phone, hanging up only after a couple failed attempts. She turned back to Professor Herringbone nonchalantly.

"The Leblancs will assist with any extra fees incurred in the transportation of the captive."

In addition to the amulet, the man had another smoke grenade, another flash grenade, a silver-alloy knife, a pamphlet labelled 'Science vs Monsters', and a wallet with a phony driver's license and some cash. According to the license (the only ID in the wallet) the man's name is John E. B. Goode from New Orleans.

Professor Hemlock promptly confiscates the money, leaving the rest of it.

When you reach for the amulet, the man holds up his unmangled hand to stop you. "Uh-uh, I wouldn't touch that if I were you... cursed artifact, sadly. It needs to remain around my neck."

A courier arrives. "Standard ferry passage, as per custom." he announces and hands two small copper coins to the crewman. The man puts the coins in his pocket. "Right, we can carry the man across now. Should we go lock him up in the ship's laundry room?"

The ferry sets off into a thick dark fog. The crew works in complete science, each man knowing from long experience what to do.

Edited by Nodrog on Nov 12th 2020 at 11:27:01 AM

The man, still wearing pants, shirt, robe, and amulet is escorted down into the ship's depths.

After what seems like hours, the fog suddenly parts, giving all of you your first view of the island and the school. The school is a classic looking wood school house with bell tower and two adjacent, smaller buildings (the dormitories). Instead of a bell there is a glowing green, jagged crystal; about the size of a barrel, dangling in clear view and suspended by metal chains, at the top of the tower.

Edited by Nodrog on Nov 12th 2020 at 11:44:44 AM

Lucien

...and he'd been completely ignored. Wow. How worthless did someone have to be that not even criminals paid them any attention?

"I think I recognize the curse," Lucien said as the man was led away. "It's the Choke Chain curse. Any attempts to remove or damage the amulet will strangle the wearer to death." He rolled his eyes. "It's an easy curse to detect. Even easier to remove. Though I suppose I shouldn't expect too much from anyone connected to the supernatural, even if only vaguely."

After that, all there was left to do was wait for the ferry to reach the school.

Precious Leblanc

Precious nodded her thanks to the ship's crew as they escorted their impromptu guest below-decks. Slipping her phone back into her pocket, she moved to stand next to her metal-armed classmate, gaze trained upon the glowing crystal in the schoolhouse. She clasped her hands behind her back.

"I don't believe we've been properly introduced. My name is Precious Leblanc. It is a sincere pleasure to meet you. I wouldn't worry about that gentleman overmuch, if I were you. I suspect we will both have time to seek our comeuppance in the future. Besides, he is..."

She angled her gaze downward slightly toward the deck of the ship.

"Beneath us."

Edited by Nodrog on Nov 12th 2020 at 12:38:43 PM