Georgia Pedro emerges from the shadowed side aisle, a young adult Latina Marine with an athletic build, long black hair, and watchful dark eyes. She approaches Grant without raising her voice.
Georgia Pedro
Staff Sergeant, there is a faint rhythmic scrape beneath the nave. It is too regular to be settling wood.
Ella remains behind the overturned pews with the civilians, keeping the radio silent against her chest while her gaze moves between the huddled survivors and the dark floorboards.
Ella Bauer
The civilians stay here. I will keep them quiet and monitor the radio, but I will not transmit.
Minerva holds position at the reinforced entrance, weapon trained through the narrow gaps around the crossbar. Outside, shadows drift past the stained glass without finding purchase.
Georgia Pedro
There is cellar access near the rear vestry. We can check it without opening an exterior route or contacting those survivors.
Minerva
Then keep the inspection contained. Whatever is below, it must not reach the people sheltering here.
✓ Quest Accepted
Determine the nature of the threat beneath the church
Director's note
Bauer get someone to hold here
“I move with Georgia toward the cellar access near the rear vestry.”
Grant moves with Georgia Pedro through the darkened nave toward the rear vestry. Their footsteps remain measured, leaving the civilians undisturbed behind the overturned pews.
Ella Bauer stays with the survivors and the silent radio, while Minerva continues holding the reinforced entrance. The church remains tense but orderly around them.
Georgia Pedro
The access is just beyond the vestry. I heard the scraping beneath this section of floor.
Georgia Pedro reaches the vestry doorway and indicates a square wooden hatch partly hidden beneath dust and fallen plaster. Its iron ring catches a narrow strip of moonlight.
Georgia Pedro
No exterior opening here. We can inspect the cellar without exposing the shelter.
From the nave, Ella Bauer keeps watch over the civilians while Minerva remains posted at the entrance. The faint rhythmic scrape continues below the hatch.
Georgia Pedro kneels beside the access and clears the loose debris from its edges, preparing the cellar entrance for a careful inspection.
“I secure the vestry and listen for movement”
SUCCESS (Good Perception, rolled +2)
Grant checks the vestry’s narrow doorway, then braces a fallen bench against it without disturbing the hatch or making more than a muted scrape.
He lowers himself beside the cellar access and stills his breathing. Dust trembles faintly along the hatch seam as the rhythmic scraping continues below.
Grant Dunn
The sound is directly beneath the hatch, regular and deliberate.
Ella Bauer
You, take this position and watch the civilians. Keep everyone low and silent until I return.
A civilian, a middle-aged woman with a tired face, short gray hair, and a plain dark sweater over loose trousers shifts into place behind the overturned pews while Ella keeps the radio secured against her chest. The shelter remains covered without any transmission.
Georgia Pedro
I hear it too. No change in rhythm, no movement above us.
From the entrance, Minerva’s voice carries softly through the nave. Outside shadows continue sliding across the stained glass, while the vestry stays sealed and quiet.
Quest Complete
Do not endanger the survivors
Attribute Upgrade: Strength Good→Great
“I inspect the hatch with Georgia”
SUCCESS (Good Perception, rolled +0)
Grant and Georgia clear the remaining plaster from the hatch seam, working by touch. The dust reveals fresh scratches circling the iron ring and dark moisture beneath the boards.
Georgia Pedro
The marks are recent. Something below has been testing the hatch.
Grant lifts the ring while Georgia steadies the wood. The swollen hatch opens with a sharp crack, spending their quiet and sending a tremor through the church.
A narrow cellar lies beneath them, packed with broken shelves and old crates. At the far wall, a dead man, an elderly man with a gaunt face, thinning gray hair, and a slight frame, in a stained maintenance jacket is wedged behind fallen boards.
Georgia Pedro
There. The scraping is his belt buckle against the floor. He is trapped, but not safe to approach.
The trapped corpse jerks against the boards, producing the same measured scrape. The movement confirms the cellar contains an active threat, while the open hatch gives them a clear view.
Georgia Pedro
We know what is below now. I will keep watch while you decide how to contain it.
Quest Complete
Determine the nature of the threat beneath the church
Attribute Upgrade: Perception Good→Great