Midnight presses against a remote forest cabin. Rain ticks softly on the roof, and dying embers paint the room in weak orange light.
Gman wakes on a rough cot. Across the cabin, the other bed is empty, its blanket dragged aside, with an empty potion bottle lying where the sleeper had rested.
Near the cold fireplace stands Player, an adult man with a narrow build, tired brown eyes, and a weathered green jacket. He grips a revolver toward the open back door.
Player
Don't move. I heard something outside.
A wet scrape sounds beyond the doorway. In the darkness, a broad silhouette crouches between the trees, shaped partly like a man and partly like a dog.
Moonlight catches a police badge on the figure's torn vest, then the long muzzle and pointed ears turning toward the cabin.
Player
That's Officer Rusk. He was human when we went to sleep.
✓ Quest Accepted
Escape the cabin
✓ Quest Accepted
Find the missing sleeper
“i say "wow you seem to know me already... we met yesterday when you entered the forest with rusk"”
SUCCESS (Fair Reasoning, rolled +0)
gman
Wow, you seem to know me already. We met yesterday, when you entered the forest with Rusk.
Player
Yesterday? You were masked, but you watched us from the tree line. I remember that much.
The words carry through the open door and into the rain. Officer Rusk's pointed ears twitch, and his crouched silhouette turns fully toward the cabin.
Player
Keep your voice down. Rusk is listening, even if he cannot answer anymore.
Player's revolver remains trained on Rusk, but his eyes flick briefly to gman's white mask. The sudden attention makes the room feel smaller.
Officer Rusk
A rough, wet growl rolls from Rusk's altered throat. One clawed hand presses into the mud as he shifts closer to the doorway.
Player
He remembers the meeting, but not why that masked stranger was watching us.
“i whisper "well excuse me but if someone entered the place you were staying and have been for at least 2 weeks wouldn't you want to see what they were doing there? also i know from experience that you cannot harm the infected they can only get stunned"”
FAILURE (Fair Reasoning, rolled -1)
gman
Well, excuse me, but if someone entered a place you had occupied for at least two weeks, wouldn't you want to see what they were doing there? I also know from experience that the infected cannot be harmed. They can only be stunned.
The whisper barely reaches the doorway. Officer Rusk's head jerks toward gman, and his claws scrape backward through the mud instead of advancing.
Player
You know that from experience? Keep your voice down, and keep your hands where I can see them.
Player's revolver stays trained on Officer Rusk, but his attention shifts fully to the mask. The explanation has not calmed him. It has given him a sharper question.
Officer Rusk
A strained, broken noise escapes Rusk. He taps one claw against the doorframe, then looks past gman toward the dark interior of the cabin.
Officer Rusk retreats one step into the rain, leaving the doorway clear. His gesture toward the cabin is unmistakable: whatever he remembers, it is connected to what lies inside.
“i use my baseball bat to walk over and bonk rusk stunning him giving me and player a opportunity to escape”
SUCCESS (Superb Melee Combat, rolled -3)
Gman grips the baseball bat and crosses the cabin floor. Rain and weak firelight slide across his white mask as he closes on Officer Rusk at the doorway.
He swings into Officer Rusk's upper body with a hard wooden crack. The altered officer collapses sideways into the mud, stunned, his claws going slack.
The impact booms through the cabin and forest. The bat's barrel splits along one edge, leaving a jagged crack and making the weapon less reliable.
Player
Move! Now, before he gets back up.
Player lowers the revolver only long enough to seize the cabin's small pack. He backs through the front entrance, keeping his eyes on Officer Rusk.
Gman and Player clear the cabin and reach the trees beyond its front clearing. Behind them, Officer Rusk remains motionless in the rain, stunned but alive.
Player
That was loud. You just bought us a few seconds, maybe. Keep moving.
Quest Complete
Escape the cabin
Attribute Upgrade: Reasoning Fair→Good