Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Episode 81: Modus Operandi

Madmartigan settled down in the corner of the hallway, a silver platter full of pancakes in one hand, an exquisite silver five-tined fork in the other. The luscious, earthy smell of them overtook Madmartigan,and he dove in with gusto, savoring every bite.

The smell of them also snuck out the front door, spotted Xeno, and quickly hid itself behind a potted plant and awaited the right moment to strike. Xeno, having just fallen gracefully from the second floor window, was perhaps a little distracted by his landing and did not see the luscious smell as it leapt from its hiding place and struck Xeno a blow it the stomach. Gut-wrenching hunger overtook the gnome, and he fairly tackled the butler in an attempt to wrest the malevolent waffles from his shaking and trembling hands.

As Xeno tore into the vaguely fleshy-tasting breakfast discs, Xoe was having problems of her own. An acute cramp started to form in her midsection; the immediate effect of which caused her to pale considerably and curl up in a ball in the corner while rocking herself back and forth, muttering barely audible curses.

Takemiya eyed the buffet, and as the ancient monk's eyes caught the suspicious mound of cinnamon piled high on yet another priceless silver tray, he made a rather adolescent decision in trying to take the 'cinnamon challenge'.

He failed miserably.

The sound of the old man's hacking coughs and cracking ribs was broken by the loud PINGK! of a small metal key being expelled from the monk's lungs and landing on the cinnamon tray. Kobayashi reached into the growing ruddy cloud and retrieved a small brass key.

Kobayashi thought it prudent to Detect Harmony. After seeing a writhing baby bubbling in a bell of blood, he determined there wasn't any.

Xeno then initiated Operation Hide in the Stables for the Night, with limited success. He and Madmartigan managed to meet a young boy in a bodysuit made of a strange material, sparkling with diamonds. He called himself "King", and claimed to be hiding from his grandmother, who only arrived the night before and struck a chord of terror in the boy. Xeno immediately ignored him and hunkered down in the hay. Madmartigan hears voices from within the house. King hears them too and, in a trance, shuffles off towards the house...

Xoe is no longer around, either.

Meanwhile, the monks explore the old church, finding an even older priest, a graveyard, and the bell that just rang thirteen. The find the bell, when rung, rings silently - but discover a silver purse, a friendly rat and a walled-up wine cellar.

Kobayashi also hears voices coming from the house, and return to the stables. There, they spy on the house and see a young woman -not Miriam - in the window. This other woman gazes at the moon through an upstairs window, then is guided by the hand inside, into the darkness of the room.

She is spotted some time later, swaying hypnotically down the stairs. The whole thing seemed so unreal...

Everyone then proceeded to hunker down for the night, setting up alternate watches.

Nothing much of note happened.

The morning came...