Prelude: Search and Rescue

[Bitom]

Everyone makes it back up into the sunlight without incident.

Carl's capable of walking, but really doesn't seem to want to. All that's left is to take the walk back to Wildwood Lane, face the reporters, and maybe a trip to the hospital for the murphys.

Oh. And figuring out what to tell people who likely won't believe in magic porcupine monkeys.

[pygmaelion]

Loosing his water sachel, John opens the bite valve by squeezing it.

"Hold your hand under this" Murphy says to Jay, and pours some water to wash off the blood.

"Right in the knuckles, huh?" he comments, still irritated with his son's inability to follow simple instructions, but somewhat sympathetic now that he sees the boy had a run in with the monkey badgers. Smirking a little, John says "I can tell you one thing... as soon as we get these cuts cleaned out, we're ordering some proper boots" and lifts his unprotective footwear to show that he too got the business.

"Let's get going... If anyone else wants a ride to prompt care, the Murphy Wagon is leaving once we get Carl home". Smiling at Carl, and hoping to illicit a response from the shellshocked boy, John suggests "So let's shake a leg!".

[Chanur]

"Someone take Carl ."
Vincent hands Carl off and hurries back to his house ahead of the group.

OOC

I want to get to my house before the group arrives.

[Bitom]

Giving no explanation for his actions, Vincent leaves the group and heads on home in a hurry.

OOC

I'm going to take that as one vote for "End chapter without discussion"

I've created an IC forum (Run by Tom ICly) for in-game discussions of what's happened. If you all want to cap it here, I'll narrate the triumphant return of Carl and get us headed for the next chapter, but please don't take this as me pushing you to do so,

[JimBone]

"Woahhh" Tom spots Jason's injury "What happened to you? That thing get you on the way out?"

Before Jason has time to respond Tom turns to glare at Vincent from behind. He considers shouting at him, but can't remember the man's name. He looks back at Jason.

"Guy's weird" Tom says without a hint of a whisper "Glowing eyes?! Fucking... ugh... he's probably rushing to get his holy water."

[Shadowwk]

"Yeah, I think that guy is all 6's and 7's. And as far as me?" Jason chuckles. "Ill tell you on the walk back bud."

[Bitom]

Without incident, the group returns to Wildwood Lane, minus Vincent, but plus Carl. By group consensus, they leave out the spell-casting porcupine monkeys and just tell the reporters that the kid was stuck in a cave. Carl is still understandably freaked out and clings to his mother. Any stories of monsters abducting him will certainly be blown off as a small child's imagination, but 6 people know better.

And the monsters are still out there.

Over the course of the next few days, Tom creates a forum on the web that only the six of you know about, in which you can discuss what the hell you've just encountered and what, if any, next steps to take.

John and Jason go to the hospital. Jason's hand is stitched up, and John is assured in the most condescending way possible that Porcupines are not venomous. A little less than a week later, Jason's stitches are removed. Neither father nor son feels any further effects of the poison on the spines.

For the most part, life gets back to normal.

OOC

Chapter over, locking thread.

I will be PMing you with a few things in the next few days about your characters home life.

Also, please make use of the IC forum I've set up to discuss what to do about the presence of "Honey Badgers" If you decide to go a-hunting, that could very well be chapter 2, and my planned chapter 2 will become chapter 3. Remember as you do that John and Fred have children not much older than Carl, and there are 3 other small children on the street.