Trail of Cthulhu - Bunny comes to the rescue

Lt Pierce Topless: Arrogant

Last time we left our heroes ensconced within the confines of Military Hospital Number Five, a WW1 British military hospital full of the maimed and the dying within uncomfortable proximity to the front line. Lieutenant Pierce Topless, recuperating from a gunshot wound received while fleeing a battle, has just learned that he has been scheduled in for electrotherapy by Doctor Watts....

Topless quickly found that Private Roade was a man open to negotiation. Roade wanted access to the restricted medicines cupboard in the administration tent for his smuggling scheme, which he was attempting to put together with 'Cheery' Patterson. However, the tent was always guarded by an orderly. He wanted Topless to use his influence to get Roade appointed to the guard duty roster in the early hours of the morning.

That night Topless noticed that one of his fellow patients in the officers' ward, an artist by the name of Maurice Parker-Bowles, wandered off into the night, only to return some hours later. Parker-Bowles seemed not to be hampered by the fact that he had lost his eyesight in an artillery barrage and had bandages over his face.

The following morning Roade helped get Topless to the orderlies' tent where he used his rank to cajole the orderlies to put Roade on guard duty that night on the administration tent (Military Talk - 2 point spend).

Meanwhile Mrs Ogilvy had Anne Thrope working all hours God sent, leaving her little time for anything else. Despite her exhaustion, the nurse was able to keep tabs on Corporal Dicky Fallon's movements around the hospital with some excellent Shadowing rolls. She saw him meet with Zenna Borden and the Indian private Gurdip Dal. More disturbingly, she also noticed ravens watching the trio wherever they went.

Military Hospital Number Five - all is NOT well...

The following night, Topless again noticed Parker-Bowles leaving the ward and wandering off into the night. He waited, however, until he knew Roade would be on duty, before sneaking over to the administration tent. Roade and Topless duly entered the tent. Here Topless got onto the phone to one of his old school chums, 'Bunny' Barker, now something of a mover and shaker at HQ (Credit Rating - 2 point spend). Bunny agreed to help intervene to get Topless off Watts' electrotherapy list in the morning.

Roade meanwhile managed to pick the lock of the medicine cabinet. Inside he found the medicines in a highly disorganised state, with many of the sedatives and pain killers missing, others mislabeled or in short supply. It all looked extremely unprofessional, and Roade quickly realised that it was the dastardly Mrs Ogilvy who was responsible for this: he had gained some more leverage.

"Hello? Is that Bunny? I've got a spot of bother old fellow.."

The private wasted no time loading up on some sedatives, but he also discovered some vials of a mysterious green liquid which smelled faintly of opium. While he was tempted to try some, Roade did not have the Curiosity drive, so sadly just pocketed the vials for future inspection.

Leaving the tent, the duo bumped into none other than Nurse Thrope, doing her rounds with her lamp. They had a brief conversation, whereupon Thrope helped Topless back to his tent and set off to consult Father Pombal. Upon arriving at the priest's tent, she found the cleric missing and the interior of his tent in disarray. There were many fresh footprints outside the tent, and the priest's broken glasses, stamped into the mud. This did not look good. Thrope hurried back to the officer's tent to report to Topless.

Topless meanwhile had noticed that young Lieutenant Cousins was looking pale and out of sorts, indeed a lot worse than he should be. Having had a foot amputated, Cousins had been on the mend, but now he looked like he was fading. Thrope examined him and (Medicine spend) worked out he had been poisoned with an opium-like substance. A hard (TN6) First Aid check was needed to make Cousins vomit up the residue of the dose, but Thrope managed it. Cousins was barely conscious, but able to tell the investigators that the last person to give him any medicine was Zenna Borden.

Thrope concluded that Borden was poisoning patients at the hospital, and resolved to report her to Major Parker, the CinC of the camp. Topless volunteered to accompany her, and en route they passed Roade, just coming off duty at the administration tent. As the trio moved in the direction of Parker's tent, they saw a large gathering of ravens on the roof of a ruined barn, part of a complex of old farm buildings in the middle of the camp. It was still dark, but sunrise was not far off.

What lies beneath...?

The trio decided to investigate the building more closely and could see (Architecture from Topless) that the barn, although of 1600s vintage, was built in turn on foundations that looked medieval in character. A small wooden door gave ingress to the cellar under the barn. Listening at the door they could hear chanting in a language they could not understand. Roade decided to take a peek.

Within, in the dim light of candles, he could see about 20 people, mainly patients, gathered in front of an altar. The altar was piled with objects that were indeterminate in the shadows, but on top of them all sat a skull. Nurse Borden was leading the chanting, and Roade recognised Private Dal, Corporal Fallon and the blind lieutenant, Parker-Bowles among them. They were all shrouded in a pungent-smelling green mist which seemed to fill the underground chamber.

Next time - the thrilling finale and post-game ruminations