Pictures from the Game

Dinner

Bishop Angelo Fiorelli (Barry Tannenbaum) listens to interesting conversation on the nature of life, death and everything in between. Grace Exeter (Lynn Anslow) and Dr. Richard Flynn (Lackey Chaney) listen in as well.

Clive Bancroft (Shawn Zimmerman) can be seen working on the next course in the kitchen.

Robert Jones (Andy Kirschbaum) makes a point. From left to right around the table:

• Skip Tomlinson (Will Wagner)
• Aaron Standish (Cameron Betts)
• Clarissa Fox Kardecova (Susan Giusto)
• Robert Jones (Andy Kirschbaum)
• Tucker Monroe, hidden (Andrew LaPorte)
• Dr. Richard Flynn (Lackey Chaney)
• Grace Exeter (Lynn Anslow)

Tim Lasko, one of the GMs, can be seen lurking in the doorway.

Thomas Enfield

The dying man, in his bed. There are strange symbols that have erupted on his body, bizarre living stigmata.

After dinner, there is a brief visit to the dying man's room. From left to right:

• Dr. Richard Flynn (Lackey Chaney)
• Clarissa Fox Kardecova (Susan Giusto)
• Aaron Standish (Cameron Betts)
• Tucker Monroe (Andrew LaPorte)
• Skip Tomlinson (Will Wagner)

Death Strikes!

After saying Last Rites, something happens in Thomas's room. After a fight with a strange Germanic ghost and breaking some glowing runes on the door, the Bishop (Barry Tannenbaum) is found, quite dead. He has been torn open and beaten about.

There is an unpleasant miasma in the room, a fog of death and decay.

Grace (Lynn Anslow), also in the room, is not quite dead. She mutters a few last words, as Tucker Monroe (Andrew LaPorte), Skip Tomlinson (Will Wagner) and Dr. Richard Flynn (Lackey Chaney) attempt to do something to save her. Unfortunately, they are too late.

She, too, has been ripped open and battered about.

Clarissa Fox Kardecova (Susan Giusto) and Clive Bancroft (Shawn Zimmerman) come in to see what happened to Thomas.

Thomas is not just dead. It is as if everything has been taken out of him. There is nothing left but a husk of skin...

The stigmata wrap all around his remains. As Clarissa Kardecova (Susan Giusto) stands in the background, Skip Tomlinson (Will Wagner) and Tucker Monroe (Andrew LaPorte) try to figure out what it might mean.<

The Second Ghost!

A few moments after the first ghost is dispatched, a second ghost (Dave Clarkson) shows up. Unlike the deranged first ghost, this one is willing to talk. Professor Maurice Burns (Eddy Karat) takes notes, while Noir (Merry Peck) wanders about in the background.

The Mystery Deepens

With the usual linguist not around, it falls to Skip Tomlinson (Will Wagner) to attempt to figure out just what the stigmata mean. Not all magic circles are circles...

(Note: Blake Hartford, Jennifer the GM's character, was the usual linguist.)

It's clear that a magic triskele of the stigmata runes, with the chant provided by the now-paranoid ghost, mana, in some fashion, and port are all needed in some kind of ritual. Robert Jones (Andrew Kirschbaum) and Professor Maurice Burns (Eddy Karat) try, with Skip Tomlinson, to invoke the magicks, but it's not quite correct...

L'obscurité de Tremblement — The Darkness of Paris

More bad things happen, with something striking down Clarissa Kardecova and Dr. Flynn. As Dr. Flynn has a seizure, something floats out from close to Thomas's room, heading straight for Robert Jones (Andy Kirschbaum). From left to right:

• Noir (Merry Peck)
• Robert Jones (Andrew Kirschbaum)
• Professor Maurice Burns (Eddy Karat)
• Skip Tomlinson (Will Wagner)
• An invisible NPC (Dave Clarkson)
• L'obscurité de Tremblement, the Darkness of Paris (Steve McGarry)

"What SANity check?" Robert Jones (Andy Kirschbaum) cries, "I need a diaper check!!!"

The Darkness grows, some of the way towards its nine-foot height! Robert Jones finds himself in the wrong place at the wrong time, as Noir (Merry Peck) imagines a diaper check.

"In an insane world, a sane man must appear insane..."

Unfortunately, Dr. Richard Flynn's (Lackey Chaney) reaction after being driven insane is about as sane as it gets. He hides, while Aaron Standish (Cameron Betts) isn't quite sure what to do about the Darkness.

The Aftermath

After the Darkness was defeated, three strangers from the church showed up at the front door. One was Sister Maria Dolores (Lynn Anslow), who did her best to bring a sense of sanity back to those affected by the Darkness. Some, like Skip Tomlinson (Will Wagner), were more difficult to convince than others.

The second stranger from the church was Father Salvatore (Barry Tannenbaum). One rarely expects a priest carrying a shotgun.

There were other challenges in the aftermath. How does one restore a shred of sanity to a panther? Here, Sister Maria Dolores (Lynn Anslow) does her best to help Noir (Merry Peck).

The third member of the church team, Father Riordan (Dave Clarkson, not in the picture), asked some tough questions. Here, Tucker Monroe (Andrew LaPorte) explains the Darkness. From left to right:

• Professor Maurice Burns (Eddy Karat)
• An invisible GM (Jennifer Diewald)
• Tucker Monroe (Andrew LaPorte)
• Clive Bancroft (Shawn Zimmerman)
• Clarissa Fox Kardecova (Susan Giusto)

It was quite the memorable evening, with interesting implications for the episodes that followed!