The Prologue (1941) - Part II

[ragincajun2288]

Pingo sees the bodies and covers his nose as the smell hits him. Oh yeah. They were dead, no threat there. The old man... and a cannibal? Had the cannibals gotten to Machete's Landing before they did? It didn't add up but perhaps there was more information he was missing. Probably best to report back to Bones. Before he left however, he searched the cabin to see if he could find any more evidence.

Yay for low skill points... Search (1d20=8)

Afterwards if nothing special found Search a little more before leaving: (1d20=20)

[j0lt]

After getting no response from the others, Loder shrugs his shoulders and begins helping Esteban carry Paco's body off the boat and towards the church.

[jacemachine]

Loder

You and Esteban carry Paco's body over to the church... well, what is left of the church.

The abandoned church's roof has fallen in over the years, although the stubby bell tower still stands. It's bell heavy coated in a layer of rust. Weeds grow high alongside the church. The front doors are missing, and only a few broken chairs and a number of old moldering bibles and hymnals can be seen strewn across the floor.

The wind changes, and you catch a whiff of something rotten from around the other side of the building.

Investigating behind the dilapidated church building you find the overgrown remains of former garden, choked with weeds. Of to the side of the garden is a garbage heap. It is piled high with carcasses of jungle animals in addition to other refuse; empty and broken tequila bottles, an old broken radio set. The entire pile reeks of decay and disease; it crawls with mosquitoes, dung beetles, and worms.

[BowenSilverclaw]

As Doc and Esteban start to carry Paco's dead body over to the church, the Sergeant gets a shovel from the boat before following the two men.

"Where will we place Paco, Doc? Does this place have a graveyard?"

[jacemachine]

Pingo

You find nothing further

[Tarotdragoon]

"Poor guy" exclaims Russo watching the Doc and Kestral taking the body to the church, he watched Esteban closest though, the man was understandably distraught over his brother's death, but he seemed to be coping reasonably well, he hadn't had an outburst yet, in fact he seemed to speak even less than usual, thinking about it Russo didn't think he had heard the man speak for a good few days

"Did you know Paco well?" he asked the kid turning back to his work, thrusting a large cleaning brush through the long naked barrel of the browning.
"A lot of the time I haven't a clue what you lot are saying, but you seemed to get along, I spose' only Esteban was close to him really"

[ragincajun2288]

Pingo, having found nothing to indicate what had happened, left a bit disappointed but still eager to tell Bones of his findings. He set off to find him and use their hand language the men had developed to communicate his report. Last he had checked, Bones was still on deck so he walked back to the boat.

And upon finding him Pingo shall give his report.

[jacemachine]

"Paco was okay. He didn't enjoy losing all the time in cards to me, and he was always worried about his brother Esteban. Their madre had made him promise to return him home safely." The Kid explains, "Esteban was born wrong. Esteban says that he shouldn't even be alive. He's like a little kid, so he's a lot of fun.

"Hey Senior Bones! Can we KEEP him?" The Kid looks up towards where Bones was standing, now on the gangplank down to the dock. Pingo had returned.

Pingo flashed his hand-talk Bones looked on, his face concerned.

"Pingo's found something!" Bones called aloud to the others, "Two bodies in the other river boat.

"Pingo says one of them is the old guy, and the other is a cannibal. Looks like they killed each other!"

[j0lt]

Loder helps Esteban lower his brother to the ground and says, "Espera aquí."

Finding the town's graveyard would be a lot easier without hauling his friend's corpse around.  Loder continues walking around the church, hoping to find what he was looking for without having to search through the jungle.

[Flay Crimsonwind]

Eisen joins with the Doctor, looking with a sort of sad pity on the surviving brother. "I hate for him to just leave his brother in a place like this..." Eisen looked onward, trying to find some sort of indication that there had been a graveyard. The pile of corpses would not do... though something about it just didn't sit right with Eisen. He kept eying it, as if he expected there to be something he missed seeing, some alternative reason for it's existence. Still, he tried to find a decent resting place for the group's fallen comrade. There would be scalped nazi bastards for this, he would make sure of it.

[Tarotdragoon]

"damn, thats just not right," Russo shook his head now polishing every piece of metal he could find with a rather fresh looking cloth and some very strong smelling oil.

he cast an eye over to the other boat a little uneasily, he liked this place less than Orino Perro,

"Damn cannibals, its like a fucking plague, how the hell did they get here and clear out before us?" looking back at the church his face hardened "The poor guy's probably lost without his brother, he did his job his brother's safe for now. Kids got a point (although thats not quite how I would have put it) we gonna keep him with us Bones? I don't really see an alternative."

[jacemachine]

"No... we definitely keep Esteban with us. At least until we can get him home to his family." Bones answered resolutely. "The cannibals, well-- the problem with THEM is that they DIDN'T get around us. This Mission encroaches the territory, and from what I've heard and seen... I think they've been expanding."

Bones leaves the dock, and motions to the others.

"Let's see if we can help the Doc find this graveyard he thinks should be around." The Kid hops to follow him, as the begin to walk toward the church ruins.

[Nanshork]

Richard starts to patrol the perimeter of the village.  None of this feels right to him, and he is very on edge.

[jacemachine]

Dr. Loder

You do not find any graveyard, but the jungle has encroached rather close to the back of the church perhaps...

Richard

Your first patrol around the village is unremarkable. So is your second. I'll let you know if anything changes.

Eisen

No graveyard back here. Just the overgrown garden and the garbage pile of rotting trash and carcasses. Even a small place like this should have a cometary. Or it WOULD have.

Kestrel

No sign of a graveyard. No trouble either. The jungle has grown awfully close to the church since it was first erected God knows when...

Russo

The Kid waves for you to join them. Are you still polishing knobs?

Pingo

You've been here before. You once saw a strange stone carved with letters when you were taking a leak once. It was somewhere past the dump and the dumpy church.

[j0lt]

Frowning at the overgrown jungle brush, Loder takes out his machete and begins hacking at the underbrush behind the church.

[BowenSilverclaw]

The sarge decides to join Loder, two people can clear a large enough spot a lot faster.

[ragincajun2288]

Pingo wonders about that stone now, does it mean anything at all? Perhaps...perhaps not. Maybe someone else could understand it if he couldn't. He looks around and sees Richard patrolling. Richard had become sort of a friend to him, perhaps he would help. Pingo walks up to him and picks up a rock, making scribbling motions on it as if he were writing, then points with his other hand past the church, he then motions for him to follow, then heads over to where he found the stone with carved letters, shouldn't be too hard to find unless the jungle had completely swallowed it since his last time being here. He hoped Richard had understood him, it wasn't too hard right? A rock with writing on it. Pingo silently chuckled to himself.

Search or Spot check?

[Nanshork]

Richard surprises Pingo by responding in Pingo's own sign language that he will follow and take a look at the rock with writing on it. 

[Tarotdragoon]

Russo shrugs placing the bits of gun on the deck and follows Bones and the kid through this pathetic excuse for a village.

"I guess I do owe him some respect"

[jacemachine]

Pingo and Richard delve a short distance into the jungle just past the church, flanked by Dr. Loder and The Sarge.

Pingo uncovers a smooth white stone covered over in Ivy. He motions to Richard that the stone is still there. He cuts away some of the vegetation to uncover the whole of a worn headstone.

Father Simon Thorne
Beloved Leader

Mauled to death by a wild animal in the night
February 9, 1889 - May 21, 1922

Russo, Bones, and the Kid arrive shortly after.