Operating Area: Lighthouse

"Not that smart..." Sjoerd grunted at himself, feeling that this was definitely not his best day and felt his grip on Ilyani slipping after reaching the base of the lighthouse. Luckily the girl herself had realized this and took action, allowing the man to take a breather.

Noticing the butler Benjamin had managed to open the door, Sjoerd followed the others into the building. The moment he felt the solid ground of the lighthouse underneath his feet, he spun towards one of the walls and basically just collapsed with his back against it. Breathing in and out calmly, he beckoned Benjamin to enter as well. "Close the door," he said to him and the others. He then stared upwards towards a ceiling or maybe a staircase going upwards.

[Enter Lighthouse]
[Rest; Try to lower penalty duration]
((Sir Martin got a Special Flare))
((Ilyani got a Flashlight: Average, Blunt Weapon))
((Benjamin got and equipped Pitchfork: Average, Sharp Weapon))

The survivors worked as quickly as they could to get through the door and shut it behind them before Rupert and the pilot could ascend the hill.

OBJECTIVE COMPLETE!
New Objective added...

As they came inside, they were alarmingly met by yet another person pointing a pistol in their face. Fortunately, it was a seemingly friendly girl, who lowered her weapon once she got a closer look at her new acquaintances. The girl sat surprisingly calm on a brown leather sofa behind a table containing the items Ilyani had seen earlier. Her hair was blond and she was dressed in blue cotton pajamas, as if she'd been planning to sleep. Her eyes were very attractive and clear blue, making her seem very out of place in the setting. She seemed like she couldn't be more than 14 or so. "Oh, come in," she muttered in a quiet, aloof voice, seeming dazed by their appearance.

Everyone could hear the pilot and Rupert poking around outside. "Hey... they probably went into the garden," a voice mumbled. Luckily, it seemed that the two would become sidetracked.

Before any further introductions could be arranged, a bizarre, low sound came across the island. It started out slow, but picked up an ominous pitch. It sounded like a storm warning siren...

The girl's eyes grew wider. "We've got to get prepared. The old man's not around to use the light any more, so we're not going to be as safe," she whispered enigmatically. "Quick, we've got to hold up in here as best as we can. That sound means nothing good for any of us. It means those things are going to hunt." Her quiet, feminine voice was strangely relatively without fear, but still contained a sense of urgency.

She hadn't really helped much, though. What could the survivors do to prepare?

------------------------------

Objective: Survive the siren.

Directions: The players are on the first floor. Behind them is the door leading to the area in front of the lighthouse. Ahead is the staircase leading to the second floor.

All players are together. No player is detected by shibito.

Sir Martin Richards: 10/10 Vitality
Benjamin Wright: 12/12 Vitality
Ilyani Scales: 10/10 Vitality
Sjoerd van Lievenoogen: 10/10 Vitality (-2 strength, -2 pursuit; 1 turns)

The players detect each other and three others nearby, two identified:

Pilot Shibito @ front of lighthouse: 10/10 Vitality
Rupert Shibito @ front of lighthouse: 10/10 Vitality
Strange Girl @ lighthouse 1st floor: 10/10 vitality
Ilyani recoiled slightly as she saw the gun pointed in their direction, ready to bolt back where they came from. Fortunately, it seemed that the girl was harmless, at least at first sight. The lone female of the group exhaled heavily, relieved that at least someone else was on their side. Remembering that eerily ominous voice of the scoutmaster back at the plane, she shivered to think about what had happened to the man.

Just as she was about to relax, a haunting sound pierced through the air- the sound of a siren of some sort. Looking at the girl, Ilyani noticed that she looked urgent about something, maybe a hint of nervousness? To tell the truth, her nerves were being wrecked to pieces about then, and she was just about to crack, if not for the brief reprieve.

Scanning the area, she smiled as she saw that the interior of the area was exactly as she had seen it, and the one she had seen through was probably this girl. However, she did notice one other thing she didn't see on the first time, which was a staircase leading up somewhere. She figured it was probably the second floor.

Come to think of it, she did see some kind of strange blue glow at the top of the lighthouse. Something about that light made her happy that there was someone there, but also unsettled, thinking that it might be another trick of the bloody-eyed ones. She whispered to the others, "One of you, follow me upstairs. Other two, talk to that girl and see what you can find out, maybe barricade the door with that heater in the corner over there. I don't think the...." she hesitated, "... zombies are out of sight just yet."

With that, she nodded to the girl, and headed for the staircase, gripping her cane tightly.

[RP: Show Electric Heater to others]
[Movement: Lighthouse Floor 2]
Things were escalating quite rapidly for Sir Martin. In the span of about 30 seconds he had met a charming young lady in her pajamas (that didn't happen too often nowadays), had a gun pointed in his general direction by said lady (not exactly a first, but has to be a new time record), got a splitting headache from what sounded mostly like a storm siren, and have been ordered around by both lasses in the room. That's also not a first, but he'll be damned if he's going to be the one moving the furniture. So what was that thing you did when in the presence of an eerily calm women in her pajamas and armed with a gun in the middle of what looks like an after midnight b-movie? Oh right. You close the door, and make sure it's locked.

- You don't happen to have a key to the door, do you darling? I merely ask because if you do, you may want to lock that now before more uninvited guests let themselves in... of which I'm terribly ashamed of, and I beg your forgiveness in the name of my accomplices and my own.

He instantly saw some furniture around the room upon entering, but that alone would make a less than adequate barricade. There has to be some more around here...

- Oh my, where are my manners. My name is... too long, just call me Martin. Would you perhaps like us to move the sofa and the table to the door along with the heater, and maybe stack everything else on top of those? On the insistence of my late wife (godblesshersoulinheaven) I read up on internal architecture, and that would definitely improve the fung shei of the room. Only if you don't mind of course.

Martin looked around a bit more. The inside of the room was a bit too bare... there should've been some more equipment in here. Maybe it's on the upper floor. Still, it doesn't hurt to ask...

- Say... do you have a radio in here?. And maybe a telescope of some sort?

He was pretty sure those are part of the standard equipment for manned lighthouses... then again, manned lighthouses were quite outdated. In fact, he rememberred quite clearly being angry at a TV show for demonstrating how GPS or whatever those fancy newfangled bits of electronics were called steadly replaced the need for the guding light in general. So this could be a mere tourist attraction then. But she did say something about... how was it... ah, right.

- And who's this old man you speak of? Could you tell us what he did with the light while he was here, perchance? And what are "those things" anyway, and why are they like the hunting terriers to this blasted horn of a siren? In fact, how often does this happen to you, seeing as you are quite composed despite being just a wee little lass... darling?

With each question, Martin took a non-chalant and (he tried to make extra sure of this) non-threatening step forward, finally laying his hands on the side of the table. Just in case their kind host decides that she's had enough questions, he'd like to be in arms reach of that gun as well. Those bright blue eyes gave him the creeps... they reminded him of her.

- Oh and... pay attention darling, you could merge those stacks.

[Talk with the girl]&[SPOTCHECK around the room]
Benjamin closed the door behind them before coming face-to-face with a gun. His muscles tensed and his well-trained reactions were about to get the better of him when both him and the young girl holding the gun figured out they were not, in fact, enemies.

It seemed like Ben's first instinct was to use the pitchfork to knock the gun out of the girl's hand, indicated by the end of the farming tool stopping quite near her arm. The butler lowered that end quickly and scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"Ah, my apologies, spur of the moment..." Ben started, but then it seemed the whole island was assailed by a storm signal or warning call of some sort... It was one of the creepiest sounds he'd heard in his entire life, and he had experienced a lot of creepy things.

The young girl quickly instructed them to "prepare" and that some things were about to "hunt." Whatever the matter, Benjamin at least knew what was going to be hunting.

Ilyani and Sir Martin had taken action already, the latter following some suggestions of the former. Sighing, he walked over to Sjoerd and patted him on his back. "Rest a while and see if you can move some stuff, just don't strain yourself," Ben suggested as he followed Ilyani up the stairs, eyes scanning as he climbed the stairwell.

[Movement to Lighthouse Floor 2]
[Spot Check while moving]
"Hey girl," Sjoerd asked to the pajama girl, practically ignoring the old man who was trying to have a conversation with her, "Are you confident you can use that gun?" For a second he had thought asking her if should wield the gun for her, but he was more comfortable with using his fists for a fight. It would be great if he could somehow create make-shift boxing gloves, but this was good too.

He glanced up as he felt a pat on his shoulder, noticing Benjamin. He merely smiled, trying to avoid any further embarrassment to head him way. All Sjoerd knew at the moment was that something was hunting, a siren was going and they were practically stuck in the light tower. Besides this, he honestly did not feel like doing more.

Nudging himself over a bit, he positioned his back against the closed door while putting his feet firmly onto the ground. There was no telling whether the weaponed men knew the precise location of himself and the others, but it was better to be sure about it. But come to think of it? He didn't immediately think of what was going to happen if they shot first, tried to open the door later.

[(attempt to?) Rest]
[Attempt to barricade the door with own body, just in case]
The girl started slightly as Benjamin thrust his weapon forward. How many grown men would jab at a little girl with a pitchfork anyways? Thankfully, she strangely didn't seem to take any offense to the motion and once he withdrew she let him go on his way.

Sjoerd felt his strength return to him quickly enough. That was good for him, especially if what the strange girl had said was true about a "hunt." Using that strength, he decided to help barricade the door, just in case any shibito immediately started trying to barge in.

Taking a peek around as he interrogated the girl, Sir Martin noticed everything that Ilyani had earlier, with the addition of a keyring hanging on the wall. Oddly, the girl seemed to have known it was there, but locking the door hadn't occurred to her. "Yeah, you guys probably should block the door. Feel free to move stuff. It's so heavy I didn't really try," she answered. The elderly gentleman could easily begin to wonder if she gave a damn about the "hunt" she'd warned them about at all. "This sort of thing does happen some times... The old man who kept the lighthouse running... He made sure that those things didn't approach. A gardener lived here too. I haven't seen either of them since they went outside a while ago."

Perhaps she was just highly desensitized or had already been exposed to too much, but she didn't seem to grasp the implications of the two of them going outside into the monstrous, bloody world that the island had become. "As for the gun, I'm sorry. It'll be pretty inconvenient if I lend it to you guys. I have to hold on to it," she answered plainly. "And thanks," she muttered as an afterthought, combining the stack as Sir Martin had told her to. "I wish I knew what those things were, but I don't. They're like animals, but they look like humans. They like to laugh and hunt together."

While the honorable sir and the little girl had a lovely talk downstairs, Ilyani and Benjamin hurried upstairs to look for anything that could give them a competitive edge against the enemies approaching. The second floor looked pretty empty, though... besides the crawlspace under the bed, which might be useful for hiding in, Benjamin noticed only a device like a ham radio and a large oil-lighting tool, capable of creating a small spark. It seemed like whatever had been here earlier may have been cleaned out... and it was pretty doubtful that the radio was going to work, despite the fact that it didn't look dusty or unused.

The siren continued to blare, but so far, no creatures had reared their ugly mugs... However, a quick glance outside of the murky windows would reveal the dark figures of Rupert and Freddy, searching madly through the garden in pursuit of the escapees. It could have just been pessimism casting a shadow over things, but it looked like more than two figures hunched over out there...

------------------------------

Objective: Survive the siren.

Directions: Sir Martin and Sjoerd are are on the first floor. Behind them is the door leading to the area in front of the lighthouse. Ahead is the staircase leading to the second floor. Benjamin and Ilyani are on the second floor. Behind them is the staircase leading down; ahead of them is the staircase leading up.

All players are together. No player is detected by shibito.

Sir Martin Richards: 10/10 Vitality
Benjamin Wright: 12/12 Vitality
Ilyani Scales: 10/10 Vitality
Sjoerd van Lievenoogen: 10/10 Vitality

The players detect each other and one other nearby, identified:

Strange Girl @ lighthouse 1st floor: 10/10 vitality
-I'll take these and have Jenkins close the door then, if you don't mind.

For a moment he considered reaching for the gun, but no. No use in upsetting their host. Barricade first, power struggle later. He was confident he could overcome a trusting little girl at least, armed or no.

Sir Martin moved for the keys maybe a bit too hastily for his calm mannerisms. What was she thinking, not closing the door? Well, it was lucky for them, admittedly, but still. She has to be either quite sure in her shooting, or just a cocky brat. Or maybe cocky isn't the right word, more like... aloof? He couldn't shake the feeling that there was something really off about her. Sitting alone in a lighthouse, playing cards, is that what kids do in their free time these days? Where are her parents anyway?

- By the way Miss... Miss... I'm sorry I think I missed your name. Do you know where your parents are? They must be really worried about you.

Of course, chances are they are already dead, but who knows? Maybe they are part of the local militant faction, or are fellow gun enthusiasts. Who would let a little girl run around with a revolver, anyway?

Martin took the keyring from the wall and tossed it to Sjoerd. - Hey, Jenkins. Catch!

With that taken care of, he continued this lovely conversation.

- So you say this happened before? Where do other people go when it does? I doubt there's a lighthouse for everyone to lock themselves up in.

[pass the keys to Sjoerd] & [continue talking]
Still a bit shaken from the siren, Benjamin was relieved to find at least a radio, and what seemed to be, when he activated it, a lighter of some sort. ...Some duct tape would make his pitchfork a bit more deadly if he used both in combination.

"Hey, found a radio!" Ben called to Ilyani as he held it up. "Wanna try it?" the ex-butler offered as he set it back on the desk and took the lighter in his other hand. Not knowing if there was anything else, Ben kept looking around the 2nd floor for anything else that could be of use.

...Is it just me or are there more than two of those things outside...? Ben thought to himself as he took a glance out the window.

[Notify Ilyani of Ham Radio]
[Take Oil Lighter]
[Scan 2nd Floor]
"Ah, I didn't see that," said Ilyani, walking over to the desk and grabbing the amateur radio. From the looks of it, it looked fairly used, and might have a fair chance of working. However, she had no idea how one would work something like it. Besides that, Ilyani doubted that there would be anyone to radio in the first place. Regardless, she held on to it as she looked up the stairs that led on through the floors of the lighthouse.

"I wonder how many floors there are..." she muttered, as she wandered up the stairs, not really bothering to tell the butler behind her to follow. Scanning around, she gripped her cane with her other hand tightly, making sure it was a good barrier between her and any zombie-monster-whatever that decided to leap at her face.

[Obtain: Ham Radio]
[Movement: Lighthouse 3F]
[Spotcheck while moving]