Barbecues, weddings, and illness have kept us away from the Borderlands for some time, but no gamer can stay away forever! You may want to read the entry from July 19 before clicking the link below.
When we last left our intrepid explorers, they were gathered around Professor Hill's Party Pole ™ in a dusty room at Hill College. Both Obediah and Chucky had gotten a creepy feeling from the pole, but no more than that. Fitz bravely fiddled with the wires attached to the pole, but nothing happened.
Tamsin went off to the library, in an attempt to discover more about Professor Hill and the pole. Obediah investigated the broom closet. Fitz broadened his experiment by touching the wires to Chucky, who was unappreciative. At this point, a violent thunderstorm broke over the campus. Fitz and Chucky remembered that the forecast called for the remnants of a tropical storm to cross the area today, so they were unconcerned.
Tamsin arrived at the library, where she was informed that all campus buildings would be closing shortly, because of the storm. With only minutes to spare, Tamsin valiantly located Professor Hill's notes about the pole and courageously photocopied them. Unfortunately, the notes made little sense to her.
Fitz and Chucky were confronted by a grad student, who asked them to leave so he could close the building. They complied, leaving Obediah in the closet. Outside, they met up with Tamsin, and the three went to a nearby diner, after leaving a note for Obediah on the door.
At the diner, Fitz had some (very bad) coffee, Tamsin had some (very good) pie, and Chucky had some (just right) orange juice. Fitz examined the notes, but couldn't determine much from the mentions of “phlogiston” and “etheric vibrations.” He concluded the notes were gibberish.
Back inside the museum room, Obediah emerged from the closet to find only the emergency lights on. Noting the large metal pole inside, and the lightning storm outside, he knew what he had to do. First, though, he obtained a large rug from a nearby room and a wheeled bucket from the janitor's closet. As he wandered the corridors, he heard some breathing, but couldn't locate the source.
When Obediah re-entered the room and approached the pole, he was attacked from above by a smelly, hairy something. Although injured in the initial attack, he managed to scramble to the supply closet, where he snatched up a mop and enchanted it into a weapon. When the beast attacked next, Obediah mopped it straight into a glass-fronted case, which shattered satisfactorily.
Obediah cast another spell to activate a nearby Van der Graff generator, giving him enough light to see by. The hairy beast was gone, but he left some blood behind. Obediah mopped the blood up with a rag, and then returned to his original plan. He disconnected the Party Pole from its base, wrapped it in the rug, and stuck it in the bucket. The windows in the room didn't open, and breaking them would have violated Obediah's personal code of ethics, so he decided to brave the hallways to reach an outside door.
Obediah got the pole outside without any trouble, and headed for Tamsin's van. While he was still about 20 feet away, the pole was struck by lightning (which was more or less inevitable), and Obediah was blown off his feet. The insulating action of the rug kept him from serious harm, and he soon got up. He unwrapped the pole to inspect it for damage, and found that it was crackling with electricity. He attempted to re-wrap the pole in the rug, and got electrocuted for his trouble.
Tamsin had finished her pie by this time, and headed back to the van with Chucky and Fitz. They found Obediah lying on the ground, and Chucky scribed a quick healing spell to bring him around. Some local police happened by at that time, so the party piled into the van, taking the pole with them.
After getting a recounting of Obediah's actions inside the building, Tamsin suggested tracking down the probably werewolf, or at least the graduate student who threw Chucky and Fitz out of the building. While pondering their options, the players noticed the time and broke for the evening.
Next time: Will the party find the werewolf? Will it bring them any closer to finding the truth about the mysterious Y? Will everyone except Fitz buy their own trenchcoats? Will Fitz get a decent cup of coffee?
Tales of the Rambling Bumblers 