It is May 19th, 1944.
Yesterday, the Battle of Monte Cassino finally ended, after the fourth assault finally suceeded in dislodging the German 10th Army.

More than 50 thousand Allied soldiers were killed or wounded during the battle. You leave all that death and horror behind today, tracing the path the Polish Brigade took yesterday when they finally broke through.

As you reach the summit, you arrive at another makeshift field hospital - 30 Germans, too badly wounded to be moved and one surgeon who volunteered to stay behind, all of them guarded by a company of angry looking Poles.
The tension is palpable. A loud word, some uttered offense might be enough to cause another massacre.

You turn around, looking at the rubble of what is left of the ancient abbey.


Your superior officers wouldn't listen to you. But you know what you saw. The shimmer of light, like an aurora borealis, coming down the mountain, with shells bouncing off of it, detonating withing the ranks of the 5th division. Mortars, they said.

Somewhere in these walls, someone did... something. You scoff at yourself at the sound of of that.
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:07, Sun 21 June 2020.

Arthur put it down to reading too much but just couldn't shake the feeling something wasn't quite right but he couldn't put his finger on it.

He spent most of the day tending the wounded on both sides the German surgeon seemed happy to help and they treated a good number before he had to finally take a break.

Now while he sat and his mind not preoccupied with saving people Arthur thought back to what he had seen.

Taking his equipment he headed up the hill keeping within the sentry cordon but heading for the old ruin never the less

Just as you're about to enter the ruins, a couple of Royal Engineers, covered in dust, come out, stopping just across from you.

They look almost indistinguishable with their dirt-covered faces, but one is sporting a bushy mustache with other cleanshaven.

"Now, where do you think you're going, lad?"

Arthur turned his medical bag slightly so they could see the red cross
"corporal Randel, I'm out looking for wounded who might have been over looked in the heat of the battle. It's a dirty job but someone has to do it and even the dead deserve being found" he replied

"There's nobody left in there, lad, we cleaned them out nicely! Off you go, then!"
Mustache makes a dismissive gesture with his hand.

The other guy rolls his eyes slightly and adds: "What Sergeant Halloway means to say is that the abbey is dangerous. We just sweeped the place for hidden mines and other stuff and didn't find anything. Certainly, if there was any wounded in there, we'd come across them."

"OK no problem" Arthur replied and headed back down the slope. Once he was out of sight he waited for a few minutes then made his way west circling the ruin and headed back up on the opposite side from his initial approach

(Sneaky little fellow :-))

Halloway and the other, seemingly more reasonable engineer are gone as Arthur entered the ruins of the abbey. The first thing he noticed was how the neat the floor was. It was covered in dust and some sand, yes, but most of the rubble that must have fallen down in the bombardment was swept up into piles against the wall or even as defensive walls by the Germans, almost like medieval ramparts.

The sun was flooding half of the inner "yard" of the abbey. Soon, it would stand directly above, turning the interior into a baking oven.

Arthur took a quick tour around, but quickly, it became apparent that he wouldn't find anything here. As he finished the circle, he arrived at a smashed doorway to a stairwell, leading below. Gazing into the darkness beneath, something in his stomach twisted.

Arthur was used to trusting his gut when danger was about be he could shake the images of what he'd seen earlier so he took out his gun and taking a deep breath stepped into the darkness

Arthur descended down the stairs, with some light streaming through holes in the walls and ceiling, but soon it was too dark to see. He fumbled about in his bag and found a torch, switching it on.
For a second, he throught he heard explosions in the distance, and faint echoes of screams down the corridor.

(Spirit roll, please, then Notice)

15:21, Today: Arthur Randel rolled 3,2 using D6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3,2.  Notice roll .

15:21, Today: Arthur Randel rolled 5,4 using D8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 5,4.  Spirit roll.

Also have danger sense edge if it helps

A breeze of cold air washed over Arthur's face and he let out a nervous chuckle. Just his imagination. That's what that must have been. His ability to empathize with his patients meant he could all-too-well imagine what they went through. Regardless if it was an accident at home, falling off a ladder and breaking a leg... or being stuck here underground, for weeks and months, under heavy artillery bombardement.

He kept going, searching for... something, but getting pulled ever closer towards something in the darkness.

With his revolver in one hand and torch in the other Arthur moved further into the dark all his nerves and senses on edge

It kept getting colder. Much colder than it should have been, even here, under the mountain. The brick walls lay behind him now and Arthur slowly went dow a flight of narrow stairs, slippery from old age.
Then one of the steps gave way and he lurched forward!

((Roll Athletics))

16:28, Today: Arthur Randel rolled 2,5 using D6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 2,5.  Athletics.

Both the torch and the gun clattered to the ground as Arthuer rolled down the stairs. At the foot, he somehow managed to get his bag down in front of him and instead of hitting hid head against the edge of a doorframe, the bag hit it and his head hit the bag.

He spent a minute on the floor, catching his breath and cursing himself. Nothing broken, no serious injuries. That's... something.

((Notice roll to see if you find your stuff))

16:43, Today: Arthur Randel rolled 3,5 using D6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3,5.  Notice roll .

In what seemed to be an hour (but more likely just a few minutes), Arthur found his torch. The light had gone out, but when he flicked the switch, the light came back on, sputteringly, but still.
With that, it was easy enough to find his gun.

At the other end of the stairs stood an old medieval door-frame, with a heavy door of clearly just a few years old at most fitted into it.

He tried the door and a jolt of cold energy ran up his arm into his shoulder, and he let out a little cry. But he kept holding on and pushed the handle down and the door swung open.

From inside, the metallic smell of blood hits his nostrils.

There's is light coming from somewhere. Is it sunlight coming from somewhere? But how would it make it's way down here?

A beam of light is illuminating an old, faded mural on one of the walls. It's hard to make out but could be a depiction of the crucifixion  of Jesus. An old, weathered stone table in front of it could be an old altar, making this a small chapel.

Arthur pushed the door open enough to step through and with his gun up he swung his gun to cover the whole of the room before he stepped fully in

Inside, there wasn't much more to the chapel. Maybe large enough for 20 people if they didn't mind to get close.

Arthur remembered the iron tang of blood in the air as he'd entered and started to examin the alter and the room for traces of it

((Notice roll!))

18:04, Today: Arthur Randel rolled 4,9 using D6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 4,(6+3)9.  Notice roll .

(Nice)

Between the eery beams of sunlight on the one hand and the flickering light from his torch, Arthur is able to notice a few things.

There are dark stains on the altar stone and, getting closer, the smell of blood seems to be concentrated there.
Crudely carved into the side of the alter and into the mural of Jesus is the same symbol: a straight line, in it's middle a triangle pointing to the right.
Tracing the carving with your finger tips gives you a tingling sensation. Similar to the jolt you had felt before, but much weaker.

On the far end of the wall, you see seemingly random greek letters set into another faded mural. They look familiar, but you can't place them.

Arthur quickly pulled out his note book and pencil and sketched them as best he could in the torch light.

He qui ly put his things away gave the room one more check and headed back to the surface

The slippery stairwell is the hardest to master on the way back up. For a moment Arthur hesitates before settling on the corridor to his right.

Just as he was about to enter the sunlight in the roofless main hall, he heard something: Gregorian chants. Just for a second, but distincive.
He turned around and stumbles the last few stairs up backward. He stumbled and fell, cracking his head hard. He reached up, searching for the wound... but his eyes fluttered and then everything went black.

---

"I think he's coming around."
"Bloody fool. Should've just cracked his fucking skull open, be the end of it."
"Come now, Halloway, the lad's fine."

Halloway scoffed at that.

Water splashed in Arthur's face, waking him up. "Now what the fuck did you do traipsing around in the ruins, laddie? Trying to get yourself killed?"

Arthur shook his head to clear it then took a sip of water.

"sorry after I left you earlier I heard what I thought was a voice so went to investigate in case it was someone wounded but had been missed in all the chaos. I found that staircase and seeing no one above ground wrnt down to look. There was no one there so turned to one back. The stairs were slippery and I must have missed my footing at the top"

"Hearing voices, eh? Had too much of a drink, lately? Or not enough?"

The other guy takes your hand and pulls you up to your feet. "The name's Laughry. Don't think we had a chance for proper introductions. You think you can get down by yourself?"

"We should take him to the Colonel." Halloway says, matter-of-factly, then spits on the floor.

Arthur ignored the surly on "thanks Arthur Randel. Yes I think I can make it back on my own sorry to have been a nussence but like you only trying to do my job trying to find and treat wounded"

With that he grabbed up his stuff said his goodbyes and made his way down as quickly and as carefully as he could before the other one made good his suggestion of taking him to the colonel

June 18th, 1944.

After Monte Cassino and Anzio (another 40,000 dead and wounded), the Allies had taken Rome. But the Germans, under Field Marshal Kesselring keep stubbornly defending every inch of Italian ground. They have consolidated their defenses on the Albert Line, named after Kesselring himself.

The British army is tasked to take the town of Perugia. Another fortress up on a hill, with Germans dug in and waiting to bleed the allied armies dry.

You and your comrades have been tasked to prepare the field hospital. And, quietly, a few sites have been selected where the bodies of the fallen should be buried.

Arthur took it upon himself to select the best building available to be turned into a field hospital.

Since lt. Grafton had been wounded Arthur had kind of fallen into the roll of head surgeon purely on his ability to heal most wounds and some said with his skills he could bring back the dead if he'd tried.

Typical Tommy bluster but the facts were those Arthur tended seemed to survive.

So he busied himself sorting out wards, surgical rooms and morgue within an abandoned building.

He checked the supplies even though they'd been checked.

He briefed the orderlies and got them to promise not to be heroic on the field while gathering up the wounded.

He spent time with the consensus objectors who'd signed up as medics, he had nothi g against them unlike some of the men who thought them cowards for not fighting but Arthur actually admired them for their convictions and still go to war to help the wounded.

It also helped moral seeing him with them made the soldiers think twice especially as one of the might be dragging their broken body across a battle field under fire in the next few days.

Finally satisfied Arthur found a few minutes of peace to drink a cup of tea and look at the sketches he'd made from the under ground alter

You turn the sketches around, looking at them form all angles, but they don're reveal your secrets to you. As the light fades, you shut your notebook and look across the valley, towards the city of Perugia and the hills surrounding it. Home to abbeys, churches, castles. No doubt the Germans will use them as they used Monte Cassino.

But there's more routes to take. It is a strong defensive position, sure, but no Anzio, no Monte Cassino. Here, the artillery should have more effect when it starts in... you check your watch... in about 30 minutes. The Germans will not get any sleep tonight.

Your mind drifts towards the many civilians. Many will have fled, but there are bound to be a few stubborn ones holed up in their homes. Wel, stubborn, and those unable to move.

You see something, out of the corner of your eyes. A blue-tinted glimmer of light. Like an aurora borealis, seemingly starting at the old templar's abbey.

Arthur slowly put his book away still looking in the direction of the old Abbey. In the heat of the battle he could have persuaded himself he'd imagined the blue light but now in the still of a relatively quiet night he was certain it was real.

Gathering his equipment he slowly made his way out of camp towards the old Abbey to see what it actually was

(Hmmm.. Athletics to walk through the brush in the dark. I'm assuming you'll be taking a few short cuts, since the artillery bombardement will begin in a while and you probably don't want to be caught out in the open.)

13:09, Today: Arthur Randel rolled 9,4 using D6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of (6+3)9,4.  Athletics.

It's a very nice valley and a fine evening for a walk. The moon is out and serves as enough lumination for you to find your way. You don't know much about auroras, but you're pretty sure they're not supposed to appear that far to the South, not should they just stay in place as if they were anchored.

It takes you - maybe  - 15 minutes to arrive at the fortified church of San Bevignate. It's too far advanced to be part of the Albert line... but something is going on there.


You see movement at the door and you drop flat to the ground. There's a soldier standing guard, just inside the doorframe, peaking out. A small orange dot appears in the darkness. He's having a smoke.

Arthur kept his head down and hugged the ground until the soldier had finished his smoke and he heard the door close again as the man went back in.

He realised he'd been holding his breath and slowly let it out.

He tried to remember this mornings breifing to see if he could remember if there were supposed to be friendly units up in the area of the abbey.

Just in case he drew his pistol and circled the building to approach it quietly from the darkened side so he could use the shadow it cast in the moonlight as cover

(Hmmm... Smarts to remember, Stealth to sneak around)

20:45, Today: Arthur Randel rolled 4,3 using D6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 4,3.  Stealth.

20:45, Today: Arthur Randel rolled 4,3 using D8,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 4,3.  Smarts

(The Artillery barrage should start in about 10 minutes and you think, *you think* that none of the fire zones should be centered here. Getting caught out in the open would be bad.)

Arthur got up and circled around. Behind the church is an empty truck and two motor cylces. You take a quick look. The back platform reeks of sweat, blood and urine. Nobody's around, but there's another door, slightly ajar, that leads into the church.

Arthur he ked his watch 10 minutes he waited and watched the door checking his watch every now and then.

As it ticked down to the last 30 seconds he started counting down under his breath to 30, 29, 28.....10, 9, 8....je got to his feet revolver in hand he crouched and readied himself to run to the Abbey Wall and the half open door .......5, 4, 3, 2, 1 as his watch hit the final second he held his breath and waited for the first shells to start falling before he ran towards the old stone building

From here, the barrage started with a series of quiet *wumph*, the clattering of the cannon dampened by the distance and the enclosures. Them the whistling of the shells through the air and then... they hit a wall in the air. Many explosed right there, others slid down this invisible wall, detonating on the way down or once they hit the ground. The noise was deafening, more than muffling Arthur's steps.

Peaking through the gap between the two wings of the door, Arthur saw a German soldier, an MP40 raised and aimed at something to the right of Arthur, closer to the back of the building. The noise around Arthur was maddening. The explosions on the one hand, but inside, there was screaming and crying and... singing?

Arthur gauged whether he could make it through the door behind the soldier and give him a good clout with his revolver and knock him out.

The screams were what moved him to action he quickly stepped inside and bought his revolver up and down in an arc

(I'll need a little more from you here - what actions are you taking? And feel free to add the appropriate rolls)

Arthur crouched with his gun out and slowly pushed the door open far enough to slip in.

Once inside he kept crouched and hugged the wall until he was as close as he could get behind the soldier while staying in the shadows.

He held his breath and waited for the height of the next bombardment then stepped out of the shadows and swung his revolver in an arc across the back of the solders neck hoping to knock him out.

Ooc
14:29, Today: Arthur Randel rolled 2,1 using D4,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 2,1.  Melee attack.

14:29, Today: Arthur Randel rolled 10,1 using D6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of (6+4)10,1.  Stealth.

14:31, Today: Arthur Randel rolled 1,1 using D4,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,1.  Spend a bennie fight re roll

That didn't work out too well

(Take the Bennie back, because you, sir, hve got The Drop on the poor guy.)
18:11, Today: Warmaster, on behalf of Arthur Randel, rolled 10 using 2d4+4, rerolling max with rolls of (4+1)5,1.  Damage roll.



As Arthur brought the revolver down, the soldier half-turned and the barrel of the gun crashed into the man's temple. He noticed SS insignia on the man's collar. Interesting. He didn't remember anything about SS being stationed here.

The barrage covered the little scuffle nicely, giving him an extra second. There was the rest of the squad, spread throughout the church, but none was looking in Arthur's direction. To the left, at the altar stood a man with the back to Arthur, chanting over a corpse on the altar, blood dripping down on the floor. Next two the altar stood two SS-men, holding between them a young woman, screaming and trying to get away from them. And to his right was another small group of women and children, cowering against the wall, apparently the ones kept under guard.


(You got one more round to act by yourself and then we draw for initiative

SS: 18:28, Today: Warmaster drew the single card: 6D using the Deadlands system.
)

Arthur quickly checks the unconscious man and retrieved a grenade from his belt he also grabbed the man's gun.

As the bombs dropped he rolled the grenade across the stone floor towards the middle of the Abbey away from the alter and the hostages and waited for it to go off

(Athletics roll to, well, roll the grenade and damage please. Four damage rolls please, each at 3d6-2)

14:21, Today: Arthur Randel rolled 5,4 using D6,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 5,4.  Athletics.


14:23, Today: Arthur Randel rolled 15 using 3d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 2,(6+5)11,4.  Damage 4.

14:23, Today: Arthur Randel rolled 6 using 3d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 4,1,3.  Damage 3.

14:22, Today: Arthur Randel rolled 14 using 3d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 4,5,(6+1)7.  Damage 2.

14:22, Today: Arthur Randel rolled 16 using 3d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of (6+4)10,4,4.  Damage 1.

Arthur pulled the pin, took a stance as if he was back on the cricket field of his university and then half-threw-half slid the potato masher grenade across the floor between the two rows of benches towards the altar.

The young woman at the front kept struggling and tore one arm lose, getting behind the two SS-men holding her, an instant before the grenade exploded. Smoke and fire covered the altar, throwing the man who had his back to Arthur clean over the stone altar, pushing the body on it with him. The two SS-men were riddled with shrapnell, dragging the woman down and burying her under them.

There was a sense of tension released, as if a tight wound cable snapped. Arthur hadn't even been aware of it, but now felt the lack of it. As do the remaining SS-men, four, as much as Arthur can tell and they all focus their attention on Arthur now.

((Be so kind and draw initiative :-) ))

20:42, Today: Arthur Randel drew the single card: RJ! using the Deadlands system.  Initiative.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:00, Fri 26 June 2020.

A surge of Adrenaline rushed through Arthur, as the SS-men brought up their MP40s!


(You're up!

You have 4 opponents to deal with. 1 is closer to the altar and from his posture seems poised to rush towards the three men you just downed. The other three spread throughout the church, the closest is on the other side of the church, also watching the hostages, the other two are within the benches of the church, one standing, one sitting, having a smoke. He's the last to rise.
They all act on the same card.

You get +2 to all your rolls this round. You can add scenery in your description as long as it's  fitting into a medieval church :-)

Joker's wild - everybody gets a benny!

Arthur: RJ
SS: 6D
)

Arthur swore at the mess the blast made but he was now committed to act.

He grabbed the downed soldiers gun and started to fire at the two in the pews hoping if not to hit them at least to keep their heads down so he could make it to the hostages.

As he moved and fired he crouch ran from a row of pews to the baptism stone bowl on a thick pedistal to use as cover.
Getting as close to the woman under the fallen SS soldiers to see if he could pull he out

Ooc
11:35, Today: Arthur Randel rolled 5,4 using D4+2,d6+2.  Shooting roll.

What damage does the soldiers gun do?

(MP 40 12/24/28 Rof3 Load: 32, damage 2d6-1

You could make it a full auto shot and roll two more shooting rolls and split any hits between the two targets in the benches. The roll is at -2 for full-auto, +2 for the Joker, so at net 0.

Joker gives you also +2 to damage. And you could spend a bennie to re-roll the attack.

)

17:39, Today: Arthur Randel rolled 3,5 using D4,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 3,5.  Shooting 3.

17:39, Today: Arthur Randel rolled 9,4 using D4,d6, rerolling max with rolls of (4+4+1)9,4.  Shooting 2.

17:39, Today: Arthur Randel rolled 1,10 using D4,d6, rerolling max with rolls of 1,(6+4)10.  Shooting 1.

17:41, Today: Arthur Randel rolled 6 using 2d6+1, rerolling max with rolls of 3,2.  Damage 3.

17:41, Today: Arthur Randel rolled 20 using 3d6+1, rerolling max with rolls of (6+5)11,5,3.  Damage 2 one raise.

17:41, Today: Arthur Randel rolled 9 using 3d6+1, rerolling max with rolls of 4,3,1.  Damage 1 one raise.

(Don't forget to draw for initiative for the next round at the end of your action.)

Arthur opted for the tried and tested method of spraying and praying. Maybe he just got lucky, maybe it was because he was fighting evil in the Lord's house, but two of the SS-men got were hit by several bullets, their blod spraying over the benches as they fell down, one of them squeezing the trigger of his MP40, riddling the roof above with bullet holes.

The last soldier he could see let loose with a full salvo directed at him and he could hear the bullets ricochet off the stone pedestal, chipping the ancient carvings.

17:13, Today: SS-Infantry rolled 14 using 3d8, rerolling max with rolls of 6,5,3.  Shooting, Rock and Roll.
Rock & Roll edge cancels the -2 for full auto, but you got medium cover from the small column you're hiding behind.

Next round: 17:16, Today: SS-Infantry drew the single card: AH using the Deadlands system.

19:33, Today: Arthur Randel drew the single card: 6D using the Deadlands system.  Initiative.

(Oh, man... the die roller loves Arthur)

The SS-Man took a page out of Arthur's playbook and pulled a grenade from his belt, throwing it underhanded. But he apparently misjudged the distance, or he was too clumsy about it: the grenade bounced off the stony pedestal and rolled back toward the SS-Man.
He panicked, trying to get away from it, but slipped.

Then the grenade exploded, followed by a wail of anguish from the wounded soldier. Clearly, pain was as much the reason as embarrassment.




(13:02, Today: Warmaster, on behalf of SS-Infantry, rolled 1 using 1d8.  Athetics Throwing. Oooh... critical failure, maybe?
13:02, Today: Warmaster, on behalf of SS-Infantry, rolled 2 using 1d6. Nope. But, also not a hit. So let's seee where it lands
13:04, Today: Warmaster, on behalf of SS-Infantry, rolled 7 using 1d12.  Deviation direction. It comes back toward the soldier...

13:03, Today: Warmaster, on behalf of SS-Infantry, rolled 4 using 1d6.  Deviation distance... and gets pretty close!
13:06, Today: Warmaster, on behalf of SS-Infantry, rolled 1 using 1d8-2, rerolling max with rolls of 3.  evade grenade. - Yeah, that's more like rolling into it.

13:07, Today: Warmaster, on behalf of SS-Infantry, rolled 10 using 3d6-2, rerolling max with rolls of 3,5,4.  grenade damage. ... and that takes him out.

Arthur, your turn! All enemies are down!

)

Arthur stood and quickly went round the SS making sure they were of no more a threat to the prisoners.
He quickly went to the alter and pulled the prone bodies of the woman and checked she was OK before turning back to the soldiers.

If they were unconscious he laid them in a safe position and tied their hands with bandages. If they were wounded he bandaged them up then tied them up.

He spent a moment looking over the man that had had his back to him before gathering the prisoners together and lead them out of the Abbey and down towards allied lines

The artiller barage now passed unhindered through the air, zeroing in on their targets. Arthur led the women and children through the dark back towards the British camp.

Alerting the sentry, he made sure that the refugees were taken care off, then scampered off to have a cup of tea himself.

As he sat their blowing on his cup of tea, waiting for it to cool off just a little bit, he felt a heavy hand on his should. Looking up, he saw the mustached face of Halloway.
"Lad, you keep getting yourself into places you have no place to be in. It's time for you to talk to the Colonel."

Arthur looked up and took a deep breath, funny how Halloway also seemed to be in places he shouldn't either, he thought but kept that to himself.

Following the man he wondered what colonel wanted to see him and what type of trouble he was in.

As he strode along he thought things through, OK he was not supposed to be in the Abbey, but then he did defeat a unit of SS and rescued a number of civilians to boot. And he was sure whatever he did had stopped the blue light and allowed the shells to fall even if he couldn't prove it.

Oh well perhaps he'll just be shouted at given a warning and sent back to the field hospital.

Halloway lead Arthur into another small church behind the British lines. It wasn't really small, but too large to be a chapel. Halloway knocked at the door, then opened it, beckoning Arthur in. He called into the church: "Randel is here, Colonel Solomon. I'll be keeping watch outside."

It was dark inside, the only light source a few dozen candles lit close to the altar.
In the first pew sat the man who was apparently Colonel Solomon.

"Come here, Corporal. Look at this magnificent crucifix."
Arthur did. It was a nice crucifix, sure, but he didn't notice anything out of the ordinary. For a few minutes, the silence was deafening.
"Some scholars believe that this crucifix was an early work by Donatello. Look at the anguish in Christ's face. The pain and peace."

"it's not the pain or peace it's the sadness in the eyes" replied Arthur.

"do you think he knew what we were capable of? The horror and distruction we would carry out in his name.... Then we didn't even have to use his name the great war and now this one.... Its as if he's become a foot note in the pages of how the human race can eradicate itself"

Arthur fell silent suddenly worried the man beside him was religous

Solomon nodded. "Remarkable, isn't it?"

The coloned stood up, lit a cigarette at one of the candles and offered Arthur one as well. He looked wistfully up at the figure of Christ. "When the Romans finally won against Carthage, they burned the place to the ground and salted the Earth. When the Israelites defeated the Midanites, they killed every man, boy and woman, taking only the virgin girls into their tribe. In the 30-years-war, whole regions were devastated by the various mercenary armies."

He picked a piece of tobacco from his lips. "I believe mankind's talent for cruelty has been there forever. As with everything else: better tools and more experience makes one merely more efficient."


He took a few drags from his cigarette.


"Tell me, Corporal: What happened in that church? And what were you doing in the abbey after Monte Cassino fell?"

Arthur studied the colonel and quickly noted he was a man who could tell if he was lying so even if it made him look crazy what could they do to him worse case ship him home due to mental illness.?

"sir this will sound strange but in the last few bombardments I've been in I noticed a blue light in the sky.... For some reason it made me feel that it was actually stopping the shells from landing on target.... I know it sounds crazy but it was as if the light was a kind of barrier over the German positions. "

He give his words a moment to set in then continued.

" just before the push today I saw the blue light again, I'm not sure why but I felt it was originating from the old Abbey up on the hill. As we hadn't got any wounded to treat at that time I decided to take a look. Getting up there I spotted an SS soldier in the doorway. When he went back inside I slipped in behind him and cracked him hard with my revolver. "

He took a moment to gather his thoughts" I then noticed a group of SS near an alter there was someone standing in front of it and a body dead on the alter. There were a number of women and children being held and I got a feeling if I didn't do something this man would kill them all. So I grabbed the fallen SS gun and grenade which I throw into the middle of the church. Things got a bit chaotic after that. The explosion knocked out the man at the alter along with two SS I then opened up on the remaining two.... More out of lick than anything else I took them both down to.
After releasing the prisoners I tied up and treated the wounded soldiers before leading the women and children down to the camp and informing command of my discovery. "

Arthur fell silent for a moment" the strange thing is as soon as the man at the alter went down the bombardment lost its muffled sound and it seemed the shells were then falling on target.... I didn't see the blue light again after that either"

Solomon listened intently, puffing away at his cigarette.

"So you went in and took out a squad of SS all by yourself as if you were just having a leisurely stroll across the meadow?"
He offered you a smile. "Careful, Corporal, that's the road leading to Victoria Crosses."

He finished his cigarette.

"What do you think that blue light was?"

Arthur looked at the colonel for a moment taking in his comment

"Well it was more by luck than tacticor training I was more concerned about the women and children than anything else. I hate war but I have accepted it what I can't and won't stand for is armies using civilians as tools to win a battle"

"as to the blue like I'm not sure some sort of barrier, I don't know it sounds strange to say it out loud and it didn't sound too sane in my head but it looked like some sort of solid light field that stopped the shells landing..... And for the life of me I'm sure it had something to do with what was happening at the Abbey.... As if.... As if the man there was sacrificing the women and children to power it..... If that was even possible I think the world had just got a whole lot darker and our enemy a whole lot more deprived and need to be stopped as quick as possible"
This message was last edited by the player at 14:33, Wed 01 July 2020.

"You do know you sound like a lunatic, right, Corporal? Some people might think you're trying to get certified as nuts to get a quick and easy ticket home."
This message was last edited by the player at 17:41, Tue 07 July 2020.

"colonel with all due respect, I'm medically trained and was a doctor before I came over here if I wanted to get sent back home I could do that a lot easier and with no effect on my reputation..... Imagine knowing your doctor was a loon I'd loose all my patients... I would loose a hell of a lot more with this story than simply shooting myself in the knee"

"Is that a fact?"
The Colonel chuckled and offered Arthur a cigarette.

"Tell me - how would you like to be re-assigned? There's an outfit that could use men like you, who keep a cool head when confronted with something they can't quite explain."

Arthur took the offered smoke

"would I still be able to practice medicine I don't want to be assigned somewhere where my skills couldn't be used but the bit about unexplained things... Like the blue like has me curious if I can do both, treat the wounded and investigate these unknown things then... Yeah count me in"

"Trust me, You'll get ample opportunity to practice and deepen your skills. If nobody told you, there's a war on."

He smiles and picks up a manila envelope from the church bench.
"Here are your marching orders. You're going to Normandy."

((Ending this scene, I'll leave the thread open in case you want to add more background or some "fan-fiction" to round out your back story. You can add anything between now (June 1944) and the start of the actual mission.

You have now been inducted into OSI, so you can add any weird occurances you'd like to add.))