Daisy notices Koran's sullen withdrawal from the festivities with concern....
Sense Motive to guess what's troubling Koran plus surge (because she really cares) = 17.... Good enough to figure out what it could be....
Oh.... The age-old dilemma of warriors.... What use am I now that there are no more foes to vanquish in battle? What do I do with myself now that the war is over?.... Do not worry, big brother.... The world was never without war, even before it was invaded by monsters and demons.... Your hammer will always find work to do.... Whether it be to destroy, or to rebuild....
Marcus dances as only a 30 year old white man can. Embarrassingly.
Once he stops making a fool of himself, he takes a closer look at the staff that's been bequeathed to him.
"Feels nice..." he says out loud to himself, giving it a few practice swings.
"Wonder what bit I'll need to try out first? Hopefully not the "bring back the dead" function."
"We're changing quickly, Marie, and now I'm even more confused than ever about where all this power keeps coming from, and more importantly, WHY?"
"Well, at least I can try and convince myself that it's from Hermes, and not Cthulhu. That would be nice. As long as I don't have to turn blue and wear stupid sunglasses."
The celebration is continued back at Pandora's Box in the Canyon, where the packing of supplies to be transported to the new home is temporarily set aside in favor of feasting and revelry. Professor Dirge, Doctor Hoffmann, Hell-No Kitty, and all the other personnel of Pandora's Box welcome the FOs home, and congratulate them on winning the Silver Tower, another possible location to serve as a bastion for humanity against the Old Ones....
The Navajo people perform traditional dances reserved for the praising of heroes returning from a great victory....
Jewels runs to Derrik and embraces him, lifting him off the ground in a vice-like hug....
Oh, baby! Your helmet's gone! You've accomplished your goal! I'm so proud of you, babe! And now everyone can see how hot my man is!! Heehee!
She smothers Derrik with kisses, leaving bubblegum-pink lipstick all over his face....
Amber Lynn watches Derrik with Jewels, and seeing his handsome face for the first time, feels anew the pangs of unrequited love....
Under her breath, she mocks Jewels....
"Now everyone can see how hot my man is!".... Dumb-ass, She-Hulk-lookin' b%#&!....
Koran searches through the crowd for Greg bear-strong.
Bear-Strong, care to wrestle? My blood is still pumping and that daemon lord and his cronies put up less of a fight than I was hoping for.
"And that's how it ended. A strike from Koran and a bullet with the Qlippoths name on it.."
Rad continues to walk with Sun-Mi, away from most of the hubbub. He considered the girl, she was pretty... and bright. He kept up chatting trying to distract her from his observations. She was getting older and would need a mother figure soon. If only there were a spell for that!
"Pretty amazing Rad. Sure Derrek and Koran have tripled your kill count, but you're pretty great when it matters."
Sun-Mi continues to walk with Rad, away from most of the hubbub. She considered the man, he was intelligent.. and strong in his own way. She kept up chatting trying to distract him from her observations. He was getting older and would need a wife of some kind soon... If only there were a Ninja Trick for that!
Koran searches through the crowd for Greg bear-strong.
Bear-Strong, care to wrestle? My blood is still pumping and that daemon lord and his cronies put up less of a fight than I was hoping for.
Although he looks dubiously at Koran's massive frame and impossibly thick arms, he is nonetheless honored that the giant tiefling considers him the closest to being a worthy wrestling opponent out of all the Navajo braves and warriors of Pandora's Box....
Sure, Hammer of Thor! But first, to make it a little more fair, let's get one of the shamans to make me a giant like you! Temporarily, of course.... I don't wanna be too big for my tepee.... Or my new girlfriend! Bear-Strong winks at Koran and heads toward the camp where the shamans hold court, beckoning for the giant to follow....
Once he is enlarged, he gamely does his best to out-grapple the monstrously strong Herald of Thor....
Opposed grapple checks, two out of three wins the match....
Grapple
Grapple
Grapple
The days following the FOs' victory in the Silver Tower pass in a busy blur of packing, and groups of people being teleported to the Black Forest--first the Navajo women, children, and elderly, followed by the refugees rescued from Lido Key, and then the Navajo braves, chieftains, and shamans, followed at last by the personnel of Pandora's Box....
The FOs discuss renovations of the Silver Tower, and Professor Dirge promises to devote time and resources to help them refit the Tower as a base of operations once the exodus is complete....
Divinations cast during the next week by Dirge, Merlin, and the shamans and witch doctors of the tribes reveal no imminent attacks from the enemy or other evil portents, so the FOs are largely left to their own devices for several days, allowing them to train, research, craft, or simply explore their new base in Alfheim, a fantastic keep reminiscent of a fairytale castle located a few miles away from the great emerald-and-amethyst palace of the Elflords and Elfladies....
During this brief hiatus from active adventuring, the FOs hear a number of rumors that might interest them.... (Adventure hooks!)
Hooty the Helicopter Pilot returns to the Grand Canyon as the last few groups of Pandora's Box personnel are being evacuated, bringing trade goods and a singularly sinister rumor from a band of goodly survivors eking out a furtive existence in the wooded hills of Vermont.... It seems that the area has long had an evil reputation, with native legends predating the arrival of Europeans telling of strange beings from beyond the stars visiting our world and mining for minerals not found on their own dark world.... Beings that sometimes instructed the local people in dark rites dedicated to strange, alien gods.... These beings are said to resemble man-sized, winged or sailed lobster-like monstrosities, with a mass of phosphorescent feelers instead of faces, which they use to communicate through changes in color and intensity, but are also said to be able to speak in the languages of men, but with terrible buzzing voices like a hive of bees forming words....
Hooty also reports that his occasional flights over the forests of Texas and parts of the Pacific Northwest have led him to believe that the numbers of Ithaqua's weresquatches are growing unchecked like a plague....
An agent of the Order of the Elder Sign (sponsors and founders of Pandora's Box), who goes by the name Grymalkyn visits Pandora's Box in the midst of relocation, and reports on his investigation of, and subsequent narrow escape from, the shadow-haunted ruins of Innsmouth, a town of evil repute even before the rise of R'lyeh and the return of the Old Ones.... It seems that the Deep Ones, amphibious creatures resembling an abominable cross between fish, frog, and human, have openly claimed Innsmouth now that no threat of Federal retribution exists.... It is rumored that the Deep Ones' main abode, however, is a fantastic underwater city in the unfathomed depths beyond black Devil's Reef, a mile off the coast of Innsmouth.... Here, it is also whispered, they dwell in the presence of their alien deities, Old Ones called Father Dagon and Mother Hydra!
In Alfheim, the FOs learn from the elves of certain ancient threats that lurk in the wildest forests and hills of the fey realm, threats which have proven fatal to even the mightiest elven heroes in the past.... Chief among these ancient threats are a group of unique monsters known collectively as the Tane.... The most-feared of the Tane are the dreaded Jabberwocky, and the Bandersnatch! Eliminating these fey horrors would certainly ingratiate the FOs with their new landlords....
Finally, on the night before the final day of the relocation, Radsworth, Marcus, Daisy, and Levinson all have shockingly similar nightmares concerning an undead albino witch and her entourage, made up of an unholy thing akin to Frankenstein's monster from the Mary Shelly story, and several mummies.... The gist of the nightmares being that this undead witch has acquired the means to call an evil even greater than Cthulhu into the mortal world, which would lead to destruction of all life on the planet and a transportation of Earth into a dark dimension of madness and chaos!
Upon pinning the young navajo tribesman Koran stands and helps him to his feat.
Well done, you actually had me at the beginning there. It's good to know there are people here who will stand against the darkness if it strikes while we are absent.
Koran stalks away to find something to eat. As he passes by Amber Lynn sitting alone mocking her competition he stops and grasps her by the shoulder to get her attention.
You have to show him that you're worth it. You see Jewels? She sees what she wants and she is taking it. And if you really want to get back at Jewels than learn to fight. You show that woman that you can beat her in a fight and she might just serve him up to you on a platter.
The giant laughs to himself as he walks away hoping that he gets to see the young woman attack a trained super soldier to win Derri. That'll get his attention. Koran grabs an entire boar and sits down to watch the festivities.
Marcus, upon hearing the word "Weresquatch" perks up considerably.
"Wait wait wait, you're telling me that there are lycanthropic SASQUATCHES?" he excitedly turns into a Sasquatch again himself and starts bouncing up and down in his seat.
"Can we go? Pleeeeeaaaaaseeeee?"
"I mean, I'm sure the horrid nightmares about undead monstrosities can wait."
Koran stalks away to find something to eat. As he passes by Amber Lynn sitting alone mocking her competition he stops and grasps her by the shoulder to get her attention.You have to show him that you're worth it. You see Jewels? She sees what she wants and she is taking it. And if you really want to get back at Jewels than learn to fight. You show that woman that you can beat her in a fight and she might just serve him up to you on a platter.
The giant laughs to himself as he walks away hoping that he gets to see the young woman attack a trained super soldier to win Derri. That'll get his attention. Koran grabs an entire boar and sits down to watch the festivities.
Amber Lynn blushes and stammers....
Wh-huh? Oh, I wasn't.... I mean, I don't care about.... Um.... Hehe!
She sighs and hides her face in her hands after Koran walks away, embarrassed that her thoughts and feelings were so obvious to him....
Re: Cash for crafting:
A thorough looting of slain enemies and treasure caches found in the Silver Tower results in each of the FOs gaining an additional 16,000 gp to spend on crafting, upgrading, or new equipment.
Marcus, upon hearing the word "Weresquatch" perks up considerably.
"Wait wait wait, you're telling me that there are lycanthropic SASQUATCHES?" he excitedly turns into a Sasquatch again himself and starts bouncing up and down in his seat.
"Can we go? Pleeeeeaaaaaseeeee?"
"I mean, I'm sure the horrid nightmares about undead monstrosities can wait."
Yeah, man.... Don't ask me where these things are coming from.... My best guess is that an Old One known as Ithaqua, or Wendigo, is infecting the native 'squatches with lycanthropy.... Massive strength coupled with wolf-like cunning and predatory instincts.... Pretty deadly combo!.... May be that Ithaqua is building a horde of his own to duke it out with Cthulhu's horde.... A monstrous war for possession of North America!
Seated nearby in the mess hall, sipping a beer and listening to Hooty and Marcus, Captain Kermit sees Marcus transform into a Sasquatch and excitedly express his desire to go have a look at these weresquatches for himself....
Well, that's perfect! You can disguise yourself as one of them and infiltrate, Marcus! Hehehehe! Yup!
"I was just thinking that myself...though I can only do it for 10 minutes at a time, so maybe not so great."
As long as we go soon, and I can fight something again.
It's obvious to the other Fierce Ones that Koran is getting antsy, he needs to break something soon.
By May 1st, 2013, the Grand Canyon base has been completely evacuated, and the relocation to Pandora's Box in the Castle is complete.
All of the personnel of Pandora's Box seem to agree that this new location is vastly more secure and fortified than the previous two bases, not to mention more aesthetically pleasing.... The views from the many windows and balconies are all spectacularly beautiful vistas of primeval nature, from rolling green hills laced with silvery streams, to deep green forests echoing with choruses of bird songs, to glittering waterfalls streaming down purple mountains.... The chambers within are all comfortably and elegantly furnished with the finest elven craftsmanship.... All of the beds are canopied with fine silk, and every tapestry, carpet, gilt-framed mirror, and piece of wooden furniture bears the most intricate and artful designs of elvish make....
The Castle lies three miles east of the High Palace of Alfheim, where the Elflords and Elfladies hold court. It is seven miles east of the portal that opens out from a wooded hillside in the Black Forest of Germany....
The Castle is large enough to comfortably house everyone from Pandora's Box, including the 30-some women rescued from Lido Key.... Each of the FOs has a private room in a suite of connected rooms in the west wing of the Castle's central keep, and most of their windows look out on rolling green hills and serpentine streams, where the Navajo tribes have pitched their tents and tepees in a village west of the Castle....
For the first time in months, everyone feels a sense of safety and refuge in a beautiful realm untouched by the dark horrors of the Old Ones....
Yet, Alfheim is not without horrors of its own.... Ancient, primal horrors that stalk the darkest depths of caverns beneath the sunlit lands, or in the wildest stretches of forest, or amid the most rugged mountain peaks.... Savage predators of all kinds stalked their prey in field and forest, and fiercest and most uncanny of these were the Tane--powerful, fey titans spawned at the Dawn of Time....
Almost as dangerous were the chromatic dragons that still laired in remote wilderness locations.... Green dragons in the forests, black dragons in the lakes and swamps, red dragons in the mountains and hillside caverns, white dragons in the snow capped peaks of the northern mountains, and blue dragons in the badlands of the arid south.... There were metallic dragons as well, of benign nature, which live in harmony with nature and the elves, and infrequently could be called on to protect the elves from the rapacious depredations of the chromatic dragons.... But for the most part, the elves must stand alone against these dangerous wyrms....
And finally, there were bands of evil giants dwelling in remote wilderness lairs.... Descendants of the invading hordes of Thrym and Surtur during the ancient battle of Ragnarok, these evil frost and fire giants waged guerrilla warfare on the elves for many centuries.... Fortunately, the greatest heroes of the elves have always been more than a match for these degenerate giants, and in recent centuries, the giants have learned to give the elves wide berth and prey on easier targets (the beasts of the wilderness)....
Levinson was absent from most of the festivities instead deciding to put the brief break to good use and continue to home her burgeoning crafting skills hoping to help improve the magical tools used by her and Kepler.
Map of Meridian State Park, a densely forested state park in northeast Texas, where Hooty the helicopter pilot reported seeing the weresquatches roaming in large numbers....
(If you click on the box that says map in the upper right corner of the map, you get an option for a cool satellite view that shows the trees and terrain quite nicely....)
The really disturbing thing about the weresquatches I saw last week is that they were much bigger than the first ones I saw about a month ago.... Those first ones I saw were as big as some of the really big guys in the NBA.... These others I saw most recently were as big as grizzly bears, easily.... It seems like Ithaqua is somehow breeding them bigger now.... Or has figured out a way to make the original ones bigger....
Pictures of weresquatches....
The FOs consult at length with Hooty the helicopter pilot, a trader and ally of Pandora's Box, who has several times in the past brought desperately-needed supplies from distant survivor camps and compounds to the Box, and has also on occasion provided helicopter transport to and from various locations for Pandora's Box personnel....
It is decided that the FOs will investigate Hooty's reports of the weresquatches in Meridian State Park, where he claims to have seen great bands of the beasts stalking the forest trails and park roads.... Hooty offers to transport the FOs to the park entrance off the highway (22), at the northeast corner of the park, as long as Pandora's Box fills his fuel tanks, which the leadership agrees to do....
At 8:00 AM on May 3rd, the FOs assemble in the courtyard of the Castle in Alfheim, where they meet Merlin, mounted on a mule. They make the 7-mile trek to the hillside portal linking Alfheim with Midgard (as the elves called Earth), where Merlin dismisses his mule to wander back to the Castle on its own, and pass through into the Black Forest, where Merlin greater teleports the FOs to the recently-abandoned Grand Canyon site....
Here, awaiting them on a large, flat plateau that serves as a natural helipad, Hooty sits in the cockpit of his Tomahawk helicopter. Merlin produces several containers of fuel from his type IV bag of holding, loading them into the cargo hold of the chopper. Wishing the FOs and Hooty good luck, the ancient archmage promises to await them at the helipad, and bids them farewell....
The FOs climb aboard the helicopter, Hooty fires up the propellers, and the helicopter lifts off into the azure morning sky.... They soar over the ruggedly beautiful countryside toward Texas, and within a couple hours, are crossing over into the Lone Star State....
Levinson looks out the window of the helicopter as she turns her new found ioun stone over again and again in her hands. She had made sure both her and the imp (who returned immediately after the fight was over praising the glorious victory of the Fierce Ones) were stocked with a couple vials of silvercloud oil.
She fondly recalled her meeting with Dr. Hoffman as he handed her the specially commissioned flasks because he threw in another vial with half a dozen Molly "for good luck." But already the peaceful time in Alfheim seems like another distant memory on this never ending quest against the Old Ones.
Levinson released the cracked dusty-rose prism when then took to orbit foot from her head. "Well team... here we go again. Hooty, do you at least have any good tunes to play for the rest of the ride?
Radsworth sits in the chopper, pondering his portentous dreams. He had not shared them with anyone other than to confirm he was having them.
Yet another sign that despite reclaiming the Silver Tower, there was much work to be done.
Radsworth taps the brim of his tophat and bothers the unusually quiet Chesterfield.
"I say good friend, what would you expect us to see as a trend in the Weresquatch? I suppose it depends on the breeding stock, but I imagine they will be large at least as strong as Derrik, physically. Do you think they will have the ability to take a hybrid or animal form? Perhaps they can shift freely between simian and lupine forms? I have to say they are interesting as a thought exercise"
He prepares and casts his Mage Armor and spells.
"And while you are awake Chesterfield, do you suppose you could extend this Overland Flight for me? I'd hate to be stuck on the ground surrounded by Weresquatches."
Levinson looks out the window of the helicopter as she turns her new found ioun stone over again and again in her hands. She had made sure both her and the imp (who returned immediately after the fight was over praising the glorious victory of the Fierce Ones) were stocked with a couple vials of silvercloud oil.
She fondly recalled her meeting with Dr. Hoffman as he handed her the specially commissioned flasks because he threw in another vial with half a dozen Molly "for good luck." But already the peaceful time in Alfheim seems like another distant memory on this never ending quest against the Old Ones.
Levinson released the cracked dusty-rose prism when then took to orbit 1d3foot from her head. "Well team... here we go again. Hooty, do you at least have any good tunes to play for the rest of the ride?
I got some classic rock on my iPod....
Hooty turns on the speakers in the cockpit and cargo hold, and the stomp-stomp-clap that begins Queen's We Will Rock You fills the chopper....
Nice! Queen is one of my faves....
Very well, sir.... Overland flight extended.... As for the nature of these weresquatches, they are bound to conform to the usual traits of lycanthropes, at least to some degree.... I would certainly expect them to be capable of assuming three shapes--Sasquatch, wolf, and a hybrid of both.... Silver or very potent magical weapons will no doubt be required to fully penetrate their hides, but the weapons of your martial companions should be more than sufficient....
For the first time in weeks Levinson seems much happier. The world may be at an end, but at least it was ending with a bang and with the other Fierce Ones.
Hooty pilots the Tomahawk in a broad circle about 200 ft above a vast stretch of forested parkland centered around a large lake....
Here we are, folks.... That's Lake Meridian, and Meridian State Park.... This is where I saw a bunch of the bigger ones.... We'll take a look around from up here, see if we can spot any of 'em.... Then I'll set down on the highway there, and let you do your thing....
The Tomahawk makes a clockwise circuit around the borders of the state park, and then crosses directly above Lake Meridian, but no sign of anything besides the occasional furtive deer can be seen.... Hooty lands the chopper on highway 22, right next to the northeast entrance to the park, where State Park Road accesses the highway....
Good luck, guys and gals.... And be careful.... I'll wait here, and if I see you running back with scared looks on your faces, I'll have this bird fired up lickedysplit!
I'll scream, "Start the plane, Jock!", and swing in on a vine, as a horde of spear-throwing weresquatches chases us out of the park....
MJ grins as he references one of his favorite movies from childhood....
I dedicate the next ten monsters we kill to Harrison Ford, George Lucas, and Stephen Spielberg....
Hooty sets the Tomahawk down on a broad stretch of highway running northeast-southwest on the east side of the park.... Tall oaks, pines, poplars, and maples densely grow throughout Meridian State Park....
As the FOs exit the chopper, everyone make a Perception check, please....
Perception
Check that out....
MJ points at the entrance to the park, where a deer skull has been mounted on a wooden pole stuck in the ground....
Perception
And there's the rest of the deer....
Daisy points out the fleshless bones of a deer scattered along the wood line....
The FOs cautiously move onto State Park Road 7, the paved road leading from State Highway 22 into the entrance of Meridian State Park, and into the dim shadows of the forested park.... After a short distance, there is a split in the road--State Park Road runs northward, while another road branches to the south....
North, south, or off the beaten path, friends?
"Hrm. Off the trails. I suspect the Weresquatch drinks water, not it's own urine. In that case I think circumnavigating the lake is probably our best bet to find sign or tracks of the creatures."
"Radsworth has probably got the right of it on this one. Wonder if sasquatches go for recreational swims? Or are they like cats?"
Marcus takes hold of the Rod of Caduceus.
"Here, everyone huddle around. This might help a bit, or it might not, but better to have it and not need it and all..."
He casts See Invisibility, Fly, and Shield on everyone, renewing them every time they expire (every 20 minutes for Fly/Shield, every 200 minutes for See Invisibility).
Accordingly, the FOs continue straight west into the forest growing on the east bank of Meridian Lake.... A musky, pungent odor hangs faintly in the air among the undergrowth and trees....
Undergrowth is difficult terrain, so the FOs are somewhat hindered in their progress by grasping vines and creepers, thickets, and high grasses.... (Two squares of movement to pass through 1 square of undergrowth.)
The FOs remember seeing a narrow projection of the lake that jutted northeastward from the main body of water, which should lie only a few miles to the southwest of their current position, so they begin to march southwestward, Yingzen, Derrik, and MJ using their slashing weapons to blaze a trail through the denser foliage.... The going is slow and painstaking, and not exceptionally stealthy, either....
I'm guessing that smell is the beasties? Why don't we just follow it.
Actually, since the FOs can all fly now, compliments of Marcus and the Caduceus of Hermes, the going could be much faster and stealthier....
As they are gliding along between the trees, just above the hindering underbrush, the pungent fetor seems to grow in intensity.... Perception checks, please....
Stealth +4 for distance = 28
Stealth +4 for distance = 17
Stealth +4 for distance = 25
Stealth +4 for distance = 19
Stealth +4 for distance = 12
Stealth +4 for distance = 14
Perception
Daisy spots two weresquatches in hybrid form attempting to sneak up on the FOs position from about 40 ft to the north, and with a sharp whisper, alerts her companions to their presence....
Two incoming from the north....
[dice=Perception]1d20+10
Marcus sees the same two Daisy sees, plus a third creeping up from 40 ft west of the FOs....
Perception
MJ also sees the two creeping up from the north....
Yup.... I see 'em.... Looks like they've caught our scent.... I've certainly caught theirs! Pee-yew!
He glides through the air, His sense had become much stronger as he continued on,.. something he was semi-regretting right as of now.. Th flying he was still getting used to, the smell would take more.
" You miss the ones crouching before them.. those to are bait... There are Six.. "
His eyes gleaming behind his new helmet, as he adjusts his grip on both his weapons..Dawnbringer roaring to life..