"The mind is a doorway...
...one that you can walk through if you wish."
Summaries from Nathan's interactive storytelling sessions (otherwise known as DnD)
"The mind is a doorway...
...one that you can walk through if you wish."
- the battle on Xephos begins tentatively
- the group there begins to fortify the castle while Lil Jimmy keeps the scouting trolls at bay - the Machina arrive in orbit - huge hooks come in from the warp, slowly pulls the main warship farther into the three systems - the United Drune fleet begins attacking the hooks - the warship uses a variety of bizzare weapons, including silvery rain, needle shot, and warp cannons - they start cutting through the United dreadnoughts like paper - the umon no manda arrive herding some Deyas - they activate eldritch magic and do huge damage to the hooks, destroying them - the Dweller UI reports the Machina are preparing a huge pulse of energy - a boarding party is prepared - back on Xephos the battle is going poorly - the trolls have broken through the gates and battle is breaking out in the courtyard - Hans Grimclaw tries to Kidnap lil Jimmy but is prevented - ST4N manages to finish the construction of the Boolean out of dragon scale - fayne is fired towards the robot with lil Jimmy and N0U ai core - the Boolean suit is activated and starts tearing apart the troll fleet - Fayne fights Grimclaw in one last desperate battle to the death - the final courtyard battle is a bloody victory for the boolin bunch - the vampires, the SL with two hunters, Leo, Yee, and LeSaat - one of the vampires phases through the outer shell of armor - the group progresses inward but is stopped by the Emissary - Gallus fights it to give them time - the group keeps going and eventually arrives at a huge spherical room - there they watch Gallus die through a vision - then the Emissary arrives - the Machina ship uses its energy and shows everyone a vision - the group see the universe without any life, purged by the machina - the Supreme Leader realizes that his people are meant to be the Machina’s front line in this war - he betrays the United fleet - as he is about to execute the Elxa, she catches his blade - they escape the Xephose system, picking up the group of Xephos as they go - the Machina warship destroys Xephos as they leave - the Alliance plans their defense on Drune - Aubery even offers to help - the group and Aubery go to the woods of Loften to meet Tim - he is ready for battle - there the final fight of the season begins - the planet is attacked by Pact and Machina - 15 Hunters the Emissary and the SL attack the Loften woods - Kevin also joins the enemy forces - it was revealed he was a successful experiment to replicate Leo’s powers - in the ruthless fight Leo, Phillip, Aubery, Kino, and LeStaat are slain - the hunters are dispatched - Gwedgins kills the Supremem Leader with a sacred Dwellemon card: Explodia - the Emissary is slain by LeStaat using Tristan’s sword and Tim using the Godkiller blade - with the last of his magical life force Tim destroys all of the Kissers The World of Drune will continue on without us. It will heal and rebuild as it ticks on through the ages. But that is the end of our window into that reality. The next Volume of our Saga will begin, on Astra. Are you ready to wake up? - the whole group plans on orbit around Xephos
- it is almost time to attack the Dragon - they make what plans they can in the Pact flagship (advised by Uncle Ted, The Supreme Leader, Gallus, and Leo) - the dragon can slay them with one blow, so they need specialized healers (like Ink with his healing stone from the Droga of life, Leo with his organic reforming, and the Mad King with spooky magic) - they decide who will go into which realm - magical Realm: Wilhelm, Mad King, Leo, LeStaat, Ajax, Kino, Tristan - physical Realm: Lil Jimmy, JJ, Chastity, Alpa, Philip, Ink, Fayne - they land and begin the battle - it is a brutal and deadly fight - the Chaos Dragon shoots beams of anti-reality - the same thing the Richter was made and powered by - multiple people take hits but the designated healers fix them up - the Mad King reveals that eyes are underneath his locked up clothing, and he uses them to access eldritch energy - Wilhelm takes lots of hits to shield people, putting his healing element to good use - The Tiderian is destroyed and Little Jimmy’s legs are crushed - N0U’s AI core is rescued - Ink takes an anti reality beam on the chest, taking a mortal wound to block Lil Jimmy - Philip is badly burned by the boiling acidic dragon blood - LeStaat uses his powers to turn into Chastity, making good use of her Kisser abilities - the Boolean suit gives and takes huge amounts of damage, firing it’s whole artillery at the dragon and even reforming armor using ice and stone - the MVP wombo combo of Alpa and Fayne is brutal - Fayne uses his vampiric power to turn into Strella Steel - then Alpa pulls him through the dragon - the battle in finished with Tristan using his family’s sword - Leo pulls Tristan through the dragon (seord first) from eye to tail - dragon dead - they all run to the fortress and put out the bonfire calling more machina - LeStaat, Chastity, Boolin, Tristan, and Philip go up to the fleet to plan about the incoming Machina - Wilhelm, Mad King, Lil Jimmy, JJ, Fayne, Alpa, Ajax, and Kino stay at the fortress to defend it while United Drune troops arrive - but around Xephos, and also around the three systems a Warp Wall appears - there will be no traveling to Xephos, and no escape from the three systems - in orbit the United Drune fleet(Concord, Alliance, Pact, and Mathematica) prepares for combat - Captain Watson tells of the little he knows about the Machina, but warns them not to attack the Emmisary - arguing breaks out in the war room on the pact flagship - suddenly the Machina arrive as the Emmisary does - also on Xephos ships appear beneath the Warp Wall - King Trogg and his army have arrived - not to mention Hans Grimclaw and his pirates - the Warping War has begun - Alpa, Ink, the Mad King, Fayne, Ajax, Yee, and Tristan are lying on a lovely hill outside the “Diplomacy” Pavillion in Pact territory
- they are swimming in the nearby pond, sunbathing, and relaxing as Pact warships fly overhead, assembling for the battle ahead - as they are having a lovely time a figure is slowly and “subtly” approaching them - it is agent Krakowski - he tells them some information about Hans Grimclaw, who is hiding out in the Tavern - they get some money from the Supreme Leader and head off to the Tavern - also the Supreme Leader (at Yee’s request) provides the group with a personal trainer, a Pact soldier named Chastity - the Tavern is a massive structure tumbling through space, a collection of many bizzare bars combined into one huge building - its location is known only to the most weathered and grizzled explorers - luckily Krawkowski provided them with the coordinates - they arrive and dock the Tiderian - the whole team starts exploring - they play a life or death game with one of the occupants, ending with The Mad King shooting him - Chastity peels away from the group to talk with a bartender - they keep going through various bars, looking through the tavern - Alpa is attacked by Concord assassins, trying to get back at her for a previous job - they group slaughters them - they also learn that Knax (a synthetic appendage designer) and Critical Jim (a legendary mercenary/bounty hunter) are in the Tavern - they see Critical Jim who is getting very drunk in the corner - while they talk with him the Mad King plays a knife game in the corner - they chat up Jim while Yee falls unconscious from Basilisk Tears - suddenly Hans Grimclaw arrives - Fayne shoots at him but he is an illusion - Hans tells them that he has hired loads of Neon addled thugs to fight them - his forces are closing in on them - as the illusion disappears, Neons charge in - they fire a volley of laser bolts but one destroys Critical Jim’s glass - he starts killing them and the group escapes (the Mad King is gone) - after their escape through a couple of bars they go to a slam poetry bar - Yee awakes and goes to throw up - he finds that one of the toilets is a wishing well - Ajax uses the glittering coin they found and receives a magical item - then they perform poetry on pain of death - then they keep exploring for Knax - they find a bar filled with empty chairs and a few figures - two of them are Concord twin mercenaries who have worked with Alpa a while back - Chastity arrives and goes on a double date with Alpa - they flirt with the twins and fleece them for all the cash they are carrying - Tristan plays a game of Cha'at with an old mute Sudari swordsman - Yee and Fayne play a game for their life with a strange man - the man poisons them and will only give the antidote if they win - they do and it turns out it was the Mad King! - Gwedgins IV arrives, turns out he was stuffed into the bottom of a bar stool! - they talk to Knax, who is the bartender - Tristan gets some new forearms, and Fayne gets an arm that turns into a machine gun (also both his arms are made of adamant alloy now) - Gwedgins IV also buys a nuclear fission reactor that he straps to his back, to power his grav gauntlets - suddenly Knax bolts as the room starts to shake - all the empty chairs are mimics - Gwedgins IV tries to use his gloves with the reactor - normally they are powered by six AA batteries - so with the nuclear power running through them they explode - the Mad King unlocks his left glove, creating something that shields Alpa and Fayne - Ink dives in front of Yee and Tristan - Ajax takes the partial force of the blast - Gwedgins IV takes the full force of the blast… right on his binder of Dwellemon cards - he is devastated - the group continues on, finding more and more dead bodies - it seems that Hans and some Neons are ahead of them, killing everyone in the Tavern - Yee straps 40 laser guns together and runs a string across all of their triggers - then they engage with Hans - the infamous pirate turns on a strange device on his belt, creating an ultra strong shield (that blocks Yee’s attack) - Gwedgins IV tries to activate a nuclear meltdown with his reactor, but Ink tackles him - the Neons are quickly killed but Han’s shield is very strong - Fayne uses his vampiric powers to must through the shield and punch Hans in the face with his adamant alloy fist - Hans is hurt but deactivates his shield, picks up Fayne, throws him into the air, and activates his shield - it cuts Fayne in half, removing his legs - Hans lasers out the ceiling and rockets out with a jet booster in his claw arm - his ship starts firing lasers at the Tavern, slowly incinerating it - the team start running to N0U - they call for her but Grimclaw is on the Tiderian, trying to take it over - when they arrive N0U is spraying him with hand sanitizer and shutting frozen waffles at him - Ink strikes Han’s shield with the full force of his sword and a small explosion goes off - Ink is thrown back - in his frustration with the incompetence of the AI Hans shoots N0U’s AI core, where her personality emanates from - she goes silent - he blinks out and Yee goes to work on N0U - it is through his skill on shop repair that she is brought back - she seems to have a hatred of Grimclaw, and a new fear of people trying to reprogram her circuits - the group warp into the distance as the Tavern burns in the background - the group enter Sancre Tuor
- there they meet Cadium and his Lichguard - they are the right hand of King Gallus, the last High vampire - the Boolin Bunch meet with Gallus, who talks with each one in private - he is having visions of the future and finally gives the group a vision - he retires to his room and the group plan out what they need to do - Alpa, LeStaat, Fayne, and JJ go to the Labyrinth (an ancient abandoned Weylanian library) to find a time on dragon hunting - Ajax, and Cadium go to the tomb of an ancient vampire hunter, Ajax’s ancestor who she continues to have visions about - Kevin, Lil Jimmy, Yee, and Philip go to Gaia II to see Kronos (Yee’s great yncle) and later to pick up Ink - N0U is being bothered by N1U again and LeStaat convinces her to give him one last chance - Gallus turns Fayne into a Vampire and shows the Bunch the fleet of old Weylanian ships - Team Ink go to the Itsa Archipelago, where he is badly damaged and chained to a mountain - they rescue him, and he tells them that his grove was destroyed by a pirate named Hans Grimclaw - he is glad to help them as Tim has spoken to him as well - Ink asks for two favors in return for his help: assist him in finding Grimclaw after this is all over, and forge him a sword to kill parasites and pirates - Yee agrees - Team Labrynth get into the labrynth and speak to the Librarian, and dangerous and knowledgeable being - they ask it for three tomes, one of werewolves, one on dragon hunting, and one on LeStaat’s condition - Team Ajax find a room where the Richter took someone long ago, carving the Richter name into the wall - they arrive at the tomb, where Cadium is very bother by the anti vampire runes - Ajax puts his hands to the door, and it draws blood from him - the door opens, showing a room full of dead vampires - cadmium is badly hurt by the protective magic, and has to pull back - ajax is trapped in the room and has to prove himself to his ancient ancestor - Team Ink warps to Gaia II - just before they do they get a message from Uncle Ted - all of the Salarus stations he knows of are empty - this makes more sense when they get to Gaia II - the area around Kronos’s fortress is full of dead cultists - it seems they attacked to try and kill Kronos - inside the fortress every single cultist is dead but one - kronos is dying - he gives the team the password to his infamous warmech, the Atlas Armor - the last dying cultist crawls towards Kronos, the only remaining member of Salarus - Yee obliterates it - then they get the Atlas armor and forge Ink’s sword - Ajax wins the battle with her ancient ancestor and is given his magical spear (which forges with her chalice) - Team Labrynth gets the volumes they are looking for, but the price is two eyes - the Librarian reveals itself to be a giant spider - after much discussion the group cant decide who should give up their eyes - getting frustrated with the delay (because anytime lost could damage their cause) JJ offers his - the Librarian extracts them with relish - the groups meet up and find the Mad King - he is killing Pact Troopers with Wilhelm with some strange magic - they convince him to join the Bunch - they all meet at the Diplomacy Pavillion on Pact territory - present: The Boolin Bunch, the Elxa, an Umon-No-Mandan Chief, a few Directors of the Concord, the Supreme Leader of the Pact, and Leo - the Supreme Leader reveals that the Alliance is weaker than it seems - the Elxa is Senile, their whole military is infiltrated, and the Sudari fleet doesn’t exist - the Supreme Leader begins to make all present kneel to him - things are going south, when Tim arrives - he says that someone is about to arrive - moments later a ship crashed next to the Pavillion - it is a Terran ship - Captain Watson of the GMS Archimedes tells about the incoming Machina fleet - the Machina are the ones who live in the warp, the space you travel through when you warp - they sent the Richter, they inspired the Salarus, they generate the number, they made the Crawlers, inspired the Shae Queen, and have caused Chaos and disorder for millenia - all peoples of Drune (besides the Umon-No-Manda) pool their fleets at Xephos (where a Terran research station is based in the north pole) - A Mechanica warship will arrive soon - they have to kill the Chaos Dragon and get to the station - war is coming Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick tock. Tick. Tick. Tick. Wait. Did you hear that? It stopped. Everything stopped. I can’t see. Where am I? Who are you? Let me go. Please. Please let me go. You don’t know who I am. You don’t know what I can do. Please. Please!!! I can’t see! I can’t see! Why can’t I see!? Wilhelm where are you!! I’m blind! Oh Gods. Where are my eyes??? What happened to them? They’re just sockets! Just bone!! Wilhelm!! WILHELM!!!
What is that? What is that? What IS that? Oh Gods. Oh Gods, Oh Gods, oh Gods, oh… I can see now. They are coming. They are coming.
The thousand eyes cannot bind them. They march across the wastes of space with endless rhythm. No color to herald them, no foe to halt them. Final purpose matched only by their fatal tools. And when they arrive all are filled with the sound of wailing thunder. The eye will be put out, and the way broken. They are coming. They are coming. A thousand wriggling and writhing tongues they call to me. Or do they? Do they mock me? They dare to mock me??? The numbers. Running ever onward. They sprint into infinity, charging towards the Dawngate. Something is grandly warped about them. Something about them ripps at my skin. The numbers. They are some chaotic construct of endless logic, building some ruthless structure. But for what end? I need more knives. I need more eyes. The better to see you with my dear.
- the Boolin Bunch make sure LeStaat has recovered and thank General Secret for his help
- then they warp to Drune, so they can meet with Leo, Aubery, and catch Sharkof’s last concert - Leo meets them at the port of Halfrock and they go out to lunch at a quaint little restaurant owned by Cage, Bro Smith, their children, and Donut - they have a lovely lunch and speak of many things - Leo leaves and the group is confronted by a threatening man named Hans Grimclaw - he is a flamboyant and brutal pirate, who cut off Fayne’s arm years ago - he mocks the group, backed by his team of thugs, and exits the restaurant - then the Boolin Bunch leave to go see Aubery, the ancient wise dragon - as they traverse the summery hills, they feel like they are being followed - the crew arrives and talk with Aubery, learning much - as they try to leave they are attacked by Salarus cultists - the group put up a good fight but are getting overwhelmed - they are saved by Old Man Derfel!! - the crazy old man resurrected himself with his magic quiver, and still roams the woods, killing parasites, pirates, and Umon-No-Manda (not really but he would like to) - they leave Derfel’s hospitality to go see Sharkof - the entire city of Halfrock is packed to the brim - Sharkof gives a gorgeous concert - but halfway through the city is attacked by the Pact - even as the Pact slaughter the city and kill his bodyguards, Sharkof makes the whole battle into music - the crew escape with some refugees - Sharkof is kidnapped by the Supreme Leader - the group is flying into orbit on the Tiderian when LeStaat changes course - he sets coordinates to the underground ancient vampire city of Sancre Tuor - the vampires are going to war - the group stands atop the Redwell wall, looking down upon the damaged city
- already it is on fire as people begin to loot it - N0U alerts the team that several cruisers are on their way to the burning city-state - they dash through the streets trying to get to the Tiderian - The cruisers arrive and announce they are a squadron of gunslingers from Halfrock, led by Grandmaster Leo - Gunslingers fly through the streets, stopping the looters and putting out fires - Johnson asks for help from the crew to rescue his family - they get to his house and LeStaat scares them off by mentioning the oncoming slingers - as they run away in a panic, Johnson shoots them in the back - no one messes with his family - they move his wife(Mary-Jane) and his seven kids(all names start with J) to the Marie, while everyone else goes to the palace - the palace has been taken over by the remainder of the thug squad, and they are being confronted by Leo - LeStaat assists Leo in intimidating the thugs into surrending - the team gets into a conversation with Leo, who seems intruiged by them (although he is VERY wary of Jesse) - they strike a fast friendship as they explore the disturbing interior of the Mad Kings palace - he and Wilhelm apparently escaped - they do find his diary, along with a scattering of sacrificial daggers - they try to rescue Jones but he escaped during the dragon attack - the team leaves, ready to meet with Uncle Ted (they make plans to have lunch with Leo in a week or so in Halfrock) - before warping to Station 3 they see another train appear and disappear before their eyes - as they are traveling Johnson Jackson (JJ for short) talks to them about his situation - he is very grateful for them letting his family on board and asks to work for them - they agree, and offer to buy him a new arm (he cut his arm off in the Redwell Dungeons because he felt himself getting infected by the Salarus cult) - JJ is very very loyal to them, and adores his new friends - he is the newest member of the Boolin Bunch - the team gets to the stations and meets with Ted, getting money, more information, and the promise of a new contract in the future - the team has a talk and Drake reveals something from his past - he is an Eschleni prince who wishes to reunite his homeland - a powerful strella steel sword that was passed down by his ancestors has been stolen by the pact - he got information from the mad king that it was located in the Mobius camp, on Xephos - they decide to go get it - they know the Chaos dragon is flying toward Xephos, and a massive Pact/Alliance fleet is assembling to fight it - they warp to Xephos a few hours before the dragon is about to arrive - using Ajax’s codes they get a meeting with the Dweller General Secret (first name Top of the Secret Legion) - they make a plan - each side will have all of their fleets fighting the dragon - the General will send his son and a legion of androids to attack the mobius base - while the Boolin bunch sneak in from the back - the battle with the dragon begins in orbit - Commander Secret assaults the front of Mobius base (which is in an abandoned school) - the Bunch try to sneak in but are too loud - they end up just booking it to the location where the sword is - they face off with the Pact rearguard - they group is badly hurt, especially LeStaat who is knocked unconscious - the group get the sword and fly away - Commander Secret pulls out his troops and moves out too - but the fleets in orbit are not so lucky - their wrecked remains burn through the atmosphere, falling to the ground of Xephos - the Chaos Dragon flies north - There is madness on the horizon - a wake is held for Marie
- the team spends a few days docked at station 3 - then they get their assignment from Uncle Ted - he is interested in the Salaris cult in Redwell - they warp off to Drune, but not before seeing a strange quantum anomaly: the head of a train car flashing into existence, and then out of it - they get to Drunes orbit and land the Marie at the docking station - they buy some gear, leave Lil Jimmy on the destroyer, then they take the Tiderian down to the planet - they fly over the continent of Fallden to Redwell - the protectorate of Redwell is a city state, so infamous for high murder rate, famines, plagues, and thieves, that the Pact refused to infect it - the Pact have built a wall around Redwell, convincing the people of Redwell that the wall keeps them safe from the Pact - the city state is ruled by the infamous Mad King, who is kept in power by a vampire who protects him, Wilhelm - as they approach Redwell they see a shuttle trying to escape the city - two cruisers shoot it down as the fleeing ship trys to call out for aid - the patrolling cruisers force the Tiderian to dock, and a thug squad employees by the king awaits them there - they have been ordered to make the group meet with the Mad King - the captain of the squad is a friendly balding older man, wearing a red bandanna - the get to the Letrian temple, which has been redesigned - barbed wire decorates the outside - the inside floor is covered is broken colored glass - people are nailed to the walls - a herald announces them to an empty throne, then runs himself to the throne - it is the mad king! - they speak for a time, and he utterly disturbs the party with his blizzard tonality and way of acting - he invites them to dinner and sends them out of his palace - as they leave Wilhelm arrives dragging a screaming madman towards the King, who starts taking him into the back of the church - before they can leave, the doors swing open - A finely dressed man wearing old fashioned clothes, sunglasses, and holding a cane stands there - he is a vampire named LeStaat, trying to convince Wilhelm to come with him - he has little luck but gets invited to the same dinner the team is - they leave together - LeStaat is friendly and charismatic, instantly finding trust in the group - he takes them out to drinks at the original Rusty Boot inn - as they are walking to the inn a strange old man runs up to the group, pressing a glittering coin into Ajax’s hands - at the rusty boot inn they meet the “inconspicuous” Agent Krakowski - he tells them what he can of the Salarus cult, but tells them more about a man named Critical Jim - he has been located on the Tavern, which is a massive inn floating through space, - the coordinates of it are hard to come by, but Krakowski provides them and leaves - The king is mad as ever at the dinner, even showing off the imprisoned Jones(an infamous rebel leader) as his “dinner guest” - he carves a symbol into Drake’s hand, and let’s them all go - the group heads to sleep, and get ready for their little spelunking adventure in the Devil’s Pit, a sinkhole that opened up in the center of Redwell almost 100 years ago - they get a warning about the water in the pit - apparently a Factory making advanced Wraith Whiskey was built over the pit 20 years ago but exploded, tainting all the water in the pit with the enhanced magical drink - touching the water in any form could be deadly - they get masks, flashlights, bottles water, and grappling devices - then they enter the pit - they descend the pit on their grappling ropes - as they go farther and farther down the wall is marked with thousands of little holes - the holes get bigger and bigger as they go - they climb for a long time and start to get tired - they hear the sounds of someone cutting through the wires they are holding onto - Yee uses his jetpack and blasts to the top of the pit, but no one is there when he arrives - they continue climbing, Jack falls but is caught by Ajax - they are about to fall from exhaustion when they reach the end of their chords - Kevin uses his necroblade to carve a little sitting place - the instant they sit down the chords are cut - the holes are big enough to crawl into - the whole group goes into the holes (besides phillip, ajax, and Yee) face first ready to fight creatures that attack - Yee explores with his jetpack - the tunnels open up beneath him into a massive frozen lake - the group reconvenes and decides to crawl into some of the larger holes - they can move along on their hands and knees - at least at first - the tunnels get smaller and smaller until the group is army crawling - they tru to back up a little but the tunnels are getting smaller behind them too - they begin to cut through the rock using Kevin’s necroblade - suddenly the stone beneath them opens up, dropping the whole group down into a stairway - it is an old place, from the Ancient Alwen Empire - as they decide to go up the stairs Ajax dodges a drop of water falling from the ceiling - they proceed cautiously - after traveling through partially sunken corridors they arrive at an underground courtyard, with a birdbath, a door, and two balconies - as they are looking around they hear footsteps - someone is coming through the door - Ajax takes a balcony and Kino takes the other - everyone prepares for an ambush - Ajax disappears in a flash of magic - kino is stabbed - Yee is psychically attacked - the person who kidnapped Ajax is dashing off - everyone pursues the attacker onto a massive frozen lake - Drake blinks up behind the man and stabs him through the neck with his wrist blade - Drake grabs the device holding Ajax and releases him… directly into the ice - Ajax transforms into a werewolf, breaking himself out of the ice - as they reconvene on the lake, something is moving underneath them - they dive out of the way as a massive dark hand blasts through the thick ice - they run back to the courtyard as another hand bursts upward, and the creature charges through the ice at the adventurers - they barely get away from it - back in the courtyard something is breaking through the door - they go to the other balcony and start running - eventually they arrive at another small courtyard with a small fountain, full of glittering coins - there the group encounters Tim, who speaks of strange and wonderful things - they throw their glittering coin into the fountain, and find a powerful artifact - after some more exploring they arrive at the throne room of this sunken palace - there Salarus cultists are praying to a giant chrome orb - a fight breaks out and the team decimated the Salarus - then the sphere rises up and unfurls into this giant creature - the group open up on it for two full minutes, and when the smoke clears they are teleported away - as they look out from on top of the Redwell wall they see a massive creature break out from the side of a mountain - a massive dragon made of metal appears flying over redwell - in a flash of blinding light the town is scorched - A few Concord ships blast lasers and dirty missiles at the dragon but they have no effect as it flies into orbit - the team stands inside the lobby of the Tiderian, planning their attack against the troll destroyer
- with them are the mercenary interns picked up on Xephos - Sig, a Shae spy for the alliance - Fayn, the second worst bounty hunter in the sectors, generally works for the Concord - Sawyer, a dweller mechanic, member of the alliance - they plan to use Ajax’s pod and some space suits to infiltrate the ship - they plan on getting into one of the airlocks - the team gets ready and flies on over - they open up the airlock and get inside, splitting into two teams - Team Life Support (Teto, Sith, Sig, Yee, Alpa, and Drake) will head to the life support to deactivate it - Team Bridge (Marie, Kevin, Fayn, Sawyer, and Gwedgins IV[who is hidden inside Sawyer’s backpack napping]) will head to the bridge to take control of the ship - while they are doing last minute prep Drake’s bubbling spell goes awry, attracting a troll patrol - the group quickly dispatches them, and heads their separate ways - the ships is poorly maintained, and infested with bugs and fungus - Sawyer makes a spider drone to scout out the area - Team B dodge a troll patrol and find a secret tunnel inside a cleaning closet - Teto notices a dangerous bug, and Sawyer makes a heating device to kill it - Team LS find their way to a troll sauna, where Sith tries to kiss a troll there - he fails and is picked up by the troll - luckily the LS team takes it out - Team B come to a mushroom forest where they spend some time navigating around -Sawyers drone finds basic schematics of the ship - Team LS find the Life Support systems, but it is guarded by four trolls - with illusions and trickery they deal with the guards one by one (Sith is badly wounded in the process by a laser bolt) - they get into the Life support systems - Team B find the area outside the Bridge, but it is swarming with trolls - Sawyer fits his spider drone with a speaker and blares careless whisper out into the lobby, distracting the trolls - they sneak into the bridge and engage the captain and his guards - the LS team kill the sorcerer troll there and start turning off the oxygen - then they funnel the trolls into the hangars and eject them into space - meanwhile in the bridge the fight is going poorly - Marie is fighting the captain and is slain by his necroblade - Teto is blasting the giant troll with his Solar Bow - the giant troll (scientific name bigimus boyus) with a minigun is pinning down the whole team - Kevin is outraged at Marie’s death and attack the captain - his fearsome reputation allows him to frighten the captain - Kevin gets the necroblade, kills the captain, and attacks the big boy - Sawyer finishes it off with his gravity hammer - while they were fighting a huge armored cruiser warped in - a group of Free Banner Knights called the Sentius Mathematica - they offer to help but the fight is over by the time they arrive - the Mathematica had responded to SOS signal - the survivors are picked up and Uncle Ted is very grateful, paying the group well - on their new destroyer (named the Marie) they head towards station 3 - after some negotiation with Cousin Benny the ship is fixed up and ready to fly - Uncle Ted makes a deal with the crew to do some special contracts involving a cult he is interested in - also he makes a deal for them to take Dawson to get some experience before he takes over a company - Maximus Stefan talks to the crew, saying that the Primarius spoke of this crew being very important to the Primarius - he wants to add a knight to the crew and they agree - Princeps Phillip joins the crew - they all prepare for their next adventure - the group is trapped in the grand hall of the Stens
- they are surrounded by Free Banner soldiers - the Oracle’s Attendant exhorts the hunter to slay them all!!! - the hunter starts to protest that he is not a hunter - while he is talking Drake creates and illusion of himself, but forgets to disappear - the Stens raise their laser rifles - Yeee drops a smoke grenade - the Stens light Yee and Drake up - Marie calms the situation down and hints at the “hunter” (who is claiming to be a baker) to help them escape - the baker catches on and they get out of the base - before they leave Marie insults the honor of Captain Duncan, the man who led them into the trap - as they leave the Stens city everyone realizes there is someone new on the ship - he is Ajax, an Eschleni assassin and friend of Drake - he traveled on board in his own transportation pod, and talked with Sith (who was hiding on the ship the whole time) - everyone gets to know Kevin, who says he is a baker - he had a Bakery in Halfrock, but started getting rumors that he was a dangerous man - people are terrified of him, and think he us a mercenary or assassin or demon summoner - he has been away from home for 10 years on his journey home - the group does a scan and definitely detects the remains of a concord frigate - they gather enough evidence to prove the Stens destroyed it - before they punch back to station 12, a massive Pact fleet warps in, on course to Xephos - Marie hails the fleet and let’s them know of the Stens assault on them, a Pact cruiser is dispatched to the Free Banner city - the Tiderian heads back to station 12, and gets the money from Dawson’s Uncle Ted - they spend money to fix up the ship, giving it some missiles, a paint job, and working laser weapons (they work with Cousin Benny and promise to be his best customers) - In trying to steel a pet Drake makes friends with a Billiard Beetle named Skitters! - Ajax finds a mutt on the station and takes him home - Yee buys Lil Jimmy some books! - then they get another job from Ted, to take his dad (a scientist) to see a local Deya - Deyas are massive space creatures, who tend to be passive but are very aggressive if engaged - they take the dad (Dr. Trinidarian) is obsessed with them and talks endlessly - they take him very close on Ajax’s pod, and spend a couple hours observing the ancient creature - Lil Jimmy and Yee both do some art of the creature - lil Jimmy does a beautiful crayon vista of the Deya, while Yee’s attempt is less impressive - Yee is very proud - then they go back to S12, easy money! - as they dock explosions rock the station - the Space Trolls are attacking!! - they have destroyers, and are obliterating the concord defenses - King Trogg sends out a mass hail, and tells all that he will avenge his fallen son - Marie hails back and challenges him to a 1 on 1 - she gets powered up and goes to fight the massive 20 foot tall troll king in a next suit - she is badly wounded but nukes the king to distract him as the crew escapes - the Tiderian warps out - Marie is badly irradiated and laser burnt - while drake heals him, Ajax discovered that someone was hiding in her trunk for the last few days - he is a 12 year old bounty hunter named Gwedgins the 4th, who is obsessed with card games (Dwellemon and Sudar-I-Oh) - they head to Xephos - using Ajax’s codes they land in an Alliance camp and get help for Marie - Teto gets to meet up with some fellow Umon-No-Manda - Yee gets to talk with a fellow Dweller - Drake fanboys over the Dweller tech - the team then gets an SOS from Uncle Ted, he needs their help - after they recover, they warp back to S12 - or what’s left of it - they is debris everywhere and it is messing with the scanners - the crew gets ready for battle and goes low power - they spend an hour flying slowly past chunks of destroyed factories, no enemy contact - they find a few escape pods but Marie smells a trap - Drake sends in an illusion of a Concord fighter which is instantly blown up - they realize there is a Troll destroyer lurking inside some debris - it doesn’t notice them - they plan to board and take the ship - the battled old cruiser Tiderian flies through space at sub light speed
- on board are a dozen or so mercenaries - Marie- a Shashurak assassin and mercenary - Yee - a Dweller engineer - Teto- an Umon-No-Mandan mercenary/ gunslinger - Granny Kino - a famous Alweni gunslinger mercenary - Drake - an Alweni assassin and sniper - Samurai Jack (sigh) - a Sudari swordsman and Cha'at player, went to the Academy with Drake - Sith - an Alweni Alchemist and mercenary - all of these mercenaries have banded together to do convoy protection - they are on their way to Station 12, a Concord mining station in the 2nd Sector, looking for a job - as they are flying along three cruisers drop out of warp - they are powered up for combat, but have been badly damaged - Marie hails them and they ask for help - they are a free banner group - they had a fleet of seven cruisers and were attacking a rival - after winning the battle a huge cruiser made out of junk punched in - it defeated four cruisers and wounded the remaining - they don’t know if it tracked them - well it did! - moments later it arrives and attacks - the three cruisers and the Tiderian engage - it is a very strong ship - some wounded are sent to the Tiderian, along with Shashurak master Alpa - Teto and some Free Banner fighters attack the ship - the enemy ship launches fighters and boarding parties - after taking heavy damage the Tiderian starts retreating - the Free Banner ships are defeated and the massive junk ship attacks - some of the fighters and boarding pods are destroyed but one latches on - massive space trolls charge in - there is a brutal melee on the ship - Marie turns off artificial gravity, starts spinning, and punches out - this thoroughly messes up most people on board - the cruiser lands in Station 12 (where they warped to) - the crew of the Tiderian finishes off the enemies and find that a troll was hanging onto the roof of the cruiser - it turns out that this is the Prince of the Space Trolls - he is bested in a duel and given to the authorities - the dockmaster threatens to tell the the Concord authorities about the combat unless a bribe is paid - Marie and Alpa offer to take the dockmaster and a friend on a date instead - in return for the date the ship will be cleaned up, repaired, and refueled - Teto and Yee go to the slave market - Kino, Drake, and Jack go to the black market - Marie is paired with Dawson (the tightly laced Dockmaster) while Alpa is paired with Daniel (a very flamboyant merchant Prince) - they go to a zero gravity restaurant, and chat pleasantly - Marie manages to get a possible job offer from Dawson’s boss - on the way out someone tries to mug them - the two Shashurak fighters just obliterate him, to the shock of the gentleman escorts - at the Slave Market Yee wants to get a slave and treat him as a child - he buys a seven year old boy named 301 - Yee promptly names his new son Lil’ Jimmy Boolin - he begins to teach his son how to be an engineer - at the black market they go to a seedy bar and are escorted to the RustLocke Guy - Drake wants his wrist katana to be infused with electricity, but it will cost too much - the RL guy offers to do it for free if Drake does a shot of dreamers essence, and Drake agrees - Drake is high as a kite for a few hours while Jack plays Cha'at with the RL guy, who has quite the interesting style - The add-on is completed and Drake is now addicted to dreamers essence - Drake heads to the hospital to get a drug addict recovery program - he can’t afford it but the nurse offers to do a shot of dreamers essence with him - the program is downloaded onto his ZETA - everyone meets back at the ship - they have dinner made by Granny Kino, but she burns the food as normal - everyone goes to bed - Marie is woken up by the hailing alert - she has been contacted by Maurice, Dawson’s boss - he wants her to look into the loss of a lovers leaf shipment - they have breakfast (burned pancakes courtesy of granny kino) and warp off - when they arrive they are hauled by a heavy cruiser - it is heavily armed and armored, and looks to have come out of recent combat - it is a member of the Senf free banner - they wish to invite the crew of the Tiderian to a feast on their asteroid, and the crew accepts - they meet with the Oracle (who is the leader of this free banner) and are escorted to their rooms afterward - their rooms are separate and under guard - they are escorted to dinner, where a Pact Hunter awaits them - the Oracle has turned them in! Chapter 1 - Space Trolls and Lil Jimmy
Chapter 2 - Attack on Station 12 Chapter 3 - Infiltration Chapter 4 - Return to Redwell Chapter 5 - Mobius Strike Chapter 6 - The Concert Chapter 7 - Visions of Madness Chapter 8 - The Tavern Chapter 9 - Wombo Combos (and the Chaos Dragon) Chapter 10 - The War of the Warp |
Seasons
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