OOC Thread
Rogue's Gallery
[sblock=Savage Worlds Rifts Setting Rules]
*Blood & Guts: Anyone can spend a Benny to re-roll damage rolls.
*Born a Hero: Ignore Rank requirements for Edges at character creation.
*Critical Failures: Bennies cannot be spent on Trait rolls where double 1s are rolled.
*Joker’s Wild: When a player draws a Joker, all players get a bonus Benny.
Blaze of Glory: this allows a hero to decide to die for the greater good. Any attack that would incapacitate a character, instead says they want to go out in a Blaze of Glory. The character gets to ignore the attack that would have taken them out, gains three Bennies and will die this "session" but at a later point.
Extra Effort: this allows a character to spent a Bennie and instead of re-rolling adds a +1d6 that can also Ace, and add it to the Trait roll.
Technical Difficulties: Any time you make a Trait test with a piece of technology (or TW device) and you roll a 'critical fumble' that piece of technology has a chance of breaking down or being damage.
"Sessions": Many items and issues in SWR's are "sessions" dependent. For this PBP a session is a maximum of one month (from the day the game IC game started. I THINK it was in July so that is where it is going), but I may end them early for drama sake.
Player's do their own rolling. I suggest CoyoteCode (you can post your results here 'sblock' or at the OOC thread but make a note of what you are making the roll for, etc.) as you can ''Ace' your rolls by adding OPEN(X) at the end, with the X being the maximum the die can roll.
For Initiative I will draw cards and track that and post each round what the results are.
HOUSE RULES Ideas…
For vehicle Rail Guns lower the ROF of a Medium Rail Gun to ROF 2 with, and the Heavy ROF 1 but add MBT
Minions come is three variants – Mooks, Brutes and Henchmen. Mooks are excately like Minions, Brutes can take one or more wounds, and Henchmen get to roll the Wild Die but still have no additional wounds.
Card Based Initiative I really like using Cards for Initiative but I worry about how it will work in a PBP, so I want to try where everyone draws cards as normal, but if the PC's win, they ALL go first and then badguys, and if the badguys win, they all go first and then the PC's. We will see if this works or not.[/sblock]
The Tomorrow League
In the Heartland of the Old American Empire, in the year of 109 P.A. (by the common reckoning) the magical lands of Tolkeen have fallen to the anti-magic, human supremacist, the Coalition. Hundreds, maybe thousands of refugees have and are fleeing the lands, hoping against hope of finding refuge and safety, somewhere… anywhere. Most have nothing and are still in shock over the brutality of all-out war, the likes of which the world has not seen in almost a hundred years (when the Coalition destroyed the first Federation of Magic).
At Fort Refuge a new group has formed, not only to assist these refuges but also to try and stem the tide of darkness and gloom that seems to have fallen over the lands. To being the hope of a better tomorrow today. Calling themselves the Tomorrow League they see themselves as heroes in this age of war. Some of these new heroes have just been summoned to the office of the Tomorrow League to help another group of refugees.
The morning was mild although the storm clouds on the eastern horizon spoke of a powerful storm miles away. The heroes had just been ushered into a large office on the upper levels of the Fort Refuge castle, where, behind the large oak desk and typing on a PDA in his hands and a laptop computer with this feet, sat Koddin McYodinhimm. The large N’mbyr Gorilla Man glanced up over his glasses at the newest members of the Tomorrow League. With a smile he said “Ah so good of you to come this fine morning. I hope that you are all settling in to your new quarters well and that you are as excited as I am about joining the Tomorrow League.”
Koddin continued typing as he spoke “First and foremost, the League was formed to help save as many refugees as we can with the fall of Kingdom of Tolkeen. Members have been having some mixed successes so far, as many of the refugees have fled west into the Dakotas and other parts unknown. But more than a few went south and east. This is where we get most involved. So far, Fort Refuge has been able to absorb almost thousand displaced persons in just a few short weeks but we except a lot more.”
“And that is the situation we have right now. We just discovered a small group of a hundred or so people trapped just north of the Devil’s Gate. From what we have gathered, they were part of a larger group that was heading west but that got separate from their band and were attacked by a Coalition hunter-destroyer group. A Ley-Line Walker with them, in a desperate bid to save the refugees, tried to open a Gateway on a close by Ley-Line. It seems the power of her spell was amped by a Ley-Storm somewhere north of the Devil’s Gate nexus. The spell’s power ripped the Ley-Walker to pieces but she was able to deposit the refugees to safety before the spell killed her. Well at least as safe as that region is.”
Koddin paused from typing on the laptop but was still texting on the PPD as he continued “We need you to head towards these folks as fast as possible and either bring them back here or to any other safe haven. Fort Refuge is the closes, but if you can’t return south, New Lazlo is around 400 miles to the northeast. Of course the Coalition claims most of these lands, so you might have trouble there also. I will leave that up to you, as after you link up with the refugees, you will have a better idea of the situation then we do.
“Now if at all possible I suggest you avoid the Coalition. They claim all of Missouri even though there are nothing but shattered farms and ranches north of us. You might run into patrols though, so be careful.”
“Also we have been getting shattered reports that at least a company of the 1st Apocalyptic Cavalry are operating to the northeast of here. These cutthroats and killers are violently anti-D-Bee and seen as heroes by many of the local Coalition citizens, even if the government disavows them. They will not hesitate in murdering each and every one of the refugees or you if they are encountered.”
The N’mbyr Gorilla Man had then stopped typing with his hands also and pushed his glasses back up onto his face, saying “The reason we learned all this was because the Techno-Wizard with the group, a man by the name of Marcus Smith-Jones, was able to rig up some old radio station with a TW power generator and boost the signal over the Ley-Lines. The storms and really messing up all communication but from what we were able to learn from him the refugees are holdup in an old pre-Rifts building in the Jerseyville area. That’s about 20 miles northwest of the Devil’s Gate and not far from the Mississippi River. There are at least three Ley-Line Nexuses within 10 miles and a Mana-Storm in the area.
“Its’ vital that we try and save the refugees but my sources also added a new wrinkle… Marcus Smith-Jones was a key player on design and manufacturing of the Iron Juggernaut. For those who don’t know, and why would you as they were only invented in Tolkeen within the last year during the siege of the town. Anywhere these creations are something akin to arcane cyborgs, where the spirit of a living sentient being is fused to the giant iron golem. The Techno-Wizards of Tolkeen somehow create them and no one else has been able to duplicate it yet. It is a secret that both the Federation of Magic and the Minion of Splugorth are seeking out by any and all means. I believe that they may also be tracking the refugees in a bid to find Mr. Smith-Jones.
“Now each of you already works for the Legion but we don’t force our Legionaries to do whatever we order them to do. If you agree to take on this challenge, I have been authorized to grant you each 5,000 credits in hazardous pay and another 10,000 credits in bonus payment, after we confirm that the refugees are safe.”
Thinking for a second he adds “You are going to need to cross the Mississippi River at some point, but I would suggest north of the Devil’s Gate region. The Coalition has a very strong presence at the gateway now. It seems that about a year ago they flew in some form of self-constructing mega-doom to enclose the site. They have been trying to figure out how to close it or destroy it for years but in our opinion is a fool’s errand. It has cost them thousands of destroyed robots and equipment and soldiers’ lives trying to stop the things that often crawl out of the Rift. Sufficive to say they also have a large military base nearby and patrol the region as much as they can. The Mana-Storm will probably work in your favor here though as they will be few if any aircraft in the air.”
“After you have linked up with the refugees I leave it up to you on where to go next. You should be able to get into radio contact with them when you are within ten miles or so, but remember the Coalition and other forces are around and could be listening. Be careful.”
Sitting back in his chair and crossing his arms, Koddin regards each of you and finally adds “I think that covers everything that I know. Do you have any questions?”
[sblock=Map of the Area]
[/sblock]
The heroes had all accept Koddin’s job offer the introduced themselves to each other. Varg was a Simvan Burster who seemed really attached to his large chain sword. Deezy was a small female human techno-wizard (and she was very interested in talk of the Iron Juggernauts). Dawn was a dog-‘person’ Cyber-Knight, one of those heroic individuals pledged to defending the weak. Last was a young woman whom called herself Alenys Turathe (Alenysturathe) and the group soon found out she was a Flame Wing Dragon Hatchling.
Deezy requested extra food supplies and hundreds of feet of strong study chains to which Koddin agreed. The N’mbyr Gorilla Man also gave over a basic rugged Field Computer (type I) and Dosimeter (a rugged Giger counter) and an IRMSS (‘Internal Robot Medical Surgeon System’, or an advanced medical kit that uses natabots to do all the work without need of a skilled medic. It has four uses, that when administered to someone via a hypo-syringe). After this the group left the office for the lower levels of the fort and the Quartermasters space. There grab over a hundred man-days of MRE’s (Meals, Ready-to-Eat) and hundreds of pounds worth of long chains. They loaded these onto ‘Sparky’, Varg’s loyal Fury Beetle, and the huge animal barely noticed the added weight.
Afterwards they stopped by some of the local merchants at the fort and Dawn tried to purchase some added holy items, water and extra stakes but the dwarf owners of the place instead simply gave them too her.
Late the morning the heroes then headed north into the Ozark Mountains, riding on the backs of Sparky (although Alenysturathe spent most of this time in her dragon form, following along) and the thick forest of these lands. They traveled peacefully throughout the day, speaking a bit about their past and their dreams with the Legion with each other and enjoying the sights and sounds of so much unsoiled wilderness.
As the shadows of evening approached the heroes hear screams and the roar of harsh laughers ahead and encountered a group of biker Orcs and a huge Ogre tormenting a small family of humans. Quickly dispatching the fiends, the human male ran away from the sight of the dragon hatchling while the female tried to stand in front of her children. While she was thankful for the heroes rescue she seemed convinced that they were going to harm her or her children. It seemed that they were on their way to the Coalition ally town of Whykin delievering mail, etc. (Whykin is a human supremacism, anti-magic town that, while not part of the Coalition, is still strong allies. They are also very close to the Mississippi River and the Magic Zone and as such have suffered a lot of incurrence of demons from the ‘Rifts’ over the years).
Deezy also discovered a short staff that radiated magic and could fuel her own magic and the techno-wizard also offered to fix the families wrecked RV. After a few short hours of work she amazed even herself with her work and decided to add some flaming-racing stripes to the side of the vehicle (much to the delight of the children). The woman and her kids left then, to return to their home in a town she called Promise and she thanked them all.
The heroes spent the night a few miles away from the battle sight and in the morning continued their journey north. Around midday they heard the sounds of a pair of Coalition SAMAS flying overhead (above the tree line). Luckily they were not spotted and they continue unmolested for the remainder of the day. That evening the heroes broke through the forest and came onto the hilly but mostly treeless plains south of the ruined city of St. Louis. They spotted a walled town not too far way but decided to go around it and avoid the people there. A few hours later, they had made their way to the Mississippi River and were able to contact Marcus and the refugees (although the radio reception was terrible). He directed them to the partially buried gym they were hidden in and informed them that something had been trying to break into the last few nights.
Sparky easily swam the river and as darkness was falling the heroes found the building where the refugees were hiding. The heroes noticed large crawl light marks and dents on the outside door and yet it had held against whatever force had been trying to get inside.
While Dawn had a mild headache to the proximity of the Ley-Line Storm a few miles to the east, she sensed a strong magical field on the other side of the doors. After they contacted Marcus and he opened the door the Cyber-Knight understood as a powerful field generator was located just on the other side.
With some reluctance, Marcus and the heroes were able to cox the refuges out of the abandoned gym and outside where they started unloading food to get people feed (most had not eaten in a couple of days). Most tried to avoid the Simvan and Fury Beetle but their hunger eventually won them over. Dawn had noticed and was introduced to a pair of Dog-Boy mercenaries that had been helping Marcus with the refugees. They names were Atlas and Rex.
The heroes discovered that the reason the refuges were so far east was that during the retreat out of Tolkeen they had been separated from a larger group and set upon by some kind of gigantic tentacle monster. In an attempt to save as many people as possible, a Lay-Walker mage with the group tried to open a Rift to a safe zone in the south. Unfortunately, a surge along the line (possibly from the Ley-Line Storm nearby) ripped the mage to pieces. With her last bit of energy or strength she was able to save the refuges and deposited them nearby… before she died.
After some discussion with Marcus, he and Deezy came up with the idea of finding a large flat-bed or similar vehicle that could be used to haul the refuges back to Fort Refuge. The vehicle did not need to be working as Sparky the Fury Beetle would have no problem pulling the weight. It would be a rough ride but at least they would not have to walk. The heroes fanned out and found a partially buried carter bus. The engine was long dead and the axil long fused solid from rust and the rubber of the wheels rotted away. But Deezy and Marcus were confident that they could get the axil unfused enough that it would move on the solid steel rims.
As this was happening Dawn felt something wrong in the area. She wondered about, testing the air, but she could not place what was wrong or where ‘it’ was coming from. As she circled the area, suddenly she saw a strange mist rise up in the moonlight and heard screams from the refuges nearby. Looking over she saw large (seven feet tall) blackish-red humanoid, spouting large black horns appear out of nowhere among the people there. Five thin figures were also approaching with the mist and she recognized both Brodkil demons and vampires!!!
A battle ensued. Varg and Deezy were both wounded but not before all but the so-called ‘Master Vampire’ and one of his ‘brides’ escaped. The pair of Brodkil demons and three of the brides all perished. The one bride that did escape also managed to psychically dominate Marcus and fled with him to the north!!! Dawn clearly heard the ‘master vampire’ speak of “the mission” which appeared to be grabbing Marcus.
Alenysturathe had tried to follow but when the vampire disappeared from sight within a crop of trees, she lost sight of them both. It was almost like the pair vanished without a trace. Varg had been battling the master vampire when suddenly he had turned into mist and escape. It seemed about the time that the vampire bride had made her escape from the dragon hatchling.
And this was where the tale began anew…
Rogue's Gallery
[sblock=Savage Worlds Rifts Setting Rules]
*Blood & Guts: Anyone can spend a Benny to re-roll damage rolls.
*Born a Hero: Ignore Rank requirements for Edges at character creation.
*Critical Failures: Bennies cannot be spent on Trait rolls where double 1s are rolled.
*Joker’s Wild: When a player draws a Joker, all players get a bonus Benny.
Blaze of Glory: this allows a hero to decide to die for the greater good. Any attack that would incapacitate a character, instead says they want to go out in a Blaze of Glory. The character gets to ignore the attack that would have taken them out, gains three Bennies and will die this "session" but at a later point.
Extra Effort: this allows a character to spent a Bennie and instead of re-rolling adds a +1d6 that can also Ace, and add it to the Trait roll.
Technical Difficulties: Any time you make a Trait test with a piece of technology (or TW device) and you roll a 'critical fumble' that piece of technology has a chance of breaking down or being damage.
"Sessions": Many items and issues in SWR's are "sessions" dependent. For this PBP a session is a maximum of one month (from the day the game IC game started. I THINK it was in July so that is where it is going), but I may end them early for drama sake.
Player's do their own rolling. I suggest CoyoteCode (you can post your results here 'sblock' or at the OOC thread but make a note of what you are making the roll for, etc.) as you can ''Ace' your rolls by adding OPEN(X) at the end, with the X being the maximum the die can roll.
For Initiative I will draw cards and track that and post each round what the results are.
HOUSE RULES Ideas…
For vehicle Rail Guns lower the ROF of a Medium Rail Gun to ROF 2 with, and the Heavy ROF 1 but add MBT
Minions come is three variants – Mooks, Brutes and Henchmen. Mooks are excately like Minions, Brutes can take one or more wounds, and Henchmen get to roll the Wild Die but still have no additional wounds.
Card Based Initiative I really like using Cards for Initiative but I worry about how it will work in a PBP, so I want to try where everyone draws cards as normal, but if the PC's win, they ALL go first and then badguys, and if the badguys win, they all go first and then the PC's. We will see if this works or not.[/sblock]
The Tomorrow League
In the Heartland of the Old American Empire, in the year of 109 P.A. (by the common reckoning) the magical lands of Tolkeen have fallen to the anti-magic, human supremacist, the Coalition. Hundreds, maybe thousands of refugees have and are fleeing the lands, hoping against hope of finding refuge and safety, somewhere… anywhere. Most have nothing and are still in shock over the brutality of all-out war, the likes of which the world has not seen in almost a hundred years (when the Coalition destroyed the first Federation of Magic).
At Fort Refuge a new group has formed, not only to assist these refuges but also to try and stem the tide of darkness and gloom that seems to have fallen over the lands. To being the hope of a better tomorrow today. Calling themselves the Tomorrow League they see themselves as heroes in this age of war. Some of these new heroes have just been summoned to the office of the Tomorrow League to help another group of refugees.
The morning was mild although the storm clouds on the eastern horizon spoke of a powerful storm miles away. The heroes had just been ushered into a large office on the upper levels of the Fort Refuge castle, where, behind the large oak desk and typing on a PDA in his hands and a laptop computer with this feet, sat Koddin McYodinhimm. The large N’mbyr Gorilla Man glanced up over his glasses at the newest members of the Tomorrow League. With a smile he said “Ah so good of you to come this fine morning. I hope that you are all settling in to your new quarters well and that you are as excited as I am about joining the Tomorrow League.”
Koddin continued typing as he spoke “First and foremost, the League was formed to help save as many refugees as we can with the fall of Kingdom of Tolkeen. Members have been having some mixed successes so far, as many of the refugees have fled west into the Dakotas and other parts unknown. But more than a few went south and east. This is where we get most involved. So far, Fort Refuge has been able to absorb almost thousand displaced persons in just a few short weeks but we except a lot more.”
“And that is the situation we have right now. We just discovered a small group of a hundred or so people trapped just north of the Devil’s Gate. From what we have gathered, they were part of a larger group that was heading west but that got separate from their band and were attacked by a Coalition hunter-destroyer group. A Ley-Line Walker with them, in a desperate bid to save the refugees, tried to open a Gateway on a close by Ley-Line. It seems the power of her spell was amped by a Ley-Storm somewhere north of the Devil’s Gate nexus. The spell’s power ripped the Ley-Walker to pieces but she was able to deposit the refugees to safety before the spell killed her. Well at least as safe as that region is.”
Koddin paused from typing on the laptop but was still texting on the PPD as he continued “We need you to head towards these folks as fast as possible and either bring them back here or to any other safe haven. Fort Refuge is the closes, but if you can’t return south, New Lazlo is around 400 miles to the northeast. Of course the Coalition claims most of these lands, so you might have trouble there also. I will leave that up to you, as after you link up with the refugees, you will have a better idea of the situation then we do.
“Now if at all possible I suggest you avoid the Coalition. They claim all of Missouri even though there are nothing but shattered farms and ranches north of us. You might run into patrols though, so be careful.”
“Also we have been getting shattered reports that at least a company of the 1st Apocalyptic Cavalry are operating to the northeast of here. These cutthroats and killers are violently anti-D-Bee and seen as heroes by many of the local Coalition citizens, even if the government disavows them. They will not hesitate in murdering each and every one of the refugees or you if they are encountered.”
The N’mbyr Gorilla Man had then stopped typing with his hands also and pushed his glasses back up onto his face, saying “The reason we learned all this was because the Techno-Wizard with the group, a man by the name of Marcus Smith-Jones, was able to rig up some old radio station with a TW power generator and boost the signal over the Ley-Lines. The storms and really messing up all communication but from what we were able to learn from him the refugees are holdup in an old pre-Rifts building in the Jerseyville area. That’s about 20 miles northwest of the Devil’s Gate and not far from the Mississippi River. There are at least three Ley-Line Nexuses within 10 miles and a Mana-Storm in the area.
“Its’ vital that we try and save the refugees but my sources also added a new wrinkle… Marcus Smith-Jones was a key player on design and manufacturing of the Iron Juggernaut. For those who don’t know, and why would you as they were only invented in Tolkeen within the last year during the siege of the town. Anywhere these creations are something akin to arcane cyborgs, where the spirit of a living sentient being is fused to the giant iron golem. The Techno-Wizards of Tolkeen somehow create them and no one else has been able to duplicate it yet. It is a secret that both the Federation of Magic and the Minion of Splugorth are seeking out by any and all means. I believe that they may also be tracking the refugees in a bid to find Mr. Smith-Jones.
“Now each of you already works for the Legion but we don’t force our Legionaries to do whatever we order them to do. If you agree to take on this challenge, I have been authorized to grant you each 5,000 credits in hazardous pay and another 10,000 credits in bonus payment, after we confirm that the refugees are safe.”
Thinking for a second he adds “You are going to need to cross the Mississippi River at some point, but I would suggest north of the Devil’s Gate region. The Coalition has a very strong presence at the gateway now. It seems that about a year ago they flew in some form of self-constructing mega-doom to enclose the site. They have been trying to figure out how to close it or destroy it for years but in our opinion is a fool’s errand. It has cost them thousands of destroyed robots and equipment and soldiers’ lives trying to stop the things that often crawl out of the Rift. Sufficive to say they also have a large military base nearby and patrol the region as much as they can. The Mana-Storm will probably work in your favor here though as they will be few if any aircraft in the air.”
“After you have linked up with the refugees I leave it up to you on where to go next. You should be able to get into radio contact with them when you are within ten miles or so, but remember the Coalition and other forces are around and could be listening. Be careful.”
Sitting back in his chair and crossing his arms, Koddin regards each of you and finally adds “I think that covers everything that I know. Do you have any questions?”
[sblock=Map of the Area]
[/sblock]
The heroes had all accept Koddin’s job offer the introduced themselves to each other. Varg was a Simvan Burster who seemed really attached to his large chain sword. Deezy was a small female human techno-wizard (and she was very interested in talk of the Iron Juggernauts). Dawn was a dog-‘person’ Cyber-Knight, one of those heroic individuals pledged to defending the weak. Last was a young woman whom called herself Alenys Turathe (Alenysturathe) and the group soon found out she was a Flame Wing Dragon Hatchling.
Deezy requested extra food supplies and hundreds of feet of strong study chains to which Koddin agreed. The N’mbyr Gorilla Man also gave over a basic rugged Field Computer (type I) and Dosimeter (a rugged Giger counter) and an IRMSS (‘Internal Robot Medical Surgeon System’, or an advanced medical kit that uses natabots to do all the work without need of a skilled medic. It has four uses, that when administered to someone via a hypo-syringe). After this the group left the office for the lower levels of the fort and the Quartermasters space. There grab over a hundred man-days of MRE’s (Meals, Ready-to-Eat) and hundreds of pounds worth of long chains. They loaded these onto ‘Sparky’, Varg’s loyal Fury Beetle, and the huge animal barely noticed the added weight.
Afterwards they stopped by some of the local merchants at the fort and Dawn tried to purchase some added holy items, water and extra stakes but the dwarf owners of the place instead simply gave them too her.
Late the morning the heroes then headed north into the Ozark Mountains, riding on the backs of Sparky (although Alenysturathe spent most of this time in her dragon form, following along) and the thick forest of these lands. They traveled peacefully throughout the day, speaking a bit about their past and their dreams with the Legion with each other and enjoying the sights and sounds of so much unsoiled wilderness.
As the shadows of evening approached the heroes hear screams and the roar of harsh laughers ahead and encountered a group of biker Orcs and a huge Ogre tormenting a small family of humans. Quickly dispatching the fiends, the human male ran away from the sight of the dragon hatchling while the female tried to stand in front of her children. While she was thankful for the heroes rescue she seemed convinced that they were going to harm her or her children. It seemed that they were on their way to the Coalition ally town of Whykin delievering mail, etc. (Whykin is a human supremacism, anti-magic town that, while not part of the Coalition, is still strong allies. They are also very close to the Mississippi River and the Magic Zone and as such have suffered a lot of incurrence of demons from the ‘Rifts’ over the years).
Deezy also discovered a short staff that radiated magic and could fuel her own magic and the techno-wizard also offered to fix the families wrecked RV. After a few short hours of work she amazed even herself with her work and decided to add some flaming-racing stripes to the side of the vehicle (much to the delight of the children). The woman and her kids left then, to return to their home in a town she called Promise and she thanked them all.
The heroes spent the night a few miles away from the battle sight and in the morning continued their journey north. Around midday they heard the sounds of a pair of Coalition SAMAS flying overhead (above the tree line). Luckily they were not spotted and they continue unmolested for the remainder of the day. That evening the heroes broke through the forest and came onto the hilly but mostly treeless plains south of the ruined city of St. Louis. They spotted a walled town not too far way but decided to go around it and avoid the people there. A few hours later, they had made their way to the Mississippi River and were able to contact Marcus and the refugees (although the radio reception was terrible). He directed them to the partially buried gym they were hidden in and informed them that something had been trying to break into the last few nights.
Sparky easily swam the river and as darkness was falling the heroes found the building where the refugees were hiding. The heroes noticed large crawl light marks and dents on the outside door and yet it had held against whatever force had been trying to get inside.
While Dawn had a mild headache to the proximity of the Ley-Line Storm a few miles to the east, she sensed a strong magical field on the other side of the doors. After they contacted Marcus and he opened the door the Cyber-Knight understood as a powerful field generator was located just on the other side.
With some reluctance, Marcus and the heroes were able to cox the refuges out of the abandoned gym and outside where they started unloading food to get people feed (most had not eaten in a couple of days). Most tried to avoid the Simvan and Fury Beetle but their hunger eventually won them over. Dawn had noticed and was introduced to a pair of Dog-Boy mercenaries that had been helping Marcus with the refugees. They names were Atlas and Rex.
The heroes discovered that the reason the refuges were so far east was that during the retreat out of Tolkeen they had been separated from a larger group and set upon by some kind of gigantic tentacle monster. In an attempt to save as many people as possible, a Lay-Walker mage with the group tried to open a Rift to a safe zone in the south. Unfortunately, a surge along the line (possibly from the Ley-Line Storm nearby) ripped the mage to pieces. With her last bit of energy or strength she was able to save the refuges and deposited them nearby… before she died.
After some discussion with Marcus, he and Deezy came up with the idea of finding a large flat-bed or similar vehicle that could be used to haul the refuges back to Fort Refuge. The vehicle did not need to be working as Sparky the Fury Beetle would have no problem pulling the weight. It would be a rough ride but at least they would not have to walk. The heroes fanned out and found a partially buried carter bus. The engine was long dead and the axil long fused solid from rust and the rubber of the wheels rotted away. But Deezy and Marcus were confident that they could get the axil unfused enough that it would move on the solid steel rims.
As this was happening Dawn felt something wrong in the area. She wondered about, testing the air, but she could not place what was wrong or where ‘it’ was coming from. As she circled the area, suddenly she saw a strange mist rise up in the moonlight and heard screams from the refuges nearby. Looking over she saw large (seven feet tall) blackish-red humanoid, spouting large black horns appear out of nowhere among the people there. Five thin figures were also approaching with the mist and she recognized both Brodkil demons and vampires!!!
A battle ensued. Varg and Deezy were both wounded but not before all but the so-called ‘Master Vampire’ and one of his ‘brides’ escaped. The pair of Brodkil demons and three of the brides all perished. The one bride that did escape also managed to psychically dominate Marcus and fled with him to the north!!! Dawn clearly heard the ‘master vampire’ speak of “the mission” which appeared to be grabbing Marcus.
Alenysturathe had tried to follow but when the vampire disappeared from sight within a crop of trees, she lost sight of them both. It was almost like the pair vanished without a trace. Varg had been battling the master vampire when suddenly he had turned into mist and escape. It seemed about the time that the vampire bride had made her escape from the dragon hatchling.
And this was where the tale began anew…
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