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Monday, April 5

Grace Under Pressure: Conclusion

Guppy wept. Cthulhu was visible as a dim glow off in the distance, approaching swiftly.

"That's it then," said Guppy. "It's over."

He put the Wallaby on cruise. There was no point in fleeing. There would be nowhere on Earth they could escape to.

Hammer didn't say anything. He just kept staring at Jim-Bean's heart monitor, listening to the mechanical whine heralding his death.

Cthulhu reached the Horseshoe. With slow, ponderous deliberation it rent the submarine, tearing great gouts in its hull.

Beep. Jim-Bean's heart monitor beeped once.

"Guppy," Hammer said slowly.

"What?" asked Guppy.

Hammer pointed at Jim-Bean's heart monitor. His suit had lost pressure and the sensors were completely missing on one arm, meaning he'd probably lost a limb. But the heart monitor still worked.

Huge bubbles fled to the surface as sparks and flaring light from electrical systems lit the scene of the Horseshoe's demise.

Beep-beep. Jim-Bean's heart monitor bleeped again.

"I think you'd better speed up," said Hammer. more

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posted by talien at 8:41 PM | 0 comments links to this post


Grace Under Pressure: Part 8 – The End of the Beginning

Jim-Bean was dying. No more pain. No more worry.

The light faded. Jim-Bean was already blind, his eyeballs long since destroyed from the radiation, but there was a light within his own mind that shone brightly. Even that was fading. He was falling, falling, falling…

He deserved peace, didn't he? Jim-Bean had been abandoned, experimented on, treated like a dog. He had been betrayed, violated, and used. He was crazy anyway, increasingly losing his grip on reality.

Stupid humans. They could fend for themselves from now on. It was better this way.

And yet. And yet.

Jenny was in his mind's eye, straining. The babies were being born. His babies. His children. Boys and girls all jumbled together. Nurses whisked them away, except for one. One of them, only one, was stillborn.

The doctor said something to Jenny, holding the limp little creature up for her to see. She wailed a scream of anguish that woke Jim-Bean up out of his stupor. Dead? Dead!

No, not dead. The other six were alive. But the doctors were hiding it from Jenny, hiding it from him. Those were his children. This was his future. They were the inheritors of the earth, and Majestic was trying to cover it up.

Jim-Bean forced himself back into consciousness. He took a deep breath, and found that gills had formed in what was left of his chest.

The virus! The PI virus had infected him, turned him. Now he was one of them. more

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posted by talien at 6:19 AM | 0 comments links to this post


Saturday, April 3

Righteous Triad Fists: Part 7 – …and Hand Grenades

Jim-Bean and Hammer were dressed in pressure suits, which were sturdier than the diving suits. The Horseshoe had largely depressurized. Water streamed everywhere. They moved past dead bodies floating face up in cramped corridors.

Hammer's cistron was hooked into the HUD in his suit. "According to the deck plans, this is the entrance to the reactor." They both grabbed hold of the huge wheel on the door. Nuclear warning signs were plastered everywhere in bright yellow.

It wouldn't budge.

"The pressure from outside must be too great," said Hammer. "We'll have to blow it."

"We don't have enough explosives to blow it!" shouted Jim-Bean. He was always shouting now, because there was a roaring in his ears.

"That's the only way. We'll have to make do—look out!"

Jim-Bean turned slowly as Hammer extended one pistol and fired past him. A Deep One's head exploded. Deep Ones crept down the corridor, hopping along walls, jumping from pipe to pipe, swarming like ants down a tunnel.

Hammer raked the area with gunfire. Suddenly red warning lights began to swirl and klaxons shrieked behind him.

The Deep One corpses piled up. Hammer spared a glance over his shoulder. The outer door to the reactor had just slammed shut again.

"Jimmy! Jimmy, are you nuts? You can't survive in there!"

"Maybe not." Jim-Bean's voice betrayed no hint of concern for his plight over the comm. "But I can certainly handle it better than you can."

Hammer reloaded, fumbling with the pistols in the darkness. The suit's limited visibility and the gloved fingers made it difficult.

"Damn it, Jimmy!"

He didn't get a chance to say more. The Deep Ones, finding their courage, launched another assault. More of them plunged down the hallway. more

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posted by talien at 7:21 AM | 0 comments links to this post


Friday, April 2

Grace Under Pressure: Part 6 – Horseshoes…

The agents were all battered and bruised. Caprice lay unconscious on the floor with a bloody head wound, a strip of gauze over one eye. Archive sat rolled up in a ball, whispering to himself over and over: "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn!" Guppy was in the pilot's seat. Hammer sat at the co-pilot's seat next to Guppy, but he wasn't entirely sure what to do.

Ho had it the worst. He just laughed and laughed and laughed.

Behind them, Jim-Bean languidly kept one arm on each chair. He stared in fascination at the collapsing black mountain. Something was emerging from it, wings unfurling like a butterfly exiting a cocoon. It was so alien and yet strangely beautiful to him.

The psychic pressure was pounding now, like a heartbeat. Jim-Bean had trouble focusing.

The comm. crackled. "Mayday! Mayday! This is the RSV Horseshoe, we need immediate help, is anyone there? Christ!" There was the sound of banging in the background. "…They're outside now…listen, we're under attack! Repeat, we are under attack!" There was a muffled explosion. "Wallaby! Wallaby!" A sudden crack. Then a couple of heavy thumps and static.

Guppy yanked the wheel hard as the Horseshoe, still sparking and falling into the subterranean depths, suddenly loomed into view. The Wallaby skidded off the side as the huge metal form slid past as the Horseshoe sank into the depths, down towards the thing that was assuredly coming for them all.

"That's it!" Hammer turned to Guppy. "The Horseshoe is nuclear powered, right?"

Guppy blinked. "Yes, but…"

"Guppy, that thing can't reach the surface. We've got to stop it. No matter what it takes…"

Hammer and Guppy exchanged a look. They had their differences in the past. Guppy had threatened to kill Hammer; Hammer had Guppy committed. But in that moment they weren't enemies, or allies, or fellow agents. They were all that stood between humanity and the end of the world. more

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posted by talien at 8:41 AM | 0 comments links to this post


Thursday, April 1

Grace Under Pressure: Part 5 – Who's There?

"No!" shouted Hammer.

Cho Chu-Tsao was momentarily distracted, turning to look at the satchel tumbling down towards the altar. Her defenses lowered, Hammer fired a bullet between her eyes. She slumped backwards, mouth open in surprise.

The ensuing explosion blasted the plinths off their bases. Guppy was nearly beheaded by one of the rocks as it whistled through the air.

The shockwave stunned the agents. In the ensuing dust and debris it was clear that the altar had been ruined. Hammer, Archive, Guppy, and Caprice struggled to their feet.

A figure strode towards them out of the cloud of dust. Hammer's pistols were up in a flash.

It was Jim-Bean. He dusted his hands. "Great, so now that's over…"

The rubble shuddered. A huge piece of stone slid off the back of the Deep One bodyguard. It was bloody and battered, with one goggle eye smashed in. In its arms was the frail Ko, looking like nothing more than a sickly child in its arms.

"The stars are right again," Ko whispered as he expired. "What we failed to do by design…you did…by accident…"

He died with a smile on his lips.

The bodyguard made a low moan. But it was not mourning over the dead man in its arms. As the dust settled, a horrible fact became clear: the door was open.

By blood and force, the seal had been penetrated, its doors blasted open. In the darkness, a mountainous mass pulsed softly with the same unnatural glow as the rest of R'lyeh.

Jim-Bean's mouth fell open. For once, he was without words.

"Run…" whispered Hammer, straining to tear his eyes away from the slumbering mass at the center of the dome. "Run!" more

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posted by talien at 6:30 AM | 0 comments links to this post


Tuesday, March 30

Grace Under Pressue: Part 4 – Knock, Knock…

They swam into darkness through weird black coral, rising up in tightly clustered poles that hindered their progress. Hammer gasped out of the pool, sucking in a stale lungful of air.

The other agents emerged behind him in a massive chamber. The ceiling, if there was one, was concealed by mist.

At the center was a subterranean dome. Before it were five oddly shaped tombstones, each with a symbol in Aklo engraved upon it. A raised altar with an Elder Sign at its center pulsed in time with the glowing symbols.

A huge doorway jutted from the surface of the dome. It had the features of Cthulhu's head, a skull-faced beast with tentacles for a mouth. Three figures stood at the portal.

Cho Chu-Tsau, arms raised, was chanting in time with the pulsing symbols. Next to her, reading aloud the chants from a book and swathed in ceremonial robes, was the frail Dr. Ko. But the third figure was what disturbed the agents most.

It was a fish that walked like a man. Its giant, catfish-like head was somehow part of a purplish, malformed humanoid body. Two of its whiskers rose up over its head like horns, and two others dropped like a moustache over its gaping mouth. It had a distinct oriental cast, stripped to its waist in pants and sandals. A huge cannon was strapped across its back, a wicked-looking sword dangling from its belt.

Hammer called them all to a halt. The room's darkness was complete. The agents had an advantage, as all eyes were trained on the portal.

"Archive, Hammer, you take out Chu-Tsao. Guppy, Caprice, you're on Ko. Jim-Bean, you and I will take out…"

Jim-Bean was gone.

Hammer swore. "Move!" more

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posted by talien at 6:35 AM | 0 comments links to this post


Monday, March 29

Grace Under Pressure: Part 3 – In the Mouth of Madness

The agents entered into the labyrinthine passageways of the sunken nightmare city.

"From what I could decipher from the laptop on the Joey," began Guppy, "there's three cultists down here. Cho Chu-Tsao, Agent Powers, and William Davis Ko."

"So Powers wasn't the only defector," said Caprice.

"No. In fact, it looks like Majestic ended up funding Ko's research. They gave him access to some piscid humanoids, codenamed BLUE HADES, retrieved from PROJECT JENNIFER—"

"Deep Ones," corrected Archive.

Guppy looked at him. "Okay, sure. Ko got his hands on some Deep One DNA."

Hammer nodded, his eyes tracking signs of Chu-Tsao's passage. "That explains the fish-hybrids we found in Chicago. Tiger Transit was originally funding Ko's work."

The trail led through broad and high corridors overgrown with dimly glowing algae and fungi. Mysterious reliefs on the walls depicted nightmarish horrors.

"Right," said Guppy. "And I think Majestic-12 wanted access to Ko's experiments. But I guess he was a double agent."

"So Ko's research for Majestic-12 picked up right where he left off with Tiger Transit?" asked Caprice.

"Yeah," said Guppy. "Worse, actually. He stumbled upon a flu-virus under PROJECT PI. The Pi prion can convert human DNA to Deep One DNA in a matter of hours."

Jim-Bean paused for a moment, coughing.

"You okay Jimmy?" asked Hammer.

"I'm fine," said Jim-Bean. He kept walking.

"They tested it on the native population," continued Guppy. "And from the gist of the emails, they were going to unleash it on Ho's men too."

"So we did Ho a favor!" laughed Jim-Bean.

"Yeah," said Caprice slowly. "A favor."

The twisting trail led to a stone slab hallway that descended at a slight grade as it proceeded into a small hillock. There were signs of a lot of traffic in and out of the temple. The agents filed inside, weapons ready.

The entrance opened into a passageway nearly ten feet wide and fourteen feet tall. Toward the bottom, where the walls were better protected from the elements, strange hieroglyphics covered them. The floor sloped at a nearly twenty degree angle.

"So what are the cultists up to?" asked Hammer. "They want to turn the whole world into a bunch of fish people?"

Archive shook his head. "That's not enough. They need a leader."

"Or a god," said Jim-Bean. He pointed ahead of them. more

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Sunday, March 28

Grace Under Pressure: Part 2 – Losing Powers

As the Wallaby approached the dark mountain, a massive opening revealed itself to be navigable. It led into a kind of pool in a huge cavern.

"Sensors indicate a breathable atmosphere," said Caprice. "But we'll need to put on pressure suits—"

Guppy sighed as a warning light flickered on his console. "Jim-Bean just opened the airlock."

Jim-Bean gave the Wallaby's cameras a thumbs-up.

"Caprice, you watch Ho. I don't want him out of your sight."

Feng Ho, if he was aware of his plight, didn't show it. He watched Jim-Bean curiously on the monitor, like a puppy wondering when its master would return.

Caprice rolled his eyes. "I get to watch the mind-controlled zombie? Great." more

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posted by talien at 7:18 AM | 0 comments links to this post


Saturday, March 27

Grace Under Pressure: Part 1 – Welcome to R'lyeh

"Is that fallen masonry?" asked Hammer.

The chunks passing beneath the Wallaby were larger and larger, and had different shapes. Cubes, rectangles, then columns, octagons...it was clear that they were not natural.

"No," said Archive gravely. "R'lyeh."

At first irregular and far between, the glowing patches increased in number and size, eventually flowing together into a soft latticework across the sea floor. While nowhere near as bright as the Wallaby's spotlights, the glow did serve to illuminate contours and shapes in the dim water beyond the light.

The coral grew thin, with only a few stalks clumped here and there. In its place lay the rudiments of buildings.

It became clear that they were are at the beginning of a broad canyon-like avenue, lined with squat structures revealed by the spotlights and the sickly glow that was increasingly widespread. The buildings became more elaborate the further that the Wallaby went. Very quickly, the tops of the structures were beyond the range of the spotlights, and their height could only be guessed at by the faint phosphorescence that coated them. They were enclosed by mammoth towers, stolid halls, all cracked and dim, showing the wear of centuries, perhaps millennia. The architecture was of ancient origin, but showed traits found in nearly every style ever produced by man.

"Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn," whispered Archive.

"What?" asked Hammer, irritated by Archive's odd behavior.

"In his house at R'lyeh dead Cthulhu waits dreaming," whispered Archive, hugging himself. "We are in a very bad place." more

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posted by talien at 10:57 PM | 0 comments links to this post


Friday, March 26

Grace Under Pressure: Prologue

30,000 FEET BENEATH THE PACIFIC OCEAN—The agents were in hot pursuit of Cho Chu-Tsao's smaller mini-sub, the Joey. It was difficult to tell if they were actually overtaking her in the Wallaby, though, as the pings they got back from her homing beacon were erratic.

There was a hideous wrenching noise and then the power flickered. The Wallaby swerved to starboard.

"What was that?" asked Hammer.

"We lost the starboard impeller!" shouted Guppy, struggling with the controls.

"Can you tell me where the problem is?" asked Jim-Bean. "If so I can probably take a look."

Caprice brought up a map of the Wallaby. It really did look like the Millennium Falcon. A starboard section blinked red. "There."

Jim-Bean grunted. "I think I'm close enough…" He took a few steps towards the back of the bridge. "Yep, I can see it."

His eyes glazed. "Looks like…looks like there's something stuck in the impeller. Muck and debris fouled up the blades. The grill at the front of the impeller tube has been smashed in."

"The muck must have closed over the grill completely. That'll cause the impeller to create a vacuum that pulls the loose corner of the grill inwards," said Caprice.

"Do something fast!" shouted Guppy. "We're spinning in circles here!" more

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posted by talien at 6:27 AM | 0 comments links to this post


Thursday, March 25

Chapter 53: Grace Under Pressure - Introduction

This story hour is from "Grace Under Pressure" by Jeff Barber and John Tynes and "Project Pi" by Peer Kroger from Worlds of Cthulhu #1. You can read more about Delta Green at http://www.delta-green.com. Please note: This story hour contains spoilers!

Our cast of characters includes:

Grace Under Pressure is a perfect fit for Project Pi, combining a deep sea submarine expedition with the excitement of heavily armed SEALs. While I was really attracted to running Grace Under Pressure with miniatures, time didn't allow for it. Events moved quickly, as the agents are still in pursuit of Cho Chu-Tsao, there's a giant submarine tumbling into the depths behind them, and they're about to descend into R'lyeh.

In R'lyeh, our old friend Dr. William Davis Ko is back – turns out he's a traitor to Majestic-12 and continued to fund his Deep One research in conjunction with the Pi Virus. John Powers, also a traitor to Majestic-12, was icing on the cake. From there, it was just a matter of having Cho Chu-Tsao, Ko, and Ko's bodyguard duke it out in front of Fat Dragon's nifty temple which my two-year-old son helped me put together.

I knew this scenario was trouble though. I even mentioned it on Nebulos' story hour, who ran it as a d20 Modern game like I did. The problem is that the scenario doesn't really have a survival conclusion. Basically, the PCs have a very high chance of getting "Deep One on them" with the only solution being a tradeoff with the final villain in front of the Cthulhu shrine. Assuming the agents sell out to save their lives, it leaves the little matter of Cthulhu awakening.

The resolution, as implied by the scenario, involves nuclear subs might firing a missile at Cthulhu. We didn't have a nuclear missile because I changed the scenario around. But I did have a nuclear-powered submarine.

Both scenarios are concerned about avoiding awakening Cthulhu, which just seems silly to me. I mean, seriously, you can't beat a Star Spawn of Cthulhu in combat, so if you're going to blow one up with a plot device, why not just use the Big Guy himself?

So I used the Star Spawn as the Big Scary Monster you THINK is the final boss but isn't. My brother even asked, "why do they call this game Call of Cthulhu? Do we ever get to meet him?"

And then he did.

I had my Call of Cthulhu action figure from SOTA toys, which I used in my Arcanis story hour. It's been a couple of years, so the players completely forgot about it. In fact, I was careful to bundle him up in a plastic bag so that nobody accidentally discovered him before his big reveal. It had exactly the effect I hoped. more

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Wednesday, March 24

Righteous Triad Fists: Conclusion

Guppy sat down on the bridge of the Wallaby. His eyes lit up like a kid in a candy store as he switched the power on. It hummed to life with all the fanfare of a Mac computer. "I recognize this…this is the submersible that was stolen from an Australian facility!"

Caprice sat down on the chair opposite him. "Yeah I heard of the Wallaby. It keeps pressure equalized at any depth."

"The Wallaby can operate under its own power for two weeks," said Guppy. He flipped more switches as the diagnostics whirred to life.

"It looks the Millenium Falcon to me," said Hammer, standing behind Guppy.

"Better," said Guppy, grinning for the first time in awhile. "The Wallaby has combination of pontoons and ballast, a single set of impeller motors, and a mini-sub cradle."

"The Joeys," said Ho robotically. "There are two. Tsao took one."

"I've got her signal," said Caprice. "We can track her."

The horseshoe shuddered again. "Let's get the hell out of here," said Hammer.

"Aye, aye, captain!" said Guppy. He pushed a lever forward and the sounds of couplers disconnecting rumbled the perimeter of the Wallaby.

The Wallaby pulled away, spinning as it caught in the current and propelled itself quickly away from the larger ship.

"I just realized," said Jim-Bean, laughing to himself. "If the mini-subs are Joeys and this thing is the Wallaby, then that Horseshoe thing is…" he broke out into fits of laughter. "…a KANGAROO! HA!"

Jim-Bean's hysterical laughter was all that echoed throughout the Wallaby as they descended into a deep sea trench. more

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posted by talien at 6:44 AM | 0 comments links to this post


Tuesday, March 23

Righteous Triad Fists: Part 6 – Insecure

Hammer came up first, sputtering in rage. Half of him was amazed he was still alive. The other half considered how to murder Jim-Bean on the spot, if he could even be killed anymore.

Jim-Bean stood, smiling. He was unharmed by the blast. Water streamed in from a dozen places, electrical wires sparked, and computer equipment was everywhere.

The other agents slowly rose to their feet.

Hammer turned to face Jim-Bean, hands at his sides. It was not a friendly gesture.

Jim-Bean smirked as he held up a broken vial. "Looking for this? It was destroyed in the blast. Too bad."

It was the vial of BIOSAN-4. Hammer now had no means of stopping him.

"Don't be mad, Hammer. We don't have time for this nonsense and that was the quickest way to end the conflict."

"End it? You put all our lives in danger! Are you trying to kill us?"

Jim-Bean laughed. "If that were the case you'd already be dead." He sighed. "Besides, we're after the book, remember? And I know who can lead us to it. Ho, come here," commanded Jim-Bean.

Colonel Feng Ho meekly joined Jim-Bean. "We need to get to the auxiliary bridge."

Ho led the way. Hammer, suddenly realizing just how powerless he was, went along. The other agents, dusting themselves off, followed. more

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posted by talien at 6:45 AM | 0 comments links to this post


Monday, March 22

Righteous Triad Fists: Part 5 – We All Live in a Giant Submarine

"They're down there," said Jim-Bean, pointing at a narrow ladder to the bridge. "They're waiting for us."

"All right. We're going in hard and fast," said Hammer, pistols cocked. "Jim-Bean, you take point. I'll provide cover. Caprice, Guppy, see if you can make it to the control panels. We need to find out what happened to the book. Archive, you hang back, provide support as needed. Ready?"

They nodded.

"Jimmy, go!"

Gripping the ladder with the insides of his feet, Jim-Bean slid down the rail. He was immediately peppered with gunfire. Jim-Bean held one hand out and the bullets ricocheted off harmlessly.

Hammer was next. He hit the ground hard, rolled and came up firing. The gunfire stopped for a moment as the guards ducked behind control panels.

The other agents followed, each letting loose a volley of retaliatory fire so that another agent could slide down.

Lining the walls of the chamber were seven consoles with matching chairs. The consoles were for RADAR, the diving control center, the quartermaster post, radio, sonar, SINS (Submarine Inertial Navigation Systems), and the complex’s computer. A periscope flanked by a radio antenna and a radar antenna stood in one corner of the room.

The tcho-tcho guards piloting the horseshoe were dressed entirely in black — slacks, turtleneck sweater, and deck shoes. Colonel Feng Ho stood at the center of the mass of men, firing his pistol.

Canister-shaped grenades were tossed over into the center of the room.

"Gas!" shouted Hammer. more

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Sunday, March 21

Righteous Triad Fists: Part 4 – Yours and Mine

Guppy was glad that they all wore suits that could withstand freezing temperatures. They had all packed flippers and some basic SCUBA gear, with their air tanks for the HALO jump converted to SCUBA tanks. But mostly Guppy was just following Caprice's lead, who decided to go ahead with infiltrating the base while the others were arguing about it.

Guppy could make out Caprice ahead of him, visible only by the sluice of water he cut as he swam steadily towards the giant horseshoe.

Then something tugged on his leg. Guppy panicked and looked down, his mind conjuring images of some tentacled beast sucking him into the depths. But it was just a fishing line, connected to a blinking round sphere.

Guppy untangled his leg and swam faster.

An explosion behind him blasted seawater high up into the air. The shockwave pounded Guppy a second later, flipping him over and over. He wasn't sure if he hit another mine or if the shockwave set it off, but a series of explosions tore through the surface of the water.

Battered and bruised, Guppy felt himself slipping out of consciousness… more

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Saturday, March 20

Righteous Triad Fists: Part 3 – Horseshoes and Hand Grenades

Bits of flaming wood landed all around them. Jim-Bean had his eyes closed, palms outward as if to ward off a blow. He dropped his hands when the wreckage stopped falling.

"So much for the peaceful native population," muttered Hammer. "Everyone on the island saw that explosion."

"I know where they were transmitting to," said Guppy. He pointed. "This way."

They marched off into the foliage. The inland part of the reef, although only a few dozen feet wide at best, resembled a tropical forest. The soil was thin and poor for farming, but substantial enough to support many growths of coconut palms. Tangled vines and low brush covered the inland area where the palm groves did not.

The agents burst out into the open beach. The reef encircling the lagoon was composed mostly of limestone and covered with bright and colorful coral. The beach was sandy but narrow; beyond the shore, the landscape sloped sharply upward.

Guppy looked down at his cistron. "According to my calculations, something with a huge radar array was receiving the signal from the mission. But I don't see how something that big could be…" he looked up. "…so close…to shore…"

Only a few hundred yards off sure was a huge, battleship-gray, horseshoe-shaped structure. The top ten feet of the complex was above the surface of the lagoon. Five crane mechanisms were visible around the perimeter of the top deck, framed by the night sky. Anchor chains stretched down at an angle into the ocean. Various seams and fittings were discernible. The horseshoe complex gave off a low, steady hum.

Six rotating searchlights were placed around the perimeter of the top deck, occasionally scanning over a statue at the center of the horseshoe. Connected by chains, the fifteen-foot tall statue was carved from a black glossy stone marbled with rust red and blue-green veins. It depicted a squaminous beast, hunched over, wings flared, with tentacles dangling from its face. It looked down into the emptiness between its two outstretched and clawed hands, as if to eat the world that’s not yet in its grasp.

"Whoa," said Caprice. "Guess we know what Tiger Transit's been spending their money on, huh?" more

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Friday, March 19

Righteous Triad Fists: Part 2 – On a Mission

The missionaries’ building was a small wood-frame house on the south side of the island. Hammer stealthily padded up to the veranda. It was marred by signs of damage and forced entry. The front door was hanging on one hinge, three-quarters open.

"Something very bad happened here," said Guppy, stating the obvious.

They all looked to Jim-Bean, who had one hand out before him, eyes closed. "All clear," he said. "Nobody's home that I can see."

They entered a main hall. It appeared to have been used as a triage area/emergency room/waiting area for the natives needing medical attention. Ten empty wooden chairs were lined up around the walls, and the walls were pockmarked in several places by what looked like bullet holes.

Caprice ducked into one room and Guppy followed. What’s left of a radio and a simple transmitter were scattered about. The few pieces of electronic equipment were all mangled by gunfire. Two chairs were overturned on the floor.

A bird shrieked in the distance. "Woooop! Woooop!"

Guppy ducked into an adjacent room. The words “Meteorological Office” were printed on the door to the room in English. It had been smashed open.

Radar equipment, a barometer, a hygrometer, a wind gauge, a weather vane, and a radio were housed in the room.

Guppy fiddled with the devices. They were all intact and operable.

"Wooop! Wooop!"

"What the hell is that?" asked Caprice from the other room.

"I don't know," said Guppy over his shoulder. "Something big and weird." He turned the radio on. Nothing happened. more

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Thursday, March 18

Righteous Triad Fists: Part 1 – Playing HALO

The wind screamed past Hammer as he went into free fall.

He was dimly aware of the other agents falling beside him, arms and legs spread. Their altimeters clicked away as they descended.

For a little while there was nothing but Hammer's breathing. It was peaceful, silent.

They plunged through the cloud cover. The air was nothing but mist and Hammer could feel the dampness fighting to get through his suit. There were flashes of lightning here and there, but other than that it was quiet. White. Beautiful.

He fell out of the bottom of the cloud. The ocean glittered beneath them in the moonlight. A storm was roiling overhead, but it hadn't yet broke and the moon was still partially visible, illuminating the contours of the island.

It was the worst possible weather for a HALO insertion. But they had little choice.

"We're clear. Deploy parachutes in five…four…three…two..."

Hammer took a deep breath and set his jaw so that he wouldn't bite his tongue. He pulled the ripcord.

The parachute exploded out behind him. There was always that breathtaking moment between deployment and the parachute filling with air. In those moments men learned their fates.

The parachute deployed and it felt as if God flung him around by the scruff of his neck. Hammer grabbed hold of the parachute controls and steered toward the landing target.

The heads-up display on his mask showed that the other agents deploying, one after another. Guppy deployed his chute right on time -- Hammer was concerned that, given his past experience, he might deploy it too early. But Guppy was the least of his problems.

A red light flashed on his HUD to the tune of a soft but persistent warning beep.

"Jimmy, what's up?"

"I'm fine," said Jim-Bean.

Hammer had to concentrate on steering. He craned his neck, but in the darkness and with the storm swirling overhead it was hard to see anything.

"Why aren't you deploying your chute?'

"I don't need one," came the monotone reply.

"You can fly now?" asked Caprice sarcastically.

"Yes," said Jim-Bean. more

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Wednesday, March 17

Righteous Triad Fists: Prologue

"Alulu Island is located in the west central Pacific Ocean, about a thousand miles south of Japan between the Ryukyu Islands and the Bonin Islands just north of the Tropic of Cancer. It's an independent atoll not associated with any island chain. It's less than a mile in diameter from outer shore to outer shore, and is outside the domain of the Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands. It's under 'unofficial' protection of the British government. British missionaries maintain an outpost on the island, which also serves as a weather station. We also had an undercover agent working there who suddenly ceased all communications with home base."

"Tsao's flying halfway across the world to get to this little island? Seems like an awful long way to fly to perform a ritual," said Caprice.

"Recently, a force of mercenaries assembled from the survivors of central African and Latin American campaigns descended upon the island. Shortly after this became known, all contact with the island was cut off. It is believed that Lt. Col. Feng Ho, commonly known as Mad Merc, is the organizer of this invasion. Guppy?"

Guppy punched a few buttons on his cistron, no small feat with the gloves he was wearing. An image of Ho flashed on their cistrons.

"In the aftermath of World War II, Ho was discharged from the Chinese Army after an incident in which many innocent civilians were killed. Since that time he has kept a very low profile. Since then, he served as a mercenary in military actions around the world. We believe Cho Chu-Tsao flew to Alulu Island to rendezvous with Ho, and that Ho is responsible for silencing all communications."

"Why don't we just—" began Jim-Bean.

Hammer held up one hand. "Before you recommend bombing the place with Jericho Jets, Majestic's not willing to intervene until reliable intelligence is received from the island. The primitive native population of something more than one hundred individuals who may be under forcible detention, and their lives as well as the lives of the missionaries may be jeopardized if military action is attempted."

"What's a couple of hundred natives…" began Jim-Bean, but Hammer cut him off. more

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Tuesday, March 16

Chapter 52: Righteous Triad Fists - Introduction

This story hour is from the "Righteous Triad Fists" by Allan T. Grohe Jr. in The Triad Sourcebook, "Mad Merc: The Alulu Island Mission" from Dragon Magazine #56 by Rasmussen and Thompson. You can read more about Delta Green at http://www.delta-green.com. Please note: This story hour contains spoilers!

Our cast of characters includes:

Righteous Triad Fists is a hidden gem buried in a supplement for a game that has nothing to do with Call of Cthulhu: The Triad Sourcebook for Hong Kong Action Theater. The design team received the rights to use elements of the Mythos from Chaosium, so when I was putting together my series of scenarios to take down Tiger Transit, I knew I had to include Righteous Triad Fists.

The plot from Righteous Triad Fists relied heavily on a pregenerated cast of characters, so instead I just took elements that might be useful – Colonel Feng Ho, and the hopping cultists. Yueng Ng Wa, the deep one bodyguard, makes an appearance in the next installment.

The Island Mission does most of the heavy lifting here, providing an island and a giant floating submarine dock. The agents almost didn't end up on the dock – they correctly decided that it was a job for Jericho Jets to blow the thing up, a decision Guppy and Caprice disagreed with. There was a tense moment where the team almost broke up, but thankfully I was able to prod the players into rejoining the plot, and then for good measure had them suffer the consequences of their actions.

Despite the significant amounts of detail spent on the floating drydock, the agents skipped most of the details and went straight for the control room. This worked out just fine in the end. more

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Monday, March 15

The Jaded Temple: Conclusion

"What were you able to find out Guppy?" asked Hammer.

Guppy reviewed his cistron. His face was still smudged with dirt from the explosion. "The scrolls were written during the Tang or Song Dynasties and may have originated from an oral tradition handed down during the Hsia Dynasty. They took the form of riddles, prophecies, parables, and rituals passed down from the Heavens to the Emperor."

"I've heard of these scrolls. Confucius was said to be the last man said to have read all seven scrolls. The originals have been lost for centuries," said Archive.

"Together, the Seven Scrolls detail the key to the cycles of reincarnation and to the Heavens," added Guppy. "Each scroll supposedly imparts certain levels of knowledge and they build upon one another, so that one cannot master the secrets of the seventh scroll without having read the first six."

"Interesting," said Hammer. "Not sure what this invocation is but it can't be good."

"It's a ritual of reincarnation," said Archive. "Whatever Cho Chu-Tsao's planning to wake up, it's already dead."

"It also seems like Tiger Transit broke off relations with Dawn Biozyme and instead started a dialogue with Hunt Electronics," said Guppy. "Something about similar research."

Hammer sighed. "We know all about that. Don't we Jimmy?"

Jim-Bean, who seemed to be in a daze, snapped out of it. "Huh? Oh yeah, red flowers." more

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Thursday, March 11

The Jaded Temple: Part 4 – Out of the Ashes

Jim-Bean rose out of the ashes, sputtering. He looked around.

"I think I contained the blast," he said. "You guys can get up now."

Slowly, Archive, Caprice, and Hammer got to their feet.

"Where's Guppy?" asked Caprice.

"Here," said Tau, holding a blade against Guppy's throat. Guppy's eyes were wide with fear. Tau was edging towards the exit. "Don't make ah move or ah will kill him."

Jim-Bean shook his head. "No you're not," he said slowly. "You're not going to kill anybody. You're going to put your sword down and come over here."

The leader of the Tcho-Tchos froze. Slowly, his arm jerking unnaturally, every muscle fighting the instinct, he threw his sword to the ground.

"I said," Jim-Bean repeated, "come here."

Tau released Guppy. He took one halting step after another. more

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Sunday, March 7

The Jaded Temple: Part 3 – KABOOM!

They were in the city’s sewer system. The walls and floor were covered with slime, which made footing treacherous. Jim-Bean led the way.

He stopped at a door. "They're behind here."

"Can you unlock it?" asked Hammer.

Jim-Bean shook his head. "I don't think so. It's an electronic lock."

"Guppy, you're up," said Hammer. "Open those doors."

Guppy pried open the control panel, spliced some wires, and hooked his cistron up to them. The door whisked open.

There was another door at the far end of the hall.

Jim-Bean stalked forward. "That's the computer room." Jim-Bean blinked. "More ninjas. Lots of them."

"This is suicide," said Archive. "We don't have much room to maneuver in here and they're waiting for us."

Jim-Bean smirked. "Don't worry. I'll stand in front."

"Guppy, you've got one job – hack that terminal. I want names, addresses, any information we can get our hands on," said Hammer. "Jim-Bean, your job is to make sure Guppy does what he does best."

Jim-Bean nodded.

"Caprice, this door's yours. Go."

Caprice set to work hacking the second door.

"Get ready," said Caprice. "In three. Two. One…"

The door whisked open. more

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Wednesday, March 3

The Jaded Temple: Part 2 – Dead Weight

The ancient thing that led the White Shadows took another step forward. Archive held up the Elder Sign before it. "By the power of the Elder Gods, I repel you!'

The mummified White Shadow shifted into a combat stance…and then turned and fled.

Everything happened at once. The other White Shadows struck, shuriken hissing through the air. Jim-Bean held up one hand and they bounced a few inches from his face.

"Remember!" shouted Hammer, taking aim with his hand crossbow. "No guns!'

Then the White Shadows were upon them. Caprice ducked a sword swipe, unslung his rifle, and clubbed one of the Shadows across the head with it. The attack knocked Caprice off balance long enough for another strike from a different Shadow. Caprice barely blocked the blow in time with his rifle butt.

Guppy patted himself down. He hadn't planned on engaging anyone in combat and was pretty sure he shouldn't be in a "high tension environment" according to his Majestic-appointed psychologist.

"Easy," he thought to himself. "This is just like a videogame. You're just fighting ninjas on an elevator. It's just a game…"

Then he found his taser.

A sword swipe just missed Guppy's chest. Guppy lunged in retaliation, shoving the taser in the guts of his foe and pressing the button.

The White Shadow jerked and twitched, stumbling backwards. He fell flat on his back.

"No guns means NO SPARKS!" snarled Hammer. He fired his crossbow and one of the Shadows went down, a bolt protruding from his head.

Caprice blocked another blow from a blade. He caught a flash of greenish fluid on the blade in the dim light. "They're using poison!"

"You do NOT want to be poisoned!" shouted Archive. "I lost a pinky that way!"

"How?" asked Caprice.

Archive dodged a sword swipe. "I ate it." more

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Thursday, February 25

The Jaded Temple: Part 1 – Zombie Ninjas

Dark flashes of movement blurred out of the shadows. They were surrounded by men in black outfits wielding thin-bladed swords. They all wore peculiar masks over their faces, expressions of fanged beasts, jovial fat men, and weeping courtesans.

"So much for not setting off any traps," muttered Guppy.

"Oh great," said Caprice. "More ninjas."

The leader stepped forward and slowly drew the mask away from its face.

It revealed the head of a mummified corpse, its eyes empty and dry and its wrinkled mouth open in an eternal moan, with a long moustache gauzy with cobwebs.

"Worse," said Archive. "Zombie ninjas." more

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Tuesday, February 23

The Jaded Temple: Prologue

CHICAGO, IL-- The temple looked harmless enough. It was located at the edge of the area of the city known as Chicago’s “New Chinatown.” The building was constructed of wood and stone; most of the structure was obscured from view by a ten-foot-high stone wall encircling the grounds. A clump of small, leafy trees blocked the temple from casually prying eyes that looked through the single wrought-iron gate in the wall.

At night, the area just inside the perimeter wall was illuminated in spots, and human shadows could be seen moving inside the temple itself when a body passed before a lighted window. A lone guard patrolled the perimeter wall, his outline clearly discernible in the dim light. There were no other signs of movement outside the temple building.

Hammer lowered the nightvision binoculars he requisitioned in a hurry from the Chicago SWAT team. Sprague had ordered the raid so quickly on the supposed Tiger Transit headquarters that the agents weren't given much time to prepare.

"One guard, from the looks of it. Caprice, you still know your way around a rifle?"

Caprice leaned next to him on the roof of the building across the street from the temple. He grinned and patted the sniper rifle slung over his shoulder. "Sure, but won't that blow the place up?"

Hammer shook his head. "It shouldn't, not out here. We fired several rounds in a Fumo Loco greenhouse – blew out the glass first. So long as there's air circulating we were okay."

Guppy chimed in over the comm. "It's inside that you have to worry about."

"Uh…" Archive interrupted. "Where's Jim-Bean?"

Hammer looked through the binoculars again. "Son of a…"

A shadow that was undeniably Jim-Bean sauntered up to the gate. The soft glow of his lit cigarette marked his path.

"Looks like we are go," said Hammer. "Everybody move!" more

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Thursday, February 18

Chapter 51: The Jaded Temple - Introduction

This story hour is from the "Chinatown: The Jaded Temple," in Dragon Magazine #62 by Jerry Epperson for Top Secret. You can read more about Delta Green at http://www.delta-green.com. Please note: This story hour contains spoilers!

Our cast of characters includes:

There are a lot of gems hidden in archives of Dragon, back when a magazine was willing to fill its pages with a multi-page layout of an area that might – MIGHT – have something interesting in it. These were the days when vast pages would be taken up with scenarios that read more like blueprints, with no clear narrative path for the agents to follow. In this case, it's a temple that just happens to be hiding radioactive isotopes.

I knew that I wanted the agents to take on Tiger Transit's headquarters in full force, and that I would eventually need a layout for them to infiltrate. With the Portuguese translation of the Seventh Scroll of Hsan, the Focloro Verdadeiro, slipping through their fingers, the agents are rushed. There's no time for preparation – I threw them right into the next scenario. The twist is that the Tcho-Tchos are trafficking in Fumo Loco, which is highly flammable. That provided a fun twist: Sprague specifically prohibited firearms lest the whole place go up in flames.

This really perturbed Hammer, as I knew it would. But it also provided for some interesting twists. In the end, it comes down to Mok Bin Tau, leader of the White Shadows, and Jim-Bean, the increasingly erratic psychic abductee. We know this will end badly.

Defining Moment: Hammer gets fed up with not using his pistols.

more

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Saturday, February 13

Unit 23: Conclusion

Archive ticked off the items they had discovered: "…an African juju bag, a Hindu incense burner, a South American feather cloak, an ancient reading glass, a book on physics and sorcery by Sir Isaac Newton, a crystal ball, and a book on torture by Count Ferencz Nadasdy."

"Sounds like nighttime reading to me," said Jim-Bean.

"Were you firing…grenades into that warehouse?" Guppy asked.

Jim-Bean smiled. "Why should the ninjas and bikers have all the fun?"

Hammer, standing a bit apart from the other agents, was getting reamed out by Sprague over his cistron. After a few more grunts and nods, he hung up and marched back to his companions.

"Sprague's pissed, isn't he," said Caprice.

"You could say that. We lost all our police backup. No cops, no SWAT, and…" he looked specifically at Jim-Bean, "no Jericho Jets."

Jim-Bean snapped his fingers.

Hammer took a deep breath. "So it's up to us."

"Us?" asked Guppy. "Just us?" more

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Monday, February 8

Unit 23: Part 3 – The Thing in the Van

Archive, Hammer, and Jim-Bean stood uncertainly at the entryway to Unit 23, trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

Amidst the swirling smoke and occasional spurts of blood, black figures darted in and out. Hammer kept his pistols trained on the entrance, waiting to see what came coughing out of it. Archive stood beside him, muttering an incantation.

Jim-Bean wandered into the melee, firing grenades at random. more

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Friday, February 5

Unit 23: Part 2 – Those Darn Ninjas

Caprice, pistol out, made his way through the smoke and the screaming towards the van. All around them, Satan's Sadist bikers engaged with White Shadows.

A throwing star whistled past Guppy's ear, skewering the big biker near the flipchart in the forehead. He foamed at the mouth and fell over.

"We've got to get out of here!" wailed Guppy.

"Chill." Caprice threw open the door. Milliard was slumped over the wheel.

Caprice unceremoniously dumped Milliard. There weren't any keys on the body.

Caprice shoved Guppy in ahead of him and jumped into the cab of the panel van.

"Can you hotwire it?" asked Caprice.

"S-sure!" said Guppy. He wiggled under the steering column.

There was a thump on the hood of the car, thin blade drawn for a strike. Caprice fired his pistol three times, instantly cracking the glass. The safety glass was a spider web of cracks, making it difficult to see anything.

"Almost there…" said Guppy.

A blade shrieked through the top of the cab, just missing Caprice's head. He pointed his pistol upwards and fired the remaining bullets in his Beretta.

Another thump and a body bounced off the hood.

"Got it!" The van hummed to life. more

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Tuesday, February 2

Unit 23: Part 1 – Twenty Three

Snowdog and his Indian accountant stepped out of the limo in front of a warehouse.

"Are you sure this is the place?" Guppy asked nervously. It'd been awhile since he'd been out in the field. He had been running tech support from behind a desk, recognition from Majestic that he wasn't really up to the kind of stress demanded by a field op.

Located in Chicago's 23rd District, they stood before a disused warehouse amongst an entire wasteland of abandoned and run down industrial units. It was exactly what it is intended to be – a quiet makeshift spot away from traffic where illegitimate business could be conducted.

"Unit 23, 2323 E. Schiller Street," said Snowdog, actually Caprice in his street rapper persona. "Dis is it, yo."

Guppy nodded and, taking a deep breath, they sauntered their way into the warehouse. more

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Wednesday, January 27

Unit 23: Prologue

Chicago police and SWAT swarmed the checkpoint, boxing in a perimeter around the warehouse where the White Shadows were supposedly storing rare artifacts and crates filled with Coca Loco.

"You sure it's in there?" asked Jim-Bean, peering through binoculars at their target, a warehouse.

Hammer glared at him. "You're girlfriend gave us the info—"

"She's not my girlfriend," snapped Jim-Bean. "She's…"

"Oh, I'm sorry. Is "mother of your children" better?" asked Hammer sarcastically. more

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Tuesday, January 26

Unit 23 Story Hour: Introduction

This story hour is a combination of the latest Delta Green Mailing List contest entry, "Unit 23," by Graham Kinniburgh, "Two Minutes On High" by Michael P. Nagel from Unspeakable Oath #11, and "Righteous Triad Fists" by Allan T. Grohe from The Triad Sourcebook. You can read more about Delta Green at Delta Green. Please note: This story hour contains spoilers!

The odds of someone posting a scenario that perfectly fit the window when I needed something involving tcho-tchos are incredibly small. As fate would have it, Graham posted a scenario that was just perfect. It's not that surprising, given that my tastes in Delta Green action run similar to Graham's. I ended up using his scenario as the glue between At Your Door and what I like to call "Cthulhu Must Die."

This scenario actually draws on a third scenario, Righteous Triad Fists. Instead of having the battle be over The Seventh Scroll of Hsan, we have a Portuguese translation in book form. The goal is simply this: get the book, stop the cultists. Of course, it's much more complicated than that…

I had no idea I would end up with a full host of players that day. Because d20 is level-based, Caprice and Guppy have fallen behind in levels, so I was careful to separate them from the combat initially. What I didn't want was to have a bloodbath where the low level characters get knocked flat while the high level characters pound away on the opposition.

I pretty much butchered Graham's entry – I completely tossed the items he had listed as a homage to Marc McFadden, who recently passed away, along with the allusions to "The Lizard King." I replaced the Banzai 23 with Satan's Sadists, from At Your Door. And most importantly, I wanted to role-play some bidding, which gave our two weaker characters a chance to shine. Since Caprice is involved, that means our favorite cover is back: SNOWDOG!

I've also learned that, although it's fun to place 20 ninjas and 20 thugs on a warehouse map and have them duke it out, it's really not practical to make all those rolls. I learned my lesson running a massive D&D scenario with a similar number of opponents and skipped the boring parts. Narrative combat is key, rather than what miniature is on what part of the page. more

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Saturday, December 26

Crisis in Freeport: Part 13 – Shattered Masques

The front double doors to the Salon du Masque were made of solid oak with metal bands reinforcing the wood, giving them a sturdy and utilitarian appearance. Sebastian rang his chime and they opened as if they had been invited guests.

Inside the doors was a beautiful entryway; a crystal chandelier hung from the ceiling and fine rugs gave the wooden floor a somewhat richly cluttered appearance. Off to the left, a stairwell ascended to the second floor, with common areas on either side of the entrance. It gave the impression that Salon du Masque was no mere brothel, but rather an upscale home for socialites.

Several tables and chairs were overturned, and elorii soldiers fired a volley of arrows as Sebastian entered. The projectiles stopped a few feet before him and fell to the ground. Beldin stepped out behind him, their roles reversed for once.

“Well, look ‘ew we ‘ave here!” came a familiar voice. “If it ain’t th’ Sea Lord o’ Freetown ‘imself!”

“Price,” said Sebastian. “I thought you were in prison.”

Price stood up from behind one of the tables, and it was clear that things had changed since he was incarcerated. He bore scars and marks all over his arms and face. He had short and unruly brown hair that stuck up at all angles. And somewhere along the line, Price had lost an eye and acquired an eye patch.

“Oh, right. Well, yah, I was afflicted wid a bad case ov incarceration, but I got better.” He swung two long clubs before him, one in each hand, striding towards Beldin.

Sebastian fired back at the elorii bowmen with closed fists, unleashing blast after blast of eldritch energy. One of them shrieked and fell backwards out of sight.

Beldin moved to meet Price, Windcutter at the ready. “There’s no way you’re competent enough to escape prison on your own.”

“Took a bit o’ convincing o’ the Commissioner, yew know, but ‘e got it once I stuck a shiv through ‘is throat.” Price laughed. more

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Thursday, December 17

No Pain, No Gain: Conclusion

"What the HELL is wrong with you?" shouted Hammer.

"Be quiet," said Jim-Bean nervously, "or she might hear you." One second into Armbruster's feeding time and they were arguing. Hammer had been steamed all day.

"Hear me?" asked Hammer. "Hear me? That's pretty mild compared to what you did with her!"

"I didn't!" Jim-Bean sputtered. "I mean, I did but…I wasn't myself!"

"She drugged you," said Archive, giving Jim-Bean a way out.

"Yes! No! I don't know!" Jim-Bean rubbed his temple. "She looked different to me then. She gives off this…this vibe, it's hard to explain."

"Don't explain it," snarled Hammer. "Ever. Do you have any idea what Sprague's going to do to us? Or to her?"

Jim-Bean froze. Although the skittering noise was still audible, Armbruster was standing at the opening. They weren't sure how much she had heard.

"Jimmy," she said softly. "I'd like to take a walk with you if you don't mind."

All the saliva in Jim-Bean's throat evaporated. He rose to his feet. "Okay." more

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Wednesday, December 16

No Pain, No Gain: Part 12 – Cigars for Everybody

"Where were you?" Hammer glared at Jim-Bean, who had returned to the sleeping quarters sometime in the middle of the night.

"I…I'm not sure," Jim-Bean lied.

"You were with her for a long time," said Archive.

"Did you get anything useful out of her?" asked Hammer. They only spoke about escape plans when Armbruster was feeding. The noise drowned out their conversation.

Jim-Bean shook his head. "I need more time…"

"So much for your great escape plan," snapped Hammer. "Archive?"

"I've been experimenting with some of the chemicals," whispered Archive. "I think I could create an explosion if I needed to."

"We'll need it. She keeps the entrance blocked and none of us are strong enough to open it on our own. Only you could do it, Jimmy."

"I don't think I could do it fast enough for us all to get out in time."

"It all may be moot soon. By my count we've been here a week," said Hammer. "Majestic is going to be looking for us."

"Are you sure about that?" asked Archive. "I didn't think Sprague cared if we lived or died."

Hammer smirked. "Not us. Him." He pointed at Jim-Bean. "Jimmy's too valuable." more

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Tuesday, December 15

No Pain, No Gain: Part 11 – The Con

After some further conversation from Armbruster wherein Jim-Bean assured her that they wouldn't try to escape, she let them out of the pen. She showed them around the caves, starting with the lab, pointing out the refrigerator and freezer as examples of her good will.

"You're all going to have to pull your own weight around the house, of course," she said.

Willie growled at Hammer whenever he came near. Hammer gave the wolf-beast a wide berth.

Each agent was assigned chores. Hammer had the bulk of the work, including fetching water from an underground pool, cleaning the dishes, and most disturbingly, emptying the latrine.

Archive became Armbruster's research assistant. He had was assigned the dull, dirty, and dangerous work: drawing quivering microscopic horrors, sniffing bubbling alembics pouring off poisonous gases, and reading paragraphs that tempted the mind to disintegration.

She took Jim-Bean aside into another chamber. "You're different, aren't you?"

Jim-Bean swallowed hard. Armbruster poured three bottles of wine into a large glass vat the size of Jim-Bean's head. She poured the remainder of it into a beaker and offered it to him.

"You could say that," he said, taking the glass. Her hand brushed his arm, the contact a little too long to be an accident. more

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Monday, December 14

No Pain, No Gain: Part 10 – Life With Jenny

Other than bland human news in five minute chunks, idiotic talk shows blaring in the background, and unnervingly reactionary soap operas, the march of time became difficult to track. Hours passed.

"Did you hear that?" asked Archive.

They all craned their necks to listen.

There was a scrabbling noise, like brittle silk and powdered glass.

"It sounds like…millions of tiny feet," said Hammer. "Jimmy?"

"I'm not sure I want to look," said Jim-Bean with a frown. He concentrated…

Armbruster was sprawled against the far wall of a cave. A horde of crickets scrabbled down from a hole in the ceiling towards her. At first Jim-Bean thought she was about to be consumed by them, but then he realized it was actually the reverse.

The bugs swarmed over her, fighting to enter her gaping mouth. Her eyes seemed to acknowledge his presence even though she couldn't possibly see his scrying. Without attempting to speak, her gesture seemed to be an offer to share…

Jim-Bean sprang back, once again in the cell, sweating.

"Well?" asked Archive.

"It's better off if you don't know," said Jim-Bean. more

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Sunday, December 13

No Pain, No Gain: Part 9 – Domestic Bliss

The lab outside of the pen consisted of a large table, handmade from lumber remnants. It was covered with basic lab equipment, books, and papers. Mounds of household objects and appliances rose in odd corners. Boxes and former living room furniture were stacked in disarray. Table lamps, track lighting, and desk lamps illuminated the cavern.

Archive had managed to bind most of his wounds and, through his healing trance, mend his broken bones. Hammer was badly bruised but otherwise okay.

The first day after she captured the agents, Armbruster busily tidied up the caverns. She arranged old bed sheets into relatively modest clothing for herself. She swept up and organized her deep dwelling into one more appropriate for family life. She appears content and determined as she transformed her haphazard environment into one of newly ordered boxes, carefully placed lamps, and scrubbed tables: everything was cleaned and put in proper place.

Finally, Armbruster stopped to address them through the bars. "Well, here we are. Look, I'm sorry to pen you up like this, but you kind of barged in on me, you know? I think you can understand my need for privacy." She laughed grotesquely, every tooth gleaming in the cavern of her mouth. "I know you're going to take this hard, but you're going to have to stay here. Hey--don't worry, Really, I'm not going to hurt you. I'm not. I'm not one of those dangerous types who chop people up." She blushed, flustered. "Oh, that's the wrong thing to say. Sorry." Armbruster cleared her throat. ''It's pretty clear you guys know a lot about me, and how—y'know, how I got like this. We'll talk. But not now."

"Jenny, we're agents of the federal government," said Jim-Bean. "People will come looking for us."

Armbruster changed the subject. "So, what do you guys want for dinner? My friends always tell me I'm a pretty good cook."

"Uh…we don't really plan to stay here long," said Hammer.

"Microwave dinners and soup it is!" exclaimed Armbruster. She left the room and bustled back in with microwave dinners, canned soups, and two-liter bottles of soft drinks. Along with the hot meal, she passed in a latrine bucket.

"All the comforts of home," muttered Archive. more

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Saturday, December 12

No Pain, No Gain: Part 8 – The Thing in the Cave

Jim-Bean followed the trail of the cable like a human divining rod. He pointed at a large lava boulder near the river. "It leads here."

Hammer looked askance at the boulder. "There's no way we can lift that ourselves."

"Don’t be so sure," said Jim-Bean. "I may not be able to telekinetically move it around, but I'm pretty sure I can lift it straight up."

Jim-Bean put his palms to the boulder and concentrated.

Slowly but surely, the boulder levitated upwards, inch by inch. "When the opening is wide enough," grunted Jim-Bean, "Go!"

After the boulder lifted up a few more feet, Hammer ducked inside, scoping out the cavern with his pistols. Archive followed soon after.

When it was about four feet high in the air, Jim-Bean, still keeping his hands pressed against the boulder, carefully ducked inside. Then he let the boulder softly return to its resting place.

They were in utter darkness. Hammer slapped his nightvision goggles over his eyes and the others did likewise.

"You realize," whispered Archive, "we're now trapped in here, right?"

"Can you see anything ahead?" Hammer asked Jim-Bean.

Jim-Bean knew what he meant. He shook his head. "Music stopped, lights went out. They know we're here."

"Okay, weapons hot, eyes peeled," said Hammer. They slowly advanced into a cavernous hallway…

When the ceiling exploded. more

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Friday, December 11

No Pain, No Gain: Part 7 – The Wilderness Retreat Center

"Why don't we just JERICHO jet the hell out of the place?" asked Jim-Bean.

"Too risky," said Hammer. "This is a populated area near Samson's airspace. We're not sure that this is their headquarters yet."

By the time the agents reached the little town of Renuncion, they ascended into open pine forest. The air was s hazy with Samson's smog, blown far east. The day was hot and dry.

Renuncion barely qualified as even a village. There were about four dozen homes, most of which were strung along the town’s main street. The houses were exactly what one would expect to see in a tiny American town: small, unspectacular structures that under some circumstances might seem “cozy.” Here the townspeople carried out their daily affairs almost furtively. Suspicious eyes peeked out at strangers from behind curtained windows. Children played quietly, seldom laughing, shying away from those they didn't know. Dogs, cats, and other animals also avoided contact with outsiders and residents alike.

Hammer brought up a satellite image of the town. "We think this is their headquarters. The book has mention of an address, and that's it."

Set upon a ridge miles from the next house, the property backed up on a national forest. Localized volcanic activity about four thousand years ago left a jumble of black and red surface outcrops in the area. The Wilderness Retreat Center was the last of a handful along the dusty gravel road: the road ended abruptly at a locked Forest Service gate and cattle guard.

"So can't we just send a STREETSWEEPER team in…" began Jim-Bean.

Hammer shook his head. "We scanned the area. No heat signatures. Nobody's in the house."

"That doesn't make any sense," said Archive. "What kind of Retreat is this place?'

"One where everybody's dead." Hammer pulled the car up. "Or they've already abandoned it."

The house was a small, modem, two-story structure. The curtains were drawn closed, but a light was visible burning upstairs. A two-car garage stood across the road. There was no lawn or garden, though the brush and grass were cut back from around the house and garage to reduce the risk of fire.

The agents got out of the car.

"Check this out," said Archive.

The aluminum mailbox, labeled J.A. ARMBRUCE, had deep, regular scratches in it. The base of the mailbox was about forty inches above the ground.

"Something big made those scratches," said Archive, inspecting the scratches. "Judging by the separation of the teeth and the jaw wide required to bite down on both sides…this was made by one really big dog."

Jim-Bean drew his submachinegun. "Great." more

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Thursday, December 10

No Pain, No Gain: Part 6 – The Festival

The festival was a three-day event that began Friday night and ended on Sunday. It featured live music from a variety of bands, food, crafts, speeches, and all sorts of other stuff. The festival was largely confined to the open areas of the park.

On Saturday night a popular pro-environment band held a concert which thousands attended. While everyone else was heading to the show, Cynthia Dexter and her cultists headed for the woods to prepare the sacrifice.

“Ishniggarah!” Dexter slashed precisely at one of the sacrifice's wrists.

The agents crept up to a clearing in the woods. It was a dark and dank part of the forest that felt quite eerie. The area was devoid of animals. In the center of the clearing was a stone that seemed to have been worked at a bit, giving it a roughly cubic shape.

“The Black Mouth!” Dexter used her knife to slice a second sacrifice. She was only inflicting flesh wounds. The real murders would come at the end of the ritual.

All around the altar, nine cultists dressed in dark robes and hoods chanted in unison. Four of the cnidocytes were there, lurking in the darkness, squealing and wailing along with the chanting. Splayed out on the altar were four naked men, all unconscious.

At the center was Dexter, wielding a knife. She looked different. She had dyed her hair blonde and wore blue contact lenses.

“The Black Tongue!” Dexter struck the third sacrifice with a ritual flourish. Blood from all three sacrifices splashed out over the altar.

Archive, Hammer, and Jim-Bean took positions on platforms in nearby trees. The speed of the ritual caught them by surprise – Dexter had moved up her timetable knowing that the ambush would only delay the agents for so long.

Dexter plunged the knife down at the throat of the last sacrifice.

“The Black—"

"Now!" hissed Hammer into the comm.

Several things happened at once. Hammer, taking aim with his sniper rifle, shot the knife right out of Dexter's hand. Her scream of rage and surprise was immediately muted by a whispered chant from Archive.

An eerie silence fell over the cultists and their squealing cnidocytes.

Whirling around furiously to spot her attacker, Dexter pointed and the cnidocytes spread out like dogs on the hunt.

"They're looking for us," commanded Hammer. "Keep firing while we have the advantage!"

There was a familiar FOONT sound as Jim-Bean launched a grenade. Enchanted by Archive's Elder Sign sigil, the grenade tore through one of the cnidocytes and two of the nearby cultists.

But he gave himself away. As gunfire from Archive and Hammer pounded the cultists, Jim-Bean was violently yanked downwards out of his perch by a deathly white tentacle. The cnidocyte squealed excitedly as it dragged him out of the tree.

Jim-Bean yelled and blindly fired his submachinegun into the thing at point blank range, but that didn't stop it from jerking him spastically closer. more

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Wednesday, December 9

No Pain, No Gain: Part 5 – Of Course It’s a Trap

The address led to an abandoned warehouse. Lights were on inside.

Archive, his arm bandaged, was mostly functional. "So…why are we here again?"

They all wore night vision goggles.

"We're ambushing the people who ambushed Fiona," said Hammer. With workman-like efficiency, he placed a small charge next to electrical wiring that led to the warehouse. He handed the detonator to Archive. "Ready?"

Jim-Bean shouldered a submachinegun with a grenade launcher attachment. He slapped his goggles over his eyes. "Ready!"

Archive etched the Elder Sign with chalk on Jim-Bean and Hammer's guns. Then he reluctantly lowered his goggles. "Ready."

Hammer made his way over to the side door of the warehouse. "Jimmy, you've got the count."

Jim-Bean, a pistol in one hand, used his other to count down. He counted off silently with his fingers: Three. Two. One.

Archive pressed the detonator on the charge. It blew, frying the electrical circuits to the warehouse.

At the same, Hammer kicked open the door, both Glocks at the ready.

The warehouse was filled with all sorts of boxes and containers, making it difficult to see. Then they heard a familiar squealing.

"Secondary cnidocytes," swore Jim-Bean. "Lots of them." more

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Tuesday, December 8

No Pain, No Gain: Part 4 – Finding Fiona

Jim-Bean's cistron beeped.

"The STREETSWEEPER team is finished," he read aloud. "They found a body in the rubble that they think might be Noelle Rand." Jim-Bean left out the part where Sprague bitched them out for destroying the place before the STREETSWEEPER team arrived, but it was probably for the best.

"They think? They're not sure?" asked Hammer.

Jim-Bean shook his head. "They're having difficulty determining the gender."

Hammer frowned. He was having second thoughts about blowing the place up as well. "Because of the blast?"

"Because there's chromosomal damage. The DNA matches up but the gender is all wrong. It's almost as if she was a hermaphrodite."

Hammer blinked. "Was she?"

"I don't think so. There's no medical records indicating such. She always identified herself as female."

"But she was a bodybuilder," said Hammer.

A light went off in Jim-Bean's head. "Who needs steroids when you can use Mother's Milk?"

"Who knows what injecting that stuff would do to you?" asked Hammer.

"Speaking of genetic material, the caretaker, that thing in the water, and those little beasts were all related."

Hammer shuddered. "I didn't need to know that." more

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Monday, December 7

No Pain, No Gain: Part 3 – It's Fun to Stay at the Y.M.C.A.

The YMCA was still a very handsome design. Despite its condition, the building was stately and bombastic, invoking a more proud and positive time. There was a chain fence surrounding the plot, and the building itself was heavily boarded.

Towards the back, accessible through a small gate in the fence, was a small square building. Lights were visible inside. Heavy weed growth ran from the building right up to the fence.

Hammer peeked in. The cottage had a bedsit-type layout with a kitchen/living room and a separate bathroom/bedroom. It was very clean and tidy, in stark contrast to the surrounding area. "Someone's here, but not in the cottage," he whispered. "So stay alert."

They all drew their pistols as they made their way to the larger building.

Large growths of weeds and fungus were everywhere inside. There were normal varieties, but were prodigiously healthy.

"First, a little preparation for whatever didn't show up in that photograph," said Archive. He scrawled the Elder Sign on their pistols with his chalk.

"Every YMCA has to have a pool," said Hammer. He led the way into the main room.

It was a wreck. Fallen masonry made footing precarious, the walls were filthy and cracked, and broken skylights let the elements in. The whole place reeked of feces and the hot coppery scent of blood.

The main pool was a filthy brownish green, with a thick oily sheen upon the surface. In one corner of the pool sat a bloated, humanoid figure about the size of a car. Atop a pale flabby body was a flat round face with tiny black pinprick eyes and a wide mouth full of needle-like teeth. A brown tentacle-like tongue occasionally flicked from between the teeth, leaving a glistening trail. If the creature had lower limbs, they could not be seen past its vast, distended belly.

"What. The Hell. Is That," said Hammer calmly.

"Just another tentacled beast stewing in a pool of blood and feces," said Jim-Bean wryly. more

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Sunday, December 6

No Pain, No Gain: Part 2 – The End of Rand

Hammer jimmied the lock to Rand's apartment. The agents spread out, carefully surveying each room. A few minutes later, they joined Archive in Rand's office.

"What have you got?" asked Hammer.

"There's a poster of a woman named Jennifer Armbruster in her bedroom," said Jim-Bean. "Not a bad looking chick, for a bodybuilder. I also found this." He showed Hammer a jar. "That residue look familiar?"

Hammer nodded. "Oh yes, how could I forget? Tertiary cnidocytes."

"Or at least Mother's Milk. I also found this notebook. Has mostly shopping lists and household notes. Rand was a bodybuilder too; there are weightlifting sets in there. But take a look at the weird chant."

Archive took the notebook from Jim-bean and scanned it. "This is an endurance chant." more

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Saturday, December 5

No Pain, No Gain: Part 1 – The Ecotopian, Again

SAMSON, CA -- Agents Archive, Hammer, and Jim-Bean sat at the desks of the Ecotopian. The staff eyed them warily, but the hostile atmosphere of the office had changed since they last visited.

The office was staffed mostly by young people working phones, but there were also people writing reports and analyzing soil and water samples. There were posters up everywhere announcing the Festival of the Earth that was happening next weekend.

"Noelle Rand was our photographer. She quit the Ecotopian's staff and Full Wilderness completely a few weeks ago," said Fiona in her Scottish accent, incongruent with her Asian appearance. She was half-Chinese. "That's when I got the email."

She handed a print out of the email to Hammer. He scanned its contents. "So she left to join a women's environmental group…"

"The Sisterhood of New Potential," said Fiona. "Which is why I called you. She was suffering odd lapses in her memory and strange attacks of extreme fear. She disappeared shortly after I received that email."

"Why us?" asked Jim-Bean curiously. "I didn't think you were particularly fond of…our operation."

Fiona frowned. "The Sisterhood of New Potential has been recruiting several women from here," she said. "I had a fight with Cynthia Dexter about it."

"You spoke with her face to face?" asked Archive, curiosity piqued.

Fiona nodded. "She's either a religious nut, a scam artist, or both. She was always talking about her great goddess."

"We'll check it out," said Hammer. "And maybe afterwards I can brief you over dinner."

Fiona cocked her head, eyeing Hammer. "Maybe. Let's see what you find first." She handed Hammer an address. "This is Noelle's address. The police haven't paid much attention to the case, but I bet you can find out more."

"We have our methods," said Hammer cryptically. He tucked the note into a pocket and turned to go,

"Agent Hammer?"

Hammer spun on his heel, a little too quickly. "Yes?" he asked hopefully.

She pointed a finger at the printed email, still in Hammer's hand. "Don't forget to recycle that printout," she said with a sly smile. more

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Friday, December 4

No Pain No Gain: Prologue


Hammer's feed was interrupted by a call. He picked it up.

A woman's voice answered. "Agent Hammer?"

Hammer blinked . He recognized her voice. "Fiona?"

"Listen, I just saw the news report about the Sisterhood of New Potential. Are you working on that case?"

"Yes, why?"

"I think I have some information you'll want to hear about. Can you visit me at the Ecotopian offices?"

"We'll be right over." more

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Thursday, December 3

Chapter 49: No Pain, No Gain - Introduction

This story hour is a combination of the scenario from At Your Door, "No Pain, No Gain," by Barbara Manui, Chris Adams, and L.N. Isinwyll, Dinner With Susan by Kelvin Green, and Goddess by Dr. Michael C. LaBossiere. You can read more about Delta Green at http://www.delta-green.com. Please note: This story hour contains spoilers!

Our cast of characters includes:

Up to this point, we've established that Dawn Biozyme has been dabbling with "Mother's Milk," that it comes from Shub-Niggurath, and that several of the spawn of said Great Old One have gotten loose. The team barely, just barely, defeated a fully grown Dark Young. Now it's time to up the stakes.

It all starts with Noelle Rand's disappearance, a photographer for Full Wilderness' Ecotopian magazine.

That connection is Cynthia Dexter, and she will be one of the many casualties as the agents run and gun their way through this scenario. But first, we start with the Mother of Pus, replacing the flabby monstrosity in Dinner with Susan. She's more disgusting than difficult, and it set the tone for just how gruesome the worshippers of Shub-Niggurath can get. This scenario was flesh-crawlingly gross, especially when Archive gets infected…

Next is a series of ambushes between cultists of Cynthia Dexter's Sisterhood of New Potential. We also get to see Fiona Lin-Wei back in action.

Finally is the scenario we've all been dreading: No Pain, No gain. The one with the horny giantess, talking dog, "Jennikins" and a railroad ambush. I played it straight – I used d20 rules for an explosion and cave-in and gave the agents a decent chance to escape. But they didn't.

So you know what happens next. In my defense, the only thing I changed was Willie. I changed him from Clifford the Big Red Dog to Rover from the Prisoner. This whole scenario turned very, very strange, but at no point did the players feel it was comical or out of sync with the rest of the conspiracy narrative. In fact, much to my surprise, they enjoyed it very much. more

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Wednesday, November 25

Landscrapes: Conclusion

Suddenly, a great cracking noise shattered the silence, followed by a terrifying vision: separating itself from the surrounding evergreens, a tentacle beast bore down on them, tendrils waving, pus-dripping mouths champing. The hideous offspring of Shub-Niggurath screeched and howled. It was the creature that had escaped from Dawn Biozyme, that had killed off the Black Flag team. And now it was coming for Hammer.

Hammer ran. He plunged straight through the open doorway and, leaping over the wreckage, hit the ground running. Behind him, the thing smashed through the cabin, heedless of the obstacle in its path. Jim-Bean never made it out.

Hammer kept running. He could out run it, he was sure, if it weren't for the damn trees. He just had to find some flat ground.

But there was none. The trees were everywhere.

Hammer looked over his shoulder. The thing was right on his heels, tentacles waving towards him, probing, tearing trees out of its path or just smashing right through them with its cloven hooves.

Stars exploded as Hammer ran headlong into a trunk. He fell backwards, bouncing off of the solid oak, stunned.

Tentacles snaked towards him, hungry mouths sucking in anticipation.

Hammer caught sight of the box of dynamite. He'd dropped it as he ran, and now it was partially underneath the tentacle-thing's feet. He took aim and fired. more

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Tuesday, November 24

Landscrapes: Part 10 – The Forests See All

The portal emptied into an overgrown clearing. At the center was an old, creaky log cabin, a collapsed outbuilding, and a well.

Jim-Bean's mask was gone. He looked around, blinking in the setting sun.

"I recognize this," said Hammer. "This was Waban's place."

The sound of many flies buzzing through the air caused Hammer to unholster his Glocks. Jim-Bean held the braincase in one hand and the Elder Sign in the other.

Pointing the braincase towards to Waban's house, it began to pulse.

Jim-Bean led the way, climbing the rough steps up to Waban’s house. There were a large number of flies around the screen door, accompanied by a revolting stench.

The screen door was black with flies crawling over the torn mesh. Hammer kicked it open.

A scene of grisly proportions greeted them.

"Jesus," whispered Hammer. more

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Monday, November 23

Landscrapes: Part 9 – PELLUCIDAR

The cavern opened up above and below and to each side. Hundreds of the tiny, fire-like lights provided dim illumination. The light revealed a dome at least ninety feet above, and a canyon below it running approximately three-hundred feet to the northwest, before a bend hid the rest of its extent from view. The sound of a river gurgled up from the canyon floor below at least two hundred and fifty feet away. The opposite side of the canyon was the source of the light, as it twinkled in sparkling profusion from the windows of a majestic cliff dwelling.

The place was large enough to have its own atmosphere. It smelled odd, and strange clicking and buzzing sounds reached their ears.

"What is this place?" asked Hammer.

"I don't think it'z on Earth," responded Jim-Bean.

Up ahead was a pentagon-shaped building made of similar black obsidian. A pentagon-shaped door lensed open before Jim-Bean as he approached.

Inside, the floor was smooth, black obsidian rock. Strange fungus growths were everywhere. They moved to the next room through another pentagon door.

It opened to a similarly sized room emitting loud buzzing and clicking noises like a swarm of wasps. Inside were tiny, winged lobsters, clambering around eating spores from massive toadstools and other fungal growths that filled the chamber, while little black worm larva crawled everywhere else. An organic, transparent membrane stopped the creatures from escaping.

"That iz their young," said Jim-Bean matter-of-factly.

"You're starting to creep me out with that mask," said Hammer.

Metal shelves on the walls held various cylinders, some occupied, others empty. Strange appendages that looked like speakers were also on the shelves. One cylinder had recently been opened and left unfinished.

"We already know what's in those." Hammer swallowed hard. He'd seen a man's brain sucked out through his face. That image would stay with him for the rest of his life. He refused to look inside.

They moved on to the next room. It contained strange alien tables created in human shape. Next to the beds were translucent egg shaped vessels with pipes pumping liquid into them from valves in the ceiling. Inside each vessel were human organs and body parts such as lungs, hearts, eyes, leg muscles and intestines, kept alive and functioning by the strange fluids.

"I remember thiz place," said Jim-Bean, his voice evincing a hint of nostalgia.

"That's not…yours, is it?" asked Hammer.

Jim-Bean didn't answer. Maybe he didn't want to know. He walked to the next room.

It was bare except for the back wall covered in strange runes.

The runes on the wall glowed. A large, pinkish, fungoid, crustacean-like entity stepped out of it.

It was the size of a man with a convoluted ellipsoid composed of pyramided, fleshy rings and covered in antennae where a head would normally be. Its crustacean-like body bore numerous sets of paired appendages. It also possessed a pair of membranous bat-like wings. Alien dog. Mi-Go. Mothman. Whatever it was, Jim-bean stood before it unafraid. more

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