El Chupacabra's La Puerta!
"The Goat Sucker's Door"
***
With two thirds of Paradise City in ruin and the measly 5,100 survivors rallied together and rebuilding their homes the troupe are faced with having to deal with the slumbering giant under the murder dome. Worse, the tunnel leading the ravenous Rasma did not collapse so anyone could wander down there and disturb the creature's sleep. After heated debate over what exactly they can do
Alfonse Frank and
Jack Ryder make their way to the enormousness tunnel mouth amidst the rubble and broken scattered corpses of several dozen Juicer athletes. When suddenly their conversation is interrupted by the roar of
Doctor Bastardsto's War Throne and the sharp barb of one of his famous half-witisms.
Alfonse and Jack poise themselves for action as with the gesture
Doctor Bastardstro announces the presence of
The Electric Kitten Force and his mighty titan of neon-radiance and steel...
JOLTRON!The Earth beneath the dome explodes and peppers the street in debris as Joltron (which looks like Lion Force's Voltron if it were made out of cats instead of lions and caste in neon colors) rises up and levitates over the city for a moment, then engages thrusters and pushes higher into the sky revealing the mighty behemoth Rasma to be bound in a micro-fusion nanite cable cage. The great beast struggles against the binding but is bound by its own strength and unable to wriggle free of the high-tech bonds as Bastardstro cackles manically!
"You may have one the battle Jack Ryder but we will see who wins the war!"
EDIT: The Electric Kitten Force (E.K.F) are five attractive women who were trained by and loyally devoted to Mr. Pants. Although their mighty mech Joltron was created by Doctor Bastardstro they are resentful of the old pervert and outraged by his desire to weaponize the Legendary Jack Ryder who they wish to murder to avenge the death of their beloved Mr. Pants. However, they also realize that the Not-So-Good Doctor controls Joltron and that working directly against him (and his personal war against the Splugorth) could result in losing control of one of the most powerful weapons on the planet (and perhaps their only instrument of vengeance).
As Alfonse and Jack back up as teargas fills the street and Doctor Bastardstro and Joltron vanish into the light of the sun they
almost sigh with an unspoken thanks that combat did not break out but Jack is notably frustrated by the fact that Bastardstro become even more dangerous by gaining control of
The Splynn-City Killer Rasma.A Few Days Later... Alfonse is cutting his toe nails or something equally as ghastly at the dinner table when his eyes glaze over and the crispy papery sound of pages turning fills his head accompanied by the familiar voice of his brother in Law Miguel Manwell.
Miguel Manwell wrote:Alfonse my brother are you there. Is this thing working? Hello-Hello? It had better these scroll has cost us all we have left.
Alfonse makes an arcane gesture and transmits his thoughts back to Manwell via a casting of the same spell used on the scroll to find out what his brother wants. He learns that his brother-in-law, sister, their six children and several people from his old community had made it over the
Rio Grande and had settled a small area by the river (of 400 people) and had
liberated some goats and cattle and had built themselves a happy little community away from the rigors of Meh-heh-coh.
EDIT: No one took an issue with illegal people smuggling!
Though the reason he was being contacted was because they had been suffering recent attacks from the dreaded El Chupacabra and they needed a
Wizard to banish the creature. Alfonse knowing that the Chupacabra is not real and merely an ancient myth passed down through his people groans and agrees to come down, throw around some rice, and calm everyone down.
One Roadtrip Montage filled with fire fights with the CS, an arcane battle with what looks like a Velociraptor Raptor in red Wizard Robes and a traditional circle dancing ceremony with a clan of Brutosaurs Later the team arrive at their destination! Miguel welcomes his beloved brother, but it is getting late so he ushers them in out of the squallier and into their caravan where he sits with them and explains that for the last few months they have been attacked by the dreaded Goat-Sucker. Alfonse gives his sister and Miguel a dirty look and has a heated argument with them about knowing better than to buy into the hysteria while Jack entertains the six little ones with some slick soccer moves. Miguel insists that it is not a myth it is real and that it has been more than goats and cattle that have been mutilated... they have also had several small children stolen!
As the last rays of light cut over the horizon Alfonse insists that Miguel takes him to see one of the
farmers who had been attacked after much argument, they hug, confess their manly love or something and quickly make their way to the farmstead. When they arrive it is more of a caravan with a rickety three foot chicken wire fence with barbwire weaved through it that just happened to be filled with goats than it is an actual
farm but Alfonse recognizes the farmer, greets him and they talk. The farmer insists that he must get inside before dark so they must make it quick but he helps the skeptical inquisitors into the yard and shoos away the goats to lead them through the yard to a corner of the yard that the other livestock avoid where they find the mummified husk of a dead goat. Alfonse kneels down and prods it a little and insists it could have been anything but admits that its blood has been sucked and "If it will shut you up then fine I will banish the dreaded Chupacabra" and rolls his eyes under his LLW gasmask.
Jack and Alfonse talk it through and Alfonse explains that the discrepancies in witnesses' sightings (Some describing a scrawny mange-ridden dog with no lips and big teeth and other as a gargoyle-like creature) is because its is a story and its probably just a Cyote or something stupid and he will "
Lightning-its-face and then they can go home and be done with it." Jack sets up the fire and ties up a goat as bait and the two sit down together around the fire under the full moon and wait for the monster to arrive on the scene.
Alfonse then takes the farmer's fattest Milk Goat (at the reluctant protest of its owner and refuses to accept taking any of his male or even less fat goats) and then spends the evening milking the goat and drinking it whenever he gets bored.
Several Hours Pass... Then, when the moon is highest in the sky Malone snores within his
Big Boy and rolls to one side in the drivers sleep and draws the attention of Alfonse and Jack who watch as the doors lock and the radio turns on slowly. At this point Jack firmly expresses the stupidity behind a plan that involves them sitting out in the open as they turn slowly back to the fire and see the bloodless corpse of the goat laying dead on the other side of the and a snarling beast that looks like something between a thylacine and a wolf snarling back at them from within the darkness.
With a single bound the creature clears the fire and its hackles raise as it approaches the two adventures with ghoulish blood lacquering its maw. Alfonse conjures an lightning arc but his surprise causes the bolt to fly wild and blast apart one of the jury rigged power-lines and cut the power out of one of the caravans so Jack backs up to the truck and produces his trusty Australian
Boom Boom and levees it at the creature, steadies his aim, and fires!
The creature's head explodes and its body slumps limp and a feeling of relief momentarily comes over the team. Momentarily being the key word here. Because within seconds of its
death ropey tendrils of blood jet out from the gaping hole in the creatures head like-so-much spiderweb and seizes the splintered remains of its skull and pulls them back together. With a huff, snort, and shake of its head the creature dislocates its jaw in a stress-yawn and then its hackles rises again and it continues its menacing advance!
As Alfonse attempts to relocate to a more tactical position Jack dons the mantle of the Black Wolf and transforms himself into a wolf in an attempt to communicate with the creature but with no success and quickly returns to his human shape as his super-keen sense of smell is overwhelmed by the foul stench of pestilence hanging in the air around the creature. After several more repeated attempts to put the malevolent-mauling-monstrosity to peace via the heavy application of ammo and electrifying Ley Line Wizardry the two stoic combatants coordinate their attacks and then manage to snag the beast with a burst from the
Alterran Net Gun that Lei stole during their skirmish with the Skarn.*
EDIT: *The traitorous Octoman Splugorth Sympathizer and their primary antagonist upon their arrival in Paradise City.
Storyteller's Take Note: The standard Net Gun issued to Alterran (Blind Warrior Women) slavers by the Splugorth is without a doubt one of the most powerful and dangerous weapons you can allow your PC's to get their hands on. Though this weapon does not look like much at first glance its ability to utterly disable any single combatant without regard for their stats or abilities means that as soon as a target struck by the Area of Effect burst rolls under 16 on the Dodge attempt they are instantly trapped for 20 minutes!
This means that the ONLY way to combat this weapon is make sure your antagonists out number the number of attacks the player using this weapon can make each round and to ensure that your NPC's have a high dodge bonus. Without these factors this weapon will allow anyone wielding it to defeat any other foe with minimal effort. Once imprisoned within the Magic Net the creature within the net is powerless to retaliate or act can only struggle helplessly as your players gather around it and casually shoot it (normally with called shots to the head) until it is dead.
Unnerved by the creature and unsure what exactly it is they throw it into the fire. With a jarring howl of pain the mangy canine struggles helplessly against the mystical mucus membrane as it is consumed by the flames and cooked alive.
"Well, its done" says Alfonse dusting his hands and going and rousing Miguel and his family from their peaceful slumber.
With their success the team high fives and turns in for the night. In the morning the team went to speak to Old Lady Hidalgo who claimed to have had two of her young grand children plucked right out of their beds and carried off by two
Winged Chupacabras! Still unsure what exactly what he is dealing with Alfonse struggles with trying to care enough to give it seriously thought, but cannot come up with a satisfactory explanation and so the two
heroes listen to the old Mexican woman's story. Then, after Alfonse brings her to tears from his careless and inconsiderate interrogation methods and Jack has soothed the old woman back to a somewhat calm state of grieving they leave and begin discussing setting another ambush.
They speak to the farmers and come up with a plan to build a make-shift fence in the center of town to lure in the gargoyle beasts to a single location. Unfortunately the craftsmanship of the locals was so terrible (Result: 80+% on the carpentry roll) that many of the animals kept escaping and so most of the locals bailed out the last moment and took their animals back to their normal pens.
EDIT: I don't know how these people made it across the Rio Grand because they rolled between 80-90% in every single Craft-based roll they were asked to make over the course of this adventure. Their workmanship was lazy and shoddy and would constantly fall apart. This was funny at the time and helped explain why their quality of living was so destitute but it did become a frustration for the players. Especially Alfonse who later in the adventure during his solo endeavor snapped and said to me "Why did I bring this guy (Miguel) with me? He's a total liability, I am burning so much P.P.E. healing him!!" to which I could only shrug and say "Why did you invite him?"
This time the creatures do not take the bait or show up and for the most part the night is uneventful. When morning comes around and the two heroes yawn and turn in for the night, well, day. They wake up later in the afternoon and ask if there are any nearby woodlands. Miguel explains that there is a wood near the cave where the Chupacabra is said to lair but no one goes there because they are afraid that it will devour their soul.
"Why didn't you tell us there was a haunted cave?!" snapped Alfonse slapping Miguel.
"I dunno ese. You is a Wyyzard I figure you know what you are doing." (Yes I was going a bad and perhaps racist Mexican accent)
[Insert Alfonse's heated Hispanic yelling here.]"Calm down ese -- you didn't ask and is far away!"
Alfonse and Jack simultaneously face palm (Okay not really, but the vacant look of disbelief was as synergistic as an Olympic swimming event.) Jack fills up a jerrycan with petrol and Alfonse tries convincing Miguel to come with them to show them where it is but he insists that he has to provide for his family so cannot. Alfonse offers him 50 credits, which he proudly refuses in front of his wife and children (and steals with a successful Pick Pockets roll) then
selflessly agrees to to take them out of the goodness of his own heart.
The team arrive at the cave; it is a limestone cave surrounded by woodlands and when he checks Jack notices there has been recent traffic in and out of the cave. Then as they look they are overcome with an overwhelming sense of repulsion, fear and dread. The urge to leave and flee is strong but even without it Miguel was more than happy to leave and so goes with it and heads back home. The remaining two PC's struggle with the sensation and overcome it (by making their Horror Factor saves) and try to find the source of the impulse. After failing Jack looks at Alfonse and then unscrews the lid on the jerrycan and tosses it into the cave mouth so it begins filling the entry with fuel... then uses his elite-sharpshooting skills to blast the can apart with a plasma burst from his rifle and set mouth of the cave ablaze. Alfonse helps this along by casting
Fuel Flames so that the area becomes a massive cloud of roiling fire. The feeling of fear fades almost instantly subsides as the fire spreads across the opening of the cave and then a little naked boy no older than seven in loose fitting superman underpants digs out from under the fire and hisses at them. The child is bald and has no irises, pail and his mannerism are bestial.
The boy tells them to go away and that he is not going to share his food and tries to beat up Jack to scare him off but he is easily overpowered and pinned to the ground. The interrogate the little mutant (
Psi-Stalker) and learn that he has no name but has been feeding on the Chupacabra that live in the cave. As neither player knows what a Psi-Stalker is (and as neither player has Knowledge Psionics or D-Bee's I don't immediately tell them). The team is
kind of creeped out by him and not sure what to do with him/it but while they're drilling him for questions and he is defiantly telling them that this is his place and go "GO AWAY" he rolls a natural 20 and manages to break Jack's hold and then burrows into the ground like a Mole and vanishes from sight.
EDIT: The Story of the Mole-boy: Although my players never found out the truth behind the Mole Boy as Alfonse unofficially dubbed him, the origin of this young Psi-Stalker is like the origin of so many Psi-Stalkers. Joshua Romero was a 7 year-old boy from the Mexican boy who was living with his grand mother and brother when he was abducted from his caravan by a supernatural evil and dragged back to the dark cave as a source of food for the hideous gargoyle Chupacabra beasts. Although his brother was drank dry when the Gargoyles attempted to feed on Joshua the psychological trauma triggered the awakening of his latent Psi-Stalker genes. The sudden physical and psychological mutation and increased strength, speed, and predatory instinct allowed Joshua to escape the fate of his brother but caused deep psychological damage and fractured his memories of his home. Over the next several months Joshua survived in freshly dug tunnels (thanks to his new Psi-Stalker physiology) and fed off the life-energiesof the enigmatic Chupacabras Joshua forgot more and more of his already fractured memories and became more and more predatory. If caged and reunited with his grand mother or the relocated Mexican community Joshua's memories would have slowly returned to him like a distant dream slowly becoming reality. However, as you will read later in this entry... this was not to be The Mole Boy's ultimate fate.
After realizing that it was the odd
Mole Boy's Psionics that were giving them the eerie feeling the team check their straps and belts, retie their laces and head into the cave. After exploring rather deep into the cave with the assistance of Alfonse's
Globe of Daylight spell the team come to a fork in the path and head down the right passage way to find a massive drop into a huge underground river that is charged with the energy of a Ley Line and filled with large healthy fish. Though Alfonse doesn't notice the roof Jack does, fleeing from the light was
something and not just
one something he is sure there were
many though they stay out of the light so the team can't get a good look at them. The Mole Boy burrows out of the wall (still burred up to his waist) and tells them to go away and to leave his food alone again, hissing at them and throwing stones. Jack grabs him by the arms and tries to pull him out of the wall again but
The Mole Boy is able to slip free (another decent roll) thanks to a layer of dirt on his polished white skin and vanishes back into the wall as Alfonse finishes weaving a second
Globe of Daylight Spell so they can see what it is exactly they are dealing with....
Hundreds, if not thousands of these gargoyle-like bat creatures slightly smaller than a normal human child scurry across the roof out of the light, the ones that cannot, hiss, blister and fall helplessly into the Ley Line fueled river below where they jitter violently like stop-motion nightmares given form as the flesh is peeled off their skin and their leathery wings burn away like tissue paper.
After seeing this and the sheer number of these creatures the players back up out of the passage and when Jack asks Alfonse what they are dealing with he yells at Jack (because he was frustrated he doesn't know I think?) and explains "They're kind of like Vampires" but doesn't go on to explain to him
how or
why. After a bit of pacing and indecision Alfonse continues on to say
"But they can't be because Vampires eat people and turn people into vampires and these are animals feeding on animals and that's not what Vampires do."EDIT: During this exchange Alfonse explained his knowledge of Vampires to Jack as a product of
"Coming from Mexico where the vampires run free!" in a very over-dramatic and "If these are Vampires now
everything is ****** here!" (Here meaning North America). This over the top rant was great but I guess you really had to be there to appreciate it or else it will just look like Alfonse had a melodramatic cussing fit.
Storytellers Take Note: My player has never read the South America books or Vampire Kingdoms, all of this stems from me telling him that "Mexico would be a pretty good place if it wasn't for all the aliens and Vampires" and him
accidentally finding the Vampire stats on a printed page in my computer room with their weaknesses conveniently removed.
So after calming down a little the players head to the right passage. Then as they get deeper into the cave they notice that although the walls within the radius of Alfonse's spell appear like normal limestone cave walls, within the shadows along the edge of his light the walls seem to be made out of green jade and calved with Aztec faces. After 10-15 minutes of walking they enter a large cavernous chamber with stalactites and stalagmites spanning from the roof to the floor and see that there are another two passages. Once blocked by an oaken door with iron rivets and another leading into darkness... but as they approach with the Globe of Daylight and it washes over them they are revealed to be a cave wall. The players search for secret doors but find nothing but then when they go to leave they find through experimentation that the tunnel and door only seems to exist if daylight is not touching it.
Alfonse rattles the door but finds it locked so shrugs and so cautiously heads down the tunnel with Jack and Lei. The walls are calved like an Aztec temple with human faces and large bats devouring sacrifices (as is common in Aztec hieroglyphs) and when they get about half way down the rabbit hole Alfonse and Lei feel a pulse of powerful psychic energy wash over them and Alfonse immediately knows they are no longer on Rifts Earth. Continuing down the tunnel to the light at the end the players emerge into a world with a red sky with rivers of blood and great step pyramids with countless hundreds of Vampric Aztec shaman in headdresses perched on the ledges sacrificing other naked vampire women on great bloody alters. The skies are filled with bat-like dragons and they can see hundreds of the bat-like and canine Chupacabra all of which are looking at them.
With a massive high-frequency sonic roar the Vampiric Dragon's and Bat-Demons scream and then dive through the skies towards the horrified Player Characters. Who, in an almost comical fashion, calmly walk backwards and then, to quote Alfonse, "Run like a little *****!" back up the corridor. After outrunning the cloud of vampiric flesh and beasties filling the tunnel behind them and diving back through the Dimensional Breach into the real world the players quickly back up into chamber with the door take a deep breath and then rattle the door again.
Alfonse then casts his communications spell again except this time he contacts
Travis. That's right, the Ley Line Walker Tailor who he helped flee Paradise City during the Rasma attack that hates his guts because Alfonse is an inconsiderate jerk. Well, he then
calls in his favor for saving Travis' life and asks for him to come and have a look at this magic door. He intentionally and knowingly leaves everything else intentionally vague and does not mention that they are in a life or death struggle with
El Chupacabra.
Six hours (and much Ley Line hoping later) Travis arrives and then radio's through to be picked up by the Rio Grand (which runs along a major Ley Line) and so
temporary NPC Malone drives out to pick him up in his Big Boy and drives him to the cave and drops him off.
EDIT: I do not like NPCing PC's. It is one of my BIG hangups. So I will find reasons for a PC who cannot be present NOT to be there or leave rather than play them. Just my own personal little thing.
Travis is met by the rest of the team though he is not pleased that he has been made to go out of his way and jump across half America on such short notice and reminds Alfonse that after this they're all square and he never wants to hear from him again.
EDIT: Who is Travis?
Travis Trayz Buckle is a Principled Ley Line Walker who is wanted by the Coalition States. As former member of the military who turned coat and moved to Lazlo he is mostly harmless but such an act of treachery made him an example of what can happen to the best of us so he is rather well-known among Coalition Soldiers as a traitor and this made life difficult as even in Lazlo he was viewed as someone who would bring more trouble to the community than good. As such Travis bounced around America making a steady living as a tailor until he finally happened upon the City of Paradise. He lived in Paradise as a tailor for ten years without incident and had made new friends and established himself. When Alfonse came to him seeing to get his Ley Line armor repaired Travis was happy to see a fellow Ley Line Walker without ties to another cabal and so extended his hand in friendship and revealed he too was one of the Enlightened and thought perhaps they could get to know one another and trade spells as it had been nearly a decade since he had learned any new magic. He now views this as a lapse in judgement. After lending Alfonse his own LLW armor while he repaired Afonse's (for three days), Alfonse decided to simply keep Travis' new cooler looking LLW Armor while he got enough money to pay for his old armor to be fixed. That is right, he lied about having the money and then tried to rip Travis off thinking that he would understand. Needless to say after the property issue was resolved three weeks later the two agreed (with Travis insisting) to part ways and that they would never see one another again. However during Rasma's rampage the team helped save Travis and get him out of the city bounds and past the rioters and crowds leaving him feeling reluctantly in debt to Alfonse who really did go above and beyond to make sure he made it out of Paradise City in one piece.
Heading back inside there is no incident but after looking at the door and studying the structure and reading the Dragonese runes on the door which translate to:
Neigh but the line of Adam and those whose hands are untouched by magic shall know my mysteries.Travis asked if he even asked Jack to try opening it, "Because I am pretty sure you didn't even read this. Did you?" Alfonse shrugged and laughed it off. Travis eyes narrowed bitterly and Jack opens the door without resistance. "Can you even read Dragonese?" snapped Travis. Alfonse shrugged again. "It's the language of Magic, are you without a doubt the worst Spell-Caster I have ever met in my life."
"Yeah well, do you know Globe of Daylight?"
"No, why?"
"We're not going back out so you can either come with us or head out that way by your self."
"You bastard."
In they go, the four of them now into the jaws of death! Literally! As they step to walk through the door a giant mouth appeared over the door way and chomps down on Alfonse as he rudely barges his way in first! Only I roll a 1 on the Spell Strength roll and every single person makes their saving throw against Illusion by
at least 5 or higher so the teeth harmlessness dispel into motes of lights. Jack laughs it off and says that he suddenly has a better feeling about this whole thing and takes out his Silver-Plated Knife and pushes in past Alfonse to engage another three rabid canine Chupacabra!
20. "Looks like its a Critical Dude!"
20! "Wow another Critical!"
20!? "A.. another critical?!"
The three Chupacabra are slain instantly by Jack Ryder who just takes each one by the neck and slits their throats like they were sacrificial cattle.
EDIT: The players have now learned that Silver works! And it was completely by chance because the only Melee weapon Jack was carrying at the time happened to be the Silver Plated Knife that he got out of his starting equipment package!
Everyone is feeling really confident! That heavy, sickly stench hanging in the air isn't discouraging anyone!
End Session!This adventure was completed by Alfonse on his own because Jack was unable to make the next session but I never could have predicted what would happen next!Next: El Chupacabra's La Puerta! (Part II)
Alfonse vs. The Chupacabra!
Can a Ley Line Walker dropout and a 14-year old Mystic really defeat 357 Vampires, at once?
.