Prologue:
Our story opens as we look out over a pristine snow-covered landscape. The new fallen snow blankets a field with more than a foot of powder. For the moment, the storm that brought on the snow is at rest, seemingly satisfied to just hang over the landscape with a heavy gray presence. The storm and the cold would not be very unusual for any northern state in mid-winter. The problem is that this storm, with it’s subzero temperatures, is situated over south Texas in the middle of July. As we move across the landscape, we find signs of just how unusual and unexpected this storm was: A cactus sheathed in ice and half buried in a snow-drift. An open-topped dune buggy lies in a ditch on the side of a road. Tiny prairie dogs dig themselves out of the blanket, scamper around and are suddenly set upon by hungry wolves. The wolves themselves are white with short muzzles, and clearly built to thrive in an arctic environment. They range over the countryside in small packs, patrolling the frozen wastes. We find a trampled path of footprints and follow it east toward what appears to be the center of the storm. As we move across the fields, we feel the cold grow deeper and more chilling. As we crest a small hill, we see a mound thrust up out of the snow…a formation as out of place in this landscape as a wart on the back of a hand. The mound forms a steeply sloping hill in the center of the field ahead. And above the center of the hill, we see that the clouds overhead are not actually stationary, but rotating about a central point. As we move closer to the mound, we come to a trampled area of snow, stained bright red with blood. Steam still rises from the bodies of two humans lying prone beneath the dark clouds. One body appears to have been ravaged by the wolves. The other looks as if it’s head was rudely ripped from it’s moorings by the bullet of a large-caliber rifle. Scattered around the bodies are a number of dead wolves. We stare in disbelief at the carnage that surrounds us. So engrossed are we in looking at the Dead, that we never hear the sounds of the Living as they approach. There are seven wolves. They seem to have appeared out of nowhere, their approach swift and silent. The leader moves into the center of the clearing of trampled snow and sniffs at the headless body. One of the juvenile males moves over to the other body and begins to feed. The reaction of the leader is swift. He snarls and rushes to the juvenile’s side, flinging himself at the smaller wolf. The smaller wolf, realizing he has seriously breached pack protocol, rolls onto his back exposing his neck to the leader. The leader places his open jaws on the throat of the younger wolf and sounds a menacing growl. After several moments the leader stands aside and the young wolf, tail between his legs, slinks to the shadow of a nearby tree. The leader moves to the body that the juvenile had begun to feed upon, and begins to drag it toward the base of the hill. Soon the other wolves join in, and together, they drag the corpse to a small opening in the side of the hill. For a few moments we can hear the snarls and yips as the pack drags the body into the narrow tunnel. If we move closer to the mouth of the tunnel, we can hear the distant echoes of a larger number of wolves as they begin to feed. Outside, the lone juvenile wolf begins to howl.
Act 1 – Baboon’s Excellent Day ( “Weekend at Wolfie’s”)
The sound of gunshots echoes across the field. A few moments later, the sound of chaotic retreat…people straining to call to each other as they run for their very lives. Rounding the hill and entering the clearing is a small group of four humans. Three of them appear to be virtually carrying the fourth.
ENISE: “Are they following us?”
THANN: “I’m sure they are. The question is, will they follow us with yeti, wolves or humans?”
Meeho has a serious leg wound, the effects of which have drained his initiative to zero. He is conscious but unable to act.
MEEHO: “I don’t feel so good.”
BABOON: “Where the hell are Jay, Wil and SaraLynn?”
THANN: “They ran the other way. I think we should split up too. Enise, you take Meeho and head back to the trailer. Baboon and I will do our best to distract any pursuers.”
They lay Meeho out on the travois along with the big gun. Enise grabs the handles of the travois and pulls Meeho back to the trailer along the same path they originally took through the snow. The hope is that the dragging of the travois will cover her tracks and help ward off pursuit. Meanwhile, Baboon and Thann are trying to figure out how to make sure anybody tracking the group, follows the two of them instead of the doctor.
BABOON: “We need something that will attract their attention.”
THANN: “Something that will make any wolves they have follow the two of us instead of those drag-marks.”
BABOON: “Like a giant ink trail.”
THANN: “Or blood.”
BABOON: “Where are we going to get that much blood from?”
Almost simultaneously, their gazes fall on the headless body of Wolfgang lying only a few feet away.
GM: “The head wound is already freezing up. Not a very good source of blood.”
John: “But the blood inside his body wouldn’t be frozen yet. We’ll cut him open with the machete.”
GM: Haven’t you guys defiled this body enough yet?”
Becky: “The groin area should be a good source of blood.”
GM: (Shifting uncomfortably in his seat) “Quiet! you’re not there.”
John: “But she’s right. Let’s do it.”
Thann and Baboon pick up Wolfgang’s body, cut the groin open with the machete. Fresh dark blood bursts out onto the snow. Each of them take an arm and together they drag what’s left of Wolfgang toward the trees, almost perpendicular to the path taken by the Doctor and Meeho. Halfway to the stand of trees, two yeti come running around the side of the hill from the direction of the main cave entrance. Thann and Baboon drop Bernie…I mean Wolfgang, and start to run toward the trees. The yeti see Thann and Baboon and charge after them. Baboon draws his AKM rifle, stops, turns, and manages to drop both of them before they even get within range of Thann’s pistol.
John: “Three head hits in a row!? That’s incredible!”
GM: “I don’t think I’m going to use this die anymore.”
They are considering whether or not to go back for the body when another Yeti, this one with two leashed wolves comes into view. The wolves are following the scent of the fugitives, and Thann and Baboon hold their breath when the three white-furred creatures reach the battle sight. As hoped, the wolves follow the blood trail to the body. Once there, the two wolves begin to feed ravenously, much to the apparent dismay of the yeti handler. Thann and Baboon decide that their plan has succeeded, and circle through the trees back toward the trailer. Along the way, a young wolf leaps out and takes Baboon by surprise. Thann manages to shoot and kill the wolf before it manages to bite Baboon.
Act 2 – Missing in Action ( “Baboon’s excellent day – part 2” )
The rendezvous back at the trailer proceeds without incident. Enise and Meeho arrive safely, followed a few minutes later by Thann and Baboon. Enise starts working on Meeho’s leg, doing what she can for him. Baboon, who is as yet unhurt, decides to go out looking for Jay, Wil and SaraLynn. Thann is reluctant to let him go, but realizes that the ex-marine is the best qualified person for such a mission. Since SaraLynn and the others ran around the hill clockwise, Baboon decides to head more toward the far side of the hill. He crosses the fields very carefully, keeping a sharp eye out for wolves and yeti. Suddenly he comes across a trail made by three pairs of human feet. Following this trail, he can see that the others entered the hill again by crawling through a smaller cave entrance. Judging by the kinds of footprints around the cave, it must be some sort of entrance to the wolf lair. Baboon is standing out there, debating whether or not to go into the cave when he hears repeated gunshots emanating from within. He checks to see if his weapon is fully loaded, and crawls into the cave entrance.
The subsequent events, are already covered in Session Summary #5 … Act 4 – Act of God. To make a long story short, Baboon finds Jay, Wil and SaraLynn. Jay is badly wounded and needs the doctor. SaraLynn and Wil elect to continue searching the cave. Baboon drags Jay out of the cave and starts retracing his steps back to the trailer…
Baboon is trudging through the snow, trying to support Jay’s weight as well (Jay’s integral body armor adds a great deal of weight). To make matters worse, Jay is drifting in and out of consciousness. Baboon spots the small pack at extreme range, and they are definitely on a hunt. Baboon is getting a bit tired of being on the receiving end of these assaults, and lays Jay down so he can draw his rifle. The wolves spread out as they approach, so Baboon is forced to select his targets carefully. He rests the crosshairs of the rifle on one of the bigger wolves and patiently waits for it to come into range. He manages to shoot several of the wolves as they close the distance, but fails to kill any of them. At first the wolves just tried to get in close enough to make biting attacks. It is at this point that Baboon receives his first official wound of the day. The sudden realization that he is bleeding, stuns him into inaction for an attack phase.
BABOON: “Jay! Now would be a good time to regain consciousness.”
Ben: “I’m trying.” He rolls too high.
GM: “Nope…not good enough…wait until next turn.”
Fortunately for Baboon, the closest wolves had all been wounded that phase as well. Upon recovery, the lead wolf decides to leap onto Baboon, bearing him to the ground.
BABOON: “Come on Jay! I could use a hand here!”
Ben: “God, these dice suck!”
As Baboon hits the ground, the machete breaks free of it’s sheath and lands miraculously close to his hand. He grabs the blade and begins hacking at the wolves. Unfortunately, he is still outnumbered, and hasn’t even been able to fight back into a standing position. The wounds begin to take their toll…he is being worn down, killing the wolves much too slowly.
BABOON: “Jay! Wake up!”
Jay opens his eyes. He feels cold. His legs feel numb. His face feels like it is buried in a mound of icy snow. There is a growling sound in his head….wait a minute…not in his head…Wolves! Jay struggles to lift his head. He is right next to Baboon, who is also lying on the ground. Things don’t look good for the Marine…there are wolves all over him. Suddenly, the computer tracking system kicks in:
Arctic Wolf … Range: Close … Status: Injured (Hostile)
Whether or not Jay actually contributed to the favorable outcome of the encounter is unclear. Certainly, the addition of another moving target, served to distract the wolves. Added to the fact that despite six-to-one odds, the number of successful attacks made by the wolves were extremely low. In any case, the wolves were defeated, and Baboon helped Jay back to the trailer without further incedent.
ENISE: “Where are Wil and SaraLynn?”
BABOON: “They wanted to explore the cave on their own.”
THANN: “And you let them!?”
BABOON: “Jay was hurt. It was more important to get him to the doctor than to worry about two idiots with a death-wish.”
JAY: “We crawled in through the kennel entrance. It was a very narrow tunnel, and we kept encountering wolves inside. That was nothing compared to the kennel itself. There must have been twenty wolves in there. I had been in front, so I was taking most of the damage. Baboon showed up just in time.”
ENISE: “But what about Wil and SaraLynn?”
Indeed! What about Wil and SaraLynn. These events were covered in Summary #5 … Act 5 – Dynamite Duo. In brief, SaraLynn and Wil learned a lot, and got hurt real bad. SaraLynn and Wil are currently trapped in the very tunnel that Jay was just mentioning. There is little chance of escape. *GRIN*
Act 3 – Tunnel ( “Dead wolves make great blankets” )
SaraLynn winced as she turned over onto her back and tried to aim her gun into the tunnel behind her. Wil had passed out again. He was losing a lot of blood from the head wound, and was drifting in and out of consciousness. The sound of voices behind her meant that the kennel had at least two humans covering that side of the chute. The growls from the outside exit of the tunnel meant a combination of wolves and yeti at that end. The tunnel was filled with smoke from the last C4 explosion they had triggered, and it was difficult to breath. She shifted her position, trying to find a way to sit up without triggering the pain in her butt. Earlier that day, Wil had chosen to rescue her from a wolf attack by firing a HEAP bullet into a wolf’s head right behind her in this tunnel. The explosion had sent a combination of bone and bullet fragments whizzing through the air, and into her derrière. Wincing again, she elbowed Wil in the leg.
SARALYNN: “Asshole”, she muttered under her breath.
Wil must have been unconscious again because he did not reply. For good measure she jabbed his injured leg where one of the wolves had bitten him. Wil moaned softly.
SARALYNN: “Good! I hope it hurts a lot.”, she growled, “You had to look around that corner! ‘It’s in my nature’. Bull…shit!”
She saw a shadow rise tentatively above the edge of the chute into the kennel, and fired a warning shot in that direction. The shadow dropped back out of sight.
SARALYNN: “Wil. Wake up.”
WIL: “Uhnng?”
SARALYNN: “Thank god. Wil. How many bullets are left in your gun?”
WIL: “Excalibuuuuurr…”
SARALYNN: “How many bullets!”
WIL: “…tree…bullez.”
SARALYNN: “Reload it!”
WIL: “…clip…in…pocket.”
Paula: “Oh come on! If Neal were here, he wouldn’t be playing it this way.”
GM: “He’s seriously hurt. Delirious.”
Paula: “He still wouldn’t play it this way.”
Becky: “Hey! Mike’s just playing him realistically…not…Nealistically.”
SaraLynn digs the extra clip out of Wil’s pocket and reloads the Snub Pistol for him. She hands the gun back to Wil.
SARALYNN: “Now cover that other exit.”
WIL: “…kay…”
They sit there for several minutes with SaraLynn guarding the rear and Wil guarding the front. She hears a scrambling sound from behind her.
SARALYNN: “Wil, I hear a wolf coming in. Are you awake?”
There is, of course…no response. He has passed out again. Swearing under her breath, SaraLynn rolls over and tries to take aim at the wolf that is slowly advancing on Wil’s inert form.
The wolf has already reached Wil, when SaraLynn pulls the trigger. The first shot is buried in the ceiling of the tunnel. Her second and third shots hit the wolf in the forequarter. Injured, but undeterred, the wolf climbs over Wil to get at SaraLynn. Her fourth shot brings the wolf down in a heap on Wil’s back. She is sighing in relief when she feels the hand clamp down on her ankle.
Wil slowly drifts back toward wakefulness. Ever since he got shot, his body has been feeling heavier and heavier, like it was no longer able to support its own weight. Now it feels even worse, as if something were crushing him…smothering him. He can hear sounds in the tunnel, but they are muffled. He opens his eyes, and sees the tail of a wolf draped over his face. The wolf is lying on his back…probably dead. He listens to the voices:
HUMAN: “We can do this the easy way. Or the hard way.”
SARALYNN: “Don’t shoot.”
Paula: “What do I do?”
GM: “What do you want to do? He is pointing a gun at your face.”
Paula: “If I shoot him, he’ll shoot me.”
GM: “Yup!”
HUMAN: “Hand me that gun. That’s it. Now crawl toward me…nice and slow.”
Wil suddenly moans in pain. SaraLynn quickly tries to cover the sound.
SARALYNN: “Where are you taking me?”
HUMAN: “Shut up and move!”
Wil holds perfectly still and listens as SaraLynn is taken away. He assumes that the wolf’s body is covering him completely…hiding him. He lays there and prays that no-one will see him. And as he waits, he drifts back into sleep.
Act 4 – Regrouping ( “Realism vs. Nealism” )
A sudden gust of wind outside shook the walls of the trailer. Thann glanced down at his watch again and looked at Baboon. The big marine stared back and shook his head with grim determination.
BABOON: “Only one rescue to a customer.”
THANN: “We should at least go look for them.”
BABOON: “Fine. But I’m not getting bit by anything else for the sake of these morons.”
THANN: “We’ll just check the activity outside the kennel entrance.”
The two of them put their improvised cold-weather gear back on, loaded their guns and headed back to the cave.
Wil was jerked back to consciousness when the big wolf was suddenly pulled off of him. He looked up and saw the inert body sliding slowly down the tunnel, toward the exit. After a few moments, daylight shone from the exit, as if the body had been removed. A shadow blocked the light once more. To his dismay, another wolf was slinking through the tunnel toward him. He tried not to move as the creature came forward and began sniffing around his head. He fought to control himself as he felt the thing’s teeth against his neck. The wolf snorted out a sneeze and grabbed hold of his trenchcoat collar. The wolf pulled backward and very slowly, Wil felt himself slide toward the exit.
Thann and Baboon were across the battle sight clearing from the kennel entrance. They could see a pair of yeti with two wolves standing outside the tunnel. As they watched, one yeti gestured and a wolf crawled into the tunnel. After a few moments they heard the muffled sound of gunfire. The remaining wolf outside paced back and forth nervously, occasionally looking up at the yeti.
THANN: “They’re in the tunnel.”
BABOON: “Yeah…and those things are outside the tunnel.”
They continued to watch for another couple of minutes. It soon became clear that the wolf wasn’t coming back out. Suddenly, from the direction of the main cave entrance, a human in a fur-lined parka trotted into view. He called to the yeti, and one of them turned and followed the human back toward the main entrance. The remaining yeti looked down and pointed into the tunnel. Reluctantly, the wolf crawled into the tunnel. Within a minute, they could see the tail end of the wolf backing out. It was dragging the body of it’s dead comrade. The yeti picked up the dead wolf and flung it aside. Again it pointed into the tunnel. The wolf crawled back inside, taking longer to reappear. This time it was dragging a bundle of canvas.
THANN: “That’s Wil!”
Baboon sighed heavily and slipped the safety of the AKM into the ‘off’ position.
BABOON: “Let’s do it.”
The wolf accepted a pat on the head from the yeti, and then crawled happily back into the tunnel. The yeti looked down at the human bundle at its feet, picked it up and tucked it under his left arm. Thann and Baboon were already halfway across the field when the yeti turned to walk back toward the main entrance. When he reached medium range, Baboon stopped and aimed at the yeti. The first two shots went wild, but the third struck the yeti in left arm. It roared in surprise and dropped Wil. Baboon fired again, but the yeti was already sprinting across the snow, away from him. Within moments it was out of range.
BABOON: “It’s going for help.”
THANN: “Let’s not stick around waiting for it.”
The trek back to the trailer didn’t take very long. The doctor, quickly checked Wil over. She nodded to herself and motioned for them to move him onto the bed in the corner while she began digging through her medical kit.
Becky: “Hey! I can actually treat this head wound!”
Players: “Hurray!”
Thann and Baboon were discussing the situation.
THANN: “I say we just cut our losses and get the hell out of here.”
BABOON: “I think you’re right.”
Wil struggled to sit up. The doctor tried to push him back down onto the bed, but he seemed determined to speak.
WIL: “We have to go back in there.”
THANN: “I realize she’s helped us so far, but…”
WIL: “It’s got nothing to do with SaraLynn. I’ve seen it. There’s a way home!”
Act 5 – Tears of the Empath ( “Can you read my mind?” )
SARALYNN: “I said, where are you taking me?”
HUMAN1: “And I said shut-up.”
The man gave her a harsh shove forward down the tunnel from the kennel. SaraLynn really couldn’t tell where she was going in the tunnel, as there was a shambling wall of fur right in front of her. There were two humans behind her…both armed. They were leading her across the central chamber to a tunnel none of them had explored yet. As her captors led her into the narrow passage, the anger at Wil returned. She began muttering softly under her breath:
SARALYNN: “He had to look…didn’t he!”
HUMAN2: “What?”
SARALYNN: “Nothing.”
She was lead into a large storage area. There were shelves everywhere, covered with all sorts of equipment. Equipment for Yeti as well as humans. The Yeti already in the room watched silently as they filed passed. One of the humans dragged a chair into the center of a small open area and indicated that she was to sit.
SARALYNN: “What are you going to do?”
HUMAN1: “You should worry about what we’re not going to do. For instance…we are not going to kill you if you sit in the chair!”
She sat down, and the second man began tying her hand behind the chair. Her feet were tied as well.
SARALYNN: “There. I’ve sat down and let you tie me up. Now what?”
The second man sighed with exasperation. She heard him draw the stun stick from his belt. She heard the soft hum as it was activated. An instant of pain, and all went black.
SaraLynn had no idea how much time had passed when she woke up. She could feel a gag tied tightly across her open mouth, but she made no attempt to stir. SaraLynn began to try exercising her astral projection skill. By using this, she was able to project her mind out of the room and into the Astral Plane that existed outside of her own. With her mind’s eye, she rose above her body and floated down the hallway, back into the central chamber. The shadowy forms of humans and Yeti passed beneath her, completely unaware. She couldn’t resist looking in the direction of the control room, but rather than get a clear picture of that area, she saw only a deep, black coldness. Her senses probed at the darkness. It felt wrong and alien. She pressed harder with her mind and caught a glimpse of another mind. Something large and evil. Something which was unaware of her eavesdropping. She decided to back away and return to her body. This was a simple enough task, but it left her feeling drained. Her body was shivering with the cold. Even through her closed eyes, she could tell when the shadow passed in front of her. She slowly opened her eyes and looked up at the man who stood there.
MAN: “They didn’t need to do that,” he said, pointing at the rag, “did they?”
SaraLynn slowly shook her head in a negative.
MAN: “I didn’t think so.”
He untied the gag and freed her mouth.
SARALYNN: “Thank you.”
MAN: “You look cold. Can I get you a blanket?”
SARALYNN: “Please.”
He went to another shelf and pulled down a blanket. This he draped over her shoulders. In a few moments she began to feel her body heat warming the blanket. Soon the shivering stopped.
MAN: “You haven’t got much time. He’ll be here soon.”
SARALYNN: “Who’ll be here?”
MAN: “Themgald. He’ll want to know everything. Why you came. Why you came back. Where your friends are.”
SARALYNN: “I have no idea what’s going on here. We had a car wreck. The snow…”
MAN: “Most people would have kept going to town. Most people know better.”
SARALYNN: “It wasn’t my idea.”
MAN: “Well, be that as it may…you look hungry.”
SARALYNN: “I am…”
The man untied her feet and let her stand. He led her back down the corridor and down another to what appeared to be a big mess hall. He sat her at a table and got her some food. During the whole meal, he remained silent, and offered no other information about who he was. When she had eaten, the man led her back to the storeroom.
MAN: “I’m afraid I’ll have to tie you back up. As I said…he’ll be here soon.”
The three Yeti spread off to the side as they entered the storeroom. Behind them stood a small creature. It stood about as tall as she was sitting down. It was covered in coarse, thick white hair. It’s bulging blue eye lenses were multifaceted like an insect. Its arms were insectile as well. It approached her, making small muttering, buzzing sounds. As it approached, she could feel an aura of cold that surrounded this creature. Her mind sensed nothing but cold and black. It stood regarding her for a moment.
Paula: “I try to shield my mind…”
GM: “You fail.”
She felt the cold mind touch brush lightly against her consciousness. It felt vile and alien. The contact made her feel like vomiting. It caressed the outer fringes of her mind, and suddenly it began.
As brutal as any assault. As violating as any rape. It bore into her mind with its own…
SaraLynn screamed.
Slowly, she became aware that her mind functioned on its own again. Her thoughts were hers to control again. Her body was drenched in sweat. Her head throbbed with pain. The first sound she heard was the continuous sob issuing forth from her own mouth…a desperate wail of terror. The creature stood before her.
ICE DAEMON: “What is Talamasca?”
SARALYNN: “People who … watch.”
ICE DAEMON: “Talamasca is my enemy?”
SARALYNN: “No…we study. We are scholars.”
ICE DAEMON: “Talamasca would stop me.”
SARALYNN: “They would try.”
ICE DAEMON: “You are Talamasca.”
SARALYNN: “Yes, but I cannot hurt you.”
ICE DAEMON: “Truth. But Talamasca will come.”
SARALYNN: “No. They don’t even know I’m here. You’re safe!”
The creature chittered softly to itself…
ICE DAEMON: “Others are not Talamasca. Will call Talamasca.”
SARALYNN: “No. They don’t know what’s going on either.”
ICE DAEMON: “I have tasted your mind. I know you. I know them.”
SaraLynn swallowed hard. If the creature was capable of it, it would have been smiling smugly.
ICE DAEMON: “Talamasca will come. Talamasca will come…and die.”
To be continued…
This adventure originally took place on September 11, 1993.