Dear. Diary.
An unexpected success and an unexpected visitor have given rise to a plethora of questions lately.
The unexpected guest appeared in a park just west of the harbor where the Jaeger was parked. As we were debating how to pursue contact with Soto-sama those sensitive to Eidolon noted a major disruption in the Force. When we arrived we saw a tear in the wall of reality separating Gossamer and Shadow. An object resembling a book fell through to the ground, while a human appearing figure fell through to a platform well above us. We were told the book reeked of Eidolon, of which the figure was totally devoid. Fearing possible mayhem should the figure reacquire the dropped book Sturm and I went to recover the book leaving the others to see what threat the figure posed.
Recovery of the book was a simple task, as there was no apparent interest by the mysterious figure in gaining it’s possession for itself. It was iron bound with a gold gilded cover decorated with a single rune. Sturm covered us as we went to rejoin the others.
Cyra told us the being appeared reminiscent of the Dwimmerlaik, a creature of Shadow and anathema to Gossamer. It appeared to be a he, although the eyes visible on his body in odd places and the mouth in it’s chest made assumptions about his physiology in other aspects questionable at best. Were it human it’s behavior would seem to indicate a certain curiosity as to the nature of it’s current form. It’s speech, from either mouth, were unintelligible due to the apparent destruction of the which would have carried the sound. I hoped that it didn’t need to breathe. It distressed reality as it walked, and when it walked off the edge of the platform began ripping holes in reality to keep from falling.
Cyra took a picture of the thing, which she teleported to Soto-sama’s lair with a cryptic ‘Oh Crap!’ note.
We then retired to a safe distance and began to examine the book. Mena, Jane, and Cyra all recognized the symbol and identified the book as one of the “Iron Bound Books of Shuma-Gorath.” William is considerably more conversant with the topic, identifying Shuma-Gorath as one of the ‘Many-Angled Ones’ trapped in a now disconnected portion of the Grand Stairs for potential use as a doomsday weapon, also known as the Avatar of Life. Death is alien to the Many-Angled Ones and nothing ever dies in a world touched by them. Ever. Hence the extreme measures taken to contain them.
The book would not be put in a container, bursting through and falling to the ground at each attempt. When Mena tried creating the perfect container for it, the burst opened of it’s own accord and started flipping pages. William recognized the writing as Atlantean, and using the information presented on the open page created a white ribbon which significantly reduced the book’s magical emanations.
With the book itself now determined not to be a (immediate) threat, Cyra turned her attention back to the mysterious being. Using sorcerous communications, she said he was called ‘Amatsu-san’ , was here seeking a safe haven, and was trying to reduce his shadow presence in order to preserve said safe haven. Fierce itself was not an intentional destination. He was also pleased at the presence of death here.
Apparently picking up on our interest in the nearby Jaeger, Amatsu-san created a hole in it’s leg large enough to provide entry. Sturm immediately took advantage of the opportunity, with everyone but Cyra and myself joining him; me to keep an external watch, and Cyra to go back to preparing a message of introduction to Soto-sama. Radio communication with those inside the Jaeger was iffy, but Mena quickly dealt with that problem.
Those inside the Jaeger found inside the control pod the tracery of a humanoid head composed entirely of Eidolon, presumably the collected presence of the Anna-Naki, most likely collecting the stray bits of Eidolon released from the cyber-naki because it was the largest concentration of Eidolon present, similar to the way the lake monster was collecting Umbra. It’s presence here appeared to be part of a failed attempt to power the Jaeger via the Eidolon. Fortunately, the nuclear power plant had not been disconnected and was in perfect working order. In fact everything was in perfect order. Upon starting the beast up Sturm determined that the Eidolon had been used to perfect the whole machine. The plan was to use the Jaeger to attract the lake monster, the Kaiju, and lure it to the Hive where it would proceed to attempt to destroy the greater concentration of Eidolon to be found in the Hive. “The best laid schemes of mice and men…” and all that. Thinking of eggs and baskets, I elected to create and air care for Cyra and myself and follow the Jaeger at a discrete distance. Our shadow visitor followed as well.
The Jaeger is not a subtle weapon, and Godzilla himself would be impressed at the wake of destruction it left.
En-route to the lake Jane determined that the artifact we were looking for was actually in a factory not far away, next to the nuclear power plant. Sturm immediately changed course, tearing through two hopefully uninhabited and now uninhabitable apartment complexes along the way. I amused myself by wondering if the Jaeger were insured.
Scanning systems in the Jaeger showed the factory to be actively producing new cyber-naki. We determined we would stop this. The Anna-Naki started acting weird as we got close, showing us an image of the artifact when Mena attempted communication. Apparently it could sense the presence of the artifact.
Sturm initiated the engagement by removing the factory roof with the Jaeger’s chain-sword arm, revealing the cyber-naki assembly line and another laboratory section. Simultaneously he used the Jaeger’s other arm to set down William, Jane, and Mena so they could attempt to grab the artifact. I acted as observer from the air car and relayed enemy troop movements to the others.
Inside the factory, invisible to the Jaeger’s sensors, was a figure in medieval armor with a painted animal head on his tabard: Morholt, the Knight of Beasts, who promptly summoned a giant beast, as large as the Jaeger, looking much like a crocodile with parts of unearthly metal, and a spine which looked dangerously like a sword. A pair of hypervelocity rounds from my shotgun proved no more effective than a pea shooter against the beast, which was the same effect William’s plasma rifle had against Morholt”s armor. Cyra added a final codicil to her message to Soto-sama and fired it off, then put a barrier spell around the car and dove it towards the factory.
Temporarily loosing sight of the action as the car dove I fired off another hypervelocity round, this one aimed at the artifact. The factory walls offered no effective resistance to it’s passage, although both it and the follow-up electro-zapper round did no apparent harm. Sturm had ejected from the Jaeger which had been damaged during a brief wrestling match with the beast ending when the Jaeger threw the beast a good six miles and impaling it on a sky scraper. No doubt it’s insurance rates are going up.
While all this was going on Mena had managed to attain the artifact and was in full flight from Morholt while attempting to contact someone, presumably Baudemagus, with an Icon. A net and an electro-zapper failed to slow Morholt even slightly. Cyra’s mental assault elicited a reaction at least. Mena suffered the loss of three fingers and a sword embedded in her arm, but managed to make contact and be pulled through with the artifact.
Sturm now arrived, his chain-sword failing to penetrate Morholt’s helmet, but weakening it enough that my final hypervelocity round punched through his eye. The follow-up net was foiled by Morholt’s sword acting independently. Jane now managed to trip him up. Before we follow this up, however, the air strike triggered by Mena’s use of the Icon hit. Cyra and I were protected by the barrier spell she had placed around the air car. (I hadn’t, as yet, felt the need to activate my own armor.) Sturm was safe in his own armor, and a badly injured William had managed to get to the shelter of the Jaeger. Jane’s battle gear was wreaked, and Jane herself was severely injured, but she survived. She even managed to remain conscious, although I’m not sure how she managed it. We were lucky. The missile targeting us this time did not have an Eidolon enhanced warhead.
As the dust settled we found that Morholt and effected his escape. I sought him, and my wayfinding indicated a direction in line with the Domain we had found earlier. I took this to be an indication of his ownership.
We now have some choices to make. Some of us are gravely injured, but so is Morholt, and Jane has taken control, at least temporarily, of the beast which guarded his Domain. Now would be the time to assault his Domain, destroy the back door to this world, and possibly even kill Morholt. Do we want to do this? If we don’t kill Morholt, and he isn’t already ready to swear a vendetta against us, then running amok in his personal Domain is sure to make him reconsider. Amatsu-san is still with us as well. Do we want to take the chance that he might be able to use the Door and get loose on the Grand Stairs? Probably best to pass the buck and let Baudemagus make the call.
As these thoughts go through my head, another complication arises. While Sturm says he’s in contact with Baudemagus and he’s asking about Icons for other team members, a woman emerges from the nearby hospital at the head of a large contingent of armed warriors.
Written by Dave Nebiker