Armored Angels.P3 Conclusion

From the Beginning of this Scenario: https://wjr5oakley.blogspot.com/2022/09/armored-angelsp1.html

Essie Vance [Whitney], Peter Graves [Jordan], Phillip Vance [Aaron]

ReCap: So much for battle plans; gone to hell in a hurry. Weapon fire erupted from the gun emplacements, catching foot soldiers in the open. Lt Lofting in the lead Armored Car was plucked from his turret by an ungodly flying creature (MiGo). A half-dozen of the creatures flew over the battlefield. At least Phillip was able to raise his Lewis gun and blast away. But the bullets seemed to just pass through the creature as if other-dimensional. Only when his last volley accidently struck Lofting and the creatures’ torso behind him, did he know he could kill the thing. Horror for Essie as she witnessed Lofting and the MiGo falling to the ground from 40 foot above. “SPLAT!” Not that she could hear over the sound of warfare.

The Evolving Battlefield: Exposed, Phillip directed Essie inside the armored car, “Forget the bow and arrow. Use your rifle.” THAT pissed her off. And to prove her point, she took aim at a MiGo that had landed and was attacking a foot-soldier. The arrow stuck into the creature. [Not supersonic, it did normal damage.] She climbed into the turret satisfied and ready to become the Vicker’s loader, but the gunner paused her, “Not till the drum is empty.” She remained ready with her bow as she peered out the hatch. Meanwhile, Peter drove straight at the #1 emplacement: one to aid the gunner but also to keep thicker frontal armor between them and the return fire.

From their various positions, each viewed a different scene:

• From the rear bed, Phillip watched the warplanes join the fight. And witnessed a MiGo attack the canvas wing of a plane. The pilot desperately fired his pistol trying to drive the creature off. Phillip took aim at another flying MiGo, scoring hits. Hard to tell effect considering the creature already performed an awkward, loping flight as if struggling to fly in an unnatural environment.

• Peter watched their Vicker’s gun volleys trace across the sand and into the emplacement without effect. He swore he saw the hazy outline of a soldier’s head behind the Lewis gun pointed their way. Swore bullets passed through the head. Yet the face remained behind the gun sights.

• Essie notched another arrow and hit the same MiGo attacking the soldier. Satisfied knowledge it had effect as the creature jolted at the impact. She flinched when she felt a sting in her calf. And looked down to see blood from a wound (shrapnel). And saw the gunner whom she’d just spoken with, slumped to the bottom of the turret. She shuddered at realization the man almost cut in half at his chest by enemy fire that had entered his view-port. Peter also flinched when gore and blood splattered on the back of his neck as he sat before the gunner.

Them close enough now to see the emplacement. Now all could see the ghostly visage of a face behind the Lewis gun. No body, just a ghostly face aiming the gun! It was Essie who realized, “We can’t kill the ghost. We need to destroy the gun itself!” Seconds for Phillip to pull the pin of a grenade and toss it… too far. Peter drove past the site and began a sharp turn to circle back with the intent to ram it if no-one could destroy it. During the turn, Essie slid behind the Vicker gun and took aim at the further gun emplacement #2. The girl who spent her time learning to fly, manned the machine-gun. And scored a direct hit that silenced the site!

Peter yelled at the top of his lungs, “Hang on!” He cranked the steering wheel hard right, adjusting his speed to keep the wheels on the sand. Intent to make a full circle to ram the gun-site if necessary. He was halfway thru the turn when he felt gunfire hit a tire. He heard bullets rattling inside the engine compartment. At first, he though the steering mechanism hit as he fought the wheel to maintain the turn. And that’s when he saw the ghostly leer of Henry Jones in his face and could only assume HE was the one fighting for control of the steering. The car headed towards the 20-foot embankment surrounding the ziggurat. Peter’s hatred for the man fueled his fight as he wrestled control to keep turning. The ghost soon gone.

Essie was spared the sight outside as she ducked inside to grab another drum of ammo for the Vickers. Phillip not so fortunate. He braced in the car-bed and scanned the scenery around them. And spotted soldiers climbing the stairs of the ziggurat only to be tossed aside. Or lifted into one of many mouths of the beast upon the steps! He’d never seen a Dark Young before, and wished he’d never seen this one! At least some of the warplanes were diving on the creature firing their guns or dropping bombs. Phillip braced his Lewis gun atop the turret and joined in the fight. He paused as he watched a crippled biplane, with a MiGo still clawing its wing, crash behind the ziggurat.

As the car swung back toward the gun emplacement, Essie swung the Vicker barrel far right and down trying to take aim. She missed. Which left only one solution: Peter aimed for the site… “Brace yourselves!” Phillip reasoned more than heard the warning: he backed against the turret cab and braced for impact. Peter skilled enough to brake at the last second to minimize personal injury. The gun destroyed but the car disabled. They abandoned their ride.

Phillip didn’t have time to warn them. The sound of bombs drew their attention towards the ziggurat. Essie gasped at sight of the beast upon the steps! [failed Sanity- lost 6 points which maxed out her 20%, meaning instant Bout-Of-Madness: Significant Person] The others puzzled when Essie ran towards the ziggurat. Her calls clued them to her insanity, “Richard darling! I’m coming. I’ll save you!” Phillip and Peter faster, they quickly tackled her. Peter backhanded her to slap her back into reality.

As they stood on the battlefield, they watched the southern armored car plow into a MiGo attacking a soldier on the ground. Full blunt force damage. It splatted like a bug on a windshield. But they also watched 3 other MiGo fly towards the top of the ziggurat and disappear from sight. The Dark Young also gone. Were they hiding in the bomb blast clouds waiting for them?! Phillip ordered them forward, “To the side stairs for cover!” They slid down the embankment slope and ran for the stairs. Peter the first to enter with his shotgun ready.

[F] The room obviously quarters for the Iraqi soldiers and workers who accompanied Professor Powell. Straw pallets, blankets, personal effects for a dozen men.

[D] Peter peeked into the southern room. And warned the others to not look. As if the stench of death wasn’t enough. For he gazed upon a stack of headless bodies. Clothing to imply both Iraqi and British soldiers. One body in safari shorts. [had they checked, they would have found Powell’s wallet with ID.]

[A] The northern room proved to be supply storage: picks, shovels, wheelbarrows, lanterns, water cans, tins of food, etc. Phillip concerned about a maze, decided to leave a bread-crump trail. He opened a tin of crackers.

[J] Keeping Essie to the rear, they climbed steps and gazed upon the courtyard. They crouched in the corner till they confirmed neither MiGo nor Dark Young waited in ambush.

Only now did they remember the aerial photograph of the site. Seven trees were in that picture when the story was Professor Powell only ordered six. The 7^th tree MUST have been the Dark Young they spotted, now gone. They gazed upon an altar set before a platform landing. Atop the altar was a grotesque gold statue of a bloated, multi-tentacled mass. A tribute to the Dark Young?!

Essie recognized grooves cut into the altar as drain channels for bloodletting of a sacrificial offering. Dried dark stains in the channels implied a recent sacrifice. Behind the altar, at a higher platform, they saw an archway with a shimmering surface.

Peter picked up a scorched book beside the altar. A page fell out. He read Powell’s description how he used a spell to open a gate to another world. From whence ungodly creatures emerged. He and his men now the sacrifices for Lord knows what purpose.

It was only reasonable to assume the creatures they battled returned to their own world to gather reinforcements. “We need to close the gate NOW!” Peter read the journal to learn how Powell had opened it. But he quickly realized they had neither time nor full knowledge of the spell. Referenced pages in the book had been scorched from the bombing. They remembered the crate of dynamite in the lower supply room. They could only guess the number of sticks to use as they used a long fuse to allow them to hide in the lower Iraqi quarters. “BOOM!”

When they returned to the courtyard, they found the gate destroyed… and most of the staircase used to reach the gate! The shimmering portal gone, they could now see beyond the archway. A woman’s screams pulled them forward thru the archway. Down stairs and to the right. Weird alien surgical equipment lay about the room. Two bodies were tied to chairs. The woman, the student Edith Rose, was screaming. They gasped at realization the top of her skull cut off exposing her brain with wires attached. The wires led off to another area around the back corner. But more important… the other body was that of Henry Jones! His brain also exposed and wired. And the man leered at the trio. His ghostly facial projection in Peter’s face and about to attack! Peter raised his shotgun and blasted the real head to smithereens.

Scuttling noise around the corner drew them forward where they looked upon another MiGo. This one with stunted wings but larger head that seemed to pulse with glowing lights. From behind them they could hear Edith’s cries stop as she began speaking in a monotone voice, “Spare me and I can offer you untold knowledge and power.”

[Sanity check] Enough time to process all they had seen. [failed Sanity- lost 5 points but failed his INT roll: no Bout-Of-Madness] Phillip was fortunate enough to not fully comprehend what was happening. [failed Sanity- even 1 point loss enough to trigger Essie’s already fragile state: BOM- Violence] Essie’s eyes turned red with rage as she charged the creature with her knife held high. As she slashed at the MiGo scientist, it backed up. Peter drew his pistol and squeezed off 2 rounds. Phillip raised his Enfield rifle and fired.

But the MiGo was already circling its frontal appendages as it created its own personal gate and escaped. Right after a HUGE stone slab slammed down behind the trio, trapping them in total darkness. The start of their next adventure.

[Even though you came into the courtyard with lanterns retrieved from the supply room, you were left in total darkness after the scientist escaped. He used a ‘Void Light’ spell to rob you of light.]

BACKGROUND

As Powell uncovered the temple, he began to comprehend the structures' dark purpose. The gods of the ancient priests were real, and the temple contained a locked pathway to their astral realms. Blinded by the seeming chance to explore other worlds, he flirted with powers that consumed him. Powell was able to re-open the Gate by tracking down the inscriptions looted from Kizzah in 2350 BC. These he eventually found in the British Museum. The professor then cast the ancient spells and opened the path to Yuggoth. The fecund guardian returned in all its fetid glory, preventing human access to the Gate, as it did eons ago. Powell was foiled. He did not, however, have much time to regret his mistake. Migo soon noticed the open way and came through. They quickly overcame the already-dismayed humans, then set about tasks of their own. One Migo, Brazzuk-Khzzul, took the opportunity to extract the brains of the Kizzah digging team, linking them like servo mechanisms to human artifacts (mainly the guns). In effect animating these items for the impending British assault.

[I] Those brain canisters were in the lower room, to the left.

THE NEXT SCENARIO: https://wjr5oakley.blogspot.com/2022/10/the-necropolis.html