Second Session

Cast:

Doc the Angel

Lifiee the Brainer

Parker the Operator

And introducing "Mumbles" as the Faceless

Intro:

During the second session we got a new member to the cast. He had actually wanted to play in the first session, but couldn't make it. I knew the type of characters he enjoys playing, so I put the Faceless on the top of the stack of playbooks for him to look through. For the first session I only let my players pick from the playbooks from the book, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to give him this one. After the other players saw what the Faceless was, they all laughed and agreed that that was the playbook for him.

And without further ado, I introduce Mumbles: Some scientists throw morality to the dogs in order to further their knowing... or their agenda. The scientists of the New Truth Directorate are the worst of those who care not what others feel. They pull and twist tendons and bones to see how the body reacts. They probe neurons while their 'subject' kicks and screams under their needles. Shove knives and bolts into bones, to harvest the chemicals the body would produce. They do all this to advance what they call 'The Good.' Some, though, get lucky. Sometimes their dropped into their cells, and the guard gets lazy. He can't possible escape like that. There's muscle hanging out of him. Oh, but he can. He can't possible see out of that charred slab where his face used to be. He doesn't need to. The guard will turn to leave the cell with the pile of flesh and meat. That hallway was the last thing he ever saw. The burning pain coursing through the creatures body was well worth the freedom he longed to taste. After getting as far away as he could, he found a shard of metal. He fashioned some straps and attached it where his face used to be. He sneaked into a town after the sun had went to bed and stole a tarp that he could use for a cloak. He moved from town to town, taking the refuse of the people that lived there, until he found a holding with a lighthouse. He heard them talking about it. He heard the fear in their voices. Who would go into a haunted tower? He may be able to be safe here. As long as he was careful. As long as he made sure to only go out during the night. As long as no one knew what he was...

Also, in retrospect, I will have to retract my statement about subsequent games being less absurd. Every session thus far has been just as absurd as the last. It hasn't been a bad absurd, by any means. It has been an enjoyable absurd that propels the scenes to a more dramatic, and fulfilling, resolution.

One last thing to point out, the player who was playing Doc fell asleep right at the beginning of the game. It's not entirely his fault, as we do play late, and he does have a young'n to take care of. His wife was supposed to join us this session as well, but she was taking care of said young'n at the time.

Hx:

The new Hx we have for this session was Mumbles. I let him take his Hx turn as if we were just starting the game. I made everyone else take there turn by giving Mumbles their Everybody Else clause. Mumbles did form one special Hx, an Hx with Lifiee.

An indisreminate time ago, before Lifiee was known as Lifiee the Treeburner, Lifiee came upon a sad soul who had no way to communicate. The sad soul looked like a monster from a horror movie of the golden age, but Lifiee rarely pays attention to things such as physicalities. Lifiee, being able to communicate through the Psychic Maelstrom, asked this creature if he need anything. The creature, who could not speak his own name, told Lifiee that he would very much like to go camping, like a normal person. Lifiee did his best to fulfill this wish. He took the creature, whom he now calls, affectionately  Mumbles, camping into the Infinite Forest. While roasting marshmallows on the fire, Mumbles let his burn to hot. The molten sugar dripped on to his twisted flesh. In a fit of self-preservation, Mumbles began to try to get the fiery treat off of himself. The Infinite Forest was particularly dry at this point in time and took quite well to being consumed by flames. Now, Mumbles lives with the grief of destroying an entire ecosystem, and the only source of food for many people.

Everyone else knows only the legends of 'The Hunchback of Beacon.' Although, most people don't believe such fairy tales, except for the children who are told of him by there parents in order to make them behave.

Play:

Parker wasn't willing to waste any time. She got what little supplies she could care to think of and bolted towards Krin Bar. That is where Marshall said they were right? She didn't even stop to get her gang. Everything else was of little consequence now. Only one thought burned through her mind. Must save Foster.

About the time Parker was rushing to get to Foster's aid, Lifiee was in the ecstasy of his lovers arms in the Maelstrom. As she whispered sweet insanity in his ear, she planted a thought. A thought to lead him to Krin Bar. Something important was to happen there. Something that would change who he was. When he was finished with this session of love making he set off for Krin Bar, to his next destiny.

Mumbles, who was close by as he was with Lifiee up till Lifiee 'checked-out' to be with his lover, felt a troubling movement in his mind's-eye where Lifiee should be. He turned around to see what was going on. After he realized that a glazed over Lifiee was headed towards what could only be trouble, he decided to trail him.

***

Parker rushed with all her might to Krin Bar. She had been there before. Krin Bar was the ruins of an old hold who's populous had uprooted and moved to Beacon. Marshall said that that's where the cultists set up camp. She pushed forward with all her might. Lifiee and Mumbles were unintentionally trailing her, albeit at a much slower pace.

***

Parker could see the cultists gathered in the distance. Maybe they're just getting started. She slowed her pace, so as not to arouse suspicion. When she got close enough to see, she saw someone on a platform. And another behind them on a table. The first turned and lifted a knife to the sky, ready to plunge it into the other person. Parker brought her gun to bear, body trembling with rage. The hammer fell, following the motion of the knife as it dug into Foster's chest.

The gun fire alarmed the cultists to Parker's presence. The person on the platform didn't turn though. She brought her foot up and shoved Foster's dying corpse. It splashed into a vat of liquid behind the makeshift alter. She turned to face Parker. She's laughing?! The cultists rushed Parker in this time. The infuriated Parker tried to shoot the cultists, but did about as well as she had with her first shot. She struggled against them as they grabbed hold of her. All of the cultists wanted to be the one who took Parker to the sacrificial alter. They scrabbled over each other fighting Parker, and those carrying her. Except for one. One cultist stood away from the crown, in the shadows just watching. This thought only briefly passed through Parker's head as she was much more concerned with what was happening now.

Lifiee stumbled in amidst the chaos. He saw Foster fall in to the vessel of strange liquid and, being oblivious to the danger he was in, grabbed hold of one of the cultists who had wandered close to the treeline where he had entered from. He planted inside of the cultists mind a command to dunk the cultists head into the odd liquid. The cultists, being of weak mind, followed his command. The cultist wandered up to the platform and slowly put himself into the liquid. There was bubbling. A pop. Then a skull came floating up. Lifiee was delighted. He did this again. And again. And tried a fourth time, but the last cultist wasn't a weak willed. And thus, Lifiee joined the fray.

The cultists carrying Parker brought her to the altar. As they lay her down, the cultist who was off to himself raised up, standing a few feet higher than a normal man should be. He has more metal attached to him as well, has knifes sticking out of his fingers the size of machetes. The cultists stumbled back in terror. Could this be their dark god, made man. He walked through the new opening to where Parker was laid. The head cultist held her knife high again, ready to plunge into a new heart and completely unaware of the towering behemoth behind her. The monstrous man grabbed her by the wrists, lifting her into the air. Parker saw this as an opportunity to end a life. She pulled her gun back out, shooting wide of her target. The monster seemed annoyed by this, he grabbed hold of her, trying to prevent any more harm from being done.

Part of the cultists had now circled around Lifiee. They all charged forward at him, but couldn't reach him before he pulled his pain-wave projector from his pocket and blasted then backwards. With his assailants down, Lifiee decided to try and dump the liquid on the cultists that were attacking him.

The cultists, that weren't on the ground from Lifiee's pain-wave projector, saw the monstrosity holding up their leader, and didn't take to kindly to the notion either. As many of them as could fit jumped him. They stabbed, bite and did what they could to cause him pain. Parker took advantage of the strange creatures the lack of attention and wiggled her way free, grabbing the woman as she went. Parker landed on top of the cultist. As soon as she got her bearings she grabbed her gun and started pulling the trigger. She unloaded the full clip. And then the hammer clicked non menacingly. Most of the shots went wide, but one struck true in her stomach. She looked at the gun for a second and then thrust it forward into Foster's killer's face. The gun shattered through bone mass, and in a shrill of pain the woman lie dead. Parker dropped to the ground and took off running. Running right into more cultists.

Lifiee made it to the tank of strange liquid without a hitch, other than the cultists that were hot on his trail. He ran to the opposite side and attempted to spill it onto the cultists vastly overestimating his own strength. Three cultists made it to the other side before he could overturn the vat. They pushed it back over on him. The strange liquid crippling him as it pour over his body.

The creature, clearly enraged by the sudden slaughter of someone he was trying to protect, began to rip all of his attackers apart to make them stop pestering him. He then turned towards Parker, who was writhing in the arms of cultists, with the blank metal mask he managed to communicate to her to be still. She froze. He tore through the crowd. He carefully grabbed Parker and threw her over his shoulder as he slaughtered those that were holding her. He then turned towards Lifiee. He ran past the overturned vat, and grabbed Lifiee as he knocked the cultists who had just pushed over the container. He ran as hard as he could until he was sure that no cultist was following him.

Once he had escaped the violence and slowed down his pace, his mind was clear to communicate with Lifiee once again. That talked at length of various things.

Upon arriving back at Beacon, Mumbles dropped Parker and, the temporarily crippled, Lifiee on Doc's doorstep. Doc was still inside sleeping in his reclining chair. Then Mumbles took his leave, headed back to Beacon Tower to some well earned rest.

Mumbles, trying his best to sneak back into town, realized that he had forgotten his cloak in Krin Bar. He stuck to the shadows to avoid attention. He came to, what he thought, was an unoccupied home, and took a tarp that was being used as a wall. At worst, they would think the wind blew the tarp off of the unoccupied house. But it wasn't unoccupied. It wasn't even empty at the moment. The old woman screamed, causing a chain reaction that lead to Marshall and his gang. But, he had time now. He ran. Before he could make it to his tower, and safety, he ran into one more person. A young child who merely looked at the monster, awestruck and fearfully quiet. Mumbles paused for a second, and then ran on to the tower. He watched from his tower as Marshall and his gang wondered around the hold looking for him in to the daylight hours.