Justice, Inc: "Shadow Over Empire City" Part 2
Posted: Sat Dec 21, 2024 11:25 am
Last night we finished the Justice Inc adventure, "Shadow Over Empire City" we had begun back in October. It started off somberly as Paul had passed way in November. Justin, Ian, Sam, Tomas, me and a newcomer, Dave showed up to play the RPG. We've all known Dave for some time, years actually, a retired Navy "puke" (I say that with the utmost respect and admiration) and newly retired from his civilian job, as a land surveyor.
None of us were trying to replace Paul -we couldn't- but the adventure was designed with 5 players in mind, so Dave was gracious enough to fill in. After much deliberation, we ended up playing at Sam's house, which was advantageous for me, as he lives around the corner. Being that I'm partially blind, and I have difficulty driving at night that was a lucky break.
As I stated at the beginning the game started off a bit solemnly but before long we got into the swing of things.
At first the players were taking the cautious approach to things, perhaps it was a bit of apprehension at the scenario and partly because of Paul's looming presence, despite his not being with us anymore. After half an hour of getting to know the game again and dispelling the feeling of Paul watching us play, the game began moving.
The players after doing some in-depth investigation, discovered some clues as to the female reporter's whereabouts. Reading the clues correctly they went to the industrial district, but just before heading out Dave suggested they anoint themselves somehow before going. Something in one of the clues prompted him to think of the idea. They used Holy water and inscribed crosses into their bullets and knives. then they drew crosses with charcoal upon their bodies. Thus, prepared they headed off a few hours later. On arrival they were promptly captured by a rival gang of the gang controlling the industrial district. After a bit of talk and negotiation, the rival gang and our adventurers discovered they had more in common than they knew. Together they hatched a risky scheme to gain access to the area where the reporter was being held as well as to rescue her.
Unfortunately for both the players and the helpful gang, things did not go as planned. As they entered the maze-like underground of the industrial district, the two groups became separated. The players continued on, and quickly gave up on the idea of trying to regroup with the gang as the maze was impossible to navigate with certainty. Soon though they arrived at a juncture which was actually a water way transfer point that was no longer in use. Suddenly the players became aware of a sound that sounded like a deep slow whoosh. After a few minutes of figuring the players decided they must be under the lake. Which both surprised and concerned them.
Deciding to take one of the five tunnels leading out from the juncture, the group walked the impossibly straight corridor. In the shining beam of their flashlights the walls and ceiling showed no indication of imperfections or otherwise, of being worked, it was a perfectly flat surfaced corridor which appeared to be made of concrete. The floor was equally flat and true. After a seemingly long walk, they reached the end where a large steel door reflected the light of their flashlights back at them, lighting up the immediate area as if lit by a bright lamp.
Figuring out how to open the door the adventurers entered the space the door had hidden. It was an immense chamber with a ceiling so high that it disappeared into darkness. Tall torches lined the outer walls, the torch fire leaping and dancing to its own music as their light flickered and swayed, causing the shadows to move in creepy and eerie ways. In the center of the cavern was a large pool filled with a dark liquid, and emerging from the center of the pool was a large spire, reaching up into the air, and swallowed up by the darkness. It was wide at the bottom but tapering as it rose.
Around the chamber, near the torches stood an innumerable number of cowled individuals lining the walls, shoulder to shoulder, facing the center. The players finally noticed a dais to one side. It was ornate and carved from what appeared to be lustrous stone. two of the tall torches stood each side of the throne, their flickering lights casting moving shadows. A short distance in front of the dais was a stone table. Atop the throne sat a large and portly being. It looked like a man, in the fact that it had two arms and two legs, but the torso and head were of a bird. Perhaps it was a trick of the torch light or maybe a costume. Either way the intended effect was achieved as far as the adventurers were concerned. For this beast was hideous.
Then it stood.
A rumble like distant thunder issued forth from its beak, before words, slow and painful, came out.
"As foretold, they are here. The ritual can now begin. Bring them to me."
Somehow, while the players were taking in the spectacle before them, several guards had gotten near them and were now approaching rapidly. The guards too had the same grotesque heads and torsos of birds as their leader did. As the players drew their weapons, one of them noticed the table by the dais, wasn't actually a table, but a sacrificial slab. And laying atop it was the woman reporter dressed in white gossamer veils that did little to hide her naked body. She wasn't moving. Although it looked like her eyes were open, she could have been dead.
Things got out of control quickly as the players fired on the bird people approaching them. As the bullets hit the guards, they let out an inhuman scream that rose in pitch and frequency until it couldn't be heard by human ears but could be felt through their bodies as a vibration. Then the creatures simply popped out of existence. They then turned their attention to the rest of the people and their leader, but those cowled were now swaying as if in pain, with some actually writhing on the ground. Their leader was a different story. Incensed beyond words and sound, the creature flung its arms outward, and a whirlwind of some strength quickly travelled to the group. The wind was strong, it was as if a hurricane engulfed them, but they all managed to retain their footing. As soon as the wind died away. they began firing on the leader. At first their bullets didn't hit the thing. It was as if the creature was guarded by an invisible shield. In desperation they continued firing as they didn't know what else to do. Eventually, whatever was guarding the creature began to fail and the slugs were now hitting the monstrosity. The players could see dark blue blood gushing from several wounds, soon the bird thing was stumbling and then falling. The players were on their last and final reload, when the creature quit moving. It was covered in multiple holes where what it used for blood slowly seeped out.
As two of the players continued to examine the thing, the other three rushed to the stone table. The reporter had closed her eyes, but her breathing was ragged, and each breath was a struggle. After a few seconds she opened her eyes, but those who'd seen death so close knew that she was dying. As she struggled to stay alive, the reporter managed to mouth a few words. "You. Saved. Us. All."
With that she closed her eyes and her body became limp, as her struggle for life ended.
Not knowing what else to do, the three players looked around and noticed the cowled people were now moaning and acting as if they wer4e just walking up. The few that had fallen were now getting up and asking what happened of their fellow cowl wearers.
It turned out some these cowled individuals were some of the movers and shakers of Empire City. They's been drawn in by the power and riches promised by the bird man. No one knew his name or what he was. One day he was just there, offering what every power hungry greedy individual wants, more power, more riches. and for a while they had that, until they fell under his spell totally and they were just more of his faceless minions. The only innocents here were the reporter and those few individuals who were snared because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.
I summarized a good bit of the adventure just so I wouldn't have to write a novel (this post is pretty long as it is). We played for over 7 hours. I didn't get home until nearly 2 am. Despite it being a somewhat sad affair at first, it turned out to be fun. I hope we can do this again sometime soon.
None of us were trying to replace Paul -we couldn't- but the adventure was designed with 5 players in mind, so Dave was gracious enough to fill in. After much deliberation, we ended up playing at Sam's house, which was advantageous for me, as he lives around the corner. Being that I'm partially blind, and I have difficulty driving at night that was a lucky break.
As I stated at the beginning the game started off a bit solemnly but before long we got into the swing of things.
At first the players were taking the cautious approach to things, perhaps it was a bit of apprehension at the scenario and partly because of Paul's looming presence, despite his not being with us anymore. After half an hour of getting to know the game again and dispelling the feeling of Paul watching us play, the game began moving.
The players after doing some in-depth investigation, discovered some clues as to the female reporter's whereabouts. Reading the clues correctly they went to the industrial district, but just before heading out Dave suggested they anoint themselves somehow before going. Something in one of the clues prompted him to think of the idea. They used Holy water and inscribed crosses into their bullets and knives. then they drew crosses with charcoal upon their bodies. Thus, prepared they headed off a few hours later. On arrival they were promptly captured by a rival gang of the gang controlling the industrial district. After a bit of talk and negotiation, the rival gang and our adventurers discovered they had more in common than they knew. Together they hatched a risky scheme to gain access to the area where the reporter was being held as well as to rescue her.
Unfortunately for both the players and the helpful gang, things did not go as planned. As they entered the maze-like underground of the industrial district, the two groups became separated. The players continued on, and quickly gave up on the idea of trying to regroup with the gang as the maze was impossible to navigate with certainty. Soon though they arrived at a juncture which was actually a water way transfer point that was no longer in use. Suddenly the players became aware of a sound that sounded like a deep slow whoosh. After a few minutes of figuring the players decided they must be under the lake. Which both surprised and concerned them.
Deciding to take one of the five tunnels leading out from the juncture, the group walked the impossibly straight corridor. In the shining beam of their flashlights the walls and ceiling showed no indication of imperfections or otherwise, of being worked, it was a perfectly flat surfaced corridor which appeared to be made of concrete. The floor was equally flat and true. After a seemingly long walk, they reached the end where a large steel door reflected the light of their flashlights back at them, lighting up the immediate area as if lit by a bright lamp.
Figuring out how to open the door the adventurers entered the space the door had hidden. It was an immense chamber with a ceiling so high that it disappeared into darkness. Tall torches lined the outer walls, the torch fire leaping and dancing to its own music as their light flickered and swayed, causing the shadows to move in creepy and eerie ways. In the center of the cavern was a large pool filled with a dark liquid, and emerging from the center of the pool was a large spire, reaching up into the air, and swallowed up by the darkness. It was wide at the bottom but tapering as it rose.
Around the chamber, near the torches stood an innumerable number of cowled individuals lining the walls, shoulder to shoulder, facing the center. The players finally noticed a dais to one side. It was ornate and carved from what appeared to be lustrous stone. two of the tall torches stood each side of the throne, their flickering lights casting moving shadows. A short distance in front of the dais was a stone table. Atop the throne sat a large and portly being. It looked like a man, in the fact that it had two arms and two legs, but the torso and head were of a bird. Perhaps it was a trick of the torch light or maybe a costume. Either way the intended effect was achieved as far as the adventurers were concerned. For this beast was hideous.
Then it stood.
A rumble like distant thunder issued forth from its beak, before words, slow and painful, came out.
"As foretold, they are here. The ritual can now begin. Bring them to me."
Somehow, while the players were taking in the spectacle before them, several guards had gotten near them and were now approaching rapidly. The guards too had the same grotesque heads and torsos of birds as their leader did. As the players drew their weapons, one of them noticed the table by the dais, wasn't actually a table, but a sacrificial slab. And laying atop it was the woman reporter dressed in white gossamer veils that did little to hide her naked body. She wasn't moving. Although it looked like her eyes were open, she could have been dead.
Things got out of control quickly as the players fired on the bird people approaching them. As the bullets hit the guards, they let out an inhuman scream that rose in pitch and frequency until it couldn't be heard by human ears but could be felt through their bodies as a vibration. Then the creatures simply popped out of existence. They then turned their attention to the rest of the people and their leader, but those cowled were now swaying as if in pain, with some actually writhing on the ground. Their leader was a different story. Incensed beyond words and sound, the creature flung its arms outward, and a whirlwind of some strength quickly travelled to the group. The wind was strong, it was as if a hurricane engulfed them, but they all managed to retain their footing. As soon as the wind died away. they began firing on the leader. At first their bullets didn't hit the thing. It was as if the creature was guarded by an invisible shield. In desperation they continued firing as they didn't know what else to do. Eventually, whatever was guarding the creature began to fail and the slugs were now hitting the monstrosity. The players could see dark blue blood gushing from several wounds, soon the bird thing was stumbling and then falling. The players were on their last and final reload, when the creature quit moving. It was covered in multiple holes where what it used for blood slowly seeped out.
As two of the players continued to examine the thing, the other three rushed to the stone table. The reporter had closed her eyes, but her breathing was ragged, and each breath was a struggle. After a few seconds she opened her eyes, but those who'd seen death so close knew that she was dying. As she struggled to stay alive, the reporter managed to mouth a few words. "You. Saved. Us. All."
With that she closed her eyes and her body became limp, as her struggle for life ended.
Not knowing what else to do, the three players looked around and noticed the cowled people were now moaning and acting as if they wer4e just walking up. The few that had fallen were now getting up and asking what happened of their fellow cowl wearers.
It turned out some these cowled individuals were some of the movers and shakers of Empire City. They's been drawn in by the power and riches promised by the bird man. No one knew his name or what he was. One day he was just there, offering what every power hungry greedy individual wants, more power, more riches. and for a while they had that, until they fell under his spell totally and they were just more of his faceless minions. The only innocents here were the reporter and those few individuals who were snared because they were in the wrong place at the wrong time.
I summarized a good bit of the adventure just so I wouldn't have to write a novel (this post is pretty long as it is). We played for over 7 hours. I didn't get home until nearly 2 am. Despite it being a somewhat sad affair at first, it turned out to be fun. I hope we can do this again sometime soon.