GM: Rae Nedjadi
Players: Josh Hittie, Sherri Stewart, Sean Nittner
System: Tomb Raider
Recap
Everything form last session, plus
- Janine Wilder crouches and covers her head to fend off all the dangers around.
- We were asked to help Aroha and Koro to sort out their differences.
- Dash made friends Koro.
- We fended off the “cops” who were trying to abduct Jon Hobson.
Helicopter Hijinks
We opened the game with the local cops distracted by the helicopter taking off. They were panicking, which is always dangerous.
Taking advantage of their distraction, Jason, Fen, and Janine hopped on the DC branded dirt bikes and tore out of there.[4/5 result on Forge a Path. – Catch a glimpse of what your Nemesis’ next steps are, but pay the price]
In their rear view one of the cops starts coughing up a purple pearlescent goo that forms into a gun. The other cops shout not to touch it. This wasn’t the first time we saw something like this…
Fen recalled seeing the same goo, coming out of the snow during the avalanche in the Alps. Whatever affected Lo-Atkins back in the alps is here as well. Speeding off Jason quipped “We’re going to have to think of a brand name for that. Goop is already taken by Gwyneth Paltrow” Fen shook her head “I KNEW you were going to say that.”
The cops quickly recovered and start radioing backup. We had to push ourselves hard to get free [We each took a condition. Fen took Frustrated: Left so much good stuff behind and Jason took Exhausted: That was a hell of a chase.].
We ended on the only road out of town, snaking in from the hills over the village. On one side are steep slopes covered in evergreen native forest. On the other is a sharp cliff that hangs over the lake. Scattered throughout are solitary white crosses, making spots of previous car crashes. Each one pays tribute to someone who failed to make the journey home.
Fen saw and image of her mother from the last time she saw her. She visited her mom and home in China and her mom told her “you are not mine” which she didn’t understand. She seemed happy and excited. She was always distant and closed off, but then she was open and warm. She feels like her mom is here and makes her way to the forest. Jason and Janine watch curiously, unsure what’s drawing her in. Jason starts workshopping name possibilities: Purple Rheum, Viscous Matter, Expelling Ooze. This distracts Fen and she made the final suggestion, which we went with “Purplessent(TM)”.
Meanwhile, Dash and Koro were flying over Tane-Nui-Tiwhatiwha. Dash was piloting but felt the controls move underneath him. Koro feigned surprise in a “who could be doing that?” way. Dash knew they were on the way to the compound but stopped short of it and lands in a clearing to catch their breath.
Koro told him “No matter what happens next, you’re always going to make the right choice.” Just then, through the trees a group of goons led by the towering figure of Zahara Said emerged. “I dreamt that you would be here old man, that you would fall right into my lap.” Then she pulled out a gun!
The last time Dash saw Zahara Said, it wasn’t great. Dash helped her steal a reliquary (a saints jawbone, priceless) from the innocent ones before he understood who they were stealing it from. It’s a relic known for prophecy and has been giving her strange dreams, that led her here. She’s wearing it now, covered in the purplessent sheen.
“It’s been a long time Dash.” Zahara pointed the gun at Koro and Dash knew she was going to say “This isn’t personal, just business” but the soul artifact is slowed down time and Dash heard it say “You can take death right now.”
Dash grabbed Koro and dove off the edge of the cliff they landed next too. The soul artifact was delighted! [Defy Death 4/5 result, improved to a 6 with a Flashback] Dash remembered his early childhood. Jason and Dash were friend and Dash always wanted to be respected and be on equal footing in childhood antics. The were walking along a railroad bridge over a river and jumping off to avoid a train. Back then it was Jason that grabbed Dash, this time, he he was the one who jumped [Selected. Ensure the safety of one other person: Koro, Reach for the truth—take a bad hit but gain one Truth]
As the two of them are falling down Zahara face twists in anger and her eyes shine violet. As the two of them plummet, Koro is caught in a stone hand but Dash still tumbles down [Wounded and Lonely conditions]. Koro waves down at him.
Lost
Cutting back to Jason and Fen. They tried to radio Dash but nothing went through (he dropped the radio in the helicopter). Fen suggested we go down the road and look for someone who knows Koru and might know where he might go to. At first Jason though this was preposterous “we can’t just go down the road and hope to run into someone”, but Fen remembered seeing him along with Aroha, and they have some kind of connection. “Aroha is the park ranger, so I’m sure we’ll find her out here.”
Sure enough, down the road a bit we found her waiting by her truck as though she’s expecting someone and then smiles as she us. Fen told her what happened and we could see the dismay growing on Ahora’s face. “Koro has been wanting me to take him to the mountain and…” She held back, unsure if she could trust us.
Fen leaned in and says “Coming up the road, I swear I saw my mom in the forest, something weird is happening.”
“So Tane-Nui-Tiwhatiwha is speaking to you, so you must be worthy of his initial trust.” She talked about him like he’s family. Ahora would continue to guide us!
As we pulled out Fen teased Jason “See, I told you the road would lead us.” Jason wasn’t convinced it was divine providence, just that in a tiny one road town.
While Fen and Aroha were loading up the jeep, Jason checked on Janine. She was unhurt but so distracted by something that she was reading that she kissed him on the cheek without paying attention. Jason notices however. “What’s distracting you?” He asked, his hand on his cheek.
“I’ve heard stories of a cult leader that uses the purplessent. Oh, I think I’ve got something.” Then she kissed Jason on the lips (LIPS!) said “I’ll be right back honey” and took off on bike before he could react.
Jason is startled by this, but believes she knows what she’s doing. [Ally option: Your ally sabotages your Nemesis, erase one mark from the Racing Heart track]. Fen stood at his side and teased him “Honey?”
Frustrated. Confused. Jason changed the subject “So… where are we going.”
Aroha answered in the cryptic way people do when it’s too hard to explain what’s really going on. “We’re going to where the mountain is leading us. Koru is connected to the mountain and the mountain is connected to him. As he comes closer to death, so does the mountain. What prevents the mountain from declining is that another Tohunga to take his place, but he’s never trained another boy.” What we heard between the lines was “I cannot be a holy man, because I’m not a man.”
Reconnecting
Dash rigged up a belaying device to get Koro down the cliffside safely. It took forever to make all the knots and rigging. By the time Dash finally got it all done and is ready to climb up the mountain to get the old man, he turned and sees Koro is standing by his side “Oh, is this for me? I could go back up there if you’d like.”
The silly moment ended abruptly at the sound of a huge gunshot in the distance, echoing over the mountainside followed by a powerful bird cawing. Koro looked serious as he took Dash’s hand and said “Let’s go. No matter what happens you’ll do the right thing. But you gotta work on those nots.”
We all arrived at the same time at the compound. Far from town and In stark contrast against the wilderness, the newly built geological outpost feels alien. stark modern brutalism and edges clashes with the lush greenery and open skies, and wounds of the recent construction still show in the soil. Its chain link fence, sterile white walls and suffocating lines offer no warmth or comfort.
Tom De Wit is standing there with a big gun shooting at a Pouākai, a giant bird that is never supposed to exist.
Staring at the bird that is only rumor to have ever existed, Jason unconsciously rambled off half a dozen bird facts about it. Things he learned from reading about majestic birds that can fly free. The bird should be flying away, but it keeps circling, looking for something.
Jason was about to set off an intruder alarm to distract Tom, when Aroha grabbed his arm and gasped. On the other side of the compound was Dash and Koro…only Koro somehow made it through the chain link fence and threw a rock at the man.
“FUUUUCK.” Jason mutters frustrated. A moment later, he was driving the jeep with Aroha at his side and rammed through the chain link fence to get Tom’s attention. Inside Koro scampered into a building in the compound (defying our understanding of the key card system).
Jason yelled at Tom “You need to leave this place. This isn’t your home.” Tom stares daggers at Jason [This was a Take Control action. I chose Hit them where it hurts, inflict a Condition. Create a golden opportunity for an ally]. Just as the door behind Koro was about to close, Dash slipped in behind him.
Inside
When he stepped through the door, for a moment Dash was not in the compound, but in the mountain itself as he hears the vision.
It is a time of landfall. The ground shakes, rolling and heaving in torment, spewing hot lava and thick ash. Where most people hear tears in earth and shaking of rock, Ikurangi hears cries of sorrow and suffering. The land rolls but the Tohunga walks in rhythm with the mountain’s despair, chanting a song of peace while finding a way up the slope of Tane-Nui-Tiwhatiwha.
This is what Koru is doing right now. Walking in a rhythm. Something about this outpost was designed to wound the mountain and the mountain is responding. Koru moved forward, knowing Dash would follow. Koro seems hardly more than a breath.
That’s when they came upon rows and rows of “biological artifacts”… human heads. Bodies of the Tohunga that he excavated.
“Ah, my most prized biological artifact that got away from me once. It won’t happen again.” Andreas Prendergast stepped from the Shadows.
End of Session
We cut to Zahara walking through the forest. Upset because she’s lost track of Koro and Dash. She’s holding onto the jawbone sending her whispers. Then we hear the click of a gun cocking at her head. She smile and says “You don’t have what it takes to pull that trigger.”
“You don’t know what I’m capable of.” There was a flash of violet in Janine’s eyes.
Next time
- Review personal self discovery advances and choose a team advance.
- Wishes: Taking to Tom (not just punching him), feeding Prendergast to the fish monster, finding out more about Koru and the mountain).
- “You used to be my hero man. I thought you were so cool. And you saved me life. Or at least I though you did. Now I think you were just happy to have an excused to kill all those people”. Jason’s opening line next session.
