Hold Back the Night. Chapter 1

[Myth and Jest]

16:30 December 27 – Near the center of the ruins, Louisville and the alien world.
Sawyer Skyscraper and Park

From the vantage point of the foyer between the interior promenade and the exterior park, the team notices movement from every other building circling the park. Hundreds of humans emerge from doorways in straight, well-ordered lines, as if they were school children lining up for class. The park quickly fills with people heading calmly toward the center rift. Off to the side, the diner’s patio doors open, and Earl joins the growing crowd with his group of civilians. The sound of dozens of shuffling footsteps echoes up from the parking garage.

As the front columns of people reach the park’s core, the ground begins to shake and crack open. A gigantic shadow heaves up from below the ground and emerges from the rubble to rise before the rift. The size of the shadow appears almost incomprehensible. It’s as if a building is shooting from the ground. Boulder size clumps of ash and snow tumble off the rising shape to crash over the closest figures. The debris settles into a clear view. A gigantic monstrosity of a spider stands several stories tall, haloed by glowing blue energies with wisps of blue energy trailing off the creature’s black exoskeleton, like tendrils or webbing, back towards the rift. Marconi senses this god-like titan is the source of the insane hunger.

The crowd around the base of the gigantic horror doesn’t seem to notice and calmly moves closer. With its redwood-sized legs, the spider picks up a person from the crowd and raises him to its shiny black eyes. It examines the person dangling before it for a moment, and the man suddenly jerks, recoiling away from the horror, struggling to escape. A wail of terror gurgles from the man’s throat as the spider crushes him in its mouth. The glowing tendrils from the spider’s body brighten with a surge of energy as it scoops up another person to devour. Flashes of surging energy and the horrified screams of dying people fill the park as more and more people flock toward the creature. Soon the path between the team and the rift will be filled with thousands of people. With each devoured soul, the rift shimmers and stretches wider.

16:30 December 27 – Sawyer Skyscraper Interior Promenade

The swarm of spiders gathering in the building’s promenade stares back at the team as if waiting for some unheard signal. Hundreds of spiders cling to the walls above or hang from webbing, creating an odd shadowed marionette effect. Spiders of all sizes, ranging from a foot across to a dozen feet tall, move in and out of the shadows.

Nora shoots several laser beams at the growing horde. One spider drops, smoking from sizzling holes in its exoskeleton. Several nearby spiders attack their dead companion and rip the body apart in a messy splash of gore to consume its soft interior flesh. Odd clicking noises call to the team from the swarm, but the army of creatures holds back as a line of people sweeps from the parking garage stairwell around the team like a river of bodies out into the park.

[Liam Marconi]

Perception (30%)= 1d100: [4] = 4
JIC (d20/d%)= 1d20: [8] = 8 / 1d100: [76] = 76

16:30 December 27 – Near the center of the ruins, Louisville and the alien world.
Sawyer Skyscraper and Park

Perception 15%: d100: [2] = 2
JIC: d100: [93] = 93 , d20: [9] = 9

Dresden contemplates what he is seeing. "They are intelligent creatures. They are attempting to communicate. They are feeding those thralls to the large creature. They have demonstrated their ability to mentally control humans to make them march to their own slaughter. If they make it to earth, it will become a pasture of human cattle. We have to close that Rift. . . even if that means we won't make it home." I would prefer to close it from the other side. "Any ideas on how to shut that damn thing? Marconi you seem to have some insight, that I am purposefully not questioning at the moment. What are your thoughts?"

Liam replies, "While it seems likely that they are intelligent, they may be acting on instinct like colonial insects. Still, intelligence can be assumed. As to how to close the rift, I have two observations. First, the center of the effect is the monstrous spider, and second, the effect grows stronger as each person is consumed. I need a test to be certain, can our sniper kill one of the lesser spiders? I need to check if the power is generated only if the person is consumed, or if any death in the area will do the trick. If it is the former, there is a way to stop this, but you will not like it."

Liam does not like it either, but it seems obvious...if the spider queen (in insects and arachnids, the female is usually larger, so he is assuming the giant is female) needs to consume the humans to spread the rift wider, then we have to remove the humans from the equation...by killing them is necessary. There is a chance that doing enough damage to the mandibles of the spider to stop it from feeding might also work...but he is uncertain whether we have powerful enough weaponry for the job of significantly damaging it...let alone killing it.

[Liam Marconi]

(Rolls Held Over)

Dresden looks at Marconi, "You mean we have to kill the enthralled?" Dresden pauses, his eyes become distant, like he is doing some kind of moral calculus. "Watch, the creature. I am sniping one of the thralls. If they must be consumed to empower the creature, then we will need to kill them all to slow the creature's power growth. These people will have to be acceptable losses to keep it from crossing the rift. Butcher, we need the Lunchbox to cover the Rift, if that thing starts trying to cross, you have to keep it this side. If we are lucky Marconi is right. We weaken this thing and the Rift will close and maybe, just maybe we can make it through before it closes." Dresden lifts and points his rifle at one of the enthralled moving towards the creature. "Marconi, focus on the creature." Once he sees Marconi focusing, he pulls the trigger.

While Liam had not said as much, it is roughly the conclusion he had reached, "First we need to know if it can use other death nearby, or if it has to actually feed to draw energy."

He turns his attention to the web of energy surrounding the spider, watching to see if it is strengthened by whatever the sniper shoots. It bothers him that Dresden shoots a person first, but he can understand why it may be required. If killing the spider had revealed no change in the field, that would likely have been the next step.

[Falcon]

Perception: 18% / 1d100: [6] = 6
JIC: 1d20: [2] = 2 / 1d100: [50] = 50
+2 v HF, +2 v Lethal/Non-lethal Toxins, +6% vs Coma/Death, +2 vs Magic, +2 vs Insanity, +2 vs Psionics

The debris settles into a clear view. A gigantic monstrosity of a spider stands several stories tall, haloed by glowing blue energies with wisps of blue energy trailing off the creature’s black exoskeleton, like tendrils or webbing, back towards the rift.

From the second floor, Falcon reels in awe of the sheer size of this titan. If it weren’t so terrifying, this would be amazing.

”Hey, is this thing on? What is the game plan?” That kid, Macaroni? Marchello? Marconi? He seems to know what is going on. Kid, give us a clue.

Nora shoots several laser beams at the growing horde. One spider drops, smoking from sizzling holes in its exoskeleton.

”C’mon somebody call the plays. The pups and I can play defense until a decision is made.” Falcon then follows Nora’s lead and begins to make precision shots on all the spiders he can.


In case of violence:
Initiative: 1d20+4: 1d20+4: [19]+4 = 23

Actions performed not necessarily in this order

Action 1: Reserved for Dodge
Action 2: Strike: Rifle 1d20+9: [2]+9 = 11 , Damage - MDC (3D6): 3d6: [3, 5, 5] = 13
Action 3: Strike: Rifle 1d20+9: [3]+9 = 12 , Damage - MDC (3D6): 3d6: [3, 6, 3] = 12
Action 4: Strike: Rifle 1d20+9: [13]+9 = 22 , Damage - MDC (3D6): 3d6: [6, 2, 2] = 10
Action 5: Strike: Rifle 1d20+9: [15]+9 = 24 , Damage - MDC (3D6): 3d6: [1, 5, 2] = 8
Action 6: Strike: Rifle 1d20+9: [13]+9 = 22 , Damage - MDC (3D6): 3d6: [3, 6, 2] = 11


Parries (+8 included): 1d20+8: [8]+8 = 16 , 1d20+8: [19]+8 = 27 , 1d20+8: [3]+8 = 11 , 1d20+8: [7]+8 = 15 , 1d20+8: [6]+8 = 14
Dodges (+9 included): 1d20+9: [15]+9 = 24 , 1d20+9: [13]+9 = 22 , 1d20+9: [18]+9 = 27 , 1d20+9: [15]+9 = 24 , 1d20+9: [3]+9 = 12

[Myth and Jest]

16:30 December 27 – Near the center of the ruins, Louisville and the alien world.
Sawyer Skyscraper and Park

Falcon starts shooting at the spider swarm within the promenade of the building. Several shots hit, leaving smoking holes in exoskeletons, but no spiders go down. The creatures are surprisingly hardy and agile. The swarm undulates like a school of fish moving in the currents of a wave but remains at a distance.

Dresden lines up a woman in the crosshairs of his rifle. She’s dressed in a tattered evening gown and was probably at a holiday party when the world fell apart. Now the lady walks calmly with a group of others toward the abomination. With barely a squeeze, Dresden touches the trigger, and the woman in his sight vaporizes, leaving a fine mist of ash and charred flesh behind.

Marconi, watching for the effect of the woman’s death, sees a pale blue afterimage of the woman. The ghostly woman’s image fades into a scattering of shiny particles pulled toward the giant creature. Her life energy floats into the spider’s body, merging with the blue tendrils holding the ley lines together as the rift widens. Though the power has an effect, it doesn’t appear to be as much as that of the energy from a consumed victim.

[Liam Marconi]

16:30 December 27 – Near the center of the ruins, Louisville and the alien world.
Sawyer Skyscraper and Park

Falcon starts shooting at the spider swarm within the promenade of the building. Several shots hit, leaving smoking holes in exoskeletons, but no spiders go down. The creatures are surprisingly hardy and agile. The swarm undulates like a school of fish moving in the currents of a wave but remains at a distance.

Dresden lines up a woman in the crosshairs of his rifle. She’s dressed in a tattered evening gown and was probably at a holiday party when the world fell apart. Now the lady walks calmly with a group of others toward the abomination. With barely a squeeze, Dresden touches the trigger, and the woman in his sight vaporizes, leaving a fine mist of ash and charred flesh behind.

Marconi, watching for the effect of the woman’s death, sees a pale blue afterimage of the woman. The ghostly woman’s image fades into a scattering of shiny particles pulled toward the giant creature. Her life energy floats into the spider’s body, merging with the blue tendrils holding the ley lines together as the rift widens. Though the power has an effect, it doesn’t appear to be as much as that of the energy from a consumed victim.

Perception (30%)= 1d100: [10] = 10
JIC (d20/d%)= 1d20: [13] = 13 / 1d100: [86] = 86

Liam observes, "Listen up, the big spider got stronger from the woman dying, but not as much as when it ate the last one. It also didn't get stronger when the lesser spider died. Odds are there are enough people here it can still open the door without consuming the people, but it has a limited range to gather energy. We need to wake the people up and either scatter them before killing them or get them out through the gate, which is unfortunately on the other side of the big spider."

He is not happy that we had to kill one of those in the crowd, but it was necessary to gather information. He is having to figure things out as he goes, which is a process of trial and error.

He suggests, "That feedback loop from before seemed to work at waking people, perhaps we should try that again."

Liam does not know that it will work, but it is worth a try.