Parks and Wrecks - Chapter 3: Three Titans

[This session happened Saturday, November 14, and is a different gaming group than the Shadowrun group.  This group runs using the HERO System (Champions) and only plays once a month.]

Chapter 0 – Dramatis Personae

May 26, 1934, 21:01, Chicago, The Ambassador East Hotel
I’ve eaten dinner and had several stiff drinks.  By the clock on the wall I’ve been awake 15 hours, but I know it’s been longer.  We were in the Schattenkreis base for more than half a day, meaning I’m approaching 24 hours of consciousness, most of it requiring strenuous activity.  As long as the day had been before we returned in the stolen submarine, the 30 minutes that followed felt longer.

The submarine had been barely within the control of the engineer “driving” it.  Shortly after we arrived in Lake Michigan, an enormous explosion happened behind the submarine.  It was fortunate that we were pointed at the shore when we exited the portal – the explosion pushed the submarine to shore instead of rolling it.  Our immediate suspicion was that the explosion was an attack of some sort, but in hindsight it was clearly the gate to the Schattenkreis base collapsing or exploding, possibly both.

With the submarine more or less grounded on the rocky shore adjacent to the World’s Fair, evacuation of the boat was our priority.  We worked as a team to get all the innocent bystanders and rescued scientists safely to shore and then we dispersed to deal with the treat of the Copper Robot as each of us felt we could.  Helen and Simone headed to the Sky Bridge to deal with the Arcturus Star atop the central tower, Bak Mu started treating the injured by the passing of the enormous Copper Robot on the Midway, Kurt headed off to the nearby animal exhibit, possibly to find a mount, and I lost track of Jack.

Riley had not yet marshaled the US Army Robot to fight the Copper Robot.  The Copper Robot was about to step out of the Southern Lagoon on the far side.  I arrived at the near shore of the Lagoon, thinking furiously.  I came up with several options to go after the Copper Robot and quickly discarded most of them as too dangerous, too uncertain, or both.  I settled on attempting to use the Key of Solomon to freeze the Lagoon and hopefully trap the Copper Robot in the Lagoon long enough for Riley to arrive.

I stretched my hands out to the Lagoon and called upon the waters to freeze, trapping the “metal man”.  Not certain what to expect, I was pleased when the water nearest me immediately froze and the effect quickly spread.  I continued chanting my command to the water, focusing my concentration to will the waters to obey me.  To be honest, I’m not entirely certain it was necessary to continue chanting, but I did so.

As rime ice covered the surface of the Lagoon and started to thicken, the temperature of the air started dropping noticeably.  Unfortunately, this took longer than I had and the Copper Robot stepped out of the Lagoon before the entire thing froze solid.  A pillar of ice started rising from the center of the freezing Lagoon.  Intrigued by this, I continued to chant, hoping I was maintaining some semblance of control.  The pillar manifested arms and legs, cold radiating from it in waves.

At some point around here, Riley arrived, piloting the US Army Robot (which he later named “The ‘Merican” – who can fathom engineers and their naming schema).  He started trading blows with the Copper Robot, the Army Robot using a giant spinning blade, the Copper Robot shooting bolts of lightning from the enormous lightning rod attached to its back.  Then the ice being animated and stepped ashore to join the fray.  (I later learned Bak Mu was also involved, but, due to the distance, I could not see him.)

I was slightly distracted at this point as Kurt rode by on the back of an adult grizzly bear.  (I challenge anyone to say they would not have been distracted by such a thing.  I will call them a liar if they are able to do so with a straight face.)  The bear was apparently Jack in a new form and Kurt wanted to know where to go.  I pointed him at the Hall of Religion while attempting to maintain my chant.

I think this is where things started to go awry in relation to my control of the ice being as it started attacking the US Army Robot instead of the Copper Robot.  Its punches did little, but then it started summoning a blizzard around it.  I later learned that this bypassed what defenses the US Army Robot provided Riley.  An alternate theory is that Mr. Parks was in the area and usurped some measure of control from what may have been a djin from me.  We later found some evidence he had been in the area, but his control over djin is very speculative at this point.

Seeing the ice being was not doing what I wanted, I used the Key of Solomon to dispel it and then made my way to the Hall of Religion.  The ice being started slowly dispersing.

I later learned that Simone and Helen had made their way up to the giant, star-shaped light on top of the center tower of the Sky Bridge.  There they found two members of the Schattenkreis protecting the light.  Coincidentally, both Simone and Helen were still wearing the Schattenkreis uniforms stolen from the submarine base (the uniforms were much warmer than the summer dresses they arrived wearing at the Antarctic base).  This allowed Simone and Helen to bluff their way into control of the situation.  When Simone used the controls to shut off the Arcturus Star, the goons attacked anyways (the Star refused to deactivate).  Helen shot out the kneecap of one and shot the other in the shoulder, breaking his collar bone.  She ordered them to sit and they did.  Simone and Helen then took turns shooting at the heavy glass of the Arcturus Star itself until they shattered it.

This, of course, caused it to explode.

Simone and Helen were injured in the blast, but not killed – the two Schattenkreis goons were not so lucky.  The explosion had another effect on the goons – the World’s Fair maintenance uniforms they had been wearing turned into leather armor.  Whatever glamour had changed its appearance had failed.  The ladies decided to leave before actual maintenance workers and/or security guards arrived.

Just as the ladies were destroying the Arcturus Star, Riley was able to sever one of the arms off the Copper Robot.  The robot exploded into a shower of components seconds later.  I’m fairly certain that it was the ladies destroying the Arcturus Star that caused the Copper Robot to fall to pieces, Riley claims it was his actions that did the trick.  I’ve chosen to not press the matter as the ice being I summoned nearly killed both he and Bak Mu from the cold during the three-way fight.

Shortly after this point (I’m uncertain of the timing as I was busy running and not looking at my watch), Kurt, Jack, and I discovered that the sarcophagus lid was missing.  The Hall of religion was empty of spectators due to swarms of bees that had suddenly arrived.  The cold air side-effect of the ice being’s blizzard had driven the bees dormant, so the three of us were able to enter the Hall safely.  There were a lot of bees.

Following traces of the sarcophagus lid being dragged, we discovered a hidden maintenance door in the display room.  We pressed on and ended at the receiving dock for the Hall of Religion, where the tracks disappeared.  We followed the pavement from the receiving dock to the main road of the Fair.  There we looked around for a truck that might carry the stone sarcophagus lid.  We spotted one just down past the Hall of Science.  Grasping at straws, we ran to that truck.  It was damaged by electrical attacks from the Copper Robot that had missed Riley in the Army Robot.

Riley arrived at the truck at the same time as we did, wanting to use it to haul away the remains of the Copper Robot before the authorities arrived to take control of the situation.  The four of us opened the back of the truck, guns drawn.  Inside were just some barrels of heavy water, not the sarcophagus we were looking for.  I was dejected – Parks had gotten away with the sarcophagus and we never got our shot at him.

Riley and I got into the front of the truck to go get the remains of the Copper Robot.  In the front we found two bitter trophies: the coat and cane of G. P. Solomon, a.k.a. Mr. George Parks.  We had been that close.

Someone suggested that the Schattenkreis base had docking facilities for TWO submarines and we had stolen and crashed only ONE of them.  Riley drove the truck to the Fair’s docks as quickly as he could.  Once there we scanned the waters and Kurt was able to spot a periscope just as it submerged below the waters.  Kurt and Riley started arguing about whether to steal a boat or a sea plane to track the submarine.  I ended the argument by stating, “They’ve escaped.  We’ll try again next time.”

Then our entire team focused on assisting with the cleanup of the attack.  Riley was able to stash the Copper Robot’s arm he had cut off at the AEC Pyramid before the actual Army arrived and confiscated everything else.  It turned out that Riley had decked the Army Specialist exhibiting the Army Robot and then woke him up after the fighting was over, congratulating the Specialist on a job well done.  Bak Mu and Kurt started providing medical assistance, setting up the lobby of the AEC Pyramid as a medical triage area.  This tied the company’s name to the relief efforts, which no doubt scored us points with our employers.

After the sun set and the relief efforts were over, the team and Miss Decker secured a private room at The Pump Room for dinner and to compare notes.  Doing so brought the following to light:

• The armor the Schattenkreis goons had been wearing was elven armor from the court of the Dark Elf King.
• There were “fleshy bits” in the Copper Robot wreckage – suggestive of brain in a jar control system?
• Telling the complete story of the robots and the elves to the newer members of the team, I realized that the makers of the giant robots are the Schattenkreis, not the dark Elves.  However, Dark Elf technology/magic involved somehow.  There is now the suggestion that Mr. Parks is working with the Schattenkreis/Dark Elf alliance.
• Bak Mu pointed out that the submarine base was likely not the only base the Schattenkreis have and many people are missing from the Fair.  Perhaps the Schattenkreis are now kidnapping people for control components for more giant robots.

Miss Decker had several observations and recommendations.

• Djin legends do not suggest they can control minds, so Helen’s family are more likely being blackmailed/threatened.
• She suggested we needed to research Mr. Parks before going after him again.
• She acknowledged that the Company may have some responsibility for the situation and offered to count the team’s activities involving tracking down Mr. Parks to be business related, meaning we were on the payroll and not doing this on our own.  We took her up on it

Tomorrow most of us are heading to New York City to start researching Mr. Parks.  Kurt made noises indicating he will be heading directly to New Mexico to scout out the doings of Solomon Industries and their tower site at Chaco Canyon.

Now to sleep.  It has been a tiring day and there is more work to do tomorrow.

End of Session


Chapter 1
Chapter 2

Aftermath and Research [Not Written Yet]

Parks and Wrecks - Chapter 2: Antarctic Sidestep

Chapter 0 – Dramatis Personae

May 26, 1934 (Probably), Unknown Location
Darkness and pain took us just as we dispersed to deal with the crisis.  When the darkness ended, we found ourselves, along with a number of innocent bystanders, in a 20 ft x 20 ft cell made of iron bars running from floor to ceiling.  It was dark, but not the absolute lack of sensation that had previously gripped us.

After activating a couple of lucky lighters (mine and Kurt’s), we notice that Riley was missing, we are still armed (those of us accustomed to carrying pistols…plus Kurt and his coach gun of all things), and it is cold.  Cold enough that motion is necessary to stay warm.

We checked the two solid doors to the cell (each opposite the other) and looked around beyond the bars.  The room we were in was twice the size of the cell, with the cell in the exact center of the chamber.  The bars were set close enough even Bak Mu could not squeeze through and the locks were placed on the doors such that Simone could not get to adequately position her hands to pick them.  This did not stop her from trying.

After a short time, the electric lights in the room activated and three men entered the room, wearing the black uniforms with silver piping of the Schattenkreis!  They were talking amongst themselves and appeared to be surprised by our presence as they were not expecting anyone this soon.  One of them got close enough to the cell that Jack could grab him and he did so, pulling the guard against the bars of the cell.  They only spoke German, so I did most of the talking on our part.  They decided to abandon their fellow guard and run to raise the alarm.  Kurt and I stopped them by shooting them before they could clear the door.  Meanwhile, Bak Mu reached around and relieved the guard Jack had pinned of his keys.  Bak Mu then unlocked the adjacent cell door (just as Simone finally finished picking the lock on the other door).

Jack and Kurt relieved all three guards of their pistols and spare clips of ammunition while Bak Mu performed first aid on the bystanders to wake them up before hypothermia set in.  (This place is cold and we “just left” early summer temperatures.)

We started exploring at this point.  While most of the hallways are standard size, there is a set that are twice this size, which we avoid as they are trafficked by Schattenkreis troops.  We found a submarine pen large enough for two submarines.  We clocked some guards and rescued a scientist-type, who explained that the scientists in the base were kidnapped and brought here.  They have lost track of time as the base is underground and always cold.  We decided that simply escaping was not going to be possible, so we started methodically working our way through the base, taking out cultists/guards as we came to them.

We found the barracks for the troops and the personal rooms of The Key, the resident mad scientist, and Frau Nyx, the woman who escaped us in Australia.  In The Key’s room was a desk crammed full of papers – handwritten notes of projects he was working on.  All of them, pressed in like geologic layers.  We pulled them out and dumped them into bags for Riley to look over later as we were in a hurry at the time.  In Frau Nyx’s room we learned she was the head of the base and that she had an amber skull hidden away.  I took the skull, not because I think it is valuable, but because she does.  At some point here Helen and Simone changed clothes from summer dresses to Schattenkreis officer uniforms, probably from Frau Nyx’s armoire, I no longer remember the exact timing.

After further exploration of the base, we discovered a surface access point – a square room with several cold weather suits hanging on the walls and a ladder up to a hatch in the ceiling.  Jack put on the cold weather gear and climbed up.  He reported an observation post of some sort, exposed to the elements.  There was a blizzard going on, preventing Jack from seeing very far around, let alone the stars to try and determine where we were.

Searching further, we then found a screening room with a wet bar (I'll let you guess which cowboy located the alcohol), but otherwise empty.  Next to it was a lab with several scientists working on various projects.  We announced we were liberating them, but one of the scientists objected and pulled a gun.  He went down quickly.  Another of the scientists introduced himself as Robert Thompson.  He was kidnapped by the Schattenkreis in October of 1932.  He was tired of being locked up and was ready to actively help us.

After that we found the room where the Schattenkreis tested The Machine we faced in Australia.  It was adjacent to the power plant for the entire base.  The power plant not only looked dangerous, it was dangerous.  The two operators explained to us that without constant attention and adjustments the power plant would shut down, probably catastrophically.  We left them to their work.

Kurt and Bak Mu split off to reconnoiter ahead (and take down some guards).  They found the garage of the base, some sort of large cavern with a surface exit.  There were a small number of snowmobiles and a single, tracked motor.  There were not enough vehicles (or protective clothing) for the large group of people we needed to rescue, so we continued searching the base.

We backtracked to the (now) empty testing room, which had a set of stairs up to the control room for the submarine pen.  From there we could see the rest of the goons in the base.  They were pulling up barrels from an underwater location.  (We later discovered the barrels are full of heavy water stolen from the Hall of Science at the World’s Fair.)  We worked out a plan to rush the goons and take the base.  After a brief skirmish (really, it was that quick) all the Schattenkreis goons were dead and the base was ours!

We’ve gathered up all the bystanders and scientists in the screening room and are discussing how to escape as a group.

(Later)
We talked a lot and this is the best plan we have: we are going to use the remaining submarine in the base to escape through the underwater portal.  We think we have a five minute window for to sail out from the last adjustment to the power plant to when it catastrophically fails and the portal collapses.  One of the bystanders has some (very limited, it turns out) ability to drive a submarine – he was an engineer who once worked on a British submarine and watched it being piloted.  (I very much miss Riley right now.)  We also plan on detonating some dynamite in the control room using an improvised timing device using the heat from the film projector bulb and some copper wire.  No, I do not feel that is safe in any way, but it is the best we can do with what we have.

I’ll be honest, this is not the best plan we’ve ever come up with and I’m somewhat dubious we’ll make it out alive.  We don’t know if the gate will remain stable long enough for us to travel through it (assuming our “submarine commander” can get the sub into it without sinking in the first place).  We’re lining up the submarine now, under a bridge that spans the pen so the power plant operators have the shortest route to get to the sub.  Also so we don’t have to steer the sub while escaping.  We also don't know what will happen when the power plant fails or if/when the dynamite will detonate.  I’m not optimistic.

[In Chinese] Tsai Su, If we don’t make it and you somehow get this, know I love you and always will.
     signed,
Andrew Ezekial Crawley

(Even Later)
[Handwriting is rough at first but improves quickly.]

1. My pessimism was unfounded – we made it through the portal.  Somehow.
2. Passing through a dimensional gate is not instantaneous.
3. Looking through the periscope of a submarine while traversing inter-dimensional space is not recommended.  The human mind cannot hold it all and overloads in a most unpleasant manner.  Also, Human languages are inadequate to describe what is seen - I know 16 languages and do not have the words.

I recovered my senses to find us in Lake Michigan, just offshore from the World’s Fair.  Looking through the periscope we can see the giant copper robot just starting its attack on the Fair.

Yes, I wrote that correctly - "just starting".

We were at the Schattenkreis base for at least six hours, possibly longer, but have returned at best minutes after we were abducted.

I am going to need a stiff drink once this day is over.

End of Session

Chapter 1

Chapter 3

Parks and Wrecks - Arrival and Start of the 1934 World’s Fair

Chapter 0 – Dramatis Personae

May 25, 1934, 20:09, Chicago
We are pulling in to Chicago now on the fastest train on which I’ve ever traveled, the Zephyr.  We left Denver this morning at 7:04 AM and have arrived slightly over 13 hours later!  A day-and-a-half to two-day trip shortened to one day – very impressive.  Additionally, according to the reporters onboard, we arrived nearly two hours earlier than expected!

I was originally put off by riding on a promotional run from Denver to Chicago, but the timing was good due to our late start back in San Francisco.  The train is impressive and extremely clean, this being its first public run, traveling from one end of the CB&Q lines to the other.  It was much more comfortable than any of the air transports we would have flown on and faster as well.  I even had time and quiet to catch up on my correspondence.

We should arrive at the Ambassador East Hotel in time for a late dinner at The Pump Room, the in-house restaurant.  Helen and Simone seem eager to see Chicago’s nightlife, but I am more concerned with how Adventure Earth has arranged our rooms at the hotel so I can avoid rooming with Kurt and his snoring.

22:28, Ambassador East Hotel
Mixed news – we each have our own room at The Ambassador, but Miss Decker has made this a working vacation.  Envelopes were awaiting each member of the team at the hotel (although Helen received a second letter as well – apparently personal in nature).  Over the next three days we are to attend the World’s Fair and hand out company flyers to prospective clients for the company’s services.  Miss Decker has decided to make the request Jack, Kurt, and I made for access to the Fair as part of our vacation into a promotional effort for the Adventure Earth Company.  I cannot really fault her for this nor complain – employment with the company has directly benefitted me and my family plus brought me into contact with the love of my life.  The least I can do is promote the company when they are enabling our hunt for Mr. George Parks.

Speaking of whom, the hotel has copies of the official guide book for the fair in the lobby and I secured one.  Looking through it, there are two entries I feel compelled to follow: the Temple of Solomon and the Solomon Industries presentation.  Mr. Parks made off with Ring of the Djinn, the Seal of Solomon, and the Key of Solomon from the tomb of Emperor Menelik, the son of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba.  With no less than two Solomon references here at the fair on top of Menelik’s actual sarcophagus on display, I feel certain we will meet Mr. Parks again and this time he will not escape us.


May 26, 1934, 8:14 AM, Ambassador East Hotel
The team discussed our plans over breakfast.  We all agreed that the first thing we should do is present ourselves at the Adventure Earth Company Pyramid (the company pavilion at the fair) and meet with Miss Decker.  The last telegraph I have from her indicates we are to discuss the team’s standing with the company and I very much want to discuss whether or not delivering Mr. Parks (albeit trussed up by Kurt) will repair our reputation and standing within the company or merely seal it.

I attempted to suggest the team plan on meeting again at 3:00 PM, but Helen indicated she has a personal meeting at 2:00 PM and is taking Simone with her to it.  When I asked for an alternate time, Helen stated she was not certain how long her meeting would take and so she could not commit to a specific time.  I am very curious and puzzled by this, but Helen does not seem willing to share what this personal matter is and I must respect her privacy.  If it becomes something I or the rest of the team might help with, I trust she will ask.

9:28 AM, Lobby of the AEC Pyramid
Our meeting with Miss Decker was brief, but not perfunctory, which is good.  We took separate paths to get to the meeting and Kurt never arrived.  I entered through the 23rd Street entrance, but missed the exhibitor’s side entrance, so I was delayed by the crowds pressing in through the entrance.  Girls were handing out commemorative stamped pennies on chain necklaces to everyone entering, which explained the turgid entry.  I was afraid of being the last to arrive, but the others rode the Sky Car across the park, which delayed them enough that we arrived mostly together, minus Kurt.

I will admit that I did not miss Kurt until Miss Decker explained we would all be representing Adventure Earth Company while attending the fair and should be on our best behavior as a result.  Once those words left her mouth, I immediately looked for Kurt to see if he had been drinking and discovered he was missing.  Miss Decker rather unfairly ribbed me for losing another person, but I wisely avoided rising to the bait.  When I asked Miss Decker if there was any value to bringing in Mr. Parks, she said the company could use the good press of recovering one of the three clients lost over the last year, so please do so if the possibility exists.  This also means we have to do so in a way that will not reflect badly on the company once the press finds out, so I have to remember to tell Kurt we want Mr. Parks alive and with no obvious injuries.  He will be most disappointed.

11:02 AM, Hall of Science
Jack, Riley, and I went into the Temple of Solomon exhibit, which is directly adjacent to the AEC pyramid.  (Helen and Simone went off together and Bak Mu headed towards Soldier Field, perhaps to locate Kurt.)  Inside the temple, the lecturer was just starting a tour, so I tagged along.  As things progressed, it became clear he has a very strong knowledge of Biblical Scholarship, but his actual historical knowledge was lacking.  I politely corrected some of his lecture based on my own experiences in the Middle East, doing my best to add to his lecture, not weaken it.  After the lecture we fell to talking and I ended up staying longer than planned.

Jack took the time to look around the exhibit more thoroughly than normally allowed (he looked behind the displays and such) and reported back nothing we were looking for was here.  Mr. Stein asked what we were looking for and I admitted the sarcophagus of Solomon display.  He informed us it was in the Hall of Religion, which has better security than the Midway, where the Temple of Solomon display was located.  We exchanged contact information and he invited me to “break in on” his lectures any time.

Our plan from there was to pass through the Hall of Science, letting Riley investigate that location, while Jack and I made our way to the Hall of Religion.  That plan was delayed once we walked into the courtyard in front of the Hall of Science – there was a giant robot standing in the center of the courtyard, painted Army green.

The robot was obviously modeled on the one we fought in Svartalfheim (see Halls of the Mountain Kings for details).  Jack and I stopped in our tracks and started commenting on it.  Riley quickly realized we had seen one of these before and asked questions about it.  I answered his questions (mostly) however I wasn’t really paying attention to him but to the robot.  It was taller than the Iron Man of Svartalfheim and the head was different in shape and had a thick bundle of cables emerging from it that went over to a gas generator and control panel carried by an Army specialist standing to the side.  The three of us went over and talked to the young soldier.  After I accidentally indicated I knew more about the robot design than the engineer assigned to operate it, he and Riley fell to talking about it.  This was a prototype and wasn’t completely finished, hence the control panel and separate generator.

The Army fellow is now running the next demonstration for the crowd and Riley is watching how he controls it.  Part of me is very worried that this might be necessary knowledge.  That said, I’d rather not steal property of the United States Army from the center of the World’s Fair – I’m certain Miss Decker would very much consider that reason for termination of our employment contracts.

11:28 AM, Outside the Hall of Science
After the demonstration, we went into the Hall of Science (with Riley demanding he and I discuss the robot in detail this evening).  Just before we were to take our leave of Riley, Jack and I spotted a workman with a tattoo of the Black Sun on his arm step into a service door between two exhibits.  A Schattenkreis agent in the Hall of Science while a robot based on their stolen plans was on display outside the Hall was too much of a coincidence.  After a short discussion we went in pursuit, Riley tagging along behind us.

The door led to a service corridor behind the exhibit displays.  There were many people wearing the service uniform of the Fair going to and fro, but Jack and I spotted our quarry exit an exterior door down to the left.  We moved in pursuit, but were stopped by a service manager asking why we were there.  We explained we were AEC employees looking for the Solomon exhibit and were a bit lost – with all the witnesses, what more could we do?  He escorted us over to a wall map and took the time to explain how we could get to the Hall of Religion from there.  We thanked him and then exited the building through the door the Schattenkreis agent had exited.

This door led to a service bay for unloading…whatever needed to be unloaded.  We could no longer see the agent.  We could see a service truck slowly leaving the area, heading towards the Midway.  Jack has left to give chase while Riley and I wait here in case the agent merely ducked aside.  I’ve lost sight of Jack and the truck in the crowds.

UPDATE: Jack lost the truck in the Midway area.  We have no trail to follow, so we have to revert to our original plan.  This event is still ominous.

2:07 PM, Lagoon Theatre
We (Jack, Kurt, Bak Mu, Riley, and I) are sitting at a table in the Lagoon Theatre, waiting for the Solomon Company presentation to begin, so I’m updating my journal while I wait.  Kurt, of course, is drinking the free beer.  I’m pretending I didn’t notice Bak Mu pass his own beer coin to Kurt.

Our trip inside the Hall of Religion was somewhat chaotic due to the large crowds inside.  Lacking any signage indicating where the Solomon exhibit could be found, I had Riley give me a lift so I could see over the crowd.  There seemed to be a larger crowd in one direction and, deciding that the “actual” sarcophagus of King Solomon would be a big draw, we headed in that direction.

The crowd turned out to be for the Hall of Wonders inside the Hall of Religion.  A sign outside listing the “wonders” inside included the Tomb of Solomon.  There was a large crowd around a display in the entrance to the Hall of Wonders, so I worked my way in to see what was drawing the crowd.  I had feared it was the sarcophagus lid with the Key of Solomon ur language displayed, but my fears were unfounded – it was just the Antioch Chalice being touted as the Holy Grail.  Having recently held the chalice the myths are based on in my own hands a little over a month ago [see Big Trouble in San Francisco], I was overly, and verbally, dismissive of the Antioch Chalice, which drew the attention of a member of the crowd.  He started asking questions and I…I slipped into professor mode and started answering his questions (I kept to “official” history, avoiding any mention of the secret history I’ve learned while working for Adventure Earth).  Riley herded me along, but the man kept up and asked me what I knew about the displays as we went past them and I kept answering him.  (I skipped the part where we planted the Crystal Skull in the Mayan ruins in British Honduras.  Miss Mitchell-Hedges still does not know that her father paid us to plant it for her to find and she will not learn it from me, even indirectly.)

Once we arrived at the “Tomb of Solomon”, I will say I was impressed.  The Adventure Earth Company had created a very believable facsimile of the actual tomb, right down to the hieroglyphs on the pedestal.  The English translations were well done, but noticeably omitted that this was actually the tomb of Menelik, Solomon’s son by the Queen of Sheba, and not Solomon himself.  Showmanship at its finest.  To my eternal thanks, the sarcophagus lid was closed on the sarcophagus, the secret language hidden away.

The hanger-on from the Antioch Chalice was still with us and asking about the tomb, so I resumed answering his questions, which drew the attention of others in the crowd and I spent the better part of an hour and a half lecturing and answering questions.  During this time I occasionally noticed Jack taking pictures with a camera.  He’d been there when we discovered the tomb, so I knew he wasn’t taking pictures of the exhibit.  I eventually realized he was taking pictures of the people in the exhibit (which he later confirmed).

Eventually Riley, who had been paying attention to the time, herded me out of the Hall so we could make the Solomon Company demonstration.  When we arrived at the Lagoon Theatre there was already a long line.  We spotted Helen and Simone at the head of the line (they do tend to stand out).  The fact that they were at the head of the line was not surprising at all, but that Helen’s personal meeting was here was surprising.

Just inside the doors, those entering were given beer coins to redeem at the bar for the promised free beer.  Attendees were also asked if they wanted to join a mailing list to be kept up to date on the Solomon project, which is a building project in Arizona.  I choose not to give my name and address, but Kurt and Bak Mu did, so I should be able to keep up to date through them if it becomes necessary.

Speaking of Kurt, he arrived mostly on time and only slightly inebriated.  Apparently he roped himself into signing up for events at the rodeo – I mean “the ranch and farm exhibition” – after discovering his rival was already signed up for them.  Said rival then offered to buy lunch and drinks at the lunch break, probably knowing Kurt’s weakness to alcohol.  I’m not surprised that Kurt was distracted by this and am pleased it wasn’t just the opportunity to drink, but I’m still disappointed he failed to show at the meeting with Miss Decker.

The presentation is starting.  More later.

2:30 PM, Lagoon Theatre
Well, that was…interesting?  The Solomon Company is building a very tall building with residences, stores, offices, and other necessities like gardens inside of it.  The speaker, introduced as the Voice of Solomon, made numerous Biblical Tower of Babel references in his speech – a suspicious number of them.  To say the building is oddly shaped is an understatement – it is very tall and thin, built on the edge of a canyon, has a twist to it so the top is 45° off-set from the base, and the top is a tall, pointed pyramid with slightly concave surfaces.  Riley says there are so many things wrong with it as a building he doesn’t know where to start.  This leads me to think that maybe it isn’t a building but something else.  Kurt asked Riley if it could be spun and launched like a bullet, paralleling my own thinking.  Riley is still flabbergasted from the question.  I’m glad Kurt asked it.

There is a commotion outside – we’re going to investigate.

[The game session did not end at this point, but it also did not end at a point where Andrew could make another journal entry.  Therefore, the following happened, but Andrew won’t get a chance to actually write it down until sometime next session.]

(Shortly After)
The commotion outside was people screaming over by the Hall of Religion – screaming loud enough that we could hear them while inside a building over 2000 feet away.  Many people were milling about, so I climbed a lamp post to get a better view, looking towards the Hall of Science.  I was very concerned the Schattenkreis were stealing the Army robot, but from my new vantage point I could see the robot where it belonged and immobile.

Looking elsewhere, I could just see people in motion near the Hall of Religion, apparently fleeing the building.  As a group, we all started heading towards the Hall of Religion, Helen and Simone joining us again.  Kurt stole a bicycle and headed on with the rest of us following as best we could.

Once we cleared the Hall of Science we started facing people running in the opposite direction, away from the Hall of Religion.  The crowd was sticking to the promenade, so I circled to the left and ran along the edge of the South Lagoon, behind the exhibition buildings lining the lagoon.  This provided me with an excellent view of a storm materializing over Lake Michigan.  Not forming – materializing.

Then things got worse.

A giant copper-colored robot surfaced from the lake, directly under the storm.  It was nearly identical to the Iron Man of Svartalfheim, but larger, marking it as a new collaboration between the Dark Elves and the Schattenkreis.  And this time operating on US soil – this would not stand!  Also, the reports in the papers of missing cobalt beryllium copper and other exotic metals now made sense.

I had stopped running at this point, between the Christian Science Monitor building and the South Lagoon shore when Kurt rode back up.  His words were, “The Cat says we have to break the star and the lamps because the pointy-eared varmints are up to it again.”

By “The Cat” he meant Long Ears, the horse-sized black cat that assisted us in defeating the Dark Elves (who he was referring to when he said “pointy-eared varmints”) back in Svartalfheim.  I knew what he meant when he said the star – the Fair had touted the Arcturus Beacon, lit by the star itself and shaped like a star, sitting on top one of the support tower of the Sky Car.  I didn’t understand “the lamps” so I asked and he indicated decorative lamps of a particular style that were scattered all across the acres of fairgrounds.  I asked how many we had to destroy and he said “As many as we can.”  I don’t doubt it needs to be done, but it looking like random vandalism afterward concerns me.

Masks are going to be a necessity.

End of Session

[I'll have discussion of which dates were modified in-game for story purposes in a later post.  UPDATE: Hasn't happened yet.]

Chapter 2

Parks and Wrecks - Chapter 0: Dramatis Personae

Main Characters

Andrew Ezekial Crawley – red hair, blue eyes, average height, Andrew is a Ph.D. and teaches part time at Boston University.  He has worked on many archaeological digs over the past five years and has more field experience than most professional archaeologists.  Andrew has access to a secret language of power, but only minimal control.  So far.

Jack Thompson – tall, short blonde hair, safari clothes and boots, Jack is a Big Game Hunter and ex-French Foreign Legionnaire.  He excels at tracking and his quarry rarely escapes, man or beast – especially when he transforms into a mountain lion.

Kurt Morison – brown hair, tall and lanky, Kurt is the quintessential cowboy, from his beat up hat all the way down to his well-worn pair of boots.  He is quick with a gun and able to ride any beast that can support his weight.  He is also surprisingly adept and blending in and tailing people.

Simone Chevalier – a light skinned, blonde, blue-eyed bombshell pretty woman, always dressed most fashionably and her hair is never mussed.  Simone is a natural skeptic, having learned how charlatans and stage magicians performed their tricks at an early age.

Bak Mu Suzhen – a white-haired, grey-eyed Chinese man and ancient master of Bak Mei Kung Fu.

Helen A. V. B. Whitney – Medium height, red hair, green eyes, and always fashionably dressed.  Helen is one of the first women to graduate from Oxford, one of the first women to earn a Ph.D.  Her family is some of the oldest money in the United States and she has social contacts to spare.

Riley Burrell – a very good looking man with dark hair and rogue-ish smile.  He is a small legend in the aircraft industry and prides himself on his ability to drive or pilot any craft.


Supporting Cast
Colonel Yarborough – Owner of the Adventure Earth Company, the Colonel is apparently well-connected and has extensive resources at his command.  His company provides safaris and excursions to exotic parts of the globe for the wealthy, usually with a twist or a side-job for his employees.  He is rarely seen by the employees of his company, usually only on their first day with the company.

Amanda Decker – A young, shapely, blonde woman, she is Colonel Yarborough’s personal assistant, and employee’s main point of contact.  She also introduces the clients to the team that will be arranging whatever excursion the client is paying for.

Pamela – Secretary at the New York Office of Adventure Earth Company

The Chrysler Building – location of the New York Office of Adventure Earth Company

The Client
None – but this is a working vacation.

Chapter 1 [To Be Posted]

Shadowrun Skip Week

There's no session report this week as there was no game last week.  We took a week off to watch BIG HERO 6 and RED.  We watched Big Hero 6 as one of the players missed it the last time we showed it for those who missed it in the theater.  It is a very enjoyable movie and good superhero idea fodder, especially the city of San Fransokyo.

We watched Red as it is very relevant for Shadowrun inspiration and most of the group had not seen it.  I consider it part of my Gamer Geek Educational Series of movie showings.  I host one or two a year, taking a whole Saturday to show movies based on a theme and all relevant source material to gamer culture (and here I mean pen-and-paper RPG games).

Later this week I'll be posting a recap of the latest session of Pulp Hero game I'm in.  I used to post session reports for it on a couple different forums (Paizo and Fear the Boot) and then the GM didn't run for three years for valid reasons.  She resumed the game early this year, but I'm just now getting back into writing up session reports as in-character journal entries.  You can read an early one here: The Kilimanjaro Safari.  That adventure is relevant to the current one, Parks and Wrecks, and will explain the older characters' motivations.  [I'll make that a link once I have the blog posting up.]  Also, I usually make the names for the adventures as the GM doesn't always tell us what they are as they have clues in them, so if the adventure name seems corny - that's probably me, not her.

Song of the Jackaroos - Dramatis Personae

In the past I've provided an adventure log for the Pulp Hero game a friend runs periodically.  She's recently started running again and I've decided to post my notes again.  I write them as a journal kept by my character, Andrew Ezikial Crawley, Ph.D.  Think "Daniel Jackson, Ph.D." from the Stargate SG-1 television show (specifically) or the same character from the Stargate movie, but mine is red-haired.

The current story arc starts before the last one (The Butterfly Effect) has completely finished, but the switch over happens quick and early in the first game session.  The GM has not told us her name for this adventure, so I've come up with one of my own: Song of the Jackaroos.

Main Characters

Andrew Ezekial Crawley, Ph.D. – red hair, blue eyes, average height, speaks 15 languages and is an archaeologist by training.  Andrew is leader of a team for Adventure Earth Company now, but has developed suspicions about the true nature of the company.  He has developed secret ties to The Planetary Society through his friendship with Elijah Snow, the Society’s founder.

Jack Thompson – tall, short blonde hair, safari clothes and boots, Jack is a Big Game Hunter and ex-French Foreign Legionnaire.  He excels at tracking and his quarry rarely escapes, man or beast.  Also handy with a stick of dynamite.

Kurt Morison – brown hair, tall and lanky, Kurt is the quintessential cowboy, from his beat up hat all the way down to his well worn pair of boots.  He is quick with a gun and able to ride any beast that can support his weight.

Bak Mu – short, aged, white-haired Chinese man, Bak Mu is learned in Chinese Medicine and surprisingly agile for a man of his advanced years.  He is known to be able to punch through a tree with his bare hand.

Helen Amelie Victoria Bridgette Whitney, tPh.D. – red hair, green eyes, and beautiful, Helen was born to an old money family and raised to be a proper lady, but she was also the favorite of her grandfather, who taught her all sorts of non-ladylike skills and instilled a strong desire for adventure.

Reilly Burell – raven-black hair, steel-grey eyes, and ruggedly handsome, Reilly made his money as an engineer early in his life – now he looks for thrills he cannot get with just money, women, and alcohol.

Simone Chevalier – drop dead gorgeous petite blonde from France, Simone’s background is a bit of a mystery.  She is also a member of the Society of Psychical Research and a die-hard skeptic of things supernatural.

Supporting Cast

Colonel Yarborough – Owner of the Adventure Earth Company, the Colonel is apparently well-connected and has extensive resources at his command.  His company provides safaris and excursions to exotic parts of the globe for the wealthy, usually with a twist or a side-job for his employees.  He is rarely seen by the employees of his company, usually only on their first day with the company, if then.

Amanda Decker – A young, shapely, blonde woman, she is Colonel Yarborough’s personal assistant, and an employee’s main point of contact.  She also introduces the clients to the team that will be arranging whatever excursion the client is paying for.

Pamela – Secretary at the New York Office of Adventure Earth Company

Harriet Godwin – head of the Brisbane Office of Adventure Earth Company, she is currently overworked and over-stressed due to a missing team with clients.

The Client

None – sort of. (Again.)  This is more of a rescue mission, but we suspect some damage control will also be necessary.

Previous Adventures:

The Mayan Expedition - never documented. Includes the "finding" of the crystal skull.

The Kilimanjaro Safari - introduces Mr. Parks and our "issues" with him

Berlin Book Blitz - never documented.  We are in the Reichstag when the fire starts.

Tomb of the Lost Pharaoh - never documented.  Cursed tomb of Herihor found.

The Mountain Kings - an incomplete log as I never wrote down Chapter 3

     Dramatis Personae

     Chapter 1

     Chapter 2

The Butterfly Effect - never documented, but that might change.