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Silverlode 1908
Episodes... Quotes... Chris: I am ITALIAN. Therefore, I MUST talk WITH my HANDS! Wayne: I knew I was fallen before, I just didn't realize I had to KEEP falling! (After his third attempt to scale a tower and landing in the sagebrush) Matilda (batting eyelashes): Sheriff, you're such a big, strong, man. Will you please help little ol'me move that big crate over there? GM (to Wayne): The garlic smell won't hurt you. Roger: How much for that monkey in the window? (after a robo-chimp went crashing through a store window) |
Silverlode 1908Episode 3: When Science Attacks! Act I - The Quicksilver Incident It is just after sunset on Friday, May 8th, 1908. Roger Zane is relaxing in the saloon near the entrance to Shaft 23. Since the events of the last adventure, there has been a legal dispute regarding the disposition of Quicksilver's property and the rights to their mines. Roger's looking out for the rest of the player characters' interests by keeping an eye on other prospective claimants. The sound of gunshots breaks through the din of the saloon. Roger collects his pet squirrel "Rex" and goes to investigate. He hears more gunshots and sees muzzle flashes. There is a scream and the sound of horses galloping away. Rogers runs toward Shaft 23 and finds a dead Russian who mumbles something about the guards being killed. Roger attempts first aid (mostly by pouring whiskey on the wound). After conducting a cursory investigation, he notes that specific items where taken (exactly what, he's not sure). Meanwhile, the patrons of the Saloon emerge and are getting rather ornery about someone deciding to stake a premature claim on Shaft 23 and the goods that are stored there. Drunken miners emerge to argue the situation as Roger attempts to stay out of the way with the wounded Russian. Some ways away, Betsy Morris is returning home to her mother's ranch after checking on the status of the claims on Shaft 23 (she desperately needs her share of the money earned last session to stave off an army of bill collectors). She hears horses approaching, four to be precise, and moves off the trail to watch the mysterious strangers ride by at full speed. A part of her notes that they wear long black dusters, scarves, and wide-brimmed black hats. Another part of her notes that they have darker skin and yellow eyes (with one looking directly at her as he rides past). Most of her attention, however, is focused on their horses, which are in poor condition and poorly overloaded with packs. She opts not to follow and instead rides back to the mine to see what happened. At the mine, she meets up with Roger and learns that the four horsemen probably perpetrated the raid on Shaft 23. Betsy agrees to transport the wounded man back to town while Roger watches the trouble brewing here. There have already been fist fights and people are starting to brandish firearms. He suggests that she get the next shift of guards since the two Pinkertons on duty have been killed by the mysterious raiders. On the outskirts of town, Betsy runs into Wayne McCoy, a shadowy newcomer with the manners of a gentleman. Wayne offers to assist and Betsy takes his fresher horse to fetch the town doctor. As an angst-ridden creature-of-the-night, Wayne barely manages to resist the urge to feed on the wounded man. Knowing the habits of the town doctor, Tobias O'Neil, Betsy heads right for the Bone Chance, a gambling club frequented by many of Silverlode's gentlemen of leisure. As she is about tie up Wayne's horse, she encounters Mathilda Hattrack and briefly explains the situation. Mathilda takes the reins of Wayne's horse as Betsy goes into the club. Inside, conversation stops. She quickly spots the doctor but also notes the disreputable hunchback Ivan Gogol, who was gambling with Dr. O'Neil and is now making a hasty exit. Wayne arrives on the scene in time to observe Gogol leaving the club, detecting a faint whiff of something chemical about the man with his keen vampiric senses. Everyone proceeds to Dr. O'Neil's office, where he removes the bullet from the body of the Russian man while Mathilda, Betsy, and Wayne wait outside. The group agrees to track down Marcelo Saltore, who would know what items would have been taken from Shaft 23. They try the Silverlode Institute first, where Marcello's lab assistant Billy directs them to Marcello's home. Meanwhile, Sheriff Albert Bruce has intruded upon Marcello's finely cooked Italian meal (served by a newly-hired cook) to complain about the goods that Marcello had previously liberated from Shaft 23. Marcello's offer of dinner is rejected and he mostly ignores the Sheriff's ranting about the legal dispute involving the mine. Besty, Mathilda, and Wayne arrive at Marcello's. Besty breaks the news of what happened at the site and the Sheriff is outraged. He demands that they go back up the mountain and conduct a thorough investigation. Having some experience in law enforcement, Wayne offers his assistance. Marcello is (as usual) uninterested, but Mathilda has notes of what was gathered in the mine so she offers to go in his place. Along the way, Wayne examines hoof prints at the location that Besty witnessed the horsemen ride by. He confirms her observation that they were poorly shod. At Shaft 23, the group arrives to the sound of gunshots. Roger is observing from a safe distance while another miner fires a gun into the air to prevent a general riot. The Sheriff steps up and assumes command, but Wayne tactfully prevents him from stumbling all over the crime scene. Employing his superior investigation skills, he examines the scene and collects shell casings and a mysterious green goo (shed at the point where any attackers would have been hit). His observations confirm that the guards were assaulted from the outside and that the Russian intervened from another direction. Also, the goo reminds him of the chemical smell detected on Gogol earlier. Using her photographic documentation of the goods they removed from the alien base within Shaft 23, Mathilda is easily able to figure out which pieces of scientific equipment where stolen by the mysterious horsemen. She makes a list and the group decides to return to Marcelo.
Act II - Criminal Science Marcelo is studying in his library when there is a knock at his door. He ignores it. There is another knock. He ignores it again. Finally, the door is broken down and he sees four polite but mysterious strangers in black dusters. They tip their hat and proceed to ransack his house. He confronts them and proceeds to stun two with his Sonic Stunner™. The remaining two pistol-whip him into unconsciousness. Roger, Mathilda, Betsy, and Wayne return to Marcelo's and find him recovered and trying to figure out the meaning of the specific equipment and chemicals that they stole from him. With the addition of Mathilda's notes from Shaft 23 and Wayne's goo sample, his memory is jarred enough to realize that it all seems very familiar. He vaguely recalls reading a proposal that contained these very same items. He then charges off to his office and starts going through papers looking for the vital clue. Sure enough, there is a paper on frog reanimation by Ivan Gogol. Eureka! He's trying to reanimate the dead! But Gogol's proposal was faulty and his application for a staff position at the Silverlode Institute was rejected. Marcelo ponders if there were but some way to circulate the life-giving chemicals in the dead body... There is no time to spare, they have to find Gogol! Unfortunately, the date of his application was over a year ago and he didn't have a permanent residence at the time. The group decides to head into town to either stake out the graveyard (he would need dead bodies to animate the dead) or ask around for Gogol's current residence. In town, there is a big commotion by the Grand Hotel. Andrew Michael Le Croix is taking control of an assembling crowd and recounts the story of an abduction from the hotel's lounge. The pretty young schoolmarm, Virginia Rose, was lured out onto the veranda and abducted by four mysterious strangers wearing black dusters, black hats, and long scarves. The precocious child Jessica serves as a key witness to these events and points the party in the direction to which they carried off Miss Rose. Betsy is particularly upset since she is a friend of the young school teacher. 
Just on the outskirts of town, strange noises can be heard as something approaches the town. It is an army of armored chimps with shoulder-mounted cannons! Wayne heads back to warn the citizenry and kills several flanking chimps in an alley. Marcelo runs back to the Institute to get some technological assistance. Mathilda, Roger, and Betsy hold off the initial wave of attackers with some furious gunplay. When Marcelo returns in Boris' steam-powered walker, there is an eerie calm. An obligatory tumbleweed drifts across the city street. Then a deafening chorus of "Ook ook ook ack ack ack" as the second wave of armored chimps attack! Marcelo uses the walker's cannon to decimate the invading cyber-simians and the rest of the party makes quick work of those remaining. Fortunately, the chimps provide a clear trail to the lair the fiendish Ivan Gogol...
Act III - Showdown at Gogol Manor The group arrives at the old tannery, built a mile or so down-wind of the town's outskirts. Ivan's four-story manor is unlit but for a fierce electric-blue light in the top floor window. The tannery itself is dark, windowless on the first floor, and of nigh-impregnable brick construction. A voice from the tower shouts down a warning to stay away and to leave the "Master" alone. A minion who could only be "Igor" fires a deadly lightning bolt over the group's heads as a warning shot. Wayne uses his powers of shadow mastery to cloak himself for an approach to the manor. He observes several of the reanimated, duster-wearing strangers in the first floor (no long quite so mysterious). Instead of taking them on, he opts to climb the building and attempts to attack Igor through the top-story window. With fine instincts for survival, Igor turns and blasts Wayne with the Tesla cannon. The force of the blast blows a hole in the rear-wall, sending Wayne tumbling four-stories to the ground. He is soon set-upon by reanimated revenants. That's when things get crazy. Another group of animated dead emerge from the house to attack the main group of the party. Mathilda, Roger, and Betsy focus on shooting them, while Marcelo and Igor trade artillery fire. Betsy eventually runs off toward the tannery, hoping to gain entry to what must be the location of Gogol and her friend Virginia. After killing a few of the reanimated dead, Mathilda breaks for the manor itself, searching for a secret lab in the basement. She gains entry to an underground tunnel, leading under the tannery to the base of three foul-smelling chemical vats. Wayne slips past his undead assailants, enters the house, races to the top floor, and is knocked out the window yet again by Igor's spring-loaded mechanical fist. Hitting the ground hard, he decides to deal with the swarm of reanimated dead rather than making another attempt on Igor. Eventually, Marcelo scores a direct hit on Igor with his cannon and Roger and Wayne destroy the last of the undead minions. Betsy has already opened the door to the tannery and is now battling three emerging reanimated dead. Roger tries to provide fire support from a safe distance with his rifle, while Marcelo and Wayne close range to assist. Betsy finally gets past the undead (with some bruises) and finds herself beneath a cackling Mad Scientist, surrounding by more undead minions. He seems overjoyed at the prospect of another comely female experimental subject who will soon join the virginal schoolmarm... currently suspended in a cage above one of three chemical vats. Mathilda climbs the stairs to the main floor and stealthily observes as Betsy is overtaken by the undead minions. Mathilda then notes something unspeakable in the corner of the room... a gigantic armored undead gorilla! Zounds! She creeps closer to snap a photograph and it bats her across the room in anger, breaking free of its chains in the process. The Mad Scientist howls furiously and struggles to regain control of his beast. Outside, Roger and Marcelo kill the last of the undead outside (not counting Wayne, of course). Roger enters through the main door and engages the Mad Scientist' reanimated minions. Marcelo gains entry by breaking the large freight doors. He immediately enters battle with the gorilla, blowing a hole in its chest with his cannon. The gorilla fires back with an arm-mounted rocket-launcher, knocking Marcelo off his walker's feet. Marcelo then shoots high and causes a cat-walk to tumble upon the gorilla, crushing the foul abomination. Meanwhile, Wayne is having difficulty scaling the brick wall to gain entry through the second-floor window. He finally succeeds in making a spectacular (if late) entrance through shattering glass. He charges Gogol, but is knocked senseless with an extremely powerful cattle-prod. He is then unceremoniously dunked into the chemical vat below the cage containing Virginia and Betsy. Betsy remembers that she has a lasso and she lowers the rope to Wayne, just as he is attacked by incomplete vat zombies. A kick of his spurs sends dead limbs flying and Wayne hoists himself back onto the catwalk to do battle with Gogol. Fortunately, with help from Mathilda, he is able to distract the mad scientist until Betsy is able to entangle him with her lasso. Their villain captured, their damsel rescued, the heroes decide to call it a night
Created: 23 November 2004 / Last modified: 15 December 2005 |
