Moon Goddess: Scene 20

Introduction to this thread: The Moon Goddess Is A Harsh Mistress
Explanation of Mythic elements: What's All This Mythic Stuff?
Previous Scene: Scene 19


SCENE 20
In which Katja confronts the soldiers and rescues Nina thanks to an unexpected burst of power.

CHARACTERS
The Silver Huntress (her deity)
Soldiers/Police
Drachen (her old warhorse)
Nina Yazov
Nina's Mother (Anna Yazov)
Nina's Father (Mr. Yazov)
The Hard Man with the Nasty Scar
Susi
Yuliya
Igor
Deidre
Nina's uncle Ulrich
The target of Nina's hunt
Hamid
Professor Nasir
The Commissar
Fanquin Lanfeng
The girls from New Zealand
Crewmen from the smaller ship
Other passengers
Nora (the red-headed girl from New Zealand)

UPDATED THREADS
* Escape to freedom
* Solve the mystery of Nina's mother
* Decipher the writing on the menhir
* Deliver antique sword to the target of Nina's hunt
* Investigate the Moon Goddess Cult in New Zealand
* Rescue Igor/Nina

CHAOS FACTOR: 8

********************
Interrupt scene!

[PC Positive, Transform (with) Information. I'll proceed as expected and the interrupt event will enter play as soon as I can work it in...]

Katja pauses for a moment as she observes the scene on the dock. She knows her plan is desperate...

Katja: "We need to sneak off the ship and gain access to one of those automobiles. Once inside, I'll enact a Sanctuary ritual. It should prevent the soldiers from shooting at me, and by extension the rest of you while we drive into their midst. I've never held a Sanctuary for more than about half a minute. We won't have much time and I'm not sure where we'll go when it runs out."

The brunette who was recently freed from her bonds: "Wait! Nora, what about Anna's scrolls? They must be on the ship. Surely they might contain something useful."

CQ: Name of the other girl [Kleimo]? Marna

Nora: "We have no time, Marna."

Katja: "Wait, Nina's father is already dead. We have a minute so if it buys us an advantage. Do you think you can find it?"

Marna: "I'll try."

Marna races off into the ship with the blond girl at her heels. A very tense minute passes as Katja watches the soldiers force Nina to her feet in preparation to march her off. Amazingly [as per the interrupted scene], Marna returns carrying a small silver-engraved ivory chest. She lays it on the floor, quickly opens it, and withdraws the first scroll she finds.

Katja takes it and reads.

Q: Is it in German [Likely.. Katja must be able to read it and it certainly isn't in Russian]? Yes.

Q: Katja's hand-writing [50/50]? Yes.

Katja: "It's in German... in my hand! It describes a very powerful ritual of transformation. I can almost feel the power."

Without thinking, Katja begins to read the spell out loud. The other girls step back as Kata's eyes begin to glow silvery-white. As she reads, Katja's soft-spoken soprano gives way to a growling tenor. As she reads, her face becomes bestial with deadly looking fangs. Claws sprout from the ends of her now powerful hands and her arms, back, chest, and legs ripple with muscles.

Retaining her intellect but consumed with a thirst for bloody vengeance, Katja bursts through the cabin window...

ASIDE: For the duration of the scene, Katja's "Mistress of the Hunt (4)" will become "Mistress of the Hunt in Primal Form (4d10)". 

RISUS: She rolls 33 on her improved cliche

... and easily clears the distance to the dock and then some. She is upon the startled soldiers before they are even aware of her presence.

Q: Are the soldiers at least a 4 dice grunt squad [Likely]? Extreme no. In their startled state, this particular group is only a Group of Dumbfounded and Startled Soldiers (2).

Katja rips into the soldiers, hurling them aside, slashing at their throats, and making every effort to prevent them from raising their weapons. She rolls 28. The soldiers roll only an 8 and the critical is enough to leave them completely decimated. Some are killed, some were thrown into the freezing water, and others are running for their lives.

Q: Does Professor Nasir run for his life [Likely]? Yes.

Q: Does Nina realize it must be Katja [Likely]? Yes.

To Nina, Katja growls "Get on the smaller ship."

And with that, Katja races off after Professor Nasir.

RISUS: Katja rolls a 19 to pursue.

Katja is upon him in heartbeat.

Q: Does he draw the sword in his defense [50/50]? Yes.

Q: Is he impeded by the curse of the sword [50/50]? Yes.

Realizing that he is cornered, Professor Nasir tries to unwrap the sword that he is carrying. In the process he cuts himself on the very sharp blade. Katja doesn't give him any time to suffer the inevitable effects of the curse, as [roll of 29] she rips his throat out and takes the sword for herself.

Q: Are there soldiers mounting a defense [50/50]? Extreme yes.

There is smoke and rapid-fire thunder and Katja realizes that a group of Entrenched Soldiers (5) have formed up to oppose her behind a barricade. Riding her battle frenzy, Katja darts to one side, rolls, leaps to the other side and finally makes a mad leap towards their position as the soldiers try to track her movements with their firearms. 

RISUS: In her primal form, Katja's cliche is appropriate vs. firearms. Katja rolls 17. The soldiers, however roll 23.

Katja fails to advance on their position, taking several bullet wounds in the process.

Q: Is Katja close to the building where they were holding Igor [50/50]? Extreme no (she's closer to the water).

Realizing the folly of a frontal assault. Katja dives into the water. Various soldiers leave their position to spot where she will surface. Even in her primal form, the water is too cold to swim far [she rolls a 4]. A Detachment of Soldiers (3) fire on her. [They roll 11 to her 12] She just barely evades their fire, swimming deep in an attempt to come up on the other side of the ship. She does and [rolling 13] quickly scales the passenger ship, scaring countless passengers in the process. Safe from their weapons, she attempts a healing spell. [Rolling 15] She heals her wounds so that she may rejoin combat
refreshed.

She glances towards the smaller ship and sees that Nina has been taken aboard by the girls from New Zealand.

The sword. She's still holding the sword.

Q: Does she feel and benefit from its power [50/50]? Yes. It almost makes her (considerable) hair stand on end.

CQ: What is the nature of its enchantment [Mythic Event Action/Subject]? Bestow advice. In addition to being a +1d6 bonus die item, it speaks to her in the voice of a long dead child seer.

CQ: What advice does the sword give [Mythic Event Action/Subject]? Extravagance of environment.

She feels its power. She can almost hear the voice of a child ... and then suddenly, Katja can visualize the entire battlefield from all angles.

Q: Is Igor still guarded [Unlikely]? No.

Q: Does she see reinforcements coming [50/50]? No.

She sees Igor struggling out of his bonds without a guard in sight. She sees the desperate soldiers looking about in terror, some of them advancing up the gangplank of the passenger ship to investigate the terrified screams. And she sees clearly that there are no more reinforcements coming.

Racing through a couple of cabins, she doesn't hesitate as she barrels down the gangplank towards the soldiers. She leads with the sword and the Soldiers (3) try to raise their weapons to fire before she is upon them them. [She rolls 17 to the soldier's 11.] She kills one, but the others halt her advance.

In a mad melee, the remaining soldiers on the gangplank stab at her with bayonets. She retaliates with a whirlwind of steel and claws. [Rolling 28 to their 8] She slaughters them to the man.

The Entrenched Soldiers (4) (reduced in power due to the soldiers killed on the gangplank) fire their weapons. Katja once again dives into the water for cover. [Rolling a 19 to their 18] Katja barely avoids their fire. From under the water, with a vision from the sword, she swims along the dock well behind their position. [Rolling 28] She stealthily climbs up and then races at them from behind their barricade. [Rolling 23 to their 10] She finds herself in their midst, hacking and slashing with reckless abandon. She kills several [reducing their cliche by 1 since she only rolled 1 for critical damage]. In the next turn, [rolling 26 to their 9] she completely finishes them off. There are no survivors.

Katja breathes heavily, the heat of battle giving way to the freezing cold of evaporating water. She feels herself shrinking into her normal form and a great weariness sets in. She is dimly aware of a heavy coat being draped about her curiously bare shoulders.

********************

CHARACTERS - Marna is added to the list. Nina's father and Professor Nasir are removed.

UPDATED THREADS
* Escape to freedom
* Solve the mystery of Nina's mother
* Decipher the writing on the menhir
* Deliver antique sword to the target of Nina's hunt
* Investigate the Moon Goddess Cult in New Zealand
* Rescue Igor

Updated Chaos Factor 7

Note: The remaining scenes of this episode are largely denouement. Due to the Christmas holiday (which I will mostly spend away from computers), these scenes will likely be posted starting in early January.