Nebulous
Legend
Adventure #14: Beneath the Pyramids
--and a fetid wind swirls through the bedroom, stinking of rot and death!
The white Persian is barely a cat now, but some man-sized abomination with tufts of patchy fur and diseased fangs. It falls on Doctor Blumpkin, shredding him almost fatally. The doctor presses a hand to the wounds, knowing he’ll die if he doesn’t get medical attention quick. Morty runs out the door, terrified, while Chang unloads two more rounds, punching holes in the cat-thing's ribs.
For the second time in three days, Nevelle calls upon the darkest magic he knows, aware that the psychological damage may be permanent. In a slurping burst of ectoplasmic fluid, he bodywarps into a large squid, its tentacles flailing over half the room!
[GM Note: Any D&D player knows that grappling a spellcaster is the best offense]
Omar Shakti appears at the top of the bed, standing on the mattress, chanting, and points a finger at--
--Nevelle.
Nevelle's soul is sucked out, the light dimming from his eyes almost as soon as he appeared, and the squid slumps lifeless to the floor. However, the Bodywarping of Gorgoroth does not transform your clothes or belongings, so Nevelle drops his wallet, the Molotov cocktail and...a lone stick of DYNAMITE.
Doctor Blumpkin lunges for the stick, fumbling for his lighter, and sparks the fuse. Aha! “DIE MONSTER!” he shrieks, nearly insane himself by this point. Chang flees past Morty who is waiting at the top of the stairs, screaming in his broken English: "Dine-a-mite! Dine-a-mite!"
The cat-thing swipes a paw across Blumpkin's face, tearing his right ear off. Blumpkin staggers, sparks spitting across him. The other claw rakes down his chest, puncturing bone-deep, and the beast pulls the man straight into a fanged mouth that closes onto his neck, pumping blood everywhere.
Dr. Blumpkin was with the group for less than eight hours.
Sniffing, Omar Shakti steps off the bed, picks up the dynamite from the dead man's hands, and snuffs the fuse.
Chang and Morty run screaming out the front door. They have NO idea where to go or what to do, but running as fast and as far as they can is their only (unlikely) hope. Their truck, property of the Cairo Museum, is parked nearly a mile away on the roadside. They spot the garage connected to the house. Desperate, the two men smash a door down and see an exquisite luxury car inside.
By pure Luck (Roll) they find keys above the sun visor, and Morty starts the ignition, just as the ground begins to rumble. Morty looks at Chang, Chang at Morty, and they both look out the garage together…
What they see shakes them to their very core.
Dust billows from behind the house, and then something huge and purple-green lumbers out, a writhing creature akin to a fiendish earthworm nearly three stories tall.
“Oh…
me,” groans Morty.
Morty is shell-shocked, gibbering, unable to drive, so Chang throws him in the backseat, grabs the wheel, and slams his foot to the pedal. They peel out of the garage, even as the abomination crashes down, its massive bulk nearly crushing them. The garage is destroyed in an explosion of wood and dust. They fishtail out onto the dirt road, seeing the monster in the rearview mirror, but they are soon followed by another powerful earthquake.
A widening crack appears in the road, chasing them, but Chang swerves left and right and left again, runs into the ditch and back out and bumps onto the road, and the crack swallows their abandoned truck as they speed past it.
Racing into the night, they do not slow down until they reach Cairo fifteen miles away.
Morty is a mess. He can’t stop shaking. He has seen too much craziness for months on end now and it has taken a permanent toll on his sanity. He develops a mood disorder, randomly swinging between mania and depression. He falls into bed, drags a pillow over his face and cries himself to sleep. Chang is weathering the situation better than Morty, but he is upset too. They just lost half their group! What do they do now?
Realizing that Omar is a respected Egyptian businessman and that they just stole a
rare vehicle in Cairo, they know they can't keep it. The police will be alerted. It shouldn’t even be seen here! They need to discuss options with Dr. Ali Kafour
But when Chang barges in to tell Ali Kafour what happened, he is actually in a private meeting with a sinister looking man, the (honorary) Dr. Lucifer Lardlover (Jake's 3rd character), and his loyal bodyguard, Chad Slambody ("The World's Most Perfect Specimen of Man"- Leo’s 3rd character too].
Lucifer is a black magician and member of an elite occult circle (The Necrotic Mallard) of which Ali is also a member (thanks to Jake for that colorful Lodge title). Dr. Kafour has recruited Lucifer to help them with the Black Brotherhood in Cairo, a problem that Lardlover has long been aware, but it is worse than he ever suspected.
Chad Slambody is an ex-professional wrestler hired as Lardlover’s personal bodyguard. His physique is comparable to an iron tank. His bravado is akin to a Greek hero. Muscles bulge where lesser men do not enjoy muscles. He is fearless, flawless, and quite loyal to his boss, Lucifer. Chad doesn’t ask questions, he just does as he is told.
And he is told that tomorrow signals the last night of the full moon, and a cruel religious cult possesses the relics needed to resurrect the long dead Egyptian Queen Nitcrosis.
“That’s right, my friend,” says Lucifer upon seeing Chad’s expression, “the dead can be returned to life through dark rituals. Not recommended…but it is possible. ”
Lucifer suspects they will need a sacrifice, to exchange one life for another, but the quality, and quantity, of the blood offering can vary drastically. Personally, he doesn’t like to tinker with resurrection. The karmic payback is atrocious.
After formal introductions, the new party decides to frame the Clive Expedition for the break-in and theft at Omar Shakti’s cotton plantation (sans Morty who is weeping into his pillow). It is a weak plan, but they are desperate to allay any suspicions from themselves or Ali Kafour. Honestly, Omar Shaktiing terrifies them.
They aren’t sure how much trouble this will cause for the Clive Party or the cult, but they need to throw a monkey wrench into the plans somehow, and they aren’t sure how else to do it. After all, they do not have any idea where this ritual is to take place. Why the hell couldn’t Agatha Broadmoor have told them that instead?
With Ali Kafour's help that very night, they drive Omar’s stolen car all the way to Memphis. To their dismay, the entire Memphis dig is abandoned. Signs are gone. Ropes taken down. Guards and lights and cars and digging equipment, all of it vanished. They park Omar’s car anyway and drive back in Ali's vehicle.
[GM Note: They’re not 100% that Clive is an enemy, but by this point, everyone and everything is suspect].
Later that night Chang, Morty (who they rouse from his depressed slumber), Lucifer, and Chad sit with Ali Kafour in his office, discussing their experiences, plans, and repercussions of failure. There are few people in the world aware of Nyarlathotep, and Ali admits that even he does not fully understand the big picture. The small group assembled here has the power to stop a tragedy from occurring, and possibly saving thousands of lives. But the risk will be great, so great that it might very well be suicidal.
Morty Jones doesn’t get a wink more of sleep, and actually sits on the edge of his bed, staring at a pistol in hands.
Ali Kafour greets them early the next day. He has been busy with the finishing touches on several items they might need, but it has taken a toll on his permanent health to create them. The old man looks rough. Dark, puffy circles ring his eyes, and he walks with a pronounced limp. He offers them four azure vials of what he calls “Elixirs of Fortitude” (a Sanity buffer), “The Tooth of Amon-Re” (punches through Damage Reduction), “The Dust of Ibn-Gazi” (throw upon the invisible to make visible), and a crate of three smuggled British Browning 1900 Autoshotguns, plus extra ammo.
Chad Slambody expertly cradles a long shaft in his hands, admiring its damage potential…
In addition, Lardlover is given the Staff of Nyambe, and told that when the words are recited, it will protect him the dire effects of magic. But only a small buffer. Lucifer must still be wary when tapping into the arcane arts. Using the enemy’s magic against them can still damage his mind, body and spirit. Accepting the artifact with sincere thanks, Lucifer stuffs it beneath his robes.
Tonight is the night.
A ritual is to take place somewhere near Cairo, and the only vague clue they have is from the Clive Expedition member James Gardener.
Gardener theorized that there must be a secret complex in or around Giza, and that is where the sarcophagus of Nitcrosis might have gone. The party has been to the Giza pyramids before and found nothing conclusive. However, they now have GiGi to use, and hope that her psychic powers can unveil something new. GiGi is not staying at the cramped, impromptu quarters in the Museum. They call her on the phone and arrange for her to meet them.
In addition, Dr. Kafours asks if they will take another gentleman, Dr. Worthington Lester Cobblebottom (a backup character Jeff made because Morty was severely lacking in Sanity). Furthermore, Lester Cobblebottom is a trained scholar staying at the Museum, and sneaking in to translate the Black Rites whenever Janwillen Vanheuven is incapacitated. He finds the work very rewarding, although these fellows that Dr. Kafour associates with are very odd. Especially the one with all the muscles who takes his clothes off too much.
They all head out during the day, scouting the pyramids, finding nothing yet again, and finally venture out into the open terrain. Somehow, GiGi feels that this is the right thing to do, although the hot weather is antithetical to her weak constitution. She doesn’t have Euni to push her anymore, but Chad Slambody is a strapping fellow and always willing to expose himself. He strips his shirt away and helps GiGi.
They don’t really know what they’re looking for. And why could no one find it before? They have no answers, and are starting to get extremely annoyed, frustrated, hot and angry, when Gigi finally twitches from a faint psychic pulse:
It originates from a clump of rocks in the distance.
It begins as a mild headache between her eyes, increasing as they approach until it has blown into a migraine. Horrible evil radiates from this area, and GiGi has to leave (plus no one wanted to push her; it would slow them down!).
Nestled at the top of the pile is a hole. Lacking rope and flashlights (and lacking Morty Jones, who has been sleeping the past eight hours) they return to the city, re-equip with necessary gear, hide the shotguns, tell Morty to “Pull yourself together, man, we have work to do!” and return to the rock formation by 6 PM.
Chad Slambody volunteers to scale down first. The route is treacherous, and he finds himself bouncing off the rough walls, skinning his arms and elbows, but he eventually drops into a cool, dry tunnel. Nearby, a stairwell leads into impenetrable darkness. He takes a few hesitant steps, but the hair prickles on the back of his neck.
Something is waiting down there.
Chad waves for the others to follow, and soon Chad, Lucifer, Chang and Morty are huddled at the bottom, accompanied only by the rasp of their breathing. It would be too difficult for GiGi to navigate this route anyway, so Ma’Moud has accompanied her back to the museum. It is definitely not the place for a kid either, and Lester Cobblebottom has better things to do than crawl around in a cave.
Flashlights are lashed to shotguns, but only Chad is proficient in their use. He gives the others a quick tutorial on how to aim, reload and brace against recoil. Morty waves him off; he’s seen this done too many times since leaving New York.
They stick to the “left-turn-only-rule”, and discover that they are in a maze of tunnels. The path is worn smooth by thousands of pattering feet, possibly over thousands of years. The main tunnel is the widest, but from smaller branching tunnels they hear faint slobbering sounds, as if air is being sucked through a wet orifice. After a short detour they find themselves standing at the rim of such a hole. A sound emanates from far, far in the depths, but when the stone around the hole quivers--as if it were membranous and alive--they all step back. Suddenly nauseated, they realize that they are standing on the rim of what resembles a large anus. The air is tainted with a stink that they don’t care to dwell on, so they quickly leave, but Chang throws up in a corner, completely overwhelmed.
“Eyes open,” whispers Lucifer Lardlover. “Chad, watch yourself. The followers of the Black Messenger have many tricks at their disposal. Possibly necromantic abominations. Maybe inhuman allies. Maybe even--”
“Roses!” says Morty.
Morty points his flashlight, and true enough, dozens of black roses bloom along a thorny vine. The petals open slowly, and the group of armed men steps back. They glance at each other. More roses begin crawling across a vine in their path with alarming speed, opening with quiet menace. Continue through the roses or head back? They opt to head back, afraid that the flowers hold some malignant poison. Lucifer cannot discern any occult significance from the rose; it could be anything. Or nothing.
They try another tunnel, trudging up a slope inscribed with ancient runes that have been worn nearly illegible.
They finally turn down a narrow left tunnel and see flickering torchlight at the end, but more importantly, a huge shadow stretches toward them. There is something alive down there about to turn the corner! Chang and Chad ready their guns just as a horrifying beast swings into view.
The creature is eight feet tall with the head of a crocodile, and it wields a brutal scimitar!
It growls and advances, weapon raised high to bring it down in a devastating blow, but everyone opens fire.
Unfortunately, Chad's ammunition malfunctions and explodes in his face. He staggers away, partially blinded, while Chang pelts it with buckshot. For the first time in his life, Lucifer Lardlover pulls the trigger of a gun and levels a solid blast into the thing's chest. It is knocked against the rock wall behind it, bloody ribs jutting from the hole in its chest, incredulously looks down at the gaping wound, and then topples over dead.
Lardlover blows smoke from the muzzle.
“Nice shot,” Chad tells him.
The magician sniffs. “Of course it was.”
And they all quickly reload...
--and a fetid wind swirls through the bedroom, stinking of rot and death!
The white Persian is barely a cat now, but some man-sized abomination with tufts of patchy fur and diseased fangs. It falls on Doctor Blumpkin, shredding him almost fatally. The doctor presses a hand to the wounds, knowing he’ll die if he doesn’t get medical attention quick. Morty runs out the door, terrified, while Chang unloads two more rounds, punching holes in the cat-thing's ribs.
For the second time in three days, Nevelle calls upon the darkest magic he knows, aware that the psychological damage may be permanent. In a slurping burst of ectoplasmic fluid, he bodywarps into a large squid, its tentacles flailing over half the room!
[GM Note: Any D&D player knows that grappling a spellcaster is the best offense]
Omar Shakti appears at the top of the bed, standing on the mattress, chanting, and points a finger at--
--Nevelle.
Nevelle's soul is sucked out, the light dimming from his eyes almost as soon as he appeared, and the squid slumps lifeless to the floor. However, the Bodywarping of Gorgoroth does not transform your clothes or belongings, so Nevelle drops his wallet, the Molotov cocktail and...a lone stick of DYNAMITE.
Doctor Blumpkin lunges for the stick, fumbling for his lighter, and sparks the fuse. Aha! “DIE MONSTER!” he shrieks, nearly insane himself by this point. Chang flees past Morty who is waiting at the top of the stairs, screaming in his broken English: "Dine-a-mite! Dine-a-mite!"
The cat-thing swipes a paw across Blumpkin's face, tearing his right ear off. Blumpkin staggers, sparks spitting across him. The other claw rakes down his chest, puncturing bone-deep, and the beast pulls the man straight into a fanged mouth that closes onto his neck, pumping blood everywhere.
Dr. Blumpkin was with the group for less than eight hours.
Sniffing, Omar Shakti steps off the bed, picks up the dynamite from the dead man's hands, and snuffs the fuse.
Chang and Morty run screaming out the front door. They have NO idea where to go or what to do, but running as fast and as far as they can is their only (unlikely) hope. Their truck, property of the Cairo Museum, is parked nearly a mile away on the roadside. They spot the garage connected to the house. Desperate, the two men smash a door down and see an exquisite luxury car inside.
By pure Luck (Roll) they find keys above the sun visor, and Morty starts the ignition, just as the ground begins to rumble. Morty looks at Chang, Chang at Morty, and they both look out the garage together…
What they see shakes them to their very core.
Dust billows from behind the house, and then something huge and purple-green lumbers out, a writhing creature akin to a fiendish earthworm nearly three stories tall.
“Oh…
me,” groans Morty.
Morty is shell-shocked, gibbering, unable to drive, so Chang throws him in the backseat, grabs the wheel, and slams his foot to the pedal. They peel out of the garage, even as the abomination crashes down, its massive bulk nearly crushing them. The garage is destroyed in an explosion of wood and dust. They fishtail out onto the dirt road, seeing the monster in the rearview mirror, but they are soon followed by another powerful earthquake.
A widening crack appears in the road, chasing them, but Chang swerves left and right and left again, runs into the ditch and back out and bumps onto the road, and the crack swallows their abandoned truck as they speed past it.
Racing into the night, they do not slow down until they reach Cairo fifteen miles away.
Morty is a mess. He can’t stop shaking. He has seen too much craziness for months on end now and it has taken a permanent toll on his sanity. He develops a mood disorder, randomly swinging between mania and depression. He falls into bed, drags a pillow over his face and cries himself to sleep. Chang is weathering the situation better than Morty, but he is upset too. They just lost half their group! What do they do now?
Realizing that Omar is a respected Egyptian businessman and that they just stole a
rare vehicle in Cairo, they know they can't keep it. The police will be alerted. It shouldn’t even be seen here! They need to discuss options with Dr. Ali Kafour
But when Chang barges in to tell Ali Kafour what happened, he is actually in a private meeting with a sinister looking man, the (honorary) Dr. Lucifer Lardlover (Jake's 3rd character), and his loyal bodyguard, Chad Slambody ("The World's Most Perfect Specimen of Man"- Leo’s 3rd character too].
Lucifer is a black magician and member of an elite occult circle (The Necrotic Mallard) of which Ali is also a member (thanks to Jake for that colorful Lodge title). Dr. Kafour has recruited Lucifer to help them with the Black Brotherhood in Cairo, a problem that Lardlover has long been aware, but it is worse than he ever suspected.
Chad Slambody is an ex-professional wrestler hired as Lardlover’s personal bodyguard. His physique is comparable to an iron tank. His bravado is akin to a Greek hero. Muscles bulge where lesser men do not enjoy muscles. He is fearless, flawless, and quite loyal to his boss, Lucifer. Chad doesn’t ask questions, he just does as he is told.
And he is told that tomorrow signals the last night of the full moon, and a cruel religious cult possesses the relics needed to resurrect the long dead Egyptian Queen Nitcrosis.
“That’s right, my friend,” says Lucifer upon seeing Chad’s expression, “the dead can be returned to life through dark rituals. Not recommended…but it is possible. ”
Lucifer suspects they will need a sacrifice, to exchange one life for another, but the quality, and quantity, of the blood offering can vary drastically. Personally, he doesn’t like to tinker with resurrection. The karmic payback is atrocious.
After formal introductions, the new party decides to frame the Clive Expedition for the break-in and theft at Omar Shakti’s cotton plantation (sans Morty who is weeping into his pillow). It is a weak plan, but they are desperate to allay any suspicions from themselves or Ali Kafour. Honestly, Omar Shakti
ing terrifies them. They aren’t sure how much trouble this will cause for the Clive Party or the cult, but they need to throw a monkey wrench into the plans somehow, and they aren’t sure how else to do it. After all, they do not have any idea where this ritual is to take place. Why the hell couldn’t Agatha Broadmoor have told them that instead?
With Ali Kafour's help that very night, they drive Omar’s stolen car all the way to Memphis. To their dismay, the entire Memphis dig is abandoned. Signs are gone. Ropes taken down. Guards and lights and cars and digging equipment, all of it vanished. They park Omar’s car anyway and drive back in Ali's vehicle.
[GM Note: They’re not 100% that Clive is an enemy, but by this point, everyone and everything is suspect].
Later that night Chang, Morty (who they rouse from his depressed slumber), Lucifer, and Chad sit with Ali Kafour in his office, discussing their experiences, plans, and repercussions of failure. There are few people in the world aware of Nyarlathotep, and Ali admits that even he does not fully understand the big picture. The small group assembled here has the power to stop a tragedy from occurring, and possibly saving thousands of lives. But the risk will be great, so great that it might very well be suicidal.
Morty Jones doesn’t get a wink more of sleep, and actually sits on the edge of his bed, staring at a pistol in hands.
Ali Kafour greets them early the next day. He has been busy with the finishing touches on several items they might need, but it has taken a toll on his permanent health to create them. The old man looks rough. Dark, puffy circles ring his eyes, and he walks with a pronounced limp. He offers them four azure vials of what he calls “Elixirs of Fortitude” (a Sanity buffer), “The Tooth of Amon-Re” (punches through Damage Reduction), “The Dust of Ibn-Gazi” (throw upon the invisible to make visible), and a crate of three smuggled British Browning 1900 Autoshotguns, plus extra ammo.
Chad Slambody expertly cradles a long shaft in his hands, admiring its damage potential…
In addition, Lardlover is given the Staff of Nyambe, and told that when the words are recited, it will protect him the dire effects of magic. But only a small buffer. Lucifer must still be wary when tapping into the arcane arts. Using the enemy’s magic against them can still damage his mind, body and spirit. Accepting the artifact with sincere thanks, Lucifer stuffs it beneath his robes.
Tonight is the night.
A ritual is to take place somewhere near Cairo, and the only vague clue they have is from the Clive Expedition member James Gardener.
Gardener theorized that there must be a secret complex in or around Giza, and that is where the sarcophagus of Nitcrosis might have gone. The party has been to the Giza pyramids before and found nothing conclusive. However, they now have GiGi to use, and hope that her psychic powers can unveil something new. GiGi is not staying at the cramped, impromptu quarters in the Museum. They call her on the phone and arrange for her to meet them.
In addition, Dr. Kafours asks if they will take another gentleman, Dr. Worthington Lester Cobblebottom (a backup character Jeff made because Morty was severely lacking in Sanity). Furthermore, Lester Cobblebottom is a trained scholar staying at the Museum, and sneaking in to translate the Black Rites whenever Janwillen Vanheuven is incapacitated. He finds the work very rewarding, although these fellows that Dr. Kafour associates with are very odd. Especially the one with all the muscles who takes his clothes off too much.
They all head out during the day, scouting the pyramids, finding nothing yet again, and finally venture out into the open terrain. Somehow, GiGi feels that this is the right thing to do, although the hot weather is antithetical to her weak constitution. She doesn’t have Euni to push her anymore, but Chad Slambody is a strapping fellow and always willing to expose himself. He strips his shirt away and helps GiGi.
They don’t really know what they’re looking for. And why could no one find it before? They have no answers, and are starting to get extremely annoyed, frustrated, hot and angry, when Gigi finally twitches from a faint psychic pulse:
It originates from a clump of rocks in the distance.
It begins as a mild headache between her eyes, increasing as they approach until it has blown into a migraine. Horrible evil radiates from this area, and GiGi has to leave (plus no one wanted to push her; it would slow them down!).
Nestled at the top of the pile is a hole. Lacking rope and flashlights (and lacking Morty Jones, who has been sleeping the past eight hours) they return to the city, re-equip with necessary gear, hide the shotguns, tell Morty to “Pull yourself together, man, we have work to do!” and return to the rock formation by 6 PM.
Chad Slambody volunteers to scale down first. The route is treacherous, and he finds himself bouncing off the rough walls, skinning his arms and elbows, but he eventually drops into a cool, dry tunnel. Nearby, a stairwell leads into impenetrable darkness. He takes a few hesitant steps, but the hair prickles on the back of his neck.
Something is waiting down there.
Chad waves for the others to follow, and soon Chad, Lucifer, Chang and Morty are huddled at the bottom, accompanied only by the rasp of their breathing. It would be too difficult for GiGi to navigate this route anyway, so Ma’Moud has accompanied her back to the museum. It is definitely not the place for a kid either, and Lester Cobblebottom has better things to do than crawl around in a cave.
Flashlights are lashed to shotguns, but only Chad is proficient in their use. He gives the others a quick tutorial on how to aim, reload and brace against recoil. Morty waves him off; he’s seen this done too many times since leaving New York.
They stick to the “left-turn-only-rule”, and discover that they are in a maze of tunnels. The path is worn smooth by thousands of pattering feet, possibly over thousands of years. The main tunnel is the widest, but from smaller branching tunnels they hear faint slobbering sounds, as if air is being sucked through a wet orifice. After a short detour they find themselves standing at the rim of such a hole. A sound emanates from far, far in the depths, but when the stone around the hole quivers--as if it were membranous and alive--they all step back. Suddenly nauseated, they realize that they are standing on the rim of what resembles a large anus. The air is tainted with a stink that they don’t care to dwell on, so they quickly leave, but Chang throws up in a corner, completely overwhelmed.
“Eyes open,” whispers Lucifer Lardlover. “Chad, watch yourself. The followers of the Black Messenger have many tricks at their disposal. Possibly necromantic abominations. Maybe inhuman allies. Maybe even--”
“Roses!” says Morty.
Morty points his flashlight, and true enough, dozens of black roses bloom along a thorny vine. The petals open slowly, and the group of armed men steps back. They glance at each other. More roses begin crawling across a vine in their path with alarming speed, opening with quiet menace. Continue through the roses or head back? They opt to head back, afraid that the flowers hold some malignant poison. Lucifer cannot discern any occult significance from the rose; it could be anything. Or nothing.
They try another tunnel, trudging up a slope inscribed with ancient runes that have been worn nearly illegible.
They finally turn down a narrow left tunnel and see flickering torchlight at the end, but more importantly, a huge shadow stretches toward them. There is something alive down there about to turn the corner! Chang and Chad ready their guns just as a horrifying beast swings into view.
The creature is eight feet tall with the head of a crocodile, and it wields a brutal scimitar!
It growls and advances, weapon raised high to bring it down in a devastating blow, but everyone opens fire.
Unfortunately, Chad's ammunition malfunctions and explodes in his face. He staggers away, partially blinded, while Chang pelts it with buckshot. For the first time in his life, Lucifer Lardlover pulls the trigger of a gun and levels a solid blast into the thing's chest. It is knocked against the rock wall behind it, bloody ribs jutting from the hole in its chest, incredulously looks down at the gaping wound, and then topples over dead.
Lardlover blows smoke from the muzzle.
“Nice shot,” Chad tells him.
The magician sniffs. “Of course it was.”
And they all quickly reload...
