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Message: <blockquote data-quote="megamania" data-source="post: 1358894" data-attributes="member: 9255">STRIKEFORCE: MORITURISEGMENT 032“Enter….Batuu” “Ugg”  is all the barbarian primitive could manage to say.  The night sky was suddenly darkening and a breeze was picking up.  Then the clouds seem to come down from the sky as the fog blocked their vision.“Blood Queen said this happen.  Get others.” Is all the more articulate barbarian could say. “I do not fear the weather witch.  I am braver.”“Uh-Hugh” is all the first barbarian replies as he rushes off.A distant thud can be heard in the thick fog.  “Bonehead…that you?”Then he hears a sound he has never heard before.  A sound resounds in his head- not his ears.  The sound of building and moving energy.  He slowly turns…almost sensing what is behind him.  The Metal Man!Vander is floating there, with his just drawn psionic falchion.  His grim face softens into a smirk.  “You can not win barbarian.  I am Vander Stormbringer.  I have fought dragons and demons…and I yet live.”“Bonehead!  Wait for me!” wails the frightened and out-cyked barbarian.   Christina strikes him down with Mother, her intelligent mace.  He goes down without further action or noise.  “Let’s go Vander…stop playing around.”Jean has flown ahead of them above the fog.  She reaches the other side and goes next to the rocky crags and finds many more barbarians.  Including one dressed in what appears to be crude dried dung and mud with a large featureless mask.  He dances about then stops.  The drummers stop at this point also.  He drops to him knees and grabs at the earth and throws it to the air allowing it to fall onto him like an earthen rain.  Silence.“What is he waiting for?” wonders Jean whom prepares to wash him with a rainstorm.  She pulls out her vial of storm water to caste her spell when she hears a deep rumble.  All of the barbarians bow now.  Following their glances, she sees the two handmaidens and the crewmembers.  They are tied to a stone pillar near the cavern entrance.Vander and Christina float up next to her in the foggy cover.  “What could it be?” she asks them.  In the same emotionless even tone he uses all of the time-  “a sacrifice…the crew no doubt.”“But the Captain and Megamania went into the cave entrance close to the bridge…”“An exit brought them here…let’s go.”  Instead of the water, she switches to a vial filled with nothing.  In truth, it has the exhaled breath of a giant.  Jean murmurs the words then uncaps the vial and breathes it in through her nose.  Her throat and jaw trembles slightly.  She motions for the two heavily armored party members to go ahead.She whispers under her breath as she lands.  All turn and look at her... the olive skinned outsider and intruder.  The Mud and dung caked leader shouts something in their native tongue and many of the men get up grabbing weapons.  She waits until they are close then slowly says to lie down.  The force of her “Great Shout” bowls them over and many of the on lookers yet to get up.  Blood spills from the ears of the warriors looking to kill her and the innocent women and the crewmembers.Vander and Christina, their ears ringing even though the sonic blast was not directed at them, quickly free the others.  The dung covered leader runs over to them.  He begins to strike Vander with his staff.  With a deep sigh, Vander’s patience runs out and he grabs the staff, snaps it in two over his knee and then head butts the man with his helmeted head.  "Let’s go before the creature inside comes out."“…Too late…” Christina says looking to the sky.Before her is a gem crusted huge earthen creature resembling an earth Elemental.  It walks like a gorilla would; it supports its upper body on its huge knuckles of his hands.  His short legs convey the strength and stability of the creature.It looks at the two armored people before it.  Then at the people from the pillar.  Then back at the metal covered people…the tasty metal covered people.  “We don’t have the need for this right now” is all Christina can say as she directs the people to a safer location.  “To quote Jim-  its Vander Time”The Captain near the entrance drops Megamania before he lands himself.  Megamania searches for sentries and/or traps and finds nothing.  His starlight goggles glow a soft green on his mask.  Still nothing.  He motions for the Captain to enter the cavern entrance.The Captain looks about inside.  “I can’t see much Megamania.”  “I can see a hint of light ahead.  It’s defused but it exists.  Bare with me.  Follow my lead.”  Jim, aka Megamania, adds night vision goggles to his list of things to pick up if they ever go a world similar to his.  Unrealized by him, this is the first time he thinks of alternate realities without denying it afterwards.  They go down a few corridors before reaching an area lit by torches.  Also in this room are bones.  The Captain’s eye twitches as he spots a skull of a human.  “How can you not be bothered by this Jim?”  “Cap-  in your time things were a bit more innocent.  In my time, things like this were common place.” Sensing a nerve to uproot, he picks up a bone.  “See these marks…tooth marks.  See these marks…human tooth marks.  These folks are indeed cannibals.  It is dark and sick but it is what it is.”  He drops the bone to the sandy ground.  In truth it bothers him.  Looking at the bone up close he noticed the marks suggested a strange pallet design.  Whatever did this was not 100% human.  THAT was unnerving to him.Moving further into the dark tunnels The Captain, now armed with a lit torch, looks about.  Megamania, careful not to look at the Captain and lose all vision, scans ahead.  The floor is becoming damp. Soft.  Almost organic.  “This is f****** freaky man” he murmurs under his mask.  In a slightly louder voice-  “Do you feel that Cap?”“Feel what?”“In a word…evil.”The air becomes misty as they trod down a rocky ramp.  “This reminds me too much of Vandel Boc’s dungeon in Styxville.  This can’t be good Cap.    ….Cap?”Then very quietly a small finger bone with runes bounces between them…then darkness.  “We are under attack!” Says the Captain as blackness spreads out rapidly from the bone.  Even his torch and Megamania’s technological wonder fails to pierce the darkness.The Captain moves slowly but to the side.  Suddenly something strikes him and pushes him in a hole.  His vision returns just in time to strike the bottom.  He is stunned by the blow.Megamania, crouched down low, quietly works about.  His fast working mind is beginning to grasp the realities of magic.  It was that damned bone.  On this rock floor, he should be able to find it easily enough.  Ah-hah he thinks as he finds it.  He grabs it and holds it in his fist.  Encased the blackness goes away.  His night vision goggles see a form of an ugly old deformed woman climbing some rocks.  Smiling he throws the bone at her expecting it to caste its spell onto her.  Nothing.  The bone fragment merely bounces off of the rocks next to her.He goes into a low spin and takes cover by the rocks piled near the exit.“I am ready for your magic Shadowman.  Tonight-  I will feast on your flesh.”“Eat me”  he says then cringes at his remark.  Bad mania…bad.  Cat and Mouse…his favorite game.</blockquote>

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