Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.
Enchanted Trinkets Complete--a hardcover book containing over 500 magic items for your D&D games!

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Ladybird" data-source="post: 2938332" data-attributes="member: 10689">Episode 2: Don't Drink the Water. Part 11 - When Dinosaurs Attack!By the time the hagadis roared a second time, everyone was on their feet. “Stay here!” Kathleen cried, motioning to Joost and Marka. For once, the two locals were in agreement with each other – Marka sat as if frozen to her rough wooden chair, and Joost gave Kathleen a single curt nod of assent.Another roar echoed through the dim forest. Ked’rec’s gun let out a staccato burst of bullets, and the hagadis shrieked in pain. “What do I do?” Dr. Haas looked at Kathleen with wide, frightened eyes, her voice high and tight with apprehension.“If you can shoot decently, come with us.” Kathleen’s words were short and clipped, coming nearly as quickly as Ked’rec’s machine gun fire. “Otherwise, stay here and stay safe. Reinhart, go out the front way. Mr. Healy – “But Joe was already out the door by the time Kathleen turned to him, his gun raised and bored eyes suddenly wide and alert. Currents of anxious adrenaline ran through him – he could never be sure whose they were. It was Orieth who was thinking Danger! Danger!; he knew that. But there was excitement coming from somewhere deep inside him, too, rising up as he lifted his gun, and cresting in a shout as he came around the corner of the cabin to face the hagadis.The creature was over eight feet tall, with huge taloned feet at the end of muscular legs, and viciously sharp claws on its waving arms. Its scaly hide shone dully in the moonlight, and its wide mouth opened as it advanced towards Ked’rec. The Jaffa instantly sprang backwards, lowering his weapon to fire upon the hagadis again. His shots were joined by another burst from Joe, advancing even as Orieth’s thoughts continued to beat against his mind in rising panic. Kathleen, turning the corner a second after Joe, watched the scene with her own mind racing. I’ll never be able to hit it, she thought, swinging her rifle down to take aim. Not at this distance. But if I can get it distracted… The dinosaur lunged towards Ked’rec, claws slashing and head bending to bite at him. Kathleen sent a flurry of bullets flying just above the creature’s head. It reared back in furious confusion, still striking out towards Ked’rec – but it was distracted enough for the Jaffa to spring nimbly aside, taking aim once more.Footsteps crunched on the dry, sandy ground as Reinhart and Haas stepped out of the cabin. With his eyes narrowed to scan the clearing and broad shoulders poised protectively in front of Dr. Haas, the young lieutenant was on his guard – and the first to spot the rustling in the bushes. “Another one!” he shouted. “Over here!”The first hagadis let out another roar of pain as another one of Ked’rec’s shots hit home, but the sound was followed by another, higher-pitched sound – Dr. Haas, crying out in terror as a second dinosaur sprang forwards out of the bushes, directly at her. I think they’ve got that one covered, Kathleen thought, and she wheeled around to face the second dinosaur. If it worked once, it can work again. And it looks like Dr. Haas will need more protection than Ked’rec. She sent a burst of shots towards the second creature, hoping to distract it in the same way that she had distracted the first.Almost exactly at the same time, Dr. Haas let loose with a single, precise shot of her own. To everyone’s surprise, most of all her own, the shot hit true, slamming into the hagadis’s scaly chest, and sending the creature flailing backwards in confusion and pain. From the other side of the clearing, there was an echoing shot from Joe’s gun and an echoing shriek from the first dinosaur. It was now staggering raggedly around the treeline, scattering blood on the sandy ground and flailing its arms weakly at Ked’rec. “You got this one?” Joe asked Ked’rec. Instead of answering, the Jaffa took a silent step to the side, lowering his gun and sweeping his staff weapon out in a wide arc until it was aimed directly at the hagadis. “Guess so,” Joe grunted, and trotted a few steps towards the second.With the same intense, unearthly focus, Dr. Haas fired off another round at the second lizard as it stepped forward, and with the same deadly result. Joe’s shots followed a few seconds later, with a force that nearly spun the hagadis around. It staggered, wavering for a moment – and then collapsed to the ground.The first hagadis was wavering, too, its beady eyes fixed on the imposing form of Ked’rec. The staff weapon zipped quietly, its edges glowing in the near-darkness as it charged. And the hagadis turned and ran. Ked’rec’s stoic face settled into an expression of faint disappointment as he lowered his staff weapon and set it down, unused.“We did it!” Reinhart cried, as he dashed towards the fallen body of the second hagadis. Dr. Haas stood frozen in place, still slightly stunned by her own success. Kathleen gave the botanist a light, comforting touch on the shoulder as she moved to take a closer look at the dinosaur’s body for herself. Reinhart was still exulting, “They’re never gonna believe we got something like this! A brand-new team, led by a cryptographer – uh, sorry, ma’am…” The young lieutentant’s face turned bright red in the dim moonlight.Kathleen just laughed, although there was a wry twist to her smile as she answered, “It’s all right, Reinhart. I know how people talk. They’ll be pretty impressed that we bagged ourselves a dinosaur.”Reinhart nodded enthusiastically. “We bagged ourselves a big-ass dinosaur! Uh. Ma’am.”</blockquote>

Verification