The Night-Dimmed Day – Part I – Game Session 3

July 2nd 2000, Sunday

Angelique Ashur, Alex Hamilton, Gelar Ohanzee, Hachiko Koga, & Sergei Romanova (Part I)

12:00 pm

Skokie Highway Mile-marker 30

Still patching people up Angelique, assuming the role of de facto leader, gives everyone twenty minutes before they move out of their current camp at the abandoned rest stop. Having nearly drained her own supernatural reserves putting some of the other members of their ragtag little band back together she decides to sleep for a bit. Moments later, she awakes with a terrible dread that she cannot understand, only fear. Moving out, they head towards the SPRN Radio Station where Angelique’s boyfriend (Jonathan) works and has been broadcasting since the darkness hit the city earlier that morning. Since he is a probability manipulator and has skill with electrical devices, he managed to keep the generator running and the station powered up.

Angelique Ashur, Alex Hamilton, Gelar Ohanzee, Hachiko Koga, & Sergei Romanova (Part II)

12:40 pm

307 East Washington Avenue, Lake Bluff, Illinois, USA

Arriving at SPRN they find that the entire radio station and surrounding area has seemingly been replaced by a bizarre ‘funhouse’. Angelique and Hachiko (who both have a phobia of clowns) are reluctant to enter but after a while they (along with the others) do. Kendall, Sam, and decide to stay outside watching the (still sleeping) Little Boy. Once inside, everyone but Angelique and Marie vanish.

Alex Hamilton (Part I)

12:45 pm

307 East Washington Avenue, Lake Bluff, Illinois, USA

Alex ends up in a darkened room spinning rapidly. After a knife nicks his ear he realizes that he’s bound by manacles to a quickly turning disk and someone is trying to kill him. Getting out of the wrist manacles first he dodges another thrown knife while working his legs free. Once free he turns his attention to the person throwing knives at him. Laughing maniacally the human-looking pale-faced creature1 smiles showing a row of razor sharp teeth…

Gelar Ohanzee (Part I)

12:45 pm

307 East Washington Avenue, Lake Bluff, Illinois, USA

Gelar opens his eyes to find himself in a ball pit. Standing up he realizes he is waist-deep in a seemingly unending area. Walking cautiously he eventually finds a ladder that leads up and out of the ball pit but the area right near it seems to have a steep and sudden drop off. Detecting movement behind him as the plastic balls begin to rattle he opts to try and jump to the ladder. Despite succeeding and catching the bottom most rung he ends up slipping off and falling back into the ball pit. Falling several yards ends up against the floor though the topmost level is far above him. Hearing someone grumbling and then moments later letting out a surprising sound he moves just in time before the other person can fall on him. Unfortunately he hits a latch and the ball pit evacuates. When he finally stands up Gelar realizes that the Old Man had been the one making noise. Though they had been trying to hide it, Gelar discerns that the plastic balls from the pit are in fact living (biting!) things with sharp teeth. Moving away from them both Gelar and the Old Man make it towards a abandoned concession stand while something crazy begins happening with the balls. Both watch in horror as they began coalescing together forming a large, vaguely humanoid shape. Noticing what appears to be a way out (a large funhouse mirror floating in midair) they get ready to make their way their…

Sergei Romanova (Part I)

12:45 pm

307 East Washington Avenue, Lake Bluff, Illinois, USA

Sergei feels the air rush past his face and on pur instinct and trained reflexes dodges a huge bowling ball size skeeball. Realizing he is on a oversized skeeball lane he rushed towards the end of the alleyway seeing both the machine hurling the skeeball’s at him and a doorway out. Running past the ball launcher he cuts it in half with a quickly drawn and sheathed blade and heads for the doorway looking to find Marie…

Haciko Koga (Part I)

12:45 pm

307 East Washington Avenue, Lake Bluff, Illinois, USA

Hachiko finds himself in a(nother) hall of mirrors, making it hard for him to navigate to find his way out. Once he does locate the door it takes him several minutes to screw up the courage to touch the door knob which opens revealing another room. Seeing one of the people he entered the funhouse with being attack by a close he rushes through the door and drawing his sword attacks it…

Alex Hamilton & Haciko Koga (Part I)

12:50 pm

307 East Washington Avenue, Lake Bluff, Illinois, USA

Alex reaches for his weaponry only to watch Hachiko seemingly come out of nowhere and decapitate his attack. The two then looking for another way out spot a second door which Alex opens and they disappear into…

Alex Hamilton, Gelar Ohanzee, Haciko Koga, & Sergei Romanova (Part I)

12:52 pm

307 East Washington Avenue, Lake Bluff, Illinois, USA

Gelar and the Old Man remain at the concession stand while Gelar improves an explosive device from the oil and flour left there. The ball creature continues assembling itself as Sergei, Alex, and Hachiko burst forth from the door/portals into the middle of the brewing combat. Gelar tosses his hastily constructed explosive at the giant ball-monster causing it to begin melting and losing cohesiveness. Spotting the others, Gelar and the Old Man make a break for it and the five of them find a portal in the form of a floor-length looking glass. Trying to figure out how to use it, Gelar ends up standing to close and it summons his doppelganger2. During the ensuing fight (and with a little help from Hachiko) he manages to quickly down the doppelganger and the shattered mirror leads everyone back to the beginning hallway…

Angelique Ashur, Jonathan Valerius Baxtalo, Alex Hamilton, Gelar Ohanzee, Hachiko Koga, & Sergei Romanova (Part I)

12:55 pm

307 East Washington Avenue, Lake Bluff, Illinois, USA

Unable to actually walk down the hallway Angelique (who has a severe phobia of mirrors aka spectrophobia) keeps her eyes closed while Marie guides her down the hallway. Using her psychic abilities she makes a couple of (accurate) guesses and manages to get to the room where her boyfriend, Jonathan, is. Accidently opening her eyes she ends up losing control of her TK and shatters every mirror in the hallway. Having to deal with She uses her psychic abilities again, this time to make sure that Jonathan is Jonathan. Turning to exit she is greeted by the others who are coming through one of the mirrors she just shattered. Once back outside the ‘funhouse’ seems to contract and expand and then slowly sink into the ground leaving the radio station, as it had been before3.

Angelique Ashur, Jonathan Valerius Baxtalo, Alex Hamilton, Gelar Ohanzee, Hachiko Koga, & Sergei Romanova (Part II)

1:00 pm

6751 North Edgebrook Terrace, Chicago, Illinois, USA

Driving to Hachiko’s home, the PCs find the road blocked by a downed tree and unable to drive up to the house they get out and walk. Angelique receives a sudden precognitive vision and warns the others that more of the giants are nearby, eight all told. She tells Kendall to stay with the Little Boy. Having a feeling of being watched along with Angelique’s warning, they ‘gear’ up getting ready for anything. As they get closer the PC’s spot a large furry giant humanoid3 towering over twenty feet tall right near Hachiko’s home. As they get closer, Gelar notices another one behind it. Despite the fact that the giants are closing in on the team Angelique’s visions allow the PCs to outmaneuver them and Jonathan and Sergei take down two of them before the others can get any closer. Once the giants do begin moving closer it becomes obvious that the rest will not be so easy. Easily taking the small arms fire and even Gelar’s expertly aimed shots the giants seem all but invincible. Jonathan runs in close and using his sonokinetic powers causes a giant to be stunned before he launches himself at it and slits its throat. After several rounds of intense fighting Angelique takes down another of the giants sticking her kris in its spine while stopping a second with Hachiko and Alex’s help though his horse ends up caught between one of the charging monsters and its neck is broken. Alex then takes out a third getting in close to help set up a shot with Gelar. Sergei attacks a giant by jumping onto it and stick his ninja-to’s in the things ears. After twisting the blade a few times the creature falls down and he helps the others. The giant’s leader, a shaman, afflicts the entire group of PCs with a curse causing causality to (temporarily) turn against them making it harder for them to land blows, dodge them from the giants, etc. Jonathan (who is a probability manipulator) turns the tables on the shaman and curses him in turn cause the shaman to slip and fall down breaking his ‘medicine stick’. Once down, the shaman is swarmed by the others and eventually Hachiko and Sergei behead him before going to help the others. The last giant comes up on the rear trying to hurt Marie only to be struck by lightning from the sky. As the lightning continues to electrocute the giant a figure comes down out of the clouds as if by magic and buries a blade in the creatures spine splitting its back open while it fries. Angelique turns to the figure and runs toward him excitedly, happy to see Jestinius, her husband. Hachiko begins to make his way to his home but before he can his wife Ruby and four daughters are being lead out by a group of soldiers. Hachiko lets out a loud kiai and stuns the soldiers before realizing they are part of his old SEAL team. Petty Officer Third Class Zev informs Hachiko that they had been ordered to bring him and his family in. Exclaiming loudly he draws a deck of cards4 from his shirt pocket saying that the other two aces and a queen are there. Jestinius consults with Zev and moment who then hands him a piece of paper. Jestinius tells everyone they are going with the SEALs and after Hachiko asks about transportation a CH-53E begins to descend. The Old Man while reluctant agrees with Jestinius and the two great each one another as if they know the other. Both Angelique and Alex take the remains of Alex’s horse into the back of the trailer and then drive the truck into the helio.

Angelique Ashur, Jonathan Valerius Baxtalo, Alex Hamilton, Gelar Ohanzee, Hachiko Koga, & Sergei Romanova (Part III)

1:00 pm

Undisclosed Island in Michigan Lake

After landing on a island somewhere in Michigan Lake the PCs are ushered into rooms where they can receive medical aid and food. However, before they can be lead away they all end up in the main room of the base, where a huge (over five stories tall) circular device can be seen spinning at a wobbly almost random pace. Whatever it is it has obviously been damaged and scorch marks can be seen all over the place. Dr. Halusko introduces himself to everyone as the Spearhead Project Leader  and then lets Commander Quinn debrief Hachiko, the Old Man, and Jestinius. Everyone else is shown to quarters and allowed to rest for a few hours.

July 2nd 2000, Sunday

9:00 pm

Undisclosed Island in Michigan Lake

1This creature has many names but most call them zanies or whitefaces (or more archaically allaharu or scurra). They are not creatures of the Dreamlands but in fact a cursed sub-race of humanity, most of them do however live in the Dreamlands using special portals that only they know about to drift in and out of the real world. While they require food and drink like every other living creature they are also psychic vampires and feed exclusively on fear. While they hate everyone that is not them, they particularly hate children and have a special hate for psychic or especially sensitive/artistic children. Other than the fact that they like to impersonate ‘real’ clowns and terrorize others not much is known of them.

2 This creature is a form of self-sustaining metuovoric supernatural construct – essentially a creature of raw belief fueled by the fear of those around it. The main difference between this creature and a marowit is that marowit are (usually) formed by unconscious belief and fear of something. Constructs are consciously formed (usually by a magic user), in this case however the zanies pooled their mystical abilities and created it to help them feed on the fear of others.

3 The full transformation of a landscape or building like this is called phantasmogenesis. It is a exceptionally rare phenomena that almost never occurs in the real world without being in a place of immense supernatural power such as a ley line nexus, the site of multiple deaths, etc. In this case the zanies used a nearby unstable portal to the Dreamlands to ‘create’ the Funhouse from the radio station having been attracted their by the severally coulrophobic Jonathan Valerius Baxtalo.

4 This ‘deck’ of cards shows pictures of the ‘most valued subjects’ and includes mystics, scientists, and others who have had a brush with the other side or know specific skills that might be needed in the case of a containment or equipment failure for the Project.

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