Spectrum's Comments: We start out with the heroes separated. Rem, Terry, and Beth have gone in search of Black Tarantula only to find a giant building shaped like a spider. Back at the base, the others have found a woman in the desert.
Lost Heroes # 12 - "Temple of the Spider"
Rem, Terry and Beth take a position that conceals them from prying eyes. Below them is the gigantic spider building. From this vantage point, you can also see to large doors in the rear of the building. A well-traveled dirt path leads up to both doors.
Rem connects to Beth telepathically and then joins hands with Terry.
Beth - "Are you sure that this is going to work?"
Terry - "I don't know, but hang on!"
Together, the girls seemingly leap from the cover of the rocks and soar towards the temple. The walls of the temple itself cannot hold them back. Rooms and chambers blur past until Terry reaches the desired room.
Your destination is a large room. A few candles illuminate the area, but the room is mostly dark. You find Tarantula lying on a bed. There seems to be another person in this room, but they are in a shadowy corner and cannot be clearly seen.
Beth - "Move closer to Tarantula so that I can examine him."
The scene before the girls' mental eyes focus on their comrade. Beth takes in the image for several minutes.
Beth - "I think that he's been drugged. Except for some bruises, I can see no damage from the battle."
Rem - "Wonderful!"
Terry - "Wait a moment. Something is happening down there."
The scene shifts once more. A large double door swings open into the room. A figure in flowing, silky robes enters the room. Words are spoken.
"Priestess?'"
"Yes, Adela?"
"Are you well, most Holy One?"
"I am well. The ceremony reached a most enjoyable conclusion."
"I am happy, Holy One. I shall have a feast prepared for this eve."
"Of course. Leave me now."
"As you wish. Holy Spinadria shall dine well this evening."
"Yes..."
Abruptly the vision ends. There is noise and movement to your right. Suddenly, a voice calls out.
"Greetings, sisters."
Turning, you can a group of eight women also dressed in the flowing robes. A few of the women have spears, but they are not being used in a threatening manner.
"Welcome to the Shrine of Spinadria. How may we be of assistance?"
Back at the base, the men are confronted by the swordswoman...
Woman - "I-- I'm not sure what to make of this. Your words have a ring of truth to them... You have healed my wounds. Yet, you did not remove my weapon... Are you allies of the Black Legion?"
Eclypse - "No... I've never heard of this Black Legion."
Number 6 - "Nor have I, miss...?"
The woman takes the sword and sheaths it.
Val - "I am Valteria, sword mistress of the Black Legion. Me and my comrades were on the march against the vile wizard Cyrius... Yes, I'm beginning to recall what happened. The wizard appeared before my band. He cast a spell of some type. He I came to my senses I was in a desert. I wandered... For how long, I don't know..."
Number 6 - "That pretty much ties in with what we know. You were lying in the desert. We brought you here and nursed you back to health."
Val - "You have my thanks, my strangely dressed rescuers. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must locate the rest of my band. Would you have supplies that I may use?"
Mary - Come on, I'll show you the cafeteria."
Val - "Cafe-ateareah?"
Mary - "A place where there is food."
Val - "Ah, an inn! Lead on good woman."
As the women walk off, Brawn speaks up.
Brawn - "Look guys, I hate to be a party pooper but what with REM out running around loose, I'm getting a little worried. What say we go check up on her and the rest of the gang?"
Eclypse - "Worried, Brawn? That is a bit out of character for yourself, isn't it, my muscle-bound friend? Might I sense an affinity towards the young mentalist? In truth, I too, see the trip made in search of Black Tarantula a bit of a chance, at best. They never established just what it is that spirited our comrade away. They may, in fact, be in over their heads. Perhaps we should make certain they are well."
Number 6 - "Everything seems to be in order here. Once that woman is ready, we'll have Mary let us out. I am amazed how rapidly she recovered."
Eclypse - "I think we're going to find out a lot if amazing things from our new friend."
After about ten minutes, you're all ready to go.
Val - "You must be sorcerer's! This place has wizardry that I have never seen!"
Together you all walk to the tunnel to the surface. Once you get there you are amazed to see a man standing on the other side of the force field! He is equally amazed to see you.
"It is true! There are other humans left! Hello! My name is Albert! Do you understand me? Can you let me in? We must talk!"
Spectrum's Comments: Val is definitely from a D&D style world. And just who the heck is Albert?
SUBJ: REM FROM: REM9 06/17/89 S#: 410905
"Hi my name is REM and these are my friends Beth and Terry. We have traveled far across the desert to find this place. You wouldn't happen to have any water around here would you? It's been a loooonnngg walk and we're kinda thirsty. By the way have I mentioned how beautiful your temple looks from up here." REM will continue to babble until either someone bounds and gags her or she knows what to say to the ladies. (See mail message)
Mail From: REM9 Date: Saturday 17-Jun-89 22:20 EDT
Thanks, I'll get a pair of 'Ears' just for you.
Meanwhile, besides what I said in my reply, REM will do the following.
1. She will attempt to scan one of the female priestesses minds and learn all she can about this temple. She will use this information to act as if she and her friends have come here to worship. She will also telepathically relay any info to the others.
2. If the situation seems like we will need help (depending on what she learns about the temple) she will call for Brawn and co. telling them where to find us and to bring some water.
See you in a week.
SUBJ: Beth
Why do these things always happen to me? Beth nudges Rem and speaks in a whisper:
'Rem, I think now would be a good time to call the guys!'
This temple in the middle of nowhere does prove a few things. There are other people on the Earth. Perhaps they know what became of out world? Beth will try to appear cordial, in spite of the fact that she is scared to death at the moment.
SUBJ: Number 6 FROM: Deslock 06/22/89 S#: 495718
"Did someone mention we might have to repopulate the earth? I'm starting to think we're only a subway stop from Manhattan."
Once Val has had a chance to eat, I'll ask her a few questions. "Valteria, we are strangers in this land, what can you tells us of it? Who is this Cryius of whom you spoke? What is the nature of the land from which you came?"
In listening to her speech, what sort of accent does Valteria speak with, if any? It might give us some idea of where she came from.
When we reach the surface, and are greeted by yet another new face, my suspicion is definitely heightened. Too bad our resident psychic is out of the office; I'd like to know if this person is exactly what he appears to be. I'll look him over to see if there's anything suspicious about him, while breaking the silence.
"This is odd, indeed. How did you come to be here? Come in, and tell us the tale of your travels."
This place gives new meaning to the term 'off the beaten path', so where are all these people coming from?
SUBJ: Eclypse FROM: Panther13 06/23/89 S#: 492035
I agree with Number 6. It does seem unusual that we suddenly are inundated with life, of numerous and various sorts. Is it possible that we've managed to affect things we know not about since my arrival and the rest of your awakening. Or perhaps this place is not off the beaten path as much as we think. The shield being dropped might have brought some attention to us as well. We may have to be careful for the time being.
I also agree that we should ask questions of our new acquaintances. They might prove to be an invaluable source of information. However, let us not forget our female comrades who might be in danger.
SUBJ: BRAWN FROM: N4SIR 06/24/89 S#: 503359
"Ok so what's the plan? And what do we do about her?" Brawn says pointing towards the new woman.
Lost Heroes #13 - "Signs of Life"
Rem, Beth and Terry:
Outside the Shrine of Spinadria, the girls have encountered the inhabitants of the temple...
"May we be of assistance, sisters?"
Rem - "Hi! My name is Rem and these are my friends Beth and Terry...."
While Rem chatters away, her mind reaches out to that of leader of group before them. Rem senses that the women are a little suspicious of them, but mean them no harm. Coming up with the proper line of responses, Rem departs from her mindless chatter.
Rem - "Greetings, sisters of the Holy Spinadria. Yes, you may be of assistance to us."
Terry and Beth exchange surprised glances. Terry concentrates and sees what is going in Rem's mind. She then winks at Beth.
Madra - "I am known as Madra. How may we be of assistance?"
Rem - "Me and my sisters were traveling across this great desert on a mission for our Shrine. One of our servants came up missing. We have followed his trail and came up your magnificent Shrine. Have you or your sisters come across this man?"
Madra - "Yes, we have found a man wandering in the desert. Come, let us enter the Shrine."
At Madra's direction, water skins are shared with the girls.
Beth - "Thank you! I was beginning to dry out."
Madra - "It was careless of you let your servant wander off."
Terry - "Yes. Men are such children. Always in need of female control."
Madra - "I see that the scriptures of your temple is similar to ours."
Rem - "There is only one true way."
Beth - "Ah... yeah, right."
The girls are escorted down into the valley. They are led to the front of the temple. The main stairs seem to resemble mandibles. They get the impression that they are walking into the maw of a giant spider.
At the top of the stairs is a room with two doors. Several more women with spears stand guard here. You are led out the left hand door and shown into another room immediately thru a door on the left.
Madra - "Please wait in here. I shall inform the High Priestess. She will want to greet you."
Rem - "Of course."
Madra closes the door, leaving the girls alone in the room. There are no other exits.
Beth - "Alright, so what in the world is going on?"
Terry - "Rem used telepathy to find the proper responses to answer with."
Rem - "Apparently women dominate in this society. Men are primarily servants. They are treated like children."
Beth - "Hmph. Some things never change. What's our next move?"
Terry - "We are in no danger as long as we don't break any laws."
Rem - "I need to rest. Using all that telepathy really drained me."
Several minutes later, the door opens and a regal looking woman is escorted into the room. She wears flowing blue robes.
"I am the High Priestess of Spinadria, Chandria. I bid you all welcome to our Shrine. If you will follow me, I shall take you to your servant."
Terry - "We are honored, Holy One."
The girls are lead back out into the hallway and deeper into the temple. They pass through a corridor into what must be the larger building of the temple. Double doors open and the Priestess leads the girls inside.
Chandria - "We found your servant weak and in need of our care."
Chandria points to the man on the bed. However, much to your surprise, it isn't Tarantula! He does wear a costume that perhaps a superhero would wear, but it isn't the man you are looking for!
Adela - "He is awakening."
The man slowly opens his eyes. He sits up and looks at the women all around him.
"This may sound like a silly question, but where am I and how did I get here?"
Number 6, Tarantula, and Brawn:
Before I pick where I left off last post, I'll answer the questions placed to Valteria by Number 6.
Val - "You must be a knight, good sir. Thy armor is of a most unusual design. I know little of this land. As I explained, my comrades and I were ambushed by Cryius. Death to that soulless slug! When I regained my senses, I found myself laying upon a barren plain with no supplies. I wandered for untold days until I saw a forest in the distance. I remember little after that. Cyrius is a wizard of the foulest magic. It was the Black Legion's task to destroy this evil 'ere it overcome the peaceful lands of the Empire of Cynalon. But enough of this questioning, I must locate my comrades and complete my mission."
From what you can gather, Val has a slight accent that appears to be European in origin. However, you cannot exactly place it.
And that brings us up to date....
At the force field, it is Number 6 that breaks the silence first. He eyes the man over, but cannot find anything unusual about him.
Number 6 - "This is odd, indeed. How did you come to be here? Come in and tell us the tale of your travels."
Mary lowers the shield long enough to allow Albert passage through."
Albert - "Wow... This place is incredible... You guys have any cold refreshments on hand? It's an inferno out there!"
Mary - "Of course. This way."
Shortly in the lounge...
Albert - "I take it from those odd costumes that you were, you are all what used to be called superheroes?"
Number 6 - "Something like that."
Albert - "Oh, this is better than I could hope for! You see I have an estate some sixty miles to the north of here. When the dampener went off, I managed to get a deflector up and protect my power generators. My scanners located another power source... here. I sent a squad of robot to investigate. They never returned."
Eclypse - "You're the one who sent the robots?"
Albert - "Yes. Unfortunately I see that they were destroyed."
Brawn - "Those tin-plated goons attack us!"
Albert - "Oh, dear. I fear that I'm not that good of a programmer. I hope that no one was injured?"
Number 6 - "We are all safe."
Albert - "Once I lost contact with the scouting party, I got out a bicycle and began the trek down here. The rest is history."
Eclypse - "I see."
Albert - "This is a most marvelous occurrence! Together we can get bring down this energy dampener that holds our planet powerless! What do you say? Are we allies?"
Brawn - "Fine by me. So what's the plan? And what do we do about her?"
Brawn points towards Val."
Val - "Do? What makes you think that you have anything to do with me, male?"
Eclypse - "I assure you that Brawn meant no insult."
Val - "In my land, I have killed for less. No one owns me! I do as I please and no lumbering male is going to order me about!"
Brawn is greatly amused by this outburst.
Brawn - "Big words for a little girl!"
Val grits her teeth and swings at the large man. Her fist hits him in the chest. Much to everyone's surprise, the large man is hurtled across the room and into the far wall! He slumps to the floor in a daze.
Val - "Do the rest of you wish to test my combat skills?!?"
Spectrum's Comments: The guy the girls found in the spider temple was supposed to be a new PC, but he never posted. Miss Terry's player was now gone from Q, so she was an NPC by this point. Over in the Crusaders games, Officer Terry simply faded out. Yep, it was Albert who sent the robots who arrived earlier in the game. And finally, Val & Brawn finally came to blows. Gee, I wonder where she got that 'Soulless Slug" line from?
SUBJ: BRAWN FROM: N4SIR 06/24/89 S#: 516438
"Nice punch sister but now it's my turn. I guarantee that I won't let a second punch land like that one. So lace up your corset babe and prepare to take a flight on Brawn airlines my treat. I've never had to hit a lady before, but from where I was sitting you just threw my etiquette book out the window. So here we go round one, ding.., ding.., ding."
Brawn says getting to his feet. "Boys you better pull out those medical journals so you can figure out how to put this bimbo back together when I'm through."
SUBJ: Number 6 FROM: Deslock 06/25/89 S#: 418420
"BRAWN! Settle down. There's nothing bruised on you but your ego. You seem to like to use your mouth, I'd assume you'd grown accustomed to the taste of your own foot by now. Now stow it."
Mail From: REM9 Date: Monday 26-Jun-89 18:39 EDT
Has REM recovered enough endurance to use her telepathy again? If she has she will telepathically tell the man to play along with them if he wants out of here alive.
SUBJ: BRAWN (R) FROM: N4SIR 06/26/89 S#: 826679
"Look Sir Galahad you want part of me take a number. Right now I've got a date with Polly Anna over there to go dancin' so just stand back and wait for the dust to clear," Brawn says pushing past number 6.
SUBJ: ECLYPSE (R) FROM: Panther13 06/26/89 S#: 459678
I see no harm in allowing our fellows the opportunity to blow off a little steam. However, to make sure that the base does not sustain any unnecessary damage, I will keep a close eye on this confrontation. If things get too far out of hand, step in and stop the fight. After all, I'm not exactly a weakling in the strength department and I also wield the powerful Star Scepter.
Besides, I'm curious to see who might triumph in this exchange!
SUBJ: Number 6 FROM: Deslock 06/26/89 S#: 829570
"Excuse me, Val, I really have no doubt that you could mop the floor with this lout, but no one is pushing me aside."
I shift system resources into HTH mode, with emphasis on Strength.
"You know, Brawn, there's nothing wrong with you that an enema wouldn't cure."
Spectrum's Comments: Now that was funny!
GM Notes:
Val - "Stand aside, sir knight! I can fight my own battles! That mountain of slime needs to be taught some manners!"
Val rushes forward to engage Brawn in combat.... I for one wouldn't want to get in their way!
SUBJ: Mary Beth
Beth tries to quickly hide her surprise to find this stranger. She walks to the side of the bed.
'I am a healer of our temple. I am sure that your healer is most talented, but I shall feel better if I check the servants' condition out for myself. It was very naughty of you to run off like that!'
As I examine the man, I'll whisper to him...
'Please, just play along with us and we'll all get out of here safely!'
SUBJ: BRAWN FROM: N4SIR 06/27/89 S#: 113818
"Look 6 if you want me to turn you into a decimal point. Just stay right where you are and we can put what will be left of you over there with the other tin men." This time Brawn will shove 6 out of his way. "Like I said bunkie you want a shot at me just stand in line."
SUBJ: REM FROM: REM9 06/28/89 S#: 454654
--Gee I don't know Beth; do you really want me to call the guys? I mean I don't think Brawn could pretend to be servant to anyone especially a woman.--
"Typical male. Always doing things without thinking first. I mean you could have been killed wandering off by yourself like that. It was fortunate that the sisters here found you first. Wait until we get back home. You'll never run off like that again that's for sure." While Rem chastises the stranger, (and after she also has telepathically told him to play along) she will be carefully searching the High Priestess' mind for her knowledge of Tarantula. I am specifically looking for who they think he is and what they intend to do with him.
SUBJ: Number 6 (R) FROM: Deslock 06/27/89 S#: 820455
"Ngrlrlll... He's yours this time Val. But try to leave enough of him for me to patch back together, so I can take him apart myself."
--That arrogant, mouthy, muscle head. The only thing I could possibly enjoy more than watching Val sweep the floor with him is to do the job myself.-
I'll step back and watch the festivities. They're free to pound each other to their hearts content, but if they appear to be on the verge of killing each other, or the base, I'll move in to break it up.
Spectrum's Comments: Next time more fun at the Shrine of Spinadria and Val vs. Brawn!