Raising a Monster

When you turned to Mr. Weston for a plan of action, you were half expecting some extremely complex stratagem. He does have a military bearing about it, the way he stands ready with his shotgun in his hands enhancing the image in your head. Leaving the plan making to him seemed to be the best option for all of you.

Then he laid out his plan for you all.

"One of us puts the amulet on it, while the others flank it. Any questions?"

You and Olly stare at him for a few seconds.

You say, "That's it?"

"That's it," is his completely serious answer.

Your hand softly hits your face, while Olly starts to shake her head. Mr. Weston continues, "Do either of you know how to fight an Eldritch Abomination? Let alone one with tentacles that take up half a football field?"

Both you and Olly look at each other, then look down at the ground in shame.

"That's what I thought," he continues while walking closer to not wake the creature, "None of us know how you're supposed to fight anything like what's sitting over there."

Your boss points his shotgun towards the monstrosity in the middle of the room. It hasn't moved since you got here, meaning it hasn't noticed you, yet. Hopefully, it stays that way until you can get the upper hand.

"On top of that, I've got no idea if either of you are remotely combat capable. Thankfully, that's something we can rectify immediately. Ms. Rivauld, what can you do?"

The abruptness of the question causes Olly some pause, "Oh, um, I'm a lamia so—"

Your boss holds up a hand and nods, "Thank you, that's all I need to know. Now you, Craft. What can you do?"

"Well, I, uh…," damn it, come on think of something Howard, "I, don't go insane at the sight of Eldritch creatures and events?"

Mr. Weston stares at you with surprise for a moment, before shaking his head, "You're going to have to explain how that happened later, my boy. For now,…" he grabs you by the shoulders and turns you towards the creature in the middle of the room. When you look back, he's already checking that his shotgun is loaded, "Me and Ms. Rivauld will flank the enemy, while you put that amulet you have on the creature. If it can't make you go crazy, then you're the best suited for this job. Ms. Rivauld, if you think you can get close to the creature without looking it in the eyes, do it. It'll be your only chance of hitting it. Understood you two?"

You both nod.

"Good. Move out," with that he dashes of to your right side, skillfully scaling the sides with the chairs in them.

You get ready to move until two thin arms pull you into a hug. Olly holds you there just long enough for the rest of her skin to come off and give her a sudden height advantage on you. She whispers, "Be careful," before slithering off to your left.

You look back at the creature in front of you, swallow your nervousness as best you can, and start striding forward. Your footsteps are slow and methodic as you approach, attempting to be as quiet as possible. Alerting this thing before you can use the amulet is the last thing you want to do. Though that is easier said than done, as every movement you make sounds loud enough to wake a junkyard full of dogs. Sweat beads down your neck as you get closer and closer to the monster. You watch for any twitch of its body that might single it waking up, but none come.

Team Craft: 79 (Howard) + 91 (Weston) + 65 (Olly) + 18 (Ana) + 20 (Creature of Darkness) + 10 (Stealth Attack) = 283

???: 71 + 30 (Abomination) = 101

Before long, you're close enough to smell the thing and it almost makes you retch. Rotten meat, dead things, and worse wafts off the creature. This close you can see that the things sticking out its head move independent of it. You can't really grasp what they are exactly, but you do notice…something on each of them. What looks like black text scrolls down their length like a river, disappearing into the main body. You're careful to not let any of them touch you as you take the amulet out.

You look down at the item in your hand and back up at the monster. With little to lose, you slowly push the amulet towards its chest.

The objects on its head stop moving as the amulet contacts its skin.

With unusual grace, it lifts what looks like a face up to you.

Huge, gaping maws appear upon the flat slab that is its face, as well as its entire body. Each one has teeth that go all the way down its throat.

The amulet glows blue.

Chains shoot out and wrap themselves around the beast.

Then it screams.

The scream echoes throughout the whole room, causing even the chairs to vibrate at the force of it. The dust and debris from the walls and ceiling are shaken off as the shouting continues. The sound of five constantly changing voices yelling in pain and harmony, worms its way into your brain, making you grit your teeth and hold your hands to fight it off. You unconsciously step back enough steps to get to the midpoint between the exit and the monster. Here the sound is slightly more bearable. You feel a familiar, soothing presence in your head that calms you down and brings you to your senses.

From here you survey the situation or at least try to.

You attempt to see where your two companions are, but your vision is obscured by the shadows that begin to rise around you. You stand in between two of the monster's large tendrils that have begun to move. Along each, mouths similar to the ones on the main body begin to open, gnashing away at whatever is closest. Even the sandy ground beneath them is devoured and disappear into the waiting maws.

You slowly turn towards the monster that you'll be facing here. It's standing up now, the amulet infused into its skin. Black goo drips onto the ground and disappears into acrid smelling smoke. Its head shoots up to look directly at you, a long, long tongue dropping to the ground with the tip pointed directly towards you.

You think you made it mad.

You gulp as the creature begins to stand and you prepare for the fight of your life.



Current Situation:

You: Standing in front of the creature, with two of its tendrils on both sides. Health: 100/100, Sanity: Unbreakable, Belief: Not Active, Actions: 1

Weston: Somewhere to your left flanking Ghaiogrilb. Health: 200/200, Sanity: 90/100, Belief: Not Active, Actions: 2 (1 Temporarily from Flank)

Olly: Somewhere to your right, flanking Ghaiogrilb. Health 150/150, Sanity: 85/100, Magic: Seduction, Actions: 2 (1 Temporarily from Flank)

Ghaiogrilb: Angry, Hurting, and HUNGRY. Stability: 500/1,500, Hunger: 50/100, Actions: 2

What do you do?

[] Run. You can't hurt this thing. You need to run and regroup with Weston or Olly.

[] Try to access your Belief powers. They'd come in real handy right now!

[] Maybe you can…talk to it? Worth a shot you guess?

[] Write in…