Returning to the village the Steele’s were still at a loss to where Darrow had gone. They had two pages of his personal journal but not enough information to glean his whereabouts. Guy decided to see if the council of elders knew anymore than they were telling. After all they’d had the last page all along, maybe they had more.
As Guy sat down in the large hut of the head of the council he was surprised when the tribal leader ushered his guards away and closed the entrance. Even more surprising was the fact that the native then began to talk to him in perfect English. He told Guy an unbelievable tale, of a civilization that turned to the worship of dark forces to maintain its power over the ancient world and was destroyed for its hubris. Of a remnant of that civilization trapped at the top of its highest peak, watching as the rest of their continent disappeared beneath the waves. Of a sworn, secret oath to guard the history of their darkness against any who came searching for it, lest the world itself be cast into oblivion. And finally of the breaching of that secret by one determined to take the power for himself and bend it to his will. And how Guy and his friends had let that man slip through their fingers.
Swearing to try again, Guy and his friends departed as soon as they could, led by a scout from the tribe. He had tracked the Witch Doctor after Guy’s last report on his whereabouts and believed he knew where the man was going. He led them to a river and it’s flood plains, a place unlike any they had seen so far on the island. The jungle opened up to ancient ruins, similar to that of the tower they had encountered upon their arrival. On the air they heard a cry for help. They spread out and rushed to help the unseen victim.
Guy and Molly ran towards the source of the voice as fast as they could while Penny stopped to investigate what appeared to be a statue of the Greek god Poseidon. There was something very familiar about the statue and she wanted a closer look. Knowing that she would be no good in a fight Guy encouraged her to go, but to be quick about it. The rest of the party took up positions to provide covering fire in case the Witch Doctor had followers to back him up.
And followers he had aplenty. Or at least he had support. From out of their hiding positions emerged members of the Scorpion Cult! It appeared that the villains were in league with each other. The burly second in command took up position beside the Witch Doctor, prepared to protect him from the wrath of the Steeles. The other cultists moved to attack where they could.
Ruairidh, Mallory and their scout heard movement in the distance and soon enough saw one of the cults robots. They opened fire and blasted it apart.
Guy quickly scaled the wall in front of him and, dodging bullets with the agility of an Olympic acrobat, set about freeing the man lying at his feet.
The Scorpion Master waited for Guy to focus on the useless captive before striking from his hiding place. Guy was not his target. He wanted to make the man suffer and he would do so by hurting those he loved most. He opened fire on Penny, forcing the youngster to hide behind the statue she was investigating.
As he did so, the cultist called The Professor turned his devious mind to some strange remains, hoping to uncover some native mystery that his master could use in his quest.
Penny, hidden behind the statue, snuck away as quickly as she dared. She was no stranger to a firefight, despite her young age, and knew that she was better at flight than fight. Her beloved companion on the other hand, was not content to flee, and raced noisily towards the man who dared attack his friend. The cult leader moved to meet the attack and quickly struck the proud beast down. Wishing his own followers had half the loyalty of the fallen hound, he moved toward the next object of his attention, the fiery redhead Molly O’Brien.
With all of the Steeles distracted the cultist sidekick moved on to his next task. Telling the Witch Doctor to hide himself close, he moved to a large stone buried in the undergrowth near the river. The Witch Doctor needed the writing on that stone for a reason the large man did not understand. He left thinking to people like the Professor and his master. He knew what he was good at, and that was lifting heavy things and hurting people. He was supported by another cultist and the surviving machine which opened fire on Molly across the river.
Guy cut the last rope binding the captive and helped him get down the wall. Molly bravely pushed the man to safety, despite the danger of the incoming shots and the cult leader bearing down on her. Her bravado would cost her and she cried out in pain. Guy leapt from the wall to the other side of the river to deal with the source of his companion’s hurt. The cultist quickly ran off but the mechanical monster was too slow. Guy flipped it over and gave chase to the cultist.
Finding not one but two enemies among the plants, Guy laid out the biggest one, who was distracted by the weight of the enormous stone he was holding. The man hit the ground at the same time as the rock, which embedded itself deep into the soft earth near the river. Guy turned to the Witch Doctor, who was hiding nearby, but the man decided to flee rather than risk Guy’s wrath.
As Guy was dealing with the cultists, on the other side of the river Molly was in trouble. She had been injured more than she wanted Guy to know and that meant she was unable to fend off the attack of the Scorpion Master. She was not alone though and as she slipped into darkness she saw her friends coming to help her. The Scorpion Master turned to face the new threat.
Suddenly the ground beneath the combatants shook violently and an unearthly creature emerged from the deep. The noise which emanated from its maw almost deafened those closest to it and it became apparent why the Witch Doctor had come here. This terrible monster was to have been the means of sacrifice. Realizing that they could not fight this beast and each other both sides beat a hasty retreat, cursing their luck as they did so.
Guy’s disappointment that he had failed once again to deal with the Witch Doctor was palpable but was assuaged with some potentially good news. The man they had rescued told them he was also a member of Darrow’s crew and that Darrow had kept more than one journal. Paranoid that someone would steal his research, he had split it up in a number of books and never kept more than one with him at any time. Seeing a chance to redeem himself, Guy decided that they should go back to the shipwreck and see if they could locate any of these other volumes.
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May 16, 2013, 03:47:45 PM
