Dark Forest Field Trip

Dark Forest Field Trip
Date 2086-10-30 GM Lotus Location Council Island Status Threat Level: Deadly
Factions Involved
ShadowHaven Atlantean Foundation	Dark Forces of the Forest
Misfire Foreman Colcannon Tsarina	Influenced Victims Shedim Punishment, the Wraith, 3rd Harbinger of the Apocalypse
Casualties and losses
Foreman took the brunt of damage for the team, but nothing permanent	Most influenced victims (save for one) were spared. The Shedim who were responsible for assailing the runners were dealt with after an arduous fight. Punishment was disrupted permanently after the Egg it had infused its hidden life with was destroyed

Summary

A stressful, loathsome ordeal. A trial of circumstance and a test of how long a team's cohesion can be strained. A punishment for some, a chance to grow for others. But an utterly scarring incident nonetheless, that saw countless injured and dead and many traumatized. The First Trumpet's horn is quite distressing for those who catch it.

Background

The Xenosapient Abbot foresaw the formation of an Alchera in Council Island on October 30th, 11 am. A domain by the arrival of a wraith known as Punishment, apparently a harbinger of the Apocalypse. An ill omen, to say the least. It presented a magnificent chance for researching this bringer of the end, the reason for its arrival, and of course, to fulfill the Abbot's vision of the future. And so, Alexandria set forth to gather the group of runners necessary for the harbinger's arrival

The Meet

The expeditionary team for the outing consisted of four runners. Tsarina, Colcannon, Foreman, and Misfire, picked for their mix of magical ability, durability, and killing prowess. A group that would be (hopefully) capable of surviving the excursion into the forest and bringing back material and resources to study. The figure Alexandria asked for was 30k, which was enough for most of the group, but after hearing the location Tsarina fought for arrangements to get an easier inspection and additional gear and ware for their efforts. Their job was relatively simple, if poorly backed with lacking information: Go to the Alchera, and find the egg. If necessary, deal with the "monster" in the forest.

The Plan

First, the team wasn't exactly able to do navigation, so the AF made plans for them to tag along with a navigator named Farseer to compensate for that lacking skillset. The matter of infiltrating Council Island however and dealing with this threat were lacking, however. Foreman had the utterly insane but shockingly feasible plan of carrying illegal equipment for the team beyond the border by walking across the lake floor to the other side (thank god he didn't need to breath and didn't care about the pressure), and the other two would ride in Misfire's SUV to cross the border, posing as Tsarina's bodyguards. The team tried to do some digging into the magical affairs and rumors there but...barely anything. Miss Onyx found some tales that this "egg" they were after was likely tied to the beast they were warned of to begin with, and so it was likely a powerful object that she should keep an eye out for. But in terms of usable information about what they would face, nothing. All they could do was do their best.

The Run

Things immediately went wrong. Misfire's fake SIN got burned at Council Island's bridge, and Tsarina barely managed to lie through her fucking teeth about it and get them to the visitor's center. They picked up Farseer and and Foreman, got suited up, and made their way to the forest. It quickly turned so pitch black dark that vision became nearly impossible.

And then Tsarina started trying to kill Foreman.

Punishment, it turns out, was a Wraith, a shadow spirit capable of throwing people into a murderous rage. Foreman and Colcannon were barely able to help Tsarina break out of it before Misfire killed her in self defense, at which point the elf took a minute to grapple with resurfacing disgust and issues. Misfire and Foreman were able to spot the small little flying monster in the tree-line, at which point it immediately left to avoid a direct fight.

With no other choice but to continue onwards, the team made their way through the forest, struggling with trust and direction as they encountered more and more threats. Not as devastating to the team as one another, but certainly obstacles that they needed to handle carefully. Some civilians that had been made into hateful assailants, shedim who managed to put up an annoyingly good fight, a second pass from the Harbinger at them, but they kept struggling onwards, again and again. Eventually, reaching their prize. Punishment's Egg, a source of its Hidden Life capabilities. Naturally, this threat to its continued existence on this plane forced it to finally fight them head to head. Foreman immediately rushed ahead and disrupted the beast with a solid punch infused with magic and corrosive acid, which is when it immediately reformed, albeit wounded, from the egg. Seeing this, Misfire wasted no time in utterly demolishing the egg with her assault cannon. This finally set the bastard bird back to the barren breadth of the astral it came from, and the forest returned to...well, still being a creepy forest. But less explicitly insidious.

Foreman went back to the other side with their gear, and the crew had to make it back across the bridge off Council island, where a procession of officers and the guard who burned Misfire's SIN were waiting. Tsarina initially tried to buy some time and misdirect the guard, but that was going nowhere fast, so Misfire hit the gas and they sped off before the officers could get ready.

Aftermath

The team, exhausted mentally and physically from the trip, took some time to rest up before contacting Alexandria and informing her of the job well done.

Tsarina gave Miss Onyx a recording of what transpired, as payment for the earlier tip.

Rewards

30,000 Nuyen (15 RVP)

-May taken at gear rates for magical equipment

-up to 10,000 may be taken at gear rates for cyberware, weapons, or vehicles (choose one)

5 Karma (5 RVP)

2 CDP (Base)

May take Jared Marinia at loyalty 2 (connection 3 technomancer and xenopsychologist)

Tsarina may take Focused Concentration to 3.

Narrative consequences:

-After further decoding of the Xenosapient Abott's files, the report of the run is found to incredibly similar to the developing translation, nearly identical.

-The Atlantean Foundation studies the fragments of the egg that Punishment had imbued with its Hidden Life.

-Dozens get lost in the Dark Forest Alchera in the hours before the SCC manage to quarentine it. Many are recovered, if injured, in the coming days, but several are found dead and possessed in the forest. The survivors require significant therapy after recovering from Punishment's influence.

-Misfire's SIN is flagged as fake by the SCC government and burned.

Game Quotes

Amusing quote from game.

Player After Action Reports (AARs)

Tsarina "...horrid fucking experience. Honestly, I'm not a preaching type or a moralist, but creatures like that...God. Deserved worse, frankly. If I could, I would've found a way to bind it and force it to sustain my spells until it was gone for good."