Ensuring Loyellty
| Ensuring Loyellty | |||||||||
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ShadowHaven Loyell Arleesh | Major Corp | ||||||||
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Catharsis Zenith |
Veorvinte th SpiritProperty "SignificantNPC" (as page type) with input value "Veorvinte th Spirit" contains invalid characters or is incomplete and therefore can cause unexpected results during a query or annotation process. Betrayll | ||||||||
| Casualties and losses | |||||||||
| Spirit & Betrayll | |||||||||
Summary
In which Catharsis tries to find Loyell's Spirit Formula.
Two Runners, One Spirit, and Endless Jungle
Loyell was sent to Catharsis by the spirit "Phillip" and has acted as a trusted companion and friend to the decker ever since, but has no spirit formula in his possession and doesn't seem to remember the location of it. After the events of In Shadows We Hyde Catharsis asked Mercedes Salazar, before realizing that she was the Great Feathered Serpent Arleesh to help her look for the spirit's formula somewhere in Amazonia
No Place like Metropole
Seeing the news that there was conflict in the Aztlan-Amazonia border that was heating up, Catharsis calls Mercedes and asks if there's any knowledge of the formula that she has been able to uncover. Mercedes explains that there's a lead on a place near the Iguacu Falls called the Temple of the Moon in the local language. Using that lead Catharsis and Zenith set up a trip with Cascade to get them quickly to the country. Zenith also calls up Dr. Raul Santos, a member of the Genesis Consortium who specializes in Medical tech and bio-engineering. A man that Zenith was hired to kill twenty years ago, but felt guilty when he found out that Dr. Santos had a family and instead killed the other runners he was working with and covered it up. Calling in this particular favor Zenith scores himself and Cathy some vaccines for the diseases that might cause danger to them within the rainforest.
Packing up their gear and joining Cascade at an airfield in Puyallup the two runners disguise themselves and get onto the VTOL that Cascade has brought, having a fortunately uneventful trip and arriving in Metropole safely. The runners leave the airfield and find a non-questioning hotel to spend some time in before catching an autocab to a shady doctor's clinic and meeting up with Dr. Santos to receive the vaccines. The Doctor explains that there's been trouble near the falls, and the National Guard has been deployed there and found signs that the Azzies had sent out some special forces there. The runners thank the doctor before spending the rest of the night enjoying Rio Paulo's atmosphere and some of the local food.
Before leaving the city, Zenith gathers some information about finding some under-the-table rental cars and finds a dealer in a shady bar. Paying half the value of the car as a deposit he gets an off-road capable van and the two runners and their spirit companion head out into the jungle of Amazonia.
What Waits in the Jungle?
Driving is slow going as Catharsis and Zenith get off the road pretty quickly and begin to get through the trees. While the runners notice that there does seem to be eyes on them, they believe it's the tribe of Xapiri Thëpë that are meant to be in the area they're not trying to make any trouble for the locals and simply carry on.
After the first night of sleeping in the van, the two of them have a quick breakfast from their supplies and get back on the road. Eventually running across a demonic bird-like creature called a vucub caquix that Loyell seems to recognize. While Zenith is unsure of this bird due to it's magical nature and his own rampant paranoia, Catharsis trusts Loyell's judgement and welcomes the bird into their makeshift camp, letting the two magical beasts go off to scout ahead while the runners make camp.
As the sun descends and a makeshift dinner is finished, Catharsis beds down as Zenith stays on watch, wary of anyone attempting to ambush them while they sleep. This fear turns out to be completely founded as before the night even fully settles in over Amazonia Zenith feels a sharp pain in his neck. Pulling the dart from his neck and feeling the wooziness and paralytic effects of the poison already starting to affect him. Only for the elf they had seen earlier in one of the trees, jumping down to come and approach Zenith, who explains that he's not there to start any trouble. This of course falls on deaf ears as the elf's disguise melts away and he is revealed to be a banshee that is looking for it's midnight snack. Upon seeing the infected threat Zenith realizes that he is, in fact, looking for trouble, and is able to shake off the poison enough to draw his gun and fire at the banshee.
A short but intense fight follows where Zenith is bitten, however thanks to his recent awakening to Drakehood there is not a worry of infection. Though when the banshee turns and notices Catharsis after it's injured by Zenith, the street samurai lives up to his role and executes the banshee, denting the van and covering the side with blood.
Despite his protestation, Catharsis brings Zenith into the van and the two of them get some sleep until morning, letting the injured runner take some time to actually rest and recuperate before they take off and start to hike through the underbrush since it's too thick for the van to traverse any more.
The Temple
Arriving at an abandoned temple of what appears to be a Tupa design, Catharsis can quickly make out a familiar feeling to Loyell, and guides the two of them inside. Making out the markings that seem to indicate the way forward, Zenith takes point, using his weapon focus as a way to check for traps while Catharsis and Loyell look out for any signs of his formula.
The two runners eventually find their way to a strange slide-like device that seems to be the only way forward, and so despite trepidation, they move down the slide and find a stone statue with a gem in its forehead. While moving forward to investigate the statue, Loyell is sucked into the gem and it comes to life, trying to hit the runners as Zenith shields Catharsis and she empowers his ability to get out of the way. Luckily the statue is wielding a glowing weakpoint, so when Loyell is able to free himself from the gem it only takes a few shots from the trusty Warhawk before it collapses and the spirit inside becomes inert.
The two runners head forward and end up finding themselves near an Astral Rift, with Loyell as a guide, able to expand to a larger size once in the metaplane of Beasts, and with the vucub caquix watching over their physical bodies, Catharsis and Zenith dive into the Metaplanes.
Loyell brings the two of them deep into the Metaplane of Beasts, and they manage to sneak past a wyvern spirit sent by Verivinthoth, one of the dragons with a grudge against Catharsis for her role in the events with the Bride of Dunkelzahn cult several years ago. When the three of them reach an island floating in the strange space, they are about to find the formula when a creature that looks like a malevolent Loyell appears and attacks the three metaplanar travellers.
After a pitched battle in which Loyell dispatched his evil doppleganger, Loyell obtains his formula and they head back toward the rift. Though they are forced to engage the wyvern once more, and between Loyell's bite and Zenith's lightning breath, they emerge victorious.
Aftermath
Returning back to Metropole, the runners return the van, though Zenith does not get his security deposit back as the van is dented, covered in blood, and has more than one bullet hole in the side.
Zenith and Catharsis quickly book a flight back to Seattle, and Loyell gifts Catharsis his formula in the form of an armband.
Rewards
12 karma (12 RVP) 38 CDP (18 RVP) Optional Contact: Dr. Raul Santos (C4/L1 Genesis Consortium Researcher) for 4 RVP or 8 CDP IG/Ascension rewards as desired
Game Quotes
Player After Action Reports (AARs)
Zenith
Honestly, not my worst trip to Amazonia. Though I don't love being in the metaplanes, it was good to spend time with Zitkala when we didn't have to hide everything. Plus helping out the little beastie wasn't so bad.