Kingbeast's Lair

[Author’s Note: This is the log for the 5th session. Note that the order of the events in this record may not be in the exact order that they occurred during play. The narrator is shown in italics.]

In this hair-raising adventure of Tesla’s Power Corp you can follow the exploits of the following heroes:

Two Wheeled Chaos

While partaking of his afternoon tea Miles receives a call from one of his former acquaintances, a Professor Hamilton Dickenson. Dickenson is an Oxford professor with a penchant for the Knights Templar. He invites Miles to Washington D.C. to listen to a seminar that is giving about the Knights Templar. In the conversation Professor Dickenson warns Miles that he should come with friends as he believes that someone is following him.

After a pleasant train ride from N.Y. to D.C Miles rents a limo and the group heads towards the seminar. Getting caught in traffic delays their arrival to the hotel where the seminar will be held. As they approach they see Professor Dickenson wave at them. In this left hand he holds a small wooden box. As the car moves towards the curb a motorcycle races by and grabs the box from the Professor! In a burst of speed Mike jumps out after him and Liam guns the engine of the limo. As the car nears the cycle Tommy pushes open the door knocking the rider from his motorcycle. Mike scoops up the man and box then puts them into the back seat of the limo. As he throws in the stunned man and box he spots three motorcycles pull up to the front of the hotel. One of the three large men pulls out a pistol! Liam guns the car while Professor Dickenson runs inside the hotel. While the three riders race after the limo Miles uses his confusion spell to send two into spins. As Liam expertly avoids pedestrians while racing through a city park the third pursuer runs into an open manhole cover sending him sprawling!

As the limo races to safety they decide to interrogate the man on the first motorcycle. After some back and forth conversation the man admits that he is from a modern group of Knights Templar. He was instructed to retrieve the box at any cost. After finishing their conversation the group returns to the hotel to check on Professor Dickenson…

Stay with our valiant Corp as they encounter nefarious villains and travel to foreign lands to try and get to the bottom of this ancient mystery. It will take brains and brawn in spades to deal with all of this danger!

[Author’s Note: This is the log for the 5th session. Note that the order of the events in this record may not be in the exact order that they occurred during play. The narrator is shown in italics.]

In this hair-raising adventure of Tesla’s Power Corp you can follow the exploits of the following heroes:

Temple Of The Spider God

After the midnight assault on the riverboat Captain Santiago is very upset as one of his crewmen has been killed. The Corp assuages his fears by paying him to deliver them to their destination. Reluctantly the Captain accepts the money. Several hours later Captain Santiago informs the Corp that the river is narrowing and that they must continue with the launch. With a bit more river travel Liam informs the group that they must continue on foot. As night falls and rain starts to fall Liam finds a cave that they can use for shelter. Upon investigating the cave the group finds an image carved into the stone walls. The image is that of a strange ziggurat with two spider-like legs emerging from the top.

The next morning the Corp continues to the center of the Spider Cult’s web with Liam giving directions and Mike hacking down the thick undergrowth using his machete. Eventually the group reaches a small clearing with one path leading forward. The path forward is blanketed with webbing! Liam then lights a fire and makes some torches for the group. After he starts down the path burning away the webs spider swarms then huge spiders the size of small dogs start to emerge from the undergrowth behind the party. Thinking quickly Tommy drops his lantern. Mike lights it with a torch chasing back the spiders. While backing down the path Miles lets loose on the large spiders with his confusion spell.

As the group reaches the end of the path the see a rope bridge leading across a deep ravine. The bridge is made of webs instead of ropes! As the group races across giant spiders climb up from underneath! Liam dashes across then turns and begins to shoot spiders off of the bridge. Mike takes up the tail end of the group while kicking a spider off the bridge. As the spiders start to follow Mike picks up Miles and dashes the rest of the way across the bridge. Once across Liam burns the webs sending the bridge falling back across the ravine. Now there is no choice but to proceed.

Once the brush clears the Corp makes out an ancient ziggurat that is covered in vines. At the corners of the ziggurat are burning braziers which produce a purple colored smoke. At each stairwell up the ziggurat stand a pair of ancient Aztec warriors. At the top of the ziggurat is a powerful looking warrior with a huge obsidian axe and a cloak that appears to be made of spiders. The chief appears to be standing next to what could only be a shaman wearing a feathered mask. The shaman is directing two Aztec warriors toward the top of the pyramid. The two warriors are holding the arms of a blonde woman who appears to be drugged. As the Corp nears the warrior declares the strength of the Spider Cult in English then orders the warriors to attack in Spanish. Miles start blasting away with his lightning bolts to devastating effect! Mike lets loose with his rifle. Liam and Tommy rush forward to try and help the captive. One of the warrior knocks over one of the braziers towards Miles! The brazier flares up into a dangerous cone that sears Miles a bit. Tommy then reaches the blond woman and runs towards the far side of the ziggurat with her. The shaman then lets loose a fantastically terrible spider swarm spell on Liam! In a turn of fate the spider spell hits Liam’s compass leaving him without a scratch! In a flash Liam scales the ziggurat and opens fire on the shaman sending him flying off the side of the temple! The next second Miles fells the chief with a well placed lightning blast.

As the leaders fall a giant spider the size of several men emerges from a pit in the center of the ziggurat! As the spider god emerges it skewers two of the Aztec warriors while Mike opens fire. After felling the warriors the spider moves toward Mike and Tommy. Thinking quick Mike knocks over a nearby brazier towards the spider god! In an explosion of flame the spider god reels back! After some ferocious bolts from Miles the charred body of the giant spider god falls down the side of the ziggurat!

With everything in hand the Corp learns that the woman is named Marian Darlington. She was part of the original expedition by Professor Brakespear. Searching around Tommy finds a necklace on the chief that can apparently call a swarm of spiders. On the shaman Miles finds some magical powder than can be mixed with certain oils to produce a massive flame.

Now to return to civilization…

Ancient knights! Fabled treasure! Dastardly enemies! You can find it all in our next Daring Tale Of Adventure!

[Author’s Note: This is the log for the 4th session. Note that the order of the events in this record may not be in the exact order that they occurred during play. The narrator is shown in italics.]

In this hair-raising adventure of Tesla’s Power Corp you can follow the exploits of the following heroes:

Stiffed

Mike Callahan gets a knock on his door. In walks an older woman holding a weather-beaten travelling case. After introducing herself as Mrs. Jennifer Brakespear she tells Mike the story of how her husband, the noted explorer Ernest Brakespear, returned from his trip to the Yucatan Peninsula. The part that concerns Mrs. Brakespear is how “Ernie” avoided meeting with her. This went to the point of him leaving quickly in a taxi. As he left he dropped his case. After consoling Mrs. Brakespear the P.I. opens the case and examines it for clues. The main clue is a personal diary. This details many of the logistics of his trip to somewhere west of Merida in Mexico. The last entry details his returning to New York and a description of a strange man with a scar near his eye. Mike takes the case. After doing some research he discovers that the last page has been torn out. Using a pencil he finds a simple message with an address. The message reads, “Liam will know what to do.”

As Mike reaches the address in the diary he notices that the door has been bashed in. At this moment Liam returns from his trip to Crete. He checks the apartment door then opens it. As Liam enters he asks Mike to wait at the doorway. In the next room Liam finds a body. The body is that of his friend, Ernest Brakespear. He worked as a pilot for Brakespear in Mexico for a stint. In the body’s neck is a strange black needle. There are no other signs of a struggle.

After getting Mike away from the apartment the pair talk about what P.I. is doing at Liam’s apartment. Mike explains the situation. At this point Liam calls Nikola and tells him to send backup. Tommy and Johnny quickly arrive on the scene. Tommy looks around and finds some scuff marks on the window ledge near the fire escape. He thinks the murderer likely entered by this method. More importantly he also finds a gold disk in the hand of Mr. Brakespear. The disk has an Aztec head on one side and writing on the other. Eventually Liam and Mike decide that the best course of action is to contact Mrs. Brakespear.

When Mrs. Brakespear arrives and is informed that Ernest is dead she is horrified and faints. At this point Mike and Liam decide that they need to get to the bottom of his death. Mike consoles Mrs. Brakespear then the group heads to the American Museum Of Natural History to speak with the President, Trubee Davison, about the gold disk. Nikola says that he will be sending an expert in the phantasmagorical to the meeting to provide some assistance.

Museum Mayhem

At the museum the Corp and Mike meet in the office of President Davison. In his office the group is introduced to Miles Ravenwood. At first the Corp is reluctant to speak with Miles until he explains that Nikola called him. When the group shows the gold disk to Trubee he says that he wants to get his expert Melissa Garcia to examine it. She is an expert in Mesoamerican history and culture. With a book from her collection Liam and Melissa translate the writing to “Tzitzimime”. This is the name of an Aztec spider god. At this moment the door busts open and a group of men wearing feathered headdresses and carrying ancient stone axes enter! Acting quickly the heroes fight back. Tommy uses knives to take down two warriors. Mike blasts down Aztec warriors with two-fisted Colts. Miles starts confusing the warriors with an arcane spell. Johnny gums up one with his glue. Liam grabs Melissa and pulls her around the corner to safety.

When the Aztec warriors have fallen the group starts to examine the situation. The warriors have gear made using ancient techniques and old materials but they are in immaculate condition. The men have no signs of being from the modern world (i.e. they do not have wallets, watches, or rings). As they examine one of the bodies a spider emerges from his mouth and the body turns to ash! Acting quickly Miles scoops up a spider in a jar from Johnny. In the basement the group finds a small crate with a broken urn. The urn has some ash inside. There is also another sealed urn which Miles takes as he fears what would happen if it was opened. The crate is from Riverside Shipping in New Orleans.

The Cultists’ Lair

After landing in New Orleans the Corp acquires a car then drives to the Riverside Shipping Company. At the address is a warehouse. The warehouse is located on the waterfront. Tommy investigates the warehouse by climbing up a drainpipe then sneaking through a window. While standing on the catwalk that surrounds the interior of the warehouse he sees a group of men wearing feathered headdresses. Unlike the warriors in the museum these men are wearing normal clothing. The cultists are being led in a chant by a man wearing a strange wooden mask. At one point the man speaks up in English. He begins to preach that now is their time to strike! It is time to let others know about the power of the spider! With that Liam drives the car through one of the warehouse doors! The rest of the Group jumps out of the car and goes on the offensive. Tommy throws a gas canister on the cult leader. Johnny opens up with a chemical flame burst that levels half of the cultists! Miles cuts loose with lightning bolts on the cult leader sending him down in flames! Callahan jumps out of the car and grabs cover behind some crates. In seconds the cultists are taken down.

Miles and Tommy carefully search an attached office. In the office they find a map with lines that form a spider-like web pattern. The center of the web is west of a small town on the Yucatan Peninsula called Merida. Liam confirms that this matches his notes on the location. The book appears to be a coded log. After spending a few minutes Miles is able to decipher the book. The entries are names, addresses, and phone numbers. Scanning the list Miles notices that Mellissa Garcia on the list.

Boarding Brawl

In Merida the Corp hires a riverboat that can take them to the center of their map. The riverboat captain and his two men are wary but need the cash. On the second night of a three day journey Tommy wakes unexpectedly. When he awakens he sees a man with a spider tattoo and knife in his teeth climbing onboard the boat! After yelling loudly he climbs up on deck to face the men. Callahan comes up with gun blazing! Miles starts confusing the spider warriors while Liam jumps into the skiff in case things get out of hand. Johnny puts out a lantern that the warriors knocked onto the deck. The warriors manage to kill one of the crew members but they are stopped before any other losses are incurred. The Corp steels themselves as they await their final journey to the center of the spider cults web…

In our next adventure the Corp takes on the venomous leaders of an ancient spider cult! It will take all of their courage to avoid being caught in this tangled web of evil!