Session/Game: Savage Worlds Orion 4
Date: 12/4/2005
Episode 4: Vampires, Nothing but Vampires
Campaign Date: Royal Orion Year 312, Days 115-127
Characters:
Sir Hollis Dupont, human, seasoned (Andrew Smith)
Squad of 6 human troopers with laser rifles
Sir Bloodblade, Kong, seasoned (Marlon Kirton)
Squad of 6 apemen with shotguns
Sir Blake Superior, human, seasoned (Mike Miller)
Squad of 4 heavy troopers with accelerator rifles
GM: Dave Nelson
Background:
The King of Orion has dispatched 3 knights to the planet Pontus XII, to respond to a desperate call for aid from the agricultural settlements in the Drax River Valley. It seems several of the farming villages were suddenly and mysteriously depopulated. The settlers blame the Ratmen colonists from north of the river.
Log:
Day 115
Bloodblade and Superior visit Prefect Smolius, the local governor, at the town of Epta. Smolius, a withered, bitter, old coot, demands that they immediately take the fight to the cursed Ratmen. Instead, Superior and Bloodblade borrow a truck and take their men to the recently depopulated Dekapolis and then Altera, but find only two intact towns, completely devoid of people. They then go to the border town of Ennea and talk to its home-spun sheriff, Billy Crabtree. Sheriff Crabtree is able to give them hospitality and arranges for a militia transport flyer to come and drive them around in more style. They immediately fly to the Ratman town of Infelix, to find it abandoned except for a Ratman army patrol manning a searchlight in the middle of town. There is an angry confrontation and the team leaves town. They try again at Elf, where the local ratman Chief of Patrols reacts violently at Sir Blake’s overtures, pulling a pistol and shooting at him. Superior and his troopers kill the Rat Chief and his guards, and the team shoots its way out of town. The flyer is chased by a ratman pursuit ship, but Sir Blake manages to shoot it down over the river. They return to Epta and spend the night feasting on pork, beans and flapjacks.
Day 116
The team is joined by Sir Hollis Dupont and a squad of laser rifle troopers. They fly to Ambifelix to look for more clues. Hollis discovers some tracks heading East, but loses them.
Day 117
The team flies back into Ratman country to the town of Fourka, but this time Sir Hollis brings a bag of smelly cheese. He talks with a Patrolrat named P.J. O’Pootertoot and after giving him the cheese, finds out that the ratmen towns have been suffering the same fate as the human ones. After comparing the dates of the attacks on the human and rat towns, Hollis, Blake and Blood discover that one town has been attacked every fifteen days, corresponding with the rising of the Pontic moon. The next such attack is due on the 120th.
Days 118 to 120
Thinking that Ennea must be the next target, the team sets up shop there, bunking in the Blacksmith’s house. Sir Hollis spends most of his time boinking Sally the Milkmaid.
Day 121
At dawn, they receive a call from Prefect Smolius who bitterly accuses them of gross incompetence, since it was in fact Trifunf that was attacked and destroyed the previous night, and not in fact Ennea. Smolius calls Sir Hollis a worthless weasel-washer, which sets of the touchy war hero. Sir Hollis flies down to Epta and confronts the old man, forcing an apology. The whole team then takes the flyer to Trifunf and search the place. They discover that the people were taken away in the middle of the night and that there are fine sprays of arterial blood everywhere.
Days 122-124
The team searches for clues along the river. Eventually they discover tracks of dragged bodies heading south from the river. They are surprised by this, since their surmise had been that a river monster was coming forth and dragging victims into the river.
Day 125
Sir Hollis tracks the bodies to an abandoned structure mid way between Altera and Dekapolis. There is a spooky graveyard outside and a creepy tunnel entrance. Sir Blake and his heavy troopers enter the tunnel first and move along at a brisk pace, while Bloodblade is forced to drag Sir Hollis into the tunnel, due to his phobia about tunnels gained by the Span-kee mind assault some months before. When Sir Blake reaches the end of the tunnel, he discovers an altar, that appears to be a mocking reverse of an Established Church of Orion altar. When he pushes on the altar, a hideous scream is heard and a horde of vampires comes pouring in from side tunnels in every direction. After a bitter fight, in which laser rifles proved to be much more useful against vampires than either accelerator rifles or shotguns, the vampires were all slain. 2 of the apemen were killed, 1 wounded, 2 heavy troopers killed, 1 wounded, and 1 laser trooper was killed and 2 wounded. After securing sufficient evidence about the nature of the threat, the team used demolition charges to destroy the graveyard and tunnel complex.
Day 126
The wounded were cared for at Epta, a parade held in the knights’ honor and gifts were given to them. They left for Orion by Marvel Crystal in the evening.
Day 127
The king granted a suit of scout armor to both Sir Blake and Sir Hollis as a boon for their glorious victory. Sir Bloodblade was given a nice cash prize. Funerals were held for the slain troopers.