Secrets of the Ancients – Otherworld, Part 4

The crew gets into a battle with Vargr and Kipenzi gets seriously wounded. After the fight, they make some new friends.

This chapter is based on Kay and Carl’s notes from our January 8, 2023 session. Since we are scattered around the country, we use Discord for voice communications and the Roll20 online virtual tabletop to connect with each other.

Continued from: Secrets of the Ancients – Otherworld, Part 3

Location: On an unknown world, possibly in another Universe

Date: 312-1110

0800
We were making preparations for our next steps. Our energy weapons were charged, and we had food and water.

Juni wanted to go to the white tower in the Death Zone, and wants the cooperation of the Ilemdaki. Leon says it’s too dangerous and we should work our way back to the starport. Most of the rest said that we should got to the Ilemdaki habitat and help them with the Vargr invasion.

Kipenzi suggested we analyze the cleaning fluids from the cleaning bots and create gas grenades (chlorine) for use against the Vargr; their heightened sense of smell would force them to retreat even if the gas wasn’t damaging. We were fortunate that Talfryn Stiv had good enough chemistry skills to make them. The cleaning bot chirped and acted angry, probably sending a report out to somewhere when we took its supplies. 

Yesterday, Medicus checked out the Ilemdaki citadel and saw about half a dozen Vargr there, shooting and digging trenches. Who knows what the situation is like now?

1000
We arrived back at the teleporter with our supplies.

Juni had a laser pistol; Kipenzi had a laser rifle; we carried 10 gas grenades; Leon had his cutlass, and everyone else had a club or blade made from scrap.

The Vargr were about 10 meters away from the citadel teleporter when we last checked. Fight might be over by now, we would know soon enough.

To intrude or not to intrude? ...OK, intrude it is.

We stepped onto the teleporter and waited... and waited... and waited...

The control panel was in neutral, not going anywhere. Reset somehow (timeout maybe?)

Kipenzi reset the code and got back on the teleporter. Off we went.

Kipenzi stepped into the teleporter and looked onto a scene of battle. There was one Vargr to the northwest in the citadel looking away from us. There was an arch in each cardinal direction with a row of trenches positioned on the downhill slopes away from the openings.  She could see one Vargr in each trench from where she was, but could hear more of them shooting.

The Ilemdaki were firing on the Vargr and, back on our side, we could see that bullets were being teleported and hitting the walls of the citadel, shattering on impact, and not leaving a mark. We put our heads down to avoid being hit by stray bullets.

Kipenzi, Sam, Leon and Medicus were wearing ballistic cloth, but could still be killed by an unlucky shot.

Medicus and Leon are the best shots so they took the laser rifles, and Juni kept her laser pistol.

When we started to go though, we found that our teleporter control panel was back in the neutral position, it was reset; someone else was using it.

We tried again a few minutes later.  Going through, we see that two more Vargr came through with boxes; they were carrying a box between them in the northwest area facing away from us; they must have just gone through, preventing us from dialing just then. The first Vargr we had seen was now in the trench to the north. The trenches were about 1.5 meters deep and sloped downhill away from the citadel on the crown of the hill. This boded well for chlorine gas in the trenches; it will flow into the bottom of trenches away from the teleporter.

Medicus shot at the Vargr on the left side of the box and missed but hit the box, fortunately it wasn’t explosives. Leon shot the Vargr on the right side and dropped him. Talf ran to the north doorway and threw a gas grenade into the trench; it was a bad toss, and a Vargr saw him.

Medicus was attacked by the Vargr he tried to shoot, but was wearing ballistic cloth and had a metal arm; the Vargr went for Medicus’s throat but only got a mouth full of his ballistic cloth collar. Good old ballistic cloth was helpful for sure.

The Vargr was wearing some kind of leather armor, and had a rifle over his shoulder.

Then a Vargr in the north trench panicked from the gas and climbed out of the trench to the northwest, and was shot by the Ilemdaki. It fell bleeding on the muddy grass.

Leon attacked the Vargr on Medicus with his cutlass and decapitated him.

Two of the Vargr must have heard something and started to come to investigate, and stopped just before they got to the cloud of chlorine gas.

Medicus went to the north doorway and spotted two more Vargr in the trench. They had muzzle-loaders and stopped to reload.  Kipenzi went back to the east doorway. Leon shot the Vargr in the north trench and hit something flammable; the Vargr burst into flames and died. Talf used a barrel for cover at the north door. Sam was holding at the west door, watching three Vargr in the trenches who were concentrating on the Ilemdaki, and hadn’t noticed the fighting taking place in the citadel behind them.
At the east doorway, one of the Vargr spotted Kipenzi and shot, hitting her in the right hip, puncturing her heavy vacc suit and cutting an artery. She fell, unconscious and bleeding badly.

Medicus and Talfryn rushed to Kipenzi, and Leon said, “Time to leave people.”

Some of the Vargr must have heard Leon or our laser weapons; two came to investigate.

Sam found himself doing a holding action at the west doorway. Juni and Kenton were holding the south doorway next to the teleport control panel.

Leon shot one of the Vargr at the north doorway and the Vargr’s companion tried to return fire, but his weapon blew up when he pulled the trigger.

Juni and Kenton threw gas grenades into the south trench.

Leon shot the Vargr holding the exploded gun and killed him. Looking past the trenches, he spotted the Ilemdaki line in the distance and there saw a glint of binoculars.  He figured the Ilimdaki were watching and hoped they would seize the day.

Talf and Medicus started stripping Kipenzi’s suit off; Medicus was unable to stop the bleeding through the armored space suit.

One of the Vargr spotted Talf, reloaded his weapon, and started lining up a shot.

Outside the south doorway, two of the Vargr fleeing the gas hopped out of the trench; one got shot by the natives and fell.

Juni ran to the control panel and started keying in the address to the Maker’s Valley.

Medicus started to stabilize Kipenzi with Talf’s help.

Leon checked the north trench. One more Vargr in the trench was reloading, Leon shot and hit.  At the west doorway, the Vargr there still don’t know what’s happening; they can’t hear over all the shooting in the area.

At the north doorway, a Vargr tried to shoot Leon and missed.
At the east door, a Vargr shot at Talf and missed.
At the west doorway, one Vargr finally heard something and ran in his trench toward the south.

More of the Vargr finally clued in that something was going on in the teleport area.

One Vargr charged into the teleport area and headed toward the controller. Leon and Medicus both focused on him, and FINALLY Medicus made a good shot, having missed every time he shot up to this point.

Medicus, after the shot, continued trying to help Kipenzi. Leon continued his AWESOME shooting.
He looked up and could see that the Ilimdaki were actually charging from the north. He let everyone know that they were coming.

Sam threw gas grenades into the trench to the west. All of the gas grenades were doing their jobs of forcing the Vargr in their trenches into moving further away from the citadel in the trench or of abandoning the trench entirely and running in the open, making themselves targets of the Ilemdaki.

Juni held her position at the control panel.

Kipenzi regained consciousness and said, “Let’s go.”

Talf replied, “Already working on it” as he helped her to her feet.

As we moved toward the teleport ring, several Vargr came in from the west and headed toward Sam.

One was shot from behind by the Ilemdaki and fell into a trench.

Sam dropped prone behind one of the dead Vargr and pointed one of their own rifles at the charging Vargr. It was empty, but he thought it might slow them down. The Vargr fired, but hit the dead body in front of Sam.  Being empty, the gun wasn’t much use, so he threw it at them as he ran toward the rotating teleporter. It missed, but it slowed them down as they stopped to pick it up; apparently it was a high value item among the Vargr.

Juni used her laser pistol and shot one of the Vargr charging Sam. Leon moved forward and shot at the other Vargr, but missed.

Medicus and Talf, with Kipenzi between them, ran through the teleporter.

Juni went through next, followed by Leon and Kenton.



Stepping out into the Maker habitat, Juni reset the controls so that the Vargr wouldn’t know where we went. No one came through, so we were hopeful, but knew that they could eventually find us by trial and error.  When it starts up rotating again, it will be a warning that someone is coming through.

Leon and Juni stood behind at the teleporter to cover it while the others went the two kilometers back to the Maker’s building.

1200
Back at the Maker’s facility with Shedin. There was no autodoc there, but Kipenzi could heal if she took it easy. She should be back to normal in about two weeks.

Meanwhile back at the citadel, the teleporter started rotating again. Juni and Leon prepared for an attack, but it was the Ilemdaki coming through, not Vargr. Juni used her translator to talk with them and she and Leon walked with them to the Maker building. They were happy to see us, since we turned the tide of the battle. Leon advised that they leave a detachment behind to guard the teleporter, and they agreed.

When they arrived, Kipenzi recognized their language as a variant of Old Vilani, indicating that this pocket universe has not been isolated since the times of the Ancients.

We have new friends. The Ilemdaki were amazed by our laser weapons. They were also amazed by the teleporters; they have not worked in 500 years.

They asked us if we’re from the Maker and if we have revelations for them.

Look up at sky; it’s still fighting to come through.

The Vargr here looked like they may be a different race than the ones we know, taller, and look more straggly, with lots of injuries and less access to hospitals, I.e. eyepatches, etc.  The Ilemdaki call them “Hunters of Men”, and say they are very smart and absolutely savage.

Continued in Secrets of the Ancients – Otherworld, Conclusion.

See Also: Dramatis Personæ, Skylark 2, Campaign Starts, The 2nd Adventure, The Chamax Plague, Horde, Shadows, Research Station Gamma, Twilight's Peak, Prison Planet, Leedor on Aramis, First Call at Zilla, Trade War, The Bloodwell, ANNIC NOVA, The Kinunir, Kesser's Return, Justice, Mission to Mithril, Outback, Skylark and the Pit, Last Flight of the Amuar and One Crowded Hour and Secrets of the Ancients.