Actung Cthulhu: The Battle of Ellora
Cast:
Mr. Phillips (John) - Engineer (retired)
Nora St. Dennis (Kathy) - Adventuress
Sergeant Constable Cecil Atwood (Mike) - Egyption Constabulary, seconded to SIS
LT Arthur Tennison (Nick) - SIS Agent in India
Yago D'Souza (Eric) - Jesuit Priest
Captain Subedar Joshi - Indian Bombay Guards officer and MI5 Head
The last session found the party heading to an ancient Aryan Monastery in the Ellora Caves by way of three military trucks and 20 Bombay Grenadiers. The party faced misgivings about a race against an unknown sect of Nationalists and either the German mystics (Nachtwolf) or the Blue Hat Monks, or both.
Fortunately, the weather was fine, if hot and humid, and the road, while rough, was passable. The party made it to the bae of Ellora Mountain in good time and quickly decided to leave most of the soldiers guarding the trucks, taking eight with them as they ascended the mountain.
Moving upslope through rough scrub trees the party made good time until coming to a rope bridge across a deep crevasse. They cautiously crossed, then paused to rest. LT Tennison went up slope a ways (into the woods) with a couple of Bombay Grenadiers for guard duty. After a short while they heard someone coming down slope. It turned out to be three women dressed in red sarongs with bows and enormous 2 handed clubs on their backs. Quickly guessing these were the secretive Nationalist cult, Tennison and the guards challenged them, leading to an unexpected initiation of combat (the Battle of Ellora). Hearing the shots, a small group of the party went to help, while a larger number prepared a defense around the rope bridge.
Both sides it seemed threw more combatants into the fight in the dense woods. As casualties mounted on both sides, the party fell back into the defenses. Captain Joshi's Bren gun sprayed the woods, along with pistol and rifle fire. After what seemed like an eternity, but was likely less than an hour, the arrows stopped falling. A party made their way up the slope and found either dead Nationalists, or blood trails. Among the dead werte two Europeans (guessed as Germans although they had no identification). Mr. Phillips was badly wounded and made his way back to the trucks with three of the wounded guards while the rest of the party continued to the top of Ellora.
An hour or so later, nearing the top, the party came across a blood trail. They followed it around the mountain, to where Nora spotted a column of smoke. Deciding to investigate the group caught the unmistakable smell of burning flesh. Descending a ways, they found a fire with the bodies of ten or so red dressed women, doused in gasoline and set alight. nearby was a dry stream bed with what looked like the tracks from multiple vehicles.
Heading back to the top of the mountain, the party entered the main temple. It was pitch black inside, but torches revealed the strange writing and artistry of a lost people (not Atlantean, possible pre-Aryan though - this from Yago). Passing several rooms of columns, the party came to a room with a dead woman in red, and a dead European. Investigating the bodies yeilded no identification...except a tatoo over the hear of the European that Yago translated as a Hitler Youth motto). Before anyone could think..the party was set upon by red spirits...and they (the party) booked it! Fast as they could, they ran out of the temple...but Nora tripped, and desperately singing the some taught by the shaman...the spirits chased the others instead!
Everyone exited the temple and tumbled down the hill. Cecil Atwood snapped and curled into a ball mumbling to himself. Inconsolable, the party left him in the case of Rajesh (Bombat Grenadier) and the last four tried the temple again, after learning Nora's song!
Back inside, Nora shared that the columns might be instruments. Yago had also heard of this and on the second appearance of the spirits, the party tried the some song using the columns...which made the spirits dance and then fade away.
Eventually, the party found a hidden auditorium, at the bottom of which was a table or alter. The alter was open...and empty. Someone had taken the Fire Weapon...and made off after killing the Nationalists. Everyone was pretty sure it was Nachtwolf agents (the wolves in sheep's clothing...).
With all they could do done, the party headed back down the mountain with the still comatose Cecil in tow to gather Mr. Phillips and decide what to do next...
Comments