After a lovely meal, Will overheard two men discussing an ABC - Alien Big Cat. Catching up, he asked if they needed any assistance; once they realized he wasn't just going to make fun of them, they offered to show the group what was going on.
Just off Rowlett Nature Trail, at a branch of the stream that drained into the lake, they had found an ABC, a large, black, panther-like creature. It kept to itself, for the most part, but recently, it had gone missing. The two men showed where it had been living, and after some discussion, left.
The party found traces of a ritual - wax from burned black candles, a crushed rattlesnake rattle, and other things. Then... the weirdness started happening. First, bark flaked off of a tree, revealing flesh beneath; once exposed to air, the flesh toughened back into bark.
They found tracks, and while following them, a small calico cat approached them, and laid a small heart at their feet. Moments later it dropped dead.
Reaching the far creek, Alistair overestimated his balance, and slipped off the fallen tree he was using as a bridge... one foot on each side. Wincing and groaning, he pushed himself to the other side, as Will and Toby managed to make it across without any trouble.
Continuing to follow the tracks, they found themselves walking out of the woods and into a very nice development... with a rather strange artifact of some sort. Nearby, they spotted man watering his flowers, and walked up to ask him some questions:
"Can I help you?"
Have you murdered any cats recently?
"What are you talking about?"
Anyone looked like they murdered a cat...?
"Why do you ask?"
Why do you think, there was a dead cat!
"Why would you think I would know anything about it?"
We were following tracks that lead us here
"Why were you following tracks?"
To find who murdered the cat
Turning to another member of the group: "Are you with this guy?"
This back-and-forth continued for over half an hour, with Toby and Alistair trying to get a straight answer, and the man only answering in questions. Eventually, fed up, Toby demanded the man actually answer, and the man suddenly grabbed his head, screamed, and passed out!
Stunned, the trio could only stare at each other in confusion. After a few minutes, a large owl flew up to a nearby window, pecked the glass until it cracked, then flew away.
Just as they began walking back, the sun suddenly skipped forward in the sky! Checking their watches and phones, they realized 84 minutes just went missing. Realizing the weird events were growing closer together, they hurried back to the site of the original ritual. In the underbrush, they caught sight of a strange, goat-faced creature...
Then, bursting out of the brush, they found a young woman chanting, already having started a ritual! Will dashed forward and kicked over half the black candles she had burning, and Toby tried to bull-rush her, only to miss as she dodged aside. Alistair, possibly going insane, unclipped his gun and started taking pot shots at her. He struck one or two glancing blows; Will continued disrupting her ritual, and finally, just as she chanted the last words, Toby managed to land a solid blow, knocking her out.
The ritual was complete, however, and a split second later, a wavering portal opened... with a roar, the strange white creature they saw earlier careened into the portal, just as a large, black panther leaped out! The portal crackled and snapped shut, as the leopard loped off into the woods.
Alistair quickly rifled through the young woman's... person... and discovered the ritual she had been using: Leofrick's Preternatural Scourge. He and Toby left; Will, unsure of what to do with the young woman, stuck around until she moaned and sat up. Seeing him there, she screamed and pulled out some mace! She sprayed it at him, but missed, only managing to get a little in her own eyes. "Why did you do that!?" she demanded.
Will tried to explain about the ritual, and why everyone thought it was a terrible idea, and how they were trying to stop it because magic is bad, and importantly, "I have a gun too, but I didn't shoot at you, I knew that was a bad idea!"
She stared at him, red-eyed, and shouted, "IF YOU KNEW IT WAS A BAD IDEA, WHY DIDN'T YOU STOP THE OTHER GUY!?"
Eventually, Will managed to calm her down, and escorted her to the others. Alistair, meanwhile, realized that he had neglected his roommate in his vehicle; somehow, the roommate had emptied the car of its contents and created a rather intricate artistic sculpture on the lawn. Groaning, Alistair had him collect it all and put it away; he was just getting into his car when Will and the young woman - Virginia Scott - showed up. She stalked over to his car and demanded her grandmother's ritual back; after a tense standoff, Alistair finally gave up the paper.
Fun fact: this was a completely random adventure, originally created to eat a little time until everyone showed up, then expanded because no one could figure out why the guy was talking in questions...
Who
Supernatural: A creature, ghost, demon, or human with supernatural abilities is on the prowl.
Double Trouble: There are two forces at work here.
Two Cryptids: A natural but unproven creature such as a chupacabra, skunk ape, or night panther. (In this case: a night panther, aka ABC, and the Lake Worth Monster)
What
Missing person: Someone is missing:
Paranormal: The victim is a supernatural creature; it may be good, redeemed, or the lesser of the evils. (The Night Panther, again)
Ritualist: The perpetrator practices the black arts. A master. (Virginia had a d12 in ritualism, though she hadn't done much black magic... yet.)
Why Accident: The antagonists didn’t mean for anything to happen. (The portal wasn't meant for the night panther)
Where Out of Town, in Dallas
Complication
All Hell Breaks Loose: Magic or Ritualism gone awry causes a dimensional rift. A number of creatures enter our world and run wild. (The Forth Worth Monster, and the portals causing High Strangeness!)
Double Trouble: There are two forces at work here.
Two Cryptids: A natural but unproven creature such as a chupacabra, skunk ape, or night panther. (In this case: a night panther, aka ABC, and the Lake Worth Monster)
What
Missing person: Someone is missing:
Paranormal: The victim is a supernatural creature; it may be good, redeemed, or the lesser of the evils. (The Night Panther, again)
Ritualist: The perpetrator practices the black arts. A master. (Virginia had a d12 in ritualism, though she hadn't done much black magic... yet.)
Why Accident: The antagonists didn’t mean for anything to happen. (The portal wasn't meant for the night panther)
Where Out of Town, in Dallas
Complication
All Hell Breaks Loose: Magic or Ritualism gone awry causes a dimensional rift. A number of creatures enter our world and run wild. (The Forth Worth Monster, and the portals causing High Strangeness!)
I don't know about anyone else, but this was a fun way to end - certainly silly! We'll start up next semester; in the meanwhile, prepare yourself for the Battle for Quern!
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