Showdown

After what seemed like months trekking through the jungle, the daring heroes eventually broke through into the mountains of Abyssinia. Cordelia had been studying the scrolls they had found constantly and now it seemed that she understood them much better. They had made camp the night before on a hill which provided a good vantage point. There had once been a village here and the remains of the huts provided some shelter, which they were able to improve with materials that were lying around. Thus, with safety and comfort assured, they were able to spend a peaceful night.

The following morning, as they ate their breakfast, Cordelia was engrossed in the scrolls she had found. She had actually been up half the night studying them too. While not normally a garrulous type, she was positively non-communicative when ruminating over an archaeological problem. Suddenly she paused with her tea-cup part way to her mouth. SHe looked up and around before turning to Throckmorton, "What do virgin's breasts look like?"

The Colonel was stunned and turned scarlet with embarrassment. What kind of a question was that? I mean, such a discussion might well be expected in the barracks between a pair of privates, but a well-bred lady should not be asking such things. Behind the Colonel, Geoff's normally expressionless face twitched briefly as what passed for a smile crossed it. Throckmorton spluttered into his tea a bit and hummed and hawed until Cordelia continued, "Would you say that those two hills over there look like a virgin's breasts, Throckmorton? This scroll says that the way to the crown lies between the virgin's breasts."

"Well, um, ah, I can't say that I have specifically examined any virgin's breasts," stammered the Colonel, embarrassed beyond all recognition. "I suppose that one might consider those hills to resemble such a thing."

With the shape of a virgin's breasts agreed, they set out through the jungle in that direction. The distance to cross was not vast, but any journey through the jungle would always be slow. It was the nature of such expeditions that they often covered less than five miles in a day and inevitably involved some back-tracking and much cursing from the porters.

Several days later, they had reached their objective. The pass between the two hills was devoid of trees, so they could see across the canopy of trees to the surrounding mountains. This whole area was enclosed by mountains, forming a bowl, within which people must live. They could see the tips of three pyramids jutting majestically above the trees, and smoke rose from many places around the bowl, indicating settlements. The distance to the far mountains must be ten miles at least, so this whole place looked like an enclosed world, cut off from the outside world apart from this one pass leading in. Cordelia examined the area and then said, "Our goal lies where lines drawn from the antelope's head, the hippopotamus' back and the tallest peak converge. Geoff, we shall need you to map our route to there and guide us in."

"Yes, Miss Baxendale," came the response. She had often told him to call her Cordelia, but he resolutely refused to be so informal. Geoff led the way. The other two were experienced travelers and explorers, but would still have become lost in the gloom beneath the forest canopy. Geoff's unerring instinct for a trail kept them right though. Occasionally they had to make detours past small settlements of mud huts with grass roofs. They did so quickly and quietly, sometimes getting a glimpse of sultry maidens, naked to the waist but with the heads of cats, or stolid dwarfish creatures that looked more hewn from rock than born. The people of this area were clearly not of human stock. The only humans they glimpsed on their travels were poor things, dirty and downtrodden. They were more beasts of burden than people but there was nothing that our heroes could do for them at this time so they pressed on. Eventually they reached a small clearing. A collection of ramshackle huts stood to one side of a pair of obelisks and a large plinth with five golden sphinxes on it. Behind these was a large circular gate of ancient design. This object was clearly older than anything else in the clearing, but rusty stains in front of it bore mute evidence to sacrifice and ritual. Throckmorton shuddered at the thought that human beings might have been slain here to appease some nameless god. Then he realised that the being called Kamenwati was already here. Time to gird my loins, thought Throckmorton. He drew his trusty Webley and told the others to ready themselves. Kamenwati had obviously followed similar clues to those that the three heroes had followed, but he had not recovered the crown yet. Well, that was a bonus. Better yet, Kamenwati appeared to be alone. That would certainly make things easier.



I deployed both of Kamenwati's followers but the die rolls called for them to be moved off-table. The die rolls permitted Geoff and Cordelia to remain where they had been deployed.

Geoff moved through the huts to the left of the hawk-headed beast, while Cordelia and Throckmorton moved directly towards Kamenwati through the long grass and brush. Kamenwati saw them coming and bellowed, "I warned thee not to meddle, now it will go the worse for thee. Thy flesh shall be stripped from thy bones as thou yet lives. Thy woman shall be a plaything for my soldiers and thy servant shall learn the nature of true hard labour as he constructs my resting place!"

"I care not one jot for your rantings, beast," muttered Throckmorton in return as he advanced to the nearest obelisk. He raised his trusty Webley and let rip. His shot ricocheted from the arch-beast's armour, and Kamenwati stood unflinching. Meanwhile Geoff had been working his way through the ruined village. He took up position behind a tree and raised his rifle for a shot. Once more sparks flew from the armour but the huge hawk-headed monster was unphased. He shouted once and a soldier ran up with his bow and fired an arrow that bounced off one of the golden sphinxes near Cordelia. A maiden with a hawk's head also appeared, moving quickly through the trees towards. Geoff.



The bird maiden failed her fast move roll completely, otherwise she would have been in melee with Geoff on her first move.

With his followers attacking, Kamenwati ran full tilt at Throckmorton, screeching out a hideous battle cry. Kamenwati's huge sword crashed into the obelisk as Throckmorton ducked and chunks of stone showered the pair of them. His sword stick was not going to be able to parry that thing. The hawk maiden screeched a challenge and veritably flew at Geoff. Her sword cut down for his head, he ducked and rapidly brought his rifle butt up to her chin. She fell to the floor wounded. Overcoming his qualms, Geoff laid her out properly with another blow to the head. The archer fired again and once more hit the golden sphinx beside Cordelia's head. Cordelia's return shot also went wide. By now, Geoff had moved to join her but his shots at the archer were no more effective than hers had been at him.

After wounding the bird maiden, the heroes won the initiative so Geoff was able to put the bird maiden out of the fight immediately. Had they not won, then she would have been back on her feet attacking him.



Kamenwati poured a flurry of blows down on Throckmorton, but the heroic Colonel ducked and weaved between the blows as he sought a chance to land his own point on the creature. With one particularly vicious blow the creature left its side open. Throckmorton lunged but Kamenwati turned at the last moment and his armour took the blow instead. Throckmorton quickly turned his lunge into a cut for the beast's head. Blood spurted from a deep wound and the creature staggered back, leaping to its feet almost immediately. Enraged, Kamenwati renewed his assault on the Colonel. Blood dripped into his eye but the fury of his assault was undiminished, but Throckmorton's cooler head told and he opened a wound in Kamenwati's thigh. The hawk-man's leg gave way under him but he was immediately back on his feet to slice at the Colonel once more. Shocked by the savagery of this attack and by a cry from behind him as Cordelia was hit by an arrow, Throckmorton nearly did not duck in time and his pith helmet was knocked from his head by a blow that might have taken his head off. He quickly gathered himself, ducked under the massive bronze sword and planted the point of his sword in Kamenwati's arm. The immense hawk-creature was now pouring blood and showed signs of slowing but he was by no means done.

Here we see Throckmorton wounding Kamenwati a couple of times. Each time Kamenwati's Star Power failed to stop all the damage, but he managed to pass enough dice on the crisis test to get back on his feet immediately.

Behind the Colonel, the archer had hit Cordelia with an arrow but she shrugged its effects off, even though blood was flowing from her shoulder. Geoff was laying down fire as fast as he could at the archer, but it was all sound and fury. Not one shot hit the hawk soldier. A second arrow struck Cordelia and she fell like a pole-axed steer. Geoff immediately ducked behind the cover of the sphinxes. This was a bit much for him.

Cordelia failed a crisis test for being wounded and went OOF. Geoff promptly failed his crisis test and ducked back.



Quick as a flash, Throckmorton leapt onto the wounded Kamenwati and thumped him mightily, knocking him right out. Enraged by the treatment meted out to the fair Miss Baxendale, Geoff jumped up and leapt over the sphinxes, intent on dishing out some justice to the archer, who showed no signs of remorse for his actions. The archer was caught flat-footed at this and Geoff's righteous rifle butt put paid to the archer's intention of hurting anyone else.

Again the heroes won the initiative at the right time. With Kamenwati wounded and on the floor, Throckmorton was able to put him OOF immediately Geoff got lucky against the archer and wounded him. The archer failed his crisis test and was OOF. Victory to the heroes.


With their foes unconscious, Throckmorton and Geoff quickly tied them up and saw to Cordelia. Although she had been wounded, it was not serious and she was soon on her feet. With the enemy out of the way, the group searched large gateway. Cordelia's interpretation of the scrolls and the hieroglyphs on the two huge obelisks indicated that the crown was concealed below it. Close examination showed that there was a large hollow beneath the main stones, and the Feathered Fetish was indeed in a cedarwood box within that recess. It was a large crown in the Egyptian style. Golden feathers surrounded it in a shining halo that would make the wearer seem at least a foot or two taller than they were. There was an indefinable aura about the crown, which suggested that it had sat on the heads of some of the most powerful kings that had ever lived. It was a truly awesome piece and the British Museum would pay handsomely for it.

"Now," said Throckmorton, "Let's go home. I have a yearning for jam and scones, and a fine cup of Oolong, right after we drop this thing off at the BM. I imagine some Egyptologists will be quite interested in it."

The three heroes packed up their kit and got ready to set off. It was only at this point they noticed that their captives were no longer there. Two sets of footprints had left a trail disappearing into the trees. Bloody scuff marks in the dirt showed where they had dragged something, or someone, with them.

"Hmm, that's dashed awkward," mused the Colonel, "Right, we had better get cracking in case they come after us. Chop, chop, people, let's get going."

Throckmorton was lucky in his combat with Kamenwati. His star power saved him a lot of hurt, unlike Kamenwati's star power, which failed him when he most needed it. Although he was out of the fight, his "Hard as Nails" power kicked in, so he kept fighting. However, his Rep was reduced and Throckmorton was able to reduce it further until Kamenwati was reduced to Rep2. Throckmorton then won the initiative and was able to subdue Kamenwati automatically. Geoff's shooting was abysmal, despite getting a lot of dice for it. He was much better in melee, despite having fewer dice than his opponents. Cordelia's shooting was poor, as expected and she was unlucky in being hit twice by the archer. Overall, it could have gone very badly for our heroes, but luck was on the side of the righteous this time. Next time may be a different story ...

The Heroes:
Throckmorton
Cordelia
Geoff

The Villains:
Kamenwati (Rep 5 Villain)
Bird Maiden (Rep 4 Femme Fatale)
Archer (Rep 3 Soldier)

Travel to Lost World on foot.
Final Showdown at location of the Feathered Fetish