You find yourself in E1M1

[Shadowswift]

>Well, you're here. Might as well try to take Shub down. The plasma pistol eats through shadows. Duck behind a wall and blindfire at Shub... it's a pretty big target.

There aren't any walls here to duck behind! You consider running away, but the passage back to the healing pool is blocked off by a wall of pure Shadow energy that seems to grab at you whenever you get close (now we're ripping of Devil May Cry, awesome.) You opt to avoid that. The only cover you can seem to find is by the water. Shub isn't just sitting there, though. Slowly but surely, she is moving toward you. If she manages to get a tenticle around you, it's all over. Avoiding her grasp is the name of the game. Avoiding her Shadow Plasma is another pretty important task at hand. You take pot shots at her with the Plasma Pistol while SFX rains down a flurry of laser fire. It seems enough to keep her at bay, but not enough to do any real damage. You're going to have to think of a way to do more damage before you wear your trigger finger out.

>

[bluntz]

SFX floats back to your side. It has some text on its screen.
"You may have missed your last best hope to set the gods at themselves. You should consider returning to the chamber of the avatar. "
Something glimmers in your memory regarding that curious ranger and it occurs to you that was no ranger but instead Xexanoth trying to take advantage
of Yog's plight and acquire the Death Knights he has long lusted for.
Normally a sacrifice was in order to bargain with Xexanoth,however you now have the upper hand and threaten to crush the crystals as you raise your boot over the burlap bag the ranger appears.

[foq]

>Throw one of the crystals at Shub, perhaps it can absorb her Shadow powers, making her less threatening.

[Shadowswift]

SFX floats back to your side. It has some text on its screen.
"You may have missed your last best hope to set the gods at themselves. You should consider returning to the chamber of the avatar. "
Something glimmers in your memory regarding that curious ranger and it occurs to you that was no ranger but instead Xexanoth trying to take advantage
of Yog's plight and acquire the Death Knights he has long lusted for.
Normally a sacrifice was in order to bargain with Xexanoth,however you now have the upper hand and threaten to crush the crystals as you raise your boot over the burlap bag the ranger appears.

[[yeah, you definitely lost me. Where is the Chamber of the Avatar? Who is Xexanoth?]]

[Shadowswift]

>Throw one of the crystals at Shub, perhaps it can absorb her Shadow powers, making her less threatening.

This is a pretty damn good idea, except throwing it won't work. You'll have to stick it into her hide and make sure it sticks long enough to absorb her. Once enough of her has been absorbed, it should be relatively easy for you or SFX to destroy the soul within with a few blasts. If the soul isn't destroyed, she can be brought back. Problem: those tenticles will likely grab you before you can get close enough. Hm...you think you can handle them with your blades, but dodging Shadow Plasma lightning bolts will prove impossible at this range. With your soul armor destroyed, it won't take but maybe two direct blasts to kill you, even with your increased defense from your Bravado buff. Shit. You go over your options:

-Escape? Impossible.
-Direct assault? Certain death.
-Sneak attack? She knows you're here and where you are. It's too bright in here to hide.
-Ambush? Ding ding! We have a winner!

If you can wait in the water long enough for her to come to you, you might have a small window of opportunity to burst out and jam the crystal into her before she can grab you or blast you. You order SFX to cease fire and follow you down below the water's surface. You can see tenticles flailing above. You pray that none of them grab you. You swim a bit over to the side, so that she doesn't know exactly where to grab. The moment you see one of her foot tenticles creep over the edge, you grab onto it and jam that fucking crystal into it like a dagger. You hear her terrible roar echo throughout the chamber. The crystal fills quickly, but continues to drink deeply like a thirsty vampire. As the Shadowy tenticles shrink around the large maw of Shub-Niggurath's main body, you and SFX explode out of the water and rain down fiery death upon the Hell Queen. Within moments, she stops writhing. Her soul is truly dead. You take the crystal and let it continue absorbing whats left of her. Victory is yours. You return the full crystal to its sack and take a deep breath. That could have been messy. You're lucky you're a smart one. If that had been some burley beefcake ranger, he probably would have been killed three times over. You survey the surroundings.

The corpses of the Ogres and Enforcers you slew dropped ammo. Sweet!

You find 20 cells and 8 grenades

Behind, the doorway back to the healing pool has been cleared of the Shadow energy barrier.
Ahead of you, there appears to be a wooden terrace with a dark hallway leading up to it above.
Behind to your right is what looks like a stone ledge with a wooden plank extending and retracting. Weird...?

You check your radar. There appears to be 5 non-friendly blips behind the wall by the stone ledge. They look to be average human size. Perhaps more Quake monsters, or maybe some Shadow soldiers.

>

[bluntz]

[[yeah, you definitely lost me. Where is the Chamber of the Avatar? Who is Xexanoth?]]

Yog's avatar (Tawil-at'Umr ) appeared to you at The right passage with the downward-leading staircase near the healing pool.

Xexanoth
He is one of the characters in the Cthulhu Mythos


Xexanoth, summoned by the priest Calaspa, is apparently the bane and mortal enemy of the time god Aforgomon, the latter deity possibly an Avatar of the Outer God Yog-Sothoth.(The Chain of Aforgomon, 1935.)
SOURCE: "The Chain of Forgomon" by Clark Ashton Smith (Weird Tales, December 1935)

DESCRIPTION: "While Atmox looked on in silence, I wounded my right arm to its deepest vein on the sharp-tipped gnomon of the dial; and, letting the blood drip from zone to zone, from orb to orb on the graven agate, I made unlawful sacrifice, and intoned aloud, in the name of the Lurking Chaos, Xexanoth, an abominable ritual composed by a backward repetition and jumbling of litanies sacred to the time-god..."

NOTES: There is no real description of Xexanoth but he is an evil god who can counter time.

HISTORY: This story is a classic Smith set-up, with the protagonist reaching back into time to discover his doom.

CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT:
Now plot this gods seduction using the crystals that now store shub and the DKC's, Quite a potent lure and bribe to offer Xexanoth
He has already appeared to you as Protos and is directing your
actions.You must regain control of the situation before he collects you as well.

[Shadowswift]

[[I'll be doing the narration and character developement. While this may be a complete bastardization of Cthulhu Mythos, it does not follow such storylines. I've actually never read any of it.]]

[foq]

>Return to the healing pool for some refreshment. Raise Velen on the radio and tell him of your accomplishment. Think about how awesome you are. Ask him if he knows anything about Val-Bulgruth and Yogg-Shargoth, about their weaknesses. You never really defeated Yogg-Shargoth... You intend to head North, to the Vengeance... to defeat Yogg-Shargoth so that you may have Velen's aid in defeating Val-Bulgruth. You listen for more phycho-babble for further hints about what lies to the north and the east. Perhaps things will be a bit clearer without Shub around.

[Shadowswift]

>Return to the healing pool for some refreshment. Raise Velen on the radio and tell him of your accomplishment. Think about how awesome you are. Ask him if he knows anything about Val-Bulgruth and Yogg-Shargoth, about their weaknesses. You never really defeated Yogg-Shargoth... You intend to head North, to the Vengeance... to defeat Yogg-Shargoth so that you may have Velen's aid in defeating Val-Bulgruth. You listen for more phycho-babble for further hints about what lies to the north and the east. Perhaps things will be a bit clearer without Shub around.

You stand triumphant in a Superman stance over the greasy black spot on the ground that was once Shub-Niggurath, Elder God Queen of Hell Magic. You doubt even Ray could have done a better job...ya know, if he was still Ray and not "The Captain". After a few moments of self-reflecting on your awesomeness, you head back toward the healing pool and drink up. You wish you could bottle this stuff and market it. You'd be a multi-billionaire over night.

You are refeshed

You radio Velen.
"Yes, my lord?" You tell him Shub-Niggurath is dead...really dead. "Well done, sire. Well done, indeed. Darkscythe is heading toward your direction now." You ask why. "Just as Yogg-Shargoth was my lord and creator, Shub-Niggurath was Darkscythe's creator. In fact, it was Shub-Niggurath that created most of Quake's minions. If there are any left alive, they should be heading back to The Installation." You ask him what he can tell you about the two remaining Elder Gods. "Not much, other than what you already know. Weaknesses? In life, none. Now that they are Shadows, their power is increased, but their weakness to light is the same as any other Shadow. If you have any Shadow Plasma cells, I'd make good use of your Lightspark Rifle if I was you." You don't have any..."Hm....I do. That's right, he has 100 of them! You ask if you can have them. "Of course, sire. Whats mine is yours." You head back to the entrance. Along the way, Darkscythe meets up with you.

Darkscythe has joined your party!

You find the DKC sitting cross-legged in front of the huge door. "Here you are, lord. Take all you need." You opt to take all of them.

You receive 100 Shadow Plasma cells

"So, about Yogg-Shargoth and Vol-Balgruth. As I have told you, each Elder God was a master of one of the greater magics of existance: Chthon over Earth, Shub-Niggurath over Hell, Yogg-Shargoth over Nether, and Vol-Balgruth over Elder Arcane. What I haven't told you is that each god was tasked with certain duties amongst themselves. Chthon, as you know, is the gatekeeper. He is charged with the eternal vigil of keeping unwanted guests out of our lands. All must go through his dimension first, most don't make it far enough to face him. What remained of his minions was slain by Ray on his first tour....every single one of them. Now, he alone guards the lands of Quake. However, he is more than enough. As you know, he is completely and totally indestructable and impervious to pain and damage. His domain, the House of Chthon, is the ultimate embodiment of Earth Magic. The lands of Quake got their name from his realm, due to the violent earthquakes, tempermental volcanic activitvity, torrential storms, and destructive waters. All were his doing. He didn't have much in the way of mental ability, but his mastery over the Elements was unparalelled by any. Even the most masterful and ancient wizard or shaman could be made to look like novices when compaired to Lord Chthon." Go on... "Shub-Niggurath was tasked with conquest of other lands. It was her and her forces that first intercepted your Slipgates and used them to invade your dimension, sparking the first Quake War. Her realm, Shub-Niggurath's Pit, was her creation of your own personal Hell. Whoever had the misfortune of trespassing into her dimension had their own little Hell to go through. Fire, brimstone, burning sulfur, demonic creatures, pain, torture, fear, remorse, hopelessness...each experienced it differently. She wasn't the strongest of the gods, but her manipulation of one's fears as well as the massive army she commanded was more than enough to conquer what she set out to conquer...that is, of course, until Ray showed up. Yogg-Shargoth was charged with unity and knowledge. His task was to bring all conquered peoples and dimensions into a single unified and perfect civilization. Almost all of the Quake minions are his by design. He came up with the ideas for the monsters while he and the other gods made those ideas into realities. His realm, The Heart of the Dimension, is at the very center of the realm of Quake, which is also, as he perceived it, at the dead center of the eternal interdimensional Nether. It was there that all became one; where every subjugated or slain foe, every conquered land, every piece of captured knowledge became Quake. If it was once a human soldier, as I was, under Yogg-Shargoth's power, it became a Quake soldier. He also acted as something of a commander in chief over all the armies of Quake. He did so with his psychic powers. So great were his psychic abilities, he could relay a detailed message to every Quake minion, every human, every animal, every insect, every thing with a mind across the entire Nether. There were no god of gods, no one god was above the others...however, Chthon, Shub-Niggurath, and for a time, Vol-Balgruth looked to my Master, Yogg-Shargoth, as their chief deity, though he never took on the title officially. His psychic powers are of the highest caliber. He could flay your very sanity with but a thought. His ability to weaken and/or kill his victims with only his thoughts was his most dangerous weapon. Physically, he was not as strong as Chthon, but he was certainly far stronger than any human. Vol-Balgruths task was the collection of power. If it could do something, Vol-Balgruth wanted it. If it was magic, he wanted it. If it was energy, he wanted it. If it was something that made something better than something else, he wanted it. And he was good at what he did. Over the eons that the Elder Gods ruled Earth and Quake, Vol-Balgruth's collection of power became so immense, he could not stop himself from wanting more and more. He even began looking at his fellow gods for powers to steal. Eventually, his power became so great that he stopped looking to Yogg-Shargoth as chief, and starting believing his own power to be far superior to any of the other gods. He became arrogent and power-hungry. He began thinking of himself as the true god of the eternal universe. Problem was, he was right...for the most part. He had collected so much stolen power over the eons that he became stronger and more powerful than any of the other gods, perhaps even more powerful than all of them combined. It was by the good graces of luck that I was able to kill him while Chthon, Shub-Niggurath and Yogg-Shargoth combined their powers to subdue him. Had I timed my attack incorrectly by even a hundreth of a second, I'd have been killed just as Chthon's commander Ector was. It was a frightening fight that could have favored either side if even so much as a step was taken incorrectly. Vol-Balgruth's realm was known as Azure Agony, a castle with such strong Arcane currents flowing through it that baby gorillas could probably cast complex spells within its walls. The mana flows there are so powerful and concentrated, it is likely that even the Encroaching Darkness could not find root there. It may actually be the safest place to hide from the Shadows in all of the lands of Quake." Cool. Let's go there. "Heh. If you can find the way there, my lord, I will gladly accompany you. It would be interesting to see how even my weak grasp of magic could be enhanced whilst within that castle." You put that on your list of things to do. For now, you need to concentrate. You bid the DKC fairwell for now and head back up the ramp to the main atrium. You have a seat and listen carefully. The voices are substancially quieter now that The Captain has left and Shub-Niggurath is dead. You still hear the other two repeating the same things: "Vengeance" and "All shall become one."

>

[foq]

>northeast, to unity, to Yogg-Shargoth.

[metchsteekle]

>examine console and see what its full capabilities are

> examine surrounding area

//i love not advancing the story but making you have to write drawn out descriptions; it might be a dick move but adds depth to your story

[Shadowswift]

>examine console and see what its full capabilities are

Ah, the console PDA, the thing that separates the Rangers from the rest of the rank and file. Well, that and skill. It is a small device strapped to your left wrist. It has a flip-open 3.5"x5.5" screen with a full qwerty keyboard and a stylus on the side attached with an elastic string. It is water-proof, shock-proof, magnet-proof, and extremely resilient. On the side of it are a trio of USB ports. Underneathe is the grappling hook. It has 10 gigs of memory and a terabyte harddrive for all your MP3s and pictures of your pets. It has 6G wireless network connection with WiFi capabilities (where available). It is without a doubt one of the most powerful portable devices in use by our military today. With this magnificent piece of technological artwork, you can interface with other computerized devices with ease through the use of Impulses, commands recognized only by console software. It is also used as a communication tool to stay in contact with your HQ, as well as other Rangers that may be out of range of your MessageModeTech headset communicators. They also contain several applications that one might find on a tablet or smartphone, such as a calculator, word pad, calendar, clock, Angry Birds, Fruit Ninja, Facebook...all the essentials. With software upgrades (available curtosy of the R&D Department) the console can also utilize its own onboard GPS device to "ping" its surroundings, allowing a Ranger to use it as a shortwave RADAR. New software and hardware upgrades are always being released by R&D! Keep your eyes peeled for the next one.

> examine surrounding area
>northeast, to unity, to Yogg-Shargoth.

You have a look at where you are. The large room with the healing pool. You were heading toward where you think Yogg-Shargoth is. You suspect you can get there by going one of two ways: either down the staircase off to the right of the main atrium, or by taking this weird lift over yonder. If the mental map of this castle is correct, both ways should take you right to him....at least you hope it's him, and not Vol-Balgruth. However, based on what you've gathered from Velen's intel, it has to be Yogg. Just has to! So...lets go get him!

[[To be continued]]

[foq]

>Create a makeshift syringe and inject some of that healing pool water directly into your bloodstream. Trippin balls, brah.

[metchsteekle]

> use empity sim pack to keep some handy for future injections

[Shadowswift]

>Create a makeshift syringe and inject some of that healing pool water directly into your bloodstream. Trippin balls, brah.

> use empity sim pack to keep some handy for future injections

whoa...thats like...amazing, dude! You head back over to where Shub-Niggurath bit the big one and gather up the empty Stimpaks. You take them over to the healing pool and fill them up, being extra careful not to get any air bubbles in them. You try one out...

...you feel like you just took a bong hit while riding a demorol high in a warm whirlpool filled with premium scotch and liquid melatonin. You feel.....gooooooooooooooood.......you ride the high for a few moments. It wears off quickly, but you find yourself feeling healed afterward.

You are refreshed

You fill the syringe back up, then stuff them into your satchel.

You create 4 Dream Water Stims

It's probably not a good idea to take these things right in the heat of battle, but you make note of their uncanny restorative properties.

>