#20 A Call to... Action?

Hello Before the Shadow fans, and welcome to module three of Shadowrun: Antumbra.

I'm assuming if you're here that you've gotten through modules one and two but let's do a recap, in keeping with our little tradition:

The story so far: In the first module, 1nv4d3r - a fool-punching ork shadowrunner, saved the people and holdings of a Seattle nightclub named Antumbra by betraying his employer.

In the second module, he was hired by the Antumbra financiers to violently "investigate" the Aztechnology corporation in San Francisco, but quickly got diverted into stopping a metahuman terrorist plot. This plot was led by a troll named Shavarus, who had been hiding among the devotees of Emperor Norton IX, a strange old man who claimed kinship to the original Norton and rulership over California. Norton later became an ally and -- dare I say it -- a friend. Aided by the elves of Tir Tairngire, Shavarus had planned to depopulate the entire city by destroying its water supply. We stopped him but spared his life to ensure that he reversed his plans, so the water would remain unspoiled.

After that victory, our hero got overwhelmed by the publicity and tried his best to escape it. And as we're about to learn, he actually got pretty far...

"Milk runs" are, of course, shadowruns so easy that a new runner can do them. Great for anonymity, horrible for credits.

We start literally in the middle of nowhere - potholes, homeless people, blood-stained asphalt, garbage piles and everything. All we're missing is tumbleweed.

COUNTRY ROAD, TAKE ME HOME

Yet for some reason we start out with this theme:

Realism surrenders briefly to gameplay as this abandoned van gives us access to our stash.

In the distance, standing behind a scuffed patch of street, is a familiar gentleman in an immaculate white suit.

Why do I feel like we're getting the band back together?

I'm not proud of that response.

Then the music shifts to the first 55 seconds of this on loop:

By the burning barrel next to the barricade we just passed, a whirlpool of flame erupts from the ground. Twisting and whirling, it molds itself into a familiar, hateful form.

It's Tophet, that vengeful fire elemental who awoke the last boss in the first module. As before, we get the shaman option to banish him - and as before, we aren't a shaman.

But Norton is.

I don't like the sound of that (or look, since it's all text.)

Ugh! You had one job.

In perhaps the most confusing demonstration of asexual reproduction ever seen, the creature whirls around and suddenly, there are four of them!

And to think I didn't trust "Madame Canardist".

Wait, which ally?

...he named the dog Bummer.

And battle is joined.

As mentioned in the Interlude post, my plan from now on is to minimise combat posts. We've just started, and 1nv4d3r is half dead. We have him, Norton and Norton's two dogs on one side, and these three elemental 'Embers' on the other with ranged fire attacks. And one of these dogs is actually a fire-breathing hellhound (Dragonfall reference much?)

The fight itself is unremarkable once we use a medkit. The dogs don't do much damage but our ork still hits like a truck. An armour buff from Norton is all we need to shrug off most of what gets pelted at us.

We win, and the music reverts.

Eh, fair. But he didn't come all this way just to compliment us.

...indeed.

From the wiki:

It's worth noting that the CAS doesn't exist yet in the timeline. It's still the UCAS here. But the general idea stands - extraterritorial megacorporation style government, Native America secessionist nation, friendly to non NAN states in a way that its counterparts aren't.

But more important is the rest of it -- Tir is bad news. They have the support of a Great Dragon and a whole megacorp, along with and all the power, magic and contacts such support brings. Norton wasn't kidding when he said war was coming.

Sacramento is supposed to be the capital of Calfree but they're known for failing at leadership. From saving a nightclub to saving a whole state.

This is all very flattering but we have practical concerns.

...right. Let's ask the important question here.

"Saito got angrier and Kali got richer." The whole campaign in summary.

We don't need to ask that third question. They're genocidal, jackbooted fascists -- a whole nation of elf-supremacists. They're essentially Shadowrun's Japan, but elves.

Granted, response three was pretty tempting.

"More impossible things"?

Oh, you don't mean to imply that it'll be easy. Coulda fooled me.

That Intelligence check looks intriguing but it's beyond our reach. We go with the flow here.

Our exit lies to the southwest - as does our destiny.

War is on the horizon, and we've been drafted.

We'll inspect the troops next time!