Monster Busters, Book 1: Secrets of the Shards

The first series of Monster Busters group roleplays that occurred. There were 8 chapters in total. The book started on 2/24/19, and ended on 8/10/19. It went through multiple delays, which explains the duration of almost six months.
== Chapter 1: Lair of the Dragon ==
* Location: Babylonian Ruins, Iraq
* Focus Creature: Sirrush
* Synopsis: During a vacation to Iraq, a tourist who ventured into the restricted grounds of the Babylonian ruins was attacked by an unknown creature. After hearing about the attack, the Monster Busters visit the ancient ruins to discover what they can. The Monster Busters discover an ancient temple, as well as a slumbering Sirrush inside. A mysterious yellow shard and a nest full of eggs are located near the Sirrush. Curious, John grabs the shard. However, this sets off a flash of light, which awakens the Sirrush. The Sirrush hunts the Monster Busters throughout the temple, envenomating John in the process. The Monster Busters escape, only to be greeted by a band of poachers. The poachers bomb the walls of the temple, angering the Sirrush. The Sirrush fights off the poachers, killing the leader at the cost of its life. Its body and its eggs are recovered by Zach for further research.
* Date: 2/24/19
== Chapter 2: Swarm of Darkness ==
* Location: Abandoned Military Base, Vietnam
* Focus Creature: Vietnamese Night Flyer
* Synopsis: It is discovered that the shard gives off a strong supernatural energy. Multiple tests are conducted on the shard, and it is noticed that its glow seemingly brightens in specific directions. A tracker device is created by Adarius Cliffe to help better locate the attractant source, which leads the Monster Busters to the jungles of Vietnam. Inside an abandoned US military base, they find another shard. When he touches it, John has a vision of a mysterious golden fox. When the light shards contact eachother, they flash light violently. This attracts a swarm of Vietnamese Night Flyers. The Monster Busters hide in a cave, only to learn that they have stumbled upon the Night Flyers' home. They fight for their life, and Zach eventually kills the alpha in self-defense. Shaken but alive, the Monster Busters escape with both shards in their possession.
* Date: 3/3/19
== Chapter 3: Apparition in the Fog ==
* Location: Ben Macdui Mountain, Scotland
* Focus Creature: Fear Liath Moor
* Synopsis: In search of another shard, the Monster Busters venture to Ben Macdui within the Cairngorm Mountains of Scotland. There, they traverse their way through the mountain peaks. They find the third shard nestled inside of an old shrine. With no other choice, John explodes the shrine with TNT. This angers the legendary Fear Liath Moor, a mysterious supernatural entity. With contact being interrupted, the Monster Busters are violently tormented by the spirit throughout the night. John eventually manages to fend the Fear Liath Moor off, by placing all three shards together for a massive flash of light energy. However, the Fear Liath Moor is not done with the Monster Busters- it has cursed John for destroying its shrine.
* Date: 3/9/19
== Chapter 4: Emperor of Magma ==
* Location: Cerro Azul Volcano, Chile
* Focus Creature: Cherufe
* Synopsis: The Monster Busters travel to the dense tropics of Chile's Cerro Azul volcano, where the fourth shard has been detected. This time they are well-prepared, as they are still shaken by their encounter with the Fear Liath Moor. When the Monster Busters arrive, a mysterious earthquake occurs. Afterwards, they venture into the depths of the volcano. Inside, not only do they find the fourth shard, but they also anger a legendary Cherufe. The Cherufe chases them through the volcano while the lava rises beneath them. The Monster Busters barely manage to escape with their lives. As a last resort, the angered Cherufe sets off a massive volcanic eruption, which lights the landscape ablaze while the Monster Busters fly to safety.
* Date: 3/10/19
== Chapter 5: A Wolf Among Sheep ==
* Location: Paulding County, Georgia
* Focus Creature: Werewolf
* Synopsis: The final shard is located within the fictional town of Valumbus, Georgia. This town is within Paulding County, the home of a reported Dogman known as the Paulding County "Werewolf." Monster Busters meet up with Zach's cousin, Jonas Goldhirsch, who allows them to stay in his home and informs them of multiple serial murders that have recently been occurring. As the group advance on, they find out that Jonas is hiding a dark secret worse than any local Dogman: Jonas is revealed to be a real Werewolf, who is attempting to use the shard to cure his lycanthropy. While Zach is away, Jonas runs away with the final shard, but not before brutally injuring all of the other Monster Busters but John. John manages to protect himself by flashing all four of the shards in his possession. The actual Paulding County "Werewolf," a Dogman, briefly shows up to finish the injured members off. John chases it away to save them. Meanwhile, Zach figures out Jonas' secret, and confronts him on top of a hill. Jonas is killed, but not before slashing Zach with the "Cursed Claw." John collects the final shard, and Zach vows to give his cousin a proper burial.
* Date: 3/16/19
== Chapter 6: An Unordinary Camping Trip ==
* Location: Shasta-Trinity National Forest, California
* Focus Creature: Sasquatch
* Synopsis: In order to ease Zach's mind after Jonas' death, John plans a peaceful camping trip in California's Shasta-Trinity National Forest. While going about their daily activities, the Monster Busters find evidence of a local Sasquatch family. That night, the Fear Liath Moor shows up in John's dream and attacks him. Sensing the evil spirit, an alpha male Sasquatch becomes enraged and attacks the Monster Busters. The Monster Busters are chased across the forest. Suddenly, the Fear Liath Moor manifests itself in front of the Monster Busters and the Sasquatch. John scares it away with the shards' flash. The Monster Busters later make peace with the Sasquatch by offering it berries. After freeing its young son from a large bear trap, they realize that foul play is afoot in the Shasta-Trinity.
* Date: 4/13/19
== Chapter 7: Specter From the Depths ==
* Location: Lake DeSmet, Wyoming
* Focus Creature: Smetty
* Synopsis: The Fear Liath Moor continues tormenting John during his dreams, so he begins sleeping with the shards to ward it off. The Monster Busters travel to the state of Wyoming to investigate a recent and mysterious boat crash in Lake DeSmet. The shard tracker detects a strong source of energy in the lake. While investigating, their boat is attacked by the Lake DeSmet Monster, a local legend. They are rescued by an old Native American fisherman, who informs them that the monster is the spirit of a Native American maiden. The maiden is restless because she has lost a reminder of her old lover, an old dreamcatcher. Zach uncovers the dreamcatcher and returns it to the monster. The monster then disappears into a mysterious portal. This leads Zach and John to a realization: the portal must lead to another dimension, perhaps a spirit world.
* Date: 8/2/19
== Chapter 8: The Missing Kitsune ==
* Location: Kyoto Prefecture, Japan
* Focus Creature(s): Jikininki, Kitsune
* Synopsis (Part One): The Monster Busters head to a remote village in Kyoto Prefecture, Japan. Bodies have been mysteriously disappearing there. On the way to the village, they find a grand temple. An old Shinto priest warns them of Yokai lurking about. When they arrive at the village, the Monster Busters learn that a man has recently died. They watch over his body at night, and end up seeing a Jikininki devour him in front of their eyes! The Monster Busters are horrified. That night, Zach has a strange dream about a golden deer and a golden wolf. The next day, they ask the priest about the Jikininki, but he reveals that he is the Jikininki himself. Due to past misdoings, he is forced to feed on human flesh as an eternally hungry spirit. John and Zach shoot at the Jikininki, but the bullets phase through him. Head of Security Thomas Moore attempts to engage in hand-to-hand combat, but the Jikininki tears off his arm and begins feeding on it. Thomas is rushed to a village clinic, and he is given an emergency escort to the nearest hospital.
* Synopsis (Part Two): While pondering what happened, John catches sight of a seven-tailed silver fox. When the Monster Busters track it to its home, it reveals itself as the kitsune Daisuke. Daisuke explains that his daughter Kasumi has recently gone missing, and that it was likely the Jikininki's doing. Daisuke senses the shards' power and informs John that these are ancient artifacts that, in the right form, could likely defeat the Jikininki. He leads them to an abandoned Inari shrine, which the mysterious nine-tailed kitsune Hoshi calls home. Hoshi is eccentric and overly whimsical. Although she is initially disgusted by the shards, she crafts them into a Raitoshādo Sword when the Monster Busters offer her fried tofu. The Monster Busters return to the Jikininki's temple, where they find Kasumi. The Monster Busters face the Jikininki once again, and John ultimately defeats it by stabbing it with the Raitoshādo Sword. The Jikininki's spirit says he can finally be free, and his temple fades into an ancient gravestone. Kasumi is freed, but she runs away. The Monster Busters return to Daisuke, who congratulates them. Daisuke claims that he has no use for the Raitoshādo Sword, and he knows that Hoshi will not want it back. The Monster Busters leave Japan with the Raitoshādo Sword in hand. The saga of the shards has ended, but whole new mysteries have been opened up.
* Date (Part One): 8/9/19
* Date (Part Two): 8/10/19