Arc 6: Hell Riders

## Session 1 (5/2/2020)

* About a week has passed since our fight with Marcus (but now based on solid dates, looks more like about 3 weeksish), it’s 10am on a wednesday morning
* The posse’s dispersed around town: Addie’s reading under a tree with River, Choc’s working on his tank and making a furby, Gregg’s trying to teach Tony tricks with no success, Red’s looking over a map and planning for his trip to Vegas, and Atom’s cleaning his car
* Marrla pulls into town, Atom greets her and tells her about all the shit our group’s been through since we last saw her
	+ Atom sells her the Alpha Ray, and talks about improving his new Nova
	+ Atom introduces Red to Marrla
		- When Atom mentions Marrla supplied drinks and drugs back in Oasis, Red says he’s trying to get clean
* Gregg notices some newer people in town, the ones that had come in with bloody feet and torn clothes a short time before
	+ One of them walks up to gregg, introduces himself as Warner Page, a librarian, and asks if she knows Addie or Atom
	+ He says he might have a job for us, and Gregg asks about the reward: a library card and $100 dollars to each of us
* Addie’s mom senses activate and she goes over to find Gregg, River following close behind
	+ Addie meets Warner, and agrees to gather the group for a proper briefing
* Once we gather at the barn, Warner gives us the details
	+ He mentions the Hellriders have been causing trouble recently
	+ Red says he heard of them before: they were a pretty small operation
	+ Warner says they’ve grown in the past couple months, with a hold in a town called Burney (Bernie? Burny? I dunno man)
	+ He was in Aden a few weeks ago, when he came across two teenagers who asked him to dinner. He refused, and not long after they parted ways, a group of bikers came, beat him up, and took him as a slave
	+ Addie asks him about certain details
		- About 25 slaves that were made to build statues
		- Aden is about a 3 hour drive south of New Wells
		- The Hell Riders seem to number over 45, are well armed, and brutal
		- Slaves are kept in a grate in the ground
		- The Hell Riders are seeking those with magic talent
		- He shows us the symbol he remembers around Burney, an eye in a circle surrounded by weird lettering
			* Gregg knows the symbol represents a powerful demon associated with human sacrifice: Atheron
			* Seems they’re trying to summon Atheron
* After the meeting, Gregg eventually tracks down Marrla to buy drugs
	+ Atom messages her, saying if she sells Slow-Mo/hard drugs to Gregg, he’ll spread it around she sells drugs to kids and she won’t get his business anymore
	+ Marrla instead sells Gregg a massive bag of weed
* Addie officially meets Toussaint after they get the job details
* Red talks to Addie, says if we see Nomads, he wants to talk to them
	+ Addie demands he not be reckless and that he stay behind her in a firefight
	+ He walks off as she reminds him she can pick him up like a toddler
* Charles is living his best life dating a hot single mom in his area
* Red and Atom have a drag race, Atom wins

## Session 2 (5/16/2020)

* The next day, about 10am, April 12
* Team goings on:
	+ Atom wakes up clutching a bottle of Rum, goes to Victor to get his shield improved
	+ Addie heads over to Victor’s, apologizes once again for getting Red’s blood all over his couch
		- She buys 3 medkits off him, and spends 5 hours getting a first aid refresher from him
	+ As Victor’s held up with Addie, Choc works on Atom’s shield
		- Choc also sells him an SUV
	+ Gregg and Red get high together
	+ Toussaint gets a palmcorder from Marrla
* We meet up to make a plan at Victor’s
	+ Knowing we’ll have to get refugees out of the Hell Rider base, we get Victor to help build a makeshift trailer for the Iguana to pull to get everyone out
	+ Addie tells Gregg she can’t drive high, and gets Mac to drive the truck
	+ We decide it’s best to communicate through palmcorders when we get to Aden, Atom gives Red a palmcorder
	+ On their way out the door, Addie asks River if killing cultists and freeing slaves counts as a first date
* We set out on the road, arriving in Aden about 4 hours later
	+ We catch 2 kids spying on us, a teenage girl and her younger brother
		- They say they live there with their blind grandfather, invite us to dinner
	+ Meanwhile, Red starts investigating away from the group
		- Sneaking near a residence, he’s noticed by an older man with a red bandana around his eyes
		- Red points a gun at him, questioning about bikers coming through the area
			* He seems scared, says his grandchildren do everything for him, invite people back to his home to eat and rest
		- Red starts taking the old man to the kids
	+ Toussaint sneaks into the old man’s house
		- Red stains are on the floor, with belts covered in similar red stains, senses these are for punishing the kids
		- He finds the basement door, feels magic coming from it
			* Biting the bullet, he forces his way through the door, during which the magic wards explode and he takes some damage, but he heals himself
			* Going inside, he finds a shrine of bones and viscera, arranged in a symbol we’ve seen associated with the Hell Riders before
			* There’s a body in the corner, long dead
			* Next to the shrine is a journal
			* Taking the journal, Toussaint burns the house down
	+ Toussaint texts Red to give him the truth about the old dude
		- Red immediately goes to shoot the old guy in the knees, but he moves with supernatural speed to dodge
		- Red and the old guy standoff, red raises his gun, the old guy raises his hand and summons black lightning
		- Red gets a shot on the old guy’s face, forcing the bandana to fall, revealing bright red, shining eyes beneath. Red Eye laughs as the bullet slides from his forehead and falls to the ground

## Session 3 (5/23/2020)

* We start where we left off
	+ Red Eye grows four sizes and starts attacking the team
	+ Red Eye heals damage as combat goes on, but is slowly worn down and killed
* Gregg and Choc talk to the kids, who were hiding
	+ The girl, Marley, asks if Red Eye’s dead, and after they affirm he is, finally spills the truth
		- Red Eye showed up one day with a gang, took their parents away, moved into their house, forced them to help lure people in
		- He’s been beating her and her brother, Caleb
* Toussaint assures the burning house is under control before going to examine Red Eye’s body
	+ Says he’s only seen two types of people that take that much damage and remain standing: supernatural beings and people possessed by manitous
		- Red Eye looks old but not harrowed
* Toussaint looks over the journal he found in the basement
	+ Belonged to Derek Holmes, who used to hunt demons
	+ Atheron’s cult has popped up a few times in history, and Holmes put them down each time
	+ The last time the cult came around, and Atheron was able to summon all 3 of his “eyes”, Atheron was bound to the heart of his hosts, they were put in jars, and the binding ritual needs to be renewed every so often, but Holmes was interrupted the last time he was gonna do it (whoops he dead)
	+ Toussaint makes some connections, and confirms Red Eye was possessed by a manitou
	+ Toussaint hands the journal to River to further examine it
* Gregg and Choc continue to talk to Marley and Caleb
	+ Marley tells them the Hell Riders come by every so often to pick up new prisoners
		- It’s about 6pm now, they come around 10
		- The pickup crew is lead by Skulls Mckenzie
* Everyone gathers up to plan
	+ With the information from the journal, Red pieces together that there are 3 “eyes” of Atheron, important to the demon’s existence on Earth
		- Red Eye was likely one of them
		- A ritual needs to be performed for this, involves sacrificing the innocent on the full moon, which happens in less than 2 nights
	+ Prisoners are held in Burney
		- We can head there while Skulls and his gang ride out here
		- Choc sets a trap with Red Eye’s corpse, setting it to explode when the gang gets too close
* We head out, Marley and Caleb with us
* We get to Burney by 10pm, stop at a distance, find the town is very busy, with raiders crawling everywhere
	+ Red notices a few groups within the gang are nomads
	+ Addie notices some Star Nationals in the area
	+ Red sends Vivian in to scope out the car dealership base
		- She is eventually noticed and shot
	+ Toussaint goes into his mist form to see inside the slave cage, which is below ground level
		- There’s a storm drain access, all prisoners have a welt on their neck with an eye symbol
			* Those marks work as a sort of alarm, and compel those marked to return to their prison
		- Toussaint finds the drain outlet that leads outside town, and breaks the bars
		- He then returns to the prisoners, and breaks the bars that lead into the cage, scaring the shit out of the people, before meeting back up with us and telling us what he found
	+ He tells us there are about 20 prisoners
	+ Red and Toussaint go back to the cage, Red dispels the marks, and they usher the prisoners through the pipes out of town, the guards none the wiser
	+ We put River and Mac and guard duty to watch the escapees, taking them a distance away so they’ll be safer
		- River seems reluctant to be put on the sidelines, kisses Addie before heading off
			* First kiss baby WOOOO
	+ Plan: blow up everything
	+ Before plan moves forward, Toussaint goes back to the base, stealths into an outhouse, and snacks on a couple gang members, dismembers them
		- Overhears that Grace took some sacrifices into the temple
		- Toussaint maneuvers himself to see inside the temple, noticing it’s open to the sky
			* Notices civilians inside, strapped to gurneys
			* Atheron’s symbol is on the floor in blood
			* Grace is the only enemy in there, fucking up someone with pliers
			* Toussaint relays that there are still prisoners in the base before the plan goes into motion
			* Toussaint takes out Grace from stealth
	+ Red and Gregg use their magic to fly and drop bombs on the base, destroying much of it, leaving the temple
		- Addie, meanwhile, uses the underground drainage tunnels to get back in, activates her armor and speed, and meets Toussaint in the temple once the aerial bombing is over
	+ A large dude with tribal tattoos and a shotgun comes out of the wreckage to meet us: it’s Atheron in his host

## Session 4 (6/6/2020)

* We start where we left off: Atheron standing in the entrance to the temple, eyes glowing red, wounds healing, holding a sawed off shotgun as he stares down Addie and Toussaint
* Combat begins
	+ Atheron sends a lightning bolt at Toussaint, which slams into him, then raises two corpses on the gurneys
	+ Toussaint, anticipating backup, runs past Atheron, getting a hit in
	+ Gregg flies over, then drops her self in an attempt to hit Atheron, but slams into the wall beside him
	+ Addie runs in, takes out a walking dead on her way, and lands a hit on Atheron
	+ Gregg is able to hit Atheron and take his arm off, but he heals the wounds quickly, and it becomes evident normal damage ain’t gonna cut it
		- River had gone through the journal, mentioned something about a connection to eyes, Addie recalls this, and is able to land a hit at Atheron’s eyes, downing him
	+ Addie stabs into Atheron’s head for good measure
* River returns with Caleb and Marley, who reunite with their mom
	+ Addie and River cut the remaining civilians loose and check on their wounds
	+ Addie burns Grace’s body before we leave
* We ride back to New Wells, by now it’s in the early AM hours the next day
	+ Addie heals Marley and Caleb’s mom
	+ With what we know, Red Eye and Grace were eyes of Atheron, but we don’t know about the third
* We arrive back in New Wells
	+ Victor sets up a tent city for the refugees
	+ We meet up with Warner to confirm the job’s done and the Hell Riders are gone
		- Atom holds onto the library card, and Warner pays us
		- His ride to Junkyard never showed up