Chapter Seven

## Agents of Ishandryn

* **With the Bois under the command of the Ishandryn Empire, Field Commander Maldrek gives Bongo and the Backscratchers their first mission: they must uncover a Zorendal sleeper agent in the land of Thameshyn! Specifically at the town of Zan Saresh; a lawless, crime-infested port town filled to the brim with shifty alleyways, shady characters, and sandy shores! And travelling with them is none other than the legendary half-elf ranger, Edvard Iuvenis and his trusty honey badger companion, Honey Bunny.**
* **After a short ship ride across the great Soresian waters, Bongo and the Bookhouse Boys arrived at Zan Saresh. They dock at the port town and began their investigation, strutting through the filthy streets like a pack of goons, glaring and cracking their knuckles at anyone who crossed their path. Suddenly the Bois are approached by a seemingly trustworthy lizardfolk, who offers to give the party a tour of Zan Saresh. The Bois are somewhat suspicious of the slimy lizard-man. Bongo and James are very apprehensive, but Kaw sees no issue with the gentleman. “Give us the scenic route, pal!” he chuckles, slinging his arm around the lizardfolk’s scaly shoulders. “Right this way, my new friends!” the lizard hisses.**
* **The party follows the lizardfolk through the bustling town, until they eventually arrive at a secluded little area behind a few buildings.**
* **Then to everyone’s total shock (except for James’ and Bongo’s) from the shadows spring a group of vicious bandits!! The lizardfolk, who appears to be the leader of the baddies, draws his blade and demands that the Bois hand over Skimp, who is their true target. “Who sent you?” Skimp growls at the bandits. The lizardfolk guffaws, “Some brutish orc who owns an opium plantation. He hired us to capture you alive, and bring you straight to him. He said somethin’ about wanting revenge on the rat that slew his father. He also wanted me to let you know that when he gets his hands on you, YOU’RE GONNA GET WHIPPED HARD, BOY!”**
* **Skimp’s eyes widened. He drew his rapier and dagger and hollered, “YOU’LL NEVER TAKE ME ALIVE!!!!”**
* **“Let’s get ‘em, Bois!” Bongo roars to his comrades, who prepare themselves for the ensuing battle.**
* **As the blood begins to fly, crowds of Zan Saresh citizens began to surround the battleground, cheering and throwing a few gold pieces on the ground, and placing bets on who’s gonna win the scuffle.**
* **“My money’s on the goliath with the mechanical eye!” one grimy man cheered. “Mine’s on the lizard!” cried another. “I’m puttin’ all my money on the panda!” said some bald guy. The crowd went utterly silent, turning to the bald guy.**
* **Then they erupted with laughter, cackling things such as, “You’re betting on that old hag? She looks old enough to be my great-great-great-great grandmother! She probably doesn’t even know where she is right now, the senile old bat! Ha ha ha!” The bald man hung his bald head in bald shame.**
* **Hearing this ridicule, anger flared within James. She clenched her gloved, mechanical hand into a fist.**
* **The battle raged onwards, the group of bandits proving to be quite a challenge. During the brawl, Bongo and the Bois notice that Edvard Luvenis and his honey badger are nowhere to be found. Although confused about the disappearance of their ranger friend, the boys have no choice but to continue the fight without him. “Anybody know where Big Ed wandered off to?” Bongo asked in the midst of the fighting. “Who?” Kaw responded. Bongo shrugged it off and just assumed that Edvard had gotten lost at some point.**
* **The bandits fought tooth and nail to capture Skimp, but in the end they cowered before the might of Bongo and the Beans.**
* **At last, but a single foe remained: the slimy, scalebacked lizardfolk.**
* **“Alright, alright, I give up!” he panted, clutching at his bleeding wounds. “Take it easy! I don’t got any beef with you guys. I was only in it for the gold that orc guy offered me!” He lifted his hands in surrender. “Please, spare me!” But as he pleaded for mercy, he slowly began to reach down… towards the hilt of a dagger tucked into his boot.**
* **James Hurley stepped forward. She cracked the metallic knuckles of her robotic hand menacingly.**
* **From her bindle, the monk draws her gallon of pure sycamore honey. Removing the glove from her robotic fist, she dipped her hand into the honey then quickly slipped the glove back on. The surrounding crowds of people, who had been jeering at James only seconds ago, now stared at her in awe. Uttering a beastial roar, the monstrous panda charges straight at the lizardfolk, raising her legendary Glove O’ Honey.  The lizardfolk has nowhere to run, nowhere to hide. Standing in the path of the charging monk was no different than standing in the path of a speeding steam engine. “PLEASE! HAVE MERCY!!!” the lizard sobs, cowering before the panda. James snarls viciously, “What you see now is my NORMAL STATE.” James' Ascension begins blaring.**
* **“She must be bluffing,” the crowds muttered uneasily. A few people backed away, fearing the might of the pandafolk.**
* **James suddenly raised her fists upwards, unleashing a piercing, unending, echoing scream. “YOU’RE GONNA LOVE THIS!!!” The entire planet quakes, and the oceans start to thrash. The sky grows dark, and lightning flashes, as James Hurley powers up to her full strength. A violent golden aura surrounds her muscular body as she ascends to an unthinkable level of power. “And THIS is to go.” James screams at the lizard,  EVEN FURTHER BEYOND!!!”**
* **The world nearly crumbled beneath the stress of James’ unfurled, tremendous power.**
* **Meanwhile, over on a mountaintop in Phylum, the old man known as Vulkyn is staring into a gigantic beam of yellow light, fear stretched across his wrinkled face. “No! Stop it, foolish pandafolk!” he cries shrilly.**
* **Far to the north, atop a massive mountaintop, Bongo’s brother Lugg stared off into the vast distance, staring at the huge beam of light piercing into the sky. “Rovagug, are you seeing this?” he asked. The rough beast replied, “Yes. I see it.” Lugg, wiped the sweat from his brow and asked, “Could this be? The legendary Super Panda!?!” Rovagug grimaced, “This makes things difficult…” he grumbled.**
* **“It’s UNREAL!” said Skimp in awe, sweat pouring down his face. “How is she generating that much power?!”**
* **“Feels like the whole world’s shakin’ apart!” Kaw screeched. “What’s James doing? If she doesn’t stop this, everything is gonna be destroyed!!!”**
* **“No! Stop it, James!” Bongo cried, “If you do this now it’s going to drain away all the time we have left in this session!” the goliath shielded Thgil from the power emanating from the panda “And I’d say we need every second of it after this!”**
* **Smiling, Aigee told James, “Do it, dad!”**
* **The lizardfolk reacted quicker than he ever thought he could. He pulled the knife from his boot and rushed forward, blade towards James’ stomach. “TAKE THIS!” the lizard cried as he jammed the blade into James. The crowd gasped! But, alas, as the knife impacted the panda, it immediately shattered under the immense power of James Hurley. The lizard backed away, terrified.**
* **Her voice echoing across the land, James bellowed, “I AM THE HOPE OF THE UNIVERSE! I AM THE ANSWER TO ALL LIVING THINGS THAT CRY OUT FOR PEACE! I AM PROTECTOR OF THE INNOCENT! I AM THE LIGHT IN THE DARKNESS! I AM TRUTH! ALLY TO GOOD! NIGHTMARE TO YOU! I AM THE LEGENDARY SUPER PANDA!!!!!!!!!!”**
* **James swung her mighty  Glove O’ Honey and socked the lizard straight in his jaw. There was a blinding flash of golden light, and a massive shock wave that knocked the surrounding crowds of people off their feet. Blood mixed with honey splattered everyone in the area from head to toe. When the blinding light finally faded away, all that remained of the lizardfolk was a heap of smoldering ash and a few burnt scales at the bottom of a smoking, honey-soaked crater.**
* **James’ fury vanished as soon as it had appeared. Once again she was but a simple monk, staring off into the distance, dreaming of the mountains of Tibet.**
* **The honey and blood soaked crowd rose to their feet, staring at the panda with fearful eyes. Then they erupted into cheers and showered Bongo and the Blizzards with gold, silver, and copper pieces.**
* **With the battle at an end, Aigee quickly scrounges up all of the gold that was thrown by the ragged crowd with his gross, gooey hands. Bongo searches around a little for Big Ed and Honey Bunny, but to no avail.**
* **The crowd slowly disperses, and the Bois are left to their own devices. “What the hell was all that about?” Kaw demanded of Skimp. “What’d those hoodlums want with you, rat?”**
* **After a moment, the rouge replies gruffly, “... I gotta score to settle.”**
* **SESSION END!**