The Adventure Zone: Amnesty - Episode 5

Synopsis
''Our heroes band together to hunt down the Beast terrorizing the woods outside Kepler. Ned remembers a fateful night. Aubrey receives a letter. Duck feels the weight of destiny.''

Ned, in full Wookiee garb, waits patiently in the driver seat of his Continental, which he has parked on a road a quarter mile up from Crooked Bend Cave, where the others lie in wait to ambush the Beast. As he waits, he passes the time listening to some Broadway show tunes, specifically, Come From Away, and wishing he wasn't fucking doing this.Suddenly, the ambient sounds of the forest go quiet and Ned hears the pained breathing of multiple mouths in front of him and he sees the moonlight glint off of a shape ten yards in front of him. Ned lets out one last, "I wish I wasn't fuckin' doing this," and attempts to gain the Beast's attention by laying on the car and turning on the headlights. The Beast sniffs the air and, catching the scent of a dozen animals on Ned's being, charges towards his direction with an echoing scream. Ned throws the car into reverse and guns the shit out of it, narrowly dodging a claw swipe from the Beast. Ned glances into the rearview mirror and sees the Beast pursuing him. He turns his attention back to the road, and he looks back at the mirror to see that it has disappeared. Ned turns back and sees the Beast behind the pine trees lining the roads keeping pace right beside his car. The Beast, black slime spewing from its mouth and every one of its many eyes pulsating with bright red light, takes one big, last step and jumps towards Ned's car. Ned jerks the wheel right, putting the car slightly off-road, and narrowly dodges the Beast, which tumbles and rolls behind him before getting back up to a full gallop, and his headlights catch a pine tree which he is barreling towards at a deadly speed.

'''Several years earlier... '''

Ned lies on the ground and, as he comes to, he sees a wrecked, black Imperial Crown Coupe wrapped around a tree. Suddenly, Ned recalls that he and an accomplice just pulled off the biggest job of their careers and that the wrecked car in front of him is carrying both his haul and his accomplice, who is lying unconscious and splayed out on an airbag in the driver's seat. Ned hears police sirens further down the road and he attempts and fails to open the busted up door to the driver's seat and awaken his accomplice.Ned stuffs his pockets full of as much loot as he can carry and runs off into the woods.

Several years later...

Ned, seeing the tree coming towards him, Acts Under Pressure and jerks the car left, getting it back onto the road, and as he continues to speed down the road, his headlights catch Mama and Barclay hiding out in a bush in the distance right next to a sign for Crooked Bend Cave. Aubrey, having finished spreading the oil along the floor of the cave’s entrance, waits inside Crooked Bend Cave while also attempting to find the best hiding spot. As she's doing this, she hears Ned, still singing at the top of his lungs, racing down into the cave. Ned takes his position as the Beast makes its entrance, hitting the oil patch along the way, and skids to a halt in the center of the cave. The furious Beast looks at the two of them and howls, and Aubrey raises her hand and prepares to shoot some flames at it.

A few hours earlier...

Aubrey and Barclay, both holding flashlights, survey the cave before them. Barclay kneels down and asks Aubrey how she plans on trapping the Beast. Aubrey suggests that they cover the entire cave floor in oil and light it on fire, but Barclay shoots her down on the grounds that that would burn all of them to death and suggests that they strategically place the oil on certain spots of the cave. Aubrey suggests they put a big oil patch in the middle of the cave and a ring of oil around it to prevent it from fleeing.After setting the trap, Barclay asks why she's helping the Pine Guard out and she explains that she feels it's something she just has to do. Barclay smiles and tells her he knows what she's feeling. Barclay warns her that she'll be facing down death tonight and that, if not used properly, her powers can be turned against her and the people she loves.A few hours later...

Aubrey Uses Her Magic and lights the oil below the Beast, lighting its fur ablaze. The Beast lets out a ground-shaking scream as tears begin to form on the shell of animals around it, revealing some of the black slime carapace within, and it turns and takes a swing at Aubrey. Aubrey rolls away in time but lands herself in the ring of fire, trapping her with it. Duck grabs his chosen weapon strapped onto his back and rushes into the cave, ready to strike.

A few hours earlier...

Ned leads Duck through the Chicanery, which contains many empty Diet Coke cans and locked display cases full of items such as George Clooney's Oscar for Syriana, Mal Evan's briefcase, and a mysterious pendant on a silver chain set with a large, bright red stone. The two of them arrive at the case containing Duck's weapon of destiny. Duck expresses reluctance as Ned opens the case, revealing a sword with a coiled blade rolled up like a whip.

A few hours later...

Duck withdraws Beacon and slashes and stabs the Beast before burying the sword in the Beast's guts. Duck rips Beacon out from the Beast, cutting a big gash through the top of it in the process, and a torrent of black slime sprays through the air. The Beast's patchwork pelt falls away, and the Beast’s true form is revealed. Standing before the group is a figure roughly lizard-like in shape, comprised entirely of that black slime material and with a tail that ends in a razor-sharp point. Its face looks decomposed, with thin strands of slime connecting its top and bottom jaws, and its hollow eye sockets are filled with a furious red light.

The Beast lets out a shrill howl for reinforcements, but Mama and Barclay manage to prevent any of them from entering the cave. With a mighty leap, the Beast hurls itself from the flames and in front of Ned, who shits his pants pulls his Magnum from his shoulder holster--and unloads into the Beast's face. Another spray of black slime spews from the Beast as it rears back and comes back down and hits Ned with both its claws, knocking him backward. Aubrey notices the heat of the cave becoming hotter and prepares to shoot the Beast with a fireball.

WIP

Featured NPCs

 * Barclay
 * Beacon
 * Kirby
 * Mama
 * Minerva

Featured Music

 * The Beast, Confronted
 * Amnesty Lodge (Sunrise)
 * "All Night Long" by Lobo Loco

Featured Locations

 * The Cryptonomica
 * Kepler