The Fiction Introduction

How to Run This Adventure

"Everyone is Alone in the Dark" is divided into "Scenes." Each Scene is further divided into three parts: The Set-Up, The Action, and The Follow Up.

THE SET UP

... explains in brief detail things you (the GM) have to know and remember about the Scene. It's a quick reminder list designed to remind you of important details that you may otherwise forget

THE ACTION

... tells you in further detail and explanation of the events of the Scene.

THE FOLLOW-UP

. . lets you in on how the characters' actions in this Scene could effect details of other Scenes.

Each area of the fortress (including the outside) is considered a separate Scene. For instance, Scene One: The Shadowlands details the characters' approach to the fortress. The Set- Up tells you that there is a beast waiting to ambush the characters as they march through the Shadowlands. The Action gives you further information, including a description of the Scene. The Follow-Up tells you how the characters' observations of the beast may lead to further clues in the fortress.

Scene One: The Shadowlands

THE SET-UP

One creature will attack the party. Four more are nearby. The party will hear their approach shortly after they dispatch the first.

The walls of the Crab fortress are within sight

Ahead a decomposing Crab samurai hangs from the front wall. He appears to have been here for some time.

THE ACTION

The air is hot and heavy with moisture. Everything is very still without the slightest breeze for relief. The players have been walking for several hours inside the Shadowlands, and the experience has been rather disheartening. The surrounding vegetation gives off a sickly odor, like that of decayed flesh, and strange insects pass in small swarms. The ground is soggy, slurping a little at the feet as if half- heartedly trying to hold them there.

Just as the walls of the Crab fortress come into view over the tops of the strangely twisted trees, a gurgling snarl comes from the brush to the left, and a shambling thing crashes out onto the pathway.

It is a little over eight feet tall, shoulders well over three feet across. It has a hunch to its back and walks as if its torso is too heavy. The gait is uneven, but not slow. It is naked and holds no weapons, but its great gnarled hands move in grasping, tearing motions and it reaches for the character nearest its point of emergence.

The characters should be able to fight the thing off and kill it, but not without difficulty. If they are observant, they will notice that although the thing is very quick, it is not particularly coordinated. Several times it swings its massive arms in what might have been killing blows had they not been a bare few inches over the target's head.

Almost as soon as the creature has been disposed of, more thrashing sounds will come from the distance, further to the left of the path, along with more growls and guttural mutterings If the characters decide to try their luck, four more of the things will appear shortly. Two are armed with heavy tree branches, apparently recently torn from still living trees, and one carries a very large stone which he wili proceed to throw at the characters. He will then stumble after the rock, pick it up and throw it again. The fourth is unarmed and will fight by attempting to grasp a body and then tear it apart

When and if the characters reach the fortress, they will find a twenty-five-foot stone wale In the middle, a large wooden gate is pushed several feet open. The door is approximately ten and a half feet tall.

Hanging by a rope from the top of the wall to the right of the gate is a Crab samurai. He's wearing a kimono and is barefoot. He's dangling from a rope wound tight against his swollen neck A good many of the swarming insects have been at work on him for a long while. Just as the characters reach the fortress, the thunderstorm that's kept the air so thick and still over the past several hours, breaks.

THE FOLLOW UP

Observant characters will notice the unusual gait of the creature and its uncoordinated movements They may also be disconcerted by the thing's cloudy black eyes. Every now and again, and just as it died, there was almost something familiar in them. Also, the characters will be unable in any practical way to leave the fortress while the storm continues. The already moist ground will be a swampy mire within moments after the start of the storm.

Scene Two: the Front Entry

THE SET-UP

The remains of a barricade, made of loose wood, broken furniture etc. lies torn down just a little inside the gate, apparently from within.

THE ACTION

The bodies of two Crab samurai in full armor, and four creatures like the one (or more) the characters have already encountered lie where they appear to have fallen. The exposed flesh of the two samurai is badly mutilated, and their armor has been ripped open in places as if by brute strength. Weapons and several more pieces of Crab armor are strewn about the area as if rapidly discarded.

It looks as if a fierce siege lasted here for several days. Bedrolls and some food lie about the place.

The gate is thick wood and sturdy, but has been badly scarred from the outside. It looks as if some kind of large cat or other animal with great claws has spent much time wearing at it. The overall situation looks as if it should have been secure, especially with the heavy objects that were apparently reinforcing the door from the inside.

THE FOLLOW UP

If the characters barricade the door it will hold for at least two more days. Once the creatures outside realize that there is fresh meat again inside the fortress, they will attempt to break in with incredible fervor. If the characters do not barricade the door, the creatures will wander in, two at first (about an hour after the characters' arrival) and then more. The characters stand very little chance if they do not take some course to secure their position either at the gate, or further in the fortress.

Scene Three: The Ghost in the Main Hall

THE SET-UP

The three main tables are missing. They appear to have been dragged out and used as part of the barricade.

The hall looks generally a wreck, and very observant characters may noffce that the level of decay here is much older than the remains at the front gate, three or four weeks perhaps.

There is a spirit remaining in this room from whom the characters can gain a great deal of insight regarding recent events in this fortress. In order to resist possession, the target must make a successful Contested Willpower vs. Willpower roll (Ghost Willpower is 5).

The Ghost

In order to possess one of the characters, the ghost must make a Contested Willpower roll. If successful, the ghost will possess the character until the character has seen the entire description from the action.

THE ACTION

If anyone in the party is a shugenja they will notice a very troubled presence in the room. If none of the players fit this description, the ghost will attempt to contact the character with the highest Awareness The ghost will not speak with the players, but will attempt to 'possess' one of them briefly and 'show' them what he has seen transpire. He cannot show or speculate on events which did not transpire in this room. Reluctant targets will have to make a successful Contested Willpower vs. Willpower test in order to resist the spirit. The ghost has a Willpower of 5.

If any of the characters allow the spirit to communicate with them, they will relive the night the shugenja first emerged with his new find. They'll partake in the argument with a fellow samurai, will turn away, and will see the world fall away before them as they are struck with the killing blow from behind. Time will seem to stretch for several lost moments, and then the perspective will change to one higher up in the hall and farther back. All the voices in the hall will be equally clear. The shugenja's staff will take on a strange, blurred tint of green and the character/spirit will feel queasy looking at it. Also, several of the samurai, including the attacker, will also have a blurred look to them, as if their image is doubled and slightly offset.

The character/spirit will hear the cries of anger and horror and disbelief, ail as if standing next to the individual speaker. And they will hear very clearly the shugenja's call for immediate and absolute discipline. They will witness several of the samurai bear down the attacker, beat him brutally, and bear him from the room.

They will continue to watch as days pass and samurai set about in and out of their armor, eating, gaming and drinking. They'll see petty squabbles break out and threats made. And they'll see the commander's furious return. They'll hear the commander's heated words with the nonchalant-seeming shugenja, and a little while later his instructions to one of his samurai to take the tunnel passage out and bring aid from the Crab clan.

The communicating character will then feel a brief shock and several moments of disorientation as he comes to himself. Only a few brief moments have passed to the rest of the party.

THE FOLLOW UP

There's a lot to be learned here, assuming one of the characters is willing to communicate with the ghost. As GM you can choose to make the possession mandatory, or leave it to the players to decide. Releasing the trauma-trapped spirit can be accomplished with a cremation of his remains (he's still under the table and easily recognizable to the possessed samurai) or proper burial outside the Shadowlands. Doing so is worth 2 Honor Points to the characters who participate. If he is cremated, characters will feel their spirit fill with an unearthly aura ... and they will receive an extra Void Points. Also, anyone who brings the body back for a proper burial in Crab territory will be rewarded with 3 bonus Void Points. All of these extra Void Points may exceed the current Void Ring, but they will not return once spent.

The characters now have some idea that things have gone very wrong in the Crab fortress. They also know that no messenger ever arrived at any of the other Crab outposts bordering the Shadowlands. And if they were paying attention, they've learned that there is potentially another entry to the fortress (the alluded to tunnel passage).

After the characters have explored two more scenes they will encounter another creature. It doesn't matter what part of the fortress their in: he'll sniff them out. The creature has come in through the passage in question. Not all of the creatures are aware of its existence. Only a few of them knew of its existence prior to their corruption, and only now and again do they remember it and go wandering in.

Two scenes after the first appears, if the players haven't found and blocked the tunnel, two more will arrive and split up. The first will appear immediately, the second, one scene later.

Scene Four: the Kitchen

THE SET - UP

Any and all meat goods are gone, devoured. Nonmeat foods have been abandoned, as if worthless.

THE ACTION

The kitchen appears to have been ransacked. Bags of rice and dried vegetables are torn open; their contents cover the floor. Not a scrap of meat remains in the place, dried or fresh, fish, fowl or otherwise. Bones are scattered about, many with deep grooves as if from the teeth of a large predator. All stores of sake are also empty.

Behind a carefully closed door (the only deliberate looking thing in the room) the characters will find the bodies of three samurai who appear to have committed seppuku. Beside them there is a heap of blankets and debris. If the characters explore the pile, they will find ancestral armor, swords and banners; religious scrolls and artifacts; and some other personal affects, including several jade figurines and decorations.

THE FOLLOW UP

Whatever is out there appears to be meat eating, and it's been inside. And what looks to be every spiritual and revered article in the place has been discarded in here and covered over, almost as if there were some reason to fear them.

Scene Five: The Shujenga's Room

THE SET-UP

The shugenja's personal notes will document his discovery.

The other books on his worktable are texts on the Naga.

The silken cloth which was binding the object.

THE ACTION

The shugenja's room holds a large work table, a smaller writing desk with a chair and his bedroll which appears from the cumulative layers of dust not to have been disturbed for weeks. Plates of uneaten food lie on the floor, the desk, the bed. All of it has decayed, and insects appear to have come and gone.

The work table is filled with open books and a clutter of bottles and jars holding insects, unidentifiable bits of this and that and varying colored liquids. Several of these containers have been knocked over and broken. The smell is noxious. The strange liquids have seeped into the pages of some of the texts, locking their pages together in a sticky mess. Anyone able to read will be able to identify most of the texts as being about the Naga.

The top book appears to be the Shugenja's notebook. A character will need the Calligraphy Skill in order to read it. Past chapters record the results of various studies the shugenja was working on involving Shadowlands insects. Approximately four weeks ago he documents a discovery while traveling. He found a silkwrapped bundle in some stone ruins, carved with unfamiliar symbols.

Unable to read the runes it was inscribed with, the shugenja returned to the fort in a hurry, eager to discover the nature of what he'd found. He documented his extreme excitement at having found them to be similar to Naga runes appearing in one of his oldest texts. His best attempts to translate came to identifying the phrases Great One, Great Power, and Binder Of All Things. His writing displays a mix of excitement and ambition.

Starting with the next entry, his handwriting is scratchier, more hurried even than before. Having unwrapped the object he describes the find as incomparable. He will hold off making his next scheduled report to shugenja at the Crab palace for fear that they will sense his find and try to take it for themselves. The next few entries go on to say he is experimenting with a communication, attempting to awaken the sleeping power. The entries degenerate near the end into brief scribbled phrases about the glory and the joy, and finally his expectation that the final oneness will be soon. His writing by the end is thin, barely legible.

A moderately thorough search of the room will turn up a green silken cloth covered in intricate characters, and buried under a pile of kimonos and blankets, discarded in a back corner of the room.

THE FOLLOW UP

If no one in the party is able to read Calligraphy, they will be able to follow the dates of the entries and the change in the quality of the writing. If they were able to read it, the party now has a good idea of the source of the Crab fortresses problems. Also, if they've located the cloth they are currently in possession of the only thing able to bind the oni in the crystal.

Scene Six: The Commander's Room

THE SET-UP

A religious statuette on the bedside table. Everything is in order.

Scrolls recounting the ancestral lineage of the commander's family, also by the bedside.

Copies of several treatises on battle and a copy of the Tao Of Shinsei.

THE ACTION

The characters will not find much here to tell them of the events that transpired in the rest of the hall. What they will find is evidence that the commander is an exceedingly orderly, disciplined, and honorable man. The room consists of a bedroll, a bedside table, a writing desk and chair, a shelf of books, and a rack for the commander's armor, katana, and wakizashi. None of these are on the stand. Tools for maintaining and cleaning these items are beside the stand and appear very diligently used.

The books on the shelf include the Tao of Shinsei and several volumes of strategy and discussing the art of war. Beside the commanders bed rest a figurine depicting Osano-Wo and scrolls that list generations of the commander's ancestors and their great deeds. The scrolls look as though they have been often read of late. <>THE FOLLOW UP

This scene gives the players two hints they may find useful in the very near future. The general's character is revealed here to a great extent. He is very honorable and very competent in combat. This will reinforce anything they have previously heard about this commander. He is respected in his own clan and others. Also, it seems that he has recently felt the need to remind himself of his family's long and honorable tradition.

Scene Seven: The barracks

THE SET-UP

The haiku of Hida Sinuju. General disarray.

THE ACTION

The samurai share a single long room. Bed beside a stand for personal effects line either side of the room, places for sixteen men on either side. Most of the room looks a wreck. Bedding is tossed about carelessly. Some of the stands have been thrown over.

Some of the places reek of spilled sake and an almost animal stench. Several of the personal areas appear to be less disordered than the others. In one of these the characters will find the idealistic, if not particularly talented haiku journal of a young Crab samurai. The early writings are mediocre in every respect They praise flowers, glory and the daughter of a commander neighboring his family's land. The last several entries though have an edge of first nervousness, and then despair to them. The final ones no longer have much structure, but are full of anger. Like the shugenja's notebook, the penmanship deteriorates rapidly until it is only ink splattered onto the page.

THE FOLLOW UP

The players should have a pretty clear idea that there's been an internal degeneration at work for some time in this fortress. Also, if they're diligent, they will be able to tell by searching the stands for personal objects, just how many men were stationed at the fort most recently. That information may come in very handy.

Scene Eight: The Underground

THE SET-UP

The secret tunnel entrance tbrough which creatures have been occasionally wandering in.

The commander, locked in his silent battle.

The object, clenched in the commander's hands.

The wasted remains of the shugenja.

The Oni and the Commander

If the characters disturb man~'s concentration, the oni will gain the upper hand in their test of wills and possess the commander.

If they approach carefully, they will see the commander and will be able to assist him with the orb.

The only way to fully defeat the oni is to trap it with the silk cloth from scene five.

THE ACTION

The lower level of the fortress, below ground, is essentially a large storage area. It is divided into two large rooms. One of these appears empty, but diligent players (looking with investigation) will find the tunnel door hidden in the back south wall.

There is a trigger in the wall on either side that will open the false face in the stone wall. Once opened the door remains so until it is closed, or else for about two minutes after which time, barring its obstruction it will swing closed on a weight trigger. Once shut the door is very secure unless the person attempting to pass knows how to trigger its mechanism (something known only by the commander). The air coming from the passage is somewhat fetid, but the characters can also smell and hear the rain fairly clearly, indicating that it is only a short distance to the outside.

In the other chamber, in the corner farthest back from the stairway, the characters will spot what remains of the crab commander. He is now a hulking, gray-skinned thing. He squats in the dark, clutching the object, his eyes never leaving it. A low guttural moan issues from deep in his throat in a kind of eerie sing song. The commander will not be easily distracted from his battle of wills. He is the only thing preventing the trapped oni from sucking the power from others, making it strong enough to take another physical body. He is the only reason the characters have not felt the orb's corrupting touch. The characters will have to decide quickly how to handle the situation. Although they don't know it, the commander is almost finished. Lack of nourishment and the oni's constant barrage have worn him down.

Unfortunately for the players, almost any violent action will break the commander's concentration, thus freeing the oni, and its first action will be to possess the ruined body of the commander. If the characters approach him carefully and calmly, however, his concentration will remain intact, and he will be able to keep his control over the oni.

The players have many options at this point.