The Century Club in... The Mesoamerican Discovery
From UTRPG
Contents |
[edit] Chapter 1: Theft at the Museum
At a gathering of the intellectual and social elite at the renowned Isabelle Stewart Gardner museum in Boston, a rivalry is brewing discontent. Doctor Walter Rowntree has returned from Central America with news of his discovery of an unknown civilization. He bears tablets and rubbings suggesting that the people who once lived there had knowledge of mathematics, astronomy, phrenology and other sciences. He brings back also various objets d'art: carvings of gold and jade, including the jewel of his collection, a foot-tall gold-and-jade statue of a man holding a snake-shaped device or symbol. One of the attendees, Doctor Joseph Toussaint, is unimpressed. A long-time rival of Rowntree, Toussaint insists that Rowntree stumbled on his find by accident, and that he does not deserve the doctorate it earned him.
Then, disaster strikes! A band of thugs leaps into the room, brandishing guns! They fire into the air, scaring off the patrons and scientists gathered. Fortunately the Centurions of The Century Club are there to put them right. Duncan Dirk lays about, sending goons sprawling left and right. Friar Takanawa brings righteous wrath down at the end of a rosary-wrapped fist. John Howard is a blur of movement -- as the rest of the room surely seems to him -- as his steel flashes among his foes. Within moments all the masked thugs are on the ground or fleeing for their lives.
But alas, all is not well. In the thick of the fight, a mysterious woman wearing a jetpack flies into the museum and steals the very tablets that Rowntree and his assistants had been in the process of deciphering. She even manages to somehow beguile John Howard into letting her escape. She flies away with her prize, leaving behind only questions as to her identity and motives.
But where is Elliot Royce in all this? In the confusion of battle, he grabs the hat and mask of one of the thugs and infiltrates their ranks. They drive him back with them to their clubhouse, where he listens to them revealing tidbits of information about their plans and mission. He then attempts to spur them to further action, in order to find out more, but he is found out! In a flash Royce knocks all six of the goons out, calls the cops and has them carted away for questioning, but not before letting his quick fingers pilfer through their affairs and pocketing a mysterious telegram.
- Now mystery lingers, like a bad smell. Who were these goons working for? Who was that mysterious rocket-lady? And what is so special about those tablets that they're more valuable than jade and gold? Join us next time, for the thrilling continuation of... The Mesoamerican Discovery!
[edit] Chapter 2: The Doom Equation
A scientific expert is called in to examine the rubbings of the stolen tablets. Melvin Maverick takes one look at them and exclaims, "these equations could mean the end of existence as we know it!" Having gotten everyone's attention, he explains that these equations, developed by Doctor Schoenbach, are intended to bridge between dimensions, and that if they were applied they run the risk of utterly destroying both bridged dimensions. Doctor Maverick and his old companion Jack Hustler join in the effort to stop whoever is playing with fire like this.
Some investigation on the part of Duncan Dirk, and a bit of poking around tell the party that the mysterious Russian rocket lady stole an airplane from the Boston airstrip and flew south. They quickly deduce that she is going to British Honduras (the point of origin of the telegram from the mysterious Dr. W) and Derek Dynamo flies them out at top speed. While refueling in Miami, Dirk discovers that the rocket lady passed through this city as well, and our heroes are just an hour behind their quarry. She seems to have left behind a surprise, however: a gang of mechanics intent on destroying both Derek's plane and it's passengers!
- After a frightening display of combat prowess, the heroes dispatch the thugs and set off in pursuit once more, into the wilds of Mesoamerica. What awaits them on their arrival? Who is trying to destroy the universe? Will the Centurions be able to stop it in time? Join us next time, for the thrilling continuation of... The Mesoamerican Discovery!
[edit] Chapter 3: High-Flying Adventure!
A pursuit across the Gulf of Mexico results in high-altitude combat! Derek Dynamo's dependable Deliverance closes the lead and tails the russian rocket-lady's stolen biplane. Although Deliverance is faster, the biplane is more maneuverable, and the contest is close. The two planes circle and maneuver around each other, until the rocket-lady decides to open fire! Derek Dynamo banks hard, and Jack Hustler leans out the door and shoots out the biplane's left rudder controls.
Seeing her impending demise, the pilot steers the biplane in a suicide attack directly at Deliverance! Despite some significant damage to her systems, Derek Dynamo manages to narrowly avoid being taken down by the doomed plane. The rocket-lady leaps from the cockpit, her rocket pack flaring to life. John Howard, fueled by bravado, lust and booze, ties a rope of seatbelts around his waist, runs out onto the wing, and leaps into the air to catch her. At first he snags her firmly around the waist and chest, but her rocket flares and she wriggles out of his grasp until all he is holding onto is her ankle. Elliot Royce sends his monkey scampering out to help, but she distracts John Howard with a lace undergarment and breaks free. She flies off into the jungle, but not before getting shot in the leg by Jack Hustler.
Deliverance is pretty badly damaged, so our heroes land her in Belize City and put her up for repairs. Some investigation on the part of Duncan Dirk and John Howard reveals three scientists working in the area with the initial "W": Dr. Watson, a botanist, Dr. Wendigo, a zoologist, and Dr. Wilson, a meteorologist. Dr. Watson has a house in town, so naturally John Howard poses as his distant relative and cons his way in for the night, noting with pleasure that although Doctor Howard has no children with him, his household staff is quite well-stocked with pretty girls.
First thing in the morning, Duncan Dirk goes out looking for information on where the doctors Wendigo and Wilson do their field work. He lucks out and finds someone on his way to bring supplies to Doctor Wendigo. Hurrying back to the others, he runs into Elliot Royce and Jack Hustler, on their way back from a strange and ill-fated attempt to wrangle account information from the manager of the local bank. The group sets out in search of Doctor Wendigo...
...and fall into a trap! An hour or two into the jungle, the group's guides stop and force the Centurions out of the trucks at gunpoint. They try to speed off, but are bested by the heroes, who commandeer two of the three trucks, and blow out the tire of the third. Just then, a roar erupts from the jungle, and a fearsome dinosaur, towering above the road, sets in pursuit of all three supply trucks!
Derek Dynamo is momentarily spooked by a recurrence of his Violet Fever, and leaps out of one of the trucks. Duncan Dirk, trying to jump from one truck to another, tumbles into the road and ends up at the feat of the Thunder Lizard. John Howard jumps off the back of the last truck, waving his sword at the dinosaur. Melvin Maverick tries to shoot it from a distance, Elliot Royce struggles to keep control of the truck he is driving, while Jack Hustler finds a box of popcorn and sits back, enjoying the show.
- As danger looms, can the Centurions fight off, or at least escape, the rampaging Tyrannosaurus Rex? Will they track down the Russian Rocketeer? What is the dastardly Doctor W up to? And will Jack Hustler find the whole thing sufficiently amusing? Find out next time, in the thrilling continuation of... The Mesoamerican Discovery!
[edit] Chapter 4: Into the Bush
The Centurions fight long and hard against the massed dinosaurs. John Howard swings valiantly away with his magical sword; Duncan Dirk and Derek Dynamo do what they can to help, and Jack Hustler does his best to enjoy the show. One of the trucks is hobbling away with a blown tire, and the two others are stuck behind it. Things look grim for our heroes.
Then, storm-clouds gather. In moments, the previously sunny sky darkens and begins rumbling with thunder. At the same time, a herd of dinosaurs is seen approaching the group. Duncan Dirk, getting flashbacks to his time in Paris, freaks out and goes crazy! Jack Hustler keeps the dinos at bay, but tension mounts, until a single bolt of lightning strikes the ground, right in front of John Howard! When the light fades, a shivering and naked McBuff is there, suddenly thrown into the fray.
The rampage of the dinosaurs is not abated, though, and they tear through the Centurions. Friar Takanawa is found to be hiding under a tarp in one of the trucks, and despite his efforts to ward off the dinosaurs -- or at least convert them to "Emperor Jesus" -- he gets mauled worse than anyone. Finally Derek Dynamo and Melvin Maverick manage to beat a retreat, while Duncan Dirk organizes the locals, previously their antagonists, to fend off the reptilian menace. But in the chaos, Elliot Royce is dragged off by the T-Rex and disappears...
The group drives dejectedly to the encampment of Doctor Wendigo, who is not the villain everyone suspected. In fact, she thought the Centurions were the ones trying to destroy the world with the Schoenbach equations. After some discussion, she decides that the only person insane and talented enough to try to pull off a caper of this magnitude is the nefarious Doctor Methuselah. Doctor Wendigo agrees to help the Centurions out with whatever information and advice she can give, and warns them to hurry on their way lest Doctor Methuselah find a source of power strong enough to run his evil deeds.
- Now that the truth is revealed, can the Centurions find Doctor Methuselah in time to prevent the destruction of the universe? Will they be able to stop his plan? What more twists and turns lie around the next corner? Join us next time, for the thrilling continuation of... The Mesoamerican Discovery!
[edit] Chapter 5: Strange Time
The Centurions high-tail it back to Belize City, still catching glimpses of dinosaurs in the jungle. They tend to their wounded and arrange things for their departure. Derek Dynamo checks on the repairs on Deliverance, and finds her not fully repaired yet. Jack Hustler, looking to kill some time, knocks over the bank he was trying to scam earlier, while Duncan Dirk does what he knows best, and puts his ear to the street to find out about Doctor Methuselah.
Then, things go strange. Duncan Dirk spots a man who works as a mercenary for, among other people, some of the triad groups in the far east -- the devilish Damien Darkly! Before Dirk has a chance to recover from the shock of seeing Darkly here, of all places, in the blink of an eye he finds himself -- as well as all his companions -- dressed up and attending Doctor Watson's party.
After some short discussion it is determined that everyone felt the same thing: like the last hour or so went by in a flash. They all have some memories of the intervening time, but it seemed like no time had passed. Looking around at the other guests, some seemed a little disoriented, leading the Centurions to believe they were not the only ones affected. The only one apparently at ease is Rex McDuff, who is used to "temporal anomalies", as he calls them.
The party starts innocuously enough, until the Centurions realize that someone has been spreading rumours about them. The police think that Derek Dynamo has been smuggling arms into the country, and take him into custody for questioning. The local religious folks are appalled to hear that Friar Takanawa is a satanist. And -- horror of horrors! -- some knave has been spreading the rumour that John Howard is a womanizer!
Just then the bank manager is spotted and Elliot Royce and Jack Hustler have to think fast. Jack Hustler hides in the bathroom for a couple of hours, leaving Royce to be arrested. Rex McBuff tries to start a brawl to help, upending a tray of food all over a large man with a yell of "take that, you damn dirty ape!" Unfortunately this man happens to be a prominent local catholic priest, and perhaps Friar Takanawa's only chance to shake his demon-worshiping stigma.
Meanwhile Duncan Dirk is drawn into a duel of determination with Damien Darkly. Darkly, possibly the scariest man alive, leaves the normally unflappable Dirk shivering in fear, unable to even look anyone in the eye, and so shaken he experiences hallucinations of dark things in shadowy corners.
Again time seems to speed forward, and a confused Doctor Watson is seeing his guests out into the early morning light, apologizing for the fracas last night, as well as the curious fact that everyone stayed so long. Everyone not already in jail gathers, meaning to figure out what to do, until another time jump happens...
...and Elliot Royce, Jack Hustler, Derek Dynamo, Rex McBuff and Friar Takanawa find themselves on the streets of Belize City outside the jailhouse, running in the direction of the airstrip. They stop to look behind them, and see what looks like the whole police force chasing after them! They make it to the hangar where Deliverance is kept, but she's still not fixed well enough to carry more than three people, with no cargo.
So Duncan Dirk and Rex McBuff climb in behind Derek Dynamo, and Jack Hustler steals a nearby biplane, with Elliot Royce and Friar Takanawa squeezing on board. Unfortunately Hustler doesn't know how to pilot it, and so cracks an axle of the landing gear on his way off the runway and into the bushes. Eventually he gets it off the ground -- nearly throwing Royce off in the process -- and the Centurions fly off to freedom
- Eventually the biplane runs out of fuel, and the group is forced to pile into Deliverance and crash-land in the jungle. With no vehicle and no supplies, can they make it to the now-visible volcano to stop Doctor Methuselah? What hazards will the ever-more-frequent time ripples pose? And how on earth will they find Melvin Maverick and John Howard? Join us next time, for the thrilling conclusion of... The Mesoamerican Discovery!
[edit] Chapter 6: The Volcano Hideout
Struggling out of the wreck of Deliverance, the six centurions thank their lucky stars and Derek Dynamo's flying skills that they are not dead. They are injured, however, and only Duncan Dirk and Friar Takanawa are in good enough shape to travel. However, Melvin Maverick and John Howard show up in a truck, Melvin Maverick having triangulated the location of the lair of Doctor Methuselah by measuring the waves of time distortion.
While Melvin Maverick and Derek Dynamo work at giving medical attention to the others and effecting what repairs they can on Deliverance, the three others set off toward the looming volcano. They cross a lake, fighting off vicious water-snakes, and land in an area between jungle and rocky highlands. Duncan Dirk, still having waking nightmares from his encounter with Damien Darkly, is convinced that he has seen demonic shapes moving in the jungle. He states in no uncertain terms that they are not going into the jungle. John Howard, bristling at being told what to do, insists that the jungle is the better way, and will not head up into the hills. Friar Takanawa, ever the hard-headed jesuit, listens to them argue a while and strides off into the jungle.
- John Howard: Well I can't say that it was a terribly auspicious way to start the trip. I was having ever such an awful hangover when the snakes arrived, which was upsetting and the row that Dirk and I had didn't make it any better. I was under the impression that the trees would block out the light nicely, then our nice oriental fellow charged the treeline. Not wanting to be outdone I simply had to follow regardless of what Dirk thought.
Sure enough, Howard follows Takanawa, and finds him face-to-face with a six-foot-long dinosaur! He gets ready to attack it, but the Friar stops him. The dinosaur, apparently, has decided Takanawa is a friend, and takes to following him around like a dog. Meanwhile Dirk strikes off alone into the hills. In the pitch black of night, and without an adequate source of light, he falls afoul of a panther. He narrowly escapes becoming its dinner by trapping it in a gully and escaping, but not before twisting his ankle badly enough that he is limping all the way to the mountain.
John Howard and Friar Takanawa encounter a group of indigenous women, some barely more than girls. There is a bizarre exchange, with Howard trying to convince the younger ones to take him back to their tent and the older ones trying to get rid of him -- so they can report the centurions' location to Doctor Methuselah, they later find out. This of course is made much more difficult by the fact that they have no common language between them. During this interaction Friar Takanawa discovers something strange: parts of the spoken language, and some of the accompanying hand-gestures, seem to be making reference to mathematical concepts! He promises himself to investigate this more later.
- John Howard: Well how was I to know that ladies were in fact girls. Age is such a culture dependent thing. While once when I was in... that jungle... I ended up being married to a twelve year old who was one of the chieftain's daughters, which made it somewhat awkward when dealing with his rather nubile wife... well at least until that whole fighting thing with the village...
Finally joining up at the base of the volcano, the three centurions find a cable car leading up the side. As they approach the door of the car swings open to admit them and closes behind them, and the car begins its ascent. They were expected! At the top small groups of indigenous people are seen to suddenly appear whenever there is a time jump. The three adventurers make their way up to a tunnel set into the mountain face. This tunnel leads down into the mountain, through a heavily guarded corridor and into the heart of Doctor Methuselah's mad machinations.
- John Howard: I had considered trying to find a way to travel back into time because I would have in fact traveled to a place where no one would have heard of my exploits. In the end I decided against it, for being related to the majority of humanity would severely lessen my prospects were I ever to return to the present day.
A glowing portal, apparently leading to a point centuries before today's modern world of 1923, sits on a raised platform in a room built around the chimney of the live volcano. Pipes lead from the chimney to the machinery around, powering the portal. In a control room Rocket Red, the mysterious woman of John Howard's dreams, controls the machinery, while Doctor Methuselah watches via a cunning series of mirrors.
As Doctor Methuselah gloats about his plan to bring an army of Mayans from the past to serve him, Red activates the portal and a group of spear-wielding warriors appear behind them, blocking the exit. Then two more groups appear, and attack! John Howard gets to the root of the matter, jumping into the cramped control room with Rocket Red and convincing her to abandon her post and disappear into the utility closet with him. This was no easy task, as she was using her own considerable womanly wiles to convince him that she would make it worth his while to wait until she had finished her task.
- John Howard: I had thought she was simply being coy. Anyways it was a fascinating thing seeing Red there again. I've ran into her on very many occasions with considerable amusement on both of our parts (I remember that time in Manila where we'd managed to get into a bank vault and she was doing something with money I think, but she was doing this fascinating thing with her legs...
It is a long and furious battle, with both Friar Takanawa and Duncan Dirk eventually getting taken down by the powerful Mayan warriors. However, without Red at the controls the entire device begins to fall apart, sending the Mayans scattering and Doctor Methuselah escaping off into the sky, swearing vengeance. As the tunnels start to fall apart a lipstick-smeared John Howard saunters out of the back room, picks up Takanawa and Dirk, and drags them into the fresh air. They manage to make it down the cable car and into the jungle just in time to see the volcano erupt, chunks of rock and flows of magma obliterating all the work Doctor Methuselah had done.
- John Howard: I do believe I left my pants in that closet. Bother, I quite liked them.
Editor's note: as a special treat for our readers, we have included a colourful insert, depicting a tactical map of the final showdown between the centurions and Methuselah's Mayan Minions. Sure to become a collector's item!
