Fading Echoes

In order to succeed, the cats will have to Pounce on the monster more than once. Each time a cat Pounces, note that cat’s Strength—that is how many points of Force the Pounce inflicted. If the group total from scene 20 was 18 or higher, the cats must inflict a total of 12 points of Force in order to get the door to open. If the group total was 17 or lower, the cats’ aim is a little off and they must inflict 16 points of Force to get the door open. If the cats have previously succeeded in opening either of the van doors, they only have to inflict 8 points of Force to do the same thing again.

Once the door is open the cats smell the scents of all the cats held within. What’s more, those cats start calling out for help. If any of the players’ cats were captured during the earlier part of the adventure, they are now here, as is Burr. If the players’ cats wish to speak with the others, they can gather the following pieces of information:

Not all of the cats were captured here in these woods. At least five of them were captured a day ago in another stretch of wilderness, put into the cages, and driven here. They are afraid that the same thing will happen today.

All the cats that were brought into the Clean Den were given something that made them sleepy; then they were poked and pinched and made to eat foul-tasting food. But they all agree that the Twolegs didn’t do them any harm.

Each cat may be in a separate, small, cold den, but the Twolegs seem to be able to open or close them all simultaneously by touching some small stones and tugging on a stick near each monster’s opening.

Opening the cages is another complicated matter that the cats will have to figure out using a combination of the descriptions of the cats in the cages and a series of Ponder Checks. The simple truth (which the players’ cats won’t understand) is that the cages are controlled electronically. If a person pushes a certain button then pulls a lever, all of the cages will open. But the cats cannot understand the apparatus in that way. Luckily, though, pushing the buttons and pulling the lever are things the cats can do quite easily once they’ve figured out the details.

Have all the players’ cats involved in this process, even the ones trapped in cages, make Ponder Checks. Add all the totals together to get a group total. If the players’ cats asked the advice of the other cats trapped in the cages, add an additional +6 to the group total.

If the group total is equal to 30 or higher, the cats have successfully hit the right combination of buttons and levers and unlocked the cages.

If the group total is less than 30 then there is a chance that the Twolegs will notice what the cats are doing. This chance is 50/50, so flip a coin or use some other fair method to decide whether or not the Twolegs come to interrupt.

As long as the Twolegs do not come over to try to capture the cats, they may make another set of Ponder Checks and add their results to the previous group total.

What Happens Next: If the cats have succeeded in unlocking the cages, continue with 22.

If the Twolegs notice what the cats are doing, continue with 12. However, if this is the third time that cats have come back to retry this scene, the Twolegs realize what they’re doing and lock the van. There is no longer any way for the cats to open the van door, so instead continue with 23.

22. Released from the Monster

Read Aloud: “With a loud clanking noise, the mouths of all the caves open and all the trapped cats leap out! Although the Twolegs immediately notice and begin making very unhappy-sounding noises, there is nothing they can do as all the cats run into the woods, free once again.”

Narrator Tips: The players have successfully completed the adventure, but there still is room for a little bit of storytelling.

At the very least, the players’ cats can talk with the newly freed cats. They are all rogues from areas outside the Clan territories and they are anxious to get home. First, though, they will express their deep thanks for the work the players’ cats have done. They may ask for permission to travel across Clan territory, but only so they can get back to the areas they were captured from.

Burr plans to stay in the general area. He will, however, agree to stay out of the Clan territories.

What Happens Next: The players’ cats head back to their camp and regale the Clan leader and the other members of their Clan with the exciting tale of their adventure. Certainly, many of the other cats will have a hard time believing some of the details, particularly that the cats were able to survive being so close to two Twoleg monsters. In the end, the success of the mission will be self-evident, and no one will be able to argue that the players’ cats did an excellent job.

23. In the Belly of the Beast