(Savage Pulp) Savage #3.10 Nils Lingonberry and the Dalen av Guld

After their run-in with Norwegian cultists at the Swedish Museum of Antiquities, Our Heroes were in a bit of a pickle.  

"I'm a bit baffled," said Lord Jon-Smythe Cuppenbrush, "The scroll says the ritual to sacrifice Maja Millie needs to take place in the Valley of Gold, but that's in the midst of the Sudan.  There's no way they smuggled her out of the country this quickly...

Swedish adventurer Nils Lingonberry put a single finger up to his lips, stopping the English gentleman's reasoning,  "It might not be THE Valley of Gold.  When I was a boy, my parents would take me to this horrible roadside attraction, were people could pay to dig in the ground and pull up tiny diamonds and gold flecks.  It was all a set-up, run by some looney fellow named Stinky Sven."

"Sounds like what we call in the States, a tourist trap," retorted Ted Mosby. 

"Indeed it was, Ted, but Stinky Sven's tourist trap was called the Valley of Gold, and it's just right down the road from us."

Our Heroes (L-R) Lord Jon-Smythe Cuppenbrush, Nils Lingonberry, and Ted Mosby, Aviator.

Our Heroes arrived at the Valley of Gold after hours.  A number of large rocks shone gold in the moonlight, thanks to layers upon layers of paint.  No one seemed to be around.  

The "Valley of Gold"

Unbeknowst to Nils and Company, another group of men were wandering the grounds as well.  Unsure if they were casing the propety, local drunks, or some mercenaries in the employ of the Norwegians, or worse yet, the Russians, they too knew something was amiss on the property.

Respectable Swedish Hooligans

Our Heroes jumped out of their borrowed truck, surveyed the property, and dashed off.

Nils decided to climb atop a storage building to get a better view.   He notice a collection of supplies on the far corner of the roof, but when he went to investigate, he tripped and fell into the supplies!

Nils falls into a clue!

Meanwhile, the hooligans split up into two pairs.  The first duo ventured closer to the supply building, while the others invesigated a peculiar pile of dead brush.  Well, at least part of that part went forward.  Tim, a middle-aged manager with claims of knowledge but no proof of ability, decided it best if he hung back.

"You're doing a fine job.  I'll stay over here."

While crossing the property, one of the other hooligans was brutally gunned down by the hot hand of Ted Mosby, Aviator.  His partner hid in the rocks and futility returned fire.

One hooligan down....

The gunfire seemed to frazzle the hooligan searching in the brush.  He had uncovered a crate of some sort, but it was too heavy to carry and he could not get it open.  Tim sighed loudly and came up to chastise the man, but found out he could not open it either!

Lift with your knees, not with your back....

Meanwhile, on the roof, Nils was surprised to find a man under a blanket amongst the supplies!  He was even more surprised when the frightened man hit him in the head with a shovel! The biggest surprise, though, was that the man was Stinky Sven himself, sleeping in his miner's costume!

The Odiferous Stinky Sven

With gunfire, stuck locks, and flying shovels across the Valley of Gold,  Lord Jon-Smythe Cuppenbrush returned to the truck and started it up. Ensuring the doors were locked, he drove into the site proper, pistol in his left, steering with his right.

Nils finally had a moment to make Stinky Sven pause, "We're here to look over other strange individuals who might be sneaking onto the property."  

"Besides those other fellers beyond the way?" Sven asked.

"I think they're trouble too, but we're looking for worse trouble," Nils replied, still ignoring the gunfight right below them between Ted and a hooligan.  

It was a brazen Lord Jon, pistol blazing, that caught the hooligan out of position, and he was quickly dispatched.

The Lord was in the truck for the action.

Ted climbed up on top of the supply building, and he and Nils opened fire on the two surviving hooligans.  Again, the random hooligan made great effort to get away, while Tim's laziness led to his death by a hail of bullets.

With that, Our Heroes, and their new friend, Stinky Sven, were able to scour the property.  The difficult was finally opened (it always was...) to reveal a few cultists robes.  Another hiding spot uncovered a half crate of torches, the other half filled with small bills of various international currencies.  A thorough search also uncovered path through some freshly planted trees.  The path led to a gate that Stinky Sven had no recollection of. 

"I need to go back and doing my own landscaping, less some more secret portals show up."

The Valley of Gold held secrets, and if they weren't too late, hopefully their friend, still alive.

GM Notes: The third "season" of our Pulp Campaign has moved horribly slow.  We've only had one game since last Easter.  With completion and story paramount to balance, I set up a one-on-one game with my daughter, Millie.  Playing the heroes, she only deviated from "acceptable" actions when Lord Cuppenbrush returned to the care for protection (He literally ignores penalties from his first wound, so a guy that tough usually meets adversity head on.)

I played the hooligans and they were true mooks in every sense of the word.  They could not even get a lucky shot off that wounded any of the heroes.

Trail of Clues is a standard scenario right out of the rulebook.  There's a bit of irony that the AAR that inspired me to use this scenario was The Land of Counterpane, as his scenario was played with his ten-year old daughter,  Millie (aged 10). 

Next:  #3.11 - The Rescue!  If not, then a Sacrifice!