August 1943
Character Improvements[]
- Dan -
- Deja Vu -
- Doris -
- Puddles -
Episode Summary[]
On board the USS Nashville again, Captain William Wilson congratulates us on a job well done. However, he has another job for us.
A coconut has been recovered from an abandoned canoe boat, engraved with a message requesting help:
NAURO ISL COMMANDER... NATIVE KNOWS POS'IT... HE CAN PILOT... 11 ALIV
The canoe boat belonged to one of the native islanders, friendly to the US. But he's missing, and the captain believes that the message came from a team deployed to cut off Japanese supply lines a couple weeks earlier. The team apparently succeeded but never returned.
We are sent to recover them.
Deja Vu uses hindsight on the coconut and observes a naval officer carving a message onto the coconut. He can see a bit of the background around him, a small island without a lagoon or mountain or rocky terrain. After finishing carving, the officer handed the coconut to a native islander who set off east.
Puddles notices that the coconut leaked and sips water that has become trapped in it. She believes she could recognize the water if she tasted it again. The team sets off, and eventually finds a tiny island with the missing men.
We rescue Kennedy and his men. They inform us that there are zombies. When we found them, they were roasting a dead crane over a campfire, and inform us that the zombie attacks stopped just after they shot down that crane.
They believe the attacks are coming from nearby Kolombangara Island, where there is a Japanese fortification. When we return to the USS Nashville, the captain sends us out again to investigate these zombies, telling us that he suspects there may be a talent involved.
Deja Vu arms himself with a flamethrower while Doris modifies Gizmo with one. The team lands on the north end of Kolombangara, and heads inland, using the jungle for cover. However, we meet zombies almost immediately.
They are apparently Japanese soldiers, moving at normal human speeds, talking in Japanese. There is a powerful Talent aura over them but it is sporadic - some have it, some do not. Some have injuries that aren't healed yet.
The team hides and watches them pass. We decide to head south along the beach, hoping to avoid more inland patrols, but expecting trouble.
We encounter a huge bonfire, and can see people throwing other people into it. As we get closer, we realize the people being burned are US soldiers, but that they aren't struggling against the Japanese around them. However, burning alive, they writhe and scream in agony.
Puddles water blasts the bonfire to put it out. The soldiers appear confused, and run for the woods, but Puddles sets up a barrier to prevent them from escaping.
After minutes of confusion, we discover that these Japanese and US soldiers are cooperating in burning themselves. There is a powerful Talent who is able to control and keep alive people who would ordinarily be dead. These people have somehow freed themselves from his influence but believe they will only lose their will if they get close to him.
They call him Fukurokuju, and he has patron animals: a black deer, a turtle and a crane. As an experiment, we try to will power contest his ability to keep these people alive, and heal one of them. However, our efforts are fruitless - the volunteer dies but stands up again immediately.
They believe he is at the top of a large Shinto shrine, built within the fortifications.
To figure out his area of influence, we arrange a test: the soldiers will march around singing a marching song, and we will track where they stop singing, to note where they lose their independence.
After performing some calculations, Doris pinpoints the crane's location. Dan uses his jet pack, and he destroys the crane with his laser. The Japanese soldiers it controlled look confused and start shooting at each other, alarmed at being among apparent zombies.
The team heads to the fortifications. We see thousands upon thousands of Japanese soldiers, some zombies, most not.
We decide to pretend to be zombies among other zombies, and Doris modifies her hypnoray so that our contingent of soldiers can keep their minds free.
We head into the compound. At the top of a platform, we see four groups of zombies, dressed in pristine robes, but surrounded by the Talent's aura - dead but kept alive. In the middle of them, we see a man with a huge forehead riding a black deer.
Dan tries to laser him, using Puddles's augmentation assistance. He succeeds and dramatically destroys the man's head (ew!). But he is still moving around, and waving orders at his soldiers.
Apparently, the black deer was actually the talent. We enter combat and struggle against the surrounding soldiers. Easy Company and our Japanese soldiers are almost overwhelmed, but bravely hold their ground.
It takes the combined attacks of the entire team to destroy the deer, but we do and the crowd erupts into utter chaos. Meanwhile, our contacts on board ship provide a distraction, and we escape to rendezvous with the Nashville.
Quotes[]
- Bryan - "Where did they get the coconut?" Steve - "They probably got it from a tree."
- Erica - "I shouldn't be on lookout, since I've been drinking."
- "Zombie triangulation. It's the best kind of triangulation."
- Steve - "We already know what the crane does. It embarrasses me."
Endgame Bonuses[]
- 4 XP
- Bonus skill: Zombie Lore
- The Kennedy family owes us a favor