A Werewolf In Under-Town

Blobby reported they had squeezed a tentacle around the hatch and pulled the rug back over the entrance. Shaggy nodded and headed down the ladder, following the others down into the dark. Blobby released their hold on the wall and fell past Shaggy and the others, bubbling all the way. Shaggy listened for Ephemara’s cry of alarm, but it never came. Apparently, his favorite Lackey managed to get out of the way.

The sound of footsteps thudded above him and Shaggy waved a hand at the others. Hoping they would remain silent. Soon, the footsteps stopped, and everyone in the secret tunnel could hear the muffled voices of the Rak thugs. Shaggy started slowly moving down, trying to be as quiet as possible. While they could all probably win in a quick fight, having a running battle through Rak territory all the way back home was probably a bad idea. Not to mention that, so far, the Raks did not know who hit them. Better to let them think it was anyone else.

His group slowly descended further into darkness. Climbing the metal ladder rung by rung further down. Shaggy was almost surprised at how deep the secret tunnel actually went. But eventually Rita, Cekrass, and the others all came to the large dirt tunnel at the bottom. Ephemara was standing there holding a dim lantern. At Shaggy’s questioning glance, she waved a hand down the tunnel. All along the walls of the tunnel at equidistant intervals were more lanterns hung on the dirt wall. Shaggy raised an eyebrow and turned to Sylus.

The grumpy old man was still in his pajamas and was looking around with a dumbstruck look on his face. Clearly, he did not know this was all down here. Or he was the greatest NPC actor ever. But Shaggy doubted that. NPCs were usually scripted pretty well and had come very close to human-levels of interaction, but Shaggy had yet to see one do a complete personality shift. But he guessed anything could happen.

Shaggy waved for Ephemara and Blobby to take the lead as he took up the rear. Their biggest threat was still the Raks above, and he was the most durable. Cekrass and Rita gave him concerned looks, but he waved them off. Although he found it nice that his new pack was worrying about him. As they walked down the six-foot high square tunnel, Shaggy studied the walls. Someone had made and outfitted this tunnel, and they had done it all under Sylus’ nose. Literally.

Shaggy could see that all the nearby dirt walls had all been packed away by some kind of machine. The dirt was packed too tightly and too well to be done by hand. The lanterns were also all stable on their mounts on the walls. He even gave a few a couple of tugs to see how easily they dislodged. While they came loose pretty easily, they didn’t upset the overall integrity of the wall. However, beyond the expertise in which the tunnel was built, Shaggy couldn’t discern much else.

They trudged through the dirt and kept vigilant for any traps or any sign of the tunnel’s creator. Shaggy also kept an ear out for the Raks behind. But the further and further away they got, the more Shaggy relaxed. He smiled to himself as the others started up whispered conversations. Overall, this had been a successful raid. Sure, they had abducted an old man in the process, but they still came away with several bags of ammo and whatever weapons Blobby could fit into their amorphous body.

“This makes no damn sense.” Sylus muttered just loud enough for everyone to hear.

The old man was in the center of their traveling line. Shuffling forward on his fluffy-slipper wearing feet. He had gone from being dumbstruck to outright indignant that someone had made a secret tunnel into his shop.

“You never noticed inventory going missing?” Shaggy asked as he raised his lantern to examine it.

“No! I take metic… matic… great notes!” Sylus stumbled over his words, not helping his case.

Shaggy heard either Rita or Ephemara snort ahead of him. But he kept his eyes on the lantern as Sylus had a whispered argument with whoever doubted his inventory skills. The lantern was odd. It was made of old and pitted metal, but was in otherwise great shape. The light inside was electric and not oil or gas based. Shaggy found the whole device had a weird bit of discord about it. It was an old-fashioned device, made with old parts, but the tech used to make it was top-notch. Least as far as Shaggy had seen. It reminded him of something the Professor would cobble together.

“Hey! Chromia! You said the Raks had a Technopath, right?”

Before the metal woman could answer. Sylus cackled arrogantly. “Hahaha! Ain’t no way that chubby little crotch-stain could do all this!”

Shaggy ignored the older man and stared around Cekrass’ large frame at the metal woman. She had turned to meet his gaze.

“I don’t know if he works for the Raks completely. As far as I know, they bring him in when they want to have something they want built, done well.”

Sylus spat in the dirt angrily. “Bah! Little bastard does good work. But the way the goons treated him, you would’ve thought he was a prince brought down from on high to play with us lesser beings.”

“What does he look like?” Rita asked as she adjusted the strap on the ammo bag she was carrying.

“Well, he was a short, chubby kid. Twenty years old at the latest, and he carried around a giant thermos of water. The way the boy would sweat, you would swear he had never been outside before. Judging by his size, I wouldn’t say that was far off either. Hahahaha!”

Sylus fell into a fit of cackles again as their group moved on in silence. Absorbing what he had said. Soon Ephemara addressed Shaggy.

“You think that’s who did this, boss?”

“I don’t know. But he probably did the lights. Look at them, you could get away with just some regular electronic lamps. But these look self made and overly technological.” Shaggy answered, still peering at the lantern.

It had several visible seams in the lamp’s base and body, showing that whoever put these bits of metal together wasn’t overly concerned with form. They were far more concerned about how the things worked, rather than how they looked. Shaggy could even make out some wires in the lanterns enclosure next to the small light.

“Welp! If it is that little fucker, imma give him a piece of my mind. Building a backdoor into my shop?! I’ll box his damn ears till they fall off.”

Shaggy sighed and finally put down the lantern. He blinked a few times to adjust his eyes to his dark vision again. Cekrass was thudding through the dirt ahead of him, his large body leaden down with several ammo bags. Shaggy tried to send grateful feelings down the pack bond, although he wasn’t sure if it would work. The large lizard-man’s head whipped around and he give shaggy a thumbs up and a tooth-filled grin.

Shaggy grinned back, but said nothing. They continued through the dark tunnel, sometimes going down, other times going up. But always headed in the same direction. Further west under Under-Town. Their little train went on for almost a full hour until Ephemara and Chromia called out from ahead. Apparently, they both noticed something at the same time, which stopped them up short. Shaggy peered around Cekrass’ enormous frame again.

“What you got?”

He saw Ephemara and Chromia glance at each other before Chromia spoke over her shoulder. “We don’t know.”

Shaggy felt his eyebrows go up. “What do you mean, you don’t know?”

“Boss, it’s either a doorway or a sacrificial altar. But in either case, I don’t want to get near it.”

Shaggy pushed his way to the front and looked ahead. The tunnel opened up ahead of them. Turning into a large dirt square room. In the center of that room was the... device the two ladies had been referring to. It looked like a large metal circle sat on a metal plate. Just to the left of the circle sat a computer terminal, clearly connected to the circle. Shaggy gulped and nodded. The thing most definitely looked like an alien doorway of some kind.

Shaggy glanced over his shoulder to see the others all looking at him for instructions. But he grimaced at the thought of sending any of them forward. If the damn thing was booby-trapped, he had the most likely chance of survival. He could send Sylus forward, but that just seemed mean-spirited. Shaggy sighed and started forward. He heard Cekrass and Rita move to join him, and even Ephemara took a step forward, but he waved them off.

“Y’all move back. If these things blow, there is no sense in it getting all of us.”

Chromia nodded and started moving back, dragging Sylus with her. Rita and Cekrass looked unhappy, but followed his orders. But Ephemara had a petulant look on her face, and she had crossed her arms. Shaggy sighed and waved her away again, but the pale woman just mockingly waved her hand back at him. Shaggy grinned, but ordered again.

“Get back, damn it. If this thing is trapped, I have the best hope for survival.”

Ephemara sniffed, but stayed rooted to the spot. “You know, boss. You pulled this shit at Cog’s too. I got your back, damn it. If shit goes south, I’ll just go intangible.”

“Sure, remember how that worked last time?”

“Fuck you, I’m not leaving.”

Shaggy groaned and glanced back at the others, who were further back. “You know you aren’t making me look like a good leader, right?”

“Face it boss. You’re a shitty leader. Someone has to make sure you don’t get yourself or any of the crew killed.”

Shaggy rolled his eyes and sighed. He walked toward the computer terminal and ignored the brief cheer of victory Ephemara made. He was about to start pressing buttons when another damn blue window popped into his vision. Scaring the crap out of him. He almost closed the damn thing out of spite. But after he read the first few words, Shaggy couldn’t keep the grin off his face.

Congratulations

Your Lackey, Ephemara Naluc, has become a Henchman. Along with a general power boost, a Henchman is much more durable than a Lackey and can even command a squad of Lackeys all on their own. A Henchman’s Loyalty is reset to fifty and you also have the option to make them your Number One Henchman. A Number One is crucial to setting up a criminal organization.

Ephemara Naluc Level raised to 10

Powers Increased

Lackey List Unlocked.

Make Ephemara your Number One?

[Yes/No?]

Shaggy grinned. Finally. He had his first Henchman... woman. Whatever. But now he had a bigger choice ahead of him. Ephemara was a little chaotic, but she knew when to stay and fight and when to get the hell out. But the system also didn’t go in-depth into what a Number One was or why it was essential. Shaggy mulled over his options as Ephemara joined him at the console. Her overall look hadn’t changed at all. The thin, pale, dark-haired woman was still the same as always. Smirking at her recent victory and studying the terminal’s interface.

“Fuck it.” Shaggy thought as he mentally hit the ‘Yes’ button.

Since he was prepared for the next pop-up window, it didn’t upset him as much. But the damn things were still intrusive as all hell. Shaggy pretended to look over the console with Ephemara as he read the new window.

Number One Henchman Set!

You have set your Number One Henchman. This Henchman now speaks with your authority when you are no longer around or logged in. They will help manage your Lackeys as well as your other Henchman. All other Henchmen will defer to your Number One when you are not around. You can give instructions to your Number One on what they should focus on, but they will also have their own like and dislikes with work. If any Henchman rises to Captain before your Number One, their Number One status is lost and will have to be reapplied when they make Captain.

Shaggy couldn’t keep the grin off his face. While the thought of Ephemara taking a few Lackeys off on some wild adventure while he was gone was disconcerting, he didn’t find it that unappealing. She acted likely she had a screw loose sometimes, but she kept a level head whenever Shaggy was around. Happy with his choice in Number One, he brought his attention back to the blank computer terminal.

With a blank screen and keyboard back-lit with blue light, it was an overall simple looking computer. Ephemara had gotten it turned on while he was reading his notification and she was waiting for the screen. But after a few seconds of waiting, they still were staring at a blank screen. Ephemara tapped a few buttons and even smacked the screen for good measure, but nothing happened. Shaggy was about to check for a plug when a nasally voice emanated from the computer screen.

“Munch… crunch… hmm, what do I have here?” The male voice around a mouthful of something crunchy. “A pretty lady and a short hairy man-thing. Interesting. Crunch… crunch…”

“Man-thing?” Shaggy mouthed to Ephemara, who smirked.

“Snort… Oh! The man-thing can speak. Quite interesting. Well, Pretty Lady and Hairy-Man, what do you want with my super fantastic transitional displacement device… of wonder?”

Shaggy almost hit the screen, but Ephemara waved him off, still chuckling. Shaggy snorted and let his new Number One handle talking to the obvious child.

“Well, we discovered this tunnel in Sylus’ shop and followed it down here. What is this… displacement device?”

“Well... Obviously, it displaces things. Mostly for me, if I ever need to send one of my minions to retrieve something from that stupid old man’s shop. The idiot hasn’t even realized it yet. Hehehehehe.”

“I’LL SHOW YOU AN IDIOT!!” Sylus’ voice shouted from behind them.

Shaggy sighed as the youthful voice cackled through the terminal. “Oh, is the old dude there? Hey, dumbass! If you don’t want your stuff stolen, maybe do a better inventory.”

“Why, you smug sonofa- lemme go. I’ll sock that little brat like his dad should’ve.”

The sounds of a brief struggle came from behind Shaggy. But he ignored it and focused on the blank screen of the terminal.

“I take it you’re the Raks resident Technopath.”

“Sniff… I am independent. Although it is true I have had to make a few deals with… them.”

Shaggy noted the odd tone in the boy’s voice, but he pushed forward. “Okay then. Mr. independent. How much to have this thing displace us? We need to get out of here.”

The Technopath on the other end of the call went quiet for a few seconds, before a harsh laugh filled the air.

“Ha! You’re not a part of Donnie’s little gang, are you? Oh, that is quite… crunch… interesting.”

“I’ll pay more for no questions asked.” Shaggy groaned.

“Bah! I don’t even need to ask questions. You have obviously done something the Raks won’t like and now found yourself stuck hiding in one of MY tunnels. I hold your life in my hands. Your future is mine to do with what I wish. I could open a portal and send every Rak I can find straight to your location.”

Shaggy growled as he pinched the bridge of his nose. Deciding he was done with the little piss-ant, Shaggy shifted his hands into claws and raised them to swipe at the damn terminal. But Ephemara stopped him and shook her head at him. Shaggy raised an eyebrow, but she just grinned. Before she could try to reason with the voice, though, the terminal screen came to life, and they got their first glimpse of the technopath.

The camera was at an extremely unflattering angle. Staring straight up at the young man’s large chin and chubby face. He was a dull pink Alien that Shaggy had never seen before and he had two large antennae sticking out from his forehead. One of the young man’s hands was on his enormous stomach, inside a deflated bag of chips. The other was operating something off camera. The boy’s large eyes peered curiously at Shaggy hands before he stuffed more chips into his face.

“Crunch… Very interesting indeed. I think we should talk.” The screen went blank again and the circle of metal whirred to life.

Arcs of electricity covered the surface of the circle before a pitch black opening grew within the center of the circle. The edges of the dark portal were rimmed with blue light as the as the blackness swirled in a circle. Shaggy shared a looked with Ephemara before he turned back to the others. Rita and Cekrass looked ready and willing to join Shaggy. Chromia was holding a struggling Sylus as he tried to move to the portal. She looked pensive about everything, but she still gave him a nod. He turned to his Number One to see her grinning at him. Her crazed, excited look said a lot. Shaggy nodded at her unspoken words. They really didn’t have a choice, so it was better to dive into the deep end and see what happened.

“Alright, kid.” Shaggy said as he faced the dark portal. “We’re coming.”