Game Events
The group trudges down the hill, soon entering a patch of thick forest. The entire valley is maybe three kilometers in diameter, so it's natural that there's something of a buffer zone around the village. After just a few seconds or so, the area they're in is almost entirely dark; sunrise is still quite a way's away, but they were at least getting moonlight and light from Die Angelus' flare before. Now, the thick canopy covers the entire area overhead. Suddenly, Die stops. "Nobody make a noise. Stand totally still." The group stops immediately, not daring to breathe. They can't really hear anything other than the sound of crickets, cicadas, and nightingales. Suddenly, the birds stop singing, and the area grows intensely quiet. Everyone peers intently into the dark, trying to figure out what's going on. Then, they all almost simultaneously feel a presence lurking nearby. A silhouette silently leaps out from behind a tree, a moving shadow against the utter blackness, and it flies across a space of five meters in a second- then an enormous blast erupts from the barrel of Damien's rifle, and a bullet slams into the beast's head. In the short flash of the muzzle, the group was able to see something relatively feline, but not quite normal. "We need light. Here." Die conjures up another fireball in her hands, and the area is lit up. Everyone stares at the big cat, now missing half its head. It's huge- at least three meters from head to tail, and it probably weighs well over 400 kilos. Its coat is many different shades of dark blacks and deep blues all fusing seamlessly together, like the color of the ocean at night. Its claws are all probably a good 3cm long, and its fangs are easily twice that size. "It looks like a black panther, but... it's enormous. And they shouldn't be so quiet, either. Panthers snarl when they leap at prey." Suddenly, she looks up and lets out a slight gasp, backing up into the rest of the group. "Hey, what-?" Everyone else looks around. Around two dozen pairs of golden eyes are staring at the group from the surrounding shrubs. David is the first to recover from the shock, and he begins to raise his gun at the nearest panther while the group watches on- it blinks, and then it's gone. They look around at the entire forest. The other cats are gone, too. Not a sound, not a single trace of movement. Die hurls the fireball into the air and it suspends itself just under the canopy, lighting a wide area of the forest. "Lock and load, and for the love of god be careful. These things are fast and stealthy. I doubt you'll have much of a chance to shoot any in a direct encounter. They'll probably go for sneak attacks. Watch the trees. We've come too far for a couple of house cats to stop us."


BOSS BATTLE: Midnight Panthers