Corban saw the darkness shift under the bridge and too one step forward for a better look.

Suddenly two huge tentacles shot out from under the bridge and came rapidly towards the sniper. "SH#@!!!!" he mettered as he hastily beat a retreat. His first move was straight backwards as he sought to put as much space between himself and the bridge as possible. He ran straight away from the chasm, swerving slightly to use the guardhouse as a bit of a block as he ran.

The first twenty steps he simply ran as fast as he could. After that he will peer back over his shoulder and see what has occurred behind him. If the tentacles have stopped their hunt he will spin, bring up his rifle and see what he can do to aid in the fight.

Doc had made his way across the bridge behind the Captain and Greta. The sarge followed behind and Corbin protects the flank. He quickly moved deeper into castle entrance intending to catch Romo as he moves forward to scan the courtyard. He wanted to check his wounds before they moved into the castle. He couldn't help but notice the mass of empty bullet casings that strewn the ground like gravel.

As Doc prepared to open his first aid kit there was a commotion behind. Turning back to bridge his jaw dropped as he saw Corbin running for his life and Brutal going gungho and giant tentacles lurched up from under the bridge.

“Jake, get your ass back here. Everyone run I don’t have that many bandages.” Lifting his M1 Jack started pulling rounds into the tentacle nearest Brutal.

“S*** Jake move....Run Corbin....Sarge get Greta away from the bridge…….., everyone back here quick……., Holy Mother Of God!”

Brutal’s eyes bugged at what he saw down in the chasm at the end of those two tentacles… it almost made him hesitate… almost but he let loose with the Schmessier towards the face of that thing.

“S*** Jake move....Run Corbin....Sarge get Greta away from the bridge…….., everyone back here quick……., Holy Mother Of God!”
He heard Doc’s panicky ramblings but he ignored them… typical for a medic … he had thought the man had more backbone … well looking at what he saw down in the chasm coming there way… maybe he couldn’t fault the man … this time … but Brutal only knew one way to do things… that was to face them head on… with ’Brute’ force … besides he would rather face this thing here than to run inside the courtyard and face who knew what in there.

...and to think his biggest concern had been the bridge crumbling below their feet…

When the tentacles shot up from both sides of the bridge, Greta yelled a warning. Her reaction was swift and conscious. She somehow managed to shake her fear and convert it to tactical thinking.

This determination inspired Luke.
He saw Brutal slide towards the edge of the chasm to shoot at whatever creature was below the bridge. McGuinness, who had been the initial target of these monstrous appendages, ran towards the castle, to take cover behind the brick wall; a smart move, seeing how it was a better place for a sniper to pick his targets.

The Doc was starting to lose it, or so it seemed. The Captain needed to get his team together, with all faces in the same direction. And for now, that direction needed to be the way to get the tentacles to retreat, wherever they came from.

Luke ran towards the edge, where Brutal was firing at the spot between the tentacles. He stood straight at the edge, and pointed his gun down towards the depths and fired a single shot.

Then he saw what was coming up towards the bridge and his face went pale.

“We’re going to need something bigger than bullets here.”

He turned and started to run.

“Everybody inside the castle! NOW!”

It wasn’t fear per se that pushed him away from the creature. It was the knowledge that this thing would still be coming towards them after their clips were all empty. The sound of his latest command was full of determination. He needed his men to follow him now, or their mission would fall apart before the end.

“Everybody inside the castle! NOW!”

Brutal heard the Captain’s orders… he even saw him come to the edge of the chasm and fire down… his sight of the thing coming up must have changed his mind… he couldn’t blame him really… seeing what it was coming up after them … but Brutal knew that he had to try and slow this thing down if any of them were going to make it… as the Captain turned to run Brutal had emptied his magazine. The Schmessier had a cyclic rate of 550 rds/min … and with a 32 round magazine it only took 3.5 seconds to empty the mag.

“I’ll cover you…” Was all Brutal yelled as he continued to lay on his belly … he rolled onto his left side and grabbed the MKII grenade he had on his belt… pulling the pin he let the handle fly and then took a second to take aim at the creatures large maw… then he tosses it hoping his aim was true (Use plot point here to assist)… soon as it left his hand he ducked his head back behind the lip of the chasm and lowered his head to the ground waiting for the thump of the grenade.

And Corban ran. He moved quickly into the castle, turning as he passed the gates to see if a good target such as an eye presented itself. He knew Brutal was covering their retreat and no matter how much he disliked the guy, Corban wouldn't leave him to the beast by himself.

He hoped someone was scoping out where they were running TO . . .

"Captain! We got company!"

“McGuiness..Run!”

"SH#@!!!!"

“Jake, get your ass back here. Everyone run I don’t have that many bandages! “S*** Jake move....Run Corbin....Sarge get Greta away from the bridge…….., everyone back here quick……., Holy Mother Of God!”

“Everybody inside the castle! NOW!”

“I’ll cover you…”

McGuiness ran as fast as he could but the tentacle shot out quickly and grabbed him by the foot, lifting him high into the air. Greta and John opened up with their rifles at the tentacle holding the Private. The bullets pieced the flesh of the creature and caused it to loosen the grip and let go off the sniper. Corbin managed to tuck and roll as he came down, lessening the damage to his body.

Sarge and Brutal run to face the creature and open up in full auto from atop the bridge. The captain joins them but soon realizes the magnitude of the beast they are facing, calling for a withdrawal to the castle. The bullets from the two machine guns rip through the monster, greenish goo drips from the wounds but keeps on coming. It tries to smash at Brutal and the Sarge but it's wild trashing, it breaks the stone and mortar of the bridge and shatters the wood planks. The entire bridge is destroyed in seconds - your only way in and out if this castle.

As the Captain, Greta, John, and Corbin move towards the castle, Brutal and Sarge exhaust their magazines and almost in unison, pull the pins on their grenades and throw, hoping to blast this creature into the hell it came from. Sarge's bounces off a tentacle, but Brutal times his just right and the grenade slips pass razor sharp teeth to the belly of the beast.

*BOOM.....BOOM*

The grenades explode and green goo is spread over the cliff walls of the chasm like so much green jelly in a blender. The two soldiers withdrawal backwards, reloading as they go. There is a horrible keening noise from the chasm - whatever it is, the thing is wounded, in pain but still alive. No more tentacles come up from the edge though.

The courtyard is filled with equipment and generators. There has been a fire fight here, as you step on shell casings and slip on blood smears across the grass. The ornate door to the castle hangs open. Fluttering generator fed lights cast dim yellow flickers from the entry way. Twenty feet into the castle, a second set of doors are ajar. Overhead, in the entryway, four statues of dragons glare down, eyes flickering in the electric lights.

With the bridge gone, there is no way off this mountain except the sheer cliffs below. Greta wheezes as you reach the main doors, "There is a secret passage in the crypts of the castle - they lead out though caverns. That is are only way out now."

Going into the castle has become the only way to Escape from Castle Rautenberg!!!

OOC: Sarge and Brutal are down a full clip and their grenades - you have 4 clips left now each. Greta went through a full clip on her rifle, and Reid used a half clip

The Captain, Greta, and Corbin move towards the castle, , Brutal and Sarge exhaust their magazines and almost in unison, pull the pins on their grenades and throw, hoping to blast this creature into the hell it came from.
Doc stands with his M1 ready as Sarge and Brutal start backing toward for the castle.
*BOOM.....BOOM*

Green goo is spread over the cliff walls of the chasm like so much green jelly in a blender a horrible keening noise from the chasm - whatever it is, the thing is wounded, in pain but still alive. No more tentacles come up from the edge though.
“OK heros, let’s get it outa here before that thing or it’s buddies decide to climb that wall again. The Captain and Greta are headed inside. Sarge don’t rupture that wound open, they might follow your blood. I’ll repack the hole as soon as we can.” Doc let the sarge pass him and he waited for Brutal to catch up.

“Jake you’ve got more guts than brains. You keep this up and I may as well just fill out your toe tag and let you wear around your neck.”

Reaching into his pocket he pulls the extra grenade he’d taken from car’s truck and hands it to Brutal. “ Here, if you’re going to keep saving our collective asses your gonna need another one these.”

And Corban ran. He didn't normally like the thought of running from something. It was hard to aim a rifle and run at the same time. But in this case, he needed no encouragement. He ran with everything he had. Even so, he did not run fast enough, as one of the tentacles grabbed him around the ankle and pulled him off his feet and up into the air.

Damn! He attempted to twist in mid air to get a shot at the tentacle holding him, but before he could do more than spin around (or be spun, he couldn't really tell how much was his own doing) he heard rapid fire shots and the tentacle released him. Instead of spinning he now found himself falling, and the corpral did his best to turn his motion into a duck and roll. It worked. Sort of.

A bit bruised, the sniper rolled quickly to his feet and spun to assist the others who had just saved his butt. He turned just in time to see two grenades go down the chasm. He knew enough about grenades to turn and continue moving quickly into the castle at that point, putting as much space as possible between himself and the explosion. And the monster as well.

As he moved into the courtyard, Corban stopped and surveyed the landscape. Ruin. Bloodshed. Battle. What the? But he took all of that in at a moments glance. He knew his job was to be the lookout. He quickly scanned the upper reaches of the castle in the courtyard. Was there any sign of life or movement in the windows, along the roof line or anywhere else?

Seeing nothing, he followed the captains orders to move forward. As he approached the captain, he kept his eyes constantly scanning the scene for some sign of a threat. But as he passed the groups senior officer, he asked, "uh, captain. Did the brass maybe forget to tell us something?"

It wasn't an accusation, just an honest question from a kid from the woods who had just seen things he had never seen in the woods back home. His eyes kept scanning their surroundings, looking for the next bizarre threat.

*BOOM.....BOOM*
Brutal had ducked his head to the ground after he saw his grenade slip down the thing’s gullet…he raised his head and glanced over the side seeing nothing but a cloud of smoke and debris… he rolled to his feet away from the edge and backed away dropping his magazine and slapping another one in place… he brought up the rear this time since the most recent danger was behind them… he could tell from the noise coming from the chasm that the thing was hurt but still alive… he wanted to be away from its reach before it attempted to get even.

“Jake you’ve got more guts than brains. You keep this up and I may as well just fill out your toe tag and let you wear around your neck.”
Brutal was about to say something to the Doc’s usual smart ass remarks …

Reaching into his pocket he pulls the extra grenade he’d taken from car’s truck and hands it to Brutal. “ Here, if you’re going to keep saving our collective asses your gonna need another one these.”
… instead he smirked and took the offered grenade and slipped it in his vest. “Well…. I have to save your ass… so later… don’t forget to return the favor.”

He looked around the interior of the courtyard they were entering and sighed slightly and said, “Looks like we might need a lot of favors soon.”

Once they were inside the courtyard and seemed to be out of reach of the thing in the chasm… Brutal once again moved up toward the point… his usual expect position… they all had their uses… Doc was here to patch people up… The Sarge was to offer advice to the Captain and give orders… the Captain was here… well… he still wasn’t sure about that one… Brutal had seem him run up to the chasm and fire down a couple times before wisely calling a retreat… in Brutal’s opinion that hadn’t been a cowardly act… he had wanted to run too but knew that if he didn’t slow this thing down at least he would probably be grabbed and hauled down into that things maw… not where he wanted to be… so he had acted… and luckily it had worked.. this time.

Corban was a sniper… while they could take point that was usually when out in the open or the woods.. up close his sniping skills were not much use… and the woman… well she was a guide.. plain and simple… she seemed to know this place… and since the bridge was gone they were going to need another way out of here.

As he moved through the group to take the point he overheard Corban’s remark to the Captain…

"uh, captain. Did the brass maybe forget to tell us something?"
Brutal snorted a bit and had to respond as he passed them, “When DO they tell us everything? We’re on a ‘need to know’ basis, Private… and the fact that we were going to be facing some tentacled demon from hell… apparently we don’t need to know that really.”

Taking point .. he moved into the courtyard .. sweeping the muzzle of his gun back and forth … watching where he was stepping and keeping an eye out for any movement… seeing the castle doors open he assumed this was where they were going.

(Unless ordered otherwise)

Heading up to the open doors he paused to look around inside… if he saw nothing moving or wiggling… he would slowly enter and make their way across towards the other doors… his eyes were drawn to the statues… not unusual in castles he had read… but after what they had seen outside.. he found them a bit unnerving … he really hoped they didn’t come alive.

With his one and only grenade thrown and exploded, Romo emptied the Thompson’s clip into the sci-fi creature before him. As a boy he had enjoyed Sci-fi stories but never had he thought to actually encounter the same.

Within moments the Captain was calling a retreat into the castle itself and away from the clearly now wounded monster. As Romo joined the others he caught Greta’s comments on another way out.

“Well if that’s the case I think we need to start grabbing any and all weapons we find, grenades and heavy explosives being a priority. Not to sound crazy Captain but I have the feeling the creature we just fought won’t be the last Sci-fi horror we encounter. Whatever the krauts were working on, they sure as hell F-’d with the wrong s**t.”

Waiting the Captains next order the Sarge took his own advice and begin a look for any discarded useful weapons...

Captain Luke signaled to his men to stop and take up defensive positions within the room. Things were getting out of hand rapidly and he needed to get his bearings, but more importantly, they needed to know what they were up against.

"There is a secret passage in the crypts of the castle - they lead out though caverns. That is are only way out now." Great said.

“Well if that’s the case I think we need to start grabbing any and all weapons we find, grenades and heavy explosives being a priority. Not to sound crazy Captain but I have the feeling the creature we just fought won’t be the last Sci-fi horror we encounter. Whatever the krauts were working on, they sure as hell F-’d with the wrong s**t.” The Sarge responded.

“I think you are right Sarge.” Luke said mulling the situation over in his mind, “It seems that all the Intel we received about this place and mission is wrong. “ The Captain turned to Greta, “Mrs. Hofsetter? You seem to be the only person here not surprised by a monster on a bridge and detailed knowledge of the layout of this castle. There are 25 men who have already died for this mission and I don’t know why yet. Something out of one of the Sarge’s science fiction stories just destroyed our only way out. I don’t think this is the time for secrets anymore. Tell me what you know so we can deal with this and get out.”

Greta looked at the faces of the men who now looked at her expectantly. The Captain had a good point although he was wrong about her not being surprised. All the studies she did on the occult did not prepare her for this evening. She had just schooled herself in not reacting over the last few years.

“I work for the British Security Coordination under a man whose codename is Intrepid. My husband and I have been working against the Nazis since they came into power. That is to say, we had been, he was killed a year ago. “Greta takes a breath to steady herself. “I have smuggled code, intercepted transmissions and helped coordinate other listeners and even sabotaged Nazi operations.

“As you might know, Hitler is passionately seeking out any and all occult and legendary artifacts in an attempt to harness supernatural powers in his drive to control the world. Castle Rautenberg has a long history of strange occurrences. - dating back to the 1600's. The castle is built on a convergence of 4 ley lines. I don’t suppose you know about ley lines?” Great asked rhetorically, “Ley lines are the theoretical channels of mystic energy that surround the earth. Think of them as invisible power cords, if you can find them, you supposedly can tap into them. Baron Karl Rautenberg had the castle build on the specific point and spend a vast fortune to have it done. The Baron died before it was completed and his son, Rudolf was left with half a castle and a bankrupt legacy. To finish his father's work, he organized a small army of men and pillaged the areas around his land, robbing many Churches, cathedrals and abbeys. Rudolf was cursed by many a priests before they were slain and he was excommunicated by Pope Clement X. Rudolf in return swore an oath that he'd serve the devil before he'd bow before the church again.

“Having rebuilt his fortune and then some, Rudolf had a vast crypt build in the lowest level of the castle itself. He then interned his father there and completed the castle to his father's specification. Although he never married, Rudolf had seven sons and 6 daughters from a series of women he ravaged during his conquests and gathered them all to the castle when they came of age. He lived to the age of 86, and in the last years of his life became obsessed with some the books in his father's library and would spend days reading there. He would wander the lower levels of the castle muttering about "old ones". Eventually he was found dead in the crypts themselves, having died while attempting some sort of mystic ritual. After Rudolf's death, there was discord among the siblings for a few years which lead to the death of 5 of the brothers at the hands of the others. The eventual patriarch of the family was the youngest sibling, a strong and ruthless warrior.

“The castle's history continues with the same reoccurrence of the head of the family having many sons, then becoming "eccentric" and "obsessed" with either the library or the crypts. Many of them are found dead in the crypts and then a multitude of sons mysteriously "die" leaving only one or two siblings left.

“In 1910, the last of the Rautenberg family perishes at sea and the castle fell into disrepair until the Nazis seize power and it is claimed by the military as a research faculty. Captain Metzger has been assigned to the castle to study examine some claims found in journals within the library that the castle holds great power and is a key to an unknown occult mystery. Apparently, he figured out how to tap into ley lines and if what we saw out there is any proof, may have opened a portal to another dimension - a place where monsters that predate mankind were banished long ago.” She looks around at the blank stares of the soldiers trying to comprehend what she just told them. Somewhere above you in the castle there is the sound of automatic gun fire and a scream followed by a tearing sound.

“Why are you here and how do we kill these things?” Luke asked.

“Intrepid assigned me to find out what this occult power is and if it is a danger, find a way to shut it down. I had planned on using the young major to get into the castle and work from there, but as you saw, he had other plans. Without your intervention, I would be dead or worse. Behind these doors, there be monsters but we need to stop them before all hell breaks loose. There is a book called the Necronomicon which I believe was in the library – it must be destroyed. There is also a small green-grey stone called the”Elder Sign” in the shape of a five pointed star. I would imagine that Captain Metzger has that or the head scientist. It also must be destroyed. Without those two items, Hitler cannot replicate this experiment. What we saw out there was a Great Old One and they are vulnerable to fire and cold iron. Most old ones are, but some are …more powerful.”

“How do we deal with those ones?”

“Pray. And run as fast as you can.” Greta says sadly.

OOC: There is some discrepancy with equipment and it is my fault for not changing your character descriptions as we went along. You have (had) a grenade each plus four from the dead GI’s at the start of the game. So I will comb through the equipment found and redo all the characters so you know what you have. Just let it be known you have more ammo and grenades than previously thought.

Sorry this took so long but as you can see, there was a lot of info to pass along.

Almerin is on vacation until August so I will NPC his character until then.

Brutal listened to the woman ramble on about the occult and demons and he only sighed and shook his head … as she had talked he held his position keeping an eye open for anything… his gun at the ready … his eyes scanned the ground around them … if he saw any ammo… grenades… anything that he could carry and that might be useful as a weapon… he would take it… when Greta’s story was done…

“That’s just great!” he snorted… “anything else you forgot to tell us Fraulein?”

He shook his head and stood at the way forward awaiting orders to move out… or what… he couldn’t believe that a simple mission of sabotage had turned into something out of a dime store novel.

As Romo listened to Greta’s explanation as to the nature of the creatures they faced he could not help but feel a sense of purpose come upon him. Call it right; call it wrong, the sergeant knew what he had to do.

“How do we deal with those ones?” The captain asked as Romo brought his attention back 100% to the conversation.

“Pray. And run as fast as you can.” Greta replied sadly as Romo having heard enough to make up his mind, spoke it.

“Bulls***! We can’t run from this. Right now we are the only ones standing that can possibly do something about these creatures before they spread out further into our world. We need to find a working radio in here and warn Allied HQ to bomb this place or at least give them as much info as we can. Aside from that maybe just maybe we get lucky and find a way to stop or destroy this portal ourselves.We don't run!”

“Bulls***! We can’t run from this. Right now we are the only ones standing that can possibly do something about these creatures before they spread out further into our world. We need to find a working radio in here and warn Allied HQ to bomb this place or at least give them as much info as we can. Aside from that maybe just maybe we get lucky and find a way to stop or destroy this portal ourselves. We don't run!”
Brutal turned his head to look at the Sgt at his outburst… he smiled and nodded agreement, “Right you are Sarge… no way we can let this get out into the real world… no matter what!”