Before we can depart, the priest comes back with a visitor. He introduces us to Frédéric Ducard, a “dabbler” in the occult who can help us with the current mission. He is wearing a large black coat, a black hat, has a crossbow slung over his shoulder and a pistol holstered at his hip. Initially we are skeptical since he looks strange, but after a few pointed questions from Goodwin and a once-over by Slate, we decide that he is legit.

Ducard is able to produce a drawing of the hammer from one of his books, and says that he has a list of inquisitors who carried the hammer before Wachenheimer. During all of this, Slate realizes that if there are records of the people who had the hammer before Wachenheimer, but not after, and where he was last seen with it, then what prevented people from obtaining it? He theorizes that there must be a “force” preventing people from getting it, or killing them as they tried.

We pack up the truck and move out towards the Black Forest. From his writings we roughly guess where he entered from the church, and head to that area. We start looking around; presently Ducard finds some sort of a marker or waypoint made out of wood. The rest of us see fairly fresh barefoot footprints all over the area. Further up we see that the tracks split into two directions, one going north and one to the east. Ducard thinks that we should head to the east as indicated by the marker; Maiura says that the fresher tracks are this way, so we should take care. We go to the east, and after a good distance we come upon an area with fallen trees. Looking around, we see that the spaces underneath the logs are large enough for a human to crawl in, underneath which is a crudely made cover to a manhole of sorts.

As we are looking at this, Slate notices a billow of smoke coming out of the ground about a hundred meters to the north. We surmise that it must be from this underground lair. While trying to come up with a strategy, Wolff simply moves ahead and goes down the tunnel. The rest of us follow. Shortly after descending and moving forward, we hear a cry of “Intruders!”

We are attacked by several large German men wearing rags. They have glazed eyes, indicating that they may be controlled by another person. They go down, but Slate is hurt. Goodwin heals him while the others fend off several more enemies who wander in to the area we’re in. Afterwards we continue on through the tunnel and come to a large cavern with a fire pit in the center. Around it are more of the enthralled men and a man in a red tabard carrying the hammer. He seems to be more than under the influence of someone; he seems to actually be undead. There is also a woman, an old crone, in the room.

Moving to attack, we are making progress when suddenly Goodwin’s spinning machete (which he is wielding using telekinesis) slices into Maiura. Ducard looks back at him, shocked, and he shrugs and says “My bad!” He is apparently in the woman’s thrall. Wolff manages to take down the guy with the hammer and grabs it from him, feeling how powerful it is. The crone suddenly casts a fear spell on everyone, making Goodwin run away in terror. After a protracted battle we finally take them down, including the old crone.

We decide to start zeppelin shopping, which is our cover for being in Germany. Goodwin and Tailspin go to a zeppelin factory and ask what we could get. The owner, upon hearing that Goodwin in a lord, brings them to a comfortable lounge and asks them what options they would like. They choose the standard 40-caliber guns on the zeppelin. They give the man a $5,000 down payment; the shop guarantees a January 1, 1935 delivery (two months out).

Von Keller and Westmore have returned, and ask us to join them in the study. They speak of something called the “Malleus Maleficarum” (literally Witch Hammer) which is a guidebook that the inquisition used to identify and punish witches and other heretics. There was also a hammer, more specifically a warhammer, that carried the same name. Hitler and his newly formed SS have decided to find any items that might harm their regime, since the hammer has great powers against people with any magical abilities. It was last seen in the possession of a man named Gustav Wachenheimer, a German inquisitor 200 years ago. He entered the Black Forest and was never seen again. We find the name of the church that Wachenheimer was affiliated with near Freiberg and the Black Forest, St. John’s, and decide that is the best starting point.

We come to Freiberg and St. John’s church and are greeted by a clergyman. We ask for information on Wachenheimer; Goodwin says that he is researching for a paper on the subject of the Malleus Maleficarum and would like some materials. The clergyman seems resistant to let us see these materials as they are considered to be dangerous, though he relaxes after Goodwin assures him that we mean no harm by researching these materials and do not wish to harm the reputation of the church or servants of the Lord. He shows us the books in their small library and we start looking for information. Goodwin leaves him $20 as a donation for the service.

We shuffle through all of the books looking for information on Wachenheimer. After we search for a while, we find a stack of papers that may have been his journal. We read through it. In his last entry he writes that there are large concentrations of witches in the Freiberg area and he has tracked the coven’s activity to an area a few miles northeast from the town in the Black Forest, and that he is making preparations to investigate and possibly purge the heathens. He also has lists of the people he suspects as consorting with the devil; we get about 6 names.

After finding the information, we plan to head into the forest to investigate.

Professor Westmore says that he will accompany us on our next journey to Germany. In order for us to go, however, we will need to get a fake passport for the pilot, Tailspin. Slate says that there is a place in the southeast portion of Chicago where we could obtain the papers we need from a guy named Lenny the “Weasel”. He suggests that Gabe come along for muscle. We go to the bar he is normally seen at, which is actually pretty busy. We order a drink and see him at a table with a bunch of guys. It appears that he notices Slate and looks pretty nervous. We come over to him and see that he is stuck between three mafiosos. Slate says that he would like to ask him for a favor and that he won’t hurt him, and that they should meet in his “office” (the restroom). Still looking scared (we think we might smell urine), he agrees but only if just Slate comes in. He agrees and Tailspin and Gabe stand outside the door.

Slate lets Lenny in to the restroom and checks the stalls for people. Not finding anyone, Slate turns around to see Lenny holding a gun on him and shaking like a leaf. He says that he had nothing to do with the theft of a printing press. Slate says that although his boss did ask him to find out about the printing press (a bald-faced lie) but he would forget all that if Lenny would do him a favor. Lenny shakes so badly that he accidentally fires his gun, but the bullet hits the ceiling. The goons immediately jump up to come to the aid of their boss but Gabe and Tailspin are already waiting for them. Lenny tries to run past Slate to get out of the bathroom, but Slate punches him twice and puts him down.

Tailspin pulls his pistol and shoves it in the mouth of the nearest goon, warning him not to continue fighting. They stop, but Gabe pulls out his lead pipe and knocks out one of the goons. Slate cuffs him to the sink and slaps him to wake him up. He continues blubbering, but Slate says that he won’t hurt him if he cooperates. He explains that his friend needs a fake passport. Lenny says he will do it but it will take two days and 2 grand. Slate says that either Lenny could do this or he goes to jail, and the cost doesn’t concern him. Lenny agrees to do it for free and Slate takes him out of the bathroom. Lenny takes the group to get a photo of Tailspin so he can create the passport.

In the two days of downtime, we research the areas of Berlin that we will be in. Slate stops by his department before he leaves and asks the captain why he signed him up for this “endeavor” without asking first. The captain says that he can quit if he wants, but otherwise he should get lost. Slate happily leaves.

The group, along with Prof. Westmore, take a ship to England from the East Coast. They meet Tailspin, who had flown over in his plane, at Dr. Goodwin’s estate. We continue on to Germany. An older gentleman, introduced as Dr. von Keller, meets us and we show him the Eye. We explain the situation of how we came to find the eye and the other jewel.

After examining the jewel, he tells us that one of the prehistoric races may have consisted of reptile-like beings, and that all of the reptiles on Earth are devolved versions of them. The huge croc we saw was likely an avatar of Kil’quato, their patron deity, made flesh. When we mention the presence of the Nazi troops in South America, he tells us that Hitler has been sending his personal guard to find any holy artifacts to try and control their power.

Goodwin asks von Keller and Westmore what we are to do from here. Westmore says that it seems that the new SS, Hitler’s personal guard, is very much our biggest threat at this moment. We must keep aware of things they will be searching for and we should try to get there first. He suggests that after we eat and get some rest, we should discuss further.

We continue on into the nearby cave, but before we enter we see that the floor has teeth protruding from each stone. The Doctor uses his gauntlet to telekinetically manipulate one of the stones and it causes spears to come out of the walls. He notices that when the stones with crocodile teeth are pressed, the spears do not come out. Maiura volunteers to jump from stone to stone to try and get through. She does, and notices a switch that turns off the spear device to allow the others through. Going through the cavern we find a room with several cots in it, which seems to be empty. The next corridor takes us to a room with a pool of water in it and a cage in the corner. A large man is trapped in the cage. The doc cuts him out; apparently he was a prisoner of the cult.

After letting him out, he tells us that the leader of the cult became a crocodile at night and stayed in the pool. It seems shallow — Maiura checks it out and sees there is an opening underwater that leads to another cavern. Gabriel (the man we rescued) swims through and comes out in a much larger pool, on the other side of which is large treasure; along with a gold cross. He also sees a huge crocodile with one yellow eye. It grunts at him and blinks. He yanks on the rope and the others pull him through. He is whimpering about a huge crocodile and a lot of treasure.

We try to “activate” the red eye gem but it only agitates him. We decide that the gem does not control him, but all other crocs, and we should try and attack him without the red eye. We all swim through, taking our guns and hoping they still work. We manage to kill the croc before it can attack us. The gold is about three wheelbarrows full, so we need to make another trip. We take as much as we can and go back to the ship. On our way back we don’t run into additional threats.

We ask the chieftan if he will help us by letting us borrow boats to travel back and get the rest of the gold. Maiura makes it through the spear traps again and we get access to the gold, and take it back to the ship. Jose asks for a cut of the gold; we give him a small bag. We make it back to the airport and to Chicago without difficulty.

The group returns to the Field Museum, where we show him the gold cross and the huge jewels. He says that the museum will pay us back for the finds. He says that his associate, Prof. Heinrich von Keller, will have to examine the cross and the jewels. They pay us over $137,000 for the gold, the cross and the two jewels. We each take $1000 to do with what we wish and we pool the rest to pay for the group’s vehicles, etc.

The group then prepares to head to Germany where we can meet Prof. von Keller and possibly to buy a zepplin.

We head back up the river to our destination, and enter the area of the Crocodile Cult. As Tailspin comes in he is completely transfixed by a large ruby gem in the mouth of a huge crocodile statue built into a stone bridge. The rest of the group sees that the area underneath has quite a few live crocodiles. Across a stone bridge we see a group of the cultists and, in the middle of the bridge, a local native about the be sacrificed to the crocodile god. We rush in, guns blazing. The cultist shaman is brought down first, but he doesn’t seem to be dead. The other cultists run at us with spears and, after a protracted battle, we are able to thin their ranks. The shaman comes to and pushes the captive man into the water, who then is devoured by the crocodiles. We take care of the remaining cultists and come towards the archway.

Slate comes first, and though he tries to make a break for it one of the crocs attacks him. He is wounded, but turns and fires his .357 into the creatures’s head, killing him instantly. The group is able to take down two more crocs but suddenly the ground around Slate erupts with vines which engulfs him. He is unable to climb out. Tailspin shoots at the shaman and the vines start to come down. After a couple more shots the shaman is felled and the remaining crocs return to the river.

Dr. Goodwin tries to remove the ruby using his telekinetic device but it is firmly attached. Maiura tries to climb up to get it using climbing gear, and the rest of the group takes care of the two remaining crocs. After about an hour, Maiura is able to break it loose and puts it in her backpack. We decide to continue on through the archway and into the cult’s cave.

Before leaving we look for supplies, including machetes, canteens, compasses, and other items. The next morning, we report to the airport. The airline gets us from Chicago through Dallas to Mexico City. Tailspin takes us from Mexico City to Brazil, where we land on a field not far from the Amazon River itself. We disembark and continue to the docks on the Amazon to meet our contact.

After arriving at the docks we see boats being loaded with supplies. There is a pile of crates nearby with a man standing next to it. He is looking at a piece of paper, then back at us. Obviously it is a picture of us. He smiles at us with a toothless grin and says his name is Jose Ortiz. The boat is ready for us, he says, and the boxes near him are all of our supplies.

Some tough-looking locals come by and ask what we’re up to. Maiura says that we need some help loading our supplies onto the boat. The leader gets a smirk on his face, and at that moment Slate cocks his shotgun. The locals back off.

We start loading the boat ourselves, and Dr. Goodwin uses a metal gauntlet with strange wiring and flashing lights on it to lift the items from a distance. Jose seems a little wierded out by our group. We also hear the locals, as they walk away, saying that they are going to call the police.

The boat is finally loaded and we disembark. Our ship is a steamer, and the weather on the deck is unbearably hot and sticky. About four hours into the trip, Slate notices that a large diesel ship is coming up on us quickly. He notifies the others in the group. The pilot tries to make the ship go faster so we can make an escape. We see that the ship has a large belt-fed machine gun, and they start opening fire. We narrowly escape getting hit.

Goodwin, at the bow of our ship, is trying to get the anchor chain connected to some logs to drop in the water and disable the other ship. He yells for the others to help; Tailspin starts throwing logs through the cabin window to the bow. Slate runs to the stern of the ship and uses the railing as a cover. Shots are exchanged and Slate gets hit in the shoulder, but manages to return fire and kill one of the attackers. Goodwin manages to get the chain attached to two logs and hurls it overboard. The other ship catches up to us and comes alongside just as the logs are dropped in. The chain hits the propeller of their ship causing the engine to stall and the pilot to lose control. The ship capsizes, grazing our ship, and the men are all thrown into the sea. After a few moments we don’t see any of them surfacing so it’s obvious that they have all been killed. This doesn’t stop Slate from firing a few shotgun rounds into the water just to make sure.

The ship moves on to our destination. Goodwin heals the others who were wounded using his E.R. device and good ol’ medic skills.

The year is 1934, the place is Chicago, Illinois. Three people — a Chicago Police detective (Det. Charlie Slate), an English doctor (Dr. Goodwin) and an American pilot (Tailspin) — are all invited to the Chicago Field Museum by various means. Arriving and meeting a man named Professor Thomas Westmore, they are told that they have been selected because of their specialized skills in different areas to assist in an expedition of some importance. They meet Maiura, a young woman from the Kalapiti tribe of the Amazon, an assistant to Professor Westmore who helps him during his travels with local customs and languages. She is to accompany the group on their journey.

Requesting details before they embark on this ambiguous and possibly dangerous task, the Professor informs them that they will be paid $300 apiece to travel to the Amazon jungle and search out an ancient artifact. Westmore explains that in an age before this one, there was an utopian society of high technology and magic. The society thrived until the appearance of a collective of 5 dark gods who attempted to corrupt the society and murder its people. The humans tried to banish the dark gods through sorcery, and though the process worked it also caused their world to come to an end. The Professor explains that though it has been many years, the dark gods may be rising again and only certain artifacts from the world that came before can help in the fight against them.

Detective Slate is unimpressed by this speech and seems not to believe anything about the utopiate society or these “dark gods.” However, he is eager to find out what is really behind any strange happenings and as such will go along the journey just to prove the Professor wrong.

The Professor continues and says that in the Amazon jungle, in the southeast region of the Puros river, is a small village that may contain one of the artifacts. Spanish missionaries in the late 1800’s had told tales of it, and the Professor displays an aged text. It says “The Indians claim that whoever holds the Eye of Kilquato (a large, yellow gem which is the eye socket of a crocodile statue) has complete dominion over all crocodiles.”

The others also agree to go along, with Maiura as the guide. The Professor says that in addition to the $300 each for a successful expedition, the trip has a budget of $1,000 for supplies. They also have some medical supplies and other items on hand for us to use. He explains that a plane will take us from Chicago to Dallas, and then to Mexico City. From there our pilot (nicknamed “Tailspin”) will have access to a plane to take us to Brazil. There we will board a boat to a small village called Penobi; they have legends of a crocodile god there.