Furry Friends, Part 1

Professor Cuddlepunch is uneasy.  The party's encounter with the feral yetis back at the tower unsettled her, and she fears for her people.  Even though she was thrown out of the tribe by the yeti chieftan, the Valley of Sorrow still holds a warm place in her heart.  Yetis are a loving and peaceful people, and Cuddlepunch is reminded of the good times she had as a young yeti with her brother, Og.  Stirred to action, she urges the party toward the Valley of Sorrow.

The adventurers enter the mountain pass leading to the valley.  They begin to see new and strange vegetation; large evergreen trees that strike back in defense at the slightest hint of pain.  Cuddlepunch remembers playing with these trees as a youngster, and asks her companions to stick to the path.  They find an abandoned encampment, with a still-smoking fire pit and loose supplies littering the area.  While scavenging and surveying the area, gunshots ring out from the trail ahead of them.  Professor Cuddlepunch's brother, Og, runs toward the travelers, clearly in an attempt to escape his unseen pursuers.  Although he has been gravely wounded, Og chokes out "Cuddlepunch.... hide!"  Each member of the team finds a different hiding spot.   Nyridius curls up in the fetal position and pretends to be a campfire.  Og, out of breath and bleeding heavily, stands his ground.

Og's pursuers finally catch up.  They appear to be a regimented group of plain-talkin' racists.  Nyridius recognizes their symbols as those of the Knights of Genetic Purity, a supremacy group that does not tolerate anything less than 100% purebred humans.  As the Purists approach Og, the party springs into action.  They take the Purists by surprise, and Nyridius provides a particularly useful intimidation as he takes flight high above the battlefield.

Cuddlepunch throws a keg of gunpowder into the center of the Purists, and Nyridius ignites it, charring most of them and giving the adventurers and early upper hand.  Duke and Cuddlepunch take the lead and absorb most of the damage for the team, while Vagabot and Defendomax scrap the soliders from a distance.  They use the last of Vargas' future-tech, including a razor-grenade and a freeze ray.  Nyridius finishes off the last Purist with a cracked ray gun.  Unfortunately, the leaky core puts Nyridius to sleep, and he is unable to celebrate victory with his teammates.

While Nyridius enjoys a forced nap, Og tries to relay the situation to Cuddlepunch. "Bad men... take chieftan."  Cuddlepunch calms Og and asks him to speak clearly.  "Bad men came with guns.  They say we steal a daughter.  They capture all, hurt all.  Go, save chieftan!"  The party begins to scavenge the scene as Nyridius snores peacefully.