Follow the Salt Monster

Tonight online, we played Follow by Ben Robbins using the Dragon quest in search of an alien creature with telepathic abilities terrorizing a small modern city, luring victims into back alleys and hideaways before killing and feeding on them. Our fellowship consists of Professor Emil Higgins, the lone scientist who had watched the crash of the alien’s ship but considered a crank; Colonel Uther of the US Marine Corp, who’s determined to hold up his code to protect the world; and Maximillian, a local who survived an attack by the alien thanks to luck and help from his neighbor, Justin Case.

Our story opens with Prof. Higgins interviewing Max and Justin about the attack and beginning to piece together information that could help them discover the alien’s weakness. The two men relate how Max was outside salting their sidewalk and driveways when this multi-tentacled creature appeared behind him. He threw the handful of rock salt in his hands into the creature’s face when he heard a psychic scream as he passed out and the creature came upon him. Inside his home, Justin saw the attack and raced outside. The creature was preoccupied with his face and slow to react, so Justin managed to drag Max into his garage and lock the door behind them. Eventually the creature left and they were safe.

At the scene of the attack, the professor finds a residue not unlike that found at other attack sites, a slimy gel that quickly dries out and desiccates into dust. Max remembers the rash on his hands from the slime after the attack. The area was not well-lit but out in the open, as if the creature is becoming more desperate and daring in its activities. Later the professor and the colonel review police surveillance footage showing the creature leaving the scene and walking unnoticed past a group of pedestrians. Does it have a way to disguise itself from human perception? Prof. Higgins conducts a series of experiments on the substance found at the site to discover that the mucus breaks down when subjected to the potassium from the salt, suggesting it’s toxic to the creature.

Col. Uther and Prof. Higgins concoct a plan to lure the creature into the open using the connection it has established with Max, turning him into bait. After discussing the extensive security measures they plan and all the firepower they’ll bring to the trap, Max is convinced to participate but with trepidation. The team deploys in a cul-de-sac that ends near the woods, with an armored car to serve as a secure bunker and snipers armed with salt injection weapons surrounding the area. Prof. Higgins sets up cameras everywhere to document the event. After Max loiters in the area for several hours, the alien appears in the guise of a tall woman walking toward him prompting the team to spring into action. The salt weapons coat the creature in chemicals, and it shrivels up until it becomes nothing but a pile of mucus. Will the video footage reveal enough that the professor can clear his name?