PART 15
(Part 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20)
A.C.224.05, SKY LIBRARY
As Purket opens the pop-up book to a page labeled Coriander, a small town unfolds- and everyone is pulled into the book!
The scene: a market along Coriander Bridge, but instead of burned buildings and damaged streets, the crew see upper class shops and well-to-do humans bustling through the streets. They pay no mind to Gramblarr, cast nervous glances at the Animas members of the crew, and hurriedly shy away from Squalor.
The crew enter various shops including a bookstore, where they are able to determine the date is A.C. 225.08- over a year into the future! The Shop owners assume the crew must be in costumes, based on the popular talking animal book series, "Fur Feather Friends". They even get the theme song playing...
FUR FEATHER FRIENDS.mp3
(Song by Suno, Lyrics by Sean Patten)
A two-dimensional, Old Tara calls Purket over, and tries to explain the danger of being here after Curfew. In this time, the Panjandran Empire has returned and claimed much of Arcadia. Posters featuring "Empress Dima" hang everywhere.
Before the crew can sneak away, they are surrounded by golden armored Praetorian soldiers, demanding their capture...
224.03, ARCADIA
In a dark alley in Burnish, a well dressed Lizard Animas named Ryan Clawfeather meets with Snicker, one of Gora's informants. Ryan is asked to investigate, track, find, and capture the Crew that sabotaged Gora's plans to invade the Arcadian capital. But Ryan is secretly a fan of the now legendary folk heroes known as the Crew...
Ryan's first stop is the Howling Gate, where the Crew defeated and drove off Gora's Panzer army. There Ryan meets Agoreth the gate captain, who explains the crew took off with Mayne in a balloon, headed for the Sauranlands to hunt pirates. Ragnar the penguin is also looking for the crew, and joins Ryan in his search.
Agoreth agrees to loan them another balloon, providing they also take Gaius the pack animal back to the crew- before he eats the entire provisions for the Howling Gate!
Thanks to Ragnar's fishing skills and Gaius' generous supplies, the balloon makes it to the Sauranlands without major incident. When they arrive at the Last Resort, however, Ryan finds Mayne and Kroff arguing bitterly over recent events involving the hunt for Vitriol and several renegade abominations terrorizing the jungle...
Mayne is overjoyed to see another balloon arrive since his was destroyed! Kroff explains to Ryan the incredible story of the last few weeks, and realizes he still hasn't seen the crew since they repaired and ascended the Aelvyn tower...
Ryan, Ragnar, and Mayne ascend to the tower's dizzyingly high top level in their balloon in search of the crew, not sure what they will find there.
At the top, they discover the impossible floating Sky Library, and make their way inside. Ryan is immediately captivated by the books inside, still reading as he absentmindedly follows the others down a dark corridor that leads to...
A massive room with the impossible inside- an actual, live DRAGON absorbed in reading. It takes the dragon a moment to even realize there are visitors, and he apologizes even as Ryan finally looks up from his own book for a moment to introduce himself. Remembering why he is there, he asks about the Crew. Logos the Dragon of Wisdom thinks for a moment, then speaks in a rumbling voice: "Ah yes, two cats, a Glint, and a bird. Strange fellows... of course, they went in the Pawpup book. Where? Ah yes, still here on the floor where they left it- er, I mean entered it. Anyway, they've neglected to take the book with them, so you'll just have to do it for them."
Ragnar and Mayne almost open the book before Ryan shouts "NO, don't open it! We'd get sucked in too!" Without looking up from his book, Logos the Dragon confirms: "Eh? Yes, right. The only way to open the book safely, and get them out, is under the light of an Aurora Borealis. Anyway... happy reading... exit is that way... bye now."
With the Pawpup book in hand, they take the balloon back to the Last Resort, wondering if the northern lights of Wulfgar would count as an Aurora Borealis. But as they descend, a ship can be seen approaching... Its captain: Princess Dima Agrippa! She has followed up on her concerns after speaking through the ring portal earlier, and brought a new ship to pick up the crew, "The Cerulean". Ryan and Ragnar have to explain that the crew are now trapped inside a book. Dima is concerned but somehow not surprised.
Mayne agrees to return the Balloon to the Howling Gate, leaving Ryan and Ragnar with Dima as they plan a trip north to seek out some northern lights.
They set out on a months-long journey to Wulfgar: the icy country north of Arcadia. The night skies there finally reveal scintillating curtains of color...
Ryan, Dima, and Ragnar race below decks to try opening the Pawpup book, unaware of an approaching threat...
A huge, tattered hulk eerily slides into boarding range of their ship, its crew a horror of skeletal figures and Devourer titans.
The Devourers board and open fire, bathing Dima's crew in lurid ghastly energy that leaves behind only bones!
Before they can even open the Pawpup book, Ryan, Dima and Ragnar charge on deck to see what the commotion is- and come face to face with a heavy Devourer! Instead of vaporizing them, its glowing breath cloud envelops them and sucks them in, depositing them into Amphorica bottles stowed on its back.
Below decks, the Pawpup book still sits on the shelf edge. Long after the ghastly raiding party has left, the book finally falls to the floor, flopping open.
Inside the book, the crew fleeing the Praetorians in Coriander have fought, dodged, and ran their way to the edge of the page, spilling out of the book as it opens.
Instead of finding themselves back in the library, they are in a Ship's Captain's quarters, musty and abandoned. They extract themselves from the fallen books-- and the bones of two crewmembers, stripped clean of flesh. Old Tara has returned to a 3 dimensional state, at least!
Tara finds the Logbook, and the last entry was in- Ober, 224? That's four months since they were in the jungle! The ship appears to be abandoned and adrift. Signs of attack are present, but must have occurred days or even weeks ago.
The crew venture on deck to find themselves adrift in icy waters, the sun dipping below the horizon. It is FREEZING... Judging by the stars, they determine they must be somewhere near Wulfgar, far to the North of Arcadia, and hundreds of miles from the Sauranlands.
The crew search the rest of the ship, and manage to find just a bit of water, food, and munitions for the damaged cannons, and they prepare the ship for sail. Just as the sun begins to dip below the horizon, Cali detects fast moving shapes bounding across the ice floes. They leap aboard the ship!
In a flash of motion, Griff unloads a double salvo of pistol fire at the looming shape, grievously wounding it. The attackers appear to be two arctic direwolves, and... a huge Wolfen, who shouts at the crew, accusing them of being soulless undead. Old Tara interprets the Wulfen's cries, and the two realize the other may not be the threat they first imagined. The fighting stops...
But the injured wolf needs help or she will bleed out. Thankfully, Griff's healing magic saves the Wolf. Grateful but still suspicious, the Wulfen explains these waters are infested with the restless dead. Then an unnatural fog rolls across the icy waters, surrounding the ship...
From out of the fog lunge hideous skeletal wraiths with rusty glaives and glowing eyes! The Wulfen knows these are the greater threat, and turn to face them as they eerily glide aboard the ship...
The crew scramble to defend themselves from these chilling creatures, fending them off with blade, bow and shield. One manages to graze Purket, filling his heart with dread, blood like ice in his veins... Gramblar and Cali manage to hastily upright and load the ship's cannons.
But then, an even greater threat rises out of the icy, dark waters- giant, skeletal hands without number, blindly clawing and scratching at the ship and its crew!
One hand rips through the side of the ship and snatches the huge Wulfen like a toy. Squalor leaps into action, grappling the bony fingers and snapping the Wulfen free.
Still dodging the wraiths attacks, Cali fires a cannon, shattering one of the hands to bits.
Griff targets one of the wraiths with Lightning, but it takes ages for the strike to power up. Meanwhile the target has moved onto the ship, putting everyone at risk! Squalor grabs the wraith and hurls it overboard just in time...
The lightning strike annihilates the wraith, and catches another skeletal hand in the blast!
But it was still too close to the ship, and sets one of the sails ablaze! Cali fires a Flood arrow over the sail, the cascading water extinguishing the sail and covering the deck with ice as it freezes in the air.
With the Wraiths driven off, the crew get the ship moving as the skeletal hands try to latch on. Griff uses his cooking oil to loosen their grip, the ship slipping away with the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard. The Wulfen guides the crew to a safe harbor...
The ship drops anchor and the crew follow the Wulfen through a hidden entrance into an Ice Cave.
A whole pack of Wulfen watch as they enter. They seem especially suspicious of Squalor and Gramblarr, for some reason.
Fortunately, Griff makes some new friends of the arctic wolves inside with treats and skritchies, their playful roughhousing vastly preferrable to being devoured.
Purket and Old Tara consult with the Wulfen Shaman, and explain their situation. The Shaman agrees to let the crew stay for one night.
Exhausted, the crew (try to) settle down for the night, and the Shaman leads a chorus of droning music that does little to help them sleep.
WULFENDRIFT.MP3
Against the eerie droning backdrop, the Shaman tells a tale of ancient times- when the giant Jotun and the stocky Druuvan walked these lands, and fought each other in savage wars, all to the design of Ossus, the dragon of death. The crew sleep fitfully, haunted by strange dreams...
The next morning, the crew set out on the Cerulean to search for a way home. Cali spots a trail of debris that might lead somewhere, and the crew agree to go ashore- all except Purket, who is not feeling well...
Old Tara is the only one insulated enough to swim across... Cali uses Warp arrows to teleport herself and Squalor across so he doesn't sink into the icy abyss. Griff scampers across the ice floes, nearly sliding in. The crew spread out and search for a safe passage...
Unfortunately, Squalor is the first to find something: a deadly chasm of ice hidden under the snow! Digging into the ice, he stops his fall- only to find a long dead figure wedged into the ice. It looks a lot like the armored Panjandran Praetorians in the pawpup book.
Cali manages to lasso Squalor and haul him up... but he insists on bringing the dead Praetorian with him.
Meanwhile Tara finds some frozen fish- a welcome snack considering the crew's dwindling supplies.
Griff investigates an ice cave, only for the snow to fall away, revealing a huge skull in the ice! A broken Amphorica sits fallen from the eye socket.
Cali finds another massive skull with an intact Amphorica in it... and a growling disembodied voice pleads: "FREE.... ME...."
Cali grabs the Amphorica and tries to break it, to no avail. Suddenly, scores of giant, bony hands burst from the snow, chasing her!
Cali throws the Amphorica to Tara, who smashes it against the hardest thing he can find- Squalor. It finally shatters, and a spirit wisps out to the sky. The Skeletal hands fall lifeless, submerging under the snow.
Unfortunately Griff finds another chasm, much larger, with a frozen ice sheet at the bottom. Trapped inside the ice, the biggest skull yet! Its ancient, grating voice fills Griff's mind. But how to get down there and destroy the Amphorica?
Squalor agrees to descend and smash through the ice. The crew haul together, barely able to hold Squalor's weight as they lower him down.
Griff and Cali take shots at the ice to soften it up before Squalor gets there.
With the ice melted, Squalor is able to punch through and grab the Amphorica, and strains to crush it in his hand. The pleading, ancient spirit has been freed!
Squalor then displays his find from earlier to the crew. "You are NOT bringing that in the house." they joke.
The crew find tracks in the snow, days old at most.
But before they follow the tracks, they agree to return to the ship to drop off the dead Panjandran.
Unfortunately, Tara's latest magic mishap causes him to sink suddenly into the ice, and he VANISHES from view!
"Tara? TARA!" The crew search desperately for Tara but can find no trace of him!
Reluctantly, the crew return to the ship without Tara, and drop off the Panjandran carcass. Purket eyes the carcass nervously: "I'm just going to assume anything can just come alive." Squalor asks Gramblarr to "put the carcass in the closet with the rest of the skeletons." As Tara's fate "sinks in", Purket agrees to join the crew as they venture out again to follow the tracks.
The tracks lead to an ancient tomb entrance under the ice.
The crew cautiously venture inside...
...suddenly Squalor and Purket slip down ice-covered stairs into the tomb below!
The crew creep cautiously forward, and come across several Chainwrasps- half metal, half bone guardians of the dead!
The crew sneak past the chainwrasps and enter a strange circular chamber before noticing a breeze...
...that whips into a full blown tornado, tossing them around and around the room!
Desperate to get out, Griff grabs a nearby chainwrasp, which snaps at him as he tries to climb out of the vortex! Squalor grabs the other end and hauls Griff out.
Hanging onto the sturdy bulk of Squalor, the two press on through the winds, with screeching chainwrasps whipping by!
Purket and Cali, trapped on the far side of the vortex, are able to grab onto Squalor's chainshot and haul themselves out.
The crew probe deeper into the tomb, and Griff doesn't hesitate to smash the leering skulls of more chainwrasps on the way.
The next chamber is freezing cold, but has a tempting treasure chest, surrounded by sleeping Gloomhounds. Purket manages to sneak over to the chest and open it before the others crash noisily into the room! The Gloomhounds breathe chilling vapors through their jaws as they come to life...
Griff casts Purge Undead, damaging the nearest gloomhounds as the crew sprint for the far door. Purket fires an overcharged Flood Arrow into the room, and a torrent of water freezes the Gloomhounds in place!
The crew reach the oldest chamber in the crypt, filled with bones and skulls of ancient races. Archaic pipes connect two desecrated sarcophagi to the floor, leaking glowing energy. The crew can barely make out the vandalized transcriptions, the names strangely familiar: a Druuvan named Mattock - and an Aelvyn named Aquitar... Legends say they were the parents of the first human! But... what are they doing here?
Purket also discovers a velvet lined hidden compartment that once contained a large forging hammer, but is now strangely empty.
Suddenly, the ceiling opens up, as a cascade of snow and rubble pours down from above, burying Griff! A muffled voice from the debris pile turns out to be-- Tara, whose magic mishap from earlier caused him to sink into the ground. "Finally! I've been falling for hours!" Everyone is relieved to see Tara alive, but then... the floor gives way!
Tara and Purket fall down into a massive, flooded chamber below, landing in icy cold water and pitch darkness. As they fumble about, they stumble into piles of bones, and several expired Amphoricas.
Purket finds a glowing Amphorica, and Tara instinctively smashes it, releasing... Ryan! After being captured, their Amphorica containers must have been deposited here, but for reasons unknown...
Ryan offers Purket a much needed torch. The rest of the crew descend, and everyone starts smashing Amphoricas to try to release the other captives. Ragnar pops out next, and with an "I guess we're doing this now", joins in the frenzy of smashing Amphoricas.
Finally, Dima is freed and the reunited crew swap stories of how they all got there. Purket's ramblings sound insane as usual, despite their accuracy. Ryan is relieved to see the crew, and finds them very huggable, especially Griff. Ryan now knows there's no way he could bring himself to capture them or turn them in to Gora. Then Ryan reveals some inside knowledge: Gora has been hiding out somewhere in Wulfgar, and wonders what he might be up to...
The crew agree to return to the surface the fastest way possible- up through Tara's sinkholes. Thanks to generous amounts of rope and grappling arms, they all make it- barely. They huddle together to plan their next move as the chilling winds blast across the stark beauty of the ice plains...
CONTINUE TO PART 16!
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