PART 16
(Part 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20)
A.C.224.11, WULFGAR ICE WASTES
The crew, now united with Dima, Ryan and Ragnar, have just escaped from the depths of an ancient tomb. As they search for a path back to the Cerulean, they come across an ancient shipwreck trapped in the ice.
Exploring its depths, they discover it was a Panjandran ship, and find a miniature model cabin that Purket takes with him back to their ship, the Cerulean. Imagine their surprise when they discover... that they can go inside the cabin!
The interior is surprisingly large, and a warm fire is burning in the fireplace. The exhausted crew make themselves at home, healing wounds and sleeping off their exhaustion for what feels like days.
The crew are startled awake by the distant sound of howling- a deep, low sound that cuts through the wind and the dark. As they head up on deck, a giant wolf appears over the ridge, and bounds over to the ship!
Tara recognizes it as the Garwolf, one of the guardians from the Afterlands. What is it doing here?! Have they finally tracked him down? The wolf nuzzles each crew member, giving each of them a tiny alabaster jar pendant before bounding off. Some of the crew recognize these as Canopicons, used to ensure safe passage to the Afterlands should they be killed - or worse, their souls stolen by necromancy...
As the crew study the skies, they realize it is nearly the winter Solstice. Ryan suddenly remembers that Gora Mandrake had some crucial plan that could only be enacted during the darkest part of the long night, in a deep glacial canyon known as "The Shear". Dima insists they must stop him, whatever he has planned! The crew agree to get one more night's rest (even though it is always night)...
The next "day", the crew awake to find Dima, Ragnar and Gramblarr all missing! They find a note from Gramblarr: "Dima and Ragnar left early to find the Shear, but Dima forgot her gloves, so I'm bringing them. Be back soon."
The crew agree they have to go after them! Ryan stays to guard the ship.
Purket, Tara, and Griff take the launch, since the Cerulean is too big to sail into the Shear. Squalor and Cali climb to the top of the Shear to follow on foot.
As they enter the Shear, a wall of ice ahead fades out of existence, revealing a channel lined with giant inverted skulls...
Ahead of them sails the Charon, a ship of legend said to exist in the Shadowlands. Aboard are two Panzers, one clearly Gora's. Cages hanging from the mast contain Gramblarr, Ryan and Dima, captured by Gora and held for some nefarious purpose. Cali and Squalor look for a way to free them...
Tara decides to sneak aboard and dives into the icy water, his thick fur protecting him from the cold. But something huge rises out of the water behind him...
A giant skeletal fish gulps Tara down in one bite!
But without organs, Tara simply finds himself inside the skeletal fish's ribcage...
Griff and Cali shoot the bony creature- then, using his druid magic, Tara manages to take control of the undead creature.
Eager to reach his goal, Gora leaps off the Charon and wades through the icy water towards an ancient glowing well.
Rising out of the pit, a snakelike Panzer appears, wielding a Scythe. "At last- the power of the Skurge will be mine to rule!" Gora rumbles.
But Tara surfaces behind him...
...and using powerful puppeteer magic, forces Gora's Panzer to attack the Skurge!
The Skurge retaliates as if alive, knocking Gora's panzer into the freezing water, Gora barely diving out of the cockpit in time.
Before Gora can approach the Skurge to get inside it, Purket uses Warp magic to haul Gora onto their launch!
Meanwhile, aboard the Charon, Gora's henchmen prepare their captives for sacrifice to appease the Skurge.
Purket fires arrow magic into Ragnar's cage, ricocheting to Dima's and releasing them both!
Ragnar lands safely on the deck and brandishes his sword at the henchmen. Dima clings to the inside of her cage to avoid falling into the water, and swings onto the ice.
Then strangely, Dima calmly approaches the Skurge...
...and is pulled inside!
For a brief moment, there appear to be two Dimas- then a bright pop and flash as her Canopicon bursts, and the ribcage-like cockpit doors slam shut.
The Skurge's eyes flare brightly, and it launches forward!
The giant Scythe rips through the air, tearing apart Gora's henchmen. Gramblarr's cage is caught in the swing, and he vanishes in a bright flash, as his Canopicon bursts. Ragnar avoids the swing, diving to the deck just in time, then gets back up to face this new threat!
Cali fires a Warp arrow and pulls Ragnar to safety before he can get himself into more trouble.
She then fires a Magnet arrow at the Skurge, trapping it in the chains and cages aboard the Charon.
Griff uses his druid magic to summon a torrential wind, blasting the tiny boat down the Shear like a shot from a gun!
Cali and Squalor follow on foot, returning to the Cerulean, despite Ragnar's protests.
Tara, Purket and Griff return too, with a tied-up Gora Mandrake as their prize!
The crew secure Gora in the Brig. Griff gives him food and water, but they make sure he is secured before questioning him about the Skurge and his plans.
Gora shouts "Letting Dima take the Skurge was the worst possible fate!" He berates the crew about the centuries-long feud between the Agrippas and the Mandrakes, and his plans to claim a new Panjandrum... The crew agree that the Skurge is a threat like none they have ever encountered. Their plan: gather all the Panzers and Aurans they can, and stop it!
A.C.224.11, AGRIPPA ISLAND
The crew return to Agrippa island to pick up Squalor's Brawling Panzer and find out more about the Agrippa - Mandrake feud. Ryan and Tara stay on the ship, but the others head ashore and try to avoid all the traps on the way to the stronghold. Ryan even brings a tied-up Gora at swordpoint.
Most of the crew manage to avoid all the traps Rusty had reset, including some new ones.
But Griff stumbles into an ancient one: the ground collapses under him, and closes back up over him, trapping him in the catacombs below!
The crew hurriedly reach the stronghold gate, where Rusty greets them warmly- except for Gora of course!
As the crew race through the stronghold to try to meet up with Griff in the Catacombs, they are ambushed by overenthusiastic welcoming Beer Golems! As they cram foaming mead into Gora's mouth, he splutters vehement curses and protests. "What is WRONG with you people?"
Meanwhile, Griff uses his cat eyes to peer into the darkness of the Catacombs below.
Ominous scratching and rustling sounds make Griff's ears twitch, as the undead arise to defend their crypts from this unknown visitor!
Worse still, dancing at the edge of his vision, Griff spots a spectral form that LUNGES toward him, screeching horribly, bloated white eyes glaring!
The Crew make their way down to the Catacombs, searching the dark corridors for any sign of Griff.
As Gora enters the crypts, armored skeletons burst to life, intent on killing this foul intruder!
It's all Squalor can do to protect their captive from harm. Purket resorts to arrow magic that makes Gora both invisible and blind. The crew rush into the library and slam the gate behind them to keep the clutching, thrashing skeletons out.
Meanwhile, as Griff's fur stands on end at the approaching spectre, skeletons appear all around him!
Griff desperately casts a druidic banishment, and the specter and skeletons blow apart into vaporous mist!
The crew find their way into the Library just in time to be surprised by a nervous Griff coming in from the back door.
Griff describes his harrowing experience, and the crew realize the specter must have been Dima's Grandma, or "Gram grams".
Tired of waiting on the ship, Tara bravely enters the stronghold on his own, and confidently passes through the familiar skeleton guardians on the way to the Library.
Cali hears his familiar pegleg gait approaching, and lets him in. "You're just in time for the Seance! We're going to try to summon Gram Grams and ask her more about the Agrippa family history."
Powerful lore and magic summons Gram Grams to the library, and she is horrifically angry for being banished earlier. Griff nervously apologizes.
Then before the crew can ask any questions, she "smells" the stink of a Mandrake- and wills Gora to become visible again so she can blast him for the crimes of his family!
The crew ask about the Skurge, but Gram Grams simply warns them not to meddle in the Necromantic powers of her past, and refers the crew to a family tree engraved on the wall, before shrieking out of existence again.
Tara translates the carvings. Dima, born of Andrea, born of Cassiopea (Gram Grams), born of Cassandra, born of the great Empress Kasha, founder of the Panjandran empire 570 years ago! But this timeline would make Dima... more than 400 years old?
Meanwhile, Purket is distracted by the distinct sound of someone dragging a sack along the floor, and turns in time to see a Grablin pause, stare nervously- then bolt off, leaving a burlap sack behind! Tara uses a Compelling magic to draw the Grablin back, as Squalor catches the little guy with a resounding Clang.
The grablin explains he's just delivering this sack of things from the town of Spall to the Agrippa family home. Inside the sack Purket finds ancient pieces of a broken Amphorica, and a diary in Dima's hand, describing a time when she was friends with a girl named Danya Mandrake. Danya claimed to have found Dima as a baby, appearing when Danya accidentally broke the Amphorica she found on the shore...
Satisfied that everyone is safe, Squalor finally takes time to meet with Rusty and check on the Brawling Panzer. It has been well maintained by Rusty, and is ready to go into action...
The crew agree to head to Coriander next, to follow stories of ancient Panjandran relics hidden in the foundations of the city. Hopefully they can make preparations before the Skurge appears again, and might even find out how Dima comes to rule the city in the future as part of a reborn Panjandran empire...
A.C.224.12 - SAILING TO CORIANDER
Of course, as soon as the crew set sail, they are caught up in a sudden squall that turns into a full blown storm!
As the de facto captain of the Cerulean, Cali takes the helm, and brazenly leans into the storm, making record time to Coriander.
Unfortunately, Tara and Purket don't weather the storm as easily- after losing their last meal, they both retire below decks to rest.
On approach to Coriander, a dark shape cuts through the stormclouds and smashes into the Cerulean!
It's Dr. Ossuary! "Ahem, yes! I meant to do that! Just the folks I wanted to see."
As Ossuary blathers on, a Purket-shaped blanket creeps on deck to gather all the things that fell out of Ossuary's Pocket before disappearing below decks again.
Later, Griff brews some soothing Cider for Tara and Purket, but on entering Purket's cabin, there's no sign of him!
Something crunches underfoot- shards of the Canopicon necklace given to Purket by the Garwulf.
Griff rushes on deck to report Purket's disappearance when Ragnar bursts in, shouting that Tara is also gone...
The crew remember Gora is still (hopefully) in the Brig, and they race downstairs to check on their prisoner.
But on arrival, a horrifying sight- two Wraiths, lunging at Gora as he struggles to fend them off!
Griff and Cali blast one Wraith while Squalor crushes another.
The wraiths dissipate into toxic vapor, but then...
...coalesce into a glowing red figure that speaks directly to Gora in a booming, eerie voice.
"Worthless Cur! Releasing the Skurge was your final failure. Prepare yourself. A fate worse than death awaits you."
The figure then burns brightly before glaring out of existence.
At this point, Ossuary stumbles into the brig.
"Oh there you are. What did I miss? Wait, you must be Gora. I am- none other than- Doctor Ossuary! lord of the..."
Gora interrupts with an outburst of bitter laughter. "Seriously? You are a fool and a pretender. The true Lord of the Ossuary was just here - to kill me."
"Wait, how do you know about that?" the Doctor sheepishly asks.
Gora coldly replies. "Morgren Mandrake, 12th Lord of the Ossuary... is my Father."
Griff knows he's seen that grim figure before. But where? In the Shadowlands Gallery, a picture on the wall...
Was he... IS he an ancient Panjandran?
Before the crew can investigate further, Ryan calls out that they have arrived at Coriander!
A cheering crowd gathers to celebrate the return of Cali and the crew, heroes of Coriander!
Griff's human wizard friend, Paddywinx, has apparently taken on the role of Town Magistrate. Griff winks, "Not bad, old man."
Squalor visits Fentman's Forge, once again a (semi-)reputable business.
Cali runs into Gillian, and shows off her latest Arrow Magic.
Griff and Paddywinx agree to transfer Gora to the high security Donjon in Coriander.
After the latest attempt on Gora's life, the two devise a protection spell to keep him safe from further attack.
Paddywinx updates the crew.
"Coriander is still recovering from Gora's takeover last year. But we're growing fast. Cali, as ship's captain, could you help with supply runs and protection from pirates? Ryan, we could use a bard of your caliber. And, ahem, "Doctor" Ossuary- we wish to establish a university here, if you could..."
"I ACCEPT!"
"...contact the other 4A members at Arbalest and see if they are interested?"
Purket's friend Baub asks where Purket and Tara are... the crew are saddened to respond.
Squalor and Griff, determined to enter the Afterlands to search for their friends, concoct a plan. Griff brings the Sable's Fables book from Purket's collection, and Cali trips an Amphorica that would trap their souls. As predicted, instead of getting sucked into the Amphorica, their Canopicon charms pop like flashbulbs and send them into the Afterlands...
A.C.225.01, CORIANDER BRIDGE
Months later, and no sign of the crew members lost (or sent) to the afterlands.
While Cali is at sea, Coriander comes under attack by skeletal fish and giant bony hands, terrorizing the townsfolk!
Then, a stark figure rises from the waves... Could it be the Skurge? Swinging two handed, it shatters the skeletons to bits.
As the townsfolk cautiously approach their grim savior, a human figure in golden armor emerges, familiar in appearance but jarringly different in demeanor. Could this be... Dima?
CONTINUE TO PART 17!
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