(Part 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10)
Back while the rest of the crew were still fighting at Coriander Bridge and plumbing the depths of the crypts of Agrippa, Cap'n was busily engaged in hunting pirates around Scrimshaw. His latest bounty: Mayne, the Leontine brute he had once hired for the expedition to that jungle temple.
Cap'n has arrived at Mayne's Sea Fort hideout...
Hoping to capture Mayne alive, Cap'n gives his crew explicit instructions to fire on the Fort- ONLY- if he gives them the signal of 3 lanterns, then 2, then 3 again.
Cap'n and one of the crew then set out in a rowboat and manage to crash into the Fort, somehow without alerting Mayne, who is arguing with his Badger henchman about a crate.
Cap'n deftly scales the Fort tower, surprising the Ratfolk scout on station there.
He then tosses the ratman over the edge, boldly calling for Mayne's surrender.
But all the commotion alerts another Henchman in the Fort, who waves his lantern from above, demanding to know what is going on.
Sure that is the signal to fire, the ship's crewman unleashes a mortar blast!
The blast squarely hits the top of the Fort, cascading debris down below...
...where it smashes open the mysterious crate, bursting open in a magical maelstrom.
As the glowing wisps of magical force dissipate, Mayne and Cap'n find themselves in a bizarre nightscape devoid of stars. The sea and sky are gone, replaced with black void- Cap'ns ship and Mayne's crew nowhere to be seen.
"Are we dead?" asks Mayne. As malignant creatures begin to drift through the void, Cap'n replies, "Whether dead or dreaming, I don't want to know what happens if those things catch us."
Before they can agree where to run, a towering, eerie creature appears on the black horizon, stares at them both, and bellows " YOU... SHOULD... NOT... BE... HERE."
"I totally agree" shouts Cap'n, as he jumps out into the void and scrambles over the slippery, inky plane of darkness. Mayne charges past, smashing aside beasts that come too close.
Pursued on all sides, a grizzled Otter Animas peeks out from the rocks and calls out, "Over here! Quickly!"
The two follow into a cave in the rocks. The stranger stares at Cap'n: "Cap'n, is that you? It's Tara!" Cap'n, shocked by this revelation, wonders how this elderly, grizzled veteran could be the same young Druid that vanished in that explosion of light...
Old Tara leads them down a dark, glassy slide into the depths. Upon reaching solid ground, they find a curious scene: Mr. Brown, who died in the Panzer battle at Scrimshaw, being harassed by the Mimic that had once bitten onto Cap'ns arm. "Wait, you were dead!" Cap'n exclaims. Tara explains: "Welcome to the Afterlands. I hate to say it, but you just might be dead too."
As the three make their way through the labyrinthian lower levels of the Afterlands, they run into a familiar figure fleeing two rabid Porcine. "Hampton! Oh no, we really are dead! But why did that creature say we shouldn't be here?" Tara responds, "Perhaps we can find a way to get you home." Hampton chimes in, "I know a place where the barrier between our worlds is weak. It's how I visited you as a Ghost. Boy were you freaked out!" Cap'n just looks on sheepishly.
As the four descend into a special chamber, the lights dim, and winged creatures strafe them, sending Hampton for cover. But then one of them speaks with a theatrical Panjandran accent. "Don't despair, I am a humble storyteller, and these are my feathered friends. Sable's the name... I hear you wish to return to the land of the living! I can help you, but in return, I ask a favor: Go to Skull Mountain, and recover my journal from there. It's a tome titled, "Sable's Fables".
Then Sable alights, leaving Tara to cast a Portal spell that might allow them to return. Hampton inscribes instructions for launching torpedos onto Capn's arm, and then steps through, but only comes out the other side... Truly, the dead cannot leave the Afterlands. But the other three step into the light... blind... and falling....
...falling, down through a fog, into salty sea water. But where? They hear the familiar cry of seagulls, and voices: "Man, the Magistrate is mad about Cap'n just going AWOL. Didn't even bring Mayne back for trial." "Yep, they'd be wise to steer clear of Scrimshaw, not even set foot here."
Cap'n and Mayne agree that sneaking out of Scrimshaw is the best course of action. Cap'n cunningly forges a ransom note and posts it on the message board. "If you want to see Cap'n alive, send a crew to Skull Island, collect the treasure there, then wait for me to make the exchange. Signed: Gora Mandrake."
"Now we just need to find a ship to take us to Skull Island, and wait for our Rescuers." The three sneak aboard a Waifsays food skiff, and head out to sea...
The tiny ship carries the three over storm and sea, to whatever awaits at Skull Island...
About this time, the rest of the crew were exiting the Panjabrynth via the temple at Scrimshaw, with the strange beast known as Roquefort in tow.
They are intercepted by the Magistrate bearing terrible news: The Cap'n has been kidnapped! The crew must take the Stormstalker and immediately depart for Skull Island, to find the treasure there and negotiate for Cap'ns return. The crew set out immediately, and bring Roquefort with them.
Arriving quickly at Skull Island, they take a rowboat to fit into the sea cave entrance.
Inside, amongst the piles of skulls, they encounter a Bone Golem, but team up to defeat it and find a fiendishly locked chest buried amongst the skulls.
As they head for the exit, more Skeletons arise, threatening to trap them until a hungry Roquefort bursts onto the scene.
With a taste for bones, Roquefort makes short work of the Skeletons.
Griff rides back to the ship on Roquefort, as the rest of the crew cram aboard the overloaded rowboat. But as they near the ship, they hear the distant sound of ... Cannon Fire?
They find the ship surrounded by dozens of warships in the distance!
Roquefort, scared by the noises, hides in the Capn's quarters and refuses to come out, despite Griff's coaxing. But Griff spots something special inside- a crate full of torpedos! Too bad nobody knows how to use them- that knowledge passed with the death of Hampton, the former Captain.
As the circle of deadly warships closes in... Wait... they aren't far away- they only appear small because... they ARE small! Dozens of tiny warships, with crews of crazed Grabblins, engage each other in battle, the Stormstalker caught in the middle.
The crew hastily climb aboard and prepare for battle...
...just as their rowboat is blown apart by Grabblin mini-Brigantine Broadsides.
Two Gribblin Barrage Barges launch salvos at each other...
And one vanishes in a fireball as its magazine is hit!
One of the tiny vessels heads straight for the Stormstalker- but it's not a Grabblin ship, it's Cap'n, Mayne and Tara! Mayne hurls Tara and Cap'n aboard...
And then makes his escape!
Squalor rushes around the ship trying to do everything at once. "Good day, Cap'n. CAP'N!? How'd you get here?" "We were thrown here!" Tara replies. "Aren't we all... Wait, TARA?"
Meanwhile, Purket dodges the hail of crisscrossing fire in the air, and launches some Starshot salvos of his own.
Cali fights a fire aboard the ship, while firing arrows into a Grapple ship that gets too close for comfort. Tara casts a sleep spell on the crew, further hampering their advance.
But a second Grapple ship rams from behind, and Grabblin boarders charge into Squalor! Their attacks just bounce off his tough hide, and he gently but firmly pushes them back into the sea.
Meanwhile, Cap'n spots Griff with the box of Torpedos, and shouts "I know how to fire those now! Come with me!"
A brace of torpedos splash out of the front of the Stormstalker, scuttling the other Barrage Barge.
But new threats keep appearing- Dima cranks the wheel to dodge out of the way of the ironclad submersible that arises from below.
One of the Grabblin Brigantines carries a familiar crew... it's Grabma, the Grablin that requested the crew recover her lost pet, Toby! Er, Roquefort!
Griff coaxes Roquefort out from below decks, and Dima negotiates a peace with Grabma. "No more sneaking into Agrippa Island and stealing things!"
Roquefort gleefully flaps over to Grabma for a drool-soaked reunion. The Grabblins bring their "battle exercise" to a close, and sail off into the sunset.
With the crew reunited, they finally open the chest from Skull Island. Inside, they find some children's toys, costumes, wooden swords, and a Panjandran book of nursery rhymes, titled... Sable's Fables.
ON TO PART 5!
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