(Part 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10)
The crew and Doctor Ossuary cram into the airship and travel into the night, intent on finding the manor home of a reclusive lore expert and 4A member that might know how to recharge Dima's portal ring. Cali chooses travel on the ground over the cramped basket, and agrees to meet them there. The path grows more and more obscure before a break in the trees reveals an overgrown, decaying Manor house. They land, and investigate, Dr. Ossuary "bravely stays here to guard the Airship".
Approaching the Manor, Tara spots some glowing fungus balls on the patio and runs off to investigate, with Purket accompanying him. The rest of the crew approach the front door and find it strangely unlocked.
Heading inside, they find themselves in a large, moldering library. Squalor investigates a stuffed creature on display- is it alive? He pushes it across the table- completely stiff. But then it gingerly repositions itself in it's original location...
Dima and Griff are attacked! Magical books animate off the shelf, and fly at their heads. Griff blows one to bits with his pistol, and Dima tears another off her face and chops at it with her sword.
The book must have inflicted some kind of magical curse on Dima... the flame on her torch springs to life, leaps away, and disappears in a crack in the table. Upon lighting another torch, it tries to burn her! Squalor leaps onto the flame, trapping it inside his firebox, and the two battle it out inside his body. Thankfully he is able to overpower it and even gets some strength back from it.
In the back corner of the library, Squalor finds a strange mechanical "friend". No signs of life, but he decides to take it with him anyway.
Meanwhile outside, Tara takes samples of the intriguing fungus balls, while Purket tries to jimmy the lock on a nearby door.
An armored, clawed monstrosity scuttles over the wall at them, and Purket gets the door open just in time!
Ducking inside, they slam the door behind them.
They find themselves in an entryway, and on the wall is a painting titled "Lady Chatterly, charter member of the Arcadian Academic Archeological Association." Perhaps she is the lore expert they are searching for.
Purket finds a strange artifact, but when he picks it up, it explodes in a green vortex that engulfs Tara! When it subsides, Tara is nowhere to be seen... Horrified, Purket shakes the artifact and can hear a faint rattling sound inside.
On approach to the manor, Calico spots a strange but familiar shape lurking in the forest. Could it be the same giant warrior she encountered years ago in the Jungle Temple? It disappears into the trees.
Cali and her mount, Fray the carnival lion, arrive at the manor and quietly approach the grounded Airship. Doctor Ossuary shrieks in terror before realizing who they are. He confirms the others are already inside. Cali leaves Fray with a reluctant Doctor Ossuary...
As Cali approaches the Manor, she notices a light in the West tower.
Upon rejoining the group inside the Manor, Cali comes across a familiar artifact- it's the Needle of Lament that she pulled from the back of the giant warrior in the Jungle Temple! They conclude it must have been Lady Chatterly who sent them to find it years ago. But where is she now? Cali mentions the light in the tower, and the crew head there.
As they round the corner, moldering undead stagger forward, wearing rotting servant's uniforms. The crew fight them off, but as they dispatch them, a strange reddish dust puffs off of them, similar to the sample Tara collected from the fungus outside. Wait, where is Tara anyway?
Purket frantically rattles the door to the Tower room, and a voice from inside sings out "just a moment!" They force the door open, and slam it behind them before the zombies can get in.
In the tower room, a single lantern on the floor casts eerie light on the figure in the room- it be Lady Chatterly herself. She welcomes the "guests" and apologizes for the state of the Manor. Dima asks if she knows a way to recharge a portal ring. Lady Chatterly casually confirms that a Moonstone could do it, and to check the Study and the Lab. She then excuses herself, and passes right THROUGH Squalor before disappearing in a protoplasmic mist.
The crew make their way back through the library and up to the balcony, where several fungus pods wriggle and burst open, releasing spore wings into the air! They battle their way past the toxic creatures, and Squalor shoves everyone into the Study before slamming the door behind.
The study is filled with all manner of wonders. Cali finds an amazingly realistic model ship. Squalor spots the rusting hulk of a Glint- unoccupied. Dima wrenches a weapon arm from it to replace his missing hand. Griff finds what must be the Moonstone! If they can get outside into the moonlight, they could recharge Dima's portal ring and go wherever the Swindon raiders took Squalor's original hand...
Purket finds two pages torn from a journal on the floor, and reads them aloud.
Was this the thing that Cali saw in the forest earlier? No, these are different. The one labeled Larva looks like the one that attacked Tara and Purket out front though.
The crew make it to the Chapel, but are ambushed by more sporewings. Purket can't get the door outside to open- it's blocked by something...
The door suddenly crashes inward! As the crew dive out of the way, a massive, horrid Spore King lashes at everyone inside!
Squalor uses his Heart of Fire to drive the creature off, and everyone proceeds out onto the moonlit patio.
Griff and Dima work to align the Moonstone and the ring, while Purket boosts its charging speed with a magnifying glass. But the delicate and time consuming operation is interrupted by skittering sounds...
Clawed, armored Larvas skitter up onto the porch! The party does their best to knock them back down.
But then an even greater threat crashes out of the trees- two armored creatures threaten to tear them all to bits!
Cali uses an arrow she found long ago, the last of its kind, to stun one of the beasts.
Then suddenly, the armored warrior from before lunges out of the woods and chops the arm off of one of the beasts! It nods to Cali before firing a huge arrow at the other beast, subduing them both. The portal ring finishes charging, and everyone jumps in, to get away from the terrifying duel of giants. As Purket jumps in, he realizes "Wait, I never got to see the laaaaab...."
Doctor Ossuary hears distant noises and sees eerie flashing lights. "Uh... Hello? Anyone?" His fear of being left behind is interrupted by Fray's breath on the back of his neck. "Gaah!"
The crew fall through the ring portal, landing brutally on a stone floor next to Squalor's displayed hand. The room they find themselves in reminds them of their crypt stronghold on Agrippa island. But as they see dozens of Panzers lining the walls, they realize they are somewhere quite different...
ON TO PART 7!
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