(Part 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10)
FLASHBACK GAME: 57 YEARS AGO
The Arcadian Academic Archeological Association (4A) has uncovered a single page from the legendary Panjandran tome of nursery rhymes, known as Sable's Fables. The page is translated and shared with 4A members...
Jack and Drill went to Bone Hill
to stash a pale Warhorse
Jack was downed and broke his crown
Watched over by Drill in due course
Some unscrupulous members decide it's more than just a rhyme- it might indicate the location of an actual Dwarven buried treasure! Teams of tomb raiding lore experts and warriors set out to Bone Hill to be the first to claim the treasure for their own.
When they arrive, they find bitter snow has touched the otherwise barren wastes.
The first team on the scene, Pallor the Glint provides supposed lore expert Master Ossuary wth some muscle (but is secretly after the treasure himself).
Marlin Gandor, a wizard who has forgotten more than most will ever know, trusts no one and braves the elements alone.
Gieuseppe the Feline accompanies young Lady Chatterly, though he trusts none of the humans to do the right thing. As they explore the snow-covered badlands of Bone Hill for ancient artifacts, they find only abandoned gear and a poor few coins.
Marlin, freezing starving and dehydrated, stumbles across some firewood at least. As he makes a fire, the melting snow reveals an old dwarven Keystone! He uses some magic to create a concealing fog, but a magic mishap leaves him unable to gain nutrition from anything other than raw vegetables...
Of course, Master Ossuary finds, of all things, a basket of carrots abandoned to the elements.
But his partner, Pallor, uncovers another Keystone! Straining with all his might, he manages to lift the 2 ton stone, shredding his metal body and leaking oil in the process.
But then, two Centaur animas appear, and demand the intruders leave this sacred place immediately before their gods awake in anger!
Pallor replies by hurling the massive stone at them, brutally crushing them!
For good measure, he follows up this attack with an overcharged Heart of Fire, incinerating the Centaurs but leaving himself badly damaged.
Meanwhile, Gieuseppe and Chatterly have found a third Keystone, but run afoul of two more Centaurs who deliver the same ultimatum...
Gieuseppe fires a crossbow bolt into one of the Centaurs' necks, and the rest flee from the carnage.
But then, the winter sun suddenly goes DARK, as a total eclipse casts a shadow over the landscape!
The ruins of an ancient Dwarven tomb mysteriously emerges from the rocks as the sunlight is blotted out.
The three teams now face each other, and reluctantly agree to work together, placing Keystones to unlock the vaultlike door of the tomb.
Gieuseppe impatiently charges ahead before the runes are properly aligned and gets a face full of laser from the guardian Lion statues.
First inside the tomb is Lady Chatterly, who discovers a Gallery full of surprisingly well preserved mosaics. But she also finds that every sound she makes is magnified a hundred fold in the strange chamber! Stuffing wax in her ears, she tries to pantomime a warning to Gieuseppe, but fails to catch Pallor's attention before he STOMPS into the chamber! Just as the echoes finally subside, Marlin comes in, eating a carrot with a deafening crunch. Master Ossuary enters without a sound... then asks, "What's up, Guys?!"
Finally quiet, the raiders quietly examine the Mosaics in the chamber and decipher their runic captions.
"Glory! Jack and Drill lead an expedition to reclaim Highland Petraglyphs"
"Treaty! Drill brokers Panzers to the Panjandrans for use in the Proxy Wars against the Aelves"
"Precaution! Drill and Jack secret their Promaxis Panzers in the Shadows"
"The Panjandran wars! Jack battles the rebels in his Wingal Panzer"
"Tragedy! Jack is entombed in the Shadow Vault as Drill stands eternal vigil"
After a long silence, the gallery doors finally open, and Gieuseppe bolts deeper into the tomb, ahead of the others.
He comes across a dead end room full of ancient supplies- and two skeletons that appear to have been launched headlong to their deaths? He realizes the corridor is trapped with magnetic channels that, when triggered, can launch any metal object at great speed...
As the others proceed the other way, Gieuseppe triggers the magnet trap, hoping to eliminate the competition! Lady Chatterly is launched back down the corridor, but Pallor manages to hang onto the corner wall.
It is only then that the two notice a hulking, rusty Glint loom forward, its drill arm spinning menacingly! Could it be the spirit of Drill the Dwarf inside?
Already damaged, Pallor is no match for Drill's attacks. As his body is crushed, Pallor makes a desparate play, forcing his spirit fire inside of Drill's Body and driving him out. Convinced he has defeated Drill, Pallor struts around in his newly claimed body as his old shell collapses in ruin.
The threat abated, the explorers discover a strange device at the back of the chamber. Chatterly discovers a coin slot on it, and deposits a gold. The device whirs to life, a mechanical Orrery that glares with the light of the heavens as it traces the arcs of heavenly bodies in miniature. Astute observers are able to determine the Eclipse happens only once every 57 years and only lasts about half an hour... What happens if they are still inside the tomb when the Eclipse ends?
Hastily moving on, the explorers find a room stacked to the ceiling with treasure- in fact, stacks of gold seem to be the only thing holding up a crumbling ceiling overhead...
Ignoring the gleaming treasure, Gieuseppe skulks ahead and finds Jack's tomb. Before anyone can see, he takes the crown from the body and pockets it. But then a glimmer of light comes in through high windows- the Eclipse is ending soon!
Everyone scrambles for the exit, someone setting off another Magnet trap as they snatch the gold holding up the treasure room. Treasure and looters alike are hurtled down the hallways in a landslide of metal and screams!
Pallor's new body crashes into the Orrery, dislodging it and joining the terror train... But Pallor's old body is mysteriously missing!
Drill's spirit has managed to enter Pallor's old body, and drags himself out of the temple to disrupt the keystones, trapping the explorers inside! With this final act, he collapses into unconsciousness.
After crashing into the dead end room like a hail of pachinko balls, the Explorers realize they must break through to the outside before they are trapped forever! Pallor attempts to drill a way out, but it's not enough...
...until Lady Chatterly crams every bomb she has into the hole! Pallor shields the party from the blast.
Daylight! Everyone scrambles outside before the sun is revealed again, except Pallor who struggles to move fast enough in his ponderous hulking body.
As the explorers exit, they come face to face with a horde of deadly Promaxis Panzers, about to strike them down! Hoping against hope, they charge headlong towards the Panzers, who...
...VANISH in the light of the sun. The eclipse has ended, as has their adventure.
Pallor, trapped in the rocks as the eclipse ends, wonders if he can last until the next Eclipse...
Days later, Marlin returns to Bone Hill to recover Pallor's body, not realizing Drill's spirit is inside...
FLASHBACK GAME: 5 YEARS AGO, ARBALEST UNIVERSITY
Young Purket is not actually a student at Arbalest University- he shares a dorm room there, so he can be closer to the school's artifacts, lore, and 4A members on staff.
Purket's roommate Roginald is sick, and needs Purket to go to class in his place.
Tara the Otter and Ragnar the Penguin, fellow classmates, stop by. "C'mon, we're gonna be late to class."
Purket frantically throws together a disguise - a green Hoodie and PinPawn balls. Tara and Ragnar head out.
Visiting "Professor" Mandrake calls them both over. "I need you two to find something for me: Clanky, the old school Mascot. Looks like a walking armored metal man with a red crest. Extra credit to whoever brings it to me. I'll be in the library."
Ragnar agrees: "Sure, if I can get my real sword back instead of this cardboard one."
Purket, Ragnar, and Tara arrive at class, where professor Marlin Gandor is taking roll.
"Mevin? Mevin Stevinsen?"
"Call me Ragnar!" the Penguin replies.
"Roginald? ... Roginald Plobis?"
"OH! That's me- I mean, here!" Purket snaps..
"Mevin?"
"Sir you already called me."
"Right, today we resume our Phases of the Moon. Which reminds me, I saw a total Eclipse once. Where's my notebook? I need a volunteer to find my notebook. It's on campus... somewhere".
Half the students raise their hands. Without looking up, Marlin waves his hand to dismiss the volunteer, and several of them head out to find the notebook.
Ragnar searches a storeroom and finds a dusty old mannequin- it must be the old school Mascot!
Mustering all his strength, he noisily drags the figure across the campus. Doctor Ossuary watches disapprovingly.
Ragnar presents his find to a very disappointed Gora Mandrake. "Hey! This isn't a Glint- er, I mean, gooood job. Go find your sword in the Confiscated Items closet. (Twerp.)"
Ragnar rummages through the closet and recovers his sword- now he can perfect his deadly belly slide attack!
Meanwhile, Tara scours the campus for the notebook. Lady Chatterly says it's probably just in Marlin's office on his desk- he's always forgetting things like that.
Sure enough, Tara finds the notebook... Inside, he notices a sketch of an old Glint that must have been the inspiration for Clanky, the old school Mascot.
Tara places the notebook in front of Marlin. "Ah yes, it was right here. Anyway, the Eclipse!"
Elsewhere, Purket uses the notebook as an excuse to rummage through the many items that have accumulated on campus. He finds a rusty metal figure at the bottom of a pile that reacts to his touch- coming to life after decades of neglect.
The figure bolts upright, eyes flaring with red flame, scaring Purket!
Its booming voice addresses Purket. "Where am I? Wait. You MUST get me out of here."
Amazed and terrified, Purket agrees to help the stranger escape campus. Doctor Ossuary catches just a glimpse- "Pallor, is that you? No, couldn't be."
Purket thinks he can turn this creature in to the 4A. Then they'd have to make him a member!
But as he hides and repairs the stranger, Purket grows fond of him.
"I'm Purket. What's your name?"
"I- I don't remember."
"Yeah, you're a bit of mess... I'll call you Squalor. How about a coat of blue paint to celebrate?"
With a fresh coat of paint and a fresh personality, Squalor joins Purket on the road. Their skills complement each other as they embark on a new adventure together...
ON TO PART 9!
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