(Part 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10)
We return to our crew, setting out from Decanter, on the newly modified Landship Stormstalker.
Taking the overland route to Burnish, the crew are to join with other Arcadian forces and secure the town as a strategy to cut off the Swindon invasion force.
Never one to pass up on provisions, Griff deftly gathers rare herbs as they pass by.
Although Purket has charted a viable overland route, he hasn't accounted for the width of the roads. The crew scramble to stop the ship, not just to avoid plunging off a cliff- there's also a merchant stopped in the road!
The mumbling porcine trader known as G'rmn, and his pet Moose (named Bruce), offer to help the ship past the narrows, and sacrifices his broken wagon for parts to aid the process. G'rmn and the moose are welcomed aboard for the trip.
The ship is soon surrounded by a stampede of giant beasts! One of them has a howdah it tries to shake off.
Calico figures it must have escaped from the mercenary Beastmasters, known to enslave such beasts. She deftly shoots the strap holding the Howdah in place, and the beast calms, ending the stampede.
The ship begins a steep descent, picking up an alarming amount of speed, when the crew spot a child in the road!
No time to stop, Griff lassos the child and Squalor hauls them aboard. "I'm going to Burnish to see my Granpa".
The next obstacle, Lake Hydra, with treacherous river crossings on both sides... The crew opt to go INTO the lake instead of going around.
The calm of sailing is suddenly interrupted by a swarm of giant eels- no, wait, they are all part of the same monster! Now they know how the lake got its name...
Purket brackets the beast, guiding the crew as they load and fire cannons and arrow magic into the many heads. Griff even finds a seasoning the beast is allergic to, finally driving it off.
The ship approaches the outskirts of Burnish, and onlookers watch in amazement as the ship crawls out of the water and up onto the shore. Revelers follow the ship towards town, playing boisterous music to accompany the spectacle.
But as the ship crests a hill, the music dies, as everyone witnesses the town of Burnish engulfed in smoke and flame...
Thinking fast, the crew hide the Stormstalker behind a grove of trees.
Brownie, the kid they picked up on the road, wants to rush into the town to check on his Grandpa, but Griff says it's too dangerous, and stays with the ship to keep Brownie and the others safe and in cover.
The sudden jostling of the ship shakes the Amphorica artifact out of Purket's pack, and with an eerie flash of light, Tara appears! "Wait, where are we?" he says.
The crew set out in a launch boat on sleds, pulled by Grm'ns moose.
Brownie's Grandpa is about to be executed by the invading Beastmaster horde!
Cali uses arrow magic to snip the rope and set him free.
The Beastmasters charge the boat, but are held at bay by Squalor and the crew.
Cali and Squalor find a pump and bucket to put out a nearby fire.
As townsfolk flee their homes, a lurking Lupine ambushes them, until driven off by Cali's deadly fire.
Tara ventures out to check on the town, and finds one of the town's defense cannons has been sabotaged by the invaders. He also notices Panzer tracks in the town- they must have continued on after wiping out the defenses. He uses a Rinse spell to extinguish the fire nearby.
Purket looks for survivors, and finds a familiar figure cowering below- Roginald!
Purket also runs into Ragnar, who is preparing a brave (if foolish) attack on the invaders...
The Beastmasters round up the town's valuables and prepare to cart them away as spoils of war.
Ragnar gives chase, but goes unnoticed. Purket manages to put a tracker onto one of the Beasts.
Meanwhile, Cap'n has skulked away from the ship to check on the town.
He encounters a survivor who has lost his home and family. Cap'n begins to wonder if his secret side business was such a good idea... He directs the man to the Stormstalker for safety.
Cap'n stumbles upon the ratfolk Snicker, an informant Cap'n sells intel to. "Why would you come here? Come to see your handiwork?" Snicker sneers.
In disgust, Cap'n leaves to look for other survivors he might be able to help.
But the Beastmasters spot him and open fire! He manages to make it across unscathed, but only just...
On the other side, he discovers a well armed, white skinned Porcine known as The Hunter, who left the Swindon army and now looks to help those hurt by the Swindon forces.
Soon Purket joins them, and they exchange information and plan how to stop the Swindon advance.
The survivors from town make it to the Stormstalker, where Griff cares for their needs with food, medicine, and rest.
But while looking for space to tend the wounded, he uncovered a hidden chest of Swindon gold in Cap'ns quarters, payment for his side work.
When Cap'n returns, Griff confronts him openly. "What is this?" As the crew gather around, Captain remembers the suffering folk of Burnish, and breaks down, explaining he had been selling intel to Swindon on the side, and that he's not even a real Captain. The Hunter insists that Cap'n should make up for his mistakes. He could even feed false intel to the enemy.
The crew drop the town survivors off at a nearby village, and follow the panzer tracks into the hills...
The tracks lead to the old Burnish mines, where Gora's Panzer Army prepare for their next move!
To avoid being spotted, Squalor strikes the masts as the crew duck the ship behind a mesa.
Below decks, the sudden stop causes an Amphorica to fall off a shelf, and Tara is sucked inside, releasing Dr. Ossuary in exchange.
Cap'n sneaks into the enemy camp, and overhears their plans to march on the capital city of Arbalest as sooon as their Panzers are recharged. He notices the army is entirely humans, no Animas at all.
Meanwhile, Griff investigates the pens in the back of camp, where two strange and horrifying machine beasts known as Devourers wait amongst the remains of the dead...
Cali meanwhile spots an approaching Beastmaster messenger, who is challenged by the lead Panzer. "You aren't allowed in here!"
The Devourers surround the beastmasters, and literally suck the life out of them and their mount...
...leaving only a skeleton behind!
The crew decide they've seen enough, and prepare to leave. But while Squalor tries to push the ship quietly away from the camp, a patrol comes too close, until they are taken out by Cali, Purket, and Griff.
That night, Cap'n has a nightmare- surrounded by the dead, the ominous form of Sable appears, and demands "Where... is... my Book?"
The next morning, Purket says he had the same dream! When Dr. Ossuary finds out they HAVE the actual book of Sables Fables, he tears it out of their hands. "Wait, there's a SECOND verse to Jack and Drill!?" He begins translating...
Like sand through glass the years do pass, 'til ancient threats return.
In crown confide, Pale horses ride, 'til all is cleansed and burned.
"You guys, these aren't just nursery rhymes- the 4A found an actual Dwarven temple 57 years ago. Wait- 57 years... The Eclipse! We have to get to Bone Hill, before the enemy does!"
The crew set sail into the night. Griff has a vision of strange creatures looming out of the dying rays of the sun. Is it a vision of the future?
ON TO PART 10!
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