10/21/18XX The ACS Sparrowwood, over Caledon en-route to New Babbage

/Onboard the ACS Sparrowwood en route back to New Babbage from the Antactic Colonies/ "Yes I know I missed the date of the grand opening of the observatory, I had to make an emergency trip to lab B, it was being invaded by giant albino penguins, you won't beleive the damage they caused to the refinery! anyway, look over my planner and find a time to reschedual, I'll be back in the city within a few more hours, barring any turbulence or air kraken. send word to Miss Aya to let folk know of the delay." Grendel disconnected the signal on the audiograph before The Badger could respond and turned back to the waiting # 34 as it warked. "yes, you and your brothers did contain the damage, wonderful job by the way, but I didn't want to take the chance of anyone intercepting the signal to tell him why we went. I'm still banned from any experimentation on the undead in New Babbage, fortunatly Victor's kept the heat off me the last few times. I doubt the people in that city would understand that I'm not transporting zombies into the city, I'm transporting a new formula for the cure, the number of times the virus mutated and all, did you know it infected fossils too? zombie dinosaurs were roaming the city! " Grendel shrugged, " Though the dinosaurs themselves might have been Mornington's doing, I still have some suspisions about that one. anyway, for all the doctors in new Babbage, few of them are actually practicing medical experts, likely don't realize viruses change, mutations do happen. fotunatly I had kept a sample of the original virus and incubated it in lab B, no, all that it would be likely to infect there is flesh and blood pengi, it can't infect automotons. But I was able to keep up with it's mutations and synthesize an antivirus in preperation for this year. The first part's been distributed through the city already, it will handle last year's strain, this formula is for this year's strain, it had mutated as the sample in the lab predicted it would, to be more resistant." The pengi interrupted with a series of mechanized warks, Grendel waited as it finished, taking a wrench and tightening a bolt. "Oh no, everyone by now likely already had their shots, I doubt you can get any babbagers to agree to have another once they've set their collective mind against it. This formula is in an aerosol form, THAT is why we're not going strait to the docking tower in Palisades and are instead flying over the city, and why I need you to get the others to stop slacking and get the hoses assembled to the undercarriage." He finished adjusting the conigator on the short construct and it waddled off to the cargo hold under the airship. "I'm not going to have people show up with torches and pitchforks shortly after I come back, they always blame the ghouls for zombie plauges."

bubbles

The first zombie of the season staggered down wheatstone. Mr. Jensen shuffled along the canals, moaning, having not bothered with the free innoculations offered throughout the city, as they were a 'Clockwinder Conspiracy." just like the fresh water snuck into the canal water. suffice to say, Mr. Jensen took ill, and now roamed the streets looking for brains. The zombie stiffly shuffled, and paused as he heard a bubbling coming from the canal. The sound went away and the undead corpse wandered on, everyone knows there's no fresh brains in the canals afterall. Then his decayed eardrums picked up the gurgling again. Moving closer to the sound, he peered over with his clouded over eyes, maybe someone with fresh brains fell in. A scaly hand shot out of the water, grabbing Mr. Jensen's ankle and yanking in the walking corpse before he could groan in surprise. The murky water churnbed for a minute or two, then with a splash, parts of the zombie launched out of the water to wetly smack on the cobbles nearby. The gurgling bubbles continuing down the canal.

09.26.18XX Deliveries

Grendel was in the lab, his heart on the table, as he wound upthe crank of a large machine off to the side and taking the metal tongs on the ends of two wires connected to the machine, began applying electric shocks , as the greenish-red lump of necrotized shoggoth muscle twitched and grew tentacles, "And that's for trying to eat poor Mrs. Harris's dog!" The Badger came to the doorway and waited patiently for Footman to finish , when the electric shocks continued, he cleared his throat. Grendel turned around "what is it already? just spit it out! " "There's a package for you sir." "A package?" "yes, a large crate, the pengi have hauled it to the observatory" Grendel set the tongs down , and taking the heart, dropped it in a jar "Now you think over what you've done!" The Badger looked up at him "Is that really healthy sir?" Footman looked at the empty chamber in his chest. "good point, I'll be down in five minutes." Five minutes later, Grendel followed the short path from the house, to the observatory, a brass sheet bolted over his chest and the hissing sounds of a pneumatic pump sounding from within. he approached the large crate surrounded by warking pengi, and an exaspirated man in a captian's hat. "Captian Marsh, I thought the ship was lost when communications ceased. is this it then?" "Aye, the meteorite? th' crew were complainin' about all th' work ta find and haul up a big stone from th' ocean, but I tol'em we were paid well....ye are gonna pay right?" Grendel waved off the captian "Yes, yes, go talk to the Badger, he'll arrange payment. " As Marsh went away with the Badger, both grumbling, Grendel grabbed a crowbar and pried the top off the crate, looking inside, he shut it and nodded to the pengi. alright, let's get this into the tower."

09.15.18XX Return to Babbage take Two.

Grendel motioned the large arachnid machine forward "One more step, no! too far! one step back" and winced as it stepped on someone's greenhouse, "Too far, bring it up a few feet more, that's it, steady, steady, alright drop it!" The old house dangling precariously underneath the machine's body was dropped as the lines securing it released, slamming to the ground in the lot in Wheatstone. Footman liftend the receiver up to his rebreather, "Perfect! ok, bring the loader back out to Palisade and get it dissassembled and loaded onto the airship." The pengi piloting the robot spider warked aknowlegement into the onboard teslacord and pulled at the levers as the thing shuddered, and made it's way back to the mooring tower. "And be careful not to step on anything else!" As the dust settled, Grendel entered the house to start mapping out his plans.

August through September, 188X

I still had not arrived at Marekesh Mondrago, the route there was interrupted by the air kraken, a large school of them. I had forgotten it had been that time of year, and between the squids, and the storm, we were blown a bit off course, to Caledon, and had to stop for refueling just to get to Babbage. I still have not built a new lab in the city, having moved most my research onboard the Sparrowwood as I travelled. But I still have a few vats of serum in storage within the various warehouses in the city. Coincidentally we're in the city (or high above it to be exact) just as a shipment of the new medical balm is to arrive in port as well. I had received the telegram when leaving Ichor Falls and had given the go ahead to distribute the balm to the various shops and merchants that had ordered it, aside from the occasional unforseen side effects, it seems mostly harmless, and the sales should make up for the unapproved demolition of the automoton factory. Meanwhile, to idle the time while waiting for the stormy weather, crashing airships (as I heard Doctor Dinosaur's zepplin exploded, apparantly not many noticed the large fireball over the North Fells.) and migrating kraken, I've dusted off the mechanicle black mirror. I had worked on modifying it some , as a possibility of using it as a type of portal into other dimensions, similar to the portal generator at the Clockhaven plant, but for the fact it transports you to other worlds and timelines. It had been a concept I had come up with when I had to go to Kadath for awhile. By reversing the polarity of the aether, what had been originally a scrying tool, could be made into a type of portal. Aside from the apparant attempt by the pre-mentioned velociraptor to take over the city vie-mind control and rampaging dino-constructs, (something most of the victims had never even realized were going on apparantly), And the apparant death of Dr. O (two deaths of generally considered evil villians in one year no less), the city had been fairly quiet.

August 188X: Discovery at the Stillwood

It had taken two days or so to clear out the entrance to the temple. during wich, the howling was becoming increasingly bothersome, the men only staying on site to dig after I threatened to withhold their pay, they refused to work at sundown, however, and so I'd relent at that point. By day 2 of the digging, we were a man short. Olunson had grunted, "They say the woods took 'im. poor bastard was drunk las' night an wandered." Well, maybe he'll show up to help dig, maybe not, we're not doing so bad off that the absence of one worker will effect us negatively." "Whatever you say Boss." The workers soon had uncovered what looked like a se of large ornate stone doors, depicting Daur, just as the sun started to dip. Olunson approached me as the men started to pack up despite my protests. "Ye don't work in the Stillwood after dark, come on, I'll buy ye a drink." I humored him, and returned to the town, we went to one of the local pubs, the one most of the workmen frequented. But that night, I approached one of the men who had scoffed at some of the stories about the Stillwood. And offered him a bonus if he helped me get the doors open that night. Tolson was his name, he agreed. We returned to the site under the full moon. Ignoring the occasional howl for the most part, the forest was silent. Between the two of us, we were able to push the stone doors open. I had to fight a bit with the lantern to get it to light, but once there was enough illumination, I went to turn to Tolson, who was nowhere in sight. It was entirely possible he ran off while I was distracted with the lantern, except his shoe was laying on the ground where he stood. Being used to strange dissapearances on an excavation by now, I took note and turned back to the doorway, shining the lantern in. The interior was a large, stone room, the walls as I shined the lantern around, carved to resemble twisted vines and roots, with faces resembling the Duar on the doors. There was a dias in the center, I went to approach, and tripped on something. Shining my lantern, I saw the floor was covered in bones. Shining the light around me, they seemed of various species, some even humanoid. I picked myself back up and continued carefully so as not to trip again. Reaching the dias, it rose a good 10 feet from the floor. There was a small stone ramp leading up to it. As I went up the ramp, I saw the top of the dias. It was a fountian. Whatever liquid flowed from it having long dried away. the fountian had more releifs depicting roots and Duar, and some sort of canine-like form emerging from the roots. At this point the howling picked up again, after a moment, I realized it was coming from the room. I turned and saw the rootlike carvings writhing like snakes. Taking a hint, I made my way to the door, when I was tripped again. shining my lantern down, I saw one of the roots had left the stonework to wrap around my leg, slowly tightening. I realized the roots weren't carvings, but actual vegetable matter, possibly a relation to the stonewood trees of Madigascar. I heard the howling again and looked up, the roots on the wall were starting to pull away from the temple stonework and form themselves into a shape, wich was becoming vaugly wolf-like. Shining my lantern around, there were a few root-wolves forming in the structure. I focused my attention back on the stoneroot. Extending the blade from my cane, I hit it, and it was just like hitting a rock, definatly of the stonewood category then. Taking a dofferent tactic, I fished in the pockets of my coat, finding my portable alchemical kit, I pulled it out and extracted a vial as the rootwolves howled, fully formed and pulling away from the walls, they were the size of mastiffs, I noticed as I smashed the vial on the root that held me, the plant shuddering as it released me, Stonecutter Acid from the glands of the Stonecutter Wasps. I hurredly got to my feet and reguarded the rootwolves circling me. Fascinating phenomenon, I would have liked to study one in a more lab-like environment, but now was not the time. I tensed as one of them started charging at me. As it leapt for my throat, I jabbed the end of my cane between roots in it's chest, and using the cane and it's weight as a lever, managed to throw it over the dias. The other wolves froze and watched as I heard a smashing and clattering, and a woman's voice shouting 'NOOOOO!" from all around. I turned my head to look. The rootwolf had smashed into the empty fountian, and was picking itself up, as the shattered stump of the fountian started trickling, then gushing. The water geisered up into the air soaking me and everything around me. I noticed as the water gushed, the rootwolves seemed to sag a little, as if their roots were becoming unwound. Taking the chance, I raced for the door. past the collapsing rootwolds, the sounds of inhuman shreiking behind me. I darted out of the door, as water streamed out. The water filling the hole we had excavated around the temple. I climbed up as the water pooled around my ankles. and pulled myself out, looking around me, the trees were thrashing, branches whipping everywhere. I caught sight of Tolson, impaled on one branch sadly. I made a start to try and sprint by, but remembered something. Taking an empty sample bottle from my belt, I quickly scooped up some of the water that had now filled the excavation site, and submerged the temple. Capping it and putting it back in the pouch. I ran. I ducked and dodged branches. unfortunatly one of them caught me upside the head with poor Tolson's body, the weight of the corpse snapping the branch and tossing us both. I got up and noticed my head was at an odd angle, apparantly my neck was broken. I would have to fix it later. I hefted Tolson's corpse over my shoulder, and made my way out, using him as a sheild for the whipping branches, until I saw the lights of the town. I was met by a group of the townsfolk who had heard the shrieking. The ladies shreiked themselves at the sight of my lurching toward them carrying a corpse with a stick through it. I have to imagine I wasn't a pleasant sight, especially with the angle my head was at, everything looked sideways. Olunson pushed his way through, seeing me, he shooed away the growing crowd. "Nothing to see here, we have injured men, let me get them to the clinic, out o the way! go home!" Olunson lead me to the small clinic, owned by a Dr. Heathecs, who had also, previously been 'taken by the woods' for some time. The clinic had been locked up, but Olunson had taken out a fairly large keyring filled with keys and managed to unlock it. The equipment was dusty and covered in cobwebs, but it was all still there apparantly. I managed after a bit of finagalling, to repair the damaged vertibra in my neck, reinforcing the fracture with a steel clamp, and stitched back over it, and turned to look at Tolson, Olunson was holding his hat to his chest in respect to the dead man "e was a good worker, bit too much a skeptic though." I pulled the branch out and set it aside, and looked at his wound. "I'll need some supplies from my hotel room, and do you have a morgue?" The next Day, I let Tolson out of the lab, torso bandaged up, and no memory of what heppened past being suddenly grabbed up into the air as I was messing with the lantern. I had to water down the serum a bit, as I only really had enough for one treatment, and I needed some as well. But he seemed to suffer no ill effects from it. Olunson stood by as the pengi loaded the Sparrowwood with my luggage. "Well, sorry ye didn't get much outta that Boss, I'll be keepin' me ears open for anyfin' else." "actually to the contrary, I now have a sample of an apparantly undiscovered strain of stonewood, though after testing the temple water, it sadly was just water, I'm not quite sure yet what the reasoning for it was, or what all had happened. But I don't beleive I am through studying this 'Daur' ." Olunson nodded "I'll keep watch over th' excavation site fer ye, I cn have it pumped an drained ifn' ye need?" "no, better not, at least not until I know more about what we unburied there. just keep me informed of any new developments." "Will do Boss" And with that, I left Ichor Falls, setting up the lab onboard the airship to study the branch as we traveled to Mondrago.

July 188X: Continued Work in the Stillwood of Ichor Falls

The locals are restless already. I'm used to this happening about a week into my arrival at any new town, but hadn't been expecting it so soon here. The laborers I had hired to dig at the site have been complaining of hearing strange sounds as they worked, and that howling's continued every night since we started. The Stillwood has a couple names, Stillwood is what you'd see on the map, the locals also call it the Circle Wood, the Darkwood, the leafy void, or, commonly heard in the saloon, Those Damn Trees. I've been assured by my contact here that despite the howling, there hasn't been a wolf in these woods for decades, since the Old Empire in fact. I've had the pengi put out wolf traps just in case. The men however have not complained of the howling, it's apparantly normal enough for them to be used to it. I had arrived via airship, as there had been issues with the railway, apparantly kudzu vines were overtaking the rails into the Stillwood again. After meeting my contact, a weasely little man bringing to mind one of the Underby's aside from the fact his last name was decidedly of the mountianfolk, outside the cafe, we exchanged greetings and sat down over espressos mixed with a shot of the local brew. Olunson was his name, and he pushed a parcel across the table to me when I asked what exactly it was he found. Unwrapping the handkercheif it was wrapped in, I was holding a small carved figure, carved out of some local variety of black stone. The figure resembled a woman, with lines carved into his back and what appeared to be branches. Olunson sipped his coffee and grunted. "'S a local spirit eh? dey call 'er 'Daur', some sort o' old god, spirit, other-thin, ya knows. Used to be, Folks Says she's what watches de forest 'ere'. Sends dem plants in tae taje de town, Most donnna Beleive tha' annamore, but de old tales still's lingers." I tossed the figurine back to him "yes, I've researched the local folklore in this region, and have come across the mention of Daur before, but local folklore alone isn't enough for you to contact me is it?" Olunson turned the figure around and showed me the markings on the bottom, the writing was familiar from texts I had studied in the university, and some I own in my own library, They named a city that has no business being in this continent, let alone this world, 'Kadath' We had hired out local laborers the next day, Olunson brining us to the location the figure was found, deep in the Stillwood. Digging had gone slow, the men refuse to be in the woods after dark, the howling I would gather. By sunset, everyone returns to town and rests before getting up early the next day. Eventually one of the men hit something. Another day of digging uncovered a square roof, Unfortunatly the work had to cease for the night, as the howling had started unusually early. The work continued on, unearthing the structure, it was large and square shaped. I would assume it was part of a larger settlement, but it would take awhile to locate and unbury other buildings. From the markings on the wall, twisted, branchlike designs, It could be a temple to 'Duar'. Unfortunatly work again had to stop as the entrance was becomming uncovered. One of the men, shouting that a tree had 'looked' at him, caused the rest of the workers to make some sort of hand gesture as they started packing in their tools and left back for town. I enquired to Olunson what had happened. "They ward against the glare, they may not be willing to work further on this you should know, if one of them was glared at." He walked away as I looked at the uncovered building, the howling had just started when the man started yelling.