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.

January, 18XX, return to the city

"why is there a large circus tent where my factory was?"

Grendel stood staring at the tent in Wheatstone as the workman was looking at an out of place cobblestone that was driving him insane, "Site was reclaimed by the city via the 'Sideshows and Curiosities Act, someone filed the paperwork, site was listed as available." he crouched down and tried fitting the cobble back in place.

"but it wasn't available, I had a factory here! how long was I in Bump for anyway?" the workman shrugged "dunno, paperwork is paperwork, someone had ta sign the form, sure you wasn't drunk and forgot?"

"I WAS OUT OF TOWN! how would I have even signed the paperwork?"

The workman took out a measuring tape and held it over the cobble "dunno, telegraph? they got them newfangled ones, you can sign over ta wire I heard, oh, wait, naw, it was that badger what signed the form, right, short fella, pointy nose, signed dereliction form 22ABX3, or was it 22ABX5 ; the form for aquiring a liscence for smuggling coconut macaroons?, had it on me earlier" the worker felt around his pockets.

Grendel rubbed his forhead "The Badger, figures, probably wasn't paying attention to what it said. fine fine, the building that was here, where would they have put the equipment in it?"

"equipt-ment?"

"yes yes, I had some very sensitive articles of machinery in there, what happened to them?"

"might of been impounded, " the workman tapped his tooth. "then again there was the vat in the basement with the dead...squiddy...thing, smelled aweful, think we dumped it in the canal, 'long with that glowing greenish sauce."

"wait, what?! you dumped it... Isn't there some regulation AGAINST dumping odd biological experiments and chemicals in the canal?"

"well, what about them pipes what'd been pourin stuff inta the canal before we even got here?"

"alright alright, hush... Project E, I suppose I could attempt growing another, listen, please tell me, you did not dump the machine on the top floor into the canal?"

"the cylindrical thing? with the bit that looked sort of like one of those reality dohickys on top? the creepy one? gave you the feeling you was bein' whatched anytime you went near it? naw, we didn't dump it in the canal."

Grendel gave a sigh of releif.

"We took it to the scrapyard for salvage, thing set off a loud blast when we busted it open."

"you. did. WHAT?"

"well we couldn't salvage it whole you know, we didn't even know what it was." the workman carefully picked up the cobble and slowely put it in place before getting back up satisfied.

"salvage?! do you know what you did? I could overlook the release of a semi-undead biological powerplant along with a few gallons of serum into the canals, fine, I can make more, but dissassembling the containment device?" Grendel glared at the pengi's that had gathered around, planning to talk to them later about letting just anyone interfere with the equipment "have there been any sightings of an out of place shadow in the city recently?"

"not that I heard of, an only shadow I seen's my own, right there." he pointed to his shadow helpfully.

"alright, maybe it moved on to greener pastures, the others likely would have gone back to the graveyard," he looked at the worker, "excuse me, I have to send out some telegraphs, and find temporary lodging," the workman had already crouched down to study another cobble, "er, good luck with your...cobblestone arrangement? and you," he glanced at the pengi as he stormed off "We'll discuss this later."

August 12th, 188x: Dead man Walking

Bump doesn't have any real inns, most places to stay (not that anyone ever wants to) are rooms over the seedy bars. The Sump Rat was the closest attempt in Bump, at a roadhouse. It was an abandoned pumping station before Debbie McMourning won the small, shedlike structure and worthless land around it, in a poker game. After that, some of the storage rooms, once it was determined they contained nothing of value, were rented out to traveller's (often finding themselves sleeping amongst the rotten crates that were never removed).



The main room, sitting at a card table, surrounded by pipes, Sump Debbie played solitaire. the hunchbacked old woman, slipping out a card from her sleeve when she was sure she wasn't looking.

"I saw that! ye cheated!" "I tain't done no such thin, mama McMourning ain't never raised a cheater!" "well whatya call this then?!" she grabbed her right wrist in her left, and shook, the old woman watched angrily as cards poured out of her sleeve. "I ain't never seen those before! get your groddy mitts off me!" Her argument against herself was interrupted when someone came in the creaky door. "'Ello Debbie" Patchwork nodded to the haggard old woman. Debbie let go of her wrist and nodded as Patchwork dropped a bag of coins on the table "E's in room 2, wait'll i'm out 'fore ye do anyfing! old woman likes of me, can't be hangin aroun' if there's a beaten, does no good for my health!" Patchwork waved her away "fine, fine, go get yerself drunk." As the old woman snatched the money and made out the door, Bowler stepped in, blocking her way "Key?"

"nao, nao key, what you think this is? a fancy 'otel?" the woman shoved past him to spend the money as Bowler looked at Patchwork and shrugged.

"c'mon, let's get on wit it." The man in the patchwork coat ground his stogie on the table, and pulled out his cudgel as they walked to one of the doors, this one had a crudely painted 'Too' on it. Bowler blinked, "Is this it?" Patchwork pointed at the door"What'd you think?" "ya knows I can't read." Patchwork rubbed his hand down his face and sighed "C'mon, get ready."

The two large men pressed themselves against the wall on either side of the door, Patchwork nodded to Bowler, who turned the knob.

The room was dark, after a moment, their eyes adjusted. it was small, and amazingly had a bed and table as opposed to the usual piles of broken gears and junk left from when it still operated as a pumphouse. The table was covered in schematics and maps, neiter men could really understand what they were looking at, but they were more concerned about something else
"ere, were is 'e?" Bowler looked around, nervously aa Patchwork waved him off "Not 'ere, but lookit this!" he pulled out a leather case, grunting with the effort, getting it onto the filthy bed and opened the lid. The two men looked at the assorted machine components, not understanding what any of them were, but understanding they could get a good price for them. "Look aroun' see if 'e's got anyfing else, money, gold, somethin, toss it all in that case an' we'll see what Sully'll take for the whole lot." Bowler nodded as the two men searched the room. Patchwork climbed under the bed, the only real storage space in here, and heard a crackle, and a thud "That you? what you find? all's under 'ere's dirt now." Patchwork crawle out from under the bed, and saw Bowler laing face down on the floor "what you doin' sleepin?" "He's been temporarily paralyzed sir, an electric shock, now, what exactly are you two in here for?" Patchwork turned and saw a tall gaunt man, in a long black coat. with a gasmask , and a window in his chest, displaying a heart that looked like it came from something else. He was adjusting knobs on one of the two large metal gauntlets he was wearing, the smell of formalyhide and other chemicals wafter in the air.

"ah, er, well..." Patchwork suddenly rushed Grendel, raising his cudgel over his head. Grendel managed to dodge the swing, and brough his hand up, as blue arcs leaped from it. He lightly touched Patchwork on the back of the head. The larger man's hair stood on end as the shock went through his body. As Patchwork slumped to the ground, Grendel detached he cables leading to the backpack containing the eel battery, and shrugged it off the bed "that was it's highest setting, I'm going to have to find a better way to power them when we're not in Babbage of near the Clokhaven plant." He nodded to the door, as one of his pengi's waddled in with a loud clanking. "make sure these two don't go far, I'll need test subjects for our work here, I need to talk to our landlady first."



Debbie staggered into the door of the Sump Rat, and flopped onto her chair, cradeling the bottle of rotgut to her. "I wunner if they 'ad enough sense to clean th' room when they was done." She took a swig of her rotgut and was about to get up, when she heard Grendel behind her "Miss McMourning, I had thought I asked not to be interrupted in my room."

The old woman shreiked and swung around, holding the rotgut like a bat, ignoring the rancid liquid pouring out the empty bottle. "Don' scare an old woman like that! what if'n me 'eart gave out?!" "Ma'am, I am a skilled surgeon, if your heart gave out, I would have you up again in no time, now, I had two visitors tonight, after their complication, I'e been convinced that I can not possibly continue my research, if I am renting a room here. security is rather lax."

The old woman looked at him ."you wanna leave then?"

"no, I am purchasing this pump house from you, it still has much of the eqipment, plus it's fairly isolated location from the rest of the town, will suit my needs after some renovation."

He plopped a large heavy bag in her hand as she just stared at him, confused. "This should be enough to cover the cost, now please. leave the perimiter or N0. 67A will have to escourt you out."

The pengi clanked over from wherever he'd been lurking, and taking the old hag's hand, lead her out the door as Grendel walked back to his room.

Bowler was lying on the bed, with enough tranquilizers in him to keep a rhino comatose,

Patchwork glared from where his head was connected t the aparatus the two were looking at earlier, his body lay on the floor.

"Thank you again for volunteering, I hadn't tested the cranal-translatrophier yet." the head groaned at him while the rubber tubes trailing from his neeck pumped serum through it , the device the head was connected to transferred through the bolts drilled into the skull, to a small typwriter "what is going on?" Grendel looked at the paper and nodded "good, good, I have agood feeling about this place."

August 11th, 188x: The natives are restless

In Bump, in a small dirty saloon, three dirty, unkempt men were sitting around a broken table, one of the legs snapped off and propped on a stack of bricks.

"You see the train came in? another out o' towner's 'ere" the one in the patched together coat managed to drink the questionable liquid in the glass, while still keeping his stogie puffing.

"ya, I'd seen i'm, mask, some window in 'is chest, had to be another from Babbage, why're they coming here so of'n now?" the scrawny redheaded one twitched as he spoke, and rubbed under his eyepatch.

"who cares? they're good pickin's, got me a fine watch from one last week." This one was a corpulant one, with a beat up bowler balanced on his head, a size too small, and a stained vest.

"naw naw, this one, I ain't touchin 'im, he was wierd, the thing in 'is chest, I could see 'is HEART! was all wierd lookin', like weren't from a man." One-eye took a swig of his swill and wiped a greasy hand over his mouth. "Bad feelin from 'im."

Patchwork puffed on his stogie "Man looked like another doctor, they have nice thin's, I don' care what 'is heart looks like, 'e can still bleed."

"'e 'ad some sorter, whatcha call 'em, 'tomo-tons, looked like a 'pider, didn't he?" Bowler asked thoughtfully "I seen 'im this morn, at stucky's, he' was sittin' there at one o' the tables drinkin' din't see no mask tough, 'is face looked bad, like he'd been dead."

One-Eye shuddered "they had them problems with zombies in Babbage, don't they? mebbe 'e's one o' them?"

Bowler smacked One-Eye on the back of the head "Don' be stoopid Chauncey, there ain't no such thin as zombies!"

the one called CHauncey rubbed the back of his head "No! it's true! I heared they had them walking corpses, a couple o' times now! he's gotta be one o' them!"

Patchwork puffed his stogie thoughtfully "corpse 'er not, ee's pretty well off lookin, just lookin at the fancy bird with 'im, you know where he's stayin'?"

Chauncey nodded and swallowed "The Sump Rat, Debbie's place, not sure what room, but you can count me out, I don' want to be messin' with walking dead."

Bowler laughed hard "Fine, then you don' get no share!"

Chauncey got up and shakily made his way out "I'm warnin you, that man ain't right"

"yeah, yeah, " bowler waved him off dismissively as Chauncy left, then leaned forward "So, what's th' plan?"

Patchwork puffed his stogie, before grounding it on the wooden table "The Sump Rat eh? Debbie owes me a favor, she'll let us a key to 'is room, and we 'it 'im tonight..."