Chapter 8 - Siege Upon the Fortress

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The Phantom Fortress - Adventure 15 - January 2017

Our heroes reconvene with Cosmo in the depths of a sprawling forest that has been newly restored by the power of Mira’s feather. Cosmo informs them that this surge of life has also halted the Fortress’ movement, and that they need to seize the opportunity while they still can and deactivate it permanently.

Cosmo leads the party of adventurers through the forest and towards the Fortress. As they draw nearer, they pass deep craters in the earth- each one many times greater than even the largest animals, and utterly annihilating the plant life that would’ve otherwise grown there. Cosmo’s bravest Koala adventurers cluster along its’ edges and peer down, equally horrified and curious about what terrible thing could have caused such destruction.

Cosmo tells our heroes that it is a mere footprint left by the Fortress, and wonders about the grim threat the entire Fortress could pose if just one of its’ footprints spells so much disaster. He tells the group that Sir Gilbert awaits them ahead, and Jamaa’s saviours rush onwards into the overgrown forest to find him.

The journey through the lush forest brings them face-to-face with many phantoms, along with more footprints left by the Fortress’ ruinous march. From between the trees, our heroes spot a gargantuan mechanical structure erupting from the earth, dark-purple and seemingly poisoning the ground beneath it.

They press onwards, and after passing through a wall of tall grass, they come face-to-face with the brave and regal tiger alpha, flanked by two of his most trusted troopers. Sir Gilbert seems to be concentrating hard on using his defensive magic to keep the phantoms at bay, and he tells our heroes that he’s using all his energy to hold back a phantom scouting party he ambushed.

However, fearing that the phantoms may have already called for reinforcements, Sir Gilbert asks our heroes to summon his troops, who have been hiding throughout the woodlands and awaiting his signal to charge. To do this, they must raise four banners- one for each of Gilbert’s battalions- scattered throughout the forest, to signal to them that the time to fight has arrived.

This part of the forest is particularly dangerous, and phantoms seemingly lurk in every shadow. However, Sir Gilbert’s tiger troops have already assembled multiple mechanical chompers throughout the woods, which the group make full use of to deal with oncoming phantom attacks as they search for the banners.

They continue exploring the weald, sometimes having to fight entire phantom war camps in order to recapture the banners. But reclaim them they do, and each time a new one is raised, they see a group of armed tiger warriors erupt from the undergrowth and charge past them, ready and eager to fight for their commander.

Finally, all four flags are flying high and the heroes return to Sir Gilbert, who is now surrounded by his troops. The phantoms being kept at bay are frightened by the force assembled in front of them, and they quickly retreat. Sir Gilbert victoriously relishes in their defeat, but fears that they may have fallen back to restart the Fortress’ movements.

Sir Gilbert turns to our heroes and tells them of Cosmo’s (with the help of some plant friends) efforts to halt the Fortress in its tracks. Although the koala alpha and his botanical friends are putting in a heroic effort, Sir Gilbert suspects they may need some help. He looks to the heroes, and promises that if they were to go and assist Cosmo, he and his tiger troopers will hold the front line and keep attacking phantoms at bay.

Our heroes run onwards through the forest, and soon enough spot Cosmo at the foot of the intimidating mechanical structure the group passed earlier. The structure now seems to be covered in vines so enormous that they seemingly span its entire length, like a giant garden stake. Cosmo gestures to the formation and tells the heroes that it’s a “leg” of the Fortress, and that he’s using his magic to guide the vines to anchor it in place. However, to completely stop the Fortress the legs would need to be deactivated manually, and Cosmo tells our heroes that this could be done by pressing a control lever at the top of each leg.

But first, the great vines ensnaring the machine need to be brought to their full height and strength. Our heroes gather water from the cavernous footprints of the Fortress, and water Cosmo’s vines until they span from the ground to the very top of the leg. And then, slowly and carefully, our heroes ascend up them. At the top of the leg, they carefully move sliding circuit parts into place to allow the power of a generator to reach the control switch, avoiding exposed electricity and defensive raised panels all the while.

After the switch has been flipped and the first leg has been deactivated, our heroes repeat the process to shut down the second titanic leg of the utterly enormous fortress’ exterior, passing across many precarious crosswalks to reach it. At the leg’s base, they discover a curious painted symbol, possibly resembling a map, though they have no time to stop and wonder about its meaning. Fearlessly, they scale the second leg, and ascend into the upper platforms of the fortress.

The upper portion of the Fortress consists of misshapen, dark mechanical platforms connected by a series of crosswalks and ladders. The heroes sneak past phantom lookouts that peer out through portholes in the Fortress, along with a great many phantom guards patrolling the upper platforms, and move through a series of dark corridors.

Eventually, they come across a chamber that vastly outsizes the other platforms, and is barricaded with a heavy set of bars. Our heroes make out the shapes of imprisoned animals inside it, and upon drawing closer, they realise that these must be the animals that have been desperately begging Jamaa for help through messages in bottles.

Even more, they appear to be a species not sighted in Jamaa for a very, very long time… they’re all sheep! At least, most of them certainly are. The heroes can’t quite make out the largest figure sulking at the back of the cage, but they certainly look as fluffy as the rest of the flock.

The heroes search the Fortress for a way to free the trapped flock, and finally they find a switch controlling the bars of the cage. But before they release the prisoners, the group recalls the painted sigil on the Fortress’ second leg, and realise the striking resemblance it bears to the circuitry in front of them. Carefully, they align the moving pieces to match the symbol’s depiction, and to their surprise, a wall in front of them immediately descends, and a secret chamber is revealed.

This newly exposed room is cramped, and the heroes enter in single file. Hidden upon a ledge on its wall they discover a pile of glass bottles, several of which containing messages. Perhaps these are ones that the sheep weren’t able to send yet, or that had been confiscated by the guards.

However the messages got there, the heroes take them out of their bottles and begin to read. They learn of the sheep’s descriptions of being locked up with their hearthstone, and of the strange shadow loitering around their cell, distinguishable only by their “very large ears”. With great horror, the heroes finally read about the plans the sheep overheard from the guards– the phantom's plan on marching the dreaded Fortress straight into the heart of Jamaa Township.

Without a moment to lose, the group exit the secret passageway and return to the puzzle presented to them. They redirect the Fortress’ energy towards it and flip the switch, unlocking the bars of the cage and freeing the trapped sheep. Along with… Greely!?

“Oh, you have to be KIDDING me”

The usually noble and imposing wolf alpha appears to be dressed in a rather silly sheep disguise, and somehow manages to be even less pleased to see the heroes than he usually is. He snidely comments on their uncanny ability to intrude at the worst possible moments, evidently annoyed that his months of careful planning have been ruined by their arrival.

Greely sighs, and admits that while the heroes are there they might as well lead the sheep to safety, though not without insulting them one more time first, for good measure. Greely skulks off, and disappears into the shadows of the Fortress. The sheep bolt for the Fortress’ tunnels that they’d been studying during their imprisonment, bleating grateful “thank you!”-s on their way out.

The heroes also seize their opportunity to flee, and escape down the nearest vine-wrapped leg, where Sir Gilbert, Cosmo, and the newly-freed sheep await them on the ground. Sir Gilbert congratulates our heroes on their grand accomplishments and their fierce bravery. He then roars that with the Fortress halted in its march, they should seize the moment and charge!

Cosmo quickly interjects, and gestures towards the flock of sheep gathered around the group, asking who, if they attack now, would lead the sheep and their newly-restored heartstone back home? He reminds Sir Gilbert that the Fortress isn’t going anywhere, and that the sheep, their new friends, are far more important.

Humbled, Sir Gilbert coughs, and agrees that Cosmo is right. He reminds himself of the vow he pledged to Mira and Zios to ensure the safety of every animal in Jamaa, and that he has no intention of failing them. He then warmly invites the sheep to come with him, and make the journey back to his- no- their home, together… but not without turning his eyes up towards the dreaded phantom Fortress, and grimly swearing to return and end everything– once, and for all.

Storming the Fortress - Adventure 16 - April 2017

A length of time passes, and with the rescued sheep warmly welcomed back into Jamaa, the attention of the alphas returns to the Phantom Fortress. Without a moment to lose, our heroes regroup at one of the Fortress’ vine-tethered feet, where Sir Gilbert and Graham have already gathered. Courageously, Sir Gilbert announces that the time to take it down once and for all is upon them. However, the phantom’s defenses are at an all-time high, and Sir Gilbert wonders how they could sneak inside without being noticed.

Perceptive as ever, Graham spots a dark structure hidden in the treeline which he recognises as an elevator shaft. The clever monkey alpha speculates that if the crystals lining its base (which must be its’ source of power) were broken, the group might be able to seize it and ascend into the Fortress’ depths. Sir Gilbert warns the group that doing this may alert the phantoms of their whereabouts, but is confident in the heroes and sends them off with a few wishes of “good luck”.

The heroes quickly descend upon the crystals and shatter them. Sure enough, an elevator carriage full of phantoms rapidly arrives, which the heroes have to fight off quickly before they draw in more attention. With the elevator carriage now cleared and ready to use, the tiger and monkey alphas regroup with our heroes. But to the surprise of the party, from the undergrowth Cosmo emerges, frantic and visibly distressed.

Grateful for finally catching up to the group, Cosmo exclaims that the phantoms have launched a huge attack on Jamaa, using their dark portals to overwhelm its lands in a swarm of never-before-seen size. Although he and Liza have made a valiant effort to hold them back, they don’t have the power to keep the phantom horde at bay with all of the other alphas absent and missing. He begs Graham and Sir Gilbert to come with him immediately and join the fight.

Sir Gilbert roars that he couldn’t possibly, that if they were to leave, the Fortress would be given the chance it needs to repair and resume its march towards Jamaa, meaning that all of their work would amount to nothing. Cosmo heatedly rebuts that if they don’t leave now, then there might not be any Jamaa left to save.

Sir Gilbert exclaims in annoyance, but defeatedly admits that Cosmo is right. His attention turns to the heroes, patiently awaiting his word. With a great heaviness in his voice, he asks if they can be called upon to complete one final task. Having more than proven their worth, Sir Gilbert asks the assembled animals to infiltrate and brave the Fortress’ interiors for the sake of Jamaa’s safety. Without a moment of hesitation the group accepts, and as the Alphas leave to fight back the invading phantoms, they enter the elevator and rise into the Fortress.

Upon exiting the elevator, our heroes find themselves high upon one of the Fortress’ many roofs. They navigate its many complicated platforms carefully, climbing down precarious ladders and avoiding phantoms of all kinds along the way. They solve a series of puzzles, which allow the great machine to start pumping vats of green and purple goo that flow through the Fortress and mix in a central chamber. When combined, these two substances form the goop that, when stepped into, disguises our heroes as phantoms.

Undercover and freshly-tentacled, our heroes receive an alert transmitted through the Fortress in the phantoms’ tongue, demanding that all of the deployed phantom security patrols return inside. Our heroes realize that following this signal could lead deeper into the Fortress, and soon they approach a domed door covered in electronic screens that flash on their arrival. Recognising the entrants as (supposed) phantoms, it lights up approvingly and slides back, revealing a passageway leading inside. Bravely, our heroes descend.

The interiors of the Fortress are dark, and thickly stained with pollution. The group moves through a great cavernous hallway, and pass imposing carved statues, perplexing mechanical devices, and an uncountably large number of phantoms peering at them through portholes. Eventually they come across a barricaded gate blocking them from reaching the next room, and they learn that the phantoms in the Fortress operate in a strict hierarchy. Phantoms require clearance “passes” indicative of their rank in the Fortress to go deeper into the moving city, and must find one of these dropped passes to open the gate and continue deeper in.

In the next room, they quietly pass a group of bizarre plantlike phantoms, and peer in on a scene that almost looks like the phantoms’ idea of a classroom, as a phantom king instructs a group of smaller heavy phantoms on how to slam. The heroes then clamber atop a pipeline, and watch in horror as endless ranks of phantoms below emerge and file into a series of portals… all leading to a different place in Jamaa!!

They exit the top of the pipeline, and then find themselves in what appears to be a factory line, with… phantoms, or what might become phantoms eventually, in various stages of production atop a maze of conveyor belts and bizarre, frightening machines that seem to be shaping them. The group carefully navigates through the factory until they’ve found the pass they needed, which they use to unlock the next gate awaiting them.

By the time they’ve passed through the third gate, the heroes’ phantom disguises have all worn off. And at the worst possible moment, too, as they realize they’ve found themselves in a phantom laboratory. They notice several bunnies trapped in huge glass domes, and jailbreak a rabbit that the phantoms had been holding captive. They’re quickly noticed, and the heroes fight fervently against tremendous numbers of phantoms, not stopping until all of the bunny prisoners are freed. One of them had stowed away a key-pass in his cell, and he selflessly gave it to the heroes, who thank him and descend into the very heart of the Fortress: its infernal engine room.

The gate barricades open, and the bunnies and main party are greeted by an all-too-familiar figure, who at this point isn’t even surprised to see our heroes intrude on yet another of his important plans. Alarms sound above them, and annoyed as he is that they’ve lost the element of surprise, Greely promises to stand guard at the gate and hold off arriving phantom guards. Meanwhile, the heroes are instructed to use the time he buys them to destroy the four phantom cores that power the Fortress.

As sirens blare overhead, the adventurers bravely fend off the greatest force of phantoms they’ve faced yet, arming themselves with stolen boomseeds and approaching the very heart of the Fortress.

And sure enough, an imposing device composed of complicated machinery lies beating at the room’s epicenter, spewing a waterfall of polluting waste out of an aperture and into the wilds of Jamaa. At the engine’s center lay four animal-sized chambers, each covered with a protective shield. The adventurers realize that the cores must rest inside these compartments, and they make haste in climbing up it to strike.

One by one, the heroes take out the phantoms guarding each of the cores’ chambers, and immediately rush upon the exposed cores in their absence. They face a ferocious bombardment of attacks from other phantoms alerted to the action, but the tireless heroes fearlessly slash at each revealed core with all of their might, knowing that Jamaa’s safety depends on them. Finally, with all four guards having fallen, a daring party member makes one final blow and the last core shatters.

But despite this, the machine still surges with power, and much to the shock of the group, at a faster rate than ever. Before Greely can hypothesize why this may be the case, a surge of pink electricity strikes and right as the machine gives a thundering groan and stalls to a halt, the energetic rabbit alpha emerges. With boundless energy, and perhaps a little confusion, Peck asks Greely what he’s doing in the Fortress. Greely bashfully admits that he’d been tracking her from the moment she went missing, knowing that the Fortress was the only place she could’ve gone to. With a rebellious attitude, Peck enthusiastically confirms his suspicions.

“DARN STRAIGHT! The phantoms try and march into MY land? I DON’T THINK SO!”

The Fortress shudders, and gives another low groan. Peck, although wanting to catch up with the wolf alpha, suggests the group leaves immediately. She’s just detonated explosives, and she suspects she may have set off a chain reaction inside the Fortress’ machinery. The group leaves not a moment too soon, and as they flee the Fortress gives a few final tremors and implodes, thoroughly knocked out!

After making their daring escape, the alphas, rescued bunnies, and heroes regroup in the surrounding woodlands. For the first time in a very long time, all six land alphas are able to meet face-to-face. The other alphas ask Peck, Greely, and the heroes if they’re ok, as they heard the noise of the Fortress’ implosion and came to investigate immediately. The rabbit and wolf alphas confirm that yes, they’re fine (even better than fine! adds Peck).

The alphas can barely believe that after the many years of trouble it caused, the looming threat of the Fortress is finally gone. Graham graciously thanks Peck for saving the day, but she selflessly says the victory should be shared equally among the group. She especially thanks Greely for having her back, who somewhat awkwardly accepts her thanks, before reminding the group of the heroes’ bravery, too. Peck agrees– more than any one of the alphas, this newfound peace rests on the shoulders of Jamaa’s very best and bravest animals!

The other alphas shower the heroes in praise as the group prepares for the journey back home, though despite the celebration, some privately harbor darker thoughts. Before they leave, Greely murmurs to the heroes that despite the Fortress’ fall, the threat of the phantoms still looms as a dark shadow over Jamaa. Even in this time of celebration, he fears that the fight isn’t anywhere near over yet…