Butters

Some cool images of the Men from Leng by Ito-Saith-Webb on Deviant Art (https://www.deviantart.com/ito-saith-webb)

Nothing apart from a clean up and bringing the style up to today's standard looks, layout and artwise.

So the question before the Party was where next and did anyone have the swim skill? the area was quickly explored, the strange object at the end of the jetty turned out to be a bronze gong next to an unlit brazier, nothing really interesting turned up in the ruins near the end of the jetty they seemed long scavenged and just contained sand and dust. The half buried stones were checked out by the Witch hunter who discovered that they were crude statues in the form of giant owls much like those found under Saracenic hall he reached out and touched one feeling the grittiness of the stone and the crude tool marks but then he cried out pulling his hand in close to his body as if he had burnt it, he staggered back a few steps but remained standing. The others rushed to his aid and he sheepishly waved them off saying he was fine just a little shook up, seeing that he was alright the others returned to exploring the area the Doctor commenting on the oddness of seeing similar stone statues to those found in Norfolk especially since he thought that they had come from the middle east. The Witch hunter carried on down past the Owls and seemed to be heading towards the caves at the end of the beach when he again cries out but this time he fell to his knees and as the others run up towards him from their various areas of exploration they hear him begin to talk in tongues and they are shocked as it looks like he is having a conversation with something on his shoulder. The others are concerned but the Witch Hunter struggles up waving away the offers of help and with a strange look of comprehension upon his face he coughs and in a soft voice tells the others that he knows how to summon a Black ship to take them across the glowing lake al lit would take was a blood ritual. This caused some issues mainly from the Doctor who thought that this was an incident that needed exploring he had made deals before that turned out to have unfortunate consequences but had made attempts to rectify them as best he could afterwards and he thought that the Hunter could no longer be trusted but he was seemingly the only one who thought this everyone else was happy that they now knew off a way off the beach and were unconcerned about the ramifications of going through with a plan inspired by a ghostly spirit linked to statues similar to those found under a Warlocks home. The Party knocked out the Doctor and performed the ritual dripping blood onto some silver shillings and dropping them into the water by the gong as an offering (Luckily plan A wasn't used which was blood being dripped onto a silver crucifix) The caves were explored and some of the Party encountered a strange effect in one of the caves and after some confusion and misdirection they were spilt apart and had to face a challenge issued by an old native woman who seemed to be some kind of shaman. The challenge for the Hunter was to face himself in combat and he fared badly against his doppleganger which almost killed him (Black Powder weapons are very deadly) until he remembered the Thundergun hanging from his baldric and so was able to blast his evil twin away with a shot to its face. His reward for surviving this horrific experience was a potion which luckily healed him with no after effects. The Alchemist somewhat more wisely picked an intellectual challenge and was easily able to provide the correct answer and so the shaman showed him the way out of the caves and back onto the beach just in time to see the ragged sails of a galleon appear on the horizon. The wreck of a ship pulled up to the jetty and the Party were somewhat stunned when a rotting gangplank crashed down and a smallish man appeared on the deck his skin was pale and had an odd greenish cast and he sported a large oily beard twisted into a point and upon his head he sported a large and impressive turban with a large red stone held in it's center. He smiled a sharp toothed smile and in a heavily accented English greeted the Party "Welcome my new friends I am Olmo Lung the captain of this fine vessel please, please board you have paid the price and we can take you to wherever you desire" and seemingly no other option the Party board the strange vessel. They are quickly hustled away to a cabin and are only able to quickly glance around seeing a couple more men dressed in similar fashion to the captain before being pushed into the cabin and asked to stay within "For are own safety" as the captain explained as the Party tried to ask about other people who may have made this journey recently the captain bowing closed the door and replied just as the door clicked shut "Never fear we know and we can take you to your friend never fear, passage has been paid......" Ship adventures The ship contained huge (Pony sized) creatures of pale blubbery flesh and nothing but tentacles for faces these things seemed to provide the muscle behind the oars and the Doctor went mad seeing them. The crew were revealed to be satyr like men, horns sprouting from their heads and backward facing legs ending in cloven hoofs they seemed to be mortally afraid of the pale beasts. The ship could fly!! Realising that getting on board this hulk may have been a very, very bad idea the Party attempted to seize the ship or at least get to the deck and then off the ship somehow it wasnt looking good but help came from an unexpected source.......Pirates on their own flying ship. Between the Party and the many, many pirates which were now swarming across the Black ship was damaged and the Party were able to fight their way across to the pirates ship and meet the glamorous female Captain Known as Maria de Tres Pistolas. Introductions were brief as another Black ship appeared and a vicious and terrifying sea battle broke out and soon the air was filled with cannon balls, splintering wood, screams and other stranger projectiles. The Battle was close but the greater numbers and seafaring skills of the pirates were able to carry the day but only at a great cost the ship was badly damaged and its strange possibly clockwork engines were damaged so the ship was only able to limp across the sky and many of the crew had fallen beneath the tentacles and pistols of the Black ships monstrous crew, which was lucky for the party as now they were now available to fill those career openings.

Cheers I think I went for the Grenado damage of 3D6 for a combat speed Iron Horse to represent the mass of the bike as well as the spikes, could have been worse my eyes kept looking at the Petard damage. In the end it wasn't too bad one Player was able to jump aside and the other took a little damage as his armour managed to knock it down to a less scary result.

Quick recaps, Well its been a bit rocky and unfortunately due to a variety of reasons the current game has gone on hiatus for a bit (Its a good time to contact Jagerfury if you fancy giving the setting a spin) The party explored the dark caverns beneath the sinking city and seem to cross over a barrier of sorts it was marked by a open gateway set within a high wall made from some strange glossy stone strange markings cut deep within the stone frame briefly glowed as we past through but no one not even the natives knew what they said or meant, Beyond the wall it looked the same dark impossibly large caverns which swallowed the pitiful light of our torches and lanterns which oddly had the effect of making the party feel claustrophobic. After some exploration the party found a tunnel leading further northwards and soon signs of tool marks could be seen as the tunnel becomes less natural looking and more man? made after travelling for some time a strange glow can be seen coming from the tunnels now revealed exit which was lucky as the last of the torches were starting to sputter and die. The tunnel exited into another vast cavern but this one contained a huge lake or sea just beyond a narrow strip of black sand beach the glow was coming from a layer of something that floated vastly upon the water. The party looked around and there was a beach, a few ruined cottages near a dark stone jetty, something gleamed dully at the end of this jetty, a group of standing stones half sunken into the sand further down the beach and looking back behind them they saw that the tunnel came out of the caverns far wall which was riddled with numerous small openings some barely large enough to fit a rabbit whilst others were big enough to fit a house into. The water lapped upon the dark sand filling the area with an unsettling hiss and the party were left looking around in awe and wondering where to go next.

Just a quick question does anyone know how much damage is caused by a Iron horse ramming into someone? the fluff has them herding people and smashing units asunder but I can't actually find how much actual damage they cause. Cheers.

It is a little weird but I'm guessing you've seen the film now and for me it looks like they really nailed the outfits but there is not a huge amount of props in general but yep what they do use does look good though thinking about it and talking about the picture I'm not 100% sure about that shoulder armour.

It's not too bad overall but it is a very small cast (two main and two supporting) and it's a very slow burn, lots of talking and wandering around a forest by the two male leads but it looks great and has a few nice if slightly cliched psychological horror moments. And its kinda left up to you to decide if there really is a Witch or is everybody involved just suffering the effects of P.T.S.D and they are just framing it by the knowledge and beliefs of their time period. Overall worth checking out on a rainy afternoon and if you can get over the slightly daft initial fight between our two protagonists it does get better but again it's a small indie film so don't go expecting any huge action sets of special effects.

Sad to hear that and I must admit its a fear that I have as well as there are so many crazy factions that add so much to the setting but which are so bizzare and to be honest their appearances catch me out and I really need to get the hang of the righteous mechanic.

Hello, has anyone run K&C and if so do you have any general advice or handy information about any obvious pitfalls you encountered? Cheers. 👍

Roll20 now has a character sheet option for Renaissance which is pretty cool.

Just wondering if there have been any other groups who have posted up recordings of their Renaissance/Pirates and Dragons games? I've only found these two on YouTube, Fantastic Dimensions and their game The Naked and the Dead https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_tuaACUGWY And The Vanishing Tower Press group and their unnamed campaign https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MoMo-yiR85M&t=2718s And Runeslinger has reviewed a couple of Renaissance products. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPNsDvSNFQuknLu_8sakzLQ

Just a quick image of the contents page, even though it's for the Runequest ruleset and a lot of the information within was brought across for the current edition the book is still full of lot's of cool information so if you can pick up a copy I think it's worth it.

Slight hijacking here but I really hope Pulp and 7E remain as alternative systems that people can choose to run their games and don't get rolled into one super rule set.

I enjoy watching Actual play videos though, to be honest, some get lost in the mix and there is the time factor a two-hour session takes well two hours to watch so I can only one or two sessions a week but I do think they help potential new players get a grip on the rules and sometimes, more importantly, the setting.

He's certainly running on fumes at this point and whilst it sounds like he has had a lot of unfortunate problems during the last few years both family and work-related he would have made such a difference if he just posted regular updates, say once a month even if it was just to say "Still working on it"

Addendum So this journey has been an awesome one starting way back in 2014 (October) with Andrew as the G.M and the original party consisting of, Irwin Bailey: A watchman hailing from Warwickshire. As a fine and upstanding man of the people, Irwin is not averse to gunfire and stabbing people through the lungs when circumstances demand. Faction: Clubmen. Saul Goodman: A Yorkshire soldier recently returned from the wars in Europe. Renowned for his marksmanship. Suffered fire and plague in his youth, possibly as a result of bad dice rolls. Faction: Puritan. Thomas Norton: A Paracelsian physician from Norfolk. Enjoys beer, bad singing, and dying of exposure in the countryside. Faction: Puritan. They were all traveling back to Norwich along rain lashed paths after fighting in the recent wars, they were soon joined by, Chevalier du Main: A Huguenot Cavalier* seeking English funds for his regiment. Wickedly effective with rapier and pistol. Feared by ambulatory creatures everywhere. Faction: the Regiment. (*Erm surely Parliamentarian or else I've only just discovered he was an enemy spy) and the group of desperadoes was rounded out by, Marco Clabustri: the Croatian mercenary who I think joined in session three or four. And with the reboot of the game, the Party changed Irwin Bailey decided to try his luck at something else whilst Giulio: the slightly lost Italian Mercenary joined up on the promise of wealth and fame and possibly romance (Think Carlo Fantom but with a better mustache and a love of pasta) and the gang was completed several sessions later by Thomas (pronounced ToMas) de Fronsac another suspicious Frenchman. So the game had fallen into a bit of a hiatus but was brought back from the brink by Jay who had previously played as the deadly French fop, the Chevalier du Main (Yay) in 2016 and the adventure turned into a continent-spanning hunt for the oft-frustrated Mallebench the devious and murderous sorcerer who was hell-bent on realizing some great and dark master plan. The game explored corruption of both the physical and the spiritual with gangs and soldiers bribed into doing dark deeds and turning a blind eye whilst others were corrupted and then blackmailed into becoming cultists fully prepared to commit murder and worse on behalf of their new puppet master. Bullets flew, limbs were hacked and gravy was poisoned as the Party to fell under the sway of their new Master, a man known as Zeal for the Lord Harrison who was appeared to be the head of Parliament's secret service otherwise known as the Clockwork Underground Bureau and they became sucked into Zeals desperate plans to capture Mallebench. During the course of their adventures, they have managed to foil many of his plans and uncover many of his servants and in doing so drove him to consider more desperate methods which finally drove him to flee to Central America and beyond. The adventure seems to be entering its final stages as Mallebench appears to be finally cornered but does the clever Sorceror have one last trick up his sleeve? Thanks to everyone involved it was one hell of a journey which led me to look into the history of this dark, murderous, exciting and revolutionary period and finding out that sometimes reality is indeed weirder than fiction and to loving the Renaissance rule set.

The Doctors journal The CL.U.Ber's rush towards the base of the great temple the light failing fast the setting twin suns casting strange and horrific shadows into the cyclopean architecture. The courtyard was silent no insects chipped no birds sang the whole city seemed tense, guarded somehow as if waiting for some great event, the only sound now heard in this once mighty city was the slap of boot leather in stone and the half weeping/wheezing breaths of the Party as they desperately tried to find a way into the great temple and away from the falling darkness and the terribly building tension. On the furthest side from the gateway and it's hateful monolith, the Party round the corner and are greeted with a wondrous sight, a huge stone head was carved into the side of the temple it was in the likeness of a native. The stone was worked with amazing skill and the whole object somehow exuded a real and terrible presence. The local knowledge/engineering think tank of Goodchild and Giulio quickly climbed up to the huge statue which obviously seemed to be some form of entranceway and indeed the great screaming mouth was blocked by a great stone door. As the rest huddled together at the base of the temple casting increasingly worried looks at the great statues "Ahh the statue moved its branch things moved, didn't it" cried the Doctor and whilst normally he would have been laughed at now he found that the group near him native and CL.U.Ber alike just nodded ashen-faced and as a group took several steps closer to the closed portal. Cuthbert seemed to notice something carved into the wall low down and almost hidden by the rise of the stone tongue, a small dip inset carving which reminded him of a certain medallion. He rushes to the now gibbering Doctor and grasping him by the shoulders screamed into his face, a scream which got more shrill as looking past the Doctors shoulders he saw one of the statues turn and face the doorway its branch-like tentacles whipping around as if in a storm but there was not a breath of wind in the complex with which to dispel the humid oppressive heat "Give me the fecking medallion" the Doctor struggled the assault seemingly rousing from his funk " Get your turd stained hands off of me" but Cuthbert would not could not back down especially as the statue now stepped off its plinth with a crash of the world's end. The Doctor suddenly calmed down and began to rummage around in one of his copious pockets pulling out the strange medallion given to him by that bastard Warlock, Edgar Mallebeench all those months ago. He handed Cuthbert the medallion "I don't want to look behind do I?" Cuthbert merely scrambled back to the carving and shouted out "Say something impressively holy, Goodchild" Goodchild surprisingly grasping the intent cried outraised his hands high and bringing them down with a flourish cried "In the name of the Lord I command you to open" and with the last word echoing Cuthbert pushed the medallion into the carved inset and twisted the now locked in medallion clockwise much to everyone's relief the doorway rumbled open, barely had the stone door opened far enough to let someone squeeze past the CL.U.Ber's had charged into the dark, dusty corridor beyond. A great oily shadow filled the open doorway behind them and a great pressure suddenly seemed to crush down into their minds as a discordant and terrible creaking filled the air. Goodchild staggers up and towards the open doorway blood leaking from his nose and ears he raised his arms and pointing at the terrible living statue croaked out " I say unto thee demon, the power of Christ compels you! The power of Christ compels you, foul demon to leave this land given and blessed by the Lord unto man and return to your own hellish realm to suffer for your sins as the Lord God intended! " and amazingly whilst the demon didn't get sucked back down to hell it did kind of disappear as the great stone door slides back across the entranceway and with a deafening thud it slams closed once more and as soon as it had fully closed that terrible pressure and creaking stopped. Quickly lighting their few remaining torches that had remained dry the Party then spend some time arguing about what the hell had just happened, the natives look upon Father Goodchild in a new light and it finally takes Cuthbert to restore order and remind everyone where they are and what they hope to achieve he has to throw in a few Zeal for the Lords to finally get through to his fellow CL.U.Ber's and a very quick whispered conversation with Goodchild to get everyone moving again, it also helped when he innocently asked Guilio how long did he think the stone door would hold if say it was attacked by a huge freaking tree monster. So with a slightly undue amount of haste, they all begin following the spiral ramp further up and into the Itzel's great temple and hopefully far away from the stone doorway and what terrible nightmares now lay beyond. The corridor spiralled upwards its walls adorned by numerous stone glyphs carved out of the same strange rock as the walkway these glyphs reflected the light of the torches back oddly as if there was a greater distance for the light to travel back than there was. Goodchild bent to examine a particular set of glyphs forcing the rest of the Party to stop and wait. Cuthbert told the Jesuit priest to hurry up but Goodchild appeared fascinated and would not hurry merely saying "Don't you want to know what may lay in front of us?" He quickly returned to studying the wall as the others shifted around somewhat uncomfortably. Goodchild began muttering "Interesting these do not match any hieroglyphs I've ever seen before they are similar to Ch'olti' but subtly different almost...I don't understand I've studied some of the Codices with Father Juan de Izquierdo he was no De Landra that's for sure but even so" his musings were interrupted by a crashing sound coming from the entrance which brought down a huge amount of dust which filled the corridor choking everyone Cuthbert grabbed the Priest and dragging him away after the others told him that his intellectual pursuits will have to wait for another day. The Party fairly flew up the corridor now their sweat-stained clothes now covered in a thick grey coating of dust giving them an air of shades, the glyphs have way to vast and colourful mosaics displaying the history of the Itzel it showed in horrifying detail their fall and corruption even from the viewpoint of those Mayans who still secretly clung to the old ways, yes there had been blood sacrifice but nothing like the events pictured on those foul mosaics many of the Party were now openly weeping desperately trying to tear their gaze away but finding that they could not some of the natives were chanting something whilst Goodchild and the Doctor were almost shouting out the Lord's prayer as they continued to stumble onwards. The only one who seemed unaffected was the Prince who merely gripped his Macuahuitl tightly enough to make it creak. Sobbing and somewhat soiled the Party finally burst out of the horrid corridors and it's dark revelations that promised truths that simply could not be, at into the topmost chamber of the temple. The rooms' walls were thankfully devoid of mosaics but were instead carved wondrously with visions of the night sky during different times. The carvings had rare and semi-precious stones marking important stars and planets and thin lines of silver were used to show angles and movements, it truly took the breath away. Unfortunately this was spoiled somewhat by what lay beneath the opening in the ceiling and which took up most of the room in the chamber...... a huge opening that smelled of death and spilt blood even after all this time, Unjay pointed at it and said in a mix of halting Spanish "Debemos entrar en el inframundo por la bocca de los dioses" the native translator seeing all eyes upon him pointed to the shaft and with a resigned shrug "The Prince says we must climb down the Cenote, the Itzel believed that this one led to the underworld where their gods still slept awaiting the day when the stars were right. That's it all done everyone should now be caught up in the past adventures of the Agents of the Clockwork Underground Bureau, and their desperate hunt for Constantine Mallebench the arch Satanist before he enacts his terrible plan and dooms not only the new Commonwealth but possibly the whole world. So check out the Vanishing tower YouTube channel. Phew, kinda sad and yet relieved that this has come to an end.

Not sure if the distance is too much or too little but I still think it's a handy little artifact but one that's hopefully not too game breaking with its negatives balancing things out.

It looks like the updates have dried up again, only the one update this year so far, not overly happy but just checking my Kickstarter pledges I've got about two/three other R.P.G Kickstarters still in limbo which should have been completed in 2017, though the Eclipse Phase one still seems to still have fairly happy backers, probably because of the regular updates etc. fancy that.😋

Castlemeres Gate of Fathomless Separation, A rare contraption created by the heretical Alchemist Sir, Azazel Castlemere. A staunch Royalist, previously only known for his debauched and hedonistic lifestyle but during the war, he led a raid deep into Parliamentarian territory which resulted in the kidnapping of several promising Clockwork Preachers from Cambridge. Instead of handing these valuable prisoners over he decided to keep them at his country mansion and using their skills he created the clockwork shell of the device. He then infused this clockwork device with the darkest of alchemical rituals. There are dark rumours that he also sacrificed the Preachers in the rituals final terrible moments. The secret of its creation was fortunately soon lost as Castlemere mansion was destroyed four days later during a huge conflagration presumably along with its owner during a raid by persons unknown. When asked all that the local villagers could remember of that terrible night was the sound of loud ticking. The Character moves sections of the device which changes the intricate brass designs etched into its sides all the time chanting a specific three-word mantra in Latin the Character must have been to the location they want to travel to before and keep an image of that location in their mind. When the final section is pushed into place (There will be an audible click and the device will become hot to the touch) the Character then inserts the brass key and winds the device thirteen times, quickly placing the device onto the floor they step back as the device unfolds into a gateway which hopefully leads to the Characters chosen destination. Persistence roll per 10 miles of distance travelled, Pass = Sanity hit 1D4+1 Fail = Sanity hit 1D6+1 plus 1D4 damage The G.M can use the failure to do a variety of things my quick list, 1, Suddenly bleeding heavily from the nose and eyes the Character staggers back and away from the Gate of Fathomless Separation and falls to the floor having gone nowhere for all the pain suffered. 2, The Gate opens and the Character steps through only to reappear on the other side of the location twenty minutes later covered in shallow cuts and vomit, hopefully, he doesn't reappear with strangers now present. 3, The Gate opens and the Character steps through and arrives somewhere (Not the location they wanted) and falls 20 foot. 4, The Gate opens and the Character steps through and arrives somewhere (Not the location they wanted) and finds out that 1D3 items up to and including weapons and clothing has disappeared. 5. The Gate opens and the Character steps through and arrives somewhere (Not the location they wanted) and finds out that their appearance has changed somehow, hair, eyes or skin a different colour, fatter or thinner or just an otherworldly air about them which causes animals to shy away from or attack them whenever they are in the Character's presence. Or something equally bonkers it's a great MacGuffin.

Hey Jay, just realised that the first recorded game is this one so once they reach the shaft I think that's a wrap. So everyone else needs to check out https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt6OdAvyTsSSMmj_uAe7-YA to continue to follow these crazy adventures, will they finally catch up with the Arch Satanist/Mythos sorcerer Mallebench, will Cuthbert's dark secret finally be exposed?........no not that one, wow get your heads out of the gutter I mean the Alchemist one, sheesh. Will Saul return from moonlighting for Commonwealth slavery inc.? (And has he informed H.LP.R.C about the second income!) Will Thomas the Frenchman and Wilhelm the Bavarian finally admit that they are Popish agents hell-bent on bringing the Popes tyranny back to English shores? And last but not least will the brave, handsome and world renown stud muffin known as the Doctor finally break down under the pressure of working with this band of heathens and kill his fellow party members in their sleep before running off with his vampire lover Elizabeth?. So what are you doing? head there now 😁 And let us know what you think all comments and suggestions gratefully received.

The Doctors Journal Cuthbert found himself wishing that he hadn't eaten so much so recently as his body seemed to be in thirteen different places at once he tried desperately not to vomit but his body was suffering from the incredible forces placed upon so that battle was lost before it even really started. With one final wrenching spasm everything finally seemed to stop and slowly his vision returned the still gagging undercover Alchemist reached shakily for his shouldered musket as he looked warily around. He seemed to be in a brightly lit circular chamber with four smooth corridors leading out from the cardinal points, the chamber was almost silent apart from a very faint and distant throbbing hum. Cuthbert spun around trying to find the entrance he must have come through but with rising panic, he realised that there was no sign of any entrance and that his comrades were nowhere to be seen...........he was all alone. Back outside on the walkway, the others were desperately examing the monolith and the gateway, Giulio walked slightly away from the other's and was calling out for Cuthbert but only his oddly distorted echo answered him. The others could now see the spirals and the other carvings on the stone but they were unable to find any trace of Cuthbert, Goodchild began to pray and Giulio stormed back "Shut up priest he ain't dead yet, besides he still has some of that blasted gold on him and I ain't won off him yet" The Doctor whirled around and pointed an accusing finger at the Jesuit "This is all your bloody fault you blasted Popish knave, this is typical of your sort killing all those opposed to your heresy, and you don't even have the balls to......." His diatribe was interrupted by a green flash and a snap as Cuthbert suddenly reappeared his hand outstretched and his trousers damp his vomit covered face briefly held an idiotic expression before with a shake of his head his eyes went wide and he collapsed to the floor " Thank the Lord, thank the Lord" he repeated over and over again As the others slowly approached him some relieved whilst others strayed towards blade and gun. Several tense moments's later as Cuthbert explained what had happened to him and was questioned about recent events he finally managed to convince those Party members who were not sure who or what had come back. So after explanations were given and grudgingly accepted the Party got back to the problem at hand various ideas were put forward but the general consensus was that touching the monolith was a really, really bad idea and getting past it and into the courtyard of the temple beyond was still the best overall plan. The Doctor spent some time looking at the gap and using his sword to mark off distance rubbing his chin thoughtfully he turned to the others and told them that either the monolith or the gateway was changing size and now the gap between them was big enough to slide through without touching the monolith itself but he thought bracing the gap might be a good idea as it might be awkward if they began to move closer again. So the Party gathered up all the loose rubble and whatever driftwood they could drag out of the nearby waters and after a lot of swearing managed to cobble together a fairly solid brace between the monolith and the side of the gateway. When all was in place they drew straws to see who not only went first but perhaps more importantly who went last and when that was all sorted outs bags were grabbed and then one by one they ran through the gap into the courtyard beyond. Prince Unjay was the last through and as he rushed past the monolith it began to pulse with the sickly green light again but this time the pulses came faster and faster and just as Unjay cleared the gap there came that dreadful snap again and the monolith filled the gateway once more and of the wood and stone used to brace the gap nothing remained. The Party breathed a sigh of relief but Cuthbert who was looking around the vast stone courtyard in which they now found themselves asked "Um is it me or is it suddenly getting dark and when did we have two suns?" Cue more panicking cries of the world is doomed and huge future laundry bills before the natives and the CL.U.Ber's managed to get a hold of themselves and calmed down. The courtyard was huge and the vast stone blocks which were used in its construction were fitted together so tightly that it appears no mortar was used or indeed needed but though that was impressive and worthy of further investigation the falling darkness was still a more pressing issue. The other thing that now grabbed everyone's attention was the huge statues that appeared suddenly ahead of them leading from the gateway to the base of the great temple. "Ahh maybe it was an optical illusion like they have in the deserts......or maybe something to do with the falling light?" offered Giulio as an explanation for their sudden appearance but even he sounded unconvinced. The statues unnerved the natives and Goodchild was forced to go over and speak to them he then went over to Prince Unjay and was subjected to a brief angry conversation from the Royal son, he nodded and returned to the CL. U.Ber's who had started to walk quickly towards the base of the temple occasionally casting worried glances up to the still darkening sky and the obscene statues which now flanked them. Goodchild called out to them "Wait! don't you know what these statues are? they show the true God of the Itzel and it's servants" Cuthbert spun around and shouted "Who feckin cares? unless you and the natives want to stay out here in the dark I feckin suggest you get yourself and them moving" Father Goodchild looked shocked then thoughtfully looked upwards at the setting twin suns, he seemed to make his decision so rushed back to the Prince and his escort and after another angry sounding conversation with much pointing they began to run after the others.

The Doctors Journal The semi-mythical city of Bendal Dolum now lay in front of them but what was once a huge Mayan city complex was now reduced to a few pitiful temple complexes that had been large enough to withstand the siege and the subsequent flooding. These stone buildings though mostly little more than crumbling ruins were still impressive and somehow still monstrous, the Party far from being relieved after their narrow escape from the beast from the depths instead felt a deep sense of dread settle over them and the loss of the Bavarian wasn't its only cause. The Party cast one last glance at the lake and its far shore and with a collective sigh they gathered up their possessions and weapons and slowly began to clamber over the rubble-strewn outer walls heading for a distant walkway which promised to link up with a temple and then hopefully onto other walkways which lead further into the city of the necromancers. The journey through the seemingly deserted city was a tense and jittery one, the natives seemed loath to move deeper into the city and only continued with much coaxing from Goodchild and the occasional stern look from Prince Unjay. The Party though was not that much better they too dragged their feet and jumped at every small noise Cuthbert kept muttering in Latin under his breath his fingers twisting under his coat, whilst the Doctor kept pausing and asking the others "Did you see that, a figure there in that doorway?" But every time anyone else looked they were unable to see anyone or anything so in the Doctor stopped asking and just joined in with Cuthbert in muttering under his breath. But they did make progress, slow but progress none the less, over one half destroyed walkway after another making quick camps on the side of the oddly disturbing temples and all alone in almost total quiet the oppressive silence was only broken by the sound of the dark waters of the lake whispering up against the aged stone blocks of whatever parts of the ancient city still managed to remain high and solid enough not to fall into the embrace of those cold dark waters. As noted before time and weather seemed to work differently here in this dark hidden valley which seemed far from the sight of both man and God so it was still light even after hours spent crossing, then backtracking before finding a way across to the next section of the city. Fingers getting itchy with the tension and for one strange and awkward moment an outpouring of grief over the dead and drowned Bavarian, Father Goodchild with fat tears falling down his face declared that at least he was now with God as somewhat fittingly for a Witch hunter he had drowned and not floated, Doctor Norton was not amused but still after all that, they had made it to the dark and brooding structure of the central temp!e. The walkway to the temples outer walls had been the first one that was still fully intact and had not required the Party to backtrack or to come up with a hair-brained scheme to cross these plans usually ended up with Giulio creating some crazy contraption out of the rope they carried. The walkway also seemed to be made out of a different material which probably explained its longevity. The stone now a dark and somewhat greenish one which was somehow oddly shiny and to the disgust of everyone who touched it with their exposed akin was deeply cold and yet somehow moist. The temples cyclopean outer walls protected the temple and it's precincts from the hungry waters and to the dismay of the CL.U.Ber's this wall was only pierced by one still functioning gateway this dismay was due to it being seemingly blocked by a monolithic slab of stone. They made a hasty camp on the walkway and after examing the strange monolith which seemed to be made of similar stone to the walkway most of the Party shrugged and returned to their campfire to eat a hasty meal of what Goodchild called Poc Chuc which was slow cooked pork pressed with salt, the saltiness was tempered by orange juice and vinegar. The meal is finished off with onions, coriander, and a little sugar. Cuthbert looked very worried but soon the smells had him drooling and even though when asked by a smiling Prince Unjay what he thought of the food the somewhat guilty looking Englishman replied that it was passable for foreign food but it was noted that he asked for thirds and was caught licking the pan whilst he was meant to be washing the dishes up. Goodchild was not the only one to notice that the Doctor barely touched the meal. After eating his fill and tidying up Cuthbert sauntered back over to the monolith he now noticed that the stone was covered in strange carvings a recurring one was of a great spiral, shaking his head he mutters "Odd that we never noticed these before" the other difference was that the great stone had seemingly moved and there was now a gap, a gap that might be big enough for a man to squeeze through. The secret Alchemist decided that he might benefit from being that man. Cuthbert slowly started to maneuver past the great rock. A cry and a strange cracking sound alerted the others to a problem the native translator pointed at the monolith his face pale and his pointing finger was shaking "Cuth of Bert the ever eating one he now eaten by the stone" a massive hue and cry erupted as the CL.U.Ber's tried to make sense of what he was on about. The translator took some deep breaths and steadied himself with a quick jolt from the contents of a small stone bottle which hung from his wide leather belt. With one last breath and wiping a gnarled hand across his face he told them what he had seen, "Cuth of Bert he wondered over to the great rock and he looked at the surface he seemed to be talking to himself and then he went to the side" he paused and gulped "Then he went to the side of the gateway and started to wiggle past between stone and wall he seemed to be making it but then I saw the rock pulse a rotten green light and with a crack Cuth of Bert vanished"