39 Leave the Ray-Gun, Take the Computers

Jan 6-8, 862

Foreword
    Dec 30, 861: Late at night, an enormous explosion is seen in the desert to the Southeast of Falkirk.

    Jan 1, 862: An enormous structure, billowing smoke and crackling with eldritch energy is spotted just North of Falkirk, heading west.

    Jan 2, 862: The smoke around the enormous structure parted enough to reveal it a castle. The castle moved West into the Jungle.

Session Report
    The players decided to follow the trail of the moving castle West into the Jungle. Late in the day they spot it. A square keep 100yds wide and 110yds tall, surmounted by a round tower 30yds wide and 100yds tall. The castle lay in a jungle lake north of the road the party had followed, 50 feet from shore. Nark suggested they make camp and investigate in the morning.
    
    The only event of the night was the arrival of a herd of sauropods, grazing on the trees at the edge of the lake.
    
    Next day, the party spent a few hours chopping trees to fashion a raft to ferry them across to the castle. This raft immediately sank, but also demonstrated the lake was only a few feet deep. The compatriots waded out to the castle, clambered up the lowered drawbridge, and marched through the raised portcullis. They found themselves in the castle's undercroft. To the left the room was prepared for the care and keeping of horses. To the right were stacks and stacks of crates with labels like "Caliburn: Lot 665" and "Caliburn Lot 621." Nark and Taralls took stock of the empty stables while Welton rifled through crates. The crate "Avalon Lot 437" contained 7 ray-guns in packing straw. Welton set this crate aside for collection on his way out, and went to rejoin the others.
    
    The others had found a staircase leading up. The followed it to an anteroom to the great hall. They pushed open the huge doors of the great hall to the mouldering remains of feasting tables and fine tapestries. On the table nearest them gnawing at something (someone?) was a swarm of giant rats, who turned and charged the fresh meat.
    
    Nark slammed one door shut, and held the opening against the first wave, while Taralls called upon Pellucidar to bless their battle, and Welton lobbed a flask of flaming oil at the rats who remained on the table. 1 rat fell before Nark's halberd, while another 7 were burnt by the flaming oil, whereupon the remaining rats scurried off into the darkness. Nark found that one of the rats had swallowed a bronze cylinder, graven with mystic runes and esoteric glyphs, and labelled in the common script "QXV 4327."
    
    Up, up, up went the party to the tower, which had a door on it like the doors on the Avalon. Up they went to the highest room of the tower. Again a spaceship door, gave access to a Wizard's workshop. On one of the work-surface lay open a book "Principles of Incompatible Systems Integration" by Miles E. O'Brien. On another, a wooden sphere, girt with bronze bands, graven with runes, inset with a screen, and haloed by loops of red and blue wires. On another, a small box with cables protruding from the bottom and a screen on its face. Another desk had 2 holes in it, in one of which was a broken bronze cylinder. Nark pulled the broken cylinder out, and replaced it with the cylinder he'd found: QXV 4327.
    
    The Castle shook and reeled. It jerked up into the air and began to move. Nark quickly removed the bronze cylinder, and the castle halted and settled. Nark moved to the bookshelf and grabbed a few at random:
    
    "Principles of Incompatible System Integration" Miles E O'Brien
    
    "A Novice Star-Priest's Primer on Astral Gates"
    
    "Dimensional Manipulation for Star Turtle Owners"
    
    Welton, meanwhile moved to examine a bronze hatch on the floor marked "Turtle Maintenance." It opened easily to reveal a short ladder leading into a bronze room which hummed with energy. Wires, vacuum tubes, and pipes were all ran from a bronze housing for a glowing red gem, into the walls of the room. The housing was graven with runes, and equations, and appeared to be bolted to a massive scute. Of course this meant the thief had to try to pry the gem out of its housing with his sword, and be fried to a crisp for his efforts.
    
    This was quite enough for Taralls. He grabbed Welton's pack, and a copy of "The New Owner's Guide to Star-Turtles For Beginners" from the shelf and he and Nark turned back for the exit.
    
    "Anyone here, now knows we're here. Let's go."
    
    Whereupon they rushed back to Falkirk.
    
    Back in Falkirk was, Taralls was elated. Until he discovered that Welton had not stuffed a dozen ray-guns in his pack, he'd only set the crate aside to return for it. Which alas he never did.
    
Afterword
    Play Cugel games, win Cugel prizes.

Dramatis Personae
Nark, Half-Orc Veteran
Taralls Smith, Prestidigitator-Acolyte of Pellucidar

Welton Goldsmith, Gnome Rogue, Level 1, Jan 7 862, Incinerated

Gawain, Gareth, Light Footmen
Gaheris, Short Bowman