As the party headed back to the manor Arvien was full of ideas. "We should climb over the wall and attack from inside," she opined, "Maybe our group can approach acting like we have the table for Dr. Fran."
"Quiet" countered Akanga, "we will attack head on to the gate. I have a helper on the inside. Now let us hurry toward our fate."
The whole army marched forward to the Markov Manor with a increasing attitude of success. The addition of the party members had emboldened the Broken Ones. As the group kept growing as more and more Broken Ones joined the movement behind Akanga. As the party surrounded the Manor house they were suddenly faced by Dr. Fran's army of Broken Ones who climbed out of the brush and timbers near the wall. Akanga charged forth into the fray with a roar, followed by his group of Broken Ones. Caught up in the frenzy the party also charged into the fray, Grunyar and Arvien being slower to join the battle on their short legs.
Akanga struck down Broken One after Broken One heading toward the gate while his minions fought head to head. Once in a while a Broken One would fall convulsing on the ground but the battle was fairly even. Seglun raged as she flew into battle while Arvien cast enlarge on Baru, who grew in stature but not necessarily ability. Grunyar fired arrows into the crowd while Drovic tried threw lightning arcs into the gray. Ralom blessed the party and then tried to stay out of battle unsuccessfully, while Arvien tried acid darts and splashes. Varrid moved forward and flanked an enemy with Baru. Bestial howls and screams were loud and frightening as Akanga raked through the enemy. Suddenly the gate opened and Felix strode out and nodded at Akanga.
"Follow me into the Manor" hollered Akanga summoning support as he sprinted for the gate. The party followed as they could, disengaging or running for the gate as they killed their foes. Inside the gate Orson lay with a festering dagger wound in the abdomen. "I guess Felix was the plant" surmised Arvien as she waddled into the Manor grounds. "Who has a torch she asked." Even though no one offered a torch up she called Summergale to ferry a vial of oil to the roof of the Laboratory hoping that she could start a fire in the thatch.
Dr. Fran stood outside the door closed to the Laboratory but he hurried inside as Akanga and the party made their way through the gate. Akanga charged right up to the door, hammering away at it and breaking half of the door in. A giant sized Baru joined him in clearing the rest of the door out of the way. Meanwhile Drovic and Varrid headed for the main entrance, and finding it unbarred, entered. Drovic headed for the library and Varrid upstairs to try and find Delphi.
Akanga charged into the laboratory followed closely by Baru, Ralom and Seglun. Inside they find Dr Fran amid a scene of bloody carnage: the bodies of sailors have been carved up and strewn about the abattoir. Dr Fran is armed with a scalpel, his smock has been ripped away, and he is clearly a gorilla except for his face.
Akanga bellows: "You die now, Diosamblet!"
Fran laughs, "I am the land! I CANNOT die!"
Akanga charges Dr, Fran fiercely attacking with his claws. Grunyar fires arrows from outside the door at Fran and Arvien decides not to try and light the oil with her flint. As Dr Fran backs away from Akanga the severed hands and twisted torsos animals and sailors lurch forward in a deadly pantomime of life. They surround most of the party in the room moving ever so slowly. Dr Fran giggles maniacally as the body parts attack.
Drovic heads to the library where he casts Detect Magic to find the clerical scrolls which he scoops up and then heads for the laboratory. Varrid clambers up the stairs to Delphi's room where she finds Delphi hiding behind her bed clutching a small rag doll. She whimpers as Varrid enters. "Are you alright" asks Varrid. Delphi's response is a low whisper of fear at the battle raging outside. Varrid tells her to stay put as Varrid heads back down the stairs to the lab, but Delphi actually follows her.
Akanga again leaps at Fran while Baru ignores the Animated Body Parts to give Akanga flanking. Seglun rages again smashing at the hands, claws and teeth, Ralom steps onto the surgical table and channels positive energy onto the body parts damaging most if not all. Grunyar enters firing at Fran and then the body parts that move toward him. Drovic enters and climbs onto the table while firing lightning arcs around the room. Arvien moves to the doorway into the lab and splashes acid at a claw but before she can move Minxy enters and delivers a terrible clawing to her backside. Varrid starts to enter the foyer at this moment, backs out shutting the door and heads outside, followed by Delphi.
Dr Fran reaches out and touches Akanga who falls to the floor convulsing, Ralom continues his channeling while Seglun moves up to rage at the good doctor who seems to lose body stability. He transforms from one animal shape to another, gorilla, bear, leopard, lion, goat, wolf, over and over. Grunyar still fires arrows at the crawling parts and Drovic continues attacking. Arvien, almost felled by Minxy's blow, shifts away and casts Color Spray at the great bear. Minxy stands stunned as Ralom finished most of the body parts off with another channel. Coordinated attacks fell Dr. Fran just as Akanga stands up from the floor.
"Tie the fiend to the table" he orders. Baru grabs the body, carries it to the table where Ralom and Drovic bind the hands(?) and feet(?) of the rapidly changing character to the table. The few body parts left stop moving and Varrid sees Minxy run out the door towards the gate. "Tell your friends we should head for the boat house" whispers Delphi to Varrid. "Boat house, what boat house" answers Varrid incredulously. "At the river delta in the southeast" replies Delphi.
Akanga picks up one of the scalpels that have been scattered aside, and looks at the heroes. "You will go, NOW" he says before he turns back to Dr Fran, the scalpel poised to make its first cut. The party in the laboratory heads quickly for the door as the doctor bellows with pain as he experiences what he has so often given.
Delphi hurries to the group and tells them about the boat house and the whole group hurries out of the Manor complex amid the battle still raging between the Broken One factions. They flee to the southwest at a rapid pace and after an hour they pause to do some healing and recover from the shock of the battle. The howls and screams are a consistent accompaniment as they reach the shore and boat house, which was not indicated on their map. Inside the boat house are manacles attached to the walls, and the boat from the Sunset Empires." The boat is carried to the shore and the party climbs aboard, Delphi hesitates but decides to join them. Pushing off Baru and Ralom start paddling away from the shore as fast as possible. Smoke rises from several scattered areas on the island and they still hear the bestial howls. As they pull away from the shore Delphi's hair starts to fall out, her skin becomes hard and rubbery, and her nose moves upward to become a spout. Everyone stares in horror as her delicate lips elongate and turn into a peg-toothed snout. With a final look at Varrid she leaps overboard and swims smoothly away.
As the islands starts to fall below the horizon, a dense fog starts rolling in surrounding the boat and stilling the ocean sounds.
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