by Kev-In » Tue Jun 29, 2010 8:21 pm
Episode 1: Fortune and Glory
Arthur Pennington is dying. His physician, Dr. Gatewood, has been able to combat the symptoms, but the prognosis is grim. Pennington has begun applying his wealth and resources in the desparate search for a cure. He discovers the journal of one Alberto d'Anchieta, a Portugeuse explorer who had disappeared in the 1860s and returned to the civilized world in 1897 in remarkable health for a man of 87 years. He aged rapidly and died a year later, but what Pennington found most intriguing was that d'Anchieta attributed his remarkable health to a wondrous "world inside the world."
Pennington acquires the journal and hires Professor Michael Cullin to translate the tome. Cullin is skeptical of the outragous flora and fauna described within, but begins piecing together d'Anchieta's escape from the Hollow Earth in order to trace the route back. The Porteguese explorer had returned to the surface on a savage island in the South Pacific. After several months, Cullin has a rough estimate of the island's location.
Dr. Martin Maresh is tapped by Pennington for his field expertise. He knows little of the details of the expedition, but is eager to return to fieldwork as his students are a merciless lot.
Robert Muldoon is tapped as expedition leader. While an experience explorer, he has yet to make the "big" find in the Muldoon family tradition. With the empires of Europe and the growing American influence, the edges of the map are filling in fast. If he is to take his place in history, it had better be soon.
Joe Cashman is a shadowy reflection of Muldoon. Less concerned with seeing his name in lights, Cashman dreams of finding and plundering the riches of the ancient world. The two have worked together in the past, and been at odds with one another at least as often. As one player put it, "what Muldoon would deliver to a museum Cashman would hock on the black market."
Scene 1: San Francisco waterfront
Our heroes are gathering in one of Pennington Freight's warehouses late one foggy night. Pennington is finally bringing the expedition members together, giving them a chance to meet and check their equipment before shipping out. Unfortunately, a crowd of darkly dressed men with submachine guns and bad German accents interrupt. After a pitched battle, the heroes depart for the airport.
Interlude
After arriving in Hawaii, Pennington is furious to find that the equipment was not shipped. The nervous employee of Pennington Freight assures the expedition that he will have replacement equipment waiting in the Marshall Islands before they are set to depart.
Scene 2: The Gold Monkey
The heroes have arrived at Bikar Atoll, in the northeastern region of the Marshall Islands. Allan Blake, daredevil pilot, is seeing to the fueling and loading of the seaplane while the expedition relaxes and enjoys a last bit of civilization at the Gold Monkey bar. Suddenly, a cadre of local police led by a pale blond man enter with pictures of the expedition members. The bar tender indicates the heroe's table and a brief scuffle ensues.
Scene 3: the Island
The expedition locates the strange and ominous island from d'Anchieta's journal, and Blake is directed to land his seaplane in the larger of the two lakes in the islands central highlands. Once on the ground, Pennington defers to Muldoon and Cashman's expertise in exploring, but its clear that he knows more than he's letting on. In case Dr. Cullin's conscience fails to spur any revelations, it turns out Cashman can also read Portugeuse...
That night the camp the sound of drums in the distance indicate a native presence, and strange fluting call can be heard in the jungle. Sometime after the witching hour, the camp is attacked by ferocious reptiles larger than a man with large, wickedly curving claws on their feet; the creatures display a remarkable cunning. Our heroes are more cunning however, and manage to drive off the strange creatures.
The next day, at Pennington's insistence, they arrive at the volcano on the eastern part of the island. Muldoon leads the team around the volcano to a waterfall. A mysterious stone statue of indeterminate origin provides access to the mysterious cave entrance across the top of the falls. Just inside the cave are two more strange stone sculptures. After their success with the statue, our heroes are unable to resist and soon wash themselves down a long and winding cavern.
Scene 3: Lost?
When the rushing tide finally subsides, our heroes are in a cave not far from the entrance. However, the plant life just outside the cave entrance does not look familar. The heroes look appealing to the very large ants that come pouring out of the enormous mound nearby and the expedition retreats into the cave. They don't get very far before they discover a smooth, solid wall blocking the way they must have traveled. An archway with strange symbols covering its surface and adorned with various colored fist-sized gems along its lower reaches borders this mysterious stone wall. Cashman's greed gets the better of him and he pries one of the gemstones loose, causing the other gems to shatter.
Where do our heroes go from here? Tune in for our next adventure!
"Because some men aren't looking for anything logical, like money. They can't be bought, bullied, reasoned or negotiated with. Some men just want to watch the world burn."
--Alfred, "The Dark Knight"
