DRAMATIS PERSONAE:
Zeke Broda (Grease Monkey / Mechanic Spy)
Ivy Guinness (Outsider / Nurse)
Oz the All Knowing (Mystic / Entertainer)
The team rides Oz's tamed lloigor down off the plateau into the swamp. The path weaves between hills of festering mud and pools of thick, foul-smelling liquid. Twisted forms can be seen writhing just below the surface. Thanks to their steads however, nothing bothers them as they make their way towards the volcano. About half way across the morass, they encounter debris from one of the flying spheres. Based on Zeke's assessment, it appears the sphere had been smashed straight down into the ground and shattered. They hear a hissing groan nearby, and find a badly injured serpent person lying in the mud. He begs them to pull him out before the swamp creatures eat him alive. The team does so, and then question him. The serpent person is one of Rose Meadham's followers, and he tells the team she has reached the Citadel and should now be starting the process to summon Mu back to Earth and then invoke the doomsday device to destroy humanity. He also points out the battle underway on the lower slopes of the volcano, where the elder things and lloigor have tried to stop Rose's forces from getting into the Citadel. The team asks him about the transport sphere, and the serpent person described how they work and that they need to be filled with a special oxygenated liquid before flying. Ivy meanwhile tries to apply medical aid, but her knowledge of serpent person physiology is poor and instead their captive dies.
The team pushes on, and at the edge of the swamp encounter the remains of battle. Three dead elder things, scorched by flame pistols, lie beside the broken remains of two serpent people. One of the serpents’ bodies has been so badly crushed that it is little more than a red smear. A fourth elder thing has survived, barely conscious, floating in a pool and being nibbled at by creatures that look like human eyes with the legs of spiders. The team approaches and Oz tires to communicate with the strange barrel-like creature. He seems to have no success, but the thing pushes a strange metal deices towards Oz. He picks it up, and now finds himself in telepathic commination with the Elder Thing. It tells them of the battle to stop the serpent people, and how the Citadel draws its power from the body of the god Ghatanothoa who lives inside the volcano. The team is also warned not to stay too long outside the Citadel, as the power of the god will eventually turn them to stone. Though it also warns that the Citadel itself is partly out of phase with Mu, so they may have to wait some time to gain entry once they reach the top of the volcano. Once more, Ivy tries to help the creature, but once more her knowledge of alien physiology lets her down and the creature dies.
While in communication with the elder thing, Oz also learned it had summoned help in the form of a shoggoth from the nearby battle. They now it it approaching with a piping cry of “Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li!". Not wanted to take their chances with the protoplasmic monster, Zeke leads them in a wide detour out of the way and towards the volcano. As they get closer, they see more scenes of fighting, which they avoid and instead head up the slope towards the huge egg-shaped metallic citadel. It is perched over the mouth of the volcano on struts, one of which has already been damaged in the fighting. The team approaches one strut and waits for the Citadel to phase back into solid form. When it does, Oz tires to lead his lloigor through the strange metal door; but the creatures cannot pass. So he releases them to the battle, and the team pushes through the weird liquid metal door on foot.
On the other side they found a corridor of metal construction, slopping up towards the interior of the Citadel. Nigel notes damage along the walls of the narrow passage, and guesses it comes from the transport spheres zooming through. So they follow the trail deeper into the structure, noting that the structure becomes more organic and less metallic as they proceed. They also start to see signs of life; weird stunted and deformed serpent folk, and odd hairless and mutated rodents that sequel like humans. These flee from the team and the advance continues without delay. They eventually some to a point where the trail splits; the transport spheres seems to go one way, and a trail of serpent person footprints goes in another. They decide to follow the footprints, surmising it will lead to Rose and her goons. But they make note of the location of the transport spheres as they expect to need a quick exit before the day is over.
The trail leads to a grand, circular structure, some 200 feet in diameter. Alcoves around the edge are filled with colorful, ophidian statues that writhe constantly. The walls coil up to a domed roof hundreds of feet high, with a glowing green ball of energy at its apex. A great snake-like form rises in the center, with an alter at the top. Around the room itself is a thick layer of shed snakeskin and debris. Zeke and Oz quickly check the alter, but then the team all converge on the only exit; a catwalk/gangway that leads steeply down. However, before they can reach this exit, a black amorphous form emerges from the debris on the floor; a formless spawn that now moves to block their passage. Zeke shoves a stick of dynamite at the thing, which unfortunately catches the rest of the team in the blast. But Oz then finishes it off with a laser staff.
With the way now free, the team slowly makes their way down the gangway. They come to the entrance of another round room, this one surrounded by a strange mesh of fine wire and fleshy tentacles. In the center of the room is a giant holographic projection of Yig. Four armed serpent people stand guard around the perimeter, while seated at one side are Rose Meadham and two other serpent people. The two are connected to the wall via tentacles to their heads and seems to be controlling something. As the team enters, they hear a voice: "T-30 and counting. Mu return sequence activated". Knowing it was now or never if they wished to save the Earth, the team springs into action. They try to focus on Rose, but another formless spawn drops out of the ceiling to confront them. Oz wrestles with Rose for control of the creature, but even with the added power of the Crown, the control passes back and forth. In the meantime, the serpent person guards open a hail of deadly fire on the team, and Ivy is soon dropped unconscious. Nigel makes the fateful decision to activate the haftorang device he's been carrying since Calcutta, accepting the team may have to sacrifice themselves to save the world. But then with the successful application of more fire power and a bag of grenades, the team finally kills Rose and the remaining serpent people.
With the countdown nearing an end, Zek rushes to the tentacle panel, and attaches the writhing flesh to his head. And finds himself in contact with the AI controlling the Citadel. In a blaze of nonsense logic, Zeke convinces the intelligence that humans and serpent people need to live in peace and harmony, and the AI is unable to process the fact that this monkey-person was as smart as it's serpent person masters. And so it goes insane, stops the Mu countdown, and begins a new countdown; 5 minutes to self destruction of the Citadel.
Now with two dooms counting down, the team flees from the control room and rushes back towards the transport spheres. They find them in a strange fleshy workshop, where orifices are oozing out new structural material for the Citadel as well as new transport spheres. Some successful first aid brings Ivy back to consciousness, and the team jumps into individual spheres to escape. Unfortunately, Nigel is unable to properly interface with the mental control mechanism of his sphere. With gallant aplomb, the war hero waves the others on, then sits down with his pipe and pocket edition of Kipling to await his fate.
The rest of the team, with a final salute to Nigel, rush out of the nearby airlocks just as the citadel begins to rumble and explode. They jet across the swamp towards the gate, which is starting to waver and fade. But all three spheres plunge in, and within moments the three survivors find themselves floating above Serpent Island, back on the green and pleasant earth ...
