Our entire happy group manages to collect itself for the game: Chris (Michael Sangaree), Bruce (Arthur Michael Vincent Pulfrey-Downs), Paul (Kumar Singh), Tim (Serpentine!) and Chuck.
Arthur Michael Vincent Pulfrey-Downs spends some experience points to buy Athletics 2 and Willpower 5. He justifies these expenditures by pointing out that anyone willing to free-climb up a rope to a dirigible while being shot at surely has great athletic prowess and nerves of steel. Nobody contradicts him, as the other characters quickly recognize that an alternate explanation for this behavior is that Pulfrey-Downs is a barking madman.
As the curtain rises, our heroes are watching Michael Sangaree bring a crippled dirigible down to a controlled crash near Black Bart's Butte. Even though the landing is masterfully done, it is quite obvious that the dirigible will never fly again. The characters take stock of the remaining equipment. The most salvageable items are the HMG's. Kumar Singh calls out, "Sir! I suggest that these would make an excellent addition to the cargo plane!" Arthur Michael Vincent Pulfrey-Downs quickly inspects one of the gun mounts and responds, "You're exactly right! Here, hold onto this while I unbolt it!" Kumar Singh moans, "Urrgkh! My organs!" He staggers to the ground underneath the weight of 150 pounds of heavy machine gun.
Michael Sangaree takes this moment to mention, "Say, Doc! Your plane is a bit shot up." Pulfrey-Downs is furious to hear this until he realizes that the Baby Spad launcher on the dirigible can be salvaged and retrofitted into the cargo plane. He then becomes so enthusiastic that he starts to make Sangaree worried.
Serpentine takes a break from fighting crime to divine the original destination of the dirigible. He concludes that it was inbound towards Horatio Mycroft Pulfrey-Downs' secret hideout. He also notices that the dirigible map case is very complete, except for parts of Asia Minor. The captain is able to tell the characters that the Black Lotus ninjas took the maps, and that he was scheduled to land on the butte. Serpentine is not satisfied with this and spends a moment closely interrogating the Captain. He kicks the fellow once on the forehead and knocks out all of the man's free will (6 successes). The captain blurts out that he was bound back to Cairo after picking up something on the butte. And after picking up Horatio Mycroft. He suspected that Horatio Mycroft would have other orders for him upon his arrival in Cairo. The Captain begs the characters to believe that he has no further loyalty to Horatio Mycroft beyond the fact that for a German in 1936, this is a good job. The characters believe him.
Moving out onto the butte, Serpentine tries and fails to track the ninja's path. He is shown up by not only Pulfrey-Downs but also by Kumar Singh, both of whom have repeatedly demonstrated that they are Masters of Survival. They determine that the ninja was heading towards the east, away from the butte. Most of the characters follow the ninja's tracks as Michael Sangaree goes back to the butte to get the truck. Both groups take flares to mark their position to each other (and anyone else who might be watching).
Along the way, Arthur Michael Vincent Pulfrey-Downs lectures his servant, "Now Kumar, you realize that these flares (fssssh) are extremely bright. Practically everyone can see us for miles around. Here, you take this." Kumar grabs the flare with alarm and throws it as far as he can, all the while hissing something about "sitting ducks!" to his boss. Pulfrey-Downs muses, "I need to make some invisible flares. Perhaps some ultraviolet flares, so we can tan at the same time." Kumar Singh holds his head and waits for sweet, sweet death to find him.
In the darkness, Serpentine catches a glimpse of someone. It could have been a Black Lotus ninja, or one of the Mole-Men. He turns to Pulfrey-Downs and says, "Quick, Doc! Shoot that man!" As Pulfrey-Downs takes aim with his rifle, the man vanishes down into the ground. Pulfrey-Downs tells the others, "He's a Mole-Man!" Kumar Singh rather disinterestedly groans, "Are you sure? I think it was just a gopher." Serpentine explains, "That's because you're an Indian. Besides, I fight crime!" Kumar glares. Serpentine thinks, "Mental note: don't turn back on Gobey for the next three hours."
Serpentine asks the others, "What should we do? Head towards the butte, or continue on?" Pulfrey-Downs rather blithely comments, "I think we should split up. That way, we can cover more ground and be better ambush targets at the same time! Gobey, let's leave Serpentine here and head towards the butte." The characters are completely unaware of Michael Sangaree's distant yell, "I think these splitting-up plans usually end up with someone getting shot." They split up.
Pulfrey-Downs brings Kumar Singh up to the place where the figure vanished. Neither of them see anything. Pulfrey-Downs lights off a flare to make the search easier. It doesn't help. Kumar Singh moves slightly ahead of Pulfrey-Downs. Pulfrey-Downs suddenly realizes that the search is progressing much better when Kumar Singh abruptly vanishes into the sand. Pulfrey-Downs feels the ground in front of him and exclaims, "My goodness! It's liquefied sand!"
Serpentine hears several shushing sounds behind him. He sees that Kumar Singh is gone, and that two Mole-Men have just popped up behind him. As he rushes towards them, Pulfrey-Downs steps forward and vanishes. The Mole-Men follow. Nobody thought to tell Serpentine about the quicksand, so he plunges right into it a moment later. He casts out the Claw of Apepi, hoping to grab a cactus or something. The Claw catches something, but Serpentine has no idea what because he has become completely disoriented by the fall. He scrambles up along the length of the Claw's chain, then abruptly bangs his head against something that feels very solid.
The three characters eventually find that they are inside a cylinder with a roof, filled with liquefied sand. Serpentine makes an incredible Athletics effort (10 successes) and dives down. Everyone else follows him. Along the way, Kumar Singh gasps and inhales sand (and one level of bashing damage).
As the characters struggle against the sand, Arthur Michael Vincent Pulfrey-Downs and Kumar Singh debate what sort of fate the Mole-Men might have in store for them. Kumar Singh frets, "They're Southeast Asian degenerates. They're probably going to rape us, aren't they?" Pulfrey-Downs muses, "Well, that's what Eddie Greelish said when he was taken by the Chig-Chig Tribesmen. And you know what? He was dead right." Kumar Singh shivers and comments, "I've never heard a man make such horrible screams." Pulfrey-Downs reminds him, "Well, he wasn't a man anymore by then." Kumar Singh nods and agrees, "It was all the more horrible for the pleasure that was mixed in with the pain."
Serpentine does his best to ignore this whole sordid conversation. Not for the first time, he wishes that he were back on some city street, doing what he does best. He fights crime!
The bottom of the pit opens up and dumps everyone down. Pulfrey-Downs shakes free from the pile of sand and rolls to the side, Thompson gun at the ready.
Meanwhile, Michael Sangaree has finished his long trek back to the butte to find the truck. Guided only by the flares Pulfrey-Downs has been setting off, he drives into the desert to find his compatriots. He quickly determines that this is far easier said than done. He drives back and forth aimlessly, unaware that all of the other characters have long since been drawn under the sand by the Mole-Men's sand trap. Even the efforts of various Mole-Men acting as decoys are not enough to draw him in to the location of the trap.
The characters find themselves dropped into the center of a big domed chamber. They are trapped inside a glass tube that they swiftly determine is bulletproof. They can see a group of eight Black Lotus goons and sixteen Mole-Men goons watching their every move. The situation is dire, as the tube is swiftly filling with sand from above.
Serpentine realizes that the floor is just stabilized sand. In fact, the entire chamber is made from stabilized sand. A network of cables along the dome surface obviously carries the stabilizing field that keeps the place intact. Seeing a way to escape, Pulfrey-Downs starts working on the captured Mole-Man backpack unit Serpentine is wearing. After an incredible jury-rig effort (nine successes at +5 difficulty) he manages to set it up to cancel the stabilization effect underneath the tube.
No sooner has Pulfrey-Downs finished his work than there is a massive bonging sound on top of the dome. The characters initially think that the sand-sub is returning, but it's actually Michael Sangaree and his truck coming in through the roof hatch. The hatch opens and two-thirds of the truck slips through before it gets stuck. Michael Sangaree drops down onto the growing sand pile and rather cheerfully announces, "Hi, friends! Whoa, Chinamen! I'll handle this!" He draws a gun and fires straight at one particularly nasty-looking Black Lotus man. The other characters dive for cover as the bullet ricochets. Serpentine yells out, "Stop, you idiot! It's magnetically sealed!"
Arthur Michael Vincent Pulfrey-Downs yells at Michael Sangaree, "We're going to make a dramatic escape through the sand with this generator! Follow me!" He switches the generator on and plunges it down to the bottom of the tube. New sand is pouring in like crazy, but the tube starts to sink rapidly thanks to the suddenly liquefied sand underneath it. The characters struggle to stay above the level of the sand, fighting to reach the growing gap between the top of the tube and the roof of the dome.
About this time, Michael Sangaree notices that some of the stacked boxes are marked AMMUNITION. He suggests throwing lit dynamite through the 1 foot gap between the top of the tube and the dome. The other characters aren't all that excited about this plan, as they realize the consequences of a missed throw...
Pulfrey-Downs suggests that there must be a big generator running the cables, probably somewhere beyond the ammo boxes. He notes that really bad things could happen if it was damaged, considering that there is no actual dome, just sand, stabilized by the cables. Serpentine doesn't listen, lighting up a stick and yelling, "I throw the dynamite!" Fortunately, his aim is good and he manages to blow up nothing more dangerous than some goons, reducing their number to five Black Lotus and ten mooks.
Pulfrey-Downs tries to take charge, yelling, "You two! Give Gobey a boost and send him over the dome!" Michael Sangaree asks, "Then what?" Pulfrey-Downs explains, "Then he defeats all the goons and saves us!" The characters fight to stay above the sand, a fight that becomes more complicated when one of the goons pulls a level that opens the hatch at the top wide, bringing in a lot more sand and Michael Sangaree's truck right after it.
Serpentine and Pulfrey-Downs leap over the tube. Pulfrey-Downs shouts out, "Serpentine! Go fight crime!"
A tall, gaunt gentleman enters the scene. Kumar Singh tells his boss, "Let me guess, he's just like you except evil. And more handsome. And better-endowed." Pulfrey-Downs glares at his servants.
Horatio Mycroft Pulfrey-Downs orders the characters, "Put your weapons down and surrender!" Serpentine obeys instantly, tossing the Claw of Apepi aside. Arthur Michael Vincent Pulfrey-Downs stands defiantly, responding, "I'll never surrender, Mycroft! What dastardly plan are you up to now? Have you kidnapped every last one of the rare Southeastern Mole-Men?"
Horatio Mycroft Pulfrey-Downs gloats, "Ah little brother, you are so foolish. It was so easy to lure you here! The sand here is so similar to the sands of the Middle East, where oil has just been discovered. My sand-sub technology will make it child's play for me to control the oil. And he who controls the oil controls the world."
Arthur Michael Vincent Pulfrey-Downs shoots back, "No matter how dastardly your plans, you will never be President of the Royal Geographical Society!"
Kumar Singh turns to the other characters, "Mycroft must be so frustrated. He goes to all this effort to gloat, and his brother doesn't even understand the gloating." Serpentine and Michael Sangaree nod.
Meanwhile, Arthur Michael Vincent Pulfrey-Downs continues to defy his brother, pointing out, "Your advanced technology and sophisticated plans will be no match for the Royal Army!"
Horatio Mycroft remains unimpressed, mentioning, "I have whores and opium to take care of them!"
"Very well, Mycroft! I have no choice but to shut down your operation right now. Gobey! Shut down the operation!" Kumar Singh rolls his eyes and says, "Okay. I roll initiative."
Arthur Michael Vincent Pulfrey-Downs dodges and heads towards the generator. Michael Sangaree perches up on top of the truck and blazes away at a Black Lotus goon. Serpentine and Kumar Singh charge to the attack, chopping away at more Black Lotus goons. Things start to go wrong when Kumar Singh's attack against a particularly nasty-looking Black Lotus glances away harmlessly. The Black Lotus grins down at the little Sikh, then cuts him mercilessly with his long curved blade. Emboldened by this success, more goons fire at him. Horatio Mycroft Pulfrey-Downs draws out a modified Mauser C96 broom-handled pistol and fires a burst at his brother, who rolls underneath the gunfire to emerge unharmed. He notices that Horatio Mycroft is not using standard ammunition: his bullets make a popping sound when they hit the sand. Unfortunately, in his distraction he fails to notice as a Black Lotus goon throws an opium-gas grenade at his feet. He breathes in a lungful of the gas and suddenly realizes that while he is no longer troubled by wound penalties, he has +2 difficulty on all tasks.
Pulfrey-Downs continues running towards the generator, evading Black Lotus ninjas and Mole-Men as he goes. He manages to reach the thing just as a Black Lotus ninja hits him square on the head and takes him down.
Michael Sangaree stands atop the remains of his truck and guns down Black Lotus goons one after another with his submachine gun. He crows with delight as he downs yet another Mole-Man and announces, "I've used twenty-one bullets!"
Kumar Singh swings at one Black Lotus goon after another, quickly realizing that his trusty kukri is not enough to pierce their armor. He tries to disarm a Black Lotus goon but ends up dropping his own knife for his trouble. Irritated, he simply swipes the blade from the guy's hands. He turns and chops at the ninja, but drops the blade in dismay when he sees Pulfrey-Downs fall. He cries out, "Noo! I was supposed to be the one!"
Serpentine hits the unarmed Black Lotus guy from behind, crippling him on his second blow, then swinging to the side to take down an onrushing Mole-Man. And then again to the other side to stop a Black Lotus ninja in his tracks. Truly, Serpentine is the bane of the Black Lotus gangster.
Michael Sangaree notices two goons taking Pulfrey-Downs' body away. He aims carefully and lets loose two bursts at their heads. Two shattered carcasses fall. As does Pulfrey-Downs. Face-down in the dirt. Serpentine charges Horatio Mycroft Pulfrey-Downs, ducking and weaving to avoid the villain's murderous gunfire. Kumar Singh settles for punching out the injured Black Lotus ninja.
The one surviving Mole-Man joins the one surviving Black Lotus ninja in picking up the unconscious Pulfrey-Downs. Serpentine calls back to Michael Sangaree: "Didn't you just kill the last two guys who did that?" Michael Sangaree nods in agreement and takes aim. He fires, gunning down the Black Lotus Yee-haw!
Meanwhile, Horatio Mycroft Pulfrey-Downs shoots Serpentine and hurts him badly (3 levels of damage), then throws down a flashbang and blinds him for five rounds. Serpentine lashes out blindly and grabs his gun as Horatio Mycroft retreats.
On his way out of the dome, Horatio Mycroft Pulfrey-Downs drops a lit match onto a waiting fuse. The characters instantly realize that the fuse leads to a roll of dynamite places next to the stabilization generator. If it blows, the dome will collapse and they will all surely be killed! Kumar Singh spends 4 Inspiration points to make an unbelievable throw, chopping the fuse in half with his kukri.
Michael Sangaree sprays some bullets into the smoke then goes to help the unconscious Arthur Michael Vincent Pulfrey-Downs. He pours some Quick-Heal into Pulfrey-Downs' throat, bringing him around, then tosses some to Kumar Singh and Serpentine (who's still blind). Everyone realizes that the generator is making strange noises.
Kumar Singh asks, "How do we escape?" Michael Sangaree says, "We take Mole-Man generators and use those. That's probably how the doc got out." Kumar Singh responds, "that's a good idea!" Michael Sangaree moans, "Oh god, that must mean I'm sobering up. I gotta drink more."
Sangaree pours some brandy down Pulfrey-Downs' throat to bring him around. Pulfrey-Downs sputters, then immediately sets to fixing a fourth Mole-Man suit. The others pull on their suits and escape through the wall. Pulfrey-Downs follows them a moment later, seconds before the dome comes crashing down.
Everyone swims to the surface (Athletics rolls). They are all able to see a huge new sinkhole forming right above where the dome used to be. Michael Sangaree admires his trophy: he managed to get out of the dome carrying Horatio Mycroft's fancy gun. Likewise, Kumar Singh managed to grab a scabbard to go with his nice new Chinese sword.
At this point, Margaret Lang comes stumbling along. She, Joe-Bob Skaggs and Annabelle Skaggs had all been kidnapped by the sand-sub. The characters are surprised to learn that Annabelle's fiancé was one of Horatio Mycroft Pulfrey-Downs' lieutenants, and that he went down with the sub. Michael Sangaree blurts out, "You had a fiancé? Really?"
The characters are all grateful that Margaret managed to get everyone else out. It's quite a good thing that she was up to the task, because the characters had totally forgotten about her plight.
Michael Sangaree determines that Horatio Mycroft Pulfrey-Downs' gun is a bored-out Mauser C96 loaded with explosive bullets. It inflicts 5L damage normally. The bullets do an extra die of damage if they penetrate lethal soak, and 2d bashing if they don't. The gun still contains half a clip of bullets.
Arthur Michael Vincent Pulfrey-Downs and Kumar Singh spend some time scavenging parts from the origami Spad, the dirigible and the cargo plane. They hope there are enough to keep the aircraft going for the flight home.
Each character gains four experience points. This is the end of a story, so everybody's Inspiration pools are restored.
Serpentine spends 20 experience points on the Knacks Marked Man and Cloak of Dread. He points out that Cloak of Dread gives him a truly obscene die pool to intimidate goons. Chuck mentions that Horatio Mycroft Pulfrey-Downs has the Knacks Psychic Synergy, Scientific Prodigy and Command Voice. We are suitably impressed.