The Isle of the First Dawn

The criminal record of the gang which only last week broke into an ancient abandoned facility continues to grow as the group make their way to the Mangrove Biodome. The misadventures this week began with investigating the bathrooms in search of Mani, who had mysteriously gone missing overnight. This investigation did not yield clues to Mani’s whereabouts, but did reveal Orla’s unusual obsession with holes, as she ventured into an abandoned maintenance shaft behind a cubicle, and Nim Nim’s unusual obsession with unidentified goo as she collected said goo from said maintenance shaft. The maintenance shaft, it turned out, led to the gift shop, where Orla added to the group’s criminal record by stealing from the till, stealing a stuffed dinosaur, and attempting to break into a locked staff room. Her antics were foiled by the appearance of another creature stalking the facility’s halls, known as a Crawler. The rest of the gang caught up and decided to make the security robots in reception fight the Crawler. Popcorn came out in anticipation, but this plan failed miserably as they now found themselves under siege from both parties. The suspects fled from the scene, making their way to the aquatic Mangrove Biodome. Allie was caught in a bear trap, but luckily Thorn was able to provide first aid. Orla and the rest of the group then quickly proved their ineptitude in boat-building after constructing a boat which was almost sinking at best, actually sinking at worst. Later, Thorn decided to “adopt” a baby Leechback, stealing the innocent creature away from its loving mother and family. But by far the worst offense committed by the group this week was related to the late hydrologist Nadia Rivers, who offered her aid to the group after being rescued from a floating raft. Nadia was rewarded for her assistance by being left to be eaten alive after the group “forgot” to bring her to safety as they were surrounded by crocodilian dinosaurs known as Reefmaws. The gang was then able to make their way to the camp of a scavenger named Tamsin Reed, where they proceeded to steal her belongings and then lie about having done so. Despite this, Tamsin was kind enough to let the group rest at her camp for the night.

The adventures in the Mangrove Biodome continued this week as the ragtag gang of criminals sought to acquire some home-made respirators by collecting genetically modified plants. They quickly learned that in order to avoid the Reefmaws, crocodile-like dinosaurs with Gill Moss growing on their backs, they must be quiet so as not to wake them. So then the natural plan was for the group to throw Nim Nim across the water, and Orla to jump across some discarded boats. This noise woke up the Reefmaws, unsurprisingly. Nim Nim spoke to one of the awoken Reefmaws and learned that it had previously been dead before being revived. This seemed to surprise the group, despite this being the entire point of Project First Dawn. A fight ensued with the creatures in order to obtain the moss on their backs. The fight with the Reefmaws ended with Orla almost drowning, and Allie having to save her. After this exciting encounter, the gang ventured to an abandoned greenhouse in search of the next ingredient, Pressure Pods, which they learned immediately upon entering were explosive. They were ambushed by Muckspitters and Murkskaters who attacked upon them entering. When trying to harvest the pods, Orla and Thorn “accidentally” caused a chain reaction of explosions, resulting in the destruction of the greenhouse and the opening of a chasm, from which they quickly fled as the water in the biodome began to rise. Whilst on the boat to the next destination, the group shared stories about their pasts. Key discoveries included Nim Nim being in servitude to a shadowy figure known to her only as The Boss, and Allie having a number 3 tattooed behind her ear. The last stop of the week was Redwater Swamp, where it was quickly discovered that Orla was red-green colourblind after her confusion at the name. A fight with yet another endangered creature ensued, this time a much larger Reefmaw with red moss and bones on its back. After a tough battle involving most of the group almost drowning, the gang was able to come out on top, albeit with less harpoons than they started with.

This week sees the return of Mani, who wakes up in the party’s base with an ominous message waiting for her: ‘IT WANTS YOU BACK’, seemingly written in her own handwriting. She cleaned it off, perhaps the only responsible thing the group had done since arriving, and met up with Nim Nim and Orla by riding a fish dinosaur known as a Carpclaw using bugs as bait. Making their way to Pulsewood Thicket to retrieve the fourth and final ingredient, Honey Sap, the group first decide to investigate a spooky, rundown cabin, having clearly never seen a horror movie in their lives. Mani adopted a bat, adding to the number of children this group is now responsible for, while Orla and Nim Nim searched the main room. Along one wall was a living fungus, which Nim Nim and Mani were able to speak to, learning about a mysterious woman known only as C01 (Clementine) and the relationship between The Mycelium Vitae and Eleanor Halliday. After thoroughly searching the cabin, the group left to collect the sap from the trees outside. Their first plan was to throw Nim Nim up the tree, but that didn’t work, so they stabbed the tree instead, fleeing as monsters were attracted by the smell. Returning to Tamsin Reed’s camp, they put the respirators together and travelled through the vents to an ancient lab which Tamsin wanted to search for traces of her missing brother. Unfortunately for Tamsin, her investigation was cut down to a mere three minutes after Orla tampered with a control panel and managed to activate the lab’s self destruct sequence. They hurriedly gathered tech and made a swift exit back through the vents, escaping just as the lab blew up. Needless to say, Tamsin was not very happy, her mood soured more by being relentlessly bullied and called names. The subway tunnel that the group showed interest in exploring was unfortunately blocked by rubble from the explosion. Orla attempted to move the rubble, but only succeeded in getting herself trapped underwater with no respirator, forcing Mani to come and save her. The gang decided to return to the base and reevaluate their next stop, landing on the Evolution Department.

The gang is finally all back together for the first foray into the Evolution Department, which Orla, Nim Nim and Mani learned about through some documents in the lab that they blew up. Shenanigans began almost immediately with Orla waking the group up at 1am with conspiracy theories, Mani stealing Nim Nim’s stamper and sneaking six extra drug stamps (securing her a free drug), and Mani deciding to use the power core directly inside the Evolution Department to cook breakfast. The group immediately abandoned the Evolution Department in order to investigate two Executive Offices nearby, both of which were locked with biometric locks. Mani and Allie alone were able to open the doors, to the interest and immediate suspicion of the rest of the group. In one of the offices, they spoke to a giant megaraptor (Nyx Calderon) which seemed to have a human intelligence. They agreed to find some food in exchange for remaining alive, only briefly considering killing yet another innocent in Tamsin Reed to feed to the raptor. In the other office, they found that this was the office of Eleanor Halliday, the leader and visionary behind Project First Dawn. They had barely entered before breaking into the safe under the desk, learning of a secret second project, Project White Iris, and that they would need the biokeys of all six department heads to access it. While trying to steal priceless artifacts, Mani accidentally opened a secret door where they found a girl trapped in a glass cage. Freeing the girl, they learned her name was Iris and that she was infected with the same fungus as Mani. Through Mani’s connection with the fungus, they found out that the fungus was out for revenge after being used and experimented upon. They were then ambushed by Stalkers, which they saw as a great opportunity to fulfill their deal to the megaraptor, bringing them back to the offices. Mani decided to try and drug the Stalkers so that the raptor would be drugged when he ate them, but the raptor noticed the drugs and refused to eat. Luckily, Orla was able to convince him not to eat them instead and the megaraptor begrudgingly gave them a second chance to bring him an exquisite meal in exchange for one of the biokeys needed to access White Iris. Smartly though, they returned to base with Iris to rest up first.

Nim Nim texted The Boss - a message which the boss later replied to mind-to-mind. They told Nim Nim to retrieve the White Iris, a flower kept deep in the bowels of the facility, but cautioned her that should it touch The Mycelium Vitae, Nim Nim will also die. They made their way back to the Evolution Department, meeting Brannick Hearth, a dwarf in the power core, who was fixing the error caused by Mani throwing meat into it. He told the party that he knew a way to get around the Mycelium-blocked doors into the Evolution Department. Brannick led the group through the vents, where they stopped briefly to desecrate the corpses of his parents, before moving into a large lab with several devices used to contain experiments. There were a lot of notes surrounding putting human brains into dinosaur bodies, and Nim Nim immediately drank a vial of strange liquid without first checking what it did, finding out that it was able to transform her into a dinosaur. Meanwhile, Orla and Thorn found a sedative and a drug which took away pain temporarily. From here, they headed into a nursery where they met Luma, a nine-year old girl drawing on the walls with crayon. She asked Nim Nim to play hide and seek with her, revealing after two successful wins that her human form was just a memory, and that Luma had been a child experiment and had her brain placed into a cat-like Hollowbeast called a Glowcat. Luma asks to accompany the group, so she can get revenge on the people responsible for her new form - Nyx Calderon and Dahlia Yvore. Luma showed the group the way to Calderon’s lair, and Allie hatched five bugs from eggs found in a side corridor to use as bait. Allie interrupted the group talking to the doctor to attack, and a brutal fight ensued. They were able to defeat him, but not without taking heavy damage. Luma finished off the megaraptor by clawing out his eye. The group took the elevator at the end of the lair, finding that it lead back up to Calderon’s office in the executive labs. In the labs, Orla found an ID card belonging to a journalist who went missing from her journalist agency twelve years prior, painted as a madman and cautionary tale. The group decided that their next stop would be the Resurrection Department to deal with Dahlia Yvore, and returned to base to rest.

The group awoke from a restful night’s sleep in Hesh & Salt’s tents, awaking to find that Nim Nim had rejoined them and Mani was missing once again. They decided to investigate the desert outpost near the camp, where they found a terminal displaying a heartbeat and research papers documenting amber with creatures inside acting as a power source. Thorn snuck out of the back of the outpost and turned into a camel to speak with Salt, Hesh’s camel companion. Salt told Thorn about a camel graveyard, and told her that there weren’t many camels in the desert anymore. He also told her that he and Hesh had been down to the Resurrection Department before. Allie questioned Hesh and noticed that he seemed nervous when discussing the Resurrection Department. The group’s next stop was the oasis, to meet some travelling merchants. Their shopping trip was cut short by the arrival of a Sandstinger, which the group easily dispatched, but lost track of Hesh and Salt in the chaos. On their way to the sun tower, they encountered the camel graveyard that Thorn learned about, a depressed circular area with dead camels and a piece of amber in the center. Nim Nim immediately grabbed the amber, rousing six Resurrected Camels, but Thorn grabbed her and flew her to safety. They arrived at the sun tower, which they found surrounded by shards of sharp glass created by the artificial sun atop the tower. In attempt to find a way across, Thorn called to a Rotclaw nesting on the tower for help, but was mistaken for food and flown up to the nest. Nim Nim was taken up willingly too, and they poisoned the Rotclaw, causing it to fall to its death and be impaled on the glass. Nim Nim convinced Thorn to fly them up to find an entrance to the sun tower from the top, but they forgot that there was an artificial sun at the top, and Thorn was temporarily blinded, dropping Nim Nim and catching her just before she hit the glass. The group took the elevator in the sun tower down to the Resurrection Department, where they saw Nyx Calderon’s body laid out under a large machine. They were greeted by the Head of Resurrection, Dahlia Yvore, who claimed that someone had told her they would be coming. The group expected Hesh, but instead they were shocked to see that Mani had betrayed them. Dahlia revealed that Mani was her daughter, and had the group taken to jail cells and locked up.

Mani woke up from another of her long naps in an unfamiliar lab, matches and gasoline canister in hand. She was suspiciously pleased to learn that she killed multiple creatures bare-handed whilst unconscious. Meeting back up with the rest of her ragtag crew, they decided to pay a visit to Marcus Dawson, an engineer brought in to fix the Observation Tower, whom the group ‘met’ previously and immediately drugged. Their actions meant that Marcus was in no fit state to defend himself, and was killed by a Rotclaw - yet another innocent having fallen victim to this group’s schemes. There was a traumatised little robot, model CL13N, who the group nicknamed ‘Cleanie’ and promptly adopted. The natural next step was breaking into Marcus’ computer and looting his body. On the computer, they found that the doors that Allie and Mani had previously been able to open were keyed to unlock to department heads only. They also found a door keyed only to Eleanor Halliday, and decided to investigate. On the body, Orla found two ID cards, one belonging to Marcus and the other a woman named Kera Lovo, and also swiped a wrench. The group decided it was of utmost importance to head to the gift shop to buy themselves matching jumpers. The next stop was the locked room, which Allie was able to unlock, much to the suspicion of Thorn, who noticed that Allie looked uncannily similar to Eleanor Halliday. The phone had numbers saved for each of the departments, and Dahlia Yvore answered for the Resurrection Department, telling Allie that she was working on ‘the plan’ but refused to elaborate. After looting the room of Eleanor’s biokey, the group headed to the cafeteria to find some food. Mani knocked over a vending machine trying to get a Penguin, and Allie accidentally uncovered a secret room when trying to right it. The secret room contained camera feeds pointed at the staff rooms and notes on staff movement. Mani connected to the fungus on one of the corpses in the cafeteria, receiving vague answers as to how the people here died and was told that the corpses were ‘as old as she is’. The fungus offered additional hints as to what Mani forgot in exchange for her promise to destroy the White Iris when she found it, and Mani asked for time to think on this offer. The group headed to the Desert Biodome, meeting Hesh & Salt and resting the night in his tents.

The group awoke from sleep in the jail cells, finding Orla taken during the night. Meanwhile, Mani woke up in a private room with Dahlia Yvore, who revealed that she has control over the undead she revives and plans to kill the party and bring them back as her servants. Mani escaped from Dahlia and met up with the group while Allie was killing an undead guard, taking a thigh bone from it as a souvenir. The group discussed Mani’s betrayal, and Mani revealed her secret: she is infected by The Mycelium Vitae, and it occasionally has control over her body. The group ventured out into a museum area, finding a giant skeletal dinosaur guard which Allie bribed with the thigh bone. They also found an archive room, but it was locked, so Thorn turned into a swarm of flies and flew through the keyhole to unlock it. In the room were a lot of files and newspapers about missing journalists and the mysterious circumstances surrounding the closure of The Verdant Cradle. They also found a note saying that when Nyx Calderon dies, Dahlia will become the new head of the Resurrection Department, and a doctor’s note that said Dahlia had pushed her body beyond safe limits and was on her last stable resurrection. Allie spoke to the skeletal dinosaur, which she named Dobby, and asked for its assistance in exchange for more bones. During this conversation, Calderon is revived by Dahlia and roars angrily from the next room. The group discuss how to best deal with him, and note that the museum mezzanine looks close to collapsing. They plan to weaken Calderon and then crush him under the rubble. Mani goes to lure the dinosaur while the others hide. A brutal battle with Calderon ensued, ending in the group successfully crushing Calderon with Dobby’s help. Allie tried to uncover the body, but was surprised that he wasn’t dead and attacked Dobby. With a well placed attack, he almost succeeded in killing the entire group, but was defeated by Allie’s counterattack. The group took a short rest to heal and also removed Calderon’s head so that he couldn’t be revived again. Allie and Dobby destroyed the resurrection machine while Nim Nim communed and found out that Dahlia’s biokey was hidden somewhere small and dark next to the body of a faun. They investigated the console next to the resurrection machine and found that Calderon had been brought back with no memory and maximum aggression.

Orla woke up in a morgue, loudly exclaiming ‘Oh god, I’m in a morgue’ in case there was any doubt about the situation she’d found herself in. Seeing a dirty, grimy grate, also known as a hole, in the floor, Orla just couldn’t resist and jumped down, finding piles of bodies of her former journalist coworkers, and one that was still alive - Venn Wick. Venn tells Orla that her boss, Goldsmith, is responsible for all the journalists being in the facility, and accompanies her back to the others. On the way, Orla remembers to ask about Asher Reed, learning that he is dead - given to Nyx Calderon as a sacrifice. Orla and Venn meet up with Allie and Thorn in the resurrection chamber, and plan to return to the museum archives and morgue together. In the archives, Orla realised that the files the group found earlier were all of her former colleagues. They found Dahlia’s biokey hidden in the torso of a corpse in the morgue, but were unable to find Orla’s infinite bag, and assumed that Dahlia might have taken such a powerful artifact. The group decided to search for Dahlia’s quarters, starting with the other path out of the museum that they had not yet taken. It led into an open room with a shrine in the middle and trees with amber veins. Two paths led out - one leading down, and one leading up. The group decided to take the path leading down first, finding a colossal dinosaur trapped in amber, a heartbeat monitor recording its condition, twin to the one they found in the desert outpost. They realised that the dinosaur’s lifeforce powers the whole department. Taking the other path up, there was a small discussion about the facility’s health and safety after it was noted that there were no fire alarms. They entered into a fancy room - Dahlia’s quarters. Allie and Orla easily took down the three undead guards, and Thorn, in hyena form, scented out a safe hidden behind a self-portrait of Dahlia. Orla cracked the safe, finding inside her bag and a little black book. In the book was over 150 entries of Dahlia giving money to Goldsmith. Orla bursts into the next room alone, interrupting Dahlia and Goldsmith who were in the middle of a meeting. Orla confronts Goldsmith with what she learned about the journalists, and Goldsmith attacks. Allie and Thorn jump in, hearing the commotion, while Dahlia drinks tea in her armchair, watching the fight. The power of teamwork finally took down Goldsmith, leaving the group face to face with Dahlia Yvore.

Mani and Nim Nim woke up in cells in the disposal area, guarded by Hesh & Salt. Speaking to Hesh, they learned that he had helped an adventuring party before - Mia Ashton, Dove Mallory and Asher Reed - and Dahlia Yvore had killed Salt to punish him. He was unwilling to release them, lest something similar happen again, so Mani put him to sleep, and the two left Hesh in the pile of dead bodies so he wouldn't be noticed. They met up with the others in Dahlia's office, where questioning was ongoing. They learned that Nyx Calderon was Dahlia's younger brother, and that Calderon originally led the Resurrection Department and Dahlia led the Evolution Department. But Dahlia had her eyes on the Resurrection Department for her own goals. Dahlia said she met Eleanor Halliday in college, and laughed as she revealed that she is not actually Mani's mother, and that she was having her on. She told Mani to check the Research & Development Department to find what she's missing. The group started a fight with Dahlia, who used undead minions and also briefly resurrected Goldsmith as her servant. Thorn pierced Dahlia's eye in a fatal blow, but Dahlia flees to her lab and tries to resurrect using a prototype machine. Mani and Orla throw Dahlia away from the machine and kill her. Mani rips out the amber stone in her forehead and sets about dismembering her. The group rested up and Mani checks on her mushrooms, which have grown. Orla notices that there are two poisonous, two edible, and one hallucinogenic mushroom. Mani gives the hallucinogenic mushroom to Nim Nim. Mani has her first taste of coffee, reads the mail she stole from Thorn, and the group discusses theories of Dahlia and Eleanor being lovers. They head back out to the amber chamber with the shrine and free the faerie, Lethriel, and learn she has been trapped in the amber for a thousand years. They find Venn Wick, dead by a tree, her hat fallen off to reveal a dimmed amber gem implanted into her forehead. Lethriel said the dinosaur below the department was in the amber as long as she could remember, and was transported to The Verdant Cradle from somewhere else. Orla took Venn's ID in memory of her, and Mani took the amber, noticing that Dahlia's amber shard and Venn's fit together. They went back down to the dinosaur, and Mani noticed bits of the amber have been carved away. Mani cast telepathy on the dinosaur, and learned that it has spent 3000 years in the amber, and once had a mate and spawn before being captured by hunters. The group agreed to come back to free the dinosaur later, and returned to the base.

The group returned to their base to find Iris gone, a note left which read “Allie, I have gone to help our sisters. Be back soon.” The group puzzled over what this meant, while Thorn and Allie tried to compare Allie’s appearance to Eleanor Halliday to see if they looked similar, but only had a poor drawing by Nim Nim as a reference. They decided to go back and see Sybil White, a researcher they met on the first day, to figure out why no one likes her. They proceeded to threaten and interrogate Sybil, receiving short answers mostly consisting of lies. Meanwhile, Orla turned invisible and stole from Sybil’s safe while the rest of the group tackled her to the ground. Sybil pulled a gun, which Allie was able to wrestle from her, later shooting her in the foot. During the interrogation, Sybil was deliberately vague about what she was researching and her knowledge of the facility, claiming she did not know what a biokey was. After leaving Sybil, the group decided to continue to the Jungle Biodome. In the entrance, they found the crushed body of a man and a giant clawprint in the wall. Entering the jungle, they followed the clawprints to an abandoned research station, where they learned that The Mycelium Vitae was originally grown in the Jungle Biodome, and read first-hand accounts of how quickly it first spread. Nim Nim communicated with the fungus and learned that there were three survivors in the dome, one of which was badly infected. Thorn was able to trace the scents, two leading towards Mia Ashton and Dove Mallory, and the other leading towards her mentor. She chose to lead the group towards her mentor, believing that Mani would have better luck with Mia and Dove. The group came upon a small wooden hut and were ushered in by Thorn’s mentor, Clementine. She tells them that she, along with Allie, is a clone of Eleanor Halliday, created as a backup body when Halliday developed a degenerative disease that was likely to kill her. She escaped, where she set up camp where Thorn would later find her, but returned to the facility after hearing the distress signal. She told Allie that her parents were former Cradle scientists who did not agree with the cloning system and helped her escape over 200 years ago. The group ventured further into the Jungle in search of the Stinkrot, a hallucinogenic plant. They saw illusions of things they didn’t understand, but eventually made it to the plant. Not wanting to damage the hallucinogens, Nim Nim took parts of the plant so she could grow her own. They returned to Clementine’s hut to rest, resolving to continue exploring the biodome in the morning.

Mani woke up in the entrance to the Research & Development Department, grassy footprints leading ahead. She followed them, eventually coming to Quail, a humanoid identical to Mani made of grass and plants. Quail tells her that she can help Mani remember who she is and what she's forgotten. Mani asked for time to think about it, and Quail said they will wait until she is ready. Mani heads to the Jungle Biodome to meet up with the rest of the party, where she walks in on Orla and Nim Nim trying to comfort Allie, who was having a mental breakdown about being a clone. After being comforted by Clementine, the group headed out to continue exploring the biodome. Orla threw Nim Nim to a treetop perch, pulling a muscle doing so. Nim Nim then jumped from the perch to a standstill cable car which destabilized with her weight. Allie and Orla head to the cable car station to figure out how to turn on the power and lower the car, Allie noticing some wires that did not look damaged at all. They pulled the lever, but the jerk of the power starting sent Nim Nim's cable car plummeting to the ground, but luckily Mani was able to catch her with levitation in time. Mani finds a grotto hidden behind a waterfall, where she finds the dying form of Mia Ashton. The rest of the party join her, and decide to stay with her until the end. Mani runs out to find Dove Mallory, who is just returning after a hunting trip, while Nim Nim sneaks Mia a drug to end her pain. Dove asks for some space, so the party sit outside by the waterfall. Clementine notes that Mani's infection is spreading unusually slowly, so Nim Nim uses her fungal connection ability to connect to Mani's fungus. She learns that Mani protected the fungus in the past, and it feels that it owes her a debt, so it protects Mani and those she cares about. It also says there is a threat growing beneath the facility, and that if the threat was quelled, it would consider leaving Mani's body. Mani tells Dove that Tamsin, Asher's sister, is still alive, so Dove goes to find her. Meanwhile, the group travel up in the cable cars to a viewing point, where Orla collects some flowers to place at Mia's resting place. Mani seems adamant to go anywhere other than the Research and Development Department when the party consider it as their next stop, and storms off, heading back to base. The rest of the party head into the department to see what Mani is hiding, meeting Quail and learning about Mani's decision. Quail tells them that the White Iris can be used to fight off The Mycelium Vitae. During this conversation, the party realise that Mani is the sixth department head, Mani Quail, having forgotten her true identity. Nim Nim attempts to communicate with the Mycelium in the room, but fails, getting pushed back mentally. They return to the base to find Mani, and Nim Nim has a conversation with Clementine about whether she should use the White Iris to fight the Mycelium or give it to The Boss. The group decide to head to the Glacial Biodome next to find Iris, but pop into the Genetics & Behaviour Department on the way to see what's in there. An invisible Orla and Nim Nim encounter three clones of Lena Voss, and are almost caught but manage to get away, heading to the entrance of the biodome.

The party enters the Glacial Biodome and heads toward the research lodges. They decide to split up and investigate two of the three cabins - Orla and Thorn head to the left side cabin, while Nim Nim and Allie head to the right. In the left cabin, Orla and Thorn found a makeshift survivor camp filled with beds and human skeletons. Orla found a journal that described how survivors were told help was on the way, but later learned that no one was coming to save them. She saw writing on the wall that said 'They chose the island over us'. Two Shivertooths stalked out from the shadows, ready to attack. In the right cabin, Allie and Nim Nim found several pods of frozen Mycelium samples, including one giant fungus. Next to the giant fungus was a terminal containing experiment logs of scientists trying to see if the fungus was weak to extreme cold, but marked as a failure as The Mycelium Vitae adapted to the temperature. Nim Nim communicated with the large fungus, which had adapted to the cold. She mentions Mani, and the fungus said that she protected 'the Heart', later saying that the Heart was angry and out for vengeance, but that it is not inherently evil. The fungus told Nim Nim they were lonely, and enjoyed the conversation. Nim Nim offered to find them a friend. Allie and Nim Nim join Orla and Thorn in their cabin as they are being attacked by the Shivertooths, and help them kill them. They head to the other cabin, where they meet a scientist named Isaac Havel, Iris, and a clone frozen in a pod named Xena. Isaac says she consented to being frozen to slow her infection and allow Isaac to study the fungus. Allie asks Isaac how he knows if someone is infected, and he replies that black blood is the main sign. Allie asks Isaac to check her, and learns that she is the only remaining uninfected clone. Nim Nim decides that Isaac and Xena will be the perfect companions for the fungus, and retrieves it, bringing it into the cabin. The group spend a long time trying to convince Isaac that the fungus can talk and that they are not insane, but fail as Isaac is too afraid of the fungus. Iris decides to stay with Xena, but gives Allie a walkie talkie so they can stay in touch. She tells them that there are explorers at the top of the mountain that might be in trouble, and that they can use the ski lift to get there. Orla switched it on using the fuse box, and they headed up. At the top, they found a man and a woman being attacked by Shivertooths and Tremblewings. Allie tries to shoot at the Tremblewings, while Nim Nim is thrown up and manages to grab onto one. A fight ensues, where Nim Nim almost falls to her death once again, and briefly rides a Tremblewing. Eventually, all the creatures are defeated, and the man and woman introduce themselves as Thomas Redding and Ilia Shen. Ilia asks the party if they have seen her sister, Phoebe Shen. She believes that she is in the Security Department. They agree to accompany them to the department, heading to a blast door pointed out by Ilia. Before they leave, Thorn takes some of the Tremblewings' body parts to make Nim Nim a glider. Using Allie's DNA, they unlock the door and head into Security. The party head into a room full of computers, logging on and finding out that Eleanor Halliday's birthday is 03/04/2211. Orla finds a USB with a skull on it and plugs it into the computer, killing it. She takes the USB out and stomps on it, destroying it. They look at some of the other computers, finding profiles for some of the employees. Kasimir Holt's entry is very arrogant and self-absorbed, Mani's profile has been redacted, Jeffery is shown as high risk and under surveillance, and Lena Voss is shown as being innovative and is pushing the boundaries of science. They head to the next room, where a wall of monitors turns on, showing digital eyes which look at the party, and a voice says through the PA system "Well, well, isn't this exciting...".

Mani woke up in the party's base, with Quail watching over her. She asked Quail how long they have been at the facility, and learned that she last saw her mother 208 years ago. She asked Quail where she can find her when she's ready, and Quail told Mani simply to call for her and she will come. She met up with the rest of the group in the Security Department, where they encountered Kasimir Holt. Nim Nim asked him for the biokey, but Kasimir refused to hand it over and instead told them to come and get it. They briefly returned to retrieve the kill-switch USB, only to discover that it was broken beyond repair. The group tried to praise Kasimir who is watching through the cameras, and Mani distracted herself by winning a game of Minesweeper with ease. The group decided to split up into two teams: “Team Mallie” and “Team Not.” To determine who goes where, they did a ten-minute heads and tails decision, during which Allie flipped a coin that somehow landed in the ceiling. In the end, Team Not went left, while Team Mallie headed right. Allie and Mani discovered a panic room used for tracking the status of The Mycelium Vitae. There was a public service announcement stating that only certain individuals are allowed access, along with evacuation notices telling employees to find a safe place in the event of a Mycelium outbreak. Inside, they find several logs: one between Eleanor Halliday and a redacted individual, one between Kasimir and Dahlia, and another between Dahlia Yvore and Nyx Calderon. In the log between Kasimir and Dahlia, they discussed a new project Dahlia wants to start. Kasimir offered funding and guards, but Dahlia insisted she already has her own, mentioning a promising new recruit (Goldsmith). Another log reveals a heated argument between Dahlia and Calderon, where they viciously insulted each other, expressed hatred, and even wished each other dead, ultimately promising never to speak again. In the final log, Eleanor acknowledged someone’s concerns but insisted the project must continue despite the dangers, calling it a “necessary evil.” She warned them not to do anything they might regret and assured them she will handle the fallout. The redacted individual responded angrily, and Eleanor ends by telling them not to do anything stupid or ruin things for her. Meanwhile, Team Not found containment cells that were remotely controlled and used to hold both people and Hollowbeasts. They met Phoebe Shen, who could not remember her name or much about her past, though they eventually realised she is Ilia Shen’s sister. Orla went to retrieve Ilia while Nim Nim showed Thorn her will. However, Ilia and Thomas Redding were already gone, having been taken by Kasimir. The group then spoke to a large Leechback, which declared to Thorn that there is no escaping death. A fight broke out, but Thorn transformed into a velociraptor and brutally tore out Leechback’s throat. Afterward, they encountered a chair with a headset on it. Mani refused to use it, but is eventually convinced and put it on, beginning communication with Kasimir. Unbeknownst to her, Kasimir used the headset to take control of her body and forced her to attack the others with a knife. Nim Nim attempts to restrain her with entangling magic, but Mani breaks free and attacks Orla. Nim Nim tries to reach Mani telepathically but cannot break through Kasimir’s control. During this struggle, Mani continues speaking with Kasimir and learns that he is extremely arrogant, enjoys Minesweeper, and knows who released the Mycelium but refuses to reveal it. Eventually, Allie cuts the wires controlling Mani, freeing her. Mani regains consciousness with no memory of what just happened. Thorn reconnects the wires to allow Mani to go back under controlled conditions. The group leaves, while Mani stays behind to continue talking with Kasimir. Mani offers to give Kasimir access to CCTV in the basement in exchange for the biokey, but he refuses. Instead, he proposes a challenge: if Mani can beat him in a game or fight of her choosing, he will give her the biokey. Mani chooses Minesweeper and secretly hacks the game to ensure Kasimir loses. Kasimir does not realise she is cheating, but ultimately wins anyway, and tells her to come find him. Mani takes the helmet and rejoins the group, falsely claiming that she won. They then attempt to free Phoebe. Nim Nim communicates with the fungus connected to Phoebe and determines that it is not malicious. Orla attempts to break the glass but misses and falls flat on her face. Mani then reshapes the glass into a door, allowing Phoebe to exit. They follow Ilia and Thomas' scents to an elevator. Mani presses the buttons, and during the journey, Thorn expresses concern that Nim Nim does not fully understand the concept of death. The group discusses the possibility of staging an intervention for her. At one point, Allie smokes some extremely strong weed and coughs violently. They rest briefly in a safe room before continuing toward Kasimir Holt’s office. Inside, they see a man in a chamber alongside a Kasimir in a robot body. Kasimir reveals to Nim Nim that Mani did not actually win the game. He also speaks about his past relationship with a scientist named Dr. Lian Zhou. The group briefly considers whether Kasimir is capable of taking drugs before the situation escalates into a confrontation. Kasimir gives them a choice: leave or die. They chose to fight. During the battle, Allie and Nim Nim phase into a tank and begin to drown, not realising the tank was full of water, forcing Mani to create a door in the tank to free them. Orla and Thorn work together to grapple and drag Kasimir. Ultimately, Allie kills Kasimir’s real body, causing the robot to shut down. With Kasimir defeated, they take his biokey. Thorn reflected that they might actually be the villains and questions whether they are doing the right thing. Afterward, they reunite Ilia and Phoebe and leave them together. Mani takes part of Kasimir’s robot body, including one of its hands, and created poison darts for herself and Nim Nim.

The group returned to Kasimir Holt's office to snoop around. They found Lian Zhou's obituary, which mentioned that Kasimir accidentally killed him after a disagreement, and Thorn became concerned that everyone in the facility has gone insane. Orla finds a secret maintenance tunnel, which turns out to lead to the Genetics & Behaviour Department. The group enter into Systems Integrations, where they meet two clones of Lena Voss, Kendra and Lexi. They ask about Sybil, and find out that she is hateful because she is on the rejected list. The clones say they are each built for a purpose, and ask what the party's purposes are. They say they are scavengers, and the clones tell them that they can find materials further up. Lexi and Kendra leave in a hurry when Orla says she is a safety inspector, looking nervous. The group follow the wires down into a fuel mixing station. Nim Nim tries to take some fuel but it burns through her jar. They meet another clone, Izzie, who is mixing the fuel. Izzie clocks them as not actually working for Lena but says she doesn't care. She witnesses the group arguing and says she has never had a differing opinion to her other clones. With Orla's encouragement, she admit that she hates paint. When asking about the different fuels, Izzie says that there is not enough of each, so there are many different kinds, and admits that some of them are made of corpses. Nim Nim seems to really like Izzie and explains drugs to her. With their newfound friendship, Izzie reveals that the work the clones are doing is called Project Exodus - a rocket off planet that only some clones are allowed to board, the chosen ones. Izzie says she was not chosen, but that Gloria (another clone) can get Lena's biokey for them. Izzie tells the party in confidence that the rocket will kill everyone on the island if it takes off due to the toxic fuel. The group enter a large chamber with the rocket in the center. It is still being built, but is almost finished. They meet a clone named Victoria, and learn that Gloria's job is to launch the rocket. Orla fails to steal Victoria's clipboard, so they flee and head to talk to Gloria. Nim Nim gives Gloria drugs and she goes crazy, beginning tearing up the rocket, until she is shot by Lena. After the party confront her, Lena hands over her biokey and tells them to leave. Orla asks about Allie's origin, and Lena tells her that there might be some record of her in the archive room. She also asks about Jeffery, and finds out that he worked for Mani and brought her The Mycelium Vitae after she was banned from going near it. The group confront Lena about the rocket killing everyone, and learn that there is no way to make the rocket harmless. Lena tells them sharply again to leave her alone. The group consider how best to sabotage the rocket. Orla and Allie turn invisible and climb up to the rocket's cockpit with a pressure pod canister, which Allie sets fire to so it will explode. Meanwhile, Thorn and Nim Nim discuss death and dying more. Nim Nim seems distraught about dying and runs away, promising to Thorn that she will explain at the base. The party flee the scene as the rocket explodes, with Izzie in tow. Lena is furious and they escape as the ground trembles and shakes. They return to base to find Nim Nim, who has taken a lot of drugs. Nim Nim offers to take Izzie out to dinner but stipulates its as a friend. Izzie seems disappointed. The party decide to return to Eleanor Halliday's hospital room, as they now have the passcode required to unlock the computer. It has two emails from 210 years ago. The first describes the beginning of Project White Iris, taking place in a secure area under the facility. The project with the Mycelium Vitae is being postponed, contained and no one should touch it. Eleanor is stepping back from Project First Dawn so she can focus on White Iris. The project is to grow the very last White Iris, an extinct plant know for its regenerative properties, and being the only plant able to destroy the Mycelium Vitae. The second email is dated 10 years after the first, begging the heads to secure the entrance to the White Iris project so no one else can enter. The Mycelium has broken out of its containment, and the White Iris needs to be kept safe until they figure out how to destroy the Mycelium. All the entrances but the elevator has been sealed, and Eleanor Halliday has secluded herself down below so she can protect the White Iris. The phone in the room rings. The Mycelium is on the other end, introducing itself as Gaia. They say they want to create a better world. They are below the facility and seek the party's help to rid themselves of the White Iris. They do not wish to hurt anyone else, and have no ill will against the rest of the world, only the people in the facility. The Mycelium says that the party have everything they need, and that they will see them soon.

Mani woke up in the base covered in blood of several different people. Nim Nim spoke to Mani's mushrooms to find out what happened, and was told that she was asked to bring some things below the facility. The group followed a trail of blood that Mani left and found that it led into the elevator. Mani summons Quail and regains her past, remembering that she is the one who freed The Mycelium Vitae. As she remembers, Quail disintegrates, and Thorn realises that she has a package for Mani. Inside was the sixth and final biokey. Mani takes some drugs, while Nim Nim steals Orla's bag with the biokeys in it and runs off. The party catch up to Nim Nim, who admits that she is going to die if the white iris touches the Mycelium and that she is not ready. She doesn't want to die yet but she also doesn't want Mani to be stuck on the island forever. Mani told Nim Nim that she was fine with remaining on the island, and Nim Nim eventually handed the bag back. The group headed down the elevator, following a bloody trail which lead towards a large five-headed monster. It introduces itself as Gaia, and reveals that it is made of the five original scientists who founded the lab. It also comes out that Gaia is actually Nim Nim's boss. They ask to see the iris, and enter a smaller room off to the side. Allie touches it and is fine, and Nim Nim grabs it and thankfully, does not die. The group realise that Gaia lied to Nim Nim about the fact that she would die if the white iris touched the Mycelium, and initiated combat. Mani takes a petal from the iris and puts it in her dart. During the fight, Nim Nim tries to hug Gaia with the iris in hand, later becoming invisible thanks to Orla and attempting again. Mani leaves mid-fight to go back up the elevator, and locks up the Research & Development Department. Nim Nim is able to successfully hug Gaia while invisible, and Gaia disintegrates. They head to disable the turret that shot down their plane. Allie says goodbye to Dobby and Iris. Iris tells Allie that the white iris can destroy the heart in the Research & Development Department. Orla asks Cleanie how to activate the distress signal, and she and Nim Nim follow it to the Reception desk where it points out a big red button. They press it, and await rescue. Allie returns to get Dobby, riding him into the Research and Development Department, arriving just in time to see Mani teleport away with the heart. She attempts to take it to the Resurrection Department, but instead lands in the Desert Biodome. Mani injects the heart with the white iris dart, killing it, and to her surprise, curing her of her infection.