Anne and the kids sat around the table in the living room, a piece of parchment spread out with names and pictures to match them. Sprig squeezes a small white bug, spewing glue on a spot before they place the tiny portrait of their ancestor on top. Despite them making good progress, there were still plenty of frogs left in a small pile.
"Ah yes, your Great Great Aunt Varuvia. She's the one that added the pens to the farm so we could have livestock." Hop Pop said as he looked through his book. The old frog was supervising, giving his grandchildren a brief lesson on each ancestor to go on their Family Shrub. He knew the family needed a chance to relax after the work during the storm a day ago. What better way than to learn about your history?
The three sitting around the table didn't seem to think so as Polly holds up another portrait. "And who's this?"
"Oh, that's Great Aunt Gertrude! She was a masterful dirt tiller. I mean, how cool is that?" Looking up from the family history book, Hop Pop receives a collective "Meh."
"Well how about Second Cousin Alfred. He was the king!" The group grows hopeful until Hop Pop turns the book to show them the sad truth. "The king of single tiered irrigation systems! It's really helped the farm grow."
"Ugh, our ancestors were boring! How were they all farmers?" Polly shouts in frustration.
"Yeah!" Sprig agrees. "Where are all of the artists, the poets, the dreamers?"
"Look kids," Hop Pop puts down the book and grabs a piece of parchment. "The Family Shrub is meant to give you an appreciation of your past! The Plantar family has layers! Just gotta look for 'em."
Anne was willing to take that challenge, pointing at a frog on the shrub at random. "Oh yeah, what's the layers to her?"
"You mean Polliana? Well, brace yourselves, she wasn't any old farmer." Everyone leans in, waiting for the great reveal by the old frog. "She was a turnip farmer!"
Another collective groan from the frogs and human. Anne decides she's learned enough about the farmers and takes a seat on the couch. "You guys have fun with the shrub and long family farming history." Pulling the data-slate out of her coat, Anne activates a war game simulator with a few quick flicks of her finger. Something her parents used long ago to teach her battle strategies during her youth. "All my ancestors are thousands of light years away from this planet."
"Oh come on Anne, don't always need to be blood to be part of the family." Hop Pop responded as he squeezed the white bug. No glue came out, only a wispy puff of air. "Uh oh, out of glue!"
The children perked up. "Does that mean we can stop now?" Sprig asks.
"Can we do something fun?" Polly adds.
"No fun till the shrubs done." Making sure to pack his wallet, with copper this time, Hop Pop makes his way to the door. "Just gonna head down to the store real quick to get more glue. Don't go anywhere while I'm gone!" An intimidating finger is pointed at the kids before he slips out.
Polly is the first to speak up now that her grandfather is gone. "You're lucky you're an outsider Anne, our history is weak!"
"They didn't do anything exciting, adventurous, or fun!" Says Sprig while he turns to the human on the couch, still tapping away at her slate. "What about your family, Anne? Sure being a part of this super cool Rogue Trader business must be exciting!"
Finally looking up from her data-slate, Anne pauses the simulation before stuffing it back into her coat pocket. "Uh, yeah! It's pretty exciting business!" She wasn't sure how much information she should reveal. Sprig had gotten the most basic knowledge of how the Imperium and the galaxy at large worked. Sparing some of the details as to not put the frog child down a spiral of existential dread.
"Got any stories? C'mon girl, share!" Polly bounces on the table, filled with pent up young energy.
"Alright, alright." Anne wracks her brain for any snippets of her family history she could remember. Their line had been established some ten thousand years ago, so she had plenty to choose from! "Okay, I got one." The kids scoot closer, eager to listen.
Lord Captain Anurak Boonchuy stood at the command bridge of his ship, the Dauntless-class Light Cruiser named Guiding Light. The Rogue Trader and his crew had been asked by Admiral Karnavov to add his guns to the Corvera Crusade as it sweeps through the various star systems to reclaim lost worlds. The reason for said worlds being abandoned by the Imperium was beating against the void shields to his ship.
Orks, the foul greenskins swept in like a tide upon various worlds. Cutting off the rest of the star systems from the Imperium as a whole and leaving them to either rot or secede. Now their filthy kroozers dotted the void surrounding the nearby yellowish planet. Their guns were inaccurate, but the constant rate of fire was taking it's toll on the Guiding Light's shield.
"Master Helmsman, activate maneuvering thrusters. I want full starboard side facing that kroozer." Anurak ordered.
"Aye, my lord." As the helmsman starts to turn the ship, Anurak picks up a vox from his command console.
"Master Gunner, do you have the enemy ship in your sights?" He asks.
"Yes, milord. Macrocannons primed and ready." Responds a gravely voice from the vox.
"Good, turn it into scrap if you would." The order being carried out from the vibrations running through the Guiding Light. The series of building sized guns fire their payload across the void at the offending ork kroozer.
Some of the munitions never make it to the enemy hull, only crashing against the orks' shielding until it's eventually brought down. Fiery explosions rippling across the ramshackle spacecraft. The crude vessel breaking apart with added firepower from the two Sword-Class Frigates that made up Anurak's battle-group. Retainers of the family that wish to earn honor and glory at his side.
Battleships and cruisers of different shapes and sizes dueled with their greenskin opponents. Torpedoes, attack crafts, plasma, and lances lit up the starry backdrop. Tactical data scrolling through the cogitators, orders from the Admiral to best place the battle-groups on the theater of war.
"Torpedoes, incoming sir!" One of the bridge crew shouted.
"Evasive maneuvers!" Anurak orders quickly. The Master Helmsmen does his best to steer the ship out of the course of the torpedoes. "Brace for impact!" Point defense guns roared to life, pumping out flak to intercept and destroy as many of the enemy projectiles before they reached their destination. Despite their best efforts, two collided with the hull of the ship. They didn't explode in typical ork fashion, these were boarding torpedoes. Red lumens along with an warning siren starts to blare through the vessel in response to the xeno presence flooding into the ship.
"Alert the armsmen, repel the invaders!" The vox channels were buzzing with confirmations, enemy sightings, and active engagements. Not one to sit idle with danger so close, Anurak draws his plasma pistol and straps a rebreather onto his face. "Shipmaster, you have the deck." He moves to the door, flanked by two armsmen carrying shotguns.
"I need to clean out the filth."
"They say he fought through twenty orks himself that day! The crew had to scour the ship for hours to make sure there wasn't a spec of green left on it." The look of pride on Anne's face couldn't compare to the slack jawed looks she received from the frog children.
"Aw yeah, blowing up stuff in space. I love it!" Polly shouts.
"See, that's the kind of excitement we need in our family. Just look how boring this place is!" To prove his point, Sprig jump onto the fireplace. Mounted above it was a portrait of two very serious looking farm frogs. "Even this painting is making me feel depressed." He leans on it with his arm, revealing a hidden pressure plate that opens up. A yawning entrance underground forms out of the fireplace, knocking a surprised Sprig off in the process.
"Sprig, you broke the house!" Polly chastises him, but when the shifting stones settle all three of them peek down into the darkness. Wind blowing through the tunnel in a foreboding fashion.
Anne was the first to speak up after staring into the abyss. "This seems very dangerous, you guys. Best if we stay up here." It was too late for her to notice that the two children were already running down the stone steps.
"Where's your sense of adventure, Anne?" Yelled Sprig, a lantern filled with fireflies already in his hand.
"Get back here you two!" When Anne takes a step into the tunnel, the stones shift and reseal the entrance. "Did we just get locked in here?" Sprig and Anne attempt to reopen the way with their pounding fists, but it wouldn't budge.
Polly just rolls her eyes at them both. "Come on you babies, lets just find another exit through here. If there's a breeze, there has to be a way out."
"Good point." Sprig leads the way, lantern in hand. "Won't hurt to look around either!"
The cold stone stairs seemed like they would go on forever into the earth. At the bottom, a wide open room covered in papers, books, glass jars, and other research equipment. The three let out noises of interest and wonder as they looked around.
"Who knew this was all under our house! Why do you think it was hidden?" Polly asks while looking over various beakers and test tubes. Some still filled with a viscous fluid.
"To keep is a secret, of course. I mean, who wouldn't want to steal this stuff?" Responds Sprig, looking through some discarded research notes and papers on the wall.
Anne picks up one of the many jars on a shelf. Curious to the turnip that was sealed inside until it turned over. Revealing a misshapen face before she quickly returns it. "I don't think anyone would want to steal this stuff. Well, maybe someone from the Mechanicus." Whatever was going on in this lab was definitely not natural and some tech-priests strive to push limits of logic and reason.
"Check it out!" Sprig called, holding up a series of papers for the rest to see. "It says here this place belonged to Great Uncle Skip Plantar. He was a farmer and a brilliant scientist! He experimented with all kinds of stuff. I wanna know more!" Sprig tosses the papers into the air and spots a chain lever. "Like, what does this do?"
"Sprig, wait!" Before Anne could stop Sprig, he pulls the lever down. An iron gate, unnoticed in the dark, slowly raises upward. Within the shadows a low, inhuman growl heralds the approach of one of Skip's experiments. A white pumpkin the size of a snail and walking on four leg approaches the gathered frogs and human. The most disturbing feature on the monster was it's wrinkly face.
"Maybe it's friendly?" Sprig whispers, frozen in fear at the sight of the pumpkin monster. His theory proven wrong when it roars, sending slime and pumpkin seeds in various directions.
"Nope!" Polly shouts as she's snatched up by Anne, bolting behind a table with Sprig as the monster thrashes about.
Once safe, Anne reaches for her sword, prepared to carve the mutant vegetable up. Air is the only thing she feels before looking down at her hips. "Emperor's balls, I left my weapons back in my room!" The plan for today was to relax and make some shrub with her hosts. Not fight off some abomination under their house!
"I say we kill it, it's too horrible to live in the outside world!" Declares Polly, picking up a nearby vial and throwing it from their cover. The glass breaking on the waxy hide of the pumpkin makes it charge at their location. "Uh oh."
Polly is quickly pulled away by Anne, tucking the pollywog under her arm before leaping out of the way. Watching as the monster crashes into the table straight into the wall. Anne fears Sprig had been crushed until she hears his voice from the other side of the pumpkin.
"Hold on, I have a plan!" Just then, the monster stands back to charge at Sprig, who was slowly walking up to it.
"Stop!" "You'll be crushed!" The two warned him, but were taken back when Sprig hugs the monster.
"Sshh, there there you beautiful disgusting thing." The young frog boy nuzzled against the abomination. It sighs, relaxing at the show of affection it was receiving from Sprig. Slowly he lead it back to the opened gate it came out of. "You horrible, horrible, sweet boy. Forgive me." He leaps back, turning to Polly and Anne. "Now!"
Figuring out his plan, all three of them throw their bodies against the pumpkin monster. With a shrill cry, it's launched back into it's lair. Anne quickly shutting the gate as it whimpers at the betrayal.
"Yeah, I don't know what that was." Polly says. Anne is silent as she tries to process everything that just happened.
"Love is the cruelest weapon." Sprig responds with a cold nod.
"Agreed, lets just get out of here before something else happens." Anne grabs their lantern, undamaged from their encounter, but the floor starts to crumble. The dirt and stone breaking away and swallowing up the group.
The fall isn't too far down, grunts of pain as all three are dropped into another room. The lamps on the walls already lit, revealing the vast collection of weapons and armor mounted on them. "Woah, look at this!" Polly points at a large portrait of a gruff warrior frog. "It's Polliana from Hop Pop's shrub! Guess she wasn't just a turnip farmer after all, she was also a seasoned soldier!"
While Polly attempts to pull the weapons off the walls, Sprig finds a book in a nearby pile. "Hey I found her journal!" Him and Anne flip through the various pages. "The Bogwater Wars of '48. The Western Toad invasion of '53. She was in a lot of battles!"
"She was a terror on the battlefield, like me!" Polly shouts as she swings a spiked flail in circles despite her tiny size.
"Guess you can never judge a tome by it's cover." Says Anne. "But we need to find an exit before we die down here."
"But I'm learning so much!" Sprig spies another lever, his curiosity already taking over. "Like, what does this do?" Before he could pull the mysterious lever, Anne pins him to the ground under her elbow.
"Oh no you don't. You need to stop doing that!"
"Levers are for pulling, Anne!"
The sound of the chain being pulled draws their attention to Polly hanging off the handle. "Wait, were we not doing this?" The room comes to life. Suits of frog shaped armor start to swing their halberds in a time fashion. Blades passing through the hall while arrows shot out of the walls. "Cool! What's all this?"
Anne frees Sprig from her hold before grabbing the journal. Scanning through the pages as fast as she can, ducking under a few stray arrows. "It says this is her training simulator. The only way to turn it off is at the end!" She spies the switch sitting at the end of the various traps and moving armor. "Okay, if we take this really slow."
Anne and Sprig barely take a step before Polly rushes past them with a battle cry. Dumbfounded as Polly leaps and dodges the swinging blades and rotating saws coming out of the floor. The mace in her hand used to bash aside any of the armored frogs that got in her way. Showing off why she's the fiercest Plantar in the family. Just as Anne thinks the pollywog was going to be crushed by a spiked pillar, she slides out of the way in time. Knocking the legs off another suit and savagely beating it flat into the ground. The Rogue Trader growing a newfound respect and fear for Polly as she flips the switch with a swing. "Can we do it again?" She asks.
"No." The answer is quick and decisive, Anne picking up Polly as the group leave through the door into another long dark tunnel. Their firefly lamp being the only thing helping them see. Leading them to another dimly lit room claimed by a Plantar family member.
"Wow, can you believe it? Another mysterious hidden chamber." Polly says flatly as the others look about the room in awe. It was filled with various wooden puzzles and boxes of board games native to Amphibia. Other various antiques ranging from the strange to novelty items none could find in the valley.
Picking up another journal, Anne flips through the pages to solve the mystery of who owns it all. "Huh, Emma the Newt?" Sprig and Polly hang off her shoulders as she continues to read the newt's past. "Honorary Plantar. She traveled around the entirety of Amphibia. Collecting games and curios before settling here with the Plantars. Guess Hop Pop was right."
"Hey, she's kinda like you! You got all this cool stuff with you, and now you live in our basement." States Polly.
"Yeah, who knows how many times Emma saved the family from rampaging predators." Sprig adds.
"Thanks for accepting me, guys." Anne pulls them into a hug.
"Of course, you're practically family already."
Polly cuts the feel good moment short. "Alright, now lets figure out where this exit is!" Splitting up, all thee searched through the exit past the high towers of stacked games.
In his search Sprig comes across a large wide painting. The dust covering it in many layers, but the colored oil easily stood out through the age. A tall golden figure, wielding a flaming sword, ushers an army of armored soldiers. Their goal: The very stars that filled the night sky. Sprig rubs at his chin in thought, it seemed so familiar to him, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. "Hm, I'll come back to this."
"Found it!" Anne's voice carries through the chamber. In front of them was another sealed off doorway. Some of the bricks covered in colored tiles placed in random spots. "Guess Emma really liked puzzles. Even the exit is one." Grabbing one of the tiles, Anne is able to move it across the bricks.
"Could just break it." The deadly flail already in Polly's grip. With a mighty swing, the spiked ball bounces off the stonework. Not even a scuff left in it's wake. "Whelp, we're gonna die in here."
"Wait," Sprig, pointing at the bottom. "I think they all fit down there."
Anne only shrugs, it was worth a shot after all. She arranged the tiles on the wall until they all fit neatly at the bottom in a row. "Huh, that was easy." A loud noise draws everyone's attention upward, the ceiling had started to drop on top of them! "That's not good!"
"Look!" Sprig points to the new tiles falling from above. "You have to keep going! Woah!" He manages to dodge a pile of falling games from crushing him.
"Alright Anne, you got this." Her hands move as quick as she can, piling each new piece into the correct space. The shapes of the tiles changing from jagged to long T's. The ceiling approaching ever closer as quickly as the tiles fell into place. Sprig held onto Polly as he dodged and weaved between the falling piles of games. The final long piece fell and Anne hurried it to the last open spot to the left. Filling up every single brick, they folded away to reveal the exit. Just in time, Anne could feel the stone press against her hair. "Let's go!"
Jumping through, they land in a pile just as the weight of the ceiling crushes everything in Emma's room. Sprig nearly losing his hat before he grabs it from under the rock. All breathing a collective sigh of relief now they were out of danger. "As interesting as the hidden history of your family is, I'd like to leave now." Anne speaks up, still trying to catch her breath.
"Who knew we had such deranged ancestors?" Adds Sprig.
"Guess they were pretty cool after all. Can we please find a way out of here now? This has been enough near death experiences for one day." An exhausted Polly says.
"I think I know how." Sprig's eyes narrow, spying another lever close enough for him to grab.
"Yeah, no." Polly and Anne drag Sprig away from his fixation with levers and continue down the tunnels. Making sure to stay clear of anymore chambers or lairs that were owned by the secret eccentric Plantar family. All of the twists and turn lead them to a wooden panel in the wall. "Come on, there has to be a door around here somewhere. Maybe this opens up?" Anne presses herself against the wood. Polly doing her best to help brute force their way through. Sprig on the other hand finds another lever. Seeing his sister and friend distracted, he gives it a quick pull. The wood rotates, sweeping them up and spitting them back out into the living room. Their exit being the grandfather clock.
Finally breathing fresh air, none of them notice Hop Pop had returned home. Oddly covered in glue. "You okay kids? Coming out of the walls isn't natural."
"Hop Pop! You wouldn't believe what we found." Anne shouts while she stands back up. "The fire place opened up and lead under the house."
"There were hidden rooms filled with family heirlooms and battle gear!" Polly hops about in excitement.
"And crazy science experiments, levers, and falling puzzles! Our family is amazing!" Sprigs arms flailing about with the same energy as Polly.
"Secret rooms, family heirlooms, all under the house? Now why didn't I find this out before." Hop Pop takes a moment to think before resuming. "But most importantly, once again, I was right! This family has all sorts of layers!"
"Our ancestors were the greatest warrior, scientist, farmers ever!" Polly hops back to the unfinished shrub. Picking up one of the pencils to fill out the remaining names and add the new information they discovered.
"Everyone has to know!" Sprig helping out his sister on the shrub, leaving Anne to examine Hop Pop.
"Why are you covered in glue?" Anne just noticed the orange frog had specs of the sticky yellowish goo on various parts of his body.
"Just a, uh, little mishap at the store. Don't worry about me." He waves off her concern, a smile growing on his face. "I wanna see these rooms too! Lemme at 'em!"
The concern on Anne's face only grows. "You sure about that, Hop Pop? The place is filled with all sorts of traps. I'm surprised we made it out alive." The glue covering the old frog wasn't aiding his case.
"There was a pumpkin monster too! I gained it's trust, then stabbed it in the back." Sprig adds, trying to help dissuade his grandfather.
Polly jots down one last sentence before commenting as well. "Yeah, not sure if you can handle it all Hop Pop."
Again Hop Pop waves off all of their arguments. "Psh, you have no idea what I can and can't handle! The trip to the glue store has only ignited my blood for more adventure! What say you Loggle, up for another round?" All three were confused until Hop Pop made his way to the fire place, the portal to the underground opening up on it's own as if to beckon them to enter. On his back was the axolotl that ran the woodsmith shop. Firmly stuck in place with dried super glue.
"Absolutely...Not!" He shouts, being dragged into the family tunnels on the back of a charging Hop Pop.
"Do you think we should help them?" Asks Anne, the cries of Hop Pop and Loggle echoing out along with a familiar roar.
"Yeah, we better." Polly pulls out her new flail, swinging it about in the air. "I need to get some practice with this baby anyway!"
"Oh, lets adopt the pumpkin monster!" Sprig shouts, all three entering the tunnels to help out.