Welcome to the Wasteland

[Kislath]

OOC thread link:
http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=8663327#post8663327


*zzztt crackle..*"... hey kids, it's your old pal , Threeee Dog, here with a little Cole Porter for your listening pleasure... For the 1580th time! ARRggh! I can't stand it anymore. Children, I KNOW that there have to be some more old 78's out there in some dark basement in the wasteland. If you wanna make a lot of caps, FIND ME SOME! That's right; if you bring me some new records to play, I will pay you well in the interest of my listener's happiness, and my own SANITY! *snif* Oh, it would be so wonderful! Good luck! And now, on with the show.."

Well, the signal for WGNR radio suddenly got a lot stronger a couple of days ago, which is good, but you gotta admit, it didn't take long to notice that Three Dog only seems to have a couple of dozen records in his collection at most. Running around the ruins in search of more seems a goofy notion, but making a lot of caps at it sure doesn't. Who knows.. maybe a litle fame can accompany that fortune. Heck, maybe this kid from Vault 101 could use a little help out there with fixing everything. At any rate, it's something to do, and it sure beats just sitting around bored, right?

Ryan & the Robot are at Megaton, Sam & the postman are at Rivet City, and I can only assume that Leonard the and Metahuman are wandering the wasteland someplace.
Where, exactly? I'm guessing someplace near Megaton for simplicity's sake.
By the way, what KIND of robot is the robot? Robobrain, Protectron, generic Fallout 1&2 style robot?
Whoops, forgot Cindy. Sorry. Let's put her In Springvale. Mickey the Merchant is a popular mod for Springvale, so she can be trying to fence a load of stuff she acquired from the nearby school.
Lynch is at home, where he is about to get some unannounced visitors

The folks at Rivet City have had a bit of excitement lately. Most folks missed it, but that Kid from the vault who has been mentioned on the radio so much lately was just here for a visit. In other news, that Angela Staley girl from the restaurant managed to get Diego, the wannabe priest, to break his oath of celibacy, and they're going to be married! Rumor has it that the vault kid had something to do with that, but who can say? These days people are giving him credit for just about everything imaginable. It's a bit annoying in some ways, but on the other hand, it's nice to have a hero running around, doing heroic deeds, if only to give folks a juicy new topic of discussion. Life plods along, though, and the outbox is full of mail to be delivered, and supermutants are still lurking just out of range to stop them before leaving the safety of the ship.
.................................................. ............................

"AIIEEE!!! A MUTIE!!! RUNNN!!!!!"
*sigh* Every day, it's always the same. A metahuman can't take a nice stroll anywhere without getting shot at by some idiot wastelanders. At least these morons have the decency to simply run for their lives instead of opening fire.
It's kind of fun to be feared, and certainly safer than the opposite alternative, but it makes for a lonely existence.
.................................................. ...........................

"Welcome to Megaton, pardner, friendliest town around!" says the protectron at the front gate of Megaton. One look upward at the guy with the sniper rifle, however, would seem to contradict the robot's hospitality.
Of course, Ryan and his robotic friend are no strangers to Megaton, so hearing Deputy Weld's same insipid greeting every day gets pretty old. Maybe he could be reprogrammed with something new, especially now that world is spreading everywhere that the bomb has finally been defused for good. Who knows.. maybe more people will decide to move here now that it's so much safer. Gotta hand it to that kid from the vault for defusing it, but boy, are those crazies from the Church ever mad!
.................................................. ...........................

"Well, Durn..where did he go? He was just right here."
Leonard got sloppy, but then he at least got lucky. Sort of. The slavers just knew they had him pinned down in a rocky outcropping, but they didn't see the big molerat hole behind a bush that leonard saw. Now they are wondering where their quarry went, and Leonard might have a problem if Beavis and Butthead here don't give up and go away soon. Man, oh man, Leonard should have KNOWN that this latest job was a setup... who the heck hires a security consultant to evaluate a three-sided tin shack in the middle of nowhere, anyway?
.................................................. .............................

"What am I supposed to do with all this crap? Go find me something else. The whole idea is that I'm supposed to reSELL the things I buy, so I have to buy stuff that people actually want. Now beat it!"
With that, Mickey tossed Cindy out of his shop, leaving her stuck, alone, in the middle of Springvale with an amazing variety of items which are apparently worthless. *sigh* The pickings have sure been slim lately.
.................................................. ...................................

"Hey, zombie, you're a doctor, right? Good. Patch up my buddy here, OR ELSE!"
Lynch was accustomed to simple rudeness from people, but these Talon Company jerkwads just took the take. It was bad enough that they had to go and set up a major camp here in the Arlington district, but they at least kept largely to themselves. Now, though, it seems they had a run-in with some random nobody guy who apparently kicked their butts, and kicked them good. Would it be too much to ask that they would at least pay for treatment?
Probably.

[Volthawk]

EWW-001, a security and manufacturer unit from the old energy weapons factory, listened to the feed from his radio unit.

MESSAGE BREAKDOWN SYSTEM INITIATED
....
....
MISSION RECOGNISED
OBJECTIVE: FIND '78s', AKA 'RECORDS'
SEARCHING MEMORY FILES
...
...
MEMORY FILE FOUND
RECORD: THIN DISK USED TO PLAY 'MUSIC'. '78' IS REFERENCE TO SIZE OF RECORD.
SEARCHING MEMORY FILES
...
...
MEMORY FILE FOUND
MUSIC: SOUNDS PLAYED IN RHYTHM, USED WITH A VARIETY OF INSTRUMENTS.
CONTINUE MISSION BREAKDOWN
...
...
REWARD: MONEY
NEED FOR REWARD: REPLACE WEAPON. REPLACE WEAPON.
FINAL EVALUATION: MISSION ACCEPTED


The machine speaks.

"Adam Ryan. Do you hear the message? I think we should accept the job. I need a replacement weapon."

It looks at it's hands, currently covered with a glove covered by razor blades, and runs a scan of it's weapon situation.

RUNNING ARMAMENT SCAN
...
...
H&K 31415 LASER CARBINE STATUS: LOST
CAUSE OF STATUS: STOLEN
CAUSE EVENT: DISABLED BY EMP WEAPONRY
STATUS EVALUATION: WEAPON PROBABLE TO BE LOST NOW. WEAPON VALUE HIGH.
STATUS REACTION: TEMPORARILY REPLACE WITH OTHER WEAPONRY UNIT IS MOST SKILLED WITH. REPLACEMENT WEAPON TYPE: MELEE. REPLACEMENT WEAPON DESIGNATION: 'LACERATORS'
SEARCHING MEMORY FILES
...
...
MEMORY FILE FOUND
LACERATORS: CREATED BY 'RAIDERS' AND 'TRIBALS', LACERATORS ARE 'GLOVES' COVERED IN 'RAZOR BLADES', ADEPT AT SLICING FLESH.
RUNNING NEW STATUS EVALUATION
...
...
NEW STATUS: ADEQUATE

[Reynard]

Sighting down the barrel of his rifle, 'Sane' Sam King tried to focus on the Super Mutants wondering around near the monument, but they were well out of range of his piddly .22 peashooter.

He was standing on the flight deck of Rivet city, the radio warbling away in the corner. The offer of caps for some old records sound good to his mercenary ears, and he knew someone who might know where some might be, but he didn't feel like going out alone with a gun best suited for rabbits, who didn't even exist anymore.

It was that damn kid. Since he'd come through like a dose of salts armed with a combat shotgun, Sam had been hankering for the old life, of wondering around lost, alone, tired, and hungry. Well, not so much that, but getting paid for doing so made it worth it.

Slinging his gun over his shoulder, Sam went looking for Harkness. Maybe the Chief of Security had a job for an old merc. He'd also been acting strange since that Vault Kid had shown up, but maybe he wanted to get out there as well.

[Lost Demiurge]

With a sigh, Karen counts her caps again, then looks at the too-empty mailbag. Business is slower than she'd like... Not much of chance of getting a replacement mule. Definitely not in Rivet City even if she had the cash. Still...

She reaches down and scratches the dogs ears, as she puts down an ancient tin of Pirate brand dogfood in front of him. "Beef and Ched ARR, boy. Eat on up! Gonna need your strength for the run outta here. Next stop... Megaton, I think. But y'know, Three Dog could use some new tunes. And getting out of Dee Cee is always dicey... Yeah, we could search some ruins as we go. Probably have to take an indirect route anyway."

She flips the POSTAL SERVICE HERE sign down, and starts picking up her things. The ammo pouch is belted around her waist, the mail bag over her shoulder, and the Garand rifle held loosely, pointing down.

"Wonder if anyone else is getting ready to head out... Odds of escape are always better with a group..."

[Chambers]

Leonard

Great job Leonard, just great. Take a shady job, one that breaks your first rule, and what happens? You let some bobble-headed slavers double-cross you. Stupid! The rules are there for a reason. Never go out on a job alone. Leonard thinks to himself as he crouches down as low as he can get in the rocks.

What would Grognark do in a situation like this? He'd probably stop hiding like a coward and jump out from these rocks, his mighty thews swinging an axe or sword or something and chop off their heads. Leonard looks down at the knife in his hand. And what do you have? Just a knife and some scrawny arms. Note to self: Develop thews.

He picks up a small rock in his other hand and glances towards the molerat hole. Maybe I can get Mr. Molerat to come out and enjoy a nice snack of fresh Slaver meat. Checking to make sure the slavers aren't looking his way, he chucks the rock into the molerat hole.

OOC
I just realized I'm not sure how we roll in this system. I gave a quick look through the pdf but didn't find a clear answer. Anyone?

[RandomEncounter]

"Ahhh, jack-ass!"
Cindy never appreciates being treated that way, maybe he should get that stuff that people want that he's bragging about. But that would have to wait, for now she needed a place to stay for the night, after a day of scavenging she wasn't in the mood for a midnight heist. She could head to megaton but she couldn't afford a room and would mean having to deal with it would mean having having to go from one jerk to another with Moriority any ways, but it still seemed like the best idea she could off the stuff she found and she might get a chance to sleep in the common house. She took her duffle bag and headed towards the settlement.

[Kislath]

Leonard's thrown rock skitters down the hole, and a few seconds later, he can hear a strange, squishy, thump-thump-thumping noise, getting louder and faster. It seems that the resident of this hole doesn't live alone, and in a few seconds a whole pack of molerats will be pouring out of the den to investigate the source of their irritation. Alas, Leonard, hiding in that hole, is right between the molerats and their exit. This is going to take some finesse, to put it mildly.

The rolls in this game are simple enough. All you have to do is roll below the stat which applies to the action taken, a similar basic game mechanic shared by most games, just not in d20 form.
Action points are different. Everything you do takes so much time or effort to do, represented by the action point cost, and the action points that you have thusly determine just how much you can do each turn. The GM may have to determine the AP cost of certain actions, but in most cases, trying to do just one thing at a time will always work.
In this case, Leonard must wait until the last possible second, then jump out of the hole, get behind it, and hide again not only from the rats, but from the slavers. If successful, the rats will swarm out, see the slavers first, and attack them, giving Leonard a chance to either duck back into the hole, join in the attack, or make a run for it. This will be a roll against his agility score. Roll 1d10 and try to roll a number below or equal to his agility score. His agility is 7, so a roll of 7 or less lets him pull off most of this. To hide once out of the hole, he would then make a roll against his sneak score. His sneak is 46, so roll 1d100 and try to get 46 or less. If successful on both rolls, this should work perfectly. If not, well.. things can get complicated. Also, don't forget the effect of possible modifiers which can make any rolls easier or harder. Lots of things can provide modifiers, such as especially good ( or lousy ) equipment, darkness, or sometimes even careful preplanning.

.................................................. ........................

At the top of the conning tower, Sane Sam finds himself in the security office. Assistant Chief Danvers is in charge at the moment; Harkness is off-duty. Danvers is never in what one might call a good mood, but at the moment she seems considerably more irritated than usual. It's plain enough that Sam's entrance is not the primary cause of it, but it isn't helping.
Hunh? Oh..Sam, right? Is there something I can do for you?
.................................................. .............................

As Cindy approaches the front gate of Megaton, she notices that one of those trading caravans is set up in the usual place, and to her delight, it just so happens to be Crazy Wolfgang. Maybe HE will be able to appreciate the value of all this fine junk she's carrying.
Hey! Check it out; there's also a big robot standing nearby, and it's not like any of the types one normally sees around the Capital Wasteland. Cindy can't help but wonder if it's worth a lot of caps...hmmm.. what's with the guy walking with it? The owner, maybe?

[Reynard]

"Well, I was wonderin' if there was any odd jobs you needed doing. Deliveries to Megaton, or some scavenging maybe."

[Chambers]

Leonard


Oh my. Didn't realize I was in the molerat hole. Heh. This should be interesting.


rumble rumble rumble rumble...

Leonard stares down the hole in disbelief. Great. The one molerat hole I find seems to have the whole family clan here for a reunion. He grabs the rope out of his pack and edges closer to the mouth of the hole. If I can give the rattys a distraction coming out of the hole, they won't be so interested in finding me. Wrapping one end of the rope around the base of a bush, he stretches the rope across the entrance of the hole, laying the rope in shadow and tying the other end to a root sticking up out of the ground.

There. About an inch above the dirt should do it. He glances back. Damn. Don't have time to make it better - at least it's in the dark. Okay Leonard - when the flood of rattys come washing out, you better be up and out and on the other side of this hole.


Trap Roll (unless you want to disregard this and roll secretly) [roll0]
Agility Roll [roll1]
Sneak Roll [roll2]

[Tricycle_Knight]

Lynch

Lynch rouses himself from his bed and looks out on the sorry mercenaries who are currently stepping on the plastic garden he planted outside to give his home at least a dash of color. Wiping the sleep from his eyes, he heads downstairs to his artificial law and opens the door, hands raised. Seeing the men, he responds with a grunt and motions them casually inside.

"Yer lucky I'm feelin' generous today, boyo. Come on, bring 'im inside before the muties come outta the woodwork and finish the job, eh? Just try not to get blood all over the carpet..."

Inside, Lynch walks over to his dining room table, where he gingerly removes the place settings he generally kept prepared to make his home seem inviting, at least to himself. He goes through a drawer and begins pulling out various cutlery, including several gleaming knives and forks. He fetches bottle of whiskey from a cabinet and pours a shot.

"Alright, lads...who's first?"

[Lost Demiurge]

Once up on deck, Karen shades her eyes and looks out into the city.

Hey, those are new skulls up on the stakes. The super-mutants are definitely restless... Bad idea to go out there alone.

She paces back and forth on the carrier's deck, passing below the tower Sam's standing in several times... Now who the heck would be willing to back me up? Especially with a meandering path like I'm planning to take...

[Kislath]

Leonard:
Why did you set a trap for the rats? Your rolls would have made the simpler plan work perfectly. Now the rats, instead of dashing out of the hole and running straight for the slavers, will trip up on the rope, roll around, and probably see you first instead of them.

As the molerats lunge for the entrance to their burrow, Leonard deftly hurls himself from the hole and behind it in one smooth motion. As the rats pour out of the hole, they trip on the rope trap and stumble, rolling around a bit and piling atop each other. There are seven of them, and it won't take very long at all for them to recover their wits and footing.
.................................................. ............................

"Well, Sam, I'll give you this much; your timing is perfect. I've got a bit of a situation here that needs quick resolution. The mutants down the street are getting a bit too uppity for everyone's comfort, and now the trade caravans say they won't service Rivet City until they're taken care of. We can't even get the mail in or out, and I guess we can't count on that Vault Kid for everything. I have to send some men down there to deal with those mutants. Wanna join the party?"
.................................................. ...........................

"Thanks, Doc. Just patch up Petey here; he's shot up real bad." The other two Talons are at least able to walk and talk, but "Petey" was carried in, unconscious.

[Reynard]

"Sound's great. I've only got this piece of crap rifle, sadly. It's better suited to mole rats than Muties. any chance you can loan me something better for this job? I'll even take a better weapon in payment, rather than cash."

[Chambers]

Leonard
It seemed like a good idea at the time? Wasn't sure where the slavers were, so I figured tripping the rats would create noise and draw the slavers to the hole - and the rats.

Success! Rattys are out of the hole, messed up and angry. Part one complete. Leonard scrambles among the big rocks, looking for something substantial to hide behind. Now time for part two: slaver buffet, quickly followed by part three, Leonard getting the hell out of here!

[RandomEncounter]

Wolfgang! Thank god your here. In need to get rid of some stuff I got form the old school. Some old books, toys, and kitchen supplies, you interested.

[Tricycle_Knight]

Lynch

"Alright, alright, just put 'im up on the table there. Glad he's already out..."

Lynch downs the whiskey in a single go, and pulls out his scalpel from a small pouch on his sleeve. It's the only real equipment the ghoul as access to that could even remotely be considerable medical. Using the various utensils from the drawer in ways that would make Hippocrates spin in his grave, Lynch sets about the bloody work of patching up the mercenary.

Rolling a Doctor check (with bonus from scalpel); target is 51:
[roll0]

[Kislath]

Leonard:
Actually, that's not a bad idea.
It is a simple thing for Leonard to hunker down behind a handy rock, and by the time the slavers look up to check out the commotion, all they see is a big pile of angry rats.
.................................................. ...........................

"Well, you're in luck; we have plenty of weapons here in the armory. Grab an AK and a few clips of ammo, and take a couple of grenades, too, just in case. You and Wesson and... McCord all stick together, play it safe, and get going!" McCord & Wesson saunter up, their expressions a mixture of beaming anticipation and sheer terror. "Hi. I don't remember drawing any straws, but it looks like we got the short ones, eh?" says McCord.
.................................................. ...........................

A few minutes later, the intrepid Trio exits from the conning tower out onto the flight deck, obviously loaded for bear. As they look down and survey the situation, Karen Postal can see that they seem to be assessing the mutant situation down the street from this high vantage point.
.................................................. .............................

Well hello, good sir or madam! As it happens, I'm always in the market for some good junk. Let's have a look at your fine offerings, hmm?"
Wolfgang looks over the selection, and offers 157 caps for it. ( Cindy's barter skill is considerably lower than Wolfgang's, so she won't likely get a better deal. Still, not too bad for stuff like moldy books, pencils, tin cans, packs of gum, ashtrays, chalk, pots, and the like. )

"And how about you fine..sirs? How can I serve you today? I have to say I don't get many robots as customers, but I'm sure I have a little something for everyone in my little emporium."
.................................................. .............................

In no time flat Lynch has the Talon merc named Petey stabilized and on the road to recovery.
"Thanks, Doc, you're the best!" says the guy apparently in charge. "Now we gotta call this in and get some reenforcements so we can hunt down the little bastid who did this."
.................................................. .................................

As Bear Paw wanders along, he notices something in the distance. There are a couple of his own kind up ahead, and they appear to not only be intently focused on something, they seem to be quietly sneaking up on the focus of their attention. A little bit of squinting reveals that they are stalking two well-armed humans who themselves seem to be stalking something else.

[Volthawk]

"Well that depends. What are you offering?"

[Lost Demiurge]

Karen angles over to the group heading down to deck, grinning and waving. "Hey! It's looking pretty greeny brown out there today. From the arsenal on your backs, I'd guess you're gonna do something about it? I'd REALLY appreciate that... Got a route to run and tunes to find, and Super Muties aren't much help in that area..."

[Reynard]

.................................................. ...........................

"Well, you're in luck; we have plenty of weapons here in the armory. Grab an AK and a few clips of ammo, and take a couple of grenades, too, just in case. You and Wesson and... McCord all stick together, play it safe, and get going!" McCord & Wesson saunter up, their expressions a mixture of beaming anticipation and sheer terror. "Hi. I don't remember drawing any straws, but it looks like we got the short ones, eh?" says McCord.
.................................................. ...........................

"Yeah, I know what you guys mean. Still, automatic weapons make everything easier, and these guys have got to move."

After taking his choice from the armory, Sam loads the gun, and checks that the safety is set to 'on'.

"Just us three, eh boys?" He asks, trying to make polite conversation as they walk down to rivet city's fancy bridge.


Karen angles over to the group heading down to deck, grinning and waving. "Hey! It's looking pretty greeny brown out there today. From the arsenal on your backs, I'd guess you're gonna do something about it? I'd REALLY appreciate that... Got a route to run and tunes to find, and Super Muties aren't much help in that area..."

"Hey, Karen. Can't find another route? I don't mind you joining us, another gun is always nice."

OoCSo, an AK, a box of ammo, and a couple (3?) grenades, right?

[Tricycle_Knight]

Lynch

Lynch finishes stitching up Petey, and dips the cutlery in a sanitizing solution after wiping of the majority of the blood first, and places them back in the drawer. The doctor pours himself another shot of whiskey and sits down in a chair in the kitchen.

"Well, 'Petey' isn't goin' anywhere. I don't exactly have the best tools here, in case you didn't notice, and those stitches could pop open with nary a little molestation, then I'd likely find myself enjoyin' your all's company again....

I suppose gettin' paid is outta the question, so I'll be happy enough if you lads don't shoot me in the head once you're all said and done."

[Lost Demiurge]

"Hey, Karen. Can't find another route? I don't mind you joining us, another gun is always nice."



"Yeah, sure! I'm a little low on ammo, but maybe they'll have some I can scavenge after we thin them a bit."

[Reynard]

"Yeah, sure! I'm a little low on ammo, but maybe they'll have some I can scavenge after we thin them a bit."

"That's the spirit. But don't get too close, or they'll tear your face off and feed it to you. So, officers, ready?" Asks Sam as he examines the positions the mutants had taken up.

[Chambers]

Leonard

Using his cunning and deft skill, our hero escaped the clutches of the vile villains and led them straight to the ravenous maws of the vicious beasts! Leonard crouches down in his hiding spot, a grin spread over his face. Come on vicious beasts! It's slobbering time!

[tiny tim]

Bear Paw stalks the mutants stalking the humans stalking the something else, waiting for the first move to be made.

OOC:

Has sledgehammer out. do I need to make any rolls?

[Kislath]

Bear Paw:
No, no rolls needed unless you plan to do something else
The humans suddenly scramble into action, pulling their rifles from their shoulders and hastily attempting to open fire on.. whatever it is. The Supermutants, in turn, take this as their cue and break into a run toward the humans, their own weapons at the ready.
.................................................. .........................................

Wesson & McCord answer in the affirmative, and with them, Sam & Karen make their way to and across the gangplank bridge.
"Aw, not this guy again," says Wesson. "This guy up here by the stairs has been hanging around for days pestering everyone who comes by for handouts. It's getting reeeaall annoying. Why couldn't the boss lady have sent us here to deal with him, instead?"
.................................................. ...............................

"Hey, no problem, Doc. I wouldn't wanna waste a bullet on your half-rotten butt anyway. Just kiddin'. Seriously, though, since we lost our own medic, having a doctor handy is a good thing from where we're sitting, so you can consider yourself an honorary member of Talon Company. The pay sucks, but hey, at least the hours are bad! Oh, and speaking of pay, here, I got some stuff here you can maybe use."
Much to his surprise, the merc gives Lynch a nice assortment of goodies:
2 pair fine surgical scissors, 1 hemostat, 3 rolls of gauze, 1 jar of cotton balls,
1 bottle of rubbing alcohol, 6 stimpaks, 1 bone saw, 2 pair of surgical gloves,
3 bottles of clean water, 1 box of Mentats candy, 50 caps, 3 bottles of wonderglue, 1 roll of sutures, and 2 sewing needles.

Hmmm... he must really like Petey a lot.
.................................................. .................................

"Why, only the finest bits of top-quality salvaged refuse in the entire Capital Wasteland, my friend!" says Wolfgang. "I...have to admit that I don't have the foggiest idea what you might ever want or need, but if I don't have it, I'm sure I can quickly get it."
.................................................. ............................

Leonard cannot see what is happening from his position, but he can hear the panicked readying of weapons and the snorting of molerats. He hears the rats shuffle to their feet and the pitter-patter of little rattie feet as they charge toward the slavers, and then he hears the first volley of shots from the slavers' rifles.

[Reynard]

"I 'spose it's 'cause he doesn't have any guns. A gun would solve a lot of his problems, and cause several for other people. That's the way things work, and the Muties? They have guns."

Looking down the hill towards where the mutant camp was semi-hidden amongst the ruins, Sam tried to think of a way to get fairly close without being seen.

"Any ideas how to get close without 'em seeing us? We could sneak through the ruins, but a single false step would give us away."

[Volthawk]

"Wait....you can help me. I need..."


ACCESS SCHEMATIC: Wattz 1600 Laser Pistol
SEARCHING
.....
.....
SCHEMATIC FOUND
LOAD-UP REQUIRED PARTS
....
....


"Actually, it'll be easier to put it down on something for you to read. Got something I can do that with?"

[RandomEncounter]

This is a weird robot, looks different, talks different, it must from some where out side the capital wastes, or better yet, really rare. Not that she would know anything about deactivating a robot any ways. Its, probably best to leave it for now and go inside.

[tiny tim]

Bear bellows and charges forward towards the mutants.

Protect the puny humans!



Melee weapon attack when I get there: [roll0]

[Chambers]

Leonard

*Pow!* *Pow!* *Ratta-tat-tat!*

Ah, the sweet sounds of someone not shooting at me. Leonard crouches down and strains his ear, trying to follow the battle by sound. Now...who do I want to win? Slavers...they could still shoot me. The ratties...I could probably outrun some wounded molerats, if they spot me. Let's go team rat!

Perception (to pick out more details from the sounds?) [roll0]

[Kislath]

EWW-001:

"Sure, I've got some old paper scraps and pencils, too!"
Wolfgang is happy to part with each for a discounted bundle price of only one cap.
"Your friend doesn't talk much, does he? Are you sure HE's not the robot? Hahhaha!"
.................................................. ............................

Cindy Lin enters the gates into the town proper and sees pretty much what she expected.
.................................................. ...........................

Leonard
hears the sounds of the battle itensify, and while straining to hear every detail, he hears something... amiss. The assault rifles of the slavers make a certain sound that Leonard has gotten used to over the last several seconds, but there are more shots being fired in the mix, these from a different sort of gun. There is also a peculiar heavy thumping noise, and a lot of screaming.
.................................................. ..................................

Bear Paw
closes the gap fairly quickly, but by the time he gets within melee range of the Muties, they have already opened fire on the humans, taking them by complete surprise and wounding them. Bear paw swings and connects with one of the mutants, who was also taken by surprise, and rings his bell but good!

[Chambers]

Leonard

Holding as still as possible, Leonard is frozen in his hiding place. Uh...those aren't the slavers guns. Has a mysterious stranger come to rescue our trapped hero? Leonard smiles briefly, then frowns. Nah. More likely whoever it is will take out the slavers and then come after me. Damn! This days just keeps getting better and better.

Leonard grips his knife, waiting in the rocks for everyone else to die.

[tiny tim]

Bear paw yells as he swings his hammer at the mutant enemy in front of him again.


Attack:
[roll0]

Damage:
[roll1]

[Lost Demiurge]

"Weeeellll...." Says Karen, scratching her head. "I'm a pretty light step. If you're good at it too, we could sneak around a little on the flank while your friends come towards the front. The greenies will go towards them, and we can do a crossfire with no worries about hitting each other."

She chuckles, and spreads her hands, with a really large grin on her face. "Or if we screw up then they'll chase after us, we run like hell, and your friends can light them up. What do you think?"

[Reynard]

"Walk right up the 'em, shoot 'em, and run the heck away if they spot us before we can shoot 'em?"

Sam shrugs and turns to the guards.

"Sound good to you two?"

[Kislath]

"Well, I don'tremember any good way to get behind them, so I suppose a frontal entry would be best. The reports say that there is one big ugly up high on something and well on this side of the others, so if we nail him first, maybe we can keep from hetting caught in a crossfire ourselves." says McCord.
"Yeah, I agree," chimes Wesson. "That boss mutie has a minigun, so if we can all go after him first, we might have a chance at this before the others ever notice anything."
.................................................. .................

Whonk!
Bear Paw connects solidly upside the head of the previously hit mutant, and he drops his hunting rifle on the ground, clutching his head in pain.

[Volthawk]

EWW hands over the cap.

"No, I suppose he doesn't. But don't worry, I'm the robot."

[RandomEncounter]

Cindy decides she should likely find something to eat and a place to sleep before the end of the day. She decides to head toward the Brass Lantern to see what kind of food she could find for now.

[Kislath]

OOC: I'm trying to get ya'll lumped together as best I can, first in small groups, and then lumping the small groups into one big party. It would help a bit if you guys would try not to wander apart after meeting each other, ya know? That said....

"Hi! Welcome to the Brass Lantern! What can I get you after a long day of wandering around the wasteland alone?"
.................................................. ........................

"What the-- holy crap on a stick! Muties! Where'd THEY come from?! Clem, fergit them rats, we got bigger problems!"
Clem and the other slaver wheel around to face their new problems, and are confused. "Hey, waitaminnit, Zeke, sumpin' ain't right here. One of them mutant fellers is whailin' on the otherns!"
"Whuut? That cain't be right. That don't make a lick of sense at-- OW! Dang rats!"
The rats press their attack, seizing the opportunity to close the gap and enjoy a little slaver tartare. In a panic, Clem and Zeke start firing wildly in every direction, but mostly around their own feet.
.................................................. .............................

Meanwhile........
Sam, Karen, Wesson & McCord begin their stroll down the road, just like the gunfighters of yesteryear, heading for the O.K. Corral.
.................................................. ...............................

The Talon Company goons eventually leave, and Lynch is left to ponder what he thinks about being an honorary member of their little club. Petey, on the other hand, is tossing and turning, groaning and moaning, and still in pretty bad shape. Stimpaks would probably help considerably, but is it worth wasting any on a Talon Company scumbag?
.................................................. ........................

[Volthawk]

EWW writes down a list of parts he needs, and passes it to Wolfgang.

"There. That's all I need. You got any of them?"

[RandomEncounter]

OOC: I'm trying to get ya'll lumped together as best I can, first in small groups, and then lumping the small groups into one big party. It would help a bit if you guys would try not to wander apart after meeting each other, ya know? That said....


OCC: I haven't wondered too far off, I figured the others would go into Megaton eventually anyways.

Whatever is good I'll take, I just need something to eat.

[Reynard]

While infinitely badass, something Sam could appreciate, marching four abreast into a battle was likely to result in short sharp shock.

"Remember, you punch 'em in the teeth, we'll shank them in the back. Karen, follow me."

Leading the post mistress of in a crouched run, Sam took up a position that could see most of the shootout to come, moving around and over rubble to get to the best spot, but always making sure to keep at least some terrain between him and the Muties.

Sneak: [roll0]

[Kislath]

OOC:

Sorry, everyone, I got waylaid today with a bunch of other stuff I had to do unexpectedly, and I'm not done yet. Things will be normal again tomorrow. In the meantime.. post something!

[Lost Demiurge]

"Sure thing!" Karen follows Sam's lead.

Sneaky time!
[roll0]

[Kislath]

EWW-001:

Wolfgang does have some of the things you need, namely, a photonic resonator, scrap metal sheets, amplitude modulator, and rheostat. 60 caps can buy them all.
.................................................. ..............

Sam:
blew his sneak roll, while the mutie made his perception check.
"Haa! There you are!!" yells the mutie, who then opens up with his mini. His aim is terrible, but with a minigun, he's bound to get lucky eventually. At least he's distracted.
Karen has no problem staying out of sight, and McCord and Wesson take their cue to sprint ahead for a better shot.
.................................................. ..............

Cindy Lin finds the service at the Brass Lantern a bit better than the food, but at least she gets filled up for cheap. ( 6 caps ) As she eats her meal, she can hear a small crowd of nutcases standing around a big old nuke, and it sounds as if they're actually praying to thing. One of the members of this group seems to be a bit out of place. Something about him is strange, and he doesn't really seem to fit in with the others. He's certainly dresed differently in his spiffy white suit. Moreover, he seems to be uninterested in what the leader of the group is saying, and appears more interested in the other people in the area.

.................................................. .............

The fight continues, and the rats seem to be tied with the slavers at the moment; victory could go either way, especially now that the muties are now more interested in the third mutie who happened along.

[Volthawk]

"I have 39. Won't that do?"


Time for a long-shot Barter attempt.

[roll0]

Well, there you go, failure. What a surprise.

[Lost Demiurge]

Karen gasps as Sam dodges bullets, then frowns at the Mutie. Hasn't seen me yet...

She takes aim carefully, and tries to shoot the big mutie in the arm. Then she moves to different cover, FAST!


Taking an action to aim, an action to shoot, and whatever points left over will be spent diving for cover.

[roll0] to shoot... Not sure what bonus aim gives me...

[Reynard]

Shouting "Crap!", Sam dived forwards, banging his shoulder on the ground as he rolled behind the cover provided by the ruins.

That's all I'm doing.

[tiny tim]

Protect from the mean mutants!

Bear goes for an uppercut with his hammer this time, hoping to break something important.


[roll0]

Damage:
[roll1]

[Kislath]

Bear Paw:

Crunch! One glass jaw later, the big green galoot hits the ground, injured and stunned. The other one raises his own big nailboard and swings! "You're. making. me. MAD!! RAWWWRRRR!"
[roll0]
Ouch. The nailboard smacks Bear Paw, and how, for 8 points damage.
.................................................. .....................

Sam hits the ground, slightly bruised but still in one piece.
Karen fires, and solidly hits! The supermutant drops his minigun, grabs his arm, and yells in pain. McCord & Wesson have gotten into position by this time, or as close to it as they're going to get, anyway, and they also open fire.
[roll1]
[roll2]

They both hit, pouring fire into him with their AK's until the big guy crumples and falls.
.................................................. .........................

"Well, I like you as much a guy can like a strange robot he just met, so I'll tell you what I'll do. The scrap sheet metal, modulator, and rheostat you can get from almost any old radio, so if you promise to bring me an old radio sometime soon in return, you've got a deal for only 35 caps. Heck, the resonator alone is worth more than that."
.................................................. .........................

[Lost Demiurge]

Karen pokes her head up and looks around for more Mutants.
Perception roll, I'm guessing. That's 1d10, right?
[roll0]

[RandomEncounter]

Cindy has been to Megaton a few times, but doesn't recognize the man in the white suit, he does look like the type to have a considerable amount of caps though. Perhaps I should wait until he is a little less out in the open an see what I can find in his pockets

If an opportunity presents itself
Steal:[roll0]
Well that is a fail. If he wonders off alone I could be in trouble.

[Volthawk]

"Deal. I'll give you the first one I find. That I can take with me without being blown to pieces, of course."

After paying Wolfgang and taking the parts, EWW will walk into the city, beckoning Ryan to come with him.

[Kislath]

Karen:
Yes, you can hear another mutie thumping around, and kinda sorta see him through some slits in a plankboard wall, but he isn't out in the open. You can also see Wesson & McCord running up the little trail into the mutie compound, and from your angle, you can see what they cannot, namely, a mutant lying in wait for them in his hidden position.

EWW-001:
You're in the town, Andrew in tow, but he seems lost in his own little world, really spacey. Speaking of space cadets, a small crowd is gathered at the bottom of the hill around the old nuke. The girl you just saw earlier dealing with the trader is sitting on a stool near the edge of the crowd, apparently enjoying the show.

Cindy:
Well, you're in luck. The man in white seems content to stay in the crowd, but watching him, you can tell that he is really only a pretender trying to fit in, and not an actual member of the Church of Atom. Other folks around seem oblivious to this, but hey, it takes one to know one, and the other folks around aren't like you, are they? You know a deceiver when you see one, especially one who isn't very good at it.

[Volthawk]

EWW walks over to the crowd, stopping behind the person he saw earlier.

[Lost Demiurge]

"LOOK OUT!" Yells Karen, taking a shot at the Mutie lying in ambush.
Bang!
[roll0]

[RandomEncounter]

With the robot coming up behind me, there are now two weirdos to deal with, I know the man in white is up to no good, but I obviously can't get a read on a robot. Might as well just sit and watch for a while.

[Volthawk]

"Hey, could I ask you something?"

[tiny tim]

WAAAARG!

Bear paw swings his hammer as hard as he can at his opponents arm.


Attack:
[roll0]

Damage:
[roll1]

[RandomEncounter]

What is it?

[Volthawk]

"Well, you wouldn't know a place where I could go and build something I've got the parts for, would you? And actually, what's going on here?"

[Kislath]

Karen's shot is true, hitting the mutie and making him really mad. At least his yelling tips off Wesson & McCord to his presence, but it makes the remaining muties equally aware of her own presence.
.................................................. .....................

Bear Paw hits his foe , but without much effect.
( roll initiative 1d10 )
1d10
.................................................. ...................

[Lost Demiurge]

Karen squeezes off one more shot at the Mutie, then dives for new cover!


[roll0]

[tiny tim]

initiative:
[roll0]

[RandomEncounter]

I think Moira up there has a workbench. Be careful though, she is a bit odd, especially considering what you are. I'll take you there.

[Volthawk]

"Thank you. Do you know what this crowd is here for?"

[RandomEncounter]

Some dumb cult that worships that bomb, I find it best just to leave them alone.

[Kislath]

OOC- Bear Paw wins initiative.
.................................................. ..........

Cindy and EWW-001 draw numerous stares as they wend their way up the ramp, but eventually they make their way to the front door of CraterSide Supply. As they enter, they see a mercenary suddenly snap to a state of alert while a 20-something redheaded girl in a jumpsuit sweps the floor. The floor is spotlessly clean already, so it is unclear why she is sweeping it with such intensity. She looks up to greet her new customers, but no words come from her mouth, the jaw of which drops.
.................................................. ...........

Tipped off nicely, McCord & Wesson go on the offensive. So does the mutie. I looks like they'll probably un right smack into each other when they come around the corner of a ramshackle wall.
.................................................. ...............

Clem and Zeke are having a bad day, suffering a lot of rat bites, but they are also taking down the rats. At this point it's still hard to guess which side wil ultimately survive.

[Volthawk]

"Erm.....hello?"

[tiny tim]

GWAAAAARG!

Bear Paw swings his hammer s fast as possible!


Attack:
[roll0]

Damage:
[roll1]

[Kislath]

"Eeep!" replies Moira. "Uhm, that is to say.. Hi, welcome to Craterside Supply! I'm Moira Brown, proprietor. How can I help you today?"
.................................................. .....................

Crunch!
Bear Paw smacks the other mutant solidly with his sledgehammer, knocking him just enough off-balance to make his own swing at Bear Paw slightly miss.

.................................................. .........................

[Lost Demiurge]

Gnawing her lip, Karen decides to try and sneak to a different position, in order to get the jump on a few more muties.
Stealthy time!
[roll0]

[Volthawk]

"...Eeep?"

[tiny tim]

Wanting to finish this now, Bear Paw drops his hammer and punches the mutant twice with his spiked knuckles.


Attack1:
[roll0]

Attack2:
[roll1]


Damage1:
[roll2]

Damage2:
[roll3]

[Kislath]

And down he (she?) goes! The muties out of the way, the humans are now safe. ( well at least from supermutants; the rats and each other are a different matter...)
.................................................. ...............

Wesson, McCord, and the mutant all come around the corner at once, suddenly winding up face-to-face only a few feet apart. All equally armed with assault rifles, they all open fire. The third mutant, hearing the commotion, emerges from his position and charges toward the firefight.
.................................................. ..............

"Yeah.. eeep. Sorry about that. I've never gotten a robot customer before, and I've never even seen one like YOU before, except maybe in a book. At least I did see you in a book, well, maybe not YOU exactly, but you never know, so I guess you're okay and not some sort of alien invader or something. So... what can I do for you?"

[Volthawk]

"Well, I need to use your workbench. I've got the parts, now I just need the means."

[Lost Demiurge]

As the third mutant emerges, Karen spends her fourth round shooting at him.

Hopefully I've got a bonus from moving around and sneaking like a mofo...
[roll0]

[Kislath]

Eww-01:

DO you have all the parts? I thought you had around half the parts.
Hmm... too bad you can't buy the rest of them from Moira with only 4 caps.
Maybe there's something else she might want instead? A skilled assembly/repair robot's services might be very valuable to a dealer of assorted general merchandise with only a poor repair skill of her own.

"Oh, sure. Go right ahead!" she replies.
.................................................. ..........................

Blam!
Karen's shot is true, taking the last mutie by surprise. He stops in his tracks, spins around, and tries to see who is annoying him so.

[Volthawk]

No, I promised to give him an old radio next time, and I got the parts for 35 caps.





"Well, I like you as much a guy can like a strange robot he just met, so I'll tell you what I'll do. The scrap sheet metal, modulator, and rheostat you can get from almost any old radio, so if you promise to bring me an old radio sometime soon in return, you've got a deal for only 35 caps. Heck, the resonator alone is worth more than that."
.................................................. .........................



EWW turns to the girl who took him there.

"Thank you for your help."

He then walks over to the workstation, taking his time because of his extra plating, and starts to get to work building his new weapon.


ACCESS SCHEMATIC: Wattz 1600 Laser Pistol
SEARCHING
.....
.....
SCHEMATIC FOUND
REQUIRED PARTS UPLOADING
.........
........
.........
REQUIRED PARTS FOUND
COMPARISON TO AVAILABLE PARTS
.......
.......
AVAILABLE PARTS: ADEQUATE BASE AND NON-ADEQUATE PARTS
DO NOT RUN REBUILD PROGRAM
.....
.....


OOC:
What do I need to roll? Repair? Science?

[Kislath]

EWW-001:

Neither right now; check the parts list I gave you when you asked, and compare to the parts you got from Wolfgang. You are still missing some important parts. Moira has them in stock.

When you finally do have all the parts, it will be a repair roll.

[Volthawk]

Oh. Didn't think of doing that.



"Wait."

He turns to the shopkeeper.

"I don't have enough parts. I need some conduit, energy cells, a magnetic collator coil and a step-up mini transformer. And a junked laser pistol to work off. Do you have them?"

[Kislath]

"What? Well, yes, I do have those things. You can actually make something from them? That's impressive! Hmmm... let's see.. that comes to 184 caps. Wow! Almost nobody ever wants this stuff."

[Volthawk]

"Er.....I don't really have that kind of money. Ah well, looks like the whole 'making a replacement weapon' thing is a failure."

[Kislath]

"Making a replace- are you serious? You can do that? What kind of robot ARE you, anyway? Well, if that's the case, then I think we can work out a deal. I have a lot of stuff here that needs more repairs than I can make. If you can fix it up, then I'll give you the parts you need. Besides, it'll be fun to watch you work. What do you say?"

[Volthawk]

"It's what I was made to do. The manufacture, maintenance and use of energy weaponry. Although the first two skills do expand to other pieces of technology. Let's see what you've got."

[Chambers]

Leonard

*Thunk!*

Allright Leonard, sounds like the odds have been evened from...whatever they were before. Gripping his knife awkwardly in both hands he jumps up from the rocks and runs towards his would be capturers, waving the knife wildly and screaming. "Grognaaaakkk!"


Not sure how many AP's that takes, so if I can still make an attack I'll roll it here.

Attack (Melee 44)[roll0]
Damage [roll1]

[Kislath]

It takes EWW-001 the better part of the day, but hours later, most of Moira's stock is in much better shape than it was previously. Her inventory suddenly worth so much more, she was happy to give her new robot pal parts aplently, and now EWW-001 is the proud owner of a spiffy like-new laser pistol.
.................................................. ....................

Leonard makes his move!
Epic fail!
Clem & Zeke are taken by surprise, though, and are too stunned, and busy with molerats, to really do anything about it at the moment.

[Chambers]

Leonard

Retreat! Er...Tactical Withdrawl! Leonard scrambles to a stop before the mess of rats and slavers. Skidding in the dirt, he spots the downed bodies of the two super-mutants but fails to see the third standing nearby. I know at least one had a gun, maybe... and he sprints towards the fallen mutants. Jumping and diving over their bodies Leonard crashes to the ground and then snuggles up close to the muties. Hey, even got some shade here from that green tree.

Ducked behind the dead super-mutants his head slowly tracks up. That's...that's no tree...that's another mutant! A look of terror comes over his face as he screams in panic at the super-mutant. "MWAARRGGHHH!"

[tiny tim]

Bear Paw

Uuuuuh. Hi little human man! Do you want to be my friend?

[Kislath]

LOLOLOL Awesome!
Both downed muties have frag grenades, for a total of 3. One had a big nail board, and the other a .32 cal varmint hunting rifle. S/He was almost out of ammo, but the magazine contains 7 rounds.

[Lost Demiurge]

.................................................. ..........................

Blam!
Karen's shot is true, taking the last mutie by surprise. He stops in his tracks, spins around, and tries to see who is annoying him so.

Karen smiles, waves, and shoots him again.

C'mon, fall DOWN...
[roll0]

[Kislath]

Good shot, and an M1 packs a punch. The mutie drops his AK and howls in pain, down but not completely out.
On the other side of the area, Wesson & McCord finish off their mutie, but at a price; McCord goes down with him.

[Chambers]

Leonard

Ohgodpleasedontkillmepleasedontkillme Leonard stares up at the mutie in shock. Um...yes? His gaze turns to the bodies of the mutants he's pressed up against. Ooh! Grenades! Grabbing one he pulls the pin and chucks it towards the slavers. Take cover! He yells to the mutant before ducking down again.

Throwing (28) [roll0]
Damage [roll1]

Critical Hit! Woot! Rolling the critical in the OOC thread.

[Kislath]

Critical damage aside, Clem is dead. Zeke is stunned and lying in the dirt, moaning at death's door. The rats are history as well.
Leonard and Bear Paw stand victorious!
.................................................. ..............

The battle of Rivet City also comes to a quick close. Wesson opens up on the last mutie in his rage, and in short order he finishes him off but good. As the smoke clears, a piteous human voice calls out for help near the boss mutie, and an investigation reveals a young woman all tied up and held captive. Several dead raiders also lie very nearby, and it'd hard to tell whether she was once one of them. She is grateful and friendly enough now, though.

LOOT! :
2 AKs,
288 rounds of 5.56mm
1 minigun
363 rds of 5mm
4 frag grenades
2 frag landmines
3 stimpaks
2 packs of fancy lads cakes
3 cans of pork-n-beans
68 bottlecaps

[Lost Demiurge]

"Ohh....." Karen groans as she runs toward Mccord's twitching form. Then she gets close and sees the blood, and sighs. "Muddy Pucker. I hate it when I lose a partner."

Leaving the others to tend to the girl and some of the loot, she scoops up an AK and about a hundred rounds of ammo, along with a stimpak, a frag grenade, and 20 caps.

"Yeah. I'll take these if it's okay. Unless someone's a heavy weapons person we should probably sell the minigun and its ammo, I know the guys at the store don't have one in stock yet."

[Kislath]

"Huh? Uhm, yeah..whatever.." replies Wesson, apparently concerned more with other things at the moment.

Sam nods in agreement, but asks..."we could sell it, sure, but it might come in mighty handy if you're heading to Megaton, and you might get a better price. Sure you don't wanna keep it? I'm kinda thinkin' about heading that way myself. It's kind of boring around here lately.

[Lost Demiurge]

Karen

"Y'know, that sounds pretty good. You're headed that way too? Awesome. Sure, let's hold onto that minigun for now. Someone else'll have to carry it though."

[Kislath]

OOC:

Okay, in the interest of moving things along and getting this merry misadventure started in earnest, I'm going to use time compression to move you all to Megaton the next day.
Also, everybody can level up! Yes, the XP earned so far never got counted, nor shall it. Everyone just go to level 2 with exactly the XP needed to be level 2.
After this things will start to be counted normally. This was all just a prologue to get the party assembled and refined a bit with better equipment and a few tweaks to your stats.


The next day....

Karen and Sam finally make their way up the hill to the gate of Megaton. They see a trade caravanner set up out front, and it looks to be guy they call Crow. They can also see an odd assemblage of other folks in the small crowd, and some of them are odd, indeed.
.................................................. .......................

EWW-001, Andrew Ryan, and Cindy Lin are outside the gates of town, where they followed a few other folks when they heard the news the travelling store had arrived. Ryan is delirious and barely walking, in a stupor. It is not apparent what is wrong with him, but he seems to have been either poisoned or infected with who knows what. To his disappointment, the merchant is not Doc Hoff, so no medicine will be had for him today.
Off in the distance and topping the hill very quickly are a wily looking little man and a supermutant! Strange as it may sound, the muties looks almost... friendly? Not taking any chances, weapons galore get unholstered.

No one is even paying any attention to the ghoul who showed up awhile ago anymore, and he's fine with that.
.................................................. .........................

As Leonard and Bear Paw make their way up the hill, they see a little welcoming committee. It doesn't look very welcoming. Not at all. There is one notable exception, though; some poor guy who looks about half dead is lying on the ground, leaning on a rock. He squints through swollen eyes at the odd twosome... and begs for water, apparently so deliriously thirsty that he doesn't care if he is about to be eaten by a mutant.

[Volthawk]

EWW nudges Cindy and asks her "Why's everyone combat-ready?"

[tiny tim]

Bear Paw walks up to the man on the ground and let's him drink from his own oversized canteen.
Drink, little humany man.

[Chambers]

Leonard

Is that Megatown over that hill? Oh god yes! Almost home - please don't eat me, you huge friendly bastard. Leonard coughs and points. I...uh...think that's Megatown over there. Almost there, eh? He laughs nervously. Please don't eat me.

Cresting the hill Leonard spots the crowd of people with their guns pointed at him. Oh no. He quickly holds his empty hands up above his hands. Hey! It's me, Leonard! Don't shoot us! He points to Bear Paw with one finger. He's okay! I think it's a he. Saved me from some slavers!

[RandomEncounter]

A little unnerved by getting nudged by the increasingly human acting combat robot replies, "Looks like super mutant trouble, but its traveling with some other guy and isn't trying to kill him." she then sees him giving the old man in front some water. "Now thats really odd."

[Lost Demiurge]

Karen, her new AK over her shoulder, blinks at the super mutant's kindness. She shrugs, then heads over and watches from a few feet away as the poor beggar drinks.

She looks up at Bear Paw, and puts an empty hand up to him. "Hi, I'm Karen. Not that I mind, but why aren't you trying to eat people right now?"

[Chambers]

Leonard

Hefting the heavy pack over his shoulders Leonard hustles down the hill. Hey... he pants, out of breath. Woo. That's a steep hill. He nods at Bear Paw. Um...yeah. He's actually kind of a nice guy. Helped me take care of some slavers that were after me. Got their stuff. He says, nodding to the big pack on his back.

Speaking of... He shrugs out of the pack and sets it on the ground with a thud. "Anyone looking for some....er, guns? Rifles? They look like that one." He points to Karen's AK. "Got a bunch of ammo too. No rope though. Had to leave my rope behind."

"Hey! Anyone got any rope? Or maybe some fishing line?" He says in the direction of the traders. "I got stuff here! Want to buy it?"

[Volthawk]

"Trouble? Why do you assume it's trouble automatically?"

[Kislath]

The water beggar thanks Bear Paw profusely for the water, and as B.P. looks up, s/he sees a lot of befuddled people looking back at him. Things are tense, but the people are relaxing a bit.

Bear Paw:

Months ago you made friends with another advanced metahuman like yourself, named Leo. Leo had a little camp set up at the time, and he had perfected a good way of hunting for mirelurks ( sledgehammer to the face ) and cooking them, and they were considerably yummier than the molerats and wild dogs you had been eating. If you'd like, you can add a few pounds of mirelurk meat to your inventory to account for why you aren't eating people at the moment, and it would also go well with your super-high melee skill. Or not; just an idea. You might have already thought up something better.


"Anybody wanna buy something? Hey! That's MY line!" says Crow. The crowd laughs.

[Chambers]

Leonard

Ah. Well. He looks down at the pack on the ground, gun barrels pointing out, then back at Crow. He eyes the rest of the crowd briefly. Men and women with guns...Robot...odd...very sick man....and a Ghoul. He shakes his head. At least the mutant seems nice enough.

So....you want to trade? He asks Crow, dragging the pack over to the caravan.

[RandomEncounter]

Well Super Mutants usually yell things like 'YOU'RE GOING TO DIE' ,in fact I have seen one that doesn't act like that, on the other hand everyone's got guns pointed, I didn't think it was a huge jump of logic that there was trouble, but nothing seems to be going on.

[Kislath]

OOC:

Guys, I'm a little stuck. Except for having Leonard and Crow trade a bit, I don't really have much to go on here. Now that you're all in one spot, maybe you should get to know each other? Otherwise I'd just have to resort to cliche', and nobody wants that. LOL!

[Volthawk]

"Really? Interesting..."

EWW walks over to the super mutant, and stands next to him.

"Apparently everyone thinks that you're trouble. Will you be trouble?"

[RandomEncounter]

Well that was rather direct. Cindy listins in to the conversation.

[tiny tim]

Bear Paw no be trouble. Me like humans! And little metal humans too! I don't think you people taste good anyways. I don't know why others like eat you. You want water too?

[Volthawk]

"No. No water for me. I don't drink. And I'm not a human."

[Chambers]

Leonard

Tossing on the ground his worn out sneakers Leonard laces up the boots. Man, these fit great! He slings the rest of his new gear in his pack and sets the Stealthboy on his wrist. Thanks Crow! Be seein ya. He waves and walks back over to Bear Paw.

Okay, I still can't get over how tall he is...geez. Leonard clears his throat. Uh, Bear Paw? You want to come into town? I gotta drop these shackles off at the plant, but after that we could...do...something else. He scuffs the dirt with the toe of his boot. Great Leonard. What do super mutants do, anyway? Do you like to read comics? I've got some old Grognak issues here.

[Lost Demiurge]

"Sure!" Says Karen, as she takes the proffered bottle.

After a long pull, she smiles, and pats his shoulder. "Anyone ever gives you any trouble, tell'em Karen Postal says you're A-O-K. In fact..."

She reaches into her pack, pulls out a rubber stamp, inks it on a pad and leans up on tip-toe.

Assuming Bear Paw's cooperation, here. If he wants to resist let me know, and I'll edit accordingly.


One second later, his forehead is stamped with black letters, proclaiming him

APPROVED:
US POSTAL
SERV

"There ya go." She turns from him, shoulders her bag. "Hey Sam! I'll trust you to sell the stuff, kay? Especially that minigun, I don't know who we'll find who wants that. I've got to go in and drop off a few letters and make the rounds, and Moira's got a package. It's ticking, so I think maybe it gets priority. Take care! See you at the eatery!"

She waves, and heads into Megaton.

[Volthawk]

"...Ticking? After doing that work for her, I don't think she can be left with that without some supervision. I'll come with you."

EWW walks away from Bear Paw, walking to Karen and then walking with her.

[Lost Demiurge]

Karen

Karen's face splits in a huge grin as she walks with EWW. "Awesome! You can talk! I love running into bots that have full vocal range. So what do you know about the old days? Any good stories? I'm Karen, by the way. Pleasedtameetcha."

[Volthawk]

"The old days? You mean before the bombings? Well, not much really. We just did what we were made to do, even after the bombs. Until they came, of course."

[Lost Demiurge]

"The old days? You mean before the bombings? Well, not much really. We just did what we were made to do, even after the bombs. Until they came, of course."

Karen

"Hey, even that's something. What were you made to do?"

[Volthawk]

"Oh, manufacture and defence. Meant they didn't need to splash out double, I suppose."

[Lost Demiurge]

"Oh, manufacture and defence. Meant they didn't need to splash out double, I suppose."

Karen

"Awesome! So you not only helped supply our troops, but joined them on the front lines? Wow, that's even better than Paul Revere, who was a playboy by day and fought past the british by night to deliver vital letters to the first continental congress!"

[Volthawk]

"No. Defence as in security."

[Lost Demiurge]

"Oh, a guardbot! Well, that's okay too. I guess if you'd been frontline you'd be a lot more aggressive, like those rogues out there that keep trying to laser me."

She takes the stairs up to Moira's shop, pausing to hand a letter to the head bomb cultist.

[Volthawk]

"Heh, the Gutsy's, you mean? Yeah, they're pure military issue. I was quite surprised when I saw them out here."

[Kislath]

OOC:
For awhile there, I thought this game was dead. You came back, though, and came back strong. Yay! Really funny stuff, too. :)

Confessor Cromwell takes his letter with a bit of surprise. He obviously wasn't expecting one.

The townsfolk of Megaton are simmering down from their initial freakout, but they're still eyeing you guys with interest.

As karen and Eww-001 approach the front door of Craterside Supply, a little girl meets them on the deck. She looks up at EWW and says " Hi. I'm not supposed to talk to strangers, and you're the strangest stranger I've ever seen!" With that, she runs away.

When Leonard and Bear Paw enter the town, the people within get very nervous. The sheriff gets especially concerned, and it shows, but to his credit, he keeps his cool, knowing that the two shouldn't have gotten this far if the guards outside didn't approve. He gives Leonard a nod which says "welcome to Megaton, but I'm watching you."

[Volthawk]

"....OK then. Why did she tell me that?"

[Lost Demiurge]

Karen's grin is nostalgic, as she watches the girl go. "Aw, she's just taunting the mungos. See, they told her she's not supposed to talk to strangers so she didn't. She talked AT you, and left before you could start talking WITH her. So technically she's obeying the letter of the law."

At Moira's door, Karen knocks three times, pushes the door open, and ducks.

[Chambers]

Leonard

Nodding back to the Sheriff Leonard ambles over to the water plant. I hope Walter's in. Walking up the metal steps he glances out towards the center of the town. So...this is Megaton. It's a decent place. Er, if you don't mind sleeping next to an A-Bomb. He points at the huge bomb in the middle of the goo puddle. I don't care what the people say that kid did, I don't really trust it. Rather get back home to Arefu...but it's not as secure as this place.

He pauses a moment. Besides, not much home left there to go back to anyway. He shakes his head and continues up the steps. So Megaton's about as good as it gets. For me at least. Don't think they'd let me in at Tenpenny, and don't wanna be scroungin' in the dirt hidin' from slavers either. Whatya gonna do, huh?

He knocks on the door of the plant, then pushes the door open. Hey Walt, it's me Leonard! Got some scrap for ya! Oh. I brought...a friend...along. Don't freak out - he's a nice guy.

[tiny tim]

Me nice guy! Me friend! Me like pictures in Grognak book!

[RandomEncounter]

Cindy moves up to Karen and asks "Ahhhh...if you don't mind could you tell me what in the hell is a 'post serv'".

[Kislath]

"... uhm, okay... nice to meet you. I'm Walter. I run this water plant, trying to keep it running despite itself. Man, you're big. So.. Leonard, ya bring me something?"
.................................................. ..

Upon your entering Moira's shop, her pet goon springs into action! Just as quickly, though, he recognizes you and goes back to doing what he was doing before, namely, nothing. Moira is tinkering with some odd gizmo she either found or built, and in either case it doesn't look particularly safe. She looks up and sees you, and a broad smile lights up her face.

[Lost Demiurge]

Cindy moves up to Karen and asks "Ahhhh...if you don't mind could you tell me what in the hell is a 'post serv'".

"Oh, hi! Name's Karen Postal."

She shakes Cindy's hand. "I'm one of the last members of an ancient sacred order, called the US Postal Service Guess you could call me a priestess. We believe that the mail MUST go through, or the world is truly lost. So we journey from settlement to settlement, making sure letters, packages, and other sacred items are delivered at reasonable rates."

"The stamp's my way of telling people that something's okay. It's a sacred seal of approval. It doesn't really hold much water unless it's one of my friends who sees it, or another Postman, but hey. Might save his life if someone pauses to read it before shooting. Oh, scuse me a second."

"MOIRA!" Karen rushes over and glomps the proprietor, before laughing, pushing her back and gushing "You look great! How the heck have you been? How's the book going? Get any rifle ammo in stock? Oh, here! Before I forget..."

She hauls a package out of her bag, and pushes it onto the desk. It is ticking, and has grease stains on it. "Sign here and complete the rite, please!" Karen pushes across a clipboard and an ancient pen...

[Volthawk]

EWW walks over to the machine Moira was tinkering with, and bends down to inspect it. checking if it would be dangerous.

"You sure that thing's safe?"

[Chambers]

Leonard

Don't worry about him...he's safe. Leonard nods back over his shoulder to the mutant towering over him. Oh! Yeah, I got some good scrap for ya! Flopping his pack onto the floor Leonard digs into it, pulling out the slave collars, manacles and leg irons.

He tosses it all in a pile on the floor except for one slave collar. He holds if for a moment, staring at it. Snap out of it, man. You're safe now. He shakes his head and tosses it to the floor. Picked 'em up off the bodies of two pieces of brahmin dung that tried to double cross me. Well...Bear Paw here helped out a lot too in that.

I'm sure you can use 'em for something around here. If you can't though, promise me you'll destroy them instead of sellin' them to someone else. He stares Walter hard in the eyes for a moment, then relaxes. Just doin my civic duty to keep people outta slavers hands, ya know? He half-chuckles.

[Kislath]

Hey, no worries there, sonny. I've got MUCH better uses for 'em in mind. Say.. these are almost just the right shape already, so that'll save me some work. I'll give ya 25 caps apiece for 'em!
.................................................. ........

Moira signs on the dotted line, accepting her package. "oh, don't worry," she says. "I'm sure it's not dangerous. It's just an odd bit of prewar technology. I'm not sure what it is, exactly, but I'm sure it's safe. I think it's some sort of electric salad bowl."
( it's a Tiffany lampshade ) Scattered about are numerous items that she has been trying to fit into the lamp socket. Come to think of it, with a little prodding, she probably could make an electric salad bowl out of it.
"The book is going great! My new research assistant is really working out a lot better than the old ones. Of course, this is a lot less dangerous than my old projects. Oh, and I've got lots of ammo. What do you need?"

[Volthawk]

"Strange. Looks like old, old stuff. Probably not from just before the war, probably from quite a while back. The socket looks different from the standard."

[Chambers]

Leonard

Hey, thanks Walt. Appreciate it. He pockets the caps and waves goodbye. See ya later! Hmm...not used to this much money. Better use it on something good before I blow it all on silly things, like food or water. He shakes his head.

Come on Bear. He says, slapping the mutant on the back. Let's head over to Moira's. I want to see if she can fix me up some special tools.

DM

I've got a regular tool set in my inventory and some caps. I'm wondering if Moira has some special tools or can modify existing ones to come up with ones that are suited to disarming traps - specifically mines and things that go boom.

[RandomEncounter]

Some sort of delivery cult then, Cindy thinks to herself. Seeing karen getting some ammo, Cindy thinks it might be agood idea to go get a firearmof her own, she can't always reach things with her clever, but she doesn't have the caps for one. Prehaps she'll just haveto 'find' one then.

[Lost Demiurge]

"Awesome!" Says Karen, then her grin fades. "Hang on. We had like a few guns and landmines to sell that we pulled offa super-mutants... But Sam's carrying them, and he's been really quiet for a while... Let me go get him."

She heads out, finds the wayward traveller, and drags him back to Moira's shop.

"So what can we get for one AK, one minigun, 363 some rounds of 5mm, and 2 frag landmines?"

[Kislath]

OOC:

I'm not at home right now, on a different computer. ( with no fallout pnp material handy for pricechecking. ) I'm heading home now and will get back to you very soon on this stuff.
For now, Moira won't be much help with making specialty tools like the ones Leonard wants, BUT... there IS a guy in town who likely already has some handy. He's not a nice or friendly sort, but if you've got the caps, he'll be your best pal, at least for five minutes.

[Lost Demiurge]

Sure, no worries... Though I do have one question;

Reynard hasn't posted in forever. I dropped him a PM and haven't got a response back yet. Should I just take all the rest of the loot and the profits thereof, for now?

Also, if anyone's got the big guns skill and wants a minigun, speak up now OOC. I'll make up some reason for Karen to keep the minigun and ammo. Otherwise it's gettin' sold!

[tiny tim]

I have big guns skills! I'll use it.

[Lost Demiurge]

Karen dickers with Moira a bit. "Hm, that low? Guns are that cheap here? You say your new assistant brought in all the guns you need? Must be a raider-killing machine... Sounds like a nice person, definitely should meet them at some point."

"All right, all right. We'll hang onto the AK and minigun and ammo. Still want to sell the landmines, though. I could use more 7.62 mm ammo. Oh, and some posterboard. I've got an idea for a profitable vacation, and I want to broadcast it, see who's interested in coming along... Now that I think about it, the guns could go toward equipping anyone who'd be willing to do a run..."

[Kislath]

The PnP ruleset has some pretty crazy prices compared to the videogame, so I'll have to compromise, I guess.
Oh, and her prices aren't so bad, really. They are nerfed a bit only because you'll be finding oh-so-many of them.

Moira has 7.62 ammo for 12 caps each.
She'll pay 43 caps for a mine.

Posterboard? *Whew* That stuff is rare. 80 caps for a full, clean sheet, or 20 caps for a bleached back of an old sign that looks nice & new-ish.

[Chambers]

Leonard

"Actually Bear, I think there's someone else I can talk to - hey did you say you were selling mines?" Leonard's head whips around to look at Karen and Moira. "Always trying to get my hands on a few, but the ones you find are usually already set to go boom. Heh." He chuckles nervously. "I'll go higher than her, 50 caps a mine."

[Lost Demiurge]

"Wait, 50? Yeah, sure!" She hands them over. "Thanks! Don't suppose you know anyone who could use a minigun or an AK-47?"

Looking back at Moira, she picks the old posterboard.
"Oh! Well, I don't need the good stuff. I'll take the old sign."


"And 72 will buy me 6 rounds of 7.62, leaving me with 8 in change. Nifty! Hey, got a marker? Thanks."

Once she gets the posterboard she concentrates for a minute, tongue sticking slightly out of her mouth, then writes;

"ADVENCHURUS PEOPLE WANTED TO GO RUINS PICKING. GET MUSIC, TURN IN FOR $$$. INTERESTED, TALK TO KAREN POSTAL. CAN SUPPLY SOME WEAPONRY IF NEEDED."

Tucking it under her arm, she grins. "Thanks, Moira! You're a sweetie, as usual."
She puts away her newly purchased ammo, then checks her mailbag. "Let's see... Who else is getting letters? I can drop this sign off at the Brass Lantern on the way down, that's fairly central..."

[Volthawk]

"You spelt 'adventurous' wrong. It's A-D-V-E-N-T-U-R-O-U-S."

[Lost Demiurge]

"You spelt 'adventurous' wrong. It's A-D-V-E-N-T-U-R-O-U-S."

"What? Aww, nuts. Well, it's too late to change it without wrecking the sign..."

She pauses a bit, then writes...

"Sign here if interested." In smaller letters below the main part of the sign, then hands the marker back.

One last check of the mail to see if there's any more to be delivered here... That jerk Moriarty usually has some...

[Volthawk]

"I guess that's about the radio message. Am I right? I was thinking of having a go at it myself, actually."

[Lost Demiurge]

"I guess that's about the radio message. Am I right? I was thinking of having a go at it myself, actually."

"Yeah! That's the one. I figure that with a bunch of people we can put our heads together, find some likely places to search, and make it to GNR without dying horribly along the way. It'll be fun, and there'll be oodles of salvage, and if we succeed I don't have to listen to that stupid "Butcher Pete" song as often. Wanna come with me?"

[Volthawk]

"Sure. I was initially going to use the money to buy a new pistol, but since I built it, it don't need it for that. I suppose I could use it for something else. And besides, I want to have a look at his dishes."

[RandomEncounter]

While scouting out good opertunites to steal a gun, she notices the big sign put up by the delivery cultist. Perhaps she could get a cheap price from her, rather than potentully being chased out of megaton, she likes this place.

She went to go find Karen, to see what she was offering. Hey um, I saw your sign that you were offering guns I was wondering what the asking price on them was."

[Lost Demiurge]

She went to go find Karen, to see what she was offering. Hey um, I saw your sign that you were offering guns I was wondering what the asking price on them was."

Karen's returning from Moriarity's saloon, wiping her hands on her jacket with a disgusted look, when Cindy catches up with her. "Can't stand that greasy, lecherous, ghoul-abusing..."

"Oh, hey!" It's like someone flipped a switch, and Karen's grinning at Cindy like she just spotted a best friend.

"Guns? Yeah, my buddy and I have an assault rifle and a minigun, and some ammo for both of'em. We don't really need money for 'em, but if you'd be willing to go help us find some music disks, I'd be willing to give you one up front. It'll mean you'll get a slightly smaller share of stuff we find out there, but I think it's fair. Especially seeing as you're not packing that I can see." Karen gives her a quick once-over, then nods.

"What do you say?"

While waiting for a reply, Karen sits down at the Brass Lantern, next to her sign, and waits for one of the owners to notice her. She also takes a small, wooden sign out of her mailbag, and puts it on the bar.

"US POSTAL SERVICE. WILL CARRY MAIL, PACKAGES, ETC. INQUIRE FOR RATES AND ROUTES."

[tiny tim]

Bear Paw watches the lady writing the sign.

Uuuuh. Leonur. What that sign say? Me not able to read.

[Chambers]

Leonard

Hey! He called my name! Well, kinda my name. At least it wasn't little human. Leonard stares off into space for a moment before responding. "Oh! Uh...the sign says that the postal lady is looking for people to join her in scavenging the wastes. I did hear Three Dog the other day say he was interested in getting some new music. Also says that she has guns to lend if you don't have one." He follows the mutant down the steps, heading towards the Brass Lantern. His eyes scan the area, not really looking where he's walking. Where's that Jericho?

Walking into the Lantern Leonard sets his pack down on the ground. "Excuse me, Mrs....er, Postwoman? Where exactly are you figuring on going with your....adventurers? Hmmm. Grognak was quite adventurous...and you wouldn't be alone this time Leonard. He shudders involuntarily. Well, better company hopefully. He clears his throat. "Uh, my buddy here Bear could probably handle that minigun."

[Lost Demiurge]

"Yes?" Karen is very happy to be called a postwoman. Nice to not have to explain it for once.

She offers a hand. "Karen Postal. And your buddy's good with guns like that? Awesome! Guess I shouldn't be surprised, we got this one off of a super-ma...uh..." Y'know, might not be good to brag about killing big green guys around a big green guy, she thinks.

"Uh, ah. Going. Yes, where are we going?" She shrugs. "Haven't decided yet. Figured we'd get everyone interested together, and find out if anyone knows any nearby good spots to look. If no one's got any, then we can ask around town."

She twists and looks at Cindy, then at Eww. "Then again, it looks like we've got five total people who're interested, and I'm about out of guns if I hand these out. So maybe we've got a good group after all."

She leans back and waves at the cook, ordering the molerat meatloaf meal. "So, anyone know of any radio station remnants, or music shops, or stuff like that?"

[Kislath]

Your hostess stops and thinks for a bit, gets a strange look on her face, and walks off. A bit later she returns with your food and some news.
"I seem to remember some old posters that we burned as fuel several years ago, and one of them was for some sort of contest that some radio station was having. It wasn't WGNR, though. It was some other old station from near here. I'm pretty sure that I've heard mention of an old radio station out in the sticks well northwest of Megaton. If you're really looking for old music recordings, then you might also try the old bowling alley. I don't know where it is, but I've seen billboards for it. Didn't they play lots of music?"

[Lost Demiurge]

"Huh, that sounds perfect!" Moira thanks her hostess, and digs into the moleratloaf.

"So we can head northwest and look for the radio station, and keep an eye out for billboards that lead us to the bowling alley. Awesome! Everyone okay with this?"

[Volthawk]

"Alright. Sounds good. I'd like to see this radio station, actually. See if I can reverse-engineer anything."

[tiny tim]

Bear starts jumping up and down with excitement, the earth shaking slightly as he does so.
Me like having new human friends! We gonna have fun!
He then hefts the minigun.
Me know how us this! Me use one before!

[RandomEncounter]

"I guess thats fine, traveling in a group would be safer than alone anyways"

[Lost Demiurge]

"Great!" Says Karen, flashing a blinding grin again. She finishes off her moleratloaf.

"Figure we'll head out in the morning. Keep the minigun... And here's a gun for you, Cindy."

She slides an AK and 100 rounds of 5.56 mm over, keeping the last 88 for herself.

And then she hands a few drums (363) rounds of 5 mm ammo over to Bear. "No firing that in Megaton! Sheriff Simms is jumpy enough as is."

"Any questions? If not, then I'm gonna sit up a while and see if anyone needs mail delivered. Then I'll get some sleep in the common house."

[Chambers]

Leonard

"I'm Leonard, nice to meet you. I'm Megton's resident Security Expert." He says, trying to stand up a little taller. "Well, maybe it's only one. But still. I'm good at being quiet and getting into restricted places. Also handy with the occasional leftover pre-war explosive surprises." She seems to be pretty organized. Much better than my last traveling companions. Blech. "I've, uh, got someone to see before we leave, but I'll be sleeping in the commons as well." He turns to Bear. "Man...that gun is almost as big as you! Those molerats don't stand a chance, pal." He grins. "I'll be back later, gotta take care of something."


Kislath: Going to find Jericho. In the interest of time I figure the group can skip ahead to the morning and you and I can roleplay the scene out either in the OOC or in PM. Sounds good?

[Kislath]

Karen does manage to get some business.
- Lucy West wants to send another letter to her brother in Arefu.
- Nathan wants to send a small package to Abraham Washington in Rivet City.
- Jenny Stahl wants to send a cookbook to Gary ( of Gary's Galley ) In Rivet City.
- And an odd stranger in white wants to send a letter all the way to Dave, President of the Republic of Dave. He's willng to pay triple for speedy service, plus another 300 caps to swiftly bring back any package Dave may give you.

Doc Church anxiously asks if there is any mail for him. There isn't. He doesn't seem happy about it.

[Lost Demiurge]

"Sure!" Says Karen, to Lucy. "10 caps for the letter post, and you're in luck. I'm heading northwest next, so Arefu's probably going to be a stopping point." She carefully scribbles a crude drawing of a stamp on the outside of the letter, and writes "IF FOUND DELIVER TO MR. WEST OF AREFU BY ORDER OF US POSTAL SERVICE" "Just in case I die." She explains to Lucy. "That way my friends or passing samaritans will know where to deliver it."

Next up is Nathan, and Karen nods as she weighs the package carefully. "Hmm... not too heavy. Going to be a while before I reach Rivet City, though. I'll cut you a deal, call it 25 caps, due to the time delay. Sound good?" barter check [roll0] if needed. Once price is settled, she addresses it as well.

She gabs a while with Jenny, while weighing the cookbook with one hand. "Wow! Yeah, I'll definitely look forward to giving him this! I swear, the man doesn't know how to make anything without lard in it. Call it 20 caps... Getting a discount due to a time delay, and the fact that you'll be improving air quality in the ship by helping him learn some less-gassy recipes." Scribble, scribble. barter check [roll1] if needed.

The white-clad stranger is an oddity.

Karen blinks at the stranger, then nods. "Okay. I can't guarantee speedy service there... Got some business to tend to in another direction first, and I can't break it off now. Too much invested and too many people involved. I can guarantee the republic of Dave will be the second delivery stop on my route, though. So instead of 30 caps give me the usual 10... And instead of 300 keep your money now, and upon delivery give me 300 minus 25 for every day it takes. It'll be free if it takes longer than 12 days." She leans forward, with the devotion of a total zealot in her eyes, and her face stiff and serious. "Your mail WILL go through. This is the vow of the Postmen. And women." Then it's back to a cheerful grin again. "That's the best I can do for you, friend. Sound fair? If not, you're welcome to look around for another delivery source..." barter check [roll2] if needed.

The day's winding down when Karen pulls up her sign, but Doc Church manages to catch her on the way out. "Nope, sorry. Nothing. Hey, hey... The best way to get a letter is to write one. Tell you what... If you want to write one up, I'll carry it for free. Just tell me who and where. On the house, since you do good work here." speech check [roll3] if needed.

Once in the commons room, she's got a few rough maps unrolled, busy tracing a route when she notices Leonard. "Oh, hey! Got to thinking..." She digs in her jacket, and pulls out two fragmentation grenades. "I'm not great with these. Want'em? Might come in handy on the trip."

[Volthawk]

EWW watches Karen running around with interest, noticing her pile of packages grow larger and larger. After a while, though, he looks for somewhere where we could be useful, eventually going to the Water Processing Plant, and entering.

[Chambers]

Leonard

Oh? Hmm? Leonard seems lost in thought. Frags? Yeah, those'll go great with my new fishing line! Thanks! They'll never see what hit em!

"So...where exactly are we going first?" He asks.

[Lost Demiurge]

Leonard

Oh? Hmm? Leonard seems lost in thought. Frags? Yeah, those'll go great with my new fishing line! Thanks! They'll never see what hit em!

"So...where exactly are we going first?" He asks.

Karen shows him the map. Half of it's drawn in with crayons. The pen she's using now is covered in gnaw marks on the blunt end.

"Well... She said the radio station was to the northwest. So we'll head that way and see what we see. Then we'll find it or we'll hit Arefu... And I want to hit Arefu either way, before or after the station. It'll be a good place to rest up, resupply, and they have some billboards on the north bank of the river, might lead us to the bowling alley."

"After that, if people don't mind too much I've got a priority run out to the Republic of Dave... Shouldn't be more than half a day or so to the east of Arefu. I'll share the caps when we get back to Megaton... Guy's paying good money to recieve a package."

[Kislath]

Walter looks up in surprise at EWW-001 upon his entrance.
"Well, now, when I started askling around for some scrap metal, I never expected it to just walk in the front door! Just kidding, don't get all bent out of shape. Well now... I don't reckon I've seen anything like you in over forty years. What brings you by?"
.................................................. .............................

All of Karen's customers find the terms acceptable. The man in white is obviously a bit irked, but he accepts the deal, knowing he won't get a better one. Doc Church decides that he doesn't want to write a letter to anyone, content to just wait for one instead.
Karen is paid 65 caps total.

[Volthawk]

"Well, I was seeing if you needed help. I don't sleep, as you probably can tell, so I need something to help occupy myself. Here, I may help you lot as well."

[Kislath]

Walter looks at this huge gift horse, but can't think of any good uses for it.
Actually, on second thought, he can.
The main filter membrane is about due for a turning, that is, the pressure chamber needs to be opened, and the membrane removed, turned inside out, flushed & rinsed, & reinstalled. Then the chamber needs to be resealed.
It's a royal pain which usually takes 3 or 4 guys two days to finish.

EWW-001 could help immensely with this project, BUT, it takes some prep work first that will take a few days to set up, so doing it right now isn't practical. Walter would LOVE to see EWW-001 return in a few days to help, though. Otherwise, he doesn't really have anything going.

Hmm... after thinking a bit more, he suggests that perhaps EWW-001 could visit the town armory to inspect the weapons and repair them.

[Volthawk]

"Armoury, you say? Who should I talk to so I can go in?"

[Kislath]

"Mayor Sims, of course."

[Lost Demiurge]

Karen's up at the crack of dawn, sitting on part of the mountain of junk that surrounds Megaton, watching the sun come up. Finally, after consuming a tin of Pork N Beans, she stretches, loads up her equipment, and goes gathering the others.

"Okay. Well, we had all of yesterday to take care of business, so everyone should be ready to go now. I'll keep a few paces ahead and watch for ambush points and critter tracks... If everyone else could keep an eye out for hostiles and things that look like radio towers, that'd be swell."

"Ready? Let's go!"

[Chambers]

Leonard

Buying a few more cans of beans and MR. E meals from the lantern in the morning, Leonard stuffs them in his rucksack. Let's see....knife, check. rope, check. toolsfragsmineswatervodka checkcheck! Shouldering the pack he squints in the morning sun as he leaves the lantern.

"Uh...good morning Karen. Man. You like getting up early." Leonard says, sniffling a bit and blowing his nose. "Ok. Ready to go. I'll...um...stay in the back."


I don't know how much rations cost, but I'm trying to buy about a weeks worth of food. He's no barterer, so just quote me a price. :smallsmile:

[Lost Demiurge]

"It's part of the postman's code." Karen smiles blissfully. "Though we are forbidden the sin of clocking in late and risk our holy pensions if we transgress, yea, the sacred union rules decree a fifteen minute break every four hours. And thus do we take heart."

[RandomEncounter]

Cindy wakes up and takes her new gun, she knew that she was given more ammo then she would use in a while but it will get used eventually, she meets up with the others.

"I'm ready to go when the rest of you are."

[Volthawk]

"Huh? Don't you need sleep or something?"

[Kislath]

OOC: Itmust be a case of time compression, Volthawk.
In other news, DON'T UPDATE your FIREFOX to the new version 3.6.6. After I did so I was unable to make any posts anywhere on the web. I'm using another computer for this.

Okay, so off toy go on your wild & wooly adventure. You go around the big ridge past Springvale and then wend around past the entrance to Vault 101, and now you're finally heading northwest. You don't see much of anything but an eyebot up until now, but now something is happening. A whole nestful of baby iguanas races past you, and over the next little ridge you hear what may have disturbed them. It is a great shuffling sound, a scuttling, a skittering if you will, a clickety-clacking clashing sound, with some hissing squeaks tossed in for good measure.

[Volthawk]

OOC: Itmust be a case of time compression, Volthawk.
In other news, DON'T UPDATE your FIREFOX to the new version 3.6.6. After I did so I was unable to make any posts anywhere on the web. I'm using another computer for this.


Huh? That was in-character speaking. I mean, it was dawn.

[RandomEncounter]

"I went to bed rather early I didn't have anything that need doing last night."

[Chambers]

Leonard

"See, but Grognak wouldn't do that! He's all about facing problems head on, and destroying enemies with his mighty thews." Leonard feints a few overhead sword chops with an imaginary sword. "And anyway, he's got his buddy - " Leonard stops in the middle of explaining the finer points of Grognak to Karen when the little iguanas run past. Uh oh. That can't be good.

When the clicks and clacks start sounding over the ridge Leonard's eyes go wide and he scrambles, looking for any cover to hide behind.


Perception 7 [roll0] If necessary, to spot cover.

Sneak 89 [roll1] Hide!

--

For traveling Leonard has jury rigged some rope and an old shirt to serve as a grenade bandolier, carrying his 4 frag grenades against his chest.

[Volthawk]

EWW doesn't speak, but pulls out his weapon, aiming it at the ridge, waiting for something to come over.

[Kislath]

The noise builds up to a right and proper ruckus, punctuated by the sounds of things both hard and squishy pummelling into each other. Suddenly the sounds stop, replaced several seconds later by an odd cracking, crunching, munching sound.

[Volthawk]

EWW slowly approaches the ridge, weapon up and ready.

[Lost Demiurge]

Karen sneaks up the ridge, trying to spot whatever it is before it spots her.



Sneak! [roll0]
Spot! [roll1]

[RandomEncounter]

Cindy gets ready to sneak up on it maybe help give a flank after Karen identifies it.

Sneak 1d100 I can't the dice roller to work for what ever reason, it says in the book that the GM should stealth rolls any way.

[Kislath]

As you carefully peer over the ridge, you can see the aftermath of a battle between three giant ants and a huge giant radscorpion.

The scorpion won, and is now casually having himself a nice lunch.

Despite your sneakiness, a lone pebble skitters along the cliff, alerting the beast to your presence!

It doesn't much seem to care, though. It swivels around to look at you, but doesn't attack. It raises a claw into the air, lowers it, raises the other, lowers it, raises it's tail, and does a cute little side-to-side swaying sort of dance. Aside from that, it does nothing else, except to continue to chew on an ant.

[Lost Demiurge]

Karen nods, then waves the other observers back.

"Alright. Big scorp up ahead. He's having a meal, so he won't care as long as we don't threaten him. We'll swing around by several hundred yards, stay out of sight, and keep going. Looks like he's got enough food to last him, so he shouldn't trouble us... But just in case he follows, we should put someone with good eyes and ears to the back for the rest of the day."

"Everyone ready?"

[Volthawk]

"I see it. Big thing, isn't it? I'll take the rear."

EWW waits until the others start to move, and then will move behind them, walking backwards, watching the scorpion.

[Kislath]

Okay, that works fine.
The scorpion is happy to ignore you as long as you keep your distance.

Moving along, you eventually hear something odd. It's a thop-thop-thup-thup-thup-thip-thip thip sound which fades away fairly quickly, and for a second there you might have sworn it was coming from some sort of machine actually flying in the sky.
Nah... that's crazy talk, right?

A little further along you can see the ruins of a much larger than normal house. It sits next to an old bridge, and has a big ramp on the side of it, presumably to allow the occupants to reach the second floor. It's still a good way off in the distance, and you don't see any signs of life.

[Lost Demiurge]

Karen

Karen frowns. "Looks innocent, doesn't it?" She doesn't take her eyes off the house.

"But this house and bridge were almost the death of me, the first time I came through here. And I almost got tagged a few times since. Raiders usually hang out here... The house has a good vantage on the bridge, and there's no easy approach from foot."

"Anyone got any ideas on how to get past this safely?"

[Volthawk]

"Well, we could go around it, but if we need to cross the bridge, we'll need to either try and sneak past them, or take them on."

[Lost Demiurge]

Karen

Karen chews her cheek. "The bridge is over a dry riverbed. So we don't need to go over it... The problem with going around it is that one way runs into the Potomac, which is still wet and might have a mirelurk or two around... And that the other way around is fairly open. If we assume there's jerks with guns in that house, we'd have to go aways around to be safe. That'd eat up a lot of time, and there's no guarantee we wouldn't run into something bad south of here. Then we'd be stuck with bad stuff in front of us and in back of us."

"Sorry to be a Debbie Downer, and normally going around's a good option, but I think this time we're gonna have to figure out a way ahead, and plan for a fight."

[Volthawk]

"A fight, you say?"

EWW quickly checks if the laser pistol is still alright.

"Looks like now I can combat-test this."

[Lost Demiurge]

"A fight, you say?"

EWW quickly checks if the laser pistol is still alright.

"Looks like now I can combat-test this."

"Well, assuming there's raiders in there, yes. But I've never seen a time there weren't raiders in there.

[RandomEncounter]

"Well if were all going in I think stealth is out, the robot and the mutant can't exactly step lightly"

[Volthawk]

"True. Anyway, thoughts on a plan of attack? What kind of weaponry or skills are you all bringing? I've got my energy weapon and very good armour."

[Lost Demiurge]

"I'm a good shot. Got an assault rifle and a combat rifle, so I'm decent at medium or long range." Says Karen. She blinks after a second, as a couple of thoughts occur to her.

"I've got an idea. First off, is anyone good with medicine?"

She explains. "I've got a rough plan. Feel free to add to it... First off, I've got some stimpacks. We ought to give them to someone who's got a little doctoring skill, 'cause it's likely someone will get hurt. If no one's great at it, then we should spread 'em around anyway."

"Second off, that riverbed's dry. I bet if we hucked a grenade into it, there'd be a big dust cloud going everywhere! Might give us an edge."

"So how about this... We walk toward the bridge like we're going to cross, then someone throws the grenade toward the south side of the riverbed and stop. After it goes off, Bear uses his minigun to put a few bursts toward the top windows of the house. Eww, lasers are really accurate, right? The rest of us charge under the bridge, follow the riverbed and move toward the house using the dust cloud to hide our approach, shooting any hostiles as we go. If anyone's a doctor they should stay in the back as much as possible. We'll storm the house from the open backside."

"If there's no one there then we'll have used a grenade and some minigun ammo. But if there's bad guys there, then we'll get a few seconds to work and close the distance."

"What do you guys think?"

[Kislath]

Your plan might have just taken on an extra turn.

Right as you are about to decide what to do, a trio of people just wander right in to your encounter area without a care in the world. How rude! They probably don't have a clue of the danger they could be in, or maybe they just don't care. These two guys and a girl sure picked one heck of a place for a nice nature hike.

[Volthawk]

"Hold up. People in the area. What should we do now?"

[Lost Demiurge]

Karen blinks, then shrugs. "Welcome them, I think! Keep a weather eye on the house, though. This could be a trick."

She waves and shouts. "Hey! Hi! What are you folks doing out here?"

[Chambers]

Leonard

Don't like the looks of that house. Could be raiders in there. Or slavers. Don't like the looks of those people! Who the heck goes out strolling out in these parts? Crouching down behind a rock Leonard scopes out the activity.

Leonard visibly shakes as Karen calls out. Oh god! She's going to get us killed! Leonard flattens himself against the rock and pulls out a grenade, holding it ready.


Yay, Leonard the coward!

[Volthawk]

EWW says "You sure about this?" to Karen, and pulls out his gun, ready for combat.

[Lost Demiurge]

"Eh, if it's trouble better hit to it now, while we've got cover handy and a clear avenue of retreat than right by the bridge where our options are limited."

[RandomEncounter]

"They don't necessarily. look like raiders, but if their are raiders around in the buildings or something our covers blown now. Your plan would be out the window"

[Kislath]

The threesome hears Karen's hail and their heads turn toward her.

They smile and wave, and come strolling over.

"Howdy! Nice day, ain't it? We're just out doing a little hunting and enjoying they oh-so loverly scenery. What the heck are YA'LL doing out here? You look like you're looking for trouble, which is good if you are, I reckon, cuz' yer headin' right for it."

[RandomEncounter]

"Whats that soposed to mean?"

[Lost Demiurge]

"Hey! Yeah, it's a decent day. Where you folks out of, Arefu?"

I've been there before and it's all of five families. If they say Arefu, then something's up.

She frowns a bit. "And what do you mean by trouble?"

[Chambers]

Leonard

Ohgodohgodohgodwe'redeadwe'redeaddeadead! They're gonna kill us and eat my liver then wear our skins as dancing cloaks! Leonard panics silently, sweat breaking out on his face as he ineffectively hides behind the rock. He grips the grenade so tight that his knuckles are white and his eyes are glued to the figures, ready to throw it at the first sign of hostility.

[Volthawk]

"Look, don't you people know that it's not safe around here? I think that any trouble would be worse on you than us."

While he talks, EWW watches the building, watching for any life in there.

[Kislath]

"What I mean is that's the old bed and breakfast place, but now it's a major raider house. Everybody knows to just stay away from it. Hmmmm.... you know, it's kinda funny; they have to have spotted us by now, but they haven't attacked. I wonder what they're waiting for?
Oh, and no, we're not from Arefu. We go there a lot, though. We have our own place out in the sticks, but we make the rounds through several settlements."

In the meantime, there is no movement seen at or in the house. Maybe everyone is hiding? Maybe nobody is home?

[Volthawk]

"So what makes you less at risk than us?"

[Lost Demiurge]

"Y'know, that is weird." Karen says, scratching her chin. "I thought it might be quiet because you were raiders in disguise coming to trick us into giving you our backs, but I'm really not getting that nihilistic-I'll-eat-you-for-giggles vibe from you guys."

She shrugs. "Not that it'd matter. We're well armed and not carrying enough to make jumping us profitable or safe."

"Anyway, if you folks want to go on your way, we'll wait until you're through then try getting past the house."

[Kislath]

"Who said anything about us being less at risk? You don't see US going anywhere near the place, do you? At any rate, I guess we'll be going now. Have a nice day."

With that, they saunter off with the same casual nonchalance as when they came.

[Lost Demiurge]

Karen watches them go, waits a bit longer, then nods.

"Alright. Might not be raiders inside... Would've expected some long-range fire by now if it were so. So... Suggestions for a new plan, or stick with the old one? We need to get moving either way..."

[Volthawk]

"New plan, I think. We don't want to waste resources. I'll go have a quick look in. My plating should stop most damage, if it happens."

[Lost Demiurge]

"Alright, good luck! I'll cover you with the rifle. Don't go too far!"

And Karen sets up on a good overwatch position.

Going to keep an eye out for trouble... Perception check, I guess... [roll0]

[Volthawk]

EWW slowly approaches the building, weapon in hand, constantly alert.


Perception: [roll0]

[RandomEncounter]

Cindy readys her cleaver for trouble.

[Chambers]

Leonard

As the weird folks wave and wander off Leonard starts to calm down. His breathing slows from near hyper-ventilating to merely rapid. What the frap was wrong with them? Wanderin the wastes looking for a picnic? Crazy! He stands up and tries to casually wipe the sweat off his brow and realizes he's still clutching the grenade in both hands. He smiles quickly and places it carefully back in his homemade bandolier.

"So...yeah. That was weird." He says, keeping a close eye on the people walking away as his allies approach the house.

Perception (on the people, not the house) [roll0]

[Kislath]

The odd trio wanders away, and Eww-001 moves in to investigate.

Soon enough, the robot sees that something is amiss.
Death is everywhere..bodies are strewn about all over the place. The only sign of life is a middle-aged guy in leather armor wandering around on the other side of the bridge, but it doesn't seem likely that he could have caused all of this mayhem.

[Volthawk]

"WE GOT DEAD PEOPLE!" EWW shouts to the rest of the group.

[Lost Demiurge]

"Yeah?" Karen calls back, then follows the robot, glancing beneath the bridge as she goes.

Peering through the windows, she shudders. "Wow." Then gazes curiously at the wandering leather-clad man. Pointing her rifle to the ground, she waves at him with one hand.

[RandomEncounter]

"What is he up to?"

[Kislath]

The guy gives a quizzical look to you, as if unsure of who you are and why you would be hailing him. Still, he starts to mosey on over to you, although it's plain to see that he expects trouble.

By the way, there is something wrong with these dead raiders. Aside from being dead, they are missing large chunks. The missing portions have been cleanly sliced away, too; no wild animals did this.

[Lost Demiurge]

"Well, there's one way to tell. Someone want to check and see if they've been looted? If they were, then it was people."

She nods at the incoming guy, and leans against a wall as he approaches.

"Howdy. What happened here?"

[RandomEncounter]

"I'd love to check." Cindy searches the dead bodies.

[Kislath]

Well, the loot is pretty good, considering.
You find, among the seven bodies:

1 -flamer
~ 40 seconds' worth of flamer fuel
3 -.32 cal hunting rifles
88- caps
1- .32 revolver
16- .32 rounds
2- sets of leather armor in halfway decent shape
1- dose of rad-a-way
5- stimpaks
2- fancy lad cremefilled cakes
1- crunchy mutfruit

Otherwise, they don't have much of anything left. Whoever did this must have taken all the really good stuff, along with several pounds of flesh.

The older guy makes his way to talking distance, and replies to Karen's question:

"Well, I just happened along a short while ago, but from the look of things, I'd say that these raiders finally messed with the wrong guy. Not a smart bunch, those raiders. The idea of tactical retreat just doesn't seem to ever occur to them. Morons. They got what they deserved."

[Lost Demiurge]

"Wow. Well, saves us from being shot at. Thanks sir! Hey, do you know if there's a radio station around here anywhere?"

[Kislath]

"A what? hmmm.. Naw, I don't know of any around here, but I remember one a good piece northwest of here, I think. It ain't on the air or nothing, though, being just a ruin. As I recall a bunch of dang junkies like to hang out around it. Suits me; better than having them hang out around someplace closer."

[Volthawk]

EWW ignores the man, letting Karen and the others deal with him. Instead, he looks inside the building, checking if anything potentially useful is around not on the bodies, and to see if he can find any clues as to who did this.

[Lost Demiurge]

"Great! Well, we'll be on our way then, after we're finished looting. Arefu's the next stop... Don't suppose there's any messages you want carried that way, sir?"

Karen glances back to see how the others are doing, looks a little surprised about the loot that's being turned up, then shrugs and turns back to the stranger.

[Chambers]

Leonard

Walking over to the charnel house, Leonard stops outside the dead garden. I'll just...um, wait over here. Not going anywhere inside there! He scuffs the dirt with his boots, then cranes his neck to look back at the trio of wandering people in the distance. Find anything good in there? He hollers.

[RandomEncounter]

"Some good stuff particularly the some armor that hasn't been completely destroyed, you two seem like you need protection"

She turns to the middle aged guy "So what are you doing here anyways? It seems odd that someone would be just hanging around dead bodies like this."

[Lost Demiurge]

"Yeah, I'll dibs one suit of armor and a stimpack. Thanks!" Karen puts them in her pack. Better not change with all these folks around...

[Kislath]

"Oh, I'm just passin' through. A guy's gotta be someplace, right?" replies the man. "No, I don't reckon I've got anything to say to the folks in Arefu."

Eww-001, the bodies all share one thing in common. They are all riddled with holes of the same size. It appears that a 10mm pistol was used with great effectiveness, of not efficiency. The wounds are all scattered haphazardly, as if the shooter was not particularly skilled with his aim. How someone with such sorry aim could have survived in a firefight long enough to dispatch all these villains and still escape is a bit of a mystery.
Another thing you notice is that the bloodstains do not match up with the positions of the bodies, and the bullets' exit stains do not fit with the filleting stains. It appears as if the one who shot these guys is not the one who carved them up for dinner.
Another thing you notice--> the guy you've met is not carrying a 10mm pistol. He has only a customized .308 sniper rifle.

[Volthawk]

"Odd. Very odd."

EWW walks back outside.

"Looks like our shooter isn't our mutilator."

[Lost Demiurge]

"Huh." Says Karen, a puzzled look on her face. She glances at the leather-clad man. "Hey, did you cut up these guys? Or see who did?" Going to roll speech to see if he lies to me when he replies. [roll0]

[Kislath]

"Nope. Like I said, I just got here. If I had to guess, though, I'd say it was a pack of cannibals. You see 'em around sometimes, actin' perfectly normal unless they outnumber you enough for them to try something. Then they'll chop you up good. You might wanna watch out if you ever meet any overly friendly types. Of course, they're a careful and cowardly bunch, so there's no way they'd ever come anywhere NEAR the old bed & breakfast place, let alone attack the raiders."

[Volthawk]

"That does seem to be similar to those people we saw earlier."

[Lost Demiurge]

"Huh! Well, maybe it was. Oh well... They're long gone and it's only dead raiders, so I'm not inclined to chase." She shrugs and stows the rifle, smiling at the older man.

"Thanks, friend." Karen takes out a packaged Fancy Lad snack cake, and leaves it on a nearby rock. "You're welcome to this after we've left, if you like." She turns and checks the team. "Okay, finish up looting, folks. Time to go to Arefu!"

And once the team's ready, she starts heading in that direction.

[Chambers]

Leonard

"See? I knew those people were going to eat us." Leonard says, checking back over his shoulder to make sure the crazy friendlies were gone. Looking over the recovered gear Leonared picks up the .32 revolver. "Mind if I take this? I'm not a great shot...but having a gun is better than not having one."

Pocketing the ammo and sticking the revolver through his belt Leonard's head picks up as Karen mentions his home. Arefu...it's been a long time since I've been back. Hope everyone is still alive. He shudders for a moment and shakes his head. "Sure, let's get moving."

[Kislath]

Right then, off you go!

The trip isn't a long one, and in no time flat you are climbing up the ramp to Arefu. The more observant among you may notice that the big road sign hanging over this broken bridge used to have the word "careful" on it, but the C & L are now worn away, leaving only the arefu showing.

Leonard, there is some strange guy with an AK 74 and leather armor strutting around at the top of the ramp like he owns it. He is about 17 years old. You don't know him, so he might not belong here.

[Chambers]

Leonard
"See, there's the sign! Almost there guys - " Leonard stops in mid-sentence and freezes. Uh-oh. Who's that guy?

He stops where he is and waves his hands in the air. "Hey! Don't shoot! It's me, Leonard! They're with me!" He shouts, nodding towards the group.

[Kislath]

"Okay... but who are YOU, then?"

[Chambers]

Leonard

Right. I don't know him, he probably doesn't know me. Where the hell is King? Leonard walks up the ramp slowly, hands held slightly to the side. "I grew up here, long time ago. Ask anyone - Evan, the Ewers, or Karen. Hell, ask anyone. Well...I guess that is pretty much everyone." He shrugs. "Also, where's Evan?"

[Lost Demiurge]

While Leonard talks, Karen eyes the nearest cover. Man, if raiders took this town, this'll be an entire stop off my route. God, I hope everything's okay...

[Volthawk]

EWW walks over to Leonard, pistol out and ready as usual.

"Having trouble?"