Undying Apocalpse: Plagued Lands {IC}

[Milo v3]

It was a cold and clear night.
Most people in the settlement were already asleep, and most who weren't stood at the towers ready to fire upon anything that moves outside the "village". This place isn't a village. It is merely luck that a small group of civilians found this abadoned military base. Within Wornill Barracks there was only sixty people, nearly of all which feared for their lives each day.

Tonight you have been called to the leaders quarters, something about food.

[Andaer]

Knowing that it was getting close to the meeting time, Meranda lets out a sigh. Getting called into the leader’s quarters was always bad news. She knew she wasn’t in any trouble. Well, not her specifically.

She took a look into her signalling mirror, arranging her blonde pixie cut as to look presentable. She didn’t want to look like a slob for this, or she might not get called back for the next secret meeting.

You see, they had daily meeting for the whole camp to be told the goings-on and news. She was being called in (along with a few others) because there was a problem for the whole camp. A problem so big, that it would be best for it not to be announced. And she was glad that her skills were starting to be recognized.

Looking down at her clothing, she frowned. Speaking of presentable, walking in with faded pajamas would be inappropriate. Unfortunately, the only few presentable outfits she had were saved for battle. Getting zombie blood on your clothing meant they would have to be burned later. Simplest thing was to suit up in her black leather battle gear (which she had fully earned the right to wear).

Rumors where saying it was to do with the food supply, but she sincerely hoped that wasn’t the case. Food was getting harder to find as the months went on, and Meranda had no idea how they were going to come up with more.

Adjusting her sleeves, she ties a dark green bandana around her neck. She then fastens the strap for her metal bo staff on her back, as she always does when not carrying a pack. Most people called her paranoid for taking it everywhere, but she knew better.
Taking one last look in her signalling mirror, she clears her throat and walks out of her room, and down the hallway towards the leader’s quarters.

[Sir_Chivalry]

"Sir, you're wanted for a meeting about food."

The thud of sledge to tent pole drowned out the man's calling.

"SIR! You are wanted for the food meeting!"

Fred stood up, his shirtless body drenched in sweat from long hours of work. The weather was unforgiving, but everyone had to pitch in or nothing would get done.

"Alright, alright, I'll be there as soon as I can."

Fred walked over to his canteen and wet his cloth slightly, sucking the moisture from the fabric to parch some of his thirst. He placed the cloth on his forehead and sat in the shelter of the erected tarps. The air was cool, and his sweat ran off him like rainwater. He sighed a contented sigh, reaching into his pocket for a few . . . nuts of some sort that he had stashed there. First food that wasn't drenched in preservatives he'd had all day. It was mainly a sip of water here and there. Other people needed the water more, so he tried to make it last. the only luxury he let himself have was keeping his hair short, as there was no time for much maintenence besides the bare necessities.

After five minutes of sitting, Fred rose and put on his undershirt and buttoned up his shirt. Sledgehammer in one hand, he walked off to the leader's tent.

[NomNom]

Knowing that it wouldn't be long before the meeting, Eric was hard at work at his workbench. He had been scrounging what electronics he could, in the hopes of pulling together something to help the survivors (and make his way home at some point).

He had been trying to find his father for what seemed like years now, and he was still not ready to strike out on his own. Upon finding the camp, he knew they would want his skills, and he did love tinkering. So far, he had been able to perform routine maintenance on the few weapons they had, and had drawn up plans for an electric fence that could surround the camp, provided they could get the materials (unlikely, but he was bored!). His latest tinkerings though could prove to be quite valuable. Although the outbreak had caused mass panic, space had been untouched. He KNEW satellites were still in orbit, and was hoping to get a GPS system together. It would be invaluable for making it home, and would be great on missions so everyone could keep track of everyone else. He already had the individual trackers mostly assembled, and needed primarily a power source before he could test them out. If only...

He was rudely interrupted though, when called to the meeting.

At least now i may be able to get some supplies.. he thinks, as he heads to the leaders tent.

[Lejosh]

Marshall had just entered the camp. He had only just gotten away from a large heard of zimbies that were chasing him out of where he had made camp. He had hidden in a large truck of spoiled vegetables as they ran past him.

After getting out of the truck he managed to find this survivers camp. But Marshall was confused as he had only just entered the camp, and the leaders wanted to see he. He slowly walked to the leaders tent, putting his hand on his knife and holstered gun, reassuring himself that they were both there.

Maybe they can help me, maybe they cant, he thought to himself. We'll have to wait and see.

[Milo v3]

All four of you are outside the leaders room. Most of you arrived at the same time, except for Merander who had been waiting for a few minutes.

The metal door slowly opens revealing Garris. He was a still relatively young and had short brown hair. He wore a light military uniform.

"Sorry for the wait, another family had a baby and I needed to make sure it wouldn't die within a day."

He then waited for everyone to walk into the room behind him to close the door. Strangely it was smaller than the rooms of most, only having a bed, a table, and seven chairs which surrounded the table.

Garris flicked a switch and the light on the ceiling flickered into life.
Slowly he sat down.

"The reason I called you here is a bleak one. As most of you are aware the food stocks have started to get low. But I doubt you know how low they really are. We only have enough for around a week maybe two."

[Andaer]

Meranda stared back at Garris, her eyes focused, not sure what to expect. She certainly wasn't expecting what she heard.

She let out a quick gasp. I had started to suspect they were low when the rules for rationing became more strict. But... I thought we were told we had enough for 2 full months at least. And that was only a few weeks back."

Looking around the room, she could see from their expressions that the others were just as shocked to hear this news.

"What... what happened to it?" she asked softly.

[Sir_Chivalry]

Fred places his sledge against the table leg.

"We'll need more food then. Probably form outlying areas. Now I'm not the sharpest knife, but I know where we'll find it, and I know what we'll find in the way, so the real question isn't where we find this food, but what we do about the others."

[NomNom]

Eric is sitting down thinking, head resting on the seat of the chair. This would be a good opportunity to maybe scavenge some parts, but survival first.

"Food is important, but I think the bigger issue is finding a way to get us self sustaining. We cant get enough food from the surrounding areas to keep us going for long, not for 60 some off people..."

[Andaer]

Meranda gives a nod of approval. She was impressed at how 'to-the-point' the others were. Reaching an arm behind her, she pulls her staff from it's holster. Holding it in one hand, she takes a step back and leans against the nearest wall. Although she agreed with both points made, she could see the problems they had.

"Sustainability is fine and all, but growing a garden needs land. And something to plant. And time. By the time we make enough food from a garden, our supplies will be long gone. But yeah, I guess we can't scavenge forever..."

She trailed off a bit, looking around the room.
"Is it possible to get the land, and the seeds, you think?"

[Milo v3]

He looked towards Meranda.
"What happened to it? We used it up. And some of it went bad. But simply, we ate it. And we are slowly getting more people from survivors to babies.

We didn't tell anyone because they would try to leave and all die.

And we've searched the outlying areas for food. The only things left are zom- sick animals. But we can get food from that Ravenholm town. Its a day away and we haven't been there for a long time. But apparently it's got a huge amount of food stocks.

Some of these are vegetables which will help us become actually sustainable."

[Lejosh]

"As much as i am all for goin to find these vegetables, we will also need meats if we are to survive" Marshall says as he lightly leans against the tent frame.

[Milo v3]

"As I said, some of it is vegetable, but some of it is meat."

[Lejosh]

"What I mean is that once the meat from those stores runs out, and all the other stores is out, what then, so we shall have an infinite supply of vegetables, but we will still need meat." Marshall says, fully knowing that he is arguing something that may be far into the future and it may be a futil attempt.

[Milo v3]

"Sigh.

Saddly every cow we have come across appeared to be infected. We haven't found a live sheep, chickens, or fish. We could try to clean and eat the infected meat but it would be to much of a risk."

[Andaer]

Shuttering slightly at the mention of finding infected cattle, Meranda grips her Bo Staff in both hands. Still leaning on the wall, she speaks up.

"Yes, eating infected meat is a risk no one here is willing to take. Which is part of the bigger problem. If we were raising cattle and some damn rat came in and passed the infection on to them... Well we'd lose everything then. Especially if we didn't notice they were infected in time..."

She moves the end of her staff across the floor absentmindedly.

"Instead, I think we should try and harvest some peanuts, or beans or something. Something to give us protein when the meat stores run out."

Meranda looks up.

"Ravenholm is our best source of food, you say? And Fred says he can find it once we get there."

[NomNom]

Eric remains stoic for a bit, thinking and recalling things from his studies. It is possible to get proteins from sources other then meat, and most essential vitamins and minerals can come from vegetables.

Speaking up, he says "She's right. Most legumes have a decent amount of protein in them. We wont be winning any strong man competitions, but we will survive. If we could find a pharmacy in Ravenholm (why does that sound so familiar?) then we might be able to find some supplements that could be used as well."

[Lejosh]

Thinking about it, they could get the protein from these vegetables. Marshall made a mental note to try and find some uninfected animals and meats.

"Ok, so we get to Ravenholm, collect as much food as we can carry, bring it all back here. That shouldnt be too much trouble."

[Andaer]

Meranda gives the staff a quick spin, still being absentminded. Supplements would be useful to find. Even simply finding supplement bottles would give just about all the information they'd need to make some of their own.

She gives a nod at Marshall's comment. "Yes, it doesn't sound like much trouble..."

Suddenly she looks intently at Garris. "So, why are we even having this meeting, then? Why can't you just get some of the soldiers to do an extra shift of patrol while the other half of them go and get this food?"

She wasn't sure what sort of answer she'd get from this loaded question, but she felt a strong need to ask it.

[Milo v3]

"Because the soldiers aren't really soldiers, they are little more than a miltia. They can kill the stray lone zombie here and there. But against three or more they are likely to be overwhelmed.

You on the other hand have all had to survive. Together you could survive."

[Sir_Chivalry]

"Well then we should get to it."

[Andaer]

Another nod from Meranda accompanied with an, "I see..." under her breath. She wondered what the others all had to go through to get to this point. Near-death experiences and grueling treks aren't the best thing to lighten the mood. As such, they were seldom told.


With a grunt she stands herself straight. With a tap on the ground with her staff she speaks up: "Alright, sounds good to me. Are we bringing a cart? Are we trying for stealth? What's the plan?"

[NomNom]

You can almost hear the gears turning in Eric's head. His whole life has been spent thinking and planning, and he only got more practice when he struck out on his own years ago. With the infection, he has learned even more tricks.

Finally, he says "I think I can come up with something but I will need some more information. Do we have a map to Ravenholm? Alternate routes? Map of the area itself? Knowledge of infected or non infected in the area? Bags we can use?

From each of you I will need some more information as well. How much can you carry? Weapons and skills you have? How fast you can run? How fast can you run while carrying a load? Knowledge of groceries? Knowledge of pharmaceuticals? Knowledge of basic first aid? If i can get all this information or more I can formulate a plan..."

[Milo v3]

"I have a scout who once lived there he should be finishing the map in a few minutes. As for as we know the Williams family is still alive and should be living in the farm which lies between this base and Ravenholm. As for bags, I might be able to get you a small car or something to hold the food. If not then we can probably get you a good amount of lightweight bags."

[NomNom]

Alright then. Let us get what seems reasonable carrying wise and head to this families place. I need time to think and they have more information I could possibly use.

[Andaer]

"Alright, agreed. Let's get to it. As for skills, I've learned how to build things and how to find things fairly well. I've also set up camp on my own a few times, and I've bandaged a wound before. If you need to know how much we can carry, we should run a few tests before leaving. That way, you'll have accurate numbers. I suggest we do that, go to sleep, and leave in the morning."

She gives a look around the room.

"Sound good?"

[Lejosh]

"Im a survivalist and a good shot, i don't know how much i can carry but i can help with scouting and protection of u guys" Marshall says tapping his pistol.

[Sir_Chivalry]

"I'm all for sleep and leaving early, it has been a long day."

[Andaer]

Great!" Meranda exclaims, putting her staff away onto her back.

"Let's get some heavy things and a bathroom scale from the storeroom, and get going. I really want to sleep as much as possible."

[Milo v3]

"I'll leave you to rest. Try and arrive at the main gate before sunrise. I shall meet you all there tommorrow. Farewell and be safe."

[NomNom]

Sorry was gone all weekend

Assuming the basic tests went well, Eric draws up a fairly good plan, as well as some possible back ups during the night. He still manages to get enough rest (somehow) but skips most of his morning activities to make it to the gate on time.

He is the first to arrive, and pulls out his plans to make further notes

Hm Meranda can only carry *scribble* and out scouting friend should probably stay fairly unencumbered. I wonder if the folks at that farm will still be alive when we get there, I should write up a contingency if we cant contact them.. hmmm

[Andaer]

Seeing Eric at the gate, Meranda walks over and greets him.

She is wearing the same outfit she sported last night, except she had large backpack on. Her pack had a place to fasten her bo staff, but otherwise seemed fairly empty considering the length of the trip.

"Morning, Eric." she says with a hint of enthusiasm, waving a hand. "Do you have everything sorted out?"

[Sir_Chivalry]

Seeing Eric at the gate, Meranda walks over and greets him.

She is wearing the same outfit she sported last night, except she had large backpack on. Her pack had a place to fasten her bo staff, but otherwise seemed fairly empty considering the length of the trip.

"Morning, Eric." she says with a hint of enthusiasm, waving a hand. "Do you have everything sorted out?"

Fred approaches, wearing a kevlar vest, his sledge and knife kept at his belt.

"Let's get going."

[NomNom]

Smiling at Meranda, he nods. She can detect a sense of exhaustion from him, but nothing that could be a detriment to the mission. Its the kind of tired from being up all night studying, something he has done before (but with more sleep this time around)

"Yes I think we should be ready. I only hope that we can get enough supplies back so we don't have to make a return trip anytime soon. I have a couple contingencies ready as well from looking at our rough map. Once we reach that farm house I can flesh out the last details."

He finishes as Fred approaches. Then sits down to wait for their fourth member.

[Lejosh]

Marshall walks over to the group "We had best get going unless we want to get stuck out there for too many nights."

Marshall then begin to slowly walk out the gates of the fortress.

[Milo v3]

You all see a white station wagon drive towards the group from a bunker. In the drivers seat is Garris. Once within 20ft he slowly stops the car and steps out.

"He is the car. I'm told their is a good amount of fuel in it. Good Luck."

[Sir_Chivalry]

Fred climbs into the driver's seat.

"Might be a long haul, I'll take first shift."

[NomNom]

Ah excellent plenty of space, Eric thinks as he jumps into the back seat. Maybe I will have time for a nap before we get to the farm!

[Andaer]

Meranda looks the car up and down.

"I just hope we don't attract too much unwanted attention with this. We should head out, I guess. Good luck to you too, Garris."

She climbs into the car, placing her pack behind her.


Once everyone is inside, she takes a deep breath as Fred starts driving towards the first destination: the farm house.

[Lejosh]

Marshall sits in the back of the wagon, he doesn't say anything, he just lays there waiting for them to start moving.

[NomNom]

Fast forward through trip to the house...?

[Andaer]

I say very yes

[Sir_Chivalry]

I say very yes

I whole-heartedly agree

[Milo v3]

The car wasn't in the best shape but it got you to the house rather quickly, only took you a hour and a half. As you drove across the lands you could see old farms which had been left in ruin, each field filled with corpses of livestock.

Every now and then you could see zombies in the distance, but luckily none seemed to notice the car.

The sky is now brighter and a sky blue. The car is now in front of the road which connects to the front of the two houses of the Williams family.

Both abodes are decrepit and the wood appears to be rotting slightly in areas of peeled paint. Otherwise the houses look fine. The door to the house of the left is wide open and flapping in the calm breeze.

The smell of rot is assailing your sense of smell. The land is silent, except for the breeze.

[Andaer]

Taking a look at the houses, Meranda felt her stomach turn. The entire place gave off a bad vibe, and the open door didn't bode well.

"Well, I'm not liking the looks of this. The open door seems especially out of place. Nobody leaves doors open anymore, and zombies usually break down doors."

She adjusts her bandana around her neck uncomfortably, letting out a sigh.

"I suppose first things first, we should announce ourselves. Not only will it keep us from being shot, but it will pull any zombies from hiding.

Personally, I hate ambushes." She adds, attempting some humor.

Looking around once more, she searched for anything else out of place. (check)

[Milo v3]

You don't notice anything new.

[NomNom]

Upon seeing the house, Eric visibly discolors. If everyone is dead in the house, it is a bad way to start the mission off. He hates when a plan goes off course.

Listening to Miranda, he says "I would agree with that. Perhaps have our gentleman with the hammer in front?"

He then climbs to the roof of the car, to get a better view and vantage point. He readies his bow, and waits for the person to announce their arrival.

In the back of his mind he wonders... Did they not hear our car pull up?

[Andaer]

Meranda takes her bo staff from her pack and stands on the left side in front of the car. She moves so Eric is not in her blind spot, and takes a deep stance. Readying her staff in front of her, she has a stern, yet worried expression on her face.

"On your call." She says looking over at Fred.

[Lejosh]

Marshall draws his gun, holding it tightly aiming it forwards and readying to kill any zombies that may come towards the group.

[Sir_Chivalry]

Fred steps up, gripping the hammer in both hands.

"Lets see what we can see then."

He takes a few steps forward.

"Hello? Hey, anyone?"

And he waits for the dead to come.

[Milo v3]

The wooden house creaks and bellows under its own weight, but no response comes forth.

Everyone make an Intuition check please. :smallamused:

[Milo v3]

Meranda & Fred only
Te-Te-Te-Te-Te-Te-Te-Te-Te-Te-Te-Te-Te-Te-Te
You hear quick and quiet steps coming out of from the open door of the house. Shadows dash past the windows. Then it stops. Except for a tiny little patter.
Th-th-th

Everyone (Including Meranda & Fred)
A man stumbles out of the front door, blood stained his white shirt and jeans. His flesh was a sickly pale green, except for stray patches of purple flesh which seemed to have grown into grotestque cancerous bulges.

{table=head]|A|B|C|D|E|F|G|H|I|J
1|f|||||||Z1|h|h
2|||M1||||||h|h
3|c|c||F||||||
4|cE|c|||||||h|h
5|f||M2||||||h|h
6|f||||||||h|h[/table]

Key
f=Fence
h=house
Z1=Zombie
c=Car
E=Eric
M1=Meranda
M2=Marshall
F=Fred

Battle Order
Fred
Meranda
Zombie

[Sir_Chivalry]

Fred grips his sledgehammer and runs towards the zombie, swinging it at his legs.

Attack: [roll0] assuming it's level+str mod
Damage: [roll1] assuming it still works the same way.