Trials of the Desert Republic (IC)

[TwoBitWriter]

It is the middle of June, and the air is scorching hot. But for those who live in the Desert Republic, its business as usual.

It has been at least one hundred years since the war, but most have lost count, and humanity has barely recovered from having nearly 96% of its world population wiped out. There is no United States, that is just a fading memory. What was once US territory has fragmented into countless petty factions. Vast expanses of wasteland remain unclaimed by any of the growing powers. These are the homes to the bandits and the tribes. There are even rumors of more frightening monstrosities in the uncivilized out lands.

But those greater issues are of little concern to each of you. You are all members of the Kingman town militia, located near the Western border of the DR. You are all performing your mandatory two years of active duty. But your time in the militia has already been quite active, and you have all seen your share of action against the dangerous Los Banditos gang.

Today started off as another seemingly normal day. None of you are terribly familiar with the other, mostly having served in different squads or platoons.
That all changes when you are each approached by First Sergeant Jamal Idaho.

"Captain Duncan has asked that I gather six men from the company, and I'm picking you to be one of them. Report to Kingman militia HQ by 1700 hours. And don't think of skipping this one, I have already given him your name. "

1st Sergeant Idaho is a common sight, serving as aid to Captain Duncan himself. Both Idaho and Duncan are something of legendary figures in the militia company, having extensive combat experience during their time with the DR Army.

[Serje]

Michael 'Mike' Rodriguez

Michael is a fairly distinctive and recogniseable person, the eye-patch he wears over the wreckage of his left eye is very noticeable and does not fully cover the jagged scar that runs across the left side of his face, nor does his flowing shoulder length black hair help much in hiding it either. He stands just under six foot tall with broad shoulders and fairly strong muscles around a lithe and agile frame. He was wearing his normal, every day clothes when Idaho had approached him; a dark brown fitted leather jacket on top of a plain white vest, a pair of dusty dark blue jeans and a pair of nondescript black trainers.

'Yes Sir Sergeant' he says after his visit, before gathering up the rest of his equipment. Slinging his backpack and quiver over his shoulder, his bow strapped safely to the side of them and picking up his spiked baseball bat with his free hand, Mike set out to the Kingman militia HQ, hoping to make it in time to report to the Captain.

[Penril]

Edmund

'Sir replies Edmund with a nod and he marches back towards his tent to gather his things So much for patrol day, he thinks as he checks his med kit and equipment. He tries not to think about why he would be picked above the other medics around. Being the humble sort, he decided that anyone who was in his position two weeks ago would have done the same thing. He was just doing his job, as ever. His train of thought is ended as he realises that he is short a few things Scissors! Why have I lost my scissors? Edmund sighs and wanders around the other tents and scrounges some new scissors and a few other bits and pieces. Nothing perfect, but then again, nothing was. He couldn't remember ever having a full med kit, but he persevered; they all did.

After about ten minutes of scrounging and preparing, he heads towards militia HQ, hoping to have time to drop in and see his wife on the way.

[estradling]

Brigham

The generator was a mismash of wires and hobbled together parts, that made it hard to start and even harder to keep running. Not that it ran often. Fuel was hard to come by and electrical devices that it would power even more so. Still when he wasn't being used as a warm body to fill out the militia's front lines against the Los Banditos, Brigham could be found here, working out his two years.

When Sergeant Idaho informs him of his new assignment, he is busy with a very delicate adjustment, that he thought would finally fix it. So in clipped tones he acknowledges, "HQ... 1700... Got it. Sir."

As the time draws near Brigham wipes his hands on an already filthy rag and heads to HQ

[Ipphli]

Bryan Mellor

The husky young man nodded uncertainly. "Yes sir. 1700 hours. Yes sir." Bryan quickly packed his meager belongings once the sarge had left; after all, no one really had much anymore. He couldn't begin to understand why he, the new guy, had been chosen. But, pa had warned him that he wouldn't always know why he'd be asked to do what he was. "Just be sure you do it and do it right," Pa had been quick to add.
After double checking his arrows and making sure he had everything, Bryan headed towards HQ, wondering whether he'd get a chance to right his family before he got sent out.

[Vazzaroth]

Kent Bellata

Kent is returning to his tent from "salvaging" when he ran into Idaho, managing to hide the batteries he nicked while no one was looking.
The captain? Huh. Must be important. Thanks... for the recommendation I guess, I'll be there.

When it comes time, Kent heads over to the HQ after donning his makeshift armor: A set of sports pads that he found to be a great upgrade from the jacket he was issued, casually spinning his bayonet-daggers in his hands.

[Townopolis]

Morgan

Morgan was lounging, shirtless, on the porch of what serves some Kingman residents as a sort of canteen and cards club, when Idaho finds him. He was reclining against the wall of the building, a flask of Fish Harry's homemade (was there any other kind?) alcoholic concoction. The stuff burned and tasted like overripe lemons beneath the distinct taste of alcohol, but it sure did the trick. Morgan looked up at Idaho and gave a short, lazy nod.

"Yeah, sure. Sure thing."

And then he was back to sipping the booze and watching people scurry around. He briefly considered pretending to pass out from heatstroke, but decided Idaho was probably really serious this time, and it might actually be interesting.

After that, he got caught up in a game of cards with his new friends, Wise and Michael. Two weeks in town and they had picked him up at this very place, shown him the town, introduced to everything Kingman had to offer, and finished it off by getting pissed swapping tall tales with him. They were the reason he had stayed another week, the reason he'd gotten saddled with the whole militia business. Moranog was about to win with a rather smashing hand, when he noticed the position of the sun, and realized he was going to be late for the meeting. He apologized to Wise and Mike, dropped his hand on the table, and swung his backpack, always packed, onto his shoulders. He left to the sound of their chuckles as they discarded his winning hand.

[TwoBitWriter]

Company K headquarters is simply an old police station that was converted for militia purposes. It now more closely resembles an old medieval fortress. Most of the windows are missing, having been boarded up. Miltiamen patrol the rooftop and surrounding space with bored expressions on their faces, toting compound bows, crossbows, and whatever melee weapon they were able to acquire.

You all see Captain Duncan very infrequently, as he is charged with commanding the entire militia force of Kingman. He is a very busy man. If he wished to see you personally, then it must be very important.
You enter KHQ, and meet with a pleasant-faced young woman who appears to be somewhere in her mid-twenties. You forget her name but you know that she is Duncan's secretary.

She instructs you to have a seat while she notifies the captain of your arrival.
(OOC - Each of you arrive in the same order that you posted)
None of you really know each other that well, some you recognize only in passing.

It only takes a few minutes after Morgan arrives for the young woman to come back. "Captain Duncan is ready to see you now."

You shuffle into Duncan's office. You see him sitting behind a large desk strewn with papers, maps, and empty tequila bottles. He is in his mid-thirties with dark hair and is dressed in old DR military fatigues. He has a brass star pinned to his chest, symbolizing his secondary role as town sheriff. He looks up at you as you enter, then pours some tequila into a glass. He says nothing for a moment, looking at each of you and sipping his tequila. After a few tense moments he puts the glass down and smiles.
"I had asked Sergeant Idaho to find six of the best men in the company. I guess thats you."

He pushes some papers away from his desk onto the floors, revealing a large road map. It still has the old US state boundaries on it, red marker is used to single out the DR and surrounding territories.

"Last week, I sent out a team of Rangers on a recon mission to find the Los Banditos camp. We have known for a long time that most of their attacks seem to originate from the old Highway 66." He draws his finger along the road.

"Their mission was simply to find the base and report back... but they haven't returned yet and I am starting to fear the worst. Thats where you come in."

He looks up at you, taking another sip of tequila. "I needed another team of skilled men, small enough to help avoid detection, but talented enough to handle any trouble that comes their way. You have been selected to find what happened to the missing Rangers, and, if they have been eliminated or compromised in anyway... Well... you will have to finish their mission. We need to know where they camp so we can end their threat forever."

He smiles. "I am sorry for being so abrupt, but this is very important. Do you have any questions so far?"

[Penril]

Edmund

No sir, Edmund stares at the map, trying to memorize the approximate distances and locations, just in case.

[Vazzaroth]

Kent Bellata

Nah. Seems pretty straightforward.

Kent shoots a glance to the man with the eyepatch. He kept envisioning some knife fight that goes bad and someone loses an eye.

[TwoBitWriter]

Not waiting for any other responses, Duncan continues. "In order to help maintain a low profile, you will not be taking horses or any vehicles. The going will be slow and rough. Stop by the quartermaster and get yourself some food rations, radios, batteries, and maybe some extra bolts or arrows if you need them."

He glances over to Edmund. "You may want to grab a vial of RadScorp antivenom too. There are reports of a new nest thats popped up somewhere in that area and we haven't been able to send a fireteam to clean it out yet."

"And I know that your a medic, Larkin, but I'm also putting you in command of this little expedition."

He sits back down in his chair. "Thats it, I want you ready to leave by 0600 tomorrow. Watch out for the Banditos and the Radbeasts, and try to get back within the week. Now, is there anything you need before I dismiss you?"

[Penril]

Slightly taken aback by the instruction, Edmund rallies and salutes. Yes, Sir. Any idea which direction the team were headed, Route 66 is a pretty big area. He turns to the others, Okay, get your stuff together and meet me on the edge of town at 0600

[estradling]

Brigham

Sergeant Idaho must be touched in the head. Why else would he pick Brigham as one of the best for a scouting/recon mission? It would be different if they were raiding some old city site or some place they might find something they could salvage. That he could understand. This didn't make a whole lot of sense... Unless Idaho thought it might be a good experience for him?!?

Yeah that made some kind of twisted sense. The other guys didn't hang out in the same places he did, which meant they didn't have the same interests. They where the experts and Brigham was going along to 'learn him a thing or two'

Having made sense of it (or so he thought) Brigham nods and doesn't ask any questions

[Serje]

Michael

Mike had been the first person to arrive at the headquarters and so when the others had arrived he was already deep in some unknown thought, his normally piercing blue eye glazed over. He stayed silent throughout the briefing having no questions he wanted answering; he was streetwise and perceptive but he was not a thinker, that was usually best left to someone else.

One of the best, eh... he thinks to himself, quite proud of this fact, a slight smile spreading across his face because of this. Wonder what the rest of these lot are good at, we got ourselves a doc anyways, he should be very helpful.

Still no questions jumped into his mind and so he just nodded silently and waited for either someone else to think of something or for them to be dismissed.

[Townopolis]

Morgan

Morgan listened silently, leaning against the wall throughout the briefing and gently tapping out a rhythm on his chest with his fingers. So far, everything made perfect sense. Rangers, banditos, it sounded like a simple enough trip. He mentally went over what he might or might not want to pick up from the quartermaster before the trip, then tilted himself free of the wall and grinned.

"Sure thing, doc... bossman!

He spoke cheerfully, then snapped a lazy salute to the captain and medic both, and figured he was dismissed until 0600. He turned to the door and let himself out, winking to the secretary as he made to exit the old police station.

Provided he gets out, Morgan then heads directly to the quartermaster, and, after browsing for a bit and wasting time, sees about acquiring any or all of the following: Climbing Gear, Rope, a Mesh Vest, Binoculars (preferably rangefinding), and a Flashlight.

[TwoBitWriter]

Duncan nods at Edmund's question. He traces the highway with his finger. "The plan was for the Rangers to follow the highway without actually traveling on it, it was agreed that staying on 66 was far too dangerous. While planning out the mission, it was determined that it would be safest to stay north of the highway, but still keeping it in sight."

"They weren't equipped with any long-range radios, so we weren't in contact with them after they set out. We have no idea what happened after they left Kingman or if they ever deviated from the plan."

(To Morgan)
The Quartermaster pulls up the Rope, Mesh Vest, Binoculars, Basic Walkie-Talkie, and Flashlight. "Sorry man, we don't have a set of rangefinders or professional climbing gear. And be careful with the batteries in that Walkie, they have been used and recharged so much that they will only live for about 4 hours if its turned on continuously. You may want to save it for when you need it. The flashlight batteries are pretty fresh, though. You should get a good life out of them..."

[Serje]

Michael

Michael watched the shirtless man as he dismissed himself and left the room, presumably to gather supplies. Having heard all he needed to know, Mike decided to follow suit."Captain, if I can just dismiss myself too." He gives a proper salute to the Captain, and then another to the medic. "Sir, I'll go gather my things he says to their newly appointed leader before leaving the headquarters and making his way to the quartermaster.

I could do with some food for this trip... Some more arrows couldn't hurt either... Maybe a pair of binoculars... Having decided on what he wanted, Michael looked around the place for them before asking the quartermaster directly. "Hello there" he says with a little smile on his face, "you got any rations for me? I could maybe do with some more arrows too if you've got some, and if theres a spare pair of binoculars somewhere I could do with them too."

[TwoBitWriter]

Captain Duncan frowns. "I'm sorry, I forgot to dismiss you all. Speak to the quartermaster and pick up whatever you feel you may need, and don't forget those walkies!"

(To Michael)

The Quartermaster nods. He leaves for a moment to check the storage, then returns with all of your requested items. This includes a pair of binoculars, a dozen arrows, a basic walkie-talkie, and 7 days worth of rations. "The Walkie's batterys are a bit worn, so you will only get about 4 hours of use out of them. So don't leave it on unless you need it. Good luck out there man."

[Ipphli]

Bryan

Bryan nods, salutes the Captain and his new commander, then turns and walks out. He shakes his head as he steps outside. "Expert? What am I an expect on? I just got here. I guess maybe I'm just muscle or something. Maybe just a disposable body. Oh well..."
Bryan heads to the quartermaster and picks up some more rations and some more arrows. He also remembers to grab the walkie like the Captain ordered. He already had everything else he could think of needing. After he packs it all up in his backpack, he takes the time to write a note to his family explaining what was happening. Hopefully it wouldn't be his last letter.

[Vazzaroth]

Kent Bellata

Kent gives a hasty salute.
Captain.

He leaves and makes his way to the storehouse.
Cool. I've been hoping for something to happen. A chance to put this training into action.

Kent arrives and seeks out the clerk.
Heya. I could always use more ammo for this baby; Kent pats the Crossbow folded at his side ; and I've been told I can get some rations for an upcoming mission and a radio.

Kent's eyes wander around the area, naturally making his thoughts turn to ways to steal things, but he stashed those thoughts away and his demeanor turned slightly grim. It would be a shame to the ol' Randalf to rip-off the militia his son died for.

[Penril]

Edmund

As the rest of the gang file out, Edmund remains for a time checking distances and any noteable landmarks on the map, trying to commit it all to memory. Once satisfied, he finds a quite spot, pulls out a stub of pencil and jotts down a list of the things he'll need to do.

He spends the rest of the day preparing himself, picking up some useful items (radio, rope, a hat and as much RadScorp antivenom as he can beg/borrow/steal) and planning for the venture ahead.

He gets an early night and arises before sun up and heads for the edge of down to await the rest of the team.

[Townopolis]

Morgan

A short while after the sun claws its way over the horizon and into the sky, Morgan trots around to the edge of town. He is wearing the same simple homemade cotton pants as he was before, but this time he is also wearing a matching pullover shirt, an old mesh vest over that, and a beaten brown leather jacket over that. Below, he has added homemade chaps and boots. A longsword hangs at his left hip in a scabbard, and a light warhammer hangs at his right from a simple loop. on his back, he carries his normal pack full of stuff.

Having arrived, he sets his pack down, and sits on it, waiting silently for more to arrive.

[Serje]

Michael

Michael was awake early, not like he had slept much though really. He'd never been one to sleep a lot, late nights and early mornings were the normal routine for Mike. There's plenty of time for sleeping in the grave had always been his thoughts on the subject and it was a motto that had served him well so far in his life.

So it was not long after sunrise that he strolled out of his house and toward the meeting area. He was wearing the same clothes as yesterday with the addition of a battered and worn looking oilcloth outback hat. He had all his equipment stashed inside his small backpack apart from his weapons and quiver; the quiver was slung over his shoulder with the bow lightly strapped to it while he carried his baseball bat.

As soon as he arrives he shrugs off his gear and sets it down, dropping down to sit next to it. He sits in a rather casual position, relaxed and calm with his bat lying on the floor not far from his hand. He nods slightly to everyone else that was there before him, showing a greeting but still staying silent, waiting for somebody else to speak first.

[estradling]

Brigham

When he is getting basic supplies he asks the quartermaster if they have any geiger counters. With the radbeast and the area being unexplored by people form Kingman, he thought it would be a wise precaution.

In the morning he shows up at the gathering place and sees many are already there. He nods and said simply, " Good Morning"

[TwoBitWriter]

(To Brigham)

The Quartermaster shakes his head grimly. "Sorry, man. Geiger's are the exclusive property of the Salvagers. The Militia is only allowed to borrow them if we have to enter known irradiated areas. We usually have to get by using our homemade ones." He thinks for a moment, then turns away and walks into the storeroom. He comes back and drops a box on the table. "These are a bunch of electrical parts that I have spare, maybe you can make your own?" (You can add 5 Electrical parts to your inventory. In the Apoc book, to simplify building/repair, you use a general mechanical/electrical part. So those 5 electrical parts can be used to build/repair any electrical device.

(To Edmund)

Along with all your other requests, the Quartermaster hands you a small bottle. "Thats the anti-venom, should be enough for three doses. I trust you have your own syringe? Also, the batteries on that walkie are only good for about 4 hours, so be careful what you use if for."

(To Everyone)

You have all arrived at the western edge of town. You set out, following the remains of the old Highway 66. Most of it is still intact, but the road itself is covered in debris and the junk of numerous broken-down vehicles, all of which have been stripped to bare, rusty shells. Hawks and buzzards circle overhead and you see the occasional desert creature run past.

The terrain is hilly and rocky, but the desert sands manage to snake their way in between the hills and crevices. There are plenty of places to hide, whether from roving eyes or in preparation of an ambush...

Route 66 turns sharply south, but your maps indicate that in approximately 10 miles it will turn Southwest and eventually meet up with I-40, a major thoroughfare that is popular with trade caravans coming up from the Southern California Confederacy.

(To Morgan)

As you are originally from the SCC, you know that I-40 is a hotbed of bandit activity. You are not sure which bands frequent this particular stretch, but you wouldn't be surprised if the Los Banditos gang had a stake in the region.

As stated previously, the highway itself is littered with junk. While obviously appearing picked over, it is still possible that something useful may be acquired. That would require walking along the highway itself, making it easier for you to be spotted if anyone were watching. However (enough of you have a high enough survival to know this so I'm making it general knowledge,) staying away from the highway and pushing through the desert will make it much more likely for you to stumble upon a group of Radbeasts.

It is about noon now,

[Ipphli]

Bryan

Bryan wakes up shortly before dawn like he was used to from life on the farm. He quickly got ready and gathered his things before heading out to meet the others.
He walks up wearing a worn, brown leather jacket and a battered tan cowboy hat. His hatchet and quiver hang from opposite sides of his belt, with his club and bow attacked to his backpack. He nods curtly to the rest of his new team before moving a bit to one side by himself. After slinging his pack off his shoulders and setting it down he looks around vaguely, apparently lost in his own thoughts.

[Serje]

Michael

"Mornin' " Mike replies, speaking in a deep and fairly rough voice, happy that someone else had broken the silence. His one good eye stares into the distance as he thinks about what would be the best way to proceed. He knew that pushing through the deserts could be dangerous, but with the risk of bandits or other enemies so could going over the bridge. They were definitely between a rock and a hard place and no mistake.

[Ipphli]

Bryan

"If I can make a suggestion sir? Most critters sleep during the heat of the day. Bandits ain't so accomodating. May be best to stay off the road." Bryan finishes his remark with a shrug; its not his place to decide what they do next. He adjusts his backpack slightly as he peers about keeping an eye out.

[Vazzaroth]

Kent Bellata

I'm not afraid of critters. Bandits though... that's another story.

Kent unfolds his crossbow as they walk, knowing full well the risk these uncivilized lands held. Not that back in town was particularly civilized, heh.

[Serje]

Michael

Mike listens to the pair as they both speak their concerns of what they should do; both of them wanting to avoid the highway and push through the desert. Michael didn't particularly mind, he was torn between risking attacks by bandits or others on the highway or going through the desert and risking stumbling across radbeasts unnecessarily and wasting their anti-venom. Either way he was staying quiet about it, leaving the planning to their new leader. However, he was intrigued to actually find out who he was working with.

"So... Who exactly are we all here? The only name I've heard so far is Larkin. I'm Michael anyways, Michael Rodriguez. You can call me Mike if you like though, some people do, some people don't... I can't say I mind..." He then looks around expectantly, waiting for the others to introduce themselves too.

[Townopolis]

Morgan

Morgan doesn't express any opinions for taking the road or staying off it, opting to let more concerned people decide that, and instead contents himself with whistling snatches of an old tune. When Michael introduces himself, Morgan cracks a grin.

"Name's Morgan, pleasure to meet'chya. Really, though, call me whatever ya like. Long as I know it's me you're asking for, I don't mind."

He extends one hand for a brief handshake, before returning it to where it was resting on the hilt or head of a weapon.

[Vazzaroth]

Kent stares at Mike and Morgan, trying to memorize the name to the face. He's had trouble with these kind of things before.

Kent. Nice and short, eh?

[Ipphli]

Bryan

Bryan looks around, grinning sheepishly. "Sorry y'all. My name's Bryan. Bryan Mellor. Call me Bryan I guess."

[estradling]

Brigham

"Brigham Jones." He said to introduce himself. "To be honest, I am kinda puzzled as to why I was chosen. I'm not a survival, scout, or combat person. I'm a techhead repair guy. However those where the orders so here I am, I just figured the man in charge of this little expedition." He nods his head toward the Doc. "Should know what tools he has to work with."

[Penril]

Edmund

What I see here is a broad range of skills that will, I'm sure, overcome any situation we face out there. My name, as you probably know is Edmund Larkin, but most people call me Doc. I'm sure that if we all work together and stay focused, my skills won't be required on this mission. Nnow, the area we have to look for our missing Rangers is big, so what I propose is that we says spread out in a line and comb the area as best we can. I want to see alot of space between each man. Keep your eyes peeled and we should be able to go in, grab our guys and get out. I agree with Bryan, the bandits use the road, so we won't, we'll take the same route as the missing group and hopefully find some clues on the way. Remember, finding that lost patrol is our primary objective, so don't get any ideas about chasing gun-ho after bandits. Any questions? No? Good. Lets go!

Edmund turns away from the group, takes a look at the vast desert ahead of him and marchs off. Wow, that was easier than I thought. Maybe I can be a leader ...

[TwoBitWriter]

(I'm gonna start your guys out now.)

You follow the Ranger's route south. There is a rocky ridge that lines most of the highway, which you use to screen your movements so that no one who may be on the highway would be able to see you. Every half hour or so of travel you look over the ridge to check on the highway. Wrecked vehicles grow fewer and fewer as noon fast approaches and the air grows hotter.

The sun is now hanging directly overhead, and the town of Kingman is no longer visible. What you can now see is the ruins of various small buildings, settlements, and old gas stations that have long been picked through. These locales always offer scavenging opportunities, and the occasional adventurous types still wander out this far.

Times passes uneventfully, and no one in the spread formation you are taking notices any clue or indication about the Rangers that passed this way the week before. Eventually, the ridge that you are hiding behind curves sharply back north, while the highway itself turns to the Southwest. You are forced to abandon your cover in order to follow the highway. There is another ridge miles away, but it is impossible for you to reach before nightfall.

Night is now fast approaching, and suddenly an old farmhouse looms into your view. It looks long abandoned, but might make excellent shelter for the night, when, as Bryan said, all the critters like to come out. You have been walking with few breaks for nearly 12 hours and everyone (with the possible exception of Bryan) is starting to feel the need to bed down for the evening.

(Everyone please make spot checks to notice anything about the farm house at a distance. If you have binoculars in your possesion, add an additional +2 to the roll. Also, make sure that you consume at least one ration of food from your inventory for the day's activity.)

[Penril]

Edmund

[roll0]

Looks like a good spot to rest, or be ambushed. Keep your wits about, guys. I know its been a long day, but we don't want it to be our last.

[Serje]

Michael

Michael stays silent throughout the Doc's little tactics talk, and then he stays quiet all through the day as they march on, his mind on other things. As the farmhouse enters their vision, Michael is both wary and relieved. He was more than happy to find a place to rest, the days trek had tired him quite a lot, but he was more than aware that there could be any number of things inside that house that they really don't want to be meeting.

"Huh, it looks almost too good to be true.." he says, his voice mumbling a little, speaking to himself more than anyone else. "Whats the plan then Doc, we gonna go check it out?" While they walk he pulls his pair of binoculars out of his pack and stares through them, hoping for some indication of what they should expect from the house.

[roll0]

[Ipphli]

Bryan

Bryan nods after Doc finishes giving his orders and takes his place in the line. He tries and keeps an eye out for anything and everything, but sees nothing.
After they spot the house and gather round, he takes out his binoculars and checks out the house, wondering whether the day was finally over, or just about to get interesting.

spot (1d20+4+2=16)

[Townopolis]

Morgan

Morgan grins as he catches sight of the farmhouse, and at first he strikes out towards it at once. He stops, however, when he notices others retrieving their binoculars and scoping it out.

"Oh... right, uh."

He hastily pulls out his own pair of lenses, and fixes them on the farmhouse. He crouches down as he looks, sweeping over the farmhouse and its surroundings quickly to see what he can see. As he watches, he continues to whistle snatches of arbitrary tunes, stopping and switching songs every now and then as he pauses, catching sight of some interesting feature or another.

[roll0]

[Vazzaroth]

Kent

Kent looks about at the others grabbing their binocs. He puts his head down and curses.
Crap.

probably should have grabbed some.

[roll0]

Kent looks towards their leader.

See anything? I can go check it out if you want. And radio back. He holds up his walkie-talkie.

[estradling]

Brigham

The tech was tired. He wasn't really a big fan of walking. He was trained and drilled by the militia which allowed him keep up and pull his own weight, but he was by no means hardened to it.

Seeing the farmhouse, he shared the same thoughts as the others, could be a good place if it wasn't already being used for something


[roll0]

[TwoBitWriter]

To Morgan

While scanning over the house with your binoculars, you notice that on the North side of the house there is what appears to be the decaying corpse of a horse. It has been dead for some time, and is covered in misshapen purple splotches.

No one else notices anything odd about the house itself. It is two stories, and the entry door is facing away from you (you are looking at its Eastern side.)

None of the house's windows are intact, but it is dark inside so you cannot see inside the house just yet. There is no movement.

You can tell that this house once sat on a farm, but that farm is now just apart of the desert wastes. The highway is also about a quarter-mile to the south of the house.

[Townopolis]

Morgan

Morgan puts his binoculars away and stands up grinning. He turns to look at the rest of the group with this big smile on his face, brushing a stray strand of blond hair out of his face then reaching for his weapons with a sense of eagerness.

"This farmhouse looks interesting. There's a dead animal outside, and it don't exactly look like he died o' starvation, in fact, I think we may be looking at a rad nest. Makes sense, anyways, they'd like somewhere to get out o' the heat, and the horse won't killed by guys like us, least that I can see from here."

He seems genuinely happy about this find, and eases both his weapons where they hang, tugging at his sword a little so that it rests lightly in its scabbard. Turning to look at Ed, he raises an eyebrow.

"So, we doing this thing?"

[Serje]

Michael

A rad nest, eh? Well well well, heres me thinking the day was almost over and from the looks of it the funs just beginning. A grin spreads across his face at the prospect of a little combat. The task they had been set on would surely contain more bloodshed than he could ever wish for, but at this moment every ounce of his being urged for a fight.

If there was some fighting ahead of them then his bow would be little good to him in the tight confines of the house, his arrows would also probably be better saved for another time. So he tightened his grip on his bat, ready to use it at any second and waited for the Doc to answer Morgan, hoping the answer would be one he wanted.

[Ipphli]

Bryan

Bryan frowns as Morgan makes his announcement. He puts his binoculars away and loosens his hatchet in its loop. He then pulls out his bow and an arrow, preparing for trouble.
"I don't wanna spend the night without any fire, and we can't have a fire out here in the open. We need that house, and we need it quick. The light's fading." He looks over at Doc, waiting for his decision.

[Vazzaroth]

Kent Bellata

Interesting. So, who brought a flashlight? Perhaps a lantern? I got these if need be.

He holds out a couple candles and a few batteries.

[Penril]

Edmund

Edmund rakes his fingers through his hair and sighs Alright, lets go to work. Bryan, Kent and Brigham head round to the left, you other two with me round to the right. We surround the place and take them all out. We don't want any escaping if we can help it. Let's move.

((TwoBitWriter, how far is it to the farmhouse?))

[TwoBitWriter]

The farmhouse seems to be just under half a mile away (which isn't as far as it may seem.)

You approach the house. Moving carefully and in the groups of three that Penril described. The sun dips lower and lower and by the time you are about 100 feet from the house, it is twilight.

The house is fairly large, and you split into your groups.
Bryan, Kent, and Brigham walk to the Southern face of the house.
Edmund, Morgan, and Mike take to the Northen face.


Bryan, Kent, and Brigham

The Southern part of the house is where the main door and patio are located. The door is intact, but propped open with stones and opens up into a hallway that ends in openings to the left and right, with a set of intact stairs at the opposite end. You smell a dusty, foul oder exuding from the entrance. As you approach the door, you see a Radscorpion about the size of a Labrador Retriever walk out, clicking its claws menacingly. It emerges slowly, swaying its stinger menacingly. Two more scorpions of about the same size as the first emerge, slowly approaching you.
(Roll Initiative)

Edmund, Morgan, and Mike

On the North wall is a series of large, broken windows that look into what was the kitchen. There is also the dead horse, which has been decaying for several days and has several large chunks of flesh missing, appearing torn away. Mike turns toward the house and sees that a Radscorpion, about the size of a man, has crawled out of one of the windows and is approaching your group. You see another scorpion crawl out of the house, but this one is about the size of a Labrador Retriever. (Roll Initiative)

[estradling]

Brigham

They had been given plenty of warning, so Brigham had his crossbow ready. Still it is a bit unnerving such a huge bug.


[roll0]

[Penril]

Edmund

[roll0]

Edmund grimly raises his crossbow and aims at the smaller one.

[Townopolis]

Morgan

[roll0]

Morgan stuck close to the doctor as the circled around the house, keeping himself between the building and the other man. He hadn't drawn his weapons as early on as some others, but when he saw the chunks taken out of the horse, sword and hammer were soon in his hands.

Seeing the two scorpions crawling out of the house, he grins and drops into a combatants stance, sword held forward towards one of the scorpions, hammer held high.

[Ipphli]

Bryan

Bryan frowns as the bugs appear. He raises his bow and prepares to fire.

[roll0]

[Vazzaroth]

Kent Bellata HP:9/9 Def:19 (16 FlatFoot)

Kent radios over to the other team: Contact. and raises his crossbow as well.

Lets take 'em down in a hail of arrows, eh boys?

[roll0]

[Serje]

Michael

Seeing the size of the beasts approaching them Mike swiftly shoved his bat into his belt and pulls his bow from off his back, aiming it at the largest of the scorpions. He pulls the arrow back onto the strings, ready to fire at any moment.

[roll0]

[TwoBitWriter]

Combat order is as follows.


North Group:
1) Edmund
2) Large Radscorpion
3) Mike
4) Morgan
5) Small Radscorpions

South Group:
1)Kent
2)Bryan
3)Brigham
4)Radscorpions

[Ipphli]

Bryan figures the beasts are too close to get a shot off before they get close, so he drops his bow and pulls out his hatchet. He steps in front of his smaller comrades, preparing to meet the radscorpions head-on.

(Taking a five foot step to put himself in front and going total defense)

[estradling]

Brigham

With the chaos if combat well underway Brigham looks for a clear target to fire at when he finds one he fires


1d20=1

EDIT: Sorry about the typo I rerolled in the OOC and got an 18

[Serje]

Michael

After a short retreat back-wards Michael takes a steady aim on the largest of the radscoprions preparing to attack them and sends an arrow flying in its direction, hoping it would be on target.

[roll0] and [roll1]. This is after a five-foot step backwards and assuming that the large radscoprion doesn't die or charge into me before my turn.

[Vazzaroth]

Kent Bellata HP:9/9 Def: 19

Hail of arrows, eh boys?

Kent releases his crossbow at the nearest Radscorp.

[roll0]
[roll1]

[Townopolis]

If the large radscorp is within 0-5' of Morgan, he'll (taking a 5' step directly toward the target if need be) just full attack with both weapons. If the large is alive but out of range, Morgan is going to try and Heroic Surge over to the radscorp and full attack, if he needs a double move to get there, he'll just charge. If the large radscorp is dead, he'll use the first available option against the small radscorp.

Morgan makes a noise that isn't quite a yell and isn't quite a 'hi-yah' as he lunges forward at the biggest radscorp. He quickly twists and sweeps his hammer across in front of him to sweep aside the massive claws, then thrusts with his sword at the opening.

Should he find himself on stable enough footing, Morgan wrenches his sword back and twists the blade at the same time, hoping to draw the scorpion off balance and open it up for attack from the side with his hammer.



Since I have a few contingencies, I'm going to roll like so.
Attack Bonus: +1 sword/+1 hammer -or- +5 sword (charging)

Use in order: sword, hammer, swordcrit, hammercrit. Crit stuff is 19+/x2 (sword) and 20+/x3 (hammer).
[roll1] - [roll2]
[roll=hammer1d6+2 - [roll3]

[Penril]

Edmund

Fires crossbow at the smaller radscorpion and steps back 10ft. [roll0] damage [roll1]

[TwoBitWriter]

Here is how things played out...

Bryan, Brigham, and Kent

Kent begins by immediately opening fire on the nearest Radscorpion. His bolt strikes the creature squarely. It squeels and thick blood pumps out of the wound, but it still advances forward.
Next, Bryan steps on the steps of the porch and adopts a fighting stance, his hatchet in his hand. He waits for the attack.
Brigham aims at a different scorpion then Kent and fires his crossbow. He fires with immaculate aim and hit the creature directly in his head. It immediately drops dead making little noise, its claws and stinger twitching.
The two remaining scorpions advance on Bryan, each making a swipe at him with their claws. Bryan manages to easily deflect the first attack, and barely manages to stop the second attack. There are still two scorpions left, one is severely wounded.

Edmund, Mike, and Morgan

Edmund unloads his crossbow, but misses, the bolt striking the side of the house with a dull thud. The larger of the radscorpions advances on Morgan and takes a single swipe at him with his massive claw, and strikes him on the arm for 3 damage. Mike aims for the large scorpion and, after attempting to avoid hitting Morgan, strikes the Radscorpion somewhere on its main body. The scorpion doesn't even seem to acknowledge the attack, but its stinger sways menacingly. Morgan retaliates to his attacker with one swing with his sword and hammer, hitting it with his sword but missing with his hammer. This blow is just enough, however, to send the Scorpion reeling. It shrieks, turns about a bit, then collapses and dies. The remaining scorpion charges Morgan, striking with his claw but Morgan nimbly avoids the attack. There is only the one scorpion left, but it is unhurt.

[Serje]

Michael

A small smile spreads across his face after seeing the largest of their foes drop however the fight was not yet won. He pulls another arrow from his quiver and aims carefully at the other beast sending what he hoped to be a fatal shot its way.

[roll0] [roll1]

[estradling]

Brigham

The young man was abit surprised at his lucky shot, he could only pray that his luck would continue. Reloading he takes a small step to get a clear shot and fires again


[roll0]

[roll1]

[Townopolis]

Morgan

Morgan skips backwards a step to avoid the smaller scorpion's claws, then lunges forward, sweeping his sword in front of him, after the backswing, he covers himself with his hammer then brings his sword sweeping down upon the scorpion's head. Defending himself again with his hammer, he retrieves his sword from where it sticks, be it scorpion or ground, then stabs at the beast again. This time when he draws his sword back, he leaves himself opening, but his hammer is raised and comes down at the scorpion should it advance upon him.


Sword +1, Hammer +1
[roll0]
Sword, Hammer, Swordcrit, Hammercrit
[roll1][roll2]
[roll3][roll4]

[Ipphli]

Bryan

Having gained the attention of the radscorpions, Bryan goes on the offensive. He swings his hatchet at the uninjured beast, hoping to at least keep its attention on himself.

Attack [roll0]
Damage [roll1]

[Vazzaroth]

Kent HP:9/9 Def:17 w/ charge

Kent forsakes reloading his crossbow now that the scorps have closed in. He draws one of his old daggers, at one time a bayonet, and runs forward at the nearest beast.

Charge:[roll0]

Dmg:[roll1]

[Penril]

Edmund

You okay Morgan?! Edmund reloads and fires again, trying to get a better view of Morgan's injury.

[roll0]

[roll1]

[TwoBitWriter]

Here is how the second round played out...

Edmund, Mike, and Morgan

Edmund quickly reloads and fires his crossbow at the remaining Radscorpion. He hits it directly on the body, just below the head. It squirms and writhes in apparent agony, then falls to the ground and dies. Mike and Morgan do not need to take any combat actions as the last remaining scorpion is now dead.

Kent, Bryan, and Brigham

Kent leaps at the scorpion that he had previously wounded, jamming his knife deep into the creature and managing to dodge the instinctive stinger thrust. He holds the knife in until the creature shudders and dies. Bryan hacks mercilessly at his target with his hatchet, chopping off various body parts and eventually lopping the creature's stinger and head clean off. There are no more enemies available, so Brigham does not even fire his second shot.

All the Radscorpions are now dead, and you do not see or hear any activity inside the house itself. The stink still remains.

[Penril]

Edmund

How are you, Morgan? Edmund approaches, while reloading his crossbow and scanning the building, just in case. He calls to the others on the far side of the building Hey Kent, you guys okay!?

[estradling]

Brigham

The young man held his fire, but he didn't let down his guard. "Did we get them all?"

[Ipphli]

Bryan

Bryan pants a little at the exertion as he checks his surroundings for more threats. He lowers his hatchet as he keeps an eye out for more threats. At Doc's shout, he looks over at Kent before going back to keeping an eye out.

[Vazzaroth]

Kent

Kent takes a deep breath and pulls his blade out of the carcass, flicking it to get the blood off.

Looks like.

Kent walks back and picks up his crossbow, as well as going to see if his bolt was still usable.

((50% chance, I believe. I'll roll if you like.))

[TwoBitWriter]

(I'll make the rolls)

Miraculously, every single bolt or arrow that was fired managed to stay intact. You are able to carefully extract them from the corpses (and the side of the building.) They may be a little blunted, but some basic sharpening should restore them to proper fighting condition.

[Townopolis]

Morgan

Morgan retrieves a rag from his vest and cleans off his weapons, then puts it away, but keeps the weapons out. He glances over at his arm where the Scorpions grabbed him on. Probing it with his knuckles, he winces and hisses slightly.

"Eh... I'll be fine, nothing that'll kill me. Still, I'd appreciate a look-over."

He turns his attention to the farmhouse then, and rolls his shoulders a bit.

"After we've got ourselves a place to camp."

[estradling]

Brigham

After recovering his bolt, he asks the leader, "Once we have everything secured, would you like me to see if we can find anything useful here."

[Serje]

Michael

Mike retrieves the only arrow he had fired, pulling it out of the scorpions body with a slightly sickening squelching sound. He quickly scans the area to ensure there were no more enemies before cleaning the arrow and placing it back in his quiver also putting his bow back while he did this. As he walks back to the others he draws his bat before saying "Looks like we got them all then." before looking towards the Doc and asking "so, whats the plan now? If people are going to go check the place out I can go with them."

[Ipphli]

Bryan

Bryan cleans off his weapon as he walks back to the others. He keeps an eye out for trouble, especially in the direction of the highway. At the idea of checking things out he speaks up, " I'll go too if you want. In case there's more trouble. "

[Vazzaroth]

Kent

We should probably stick together.

Kent reloads his crossbow and is ready.

[Townopolis]

Morgan

Not waiting for a reply, Morgan strides towards the farmhouse, keeping his weapons at the ready. He circles around it first to find the other group, and, seeing that they have also dispatched some radscorps, finds the house's main entrance, be it the front door or a hole in the wall.

Morgan stops next to the entrance, pressed up slightly against the wall, and reaches out to tap the building with his sword. His first taps are light. His second taps are hard. He waits a short while for any response, then if there is none, he takes a peek inside.

[Serje]

Michael

Well, he has got the right idea, no point hanging around if the boss is only going to suggest what hes already doing... Mike thinks to himself as he watches Morgan advance on the building. He quickly decides to go with him and so jogging a little to catch up follows him as he travels around the building.

Seeing the man stop next to the building and being fully aware that anything could still be inside, Michael sprints past the entrance and presses up against the wall on the opposite side to Morgan. He smiles slightly at him and winks, however with only one eye actually visible this gesture could easily have been mistaken for a normal blink.

[TwoBitWriter]

The inside of the house is completely thrashed. Tattered remnants of furniture have been fashioned into what appears to be a nest of sorts. countless unhatched Radscorpion eggs litter the nest itself.

You see no movement, or any sign that there are any other living scorpions inside the house.

(All those entering the house make search checks.)

[estradling]

Brigham

Entering the house looks at the eggs and quips, "Hey look... Dinner!" He wasn't foolish to assume that the eggs were safe to eat. But if they were then they would be stupid not to take advantage of them. If they where toxic then they'd become target practice, or throwing training. Either way the eggs wouldn't survive the night, or so he figured. There was no sense in letting them hatch to pose a danger at a later time.

Still the eggs where not his interest. He was more interested in parts. Anything he could salvage he would do so.


Search check [roll0]

[Ipphli]

Bryan

Bryan shrugs and follows the others, hatchet still in hand. He frowns at the eggs before scanning the rest of the house.


Search [roll0]

[Vazzaroth]

Kent

Kent follows inside and walks over to an egg. He squats and inspects it. He promptly stands up, and puts his boot through it. ((Unless stopped))


Search: [roll0]

[Serje]

Michael

Michael enters the house after the others keeping a wary grip on his bat, despite the fact that no enemies were to be seen. He warily keeps an eye on the pile of eggs while looking around for anything else of interest.

[roll0]

[TwoBitWriter]

While clamboring through the wreck of the house, you find that the upstairs bedrooms are in better condition. The scorpions obviously didn't spend any time up here. However, it is completely covered in dust and showing the signs of advanced age and disrepair.

Michael and Kent find nothing of consequence. The first floor of the house has long ago been stripped and trashed, probably before the Radscorps decided to move in.

Brigham

You make your way down into the house's large basement. This was obviously a popular place for the scorpions to sleep and rest, as their refuse covers the entirety of the floor. However, several intact wooden shelves were placed about six feet off the ground and were untouched. These contain several cans of food that look to be in good shape. (That will be nearly four days worth of food.) There is also a large generator in the corner covered with an old oily and dusty sheet. It is obviously non-functional, but with time and a bit of tinkering on your part you may be able to get it up and running. If nothing else it will be something that you should report to your superiors once you get back to town. You also find a few mechanical parts lying around (3 mechanical parts) and a gas can filled with one gallon of gasoline.

Bryan

You focus your search upstairs. Everything is rather non-descript up here, but you happen to notice one of the doors is locked. You knock, but hear no reply. You slam your hatchet into the door a few times and force it open. What awaits you is a truly gruesome sight. You see the body of a man, a Kingman Ranger by his dress and medals. He shows many of the same symptoms of the dead horse outside. Several points of his Leather Jacket and pants are punctured and you can see the purple skin underneath. His eyes stare blankly and by the look on his face you can see that he died in extreme agony. Laying across his lap, still in his hands, is his homemade rifle. It is bolt-action and pieced together with various parts of different weapons. From his bandolier you manage to retrieve a single stripper clip with six 7.62 bullets, and there are three still in the weapon itself, one of which is still loaded in the chamber (bolt-action homemade rifle, 2d8 Damage, critical 20, Ballistic, 50 ft. range increment, Single-Shot, 6 internal magazine with 1 stripper clip which allows reloading as a move action. Large weapon, 8 lbs.)
He also has a knife in his boot and a name stiched across his Jacket's left breast "Hatfield"

[estradling]

For the canned goods is that enough for 1 person for four days or the group for four days?


Brigham

Packing up the food and the parts, Brigham re-covers the generator with its sheet, Murmuring to himself he says, "The Lord is smiling on us today." Grabbing the fuel can he head back to the others and reports.

"Found some parts, foodstuffs, fuel, and something that already makes this trip totally worth the effort. In the basement is a generator, its needs some work, I would like to take it with us but it might be too cumbersome given what we have ahead of us. But at the very least we should pick it up on our way a back. Even if I can't get it running again, its parts alone could help keep Kingman in light for years to come."

[Townopolis]

Morgan

Morgan puts his hammer away as the rest of the group spreads out about the house, it seemed they'd gotten the last of them. He squatted down next to the nests, and tilted one egg so that it rolled over on its side, then cleanly bisected it with his sword. He watched as yolk and whatever else flowed out of the egg, keenly interested in whether or not he would discover a radscorp fetus.

"I wonder if these things are poisonous to eat..."

After this short musing, Morgan stood back up and began to explore the house with the others.


[roll0]

[TwoBitWriter]

Brigham:

It was enough food for the entire group for 4 days, so 24 units of food, also enough for one person to survive 24 days. The Generator would likely require a horse-drawn wagon or a truck to transport. It is possible for a few of you to lift it and carry it, but it would be far too tiring to carry any long distance. You do find it odd that, considering how the house is only about a day's travel from Kingman, that no one has previously found this basement. You are not sure how long the scorpions have been here though. Captain Duncan had mentioned at the briefing that a new nest had sprung up. If this was just a new nest, than it is extremely odd indeed.

Morgan does not seem to find anything of note, digging through refuse and other garbage to no avail.

The sun is now completely gone, and the house is dark. You hear a coyote howl somewhere out in the wilderness. Insects have now begun their nightly serenade and the Cicadas seem particularly thick in number.

[Serje]

Michael

"Well I've found nothing. Good find on the generator though, it'll do a lot of good when we get it back to town" he says, tipping his hat in Brigham's direction. He listens to the sound of the howl and the crickets for a little while, trying to guess how far away they are, and is very thankful that they found this piece of shelter. "Well anyways, I don't know about the rest of you, but I ain't goin' out back out in that. This place might be safe at the minute, but is it going to be safe the whole night? We gonna set up a watch at all or just risk it?"

[Vazzaroth]

Kent

Let's see... there's, what, six of us? 2 stay up at a time, we have 3 watches then?

Kent looks around to see how secure the place is. If there is anything to lock the door with, he does so. He then goes back to inspecting the eggs.

Untrained Knowledge check of whatever it takes (Unless it's streetwise...) to se if they are edible: Take 10+0 = 10

[TwoBitWriter]

(It's a survival check to determine if the eggs are edible. Feel free to roll it if you are interested.)

[Ipphli]

Bryan

Bryan comes back downstairs carrying the rifle, the bandolier across his chest. He glances at the others before focusing on Doc.
"I found a ranger upstairs. Rads got him before he locked himself in one of the rooms upstairs. Names Hatfield. Definitely not a nice way to go. But at least we know we're on the right track."

[Townopolis]

Morgan

After his fruitless searching, Morgan joined in the investigation of the eggs. Peering at them, prodding the yolk he spilled, daubing at it and sniffing, and going through a few other tests.

"I tend to get rest at dusk and wake with dawn. I'll take third watch"

[roll0]

[Serje]

Michael

"Three watches sound good to me, we'll all get a fair share of sleep and theres always two people to keep each other awake. If we're gonna do that I'll take the first watch anyways." He sees Kent and Morgan poking at the eggs and he can only assume they're checking to see if an omelette of them would be a treat for the taste buds or certain death. Wonder if I can help 'em out he thinks to himself as he goes over to them and starts poking and prodding as well.

[roll0]

[Penril]

Edmund

Alright, that's good work, guys and some very nice finds. Theres no point in dragging that generator around, Brigham, see if you can radio in to anyone in town and determine the likelyhood of them picking it up at some point. If not, make sure it's secure and well hidden and we'll have to pick it up later. Michael, take an inventory of what we have, ration out the food and see if you can find anything we can use to carry any extra stuff. Kent, Bryan, lets get a grave buried for our friend upstairs. Keep in vocal range and be careful out there, be as quick as you can. Morgan, you're on first watch after I've taken a look at that injury.

As the gang disbands about their duties, Edmund opens up his medkit and sees to Morgan, cleaning the wound, applying sutures and bandages.

((Treat Injury skill [roll0] - [roll1] hp restored))

[TwoBitWriter]

(Good to have you back, Penril. Hope everything is okay.)
(Brigham, normally the radios that you have been issued only have about a 1mile range. However, it is possible for you to modify your radio to increase its range and possibly contact Kingman Militia HQ. Thats the long way of saying, make a repair check roll.)

Radscorpion eggs are safe to eat, even if there is a fetus inside. However, they taste absolutely terrible and almost make you want to vomit.

You quickly bury Hatfield, speak a few hurried words, and then prepare to bed down for the night. Bryan thoughtfully tears off one of Hatfield's dogtags before covering him with a few feet of sand. Rocks are piled on the grave, both as a marker and hopefully as a deterent to the numerous desert scavengers. Of course, as loaded as Hatfield's body is with poison, it's as much a protection for those animals as anything else. You prepare to bed down for the rest of the night.

The night passes uneventfully, and despite the lingering smell of the radscorp's refuse you manage to get in a good night's sleep. Occasionally a coyote or other form of scavenger will approach the house, attracted by the scent of the dead scorpions but it isn't particularly difficult to scare them away.

The desert air turns brutally cold shortly after sunset, but you manage to light a small fire in the kitchen of the house. Since the kitchen is on the north side of the house, which faces away from the highway, you figure it should be safe enough. Besides, you are all wearing heavy jackets, which helps a bit. You are able to actually create a sensation close to comfort for your sleeping arrangements.

Dawn cracks and light pierces through the cold desert night. You all awake feeling refreshed and ready to face the day. The highway still snakes westward, but it will be another mile or so before you reach the next ridge with which you can obscure your movements from anyone who may be watching.

[Penril]

Edmund

Up and ready to face the day, Edmund prepares his equipment and stands outside in the frigid air, watching the sun pull itself lazily from its bed. He takes time to reflect on the mission ahead, no doubt today will be the real test of his skills.

[estradling]

Brigham

The young man spends the time he isn't sleeping fiddling with his radio trying to increase the range.


Take a 20 on the repair roll (28) or if that isn't possible then take a 10 (18)
He has the proper kit for electronics and he has parts as needed

[TwoBitWriter]

Brigham

After spending your entire watch fiddling with the radio, and using up one of your electrical parts, you are able to successfully modify it. After several tries on various frequencies you are able to contact radio ops back at Kingman HQ. The signal is very faint, and you are likely to lose it as you progress further away from the town, but you are able to inform the militia about the farm house, the radscorp nest, the generator, and the dead Ranger Hatfield. You are told that they will dispatch a patrol to confirm your report and retrieve the generator. You cut the transmission before you use up anymore of your battery power.

[estradling]

Brigham

In the morning he reports to Edmund, "I pushed the radio to it limits and I was barely able to raise HQ. They are sending a retrieval team for the generator."

The young man is packed up and ready to go

[Penril]

Edmund

"Good work, I knew you'd be the man for the job. We can rest assured now that the generator will be put to good use." Edmund scans the horizon and remarks, "We'll have to take care when we get to that ridge, be wary of ambushes. I'd like to get there before the sun gets too high, I don't want anyone passing out on me" he grins in an awkward filling-the-slience-with-a-bad-joke kind of way and resumes scanning the horizon, waiting for the others to emerge.

[Townopolis]

Morgan

After pulling himself out of bed and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes, Morgan helps himself to some breakfast before packing up, but he is soon ready to go. Once he's ready, he takes up a post leaning against the outside of the farmhouse and relaxes as he waits for Edmund to start their day.

[Ipphli]

Bryan

Bryan spends most of his shift looking over his new rifle. In the morning he quickly says his prayers before eating breakfast. He stretches a bit, then joins the others outside. He scans the area ahead as he awaits the others, ready to get this show on the road.

[Serje]

Michael

Michael wakes up rather late, he had spent a lot of the previous night attempting to follow Edmund's orders. He had failed however, he couldn't find anything in the house to help them carry their goods and he had no intention to go hunting through his new companions bags to find out how much they were carrying. He quickly gathers up his equipment, skipping any food for breakfast and goes out to meet the others.

"Mornin' all." he says in a lazy, sleepy drawl. He throws a quick salute to Edmund before reporting in, "Boss, I have no idea about anything you asked me last night. I'll be more than happy to ration out our food next chance we get, if its all left out for me, but at the moment I have no idea how much we got." A sheepish, nervous grin spreads across his face, "sorry boss..."

[Vazzaroth]

Kent

Kent sees Bryan with the new gun during the night, and asks him about it during the next day. Hey buddy, you know how to use one of those things? I knew a guy that used to have some artifacts like that, taught me all about them. Might help tip the battles in our favor... in the right hands. Kent raises an eyebrow at him.

[Penril]

Edmund

"Okay guys, same as yesterday, lets head up this way and see what's over that ridge."

Edmund heads off into the desert once more.

[TwoBitWriter]

The area to the North of the farmhouse is what is known as Box Canyon. The air is still slightly cool, but is heating up rapidly as the sun rises higher into the sky.
Your maps indicate that you will now be crossing an area known as Cook Canyon, and that snaking in front of the ridge that you are heading toward is the old Interstate Highway I-40. This is the western border of the DR, marked by an abandoned trailer park that you are now approaching. Soon you will officially be in No-Man's Land, territory that remains unclaimed by any of the Southwestern Powers.
Somewhere beyond that point is where Route 66 and I-40 meet. There is no cover between the Trailer Park and the western ridge of Cook Canyon and the land is completely flat, sandy, and almost completely devoid of plant life with the exception of the odd cactus or bush.

A hawk lazily circles overhead. You watch it as it suddenly swoops down and grabs a mouse, carrying it away to the south.
At noon, you halt for a short break and a few mouthfuls of water. Ahead you spot the old trailer park. There are no signs of life that you can see at first glance and you know that there are no DR citizens that live there as the area was deemed too far from Kingman proper and thus too difficult for the militia to protect.

[Townopolis]

Morgan

Morgan sips his water and nibbles on a ration from his pack as they rest. He scans the horizon lazily, grunting at the sight of the trailer park and clearing his mouth with a swig of water.

"Hey, just so we're all aware, when we hit the I-40 it's going to be crawling with bandits. We're going to want to hide ourselves as much as possible... and still expect to fight."

He pauses after saying this, then looks down at his food and takes another bite, chewing slowly so as to savor what little flavor there is.

[Ipphli]

Bryan

Bryan smiles at Kent's words that morning. "I know a little about them myself. Wish I had more ammo for it though. Still, you're right. Could be useful. Rather not have to use it though unless I have to."

At midday, Bryan scans the trailer park with his binoculars, careful to cover the lens so they don't reflect any sunlight. At Morgan's words he nods to himself, then shakes his head as he goes back to his meal.

[Serje]

Michael

Michael takes a leaf out of the others books and treats himself to one of his bland, tasteless rations. They'd only been away from town for a day and he already missed the 'luxuries' of life he enjoyed at home. This was the best they had anyway and so he tried his hardest to make the most of it.

Seeing the trailer park in the distance Michael takes a peek at it using his binoculars, not really putting much hope on spotting anything however. Giving up pretty soon he goes back to his meal and waits for somebody else to do the job better.

[Vazzaroth]

Kent

Kent takes the opportunity to sling his pack down and rummage through it for a moment. He pulls out a bottled, pink fruit drink and a small bag of melting chocolates. He begins to eat these things, thoroughly enjoying himself. As he finishes the candy, he realizes what the others are eating, and feels a little bad, but shrugs it off. When Michael takes his binocs out, Kent once again feels like he probably should have requisitioned some before he left, so he wouldn't be standing about uselessly like this.

((And with that, I have consumed my Cheer Food. +1 on rolls until we sleep.))

[TwoBitWriter]

None of you see any movement coming from the Trailer Park. Most of the trailers are broken down and rusted out. The desert has encroached on this once-inhabited area.

[estradling]

Brigham

Hearing Byran and Kent talk about the rifle and Byran's concern about ammo he speaks up, "If you keep the casing after you fire, I might be able to figure out a way to reload you."


When the trailer park comes in to view he says, "It might be worth checking out. The other group might have used it as shelter, or their might be supplies. At the very least it is a shaded area to take a rest break... Assuming it's clear."

[Ipphli]

Bryan

Bryan nods in agreement. "We might want to think about traveling at night now. Least the dark would provide some cover. I don't like thinking somebody eyeing me through the scope of their rifle out in the middle of nowhere like that."

[Serje]

Michael

Mike finishes his measly ration and stands up, stretching out his body which had started aching from sitting down for too long. "I think you might be right on that one Brigham, could be anything over there. I need a good walk, if nobody minds I think I'll go check it out."

Assuming there were no objections to his idea Mike picks up his bat from his pile of supplies, leaving the rest with everyone else, and starts walking over to the trailer park. It looked clear to him but he keeps a good grip on his bat just in case, his good eye looking around for anything that could be useful to the group.

[roll0]

[TwoBitWriter]

Aside from the odd tumbleweed blowing past you, there doesn't seem to be much here.
You know that in the past, before Kingman first attempted to settle this area, the DR army had used the park as an outpost ages ago when it had been in conflict with the SCC.

Most of the old trailers are still relatively intact, even after many years of rusting and baking in the hot desert sun. Since the area has been relatively deserted for some time, there may still be something worth finding here.

(Everyone who has not done so already can roll a search check)

[Penril]

Edmund

Searching ... [roll0]

[Ipphli]

Search [roll0]

[estradling]

Search [roll0]

[Vazzaroth]

Search:[roll0]

Kent can't make his mind up at first, but finally decides to go too.
sheeeit. he mumbles as he gets up and follows a ways behind Micheal, trying to stay out of site of any possible hostiles.

((Hide and Move silently taking 10 = 15 for both.))

[Townopolis]

Morgan

Morgan casually lopes along beside the others as they descend upon the abandoned park. He lets his gaze sweep over the debris as they pass through, but keeps one eye turned outward, keeping a half watch as they pass.

[roll0]

[TwoBitWriter]

Brigham

While searching through one of the trailers, you find a small wooden box hidden underneath a pile of debris. It is labeled as belonging to the DR Regular Army. The material inside seems to be the ruined remains of various army supplies. However, you find two MRE rations with the vacuum seal still intact. You also find an old Beretta 92f 9mm pistol. However, there is no ammunition for it and it only has an empty clip with it that can hold 15 rounds. It is also very rusty and appears damaged. It will most likely require the attention of a trained gunsmithy.

Morgan

You nearly step on a rattlesnake and barely dodge its lethal strike. You quickly bash it to pulp with your hammer, then notice something metallic glint in the sunlight. Upon further inspection you discover a large machete that is surprisingly in almost perfect shape save for a small coating of dust and a bit of dried blood on the end of it. You also see a Ranger badge lying in the ground near where the machete had been.

Everyone

The trailer park is full of broken-down and rusted out trailers. You see the occasional signs of its former status as a military outpost, but anything that may be useful has long been abandoned. Upon further inspection you notice that there are several broken arrows and crossbow bolts lying around and sticking out of the ground. You see no bodies but in the large central area of the park where there are no trailers you see a flurry of footsteps and places where the dust had been pushed away or kicked up. There had been a battle here at some point, and it was fairly recent. Wagon wheel tracks and horse or donkey prints from at least two wagons head east, across the opening in the canyon toward I-40.

[Ipphli]

Bryan

Bryan looks around the battlefield in the middle of the park, then goes over to Kent. "You still want the rifle? You can borrow it if you want, at least until the mission is over. Then we can talk more about trading for it." He hands the rifle and the bullets over. "Just be sure to save the shell casings so they can be reused."

[Serje]

Michael

"Well, I can't find anything. Anyone have any luck?" He stares around the trailer park, looking at the signs of battle that had been left here. How'd he learn to handle a gun anyways.. he thinks to himself as he listens to Bryan offering away the gun. "You know how to shoot one of them things then Kent? I've never even had my hands on one before, nevermind long enough to practice with 'em."

[Townopolis]

Morgan

Morgan crouched to look closely at his find, and called to the rest of the group.

"Hey! Come 'ere!"

Picking up the machete, he swished it in the air a bit, and brushed off the dust, then poked at the badge a little with it before picking the badge up as well.

"Well, at least we know we're on the right track, eh? Wonder how that one guy with the gun got separated now..."

He rubbed his fingers over the ranger badge, slowly cleaning its surface of dust and dirt and generally fiddling with it as he waited for someone else to come over and provide their thoughts on it. The machete he held in his other hand, tapping it rhythmically against his leg.

[estradling]

Brigham

"I did." the young man replies to Micheal.

"A couple MRE's and a pistol thats in bad shape and has no ammo. I'm not sure I can fix it, and without ammo it of no use to us now right now anyways, but later on once back in town I might get it working again."

[Vazzaroth]

Kent

Kent accepts the rifle.

All right. I ain't never had a chance to shoot anybody with one... but I've popped quite a decent number of bullets in my time. Call it... a benefactor. See these right here? He holds up his two daggers, you now see they have small loops on one side of them. Bayonets. Right off of the guns my tutor used to own.

Kent smiles, then goes over and checks out the other's findings. He goes over to Morgan first.

Maybe he overslept, and they went on. Or was poisoned by the scorps.

[Ipphli]

Bryan

Bryan nods in agreement. "Or he went off to scout and never came back. Who knows? Although that's two dead rangers now. How many were in that squad anyways?"

[Townopolis]

Morgan

Morgan chewed his lip as he listened to the others and flipped the badge over in his hand.

"My guess is that he's the survivor o' this and got stung by the scorps while trying to get back in radio range...

Ah well, we won't find out standing around, now will we?"

Passing the badge off to the first willing taker, Morgan turned his attention elsewhere, noting the wagon tracks as he twirled the machete around in circles and figure-eights in his left hand.

"As for the rest of our buddies, They're in those wagons, bandits carrying them back... which means they may still be alive. Which means we should hurry before they're not, eh?"

[estradling]

Brigham

The young man's faces falls as Morgan tell the story. "That does seem to fit all the facts we have at the moment. The first group gets attacked here, and loses. That would imply an ambush and some advanced knowledge on the other side."

[Serje]

Michael

Michael accepted the badge from Morgan, putting it away in his pocket for safe-keeping. He takes another look around the battlefield, this time paying attention to the tracks leading away from it. "How many of them do you think survived this and went that way?" he says, pointing towards the canyon opening.

"The man back at that house. Well, he's dead now, but he could have escaped. Who knows how many others could have survived and escaped? Or survived and been taken away... You're right anyway Morgan, we should get goin' as soon as we can. Which would be now, really." He looks over to their newly appointed leader before saying "Permission to get movin' Doc?"

[Ipphli]

Bryan

Bryan shakes his head. "We should wait til dark. There's no cover out there. Who knows whether we've already been spotted? No point making ourselves easy targets. We've already shown we can handle the rads. Rather face them out there than who knows how many bandits."

[estradling]

Brigham

The young man listened as the other discussed options. There where pros and cons to either choice. Brigham didn't feel he had enough experience to make a good suggestion either way so he remained silent and waited

[Townopolis]

Morgan

"That's a point. That and rads seem a wee bit less likely to warn each other of our coming, guess we wait out the heat."

Poking around the park, Morgan finds himself a decent shelter, preferably something with shade and a general lack of venemous critters. There he roots around in his pack for something to wrap around the machete's blade for travel. He decides on his spare shirt, and carefully covers the blade before tucking it in the pack. After that, he leans back and waits for the sun to die.

[TwoBitWriter]

(Until Penril shows up again to post I am going to NPC his character.)

You find as comfortable a spot of shade in the park that you are able and rest for the day, catching as much shuteye as you are able and awaiting the night. It takes several hours, but eventually you see the sun finally beginning to set. You pack up your arms and gear and prepare to follow the tracks.

At night the air is quite cool, enough to even make you shudder and zip up your jackets.
The wagon tracks are harder to track at night than you originally though. Fortunately, the tracks are deep in the sand and only small sections are blown away by wind. However, the going is still very slow. It is pitch black outside and you cannot see far at all. You keep close to one another so that you don't lose sight of each other.

You pass by the dried out shell, turned white, of a rad scorpion about the size of a labrador retriever. There are no signs of any of the scorpions, but you keep your guard up.

At about four in the morning you reach the western ridge, and the I-40 highway. The tracks lead to the highway, which stretches far to the north and south, and abruptly ends. The highway itself is mostly bare save for the occasional broken-down and rusted out vehicle that sits on or just off the road itself.

Determining by the angle that the tracks left the sand on to the road your best guess is that the wagon turned south. After about another hour of cautiously following the highway you see two campfires in the distance. You pull out your binoculars and see the wagon, converted from the bed of a Chevy pickup truck. You see two horses off to the side, munching in their feed bags.

The wagon is empty and you see no sign of the Rangers. However, you do see approximately eight men sitting around the fires eating. Each one wears a bright red bandanna, the mark of Los Banditos.

Seven of the Banditos are armed with crossbows and various melee weapons ranging from knives to baseball bats. One of the men has a shotgun slung over his back.

(Everyone roll spot checks for additional information. I will roll for Penril unless he jumps back in.)

[Serje]

Michael

Looks like we found ourselves the bandits... Michael thinks to himself as the wagon comes into sight. He hunches down, making himself as small as possible, before pulling out his binoculars. As he stares at them through the lens he whispers to the others, "Any idea how we should go about this? Do you think they travel during the day or night? If they go to sleep during the night we could always sneak in, slit their throats."

[roll0]

[Ipphli]

Bryan

Bryan scans the camp carefully, trying to see any clue as to what happened to the Rangers. He frowns at Michael at the suggestion of slitting throats, but nods as he agrees to the wisdom of the suggestion. "Suppose we could always wait a bit and see. Need to keep an eye out for scouts though. Surprise is about all we got going for us."



[roll0]

[estradling]

Brigham

Hearing talk about attacking the young man gets a bit uncomfortable, "If I am remembering our orders correctly we are to find out what happened to our first group, and complete their mission which was to find the Los Banditos camp and report it back to HQ, so they could launch a strike. There was nothing about us needing to take them on ourselves. So the only real question I am seeing is, is this the main camp or just a scouting group making camp for the night?" Brigham hadn't looked through anyone binoculars yet so he didn't know much about the set up.


[roll0]

[TwoBitWriter]

You all spy another Bandit ride up to the encampment on a horse. He dismounts and begins talking excitedly to the Bandit with the shotgun. The shotgun bandit turns and starts barking orders to his men. All seven of the Bandits get up and gather their possession. After a few moments they, and the leader, begin following the man on the horse further down the highway.

They have abandoned their camp, and left the fires burning. They apparently were in too much of a hurry to bother putting the flames out.

[Townopolis]

Morgan

Not one to wait around, and still a bit unused to keeping to the orders of a leader or larger group, Morgan begins heading forward once the banditos are out of sight. He crouches low as he moves, and keeps an eye out for anything he might find, but he moves quickly.

After a short while, he draws his weapons, just to have them ready in case a rad jumps out at him, and keeps heading for the abandoned camp. Should he get within ten yards of the camp, he stops and hunkers down, scanning it first with his naked eyes, and then sweeping it more thoroughly with his binoculars.


[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]
When he looks over the camp, he's looking for anything that might be hidden or stand out, from a remaining sentry to a booby trap, so I used both checks. If the binocs give a bonus, it's not calculated in, nor are any penalties. Morgan isn't trying particularly hard to move silently.

[Ipphli]

Bryan

Bryan frowns as Morgan moves ahead. He pulls out his bow and sets an arrow on the string before moving after him. He keeps an eye out mostly for raiders either returning or moving to catch up to the others. He stops a few feet behind Morgan, making sure he has a clear field of fire between himself and the camp.


Spot [roll0]
Move Silent [roll1]
Listen [roll2]

[Vazzaroth]

When Morgan gets up, Kent quickly follows suit, keeping the rifle ready. He moves stealthily, he wouldn't put it past these bandits to set up an ambush.


Hide if possible[roll0]
Move Silently[roll1]
Spot[roll2]

[Serje]

Michael

Michael stays hunkered in his position until the other three had started moving. He considered following Morgan down quickly but decided being stealthy would be a better option, he'd prefer to get to the campsite slower and alive than rush down noticed by anyone still watching the site. Once he gets to the campsite, assuming no hostiles have appeared, he will begin searching for anything useful that they could have left behind.

[roll0] [roll1] [roll2] [roll3] [roll4] Use those rolls as appropriate, I don't know how many are needed :smallsmile:

[estradling]

Brigham

Not being good at the whole stealth thing, Brigham holds back until other get the all clear

[TwoBitWriter]

You sneak up to the camp, everyone does a good job of staying in the shadows and keeping quiet. That is, until Bryan accidentally trips over an unseen rock and trips in the sand, grunting loudly. You all freeze for a moment, listening for any consequences of what just happened. After a minute or so you decide to continue creeping forward.

You enter the camp, and the warm glow of the still burning fires. This is definitely not a permanent settlement, but the bandits left in such a hurry that they left many of their supplies behind. Michael even finds an old military fragmentation grenade in one of the bandit's packs. Kent finds four shotguns shells.

(Brigham, since you didn't go with the main group, roll a spot check.)
(Everyone else, roll listen checks.)

[Ipphli]

Listen [roll0]

[Townopolis]

[roll0]
Seeing nothing particular in the camp, Morgan lets the others poke around while he waits.

[Serje]

Michael

Michael smiles at his find, tossing the grenade a foot or so into the air before catching it and putting it in his backpack. Done searching for now he gets down on one knee to get a better look at the ground, hoping to notice any trails the bandits may have left.

[roll0] and I'm not sure if its needed but Michael will try to track the bandits (might as well use that feat at some point :smallsmile: ) in case they lost sight of them or whatnot later on [roll1]

[estradling]

Brigham watches as the other check out the site


[roll0]

[TwoBitWriter]

Brigham:

You notice five of the bandits returning. They are approaching from a ridge that overhangs the campsite. They have their crossbows out and are preparing to ambush those who entered the camp.

Everyone else:

While foraging through the camp, you hear some light scuffling from the rock that overhangs the camp. A small speckle of dust falls lightly to the ground, following me a couple of small rocks. You look up in time to see five bandits, armed with crossbows and various other melee weapons, just as they are about to open fire

(OOC: Everyone please roll initiative. The rock is too high up to easily access melee combat, it would require a full-round action to run around and up the side. I will roll for Penril)

[Townopolis]

Morgan

Having seen nothing while scanning the camp with binoculars, and therefore having waited while the others poked about, Morgan is still crouched a fair bit away from the camp, his hammer in one hand and his binoculars in the other. Hearing the disturbance, he immediately drops the binoculars and grabs his sword from where he has it leaning against his leg.

[roll0]

As soon as he properly registers the bandits and their crossbows, Morgan, weapons in hand, charges around and up the hill.

[Ipphli]

Bryan

Upon seeing the bandits, Bryan readies his bow, preparing to exchange fire.

Initiative [roll0]

[estradling]

Brigham

Seeing the bandits, Brigham grabs the walky-talky and relays, "Ambush! 5 bandits on the ridge.

Then grabbing his crossbow Brigham tries to figure out if he has any chance of making the shot

OOC: How far away is Brigham and how good is his line of sight?


[roll0]

[Vazzaroth]

Kent

I knew they was gonna ambush us!

[roll0]

Kent scrambles to try to find something to crouch behind and shoot from((Within 30 Ft)). Failing that, he drops prone. He whips out the new rifle and trys to line up a shot, just like the little critters he used to hunt.

[roll1]
[roll2]

[Serje]

Michael

"Get down!" Michael shouts as he spots the enemies, unsure of whether he would have reacted quick enough. He scans the area quickly looking for anything within sprinting distance that he could hide behind, he did not want to be fighting these bandits in the open.

1d20+ Mike will look for anything fairly large that he could crouch/hide behind that is within his full movement range and will go for it as soon as he can, dropping his bat and switching to his bow

[TwoBitWriter]

This is the combat order:
1) Bandits
2) Kent
3) Edmund
4) Mike
5) Brigham
6) Bryan
7) Morgan

The bandits, who are prone on the overhanging rock, open fire before the rest of you can react, five bolts streak toward your party.
Morgan, Ken, and Edmund manage to barely dodge out of the path of the bolts.
However, Bryan and Mike move a bit too slowly.
Bryan is skinned across his left arm (1 Damage)
Mike is struck in the right leg (3 Damage)

They quickly reload their crossbows and begin aiming.

[Serje]

Michael

"Mmmmph!!...." is the closest way to describe the sound that came from Mike's mouth as he clenched his teeth hard to muffle the scream of pain that wanted to escape from him. Cursing his reflexes and with the bolt still painfully stuck in his leg Mike hobbles, still moving surprisingly quick, to the nearest thing he can hide behind. Sliding into cover behind this he drops his bat to the floor before pulling his bow from his back, notching an arrow and waiting for an opportunity to fire.

I don't know the layout of the area we are in but Mike will move to the nearest piece of cover within 35 feet and drop into a kneeling position behind it and then switch to his bow, he can just manage that with two move actions. If there isn't anything within 35 feet then he'll spend two move actions moving over to it, or run if it is within a straight line

[Ipphli]

Bryan

Bryan grimaces at the flesh wound before moving to the nearest bit of cover he can.

[Townopolis]

"HAaaaaaaAAH!"

Morgan roars as he charges around and up the over hang, getting as close to the bandits as possible.