Worse Than the Disease IC

[u-b]

Sean Pires

Sean sits on the bed in the officer's quarters looking outside at what seems to be a lot of birds of prey. He decides to wait and see if the others can handle it and does not even open the door or the window.

[Shoot Da Moon]

Several falcons wise up and fly away as fast as their wings can carry them, although some stick around to either strike back or panic some more. Richard lets loose on the birds of prey who foolishly stand their ground, er, air...

The next shot from the rifle lands square in a bird's chest plumage and it drops like a rock.
The third shot also hits home 3 seconds later, claiming another raptor.
The fourth shot is just a little too slow and the large falcon zooms past the bullet.
Undeterred, Richard aims and takes another shot at the falcon who evaded death...only to find it just as agile as before, wasting the bullet on thin air.
Richard's fifth and final shot is way too wide, but the target has gotten the picture by now - it and the rest of the birds flee the area immediately after he misses, not wanting to tempt fate.

The skies become quiet as Richard continues to scan the place for falcons.

(OOC: 2 more falcons dead. Richard, mark off the bullets used if you have not already. We are close to ending the day, the horse meat has been converted to jerky. What is Tariq doing?)

[Shoot Da Moon]

Tariq, meanwhile, is working in the garage, upgrading the car's steering with the recently purchased parts. The job will take over a week, but he is confident.

(OOC: Everyone mark off the remainder of your eaten meals for the day. The horse meat has been converted to jerky.)

Night falls after a hard day of work...

DAY 33

The next day is just as busy as the last. The crows are now feeding on the carcasses of the falcons who were blasted by Richard.

[u-b]

Sean Pires

Sean plans to rest for a couple more days, including this one. He keeps playing with changing his skin coloration, but otherwise does nothing much.

Spoiler

Show

@Volthawk: you can keep your three magazines topped up from group gear and put the empty brass there on line 28.

@GM: can we progress faster with the car upgrade if we assign more men to the task? If so, I'd like to know if it will require additional rolling and if it can make things worse, assuming Tariq remains in the lead.

[Shoot Da Moon]

Sean Pires

Spoiler

Show

@GM: can we progress faster with the car upgrade if we assign more men to the task? If so, I'd like to know if it will require additional rolling and if it can make things worse, assuming Tariq remains in the lead.

(OOC: Nope, only accepting haste penalties would have sped it up. Adding more men to the task would only give skill bonuses now.)

[Shoot Da Moon]

Richard patrols the base for the day, on the lookout for enemies, as Tariq continues tuning up the car. The day goes by without incident.
(OOC: Mark off 3 meals for everyone.)

DAY 34

The exiles wake up to a clear morning.

[Shoot Da Moon]

The exiles pass the day quickly. Tariq continues to work on the car...
(OOC: Mark off another 3 meals for everyone.)

Fast-forward to DAY 43...

Nothing befalls the exiles as they wait on Tariq to upgrade the sedan. He finally finishes the work and now the exiles can enjoy a better vehicle. The beginning of Spring is a good time to go driving...
(OOC: consumed 3 meals per PC for 8 days. So 24 rations times 3, I think.)

[u-b]

Sean Pires

With the car's steering fixed, it now seems safe enough to drive. The questions of where to drive to and what to drive for still remain. Also, there is a question of who will do the driving. Leaving the later question for further consideration, Sean went to the radio room to check the latest news, messages, rumors and the like.

Spoiler

Show

@DM: Colorblindless lists giving -1 to Driving. Does it still aply in a world without road signs and traffic lights?

@Team: Any specific ideas about what we should do now?

[Shoot Da Moon]

Sean Pires

Leaving the later question for further consideration, Sean went to the radio room to check the latest news, messages, rumors and the like.

Spoiler

Show

@DM: Colorblindless lists giving -1 to Driving. Does it still aply in a world without road signs and traffic lights?

Sean hears of an old ski resort in the southern part of the the state getting attacked by strange men. The radio room guys also tell of a distress call from an old camping ground.

(OOC: Yes, even without improvised signals, the driver will still need to distinguish colourful details on the road.)

[u-b]

Sean Pires

Sean calls Richard and Tariq into the radio room and tells them of the emergencies happening. He asks the radio room men if they can point the locations on the map and tries to estimate the roads that could be taken to get there along with the distance as traveled by those roads. He then asks for all the detail that could be provided, which should hopefully include, but be not limited to:
1. Whether the type of distress that the old camping ground is having is known
2. What is known of the occupants thereof
3. What is known about the attackers and defenders of the ski resort - namely, numbers, notable gear etc.
4. Whether any of those two locations report themselves being able to hold on for the number of hours it would take the party to get there
5. Whether any of the locations is able to continue communicating

[GnomesofZurich2]

Tariq listens to Sean's summary, and says, "Well, I guess we need to determine how far each of these places is, and how much threat they're under. We could go to the closer one first. I can fix cars better than I can drive 'em, but I'll take the wheel if no one else can do it better."

[Shoot Da Moon]

Sean Pires

Sean calls Richard and Tariq into the radio room and tells them of the emergencies happening. He asks the radio room men if they can point the locations on the map and tries to estimate the roads that could be taken to get there along with the distance as traveled by those roads. He then asks for all the detail that could be provided, which should hopefully include, but be not limited to:
1. Whether the type of distress that the old camping ground is having is known
2. What is known of the occupants thereof
3. What is known about the attackers and defenders of the ski resort - namely, numbers, notable gear etc.
4. Whether any of those two locations report themselves being able to hold on for the number of hours it would take the party to get there
5. Whether any of the locations is able to continue communicating

The radio room techs point out the locations on the map. The ski resort is 130 miles away from the base. The camping ground is 70 miles away from the radar base.

The camping ground is apparently being attacked by hostile animals.

The occupants of the camping ground are scavengers and traders who occasionally journey out to other places to sell what they find.

The old ski resort is a base for a local militia - guys who run security for settlements in the region. They have about 20 members and they are all fairly well armed. The attackers seem to be the guys with black neck tattoos - raiders with a motley mixture of weaponry.

The two calls claim that they can both hold out for 3 days, if nothing too bad happens. They're both in fortified positions.

The two calls are apparently okay to communicate for now.

[u-b]

Sean Pires

Sean plans a route that goes to the ski resort via the camping ground and measures its length. He asks if either site is expecting any other help that might be coordinated with. He then asks for extended information about the animals attacking the camping ground - anything and everything, possibly by a conversation directly from them, and in particular whether two automatic rifles and some grenades are going to help (e.g. it's not something like a plague of rats).

Spoiler

Show

I don't remember us paying for the gas, so will transact now, unless told otherwise. A full tank of 12 gallons (10 dedicated + 2 more because we might happen to need it) for two concussion grenades?

[Shoot Da Moon]

Sean Pires

Sean plans a route that goes to the ski resort via the camping ground and measures its length. He asks if either site is expecting any other help that might be coordinated with. He then asks for extended information about the animals attacking the camping ground - anything and everything, possibly by a conversation directly from them, and in particular whether two automatic rifles and some grenades are going to help (e.g. it's not something like a plague of rats).

Spoiler

Show

I don't remember us paying for the gas, so will transact now, unless told otherwise. A full tank of 12 gallons (10 dedicated + 2 more because we might happen to need it) for two concussion grenades?

A trip to the ski resort with a stop at the camping ground along the way would be 140 miles long.

Neither area seems to know who is coming to help, they are just calling for help and hoping for the best.

The animals attacking the camp grounds are mostly strange large dog-like creatures, with some mutated bears and large birds. Shooting them and blowing them up would work.

(OOC: You buy the gasoline with the grenades, yes.)

[u-b]

Sean Pires

Thankful to the fact that he had some "driving" practice on simulators back in the Shelter, and no less thankful to the fact that he had spent some time over the course of the last two days testing the steering as Tariq was trying to tune it perfectly right without a proper test bench, Sean thinks he'd be able to handle the car well enough to drive across the state at the second gear as the case is likely to be given the amount of snow on the roads. At least, if the circumstances press him to it, which they likely do. He proposes to go help the people at the camping ground and then decide if it is possible to also help the people at the ski resort. If everyone agrees to go help those people, Sean lets Richard occupy the whole second row, opening the windows when they are close to the destination to shoot on either side of the car as needed while Sean and Tariq take front seats.

Spoiler

Show

If there are no objections, going to the camping ground, 70 miles at 11 mph for about six hours and a half. Stopping to shoot as soon as we see any suspicious animals or, for that matter, suspicious anything.

[Shoot Da Moon]

(OOC: Alright, other players, this is good? Also, be sure to note what you are leaving behind at the base, and what you are taking with you.)

[Volthawk]

When Richard hears about the plight of the groups asking for help, he unsurprisingly enthusiastically agrees with Sean's plan to help them - particularly now that they were a little better equipped and better established in this new world, he saw it as their duty to help their fellow man (the kind not trying to murder and rob others, at least) where they could, and as they drove and he watched out of the windows for trouble, he was in high spirits.

(OOC: Sorry, had another few days of not being able to get online very much. Yeah, Richard is all for this plan. Gear-wise, looks like u-b has kept doing a great job with the gear chart and has the base/car/us split covered - I have finally moved Richard's share of the general kit to his tab, though, since it means he now has an actual backpack, and moved the tent to the car for now.

[GnomesofZurich2]

Tariq is good with this plan, he'll bring all of his gear, there isn't that much. "Do you think we need to bring mines?

[Shoot Da Moon]

(OOC: Makr off the gasoline used, and meals eaten for breakfast and lunch.)

The exiles load up their gear and drive their planned route. Sean is driving, and his plotted way avoids some of the more troublesome roads. The journey is smooth enough, even if the car is still less than ideal.

After six and a half hours of driving, the exiles arrive at the campground, the sun having past the highest mark hours ago. The rickety improvised sign proclaiming the camp grounds to be named “New Fiddler’s Green” covers the old (letters faded to nothing) Old World sign. What this place was once called before the virus is lost to death and time.

Only the noises of nature can be heard as the exiles enter and creep amongst the cabins and picnic tables. They do not see anyone, or any monsters...yet...
A new layer of blood greases the ground just a few steps inside.

The exiles can see, from here, a trail down to a boathouse by the river, a path over it the west that leads to a big building that looks like it was built post-virus out of freshly chopped logs and scrap metal, and a circle of rusted RVs converted into a village(?) further into the centre of the campground.

The exiles pause to consider their options...

[u-b]

Sean Pires

Spoiler: Before departure

Show

"If we end up going to help the ski resort and then provoke an advance on our position, some claymores would absolutely be useful. I'd rather take some, for sure."

At the camping ground, Sean is apparently not in hurry anywhere, taking some time to look around and make sense of any visible signs of what has hapened.

[GnomesofZurich2]

Tariq will keep his revolver in hand as he gets out to inspect the local conditions. "I hope we're not too late. Pretty quiet here."

[Shoot Da Moon]

Looking through the scope, Sean spots a treehouse with a camouflaged cover and a radio antenna in the west of the campground immediately. Concentrating on the treehouse, he realises that there is a light on in the treehouse with the windows covered.

Checking the area around the campgrounds, he notices that some large four-legged animals were running around here - some as big as bears but most are as big as dogs. This place has been inhabited by humans for months, and people have kit-bashed together living quarters from junk and loot. None of the animal attackers can climb trees or open doors. The humans here fled from them by hiding in buildings or getting up higher.

[u-b]

Sean Pires

"They have the transmitter in there." Says Sean as he looks for any obviouos ways for a human to get into the treehouse. "I suggest we go inside an have a talk." Trying to not make excess noise as not to attract animals that might be still present around, Sean leads the group to the treehouse where he knocks his steel gauntlet on the wooden trunk, ready to wave at anyone appearing above.

[Shoot Da Moon]

Sean and company make their way over to the treehouse without giving away their position.

From outside, the exiles can hear human voices inside, chatting.
The voice go silent when Sean knocks.

A moment later, a rugged woman wearing heavy clothing looks out and down at the exiles. She raises an eyebrow, and then relaxes. "Thank god, you're here. Can you help us out? We got attacked by a horde of ratdogs and several teddies. They're still out there. One of our men is injured."

They let the exiles up and into the treehouse, and quickly shut the door behind them. Inside, the treehouse contains 3 more wastelanders, one of whom is currently resting restlessly on a mattress, soaking it with blood from a lot of wounds and leaving scores of dirty bandages around. The other two wastelanders are also women, one is covered in blood and fussing over making new bandages out of old clothes. The other woman is idly eating a meal, and nursing a loaded rifle as she looks out a window slit.

"Who the devil are YOU guys?"

[u-b]

Sean Pires

"Call us the radar base guys. Me, I'm Sean Pires personally." Says sean lifting the face part of his leather helmet to have a more of a face-to-face talk with these people, not face-to-mask. "The Waffle house now controls it, if you've heard about them. Got your distress signal on the radio, so thought we come here to help. We've got two automatic rifles and a few grenades, but not much in the way of armor. Will need a plan other than wandering around to be overrun. Can you describe who is where and give an estimate of their numbers? I wonder if we can attract those ratdogs here somehow, you seem to have a pretty good position. May I?" Sean proceeds to look around through all the windows and openings, using the scope on anything that attracts interest. Meanwhile, he's all ears.

[GnomesofZurich2]

Tariq introduces himself, "Hi, I'm Tariq Sandoval. Do you need help with bandaging? I know a bit of first aid."

[Shoot Da Moon]

Sean Pires

"Call us the radar base guys. Me, I'm Sean Pires personally." Says sean lifting the face part of his leather helmet to have a more of a face-to-face talk with these people, not face-to-mask. "The Waffle house now controls it, if you've heard about them. Got your distress signal on the radio, so thought we come here to help. We've got two automatic rifles and a few grenades, but not much in the way of armor. Will need a plan other than wandering around to be overrun. Can you describe who is where and give an estimate of their numbers? I wonder if we can attract those ratdogs here somehow, you seem to have a pretty good position. May I?" Sean proceeds to look around through all the windows and openings, using the scope on anything that attracts interest. Meanwhile, he's all ears.

"Well that's a relief. I guess fixing that radio was worth the time after all. Hello, Sean. The things attacking us seem to be a swarm of weird beasts...They rushed the place yesterday, after a bunch of jerks on motorcycles rode by and threw a bunch of open bottles at us. The bottles were full of this yellow chemical I never saw before. Seemed like nothing I've ever known. Then the animals started storming in and going berserk! They killed whoever they could see, and ate any food they could smell or see. It was sheer chaos! There's still a good twenty of those ratdogs out there. But I haven't seen the teddies anywhere, so maybe they left or the ratdogs turned on them and chewed 'em up?"

Tariq introduces himself, "Hi, I'm Tariq Sandoval. Do you need help with bandaging? I know a bit of first aid."

The would-be nurse leans back and wipes her forehead. "Yeah, give it a shot. Be careful, he has had a rough day..."
The patient moans as he lies there.

[u-b]

Sean Pires

"Do you have any food here? I wonder if we can attract them where they would be easily shot." Sean then tries to estimate if a grenade somewhere below the treehouse would be safe for the inhabitants (if unsure, he'll ask Tariq's opinion).

Spoiler

Show

How high are we from the ground and how open is the area below us? How far is the nearest trailer?

[Shoot Da Moon]

Sean Pires

"Do you have any food here? I wonder if we can attract them where they would be easily shot." Sean then tries to estimate if a grenade somewhere below the treehouse would be safe for the inhabitants (if unsure, he'll ask Tariq's opinion).

Spoiler

Show

How high are we from the ground and how open is the area below us? How far is the nearest trailer?

"Uh, we got a stash of 18 rations and 10 bottles of water in here. I'm not sure if they'd like it, though...The stuff's mostly trail mix with a few bacon bits..."

The treehouse is 7 yards up from the ground. A grenade would potentially damage the tree, but not bring it down. The treehouse itself would be adequate cover for an explosion that is far enough away. The ground is mostly open, with the clutter of civilisation here and there. The nearest trailer is 6 yards away.

[GnomesofZurich2]

Tariq approaches the victim to see what he can do in terms of stopping the bleeding. He is, of course, happy to opine on what effect a grenade would have on the treehouse, and what type of grenade would be best to use in this circumstance, if asked.