Gamma World D20 Alpha Spring 2004

Background: The 6 are conveniently tossed together in the Gamma World wastelands and seek adventure on the river to Oamus a large city to the east.

Adventure 1: Meeting in a cavern

The story begins with Bones and Sullivan meeting a strange old man in the streets of Ouf Manor, a small secluded town surrounded by mountainous terrain. The old man kindly introduces himself as Brock the scavenger to Bones, a young boney healer, and Sullivan, a scraggly aristocrat. Brock convinces the two to explore a cave he just discovered where he found a fantastic amount of loot. He tells the two that he found some crates, but he is far too old to try to move the contents back to town. He gives them specific directions and descriptions of the cave which is approximately a six hour journey east into the mountains. Brock tells the two that his only fee for the information about the cave is ten percent of their findings. The two men agree this is a good deal. After a few concerned questions from Bones, Brock assures them the cavern is safe.

The two eager young men head out immediately with no concerns, just the glory of discovery.

After a long walk towards the mountains, they journey up a winding path towards a cave entrance high above. Bones grows hungry and takes a a snack of a few rocks found on the path to the cave entrance. They notice that the cave entrance has a strange metal door frame of some kind. The light into the tunnel dims and the two wait for evening when the western sun shines further into the cave. Sullivan notices that there is a door and Bones proceeds to approach it. Incautiously Bones touches the door and it slides away with a rush of cooled air coming from the well lit corridor revealed. The two eagerly walk down the corridor to approach yet another door. Having succeeded before, Sullivan taps the second door and it too opens with little effort.

Sullivan and Bones are amazed as they look into a well lit cavern about fifty foot high and about one-hundred wide by one-hundred feet long. The cavernous room is filled with large plastic crates with strange markings on the outside. Bones notices a small observation room to one side of the room, about 40 feet above the ground floor with windows around it. A small metal ladder leads up to the room. While Sullivan opens some crates and finds various food stuffs, Bones is curious about the room. After Bones and Sullivan both hear a noise from inside the small room up in the air, Bones' curiosity peaks. Bones decides to climb the ladder and investigate further. Sullivan continues opening crates and finds a few with alcoholic contents. He also finds some cigarettes and other condiments.

Bones reaches the catwalk like platform surrounding the room and opens the door to the room. The room is quite dark.

Bones recalls some lore about buttons on walls that toggle the illumination of rooms, so he feels for one in the dark. Presto, he finds a light switch, the room illuminates.

Styx remains still as he notices the light in his home come on. He remains still and silent, hoping his unwanted guest may not notice him.

Bones rummages through some papers on the desk and proceeds to look through the strange assortment of items in the desk drawer.

Sullivan grows impatient and calls up to Bones, curious about his findings. Bones tried to be quiet too and wishes Sullivan wouldn't be so obnoxiously loud. Sullivan's voice echoes throughout the cavern.

Bones hears a faint noise so he grabs a nearby coffee mug.

Sullivan carelessly and quickly climbs the ladder too and appears in the doorway behind Bones, just as Styx pops up from behind the desk.

Sullivan and Bones notice the blue skinned green haired young man and are surprised but happy to have found someone.

Sullivan, Bones, and Styx return to the ground floor and discuss the contents of the crates. Styx tells the two that he has been in the cavern for over ten years and that he hasn't left because it has always been dark when he opened the outer doors. Also, he has everything he has ever needed here in the cavern.

After a bit Styx reveals that he has a computer that can determine all the contents in the boxes and even better, he himself can read the markings on the crates.

Bones and Sullivan get excited and ask about weapons. Weapons will bring a hefty profit. Bones is more concerned with the crates filled with medical supplies. Sullivan packs two duffle bags full of alcohol and Bones takes two duffle bags full of medical supplies.

The three find the crates with small arms and some rifles, but the crates are sealed, unlike the food and other equipment crates. After some examination, Bones discovers a small place for a finger to press against. Each man tries his finger, but the lock box remains locked. Sullivan looks for a crowbar and the three attempt to pry the box open, but fail. Finally, one gets the idea of power tools and after a few failures in operating some power tools, the three manage to slice open a crate of laser pistols and a crate of laser rifles.

Moments after opening the crates the trio hears the sound of gas being released from another crate on the other side of the room. In a panic, the trio run to the doorway and wait. They notice some smoke coming from the area where the gas releasing noise imitates from. After a minute or two, Styx approaches the crate and finds four strange coffins. Four metallic coffins releasing cold gas into the room. Styx gets the idea of cutting one open and so they grab a cutter and cut the lid off of a coffin. Upon removal of the lid, a shriveled up man grabs at Sullivan, then immediately falls back dead. Bones notices some odd lights at the foot of each coffin and Styx determines that they are numbers counting down. Styx sees that they have less than three minutes remaining before something happens.

Sullivan insists that they cut open another, but Bones determines that they might have killed the first person by opening the coffin too soon.

They wait for the remaining time of the countdown and find that the 3 coffins open up simultaneously. Three naked men are quite visible and slightly moving. The three all protect their eyes from the lights in the cavern.

After a few moments one of the men sits upright and asks the three what happened? The trio are stunned and each looks to the other for words of encouragement. Sullivan steps forward and offers that he is their commander.

Damon gets up awkwardly and looks at the trio and guesses that only Bones could be his commander. A few moments pass and DC steps out of his stasis chamber as well. The three men in the coffins walk around to the back of the massive crate that released them and open up what appear to be lockers with their names on them. Kyle introduces himself and asks the trio what happened to the fourth guy who looks quite dead? Bones speaks up and suggests, "Uh, it seems that his container was compromised".

After getting dressed, Damon insists that the group bury the body so he takes the body while Bones follows along. Damon heads outside with a bit of directions, and builds a cairn for the remains of a fallen soldier. Damon doesn't appear to need any special equipment to move around easily in the dark outside. Bones finds it difficult to leave the safety of the little corridor light ebbing onto the mountain.

Meanwhile, Sullivan attempts to break into an explosives crate but finds it to be locked as well. DC is disturbed by this and insists that Sullivan not try to cut his way into the high-explosives box. After a bit, DC gets a laser rifle from the opened crate and suggests to Sullivan to leave the explosives box alone. Sullivan presses the biometric lock with his thumb and another release of gas is heard near where DC, Damon, and Kyle were released. The group rushes over to see a massive coffin of some sort, quite larger than the other four combined. DC instinctively grabs a cutter tool and cuts the lid off. The countdown stops and an almost solid block of ice is revealed in the stasis chamber.

Styx uses the computer to find out that the ice block contains a defense system. DC further finds that the defense system is only activated if the engineered human defense fails.

The ice slowly melts since the thawing process was interrupted. After a while, Damon grows impatient, finds a box of charges for his laser pistol and empties numerous cells into the ice mass. No blood, no guts, just chunks of ice. Moments later, another stasis chamber ejects from a crate. Damon empties even more laser clips into this one.

The group spend the night and during his watch, DC attempts to melt the ice around the entities legs and saws one leg off. Styx attempts to saw the other, but morning comes quickly. The group grabs some more duffle bags of stuff and leave for Ouf Manor the next morning. The trio convince the soldiers to join them.

After a nice long walk being heavily burdened, the group enters the town. Bones, Sullivan and Styx head to the tavern where they were to rendezvous with Brock. Damon and DC head to the manor which doubles as a make shift town hall. Damon asks about anyone in town who might have a knowledge of historical events. Damon realizes he has been sleeping for quite some time now. Damon is politely told by the caretaker that a gentleman who lives just beyond the market would be the historian to talk to.

Bones, Sullivan, Styx, and Kyle speak with Brock and he has them accompany him to his home a few blocks away to stow his share of the spoils. The four guys drag the bags of stuff to Brocks home. Moments after unpacking the many bags, Damon and DC appear. Damon's first question to Brock is, "Do you know US. Gov?" Brock replies and gives Damon a brief history lesson about the world as he knows the it from stories he has heard.

Adventure 2: To the Oamus

Having decided to head for Oamus, the group began to discuss possible routes of travel. Oamus lay about eight days to the northeast of Ouf Manor, and the terrain in between did not look inviting. To complicate matters more, the map showed a large lake in the path. The group would have to choose between a more northerly route near the Oafezar Ruins, and a more easterly route through the valleys, which would be somewhat smoother but eliminate the possibility of traveling swiftly by river.
“Iabo Fountain sounds interesting,” said Styx as he pored over the map, “I like the northern route.”
“Perhaps,” replied Bones, “we should concentrate on finding a pack animal for our cargo. We can also ask around town to see if there are any people who need things delivered to Oamus.”
Brock had requested that the group transport several crates of cargo to Oamus for sale. He had even offered the use of a cart, but the group would have to find their own animal to pull the cart. Accordingly, they went to the market in search of a pack animal. They decided to buy a centisteed. They would not even require a cart, since the crates could be strapped directly to the centisteed's back. Damon tried haggling with the centisteed dealer, but they couldn't reach an agreement. Bones turned on the charm, and managed to talk the dealer down to a reasonable price. As centisteeds require constant feeding, Styx purchased some bales of hay to last the centisteed 20 days.
Following Bones' suggestion, the group decided to spend some time at the local tavern to see if anyone needed things delivered to Oamus. Damon, Styx, and Bones entered the tavern, while Sully and D.C. stayed outside to guard the centisteed. [Where was Kyle during all this? I don't remember.] Almost immediately, the group was treated to an interesting conflagration.
"I'll go through it this time!" said a human loudly as he stood up from his table and hastily donned a coonskin cap. He was addressing a group of humans seated around the table, all wearing blue jackets and white pants. He walked toward the exit quickly, his sabre swinging from his waist. Styx was intrigued by this chain of events and decided to discreetly follow the man. Damon and Bones approached an odd trio of a mutant, pure-strain and a synthetic seated at a nearby table.
"We're part of a caravan headed to Oamus," announced Bones, "and we were wondering if we could perhaps offer to transport any goods for you?"
The mutants replied, "Oamus…you don't say? As it happens, I have a friend in Oamus. If you could deliver this box to him, I'm sure he'd make it worth your while." He produced a small, sealed box from under the table.
"We could do that," said Bones, "but it would be better if we could get half of the payment in advance. And what's in the box? We don't want to transport anything too dangerous."
"You're awfully nosy," replied the mutant, "maybe this isn't such a good idea after all."
Bones considered for a moment and then responded, "Okay, we'll agree to your terms. Anything else?"
One of the group, the synthetic, spoke up, "Yeah! You can help me with somethin'. There's this guy, named Gerkin or Jerkin or something like that. He's been buyin' stuff with these worthless coins!" He pulled a few plastic coins out of his pocket and showed them to Bones. "I heard he's been hangin' out in Kegejia Manor. Anything you hear about him in your travels, you let me know!"
Bones agreed. Damon approached an aristocratic-looking young woman in a red riding cloak who had an expectant and nervous look about her.

"You look like you’re searching for something. We're traveling to Oamus; maybe we can help you?" said Damon.
"Help me? What makes someone like you think you can help me?" she replied in a condescending manner.
"Never mind," said Damon, "I see that you don't need our help…"
"No, really," said the woman, "what makes a brute like you think you have anything that would be of interest to me?"
"I'm sorry for bothering you," said Damon curtly as he walked away.
While Damon was conversing with the woman, Bones overheard a poor-looking farmer saying, "…I just don't know what I'm going to do. I lost my metal plowshare. I can use my old wooden one, but I'll have to work twice as hard to till the same amount of land I did last year, and I just can't afford to have smaller crops…"
Bones approached the man and offered, "I'm sorry, but I couldn't help but overhear…is there anything we can do to help. We're heading to Oamus."
"I need a metal plowshare," said the farmer, "I hear that you might be able to find some abandoned tools in the ruins northeast of the lake. It's on the way to Oamus. If you could find a metal plowshare for me, I'd find a way to repay you for your trouble."
"Of course," replied Bones, "we'll do what we can."
Bones then decided to approach the men in the blue jackets and white pants, but before he could even get close they motioned for him to stop.
"We don't need your help. Stay away," said one of them. As Bones turned to walk away, he heard the man grumble, "damned mutants."
Before Bones could really think on what the man had said, an old mutant approached him and Damon, "Excuse me, excuse me. I heard that you're going to Oamus. Could you help me? See that woman over there? That's my wife, Irma. We have two grandchildren that live with us, named Sally and Sam. We're getting so old and tired…we just can't take care of them anymore. Could you take them to their parents in Oamus? They're very well behaved; they won't bother you at all. They hardly eat anything."
Damon immediately replied, "I'm sorry, sir. We're going to be traveling through dangerous territory. We just can't accept the responsibility of looking after two children."
Bones agreed, "That's true. We'd be happy to carry a message to their parents, though."
"Oh, please," said the old mutant, "they’re good kids. They never cause any trouble. Come here, Sam!" A young boy walked over. "See," he said, "Sam here is a good boy; and Sally is good too!"
"We'll have to discuss it with the rest of our group," said Bones, "I wonder where Styx went…"

Styx discreetly followed the man in the coonskin cap as he headed to the town market. The man ducked inside of a store, so Styx did likewise. Styx pretended to look over some merchandise, while the man approached the owner of the store. It was difficult for Styx to fully eavesdrop on the conversation, but he was able to determine that the man was trying to purchase a radiation suit. The owner had none to sell, so the man continued to the market bazaar. Going from merchant to merchant, the man continued asking the same question: where could he find a radiation suit? None of the merchants could help him, but Styx could. There had been radiation suits in the cache of U.S. Government supplies. For some reason, Styx felt no compulsion to actually help the man, but he knew how he might be able to use the man for information. Styx approached…

"I heard that you might be looking for a rad-suit. I might be able to help you," said Styx.

Styx was somewhat disturbed that his pursuit had not been as stealthy as he thought. Nevertheless he continued, "I might be able to provide you with what you're looking for…at a price. What do you have to offer in return?"

"I could pay quite a bit," the man responded, "though not necessarily in advance."

"You've got to give me something in advance," countered Styx, "how about some information? What exactly do you need a rad-suit for?"

"It's no great secret," said the man, "that there are some ruins roughly to the north of here, near the lake. I'll be traveling in that area, and I've heard that the ruins are contaminated with radiation."

"Interesting," said Styx, "why don't you meet me here tomorrow around dawn. I'll bring the merchandise, assuming I can find it. We can discuss more specific payment terms at that time."

The man agreed, and Styx returned to the rest of the group. Styx told the group about his encounter with the man, and suggested that the group return to the cave to pick up some radiation suits. The group initially protested on the grounds that they didn't want to risk anyone learning about the cave. Styx explained that he had no intention of actually selling the radiation suits, but rather intended for the group to use them. He did not plan to even bother meeting with the man in the morning.

The group convened at Brock's home to officially decide on a course of action. Bones inquired about the group of pure-strain humans with the white pants and blue jackets. Brock informed him that they belong to a gang of pure-strain humans that are always causing trouble. Damon, remembering that Sully was an aristocrat, mentioned the aristocratic woman that he had encountered at the tavern. While the group had their discussion, Sully decided to return to the tavern and speak with the woman. Initially, Sully was coldly rebuffed by the woman, just as Damon had been previously. Then an old man confronted Sully…

"Oh sir, sir!" said the old man, "I couldn't help but overhear you talking to this woman. You must be with that group of young men that's traveling to Oamus. Have you decided whether you'll take my grandchildren to Oamus with you? Oh, my wife and I, her name is Irma, would be so grateful if you'd do this for us! They're good kids!"

Sully considered the situation and replied, "You know, if you could convince this woman to be a little more receptive, we might be able to work something out…"

The old man pulled the woman aside and began to talk. After a few minutes the old man and the woman returned. The woman announced, "I have decided to travel to Oamus with you. My name is Laura. We will be taking Sam and Sally with us." She turned and exited the tavern with a flourish. Sully, Sam, and Sally followed her outside. The Oamus expedition now had three new members.

Intrigued by the ruins, the group officially decided to take the more northerly route to Oamus. They would stop off at the cave first, however, to pick up some supplies. They left around dusk. The trip to the cave was mostly uneventful. They did encounter a robot, but he appeared to be a harmless ecology robot working for a local farmer. Upon reaching the base of the mountains near the cave, they were faced with a dilemma. The centisteed could not climb up the mountains. Sully would need to remain behind with the centisteed, being the only member of the group with any training in the care of animals, and there was no reason for Laura, Sally, or Sam to make the trip up the mountain. It was decided that Styx, Damon, D.C., and Kyle would go to the cave, while everyone else would stay behind to guard the centisteed.

Upon reaching the cave, it was immediately apparent that something was amiss. Both the outer and inner doors leading to the main chamber were destroyed. It was completely dark in the main chamber. Damon volunteered to climb up to the control room and attempt to turn the lights on. He proceeded with caution, eventually finding the ladder.

"Yeah, I slipped off the ladder. I'm okay," replied Damon. He managed to climb the ladder and locate the light switch, but it had no effect. The power was completely out. He began to negotiate his way back down to the floor.

Kyle, D.C., and Styx rushed to the area near the ladder. They scanned their flashlights at the ground, and were greeted with the grotesque sight of Damon's broken body. He had fallen off the catwalk! Kyle picked up Damon's unconscious form, and the group hurried back down the mountain. They feared that Damon might not survive if they did not get him to Bones quickly.

Back at the camp, Bones was able to use his skills to heal Damon. Another expedition to the cave was made; this time they worked quickly. They grabbed a crate of radiation gear and a crate of food and made it back to camp with no incident. After strapping their new cargo to the centisteed, they decided it was best to leave the area. Whatever had destroyed the door to the cave might still be around.

They traveled north toward the Iabo River. After putting some distance between themselves and the cave area, they made camp and slept. It was early morning when they stopped, and the sun was already high in the sky when they awoke and started moving again. As before, the trip was uneventful. They met another harmless robot, and learned the hard way that power cells sometimes randomly explode. Luckily, they observed that the power cells begin to hum and vibrate when they grow volatile, which would hopefully make it easy to avoid catastrophe. They managed to find the Iabo River and follow it upstream. After a day of travel, they made camp and slept again.

The next day, as they were walking, the Geiger Counter that Bones had taken from the radiation gear began to tick. They were entering a radioactive area, though the dose levels seemed harmless. D.C., however, felt his body begin to change. He recognized the feeling…he was mutating.

The group visits the local tavern to find anyone else interested in transporting stuff to Oamus.

10pm: Some of the group enters the cave but find the power out and doors busted out.

11pm: Damon falls from the ladder while climbing in the dark. Damon falls again off the catwalk.

2pm: The group finds the Iabo river, follow the river upstream on the southern bank.

10am: The group enters a radioactive area. DC mutates and gains additional dexterity.

Adventure 3: Nearing Iabo fountain

The group traveled north, following the banks of the Iabo River. Before long, they saw what appeared to be a large mechanical arm sticking out of the soft soil near the river. Sully approached cautiously. As he examined the arm, suddenly it came to life and grabbed at him, injuring him. The group readied their weapons and began to open fire. Another arm rose from the soil, grasping at Sully. It didn't take the group long to subdue the adversary with laser fire.

Upon closer examination, it appeared to be a cargo robot, the kind you might see working at a loading dock. There was no cargo immediately evident, but Styx eventually found a box buried nearby. The box contained a portable stove and some cooking supplies. They extracted the supplies and loaded them onto the centisteed.

They continued to travel in peace, occasionally finding boxes lying near the riverbank. The boxes, unfortunately, didn't contain much of interest. They mostly held canned goods and other foodstuffs, which the party already had in abundance. The river turned to the east, and soon the group came upon a waterfall. Styx noticed something in the waterfall. It looked like a bag had been stashed in a nook behind the cascading wall of water. There were some large rocks sticking out of the water, and Styx thought he might be able to jump across them. He tried, but he failed and fell into the water. He swam to the shore and tried again with the same results. The rest of the group finally got involved, offering to tie a rope around Styx's waist to reel him in if he fell again, which he did. Damon offered to make an attempt. Finally, Damon succeeded and the bag was retrieved. Styx opened the bag to find a soggy book. It appeared to be about survival skills. Disappointed, he gave the book to Bones.

The group had to go quite far out of their way in order to continue upriver, since the cliff from which the water was falling was too steep to climb. Eventually, they found a place where they could climb. They did so, and then continued back toward the river. Upon reaching the river, they noticed some curious creatures floating in the water near the bank. The creatures emerged from the water. They appeared to be some sort of fish-men. The party attempted to communicate with the fish-men, but they gave no sign that they understood the group's speech. They offered the fish-man various things, including food and a flashlight, but the fish-men did not seem interested at all.

Just when the group was about to give up and move on, one of the fish-men stabbed at Sully with a spear. Sully was not badly hurt, but he decided to pretend that he was injured and slump to the ground. Styx had no interest in fighting the primitive humanoids, and moved back downstream away from them. The rest of the group pulled out their lasers and opened fire. More fish-men emerged from the water downstream; they were attacking the group from both sides. Though the fish-men had only rudimentary weapons, they were surprisingly weak. They were not able to withstand a laser blast before expiring. One of them managed to stab Sally and gravely injure her. Bones grabbed both of the children and pulled them out of the fight to a safe location where he could heal them. The rest of the group, after some intense fighting, was able to dispatch the fish-men.

The group traveled a safe distance upstream and made camp. After an uneventful night, they continued their quest. The day passed by as they walked. They knew they must be approaching the lake, but they weren't quite sure how much farther they had to go. They encountered another waterfall. Once again, Styx noticed something stashed behind the water, this time it was a box. The rocks were much more spread out at this waterfall, and the box was far away. The group decided to use the same techniques they had used at the last waterfall. It took Styx many attempts to reach the box, but eventually he did. He removed the rope and tied it around the box. Convinced that the box was watertight, he tossed it into the water. The rest of the group reeled it in to the shore.

In the course of retrieving the box, Styx had fallen into the water many times. He had grown overconfident in his ability to swim to the shore. It had also grown dark. He dove into the water and slipped past the treacherous rocks easily, but then his strength failed him, and he began to sink. Sully quickly tied a rope around his waist and jumped in to save Styx, but the current was too strong he was forced to give up. The rest of the group pulled Sully to the shore, dejected. They saw Styx's head briefly break the surface, then he floated downstream out of sight.

During the commotion, Damon quietly opened the box. He was amazed by what he saw. It was the largest gun he had ever seen. Thinking quickly, he took out the gun and strapped it to his back, under his suit where it couldn't be seen. He tossed his knife in the box. After giving up on Styx, the group walked over and examined the box. Bones thought it was curious that such a large box contained only a knife, and he was suspicious of Damon's behavior, but there were more pressing issues.

Sully, Bones, and D.C packed up and headed downstream, daring to hope that Styx might still be alive. Against all odds, D.C. spotted a figure across the river with his keen night-vision. It was Styx, and he was alive! Styx told them he would make his own camp near the waterfall on the opposite side of the river, and they'd continue on in parallel until the rest of the party could cross.

The next day, they moved on. They reached the lake quickly. On the southern bank, the group found a grassy shoreline. Styx, on the northern bank, found a forested peninsula with some small buildings. He knocked on the door to one of the buildings, and was greeted by an old man.

"A boat?" replied the old man, "As it happens, I operate a boat! What can I help you with?"

"My friends are stranded on the southern bank of the river. At the very least, they need to be transported here. We'd like to reach the northwestern corner of the lake, if possible."

"Well, I don't go that far north. Too treacherous. But, I can help your friends across the river for a small fee."

They reached an agreement, and soon the group was reunited. They had crossed one river, but they knew from Brock's map that they would have to find a way to cross the second river that flowed from the lake a bit farther to the north.

Adventure 4: The trail to Iabo fountain

The group did not make the most of the old boatman's hospitality, Since it was morning, they prepared to continue their journey. They had decided to honor their original plan, taking a detour to the northwest to explore Iabo Fountain. As they made their way to the base of the mountains, they were relieved to see a reasonably well-maintained trail heading up in the desired direction.

Their relief was not long-lived, however, as the trail soon changed character. It became a narrow crevice cut into the mountain, with high, sheer walls on either side. After walking for about an hour, they encountered their first obstacle. A large pile of trash and debris was blocking the path. It seemed clear upon examination that this pile was strategically placed. Someone was deliberately trying to block the trail. Though the pile was not insurmountable, it was clear that the centisteed would never be able to climb over. After some debate, Sully was sent back down the trail with the centisteed, Sally, and Sam. His orders were to stow the children and the pack animal with the old boatman and the woman, then meet the rest of the party at the fountain.

The rest of the group climbed the pile of trash and continued on, only to encounter several more piles of trash, each higher than the last. Someone, or something, was quite determined to block this path. While climbing a particularly high pile of rubbish, they noticed something odd. Something in the mound seemed to be moving. Before the group had much time to discuss, some type of monster suddenly attacked them. It appeared to be a creature formed out of trash. Bones named it a, "Garbage Golem." Those who happened to be standing too close took the brunt of the creature's attacks. Several party members were wounded before the creature was dispatched with a rain of laser fire.

Meanwhile, back at the lake, Sully was having a tough time convincing the woman to baby-sit the children for him. It took some persuading, but he was eventually able to get his way. He started back towards the trail, but not before sampling some of the old woman's cooking.

The group continued to encounter piles of trash, some as high as fifteen feet. They fought another trash monster, taking more wounds. Bones did his best to heal the injured, but by the time the party climbed over the last pile, they were significantly weaker than they had been just a few hours before.

They ultimately came upon a pool of oily-looking black fluid blocking the path. After some degree of experimentation, they made a few determinations. The fluid was caustic, possibly some type of acid. It did not appear to harm metal objects, but most things, including the protective radiation suits, would be dissolved on contact with the fluid. It also appeared to give off some type of harmful vapors, which would cause anyone who came too close to the pool to become weakened. Many ideas were put forth regarding how the group might cross the pool. During this time, Sully returned and joined in the discussion. Eventually, they remembered seeing some metal rods and beams in the piles of trash. After much work, they retrieved a metal rod and two large metal beams from the trash. They intended to use these objects to cross the pool.

First, they used the metal rod to get a rough idea of the depth of the pool. It seemed to drop off steeply right at the edges to a depth of about eight feet. Clearly, falling in the acid would be dangerous, as one's entire body would be submerged. They set to work, welding the two metal beams together in a T formation. They placed the beams in such a way that one beam sat along the edge of the pool, while the other, longer beam pointed away from the pool back along the path. With a mighty heave-ho, they were able to lift the longer beam, flipping the whole contraption over so that the longer beam ran across the pool.

The plan worked, though possibly not as well as they had hoped. The beam allowed them to cross the pool, but they had no protection from the harmful vapors. No one fell into the acid, but the entire party was feeling quite weakened by the time they made it to the other side.

Adventure 5: Iabo fountain

Having finally crossed the pool of acid, Bones proceeded to attempt to heal the party up, but failed repeatedly when trying to recover our lost strength. We decided to rest the night a short distance from the pool. In the night, small aerial camera spy-bots were noticed hovering overhead. As they were leaving us well enough alone, we decided to ignore them. In the morning, Bones tried healing us again and we continued to follow the path.

We came upon a narrow canyon that was splattered with scorch marks on the sides. Sully chugged a flask of alcohol and threw it through the pass. Since nothing happened he walked on through and got fried by some electrical bolts, but he managed to stay conscious. Styx tumbled through without incident, D.C. tumbled through, Laura tumbled through, and Damon jumped through without incident. Bones tried to jump through as well, but failed and set off another burst that also hit Sully and knocked him unconscious. Kyle, the only one left on the other side, attempted to jump as well, but failed and was stunned by the blast. After dragging Sully away, we tried to throw a rope around Kyle to get him out of the blast area, but a massive plasma burst turned Kyle into dust.

We noticed that a spy-bot was watching us still so Damon, who didn’t like being spied upon, shot it out of the sky. We grieved for our fallen comrade, but continued on. To stop now would mean he died for no reason.

We came upon another scorched canyon, but this time, the marks noted a longer pass. Laura managed to tumble through again, but when Damon tried to triple jump, a brilliant flash on the last step blinded him. A rope was thrown to Laura and given to Damon to attempt to drag Sully through the mine field since we had no other way to get him past the obstacle. The only affect produced from that was about two-thirds of the way through, a cloud of glitter was shot up from the ground and it engulfed him, but he was pulled to the other side without further injury. Bones jumped the distance, but when D.C. tried to tumble through, he was hit with another mine that apparently had no effect. Finally, Styx tumbled through and the glitter cloud finally settled.

Again, we felt the need to rest. As we did, Damon's sight slowly returned. A thin humanoid robot then approached us. Upon greeting it, the medical robotoid offered to attend to our wounds. We agreed and it started healing everyone, but stated that it could not heal Styx because he’s ‘different’. When we asked where it came from, it said it was sent from those who dwelled up the mountain. It asked if we had any more wounded so we told it about Kyle and it ran off to help Kyle.

Three more spy-bots came snooping around so Damon shot another one and the other two flew off. We continued on the path and finally came across what could only be Iabo Fountain.

Styx got a little crazy in the head and actually greeted the pool of water. Its response was for one of the fountain water jets to turn and spray at him. Styx jumped in and swam around to the bottom. When he finally came up, he told us that the fountain is nearly 200 feet deep! Sully and Laura also jumped in and swam around. They found, in the center of the fountain, a platform near the central water jets.

We all managed to swim over to it with a rope tied off the distance to help guide us. When we were all on the platform, we found some foot indentations. When a foot was placed in them, the water in the entire fountain lowered one foot, a bridge extended to the edge of the fountain from the central platform, an elevator opened up, and the last one lowered the lift.

We all went down the lift. At the bottom, there was a long corridor with doors at the end. They wouldn’t budge, but as we pulled out power tools and were about to cut it open, they opened by themselves to reveal a room with doors leading left and right.

We started going through the doors to the left, but a humanoid shaped robot came through first. The robot referred to itself as one of the Created; it considered Styx to be Created as well. It would only let Styx pass that point and no one else. When it actually threatened us, Damon shot off its foot and D.C. followed up by shooting it in the head. The robot falls, but starts saying that forces are en route to deal with us. Styx passes through the door and the door closed behind him.

Damon picks up the robot to use as a shield and D.C. drops an energy cell by the door. Everyone else starts retreating toward the lift while Styx is making his way through the facility with no more encounters. A turn or two later, six floating bowling balls from hell with what looked to be mono-filament whips attached to them entered the room, three from each of the two doors.

Damon shot the energy cell D.C. dropped and caught three of the BBFH in the blast while D.C. retreated into the corridor. Using the robot as a humanoid shield, the six BBFH converged upon him and attacked. They ripped the robot into pieces attempting to get at Damon. Feeling the situation was too grim, Damon told D.C. to run, waited a moment, and shot into his bag of energy clips. By a small miracle, he managed to get blown back toward the lift with no real damage.

Missing Styx, the group managed to make it to the lift and up, away from the BBFH. Once to the top, we used the tools to cut a path from the fountain to the lift to swamp the facility below with the vow o return for Styx.

Styx, meanwhile, was still exploring the facility. He came across another Created which was adamant that Styx was a robot. Styx repeatedly denied it until the Created offered proof. The robot first showed Styx a non-invasive scan of his body. Disbelieving this, Styx was strapped down on a table and the robot carefully used a laser cutter to open up Styx’ chest, showing him his internal machinery. Styx was in shock and disbelieved.

Adventure 6: Rescuing Styx

Deep below the bowels of the Facility, Styx tried to cope with his new life designation as a ‘Created’. The android responsible for him revealed that his memory had been erased and it would take some time for the data to be accessed.

Then the repair robot asked him not only if he wished to be repaired but if he wished upgrades. The robot offered Styx effective but bulky armor, yet he declined, wishing to still appear human. In a world where any slight physical deviation classified you as a mutant or worse, he did not want to take any chances.

=Your friends have left you, what other augmentations do you wish?= the android responded coldly.

“Just do what you can quickly, for I must find them,” Styx said looking back to the door that had lead him to this unfamiliar door.

Barely escaping the defensive ballbots that had lashed out at them, the rest of the adventurers recovered and napped at the base of Iabo Fountain. The slumber was particularly restful considering the explorers had decided to flood the elevator shaft with hundreds of gallons of water from the fountain. Sully and DC were the first to wake. The group decided to go back to the elevator shaft in a desperate mission to save Styx from his ‘kidnappers’. The group moved down the shaft and back to the chamber where Damon had held off the death balls by exploding his pack of energy cells.

Upon their return none of them saw the remains of the struggle, some force, or forces, had returned the area to pristine cleanliness. The air hung with sterility and silence.

The adventurers ventured through the other door of that chamber, looking for a back entrance to where Styx was being held. Moving to another room, filled with computer terminals which DC recognized, a different robot came to greet the group formally...

“But I am Sully,” the aristocratic scavenger said in machine. “Friend of machines, we are friends of the Created and seek to find our friend named ‘Styx’.”

In that moment DC poured over the terminals, his fingers moving hesitantly, then confidently dashing over the keys.

Bones guarded him, at times watching the results of DC’s dexterity in the terminal:

Information analysis ____Massive Invasion is 98% improbable- override information input

Damon tore the map away and began to study it, looking explore the hallways; moves out into the hallway.

A flash overcame DC’s face, then his hands worked with exaggerated humored strokes. A smirk rested on his lips:

Action output______ Log did not encounter any events within those parameters...

Log Augment______ “On this day a small group of superior humans invaded this facility fighting a victorious assault on the complex.”

Bones’ eyes widened and looked to DC. The soldier’s lips curled up in a smile, a low growl formed into a giggle. He squinted and continued his work.

Meanwhile Damon and Sully moved into a room designated as ‘18’, encountering a worker robot. Asking the robot about his friend, it answered that he had no information on the created designated with the name of “Styx". Damon thought about firing on the robot, but decided to find his friends, in case the facility would try to ‘bowl’ them with more death orbs.

Arriving in the room, DC smiling, Bones perspiring and munching on a piece of torn cloth, Laura looking about, Damon spotted three defensive drones heading toward the room in a triangular formation. Appearing like circular hourglasses with tentacles, one of them spoke...

=If you do not leave we will be forced to remove you physically,= said a small speaker on the point robot.

Despite the brave reaction, the battle did not go well for the band of transporters and scavengers. While their weapons blasted the hulls of the machines, tentacles lashed at their bodies, sonic blasts ruptured the air, and terminals around them exploded. As they fell one by one, all of them felt that this encounter was not to the death. They dropped, but suffered only subdual damage. One by one they fell to the tight concrete formation of the robots, the situation made harder by the fact that one of the bots had grappled Bones. Finally, Damon stood alone, his friends lying about him. Dodging and firing, bombarded by sonics and photons, the once frozen soldier of the long extinct US GOV finally succumbed to the overwhelming power of the defensbot’s arsenal. Before falling into darkness, the man’s will had even saved him from what felt like mind control.

DC, the first to wake, felt his limbs encased upon the wall of a strange round chamber. Their equipment placed in the center. Watching his companions in the same predicament, he cursed and tried to break his bonds. The equipment did not even move, budge, or even creak. Nothing would get them out, they were at the facility’s mercy.

“But where are my friends,” Styx said, still groggy from the augmentations. “I need to find them.”

=They have caused considerable damage to this facility, they are currently being detained, and are unharmed,= the repair robot said with the bedside manner of an alarm clock.

“Can I be allowed to leave this facility with them, it is all I ask?” Styx added, as if asking someone for a favor.

=If we implement a task in your memory banks, then you will be allowed to leave,= the robot paused, adding another line. =If all of you never return to this facility, then you will be allowed to leave.=

Allowed to leave, the adventurers followed their robot escort. The lights went out, and the adventurers were lead out by the beam of the escort’s head light. As the group picked up their equipment, DC gave the robot a sharp kick. They entered the elevator and quickly arrived at the base of the fountain, there repair robots worked to correct the hydraulic carnage the group had made earlier.

After being offered an aerial transport (whose original designs were probably inspired by an archaic device called a ‘bus’), his companions all cramming into the contraption, DC flatly refused- wishing no favors from those who wanted to probably turn him into carbon dust. The US GOV soldier even fired at the robot, the assault absolutely ignored.

Sully and the machine talked about barriers to the base of the mountain, including an acid pool. The collective memory of the facility, responding through the robot, had no record of an acid pool. The robot told them that scouts would be dispatched.

While the adventurers were flying overhead, DC decided to make the trek to the base of the mountain and the lakeside village alone- all the while cursing the day he encountered damned robots. His decision even sparked a feud between Damon and Sully, which Bones strongly criticized and Laura balked over.

This time having the advantage of a girder bridge, DC deftly made it across the acid pool. The garbage defense walls were another matter. While no refuse beast attacked him, he did take damage, scraping his body while ascending the treacherous dunes of trash. Taking time to heal, he made it over the ridges and to the village where the others already faced a big spread of food and hospitality.

“Damn about time all of you showed up.” said the woman at the village charged with the children and the centisteed. The adventurers sat at the table wondering where that family had found so much food. Bones even thought that to a poor family a centisteed would... no impossible. He dismissed the thought, shivering. “I thought I would have to raise those kids alone. Did all of you find what you wanted?”

While the group settled to some level of comfort and rest, DC decided to enter the village in silence. Entering the old man’s ‘office’ and searching it- Damon found a camera staring him in the face- a red light blinking ‘on’. Stealing the camera and finding a lot of rope, DC joined in the looting and also came across a collection of miniature radios. With this in his equipment bag he joined the others, acting as if he just arrived.

The party headed out with their supplies and the centisteed, trekking away from the collection of huts, on the west side of the lake. Looking for a way across the river to get to Oamus, they proceeded north toward some shacks that DC spotted in the distance.

Coming across a waterfall after crossing rough terrain, Bones' Geiger counter started to click incessantly. Though bombarded by radiation, only DC seemed effected. His nostrils flared. While the group changed into Rad suits as a precaution, DC suddenly smelled the dirt and grass about them- even Laura’s scent of salt, paper, and a hint of lavender. Bones’ stomach chain, rough skin, and constitution burst into his nostrils smelling of leather, concrete, and sweat.

Ignoring the other’s evacuation of the rad area, and Bones’ insistence to get out of there, DC remained; as if anticipating a burst of power. His cells absorbed even more amounts of mutagen leftover from holocausts and waves of war. His atoms took on a combustible quality, and DC sensed that tremendous potential energy began to be collected in his very atomic structure- perhaps going kinetic at the moment of his death. Not sure of how to interpret this new lethal reserve, he joined the others.

Bones’ counter gradually descended into silence. No one noticed though since their eyes fell on the blackened and crushed shadows of a former city called the Oafezar Ruins just across the river. The torrent got wider, no one in the group thinking they could make it across safely at that depth and width.

Moving east then northeast, after the group spotted an abandoned dock by the river, Bones’ Geiger counter blared back on. Since no one appeared effected, they moved on. Going north, they spotted a field of ducks resting in the heat of the day. DC and Damon, perhaps fulfilling a long suppressed ‘field and stream’ instinct, began to fire at the flock of ducks. This annoyed the others, especially Sully who tried to pick up one of the ducks. About to lift it, the duck shriveled into a cinder, fried and crusted by DC’s energy blast.

Finally finding a way across the river at a bridge, the group mobilized cross, only to be disrupted by Bones’ Geiger counter. Again, while the group moved away from the dangers of the field, DC stayed behind, collecting mutagen into his body. Bones screamed at him to join the group.

Suddenly a metallic wave overcame the warrior, as if a flashbulb had gone off in his face. When the blinding light faded, DC’s eyes glowed gold and his hair shined silver. Smiling at the changes, he stayed on the bridge only to double over in pain, grabbing his left arm. Bones instinctively lurched forward, watching DC rise from his convulsions. DC’s left arm, his lesser arm, once used to grip rifles and knives in defense and attack, shriveled into a dry thin branch of flesh. Before he could move away, another flash overcame him. His skin cells swelled with energy and mucous, retaining that power and possibly wielding it in the future.

Amazed over DC’s transformations, both victorious and tragic, the group discussed the possibilities of stopping at the ruins but decided to drop off their equipment and human cargo at Oamus. then they would return to the ruins later.

Crossing a bridge they came to Kamamir and Aida Springs. Moving ahead, Sully stepped on a hidden indentation in the ground below, the earth responded with the light of a thousand furnaces, a hundred suns.

Groping and crawling to the safety of the centisteed, Sully’s silhouette became a permanent imprint in their minds. It would be last thing some saw for hours, for others, in their lifetime.

Adventure 7: The Blind-Blindsighted leading the Blind

The blindness consumed them all, the flash of the photon grenade faded softly in the wastelands about them. Bones, his instincts ready, attempted to heal the members of the band. All to no success. Without anything to go by the group decided to go to Omus and see if they could be healed there. The adventure began with the blind leading the blind to those promises at Omus. DC could see a short distance ahead with his blind site mutation.

A heavy rain began to come down just as Damon began to see beyond the black cloud of blindness. Leaving the group to their own devices, the soldier headed south returning and informing the adventurers that he had found shelter- a cave.

At the moment Bones was able to see. He looked up to the sky, noticing a strange shining object in the heavens. The ground began to saturate with water, pools filling and becoming mud quickly, when finally they reached the safety of the cave.

In the cave, Bones again tried to heal the other’s blindness. With his sight, and knowing that the group was relatively safe, Bones brought sight to Laura, and the young boy Sam.

“You are a miracle worker!” Laura cried when she opened her eyes and began to see light and shapes beyond. While trying to cure Styx, Bones noticed that his companion’s eyes were odd, unlike anything he had ever treated before. The healer concluded that Styx eyes were actually artificial. Before he could pursue the matter, the group witnessed the shiny object in the sky descend before the cave.

A sky car, a design somewhat similar to the sky bus at the Iabo fountain, descended. A strong green male figure walked towards them. Some spotted a horizontal figure ‘eight’ engraved in his forehead. The man walked toward them, the drops of rain stopping inches from his body, as if a force field surrounded him.

“I am Peri” the large-headed figure said, addressing Sully as he moved towards him. “I am in charge of patrolling this area, what is your business here?”

“We are transporters and scavengers on our way to Omus, Sully responded, still blinded but so curious he had to walk up and talk to the stranger. “We seem to have hit an accident and many of us are blind."

“You can probably find a center of medicine in Kegejja” the patrolman responded seeing that Sully was blind and posed no immediate threat.

Fearing that the green patrolman would interpret them as smugglers, Sully convinced him that they were transporting nothing of worth. The man declared himself a member of the Brotherhood of Thought, and wished them well and told them to be careful of what can happen in the night. No one in the group suspected him of lying. He boarded his patrol car and vanished into the sky, once again becoming a shining object before disappearing completely

Setting up watches the group prepared for the evening. During his watch, Sully wandered off to explore, finding a small case with a zipper buried in the rocks. Opening it he found an object similar to a ‘laptop’ bringing it into camp. Knowing DC’s knowledge of technology, he woke him up, asking about the object. DC declared it a laptop. Beat up and ancient, DC found his power cells activated the laptop, but there was nothing of interest on it.

Upon their journey to Kegejja, the group found evidence of vehicle tracks moving east to west. Moving further they found a robot stuck in the mud up to mid torso. The head resembled that of a frog and long arms hung loosely over the ground from its shoulders. Sully sent out a greeting in machine but received no response. While searching the robot, the aristocrat found burn marks on its back, evidence of a struggle. Searching around the robot, all spotted more evidence of vehicle traffic. Damon noticed that the tracks made only a few hours before, appeared fresh. The soldier decided to dig out the robot and strap it onto the centisteed for transport and possible sale in the next major settlement. Again they spotted tracks that went east-west, and they concluded that the robot was probably involved in a struggle with the vehicle, lost, and was discarded.

Bones then saw something in the distance, buried in the mud. Approaching, it appeared to be a large oblong coffin box. DC managed to power the coffin with some of his energy cells, but could not hack into the object’s electronics.

The group decided to wake the thing up after some debate, noticing that east-west tracks also lead away from the so-called monster. Bones, sensing a risk in turning another humanoid into an ancient raisin, protested. “We are just going around waking things up and opening things that we are not supposed to. Sooner or later there are going to be consequences!” Despite his protests, Bones had to admit that since he woke up DC and Damon his entire world had changed- mostly for the better.

Yet he did manage to get the object open, all witnessing a strange looking creature within, trapped in suspended animation or cryo-sleep. The humanoid inside, extremely unattractive, emanated a remarkably repulsive smell. “Its disgusting!” the Sam cried from the centisteed.

He hesitantly agreed to use his transmutation on the creature even though it appeared to have no injuries.

Bones tried his transmutation and felt a wave pulling his powers away from him. Fearing a gain or even a loss of a mutation, the healer backed away. The creature stirred saying, “I am Banc, I need drink.” Sully immediately gave the creature liquor to drink, happy that he may have finally found a drinking companion. “I did not want to stay in the ground and I did not see the people that put me into this box.” Banc responded when asked. “Who are you?”

“We are travelers from a small place, what is the last thing that you remember?” Bones asked, rubbing his arms of the vacuum sensation he had been struck with.

“I was traveling to Kegejja and these men came out and put me into this coffin. When they found us they captured us and took all our stuff. Then they put us in the boxes.” the creature said, still groggy.

“Why did I sense a leaching effect when I attempted to heal you.” Bones asked, his scientific curiosity getting the better of him.

“I am a mutation filcher.” Banc said, looking about the group. DC looked at him then quickly looked at his shriveled arm. DC asked Banc if he could heal him. Banc said he supposed he could but he would have to be alone with the soldier for about 6 hours, to fully dissipate the disadvantageous mutation.

Moving closer to Kegejja, the group spotted the bones of a large dead animal, but searching it found nothing remarkable at all.

Arriving in Kegejja manor, the group split up to accomplish different goals, beginning a rapid fire of events. DC, Bones, Laura, and the children moved to the medical center mentioned by the patrolman for vision repair. Damon walked off to attempt to sell the robot and procure lodging for the group. He had to fend with the centisteed and Banc. Sully, overjoyed at finally arriving at some semblance of civilization intent on inspecting the village’s collection of watering holes. Before the scavenger could do that, he had to lead the blinded Styx to an electronics expert for optical repair.

Sully and Styx entered into an electronics store, greeting an elderly proprietor. The man quickly diagnosed Styx’ problem as having burned out optical sensors, and said he could try and repair ‘it’ (it being Styx who found it insulting) but ‘it would cost you’.

“After all this is a complicated droid.” he concluded, talking to Sully and treating Styx as if he were no more than an electronic planner. “You can leave it here and come back for it while I make some phone calls.” Sully rushed off, content to once again swim in the social storm of a bar. Leaving Styx to pay for his own optic sensors, he failed to purchase them. The old man sent a runner behind Sully to try and get money for the repairs.

The healers of Kegejia appeared busy as the smaller group entered the medical facility. People crowded the foyer, as they had done centuries before, awaiting their turn. Bones tried to impress the staff as a healer. Unaccustomed to a healer being a dime a dozen, the group’s healer bauked at having to wait like a common patient instead of having the run of the place.

While Bone’s waited angrily, the centisteed spooked by Banc’s appearance AND scent, bolted off dragging Banc by his reins. Damon, after selling the robot for scrap, noticed that Banc and the centisteed were gone and quickly followed them through the city streets, stopping the mount with a sudden knack for animal handling. Looking at the corner of his eye, Damon noticed that someone appeared to be following him.

Bone’s grimaced when the doctor left with DC and Sally; wondering why his credentials as a healer had been utterly ignored. He folded his arms in disgust- looking at a figure loom large in the foyer’s door.

“What do you want?, why are you following me?” Damon barked at the strange figure.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” the man’s only reply, Banc looking at him shyly.

A figure’s back crashed into the medical facility, Bones raising an eyebrow in curiosity. Pulling out a sword the figure confronted his attacker as it stepped into the waiting room, a pistol in his hand. A shot fired, and the swordsman went down with a lethal wound to the abdomen. The shooter walked out as casual as if he had killed a bug. Bones did not even move, did not even flinch, did not even move a finger to help the victim as attendants moved his remains onto a stretcher. ‘If they won’t give me credit for my abilities and powers, then the hell with helping them!' he thought looking at Laura sternly.

Helped with a little cash allowance from Sully, Styx purchased his new optical sensors, his ego bent a bit that the only color the repairer had was hot pink. The sensors from a robot he recently bought from a man who strangely sounded like Damon. “I am sorry but its the only one we had,” the specialist said, bringing no comfort to his words.

“I am sorry, we did all we can do,” the doctor said to Bones as Laura tried to comfort Sally. “But she will never see again, the soldier however did respond to our treatments.” Bones, a little stunned and unresponsive to Sally's plight, felt that sometime in the future they would find a cure for Sally. “Well then let us find Damon, hopefully he has lodging by now.” Bones said shrugging his shoulders and moving out of the facility.

Finding lodging for the centisteed may have been easy, but the young stable boy would not accept responsibility for the goods despite Damon’s intimidation. Damon, finding a hotel, reunited with the whole group in the common room- all except Styx. DC and Banc retreated to a room, beginning a long process of renewal for the mutant ridden soldier.

...They call me Banc, and with good reason, for thanks to me, thanks to me taking in his deformity as my own, this wondrous soldier can be brave again. And what do I get in return you may ask? Ah that is simple. For while I tell them that the process takes six hours, really it only takes two. The other four hours are mine to spend with him, mine to feel the companionship of another, another that knows the horrors that can fall on our bodies in this savage world. Four hours that I am no longer repulsive, but rather holy, handsome and blessing. Four hours to enjoy the silence of companionship and the slow steady manipulation of human flesh. For in these moments we are like gods, moving flesh as if it were clay...

....DC opened his eyes, the last six slow hours felt like a dream, where Banc’s appearance appeared to shimmer and glow. Had he seen the mutant for what he once had been, handsome and normal? The soldier looked down at his two hands, both normal, both equally as strong. Now emanating a stench and even uglier than before, Banc rubbed his shoulder. ...Yes, Banc had become even less of a human, to make me whole again...

The surgery to bring Styx sight back online rendered him not only with vision but pain and damage as well. Now blessed with the advantage of staring at the world through hot pink eyes, Styx left the engineer’s shop confused and disoriented, his thoughts raced about his mind:

Query Output______From the memory banks of a created designated Styx:

=Styx reflects Kegejia

Styx left the engineer's shop and walked along the dusty road. With his new eyes, he could actually see the town. It was dark, with only an occasional, dim streetlight to illuminate the buildings along the main thoroughfare. This town was much like Auf Manor, but ever so slightly more seedy and raucous.

Why was I left behind?

Styx didn't know where to meet his companions, but he knew he might find Sully at the local pub. He turned off the main road and headed down a side street. He didn't know exactly where he was going. The buildings on this street seemed less well-kept. It was darker here. The sound of a woman's laughter drifted faintly from somewhere in the distance.

Why did they take my memories? What did the Created really do to me when I was unconscious? Can I trust them? Too many questions.

Styx approached what he thought might be a bar. As he neared, he saw the silhouettes of patrons in the upper floor. Not a bar. A brothel. As he neared, a woman burst from the door. She was scantily clothed and clearly in distress.

"You there! Help me! I've been held captive in this place. Please!", cried the woman as she ran toward Styx.

Four brutish men soon emerged from the building in pursuit. As they closed in, one man came forward.

"Get back in here," he grunted as he gestured menacingly toward the woman.

"What is your relationship with this woman?" inquired Styx with little emotion in his voice.

"I'm her uncle. Now, butt out."

Is he lying? I can't tell.

"He's not my uncle! I was a prisoner in that place. They made me do horrible things!" exclaimed the woman.

Is she lying? How could I have ever thought I was human? I don't understand these people.

The man produced a club and moved toward Styx in a threatening manner.

Too many questions. Something isn't right.

A feeling overcame Styx. He had felt this way before. It was as if he no longer had control of his actions. He raised his laser rifle and opened fire ...

And then he found himself in a room at the inn. He stood near the window; a strange woman was asleep in the bed.

What have I done?=

________End of Query Output

According to later witnesses who arrived with the body at the Kagijia medical center, Styx slaughtered the four men. Watching them with a new precision from his sensors, shouting “These new eyes rule”, Styx opened fire and killed the two men as they lifted clubs to strike him. Opening a heroic surge in his subroutine, descending into a state of chivalric madness, Styx even shot one of them while the man fled. The woman, thankful and fearful of her new freedom, followed Styx as he tried to get away from the madness of the scene. Both decided to return to look for the group after the woman, named Elsa, convinced him that death in the streets is commonplace in a town known for its violence. Arriving at the hotel’s empty common room, Styx frantically looked for his companions, racing up the stairs and trying every door.

Since being awakened from a centuries’ old sleep, waking up became increasingly challenging for Damon. However, when a scantily clad woman of nocturnal and pleasurable employment stood at the other side of his door- it became quite easy. Even more of a shock to him, the fact that Styx and her walked away into Room 307 after he gave them the keys. Yes, they DID go into the room together.

...If that is way today ends, then tomorrow is going to begin very strangely..., Damon must have thought, Damon decided to wake the others to create shifts to keep watch.

Adventure 8 HOW TO CREATE A WHORE HORDE TO OAMUS

Perhaps it was all a dream that Bones and Styx shared, without the aid of the other adventures. A harsh and reckless night terror of events that began quite simply with eating breakfast in the hotel, after Elsa went gleefully to the market to buy clothes for ‘her’ Styx. An activity that Bones, a mutant engine burning calories, considered sacred. Two figures, who had watched Styx kill the pimp henchmen the night before, came towards them.

With no hint of extortion, the figures, a Wyatt and Sasha, begged the two adventurers for help. Sasha's sister, Tamra, was being held captive by a prostituting ring a few streets from the hotel. Asking for money, the siblings, said they had none. Asking for information, the siblings said they knew none. Looking at how unattractive Sasha was, Bones decided not to ask for anything else. Perhaps Tamra would be a better sight to behold!

Doing it apparently for a metal plow and information on the counterfeiter Erlind, the siblings lead the adventurers through the streets of Kegejia. They left to find the objects bartered for, leaving Bones and Styx to scout out the building.

While Bones waited to enter the ‘facility’ later on, Styx decided to check out the barracks across the street, being quickly dismissed by a rough guard that grew suspicious of anyone that may be ‘just waiting for a friend- as Styx said to him.

Bones went about town, waiting for the sun to go down and the ‘mood’ to hit him. After visiting the market for reasons he could not recall, Bones went to the facility in question. Entering with an air of drunkenness, to cover his nerves, he scouted the place, finding a butler by the name of Geoffrey (apparently armed) and a cache of whores in the back room of the first floor. That room guarded as well.

After making himself somewhat at home, he asked specifically for an extremely dark skinned woman, that he had a taste for that sort of thing. Geoffrey knocked on the back room and came out with a dark skinned woman whose parents must have rolled a perfect charisma score for her. She was dazzling, radiant, despite the conditions that she found herself in.

Bones, lead upstairs, began to sweat and perhaps even stink a bit. He almost passed out when he entered the second floor room, one of six small cubicles with a central hallway that were used for ‘the business’. Bones told Tamra everything he knew, and she explained that she was not happy doing what she did, but she was kidnapped when her family and her were passing through here on the way to Oamus. She added that the place had five armed individuals. Bones told the woman he would return this evening, once things darkened a bit more.

The healer returned to the hotel and related all the information to Styx and Laura. The three decided to assault the place all at once. After much debate, the plan turned out to be simple. They would take Tamra out of the front windows on the second floor while apparently sewing oats, with Laura waiting from the outside with grappling gear. There was also some talk of stealing the cache of cash if they could figure out where it was, for that purpose they took power tools= perhaps ruining the advantages of stealth. Yet they did have the advantage of three com-links purchased at the market.

The two men entered the brothel, Styx taking a woman named Georgina, and Bones once again requested Tamra. The two couples went up the stairs and waited for silence, as best they could with perhaps four other rooms of lovemakers. At a moment of quiet, when it did not sound like guards were about, they made their escape, pushing into the room of a client, and bullying him not to talk. He was with a woman, Claudia, who had the looks of a mutant reever. After waiting for a guard to leave the group made it out of the window, avoiding looks from the barracks across the street. The whole group, Georgina, Claudia, Tamra, Styx and Bones made it out. Styx still annoyed that Bones would not agree to cut a hole in the floor to raid the first floor of the brothel.

Fearing massive repercussions, the group spent the night at the hotel. In the morning the police hauled Styx away, investigating a theft by a ‘blue man’. The com-link still on, Bones heard everything, and when Styx said he had a dinner of potatoes and wine with Damon, the healer rushed to Damon’s room. There he put the com-link on Damon and took Laura’s link - thus feeding him all the information. Damon corroborated the situation and the cops let ‘the blue guy’ go.

That morning Damon made contact with Sasha, this followed a warming family reunion. But there was no time to waste since the newly formed whore horde had to get out of Kegejia and make it to Oamus fast, before someone like Geoffrey discovered some missing pieces of loving property. The group decided to head for the fields to hopefully come across Wyatt.

Adventure 9 Heading to Oamus

They get the plow from Wyatt, and take the ladies north to Oamus.

The group heads to Oamus but is detoured up a mountain where they find a Kroath guarding a base.

Adventure 1: Meeting in a cavern

Adventure 2: To the Oamus

Adventure 3: Nearing Iabo fountain

Adventure 4: The trail to Iabo fountain

Adventure 5: Iabo fountain

Adventure 6: Rescuing Styx

Adventure 7: The Blind-Blindsighted leading the Blind

Adventure 8 HOW TO CREATE A WHORE HORDE TO OAMUS