[Desolation] Chapter 1: Digging In

I always called the city the Tall Buildings. Don't know if that will catch on. Don't care if it doesn't.


Hooper


"Without. You can owe me for the help." She looks around the room, checking to see what, if anything is happening.
 
Koch


Cool, but one thing. If you're rolling to read the sitch, you're telling me that this is a charged situation. Basically, there is more going on here, which is completely fine and will be more fun, but I want you to know that this situation will be effected by and changed by your roll.


So, do you keep the roll?


Hooper


The kid claps his hands together.


"Fantastic! Meet at the gate tonight at dusk?"


As you look off, you see old man Barker at the bar.


Graves has Barker watch the armory and he has keys to everything inside.


He's in charge of keeping the inventory catalogued.


He's getting real aggressive with Agnes to give him a drink.


She slides him a shot of something brown which he downs in a moment, then slumps forward with his head in his hand.


What do you do?


Ryoma


You scamper over top the water catching tank.


You've got the drop.


What do you do?
 
Graves


"Oh for fu-"


Grumbling, Graves readies his weapon and takes the stairs as fast as he can, watching Ryoma with a certain admiration.


Would those tattoos be distracting, I wonder?
 
Oh, oops! I meant to use it to find out if the situation was charged, but since it is not I have no intention of doing so, yet at least.


I can put enough faith in Foster to hopefully not shoot me in the back, if not I got some faith that my armor might give me a fighting chance of not getting wasted. With this is in mind I start locking up my door while talking over my shoulder at him.


"Nothing really. Why? You need somethin'?"


I try to keep it short since it still hurts when I talk, but at least I can actually talk more or less instead of a stupid whisper. Stuck with an irritating rasp though. Course Buzz said that I'm lucky to even be capable of breathing much less speak after that nasty little run in with a blade.
 
Everyone


Just to give you a sense of what's in my head, I imagine the drums on top of the main building for catching rain to be massive and custom made.


Maybe Fauci constructed them?


Graves


You run up two flights of broken and dirty stairs.


You burst through the rusty door to the roof.


In front of you, a dozen or so stained rain catching drums are spread out.


From here, you have a side view of the situation:


You see Ryoma.


She's quietly climbing over top of a rain catcher.


On the opposite side of the rain catcher, you see a guy with with a scoped hunting rifle.


He's panting hard with his back to the water-filled drum.


He doesn't see you.


But wait.


A long knot of hair slips from under the guy's blue cap.


It falls over his face and drifts in the wind.


Your eye follows down.


Tucked in his worn armor vest, you see a hint of a breast.


You realize it's not a man.


It's a woman.


Suddenly, her face strikes your and you recognize her.


It's that bitch Twee who always hung all over Balls, the asshole you kicked out for fucking with people and not paying his tribute.


What the is she doing on the roof of you holding?


What do you do?


Koch


Foster nods as he watches you lock up.


"Yeah, Ryoma and Hooper broke up some fight between the Red Skulls and a helpless caravan, or something. Either way, four vehicles are sitting in the yard and they've got mis-matched weapons. There's one we don't know what it is or what it does. Thought we'd as you. You wanna come take a look?"


What do you do?
 
Red Bean


Answer:


I probably would have warned a few people before i drowned that village. It was only 20 or so people, but a few were actually nice to me. Can't blame them though for not speaking out when they tried to burn me at the stake. Sometimes you need to keep your mouth shut.


Actions:


Agnes, huh? For a woman who never appears to like people, she deals with a fuck-load of them. Running the mess hall is not a quiet or happy job. Still, she never treated me with anything other than distracted neutrality. We would often wander over there after a morning of Tai Chi and drink some of the brown grit she calls coffee.


She glances at Fauci. "We are looking for Hooper. I think she might be getting something to eat. Balls doesn't know it yet, but payback is a bitch, and I know just the bitch."


We walk over to the cantina and look for Hooper.
 
Red Bean & Fauci


Awesome.


You step into cafeteria-turned bar.


A handful of people sit nursing drinks.


Anges is wiping glasses behind the counter.


She eyes you.


Barker, the armory watchman sits at the bar slugging shots.


It's quiet.


You spot Hooper in a corner.


A kid sits with her.


What do you do?


Hooper


You see Red Bean and Fauci step into the bar.
 
Ryoma drops from above, drawing her still-sheathed sword from her sash. Her target may just have time to lift his (her?) head before Ryoma crashes down, pressing the scabbard against her enemy's windpipe. Just hold it long enough for her to pass out...
 
Hooper


She ignores the others in the bar, simply standing up and getting ready to head back to her room. "I'll be there." She does tilt her head a little when looking at Bean. Red looked nice on her. No time to stare though. Hooper starts to leave.
 
Almost like one of those big ol' water tower barrels? I honestly thought of a crazy menagerie of objects to collect water. Everything from cups to big ol' drums, plastic milk jugs. Like a forest of objects meant to get them. Big drums seem much more efficient though.


As for the situation on hand. I squeal like a little kid on Christmas morning


“A look certainly couldn't hurt anything, maybe even prevent a work site accident. Lead the way Foster.”


Chewing over the other bit of information as to just where the vehicles came from and who was involved while walking, I pitch Foster a few other questions despite the 'something' he said suggesting he might not be the most informed.


“Any survivors from the caravan? They might know a thing or two about it. And do we have any idea why the Red Skulls were fucking with them?”


My line of thinking is that this was a hit of opportunity, but it sounded like it strayed pretty close to our little patch of home. The more worrisome and likely more fortunate possibility was that this caravan was carrying someone or something worth attacking so close to our settlement.
 
Ryoma


Go aggro, please, roll+hard. You're just trying to knock her out?


Koch


Give me a woman's name and how you know her, please.
 
Ryoma


You drop down, she jumps in surprise.


She tries to raise her scoped hunting rifle, but you're too close.


You're beyond it's reach.


You put your scabbard against her neck.


She gurgles and her face turns red.


Her rifle clatters against the ground as she raises her hands to pull the scabbard off.


You're too strong.


She goes limp and passes out.


What do you do?
 
Slip her blade neatly back into her sash. Hopefully she did not inflict any permanent damage.


Ryoma waves to Graves. Our lady has been apprehended.
 
"Hooper." Red Bean steps in next to the woman as she gets ready to leave. She walks one step back from the woman. "Someone returned to the camp. Graves doesn't want him here, but I didn't want to tell him before you had a chance to see him."
 
A woman? Uh, well, there's always Lip. That's not her actual name, but Lip is a damn fast talker and smoother than most. She always seems to trade in anything but never have nothing. From what I gathered is she primarily acts as a middleman, well, middlewoman. Someone needs a battery but has plenty of clothes, someone else needs clothing and has extra food and a another one wants food and needs a battery? Lip worms her way in an makes the trades in between. I don't know what she charges, but I'm pretty certain she skims more than what she says. Despite that I still turn to her from time to time if I have an unusual request or two.
 
Koch


Foster shrugs. "One. Some chick. She's pretty messed up, broken leg, caved-in cheek. Said her name was ... Lip .. I think? Lucky to be alive."


He walks you out into the yard and then starts heading for the vehicles.


What do you do?
 
First off I enjoy that little bit of...shit, I forgot the word Ryoma is always talking about. Karma? Dharma? Something like that. Just amused to see that someone out there finally had enough of Lip's shifty shit.


Secondly I want to inspect the surroundings before approaching, trying to see if anyone else above my pay grade is overseeing this. Mostly though to make sure that if these fuckers are fiddling with some manner of HE rounds, well, decorating the prison as tiny chunks of myself isn't very high on my priority list. If it looks like I won't get blown through the roof by whatever we got here, I'll wander on up and take a look at the unusual weapon, maybe grill Lip if she hasn't been carted off to Buzz yet.
 
Everyone


Buzz hasn't returned from The Grey (city).


Been gone a long while.


Some of you know/realize this, some don't.


Another person does the health care while he's gone.


Someone give me a name.


Then, Graves, tell me how you know this person.


Koch


Lip isn't here.


She's been carted off already.


Sounds like you're reading the sitch.


Roll+sharp.
 
Graves


Graves smiles mirthlessly and walks over.


"Damn fine job, Ryoma. Wish I had ten more of you."


Thought that could get tiring, he smirks inwardly.


"Let's haul her down to one of the old solitary cells and lock 'er in."
 
Hooper


She stares long and hard at Red Bean. The Sister is a talker and a talker has played Hooper before. A chance though to get on Graves' good side was not something she wanted to miss.


"Who and where? If lying..." Hooper has her machete out and holds it before the Sister's throat. "I don't get played" She lowers the blade and waits for instruction.
 
Graves & Ryoma


Okay, give me an idea on what you're doing to get her down into a locked cell.


Disarming her?


Taking off her armor?


And, what are the cells used for holding people like? Any different than the ones people live in?
 
Would it be bad if I called him Saw Bones? He might not appreciate the implications, but I still find it funny.


Reading books the sitch - 7+Sharp of 2 for a total of 9
 
Graves


Taking that gun for sure, one of the boys and girls on the wall could use that. Call it a fine. We'll search her for any other weapons, anything of interest.


The holding cells are from near the old max security wing, originally dark, cramped things used for solitary confinement. Fauci rigged up a way to make the old electronic locks work... sort of.
 
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