After telling the information to the old man he gets up, reminds you to aim for the bucket if you need to throw up and says he'll be back to see if any kin made it out.
You already know that you don't have anything in the way of kin nearby, but you had a lot of friends in New Manhattan. (The town was named after the city, but has nothing to do with it otherwise.)
Mostly humans, though there was one dwarf you really liked, Durak Dirtsniffed. If anyone could survive a nuke it'd be him, with his underground bunker. If it was a nuke. Any nukes that were left in this world were detonated during the war. Whatever went off above the town had the destructive equal of a nuke at least.
You need to find out more about this.
The old man comes in, looking grim. He silently removes the Iv drip (marked with a sticky note that says Rad-away) and then ushers you to follow him.
You force yourself out of bed, feeling better, but that doesn't say much. You take a minute to compose yourself and then follow the old man.
You try to ask if anything's been found. He says yes, but he keeps his grim demeanor.
The man and you arrive outside, and go to the building on the other side of the street. You have by now given up on questioning the man as he remains silent.
When you both enter, he finally speaks again: Right, we managed to find someone who knows you, but he got hurt bad. I don't like giving this kind of news, but we're short-staffed with all the wounded. Speaking about wounded, I think i hear one of 'em screaming. And with that, he runs off.
You enter the house and see exactly who you hoped and expected. Durak , of course, survived. You walk up to him and take a look at his wounds.
His great brown beard got a bit scorched and you see the brahmin dung he keeps in his mustache is gone as well. All in all, you don't see what the old man was talking about....
Then you notice his right leg. Everything from the knee down is gone. You gasp in surprise. The wound looks well-cared for, but still.....
He's still unconscious. What do you do now?
Stats
Health 5/15
Energy 8/20
Rads: 250 (1000 is lethal, you currently have some minor radiation sickness.)
Hunger: Sick to the stomach.
Thirst: Parched
Equipment
Equipment:
Scorched brahmin leather shirt,
Ripped brahmin leather pants
rat leather shoes.
one squished bit of emergency ration.
12 10mm bullets.
You slap him on the check, ask him to wake up, shake him a bit then give up.
Guess I'm just gonna end up waiting. You mumble to yourself.
Suddenly, your headache flares up again. You feel yourself getting dizzy while stars seem to fill up your vision till' you can see no more.
You lose consciousness.
Hey,Eva! Wake up would yeh? Eva!
Durak! Durak! Beard! in face! You yell. The smell of a dwarfs beard is awful enough that the lice that try to nestle in there die.
Oop. Sorry. He moves his beard out of your face. You give a relieved sigh.
You stand up and and take a look at him. As usual, he didn't waste time fixing himself. He destroyed the chair you fell off of and attached it to his stump using pieces of his own beard as rope.
How the fuck did you do that!?
Shenanigans.
Guess that explains it. You still feel very weak and, guessing from the horrible headache and falling unconscious. You probably have a concussion too.
Look, all the refugees will make this town very populated. They will kick us out. We need to get some stuff together and go find the one that nuked our town. Durak tells you. He always was a smart one, but why does he want to find the asshole that nuked our town?
Why do want to do that? You ask.
Because... I... I want revenge i guess, answers too. And... We can find a home along the way. Not to mention, excitement? You like that, right?
Agree with this? If so, say what kind of things we buy for the journey. You will stay in the town for two days to rest up from your injuries regardless, unless you think you NEED to go.
Stats:Health 6/15
Energy 5/20
Rads: 250 (1000 is lethal, you currently have some minor radiation sickness.)
Hunger: Sick to the stomach.
Thirst: Parched
Scorched brahmin leather shirt,
Ripped brahmin leather pants
rat leather shoes.
one squished bit of emergency ration.
12 10mm bullets.
I (huff) will get a better leg when I (huff) get the materials. God-damn it. He says when you get outside.
You take a look around and realize that your pack of money and extra ammo was left behind when the guy in power armor pulled you out. You swear in frustration but then you see that something in power armor has just ran back into town.
Now that blood and dust isn't in your eyes you can see you were saved by a horse. An honest to god, talking, horse in power armor.
He looks enormous, and seems to have the strength to match too. He's carrying 5 people at the same time, using a belt function of the civilian power to prevent any falling off.
He drops them off in front of the old man who helped you get to Durak. The old man looks exhausted.
The horse turns towards you and then breaks out into a run towards you. He stops, inches away from your face. He speaks(!) in a rough voice with a mild British accent.
Hello, my good lady. I believe i found you next to your pack? I forgot to drop it off. He presses a button on his suit and it proceeds to eject your bag of money plus bullets.
I am sorry for my forgetfulness. Now, i must try to find more survivors, cheerio!
You stare in mild shock while he trots away and then you pick up your bag.
Everything is still in there! All 150 bucks and your extra bullets!
This makes buying things a bunch easier.
You go over to what looks like a barbeque. A rotund man with laugh-wrinkles looks at you with large smile on his face.
Welcome! What would you like my good elf and dwarf?! We have meats of all kinds! Except horse of course. Stronghoof wouldn't appreciate that.
I'd like some rat, if you have that. and a bottle of water. Durak enthusiastically yells, in the stereotypical dwarven way: I want some vark meat! And a drink to go with it!
You hate when he does this. He just does it so that he's left alone by other people. The fact that he embarrasses you to no end is an acceptable loss for him.
The fat man with the jolly face gives a hearty laugh and throws a vark leg and a rat saté on his barbeque.
That will be 15 bucks! Three for the rat, seven for the vark leg, four for a pint of cronecorn whiskey and the water's one buck. You can't help but smile, he makes you feel like you're at home.
I'll pay for the pint and the vark leg!
You both wait eagerly for the meal to arrive. The large man starts singing a song. He's not terrible, at least.
You have some time to go over your plans for a bit while the meat cooks.
Health 6/15
Energy 6/20
Rads: 240 (It slowly seeps out of your body, and you still have some rad-away in your system.)
Hunger: Quite hungry.
Thirst: Parched
StatsHealth 6/15
Energy 6/20
Rads: 240 (It slowly seeps out of your body, and you still have some rad-away in your system.)
Hunger: Quite hungry.
Thirst: Parched
EquipmentScorched brahmin leather shirt,
Ripped brahmin leather pants
Rat leather shoes.
one squished bit of emergency ration.
82 10mm bullets.
150 Bucks.( currency will be explained below.
The currency is bottle-caps and old world money.America works in Euro's as they took a lot of money from Europe. Wars are expensive.
One dollar is worth 50 cents. It's a general guess, some make it more, some make it less.
This is pretty much copy pasted from my notes so it's a bit barebones.
When the food finally arrives, you pay the man and greedily dig in. Durak shares his drink with you, but keeps most of it for himself. Mainly because you are really bad with alcohol. After finishing his vark leg Durak stands up
Right,Eva! you jump in surprise.
I am going to get some more materials to get a better flippin' leg. I'll see ya soon, OK? Buy some food and some weapons.
Fine, fine! Just let me finish my rat. The tails the best part... We'll meet in an hour at the gates or something, OK?
He seemed okay with that and attempts to run off, falls on his face, picks himself up and gently walks away instead.
After you slurp away the rat tail you get up and visit the different food vendors. Most of the vultures see themselves as shrewd businessmen and raise the prices knowing that people are going to need food soon.
You get lucky and find an actual smart guy, who LOWERED his prices instead. With all the other prices being impossibly high he gets tons of business.
Or at least that's what you guess. You aren't exactly the greatest at economics.
You end up buying food rations for two people that will last two weeks and a rubber ducky because it was free. Durak can probably use the rubber or something; dwarves are kind crafty like that.
You manage to find a crowbar and a 10mm pistol for a decent price. 10mm is not a very powerful kind of caliber, but it's weapons are light and has enough punch to kill a rat or a even a vark in tight spots.
With all your purchases you only have 16 bucks left. This isn't a very pleasing feeling; you long for some more weight in the pouch.
When you go for the gate, you see Durak is standing there, patiently tapping his good foot. You notice he has a much more respectable leg now. The leg looks like four metal bars sticking through three squares, with one of them at the bottom.
It's not perfect, but it break in two and he has a larger surface area to stand on.
There you are! What did you manage to acquire?
Two weeks' rations, a 10mm pistol and a crowbar. Good thing my backpack was fine.
Told ya you weren't going to regret my reinforcing of it, even if your poor shoulders ache a bit more.
You'll never let me hear the end of this isn't it? Durak smiles devilishly.
You pinch the bridge of your nose and give a heavy sigh. I HATE it when i see that expression.
Ach, don't worry about it. I'm not mean unless I have to be. But still, if it gets to much to bear, I'd gladly get you some metal pads for those pooooooor shoulders of yours!
MOVING ON! What did you get apart from the new leg?
A .32 revolver. It seemed useful, and it was dirt-cheap! The ammo i got for it was cheap too! He enthusiastically says. You hold in the sigh and decide not to tell him about how weak the gun is.
I also got some extra stuff from the garbage dump. A few bottles and some scrap metal for the leg. Just need some duct tape and rubber and i have it bendable for some increased speed.
You throw the rubber duck against his noggin. When we get to the next town you can fiddle with it. Right now, we shou-- We should....
You fall to the ground, blind from the stars that just filled your vision and you choke back some vomit.
You feel Durak attempting to help you up while he says something. You can't understand anything because of the damned ringing in your ears.
After five very annoying and confusing minutes you manage to pull yourself up again.
Eva! What the hell just happened?!
Oh dear. Honey, thayts a cuncussioyn. It'll go away in due time, give it a day or so. A nearby elder lady says with a southern drawl. She then continues working on her shopping cart.
Look, if you don't feel up to traveling right now we can probably get a bed with whatever money you have left. I'll sleep on the floor if necessary.
What do we do? The concussion isn't too severe. It will be possible to travel but it could flare up at a bad time. Staying will lead to more desperate people who are quite capable at shiving someone.
StatsHealth 7/15
Energy 10/20
Rads: 220
Hunger: Fed.
Thirst: Good for now.
EquipmentScorched brahmin leather shirt,
Ripped brahmin leather pants
Rat leather shoes.
one squished bit of emergency ration.
82 10mm bullets.
16 Bucks
Crowbar
10mm pistol.
14 day's rations.
I agree. Shall we look for a free bed or just find a comfy spot in the garbage?
We try to find a bed, if that doesn't work out we can find a nice spot in the garbage. Preferably without medical waste. I hate needles.
And with those words, you set off. Looking throughout town you find that there is only one thing that could classify as a "hotel".
Steve's gulp n' snooze?
Oooh! I heard of this place! Only place for miles that sells mutamaggot meat. Best meat you'll ever taste is what they tell me!
Maybe it would be sold more if it wasn't for the fact that has to be cooked in rad-away for it to be edible without your bone marrow dying off. And rad-away gives it a somewhat bitter after-taste.
How do you know this stuff? Durak asks with a raised eyebrow.
Oh, you know. I just kind of pick that up here and there.
Durak doesn't seem pleased with that answer, but apart from a small grump he doesn't continue prying.
Once inside the place looks a lot better then on the outside. It's warm and there's a generator running, keeping the lights on.
The rooms aren't too expensive too. For Durak and you he's willing to give a discount.
Fer a couple I'm always willin' to give a discount. "Steve" says in an accent you can't quite place.
You and Durak decide not to correct him on that. When you check out the room you can see it only has a single bed for two.
According to the people around here it's going to be raining tonight, knowing the area around here it'll pour. I'll leave the bottles outside to fill up. But errr... How are we going to decide who sleeps on the bed? I mean, I'm willing to sleep in one bed with you but i don't want to annoy you.
Durak always was like this, being deathly afraid to have people yell at him for something like this.
How will you resolve this situation?
Stats Health 7/15
Energy 10/20
Rads: 220
Hunger: Fed.
Thirst: Good for now
EquipmentScorched brahmin leather shirt,
Ripped brahmin leather pants
Rat leather shoes.
one squished bit of emergency ration.
82 10mm bullets.
16 Bucks
Crowbar
10mm pistol.
14 day's rations.
Your sentence is interrupted by a huge explosion. Both Durak and you jump in surprise and go over to the window.
A loud bell is sounding throughout town and Steve is already up and running around outside in his underwear, carrying a large double-barrel.
Multiple voices are calling out from the walls, screaming about the raiders. You and Durak run outside with your guns and suddenly get hoisted up by a large head and land on a horse's back.
Stronghoof's powerful voice shouts Get on the wall and help defend this place! We need every arm, every gun available to defeat the raider menace!
Before you can say anything he violently throws you on the wall while Durak manages to hold on to his neck. Your landing was not soft.
You attempt to hoist yourself up, but hold your head down after a bullet nearly hits you. Guessing from the sounds and general accuracy of the people on the other side of the wall, it seems like a decent guess that the town is being attacked by gibbering madmen.
Promises that you will be eaten are quite common, as are screams that they will please the "Great One".
You pop out of your cover and shoot two unlucky idiots who were too close to wall (they were brandishing lead pipes. What were they going to do? Bang against the wall to annoy us to death?). Your short pop also let you get a look at these "Raiders".
Most weren't even wearing armor but rather bits of scrap metal and car tires.They all had some blood on them, mainly around the mouth area. Your elven vision also helped you notice that all of their eyes are red. A quick guess and you estimate their total amount of men at around 50.
You keep popping up and shooting until a loud rumbling is heard. You look over the wall and see Stronghoof with four strange devices on his hooves. He kicks a single raider and he proceeds to explode in several gory bits.
You get hit in the teeth by an eyeball, you feel the blood from the eyeball burning and attempt to spit it out. You end up vomiting, but the burning stops.
Stronghoof ,meanwhile, seems unaffected by the low caliber bullets. His power armor probably has a lot to do with that. He's tearing through them like wet tissue paper.
Just a few minutes later, the last of the raiders are retreating unsuccessfully, as the townsfolk shoot them in the back. You jump down from the walls and manage to find Durak a few minutes later. There are almost no casualties in town.
I thought that horse was going to take me outside with him! I only just managed to jump off before he stormed out. Shall we go back to the room and get in some sleep?
Well, anything you want to do first or will you follow Durak's advice?
StatsHealth 8/15
Energy 7/20
Rads: 180
Hunger: Peckish.
Thirst: Good for now
Equipment.Scorched brahmin leather shirt,
Ripped brahmin leather pants
Rat leather shoes.
one squished bit of emergency ration.
50 10mm bullets.
16 Bucks
10mm pistol.
Your sleep is not peaceful, you dream of meat pies and, upon taking a bite, discover that the pie has Durak's voice on it. This is the only dream you remember, but guessing from the fact that you're still quite a bit tired and drenched in sweat you probably woke up a few times and fell back to sleep.
You awake with a groan and force yourself off the bed. Durak is still sleeping soundly, singing in his sleep about gummy bears and crone-corn whiskey.
The bathroom has a bucket of water, a sponge and a towel. You end up using half the bucket in order to clean yourself. It makes you feel loads better though, as the cold water wakes you up.
You dry yourself off, and put on some underwear before going back into the room. This turn out to be a good call, as Durak woke up while you were washing.
Well, I always wanted to wake up to a scantly-clad lady in the morning. Guess that's one of the checklist of "things i want to see happen in my life." He puts on a shit-eating grin.
Just wash up, you bearded midget. Or I'll turn us both into a tourist attraction because of how far I'll ram my foot up your ass.
He snickers and goes inside of the bathroom. Then he starts singing. Oh god.
Gather thee dwarves, there’s cause for a bash
Tap all caskets and find us your stash
Who calls the round? Whose wallet is heavy?
How many pints can this tummy here levy?
Beer, cider, spirits and ales
Listen to the drunk dwarf tell his tall tales
Loosen your belts, cups in the air
The liquor flows free and the barrels won’t care
And all call:
O, ho, finish in one
Down, down
Until it’s all gone!
Hoorah!
Credit goes to www.elfwood.com
He finally comes out, looking quite pleased with himself. You have hidden your head in a pillow in an attempt to drown out his damned song. You look at him in disappointment but all he does in response is grin in amusement.
Ah,come on! You don't hear the dwarven drinking song every day!
Thank god! Or the entire wasteland would be deaf! Come on! Let's just get going, I think the concussion's over.
You walk outside and then realize that apart from "away" you have no real plans on where to go.
Where and what will you ask?
StatsHealth 12/15
Energy 14/20
Radiation sickness: Feelin' fine.
Hunger: Peckish.
Thirst: Good
Equipment.Scorched brahmin leather shirt,
Ripped brahmin leather pants
Rat leather shoes.
one squished bit of emergency ration.
50 10mm bullets.
16 Bucks
10mm pistol.
You and Durak just eat one of your day's rations. It fills you and Durak up quite well, rat puree is delicious with some salt.
Durak starts a conversation about how it is possible for salt to be in ready supply when all the rest seemingly isn't. You both speculate on how it's possible but then decide that you will need more money for a month long journey. The nearest town is quite a ways away and the raiders will likely cause some extra travel time.
Durak and you go around asking random people about ruins where you could go scavenging. They make it quite clear that with Manhattan gone they are going to need those ruins more then anything, so they refuse to tell you the location of these valuable places.
When you ask the lady from yesterday with the mysterious southern accent that somehow works in y's. I don't know how she does it! She just does!You found her in the marketplace handling a stall full of electronics.
You hayve to understaynd that dem' folks arouwnd heyre don't wanna giv' away theiyr trick o' getting supplies. She explains in an accent that is not southern at all. Whatever it is, It's barely comprehensible.
Luhk, If ya wanna git some money, go over to Stronghoof. Hey'll set ya both up with a job of sum kihnd.
You gather that you are supposed to talk to Stronghoof.
You go over to the front gate where you can see Stronghoof is talking to a young lady with brown hair. Usually, that wouldn't really be unusual.
What makes this unusual is the fact that she's wearing a ROS suit!
Please, just let me help out! I'll get some money AND I'll help out the town. Please!?
...I will not able to dissuade you from this dumb endeavor isn't it? By my honor, I can't let you get yourself killed, acquire some companions though, and I'll consider it. Stronghoof says firmly.
The turns turns around, groaning in annoyance and notices you.
Hey! You guys are going outside?
We were about to ask Stronghoof for some work outside... So yes. You tell her.
Well, there's only a single job available. Ending the raider source. Stronghoof knows where their main base is but he can't leave because he's the only real defense. Look, can you take me along? I want to help these guys out and i need money for something personal.
I don't want to babysit someone.
Look, I'm good with energy weapons and I can fix anything electronic you give me. If you get loot in those building i can probably double the price! Pleaaaaase take me along?
Durak pipes in: Some more fine woman-folk never hurt anyone! After you shoot him a look he adds: Look, she's useful and energy weapons are powerful. Let her stay, come on.
What do you do?
StatsHealth 15/15
Energy 20/20
Radiation sickness: No problem at all.
Hunger: Fine.
Thirst: Good
Equipment.Scorched brahmin leather shirt,
Ripped brahmin leather pants
Rat leather shoes.
one squished bit of emergency ration.
50 10mm bullets.
16 Bucks
10mm pistol.
Yes! Haha! In your face,pony! she shouts over at Stronghoof.
Durak looks confused for a bit and says He's a horse, lass. Look at the size of him.
Horses can't be sentient, numbnuts. He's a large pony!
I have learned not to continue arguments against women and their insistence at how something should be called. Let's just get moving, ok?
And so, you leave. The trip to the building takes half a day and you take a break at noon. It's not wise to walk around when it's at it's hottest anyway.
During dinner you talk for a bit.
So tell me, what's your name? Durak asks to the brown-haired girl.
Valerie. Valerie Shane. Val for friends. What's yours?
Durak Dirtsniffed. At your service.
My name's Eva.
Not big on last names? I mean, i don't plan on getting you attached to me just so my death is more dramatic.
I don't have a last name. I was raised by some old fart that died when i was 14. Had to do the rest myself. He never even gave me a name, always called me corpse-breath.
That's harsh. How'd you meet Durak then?
Outcasts attract each other. I didn't have a family, but dwarves are quite capable of living on their own.
But, I've been meaning to ask, How'd you get a ROS suit?
I came from a ROS. I got out of one really recently. As in, three days ago. I miss that a lot and I got some issues with leaving. I need the money pretty bad.
Ok. What is a ROS anyway? I keep hearing about those things but nobody ever explains what they are.
Dorf-tec was real big on myths. They named their little fallout shelters Rooms Outside Space after the Headshoots legend. It got the abbreviated to "roses" pretty fast.
You know what, I think that's enough explanation for one talk. This is dragging on.
You fix up your pants with some sharp stuff nearby. It holds together and you don't show as much skin. Then again, you calves aren't that special anyways.
You continue walking until you see the building in the distance. Stronghoof's suspicion must be correct as you see multiple raiders in different camps around the hospital.
The back doesn't seem well defended however. Not quite as many camps, but you see some of them walking around twitching in different ways.
A closer look at the camps makes you realize that their makeshift walls (some sheet metal and plywood) are covered in spikes. Many of them covered in gore.
Alright. They need to die.
Stats.Health 15/15
Energy 20/20
Radiation sickness: No problem at all.
Hunger: Fed.
Thirst: Good
EquipmentScorched brahmin leather shirt,
brahmin leather pants
Rat leather shoes.
one squished bit of emergency ration.
50 10mm bullets.
16 Bucks
10mm pistol.
You fire a shot from your pistol, hitting his hand. Your elven ears manage to hear soft cracking as multiple bones in his hand break. He shouts in a combination of rage and pain.
By now, however, the other raiders are getting closer. Durak empties his 32. revolver in two of the approaching raiders. He gets lucky on his first hit, hitting the female raider square on the chin. She falls to the ground a second before her chin does.
Durak manages to hit the other raider once in the thigh. It does not faze the raider all that much, and he continues running at you. His other two shots miss.
While that was happening you shot twice at the raider with the broken hand. The first shot misses, the second one hits him in the chest and the final one hit him in the eye.
His entire head seems to explode and when the blood clears you see he only has a chin left.
The raider Durak failed to take down proceeds to attack you with a road spike. The first hit doesn't even pierce you leather shirt and the second only leaves a small scratch on your arm.
You shoot him twice in the chest but that doesn't even faze him. He rears up for another stab and then suddenly he starts glowing brightly before falling to the ground as an ash heap.
Two other raiders that are still charging at the group get taken care of without trouble. One gets vaporized and the other one gets killed after two shots from your pistol
Awwww yeah! I love this gun! She fist-pumps in joy. You notice her laser pistol is still smoking.
I'd like to know how you managed to vaporize so many people. I mean, those guys were pretty far away, i don't think our town watch could have hi-....
Durak stops talking and looks sad for a moment, before picking himself up.
Well, any weapon that uses laser can hit something from miles away. To bad it takes so long to get one in firing mode.
Well that takes care of the raiders outside. You can probably expect a harder fight indoors.
StatsHealth 13/15
Energy 19/20
Radiation sickness: No problem at all.
Hunger: Fed.
Thirst: Good
EquipmentScorched brahmin leather shirt,
brahmin leather pants
Rat leather shoes.
one squished bit of emergency ration.
47 10mm bullets.
16 Bucks
10mm pistol.
You loot the raiders and collect their 50 bottle-caps and take a lead pipe along just in case.
There really isn't a whole lot of loot on these raiders. You grab some pieces of armor they had on them and patched up you armor where the weak spots are, but it really isn't much.
So that concludes your short burst of action. What now?
statsHealth 13/15
Energy 17/20
Radiation sickness: No problem at all.
Hunger: Fed.
Thirst: Good
EquipmentToasty brahmin leather shirt,(small reinforcement.)
Brahmin leather pants(small reinforcement)
Rat leather shoes.
one squished bit of emergency ration.
47 10mm bullets.
16 Bucks
10mm pistol.
Lead pipe
I really hate leaving such a short update.