Our heroes, the De Facto Explorers, are at the KIA Academy. They have successfully rescued Charley Onyxhoof, and are now trying to figure out their next steps before winter comes...
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Sneaky Pete: A mutated weasel scout. Pete's telepathy and night vision take a backseat when he whips out his electrical powers.
Sonny Helianthus: a sentient sunflower artifact examiner with trusted Restorationist ties. Knowledgeable, but not a good one with device repairs or upgrades. Very interested in a "Children's Alchemical Laser" he recently acquired.
Slitheran Wurmtail (aka Squiggles): a mutated earthworm scout, in impromptu power armor, looking for trouble, and finding it often. Previously "gave birth" to a litter of sentient earthworm babies, but recently has been subject to genetic testing and developed super-human strength, a more human body, and a thick coat of shaggy white hair.
Lathar Bracken: A pure-strain human from River Bend. He's got the muscle, the face, and a mount for most encounters. Lathar's trusty beast of burden, No Name, travels wherever he does. No Name has recently been fitted for a artillery device of the Ancients that chucks spears further than any human. Looking for trouble in all the right places. Former jousting champion of Fair-Town and has been awarded... a peacock he has named Chambray. He's recently been struck by a weapon by a strange race of people and transformed into... something else.
RHA-9: A lab assistant piece of "Living Metal" that seems to have befriended the group... for now! Currently getting repairs done by the Restorationists.
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While staying down in Sub-Level 2 of KIA Academy, the group continued perusing the non-ferret economy. One of the odd stories that kept popping up was some character named the The Ghost, who wanted the sub-levels to rise up and revolt against KIA. He allegedly was recruited the crippled veterans who had barely survived the wars they fought.
Squiggles also decided to finally tell everyone about his discussion at the barber ship. Everyone wanted to focus more on the crippled wolf-conscript, Razorback, and his story. Most were immediately intrigued that he was originally from The Wall. Pete, on the other hand, was aghast at the Academy's policy to round up people and have them be shock troops against their random threat. Talking to him might be worth some free drinks.
They did return to their hotel for rest and some shopping, but it was determined they would eventually return to Sub-Level 2 and find Razorback.
Lathar and Squiggles were interested in leaving ASAP, but a quick look outside discouraged any rash decision. The air was freezing, and the steady breeze made outside far bitter than it had been two weeks earlier.
The De Facto Explorers also realized a few thing as they stared across the river. A community focused on advanced construction techniques and able to build the supply overpass, but there's no bridge that crosses the river. A ferry to Jainus was just downriver from the Academy, but they hadn't seen or heard of any refugees here, the nearest town to Jainus.
With that, the crew delved into the sub-levels yet again, and with some questions found the wolf-man sitting on the ground behind a brining business.
Luckily, he spotted Squiggles first, before the rest of the group turned the corner. His first words as they approached, "I'm not fighting for anybody. This ground is very comfortable, and I got my hair cut. So why are you bothering me?"
"Find you interesting," Squiggles admitted.
"We're not trying to bother you," Lathar added. "We're just trying to find out your story."
"You know, asking about my story... is bothering me," the annoyed Razorback retorted.
"How bout an ale or two... or a cordial wheel of cheese?"
"You're lucky I'm one of the few wolves that ale isn't poison, you know?"
Next door to the Wexl's Brine Shop, is a very relatable bar, The Brining Barrel.
Seated in the booth, with a green stone man, a weasel, a sunflower, a furry worm staring at him, Razorback growled at the side discussions at the table, "Get me my drink, and kept this fat ferret away from me.
"I'm not a ferret, I'm a weasel!" Pete fought back verbally.
"Same difference, just because your take a bath and wear a hat, doesn't make you more than sentient vermin."
Once drinks arrived, the crew asked some very basic questions of him. Razorback looked over to the quiet Squiggles, "You didn't tell them anything at all??
Squiggles replied, "Only that your an interesting character..."
"Fair enough"
The wolf regaled his backstory. Originally from The Wall, he left after too much politicking, and found a home at KIA. With the defense of the Academy on the line, he was forced into the military and took part in a number of frontal assaults. He lost an arm and most of a rear paw/foot, and he's been looking for a quiet placed to sleep in the KIA underground without ferrets urinating on him ever since.
Who did he fight? "I barely remember who or why, I just remember death ray and relics of the Ancients against our spears and flintlocks. Luckily, the armor could be penetrated by my claws."
How did he fight? "I think I found some sort of armory. I grabbed a sword and a bunch of knives. The officers didn't fight with us. They were behind the lines, shooting at their retreating underlings more than the enemy"
The Wall? "The fat ferret here would enjoy the wall. I've been forced to live with to many of your kind. Pain in the ass. Outside of fights with each other, no one ever attacked. Millions live within The Wall What's the guy used to say, self-sustaining."
The Ghost? "I'm not concerned at all. Not unless they're wielding relics of destruction. The folks upstairs do a good job keeping things almost decent down here."
Blue Men? "They're not gonna start a war right now. It's wintertime, man!"
His wants? "I just need a clean, covered spot to lay down and not get peed on by random ferrets."
Lathar was shocked by some of his stories, and offered another round of drinks, a bath to deal with the ferret attacks, and an evening with the nearest brothel with mutant canines, down the street with the "Brine Hounds."
GM Notes: Tonight's biggest distraction was determining how/if "Jade" Lathar ate. Lots of thoughts that he didn't and if he did, he'd just grind the found through his digestive tract. This meant he could actually be a millstone. The GM humored the group, but gave no definitive answer.
Each town on the river in this campaign thinks they are the edge of the frontier, and that there's nothing upriver but rogue towns with outrageous people
Lathar getting Razorback some companionship earned him an extra 200xp. "That's what we need to do for our veterans."
The group realized at the end of the conversation with Razorback that they hadn't found him or his family. I countered that they had never mentioned looking for Ramsay since they originally left from Riverbend.
I was wrong. Pete mentioned Ramsay after getting the electric cart in episode #45.
Best question of the night: Pete: Do we care about the rebellion? Squiggles: NO. Lathar: Next Question!
Next: #57 - Lathar's Restoration
