The De Facto Explorers have decided to forge the Glow Zone wilderness across the Big River to investigate a new region full with the possibility of Treasures of the Ancients... and have encountered a friendly group of Hoppers.
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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. Looking for trouble in all the right places. The two-time champion of the Fair-Town Queen's Joust. Recently married Thunnelda Haycock.
Sneaky Pete: A mutated weasel scout. Pete's telepathy and night vision take a backseat when he whips out his electrical powers. Apparently addicted to his newly uncovered yellow powder found at "The Pool House"
Sonny Helianthus: a nearly 10' tall sentient sunflower artifact examiner with four arms, and trusted Restorationist ties. Knowledgeable, but not a good one with device repairs or upgrades.
Slitheran Wurmtail (aka Squiggles): a mutated earthworm scout, in impromptu power armor, looking for trouble in all the wrong places, and finding it often. He has been subject to genetic testing and developed super-human strength, a more human body, and a thick coat of shaggy white hair. Recently gave birth to a pile of baby worms.
Luna of the Restorationists: Recent recruit of the Restorationists, who had uncovered artifacts across the River.
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The group was led down a down passageway, light sources pulled out to see anything. The passage abruptly stopped at a large metal door.
The heavy door was securely shut, and most of the ancillary parts appeared to have been bashed in, repeatedly. a exposed hole narrowly led into the inner mechanism in the center of the door, and a key card reader hung off the wall by its wires.
Lathar tried the collection of key cards with absolutely zero effect.
Squiggles tried to maneuver his telekinetic hand into the hole, but was unable to completely manipulate the multiple mechanisms inside, although some sparking came from other broken parts.
Sonny inquired with the Hoppers, and according to them, the door had look this way for at least the generation of the current adults in the warren. Giving the ignorants their moment in the sun, Sonny used his bioluminescent fronds into the hole. Soon, some spare wire was blooming out of the hole, Sonny's attempt to rewire door.
The single light above the door turned on.
Lathar assisted further with the wires, but needed Squiggles to forcefully rip out his portion of the contraption.
Pete tried to use his shock powers to jump-start Sonny's contraption, but there was no result.
Finally, Sonny took it upon himself to manipulate things internally. some of the broken pieces sparked to life. A quick flurry of key cards presented to the card reader.
One finally generated a loud "Ca-chunk" as the door was able to be opened.
The door opened inward, revealing a small room with a low ceiling. The opposite side of the room had a large metal grate blocking further passage, but allowing the faint man-made light to come through. With a better look, the short ceiling was actually a flight of concrete steps overhead. The grate may have been installed to keep other things from going under the steps.
Sneaky Pete checked for traps and became detaching the grate. Lathar sat up a old metal 50-gallon drum, pondering its seat, "We can use this..."
Squiggles: More useful than the urine that's under most staircases.
With the grate removed, Lathar moved the barrel to open door. The few hoppers that stayed interested wandered to look out to the next room.
True to their thoughts, the next room held the stairs going up, plus two doors. A skeleton with two broken legs, wearing a tattered brown uniform in the room revealed the same key card that opened the door, plus a bag of small crystals. Two giant bins with wheels where also in the room, filled with the broken remains of what they might find in one of those rooms with computer terminals.
Moving to the door across from their access point, they found the doors chained from the other side!
It took the combined effort of Lathar and Squiggles throwing themselves at the door to pull the chains off what it was anchored to. This room was much larger, with more skeletons and the odd carts. The main wall to their right was excavated stone, scored to look like a large block pattern, leading to a much larger set of double doors at the opposite end of the room.
The skeletons pulled a number of different colored keycards. The tattered clothing resembled different uniforms and professions, although the quarter-sized holes blasted in their skulls were quite disconcerting.
They did find a strange weapons, a double barrel slug thrower with simply huge barrels, and no ammo.
Lathar: "Dibs!!!"
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| The large weapon, but without the strange ammo. |
GM Notes: We're finally back on another adventure!
Next: #105 - Into the Mines
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