(Gamma World) This is Not a Test #52 - The Stone Pavilion, Part Three

Our heroes, the De Facto Explorers,  are exploring outside the KIA Academy, and have uncovered a new race, a weapon of alchemical destruction, and a certain Stone Horse of Destruction that's back to flesh.

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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.

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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With the aid of the Toard Jakey Children's Alchemical Laser, the great Stone Horse of Destruction had been transformed back to.. Charlie, half-man, half-horse.  Similar to Lathar, he was in a state of confusion, but the current state where even his human torso was covered in horse-hide, He was regaining his faculties. 

Pete tried to run over to calm the transformed mutant, perhaps to use his telepathic powers to calm him, but No Name had come running around a tree and stunted at the man-horse.  It took Pete all his telepathic power just to chase No-Name away far enough so Charlie wouldn't bolt.  

A concerned No-Name

Pete tried to calm the man-horse, but the moment he spoke again, he was aware of a speech impediment that he apparently did not have previously.  "What happened?  Why do I talk funny?  What happened? What's wrong with my mouth?"

Pete tried to calm him, "Hey friend, we're friendly, but you've been through an awful lot, We're going to help you!

"Why can't I speak? What's wrong with me?

"We're going to explain to you, but you've been through something terrible to your body, and we're going to get you back to your friend and friends.  You're Charlie right?"

"Yeth, but do I have the same issues as those two over there.  One is a green man and the other's a talking flower."

Pete realized Charlie was pointing to Lathar and Sonny,  "The green man still suffers like you did."

"What about the furry worm?  That's an abomination!"

"Can argue with that, Charlie..."

Sonny walked around the e-cart that had been transformed to terracotta clay towards Lathar to see what had become to his friend.  Lathar had transformed into some shiny green mineral, or precious stone.  Squiggles had questions, "Are you like that inside and out. Do you need to eat?  Do you poop?"

Sonny attempted to allay Green Lathar's fears.  He was still greatly confused but recognized the happy flower.   With his task completed, he planted into the ground and attempted to decipher the instruction manual for the Children's Alchemical Laser.  

Pete searched the remaining blue men bodies that hadn't been vaporized in the blast.  The had a few rare and random coins on them, and some hardy longbows.  Pete did detach a number and clasps, emblems, and insignias.   He then went back to the pavilion to investigate that shimmering lines that looked like obvious traps.  He climbed over the pavilion side to find himself inside the stone structure to see the the supports for the roof.    Pete did detect each line had holes drilled into the rock, and the shimmering abated the closer you got.    Pete called Squiggles over to have a look...

"Just watch out for the booby traps."

"What booby traaaaaa......."

The furry worm stumbled towards the steps.     Pete pulled him away until he was out of harm's way.  Squiggles' right leg, below where his knee would be, sat on the steps, completely cut out clean and cauterized. 

Squiggles cried out, "That's supposed to be attached!!!"   

Sonny went through the inventory of drugs and such on RHA-9.   He ordered RHA to apply anesthesia, which knocked  the worm out.  Sonny then applied a med-kit to Squiggles.  It didn't reattached a leg, but it did make him get out of shock.

RHA-9 with the anesthesia,

Pete, "Doesn't he regenerate his limbs?"

Sonny, "I've never seen him do it in all our years."

Between Squiggles' accident and two confused individuals, Sonny wanted everyone out of the clearing and heading back to KIA Academy proper ASAP.  They strapped Squiggles (and his leg) securely on top of No Name and headed out.    Pete searched for traps and ambushes, while Sonny tried to fill in Charlie on what happened.

"I got hit by children's ray gun?  I've been destroying parts of town for no reason?  Are my wife and kids okay?"

Sonny, "Yes,  that's our best guess.  And we talked to your family, they're physically fine, just worried."

"Do I still have my job?"

"I don't know...."

Going over a small ridge, the source of some smoke became quite prominent... the RUINS of the Toard Jakey!  

RIP Toard Jakey

Pete was much more concerned about the set of giant tracks moving around the now-ruins, akin to RHA-9's treads but much much larger.   Even more concerning was the tracks coming and going came KIA Academy lands.  The group walked along the edges of the road to be less conspicuous.  

Charlie was certainly coming to his senses, even if everything was calibrated.  He identified the tracks for a construction vehicle,  uses for digging, building and destroying.

Sonny actually asked for directions from local homesteaders to exactly where the White Hand was located in, and the locals surprisingly complied.  

At the White, there was great interest to the group as they walked up  They did have enough domars to afford to reattach Squiggles' leg.  This procedure took many hours, and the rest managed to get some much needed sleep.  Both Lathar and Charlie began acting more "normal" than they had before.   The White Hand attendants, did do a complimentary once over for the two transformed creatures.  Charlie seemed to be reconstituted into flesh, but even the human parts were covered with horse hide... including his tongue!

Without further testing, they believed Lathar was all mineral, with working organs made of a malleable version of the material.   They diagnosed both as suffering from cases of "Izagone." or "unwilling transformation" 

With all the extra-time, Sonny found a plot of land outside, sunk in his roots, and continued to work on the instruction manual for CAL (Children's Alchemical Laser).   Sonny realized there were significant issues between the instructions and the physical equipment.  The CAL in the book had eight basic settings, with a white pull-string randomizer.  A keyboard was used to for color codes.

The physical CAL Sonny was looking at had a dial with over 200 settings, along with a much more complicated keyboard.  Everything sample instruction in the book focuses on a button for "bubble gum" that does not exist on their device.

The surgery was a success, although Squiggles took hours longer than normal to recover from the anesthesia.  Outside of a large shaven band below with knee with a straight line scar around his leg.

Charlie:  "Can I go home finally?"

GM Notes: During an aside, we calculated that semi-precious Lathar would be worth $32,000,000 domars.  They will not be selling him off for parts... for now.

The description of  fancier White Hand facility at KIA was interpreted as a Post-Apocalyptic Apple Store.  They weren't far off.

Next: #53 -