Our heroes, the De Facto Explorers, are at the KIA Academy. They have completed a task by venturing deep within the sub-levels below, and have returned to the surface...
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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... multiple times.
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. Currently safely in their hotel room on KIA Academy Level Zero.
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The next time Sonny could access the KIA Academy, the group again escorted Sonny to the elevator, and once the doors were closed, chaos took the wheel, with Squiggles suggesting, "Hey, let's see where that corridor leads us.
Lathar and Pete agreed, and they took a meandering walk through the backstreets of the Academy. Things were in much better shape than the sub-levels, and citizenry seemed gentler folk, but it still appeared to be a forgotten pocket of the Academy.
They were surprised when they turned a corner and they saw a yew tree proudly growing out of the burst-open concrete . Given that there were no windows to the outside on this level, no one could figure out why the tree was there, where it came from, and how it continued to grow in this environment. Stranger yet, nearly early one of the branches had a 6-8" mustard colored ribbon tied to the end of it.
There were no obvious marks on the ribbons, or the tree itself. No one was actively using the area around the tree. For many of the locals, they couldn't explain it's appearance, only that it had been like that for generations, and if the ribbons were cut or removed, the ribbons were replaced by unknown means. The tree was huge, no one had the appropriate equipment, and the "road builders" never ventured into this neighborhoods.
They stopped in the Cafe du Pastri for some delicious baked items, and a repeat of the questions they asked the other townsfolk.
Despite the pleas of Squiggles, "Why are we so worried about this weird tree?" Lathar bounded up the tree, poking his head out of the upper canopy with relative ease. Moving through the top, Lathar finds a switch built into a sturdy branch. Without any input from the others, he flipped the switch.
Thousands of tiny light now illuminated from within the tree, attracting everyone in the neighborhood. Yellow concrete blocks which crossed the area, illuminated from within. Dozens come up, questions why the De Facto Explorers did what they did.
Pete: "Hey Lathar, could you turn the lights off."
Lathar: "Sure, in a bit."
The illumination stops, but the neighborhood folk are still upset, concerned that something has changed the yew in the first time in generations. With a larger sample, still no one had any clue to the trees history, only that no one bothers the tree.... but Lathar had bothered the tree.
Squiggles: Let's not upset the tree anymore... Lathar come down.
Despite the crowd of sixty or so, no one of any authority arrived to investigates. Squiggles tried to appease the masses, as Lathar kept flipping the switch back and forth, creating consternation from the neighbors. As Lathar turns the lights off again, a lone gunshot rings out. The crowd panicked dispersing in numerous directions, knocking down Squiggles and Peter.
Pete regained his feet and noticed the cause of the riot, a broken flintlock rife, The rifle appeared to have fallen off of a roof, or out of a higher story window.
Rumors of actual KIA Academy security was arriving in the neighborhood quickly spread through folks yelling out of their windows.
Pete: "Lathar, get down, we need to get out of Dodge." Lathar navigated the tight canopy, only falling through the bottom of the canopy right before he was safe.
They recover Lathar and retraced their steps back to the commercial side of Level 1.
Meanwhile, Sonny had a much better day at the KIA Library. With a plan, he began his calculated search Sonny realized the usual topics the he had learned about libraries were not here, specifically a dearth in weapons knowledge.
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On the upper shelf, he saw a fanc 75-volume series known as "The Chronicles of the Road Builders," These newer bound books, seemed to almost be a scrapbook, a compilation in transportation stories, from self-propelled grass eaters, to bridge construction.
Sonny shifted gears and looked for lower technology texts covering the basics of construction and bridge building. Moving to a dusty corner , they found an ancient series of tomes in weird red leather.
"The Handyman's Camping Guide" seemed to fit Sonny's needs: Building basic bridges over ditches to creating your own brick patio with a built in brick grill.
"Farmer McKenzie is going to love this addition to his farm." Sonny took copious notes, his notebook brimmed with data.
Sonny took his new knowledge and found Dr Kallax. They discussed some of the dream projects for the Academy, including a extension of the the giant Overpass the group first encountered, both north and south.
Sonny returned to Level 1 and arrived at the common area of the hotel/hostel they were staying at.
"Hey guys, I think I might have found some practical improvements for our hometown. What did you guys do..."
Pete: "We lit up the town...."
GM: The group spent a lot more time at the Cafe du Pastri. The Cafe actually served Danish... and things evolved into the players calling them "Inbred Danish Farmers"
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