(Gamma World) This is Not a Test #74 - Waffles and Contemplation

Our heroes, the De Facto Explorers,  were spending the winter scouting around KIA Academy, until they went AWOL escorting some the "enemy" blue-skinned Kirothian people around the KIA territory, and an arrival in Fair-Town.  They are injured from an encounter with a "Demon" in the deep inland hills, but have finally arrived in Fair-Town

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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. Just went out of his comfort zone to rescue Lathar from becoming a human sacrifice to "The Beast." 

Slitheran Wurmtail (aka Squiggles): a mutated earthworm scout, in impromptu power armor, looking for trouble, 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.

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.  He had fallen in love with Elona, the leader of the blue-skinned Kirothians, until he was ceremoniously dumped by her once they reached Fair-Town. 

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Pete just couldn't stay comfy.  

It had been weeks since he had a clean sheets and a warm room to sleep in, but his feral nature meant he woke up at the crack of dawn. He looked over to see Squiggles in his own bed.  He wondered how exactly worm physiology allowed him to snore like that.  

The warm room of the inn in Fair-Town allowed his animalistic instinct to lower after a good night's rest, but it amplified the aches of his wounds and the rumbling in his stomach.  It was time to go downstairs and find some breakfast.

Going downstairs of the main room of inn.  His mutant sunflower friend, Sonny was "planted" in his pot full of his own soil.  Pete has seen Sonny "resting" with his flower drooping down towards his chest.  He had never seen him slumped forward, his head clumsily propped up by a chair.

Pete ran over to check his flowery friend. He appeared alive but his greenery appeared... torched and singed.

"Sonny, Sonny, are you okay??? You look really bad, what happened???

Sonny opened his sunflower eyes to a sight of a weasel nose-to-bloom with him.

"Who did this to you?"

"Some guys in the woods...."

"Guys in the woods, where were you last night?'

"Let's just same I'm a good team player... we'll need to stay a few extra days to heal up... maybe buy a new frockcoat."

"Team player?  Where is Lathar?"

Sonny stared at Pete, "He better be in his god-damned room."

Pete ran over to fetch a pitcher of water for Sonny. 

Meanwhile, Squiggles finally woke up.  The worm's first thought?

"I've got my mind on waffles, and waffles on my mind."

Squiggles arrived downstairs to see Peter hastily water the sunflower.   The worm shook his head...

"I need some java and some waffles before I hear what happened last night."

One Save vs Waffles roll later, the worm housed every waffle they could make.  Well-fed and covered with a fine layer of syrup all over his fur, he was ready for a tale.  

Sonny did not disappoint, regaling his role as concerned friend, following a drunken Lathar out of the inn, preventing a duel to the death with Lathar's ex-girlfriend, Elona, the subsequent kidnapping by locals, the exciting fight with the said locals while dangling off the edge of the high speed woodland vehicle, the fiery encounter with "The Beast", the encounter with the town guards, and Sonny tossing his sorry butt back in his room.

Squiggles:  "Lathar does NOT take break-ups well..."

Pete: "Wait do humans usually duel after they stop relations?"

Sonny:  "Not often enough..."

Pete thought to check up with the guards but it was decided interviewing Lathar was the next best option.  

Squiggles thought it would be best to find a lady of the evening who was willing to work the afternoon with Lathark, but he accompanied Pete up the stairs.  

Squiggles and Pete went upstairs to check of Lathar.  Both looked at each with disbelief, as they both realized they missed the mess on the door to Lathar's room.  Mud was smeared across the wall and door.  Two wedges had been hammered into the door from the outside.  They weren't in the correct spot, but they were driven in enough to create a problem for someone coming out.  

With no answer, Squiggles knocked the door in.  Lathar lay spread-eagle in his bed, naked as a jaybird.  Despite dirt all over him, his uncovered skin appeared clean and shiny.  He was definitely alive, although his skin seemed damaged from the cold.  

Squiggles:  Wait, why does he have fur... there???

Pete strolled up and tossed a pitcher of water onto Lathar.   

Lathar woke up abruptly, he denied most of Pete's claims, found some clothes, and showed the guys his weapons of the Ancients were safely under the bed.  He seemed very confused, finding pants, but walking down the stairs au naturale, holding the pants in his hands. 

Once pants were placed on Lathar, Sonny learned the concept of "Tag, you're it!" and ran out the door for some early morning drinks at the Wrong Celery, leaving Pete in charge.    Lathar left a few moments later.

Pete continued to interrogate Lathar as he scarfed some waffles, all of Lathar's answers seemed to contradict Sonny's account.  Pete was particularly inquisitive about his shiny skin, even when covered by mud.    Lathar was no help, and soon returned to his room.

In the afternoon, Squiggles returned to the inn with someone special.  She was a woman who performed as a jester during the Fair-Town festivals, but over the winter made due by any means necessary.  

He escorted the woman up the stairs and bumped open Lathar's door with his shoulder.  

"Lathar, this woman would like to talk to you... her name is Rosalind...."

The human's eyes perked, despite her festive make-up.  Squiggles closed the door behind him. 

Rosalind the Jester

With Lathar's soul restored, the DeFacto Explorers sat and healed for many days.  They had brought the biggest news of the winter (the Kirothian refugees), so they were treated like kings, as Pete purchased a better mandolin from the Silk Bazaar in town to entertain everyone. Twelve days of respite in Fair-Town, the weather getting warmer, they finally left the town for KIA Academy, more than a month after they had left it for a few short days of reconnaissance. 

Next: #75 - The Pharoah