(Gamma World) Not a Test #93 - The Azure Oracle

Our heroes, the De Facto Explorers,  have arrived for the Queen's Joust in Fair-Town.  Lathar has just won his second straight joust, but every member still has an agenda....

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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.

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 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.  He may be pregnant... again!

Thunnelda Haycock:  A peculiar local woman, who has a penchant for wandering the surrounding territories for particular oddities, but has become the fiancé of Lathar.  She just finished second to Lathar in the joust, yet there is an underlying current.  

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There was a great celebration at the Clockwork Carnival, celebrating the great jousting champion, Lathar Bracken of Riverbend.  Lathar was a bit off, however, as his fiancée, and runner-up of the joust, Thunnelda, was nowhere to be seen.

The following morning, Sonny met up with Lathar, Pete, and Squiggles back at the Carnival. 

Sonny had completed avoided all of the joust, taking advantage of the smaller crowds to dig though some vendor booths and the Bug-Mart.  He finally found his first item of the quest, a "Glow Suit" to protect someone when they moved the Golden Bird.  Three-thousand domars was a bit steep for the sunflower,  but Lathar seemed to have the funds... even before his joust win.  

Through the day, Lathar resided in the tavern at the Clockwork Carnival, enjoying the gifts of free food and drinks given to him, thanks to his fame.  Expecting another free drink, he was shocked to see a blue-skinned female slides into the seat behind him.

"Hey Lathar..."

It was Elona, the Chief of the Kirothians, and Lathar ex-girlfriend.

"Hello..."

"Congrats on the joust.  It's good to see the only thing you're still good at is holding your own lance..."

"Behave Elona... what do I owe this pleasure..."

"My medicine woman, Valeria, is dreaming of you at night.  Cloudy dreams with vivid details of you, and a giant sunflower.  She does these... readings.  And she would probably clear her head if you come and sit with her for a bit....

Lathar, thinking to himself:  I don't make a lot of good decisions when I'm alone at a bar.

He looked up towards Elona, "I'll do it!"

Elona led him down the streets of Fair-Town, to the Azure Sanctum, an old storehouse that they've converted into a temple.  

A blue-skinned woman in flowing indigo robes appears in the corner of the room.   Her piercing white eyes lock onto him, and despite the chaos around them, Lathar can hear her voice directly in his mind:  Come, sit with me....

The Azure Oracle

She took both of his hands... 

Images of Lathar's childhood flood through his mind, running through the dirt streets of Riverbend.

He could hear her voice inside his mind, "Lathar Bracken, child of the Riverbend, you stand upon the path of warriors… but it is a road built on bones. Will you heed a warning from the veil of the unseen?"

Yes...

You seek the secrets of the past, but they seek you as well. Something long buried is stirring, and it knows your name. Whether it calls you as a savior or a sacrifice, I cannot yet say.

The mystic’s voice grows urgent.

Listen well, knight of Riverbend! The ruins beneath the river are awakening. The war-beast of the Deep Mire is only the first. There is something older—greater—waiting beneath the waters.

She leans forward, her glowing white eyes filled with desperation.

And when it rises, it will seek the blood of warriors to fuel its rebirth. I see fire upon the water, steel clashing in a battle unseen for generations. I see… you!

When the river runs red, this will lead you to what you seek…  He who you seek...

He opens his eyes, but before he can focus, the old lady is gone...

Outside, the revelry of the Queen’s Joust continues, but for Lathar Bracken of Riverbend, the celebration is over.

GM Notes:  A lot of bookkeeping, including a d22,000 roll to determine which species of worm Squiggles successfully bred with....

Next: #94 - Old Man Sprig