Our heroes, the De Facto Explorers, have had a triumphant stay in Fair-Town, Lathar has repeated as jousting champion, Sonny has acquired a "glow suit", and Squiggles has gleefully endured extended sessions of vermiculture.
They now only wait on the completion of Pete's feather cloak, a dream of his since their early days, for the group to return to Riverbend and perhaps, their secret "Pool Room"
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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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Lathar wandered back from the Kirothian's neighborhood, a host of doom and gloom clouding his future, at least according to the blue-skinned old lady. It was disconcerting enough that he wasn't perseverating over the fact that his ex, Elona had clearly stated he had no choice with her.
Lathar found Sonny wandering the streets after hours, and not reading or searching the merchants for some old ancient technology he and he alone understood why the Explorers needed it. Even the oblivious sunflower noticed the barbarian was unsettled.
Lathar: Hey Sonny, you know when I'm alone, I go off and do something stupid.
Sonny: Proceed.....
Lathar recounted Elona's visit, a reading with the "Kirothian witch," the visions...
Sonny: Her powers could be real. Pete likes to do mind tricks, if it's not the future, it might be the future she wants you to think about.
Back at the Clockwork Carnival, Sonny offered to write down Lathar's prophecy for future reference.
Lathar: And here I was more worried if Squiggle's new batch of offspring would stay in Riverbend or go across the river to Bon-Parr.
The next morning, Lathar stopped by the town hall and got a little information regrading the town council. It appeared he would be in charge of organizing the joust for next year.
Just about everything they planned had been accomplished, except for Sneaky Pete waiting on his feather cloak in three days. Squiggles had a swollen belly... his activities in the basements of Fair-Town were confirmed with pregnancy.
The Explorers began getting bored and when Sonny left for the afternoon, they followed him... to the mutant plant bar, The Wrong Celery.
Lathar: The great thing about the Wrong Celery is the ambience always changes, since there are so many plants.
There was a new giant pumpkinhead seated, guarding the door.
Pete: What's your name, new guy?
Pumpkinhead: Gord.
With that encounter passed to the bouncer's guidance, they hit the smell of mulch through the door and headed to the bar.
There was a large assortment of plants in the Wrong Celery, but everyone preferred to be quiet. The only things Sonny had picked up:
- The plant community ran their own gambling operations in lieu of the mole rats.
- The gambling ring had nicknamed Thunnelda "The Rage Cow."
- The lettuce farmers (humans tending lettuce crops) pooled their money and lost big on betting on Sir Carrion.
- Each night there was a plant choir that practiced late at night. They were practicing singing "The Ballad of the Mighty Leek, a haunting tune of a tragic mutant vegetable that had been turned into stew.
- Sonny also was second for the week in the newest bar game, the radish toss.
The target of the radish toss, was a goblet hanging high above the floor. One customer was in first with five out of five tosses, slated to win the mystery prize, a burlap sack behind the bar, with the sign "Definitely Not Haunted."
They eschewed the hand-picked coffee beans and focused on the radish toss. Lathar was the most respectable of the "naked animals" with his throws, but it was Pete who discovered the leader in the competition and challenged him to a friendly wager. Sitting in the corner, in his own pot of soil, was an parsley plant named Old Man Sprig. Calling him out, Pete had a few second thoughts as the planet emerged from his pot with a red glowing cybernetic arm, cyber hands.
Lathar bought a round for the bar, raising the spirits and attention of the patrons.
Sprig took the advantage early and maintained superior stats to Pete. Pete pushed through, even after rumors of Sprig being trained since birth my a monastery of broccoli monks.
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| Three-Armed Benny |
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