The De Facto Explorers have discovered a facility that used to manufactured energy cells in the Glow Zone wilderness across the Big River. A large explosion just above the warrens of their Hoppers allies, have made the Explorers persona non grata, and they plan one quick foray to retrieve the alleged treasure before departing from home.
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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. Recently married Thunnelda Haycock.
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 four arms, and trusted Restorationist ties. Knowledgeable, but not a good one with device repairs or upgrades. Sonny may have recently detonated an atomic device in the petrified woods... although no one else knows.
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. Recently gave birth to a pile of baby worms.
Luna of the Restorationists: Recent recruit of the Restorationists, who had uncovered artifacts across the River. An attaché, an intern, another set of snooping eyes against the Explorer's methods.
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The biggest question for the group, with their last few hours of Hopper hospitality. They quickly answered their biggest question: They were going to venture back into the mines to try to unearth the alleged treasure buried there by the corrupt facility administrator from days gone by.
They decided to position No-Name, the cart, and the recovering Luna outside by the large double doors. Pete would try to keep in contact telepathically.
Sonny ventured off the alleged blast site and hacked off a piece of the bulbous glassy material that remained at ground zero that, he "had nothing to do whatsoever."
The rest of the group met by the heavy door in the Hopper warren that connected to the underground mines to be escorted in again, and have the Hoppers permanently lock it behind them. They needed to wait a while for Squiggles. The furry worm had not only developed the least ill-will out of the group from the Hoppers, but he was considered a true member of the Thumper Rex drum circle and gifted his bongo. After some emotional goodbyes, the mutant worm did need to run the musical instrument out the doors and with Lunda on the cart.
Once they were together again, they ventured through the steel door, which the Hoppers promptly closed behind them.
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| The Hoppers, finally happy to see the De Facto Explorers go... |
The finished rooms within the mine appeared the same as when they had last ventured, over two week earlier. The older deceased bodies were still there, the doors all chains from this side, still keeping the Troglodytes .
Squiggles led the way, using his night vision goggles, as well as the sketches they found to keep them from the Troglodytes way, He did venture down a side tunnel, only to be met by a pile of five dead mutant badgers and familiar murmurings further down into the dark. The badgers had been killed by weapons, but also partially eaten by something. Squiggles returned to the group.
"We aren't going that way AT ALL."
Lathar quickly assembled a noisy trap at that intersection and the continued on. The minimal old tracks in the tunnel disappeared entirely and they soon found themselves face-to-face with a huge blast door, faded red in color, with an access panel to the left.
The same green key card that worked upstairs opened the blast doors, and a tile floor and another set of blast doors a short distance further... and another access panel.
Lathar actually brought out the ornate hinge Pete gave him as a wedding gift, and wedged it into the open door.
Sonny moved in, swiping the access panel, as the second doors begin opening, the first first doors quickly closed behind him, crushing the decorative hinge like it was nothing.
Pete panicked when he couldn't reach Sonny telepathically. The rest scrambled through their collections of keycards for that second car they had found.
Sonny scanned the finished and damp room. There were remains of a number of carboard boxes and paperwork ruined by moisture into a mushy pile. A number of the boxes associated with terminals are shoved into one corner. There is a collapsed metal shelf, with a number of machine parts lying on the ground.
What attracted Sonny the most were simply massive power cells, nearly four feet long, pile against the wall. All are quite old, but some showed more signs of wear and tear than other.
In another corner, was a metal tube with a screw on cap. It was unmarked and extremely heavy. He unscrewed the top and pulled out a number of large documents. It was maps of the facility as well as other lines running everywhere.
Over in the corner, there was a pool of water... within it were two metal containers. Sonny broke out his glow badge to check the power cells and water ... and it turned black in his frond.
Sonny turned his head, the inside blast door near him closed. He assumed the outside door had been open by the others.
"Lathar, the Glow is heavy in here. You might not want to come in!"
With that warning, Lathar ran upstairs, busted open the double doors where No-Name stood, and grabbed his rad suit from the cart
Lathar opened the inner doors and got an update from Sonny... By then everyone wasn't feeling so hot.
Pete banged on the door with no response, "We need to get out of here!"
Instead, Sonny instructed the protected Lathar to pull the boxes out of the water. He complied, both boxes extremely heavy. One steel box held a number of candy-bar sized gold bars, while a similar box held unpolished, mostly clear gemstones. Sonny had lead tube of blueprints, miscellaneous parts in his fronds. The larger power cells were heavy, and some looked new while others were definitely used. While tempting, the gold and uncut gems were more useful at this time.
There was some chaos trying to get everything out of the room. But once the outer doors were passed them, Sonny realized everyone was feeling ill, probably from the Glow. The hurried carried their loot upstairs and loaded them onto the cart. They embarked on a journey home with alacrity.
GM Notes: Lathar keeping a rad suit from a previous adventure was the only reason he survived.
There was lingering radiation almost the moment they exited the finished part of the mining complex. I rolled poorly for the weaker checks, so it was a bit surprising when random damage started occurring.
The facility is part of Batteries Low, Getting Dark by Thom Wilson. I enjoyed the adventure, and it appears they will be returning to further research the facility, searching two more levels, working with the giant (aka atomic) power cells. And let's not forget the unknown location of the Troglodyte leader, transformed
In regards to the blueprints to the facility: Hoyce: The badgers were Bothans. We appreciate their sacrifice.
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| Definitely not the artwork to match the description. |
Next; #113 - The Villages of the Glow
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