(Gamma World) Not a Test #133 - And Colored Reeds Go....

Our heroes, the De Facto Explorers, have decided to embark on an epic quest to reach Lathar's long-lost father, Harkonn. After side-quests, distractions, blue surges of strange auras, and beings definitely  not from around Riverbend, they've finally arrived at the Black Reeds of the Wildlands.  But do the Black Reeds take well with strangers?

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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 to the now-pregnant Thunnelda Haycock.   He had recently received a letter from his long-lost father, and has convinced the others to accompany him to the Wildlands.

Sneaky Pete: A mutated weasel scout.  Pete's telepathy and stealth take center stage in their mission, although he is apparently addicted to his newly uncovered yellow powder found at "The Pool House"

Sonny Helianthus: an over 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 attacked and kidnapped then left for dead by an unknown group, looking for revenge.  Also pregnant for the third time, and due to deliver badly out of season

Poppy and Speedy: Two of Squiggles' offspring from his first... litter(?) They're now teenagers in worm years, old enough to grab diminutive muskets and help their Manchi and his friends on this epic quest. 

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It was disconcerting... wandering through the cuts within the Black Reeds created a network of trails, circling inward towards some unknown location.  Then, during a break, Squiggles realized his spawn, Speedy, had disappeared.  Backtracking, the mutant earthworm couldn't find his child, and couldn't find their original path.   The rest tried to find Squiggles with no luck, but everyone realized the paths were moving somehow... and somewhere within the Wildlands, Squiggles had been surrounded by reeds, with no sign of his son...

Voices are muffled.  Gunshots from flintlocks were muffled with only the keenest able to pereceive if they originated further outside the reeds, or deeper inside. 

The main group of explorers was still in disarray.   Lathar positioned himself at an intersection in the path.  Further down was the passage filled with water, the one that cause the group to halt... and discover that Speedy was missing. That passage was completely missing, filled in perfectly by the reeds.  

Oddly, it was the most oblivious explorer, the sensory deprived sunflower, Sonny, who heard a shot of an Ancient's pulse rifle deeper into the reeds, possibly beyond. 

Sneaky Pete tried to make a mental connection with the reeds with his telepathy, and exhaled a deep sigh of relief when he couldn't.  The idea that there was a possible connection with the entire landscape terrified the weasel.  

Squiggles had the same idea, in his reed prison.  He kept with positive thoughts, "I'm just trying to leave safely with my friends."   It didn't seem to have an effect, but the worm also heard a crisp laser shot far off into the distance that was far clearer than the flintlock.

"Great... somebody else is here."

Sonny tried to perilously stand atop  No-Name the stagon, giving him enough height to peer over the massive reeds.  They stretched on for quite some distance, any break in them by open land or open water shielded from view by their sheer height.  Off into the distance, he could see open water, and then further beyond that, trees and forested areas.  There was no sign of the distant shooter in his spyglass.

Still trapped, Squiggles decided to go the one direction he was made for... down.   He began digging into the muddy soil, deep enough to be under the water of the marsh...  His anxiety heightened, but he could figure out when he was completely under water, and wisely kept digging forward, in hopes that he could find solid ground that wasn't surrounded by reeds.

Our man (?) Squiggles the Mutant Earthworm.

Lathar finally convinced Sonny to dismount from No-Name, and get he, Pete, Poppy, and Sonny to attached themselves to ropes, but no one agreed what direction they should go in.   Squiggles was obviously nearby and they wanted to create as much noise as possible to lure the missing worms back.  

Pete left Lathar holding the rope, literally, as he broke out his mandolin and strummed it.  

Lathar seemed to have trouble controlling No-Name, the beast was stretching his neck out closer to the reeds, which the stagon found tasty before.    It was Pete who finally realized what was happening. 

"Lathar, No-Name was just peacefully eating the reeds right next to him a few seconds ago... it looks like they move away from him... and closer to me and my mandolin playing!"

With the threat of water crashing own on top of him, Squiggles continued digging, until he felt a vibration in front of him.  He braced for the worst, until the dirt collapsed into another tunnel and a smaller earthworm popped his head out.

"Manchi!!!!!"

Speedy's Alive! 

The younger earthworm seemed to follow his progenitor's advice.... When in doubt, dig!

"You did great!  That's what worms do! Let's find our friends."

The rest of the Explorer's had a pow-wow.

Pete: The reeds obviously are reacting to us...

Sonny: But we can't see it...

Pete: Maybe we don't want to see it...   We can do this scientific like you, draw a line in the dirt and see if they move closer if I play more.  There's something going out there. 

Lathar:  Should I just grab two reeds and try to reach out?  

Pete:  And you complain I'm on drugs....

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Squiggles and Speedy dug underground, finally emerging in an area of solid, less muddy soil.  They came out along the a large break in the reeds, an open body of water, bigger than a pond.  In the center of the water was a platform, constructed with the Ancients' softrock (concrete), just a few feet above the water.  There were still metal railings along most of it.  

"Manchi.. What is that?"

"Well that's new..."

Squiggles blew his whistle.  

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Lathar was trying to commune with the reeds when he heard the whistle.  

"They're further inland."  

The remaining Explorers grabbed their gear and move down the path, trying to move towards the repeated noise.    At some point, Sonny stood atop No-Name again... 

This time, there was a young worm, being tossed in the air, flying above the reeds...

The rest maneuvered towards this solid land, the break in the reeds and the large pond.  

Everyone was delighted all the worms were safe:

Pete:  Tossing your kin up in the air might be the first time you ever used that powered lift belt you wear...

They even more impressed with the curious structure.  

Sonny:  Lathar, I think this is where your Pop was hanging out.  

There was a great debate if Sonny could teleport the entire group over there.  Having never tested this limit to his ability, they had Poppy volunteer to hang onto the sunflower as he teleported.    

Sonny made it to the platform, the young worm was not there.  Poppy eventually emerged in the water, near the platform, flailing his arms and legs. 

Squiggles:  He can't swim!!!!

And then Sonny noticed the water wasn't as calm he first thought.  There was a current in the water and it quickly grabbed the worm and moved it in the water until it was around the back of the platform.

Sonny long body easily reached the worm, but he could not hold onto Poppy before he was taken into an intake tube.  

Squiggles may have had his first true moment of parental panic... and he could swim.... somewhat, splashing into the water and swimming to the back of the platform.

The flow for the intake pipe still pulled onto the larger worm, and the Squiggles couldn't swim out... the tube sucking him under the platform as well.   Sonny again tried, in vain, to save his friend.   He stood there on the platform helpless, unsure where either of his friend had been taken.  

GM Notes:  Lathar continued to harp on the use of rope to solve the mystery of the Black Reeds.  No one seemed interested, or had the attention span of a gnat. 

I had not originally combined the Wildlands and Lou Reed to the scenario, but the number of times we broke out "Doo, do-doo, do-doo, do-do-doo"  was immeasurable. 

Losing the spawn of Squiggles was eventually going to happen, but a critical failure on his swim roll meant he succumb to the current to.  Add Pete's utter failure with telepathy and I can't wait till next session. 

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