Side story: Doctor and his wife
During his travels, Vagabond can encounter a strange man called Doctor by everyone who searches for the wife he didn't see since the Extinction started (4 years ago). Man still believes he can find her. He sends Vagabond on various quests
Through the open door, it is possible to see the mountains of trash laying everywhere.
No matter what Vagabond says, once he is about to leave, Doctor will ask for something. He asks if Vagabond could look for any clues about his wife, Mary, during his travel.
When he arrives at the shack, Doctor invites him to come inside. He seems to look a little better. As if he finally managed to eat something and sleep for a few minutes. Even the interior of his shack is visibly cleaner than before. Doctor starts to talk excitedly. Finally, after all those years, someone managed to find a piece of info about his wife. A photo made after the Extinction came. He asks Vagabond to search the area where it was found. An old mall, place that was supposed to close down, but because of the Extinction, it has been abandoned like everything else. Visiting the mall
If Vagabond manages to find the place there's a long search waiting for him. At least if he doesn't use his sight.
Besides what Vagabond already found, the mall can still have some supplies the people of Refuge might need, and some hostile spirits to avoid or defeat. After returning to Doc's shack, Vagabond has to decide whether or not to reveal what he discovered. If he does, Doc's reaction is surprising. He becomes very happy, because
This time Doctor approaches Vagabond by himself. There are whispers. People of the Refuge are surprised that Doctor left his shack and entered the settlement. He doesn't pay any attention to that. There has been more info on his wife and those so-called Enlightened. Someone from outside the Refuge, after hearing the word "Enlightened", recollected something. The word blinking on the monitor of one of the power plants they visited to repair (the repair itself failed). Vagabond is sent out again. This time, when he finds the described building, he starts to use his sight as soon as he enters.
There's nothing.
At least not in the places he looks at first. Because when he enters the basement of the building, he notices something. There are scratch marks on the floor as if something was cutting it with quite long blades. He follows them. They lead to the doors that have been forcefully opened from the inside. Inside, there's a laboratory complex. For the most part, there's nothing interesting in there. Bio labs, sleeping rooms, operating table, canteen. All abandoned. Some of the computers are still working, so Vagabond checks them out. He manages to discover the list of patients that were here in the past. One of them is Mary.
Besides her name, there are results of various examinations. Vagabond doesn't understand most of the technobabble in there, however, most of the examinations seemed to end with "expected results". The most interesting part is the last line.
Doctor is still very happy after hearing the last news (even though there haven't been any updates since then), but he manages to not be distracted by his thoughts. Reaching and entering the hospital is easy this day. While Doc is left in the medicine storage, Vagabond starts to patrol for any signs of danger. He doesn't see any chains, but at some point, he stumbles at something that terrifies him. Scratch marks on the floor. The same type as the ones in the power plant. He hears Doctor's scream. He runs to its source, only to come across a horrifying scene. There's a being, monster, creature, looking as if someone took a human cut some of their limbs and grafted blades in their place. Even though it was warped, he knew its face. It was Mary. And right now, she impaled her husband with one of her legs.
Doc reached out his hand to her, tears streaming down his face.
Seeing him go limp, the monster-Mary releases his body from her bladed leg. As soon as she notices Vagabond, she lets out an inhuman growl out of her mouth and starts to charge at him. Four bullets later, she joins her husband. On her body, there is a mark of Enlightened and writing:
Characters
Main characters
Vagabond, a Faceless One, one of the last ones who survived the Extinction. He has an ability to see attachments and bonds as chains whenever he wishes. Doctor (real name - Patrick). An outcast and a weirdo with vast medical knowledge. He has been searching for his wife for the last 4 years.Side characters
Mary, Doc's wife who went missing. People of The Refuge, who might provide more info about the story/quest.Story/quest
Beginning - 1st meeting
The side story/quest starts when Vagabond, during his stay at the Refuge, stumbles at Doctor's shack. It is located on the outskirts of the settlement but still within its protective wards. He could hear about it in the form of rumor while walking through Refuge, find it by chance or be sent there if anyone needs sudden medical help or knowledge. After knocking or pulling the doorknob, a rumble can be heard from inside the shack. After a few seconds, the doors open and Vagabond can see the Doctor for the first time. He wears a disheveled lab coat, he looks like he hasn't eaten or slept for quite a while. He's surprised by the sudden visit. He politely asks who Vagabond is and what he wants.Through the open door, it is possible to see the mountains of trash laying everywhere.
Vagabond's sight
By using his ability to perceive chains, Vagabond notices only four chains attached to Doctor. One leads to an unloaded gun on the table. The second, more rusty one leads to rope lying next to the gun. But the two others are really peculiar ones. They are thick and shiny, showing the strength of the attachment to what they are connected to. One leads to a framed photo of a woman. The second leads somewhere outside the shack, disappearing a few meters farther down the tunnel.
No matter what Vagabond says, once he is about to leave, Doctor will ask for something. He asks if Vagabond could look for any clues about his wife, Mary, during his travel.
2nd meeting
Sometime later, once Vagabond visits the Refuge again, a kid approaches him. Apparently, Doctor wants to see him again. If he decides to visit him, the story continues.When he arrives at the shack, Doctor invites him to come inside. He seems to look a little better. As if he finally managed to eat something and sleep for a few minutes. Even the interior of his shack is visibly cleaner than before. Doctor starts to talk excitedly. Finally, after all those years, someone managed to find a piece of info about his wife. A photo made after the Extinction came. He asks Vagabond to search the area where it was found. An old mall, place that was supposed to close down, but because of the Extinction, it has been abandoned like everything else. Visiting the mall
If Vagabond manages to find the place there's a long search waiting for him. At least if he doesn't use his sight.
Vagabond's sight
While searching for clues, Vagabond notices a new chain attached to himself. Or rather an old chain he hasn't seen for a long time. One of his kind has been here in the past. By moving and judging how tense the chain is, he can estimate if he is in a place his predecessor was. There are a lot of places like that, however, they seem to form a path. During this search, he finds a marking, something only another Faceless one could leave and see. There's only one word written there.
"Enlightened".
Underneath it, there's a desk locked with an 11-word password. Entering "Enlightened" opens it. There's a file inside. Most of the pages have been destroyed by bad conditions, revealing only fragments of what they contained. They mention Enlightened, a pre-Extinction group of one of the smartest scientists on Earth. And among the undamaged ones, there is a photo. In it, there are about 30 people, all wearing hospital gowns. Their faces are censored, however, one of them looks almost exactly like Mary. The date on it would mean that it was taken during the 2nd year of Extinction.
"Enlightened".
Underneath it, there's a desk locked with an 11-word password. Entering "Enlightened" opens it. There's a file inside. Most of the pages have been destroyed by bad conditions, revealing only fragments of what they contained. They mention Enlightened, a pre-Extinction group of one of the smartest scientists on Earth. And among the undamaged ones, there is a photo. In it, there are about 30 people, all wearing hospital gowns. Their faces are censored, however, one of them looks almost exactly like Mary. The date on it would mean that it was taken during the 2nd year of Extinction.
Besides what Vagabond already found, the mall can still have some supplies the people of Refuge might need, and some hostile spirits to avoid or defeat. After returning to Doc's shack, Vagabond has to decide whether or not to reveal what he discovered. If he does, Doc's reaction is surprising. He becomes very happy, because
Show spoiler
the photo Vagabond shows him proves that his wife was still alive when they got separated and after The Word has been spread. And that might mean that she is still alive to this day.
3rd meeting
This part of the story continues sometime after Vagabond reports to Doctor what he has found.This time Doctor approaches Vagabond by himself. There are whispers. People of the Refuge are surprised that Doctor left his shack and entered the settlement. He doesn't pay any attention to that. There has been more info on his wife and those so-called Enlightened. Someone from outside the Refuge, after hearing the word "Enlightened", recollected something. The word blinking on the monitor of one of the power plants they visited to repair (the repair itself failed). Vagabond is sent out again. This time, when he finds the described building, he starts to use his sight as soon as he enters.
There's nothing.
At least not in the places he looks at first. Because when he enters the basement of the building, he notices something. There are scratch marks on the floor as if something was cutting it with quite long blades. He follows them. They lead to the doors that have been forcefully opened from the inside. Inside, there's a laboratory complex. For the most part, there's nothing interesting in there. Bio labs, sleeping rooms, operating table, canteen. All abandoned. Some of the computers are still working, so Vagabond checks them out. He manages to discover the list of patients that were here in the past. One of them is Mary.
Besides her name, there are results of various examinations. Vagabond doesn't understand most of the technobabble in there, however, most of the examinations seemed to end with "expected results". The most interesting part is the last line.
Patient released on ██/██/████The date is an equivalent of the 4th year of Extinction. 2 months ago. Mary was still alive 2 months ago. Handing over that info to Doc makes him extremely happy. His hope wasn't for naught. He thanks Vagabond, gives him a reward and assures him that he'll be the first person he'll inform about what he'll find out next.
A request
This time, Vagabond meets Doc on the Request of the people of the Refuge. Apparently their medicine reserves start to dwindle. They both are sent to one of the hospitals to gather enough of them. Doc, to pick anything that might be useful, and Vagabond as his bodyguard.Doctor is still very happy after hearing the last news (even though there haven't been any updates since then), but he manages to not be distracted by his thoughts. Reaching and entering the hospital is easy this day. While Doc is left in the medicine storage, Vagabond starts to patrol for any signs of danger. He doesn't see any chains, but at some point, he stumbles at something that terrifies him. Scratch marks on the floor. The same type as the ones in the power plant. He hears Doctor's scream. He runs to its source, only to come across a horrifying scene. There's a being, monster, creature, looking as if someone took a human cut some of their limbs and grafted blades in their place. Even though it was warped, he knew its face. It was Mary. And right now, she impaled her husband with one of her legs.
Doc reached out his hand to her, tears streaming down his face.
"Mary, you're finally here. I knew you were alive."He died.
Seeing him go limp, the monster-Mary releases his body from her bladed leg. As soon as she notices Vagabond, she lets out an inhuman growl out of her mouth and starts to charge at him. Four bullets later, she joins her husband. On her body, there is a mark of Enlightened and writing:
Patient-35Vagabond picks up all of the medicine Doc managed to gather and goes back to Refuge.
Themes:
Loss, Hope, Despair Overall reason for the story:
This story is one of the ways one of the three main narrators (Vagabond in this case) can learn about the Enlightened and what they really did.
Loss, Hope, Despair Overall reason for the story:
This story is one of the ways one of the three main narrators (Vagabond in this case) can learn about the Enlightened and what they really did.
Comments