SESSION 17: THE DEFIANT, DARING DEFEAT OF MALOO, THE MIDDLE LICK MARAUDER
General Summary
Previous Session: SESSION 16: THE SECRETS OF EARTH ANCHOR STATION
Next Session: SESSION 18: OUT OF THE SCARY PLACE
Players: (The Heroes of St. Louis): Lex Garridan, Linda, Mister Man, Zero
*May 23rd, 2317*
(Adventure Day 29)
The group awoke high up in an ancient grain elevator to a glorious post-nuclear sunrise. A hot wind was blowing up from the Mississippi River, bringing with it the first signs of summer and the coming radstorm season. Ready for more adventure, they set out west to the old Simmons Plantation. The site was a tobacco farm, but was long lost to the war. They scavenged through the well-searched area and found a few rounds of ammunition and a small, heavy safe. Lex set to cracking the safe, but her efforts did more harm than good. The rusted innards of the lock were seized up, making it impossible to crack. Mister Man arranged a plan B, rigging a baseball grenade on the safe's hinges. The blast ruptured the safe, but destroyed its contents. The ballistic weave military fatigues, and ripper within were demolished. Disappointed, the party moved on.
They traveled north to the Wilson family farm. At the Buckshot Saloon in Kingdom, they had met a young man named Brock. He had abandoned his pregnant fiancé, Emma Wilson, and fled with their money. Zero, who had met the Wilsons before, thought it was important to inform them. Lorne, Norma Jean and Emma Wilson invited the group for lunch. Zero informed the family that Brock was still drinking in Kingdom.
The Wilsons were angry, but Lorne said, "We considered hiring someone to hurt the boy. But with the coming child, he's still family. Maybe one day he could wise up, though I think that's unlikely. We wouldn't shed any tears if somebody took that money from him, but we don't want to see him injured."
The group expressed their sympathies and noted that it didn't look like Brock had much of the money left. They finished their lunch, continuing more polite conversation and left.
They went north to explore the Mark Twain Lake area. Trudging through the swampy land, they were surprised by a pack of half-submerged anglers. The bipedal lung fish bit at the party with teeth that dripped with poison, but their attacks were resisted by the group's new armour. The anglers were large and had thick scales; they were difficult to put down. But after enough attacks, they had a new collection of fresh meat. Linda and Zero attempted to extract the angler's poison sacs, but the task was too delicate. Soon, the party was off again.
They reached the village of Middle Lick at 2pm. The beating sun brought the temperature above comfort, but not enough to impede their travel. Remembering the bounty offered by Safeguard Security in Gravestone, they were eager to hunt down a bandit named Maloo. Local bars were usually a good place to gather information, so they first headed into the Rad Times Pub. Inside they found a well-armoured woman and her four rough-looking friends standing around a man on his hands and knees, laughing at him. Coming closer, the group could see that the crouching man had a stack of dinner plates on his back. A tender stood behind the bar, acting as though he saw nothing.
The group asked what was going on, and the woman in charge replied, "It's just a game we play around here. Darnell here lost a bet. So we're having some harmless fun with him."
They looked suspicious, but Darnell said, "They're right. It's just a game. More plates, please."
The bartender gave the party a slow shake of his head, still looking non-committal. They asked him for a drink and he said, "We, um... have no drinks today... I'm really bad at inventory and I forgot to stock up."
This bar situation was extremely suspicious, but the woman and her friends looked fairly well-armed and armoured. Before taking any action, they decided to learn more. They crossed the street and went to the town jail. Zero had been to the town before and remembered Sheriff Jones was a good man and would be helpful if there was trouble. But in the jail's office, they only found three deputies.
Zero asked about the sheriff and the deputies claimed that Jones was on vacation. He had gone somewhere west, perhaps Gravestone. As they spoke, Mister Man examined closer with his keen sensors. These deputies looked more like wastelanders than townsfolk, sun-baked and thin. Their uniforms were loose on their bodies and one wore his holster wrong.
The group were considering a fight, but decided to learn more. They moved over to Hidgley Goods. The Hidgley family were successful merchants in this town for over a century and Zero had met Mayor Greg Hidgley many times. But at the counter they found Allison Hidgley, her nose bruised from being recently broken and reset. The party didn't even bother asking about the nose, inquiring immediately about any weapons they could trade for.
Though they were alone, Allison looked around nervously, saying, "I don't really have any caps or valuable items to trade with, but I think this ashtray is very you. Would you like to buy it? For, say, 10 caps?"
The party made a show of buying it, unaware of who might be watching or listening. Allison passed the ashtray to Zero, who felt a note on the bottom. He thanked her and they went out into the dusty street.
The hastily scribbled note read, "The town's kids are hostages in the bunker."
This was a perilous situation. With bandits spread around the town, any attack would have to be fast and precise. They headed next to Crina's Diner. Crina was present at the counter, being watched by a single bandit in the corner. She greeted them nervously, remarking that part of eating at Crina's meant you got a real paper receipt, just like the old days. The party played along, hoping to get another note. They ordered some food and, just as they suspected, Crina had written them a message.
"Fareed knows the bunker passcode."
Now they had a solid objective and went to Fareed's Downhome Cesspool, but they found it abandoned. Again, Mister Man's sensors came in handy, finding the signs of equipment dragged into the local distillery. They approached the building carefully and noticed a man accompanied by three bandits inside. Doubtful of their sneaking skills, they walked in the front door.
Fareed saw them and yelled at them, "You can't be in here. I'm cooking flamer fuel for my friends and its very volatile. Any spark could blow up the whole room!"
Out of sight from the rest of the village and obscured by the factory noise, the party struck. The two bandits wore tempered raider armour and so were difficult to injure without firearms or energy weapons. Lex was especially frustrated, as she was reduced to bashing them with the butt of her gun. Fareed moved in to help, smothering one of the enemies with a chemical-soaked rag.
Eventually, the bandits were killed and Fareed was free to talk. He explained that Mayor Hidgley had put the bounty on Maloo, who had robbed the town distillery months ago. Apparently, Maloo had taken it personally, returning with a gang. They had taken the village's children and valuables down into the town's pre-war bunker. Maloo was waiting down their until the flamer fuel was ready. Meanwhile, Sin, the woman in the pub and her gang kept order in the town. They had a single portable radio, and at the first notice of trouble, the hostages would be killed.
The party formed a plan. If they could quietly obtain the radio, they might be able to trick Maloo into coming out of his bunker, safely distant from the children. Having not seen a radio on any bandits so far, they went to the Hidgley Cannery. The industrial building was silent and looked empty. Going in, they found a single bandit with his pants down and his head smashed to a pulp. They examined the cannery floor, looking for clues. There was small sound, and investigating further they found a young woman hiding within the machinery.
The woman was named Chestnut and held the radio in her nervous hands. The radio was beeping. She explained that someone had to pretend to be Roach, someone with a low voice. Zero answered, doing his best to placate.
Maloo's voice erupted from the handheld radio, "Hey Roach, you motherfucker, you done with that girl yet!? I need you to go check on the distillery. We need that goddamn flamer fuel before the Midwest Brotherhood of Steel show up. Oh, and don't kill the girl yet. Let everybody else get their turn."
Zero acknowledged, speaking as little as possible. The group congratulated Chestnut on eliminating her assailant and set to planning. With Lex's pip boy and Mister Man's voice production unit, they might be able to record Sin's voice and use the voiceprint to craft a message. Broadcast over the radio, Maloo would think Sin was warning him to leave the bunker immediately. They advised Chestnut to hide and left.
They continued to survey the town, going to the Middle Lick Infirmary. They were greeted by a paramedic protectron with bare shelves behind it. The robot was unsure of anything going on, carrying only its basic programming. Mister Man convinced it that he was the town's doctor, and therefore the robot's manager. The protectron submitted to having its inner workings accessed. Lex and Mister Man found that a clumsy hacker had crudely erased much of the robot's mind to pacify it. The group reprogrammed its targeting computer to view the villagers as civilians to help and to identify these invaders as hostiles to open fire on when ordered to do so. They sent their new helper to Fareed and went to get a voice sample from Sin.
Darnell was now gone from the Rad Times Pub, but Sin and her four goons were at the bar. They were enjoying beers the tender said he didn't have. The group approached Sin cordially, Mister Man's ears, the microphone in Lex's pip boy and their holotape recorder all picking up whatever they could. A few drinks in, Sin spoke openly. She admired Lex's gun collection and offered her the opportunity to join up with Maloo's gang when they packed up and attacked St. Petersberg. The group indulged Sin, trying to get her to speak as much as possible. When they felt assured they had enough, they parted again and set to work.
Soon they had a forged message from Sin, warning Maloo that the Brotherhood was coming and they had to leave town immediately. The group tasked Fareed with informing the townsfolk that when they heard gunshots, they were to take the rest of the gangsters by surprise. They set up an ambush spot outside the bunker's entrance, the protectron ready to assist. Maloo and his bandits fell for the deception, pouring out of the bunker.
The party opened fire, battering the clustered raiders with gun fire and fragmentation grenades. Linda and Zero pushed into the bunker, looking to protect the children within. Maloo's gang had decent armour and were equipped with shotguns, but they were outmaneuvered by the party's tactics. A successful Pain Train charge from Linda knocked Maloo to the ground and precise shot from Lex ended him. Two bandits within the structure had stayed behind, ready to harm the children out of spite. The protectron fired its laser into the hostiles. Mister Man eliminated the main host of bandits with a series of bombs while the others pushed into the bunker. The first threatening bandit was eliminated before he could attack, but his companion was able to get a shot off. Alvin, a ten year old child, was blasted with cloud of buckshot, badly injuring him.
"Children don't hurt children!" Linda shouted in a pious rage. She reduced the vicious raider to a corpse with a savage blow. The protectron rushed to Alvin's side and immediately applied first aid. Their fight over, they could hear gunshots from within the village. They were fighting back.
Moments later the battle was over. Maloo's gang was gone and the village was free. Lex made sure to get a DNA sample from Maloo in order to collect their bounty from Safeguard Security. But they left the gang's heavy gear for the defence of the village. The people were proud and grateful, granting the party two doses of rare antibiotics and an issue of Guns and Bullets. Though it was still early in the afternoon, the group decided to spend the night in the town. They helped with cleanup and then joined the villagers for a celebratory feast. Linda paid special attention to the children, doing her best to raise their spirits and forget their ordeal. The heroes of Middle Lick were toasted and given the town's best beds for the night. In the morning, they were bid a thankful farewell.
May 24th, 2317
(Adventure Day 30)
Looking to explore thoroughly, they headed southeast to the old Middletown Highway Patrol Station. Over a ridge, they see the hollowed out building. There was a man, sitting on the roof. He was clearly sleeping and exhausted. Below him was a swarm of radscorpions, twelve in all. The group resolved not to let the trapped man starve up there, so they planned to push past the giant arachnids. Climbing up onto the building's roof, they could shoot down on the radscorpions with impunity. The plan worked relatively well, the creatures withdrew and fled from Linda's flamer.
Once on the roof, Linda was shocked to discover that she had met the man. It was Rex. Rex's family had been in the scary place with her when the mean lady gave her medicine. Atom had blessed Linda and she had left the scary place and Rex and his family had escaped behind her. They gave Rex food and water.
Rex explained that about 7 months earlier he and Linda had been experimented on in a secret lab below the Center Nursing Home. Some unknown group was kidnapping people and doing radiation experiments on them. It was clear that Linda was their star experiment, and the rest were there just to confirm the data. Linda had come in a teenage girl and transformed from what they were doing to her. She had broken the great doors of the lab and left. He and his family had escaped behind. There were some who had been left behind. They were still there, many of them changed like Linda and not happy about it.
Rex was the last of his family. Dr. Harding, the program director had collected them one by one. Even the other lab workers were afraid of her. It seemed she was free to strike anywhere in this area, unafraid of Brotherhood authorities. Rex had met up with some of the other survivors at Champ House and would return there now. He implored Linda to be wary, Harding would definitely be hunting her.
The group next came to the Olney Inn. Matt Lee at the M&L Gunworks had asked them to stop here and look for his wife, Laura Lee. They entered the crowded hotel saloon and asked the bartender if she had seen Laura Lee. In a suspicious, shifty tone the tender explained that Laura had visited the inn, but she had left. And word was she was kidnapped. But she was long gone and no one should investigate.
Zero especially didn't like this. Worried the people in the saloon had hurt Laura, he asked the group to investigate. Their attention turned to a group of caravanners led by a RoboMerchant from The Rustlands. The caravanners told the same story. Laura had been there, left, was kidnapped and that was fine. Zero pressed the robot on the topic, and the RoboMerchant remained effusive. Mister Man examined them carefully. One of their group was unlike the others. Her skin was pale and untouched by the sun. She had no signs of long travel. The party put together that this was Laura Lee in disguise.
Zero approached Laura carefully, speaking vaguely. Laura said, "I'm a merc named Nicole, but it sounds like this Laura Lee had a pretty lousy time digging sulphur all day. It's probably better if Laura got kidnapped and is gone. I, a merc named Nicole, am fine."
The group understood. They asked about the .44 magnum bullet cast that Laura was sent to pick up. Nicole explained that it sounded like a made-up story. But if they were looking for a rare bullet cast, they could probably buy one at Lotsa Goddam Guns in Gamma Town. They wished Nicole the merc luck on the road and left.
Next they looted the old Chem-Go Fertilizer factory. The industrial complex had been well-scavenged for centuries. They found no significant salvage in the whole facility. Then it was on to Champ House to reconvene with Rex and the other scary place survivors.
But the hills around the old hunting lodge revealed that something was wrong. The building was a smoking crater and the Geiger counter on Lex's pip boy started to crackle with radiation. They approached with caution and were horrified to see the fallen bodies within the crater stand and charge. Worse yet, Lex was attacked from behind by another pair of feral ghouls. A bloated glowing one stumbled out of the twisted forest, as if it had been waiting for them.
Only Lex was in danger from the ghoul's radiation, but the vicious maniacs were still difficult opponents. They split into two groups, picking off the weaker ferals before they tackled the bloated monstrosity. Linda was horrified that she had to put down Rex. She offered Atom's blessing as she killed him. The glowing one released a pulse of intense radiation, raising many of the fallen ghouls from torpor. But it wasn't enough. The threat was put down, leaving a grim scene.
Within the crater, it was clear that everyone within Champ House had been ghoulified. Additionally, they detected the unique impression of a vertibird in the nearby forest. The surrounding ghouls, the ones that had been lying in wait, were all wearing hospital gowns - the same ones Linda saw back in the scary place. The implications were alarming. Whoever she was, Harding had access to a vertibird, an army of feral ghouls and was able to bomb an area with a weapon that caused 100% ghoulification in humans.
They were quick to leave the awful scene. The party's histories were starting to show strange parallels. A woman from a vault experiment, a ghoul experimented on in Nebraska and a super mutant experimented on in Missouri. Together with an ex-Enclave robot and an odd young man with strange dreams, they were an unusual crew...
Next Session: SESSION 18: OUT OF THE SCARY PLACE
Next Session: SESSION 18: OUT OF THE SCARY PLACE
Players: (The Heroes of St. Louis): Lex Garridan, Linda, Mister Man, Zero
*May 23rd, 2317*
(Adventure Day 29)
The group awoke high up in an ancient grain elevator to a glorious post-nuclear sunrise. A hot wind was blowing up from the Mississippi River, bringing with it the first signs of summer and the coming radstorm season. Ready for more adventure, they set out west to the old Simmons Plantation. The site was a tobacco farm, but was long lost to the war. They scavenged through the well-searched area and found a few rounds of ammunition and a small, heavy safe. Lex set to cracking the safe, but her efforts did more harm than good. The rusted innards of the lock were seized up, making it impossible to crack. Mister Man arranged a plan B, rigging a baseball grenade on the safe's hinges. The blast ruptured the safe, but destroyed its contents. The ballistic weave military fatigues, and ripper within were demolished. Disappointed, the party moved on.
They traveled north to the Wilson family farm. At the Buckshot Saloon in Kingdom, they had met a young man named Brock. He had abandoned his pregnant fiancé, Emma Wilson, and fled with their money. Zero, who had met the Wilsons before, thought it was important to inform them. Lorne, Norma Jean and Emma Wilson invited the group for lunch. Zero informed the family that Brock was still drinking in Kingdom.
The Wilsons were angry, but Lorne said, "We considered hiring someone to hurt the boy. But with the coming child, he's still family. Maybe one day he could wise up, though I think that's unlikely. We wouldn't shed any tears if somebody took that money from him, but we don't want to see him injured."
The group expressed their sympathies and noted that it didn't look like Brock had much of the money left. They finished their lunch, continuing more polite conversation and left.
They went north to explore the Mark Twain Lake area. Trudging through the swampy land, they were surprised by a pack of half-submerged anglers. The bipedal lung fish bit at the party with teeth that dripped with poison, but their attacks were resisted by the group's new armour. The anglers were large and had thick scales; they were difficult to put down. But after enough attacks, they had a new collection of fresh meat. Linda and Zero attempted to extract the angler's poison sacs, but the task was too delicate. Soon, the party was off again.
They reached the village of Middle Lick at 2pm. The beating sun brought the temperature above comfort, but not enough to impede their travel. Remembering the bounty offered by Safeguard Security in Gravestone, they were eager to hunt down a bandit named Maloo. Local bars were usually a good place to gather information, so they first headed into the Rad Times Pub. Inside they found a well-armoured woman and her four rough-looking friends standing around a man on his hands and knees, laughing at him. Coming closer, the group could see that the crouching man had a stack of dinner plates on his back. A tender stood behind the bar, acting as though he saw nothing.
The group asked what was going on, and the woman in charge replied, "It's just a game we play around here. Darnell here lost a bet. So we're having some harmless fun with him."
They looked suspicious, but Darnell said, "They're right. It's just a game. More plates, please."
The bartender gave the party a slow shake of his head, still looking non-committal. They asked him for a drink and he said, "We, um... have no drinks today... I'm really bad at inventory and I forgot to stock up."
This bar situation was extremely suspicious, but the woman and her friends looked fairly well-armed and armoured. Before taking any action, they decided to learn more. They crossed the street and went to the town jail. Zero had been to the town before and remembered Sheriff Jones was a good man and would be helpful if there was trouble. But in the jail's office, they only found three deputies.
Zero asked about the sheriff and the deputies claimed that Jones was on vacation. He had gone somewhere west, perhaps Gravestone. As they spoke, Mister Man examined closer with his keen sensors. These deputies looked more like wastelanders than townsfolk, sun-baked and thin. Their uniforms were loose on their bodies and one wore his holster wrong.
The group were considering a fight, but decided to learn more. They moved over to Hidgley Goods. The Hidgley family were successful merchants in this town for over a century and Zero had met Mayor Greg Hidgley many times. But at the counter they found Allison Hidgley, her nose bruised from being recently broken and reset. The party didn't even bother asking about the nose, inquiring immediately about any weapons they could trade for.
Though they were alone, Allison looked around nervously, saying, "I don't really have any caps or valuable items to trade with, but I think this ashtray is very you. Would you like to buy it? For, say, 10 caps?"
The party made a show of buying it, unaware of who might be watching or listening. Allison passed the ashtray to Zero, who felt a note on the bottom. He thanked her and they went out into the dusty street.
The hastily scribbled note read, "The town's kids are hostages in the bunker."
This was a perilous situation. With bandits spread around the town, any attack would have to be fast and precise. They headed next to Crina's Diner. Crina was present at the counter, being watched by a single bandit in the corner. She greeted them nervously, remarking that part of eating at Crina's meant you got a real paper receipt, just like the old days. The party played along, hoping to get another note. They ordered some food and, just as they suspected, Crina had written them a message.
"Fareed knows the bunker passcode."
Now they had a solid objective and went to Fareed's Downhome Cesspool, but they found it abandoned. Again, Mister Man's sensors came in handy, finding the signs of equipment dragged into the local distillery. They approached the building carefully and noticed a man accompanied by three bandits inside. Doubtful of their sneaking skills, they walked in the front door.
Fareed saw them and yelled at them, "You can't be in here. I'm cooking flamer fuel for my friends and its very volatile. Any spark could blow up the whole room!"
Out of sight from the rest of the village and obscured by the factory noise, the party struck. The two bandits wore tempered raider armour and so were difficult to injure without firearms or energy weapons. Lex was especially frustrated, as she was reduced to bashing them with the butt of her gun. Fareed moved in to help, smothering one of the enemies with a chemical-soaked rag.
Eventually, the bandits were killed and Fareed was free to talk. He explained that Mayor Hidgley had put the bounty on Maloo, who had robbed the town distillery months ago. Apparently, Maloo had taken it personally, returning with a gang. They had taken the village's children and valuables down into the town's pre-war bunker. Maloo was waiting down their until the flamer fuel was ready. Meanwhile, Sin, the woman in the pub and her gang kept order in the town. They had a single portable radio, and at the first notice of trouble, the hostages would be killed.
The party formed a plan. If they could quietly obtain the radio, they might be able to trick Maloo into coming out of his bunker, safely distant from the children. Having not seen a radio on any bandits so far, they went to the Hidgley Cannery. The industrial building was silent and looked empty. Going in, they found a single bandit with his pants down and his head smashed to a pulp. They examined the cannery floor, looking for clues. There was small sound, and investigating further they found a young woman hiding within the machinery.
The woman was named Chestnut and held the radio in her nervous hands. The radio was beeping. She explained that someone had to pretend to be Roach, someone with a low voice. Zero answered, doing his best to placate.
Maloo's voice erupted from the handheld radio, "Hey Roach, you motherfucker, you done with that girl yet!? I need you to go check on the distillery. We need that goddamn flamer fuel before the Midwest Brotherhood of Steel show up. Oh, and don't kill the girl yet. Let everybody else get their turn."
Zero acknowledged, speaking as little as possible. The group congratulated Chestnut on eliminating her assailant and set to planning. With Lex's pip boy and Mister Man's voice production unit, they might be able to record Sin's voice and use the voiceprint to craft a message. Broadcast over the radio, Maloo would think Sin was warning him to leave the bunker immediately. They advised Chestnut to hide and left.
They continued to survey the town, going to the Middle Lick Infirmary. They were greeted by a paramedic protectron with bare shelves behind it. The robot was unsure of anything going on, carrying only its basic programming. Mister Man convinced it that he was the town's doctor, and therefore the robot's manager. The protectron submitted to having its inner workings accessed. Lex and Mister Man found that a clumsy hacker had crudely erased much of the robot's mind to pacify it. The group reprogrammed its targeting computer to view the villagers as civilians to help and to identify these invaders as hostiles to open fire on when ordered to do so. They sent their new helper to Fareed and went to get a voice sample from Sin.
Darnell was now gone from the Rad Times Pub, but Sin and her four goons were at the bar. They were enjoying beers the tender said he didn't have. The group approached Sin cordially, Mister Man's ears, the microphone in Lex's pip boy and their holotape recorder all picking up whatever they could. A few drinks in, Sin spoke openly. She admired Lex's gun collection and offered her the opportunity to join up with Maloo's gang when they packed up and attacked St. Petersberg. The group indulged Sin, trying to get her to speak as much as possible. When they felt assured they had enough, they parted again and set to work.
Soon they had a forged message from Sin, warning Maloo that the Brotherhood was coming and they had to leave town immediately. The group tasked Fareed with informing the townsfolk that when they heard gunshots, they were to take the rest of the gangsters by surprise. They set up an ambush spot outside the bunker's entrance, the protectron ready to assist. Maloo and his bandits fell for the deception, pouring out of the bunker.
The party opened fire, battering the clustered raiders with gun fire and fragmentation grenades. Linda and Zero pushed into the bunker, looking to protect the children within. Maloo's gang had decent armour and were equipped with shotguns, but they were outmaneuvered by the party's tactics. A successful Pain Train charge from Linda knocked Maloo to the ground and precise shot from Lex ended him. Two bandits within the structure had stayed behind, ready to harm the children out of spite. The protectron fired its laser into the hostiles. Mister Man eliminated the main host of bandits with a series of bombs while the others pushed into the bunker. The first threatening bandit was eliminated before he could attack, but his companion was able to get a shot off. Alvin, a ten year old child, was blasted with cloud of buckshot, badly injuring him.
"Children don't hurt children!" Linda shouted in a pious rage. She reduced the vicious raider to a corpse with a savage blow. The protectron rushed to Alvin's side and immediately applied first aid. Their fight over, they could hear gunshots from within the village. They were fighting back.
Moments later the battle was over. Maloo's gang was gone and the village was free. Lex made sure to get a DNA sample from Maloo in order to collect their bounty from Safeguard Security. But they left the gang's heavy gear for the defence of the village. The people were proud and grateful, granting the party two doses of rare antibiotics and an issue of Guns and Bullets. Though it was still early in the afternoon, the group decided to spend the night in the town. They helped with cleanup and then joined the villagers for a celebratory feast. Linda paid special attention to the children, doing her best to raise their spirits and forget their ordeal. The heroes of Middle Lick were toasted and given the town's best beds for the night. In the morning, they were bid a thankful farewell.
May 24th, 2317
(Adventure Day 30)
Looking to explore thoroughly, they headed southeast to the old Middletown Highway Patrol Station. Over a ridge, they see the hollowed out building. There was a man, sitting on the roof. He was clearly sleeping and exhausted. Below him was a swarm of radscorpions, twelve in all. The group resolved not to let the trapped man starve up there, so they planned to push past the giant arachnids. Climbing up onto the building's roof, they could shoot down on the radscorpions with impunity. The plan worked relatively well, the creatures withdrew and fled from Linda's flamer.
Once on the roof, Linda was shocked to discover that she had met the man. It was Rex. Rex's family had been in the scary place with her when the mean lady gave her medicine. Atom had blessed Linda and she had left the scary place and Rex and his family had escaped behind her. They gave Rex food and water.
Rex explained that about 7 months earlier he and Linda had been experimented on in a secret lab below the Center Nursing Home. Some unknown group was kidnapping people and doing radiation experiments on them. It was clear that Linda was their star experiment, and the rest were there just to confirm the data. Linda had come in a teenage girl and transformed from what they were doing to her. She had broken the great doors of the lab and left. He and his family had escaped behind. There were some who had been left behind. They were still there, many of them changed like Linda and not happy about it.
Rex was the last of his family. Dr. Harding, the program director had collected them one by one. Even the other lab workers were afraid of her. It seemed she was free to strike anywhere in this area, unafraid of Brotherhood authorities. Rex had met up with some of the other survivors at Champ House and would return there now. He implored Linda to be wary, Harding would definitely be hunting her.
The group next came to the Olney Inn. Matt Lee at the M&L Gunworks had asked them to stop here and look for his wife, Laura Lee. They entered the crowded hotel saloon and asked the bartender if she had seen Laura Lee. In a suspicious, shifty tone the tender explained that Laura had visited the inn, but she had left. And word was she was kidnapped. But she was long gone and no one should investigate.
Zero especially didn't like this. Worried the people in the saloon had hurt Laura, he asked the group to investigate. Their attention turned to a group of caravanners led by a RoboMerchant from The Rustlands. The caravanners told the same story. Laura had been there, left, was kidnapped and that was fine. Zero pressed the robot on the topic, and the RoboMerchant remained effusive. Mister Man examined them carefully. One of their group was unlike the others. Her skin was pale and untouched by the sun. She had no signs of long travel. The party put together that this was Laura Lee in disguise.
Zero approached Laura carefully, speaking vaguely. Laura said, "I'm a merc named Nicole, but it sounds like this Laura Lee had a pretty lousy time digging sulphur all day. It's probably better if Laura got kidnapped and is gone. I, a merc named Nicole, am fine."
The group understood. They asked about the .44 magnum bullet cast that Laura was sent to pick up. Nicole explained that it sounded like a made-up story. But if they were looking for a rare bullet cast, they could probably buy one at Lotsa Goddam Guns in Gamma Town. They wished Nicole the merc luck on the road and left.
Next they looted the old Chem-Go Fertilizer factory. The industrial complex had been well-scavenged for centuries. They found no significant salvage in the whole facility. Then it was on to Champ House to reconvene with Rex and the other scary place survivors.
But the hills around the old hunting lodge revealed that something was wrong. The building was a smoking crater and the Geiger counter on Lex's pip boy started to crackle with radiation. They approached with caution and were horrified to see the fallen bodies within the crater stand and charge. Worse yet, Lex was attacked from behind by another pair of feral ghouls. A bloated glowing one stumbled out of the twisted forest, as if it had been waiting for them.
Only Lex was in danger from the ghoul's radiation, but the vicious maniacs were still difficult opponents. They split into two groups, picking off the weaker ferals before they tackled the bloated monstrosity. Linda was horrified that she had to put down Rex. She offered Atom's blessing as she killed him. The glowing one released a pulse of intense radiation, raising many of the fallen ghouls from torpor. But it wasn't enough. The threat was put down, leaving a grim scene.
Within the crater, it was clear that everyone within Champ House had been ghoulified. Additionally, they detected the unique impression of a vertibird in the nearby forest. The surrounding ghouls, the ones that had been lying in wait, were all wearing hospital gowns - the same ones Linda saw back in the scary place. The implications were alarming. Whoever she was, Harding had access to a vertibird, an army of feral ghouls and was able to bomb an area with a weapon that caused 100% ghoulification in humans.
They were quick to leave the awful scene. The party's histories were starting to show strange parallels. A woman from a vault experiment, a ghoul experimented on in Nebraska and a super mutant experimented on in Missouri. Together with an ex-Enclave robot and an odd young man with strange dreams, they were an unusual crew...
Next Session: SESSION 18: OUT OF THE SCARY PLACE
Missions/Quests Completed
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Report Date
06 Sep 2021
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