Vault Village

There's an unwritten rule when it comes to living in a community on The Surface layers of The Pit: "Don't stop for too long." While it is unknown whether the Beasts from Above possess any sense of smell, for some reason, a group of people staying in one place for longer than a week or two always attracts them. And while it doesn't have to be hard to fight them off, while descending through the layers the Beasts burrow through them, letting the deadly sunlight reach down on the unlucky ones below. There are a few exceptions to this rule, but the most famous one is the Vault Village, formed by Father Albio in the first year of Awakening. But he and his people had to work hard to change this place from its original purpose.

Original purpose

Just like most of the buildings of The Pit, it seems that the vault was here before the Awakening. Maybe even before the previous civilizations that lived here. When Father Albio managed to open it, he and his followers discovered the purpose of the building. It was a place where food in all forms was stored. There were cans, dried food, and most things bagged or frozen, but also there were automated farms waiting for the start-up (and steady source of power) and seed banks, everything still operational and kept in the best condition. Aside from less than 1%, all food was still edible.

The outside

Even from the outside, a small part of the vault looks impressive. While most of the building is covered by red rocks and sand, after going down on the slope that seems to be carved in the floor, one will reach massive metal doors, 3 meters wide and 4 meters tall. In the past, before an opening mechanism has been found, the giant doors were interlocked by eight, 3.5-meter long bars. This is a part of the vault that went through the least changes as anything outside the gate will be susceptible to the corrosive effects of the sunlight. The vault doors can't be closed anymore as the only thing that was capable of opening them in the first place, the Magnetic staff, disappeared the day Father Albio passed away.

The inside

The ramp

The first thing one will see inside is a ramp, possibly used to pack the food on a truck (or another vehicle) or unload it into the vault. There were two forklifts here. After scrapping one of them and using its parts to fix the other one, the second forklift is usable and helped a lot with repurposing the building.

Main storage

The biggest part of the building is occupied by the main storage filled with shelves and shelves of food, crates, freezers both small and the ones the size of the room, everything cataloged in the computers and sorted by name and type of food.

Automatic farms

The second-biggest part of the building. Rows of lamps, soil, sprinkler systems, hydroponic, and machines regulating it all. The only thing missing is a stable source of power to activate it all. The water circuit is equipped with a small water purifier. Still, the water tanks need to be refilled once in a while which has been resolved with Water Elemental Crystals.

Seeds bank and laboratory

The storage filled with hundreds and hundreds of seeds, packed and protected from the outside factors, ready to be planted. This place is connected to the laboratory fully equipped to test the food and plants for any harmful microorganisms.

After repurposing

The food vault and its internal conditions safe from the dangers of The Surface were a perfect place to settle down for Father Albio and his followers. The main storage rooms were divided into a few sections.

Trading area near the ramp

The entrance area has been rebuilt to serve as a market for the inhabitants of the village and anyone coming from outside. It is a highly defensive area, with guards posted at all times.

Private quarters

Quarters divided from each other by thin walls. Each equipped with either a normal bed or bunk beds, a personal locker, and a light source.

Canteen

Canteen large enough to feed 50 people at the same time.

Showers

By redirecting some of the water from the farm area of the building the community showers could be built.

Arsenal

One of the old freezers has been completely disconnected from the power grid and became a place to store weapons and armor.

Alternative Names

Albio's Village

Type

Warehouse, Massive / Storage complex

Related Tradition (Primary)

• Albio's day

Location:
Fifth layer of The Surface

Natural defense from Beasts and sun

Most places like this would be either constantly bombarded by the attacks of the Beasts or would give in under the corrosive impact of the sun. However, the Vault Village has one advantage other places don't have. It is completely embedded into the floor of the layer it stands on. Even on the lower layers of The Pit something like this is very rare. Being covered by the rocks which normally don't give in to the sun protects it from its properties and additionally, for some unknown reason, completely hides the human presence from the hostile creatures.

Current food status

After almost 15 years and with a slowly growing population that started with about 100 people, most of the non-growable food has already been eaten or traded to upkeep the power within the vault. To reduce the consumption rate of the food, people of the Vault Village hunt the Beasts like everyone else on The Surface and traded some of the unused equipment of the vault.