Turn 21
Night. The Moon raises high, shining behind clouds. It's a thunderstorm, lightnings strike across the sky illuminating the Zone. It is raining, droplets fall into anomalies, activating all of them.
- Anomaly detection roll is [5] as long as it's raining! -
- Chaos ensuing from over-active anomalies disorientates mutants, doubling their aggressiveness! -
Ronald Roman
Hell yeah.
rest. Then butcher the monster!
Thunderstorm lights up the old warehouse with bright flashes that each lightning produces. Droplets of rain fall on the metal roof, flowing down through holes on the concrete floor and hitting remaining glass in window frames, creating a specific, monotonous symphony. You clean your knife and hide it in your pocket, thinking how badass you are and about butchering that collossus. But you are getting a bit drowsy, getting some place to rest would be good.
[1] You scramble up the old tractor, finding the seat comfortable enough to sleep. It's a bit cold, but you fall asleep. You have a nightmare, about the giant that you've just killed. In this horrible, frightening dream you jump down the platform, intending to kill the mutant. However, it notices you and dodges back, then crushes you with it's mighty leg and smears all over the floor as if it stepped into something nasty. You wake up screaming. It's still night, thunders echoing around. Instead of resting and gaining energy, you actually feel more tired!
You lose 5 fatigue
[6] You proceed to butcher the flesh giant. You take out the knife and think where to start - unusual anatomy of this mutant makes it hard to properly butcher it. In an empty eyesocket you see a nerve going deeper into skull, there's also a big artery splitting the monster in half and going around the mouth - you've cut it while falling down, which was main cause of death for it. It's teeth are big and sharp, might be good for making a necklace or spikes on a belt. Cutting off flesh, you realise that it's somehow strange, a weird thought strikes up your mind that the giant is composed of abruptly overgrown human flesh! You can't confirm it, but the sole thought almost makes you vomit.
Lorence "Lucky" Jackson and Nix
It's night, rain falls down and if not for the thunders and light flashes, you couldn't see anything in the ominous darkness. Nix hides his sidearm and puts up the rifle on his back, then jumps down to the lonse stalker. All he wants now is some rest.
- That was a hell of a fight, wasn't it?
- Yes, yes it was.
- I'm really, really fucking tired right now, and I don't really want to fight. If you want to kill me, feel free to try. If not, I'm going to take a nap. I'd appreciate a lookout. Give me an hour of sleep, then we change shifts. Sound good?
- Yep, it sounds good.
[1] After the short conversation, Nix jump up inside the truck's cargo and finds himself a good sleeping spot in the corner. He falls asleep, and then a nightmare comes. Nix is deep inside a forest, there is a strange green for everywhere. It burns, it damnably burns! Your skin falls off your body in huge patches, your hair and eyeballs melt. You manage to run out of the corrosive fog, highly wounded. Then you hear a boar screech and run towards you - it's stopped though. You hear someone approach and slash the boar to death with a knife. Savior? Will he help you? No, he grabs you and throws back to the fog, and you melt down in agonizing pain.
[4] While Nix is sleeping, mumbling something about a boar and green fog, almost screaming and convulsing, Lorence checks if he can still salvage his knife. It went deep into the skull, tearing boars brain, so you can't reach it with fingers. He has a better idea - turning the body to the side. The knife hasn't lodged firmly and it falls on the ground. It's handle is lightly damaged, but the knife itself is still good to fight with.
Suddenly Lorcne hears Nix scream. He runs to the cargo and looks at confused Nix.
- Just a nightmare...
Nix loses 5 fatigue. Lorence feels drowsy too, he loses 10 fatigue.
Lorence gets his hunting knife back
Anna Iveson
look for a tree we could possibly kick over to cross the river?
It's raining heavily. Thunders light up rapidly flowing river waters.
[1] You think about kicking down a tree that would allow you to cross the river, but you forget that such tall trees are really rare, and are mostly monuments that should be protected. What's more, such tall trees rarely have diameter so small that they'd be easily kicked down. Then, mutated and anomalous trees could be like that, but you can't see any nearby.
You feel drowsy, you lose 10 fatigue.
Dustan Hache
I look for some sort of nearby shelter, remembering to look for anomaly distortions and check my Geiger counter. the last thing I want is to be stuck in the rain.
You're still in the forest, thinking about finding a shelter before it rains. You barely see a thing in the darkness. Then a thunder lights up the forest for a moment with bright flash.
[3] You speed up, urgently trying to find a safe spot. You find a a good place - it's on a small hill, covered from three sides by three huge boulders standing firmly, creating a little cave you've hidden in. Then it slowly starts to rain. The rain isn't that strong, and it's rather monotonous, at least in this part of Zone. Droplets are activating all the anomalies around - crushers, charged fields, scorchers and X-Ray flashes. It's an utter chaos - loud noises, flashes of light - an anomaly over-activity! You see artifacts glimmer in anomaly fields, waiting for you to grab them.
[1] You check your Geiger counter - safety from rain came at a radioactive price, your seemingly safe spot is radiated.
You are getting tired, you lose 5 fatigue.
Fisk Black
If yes, head into the building we are nearest to sleep for the night.
If no, turn back and head along another venue, throwing bits of rubble in front of and to the side of us.
It's night - if not for the light created by charged field you and your companion wouldn't see anything. Wave after wave, all the ghouls fallen into anomaly, ending their misery. Thunderstorm comes, rain and wind quickly gather in strenght, lightnings shoot across the sky. Droplets make the electricity arcs in charged fields run totally wild, creating a spectacle of high voltage.
[1]
- Well. This seems like the end of the particular escapade. I really, really need to go to sleep.... Hey brosef, you mind if we hunker down in this building here for the night? We'll sleep in three hour increments and keep watch while you're awake. Sound good? - you say to the stalker.
- That's not the best idea, we don't know what more we can meet here. Chances are there is a mutant that can kill one of use before we manage to alert the other! Let's get back to the truck.
You've decided to check another venue instead, throwing pebbles in front of you just for fun, as every anomaly is over-active due to rain. You've seen enormous water blobs in nearby crushers, constant flashes of light in X-Ray flash that was nearby and steam flowing madly out of burners. You are currently on Kirov's street.
You're getting more drowsy. You lose 5 fatigue.