Chapter One - The Long Dark Adventure Begins!
Robin Lemedga was original from Bricebunker, the Praised Fortress, and was a member of the race of uplifted corvid. Made by mankind from crows and ravens before the fools, who were like the Gods fell, like so many Gods, real or fiction, had done before. Maybe if they had read their own stupid stories?
His name, in old human tongue, was Robin of Calling. He had been a mason in Daddlingflares for a long time, a Martian hillocks, and he had never gone far from it. It held a few hundred folks and it was controlled by the League of Beauty.
But he had dreamed of traveling. All intelligence creatures do. It fuels their hopes but also curses them. For when they can not wander they grow bitter.
Robin did not wish to grow bitter.
Like many of his kind his feathers were black and so were his eyes. He had a somewhat scratchy voice and, of course, had interface ports in his spine.
He started on his journey with what was on his back, which included a jumpsuit, a leather longcoat, a backpack, two waterskins, some weapons in the form of a mace, an armguard, and a dagger, and he had a tri-bike.
He also had some gold coins. Not much but he had been taught some skills to help keep him alive.
The fingerless gloves, the hat, and black-tinted sunglasses would keep the sun off his head and out of his eyes. And, of course, give him an appearance of a fashionable traveler.
So he headed east and left the dirt mounds of Daddlingflares behind him as he rode his tri-bike on the 15th of Granite of the year 427. To adventure, to mystery, to…well…horrible wasteland to be honest. The Granite Dunes were mostly not dunes as much as industrial runoff and slag. With packs of worm folk who roamed it.
He moved south southeast for he know of a city in that direction. It was the center of trade and might prove interesting.
As he approached the city, around noon, he spotted a nanotechne golem, heading his way. He called out to it.
He asked it not to fight and how it was feeling. It answered not and kept marching towards him. He decided to use his tri-bike and to ride around it and to continue southwards, where the city was. He poured on the speed as he zoomed around the golem.
He, and his tri-bike, soon left the golem far behind them. He felt sad that his first encounter out here was, well, not so friendly. But happy to have escaped being hurt or his machine being damaged.
He slowed down after a tad and kept going south. And almost ran over a Martian monk who was named Turagas Breachentered. Who thought his parents must have been interesting.
Robin wasn’t sure if that was an insult but as the monk seemed friendly so he decided to not take offense and kept talking to the monk,
When asked why the monk was traveling he replied he was just out for a stroll.
Not wishing to wait around for the golem Robin said farewell and kept moving south.
Then he saw a octopus monk. And beyond it what looked like the corner of a building. Was this a abbey or shrine? He decided to greet it the octopus.
This monk went by the name if Brios Sandcombined. Robin decided to ask where this place was. But the monk only said to ask her that when she was home.
Robin noticed another Martian monk and also a posthuman asura monk who seemed to have a carapace. Robin decided to explore the building behind them. They seemed friendly enough to ignore.
At least none of them seemed armed.
But if this wasn’t their home…what was the building behind them?
There many monks there, he noticed, as he drove around the building. The walls seemed smooth. It was a vault. He had heard of such things but never seen one. Maybe it had a entry way?
The inside was massive and, when compared to the outside world, somewhat clean.
There seemed to be a trade depot and lots of different intelligence humanoids here. This must be what he had been looking for. A major city!
He greeted a aquatic human who, by what he was wearing, was a tavern. Who also suggested the name Robin was strange.
Robin ignored his assault on his name and decided to see if, maybe, he could get a drink.
The tavern keeper seemed okay with doing business with Robin so he rode his tri-bike into the tavern and looked over the choices.
The tavern had sweetwine, sourwine, stimulants, and vodka for 2 coins a mug. And rooms for rent at 20 coin a night.
Robin decided on a sweetwine, which sounded nice to him, and ordered one.
He downed it and felt a tad better. Not that the journey had been hard. But this place felt…more civilized then where he had lived for so long. Cleaner, more organized. This was a proper building and from what he had noticed there may have been more of it under the surface.
A proper city not made out of dirt.
Robin gave back the empty goblet and two coins, said farewell, and decide to explore more. He had noticed ramp going down….
So he rode his tri-bike down the ramps!
On the way down there was a small platform with a pewter statue on it. He didn’t understand what he was looking at and continued on his way down the ramps.
He passed another statue and while glancing at it did not stop.
He passed many statues and finally arrived at a room of some kind. Facing a Martian human who seemed to be in the military but had no weapons on him.
Robin greeted him. The Martian named Igore Smokeboots and he, well friendly, also stated that Robin was a rare name. At least he didn’t insult Robin’s parents so Robin decided to ask for information of the…well, city or town or whatever it was.
“The Coalition of Standards rules Oakentired. We are in the right in all matters,” was the answer.
So Robin now had a name to fit this place. Oakentired. He had not come very far.
He rode his tri-bike around. This level seemed to have been dug out and smoothed out. The hallways and chambers were confusing but he didn’t wish to go down deeper. He might get lost. And maybe he could find something interesting to…barrow….and a bedroom to sleep in for free.
In order to enter the rooms he had to get off his tri-bike and drag it behind him. But maybe the rooms would have something the people back at Daddlingflares would buy.
All he could seem to find was clothing in cabinets. Not even any beds. Still, it might be worth something to the Martians back home. So he looted the rooms. He even loaded the tri-bike with some goods.
He drove back to the surface and pondered selling the items to somebody in the trade depot. Why go all the way back home when he could sell the stuff here?
He found a slim broker by the name of Sandro Strengthoaks. Who questioned why his parents would call him Robin. But Robin ignored that and tried to trade with him.
The broker had no coins but he did have some gems.
He was able to get a gem for three of the leather goods but nothing for the remaining leather goods. He figured he could sell them back home. So he said farewell and loaded the tri-bike with the remaining goods and went back home.
He went to the castle mound to see if there was anybody there who would buy his wares. He doubted anybody at the Drinking mounds had the coin to afford the goods. But he could try there later.
First he talked to a Martian farmer. He was informed that that the farmer had nothing to trade and that he should talk to a shopkeeper. Then the farmer pointed out that there was six villages but they all utilized the market at Oakentired.
Robin sighed. None of the dirt farmers and artists here could buy the leather goods he had picked up. Still, he asked around.
Sadly, in the Castle Mound, everybody just wanted to tell him how useful it would be to kill those bandits or kill that great beast. He just nodded, said good day, and decided to check the other mounds.
Robin got hungry and thirsty. He ate some seal meat and drank ALL the water in his two skins. And he was still thirsty. Funny, none of the drinking mounds had drinks in them. Weird.
He went out to the west but the land was dry. He slept, woke up, ate, and went back to the mounds to try to find drink.
So he started back to Oakentired. And on the way there found a pile of body parts, blood, and clothing. Somebody had murdered a monk. So he grabbed some of the clothing. Hey, he would have to pay for the drinks same how!
He filled his skins with beer at the tavern and then bought a drink to make up for it. He paid with coins but also gave the keeper a gift of bloodly clothing. He seemed pleased.
He could not find a broker at the depot and returned to the tavern.
He did some poetry which nobody seemed to notice. Then he told of the founding of Dabblingflares. And the tavern keeper of the Trussed Supper seemed to think it was interesting. He chatted with the keeper and it turned out he had been working in the tavern for 19 years.
Robin was still thirsty but he also felt full. He decided to tell another tale. This time of the very city he was in.
After another performance he fell asleep in the tavern. The stone floor was cleaner than the dirty floors of the mounds. And it was better then sleeping outside near to a fire. And he hoped his tummy was good enough in the morning to allow him to drink.
He woke at dawn, ate the last of his meat and took two long pulls from one of the skins. Yet he was hungry and thirsty. But he was also full. Would he die? Was this the end?
Join us next time for Robin of Calling!
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Greetings folks! Yes, I am visiting The Long Dark Mod again. See, I played the Primal Mod, both Fortress and Adventure Mode. But I only played Fortress Mode with the Long Dark Mod. So I decided, to be fair, to try Adventure Mode with it. But I seem to be starving even while eating and drinking like crazy. Maybe because Robin is a huge crow?!?!