The group of six people stood in the vault entrance “Well, as you may already know, this is the entrance to our Vault” I said tapping the Vault ‘door’ which acted more like a drawbridge then anything “Don’t mind that anvil over there, we just haven’t gotten around to moving it that’s all.”
I grimaced as we walked down the barren hallway “Now this here is the hub of the fort. You see that room with the three levers? Sorry it isn’t smoothed yet, a molerat burrowed in and busted up the wall. Kicked up soil all over the place.” Glancing around as another person passed by I pointed to the lone chair and table in the tucked away room “Over there is my office. If you ever need me I’ll be in there most of the time. What’s that room north of it you say? Well, it used to be a hospital, but we haven’t had the need for it. There’s a well a little bit aways, but at the moment it’s just a hole.”
We walked to the single up stairs to the west of us “Here we have our main power supply, I can’t show you it, because as we speak gallons and gallons of water is being drained down through the shaft and back into the reservoir. Not only does it supply us with power, but it filters out all the bad waste and stuff from inside.” They continued up a few floors to a dimly lit room.
“This is the closest most of us have gotten to the outside.” I said waving my hand “Savs takes care of most of the crops. There’s nothing in the ground right now though, Savs just picked a fresh crop of barley and we made most of it into liquor (do you guys know about liquor?) you do, good!”
“This here is the dorms. Most of you will be spending your lives sleeping here. We’re still getting a few beds installed, we aren’t used to having company. Don’t worry about those pumps leaking, we had those grates installed to prevent if from abruptly waking you guys up. Now follow me, back down the stairs.”
“Here’s where most of the workshops and storage areas are. All that silk’s from a few silk spiders we found when the Molerats broke through. We don’t know what we’re going to do with all of it. Woe there’s a lot of vermin down here.” I sighed as I kicked a rat across the room “This here is Bowie, the one in red, he’s our chief of security and master mechanic.” The man stood there silently leaning against the wall “He’s in charge of the ‘Wild Beards’.” Everyone gave him a weird look “You see, a gang called the Wild Beards used to control most of the security back when the Vault was first inhabited. So most of the equipment still has their logo of a crazed Viking on it.”
“We have mines below the Vault, we managed to pierce through the rock in certain places. We hit Gelena, but we have barely scratched it as we don’t need it for anything. There’s also some Antimony laying around, I suppose if we wanted to we could make hard lead. I hear that’s great for bullets. But we have no coal.” Dang it I was rambling again “Anyways, make yourself at home. You can stay here as long as you like.” The group slowly dispersed, mostly towards the food supply, Bowie left the wall and approached me
“Are you sure we should be showing them everything?” He whispered at me “What if they, you know, try something.”
I chuckled, not so much because it was funny, more to keep up the appearance that I disagreed “Come on, we could use a few extra hands.” I said patting him on the shoulder “Now I’m going to go talk to them for a little bit, you go and relax.”
---~---
Sighing he walked off as I headed towards our meager dining room to meet the newcomers “So what brings you guys here anyways?”
One man stood up, grasping a shovel “Name’s Vance, Vance McNeelee.” Or something like that, he muttered it “We are just a scouting party for our caravan.”
“Caravan?” I asked, “like traders? So they‘ll be passing by here right?”
---~---
“Hurry up Kilikan!” I yelled as he ran by me with a log. Those merchants weren’t going to stay out there forever “Anything else we need?” I shot a look at Vance
He ran his finger along his new Vault Jumpsuit, well sort of new, it’s a few dozen years old “Yeah, you need someone to do the trades.” He turned to his side and pointed to a person in the corner of the room “This here’s Rabid Anibus. He’s not very persuasive, but he’s traveled with our caravan for years. He should be able to help you set a price for any of their goods.”
“Wonderful! You’re broker now!” I ran over and slapped him on the shoulder
“Oh and something else.” Vance said, I turned around slowly, still smiling at my good luck “You need something to trade.”
My face dampened “Trade?” I asked glancing around at the barren room “Trade you say?”
His eyes narrowed “Yeah, you have stuff to trade don’t you?”
My eyes widened as I began fumbling through the list, Panic, I ducked away and told the weaver to start making ropes and bags out of the silk. Hopefully that will accept that.
I walked upstairs to great the new arrivals. They were guarded. The merchants had leather jackets on, but switchblades were clearly visible, the mace man guarding them was armed to the teeth. Casually, I lowered my head and ducked away, surely Rabid Anibus could handle them.
Shortly after Rabid Anibus approached me with a mutton in hand. He managed to snipe an Iron bar from them by trading a silk rope, and there was a few pairs of copper low boots that would surely come in handy.
“Yeah yeah Jimlad is making some clay crafts right now. He should be able to glaze them with some ash we got from the vermin to. Hold your horses.” I skillfully skipped the ashen block into the furnace, charcoal was a must.
“Sir!” Bowie cried “We have a problem!”
“Childish games!?” Rabid Anibus yelled “I’m giving you a 34 cap profit and you’re calling me childish!? Are those boots really worth that much to you? They’re just copper boots!” He flung an assortment of trade goods in the air as Bowie drew his bat.
The merchant chuckled “Only 34 caps, Rabid we had an agreement, you were supposed to rob these people blind.”
Bowie grabbed his shoulder “What!?” He lashed out like lightning
“Bowie!” I yelled “Disarm them!” As the guards closed in Bowie’s arm flashed and their weapons left their hands “Grab everything you can!” I yelled at the
Even while laughing the members of the vault scrounged as much as they could off the traders. Even though the guards managed to deal out a few bruises, Bowie managed to subdue most of them. Chaos emerged as hands fluttered, grabbing every scrap of armor and food they could hold onto. In the end, only vegetables, a few scraps of armor, a steel pistol, and a fine crowbar from one of the guards was captured. But it was enough to give Bowie some protection.
---~---
I sat in my office, the screams of stealing were still echoing through my head as I typed my thoughts down into the terminal. I looked outside my office, out there, the depot now had several bangs and scratches from the guard’s constant swinging. Vance intercepted my line of sight as he walked in.
“I suppose I should thank you.” I said standing up “For not robbing us that is.”
“Eh no problem, truth be told I was getting tired of the caravan business anyhow.” He pulled out a couple shot glasses and a bottle of freshly brewed beer “It’s about time I settled down you know.”
I grabbed the half empty glass “Well thanks again.” I said taking a sip “Listen, next time these badies show up…”
“Oh they ain’t that bad.” he said “Okay, that caravan was a tad picky, but most of the Waste Landers can be quite nice. Don’t knock them until they’re in your doors.”
“Oh…” I muttered “Well when they do show up again I want a better military. I need troops. Anyone in your gang have combat experience?”
He shook his head “We’re scouts, we were sent out because if we got caught, there’d be a body to mark where the danger was.” He took a sip “But I should be able to convince a few of my lad‘s to join the Weird Beards.”
I smiled “Thanks Vance.”
Paul Mitchells and Nix have been drafted. Neither of them have military skills. But they’re training right now. We didn't get that much from the caravan. But Bowie has some protection. We still need weapons for both Nix and Mitchells.
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Topic: Deadiron A Corrosion Succession Game (Read 41639 times)