MISSION: BAD COMPANY, PART 2

[ximilian]

● ● ● M I S S I O N   4 . 2

INTRO • THE DREAM DEFERRED • YOUR WAKE UP CALL • FYI

// INTRO. WELFORD BRANSON  

It is barely past twilight in Scorpion’s Bend, the twin suns having just set, taking their light with them — but the moons delay, and so darkness lingers over the town as Lan Xichen’s conversation with one Welford Branson comes to an abrupt end. At the same time, all around the town, the team will notice the town natives around them stilling — some freezing in the middle of a sentence, a man with a fork in the air, a woman mid-step on the street, some youngsters with their mouths open in laughter. All of them become statues in less than a heartbeat; still, eyes vacant, like everything that made them seem alive has been taken away.

And then — a reverberating sigh, echoing heavily in the ears of all the Orbers. What follows are words, spoken by a chorusing voice now familiar to most of the team —

“Well now you’ve done it.”

The orb’s echoing sound is filled with disappointment, even annoyance.

Some may see that amidst all the frozen townspeople, an old man runs, clawing at his thinning hair. Some of you may hear his words, muttered, desperate:

“I don't understand, I thought 'twas just a bad dream, everyone was fine, don't understand, what in the name of the Eight could've done somethin' like this —”

The disbelieving mumbles trail at his wake, making it clear he does not know what is going on at all — in fact, you may have a better idea as to what has happened than he does. But as you turn to follow him, open your mouth to yell at him to stop... everything around you shatters.

The lights in the buildings grow dim and break; the smell of food disappears; the horses in the stables simply fade away. You notice that if you were wearing or carrying something you bought while here, it too disappears, your clothes turning to those you had on upon arrival, all equipment shimmering away slowly.

But perhaps most importantly… the frozen statues of people crumble into ash right in front of you. It may fill the floors of the now-silent, dusty and worn-down houses, or it may blow away with the harsh desert wind — whichever it is, sans the team, the town of Scorpion’s Bend is now devoid of people.

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// PART I.THE DREAM DEFERRED  

The town that now surrounds the team is very different from the one it used to be — the houses are quiet, filled with sand and dust; doors broken, tables turned over, drawers open and mostly empty, aside from anything not valuable. The beds in Thornbush Inn are ragged, insects of various sizes skittering along the floors. The Saloon is dusty, furniture broken, and a lone piano stands in the corner, half its keys having crumbled away. The door to the Mayor’s office is ajar, a banging sound repeating as it hits the wall in time with the wind.

1.0   In the corners of the Sheriff’s office, the school and the church, the embera slither along, searching for food; owl-shrews hide from the Orbers on the streets, while feathered coyotes howl at the five moons now lending their light to see the town’s destruction better. The team may be the only living humanoids, but they are not the only living beings in the town anymore; in the absence of people, animals have made the town their home. And coexist they must, now, to survive the rapidly dropping temperature of the night that has fallen upon them.

2.0   The next morning, as the moons disappear underneath the horizon and let the two suns bring out their scorching rays once more, the team wakes up to the reality of having to survive Scorpion’s Bend… with very little supplies. So search the empty houses, for they still stand; the fire that has burned away the people has not touched the buildings… but they have not been immune to the passing of time, or the harsh weather in the desert. You may find clothing, basic equipment, pots and pans left on a now-cold stove; but no valuables, no money, no gems, no jewelry, no weapons.

But amidst your search through the town, remember that what you need, first and foremost, is to find water and something to eat — it will not be long until the suns are high in the sky, and some of you are already in desperate need of proper nourishment, without being left to endure the scorching temperatures the days on the planet of Badrock bring.

3.0   But should you want to brave the heat, you’ll find it is now possible to leave the town and venture out into the desert. Out there, the rock dragons search for prey, while bald vultures circle above your head in groups of three or four, their shrieks growing in volume the farther you walk. If you show weakness, any weakness, they strike — and the dragons, sensing their chance, are not far behind.

And when you least expect it, the ground underneath you trembles, like a small earthquake is approaching you… and then you see it: from the sand, a whale surges up, then another, and another, arcing through the air like suspended there, before the sand swallows them once more. Should you get too close, you too may be swallowed underneath the sand; unless you’re very, very careful, or have in your arsenal something else that may help you to deal with these near-immortal giants that have swam across the deserts for hundreds of thousands of years.

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// PART II.YOUR WAKE UP CALL  

Time passes at a snail’s pace without the comforts of the town you were used to. Scorpion’s Bend is now a wasteland you must survive, and it clearly isn’t easy. Some of you might question whether retrieving the orb is still an endeavour worth pursuing after all of this, but the rest of you know that it is. That you’ve come this far and you’re nearly there; you just need to band together and form a gameplan.

As the suns begin to set over the horizon on yet another grueling day of scorching heat and rough, dry sand in the ghost town of Scorpion’s Bend, you might begin to hear a distant thunder that has nothing to do with an oncoming desert storm or otherwise. It rattles at the already weakened structures of the old Saloon and the General Store, bits of broken glass and debris vibrating with the raucous sound of clattering hooves, feet, and paws. And as the sound of the invasion grows louder – you’ll hear the unmistakable manic howling and bellowing in accompaniment: these are the Bouldersnakes that some of you have already heard much of.

4.0   The Bouldersnakes are not a group to be taken lightly, and have garnered the fearsome reputation that they now hold for a reason. Kicking up dust, they arrive like a cloud of chaos in different sizes, shapes, and forms. Some have the ability to shrink and grow in size to match their opponents in physical size and weight. Other Bouldersnakes are agile and quick; and others yet are superhumanly strong and robust – either way, they make for formidable opponents when you, yourself, have been weakened from weeks of a lack of proper nutrition and sleep. The individual members of the Bouldersnakes are like a band of bloodthirsty brothers: from all walks of life and all colours and creeds, with a severe and mean streak to them, who will stop at nothing to achieve their goals.

What goals, you ask? Should you listen carefully, their leader, riding a winged lizard-like creature, shouts to their underlings:

“Find it! This is where it told us to come to. We missed it last time, but no more! I don't care what we have to do, we're getting our hands on that thing!”

As it so happens, you are not the only crew in search of that elusive orb; the Bouldersnakes have been tracking down the whereabouts of this mysterious and all-powerful object themselves, burning through towns – quite literally – to get it. News that Scorpion’s Bend has seen a resurgence of life and might still be the resting place of the orb has the bandits seeking out the town again. Their first round through Scorpion's Bend about a year ago had them coming up empty-handed (save for a few bits and baubles), but this time they are determined to find what they've come here to find. Though if there’s anything left here to salvage... they’ll ransack as they please.

Whether you confront them head-on or they catch you in hiding, they won’t easily back down from a fight. It will be best to keep your distance if you can manage it, and hope that they’ll pass you by. But the Bouldersnakes have their weaknesses too: once maimed, they still bleed, and none of them are immortal, though they are notoriously difficult to kill based on their talents alone... and when they carry weapons, too, well — those not accustomed to battles may find it best to hide. And even for those with fighting experience under your belt, teaming up with your fellow Orbers and combining your shared skills will be your best chance at survival.

5.0   By the time the suns have disappeared and the moons have risen, the Bouldersnakes invasion will make the bandit attack from the other night seem like a childish tussle. The Bouldersnakes don’t play nice and have adapted to the harsh lands as ruthless survivors. They arrive like a wave, many equipped with weapons: guns, sabers, pistols and small knives. A few others have engineered their own specially crafted weapons made of metal and magic (in the shape of guns, blow-torches, and blades) that wield a special element harnessed from mined ore called ‘pulsefire’. It is this pulsefire, glowing a deep blue (like the hottest colour of flame), that has the capability to destroy all living beings and allows the bandits to systematically ravage unsuspecting towns down to ash, reap its benefits (either for the town’s riches and wealth, or and especially: for any supply of ore), and then leave without a trace.

The best way to fight against pulsefire is to acquire weapons of pulsefire of your own and best a Bouldersnake before they best you. (Think high stakes, noon-time duels of the pistol.) Of course, this is a very risky and very dangerous affair as one shot by pulsefire could mean your untimely demise and the element itself isn't easy to put out either, so it might be best to work in teams to strategically disarm and swipe a pulsefire weapon to use before they manage to overwhelm you.

NOTE:   If your character is alive, your character will be vulnerable to the effects of pulsefire. Unliving things such as buildings and infrastructure will not be affected. Pulsefire has a slow spread-rate over unliving things, but its effects on the living are instant. Once in contact with the element, pulsefire quickly consumes the living body and spirit until it is turned to ash. Putting pulsefire out over unliving things is relatively easy, but once pulsefire has touched the living, there's little to no chance of making it out in one piece.

All through this, you must still remember your goal — it is not to stay in Scorpion's Bend, or even fight the Bouldersnakes, but to find the orb... and that means finding Welford Branson. How will you convince him to give you the orb, when all signs point to him not even knowing what it is, or what it has done? That is what you must decide... if you survive the Bouldersnakes in one piece, of course.

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F Y I

• The events in this log take place ICly right after the end of the NPC thread.

• The voting for how to get the orb is now open! Please head HERE to submit your idea for how the team should proceed to get the orb, or +1 others’ ideas.

• The conclusion of the mission and the return to the station will be posted on February 13.

• If you have questions about anything in this log, please direct them HERE.

• And finally, your soundtrack for this log: ♪ ♪ ♪

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▶ NAV

Comments

[aurable]

[ One of those strange lights slashing in the vehicle's cabin is Drift's black box being flicked on. Just at the right moment, the ordinarily self-possessed Darkling lets out what could charitable be called a shout but had veered dangerously into the territory of a squeak.

The tiny, albeit petty victory, was short-lived, however. No sooner had Drift caught the dent in the Darkling's equanimity had the formed grabbed his gear shift in a blind panic. Yanking it into park and painfully grinding the transmission and Drift himself to a stuttering stall that sends him fish-tailing.

Good old 'Borislav' abruptly makes an appearance, suddenly leaning between the front seats from the back. Grabbing the Darkling's shoulders and trying to pry him off from whatever he might have latched onto now. ]

Did you seriously grab my gear shift?! Let go, or you're going to make us crash!

[cruelyethuman]

[Lips pressed together in a bloodless line slashed across his face, the Darkling turns his head slowly, the shadows in the backseat slithering closer and the darkness inside the car is almost stifling as it crowds closer around them.

But, very slowly, he released his white-knuckled grip on the - gear shift and blinks.]

I will give you three seconds to explain before I put an end to this.

[The scream that ripped out of his throat almost forgotten as he speaks, the timber of his voice betraying none of the terror that beats in his heart at this sudden development but he does bring his hands together, the darkness undulating between his palms.]

[aurable]

[ The man behind the Darkling looks almost mildly annoyed the growing dark coiling around him in a transparent threat. ]

We're moving at 120 kilometers per hour, [ Drift intones, ] The only thing you'll put an end to is the connection between your neck and spin.

[ 'Drift' the human settled back into the seat and the gear shift moves back into position on its own accord. ]

You're inside me. Buy me dinner next time.

[cruelyethuman]

[The sneer sneaks on to his face during that, because nothing moved that fast- except this isn't Ravka, and the rules he grew up with no longer apply to most of the situations he finds himself in and second, this- person, clearly didn't know just what he was capable of.

That wasn't an issue.

The second sentence is, though.]

What?

[That was a strangely intimate way of putting what ever the hell this was, and he looks around, eyes narrowed and hands fisting in to the fabric of his own trousers.]

Inside- [The blinking lights, the desert flying past the window, the thrum of something powerful and almost humming underneath him.] Can you feel it?

[aurable]

For once, can you just listen to someone actually older than you? I'm trying to help.

[ Drift didn't need to read minds to follow the facial journey the Darkling was going through as the armor of his smug incredulity was being chipped away by the unreality of his situation. A pang of sympathy almost managed to get a foothold. ]

Yes, [ He pointedly doesn't elaborate. ] Keep that in mind the next time you go mindlessly grabbing anything else.

[cruelyethuman]

[The urge to stick his hand out to feel the glossy metal against the palm of his hand vanishes like smoke, thick and acrid and all gone now as he listens. The rumble of an engine, the likes he can't even comprehend, and the tires eating up the distance and the dirt outside of the windows.]

Age doesn't equal wisdom.

[A snide remark, as he's still too distracted by the surroundings to pay much attention.]

This is faster than any horse I've ever been on...

[The world is almost a blur of motion as he looks out, feet braced against the foot well-] Where is your brain right now?

[aurable]

Horses again. [ Drift muttered under his breath with the same exacerbation of someone who had heard the same inside joke one too many times. Dirt and small rocks kick up in his undercarriage, adding a tinny racket to the white noise of his engines. They were making good distance, but Drift would eventually need to double back around. ]

Do you always demonstrate your wisdom by being a snide pain in the ass? Here —

[ Drift doesn't wait for an answer as he reaches across the seat. Before the Darkling could protest, Drift is pulling the seatbelt out with a soft metallic slide from its retractor. Once buckled in with a final click, Drift tests the give of the strap across the Darkling's chest before sitting back. ]

I can't have you breaking your neck. And why would I tell you that?

[cruelyethuman]

What?

[The near-strangling sensation of being tied down. Wrapped in the black straps that Drift pulls down across his chest and his hands unclench against his thighs as the shadows build, fluid and deepening, in the foot-well of the car.]

You already have my attention- [as he leans forward, twisting in the narrow seat and the straps follow until he jerks too fast and it tightens around his stomach.] You will regret this.

[The blade of shadows fill the gab between the palms of his hands and the small compartment shakes with the sound of distant thunder, his Small Science sizzling underneath his skin as they hit a pothole in the sandy road and he's thrown forward, caught on the seatbelt as the darkness dispatches.]

Why are you not making any sense.