Lords of the Water Mark

A bit flustered from the encounter in the shop, Wiggles was chattering incessantly as Howard strolled the streets for the small wasteland town. Having nearly cinched his transactions with the guard, and therefore in the plus as far as caps are concerned, he steadied his gaze on the nearest bar. He would absolutely love a stiff drink after his day of successful business transactions and exploding doors. He'd also love a bath, but that might have to wait for a little bit.
Walking into the bar, the first thing Howard noticed was a ghoul sitting silently with his drink, accompanied by the gaze of every single patron. Feeling guilty for staring, Howard figured he at least owed his presence beside the ghoul. Plus, people tend to pay more attention to a supermutant covered in soot with a guinea pig on his shoulder. He could feel the bar's atmosphere change as soon as he took his first step.
Sitting down, Howard readied his notepad;
I can't talk. Can you read?
The barkeeper nodded, and then unfortunately caught the gaze of Wiggles.
Don't move. He's testing you.
Howard whistled sharply and Wiggles calmed down.
Two shots for me, Nuka Cola for the guinea pig.
Howard put a bowl out on the bar, and Wiggles hopped onto the adjacent stool. After pouring the Cola for Wiggles, Howard downed both shots. He then passed a note over to the ghoul with an arrow pointing at himself;
<--- Howard
edit= ok, I didn't read a post pertaining to what was going on in the bar. Sorry guys.

 

"Hell's bloody bells!" Liz snatched up the supplies the apothecary had managed to gather and dropped a few caps on the counter. "I'll be back later for the rest."

She half-ran to keep up with the little girl, glancing over her shoulder once to see if John and his... well, whatever the heck that crazy-ass pet of his was... were following her. She might need someone with steady hands, and so far the man seemed fairly together.

As soon as she saw the man she got to work, checking his vitals and quickly making her diagnosis. "Bad case of dehydration, worst I've seen in a long time. I need to get his heart rate up and rehydrate him, fast."

She reached into her newly restocked pouch and pulled out a strong stimulant.

 

I saw that Liz half-ran to keep up with the little girl. After that, I rose quickly from my comfortable chair, and threw my cigarette on the ground. “Sam, we have to follow Liz and the little girl. It could be possible that she need our help." I said.

On the way to the little girl's house, I saw that Liz glanced over her shoulder once to see if Sam and I were following her.

After awhile we came to a wooden house in the middle in the settlement. Inside, Liz began to check his vitals and quickly making her diagnosis. ” Bad case of dehydration, worst I have seen in a long time. I need to get his heart rate up and rehydrate him, fast." She said and reached into her newly restocked pouch and pulled out a strong stimulant.

While she was working on the strong stimulant, I took out my flask. With a drop of water, I made the lips of the man wet. Not too much. That is because too much water is fatal for those who have a bad case of dehydration.

” Can you hear me, Simon?” I asked.

 

Fucking useless wastelander punks. Too weak even to handle one single fucking ghoul in a barbrawl. No wonder the Brotherhood never had any problem with those incompetent monkeys; noone outside the Brotherhood knew how to fight anyway. Except for the muties, of course. But those fuckers cheated, what with their boosted physicality and all that shit. No, the only real men around were found amongst his brothers. Former brothers now, though. Even they had grown soft. Even they had forgotten that the only sensible reply to mutation was extermination. Harry sighed.

If you want something done, you gotta do it yourself, right? he said to nobody in particular, and got up from his chair. He quickly finished his drink, nodded to the bartender, and went out the front doors.

 

Howard stared about the bar as the ghoul walked out.
Funny...he thought,I didn't notice how run down this place was when I walked in here. That must've been the noise I heard...must be the heat.
The last time Howard was in a bar this wrecked, he was asked kindly to take Wiggles and get the fuck out of town. Good thing Wiggles calmed down since then. It would probably be better to simply fund the bar's repairs by buying a few more shots...and he'd get a beer for Wiggles this time.
He looked down at the super guinea pig.
Wheeek! Wheeeek...!
Oh, great...he looks really hungry now. And his food is...
In the desert. During treks through the wasteland, Wiggles will sleep for days at a time, waking only during emergencies. Apparently, Howard forgot to pack his food the last time he set off, which was about three days ago. Things could get pretty interesting with a hungry rodent at his side. The only thing to do during times like these is to act calm, and make sure noone surprises the pig. A beer will calm him down, for sure, but Howard needs his wits about him if he's going to find food. Just one more shot ought to do it.

 

Bastard sonofabitch! Harry bellowed as he limped through the now ruined front door, one hand covering his bleeding eye. If he hadn't been wo he was, he would've been very fucking dead by now. But, having been one of the Brotherhoods most skilled (and definetly the most enthusiastic) mutie-killers, he'd picked up a few things along the way that gave him the ability to survive ambushes like the one he'd just experianced.

Normally, he would beat his target mutie up real good before sending them on to whatever lied in store for them on the other side, but not today. The fucker in front of him could still have tricks up his sleeve. So, without another word, he drew the handcannon from its holster on his right hip and gave the ghoul in front of him the "mercy"shot. The muties head exploded in both green and red goo, spraying an unfortunate customer with slime.

What can I say, said Harry and holstered the gun, You gotta shoot 'em in the head.

 

This isn't good. I have a hungry guinea pig and another cowboy with guns ablaze...this one seems a bit crazy.
Howard had a decent buzz going, and Wiggles' stomach was audible. Wiggles pounced at the ghoul, teeth gnashing. Howard was embarrassed, because now the whole bar knew exactly what kind of monster was keeping up residence on the shoulder of the soot-covered mutant who walked into town.
Wheek!
Well...at least he'll be a little more quiet from now on.
Howard stepped from the barstool and gathered Wiggles, who in seconds had eaten his fill. He quickly left the bar, not wanting to attract further attention, and after seeing the eyes of the man who shot the ghoul...
Things just got a bit more interesting in town. I'm definitely going to need my new weapons with this nutter around.

 

“Can you hear me, Simon?” I asked again. He tried to talk, but there only came some mumbling words out of him. “Will he be alright?” the little girl asked. ” Of course, he is in the save hands of Liz now.” I told her.

Liz looked up from what she was doing, and said ” Alright John, now hold his arms and legs real tight, so that I can give him the strong stimulant.” I stood up; hold his arms and legs very tight, while she gave him the strong stimulant.

“It’s good to see that you both came to help this poor man. “ I looked up, and saw a beautiful blond woman in a blue dress (who bears a strong resemblance to the little girl.) walking down the wooden stairs.

“That‘s just our job. Mrs.?” I said. “I am Sandra, mother of Cathy, and wife of Gregory. My husband Greg and his brother Dave found the poor man next to one of those pools, contaminated by the radiation. “ she answered back.

“Yes, luckily for him, he did not drink from it, or he would have died from the radiation.” said Greg.

“Tell him about the weird camel you saw, daddy?” asked Cathy.

 

"Camel?"

The effects of the stimulant had brought her patient's heartbeat up to a normal pace and his breathing was growing steadier by the moment. She would let him sleep now, and let his own body finish the job. He was strong, he'd make it now.

 

Now that does sound interesting, mister. But I've just had my eye cut out by this here dead fucker, see, Harry said and kicked the ghouls squishy corpse, and I've got to do something about it before I bleed to death. Stick around and I promise I'll get back to you later. Ok? Ok.

As interesting as the mans half-stated proposal had sounded, Harry was simply in no position to be standing about, chatting along with the patrons of the establishment he was currently in. No, hed had to stop the bleeding right away if he wanted to stay alive (which he did). He also had to get something for the pain. Maybe Med-X.

An idea came to his head.

He suddenly turned to a man staring down into his until recently slime-free drink, a man who looked quite disturbed, and walked up to him. You're the chem dealer, right? he said. Sorry about he drink, friend, but I'll tell you what. I'll buy you a new one if you take me to that nice little store of yours and sell me some med-x right away, ok?

 

He was right about the wound, of course. The improvised bandage Harry'd managed to come up with during the short period when he and the chem dealer (or was it junky?) wouldn't quite cut it if he wanted to stop the bleeding permanently. But the Med-x would help with the pain until he could find someone to stich him up.

So you kill mutants for a living? the dealer suddenly asked.

Not really, no, Harry responded, Although I would if enough people payed enough money to have those mishaps wiped. Right now, it's more like a... hobby of mine.

When they got back to the bar, Harry bought the dealer the drink he'd promised, bade his farewells and sought out the other fellow who'd had something interesting to say about some mutant or other. That didn't take long, now did it? Harry said as he settled down in front of the man, Now what was it that you wanted to tell me?

 

“Ah, yes. “ He turned his head towards his wife, and told her to give them some privacy.

” Cathy, dear, shall we go and play with Suzy? Your daddy needs to speak with these people in private. “ She took the child by her hand, and led her into the kitchen. “Oh...mom. I don‘t want to...” I heard coming from the kitchen.

” Sorry about this, but I think it is better for them. Now please take a seat.” and point us to the red couch. While we sat down, and Sam took his place next to it, Greg walked to the liquor cabinet. I could see that this cabinet dated back from the pre-war. He opened it, and took some glasses and a bottle of whiskey from it. ” Do you want something to drink? I do have a fine whiskey. “ He asked us.

” Yes. I would like to have a whiskey, but without any ice or water, please. “ I told him.

” Do you want to drink some whiskey, Doctor?" Greg asked Liz.

 

"I won't say no," Liz said quietly. She could feel the shadows under her eyes developing already, and she knew that once word got around that a doctor was in town, she wouldn't get the chance for a drink for quite some time. It was the price she paid for her talents.

She took the drink with an appreciative smile and leaned against the nearest wall to hear Greg's story.