Lords of the Water Mark

Discussion in 'Roleplaying Forum' started by Wolfsbane, Dec 19, 2009.

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  1. Wolfsbane

    Wolfsbane Well-Known Member

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    Heh, you don't need to ask twice, mister, Harry said with a broad smile on his face, I'm most definetly in. Just point me in the direction of those mutie punks and this'll be over before you can say, well, anything.

    He turned towards the bar and raised two fingers. Hey, barkeep, he half-shouted, two more whisky over here! We've got some celebrating to do! After all, he said in a lower, kind of smug voice, it's not everyday you get an opportunity like this.
     
  2. The_Bob

    The_Bob Administrator Staff Member

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    "Alrighty then..." Kyle said welcoming the whiskey. "Here's how we're going to hunt the green skinned bastards..." He pulled a little switchblade and started carving the bar, a tad below the 'ALL MUTANS MST DIE' sign. "Say we're over here..." he carved a tall triangle with a few lines at the peak, the windmill on the Atlantis, "Scrapwater was five days to to the east" he carved a cross to the right, a little arrow pointing north next to it... "Now it may seem that once someone's three days into the wasteland, going somewhere, it would be hard to tell where they'd end up before reaching the destination... Especially when there's no roads between. Not so in this case..." he was carving a curved line between the two landmarks "...There's a little creek to the west of Scrapwater, they likely went through it to take advantage of the shadow in the afternoon. I heard somewhere that it's from a big airship that crashed there during the war."...he finished drawing lines along the creek, where the shadows were when the sun was in the west." If they're not at the crater beyond the creek, they should be here"...Kyle carved a little house, near the windmill mark..."in the ruins just east of here... Probably camping near where the city hall was, there's still some walls left of it, so they're likely to seek the shadow there." Kyle stuck the knife in the little house. The writing above the makeshift map added to the message.

    "We leave just before sundown, on my bike - easier to scout them from a distance when you can go 60mph. We attack at night because Jim is sure to wear a welder mask during the day." Kyle took another sip of the whiskey "that gives us two hours to get ready... Make sure that eye's patched up tight and get yourself some welder goggles. You'll need them when the flash bombs go off, we get about 40sec of fucking solar flare" He finished his drink. "I'll go prep the bike"
     
  3. Grossenschwamm

    Grossenschwamm Well-Known Member

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    It was time. Howard had all of his wares ready, and the guard, before paying out, needed a proper product demonstration. Wiggles waited patiently on the ground, having recently eaten his fill of ghoul.
    Two suits of metal armor with dead geckos inside, one the guard's standard and one Howard's, sat out in the firing range, ready to be tested.
    He handed out two notes;
    I call this weapon APG040-Ambiance. The armor is hand-made by me, out of an alloy I invented.
    Ambiance is a semi-automatic grenade launcher that fires specially made 40mm rounds packed with high explosives and Howard's armor piercing alloy, and comes equipped with a revolving five round drum.
    The grenade fired at the standard metal armor perforated the surface with red-hot shrapnel and launched the gecko 30 feet back.
    Howard's face had an expression that seemed to say, "Now, watch this..."
    The second grenade hit Howard's armor dead on and exploded, launching the second gecko 30 feet as well, but all that was on this armor were some dents and scratches.
    W-wow! W-what else you got?
    Howard smiled and brought out a shotgun and displayed three different shells, along with a third note;
    These rounds are pretty unique. There's armor-piercing flechette rounds, explosive speed-sensitive slugs, and bean bags.
    Howard fired each round at the standard armor first, then his armor.
    More geckos were put into the firing range. The explosive round hit the standard armor, went through it and exploded into the gecko, while just glancing off of Howard's armor and exploding feet away. The flechette round obviously put more holes into the standard armor and dented Howard's, and the beanbag was simply fired at an unarmored guard, who was thoroughly winded.
    The final note read;
    With my armor and weapons alone, you should be able to face down just about any threat to your town.
    Howard made sure before the demonstration that there were enough parts to equip the guards, and he ended up in the plus. That meant he could keep some scrap for later use in repairs or to make something new.
     
  4. Wolfsbane

    Wolfsbane Well-Known Member

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    You go do that, Harry said and finished his own drink, I'll see you here in a bit then, amigo.

    He got up from his chair and went into town. Since he had stolen some gear from the armory before he'd been kicked out of the Brotherhood, the welders glasses issue was already taken care of. His wasn't really made for the purpose of welding, though, but the protection was about the same, if not better. Finding a doctor to patch him up would, however, be a problem. Little shitty settlements like this one seldomly had anything such to offer, and Harry for one had no reason to think higher of this place. But today, he'd be proven wrong.

    Picking a house at random, he went through the front door and into a room, happening to find what apparently was a medic, of sorts, patching up a rather dehydrated fellow.

    Hello there, doc, he said instantly, I could use some help with this. Got any time for an old war veteran?
     
  5. Xiao_Caity

    Xiao_Caity New Member

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    "What the hell did you do, head-butt a knife-rack?" Liz asked, already searching through her bag for some antiseptic. "This is going to hurt like buggery."

    She poured the antiseptic over the warrior's face (you really couldn't miss the type once you'd been around the block a few times), and as soon as she was convinced that the eye would heal if protected, she carefully stitched up the wounds around it and applied a pad of gauze over the entire area with tape.

    "You might want to get a patch for that. Air it for at least an hour a day, and come find me if it gets infected."
     
  6. The_Bob

    The_Bob Administrator Staff Member

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    Caleb was a good man, strong and honest. He was also dumb as a rock and ugly enough to make most people think he caught a shrapnel in the head as a kid. Truth being, he was just that ugly, and borderline retarded. With a heavy grimace of concentration, he helped Kyle lift a bulky cell out of the sidecar. It was a hi-capacity battery, supposedly a backup power supply used in pre-war bunkers. It helped preserve microfusion cells, which cost a lot more then recharging that big fucker - whenever electricity was available. Cubic in shape and almost two feet in each direction, the two men barely managed to lift it clear of the solid mount it sat in. They put it in a wooden cart that stood next to the bike, already loaded with parts that attached the battery to the frame. Now there was room for two. Truth was, it took some bargaining to arrange this help, and have Caleb look over Kyle's things while he was away - in return, the Atlantis would suck electricity out of the cell, providing the clientèle with cold beer. On a hot day like this, the profits generated by that commodity were almost scary.

    With backup power removed, the bike was going to run straight off the microfusion cells. The mass difference wasn't much of an improvement, as the battery weighted about as much as a well built man. Kyle was in a small cellar, hooking up the cell to the Atlantis' transformer, the one that the wind generator used on normal days, when Caleb grunted and went off to take a leak. With a spark and a few cracks, the boombox was hooked up and after the knobs were set up right, radiostation was ready to use.

    A quick report, change of plans, the mark will be dealt with tonight. Confirmed. This employer was an oddball - communicating on pre-war military frequencies and always someone listening on their side. And the signal quality was just too good for a custom radio like his. Must be genuine military hardware, maybe a vault somewhere ? He already ruled out the brotherhood, he was the one who told them that somebody wearing power armor got killed in Scrapwater. And they were genuinely concerned too. Mercs ? Another BoS ? Caleb was back.

    "All done. I'll go tell the boss he's good for another day, you stay here and don't touch anything" Kyle instructed, emphasizing the last part. "Sure thhing, boomboss !"

    The bike still hasn't cooled off from the sun earlier today. Neither did Kyle, but it was time to gear up. The tools of his trade were too subtle for this mission, so he had to stick with the sawn-off shotgun, flashbombs and the Stinger. He dumped the gear in the sidecar, along with a shotgun ammo belt and three flashbombs, and covered it up with weathered material he found in the cellar.

    That didn't take too long. Having about an hour left, he wandered back into the bar and ordered a cold one... It was on the house, of course. He ran his finger across the map he etched..."Where the fuck are, Jimmy...?" He murmured, when he heard the explosions echoing across the dunes. "Weapons tests!" Stopped him the barkeep 'the guards are up to something, relax" Kyle gave him an surprised look "Think I haven't noticed?" The bald man looked like he was about to give a lecture, "You came in here two days ago and have been on edge ever since. You really think some thing's coming huh?" Kyle downed a heavy gulp of piss-flavored beer... or was it the other way around...? "You heard my story." "Yeah, twice now, and I ain't leaving because of some rumor. We've had worse things come our way you know." There was moment of pause, Kyle running his finger around the house landmark "Thing is, it may be worse then what the rumors say. I've never had such a bad feeling about a job."
     
  7. Jungle Japes

    Jungle Japes Well-Known Member

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    The Mysterious Stranger watched as the merc, nursing a freshly bandaged eye, emerged from the house and staggered down the street muttering curses under his breath. Once the merc rounded the corner, the Stranger dropped his cigarette, ground it under his boot heel and stepped from the shadows.

    As he strode across the street, he produced two identical revolvers from under his long black coat. He reached the house and, without slowing, kicked the door in. Five startled faces greeted his icy gaze as he stepped inside.

    "Hello chum." he said, looking at John over the sights of one revolver. "Still playing Holmes and Watson with that talking fleabag of yours? Well the game's up Clark. There's just no place in this wasteland for the likes of you. Consider this case... closed."

    As both revolvers discharged in tandem, Liz squeezed her eyes shut. For a moment, she thought she must be dead, but as the ringing in her ears began to subside, she forced her eyes to reopen.

    The Stranger was gone, and she didn't need her extensive medical knowledge to tell her that John and Sam were dead. It was written all over the walls, freshly painted with blood and brain matter.
     
  8. Jungle Japes

    Jungle Japes Well-Known Member

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    Junky Jake awoke with a start at the sound of gunfire. He peered out of the trunk of the decaying limousine he called home. The sun was low in the western sky, bathing the street in red-orange light. Jake thought he saw a dark figure walking quickly away from the... the... fuck. What were their names again? Aw, fuck it... the house up the street where those people lived. Fuck the names. He fumbled in the dark for his glasses, but by the time he got them on his face, the figure was gone. "Oh well. Probably nobody I want anything to do with. Fuckin' hoodlums, shootin' up the place." he mumbled. Can't a guy sleep in peace around here? FUCK!

    Jake usually slept till sundown, not emerging from the trunk till the heat of the day was past. But since he was awake now- "FUCKIN' HOODLUMS!" -he figured he may as well start drinking early. He opened the trunk all the way, stood up and stretched. His aging joints creaked and popped, signaling the start of his morning (or rather, evening) ritual: Shut down the air conditioner, light a cigarette, piss in the purifier, get dressed, take a swig of moonshine followed by a glass of hot purified piss, load up the toolbag (an old golf club bag with an assortment of smaller bags strapped to it), lock up the limo, head to the bar.

    "Today's gonna be a fuckin' banner day, I can already fuckin' tell."

    Later, he would make his rounds and try to juice another day of functionality out of the few working machines around town, already well beyond their intended life-spans. But that was later. Now it was time to drink.
     
  9. Wolfsbane

    Wolfsbane Well-Known Member

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    Harry cursed heavily as he walked down the street towards the bar. His eye hurt like a bitch in spite of the med-x, and the gauze was a pain in the ass as it was in his fucking way whenever he tried to talk or frown or even fucking breathe. He was used to injuries, like most of his brothers, but he'd obviously never lost an eye before and the experience was worse than he'd imagined. To make a long story short, he didn't look very happy when he stumbled through the now ruined front door of the bar.

    Hello there, amigo, he said and sat down next to his 'employer', I'm back. Got lucky and found a doc first place I looked. Ain't that something?

    He was almost about to order up a whiskey out of sheer reflex when he remembered that he really didn't need any more alcohol on top of all the whiskey he'd already drunk today, coupled with the chems he'd recently taken. So he let his half-raised hand fall idly to his side and instead turned back to Kyle. So, he asked, when're we going?
     
  10. The_Bob

    The_Bob Administrator Staff Member

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    "Right about now" Said Kyle, bringing the bottle up to the light, unbelieving that it was empty so soon. "Let's go." He got up, got stopped by the barkeep "Hey, boombox...! It's time to pay up!" a broad smile shined behind the bar "Take today's death toll to the desert, will ya ?" Kyle turned, irritated by the proposal "Can't spare the juice, I'm running fusion now. They ain't worth it." "At least take the green-skinned bastard... He stinks all the way to here !" "Deal." Kyle dived into the corner between the bar and the outside wall, a chain ringing as he was digging it out from a pile of trash. The barkeep lifted a large cowboy hat that hung above the bar, revealing a rusty meat hook. It was through a bullet hole in the hat. The door shut behind Kyle as he went off to the bike. A set of cold, murderous eyes gazed at harry, shining from underneath the hat. Rather unexpectedly, hiding the balding head brought the barkeep back a couple of years, producing a shade that emphasized the unshaven, collapsed cheeks of his long face... The grin of a war criminal shined in the shadow, a mass murderer, a child killer... He tossed Harry the meat hook and set the hat on the bar. "Don't make him wait on you...!" He'd never look the same to Harry.

    Kyle had already anchored the chain to the bike, tossed it in the direction of the outhouse. He noticed the look in Harry's eye. "The hat...? Yeah, I wonder sometimes just who the fuck is he..." He pointed the outhouse "that's where they stacked the bodies, the ghoul should be next to the raiders..."

    In fact, the ghoul's dead body was laying a fair distance from the rest. The raiders were covered by a blood stained cloth, weighted down by stones, while the mutant lay face down in a puddle of piss, some ragged mutt chewing on his guts. As harry advanced, the dog coughed several times, puked ghoulsih goo all over the body and died on the spot.
     
  11. Xiao_Caity

    Xiao_Caity New Member

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    Liz wiped blood from her hands with a damp cloth, grumbling to herself. No rest from the wicked indeed. She left the now comfortably sleeping priest with the family who had found him and entered the town proper, debating her next move. She could go back to the apothecary and pick up the rest of her supplies... or she could find the bar and get a drink.

    Stupid question.

    She sauntered into the town and instantly noticed the weird atmosphere. It was the calm before the storm, or, in this case, the frantic preparations before a battle. She hailed the nearest guard with her special voice, the one she'd developed to make people behave when she was working on them.

    "What the hell? Is there going to be a fight or something?"
     
  12. Grossenschwamm

    Grossenschwamm Well-Known Member

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    Howard wandered around the rapidly darkening settlement, searching for a place to bed down for the night. It had been a long, hot day, and now that he had some extra caps in his pocket, he figured he should at least get some semblance of bed rest...in an actual bed. Besides, Wiggles had been acting funny ever since he ate some of that ghoul on the floor of the bar.
    Howard looked a wiggles and thought,
    Sometimes, you can be really stupid, little buddy...
    Wiggles looked at Harry like he heard the thought and made a gurgling noise in protest.
    Howard looked around town and found what looked like a flop house. He went inside and was met with a ghastly stare.
    You're...you're...
    Howard produced two notes, but held one up behind the other.
    I can't talk. Can you read?
    Yes, but that's hardly the point! You're a mutant!
    I need a bed. I have plenty of caps.
    Fine. 400 caps for you...and is it staying with you?
    Howard grimaced, then nodded, and took out a third note;
    We're inseparable.
    ...600 caps. Are you staying the night?
    Howard shook his head and started walking out the door. Wiggles jumped from his shoulder and started to menace the owner of the flop house.
    Rrrgh! Wheek! WHEEEK!
    The owner grabbed a shotgun, shaking.
    I'll waste it! I swear I will!
    WHE~!
    Howard grabbed Wiggles from the air before he could attach himself, and walked out of the biased owner's building. Then, Wiggles vomited on the door.
     
  13. Jungle Japes

    Jungle Japes Well-Known Member

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    Junky Jake shambled down the street toward the Atlantis. He nodded to a guard as he passed by. "Yo, J.J. what's up?"
    "My fuckin' blood pressure!" he muttered. He got about ten yards down the street before he stopped in his tracks.

    tick

    His sight had never been great and was getting worse, but his ears were still razor-sharp and he could have sworn he had just heard-

    tick... tick... tickticktickticktick...

    He looked down at the geiger counter strapped to his toolbag. The needle was dancing. "Sonofabitch-"

    "What the hell? Is there going to be a fight or something?"

    Jake looked over his shoulder and saw some cute broad walking up to the guard.

    tick... tick... tick... .... ticktickticktickticktickticktickticktickticktickticktickticktickticktickticktickticktick

    He turned back around just in time to see the dark lumbering mass of a super mutant rounding the corner, followed by some kind of mutated rodent. The ticking intensified.

    tickticktickTICKTICKTICKTICKTICKTICKTICKTICKTICK

    Jake stood flat-footed and slack-jawed for a long moment. Then backpedaled a few steps, turned and ran... but didn't get very far. "OOOF!" "GHAA!"
    He went down in a heap with the cute broad...

    TICKTICKTICKTICKTICKTICKTICKTICKTICKTICKTICKTICKTICK

    He extricated himself and scrambled away, moving quicker than he had moved in years. Jake was deathly afraid of radiation, and here he was caught between a babe and a freakshow, both of whom were covered in the stuff. "Fuck. I shoulda stayed in bed."
     
  14. Xiao_Caity

    Xiao_Caity New Member

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    "OW! Son of a bitch!"

    Liz scrambled to her feet, then saw the bulk of a Super Mutant heading her way. She reacted the same way any sane person would, and bolted after the panicking man.
     
  15. Jungle Japes

    Jungle Japes Well-Known Member

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    "No! *gasp... gasp..* Stay back! *gasp... gasp..* GET THE FUCK AWAY FROM ME YOU FUCKING GHOUL BITCH!

    Jake, never the nimblest person even in his youth, didn't make it far in his mad dash for safety before tripping on a small stone. *THUMP* His head made solid contact with the front quarter panel of a rusted out Corvega. Lights out.

    ticktickticktickticktickticktickticktickTICKTICKTICKTICKICKTICKTICK....
     
  16. Zanza

    Zanza Well-Known Member

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    Finally awake, Simon stumbled out of bed, his head was killing him. Having no clue where he was or how he got here, Simon decided to leave those answers for someone who actually cared. Stretching all his limbs and shaking his head, he started to explore the house. Noticing a child and a man he quickly leaned against the wall and crouched. Quietly he sneaked around them and exited the house. No need to alert them of his consciousness.

    Simon made his way towards the nearest bar, as ungodly site as it was, it had the only thing that would remove his headache. He sat down on a bar stool, raised two fingers and pointed to the whiskey.

    "That'll be 12 caps."

    Placing the caps on the bar, Simon downed the first glass of whiskey and begun to nurse the second one, wondering if anything exciting would happen in this dump.
     
  17. Xiao_Caity

    Xiao_Caity New Member

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    "What the ever-loving fuck was all that about?" Liz asked the world in general, before the incessant ticking of the counter got her attention. She knew that noise, all too well, even though it had been an eternity since she'd encountered one that worked...

    "Oh, nonononononono... Come on, no... please..." There was a long, deep silence as she checked the levels on the counter. Not fatal, yet, but enough to make her very sick without immediate treatment...

    "Shit..."
     
  18. Wolfsbane

    Wolfsbane Well-Known Member

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    Harry inspected the hook in his hands. This peace of metal had seen its share of blood throughout the days of its existance, oh yes. Maybe even more so than himself. There were in fact so man layers of red to brownish dried up liquid that you almost couldn't see the stel gray surface beneath. An instrument of death if he'd ever seen one.

    A man's gotta do what a man's gotta do, eh? he said. Then, he went to the shed and did just that.

    Having taken care of business, the former Brother walked up to Kyle, a freshly lit cigarette in his mouth, and eyed him closely.

    Let's go, amigo.
     
  19. The_Bob

    The_Bob Administrator Staff Member

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    "Hold on tight - this baby's got a temper !" Said Kyle, while keenly inspecting the dials as the engine powered up. A low hum rocked the machinery in its frame, the rest of the bike resonating with it. Lights flashed across the controller assembly, then dimmed as the engine started draining the system. The hum raised in frequency quickly, through several waves, and the rear wheels started turning. And in a cloud of dust, they were off.

    The bike (or maybe a trike, since, as harry noticed, the sidecar was also powered) drifted sideways from behind the Atlantis and easily gripped at the firm surface of the main road. The dead ghoul flew from behind the corner, savagely hooked through the back. It bumped off the rusted Corvega, leaving some guts and skin on the person lying next to it.

    Kyle missed Liz by inches, slaloming to dodge the mutant, eventually clearing the last building to disappear into the desert. With a gut-wrenching crack of bones, the ghoul bolted behind the bike, causing Liz and Howard to dive for cover. The Geiger counter went nuts as the mutilated corpse flew by.

    "If my bearings are right, we'll reach the ruins in about three hours." Kyle quickly glanced if Harry was still where he left him... "And keep your ass off the drive shaft, less you want your balls to be chewed off. It's gonna get bumpy now." It didn't take a second for the words to turn true... Or at least half true as Harry was still a man, despite the inviting pull of the machinery just below his seat.

    A sharp tug announced that it was only the two of them riding now - the ghoul plowed through a cactus and crashed into a rock, leaving only the bloodied meat hook bouncing behind them... And a nice mess as well. Kyle leaned back to pull in the chain, then quickly resumed the position, barely evading a dog that jumped out from nowhere.

    CRUNCH

    The dog was now in ghoul's seat. "This is gonna be one fun ride..."
     
  20. Wolfsbane

    Wolfsbane Well-Known Member

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    Damn, amigo, this bike's got attitude!

    Harry was impressed with the speed the seemingly nondescript piece of machinery could muster, and didn't try to hide it in his voice. For the first time in his life, he considered the fact that amongst all the people who weren't in the Brotherhood, there could be a select few who weren't total dickheads. If that was so, then this Kyle person (or whoever built this impressive machine) was one of them.

    Settling back in the cart, but nevertheless staying away from the nut-cracker, Harry inhaled the last of the tobacco his now completely spent cigarette had to offer and then flicked it over the side into the sands of the desert wasteland beneath. There, it would remain for days to come before finally getting swallowed by a mutated rat that happened to be passing by. The rat would then choke on the little leftover deathstick and slowly die in the boiling heat of the sun, thus adding to Harrys mutie-killcount. He would never find out about this, but he would've been happy if he had.
     
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