/qu/ - Quests/Roll

Rolled 6, 4, 4 = 14

>>728
A few memories trickle back into your aching skull. You check the PDA; there's a small engraving on the back that says "Eryn", which sounds familiar. You're not all the way back to the present, but the name sounds about right. You'll stick with it, at least for the time being.

You make a quick attempt to boot up the PDA into its normal mode. No deal, the thing is busted to hell and back. Even if you could access its standard subroutines, the hardware is too crunched up to make anything out on the screen. It'll take a hell of a repair job to bring it back up to working condition. You've done small fixes, but you're primarily a software lady.

It takes a few minutes to regain your strength, but you manage to slip on your outfit and gas mask. The busted eyepiece makes it a little difficult to see in your right eye, but it isn't unmanageable. You put the pistol into your coat holster and throw the duffel bag across your back.

Now that your head is clear, you can make out a few voices just over the hill nearby. It sounds like they're getting closer.

Suggested course of action?

>>736
A look at the details surrounding the campsite reveal a few pairs of footprints loosely set in the dirt around the fire. A nearly empty bottle of some sort of alcohol sits near a pile of old rubbish, clearly more fresh than the rest of the trash around here. There have most definitely been other people here recently.

A quick peek over the hillside reveals three silhouettes walking towards the area. They're about 200 yards away, and haven't seemed to notice you moving about yet. Their conversation is punctuated by the occasional laugh; they're definitely not in an altogether serious mood.

The sky is a dying orange, and a dark haze hangs on the horizon. It looks like it will be nightfall soon. You don't remember much about where you are, but being wounded, poorly armed, and stuck in the middle of nowhere isn't the situation you'd like to be in.

I'm getting that whole "Automated reply" issue as well, hopefully they can get that fixed sometime soon.

>>749
You settle into position on the other side of the campfire, pistol on standby in case something goes wrong. It takes what feels like an eternity for the figures to reach within a reasonable distance.

The one on the left is clad in a pure white outfit, hefting along a large satchel with a first aid symbol on it; a small assault rifle is carried in his off hand. The man in the middle wears a large coat and a massive backpack filled to the brim with supplies; a shotgun is strapped to the bag. The one on the right wears dark camouflage and doesn't appear to be carrying much; an assault rifle hangs limply on his back with his hand clutching a metal flask.

The one in white takes notice of you, and starts waving and yelling toward you. His pace picks up and he reaches within 20 feet. "Hey, hey! What are you doing! Your wounds are serious, lie back down!"

He reaches the campsite first, with the others trudging along towards lazily. The man in white catches his breath for a second. "Hey, you gotta relax! I just finished putting you back together! *whew* Alright. You took a pretty nasty head wound, do you remember anything, anything at all? If you can give us a couple clues, maybe we can help you out."

>>753
It got rid of one of my character sheets, whoops. Technical difficulties seem pretty frequent here, but I have high hopes for the future of this website.

>>756
>>866
>>899
>Sorry about the delay, I was unexpectedly busy today.

>Pictures may not always be directly related, but they do serve a purpose of creating a particular atmosphere and etc. etc. blah blah blah

Your memories about anything concrete stay locked up, but you manage to choke out a couple small details. You explain that your name is probably Eryn, and that all you know about yourself is that you're decent with technology. He sits and thinks about this for a moment. "Hmm…Well, in any case, we should probably bring you back to town. Ishmael will want to take a good look at you, and I'm sure those damn Technomancers will be chomping at the bits to get another pair of hands to help them out…Oh, sorry, I forgot to explain things with everything going on. I'm Canary, and these are my comrades Vulture and Raven. We picked you up about half a day ago after a little shootout with some bandits. Vulture here was digging through corpse pockets like the hoarder he is when he saw you still had a pulse. I did as best I could patching you up, but I'm sure there'll be a couple screws loose in your head for a good while. Most people don't recover from getting shot in the head, consider yourself lucky!"

Raven shakes his flask at Canary. "Enough with the chit-chat, it'll be night soon enough and I'm running out of booze. Let's hurry up and get back so we can get some cold drinks and warm beds!" Vulture gives Raven a swat on the shoulder. "Raven, you better watch it. If you end up hung over in the morning, Eagle will have your ass!" Raven shooes him off. Canary helps you to your feet. "Alright, easy does it. You can walk, right? Town isn't far from here; it's just three hills over." He points to a spot on the horizon with a faint dot of light.

The four of you march across the wastes towards the town. Raven scans the horizon with his rifle as he goes, a couple yards ahead of the rest of the group. You stumble every now and then, but Canary and Vulture help you get back to your feet. Canary taps a bit at his PDA while Vulture takes a drink from his canteen. "So, Eryn, was it? Since we have the time and your brain is scrambled eggs, was there anything you were wondering about?"

>>919
You ask Canary a few questions about where you are. This place doesn't look familiar at all, and you don't have any background knowledge whatsoever.

"We are in the Wastes, my friend. It is a dangerous place that many call home. It isn't very nice, and there is much strife and fighting, but most here have nowhere else they can go. Every once in a while the nearby Towers kick a few people out, and they either die for one or another reason, come to the town to find food or work, or become bandits. It's always a pain when that happens, it complicates many things. Life is nice in the Towers I hear. Well, at least some of them. I hear some pretty nasty stories about the other ones. Some people actually prefer it out here, believe it or not."

A few moments of silence pass as you absorb all that you've heard. After a little while, you ask why it's such a hellhole out here. He gets caught off-guard and laughs a bit.

"Heh, well, that dates back to an old story they still spin around out here. I guess a long time ago the Towers were all some kind of paradise and the land out here was clean. Some sort of horrible disaster happened, and much of the knowledge of the old world was destroyed. The towers started to decay and the outer spaces became flooded with pollution and poison. People who were once friends fought amongst each other as resources became more and more scarce. Luckily, some of the smart guys figured out how to fix a little bit of the old world tech, and made some areas a little more livable. The town we live in stands today because some of that ancient technology keeps it safe."

You look off to the towers in the far distance. A few look pristine and untouched, while others look dilapidated and abandoned. You wonder for a while if you used to live in one of them, or if you were born in the Wastes. This thought jolted a curiosity about the bandits that attacked you. You inquire if there was anything of note about the scene.

"Hmm…I didn't see anyone else around other than the dead bandits and you. A few of the bandits looked like they were shot with rifles, which makes me think either there was someone else with you. Or, just as likely, they fought each other over who got to keep your loot. You can never tell with those crazies. We found you unconscious, clinging to that PDA for dear life. It must be pretty important, I'd guess."

You take a look at the PDA. The thing is busted to hell and back. It'd take some serious work to get it back into running condition, but when you tried to boot it it didn't look like there was much notable data corruption. You figure that if you can find someone to fix it for you, maybe you can get a clue as to what happened and who you are.

Canary peers over at the PDA in your hands. "Sheeeesh, those bandits sure did a number on it! Well, if anyone can fix it, the Technomancers should be able to. They run hard bargains, but I once saw one of them turn an old radio into a landmine! That might've been an accident, come to think of it. But trust me, they're a reliable bunch of guys, if a little weird."

You allow yourself a faint note of optimism at the idea of finding a lead on your mystery. All of the sudden, Raven pauses and holds his arm out to stop the rest of the group. "Shh. There's someone 100 meters up. Headed this way. Can't tell if they're friendly or not. Just stay low, and stay quiet."

Roll a d10 and suggest your next course of action.

>>1075
Raven lies down at the crest of the hill, aiming down his sight at the stranger. Vulture crouches a few feet to the back. Canary and you slowly try to get as low as possible, but your foot catches on a piece of debris sticking out of the ground. It comes loose and makes a tumbling noise as you nearly land face first into rusty shrapnel.

The silhouetted man spins toward the hill, brandishing a rifle and flashlight. He begins shouting in a language you can't understand. Vulture curses under his breath and stands up, hands above his head. He yells something to the man in the same language. The stranger replies. You can't tell what he's saying, but he certainly sounded like he wasn't in the mood to screw around. Vulture paces forward down the hill, hands still raised.

The man shouts something, and Vulture sets his guns on the ground. The man pauses for a moment, and lowers his rifle. They have a brief conversation. Vulture clicks on his radio and speaks into it. You can't hear what he is saying, but Canary and Raven listen intently to their headsets. After a pause, the two look at you for a moment. They begin nonverbally arguing via hand motions. Raven lets out a deep sigh.

"Bad news, kiddo. Looks like you've got a pretty sizeable bounty on your head. This really complicates things."

Roll a d10 and suggest your next course of action.

>>1133
Forgot to put my name on. Also, a quick note: I may be occasionally very slow to post an update; my work schedule is ridiculously inconsistent and I am at its whim. Sorry.

Also, from here on out I would say roll a d10 with every suggestion.

As far as results are concerned:
1-2 Critical failure
3-4 Mild failure
5-6 Success with consequences
7-8 Mild success
9-10 Critical success

I will say that as a programmer the character receives a +1 on any software/technology related commands, but due to current injuries a -1 on any physical task until healed.

>>1211
(1/2)
You ask why you've got a bounty and who put it up. If a random passerby is looking for you, there's a good chance that others are too. "We don't know any of the details. We can find out once we get back to town. Until then, the best thing for you to do is to stay with us. Otherwise you're bandit food." Concerned, you ask if they're going to turn you in. If that's the case, you're probably better off just taking off right now. Canary is quick to reply. "Of course not!…I mean, for all we know some bandits threw it onto you so they could rob you!" Raven sighs again. "Canary, don't be so dense. There's no way bandits could pony up that kind of cash. But no, we aren't going to sell you out. Not only would it hurt our reputation, but Eagle would have our heads. Basically, it just isn't our style. The main problem is if word gets out around town that you're there. Bandits and bounty hunters might come crawling around looking for you. Nobody wants those types hanging around, they always cause trouble."

Vulcan waves off the bounty hunter, and starts walking back to the group. The man heads out in the opposite direction. "Alright, I threw him off our trail. Told him I saw someone like that out in the Southern district. We should get back to town very soon, though." Canary pulls you onto your feet and the four of you continue on your path. "Don't worry, once we get back to town we'll talk around and figure out what all is the deal with this bounty. I can't see you being too much of a troublemaker." You manage to finally be at least a little at ease for the first time since you woke up.

After about an hour of walking, the town is finally just ahead. You can see a handful of old buildings as well as a bunch of booths set up along the street. Watchtowers with soldiers in them oversee the area while a fence protects the perimeter. People mill about outside, haggling with vendors and moving boxes to and fro. The four of you make it inside the largest building. Inside sits a large, crowded room filled with tables and chairs, flanked by a bar and trading post. The room is nice and warm, a refreshing change from the Wastes. Raven signals the group. "Alright, Eagle is upstairs with the rest of the group. They want to know everything that went down today; it was definitely not part of the itinerary." You feel a little nervous. These guys have certainly talked Eagle up to be a rather intimidating person. Hopefully he is as accomodating as the rest of them. Honestly, you're really surprised at the generosity and understanding they've shown. Considering how dire the situation seems around here, you'd think they would be a little more stingy. There's probably something going on you don't know about, but you haven't gotten the impression of anything ominous.

Approaching the staircase, the bartender waves the group. A suspiciously well dressed woman, very elegant and charismatic seeming. Not the type you would expect to be manning a bar in a place like this. "Well, hello boys. What's with the fresh face? New recruit?" Raven breathes out a laugh. "Just a wounded refugee. No initiation party tonight, sorry." The woman makes an exaggeratedly disappointed face. "Aww, you guys are no fun. Eagle's in the first room on the right. I shouldn't keep you anymore." She turns to you and smiles. "The name's Violetta, it's a pleasure to meet you. I do hope you stick around."

>>1254
The group enters the room. A man that could be no other than Eagle sits at a desk. He towers over the room, and the eye that isn't concealed by an eyepatch has a gaze like steel. He is flanked by two other soldiers; one cleaning a sniper rifle and the other reading a worn book. "Vulture. Raven. Canary. You've arrived. Civilian, I don't know your circumstances but I am glad to see you have arrived safely. Please, leave me to talk with my men. We have much to discuss." You jump at the opportunity to not be confined in a small room with the most intimidating man you've ever met. Stepping out the door and closing it behind you, they begin speaking. You can't hear what they're saying, but you get the impression they will be busy for quite some time.

What do you do to pass the time until then?

>>1357
The aging stairs give a soft creak as you shuffle back downstairs into the common hall. You see many people showing off bits of loot and drinking with friends. One person is busy haggling with the trader while a few other tired stalkers sit at the bar half-asleep. Violetta takes a look over in your direction. "Well, that was fast. Why don't you have a seat? Relax a little." You thank her, and she begins pouring you a drink. You try to stop her, but she insists. "You've had a rough day. It'll help you calm down." You sigh a little. Bracing yourself, you take a sip. It goes down hard, and you let out a little bit of a choke. Apparently you were never much of a big drinker. Violetta gives a soft laugh. "So, I'm sure there's lots you were wanting to know about this place." You give a subdued nod and ask about Eagle and the others. "Oh, them? They're Troubleshooters. Those guys are what stops those bandits from rolling through our town and taking everything we've got. They aren't the only Troubleshooters, of course. There's a couple of other squads out there. But Eagle's boys are the friendliest of the lot."

Troubleshooters, huh? Hmm. You sit lost in thought for a moment, staring into your now almost empty glass. A moment later you snap out of it and ask about any of the town's factions or groups. You say you heard something about Technomancers, are they important? "The Technomancer's Guild keeps all our technology working. If something is broken around here, they fix it for a small fee. They're the ones who got electricity running in this building, they salvaged an old generator and wired the place up themselves. They're a reclusive sort, but we'd be nowhere without them. They usually get their gear from the Reclaimers' Union. Those are the guys who go into the mines, trying to dig up old tech that's been buried underground. A lot of the people in this town get their work from the Union, trying to make an honest living without having to fight. They're also some of my best customers. Then you've got the Emissary Pact, a bunch of silver-tongued negotiators who go around cutting deals for people. They negotiate all the trade routes and faction contracts. And finally, you have the Dionysus Club, my personal favorite. We manage all the various vices and activities of ill repute throughout settlements in the Wastes. Gambling, alcohol, prostitution; you name it and we've got it. After all, with life so difficult and easily ended in this place, a little hedonism and debauchery never hurt anyone, don't you agree?"

You sit there, lost and slightly dazed. It takes a little time for all of the information that was just dumped on you to sink in. Maybe you've had a bit too much to drink. You get up a little too quickly and nearly forget about your wounds. "Oh dear, you be careful now. Perhaps you should get some rest awfully soon. Maybe a bite to eat beforehand?" It is only now that you realize how hungry and tired you are. You ask where you can get some food and a place to sleep. "Oh, now don't worry about that. If you just go back upstairs, you'll come across a room with a V on the door. That'll be mine, you just go ahead and make yourself right at home. We can get you set up with a more permanent place tomorrow morning." Hardly even conscious at this point, you stumble back upstairs and slide towards the door with the V on it. You open the door and don't even see the room as you beeline straight for the bed and collapse on it. It doesn't take more than a breath to fall asleep.

Roll a 1d10 and suggest what to do in the morning.

Completely off topic but it's tempting to run a separate quest in the same setting where the two would have consequences and after-effects upon each other

>>1421
>Sorry about being slow, I had a busy past few days.

You stir a bit in the bed, but soon drift back into the waking world from a combination of daylight sifting through the window and the smell of some sort of breakfast. It takes a moment to sit up when you finally notice you're adorned in fresh bandages and comfortable night-clothes. Your old bloodstained rags sit in a pile next to the bed while your regular outfit sits folded and cleaned nearby. You get a sharp ping of embarrassment when you process this, and quickly change back into your usual wear. Observing the room shows it to be oddly well taken care of and decorated for being a residence in a place festering with bandits and garbage. Violetta must have some rather nice connections and resources.

You shuffle into the next room to see Violetta holding a plate of warm food. "Well, it's good to see you're doing alright! Here, eat up, you need the energy." Realizing she wouldn't take no for an answer, you sit at the table and begin to eat. You thank her profusely, and ask why she would be so generous to a stranger like you. "Oh, I can tell there's something special about you. You're not like the typical rabble, that's for certain. I have an eye for this sort of thing, and if time has taught me anything, it's to trust my instincts." The food fills your stomach as if it were made of things not of this world. It might have just been hunger and desperation, but the breakfast warms your body and soul like a blanket.

After you finish eating and feeling a bit more like yourself, you ask where Eagle's group and the Technomancers would be. "Oh, Eagle and them headed out on a patrol early on in the morning. That boy Canary stopped by before they left to see if you were doing alright, but I shooed him off and made sure you got plenty of rest. Don't worry, they'll be back come evening time. As for those Technomancers, they'll be down in the workshop just across the road. You can't miss it, it's the one blaring with sounds of power tools." You thank her again, and offer to help clean up after yourself but she outright forbids it. She nearly pushes you out the door and sends you off to the Technomancers.

You walk out in front of the Technomancers' workshop and push open the door. To your left you see a small booth covered in all manner of electronic devices for sale, manned by a rather bored looking young man reading a rather worn book. To the right, a few mechanics work tirelessly on a rather complex looking machine that you have no hope of discerning the function of. A man in an odd robe covered in oil stains and scorch marks walks in with a clipboard, scribbling notes on a piece of paper. He glances in your direction. "Hmm…Hmm? You there, can we help you?" You explain that you're looking for work. You don't know much about machines and you don't remember a whole lot about what other skills you have, but you've got a knack for software and programming. "Hmmmm…A programmer, eh?…We might just have some use for you after all…There's an old radio broadcast tower just down the road, but the transmitter is on the fritz. If you can figure out what's the matter with it, there'll be a bit of money in it for you." He hands you a hand-drawn map of the area, with the location of the radio tower circled. "It's a little dangerous out over there, do you have any kind of protection?…" You half-heartedly mention your shoddy pistol with 5 rounds left in the magazine. The old man spits out a cackle that nearly sends him doubling over. "Heh heh heh!…Tell you what, kid, here's some cash, get yourself something that'll keep that pretty little head of yours attached to your shoulders. Ask that lazy good-for-nothing at the counter over there, he should set you up with something. Then, when you come back, we can talk about a more permanent employment."

You carry the money over to the counter, and the attendant looks up from his book for the first time. "You the new kid? Hm. Grab whatever you want and put the money in the jar. Just don't take too much, we gotta share this with the rest of the workers too."

There's all manner of strange gadgets and devices strewn about, as well as a few weapons in a display case. What kind of equipment do you choose?

>>1568
>>1572
You sift through the piles of equipment and pull out an old helmet and a kevlar vest. If bandits take a potshot at you, it'd be nice to at least have a chance of surviving. You also grab a small submachinegun and some ammo. Your pistol simply wouldn't do the trick in a firefight. You drop the money into the jar and head for the door. "Oh!…One more thing." The old man signals you over. "Here, once you get the radio working, plug this into the transmitter. It'll let us keep better tabs on the frequencies." He hands you a small device with an antenna. He also pulls a red patch out of his pocket and slaps it onto your shoulder. "There. Now people will actually believe you if you say you're on Technomancer business. Make it back alright and you'll be an official member of the Guild."

EQUIPMENT ACQUIRED: Helmet, Kevlar Vest, SMG, 2x Pistol Magazine, 2x SMG Magazine
KEY ITEM ACQUIRED: Radio Transmitter Modification
FACTION JOINED: Technomancer's Guild

You head off into the wastes towards the radio tower. It's a bit of a hike, especially since you aren't fully healed yet, but it isn't too long until you can see the large antenna in the distance. As you approach a little closer, your busted PDA lights up briefly and emits a small beeping noise. Something flashes across the screen, but you can't read what it said at all. All the fiddling in the world with the buttons and ports is utterly fruitless. It doesn't matter how good of a programmer you are if there's no way to know what you're doing. Slightly disheartened, you keep walking. Off in the distance, you see another person. You tighten the grip on your SMG and get low. You whisper 'please be friendly' over and over again to yourself.

Roll a d10 and suggest your next course of action.

>>1721
You swallow hard and stand up straight. You wave your arm and hell 'hey!' which causes him to spin around. Surprisingly enough, he responds with his own wave. "Hail, fellow stalker!" He starts to approach you, but not threateningly. "Are you on the pilgrimage as well?" You apologize and say you have no idea what he's talking about. "Ah, I see. I am on a journey to find the treasured artifact which lights the path through the darkness, in hopes that I may be purified by its holy glow! Ave, Cubum Necis!" He throws his arms into the air towards the sun. This man must definitely be insane, but at least he isn't trying to kill you. Yet.

You mention the direction you are heading, and he makes an audible exclamation of joy. "Aha! It is truly fate that we coincide here! Our paths connect most intently! It would be my honor to bring you to your desired location, for it is but another trial amongst my journey." He gets down onto one knee and begins praying to his rifle. You're put off a little by his…zeal. Suddenly, he springs up onto his feet. "We must move quickly! The blessings of faith are fickle indeed!" He charges off with an almost childlike energy. You don't have much of a choice but to follow him, either for his sake or your own.

You continue on the path, with the pilgrim singing a song in a foreign language while polishing his rifle. "Ah, the wastes seem beautiful in the morning! How I missed the light filtering through the sky!" He gives a contented sigh. "So, my friend, I am sure there is much you wish to know! I would be happy to impart any wisdom you desire as we trek!"

Roll a 1d10. What do you ask him about?

>>1780
>I mainly use the d10s to figure out random encounters, and whether or not they are beneficial or harmful to the player

You ask him about his religion. If he's this devoted, it must be something special. "Aha, a seeker of enlightenment, I see! Let me tell you a tale of the origins of my belief. Long ago, this world was ruled by a most powerful deity, but the darkness of man cast its power out of the land. Ruin fell upon the earth, and mankind suffered deeply. But lo, on one fateful day a weary traveler came across a magnificent monolith, emitting a beautiful cleansing light! It beckoned to him, and imparted its wisdom. It said, 'Behold my child, for I shall bring you the power to burn away the impurities of this land!' and gave the man a weapon forged of pure sunlight. It called to be brought the weapons of the world, and with them it would ascend into a new form. Years passed, and the new prophet of the lost god led many conquests against the impure of the land. As commanded, the followers of the faith brought the monolith every weapon they could. Soon, its entire surface was surrounded in knives, rifles, mortars, pistols, anything you can imagine. Eventually, the prophet grew to become an old man. He imparted his tales into a tome and locked himself away inside the monolith. It is said that the gate will reopen when it has been reunited with a Deus Ex Machina, a fragment of the lost god from the golden ages."

…That was a lot to take in. He worships a giant magic gun cube. Alright. No big deal. Just…forget about it. You continue to walk in silence for a while. The radio tower looms in the distance, but gets steadily closer as you continue. Suddenly, you hear a rhythmic popping noise. Muted shouts echo through the wastes. The pilgrim readies his rifle. "Ah, it appears to be time for a trial of faith! I will prove myself worthy, and will not blink in the face of death. Ave, Cubum Necis! Ave!" He fires a few shots into the air and runs off towards the firefight. You throw yourself into cover and try to get a good view. It looks like four versus three, with the four clad in black and skull masks. The three do not match in appearance, but their equipment seems high quality. The pilgrim fires blindly into the fray, not caring which side the bullets hit. He belts out his foreign song, ignoring the bullets slamming into the dirt just feet away from him.

Roll a d10 and suggest your next course of action.

>>1828
>>1845
>Sorry this is so late; I've had a busy week and a messed up work schedule

You shout as loud as your throat lets you for everyone to stop. There is a momentary lull in the firefight as everyone looks towards you and keeps clinged to cover. A few of the people reload, and the air is freakishly still. The pilgrim turns toward you, waiting for whatever you have to say. It takes you a minute to sputter out that there isn't a reason to be fighting, and everyone should calm down. Surpressed laughter is just barely audible from the group in the skull masks. The well equipped soldiers shift slightly, still on the defensive. "Who do you think you are, girl? You're getting in the way of our official business!" One of the skull masked men yells back in a crazed voice. "Hahaha, business! Yer a buncha fuckin' bounty hunters tryin' ta scalp our asses for a quick buck! Least we have some fun with our prey! Hahaha!" "Oh, shove it you bandit scumbag! Once these two idiots get the hell out of here you're all as good as dead! Hey, wait…you two look familiar…"

The bounty hunters stare at you and the pilgrim. Shit. Shit shit shit. This is the worst thing that could be happening right now. "Yeah…Yeah! You're that crazy cultist who's been running around causing trouble! And that girl…Oh fuck! Hey! HEY, IT'S HER! IT'S THE GIRL!" The man levels his rifle in your direction. Instinctually, you leap behind the pilgrim the moment a bullet flies from the barrel. It grazes you in the leg on your way down; not debilitating, but still painful. The pilgrim solemnly shakes his head. "It seems these heretics have overstepped their boundaries." He recocks his rifle and lets out a loud cry of "DEUS VULT!" Bullets spit from his rifle in every direction, pushing the bandits and bounty hunters back into cover just as they started creeping out. He helps you up with his off hand as he steps forward and hip-fires at their encampments. A few of the bandits blindfire wildly, causing bullets to pepper the ground all around. A bounty hunter shoots at the bandits from around a corner of a cinder block while another takes aim at you and the pilgrim. Luckily, he pops off a trio of shots that hit the hunter square in the chest. The body armor he wears soaks most of the damage, but the shock of the impacts knocks the man over. After a quick reload, the pilgrim practically throws you into cover against a rusty metal framework. "It seems we are two of a kind, young neophyte. Let us finish this quickly, and return to our respective journeys."

As he shoots at the enemies, you look at the submachinegun in your hands, suddenly feeling very heavy. You've never killed anyone before. Or had you? The fact that you can't even know something that important frustrates you beyond belief. You just wanted to do a simple tech job and start a new life, maybe try to find out what had happened in your past. But even when you can't remember it, your past always has a way of catching up to you. Why did you have a bounty on your head? What's with your smashed up PDA? Why did Canary and the gang find you in a pile of dead bodies? These thoughts keep burning your skull, unable to fade out whatsoever. It takes a hard metal ping against the metal framework to bring you back to reality, where you can suddenly remember that you are being shot at by bandits and bounty hunters. You take a deep breath to try to steady your shaking hands. A submachinegun with two magazines, and a pistol with two magazines as well. Not a lot, but hopefully with a little luck it'll be enough. The pilgrim glances down at you. "Something is troubling you. But don't worry. Let the serenity of battle wash over you. There's a sense of peace to be found in combat, and once you understand, you may find the answers you seek. He holds out his hand. You take it, and he pulls you up into a firing position.

You take a quick survey of the situation. Two of the bandits are blindfiring at the bounty hunters, while the other two are popping in and out of cover throwing potshots at the two of you. One of the bounty hunters is unconscious, with another trying to revive him. The third and final bounty hunter is using suppressive fire on both you and the bandits.

>>1932
>>1887
You close your eyes, and take a deep breath. Time slows to a crawl as throw your eyes open and ready your weapon. Your hands move as if they are not fully your own. It feels as though you are watching yourself as you snap in a split second at the bounty hunter. The recoil from the submachinegun kicks your palms as a burst of rounds fly towards their target. A wet pulpy noise is made as they tear through the man's vital areas. He crumples limply to the ground, killed instantly by the rending fire. Was it really you who then tapped the pilgrim's shoulder and pointed towards the remaining hunters? You never knew that you were capable of such tactical thoughts and actions. The dreamlike state you were flung into continues as you crouch around to new cover and laid down fire on the bandits.

The pilgrim understands your plan, and keeps the lone bounty hunter pinned down. Your submachinegun blasts the upper portion of the cover the bandits are in, and warm concrete sprinkles on them. By now, all four of them are firing blindly in every direction. What little coordination they had is lost. You stalk ever closer, like a cougar stalking prey. One of the four pops to the right, trying to find new cover. You spray a little further down his path, and he dashes the other direction. Just what you wanted, though, as his lacking cover can't protect him from the pistol in your off hand. Two shots and he collapses. He's wounded, but still alive. One more shot fixes that. Another bandit pops up and fires wildly with his assault rifle. You don't even feel the round pass through your shoulder, you simply return fire and put him down as well. The last two take off running. You spray fire down on them and they hit the dirt face first.

You spin towards the bounty hunters, locked and loaded. The pilgrim is standing there, the final combatant having surrendered. The unconscious one had been disarmed and tied up. Their weapons lay in a pile nearby. The adrenaline bleeds out of you all of the sudden and you fall to your knees. You throw your gas mask off as quickly as you can, and vomit into the dirt. What the hell just happened to you? Just a second ago you weren't even sure if you could use your gun on another human, and then suddenly you've killed five people. After a few deep breaths, the pain of the gunshot wound in your arm slowly fades into you. The pilgrim looks at you with rather suspicious eyes, while the surrendering bounty hunter tries desperately to keep his composure.

The pilgrim pokes the prisoner with the tip of his rifle, and says "You there. Heretic. Give us your information regarding our bounties. There is much I would like to know." The kneeling bounty hunter keeps his hands on the top of his head as he shakily lists their respective crimes and rewards. "M-m-male suspect, n-name unknown, suspected cult activity and wanton violence, ten thousand tower syndicated credits, dead or alive." He pokes the man again. "And her?" The bounty hunter swallows hard. "E-Eryn Wodes, female, t-theft of confidential materials and treason in the first degree…" A few seconds of silence pass. The pilgrim kicks the man lightly. "Her price?" The man grips his eyes tight. "O-one million tower credits. Five million alive." The pilgrim is silent for a minute. Without any sort of warning, he shoots the prisoner and the unconscious bounty hunter.

He gathers up all the weapons and equipment from the bodies, piling it up. After all the items are together, he silently begins wrapping up your bullet wounds. "You are not a very lucky person, you. With a price that high, you may find even those who call themselves friends turning on you." He stands up and begins loading bags with the items. "We should leave here soon. The bodies will attract wildlife." He pulls you up and lifts you onto his back. You feel guilty being carried to the destination, but you slowly start falling asleep.

You wake up in a cement room filled with old, dusty electronics. A computer terminal sits connected to most of the machines, somehow still functioning. An old lantern sits in the middle of the room, providing a soft amount of light and warmth. The flicker of flame reveals the pilgrim sleeping in the opposite corner, with a sack full of guns nearby. The room is guarded by a giant metal door, currently locked to keep the elements out. Your wounds are still sore, but this place feels oddly comfortable. You glance around some more, and notice filing cabinets, bookshelves, and storage lockers lining the walls. A map of the Wastes hangs above the computer terminal.

>>1935
>>1949
You lift the lantern with your good arm and illuminate the map better. It's written in a language you feel like you can almost read, but unfortunately the effort proves fruitless. Maybe it'll come in handy later. You unpin it from the wall, fold it up, and stow it in your pack.

KEY ITEM ACQUIRED: Map of the Wastes (foreign language)

You check your pack to make sure nothing went missing. Your PDA is still there, no better for wear than before. Your guns are not present in your personal bag, but you manage to find them in the sack of various weapons. Among them are also five assault rifles, a shotgun, and four other pistols. The pilgrim's rifle is still clutched in his hands, even as he sleeps. Three PDAs sit in the bottom of the bag. You presume they belonged to the bounty hunters, since bandits don't seem to be the type to care much for delicate technology or anything you can't kill someone with. Your PDA flashes all of the sudden, just as it did when you first crossed the pilgrim's path. You fiddle with it a bit, but just as before you have no luck fixing it. The pilgrim stirs slightly, appearing to be slowly waking up. You put everything back just as it was before you dug through it.

>>1959
>>2023
The pilgrim stretches out and sits up straight. He turns over to you. "Ah, I see you have finally awoken. I hope your wounds are not treating you poorly." You thank him for his medical work, followed by asking where you are. "We are at the radio tower you have been seeking. Your journey is at an end, but I am afraid I had an ulterior motive bringing you here. I need assistance with a task of great importance, and I believe you are the only one who can help me." He shows you his map, pointing to your general area. "This here, this is what I seek. The Cube. However, as I have told you before it will not open for anyone without a Deus Ex Machina. Those are priceless artifacts, few and far between in the Wastes. But when I heard how large your bounty was, something came to me. The only way you could have stirred the Syndicate up that badly is if you somehow had gotten your hands on one." He laughs to himself a bit. "Heh, it seems impossible! To think such a coincidence would occurr like this. But there are no coincidences in this world. I need you. I need you to help me contact the Cube. All you need to do is connect the Deus Ex Machina to the radio tower here and I will do the rest. This is all that I ask of you. When my journey is complete, you may do whatever it is that you came here to do and be on your way. But I beg of you, please help me with this."

You sit there, a bit lost. Deus Ex Machina? You have only ever heard the term from him, as far as you're aware. And your bounty was put up by something called the Syndicate? All this nonsense is exacerbating your headache. You sit back down to calm yourself. You don't have any kind of "Deus Ex Machina", all you've got is a gun and a PDA. Or…Could the PDA have something to do with this? Not that it matters, it's busted to hell and back. You pull it out, and drop it on the floor limply. The pilgrim walks over and picks the device up. He fiddles with it a bit. "Hm…Well, it's worth a try." He begins hooking the PDA up to the main console. The busted screen lights up, but is not any more legible than before. However, the console begins to flash and load, suddenly popping up with a command-line interface. You slide over to it and begin typing on the keyboard, noticing that you actually know how to operate this thing.

>##NEW DEVICE DETECTED##
>PDA::ERYN_WODES
>AVAILABLE SUBSYSTEMS:
>\FILES\
>\LOGS\
>\DATA\

>>2072
>>2094
>ACCESS PDA::ERYN_WODES\FILES\
>LOADING…
>COMPLETE.
>DISPLAYING FILES…
>_
>\FILES\001.PIC
A picture pops up on the screen. It looks like a group photo of people working for some kind of organization. Maybe scientists? You scan the faces; none of them look particulary familiar, until you see one that sticks out to you. Your own.

>\FILES\002.PIC
Another picture shows you and another person working at a computer workstation.

>\FILES\003.PIC
One more picture, showing you and the rest of the people celebrating in some sort of restaurant.

>\FILES\004.PIC
The last of the pictures, showing you shaking the hand of a man in a rather nice business suit.

>\FILES\WODES_E.MED
This file is encrypted; it seems to be some kind of medical record.

>\FILES\NOTE_TO_SELF.NOT
>If you're reading this, you've probably lost your memory.
>It'll come back over time, I promise.
>What you need to know right now is to keep this PDA safe.
>Don't erase it, don't destroy it, and DON'T let the Syndicate get it.
>I can't say much more in case this does happen to fall into the wrong hands.
>I'm sorry.
>Speaking of which, if it's someone other than me reading this, go fuck yourself.

>\FILES\CONFIDENTIAL.SYN
This file is heavily, heavily encrypted. It would take years if not decades to try to decrypt it. You can only guess it's the reason you have a bounty on your head.

>>2106
>ACCESS PDA::ERYN_WODES\LOGS\
>LOADING…
>COMPLETE.
>DISPLAYING LOGS…
>_
>824_036: CONNECTED TO PC::SYN_RESEARCH1
>824_037: \FILES\WODES_E.MED UPDATED
>824_038: \FILES\CALIBRATION.SYN UPDATED
>824_039: \DATA\SCI_MEASURE.APP UPDATED
>824_040: \DATA\DEM_ALPHA_V0.2.2.APP DELETED
>824_041: PC::SYN_RESEARCH1\DATA\DEM_ALPHA_V0.2.3.APP INSTALLED TO \FILES\
>824_042: DISCONNECTED FROM PC::SYN_RESEARCH1
>ERROR: LOG BLOCK 825 THRU 936 INACCESSIBLE
>937_023: CONNECTED TO PC::SYN_ADMIN1
>937_024: PC::SYN_ADMIN1\DATA\DEM_ALPHA_V0.5.4.APP INSTALLED TO \FILES\
>937_025: PC::SYN_ADMIN1\DATA\DEM_ALPHA_V0.5.4.APP DELETED
>937_026: PC::SYN_ADMIN1\FILES\CONFIDENTIAL.SYN INSTALLED TO \FILES\
>937_027: PC::SYN_ADMIN1\FILES\CONFIDENTIAL.SYN DELETED
>937_028: PC::SYN_ADMIN1\FILES\WODES_E.MED INSTALLED TO \FILES\
>937_029: PC::SYN_ADMIN1\FILES\WODES_E.MED DELETED
>937_030: \FILES\PCBREAKER.APP UPLOADED
>937_031: \FILES\PCBREAKER.APP DELETED
>937_032: DISCONNECTED FROM PC::SYN_ADMIN1
>ERROR: LOG BLOCK 937 THRU 953 INACCESIBLE
>953_005: CONNECTED TO PC::ROS_RADIOPC3

>ACCESS PDA::ERYN_WODES\DATA\
>LOADING…
>COMPLETE.
>DISPLAYING DATA…
>_
>\DATA\SCI_MEASURE.APP
It looks like some kind of program for obtaining all kinds of scientific readings; temperature, radiation, chemical composition, you name it. Pretty versatile, especially for a PDA application.

>\DATA\DRIVERSYNC.APP
This program seems to be for detecting and syncing hardware of almost any kind to the PDA. That's some pretty advanced stuff, it couldn't have been cheap to develop.

>\DATA\DEM_ALPHA_V0.5.4.APP
Jackpot. If anything is going to be a Deus Ex Machina, this would be it. It looks incomplete, but there should be enough data there to make it work for small things, at least. You aren't entirely certain how it works, but it seems to be a cluster of rather impressive artificial intelligence algorithms. The code looks alien, yet familiar. You've definitely seen it before. Did you play a part in resurrecting a Deus Ex Machina? You must have burned a few bridges to get your hands on it.

The Pilgrim looks over your shoulder at the computer. "I apologize for placing such a burden on you. I simply need the Deus Ex Machina synced to the signal output of this radio tower. When that is done and the Cube awakens, I will need nothing more from you. We may part ways and I will never ask anything of you again. You will be free to do whatever it is you came here to do." He lets out a long sigh. "There is…There is one more thing I neglected to mention. I hadn't planned to tell you, but my conscience has gotten the better of me. The moment the signal from the Deus Ex Machina is fed out…It would not be a surprise if every bandit or mercenary in range came swarming here to try to make it rich. I understand if you would rather not have this risk upon you, especially in your injured state." He slams his fist on a metal counter. "Damn! I wish I knew a way around this…I need to complete my journey…"

>>2282
>Trying something a little new, hope nobody minds. Sorry for the delays, as well (and as usual at this point).

Gunfire can be heard in every direction, and the camera screen looks like a swarm of ants. Everyone shooting at everyone, all desperate for the prize. You see the Pilgrim nestled in cover, taking potshots at the swarm. The cement block he hides behind crunches with bullet holes. At this rate, he might not be able to make it. You look at the rifle he gave you. It feels nice in your hands. Your finger itches a bit, reaching toward the trigger. You get a little antsy, trying to calm yourself down a bit. After a few moments of internal conflict, you slam the metal door open and throw yourself outside.

The wind is strong, and the smell of gunpowder is overpowering. You run up to a pile of rubble and get the rifle ready. There's no way you could just leave the Pilgrim like this. He needs your help. You aim down the sights, and see mostly skull-faced bandits fighting off bounty hunters and mercenaries. There's got to be twenty or more of them, and a dozen of the mercs. As you survey the battlefield, a loud siren drowns out all the local noise. "ATTENTION COMBATANTS: THIS ZONE IS DECLARED SYNDICATE JURISDICTION. LEAVE IMMEDIATELY, OR BE CHARGED WITH HIGH TREASON. ANY WHO RESIST WILL BE SHOT ON SIGHT." A squad of soldiers in bizarre armor with equally bizarre weapons come over the horizon. A few bandits and mercs run off, but the majority continue fighting. In a flash, the Syndicate soldiers let loose upon the horde. After just a few seconds, ten men are dead on the ground. "The Syndicate? This is not good…I guess we shall see if we retain the Cube's favor!"

Roll a 1d10 and choose your action:
[_] Shoot the Bandits
[_] Shoot the Syndicate
[_] Shoot the Mercenaries
[_] Other

>>2365
Syndicate. The sight of them puts a pit in your stomach. Fear, sadness, anger, hate, all of these and more float up and leave a taste in your mouth that you can't stand. You don't even remember why, but every fiber of your being tells you what you have to do. You raise the rifle, leveled at the leader of their little squad. For a moment, it seems as if the entire world fades away. There is nothing in this empty space but you, the Syndicate soldier, and the rifle in your hands. Your fingertips grace every contour of its handle, and it welcomes you like an old friend. You would almost say the gun had a mind of its own. It was speaking to you, saying "Trust me, trust me…" You closed your eyes, and your hands melted into the weapon. You were no longer a human holding a gun. You two were as one.

Your finger squeezed the trigger, and at once a flash of fire spat out from the barrel. The projectile flew home, following the task it was born to perform. The Syndicate soldier's eyepiece shatters into a beautiful cloud of sparkling glass and red mist. His amplified voice lets out a gurgle as his entire form goes limp. His comrades bounce back in shock, and panic a bit. They begin to spray the area in bullets, desperately seeking cover. "Come in, come in HQ! This is Squad Foxtrot, our leader is down! There is a sniper or something, we're pinned! Need assistance!" All the soldier received in reply was static. Another shockwave came from the epicenter of the Cube, distracting many of the enemies. You, however, felt at peace. Your thumb slid across the engraving on the rifle, reminding you that you've earned its favor. A few more bursts from the rifle caught another Syndicate in the neck, and one more in the gut. The last member of their squad dragged the gut-shot soldier behind cover.

A bandit rushed up the hill to get them while they're weak, but received a short reply in the form of a face filled with pistol rounds. By now there were more dead bodies on the field than alive. You looked over towards the Pilgrim; it looked like he was wounded, but he kept shooting from cover. You slide over to him, and have him take your shoulder for support. This time, you'd be the one to save him. The two of you limp your way across the battlefield, laying fire on anyone unfortunate enough to get between you and the cube.

You end up just outside of the golden gate, blazing like the sun. By now, the battlefield had almost reached a calm. Nobody left was either brave or healthy enough to leave cover and try to fight. The two of you get inside, and the door closes itself automatically. Inside you find a strange mechanical chamber. A blazing engine of some sort resides in the center, glowing with a fury. It is connected to a large computer console. The entire walls on the inside are blanketed with hundreds of the exact same type of rifle. They are locked into place by odd mechanisms. There is a door, which leads into a small room. Within it, you find a cot with a skeleton laying upon it, and a pile of papers on a desk.

To whomever finds this place: greetings. I will have long since died by now, but hopefully my sacrifice was enough to stop those accursed bandits from gaining access to this place. My research shows that this was some sort of munitions factory from the Tower Age, but has since fallen into disrepair. The security systems seem to have been bent on collecting as many weapons as possible for its outer housing; probably a pre-coded emergency response. However, if you're here, you are most likely after the Golden Gun. It is housed in the center of the engine under a heavily encrypted security layer. But I implore you, please do not attempt to release it. There is too much risk of it falling into the wrong hands were it to go free. I locked it away for just such a reason; I was a fool to have released it in the first place. Consider this my final request. Signed, Johannsen.

After you finish reading, the Pilgrim takes the notes. He is silent as he reads through it. After he sets the papers down, he walks over to the corpse. "I will see to it that you get a proper burial, Johannsen. When I bring the last of your followers here, we will make this our new home, and we will heed your request." He sets a pistol on Johannsen's chest. "Here. This will protect you, wherever you may be." He gives a cough, spackling his hand with blood. "Ah, they got me good it seems. I may not be in the best of shape, myself." He sits down with a chuckle. "Heh, well, my journey is over, friend. Thank you for coming with me; I do not know if I could have done it myself." He raises his blood specked hand for you to shake.

[_] Give him a solemn handshake and take your leave back to town
[_] Slap it away and attempt to patch up his wounds
[_] Finish him off yourself and try to hack the console
[_] Other

>>2519
>>2526
You tell the Syndicate to tell you everything he knows about you, his mission, anything. "Sheesh…Well, you're Eryn Wodes, right? That scientist that went rogue and stole top-tier secrets from the Syndicate? Everybody's looking for you right now. You're practically a celebrity, your wanted poster is plastered on every surface in the Tower. We couldn't get a lock on your position to hunt you down like usual, something must've happened to your neural implant." You absentmindedly touch the wounded side of your head. "When you set off that signal, Syndicate HQ sent us to check it out because we were the closest squad. We haven't reported back in a while now -for obvious reasons- so there might be another squad coming to see what happened. It might be a while, though, the next nearest squad was two or three miles out."

Shit. Alright, well, you've still got a little bit of time left. You have him help you pick up all the weapons and loot from the dead bodies and drag it inside the Cube. You set the Pilgrim down and have him hold the rifle in case the soldier tries anything funny while you're looting. It takes a good chunk of time, but after a while you manage to get everything of value together and safe. You comment that he's being awfully cooperative for a prisoner. "Yeah…Well, that's because I'm in a rough situation right now. If the Syndicate finds out that I failed my mission and on top of that let you get away, the most wanted person of all time, it won't be pretty what happens to me. Honestly, you're probably my best shot at getting out of this alive, which is funny to say. But really, I need your help. If I'm going to get out of this alive, I need you to take me to a doctor to pull this neural implant out of my head. That way, the Syndicate can't find me anymore. I'd just smash it or something, but that can cause all sorts of brain damage. Oh- sorry." He gives a heavy sigh. "After all this time, turning my back on the Syndicate…It isn't something done lightly. Although I'm sure you know that. I just want to survive, even if it means giving up everything I've built up all my life."

You stand and think for a moment. Putting your trust in a Syndicate soldier…Seems kind of risky. But if they're as brutal as he suggests, then maybe he's right. After all, it might be for the best if you have another fighter watching your back…You tell him he'll come with you to the town, but after that is when you'll decide what to do with him. "Well, it's better than nothing. Let me take your comrade, he's more heavily wounded than you are and I can keep a better eye on him medically. Then, you can take all those guns and trinkets and whatnot." You're hesitant to put the Pilgrim's life into his hands, but then again you've already done that once before. You sigh and wave him off. He walks over and hoists the Pilgrim up. "Hey, easy there, Mister Traitor." The soldier brushes the comment off. "I have no intention of hurting you. If I wanted to kill you, I would have done it hours ago. Now come on, we haven't much time." You walk into the Cube, and load all the loot into a couple bags. It's heavy as hell, but this much stuff could probably be invaluable to the townspeople. The three of you head back towards town, sun setting in the distance.

>>2553
It gets darker, and the soldier's radio speaks up in the night silence. "Syndicate HQ, this is Recon Squad. We've reached the prescribed destination. Signs of a firefight, two dozen plus bodies. Three Syndicate KIA, one MIA, presumed KIA. Additional note: Many bodies stripped of their equipment. Assessment: Large bandit presence, post-firefight looting run. Recommendation: Additional patrol route between this area and known bandit territory." Whew, thank god. The Syndicate should be off your tail for a little bit. And just in time, you reach the town. The sentry at the gate gives a signal to the main building, and Violetta comes sprinting out towards you. "Oh, Lord, thank goodness you're alright!" She wraps around you in a throttling bear hug, which makes your wounds reignite. You wince, and she immediately backs off. "Oh, you're injured! You need to get to the medic right away!" She pulls you by the hand towards the building, not giving you any say in the matter. You're thrown through the building directly into a bed, and Violetta gets a very serious look on her face. "Don't you dare move a muscle, I'm telling you! The doctor will be here in just a moment." You try to interrupt her talking, but she cuts you off. "Save your strength! My word, you just can't go a day without getting yourself hurt, can you? Get some sleep! They can take care of you while you get some rest." She suddenly looks a bit relieved. "I'm really glad you made it back safe, though." You ask her why she's so interested in you. "Why wouldn't I be? You're the most interesting thing that's happened to this town in a long while. Plus, I think I may have some work for you coming up." You think back to her talking about the Dionysus Club, and all that entails. "Oh, not like that! -Although, you are good looking enough…- No! I need you for something much more important! We can talk about it in the morning. Go to sleep, you need it." You try to argue back, but your words catch in your mouth. Apparently she was right, since your eyes shut themselves without your consent.

Your dream that night is hectic, chaotic. You hear voices, but you can't place whose they are or what they're saying. A bunch of figures stand around you. They're nothing but silhouettes, but they reach out towards you. You see a gun in your hands, and you slowly bring it up towards your head. Your finger slowly inches closer to the trigger. Suddenly, a loud bang shocks your eyes back open.

You wake up completely and utterly encased in bandages. You look like one of those old fashioned mummies. You try to move, but every muscle in your body vetoes that decision. Soon after, Canary walks through the door. "Long time no see! It seems you just can't keep your nose out of trouble." He gives a chuckle, and sits down in a chair next to the bed. "Those two stray dogs you brought back with you are pretty interesting characters. We've got one in another medical room, and the other in an interrogation cell. Eagle almost shot the man himself, but we calmed him down once we explained the situation. A Syndicate turncoat, who'd've thought. Maybe we can get something useful out of him." You think back to last night. You hope bringing him here was the right decision. "Another thing, you brought back quite the arsenal of goods. Boris practically started salivating when he saw it all, the greedy bastard. A small fortune in guns and gadgets, I tell you. What were you planning on doing with all that gear?" You try to reply, but your voice doesn't seem to want to cooperate. It takes your entire force of will to choke out a bizarre whisper that doesn't translate into any known language. "Yeesh, they got you pretty good. I'm surprised you stayed up as long as you did, must have been a hell of an adrenaline rush. Oh, here comes the doctor, I'll give you some privacy." Canary walks out of the room, letting an older man in a white coat enter the room. Perhaps white wasn't the best word for it; it had been tanned by the elements of the Wastes to a solid beige. "So, Eryn. It looks like you'll make a full recovery, but there were a few…anomalies. Namely, that wound on your head. The shrapnel stuck in the affected area appears to be the remains of a neural implant. Rare thing those are. Even rarer for someone to have one break and live to tell about it. The most common side effect is memory loss, have you experienced anything like that?" You very slowly and very carefully nod your head, so as to not aggravate any wounds still laying dormant. "I see, I see." He checks his clipboard, flips through some papers. "Is there anyone you needed to speak with or see urgently?

[_] The Pilgrim
[_] Violetta
[_] Canary
[_] The Soldier
[_] The Technomancer
[_] Other

You glance around the room, looking for anything you can use as some sort of signal. Your coat is hung up against the wall, Technomancer patch facing outwards. It takes a good deal of concentration, but you weakly point towards it. The doctor looks over, ponders for a moment, and then realizes. "Ah, you need to see the Technomancers. I'll call their representative over in just a minute." He heads out the door. A little while later, he comes in with the man who sent you to the radio tower. "So you made it back. Barely. Helped us out a lot, gettin' that tower back up. Sorta stirred up a whole mess'a trouble doin' it, but that's just how things go, I guess." By now your voice had come back a little, and you give a quick summary of everything that happened. His jaw practically hit the floor when you mentioned the Deus Ex Machina. "Deus Ex M…We need to get that thing safe and secure. It's gotta be studied, and quick. This whole town could be in danger…But wow! All my years, I never thought I would've gotten to see one of those in person! A computer program that can work miracles, they say. If we used that thing right we could probably clean this town up, make it nicer and safer. Turn from a little mining village into a real city. Ah, but it's not mine to decide upon. You got it, kid, so it's yours to do whatever with." A knock on the door sounds across the room, and the Pilgrim limps in, almost as bandaged as you, but not quite. His face was grim. "Eryn. There is much trouble with my people. I went to contact them via radio, and explained everything that happened. Revealing the true nature of the Cube…Perhaps it was a mistake. It looks like we -I- have caused a schism among my fellow Cubists. Some of them believe we must adhere to Johannsen's final words without fail, but others believe we should take the Golden Gun from the Cube and use it to rise to power…It is complete chaos amongst them. I fear for my safety if I try to return to them…but I cannot abandon them. I am at a loss, seeking your council. You are wise beyond your years, that much is clear. You have helped me more times than I can count, than I deserve. But I ask of you, please help me."

You're at a bit of a loss, now. You hardly knew what you were doing at the time, but it looks like you've started a religious war. Maybe this is why the Deus Ex Machinas are so rare, maybe they just bring more trouble than they're worth. You ask what happened to the Cube. "The Cube is currently empty, but both factions of my people are heading for it. I fear they may turn violent once they get there. Our old village is a good trek away, so we should have about two days to get there and put a stop to it." You tell him that you'll help resolve the matter, but for now you need to heal. He nods and understands, leaving the room to better prepare himself for what is to come. After he is gone, you remember the Syndicate soldier. You ask the Technomancer if there's any way you can take out his neural implant, or at least fix it so that the Syndicate can't spy on him anymore. "Hmm. Cyberware is tricky business, but I'll see what I can do. Guy might prove useful, really. He can help me figure out how to fix all the salvaged Syndie shit I've collected over the years. Speakin' of which, you sure got yourself a nice little loot pile. Plenty'a gadgets and guns and whatever else. You got a plan for 'em?"

[_] Keep the best stuff for yourself, pawn the rest off
[_] Donate some or all of it to one or more of the guilds
[_] Set yourself up a decently equipped retinue
[_] Other

>>3668
Most likely so. He disappeared during the last mutant attack on our position. No body was found, but we can't afford to send an entire squad on a rescue mission just because one person went missing. The Outpost considers him deceased.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_-fba2hBG4

Sorry for having been away for so long. A lot of things were (and to some degree still are) going on in my life. I hope to return to this quest within 24 hours. There were a handful of times in that period I considered dropping this quest permanently, but I think I've done that a few too many times to be able to let myself get away with it. I've still got a nice little pool of ideas in this setting, so it would be unfair of me to keep them to myself. Thank you for being so patient, you 23 unique IDs (excluding whichever ones are myself).

You set the record straight on the gear. Keep the important stuff, pawn off the little things, and get some guys who know how to fight to handle the weapons. You might need a few watching your back in a few days. The Technomancer lets out something between a sigh and a laugh. "You sure don't know when to quit, do you. Keep pushing it, and not even the good ol' Doc here will be able to put you back together. Bah, it's your life. I'll let the Troubleshooters know you're lookin' for some action. Now, you better get some rest while you still can. You got a busy day tomorrow, looks like."

If there's one thing you can't stand, it's being stuck in bed unable to do anything. You can't help but feel the urge to get up and put things together yourself. The moment you try, however, every fiber of your being protests. You collapse back into a heap on the bed. It isn't long before you fade back into sleep.

You fade back into consciousness to see the Pilgrim and Raven talking as they draw plans on a map. While this is happening, Canary is redressing your wounds and Vulture is picking through your pile of gear. Their boss, Eagle, looms in the doorway. Noticing that you're awake, he points at you. "I'll be lending you a few of my men; I'm sure you've already met. Team Flight is the best equipped for the task at hand. However, I have the final say on all mission proceedings, understand? If I give an order to my men and you impede my command, you're on your own out there." His serious look is offset by your sudden sneeze. A tiny spackle of blood drips down your nose, which you quickly wipe away. Eagle lets out a small sigh and turns to Raven. "Make sure the battle plan is ready in one hour, got that? I don't want any funny business." He walks out of the room. Canary peels off a few of your bandages and readies some fresh ones. "Don't worry about Eagle. He seems hard to get to, but it's just because he doesn't want anything to happen to us." Raven loosely waves his pen at Canary. "Oh, come off it, the old man's as gruff as he's always been. Now get the girl up to snuff, we need to go over the plan with her."

Canary helps you up and takes you over to the map. It looks like a topographical representation of the area surrounding the Cube. Various locations of debris are marked, as well as the likely avenues of entry for the two Cubist factions. The radio tower is shown, with an automated sentry system represented connected to it. It has a fairly limited area of effectiveness due to debris locations, but may prove useful if attempts at a peaceful negotiation fall through. Raven slaps his hand onto the map. "Okay, short stuff, we've got me, Vulture, Canary, and the Pilgrim over here. There's a lot of good vantage spots if someone's taking a long range setup, and plenty of cover close to the Cube where a lot of the action's going to be." The Pilgrim smacks the table as well. "IF negotiations don't work. There is still hope yet for peace, mind you." His tone is restless with a tinge of nervousness. Vulture places a few of the guns on the table. "Calm down, calm down, we'll take it as we go. Here, I've got all your gear clean as a whistle. Oh, Eryn, your things are on the table over there."

You limp over to your new setup of gear. The advanced Syndicate helmet has been hooked up to an optical lens changing mount, each section with a completely different vision power. You also make note of the tactical radio wired into the built in communication system. Your PDA has a new chunk of hardware jutting out, showing off its new sonar scanner. A cable runs from it to your helmet. You try it on, checking out a possible idea. A few switches, some boot-up time, and voila! You manage to get into the PDA through the optic. With some tinkering, you might be able to get back into the advanced functions and uncover a few more clues. For now, you're pressed for time. You press a few buttons and a sonar pulse emits from the PDA. The whole room is traced in static, showing the shapes of everything. Digging through the rest of it, you find a nice new set of clothes; a little less ruined than your previous apparel. It looks warm and durable. Finally, you find your weapons, loaded and ready to go. The Pilgrim's Rifle feels heavy in your hands. Hopefully you won't need to use it to kill any of his old friends.

Raven gives a quick whistle. "AS I was SAYING, we need your final say on positioning around the area. You're de facto leader here, tell us what we're doing."

Any suggestions as to formation and location?

>>4471
Please no.

Lets do a board awareness thing by pestering /meta/ and shit…

I started a quest…
W-We can make this work..

>>4676
>/meta/ awareness

This exactly.

Back when this place still had any traces of activity, people were constantly saying that what we need is trying to steal Halfchan's, Tgchan's or Akun's userbases by spamming the hell out of them. Some saw how retarded that idea was, but no one realised that what we actually needed to do was simply establishing a stronger presence right *here* on 8chins.

/tg/ mentions /qu/ in their sticky, it's as much as they could do.

/cyoa/ is probably the next most related board after /tg/, I've pointed them here once.

/gob/ is related, though pretty dead. A guy from there once came here and wanted to run a civquest, but in the end he never started it.

/art/, /drc/, /loomis/ and /draw/ all have more or less skilled drawfags/artists who are often willing to take requests/do shit just for fun. Some of those may be willing to run an illustrated quest, which is a win in it's own.

Apart from that a good idea would be leaving pointers in /meta/, /boards/ and even /b/, hell, even if it would bring some shitposters they can't kill this board even more than it is…

http://steamcommunity.com/groups/eightygees

There is the Steam group as well, no one probably checks it anymore, but if we are going to bring this board up'n'running again, an obligatory point in our checklist would be bringing the oldfags back in here, if anyone can bother to do it.

Best of luck, I really don't want to see this board die. I'd run my own quest, but I'm unable to at the moment.