EVENT ★ GHOST TOWN

[futurologists]

BONEYARD JUNCTION Thanks to efforts from your teammates, the path to Boneyard Junction, the abandoned town at the end of the rail line, has been cleared. The train will not go this far, so recruits will have to walk the rail from the next stop over at the Fracking Fields. Most of the danger has been removed, but there still may be a few straggling giant lizards or bandits along the way, looking for a quick meal or an easy robbery. The ghost town itself is smaller in scope than Perdition's Rest, with several familiar-looking buildings -- the mayor's office, the sheriff's office, a general store -- but the main difference is that the town is halfway sunken into the desert. The ground here is shifting and unstable, with sinkholes and quicksand a constant threat. Venturing inside the crumbling buildings, left to rot in the desert for the past thirty years, is equally dangerous; there's a good chance that upper stories will simply collapse underfoot or overhead, and many venomous, aggressive reptiles and arachnids have moved in since the Qorral moved out. The Qorral have not been back here since abandoning it, so there is a lot to scavenge, from tech to money or tools to toys, both businesses and residential buildings are ripe for the plundering. The bandits have been through here in the past three decades many times, stripping the town of many of its valuables, but determined recruits ought to be able to find secret caches or overlooked boxes. Those who venture into the lowermost parts of buildings, however, will find objects of the greatest value, though not necessarily monetarily -- familiar-looking tech, corroded with sand and rusted with age, is littered about basements filled with sand and debris, as if the further the buildings sank into the desert, something beneath the town rose up to meet it. Upon further inspection, the tech will react when placed next to jewelcomms, lights blinking and static-filled screens turning on: this tech once belonged to ALASTAIR, its age clearly dating it much further back than the Qorral's arrival on this planet. But before Audentes can investigate further, there's an interruption . . . AMBUSH There's a sudden cacophony of shouting and gunfire from all sides of Boneyard Junction as heavily armed figures storm in, on the attack. They aren't from Perdition's Rest. They could be bandits, but bandits usually ask for money first -- plus, these people seem much too well-equipped to be bandits. Their clothing isn't haphazard, their weapons are well cared for. If recruits survive the initial onslaught (better be good at dodging bullets!) and pay attention to the shouting that can be heard above the gunfire, the identity of the attackers may slowly become clear: they speak of salvation and digging deeply. These are the Deemers. Previously unseen and ostensibly peaceful, the Deemers are now showing themselves to be anything but. They fight recruits with a savage intensity, injuries seemingly not slowing them down. Their only weakness appears to be injury to the head, after which they will immediately disengage and attempt to flee. Though they shout about salvation as they attack with a religious fervor, they also occasionally say something about recruits getting too close to something -- perhaps something in Boneyard Junction itself. Jonathan Black, leader of the Deemers, makes an appearance, spouting fire and brimstone in an unnaturally loud voice that can be heard above the gunfire and screaming. Any attempts to confront him will be met with vicious attacks from his bodyguards, a pair of shrouded Deemer women who fight with curved swords. Eventually, though, one recruit manages to break through. Once Black is dead, the Deemers will fight with more desperation than before, now trying to flee rather than attempting to kill recruits. Any Deemers that are captured will not share information, even under torture; they will only babble about deliverance and redemption found through drilling deeper into the planet. After they are driven off into the desert (or disposed of in other ways), the rest of Boneyard Junction is free to be explored without interruption. Perhaps collecting more ancient ALASTAIR technology will bring answers. OOC NOTES IMPORTANT: After the Deemers have been driven away, upon return to Perdition's Rest, Miz Poppy and a vast majority of the saloon workers have mysteriously vanished. The remaining workers have no idea where they've gone. All entertainment at the saloon has been postponed. Please direct all questions pertaining to the mission to the dossier page to keep questions and responses in one place for easy player reference. General game questions should be directed to the FAQ. If you haven't already, make sure you check out the Bounty Board for side missions! Remember you can also request bounty missions or submit player plots at any time.

Comments

a

[dailydouble]

[ It's not that Ahad protests to scrounging in the dirt, but he's grown tired of this constant lack of information. While he is entirely for the multiverse not ending, he continually questions ALASTAIR's role in all of this and the missions that they send them on. He won't throw away anything that could be a clue, but he's much more likely to seek out objects to trade or sell. He doesn't need much, but those he has thrown his lot in with do.

When the call for assistance comes, Ahad lets the moment stretch out. He's not one to ever be commanded. ]

Perhaps you should try asking?

[secondnature]

[After their last conversation, Keith realizes that he really should've expected this. He offers Ahad a fussy expression, wondering where asking really matters when they're all here to do stuff. He doesn't have the same breadth of knowledge that Ahad has (he's not good at asking those particular questions), but he knows something is fishy here. Especially if ALASTAIR has apparently been here before.

He crosses his arms and looks behind him.]

We're teammates. It's not like I was ordering you around.

[dailydouble]

[ There's another pause, as Ahad takes a moment to wonder if Keith pays any attention at all to the words that come out of his mouth. As of this moment, Ahad would be willing to bet on no. ]

Were you not? With your words, you demanded that help be provided. Surely you can see how that could be interpreted as an order, instead of a request?

[secondnature]

I think that's only if you're making a big deal out of it. [Keith isn't very good at softening the blunt end of his words, but he genuinely doesn't seem to see the problem here.]

Look, if you don't want to help, just say it. We have people around who believe in teamwork.

[dailydouble]

I will help any of our team who request it. [ Ahad doesn't say that lightly. His feelings on ALASTAIR are one thing, but there's no need to hurt those he works with by refusing aid. ]

What I will not do is take orders from a mortal again, no matter what their intent is.

[secondnature]

I'm not giving you an order! [It might have been a direct statement, but it feels like they're going to go back and forth on this.]

Like I said, if you'd like to help—fine. If you don't want to help, I'll find someone else. [No, he didn't phrase it that way before, so the "like I said" is technically false. But he's not about to back up and correct himself.]

[dailydouble]

[ In a surprising move, Ahad reaches up to pinch the bridge of his nose. While he usually limits telling reactions like that, the moment seems to deserve it. ]

What I'm offering you is compromise. I have met you on my end by assuming there was no malice behind your words and politely requesting that you ask, instead of using language that I find offensive.

[ He'll pause, to look up and meet Keith's eyes. ] You speak of being part of a team, but part of that is being willing to allow some compromise in order to foster stronger relationships.

[secondnature]

Look—I didn't think this would be such a big deal. [There's some underlying agitation in his voice, like he hadn't expected this to be a thing. And now he's mad that it's a thing, because he doesn't want to budge from standing his ground, but he also doesn't want it to be a thing.]

I just need some help, okay? An extra hand. [Keith chooses not to repeat that Ahad can go do whatever else he wants if he wants. He doesn't see what needs to be compromised on. The word "please"? He didn't think he was being a jerk like Zarkon or whatever.]

[dailydouble]

You don't know me. [ It would not be a "big deal" for everyone, which Ahad does acknowledge. It's simply his past that makes demands stand out, when before he had no choice but to obey them. ]

If you need an extra hand, ask.

[secondnature]

[From Keith's perspective, he did ask. This whole thing seems completely unreasonable. He glowers at Ahad for a moment longer. No wonder he can tolerate Loki. He's just as annoying as that guy!]

Do you want to help me? [Because it sounds like he doesn't. But it is a question, albeit not phrased entirely as a request. Keith doesn't mean to make anyone do anything they don't want to, so he's just ... lost when it comes to that particular specification.]

[dailydouble]

I would not be opposed to helping you.

[ He'll raise an eyebrow, largely at Keith's way of phrasing that. While Ahad has no great desire to help anyone, he's willing to. ]

[secondnature]

So ... [It's apparent that Keith is at a loss of what he's supposed to say here. What he does know is that he would probably have found someone else to help by now. He looks at Ahad to see what he's going to decide.]

[dailydouble]

Describe what you hope to achieve here?

[ Ahad doesn't roll his eyes, but it's a close thing. He's barely holding onto the last of his patience. ]

[secondnature]

I want to find some of the stuff that got left behind. [Keith can't tell if Ahad is referring to this terrible conversation or his overall goal, so he shoots for the latter.]

I don't like a lot of what this mission says about anything and about what we're doing, so I thought we'd find some more clues.

[dailydouble]

Ah. [ There's much to be said about mission goals and what they're doing. Not that Ahad intends to engage Keith in a discussion about it. Somehow, he doubts it would go well. ]

I meant your more immediate goals. What you intend to do with help.

[secondnature]

Oh. [He honestly thought it would be obvious, but nothing about this conversation has included anything "obvious." All right, here he goes:]

I'm not strong enough to get a box out of where it is. It feels kind of heavy? The stuff inside may just be a lot of dirt, which is why it's heavy—but. You know.

[dailydouble]

I see. Lifting boxes is within my abilities.

[ It's said seriously, but not even Ahad could say something like that without internally being amused. He'll head toward the box Keith indicated; there's no need to Keith to waste strength when Ahad can retrieve it effortlessly. ]

[secondnature]

Wow, I'm so surprised. I wouldn't want you to break a sweat or anything, but hey, if it's within your abilities ... [Keith should probably curb the attitude, but after that unnecessarily drawn out conversation (in his opinion), he's not feeling overly appreciative right now.]

[dailydouble]

[ While Keith is still talking, Ahad will effortlessly lift the box. He'll even do it with one hand.

After picking it up, he'll turn to Keith as if he's waiting for instructions on where to put it down. ]

[secondnature]

[Instructions don't come.

What does arrive is this: Keith falling off the self-control pillar and ending up considerably angry.]

We had that whole very >stupid argument, and you can just do this? Are you serious?

[dailydouble]

There was no argument, except on your end. A demand was made and I refused to comply, because I am tired of being ordered around. It is only in recent memory that refusing was an option.

[ Without direction, he'll drop the box in front of Keith. It's not a hard drop, which should leave anything delicate intact. ]

[secondnature]

If you can just pick that up like it's not a problem, you can probably beat me up however you want, too.

[Just saying. He bends down to begin to examine the box, opening it quickly to ... find a lot of dirt at first, but it seems like there's something hidden underneath, at least.]

[dailydouble]

I don't want to kill you.

[ It's stated rather matter of factly, and as if Ahad were discussing something as mild as the weather. He does lean in to see what's in the box; after all that trouble, Ahad would prefer that there be something useful in it. ]

[secondnature]

Um—thanks? I'm glad?

[Sorry, Ahad. Conversations with Keith are about 99% of him missing the point.

The other one percent is currently dedicated toward helping pluck out books, and it's here that the holodisc is planted.]