epidemiology | EVENT ★ GHOST TOWN

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.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[She's about to argue, to protest that he could get hurt too. But it does sound like the fight is diverted a little for now at least. So she wants to make the most of it and focus on getting to cover, for herself and for him too.

She accepts the assistance, leaning on him for now while they make their way to cover before getting a better idea on the situation and how serious her injury might be.]

I wasn't quick enough, with Shield. I'm sorry.

[She got in the middle of it all again and got hurt. Not for the first time with these missions. Thus making others worry. Graham's always telling her to be more careful as a result. And she tries. It's just not always possible with as reckless as she can be and with these missions.]

[Thankfully, it's not far to cover, although how long they'll be able to hide out there before the Deemers get the idea to try and circle them, he doesn't know.]

That's the problem with ambushes. They don't give you much time to prepare. And these guys got a lot of firepower with 'em.

[Maybe there was a discussion to be had later about getting caught up in something without any back-up, but now isn't really the time. He'd rather use their small reprieve to check her injury.]

Okay, let's see how bad this is.

[He hesitates, though, mostly because she's a young woman, and he doesn't want to go messing around with her clothes. Despite how rough around the edges he seems, he's got a sense of propriety.]

[Sakura simply tries to keep putting one foot in front of the other as he leads and supports her. Only somewhat relaxing once they do manage to find cover and duck to take advantage of it for the time being at least.

When he wants to look at her shoulder, she bites her lip, sitting down and leaning against the ruins of a wall. It'll probably hurt, trying to separate the bloodied shirt from her skin but it also has to happen eventually. So she pulls down the sleeve some, wincing a bit and gritting her teeth as she closes her eyes.]

Ow.....

[He leans in to get a better look past all the blood.]

Looks like they got you pretty good, there. Can you still move your hand?

[He's far from a qualified medic, but he's seen enough battlefield injuries to at least try and make a quick assessment of things.]

I should start bringing bandages along on these things.

[She's used to injuries, treating some minor ones with first aid or helping some on missions with her ALASTAIR healing magic. But she isn't sure if that extends to herself. And right now, she's in pain and a sort of state of shock at it all.

She looks down to her hand, attempting to move it. Well, the fingers manage to at least. Any more hurts.]

I could have been more prepared too. But I wasn't sure what to expect out here.

Okay, that's good.

[Probably meant there wasn't going to be too much damage, anyway.]

Yeah, well. None of us were expecting anything other than an abandoned town, so I wouldn't beat yourself up over it or anything.

[For lack of any actual bandages, he moves to tear a strip off the scarf he usually keeps tied around his waist. It wasn't the best, but it'd probably be enough to slow the bleeding for now.]

I guess. [Once they get back, someone can have a look at it for her. Or even if they find another recruit here with healing or decent medical knowledge. Either way would work.

But she watches as he tears his scarf, about to protest before she clicks to what he's doing.]

Thanks. I'm sure from here I'll manage, if that can help stop the bleeding.

[She's just glad he hasn't been hit and hurt while helping her out.]

[He takes the strip of fabric and begins using it to wrap the wound. This, at least, he's got plenty of practice at.]

I hope so. I can try and get you outta here, too, but it's tricky...

[His weapon also makes for quick transportation, but he can't defend while using it, especially if he takes a passenger, and with all the gunfire...]

You can? How? I don't want you getting hurt helping. I might....I might manage to summon Shield with my other arm?

[Maybe. But chances are whatever he has in mind might work out better than attempting that, given she reflexively always uses two hands when using her cards and staff. Sakura stays as still as she can while he bandages her.]

My weapon doubles as transport.

[He gestures to the anchor he's shoved point down into the ground next to them.]

But I can't defend when I'm using it like that, especially if I got a passenger to hang on to.

Oh....I'll be careful and try not distract you too much. Just tell me what you need me to do.

[But that might obviously be difficult. With the Deemers. She thinks for a moment.]

Maybe if we hurry, while they're distracted?

We can hope. If we hang around here much longer, we're probably going to get pinned down, anyway.

[He gets to his feet, grabbing the anchor as he does so and angling it more so it's laying almost parallel to the ground, wrapping the chain on one end around one arm and setting a foot on the pole before he reaches out a hand to here.]

C'mere. If you hang on to me with your good arm, I should be able to hold you. It's not too hard to balance.

[Maybe a little like a balance beam, but it was relatively wide.]

O-okay....

[She lets him help her find her balance, holding to him with her good arm, but overall not finding it too difficult. So long as it doesn't mean she has to move from where she is for now, even the sometimes clumsy Sakura could manage this much.]

[He doesn't usually try this with passengers, so he takes an extra moment to make sure they've got a good grip on each other.]

Alright, this might be a little bumpy, just hang on.

[Which is the last warning he gives before flames kick up behind him and he sends them racing out past the ruins they'd been using for cover, scattering a few Deemers in their path as he tries to search out a route to safety]

[Sakura is used to being a passenger, and this is still something of an improvement over the way Yue and Kero usually just bodily haul her around out of danger. So she does as instructed, holding as best she can before the flames start them off.

She may be half peeking and half hiding behind his shirt at this point but they are moving, which is progress.]

EVENT ★ GHOST TOWN

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject