As I've stated before my major intention with this game is to follow the development of a single Apocalypse World setting and set of characters over the course 20+ sessions. I want to see how the world fills in with terminology, history, and peoples.
As in my earlier actual play reports, small green text indicates out of character talk, mechanics and other game aspects outside of the fiction.
Our main characters are:
We start the next morning.
Highlighted stats are:
BRT soon arrives with Kal and Dice in tow. The trio find the young woman waiting, carefully checking her gear.
“So yeah,” she greets BRT checking her sights.
"Morning," he replies cutting off the awkward silence.
“I have some bad news for you,” she says, stowing the last of her tools.
BRT sighs. "What’s up Violet?"
Violet tells him about her findings the night before. Her aunt used a radio to contact Crimson, the leader of the Wild Eyes. Uncle Buck was one of their members. They plan to hunt BRT down.
“Your aunt has a hidden radio?” BRT comments.
Violet frowns and ignores his question. ”I’m not quite sure what to think about last night. He probably had it coming but he was my kin.”
"I’m not a murderer," BRT tells her. "I feel like shit. But you live with that shit for your entire life, it messes you up. I’m not made for this world.”
He gestures around to Stumpland, “I like the ruins where I don’t need to worry about all this. If someone paid me to do regular work, I’d do it but I don’t trust Hurricane."
He turns to the two men beside him. "No offense guys."
“Well things aren’t perfect,” Violet says.
The other nod and the crew gathers their things. BRT leads them into the swamps and east to the highway.
BRT comes up alongside Violet. "You think this Crimson guy is going to come for me?"
“Probably. Be careful. Frankly I feel weird saying that to the guy who killed my uncle.”
"Don’t spare it two thoughts," he says. "Your uncle would have killed you if you had something he wanted.”
"You have a point there."
"If he had only said something else,” BRT says slowly.
“Mom always said Uncle Buck would come to a bad end if he didn’t change his ways.”
As they head into the swamps, I debate how much and where the trouble should start. I decide to let them get to the road so that if I need to cut it short, I can do so cleanly.
"November, what do you do about Gunge? He is lingering around."
November asks the group,"What’s the normal practice for someone who is suspected of having the climbers? Are they killed? Isolated? Banished?"
BRT suggests telling Hurricane.
Gator says at the very least they are exiled. Otherwise they are killed and burned.
I point out that it is possible to cure if you have someone with medical skills.
That will cost, Gator says.
Back in Stumpland, November approaches Hurricane as he talks to some of the citizens of the town about the next harvest. After they disperse, she says to him, “I’m concerned. I think Gunge might be infected. It looks pretty early though.”
"So he’s got the climbers," Hurricane says scowling. "Alright, I’ll get him out of here.”
"I’m not even sure he knows," she adds.
“Well he’s about to find out," the big man says. "He’s got a boat, he’s got money, he can go find his own cure.”
With that he strides out to the center of town.
Where does Gator spend his day?
After establishing the time (midday), he says that he finds a good vantage point from which to snipe at any visitors.
I point out Jackbird's ship is the highest point. We establish that he scouted the outside, climbed up and is hiding on the bridge.
High up above central Theater of Stumpland, Gator scans the perimeter for any approaching threats. Nearer by, he spots Hurricane walking over to Gunge. His friend and employer talk amicably for a minute but the conversation soon sours. Too far for him to hear what's going on, Gator watches as words become shouts. Hurricane gives Gunge a shove and points off into the swamp. One of his enforcers, Smoky, walks over and points a pistol at Gunge.
Gator tenses, placing the thick bearded man with his crosshairs. Gunge however backs off and heads for his boat. Gator pulls up his gun and quickly climbs down.
A moment later, he catches Gunge just as he's readying his rusted airboat to cast off.
“What was that about?” Gator asks.
Gunge focuses on starting the engine. "I don’t want to talk about it."
“You’re not going to tell me what that was about?”
Gator Reads a person and get a 5 (which seems to be his most common roll lately) for a total of 7. He also marks experience.
What does he intend to do? He asks.
He intends to go home and get drunk on moonshine.
"That doesn’t sound good," Gator says.
"I didn’t say he had a good plan."
Gunge shrugs. “I’m just going to back to my place and getting drunk.”
"Why man?" Gator says from the dock.
“I’ve just had enough of this place. They are unfriendly.”
"Fine, I’ll just ask Hurricane and see what he has to say," Gator says.
“Fine, fine ask him,” Gunge says spitting over the side. The engine roars to life.
Gator approaches Hurricane as he discusses the defense of the town with Smoky. The big man turns to him. “I thought you were up on the boat.”
"Yeah but I saw something going on with Gunge."
Hurricane looks him the eye. “Yeah well he’s got the climbers.”
"Ah fuck really?"
“Yes, November told me. You can see it, barely, in his eye."
“Start of the spots?" the warrior asks.
“Exactly,” Hurricane says. “You know how it is.”
"I understand." Gator turns back to the dock. Gunge casts off. "That fucking idiot is doing the wrong fucking thing. Hold on, I’ll be back."
Gator decides to chase Gunge. I have him roll Acting under fire to catch the boat. He succeeds with an 8 and has to jump into boat while in motion. If he had fully succeeded he could have caught up before the boat pulled away.
Gator runs along the muddy bank of Stumpland after the boat. As it passes under a twisted and bent over willow tree, there is a crash.
The boar ways and Gunge starts as Gator appears on the deck. The armored warrior brushes off leaves and small branches as he rises from his crouch.
“Hey, fucking idiot,” he says to the one-eyed man.
"What are you doing jumping into my boat?" Gunge says.
“You are about to do something stupid,” Gator tells him.
"What business is it of yours?"
“Where would I be without your valuable service? You going off to die is my business.”
Sadly this is a Manipulate a person move. Gators rolls a 6 which makes his total a 4. Hard move time.
Gunge gives his friend a good push. Unready, the heavily armed warrior tumbles off the boat. As he sputters up to the surface, he sees the air boat driving to the East at top speed.
Gator makes a note of Gunge's bearing and struggles his way back up onto the muddy bank. Cussing he makes his way back to Jackbird’s. Once he reaches the bridge, he focuses his attention on the guns, quickly cleaning and oiling them. As for the bullets, he would just have to hope.
Gator makes a point of noting where Gunge headed off to, hoping to follow him later and loot his place.
I tell him,"it would be boring if you never found him again."
We cut to later in the day with BRT and Violet. I ask, "what is the trail like, BRT?"
He describes it as not too submerged, but still a nasty wet trail. BRT marks the path they take. Initially he suggested chalk but Violet pointed out, "Doesn’t it tend to rain a lot in Everglades?"
The sun slowly descends as BRT marks the last tree trunk with some spray paint. Dice and Kal trudge slowly behind him, their boots caked in mud. Violet peers ahead at the old highway in the fading light.
The withered corpses of climber victims decorate the listing street lamps to either side of the wide overgrown roadway. Endless lines of rusted cars and trucks sit empty, their driver's side doors wide open, just as on the day their owners stopped, stepped out and began to climb.
BRT asks, "do I know exactly where an axle is?"
You have a fair idea where to find it. You need to check a few vehicles to see if they have the right type and are intact. You can get to the nearest ones before the light fades.
Billie Ray turns to the others. “Okay guys, I don’t like being out in the open once the sun goes down. We can push through and grab it before the light fades, but we’ll probably be caught out in the open. Or we camp here out of sight and head out in the morning.”
“I’m all for waiting until morning,” Kal says looking at the desiccated corpses blowing in the wind.
Dice stows his machete in his overstretched belt. “Let’s just get that axle and that way we can try to book it.”
Violet asks, "how heavy is the axle?"
Heavy enough to slow you down.
So running will not be an option, she says.
Violet considers how likely it will be to outrun someone while carrying the axle. She votes to camp.
BRT leads them to an underpass and they build a secluded camp amid the brambles.
That night their sleep is disturbed by the passage of several vehicles overhead. BRT listens to the rumble of the engines and guesses that it is a convoy of two cars or trucks accompanied by a pair of motorcycles.
They hunker down and soon the sound of the convoy disappears into the north.
November spends the night in one of Hurricane’s spare rooms. The chorus of crickets intermingle with the splashes of the alligators in their pens. Carefully she begins to pack up her gear, stowing her share of the gator jerky away. She considers her next step and looks out to Jackbird's and her possible traveling companion.
Gator how long do you spend on the boat? Do you spend the night?
Yes.
Gator meanwhile finds his watch disturbed by a recurring vibration through the ship. After a half hour he tracks the source to the door in the back of the bridge, the one leading deeper into the boat.
Gator chooses to Open his brain. He fails. After some consideration I choose to activate the custom move I wrote for the door. Here is the move:
With the engine off, the ship is unstable. When accessing the bridge using the door in the back from either direction, roll +weird. On a hit, the portal does not collapse. On a 10+, the energies resonate with the character and he or she momentarily experiences a connection to the psychic maelstrom as if using augury move and the option ‘a window into the psychic maelstrom.’ On a miss it collapses, shunting anyone passing through somewhere else in time and/or space (several days either way or a few tens of miles).
He rolls a 9 and the doorway opens.
Gator puts his hand to the door and feels the vibration. He reaches out with his mind but finds only something metallic and foreign. The door opens easily, revealing a set of stairs leading down. A whiff of salty air rises from below. Somewhere deeper down he hears a pair of people talking.
Gator Reads a sitch and gets a 13. He also marks experience. What should I be on the lookout for?
The door is unstable and passing through it might make it stop working.
What's my best escape route?
Back through this door.
Who is in control here?
An interesting question. You are. The weirdness on this ship is on its last legs.
Gator grabs one of the chairs on the bridge and props the door open.
He sneaks down the dark corridors following the echoing voices deeper into the vessel. The ship gently sways as if it were out at sea. Continuing on he tracks the voices to a bulkhead door.
They stop.
Gator opens up the door. In the well-lit room he finds two people or at least their remains. The pair of strange men seem freshly dead, slouched in their gray coveralls. One hangs out of wall while the other has fused with the floor at his waist.
Gator backs away. A loud creak echoes through the boat and the light flickers out. Gator pulls his submachine gun out and quickly turns to leave.
As he hurries back, he hears something scratching along the metal floor. Gator shines his flashlight in that direction, catching sight of two green glowing eyes.
The scarred warrior carefully scans the area until the light reveals a small black cat.
“Jeez,” he says as he slows his breathing. “Get out of here.”
The cat meows at him.
“Alright out is this way,” he says, continuing toward the stairs. The cat follows him and the pair exit the bowels of the ship.
I have him roll Acting under fire to escape. With the earlier +1 from Reading a sitch, he gets a 7.
As he steps through the door, it shudders. The chair is knocked aside and the door slams shut. As he contemplates what happened, the cat rubs against Gator's leg.
I decide the door is now closed forever.
Another morning comes to the muddy town of Stumpland. November steps out to find Rabbit sitting outside Hurricane's. The older woman is savoring her morning’s first drink.
“Good morning, Rabbit,” November says.
“Good morning,” Rabbit says, her eyes flicking to and from November's face.
"How are you doing?"
"Good, good." she says quickly.
November made Rabbit love her.
"Any signs of Deg’s boys yet?"
Rabbit looks north blankly. "No, but they’ll be here soon."
"Good to know," the dancer says.
Rabbit turns to November, her eyes focused beyond her. "I think he saw you."
"Who?" she asks.
"What?" Rabbit says.
"Who saw me?"
"I don’t know what you mean."
November shelves that for later. "I hope you have a pretty good store of booze."
“I’m making it last,” she says with a smile.
"OK, good for you."
What is November actions for the day?
I'd talk to Hurricane about Deg’s boys, looking for background info.
Gator would also be helpful given he knows about Deg's second in command, I point out. Or as I called him, “Mr. Concerned about Political Stability.”
November goes looking for Hurricane, finding him by the gator pits. She asks him about Deg's men and who their leader might be.
“I’m not sure who they will send," he tells her. "They might send Franky or Ork. I hope they don’t send Ork.”
"Why what is he like?" she asks.
Hurricane runs a hand through his blond hair. “With a name like Ork? You know, piercings, mohawk, kill them all.”
"What’s he like?" she presses.
“He’s a rough customer. Deg sends him out when he wants someone pounded into the ground. Not one for the finer things. If they send Ork, I’ll be glad I paid for Gator.”
November quizzes him about Ork's vices. Hurricane explains Ork is a rough and tumble type. "He's a hard drinker, that I know. As for Franky, she's more civilized but not the nicest of people either. I don't really know what her angle is. She's always been all business with me."
November then asks where Gator might be.
“He’s been spending time on the boat,” he tells her. “It is the best vantage point in town.”
November turns to the stranded ship and waves. She then tracks down Rabbit and quickly negotiates for some of the booze she stole from Jackbird's shop.
November rolls Manipulate a person, and gets a hard hit. She also marks experience.
November says, “Its nice to know what she wants" even if she doesn't have to pay out.
“It’s kind of the last of the booze," Rabbit protests feebly. "But I guess things are kind of tough. I'll bring it out if you need it. Maybe we could spend some time hanging out together until they come?”
"Sure that sounds nice."
That task accomplished she climbs up the side of Jackbird's boat. Gator quickly waves her onto the bridge.
“A sniper’s perch isn’t good if people can see who is in it,” he tells her as she joins him in his hiding place.
"Hey, I was wondering if you could tell me a little more about these people who are coming. Franky especially.”
"Ork is pretty dumb,” Gator tells her. "Ork is just a bag of muscle. Franky though likes her betting.”
"She bets on anything if it’s interesting?"
"Yeah."
"I have an idea," she says.
The noonday sun finds November practicing her sleight of hand against Rabbit with Hurricane's antique set of playing cards. Gator turns his gaze to the horizon. A smoke trail announces the arrival of Deg’s posse.
Earlier that day to the east, BRT and his crew start scouring the overgrown highway for a usable axle. The early morning sun slowly cuts through the morning fog, revealing the hanging dead to either side, their arms and legs still clenched tight around the top of the rotted lamp posts.
BRT makes a Scavenging roll and gets a soft hit. Since this is based on Sharp he marks experience. From the list of options he picks 1-barter to represent the axle. He also gains experience and gains a new move: Canny. From the choices he didn’t pick we know it will take time and expose them to danger.
An hour later they find an old ambulance with the right sized axle. With effort they flip it onto its side and get started removing it.
Halfway through the process, Dice slaps BRT on the shoulder. Down the road, they see a bald man stumbling down the highway. He drifts back and forth across the road, occasionally climbing up a decayed car before making his way further down the road. He makes no note of them or the bright red sunburns across his skin.
Violet leads the others to cover.
BRT Reads a sitch. He gets an 11 and marks experience. What should I be on the lookout for?
The guy is sunburned and walking weirdly, It’s like he is not seeing things, Like he is sleepwalking.
Billie Ray leans over to Violet. “He’s got the climbers.”
How far do the spores affect things? he asks.
A fair distance. It depends on the wind.
Violet puts a finger to the wind. A gentle breeze blows in their direction. “We need to get on the other side of him.”
“That’s nasty shit,” BRT says. “We need to put him out of his misery.”
“Not while we are downwind.”
Where’s my best escape route? is his next question.
He’s moving slowly. If you go off the road you can easily outrun him.
Can we grab the axle in time?
No.
“Let’s go this way,” he says leading them off the highway and into the brambles.
He takes them on a circuitous path around the sleepwalker, watching as he continues north, clambering over the wrecks as he goes.
When they get back on the highway, they find him atop of the truck they just flipped.
“For reals?” BRT says shaking his head.
Violet decides he is too far gone. She asks if they have protection from spores. We decide Violet and BRT would have gas masks. Kal and Dice only have bandanas.
Violet pulls out her rifle, carefully taking aim at the man’s head. Letting out a sigh, she pulls the trigger.
Violet hopes to have him fall away from truck. I ask her to roll Go aggro after debating Acting under fire. She gets an 8 as well as experience and advancement.
The shot misses barely, blasting off the man’s ear. Startled awake, the climber flees into the bushes.
BRT asks, “Do we wait for him to blow or we take care of this now?”
I say that the man is no longer visible.
“Let’s work fast,” BRT says.
They hurry back to the truck. Setting Violet to keep watch, BRT directs Kal and Dice to help him remove the axle.
I have BRT Act under fire. Violet chooses not to roll her -1Hx to “help” him. He manages a hard hit of 11 and marks experience.
Fifteen minutes later BRT pops the last bolt and Kal grabs the heavy automobile part as it falls, Dice grabs the other end and the team quickly make their way back into the swamp.
We cut back to Stumpland.
Gator watches as a gang of motorbikes comes down the dirt road north of Stumpland. He watches through his sight as a dozen armed men and women pull up in front of Hurricane's hut.
November sets a hand of cards on the rough wooden table where she and Rabbit are sitting. As she rises, the leader, a lean muscular woman with bright red hair, steps forward.
“You’re late,” Franky says.
Hurricane comes down from inside his hut. “It's not my fault," he calls. "The truck broke. We’ve got your food all nice and ready. You can just take it back with you.”
"Do I look I’m going to haul stuff back?" she snorts. "I’m here to make sure you know the price of not getting your food in on time."
November scans the crowd but sees no sign of Ork. ”I think this would all go a bit smoother if we sat down and had something to drink,” she says with a nod to the table.
Franky cocks her head and smiles. “I’ll take that drink. But as I was saying I don’t have time to take that food back. It's not my job. I’ve got other holdings to go to, other people who owe food.”
"It's perfectly clear," November says as she pours and hands over a glass. "I’m sure we can work something out. Hurricane is not trying to hold out on you at all. You guys seem to have been travelling a ways. Why don’t you take a rest?”
I ask her for a Manipulate a person and unsurprisingly she gets a 10. She also gains an experience.
November asks if she can talk her around to taking the stuff herself?
I tell her no.
“You’ve got to give us another week. We’ve got people coming in with the parts and we’ll jury rig something up.” November adds that they might pack a little extra food just for her and her posse.
Franky gives November an appraising glance.“You are right, it has been a long hard slog down this way and we’ve got a good deal of riding left to do. If you could give us a bit of comfort on our way back, that would be good.”
"I'll play you for it," November says with a smile.
“Sure.”
As they sit down, Rabbit deals out a hand to both of them.
"I don’t know how you feel," November says looking over her cards, "but I’m not going to serve all you guys. But let’s play for it. You win we’ll give you some fun on your way back. I win well we had some fun this time.”
I choose to make this an Acting under fire roll. She gets a 13.
You won the safety of Stumpland in a card game.
November adds a further suggestion which so awesome it led to this...
The two skillfully play back and forth but November clearly has the advantage. In the winning hand she turns over an ace to crush Franky's play. As she holds it up for all to see Gator puts a bullet through the card.
Franky accepts the loss and the posse drives south to their next stop.
Back in the swamp, Kal and Dice plod through the mud. The weight of the axle plunges their feet six inches into the muck with each step. Violet keeps glancing back for the climber while BRT leads them from tree marking to tree marking.
Violet stops. She hears a splashing noise in the waters off to the right. Silently she directs the others to take cover.
Once off the path, she tells them there is something large moving in water.
“That’s either a gator or python,” BRT says as an extra-large splash can be heard. “Whatever it is, it is large.”
They put the axle down. Dice pulls out a 9mm pistol while Kal readies his new shotgun.
As Violet readies her rifle, BRT asks, “You guys know the tree markers, right?”
“Right,” Kal says.
"I’m going to try to distract it. When I distract it, don’t just run, shoot it.”
“Right,” the kid nods.
BRT Seizes by force using his crew as weapon. I fold Violet into the gang. It is small and deals 3-harm. He rolls 11, gaining definite hold, suffering little harm, and frightening whatever is out there.
I improvise some python stats: 2-harm 1-armor 2-health creatures.
The scavenger goes down the path, beating the bushes. He finds not one large python but two entwined and rather intimate snakes. They lash out at the disturbance. As the hail of gunfire hits and drives them off, one manages to bites him. It gets a mouth full of leather before tossing him into a rotten tree. As it disappears into the water, everything goes black for Billie Ray.
The snakes take 3-harm. I decide that means one dies and the other escapes heavily wounded.
BRT takes 2-harm -1 for his armor and -1 from suffer little harm. He is uninjured but I have him roll a harm roll. He gets an 11 and so I choose to cause him to knocked unconscious.
November comments that since two PCs have taken a drop into the water there should be some disease or something in there.
I point out Gator hasn’t fire his guns yet. The bullets might be bad. Then I realize that there was one shot with the sniper rifle, so that definitely works.
November does a virtual high-five with Gator over that.
Violet rushes over to the face down scavenger. BRT coughs up some water but doesn't respond to her shakes. Not willing to stop, she directs the others to get the axle moving again. She hefts BRT on her shoulder and follows the trail toward Stumpland.
“As conflicted as I am there is not much else we can do," she mutters to the others. "We have to keep this baggage train rolling."
The group slogs through the mud for a half hour, getting closer and closer to Stumpland. Violet scans the water for more pythons. Then she hears something pushing its way through the brambles behind them. She looks for cover but the muddy path is surrounded on both sides by half-submerged brambles.
"Keep moving," she urges the others as she covers their retreat.
They are still an hour out from Stumpland when the noise occurs.
Violet rolls Acting under fire to hide and gets a 7.
She can get to cover but she and the axle would be in the water. She chooses to run.
Dice and Kal strain to move the axle at a slow jog. Violet spots the sunburned climber stumbling through the foliage behind them. She glances at the still leaves on the trees about them.
Seizing her chance, she drops BRT to the muddy ground and brings up her rifle.
While the scavenger becomes dimly aware of pain and movement of people around him, Violet shouts, “Don’t come any closer!”
Violet rolls Go aggro, and gets an 8 as well as an experience.
I comment, "it's a hard world. You are a nice person but you are willing to kill people if you need to."
"I’m not stupid," she says.
The man stumbles forward, unaware or unafraid. A single shot rings out. He collapses into the mud, his blood mixing with the swamp.
BRT’s eyes blink open and he forces himself up. His head rings with the shot and a massive bruise covers his left temple. With Violet's help he stumbles along until they are 20 minutes out from Stumpland.
“Guys stop a minute,” he calls out. As they pull up to a halt, he continues, “Kal, I’ve got a deal with your uncle. I don’t plan on reneging on it.”
"OK," the teen says uncertainly, setting down the axle for a moment.
“On the full moon,” BRT says, steadying himself on a tree.
"Yeah, that’s 3 weeks from now," Kal says.
“Right just tell him to leave a message here then if he needs me to do a job.” BRT pulls out a knife and marks a tree with a symbol. “Tell him I won’t be coming around if I see anyone around.”
"I don’t think he’ll be happy with this arrangement. Why are you running out?"
“I’ll be in the area. I just don’t trust the people in town. Tell him I’ll throw an extra job in for free.”
"Alright, I’ll let him know."
The scavenger then leaves the path, following a muddy route into the swamp.
Violet calls out, “don’t you go killing anyone else for revenge!”
"Only one man killed my mother Vi!" he says. "Only one man killed my mother.”
A few moments later he disappears into the foliage.
With that we end the session. As we finish up Violet decides on her advancement: Fortune and followers!
That should be exciting.
Our main characters are:
- Billie Ray Tallahassee "BRT" (the Ruin Runner) is a bastard who recently avenged his mother by killing her killer Buck. Of mixed Asian-American heritage, this young man has a narrow frame and nimble fingers. He keeps his beard and hair short, and he wears armor/clothing derived from protective motorcycle gear and hunting clothing. This is his last regular session.
- Gator (the Gunlugger) is an assassin and part-time bodyguard who wears customized scrounged armor made from Kevlar and ceramic inserts. Camouflaged for the jungle, his face was ruined in a fight with an alligator. His eyes are always sizing things up and his brutal life has left his body a hard sheet of muscle.
- November Orleans (the Skinner) is descended from a family which left New Orleans before it sank. She is a beautiful woman of mixed heritage with dark eyes and skin, a sweet face and lush body. She dresses herself in a mix of scavenged clothing that somehow works together and wears a necklace made from rows of antique coins which jingle and shine as she moves. Her main profession is as a dancer, especially belly dancing, but she has a sideline business in cooking.
- Violet Jefferson (the Touchstone) is descended by survivalists and her clothing and gear reflects her origins. Plain looking but fit, she carries a pocket copy of the Federalist papers and founding documents of the United States of America, an idea she hopes to revive. She is in Stumpland to spend the summer with her Aunt Julia and Uncle Buck.
Recap
Last time we left off with Uncle Buck dead from his own grenade, Aunt Julia planning to avenge him, Violet knowing about her plans, BRT owing Hurricane for killing his alligator wrangler, and Gator and November having been hired by Hurricane to deal with whoever Deg sends.We start the next morning.
Highlighted stats are:
- BRT has Cool and Sharp highlighted.
- Gator has Hard and Sharp highlighted.
- November has Hot and Sharp highlighted.
- Violet has Hard and Hot highlighted.
The Gathering, Part II
Violet shifts in her sleeping bag, her teeth still clenched when the early morning light breaks through the thin canopy surrounding Stumpland. As the fog burns off, the long descent from her tree top camp reveals itself. Rubbing her eyes, she slips out of the bag and begins the climb with practiced ease.BRT soon arrives with Kal and Dice in tow. The trio find the young woman waiting, carefully checking her gear.
“So yeah,” she greets BRT checking her sights.
"Morning," he replies cutting off the awkward silence.
“I have some bad news for you,” she says, stowing the last of her tools.
BRT sighs. "What’s up Violet?"
Violet tells him about her findings the night before. Her aunt used a radio to contact Crimson, the leader of the Wild Eyes. Uncle Buck was one of their members. They plan to hunt BRT down.
“Your aunt has a hidden radio?” BRT comments.
Violet frowns and ignores his question. ”I’m not quite sure what to think about last night. He probably had it coming but he was my kin.”
"I’m not a murderer," BRT tells her. "I feel like shit. But you live with that shit for your entire life, it messes you up. I’m not made for this world.”
He gestures around to Stumpland, “I like the ruins where I don’t need to worry about all this. If someone paid me to do regular work, I’d do it but I don’t trust Hurricane."
He turns to the two men beside him. "No offense guys."
“Well things aren’t perfect,” Violet says.
The other nod and the crew gathers their things. BRT leads them into the swamps and east to the highway.
BRT comes up alongside Violet. "You think this Crimson guy is going to come for me?"
“Probably. Be careful. Frankly I feel weird saying that to the guy who killed my uncle.”
"Don’t spare it two thoughts," he says. "Your uncle would have killed you if you had something he wanted.”
"You have a point there."
"If he had only said something else,” BRT says slowly.
“Mom always said Uncle Buck would come to a bad end if he didn’t change his ways.”
As they head into the swamps, I debate how much and where the trouble should start. I decide to let them get to the road so that if I need to cut it short, I can do so cleanly.
"November, what do you do about Gunge? He is lingering around."
November asks the group,"What’s the normal practice for someone who is suspected of having the climbers? Are they killed? Isolated? Banished?"
BRT suggests telling Hurricane.
Gator says at the very least they are exiled. Otherwise they are killed and burned.
I point out that it is possible to cure if you have someone with medical skills.
That will cost, Gator says.
Back in Stumpland, November approaches Hurricane as he talks to some of the citizens of the town about the next harvest. After they disperse, she says to him, “I’m concerned. I think Gunge might be infected. It looks pretty early though.”
"So he’s got the climbers," Hurricane says scowling. "Alright, I’ll get him out of here.”
"I’m not even sure he knows," she adds.
“Well he’s about to find out," the big man says. "He’s got a boat, he’s got money, he can go find his own cure.”
With that he strides out to the center of town.
Where does Gator spend his day?
After establishing the time (midday), he says that he finds a good vantage point from which to snipe at any visitors.
I point out Jackbird's ship is the highest point. We establish that he scouted the outside, climbed up and is hiding on the bridge.
High up above central Theater of Stumpland, Gator scans the perimeter for any approaching threats. Nearer by, he spots Hurricane walking over to Gunge. His friend and employer talk amicably for a minute but the conversation soon sours. Too far for him to hear what's going on, Gator watches as words become shouts. Hurricane gives Gunge a shove and points off into the swamp. One of his enforcers, Smoky, walks over and points a pistol at Gunge.
Gator tenses, placing the thick bearded man with his crosshairs. Gunge however backs off and heads for his boat. Gator pulls up his gun and quickly climbs down.
A moment later, he catches Gunge just as he's readying his rusted airboat to cast off.
“What was that about?” Gator asks.
Gunge focuses on starting the engine. "I don’t want to talk about it."
“You’re not going to tell me what that was about?”
Gator Reads a person and get a 5 (which seems to be his most common roll lately) for a total of 7. He also marks experience.
What does he intend to do? He asks.
He intends to go home and get drunk on moonshine.
"That doesn’t sound good," Gator says.
"I didn’t say he had a good plan."
Gunge shrugs. “I’m just going to back to my place and getting drunk.”
"Why man?" Gator says from the dock.
“I’ve just had enough of this place. They are unfriendly.”
"Fine, I’ll just ask Hurricane and see what he has to say," Gator says.
“Fine, fine ask him,” Gunge says spitting over the side. The engine roars to life.
Gator approaches Hurricane as he discusses the defense of the town with Smoky. The big man turns to him. “I thought you were up on the boat.”
"Yeah but I saw something going on with Gunge."
Hurricane looks him the eye. “Yeah well he’s got the climbers.”
"Ah fuck really?"
“Yes, November told me. You can see it, barely, in his eye."
“Start of the spots?" the warrior asks.
“Exactly,” Hurricane says. “You know how it is.”
"I understand." Gator turns back to the dock. Gunge casts off. "That fucking idiot is doing the wrong fucking thing. Hold on, I’ll be back."
Gator decides to chase Gunge. I have him roll Acting under fire to catch the boat. He succeeds with an 8 and has to jump into boat while in motion. If he had fully succeeded he could have caught up before the boat pulled away.
Gator runs along the muddy bank of Stumpland after the boat. As it passes under a twisted and bent over willow tree, there is a crash.
The boar ways and Gunge starts as Gator appears on the deck. The armored warrior brushes off leaves and small branches as he rises from his crouch.
“Hey, fucking idiot,” he says to the one-eyed man.
"What are you doing jumping into my boat?" Gunge says.
“You are about to do something stupid,” Gator tells him.
"What business is it of yours?"
“Where would I be without your valuable service? You going off to die is my business.”
Sadly this is a Manipulate a person move. Gators rolls a 6 which makes his total a 4. Hard move time.
Gunge gives his friend a good push. Unready, the heavily armed warrior tumbles off the boat. As he sputters up to the surface, he sees the air boat driving to the East at top speed.
Gator makes a note of Gunge's bearing and struggles his way back up onto the muddy bank. Cussing he makes his way back to Jackbird’s. Once he reaches the bridge, he focuses his attention on the guns, quickly cleaning and oiling them. As for the bullets, he would just have to hope.
Gator makes a point of noting where Gunge headed off to, hoping to follow him later and loot his place.
I tell him,"it would be boring if you never found him again."
We cut to later in the day with BRT and Violet. I ask, "what is the trail like, BRT?"
He describes it as not too submerged, but still a nasty wet trail. BRT marks the path they take. Initially he suggested chalk but Violet pointed out, "Doesn’t it tend to rain a lot in Everglades?"
The sun slowly descends as BRT marks the last tree trunk with some spray paint. Dice and Kal trudge slowly behind him, their boots caked in mud. Violet peers ahead at the old highway in the fading light.
The withered corpses of climber victims decorate the listing street lamps to either side of the wide overgrown roadway. Endless lines of rusted cars and trucks sit empty, their driver's side doors wide open, just as on the day their owners stopped, stepped out and began to climb.
BRT asks, "do I know exactly where an axle is?"
You have a fair idea where to find it. You need to check a few vehicles to see if they have the right type and are intact. You can get to the nearest ones before the light fades.
Billie Ray turns to the others. “Okay guys, I don’t like being out in the open once the sun goes down. We can push through and grab it before the light fades, but we’ll probably be caught out in the open. Or we camp here out of sight and head out in the morning.”
“I’m all for waiting until morning,” Kal says looking at the desiccated corpses blowing in the wind.
Dice stows his machete in his overstretched belt. “Let’s just get that axle and that way we can try to book it.”
Violet asks, "how heavy is the axle?"
Heavy enough to slow you down.
So running will not be an option, she says.
Violet considers how likely it will be to outrun someone while carrying the axle. She votes to camp.
BRT leads them to an underpass and they build a secluded camp amid the brambles.
That night their sleep is disturbed by the passage of several vehicles overhead. BRT listens to the rumble of the engines and guesses that it is a convoy of two cars or trucks accompanied by a pair of motorcycles.
They hunker down and soon the sound of the convoy disappears into the north.
November spends the night in one of Hurricane’s spare rooms. The chorus of crickets intermingle with the splashes of the alligators in their pens. Carefully she begins to pack up her gear, stowing her share of the gator jerky away. She considers her next step and looks out to Jackbird's and her possible traveling companion.
Gator how long do you spend on the boat? Do you spend the night?
Yes.
Gator meanwhile finds his watch disturbed by a recurring vibration through the ship. After a half hour he tracks the source to the door in the back of the bridge, the one leading deeper into the boat.
Gator chooses to Open his brain. He fails. After some consideration I choose to activate the custom move I wrote for the door. Here is the move:
With the engine off, the ship is unstable. When accessing the bridge using the door in the back from either direction, roll +weird. On a hit, the portal does not collapse. On a 10+, the energies resonate with the character and he or she momentarily experiences a connection to the psychic maelstrom as if using augury move and the option ‘a window into the psychic maelstrom.’ On a miss it collapses, shunting anyone passing through somewhere else in time and/or space (several days either way or a few tens of miles).
He rolls a 9 and the doorway opens.
Gator puts his hand to the door and feels the vibration. He reaches out with his mind but finds only something metallic and foreign. The door opens easily, revealing a set of stairs leading down. A whiff of salty air rises from below. Somewhere deeper down he hears a pair of people talking.
Gator Reads a sitch and gets a 13. He also marks experience. What should I be on the lookout for?
The door is unstable and passing through it might make it stop working.
What's my best escape route?
Back through this door.
Who is in control here?
An interesting question. You are. The weirdness on this ship is on its last legs.
Gator grabs one of the chairs on the bridge and props the door open.
He sneaks down the dark corridors following the echoing voices deeper into the vessel. The ship gently sways as if it were out at sea. Continuing on he tracks the voices to a bulkhead door.
They stop.
Gator opens up the door. In the well-lit room he finds two people or at least their remains. The pair of strange men seem freshly dead, slouched in their gray coveralls. One hangs out of wall while the other has fused with the floor at his waist.
Gator backs away. A loud creak echoes through the boat and the light flickers out. Gator pulls his submachine gun out and quickly turns to leave.
As he hurries back, he hears something scratching along the metal floor. Gator shines his flashlight in that direction, catching sight of two green glowing eyes.
The scarred warrior carefully scans the area until the light reveals a small black cat.
“Jeez,” he says as he slows his breathing. “Get out of here.”
The cat meows at him.
“Alright out is this way,” he says, continuing toward the stairs. The cat follows him and the pair exit the bowels of the ship.
I have him roll Acting under fire to escape. With the earlier +1 from Reading a sitch, he gets a 7.
As he steps through the door, it shudders. The chair is knocked aside and the door slams shut. As he contemplates what happened, the cat rubs against Gator's leg.
I decide the door is now closed forever.
Another morning comes to the muddy town of Stumpland. November steps out to find Rabbit sitting outside Hurricane's. The older woman is savoring her morning’s first drink.
“Good morning, Rabbit,” November says.
“Good morning,” Rabbit says, her eyes flicking to and from November's face.
"How are you doing?"
"Good, good." she says quickly.
November made Rabbit love her.
"Any signs of Deg’s boys yet?"
Rabbit looks north blankly. "No, but they’ll be here soon."
"Good to know," the dancer says.
Rabbit turns to November, her eyes focused beyond her. "I think he saw you."
"Who?" she asks.
"What?" Rabbit says.
"Who saw me?"
"I don’t know what you mean."
November shelves that for later. "I hope you have a pretty good store of booze."
“I’m making it last,” she says with a smile.
"OK, good for you."
What is November actions for the day?
I'd talk to Hurricane about Deg’s boys, looking for background info.
Gator would also be helpful given he knows about Deg's second in command, I point out. Or as I called him, “Mr. Concerned about Political Stability.”
November goes looking for Hurricane, finding him by the gator pits. She asks him about Deg's men and who their leader might be.
“I’m not sure who they will send," he tells her. "They might send Franky or Ork. I hope they don’t send Ork.”
"Why what is he like?" she asks.
Hurricane runs a hand through his blond hair. “With a name like Ork? You know, piercings, mohawk, kill them all.”
"What’s he like?" she presses.
“He’s a rough customer. Deg sends him out when he wants someone pounded into the ground. Not one for the finer things. If they send Ork, I’ll be glad I paid for Gator.”
November quizzes him about Ork's vices. Hurricane explains Ork is a rough and tumble type. "He's a hard drinker, that I know. As for Franky, she's more civilized but not the nicest of people either. I don't really know what her angle is. She's always been all business with me."
November then asks where Gator might be.
“He’s been spending time on the boat,” he tells her. “It is the best vantage point in town.”
November turns to the stranded ship and waves. She then tracks down Rabbit and quickly negotiates for some of the booze she stole from Jackbird's shop.
November rolls Manipulate a person, and gets a hard hit. She also marks experience.
November says, “Its nice to know what she wants" even if she doesn't have to pay out.
“It’s kind of the last of the booze," Rabbit protests feebly. "But I guess things are kind of tough. I'll bring it out if you need it. Maybe we could spend some time hanging out together until they come?”
"Sure that sounds nice."
That task accomplished she climbs up the side of Jackbird's boat. Gator quickly waves her onto the bridge.
“A sniper’s perch isn’t good if people can see who is in it,” he tells her as she joins him in his hiding place.
"Hey, I was wondering if you could tell me a little more about these people who are coming. Franky especially.”
"Ork is pretty dumb,” Gator tells her. "Ork is just a bag of muscle. Franky though likes her betting.”
"She bets on anything if it’s interesting?"
"Yeah."
"I have an idea," she says.
The noonday sun finds November practicing her sleight of hand against Rabbit with Hurricane's antique set of playing cards. Gator turns his gaze to the horizon. A smoke trail announces the arrival of Deg’s posse.
Earlier that day to the east, BRT and his crew start scouring the overgrown highway for a usable axle. The early morning sun slowly cuts through the morning fog, revealing the hanging dead to either side, their arms and legs still clenched tight around the top of the rotted lamp posts.
BRT makes a Scavenging roll and gets a soft hit. Since this is based on Sharp he marks experience. From the list of options he picks 1-barter to represent the axle. He also gains experience and gains a new move: Canny. From the choices he didn’t pick we know it will take time and expose them to danger.
An hour later they find an old ambulance with the right sized axle. With effort they flip it onto its side and get started removing it.
Halfway through the process, Dice slaps BRT on the shoulder. Down the road, they see a bald man stumbling down the highway. He drifts back and forth across the road, occasionally climbing up a decayed car before making his way further down the road. He makes no note of them or the bright red sunburns across his skin.
Violet leads the others to cover.
BRT Reads a sitch. He gets an 11 and marks experience. What should I be on the lookout for?
The guy is sunburned and walking weirdly, It’s like he is not seeing things, Like he is sleepwalking.
Billie Ray leans over to Violet. “He’s got the climbers.”
How far do the spores affect things? he asks.
A fair distance. It depends on the wind.
Violet puts a finger to the wind. A gentle breeze blows in their direction. “We need to get on the other side of him.”
“That’s nasty shit,” BRT says. “We need to put him out of his misery.”
“Not while we are downwind.”
Where’s my best escape route? is his next question.
He’s moving slowly. If you go off the road you can easily outrun him.
Can we grab the axle in time?
No.
“Let’s go this way,” he says leading them off the highway and into the brambles.
He takes them on a circuitous path around the sleepwalker, watching as he continues north, clambering over the wrecks as he goes.
When they get back on the highway, they find him atop of the truck they just flipped.
“For reals?” BRT says shaking his head.
Violet decides he is too far gone. She asks if they have protection from spores. We decide Violet and BRT would have gas masks. Kal and Dice only have bandanas.
Violet pulls out her rifle, carefully taking aim at the man’s head. Letting out a sigh, she pulls the trigger.
Violet hopes to have him fall away from truck. I ask her to roll Go aggro after debating Acting under fire. She gets an 8 as well as experience and advancement.
The shot misses barely, blasting off the man’s ear. Startled awake, the climber flees into the bushes.
BRT asks, “Do we wait for him to blow or we take care of this now?”
I say that the man is no longer visible.
“Let’s work fast,” BRT says.
They hurry back to the truck. Setting Violet to keep watch, BRT directs Kal and Dice to help him remove the axle.
I have BRT Act under fire. Violet chooses not to roll her -1Hx to “help” him. He manages a hard hit of 11 and marks experience.
Fifteen minutes later BRT pops the last bolt and Kal grabs the heavy automobile part as it falls, Dice grabs the other end and the team quickly make their way back into the swamp.
We cut back to Stumpland.
Gator watches as a gang of motorbikes comes down the dirt road north of Stumpland. He watches through his sight as a dozen armed men and women pull up in front of Hurricane's hut.
November sets a hand of cards on the rough wooden table where she and Rabbit are sitting. As she rises, the leader, a lean muscular woman with bright red hair, steps forward.
“You’re late,” Franky says.
Hurricane comes down from inside his hut. “It's not my fault," he calls. "The truck broke. We’ve got your food all nice and ready. You can just take it back with you.”
"Do I look I’m going to haul stuff back?" she snorts. "I’m here to make sure you know the price of not getting your food in on time."
November scans the crowd but sees no sign of Ork. ”I think this would all go a bit smoother if we sat down and had something to drink,” she says with a nod to the table.
Franky cocks her head and smiles. “I’ll take that drink. But as I was saying I don’t have time to take that food back. It's not my job. I’ve got other holdings to go to, other people who owe food.”
"It's perfectly clear," November says as she pours and hands over a glass. "I’m sure we can work something out. Hurricane is not trying to hold out on you at all. You guys seem to have been travelling a ways. Why don’t you take a rest?”
I ask her for a Manipulate a person and unsurprisingly she gets a 10. She also gains an experience.
November asks if she can talk her around to taking the stuff herself?
I tell her no.
“You’ve got to give us another week. We’ve got people coming in with the parts and we’ll jury rig something up.” November adds that they might pack a little extra food just for her and her posse.
Franky gives November an appraising glance.“You are right, it has been a long hard slog down this way and we’ve got a good deal of riding left to do. If you could give us a bit of comfort on our way back, that would be good.”
"I'll play you for it," November says with a smile.
“Sure.”
As they sit down, Rabbit deals out a hand to both of them.
"I don’t know how you feel," November says looking over her cards, "but I’m not going to serve all you guys. But let’s play for it. You win we’ll give you some fun on your way back. I win well we had some fun this time.”
I choose to make this an Acting under fire roll. She gets a 13.
You won the safety of Stumpland in a card game.
November adds a further suggestion which so awesome it led to this...
The two skillfully play back and forth but November clearly has the advantage. In the winning hand she turns over an ace to crush Franky's play. As she holds it up for all to see Gator puts a bullet through the card.
Franky accepts the loss and the posse drives south to their next stop.
Back in the swamp, Kal and Dice plod through the mud. The weight of the axle plunges their feet six inches into the muck with each step. Violet keeps glancing back for the climber while BRT leads them from tree marking to tree marking.
Violet stops. She hears a splashing noise in the waters off to the right. Silently she directs the others to take cover.
Once off the path, she tells them there is something large moving in water.
“That’s either a gator or python,” BRT says as an extra-large splash can be heard. “Whatever it is, it is large.”
They put the axle down. Dice pulls out a 9mm pistol while Kal readies his new shotgun.
As Violet readies her rifle, BRT asks, “You guys know the tree markers, right?”
“Right,” Kal says.
"I’m going to try to distract it. When I distract it, don’t just run, shoot it.”
“Right,” the kid nods.
BRT Seizes by force using his crew as weapon. I fold Violet into the gang. It is small and deals 3-harm. He rolls 11, gaining definite hold, suffering little harm, and frightening whatever is out there.
I improvise some python stats: 2-harm 1-armor 2-health creatures.
The scavenger goes down the path, beating the bushes. He finds not one large python but two entwined and rather intimate snakes. They lash out at the disturbance. As the hail of gunfire hits and drives them off, one manages to bites him. It gets a mouth full of leather before tossing him into a rotten tree. As it disappears into the water, everything goes black for Billie Ray.
The snakes take 3-harm. I decide that means one dies and the other escapes heavily wounded.
BRT takes 2-harm -1 for his armor and -1 from suffer little harm. He is uninjured but I have him roll a harm roll. He gets an 11 and so I choose to cause him to knocked unconscious.
November comments that since two PCs have taken a drop into the water there should be some disease or something in there.
I point out Gator hasn’t fire his guns yet. The bullets might be bad. Then I realize that there was one shot with the sniper rifle, so that definitely works.
November does a virtual high-five with Gator over that.
Violet rushes over to the face down scavenger. BRT coughs up some water but doesn't respond to her shakes. Not willing to stop, she directs the others to get the axle moving again. She hefts BRT on her shoulder and follows the trail toward Stumpland.
“As conflicted as I am there is not much else we can do," she mutters to the others. "We have to keep this baggage train rolling."
The group slogs through the mud for a half hour, getting closer and closer to Stumpland. Violet scans the water for more pythons. Then she hears something pushing its way through the brambles behind them. She looks for cover but the muddy path is surrounded on both sides by half-submerged brambles.
"Keep moving," she urges the others as she covers their retreat.
They are still an hour out from Stumpland when the noise occurs.
Violet rolls Acting under fire to hide and gets a 7.
She can get to cover but she and the axle would be in the water. She chooses to run.
Dice and Kal strain to move the axle at a slow jog. Violet spots the sunburned climber stumbling through the foliage behind them. She glances at the still leaves on the trees about them.
Seizing her chance, she drops BRT to the muddy ground and brings up her rifle.
While the scavenger becomes dimly aware of pain and movement of people around him, Violet shouts, “Don’t come any closer!”
Violet rolls Go aggro, and gets an 8 as well as an experience.
I comment, "it's a hard world. You are a nice person but you are willing to kill people if you need to."
"I’m not stupid," she says.
The man stumbles forward, unaware or unafraid. A single shot rings out. He collapses into the mud, his blood mixing with the swamp.
BRT’s eyes blink open and he forces himself up. His head rings with the shot and a massive bruise covers his left temple. With Violet's help he stumbles along until they are 20 minutes out from Stumpland.
“Guys stop a minute,” he calls out. As they pull up to a halt, he continues, “Kal, I’ve got a deal with your uncle. I don’t plan on reneging on it.”
"OK," the teen says uncertainly, setting down the axle for a moment.
“On the full moon,” BRT says, steadying himself on a tree.
"Yeah, that’s 3 weeks from now," Kal says.
“Right just tell him to leave a message here then if he needs me to do a job.” BRT pulls out a knife and marks a tree with a symbol. “Tell him I won’t be coming around if I see anyone around.”
"I don’t think he’ll be happy with this arrangement. Why are you running out?"
“I’ll be in the area. I just don’t trust the people in town. Tell him I’ll throw an extra job in for free.”
"Alright, I’ll let him know."
The scavenger then leaves the path, following a muddy route into the swamp.
Violet calls out, “don’t you go killing anyone else for revenge!”
"Only one man killed my mother Vi!" he says. "Only one man killed my mother.”
A few moments later he disappears into the foliage.
With that we end the session. As we finish up Violet decides on her advancement: Fortune and followers!
That should be exciting.
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