Weapons of the past, victims of the present [Honi Kameoka, CLOSED]

Kaho'olawe was filled with debris, the rusted corpses of hundreds of tanks, planes, ships and munitions. The wastelanders learned how to scrap and peel away the skin of these gargantuan beasts and created a city and economy out of it.

Most of what could be found inside was metal, useful metal, but there were other things inside these corpses, sometimes useful resources like plastic, copper wires or glass, but one can also encounter dangerous and wildly unpredictable things.

Yemi was a scavenger, like most people on the island. She went to what they called the Gunmetal Graveyard, the area with the biggest concentration of derelicts to scrap from. She was only eleven but she had been working on getting new metal for a couple of years already. Equipped only with some thick bandages to cover her hands and a bolt cutter she cut away anything in her path to get useful pieces of metal to work with. To her nothing could stop her trusty boltcutter and that is why she became overconfident, she could cut glass, metal and of course tubes...

She cut a seemingly innocent plastic tube and from its interior stream of high pressure liquid sprayed all across her eyes and mouth. A black goo that smelled incredibly chemical and left behind several greenish fumes. The girl screamed until her vocal chords gave up and lost consciousness from the pain.

That was a week ago. Yemi was found by her parents and has been in a coma since then. The black goo has entered into her bloodstream and lungs and is now poisoning her from the inside. No matter how many times she is bleed out, how many times she pukes or how many times she is bathed, the black stain remains both inside and outside of her body and unless something is done she will wither into nothingness in less than a month. Several medicines have been used on her, both Pre and Post-War remedies and while they have helped with her fevers and tremors none has been truly able to cure her.

You, Honi, have been desperately asked for help, these people were poor before and now they have used all their resources and savings into a desperate attempt at curing their daughter, surely the material reward you might get won't be great but they will be forever grateful. Over a cup of tea the family mentions to you about the Irrigo Plant, a plant whose leaves segregate a sticky substance that when mixed with water creates a very potent cleaning agent that isn't toxic to organic beings. The plant grows underground in very humid rocky surfaces, there is in fact some here on the island, sometimes when getting water from the well the locals can find Irrigo leaves on their bucket which they consider to be good luck.

With tears on their eyes they ask you please to go down there and search for the plant. To find a cure for their little girl.

Having been called for such a purpose was a sign. Honi could feel it. This was his big chance to prove that he was right to leave his village, that there was a point to leaving it, as well as his duties, behind.

With hardly a second thought, Honi says "I'll do it. Don't worry about payment or anything, if you're sure that this plant will help, then I'll get it for you."

"Is there anything I need to know before I go down into the well?"

The parents hesitate for some seconds, but then nod and agree to share their concerns with you.

"There's sometimes blood in the water, freshly spilled blood, still warm even..."

Says the concerned mother. The father nods and shares other piece of his wisdom with you.

"There is also the radiation, we know that the water isn't completely purified, but we don't mind some rads here and there, we know how to cook our own Rad-Away after all. There's perhaps something radioactive down there, if you could also end it then not only us, but the entire town would be grateful."

Honi hesitates for the briefest second, his face momentarily a mask of fear. He takes a deep breath, remind himself that he's the person in the best position to help them.

"...I'm sure that whatever it is, I'll take care of it. Whatever they are."

"...But I don't suppose anybody would be interested to help?"

The wretched couple seemed to feel desperate, they shook their heads and hugged each other.

"We, we have already sent everybody we could in different directions and into the search of different things that could save our little angel. Who know who many of these will never return..."

It looked like their resources were already stretched too thin. They couldn't spare anyone into helping you. This would be a solitary mission.

Honi closes his eyes for a second taking a deep breath. This is fine. This is no different from all the other times he had to fend off attackers. He would be okay.

"Alright then. You can count on me!" He said, hoping he sounded more confident than he felt.

"Thank you for having me, I'll be back as soon as I can make it."

He leaves the family, heading towards the village well.

The village well was a regularly sized well, possibly from Pre-War origins due to the use of natural rock and the quality of its craftmanship. It had a mechanical engine on one side that when activated pulled or released the chain that was linked with the bucket used to extract water.

Even a few feet away from the well the sound of running water could be seen, and when up close the sound was even somewhat loud and deafening. It seemed like there was a pretty potent river down there.

The chain should be able to hold your weight without any problem. All you have to do is climb, push up a button and slowly descend. Getting up might be a little bit harder thought.

"Here goes nothing."

Once he's satisfied that the chain can take his weight and that none of his prized belongings aren't going to fall and break irreparably, he begins to steadily climb down.

As he touches down into the water, he closes his eyes and focuses, trying to focus on the presence of the plants underneath the village, trying to tune out the thought of getting attacked or irradiated.

He walked upstream, no matter how powerful or wizened a plant's spirit was, its petals couldn't flow against the current. As far as he knew.

Down in the well there was a lake. It was very big it, almost impossible to see the outer walls, but the water wasn't very deep, reaching only at about knee deep. There was a current on the lake but it was very weak, the sound of streaming water came from somewhere else.

The cavern itself was a mismatch of natural rock formations and human architecture. Towards where the water sounds originated the area became more industrial and artificial, with bricked walls and even a couple of pipes and electrical lights.

On the other side was the area where the current flowed, humanity didn't seemed to have been able to work in that direction as it was a natural subterranean river.

Following the noise of the streaming water and entering into human ruins or following the river. What to do know was up to you.

Honi continued to head in the direction of the river. From what he could get out of books and other people, radiation came from things like bombs, or engines. Little from nature made the invisible, burning rays.

As he headed up the river, seeking out whatever plant life there was with his powers, he stops in his tracks. Radiation was more than just a source of power. It was a source of death and mutation. Neither of which seemed very helpful if he was to investigate the radiation's source while carrying with him the plant Yemi needed to live.

"Radiation first. Plant after" He said to himself, now heading in the direction of the man-made structures.

The dimly lit brick tunnels led to a dank and stale aired chamber, full of strange machinery and computers whose screens brightly glowed as they send an upward cascade of green characters and words that didn't seem to have any particular meaning.


There was also a circular pad in the middle of it, a pedestal surrounded by handrails and elevated a couple of steps from the rest of the floor. On one side of it a single elevated panel with a big red button and the message "ELEVATOR TO SURFACE" mechanically sprayed on one side of it.

On the ceiling of the chamber there were several big pipes that carried water, the pressure of the water responsible from the streaming sound. Sprayed on the pipes there is the message "ORIGIN: HOVER..." But the rest its too faded to be readable. It seems that these pipes carry water from somewhere else, seeing as how unethical the United States were before the War this water might even be from the American mainland. The pipe seems to burst somewhere further below, and is the origin of the potable water lake. This was a dead end.

"Huh." Honi was both disappointed and relieved to not be bombarded by radiation, giving a cursory glance around the area, just to take in his surroundings.

The arcane texts lighting up the screens momentarily made his mind wander, suddenly filling him with the desire to understand it, much the same way he came to read and write the language he was now speaking. He yearned to know what they meant.

But there was a time and place for everything. He took mental note of the dais, which he gathered was an "elevator" which he suspected "elevated" things to the surface. Seemed promising, given that he wasn't too keen on climbing back up the well.

With that he proceeded back across the lake and upstream, but not before searching the surroundings for any thing that could give a little clue as to the source of the radiation, or even something that would prove useful later.

The area was covered by a thick layer of dust, rat droppings, some cobwebs and half fossilized half eaten donuts so there wasn't much to scavenge from in the surrounding area. There was a small caché of caps and empty Nuka-cola bottles thought, a total of 63 caps to be exact.

Going back towards the other side there was a cavern the river continued for several feet in a more or less straight line. A few feet after starting to follow the river you found a skeletal corpse sitting on the water, a small sheet of paper sticking out of his mouth. On the paper, the following message:


One of the many untold tragedies of the wasteland, perhaps Daniel didn't had to wait for long whenever his soul went, surely they are deceased by know, albeit by judging how cruel fate can sometimes be they might perhaps have turned into Ghouls are and still alive to this day.

Honi was shocked. He knew vaguely of a war which had caused the skies to be torn open. His village's history detailed an age of suffering before the bombs fell, before they found their little valley. The pictures he had in his head, of skyscrapers being pulled up by legions of slaves, his people getting hunted for sport, his ancestors getting filled with poisons so vicious that their bodies warped and twisted into the shape of monsters, none of that compared to the barbarity he saw in the letter.

The man. Daniel. He lived to help people, and this was how he was rewarded. Killed, without so much as a recognition that he had ever lived. Murdered for helping someone, and being born with the wrong skin color. He never even got to see his family again. Honi thought to himself, is this what becomes of someone who tries to help others?

"No. That was then. Times have changed." Honi said to himself, fighting back tears. He pressed on, giving Daniel's remains a quick blessing, and folding the letter into his pocket. He would have to keep Daniel's memory alive, learn from his story. As for what lesson was to be learned, he wasn't quite sure yet. He's not sure he wants to know just yet.

The river continued for around a hundred feet more before it suddenly and abruptly ended into a very long waterfall. Down there lied another river, albeit this one was deeper and broader and had some river banks and several caverns to explore. The place was far from dark, there was a dim glow from phosphorescent things in the cavern roof. Possibly jewels, possibly very large glowing insects.

From the deep waters a stream of bubbles started to foam, suddenly a gargantuan mutalligator arose and started to violently shake and swim in several direction, apparently at random. Ultimately the beast turned on its back and revealed a very swollen stomach, it at first seemed like it was pregnant, but then the grotesque truth was revealed, it wasn't pregnant, but infected. With a explosion of gore dozens of rats burst, only to fall onto the waters and drown to death. The few rodents who didn't fell off started to violently devour and infight their own kind. The gruesome show ended not soon after, the deceased corpse couldn't float on its own and ended sinking, carrying with it all the rats.

There was a whiff of wind and with it the scent of vegetation, you were on the right path.

You could either jump from the waterfall upon a river infested with who knows what or attempt to find any other path, either by searching a cavern that might lead down or by returning, using your plasma gun to cut the well's chain and using it to safely rappel down. While safer the first option might make you lose some precious time and the other will inutilize the town's well.

Attempting to jump down:

Horrified by the grisly sight, Honi stared down at the water, jaw hanging open for what seemed like a lifetime. He came back to his senses as the corpse sank into the water, trying to decide what to do.

He was tempted to try and jump down, but the mutalligator's death had thoroughly disturbed him. There could be more than one, or he might meet the same end. If he died, who knows how much time would pass before it was noticed? How much more time before they sent another person down? Yemi's condition could be worsening at this very moment.

For this reason, Honi was hesitant to try and search for another path down. If he found none, he would have wasted precious time that could have spent actually locating the plant. With this in mind, Honi reluctantly decided that taking the well's chain was his best option. Taking the "Elevator" back to the surface would let him take it back up, and with any luck, have it repaired.

He headed back towards the entrance, and tried his best not to damage any more than he had to as he fired at it with his plasma pistol.

Shooting the chain is a difficult challenge, as you look up the sunlit sky blinds you down:

The threshold to surpass is 60 or 6 Degrees.
Your Perception is 7 and you have +24 on all ranged attack dice rolls.

7 - 6 = +1
1 x 6 = +6
6 + 24 =+30

Due to your high perception you'll have a +30 to your dice roll.
It's a pretty easy roll. You'll need to get 30 or more to succeed on this.

Roll for shot

The member 'Honi Kameoka' has done the following action : Dice Roll

---

'1d100' : 37

The ancient weapon crackles in energy and a green bolt of plasma is cast from the barrel, travelling towards the thick chain and melting the impact area upon contact.

With the link severed the chain quickly fell down upon the well, splashing hard when it reached the bottom. The chain was big and lacked any sign of damage like cracks or rust. Once back onto the waterfall it was easy to tie the chain around a sturdy piece of rock and send the rest down. The chain didn't reached until the end, but only at around ten feet from the river's surface.

You could easily descend, follow the waterfall in parallel and then jump towards the river, but getting up would be hard if not impossible.

Honi cursed to himself as he looked down at the last ten feet he needed to cover. If only he had a little more...

No matter. He'd just have to find another way back up, or else find some way to shorten the gap.

Just before leaping down into the river, he quickly tried to peer beneath its surface, trying to make sure that there was nothing that would cause his sudden and painful demise.

After safely jumping down the water completely surrounded you, it was so deep that you couldn't even see the bottom, not even with the brightest flashlight you would be able to see the bottom. The water was incredibly cold and...wriggly. Either underwater creatures or paranoia made you feel as if hundreds of minuscule fingers were touching you.

There were several ways to go from there, follow the river, search for some underwater cave, go up in the river banks and search around the caverns or even return to the back to see if there is a hidden pathway behind the waterfall.

Fighting the urge to panic, Honi quickly began to swim to shore. He didn't want to find out whether or not the things touching him were dangerous while he was still in the water with them.

After pulling himself onto the bank, and making sure that nothing was clinging to his body or rising out of the river, he made his way over to search the nearest cavern.

The cavern led to a series of tunnels and pathways that intercrossed and created a labyrinthine web of corridors that led to nowhere. Some seemed to be natural but others had scratches and other artificial markings, there were some objects like wooden boxes and pickaxes in some places but others had animal bones and droppings. It was hard to know if they were the result of manpower or if perhaps an animal had bored these tunnels to make them their nest.

This place was at first a mere natural cave that was then discovered by humans and mined, perhaps by more people like Daniel who hid in here and attempted to survive...only to die either due to the War or their already existing wounds, and then as the years passed by became the next of something powerful and big. Judging by the thickness and size of the claw marks it was definitively a group of Mutalligators.

Where were they know was hard to say, it seemed like the gigantic beasts had a war with the local rats, and despite the former being way bigger and stronger the rats had the numerical advantage and seemed to be winning the war. Perhaps the one that you saw was the last of its group, perhaps they were further ahead, fighting to the death.

The only object of significance on the caverns were the plentiful cave fungus, both their regular and glowing varieties. Thanks to your floramancy you could see that whereas the glowing fungus was slightly radioactive none of the two types were really poisonous and were safe to eat.

Honi was tempted to continue down the caverns, hoping to find out how the mutalligators had gotten into the caverns, or perhaps even examine how they lived in such conditions with another hostile species. From a safe distance of course.

He had to remind himself of his goal however. There was a good chance that he would return, but only after finding what he had set out for. He headed back in the direction of the river, seeing if there was anything behind the waterfall, pausing only to gather some mushrooms, some for light, others for food.

He took note of the boxes he had seen in the caverns, in case they could be stacked to let him reach the chain he had used to descend to this level, and were in a good enough condition to take his weight.