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Jul 28, 2017 6:32:43 GMT -7
Post by Alicia Johnson on Jul 28, 2017 6:32:43 GMT -7
Her last expedition didn't go quite as she hoped. That was saying something considering she wasn't expecting it to go all that well in the first place. It was meant to be a quick peek so she could get a feel for what to expect, but it was really quick. Even by the end she could still see the city, and she was pretty sure the only reason she was having trouble seeing it at the end was because it was on a big hill and she was lower down. It was pretty sad in her opinion. Worse, it meant that she had to pretend to be her parents to call in sick so she didn't have to go to school, and Alicia honestly saved that trick for emergencies only so people wouldn't catch on as easily.
This time she wanted to be a little bit more prepared. Unfortunately, her trip to the Surveying Association didn't prove very fruitful. All the services were supposed to be for members, and she wasn't one. It was easy and free to become one, especially since she wanted to be a surveyor herself, but Alicia wasn't ready for that kind of commitment and it sounded way too scary. There were enough employees in there today giving her disapproving looks every time she tried to do something that she had to make do with something else. So, she tapped the first person she saw on the shoulder and asked if he wanted to go exploring. He said yes and off they meant. With such an organized group there was no way they could fail.
Alicia wasn't going to complain if they picked up a car or something, but she wasn't going to suggest getting it herself. First of all, they probably required membership to grab, but more importantly after her last mishap with a vehicle she didn't think she should be driving around other people. Not caring about the rules was one thing, but she did actually care about other peoples' safety and would prefer not to commit vehicular homicide.
---
Once they arrived at the edge of the city Alicia stretched and got ready for the trip ahead. This time she brought more water and more snacks. The snacks also included things with lots of water, like oranges and celery. She was not going to make the same mistakes as last time. Though, speaking of last time, she wasn't sure how much her exploration partner knew about the area. She paused for a moment, then turned to him with a light smile.
"We're going to have to be careful. The last person I came with...well the wasteland literally ate her. And I mean literally literally not like internet literally."
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Jul 29, 2017 23:32:00 GMT -7
Post by Ezra Oak on Jul 29, 2017 23:32:00 GMT -7
Ezra had lost a shouting match with a survey association employee over if he could bring some high-quality measuring equipment with him into the jungle. They needed to see more results from him, the man had insisted. Ezra had tried to explain that was precisely the point of the equipment, but the man utterly refused to listen to reason, instead harping yet again on the ‘you haven’t turned in any reports in two months’ point the employees kept bringing up. They could only rephrase it and say it in different tones so many times before the whole thing got dull and honestly Ezra couldn’t understand why they still bothered. It wasn’t like they were going stumble upon the magical combination of words and big eyes and he was going to hand over everything he’d found out in the jungle. It was his. Besides, it wasn’t like there anything they’d want in it anyway.
He was storming out of the building, mumbling something to the effect of, “Gotta get some results first my ass. I’ll show them some results.” When he was tapped on the shoulder. He turned towards the woman fast enough his neck would probably be feeling it in the morning, and all but shouted his “yes” to join her on an expedition into the wasteland. His course didn’t change or even slow; they might be able to keep the measuring equipment out of his hands, but there was no way he was leaving without a car.
Ezra wasn’t a bad driver, comparatively. He was simply one who had difficulties not letting his feelings about bureaucracies with silly rules held up by association employees with silly haircuts not seep into the vehicle’s chosen cruising speed or how quickly he turned the wheel, and had zero qualms about expressing his opinion of the group in the condition of the buggy when he returned it. By the time they reached the edge of the wasteland, he’d burnt through most of his frustration and a hunk of the car’s gas, and came to realize he’d missed a couple of important preparation steps in his rush. Like, as his teammate’s warning brought up, bringing food or water. It was no small relief to see she had that covered.
Ezra returned a look of unamused confusion. “How the hell did the wasteland eat someone.”
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Jul 30, 2017 6:44:38 GMT -7
Post by Kitten4u on Jul 30, 2017 6:44:38 GMT -7
Expedition of day 30 New Sumatra lies on a flat area in the middle of the wasteland. The area is firm, but covered in a thick layer of sand. The only signs of life are directly around the city, where there are several mines and large fields of solar panels. Beyond that, there's no plants, no animals, and not even any movement. No wind blows, no water flows, there aren't even any insects. The entire area is completely silent, save for the sound of the explorer's footsteps. At the edge of the plateau the city is on, the land gently slopes downward. The angle is gentle, there are stairs in the city steeper than the slope. It has a few small rocks on it, but is otherwise just a pile of sand. The sand is thicker on the slope than it is on the plateau, making it more difficult to walk on. In the distance, other plateaus like the one the city is on can be seen, and the plateaus come in various sizes. But there's no signs of life on any of them, and it looks like they only have more sand to offer. There's nothing notable about this place so far. There's only the hope that something better is out there, and that maybe there's a clue about how the wasteland came to be hidden under the sand. --- The party has 70 energy. No one is injured. You can go to the left, further into the wasteland. You can go to the right, further into the wasteland. You have 48 hours to submit an action.
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Jul 31, 2017 7:11:02 GMT -7
Post by Alicia Johnson on Jul 31, 2017 7:11:02 GMT -7
Alicia was glad that he had access to a car. Granted, she questioned whether or not they wanted him to have access based on what happened back there, but she wasn't going to question it. Just the thought of having to walk over that salt flat again made her legs hurt. She wasted no time in turning the air conditioning on full blast while she got comfortable.
The getting comfortable part didn't last long as she was suddenly jerked forward when the car started moving. Her head hit the dashboard, again, reminding her that she really needed to be wearing a seat belt. There was no time to worry about that right now. With how her exploration partner was handing turns, she needed to hold onto the seat for dear life to not get thrown about in the car. By the time they reached the wasteland, her palms had nail marks in them from how hard she was holding onto the door and her knuckles were completely white. Once it looked like the car stopped, she relaxed and gradually started to assume her usual demeanor. Though, now she was wondering which of them was less likely to drive them off a cliff, and she was becoming less sure that it wasn't her after that trip.
"Yeah, she was there and then she wasn't, so obviously the wasteland ate her. It's the only logical explanation." Alicia nodded as she caught her breath. "I suppose figuring out how it ate her is our job right?"
---
Skill: Guide
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Aug 1, 2017 1:28:52 GMT -7
Post by Ezra Oak on Aug 1, 2017 1:28:52 GMT -7
Ezra narrowed his eyes on his exploration partner. Not in the suspicious way that suggested he suspected she was lying, but more like he was double checking she wasn’t some fey who would vanish if he blinked twice.
“You’re not one of those people that buys the theory that the planet itself is alive and sustains itself off of life that wanders into the wastes, are you?” He asked in a tone that made the answer he considered correct very clear. Turning back to the wasteland ahead of them, he set the car on a steady descent down the sandy slope. “It’s bullshit. If the planet wanted to cultivate life to feed itself, it’d let life grow everywhere and take a little bit from everything.”
Move: Left Skill: Careful Appraise
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Aug 1, 2017 5:53:29 GMT -7
Post by Kitten4u on Aug 1, 2017 5:53:29 GMT -7
The land around the city is sturdy, but soft. Once the land starts to gently slope downwards the sand becomes thicker, making the explorers sink into it more than they had prior. Some spots had the occasional bit of harder rock, or even a rocky cliff face, but it was uncommon. The terrain doesn't change much, and gradually the sinking feeling with every movement becomes normal, expected.
It makes it so sinking just a little bit further than expected takes longer to notice. It makes it so a patch of softer sand around some rocks hidden under the sand is nigh invisible to the senses until the explorer is in too deep. Underneath this part of the wasteland lies a cave, and while most of it is covered in rock, there are clear holes in the ceiling barely held together with sand. Even sinking into it isn't enough to make to make all the sand fall given how fast it happens. The cave system is fairly straight forward and easy to get out of, the exit can be seen a fair distance away, but it's a good distance from the sinkhole, and it's not clear where it leads.
---
Splitting terrain feature was successfully bypassed. Loot from this room: 1 Total loot so far: 1
The party has 60 energy. No one is injured.
You can go backward, back toward civilization. You can go to the left, further into the wasteland. You can go to the right, further into the wasteland.
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Aug 2, 2017 7:06:32 GMT -7
Post by Alicia Johnson on Aug 2, 2017 7:06:32 GMT -7
This was probably the most difficult decision she's had to make all week. On the one hand, just the way this guy talked made her want to mess with him, but on the other hand there were very few people that believed that line of reasoning and she wasn't sure she wanted to be associated with them. Alicia wasn't one to care about her reputation, but this brought it to an entirely different level. She sighed and leaned back in her chair.
"Come on, you don't doubt that she really disappeared but--"
They rolled over a large bump, knocking her off balance for a second. It was enough to distract her from what was going on before. All thing considered it was probably important to focus on the...sand so that the wasteland didn't eat them too. Alicia leaned forward, putting her hands on the dashboard so she could get a good look around. This probably wasn't safe, especially given how her travel partner drove, but she couldn't see very well otherwise.
"Is it better to drive on the sand or the rocks? I figure it's at least better to try to stay on one or the other, and there's a couple of paths that do that."
Alicia pointed them out as best she could. At least there wasn't a whole lot of visual confusion around to make this harder than it needed to be.
---
Skill: Guide
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Aug 3, 2017 1:25:18 GMT -7
Post by Ezra Oak on Aug 3, 2017 1:25:18 GMT -7
The rock came out of nowhere and found exactly the most inconvenient spot on the car to make itself known. Ezra narrowly avoided knocking his forehead to the steering wheel in time with the car’s just pleasant jump upwards.
“If they want us to gather resources to keep the city flourishing or whatever, the least they could do is invest in some suspensions for the junk lumps they lend to us.” He grumbled to himself as he righted the wheel and, taking Alicia's advice, turned them towards the rocks she had pointed out.
She hadn’t denied the allegations of the theory that couldn’t possibly be the case for several very sound reasons. In fact, it sounded to him like she was one impolite rock from defending it. He knew how that went, try to make the case that some small part of the argument wasn't crazy and then, once they’ve been lured in, take the poor listener by the hand and lead them down that path of nonsensical lies. It was a tactic he was absolutely not going to fall for and absolutely going to head off.
“I wasn’t there and haven’t read any reports on your expedition, so I can’t doubt or trust whether this person disappeared or not. What I can do is doubt the hell out of the planet being alive. Something about all instances of known life, and, I don’t know, the fact that it’s pretty damn dead makes me serious-” Another stealth rock found the front tire on his side, kicking him up out of his seat. He clicked his tongue and shot a glare at the window on his side as though that would convey to the vehicle his vehement displeasure with it. “AC in the sweltering heat? No problem, done and done. Just a small piece of engineering to keep the rocks from bashing our brains on the ceiling? Now we’re asking for miracles of science and technology.”
Move: Right Skill: Careful Appraise
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Aug 3, 2017 5:42:54 GMT -7
Post by Kitten4u on Aug 3, 2017 5:42:54 GMT -7
The land continues to be featureless, sand an rock as far as the eye can see. The sand is soft, and anything heavy will sink into it, so the rocks are a bit easier to walk on even if they're a little uneven. Unfortunately, the rocks have their own hazards. Sometimes, they're covered with a thin layer of sand, making them a bit slippery. The unprepared could easily slip and fall out of sight.
---
Splitting terrain feature was successfully bypassed. Loot from this room: 2 Bonus loot from appraise: 1 Total loot so far: 4
The party has 50 energy. No one is injured.
You can go backward, back toward civilization. You can go to the left, further into the wasteland. You can go to the right, back toward civilization.
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Aug 4, 2017 7:20:23 GMT -7
Post by Alicia Johnson on Aug 4, 2017 7:20:23 GMT -7
Alicia had no idea how cars worked, so she always assumed that the issues with bumps was just part of driving and a natural limitation of cars. She tilted her head when her exploration partner implied otherwise. How did he know it could be better? Did the vehicles used out in the mines or the other parts of the industrial district do things better? She opened her mouth to speak, but she was rudely interrupted by more rocks hitting places they shouldn't and bouncing her around.
And then he clearly thought she was completely insane because of the previous rock interruption. Alicia sighed. She probably shouldn't let that stand.
"The planet is--"
They went over another bump before she could finish her statement. The car tilted, knocking her face into the window. She was starting to think the seat belt was overrated. It wasn't going to help her in situations like that. Alicia started to pick her words a little more carefully.
"This place is--"
Bump.
"It's not--"
Bump.
"But--"
Bump.
This continued a dozen or so times until one of the bumps made Alicia bite her tongue. She yelped and put her hands over her mouth. It was bleeding a little, but it looked like she at least didn't bite through it or anything like that. After a moment to make sure her mouth wasn't going to explode in a horrible shower of blood, she let out an exasperated sigh and started talking much faster than she did before.
"Just be careful if you go outside the car!" She paused for a moment, looking around suspiciously just waiting for another bump. "Okay, so am I allowed to talk now universe?" She paused again, realizing that talking to the planet was probably not going to give the best of impressions even if she wasn't being serious. "No, I do not think the planet is alive," she said flatly. "But more importantly..." she paused to think and maybe for a little bit of dramatic effect, "You know about cars? So all this bouncing is fixable? How do you do it?"
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Skill: Guide
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Aug 5, 2017 2:36:42 GMT -7
Post by Ezra Oak on Aug 5, 2017 2:36:42 GMT -7
By the fourteenth rock, Ezra was done with rocks. He’d begun making a conscious effort to avoid them at the third, and yet every three seconds there was yet another, under another tire, trying its luck at implanting a piece of the car with a squishy piece of its people. If it wasn’t for the fact that the alternative was walking (which would be hot and dangerous, as the woman implied, and overall a terrible idea), he would abandon the vehicle in a sinking pile of sand with a kick to the tire in adue. For now, he’d just try even harder to spot the rocks and avoid them.
“Of course it’s fixable.” He grumbled. “The big pockets up top would just rather figure out how to squeeze every calorie out of a square inch of sheet meat rather than investing in the actual future of our race, so here we are. In the wasteland, in a vehicle that protests at a slight incline and some hunks of stone, because this is still easier than walking. We’ve built communication devices that can reach anyone anywhere in the city. We can build a hunk of metal on wheels that doesn’t try to debrain its occupants at the smallest ro-” He let out a pained grunt as he, too, bit down on his tongue due to a rock well-hidden enough it might as well have popped up right under the wheel. After spitting out several expletives and some blood onto the floor (because it wasn’t his car and he hated its engine guts), he rubbed his mouth and decided this was a good excuse to not admit he had no idea what would fix the bouncing. What he did know was a surveyor who knew a lot about mechanics, and thus was a very reliable source, had written an internet piece on it. He couldn’t remember all the details and names of the parts - because really, who did - but the guy had said it was possible.
Instead, he spoke up again on what was way more important. “So then what? The wasteland is alive? How did this adventurer get eaten?”
--- Move: Left Skill: Careful Appraise
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Aug 5, 2017 8:49:13 GMT -7
Post by Kitten4u on Aug 5, 2017 8:49:13 GMT -7
Parts of the wasteland are flat, but sometimes it slopes. In this case, it's a fairly steep slope onto a flat area, much like the flat area New Sumatra lies on, but the sand is thicker and harder to walk through. It's hard to move, and even heavy vehicles sink a little, coupled with the blaring hot sun makes it difficult to move through.
---
Exhaustion terrain feature was not bypassed. The party loses 20 energy. Loot from this room: 2 Bonus loot from appraise: 1 Total loot so far: 7
The party has 20 energy. No one is injured.
You can go backward, back toward civilization. You can go to the left, back toward civilization. You can go to the right, further into the wasteland.
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Aug 5, 2017 23:58:36 GMT -7
Post by Alicia Johnson on Aug 5, 2017 23:58:36 GMT -7
Alicia was content to ignore his ranting, especially when he said it would be doable. She was mostly zoning out what he was saying because of how irrelevant it was, so she missed some important context. She leaned towards him with stars in her eyes, not even letting the bouncing around get to her too much.
"So if we got out of the car right now you might be able to do something? Why are we even still in here then? I know it's dangerous, but it should be okay if we stay near the car." She paused for a second and frowned. "Probably. I probably shouldn't doubt what the wasteland can do, but I'm so sick of hitting my head on the window."
She chuckled and leaned back into her seat (only to get jostled over to the left, only not flying into Ezra because she did indeed put a seat belt on). Despite her bleeding tongue she tried not to let everything get to her. Even if she did have a few false starts when trying to talk again and bit the inside of her cheek.
"Like I said, I have no idea. It's our job to figure that out right?"
The car started sinking a bit, but Alicia wasn't surprised given how far she was sinking when she walked through sand like this last time she was out here. What did surprise her though was a few unpleasant sputtering noises and a loud crack that came from the front of the car. It was loud and sudden enough that it made her jump.
"...Is the car supposed to do that?"
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Skill: Guide
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Aug 7, 2017 2:42:18 GMT -7
Post by Ezra Oak on Aug 7, 2017 2:42:18 GMT -7
“Yes.” He said certainly. He didn’t know what she was going on about about getting out of the car and fixing the jostling - right, he definitely could fix the car with the oranges and lack of anything else they had with him - but the rust bucket made all kinds of weird noises just normally. He was certain this was fine. To prove it, he stepped on the gas harder. These things were loud and full of all kinds of absurd engineering choices, like the tires that did nothing to protect against stealth rocks, or the size of the gas tanks. The little dial thing was already reading at near empty and they’d what, gone down a hill? Did they want surveyors to abandon their cars out in the wasteland?
The tires haplessly spun, kicking up far more dirt and sand behind them than they had been before. The front of the car started to tilt slightly downward. They went over a slight incline, momentarily raising the nose up, before coming down hard. There was a rough jerk forward, a second snap, and suddenly, no matter how hard Ezra pressed on the gas, the tires did nothing but spin dirt out behind them. Then, the engine made a noise similar to what would happen if one dropped a very large rock on a sheet of metal several stories below, and the car became abruptly still.
Ezra muttered several expletives under his breath, kicked the gas again, and that doing absolutely nothing, kicked open the front door. “Whatever our job is, we’ll be doing it a hell of a lot better than whatever fresh-faced engineer designed these things.” He grumbled, walking around back and yanking open the trunk.
“Looks like we’re going on foot.” Pulling out half of their gear and slinging it over his shoulder, he turned back to Alicia. “Do you have any data on what it could’ve been that ‘ate’ her? Or evidence she was eaten in the first place?” He gestured to the empty rockscape before them. “We’ve got plenty of time and a whole lot of nothing ahead of us.”
--- Move: Right Skill: Careful Appraise
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Aug 7, 2017 10:34:15 GMT -7
Post by Kitten4u on Aug 7, 2017 10:34:15 GMT -7
The land continues to be featureless, sand an rock as far as the eye can see. This area is covered in softer sand that's easy to sink into, but some parts are even more precariously perched. Some of the sand is hiding small holes that are deep enough to go up to the average person's waist. It's unlikely that they'd be buried completely, but it'll still take a good deal of effort to get out of one, and the area is littered with these holes. --- Exhaustion terrain hazard was not bypassed. The party loses 20 energy. Hazard was not bypassed and the party is out of energy. No loot was gained from this room. Total loot so far: 7 The party has 0 energy. No one is injured. The expedition is over The party has run out of energy. This expedition has ended. Everyone has 7 loot to spread around to their personal GLORY, Industry, the Surveying Association, and/or Science!
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