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Oct 16, 2017 16:17:18 GMT -7
Post by Clark Amasteros on Oct 16, 2017 16:17:18 GMT -7
Clark was pleased that he was the first to arrive at the outskirts of the wasteland. It was good for making strong first impressions with the rest of the team. Five days ago, he received a letter. This in itself was odd, as he almost never received physical letters. It was highly inefficient. The letter itself offering substantial payment for assembling a team to explore a very specific area of the wasteland. What he was looking for, or why, was absent. The letter also had team recommendations, also with a lack of explanation.
This had to be a trap, or worse, not that Clark would decline. The sheer mystery of it was too powerful. The best he could do is send copies of the mysterious letter to those recommended, and let the recipients make of it what they would. He made sure to send his own offer of a rather tempting share of the promised funds. If they still weren't interested, they didn't have to show. He hoped he could attract at least a couple like-minded explorers.
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Oct 17, 2017 4:58:22 GMT -7
Post by Anais Mayfield on Oct 17, 2017 4:58:22 GMT -7
Shortly after going in her first trip to the Twilight Jungle with someone at school. Anais was determined to find out the mystery behind the mysterious liquid she had found in the ruins. She couldn't check it in her apartment what with having to share it with a watchful Chrissy who can easily make off with it, so she had decided that she could check it out in one of the science rooms at school. She was going to be focused on that...When a letter came to her door the other day.
After reading the letter, Anais grew excited and decided, maybe looking into that odd liquid can wait until this expedition to the Wasteland is finished because this sounded like a fun adventure to a place that's more dangerous then the jungle! Like before at the Twilight Jungle expedition, Anais took her satchel and placed two water bottles and a flashlight into it and before she left her apartment for the trip. She placed the bottle with the mysterious liquid in a box under her bed so Chrissy won't find it so easily. Fortunately for her, she didn't have to sneak past her younger brother as he left to go visit his so called friends earlier that day.
Sometime later, Anais arrived at the outskirts with her satchel by her side. She saw a man nearby and walked towards him, he seemed pretty normal. "Excuse me?" Anais asked the stranger, holding the letter she received as she held it up for Clark to see. "I was asked to come here. I heard the Wasteland was dangerous. I was wondering that since your also here, do you have a similar letter?" Anais asked Clark as she held the letter by her side.
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Oct 18, 2017 13:24:14 GMT -7
Post by Matt Acres on Oct 18, 2017 13:24:14 GMT -7
Tick...tock...tick...tock... The cuckoo clock hanging on his wall taunted him, excruciatingly drawing out every second and mocking his situation. Crumpled bedclothes lay strewn about the room - the aftermath of a wild search for his hat after a text from his friend suggested its disappearance. Luckily, he'd found it, but he still didn't appreciate the sick-humored joke. Found it. Don't scare me like that, man. He'd texted back, in a very passive-aggressive manner. Matt didn't mind the odd prank or two, but this had been an attack below the belt. Not cool.
Anyways, so back to waiting it was. Staring at the clock aimlessly was fun if you put the right mindset to it! You could even make up a game to play on your own! In fact, Matt was just about to do so when-
Ding dong.
The doorbell's sound effect - his parents' choice - sounded like old-fashioned tubular bells you could find in a clock tower or a church; Matt never really understood why people wanted to pretend they were older (and more cultured) when they didn't even know a single thing about music or the arts. If you asked Matt, it was just plain pretentiousness. Shaking his thoughts from his head, Matt opened the door to see naught but a single paper envelope addressed to... him, surprisingly. He took the letter and was surprised to find his name, picture and contact details on the bottom, but didn't question it much. It was related to exploration, so perhaps someone had already heard about his expeditions? The letter offered a handsome sum for the research too! Well, this was clearly not something to be so easily passed up, so what did Matt do? Of course, he got ready for the expedition (taking into account the other members' possible needs and stocking more than you'd expect - as per usual.) and set out to meet at the specified time in the specified place.
When he got there, two others had already arrived. One new face and... Anais! Seeing her face to face definitely calmed his worries about her being safe - sure there was the blog post, but anyone could pretend to be anyone nowadays... Immediately Matt waved hi to his partner and greeted her well, then introduced himself to the only person who hadn't been on the list of team recommendations - most likely the leader of today's excursion.
"Good day. Nice to meet you, sir," Matt felt a little stiff and awkward, but managed to keep his composure and calm, friendly appearance. "My name's Matt Acres, one of the people suggested in the team member recommendation list. I hope we can get along today!" He flashed an award-winning smile.
Now. How would today's adventure pan out?
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Oct 18, 2017 14:05:36 GMT -7
Post by Ezra Oak on Oct 18, 2017 14:05:36 GMT -7
Finally, a job from someone not affiliated with that damn Survey Corp. One that could be done without the paperwork, the pile of codes and conducts, and the clerk who was paid to be disappointed in him for not turning in his last five reports. Just a good old ‘get paid for doing what you love’, no strings attached. Or if there were, they at least had the courtesy to hide them rather than paint over it with that big sunshine smile of what was good for the city. Ezra put the date in his calendar, and when the day came, packed his bags. As thanks to the mysterious sender of the original letter and the guy willing to share the coin, he was bringing his best. Best equipment, best bombs and other chemical concoctions. If they needed to blast through one of those underground dirt sewer systems, he’d be ready. And without an ounce of obligation to give his findings to the Survey Association.
Three others had beat him to the agreed spot, one of whom stood out as the oldest by far and most likely to be the name attached to the letter. Ezra walked directly up to him. “You Clark?” He asked, looking the man over. After a moment, he nods to himself as if he’d decided something important and thrusts out his hand. “Ezra. I got your letter. We waiting on anyone else?”
As he asked, he looked the other two over in turn. Young, but that was true of most surveyors. He didn’t recognize either - not from their faces, anyway. Nor could he tell much about the woman, besides that she’d probably never been into the wasteland before. Ezra couldn’t blame her; chances were high, then, that she’d surveyed elsewhere if she was being suggested by name to go out into the dry death zone, and the Jungle was significantly more interesting than the wastes. At least the jungle moved every once in awhile.
As for the man, his name was quite the coincidence if the wrong bell was being rung. “You’re Matt? The surveyor who runs that theories blog?”
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Oct 18, 2017 17:01:21 GMT -7
Post by Kitten4u on Oct 18, 2017 17:01:21 GMT -7
Expedition of day 110 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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Oct 20, 2017 8:50:35 GMT -7
Post by Matt Acres on Oct 20, 2017 8:50:35 GMT -7
Whilst rigorously checking and re-checking his things to the point that it could be borderline obsessive-compulsive disorder taking over, Matt found his name being called out by a gruff-sounding voice. Turning around revealed its owner: a young man about his height with lean muscle and slightly irked glare to match his tone. The red eyes were distracting... they made the guy almost look like a demon of some sort, even though he knew they were just a mutation from magic. Matt blinked, his thoughts clearing up before answering with his standard easygoing grin.
"Yeah, that's me. Don't tell me people are actually reading the junk I dare to call a blog? It's just a bunch of my silly speculations..." He chuckled shyly, rubbing the back of his neck. Wow - people paid more attention to the thing than he'd thought... maybe it was time he tried turning the viewer count feature back on. He'd turned it off for fear of being painfully aware of how unpopular it was, but it definitely was getting more attention than he'd predicted. The reason he'd started it? Well, it was obvious from the first blog post - he wanted to post his theories on the mysteries surrounding the world and get critique on his ideas. To think that people were actually reading it was a whole other matter, though...
"Let's continue this conversation on our way, though," Matt said, already walking towards the vehicle they'd be using. "I think I'd like to get on the road before things turn dark! You never know how long the journey will last until we get to the place we need to explore," Matt glanced back at the man and was visibly bursting with energy and excitement; this was the first time he'd actually be able to go on an expedition with a group - something he'd dreamt about ever since he was young! "I'll drive for the first part." Before he'd even finished speaking the teen had already gotten into the driver's seat and turned on the engine, which hummed with a satisfying whirr.
---
Move: Left Skill: Guide
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Oct 20, 2017 9:07:51 GMT -7
Post by Anais Mayfield on Oct 20, 2017 9:07:51 GMT -7
"I only read a few parts of your blog. To be honest, I only visited it once to post about what I found back at the ruins," Anais revealed to Matt before turning to Ezra, smiling briefly at him. It seems he was ready for this trip, Anais wasn't sure if she brought the right things for this trip but she will have to wait and see. There's one thing she'll agree that she shouldn't have taken to this journey and that was her dress, she feels like it's not right for a place like a wasteland but then again she also wore this dress when she went to the ruins. It was her favorite after all since she didn't have that many clothes back at the apartment anyway.
She sat at the back of the buggy and watched as Matt sat at the front. "Are you sure you'll be able to drive out here?" Anais asked Matt as she looked upwards. "I don't think it'll be dark for awhile." She pointed out as she waited for Matt to drive further into the wasteland. Going the same way he's going.
Move: Left
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Oct 20, 2017 9:59:10 GMT -7
Post by Matt Acres on Oct 20, 2017 9:59:10 GMT -7
Matt turned around and stared at Anais, surprised at her ignorance of the absurdity of her question.
"Of course I can drive." Matt tried to keep the indignation out of his voice. "How do you think I explored the desert on my own? I didn't walk, that's for sure," he laughed convincingly and tried to make the whole thing into a joke. "Seriously, though, I have my license. Don't worry - I can drive." He grinned, flashing her his Surveying Association-verified Wastelands driving ID.
Was the ID really a thing, though? Matt had been given it by some shady-looking dude back at the center, so he wasn't sure if that was some dude forcing a weird pass on him or a genuine license. He didn't really know but didn't really care, either. It looked cool around his neck, and that was the important bit.
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Oct 20, 2017 14:43:31 GMT -7
Post by Ezra Oak on Oct 20, 2017 14:43:31 GMT -7
Ezra raised his brow. “Of course I read it. The internet isn’t that big.” He entered the car after Matt, claiming the front passenger’s seat without much thought besides the driver’s had already been taken. The door closed behind him with a hard thunk. “I bookmarked it after your first speculative post. Your theory of the city once being underwater is dumb and doesn’t hold up to scrutiny, but it was unique.” He was fastening his seatbelt as he spoke, knowing what was on their way down. “Most people’s first theories are essentially one the major theories we’re circulating around or major pitfalls ‘theorists’ are finally starting to pull themselves out of rephrased. Then they go and present it like it’s some mind-blowing idea no one’d ever thought of before and make themselves look like unoriginal idiots. You’re relying on some unfounded assumptions, but it’s a unique angle. We need more of that creativity.”
He’d been speaking somewhat like a bored professor before, but his tone then shifted to be almost disappointed. “Your most recent one was just observations that could’ve been made from reading a couple of logs. Useful, but facts aren’t going to do us any good unless we do something with them.” The whole point of exploring was those conclusions. It was easy to jot down a couple of facts or connect a couple of observations into a larger fact, but as long as they were just talking about the “what” and never got around to the “why” and “how”, they were just chucking their lives at the jungle and wasteland to drag back precious rocks and minerals home for the people at the top of the skyscrapers who thought it was fine to let kids risk their lives to “push the city forward” or whatever feel-good message their ad campaign was running this time. More people couldn’t fall into this trap.
Anais’s smile was returned with a flat stare. “You must be WhamitsAna.” He concluded, turning in his chair and with his arm up on its head so as to face her. “You’re the ones who found the coffins, aren’t you? What did you make of them? I didn’t get anything from your drawings.”
---
Action: Careful Appraise
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Oct 20, 2017 16:16:27 GMT -7
Post by Clark Amasteros on Oct 20, 2017 16:16:27 GMT -7
He greeted the party formally as they introduced themselves to him. They seemed competent enough. They were all younger than him, which he still hadn't gotten used to. Clark got into the car behind Ezra. Not everyone had responded to the letter, but it left him with a manageable group. He sat in amused silence and the others discussed a blog that Matt wrote. He hadn't read it himself, but he made a mental note to do so as soon as possible. Perhaps the mysterious patron had seen something promising.
Clark waited for a pause in the conversation, after Anais answered the question.
"If it means anything to any of you, I'm quite pleased with the group. I didn't think I'd get this many people. I've never been to the wasteland myself, so it's comforting to have some experience behind us."
--- Action: Strike
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Oct 20, 2017 17:00:31 GMT -7
Post by Kitten4u on Oct 20, 2017 17:00:31 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 45 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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Oct 20, 2017 17:38:31 GMT -7
Post by Anais Mayfield on Oct 20, 2017 17:38:31 GMT -7
"Really." Anais didn't sound surprised when Matt showed off his license to her, who knew someone like him could drive. She admired his talent and began to talk to Clark while they were still driving in the Wasteland. "That's sweet to hear because this is my first trip too. Let's hope we manage to find something helpful." Anais hoped to Clark before finally focusing on Ezra to answer his question. Which was related to the coffins she found last expedition. "Oh...Yeah." Anais began to sound serious to Ezra as she began to explain her...Finding's in the coffin.
"Yeah, I found the coffins which had what appeared to be two cats and a large dog. I felt sorry for whatever happened to the three and judging by the fact that they were stored in a room like that, so were the people who were down there last. Those three must of been really close to the winged people in the murals." Anais lamented about her findings to Ezra, noticing that things were getting a bit odd in there journey. "Hey Matt, is it just me or is this buggy sliding down a little bit?" Anais asked her friend.
She began to prepare for the worst just in case.
Action: Easy Ward
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Oct 20, 2017 19:15:09 GMT -7
Post by Clark Amasteros on Oct 20, 2017 19:15:09 GMT -7
Move: left, left, left
Action: Eternal Ward in room 2
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Oct 22, 2017 5:00:18 GMT -7
Post by Matt Acres on Oct 22, 2017 5:00:18 GMT -7
Matt looked at Ezra as he spoke, nodding with interest and visibly cringing when he openly insulted the work. He knew what the guy was saying was true, but it still hurt to hear it put so bluntly! The guy went on to talk about others' theories and compared them to Matt's, but surprised him with what sounded like a genuine compliment. Then he went right back to being brutally honest. Matt couldn't really tell how the guy was feeling on account of how often his tone changed! He didn't seem like a bad guy, though.
In the moments after, Matt resigned himself to driving and closely missed a hole that opened up in front of the buggy. Ha! Not this time! No way in hell was he going to fall for the desert's sneaky tricks a second time. He smiled to himself, feeling accomplished as he sped ahead, a lot faster than his speed from the last time he'd come here. He was feeling kind of invincible!
--- Action: Guide in 3
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Oct 22, 2017 15:34:56 GMT -7
Post by Ezra Oak on Oct 22, 2017 15:34:56 GMT -7
Ezra nodded to Anais’s observations. “The more we look into the ruins, the more clear it is that it’s some kind of crypt. One ‘they’ went and stuffed full of traps and hazards, seemingly designed to screw with us humans more than those monsters. What bothers me most is the intent doesn’t seem to be to kill-” He cuts off suddenly as, not for the first time, he nearly loses his tongue to the combined forces of the wasteland and a quick swerve of the buggy. A quick grab of the seat’s head was all that kept his from crashing into someone else’s.
“Goddamn wasteland.” He muttered as he dropped the correct way into the seat and took hold of the door beside him. The wasteland, on the other hand, did seem to be actively trying to murder them. “There could be some rocks up ahead.” Ezra said, pointing. He hadn’t done the… best job of watching which direction Matt had decided to take, but he wouldn’t put it past the wasteland to put those hunks of solid sand everywhere it possibly could. “They’re hard to see and like to trip up vehicles. Be careful.”
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Action: Careful Appraise
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