Addisson Salt Mine
- Salt has been mined from the Addisson's salt mine since the fifties, and has kept going since the Addisson's sold their mine in the nineties. The mine was closed for repair works in the early weeks of the Ashing pandemic and has remained closed ever since.
Atherstone, Pop: 2,181
- The Town of Atherstone is the largest town on the Baptiste River and second only to New Leipzig in Buren County. Atherstone is the beating heart of the Baptiste Valley. Restaurants, bars, supermarkets, warehouses, hotels, a middle and a high school. All surrounded by sparse houses and suburbs. The main street is home to not only the valley's fire station but also a police station for the county sheriff. The town hall is the oldest building in the town, as it was the only one to survive the fire of 1909.
Asisko Township, Pop 133
- Asisko Township is a relatively new settlement made up of a swelling of farms along the edge of the river. More of the area that makes up Asisko is farmland rather than actual residences.
Asisko State Park
- The Asisko State Park is made up of three camping sites tightly knit besides the river.
Baptiste River
- The ever flowing force that over thousands of years carved out the Baptiste Valley. The contemporary name comes from french fur trappers who discovered the river. Despite the name, it is known that native americans passed through and lived in the valley for many years before the first europeans. The river itself is a long river that tributaries from the Columbia river and down into Buren County. It is rich with salmon and trout at certain parts of the year and is home to kayakers, canoeists and fishermen respectively. The highway follows along the river, now and then crossing over the river.
Bremner City, Pop 923
- Bremner City is the eastern most settlement of Buren county, some forty miles away. Bremner city is built along the shore of Bremner Lake, the body of water that the Baptiste finishes it's run. Bremner City is mainly known for it's aging population and even older whiskey distillery.
Canteen Hills
- The Canteen Hills denote the end of the Baptiste Valley. Protecting the valley from the thick forests and sparse farms and pastures between Baptiste valley and Bremner Lake.
Connor Ridge
- Connor Ridge is named after the american outlaw, Connor Dunbarr. Who hid on Connor Ridge for years before being tracked down and hanged in New Leipzig in 1899. The ridge itslef looks over the river and down onto Atherstone.
Doumer Hills
- The Doumer hills stretch along the southern edge of Elk valley for miles, covered in dense forests.
Elk Valley
- Elk Valley is a stretch of arable land, large sections of which is divided either by the state or by private farmers.
Eye Patch Stables
- The stables cater mostly to the tourists that stay in the campgrounds of the valley. Throughout the spring and summer, they organise horse riding lessons and rides up the trails up into the Karl Hills wilderness. The owners of the stables are believed dead, and most of the horses have somehow obtained free-reign of the farm and it's pastures.
Fiber Hill
-Sitting above McKinley Pass, Fiber hill is popular with UFO spotters. It's sparse tree cover and range of meadows, make for excellant spots for observers and abductees alike.
Giscard Ridge
-Giscard Ridge seperates Tardieu valley from Elk valley and New Kiev. It is noted amongst locals for being almost untouched for decades and perhaps centuries by forest fires. Ironically named after the french fur trapper, who was struck by lightening on the ridge and inadvertently prevented a fire.
Halkirk Campsite
- The campsite is privately owned by the Halkirk family for two decades, it rather optimistically stayed open throughout the Ashing pandemic. Though is still just as empty as it was then.
Hansson Valley
- Hansson Valley is where a lot of upper class houses of Atherstone are built. Mostly vacation homes of wealthy families from Portland and Seattle.
Howser Farms
- Howser Farms is one of many corporate farms owned by Jan and sons florists. The fields of Howser were filled with daffodils and tulips throughout the warmer months although harvest this year was postponed by the ashing pandemic.
Marston Campgrounds
- The Marston campgrounds are owned and run by the state parks service who also regulate the Vand Wilderness. The rangers and employees of the parks service had long abandoned the site almost as soon as the pandemic started dominating headlines.
McKinley Pass, Pop 1,356
- McKinley Pass is the town at the eastern end of the Baptiste valley. It is the last major settlement before reaching Bremner City. It is home to an elementary school, some bars and restaurants along the highstreet. Unlike Atherstone however, the only government building in town is the post office and the community center.
New Kiev, Pop 149
- New Kiev is a small township on the edge of Elk Valley, a very spread out settlement with a post office that was already abandoned before the pandemic was even a thing.
New Leipzig, Pop 6,771
- New Leipzig is the seat of the county court and the most populated town in the county. Despite being over thirty miles away, New Leipzig is the center of the county government. The people of New Leipzig are mostly either in timber or farming industries. Although the town itself is close to the interstate and is where the recognisable brands and stores are probably going to be found.
Revelstoke Quarry
- The slate quarry of Revelstoke is a relatively new mine that was protested against throughout the nineties by locals and activists from across the state. It was abandoned a few months prior to the pandemic and was later used by CDC to deposit the early surcomers of the pandemic. Most of the bodies have been left out under the sun and has since been abandoned. The best clue to getting close to the quarry is the smell of the bodies and the sounds of scavenger birds.
Skagway Commons
- Skagway Commons is a lower class trailer park that has a reputation for until recently, illegal medicinal marijuana production. It was partly burnt down in a fight between residences and has since been abandoned.
Silversson Golf and Country Club
- A popular spot amongst the residences of New Bremner and Hansson Valley. The golf and country club was established to cater to more classier tastes of the elite of Buren County. It was one of the first spots in the Baptiste Valley to be looted.
Sum River
- The Sum river is more of a stream that pulls through Hansson valley and Atherstone to feed into the Baptiste River.
Tango Estate Trailer Park
- Tango Estate is a trailer that caters more for vacationers to the valley rather than for permanent residents.
Tardieu Valley
- Tardieu Valley is a thin valley between Giscard Ridge and the Vand Wilderness. It is mainly filled with small farms and pastures wedged between private residences.
Tenakee Springs, Pop 108
- Tenakee Springs is a stretch of houses along the river that main features are the gas station and diner beside the highway. Most of the houses are middle class residences that pay more for the riverside properties than the convenient commute. Tenakee Springs was where the last murder occured in Baptiste Valley before the pandemic, in 2005.
Vand Wilderness
- The Vand wilderness is a large stretch of wilderness that dominates it's chunk of the valley. The hiking trails leave much to be desired and is a noted refuge for the many forms of oregon wildlife.

Kas, before the apocalypse

Name: Callum 'Kas' McKinley

Age: 20 (September 15th, 1996)

Physical description
Standing at 5'11", and weighing in at a normal weight of 82 kilos, Kas is a wiry man, his stubble being barley kept back by an ever more blunt razor he keeps in his rucksack. He carries around a few spare pares of undergarments, but otherwise has no other clothes, preferring to move as fast as possible, never being pinned down.

The clothes he wears are fairly simple, just a pair of waterproof cargo trousers, khaki coloured, and a long sleeved black shirt, over which is a similarly coloured hoodie. He also has a WWI-style longcoat in his bag, although he normally wears a thin, slightly-lighter than navy jacket to keep his upper body. Having caught the disease and survived it, he believes himself now immune, and as such only wears a loose scarf to hide a surgical mask that is fitted snugly mouth and nose to filter out the worse of the ash and debris.

Occupation

Veterinarians assistant

Background

Born to parents William McKinley and Rea Adams, a foreign pair who had settled in the region, Kal had a rather comfortable upbringing. He never really wanted for anything as a child, his parents being on the wealthier side of the income barrier, he was sent to school with the expectations of following in his father's footsteps of a sportsman. Although he would never really live up to this expectation, he found that this was more than covered by his siblings, and this allowed him to expand outwards in his own direction.

The home he grew up in was a busy one, with an older brother and sister, two younger sisters and the myriad housestaff that his parents kept around to do the vast majority of chores and jobs making sure that he was never kept alone for long. Although this often annoyed him, it meant that his social skills were one of the things that was never an issue, despite the fact that with ADHD it often can be.

It was at age seven that he was formally diagnosed with ADHD, following a string of minor behavioural issues, along with complaints about his lack of focus in classes. Whilst his parents were only slightly surprised, as they had suspected that her non-stop activity was not, in fact, due to any outside factor that they were aware of, and there was a hidden cause to it, although they had been hoping to the contrary. Despite some initial concerns regarding putting their child on medication, eventually Kal began to take regular doses of methylphenidate (Ritalin) to curtail his hyperactivity. Although successful at preventing the hyperactivity, it gave him severe sleeping problems and anxiety, however his parents deemed this to be a better than his previous issues, and he continued to be medicated.

It was only slightly later that Kal found himself fascinated with medicine and biology in general.
Kal has never been big into sports, simply finding them unappealing and avoiding then whenever he can. Because of this, he has less muscle than the vast majority of his peers, and what muscle he does have is largely concentrated around her calves, thighs and core, with a smattering in her pecs and biceps. Kal is fully aware of this, and has tried to avoid any situation in which her lack of strength can be used against him, however this has become more and more difficult as the apocalypse dawned.

Skills and Talents

Deadeye (Kinda): Having used his crossbow to hunt and defend himself since societal collapse, Kal is a fairly good shoot with the crossbow, and this is only helped when he takes the time to put on the rather delicate scope. It is also much easier to reload for him, and he also has a small sling to fire ball bearings should his crossbow be inadequate. His skill at picking up fine details is also very useful when scavenging, and he can often find things that others might have looked over, useful when on his own.

Decent Doc: His experience as a vet has also taught him more advanced first-aid techniques than most. He knows how to safely stitch up a wound, set a broken bone, make a makeshift crutch, knows his way around helpful plants, and can also identify various synthetic medicines. He is also capable of minor surgery (such as removing various foreign objects.) He's equally good at healing his dogs and other animals, although he often has to euthanize those he finds on the street.

Arty Kinda Guy: He also has a few tricks up his sleeves for making stuff. He knows how to make soap and candles, stitch, and although he would never admit it, he is also very good at knitting, and has a pair of needles in his bag. He's capable of repairing most kinds of clothes, and is trying to figure out how to make them. Repair-wise, he can't do anything spectacular, and especially nothing bigger than repairing a tear or two.

Animal Man: Kal's most obvious ability is his way with animals. Although he says there's nothing to it, he is great at calming down wild animals, and as a vet can easily treat them. Because of this he has three dogs with him, Samson, a male Alstatian/Labrador crossbreed, Roxy, a female doberman/terrier breed, and Luke, a male Akita. All of them are well trained and respond to him, and they are all within good health. If he could provide for more, he easily would have more. Unfortunately, he simply can't keep more, and as such only has the three.

Novice Trapper: To feed the dogs, he also knows a little bit about trapping, although this is a skill he is still learning, and as such is not very good at it. His traps aren't big, most of them barley bigger than his foot, and the largest thing he's caught is a rabbit. Mostly, he can only catch mice or other small animals. When he's tried to catch fish, he's always failed, although he's trying to learn more and more. It's not enough to sustain him and the three dogs, however it does go some way in alleviating the food issue.

Marathon Man: Whilst he may not be much of a bodybuilder or a sprinter, Kal can run at a reasonably fast pace for hours. As long as he's fit and well he could probably run down most animals out there simply due to pure stamina. Said stamina is also useful in the water; despite his less-than-perfect form, he's not a bad swimmer, and can withstand a bit of a current.

Weaknesses and Faults

Animal Lover: Kal loves animals, and will often hesitate to kill animals that don't put forward an immediate threat to him. Unless a beast is physically charging at him, he'll take all measures to prevent harm to it, although this can leave him open if he isn't cautious.

Frail Sod: He's not that muscular, and although he has an aptitude for long-distance running, he is terrible at hand-to-hand fighting. Because of this, he tends to stay in back, or let his dogs do the job for him. Due to this, the baseball bat he carries around his pretty much for show, and has never actually killed anything. On the other hand, he has resorted to his knife a few times, although he's pretty terrible at using it.

Distrustful: He's seen what desperate people do, and he's distrustful because of this. The vet he worked at was attacked by people looking for medicine, and he's very protective of what he has. If he thinks you've stolen from him, good luck in even getting the time of day from him, let alone any help.

City Kid: Kal is the kind of person who could get lost in a signposted wood. He has litterally no sense of direction in anywhere he isn't familiar with, very little knowledge of the outdoors, and despite his limited knowledge of natural remedies, would probably poison himself very quickly if he had to live off of the land.

Attention Defici-OOH SHINY!: Kal is actually clinically classified as an ADHD 'child', and he's long since run out of medicine to treat this. Anything that doesn't attract his immideate attention is likley to be dropped at the earliest opportunity, unless it's something absolutley needed for his survival.
Personality

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