[IC] Frozen Darkness

[Lucius Cypher]

When you went to wake up Donny, the first thing he did was grab his gun, however when he noticed it was just you he holstered it. However your words certainly got his attention. "Fucking cold wave, really? Fuck... Fuck!" Already the room's temperature started to drop, even sapping away the heat from the campfire. Donny was quick to dose one of the logs in oil and toss it onto the campfire to keep it alive, providing critical warmth. By now both of them could hear the sound of wind blowing through the halls followed by crackling noises. The Cold Wave was rapidly creating frost on the stonework and getting into cracks, forming ice that was going to wreck damage to the stability of walls, floors, and ceiling. Indeed, it's Cold Waves like these that usually brought down buildings from the old days. Though most buildings around here were built to withstand seasonal cold waves, the constant ones of the post-apocalypse had a way of bringing down even the sturdiest of buildings.

"Alright. We just got to wait this out. Stay near the fire, stay warm, I'll make sure the flame doesn't die out. Even if I have to use all the wood we got, better that we live through the cold wave than to worry about supplies later." Donny carefully stirred the ashes with a stick before adding two more logs to keep the fire going. Most of the wood was dried now but the Cold Wave would threaten their ability to heat up if they freeze. He sat opposite to Cat at the fireplace, staring at the door once the fire stopped showing signs of weakening. But he had no idea how long it would be before he needs to feed the flames once more.

[rivaan]

"Yeah... just struck like a minute or so ago... I could hear the cold currents howling in the metro tunnels." She replied, looking at hte door that was the only thing stopping them from flash freezing to death. The door was being covered with frost same with the walls around it and it was slowly spreading deeper into the room as the head was being sucked out rapidly." It's lucky actually... had we been anywhere else, we would have been gonners before we had tiem to react. Worst pat about cold waves is that they arrive without warning and nobody can be sure what cuases them cause nobody survives seeing what happens on the surface when one hits." She told him with a smile." Though now I wonder how hte crabs and every other mutant on the surface survives the flash freeze by the cold wave... Think they've evolved or something?" she asked.

"Well in either case, it's not like we can carry too much wood anyways, wood's heavy and would hinder and tire us in the long run if we jsut carry a bunch of it without an end goal and place to store it." She pointed out in helpful manner. Sure they could use some wood for later, maybe make torches or just to have another campfire, however it was indeed hindering and heavy. There was a reason people usually started collecting bigger amounts of firewood after htey had a shelter to store it in the longterm.

"You know, my former home never dealt much with Cold Waves even in the few rare occasions they did happen. We were too tightly locked up, heavy gates and walls would block hte way and we had more than enough heating for the most part, plus we had no direct close access to the surface. We are very close to the surface and given we are right by a metro entrance, it might be the reason because Cold Waves originate on the surface. THe deeper we and furhter than the surface we go, the better it would be and less likely to affect us as much." She said and moved in closer to the fire, warming herself by it." On the plus side, we don't need to worry about anybody making it inside right now with that cold outside. Even if the mutants survive it, I doubt htey are much active during a cold wave. I will rig a makeshoft alarm on the gate with a bit of the materials around like those empty cans so if the door is opened it they would fall and alert us. So let's rest well tonight and in the morning we can make the final treck to that Underhaven place."

[Lucius Cypher]

"You're awfully chatty for someone who needs to rest up." Donny said dully as Cat talked about the cold wave, her colony, and other things. It made Donny uncertain how to respond as he wasn't sure if he should also open up, or just let her chat. Maybe this was just a way for her to fall asleep? Still he let her speak as he noticed frost forming on some of the logs, despite their proximity to the fire. The cold wave continued as he tossed a few more logs onto the fire, trying his best not to let the logs freeze and get wet. Because if it did, that would create smoke... And this room wasn't nearly ventilated well enough for the smoke not to suffocate them. It made Donny curse quietly under his breath as he realized something: he needed to be very steady about maintaining both the heat, but also oxygen levels.

"Cat... I suggest you rest. This room probably isn't totally sealed in. If I burn too much wood at once, that'll consume the oxygen in this room, and subsequently we'll die from carbon suffocation. Happened in the forges all the time back with the Valklin. But even just us talking... Breathing... It's consuming the fuel the fire needs to stay hot." Donny tried to speak loudly enough to be heard but yet at the same time, almost in a hoarse voice as if he's trying his best to control his breathing. He just curls his legs closer to his body, trying to keep warm, while keeping his eyes on the door. The Cold Wave was still going, perhaps not as strong as before, but still a constant flow. "... I wonder how Underhaven handles Cold Waves. I hear they have a bunch of mutants there. Even energy thanks to their nuclear reactor. Back in the Valklin, only the boss and his closest friends and family had access to generators for heating. Would be nice to be able to warm up against something that doesn't need wood or oil."

[rivaan]

Cat shrugged and made herself comfortable, laying down and curlign up so she coudl retain as much warmth and have as little exposure as possible. The fire felt nice." Hey, I like talking, I wasn't allowed to do much of it until I left." She simply replied and closed her eyes, listening well to everything happening around. WIth her better senses she could well hear the way the wind and cold air howled outside their door. She could crisply hear the frost forming on the walls by teh door. Such a luck they found this place, otherwise, their best chance would have been maybe holing up in the metro's toilet rooms as htey were likely the only place with a door to close up and bar.

"I will... wake me up when you want to rest too. Can't have you walking around dead tired tomorrow." She replied to him." And I've seen it happen too..." She nodded though not at a forge, but it was the same situation in any case." Fine, I will keep as quiet as possible..."

"I'm still unable to fantom how they've got a nuclear reactor of all things. Any tale I hear is more outlandish than the next, but if I'm to give a guess, they've got the settlement located in an easily closed off area of hte underground. Maybe another metro station or an interesction place of tunnels, possibly with an opening to the other places, but all easily closed off. With most openings closed off and if they do have access to a nuclear reactor, heating would be easy." She staed, recalling what they were taught back at hteir 'school'." I'm more curious how they cool said nuclear reactor, it's a hot thing that requires a lot of water to run properly."

"Heating units are nice, I suppose. Crackling fire is better though." She stated with utmost certainty and let out a light chuckle." Good night, Donny..." She added in a mumble, let out a small yawna nd turned to the other side, with her back towards the fire to warm it, instead of her front. Soon after she started to snooze away and before long was fully asleep, her breathing slow and even. The cold was making it a bit unpleasant, but she was used to it and having a properly burnign fire at her back, warming it up helped.

The Cold Wave continued on, well into the night, it lasted for hours before the howling air outside settled, indicating the wave had died out, but the aftereffects would be present for a good long time yet. The cold while not instantly freezing would still be unpleasant. Nothing happened during Donny's watch on fire duty. It was all howling of hte winds and crackling of the fire. There was a brief groan at one point from Cat, but afterwards she was quiet. Until she suddenly just woke up and sat without warning at least. It was a few hours, the howling had passed not too long agi." So... my turn to watch the fire, you go sleep now." SHe told him and scooted over to the pile of salvaged firewood.

[Lucius Cypher]

By the time Cat awoken, Donny was geared up and standing. During her sleep, Donny had to use what was left of the wood to maintain the fire. And she could easily see why: the door was frozen near solid, with a pool of water near the entrance. Cat and Donny would've frozen to death in the middle of the Cold Wave had he not burn through all of their wood supply, but now all they had left was a single log that barely had enough flames to call it an ember. Seeing Cat roused, Donny sighed and shook his head. "No. Not tired. And besides that we got to move. Cold Wave is over but we won't survive here if another comes by. We're out of wood and thus out of fuel. However... The Cold Wave no doubt would force other mutants into hiding as well, at least for a little while. So we have a very short window of time where mutants might not be roaming to start traveling. And hopefully we won't be caught in another Cold Wave when that happens."

Donny gathers what he could from the fireplace to create a new torch. This one burned a bit more brightly and steadily than the previous torch, but it wasn't certain how long it'll last. The brightest flames burn shortest after all. The swelling on his leg had gone down since he had put a bit of ice on it to reduce swelling, and carefully made sure it wasn't infected. While he won't be running any marathons he ought to heal up in a few days. He just needs to find a safe place to bunker down and heal. Before they would leave though, Donny hands Cat a small bag: one of the rations. "Freeze dried Chicken and Rice. No cooking needed, just need water. And lucky for you," Donny hands Cat a bowl of ice cold water that he melted off the frozen door. "Got something rarer than oil here. Drinkable water. Not a lot, but enough to cook with. Use it or lose it."

[rivaan]

"Another one will not come soon... Cold waves hit with rather big interval between one another." She replied, but nodded and stood up." I see your point though. Sooner we make it to a town the better it would be in the long run." With that she started to make sure her jacket was well closed and secured. She wasn't as heavily dressed and armored as Donny, so she had to make sure as much as possible of her body was covered and the least amount of heat could escape, thus the zipper on the jacket was pulled all the way up including the neck area.

"Thank you for the breakfast." She replied to him, getting to it and adding the water right awya." I could have used the one in my own cantine, but this's better and saves on my water alcohol mix." She chuckled and pulled a small spoon and began eating... rather devouring the food. She ate fast and big mouthfuls. In the end she was done before long.

"Alrigth, let's go." Cat stated and walked over to teh frozen door, knocking on it with the knuckles on her right hand a few times, just to confirm something then she pulled hte crowbar and with a well placed nudge, pull and push, the cracking of ice could be hearda as the frost gave way and soon the door creaked slightly open, then she pushed harder and harder until it was open enough so they could pass through which was admittedly ab it harder than she initially suspected, mostly because Donny's profile was a lot wider than her own. There was a distinct lack of something in the air as they made their way back into the metro tunnels proper. The cold wave had frozen everything, including whatever old sewege had cloged pipes in teh metrostation because the air was incredibly clear! Even for the underground, the incredibly cold air was very fresh and clear, one of the few times a person could find clear air. Still, breathing it was hard with the low temperatures it was at, so she pulled a piece of cloth and wrapped it around her mouth and neck, making a makeshift scarf to breath through and it made the cold air just a tad more bearable.

"We shouldn't be too far from the Underhaven place, maybe by tonight we should reach it, though we might meet scouts or perimeter guards first. Given the cold waves, they are likely completely isolated, so it must be formed within a place underground that they had completely closed off, so it should be easy to spot, unless it's even deeper hidden with tiny entrances instead."

With that she once more took point mostly because of better sense and also because with Donny at the rear since he was more armored, it would make any back ambushes less dangerous overall.

[Lucius Cypher]

The first thing the two would notice as they walked was the sound of ice cracking beneath their feet. The Cold Wave created a layer of frost on the ground that made the terrain both slippery as well as annoyingly loud. Regardless Domic took out the map, getting their location and giving Cat directions as they continued onward. Everywhere they went they could see how the Cold Wave had affected the area, some locations hit harder than others. Some spots were relatively untouched aside from a sheen of frost, while others were practically frozen in ice. Only the sound of their foot steps and the faint noise of the surface winds in the distance could be heard as they moved from the service tunnels back into the open metro.

It was here that Cat and Domic would come across a ghastly sight. It looked like four people who were too late to escape the Cold Wave, frozen as they ran. Two were on the ground, broken from their knee down. "Poor, poor bastards." However Cat would notice something off about them. They didn't wear nearly enough clothing on them to be scouts or scavengers. They wore ragged clothes that wouldn't even keep them warm inside a closed room, let alone the metro. And they didn't have any bags either. Near them were some pipes and rebar they were presumably using for weapons, but they were barely weaponized in any way, more or less just pulled from the ground. Being an experienced solider she would know who these people are: Ghouls.

In this frozen apocalypse, mutations brought about from radiation and other strange sources were common. Indeed, many are even born with mutations due to tainted water or mutations from the mother. But for the most part everyone is human. Except those who have the misfortune of being exposed to radiation in such high quantities that, instead of simply dying from it, they've become terrible husk of themselves. Ghouls are human only in shape, driven to some sort of bestial madness that makes them violent, yet at the same time their mutations have made them inhumanly tough, capable of shrugging off wounds that would cripple a normal person and even survive harsh weather conditions. There said to even be people crazy enough to willingly get mutated, gambling on the chance of their mutations being benign instead of killing them or driving them insane. Though obviously even those mutations had their limits, such as these frozen ghouls.

[rivaan]

Through the frosty underground air they steadily walked. Cat's nerves were filled with tension at every crack of the frost covering the ground, the detriment and benefit of better hearing she supposed, still at least for the time being nobody nor anything would be able to ambush them easily if every movement caused sounds like these. Still she was taking point, walking with her gun at the ready and the sparkly new crowbar at the backup, her breath misting out in front of her face even through the makeshift scarf she had on.

"Hmmm..." Cat made a sound, eyes narrowing at the sight of frozen figures standing. Her trained eyes quickly took the surroundings and their getup and all manner of red flags flashed in her mind." Those aren't people, Donny." She told him as she pulled the crowbar in her right hand swug with all force at the closest one's neck, sending the netire thing tumbling down and a bunch of things from it breaking off, including a cracked from her strike neck that shattered from the impact." That's ghouls..." She explained and proceed to do the same to the other standing one without pause.

"Considering that unlike most mutants ghouls don't seemingly have improved bodies to maybe wait out the flast frost with only their outer layers freezing over, or dig or anything to protect themselves from it, I wouldn't put it past these things to restart 'living' after thawing out well enough. So better make sure just in case. I might not be right, but considering that ghouls are still a thing despite the cold waves, it's a decent logic, no?" She asked him, proceeding to shatter off the heads from the fallen ones.

"Problem is... if there are four... there might be more around the place. We are supposed to be somewhat close to this Underhaven place, so I don't think their presence should be regular occurance. No settlement or shelter would keep dangerous mutants close." She pointed out and readied her gun again." Now, from this point on expect ambushes. Remember for ghouls, it's like with most humans, you got to take out the head, it's by far the fastest way." Cat added and began walking.

While a group of four ghouls wouldn't be unusual, their presence this close to a supposed survivor settlement raised questions and Cat knew that Ghouls often flocked in groups, sometimes big groups. She had heard of one that a squad from her former place had encountered which was 15 ghouls packed in a single building. They had only 1 survivor out of 20 since they got surprised and swarmed, not expecting such numbers. So standard protocol since then was assume the worst.

[Lucius Cypher]

"There are rumors that Underhaven is full of mutants. Maybe these were some of the folk who turned ghoul from the radiation. Or ones who were trying to get to Underhaven and lost themselves before they could get there." Donny didn't know, but he gave his opinion on how or why these ghouls existed. There was also the simply possibility that they merely traveled here independently: ghouls tend to do that since unlike normal people, they're highly resistant to the cold. Only a Cold Wave is strong enough to freeze them outright, and as Cat said, there's a very real possibility they may still be alive once they thaw out. Donny looked down at the decapitated corpses and shivered at the thought. He picked up two lengths of rebar, putting them onto his pack before moving on.

The further they went, the more signs of travel they would notice. Underneath the layer of frost were slush and mud, likely from foot prints. A lot of it. A fairly sizable group moved through here recently, possible the rest of the ghoul horde. Where they went however, and how many are alive, it was hard to say. Neither Cat nor Donny would see any more frozen corpses so there's a very real possibility they were alive and merely taking shelter somewhere. But that wasn't the only thing the two would notice. Visible via torchlight, Cat would spot a sign written in charcoal on a length of plywood nailed to the wall. It said "Underhaven ahead" with an arrow pointing in the direction of another hall. Eventually Donny saw it and sighed a breath of relief. "Finally. Let's get moving. We shouldn't be too far now."

A brisk job would soon take the two towards a hall that was littered with traps. More ghoul corpses, but this time they were killed not by the Cold Wave but the traps left behind. Bear traps, swinging pendulums, and spiked pitfall. They were barely disguised though so anyone who had their mental faculties could easily navigate around these traps, so they were specifically laid here to ward off ghouls, who generally lacked the mental focus to avoid these sort of things. There was even a clearly marked walk way for Cat and Donny to walk if they wanted to avoid the traps. "Hmm... Some pretty low tech traps. And ones that you could reset easily too. Shows that these Underhaven guys are crafty at least. Wouldn't ward off a raider group but could slow them down at least. Force them to waste time disarming traps. If they don't want to be picked off." Indeed, the safe path was long and winding, with the only possible cover coming from traps that have already been triggered. If there were defenders nearby they could easily gun them down as they were trying to walk around the traps but right now, there doesn't seem to be anyone. "Though if this is their main path, I bet they don't get many traders either. No sense in trapping the only way in. Might be another way we can go, if you want to keep looking around."

[rivaan]

"As much as logic that might have, look at what they are wearing..." Cat gestured at the shattered remains of the ghouls." They wear practically nothing and as far as I'm aware even most mutants require clothing to preserve warmth in this hellhole we live in. No... these seem too bare to be would be settlers of any kind. Ghouls do wander from time to time so it might be just that, but we better be on guard just in case." She shook her head as they resumed walking.

The more they traveled the more Cat went on edge as she started spotting the traces of a lot of traffic and likely the traces of a horde. Now that was concerning. A group of ghouls could be dangerous enough in tight spaces and a horde was downright horrifying. Her old place had dealt with one horde while she was on duty a few years ago. They basically holed behind layers and layers of fortifications and obstacles like razor wires and spikes, delivering non stop hail of bullets until everything stopped moving and afterwards lit everything ablaze just to make sure and even then they still lost a guy to a ghoul that somehow jumped through the last set of the obstacles. Unlucky sod... GHouls appeared stupid, but they could be damn spry if a human meal was on the line.

"That's the best defense against ghouls... lack of human presence means ghouls won't wander down that path and the traps would cause them to stop advancing after a while. Ghouls might be with intelligence akin to or lower than animal, however I've observed that without a reason to venture in specific direction if a few of them die, they will just go another way. SO it's not ismply crafting, that's smart." She stated and already started walking and navigating the traps.

"Bren, we are at the edge of what's considered known world, there are NO traders that make their way here. At least no traders from our areas. If anything, any traders who travel between Underhaven and our known settlements are likely to be from Underhaven so they know any and all secret routes that this place has and uses so while there might be another entrance, I'd bent it's heavily masked and hidden from view." Cat stated and swiftly walked around some beartraps." I'm actually wondering where they got the bear traps... some of those don't look makeshift, bur rather properly made ones. Myabe they found a pre-apocalypse hunting store of some variety or something." She stated and suddenly raised a hand and gestured to Bren to stop as she staretd peering into the darkness and listening. They had walked a good deal inside hte trapped tunnel and now something was off. She readied her rifle, eyes locked into the darkness further down the tunnel outside of the light radius of the weakening makeshift torch." I know you are there, if you are sentient and from Underhaven please show yourself, we mean no harm, but I'd rather deal in person instead of a lurker in the shadows." She stated, preparing herself for a fight in a frankly uncomfortable for fighting place such as a corridor filled with traps. But hey, she could probably hook one of hte bear traps and kick it off with a kick in their direction if she had to.

[Lucius Cypher]

”... Hmm. I’m losing my touch.”

A voice came from the darkness as a figure soon came into view. One hand up in peace, but the other holding onto a crossbow ready to fight as well. The man who came out though looked... Ghoulish. But he spoke without any difficulty, albeit with a raspy voice. ”Seeing that you’ve gotten pass the traps you must not be full ghoul. But doesn’t meant you aren’t bandits. Names Hunter, from Underhaven. And you all?”

Donny already had his pistol out, but also didn’t start aiming until he was certain what was going on. He glanced to Cat before speaking quickly and tersely. ”Donny. Gunsmith. Came to Underhaven looking for a new home.” Donny realized what sort of a perilous position he and at were in right now. They were surrounded by traps with little to no cover, effectively sitting ducks. Whereas Hunter didn’t have any traps and was just on the edge of visible range; it wouldn’t take more than a few steps to be covered in darkness, making it impossible for Donny to see him and only barely visible for Cat. The tunnels meant there wasn’t that much room for him to maneuver, but also meant even less for Donny and Cat.

[rivaan]

She grinned at the raspy reply and lowered her weapon a bit so it wasn't pointing directly at the man...ghoul...mutant anymore. It was a more neutral posture and a sign of goodwill than anything. She hadn't seen anyone quite in his condition in a long while, once she had met a traveler on an expedition to the surface, but they had gotten chased by her 'colleagues'.

"Not as much as you probably think, I've always been good at spotting things when others don't. A bit of a talent and a gift." She replied in turn with a well meanigng smile towards the man. Name was Hunter, huh. Well made sense, given he was trapping and hunting in an area by the looks of it. She heard Donny introducing himself behind her and she tossed him a glance.

"Well, name's Cat... well Catherine, but nobody really calls me by the full name anymore. I'm from 'Fourth Kingdom'." She made air quotes of sarcasm at the name of her former 'home'." Soldier and a scout more or less." She finished her introduction as she looked at the man from Underhaven." Figured the same as Donny, that Underhaven might be a good place to just start anew without all the imposed slavery." She added, her feet precisely positioned around some of the traps so she can easily at least do a sidestep or lean outo f the way of an arrow without stepping into one of the traps. Survival habbits.

[Lucius Cypher]

Hunter sighed as he took out a small metal container from his pocket. It contained multiple partially-smoked cigarettes, and he took one out, lit it up, and started smoking. "Is that so huh? Well sorry, but Underhaven isn't taking new people right now." Donny was surprised and annoyed. "What?! Why not? There was word that Underhaven was looking for new people! This better not be some trick." Letting out a puff of smoke Hunter looked to Donny and then Cat. "Gotta understand, this is the first time Underhaven has formally made it known that we're looking for newcomers. We had out traders let out word hoping to find promising new settlers. Of course, what happened is a bunch of deadbeats and criminals thought they could come to Underhaven and mooch off our handouts. Frankly I thought it was a bad idea myself, but no one asked for my opinion. Suffice to say it turned out badly." Hunter motioned towards the other side of the tunnel where Donny and Cat came from.

"Long story short, we had to drive them out. They got the bright idea of making a run for the nuclear reactor and tried to get mutations. Surprisingly enough only a few of them died. Most of them became mutants, though some also quickly turned feral. Was hell to drive them out from the colony. Lost good men even if we ultimately managed to drive em off. So now they're stalking the tunnels, knowing we're in a bit of a predicament. Not enough manpower to chase them down, and only barely enough to man the walls." Finishing his cig, Hunter tossed it to the side before stepping back, allowing Cat and Donny to follow him. "But if you managed to make it this far, and through a Cold Wave at that, maybe you're a bit more useful than those chumps. If you're still interested in joining, and you're willing to do some work first, you can talk to the head of security. You'll most likely have to prove your worth somehow, maybe grab some supplies or even deal with the outcasts. If that doesn't interest you, best I can recommend is that you turn back to where you came. Cold Wave's still fresh, so I'm sure no one is out and about yet."

Donny looked over to Cat. He didn't have anywhere else to goo. No way he could make it back to the Valklin, and there was an even lesser chance that they were going to take him back. And he didn't know any other colonies in the area. "Well... I can't say I'm too surprised. I figured we'd have to do some work before they'd take us in. I just hope after we do something for them they'll accept us and not give us the run around. If nothing else, I have some supplies I could trade in. Restock on food, maybe even make some ammo."

[rivaan]

"Huh..." Cat made a sound of mild surprise at the revelations that had transpired around Underhaven. Well she didn't actually knew they were 'officially' searching for settlers. She had just gotten the rumor that there was a place outside of the bounds of the current networks that seemed like a good place to go hide and lay low at, without the danger of getting discovered by regular patrols. Then there was the other news." So... radiation, a bunch of morons... Well, already been doing it, found a few of the buggers frozen solid someways down the tunnels, made sure to snap them to pieces just in case they wake up after defrosting which was a possibility I didn't want to risk."

"Yeah." She nodded at Donny." Alright, let's go meet this Head of Security and see what he's got to say about the whole thing, maybe at least get us some better number estimations of the ferals numbers and we can trade some while we are at it. Not like we expected to just settledown and do nothing, you got to work to eat and all that. Worst case scenario, we can hole out somewhere for a hideout and scavenge and survive off it while trading with Underhaven until they decide to allow us inside the laws." She shruged and turned her attention away from Donny and at the ghoul.

She lowered her gun even more, within safe posture, stil in hand just in case ferals or other dangerous mutated creatures show up, but relaxed enough to not be ready for a shootout with the Ghoul." Alright, I assume you gonna lead us to the place so we can meet up with your Head of Security? THen we can do some trading to stock up on supplies of immediate needs so we can go back out." With that seh skillfully navigated the trapped corridor the rest of the way so she's out of it. They had things to trade indeed and because of the poor family they found, they had potential scavenging locations they could visit also. There might be a good deal of thigns there too, given they were far enough from the regular settled area so the scavengers around here probably haven't stripped the area baren quite yet.

[Lucius Cypher]

"Yeah. We've set up a refugee camp of sorts between the wall and Underhaven's gates. I'm not going to pretend it's anything any settler wants, but it's fortified against a Cold Wave at least, which is better than most holes in these tunnels." Hunter leads the two through the tunnels. It's rather poorly lit, leading deeper until they both came up to a sheet metal wall. "Cover your eyes." Hunter warns as he moves the sheet metal to the side. Donny looked away, and if Cat didn't do the same she'd be instantly blinded by the searing white light aimed at the tunnel's entrance. Beyond the white light was a metrostation, and a rather impressive one at that. The old train that was left here had been converted into a battlement wall, with it's windows reinforced to become gunports and the rooftop turned into ramparts. The sliding doors have also been reinforced from the inside, an effective gate compared to some of the more simple structures other colonies had to make due with. Eight floodlights illuminated these halls, two pointed at the entry that Donny and Cat took, and six pointed at other barricaded entrances. The fact that Underhaven had the energy to power such intense lights was something to say: Donny has only seen such things as the central lighting of his old colony's underground.

Manning the walls was a pair of guards. They were dressed with some simple, but typical armor: padded sports equipment to protect their arms, legs, and head, with a shaped metal chestplate better to ward off stray shots and shrapnel than direct shots. However what was more impressive was their guns: old world assault rifles. Though worn, their rifles weren't slapped together or made out of cannibalized parts like most everyone else's weapons. Both sentries carried a full bandolier of magazines, armed and ready to hold the line if need be. They aimed their rifles at Donny and Cat, but Hunter raised his hand to speak to them. "Lower your weapons. They're with me. Open the gate." The two guards slowly lowered their weapons but still kept their eyes on the two as Hunter led them through the wall. A minute would pass before the gate opened, the sound of chains rumbling indicating that the doors are not fully automatic, or perhaps the additional armor plating made it too heavy to be moved by conventional means. Inside the train itself, Donny and Cat would pass another guard dressed similarly to the two guards on top, but armed with a shotgun, a much more suitable weapon in these tight quarters. Up close, Cat could tell this guard was a young woman like herself, perhaps a year or two younger. Not as big nor as strong, likely someone who's never seen any real combat before. She was trying too hard to look tough.

Another minute would pass before the opposite door would open. Greeting the trio on the other side was a mutant woman. She looked relatively young, around Cat's age, but she had a large clawed arm, and raptor-like feet. She dressed surprisingly light, lacking armor or heavy clothing aside from her jacket, which she wore openly. Being a mutant likely helps her tolerate the cold. She had a pistol holstered on her hip, and like the rifles her gun looked old world too. She seemed jovial, yet her eyes looked like that of a hungry predator.

"Hunter! Didn't think you'd be back so soon. Though I don't see any meat, unless you're imply that we ought to turn to cannibalism already!" The woman joked but Hunter didn't respond. He simply turned towards Donny and Cat.

"No. Nothing of the sort. This is Donny and Cat. Met them just in the tunnels. They want to join Underhaven and they're willing to do some work for it."

Hunter stepped out of the way so the woman could look closer at you two. She took her human hand to her chin as she looked both Donny and Cat up and down, walking around in a circle to get a better view. "Hmm... Well looks like Donny here has a sprained ankle, so I don't know how far he's going to go if he thinks all he needs is to keep it wrapped up. That's how you get gangrene. I hope he doesn't expect us to give him any medication for that. And Cat here is a lil mutant herself too, isn't she?" The woman said with a smile. She didn't even seem to care about their equipment, but was more focused on their health. She takes a few moments to think before speaking up again. "Well, I guess beggars can't be choosers. Saves me the trouble of having to send out solos too. Alright you two, I'll keep it easy and simple. There's a few tasks we need done and I don't want to risk my people to do it. But if you do it and succeed, I'll consider you one of us and you won't need to stay out here." The woman motioned towards a nearby camp.

It wasn't much. The most notable thing was a few sheet metal shacks and a single barrel fire. There were already quite a few people here, at least twenty, eight of them children. They didn't seem to pay you group any mind except the kids, but they kept getting turned away by their parents. They didn't seem to have much except the clothes on their backs and a few simple weapons: bats, pipes, and the occasional hammer or crowbar. Hunter was right, most of these settlers don't seem to be bringing much to the table. The woman began to speak again. "There's a lot of work to be done, and the sooner you start the better. First task, which I'm sure Hunter has already told you about, is dealing with some of those ghouls that you might've noticed in the tunnels. While I would love if you could kill each and every one of them, I'm sure they'll lead you on a merry chase once they figure out you're not some refugee with a stick. But an easier and more productive way to deal with them is to take out or even better, take back some of the supplies they've taken from us. Namely they've taken a crate of food and seeds we had and want it back. Honestly, I doubt there's any food left, but if you can bring back the seeds at least that would be great. If there are any supplies left, bring that too. Even if they're mutants they still need to eat, and the more that end up dying trying to hunt, the easier it'll be for us to finish them off."

"Second task might be a bit more complex but still straightforward. We need you to search the metrotunnels for some chemicals we need to make medicine. We've scouted a promising location that doesn't seem to have been raided yet, but that also means we have no idea what threats are there. I'm sure there's mutants at least, but what kind and how many I don't know. So if you're willing, go check the place out, gather some information about the area, and bring back whatever medicine and chems you can find. The more the merrier."

"Last job is the simplest, safest, and what the others over there are already doing. But Underhaven needs wires, cabling, the works. Every morning we'll give you a wooden spool so you can go out and salvage as much cables as you can. You bring back enough, and we'll even give you some food for your trouble! Bring back at least five hundred feet worth of cable, and we'll let you into Underhaven. But that's five hundred each. I'm being lenient for those folks not to have to spool wires for their kids too, but contrary to belief we don't have an infinite amount of resources. If you're big enough to carry a spool of wires, I'm expecting you to be able to carry your own spool and earn your own keep."

Hearing these options, Donny sighed. "Damn. Should've brought those wires like you suggested Cat... Still, at least we know some prime location to gather up wires. If we want to do that." Donny looked down to his foot. While he hasn't noticed any issues with it, he was concerned about what the lady had said about it catching gangrene. "But dammit... I've no interest in losing my foot either. I need to get this checked out." The woman shrugged. "Heard one of the refugees was a doctor. I think he's a liar, but if you want to take that risk maybe you can make a deal with him. Anyways make sure you let me know what you'll be doing by tomorrow morning. Feel free to rest here for now but keep yourself out of trouble and don't bother the guards. If they think you're distracting them they have the authority to remove you from the camp, no if and or buts about it. And if you're a threat they'll kill you." The woman never broke her smile when she spoke, and simply turned around and head towards Underhaven.

Hunter sighed and looked to you two. "Well, you heard her. I need to head back to reset the traps and hunt for some meat. Keep your nose clean while you're here. And whatever you do... Stay safe." The mutant man nods his head and walks back through the gate, closing it behind you two. Donny sighs and looks at the refugee camp. It was going to be cramp, and chances are both sheet metal huts were already taken, so even if they wanted to rest they'd have to do it outside. Not that Donny expected anything less, but he doesn't like the idea of sleeping so exposed. He looked to Cat and motioned her towards the camp. "Well, may as well talk to them. Maybe they might have something we can barter for."

[rivaan]

THe hair on the back of Cat's neck stood up when the mutant woman looked at her like that and then she revealed what Cat honestly knew, but kept mostly hidden. She was a mutant or at least one with not too extensive mutations and had retained her human looks, like a result of adapting to it as a baby. In any case, she kept her tongue behind her teeth, avoiding looking at Donny as the woman was giving them the rundown of the different tasks they could be doing. Sure enough wires was one, she chuckled at her current partner's regret of not listening to her, will learn for the next time, she supposed." Very well, we can deal with that. In fact we might even work on the two main ones and the third one as a side thing depending on where the mutants' have fled to. Will probably start with them first htough, the seeds should be retrieved faster, feral mutants wouldn't really eat seeds, but you never now, better save than sorry. We will give you the precise rundown of our plans before our departure tomorrow then" She nodded in confirmation of the tasks ahead and turned to Donny as their escort had left and the mutant woman had also, leaving them alone.

"Yeah, we should get rid of the things we don't need for something more useful in the long run at least." She nodded, knowing they were carrying a few thigns that might be of great interest after all. So walking with him towards the improvised camp in search of traders of some kind, she stole a glance at Donny." So... you don't mind, you know... me being a mutant?" She asked him eventually." I'm well aware that I'm not the most obvious mutant out there and I do tend to keep quiet about it for a multutude of reasons most of hte time. It's saved my hide many a time, so for what's it worth, I never really planned ot lie to you if it even came up, I just prefered not to bring the topic."

"Anyhow, I suggest we skip that quack doctor that may be here in the refugee camp. I can help you deal with a sprained ankle. Basic first aid requirement as a soldier and all that. She was talking shit about keeping it wrapped, but it is a very important part of the healing process and something hard to do on your own. So later when we go to rest tongiht, I will rewrap you foot myself, making sure to secure the ankle properly, though for hte next few days, we might have to take it easy, especially when we are out in the wilds. If you aren't careful, you could worsen it. For now I suggest we focus on trading some goodies, maybe resupplying ammo and some food and then finding a nice spot to rest. I think we can make an improvised tent over there by those crates at that side of the camp. Will not be anything fancy, but should keep the curious gaze away at least. WHat od you say?" Cat looekd at Donny, eyes filled with expectation.

[Lucius Cypher]

As the duo walked to the camp and as Cat asked Donny about her mutation, the young man responds quickly. "Well we all have our secrets. And besides that it's... Let me put it this way. You know the Valklin. Not going to pretend we were anything more than raiders... But none of us were super mutated. So all that stuff they did... They did with normal human brains. They weren't driven to frenzy because of rads or stuff like that. They weren't born crazy because their mom or dad drank the green juice. But I'm nothing like them." They way Donny said this seemed more like he was trying to convince himself, rather than you. He just sighed and waved his hand. "Anyways point is that even if you're a mutant you seem lucid and haven't fucked with me yet. So I have no reason to judge you. Besides if I did have a problem with it I wouldn't be heading to Underhaven, knowing fully well they have mutants there anyways."

Reaching the camp, it was crowded. Just about everyone was huddled around the single barrel fire, though the two could see some people resting in the tents. Two figures stood out: one was an olderman wearing a red cross patch on his shoulder and another seemed like some sort of horder. He had one of the metal shacks to himself, which barely had enough space for him as the rest of it was filled from floor to ceiling with bags of junk and bits. Donny motioned towards him. "I'm guessing he might have some stuff to trade. Let's find a place to sit down first and then we can trade scrap for supplies." Once over at the crates, Donny would help Cat set up camp. They didn't have much, but Donny was able to cobble together a makeshift wall and roof by opening one of the crates and using the lid to give the two some privacy. It wasn't sturdy by any means, and Donny wasn't going to waste nails securing what's basically a temporary set up, but he did reuse the nails in the crate to keep the structure from falling over on itself. It would be a cramp space, but Donny and Cat could reasonably share the area.

Donny sat down and began to take inventory of his loot. A broken rifle with seven .308 caliber bullets, two pocket knives, a handful of springs from pens, and five coins. He also brought out the tool box that had a box of nails, a roll of duct tape, two hammers, a pipe wrench, a set of screwdrivers, screws, bolts, and washers. He had a baseball bat, a flashlight (with dead batteries), extra underclothes, a towel, two Pre-Cata MREs, and finally two lengths of rebar. He looked up to Cat as he laid out his items. "This is what I got. With time and a few more mats, I might be able to repair this rifle. Honestly it looks kinda shit, but even a shitty rifle is good for bartering. Otherwise take the bullets, I bet you can get a good deal trading those. You can also take these knives to trade, as well as the bat, clothes, and the MRE's. I'll bet the weapons will be traded pretty easily, those folk out there don't look very well armed. The women would probably trade for the clothes too. And I bet anyone will want the MRE's, assuming you don't wanna keep them for yourself. If you have anything else worthwhile to trade, I'm sure you can strike a deal with someone out there."

Getting himself comfortable Donny took out another set of tools from his bag, setting it on the ground in front of him as he looked over the broken rifle. "I'll stay here and fix up this gun. Honestly it doesn't look too bad, and I can probably proxy some parts with what I got here. Who knows, might be able to turn it into something we could actually use once we head back into the metro." Donny left Cat the items he wasn't going to need so she could go barter while he stayed behind to watch over the camping spot. Most of the other folk were milling about, cooking a bit of food or chatting. Most of them were eating nutrient bricks but some had some sort of root vegetable they were cooking in the fire. The horder was doing business with a couple of men, trading some canned goods for a handful of bullets. Seemed like someone here had ammo to trade at least.

[rivaan]

"Well, thanks, guess I was just used to how it went back in myu old place, I mean servants and slaves who were mutants got even worse treatement than regular ones and even less rights if that is even possible..." She replied, hiding a shudder." That said... I was never completely sure, there was nobody to confirm or deny my suspicion, but after realizing that your senses are way better than anybody elses' you start to make theories and eventually figure it out." Cat stated flatly." Yeah, hope there's something useful for us there."

With that said, she refocused her attention on the tasks at hand which was making temporary shelter, honestly it wasn't even going to last as likely once they leave Underhaven for tasks and missions, it would get taken over by other of the people milling about at this place, but for the time being it would work. She was rather grateful of Dony's knack for building stuff, it woudl be a life saver in the long run. She was already thinking of possible hideouts for them to use and the one htey spend last night at came often in mind, it lacked sustainable fuel source, but they could solve that with some effort ofd carrying over burning materials if they wanted to and it was way more secure than this temproary gig, especially out in the wild.

After everything was over with and they took the acceptable given the circumstances privacy, they began talking trading and what they had as supplies. Donny naturally carried more stuff than her, she actually ahdn't picked too many things on their journey together, besides the rubber boots, the crowbar and the chemical lights. She took those out too, lining them up." Keep the underwear, it's gonna get better trade at a proper trading place not out here, maybe tomorrow when we get to the security office or whatever htey will allow us to access their proper traders. Same with these." She pointed out at the glowsticks." We can keep a few, but the rest we can trade away. I can indeed make a good trade with the bullets though, it is my area of expertise." She nodded, carefully securing away the .308 ammo. If they were lucky, she could well trade them for the same if not greater amount of .223 or 5.56.

"The MREs, we can trade away, every last one fo them would be way more valuable as a trade, we can grab a lot of supplies for each of them. Pretty sure if we make a good trade on one, we can get enough nutrient bricks for it to last us more than a few days from that trade alone and that's on a lesser trade. Given the spices packets inside, we can get even more." She pointed out to him." Knives we can trade away, we both have better ones, we should keep the flashlight for now, at least until we confirm getting batteries is too out of our reach or transforming it into a hand crank powered one. We should see if we can't find parts to convert it to a hand cranked flashlight."

"Alright, you keep low here and I will see what trades I can scrounge up. Will take one of the MREs and 2 of the glowsticks just in case something good shows up." She told him as she picked up her trading items of choice. The bullets were secured in her pockets, the MRE inside of ehr jacket along with the glowstick. The knives and bat were now secured inside her backpack and the bat on a strap. In any case she vetured out, noting the horder that was trading in bullets and headed in that direction, mostly to see what stuff he had and also see who else she might get a good trade on bullets with. If they were lucky too, she'd trade this MRE for a good stack of Nutrient bricks to last them a couple of days, but she knew not to count the chickets before they were even hatched.

"Hey there, noticed you trade in goods and accept ammo. You do ammo trade too? Looking for specific types to exchange." She pointed out to hte horder and started the task of bartering. Goal was more ammo for her rifle than the 308 one. Was hoping for 1:2 trade, but 1:1.5 would be acceptable.

[Lucius Cypher]

As Cat approached the hoarder, she would be able to make out some of his more notably features. namely, his strange eye. It bulged out of his head like a swollen wound, and was much too large for a human eye. It was so large that his eye lid was unable to close around it, giving him a constant, unnerving glare. He had a scraggly beard and missing teeth as well, though that wasn't nearly as unusual considering the eating habits of most tunnel denizens. His twisted smile was more concerning, though given the lisp he spoke with it may just be a physical impairment along with his strange eye. "Aye, yes! Have many things I do seeds of death for you. Lets see lets see what fine things we can trade, what deals can be made, yes!" As Cat showed him the .308 bullets, he seemed intrigued. They were quite large calibers, so he took out a box containing a mix mash of bullets. Unfortunately, most of them seemed to be small caliber, meant for pistols and handguns instead of rifles. A double-edge sword because the hoarder seemed very interested in getting the larger bullets, and managed to scrounge up 18 .223 rounds, suitable for your rifle.

"Have other things too you'll like. Maybe food or clothes or a pipe! Yes yes, I see that bat you have there. I'll trade it for a this bag, that's fair!" The hoarder eyed the baseball bat as he reached into his junk pile to produce a dirty paper bag. Inside of it was a bunch of black rocks, which Cat could identify as charcoal, at least 5 pounds worth. "This is a good deal you see. These rocks will save you from the deep freeze. Relic of the human past and built to last!" Aside from that, he also had quite a stash of nutrient bricks. Most of them were crumpled up so chances are Cat would have to trade them by a vague handful, but with careful rationing there was enough nutrient bricks to last a month between herself and Donny. The rest of the hoarder's items seemed to be dirty clothing and literal trash. It was a good thing the bags they were contained in didn't have any tears, or he might've just invited a plague to this little camp.

[rivaan]

Cat nodded, taking note of the stocks the man had and hte deals offered. She wasn't planning on selling everything she could right here and now. Hell no, this man didn't have quiet enough for it all. Instead she was going to make the best trades here she could and try to trade the big things tomorrow at the town proper and maybe even the security office. Hell they would likely do some good trades for the emergency light sticks. THe coal was... well.. a curious deal. Her eyes narrowed as she took a good look into the paper bag. Honestly she didn't have much use in the bat, she had the crowbar for that now. And the coal was useful for more than just burning, getting a few more ingredients she could make primitive gunpowder or black powder as they also called it." Sure, bat for the bag o'black stones, but also that stack of old newspapers." She replied, trading those over. She'd have to make sure they were better secured later though. Maybe also wrap the paper back into some plastic wrapping or something to preserve the coal dry on top of just keepit it from dirtying her stuff and she had use for the old newspapers.

"Alright, here's good 7 .308 bullets." She stated, lining those up and pointed out at the 18 .223 rounds." Trades's honestly good enough by itself because the 308 if you've got the right gun could mess some serious shit up even against heavier targets." They didn't really need the sword in all honestly. Swords weren't really an underground close quarters and narrow corridors type of weapon.

"Now for the food... I offer this to you for a good deal of those nutrient bricks." She told him and showed him one of hte spice packages from the MREs. Once upon a time in a era far gone spice was worth it's waight in gold, now it was worth far more than that. Salt and pepper. She was showing him the salt package. Salt was very darn hard to secure nowdays. A buntch of cheap nutrient bricks wasn't nearly quite enough for a fair trade when it came to salt though." I want the birks and a select choice of the box of smaller bullets."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Meanwhile as Cat was haggling trades and barter, at their impromptu shelter where Donny was resting at, something and someone was skulking about. A doglike creature was sitting by the boxes they used for cover and a human shadow came over." So I hear there be new guys here, Freshly arrived from beyond the walls. Anybody home?" A childishly female voice called as a young girl, likely in her early to mid teens stood by the canine. She was a rugged lookinmg thing, wearing ruffled and tattered clothing, her hair a short dirty mop, but her eyes were burning with curious flames. She looked like many of the other people living in the gheto here. Physically wise, she looked rather thin, her ribbs almost visibile, but overall in decent enough shape for the style of living.