Andronicus23

Fallout: Chaos (Retired)

Thinking about joining....would Far Harbor be too far removed from the action to be relevant?

I was considering taking over The Institute remnants and having them migrate over to Far Harbor. The premise would be that after scouting out locations of still-active Vaults, they determined that Vault 118 showed some of the most promise, and so moved their operations there with the goal of expanding and renovating it.

They'd still be interested in the goings-on in The Commonwealth, but after the debacle that happened I would think it would be logical for them to want to get the hell out of dodge.

War Never Changes

Sanctuary Hills

The green and vibrant community of Sanctuary Hills felt warm and inviting as Thomas stepped out onto the sidewalk. He felt the warmth of the afternoon sun beating down and took a deep breath, before continuing on down the street. Dressed in his usual professional attire and carrying a briefcase. As he walked, Mr. Able who was in the process of mowing his lawn stopped to give him a wave,

"Afternoon Tom! Back from work at the College then? Hey the missus wants to know if you and your wife would like to have dinner next Tuesday. How about it?"

Thomas ignored the friendly neighborly banter and didn't even turn to look at Mr. Able. His rudeness, oddly enough, didn't seem to be noticed, and Mr. Able simply gave a friendly smile and went back to his yard-work with a cheerful whistle. Thomas continued onward without a word or any thought to any of his neighbors at all, but when reached the steps of his own front door though, his hand froze as he reached out to grab the handle. A thousand different thoughts raced through his mind, and he considered turning back and leaving right then and there.

I shouldn't be here. I need to leave.

"Dad's home!"

The voice coming from the window caused Thomas to look up, and shake him from his stupor. The face of a young boy was plastered against the glass, beaming a wide smile. He couldn't help but grin himself.

Against his better judgement, he stepped inside. As he sat his briefcase to the side, he was immediately set upon by the small boy, who ran and hugged him,

"Hello Shaun..." Thomas smiled as he wrapped his arms around him.

"Welcome home honey. You're early....I was just getting ready to start dinner." Nora walked up from across the room, and she leaned in to give him a kiss. Thomas winced at the touch of her lips, and an odd feeling washed over him. The thoughts from earlier once again rushed back.

"That's okay...actually, I was thinking...that...perhaps...perhaps I need to go."

"Go? But you just got here..." Nora asked with a quizzical turn of her head, "Shaun's been waiting for you all day to get home. Is something wrong?"

"No...everything is fine," Thomas stuttered, "I'm just..." He looked down at the face of his son, and saw the disappointment in the child's eyes. It was too much for him, and he couldn't bring himself to say it. "I'll just be a minute. Old Mrs. Abernathy stopped me on my way over and asked if I could help her move something. You know how she is. Tell you what, I'll go help her real quick and then I'll ask her if I can bring you back some of her cookies? How does that sound?"

"Yeah! That'd be awesome. Cookies for dinner!"

"No Shaun, cookies for dessert," Nora then turned to her husband and gave a wink, "I'm glad you aren't going far. You had me worried there for a moment...you're so thoughtful to help her....I love you."

"I love you too," He said, as leaned in to kiss her once more, "And you too Shaun. I love you."

"I love you too Dad. See you soon, okay?"

"Okay. I'll be right back," Thomas said as he stepped back out of the house and onto the sidewalk.

I can't...I can't keep coming back here.

He walked briskly down to the end of the street where an old woman sat rocking in her chair. She greeted him warmly, "Ooo evening Mr. Milburn. Come to help out an old lady?"

"Reset memory cycle for all units. Initialize sequence 'Lazy Saturday'. Enable looping. Authorization code: Omega 4 3 Ark." Thomas stated quickly.

The old woman froze, and her eyes stared up at him with a blank expression,

"Command accepted. Have a nice day Director."

Without another word, Thomas immediately began walking away and down the path that led out of Sanctuary Hills. As he was about to cross the small bridge that spanned the creek, he looked back one last time, sighed, and then pressed a button on an unseen panel. A door immediately opened up with a noticeable hiss, revealing a bright light beyond, and also showing the scenery to be the illusion that it really was.

He stepped out and the door closed behind him. Now inside the pristine looking observation room, he reached out and grabbed the carefully folded white lab-coat that had been left for him, and put it on over his clothes. As he did so, a door on the other side of the room slid open, and a young woman wearing a white and red jumpsuit walked in.

"Good morning Director Milburn. I apologize for the interruption."

"Not at all A4. I was just about to leave as a matter of fact. I've concluded my testing for the day. Go on."

"Thank you sir. I was asked by Dr. Secord to give you a message. She wonders if it would be possible for you to meet her in the SRB war room for a debriefing on the intel regarding the Synth infiltration of The Brotherhood of Steel. She says the mission is still ongoing, but that they've gained quite a bit of valuable information already."

"Of course. I'll head over to the Bureau right away then. I'm very interested to hear her status report."

"Very good sir. There is another matter that she wished to relay to you as well. You had asked that strict surveillance be placed on the Wright sisters' residence. An individual arrived at the Publick Occurrences office a short time ago. The subject in question had apparently asked about you specifically sir, and about your connection to Ms. Piper."

"And?" Thomas raised an eyebrow.

"The individual self-identified as 'Desmond Lockheart' and appeared to be a non-human 'ghoul'. SRB cross referenced this name against its internal database and found several references to him as a member of the pre-war international intelligence community, and a former agent of a pre-war British organization called 'MI6'. SRB advises that..."

Thomas held up a hand to stop her, "That'll be all. I'm familiar with the man in question...moreso than SRB ever could be. I'll speak with Dr. Secord regarding it when I arrive."

"Very good sir. That is all I had to report."

"Then before you return to your duties, I have a task for you of my own. I would like you to relay a message to someone else..."

"Of course sir."

In From The Fog: A Fallout Far Harbor Roleplay

Mr. Mysterious Cultist - Outside The Hull
"Her roots," she began, her voice breaking, "her roots are here, with us. I'm sorry fer your loss, but our loss is deeper. Simple as that."
Corrine paused, to realize people were still staring at her. "Ah...oh, I guess I mean...no. Ya can't have Avery." She looked around to the stony faces of the other harborfolk, and suddenly felt irritated. "Well, ain't I right?!"

"Stop calling her Avery," The cultist snapped, his voice laden with anger. After a pause he then added, his voice becoming softer, but no less stern "..please. That is not her name. The body of the woman you hold....her name was...is...Alice. The designation given to her by her creators was AS-33, but Alice is the name she chose for herself. The face you see now on her...the face of your Avery...that is not the face she was given either, but it is the one that she took on. It was an attempt at peace...one that did not succeed."

"I have an question, well two actually" James stated with Brotherhood armour voice box echoing it down to the helmeted cultist "How did you know Avery was an synth? and do you know why it had replaced Avery?

"Have you not figured it out by now?" The cultist asked matter-of-factly, perhaps even a bit surprised at the question, "The Synths of Acadia....and The Children of Atom.....even The Trappers..are as one now. United behind The One who leads us. One who will unite the island and bring lasting peace. Peace through The Mother of The Fog. Not through Atom...or through deception...but through The Mother. Who is The Mother?"

The cultist spread his arms wide, and seemed to be cloaked in the rolling mist, "Look around you. She is everywhere. Accept her, and even the creatures of the island shall bow to you."

The next question came from The Brotherhood soldier,

“How did the synths of the island become so intimate with you? How do synths living peacefully in Acadia or Far harbor just up in leave their homes and become fanatical cultists the next day? No, I think Corrine is right. Whatever Avery was, she was a member of a family here first.”

"And how does a Grand Zealot of The Children of Atom cast off the faith he once was willing to kill and die for, that he did kill for, and instead embrace the new?" The Cultist responded, his tone was unwavering, "Perhaps it is because they were both shown a different path, a path that led them both to the end they desired. And besides..." The cultist stretched out his hand, and a large gulper slithered up from behind him, coming out of the fog and nuzzling its head in his palm, "After you've seen the things we have. It is quite hard to remain a non-believer."

"People of Far Harbor!" The cultist suddenly yelled out, "Have you not wondered from where the Fog comes? Have you not wondered why it ebbs and flows like the tide? Have you never wondered why the creatures within dare not stray from its embrace, as a newborn might fear to stray from its mother? Have you never considered that it seemed to have a will of its own?"

The cultist left the questions hanging in the air, leaving the townspeople to decide for themselves what the answer might be,

"I have promised you a kindness for a kindness. Return Alice to us...return our sister, and we will do the same for you."

The cultist turned around and nodded his head. Immediately a band of white-clad individuals stepped forth, the lower half of their robes and boots were caked with dirt. In their hands, they bore a simple wooden coffin. Gently, they laid it down before them.

"Avery," The cultist uttered the name solemnly, "She belongs with her family."

A Life in Salem - A Fallout RP

Dr. Arthur West - Returning to Salem Clinic

"I'd best be off. I'll see you after the meeting then Rick." Arthur said as he waved a farewell and exited the diner. He made the short walk back to the clinic in remarkably good spirits, hopeful that Rick's discovery and his plan to obtain support would be able to provide the much needed aid to the town. He had visions of disguised Institute Synths assisting with things around the town and some actual medical equipment and supplies being delivered to the Clinic. Perhaps even a Courser or two to safeguard his patients. He knew of course that he'd be lucky to get even a small portion of that, if at all, but he couldn't help but imagine what he could do with The Directorate's full backing.

"Frieda are you back?" Arthur said asked as he stepped back into the clinic. His question was immediately answered when he saw Frieda and the woman from the Inn standing near one of the patient beds.

Celeste? I think her name was... He thought to himself. He wasn't sure he'd been properly introduced to her, only that he'd asked her for any spare medical supplies and she'd been one of the few who had answered.

He stopped when he saw that Frieda was leaning over and appeared to be treating someone on the bed.

"Oh dear...here we go again..." He muttered as he rushed over, "What's happened?" He asked calmly, looking between the two women for answers, "Good lord this man looks like he's been through hell and back..."

Arthur began carefully inspecting Adam, making a mental note of each of the immediate major injuries he could see,

"Second, possible third degree burns along the right side of his face, neck and torso...lacerations across his..." Arthur stopped for moment, realizing that the injuries he'd suffered were consistent with some sort of animal attack. The teeth marks however...

"He was attacked by ghouls?" Arthur pondered aloud.

He considered for a moment just what sort of situation the man had gotten himself into before realizing that it was pointless to speculate.

"Thank you for helping him Frieda," Arthur said, as he touched her on the shoulder, "I don't know what I'd do without you. I'll take it from here. Now Ms...Celeste...is it? I understand you are concerned for your friend but I'll need you to please step back. You can stay in the Clinic if you like, but I want you to stay calm and sit down in one of the pews over there. Don't worry, I'll do everything I can to help him. I don't usually like to toot my own horn so to speak..." Arthur cleared his throat, a bit embarrassed he used such a cliche'd expression, "...but I daresay there's no better clinic in the wasteland for him to be in."

Arthur gave Frieda a knowing look, and then turned back to Adam,

"Now then...lets begin. I'll start by wrapping those nasty burns and giving him some strong antibiotics to prevent infection. Perhaps some Rad-Away as well..."

War Never Changes

Lancer-Sergeant Robert Kyle, Hwy 3 Bridge

"I'll see to it", Harness replied, "Ad Victoriam, Brother!"

"Ad Victoriam," Robert saluted, surprised but happy to hear The Brotherhood's rallying cry.

"Let's get you guys to the evac point. From the look on your face, Brother, you've got a lot of questions....and knowing Murph he probably didn't answer very many."

"He was a bit stoic," Robert nodded, "I assumed that had something to do with being a robot of course..."

Robert then began to repeat the questions he'd asked Murphy only moments before, and listened carefully to Harkness' responses,
"Our mission", Harkness asked, "It's a deep raid...the real fighting is down at Indianapolis. Fort Wayne is the main base for the Cult in the Indiana Wasteland, we're here to degrade their ability to reinforce Indy..to that end we're destroying all of the bridges across the Wabash but one. That will keep them fixed here until we've secured Indianapolis and can turn our full attention to Fort Wayne. The advance on Pittsburgh cannot truly begin until Ft Wayne has been Scourged."

"Yes....I'd heard mention of them before, but I can't say I know much about them or their operations here. We heard rumors of something stirring in The Pitt before our mission went to hell in The Commonwealth and we were cut off. What exactly are they?"

"The Cult?", Harkness asked, "Sick fucks. They are based in Pittsburgh, though apparently they came from out East originally. They are basically what you get when you cross Raiders with a religious cult. Slaving, murder, cannibalism...you name it, they do it for fun. Not only to anyone they come across, but even to each other if they are deemed weak. What's worse is that they're growing both in power and numbers. They are a threat to civilization...any civilization..and the Lord Paladin has decreed that Pittsburgh be Scourged, and all followers of the Cult be put to the sword. Thankfully, folks out West are starting to see things our way. When you get back to base, they'll tell you a lot more than you will want to know about them."

"Degenerates..." Robert replied, "I can see why you want to scourge them...what about Murphy? What is he, or it?"

"Murphy is who he says he is", Harkness said. "He's a man, not a AI...not exactly, anyway...I guess the closest term I can think of is a cyborg. His situation is not unlike that of the Lord-Paladin himself...he was installed into the Calculator so that he could guide and control it."

"The..uhh..Calculator?"

"The Calculator? Surely you've heard of it? I shouldn't be surprised...the Western Elders probably suppressed the reports Barnaky sent them about our War with the Calculator, if they even bothered to read them. If they didn't tell Lyons before he came East, they were small-minded fools indeed." He drew a deep breath and continued. "The Calculator was, and is, a Pre-War AI built to oversee Vault 0, which was designed by Vault-Tec and the US Government to oversee what they called the "Societal Preservation Program". Vault 0 was intended to house the pre-war intellectual elite in cryogenic suspension to ride out the war. Once conditions stabilized, The Calculator would wake them up, and together with the robot Army the Calculator commanded, would go out and rebuild America. Well, it worked about as well as you'd expect. Most everyone in the tubes died or suffered irreversible brain damage...due to shoddy manufacturing and failure to implement the designed backups...and without human oversight, or maybe just company, the Calculator went mad and decided it's mission was to wipe out humanity. Our ancestors fell right into the middle of it when we crashed outside Chicago....before you knew it we were fighting for our very lives. Eventually, we won...a Elite Squad broke into Vault 0 and disabled the factory making the robots and fought it's way to the Calculator itself. But then we were faced with a awful choice. Either destroy the Calculator, and lose it's store house of Pre-War scientific and technological data, not to mention the robots, forever, or install one of our own into the Calculator to take the place of of the human minds that had been intended to control it. Barnaky, the Lord-Paladin, chose to have his own brain installed into the Calculator. Together, they have ruled over our lands ever since. It hasn't been easy, and a lot of sacrifices have been made, but we're restored order and the Rule of Law to most of the Mid-West. We will not allow the Cult to undo everything we've achieved here."

"That's incredible," Robert said, with a mixture of awe and surprise, "I'm glad to see the Midwestern Chapter has fared far better than we did. Whatever our differences, at least we might both be considered Brothers-in-arms, and its good to know that at least one chapter has found success."

Once they reached the other end of the bridge, Harkness did a roll call to ensure that all squads were present, and then gave the order to blow the supports. The charges below the bridge detonated and the entire structure began to collapse into the river in spectacular fashion. The raiders would be unable to pursue them now, although Robert very much doubted that they would do so anyway.

"Weapons free", Harkness called out on his radio, "Light up any Raider you see.....the suprise package is en route...ETA 10 minutes."

"Surprise package?" Robert replied with unease as he gripped the laser rifle he'd be given tightly, "What sort of surprise are we talking about here?"

A Life in Salem - A Fallout RP

Dr. Arthur West - Salem Diner
"Yes, agreed doctor. It hasnt been used for some time, but should be well supplied. After all, it was part of the contingency plan should anything go wrong. Let just hope we fin the hatch leading down to the safeho..."

Arthur turned to look at whatever had caught Rick's attention, and saw the great green bulk of a super-mutant striding through the doorway of the partially ruined diner.

“Doctor I'm about to leave to check and see if there are still supplies where my caravan got hit. Is there any medical supplies you need specifically that I can get for you?”

Rick looked up at the mutant, and he seemed shocked by his intelligence, "Well...I'm sure the good doctor is in short supply of pretty much any and all medicine... I'm sorry, I don't believe we have met, name is Rick..."

As Rick introduced himself, Barney interrupted them, "Wanted to let you all know that tonight we'll have a town meeting. I think much needs to be discussed, considering today's events...I think the Inn is a good place, two hours from now."

After Barney made his announcement, Arthur turned back to Gorge and nodded, "Like Rick said, anything you find would be of use. The townspeople were able to donate some supplies earlier, but I fear we can never have enough at the rate we are going. This town seems to be a hotbed of trouble. Please take anything you can spare to the church and Frieda and I can sort it later."

Once Gorge had left, Arthur once more addressed Rick, lowering his voice so that others wouldn't hear,

"That's the mutant I mentioned earlier," He whispered, "He's far more intelligent than Rook even, and he claims to have been a member of The Brotherhood of Steel at one point. Not sure I fully believe that, but he's certainly a character to watch out for. He's been helpful so far, but he's also something of an unknown quantity. I've never seen a mutant of his like before..."

"Also..." he continued, "Perhaps we should wait until after the meeting to visit the safehouse? Once we see what this town meeting is about, we can head there right away and assess what we can use. Let me know when you're ready to go."

A Life in Salem - A Fallout RP

Dr. Arthur West - Salem Diner

“I knew there was a location of an old SRB hideout around this area. It’s nearby, in fact its located across the way, in the old building. Per the specs, there should be a terminal, supplies, maybe a few guns, and security shutters. It was meant as a safe house for back when we had non-synth research patrols.”

Arthur's eyes lit up at the mention of the SRB safehouse, and he excitedly clasped Rick on the shoulders,

"Excellent. That could be just what we need. Supplies and weapons we could use to help defend the town and perhaps even a secure way to contact our superiors. We'll have to come up with a good excuse as to how we procured the supplies of course...but we can worry about that later."

Arthur began impulsively pacing, considering just what to do and how to best word his request to ensure that The Directorate would not only take notice, but grant them request for materials they needed, even when The Institute's own resources were, at this time, limited. He also pondered how might be the best way to use the supplies already in the bunker without arousing any suspicion.

"Yes...yes that should work," he muttered to himself, before looking up at Rick, "Alright, we shouldn't waste any time. Would you be able to lead me to the shelter right away? The sooner we pursue this, the better I feel."

War Never Changes

Lancer-Sergeant Robert Kyle, Markle Police Station
"With pleasure...I'm Knight-Captain Murphy, by the way...but you can call me Alex if you like."

Robert accepted the weapon with hesitation, happy to finally have the cold steel of a laser rifle back in his hands, but still unsure of what to make of the assaultron speaking with the voice of a human man. And why was it calling itself a Knight-Captain?

"Good to meet you...uhh sir," He replied, as he inspected the weapon before turning back to him, "I'm glad you came when you did. I was beginning to think these savages were going to get the better of me. I don't exactly know the full story of what's going on here, but I know there's wasteland savages to be killed and people to protect. That's enough for me for now. Lead on."

Robert followed closely behind the robot as it...or rather, Knight-Captain Murphy, led him through the winding streets of the town. Off in the distance, he could hear the sounds of an intense firefight coming from the center of the raider held area, and he guessed that this might be where Brotherhood forces were making an assault.

"If you do might a question or two," Robert asked the robot as he hopped over a broken piece of masonry that had fallen into the street, "What exactly is The Brotherhood doing here? Your objectives I mean? Is there some sort of technology that you're here to collect?"

"Our Mission?", Murphy said, "To reduce the crossing points for vehicles...and logistics...across the Wabash river to one. The strategic goal is to pin as many of them as we can to this spot, until we are in position to annihilate them."

"Reduce crossing points? This is a defensive operation then?" Robert turned as the sounds of several more explosions echoed around the town, "Doesn't exactly seem that way...what about you then, are you robotic or a brainbot of some type? We've had robots serve alongside Brotherhood Knights and Paladins back East, but I can't say I've seen one quite like you before. You seem...quite intelligent."

When an answer from the robot wasn't forthcoming, Robert stowed his curiosity for the time being and focused on the surroundings. He guessed that the Knight-Captain...or whatever it was, wasn't here to play a game of twenty questions with him. It had a specific mission to do.

More explosions from the town rung out, and Robert stopped briefly to turn to see a small fireball in the distance. Whatever was happening over there....it was obviously too much for the raiders.

Highway 3 Bridge, North end

As they approached the bridge, Robert saw a Midwestern Knight standing guard by the bridge and awaiting their arrival.

"Welcome, Brother", Harkness said to Kyle as he switched his laser rifle to his left hand and offered his right to the man, "I am Knight-Sergeant Harkness...I command the force at this position." He gestured at the bridge behind him then continued. "We hold the bridge, so you're safe from this point. Please lead your charges across quickly...we have this bridge wired for demolition and we'll be dropping it into the river once you, and Delta squad behind you, are across."

"Thank you Knight," Robert replied, and returned the soldiers handshake, "Glad to meet you. I can't say I know where we're going, so I'll leave it to uhh..the Knight-Captain here," He gestured towards the Assaultron, "To keep leading the way. I'll be glad to get across the river and leave this wretched town quickly."

The sudden sounds of cawing caused Robert to turn his gaze upwards to see a murder of crows circling overhead in an odd pattern. He frowned, had those damn birds followed them all the way from the Police Station? He shook his head in disbelief.

SRB Situation Room, The Institute

"Alright people, what have we got?" The stern voice of Dr. Alana Secord was directed at the small team of SRB agents manning the terminals and monitors in front of her. Images of the town of Markle as well as several live feeds of the city flashed across the screens. One of them tracked the Brotherhood group that was now crossing the bridge out of town.

"Watchers have been deployed across the town and we're monitoring the on-going military operations there...Brotherhood forces appear to be marshaling for a potential assault south of the Wabash river," One of the agents reported.

"And the Synth?"

"Successfully made contact with a Midwestern Brotherhood contingent a little over twenty minutes ago. It appears they're bringing it south along with a group of civilians."

"Good news, have we managed to get any data yet?"

"The feed is a little choppy...the connection isn't as strong as we would like, given the distance involved, but we're collecting all we can. The Synth is sending back some confused analysis on the robot it encountered. Its treating the construct like a human, but isn't convinced that's what it is."

"An AI System?"

"Maybe..." The agent replied, "But it seems far more advanced than anything The Brotherhood has built....or tolerated...before."

"Could be a brainbot," Another agent replied, "Or a cyborg of some type."

"Keep monitoring the data and lets see if we can figure it out for certain. I want to know exactly what we're dealing with here...the entire point of this operation is to gather as much information about the Midwestern Chapter as we can. If The Brotherhood has advanced AI...I want to know everything about it."

"Yes Ma'm."

War Never Changes

snip - Double post

In From The Fog: A Fallout Far Harbor Roleplay

Longfellow - Vertibird Crash

“Maybe we could make some kind of sleigh to put the crates on?”

"Aye, seems like a good plan," Longfellow nodded, "The townsfolk can start stripping the bird and make some kind of sled from the parts. Ain't got to go far...just far enough to get us back to town. Don't know what to do 'bout the power armor, but I'll leave that to you two," He said, pointing to the two James', "Lets get this done and get this done quick. I don't want to be out here any longer than we have to. Them cultists might be back any moment now."

As the townsfolk went to work, Longfellow walked back over to the body of Avery and knelt down while holding his rifle by the barrel and propping it stock-first in the ground,

"What the hell got into you Avery?" He asked to the corpse.

"That's not Avery," Rose muttered as she walked by, "Hasn't been for a long time."

Longfellow furrowed his brow at the Railroad Agent but didn't reply, unsure of what she meant. He guessed it had something to do with this 'Synth' nonsense.

He ignored her and looked up at the treeline surrounding them, the feeling of being watched was hard to shake. For all they knew, the cultists could be on their way right this moment. Longfellow stood back up and glanced over at the other corpses, particularly those belonging to the Brotherhood.

"Odd ain't it," He said, to no-one in particular, "Avery had them cover the bodies. Almost like they was getting ready to bury them. Didn't loot them or anything...odd bit of respect to show your enemies..." He shook his head, "Guess it don't matter though. Now we gotta bury em'."

"Come on," He said, urging the townsfolk to move quicker, "Lets get a move on."

-------------------------------------------------------------------

Far Harbor - Returning from the Scavenging Mission

Working quickly as they could, and with the townsfolk's help, the group managed to scavenge what they could from the vertibird and take Avery's body along with them. The going was slow at first, but once they got back into the ruins of the old town, they breathed a sigh of relief: glad to be free of the oppressive foliage. Pretty soon, they were dragging their loot back through the gates of Far Harbor and into the center of town.

Just about everyone in Far Harbor came out to see the triumphant return, although their mood became much more somber when they noticed Avery's body.

As the group began to unload the gear and supplies, one of the Hull watchman gave a shout, and pointed to The Fog.

"Something's coming!" He yelled out.

Looking out towards the ruins, a single light bobbed and weaved through the old town and towards The Hull. As the light grew closer, it became clear that it was coming from a lantern. The lantern, unsurprisingly, was held by someone. A cultist wearing some type of painted white armor and cloak stepped out into a clearing in the fog. The face of the figure was covered, not by the usual masks, but by a helmet. Looking closely, military-minded members of the group would likely recognize the armor as being that of pre-war marines.

The figure spoke with a voice that was filled with both conviction and authority,

"Hold your fire," the armored cultist asked, a male voice audible through the helmet, "I'm not here to fight. I'm here to retrieve the bodies of our fallen brothers and sisters. The one you know as 'Avery', we know by another name. She is not the friend you once knew, I'm sorry to say. Captain Avery was dead long before today. The woman you killed...should be with her family, not with you. Do us this kindness...and we will return the favor in kind."