Play@YSDC

In the bus-
Stephanie was not very subtle in trying to help Donald. He thought he did a decent enough job, and the EMP device was not visible, but the camouflage might not withstand close inspection and someone might realize that there was something under all that stuff.

"I'd better go outside and talk to that guy," said Principal Adler. He stepped out.

At the gas pumps-
The man on the roof laughed at Jerry. "We got plenty of food right here," he said, "and we can keep our hogs purring on our own, thank you very much. Guns and ammo for fuel, that's the deal."

The principal joined Jerry near the front of the bus. "I'm Principal Adler," he called up to the roof. "Maybe we can work something out. What kind of guns do you want?"

"Rifles are the most important for us."

Donald stepped out the back of the school bus and glanced about to see if he was visible and if he had a clear path to get around the building without being spotted.

"Man I aint even got a rifle to trade" says Jerry under his breath, "I'm going to leave you to it principal, you keep 'em talking and see if you can come up with a deal".. Jerry heads back around the bus and inside. "Becky, you come on inside the bus until this deal is struck, I think we should all get inside and prepare. I have a plan B and maybe C"

In the parking lot-
Donald opened the rear exit and slipped outside behind the school bus.

OOC,[b]Donald[/b], please roll Spot Hidden and Hide. The base skills for each are 25% and 10%, respectively.

At the gas pumps-
Becky nodded and followed Jerry back on board the bus.

"We don't have much in the way of rifles," said the principal. "How about other types of guns?"

"Rifles or no deal!" called back the biker.

"Okay, we do have one rifle - but it's a good one. An AK-47. If I can convince its owner to part with it and its ammo, can we have the fuel?"

"That ain't enough! How about some shotguns too? I saw your driver with one of those."

"That's the only shotgun we have. So, the AK-47 plus the shotgun, and our ammo for them?"

"We need more than that."

In the bus-
"Okay, what have you got planned?" Becky asked Jerry.

Spot Hidden - Success!,[url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4048944/]Spot Hidden (25%) (1d100=18)[/url]

Hide - Fail!,[url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4048946/]Hide (10%) (1d100=85)[/url]

Donald found his new vantage point was enlightening, however... it left him pretty open to observation.

In the parking lot-
Donald spotted a man in a leather jacket lying on his belly on the roof of the convenience store. He was holding a rifle, which he turned to point in Donald's direction. "Hold it right there!" he called. "What do you think you're tryin' to pull?!"

Donald threw his hands up in the air and said "I have an offer for you. Perhaps you will find it acceptable." He stepped forward and lifted an eyebrow, "I know a thing or two... some ju-ju from my great aunt down south in Louisiana. I can keep the zombies at bay from you, promise you a good night's sleep or two. All you have to do is let us keep our weapons and fill our tank. I'll even let you prove it." He stood straight and proud, hands went to his sides, "You go find one of those zombies and bring them back, I'll make sure they drop dead before they get within shooting range. What's that worth to you?"

In the parking lot-
"Yeah, right," snickered the man, keeping his rifle trained on Donald. "How dumb do you think we are?"

OOC,[b]Donald[/b], please roll Fast Talk. The base skill is 5%.

Donald knew he wasn't a good liar. He didn't even want to try any further than he already had. He glanced over to the others and waved a hand, "Ask them if you don't think I can. They'll tell you."

ooc,If it's all the same, I'd rather not spoil the opportunity with a horrible chance of success.

In the bus-
Amelia heard Donald's conversation with the biker and climbed out of the rear exit to join him.

In the parking lot-
Amelia stood beside Donald. "It's all true," she said, her voice loud and booming. "I am Amelia Delacroix, from N'Orleans, and I am a mamaloi - a priestess of Vodoun!"

"Of what?" asked the biker.

"Voodoo, to the uninitiated. We have the power! I am descended from the legendary Marie Laveau."

"I don't know who that is, lady."

"She was the greatest mamaloi of all, and quite an influential person in the 19th century. Her secrets were passed down from mother to daughter, and I possess them!"

"You're freakin' nuts!"

OOC,A failure by you wouldn't ruin anyone else's chances. They're not going to believe you if you don't roll, the same as if you roll and fail. Of course, they might not believe you even if you succeed. Feel free to roll.

Fast Talk - fail,[url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4083194/]Fast Talk (5%) (1d100=56)[/url]

Donald said to the man, "What if we can prove it? Then maybe a good night's rest free of these concerns might be worth a little bit of gas?"

In the parking lot-
The biker gave a scoffing laugh. "You're just as loony as she is!" he said. "If you really had mojo like that, you wouldn't need guns, but they can keep us plenty safe. So why don't you make that trade? The AK-47 and the shotgun, their ammo, and something more. Got any submachine guns?"

"We might be able to give you one," Principal Adler called from the front of the bus.

"Okay, add that in and enough ammo for it, and you can fill your tank."

Donald shook his head, "The guns aren't to keep us safe from the zombies. They're to keep us safe from people who would attempt to strong-arm us into giving up our defenses or resources... people like you." He looked to the principal and said "We shouldn't deal with him. We leave off a little way then throw some mojo down to bring the zombies this way. In another day... we can come back and take all the gas we want, no problem."

ooc,bluffing, naturally... not sure what you need me to roll on that.

In the parking lot-
"Fine, if you're not going to trade, then get out of here!" said the biker.

OOC,No roll necessary. You've already tried Fast Talk, and he doesn't believe you.

Donald looked to the others, turning his attention away from the biker and said, "This thing runs on deisel... if need be we could make our own. All we need is a grease trap, filter, and some other chemicals to mix together with the grease. It will most likely gum up the engine, but we'll get a good 200 miles before that happens. Saw it on a show once." He snapped his fingers saying to himself, "What were those other chemicals... "

In the parking lot-
"We already got a grease trap," said Amelia, nodding. "And I'm sure Becky has a spare filter that'll do the trick."

Stephanie leaned out of the back door, beaming. "I know exactly what chemicals to use!" she exclaimed. "I saw the same show. I can get 'em together and mix up enough fuel to get us to the base in nothing flat. We'd better get out of here while we still can. I'll mix the diesel on the road."

Donald shot one last glance at the biker, then started heading back to the bus, "Great... let's get while the getting is good."

In the parking lot-
Amelia followed Donald back onto the bus, closing the back door behind her. Becky pulled out and drove away, turning right at the next opportunity so she could keep heading west. During the trip, Stephanie was able to use a grease trap, a filter, and various chemicals she managed to scrounge from things they had brought with them to cook up enough homebrew diesel to get the bus the rest of the way to Warren Air Force Base. They stopped briefly when she was done so she could funnel it into the tank before resuming the journey.

"This is high quality stuff," Stephanie told the others. "If we're lucky, it won't even damage the engine."

After a while, Becky got back onto I-80 and continued driving. Nothing else happened until about an hour after they had left the gas station.

OOC,[b]Donald[/b], please roll Luck and Spot Hidden. The base skill for Spot Hidden is 25%.

Luck - Success!,[url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4218302/]Luck (60%) (1d100=42)[/url]

Spot Hidden - Fail.,[url=http://invisiblecastle.com/roller/view/4218303/]Spot Hidden (25%) (1d100=94)[/url]

Donald smiles as the home-brew diesel is poured in the gas tank, glad he's able to contribute to the group's efforts since he was a lousy bluffer back at the gas station. Things were starting to look up for them.