Book the Second, Chapter the Eleventh: A Lengthy Trek

[jp1885]

Lepus stares horrified at the devastation around him.

“What be yonder land? England? California? What tragedy befell this place?” he asks through his mask.

[Mr. Handy]

Henry puts on the mask, follows her outside, and looks around. This is not how he imagined the future to be. "What is it we seek here?" he asks.

[SunlessNick]

Finally back. Sorry.

Eliza looks around aghast at the ruined landscape. "This is monstrous. What horror wrought such a thing?"

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Lepus stares horrified at the devastation around him.

“What be yonder land? England? California? What tragedy befell this place?” he asks through his mask.

"Disoriented? Well, that's a common side effect in those lucky enough to survive an initial infection.

"We're standing in the middle of Vancouver Island. This used to be forest, as far as the eye could see. It got hit hard during the war. The UN tried to evacuate all the survivors, but there are still a few hiding out around here. Dangerous, but that's why the research center is here. Have to find enough victims of the plague to find a cure."

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Henry puts on the mask, follows her outside, and looks around. This is not how he imagined the future to be. "What is it we seek here?" he asks.

"Answers. In other words, if we can locate a victim, and keep him or her from killing us first, we can try using that 'amulet' of yours. At this point, I'm willing to try anything. If it works, I can analyze it and produce a real cure."

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Eliza looks around aghast at the ruined landscape. "This is monstrous. What horror wrought such a thing?"

"The technical name is Chimeral Virus 2097-X. Somebody -- nobody knows who, except the ones who did it -- released it during the war. Suicidal desperation, I suppose. But most people just call it BrainBurn."

[jp1885]

Lepus nods sagely as he processes the woman’s words.

“‘tis akin to catapulting rotting animals over the walls of a fortress: a knavish trick indeed.”

“Let us find a poor soul and see what’s to be done.” he continues, scanning the area with senses honed from years of wandering.

[Mr. Handy]

"What are the symptoms of BrainBurn?" asks Henry, looking around for possible victims. 2097 could be the year, he thinks.

[SunlessNick]

"Why would the victims attempt to kill us?" asks Eliza. She ponders whether this nightmarish future is the result of the apparent failure in the other time period. Deciding to dispense with caution, she asks, "Have you ever heard of people travelling unnaturally through time?"

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Spoiler:

wis = 18d20

Whilst his companions are engaged in conversation, Lepus makes use of his heightened senses to study the surrounding countryside. At a moderate distance, he is able to discern a thin trace of smoke rising from behind a low hill.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

"What are the symptoms of BrainBurn?" asks Henry, looking around for possible victims. 2097 could be the year, he thinks.

"Oh, normal things like rash and fever, at first. Then the victim experiences extreme aggression, directed at anybody who happens to be nearby. That tends the spread the disease -- if the intended target hasn't already been killed and eaten. Oh, did I mention the urge to engage in cannibalism? A bewildering symptom, probably induced by the targeting of a particular area of the hippocampus."

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Spoiler:

wis = 11

Spoiler:

I keep forgetting to put the dice rolls inside the spoilers. 11 counts as a failure, if only barely.

Doctor North looks about for any sign of those who have succumbed to the disease, but does not discern anything of interest.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Spoiler:

wis = 10d20

From the same general direction as the wisp of smoke, Eliza's sensitive ears detect the sounds of persons producing noises resembling moaning.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

"Why would the victims attempt to kill us?" asks Eliza. She ponders whether this nightmarish future is the result of the apparent failure in the other time period.

"Artificially induced bloodlust. Some of my colleagues thought it was supposed to produce unstoppable soldiers. Too bad they're not around any more to discuss it."

Deciding to dispense with caution, she asks, "Have you ever heard of people travelling unnaturally through time?"

"Sorry, I never cared much for sci-fi."

[SunlessNick]

"I fear I am unfamiliar with 'sci-fi,'" says Eliza. "But I hear voices, I think, that way."

[Mr. Handy]

"Then let us approach, but quietly and carefully," says Henry.

[jp1885]

“There be smoke that way too,” says Lepus, nodding in the direction of the voices.

[VictoriaSilverwolf]

Spoiler:

dex rolls for everybody; Hong = 9, North = 11, Ivan = 9, Lepus = 15, Eliza = 184d20d20

All five persons are able to approach silently, perhaps due to the lack of twigs and other signs of living flora upon the ground. They make their way up the rise with great caution, and observe a number of persons, all dressed in rags, sitting about a fire. (Where have they found sufficient wood, given the nearly complete lack of trees? Close observation reveals that the substance providing the flames does not appear to be of that kind.)

Spoiler:

2d4

There are only two of them; if the scant evidence of one's eyes can be trusted, given the nearly indistinguishable nature of the pair, one is female and the other male, as if in some cruel parody of Eden. They pay no mind to their visitors, being intent on devouring slabs of meat pulled out of the fire with their bare hands, as if they do not feel the flames.

[jp1885]

“Proceed carefully,” hisses Lepus. “It does not do to disturb a dog at its bowl, yesno? Besides, if those chops be manflesh, we would not wish to be second course.”

“Let old Lepus approach alone with his amulet and see what transpires

[SunlessNick]

Eliza obeys, but keeps her muscles tensed in case the figures prove hostile.