by HL TRUSLOVE
The eldest harbours a large beard and steps up onto the altar. He begins to speak to those of you who are gathered. You’re not paying much attention, but he seems to be telling a story about a man who died so the world’s sins could be absolved…? You’re not sure you believe that, considering the weight of what the world did to itself when the bombs were dropped. You don’t think that sort of thing can just be expunged from humanity’s conscience.
Nevertheless, you sit and listen respectfully until he finishes speaking and notices you. His eyes light up and he and his companions beckon you over.
“You’re not from Alba?” he asks excitedly. You nod.
“Yes. I was separated from my group in the storm.”
“Some of us believe your people are here to bring us the new world. Save us from the damnation of this war-ravaged land. Are you?”
You’re not quite sure how to answer him. It’s a big question, and one you weren’t expecting. He looks excited, but you can’t honestly say you’re here to deliver this world – you were only here to do research.
“I am.” – Turn to 14.20.
* * *
“I just want to find my team.” – Turn to 14.21.
14.11
You spend a couple of moments contemplating. Though this place is interesting, there’s no sign your group has been here. You would expect to see some sort of evidence of their passing through – people set ablaze with whispers, or perhaps some physical evidence as a sign to you or any other outsiders.
There’s no point lingering, you decide. As you leave, you notice there’s a map tacked up on the door, hidden from you when you entered. It shows a rough layout of the land around the church. You take a couple of notes down on your own map and head out, unwilling to spend any more time in this place or you may be inclined not to leave.
END.
Add The Library (Chapter 17, L.17), The Metro (Chapter 22, L.22), and The Base/The Offer (Chapter 18, L.18) to map.
14.12
You point to your badge. The eldest member of the group, a bearded man, claps his hands together in excitement and it makes you jump. He suddenly comes over and embraces you. His robes are itchy and, though the gesture is surprising, it’s not entirely unwelcome. You don’t remember the last time you were hugged. It might even have been before you got on the boat to come to this land.
“You’re an outsider! Come, sit down, you must be weary.”
You take a seat on the pew the man gestures you to, and he mutters something to one of his companions who scurries away.
“We’re always excited to receive outsiders,” he tells you, warmly laying a hand on yours.
“‘Always’? Why, have you had any more visitors from the New World recently?” You can’t hold back the note of excitement in your voice. Could your group have come through here? Unfortunately, he shakes his head and you feel your heart drop.
“I’m afraid not. Not for nigh on a year now. Why, are you searching?”
You tell him of your journey and he listens, enraptured. At some point the other man returns with a plate of food for you and you find yourself wolfing it down hungrily, thankful for the hospitality. At the end of your tale, the bearded man nods and strokes the hair on his chin.
“I’m afraid I haven’t heard any rumours about another group – but I can give you directions to areas they might have gone to?”
You hand him your map and he makes notes in small, neat letters before handing it back to you. You finish off the scraps of food and look into his warm eyes.
“Why are you being so kind to me?”
“Because, my dear, we believe you will bring salvation to this world. We so desperately need it.” He looks sad for a moment but quickly replaces it with another smile. “You’re welcome to stay the night here. We can’t offer you a bed, but at least it’s warm and indoors.”
He bows his head before getting to his feet and walking away with the other two, launching back into their chant. You suck the grease off your fingers as you inspect the map and consider his offer.
END.
Add Priestly Encounter (E.7) to your character sheet.
Add The Library (Chapter 17, L.17), The Metro (Chapter 22, L.22), The Battlefield (Chapter 26, L.26), and The Base/The Offer (Chapter 18, L.18) to map.
Add a Red Circle (F.27) to map around Locations 18 and 26.
Add a Green Circle (F.28) to map around Locations 17 and 22.
14.13
“Why do you look so upset?” you ask. The eldest member of the group, a bearded man, shakes his head sadly.
“The cross is a symbol of a great sacrifice that must be given to bring a new world into being. I thought you might have known that.” He nods to your uniform, the thing that betrays you as being an outsider. “Are you not from a vault?”
“I am.”
“Some of us believe your people are here to bring us the New World. Save us from the damnation of this war-ravaged land. Are you here to shepherd us into the light?”
You’re not quite sure how to answer him. It’s a big question and one you weren’t expecting. You can’t honestly say you’re here to deliver this world – you were only here to do research.
“I am.” – Turn to 14.20.
* * *
“I just want to find my team.” – Turn to 14.21.
14.14
You bring your weapon into your hands and the men stop, suddenly nervous. There are scattered gasps from the congregation at the sight of a weapon. You imagine they aren’t commonly seen in this land, especially in a place of worship.
Slowly, the men raise their hands in defence. The eldest one shakes his head at you, almost begging you to rethink your actions. You feel guilty and begin to back away, heading down the same carpet you followed into the building. Every now and then, you whip your head round to make sure you know where you’re going. On the door, you spot a map that has been tacked up – you take a moment before you rip it from the wood and break out into a sprint, leaving the church.
Nobody follows you, but you don’t stop until you can’t see the church any longer. You take a moment to transfer the locations on the map to your own before screwing it up and throwing it down an alley.
You don’t feel… proud of your actions. But you push on anyway. Your group wasn’t there. They must be somewhere else.
END.
Add Instability to your character sheet.
Add Priestly Encounter (E.7) to your character sheet.
Add The Library (Chapter 17, L.17), The Metro (Chapter 22, L.22), and The Base/The Offer (Chapter 18, L.18) to map.
14.15
“We don’t see many people leaving such kind offerings these days. Tell me, what brings you here?”
The man who speaks is the eldest of the three. He’s bald, like his companions, but sports a thick, grey beard which has been waxed back to keep his mouth free. As you get to your feet, his eyes drop to your badge and light up.
“You… are an outsider?”
“Yes, sir,” you confess. He claps his hands together with delight. It’s the warmest welcome you’ve had so far.
“Some of us believe your people are here to bring us the new world. Save us from the damnation of this war-ravaged land. Are you? Have you come to help?”
You’re not quite sure how to answer him. It’s a big question, and one you weren’t expecting. He looks excited, but you can’t honestly say you’re here to deliver this world – you were only here to do research.
“I believe the same.” – Turn to 14.20.
* * *
“I just want to find my group and go home.” – Turn to 14.21.
14.16
The spiral staircase is high. You can’t see the outside as you ascend, since the walls of the tower are solid stone, but the further up you go the worse the vertigo gets. It’s almost more harrowing when you can’t check how far above ground you are. It feels like miles.
It’s not, of course, a fact which is only corroborated when you g
et to the top of the staircase. You’re right in that the tower is quite tall, a few storeys, but probably not much taller than when you were on the ship village. It’s only a small room, with a window set into it and an old spyglass set onto the floor. You guess the people who run this place don’t really have a lot of calls to come up here, their time better spent on the ground with the congregation.
You pick up the spyglass and take a moment to cast your eyes over the streets and note anything of interest. From here, you can see a good chunk of the city laid out in its neat squares. From out of your pack you bring your map and try to mark your location against it, adding in extra aspects where it isn’t very detailed.
There’s a big area of rubble towards the north of the town. Squinting through the lens of the telescope you can see several signs indicating something called a ‘metro’. To the east, a large building, though not as grand as the church, has several people filtering through its doors. Far, far to the west, you can see a building being heavily guarded, surrounded with barbed wire.
A loud sound makes you jump. You peek your head out from the spire window, keeping a firm grip on the stones either side of it. A couple of streets over, along the rubble-cleared streets, a fight is breaking out. With bullets. People are falling rapidly. You don’t hang around and watch for too long – it’s going to be best to avoid that place, you think.
You jot all the new developments down on your map. You consider taking the telescope with you, but decide you’ve probably done enough damage just getting up here. Carefully, you place it back onto the floor and leave the spire and then the church before anyone can spot you.
END.
Add The Library (Chapter 17, L.17), The Metro (Chapter 22, L.22), and The Base/The Offer (Chapter 18, L.18) to map.
Remove The Streets (Chapter 28) from map.
14.17
You don’t sing often. The last time you really tried was back on the boat on your way over, but even then it wasn’t to sound nice, it was to shout out sea shanties with Gaia (and occasionally Viktor, when the mood struck him) in order to keep up morale when the waves were harsh.
The waves were usually harsh. Your singing didn’t improve, though.
You do your best to mimic the song the men are singing. Your voice is odd and croaky, unused to carrying a melody. The men hear you and stop their own chanting, turning to face you, and you’re left carrying a couple of notes on your own before your mouth closes with an embarrassed click of your teeth.
The eldest one, a man with a long grey beard, gives you a smile. It doesn’t seem pitying at your pathetic attempt, but instead grateful that you made the effort.
“It’s nice to hear another voice join us in prayer. Have you come far, friend?”
“Yes. Very far,” you confess. The man looks you up and down and recognition floods his face. He’s identified you as an outsider. Instead of the usual coldness you get, his eyes light up.
“You come from across the ocean?”
“Yes,” you say, appreciating the warmth in his voice, but feeling suspicious of it at the same time.
“We’ve been waiting for you for a long time. Some of us in this church believe that it’s the travellers from over the seas that will bring us into the light. Do you believe that, too?”
“I do.” – Turn to 14.20.
* * *
“I don’t.” – Turn to 14.21.
14.18
You spend a few more moments basking in the strange harmony before you decide it’s best to leave. You can’t see any evidence that your group was here. Slowly you get to your feet and begin to leave.
“Where are you going?”
The girl’s voice is quiet, but still makes you jump. She looks up at you with large, brown eyes, full of innocence. Gods, she really can’t be more than fourteen, but her face is lined with exhaustion.
“I’m trying to find my friends,” you say. She nods and then points behind her, back towards the main doors. You see there’s a piece of paper tacked onto the wood there, hidden from sight when you entered the building.
“There’s a map there which might help you with your journey. God be with you.”
She smiles and you return it, shakily. You leave the girl back to her head-bowing and prayer and as you leave, you add annotations to your own map from that of the church’s.
As you leave the sound of the song follows you in the wind. You’re not sure if it’s the breeze or the harmony that gives you goosebumps.
END.
Add The Library (Chapter 17, L.17), The Metro (Chapter 22, L.22), and The Base/The Offer (Chapter 18, L.18) to map.
14.19
You spend time sitting with your pew-mate and basking in the haunting sounds of the voices. It’s unlike anything you’ve ever heard before. Singing wasn’t a usual pastime in the vault - it seemed like after the war a lot of joy was sucked from the world and that included raising your voice in song. Any melodies you heard from the worship rooms were dreary and dull, droned out by people who sounded like they’d rather be anywhere else.
The men bow to the cross at the altar and the hall descends into silence. Slowly, everyone in the pews begin to leave, some going to place an offering, some leaving only prayers. The girl next to you smiles before she slips away, out of the doors at the far end of the building.
The bald men turn to you. The eldest member of the party, a grey-bearded man, smiles at you.
“I haven’t seen you here before. Are you new to the city?”
“Yes, I am.”
His eyes suddenly fall on your badge, marking you as an outsider. His eyebrows raise.
“You come from across the sea?”
“Yes,” you say, answering cautiously.
“We’ve been waiting for you for a long time. Some of us in this church believe that it’s the travellers from over the seas that will bring us into the light. Do you believe that, too?”
“I do.” – Turn to 14.20.
* * *
“I don’t.” – Turn to 14.21.
14.20
This was clearly the answer he wanted to hear. The man throws open his arms and embraces you. It’s an odd feeling, but not unwelcome – you honestly can’t remember the last time someone gave you a hug. You don’t return it, but you do enjoy the warmth.
“Come, join us for a meal. You must be tired.”
You’re going to deny the offer, but a loud rumble from your stomach speaks before you can. You blush and he laughs, bringing you to sit at the altar while one of his companions scuttles off. You tell him of your journey here and he listens intently, nodding and paying attention even when the man returns with plates of food and you speak only between bites of fatty meat.
“It seems your journey has been long, traveller. It’s a miracle that you made it this far.”
You’re not sure if it’s a miracle exactly, but you do feel incredibly lucky. If things had gone a different way, perhaps you wouldn’t be here; instead, you’d be lying dead in a ditch, or maybe even still back at the vault.
You shudder at the idea. Being trapped back there seems worse than death out here.
“I haven’t seen your group, but there may be a way to contact them. There is a radio tower south-east of here. It’s a long walk, but it’s probably your best shot at making contact.”
Your heart pounds in excitement. This is the best lead you’ve had. You thank the man with gusto and he laughs.
“You’re welcome to stay the night and head off in the morning. Here, let me mark your map – I can give you extra information for places to avoid. If you wish to look around more in this city, there are a couple of places I can recommend.”
He takes your map and scrawls notes in little letters. You find yourself very sleepy all of a sudden and take advantage of his kindness. There are no beds here; instead you and the men sleep at the foot of the altar beneath the cross. You feel oddly protected as sleep takes you over that night, and finally sure you’re heading in the right direction.
END.
Add Priestly Encounter (E.7) to your character sheet.
Add The Library (Chapter 17, L.17), The Metro (Chapter 22, L.22), The Radio Tower (Chapter 25, L.25), and The Base/The Offer (Chapter 18, L.18) to map.
14.21
Though he wanted to hear a different answer, you can’t lie to the man’s face. You aren’t here on some pilgrimage to make their world better – you’re here to explore and take field notes. And right now? You’re just trying to get home.
His face falls and he sighs, but doesn’t look surprised. Gently, he reaches out a hand and plays with the pin on your overcoat.
“When your kin began to arrive, we thought a new era was upon us. But perhaps this is not that day.” He sighs again and you begin to feel guilt wash over you, wondering if you should have just said what he wanted to hear. You’re not given time to dwell as he continues, “I have not seen your group. But I know who might have. There’s a raider base not far from here. You can find the details on the map on the door. But be prepared, the woman who runs that place is merciless. She will expect her generosity to be returned in kind.”
