by HL TRUSLOVE
29.0
Turn to 29.1G, Needs Gaia in Tow OR Gaia’s Badge.
Turn to 29.1, Cannot have Gaia in Tow OR Gaia’s Badge.
29.1
Your feet are tired. Your feet have been constantly tired since you came here, honestly. But finally, finally, you’re going to get home. And you can rest.
Your group was a couple of days’ travel from the radio tower. Not a long trek in comparison to the rest of your journey, but every moment was filled with a cocktail of emotions – worry that they would be gone when you arrived, fear that something might get you before you got home, and hope. Hope for the possibility that this would all be over.
You crest a hill, your legs groaning with complaint beneath you, but it’s all worth it when you see a tent. And then another. And then the shower block… and the mess hall! It’s laid out differently from the last time you saw it, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is the people inside.
You’re torn between falling to your knees and running down as fast as you can. Either way, tears have suddenly sprung from your face. Without conscious thought, you are marching forwards, then running as the slope of the hill adds to your momentum. There’re a couple of people outside the tents, busying themselves with work. One of them raises their head and spots you and starts waving their arms, calling out. Soon, a crowd has gathered to welcome you back. You trip over your own feet but it doesn’t matter.
You’re here.
You’re home.
Through tear-clouded eyes, you fall into the arms of the first person you come to. They wrap you in a tight embrace.
“Well, I’m glad to see you too!”
It’s a voice you recognise. Pulling back and wiping your face with your sleeve, you see Fanon’s familiar, reassuring smile. You don’t apologise for your behaviour. Instead, you just throw yourself back into his arms. He chuckles. It’s been a long time since you had a hug this nice.
“The prodigal child returns, hm?” It’s Mari.
You separate from her father and turn towards Mari. She has a rare smile on her face and seems genuinely pleased to see you.
“I’m glad you’re safe.” She claps a hand on your shoulder and you grin, still too choked up to really talk. “Come on. I think we need to have a catch-up.”
Go with her – Turn to 29.2.
* * *
Ask to rest first – Turn to 29.3.
29.1G
Your feet are tired. You know Gaia’s are, too, because she hasn’t stopped complaining about it. All you can do is grunt in agreement. But finally, finally, you’re going to be home. And you can rest.
Your group was a couple of days’ travel from the radio tower. Not a long trek in comparison to the rest of your journey, but every moment was filled with a cocktail of emotions – worry that they would be gone when you arrived, fear that something might get you before you got home, and hope. Hope for the possibility that this would all be over. And, of course, the background noise of Gaia’s babbling. An annoying nervous habit, but not something you can really blame her for. She’s been through a lot.
You crest a hill, your legs groaning with complaint beneath you, but it’s all worth it when you see a tent. And then another. And then the shower block… and the mess hall! It’s laid out differently from the last time you saw it, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is the people inside.
“Oh my god,” Gaia gasps as she sees it too. “Oh my god!”
You’re torn between falling to your knees and running down as fast as you can. Either way tears have started streaming down your face. You find yourself walking forwards, then running as the slope of the hill adds to your momentum, Gaia hot on your heels.
There are a couple of people outside the tents busying themselves with work. One of them raises their head and spots you and starts waving their arms, calling out. Soon, a crowd has gathered to welcome you both back. You trip over your own feet but it doesn’t matter – you’re here, you’re home.
Through tear-clouded eyes, you fall into the arms of the first person you come to. They wrap you in a tight embrace.
“Well, I’m glad to see you too!”
It’s a voice you recognise. Pulling back and wiping your face with your sleeve, you see Fanon’s familiar, reassuring smile. You don’t apologise for your behaviour. Instead, you just throw yourself back into his arms. He chuckles. It’s been a long time since you had a hug this nice.
“The prodigal children return, hm?” It’s Mari.
You separate from her father and turn towards Mari. She has a rare smile on her face and seems genuinely pleased to see the both of you. Gaia steps back from where she’s been embracing people, too.
“I’m glad you’re safe.” Mari claps a hand on your shoulder and you grin, still too choked up to really talk. “Come on. I think we need to have a catch-up.”
Go with her – Turn to 29.2.
* * *
Ask to rest first – Turn to 29.3.
29.2
You follow Mari to a tent you’ve only been in one other time. It’s the tent where they first showed you the map of the Old World, where they marked out where you were to go and explore. As you walk in, you see it’s still laid out. It seems so small now, compared to everywhere you’ve been.
“Take a seat,” Mari tells you, gesturing to one of the wooden benches. You do as you’re instructed, feeling relieved to have the weight off your legs.
“Are you all right?” Fanon asks, taking a seat opposite.
“I’m… here,” is what you decide on. That’s a difficult question to answer. You aren’t even sure if you have an answer. You don’t want to think about it too much.
“I imagine you’ve seen quite a bit since you left.”
“That’s putting it mildly,” you laugh, but it’s humourless. They both look at you expectantly. Fanon is sitting back, his demeanour curious but not probing, but Mari leans over the desk in anticipation. She clearly can’t wait to hear what you’ve discovered.
So you tell them.
It isn’t easy. You try not to leave anything out for their sake, but it means you have to relive it all, even the bad parts. You choke and sputter your way through your story, in some parts visibly distressed, and at one point Fanon comes to sit by you and puts a reassuring hand on your shoulder.
It’s a long tale, and some of it is difficult to tell, but it’s yours.
You finish by telling them how you ended up back here. Mari nods, shifting her stance so she’s not leaning over the desk.
“Right. Well, if all of what you say is true, I have to go and speak to a few people,” she says, and leaves the tent before you have time to ask her what that means. You and Fanon are left alone.
“You’ve done very well,” he says. There’s a softness in his voice that you haven’t heard from anyone in a long time.
Option 1:
Needs Balloon Blueprints, Tiger Claw, Bear Tooth, Tiger Skin OR Deer Skin.
* * *
Show him Balloon Blueprints – Turn to 29.4, Needs Balloon Blueprints.
* * *
Show him Animal Remains – Turn to 29.5, Needs Tiger Claw, Bear Tooth, Tiger Skin, OR Deer Skin.
* * *
Option 2:
Cannot have Balloon Blueprints, Tiger Claw, Bear Tooth, Tiger Skin OR Deer Skin.
* * *
“It was ruthless” – Turn to 29.6, Needs Cruelty as your highest stat.
* * *
“It was rough” – Turn to 29.7, Needs Resolve as your highest stat.
* * *
“It was enlightening” – Turn to 29.8, Needs Compassion as your highest stat.
* * *
“I don’t know how to feel” – Turn to 29.9, Needs Instability as your highest stat.
29.3
“Please, I want to rest first,” you say. As the words trail out of your mouth you feel the heaviness of your body. You really need to lie down. Mari doesn't look impressed and opens her mouth to say something, but Fano
n interrupts her.
“Of course you can. You must be exhausted. Come on, you can stay in my tent.”
Fanon wraps an arm around you and ushers you away from the crowd and his daughter’s disapproving gaze.
You come to a larger tent and Fanon holds the door open for you. Inside is a surprisingly nice-looking room; though obviously a tent, there are nice pieces of furniture and decorations sitting around. You want to look closer, but at the sight of the bed a wave of exhaustion rushes over you. You drop your pack and collapse into it face first. The last thing you hear is Fanon’s chuckle.
You wake up to the smell of food. Fanon is on one of his little chairs holding a steaming bowl of porridge. Your whole body feels heavy from too much sleep, but it’s a nice feeling. It feels like you’re recharged for the first time since you left.
“Oh god, I’m so sorry,” you say, recalling just how quickly you fell asleep. Fanon laughs and passes you the food.
“It’s fine. I could tell you needed the rest.”
You eat a spoonful without bothering to cool it down. It burns but it’s tasty.
“How long was I asleep for?”
“Sixteen hours.”
“Sixteen?!”
You almost spit the food out in shock.
“Mari’s been waiting outside for a while. She wanted to wake you up a couple of times but I told her to leave you be. You seem all the better for it.”
“Yeah,” you admit, finishing your meal far too fast.
“Come on,” says Fanon, “I’ve held her at bay for as long as I can. I think it’s time to have a chat.”
You nod.
You’re ready.
Remove one Instability from your character sheet.
* * *
Turn to 29.2.
29.4
You pull the blueprints from your bag and hand them to Fanon. His brow furrows in curiosity as he unravels them.
“I got them from the raiders who were fighting. I didn’t know what to do, so I brought them back here.”
Fanon traces the lines with his finger, taking in every minute detail of what’s in front of him. He sighs before rolling them back up.
“I don’t know much about old world technology, I’m afraid. But these don’t look encouraging. You got them from raiders, you say?”
“Yes.”
“Hmm.” He taps the scroll against his leg. “I suppose we should take them back to the vault when we go. Maybe the engineers there can shed some more insight on them. But if the raiders are airborne, it doesn’t bode well for anyone here.”
You can agree with him on that. You know it from experience. You go quiet until Fanon gently asks, “How do you feel about everything?”
Add one to any trait (Cruelty, Resolve, Compassion, Instability).
* * *
“It was ruthless” – Turn to 29.6, Needs Cruelty as your highest stat.
* * *
“It was rough” – Turn to 29.7, Needs Resolve as your highest stat.
* * *
“It was enlightening” – Turn to 29.8, Needs Compassion as your highest stat.
* * *
“I don’t know how to feel” – Turn to 29.9, Needs Instability as your highest stat.
29.5
You take the remains out of your bag and pass them to Fanon. He looks confused for a moment before realising what you’re showing him.
“I see,” he mutters, turning it over in his hands before setting it down onto his lap. “Death is just as natural as life, you know. Sometimes, things happen which we cannot control. Anything you’ve done, you had to do for a reason.”
Is that true? You look at the piece of death he holds in his fingers. It doesn’t feel true. It doesn’t feel like you’ve been swept along by fate. Not by the end of it all, anyway. It feels like a lot of decisions were well and truly in your hands and you made them, regardless of whether they were good or not.
Fanon notices your silence and takes advantage of it to ask quietly, “How do you feel?”
Add one to any trait (Cruelty, Resolve, Compassion, Instability).
* * *
“It was ruthless” – Turn to 29.6, Needs Cruelty as your highest stat.
* * *
“It was rough” – Turn to 29.7, Needs Resolve as your highest stat.
* * *
“It was enlightening” – Turn to 29.8, Needs Compassion as your highest stat.
* * *
“I don’t know how to feel” – Turn to 29.9, Needs Instability as your highest stat.
29.6
“It was ruthless.”
You look down at your hands, flexing your fingers. Your knuckles are dry; there’s blood on the end of your sleeves.
You can’t look Fanon in the eye.
The faces of the people you’ve hurt flash in front of your eyes. At least, you think they do. To be honest, you didn’t bother memorising them. They weren’t that important to you – just another stepping stone on your way back home.
There’s a steeliness in your gut. You don’t regret what you did. Did you do what you had to do, or did you do things on top of that because you enjoyed them? It’s hard to tell.
All you know is that you’re not the same person you were when Fanon last saw you.
He doesn’t say anything. Perhaps he’s not sure how to talk to you any more.
Turn to 29.10.
29.7
“It was… rough.”
It’s the best way you can think to describe it. It was. You had to make some hard decisions, some of which you aren’t especially proud of. Every time you chose to hurt someone, or made a tough choice, you felt like a little bit more of your humanity was whittled away. Now, you’re not sure who you are any more. It’s not the same person who landed on the shore, wind in their hair and excitement in their belly.
“Yes, it can be like that out here.” A pause. “Do you want to go back to the vault?”
You chuckle dryly. He keeps asking you the hard questions.
You can’t imagine life back in the vault. Not now. Back in a place where all your decisions were pretty much decided for you. What was best for the colony. You’ve had a taste of freedom now. It’s bittersweet, but you want more. It doesn’t feel like the vault has anything to offer you any more.
Turn to 29.10.
29.8
“It was… enlightening.”
It’s a strange word but Fanon’s face lights up at it.
“You thought so?”
“I do. It’s… a harsh world. But there’s still so much good in it.”
Fanon laughs, overjoyed.
“I think so, too! I’ve met many good people out here. Not everyone, of course, but that can be said for any place.”
The two of you are suddenly swept up discussing your stories, the people you’ve met and befriended along the way. Fanon seems delighted at what you tell him. Clearly, he was worried you’d come back gnarled and hateful, but instead you’ve had your sense of humanity renewed.
It’s not what you were expecting. But you’re happy about it either way.
Turn to 29.10.
29.9
“I don’t know how I feel.”
The words drip from your lips in broken chunks and float heavily in the air. You wish you could be more succinct, but you can’t. Everything has been… too much. You can’t work out how you’re supposed to feel.
All at once, everything comes back to you, everything you’ve been through while you’ve been here, crashing like heavy waves on a crumbling rocky shore. A breathy choke leaves your lips and you fall forward, putting your head between your legs to try to rebalance.
You feel Fanon’s hand on your back, trying to rub calm circles into you, but it isn’t working. It isn’t working. Your lungs feel like they’re going to explode with the rate at which you’re breathing. You retch and nothing comes up.
“It’s all right,” murmurs Fanon. “It’s all right.”
It isn’t.
Turn to 29.10.
29.10
At some point you hear Mari come back into the tent. She must sense the changed atmosphere, as she shoots Fanon a look as if to work out whether you’re all right. You don’t see his reply.
“Well, I have news,” Mari says, and you finally turn to face her. She looks… grave isn’t quite the right word, you don’t think. Stony, perhaps. Steeled in her decision. She takes a seat at the bench opposite you and looks at you levelly.
“I’ve been in contact with the vault. This was only meant to be an intel mission, just to research what was going on with the natives here. But they’re impressed with what you’ve done. They think… they think you’re the best one to ask how we go forward from here, because you’ve seen the most of this place.”
