The dabbers exchange a complex look, then the leader turns back to Bedlam.

"Look, I can't speak for the collective, but I'm one of the big tails so I can make this happen. I'm sure we can come to some arrangement. We'll be waiting here when you get back and we can cut a deal, OK?"

 She stepped out from her position against the wall and eyed the Dabbers with lack of grace(if a plant can give a hard stare), We will give it a try and see if his words match his promise's, If not then i have his scent now and can find him anywhere now.

 Sitting her maul on the ground she coolly stood her ground and waited for something to happen.

"Excellent!" Bedlam beams expansively. "We'll catch you on the flipflop."

The giant gives the dabbers a parting nod and signals the crew to move out.

~The deal is not sealed, but we are much closer. Keep a sharp eye, people, for anything shiny to use in future trades.~

As Bedlam heads down the road he makes a careful note of the location, and a few blocks further stops to mark it on his map.

"Now, where were we? Oh, yeah. Salvage. Back to it folks - there's a profit to be made yet."

You continue onwards towards the East River, initially following the same route as before but taking a left well before the site of your battle with the porkers. As you pass the remains of a collapsed appartment building Flora's plant-like instincts serve her well, and she sniffs out a cistern of water half buried in rubble. There is enough to refill all your containers for today. An hour or so later Crusty Tom, acting on a whim squeezes into a half collapsed cellar to find one wall covered in an amazing mural, showing sunrise over the suburbs painted in bright, vibrant colours. This would fetch a high price back in Compton, but excavating the wall would be a large undertaking.

There are a few hours of daylight left, and you are around two thirds of the way to the East River according to your map. Do you camp here, or press on?

Crusty Tom shakes his head once the party is clear of the dabbers, "Back to it, but be careful.  Something's not right about those dabbers.  They were keeping something back, I'm sure of it."
---------
"Well, will you look at that.  That's the prettiest thing I've seen in...a long time, anyways.  Come see!"

Tom is quite excited by the find, but recognises the difficulty of safely removing the wall and transporting it back to Compton.

"Maybe you should just mark it on the map, Bedlam, and we can come back for it later?  I'd suggest camping here but if there's trouble overnight - and I'm expecting trouble - a fight here wouldn't give you big folk room to move and the mural might get damaged."

 Choosing not to enter the smaller room she leaned over to stare around the room in silent wonder. It is nice but hardly within our skill to cut it out and bring it back with us.  If we are looking to give something to the dark eyes then lets just give um this place and let them figure out how to get it out.

 She was fairly sure that it was worth something but the amount of effort needed to get it wasnt worth the reward to her mind.

Shreek peers sideways through the small opening at the mural, a feat natural to a being with eyes on the side of his head. He shakes his feathered head and returns to gazing at the ruins around them, searching for danger. "I agree with Flora, the time it would take to remove the wall could be better spent elsewhere. 

Shreek then scans the surrounding area and tries to determine if this would be a good place to make camp. ~If he can't see the surrounding area well he stands he will fly up to a nearby perch and get a good look. Would this be a perception or nature check?~
This message was last edited by the player at 18:03, Mon 14 Nov 2011.

The place looks as good as any other in this blasted zone. Shreek is about to take to the air when he realises that he will stand out like a sore thumb on the empty skyline, a clear target for anyone on the ground. Still want to give it a shot?

BTW OOC in Orange please.

Weighting the risks involved Shreek decides to stay on the ground. He shrugs his wings, "This seems as good a place as any to stay the night, the small entrance should make it hard for enemies to get through."

Bedlam, too, puzzles for a few minutes on how to convert the mural into a more liquid asset. "Consider it marked," he says, updating the map. "Perhaps we can find... an interested party, before we try to extract it."

"As for the dabbers... this doesn't strike me as their preferred currency. They are all about small, bright, shiny things."

The giant looks around and consults with the more knowledgeable members of the crew. "This seems as good a place as any for camp. We can use the remaining daylight to set up a perimeter and widen that gap so Flora and I can get in and out with the rest of you for sleeping."

Once camp is established and watches set Bedlam will take a closer look at the mural and encourage the others to do so as well. Except for Ordus. Ordus needs to stay several feet away from anything which might be damaged by fire. Is it an actual painting, or is it some other wonder of ancient technology? How is it attached to the wall? What is the wall made of? What equipment would be needed for excavation and transport? "Obviously, some of these questions will have to wait until we are back in Compton before they can be answered."

"Ordus, you'd make a great campfire except you'd eat anything we tried to use you to cook," Bedlam grins at the rat collective.

The mural seems to be the old-fashioned kind made with real paint. You would need some cutting equipment to remove out the 2 metre square section of concrete wall. Also, there is no way that you are getting Ordus' fireproof possum down in that cellar.

Since it seems that Bedlam doesn't share his concerns about camping near the mural.  Crusty Tom shrugs off his pack and starts looking around for anything suitably flammable and anything that might help make the campsite more defendable.

Perception = 18.  Looking for firewood or, failing that, anything else that will burn steadily as well as anything convenient for a barricade or camouflage.

 She has to accept the idea of being by the room but finding a place outside to touch the ground with her feet is important for her state of mind and peace. With her back to a wall she drops her pack and looks over the area in silent thoughts of defense.

 I will stay out here to keep watch and beside's its too small for my taste. Letting the last of the sun touch her face she enjoys feeding for a time.

"You make that sound like a bad thing," the Rattimunculous inform Bedlam.  "Ah, well.  Enjoy the cellar.  We will stay out here with Stupid and keep something resembling a lookout.  If we scatter far enough, we might not even show up too badly."

Anything that can be burnt was used up years ago, so you resign yourself to a cold night, although the many flaming rats of Ordus can take the place of hot water bottles. You find a suitable corral with stupid close to the cellar and set up you camp for the night. In the early hours of the morning, on the last watch, which happens to be Shreek, something passes close to your camp.

Shreek, make a Stealth and a Perception roll. As I understand it, Flora and Ordus are sleeping outside and Crusty and Bedlam are in the cellar, right?

Got an 18 for perception and a 3 for stealth.

As Shreek watches the ruined road for any signs of trouble, he hears a faint buzzing noise from the south, which quickly becomes louder as a swarm of puppy sized, glowing mosquitoes flies into his line of sight!

Combat map posted. Everyone Roll Init, although only Shreek can act this round. The moon is quite bright , plus the swarm is glowing a sick green and easy to see, so no penalties for night fighting.

The swarm makes a beeline for Shreek, buzzing with anticipation and radiation. Hoving into view behind it comes a huge, coiled up maggot, slithering along the remains of the road. It glows an angry red and is covered with cancerous nodules, which on closer insepction are embryonic mosquitoes budding from its slimy hide.

Round 1: Init Order: Mosquitoes, Maggot-thing, Shreek.

The bad guys have acted so you're up Shreek.

If Shreek calls out a warning the other PCs can make a DC15 Per roll to wake up. You only get one action as in a surprise round, but you can stand up from prone for free.

Shreek squawks out, "Wake up, we're being attacked!" before he emits a loud shriek in an attempt to drive off the mosquitoes in front of himself.

I rolled a 20 against their will defense.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:30, Sat 26 Nov 2011.

 She grumbles a touch before letting sleep touch her again.

0:13, Today: Flora rolled 12 using 1d20+2. perception/vs 15

Bedlam may have slept through Shreek's call to arms, but he definitely heard the hawkoid's screaming attack. Rolling out of his blanket, he grabs his lamppost and climbs to his feet, almost bumping his head on the low ceiling.

"C'mon, Tom. Sounds like we got company," the giant leads the way to the cellar exit, ducking his head and turning sideways to squeeze through the (relatively) small opening.

OOC:
Bedlam Jones rolled 16 using 1d20+3. Init.
Bedlam Jones rolled 18 using 1d20+3. Perception.
Move from the cellar to the entrance (2-3 paces)
Through the entrance at P-7 (3 paces)
To O-8 (1 pace)
I only indicate the paces because
- Bedlam starts off the map.
- Bedlam has move 7.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:50, Mon 28 Nov 2011.

OK, good point Bedlam. Everyone is woken by the sonic attack, including you Flora. No roll necessary. Also, Bedlam remember you can act also this round.

 Blinking her eyes she works to focus on what that horrible sound was before her brain kicks into gear and she has to make a guess that its the new kid making the racket at something out there.

 Gaining her feet she twirls her maul and waits to get a chance at what every it is out there. She does wonder if more porkers are in this area also.

09:13, Today: Shreek the Electroid rolled 11 using 1d6+6. Psychic damage against swarm.  Slide swarm to M8/M9/N8/N9. Shreek then moves to L8 and draws his two-handed heavy weapon.

The swarm is driven away from the entrance to the basement. Shreek charges forward, his flail whirling above his head.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:37, Mon 28 Nov 2011.

Crusty Tom scrambles to his feet but it looks as though he's still half asleep.  It might look peculiar to Bedlam Jones but it doesn't trouble Tom as his conscious mind catches up with his hyper-alert body.

(It isn't unusual for Tom's body to react before he is consciously aware of the triggering event.  Over the years, Tom has come to embrace the phenomenon.  It gives the lie to those who, seeing his stony flesh, expect him to be slow)

Seeing no immediate threat in the cellar, Tom pauses long enough to pick up his heavy spear and gives the faster giant time to move past him and out the exit.


14:02, Today: Crusty Tom rolled 21 using 1d20+5. Perception.
13:51, Today: Crusty Tom rolled 17 using 1d20+12. Initiative.
Moving to the exit at P-7 and out to Q8.  Tom is speed 5.

This message was last edited by the player at 01:07, Thu 01 Dec 2011.