The obliterated aerospace port was bad enough. The city affected Rowan even worse.

She glanced around nervously, keeping her Kalashnikov at the ready. "If I wanted to be cliche, I would say that death and despair live here." She smiled at Schaeffer. "That wouldn't make it any less true."

Rowan kept careful watch as they passed through the rubble on the Interstate. When she saw the smoke and the buzzards that marked Shalam Colony, her face became worried. "I hope that's not where we're going. I have a feeling it is." She grew silent, remembering the Doomsayers in green that had been so close to her before.

"Well now don't that look like a purty little neighborhood.  Should get a place out here wit' a pool an' a nice picket fence."  Jack remarked, craning his neck to see.  He'd never been through here before so the full impact was lost on him, but it was still ominous.

In reply to Rowan Dawson (msg #38):

"Cliche or not, it's not far from the truth."

The Colonel smiled back at Rowan. So far, he'd always passed  Las Cruces by a considerable distance. Now that he saw it up close, he knew why as there was no reason not to do so.

Verdammte Aasgeier. Shaeffer muttered under his breath when he saw the buzzards.

"Roadkill, this is the Colonel. There's Bussarde flying and smoke rising. Lokks like there's been a fight not too long ago. We should check it out and look for survivors. Ende.

Turning to Rowan, Kurt said:"We have to check it out. There might be survivors."Or salvage. The Colonel was a practical man. Either they'd be able to help someone else or at least themselves.

As Nix inquired, Brother Edgar would attempt to answer his questions regarding the Schism of the Cult of Doom as they traveled.  He would do his best to not get too preachy or wordy, unless pressed on specific points.   To sum up the conversation (especially since only Smoker and Roadkill are the only ones who can hear it): The Prophet Rasmussen first brought the Truth of the Atom to the Chosen in what was Las Vegas.  A powerful speaker, a powerful leader.  But, he strode too close to the core and something twisted...  Silas began preaching that the Chosen should rise up against the Doomed, non-mutants, and wipe them out to bring about the Bright Future.  A second prophet called Joan preached a different road. A road of peace and unity; Doomed and Chosen working together to build Utopia for the generations to follow as the next stage of life for humans.

As the rig passes through the burned out shell of Las Cruces, the Doomsayer grows quiet and murmurs a soft prayer to himself.  "The Power of the Atom can be devastating.  But, my Truth teaches that even such destruction was part of a greater plan," offers Brother Edgar to his companions in the truck cab, "A terrible price which we must repay in forging Utopia.  To be sure that nothing was in vain..." 

As the radio crackles on with the Colonel's report, Brother Edgar scans the horizon for the trails of smoke and flights of buzzards.  He doesn't want to believe it, but he can't shake the feeling they are too late, "I fear that this settlement has met the twisted ambition of Silas and his wayward Chosen..."

Arthur looked at the surrounding area carefully, his hand on the hilt of his sword.  "Michaela....something feels wrong about this place to me.  It may be nothing, but I would not be surprised if there was some trouble here.  What do you think?"

In reply to Arthur Dayne (msg #42):

"I agree. I think we should also stop here and have a look through some binoculars or that big-assed scope on that rifle the Colonel's been lugging around."

Still in the back of the truck, she squeezed in beside Jane and the Ma-Deuce, leaning on the roof of the cab. She squinted at the distant buildings, chewing her lip in concentration.

"You would say this is excercising caution and investigating before committing one's self, right?"
This message was last edited by the player at 02:29, Thu 08 July 2010.

"You learn well...my young Padawan," said the older knight with a wry smile, not sure whether or not Michaela would have caught the reference to a film more than a century old.

Roadkill bit his lip when the Doomsayer started talking about utopia and a greater plan. Things sure as hell weren't better now and if there was a reason behind all this violence he didn't see it. All he saw was a lot of senseless killing over the last 13 years that made the thought of utopia seem like an overly idealistic pipe dream. The Road Warrior didn't really buy into what Brother Edgar was saying but he couldn't really blame him either. It must be pretty easy to believe such things after you've just been taught how to shoot nuclear fire from your hands.

Speaking of Brother Edgar, Roadkill was wishing that he had brought his lead underwear. The guy was positively glowing! That couldn't be good for the boys and his sperm count.

When the smokey plumes come into view the trucker slows the rig to a crawl and says, "I think you're right Edgar. Those green robed butchers we met on the road said that Las Cruces had been 'cleansed.' I'd say we're looking at exactly what they were talking about."

Then Roadkill picks up the mic of his CB and says, "10-4 Colonel, can you get a sight on things with your rifle scope? Let me know if you need me to reposition us."

Peter narrowed his eyes. Then he took in a deep breath and let out it in a long slow sigh. Another group of people victimized in the Wasted West. Some would say it's par for the course, others would say that things are spiraling out of control, and need to be stopped.

Over the CB to Roadkill he asked, "So. Shall we all roll in to town together? Or shall we take it slow and just send in the pickup so as to not all be caught if there is a trap or any of the destruction-causers still present?"

In reply to Brother Edgar (msg #41):

Nix had been raised in the ruins without a formal education, but he was still very smart. He listened appreciatively to Brother Edgar and found a lot of what he said made a stark sense in this harsh and brutal world, although talk of a "plan" being responsible for destruction seemed to be cold comfort for the people of Las Cruces. It seemed to him that Atom could make changes without destroying, it took man to use the powers of Atom for evil by making the nukes and the Ghost Rock bombs.

Things didn't look any better at Shalam Colony.

"Oh man, not looking good." Nix peered out the lowered front window-shutter with his binoculars in the direction of the burning buildings.

In reply to Ian Roadkill Colby (msg #45):

They were parked on a bridge over a dry concrete canal choked with trash, debris and tumbleweed.

Up in the cab, Nix wasn't having a lot of luck seeing anything with his binoculars. There were orchards blocking any direct view of the ground level.

On top of the trailer, German moved to the front of the trailer and set up the Mauser on its bipod. He looked through the scope to see what kind of view he had. Even higher it wasn't a lot better, the treetops of the orchard mostly blocked Schaeffer's direct view as well. He was able to clearly see the rooftop of the main building and there was a little smoke drifting up from under the eaves.

It looked to him like the fire was just smoldering, although without a closer look he couldn't tell.
This message was last edited by the GM at 10:03, Thu 08 July 2010.

Brother Edgar, like the others, continues to try and pierce the canopy of the orchards to see what really happened to the Colony.  The radio crackles again with Peter's suggestion of scouting ahead to protect the rig.  A decision is quickly made up in the Doomsayer's mind.

"I will go ahead.  Alone if need be.  My wayward brothers and sisters caused this destruction....  There may be dangers there for you and your crew, Mr. Roadkill.  The Power of the Atom can linger..."

"Roadkill, all I can see is the roof. There's smoke coming up from under the eaves. I don't think it's really burning, looks more like smoldering to me. Can't say more as the orchards are in the way.
I'm going in to have a look-see, ja? I'll radio you with what I find. Ende.

The Colonel slung his Mauser rifle and climbed down from the trailer. Already dressed in his Ghillie suit, he disappeared into the orchard after crossing the field.

As soon as he entered the trees, Shaeffer slowed down his movement. Moving as stealthily as possible, he stepped every couple of steps to look around, search the ground and listen for movement.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:23, Thu 08 July 2010.

Jane was looking around the eerie sight with slight unease. If only there were visible enemies, she would be able to blast them to another world. If they found anything here, there were good chances her bullets wouldn't do much but they still had to check the town out. If there were survivors, it was her duty to make sure they were OK.

She talked to the others while scanning their surroundings. "I have a bad feeling about this place. It reminds me of an old expression they used to say at the academy. Travel to exotic places, meet the locals, blow them up."

In reply to COL Kurt L. Schaeffer (msg #50):

A large bush toting a huge rifle in a camouflage drag-bag trotted past Brother Edgar and started across the open fields towards the orchards and Shalam Colony. Edgar turned to follow it, and it looked like they were the only two volunteering to have a look-see of the compound.

Roadkill and Peter pulled their vehicles off the bridge and into the concealment of some collapsed outlying buildings just off W. Thorpe Road. Smoker got up on the roof of the trailer and with Rowan used their binoculars to keep an eye on their back-trail, towards the Interstate. Jane and Peter covered the front arc with the Ma-Deuce on the technical.

Dakota Jack, Arthur, Michaela deployed to the south side of the destroyed farm to cover a 360 degree perimeter. Arthur was on one corner, Dakota Jack on the other, and Michaela in between and keeping both in sight to act as a runner to bring word back to the vehicles if anyone was spotted coming from the south.

http://tinyurl.com/2wkf887

Col Schaeffer approached the buildings over the open fields, Brother Edgar following. When they reached the shade and concealment of the surrounding orchards, Edgar completely lost sight of the German Ranger until Schaeffer moved again. Then he needed to rush to catch up, but then always lost sight again. This strange leap-frogging continued until they reached the last cover and concealment. Even without a Ghillie suit Brother Edgar was managing to find good cover and move with some skill, and the Colonel frequently lost sight of him, too.

Brother Edgar had lost sight of the Colonel, but he knew he was relatively close by. They both had a clear line of sight to the east side of the compound. Hidden was the front. They couldn't see anyone but it was clear there was something attracting scavengers out front, where they couldn't see.

The only sound was the cawing of crows and buzzing of insects, the only movement was of circling buzzards. Smoke dribbled from the roof of the main building, one of the outbuildings was burning fiercely and collapsed with a sudden roar and cloud of sparks. Crows rose up at the sudden crash of burning timbers, then settled back down to their unseen feast.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:49, Fri 09 July 2010.

Upon seeing the empty burning buildings...the scavenging crows...Brother Edgar threw caution away.  If there was any chance he could help.  Could save anyone.  There is no word of warning given.  He simply stands up from his hiding place and begins walking out in the open towards the front of the settlement and its throng of carrion-feeders.  Too much has already been lost to continue waiting...

Peter didn't say anything to anyone, but he was just fine sitting in the truck while others went to go check out the smoke and potential devastation. If it turned out to be nothing, then all fine and good. If, however, all was not well, than it behooved him to let others gather information before he committed himself to a course of action.

Peter sat in his pickup with the window rolled down. He glanced back at Jane when she spoke, his lips twisting in a small smile. "That is...oddly not comforting, Jane. But witty nonetheless."

In reply to Brother Edgar (msg #53):

Breaking cover, Brother Edgar strode forward across the dry canal that marked the eastern edge of the compound, silently challenging anyone to stop him. Reaching the front of the buildings, he discovered there were no butchers present but they had left their handiwork.

There were over two dozen makeshift crosses erected in the front yard. Crucified upon them were mostly men and women. Nails had been driven through their wrists and feet. On many of them sat carrion birds, and more flapped around in the air above the heads of the victims. The bloodied bodies had been here for most of a day, the flies swarming in clouds around them, maggots squirmed and dropped to the ground.
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:20, Fri 09 July 2010.

The gruesome sight forces Edgar to pause.  He knows the Fury and Power of the Bomb, but this...this is just butchery.  Cruel, pointless butchery.  He forgets that he is on a scouting mission.  Forgets even that the Colonel is still nearby.  The Doomsayer moves into the field of crosses with a silent prayer, folding the loose edge of his hood across his face...maybe someone lives...  Though in truth, he hopes that none still suffer...

In reply to Brother Edgar (msg #56):

Truly, all are beyond suffering. In fact, it seems that most of these people were badly wounded before being crucified, and some were certainly dead. The reason for this senseless act baffled him. Why mutilate corpses, unless for the sheer pleasure or terror value?

It was almost certainly the Doomsayers who did this. The charring from atomic blasts testify to this. Also, many motorcycle tracks mark the dust by the road, and the posse of Doomsayers was traveling by motorcycle.

Not knowing how many people were in Shalam Colony before the massacre, he was unable to tell how many, if any, had escaped the wrath of the twisted priests.
This message was last edited by the GM at 12:21, Fri 09 July 2010.

"Roadkill, I can see the east side of the compound. There is no movement.
Will....Was zum Teufel?!"

The Colonel was just reporting to Roadkill and the convoy when suddenly Brother Edgar stood up and hurried off towards the front of the compound, totally taking him by surprise.

"The damned priest is going in. I'll cover him. Ende."

Shaeffer quickly got off the ground to follow the Doomsayer. He picked his sniper rifle up with his left and drew his Mauser pistol with his right.

When he saw the crosses, he stopped dead in his tracks for a second, before he leaned his rifle against a nearby wall.

"Roadkill, be advised that there's crucified people at the front of the compound. Recommend you move up here. Ende."

While Brother Edgar walked in among the corpses, the Colonel tried to secure the front of the compound as good as he could. While he would have prefered to proceed into the settlement, or rather what was left of it, he could not leave the Doomsayer alone. Further exploration needed to wait until reenforcements arrived.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:23, Fri 09 July 2010.

Roadkill drums anxiously on the steering wheel of his rig. Having the Colonel scout things out from the top of the trailer was one thing but hanging back was another thing entirely and it certainly wasn't in his nature.

"Fuck it Peter, I'm going" Roadkill says into the mic as he shifts the rig into gear and hits the gas. If there were any more of those green robed butchers here then he would see them ground beneath his wheels. Better to draw them out and kick their asses, that's what he always said.

ooc: A little bit of big britches to get us back involved.

"Hey beautiful, what's that feller in th' big rig doin'?"  Dakota called out to Micheala from his lookout position upon seeing the very obvious movement of the tractor.

Arthur held his position, and took out a whetstone, sharpening the edge of his blade.  He couldn't shake the feeling that he would need it.  The Templar took no pleasure in the wet work that he seemed to be so accomplished at, but sometimes, it just needed doing.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:37, Fri 09 July 2010.

Peter sighed loudly and the replied over the CB to Roadkill. "Very well, Roadkill. I will follow and we shall protect the rear on the way in." He then called back to those in the bed of his truck. "APPARENTLY...we are moving out. Expect the worst." He started the truck up and got it rolling to follow the rig in and watch the rear of their "2 car convoy".