"You reap what you sow." - Kea Dupont

The somnolent sound of crackling fire fills the room. A child sits by the fire, skinning the pelt off of a small creature. He lays them side by side on the ground. Occasionally, he takes a peek at the woman in bed.

The room feels warm and cozy. Its near impossible to be in this state of comfort in the snow. The woman's vision slowly returns to her like an opening of a show's curtains. She sees the shadow of the dancing fire from the fireplace on the wooden ceiling. She is lying down, covered by a heavy, soft blanket. Beneath her is a pillow made of straws that gently tickles her neck with any movement of her neck. Her mouth is dry with thirst. Kea realizes her consciousness returned.

Outside, the sun shines down brightly onto the field of snow. There is a small wooden shack standing tall and strong in the field. Numerous trees surround the shack, obscuring it from sight. The back of the shack is facing a steep upward hill. The impassable terrain marks this area an ideal hiding place. A horse stands next to a withered tree where a little girl is sitting. She holds a stick in her hand with a string attached to a hoop at the tip of the stick. Her hand motions for the stick to sling the hoop towards her, she then catches the hoop with the end of her stick. The hoop falls to the ground as she lowers the stick. She repeats this monotonous activity endlessly.

There's large man in the field, brown skinned, tending to the horse. The horse nickers at the touch of his hand. Charlie's known this grouchy horse for over a lifetime, yet it still rebel against him at times like a spoiled child.

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Spoiler text: (Highlight or hover over the text to view)
Group G NPC compendium updated.

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This message was last edited by the GM at 21:32, Fri 12 Apr 2019.

Keas eyes open, her glazed, blurred vision searching for something recognizable in her surroundings. Finding none gets her blood flowing, instincts coming back, vision refocusing. She takes a deep gulp of air, feeling the binding of the bandages against her skin she yelps in surprise. Casting off the blankets and looking down at herself.

She recognizes the wound, feeling the muscle tighten around the hole left by the gunshot from before. She looks up and see's a kid looking back holding a dead animal and bloody knife in front of her.

The ex chef yells, frantically searching for her revolver while simultaneously trying to escape her bed. She stumbles and falls from a combined effort in getting wrapped up in the blanket and her body not quite responding yet. With fearful eyes on the boy she begins to scramble towards the nearest entrance.

Assuming she can get outside shes frozen in fear of her alien surroundings. Her eyes wide, focusing on the horse and the man, and then finally the small girl.
This message was last edited by the GM at 04:31, Sat 13 Apr 2019.

Another day, another frigid morning on the mountaintops, where starvation and hypothermia were imminent threats. A log cabin and ramshackle shack occupied by strangers of tentative allegiance to one another marked one of the precious few presences of humanity in this frigid, inhospitable landscape. One of these strangers, a man named Charlie, had chosen to endure the cold and the struggle to eat; as much as the mountain's icy bite oppressed them, it was better than dealing with walkers. He'd gotten used to waking up without hearing their haunting moans. It was a hard, but simple life -- until recently, that is.

As Charlie ran a brush through the mane of his horse, Bitters, he couldn't stop thinking about that stranger Mike had taken in. Isolation was safety, security, the only unknown element was what the traps would catch. This stranger was the opposite; her bullet wound was an ominous reminder of what Charlie had hoped to escape, and her situation carried the implication that trouble was about to follow from their intervention. Desperate people, itchy trigger fingers, unpredictability, it had been a constant worry for the past few days. His thoughts went to the gunman that shot their new guest -- would he try to track her?

A sharp whinny from Bitters made Charlie jump, dashing his thoughts with her sharp, annoyed huffs; he must have tugged on that beautiful black mane harder than she'd liked. "Sorry, girl," said Charlie, patting the Hanoverian on the neck, who seemed at least slightly placated by the apology. The journey had been hard, and much of his survival could be attributed to this stubborn steed that delighted in its ornery. While he brushed the dried mud out her flank, Charlie's eyes wandered, once again, over to Wren, who was quiet as a mouse, just like always.

Charlie was torn; part of him wanted to be proud of Wren's quiet strength during their exodus from the reservation, very rarely had she whined about their situation, never had she disobeyed an order. He was also of the mind that she had withdrawn into a shell from the trauma of it all; as much as Wren wanted to hide it, nobody could take the loss of their home as well as she -- he certainly hadn't. That the young girl believed her father -- his brother -- had survived the fall of their home was an uncomfortable issue he took great pains to sidestep at every turn. Hope was powerful, and if Gordon being alive kept her will strong, then Charlie wasn't about to express his doubts.

Suddenly, a banshee-like scream tore pierced the silence, making Charlie flinch and dig the brush into Bitters' flank, which in turn made her whinny even louder and slam into her owner, sending him sprawling to the ground. Upon seeing Rufus fleeing the house and calling for Mike, Charlie feared the worst. "Wren, stay with Bitters!" he barked, scrambling to his feet and grabbing the woodcutting ax he'd leaned against the tree. Gripping his weapon tightly, one thought burned inside while trudging toward the house: would that woman have to die today?

As it turned out, she was keen to kill herself; Charlie stared at her with disbelief once she'd ran out after Rufus without any clothing on her chest save for a bra; the sight was no less uncomfortable now that she was awake. At the very least, the lack of any visible weapon made her significantly less dangerous, and for a man looking for any reason to keep his ax blade clean, that was important. "You're gonna freeze to death if you stay out here, woman!" Charlie said, reaching out to grab her arm. "Dammit, stop!"
This message was last edited by the player at 05:22, Sat 13 Apr 2019.

Even interruption

When Kea flips off the blanket, the young boy's head snaps to the woman. He stands, drawing the rifle from his back out of instinct. Kea spots her revolver hanging on the boy's belt, dangling among the pelts he had previously skinned. The boy flees when Kea screams. He sprints out of the door, yelling a name. "Mike!"

Wren gets up from the ground at the sound of the starting scream. She does as Charlie commands, abandoning the stick in her hand and runs behind Bitters. Her eyes lock onto the shack.

The door burst open, they see Rufus dashing out to the snow shouting Mike's name. Charlie hears heavy footsteps in the distance, presumably to be Mike, who is currently chopping firewood nearby.

"Where am I!" She yelled at the man, still frantically searching her surroundings. She recoiled back from him as he reached out and drew her arms inward, wrapping herself either in modesty or to conserve body heat as the cold air kicked in. Waking her dulled body up.

"Who are you, where am I!?" She repeats.

Panic was an understandable response to waking up in an unfamiliar environment, Charlie could relate with this woman in that regard. However, her hysterics would become a danger if she wasn't calmed down. "You're on a mountain in negative twelve-degree weather," he said, his voice terse -- speaking to women had never been his strong-suit, much less half-naked, terrified ones. "We're not going to hurt you," To illustrate that point, Charlie let his ax fall to the ground while he held his hands up in an attempt to placate her, "So come inside before you freeze to death," It came off as more of a command than a request.

In the distance, Bitters watched the raucous scene with detached interest. She was more interested in attempting to part the snow beneath her hooves to get at the delicious grass beneath, to poor results given that hooves weren't meant for digging. Wren's presence was met with similar indifference.
This message was last edited by the player at 07:08, Sat 13 Apr 2019.

The sounds of snow being trampled grows louder and louder. Kea sees a giant coming up from behind Charlie. The giant gently pulls Charlie to the side to present himself to Kea. Down below him, is the little boy Kea saw earlier next to the fire.

The large man speaks, his voice is calming, and deep. "Hello, we're not going to hurt you." He repeats Charlie's words and sets his own ax down to the side. Both of his large hands holds out in front of his chest, facing Kea. It almost look like he is trying to placate a raging lion. Kea sees the young boy staring at her. His eyes are fierce with distrust. She can see her revolver dangling on his belt still.

"My name is Mike, you're safe here. Rufus and I found you unconscious in the snow. You lost a lot of blood from that wound." Mike gestures his hand at the young child next to him, introducing him to Kea. He notices Kea attempting to cover herself with her arms. "Can we talk by the fire? I left your clothes in your backpack, under the bed." Mike raises an arm at the fireplace.

"How far-" She says through chattering teeth. "How far are we from where you found me." She breaks eye contact quickly to glare at the boy with his revolver. She begrudgingly takes a step back towards the building.

"I want answers, are you people sane?" She trudges back into the house backwards, never taking her eyes off them.

"Sane?" Rufus repeats the word. He looks up to Mike. "Is she asking if we're crazy?"

Mike shakes his head and smiles down at the boy. "No, she's asking if we're not crazy." He glances back to Kea.

"We're sane. We don't have any reason to attack you." Mike answers. "We found you about two to three miles away from our shack. Why don't you take a seat by the bed and tell us how you ended up this way yesterday?"

Charlie fell silent once Mike made his presence known -- the man had a way with words, if anyone could calm this woman down, it'd be him. This faith was well placed considering he'd managed to talk her back into the house, and as Charlie was about to pass the threshold, he waved Wren over. The warmth of the cabin had an uplifting comfort, making it feel more impressive than its handcrafted simplicity implied.

When he was sure the woman wasn't looking, Charlie stared at Mike, briefly glancing at their guest every now and then. "Yeah, tell us about the people that shot you," he said bluntly, with a terse edge to his voice. "I need to know if you're a danger to my niece," there was a momentary silence in which his eyes flicked to Mike and Rufus, "And Mike and his boy."

Kea says nothing until she has backpedaled to her bed and quickly snatches her backpack and rifles through it, finding her short which will have to do for now. She puts in only, rushing through the process. Once her modesty is covered she takes a few moments to calm herself. Speaking through gritted teeth.

"Cannibals, cannibals had me and my friend." She starts. "We were trying to leave when someone drove a truck through their gates and brought walkers." She takes another deep breath. "I dont know how I got shot, but I got separated from my own. How long have I been out, how far..." She trails off, closing her eyes as if searching her own memory for something.

"I need to find a church, across a river. I need to find a town." She says opening her eyes.

Wren makes her way across the snow field to the door. She carefully slips through Mike and Rufus to Charlie's side. She studies the strange woman from behind the large bronze skinned man's leg.

"You been out for over a day." Mike gently closes the door behind him. "Let's keep the cold air out." He smiles warmly at Kea, taking a seat on a stool next to the fire. Rufus follows him and stands over his shoulder. The young boy have his eyes set on Kea,  "Come on, let's talk by the fire." He pulls up a chair next to the fireplace. "Charlie." Mike nods at the other giant. "You too young lady." He gestures for Wren to come over. Wren passes a glance at Mike, then to the strange woman. Her gaze falls on Charlie, seeking guidance.

"I know the town, I can take you there when you get better... but what about your friend? You also lost a lot of blood, you won't make it far out there in your condition." The giant's fetches a large metal canteen near the fire and pours its liquid content into a coffee mug. He slowly passes the mug to Kea. "Here. Careful, its hot." He offers her another smile. "How are you feeling?"
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:19, Mon 15 Apr 2019.

"I'll be fine." She lied, shaking her head at the canteen. For every bump, bruise and cut on her body, for every pint of blood lost she wasn't about to indebt herself to strangers more than she already has.

"I want to go there now." She says, focusing on Mike.

"Cannibals," Charlie said, pressing a palm to his face, "Probably turned into wendigos too, huh?" he added with a short scoff, then he immediately became aware of his skepticism in a world that was now occupied by flesh-eating monsters. Ultimately, he decided that grilling this woman over such a thing wasn't worth it at the moment, "I'll have to take your word for it," if they hadn't found their little home yet, then they were probably safe for the time being.

Mike was his usual genial self, as he'd been when Charlie and Wren happened upon him days ago. Nodding to Wren to take his seat, Charlie remained where he stood, not feeling the urge to rest his feet. "I'm with Mike, going on foot to that town -- in your condition no less -- is suicide," Charlie said, rubbing his chin, "I mean, you could make it on horseback, but..." the man's hard brown eyes resting on the woman. "If I knew why you needed to get there so badly, I could lend mine," curiosity won the day and despite his misgivings about strange people, Charlie knew Wren would never let him hear the end of it if he'd let this woman march off without any help.

Kea sees a saddened frown on the giant's face when she rejects the drink. Mike places the mug on an end table next to the bed. "I'll leave this here if you change your mind." He says, forcing a smile that is soon taken over by a look of concern.



"Good, then you can get out of my shack." The young boy comments coldly.

"Rufus." Mike addresses the boy by name. He shoots him an reproachful look.

"Its what she wants!" Rufus argues.

"Be nice, she's hurt, scared, and a guest in your shack." Mike replies. The young boy crosses his arms and pouts. He glares at Kea when Mike looks away from him.

Wren sits down in the chair. Her eyes fixes on Kea, studying her meticulously like a bacteria under a microscope.

At Charlie's offer, Mike turns his head towards him. "Maybe you can give her a ride?" He looks back to Kea. "You don't look like you're well enough to ride on a horse's back. Why are you in such a hurry to go there? Miss...?"

"Because that's where my friends are." She says, her voice more calm now. "They don't know where I am, they might think I died or they might think worse. I need to find them before they give up on me being found." She says.

"And I ain't gonna be found bein' cooped up here. How did you people not know what was going on in these mountains?" She asks, her tone accusing.

Wren turns her head to look at Charlie in the eye. "If we let her borrow Bitters, are we going too?" The little girl asks quietly. Her voice is almost inaudible to Kea.

Kea notices Mike's eyes widen slightly at the second mention of the cannibals. There is a brief pause.

"We try to stay away from them." Mike answers flatly.

"Are those the bad men that eat people?" Rufus asks.

"Yes. That's them." Mike sighs. "If your friend's out there, maybe we can go find them and tell them-"

"Did you eat people? Are you a can-neh-bal?" Rufus interjects and scowls at Kea. Mike frowns and glances at the boy reproachfully.
This message was last edited by the GM at 20:12, Thu 18 Apr 2019.

"Absolutely not," Charlie said to Wren, "It's too dangerous for you," bad weather, walkers, and now cannibals? There was no way in Hell he'd be letting his niece run into any of that. "It'll just be the woman and me, Mike doesn't need to put himself at risk for a stranger -- I needed to start earning my keep anyhow," his tone had a finality to it, he was set on this course of action.

Then, Mike's reveal had Charlie turning towards him with a sharp glare in his eyes. "You knew about these people? And you didn't tell us?" he said, crossing his arms.