Team Moley wakes up on an outcropping of rocks. Its not clear that the giant mole brought them here, as the ground is unmarked by digging. Nobody remembers even getting here, and both Anitonette and HM are in their most humanoid of forms. Moley does have the 'lowjack' device, its a small rod with a some sort of beeping glow at its top. There is a large button, which he seems to recall instructions of pushing it when they want pickup. Presumable with cargo and/or civilians in tow.

The Forgotten is still unseen, although an outline of his body can be noted in the dirt as he gets up. Mantis, quite visible, also rises to her feet. Once the group has oriented themselves as best they can, they notice a light over the ridge of a nearby hill.

Upon looking, they will see some sort of massive mall complex. A sprawling complex right next to the now defunct highway. Highways are useless, because of massive amount of vegetation which has overgrown the concreate and tarmac. Its seems like a grasslands with just a hint of highway left.

As for the mall itself, it is surrounded by walls made of piled-up cars. Forming a barrier of unworking and wrecked vehicles, the wall manages to get 30'+ feet high in places. The main entry way seems to be some sort reinforced truck, clearly able to drive in order to remove itself from the gate when need be. The sides of said truck have been made into a full steel barrier, no way under and difficult to get above.

Surrounding the entire thing are hordes of infected. People with various dirty and shredded clothes, eyes and mouths glowing with the same red energy that blots out the sky from the Haze. The tumors and obvious signs of infection are there, but its their behavior that is notable. Normally the Beta infected would be driven by hunger and rage, attacking any barrier in their way. More than capable of biting through steel itself with their infectious energy mouths.

Now they just wander. Some seeming lost, or even sad as they bump into each other, growling, and looking for prey that is not visible. They twitch, shudder, and slowly move. The size of the crowd cause them interaction with each other, but they seemingly ignore any contact or motion when they get in each others way.

(OOC-You all have 1 hero point, and can get more by having your complications hinder you, when I give them out due to GM fiat, or when you help or save people. Luck points are separate from this total.)

The Forgotten says quietly, "I'm here." as the group wakes up.  He stays with them as they move close enough to see the hordes of infected and the wall, putting his gauntlet on his left hand, booting up the power-plant and the targeting subprocessor.

He takes a long look around, allowing his perceptions to accelerate and give him ample time for inspection of the infected, and of the fortifications, and reflection on the years he's spent alone, surviving among the infected, and all he's learned about them.


22:32, Today: The Forgotten rolled 35 using 1d20+18.  Investigation (from Well-informed).
This message was last edited by the player at 10:07, Wed 16 Nov 2022.

In reply to The Forgotten (msg # 2):

I wasn't sure if I might understand something more about these Infected, sorry.

In reply to The Forgotten (msg # 4):

OOC-NP. You know as much as most people do about the infected, but information that requires specific details will require research on your part or shared info from other's discoveries. Due to the lack of mass communications that will be difficult. Other information about other subjects will be available via the well-informed feat. However, most of that info relates to before the Haze.

The Forgotten whispers, "Can anyone else get past Infected without being spotted?  Or get us all in?  Moley, how quietly can you make a tunnel?  I can try to get to the top of the wall, or I can probably get into that truck and move it."

HM woke up and rubbed the back of his neck while getting a decent look up ahead. There were so many Infected in the way. Luckily he didn’t normally travel above ground. The Forgotten addressed him with an inquiry of how to proceed. He pointed at the ground. “I can get us 100 feet underground and be able to accurately get us underneath the mall while being able to see everyone above us. This way we can get the lay of the land and gauge how many people there are and where they go. If anyone can turn into a liquid or mist, I can poke a hole into the floor for them to get through and sneak around. Once we figure out where the supplies are, we can try for the grab.”

Antoinette simply stands and spectates while the real people plot and scheme.

Can anyone else get past Infected without being spotted? "Without being spotted, no," Antoinette says matter-of-factly. The unspoken implication is that they could get in with being spotted, but because that was not what they were asked they do not elaborate.

The Forgotten says, "A tunnel sounds amazing.  But perhaps once we get in we should sneak around and investigate to find out what they've done to the infected, before we take the supplies?"

The infected move about, growling with low voices. Something seems to change among them, some swatting at their own heads. As if an insect was bothering them, but no bug can be detected. The effect seems to spread among their numbers. However, the infected themselves do not react other than being slightly more unsettled.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:58, Fri 25 Nov 2022.

HM sees the change in behavior and motions for the group to retreat. “We may have been spotted by the Infected or the individuals who have been pacifying them. Let’s get back until we can’t see them anymore then proceed with atypical movement forward. That way we can see what happens next from a more hidden position.”HM starts walking directly away from the Infected until the group is out of sight.

Antoinette watches the infected crowd a moment longer. "One of Mistress' puppets is with the infected..." they say softly just as Moley begins to walk away. "Iris told me to take care of them. I could not protect them all. I have to... 'take care' of her." They take a few cautious steps toward the infected, then hesitate as their standing orders conflict with the impossibility of the task in front of them.

HM stopped as she started going forward and heard the plea in her tone. “If we can figure out how they are pacifying the infected, maybe we can go back for her. Or at least I can snatch her up like a land shark and drag her down to you to finish. But now is not the time.”

The Forgotten tries a different tack.  "Antoinette, you are not responsible for her puppets.  Like you, they are executing orders independently.  If it was told to join the infected, would your interference be welcome?  Taking care of, in this instance, means leaving alone.  We need you with us, please."

He approaches Moley and rests his hand on his companion's elbow.  "Moley, I am here, whenever you're ready to get us underground."

HM nodded and gave a running start before diving at the ground transforming in mid air into his giant mole form with long claws tearing through the earth like butter. A twenty foot wide tunnel quickly formed. Once he was 60 feet in, the lights on his suit turned on illuminating the tunnel for the others to see as well. Once everyone was inside, he collapsed the entrance leaving only a few small  holes for venting in fresh air.

Antoinette narrows their eyes at the invisible man's suggestion. "Impossible. Mistress is a goddess of beauty and purity. She would never surrender her possessions to such- such ugliness." They clench their dainty little hands into fists, provoking a creaking of protest from their rubber skin. Slowly, they release the tension again. "Holey Moley. I will put this mission first, for now. But I will not return to the Molehill so long as that perversion draws breath."

Ultimatum so delivered she turns and falls into obedient lockstep behind the mole as he diggy diggy holes.

"I could try," Mantis says simply. Her face is expressionless beneath the mask as she watches, her head tilted slightly, perhaps in curiosity...or predatory evaluation. "Stealth is a primary hunting tactic for the mantidae family." She stands perfectly still, watching. Waiting.

When the team presents an alternative plan, she simply turns away from the sight of the infected and follows. This is a team effort—strange as that seems to a solitary predator's instincts—and she will follow the plan. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she realizes the necessity of it, the practicality. A coordinated effort is much more likely to succeed by incorporating more possible data points.

To that end, Mantis follows the others into the tunnel that Holy Moley dug, staying near the rear to keep observant, moving slowly and cautiously. After a short distance she leaps up, silently, crouching against the tunnel ceiling and crawling after the others.

The Forgotten stays close to Moley, tapping him to let him know he's entered the tunnel.  "I'm here.  Now what?  Can you see out, or can you let us all see out?"

HM responded in a deeper gravely voice than normal. “I can accurately tell distance, direction, and time while underground. My claws are so sensitive to vibrations that I can ‘see’ past all obstructions clearly within one hundred feet. I can see past that, but the clarity becomes less. The idea is to make rounds underneath the complex to see how many there are, where they are, and their patrol routes. I should be able to also see where the supplies are. Then we can plan our acquiring of the resources.”

Team Moley burrows under the earth, out of sight of the horde of infected and everybody else. Aside from the dim lights projected by Moley's suit, the thin air is quite obvious to everybody but the giant mole and his life support gear. Not to mention it often feels like one is being buried alive. Not to a mole of course...

Moley himself is able to detect the nearby infected, the structure of the walls and building, and even able to now sense the many people on said walls. Clearly they where watching and observing everything that had gone on. However, the information is delivered by Moley's extended sense touch via the ground and air. As a result this data lacks certain info that could be only conveyed via sight.

What sense is trigged is Moley's hyper acute sense of personal danger...which is now going off like an alarm in his head!

(OOC-Moley, Perception roll for danger sense! Also, what sense group is the danger sense attached to?)

HM had taken a moment to dig his claws into the sides of the tunnel and closing his eyes feeling what lurked around them mainly above trying to get a lay of the land of the mall and it’s inhabitants. Suddenly, his claws sensed a sudden shift and pressure coming their way! “Danger incoming!”

11:09, Today: Holey Moley rolled 21 using 1d20+14.  Danger Sense perception .

Rolled three degrees of success. Danger sense is tied to his extended tactile sense

In reply to Holey Moley (msg # 21):

Sure enough, the warning is vital. While Moley is still a distance from the mall itself, as he only moves about 30 mph through normal soil, and half that through hardened rock. As a result, he is still under the infected as he is moving.

What happens is the earth over you suddenly opens up, as if blasted away. Mantis can detect a sonic wave liquifying the earth, and can tell its coming from the wall around the mall. While the team is not threatened by falling rock, as most of it seems to be reduced to a slight mud rain, the infected are leaping down. Regardless of any damage they may take from the fall. Making a much worse rain than just mud indeed...

(OOC-No surprise round thanks to Moley! Initiative everybody!)

The Forgotten sees the hole open up above them in slow motion, dirt melting away, as the dangerous bodies of infected start to leap down toward them.  He presses his body against the edge of the hole, hoping to stay out of the way of the falling Infected, and knowing it won't be enough, all he can do is raise his gauntlet.  He tries to predict which Infected will land nearest Moley, as he seems like their only way out of this situation, and sends five lines of fire lancing out at the infected falling towards him.

He becomes visible, then, though looking a little blurry - a tall, skinny young man in a rumpled suit, with a large shiny gauntlet on his hand, looking very alarmed and out-of-sorts.



18:53, Today: The Forgotten rolled 34 using 1d20+18 with rolls of 16.  Luck Point reroll on Tech Roll.

14:27, Yesterday: The Forgotten, rolled 23 using 1d20+18 with rolls of 5.  Tech roll.

13:11, Today: The Forgotten rolled 54 using 5d20 ((11,12,8,13,10)).

Sorry, forgot to click "record each die", but above was from the roll.

12, 13, 9, 14, 11, after attack bonus and penalty for splitting targets.  10 fire damage for each hit.
 
This message was last edited by the player at 16:39, Mon 28 Nov 2022.

OOC:
Initiative Order-

1-Forgotten

2-Infected Horde

3-Mantis

4-Antoniette

5-Holey Moley.


The Horde drops down, screaming as they come. While normally agile and fast, they do present easier targets when just dropping on their prey. As a result, the Forgotten's heat beams only manage to score hits on two of them. Two of them burst into flames and fall still by Moley's large clawed feet.

Others drop with a loud thud, and sometimes the crack of breaking bone. Despite the damage usually done to a human body by a 30 foot drop, Some of them spring to their feet. The others try to rise, but broken legs make it difficult.

Despite that, each member of the team gets roughly one attack on each of them. The Forgotten only gets bit because one of the creatures just fell on him by accident. Antoinette shrugs off her attackers without getting a glowing red mouth on her. Mantis nimbly dodges and blocks. Moley, the biggest target, finds one of the creatures gnawing away between his clawed toes.

OOC-Forgotten and Moley hit. Forgotten is visible for making an attack.
Any hit must make a DC 20 toughness save vs the injury. If you make it, you are fine. If you fail, then in addition to the normal damage(Depending on how bad you roll), you also have the 'INFECTED' status. As you will not be dead, you wont transform into an Omega infected. However, given enough time you may die and transform into one of the infected. Unless you take an injury from a heat source from the bite, the sooner the better.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:37, Mon 28 Nov 2022.