JUNE EVENT LOG

[monstertruckers]

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Eventually, gravity behaves normally as the Convoy reaches a new region. Rivers crisscross this area, carving paths through hills and valleys alike. The vegetation has come back in earnest, after being thinned out by the thorn scrub and ragged brush. Now green grass and flowers are thick on the hills, along with scattered trees. The weather begins to cloud over, with dour skies and rain being a constant. The moon and sun alike are often smothered by clouds, making for gloomy and moody scenery in turns.

01: GAS STATION GALLOWS

Surprisingly, there’s another gas station so soon, right where the river bends. With sheets of rain coming down and the sky growing dark, it looks like the safest spot… At least until the Convoy comes in close. Bodies hang from the roof of the gas station, like macabre puppets on strings and nooses. They have long since turned to Husks with hints of transformations poking through. A message has been spray painted on the ground: “PURGE.” Under the message is a symbol of a sword piercing the moon, and a name: “Steel Wardens.”

The Convoy tries start the speakers, like in the grasslands… But something is wrong. Last month’s attacks took a heavy toll on the Convoy. Instead, the phones of various Drifters start playing the melody. A crackling transmission comes in:
“Sorry… Gotta ask this of you. Only way to help these poor bastards on their way. In return… Try to answer your questions-”

The radio cuts out after that. But if Drifters choose, they can send out a message after sending a Husk on their way. The radio will try to answer, though reception is still patchy and responses are short.

02: BROKEN SHIELD

As the Convoy tries to settle down for an evening, something goes wrong. The shield flickers in and out, before popping like a soap bubble. While most of the local Husks have been exorcised thanks to fellow Drifters, it’s still a tense couple of nights.

And without the shield, the effects of the moon becomes more vivid. Some nights the storm clouds help mask the moon and dampen the call… But other nights it can break through the gloom and shine harshly on the Convoy. Drifters may find themselves spending sleepless nights wandering the Convoy perimeter… Or maybe wandering out into the wilds. Where there’s still no shortage of other monsters prowling around, and waiting to pounce on any fresh meat. A few of them may even try raiding the Convoy now that the shield is down. Some Drifters may opt to form watches during the night, or try to find some form of fitful sleep. After several nights of this, the Convoy itself seems to have had enough, with how the screens flare up one morning to show a map and repeat a message:

“Scan complete. Field Generator components found nearby. Request immediate retrieval and installation.”

03: POWER PLANT APPROACH

The structure in question lays in the middle of a lake, fed by several rivers. It looks like some form of old water-fed power plant, with broken wheels still turning. Approaching the power plant is possible through either precarious and half rusted bridges (travel on foot is advised!) or through fording the water. Though that carries its own risk. (See Prompt 4: Don’t Drown.)

Approach on the bridges is a risky matter. The metal looks ready to fall apart if too much weight is placed on it. Hopefully Drifters approaching this way are light footed, or have some means of rescue if the floor breaks underneath them.

The power plant also has its own defenses in the form of floating puffer fish flying above the lake, and strange elongated diving monsters swimming the depths. The Blugu attack with needles and sleep bubbles, trying to knock any Drifters of bridges into the waters below for the Divers.

03-A: POWER PLANT EXPLORATION

The Convoy reports say that the generator is in several components that different groups of Drifters need to find in the old building. Be warned that there’s flooding in parts of the hallways, the deeper one goes. And the water might still very well have some weird, transformative properties! If it doesn’t, there are still partially submerged hallways that reflect Drifters anxieties, regrets, and insecurities back on them. But with searching, Drifters can find generator components in the following rooms:
Boiler Room, where an old machine still shoots out super hot steam that can easily burn and scald.
Bone Room, which clearly isn’t part of the old workings, but something has co-opted this room and turned it into a collection of bones. Bones from monsters, metal bones from husks… All of them carrying sharp edges.
Cold Room, where repeated Moon Warps have turned this room into a freezer. At least the component isn’t damaged, and just needs to be chipped out of the ice?
Electric Room, which has gone a bit haywire, with stray bolts of electricity criss-crossing the room. The component lays in the center, but to reach it the electricity must be dodged or redirected.

03-B: POWER PLANT INSTALLATION

Jars:There is one more room taking up a chunk of the ruins. It is filled with jars that reach from floor to ceiling… And those jars have people in them. Or the remains of people. They’re overgrown by vines and plantlife, turned to Husks, and their heads are broken and cut open. Drifters likely have a good guess on where those brain monsters from last month came from.

Next to the jars is a monitor with a brief message: “Contact lost with----. Engaging emergency sleep procedures. We may never wake, but we need to try.” There’s a handful of people still intact in their jars… But getting too close to them trips an alarm system. Chromehounds, lasers, the works all turn on to try and drive Drifters away from the room!

Installation:Thankfully, returning to the Convoy and installing the generator pieces is easy enough. They fit together easily, almost magnetically. Anyone with a degree of tech savviness can aid in the effort, and a compartment in the Convoy opens up to help install the generator.

After this, the shield finally hums to life, and nights become a lot more peaceful.

04: DON'T DROWN

There’s a river that snakes through the landscape. It turns blood red during sunsets, glows with starlight at night, and is an almost hypnotic blue during the day. Once or twice, the Convoy crosses over it on long bridges. And it eventually empties into a massive lake with the abandoned powerplant in the center.

If someone chooses to ford the river or take a dip in it, something more unnerving happens. The waters go still and reflect the Drifter, no matter how much splashing is done. The deeper anyone goes, the more the reflection grows; most of the time, the reflection is some aspect a Drifter would sooner keep hidden. The river might even replay an image of something they regret.

If a Drifter gets up to their chest in the water, their reflection snaps into a monstrous form, and something pulls them underwater. When they emerge they are completely changed. This effect lasts the entire month before wearing off in dryer climates: the only way to cut it short is to take Salve from the thorn scrub, or gamble with the hospital medicines.

05: MONSTER SHIFT, MERFOLK

The waters of this area have one last twist; submerging imparts Merfolk traits. On top of all Merfolk traits the following is also available this month:
+Double Drowning: Merfolk with the compulsion to drown other creatures can find some very tempting targets along the river banks; horse-like creatures lingering near the waters. But upon contact with the creatures, it becomes clear that not only are they life-like machines, they rapidly disassemble into weighted nets. Or they just explode into shrapnel; either option can spell trouble for the Merfolk!
+Current Thrall: whenever the sun sets, the river currents change to something more chaotic and twisted, uncertain which way to flow. This lasts until moonrise, when they settle on flowing the opposite way. But it will be up to Merfolk to shape water or survive the twisting currents until then.
+Illuminating Light: Bioluminescence can light up the bottom of lakes and rivers, revealing the remains of Husks and almost prophetic writing carved into stone.
+Not So Dry Land: Merfolk pulled onto dry land can shape water into containers and spheres to keep them hydrated… And with some focus and practice, even give themselves a way to surf across land!
+Bigger Fish: The lakes and rivers hold their share of monsters besides the Merfolk. Some, like Mizutsune and packs of Forneus and Divers, see Merfolk as viable prey, and appetizing to boot.

06: DROWNED SONG

The power plant shifts the further it sinks into the depths. Waters flood the lower levels, and transform the structure; industrial concrete and tunnels are replaced by ornate columns and a spacious ball room, along with an opulent stage.

And almost all of it is submerged in transforming waters. Only merfolk (or those sharing a Merfolk’s kiss) have a chance of surviving this area. Flood waters can easily sweep Drifters down into the depths. There’s even stray rivers that feed into the underwater opera from the outside.

A silent leviathan traces through the ruins, serpentine and whale like. It has no interest in the Drifters unless they float too close to its mouth and appear as snacks… But its wake generates strange whirlpools that can bash and bruise, and keeps everyone trapped in the opera house. Bubbles rise up from the floor or swirl in the whirlpools, and provide flashes of vision: a finned priestess meditating on the moon and then sinking into the depths. Said bubbles also release soft melodies of song; beware of potentially singing along, which can draw attention from the drowned machines.

06-A: SONIC CRY

An array of ornate dish shaped machines catch all sound and magnify it… And track the leviathan as it moves through the opera house, always angled on the monster. As the machines collect more sound, they echo it back in damaging soundwaves that sound like a requiem or a dirge.

The sound in turn is distorted into words that match the bubble visions:
“Offer your songs and voice to the moon… She can transform them into power, greater than anything the Wardens could ever give. Even as the old audience fears you, the moon will always listen… Such monsters are a poison. To the water. The land. The very air. They are a blight upon our world that pollute everything. We will always find new and better ways to cull, as long as they come back.”

Anything caught up in those sound waves can feel pressure and pain in their bodies, but that’s just a side effect of the crossfire. The machines are focused on the leviathan, and bringing it down now that they have ammunition. It’s all enough to seriously damage or outright kill the leviathan depending on how much noise Drifters make, or how much song is pulled out of them by the currents and the bubbles.

MICRO ENCOUNTERS:

PLEASE NOTE! These are small bits of set dressing for players to include in threads if they wish, rather than full fledged prompts or events. You may handwave your exploration of these areas, or thread them out.

Boat Salvage: There’s a large amount of abandoned boats on the river, some beached and some drifting free in the rivers. It’s possible to salvage equipment or supplies from them… Just make sure you know how to swim, in case you fall overboard.

Gone Fishing Part 2: Much like the marshes in the forests, there’s spots for fishing here as well! Please remain careful with submerging in the water, as the transformed fish are still willing to bite back.

Flooding: One aspect of the river lands, especially with the waters and rains, is the roads flooding over. Some can be crossed with risk, others require routing around. Or a bit of creative bridge building.

Rain: Storms are a constant in the river lands, ranging between fog and mist, to complete downpours, and thunderstorms! It can make for somber moods, with occasional breaks of sunlight or moonlight.


NAVIGATION

Comments

[phantomshow]

[His worst? Wow, Akechi.]

Thanks for the vote of confidence, [he says, with a light chuckle. There’s no offense taken, though. Ren knows by now this is just how Akechi is, and he wouldn’t have him any other way.

Ren carefully pushes himself entirely up to sitting, but he doesn’t immediately lean in to complete the kiss. He allows himself a moment to just look at Akechi, take in every detail up close. The way the sunlight flashes on his feathers. The way his eyes are still sharply perceptive, missing nothing, seeing right through to Ren’s own heart.

It’s equal parts thrilling and terrifying to be perceived so thoroughly. Ren cultivated so much of who he was to the outside world during the past year to seem average, plain, unmemorable, yet Akechi saw him anyway. Saw through him, just as Ren did with Akechi in turn.

It truly hits him then - he almost died just now. Not in the way he almost died as a Phantom Thief at Akechi’s hands, not in the way any of the perils of the Metaverse could’ve snuffed out the flame he carries within himself - a mundane death. Drowning. It’s such an ordinary way to die it feels both unreal and hyper-real at the same time, and Ren shivers. He would’ve never had this moment, this kiss or the one before, and his breath stutters as this awful truth sets in.

Akechi too nearly died, twice, in front of Ren’s eyes. It’s a miracle he survived all the forces that sought to destroy him - Yaldabaoth, Maruki, the Metaverse, their society, his own horrible father. It’s a miracle that he is this close to Ren, warm and breathing and alive.

Ren’s heart beats so hard as all of these thoughts race through his mind he thinks it may rip itself out of his ribcage by sheer independent force. It’s almost too much to bear, but he wishes to never stop feeling so intoxicated with pure elation.]

I love you so much, [he murmurs, stupidly at a loss for any other words. He can’t make a silly joke to ease the tension when everything he feels in this moment is so painfully real.


He leans in finally and presses his lips to the corner of Akechi’s mouth, soft and reverent. His hand comes to rest over Akechi’s heart, as if to remind them both that he’s really alive.

Once again, Ren remains silent when the kiss ends and he slowly pulls back, and this time, he’s unable to immediately meet Akechi’s eyes. It doesn’t matter if he’s speechless and thus lost the played-at challenge for a second time. As far as Ren is concerned, they’re both winning now, in the only ways that matter.]

[undyingcrow]

"Hmm... If I were more versed in video games, I'd question if this is akin to one of those dungeons in 3D adventure games." Alas, he never got the luxury to enjoy such things when he was young.

Either way, his eyes scan each steaming spot. No pattern, but Donnie's words do offer some solace.

"Well. I suppose we simply wait for the steam to cease, then move into the safe spots."

[purplexing]

"The potential is there, however there'd usually be some sort of trick to either bypass this all if not some repetition that would be recognized."

Donnie sighs, but at this point it's not like he's figured anything to be so simple.

"Sounds about right. Keep your ears open for any signs of something about to leak, and eyes peeled for any spots on the catwalk that might suggest things more of a tendency for steam to hit there than others."

With that, he mounts the creaky steps leading up onto the catwalk itself.

[facethefacts]

Deacon stands at the entrance, arms folded for a moment, exhaling slowly. It's hard to think when everything is going so terribly wrong today. There's a moment of hesitation, but Deacon sighs and moves forward, flickering through the steam until it seems he's part of it. It's strange and natural, and he doesn't really realize it's happening since he is so focused on just getting the job done.

When he solidifies next to the machine, he begins to peel the wet shirt from his back. It's fine. Danse has worn less clothing for the entirety of the day, but it does reveal a number of scars left from the weapons Danse would have seen in those memories, as well as a ginger happy trail. It isn't that the other man should need these at confirmation that Deacon was indeed the man in those visions, but this makes it clear as day.

He carefully drapes the wet shirt over the places he'll need to grasp, which causes the metal to hiss as it's slightly cooled, although he has to work quickly, since the shirt won't provide much protection for long.

"Do you think it'll break if I muscle it?" he shouts over the hiss of steam.

[solitarysoul]

Levi violently flinches away from the touch, stepping back and tensing like he expects combat. He doesn't strike back, though, and just peers at Serph for a moment as he tries to slow his breathing.

His eyes are wide and his shakes his head, scratching idly at the inside of an elbow. Its been a few months since he's had a chance to shoot up, but the track marks are still visible.

"N-n-no. No. I-I think we should leave."

The boat doesn't matter, he needs to get away from the water before the battle progresses much further. Already a few of his squad have fallen.

[undyingcrow]

"So it would seem." Careful with his talons, Akechi moves to help tug the part free. "Let's hope the halls aren't too flooded on the way out..."

[solitarysoul]

Oh...I guess that makes sense.

[He processes "company" as a combat unit but leaving one and not keeping the armor made perfect sense in that context too.

Levi's reflection lacks any armor, aside from a helmet, but it is clad in military fatigues as it crouches in a clock tower, tracking something through the scope of his rifle.]

...I guess it figures that even the water is fucked up here.

[solitarysoul]

"Alright. Not sure its even worth it but we might as well." He dives back underwater and heads off further down the hallway.

[purplexing]

It'd be pretty dismal a trip if they turned up empty-handed, but there had to be something around here...

Donnie watches Levi vanish beneath the water before he sucks in a breath and plunges after, back into the darkness below the surface.

[facethefacts]

[ Deacon follows, keeping his distance. If anything is to come back, he wants to make sure he's at range to take it down, and the more range he has, the better.

He looks deflated as SecUnit says he doesn't need to eat. ]

...what was the point, then??

[undyingcrow]

[There he goes again. Ren... declaring his love.

Akechi freezes up when Ren leans in close, when he murmurs. He doesn't push back. He doesn't flinch, but he's still. Almost like a deer in headlights.

Is this... actually acceptable, for someone like him? To indulge himself, without question?

A weak snort of laughter slips out, despite himself.]

How... soft. Though, I suppose it suits you.

[undyingcrow]

Well, sushi is typically eaten raw, but proper preparations make it safe enough to eat. Obviously, cleanliness is key.

[Though, really, does it matter as much with their changes? Akechi's certainly had his share of raw meat since his transformation advanced.]

[androidvictoriam]

If asked later, Danse can say truthfully that he was already openly staring. He doesn't know how much of the way Deacon seems to disappear into the fog is an illusion and how much is tangibly happening, but he realizes now that whatever is going on with the periodic invisibility and the impossible-to-define blurriness and everything in between is only going to get stranger from here on out. He's starting to feel grateful that the weirdest thing he usually has to deal with himself is a tail that sometimes wags of its own accord.

But with his gaze already lingering on Deacon and trying to focus, the details under that shirt are too hard to ignore. He didn't need the confirmation, no, and he's versed enough in different kinds of weaponry to have been able to visualize which of those blows must have scarred and how, but it still makes him wince to see the old knifework, the slashes from that deathclaw gauntlet. It would feel downright disrespectful to take note of anything else. This does not stop his brain from doing it anyway, but he'll feel guilty about it all the same.

The question snaps him out of that, and he looks back at the machine, thinking of similar fixtures on the Prydwen for lack of a better comparison and drawing on his tinkering experience. "No," he calls back, "I think you're gonna have to."

However suited Deacon might be to muscling things. More so than Danse would have thought, apparently.

[androidvictoriam]

[ Danse had had far more personal investment than most in the idea of a super mutant's condition being completely irreversible, and the rivers around here have been taunting him for days with images of exactly why he'd needed to believe that. He'll never be more than thinly, resentfully capable of tolerating Brian Virgil's existence, convinced every time he thinks of the man that the cure he invented should have gone to someone like Cutler instead, and knowing that he himself is the reason Cutler never got the chance to see it made possible.

But Nora has the bigger picture here, and Danse sees no point in starting an argument about a guy who's not even on the same planet as they are anymore. ]

I don't know, but I'd sure rather be safe than sorry. And I could just keep bunking in the sleeping car to avoid it, but everyone else here is so young it feels like sharing barracks with the squires.

[ A normal person would probably have made some kind of analogy to giggly teenage sleepovers. Danse is not that person. He takes the duct tape with gratitude. ]

Provided this works, you can use it too if you help. It would be nice to have a less monster-infested body of water to relax in.

[phantomshow]

Is that OK?

[Akechi isn’t brittle and he doesn’t need to be handled with kid gloves. That’s not why Ren chooses to be soft with him, and Ren really hopes that’s not how Akechi perceives it.]

I could punch you if it’d make you feel better.

[He flashes the other teen a crooked grin, deeply unserious about adding violence into the mix. As much as he hopes Akechi might enjoy soft touch for the fact that he hasn’t had much of it, that’s what Ren likes, too. He has a soft heart, after all, and he’d only been half-joking when he told the twins he was “lovey-dovey.” Besides, he and Akechi have already spent so much time showing each other violence - isn’t it time to try something else?]

[guidemyway]

[Ruby shifts slightly at the question. That... Was a bit of an awkward topic at the moment.]

So. One of the gods did end up coming back briefly and brought him back. He's kind of tasked with finding a way to bringing people back into God's good graces, but more complicated than that.

He managed to get himself into a bit of a forever war with the former love of his life.

And... He kind of dumped that whole thing on me and my friends when we found out about it.

[guidemyway]

[Ruby shifts and considers their options and the way Blake stifles that sigh.]

That's kind of my thoughts on it.

But- As a compromise- And I think we'll both sleep better at night with this. I can experiment with a few and see how workable they are. And then we can save the rest and only use it as an actual last resort.

[guidemyway]

It's literally the silverware.

You kind of get two and hit them against things and it's makes a little jingly noise.

Lots of things can be instruments if you get creative.

[warneverchanged]

Don't want to go back to your pre-power armor days? [She chuckles.] Nate told me about his time at basic... this being pre war, of course. [She hums for a moment.]

Sounds like it's time to keep an eye out for camping gear... or things to be made into camping gear. [Sorry, this is just how her brain works anymore. Settlements, everywhere, all the time.]

I would appreciate that. I was not a fan of some of those creatures.

[facethefacts]

He may be lean, but tilling soil is hard work; Deacon's body is functionally muscular from life spent on a farm before it was spent on the run, and he needs to stay in shape even if his goal is usually to stay long-range. He grips around the pipes and grits his teeth, a groan sounding from him as he starts to twist at it. It's not budging easily, but he's not giving up.

Adrenaline helps. The sooner this is done, the sooner they can all go home. He's adjusting his grip and twisting again, the vein in his forehead looking like it's about to explode, but the pipes finally give with a groan of their own and Deacon laughs, a tired and triumphant sound as he scrapes the bottom of the barrel for energy to work it the rest of the way off.

Of course he'll need to be careful when removing it, lest a blast of steam melt him to goo, so he waits for a moment, catching his breath and strategizing.

"Alright, pal, you're up--" he shouts to Danse, "You've got the physique of a man who can catch a ball in the end zone and score a touchdown or whatever. Time to see if you've got the skill to match. Ready?"

If and when Danse confirms or appears ready, that's when Deacon takes a big step back and kicks the part free from the pipes in the other man's direction, the leather boots he's worn for the job today protecting him from the steam it spits as it breaks free.

[definitionofcrazy]

[She hadn't even paid attention to the music coming from the old cell phone in her pocket, but it was now the only thing she had to concentrate on as she worked.

It felt very unsettling otherwise. Just the sawing of nooses, the gentle shuffle and impact of bodies falling and being caught and lowered to the ground, no words, just the unsettling work. Even the creepy husk-pacifying music was an improvement over that.

Once they're done, she nods up at him.]

You think these guys are good with, like, a viking funeral? 'Cuz if we're burying 'em, we're gonna be here all day, even if we do find shovels.

[Is burning people a viking funeral? Or was that the one with the boat? Yeah, turns out she's really not good with the history stuff, her knowledge here comes entirely from TV.]

[definitionofcrazy]

The abrupt eruption of water that carries her to the surface catches her off-guard, but she doesn't fight it. She does, however, reflexively draw a breath she doesn't actually need as soon as she breaks the surface, scrambling toward the edge of the water so she can grab it and hold herself up.

"Thanks for the assist. God, swimming blows when you're a corpse."

She shakes her head to try and throw some of the water off her face and whip her damp hair out of her eyes.

[propatriamori]

[It's Edward's weird new superpower: being painfully aware of his own vulnerability makes it easier to pick out other people's weak spots. What a fun and not at all disconcerting new thing to dwell on!]

That would be a challenge, wouldn't it? Accommodating wings in an armour design.

[Edward drums his fingers on his knees for a moment as he thinks.]

The range of motion on the wings would need to be accounted for, as well as if they needed any protection themselves.

[propatriamori]

[Edward isn't picking up on any reluctance to talk about her family or the farm; he's too focused on his new independence.]

Ah, you came from a farming family? What kind of crops did you grow?

[He shakes his head at her question.]

No, it was just my brother and I. He was two years younger, and always dogging at my footsteps. When we were children, we were inseparable.

[His mood shifts as he talks about his brother, growing more somber.]

He was so jealous when I enlisted. He couldn't, you see... he had a bad case of scarlet fever as a child, and it damaged his heart. Not enough to affect his daily life, but enough to keep him out of the army.

He never forgave me for leaving him behind.

[serialmurderbot]

[(Okay, it was a little funny. It cant exactly deny having the same kind of sense of humor, either. It just doesn't actually laugh at things.)

And there's work to do, which it turns to almost immediately, metaphorically speaking. If it had Feed access, if Edward had some himself, it could send him over a map and summary, so it wouldn't have to explain all this. As it is, it converts the data from coordinates and gives the report verbally.]

One hundred meters. There's a high volume of moving water spread across the area, so potential dangers include sinkholes, currents, and aquatic fauna. Minimal structures so far, though there's one in the distance and abandoned boats along the waterways.

It's easy to get separated during travel here.