Tempora Mutantur

UPDATE 18-DEC-10: Congratulations – you now have a working ATV! (See comments, below the jump.)

Well… almost working – it’s still out of gas.

While travelling through a narrow pass you are startled by angry hoots and yells from above. Peering to the cliffs skyward, you see the silhouette of a humanoid creature. He is crouching behind a large rock and armed with a crude spear. He points at you and yells.

Mariah instinctively gets a rock ready to throw. Steckel scrambles for his slingshot and then yells, “Stop and you won’t be harmed!”

Roxx and Jack stand at the ready – Jack is holding his bow, an arrow nocked.
Continue reading →

By dawn, the storm has passed. You climb atop the building to survey the surroundings; Torrington is now dusted with fallout, but the radioactivity seems to have decayed to safe levels. The morning sky is an unnatural pink, and you suddenly feel like a refugee, alone and lost on the surface of a strange new world…

“Let’s get back to Crestone and see if can use any of these parts we found to fix that vehicle,” Steckel declares as everyone surveys the fallout.

“That’s fine by me. We really need to keep on the lookout for these storms, that was close.” Mariah coughs lightly.
Continue reading →

(Apologies in advance for the long post. The dice decreed a lot today…)

Charlie Roxx was on last watch before morning, and had a long time to think. “We should go back and grab scraps from the truck in Crestone.” he declares. “We’d be heroes if we took them back to Tau.”

Steckel’s thoughts were also on the unfinished vehicle. “You know, if we find the right parts, I can get that thing running. This place seems to be less run-down than Crestone, I bet we can find what I need.”

Mariah grunts. “So let’s get this straight – you spend a few days on the surface and now you’re some kind of expert on Ancient machinery? Give me a break!”

Steckel slyly replies: “Well Mariah, I have many talents you are unaware of, some which you might not be able to appreciate, some that you definitely would!”

Either ignoring or missing the innuendo, Mariah speaks: “Well, we’re here, might as well try to find what we can. That’s our mandate.”

Jack nods, content with this suggestion from his comrades. “Let’s see what we can find here…”
Continue reading →

You lose line-of-sight as the surviving giant ant disappears behind some rocks. Damn; that thing is quick!

Mariah and Steckel are both injured, but you are loathe to remain here for long. “You know, we’d better get a move on. Those things might bring reinforcements.” Steckel pulls a strip of his carpet robe up, trying to cover more of his neck.

Silent Jack and Charlie Roxx both agree; they wish to press on and rest later. (Jack remembers to reclaim his knife that was embedded in the ant corpse.)

Mariah nods as she tries to patch up her arm. “Yeah, but we need to take a proper break sometime soon. I say we make camp once we find a decent place.”
Continue reading →

You scramble down the steep embankment towards the highway, and do not spot the trio of giant insects below! Crimson chitin protects the enormous man-sized ants, and the gleam in their multifaceted eyes hint at an alien intelligence. One is larger than the others, and its jaws click ominously as it shuffles towards you…

Continue reading →