How did the world end? Some Stalkers and other braggarts say they know what happened. That a great plague swept the world and killed everyone. That the bosses of the Old Age fired their weapons of mass destruction at each other and drowned the world in flames. That the gods among the stars, the Ancients’ overlords, had enough of mankind’s hubris and decided to end it all in fire and brimstone. Maybe it’s true, maybe it’s just lies and tall tales. The truth is, no one knows for sure. Except maybe the Elder. And he refuses to talk about it. We learned as children not to ask, he would curse and rave at us every time the subject came up. But I’ve heard him mumble in his sleep. He said that the Ancients ended themselves.
You manage to fall back to the end of the aisle, with Arkod bringing up the rear and swinging his scrap blade with some menace at the shambling horde of Zone-Ghouls.
You turn the corner only to be confronted by another group of Zone-Ghouls in their patchwork clothing, blocking your way out. It looks like you'll have to somehow fight your way through the ghouls until Kwine notices a partially obscured sign on the wall next to you, which reads "E--RGE-CY EX-T ON-Y: Bew--e door is ala-m-d."
Brushing aside encroaching vegetation and other debris, you can see what appears to be a doorway, cracked glass panels covered in grime and tangled in vines and wires.
When Kwine points out the possible exit - "ERGECY EXT ONY", what a strange room - Mart takes a rapid, deep breath, and throws himself against the door with gusto and a labored grunt.
Forcing open that door! RAAAAA! 2 Success, 1 Bane.
Mart shoulders the door with a crash and a metallic screech, forcing the door open far enough to squeeze through and letting in some of the subdued light and rain from outside.
The Zone-Ghouls see that you have a way out and try to reach you before you make it through the gap.
Please can you all make a MOVE skill check.. I'll check the results on the Roll20 sheet and let you know when everyone's rolled. You can of course PUSH if you feel you need to.
"Go, go, go!" The lithe scout moves through the partially opened door. It's a tight fit, and he has to wiggle a bit to make it, but it looks like he'll be able to get through.
Move Check: 1 Success, 0 Bane.
Rule Number 12: "A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head."
Kwine stares at the symbols on the doorway, trying to decipher them for a moment. Em would know. She can read. Of course, she'd be in danger right now. Even aware of the danger, the Gearhead seems to stop for a moment, as if lost in thought. Luckily, he snaps back to reality once he hears the yelling of his comrades, and with some effort, squeezes through the door.
You all make it out by the skin of your teeth, with Arkod being the last to squeeze himself through the doorway.
It may be overcast, but the threat of natural daylight, or open space seems to deter the Zone-Ghouls from pursuing you any further. Their growls and shrieks contained by the great shell of the supermarket building, you all manage to push rubbish and debris in front of the door and keep them at bay.
You are battered, bruised and disheartened, but alive.
Danny breathes a sigh of relief. That was a close one. Those Zone Ghouls are no joke. "Anyone hurt? Arkod, you ok? Got separated there for a couple minutes. Did you see anything that got the ghouls all uppity? Or just had bad luck running into that bunch?"
Rule Number 12: "A soft answer turneth away wrath. Once wrath is looking the other way, shoot it in the head."
Arkod breathes heavily, leaning against the rusted shell of a vehicle parked just by the doorway, vines and small shrubs growing inside what would have been the engine compartment.
"I dunno, there was a big white box at the end of the row. I got to within arms reach of it and they all appeared from nowhere." He growls, poking at a nasty looking gash on his scaled arm.
"What now, pray tell?" Mart asks. He raises his voice to cut through the alarm sounding from inside the supermarket. "Mayhap we could goad them to crowd the exit. Then, pick them off as they come through. Like a choke point, right Kwine?"
I see two options for us, with a third sub-optimal. Maybe the ringing alarm is enough to distract the ghouls while we go around and try to get that box Arkod wants. Option 2 is just quit and return with more resources or people.
Option 3: Mart clearly favors dealing with the ghouls directly right now, but for Kwine and Danny, that requires bullets, and we're low on bullets. If you're fine with Mart & Arkod doing all the work using the chokepoint suggestion, we could try it, unless Arkod/DM advises against it.
Meanwhile, whatever we choose to do, that alarm might draw the attention of monsters and bandits toward the supermarket while it's still on.
