Capitulus Quartus: Deadtown

[jigglypuff69]

Solaria lets the men go first, hanging back just enough with the others as they walk out. She quickly whispers, "Watch each other's backs. This is going to be ugly..."

Checking the load on her Spectre, the Arbite is ready to get this done. And spend the winnings on some more shopping sprees!

[Grimbold]

Haxtes follows Solaria and Xanthia, his mechadendrite eye darting about and keeping an "eye" on their back.

[Vardaen]

Vymer and Quill follow the lead of the local scout they hired to take you all to the bounty. The two men are silent on the trip, they have checked their own weapons a few times and are as ready as can be. The trip is tense, a wandering circle about down and out into the areas on the edge of town on the far side. The cliffs that rise up from Deadtown on the western side eventually become carved outerwalls of the House of Dust and Ash, and at various spots large sealed pipes jut out from the walls or the cliff. Some of the pipes are as wide as a Lighter, others are no bigger than you hand. They are set at various heights some a half mile over you, others right at ground level. You pass a few that have buildings built over or right up to them. Others are broken open and have long been explored and exploited. It is a local pastime to travel into the tubes and such into the vaults of the House of Dust and Ash to loot the dead. Some of the tunnels lead to massive underground mazes and complexes that even the Mourners who run the place don't know about any more. These are the places that make good hideouts for criminals like you are tracking now.

After thirty minutes of travel your guide points up ahead, there is a broken open tube sticking out off the wall about ten feet up in the air. "He went in there. He ain't come out yet."

Vymer looks at the three of you, "Ready?" He draws out a grapnel gun with line that he plans to shoot into the side of the cliff giving you a rope to climb to get into the raised pipe.

[jigglypuff69]

Solaria look at the man, then up again. "Just like shooting the pipes in the Sumps...", she says in a rare moment that belies her Hive-World heritage. "I'm set whenever you are. Toss it up there and let's see what the scenery is like."

[Grimbold]

Haxtes nods. He will cover the group's back and insist on having Vymer and Quill go in before him.

[Vardaen]

Vymer points and fires, the gun shoots a metal grapnel into the pipe, he tugs and it holds. Then up the knotted wire goes the group. One by one you climb the rope, some have more trouble than others, but with everyone helping you are there. You also find a rope ladder once you reach the pipe and are able to toss that over to get Haxtes up there.

Vymer leads, "This way." The scout that brought you here remains down on the ground and doesn't join you in the pipe. You pip your way through the pip for about half a mile, there are a few smaller pipes that join up, they leak fluids or are grated up or are simply too small to be of interest. You head into the pipe standing in single file and upright. You spot a light up head flickering in the darkness. Vymer cocks his hand canon and flips off the safety.

[Grimbold]

Display

Did he say anything about catching him alive? If he did not say anything, Haxtes will just quickly whisper: "Dead or alive?" Anyway, he needs to know before the fight starts.

Haxtes readies his lasgun and looks around with his optical dendrite.

Display

Can he see anything special? Night Vision, Telescopic Sight, +20 on vision perception tests in darkness and Hax has the Heightened Senses: Sight Talent.

[Vardaen]

Vymer hears the whisper, "Dead. A person like this shouldn't be allowed to live. And it will be safer to transport a corpse than a prisoner." He motions up ahead, checks his weapons and moves out.

Haxtes scanning the darkness of the pipe can catch strange readings of alloys used in the construction of the pipe, he can see cracks and faults in it failing structure, and pin points a few week spots, he can also tell they are ancient in age, dating back a millennium or more, but beyond that, for now he doesn't detect anything about the fight to come.

[jigglypuff69]

Solaria keeps sharp. She's not too worried about taking safties off just yet. Her training has given her lightning reflexes when it comes to guns, as her slung rifle proves. Her eyes pierce the darkness, the photo-contacts easily seeing down the pipe a ways. "How many gun is this guy gong to have with him?", she whispers. "We're going to be expecting more than just him, right?"

[Vardaen]

Vymer nods, "Possible he's hired some locals to defend him. The rumor mill around Deadtown only goes so far." He stops, "There." The pipe opens up into a large chamber about 100 meters ahead. "This is is, time to earn your pay." Vymer motions for someone to take point as he and Quill fall in in the 2nd and 3rd positions.