Duck and Cover

My warriors will take over your sleds. Don' t hesitate to ask if you need something. If you' ll excuse me, I have to attend pressing matters now, but come by in the late evening. There' s going to be a gathering of all tribes representatives and there' ll be plenty of food.

In the meantime, do as you please; walk around, barter, catch up on gossip,... If you need a guide, Jors will stay with you. He might be a little shy for now, but he knows almost everyone and everything around here.

But now, show them their tent Jors. I' ll see you all later this evening then. Erin and his guards depart into the settlement and Jors leads you towards the tentcamp. Once there, you meet the representatives of all other 7 tribes, each has one large tent assigned to them. Most of them seem to have gone off into the settlement, but a few off them sit in front of their tent.

Jors shows you your tent which looks big enough for the six of you and your gear. He doesn' t dare to look you straight in the eyes. Was there something else you needed?

Talon nods.

I will follow too.



Sorry about lack of response. Got Arcanum yesterday, been going crazy on it. Got a dwarf with an elephant gun now. Hard to find armor for a dwarf!

Actually, I' m already back. What' s this with the latest Arcanum Frenzy? Seems like everyone around here' s hooked.

Ok, so I assume everyone follows Jors on a tour.

Jors leads you out of the tent encampement and into the village. Due to the mass of people around this time of year residing in the settlement, many craftsman and shops have set up stalls. They yell at by-passers, praising their goods and boasting about their superior quality as to that of their neighbour' s stall. At one point it seems to have gotten out of hand and 2 men are fighting barehanded. The fight ends rather quickly as a giant man comes out of the crowd and slams both vendors' heads against eachother. Only a short moment thereafter the two men that were previously fighting shake hands and start to laugh. One of them even offers something to drink to the other. The giant man spits on the ground and strides off into the crowd again.

That man is Burlich, the giant one. They said he killed a dozen Wulfen with his bare hands when he just came to Manhood. Although he' s not an Elder, he gets to vote in the tribes counsil, mostly because everyone respects him, for they see the embodiement of Old Ben in him. Jors continues his tour. So this is the artisans corner of the village. If you need some suplies and quality goods, it can all be found here. If you' ve got the right goods to trade for you could possibly even buy a metal knife or axe.

Jors leads you through some small winding paths between the houses out of the artisans corner and onto the village center. There' s a foodmarket going on at a small square that is packed with people. Some Burton tribal guards patrol through the people. You notice their spearpoints are not made from bone or stone but the scarce metal.

There are several buildings of interest surrounding the square. A large building has a standard next to the entrance. It is made of the giant antler of some wild and ferocious animal. It looks sharp and pointy and you surely wouldn' t want to be poked with that. From the inside you hear laughter and singing. It is the communall hall that now partly functions as a sort of mess hall.
On the left side of the square stands a tall round building, the only building with two storeys. It is rather large for the village standards and it' s door is firmly closed. This is the sanctuary of our shaman and his apprentices, but they are off gathering some strange herbs and suplies for the coming feast.
A long rectangular building made from scavenged, damaged metal plates stands next to it. Some tribals with spears rest in front of it. They seem to be playing a game of some sort untill a more important looking tribal comes out of the building, slaps a few in the face, shouts at them and then returns. The young men seem to be annoyed getting caught and return to their duties; guarding the barracks. Another giant antler hangs over the door.
The last building is the most well guarded of all. It looks like it has been cared for the most too. This is my house, sais Jors, and the house of my father, the chief ofcourse. This is where you' re all suppossed to come the evening for the traditional meal before the feast. And the one for tonight too. My mother is a great cook, you' ll like it.
A small path runs between the chief' s house and the shaman' s house into the direction of the large hill behind the settlement. On the left side of the path stands another large building but it is not clear from this distance what it' s purpose is.

At that moment a crazed old man wearing rags runs up too you and grabs Koroantar by the arm. The madman looks at you with glassy eyes and foam seems to drip from the corners of his mouth. He clenches even harder to Koroantar' s arm. Alleron! Alleron is that you? Why didn' t you come to your mother' s funeral? What has she ever done to you? She liked you very much, you know that. Alleron! Alleron! Andrew, look! It' s Alleron! Then he seems to regain some of his sanity. I' m sorry stranger, have we met before? You look so familiar. He takes a good look at Koroantor and then something seems to have startled him. It is comming! It is comming! I' ve seen it. The all consuming shadows. It' s going to claim us, all of us. Like we won' t be able to breath. But it will come for you all first. It will show it' s true face to you. The shadow and the prey-bird. It comes!

Talon, shaken from the last out burst grabs the claw in a fist, and silently prays to his totem to protect him.

I'm sorry, i'm not Alleron. You must be mistaking me for someone else, Koroantar says, while he takes a firm hold of his weapon.

Mordecai seems genuinely interested in Jors' tour of the village. Do you know what kind of herbs are the shamans gathering? he asks. He then follows up with another question. What kind of spirits can be found in this region?

When the crazed old man assaults Koroantar, Mordecai tries to intervene, stepping between the two men. He is not Alleron, says Mordecai. You're wasting your breath on the wrong man. This is Koroantar, and he is a traveler.

"-Wait! Wait! .... Father! What are you doing? That's not Alleron! Aleron is gone..." A pale youg man appears from the crowd. He gently take the arm of the old man and step in front of the strangers.
"-Please forgive my father..." He looks at Kroantar with his sad eyes. "After my brother Alleron was banished from the tribe and my mother died, the evil spirits has taken his minds." He turns towards the old man.
"-Comme father, we must go now..." He starts walking slowly, taking the old man by his hand.
He looks over the shoulder at the group.
"I'm asking you again to forgive us. I'm taking my father to our house now. He must rest and take his medicine." He is looking again at Kroantar. His eyes are saying "I must talk with you!"....
"- You know stranger...You really look like Alleron. I just wish that you will not share his fate.....Take care out there in the wilderness...."

The two of them walk off into the crowd. Jors lets out a sigh of relief.
Pfieuw, that was that crazy old man Hargen. My father told me to stay away from him, guess you' d better do the same.

I don' t know which herbs. I mean I don' t know what they' re called. I' m not a shaman. When I grow up, I' m going to be a fierce warrior and leader, like my father is.
What I can tell you is that some of these herbs are used to heal sick people and others are used during ceremonies. One time me and some other kids stole a batch of herbs from the shaman and put it in a pipe like we' ve seen some do. But boy, I' m never going to do that again. We were all sick and saw strange things. No, never again.

Spirits? Well the Earth Mother is everywhere around us and over there lies the dormant giant Ben Nevis. He points to the giant hill and the path leading off further into the hills. Somewhere to the west is a place called the Cross, where spirits that didn' t die properly still roam, but only the bravest souls dare venture there. As for other spirits I don' t know, you' ll have to ask the shaman or one of his apprentices.

Well, I' ve showed you everything. Now I have to go home and help my father with the preparations for the next days. Guess I' ll see you this evening. Bye.

Jors rushes off and lets you standing on the square.


It is late noon so you all still have some time before you' re suppossed to attend the evening meal at the square, so feel free to roam around, ask people for gossip, check out some goods and barter,....

How far is the cross? asks Mordecai. Have you seen it? And where could I find the shaman or one of his apprentices?

If Jors knows where they would be found, Mordecai is going to go and seek them out.

Talon returns to the tent, and begins a minute examination of his equipment to look for repairable defects. After that, nearer time to go to the feast, he cleans up, and makes himself as presentable as possible, determined not to belittle his tribe.

Mordecai, Jors is already gone home, but when you ask other tribals from the crowd theu' ll answer you that the Cross is used as a testing ground for tribe warriors who need to prove them worthy of a cause or mission around here. Everyone knows that it is about 3 days to the west, but no one dares to aproach it without very good reason and so none can actually describe it to you. You hear things like: "It' s one of those Ancient sacrificial temples and the spirits that roam there are those of unfortunate victims." or "The Ancients used it to warship demons, festering with diseases, that live underground and gnaw at Mother Earth' s roots. That' s why the Mother became angry and punished them all." As to where the Shaman and his apprentices are; they are off gathering herbs for the coming festival but should be back for the meal this evening. But if you' re in immediate need of assistance, there' s bound to be an apprentice left at their sanctuary.


Talon-> When you return to your tent there are five tribals sitting in front of their tents. Four of them are playing a game of chance and you can hear their cheers and moans as the game favors the one or the other. Another tribal is carving something out of bone and smiles at you when he sees you inspecting your gear. He walks over to you and comes sit right next to you. He offers you a piece of Black Chewroot, some sort of natural candy.

You want one? Go on.
So where are you from? Davlin tribe? O' Douwell? Oh, I' m sorry, the name' s Gurt. From the Lagherty tribe. I' m a hunter-artisan of some sort. I carve bones from the animals I hunt to make talismans. Mind if I sit here?



So what are the rest of you doing? Otherwise I' ll just continue and move this to the evening meal.

Andrew take his father to their hut, talking gently to him. The old man is very troubled after the encounter with the strangers. After an hour or so, Andrew manage to give him somme food and the potion of herbs that make the old man feel better. During the time Andrew take care of his father he is thinking about his brother Aleron. "I must find him or at least find out what's happened to him. Maybe after that my father will finaly get somme peace in his heart." His mind was set. He will go and find his brother. Maybe those strangers can help him... or maybe not. He must find out more about them. After his father fall asleep, Andrew left his hut and go back to the center of the village to ask somme questions about those strangers. Carefully he talks with the other tribesmen, mixing one or two questions about the strangers between other things like the last hunting trip or the preparations for the Nu-yeer feast...

Now is this pathetic? I forgot what tribe we are from!

Talon takes the chewroot. Thanks. He then explains where he is from. I have been having some prophetic dreams, says Talon, deciding that if the others want to tell about there dreams, they can. So the chief thought that it would be good for me to come here and talk around. Someone may be able to shed some light upon these dreams.

Well, Mordecai will go talk to the apprentice and see what he's up to. Maybe he has some herbalism techniques Mordecai don't yet know about.

Andrew -> Asking around for the strangers you encountered earlier you learn actually nothing. There are representatives of all 8 other tribes in your home settlement, and all are here to bring offerings for the Nu-Yeer feast. Someone points out that all of them are staying in a tent encampement just outside the walls.
Then, by accident, you run into Erin, your chief. Hmm, Andrew, I wanted to have a word with you actually. You know that we' re having a meal this evening to celebrate that all tribes representatives are gathered here, don' t you? Well, I' d like you to be there. ..... Errr, and how is your father doing? I hope the medicine Sharlen made helps. Well, see you tonight.
You don' t know why, but he seemed a bit uneasy talking to you. Then he walks off.

Talon -> You' re from the Dougal tribe.
Gurt looks surprised. A dream you say? Hmm, seems like you' ve come to the right place. Sharlen Red Spear is the man you seek. It is said that he knows quite a bit about dreams and omens. But I' d watch out for him if I were you. He has this mysterious veil over him, like he knows more than he' s willing to say. That and that his word is law out here, perhaps even above Erin' s rule. I don' t know what has gotten into him, he didn' t used to be that way my father told me.

You know what? Here! He hands you a bone pendant depicting a woman. It represents the Earth Mother. She' ll protect you from harm and bad things. Seems like you might need it.

Mordecai -> You knock a few times on the door of the shaman' s sanctuary and an apprentice wearing red robes opens up. Yes, what? I haven' t got time. Come back when Sharlen has returned. Then he spots the necklace you wear and bows. By the Earth Mother, I' m sorry master. I didn' t mean to be disrespectfull. What can I help you with?

sorry ppl, im back now

Ryo goes to the tent and repairs his weapons and washes for the meal.

Talon takes the pendant, and puts it with the claw. Thanks. With that Talon continues to examine his equipment. I don't usually talk much, so don't be offended if I don't talk. I usually do a lot of thinking. Thats why it took four days to finally talk about my dream. Talon chuckles quietly.

This sounds a little like it is taking place in Scotland or Ireland (tribe names).

danferry wrote:This sounds a little like it is taking place in Scotland or Ireland (tribe names).

You're right... check that map on Calal's yahoogroup (fallout50s_group).

I forgive you, says Mordecai to the young apprentice. I am a visiting shaman from the Dougal tribe... I was wondering if I could come in and see what the shamans are doing here.

If it's OK, Mordecai will step in and take a good look around.