Niv Lova - Chapter Six

Armed and Alone

Welcome back to Solum’s Weird Tales - Niv Lova! Finally, we have reached our settlement, Zona. I think Lina has done more than enough to earn her place here at this settlement, but I’d like to do at least on more mission before rounding out my time here, and hopefully leave some threads to explore when I pick it up again later. As such, we will join Lina on day 11.¹

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Angelina 'Lina' Romanov - Age - 29 - Former 'legal' arms dealer XP 0
Muscle 0
Finesse 2
Vigor 0
Mind 0
Presence 2

HP 17. Fortune Point - 1. Level 3. Inventory. Bedroll, 3 Bandages Knife X2, Pistol 6 rounds SMG, Medium Armor (+2 DR) 5 Food and 20 Scrap

Trait - Weird - Roll Advantage when Identifying Remnants or Aberrations

Why are you here? Choice
What do you want? Settle.
Quest: Scout Aberration with Q
Quest: Get Q to Zona before she dies

Lina spent some time socializing with the small community of Zona before getting an early night in a real bed. The softness of the mattress and comfort of the 4 walls around her meant that she had her first, undisturbed sleep in weeks, and woke up slightly foggy headed and confused. Zona’s population all resided in the same, 5 story office building that had been converted into a series of bedrooms, storage closets and social areas, while the other two buildings were used predominantly for work. Someone had dragged a bunch of work benches and tools into the old manufacturing plant across the way and that was where the settlement made it’s main product - Ammo.

Zona
Specialty - Ammo (Lina spent 15 Scrap to buy 5 9mm bullets)
Problem - External Threat (Likely the bandits that have popped up now and then)
Rumour - Bandits Camp nearby
Leadership - Elected Council - Current Members = 1 - Konstantin

Lina traded some of her old and useless gear for a fresh magazine of ammo before seeking out Konstantin. The grizzled councilman was in the large Mansion on the East side of the settlement, pouring over a map of the area.

“You still want to help?” He asked gruffly, and Lina nodded.

“I think I could fit in here, if you’ll have me.”

Does Zona Belong to a Faction? Yes, Freedom Faction (didn't note the name)
Power in area, weak, one or two settlements
New Quest - 'Wander Intelligence'

“We don’t have a lot of friends out here. Not with the same values as us, anyway.” Konstantin said, looking back at the map.

“What values are those?” Lina asked curiously.

“Freedom. We’ve all been used by the system some way or another here. The Zone is lawless and dangerous, but it doesn’t have to be. We could live here, thrive even, if only we could get an edge to keep us safe.”

“I like the sound of that.” Lina said with a smile.

“That’s good. Because we have lead on that edge.” Konstantin pointed to his map. There was a pin with a large, stylized ‘Z’ at the center, and but he pointed about 30 miles east of the pin.

“Word from the last group of traders to come through is that there’s a small outpost here. Scientists. They show up from time to time, members of one of the Government agencies that screws around further from the border. I don’t know what they want, or what they are studying, but I do know that there is an Aberration in this area. What’s more, these scientists are alone. No Government body guards, no bandits, just them.”

“That is interesting, but what do we do about it?” Lina said cautiously. She hoped he wasn’t implying that she kidnap or coerce them, she didn’t want to start her new life off on similar footing to the last one. Konstantin flashed a bright smile and patted her shoulder.

“You have direct experience of not 1 but 2 Aberrations. If that’s what they are here for, then you’re the best person to talk to them. If we can convince them to come back here, that would be fantastic for Zona, but honestly, knowledge is power. Find out what they’re doing, and then come back.”

Day 11
Weather? Light Snow (No Mechanical Effect)
Nav? Lost Scav? Yes, 1 Food (6) POI? No Encounter? No

Lina left Zona behind while the sun was still high under a soft flurry of snow. Zona had given her a scarf and gloves to keep the worst of the chill out, and the walking kept her warm, but with little bearing of her destination, it was hard to feel like she was making progress. She built a fire just before dark and unpacked her belongings. all around her the landscape was white with smudges of Grey, and she felt as though she had made no progress at all.

Make Camp. -1 Food (5). Try to use Remnant. MIN/a - 9 Success

Lina ate a small meal and pulled the rubber marble for her pocket. She closed her eyes and twirled the small ball in her fingers, feeling the pleasant thrum of energy, just beyond her grasp. She felt as though if she could just reach out and touch it….

Sensation - Smell Burning. Effect - Gun Jam, Weak. Condition - Concentrate

Something sparked in her mind, a single jolt of understanding, and she heard loud click. She jumped slightly in surprise as the smell of burning hair and scorched wood filled her nostrils, but the moment passed quickly. She returned the small ball to her pocket, and made to retrieve the rest of her gear to got to bed, only to realize her gun had jammed. The slide had racked back and the bullet had become stuck during the ejection process. She retrieved the bullet and slid the gun back into place with a smile. Now that was interesting.

No Night Encounter

Day 12
Weather - Clear Skies
Nav?/d - Lost. Scav? Yes, Stash and extra item. 4 Scrap (9) and 1 Food (6) +5 9mm Rounds (Nice!) (16)
POI? No

Photo by Mirza Babic on Unsplash

Lina still felt turned around the next day, and so spent most of it rummaging through ruins to feel like she was achieving something. She found a small stash of useful scrap material half buried in an old public park, as well as a can of food and a small, mostly empty box of ammo, all of which she placed in her pack. It was starting to get dark, and she was considering making camp somewhere, without a fire this time, when she heard foot steps. When she turned, her pistol raised, there was nothing there. She felt a growing sense of unease as she walked down the empty road in the fading light.

Encounter? Yes, Skulk. Reaction - Fight (Double 1s)
HP 8/8 and 1 DR from Amor. 
Initiative - 1 - Enemy goes first

Lina felt like she was being watched for the next half hour, so she was ready for it when it came. A slight flicker, the light bending unnaturally around a form that tried to crash into her.

Defend/d FIN - 11 - Success
Shoot/d - 10 - Success - 1 DMG

The air shimmered, and Lina could almost make out a long limbed, humanoid figure before it was gone again. Air rushed passed her head as she ducked back and raise her gun and fired. The bullet impacted close to her, and there was an unnatural squeal of pain as Lina backpedaled and watched the empty street around her.²

MIN to see - 5 - Fail
Defend/d - 6 - 0 DMG (thanks to armor)
Attack/d - 7 - Fail

Lina felt the impact in her midsection and stumbled, before spinning and shooting into thin air. Her armor absorbed the brunt of it, but she was rattled. She scanned around her, but still couldn’t see the creature.

MIN to see - 7 - Fail
Defend/d - 6 - 0 DMG (thanks to armor)
Attack/d - 7 - Fail

Something hit her leg, not hard enough to hurt, but enough to throw her off balance again, and her gun fired wildly into the darkening night sky.

“Fuck!” Lina swore, lashing out around her and squinting at empty air.

MIN to see - 7 - Fail
Defend/d - 10 - Success
Attack/d - 4 - Fail

She still couldn’t see the damn thing attacking her, but she was starting to get a sense for it’s pattern, hearing the shuffle of it’s steps and the slightly shift in atmosphere as it approached. She was ready when it came for her next, and she moved at just the right time, but it was still too quick, and her bullet buried it’s self in the ground.³

MIN to see - 7 - Fail
Defend/d - 4 - Fail - 0 DMG (thanks to armor)
Attack/d - 12 - 2 DMG (Hp 5/8)

The creature body checked Lina, she could feel the weight of it behind the blow and she took her chance. Firing at a slight angle with a looser grip than she would have liked, she shot the thing before it left contact with her, and she stumbled back with a grin as it screamed in pain. Inky black blood spilled on the floor, and Lina advanced for the first time.

MIN to see - 7 - Fail
Defend/d - 4 - Fail - 3 DMG (Lina HP 14/17)
Attack/d - 6 - Fail

She saw a drip of blood and raised her gun, expecting it to hit her with it’s full body again, but razor sharp talons slashed into her shoulder, biting through the tough leather of her amour and drawing blood. He gun went off, but it was wild and aimless, and she clutched her shoulder in pain at the wound. For the first time, she considered running. She didn’t want to be picked apart by this unnatural creature. But she steeled herself, and glared out into the darkness.

MIN - Critical Success (No check needed next round)
Defend 10 - Success
Draw SMG and shoot - 10 - Success - 5DMG - Kill

Lina saw the pattern of blood, heard the shuffling, loping steps of the creature and saw it’s path like a blazing light. She holstered her pistol and drew the SMG from her back. She kept both loaded with enough ammo for situations just like this. When the creature came, she could almost make out it’s whole silhouette, unnaturally long, taloned fingers on an emaciated, sinewy body. She moved aside, it’s path predictable and she kicked it hard in the back. It stumbled, and she stood over it and fired a pair of rounds into the supine form. It’s scream cut off before it could begin, and the light shimmered around it as it became fully visible. The creature was hard to look at, and she almost wished it had stayed invisible after death. She left it in the dust and walked away, taking the extra time to camp far away from the body.

Make Camp -1 Food (5). Night Encounter? Yes, Bounty Hunter. Reaction - 9 - Friendly

Lina peeled the top of her leathers off and poked the wound.

“Jesus Fuck!” She yelled as the skin around it burned. She grumbled slightly a she bandaged the wound, and took stock of her supplies.

Heal - MIN - 8 - Success - Fully Healed
New Ammo count - 10 - Split 5 in each gun

Lina pointed her gun into the darkness after finishing her meal. She was sure she heard something moving out there again, and she had used up all of her patience earlier. A few moments alter, there was the click of a lighter and small spout of flame. The familiar scent of cigarette smoke after from the darkness and a grizzled, armored man in his later 40s emerged from the shadows.

Male, Independent, Name: Aleski
Does he know the way to my destination? No
Does he know enough about the local area to get my bearings? Yes (No disadvantage tomorrow on Navigate roll)
Is he hunting anyone I know? Yes, and they are my enemy (The Bandits)

The man’s name was Aleski, and he wasn’t much of a talker, which Lina appreciated. They shared a watch and camp for the evening, and exchanged information. The man was well traveled and gave her some tips on keeping her bearings in the featureless grey landscape. In exchange, Lina helped him out too. He was hunting bandits that had kidnapped a scientist further North. That sounded jarringly familiar to Lina, and so she asked what the scientists name was.

“Kirril.” The man said, and Lina smiled. The next day, The bounty hunter Aleski headed North to scout the ruins Lina had encountered the previous week while Lina headed East, hoping she could keep her head long enough to find the science station.

Day 13
Weather - Heavy Rain -2 to NAV
NAV - Not Lost. Scav? No. POI? No Encounter? No
Oracle: Is there any sign of the science station? No, but roll advantage next time you ask if there is better weather.

The weather was miserable the following day, and heavy storm that had Lina ducking from cover to cover to try to avoid getting soaked. She wished she could fashion an umbrella from the tools in her backpack, but she had no such luck. She found the road Aleski had mentioned, and supposedly it was a straight gun east, so she followed it and resigned her self to being soaked through until she camped. She made good progress for all that, and it was nice to feel like she was heading in the right direction. She made camp early, finding a small dilapidated cabin with enough structural integrity to stave off the worst of the rain and built a small fire, peeling out of her leathers and checking over her gear.⁴ She was hopeful tomorrow she would find the scientists, and discover what they were up to.

Make Camp - Fire and -1 Food (4). No Night Encounter
End Session - 1 XP

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A few rules mistakes on this one, but that combat was very tense! Looking back, I’m not sure if pulling the SMG was very realistic. When the ammo is so granular and they share an ammo type, you would probably only have one gun loaded. I just kept forgetting I had it, haha. Thanks for reading!

1. I created the Settlement of Zona using the at the back of the Niv Lova book. It is a small settlement with 3 buildings, a tall office building, a small manufacturing plant and a Mansion. It has a population of 12, including Queenie and her crew.

2. The Skulk’s special ability means that unless you pass a MIND check, you are at disadvantage to attack and defend

3. Quick note, some of these FIN rolls for the guns are low enough to have triggered a Gun Jam, but I forgot about that rule in this fight. Will try to remember if it comes up again!

4. I now know there is a rule for being soaked, which probably should have applied her in the narrative. I’m also pretty sure you need matches to start a fire, which I have just been handwaving. Both rules will apply on my next run haha, as it will make the weather even more impactful!