When I left off, we had brought a horse to life. I had to pause there because within the narrative, the next thing we knew, we were in a tavern. I had distinct memories of what had happened over the past six months, but something was off. There was a shaman there that told Virgil that we had been tailing the Hardee Boys for six months and that he had been trying to help us. Before I could get my bearings, a pipe bomb was thrown into it. Ellis managed to throw it back out before it went off.
We split up. I was shot going up the stairs. I was able wounded, but managed to throw a Molotov cocktail at a group of bandits that had gathered outside. Our posse teamed up to drive the bandits away. As we were leaving, a woman told Val that she had a sister that just stopped existing, and she had blamed the "magic from the South". Once again, the South is calling to us.
This woman also was telling us about what we had apparently been up to in the past six months. Ellis was in a relationship with a woman named Lei who raised pigs in the desert. Virgil's mother had come and told him to go South. I was trying to get someone to translate the script that I carry around. Ravishers with Hell were apparently with the hardee boys. And then we were informed that we were not in Goldwater, but rather we were in Puhaimi. We were going to go South to investigate the Great Blackening, which was just fine by me, but I don't know how we were able to go from Goodwater to Puhaimi.
In our travels, we came upon a smoking pit. The smoke caused a tingling sensation in my chest, and I was temporarily weakened, but I recovered. The pit appeared to be some sort of impact crater. I recalled something that I had heard before that it was believed one would have to burrow under the earth to release the Ravengers and to begin the end times. Despite the ominous setting, we climbed down into the pit. Well, I fell, but Virgil caught me.
Using magic, I was able to translate some of the writing that we found on the hatches at the bottom. It was very similar to the writings we found in the Cyclops cave. We find ourselves in a room that had a bunch fo chairs and these black screens in it. We also hear a pounding on the other side of a door. The screens come to life and asked for identification. I said I was a traveller who meant them no harm, which worked. I was asked about the Kamraj Federation, which I've never heard of it. There's a level five alert, which is more of the same for us.
The door opens and some human like thing came out. We were able to mortally wound it, and after that we could get back to the business at hand.
The computer told us that there was a successful launch request some six months ago. I imagine this was when Virgil just pushed buttons at the Cyclops cave. The launch was successful, and hit the western continent. None of us knew this continent existed. Millions of people may be dead. I can hardly blame Virgil. Now, I never thought he should have been pushing those buttons, but I know he had no inkling that doing so might result in this. Even if he did not know this land existed, I can't imagine that he would willingly kill so many people.
I guess we don't know for sure that it did. This is all strange.
We find out also that Peecan is a research center, like this one. This base could not connect to it. As we receive this info, we are also told that some war androids are approaching. The screens show us an image of them. The outfits are dated, but one of them looks like the head of the Hardee Boys gang. We decide to seal the tunnels so they can't get in.
So, the hardee Boys demand a code to get in, and show us a woman who is tied to a horse. Some connection to Ellis, but all of a sudden, we are at a table in a tavern, telling a bartender our tale. We're all confused. Some strange god is messing with us now, it's the only explanation I have for this.Or a gas leak, because after that brief scene, which we all experienced, we were back here. Maybe we are unstuck in time?
We explore the ship. We find more of the humanoid creatures and are able to communicate with them. They tell us to not tell anyone what we saw here. There's nothing good here. They take us to their elders who tell us that these androids came some 40,000 years ago, fighting some sort of ancient war. The androids are seeking access to something called a fusion core on this continent. The weapons of these ancient war are still here. We cannot change the programming of these andorids, only beat them to this core, which is on the western continent. The elder asks if anyone we know is using ghost rock, a glowing rock. Val says her people are.
The elder believes that between the use of ghost rock and the awakening of this ancient machinery, that has opened up a passage to the spirit realm as well as causing tears in reality. We can prevent this, stabilize things, by going to the other continent via an underground train. That's where I am now with Virgil and Slim.
Val and Ellis have decided to go after the androids. The woman they held captive was known by Ellis. A lover? I do not know. He was afraid for her and I had no time to ask questions. We are now hundreds of miles apart. I can only hope that we will meet again.
