From the maw came a beckoning breeze, welling up from within the cave. A man clad in leather padding and armor, a lean though older man stepped forward, and a young miss stepped forward after him. The man squatted down, gazing into the depths of the cave, though the girl would remain standing to ascertain what the man was looking at. She squinted, but eventually saw it: Further down, a glint of light from something that reflected the little amount of light that filtered in from the cave’s mouth.
“See that? That’s what we’re here for.” The man said, and began his gradual descent into the cave, followed by the girl.
“Arcturus said some ruins were here, and I didn’t doubt him given the area, with my own two eyes and word from the boys at the Guild. This one though nobody’s mentioned so maybe we’ll find something nice.” He said, his voice a bit muffled by his balaclava.
The girl nodded, and while the man could not see her do so, he was sure she was agreeing.
“What do you think’s in this one John?” the girl asked.
John, the older man had tried to navigate a small mound of rocks before turning.
“Just going to have to pry it open and find out, won’t we Air?”
The two reach the door, what looks to be a small bunker blast door, ovular in shape with a circular crank and a keypad.
“I got that covered, don’t worry.” He said, and he takes out a notepad he had stowed away, quite a small one but the size is necessary for convenience and weight’s sake. He carefully keyed in the numbers, one by one checking them each time on the keypad’s number screen. When all numbers have been entered, he grabs both sides of the crank-wheel and begins to turn it. A loud clunk splits the air, and he motions for Airgetlam to stand to the side of the door with the keypad, against the wall. John pulls on the door, creaking open and echoing down into the facility. He stops and draws his pump-action crossbow, and checks the opening, aiming for anything that may be bounding towards the outside. Nothing of the sort is there, just a long corridor. He nods to Air and he goes in first, with her following closely behind. Time passed and they found themselves in a large room, with yet another door, this one only having a keypad. Other passages are present, but seem to be locked off completely, or blocked by rubble. John walks up to the keypad, taking out the notepad again, and slotting in another combination of numbers, but with more haste this time. When the code checks out, he looks over at Airgetlam, pulling down his balaclava revealing his freshly-shaven face and a smile creases across. The door opens and a musty smell comes out, that of dust and long-forgotten lives.
The two walk in, checking their corners. Several tables along with lockers and a case with some sort of old-fashioned tumbler lock encompass the entirety of the room’s contents. Air looks off to a corner that John failed to notice, and sees something that looks like long worn-out clothing. Upon taking a few steps close, she recoils slightly at her findings. A dull beige skeleton, wearing what looks to be cosmopolitan clothing, or at least, something one would not see where they were from, but perhaps from Global, lay almost completely on the ground, the head and shoulders propped up against the wall, clutching a piece of paper and pen, and an old world pistol was on the ground nearby. She picked up the paper from the skeleton’s hand, the bone surprisingly not crumbling to dust upon contact.
Found a bunker, looks like it’s for testing and storage, not survival
To anyone finding me here now, you can guess that
I thought I’d find medicine here, but looks like this is where I get off the bus
I’m ready to see my mom and dad, I hope I don’t see my wife and kids too
To any scavengers who find me here, pistol’s yours, same with the footlocker
Might be useful – Ken Merrick
She pockets the piece of paper and takes the pistol from the ground, pulling out the magazine and the round in the chamber. There were only a few bullets left in the magazine. She pockets the pistol too but in a bag she brought specifically for loot, and she looked through some of the other lockers, finding nothing really of note that wasn’t locked down. Sighing, she walks over and kneels beside John who is about to try his luck on the lock. The man takes out his set of different lock picks, looking for one suitable for the job. He finds the one he wants and pulls it out, then carefully slides it into the keyhole, prying for where the tumblers are and gently lifting them one at a time.
“You know when I was a kid I didn’t have a fancy set of these like it was my job, I had bobby pins and a screwdriver. Among other things I got by with just that. Hopefully using such nice tools doesn’t make me go soft.” He says. Airgetlam simply nods, fascinated by watching him work. He pries at a last tumbler and lifts it ever so carefully and hears a click. For a moment, he freezes up, then pulls the pick out to see it’s completely fine. Air puts her hands on the case and starts to lift the lid, and inside a rather peculiar box of sorts is the lone contents.
Confused, she furrows her brow.
“Some kind of puzzle box?” she questions, and hands it to John.
“Looks to be something higher tech, that’s for sure, I’ve seen quite a bit in my life but nothing quite strikes me as to what this is.” He says, tilting his head. He hands it back to Air.
“That one’s for you to figure out, since we sold most of what we found last time.”
She simply nods and puts it away in her bag.
“Not much of a haul this time, I found a few rivets and an old intact coffee mug that might fetch a nice price from a collector. What’d you find?” John asks of his apprentice. She pulls out the pistol and shows it to him.
“Oh, that’s an old Beretta, 92FS from what it looks like. I saw one of these on one of the caravan guards in town. Might be nice to invest in one to keep in the house, things are small enough but the ammunition isn’t so cheap. Thankfully the Teyness caravans come in through here decently often so we won’t have to-“ He stops, putting a hand over Air’s chest and forces her to back away to the wall. He puts his finger to his lips and jerks a thumb at the main room. He leans over and takes a quick look at the creature inside, and sees only a large bear-like creature that seems to be bipedal.
“The Sam hell…” He says but quickly shuts up as the thing seems to have perked up a bit, perhaps having heard him. He peeks around again and notices a doorway has been opened, leading further into the bunker. He looks around on the ground, and sees a small metal plate on the floor, likely from one of the cave-ins. He slyly reaches for it and grabs, then stays behind the door for a time, remaining calm. He looks again at the creature. It seems to have beady black eyes with black and white stripes and matted fur. Whatever creature it actually is, it only fits what he’s heard in legends. He looks back at Airgetlam, and makes a throwing motion with the metal plate. He waits and counts down in his head.
Five… four… three… two… one. He throws the plate but not too hard so the thing doesn’t whiz past, and the clanking grabs the creature’s attention while not being actually seen by it. It begins moving toward the sound, and he motions to Air to hurry up and follow him. The two stick to the shadows as they keep their distance, Air’s chest at least pounding. They slip into the hallway that leads to main entrance, and they decide they’d rather not be in the thing’s vicinity, so their pace is a bit faster than normal. As they see the doorway, Air turns around, detecting an extremely nauseating odor, one of copper. She turns completely and sees that the creature is wandering their way, and seems fixated on them both. A twist in her stomach and a shake down her back are all that is needed to send her sprinting.
“J-John…” She says before taking off and pulling his arm with her. His confusion transforms into surprise, and he clambers after her to escape the bunker. She sprints for the exit and trips over the lip of the access door. Immediately after John launches out and picks her up, tossing her away from the door. He looks back and sees the thing picking up even more speed, intent on pouncing the two of them. Mere moments away from beast crashing out he gets behind the door and hurriedly pushes it back, sealing it, not even thinking, just letting his arms go to it. He runs over to Air and picks her up and holds both of themselves against a wall. A loud clang resounds, echoing out of the cave and startling some birds in the trees to take flight. A scream and a whimper follow, before the sound of the creature fades away. He looks down at Air.
“You-“
She puts up a hand.
“I’m fine, don’t worry about me.” She gets up and looks at the door. A large dent can be seen in the door, one that would have taken a lot of density and mass to make.
“Next time, we check all the paths, not just head toward the main attraction.” She says to him. He nods, and they make their way back up to the mouth of the cave, and out of the maw.
“See that? That’s what we’re here for.” The man said, and began his gradual descent into the cave, followed by the girl.
“Arcturus said some ruins were here, and I didn’t doubt him given the area, with my own two eyes and word from the boys at the Guild. This one though nobody’s mentioned so maybe we’ll find something nice.” He said, his voice a bit muffled by his balaclava.
The girl nodded, and while the man could not see her do so, he was sure she was agreeing.
“What do you think’s in this one John?” the girl asked.
John, the older man had tried to navigate a small mound of rocks before turning.
“Just going to have to pry it open and find out, won’t we Air?”
The two reach the door, what looks to be a small bunker blast door, ovular in shape with a circular crank and a keypad.
“I got that covered, don’t worry.” He said, and he takes out a notepad he had stowed away, quite a small one but the size is necessary for convenience and weight’s sake. He carefully keyed in the numbers, one by one checking them each time on the keypad’s number screen. When all numbers have been entered, he grabs both sides of the crank-wheel and begins to turn it. A loud clunk splits the air, and he motions for Airgetlam to stand to the side of the door with the keypad, against the wall. John pulls on the door, creaking open and echoing down into the facility. He stops and draws his pump-action crossbow, and checks the opening, aiming for anything that may be bounding towards the outside. Nothing of the sort is there, just a long corridor. He nods to Air and he goes in first, with her following closely behind. Time passed and they found themselves in a large room, with yet another door, this one only having a keypad. Other passages are present, but seem to be locked off completely, or blocked by rubble. John walks up to the keypad, taking out the notepad again, and slotting in another combination of numbers, but with more haste this time. When the code checks out, he looks over at Airgetlam, pulling down his balaclava revealing his freshly-shaven face and a smile creases across. The door opens and a musty smell comes out, that of dust and long-forgotten lives.
The two walk in, checking their corners. Several tables along with lockers and a case with some sort of old-fashioned tumbler lock encompass the entirety of the room’s contents. Air looks off to a corner that John failed to notice, and sees something that looks like long worn-out clothing. Upon taking a few steps close, she recoils slightly at her findings. A dull beige skeleton, wearing what looks to be cosmopolitan clothing, or at least, something one would not see where they were from, but perhaps from Global, lay almost completely on the ground, the head and shoulders propped up against the wall, clutching a piece of paper and pen, and an old world pistol was on the ground nearby. She picked up the paper from the skeleton’s hand, the bone surprisingly not crumbling to dust upon contact.
Found a bunker, looks like it’s for testing and storage, not survival
To anyone finding me here now, you can guess that
I thought I’d find medicine here, but looks like this is where I get off the bus
I’m ready to see my mom and dad, I hope I don’t see my wife and kids too
To any scavengers who find me here, pistol’s yours, same with the footlocker
Might be useful – Ken Merrick
She pockets the piece of paper and takes the pistol from the ground, pulling out the magazine and the round in the chamber. There were only a few bullets left in the magazine. She pockets the pistol too but in a bag she brought specifically for loot, and she looked through some of the other lockers, finding nothing really of note that wasn’t locked down. Sighing, she walks over and kneels beside John who is about to try his luck on the lock. The man takes out his set of different lock picks, looking for one suitable for the job. He finds the one he wants and pulls it out, then carefully slides it into the keyhole, prying for where the tumblers are and gently lifting them one at a time.
“You know when I was a kid I didn’t have a fancy set of these like it was my job, I had bobby pins and a screwdriver. Among other things I got by with just that. Hopefully using such nice tools doesn’t make me go soft.” He says. Airgetlam simply nods, fascinated by watching him work. He pries at a last tumbler and lifts it ever so carefully and hears a click. For a moment, he freezes up, then pulls the pick out to see it’s completely fine. Air puts her hands on the case and starts to lift the lid, and inside a rather peculiar box of sorts is the lone contents.
Confused, she furrows her brow.
“Some kind of puzzle box?” she questions, and hands it to John.
“Looks to be something higher tech, that’s for sure, I’ve seen quite a bit in my life but nothing quite strikes me as to what this is.” He says, tilting his head. He hands it back to Air.
“That one’s for you to figure out, since we sold most of what we found last time.”
She simply nods and puts it away in her bag.
“Not much of a haul this time, I found a few rivets and an old intact coffee mug that might fetch a nice price from a collector. What’d you find?” John asks of his apprentice. She pulls out the pistol and shows it to him.
“Oh, that’s an old Beretta, 92FS from what it looks like. I saw one of these on one of the caravan guards in town. Might be nice to invest in one to keep in the house, things are small enough but the ammunition isn’t so cheap. Thankfully the Teyness caravans come in through here decently often so we won’t have to-“ He stops, putting a hand over Air’s chest and forces her to back away to the wall. He puts his finger to his lips and jerks a thumb at the main room. He leans over and takes a quick look at the creature inside, and sees only a large bear-like creature that seems to be bipedal.
“The Sam hell…” He says but quickly shuts up as the thing seems to have perked up a bit, perhaps having heard him. He peeks around again and notices a doorway has been opened, leading further into the bunker. He looks around on the ground, and sees a small metal plate on the floor, likely from one of the cave-ins. He slyly reaches for it and grabs, then stays behind the door for a time, remaining calm. He looks again at the creature. It seems to have beady black eyes with black and white stripes and matted fur. Whatever creature it actually is, it only fits what he’s heard in legends. He looks back at Airgetlam, and makes a throwing motion with the metal plate. He waits and counts down in his head.
Five… four… three… two… one. He throws the plate but not too hard so the thing doesn’t whiz past, and the clanking grabs the creature’s attention while not being actually seen by it. It begins moving toward the sound, and he motions to Air to hurry up and follow him. The two stick to the shadows as they keep their distance, Air’s chest at least pounding. They slip into the hallway that leads to main entrance, and they decide they’d rather not be in the thing’s vicinity, so their pace is a bit faster than normal. As they see the doorway, Air turns around, detecting an extremely nauseating odor, one of copper. She turns completely and sees that the creature is wandering their way, and seems fixated on them both. A twist in her stomach and a shake down her back are all that is needed to send her sprinting.
“J-John…” She says before taking off and pulling his arm with her. His confusion transforms into surprise, and he clambers after her to escape the bunker. She sprints for the exit and trips over the lip of the access door. Immediately after John launches out and picks her up, tossing her away from the door. He looks back and sees the thing picking up even more speed, intent on pouncing the two of them. Mere moments away from beast crashing out he gets behind the door and hurriedly pushes it back, sealing it, not even thinking, just letting his arms go to it. He runs over to Air and picks her up and holds both of themselves against a wall. A loud clang resounds, echoing out of the cave and startling some birds in the trees to take flight. A scream and a whimper follow, before the sound of the creature fades away. He looks down at Air.
“You-“
She puts up a hand.
“I’m fine, don’t worry about me.” She gets up and looks at the door. A large dent can be seen in the door, one that would have taken a lot of density and mass to make.
“Next time, we check all the paths, not just head toward the main attraction.” She says to him. He nods, and they make their way back up to the mouth of the cave, and out of the maw.
