Session three - March 31st - April 5th 2077

Session 3

Ajax was feeling much better after a few days rest in the bunkhouse. He was still getting dizzy spells now and again so Floki kept him off any heavy lifting. There were only two night left until the expedition set out for Trollheim and the cagey old man wanted Ajax in prime shape for squeezing into those tight spaces. For the most-part Ajax was checking the packing list for the trip and delivering messages around the town. Looking at people around Orkanger he could see excitement building for the expedition into the old city ruins.

Ulrich had not been enjoying a light labor. After disappearing on a reckless raiding trip and volunteering for census work, Omar the truck boss was keeping a watchful eye on the boy, working him long shifts and giving him a pile of mechanic’s chores around the garage and barracks.

Ingevar was enjoying having a good deal of script to play with, but she didn’t want to drink alone. She wanted to revel in her fight with the trolls. Ajax was in no condition for drinking. She went to find Ulrich but discovered his punishment for being too adventurous and how his boss planned to side-line him from the great raid in Trollheim. Slowly wheels began turning in Ingevar’s head, conspiring on a way to get her way.

The following night, everyone who was to take place on the Trollheim Raid was to meet in the Scav Barn for planning. Ajax was working in the kitchen getting food ready when Ingvevar showed up. She spotted other Scav’s setting up a table, two town guards, a brawny hawkish militia man named Thorbjorn and a woman Ingevar had bad blood with in the past, a militia woman named Anne. Later Omar California arrive with a pair of Mech’s. Ingevar knew Skinny Sven, and liked him well-enough. The other woman was introduced to her as Gertrude Gunderson, a mountain of a woman with big mannish hands. Invevar believed “Gert" would fit into her plans well. Soon after Floki emerged from his room dressed in armor carrying maps to the cheering of everyone around the table. He seemed to like playing lord of the hall, directing his scavvers to pour more mead or bring out another plate of reindeer. Floki rolled out an ancient map of Old Trondheim and laid out the raid. They would have to take the long way around the city, going over the train trellises because of the cars that clogged the city streets. They would camp near the marina and push into the old quarter during the day when the Pale Men were less active. Each step of the way was planned meticulously down to the meals they would eat and the method they would use to pack scavenge onto the trucks. Floki was a scheming old bastard but he was good at managing these scav raids. It was decided the trucks would roll at noon the next day and people left the table to go get drinks down at the pub.

Ingevar told Ajax to stay away from the Pub in her usually menacing enigmatic way. He wanted to argue but honestly didn’t want to go drinking the night before setting out. Ingevar made her way down to the pub and quickly found Gertrude and started buying her drinks. It didn’t take long before Gertrude had to use the outhouse and wobbled up from her chair. As she moved through the crowded pub Ingevar’s boot hooked her leg and sent the massive woman down. When Gertrude got up again looking angry, Ingevar simply pointed at the nearest patron in the bar and the hot-headed mech attacked him like a rabid dog. The next victim was the first patron who tried to interfere. In the end it took Ingevar and two militia men to drag her out of the pub. The Sherriff showed up and dragged Ingevar outside and she denied any involvement in the attack. She Sherriff seemed skeptical given her reputation but he had no real evidence so he released her and took Big Gertrude to sleep off 25 script worth of poison fed to her by the devious Ingevar.

In the morning Ulrich was welding a new plumbing assembly for the showers in the Mech Barracks when Omar stormed in angrily and threw tools around the garage before shouting red-faced at Ulrich to pack his shit and get to the truck because he was going on the Raid to Trollheim. Ulrich didn’t understand what had changed or what it had enraged his boss but he was happy to go. He packed his tools and Reason and ran across the snowy blacktop to the two massive wood-gas trucks warming up in front of the Scav Barn.

Ajax had been turning the pistol he got when they investigated Virgus Settlement over in his hands. His arrow gun was fierce enough until he watched it bounce off the armored troll. Now he was contemplating how difficult it would be to use a six-gun. Ingevar ran across him while she was helping load gear onto the trucks and asked him about his little pistol. After a brief conversation they decided they’d go buy a few bullets for it. Coming back from the market they ran into Ulrich who noted that Ingevar was unsurprised that he was joining the raid. They finally loaded the trucks just before noon, fired up their wood engines and began slowly rolling up the road.

By early afternoon the trucks had crossed the river separating Orkanger from the hills around Trondheim. The pulled off the road, up the dirt road towards Guala and came to a stop outside of the wood palisade surrounding the center of the settlement. Thorbjorn spoke with the guards at the gates before they opened to let the travelers inside. Guala’s fortification held a large lodge house built on the ruins of some huge old-world building and a white temple with a massive cross on the front. As they waited near the fire-pit in the center women came from the lodge with their head’s covered in white veils, carrying basins to wash the hands of the visitors and a handsome young settlement leader came from the temple to pray over the travelers. Ajax and Ulrich knew that Guala was Christian settlement but they didn’t know what to expect of them. Ajax was particularly nervous because of his tell-tale mutations and the reputation of Christians for attacking those who looked different. However, Guala was overtly hospitable, offering bunks inside to sleep in an a warm, if somewhat plain, meal. Thorbjorn conducted the census with their village leader and nervously they all fell asleep.

In the morning they fired up the trucks and moved deeper into the hills. The weather was overcast and looked like it wanted to storm. Everyone was already anxious and as the roaring trucks pulled off the cracked highway onto a service street on the Eastern Edge of town everyone had weapons ready and eyes peeled for trouble. Ajax could see familiar scrap mines all across the industrial buildings on the road. Even Ulric recognized parts of Orkanger pulled out of the buildings around him as they drover deeper into the city, winding around rusted vehicles and debris. There was a quick conversation between Floki and Omar about the fading light and they decided to pull over where they knew things were safe rather than press across the bridge at night. The trucks pulled into a large empty lot with a peculiar cement tower in the middle. It was sturdy and secure and easy to defend.

There was little camp work to be done so Ulric and Ajax decided they wanted to pick over the bones of East Trollheim. Skinny Sven and a timid scav girl named Hildi joined in and Ingevar was sent to watch over them. After about an hour of searching the area they found a row of houses along the cliffs that looked largely ignored. Ajax couldn’t remember anyone searching this far out. Most of the buildings were collapsed from rough weather and time but there were a few in better shape. Ajax barred the door open and Ulrich guided them across the softened collapsing floor. The House had part of its roof and the elements had destroyed most of anything of value. They found some nice glasswear. Ulrich found a closet with bare insulation that had protected it from moisture. There were hundreds of feet of extension cords in good condition inside and a vacuum that looked like it may still work. The carefully extracted their treasures and found an old recycling bin to drag them back to the tower as the sun was settling. Ingevar had a nerve wracking watch with the howling of the wind in the dark. And didn’t sleep well when she finally got to rest.

The following morning the trucks rolled out following the train tracks to a rusted two-land trestle bridge that connected the constructed jetty island that protected Trondheim from the Fjord waters. Ulric had a look at the supports and attested that it should support one truck but he didn’t trust both. So they crossed on foot then sent the trucks across one-by-one. Scavengers had been all over the Jetty, looting it’s luxury hotels and office buildings, the white paint of search crews marking every doorway they saw but Ajax looked at the railyard on the Jetty and the buildings on the far side and reasoned that most Scavs on boat wouldn’t trifle with anything that far away. He got permission from Floki so long as he caught up to the slowly rolling Trucks at the other bridge and grabbed Ingevar and Ulrich to run off to the buildings across the yard. Most of what they found was decaying retail shops with broken windows and looted storefronts but there was a truck-garage with a closed fence. Ajax hopped the rusted fence and forced the locked chain holding the gate closed on the inside. The trucks in the yard were rusted through but the garage looked stable. Inside Ulrich found rows of of cases of tools in awe-striking variety and condition. He ran around trying to figure out how to pack the shop of his dreams into two small backpacks. Ingevar dug around in a crusty storage closet and found a box of old world cigarettes in their wrappers, probably stale but worth some script. Ajax grabbed some bits from the register and found some salvageable auto parts that would be worth something. They decided to close up the gate and leave the tools to collect on the way back rather than try to drag them through the rail yard. They caught up to the trucks at the other Bridge and once more carefully crossed in sections.

Across the bridge the Old Town was close and reeked of rot. Riverside warf houses collapsed into the water, aging construction crumbled into debris but all around were ancient stone and brick buildings made to stand the rigors of time, many still had copper or tile roofs intact. The travelers found an athletic filed near the shore where they felt safer setting up camp. The used the trucks to barricade themselves in and set up a stove. Soon paranoid scavs were eating hot food and talking about what they were going to find in the wreckage of the old town. Ingevar walked the perimeter with Thorbjorn, looking for signs of trouble before the sun fully set. It was just like every other old world shithole, falling apart and rotting. They talked a bit as they surveiled the area. Thorbjorn told Ingevar that he’s seen the Pale Men, and if things start to look bad he’s going to run and she will too if she’s smart.

Ulrich woke in the middle of the night to strange sounds around the camp, it sounded like wrestling. He sat bolt upright in the little encampment between the trucks and saw everyone sleeping restlessly but no sign of any reason there'd be grunting and scraping. He scrambled for his massive revolver and began to crawl towards good-in-a-fight Ingevar, looking around terrified. Ingevar woke abruptly and gripped her sword and sheild and was on her feet in seconds. They rushed into the field in the overcast moonless night staring hard at the blackness. Ulrich searched the misty ground and found signs of a struggle. People woke and heads were counted and there was no sign of Thorbjorn anywhere. So they sat sleepless in the dark, clutching weapons and waiting for sunrise.