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Lost Tribe (Custom)

Your faction will be a tribe.
Start with 1 person.

Start with:
- Silver x200
- Pemmican x220
- Herbal medicine x12
- Wood x500

- Forced health condition: Luciferium need
- Luciferium x400
- Plasteel Shiv
- Hyperwave Duster


Starting Character

Vulture 'Lasciel' Canto, 35(34) Female
Childhood: Fire tender
Adulthood: Scout

Incapable of:
(none)

Traits:
Hard worker
Fast walker
Too smart

Health:
Torso, Bite scar

Notable Skills:
(none)


Map Seed: luciferium
Tropical rainforest, small hills
Average Temp, Winter to Summer: 56F - 83F
Rainfall: 2134mm
Stone types: granite and limestone
Growing period: Year-round

AI Storyteller: Phoebe Chillax

Playing at Normal speed only.  No save reloading.

-----

Rimworld is a recent purchase for me.  After my first successful playthrough, I decided to try the above custom scenario.  In the past, I would write gameplay records styled as stories for games in progress.  The Dead-is-Dead formats from Egosoft bring back fond memories.  Rimworld emergent story and gameplay seemed ripe with opportunity, so I'll give it a shot here.


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God caressed my mind with fingers of smokeweed and campfire and charred capybara. Maybe it was one of the Spirits reverently adored by the Tribal Elders. More likely, it was the relief of collapse after a long day foraging. I dropped into meditation, to enjoy the mild euphoria.

My camp was nestled in a small marble ruin, like so many that littered the rainforest. Marble was not native to the region, nor was it as resilient as the local Limestone, so its existence was an oddity. My thoughts drifted to imaginings of a society of excess and comfort, the stories of glitter and sky travel and impossible tools, where beauty overvalued function. Sometimes the trade caravans would showcase these wonders, but they required silver in exchange. Our Elders shunned the technology; we couldn't afford it anyway.

Disagreements with the Elders led me here. They wouldn't miss one middle-aged woman. It would be difficult, but I can make a life for myself elsewhere. One of the more progressive factions would take me in, surely.

Firelight pulled my attention to the rubble in the corner, where a point of color was seeking privacy.

Blue. Offworld blue.

I moved over to disrupt its subversion.

The Duster unfurled as a ghostly blanket, disgorging guts of magical red and sharpened Plasteel. The Hyperweave slid over my hands like water, accentuating my tattered tribal wear. A small Shiv of nigh indestructible metal. I'd stumbled on a treasure trove. 

And then there were the packets.

I'd seen these red pills before, once. While guiding an archaeology team, I caught one of the mercenaries walking out of camp. Subtly following him seemed prudent, since there were wild animals about, and he was unfamiliar with the territory. Once out of firelight, he removed a packet from his pocket, and swallowed the slightly glowing red pill inside. I watched him twitch and shiver as if coupled with a lover. The awkward voyeurism pushed me deeper into the shadows. His head snapped around towards me, his hand instinctively flickering to his pistol. How had he noticed me? 

After a moment, he beckoned.

"I've seen glitterworld drugs before, but nothing like that," I mentioned as I approached, trying to keep my voice neutral. "Is it Flake?"

He snorted. "No."

We stood in silence.

"Have you heard of Luciferium?" he continued, his gaze an unsettling stare. His hand hadn't moved from his pistol.

"That one is new to me. Is it any good? You seemed to enjoy it," I replied, trying to ignore my embarrassment.

His voice took on a fervent edge. "They say it's dealing with the Devil. It makes you new again. Makes you better." He smirked, slightly. "Do you want to try it?"

After a moment, I declined. Trying a new drug offered by a stranger, while acting as their guide, seemed unwise. I returned to camp, and he stayed out there alone until we left in the morning. The expedition was a failure, and they all left the planet soon after. I'd nearly forgotten the incident, until a small fortune of the drug sat at my feet.

Now seemed a good time.

The pill slid easily from the packet. It glowed and pulsed slightly, the red liquid swirling of its own accord inside the gelcap. I let my eyes follow the shifting patterns, the smokeweed from earlier in the evening lending amusement to the dance I held in my fingertips. I settled comfortably onto the floor, and gently swallowed the pill.

Some drugs come on slow. This was not one of those drugs. I could feel it moving through my body, a rush of heat, tingling skin that bordered on itchiness. My eye snapped open. The fire was brighter, louder, more distinct. The night more vast. My heart raced. I needed to move. I need to do something. Now.

Resisting the urge, I lay back and watched the sky, enamored with the detail everywhere.

I could do anything. I didn't need another faction's help. If this was the work of the Devil, I welcomed my newfound friend.

Hooked on the first post! Keep them coming my friend!

I awoke to a thunderclap and a wave of warmth creeping up my arm. My eyes cracked open and scanned the area, while I held my body still. A turtle pulled itself across a branch 10 meters away, breaking off small twigs. The sunrise peeked over the eastern rim, walking across my body.

Holy shit, was I still high? 

The hypersensitivity hadn't faded in the slightest. All yesterday's soreness and fatigue was gone, though. Only a few short hours had passed since I fell asleep, but I was no longer tired. Even the dreams were incredibly vivid. I briefly worried what the crash from this drug would feel like, but resolved to make the best of it while it was still active.

The campfire was smoldering. I rose to gather more firewood, and examine the local area under daylight.

A hazy mist retreated across the marshy valley floor as the twin suns spiraled away from a lightly mountainous horizon. Teak and Cecropia trees lorded over the arguing raspberry bushes and wild grass. This was a good place to set up a home. Space. Resources. No local tribes or villages. No obvious predators. A reasonable line-of-sight once the rainforest was pushed back a bit.

Is that what I wanted?  A home, out in the middle of nowhere?  The idea flirted with my pride, promising freedom and ownership and simplicity. Peaceful order. By myself.

No, I wanted more. I wanted the smokeweed daydreams from the night before. I couldn't do that alone. I couldn't do that with wood and stone and berries.

My stomach grumbled. I couldn't do that hungry, either. It was time to get to work.

#

As the day flew by, I discovered that Luciferium was good for more than night watch and staring stoned at a campfire. The Devil guided my hands, my eyes, my feet. My walk through the forest became a jog, then a dance. I skipped through the trees, untiring, breathing in the world around me.  The weight of the deadwood was trivial. Nothing was effortless, but everything was easier. He purchased my fatigue and pain with energy and clarity.

I began to worry about the exchange rate.

By the end of the day, four buildings stood where a ruin had slumped that morning. Log walls and rough hewn wooden doors constituted the majority of the new construction, with the buildings facing each other across an intersection of grass walkway roughly 4 meters wide. Not exactly a town square, but this wasn't exactly a town.

One of the new buildings contained a desk; another the beginnings of a crafting room for sculpture and weapons. The last was storage, with spare wood, berries, pemmican.

The old marble relic was cleaned and walled. It housed a bed, table, stove, a little food, and a couple benches. A false back wall hid the silver and drugs.

The Devil stayed with me through another night.

I began to wonder if it would ever end. What the mercenary said was true; I felt like a new person, a better person. Who would need so many of these pills if they last this long? When I saw him, was that his first dose, or was he re-upping? So many questions.

While I couldn't answer those questions, the stone ruins in the area could teach me something about construction. I held no hopes for my little cluster of shacks should a fire sweep through the area. Stone buildings would be better. I collected some of the strangely uniform slabs, and lost myself in trying to recreate them.

#

Rumbling torchlight had long since replaced sunlight, when a swishing in the grass disturbed me. This had become a constant struggle today, with every flash and rustle drawing my attention. Meditation helped, and I'd been practicing it liberally. The quiet of evening provided relief, but that made the extraneous sound all the more peculiar.

I fingered the Shiv at my belt, and crept out the door into the night. The darkness was cool, with rising evening mist embracing my face and sliding off the Hyperweave Duster. The cloth was too bright for stealth, so I broke line of sight from the torches and listened intently.

Leather scuffed stone near the storage building.

My feet whispered, the duster tickling my neck as I moved closer. 

Peering around the corner, we made eye contact. A women roughly my age and stature. Tribal garb. Unarmed. Startled, but with an aggressive stance. I straightened to speak with her when she lunged at me.

Instinctively, I parried her first punch, but she continued forward, folding the strike into an elbow to my temple. I felt my legs started to buckle.

My blood surged, and the Devil rejoiced, pouring his anger into my muscles. The assailant looked shocked when I didn't fall, but instead glared at her from a crouch. I lept at her, a panther hunting prey. Her guard slipped; my hand found her neck.  I planted my feet, my hips twist, slamming her head into the marble wall once, then again. A kick to the side of the knees left her dazed and sprawling.

Looking down on her, I drew the Plasteel Shiv from my belt.

"Wait!" she sputtered, blood pouring from her scalp.

I resisted the fire inside me, subduing it to smoldering coals. "I caught you creeping around my home, and then you assaulted me. Now you want mercy?"

She started to shake her head, then winced in regret. "These buildings weren't here yesterday," she explained between breaths. "I thought there would be multiple people, and I... But it's only you, isn't it? When I saw you alone, I thought..." her words drifted off.

"You thought, if you killed me, you could take it for yourself," I finished for her.

Steel infused her eyes. "If you can't protect it, you don't deserve it." She spit at my feet.

I squared my shoulders. "I still don't see why I shouldn't kill you." I tilted my head at her, questioningly.

"I'll..." she hesitated. "I'll help. You're in charge. I'll serve you."

My laugh was coarse. "So you're offering to stick around long enough to kill me in my sleep." 

I shook my head, and considered. I would need more people eventually, if this were to become a town. If I let her go, I feared she would return with friends, although I doubted she had many. Still, if it had been a group of people, I would have had problems. Now that my rage had cooled, killing her wouldn't bring me any satisfaction. Keeping her close would be best.

"You can sleep in there," I gestured towards the building with the sculpting table.

She looked at me mildly shocked, but hopeful.

"You were looking to join a community; you found one. You'll make your own bed, tomorrow. There is food by the stove in the marble building. The storeroom is off limits for tonight. What's your name?"

"Camino."  The name rolled off her tongue. 

"I'm Lasciel," my voice stayed firm and commanding. "I have work to do. We'll sort out the rest tomorrow."

She grumbled something under her breath as I walked away. No doubt, she was going to be trouble, but you don't always get to choose your comrades, and I would need allies in the coming days.

-----
Camino Brana, 37 F
Childhood: Vengeful child
Adulthood: Loner

Incapable of:
Caring, social

Traits:
Volatile
Trigger-happy
Pessimist

Notable Skills:
Shooting, Melee, Growing

-----
Thanks for the encouragement, Barazen.  I wasn't certain how involved the community was in the fiction side of things.  Seeing a reply definitely helped with motivation.  :-)

The morning was spent bandaging up Camino.  My own bruise healed in the night, but her scalp was split badly, blood matting her hair and dirtying the single long braid.  Her body language was awkward, and she said nothing.  I gave a tour of the area, explaining my plans as she looked bored.  Crops, a social area, a building specifically for food, and another to act as her permanent bedroom.

"The rooms are too small," she said curtly.

"Huh? Why? You can fit a bed and a couple plants."

"They're too small. Make them bigger."

I rubbed my eyes. "Could you explain your thought process?"

"Stupid. They won't fit families. Family things." Her tone was smug and matter of fact.

I bit my tongue, and thought about it. The current layout could barely fit 2 beds, or one double bed. She was right; we should probably build them bigger from the beginning.

I sighed. "Fine. We'll double the size, but that's more for us to haul. I expect help."

She looked away and wandered off. Her dislike for me was obvious, and she had no interest in my opinion of her. As long as she carried her weight, though, I could put up with her attitude. Probably.

And she did prove herself, somewhat. Our crops went in fast, and I found myself watching her and mimicking her patterns. Rice, Potatoes, Corn, Strawberries. They should all be ready for harvest well before we ran out of Pemmican.

When it came to other activities, she was less engaged. We cleared a small stretch of trees, and began hauling back the lumber. I was making two trips for every one of hers, and I frequently caught her laying down staring at the clouds while I worked. I finished the last few loads alone, and had just sat down in the kitchen area, exhausted, when she stormed in.

"You're incompetent," she spat, with no prelude.

"You're a lazy, ungrateful leech. What's your point?" I replied wearily.

"I could do better."

My anger kindled.  "Why didn't you? You said this area was empty before. That means you'd been here, and did nothing with it. Where's your home?  Where's your masterpiece?"

"You're ugly and demanding. That's why you're single, out here alone. Nobody will ever want you."

That stung. Tribal life encouraged pairing off young, and while I was not inexperienced, her words echoed insecurities and sentiments of failed relationships. My mouth moved on its own.

"That makes you a worse failure than I am. Alone, stealing what you can, digging through their garbage when you can't. I don't know why I let refuse like you live."

Her first blow was not a surprise. However, I quickly realized she was a much better fighter. We beat on each other for several minutes.  Both sustained bruises, and a couple cracked bones, before collapsing in separate corners of the room.

After I caught my breath, I looked at her. "What brought this on, anyway?"

She got shakily to her feet. "My room is hot. We need coolers." Then she limped out into the night.

I made my way back to my room, and sighed. She wasn't wrong.

The morning was unreasonably warm for early spring, even before the suns rose. Between the sweat, my wounds, and the drug-induced restlessness, I tossed and turned all night. A bird chip shocked me out of my hard-earned doze, and I gave up. Being hypersenstive wasn't always a good thing.

Camino was still asleep when I crept into her room carrying enough medicinal herbs and bandages for both of us. A gentle knock at the doorway brought her awake, and I ignored her piercing glare. Deja vu. Hopefully morning medical care didn't become a pattern.

"We'll build passive coolers in the bedrooms today. I stopped by to patch you up."

She shrugged and winced, but tried to hide it. There was no argument while I bandaged up the scrapes, and splinted her right shin. When I finished, I placed the rest of the medical supplies on the bed and sat down on the bench. I couldn't treat myself.

She stood up and limped out.

I looked after her disappearing form, slack-jawed.

When it became apparent she wasn't coming back, I examined my own wounds. I was certain my left forearm cracked last night, but now it felt solid, if a little sore. My other bruises and scrapes had healed up faster than expected as well.  That caused me concern. Was this also a side effect of the Luciferium? It'd been 4 days since I found it; 4 days since my only dose. No negative side effects, abundant positive effects. Why wasn't this the drug of choice everywhere?

The passive coolers were installed by late morning. I worked solo. Maybe we needed some time alone to let things cool down. By afternoon, a serviceable short bow lay next to her bed. My time would be spent finding some steel.

That evening, I heard her footsteps in the grass. First to her room, then to my door. There was no knock, only silence. Eventually they resumed again towards her room. Perhaps my peace offerings did some good. Or maybe she'd decided tonight was a good night to kill me.  I slept with the Plasteel Shiv under my pillow.

Ahh! this gets better and better, you my dear author have a fan!
and yeah I love the stories that everyone has, I tend to lurk about and read almost every one!

Really a nice story, written in a marvellous way! I'm eager to read more!

Tree branches tore gouges in my skin, flogging me for caring. I sprinted hard, the ebbing dredges of the Luciferium finally releasing itself, and leaving behind a Devil spurned, jealous and angry. There was no time for this now, so I ignored him, which only made it worse.

Rocks grew less treacherous as the forest flatland approached, and I slowed to hide my breath; hide my presence.

Camino stood in the clearing, throwing arrows uselessly at a thoroughly ignorant game bird of some kind. Her pace was furious, her aim atrocious. Fresh meat did not threaten our table tonight, but that was not my overriding concern at the moment.

Two men, most likely from a nearby town, quietly approached her along the treeline. I'd spotted them a ways off, while mining a steel deposit in the mountains. She was still unaware. Their weapons were drawn, a pistol and a steel club, but that was not so uncommon in the wilderness. Their mannerisms left no question to their intent, however.

I crept from tree to tree, rock to rock, wishing for the grace granted by the Luciferium, but sternly ignored the worrying hunger that continued to grow with each minute. I could reach them. I had to reach them.

(crack!)

I missed a step, and twig hidden under a leaf pile announcing my presence. I dropped low and froze. My coat was not assisting in the concealment, so I drew the Shiv.

(squak! caw!)

Miraculously, Camino had struck the Cassowary, and it flailed about making a racket. Finally noticing its predator, it moved away, with Camino following fumbling for arrows. The men noticed and snickered, but continued their hidden pursuit. Grateful for the distraction, I stalking my own prey.

30 meters. 20 meters. 10 meters. The forest stayed dense, and I used it to my advantage. The man with the pistol whispered something to his companion, who moved forward with club brandished, while he took aim.

My pulse quickened, the anger flared. She was mine! My legs coiled and sprang, and I buried the blade in the shooters back. Fire lept from the pistol, skyward. He cried out and spun. I reversed my grip and plunged the Plasteel into his ear.  The corpse slid silently to the ground. I retrieved my weapon, and the battle rage carried me towards his alerted companion.

Camino was now fully aware that something was happening behind her, and stood in shock as I left the tree line, covered in blood and menace. I kept my stance low. The man charged. Why do they always do that? My first cut tore at his abdomen. I stepped inside his next swing and skewered his hand to the wooden pommel of the club. His screams were cut short as I headbutt him. I followed his body to the ground, stabbing him over and over, releasing my fury into him long past his expiration.

It wasn't enough. I looked around for another.

Her eyes stopped me. I'd never seen fear on this woman's face, but she was afraid of me now. She took two steps back, dropped her bow, and fled. It was all I could do not to chase her.

The pounding in my ears would not quiet. I scrambled for the spare packet I carried in my garments. Glowing red salvation. I tore into it savagely, and swallowed it dry. The Devil smiled at me warmly as I returned to the fold. Blood smeared my hands, my clothes, my face. It was horrifying bliss.

I collapsed and wept.

-----

Thank you. I'm glad people are reading and enjoying. Feedback from readers always make it worthwhile. I'll try to keep a reasonable pace with the updates, but it will depend on my work schedule.

Really good story , well written
Looking forward to the next installment

Very well written, and thoroughly enjoyable. Thanks for this!

Figure ill add my support, dont be discouraged a lot of us read these but rarely comment! Good work so far looking forward to more.

Dark brown eyes judged me cautiously as I made us breakfast. She sat across from me at the table while we ate. No words were spoken.

We examined the corpses, but aside from the pistol and a small hand radio, there was little of value. Coarse embroidery on their sleeves suggested a dragonfly among the trees. It meant nothing to me. I dug the graves. She buried the corpses. The pistol snuck its way into my hidden stash. There was too much uncertainly for either of us to carry it right now.

The hand radio stayed on the kitchen table. Volatile words spit and crackled from the device, and while we could not comprehend its magic, we knew we were eavesdropping on potential enemies. Most of the conversations were meaningless or routine, but fragments suggested our attackers were a scouting party, searching for a missing person. Someone important to the leadership. They were still looking.

#

Sweat and blisters proved sufficiently distracting, and the fragrant shards of teak at my feet encouraged an inviting calm. Clearing trees was mindless physical labor, and I delighted in the focus and solitude. But despite my best efforts, my thoughts drift back to the previous day. How could they not?

The bloodlust yesterday...  I'd experienced battle rage before, during one of many tribal skirmishes. This was something different. Nobody had been an ally. Everything was prey. My purpose was violence. These were not normal thoughts or comfortable concepts for me, yet yesterday they became an intimately familiar lash, a hunger driving me forward. I had never felt it before, but there it was. That could not happen again.

I was back on Lu again, of course. I was obviously addicted. If this was withdrawal, I was not ready to face it yet. The size of the stash I'd uncovered made more sense now.

My heightened senses heard Camino's hurried approach before I saw her. She slowed her jog, and pointed east.

"More raiders," she informed me between breaths. "They're pursuing someone."

We hurried back to our collection of shacks, and turned up the volume on the small radio, catching fragments of their conversation between bursts of static.

"-some shacks ahead. She'll-"

"-boss feels about his livestock esc-"

"-a problem. Scouts are likely cir-"

"-lavers arrive tomorr-"

"Well fucking do it then."

"-stood."

Our eyes met, and a silent decision was made.  She moved to her room to prepare, while I hung behind, and retrieved the pistol.

We met outside. She had donned a heavier layer of leathers, and was stringing the bow. I approached and handed her the pistol along with a couple boxes of ammo. Her eyebrows rose, and I nodded.

A waif of a young woman stumbled out of the treeline, barefoot, pale, and threadbare. She saw us, and bolted our direction, occasionally casting glances behind. I caught flashes of rope burns on her wrists and ankles, blood and mud caking her feet. 

"Please, help me! They're chasing me! They'll sell me!" she cried in desperation.

I let her approach, watching for weapons or signs of deceit. My Shiv left its sheath, and she slowed. I nodded towards the building with the kitchen and marble walls, and followed her in. Camino stood watch in the doorway, and continued to load clips with ammo.

"Who are you? Who's following you? How many?" I asked. I tried to project confidence and calm, but my back itched. A sniper could be lining up a shot right now.

"I'm Aura. Aura Muuurtor. I was a model, traveling for a show... but that doesn't matter. Pirates. I don't know how many... At least three. They call themselves Dragonflys Forest. They're slavers, and worse. I finally escaped," the panic and pleading in her voice sounded sincere. "Let me stay here! I'll cook or whatever. Help me?"

I knew nothing of her usefulness or what her previous career might mean, but I wasn't about to hand over a woman to slavers.

Camino saw my face and nodded.  We prepared to fight.

-----

I am far from discouraged; this is a pleasant surprise. Thank you! Turning game content into a legible story takes time, but I'll do my best.

I'm hoping to maintain at least 3 updates a week, but my day job is project based, not hourly, so deadlines will come first.  :-)

i feel you there im a trucker so my game time is...random to say the least.

That must be rough.  I'm an engineer, so my time may be a lot more fluid than for most, but some days/weeks/months I have literally no free time.  Turning game events into story is very time consuming, and I don't want this to be an event list.  :-p  I also let the game run idly in the background sometimes, and count on the critical event pause to keep us from dying horribly.

edited to remove possible spoiler

This is surprisingly well written.
It keeps me wanting more.
Don't stop now man! :D

Our attackers were not subtle, so we chose to take that role. There were only two of us, with a knife and a pistol. For all we knew, we were up against some glitterworld insanity. The fight needed to go down on our terms. Shacks of wood don't provide great cover, but we'd build six of them at this point, and their irregularities offered excellent vantages for spying anyone who might approach. It was ten minutes of crouching and in shuffling between vantage points before someone appeared.

They must have split up. A single raider with a pistol ran towards the shacks, hunched over to reduce exposure. Camino started taking shots from around the corner almost immediately.

"Fall back," I whispered. "We'll use the buildings ambush there.  There could be a sniper out there. Lure them in here, and break line of sight."

Camino ignored me, shots firing at a faster rate. I doubted she was even aiming. I slunk back. Aura had mentioned three people in the party.

I spotted their second attacker flanking us, with some sort of large pistol. Camino had made herself a target, so I moved into the shadows on an alley and watched. He had no line of sight on her, and moved to remedy the situation. His footsteps carried him past me without slowing. My feet whispered behind his, and I dropped him in a strike.

My partner had forgotten all hints of subtlety, and was rattling off rounds at an astounding rate. Nothing indicated she was hitting anything.  Her opponent had taken cover behind another of our buildings, which which was fine by me. I could get behind him easier this way. A quick burst of speed, and I cut him down as well.

No hunger. No rage. I was back to normal at least.

My brief introspection was shattered by an explosion by the kitchen, and chunks of wood, marble, and shrapnel dancing away from a gaping hole in the building. 

The third one! Damnit.

We arrived to see her disappear back into the forest, fleeing. There was no catching her.

Our victory was short-lived. Aura had been hiding in that building.  Her body lay tangled in the remains of the kitchen stove. Among the debris, packets of glowing red lay scattered. My false wall had also come down in the blast.

Camino's surveyed the damage, her face flashing through sorrow, astonishment, anger. The pistol jerked towards me, then lowered. She looked at me and shook her head.

"So when do I kill you?" she muttered at me.

"What?"  I expressed, dazed and bewildered.

"You're on Luciferium, aren't you?  That's why you went crazy yesterday. It kills you, after it makes you kill your friends."

I was confused. "All drugs have side effects. I'll manage the withdrawal before I run out."

She exploded with fury. "Withdrawals kill you! You will die! You have no choice, " she seethed.

I was dumbstruck.

(Click. Clatter. Kerchunk) The pistol was reloaded.

"Stay away from me. You're a monster waiting to happen," Camino threw at me as she walked away. Any goodwill I had established was gone.

I was left to clean up the mess and bury the body.

sorry guys.  work is insane right now.  next update on friday.

AAAAARGH! A CLIFFHANGER?! NOOOOO!

(Good work though! Keep them at your own pace don't feel a need to rush)

Ended up onsite for CE/UL testing for the past few days (it passed on the first try!).  Updates to resume shortly.  I haven't forgotten.  :-)

The silence was therapeutic; the work wonderfully mindless. Burying bodies and rebuilding walls monopolized the next day, while ponderings of my own mortality scattered my mind.

It all made sense now.  The secrecy, the coyness, the glint in his eye when he offered it to me. He knew he was offering me Dionysius' throne. If I had known, would I still have tried it later?

Of course not. Not without some means to acquire or manufacture it, and likely not even then.

I fingered one of the pouches containing a pill. So much potential in there, and so much risk. I was here now, and I had no plans to succumb to some bullshit glitterworld drug.

I had 398 left. I needed 3 per season, if the Fury was an indication of withdrawal. 33 years. That was not an insignificant amount of time.  Chances are, I wouldn't live long enough to run out.  That matter settled, I returned to the mundane daily matters of survival, and pursuing a dream.

The next few weeks were remarkably quiet. Crops grew, harvests were gathered. Camino spent most of her time hunting, while I expanded our collection of shacks, laid down roads, and continued studying the various local examples of stonework. 

Late one evening, a group of traders approached through the detrius of autumn leaves and decaying plants. There were many of them, heavily armed and lightly armored. They claimed to be from one of the regional factions, but the name escaped my mind as soon as I heard it.

The muffalo sporting the saddlebags grunted and chuffed as I perused their stock. I noted the prices, and how we couldn't afford anything, but kept my expression optimistic. I had thought 200 silver would be sufficient, but apparently that was pocket change to a trade caravan.

Camino was standing in an alley, hands near her pistol. I was glad to have her standing guard. The caravan might assume there were more unseen guards elsewhere. However, her eyes kept flashing towards the livestock tethered to the back of the caravan. It took me a few minutes of subtly glancing at her to see what had attracted her attention before I realized it was the Red Foxes. 

Oh my god. She wanted a puppy.

Negotiations were simple. We had an excess of food; far more than two people would eat in year, and the weather in this region allowed year-round crops. A few bushels of rice later, we were the owners of Swampy and Venus, male and female Red Fox puppies.

Camino's expression was the closest I'd seen to gratitude since we'd met, but she still refused to speak to me as she left with Swampy. Hopefully they'd be good company for each other.

This is very exciting story! You are doing fantastic work writing it. I was anticipating the next part, when you posted it right in time and made my day in the last minutes of it :) Keep going, I'll wait for the next part.

Best story I've seen on Rimworld so far. Genuinely thought you were an author for a while, what with such a well-written account of your game in Rimworld. Looking forward to the next entry.

You continue to hook me my friend, May your game go well  into the future my friend!

The bullet holes in my abdomen and shoulder mocked my prior optimism. Three weeks was significantly less than 33 years. I glanced under my hand again, and winced. Yup, that was organ blood. This was not good. I rested my head against the stone wall and reflected.

---

The time since the puppies arrived had been downright pleasant. Neither of us could train them well, but it didn't stop us from trying. Venus was particularly willful, and there were many times she would look me in the eye, ignore my command, and run off to hunt rodents. She came back though, so there was that.

My research and documentation on the local stonework came to an end. Drawings, samples, descriptions of the techniques I'd found for cutting and polishing bricks. I would feel more comfortable with stone buildings. For that matter, I'd feel more comfortable with modern clothing instead of tribal garb, so that became my next project.

Camino had never been happier, as far as I could tell. She spent every day she could out hunting with Swampy, and required far less medical attention after hunting trips than she normally did.

The raiders crept into town while I slept.

Camino was returning late from her hunting trip, and her gunfire in the streets brought me awake. Seriously? Were we that much of a target, or was this normal for settlements and I was unaware?

A fluttering by my door was too quiet to be my ally, so I slipped out behind them and got to work. The corpse carried a shotgun, and I claimed it as my own. I heard sloppy impacts between liquid and concrete, and was thankful that Camino's aim had improved. I moved to the corner, and saw two more corpses in the street. 3 down.

I noticed the 4th raider too late, and a spray of bullets tore into the wall near me. My feet carried me around the corner at a sprint, and I was greeting by another bullet impact near my head, courtesy of Camino. She shrugged at me, then refocused on my pursuer, while I bolted for cover between two buildings.

Startled eyes, light blue in the moonlight, highlighting a teenage face, a dirty duster, and a machine pistol.  We both hesitated, then fired simultaneously. The impacts threw me to the ground, unfamiliar levels of pain making a forceful introduction. The youth was missing their face.

The gunfire in the street continued briefly before a male voice cried out in pain.  I guessed Camino won the exchange.  Her form moved to get a better view of the alley where I lay.  She made eye contact, then noted the blood pouring from my arm and stomach.  We stared at each other.  Her fingers snapped, and Swampy pranced to her heel.  She turned and walked away.  Again.

Damn that woman.

-----

Glad everyone is so engaged.  Thank you for the kind comments.  :-)

My comrade's silhouette faded into the misty treeline. A trail of blood and cursing stalked me to the storage closet, where I searched for medical supplies. The bullet passed through my shoulder, but the bone didn't seem broken. There's no exit wound on my lower back, however, and that was very concerning. Kidney? Liver? We have a healroot crop growing, and a few basic herbal medical options, but without help and better supplies, I had maybe two or three very painful days to live.

I patched myself up as best I could, and collapsed in my bedroom. The night passed badly.

Camino was butchering alphabeaver when I eventually shuffled out into the day. Fresh meals sat in stacks in the passively cooled storage near the kitchen. I cringed; she was also an awful cook. Alphbeaver steaks. Alphabeaver stew. Alphabeaver Jerky. Alphabeaver Bacon. Alphabeaver Donburi.

I picked up some Jerky. She couldn't screw up Jerky.

The first bite proved me wrong.

Welp.

The rest of my morning was spent bathing, bandaging, and generally failing to tend my own wounds. Once Camino left on her perpetual daily hunting trip, I packed up some tools and food, and slowly made my way to the rocky hills north of our settlement. 

The late autumn air bit my face and cooled my soreness. Structure is safety, but wilderness is freedom, and I fought the urge to romp through dead leaves and dwindling underbrush. It was peaceful, almost meditative, nursing my way towards the infant limestone mountain. Nostalgia for home overwhelmed me briefly, and I realized I would not be buried in my ancestral tomb. My eyes wandered to suitable locations for my own grave.

No. Not yet.

I refocused, and trudged on. Eventually my destination exposed itself; a broken rock face concealed from plain sight, shrouded in vines and shrubs. My pack fell to my feet, and I unslung the pickaxe. The first impact ripped at my wounds, and I convulsed in agony. This was a bad idea, but I wasn't leaving a fortune in Luciferium in the hands of Camino. I rummaged through the pack, and fumbled another red pill down my throat. Withdrawal wouldn't set in for another couple days, but surviving to experience withdrawal didn't seem likely. I basked in the rush of pain relief, energy, and focus.

Years later, the sun reached high noon, and my concealed stash was crafted. Limestone chunks naturally suggested a recent landslide, and the relocated sapling completed the illusion. I gathered my gear to return home and retrieve the drugs, but only made it a few steps before I succumbed to exhaustion, gravity, and darkness.

Rimworld i know you h9ld no punches but YOU LET ME HAVE THIS STORY DAMNIT! dont take it from me yet :(

Ocean waves slowly rolled across my eardrums, a slow cadence of anticipation and collapse that matched my breath. It held my breath. It was my breath. My eyes were closed, my face impressed in the mud. Rocks and twigs stabbed me awake, and I rolled onto my side. Echoes of the beach receded, to be replaced by the distant chaos of stomping boots, muffalo bridles, and casual chatter. Rays of the sunset fluttered through the trees, and the relative silence emboldened the noises I made while righting myself. My stomach wound was a fire of blood and puss and pain. 

Infected. Great.

I caught glimpses of the caravan plodded southward, towards our home. Hope erupted in my chest. They could have medicine. They could have a doctor. We could trade food for winter clothes.

I scrambled towards them, trying to understand the fantastical arrangement of animals and people.

Slaves. They had slaves. This was a pirate caravan.

Instinct brought me low, and I nearly cried out in pain at my own sudden movements. I couldn't approach them like this, wounded, alone, weak. I would be seen as merchandise, not a merchant. I needed to beat them home, and present a stronger image.

Fortunately, they were slow even for a caravan, and panic and adrenaline granted me a reasonable pace back to town. Camino was not to be seen, but that suited me just fine. Fresh clothes, fresh bandages, washed face, and I was ready to trade.

Oh. Right. We were broke.

The pirate caravan made camp outside town slightly after dusk. I wore the hyperweave duster, and let the hilt of the plasteel shiv display obviously at my belt.  The shotgun rest across one arm. Before me stood a dozen armed guards, half a dozen variety of animals from alpacas to chickens to a tame boomrat.

Another rat moved to the front of the crowd, this one in human form. Leather and steel and a finely crafted pistol clashed against a dirty smirk and hungry eyes.

"You interested in doing some... eheh... business?" his voice dripped with something that wasn't honey.

I shrugged, controlling my reaction to the pain it caused. "You showed up at my doorstep during the night. I guess I could glance through your scrap."

His laugh was too loud. He smiled at me, and produced a high-tech tablet of sorts. "Here's what I've got. Feel free to browse."

Fortunately, I'd seen one of these devices before, and did not make a fool of myself in front of the pirate crew. Animals and weapons made up the majority of the list. I noticed they had a small supply of real medical supplies, and was about to mark them for consideration when I saw they would not accept food for trade.

Shit.

The rest of the list was drugs, and then at the bottom was mention of the slaves.

Wait. Drugs.

I scrolled back up. They would buy Luciferium. My heart almost stopped. Was I really willing to sell it?  Maybe I was. It wouldn't do me any good if I died. But the medical supplies wouldn't do me any good without someone willing to treat me.

As if summoned, the clatter of a clip being loaded into a pistol resounded from a nearby alley, and Camino made her presence known.

"Well lookey here!" the Rat exclaimed. "This place is looking like paradise! How many more of you ladies are hanging around?"

I let my eyes flicker towards the treeline behind him, then looked him in the eyes. "Enough."

His expression wavered, and he move back to talk to the guards. Soon, a few of them had deployed to the back of the caravan, watching the trees. I continued to scan the inventory, when I had an idea.

The first slave was named Lynx. 70 year old woman, discounted for age and injuries. Supposedly a decent hunter and cook. The other was a mountain of man named Hayhouse. 34 years old.  Previously a bounty hunter. Medical skills.

Medical skills.

I did some quick math, and almost choked. Then I made up my mind.

Two guards paced me as I moved into the middle of the caravan. I crossed my arms in front of me to hide the spot of blood leaking through my shirt. The slaves were tied to a muffalo by the neck. My eyes roamed their naked bodies; taking in mud and scars, blisters and rope burns. Lynx looked of leather and sinew and grit. Her gaze was resigned but not without will.

Rat moved up behind me.  "You like what you see?"

I ignored him, and walked up to Hayhouse. Broad and tall, shadows of muscle under fat hinted at enormous strength gone soft. His smile was genuine in a way that belied his slavery. "You any good?" I asked.

He laughed, a jolly baritone. "Depends what is needed." He winked. "Nobody has complained yet."

A couple of the guards jeered and whistled.

My lips betrayed a slight smile. I tapped the tablet a few times, and handed it back to Rat. "Bring these items to the front. I'll return shortly with payment."  Before he could respond, I was out of the caravan and weaving between buildings, intentionally obscuring my trail. No reason to let him know where we stored our valuables.

Once out of sight, I leaned against the wall and breathed deep. The pain was getting worse. I wasn't going to be able to stand much longer. 

A few minutes and some extra bandaging later, I returned with a small bundle of cloth containing 3 years of my life. 36 Luciferium would buy medicine and the lives of two slaves.

Rat's eyes were still wide with greed and curiosity when I handed him the bag. One of the guards started to peer over his shoulder, but he shooed him away. I could hear him counting.

The tally finished, he nodded to me and gestured to the guards to release our purchases to us. I slid my arm around Hayhouse's waist, and leaned against him. He raised an eyebrow at me, but said nothing. More hooting followed us as we returned to the center of town, Lynx bring up the rear with the medical supplies.

As we approached my room, I turned to face them. "You're free, both of you. You can stay here if you like. Those two buildings have empty beds; help yourself. There's food in the kitchen over there, and some old tribal garb in the storehouse over there."

They gaped at me.

My gaze turned to Hayhouse.  "Your records suggests you had some medical experience. I would appreciate it if..."

The rest of my words stuttered to a stop as my strength finally gave out and I collapsed unconscious again.

#

Hayhouse, Hunter, 34 M
Childhood: Orphan
Adulthood: Bounty Hunter

Incapable of:
Crafting, cleaning

Traits:
Cold tolerant
Brawler
Volatile

Notable Skills:
Melee, Medicine

Health:
Heart, Artery blockage (minor)


Lynx, Experiment, 70 F
Childhood: Spoiled child
Adulthood: Test subject

Incapable of:
Intellectual, firefighting

Traits:
Volatile
Prosthophile

Notable Skills:
Shooting, Melee, Animals, Cooking

Health:
Left ear, Hearing loss
Right ear, Hearing loss
Torso, Bite scar
Right arm, Old gunshot, Stab scar

-----

THREE Volatile personalities?  Really, Rimworld?  Really?

I couldn't move. I knew this was a dream, but I couldn't manipulate it, couldn't guide it to something more pleasant. Voices whispered around me, shouting voices, rumbling voices, voices like a gunshot, or maybe a door slamming. Something stabbed me. The scream wouldn't break free, so I broke.

#

I was getting tired of waking up confused. We were in my apartment; my clothes lay in the corner, and fresh bandages adorned my shoulder and stomach. A bullet slug hung from the bedpost by a chord; some sort of gruesome talisman, the deep cracks still slightly stained with my blood.

Nearby, the contents of a medical kit sat organized into piles and purposes. Hayhouse slept in a chair by the door, murmuring to himself. He was not unpleasant on the eyes, and it appeared he had saved my life.

Knowing I likely wasn't about to die released a tension in me, and I sagged back into the bed to get some rest.

#

Camino did not take well to the additional colleagues, which surprised me slightly. Why did she think we had all these buildings? She spent most of the first couple days picking fights with them whenever she could. It turned out that both Hayhouse and Lynx had very short fuses, so the three of them had the most amazing shouting matches I've ever heard.

It didn't help that Swampy obviously preferred Lynx. Camino tried everything she could to cajole Swampy back, and even made a few attempts to train Venus again, but to no avail.

Speaking of Venus, she's pregnant! She's also still completely un-trainable.

The extra farmhands have allowed us to expand our crops to include Cotton and Hops. I'm hoping to eventually sell beer, so we're not broke when the trade caravans come through.

I've been spending more time with Hayhouse. His moods can swing wildly, but he's generally very amicable, and most of the compound likes him. He's quick witted and friendly, although he can't craft or clean to save his life. Every morning, he provides fresh breakfast for us all, and his contributions to the clothing research have been incredibly valuable.  We keep the flirting to a minimum, usually.

With Lynx and Camino bringing in game, I've set about to building more community infrastructure. Everyone has their own room. There is now a dedicated butchery outside the kitchen and common room. I put in a recreation room with chess and billiards, which seems to be popular.

I daresay, we might be doing ok?  When we're not fighting, anyway.

He wandered into town around midday, with Venus cradled in his arms.  Salt and pepper beard, well tanned tribal leathers, and the swagger of a wilder.  Hayhouse, Lynx, and I were planting crops. The strangers eyes swept over us before settling on Hayhouse, whom he approached.

"Looks like your womenfolk are getting lax in their duties. This pup got out, and a panther had their way with her," he explained as he proffered the injured red fox.  Hayhouse and I exchanged a glance, after which he took Venus and headed towards the medical room.  Both her front paws were wrapped in bandages, and one leg looked much shorter than the other.

"Thank you for bringing her back," I offered. "She's normally-"

The stranger ignored me entirely and followed Hayhouse, speaking only to him.  "I've done you a favor.  Can I get some food, and place to stay for the night?"

Hayhouse stopped and looked at me meaningfully.

Realization sunk in. "She's in charge?!" the old man exclaimed. He looked around at the town again. "Well, that explains a lot."

I held my temper in check. "We can offer some food before you go," I said with only a hint of an edge. "What brings you out this way? We don't see many travelers."

"I'm looking for my sister," he mentioned idly.  "Her name is Aura.  She was kidnapped fairly recently, and the trail led this direction."

I couldn't repress the shock from my face entirely, but he wasn't looking at me, so I don't think he noticed.  Memories of a raider attack and grenade explosions brought with them the image of her mangled form in the stonework.

Of course I remembered her. I'd buried her. Looking back at our visitor, I hoped it wasn't the same person, but the resemblance was there, around the eyes and cheeks.

"Follow me," I said. "We'll get your settled."

Sorry everyone.  I'm going to have to stop now.  Here are the rest of my notes on the next 3 years of gameplay.

-----

Termite arrives.  Aura's brother.  Hates women.  Good with animals though.  Lynx is better.  Minor bonding over animal training.  Lynx takes ownership of Swampy.  Venus still untrained, despite multiple attempts.

Termite, Scout, 53 M
Childhood: Tribe child
Adulthood: Scout

Incapable of:
(none)

Traits:
Chemically interested
Psychically dull
Dislikes women

Notable Skills:
Shooting, Animals, Growing

Health:
Heart, Artery blockage (minor)


1st of Winter, 5500.  Relationship with Hayhouse.  Statue commemorating it?

Toxic Storm. TOXIC STORM.  Venus wanders off, brings back toxic monkey meat.  Replanting crops as they die.

6 days storm.  All the animals are dead.

Attacked by cyborg, same time as caravan arrives?  Bought a couple Husky's, Queeny and Alex.  Queeny is missing a paw.  Cyborg attacked and started picking off animals.  Nasty fight.   Tore off another of Venus legs.  Hand feeding her now.  Bandages and bedrest.

Social relations with Camino are getting better, although almost everyone dislikes Camino.  Termite is also struggling to settle in, but that's mostly due to his dislike of women.

3 research tables.  Second sculpting table, and a stonecutter's table.  Pine tree crops.

Puppies!  Pazzo and Arty, F and M.  Considered euthenizing Venus.  She's only 2 years old though.  We'll see.

Angry turtle.  Camino scared it off, but let it live.  Blood everywhere.  Termite finished it.


11th of Winter, 5501: Queeny is pregnant!  Pazzo is untrainable.

12th of Winter, 5501:  Complex Clothing!  Marriage announcement (Lasciel and Hayhouse)!  Brewing next.  Also, time to make a chapel.

Small limestone chapel, benches, flowerpots.  Steel walkway.  Lots of daylilys.

Nasty round of food poisoning.  Nothing looked spoiled...

1 year has passed.

Camino and Termite fistfight.  Camino knocked unconscious.  Termite carries her to bed, and patches her up.  They both ended up with cracked spines!

Wood shortage.  This is... problematic regarding the mood of the tribe.

Raider attack.  Leader of the Dragonfly's Forest pirate band.  Hid between the buildings, ambushed the two snipers, then chased down the leader Kit, Reseracher while she fled.  Lynn, Assassin, Bunchie Sailor.  Bunchie survived, but we were too busy tending to our own wounds to tend to hers.  Also, no prison or medical beds.  We may have also eaten breakfast, trained our pets, harvested our crops, and dug graves before we thought about maybe getting her help.  I was surprised to see her still alive, the next day after breakfast.  The look in her eyes was pleading, so I put her out of her suffering.

Alex was trained to haul.  This will help with chores a great deal.

Sowing the fields is taking up too much time.  We have enough food for 2 seasons.  I halted sowing so we can get other work done.  They were unsynchronized since the Toxic Storm anyway.

Traders!  Thank god.  Sell all the hops.

Sigh.  They have no interest in food goods.  Shit.

Put my gear in safe storage.  Duster at 50%.

BEER!  Single barrel for now, but soon, mass production.  Hops will spoil otherwise.  Moved on to blacksmithing.

Party, to relax a bit.

Planting a forest.  Poplar for now, since it's fast.  Teak later.

Clothing.  We've known how for a long time, and have huge stockpiles of cotton, but only recently had the time and resources to build the tailoring benches.  Time to make some new clothes.  Dear god, Termite is bad at this.  3 failed shirts in a row.

Panther harassing our pets.  Lynx took care of it with a single headshot.

Turns out that was a lucky shot.  The next manhunter panther to show up, Lynx killed Pazzo, Adriatic, and shot off Hayhouse's right leg.

I designated graves to bury the dogs, but Termite butchered Adriatic.

We were up to 7 animals.  Now we're down to 4 animals.  We lost both husky puppies.

Hayhouse is bedridden.  Lasciel harvested a teak tree, and we made him a pegleg.

3rd panther attack. Lynx in the medical bed.

Things have settled down.  We have food, clothes, resources.  Passive coolers everywhere.  Everyone is researching smithing, except Lynx who wont research due to her Test Subject history.

Uranium from the sky.

Bulk goods trader.  Managed to sell off most of our surplus hops and food, plus some threadbare clothes.  Opened up sowing again for rice and berries.

Smithing done!  We had some ideas about medicine and other high tech stuff, but starting on carpets next.  Winter is coming.

2 Dromedary's joined up?

Marriage ceremony moved to kitchen because too hot at temple.  Panthers attacked Dromedary's.  Lynx and Camino took care of it, left the panther bleeding.  Arty, still a pup, finished off the panther and ate it.

Hayhouse and Termite fought in the afterparty.  Lasciel spent the afterparty patching up the female Drom.

Of course Hayhouse patches up termite before he gets patched up himself.  Dude is too chill for his own good.

Boomalope self-tamed.  What?  No.  We left it free-range, but Lasciel had an idea.  Expanded the luciferium cave, made the boomalope a guardian room in front.  Oh, wait, boomalope needs food.  Hrm.

Lasciel 4am beer.  Rofl.

Pack of manhunting boars.  8 of them.  Shit.

Used doorways as choke points, and picked them off as they ran by.

Carpet!  Just in time for Fall.  Winter will be much more comfortable, if blights stop wiping out our cotton crops.

With everything quiet and clean, the entire tribe focused on research.  Medicine research completed quickly.  Now to work on this mysterious 'electricity' we've seen in the trade caravan tech.

Why is the beer disappearing?  I don't see anyone drinking it.

It's the dog.  The pregnant Husky, Queeny, has been drinking the beer.

Remodeled the common area slightly, so it seats 6.  Lynx wanted to make the furniture.  It is terrible, frankly, but we'll leave it be for now.

More Husky puppies!!  Masahiro and Sissy.

We've started planing most of our crops again, since food was getting a bit low, and there is a great desire for beer and carpets.

Electricity generations figured out.  Working on batteries now.

Pirate merchants on their way through.  This will be interesting.  They have megatherium for sale.  A prosthetic arm and leg! And 3 more slaves.  They're not useful, but can I just let them wander off to whatever fate awaits them?

Damnit.  Another choice between my life and theirs.

I bought some 4x better medicine, and some 10x Neutroamine.  One arm and leg prosthetic.  The megatherium were tempting, but they cost as much as the people.  They are broken, and this will create a huge mess, but...  it's not really a choice, is it?

5k silver for everything.  We only have 1100.  60 Luciferium gone, with components making up the difference.  Another 5 years of life.  Hayhouse was supportive, if worried.  I started this town, and I'm responsible for the happiness of my community, but I can't watch slaves stay slaves.

Beer sells well... 5-6 per bottle, and it doesn't spoil.  Maybe I should ramp up my brewery production, so I don't have to keep shaving off years of my life.

Beds.  A hospital area for the operations.

Carro, Loner, 39 M
Childhood: Herder
Adulthood: Loner

Incapable of:
Social

Traits:
Nudist
Trigger-happy
Green thumb

Notable Skills:
Medicine, Growing

Health:
(none)

Willis, Novelist, 29 F
Childhood: Coma child
Adulthood: Novelist

Incapable of:
Dumb Labor, Social

Traits:
Neurotic
Slothful
Night owl

Notable Skills:
Artistic

Health:
(none)

Grey, Gatherer, 22 F
Childhood: Herder
Adulthood: Gatherer

Incapable of:
(none)

Traits:
Abrasive
Prosthophobe

Notable Skills:
Melee, Medicine, Growing

Health:
Smokeleaf dependence

Someone brought smokeleaf with them, and everyone smoked it.  We didn't know Grey was addicted.  This will get interesting.

Granite hospital.  Tiled concrete floor.  Not enough silver for a sterile floor.  Will upgrade later.  Made a drug lab, in case we need more medicine.  Concerned that prosthetics may need more than herbal remedies.

Lynx had a breakdown and wandered off.  Hope she gets home alright.

Shit.  We're out of food.  3 more mouths to feed, not to mention smokeweed munchies...  time to go hunting.

Dreams of electricity are going to have to wait.

Good carraway hunt.  We wont starve, and rice should be harvestable tomorrow.

Shit.  Drug lab can't produce medicine.

Prosthetic installation went well.  Lynx is angry that it's not bionic.  Hayhouse's new leg took fine, even with herbal meds.  Lynx got the modern medicine.

Crops came up.  Things should start to settle down now, at least, until the personalities get involved.

I haven't even been out here a year and a half, and I've used up over a quarter of my Luciferium supply.  I need to find a better way.

I rolled over to have some personal time with Hayhouse, and I see Willis using the research table IN OUR ROOM.  There are 4 tables in the settlement!  He glanced over, shrugged, and kept working.  We eventually shooed him out.

Welcoming party.  Camino and Carro seem to be hitting it off, although his flirting got him shot down.

The extra hands are making all the chores much easier to manage.  Crop harvest and sowing is a breeze now.  Cooking enough food may be a problem, but Willis is a Night Owl, so he keeps us mostly fed, and I frequently handle the rest.  Our new members are integrating fairly well.  Gray is having a tough time with withdrawal, but that'll pass.

Batteries!  But, we don't have the wood to burn to run a generator.  So, solar panels next?

The next batch of hops came up, and everyone is very excited about the idea of becoming a large scale brewery.  Which is good, because we have 7 silver.

5 mad muffalo.  The animals saved the day, really.  And Camino protected gray as she ran for shelter.  Gunned down 2, and got into melee with a 3rd.  Lost her left ring finger for her trouble.

We butchered 2, but had so much meat from that, we tried to rescue the other 3.  We'll see how that goes.

Now that we have batteries, it was suggested we could build wind turbines.  Certainly can't hurt.

We saved 3 of the Muffalo.  They're not tame, but they're staying local.  If we can tame a male and female, this might work to our benefit.

A dromedary got pregnant in here when I was distracted.  And Queeny is pregnant.  Again.  Is this her 4th time?  This place is turning into a farm.

Wow, those windmills really work when they get going!  Also a small shack with some batteries.  We might even have heaters for the winter!

Nobody here is any good at mining.  Gathering this steel may take a while after all.

Gut Worm epidemic.  Lynx, Termite, Gray.  They got treatment, but then decided to get back to work?  It's weird.

Electric Stove!  Electric Lights!  Electric Tailoring bench! I...  I expected it to be a little more glamorous.  Still, this cuts back on our wood usage substantially.  3 windmills generate a lot of power.  Still, 12 light bulbs is 900W of power.  That's 1 full battery for 1 day, and then there's the stove.  Need more batteries.

Solar panels!  Research seems to come quickly now.  Next up, Air Conditioning.

The gut worms are persistent.  Hayhouse says he's beginning to understand (med 9), and Carro is helping where he can (med 8), but this looks like it could be slow going.  Need to plant more healroot.  They are burning through our stocks.

We tamed one of the muffalo.  And then 3 huskies wandered into our town and settled in of their own accord (Purple, Keiko, Tuffy).  We have a lot of animals. 

17 mouths to feed.  Need more crops.

I've roofed off all the walkways around town, and maybe of the ones near the fields.  Perhaps sunlamps are a worthwhile investment?  Need to ramp up power production even further though.  Solar and wind, and backup battery banks.

Street lamps.  Now people want street lamps.  Alright then.

Burned though almost 1000 steel getting the city wired for light.  I hope its worth it.  Winter is here though, and people are complaining about the cold, so having light and heat should go a long way towards keeping spirits up.

Gray spent most of the winter on the verge of a breakdown.

Termite and Willis are a thing now?  Really?  Doesn't he dislike women?  This is going to get weird.

Backup batteries switched out to separate banks, just in case.

Another escapee from Dragonfly.  Ryo McKee.  He was followed by 3 raiders, but our army of huskies took them down quick.  One of them started a fire, which wiped out half our grazing land, but we still have enough grass for the animals.  Looted a superior personal shield for Hayhouse.

Ryo, Officer, 41 M
Childhood: Caveworld tender
Adulthood: Glitterworld officer

Incapable of:
Dumb labor

Traits:
Nudist
Psychopath
Careful shooter

Notable Skills:
Melee, Animals, Growing, Artist

Health:
(none)

Super Volcano.  Volcanic Winter.  What.  Uhm.  Windmills and Sun Lamps, I guess?

And an Eclipse.  This is great.

Sun Lamps use so much power.  And it's so cold, we'll need to wall everything in anyway, before the sunlamps will be useful.  Of course, we don't have materials for walls, so...  back to the mines I guess?

We're up to 8 windmills now, and 4 solar panels.  One battery bank is full and off the grid.  Charging a second one now, and plans for a third are ready once we have the materials.  The greenhouse is going up.  Rather, an enclosure around our existing fields.  It's not small, or cheap, and the power costs boggle the mind, both for heat and light.  But we don't know how long the ash with fall, so we need to assume it will fall forever.  Our livestock seem to be doing ok.  They're all grazing animals.  But I worry about the huskies.  Another 3 pregnancies...  it's astounding.

Gutworms cleared.  Thank god.  Feeding them was getting scary.

The irony. We finished researching Air Conditioning while trying not to starve from freezing crops.  But I hear if you get things cold enough, food lasts forever.  Hydroponics sounds like a good next step.

8 windmills, 4 solar panels, still not enough to keep the food growing.  Dropped the corn for more rice.  More time in the mines so we can put up more power generation equipment.  We WILL find a way to survive this Volcanic Winter in comfort.

Willis and Termite are engaged.  The wonders never cease.

Survived the winter.  2 years since I wandered off solo and started this silly adventure.  There's hope.  Just ask the huskies.  We have 10 now, with 3 of them pregnant.

I just cannot make enough power generation facilities to keep the greenhouse lit.  Windmills seems smarter... fewer resources, higher output... but they've been still for days. So we're going solar, even though this ash cloud makes them less efficient.  One morning, we were down to 80Wd storage with -12000W draw, before the sunrise and wind finally caught up with our usage.

Hydroponics complete 7 Spr 5502.  Starting microelectronics.  We need to be able to trade.

Starting with 2 hydro basins, to work out the bugs without threatening out food output too greatly.  They too work particularly well.  178% on strawberries.

Queeny is pregnant again.

14 days of volcanic winter.  This is the new norm.

Ran out of food again.  I have to sell some of these dogs.  They're literally eating us to death.

I also decided to go all in on the hydroponics for one of the berry patches.  14 beds.  Will likely switch them to rice as well.  We'll see how this goes.

Bulk goods trader stopping by.

Sold 2 of the pregnant huskies, and the 3 latest pups.  We still have 5 huskies, one of which is pregnant, 2 male red foxes, 2 droms, and 2 muffs.  Bought some Pemmican, just in case.

The grazing animals were running out of grass and starving due to the volcanic winter, so we've planted a large field of haygrass.  Hopefully they'll eat it while it's growing, as needed.

Power generation on good days is immense now.  In excess of 46kW.  Bad days, we get daylight at 23kW.  Need more batteries, but can't find any more components.  Need them for everything.  In a bit of a holding pattern at the moment.

Fuck fuck fuck. Solar flare.  Can't shield against it or anything.  All the hydroponics died.  Glad I bought that Pemmican, and only converted one of our 6 fields to hydroponics.  We should have rice tomorrow.  It's cool enough outside, the wort wont spoil.

Rice came up in 26 hours.  Damn.  Ok, Rice for hydroponics it is.

The reforestation project on the north side of town went fairly well.  We have tons of wood, and the forest is back.  I cancelled the sowing efforts, and deleted the zone, so it should grow naturally now.

We are still barely staying ahead of food needs.  There are no wild animals left to hunt.  Our only crops are indoor greenhouse crops.  The outdoor fields usually die before they finish growing.  A couple of our less community driven members are getting research done in the evenings.  I hope they come up with something soon.

I'm short of components and steel, but I think food might be stable-ish now?  Might be time to start some mining expeditions.

12 Spr 5502 Termite and Willis marriage.  Once again, the temple is unusable, this time, due to volcanic winter.

Building new apartments, to stop the complaining about shared bedrooms.  We have enough wood now. (almost 3k?!  Who's been harvesting this?)

Female psychic drone

Potatoes seem ok in the volcanic winter, with no sun lamps or interior heating.  Interesting.

Drone was only 24 hours.

Cargo pods, Artillary shells x40.

14 Spr 5502, all 14 hydroponic pods are up, making rice.  That's only 5-8 meals a day, but in combination with natural soil greenhouse plants, it should allow us to keep pace with food consumption for... 9 people, 8 animals?  Hrm.  Maybe we need another set of pods.

Steel shortage.  We're full time managing crops.

Nutrient past meals from the sky.

Most of the animals have been trained in hauling, which is amazing.  Workloads significantly reduced.

We don't have enough components for AC in the bedrooms.  Passives coolers for another summer.  How is it over 30C in a volcanic winter?

2nd summer 5502 raid.  5 raiders from Dragonsfly Forest.  We lost Squid, a husky puppy, and Alex, one of our male adults got really beat up, including losing a leg.  I lost my left big toe, and Hayhouse got some bruises from a mace, but his personal shield handled the worst of it.

Loot was minimal, but we did find another personal shield, and 5 pills of Lucy off a runner.  I made it disappear into my stash before anyone noticed.

With things stable despite the continued volcanic winter, I decided to turn my eyes towards the future.  We're bad at mining.  Some practice will fix that.  All exposed mining resources have be scheduled for collection.  Steel, Gold, and Uranium are clearly visible from our scouting trips.  It's time to collect them.  I expect we will need them in the future.  That said, food related chores are higher priority for everyone.

Research has resumed, by those that refuse to do manual labor.  Can't complain too much; we need to keep moving forward.

6th sum 5502.  Keep on keepin' on. 26 days of volcanic winter.

I think it might be time to start assigning specialties to people.  Generalists are more useful for survival, but specialists are better for making sure everything continues to make progress at a fairly consistent rate.  I, of course, will still do a little of everything.

Microelectronics!  We can make better work benches.  If we had components.  Which we don't.  Fsck.

Machining next.  I want us all to have high quality, powerful, ACCURATE guns.

Quiet summer nights are just fine

Sigh.  More puppies.

We're actually producing too much food now, and nobody has time for anything else.  I'm going to let the hydroponics lay fallow for a day or two.

We have the steel for better research stations, but we have no components.  Mining expeditions have turned up nothing.  This is frustrating.

We make good research progress during the quiet days.

I'm considering how we should grow next.  Our town is stable, healthy despite the ash and cold.  It's not as defensible as I'd like, nor as comfortable.  I'm thinking about a new housing complex, or a new research lab, or perhaps manufacturing facilities.  I don't know yet.  The fields to the south would be a god spot for further development.

Wood is plentiful, and looks good, but the flammability is a concern.  We have a great deal of limestone in the immediate area, and that solves both problems, but will take a while to gather and cut.  I would prefer granite, but we have about 3x as much limestone in these mountains as we do granite.  So, granite for special buildings I guess?

Stone tiles would be nice, but smooth stone floors are nicer.  That would save on flooring costs as well, but...  what are we going to do?  Cut down a mountain?

I looked to the south.  No.  Mining is one thing, but I don't think I have time for that.

People have nothing to do.  My first instinct is to assign more work, but frankly... this is what I wanted.  Leisure.  This isn't so bad.

11 Sum 5502: pirate merchants. They brought slaves.  Sigh.  I didn't hesitate this time.  I would not let people stay in bondage.  They were healthy at least.  I sold our excess goods, and still had to cough up 46 Lucy to buy the slaves.

Alaska, Scholar, 37 F
Childhood: Bone collector
Adulthood: Osteologist

Incapable of:
Dumb labor

Traits:
Pretty
Abrasive

Notable Skills:
Research

Health:
(none)


Darkeye, Deathjack, 22 M
Childhood: Student socialite
Adulthood: Political assassin

Incapable of:
Dumb labor, skilled labor, caring, social, artistic, firefighting

Traits:
Pyromaniac
Slowpoke
Too smart

Notable Skills:
Shooting
Melee
Animals

Health:
(none)

Darkeye was going to be a handful.  Near useless Pyromanic. He can hunt.  He can fight.  He can research, although he's not skilled at it. Joy.

233 Lucy left.  Half my stash in a little over 2 years.

Hops.  Beer.  We need to be able to trade for slaves in the future.

Machining done.  Working on Autodoors next.

Guests from Artist City.  No traders though.

Hydroponics back on.  We have enough power banked.

Powered doors went quick.  Gun turrets next.

Damn.  Powered doors require components too.  This is getting ridiculous.

Darkeye doesn't talk to people.  This may be for the best.

Apartments for Alaska and Darkeye.

Gun turrets done.  Mortars?

1 Fal 5502.  Wow, the time flies.

And, Darkeye finally broke, and started setting things on fire.  Sigh.  I arrested him, and confined him to his quarters.  He did not resist.  If he does it again, though, he's gone.

About half the colony has developed alcohol tolerance.  I guess that's what happens when you start up a large scale brewery, and don't put limits on how much people can drink.  Hrm.  Will leave it a lone for now, and see what happens.

Hayhouse has been trying to talk down Darkeye, with little success.  I may need to release him and cut our losses after all.

I've started the new housing complex to the southeast.  Limestone, 14x14, with a 12x12 interior. 

3 fall 5502.  The ash has settled!  Volcanic winter is over!  38 days of cold and ash and dying crops.  It's good to see the sun again!

I may leave the greenhouse up for a little while longer.  It grows crops incredibly well.

To call the new housing complex ambitious is an understatement, but this is the vision I had in my dreams.  It needs some work.  I forgot hallways on my first layout.  Hayhouse thinks I'm crazy.  I love it.

Eclipse.  Outbreak of something called 'Sleeping Sickness'?  Some sort of bug disease, or maybe parasites? No idea, but 4 people down.  Also, cut power to the greenhouse.  Wouldn't last 24 hours on our current power reserves, and the freezers are more important.  I wish the wind would pick up.

Thunderstorm, fires, heat wave.  Fate has been holding out on us I guess.

And, a raid.  2 Snipers, CHARGE RIFLE, INCENDIARY LAUNCHER, and a couple melees.  Shit.

Lost one of our new puppies, Geisha, during the sniper exchange.  Lynx and I hit one sniper simultaneously, tearing off his arm and head.  It took 3 torso shots and a neck shot to take down the other.  Then they began their assault in earnest, but quickly buckled when their melee were torn apart.  Sadly, we could not take down anyone with an advanced weapon, but we escaped with minimal losses.

With heat stroke bearing down on everyone, we all spent the afternoon building passive coolers.  Our component shortage means no AC in the individual apartments.

Or we planned to.  We were out of wood.  How did we burn through 3k wood?

Darkeye went berserk. Hayhouse had to put him down. Maybe I should have released him instead of keeping him in prison.  We planned to bury him, but with the rush to build coolers and such, the dogs ate him first.

Hayhouse and Ryo fistfight.

Male psychic drone.  Fsck.

Heat wave over, after we finish installing all these passive coolers.  Oh well.  At least we'll be comfortable.

Male psychic drone end on 7 fall.  Only 1 day.

Camino went on one of her 'walks'.  Mild mental breakdown.

Sadie, the husky, DRINKS OUR BEER from the shed  All Huskies are alcoholics.

Ugh.  Flu outbreak.  5 people.  I don't have enough beds for this.

We had a couple trade caravans come through.  I sold all the beer.  Everyone has a tolerance at this point, so it's a good chance for a reset.

Very few components for sale, which is driving me insane, frankly.  And with things breaking...  I wonder if we'll ever get to the Good Stuff (tm).

The exotic goods trader... oh my.  20 components.  Crazy medicines.  And bionics....  I wish I had the money for bionics.  One day.

But now we can build the research table.  Exciting times!  I built the research table myself, and we all built the first room in the New City; a research lab.  We switched research to geothermal power.

3 days to clear the flu from everyone.

Camino and Willis got into a fight?

Evidently Hayhouse killing Darkeye bothered me?  Bothered everyone?

Alphabeaver hunting.  Some nice meals make everyone a little happier.

Focusing on the research lab.  Very expensive.

Hayhouse locked us in the bedroom together for a day.  Trying to get used to each other again.  It did a lot of good.  We emerged at 2pm.

Carro and Camino lovers?!  WHAT?!?!

Tribe attacks us.  9 people!  But we have 4 sniper rifles, so it went fairly well.  Lost Gumdrop though.  :-(

We also lost a windmill.  Will likely need to trim power usage for a bit, since we're completely out of components.  I kept 5 in reserve, but things keep breaking.

And, Termite became an alcoholic.  This brewery was a bad idea.  I've halted sowing of hops.  This will be our last batch of beer for a while.

Hayhouse approached me today.  We've been able to build a Comms Console and Orbital trade beacon for a while now, but just didn't do it.  Baka.  Time to build them.

Geothermal done.  Multi-analyzer next.

This is a long slow winter.  Solar panel down now too. 

Camino's Sleep Sickness has gotten really bad.  It's going to be close.  I asked Hayhouse to watch over her, since he has the most medical knowledge.  The multianalyzer can wait.

Moods were bad.  We threw a small campfire party in the old temple.

I continue to work on plans for the City while Hayhouse does research in the evenings.  I put down the foundation for our first Geothermal plant.  Just need to find some components now.  I may deconstruct one of the research benches, and use those components for the comm center... but we have no silver, so I'm not certain if that will do any good.

Multianalyzer done.  Working on hospital beds.

Started mining out space for the new hospital.  Hoping we strike compacted componnts while we're at it.

WE have so many huskies.  They keep having babies.  But they're all well trained, and it helps enormously with the hauling.

Heaters breaking down.  Campfire in bedrooms and the hospital.  Feels like we're going backwards.

Camino can't walk now.  I'm worried.

More alphabeavers.  More Fine meals.

Camino developed an immunity, finally.  11th winter 5503.  The others (Carro and Willis) have as well, although they weren't hit as hard.

Slaver caravan from Cervexa Colmea.  We allowed them to stop by, and we'll trade with them, but I have no intention of letting them leave alive.

I traded beer for silver and components.  Not enough, but a start.  They are not well armed.

I built the comms console while they idled in our common area.

The fight was quick and brutal.  We sustained very minor injuries. Their muffalo got away with the rest of their goods, and they had no useful loot to speak of.  Damnit, we needed the rest of their silver.

We lost another puppy to a cobra.  :-(  RIP Conan.

We're all in good health now, except for termite who is a raging alcoholic.  Not that we all haven't built up a large alcohol tolerance already.  Sigh.  The beer can't run out fast enough.

Started work on the hospital.

We found components while digging out the hospital area under the mountain.  Not a lot, but hopefully enough!

Hospital beds finished.  Going to finish the mortar research started, then see where that leaves us.  Medicine seems wise.

1st of spring, 5503.

Traders approaching.  With only 2 factions willing to trade with us, we're in a bit of a spot.  I may need to patch up relations with the tribes sooner or later.

Damn.  Only 2 components.  No Plasteel.  But, willing to buy all the leftover weapons we've looted from raid attempts.  Should get us enough silver to call another trader.  Maybe.

We have barely enough materials and silver to call an exotic goods trader to visit.  I've made a decision.  I'll sell more Lu if it'll get us the materials we need.  This is big risk however.  They may not bring enough components or plasteel.

Dissembled the drug lab for parts.  Got 6 components out of it.

Started work on the common room.

And, a raid.  Dragonflys again.

Snipers focused the asshole with the triple rocket launcher, then the melees tore into their riflemen and snipers.  It was a short fight.  Ww took a few wounds with Willis taking the worst of it: 2 gunshots to the leg left leg.  She'll keep it though.

14 components, 60 plasteel.  Barely enough, but it'll have to do for now.  I saw a bionic leg, which Hayhouse could use, but we're still too broke.  Another 40 Lu gone. 

We got a Geothermal Generator running, and one of the multianalyzers.  That means we can research component manufacturing now.  We're almost there!

Sigh, Camino botched the Geo Construction job.  Didn't lose any components, thank goodness.

Things were getting difficult with Hayhouse and I again, so we spent the following morning together.  (locked in the bedroom)

2nd try, geotherm went up.  Multi-analyzer went up.  Working on common room now.

Finished medicine.  Started component assembly.

Brewery completely dismantled.  It was such a bad idea.

Why is everyone so bad at crafting and construction?  And why wont they finish the basics like lights before working on things like armchairs?!

Went out to loot bodies and such a couple days after the raid, and someone was still alive?  We decided to imprison her and try to nurse her back to health.  We'll see.  She's missing left arm and right leg from the firefight.

Nope, not worth the effort of recruiting.  Something about killing her husband.  I found his gravestone in the graveyard.  We nursed her back to health, gave her a peg leg, and sent her on her way.

An eclipse.  Fortunately, we have enough power, and batteries, but it reminded me to set up our second geotherm after harvesting the crops.  Components well spent.  We're up to massive 60kW peak output.

Framed out the rest of the complex, and got power run everywhere.  Going to try to get the common room, the new freezer, the new kitchen, and the new mass storage room all operating.  Then we'll look into the new apartments on the south side.  Trying to make everything convenient for a transition.  Hrm, the hydroponics can't be moved; they have to be disassembled and rebuilt.  That'll be unpleasant.

Planted a ton more cotton.  We'll need it for carpet.

I have one room I haven't allocated yet.  I think it will be the animal home.  Puppies near the hospital and common room seems like a good idea.

14 Spr 5503, released Leslie.  She won't convert.

Space trader!  Bulk goods.  Traded wool and skins for more components.

Running out of steel.  Amazing.  3k gone.

Gah, solar flare.  Hope the freezers stay cold.

Spare Pirates!  :-(  Hope they don't have slaves for sale; I can't buy them right now.  My stash isn't in range of the orbital trade beacon.  They didn't, but they did have a supply of Lu.  Now I know where to restock, once we have an economy.  A little relieved; I only have 183 left.

Granite courtyard with hydroponics. Kind of an artistic greenhouse.

2 sum 5503: Termite has started his alcohol withdrawals.  This will not be pretty.  It's a hot summer.

There's an old walled in ruin by the steel deposits where we're digging.  I've got a bad feeling about the place.  We'll leave it alone for now.

Trade ships are coming by regularly now.  This is nice.  We don't have the cash yet for anything fun, but the components are a life saver, and we'll be in good shape when we're more settled.

6 sum 5503: Things are quiet.  Aside from the upcoming wedding between Camino and Carro, the only excitement is the anticipation of a better lifestyle foreshadowed by the enormous construction projects we're undertaking.

7 sum 5503: Of course I opened my mouth.  Crashed Poison Ship part?!

FSCK!  Centipede and a Scyther?  What the hell are these things?  We lost a lot of animals, and both Lynx and Ryo.  Hayhouse is missing an arm.  Termite stayed to finish off the centipede, but it's regenerating, even from shotgun blasts?  We lost all our windmills, 2 of our solar panels.  What a goddamn clusterfuck.  And then the fire found a herd of boomalope.

Camino hit an alpaca while hunting, and enraged the heard, so now we have a manhunter revenge scenario.  One of them killed the trader that stopped by town.  Sigh.

And a heat wave.  Grr...

Everything we could find went into a sarcophagus.  It seemed to make everyone feel a little better.

We rushed to build a 3rd geotherm, since our batteries died in the night.  It wont be enough, but it's a start.

The town is covered is dirt and blow stains, and everyone is depressed.  This is going well.

We have barely enough resources for a 4th geotherm. 

Camino went hunting.  I focused on replenishing our food supply.  Hayhouse was on medical detail, but itched to build, so helped Willis with the geotherms.  Termite was still in the throes of alcohol withdrawal, so he stayed in the kitchen with me, so I could keep an eye on him.  Carro handled the harvest. Gray and Alaska spent time with the remaining animals.

We ate well.  Lots of grain, alpaca, beaver.

The new freezer design in the City worked well, despite the heatwave.

Headwave cleared.  Can relax a little bit, maybe?

Camino and Carro got married on 13 Sum 5503

14th: Oh fuck you.  Psychic drone male.

Sorting out work priorities.  It was way too difficult to fight the fires from the crash.  Let the cleaning binge commence.

First bedroom is mostly done.  We'll need a lot more steel.  Planning on finishing bedrooms for everyone before we move south.  This may not happen though, since I'll need to clear some buildings to make a manufacturing district to put the component manufacturing when the research finishes.  We'll see.

2nd Fal 5503: component assembly complete.  No place to put it yet, and don't have the materials to build it either way.  Need 30(!) components. Going to move on to some of the simpler research for now.  Tube television and moisture pump.

Hayhouse and Crazy ( one of the new puppies) have formed a bond.  It's good to see him feeling better.  We have 3 adults, 5 teens, and 7 puppies.  And a redfox.  And 4 droms, and 4 muffs.

Moved my luciferium stash into my new apartment, in the closet stash.  Better than in the mountain cave.

Termite, married to Willis, has begun an affair with Gray.  This is going to go great.

Willis is flirting with Alaska now.

Hydroponics are back up.  Haven't moved them yet.  Puppies are eating us out of house and home.

Manuel, Janitor, fleeing from a tribe. 

Manuel, Janitor, 25 M
Childhood: Pyromaniac
Adulthood: Starship Janitor

Incapable of:
Firefighting

Traits:
Jogger
Careful Shooter

Notable Skills:
Construction
Crafting

Health:
(none)

We lost a lot of animals, including Arty.  :-(  That was our last 'original'.  4 of us took moderate injuries, but aside from Alaska's shattered rib, we got out ok.

Of course, then the boomalope manhunter herd showed up.

We baited them into the new limestone construction, and their explosions weren't terrible, a few doors.  But a couple ran off and started meleeing with the injured.  I ordered them back, but then one blew up on my face.

Camino lost another finger off her left hand, and everything is on fire, including the old hospital.  Geez. 

Willis broke.  Everyone else is on the verge.

And, Termite died because of his infection.  1% short of immunity development.

Willis and Gray are both completely broken right now.

Hayhouse has been spending a lot of time with Willis lately.  :-(

One of the boomalope wasn't dead yet.  It exploded in the night, and we all had to wake up to put it out.  Fucking boomalope.

Weeks fell from the sky in an escape pod.

Weeks, Housemate, 35 M
Childhood: Child Spy
Adulthood: Housemate

Incapable of:
(none)

Traits:
Psychically sensitive
Masochist
Prosthophile

Notable Skills:
Shooting
Medicine
Cooking

Health:
Left lung, Asthma(minor)
Right lung, Asthma (major)

Willis attempted to romance Hayhouse.  He rejected her.  Thank god.  I've rearranged work priorities so he and I spend time researching together.  It helped.  Things are good again.  Very good.  Well, except for Willis.  She locked herself in her room again.

Corn from the sky!

Working on the next pair of bedrooms. Will likely call an exotic goods trader once I get the workshop built, but need to clear a few more buildings first.

Nothing terrible has happened in a while.  I guess I should prepare.  <.<

Firefoam done.  Vitals monitor next.

Oh god 5 more puppies!

10 Win 5504: The winter has been mild, with only a couple drops in temp.

12 Win 5504: pirate merchant. was able to trade some puppies and spare weaponry to offset the cost of the slaves, but still spent another 44 Lu.  That leaves me with 131.


Strapping, Farmer, 63 M
Childhood: Disciplined farmer
Adulthood: Stalwart farmer

Incapable of:
Social
Artistic
Cooking

Traits:
Very neurotic
Cold tolerant
Trigger-happy

Notable Skills:
Animals
Construction
Growing
Mining

Health:
(none)


Alligator, Digger, 58 F
Childhood: Reclusive child
Adulthood: Digger

Incapable of:
Social

Traits:
Prosthophile
Nervous
Careful shooter

Notable Skills:
Melee
Mining

Health:
Torso, Bite scar
Left foot, Stab scar


Ok, what the shit.  Some random bugs holed up in one of our mining outcropping.  We set up a firing line out of range and picked them off.  Wiliis lost her shit and went berserk.  We didn't have to kill her, thank goodness.  Looks like the new hospital is going to get used

Exotic goods space trader.  24 components.  Thank god.  Time to start on some production facilities.  Soon we will be able to manufacture anything we need.  Stoves.  Air Conditioning.  Heaters.  Guns.  It will be wonderful.

Ew.  Insect meat.  I wonder what I can cook with this to hide it.

Yeah, no.  Need to find a way to make this rot.  How do I throw away these meals?

1 Spr 5504.  Sold the insect meat meals for components, and enough silver to call another caravan if we need it in the future.

Component assembly bench complete!  Excitement!  Dreams of Luxury!  "Does anyone know how to use this thing?"  Nobody is skilled enough at crafting to use it.  Manuel, Alligator, and I are the closest.  Guess it's me.  Sigh.  I don't really mind.  I've always wanted to get better at crafting.

Alaska and Willis now.

And this is where I'm going to have to stop.  Thank you for reading, and for the encouragement.  Take care.

Sorry to hear you had to stop, but for what it's worth it was a fun story to read while it lasted! good luck in whatever you choose to do my friend!

Thanks.  It was fun to write.  As you can see, I had a lot of material to work with.  The Toxin Storm followed by 38 days of Volcanic Winter was especially 'fun'.

They hit like trucks don't they?

(http://images.akamai.steamusercontent.com/ugc/150137372513849856/45F5B9AAA754C0EBE5820658504C17C3DB6ACF71/)

A pity you had to stop, it is a great story. Enjoyed it a lot.

This is the best story I've read so far in over a year of archives. Thanks! I loved it.

What a wonderful story! I might try a drug addict run of my own now. Thank you for writing, and I hope we might see more of your work in the future.