Patti and Ashley's journey

[Dr. Jar]

Ashley and Patti journeyed out into the wide world spreading information as requested by their glorious leaders.

Ashley was more than happy to do Seth's biddings or requests and had merrily accepted his dangerous duty of distribution.

They had come across a smattering of others ignoring them while scavenging, or who seemed more than happy to keep their distance, and signs of life in several buildings.

Rather than invade most of them, Patti thought it wise to place a poster nearby for their viewing pleasure.


Ashley-

"..How far should we go?"

It did seem to be uncommonly cold this time of year, which lended pleasantly to their athletic abilities.

An unknown distance away, Patti heard an eerie chorus of howls echoing through the streets. Were they dogs? A pack of roaming coyotes?

[Dr. Maneep Pamplemousse]

Patti pulled her bicycle to a stop and listened intently.  The howls stopped almost as if in response to their attention.  Her attention was rewarded with absolute silence.  They had seen two separate packs of feral dogs so far, but there was something off about these animals.  She had spent plenty of time around dogs in her life and had heard wolves and coyotes when hunting and this didn't sound like any of them, not exactly.

She looked around and tried to not imagine packs of demon dogs lurking in every alley.  She grumbled something incomprehensible.


"Capitol Hill has been acting as a barrier for too long. We should make sure what we know has reached the people in the east. It's a lot of territory, but we should be able to seed a couple of pamphlets and let them do the rest of the work. I don't know... turn around when we get to I-90?"

[Dr. Jar]

Ashley-

"... Alright. It's nice at this point that we can tell where people are living and where they aren't.. I guess it makes it more dangerous for them though."

Ashley did indeed appreciate this fact, it made his life as messenger-boy easier. He looked a little awkward perching on a too-small bike, though he handled it alright.

"You've eased up about all the dogs."

Ashley was not privy to how she had started to hide her concern more efficiently.

[Dr. Maneep Pamplemousse]

"The smaller packs don't concern me too much. I am a little worried about packs of not dogs."

"Let's keep moving."

[Dr. Jar]

Ashley-

Ashley looked mildly, and admittedly a bit dimly, confused.

"What not-dogs? Like demon dogs? Or werewolves? We haven't heard about any animal monster-creatures except that spellcasting cat. "

Ashley didn't seem particularly perturbed by the idea of confronting dogs. He preferred the elegant sophistication of cats who weren't Mr. Friskers (though Mr. Friskers was his best friend and closest ally), but he had no fear of the canine race to be sure.

[Dr. Maneep Pamplemousse]

"Well, if there can be evil cat necromancers, than I don't see why there can't be evil dog necromancers or evil dog warlocks or evil dog--whatever. Let's just be on the look out for anything unusual and trust our paranoia, okay?"

[Dr. Jar]

Ashley-

"I'll keep an eye out. See any signs of life around here?"

Ashley paused on the bike to get a better view of the surrounding area. It didn't seem TERRIBLY promising but they hadn't looked closely yet. He gave it another glance and then kept going.

A discerning eye of Patti would catch evidence of people driving much too fast and burning rubber in tight circles in small vehicles (motorcycles? Quads?).

[Dr. Maneep Pamplemousse]

The skidmarks made Patti think of the BAMF dudebros they had narrowly avoided. She didn't want to tarry here just to be accosted by a bunch of testosterone toxic teenagers with weapons and a herd mentality.


"Let's move down to the residential streets and stick to them. The Mad Max wannabes seem to prefer the commercial areas and apartment buildings."

Patti hopped on her pedal and peeled away towards the older residential areas on the leeward slope of Capitol Hill.

[Dr. Jar]

Ashley-

"I guess the less fighting with our fellow humans we do, the better. Hm, are we supposed to be ambassadors too?"

Patti was someone that he trusted with these sorts of missions. He could be trusted to..back her up when necessary. He followed behind her on the bicycle as they headed towards the non-apartment residential district.

As they went, Patti saw several squirrels fighting over some scraps of food dropped on the ground, and a single doe minding its own business on the street.

[Dr. Maneep Pamplemousse]

Patti slowed momentarily to observe the doe. She wished some of those beauties would find their way around the dudebros, because the occasional deer would add some greatly appreciated protein to the diet. She had nothing against the 90% vegetarian menu they lived off of now, but it was hard to maintain muscle mass on the dwindling supply of protein supplements and the occasional goose harvest. The doe noticed the gawkers and froze for a few seconds before bouncing away into the backyard of a nearby house. Patti took them down a few more blocks east and then turned back south.


"Keep an eye out for signs of habitation. It's getting a little chilly, so I wouldn't be surprised to see a few fires. So smoke should be a dead giveaway. Extra fortifications, especially windows, should be noted. Cleared pathways, because landscaping is a privilege of the living these days."

[Dr. Jar]

Ashley-

"...Hm, There. And there. You can see some smoke, but not a lot. Good one Patti."

He pointed out a few areas where faint smudging changed the quality of the horizon.

[Dr. Maneep Pamplemousse]

Patti did her best estimation of proximity and began to steer them towards what she thought to be the nearest smoke source.

[Dr. Jar]

((You can make a roll and post it here, also give me around where the area they're at and I'll make an encounter!))

[Dr. Maneep Pamplemousse]

Not sure what kind of roll you wanted. I rolled a d100 and got a 50, so if you want a 20, that's a 10.

I'm thinking we'd be right around here, not quite out of the apartments area, but a little past BAMF territory.

[Dr. Jar]

One of the nearby apartment buildings looks promising: Cars have been moved into a blockade-like formation around the exterior portion of the building and barred window shutters have been placed over the bottom windows, or they have been boarded up completely. Metal pieces and other sharp debris are littered around the exterior, along with some burnt garbage which seems to be helping bulk out the outer surface of the building, and a gate made out of the skeleton of a mattress braced with pieces of metal seems to be the way in and out of this structure.

Patti would note the doors also look reinforced and the sharp end of some poorly-sized nails can be seen poking through the street side of them.


Ashley-

"This is promising... Should...we talk to them or just leave the poster?"