[18:30] <Kumaton> The two of you, along with Jimmy and Lucy, are standing in front of Maxson's shack, a dilapadated scrap metal-built shanty nestled in an alleway between two houses. There's snow piled high against the corrugated metal walls, and the only opening seems to be a door made out of part of a plane.
[18:31] <Kumaton> Jimmy looks at the place, then points to a small bit of snow. "This guy might not be that pleasent. There's blood on the snow there."
[18:31] <Kumaton> "You might wanna head in with Chatty Cathy, big guy."
[18:32] *** Le_Squide changed nick to Le_Doctor
[18:34] *** UnknownQuantity changed nick to Ben-Braddock
[18:35] <Le_Doctor> "Very well."
[18:35] * Le_Doctor heads in!
[18:35] <Ben-Braddock> "Considering the circumstances, I'm inclined to agree. If he's paranoid about visitors, I think a size advantage is needed."
[18:36] <Kumaton> Jimmy nods, then chambers a round on his rifle, and starts heading for a small snow drift.
[18:37] <Ben-Braddock> I'm gonna go ahead and give the plane wing the shave-and-a-haircut knock.
[18:37] * Le_Doctor is going to stand behind him, doing his best to look intimidating.
[18:39] <Kumaton> You hear bustling, then footsteps, until the door finally unlocks and swings open. There inside of the shack is dark, only lit by a furnace in the corner, and you see a man in the doorway, disheveled and bearded, with a large N99 pistol in his hands, hanging freely.
[18:39] <Kumaton> He sizes you up, then spits on the floor.
[18:39] <Kumaton> "Who are ya?"
[18:41] <Ben-Braddock> "Ben Braddock, MPR. I was wondering if I could talk to you for a minute about the election. More specifically, about the competition. And before you ask, no, I'm not on his side. The press doesn't take sides."
[18:41] <Kumaton> The man grimaces, then glares at Bronson sharply. "Who's the mutant?"
[18:42] <Le_Doctor> "I'm his associate. Dr. Bronson, at your service."
[18:42] * Le_Doctor is very bad at being intimidating.
[18:42] <Kumaton> "No, no, what are ya? You ain't Jotunn."
[18:43] <Ben-Braddock> "Foreigner, as I recall? One of the ones with all his brains intact after the change."
[18:44] <Kumaton> The man spits again. "Don't trust him. Or you."
[18:45] <Le_Doctor> "I am indeed from...out of state. I am quite mentally intact at-" Bronson stops at the spit. That was rude.
[18:45] <Kumaton> "What do you want? Debts? Guns? Did the other guy send you?"
[18:49] <Ben-Braddock> "Actually? I just got finished talking with him." He hushes his tone. "He says he'd want nothing more than for you to win the election. Problem is, obviously, that you need to make it to the podium tomorrow to do it."
[18:52] <Kumaton> Maxson stares at you hard.
[18:52] <Kumaton> "And how do you want to do that?"
[18:55] <Ben-Braddock> "We just commissioned an 'urban renewal' project from him. Reinforcing the walls and rebuilding house foundations using labor provided by the folks at the gym. Can't have this block getting smashed a second time, after all, right?"
[18:56] <Kumaton> Maxon keeps staring at you, his glazed-over eyes giving an air of uncomprehension.
[18:56] <Ben-Braddock> "In other words, we're getting some defenses in place so if a surprise raid happens, they're gonna have their work cut out for em. You let these folks put new sheets of metal on your house, you make it to the podium, the mayor respectfully declined to run for office, and everyone's happy."
[18:57] <Ben-Braddock> declines*
[18:57] <Kumaton> "You really think that'll keep the riot from happening? More scrap and more guns?"
[18:59] <Le_Doctor> "Well. We know doing nothing won't stop it.:"
[18:59] <Ben-Braddock> "Unfortunately, as far as I understand it, there are folks interested in keeping that gym in business. The slave trade's been real lucrative for em. ."
[19:00] <Ben-Braddock> "And to keep it in business, they gotta keep the current mayor in power since he doesn't have the stones to just kick them out by force."
[19:00] <Kumaton> "No. It's a chain reaction. I've been there. Two people or three start throwing rocks, shooting guns, that gets everyone riled up. That's what happened the second year. Not sure about the first. You get rid of that part, it doesn't happen. Unless the people here are stupid."
[19:03] <Kumaton> Maxson's face goes through several different emotions, though most of them aren't very expressive. "Paurs."
[19:03] <Kumaton> "Think...might be the ones doing it..." he says, to nobody in particular.
[19:03] <Ben-Braddock> "Fair enough. That said, if we knew some of the slavers and their like, might be able to stop it before it starts. Still, it's not a bad idea to fortify the buildings anyway, just so no freak accidents happen. I mean, it ain't just *your* house we're fixing. It's this whole block."
[19:05] <Kumaton> Maxson's face grows more ashamed, and more suspscious. "Dammit, I knew that's where they were getting them from...that, or the Packers, or...damn. I think I know where the bastards are hiding."
[19:05] <Kumaton> "Not anywhere...specific. I just know what they're like."
[19:05] <Le_Doctor> "Would you share that with us?"
[19:07] <Ben-Braddock> "I'm all for routing some slavers."
[19:10] <Kumaton> "Paurs are...hicks. Most of them are inbred, stupid. Cities and towns scare them. They live up in Paul Bunyan forest, in the old campgrounds."
[19:11] <Kumaton> "There...should be some groves around town. Small ones. Check there, any cabins or shacks. Especially if you smell blood nearby."
[19:11] <Kumaton> "Don't go alone, though. Paurs are nasty. Big things. No armor or guns. Don't need them."
[19:12] <Ben-Braddock> "How big we talking? Bigger than Jotunn?"
[19:13] <Kumaton> "Not that big. Muscle and fat, mostly. They're dumb enough that they don't feel pain. Don't think so, at least."
[19:13] <Kumaton> "Part of their rite of passage is to be shot with a .44 Eagle and not wince."
[19:14] * Le_Doctor whistles. "That's an irregular anatomy right there."
[19:14] <Ben-Braddock> "... Yeah, it sounds like you'd need a flamer or bigger to make them feel anything. Not that you'd get close enough to hit them with one."
[19:16] <Kumaton> "Most of the town don't know that that's where we get the fighters for the Cherrygrove. At least, I don't. Everybody hates the Paurs, though. If you go through a forest you'd probably end up captured by them. Round up a posse. Go hunting."
[19:18] <Kumaton> He goes back into the shack for a brief moment, then returns with a postcard. It has a large man on it, taller than the trees, carrying an axe. He has a massive beard. Underneath is writing that says "Brainerd, MN".
[19:19] <Kumaton> "That's ou-their wargod, The Paur. They all dress like him. Flannel and jeans and beards. If you see any big guys that look like them, stay away, shoot from a distance. That's who you're looking for if you're going to find these bastards today."
[19:26] <Ben-Braddock> "Interesting. So you're saying if we wipe out the slave supply, they're without a bargaining chip."
[19:27] <Kumaton> "Don't kill the slaves. Kill the slavers. Get rid of them."
[19:30] <Kumaton> "Letting the slaves go won't help, either. Ones that try to run away get their legs broken. Then they stim them before they sell them. If there's any that've been...troublesome, they're already dead when you open the pen."
[19:30] <Kumaton> "Unless..."
[19:30] <Kumaton> "Huh..."
[19:30] <Kumaton> "Big guy."
[19:31] <Le_Doctor> "Hmm?"
[19:32] <Kumaton> "You...whatever you are...might be able to scare 'em away. Make 'em think you're a...monster."
[19:33] <Kumaton> "And...if you know any...girls...you could use her. Paurs like girls. Think they're holy. Special. Any girls that're born, they use them to help sell their slaves. Some're the ones in charge of the religion."
[19:34] <Kumaton> "She could talk them down for you. Get them away from the place if she says the stuff right."
[19:34] <Ben-Braddock> "... Oh boy. That's gonna be a hard sell... Then again, not impossible. Especially if I can hype him up as a real destroyer of Deathclaw."
[19:34] <Ben-Braddock> destroyer of worlds*
[19:34] <Kumaton> "But you're better off killing them. They're monsters. All of them."
[19:36] <Ben-Braddock> "Probably. Maybe if we set up a firing line we can tear em down. We also got a crack shot, if you think a rifle round to the skull will put em down just as good as any other thing we still call 'human'."
[19:37] <Kumaton> "Big rifle round."
[19:37] <Le_Doctor> "What do you think, Braddock? I usually don't advocate violence, but horrible slavers entrapping a town in a cycle of violence, death, and slave culture are things I'd like to get rid of."
[19:38] <Ben-Braddock> "I think it's finally time I got back on the radio and organized a hunt. Hell, if we're lucky, some good-minded vigilantes will join us partway through."
[19:39] <Kumaton> Maxson looks around outside of the shack, then leans in. "Don't tell anyone we talked." He then nods, and slowly closes the door.
[19:41] <Ben-Braddock> "... Well. I'm gonna have to go back and talk to Ashley. And talk to Jimmy and the munitions shop about packing some punch."
[19:42] <Le_Doctor> "Let's go, then. Best to move quickly."
[19:44] * Ben-Braddock waves over to our resident sniper and gestures to come over as they start heading back to their "base of operations."
[19:44] <Kumaton> Jimmy stands up from a makeshift sniper's nest made in the snow, wiping clumps off of his rifle. "What'd he say? Dude was packing?"
[19:45] <Ben-Braddock> "So, we made a bit of a discovery. Source of the slave trade. You ever hunted Paur before?"
[19:45] <Kumaton> "Hell's a Paur?"
[19:45] <Ben-Braddock> "Big ol' inbred-lookin guys. Smaller than Jotunn."
[19:46] <Kumaton> "Uh...okay..."
[19:46] <Kumaton> "Wait, what's a Jotunn?"
[19:47] <Ben-Braddock> "... Long story short we're organizing a raid on a bunch of things about Doc's size but with enough padding to not wince at a .44 to the gut."
[19:48] <Kumaton> "...the hell? How're we gonna put something like that down?"
[19:48] <Ben-Braddock> "That's the bad news. The good news is, everyone hates them and wants them wiped out anyway, so instead of a group of four, we could be looking at fourteen, or even forty if I can stir some other settlements to double time it over."
[19:49] <Kumaton> "That makes me feel a bit better. But, shit, man, dunno what kind of firepower we'd need. Think we could get an old Browning somewhere?"
[19:50] <Ben-Braddock> "The munitions shop is still here, right? I figure she'd be willing to fund an expedition like this if I can guarantee folks will carry the rifles into battle."
[19:51] <Kumaton> "True."
[19:51] <Kumaton> "You gonna use that eyebot to send out a signal or something?"
[19:51] <Ben-Braddock> "Plus they're still just really big humans. Just because they don't feel pain don't mean a bullet or two in the brain won't kill em."
[19:52] <Ben-Braddock> "Oh, definitely. 'End the tyranny of slavery! Our forefathers fought to make everyone free, and now it's our turn!' Some kinda pitch like that."
[19:53] <Kumaton> Jimmy carefully swings his rifle around his shoulders on his sling. He still seems fairly uncomfortable about everthing. "Alright. But if I go to that big airshow in the sky, I'm blaming you."
[19:55] <Ben-Braddock> "I'm not going on a suicide run. If we don't get an immediate response, we're going right back to the last plan."
[19:55] <Kumaton> "And that...is?"
[19:56] <Ben-Braddock> "Restrain whoever tries starting shit."
[19:56] <Kumaton> "Works for me."
[19:57] <Ben-Braddock> (Any closing remarks left?)
[19:57] <Kumaton> (Unless Le_Squide has something to say)
[19:58] <Kumaton> (Like...for example...if the Paurs are still entirely human...[/subtle])
[19:58] <Le_Doctor> "Well. There is the matter of what exactly the Paurs are."
[19:59] <Le_Doctor> "I don't think that being able to take a .44 slug without /flinching/ is a homo sapiens sapiens trait, even as an extreme outlier."
[20:00] <Ben-Braddock> "Radiation /might/ be involved, yeah. Or some kinda drug-crazed frenzying."
[20:00] <Kumaton> "Uh...huh..."
[20:01] <Ben-Braddock> "... Just trying to keep a positive outlook."
[20:01] <Kumaton> "No, just...nevermind."
[20:05] <Kumaton> Jimmy motions for Bronson to come down to his face for a second.
[20:05] <Kumaton> He cups his mouth and whispers something into his not-ears.
[20:05] * Le_Doctor nods. "Nothing simpler."
[20:06] <Kumaton> Jimmy nods as well. "Alright, let's head out. On the double."