2-4: We Do Love Fish

The gang drifts along the northern coast to avoid Holy Nation lands and their aggressively racist, misogynist paladins. Late in the evening, they spot a little town ahead. It turns out to be a fishing village—the gang finds this out because as soon as they come near, a fishmonger near the village entrance hails them with a sales pitch.

A medium-sized village on a plateau near the coast. A couple windmills tower over the village walls. The buildings here are mostly small, some made of stone and some of paneled metal sheets. The largest building here is the bar. A charcoal-skinned human woman stands on the porch of a shack that seems to serve as both her home and a storefront. She addresses the gang, who stand attentively in front of her shack, with a sales pitch for fish.

Cove: Fish!

Cove: Buy my fish!

Cove: C'mon, you guys love fish!

Lon: Hivers love fish!

Jam: I do love fish

Apart from that skimmer they killed on the way here, it's been a while since the gang's seen anything edible, and their food supplies are running low. As if Jam needs an excuse to buy everyone some tasty fish. The gang does a bit of shopping, sells the odds and ends they've been looting, and moseys on over to the bar.

A variety of people, from cannibal hunters to random drifters, populate this rather large bar. A dark-skinned human man in a conical straw hat and a sleeveless orange leather longcoat invites the gang to come drink with him. A couple stools over, a darker-skinned human man in a black leather jacket is feeling less conversational.

Bar Fisherman: You ain't from here, eh?... Well unless you're here to talk fish, I ain't interested.

Ells sidles up to the gentleman in the long leather coat who called out to the gang. An invitation to share a drink is music to his ears.

Hobbs: Hey, you! Come drink with me!

Hobbs: That's right, come sit with me. Have a drink... hey, have you ever heard the story of the wailing banshee?

Ells: No, what's it about?

Hobbs: Well, legend has it that it dwells in a sunken cave, south of the outlands. I hear it has bones made of solid diamond—just one tooth would fetch you kabillions—no, poobillions—of Cats! It has the gigantic tongue of a lusty tree hag and a marvellous pair of bingo wings that droop like smooth potato butter. Some even say that it has the snout of fondled truffle! Even the most handsomest of man-warriors haven't been able to hunt the peppery thing down.

Ells: That... that sounds AMAZING! How do I find it?

Hobbs: If I knew that, I would have tracked it down myself. But if you're going to head out in search of it, you must take me with you. Call it an old dying man's last wish!

Ells: You're dying? What's wrong with you?

Hobbs: Aren't we all slowly dying in this relentless, dark world?... Yes! And this dying man wishes to witness that diabolical monster with his own two eyes. They say that if you lick one of its pinky toes then you'll gain the power of sweet balmy immortality! Oh! And that true love's smooch will transform the beast into a glorious man-cherub whom will grant you all of your deepest munchies...

Ells: So... you're not dying...

Hobbs: ... I don't like you

...

Ells glances nervously over to the seats next to him, where Jam is chatting with a rangy shek.

Jam talks with a shek man wearing a straw conical hat, metal body armour, and cargo pants. The man carries a horribly rusted sabre. He wears red paint on his face and on the tips of his horns and chin spikes. Ells looks on, clutching his head. Technically he is doing so because he is wounded and not because of the conversation with Hobbs, but one may imagine it might be both.

Horse: Here's the deal, roamer, I'm a treasure hunter and I got a real juicy tip on a valuable looting spot. Thing is, my squad got killed off by those blasted cannibals, so here I am recuperating in this dusty old snore fest of a village...

Horse: Now, you look like the adventuring type, correct me if I'm wrong... So how about you pay off my bill at the Flophouse, we join together and we finish what me and my squad started? We'll be rich, drifter, you and me!

Jam: How much is your bill?

Horse: I need 4500 Cats.

Jam: Sure. I'll pay your bills. But this had better be worth it. [c.4500]

Horse: Thanks, I'll make it worth both our while... There's a tower made of sand, as legend has it anyway. It's located north of the painted cannibal lair, marked by a flock of birds, but it's protected by a giant beast that sleeps inside...

Horse: It's full of lost tech from the ancients. A guy in a bar told me so.

Catching the end of the conversation, Ells hopes Horse's "guy in a bar" isn't Hobbs, but money has already changed hands. He keeps it to himself. Horse officially joins the gang.

Horse's stats window. He has 8 Strength, 4 Dexterity, 5s in melee weapon fighting skills, and some other assorted 5s in Field Medic, Engineer, and Labouring.

Horse's stats aren't too impressive. 5s in melee combat stats isn't much to write home about. That's alright—he'll get the chance to develop some skills. Besides, his tip could be worth the 4500 Cats if it's even half true. The gang is intrigued.

After a bit of discussion, though, they decide not to head up there straight away. They had success sneaking through cannibal territory earlier but going straight through a patch of cannibal land to the other side could easily put them in a position where there's hordes of cannibals between them and safety. Before they start making inroads against the cannibals, they decide they'd like to explore the region a bit. They head a little further west until they're sure they're on the other side of Holy Nation lands, then start exploring southward.

The map, showing that the gang has traveled southwest from the Fishing Village around the west side of the mountains, most of the way toward another as-yet unidentified village. Right in the middle of the mountains is a city named World's End. Directly to the east of the mountains is something called Farm Ruins and south of that is an unidentified outpost.

This section of the map is directly west of Bast. The desert south of the Farm Ruins is Holy Nation land. The outpost barely visible down there is a Holy Nation fortress. The city of World's End was added to the map when the gang was on their way to the Fishing Village; it's nestled among the mountain peaks and is controlled by a friendlier faction than the Holy Nation. It's on the gang's list to visit at some point.

Now, the gang finds themselves exploring a forest—the Hidden Forest. This region is outside cannibal-controlled territory, but cannibals can still range here, so they keep an eye out. Thankfully, when they find a village secreted within a narrow valley, they don't see any of the cannibals' telltale cooking pots.

A village similar in size to the fishing village, but with ninja guards and an actual gate rather than just a gap in the walls.

Flotsam Ninja: You! Don't take another step!

These people don't seem like cannibals and they don't seem like Holy Nation either. Jam doesn't want any trouble. The guard on the turret shouting at them not to come any further tells them to talk to her before they can enter the village, but then she... doesn't come down from the turret. Feeling a bit like they're in a catch-22, Jam ponders the situation, ultimately deciding to try their luck heading inside and talking to the turret guard.

Jam stands atop the village wall, speaking to a charcoal-skinned human woman who is pointing a turret at the ground near the rest of the gang outside.

Flotsam Ninja: You're trespassing on private land, Hive, co-operate peacefully and we won't have to resort to violence. What do you want?

Jam: I'm a merchant. Can I trade here?

Flotsam Ninja: A trader, huh? Well your timing couldn't be better... restocking our reserves is becoming more and more difficult with the nearby cannibal hordes attacking all of our usual suppliers. Our stocks have just begun to run low...

Flotsam Ninja: You're free to rest up and trade, but you'd do well to keep your head down and make it quick. I have no qualms with Hives, but I can't say the same for some of the other villagers. Many of them are devout Okranites and non-humans can make them nervous to say the least.

Jam: Great. Sounds like a real friendly bunch...

Flotsam Ninja: They were all raised within the Holy Nation, what do you expect? All you need to know is we're the closest thing to allies you're going to find this side of the world, so I trust you'll keep our location to yourself...

2-5: DRIFT WITH THE FLOTSAM ⮞