HIDDEN TIMBER, SOUTH DAKOTA- Herman Manning, a local Law Dog, is forming up a posse for an investigation to the nearby Badlands National Park. Over the past three weeks, a number of wasters have straggled into the town's walls; alive, but severely beaten and stripped of all supplies. The stories all have common threads; each person was traveling alone and had taken shelter within some canyons for the night. They all have woken up, beaten black and blue and missing all of their personal belongings. A local syker agreed to probe one waster's mind but caught only fragments of memory. The unlucky soul had some form of powerful, traumatic dream; a sort of symbolic near-death experience before jolting awake.
MOSES LAKE, WASHINGTON STATE- Geralyn Franks, the mayor of the walled enclave of Moses Lake is offering a large supply of dried meats, hides and barter quality wood to the persons that can investigate a large problem with the area's water supply. The town rests on the Wanatachee River and recently noticed a strange violet algae spreading in the Potholes Reservoir. Mayor Franks is nervous because the gunk is spreading upriver and the fish have begun to disappear. There is the old Hanford Department of Energy installation roughly two days travel south from the Reservoir but the area is given a wide berth due to packs of ferocious wolves, large varieties of hostile plant life and tales of a logger camp infested with specters.
FARMINGTON, NEW MEXICO- Lightning Shadow, a veteran waster scout, has arrived with a word of caution for anyone heading into the southwestern corner of Colorado. Shadow was on an antibiotic run for the tiny village of Durango in southern Colorado, when she returned to the canyon town to find the place completely deserted. She was approaching the town when she discovered the tracks. Each three-toed print measured two feet long, was almost five inches deep and the spread of each stride was over eleven feet in length. There was no visual sighting of that beast that left the trail. There is no word on the current location of Durango's citizens.
December 4th
YUMA VILLAGE, ARIZONA- Boxcar Joshua, a scout of some repute, is announcing the discovery of a small farming settlement in the Sierra Nevada mountains. Located high in the northeastern portion of the California-Arizona border, the village of Aurora is looking to open trade routes with other settlements. They are offering food, rough leather clothes and purified spring water in exchange for farming implements as well as firearms.
NEAR TUCSON, ARIZONA- a scout from the northern Mexico wastes logs a report with the local Librarian concerning an attack on a Combine tribute caravan. Ferdinand Gutierrez was three days south of Near Tucson when he witnessed a large bandit gang ambush the caravan that had just left the remains of Santa Cecilia, a small enclave known for trading items left over from the many factories and assembly plants in the area. Ferdinand observed the caravan entered a small canyon along the old Mexican superhighway and into a well-laid trap. It seems that at least three witches and a pair of Sykers froze, stunned or immolated a number of the ground troops and then held the rest at bay while a large number of people wearing animal skins looted the trucks. They took most of the tribute goods and burned the rest. Locals are warned of either a Combine retributive strike or to be on the lookout for people sporting puma tuxedos.
SANTA FE FORTRESS, NEW MEXICO- a scavvie crew from Albuquerque logs another warning concerning the ruins of Socorro, New Mexico. The crew was making a sweep of the old mines and Technical College in town when the weather got bad in a hurry. Cloud cover swiftly became overcast and then near twilight darkness followed as the sun was blotted out. The few survivors say that a rolling cloud of low black fog billowed out of some of the buildings in town and surrounded their position. Nothing seemed to be happening until their resident Syker attempted to illuminate the fog with a Syker ability. It took on deep crimson shades, emitted a deep bass rumbling sound and enveloped them. Two of the remaining witnesses swear they saw the Syker start bleeding from the eyes, nose and ears, followed by a rapid collapse. The rest of the normal crew started having convulsions and screaming fits. The other member whispers that while his buddies were dragging him out, he saw his friend's bodies start to get back up with their visible skin turning a bloodless pale color and their eyes glowing red.
December 6th
SUN RIDGE, ARIZONA- the gunslinger called Shrike and Sister Athena the Doomsayer have logged a report concerning the southern portion of Colorado. Both wasters were scouting the region for undiscovered towns when they made camp for the evening in the old Forest Ranger Headquarters up in Wolf Creek Pass. During the evening, Shrike found a large number of deep footprints that he identified as powered armor tracks. After counting eight different patrols paths, both wasters chose to move on, in case Black Hat patrols were in the area. Later that morning, Sister Athena discovered several trees bearing long strings of dried human ears.
BLOODY SHARKJAW MESA, CALIFORNIA- the junker scout called "Shank" Williams-Lane has logged a report with California Law Dogs concerning a strange sighting in the Gulf of California down in western Mexico. Over the period of two months, "Shank" spotted an old Mexican nuclear submarine cruising the waters of the bay just before and after sundown. He was unable to make contact with his modified radio gear. Muties in the area have referred to the sub as the Great Stone Fish and leave it offerings of food.
GRASS CREEK, WYOMING- the junker partners of Boojum & Quark are announcing a reward for the return of their stolen robot sidekick. The automaton in question was last seen in the junker's hotel room in town just before the start of the local Technician's Olympics, a semi-annual contest of skill and speed for those so mechanically inclined. The unit stands about five feet tall and resembles a multi-drawer toolbox resting on nine spider-like legs with an extendable manipulator at each corner and a pair of outsized vidcam lenses on top. Boojum is offering a personal shield generator as a reward while Quark is offering to build a custom-fit jet pack.
December 11th
SPIRIT LAKE, IDAHO- The small enclave on the east bank of the Kanjksu Freshwater Lake is calling for Law Dogs or any other enterprising wasters for an investigation into some very weird sightings. Three days ago, a hunting party in the surrounding forests came running back into town, claiming to have seen dozens of translucent figures walking among the trees in a northern direction. All four of the hunters swear that among the crowd were figures that resembled one of their deceased relatives. Each specter also seemed to be in the throes of a furious rage or in deep sadness. The next evening, guards in the sentry towers spotted more figures stalking along the outskirts of town on a northern heading, but these sightings were radically different. The descriptions vary from guard to guard but they included a seven-foot tall woman with a moose's head on her shoulders, a great spinning wheel of golden fire with six silver eyes in its center, a short satyr with bright crimson skin, a lithe shadowy form in old 1800's colonial clothing and a tall humanoid seemingly composed of shimmering silvery metal. Locals are at a complete loss as to an explanation.
APACHE JUNCTION, ARIZONA- The Templar-Librarian known as the Silver Nun arrives with a strange tale concerning the Window Rock National Park. While tracking down rumors of a rouge Combine Automaton in the northern portions of the state, the Nun was seeking shelter in the natural rock formations from a radstorm that was blowing through. Inside a large cave at the base of the Window Rock formation, the Librarian made an ugly discovery. Inside were seven bodies, all bearing marks and wounds that suggested they were sacrifices in a very nasty occult ritual. The tally includes two Loyalist Doombringers, a Convoy Scout, a Combine Heavy cyborg, a mutant wearing the sigils of a Templar's Companion, a junker missing her cybernetic eyes, and a
Syker dressed in Southern Alliance military fatigues. Scattered around the bodies was a copious amount of gray dust, many handfuls of dried herbs, over a dozen shattered glass bottles, several piles of cold ashes and a number of half-smoked cigars. The nun relayed that the entire tableau filled her with a deep sense of dread. Anyone with any information can find the Silver Nun at the Engineer's Society in Apache Junction for twenty more days.
SANTA FE FORTRESS, NEW MEXICO- Refugees have arrived from the nearby enclave of Pinetop. Just over a week ago, a waster calling herself Jessie took up residence in the rooming house. Not long after, fights and brawls became hourly ordeals. Things came to a head when the village sheriff called for a curfew and was shot dead by one of the local teenagers. The ensuing riot burned most of the town to the ground. The few survivors all place Jessie in the area of each and every fight that took place, but none of them can agree on what her features were. She was garbed in a long duster of black and gray patches, along with worn jeans, taped boots and a beaten leather vest.
December 15th
TURTLE ISLE, GREAT MAZE- Couriers from the Salem, Oregon Enclave are passing word of the destruction of the settlement previously at the summit of Clear Creek Mesa on the northern end of the Shattered Coast. The team spotted a huge group of mutants and Loyalist Doomsayers heading east on foot towards the state border. Investigating the town, the couriers found all thirty-seven souls blasted to death or given fatal mutations. The town was put to the torch but there was no evidence of looting. Seared into one wall of an old warehouse was the sentence, "Surrender the one called Marshal Law."
ARKADELPHIA, ARKANSAS- Residents of the small village on the shores of Ouchita River are looking for junkers and other scientifically inclined people to solve a pressing problem. The local farms that supply food for Arkadelphia as well as seven other enclaves have had a bad turn of luck. For the past three months, farmers have watched their crops simply wither up and die in the fields. No cause is readily apparent.
ENGINEER'S SOCIETY APACHE JUNCTION, ARIZONA- Piper, the head Engineer, is assembling a posse to investigate an alarming trend with the nearby Salt River. During the Battle of Phoenix, a LatAm sapper team blew the Salt River Dam to deny the Southern Alliance troops a ready supply of power. The resultant deluge drowned thousands when the river blew through its old bed in the middle of the Phoenix Metroplex. In the past two weeks, the river has been rising at the rate of three inches a day. Piper is looking for folks with wilderness survival skills and anyone with hydrodynamic knowledge.
TEXARKANA BAZAAR, TEXAS- Law Dogs are offering a staggering bounty for anyone with information leading to the apprehension of the perpetrators responsible for the truck bomb that exploded along the edge of the trader's arena yesterday. A tanker truck said to be filled with purified water erupted in a blast that killed over ninety people with the resultant blazes still be fought by locals. Trader Baron Emmanuel McCain has admitted that the truck was one of his fleet but that it was not due back from New Mexico for another week. Local Trader Barons have also added goods to the reward. The final tally so far: one reconditioned medium sized RV, free food from the bazaar for one year, a military grade water purifier, one dozen junker-made Medkits, a Cray-Atari Palm console, the services of three veteran scouts for thirty days, one Northern Alliance Heavy Machine Gun, free priority service from Doctor Barnhouse's Clinic and Cyber Repair for ninety days, one fully restored hoverbike and one thousand gallons of spook juice.
December 18th
NEAR TUCSON, ARIZONA- Scouts from the town have logged a report of a Red Rock Trading caravan discovered along the old I-10 interstate near the state border. Upon approach, the scouts were appalled at the condition of the caravan members. All eleven of them had their bodies twisted into completely unnatural shapes. Upon examination, the victims were not mutated in any fashion. There was no noticeable background counts or any other signs of an attack by Doomsayers. The caravan's shipment of food and electronics was completely untouched.
HOBBS, NEW MEXICO- Nomad the Librarian reports the complete destruction of the walled enclave of Old Horse Springs in the central portion of the state. Nomad was approaching the walls to barter for a room for the night when he noticed that the main gates had been blasted from the walls. Further inspection revealed that all forty-one inhabitants had died from multiple gunshot wounds. There are massive fire tracks along nearly every building in the encampment. Unfortunately, the locals had only melee weapons and farming implements to defend themselves. Each victim was shot at least six times. The sheer scale of the assault would seem to indicate a staggering amount of firepower and ammunition. In an odd counterpoint, for all of the massive damage to both people and buildings, Nomad could not find a single spent slug or loose bullet casing in the entire enclave.
LAS CRUCES RUINS, NEW MEXICO- Scouts have returned from across the state with a few tales concerning Black Creek Mountain on the Arizona/New Mexico border. The scouts were sounding out rumors of a hidden enclave said to be on the eastern side of the mountains. On the third night of searching, they stumbled across an abandoned mining operation that may have dated back to the early 1950's. Taking shelter for the evening, the scouts awoke the next day to discover one of their members had vanished. Exploring the remains of the compound, the scouts uncovered a junker's workshop in the main ore-crushing plant. There were a number of half-completed ground vehicles and a small living area, but they showed no sign of being inhabited for at least two weeks. There is a huge amount of useable salvage in vehicles and equipment present but the scouts returned to try and gather some muscle behind them. Every entry to the mine they could discover was sealed shut with concrete and steel braces. All designed to keep something from exiting.
December 21st
JUNKYARD - A local who wanted to remain anonymous turned in this report to a local librarian. He "over-heard" a conversation where a man was hiring a rather powerful looking group (two bald heads and a purple-robed doomsayer, plus two more) to help him travel to Denver, or Dallas in search of something he wouldn't identify. The employer then left, only to be hit by a truck in front of the bar they were in. The group rushed outside and confronted a group of black-robed men attempting to pull a satchel off their dead employer's body. A fight ensued that lit up the night of Junkyard even more than usual. Of the hired-group: the doomie transformed into a giant green monster before tearing into the black-robed cultists, one of the bald-heads seemed to developed phenomenal strength and broke several necks before falling, the other bald head (who looked a lot like the first) let loose with several energy attack. One of the more normal looking of group pulled out a flaming sword and cleaved into the cultists. The last of the group fell in an initial explosion. On the cultists side there appeared to be two or three leaders that could shoot bolts of energy and even, supposedly, raise the dead. At the end of the battle the cultists were decimated, but the group was last seen fleeing from the scene with the victim's satchel in tow. Further reports indicate that the satchel was later opened and some type of large stone disc that was cracked was inside. -Submitted by the waster known only as Smoke
<somewhere> Southern North Dakota - {message priority:urgent} [Date missing...file corrupted]
this may be my final message im going to check out the old HI car factory on the other side of this ghost town, then head up to the large manor house in the north, I've set up some traps on the house where I am staying and will leave the palmcorder upstairs. If I don't come back the palmcorder will transmit this message in 2 hours. Tell Ellen I love her and wish that we could have spent more time together. Data Follows; {data priority:Urgent Council eyes only} mission successful have found the green eye. It located just northwest of N#5*am in the @l$ Min$£D comm.^|¬y of Bl^&^O£%{P£%{{ K [File data useless after this point...Security protocols breached] -Submitted by Brother Dom the Librarian
GLOBE ENCLAVE, ARIZONA- a Red Rock Trading caravan arrives with another strange report of 'borg-napping. The caravan was leaving the floating community on Roosevelt Lake, heading south on the old Highway 60 when the guards and caravan master were shot with a bizarre variant of a taser weapon. The kidnapees were the two Light Combat cans that had bartered for transport. A force of eleven figures threw an electrified net over the two 'borgs and rendered them immobile. The caravan master remembers hearing another animal drawn vehicle approach and the cans were hauled off. One of the guards heard a kidnapper mention that seven more are needed. Cyborgs and anyone traveling with them are advised to exercise caution in the
Arizona-New Mexico area.
POPLAR BLUFF, MISSOURI- a Syker waster going by the name of Sear logs a troubling report about the towns surrounding the Mark Twain National Forest. Over the course of three weeks, Sear was acting as a bodyguard to a scavvie crew working the northern Mississippi river towns. The crew has watched whole crowds of Toxic zombies; flaming pyre zombies and stinking bloats wade into the Big Muddy, heading due east. The crew has witnessed this migration from the ruins of Portageville, New Madrid, and Point Pleasant.
BROWNSVILLE REFUGE, TEXAS- Raymond Decker has a small problem. Last month, he took his small trader's caravan to the New Orleans Bayou to drum up a little business. While he was there, he got on the bad side of Mama Tibutu. The Voodoo Queen swore at him for a bit in a strange tongue and Raymond decided to pursue interests outside of the swamp. Ever since then, Ray can't keep a decent piece of salvage to save his life. Things keep rusting overnight, breaking when he touches them or just up and disappearing when he's not looking. Decker is willing to pay any price to the folks that can get rid of this curse or go plead his case to Tibutu.
HOUMA BOAT TOWN, LOUISIANA- The mayor for the floating village of Houma, Jonas Lyle, has a thorny problem that needs solving. A strange breed of bright purple kudzu weed has begun to grow out from the cypress trees that the village is moored to. The weed has resisted everything thrown against it, up to military defoliant. Jonas is desperate. If the spread is not reversed soon, Houma will vanish under the violet vines. The options are to find a biologically inclined junker that can beat the plants back or track the things to their roots somewhere in the swamp.