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week 6
WEEK 6
!home, home on the range
Last week’s events have understandably driven the group off the intended course — so this week will be about righting your little forest-beach-detour.
However, it seems the rain that began at the tail end of last week hasn’t quite let up yet. Mercifully(?), the worst of the storm looks to be over, which means the party will only have to be mildly soggy instead of fighting for their lives against daunting sheets of rain.
Perhaps due to a combination of poor weather, overexertion, and lingering germs in any of the places everyone’s been traveling through, Leontuzzo Bellone and Mark Grayson come down with the flu.
Covering a wide area of land between the lighthouse and the next marked place on the map are a series of abandoned farms and vineyards. Fruit trees and grapevines have all been left to grow (and overgrow) naturally, and with the party passing through at the height of summer, there are plenty of fresh peaches and grapes to be plucked from the foliage on the way. The rain has made the ground muddy and sticky, which may lead to some unfortunate falls…but maybe it’s worth it for a tasty treat.
Also in the abandoned farms are, of course, farmhouses and barns. There are stray farm animals here and there who have happened to survive through sheer luck, though there are no human inhabitants. No living ones, anyway: there are only skeletons, telling the tale that people died here long ago, perhaps of natural causes. One can only hope they did not succumb to the virus as so many others have. There are medicine cabinets inside the houses that have standard things like painkillers, cough syrup, and things of that nature, so it might be a good time to stock up.
As characters linger in the farms, they’ll also notice another side effect of their bracelets: throughout the entire week, they’ll be empathically linked to the other survivors, being able to feel their emotions as strongly as they would feel their own.
However, it seems the rain that began at the tail end of last week hasn’t quite let up yet. Mercifully(?), the worst of the storm looks to be over, which means the party will only have to be mildly soggy instead of fighting for their lives against daunting sheets of rain.
Perhaps due to a combination of poor weather, overexertion, and lingering germs in any of the places everyone’s been traveling through, Leontuzzo Bellone and Mark Grayson come down with the flu.
Covering a wide area of land between the lighthouse and the next marked place on the map are a series of abandoned farms and vineyards. Fruit trees and grapevines have all been left to grow (and overgrow) naturally, and with the party passing through at the height of summer, there are plenty of fresh peaches and grapes to be plucked from the foliage on the way. The rain has made the ground muddy and sticky, which may lead to some unfortunate falls…but maybe it’s worth it for a tasty treat.
Also in the abandoned farms are, of course, farmhouses and barns. There are stray farm animals here and there who have happened to survive through sheer luck, though there are no human inhabitants. No living ones, anyway: there are only skeletons, telling the tale that people died here long ago, perhaps of natural causes. One can only hope they did not succumb to the virus as so many others have. There are medicine cabinets inside the houses that have standard things like painkillers, cough syrup, and things of that nature, so it might be a good time to stock up.
As characters linger in the farms, they’ll also notice another side effect of their bracelets: throughout the entire week, they’ll be empathically linked to the other survivors, being able to feel their emotions as strongly as they would feel their own.
city escape
Once the group passes through farm country, you’ve finally made it to the outskirts of your destination, San Francisco. The map seems to suggest that you should travel along the east outskirts of the town along the bay, rather than directly through it — similar to how the party had stayed to the edges of Los Angeles.
Hordes here are similar to the ones in LA, though with the added difficulty that San Francisco is very hilly. Groups of zombies will chase the survivors uphill and downhill: they seem to have limitless stamina, so running up the hills and hoping for the best isn’t the best strategy. Conversely, they run full speed down the steep declines of San Francisco roads, which can lead to them completely wiping and possibly knocking you down with them.
Several zombies are also special: of the zombies that attack downhill, a handful have retained enough intelligence to simply stand or sit on abandoned skateboards and bikes, which increases their speed greatly. Of the zombies that prefer to attack uphill, they’ve learned that throwing anything they can find at their prey may slow them down — pieces of glass, bricks, and even shoes might be thrown at the survivors.
Henry Townshend attracts the attention of zombies in these hilly zones, forcing the need for a City Escape™.
Hordes here are similar to the ones in LA, though with the added difficulty that San Francisco is very hilly. Groups of zombies will chase the survivors uphill and downhill: they seem to have limitless stamina, so running up the hills and hoping for the best isn’t the best strategy. Conversely, they run full speed down the steep declines of San Francisco roads, which can lead to them completely wiping and possibly knocking you down with them.
Several zombies are also special: of the zombies that attack downhill, a handful have retained enough intelligence to simply stand or sit on abandoned skateboards and bikes, which increases their speed greatly. Of the zombies that prefer to attack uphill, they’ve learned that throwing anything they can find at their prey may slow them down — pieces of glass, bricks, and even shoes might be thrown at the survivors.
Henry Townshend attracts the attention of zombies in these hilly zones, forcing the need for a City Escape™.
fisherman's wharf + pier 39
Towards the end of the week, as characters continue taking the long way around San Francisco, they’ll eventually end up at the northeastern section of the city. More specifically, Pier 39, and the harbors it borders.
Here, after all the rain and gloom, the weather is a bit clearer, allowing characters to look out into the bay and see some marine wildlife that has kept away from the virus; there are hundreds of sea lions and seagulls here, though because they stay down on the rocks below the pier, the sounds of waves crashing drown out their incessant barking.
There are a number of abandoned shops here, and similar to the mall the group traversed weeks ago, many of the stores seem to be looted, but there are still goodies to be found here and there. With the wide variety of goods, from music boxes to candy to jewelry, there’s sure to be something that tugs on the heartstrings you’re all sharing this week.
Take a look around, find a souvenir, and maybe pick what store you’re going to be camping out in for the night?
This week, Ninety-Nine is infected.
Here, after all the rain and gloom, the weather is a bit clearer, allowing characters to look out into the bay and see some marine wildlife that has kept away from the virus; there are hundreds of sea lions and seagulls here, though because they stay down on the rocks below the pier, the sounds of waves crashing drown out their incessant barking.
There are a number of abandoned shops here, and similar to the mall the group traversed weeks ago, many of the stores seem to be looted, but there are still goodies to be found here and there. With the wide variety of goods, from music boxes to candy to jewelry, there’s sure to be something that tugs on the heartstrings you’re all sharing this week.
Take a look around, find a souvenir, and maybe pick what store you’re going to be camping out in for the night?
This week, Ninety-Nine is infected.
III
Eventually, their paths collide. Reiju has no idea what it means to build a bear, but steps inside the store for the sake of being thorough. There, she comes upon Hella with a collection of stuffed animals in her possession.
The familiar dread is met with an unassuming wave of solicitude and the grin, a small smile. Reiju glances at the stuffed animals tucked under Hella's arm, then at the nearest barrel.]
Nothing in particular. Since I'm here, though . . . what do you suggest?
no subject
They're all pretty much the same once they're stuffed, right? As a pillow...
[ that's what she assumes someone practical like Reiju might see as these animals' use. ]
I guess if I had to choose, you should have something pink.
no subject
That, or purple.
[She crouches down to pick up something very clearly neither—a technicolored creature of some kind. It would make a most colorful pillow if someone were to stuff it.]
Is that what you're collecting them for?
no subject
....Don't laugh. [ She doesn't think Reiju will, but the warning seems serious, anyway. ] I was looking for ones that remind me of... you know. Kotoha, Mark, and Soujuurou.
[ Mumble mumble. It's not because she wants to cry and cuddle them or anything like that, it just feels awful everytime she thinks about the way they were forced to leave each of them behind. They couldn't even send them off properly, or carry any of their things with them. ]
I don't want to just keep moving and pretend they were never here.
no subject
Reiju's eyes soften at the admission. No, she didn't know; she knows now, though, and there's fondness over an undercurrent of guilt and melancholy from her end. She sets the unstuffed toy on the display stand next to her, then takes one step closer to Hella, who is truly good at heart.]
What have you found so far?
no subject
[ She says it like a question, like she's looking for approval from Reiju without even realizing it. Hella sets the brown kitten down first, setting it neatly on what used to be the check-out counter. Before she moves on, she smooths out some of the fur on the top of its head, surprisingly gentle. ]
Then this one, Mark was kind of puppy-like, before he got all pissy and weird...
[ It's just Hella's way to talk about people bluntly like this — she sighs, forlorn, but also feels she should try to keep her feelings towards each individual the same as she'd had them before they were lost. Mark was her friend, if not a frustrating one at times, so, her commentary reflects that. Likewise, Kotoha had been someone she had wanted to get closer to, explaining the longing, lingering touch she'd afforded the other toy.
Finally, after setting the black dog plush next to the kitten, she holds the beaver in both hands, moving it away from herself a bit to look at it from afar. ]
I'm not sure about the beaver for Soujuurou. I don't know if he reminds me of anything.
[ He's simply Just a Guy, but beavers are forest creatures and have short, bristly fur, not super unlike his cropped haircut. Her eyes move up to meet Reiju's, wondering what her opinions are on all of this — the animals, and more importantly, the companions themselves. It's not like she ever paid much attention to how everyone was getting along, after all. ]
no subject
"Pissy and weird." Was it grief or the loss of humanity that turned him so dark? Reiju can't say, though she notices the differences—the unbridled honesty—in Hella's attitude toward each name. It shows how much Hella looks at a person, which lends importance to her words.
She eyes the cat, the dog, and then finally the beaver. It does sort of look like the man in question.]
Beavers are peaceable creatures. Does that sound like him?