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Post by Διμι on Dec 11, 2010 11:07:49 GMT -5
"Well look who we got ourselves here!" the dark-skinned Freedomer grinned nastily, prodding the bound loner deeper into the muck with the huge barrel of his shotgun. "You didn't think you would get your first taste of Svoboda so soon, did you?"
His partner, a stocky, ugly man, looked up from his task of sharpening a rather wicked looking knife and let out a shrill laugh. "Check his docs." he wheezed "some of the dumber loners carry them, God knows what reason for."
Mordecai, for of course it was he, obliged, deftly rifling through the loner's pockets before pulling out a faded passport. "Malygin," he muttered "queer name, although I don't suppose it'll save you from rotting in here for the rest of your quick young life." he smiled an almost understanding smile "if you don't get picked apart by boars, that is."
The knife behind him dropped with a clangor as the second Freedomer rose to his feet "What the fuck did you just say, Mordecai, you said what was his name?" he trotted over to his taller black comrade and snatched the paper out of his hands. The stocky man's eyes slowly went wide as he read the name inscribed on the glossy page. There could be no mistaking it.
Pushing Mordecai out of the way, he reached up for his knife and quickly cut the loner loose. Leaning in and grabbing him by the neck, he spoke "You never saw us," he seethed "you don't know what faction we are from, and we don't exist. You were never attacked and bound. The loner village is two kilometers west of here. Understand?!" he dropped the man into the muck again.
"What the fuck?" Mordecai chimed in suddenly "Who is this guy now that we're suddenly giving royal treatment to?" the Freedomer seemed incensed as he slowly stepped forward, glaring at his comrade.
"You've got no idea of the kind of shit we'd get in if we killed him." his companion answered grimly "now let's get the fuck out of here. Remember," he turned to the loner again "we never existed. We were just shadows."
The two Freedomers swiftly and silently disappeared into the brush as the loner slowly regained his senses.
"Some shadows alright." Peregrine muttered, rubbing his sore wrists and twisting his ankles. From the first few hours, the Zone was even kind enough to send him a welcoming committee. He weakly crawled over to where his silenced SMG and pistol lay on the ground. The Freedomers, surprisingly, had not stripped him of the little gear he had before they fled the scene.
He stood up shakily before checking his compass. The fat Freedomer had informed him that the village lay west, and although he seemed about as trustworthy as any local bandit, Peregrine had little other leads to follow. Slowly, he gathered his belongings and trudged in near-exhaustion off through the dense brush in the direction the man had indicated.
An hour and a half later, dirty and ragged, he stumbled into the village. A few surprised looks seemed to fixate on him as the rookies half-rose from their perches.
Then Peregrine collapsed.
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Post by Basil on Dec 11, 2010 16:42:28 GMT -5
"What the hell did you do to your suit, kid?"
The young stalker shifted uncomfortably from one foot to another, and Spinner sighed. He was good at tailoring, but sometimes the stalkers who resided in the rookie village made some rather ludicrous demands. This young man had an old Sunrise suit, probably bought from Sidorovich at the price of an arm and a leg, and the front of said suit seemed to have been fed through a wood-chipper.
"-Blind dogs", said the stalker after a rather lengthy silence. He seemed genuinely embarrassed at the state his suit was in. "I walked into a pack of them. Wolf saved me."
"-Well, you're lucky Wolf was there", said Spinner, looking at the suit again. The dogs had not only damaged the surface fabric but had bitten deep into the layers as well, doing a lot of damage he doubted he could repair without a good supply of textile and other materials. "Oh well, tell you what, I'll patch your suit up if you can get me some rubber and other stuff. It'll take a while, but I think I should be able to do it..."
There was a slight commotion that came from the alley that separated the rookie village into two halves. Intrigued, Spinner got up from the overturned crate he used as a seat and left the old ruined house he used as a makeshift workshop. A few stalkers were gathered around the fallen and battered form of one of their own. Spinner stepped forth and crouched next to the barely conscious stalker.
"Well, ain't that a nice way to start out", he said. "Don't take him to Sidorovich. Hey kid, you still alive? You'd better be. I know a few people here who wouldn't mind stealing everything from your corpse."
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Post by Διμι on Dec 11, 2010 18:15:16 GMT -5
"They wouldn't be the first to try..." murmured Peregrine in response. He slowly gained his wits about him, eying the heavyset man kneeling in front of him. "As for my little start, you wouldn't believe it anyway."
He rose unsteadily, and the circle of loners seemed to retract. The cool air had done a favor to his senses, and he was slowly but surely regaining his faculties. The temperature was steadily dropping, he thought. It wouldn't be long before the first snowfall.
"I think I'll live for the day." he muttered, as the loners went back to their tasks. He stumbled slowly down the road and past the massive man that had greeted his untimely arrival. Sidorovich, Peregrine thought, Sidorovich was who he would have to talk to.
He slowly picked his way down the beaten road to the bunker visible at the end of the village. Even before his arrival into the Zone, Peregrine had been informed to be wary of the infamous trader's personality and policies alike. He would have to do his best to use the man to his advantage without getting into a mess of proportions well beyond his grasp.
He stumbled down the staircase and through the metal doorway, behind which, plainly visible, the trader sat.
"A new one, eh?" the trader had already sized up the loner before speaking. The old man's gaze was still sharp behind his heavy eyelids.
"Maybe." Peregrine responded absentmindedly. "What difference does it make?" he stared evenly back at the black market dealer sitting across from him.
"Well for one thing," the trader spoke "you don't look like you have a hell of a lot to give. So why are you here?"
Straight to business, Peregrine thought, there was no getting around this guy after all. "I'm looking for someone. Someone that has passed through your hands some day in the past, no doubt. His name is Malygin, Kirill Malygin."
Sidorovich twitched visibly, his face trembling visibly. But in an instant, he regained his composure. "Maybe." he mimicked the loner "I've seen more faces than I can remember. Who are you to him?" he cocked his head.
"His brother," Peregrine answered flatly "and now that I can see you know him, why don't you answer my question - where can I find him?"
Sidorovich paused for a moment before interlacing his fingers delicately "Yes, I knew such a stalker. But the truth is, I haven't the faintest idea where he is at the moment." he stared calmly into Peregrine's disappointed face "I do know, however and as always, someone who might help. But for that, you'll have to do me and my... associates, a little favor."
"Get to the point." Peregrine rested his palms on the counter, staring down the trader, daring him to make his terms known. Sidorovich, unfazed, stared back evenly.
"Go to Rostok." he said finally "meet the stalker known as Barkeep there. He'll give you the rest of the terms on our little 'arrangement', as well as any info he happens to have on your brother." he turned back to the confines of the room behind the counter. "I'd get some rest before going though. With the state you're in, I doubt you'll get halfway across the Garbage before breaking down into cogs and bolts."
Peregrine said nothing. The trader had evidently withheld something, but pressing him for it at the moment would be useless. He had no choice but to play his stupid game, at least for now. Slowly, he walked up the bunker's stairwell and outside. It was still bright outside, but he would need his rest.
Still in his state of near-exhaustion, he made his way over to a house that looked like as if it were about to collapse. Shrapnel marks peppered the walls, and the entire roof looked like it had been shredded with a 30mm machine gun. A torn up, but still functional sleeping bag had been left in a corner by the previous occupant. It would have to do for the night.
Peregrine slowly slid into the warm confines of the padded bag, and drifted off to peaceful and much-needed sleep.
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Post by blackpapermoon on Dec 11, 2010 19:04:22 GMT -5
‘Bandits…Stalkers…. They’re all the same,’ thought Morak as he sat by the fire, his sister resting beside him. It was the first time in a five-day period that Vorona had gotten any sleep, her run in with the pirates two years ago had really shaken her. She had gone from a strong, independent enterprising person into a nervous wreak who was scared to sleep at night.
They had to get to Rostok soon, once there he could see if he could get into Duty. He had some contacts with them from his two years in the military, if nothing else the bar was safer then this pathetic shit hole. Morak did not wish to spend much time in the Cordon… he did not need any stalkers to make the connection to him and being in the military. Ex-Military men where not well liked in the stalker community and he wanted to be gone by the time someone found the bodies.
*Flashback* Two loners where leaving the exclusion zone, unaware that someone was watching them. Morak laid in waiting, the dead grass had given him the perfect amount of cover and warmth from the cold as he waited for the loners to get closer and deeper into his trap. Until finally they where right in front of him, and he pulled the trigger. After a short burst one of the two was dead, his partner tried to bring his Mossberg 88 around to fire but the former soldier let off another short burst and killed the man. Slowly Vadik stood up, after making sure no one else was around. He took his time going through his victim’s belongings, there was not much to be had as the two had sold all of their valuable loot before leaving the Cordon. He took the shotgun, ammunition, food and medical supplies before returning to where he told Yeva to wait for him. *Flashback End*
Vorona and the inhabitants of rookie village where none the wiser to the ill gotten gun and supplies and he wanted to keep it that way. He closed his eyes and let sleep take him, tomorrow they would leave for Rostok.
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Post by Karcentric on Dec 13, 2010 11:07:16 GMT -5
Hiding in the attic of the old house on the other side of the collapsed bridge Renegade stretched his arms and sat up, unpacking his portable stove he cooked a basic meal of fried meat and toasted bread. Once he'd packed his gear away he lowered himself carefully from the attic, even though the military hadn't replaced soldiers that had been slaughtered by a group of stalkers sometime earlier he always took care to remain out of sight.
He'd been tasked with clearing a group mutated pigs, which kept hanging around the old loners base during the faction wars, when all of the factions of the zone were at war with someone. He'd arrived at the farm around 11pm the night before and had killed 3 pigs and a young boar. Jogging cautiously and as quietly as possible he eventually made back to the village ignoring the other loners that were sitting around and hardly noticing the stalker that passed him by walking away from that old bastard's bunker. Renegade had been working on all sorts of tasks had hardly anything to show for it.
Making his way down the steps he opened the door and closed it behind him, looking to Sidorovich who was either blind or deliberately ignoring him. "Dealt with them pigs out on the farm." Renegade said quietly, "You think you could actually pay me this time? I don't need anymore vodka or canned food." He added.
"Hmmm, after all I've done for you, you come begging for money?" The trader replied not looking up from his meal. "Here take this, got it the other day." Sliding a TP-82 and a box of shells, That's more than generous now get out."
Picking up the strange gun Renegade he glared at the old trader through his mask, forcing himself to leave without attacking him.
"Good hunting stalker." Sidorovich said before shoveling another forkful of food into his face.
Making his way back up the stairs he looked around the small village before plonking himself down opposite a pair of stalkers one of which was asleep, the other starring into the fire, thinking of some past deed. Noting that they were both larger than him
Examining the gun he'd received he packed it away into his pack. Deciding to try and strike up a conversation with the bigger stalker.
"Uhhh, hello. Why did you come to the zone?" He asked masking a nervous stammer, and trying to conceal his scarred face.
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Post by blackpapermoon on Dec 14, 2010 7:43:46 GMT -5
Vadik regarded the small loner for a moment with his sharp gray eyes. The other man appeared to be harmless but was far too nosy for his own good. The old saying, curiosity killed the cat was truer then ever in the zone. Namely when it came to meddling in the in the affairs or pasts of others.
“None of your…”said Morak gruffly before being interrupted by a soft yet tired voice.
“A bad deal our father made before he passed,” replayed the woman laying by the fire as she slowly sat up, it was clear by her eyes and hair color that she was related to the man beside her. She gave her brother a disappointed look before continuing;
“That is all you need to know,” she said as she warmed her hands by the fire, “I’m Vorona and my brother is Morak. What about you?”
The younger of the siblings stared at the older, what was his sister thinking? In Morak’s eyes Stalkers and Bandits where cut of the same material; they where all outlaws, criminals and just low life scum. When he was stationed at Agroprom Research Institute he lost more of his comrades in arms to Stalker and Bandit attacks then to Mutants and Anomalies combined. Many of his childhood friends had died by the hands of a Stalker known as “Marked one”; the bastard had come from the underground and fought his way in to the HQ before running off with some important top secret documents. Vadik had been away on patrol during that time but he was there during the aftermath.
“Morak?” questioned Yeva becoming worried about her brother, as normal as he looked and acted she could help but feel something was off, “It there something troubling you?”
“No, I’m fine,” he said knowing that he had almost given himself away, “just didn’t sleep well.”
“Now what did you say your name was?” said Morak more cheerfully, hoping to change the topic as fast as possible.
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Post by Karcentric on Dec 14, 2010 12:40:44 GMT -5
"I’m Vorona and my brother is Morak. What about you?" Vorona asked.
"Ale..." Stopping himself, "Renegade, my name is Renegade. As for my story." He said, carefully pulling the gas mask off, waving his hand in front of his scarred face before pulling the mask back on painfully and wincing slightly. "I was attacked two years ago, mugged and set on fire, after that life went down hill. Ended up with a choice prison or here, I figured this place can't be much worse than prison." He said as quickly as possible, something about this pair of stalkers made him uneasy. Averting his eyes from the duo he looked around the camp the other stalkers were moving around the village. He never felt comfortable in the village but occasionally sought the refuge it provided if the bandits or the military had too many patrolling.
"Excuse me." He muttered, pushing himself up and wandering off not really sure what he was going to do next, Morak had made it clear he wasn't welcome, and something about struck Renegade as odd but he couldn't quite place his finger.
Stopping he found he'd walked into another building allowing his eyes to adjust and began thinking about his life be the zone again, he'd mostly forgotten his old life, it made him feel as though he was ageless, he'd barely spent any time in the zone and yet time seemed to pass strangely in the zone.
"Maybe it's time to leave Cordon, not like I'm earning any money here, that bastard just uses us, doesn't pay any good even when he does pay up." Renegade muttered to himself, pacing back and forth. "Only problem is, I can't go alone, I wouldn't stand a chance, and I dunno anyone here I can trust." He eventually sat down and ate another small ration of food.
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Post by Διμι on Dec 14, 2010 16:13:49 GMT -5
Having slept his due, Peregrine stared silently at the interaction that was occurring across the street from the shadowy recess behind the attic's shattered window frame. The three looked just like any of the other rookies. All three of them save for one. He watched as the tall man in the skullcap stood up from the cold ground to warm himself by the fire. The way he carried himself when upright was all too familiar to the young loner, having grown up in a war zone. It was an unmistakable posture that many a draftee would rarely get the chance to shake off.
He was interrupted by the squeak of the door's hinge on the floor below. The third stalker, seemingly repudiated by the tall loner, had apparently chosen the same building as him for shelter, and was actively in the midst of talking to himself.
"Only problem is, I can't go alone, I wouldn't stand a chance, and I dunno anyone here I can trust." was all that Peregrine could make out. Soon, the man fell quiet, instead pulling out a tin of rations and settling down on the first floor.
Still somewhat unconvinced that the man wasn't one of the few in the Zone that would try to gut him at first sight, Peregrine quickly pulled on his jacket and made his way down the stairs. It would be unbecoming to leave his guest without the proper reception that the other two loners had evidently failed to give him.
"Curious place for a soldier to find himself in, don't you think?" he spoke as he emerged from the stairwell, eying the tall stalker in the distance through the shack's destroyed windows. The man in the trenchcoat wheeled around, evidently taken aback by Peregrine's sudden appearance, but then slowly relaxed, seeing that the smaller, younger stalker hardly looked like a threat.
"Sorry bout that," Peregrine apologized "I didn't mean to take you by surprise, but I just noticed you talking with the other... guy, over there, before coming in on me." he spoke smoothly. Not only was the seeming suaveness something his brother taught him, but it almost seemed to run in their blood. All except the fact that his brother had employed it with a wicked and sometimes even evil cunning that Peregrine could not wish to match, back when they were still together anyway. The loner pushed the thought out of his mind, and returned his attention to the conversation at hand. The other man had still not spoken, evidently trying to come up with a response for Peregrine's intrusion.
"A soldier indeedy," Peregrine continued, still staring at the skullcap toting stalker "one that was never fully discharged either. Perhaps two full years, no more, or maybe a runaway. You don't see a whole lot of veterans with dembels strutting around like that. This guy is still all business." he laughed. "In any case, I wouldn't be surprised if he was in some deep shit to end up all the way in the village and risk his hide in front of Wolf like that. It's amazing that no one's recognized him yet, with a posture like that."
He turned back to the stalker in the same room as him "What's your name?" he asked tentatively "Being upstairs I couldn't help but overhear that you were planning to go somewhere. I've got some errands to run myself. Maybe we can help each other out."
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Post by blackpapermoon on Dec 14, 2010 18:08:21 GMT -5
When Morak looked back the small stalker was gone; his sister stared at him angrily. Her eyes seemed to burn holes into his soul.
"What's your problem Vadik?" said Vorona irritated a sour look on her face and her arms crossed, "Do you have to be so…so…hostile all the time?"
The younger sibling said nothing to his sister. She didn't know the truth about these gun-toting bums called stalkers, he didn't want her to know the truth. They where only here because of him… If he hadn't killed those two gangsters maybe things would have been different… No he had to kill them, if he didn't both he and Yeva would be dead there was not any other way.
"Now I'm going to see if I can fix the bridge you burned," said Yeva slowly getting to her feet as a cold wind started to blow, "I mean didn't you see that poor kids face… disfigured and lonely… all he wanted was some company."
With that she left her place by the fire and when into the house that she had seen Renegade enter. The temperature dropped, it seemed that the snow was inevitable.
"Renegade," said the woman as she entered the house, "forgive my brother…he's been through a lot lately but he should not have treated you that way."
However she soon found that she was in the presents of another person as well. The brown haired stalker was young around his late teens but it seemed like he had seen his share of life's nastier things.
"Excuse me," she said "I didn't know I was interrupting you...I should go."
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Post by Zeno, Lord Camelith on Dec 14, 2010 19:12:22 GMT -5
It was late afternoon and the light of the sun was fading into the west. A body of clouds was drifting up from the south, and the dying light cast long shadows on the leaf-strewn ground. As last of the sunlight disappeared beyond the horizon, the clouds rolled over the Zone. The water in the clouds was met with near perfect temperatures and as the water began to partially freeze, it sunk down out of the pillowy mass and began to fall.
Three stalkers sat huddled around a small camp fire. The dancing flames cast distorted shadows on the walls of the wrecked house they were sitting in. One of them, a stumpy man, lifted his arm to brush of the snow accumulating on his shoulder. "Great." He muttered, "Winter's closing in. As if life in this hellhole wasn't hard enough already now we have to deal with bone-biting cold too." The men next to him, both more experienced and better equipped chuckled to themselves. They had seen winter in the Zone before. "Don't worry," one of them said "It'll help you see the anomalies better."
The laughter, muffled by the snow reached the ears of a figure clad in a trench coat, who was stooped down to feel the snow. Skomorokh stood up, it was a good snow, much cleaner than the snow in Odessa and judging by the rate at which it was falling, it would soon be several inches thick. Skomorokh ran lightly to the ruined house, the snow barely making a sound under his feet. When he was close enough, Skomorokh jumped and, grabbing onto the eves, flipped him self onto the roof, landing deftly on his feet but causing several slabs of roofing to slide off.
A thudding noise in the snow caught the attention of the three stalkers, and they wheeled around to see what had caused it. "It's only some roof tiles." the stumpy one said. "Alexi," the oldest one said, "Why don't you go out and see if the-" the man stopped talking, the easily recognizable tones of a balalaika met his ears. "Does anyone else hear that?" he asked, turning around. Sitting behind them on a barrel with his face obscured by the hood of his trench coat, was Skomorokh, Balalaika in hand.
The stalkers drew their weapons and pointed them at the instrument wielding figure. "Who are you?" barked the one that seemed to be in charge, "And what do you want?"
Skomorokh stopped playing and looked up. Looking the stalker right in the eyes, he gave him a maniacal grin and said "You can call me Skomorokh, comrade."
With their faces glued to Skomorokh's demonesque smile, the stumpy one mustered up his courage and said "You gave us quite a scare, Skomorokh."
"Did I?" Skomorokh replied, his voice dripping with sarcasm, and casually moved his hand away from the body of the instrument and to the grip of the sub-machine gun hidden behind it, "I'm terribly sorry."
Before any of the men could react, the minstrel had drawn his machine-pistol and filled the stalkers with the contents of its magazine.
Laughing joyfully to himself Skomorokh stood up from the barrel and rummaged through the belongings of the stalkers, finding nothing of interest, he continued southwards down the road, still playing the Balalaika. The corpses in the house behind him were already being covered by the snow, dying it red above the wounds in their chests.
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Post by Διμι on Dec 14, 2010 20:50:46 GMT -5
Peregrine could see the faint traces of embarrassment creep onto the woman's face in a barely detectable blush as she realized that the man named Renegade was not alone in the room, and he was quick to answer.
"Don't worry about it," Peregrine replied quickly, averting his eyes "I was on my way out as it was." he quickly shot Renegade a warning look before turning away. As friendly and apprehensive as the woman was, a soldier was still a soldier, and likely an undercover stalker operative.
As he stepped over the doorway, a powerful hand stopped him across his chest.
"You're the Malygin stalker that Sidorovich got a visit from?" he heard Wolf's voice ask sternly. The taller stalker leader was staring him directly in the face with an intensity even Peregrine found unnerving.
"Yes."
"Come with me." Wolf said plainly, motioning with his arm "we've something to discuss, and I've got a little package to deliver to you."
Large flakes of snow fell from the sky, blanketing the ground as Peregrine followed the veteran stalker through the small village to the largest house of the lot. Wolf pushed the door open, slamming it shut as the younger man entered after him. Surprisingly enough, the place was lit, and a small corridor was visible, leading down to a wooden cellar. Something told the rookie loner that he wouldn't like this one bit.
"Stalker storage," Wolf explained "we expanded the basement so we could actually store the more valuable habar safely in here. If Sidorovich ever caught wind of this place, we wouldn't get any reprieve from him, ever. Thankfully, the fat bastard never leaves his seat." The stalker leader walked up to a shelf, and with sudden swiftness, extracted a long, curved combat knife from his belt. Peregrine went ash-pale. If Wolf decided to attack him now for some reason concerning his brother's past reputation, he would have no choice but to retaliate and no doubt kill him - something any stalker in the village would likely reprehend.
But then Wolf lowered the weapon, grasping a large wooden box with one hand and lifting it down off of the shelf and onto the earth floor. Hitching the steel blade underneath the topmost panel, he wrenched the container open. Inside were two more parcels, large, flat, and stacked on top of the other.
Wolf stood up and stared Peregrine directly in the eye "Look." he said solemnly "I knew your brother, and I never liked him. I knew he was a vicious bastard ever since he came into this village, and he was a monstrous fighter at that as well. I don't know where he is now, but I guarantee he ain't much better than he was when he first came around." he paused slowly "but he told me to hold this for you nevertheless." he motioned at the package. "And knowing he'd trust me with it, I had no chance but to carry it through."
Peregrine was dumbfounded for a moment before finally answering a quiet thanks. His brother had left him something, his brother had known he would come.
He picked up the first parcel, wrapped in heavy paper, before tearing it open. A small piece of paper fell to the floor as a hooded white protective suit unfolded in his arms. The armor looked like Wolf's own, except smaller, lighter and different in detail. A fur lining ringed the heavier hood, and a white gas mask was wrapped inside.
Wolf stared at the armor. "Re-tooled Wind of Freedom kombez." he said finally. "I don't want to know where your brother got this thing. Looks like it was made specifically for snowy days. How damnably convenient."
Peregrine picked up the note. It read simply:
Two winters were a bitch. You'll need this.
The stalker stared at the note for a moment before folding it and stuffing it into one of the suit's pockets. That was when he felt the warmth. The entire suit seemed to radiate it, although it was light as a feather and not a trace of lining was to be found. Peregrine unzipped it hurriedly.
The inside lining of the suit shone a faint red, as if it were lined with softly glowing coals. Wolf narrowed his eyes, staring at the soft, natural glow before extending a finger to touch it. The material was warm to the touch.
"Fireball shards." he spoke finally "the clever bastard managed to embed them in the fabric somehow. You've got yourself a hell of a winter kombez there, boy." he muttered, staring at the camouflage pattern covering the outside of the Wind of Freedom. "I haven't seen that sort of crafting skill since the work of Duty's smiths that their members wear to here every once in a while."
He paused "You'd have to be one crazy motherfucker to wear it though. The armor on it is next to none even though the anomaly protection is up to par. One big bullet, and down you go, as if you weren't wearing anything at all."
Peregrine nodded silently as he put on the suit, relishing the warmth. He would need it in the coming months. Wolf slowly closed the door behind them and followed the younger stalker outside. The soft white powder was falling harder, and blanketed everything now. The first snowfall in the Zone would be a memorable one.
The sound of a ghostly tune wafted through the air with the wind, the distinctive pluck of an untuned string, eerily permeating the air. Peregrine felt shivers run through his body as the notes wormed their way into his ears, but then the sound faded away.
"The fuck was that," Wolf growled apprehensively, glancing around. But no stalkers appeared to be playing, the campfires had been abandoned, and were slowly dying down as the snow overpowered them. "You best be on your way back, stalker." Wolf said finally "don't get yourself killed out there, whatever it is the fat bastard is making you do. And don't go bad."
The stalker leader's last words still ringing in his ears, along with the memorable sound of the ghostly strings, Peregrine slowly made his way back into the abandoned house. Although he was warm inside his new kombez, a chill went down his spine that had very little to do with the temperature outside.
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Post by Karcentric on Dec 14, 2010 23:31:36 GMT -5
Eying Peregrine as he approached Renegade and listened quietly, since escaping his old life Renegade had never been much good at interacting with others.
"A soldier you say? He does have that certain persona about him I guess, like the guys up the road, they gave me my gear and told me to hide here." He shrugged, "I'm Renegade, not the best of names, but it suited me before I entered the zone. I'm not much of a fighter, but I can move pretty quietly when I need to. So if you do leave Cordon, I'll gladly accompany you." He said.
"Renegade," said the woman as she entered the house, "forgive my brother…he's been through a lot lately but he should not have treated you that way."
Upon seeing that he wasn't alone she seeing Peregrine. "Excuse me," she said "I didn't know I was interrupting you...I should go."
"Don't worry about it," Peregrine replied quickly, averting his eyes "I was on my way out as it was." he quickly shot Renegade a warning look before turning away.
Watching as Peregrine left, he looked up at the taller woman, slightly nervous. "It's not really a problem, you get used to it eventually, or you kill yourself." He said making a slicing motion across his neck. "However even that fails sometimes." He added grimly. Pulling his scarf away from his neck revealing the jagged scar along his neck. Before wrapping it back around.
Despite the temperature dropping Renegade gladly embraced the cold weather, it didn't seem to have any effect on him.
A sound from outside made Renegade avert his eyes, he saw Peregrine come back in to the rickety building sporting a strange new suit.
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Post by blackpapermoon on Dec 15, 2010 7:07:48 GMT -5
The snow was really coming down now, getting up from the dying fire Morak walked across the street to the hose that he had seen Yeva enter. Even if it was not snowing he could not leave her alone in the village, too many things could happen to her. He would never trust a stalker no mater how short or young they where with his sister, after all the zone was full of very lonely desperate men.
“Vorona,” he called “We might not be able to leave for Rostok in the morning…the snow looks like it will be coming down like this all night. I don’t want any bandit that might be lurking in the Cordon to see or prints and radio his pals that we are coming.”
“What if we got some of the others to come with us?” ask the woman still annoyed with her brother for the way he acted towards the small loner.
“Might work,” he said, “but it might also make us a bigger target for the Bandits.”
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Post by Διμι on Dec 15, 2010 17:42:52 GMT -5
Peregrine gave a quiet nod to Renegade as he re-entered, closing the door behind him. Pulling out a can of standard issue cooked beef, he sank down on a rickety chair by the window and gazed outside. The flakes were still coming down, albeit more slowly and there was no telling whether the snow would stop anytime soon. A thin Still, he hoped that the path would not become unpassable by the morning. The fierce snowfall that had caught the village by surprise had now abated, and the road was now covered with several inches of light snow. If he set out now, he would likely make it to the place called Rostok if the Zone spared him another blizzard.
He paused, mulling over the prospect. He was camouflaged and decently equipped for the journey, but there was no telling what he would meet along the way north. He had heard stories of the vicious mutants, and even more vicious adversaries of the human variety that stalked the Garbage. If anything, some company for the journey wouldn't hurt.
"You said something about heading out of here," he spoke, turning away from the window to face Renegade again "I assume you were planning to head north, and traveling in a group can't be worse off than trekking up there alone these days."
The young stalker looked around "I reckon we can take care of ourselves. All of the reputed bandits must be stuck in their hidey holes right now, waiting out the snowfall. I doubt we can wait much longer before the road gets covered with heaps of snow taller than I am. So what do you say?"
As he spoke, Peregrine packed the few belongings he had brought with him, several handy tools, as well as the bare essentials, and three combat knives. Two were small, balanced, and heavy throwing blades, while the last was a longer and evenly sawtoothed bayonet. He slid the two smaller knives into their sheaths, each on one side of his torso, and the bayonet found its place on his thigh. If he would after all have to fight, Peregine had decided, he would do it quietly.
"So, are you with me?" he asked Renegade finally, having checked his equipment. "I can't give you any guarantees, but from what I've heard, there's more to do over at this Rostok place than here, and I've got someone to meet there anyway."
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Post by Karcentric on Dec 15, 2010 22:55:10 GMT -5
"So, are you with me?" Peregrine asked Renegade finally, having checked his equipment. "I can't give you any guarantees, but from what I've heard, there's more to do over at this Rostok place than here, and I've got someone to meet there anyway."
"Of course, I've been as far as the checkpoint, but when I got there the bandits and the loners were having a disagreement." Renegade said, "I'm sure the work in Rostok would pay much better." Picking up his pack which was already ready to go.
Rolling his shoulders as slung it over them. He looked around to be sure he hadn't left anything, he placed a hand on his weapons to make sure they were also with him. "Do you think we should maybe recruit a few more people? You know what they say, strength in numbers. But it would be harder to sneak through." He asked, most of the stalkers in the village seemed happy with their uneventful existence, mooching around the area.
Shrugging again, "Most stalkers probably won't want to deal with this weather." He added, ready and waiting for Peregrine. Watching a snowflake dance around before settling on his coat's sleeve.
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