Icerust

Turn 7

1. Recruit the Honorable Dame Schwinn to be a new commander. A knight loyal to Bishop Lamborighini, untested, and certainly not possessing of any legendary cha

3/1/-1

Construction.

1. Construct 1 Food Sizzler with 120 labor, 1 expertise, 200 junk, 20 guzz
2. Construct 1 Waste Kitchen with 80 labor, 1 expertise, 30 grub, 100 junk.

..........................................................................................

1. Scavenging: 300 Grub collected with 100 Prole
2. Scavenging: 200 Junk collected with 100 Prole.

...........................................................................................

Vehicle Buildup

Construct 2 Mule with 12 Grub, 44 Junk, 20 Guzz, 74 labor, 2 Expertise
Construct 3 Zards with 18 grub, 60 junk, 30 guzz, 78 labor, 3 expertise

Spend remaining points on Quest progress.

 

Ogayori Clan Turn 7
Invest Clan Head’s challenge: Yacht wharf
1 Finesse 20 Expertise

516 Labor
Building Order:
ReBuild Sentry Tower (100 labor, 100 junk,1 expertise ) Have people man it when done
Build Speed Temple (210 labor, 360 junk,1 expertise, 35 Guzz)

Production Vehicle
1x Yari Ashigaru Cavalry (55 labor, 2 expertise, 10 Grub, 39 Junk, 35 Guzz)


Production Order:
100 labor will be designated to to fishingman district (Grub)
51 labor will be designated to junkman district (Junk)


New Commander: Ogayori Akihiko( 2 Spirit, 1 Tactic, 0 Ruse)
Eldest son of Ogayori Denji and his wife Ena 4 children. Akihiko was a passionate man compared to his father who was rooted in cold calculated logic. Among his peers people describe him as a bright sun that never dimmed and people would jokingly talk about him not being his father son. Akihiko along with his younger siblings were given just as much old world education as like their father had been but had not took to it as much as his father or other siblings did. His charismatic attitude made him well loved by his people of Ogayori Clan.

Exploration
Leaving the place in his son hands Ogayori Denji and his 4 Yari Ashigaru Cavalry will go north alongside the frozen lake.


Clan Head’s challenge:Yacht wharf
With all the newly built Japanese-style shacks and facilities, it’s easy to forget that Ryūgū-jō was built on top of the Detroit Yacht Club. With ice fishing having become the biggest source of the town’s prosperity, many komin craftsmen suggested that the clan explored an expansion of its fishing industry. They pointed to the polynya of open water surrounding Utsukushī Shima from three sides, making yacht fishing with nets possible. However, in order to even start building a first fishing yacht, they’d need to resurrect the long-forgotten art of shipbuilding. (Investment: Expertise: 32/40, Finesse: 5/5, Award: new structure available only to Ogayori Clan in the Building list, +1 Glory)

 

Mikeland - Turn 7 Orders - Final

Gathering & Conversion
Spend 100 labor gathering grub
Spend 100 labor gathering junk

Construction, Promotion, and Doctrine
Build 2x Scrap Chowders
Switch doctrines to Motorized Screen
Build 1 of a new vehicle:

• "Cargo Goer"
  
• Limo, Street car frame, Barnacle engine, Desant nest
  
• Cheap-built Limo converted for transport with a minimal engine and a cargo nest attached to the top for more hauling space

Quest
Spend 10 labor, 4 expertise, 3 finesse on "Tramp Market':
"People are like any other tool. What do you do when a tool breaks? Get some tape, lie about how broken it is and sell it off for as much as you can fleece from a nearby shmuck. Same rules for lazy proles that don't do work."

Exploration
Capt. Molly takes a Killer armed transports and a More Killer exploration buggy to explore further to the Northwest, pushing beyond Bestie River.
Unlucky Larry takes two Killer armed transports and a More Killer exploration buggy and explores due South, past Free Soil.

 

Mid-Apocalypse Chaos Carnival Turn 7 Orders
Building:

• Waste Kitchen(80 labor, 1 expertise, 30 grub, 100 junk)

Labor:

• 50 labor on quest.
• 50 Labor on 50 food.
• 22 labor on 88 junk.

Expertise:

• 1 expertise on variant

Finesse:

• 1 Finesse on quest

Design Variant:
Cargo Bugg:

• Chassis: Buggy
• Body: Skeleton car frame
• Engine: Boomer

 

Electric Auntie Sam

​

I am the plan, I am the man who tells you what and when you can.
I'm the old one that torments you. I am the voice that tells you to:
Don't get caught with your fingers in my pie.
Mess with me and boy you're surely gonna' die.
If ever you're in doubt about who or where I am.
I'm here, I'm there, I'm everywhere.
I am your Uncle Sam.
Electric Uncle Sam
You beg me please on bended knees not to sit among these enemies.
If you feel like you want to dance then step aside and take a chance.
Don't get caught with your fingers in my pie.
Mess with me and boy you're surely gonna' die.
If ever you're in doubt about who or where I am. I'm here, I'm there, I'm everywhere.
I am your Uncle Sam.
Electric Uncle Sam​

Primus​

Electric Auntie Sam is 6'3" and heavily muscled. Unfortunately, to pay for the drugs she is addicted to, she has allowed Candyman to experiment on her and conduct primitive amateur plastic surgery, injecting uneven clumps of collagen into her lips, and raising her eyebrow and cheeks comically high and frozen them in a look of perpetual surprise with botox. When she isn't working at the Confectionary, Electric Auntie Sam wears a patriotic American costume, including an old battered red, white and blue top-hat with blinking LED lights and a sequined jacket embedded with half-burnt out christmas lights and short tattered US flag skirt. She 'works' for Candyman, as his 'lead candy striper' and when working, wears a classic candy striper hospital volunteer uniform.

Her height, misshapen features, heavily muscled body, along with the bright costume make her impossible to miss and she has used this attention to her advantage, raising a crowd of followers, the Candy-stripers, who while loyal to the Candyman are loyal to her also.

Most recently, with Grandma Ultraviolet gone, Electric Auntie Sam has been given command of a Puffy Paws quadricycle and she has immediately bedazzled it tacky stick-on rhinestones, red, white and blue stripes, and bright red, white and blue undercar lighting. A 'We Want You' Uncle Sam sticker hangs peeling off the side.

Now it is her turn to explore the wastes and bring fame to Candyland and herself.

 

(FINALIZED)

Republic of Sinclair
Orders 7

In St. Clair:
Production:

220 labor on producing 528 Grub: 220 x 2.4 = 528
186 labor on producing 558 Junk: 186 x 3 = 558

Building:

None.

Captain-Defender’s challenge: Republican Watch

Looking to recover her shaken popularity after the last month’s crisis, Captain-Defender St. Claire tasked several Republican clerks and statesmen with starting the organizational part of the Republican Watch institution.​

(Investment: Labor: 0/120, Expertise: 7/10, Finesse: 2/5, Award: +2 Glory (one-time gain), +1 Notoriety (one-time gain))

120 labor, 3 Expertise, 2 Finesse (what remains): invest in this challenge.

 

I'm going to withdraw from this game. Much as I am enjoying it (and I am) I just don't really have CFC open much, nor the discord, and it's not fair to you that I keep missing turns.

 

Sounds good. Thank you for playing, it was fun having you in the game.

 

Icerust - Update 7
Long Winter Y100.M8: Welcome Oblivion



Mommaz Boyz
Not much of a mourner, John Fisherman was packing his cutie-quad for an expedition virtually as soon as his mind cleared after the mindbender trip of the previous month. The short and barely snow-thawing Icerust summer was drawing to its end, John was out of the eastern gates, followed by his favorite dogs. The journey was fairly simple, as Fisherman took his “Peekaboo Puffy Paws” along a clear and fairly well-preserved ancient Highway 30. The aurora wall that spited the deceased Grandma previously was no longer there, and John could eventually reach a bridge over a small, clean creek with a thoroughly looted petrol station nearby. Having spent a few days peacefully fishing in the creek, John begrudgingly turned back to share the news of his discovery with fellow Mommaz Boyz. Yet, the Crib he arrived back to was different from the Crib he had left. Enormous hunting and gathering parties swarmed the foggy Ruins of Five Seasons, culling some urban wildlife populations entirely in the process. Along with gas scavengers, these parties hauled their catch back to the Crib, where Candyman’s apprentices quickly separated confectionery ingredients from everything else with a sense of newly gained authority. At the city’s entrance, two groups of people argued over a colorful sign being hung over the gates of the former Czech and Slovak National Museum building (“Welcome to the Frosted Palace!” said the sign). Leading to the entrance, was a long line of immigrant prospects, some of which murmured among themselves about some “sweet tooth’s feast” promised by Mommaz Boyz’ new leader, while others merely hoped to be allowed to enter in exchange for the gifts of valuable scrap they brought with them. Once inside, John Fisherman headed to the mechanics’ quarters searching for the only man he’d previously spoke a few words with and genuinely trusted: Uncle K-9. Unfortunately, Uncle was busy teaching his apprentices the basics of blacksmithing in a newly built forge and had no time to spare for John’s laconic questions. Before long, Fisherman was met by a face he’d seen before (and wanted, but couldn’t forget): the formidable and expressionless Electric Auntie Sam, Candiman’s past favorite and an eager participant of his cosmetic surgery experiments. Wearing brand new insignia stylized as a lollypop, Auntie Sam took John to Candiman himself, who condescending brought the explorer up to date. Apparently, Candyman was on his way to take over Grandma’s legacy, and under his orders Fireman Pierce was put in charge of shuttling food, fuel, and construction workers to the Shady Grove, where they were supposed to build a primitive roadhub settlement named Candyheart Grove. To supply their efforts, Candyman used Grandma’s reputation and old alliances to extract tribute in junk from various wasteland communities, setting Candyheart Grove as the tribute gathering point. Pierce and his subordinate engineers, Candyman claimed, were also tasked with recruiting as many “sweet teeth” as possible through offerings of food and shelter once the construction completes. With the briefing out of the way, John was asked a simple question: who his loyalty was bound to? Never a man of intrigue, Fisherman silently shrugged and went to his shack to cook his fish soup, leaving Candyman with more questions than answers.
(The Crib: -25 Grub, +191 Junk, +69 Guzz, +8 Plush, -250 Proles, +5 Jacks, +1 Clout, +1 Forge)
(Ruins of Five Seasons: -1 Fertility)
(Candyheart Grove: +399 Proles, +3 Jacks, +1 Roadblock)
(Mommaz Boyz: -1 Glory, +1 Notoriety, +1 Commander (Electric Auntie Sam (Ruse: 3, Tactics: -2, Spirit: 2)), Highway discovered: Three-Oh (Expanse: 300, Openness: 320, Perils: 330), Site discovered: Mill Creek (Population Growth: 4, Fertility: 3, Deposits: 0, Fossils: 1, Protection: 1, no anomaly))

Stepdad’s challenge: Barter with the ferals (Completed)
As Mommaz Boyz continued starving for scrap with which to build their vehicle fleet, Uncle K-9 was tasked by Candyman with fixing some pacts with the wandering “ferals” of Iowa wasteland. At last, the trading posts were established, and the bartering tradition became accepted. (Investment: Labor: 60/60, Expertise: 4/4, Finesse: 8/8, Award: -1d20 Grub, +1d20 Junk (10% chance/turn), +1 Glory (one-time gain))

Stepdad’s challenge: Mommaz Boyz no more
With Candyheart Grove becoming the seat of Candyman’s power and Auntie Sam rising to the level of a field commander, the power dynamics among the Mommaz Boyz had started to truly shift. Still, early into his power grab, Candyman continued investing into turning Grandma’s most loyal grandkids into his lackeys or, at least, obedient conformists. Rumors have it that he plans to rename the Crib into the Frosted Palace and turn the entire cult into a proper dictatorship known as Candyland. For now, these names are only whispered by his followers and sycophants, but with time, perhaps, the remaining grandkid stalwarts could be purged or intimidated into submission. (Investment: Labor: 20/60, Expertise: 2/20, Finesse: 0/5, Award: +2 Glory (one-time gain), +1 Notoriety (one-time gain))

Order Implacable
True to its motto, Order Implacable had no time to mourn the heroic death of Sir Ducati, as another raiding party of the Cheese Castle’s Martians appeared in the vicinity of Hammerhill barely several days after the first tragic battle. Two enemy “Bergenost” land drakkars were accompanied by a “Curder” light bike and a new kind of threat:a skull-decorated, blood-painted race bike with a spar torpedo, carrying a driver and a double axe-wielding berserker, along with their supply of hallucinogenic cheese. This time, the Implacables had no vehicle fleet or field commander to meet the enemy in the open field, but their garrison soldiers had a formidable bunker dug in the permafrost at the edge of the settlement, and it proved to be the centerpoint of their defense. Both of the enemy bikes were turned away rather quickly, lightly damaged in the caltrops and unable to outflank the bunker over the ruins. Yet, the land drakkars persisted, plowing through the bike traps and eventually overwhelming the bravely resisting defenders of the sentry tower. However, that’s as far as they got, as the bunker’s heavy weaponry soon obliterated the two vehicles, along with their entire crew, putting a bloody, fiery end to the raid and establishing a temporary detente with the hated Mars-worshippers. This lull allowed the faction to finally recover from its recent misfortunes.Bishop Lamborghini took over the role of the Order’s spiritual and administrative leader, promoting a hero of the battle of Hammerhill, one Dame Schwinn to the position of Master of Arms. Under Bishop Lamborghini’s supervision, a biofuel plant and a food packing facility were built in Hammertown, while Dame Schwinn oversaw cautious salvaging runs for food and scrap across Old Milwaukee ruins, utilizing the recently built “Zard” bike-in-arm teams and “Mule” quadricycle carlets.. With the sense of normalcy returning, the Order’s fortunes could be slowly turning soon.
(Hammertown: -88 Grub, +78 Junk, +12 Guzz, +2 Plush, -13 Proles, -1 Sentry tower, +1 Waste kitchen, +1 Food sizzler)
(Order Implacable: -4 Notoriety, +1 Experience, +3 “Zard” Bike-in-Arms, +2 “Mule” Hedgehog Carlets, +1 Commander (Dame Schwinn (Ruse: 3, Tactics: 1, Spirit: -1)))

Grand Master’s challenge: Carapace armor
With the burden of the Highwaymen’s threat temporarily thrown off, some poor fellows of Hammerhill had a chance to spend a bit of their time learning the art of armorsmithing - alas, with no supervision from the Order’s craftsmen. (Investment: Labor 7/100, Expertise: 0/8, Finesse: 2/2, Award: new Small Arms available only to Order Implacable in the Small Arms list, +1 Glory)

Ogayori Clan
Following the humble victory over the Funk Brothers from the previous month, the Ogayori Clan continued its rapid-pace development… which generated only more interest from the temporarily humbled Highwaymen. A workshop for producing truly powerful cars and bikes was built in Ryūgū-jō, while the sentry tower lost to the enemy bikers earlier was rebuilt and reinforced. The fishing district of Utsukushī Shima continued bringing plentiful catch, especially as the lake warmed up during the summer and its polynya somewhat grew in size. Scrap gathering also continued to be highly successful, allowing the Ogayori Clan to expand its humble vehicle fleet by one more combat tricycle, under the supervision of the Ogayori Denji’s charismatic elder son Akihito. While Akihito was still getting adjusted to his role of a prospective vehicle commander, the Great Unifier himself took the rest of the Ogayori motorised force northeast and north, along a narrow stretch of strong ice separating the Old Detroit shore from the slushy waters of the Lake St. Claire polynya. Along their way, the explorers discovered an ancient motorboat that had been frozen in the ice and was now slowly sinking due to the summer thaw. Lacking any cargo capacity to carry that precious scrap to their hometown, the Ogayori scouts moved on, until they reached rows upon rows of wooden yacht piers firmly frozen into the ice along with the rusty remnants of old boats and scooters. Celebrating this discovery, Ogayori Denji turned back home.
(Ryūgū-jō: +100 Grub, -62 Junk, +121 Guzz, -1 Plush, -8 Proles, +1 Sentry tower, +1 Speed temple)
(Ogayori Clan: +1 Glory, +1 Notoriety, +1 “Yari Ashigaru” Trike Cavalry, +1 Commander (Ogayori Akihito (Ruse: 2, Tactics: 1, Spirit: 0)), Highway discovered: Marinas Ice Trail (Expanse: 60, Openness: 150, Perils: 290), Site discovered: Boat Graveyard (Population Growth: 2, Fertility: 3, Deposits: 2, Fossils: 0, Protection: 1, no anomaly))

Clan Head’s challenge:Yacht wharf
Significant progress was achieved in the Clan’s maritime ambitions, with first viable prototypes already being tested. Alas, they proved to be too fragile in the slushy waters of the polynya, so the final iteration of fishing yacht development was still pending. (Investment: Expertise: 32/40, Finesse: 5/5, Award: new structure available only to Ogayori Clan in the Building list, +1 Glory)

Mikeland
All was good in Mike’s realm, if one were to ignore Mike’s complaints about his lazy servants. With the humble summer thaw going on, Mikelander serfs scouted the Singing Ice glacier in large polar bear-hunting teams, while their equally risk-taking comrades scaled the fragile rifts within the glacier in search of the precious scrap. To not depend on their haul as much, Popsicle Junction expanded its metal recycling industry three-fold, with new scrap chowders being built on a small hill untouched by the moving ice. However, the biggest preparation was made for scouting expeditions, as Mike’s precious daughter advised her drivers on a different approach to reconnaissance. She successfully tested this approach later that month when she took two different buggy variants to an exploration rally across the semi-frozen Bestie River. She discovered a wide and fairly safe route through a stretch of sand beaches frozen solid and covered by advancing ice, with several ancient road signs indicating it used to be a location of a now-defunct empire. The expedition culminated with a wholly different type of discovery, however, when Captain Molly’s band approached a vast sand dune nested between a coniferous wood and the Michigan Lake and dotted with raw iron statues of people and animals, most of them depicted as sleeping in an embryo position. True to her last name, Molly Clever quickly solved the dune’s puzzle, discovering a cave that hid a levitating shard of vibrating metal that sang a strange lullaby-like melody as it vibrated, slowly driving all living things into slumber, from which they struggled to awaken, eventually turning into solid iron statues. While retreating from the cave helped to lower the artifact’s power on her people, Molly still forbade them from arranging a night camp and turned home instead. At the gates of Popsicle Junction, her two buggies were greeted by another expedition, this one departing under Unlucky Larry’s command. After some consideration, Larry headed not north, but south, hopping to explore the lake shore past the previously discovered Free Soil. Yet, he proved to be unlucky indeed, as his column almost got lost in a bad moebius road anomaly, barely making its way out of the physics-defying labyrinth of trails and roads. Larry and his people eventually came back to Mikeland, only to discover a new type of vehicle being manufactured by the royal engineers under Molly’s supervision, this one being a cheap-built limousine converted for transport with a minimal engine and a cargo nest attached to the top for more hauling space.
(Popsicle Junction: -129 Grub, +36 Junk, -67 Guzz, +1 Plush, -1 Prole, +2 Scrap chowders)
(Mikeland: +1 Glory, +Design (“Cargo Goer” Limo-truck), +1 “Cargo Goer” Limo-truck, Highway discovered: Empire Road (Expanse: 340, Openness: 220, Perils: 210), Site discovered: Sleeping Bear (Population Growth: 2, Fertility: 3, Deposit: 3, Fossils: 0, Protection: 2, anomaly “Lullaby metal”), swap “Spearhead” for “Motorised Screen”)

King’s challenge: Tramp market
A genius salesman, King Mike started to put some thought (as well as expertise and labor of his servants) into the idea of the tramp market. The key to his promotional strategy, Mike said, was lying about how hardworking his indentured servants were, which, apparently, was still a skill that many in his realm needed to learn. And, well, the market itself required to be built, but that was a minor detail, of course. (Investment: Labor: 10/180 Labor, Expertise: 4/4, Finesse: 3/4, Award: -1d10 Proles, +1d10 Grub, +1d10 Junk, +1d10 Guzz, +1d4 Plush (5% chance/turn), +1 Glory (one-time gain))

Monolith of Sarkic
The Cathedral continued expanding in size and complexity, as many of the outstanding acolytes were promoted to the prestigious võlutaar status, while one of the exalted craftsmen was marked by the Geometer of Flesh as a Karcist prospect. The growing Yaldabaothite clergy, of course, required proper insignia and props, and these were provided by the artisans who turned the sect’s high-quality scrap (mostly the copper and brass) into beautiful jewelry and relics. To support the common initiates’ spirit, a moss smoking lodge was opened under the Monolith’s aegis, serving as yet another proselytization venue for the patrons. Speaking of proselytization, such name was given to a brand new vehicle design of a true command vehicle: a strong-powered pickup truck with a two-barreled anti-aircraft gun and a supporting squad of sectant riflemen, protecting a signal team riding in a luxuriously heated driver's cabin with a mobile radio, searchlight, recon kite kit, and command loudspeaker. Due to the associated production costs, the new flag car of the Monolith hadn’t been produced yet, but the Sarkic leadership didn’t need for it to be manufactured to venture out of the sprawling Cathedral. The riskiest mission was undertaken by Grand Karcist Maxwell himself, as he joined the crew of the cult’s trophy “Bucca” auto-knocker in an attempt to scout the northern approaches of Old Sault St. Marie. The journey ended up being impossibly long, as the vehicle ended up being caught in a puzzling moebius road. While Maxwell himself experienced unspeakable revelations along the way, eventually his crew had to use a lucky turn to pull out of the Oz-made labyrinth and return home. The other Sarkic expedition was more successful, though. Karcist Kane led two “Zealot” interceptor buggies and the restored Iron Rangers’ sidecar-equipped snowmobile in a grueling trip east. The team struggled to find a viable path through the anomaly-ridden expressway, but Kane did end up using the snowmobile’s timbercutting equipment to create a trail of chopped fir trees, cutting through a dense taiga forest. Along the way, the expedition’s vehicles got infested with rust locusts (who were particularly plentiful due to the relatively warm summer air), and one of the interceptor buggies had to be eventually abandoned to its fate, along with its entire crew. However, Kane’s persistence was rewarded, when the team reached the overgrown ruins of an ancient mining town, with access to nickel and copper ore mines and a large bus refueling station. With the news of this discovery, Karcist Kane returned to the Cathedral, loudly announcing his success and even drawing several families of local migrants to the seat of Monolith’s faith. Alas, the same news had a negative side effect of growing the Sarkic cult’s notoriety among the local Highwaymen, according to rumors.
(The Cathedral: -58 Grub, +184 Junk, -18 Guzz, -5 Plush, -2 Proles, +6 Jacks, +1 Clout, +1 Smilo joint)
(Monolith of Sarkic: +1 Glory, +1 Notoriety, +Design ("Proselyte" Technical w/ Militant Squad), +2 “Zealot” Militant Interceptors w/ Mounted .50 BMG, Highway discovered: First Nation Trail (Expanse: 110, Openness: 20, Perils: 370), Site discovered: Bruce Mines (Population Growth: 3, Fertility: 2, Deposit: 4, Fossils: 3, Protection: 2, no anomaly))

Grand Karcist’s challenge: Flesh temple
Blueprinting of the flesh temple project continued at a slow, but purposeful pace throughout the month. (Investment: Expertise: 7/40, Finesse: 5/5, Award: new structure available only to Monolith Of Sarkic in the Building list, +1 Glory)

Mid-Apocalypse Chaos Carnival
After the success of the previous month’s road tour, the Chaos Carnival’s Ringmaster turned her gaze back to the internal development. The Carnival Ground was hunted for wild game and berries amid the short polar summer, and salvaging teams supplied Shelby Carnarium with extra scrap from the old highways. The fuel industry got a boon from the construction of a biofuel plant, and the Carnival’s mechanics, on Vanessa’s orders, prepared a civilian, cargo-capable version of the “Battle Bugg” utility vehicle that still waits to be produced.
(Shelby Carnarium: +49 Grub, +79 Junk, -9 Guzz, +2 Plush, +1 Waste kitchen)
(Mid-Apocalypse Chaos Carnival: +1 Design (“Cargo Bugg” Utility Vehicle))

Ringmaster’s challenge: Madhouse Circus
Chaos Carnival’s roustabouts were directed to completing the Madhouse Circus arena and tent, and only the entertainment program was left to be completed. Yet, it remained arguably the critical part of the whole enterprise, with Ringmaster Vanessa scrambling for some talent that could fill an two-hour program (Investment: Labor: 100/100, Expertise: 4/4, Finesse: 1/6, Award: +1d4 Plush (15% chance/turn), +1 Glory (one-time gain))

Greylaw
Far from being the biggest or most prospering settlement of Icerust, Thunderbolt continues drawing to itself the envious stares of Highwaymen - at least, according to the migrants attracted to it by Alfa-Alfa’s display of force and authority (some of which ended up leaving the settlement later that month, when it failed to secure enough food to feed all the migrants). According to them, the People’s Republic of Arboretum didn’t take the loss of its scouting party lightly, and their ideological hatred for what Greylaw stands for only made it worse. Yet, the concerns of war remained lingering on the horizon, while Conan the Snowflake concentrated on improving the lives of fellow Greylawmen. Another metal recycling plant and a biofuel station were built, the latter one serving mostly the needs of other semi-automated plants in the absence of an even humble vehicle fleet. To keep the buildup pace going, massive rookie teams were dispatched across Greyhound Den, some to scavenge for metal scrap and some to take advantage of the summer thaw to gather some wild vegetables and berries.
(Thunderbolt: -102 Grub, +218 Junk, -20 Guzz, +2 Plush, +87 Proles, +1 Waste kitchen, +1 Scrap chowder)
(Greylaw: +2 Notoriety, -1 Glory)

Alfa-Alfa’s challenge: The Greycoats (Completed)
Finally, the greycoat uniforms were distributed among the Greylaw officers, and a proper parade took place inside Thunderbolt. The news of this impressive display of force spread across Old Ypsilanti ruins and beyond, adding to the gang’s reputation, both positive and negative. (Investment: Labor: 60/60, Expertise: 20/20, Finesse: 5/5, Award: +2 Glory (one-time gain), +1 Notoriety (one-time gain))

Alfa-Alfa’s challenge: The thin grey line
The gang’s loremasters among the Delta clan claimed that in the World of Autumn the Greylaw’s ancestors were members of a militant order separating the rulers of the world from the chaos they reigned over. That “thin grey line” of merciless guardians enabled the old civilization to climb as high as it did before the Long Winter put an end to it. Now, the Delta-Delta argued, the Greylaw itself was risking that its own “grey line” would grow too thin, as the number of arriving proles grew, and the experienced experts separating the rookies from the bosses grew increasingly outnumbered. Now, they argued, it was a great moment to establish a tradition of accepting foreign enforcers and mercenaries that would support Alfa-Alfa’s regime at the top of the ruling pyramid. (Investment: Labor 0/50, Expertise: 0/6, Finesse: 0/1, Award: +1d12 Jacks (5% chance/turn), +1 Glory)

The Wobblies
In the last month of the brief, but welcome polar summer, the Ravenswood Commune expanded several times in size, as the Wobblies’ diverse traditions and a well-knit-together society attracted hundreds of Windy Wasteland survivors to the settlement. Many of them were quickly put to work at the local potato patches surrounding the heatcatcher plant, as it was the time to gather early harvest. The more well-integrated construction teams, meanwhile, finished the construction of a much needed scrap chowder facility.
(Ravenswood Commune: +89 Grub, -4 Plush, +200 Proles, +1 Scrap chowder)
(The Wobblies: -2 Glory)

Grand Foreman’s challenge: Literacy program (Completed)
The IWW literacy program came to its resoundly successful conclusion this month, as the Ravenswood Commune’s citizens were finally herded to the part-time grammar schools. Interesting, their curriculum was also diversified with works promoting the wisdoms of an ancient prophet Mad Marx and his followers, known collectively as the Guardian Engels. A few know-it-alls who actually read the books from the IWW library attempted to correct the cult of Mad Marx that sprung to life virtually overnight among the newly (and barely) literate Wobblies, but nobody appeared to listen to these insufferable windbags. (Investment: Labor: 100/100, Expertise: 12/12, Finesse: 2/2, Award: +1d12 Plush (5% chance/turn), +1 Glory (one-time gain))

Grand Foreman’s challenge: Squirrel tap dance
Old Northside Chicago ruins, rumored to once have been a true paradise of civility and plenty, had become known as the wind-ravaged waste, stripped of anything of value by generations of desperate survivors attempting to escape the Windy Wasteland. Yet, one species seemed to have prevailed in its struggle for survival - the omnipresent squirrel. Naturally, they became much wanted targets of Wobbly trappers, and a local cultural tradition was born out of boredom and class solidarity: the squirrel tap dance. The idea was that the teams of trappers would check their traps daily and compete at entertaining their comrades with the most elaborate tap dancing routine if (and only if) a game was caught in the trap. The tradition is still early in the making, but the IWW committee already hopes it takes root, as it could be a good boon to the Ravenswood Commune’s food production, as well as a source of valuable fur and some stress valve, to boot. (Investment: Labor: 0/100, Expertise: 24/24, Finesse: 0/2, Award: +2d20 Grub, +2d4 Plush (5% chance/turn), +1 Glory (one-time gain))

The Speed Freaks
The end the first warmish summer since the advent of the Long Winter was a time of plenty in many young settlements of Icerust, but among Speed Freaks the mood was anything but joyful - all because their Speed-Ace, previously known as the easy-going man of the people, revealed a darker side of his character. Hoping to propel his cult to modernity by any cost, he allowed a massive famine to take dozens of speed cultists, with others just leaving en masse. To be just to him, an effort was indeed made to prevent starvation, as the neighboring migrant families were racketed for food, and small hunting parties were dispatched into the taiga woods of Buried Sod, but the grub-gathering effort was too weak to prevent the famine. What made the Speed Freaks question their leader even more, was the fact that the cult still had plenty of resources and workforce to spare, but Joe insisted that the Speed Freaks do get two thirds of the refugee tribute in junk and guzz, and the rest of work effort is invested in construction of yet another protein pool, along with fuel-harvesting runs across the ruins. Just as the first lives were being lost to starvation, two “Battle Buzzard” roadsters were rolled out of the Pitshop’s speed temple, cheering some cultists with the roar of their engines and embittering others, who wished all that time and effort had been invested into preventing the death of their beloved ones. Weather it was Joe’s cold calculation or an organizational blunder, nobody knew for sure, but the Speed-Ace maintained the air of unfazed confidence throughout the entire ordeal.
(Joe’s Pitshop: -40 Grub, -14 Junk, +104 Guzz, -2 Plush, -95 Proles, +1 Protein pool)
(Speed Freaks: -3 Glory, +2 “Battle Buzzard” War Roadsters)


Speed-Ace’s challenge: Scrap-mania
Ever a man of his word, Joe One-Toe sent his pitstop crew to set the toll booths along the most well-known migration trails around Old Sudbury ruins. His advisors attempted to dissuade him from concentrating the precious resources on this task, while some people in the settlement starved, but Joe was confident the dead would be grateful to him in the afterlife. Thanks to the relatively warm summer months, this work was completed in no time, and the only part remaining was staffing them and establishing the tariffs agreeable to the free survivors. And by “agreeable,” Joe meant acceptable under a threat of violence. (Investment: Labor 60/60, Expertise: 2/4, Finesse: 3/4, Award: +1d8 Junk (20% chance/turn))

The Republic of Sinclair
True to her “Never Again” promise, Captain-Defender of the Republic organized her people into massive, cohesive farming teams just as the short Icerust summer was ending. The farmers were sent across St. Clair and the ruins of old Asiatown to harvest nuts, berries, and earhroots, stressing the environment a lot, but not overwhelming it so far. Similar approach was tried with scrap salvaging, as the Sinclarian workers stripped the area of much remaining junk in preparation, many hoped, for another wave of peaceful, inward development that could leave the lean years well behind. The massive harvesting effort of the Sinclarian work teams could not be left unnoticed by outside observers. A family of artisanal brewers arrived to the free city by the end of the month, taking advantage of the Republic’s “tabula rasa” policy. With them, they spread the sad news of another faction’s devolution somewhere in the eastern Old Cleveland ruins. Speaking in hushed tone, they revealed that the faction made a full circle from a bunch of joyful drinkers and brewers to a solemn cult of ascetics bound to purge the Ohio Wasteland from the vice and, indeed, watching the rise of the Republic with envy.
(Sinclair: +265 Grub, +658 Junk, +100 Guzz, -4 Plush, +3 Jacks)
(The Republic of Sinclair: +1 Notoriety)

Captain-Defender’s challenge: Republican Watch
Wishing to properly take advantage of the Republic’s positive reputation among the Icerusters, Captain-Defender finally got around sponsoring the formation of the Republican Watch, complete with a set of uniforms, routines and drills. The only thing pending before it becomes a fully functional Sinclarian police force is finding appropriate chiefs to lead it. (Investment: Labor: 120/120, Expertise: 10/10, Finesse: 4/5, Award: +2 Glory (one-time gain), +1 Notoriety (one-time gain))

The Motors Parliament
Amid fame and glory, the life of Prime Motor came to a surprising end. People close to her claimed that one night she woke up from her bed and shambled toward her car, the legendary “L’Amerique Pleur”. A garage crewman serving watchguard duty claimed that he attempted to stop the gang’s leader at the gates, inquiring where she was heading, alone and barely dressed. Prime Motor muttered something about the coming of a life-giver (or was it the Life-Giver?), and how she needed to prepare for its arrival. Dumbfounded but respectful of her status, the guardsman opened the gates and let PM drive away into the blizzard. She was not heard from ever since. Without her leadership, the swelling Parliamentary Garage settlement came into mismanagement, as the various factions, old and new, had different theories about PM’s disappearance and different view of the faction’s future. With time, the consensus prevailed that the faction should keep the previously discovered Highways in secrecy, for the sake of keeping their enigmatic findings away from other Icerusters.Effectively turning themselves into a Highwaymen community, the Motors Parliament disappeared from the public view, but Old Ottawa survivors claim that they still roam the Ontario Wasteland, sternly guarding whatever mystery that stole their beloved leader from them. (The Motors Parliament: game over)

Map:

Spoiler :

GM's notes:
- the stats are up to date
- the map is up to date
- orders are due by Tuesday, November 24

 

Order Implacable

Free Labor: 536
Free Expertise: 10

Construction Order:

1. Additional Sentry Tower constructed for 1 expertise, 100 junk, 100 labor
2. Additional Food Sizzler constructed for 1 expertise, 200 junk, 10 guzz, and 120 labor.

Scavenging Order

1. Scavenge for 360 food using 100 Proles.
2. Scavenge for 200 junk using 100 proles.

Vehicle Construction
Construct 2 Mule Carlet with 12 Grub, 44 Junk, 20 Guzz, 74 labor, 2 Expertise
Construct 1 Zard Bike with 6 grub, 20 junk, 10 guzz, 26 labor, 1 expertise.

Spend 16 labor and 5 expertise on quest completion.

..................................................................................................................

Scouting

Send Dame Schwinn out to investigate the lands west of us using 5 Zard Bikes, 2 giftgiver carlets, and 1 mule.

 

Ogayori Clan Turn 8
Invest Clan Head’s challenge: Yacht wharf
8 Expertise

490 Labor to Use
Building Order:
Build Lorry plant (260 labor, 460 junk,1 expertise, 30 Guzz)
Build Food Sizzler (120 labor, 200 junk,1 expertise, 20 Guzz)

Production Order:
60 labor will be designated to to fishingman district (Grub)
50 labor will be designated to junkman district (Junk)

Spend 1 Glory for 200 Junk

Exploration
Leaving the place in his son hands Ogayori Denji and his 4 Yari Ashigaru Cavalry will go east alongside the frozen lake.

Clan Head’s challenge:Yacht wharf
With all the newly built Japanese-style shacks and facilities, it’s easy to forget that Ryūgū-jō was built on top of the Detroit Yacht Club. With ice fishing having become the biggest source of the town’s prosperity, many komin craftsmen suggested that the clan explored an expansion of its fishing industry. They pointed to the polynya of open water surrounding Utsukushī Shima from three sides, making yacht fishing with nets possible. However, in order to even start building a first fishing yacht, they’d need to resurrect the long-forgotten art of shipbuilding. (Investment: Expertise: 40/40, Finesse: 5/5, Award: new structure available only to Ogayori Clan in the Building list, +1 Glory)

 

Mommaz Boyz Orders for Turn 8

Glory:

• Spend 2 glory for 400 junk at Candy Heart Grove.

Buildings and Vehicles:

• Build a heatcatcha at "The Crib/Frosted Palace"
• Build 2 'Absinthe Sparkles' escort trikes at Frosted Palace.
• Build 3 scrap chowdas at "Candy Heart Grove"

Resource Gathering- Frosted Palace:

• 208 labor on grub.
• 45 labor on guzz.
• Make 8 plush with 8 expertise and 80 food.

Resource Gathering- Candy Heart Grove:

• 24 labor on grub.
• 100 labor on junk.
• 5 labor on guzz.

Recruit:

• Promote 7 jacks with 140 food (more Candy Stripers)(Frosted Palace).

Quest:

• Spend 10 labor and 8 expertise and 1 finesse on 'Mommaz Boyz no more'.

Combat Tactics

• No changes.

Vehicle Design

• Design: "Absinthe Sparkle" escort trikes with 1 finesse. (trike with minicar frame, magpie engine, ram, spikes, and 4 shields). "Glistening with stiletto-spikes and a large wrap-around reinforced bumper, these trikes look like nothing so much as comically squat hedgehogs wrapped in a ribbon. The Absinthe Sparkle are designed to intercept enemy vehicles and protect against enemies intent on attacking our Puffy Paws. To that end, their crew are armed with spiked shields to better intercept enemy blades and spears.

Exploration and Deployments

• John the Fisherman (commanding 1 puffy paw) will continue to scout, trying to make his way east either from the Frosted Palace or the Candy Heart Grove.
• Electric Auntie Sam will do the same (seeking a separate path).
• Fireman Pierce will command 7 puffy paws and transport 460 grub, 20 junk, and 120 guzz from frosted palace to Candy Heart grove to help with local construction and to feed the proles/jacks there.

 

Fireman Pierce

The icy wastes blow cold and hard. His eyes are protected behind thick goggles but his bushy beard collects frost and the glue that holds it to his face cracks, brittle, and falls, the hairs falling with it.

When Fireman Pierce returns, triumphant after finding Norway, his entrance is more muted that would be expected and he heads directly for his small pile of rags and crawling lice he calls his 'room'. Arriving he looks under the false floor and finds his treasure whole but his glue and hairs gone. Instead, in its place, a single peppermint candy.

* * *
​

Electric Auntie Sam

She hates wearing the candy-striper uniform but the Boss, Candy-man insists on it; he has a deranged aesthetic in mind for the gang and the candy-stripers is part of it. The strange part is that he's explained what the uniform represents and it has nothing to do with candy and everything to do with hospitals. And the Confectionary, despite the Candy-man's sadistic experiments is much more a torturer's dungeon slash drug lab than a hospital. Either way, she does as she is told. He has the Monkey Paw that she desperately needs just to face each day and she, honestly, would do anything for him, has done everything for him.

Today Fireman Pierce is cutting his way through the shantytown alleys and the crowd of wild-eyed addicts that always crowd around the Confectionary. He is taller than most and his fireman's uniform sets him apart further. Even if she knows his secret, or perhaps because of it, she sort of likes him, despite his bravado and lies. Today he is keeping a low profile and uncharacteristically, has a scarf wrapped around his chin.

He stops when he sees her at the entrance to the Confectionary. She knows he doesn't come here often; somehow he has managed to avoid the chemical dependencies that are so common throughout Candyland. He reaches a hand into is pocket and offers his hand. He opens it and inside she sees a small peppermint candy, lint-covered and dirty.

* * *
​

Fireman Pierce

The hulking form of the daintily-dressed gangster offers something that might have been a smile if her face wasn't such a grotesque criss-cross of scars and failed plastic surgery. She goes to wave him through but as she does, quicker than he can react, reaches quickly under his scarf and gives his beard a quick tug. Despite her appearance, her manner seems playful and she gives him an awkward wink.

Stepping into the dark of the lab, Pierce is overcome with the smell of solvents and the strange sounds of porcine grunting further within. More figures than he remembers working here dart about, all women and all dressed in the strangely delicate striped pink and white uniform that Electric Sam was, attending to complex glassware and small guzz fires that heat them. A generator hums steadily, its diesel stench somehow reassuring.

A rolling obese figure strides forth, easily dwarfing Fireman Pierce breadth, despite Pierce's tall and bulky build. Despite the cold he wears only a leather apron over snowpants. He has some sort of glassware in one mittened hand and a piece of electronic equipment Pierce does not recognize in the other. Goggles hang around his neck, unused.

Pierce remembers himself and smiles anxiously, offering his hand and revealing the peppermint inside, "I think you have something of mine."

The obese psychopath nods and points to a counter where Pierce spots the rolled up remnants of a tube of super-glue, "Sorry- I hope you don't mind. I needed some cyanoacrylate and you were in the field." Despite the archaic terminology, his words seem normal, even friendly, but underneath them there is a threat. Pierce had hidden his glue and the fake whiskers carefully and no one, especially Candyman was supposed to know about them. What wasn't said was simple, I know your beard is fake. I know you are a fake.

The Candyman puts down the glassware, resting it carefully over a small flame. He nods to one of his assistants and she lowers a thermometer into the mixture. The apron-clad man motions to a pair of armchairs, both badly tattered and their stuffing largely missing, clearly covered in rat feces. He lowers himself slowly and Pierce sits opposite.

"Don't worry. I can make more adhesives for you. They'll work just as good, maybe better in the cold. Your beard won't fall off as easily."

Pierce doesn't know what to say and nods instead.

"Take your scarf off and let me see your face."

Knowing he has no choice, Pierce takes his scarf off, revealing the stringy scruff left of his once impressive salt-and-pepper beard and the smooth cheeks of a young teenager underneath it. Electric Auntie Sam offers an unsolicited opinion that makes the Candy man snarl at her, "pretty." That does nothing to dispel his anxiety or discomfort.

"So no scars either? I take it those are stories to avoid people realizing you are just some kid here to claim command?"

"No. There's no scars; I paid some kids to start that rumor."

"You're what? Fourteen? Fifteen?"

Pierce nods, "I don't exactly know but yeah, something like that."

"You gonna be big. And you got smarts and ambition. Grandma's gone now and there gonna be some changes around here. The Mommaz Boyz is done. And its me in change."

Pierce nods. He had entertained some thoughts of taking the mantle but this conversation made it clear that wasn't going to happen, "Yeah... looks like it," is all he can offer.

"So you work for me now. I'll keep you in the glue and whiskers and whatever else you need and you keep up your persona, your Fireman stories. You get the best food and plush and live like a...prince. Just remember that I'm the king." As he speaks the cleanest, most immaculately bathed and combed sow, or even really the only pig he has ever seen, trots towards them and lays down at the Candy man's side. A small tube protrudes from a bedazzled bandage on her side and disappears into what looks like a frilly skirt. Pierce is eager to leave this place.

"Yeah. I can do that. You the king." Pierce reaches for the bottle of clear adhesive, eager to get out of the Confectionary.



...and that is the story of how Candy Man was able to force the loyalty of Fireman Pierce and gain more influence over the Mommaz Boyz ...and further his plans for Candy Land.

 

Klavigar Ann-Sofie Caarsvärd
***
​

Few are the those honoured with the prestigeous station of Klavigar, handplucked personally by the Grand Karcist himself to assume various roles within the upper-echelon of the Monolith's society. decipher, study, and then finally enforce the will of great Yaldabaoth as they are relayed through Maxwell whenever he experiences his daily "revelations" and "visions."