A rough map. Wavy lines are grass/shrubs/etc. providing cover while the mutant does...whatever.

.....
WAIT A SECOND

We need to see what its doing. Has it noticed us?

"What in the name of FUCK is THAT?!" Kill it with bullets. Lots and lots of bullets.

MIRELURK KING?!
Fuck I hate Mirelurks.

>>12120750
It just seems to be standing there, gasping/breathing and shimmering weirdly. It hasn't noticed you, or if it has, it's very docile.

>>12120767
Seconded. Lay mines as we run.

>>12120747

Get the swampfolk version - swamplurk, I think it's called.

What's the straight thing on the left?

I don't like Sergey being behind all of us. Make sure no one is getting behind us to set up an ambush.

>>12120792
A road.

Lets just wait and see what it does.

"The fuck is that thing?"
or
"Oh wait, don't tell me-we ate it's babies, and now it's out for revenge?"

Ask Sergey what the fuck is going on. Does he need us to help kill this thing? Or are we trying to capture it? Or what the fuck?

>>12120803

No, past it. The far left; the straight horizontal line with another one coming off it and a squiggle underneath it.

>>12120825
Son of a bitch, we have been eating it's kids.

>>12120826

Do this.

Alternatively, battleplan. Quickly line up, then hose it. After we ask Sergey what this thing is, if it's returned repeatedly, etc.

>>12120747
>>12120792

Here it is.

>>12120855
Cover is your friend.

>>12120915

Better. But I like sergey in the middle. That way we can all just calmly walk towards it, firing our guns from the hip.

>>12120855
And staying relatively in the middle to control the team and rates of fire.

>>12120919
Yes, we could walk towards it calmly firing, but it will more than likely charge US once the shooting starts. And it's easier to bound back in sections like this. This kind of shit, ie. fire and maneuver is, literally, my job.

>>12120830
Oh, more grass and debris.

For now, you hold your fire, uncertain what you should do; you glance back at Sergey, a sudden feeling of dread overcoming you that you've walked into an ambush. All you see, however, is Sergey patiently lining the thing up in his sights.

"What are we doing?" you hiss - if this were a straight up gunbattle, you'd be leading the way, but this is something new. Sergey's answer is equally curt.

"We're waiting."

By and by, you slowly move into a line - you don't want Sergey behind you, and the others seem to get your suspicion.

The mutant, whatever it is, dives under water again, only reemerge and repeat the gasping ritual. Now it breaks from routine, stepping onto land and casting a baleful, dead glance over where you five are in cover.

It stops. Makes that gasp-gargle again.

And bursts into loping, hopping charge. You feel a dreadful spike of fear hammer into your head as the thing's black, featureless eyes roll across you.

Roll 2d20. One perception, one attack on the thing.

rolled 7, 4 = 11

>>12120934

Nobylan and Mitenun!

rolled 4, 8 = 12

>>12120934

>>12120943
We're gonna die now cuz of you.

>>12120943
>>12120944
Well, shit.
Are we going with my drawing or the one from >>12120855?

Depending on who it charges, bound back by teams, one team firing on it as the other moves and gets set. Rinse, repeat.

MIRELURKS ARE MY BANE IN FALLOUT

I WILL DESTROY THIS ONE HERE
GO DICE ROLL!

rolled 16, 18 = 34

Stupid Captcha made me reset back to noko

GO DICE ROLL FOR REAL

>>12120960

Maybe? I don't know, a 7 may be enough. Shit rolls the entire night except for a single 15; maybe I shouldn't roll at all.

But then again, if we see through the whatever it is, and it's not something we should shoot at, maybe that 4 was good.

>>12120969

From the post, it looks like it's charging us.

>>12120943
The night is split by the sounds of gunfire; somewhere up ahead, you see a startled blind dog break from some bushes and run yelping into the woods. Your excitement, however, seems to have betrayed you, and your gunfire is ineffective - rifle rounds smack into the lake or the dirt; those few rounds that hit the beast seem to effect it little. As if in slow motion, you see your slug hit it, only for the wound to seem to begin healing before your eyes.

Only too late do you realize that Sergey isn't firing; your excitement has blinded you. You turn to the man in time to see him silently stroke Twitch in the head with his rifle; the smaller stalker drops to the ground, instantly unconscious. We he turns to you, all of his handsome good looks have vanished, his face consumed with a feral death mask.

He levels his rifle to fire at you.

Roll 1d20 to see if you can reactionimg.jpg out of it.

rolled 19, 10 = 29

>>12120984
Fucking mirelurk see's its death comming
pic related

>>12121002

TAKE THIS PLEASE OP TAKE THE FIRST ONE FOR THE SAKE OF NOBYLAN AND MITENUN!

rolled 15 = 15

>>12120993

fuck I hate captcha
>>12121002
take my first roll as
>Roll 1d20 to see if you can reactionimg.jpg out of it.
OP

FUCK! GOD FUCKING DAMNIT! SHIT SHIT SHIT!

>>12121027

Dude, see

>>12121007
>>12121002

Also, at worst, Twitch has a concussion, probably.

The fish were it. Hm. so the thing (and other shit from this pond) have regenerative abilities.The the villagers keep the thing fed with passerby's? does this mutant fish monster cause the regenerative effects on the ecosystem? interesting.

well in other news HOLY HELL A DECENT ROLL!

>>12121002
Your time spent in the Zone and suspicion of Sergey's motives pay off. Even as he brings his rifle to bear on you, you've brought your shotgun to bear, as if by instinct. It barks once, and the old man drops as if his legs had been cut from under him.

You don't have time for a finishing shot, though, even if you'd wanted it; the mutant is upon you, horribly silent besides that gasp-gurgle, and is opening its nightmare maw wide, as if you swallow you whole.

Roll 4d20. One for you, one for Bird, one for Damsel, and one for the mutant.

>>12121043

Let's hope the others are able to take the behemoth down (doubtful).

Also, reminds me of the red fish that was featured in the other Stalker quest.

rolled 19, 16, 3, 15 = 53

>>12121053

Rollan.

>>12121059
>>12121059

We're going to get gored bad, aren't we?

On the plus side, we're probably going to nuke it's face.

>>12121059
Damn it! I argued for Damsel to get that RPK and she cant use the fucking thing!

>>12121059

so us bird and the mutant all get awesome rolls, Damsel on the other hand is most likely screaming while shooting the sky

>>12121065
Nah, just Damsel. She's gonna get eaten.

>>12121078

No, the mutant is facing us. Maybe it'll just take Sergey instead?

Also, assuming we're not half eaten after this, we enter each house SWAT style and hose the occupants.

Or we just hose them without entering.

>>12121078

shes gonna get tenderly loved

>>12121093
They could have cool gear stashed all over the place for all we know.

>>12121075
Very Point Break. But the string of profanity was for me wanting these guys to be good and they're not. Fucking. Zone.

>>12121100

actually if they've been doing this for some time......

>>12121107

Damsel had her moment in the beginning. In case you weren't there, we rolled a 20, and Damsel threw a grenade. Baseball style. At a mercenary. Detonated on impact.

Redmist.jpg

>>12121054
(this sidequest is a slight shout-out to a certain slavic myth and the Zone Quest fish as well, you've got an eye)

>>12121059
No mutant, no matter how nightmarish, can outrun a bullet. Even as Damsel tries to bring her SAW to bear so she can fire, Bird expertly takes aim and draws a long burst on the monster; its healing abilities are unmistakable now, but even it can't shrug off rifle fire. It stumbles, and that's all the chance you need.

BLAM.

The slug bursts the beast's bulging left eye like a blister; shockingly white ichor runs down the beast's face and it shudders from the tremendous damage of the shot, it stumbles dow the ground, and its last desperate slash manages only to shred your ballistic vest badly. You take aim again, placing the barrel of your shotgun on its flat forehead.

"Regenerate this."

The beast isn't able to answer your challenge, shuddering, gargling, and finally lying still. Vaguely, you realizes it reeks overwhelmingly of fish.

At your side, Sergey groans in pain and disorientation.

>>12121129
Kick his gun away and demand answers. Bird stand guard and look for the others around us. Damsel check on Twitch.

>>12121129

Happyface.jpg

Now the interrogation begins! :D

Oh, and go check Twitch. After we rouse him using the smelling salts (assuming we have more), Sergey's got some 'splaining to do!

>>12121129
Reload the shotgun, take his rifle, and put our boot on the back of his neck and the barrel of our shotgun to the back of his head.
"You are a disgrace to the Motherland. Any last words, traitor?"

Step on his wounds and interrogate him now! Keep Bird on guard while Damsel checks on Twitch's status.

>>12121129

>>12121148
We're not Russians, dumbass.

>>12121158
>>12121153
>>12121138

Things along these lines. Also, we can stick his head into the lake for additional punishment. Think of it as a swirly minus the swirl part and more radiation and other unknowns.

Now if you excuse me, I'm going to go look up this legendary Slavic fish thing.

>>12121138
Second. Makes me wish we had a fifth person. Hate sending people by themselves. Two is better than one.

>>12121171
We all stay in the same place, just do different things. Bird looks out for others, Damsel checks on Twitch, we fuck Sergey up.

After we interrogate him, snap his neck and stalk up to the house and burn it down!

>>12121168
No, we're not. But, considering how Sergey referred to the Great Patriotic War, he might be.

>>12121186
He also seems really long lived from this fish.

>>12121186
Once the immediate area is secure, our prisoner is bound, and Twitch is okay, then we kick doors, frag and enter.

With the mutant dead, the three of you fall into your typical routines - Bird searches for any attackers, and Damsel tends to the unconscious Twitch - some smelling salts should have him up and about soon enough, headache or not. You straddle the survivor - in this case, Sergey.

For the first time, it hits you how old Sergey must be. Seventy, at least. Any good health he had is rapidly draining with his blood. You ask the basic question, the real question.

"Why?"

Sergey doesn't look as if he can answer, swallowing hard and trying to speak. Eventually he just gives up, pointing one shaking hand at the others houses, "Them. For them,' for a moment, his strength returns, and he siezes you by the lapel, "Don't hurt. Not. Their. Fault." With the titanic effort it took to say this, it looks as if the man is simply going to pass out and pass on; he manages one last whispered word, "Sorry."

>>12121208
Smack him to death, since he's almost dead anyway. "You've lived time that didn't belong to you."

>>12121208
I'm really tempted to tell him, "You remember what happened to partisans back during the Great Patriotic War?"
Then kill everyone here.

>>12121208

All right, time to rouse the rest of the village. We could tell them the truth, or we can lie and tell them that he got straddled by the fish monster and was hit by friendly fire.

So they fed victims to the mirelurk, and its offspring gives everlasting life. I say we rough them up a bit, really shitty they didn't say anything.

>>12121208
Fuck. Kill him quickly. Knife to the heart or throat. Leave the old ones be and move the fuck out. He had his motives. It's no reason to kill the old folk.

>>12121232

He's kind of already dead, mate...

To summarize: Twitch is coming around, Sergey is dead or rapidly slipping into it (being gutshot twice at 70+ is not a laughing matter), and no one else seems to be waking up. Of course, you had trouble waking under the effects of the fish.

>>12121254
Loot his body, loot the houses.

Loot and head back to the house, shouldn't travel at dark. Question the old ones.

>>12121268
Only for a bit of stuff, and some replacement armor until we get to Russkie. Leave most of it for the old folks. None of this is their fault. And if he isn't dead already, end Sergey's life quickly and quietly.

Now I'm curious. What's the source Slavic legend for the whole regenerating fish theme? I spotted it in the other Stalker Quest, but have no understanding of it's significance...

Also, let's get Twitch up before we make our next move. Unless we decide to wake everyone else up first, in which case it might be good to show that one of our own got hit.

You've got business here yet, regardless of how things just went. Searching Sergey's corpse produces nothing at first; eventually, you come up with stripper clip for his Mosin-Nagant and a journal. At first, you think it's his father's, but this one is smaller.

A cursory read under your flashlight is revelatory. The creature you just killed is called - or, at least, was called - a Vodyanoy. In the early entries, Sergey recounts seeing the thing after his father's drowning - the fish that followed that strange appearance, and their subtle, but miraculous effects. His realization. His attempts to forget the hideous implication. Watching his mother and neighbors get old and sick after the disaster. Watching his own body fail.

Deciding that he could bear the weight, if he gained one more year. Just one more.

You flip to the last entry, and aren't surprised to find it dated today. It's a terse rationalization of what he planned to do. That this would be the last time, let death come if it would.

You stand, moving off towards the houses. There's a reckoning to be had.

>>12121295
Vodyanoy is a male water spirit that, when provided sacrifices, yields up fish. When not appeased, it tends to cause chaos. Drownings are its MO.

If were gonna go a reckoning, the we're gonna reckon right. Since it appears that no one is awake, stealth is key. Knife kills primarily to maintain noise discipline. Keep guns to hand in case things get loud.

These information bits/killings'll be the end for tonight guys; it's late even for me, and I don't have crap to do tomorrow.

Speaking of which, next slot for a session is tomorrow: same Bat-time, same Bat-channel.

>>12121353

Oh. :/ Looking at the wikipedia article right now. Ugly bastard.

Anyway, it's time to rouse everyone from their slumber. And tell them the truth, I suppose. Hell, it may be the Zone, and the son may have attempted to have us sacrificed to the Vodyanoy, but hell, common decency is still required.

>>12121374
Damnit, I'm gonna be late at best, miss it at worst. I've got a party to attend.

And we're cutting it here for the night, or you're going to write out the reckoning?

>>12121374
FUCK YOU you're making me get up early
stupid european time

"Kill 'em. Kill 'em all."

>>12121392
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/3334499/
yes, KILL THEM

Alright, anyone archiving this yet? I'll do it if someone hasn't.

>>12121443

Already archived. Now, away to sleep. And HOPEFULLY we won't be browbeating the old lady. Unless she turns out to be the mean type of Baba Yaga. That would be bad.

Well until tomorrow evening gentlemen.

(You guys are aware they didn't know, right? If so I can retcon this, but I'll have to think how.)

Splitting up the task among the others, you gather the villagers in Mila's house. It takes a while to wake them, but they're no fools, they realize that something his terribly wrong. You explain things as frankly as you can; the betrayals, Sergey's last words, the motives revealed behind his horrible "contract" with the Zone mutant. It crushes them, you can see it - and it makes you feel ashamed. With Alyosha trying to comfort Mila with words of religion, the four of you excuse yourselves silently - what is there to say to a woman after not only killing her son, but revealing him to be a murderer?

None of you notice Igus slip out after you; and you jump as if goosed when the old fisherman speaks, "I suppose we should have known. The Zone had been killing all of us from the first disaster, but the second made it worse, especially after Mila's husband's death. We didn't question the reversal. We should have," the look of revulsion on the man's face is faint, but hints at deeper feelings, "You may stay in my cottage tonight. You did the right thing. But you had best be gone by daylight. And don't come back. That's all I ask of you."

>>12121473
Unless you guys object, that'll be it for the night. I'll be here for a last few to respond to questions/comments/criticism as usual, but not long; it's very late here.

>>12121473
"Done."

>>12121473
Sounds like a fine plan.

>>12121480
Honestly, I prefer it this way. If we had killed the old people, it would have left a bad taste in my mouth, fantasy or not. And yes, I was tracking they didn't know, but the rest of the posts seemed out for blood, so I went along with it.

Damn you, Khorne.

time to archive this last bit someone. i dont know how to.

>>12121534
it's archived

Would telling the old people that Sergey died a heroic death fighting the mutant have left them feeling better about themselves? Yes.
But I think that truth is to be faced, not avoided, no matter how painful.
Leave them the Mosin-Nagant, and the bullets. They can take the easy way out.

>>12121537
does it auto update? save once and thats it?

>>12121543
Yes it auto-updates.

For what it's worth, guys, sorry for ending on such a BAD END note.

>>12121624
Its all good man, we're all tired.

>>12121624
No worries. And it's not BAD END. It's only a NOT AS GOOD END. BAD END would be if we died pointlessly. We've now made the Zone a slightly safer place, for what that's worth.