>>16532050
The initial leg of our journey was easy, if tedious. We penetrated the swamps without incident, though our gear - and our heavy suit in particular - combined with the natural stubbornness of the terrain to make passage slow and tiring. In time, we found ourselves in a bit of a pickle. Visibility was worsening, and we began to notice blind dogs shadowing us. We came to realize that this was actually a fairly large gang, and they were circling in, slowly. The five of us not being fools, we assumed a tight knot and tried to keep the dogs off through opportunistic shots. Eventually, the dogs left, and it seemed our attempts might've worked, but we soon found out why the dogs had chosen to be elsewhere. Our group was assaulted by three invisible assailants - bloodsuckers. Though we managed to beat back their charges through uncanny senses not a few times, they managed to hurl Vlad deeper into the swamp, knocking him unconscious; we managed to get to him before our assailants. Our luck seemed to turn when we came across a gentle slope with a small, shallow cave - an decent, defensible position. However, the bloodsuckers also seemed to realize this and redoubled their efforts. Damsel was knocked down and dragged into the swamp, and we only just managed to kill the best while Bird dragged still-unconscious Vlad to the cave, dispatching the last bloodsucker through a hail of pistol fire.

>>16532078
We bedded down in the shallow cave for what remained of the night, badly shaken but, through considerable luck, mostly uninjured. Damsel gave surprisingly heartfelt thanks, this being her second near-death experience at the maw of a bloodsucker. The night passed without further incidence, and we moved on to the dacha. Andriy's squat turned out to be located in a mostly-empty field, dotted with a wrecked truck, some sparse trees (fallen and otherwise), and the occasional bush or rock. We retrieved the "flag" Pacer had given us to signal his brother, but received no reply. Moving cautiously closer, we eventually noticed that there was a very well-concealed sharpshooter in the dacha's attic. Taking this for Andriy, we called out to him and he beckoned us on...at which time we were ambushed by two more stalkers, who ordered us to drop our weapons. We complied, and then a fourth person appeared - it was Fox, an old "friend" of ours. What could this bandit have in store for us? And why are two of the ambushers' names - Yuri and Loudmouth - familiar? We've been duped, but we've yet to find out how...

Equipment:
-cold weather clothes (partially worn)
-heavy stalker suit
-moldy Red Army officer's cap
-lead-lined backpack
-flashlight
-utility knife
-night vision goggles (integrated into suit)
-trail rations
-PDA x2 (ours; spetsnaz)
- good anomaly detector
-compass
-8 bandages (+2 in group)
-2 first aid kit (+4 in group)
-2 scientific aid kit
-m1911
-Mossberg 88
-AKS-74
-2 grenades (+7 in group)
-jellyfish artifact
-bender artifact
-22 shells, 39 slugs, 12 flech, 27 .45, 5 30-round 5.45 magazines
-6174 RU

Are the guns off us?

Our hands are free. We might be able to get close enough to get with the bludgeonry.

>>16532151
We dropped the guns, and fighting right now is a bad idea; there's a sharpshooter doing overwatch.

>>16532151
Currently, your weapons are on the ground. You've got four guys on you. One on either side, one in front, and one up high - their sharpshooter. At the moment, none are within arm's length and each has their weapon at the ready.

>>16532160
That's why I asked if the guns were off us.

Also: I mad. When we get away from these clowns, we cut their throats. I don't want this coming back to bite us EVER again.

Holy shit, when did this get started up again?
The last time I saw it was literally a year ago.

>>16532188
It was mentioned in a "which quests do you miss" thread. SoohG saw it, and started it back up.

It's not the quest thread glory days back, but it'll do.

Incidentally, for the "Fox? Who's that?" crowd:

Fox was a bandit you first met in Cordon, manning the old checkpoint between the Cordon region and the outer Garbage. He and his small gang claimed to be keeping the crossover safe, operating it as a toll road. As they were better-armed and had good numbers, we decided to pay the toll and accept a bit of lost cash in exchange for safety.

We didn't see Fox again until we were on a mission for Barkeep, looking to track down a group of contractors who'd double-crossed the men they had been paid to protect, risking Barkeep's name. We were just making nice with one of our marks when Fox showed up - among with his RPK-74-toting comrade, Ivan - and recognized us. We managed to get him to go away without spoiling things, and we thought that was that.

However, Fox followed us even as we followed our mark. After ambushing him, Fox and Ivan ambushed us. We did what they didn't expect and fought back at close range, winning the firefight and vacating the scene with our captive before voices we heard coming could reach us.

We'd assumed Fox was dead, having been shot twice, but apparently a cat isn't the only thing with more than one life.

>>16532188
I restarted late September, after repeated prodding and apparently persistent interest. I had to hang up the quest due to time concerns before, but those have passed and interest remained enough that I figured I'd pick things back up.

The dice apparently remember with fondness their vendetta against Twitch, and have resumed their efforts to kill the poor guy.

>>16532250
The only reason the dice save Twitch, is so that they can put him in danger of dying again.

rolled 2, 3 = 5

are we going to just stand here, or are you going to invite us in?

(I'm waiting to see if you guys want to initiate - which is tradition - but I'll go if no one has anything to do or say.)

rolled 5, 1 = 6

>>16532266
>>16532315

"shrug our shoulders, do a lazy wave with our hands in the air and say 'are we just going to stand out here, or are you going to invite us in?'"

Though you're shocked to see Fox - and you imagine the others are, as well, save Vlad - you're not about to give the little weasel the satisfaction of seeing it. You turn to the first stalker - the one who told you to drop your weapons - he seems to be in charge, "Well, are we just going to stand out here, or are you going to invite us in?" Damsel gives a strangled laugh despite the situation.

The one named Loudmouth gives an exaggerated cluck of the tongue, "Oh, this one sounds tough." The first stalker merely appraises you each one by one, silently. He saves his glance for you until last - you can tell he's studying you each for something.

Roll a d20 for the unnamed stalker; he's attempting to discern which of you is in charge.

rolled 5 = 5

>>16532438
rollan'

rolled 17 = 17

>>16532438
Also rollan

>>16532492
His eyes drift over you without any particular recognition sparking in them. Though seemingly a bit dissatisfied, he shrugs and speak up, "Enough, then. Loudmouth? The zip ties?"

The stalker whose volume nob seems to be set a few notches too high complies readily, breaking out a bunch of the white plastic loops and approaching your group cautiously. The unnamed stalker speaks up again, "I want each of you to put your hands behind your back as my friend here approaches you. Please, save yourselves time and don't get cute. We don't like him that much, and we have the guns."

"Asshole!" Loudmouth says in an amused version of that too loud voice, approaching you with a cocky swagger and his rifle over one shoulder, "Alright, tall, pale, and viking, you're first."

Out of the corner of your eye, you notice the sharpshooter in the attic carefully sight his rifle at you in particular. You imagine that there's a 7.62 mmR round up there waiting to introduce itself to your cerebral cortex if you prove to be too unfriendly.

(Do you cooperate, or try to do something?)

>>16532579
Ehhh. Let's cooperate, at least until their guard's down.

rolled 8 = 8

>>16532579
where is that utility knife? if we can get it up our sleeve, we can use it to escape if needed.

nod to our companions, and accept the bindings.

>>16532647
I've assumed you dropped it - the others got rid of theirs - though if you guys wanna roll to conceal, we can do that before I move on with the apparent consensus on cooperation for the time being.

>>16532715
Yeah, let's try to conceal it.

rolled 13 = 13

>>16532715
sure, rollan

rolled 13 = 13

>>16532715
Try to keep the knife. And ask Fox how his throat is. I think that's where he got shot.

>>16532753
We'll go with it. You've concealed your noife, albiet not particularly well. If you rile your captors, they may give closer scrutiny.

-

You look to the others silently and give a slight nod (you notice this doesn't escape the unnamed stalker's gaze), holding your wrists behind you to be bound. After all, you've got a trump card, though you'd rather not take it up against automatic rifles if you can help it.

It only takes Loudmouth a moment to bind the five of you - and he does it well, you've got no wriggle room. Satisfied, the unnamed stalker speaks, "Alright then, march. Follow your friend Fox there."

Fox looks surprised to be leading the way, but shrugs and marches towards the front door of the dacha. Loudmouth falls in beside you, and the unnamed stalker covers you from behind. The space between your shoulder blades itches as the rifle barrel roves over you and onto the next member of the group.

>>16532921
"Yuri," their seeming-leader calls out, "Gather their junk and put it in the storehouse, then meet us in the basement." The sniper nods silently and disappears from sight.

The interior of the dacha reminds you of another abandoned house - the one the controller lived in - and you suppress an nasty sudder at the thought. At least you can see the tell-tale signs of human occupation here: a bit of garbage here and there. Paths cleared. Bootprints in the dust and grit.

The basement presents a surprise - it's lit, albiet sparsely, by a series of lamps strung along the ceiling. Somewhere deeper in the surprisingly large area you hear a generator grumbling. Fox leads you to what was probably a storage room for fresh vegetables in a better time, and you see his apparent comrades gather around the door, conversing in low tones. After a moment, the leader pokes his head in, "Fox, watch them for a bit. We'll be back. If they move, spray them down." With that, the other three stalkers are gone, and you're alone with Fox.

The bandit leers at you smugly, but says nothing.

"How's your throat?" Damsel asks acidly.

"Your little friend here doesn't have aim that good," Fox replies.

>>16532810
>>16532753
>2 thirteens

Uh...you guys sure you don't wanna do this another night, then?

rolled 18 = 18

>>16532931
Gently pull the knife from our sleeve or wherever it's stored and start sawing at the flexcuffs. While doing this start up a patter. "Fox, I really didn't want things to turn out the way they did. Did you join these guys just to get back at us? If you help us out, you can keep the best of their gear," etc.

rolled 2 = 2

>>16532987
How about you retcon this all the way back to us coming out of the forest so we're not insta-screwed?

We're STALKERs. You'd think we'd notice things like a random sniper.

>>16533023
We didn't expect it. We weren't actively looking for it. It would be pretty bullshit to go back on it now. Who knows? Maybe this was a setup to get us out here.

>>16533058
See, if we make it out of here, I'm going to want some answers from Gurkha.

And the barrel of the KS-23 is only going to leave his mouth long enough for him to give them.

>>16533016
>Buddy up to Fox
>a guy we've never gotten along with
>someone we very nearly killed

There is something wrong with this.

>>16533136
Not really buddying up. More distraction. Like a magician's patter. And hey, he's got fairly mercenary sensibilities, maybe he will side with us. After which we can gun him down.

HOW CAN YOU RUN A QUEST LIKE THIS WHEN STEVE JOBS IS DEAD?

WHATS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?

NOTHING WILL EVER BE THE SAME AGAIN!

rolled 12 = 12

>>16532931

"where's andriy?"

You did notice said sniper. You then interpeted it as being the guy you'd come to see. That said, I don't put you guys in impossible situations. Well, I do, but VX, infantry attached to IFVs, controllers - you just won't die!

-

You nonchalantly work the knife out of your sleeve, working on the plastic binders keeping you helpless. It's cautious, slow work and you're cutting your damn hands, but Fox doesn't seem to notice - and if your friends do, they're doing a good job making sure they don't let on.

Wanting to keep Fox's attention muddled, you speak up, "Did you seriously join on with these guys to get back at us, Fox?" you ask.

"You put two shotgun slugs in me. I still have the limp. With respect, I think you can guess," the goofball act is gone entirely, and you can see that this man would very much like to kill you.

You continue, "We didn't want things to turn out like they did, you know," you say, "You and your friend forced our hand. You're a businessman - help us out, get the pick of their stuff. You've seen first-hand that we get things done."

>>16533016
>>fox is actively watching
>>draw a knife

>>16533188
That insufferable smirk is back on his face, "Come now, desperation is unbecoming. And those three are going to pay me a fair penny for doing what I wanted to do anyway. After they already got me patched up in exchange for a lead on their friend," now Fox has begun to ramble, as is his habit, "You actually did almost do me - I was almost out of money and dying anyway in that damn smuggler camp out in the Agroprom when Viktor and his guys happened along. Got lucky one of the people that dragged me in pointed me out as a possible lead. When they found out I'd seen their friend - and who'd had him last - they saw to it I got patched up. A flame artifact that'd turned up at the other camp helped see to that."

You have a sinking feeling where that artifact came from, and it occurs to you that fate has a very nasty sense of humor - you try not to show your annoyance, however, and Fox continues without noticing, "They took me on to find you after that - guessed they'd pissed someone off and had to bunker down. Had a hell of a time finding you four, you know? Dunno where you picked up the spare guy, there, but when I finally got word, you were in Rostok," the bandit makes a face, "Friendly sort there. Anyway, while I was trying to work out how to pry you out without getting shot by someone, you solved that for me - marched to Army Warehouses, right up to my guy, right into my hands."

He gives you a self-satisfied smirk, "So please, spare me the once-in-a-lifetime offers."

"So there never was an Andriy?" Twitch asks.

"Actually, you're speaking to him," Fox gives you all an exaggerated nod, "Though Pacer and I aren't brothers, like I'm sure he told you. Literally, anyway."

>>16533203
"Wait, so you really *did* fuck over both Duty and Freedom? How the fuck did you manage that?" Try to keep him talking. Get him relaxed. How close are we to getting though the cuffs?

And the way I see it, we've got two options:
1) Once we're through our cuffs, jump Fox, kill him quick and quiet
2) Pass the knife unnoticed to whomever is nearest us. And how are we arranged in here?

>>16533193
It's not hard to do things like that when your hands are behind you and whatever you're working on is, too. And yeah, your hands get a bit cut up. I did this once on a bet, took me a bit to get through the cuffs.

rolled 1 = 1

>it was an elaborate fucking set up

did our comrades also undo their bindings?

how much space do we have between us and fox?

tackle him, have some one at the door, over power and hold a knife to fox, have door guy grab the first peron who walks in and overpower them, pray it all goes to plan and ends well.

or we could keep talking and find out what they want with us

rolled 10 = 10

>>16533263
this plan is better plan. rolling for this

>>16533263
Passing the knife is a bad and impossible idea.

Best bet would be, once our hands our free, distract his attention towards the stalker furthest from us, and when he turns to look, we dive with the knife to his throat and dig in.

>did our comrades also undo their bindings?

They have not, having completely disarmed.

>how much space do we have between us and fox?

You're in the back-third of a fairly large room. Fox is standing in the doorway; his carbine isn't trained on you, but it's ready. Several feet.

Waiting a minute or two to see what you guys say, then posting.

>>16533263
let's go with this.

And STOP FUCKING ROLLING when we aren't supposed to roll. I'm looking at you, >>16533274.

>And how are we arranged in here?

More or less in a line.

Twitch, Bird, you, Damsel, Vlad.

>>16533322
While I am not suggesting we do this just yet, is our knife balanced for throwing?

Anyone think we may be able to get him to turn around if we were to just trail off while talking and stare at a spot just above and behind one of his shoulders?

We could rush him after we get our hands free if he turns around.

>>16533363
This is actually a good idea, balanced or not. It'll distract him, maybe hit him, and give us a chance to rush the fuck.

rolled 15 = 15

Keep sawing away, keep talking to him.

"Come on Fox. This is the Zone. And we do what we do to survive." Keep a conversation going.

Once we've got out ties cut, smirk at him. "Besides, you don't really think we came here alone, do you?"

Then, if that gets him to turn around, even an inch, toss the knife right at his kneck/head/upper back if it's not armored, and rush him.

>>16533422
Shit yeah.

"So you really did fuck over Duty AND Freedom? How'd you manage that?" Bird asks, cottoning to what you're doing.

"Ah, but a master never reveals his tricks of the trade," Fox being Fox, he goes on to do just that, "I won't get into details, but a bro and I basically used a squad of each to cut our way through some zombies and anomalies. When the two met in the middle - where we figured there must be some good artifacts - they went at it like rabid dogs. By the time they realized what was going on, we'd - that is, I, my bro caught a stray Freedom bullet - swiped the obvious artifacts and high-tailed it out of there," he certainly looks satisfied with himself, "I was with the Duty squad, so they know me on sight; not as bad with the Freedomers, though I hear some of 'em have it in for me."

"What happened to those artifacts, then?" you're pretty well-through your bindings, a little more work.

"Probably got robbed," Damsel sneers.

The annoyed look on Fox's face tells you she's right, Fox makes a show of shrugging, "Such is life in the Zone. And I walked away with my life. You, on the other hand...well, I don't think Viktor or them are in the forgiving mood," the dashing rogue facade drops again and there's the nasty grin of a stalker who's earned his moniker.

You could probably snap your bindings now, if you wanted, though unfortunately Fox is still alert.

(Regardless, roll me a d2.)

dunno how much time we got, would like to keep him talking to see what the others want with us, but we can also not kill one of them during our escape

looks like we try to distract and rush him

>>16533432

rolled 2 = 2

>>16533432
Rolling

>>16533432
What's Viktors grudge against us?

>>16533432
See if we can get him to turn around via >>16533379 before breaking the bindings and rushing him.

>>16533504
The guy we turned into Barkeep was one of his bros.

>>16533504
He tried to jump us for all our cash and Damsel while we were on a job. We gunned him and his buddy down.

>>16533452
(this result is noted)

A short silence plays out between you all; you hear Twitch fidget uncomfortably to you left, "We all do what we do to get by, Fox," you say dismissively, "And anyway, you don't think you're the only one who's made new friends, do you?" Your eyes flick over the twitchy bandit's shoulder.

Roll a d20

rolled 12 = 12

>>16533522

>>16533534
You see Fox twitch, but his gaze doesn't flicker. From here, you see his eyes widen and nostrils flare, then he smiles, "That's a nice try, old friend, but I'm a mite more clever than that," you see him reshoulder his rifle uncomfortably. Apparently he realizes how close he came to falling for the attempt.

It was worth a try, anyway.

"Don't be so eager to get going," Fox taunts dryly, "I'm sure the others will be along shortly enough."

rolled 13 = 13

>>16533522
rollan'

rolled 8 = 8

>>16533587
Fuck him. Bluff his ass again. "Struggle" not to smile and then grin wide and start laughing heartily. "Ha, ha ha, I'm, I'm sure they will. Hahhahaa."

>>16533604
I'm actually with this. Gesture to the guy behind Fox (who ain't there) and tell him, "Now!"

You decide to double down on your bluff - not much to lose trying, really, "Yeah, I'm sure," you put on a show of trying to conceal a smile, "Any minute now," you give a grin and flick your eyes over Fox's shoulder, "Now!"

Roll a d20 again.

rolled 11 = 11

>>16533692

>>16533698
Fuck you Anon.

>>16533698
"I give you an 'A' for effort," Fox says, "But no dice, friendo. Ain't no cavalry coming to save your sorry ass, and we all know it."

Fox reseats his AKS-74U again, looking uncomfortable at the wait nonetheless. You can't really blame him for that - the last time you met you DID come fairly close to killing him.

(Do you guys wanna try anything else, or should I move on?)

>>16533774
I say throw the knife and jump his ass. But that's me.

>>16533774
Let's move on unless we actually have experience with throwing knives at people.

>>16533774
Yeah. Nod and smile. "All this time, you've been watching me, keeping your eyes on me. But you know, you really should have been watching Vlad."

THIS HAS TO DISTRACT HIM, EVEN A LITTLE BIT, SO WE CAN HIT HIM WITH OUR NAT 20 KNIFE THROW.

>>16533800
Throwing a knife at someone isn't hard. Getting it to hit somewhere vital and STICK is the hard part that requires practice. We could get lucky and take him in the eye or the throat. But it's more of a distraction to get his eyes off of us as we hit him and get his gun away.

rolled 20 = 20

>>16533801
Well, this has been fun.

Let's hope we can kill this jackass with our next set of characters.

>>16533838
WHY DIDN'T YOU ROLL EARLIER

>>16533838
!!!!

STALK OUT OF HERE GETTER YOU BETTER SEE THAT

I WANT A KNIFE IN FOX'S EYE AND I WANT IT NOW!

>>16533838
Way to waste our Nat 20.

>>16533838
USE THIS ROLL, MOTHERFUCKER

(Whaddya guys wanna do? Try for the noife or wait to see what develops?)

>>16533865
Knife. Use the natural 20.

>>16533891
Nice try.

rolled 4 = 4

Fuck it. I'll take the hit for the fuck up.

I only just stumbled in here after playing MWLL, but it seems to be like we just got a 20 and ave the chance to put a knife in someones eye. I say we eyeknife him.

rolled 10 = 10

>>16533958
Aaaand back to the shitty rolls we go.

Knife. In Fox. Make it happen.

I tend to go for consensus first, then ask for the roll, guys. This helps me keep things a bit tense and also prevents rolls where none are called for from causing catastrophic failure.

If you guys wanna chuck the knife, that's cool, you can - but settle on it first, then roll.

(Seems to be the prevailing opinion - in which case, d20 plox. Unless you're thinking twice.)

rolled 5 = 5

>>16533981
Do it

Well, I'm done rolling for the night.

rolled 11 = 11

>>16533992
Fucking figures.

Today is the worst day. Cold. Gray. Bland. My computer cannot or will not run the game I paid sixty bucks for and was praying to have entertain me for a month or more. According to /v/, my computer is useless. Instead of lasting me five years, my computer has lasted me barely ONE before running into obsolencense.

And now, my favorite quest is going to die because we walked into an ambush.

Fuck.

>>16533981
I actually think we should sit on our hands and wait for Fox to leave before breaking our bonds and then trying to make good our escape.

>>16534013
That's the thing. He's not walking away. He was left here to guard us. My bet is, pretty soon, the other dudes are gonna come back in here, torture and/or murder us (and Fox for the hell of it), and leave.

I wouldn't automatically assume you're going to be murdered. There's a chance of it, they have a half-decent reason, but they could've done that outisde. And why did they leave to go talk? What about?

Just throwing some things out there to make it clear that this situation isn't necessarily as narrow as I may've painted it.

>>16534064
I think I may have been the one painting it narrowly. While it would be good to find out what these guys are up to, it's a lot harder to jump 4 guys with guns when you have a knife, than it is to jump one guy with a gun.

I'm for jumping Fox. Anyone besides >>16534013 against it?

I'm up for waiting to see what's going on.

rolled 4 = 4

>>16534064

It's painted pretty narrow. I'm pretty sure we're all about to die horribly in a creative, possibly arifact-or-mutant-induced manner. That's the one reason I can imagine them not killing us all on the spot. Aside from you being merciful. . .

Forget I ever said that first part.

We've already got a twenty to kill him. I hope I get an acceptable roll to mission kill him now, SOOHG. For Frosted Weasel and the other long-time fans. We saved damsel, twitch, vlad, and bird. We've been through so much already. I want to

rolled 16 = 16

>>16534094
DEATH OR GLORY BOYOS! EYAAAAAAGH!

rolled 12 = 12

>>16534167
STOP ROLLING FOR THE LOVE OF GOD

at the worst they shoot us, right now they seem to just want to talk.

>>16534171
Why are you people so intent on getting us killed?

Okay, so the waffling seems to be done FER REALZ this time, and majority definitely lies with the knife chuck. Give me a d20 for it and we'll move along.

Sorry about how long we've been hung up on this, but I don't like shutting players out who disagree with a course of action and didn't want this situation to perceived as totally no-win.

rolled 16 = 16

>>16534294

Off into the deep end.

rolled 4 = 4

>>16534294
WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGH

>>16534304
LOADSARUBLES!

>>16534304
hmm, maybe not a knife to the eye, but maybe to the dick?

>>16534294
And that's what makes you a good quest runner/DM/GM/etc.

Now, don't forget to follow up that knife toss with a bum's rush trying to take him in the throat or the gunhand. Disarm him and silence him, FAST.

>>16534304
Zomg suspense. This has completely stopped me from working.

>>16534304
(Going with the noife throw, then.)

It's now or never, you decide - you don't fancy your odds of making it out of this basement if Viktor and his group have their way. Finally breaking the bands holding your wrists in check completely, you whip your wrist out from behind your back and let your knife fly, hoping its true. It needs to be a good shot, because it will be your only shot.

And it is.

The knife buries itself most of the way up to the hilt in Fox's left shoulder. The man lets out a brief scream-yell that is probably more surprise than pain at this point, but it still has a vital effect; he drops his carbine to the ground, the rifle barking once as it hits the corroded cement floor.

For your part, you're already in motion, moving across the room as fast as your keyed-up muscles will take you. Even with the impressive throw, even with his gun on the ground - you can't afford to mess up.

Roll 2d20. One is for you, one is for the ricocheting bullet. You want both to be higher.

rolled 4, 12 = 16

>>16534405

>>16534410
I hate you.

>>16534405
Damn damn damn, gotta move fast. If we don't get winged by that we're going to have to find our weapons and get moving before we're up to our asses in bandits

>>16534410
In Soviet Zone, Bullet Outrolls YOU!

Knock him down, straddle his chest, punch him in the throat, then snap his neck. The rest of the group is going to come running at the yell and the shot. Recover the knife then get the body and ourself away from the front of the door. Get someone else's bonds cut, give them the knife and have them start freeing the other. Recover the gun.

>>16534410
You hear the weird, high whine of a rifle round droning past your ear - the rogue discharge - and then it embeds itself in the wooden doorframe with a decisive thunk.

You're not focused on that, though, but Fox. As much as you hate the bastard's smarm, he's got a survivor's instinct; he's ignoring the knife, reaching down for the dropped carbine; you can see his hands closing around it as you take the last step that brings you to him.

Gimmie another 2d20. One for you, one for him. Also describe to me how you want to go on the offensive.

>>16534410
Damsel laughs as we faceplant and then the bullet nearly kills twitch.

>>16534518
>>16534518
STEP/JUMP ON ARM REACHING FOR GUN, PUNCH TO THE FACE

rolled 7, 19 = 26

>>16534518

GOGOGO

rolled 19, 19 = 38

>>16534518
Get the gun away from him. Slam his head into the ground until he is dead.

Probably going to end up regretting it if we kill him, but oh well.

>>16534544
damnit, if only I had been faster.

>>16534544
As this is the first post to actually follow OP's instructions, i say go with this.

>>16534542

>>16534542
>>you
>>stop it

>>16534542
You're just wrapping your hands on Fox - one on his ballistic vest, the other on the knife hilt - when he rises up, gun clutched in a white knuckle grip. He brings it up in an awkward but savage swing, the end of the barrel smashing your jaw closed with a brain-jarring click; you fall to the concrete, pulling the knife free as you go, as Fox brings the AKS-74U up to fill you with 5.45.

"You son of a bitch!" he screams, and there's nothing left of the "dashing rogue" in that voice, just animal intent to commit murder.

Give me another d20. This one's yours.

rolled 9 = 9

>>16534636
My God, I've Killed Us All.

>>16534667
Oh no.

>>16534667
You. Yes you. ROLL NO MORE HERE STALKER!

>>16534684
okay.jpg

>>16534587

I realize that I just got here in time to see us die, buuuuut

I remember this quest from way back when - I think we had just got out of a time loop or something. What have I missed?

>>16534667
WHY DO YOU KEEP DOING THIS

rolled 9 = 9

>>16534636
KICK HIM IN THE FUCKING NUTS!

>>16534667
>>16534712
WTF is this, plan 9 from outer space???

FATE POINT MOTHERFUCKERS

>>16534667
You lash out with one heavy-shod boot, but it's too little, too late; you hear the bark of automatic fire and aren't totally surprised when you don't feel anything. After all, don't people usually go into shock after they're mortally wounded? You're not sure. Probably not relevant any more.

Only you've not been mortally wounded.

Your kick - inadequate as it was - did deflect Fox's burst of automatic fire. There's little your body armor could have done against point-blank rifle fire, expensive and heavy as it may have been, but against grazing fire? Well, that's another story.

You're still not sure how badly you're wounded, but it looks like the rigid plates in your heavy suit just saved you from losing half a torso to good old-fashioned Soviet killing iron. You don't think you'll get another chance. Time seems to slow, not for the first time in the Zone.

Gimmie a d20.

>>16534736
dice+d20

Here's one

>>16534736
OK YOU ASSHOLES SAYING "HURR DURR STOP ROLLING!!11!!one!!"

LETS SEE YOU GET IN HERE AND PULL THAT NAT 20 OUTA YOUR ASS.

TIME TO PUT UP OR SHUT UP STALKER.

>>16534736
As he staggers grab the gunstock and yank it away from us. Follow through with a punch the the solar plexus.

Are all the original stalker quests archived on suptg?

rolled 16 = 16

Well, this has been one of the most fun quests I've ever participated in.

Pity even if we kill this guy his mates will off us.

The shit, are our buddies just watching helplessly as we fight for their lives? SOMEONE DO SOMETHING! SAVE US BATMAN!

>>16534762
Unfortunately not. The lion's share can be found, however, between sup/tg/ and easymodo. Just use my handle as a search narrower and you'll get results. I RARELY post under this handle for anything but Stalker Quest or Stalker Quest-related things.

>>16534772
WOOHOO!

rolled 16 = 16

Develop latent psychic powers due to Zone exposure. Prepare for glory.

>>16534772
AS THE MOTHERFUCKER WHO ROLLED THAT, I DEMAND WE ARE SAVED BY BATMAN.

Alternately, take the gun out of his hands and hit him in the throat with the stock. And SOOHG, tell me we have grenades, because we need one outside the door of our room where the people left from, NOW. Because they'll be coming back any second. And we need to buy time. Nothing like a grenade to get heads down.

>>16534772
All of this is taking place in the span of maybe a couple of seconds. This is an unfortunate weakness of written communication that I'm not a skilled enough writer to get around.

-

Bending at the waist - you can hear the ruined ceramics that make up your armor grinding - you thrust your knife up at the first soft target.

This happens to be Fox's groin.

Or, more properly, just above his pelvis. This time his scream is one of definite agony, and you lose your grip on the knife as the bandit staggers back. That's not so bad, however - you're more interested in the rifle. Fox can't be blamed for putting up no fight as you wrench it from him and climb to your feet.

Below you, your old 'friend' lays curled up in a growing pool of his own blood, clutching the knife protruding from his lower stomach. He's saying something - trying to, anyway - but it isn't coherent through the pain.

Behind you, you hear the others finally respond, getting to their feet and shouting all at once - what, you're not sure, but you're not particularly concerned with that right now.

You can hear rapidly-approaching bootfalls.

>>16534813
Your current weapons are a utility knife (currently hilted in Fox) and an AKS-74U (with perhaps half a magazine left).

rolled 13 = 13

>>16534736
Here's your d20.

>>16534861
settle this quick, single bullet it fox's brainpan, no pissing around.

when you have to shoot shoot don't talk.

>>16534846
If fox has a grenade on his webbing grab it and pitch it out the door

GRAB GUN, SHOOT FUCKERS

>>16534861
Cut loose whoever is closest. Hand them the knife and tell them to get the others free. Check Fox for any other mags on his person. Grab one if possible. Tell everyone to get out of the line of fire from the doorway. Brace on the doorframe, aimed up the stairs.

rolled 18 = 18

>>16534846
GRENADE THROUGH DOOR

rolled 17 = 17

>>16534861
who's our best shot?

slide them the rifle

drag fox in, grab the knife, use him as a chip to keep them from coming in until we plan something better.

i assume they are all free at this point?

rolled 13 = 13

>>16534913
OMFG YES I MADE THE 16 ROLL TOO

>>16534846
Fuuuuck.

Use fox as meatshield, and attempt to cut the bindings of our comrades?

Rough basement layout attached. You're in the side room there. To the right is the staircase. You saw a door down at the far end when you came in, but not where it went.

>>16534905
>Cut loose whoever is closest. Hand them the knife and tell them to get the others free
Agreed with this.
But instead of checking for another mag, I'd rather we check for a grenade, and if we find one, chuck it up the stairs.

>>16534940
I SAY WE TRY THE DOOR!

WTF DO WE HAVE TO LOOSE?

>>16534940
Fucking-

Actually attached this time.

>who's our best shot?

Bird is your best long range shooter.

>i assume they are all free at this point?

They're all standing (feet weren't bound), but wrists are bound. You can cut one free and let him/her take care of the others.

>>16534940
Herp

Boot sounds, by the way, are coming from deeper in the basement.

>>16534968
. . . deeper? Not from the place the other stalkers left towards?

. . . Uh oh.

alright...

drag fox into the area we're in if he's not already fallen inside of the door frame

grab knife, cut loose closest person, give them knife, get bird the gun

then we take our chances with the door leading deeper, dragging fox with us. stomp on the wound if he's not cooperating.

gotta move fast

>just saw update about boot sounds from DEEPER in the basement

fuck, have bird take point then

>>16534968
Unfox the knife and slide it over to nearest person, pop one in fox's head and cover the stair.

>>16534984
The other three probably went deeper in the basement. You don't remember hearing them go back upstairs.

>>16534990
here
>>16534999
then we go stairs, with bird covering us

At a guess, Vlad might have just saved our lives.

The only thing bandits keep people alive for is ransom. The others probably tucked away to discuss who should be (or could be) sold, and who would cut cut into little pieces down in this basement.

Free Bird (where's some Skynard when you need 'em?), give him the AK, resume freeing compatriots, strip gear from Fox. His only use now is as a bullet sponge.

rolled 11 = 11

First order of business: Throw a grenade down into the basement.

Just like with the controller.

Reaching down, you pull your knife free of Fox's gut - he gives a short-breathed gasp of pain - and turn to cut your companions' bindings. First is Bird, who you give the rifle; you think his experience will help here. Next is Damsel, simply because she's there. Letting her take care of the others, you begin searching Fox for anything else you can use.

Behind you, you hear Twitch speak, "I think we owe Russkie a bottle of his favorite after this," no kidding. If there is an 'after this' to begin with.

Your search of Fox's body nets you a makarov, a spare magazine for the AK, and a cheap-looking combat knife.

(I'm getting the gist you guys either want to use Fox for a shield or simply kill him; how do you distribute the weapons?)

>>16535163
Use him as hostage/meatshield, who knows the other bandits might value him for some reason
Keep him in front of us with the cheap knifes blade against his throat

>>16535163
Hand the magazine to Bird, since he's got the AK, and I suppose the Makarov to Vlad when he's free; maybe his military training will be of use.

>>16535163
Toss bird the spare clip
give the makarov to Vlad
Give our knife to damsel
then do >>16535184

rolled 15 = 15

>>16535163
Meatshield him. Grenade down the basement. Shut door after- AFTER- you throw grenade. Press meatshield up against door.

>>16535226
We don't /have/ grenades. We were disarmed, remember?

>>16535226
we don't have any nades.

>>16535163
Mag to bird, spare knife to Damsel, we keep ours, Makarov to Vlad. We take Fox as a shield and step out first, the others take the door up with Bird on point followed by Damsel, Twitch and finally Vlad. We follow them with Fox facing the door the "bad guys" went through

>>16535226
we don't have a grenade

>>16535295
Fox does.

>>16535343
>Your search of Fox's body nets you a makarov, a spare magazine for the AK, and a cheap-looking combat knife.

Where the fuck are you seeing "grenade" ?

>>16535360
My bad, someone suggested it ealrier I just assumed there was one. Carry on.

>>16535343
Nope.
-

You toss the extra magazine to Bird, the makarov to a newly-freed Vlad, and trade knives to get yours back from Damsel. Thing's lucky, after all. Hauling Fox up by the back of his collar - he puts up little fight, probably due to blood loss and shock - you turn to give the others a quick set of words, "I'll go out first. Bird, after me. Damsel, Vlad, follow us up."

"What about me?" Twitch asks, sounding a bit panicked, "What am I supposed to use, harsh language?"

"Intimidate them with sheer mass," Damsel advises. You're already in motion, however - you doubt if you have much time to get out of this room before the other three arrive and you definitely don't want to get stuck in a side room. Holding your knife to Fox's neck, you step out.

Right into the barrels of three firearms.

There's a whole lot of yelling at once between both sides, and in this case, it doesn't seem likely to come out in your favor. Putting your lungs to use, you boom above the others, gaining an impressive volume and attention, "Get those guns off of us or Fox here gets a knife in the neck!"

There's a brief pause, and then the leader - who you assume must be Viktor - speaks up, voice deadly calm, "That's it? You need to make a better choice of human shield."

You duck instinctively, and a half-second later Viktor's rifle lets out a deafening BANG that fills the confines of the basement; you're beginning to get a bit tired of all this close-quarters gunfire. Still, Fox has got it worse than you. Missing the top half of his head, you doubt if he will be coming back from this one, uncanny luck or not.

"Drop the corpse and the guns," Viktor says, "Or we'll just fill you full of lead and call it a day."

rolled 17 = 17

>>16535454
"Bird? Waste them."

Throw body at enemy, hail of gunfire right behind it.

>>16535454
Shove the body at them and duck back into the room. When the come around the doorway have Bird give them a warm welcome.

>>16535454
Welp


>>16534892
listen to Tuco next time. just shoot the bastard and move on.

>>16535454
Gorram!

Maybe we can toss the corpse at the bandits and hope that the deadweight knocks them over long enough for us to get in and wrestle a gun away?

Dump body+us onto leader
Bird Vlad starts the shooting
Damsel rush up and handle the last one.
All or nothing, they out gun us, and we're fucked in a prolonged engagement.

>>16535529
>>16535505
>>16535498
>>16535530

"Here, catch!"

rolled 7 = 7

THIS IS OUR MOTHERFUCKING THEME

BLAST IT, THE LOT OF YOU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hnc_etZ-KfI

Use the body for a shield to rush the guy giving orders. Have Vlad and Bird open up from either side of the door way on the other two. There's a reason it's called the fatal funnel.

Also, a knife is a way to a pistol. Pistol a way to a shotgun. Shotgun is the way to a rifle.

Well now. This...this is familiar. Fox would appreciate the irony, if Fox's brains weren't sprayed across the roof and on your back. These three, though, they can't guess what's coming - and that's what gives you the edge.

You don't have to say anything, really, for your group to get into motion. You hurl Fox's corpse at Viktor, hoping to bowl him over or at least disarm him. Meanwhile Vlad and Bird each open fire on Yuri, whose rifle will probably do him no favors here. Damsel comes in low and fast at Loudmouth, knife at the ready, and Twitch looks like he wishes he had a weapon very badly.

Roll me 6d6. One for you, Damsel, Vlad/Bird; one for each of the enemy stalkers, who are at a disadvantage (though they have better firepower) due to surprise.

rolled 5, 3, 4, 1, 4, 6 = 23

>>16535597

rolled 3, 5, 2, 5, 3, 2 = 20

>>16535597

>>16535597

If we survive this, I vote we make this dacha our base.

>>16535625
Second. We will however have to find Andriy, ask him some questions, and kill him.

rolled 1, 3, 4, 4, 4, 1 = 17

>>16535597
>>16535625
Close to all those bloodsuckers?

No thank you.
... though having a permanent place to work out of (or a bolt hole where we could keep our heads down and at least store our crap without it being stolen) would be useful

>>16535625
Let's explore it first, I mean there could be some bad things down there in those basements, or piles of gold. Who knows?

>>16535619
>>16535621
>>16535674
Oh my.

(Fox's real name was Andriy.)

Your opponents might have been expecting a lot of things, but they hadn't considered that you might simply brave their firepower and go for broke. Fox's tossed body stumbles Viktor, and before he can throw it off, you bury your knife up to the hilt in his eyesocket. That not being enough, you plunge it into his neck a few more times; it is the first time you've seen the cold-eyed stalker look surprised, and it will certainly be the last. Bird and Vlad's fire is messy, but ultimately effective by sheer volume alone; the sharpshooter Yuri spasms under several hits, falling to the cement dead or dying. Damsel gets the worst of it - Loudmouth manages something between a curse and a yell, firing a glancing hit that damages her body armor but doesn't stop her charge. While the two of them wrestle for control, you take Viktor's rifle and line up a shot.

Give me a d20.

rolled 14 = 14

>>16535707
Boop

>>16535619
Fucking lol. Everybody falls face first. Makes me wish I had that story about the all monk fight where they all roll ones.

>>16535707

This went FAR better than I thought, and I was the proponent of having everyone but us in the treeline to prevent this.

Go everyone else!

>>16535707
Nooo! Jump in the melee with them. Take one fucker alive. Disarm him, and tie his ass up.

rolled 6, 2, 4, 4, 2, 4 = 22

>>16535707
Try to take this guy alive if possible

>>16535749
Well we all were almost killed by this entire affair, so there's that

>>16535715
"Shoot this asshole already, Bosse!" Damsel growls through gritted teeth.

"FUCK YOU, YOU-" you don't find out what Loudmouth intended to say; heeding Damsel's request, you place a rifle round through his neck. Whatever fight he had is immediately lost, and Damsel guarantees that he won't regaining it by drawing the dying stalker's fort-12 from its chest holster and shooting him in the head.

There's a weird moment of silence where the screaming, swearing, and gunfire finally clears, leaving you in a silence that seems a little bit unnatural. Twitch is the one to break the silence, "I can't believe no one shot at me," he sounds half-surprised, half offended. The four of you share a nervous laugh.

"I think we owe Pacer a friendly hello," Vlad says, checking his weapon and safetying it.

Bird shakes his head, "He's long gone, I'm sure, now that he's played his part. Probably off to the Dark Valley."

That's fine by you, for the time being. You're just surprised you're alive at all - and mostly uninjured. You run a hand across your ruined body armor, feeling where the plating protected you from Fox's very sincere attempt to end your life. Shaking your head, you stand, "Let's strip 'em down for what they've got."

A search of the corpses leaves you with a pair of AKS-74s, an AKS-74U, a scoped Mosin-Nagant, three new Fort-12s, and three new grenades; Damsel's borrowed cheapo knife has broken on the cement during a missed stab.

>>16535830
also a makarov

>>16535830
First, let's get our kit back. See if maybe they have anything else stashed up there. Then we sweep these basements.

>>16535830
Let's go check out their stash and get our stuff back.

Then, we head back, grab the bloodsucker, and hoof it to Yantar.

>>16535830
Check the building top to bottom for some hidden stashes.

>>16535830

Form up as a single team, we lead, Vlad third in line, clear the house room to room for our gear, keep the case CLOSED, as we don't know if its booby trapped.

Get everything together, check for wounds, apply aid, water and food, and then move out back to the warehouses.

whenever we get back by army warehouses, might be a good idea to poison pacer's name up down left and right, even if we don't find him there

>>16535830
"That was... an incredibly lucky break. How much you wanna bet that there's like, a blood sucker nest in the basement or something?"

>>16535870
This. Someone knows his Battle Drill 6! Also, hold onto that Mosin, scavange any ammo for it. If we can't find a use for it, we can certainly find a buyer.

You decide to carefully sweep the house, figuring that there may be some useful things stashed away here. There's little of use in the dacha proper - Yuri did store your gear there, though, as instructed - and you eventually move on to the basement. The room you were in and most of the basement are mostly empty; what is there is garbage. Crates full of useless trash, broken furniture, the works. Moving towards the back of the basement - and the sound of the generator - you open the door at the far end of the basement and find another set of stairs.

What you find at the bottom impresses you.

Behind a well-battered metal door is what appears to be a small but usable survival bunker. It looks like Viktor's crew has been preparing to vacate it - perhaps they intended to go deeper into the Zone - and you find little of value besides the generator (safely hooked up to an exhaust system) and some sparse stored food. There are cots for four (and bedrolls under the double-bunk cots), and even a bathroom, though you doubt if you want to use a septic system that old. It seems like whoever owned this dacha had left this place aside, waiting for a war with America that (mercifully) never came.

>>16535904
When we get back to s Stalker camp, see if we can find a guy named Ivan to sell it to.

before we go, there was a Scoped Mosin, why not give it to Bird? he's our sharpshooter

>>16535922

Distribute the new gear evenly, scavenge any trauma plates, kevlar, MLBE and firearm parts we can find, and then head back to the warehouses.

>>16535947
I would agree with this. Until we get our hands on a Dragunov, that thing is going to murder the shit out of anything we point it at.

>>16535922
Kit bash and replace/cover busted armor as best we can, keep any useful ammo, keep the mosin and its ammo. If Bird wants the bolt gun, good on him, if not, well, we find someone to buy it. If any of the other weapons are in good condition, compare them to our equivalents, switch out as necessary. Then head back to the warehouses.

Pic related, it's how badass we are.

How long until nightfall?

>>16536028
I think we ought to keep the Nagant.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t2M1hC4c0tc

Nice of a find as the bunker is, you've got places to be, and they aren't here. If you can't get Pacer some payback, you can at least soil his name to protect other stalkers from getting mixed up with him. The five of you pick over the dead stalkers for useful bits - such as intact armor plates - and make what repairs you can before evenly distributing the weight between you and preparing to head back the way you came. You rather hope not to deal with any high agility situations in the near future. Shouldering old friends - or new ones, in the case of Bird's Nagant - you get going.

It's a long walk from here back to the Army Warehouses, but at least you'll be alive to make the trip. And hey, there's plenty of light left. Just another day in the Zone.

(I'm going to call it there for the night, guys, I'm dead on my feet (butt?). Had fun. As usual, I'll hang around a bit for questions, comments, concerns, etc.)

>>16536065
we still have the case right?

>>16536065

Awww, I just got here.

When will the next session be, Getter?

>>16536065
I showed up late, but as usual, good shit man. We should shift the scope off of Bird's AN-94 to either Vlad or Twitch, which ever one has been the superior shooter. They can become a spotter for Bird.

Again, pic related. It's what Bird is gonna do to anything in the future.

>>16536079
The case is still in your possession - though who knows what's actually in it.

>>16536084
Sunday is possible and even probable, but I'm not positive.

>>16536079
There's a chance it could be a bomb. Probably just as easily as it being full of bricks.

Just a note, how much food was down there in the bunker, after all, scraps are still food and we don't always know when we'll get supplies...

>>16536182
A decent amount - a few days' worth of stuff.

I deliberately fuzz out food to safe on my and your sanity, incidentally. If it were to be a pressing issue in a scenario, it would become relevant, though. Say...if you got trapped in a Space anomaly. Again.

>>16536208
Can we check the case before we go any further?

I really want to know what's in it.

Actually, I was more thinking we could sell it if we have to, people always need food, and if we just leave it here someone else will get it.

Hell, Take the shirt off of Viktor to make an impromptu sack and toss all the food in it. When we get back to camp we can hock it for enough rubles to repair some of our gear, or at least to get some more ammo for that Mosin.

>>16536216
Before you leave? Sure.

Tonight? I'm still tossing around some ideas, so I'd rather leave off for now.

Fine by me, so Sunday what time for start?

>>16536247
Start times are usually between 6-8pm EST.

Well, I'll be playing from my phone... stupid work. Sounds good.

>>16536277
Any chance of us running into a Tark?

http://stalker.wikia.com/wiki/Tark

>>16536522
Goddamnit, don't give him ideas!

>>16536544
>I missed STALKER Quest because of overtime and a university report.
Nooooooooo.

Also! In case anyone is interested and I miss next week again:

Loudmouth and Yuri are old friends on a bloke called Spaz who we offed last year as part of a deal with Barkeep to hunt down a group of STALKERs who where hired out by him to protect a group of Duty scientists who they then betrayed and killed before hiding on the swamps (near where we are now). We found Spaz in the Agropom centre and killed him outside, also where we thought we killed Fox.

Basically we have now at last killed the guys from a mission we never completed last year. And apparently we forgot about because none of our characters remember either.

SO! Next time we are near 100 Rads we need to go and tell Barkeep that it took some time but we found the bastards and did the job.

>>16537887

Uhhh, actually, we never completed it because of needing STALKER suits and then SPETSNAZ, SPETSNAZ AND VX EVERYWHERE.

Also, once we get back to the Army Warehouses, we should see about getting gear to decontaminate those military stalkers and take their stuff, either from Freedom or Barkeep.(For barkeep, change "military stalkers" to "Zone veterans")

>>16538036
I never said why we didn't complete it I said that we have now completed it. Thanks for reading.

>>16538060
>>thanks for reading
>>implying you totally didn't come off as a cunt there.

Couple of things:

1.) You guys didn't kill Spaz, you turned him in to Duty after he admitted to being a Freedom agent.
2.) These swamps and the ones where the Dutyer scientists were killed are different (the scientists were killed in the ones from Clear Sky).
3.) Barkeep awarded you for the whole group since you found out their motive - they were Freedomers all along. He felt this was effectively as good as catching/killing all of them. You still might try poking him to see if the kills are worth any money to him.
4.) I said it a couple of threads back - I haven't forgotten about you, tark guy. I've got an idea of how I want them to show up, and they will.

>>16539884

The SEVA ghost is going to show up on one, bringing the fury of the zone in his wake, isn't he?

>>16540446

Well, if he wasn't before...