Round 86: Rescue or Ruin, Part 3

[midpointmods]

PLAYERS: Bucky Barnes and Jo Harvelle VS. Hajime Aikawa, Taako, and Yoda
LOCATION: Miner Flats
GOAL: Rescue the miners without dying; or, kill everyone.
WARNINGS: Attempted murder, claustrophobia
OTHER: Questions and info available here!

The surface level of Miner Flats is a mess of scaffolding, narrow cart tracks, and piles of rubble, a scattering of tents and shacks near the mine’s entrance. The only real building is the general store, even here in this remote location, but it’s hardly any more impressive than the shacks themselves, and a shed nearby houses a single, overlarge donkey. The overall area is nothing impressive to look at - the real fun is underground.

The mines are a series of tunnels that switch back on each other, turn and twist around, sometimes with rails for a mining cart and sometimes not. The tunnels on the first and second level feed into a single massive central room full of carts, ore, and heavy mining equipment. For all this is ostensibly the stage for a show, the mine does appear operational. Even if, this week, it also appears completely empty.

Moloch Von Zinzer is the only person out on the grounds when Soldat and Jo arrive for their mission in the late afternoon, but there’s no opposite team to worry about. (Yet.) They can gear up, get any advice from the manager of this run-down mine that he’s willing to give, and head in as soon as they’re ready. There are lives at stake, after all. Finding those lives will be a trial and a half, because none of the suggested tunnels on the map below the second level seem to match up with reality, and some of those passages get pretty tight at times.

Von Zinzer is also the only person out on the grounds when Taako, Hajime, and Yoda show up the next day, ready to take out the first team; or at least do their best and try.

Comments

[worthallthis]

He hasn't told anyone yet what the lantern really is. It's too great of a weakness to share in a place where you are regularly forced to kill other people. But he passes a hand protectively over it, anyway.

"Still rather nothing happened to it," he says. "It wasn't all bad, the last place. This one's worse."

[knifecollecting]

"Sure." As far as Jo is concerned, it's a souvenior and kind of boring.

She was never into antiques. Higher chance of hauntings.

"Did the last place at least have the internet?"

[worthallthis]

He smiles. "It had a network. With some shared apps. Couldn't really surf or research or shit like that." The smile turns wistful as they turn into the dark, lantern lighting the way. "Had an app with so much music on it. I miss that."

[knifecollecting]

Jo stays quiet for a moment, fondly remembering texts to her mother and other Hunters.

"I miss music too." Even after the Roadhouse had burned and the jukebox had been lost, she had CDs and tapes. The silence here echoed in her head. She didn't like it.

[worthallthis]

"There's some music here. Not a lot, but some." They hold the lamp higher, taking a turn to the right, following the map Moloch showed them, which they'd dutifully memorized. "When we're done here. I'll show you how to work the library's collection."

[knifecollecting]

Records? What did people use before LPs?

Jo follows around the corner, stealing a glance over her shoulder as they move deeper into the mine.

"Thanks. How long do you think this will take us?"

[worthallthis]

"At least a day to get to the miners, probably more like two to get them all out. Three or four, if there's a trick. It all depends on the other team." The path ahead forks, and they choose the right fork, heading further down.

[knifecollecting]

Jo curses under her breath and trudges after her teammate.

"Have I mentioned that this sucks?" Underground, with a stranger, in some random dimension without CDs or the internet.

Probably run by a demon, or an angel. Who knows?

"I'm not that good at carrying heavy things, by the way."