Lewis the Fighter: Episode... Huh??

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CrazyBernie
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Lewis the Fighter: Episode... Huh??

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We intrerrupt your regularly scheduled LtF episode to bring you this special bonus episode!

Lewis barely shielded his eyes in time as a gust of wind blew sand up into his face. Should have brought more water… His throat was parched, and his flask empty. The heat from the oppressive sun beat down like a million torches. The sudden sandstorms made it difficult to see where one was headed and the shifting dunes were brutal to traverse. This trek through the desert was obviously more than he had been prepared for. Should… have… brought… more… water… It was becoming hard to think.

His body was at its limit. If he didn’t reach the oasis soon... That’s what I get for listening to a stupid tree. I was probably overtired and imagined the whole conversation. Five days he had been traveling in this forsaken desert, and still there was no sign of the oasis with its mystical well. The magical cloak he was wearing helped somewhat, shielding him from a portion of the heat and keeping him from freezing to death during the frigid nights, but that didn’t change the fact that he had ran out of water two days ago. One day without water in the desert was worse than spending five in a temperate climate. He was already feeling the effects of extreme dehydration.

Stumbling on the slope of a massive dune, Lewis tumbled head over heels until he reached the base. His vision swam, and as he attempted to push himself up his arms collapsed, too weak to hold his own weight. He spit out a mouthful of sand and tried again, to no avail. Great, looks like this is it. Another sandstorm began to brew. In a few minutes I’ll be just another sand dune. So much for saving the world…

Over the whine of the sandstorm he began to hear another noise… wrrrr-chnk. wrrrr-chnk. It was unlike any sound he had ever heard (that he could remember, anyway), but it seemed to be mechanical in nature. wrrrr-chnk. wrrrr-chnk. The sound was getting closer. Through squinted eyes he made out a shadow in the whirling sands. wrrrr-chnk. wrrrr-chnk. It looked humanoid in shape, but no human made that sort of sound. Guess it’s not unheard of to hallucinate when you’re about to die. wrrrr-chnk. wrrrr-chnk. When it had almost reached him, there was a momentary drop in the sandstorm.

Whatever it was, it looked to be all metal. It was humanoid, with two arms and two legs, and appeared to have a long cylindrical object cradled in its arms. Lights flickered up and down its dark grey body, and the wrrrr-chnk noise was made whenever it took a step. The head was somewhat oblong in shape, with two glowing buglike eyes, and some antennae-like protrusions stuck out on either side. It did not appear to have a mouth. A golem, perhaps? The last thing he heard before losing consciousness was “Are you still alive?” The voice was also metallic. Yep, definitely a golem… and the world went dark.

Lewis awoke with a start. It was dark and the sky was crystal clear, with a full moon shining brightly. There was a campfire that had begun to burn low, and on the other side a face was floating in the darkness. He sat up abruptly and the campfire light began to spin and the ground began to heave.
“Whoa, take it easy. You’ve been unconscious for two days.” A voice… a human voice. His eyes adjusted to the darkness and he realized the face was attached to a figure… the metal figure! A suit of armor! “Wh….” He tried to speak but all that came out was a rasp.

“You sucked down quite a bit of sand, I wouldn’t try to talk for at least another day or so,” the mysterious figure offered. His face was that of a very young man, but one that looked weathered with the experiences of hardship. His hair was short cropped and there were the rough beginnings of a beard adorning his chin. It was his eyes, however, that were the most striking feature. They were dark yet bright at the same time, and his gaze appeared to take in all that was around him, missing not a single detail. “I wasn’t really expecting a strip of desert in this area of the Wastes, but I suppose it shouldn’t be too surprising. Here, have some water.” He handed Lewis a clear glass bottle. “Don’t worry, its purified so there’s no radiation.”

Radiation? What the hell is that? He accepted the bottle. It took him a moment to figure out how to remove the cover with a twisting motion. Interesting design… The water was remarkably delicious, but he forced himself to drink it slowly so as not to make himself sick. It created a slight tingling sensation throughout his body as he drank it. Perhaps there’s some healing magic in this water... shouldn’t be too surprising, considering that magic suit of armor he’s wearing. Lewis made some gesturing motions at the armor.

“What, my armor? Oh it’s just a little present I picked up, courtesy of the Enclave. They had a few extra and didn’t mind at all that I helped myself,” he explained with a bit of a grin as he patted the helm that was on the rock next to where he was sitting. To the resulting blank stare, he commented, “Guess you haven’t heard the radio broadcasts. Certain areas of the Wasteland might not get reception, assuming you even have a working radio. Consider yourself one of the lucky ones to not have to listen to that propaganda garbage all day long. Or… maybe you have no clue what I’m talking about because you’ve been isolated from it in this desert.” The last bit earned the mysterious stranger a resigned shrug which he took for acquiescence.

He seems nice enough but I think he’s a bit off in the head,
Lewis commented to himself. I wonder what that thing he was carrying is. Spying it leaning up against a rock, he pointed at it. “This? It’s a plasma rifle. Got that from the Enclave too. She packs a mean punch, but eats through MF Cells like they’re candy.” I wonder if we’re even speaking the same language… He just nodded politely to the stranger.

“Oh, by the way, the name’s Sinister. Well that’s not my real name, but everyone calls me that. I used to be a bit of a terror when I was a kid. It’s easier to pronounce than my real name… I guess my parents had a warped sense of humor.” Lewis shrugged apologetically. “It’s ok, I don’t expect you to tell me yours in return, considering your condition.”

Sinister shifted his weight, and the armor wrrrr’ed in response to the movements. “Say, I’m looking for a Vault, number 87. Well actually I’m looking for a place called the Lamplight Caverns. Are you familiar with either of those?” Lewis shook his head and shrugged again. “Shucks. Well considering that well nearby is producing uncontaminated water, I figured the Vault might be close. Maybe they installed a purifier in it underground or something. Had to dispatch some odd creatures to get to it though. They looked something like a super mutant, a brahmin, and a deathclaw all rolled into one body.”

Wait a minute, did he say well? Lewis began to notice his surroundings. Solid ground underfoot. Tufts of grass here and there. Some type of trees growing nearby. This must be the oasis! In his excitement he tried to speak again and instead erupted into a fit of painful coughing.

“Easy, easy! I took care of them, there’s nothing to worry about!” Sinister stood up and hurried over. “Here, let me get you some Med-X for the pain.” He pulled out a small cylindrical tube that had a needle-point end and stuck it into Lewis’s arm. There was a sharp pain… then nothing. As his consciousness began to fade he heard Sinister remark, “Probably going to head out tomorrow morning. Can’t waste anymore time looking for the G.E.C.K.”

What’s a geck? Some sort of lizard?

Lewis had a slight headache when he woke up in the morning. The campfire had burned out, and the sun was just about to crest the horizon. There was no sign of Sinister. Did I hallucinate him as well? I certainly arrived here somehow... Other than the headache, he felt good as new; his throat wasn’t even sore. As he began to prep his belongings, a glinting of light caught his eye. Near the campfire were a couple of clear bottles. He picked one up; it was the same as the one he had drank from last night. As he turned it over in his hands, he noticed some lettering stamped into the glass. The letters seemed unfamiliar, but he found himself able to read it nonetheless. “Property of Vault-Tec, Inc”

He shrugged. Weird.

Thanks for reading this bonus episode....
Lewis the Fighter Sidequest: Mysterious Adventurer Meets Wasteland Wanderer!
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CrazyBernie
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Re: Lewis the Fighter: Episode... Huh??

Post by CrazyBernie »

You'll have to excuse the lack of pictures... I'm sure you'll understand. I was going to photo-chop some Fallout 1 and Eschalon pics together, but I haven't gotten far enough in F1 to get any Power Armor yet. :mrgreen:

I also saved the episode title for the end so as not to give anything away.... :shock:

Now that I've finished my Fallout 3 marathon, I should have some time to devote back into Eschalon for the regularly scheduled main quest episodes... making this bonus episode did give me the idea of maybe making more "Sidequest" episodes. :wink:
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Re: Lewis the Fighter: Episode... Huh??

Post by Unclever title »

Nice. Hilarious! About two sentences after the first use of the word wasteland I figured it out.

One complaint though, no mention of the widget? I mean you had the perfect chance to bring up an "object that doesn't seem to belong to this world."

But then again there are other ways to make use of that, probably.
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Re: Lewis the Fighter: Episode... Huh??

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widget?
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Re: Lewis the Fighter: Episode... Huh??

Post by Unclever title »

Image

Widget. It's a useless but mysterious item thrown in to fix a glitch, I usually pick it up every play through.

And this character has a lot of apples... I forget why I was collecting apples perhaps he was selling them what with his level 35 mercantile skill and all. (at that level apples sell for about 3-4 gold but are bought for free!)

He was also causing shopkeeps to go bankrupt just by looking at them.
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CrazyBernie
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Re: Lewis the Fighter: Episode... Huh??

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Oh yeah. I was wondering what that was about. *shrug* No biggie. I'll toss it in somewhere if I remember... :mrgreen:
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Re: Lewis the Fighter: Episode... Huh??

Post by Elveronion »

been following this too CB...good stuff! BW needs to hire you! :wink:
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CrazyBernie
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Re: Lewis the Fighter: Episode... Huh??

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Lol, then I'd have to actually be original and creative... :mrgreen:

Besides, I don't know if a "creative writing" job would pay the bills... not that my IT contracting gig is bringing in any cash at the moment. :roll:
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