Her first kill. Back in the Vault such a success would have been met with cheering and cake and those funny cone hats that come out on everyone's birthday. But out in the Wastes she is is a party of one, far too exhausted to celebrate. Scraped and bruised but swelling with pride, Gwendy sleeps the rest of her first night within the ruins of the Pinegrail Lodge.

Pushing herself up from the moldy mattress, she looks out at the cerulean blue sky through the ragged border of the room's window. By day light she can see slivers of broken glass glinting in the sill, and she counts her blessings that nothing gashed her when she crawled inside. Gotta be more careful about that kind of thing in the future...

She uses a scrap of fabric from the room and her canteen to clean as much of the dust and blood from her face and neck as she can before emerging from the ruin, looking out at the hump of the Yao Guai carcass in the yard. Hmm. Motion there, something small, more than one. Well what could she expect? She felled the 'Nightmare of Pinegrail' hours ago and the stink was bound to attract attention. Careful to make as little noise as possible, Gwendy attempts to sneak around the west wing to the rear where Ms. Powell (and, possibly, her mum and dad) made their escape a few years ago.

Release The Hounds

Sneak Around The Building (Difficulty 2)
@ Gwendy quietly tries to sneak around the west wing without alerting whatever is snacking on the carcass in the field 
d: (AGI)SNEAK vs(TN=6) 2d20=16,7 -> MISS
-> Whatever is eating the carcass is alerted to Gwendy
-> Safe state changes to Dangerous
=> Damn these creaking floorboards! Her boot comes down on a squeaky plank of wood and there is an alerted rustle.

The ragged ears of two feral hounds perk up and point towards Gwendy, causing her to stop moving. For a second neither she nor the dogs make any move, quiet enough that the buzzing of flies can be heard. Are they really going to attack her in favor of the absolute banquet before them? She begins to back off, hoping to retreat unmolested.

Retreat from the Rad Hounds (Difficulty 2)
@ Gwendy keeps her eyes on the feasting dogs, backing away with the bundle of meat and guai head. 
d: (AGI)SNEAK vs (TN=6) 2d20=9,4 -> MISS
-> The hounds move an equal distance, keeping at range with Gwendy
=> The smell of meat and her movements seem to be enough to keep them alert and interested

Yeah, alright fine. Gwendy drops the bundle of gore to the deck and draws one of her throwing knives from her jacket. If the dogs aren't going to leave her alone she shouldn't turn her back and run, that would just encourage further attention.

Combat Round 1

Oppose Rad-hound #1 (Threat 1)
@ Gwendy readies a throwing knife and attacks the rad hound on the left
d: Throwing(AGI)(TN=9) 2d20=15,5 (Success)
-> Rad-hound #1 is defeated!
-> -1 Throwing Knife (tracked)
=> The knife sings through the air, downing the rad-hound with a yelping whimper

Rad-Hound #2 (Threat 1)
d: Foe Action 1d20=2 (Aggressive)
-> The remaining hound dashes forward and bites Gwendy's leg (-1 Damage)
-> Combat truth: Held (Unable to move until foe is defeated)
=> A barking snarl errupts and the hound dashes forward, locking onto Gwendy's left leg

Endure Action (Hound Damage) *Reaction* 
-> Threat 1 (damage) plus 1 (previously injured in bear attack) Threat = 2

@ Gwendy attempts to shake the hound free, drawing her bowie knife and gritting her teeth against the pain.
d: Athletics(STR)(TN=8) 2d20=6,16 -> MISS
-> Gwendy is unable to free herself from the hound and takes the -1 Damage
=> Sharp and broken teeth cut into her bootleg and she feels the jaws painfully squeeze on the flesh just above her ankle

Her aim is just as true as it was last night: the well-forged knife slings through the air with a whistle and THUNKs into the hound on the left, dropping it into the tall grass like a sack of dog potatoes. The second takes this as its cue and leaps into action, crossing the field in a flash to latch ahold of Gwendy's bootleg with jaws that feel like they could crush bone. ARGH! She yells, trying to shake it loose. Time for that bowie knife to dance again.

Combat Round 2

Oppose Action
@ Gwendy draws her bowie knife and flips it around in her hand, ready to stab down at the dog ripping into her leg
d: (STR)MELEE vs (TN=6) 2d20=16,19 -> MISS
-> The knife fails to deal damage to the dog
=> Holding tight with its jaws, the dog dances about, making a blow difficult to land.

Rad-Hound #2 (Threat 1)
d: Aggressive Action cont...
-> Deal 1 damage (trigger Endure Action)
=> The dog continues to gnaw at Gwendy's leg, causing blood to trickle out through the leather. It is really starting to hurt

Endure Action (Hound damage) *Reaction*
d: (STR)ATHLETICS vs (TN=8) 2d20=5,4 -> HIT x2
-> +1 Action Point Generated
-> Freed from Hound's grasp (-1 Damage)
=> Gwendy finally frees herself from the hound, kicking it in the snout with her heel after the boot is released from its jaws

Gwendy starts to feel fatigue mix into the cocktail of pain blossoming up her. She thinks she can still put weight on it, but it's gonna need a bandage before she can move quickly. She will have to kill this mutt soon, before she's worn down and vulnerable.

Combat Round 3

Oppose
@ Gwendy swings down with her knife again, attempting to end this little charade.
d: (STR)MELEE vs (TN=6) 2d20=9,13 -> MISS
-> The attack misses again
=> The wounded hound backs away a few steps sneezing and shaking its head after the kick. Little bastard...

Rad-Hound #2 (Threat 1)
d: Action 1d20=16 (Crafty)
-> The dog backs up and barks, calling another dog to the scene
=> Loud barking can be heard from the tall grass not far off from where the Yao Guai carcass rests, stinking in the sun

There must be a small pack of them hunting in the woods near by. These two were the lucky ones, coming upon her kill from last night and beginning to dine without calling over the other canines. Now there is trouble (and a fresher side dish to the main course) it's apparently time to call in the cavalry. Sheesh, these things are worse than the bear!

Combat Round 4

Oppose Action
@ Gwendy shifts her bowie knife to her left hand and draws a throwing knife with her other, readying to throw it now that there is a bit of distance is between them
d: (AGI)THROWING vs (TN=9) Dif=1 2d20=2,7 -> HIT x2
-> -1 Throwing Knife
-> +1 Action Point generated
-> the throwing knife kills the rad-hound
=> With a grunt Gwendy lobs the knife at near-point blank range, sticking the injured hound directly between the eyes in a clean, deadly blow

Rad-Hound #3 (Threat 1)
d: Action 2d20=4 (Aggressive)
-> -1 Damage, attacks ARM (unable to throw until freed)
=> The third hound, smaller but shaggier than the others, leaps from the ground at range and bites a hold of G's right arm, preventing her from throwing again until free

Red. A curtain of red fills her vision. She's pretty sure she didn't get bit in the face and did her best to clean the blood off this morning, but it's still a glowing, hot, rage-full red that permeates everything. A harsh, guttural, primal scream erupts from her lips as she's bent over by the weight of the hound clamping down to her right arm. She is tugged down with it, smelling the baked crazy and wounded skin under filthy fur. She'll use her teeth and bite it to death if she has to!

Combat Round 5

Oppose
@ Gwendy rears back with her left hand and brings the bowie knife down against the neck of the clinging hound
d: (STR)MELEE vs (TN=6) 2d20=20,8 -> MISS + COMPLICATION
-> -1 Action Point: Reroll skill check dice (20) 1d20=10 -> MISS
-> Skill still fails but no Complication occurs
=> Gwendy slices to kill but the twisting of the dog yanks on her arm and it shifts her torso, nearly causing her to put the point into her leg

Rad-Hound #3 (Threat 1)
d: Action (Aggressive)
-> -1 Damage, Held
=> The hound holds fast to Gwendy's arm, continuing to bite down and attack

It is a close thing, she almost puts the point of her bowie knife into her right leg as she swings with her left. The yanking of the dog is a bit more than she can resist with the strength that remains in her arms. Luckily her dad's old jacket acts like a decent armor between the gross yellow teeth of the dog and her vault suit. She yells again, desperate now to free herself from these horrible creatures.

Combat Round 6

Oppose
@ Gwendy stabs at the dog yet again, hopefully killing it this time
d: (STR)MELEE vs (TN=6) 2d20=2,5 -> HIT x2
-> The hound is defeated

The bowie knife flashes bright, diving down with her first to make a space between the rad-hound's neck, spine, life and death. A single bark like a human coughing hacks from the mutt as it breaths its last, slumping down to the bloody boards outside the accursed Pinegrail Lodge. Gwendy sways where she stands, sweating and heaving for breath. Rips in her boot and jacket sleeve show trickles of blood mixed with irradiated dog saliva and for a moment she wants to puke. If she could climb one of these trees high enough she'd see home! She hasn't come far enough to die so near.

She sits down on the boards between the dogs and her bundle of Yao Guai. She wants to keep moving, press on and get to The Bluffs to the east, but these injuries demand attention first. And there is so much more meat in front of her...

Country Kitchen Style Mutt Chops

Safe Action: Patch Up
@ Gwendy takes what she can from her pack to assist but has no medicine, just a needle and threat to close wounds and scrap cloth to use a tourniquet
d: (INT)MEDICINE vs (TN=7) 2d20=7,2 -> HIT x2
-> Heal 4 HP
-> +1 Action Point gained
=> Aww these are baby bites, they don't even need stiches

Safe Action: Find Supplies (Difficulty 1)
@ Gwendy is almost numb to the smell of these animals. They're easier to carve than the Yao Guai too
d: (END)SURVIVAL vs (TN=7) 2d20=1,7 -> HIT + CRITICAL x3
d: Quantity 1d20=8 (3 Supplies)
-> +1 Action Point gained
-> +3 Mutt Chops
-> +1 Supply (+1 Mutt Chops)
-> +1 Throwing Knife
=> There is more meat on these things than first glance. Doesn't look as parasite-riddled as the rad-bear either

Gwendy sheds her jacket and boots, examining the wounds the dogs managed to inflict in place of the Yao Guai last night. Karma? Maybe that is a thing out here, but if so she's still on the good side of things: neither of her limbs seems to be injured much beyond a few poke holes and what are sure to be rather large bruises. She checks the small punctures and does her best to clean them out with a few glugs from her canteen. No stitches required so she wraps them in more dusty linen from the Lodge and slides her boots back on, along with the trusty jacket.

That done, her next task is clear: clean up these dogs and take what she can for the road, then beat it the fuck out of this nasty tangle of wrecked wood and bad memories. It only takes an hour or so, the sun hardly making headway across the sky when she finishes up, packing a good amount of meat into the sticky bundle she's made around the trophy head and ribs. It is gonna be tough avoiding hungry wildlife with this tied to her Vault Tek backpack, but she's confident she can mind the breeze, pick her foot falls and press on.

It may be the adrenaline screeching through her veins but something feels like it is awakening inside of her, and she wonders if her parents felt like this when they left the vault to hunt. The thought brings a smile to her increasingly dirty face. At least they had each other--still have each other, perhaps.

Alone, she sets off East.

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