Stoke is Full of Mutants

Murder at the Tesco Express

A blood-curdling scream rang out across the whole of the Ark, chilling each and every resident of the Ark to the very core. It had come from the generator room, which was half-completed and had been left unoccupied so that the slaves could rest after many days of hard work. Craig and Gramslinger had been walking nearby the generator room and so were first on the scene. The room was untouched, though there was a body lying dead on the floor. Unfortunately, it was not Apolo. Instead, it was a security guard named Tom who had perished. There was a look of terror on Tom's face, his eyes were bulging out of his skull and there was blood running from his nose into his goatee beard. However, there was no sign of an attacker or a struggle.

Gramslinger began to hear voices in his head, voices that were not his own. The voices said things like 'Kill them all', 'the intruders are near', and 'you're gay!' Craig did not seem to hear them, which led Gramslinger to the conclusion that either he was losing his mind or that a powerful psychic power was lingering in the area. His suspicions immediately turned to Apolo, the powerful future-predicting weirdo who had recently joined the Ark. As other residents burst into the room to see the ghastly scene, he asked them where was Apolo.

Apolo eventually made their way to the generator room to see what the commotion was. Apolo had just returned from a brief trip into the wastes to help evaluate the water supply situation. It was a serious situation, life and death in fact, which had required the Elder's presence. Apolo was therefore indignant upon being questioned by Gramslinger about their whereabouts. The Elder was not impressed by Gramslinger's wild accusations and paranoid theories. Apolo had a rock solid alibi. It had not even been established that Tom had been murdered by someone with psychic powers, though a later postmortem would confirm the cause of death - murder by psychic means.

A murderer loose in the Ark was the last thing that the Elder needed. People were falling ill. The water supply was compromised. Slaves were becoming unruly. These were difficult problems and quick solutions were needed for them all. The Elder set the party with the task of bringing the murderer to justice, once they had been dealt with then work could begin on finding a new water source. The disease situation would have to be monitored. Initially, only a small number of residents had taken ill with the new disease. Their faces became blotchy and they found themselves sweating profusely and unable to get out of bed as they were stricken with fever. None had yet perished, which was a relief. Perhaps the disease would pass without taking any lives, but the murderer would likely strike again.

Craig put on a rather fetching hat and stroked his chin. He needed clues if he was to solve this crime. He ordered the party to split up and look for clues. This was not something he would normally suggest, but as the Elder had assigned Apolo to accompany them in the investigation it gave Craig a good excuse to keep them on the other side of the Ark where they didn't have to see their stupid face. Craig went to the main hall to question residents as to who would want to kill Tom. It quickly became apparent that nobody had a genuine motive for murder, despite minor quarrels and disputes. What's more, nobody seemed to have the means to be able to do the deed.

Steve was assigned with dissecting Tom's body to find if any clues could be discovered that way. He found that Tom was filled with blood, organs and bones. Steve wasn't sure if this was usual, but he had a lot of fun in taking the body apart. His experiments, though enjoyable, were a complete waste of time. Flora was tasked with exploring Tom's quarters to see if any information could be gleaned from there. She found a small collection of runes, which Tom apparently spent a lot of time playing with. There were supplies of food and water, as well as reading materials. It seemed that Tom had been trying to teach himself to read. Nothing seemed particularly relevant to the investigation, though Flora gathered all Tom's possessions and put them in her giant rucksack. After all, she never did know when some of it might prove useful later.