Stoke is Full of Mutants

Eden is 100% Definitely in Space

It was late at night when Flora looked through the bars on the quarantine room window and saw a shooting star pass by the window. She made a wish as it went. She wished for the sickness to be over. She swore an oath to herself that once the red pox had finally gone from her body she would never take her life for granted again. She vowed to live every day to the fullest. No more would she be afraid of the unknown. She would brave the wastes with her husband and see what the world had to offer. For now, she had to content herself with her continued efforts in learning to read. If she could finish the copy of Dante's Inferno that Apolo had kindly lent her then everyone would be so proud. She was sure she could master the strange markings on the pages. Dante's Inferno would have to wait, however, first she would complete the book Craig had given to her entitled 'Learning How to Read for Dummies'. At least, that's what she was told it was called.

A horrific crashing sound woke up the residents of the Ark. A bright light had momentarily lit up the entire building, but darkness soon ascended once again. There was a great deal of commotion as the heroes of the Ark scrambled to the Elder's quarters for a report. Yet nobody was able to explain where the noise had come from. A small troop of scavengers quickly patrolled the perimeter of the Ark and found nothing. With the Ark seemingly secure, the residents went back to their beds. Only Flora had witnessed the crash in full, though she believed it to be a fever dream.

Early the next morning, talk of the previous night's events found its way to Flora. Hearing of the great crash, she thought back to what she had believed was last night's dream. Not wishing to risk embarrassing herself by telling others of the 'dream', she confided in her best friend Eve, who was also laying in the quarantine room and quite badly sick with the red pox. Eve listened intently to the tale and came to the conclusion that it was likely a dream, but that dreams were sometimes prophecies of the future. Eve insisted on informing the Elder of the prophecy. Initially dismissive of their story, the Elder told them to get back to bed and not to disturb him with their childish nonsense.

There were no secrets in the Ark and word travelled fast. The two underbosses, Marlot and Finch, quickly learned of Flora's prophecy. Both bosses had rallied their men and headed north to investigate. Neither had informed the Elder. Feeling as paranoid as ever, the Elder called the loyalist of his non-quarantined scavengers - Craig, Steve, Rubo and Apolo - to his quarters. The two men and two non-gendered individuals quickly gathered to await the Elder's instructions. What they heard was of no great surprise. The Elder was suspicious of his underlings' motives. There was talk that had fallen from the sky had come from Eden - the mythical place that many believed they had all originated from. The party were tasked with reaching the crash site first and securing whatever it was that had fell from the sky.

With no time to lose, the party set off from the Ark. As the Elder was feeling especially paranoid, no companion was assigned to assist them. Craig speculated that the Elder might even be arranging for their usual companions to be setting off in a group of their own to the crash site. He hoped that a civil war would not break out. Apolo stated that they felt it was crazy for everyone to be getting so excited just because something had fallen from the sky. There was nothing to suggest that it had actually come from Eden, or that such a place even existed. Nobody had any conception of what it could be, and Apolo argued that it could simply be a mutated creature that had caught fire. "A mutated creature from Eden probably", said Steve.

Knowing the wastes like few others, Craig led the party quickly northwards, finding a path through the thick woods of the north. Craig and Steve was familiar with the area after their previous mission in liberating the logging camp. Craig thought back to the fight at the camp and shuddered, if only he had protected Flora, maybe she would not have taken that vile of acid to the face. The path through the woods allowed the party to gain on Finch and Marlot, and the party also made swift progress through the glassified fields that surrounded the woods. One wrong step could doom them, but following in Craig's footsteps they quickly made it through acres of dangerous terrain.