Far from the river settlement, Itzu moves through scrub and overturned vehicles beneath a bruised morning sky. Behind him, the surviving villagers remain across the water, bound and alone.
A buried vehicle settles under the shifting earth with a long metallic groan. Dust slides from its crushed frame, exposing a weatherproof recorder wedged beneath the chassis.
Its tiny indicator light still blinks red through a film of grit. Around the wreck, fresh handprints appear one after another, pressed clearly into the dust.
No person stands among the vehicles or the thorn scrub. The handprints continue toward the recorder, then stop beside it, their edges sharp and newly made.
Itzu
The recorder still has power.
A faint click comes from beneath the chassis. The recorder’s speaker wakes with a breath of static, while the red light changes to a steady amber.
Across the empty ground, dust lifts in a narrow line as though something unseen has shifted its weight. The wreck waits in the silence.
✓ Quest Accepted
Identify the presence near the wreck
“Itzu moved rapidly, attempting to clsoe the distance and attack the hidden presence.”
SUCCESS (Great Agility, rolled -1)
Itzu surges across the scrub, hundreds of arms striking earth and wreckage in a rapid, coordinated rush. Dust erupts behind his advancing length.
His foremost hands sweep through the narrow dust line and seize something solid beneath the chassis. The hidden presence is dragged into the open and pinned against the crushed vehicle.
the hidden presence
Get off me. You were not supposed to hear that recorder.
The recorder skids free during the struggle, striking a buried axle. Its casing splits, and the amber light flickers beside a burst of harsh static.
A jagged strip of vehicle metal tears across one of Itzu’s reaching arms. The limb recoils, leaving a dark smear on the rusted frame, but the rest hold fast.
the hidden presence
Wait. The message is not for you. It points to a listening post north of here.
Itzu
The recorder is damaged, but it still emits a signal.
“Itzu didnt care much for that. He could tell the recorder was important, however, and smashed it into the ground with a chuckle.”
SUCCESS (Good Strength, rolled -2)
Itzu’s many arms tighten around the hidden presence as his foremost hand lifts the damaged recorder from the dust. The amber light flickers weakly in his grasp.
He slams the recorder into the hard ground. Its casing breaks apart, the speaker snaps free, and the remaining signal dies beneath the impact.
Itzu chuckles as loose components scatter through the grit. The blow jars the injured arm against the vehicle, reopening the dark smear along its torn skin.
the hidden presence
You idiot. That signal was our only proof the listening post still answered.
The hidden presence twists beneath Itzu’s grasp, then goes still when the recorder’s final static fades. Far north, no answering transmission follows.
the hidden presence
Now they know someone found it. Maybe they heard you break the thing.
Silence settles over the wrecks again, except for the soft grind of Itzu’s arms shifting on rusted metal. The broken recorder lies useless between them.
✓ Quest Accepted
Discover who still operates the listening post
“Itzu just smiled at the person, generally uncaring about that. Though, the person did just tell him where more food was. For that, he'd attempt to make the person's death swift.”
SUCCESS (Good Melee, rolled +3)
Itzu’s ordinary smile remains fixed as his many arms hold the hidden presence against the crushed vehicle. Dust settles across the broken recorder between them.
the hidden presence
That food is at the listening post. North. You understand? There are stores there.
The hidden presence sees the smile and stops struggling. Itzu folds his foremost length inward, and the pinned figure goes still in a swift, quiet motion.
He releases the body and searches the scattered clothing with several reaching hands. A weatherproof route card slips free, marked with the listening post and three supply symbols.
The card also shows a service road avoiding the open flats, its faded arrows leading north through a string of abandoned maintenance sheds.
Itzu gathers the card while the wreck settles behind him. The dead recorder remains in the dust, and no answering signal returns.
His arms spread across the scrub, turning his immense length toward the northern road and the food waiting beyond the listening post.
+ New Item Acquired
Weatherproof route card
“After he ate the body, of course.”
The hidden presence disappears beneath Itzu’s folded length. The crushed vehicle creaks as his many arms draw inward, and the struggle ends beneath his fixed, ordinary smile.
When Itzu unfolds, only scattered clothing and dust remain beside the wreck. He searches through the fabric with several reaching hands, disturbing the broken recorder.
A weatherproof route card slips free, marked with the listening post and three supply symbols. Faded arrows show a service road north through abandoned maintenance sheds.
Itzu gathers the card and leaves the ruined recorder behind. Its amber light is dark now, and the scrub holds no answering transmission.
Itzu
The card points north.
His arms spread across the scrub, turning his immense length toward the northern road and the food waiting beyond the listening post.
The wreck settles behind him with a final metallic groan. Itzu crawls into the bruised morning, carrying the route card between his reaching hands.
“He'd move onward. His new meal already routed for him.”
SUCCESS (Great Agility, rolled +1)