Day One

Driving down Highway 3, everything should be fine for the characters. The road is good except for a few potholes, the weather is tolerable, and there is not much to look at save the occasional abandoned farm or dilapidated windvane. All of a sudden, for no discernible reason, the engine dies and the vehicle slowly rolls to a halt. Though it has plenty of fuel and oil and is in perfect working order, no amount of messing around with the engine gets it going again. While they are working on their transport, a couple of things happen.

First, a small plane flies directly overhead. It is obviously descending to the road, and anyone with piloting experience will discern that it is gliding in for a landing (i.e. its engine isn't on). The aircraft will land several miles down the road; due to the flatness of the area, anyone with a pair of binoculars sees that it has managed to touch down safely.

About ten minutes later, a series of faint shouts and screams (but no gunshots) echo across the land from the direction of the plane; those with binoculars can see that the aircraft seems to be under attack by a group of men on horseback. The scene is too distant to discern who is winning, but within a minute it all falls quiet. The men on horses ride off into the grasslands, leaving the plane behind.

Since the aircraft is so far away, and the characters' vehicle still won't start, there is no way for the them to interfere with the goings-on down the road. Their only option is continue on foot, either back down the road (120 miles to the nearest settlement), or onward to the plane.

Heading towards the aircraft, the characters notice several junked cars and motorbikes laying in the drainage ditches on either side of the road. Though some of them are badly rusted, many seem to have rolled off the road relatively recently.

Wrecks

If the characters stop to examine any of the newer wrecks, they discover tanks still full of gas, a few arrows and crossbow bolts sticking out of the car bodies, and some pretty sizable bloodstains in the interiors...

When the characters get close to the plane (after an hour-and-half/ walk) they discover a slightly odd scene of banditry. The plane has been looted but not damaged, and its fuel has been left in the tank. Two men are on the scene.

The first is a dead bandit who seems to have been run through with a bladed weapon. He is still slightly warm, and aside from having his weapons and boots relieved from him, seems to have been left where he fell. Examining the body, the characters notice obvious needle marks all over his arms and neck, some of which seem to be mildly infected.

The second is a man in his mid-50's, who--judging by his aviator jacket and sunglasses--was the pilot of the aircraft. He is lying in the shade of the plane when the characters find him, the shaft of an arrow protruding from his chest just below his heart. A submachine gun lies on the ground beside him; by all appearances, it hasn't been fired.

Barely Alive

Unlike the raider, the pilot is still alive--barely. As the characters get close to him he regains consciousness, gasping pitifully as he tries to speak. He asks where his co-pilot Julie is; when the characters tell him that she isn't around the man makes a request of them:

"You gotta help her. No telling what those men will do to her. It'll be worth your while--me and Julie have a hoard up north. Fool, fuel, you name it. We even got some nice clothes and auto parts. She can fly you there. Just rescue her and she'll reward you real well. Please, you gotta help her..."

The pilot sties to say more but his voice degenerates into an inaudible rasp. Unless the pilot receives medical attention immediately, he will be dead within ten minutes.

At this point one of the characters might have the bright idea of trying to start up the plane, or the even brighter idea of testing out their weapons. None will work, nor will radios, lighters, or any other piece of mechanical or electronic equipment invented since the dark ages. All of the characters' technological goodies have been rendered useless.

Right Time

This is just about the right time for things to get worse.

If the characters split up, with some staying with their vehicle while the others move on to examine the plane, the ones who remained behind are in for a rough time. Those at the vehicle see seven men on horseback approaching them from the direction tha they drove in. More importantly, the riders have seen them (or at least their transport) and are galloping in to attack them (see sidebans for stats).

Sunrender is an option, as the attacking bandits are interested in taking any characters they can as prisoners, but those who choose to fight may certainly do so. If they have not yet realized that their guns don't work, however, they are in for quite a nasty surprise.

Unless the characters can somehow fend off their attackers they will be captured. The same thing goes for those characters at the site of the aircraft, as once the bandits have looted the characters' vehicle and pushed it into a deep ditch, they will continue down the road towards the plane.

Captured Characters

If any of the chatacters surrender to the bandit, they are thoroughly tied up then thrown over the back of a horse. From there, they are taken down the road to a trail which leads to the settlement of Outland.

Situated on the site of an old grain elevator, the camp consists of four grain silos, a small two story building, and about twenty heavy duty tents. Parked around the camp are ten heavy trucks, each of which seems to be packed with supplies, and an enclosed pen--complete with makeshift stable--near the center of the camp, holding about forty horses.

On the far end of the settlement is a strange black shed which reeks of brimstone. The thirty or so men on the site seem to be keeping well away from the shack, and when they see the characters, more than a few look towards the shed with fearful expectation.

Led to the building the characters are untied and locked in the basement with Julie, the 14-year-old copilot of the aircraft. Julie is in shock, having seen her uncle murdered by the men now holding her, but she has enough wits about her to tell the characters her story:

"Uncle Robbie and me live out north on a farm with a bunch of other people. We're all on our own out there, with no roads or train tracks to let anybody bad in, but we got tons of supplies, plus an airfield and plane, so we can fly whenever we want.

"Anyway, me and Uncle Robbie have been exploring, eh. We've been spying around seeing where people have settled and talking with 'em on the CB. Last week a town to the west told us that there was a place out here that had an angel nailed to a tree. A real angel, like God had watching over us 'til he up and went. We thought we'd check it out, and when we saw this place we decided to fly in and have a closer look.

"We was just gettin' close when the engine went out. Uncle Robbie, he was able to glide her down, but a few minutes after we landed, them men came at us. Uncle Robbie tried to use hs gun but it didn't work, so he put his sword through one of 'em. They killed him, and dragged me off to this place."

Knowledge

Julie has an excellent knowledge of all colonies within 150 miles of her home, and tells the characters that she would be quite capable of piloting the plane if it were working, and repairing it if the cause of the engine failure were simple.

The prisoners are left alone until late afternoon, at which point the leaders of Outland--the Parchuks--show up. Jim and David Parchuk are a pair of identical twins. Tall and handsome, they are clad in nice cotton shirts, blue jeans, and cowboy boots--quite a different look from the sickly ragged bandits who serve them. Without explanation, the characters are taken out of their cell and marched into the camp-grounds.

Standing there is a tall, extremely wide figure completely swathed in reeking strips of pinkish, crudely cured leather. The thing's face cannot be seen beneath the wrap of rotting skins, but the PCs can hear its deep, painfully laboured breathing.

Meet Chip

Jim and David look at each other nervously, then the first of the two brothers addresses the being.

"Hey Chip, we're just taking these people down to drag that plane back to camp. Never know when something like that may come in handy one day."

"Chip" stands motionless for an extended pause, then slowly turns and limps off to the black shed at the far end of camp. With each step the figure lets out a savage grunt, punctuating the suffocating heave of its breath.

Without wasting any more time the two brothers order several bandits to accompany them, they usher the prisoners out of the camp and heading off in the direction of the plane on foot. About a mile beyond the bounds of the site, however, the brothers drop the charade, introducing themselves and offering the characters a deal.

Free Characters

Those characters that manage to fight off the bandits, are left alone until late afternoon. It is then that Jim and David, plus a bodyguard of three raiders, ride out to meet them.

The leaders of the bandits introduce themselves and tell the characters that they have a deal to propose. If the characters refuse to listen then Jim tells them that they had better reconsider, threatening that if they don't the whole raider band will track them down and wipe them out.

Outland Bandits
DEX: 3	END: 3
HER: 3	STR: 2
CHA: 2	PER: 2
KNO: 3	FRE: 3
Archery: 3 HTH Combat: 3 Ride: 3 Armor: 2 Track: 3
Bow/Crossbow
Failure #5 Damage Bonus +3

More Fight

Introduction
Part One: The Long Strange Road
Part Two: Dealing With Devils
Part Three: Date With an Angel
Part Four: Gravedigging
Part Five: Showdown in Outland
Epilogue

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