FFF - The Green Forest

You decide to keep everyone together. You just have to stay focused and catch up to Shell, make sure she doesn’t walk into anything that she can’t handle, or at least warn her, then get just a couple more entries for the D.I.C.K. Device and get back to the Vault. You do not doubt that you can get Chastity and QT in if that’s what they want.

The exit is a crumbling road that slopes uphill. At the top of the rise, you see what can only be the Green Forest. It’s not like pictures from the old world; it’s not even a forest anymore, it’s a swamp. But it is green. Dark and sickly, but green instead of brown. And from here it looks vast. The canopy is high, but so thick that once you’re in there it will be as black as night.

This is the route that Boss Murphy gave to Shell. She must be in there somewhere. Worrying about daylight is a waste of time; there won’t be any camping in there at night. You’ll only be able to stop if you find something safe, and you have no idea what to expect. Neither does anyone else.

Enclave? You don’t even know what that is, but it sounds like they’re Shell’s enemies. And the impression that you get is that they might not be the only ones up to no good around here.

You use your Pip Girl while Chastity and QT turn on their flashlights. The ground is firmer than you feared, which is good. The gnarled, swampy trees have an absurd number of twisted roots that are simply everywhere, creating numerous tripping hazards. That is bad.

But you can at least move quietly through this place, unlike the swamps you have traveled in the past. You don’t have to wade through a lot of water or brush past a lot of plants. Occasional patches of glowing Rad Shrooms help like the way.

Chastity taps your shoulder. That means danger. You signal to QT and take cover with your hunting rifle. It’s too late to hide your lights, so you keep a lookout while trying not to present too much of a target. The wind is howling above the trees, and that makes them rustle. It’s quiet otherwise.

You check the trees and the ground with your light. QT is giving you a look that says she’s skeptical of Chastity’s instincts this time.

“Are you all just going to sit there all day?” a voice calls out from somewhere ahead. It’s a woman.

You aim in that direction only to find that someone is already doing that. She’s about forty feet away, also in cover, and it looks like she already has you targeted. You quickly pull back and gesture for QT to do the same.

Shooting will be tough in the dark at this distance. If you’d gone a little closer, she would’ve had you dead to rights. But if she really wanted you dead, you feel as though she would have taken the shot just now.

“We don’t want trouble,” you shout back.

“Who are you?” she asks.

“Nobody,” you reply.

You hear what might be a snort of laughter.

“What do you want here?” she demands.

“We’re looking for our friend.”

“Who’s your friend, then?”

You’d like to answer, but you don’t know. Shell has something to do with the Sisterhood of Steel. You don’t even know or especially care what that is. However, other people might. You shouldn’t out Shell unless you know who you’re outing her to.

“I met her in New Gurlberg,” you shout. It’s not exactly a lie. “She saved my life.”

That’s true. You hesitate.

“I think she’s in danger here,” you add.

“That’s true enough,” the woman replies. “Come on out. All of you.”

You consider that and exchange a look with QT.

“I’m not putting my gun down,” you warn the woman in the dark.

“Neither am I,” she replies.

You all emerge, weapons aimed. The woman wears a dark, sophisticated outdoor outfit. She has a tactical rig and carries a sleek, semi-automatic old-world shotgun. It looks as though she knows how to use it. The shotgun shells on her belt glow green: Mutagen Ammunition. She’s a brunette a little older than you. She’s pretty, but it seems like life has hardened her features.

One look at the three of you is enough to make her lower her shotgun.

“I’m no raider,” she tells you tiredly. “What’s your friend look like?”

“Short hair. Dark. Pretty. Light on her feet. Good with guns. Long coat,” you say.

“Haven’t seen her.”

“What’s she in danger from?” you ask.

“You haven’t seen them yet?” The woman turns on the light under her shotgun and turns, sweeping the beam. “They’re everywhere. You won’t get far. I’m on a little hunt right now to thin them out. It used to be I only had to do this once a month. Now I have to do it once a week.” She sighs and looks at the three of you. “How about you help us out? I’ll pay you. Make the forest a little safer for everyone.”

“We don’t need the help,” says a voice from the shadows.

You twist and snap up your rifle. QT does the same with the magnum, pointing her light.

Trixie raises a hand to block the glare. “Put that down,” she growls, stepping into the open.

She’s changed since you’ve seen her. Her dark hair has all been hacked off, leaving her with a butch, boyish cut that is probably admittedly practical. Gone is her vault suit, replaced by an outfit similar to this other woman’s. She carries a similar shotgun, and her Mauser pistol still rides at her hip.

She looks assured and competent. She used to just look cocky.

“Trixie,” you say darkly.

Trixie sighs theatrically. “Jane.”

“Oh,” the woman says, looking back and forth between you. “You two know each other. That’s perfect, then. Are you in?” she asks you. Trixie looks annoyed.

“What are you hunting?” you ask.

“The truth? I don’t know. I want to find out, but I have to get past them to get the truth. They look like us,” she says, but pauses. “Well, like her,” she adds with a glance at Trixie’s groin, where there’s a noticeable bulge. “And you two,” she goes on, looking at you and QT. “We have to find out where they’re coming from, but it’s not safe to go any deeper now. We have to do this. I’m Maggie, by the way.”

Maggie seems all right, but this is pretty sudden. Trixie being here just throws you more.

QT looks uncertain. Chastity will support you no matter what.

Join Maggie’s hunt?

Or take your chances and move on?