Weather: Clear skies with a waning gibbous moon and an overnight low 39ºF, afternoon high around 60ºF. Hernandez’s forecast has clouds moving in tomorrow with cooler temperatures, followed by rain and possible sleet the following day.
Health: All personnel are in good health.
Food: 161 person-days plus emergency reserves and trade goods.
Vehicles:
- Comms: Reliability 5/5, fuel 266/350 liters + 5x 20-liter jerrycans
- Industrial Light and Mayhem: Reliability 5/5, fuel 324/400 liters + 2x empty 200-liter drums
- Lazarus: Reliability 1/4, fuel 92/390 liters; front armor breached 3/4
- Thing One: Reliability 5/5, fuel 20/20
- UAZ-469: Reliability 5/5, fuel 75/75 + 2x 20-liter jerrycans
Weapons and Ammo: Green on small arms ammo (Pettimore and Cowboy yellow on secondary weapons). Yellow on anti-armor (105 rounds KPV ammo on Comms; SPG-9 w/ 3 HEAT and 8 HE rounds on UAZ-469; 2 HEAT rifle grenades and 1 RPG-18 distributed).
October 18 dawns cool and crisp, but with the promise of unseasonable near-warmth. Hernandez finishes his morning readings from the weather station mounted on ILM and warns the team that the next couple of days, at least, are likely to be craptastic.
From last night’s visit with a few of the American troops living here, the team is aware of several points of interest in Dobrodzien:
Rub-a-Dub-Dub
Pettimore has a meet scheduled with the local authorities for 0900. Before that, though, the item that’s of universal and paramount interest is the bathhouse. As soon as breakfast cleanup is done, everyone except Ellis, who is experiencing some sort of horrible gastrointestinal distress [player was out this session], and Bell, who volunteers to watch Ellis and pull security on the encampment, bundles up any spare apparel they may have and heads down the main east-west street into the center of town. It’s only a few hundred meters to Dobrodzien’s market square.
As promised, the bathhouse is evident on the northwest side of the square. It occupies two storefronts, formerly a tailor’s shop and a laundry. A thin plume of woodsmoke rises from the back of the lot. Inside, the team meets Lena Kohut and one each of her teenage sons and daughters. The bathhouse offers hot showers, steam baths (Russian banya style, using a wood stove), and, for a premium fee and advance reservation, a private room with an immense claw-footed bathtub. They have actual decent, albeit locally-made, soap and shampoo, scented thanks to the florists/herbalists. They also offer laundry and mending services, which the team definitely wants to take advantage of.
Curious about the hardware, Octavia and Cowboy get permission to peek out back and meet Lena’s husband, Pawel, and the family’s elder son, who are busy splitting wood, feeding the boiler, and pumping to maintain water pressure. The system uses a sand/charcoal filtration system for purification and partial reclamation, reducing the need to haul water from the community’s wells and rain collection systems.
Freshly scrubbed and with at least a quick laundering, the team reassembles on the street. Pettimore, now uniformed for the first time in months, heads to the meeting with Captain Warren and the town council, accompanied by Erick and Cowboy. Octavia, having procured some shampoo, wanders back to the team’s encampment to bathe Comrade and check on Ellis. Cat and Betsy, seeing that the merchants on the north side of the square are starting to set up, decide to go shopping – and bring Miko along with them to keep him out of trouble.
Meeting the Council
Pettimore, Erick, and Cowboy cross the market square to the town hall. Two militia guards are on duty – an weathered man in his fifties and a twentyish woman, both in civilian attire with red-and-white armbands and wz.88 Tantals. The woman asks the team’s business in heavily-accented English, gets a nod from the man, and escorts the trio inside.
In the tiled lobby, a third guard is posted behind a desk which is positioned to be just out of the peripheral vision of anyone coming in the front doors. This one is a uniformed American soldier. His k-pot is on the desk but he’s wearing his armor. His M16A2 leans in the corner behind him; his hand rests casually on the receiver of a pump shotgun that just happens to be laid across the desk to point at the door. He gives Pettimore a nod of acknowledgement and tilts his head toward the stairs which lead up to the second floor.
The woman leads the trio to an upstairs conference room, knocks, and announces Staff Sergeant Pettimore and party. Inside, the village’s governing council awaits, along with Captain Warren and an older man in a Polish officer’s uniform from at least one pattern change ago. A Polish flag and, surprisingly, a hand-made American flag are posted on staffs to either side of the large east-facing window.
Chairwoman Agatka Smolarek, who the PCs met the previous night, handles introductions. In the daylight, she’s pale, prematurely graying, and cadaverously thin. To Erick’s trained eye, she’s likely in the final stages of a terminal illness. She again wears threadbare business attire, though not the same outfit as last night (and without the trench coat).
Ambrozy Jablonski is a gnarled stump of a man, seemingly asleep, half-blind, deaf in one ear and can’t hear so well out of the other. Smolarek introduces him the man who’s in charge of making agriculture work under current conditions. Pettimore and Erick both peg him as potentially the most advantageous ally to make.
Samanta Kasprzak is in charge of what passes for public health and public works in Dobrodzien these days. She’s fiftyish with reading glasses and a formerly-deskbound physique. She also represents the large number of Czestochowa refugees who’ve resettled in Dobrodzien. The team rapidly picks up on her political ambitions – she’s clearly anxious for Smolarek to kick off.
Vinzens Arnold is a sixtyish vulture in a cheap suit. Formerly the manager of the town’s largest furniture factory, he’s now in charge of both the remaining industry (which goes largely to Krakow for trade) and the town’s charcoal-burning operation (same). Clearly an unreformed Party official, he’s frosty toward the PCs and downright hostile toward Captain Warren, sitting as far as possible from the latter.
Guntram Pohl is Arnold’s polar opposite, nearly a Polish hipster. He’s about thirty, with a lumberjack beard, a soft voice, and scarred hands. He owns half-interest in the town’s bike shop, owns and runs the tavern across the street, and is largely responsible for organizing Dobrodzien’s dealings with traveling merchants. His and Arnold’s mutual loathing is immediately evident.
Finally, the uniformed man is Captain Stefan Slazak, a former Polish Army artillery officer who came out of retirement to organize the town’s militia. He’s constantly leaning forward and tilting his head to follow the conversation – likely a legacy of his former profession. He doesn’t say much, but it’s evident that he’s paying close attention to the PCs and judging them.
With introductions out of the way, Captain Warren gets down to business, asking Pettimore what his and his unit’s intentions are. Pettimore evades specifics, implies the team is traveling and looking for a place to come in from the cold, and admits they weren’t really expecting to find friends in the area. He offers the unit’s help, for what it’s worth and for whatever Dobrodzien needs (within reason).
Cowboy asks about Task Force Cobalt, which draws an immediate reaction from Captain Warren. She avoids coming out of her seat, but she’s clearly irate about Cowboy’s lack of attention to OPSEC. “Lock that down, Private,” she not-quite-snarls. “That’s not a conversation we’re having in an unsecured space.” The council politely pretends to ignore the exchange, but it’s clear several of them are taking mental notes.
Smolarek breaks the tension by asking about news of the outside – since Bravo Troop arrived in early August, their only awareness of events outside the town’s patrol radius has been from traveling merchants. The team selectively summarizes their recent activities in Kamiensk and Radomsko and briefs on the status of most towns along the Pilica (either brain-fogged or under marauder or Soviet control). They avoid the topic of Ponikla for now.
Cowboy asks about parts for building a still to replace the one destroyed in the recent firefight, but Pohl shakes his head in disappointment. He’d love to broker a deal, but everything that might be usable for that purpose is already cranking out fuel to keep Bravo Troop’s vehicles operating.
Warren allows that she has enough of a reserve to barter for full tanks on the expedition’s vehicles. Clearly not having forgotten the TF Cobalt discussion, she “invites” Pettimore and “his” troops to join her command staff for dinner tonight. It’s a clear, if implicit, dismissal.
Browsing the Market
Betsy and Cat, with Miko in tow, look around the market square. Along the north side, several merchants are setting up, but they aren’t quite ready to do business. But Betsy smells… pancakes? Following her nose, she leads her teammates across the square to what is, in fact, a small but functional restaurant. Inside, the offerings are limited, but there are, in fact, pancakes, as well as eggs, sausage, fresh bread, and a selection of herbal teas. Alas, coffee is not to be found.
“Being well-fed is critical to being functional in the field,” Betsy rationalizes.
“Less excuses, more pancakes,” Miko replies.
The trio decides that yes, in keeping with local tradition, second breakfast is a worthwhile expenditure of trade goods. They order and take their seats, noticing that four Americans uniform are seated at the back of the room and eyeing them curiously. As their food arrives, the strangers get up to depart, but one of the women in the quartet stops by the PCs’ table. She’s favorably-disposed toward the team – clearly, word has gotten around about the new arrivals and how they met First Sergeant Wheeler’s antimarauder patrol. She says Bravo Troop has secured a deserted business just outside their compound and turned it into the closest equivalent to an off-post bar. Does Betsy or Cat play pool, perchance? She provides directions to the Sun Valley Pub before heading off with her compatriots.
Full of second breakfast, the trio heads back across the square. The merchants are now open for business and happy to see new faces in town. A few things catch the shoppers’ eyes: several items of apparel, a set of fly fishing gear, and a mostly-complete roll of EOD tools that Betsy tries not to leap at. Cat is browsing the clothing when something cold grabs her heart. On a table of hats is a gray baseball cap with a U.S. Air Force pararescue morale patch:
Cat knows that hat. It belongs (or belonged) to Bill Hughes, a PJ who was on Task Force Cobalt with her. The last Cat saw Hughes, he was riding the one other task force vehicle that she hasn’t yet been able to account for, a LAV-25 like the ones Bravo Troop operates.
Cat does not quite lunge across the table to grab the hapless merchant by his throat, but she locks eyes with him and demands to know where he got the hat. Taken aback, he stammers out that it came in with a lot of used clothing and military kit that his collective acquired from salvagers. At Cat’s prompting, he produces the rest of that batch, and Cat also recognizes a customized ALICE harness as more of Hughes’ gear. He’s somewhat evasive with any more specifics of the items’ provenance, though Cat does note that neither one appears bloodstained.
Biker Banter
Emerging from the meeting with Captain Warren and the town council, Cowboy splits off from Pettimore and Erick. The bicycle and motorcycle repair shop perched on the square’s southwest corner has her attention. As she pushes her way through the door, a chime made of spare parts and chains jingles to announce her arrival. “Just a moment,” calls a voice from the back in Polish.
Looking around, Cowboy notes that while stock is sparse, it’s not completely cleaned out. Several bicycles are on offer, a mix of repaired prewar bikes and a few of obvious rougher recent manufacture.
The proprietor emerges from a small workshop where he has a motor scooter engine disassembled on his bench. He’s a middle-aged man, weathered, grease-stained, and cheerful. He introduces himself as Oleg Holzknecht, half-owner of the shop and full owner of a bar around the corner.
Cowboy and Oleg talk shop for a bit, giving Cowboy the opportunity to gauge the local economy a bit. Oleg’s business partner in the shop is Guntram Pohl, the entrepreneurial council member who Cowboy just met. Per Oleg, Guntram is largely responsible for getting Dobrodzien on the map of several traveling trader and mercantile collectives. The new-build bikes, along with a trickle of spare parts, are from Krakow. Because of Bravo Troop’s fuel demands, Dobrodzien doesn’t operate many motor vehicles, save for one fire engine and a few machines essential to maintaining agricultural output – but scooters and motorcycles are used widely. Oleg is trying to organize some kind of race for the end of the harvest, provided the weather holds out.
Oleg doesn’t have any urgent trade needs, but he is cranky about the dearth of 10mm sockets. They just keep walking off or breaking. Cowboy, fairly certain the team has has some spares in the big tool chest aboard ILM, makes a mental note to check back in and see what they’re worth to Oleg – if only goodwill.
Going to Church
While Cowboy is attending the local church of speed, Erick and Pettimore head to the actual church, an unmissable edifice occupying the western half of the market square’s center. Entering, they find a well-tended sanctuary, a couple of oil lamps supplementing the sunlight streaming in through the stained-glass windows.
Unusually, two men of the cloth turn from a quiet conversation near the altar and walk forward to meet them. They’re attired differently, a detail which clarifies as they introduce themselves. Father Walter Starosta is the resident Catholic priest, while Pastor Cornelius Hofler is a West German Lutheran minister who’s traveling with the merchant collective that’s currently in town.
Erick and Pettimore exchange pleasantries and get the briefing on local conditions. Both clergymen have observed the “brain fog” that seems to have settled over central Poland, and are somewhat aware that preservation of recorded information seems to alleviate it. Pastor Hofler has traveled through Krakow a few times and observes that in the Free City, the effect seems to be developing among the working class, while the military and wealthier citizens are able to keep it at bay.
“It’s almost as if something’s tampering with Creation,” Father Walter remarks.
Pettimore frowns. “Or changing the world into the way they want it.”
Escort Quest
The team reconvenes in the market square and exchanges updates on their respective activities. Cat, clutching Hughes’ baseball cap, briefs the group on its history, and there’s general agreement that this is worth further investigation. Lunch, however, is an immediate need. The obvious options are the restaurant at which Cat, Betsy, and Miko found second breakfast, or the tavern attached to the row of storefronts turned traders’ stalls. The latter wins the vote.
Inside, there are clear signs of recent renovations to adapt to a non-electrified milieu, but it’s still a fairly nice place – rustic by American standards, but comfortable. The proprietor and apparent local economic cornerstone, Guntram Pohl, takes charge of the group, seats them, and rattles off today’s short but hearty menu.
As the team resumes briefing one another on what they’ve learned, Guntram heads to the kitchen. He stops to chat with a large, well-bearded man who emerges from the back hallway. The brief conversation ends with Guntram indicating the team’s table and the new arrival altering his vector to head their way.
The newcomer lumbers up and introduces himself as Tymon Ryba, the leader of the Zolw (literally “Tortoise”) Mercantile Collective, operating out of the town of Zywiec. He’s always happy to see new faces in Dobrodzien when he stops here, and inquires if there’s anything with which he can help the team. He’s clearly expecting Cat’s inquiry about the cap and nods gravely, then seats himself and calls for a beer.
Lowering his voice, Tymon explains that doing business with Soviets is not popular in Dobrodzien, but that’s the source of a lot of his inventory. Specifically, when the Soviet 9th Tank Division mutinied and blew apart like a turbine ingesting a goose, some of its chemical defense troops decided that being semi-legitimate scavengers would be better than turning bandit. They’ve set themselves up near Czestochowa and are making a living salvaging and decontaminating valuable wares from there. The cap and web gear that Cat noted were part of a batch he took off of them. He didn’t know those items were of any particular significance, so he didn’t ask where they came from, but he extends Cat an offer to inspect the rest of his inventory to see if anything else is familiar.
Tymon says that the Tortoises will be departing soon – perhaps another day or two if the weather holds. Upon learning of Hernandez’s forecast, he grimaces. Once the weather clears, then, he and his will pack up and head back to Krakow by way of Czestochowa. He broadly hints that if the team is going that way, he might be interested in hiring them on as escorts.
Miko lets slip that the team is out its still, and thus limited in endurance. Tymon hmms thoughtfully and responds that while he doesn’t have anything in inventory right now, he knows sources in Krakow and might be able to arrange that as part of the team’s payment for escort duty. Cowboy agrees to meet with Tymon tomorrow night for further discussions.
Tymon fills in the team on political conditions in the region, supplementing some information already gained from Captain Warren and the town council. To the south of Dobrodzien, a former Polish officer named Julian Filipowicz is styling himself the Markgraf of Silesia, trying to carve out his own kingdom along the Polish-Czechoslovakian border. Pettimore keeps his poker face and inquires if Tymon has heard of a Florian Filipowicz, maybe in Krakow. Tymon recognizes the name and says that that’s the name of the Markgraf’s missing younger brother, for whose safe return the elder Filipowicz is offering a considerable reward.
Tymon himself is not too fond of the Markgraf, as he hails from one of a cluster of towns that are trying to establish their own Mercantile League. These communities, which lie southeast of Dobrodzien between Silesia and Krakow, collectively produce alcohol fuel, an agricultural surplus, textiles, machine tools, and lead from a reclaimed mine. The Tortoises are in Dobrodzien delivering a shipment wool for winter clothing, cheese, and salted meat, as well as the Krakow-made bicycle parts that Cowboy already has seen. In return, they’re taking on charcoal and root vegetables for Krakow, and will check in again with their Czestochowa contacts to see if anything else of interest has turned up.
This session was entirely exploration and roleplaying. Checking the dice log, I think the only rolls were a few Command and Persuasion checks to elicit information, and a Coolness Under Fire check for Cat to avoid stress from her discovery.