Boiling Point- February 2026
The wastelands are a brutal and unforgiving place where everyone wants something from someone and they are all willing to stab a third guy for it. The Anvil is no exception to this. The Anvil has seen raiders, zed, giant spiders, and apocalyptic threats tread on its territory. The citizens of Emberforge are no strangers to this strife. Sparks and Embers have worked together to both deal with the threats that come to their home and make the area a better place no matter how hard some people try to prevent that.
In September, Emberforge saw the start of what has been inscribed as the Haze War. The Haze Lands, a place that swirls with radioactive mist, raider clans, and a lone strain settlement that comprises the wastelands most brutal Tainted and their leader, the Haze Lord, saw mass movements of Haze Raiders. The raiders were not the only problem as a rogue Tainted doctor began to kidnap the strains of humanity and experiment on them to try and turn them into Tainted as a way to 'save' them from the coming war. In addition, the nefarious Spuppet menace turned Emberforge into a two-front war. Finally, the Calico Pureblood house began to kidnap the survivors of Emberforge and other settlements to turn into necrological components. After great struggle and investigation, the Embers had located a cold storage facility that had supposedly been being used by the Calicos to assist Dr. Barrows operations. When the players made their way to the building, they only found a note from the Haze Lord that claimed that he was using their absence to raid their town. After a brutal battle, the Embers and Sparks fended off the raider attack, but not before they took multiple casualties and the Haze Lord escaped.
In October, the Haze Lands saw the full mobilization of its raider forces. The local members of Emberforge began a brutal and horrific campaign to defend their homes from the might of the Haze Lands in fear that it could lead to another Devil's Den. Calling upon their allies from all over the Anvil, armies clashed against raider forces. Thousands died in defense of their homes and under the call of Emberforge. It was here that the citizens learned of the Haze Lord's true intent. It was not to kill them all, but instead to save them. For he had seen that a second Fall would come. This time not from the zed, but from the Homo insurrectus. The raider. Everyone would eventually be overrun by the raider clans and the only strains left would be the Full Dead who hide amongst the zed and the Tainted who work with the raiders. He needed to show the Emberforge citizens that this was inevitable. He was trying to save them. In his madness, he offered an alliance to the town if they broke their alliance with the HIC that bound all settlements in the area together. The town refused, and braced for the worst. The Quiet Folk town of Kaleb's Grove was razed by the largest warband as they marched towards Emberforge. In a miraculous act, the Fallow Hopes of the Citadel, under order of the local Minister General, gave their lives to severely weaken the raider horde so that Emberforge may survive. Led in by two former members of the town, Pike and Shiny, the raiders began their slaughter. Thankfully, the Tainted of Emberforge were able to change the Haze Lords blackened heart as he turned sides at the last moment and helped the Embers and Sparks to put down their lost friends. The Haze Lord had proved his point. The raiders were coming and this was only the start. The townsfolk had little time to celebrate as they had a bigger fish to fry...
November saw the Arbiters of the Bond track down the most infamous necrologist in the wastes, Dr. Barrows. Every major faction in the wastelands travelled to Port Rediscovery to assist in bringing this slaver to justice. Survivors from all over the wastes worked together to fight through the Bleed, explore the Morits Mines, deal with the locals, and track down Dr. Barrows. In the end, it was revealed that he was a wolf on sheep's clothing. Hiding amongst the locals as an author working on telling the tale of Port Rediscovery. Dr. Barrows was sentenced to have his infection drained to those who had died during their time there and then turned over to the Ossuary Society. Before he could be handed over for interrogation about his slaver friends and other illegal deeds, he was murdered in the night. Their work complete, the societies and travellers made their way back to their settlements to rejoice in putting down a cruel and evil man.
January saw the beginning of a new year and new problems. At a New Years party in Resilience, a close ally and the town that supplies Emberforges power via a small atomic reactor, was attacked by a large band of Haze Raiders. In the attack, the town's recently elected mayor, Jorgen, went missing. During Emberforge’s January trade meet, the Citadel, a financial institution that is composed of all the leaders of the pillar faiths, came in to accuse Resilience of attempting to turn their atomic reactor into a weapon of mass destruction. Resilience refused these claims. While no solid evidence was presented, Resilience refused all requests to view their reactor building due to ‘security and safety’ reasons. The Sainthood of the Citadel found this to be particularly troublesome as they began to clash verbally and politically with the Hedons of Resilience. With no evidence on either side, each group asked the townsfolk to not trust the other side. Meanwhile, a daring group of ten made their way into the Mortis to perform a Videbit Mortis on Dr. Barrows in the hope that they could right some of the wrongs that happened in Port Rediscovery. This only led to disaster as nearly all of those who went were killed while only cryptic information was gained. Additionally, the Ossuary Society, upset with the nature of how Barrows was handled at Port Rediscovery issued an option to the townsfolk. They could turn in their friends to receive a brand that would mark them to be barred from necrology, or the Ossuary Society would bar the entire town from Necrology. A deal was eventually struck that prevented a total ban, but this will only be enough for the weekend. The Ossuary Society wanted to interrogate Barrows on his knowledge of other slavers that could be brought to justice and other illegal necrological farms that could be found and destroyed. The townsfolk of Emberforge remain divided in this. On one hand, barring the town from a much needed practice like necrology is a death sentence for many, even more so to the many members of the town showing green veins on their skin. On the other hand, the Ossuary Society is right. They could have brought more slavers to justice. The tension remains high with many hoping that something amicable can be reached soon. Late on Saturday night, Jorgen, the missing mayor, appeared in the tavern of Emberforge claiming he was being followed. He was quickly taken away and hidden as an angry group of Sainthood from the Citadel crashed in. They claimed that Jorgen knew something about Resilience making an atomic weapon, but he had memory blocks in. Unable to locate him, the Sainthood went on their way and Jorgen made his way to safety.
February raises the temperature in the political landscape. Rumor has it that old world bunkers that contain vast amounts of atomic materials are being eyed by both Resilience and the Citadel with the members of Emberforge being right in the middle…
-Jason, Director of Story
