Ross Payton

RPPR Illustrated: Labyrinth of Lost Futures - The Surface Level

Added 2024-02-05 19:41:22 +0000 UTC

EXCERPT FROM A BOOK FOUND ON A CORPSE AT [REDACTED]

We found out that the Bleak can’t get near that giant skull in the southeast quadrant. Someone had the idea to build a safe haven near it. Not sure why they made it a diner but it works. Gladys inscribed a portal back to the Town so people could travel. Explorers like having a meal before they head out. They sure as hell loving seeing those lights and smelling that coffee as they limp back after an expedition. You can hear all kinds of rumors and gossip there and you know the staff can look after the place. Most of them are retired explorers. They love giving little jobs to newbies so they can learn the ropes. Doing a coffee run for “death on wheels” is a rite of passage. Just don’t get too comfortable there. It’s a diner, not a base. You have to head out sooner or later. Try the ruins in sight of the diner. The Bleak can get in there. If you can’t handle those ruins, you aren’t ready for what lies below.

EXCERPT FROM DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE INTEL BRIEFING

Analysis: This indicates that an entire economy based on the exploitation of unnatural resources exists just out of reach. The explorers must accessing an offworld site but still accessible from Earth through these ‘portals’. They have developed institutional systems to acclimate newcomers to the site and prepare them for the challenges they face below the surface. The ruins suggest a French Second-Empire house with Gothic details, early 1850s. If correct, the offworld site has been inhabited longer than we previously imagined. Who knows how much unnatural items and knowledge was extracted from the site and taken to Earth?