Author's Note:
Double Chapters today in celebration of national bird preservation day!
--------------------
POV Rio
After Indrid left, I focused on the Bell to see what power I could choose from Manus. The selection wasn't the best. I could choose to be able to use his Evil Magic blasts, the ability to corrupt others, or sense the darkness in others. Of the three options that I couldn't already use, the first was a no-go. I didn't want to use that stuff. Even if I was immune and it did massive damage, it was too tainted for me to dare use. The second option was even worse, as what the hell would I use that ability for? The third option was the only acceptable option, so I chose it. When I did, I realised that it might be more useful than I thought.
The knowledge infusion gave me the knowledge on how to perceive the darkness within others, but another way to look at it would be that I could sense the Karma Levels of others, or at least the weight of their sins. It was decently useful. Karma was a fairly accurate determination of the moral values of a person. I could tell, as when looking at my companions, I could tell they had done bad things in the past, but they had fairly high Karma.
'200 I think.'
With the knowledge, I was also able to get a vague sense of what each person or creature starts with when created. Some start with Negative Karma, others with Positive, and occasionally neutral. It didn't give me an edge in combat for the most part, but it was still fairly good utility.
After settling the power choice, we started to more thoroughly search through the quarry. While doing so, we found the back entrance I was looking for earlier. There was basically no additional loot of note, but that was okay. When we got outside, we came across something I didn't expect. There were lots of undead just meandering around. I quickly realised why they were here, but it didn't mean I wasn't a little surprised. The reason was that I could actually sense where all the undead that had been raised were currently at, and from there, I felt an odd tug from the East.
'I should go check out why that is.'
I waited to do that until everyone was rested enough. Then we made a trip East to find out why I felt that tug, and we quickly found out why I felt that way. There were undead near and inside the Museum of Witchcraft. Several of them were Gunners, which I thought was a bit odd.
'Indrid didn't mention any Gunners at the Museum of Witchcraft. Could they have just arrived?'
I had an idea why they were here, but just in case, I checked real quick. I quickly found over a dozen smashed Deathclaw eggs. The Gunners inside had all been killed by a Male Deathclaw, but the Deathclaw didn't survive either. It seemed like the Gunners put up one hell of a fight. But from looking at the body, it seemed like it was purely a lucky shot that killed the Deathclaw. One of the Gunners shot the Deathclaw with an Anti-Material Rifle and managed to pierce its heart. That wouldn't kill a Deathclaw instantly, mind you, but it would cause it to die once its adrenaline wore off. More than enough time to kill all the Gunners.
We searched the Museum of Witchcraft and found some noteworthy items. The first was Grognak the Barbarian Issue #10, What Sorcery This?, which increased Critical damage with unarmed and melee attacks by +5% damage. The second was a Skeleton in the Attic. The reason it was noteworthy was that it was a skeleton mage. A Cleric, to be precise. Apparently, when Indrid cleansed the Museum of Witchcraft, this skeleton had absorbed some of that energy, and thus, when Tambelon returned, the skeleton evolved into a Cleric Skeleton Mage.
Unfortunately, the Cleric Skeleton would still unraise after 12 hours. But on the bright side, he could be raised again, and he would retain the same powers and evolution. It wasn't perfect, but it would do if I just tossed the body before using the skill. The last item of note was a single intact Deathclaw egg. I felt a slight pull towards it, but I ignored it and took the egg. I did find that, interestingly, I couldn't store the egg. Which meant it had been fertilized already. I didn't want to think what that meant, so I wrapped the egg and I said I would be right back.
When I got the egg, I got a quest that gave me the exact coordinates to deliver the egg to. I could have also taken the egg to Wellingham in Diamond City, but I felt that returning the egg was the right thing to do. I reached the nest very quickly, and when the Deathclaw saw me with its egg, it looked very happy. At first, I thought it was my imagination, but upon getting closer, I could sense an actual feeling of happiness and maternal protection as well as a little something else I couldn't identify. I put the egg in the nest, and the mother Deathclaw buried the egg before coming over to me and grabbing me. What happened next confused the crap out of me. She sat down and started to clean me with her tongue like a cat.
I was clean before that, but afterward I smelt strongly of Deathclaw breath, and I felt kind of gross. I appreciated the sentiment but not exactly the action. The only other thing I got was a Deathclaw Gauntlet, which was neat, I guess. When I came back, everyone looked at me with raised eyebrows. My fur was a little damp still, and my mane looked wild from the strange grooming practices of the Mother Deathclaw.
"Don't ask," I say with a slight grimace.
We moved on to the next spot, I felt the undead, and when we arrived, we found Longneck Lukowski's Cannery. When I opened the door, I found Theodore Collins, the leader of this place, at the entrance and shaking like a leaf.
"Uh, hello?" I ask.
"AHHHHHH!" Theodore screams before shooting at us.
He misses every shot, and I disarm him very quickly. Theodore doesn't hesitate and makes a run for it, screaming about how it wasn't his fault and that he didn't mean any harm.
"Well, that was weird," I say.
"Yeah, what got him so spooked?" Deacon asked.
"Hmm, maybe it's the undead swarming the cannery? Or maybe the human undead that were raised," I reply.
Everyone freezes and looks at me.
"Now what do you mean? Why are dead people in this cannery?" Hancock asks nervously.
"Well, based on the condition of several of the undead, I would guess he was chopping up Feral Ghouls and canning them," I reply.
"Ugh. I think I'm gonna be sick," Cait says.
"Oh, that's nasty. Isn't this the place that makes the canned food that the caravans have been selling for a while now... Oh no. I think I ate some of that before," Deacon says before his face goes pale and he joins Cait in puking into a container.
I look at Hancock.
"What? I've eaten worse. I've done far grosser things. Turns out Ghoul @ss is uh... worse than you might think," Hancock responds.
That thought makes Cait and the others puke even harder, and even I gag.
"Noted, now please never mention that again," I plead.
"Got it," Hancock replies.
I distract myself by putting down all the undead in the cannery. Theodore was hiding in his office under his desk with a gun and a frag grenade. The cannery was easy to clear out, and I added all the remains to my inventory. I didn't know what I would use them for, but I am sure I could feed them to some wild beasts. When I was done, I made my way to the office quietly and hit Theodore with a stun round, knocking him out.
After that, we started looting the place. There wasn't much. At most, I could use the cannery to create more canned food. Besides that, I found some useful items. The first item was the Perk Magazine Tales of a Junktown Jerky Vendor Issue #4, Benefits of Child Labor, which increased my selling and buying abilities. The next item was Barter Bobblehead, which read: Capture the whole sale market, purchase in bulk, and slash all prices! The Bobblehead permanently lowered the purchasing price by 5%. It also increased my selling price by 5%.
Overall, it was a decent hall. When it came to Theodore Collins, I intended to put him on trial. Let the Commonwealth know that we don't just kill everyone who makes immoral choices. Theodore would have to spend most of the rest of his life paying for his crimes. Food safety is very important to me. As we were finalizing things, and I knew that this was the last of the undead, I sent Theodore off with some Minutemen to be taken to the Castle.