Recent Town History - A Brief Summary

The years following the Uprising have seen many changes for Steel Horse Crossing. Most of the area’s infrastructure was suddenly up for grabs: a naval base, the harbor, a rail hub, mines. All were quickly commandeered by various interests who moved in as the Ironworks crumbled. Their business boomed, making the settlement quite attractive as a remote trade and research hub on the Great lake, away from the oversight of large cities and ethics boards. Underneath it all was a settlement just trying to keep itself together.

The Steelblood mercenaries who had negotiated their way into town in exchange for defense took advantage of their numbers and the sudden power vacuum to take control of Steel Horse Crossing. At the same time, the fascist New United Kinship Movement was worming their way into all levels of the Steelblood hierarchy and furthering their own goals. Unsurprisingly, many of the locals were… displeased, leading to a protracted and ugly conflict that literally split the town in half with the Steelbloods controlling the ‘other side of the river’.

That was the situation Steel Horse Crossing lived in for years without real resolution. Skirmishes. Posturing. Sabotage. Murder. Secret Alliances. Unsecret Alliances. Martial law. Bombings. Assassination. All with stretches of uneasy peace between. It all kind of blurred together into a shit soup that just became part of life, easy enough to ignore as folks still had to keep going on with their day. 

The extra problems kept piling up though, and eventually they outweighed the benefits. Steelblood infighting. Rodger’s experiments. Fermi’s experiments. Fungus. Radiation. An abundance of dangerous wildlife. Rumors of Archons. Giant squid monsters in the mines. Aliens. Near Mortis collapse. Saltwise Raids. NUKM. More radiation. Actual Archons. 

Despite that much of it has calmed down many folks have already decided to seek their fortunes elsewhere including many Steelbloods.Some have returned home to the larger cities. Some have joined newer settlements forming further afield hoping their situations to be less volatile and less of a target. And some have simply ceased to exist, rendering some parts of SHC a ghost town with many buildings and homes now standing empty.

ARCHONS/OUTSIDERS/GOO-THULHUS

These nightmares were discovered in the area the year before last. The good news is they didn’t seem to be feeling aggressive toward us or intent on destroying us. The bad news is they don’t seem to regard us remotely as a threat and have been studying us like we were particularly interesting ants. They appear to have left since those encounters but there is no real way to be sure. There are more ways to defend ourselves these days and much more information available, thankfully. It doesn’t make them any less concerning.

DOCTOR RODGERS

His experiments with Strains and the Mortis were dangerous and utterly immoral. There isn’t time enough to list off all the shit he did. Anyway his location was given up by one of his own assistants in the end and the town descended on that bunker like a swarm of angry velocigeckos. Word has it that the things that go bump in the night circled up and had a little murderdive party as well but either way, he’s super dead. These fancy new Byproduct syringes were found in the bunker so that was pretty dope. Just don’t think too hard about how the science behind them went.

BLACK FUNGAL DISEASE

BFD ran rampant through town for a while, owing to the terrible shape the Mortis Amaranthine was in after a combination of Rodger’s experiments, Archons, and a few other factors. Thankfully the town got that under control, more or less.

FERMI CHADWICK

The brilliant mind behind Project Arrowhead, determined to bring cheap and plentiful energy to the wastes. Great idea. Terrible execution. The last efforts involved building a nuclear device inside of an Abyssal Stitch procedure to rip open a portal to the home of Archons, believing that it could be harvested as a power source. Fermi was dead by the time the town showed up to stop the process, leaving them to try solving the problem from his notes alone. In the end it was too late to simply shut it off and they were forced to redirect the device’s power into the Mortis itself. Actually removing the device and cleaning up took several months while it continued actively irradiating the entire region.

THE ARCHIVISTS

No one ever tries to ply them for the knowledge stored in their extensive libraries any more but these pains in our collective asses have become strangely popular in recent days, now that this order of Final Knight monks are known to be the source of the best cheese in the Midwastes. They flat refuse to share the secrets of its production but have been open to having it sold in town.

BERTHA HARDWOOD AND HER TEAHOUSE

The be-tentacled Host of Sensation Bertha Hardwood runs the brothel across the river. Her entertainment palace hasn’t seen any loss of profit, customers, or rumors, regardless of what hits the town. As a busy business woman she may not be seen often these days, but her associates may be and she would never say no to a letter.

NEW UNITED KINSHIP MOVEMENT

Despite the Rover supremacy organization enjoying a degree of acceptance or tolerance in the past due to finessing their way into all corners of the Steelbloods, they have largely been driven into obscurity. No doubt there are some remaining in town, but they know better than to claim to be a member or openly wear the NUKM knotwork.

STEELBLOODS 

The loss of a single strong leader can be devastating. Dr Rodgers, Zane, Magnolia, Junior Black, amongst many others are all either dead or missing and unsurprisingly it has utterly destroyed Steelblood cohesion. Whole factions like Apex have simply left town. Even many of those that represented the organization just last year in negotiations aren’t around anymore. Other factions have fractured, splintering into smaller families and crews. The ones that remain are ones who genuinely wanted a place to settle down and have been working with the non-Steelbloods on the other side of town to keep things stable. While some cling to the Steelblood name for identity and mutual support, as a monolith force in SHC they are largely defunct. A few Steelbloods came over during the last winter trade, trying to help us with information about the frozen zed swarm.

HUNTERS LODGE - A group of sport hunters and nature lovers have been scoping out new hunting grounds and have been marveling at the largely untouched possibilities around Steel Horse Crossing. They joined up with other local hunters and conservationist groups to better manage activities in the area and protect the ecosystem.

ASTOR & FRICK

One of the firms who invested heavily in the railroads as trade and business restructured. The perceived decline of stability and profit to be found in Steel Horse Crossing has made them nervous. The assassination of one of the Fricks at the Winter “Fuck It, We Ball”, the Labor Union ‘fiasco’, sabotage, and other events this last year have made them exceptionally skittish and ready to withdraw entirely. Rumor has it the Bank is maneuvering to snatch up their remaining assets in the area.

LABOR UNION

Just dealt with a massive worker strike over mine safety. It got kinda heated in the middle. The owner of the Tallywish mines got himself dead after he sent union busters at the strikers. Some say he was mailed explosives. Some say his kid ganked him. Negotiations quieted down real quick after that.

THE LITTLETONS

They’re “Fine.”

THE MORTIS AMARANTHINE

It’s “Fine.”

TOWN GOVERNMENT

Another election. Our new councilors and bribery targets are Canary, Liberty, Miette, Sev, and Wayra. The judges are Jimothy and Michelle; and our sheriffs Alex and Gene. 

Hey, did you hear? - March Rumors

The yearly frost has settled over Steel Horse, sending most residents packing. It’s pretty expected by now. But rather than scattering to the winds, lots of folks are migrating south of SHC proper  to set up camp and begin work on the railroad from a middle point between the settlement and Milltown. If ya still need to get there and don’t want to hoof it, Astor and Frick have the rides, if there are enough people to drive them.

“Bootes isn’t a junk man, but if you need something, he’s got it or can tell you where to find it - for a fee. Camp’s set up a post system already. Bet you could drop him a note there.“

“Them Steel Bloods been real quiet when the snow started fallin’.  Wonder what they have been up to?”
“I heard they have been dealing with “internal affairs”.”

“Shipments are already getting through for the new railroad, but there’s going to be need for folks who are good at finding things too. And guards. Raiders love noise.”

“It’s weird to think that we’re gonna put a train back on the old rails, but we still gotta go survey every inch on foot. It’s only been a couple years since the Iron Works tanked. You’d think them rails would still be useable, but things grow wild and fast up here. And who knew so many folks would start scrapping so quick.”

“Folks have been set up for a few weeks, but camp is pretty limited. Hope the influx of new people will mean a better repair center, for one. Ain’t gonna get much work done without one.”

“I heard them Steel Horse folks will let anyone sit down by their fire. We should send Oz to test that theory.”

Railworkers mentioned there’s a family who hasn’t come by in a while, that they ain’t been seen since the start of the year. They live secluded in the woods and only Bill, the father, came to town for essentials. Maybe somebody could check on ‘em? 

“Navy Davy’s got eyes all over the coast.”
“Whatta ya mean?  He one a them Remnant folk?  I ain’t never seen one with a whole buncha eyes.”
“Naw, ya doofus, I means, he ain’t always got info just on the water work’n’s.  He gets told all sorts a good knowin’.  Good man ta have on yer right side.”

“Them silly fish-folk, don’t they know that the water’s all frozen up.  They ain’t gonna be findin’ much fish out there.”
“What sorta thing you find under the ice?”
“Trouble, more’n likely.” 

“Ever built a shipyard?” 
“Nah, me neither.”

“Tell you what, it was the darndest thing. A bird remnant just wandered up to me and said if I wore this fancy blanket I could be the king of winter. I told them they need to lay off the hooch. What will they think of next?”

“Watch your ass walking on the riverbanks. Things have been thawing, then freezing again. Lotsa ice. You don’t wanna fall in - water is colder than a Rover mama’s stare when you put your feet up on the table.”

“I just saw the darndest thing out in the woods. Some Pure was out there in some deer romper yelling orders to some Vegasian beefcakes. I didn’t stick around to find out what they were up to, mostly because she probably would have asked me to do work.“

“Ya ever hear of Bubba? He was a tamer of rides, and collector of scrap. He stuck it to the Works by dismantling their boats and vanishing like smoke. He passed away not too long ago and left behind a mountain of treasure all for himself. They say someone even knows where it’s at, but if so, they’re not talking. Yet.”

Hey, did you hear? - December Rumors

“Well, for a horde, they sure looked….festive?”

“Which Judge is in charge now when a farmer on one side of town does bad business with the other? Can folks from someplace else ever expect a fair shake in Steel Horse?”

“Folks were none too polite to that Mr. Maddox, but Sterling Controls took the hint last trade and parted ways with the Steel Bloods...or so they say. Hopin’ the bossman don’t change his mind, or at least keeps out of the way for a bit while folks settle things with the coming railroad.”

“Winter seems to have a way of changing the landscape. Season change’ll do that. Local Tribes could tell you, and even some of the Landsfolk. Not just above ground, but below.”

“Admiral Davie of the Merchant Marines is talking about getting a radio relay in place for the local ships. Finally that hulk of a radio tower might find a purpose!”

“Astor and Frick are due to make another appearance this month at the Town Hall Meeting. Surely they have an interest in how the town operates, now that they’ve made it clear they plan to invest in rebuilding the Depot.”

“The Final Knights have thoughts on winter too, interesting enough if you’re willing to listen.”

“Little late for a flotilla to be headed north, but that’s what we saw. Movin’ slow, several ships all movin’ together.. Getting caught in the ice is gonna be the least of their worries, though, if they’re not careful around Steel Horse.”

“Money Back guarantee! Not available from your local caravan. But wait, there’s more! If you act now - double your offer - one for you and give the other as a gift! Now is the season for giving! That’s right, TWO, yes two for the price of one…”

“Thank heaven all them cattle made it through to slaughter last trade. Sounds like at least one side of Steel Horse will be well stocked this winter. Wonder how them Steel Bloods made out?”

Hey, did you hear? - September Rumors

“Has anyone heard from Farmer Horowitz since he came to town last month? He was complaining about some stuff on his crops last I heard…went to Steel Horse to talk to some of them folks. Wonder if they came up with anything?”

“Granny Comb has been so lonely since the last of her brood left for deeper waters. If you catch her on one of her walks around town, be kind and say hello. We need to be nice to our elders!”

“Lots of things the town needs to discuss - town facilities, trains, stockpiling supplies for winter. We shouldn’t be leaving that up to some crusty politicians. Anyone who is sticking around for a bit might want to engage in some civic duty Saturday afternoon and listen in on the Public Town Council Meeting. Good to see some civilized democracy in Steel Horse at last!” 

“Someone said they overheard that the Norske went and killed a god. But if they were a god, how’d they die?”

“I swear, that black dog were back, right there at the end of the docks, just scaled right up the side of the ship and back down it. When the ship set sail the next day, the GLTC’s Harbor Master said he heard it howling. Now the ship is missing. But don’t bother asking the Harbor Master about it - it’s bad luck to talk about it. As a matter of fact, forget I said anything…”

“Labor Union’s been busy making sure both sides of town have access to enough food for winter. They could probably use a hand, preferably someone who’s used to organizing for a big group and who has the best interest of all townsfolk in mind.” 

“The Dive” is open...sometimes. If you have a good ear and want to know the talk about town, you can head over to the Lake when the light’s on in that little tarpaper shack. Buy a drink and sit and listen and you might learn something.”

“The Helldivers had some success last month getting them old vents in the tunnels opened up.  Totally stopped the ground from shaking and cracking like it usually does all summer. Folks from town even pitched in to help. Season’s coming to a close, which means they can finally tackle them last two they had so much difficulty with. I wonder what it means, though, having them open all winter? It’s been a long time since that happened.”

“Fall is a great time for hunting around Steel Horse Crossing. If you’re looking to feed your family, a rad chicken would be a real lucky find. Aracuana and Lakenvelder are the best damn chicken hunters around, so if you want to learn, you’ll do well to chat them up when they come to town again.”

“Murder bird season is almost here. Hope we learned our lessons last year on how to deal with them! Luckily there’s a sect of Sainthood who are making sure no one forgets. They’ll probably be checking in on townsfolk sooner or later, seeing as some kind locals helped them out back in April when their home got destroyed.”

“A Mayor for Steel Horse? It’s in the Constitution! Rumor is the Council has already got someone in mind, too. They’ll be interviewing them this trade. Not sure if I should wish them good luck or offer my condolences.” 

“The Steel Bloods have been mighty quiet of late, and keeping to their own. Maybe splitting the town in two like the Elders decided WAS a good idea. I really don’t think it was that easy, though.”

"I heard there was a bunch of weird shit hanging from the trees in different places around town. Sticks and bits of bone; who knows what else. Tiny scraps of paper with bits of song found in the woods. I wish people would take their weird cult crap somewhere else."

"Did you see that thing that docked in the harbor? I heard someone call it a "pleasure craft", and that their tickets were all sold out. Probably a Hedon thing, but I've never heard of them selling tickets to their parties."

Hey, did you hear? - July Rumors

"They're saying that now that the water is real clear, if you look close in one spot, you can see a old ship down there at the bottom. There's a Captain who can show you where, but he's not sharing that info with anyone just yet. He'll be through town on Saturday afternoon for some salvage supplies. Heard he had room for a few more crew, too..."

"Anyone heard from Bloom Industries lately? With all that talk of Labs in the south, you'd think they'd be sniffing around town again. Heard they made a deal with the Elder Council recently, though the details are super murky."

"Them new Mericans that moved into town recently seem amiable enough. One of 'em even helped me fix my ride. Seems a little late for spring plantin' though, and that land they got went fallow years ago. Also wonder what they got planned with all that STUFF."

"There's definitely been an uptick of banditry on the roads. Maybe them Steel Bloods were on to something with their policing after all..."

"Them train tracks been quiet for a year now, since there ain't no body to organize. Where's everybody been lately? Gimme some politicians that can make things GO."

"Remember that batty remnant from May? They're talking about some kind of quest again....wonder what it is this time? Sounds like it might pay a little bit, too."

"Heard some Saltwise docked late last month, and said they got no intention of going anywhere for a bit. Seems they is settling into Steel Horse permanent like. The last few nights they even opened up a part of the ship as a bar. Of course they callin' it "The Dive.""

"We went months without mysterious babies crying and children laughing in the woods. Now we got people counting or talking in some incomprehensible languages? Not sure which is worse....but I did see a little girl with pig tails all alone on the road this morning, humming tunes to herself. Didn't stop to see if she was real. Kids shouldn't be unsupervised!"

"Lots of new faces in town. Wonder who they'll all be votin' for this coming election?"

Hey, Did You Hear? - November's Rumors

“Have you seen how many vendor booths are setting up for the Quarterly Marketplace? It looks like town’s finally on the up & up!”

“What is with all these derned raiders again? How’s they getting’ through thedefenses?”

“My sister said there’s some folks working to patrol with the Steel Bloods. She says its ‘cause folks want to get the town back, but I dunno ‘cause I know lotsa folks who wanna fight ‘em too. It could get reeeal messy.”

“Been lotsa problems with the waterways lately. Raids on the docks, dammed-up streams, and bad weather making smaller boats sink. The sailing folks sure have their hands full!”

“Oh shit, its TV bullshit season. I’m hiding til Spring.”

“A coupla lascies came into the tavern and were mumbling about townsfolk helping them break down some wall in the tunnels. Couldn’t pay me enough to go down in that nasty dark crap anyday!”

“Did you see the size of the bird them’s Norskes were buying? Looks like they’re either going to war again or having some big feast. I suppose its probably both.”

“I just about shit my pants when I saw a buncha Tainted walking past my place yesterday. Thought we was gonna end up with another war again!”

Hey, Did You Hear? - October's Rumors

“My sister’s husband’s family lives next to the Steel Bloods encampment and said they’ve been dealing with some “un-neighborly behavior”. I dunno what that means, but I betcha they’re gonna ask some folk to help ‘em do something about it.”

“Joe, you seen the docks lately? Between the Harrington PLC and the SHC Navy’s reg’lur business and preparing for the big market, its been going strong day and night!’

“HOLY SHIT! WAS THAT A GIANT FEKKIN BEAVER?!?”

“So many of them Church of Darwin followers have been flocking to town lately that the local Darwins need to make some info packets to hand out to ‘em!”

“Your Solestros boyfriend said some companies called Sterling and Bloom were looking for investors. What’s that mean? Do they only take money or can I invest some cows now for more cows later?”

“Seems like a lotta folks are coming back from big adventures out in the Wastes. Gramma said she saw a big flying ship coming this way, but she’s reeeeal old so I dunno if she sees too good no more.”

“Ya know those loud-as-hell noises you heard last night? An RPM fella said that was Sophie Gates rolling back into town with a buncha half-raiders lookin’ to move em into the RPM compound. I wonder how mad Abe’s gonna be about her leaving that baby with ‘im way back when?”

“So lemme get this straight… If I want to buy something ‘under the table’, I gotta go to the nasty side of town where folks get killed on the regular? Shit, being a criminal sounds dangerous!”

Hey, Did You Hear? - September's Rumors

“That Junior Black fella is General of some kind of fascist regime that’s trying to take over the area. Have you seen the thugs he’s got in his group?”

“My sister told me that our local graverobber was trying ta get some folks more infection so’s they don’t die soon but ended up killing a buncha folks in the process. Don’t seem like a good trade-off, does it?”

“The Steel Bloods sure have been doing a lot to help the town. They’s been coming into the area in droves and helping folks make traps and zed attractant to help with the oncoming horde. I guess our folks invited em to live here now and join the town government?”

“Town hasn’t done any elections yet, but they’ve done some judging and laws-makin’ and such. Prolly a good idea since town’s been getting so big these last few years.”

“Didja see the Norske fightin’ some guy last trade? He had their scarf, but they was fightin’ him, so who knows if they’re family or foe? Those Norske are confusing.”

“Folks sure have been researching that sickness going around, but I ain’t seen it getting anything but worse. They’s didn’t even have a library last trade, so they’re just talking to each other to figure out what to do. I’m tired of moving around and feeling sick, so’s them smart folk better hurry!”

“Holy Moly! A meat cult came to the Church of Bacon and they ended up sacrificing one of their own outside the kitchen and then when a fight broke out, the leader died and took Bells with him! Don’t worry though, one of the graverobbers spent a fortune of stuff and saved her. Now there’s group of people who’s gonna go hunting the cult down!”

Hey, Did You Hear? - August's Rumors

“So my sister says a buncha folks have been coming into town with fungus and crap growing out of ‘em. She says some docs took the stuff off of em and are testing it, but are we gonna get sick too ?”

“Some loud-ass Merican fella came into the tavern after last trade sayin’ he done killed that scary highwayman witch fella. I don’t know if it were the whiskey talking or if he actually done it.”

“With no laws in town, a  buncha folks got killed. Hell, I heard one lady got herself killed by townsfolk at least twice!”

“Uncle Troff said the radiation is almost all over Steel Horse by now and we’re gonna haveta either all deal with having radsick, move somewhere else, or find some kind of solution. I don’t wanna leave!”

“Did you know you can pay the folks at the paper to say whatever you want? Hell, if you got enough money, you can lie as much as you like!”

“That makes me want to read the paper more.”

“yeh, me too!”

“Rumors been floating around that the elder council don’t like summa the laws being made and that a coupla folks are all mad at em for it.”

“So? It ain’t like they’re going anywhere. They own the damned land.”

“Looks like the local businesses are really stepping up their game! There’s a fancy teahouse, a farmstand, a tavern, a restaurant, a brothel & gambling house, and all sorts of cool places. Sure makes me wish I had more money!”

Hey, Did You Hear? - July's Rumors

“A couple of people been saying Bloom Industries’ been controlling all the raiders, mutated animals, and even made the nasty radlands problem we’s all been having. Why ain’t anybody blew them up yet?”

“Is Steel Horse a Final Knight hotspot now? Did you see how many came to town last trade? The local priests couldn’t even handle all their visitors! Are they taking over the Sainthood folks now?”

“I ain’t felt the land shakin’ or seen no steamvents opening yet this Summer. What happened that we ain’t got no Helldive anymore? Maybe all the radiation burned off the fire mines! Maybe its Bloom!”

“There’s another big ole pureblood party happening in Steel Horse again. Seems like there’s been a lot of those going on lately, considering how few fancypants we have here.”

“Looks like town’s trying to form some kind of government and laws again. Matt Dereck has been driving the process and it seems like most folks got a lotta skin in how it goes down.”

“So’s the Irons are all free now. That’s all good & great, but have you seen how many refugees have been coming into town? Thank goodness The Plantstation built them nice homes for ‘em to start over, else we’d prolly have more thievin’ and such.”

“Did you hear there’s a SMUT AND COOKIES event every trade at the Needs & Wants? Or is it the Lucky Strike? Whatever it’s called, THEY HAVE SMUT AND COOKIES!”

“I heard a couple folks mention Captain Gideon and Bartok are building an independent naval force to protect the town. Isn’t that just a fancy cover for being a bunch of pirates?”

“A bunch of the Darwins been looking into the radzone. I’m worried they’re gonna try to make it bigger and badder so that we all turn into rotfaced glow-eaters and they can take over as our glowing green overlords.”

“My sister said there’s an official Battle of The Bands happening on Saturday this trade. It's gonna be a helluva party if those rockstars can get their shit together.”