The Last War - A Post World War Dieselpunk Quest

23.5.1919


As you approached Urmitz, you were forced to admit that walking up to a checkpoint unnerved you. There was no armor between you and what might be an enemy. You were pretty sure any of the foot sloggers would just laugh at that, but you had always been a tanker. The only times you were on a battlefield and not behind a solid sheet of steel was when you had to bail on a damaged vehicle and then you were running away from the people who wanted to shoot you, not towards them.

Arno, who was walking next to you with a rifle slung on his back, seemed far less impressed. For all that you couldn't really imagine the weaselly man on a battlefield, he probably had been in enough charges to have gotten used to the danger. Same for the brothers, probably, but you knew them well enough by now that you did not want them to do the talking for this.

It was curious though that the guard seemed largely indifferent to you. Despite walking down a straight road in broad daylight, he had neither hailed you, nor made any notion to grab his gun. Instead, he was still sitting on the tree stump next to the road, rifle leaned to the nearby fence, and kept eating a bowl of gruel while occasionally glancing at you.

The imposing figure of the Spider was likewise odd as you got closer. The huge iron barrel that made up its hull gleamed in a fresh coat of dull-grey paint and the four spindly legs beneath were lacking the usual nicks and scratches that they inevitably got the moment you went with them into any terrain more difficult than uneven cobblestones. It seemed more like it was waiting for a parade than for a fight, and they didn't even have the motor running.

"Good day," you finally called to the guard once you were already within spitting distance of him.

"Grüß Gott," he replied briefly before noisily scratching the rest of his meal out of the bowl. "You are not from our company, so it would be nice of you to just turn around and be on your way."

"You are not going to let us pass then?"

"Nah. I'm supposed to send you to the Major even, but I'd rather not." He shoved the last spoon full of gruel into his mouth, letting you wait some more for an explanation that made sense. "See, he is quite angry since we got driven out of our fortress and now he wants us to look for any passing soldiers to recruit."

Beside you, Arno chuckled. "And once he has enough men, he will order you to take your fortress back. Which is why you are in no hurry to send us to him."

"See, he knows how it is."

"How did you even lose a fortress? Everything seems peaceful here and I haven't seen any Frenchmen, Tommys or Yankees all the way while driving here from the frontlines."

"Communists," he spat. "And a lot of traitors. The soldiers from the barracks in Coblenz joined with them, saying that the Kaiser is dead and the monarchy can follow for all they care. Looted the palace and set it on fire even. A few from our company joined too and opened the gates of our fortress Franzl, so we had to flee. I think Konstantin fell too."

"Won't matter for long though. Ehrenbreitenstein hasn't fallen and here in Urmitz is the largest Edison Farm this side of the Rhine." He waved his empty gruel bowl around for emphasis. "Give it two weeks, maybe three, and the hunger will make them see sense. Just have to hope the Major doesn't get us into any fights until then."

You quietly winced at the mention of an Edison Farm. The year before you were drafted had everything becoming so expensive that you had to live on nearly nothing but the grey sludge they produced. Even the frontline food was better, if barely.

"We won't bother you much longer then. Just wanted to make sure there will be no misunderstandings when we drive over the bridge."

"That could be a problem. See, me and Wilhelm," he pointed up to the Spider while saying the name, "we would be fine with forgetting that we saw you two, but the Fähnrich in charge of the bridge checkpoint will likely not. He's itching for a promotion."

"Nothing he might want more urgently than that promotion?" Arno tapped his pockets. "I have a few things."

"Nah. This is not the front. You won't get him to budge with a few cigarettes." Thoughtfully, he glanced at the Spider next to you. "There's something I could think of. A bit risky though."

You nodded along. "Can't hurt us to hear you out at least."

"See, when we had to flee, we had to leave a lot of our equipment behind. Rifles and grenades are not so much a problem, but we also left two more Spiders. One has a busted engine, so that won't move any time soon, but the other is combat ready and I would rather not have it show up here. Don't think the communists have anyone who can use it, so it's likely still in the depot north of Coblenz, on the edge of Lützel. If you can steal it, we can come up with some nice lie that gets me and the Fähnrich a promotion, and you can cross the bridge."

"That's quite an ask to be allowed over the Rhein."

"No offense, but you have not much choice. Even if the communists would let you through the city, there are still loyal soldiers on the eastern side who wouldn't let you pass. And it's not like I want you to fight a whole garrison. We have a few of the armbands the reds use to identify each other, and some spare civilian clothes. You can probably walk right up to the Spider and just hop in, or do you think those people would set up a proper guard?"

"Sounds reasonable, doesn't it, Maxi?" Arno nodded towards you as you spoke and after a moment you nodded back. The armbands and clothes would be useful, even if you didn't go along with this insane plan.

What do you plan to do?

[] Try to sneak into the depot at night to steal the Spider.

[] Use the armbands to try and bluff your way into the depot.

[] Take the civilian clothes and explore Coblenz. Maybe you can find a better way to cross the Rhein or some diesel for the truck.

[] Forget about this and just try your luck to reach Remagen.

[] Write-In

Who do you take along?

[] Arno
Good Skills: Talking, Sneaking
Bad Skills: Fighting

[] Gottlieb
Good Skills: Firearms, Heavy Weapons
Bad Skills: Talking, Sneaking

[] Heinrich
Good Skills: Firearms, Explosives
Bad Skills: Talking, Sneaking

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AN: Given that your Negotiate skill is on the lower end of mediocre, the rolls keep coming out pretty decent. Though Arno did a help a bit here and there too. Planvoting please.