The Village of Eistla (RUST AGE)
sprite by me
Welcome to Eistla, shaded-neath-the-vanes. Here things are quiet and slow since the end of the old age, but proximity to the only viable pass through the Hollow Hull Mountains has brought a little traffic as of late. Pampas grass glades crowd the edges and flourish under the alternating sun and shade cast by towering wind-vane blades. Crete-built houses lounge low and grassy-roofed, strung here and there with power cable, with paths meandering inwards to a small square and its communal generator. Eistla's residents range from new to ancient, but trend old and era-wise.
Village square
Patchy grass encroaches a dirty center small enough for village celebrations to be crowded. The center is dominated by the weighty hulk of a tower-type monopole generator that powers the village. A dozen-odd doorways open directly into the square, including Iveri's shop, the loomhouse, the elder's hall, the library, and Twotwo's smithery. Day-glow codemarks mark these entrances for the travelers who drift through.
Pablo and Rill trundle on soft tires and chase each other here whenever they're not needed to take care of the sheep. They were synthesized only 10 years ago and still have much growing up to do.
Iveri's shop
High struts hold a shadowed ceiling overhead while stacks of shells and motors rust along the walls. The center of the shop boasts an oil-stained table for the assembly and repairs of machines. Iveri (it/its) whirs and cleans with its many arms, greeting visitors with an excited trill. It sells its stock of Components and can do basic repairs, although it directs those with digital issues to Laram at the library. All the Components listed in the introduction can be traded for here, with the exception of the Nuclear Reactor. In addition, Iveri has a few each of these to trade:
| Value | Component |
|---|---|
| ⟐1 | Water Cooler: ER 2, MASS 4. Consumes 1 flask of pure water to remove up to 4 HEAT. |
| ⟐1 | Memory Rack: STOR 12, ER 1, MASS 2. |
| ⟐2 | Tri-alloy Plating: MASS 4, +1 physical damage reduction. |
| ⟐2 | Mirrored Plating: MASS 4, [PDEF +3] vs laser/light. |
| ⟐2 | Chainprinter: ER 6, MASS 6. 1 action turns 1 unit of Scrap into 50ft of chain. |
| ⟐2 | Drive Overtuner: ER 6, MASS 4. Gain 1 HEAT to gain [+2 MOV] for 10 minutes. |
| ⟐2 | Compu-block: PRC 20, ER 2, MASS 1. |
| ⟐3 | Slug Shell: SLOT 8/8/6/6/4/4, MASS 24. |
| Value | Item |
|---|---|
| ⟐2 | Jackshiv: 1d4 damage. On hit, install a Program up to 6 DATA in target. |
Iveri values unbroken Components and will trade them equivalently.
Loomhouse
A wide, low building houses a long, deep block of machinery: the loom. Here wool is autocarded, spun, dyed, and woven into reams of fine cloth. New Wilko (he/him) runs his track on a single tread, checking fiber quality and folding bolts. The loom's mind XERF (it/its) rumbles and croons intermittently as springsteel rods clunk within the deep recesses, deriving newfound satisfaction with each meter woven. This cloth is used for various constructions in Eistla and sold to those traders who value its natural composition.
New Wilko has been noting as of late XERF's desire for a new dye color beyond iron reds, petrol blacks, and cobalt blues. It was told once of a cache of cadmium electrodes that, if powdered and synthesized with common elements, would produce beautiful pigments. It heard the cache was somewhere northeast along the Hollow Hull Mountains under a comms tower, but its not sure where (it doesn't move much, you see). Continued (or vast) sources of new pigments are greatly rewarded, and New Wilko would always appreciate more business.
Elder's hall
The narrow front face of this hall is symmetrical and fronted with polished white tiles. Inside, sunlight carves golden blades in the dust-laden and still air from a lattice of skylights. Elder Alvis (she/her) sits at the far end, a nest of tiny claws atop her sea-anemone-type frame. A large, wise, azure eye glows bolder than the clusters of flowers she cultivates. Alvis is the leader of Eistla and has been for over 800 years. She knows much about local history and is wise in the ways of raising flowers and animals.
She will grant the Program Zoo-Ware (DATA 3. Your presence does not disturb wild fauna and you can imitate their vocalizations to direct them by testing EGO.) to those who perform work with the animals or outsiders who have proven their loyalty.
Alvis is more aware than most about the village generator's waning performance. It needs a new monopole particle, a resource so rare and demanded as to be worth a whole village. She will provide as much reward as Eistla can offer to anyone who can restore the generator or find a lasting alternative source of electricity.
Library
A windowless building of cretebrick stands dark in the sun and grass. Inside a plastic flap door, a hundred constellations glow on the stacks of data storage, cultivated by Laram (they/them). Their long-range binocular eyes seem ill-suited to their role, but a thick braided cable keeps their mind tethered to the wealth of server-stored knowledge. They can retrieve info on a million ancient topics, but useful Rust Age data is in as much demand here as anywhere. Laram also trades copies of the following Programs:
| Value | Program |
|---|---|
| ⟐2 | Duelist Skillsoft: DATA 3. When wielding a blade, you may parry melee strikes that miss your PDEF by more than 4, instantly hitting the attacker. |
| ⟐1 | Crypto-logic Skillsoft: DATA 2. You can assemble baffling encryptions and gain Advantage when deciphering puzzles or encryptions. |
| ⟐1 | C-4 Techprint: DATA 1. Synthesis recipe for C-4 using a chemlab: 1 unit of hexamine = 1 C-4 (tiny, 2d4 explosive damage). |
| ⟐1 | Visual Denoiser: DATA 4. [+4 SEN] when trying to see cloaked targets or through smoke/clouds. |
| ⟐1 | Shipbreaker Codex: DATA 3. You can instantly identify structural weakpoints of structures and know exactly how to cause them to collapse in the way you want them to. |
| ⟐2 | Ballistics Assistant: DATA 6. [+2 DEX/SEN] when firing long-range projectiles. Missing once gives your next attempt +4 instead. |
| ⟐2 | Frostwall: DATA 4, [+2 EDEF]. |
| ⟐2 | Firewall: DATA 4, [+1 EDEF]. Failed attempts vs your EDEF inflicts Stunned (-4 DEX and SEN) for 1 round on attacker. |
| ⟐1 | Dataworm: DATA 1. When activated, starts destroying Programs, taking 1 hour per DATA, starting with the smallest. |
| ⟐1 | Memorytick Egg: DATA 2. When activated, becomes 8 DATA. Cannot be removed by normal means. |
| ⟐2 | E-tinker Encoder: DATA 3. You may spend 1 hour to modify a Program with any of: a delay timer; a location conditional; password activation (sonic or electronic); a dead man's switch; a specific system to target. |
Laram values high-quality topographical data and defensive Programs and will trade them equivalently.
Twotwo's smithery
A tall chimney thrusts skyward above the low buildings with its end stained black like the barrel of a gun. Twotwo (she/her) grunts a welcome to visitors and resumes lathing a fence post. Her loader arms fold against her painted back like wings while a set of manipulators deftly tool implements from bent steel. Her shop boasts a forge and a stamp press for items bespoke and mass-produced respectively.
A scavenger friend of Twotwo by the name of Di-rin (they/him) hasn't been seen in Eistla as of late, and she's getting worried Di-rin has gotten in trouble with the Boron-11 Barons out past the Void Fault (they've not reported certain findings to the Barons in the past, you see). She'll ask anyone planning to head beyond the Fault to look for them, and promises custom masterworks free of charge to anyone who can get them out of whatever trouble they've ended up in.
| Value | Item/Service |
|---|---|
| ⟐1 | Steel Falx: 1d8 damage. |
| ⟐1 | Barysteel Maul: 2d6 damage, large. |
| ⟐1 | Forged Tool: A basic steel implement made to order. |
| ⟐0 | Stamped Tool: A flat implement cut from a stainless steel sheet. Shoddy. |
| ⟐2 | Diamond Edging: Adds an extra damage die to an edged weapon. This edging is lost if the weapon is damaged. |
Twotwo values quality workable metals and high-grade crystals and will trade them equivalently.
Eistla Vicinity
Satellite huts dot the ups and downs surrounding the village. Low wood and wire fences demarcate sheep pens for wintering, while the tumultuous hills beyond are pastures during the fairer seasons. The north and west horizon is dominated by the slumping overhangs of the Hollow Hull Mountains, the base of which is only a day away. Mounting the crags between the mountains and Eistla is a long procession of rusted wind-vanes, their arms broken at odd angles and reposed to whistling in the katabatic wind. Three days to the south and east, the rocks and pampas suddenly vanish into oblivion: the Void Fault has cracked the world's shell here and formed a canyon of sunless depth. Two paths circumnavigate the fault, adding seven or nine days of travel to round its ends and reach the arid plains beyond.