A tall man walks into the dingy room, dust motes illuminated from the few rays of sun that sneak in the windows. Surrounding him are a two dozen tables covered in thick layers of dust. To the man's right stretches a long bar, covered in an equally thick layer of grime and dust. He goes to set his coat on the table nearest him when the table disintegrates into a pile of wood.
"I knew this place was a dump, but I hoped that the tables wouldn't be a death trap. Looks like I've got a lot of work to do," he mumbled to himself as he picked his coat up and tossed it on the floor. He then picked up a broom that he had set by the door and got to sweeping.
1 MONTH LATER
Warm light spills out on to the street from the open door and windows of the tavern. Despite COVID concerns from the citizens of Torn, many had come out for the opening night of Wood's Tavern. After all, if they could survive waves of Leslie's STDs and Duke's weaponized common cold, surely some little cough is easy enough to handle.
Wood and his wife Witch are behind the bar, pouring drinks and making meals with whatever edible food is smuggled into Torn. Only the few who are sober and not high realize that it's been ages since they've had a decent meal. After all, there's plenty of carbs in the form of beer, but when was the last time anyone had seen a fruit around? One that wasn't destined for one of the moderator's houses anyway.
A sign on the door said that all were welcome and the first drink was free. After that, they were earned by a good tale or by completing one of Wood or Witch's crazy tasks.
I've been playing this game for almost three years, and it has been a blast the whole time. When I first started playing this game-actually, 2 days after I started- I invited my then friend to join. We started the game as Woodmaster777 and WitchoftheVoid respectively. Early on in the game, I convinced her of the benefits of being married in game. In game, we've been married nearly 3 years now. However, just a few months ago, she agreed to marry me in real life, with the wedding being a mere two months away!
Now, one of my favorite books of all time is the Lord of the Rings Trilogy. One thing I found absolutely fantastic was that, when Bilbo celebrates his birthday in the first chapters of The Fellowship, that instead of everyone bringing him gifts, he gives gifts to everyone else. So, I decided to do the same thing, but for Torn!
Rules:
Over the next few weeks, I will be saving all the payouts from my BBs (FHCs, Grenades, Meds, Lotto Tickets, Etc.) and I will be doing a massive giveaway on one of the few days before the wedding.
The Wedding is on Nov. 7th, so the giveaways will likely be sometime on the 1-4th. I will post the timing and such as time goes on.
I hope this serves as a positive spot in some people's years. Let's celebrate.
I'll be reserving a spot right under this post for the discord link for when I do the giveaway.
One poster per page will get a pre-wedding gift, as thanks for helping to spread the word and the joy!
Please share in our excitement!
PS- Any donations or gifts sent to us during this time will likely just go into the prize pot. Unless it's a PI for a honeymoon getaway. Then maybe we'll keep that.
Founded in 2018, Wood and Witch's Trading Company has focused on the customer experience first and profit second. Beginning with our bazaar and trade services, we have expanded to include revives, bounty slots, advertisement consultation, and more. Below are the price listings for the various services, but if you want us to cover a task not listed below, let us know and we will see what we can do.
I'll keep this short and sweet because I know most of you have already read a lot to get here. This thread is explicitly for encouraging new players to stay and grow. I know I wouldn't have stayed around as long as I have without the support of players much more experienced and much kinder than I am. So, anyone who is essentially 100 days or younger and/or is below level 10 is welcome to one of these parcels. The exact contents may vary depending, but the consistency should fall in this range:
I cannot promise these will be the most amazing weapons or gear, but it should be a nice gap-filler before you join a faction that can lend you out much better gear. If you feel inclined to redonate the gear when you get some stuff from your faction, thanks! It will help me repackage and reuse the gear.
Charitable donations are appreciated and will all go directly to making this service better. If I get any especially good gear, I'll either sell it for the items listed above or perhaps will raffle it off to some new players.
[image: rsuntyw.media.bublupcdn.com] Welcome to the Bazaar! Here, every business, trader, and worker from all around can come for a reputable, safe, and satisfactory service. We at the Torn Bazaar find service providers and screen them rather than hunting down services you want in trade chat and having to look at their reliability yourself. The whole purpose of this thread is to collect reliable services for the public and to add and remove as necessary.
The Bazaar is broken into segments related to trade, job-related services, revives and revives contracts, and bounties and mercenary services. If you do not see the service you are looking for, contact me or another staff member and we will begin looking for those who can provide those services!
Appearing in the Torn Bazaar is a fairly simple process! Merely mail or message myself, describe which services you'd like to apply for, and I'll add you to those lists. There is also an advertisement fee of 150k per month, which allows me to keep track of those on the list, screen it, and hire advertisers for the forum in trade chat!
Sectory - Professional Trader who specializes in trades of any size. White-Lion - Young Trader dealing with new and veteran players alike. The_Virginian - Sells and buys most items, including bulk certificates, Vicodin, and more. Easy place to get Eco Friendly Merit OldGoat - Steadfast trader with experience working with other traders, doing mid to large scale trades. Ice - Fair trader who provides other services too.
Happy Oasis Lightviper runs a clean ship with very simple happy jumps for affordable prices. Whether looking for massive gains or the merit, perfect crew to work with.
Happy Hoppers With over a year of experience, Fermion has been leading the Happy Hopper team in giving out quality happy jumps for merits and gains alike!
The Ad Agency - Run by Ad-Trade-Wunda, this agency has a dozen staff who have sell 150 hours of ads a week! With competitive pricing, this ad agency can't be beat.
Graphic Designers
Loss Sellers Nebula Escorts - Quite a top notch gent who can provide as many losses as you need. Reach out to him or his partner Rennim01.
Utilizing the old-world overpass made the journey much easier for Maeve. Wandering past the husks of old world tech was not something entirely new, but the pure volume gave her hints of what people had lost. Reaching a crack in the structure, she paused to scout out what lay before her.
On the horizon, just peeking outside of the woods, was an old-world structure. Though the building seemed impressive to Maeve, even in decay, it was no bigger than a branch hospital. A small triangle of buildings with an overgrown courtyard in front of it. Some remains of old-world military presence lingered.... fences and weathered metal signs indicated attempts at security and containment, before the military broke down and everyone fended for themselves.
As she approached the structure, she would immediately notice that at least two dozen infected filled the courtyard. Many of them appeared to be ancient infected, from the immediate weeks and years after the outbreak. However, fresher and more recent acquisitions to the group were apparent.... a young man with a backpack still attached to his shoulders and a young woman in the clothes of some sort of settler. It appeared that Maeve was not the first, and likely wouldn't be the last, to brave the compound.
Dr. Crenshaw's notes instructed that, contrary to initial impulse, that a the bottom right building of the triangle was actually where they would have kept their stores of old-world supplies. His source had also indicated that most of the infected seemed to wander primarily in and out of the largest building, hinting their numbers might be much higher inside the facility proper. It didn't take too much insight to see that stealth and silence would serve just as well as a blade or weapon.
--------------------------------------
Heaven's Assignment
Alwin set his backpack down and cleared a space for his bedroll as darkness fell. He did a round of the camp, setting a few sound-traps of his own to supplement any security that Heaven had installed. Once he was satisfied nothing alive or dead would easily get the jump on them, he settled down and dug in his pack for a piece of hardtack and a bottle of water.
"So.... what's your reason?" Alwin asked. A quizzical look from Angel made him elaborate.
"This isn't the safest line of work... and if you were in it for the money you could make a lot more as a merchant, convoy guard... any number of things really. In my experience, ever Watcher has some sort of drive. So what's yours?" He inquired.
"As for me....I need both the money and the experience. Apparently my great grandfather was something called a 'prepper,' back before the outbreak. He passed the time waiting for the end of the world. He expected some sort of nuclear weapon or explosion.... not the outbreak. His property was overrun without him or my family able to really tap into it. It's too close to Philly. Long-term goal.... convince one or two other Watchers to find the old property and the loot that's hidden there." Alwin explained between bites.
- As a customer of Wood i can attest to the professionalism in the transaction. He allows you to pay down over time even ahead of schedule if you please. Once i had it paid down he transferred me the property in a prompt fashion. Would not recommend anyone else for this service. - xEMOxSUNSHINEx
At Premier PI Properties, we want to go the extra mile to ensure you are living in the Private Island of your dreams. To assist with this, I offer to renters and outside individuals a discount upgrade service. I possess the stock that gives 10% discount to upgrades on properties. I will charge you 92% of whatever the base upgrade price is for the property, saving you 8%.
Extra Large Vault: $197,800,000 (MRP $215,000,000) Yacht: $823,400,000 (MRP $895,000,000)
As you can see, if you do all your upgrades with us, you can save over $110,000,000 in upgrade costs.
How it works for renters
Before or during the rental period - please let me know your desired upgrades. I will ensure that the upgrades are done before the final trade and will simply add the upgrade cost to the final installment payment. (i.e. you want a XL Vault and are are on the premier plan. So instead of a final trade for 25m for the week, you pay $222,800,000)
How it works for owners
If you already own the PI and are just looking to save some cash, simply send me the PI. I will do the upgrade and then trade back the upgraded PI for the cost of the upgrade. (i.e. you want a XL Vault. So you give me the PI, I upgrade it, and I trade it back for the $197,800,000 cost.)
"Angel. Nice to meet you." Alwin said as he continued to pick through the trunk.
It took about fifteen minutes to empty the trunk and then another ten to divide the contents up in a fair way. The two gems of the find were a pair of binoculars from the old world and a fairly stocked medical pouch. Alwin kept the binoculars and let Angel take the medical kit. Otherwise, they split some blankets, fishing line and hooks, and a couple backpack's worth of small trading goods. All-in-all, they probably found about 200-400 crowns worth of supplies.
"Well, the sun is going down. Lead the way back to your camp." Alwin said, letting Heaven lead them back to the camp she had mentioned earlier.
--------------------------------------
The nearest guard to Maeve had not been on the night shift and, therefore, was unaware of the situation.
"Derric? He was in the line waiting when the gate opened this morning. He's catching a breather in the barracks before heading home. He should come out in the next 10-15 minutes." The guard said.
Indeed, shortly after, Derric came out. Bleary eyed and with some new bruises on his legs, but otherwise in one piece. Seeing Maeve, he trudged over and stretched a bit.
"You weren't kidding. High Point Echo certainly earned it's name. The journey was.... mostly uneventful. A few packs of infected made me have to backtrack and wind around different paths, but otherwise, the cargo reached it's intended location safe and sound. I stayed long enough to watch them administer the first dose to the man. It seemed to make him breath easier, if nothing else." Derric explained.
"Now.... I had a sleepless night and my next shift is in 6 hours. Can I get the other half of my payment so I can go home and crash?" He inquired of Maeve.
The cook gave the girl an appraising eye - but not an unkind one. He pulled out a metal tin and slid a few of the pieces of pork keeping warm on the back of the griddle on to the left half, while the right half received a few healthy dollops of cornmeal mush. From two bowls at his side he sprinkled some salt on the mush and some rosemary on the pork. Finally, and completely unbidden, he cracked an egg on the skillet and after a minute or so of sizzling, put it on top of the cornmeal.
"You might think about selling some of your items for Crowns. I'm not sure if they have currency where you're from.... but you probably just gave me 5 breakfasts worth of value. I threw in an egg since that seemed the most fair thing I could do." The man returned, sitting the metal tin and a spoon on the table.
"You have your own knife or do you need one?" He asked the young woman, gesturing to one of the few seats near the stall that had just opened up.
Daemon lay on a bunk in what could be called a stable. He'd been offered a room to go with the housing he picked for Mildred, his donkey, but he'd opted to just roll his bedroll out on some clean hay. He hadn't had the worst first day, but he had managed to offload about a quarter of what he arrived with.
After the young man who bought the binoculars left, Porcina seemed to funnel some of her customers over towards him - at least the ones she couldn't help directly. Daemon had sold a handful of different items to people. Some fishing line and hooks here, a few blankets to a woman well with child, and a curmudgeonly old man had taken every old-world fiction book he'd scraped up before leaving the Crown - and for a pretty penny as well. He still had some of his higher-priced items, and a good stock of some daily "essentials," but it was good first day.
"We've got a busy one ahead of us tomorrow Mildred. So let's get some sleep." He said, closing his eyes and getting comfortable, before drifting off to sleep.
-----------------------------------------
The next day was much the same as the first. He went to the Market Clerk to confirm his same spot for the day. The Clerk made small-talk, marked down Daemon's spot, and made sure to address the others in line. Having set his cart back up, he noticed Porcina setting up her carts for the day.
"Good morning Porcina." Daemon offered.
"Morning. Whether it is good or not... we'll have to see." Porcina said.
"Oh? Any calamities on the horizon?" Daemon inquired.
"Oh, always in our line of work. But they're usually very far off. I suppose it is anxiousness. Today is our last day here - we make for the Crossroads. I hope we might make some good trades so that way we could make even more once there." Porcina replied.
"The Crossroads... I've never been. What's it like?"
"A settlement, nestled up against the forests and wilds of Appalachia. Lots of small settlements and communities in the mountains. They and the mountains themselves act as bulwarks against the hordes of undead near the old city of Pittsburg. That means the Crossroads is quite diverse. It's the first stop for the rural survivors seeking a fortune in one of the major settlements.... it is also a major stop for those seeking to carve their own fortune or peace out of the hills." Porcina explained.
"Interesting... anything they want in particular?" Daemon inquired.
"Tools. Many of them. Many of the small communities in the hills are miners or lumberjacks, so a quality pick or axe could be a family heirloom. It's a good place to source raw goods - taking them to be processed in The Crown or turned into useful gear or equipment in Redstone." Porcina explained between customers.
"Hmmm....." Daemon hummed, before a few young men approached. After a few moments, it seemed they were young men who knew the lad from yesterday, and wanted to see Daemon's stock of goodies. Daemon made sure each of them left with less Crowns and new items they would be sure to treasure.
Heaven's flashlight and the man's lantern cast a soft glow over the cellar steps. The steps closest to doors were weathered, worn, and had small indentations where water had gathered from the last rains. However, descending father down the steps revealed a small time capsule - a small reminder of how the world used to be.
Pushing past a metal door, the pair entered a small basement section, clearly having been used as a survivor base in the initial days of the apocalypse. Moldering sleeping bags, old cans of food, and other hints of early survival against the virus remained. However, it was clear that the basement had been repurposed. Most of the old world detritus had been moved to one corner of the room and a few newer bedrolls and a small makeshift fireplace had been set up close to the door.
"Ah.... a pit stop of sorts. Looks like it served them well..... until it didn't." The man said.
"Hmm..... ah, jackpot." He added, finding an old leather traveling trunk tucked under some of the moldy furnishings from before The Collapse. The man flipped it open and began to examine the contents.
"Looks like we can claim a bit of salvage with this job as well. Anything in particular that you're looking for? Otherwise we can split the loot right down the middle, or near enough." The man said, beginning to inventory the contents of the trunk.
"Oh, you can call me Alwin. Not sure if I've seen you before. Just moved to the Redstone Branch of the Watchers. Figured there might be some more work out this way, closer to the ruins of the big city." The man said, setting aside some serviceable blankets from the top of the trunk.
Maeve passed the evening listening to the sounds of the settlement below. Even as the torches died down, some small business and work continued. Some of the smelters and smiths kept their furnaces running all night, needing a steady heat for more valuable crafts. The soft warm glows below contrasted the bright constellations above.
Maeve slept uncomfortably, but as peacefully as possible. When the sun rose, it shined its rays on her face, waking her as it had her ancestors for thousands of years. Already the early sounds of the settlement arose from below. Familiar smells, such as the smell of raw coal and fuel, but also comforting ones. Fresh bread, drying herbs, and the small reminders of breakfast cooking.
Her stomach would rumble quite unhappily at these smells. She'd been so focused on Silas, on a cure, on somehow saving her mentor, that the regular duties she owed her body had been neglected. Wearily blinking her eyes as she prepared for the day's work, she was reminded of an old adage by Silas. I can be cold. I can be hungry. I can be tired. But I won't be my best if I'm more than two of those at one time.
Perhaps a hot breakfast would be just as important as a sharpened spear...
"Sir, I really must protest. I've put in another call for backup-" Jack began.
"Good. You'll need it. Plenty of evidence to try and preserve. However, this is stale. And it's clear the main action went that way." Daemon said, pointing the burning nub of his cigarette in the direction of damaged and destroyed street.
"And what is one cop going to do against whatever did all of that?" Jack retorted.
"Keep them from doing any more damage. Diplomatically.... or otherwise." Daemon said, tapping his shoulder to make sure he wore his vest out today. Satisfied he wouldn't go down to pea shooters, he grabbed an extra box of ammunition for his shotgun and a spare magazine out of the trunk of the cop car before looking around for something.
Spotting a motorcycle, Daemon wrote a note in his notebook and ripped the page out, leaving it on a nearby fire hydrant
TCPD Requisition....... 6969......... retrieve items or funds at District 14
"I'll see you back at the precinct Jack. Get a jump on the paperwork, will you?" Daemon asked as he hotwired the motorcycle and kicked the stand out of the way.
"You can be a real ass sometimes, Daemon." Jack said as he placed some more evidence in the car.
"The day I'm an ass without results, you can put in for transfer paperwork." Daemon said, before speeding off.
-------------------------------------
Following the carnage, Daemon noticed that whoever was on the run, or perhaps the chaser, had heavy arms. Pausing at one intersection, he looked up and noticed a traffic camera. Looking back, he noticed that there was a camera every block or two. Hmmm.... perhaps some escape assist by a black hat? Daemon thought, before continuing to follow the carnage.
Driving, Daemon began to notice more than a few black SUV's patrolling the area. There were no busts in the area or stings, which meant these were PMC or private forces. Some factions in the city could mobilize small armies when they needed to. Perhaps this would be a rare gem of a case after all.
"These criminals may just be a cut above the rest." He said with a grin as he tailed some of the trucks. They seemed to be circling the edge of Torn National Park - a disgusting swath of swamp and trees that was the best natural resource the city could afford. It seemed that Daemon was in the right neighborhood..... but the park was several blocks wide.
"Time to continue on foot." He said, parking the bike along one of the fences and jumping the fence into the park.
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