Diesel & Demons

[Baloth-Kul]

Guo paused, to check the fuel gauge. She wasn't about to risk running out of gas, if they were going to flee the city.

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How long a drive would it be, to the next nearest colony?

[Kerr]

It would take about 8 hours to get to Marshfield in the Baumberg Colonies. It was a small city rather close to the border, but with a port and airport it would serve well as a way to get off the continent or just somewhere to disappear.

However at the same time the Paladins had a stronger presence in Baumberg than any other country. And looking at the fuel gauge Guo could tell what they would probably only last 5/6s of the journey, they'd need to stop for diesel at some point along the way. But there would be plenty of small towns on the way they could stop at all of which would house plenty of the lifeblood which drove the industries of this world.

[Baloth-Kul]

"We will need to stop for fuel along the way," Guo noted, "and it may be wise to get new clothing...something with a hood, or simply a hat. Howard had taken our photographs, after all--should those enter circulation, whether among the Paladins or the public at large, it would be best not to be too conspicuous."

With that, Guo proceeded towards Marshfield. She would make a point of stopping in one of the small towns, about halfway to their destination.

[Kerr]

Guo crossed the bridge to the outskirts of the city. If Randolph wanted to act, now would be a good time to do it. Otherwise they'd likely be carrying on until they got to a small town along the way or were intercepted by someone.

[Kerr]

Guo and Randolph left the bustling city behind them and traveled on a long dark road which before too long was surrounded by the continent's tropical forest. By 3am they had been traveling for over 5 hours and rain had begun to bucket down making travel difficult. On top of that they were both growing rather tired and their fuel was running low.

Guo knew they wouldn't have enough diesel to make it to the border, never mind Marshfield itself. And traveling in such hostile weather conditions would be dangerous. However according to a sign they just passed they were coming up to a small mining town, Tapir, it had a population of a few hundred. While it may not be open, there was sure to be a fuel station and place they spend the night should they choose to do so. It was up to Guo if she would pull in or not and if she would, where she'd plan to go.

[Kerr]

Guo turned off the highway and into the small town where the pair refueled and found a place to rest for the night. While the events of recent days may not make the annals of history books they would serve as an important part of history itself.

Epilogue

State of the World in 1929

City of Tollan: Following the death of Alex Orlan the Coatl Colonies of Orlan were placed under strict marshal law. With the murder of a possible hier to the throne and second governor in relatively recent times tensions in the colony were at an all time high. The Home Rule movement fell apart and a second Orlan rebellion broke out in 1927, ripe with guerilla warfare from the rebels, made up of people of various political stripes and counter-guerrilla tactics on the side of the government seeking to maintain colonial rule. To date the conflict shows no sign of stopping with neither side willing to back down.

Kyle Howard: Following his utter failure, Kyle Howard left the city and returned to his home in the Sunrise Republic. While the Templars as a whole never found out about how poorly he'd handled the situation, out of self interest he elected not to mention any of it, Howard quickly became a deeply paranoid man. Within a few months Howard was seen far and wide as both the world's richest man and its largest recluse. He would rarely leave his home and only did so under armed escort living in fear of both possible Templar reprisal should they uncover the truth and of the mages he knew were still out there and could come for him one day seeking retribution for slights against them.

Emerald Empire: Emperor Mei Emerald the First died in her bed 18 months after the cataclysm in Tollan at age 70. Her daughter assumed the throne leading the Empire into an new era in their history.

Doctor Weiss: Doctor Weiss wrote of his experiences, meeting Eolas and the various other mages but with little evidence to corroborate his claims he was widely written off as an eccentric and something of a joke in the academic community. He was executed in 1928 for assisting rebels and undermining the colonial war effort. Following his death, most people looked back at his claims and choose to believe them to be the result of poor health and preferred to remember the man for the important role he'd played in uncovering the history of Coatl.

Chunhui: The soultouched was left shaken following her experiences with the mages and seeing them commit a murder. However time passed and she returned to her day to day life and when rebellion broke out in the city she left with numerous other people from Emerald Town to form a guerrilla cell, The Jade Panthers which serve as a continual thorn in the government's side.

Eolas: A three year old peasant child in the rural Emerald Empire lay awake in their bed, struggling to fall asleep despite a busy day of work on the farms. Instead they could think only of the past and the future. While Eolas failed to accomplish their plan of opening a portal between the worlds they had learnt much. They knew such a thing was possible and how it could be done. Eolas viewed recent events as a significant setback, but not an end of all things and remained determined to one day see their plans come to fruition, a determination it seemed even death could not hinder.

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I talked with Baloth & Spaceman and just decided to skip straight to the epilogue. Anyone who's not dead, feel free to post one. But please keep it limited to 5 years after the end of the RP, don't go any further than that. I may want to use this setting in a future RP (most likely if I ever make some kind of Multiverse thing) and going too far in the future, well, it would really be Dieselpunk anymore.

There weren't that many characters and a lot of them are dead. But if I left someone important out of the epilogue please let me know.

[Baloth-Kul]

Guo, the Emerald Viper
After giving Randolph the slip, the last known appearance of the woman known as Guo Jian was when she booked passage aboard a ship, bound for Baumberg. Where she might have headed from there is only speculation.

Empress Mei Emerald the Second
As the Emerald Empire mourned the death of their beloved ruler, some were surprised by the initiative shown by her successor, the late empress' daughter. Industry flourished as the newly crowned Empress worked tirelessly to revitalize the country. The homeless were given shelter and food for work, new factories and foundries blossomed across the nation at her decree. For the time, it seemed a new age had dawned upon the Emerald Empire, one of prosperity.

Sitting upon her throne after a day spent negotiating trade agreements, the Empress' thoughts turned to one thing. Below her palace, beyond the reach of any servants, more tightly secured than even her royal treasury, sat her greatest treasure; a black obsidian cube, lined with runes and imbued with untold power.

"Heh. I knew we'd go places, together" Tānxīn mused. "But I think this is just the beginning."

[Dirty Spaceman]

Randolph Flamini
Randolph woke up early, but not early enough. Guo had disabled the car, and even if she hadn't, he had no way of knowing how far she'd already gone, or in what direction. If I go looking for her now, it's more likely I'll find Howard's men than her, he thought glumly. She had the cube, and it looked like she'd gotten away with it.

He decided to make the best of his situation. He abandoned the car for fear that Howard's men may have had its description, and hitchhiked back to the city. He found Jia once more and sold his unused weapons and explosives back to her at a reduced price. The proceeds, he used to pay for passage by boat to the Orlan Kingdom. He was going home.

Randolph's parents were surprised to see him arrive at their door without warning, but they welcomed him warmly. He avoided talking in much detail about anything that had happened after he lost his job, and began his search for a new one. With help from his demon, with whom he now maintained a friendly relationship, he realized that his specific abilities would make him ideally suited for firefighting.

Thus he joined the volunteer fire department, and quickly became one of the most prolific rescuers on the force, though never daring to do anything that would leave mage abilities as the only explanation. His reputation grew, and when a member of the official fire department lost his life, Randolph found himself with an offer to join and receive a salary.

And so Randolph finally found paid employment once more, and was able to move out of his parents' house into his own apartment. It seemed that he had gotten his life back on track. But the memory of his failure back on Coatl nagged at him each day, with the constant fear that someday, the consequences would show themselves. In the meantime, though, he practiced to grow his mage abilities in secret, so that if he was ever needed - as the only person other than Guo who knew what had happened that day on Coatl - he'd be able to do as much as he could to help.