It was late in the day when you heard from the back of the line screaming, unable to push past your men to aid the soldiers at the back, now stuck listening to their screams, which only grew louder. You ordered your men to run further into the cave, hoping for open ground to deal with the Orkos. For hours you ran, hearing screams and the sound of steel on steel as your legs turned numb, until at last you came to where the valley ended, seeing a great metal door, which had enough space in the area around it for your men to form up against the Orkos. You had them watch the thin entrance you came from as you looked over the door, which was like the vault door from the eastern ruins, though it was older, and locked with many mechanisms. You tried to open the door any conceivable way possible, even shooting it, but to no avail: the thing was built to withstand time, let alone some waster at its entrance.
You looked around the floor, and saw many skeletons, with some even fresh enough to have clothes on. As you sifted through the bones on the ground, you found the heraldry of the first dynasty of Black-Hands-Deal, along with what looked like their last lord, who was reaching for the door in his last moments. In the palm of the skeleton, you pulled out some sort of key, one that had seen many years beyond count, much older than Black-Hands-Deal, and in the same style and design as the door. You ripped the key off the chain around the dead lord's neck, and begun searching for some sort of keyhole for the thing. While you were doing this your remaining dozen or so men formed up, and prepared to fight the demon, which was just finishing off the soldiers caught in the valley.

[2/3]

Just as you found the small hole that fit the end of the key, you heard your men getting ready to fight. You turned around and saw a single red light coming from the thin cave valley, and heard the footsteps of something made of metal. What stepped out of the darkness was something not seen for hundreds of years: an android. Its height was greater than any mans, and its body was that of metal and something altogether unknown. Orkos had only one red eye, and no mouth or ears to speak of. It was covered in the blood of your men, and as your shaking soldiers prepared to shoot at it, it spoke: "Put down your weapons, and I won't skin you alive." The android spoke in a calm voice, and waited for a reply from your men. The first soldier to raise their gun instantly was skewered by some sort of tiny blade that flew from the robot's wrist, making the rest of your men raising their weapons and attack. The android instantly jumped up into the air, and disappeared into the darkness above, with your troops shooting wildly as you managed to finally open the gate. The doors of the metal chambers began opening slowly, but soon the first ones were wide enough for you to fit through, revealing to you the inside of the room, which was simply a hallway with another great door on the other side. You yelled to your men to get inside, but they did not listen, and though the fight would be hopeless in the end, they did not care, they were beyond reason and thought:
>Run out of the valley, back through the thin cave to your other soldiers
>Run through the doors, and close them behind you
>Fight with your men, to the very last
>Or write in

Roll 1d100

[3/3]
Check out the archives (You only really need to read the 'Apocalypse Raider Quest Returns' ones to catch up):
http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?searchall=Apocalypse+Raider+Quest

https://yuki.la/qst/3960194 (forgot to archive Apocalypse Raider Quest Returns #2)

Previous thread: >>4102425

Rolled 95 (1d100)

>>4114008
>Fight with your men, to the very last
Fucking gladiators. If they won't listen to us then we have no choice but to help them, for what it's worth.

Rolled 48 - 55 (1d100 - 55)

>>4114018
95 -35 (Severe morale damage from losses and ancient enemy [+10], your men trust you, iron armor, master swordsman, outnumber your enemy, inhuman accuracy, and the intervention of Mashuk [-20]) = 60

Enemy gets -55 (kevlar and steel shell [-20], superior ranged weapons, superior melee weapons, inhuman speed, inhuman strength, inhuman accuracy, cloaking device, and fear factor)

Only me rolling a nat 100 would stop you from losing here

>>4114260
Longshot never catches a break, does he?

60 vs -7 = Absolute defeat

You rushed in to help your men, and drew your sword towards the darkness. You stood for what seemed like an eternity there, with naught but the slow drip of the few stalactites filling the echoing chambers around you. As your soldiers began to look at each other and calm down, four or five hooked blades came from above, with wires attached to pull up almost half of your remaining men screaming, with you unable to cut any of them loose as they disappeared into the void surrounding you. You went back to back with your troops, and prayed for a miracle. Again wires came from the ether, but this time one came for you, though with your quick reflexes you were able to parry the blade on the end, narrowly avoiding a grim death. Your men were not so skillful, and now it was just you left, back to the wall as the demon above silenced the screams of its remaining victims. You wouldn't die a coward, and if death would take you now, it will not be pitiful, nor would it be without struggle. You looked to the door, and jumped to the key, pulling it out so the doors slowly closed, going inside while watching the entrance.

As you walked backwards into the room, you felt yourself bump into something. You turned around, and saw the very darkness itself move, then the Orkos slowly began to reveal itself, with some sort of magical cloak dispersing on its armored body. You drew your sword, and walked to where the doors were closing once more. The demon looked down on you, and its fingers started elongating until they were dangling on wires, as the ends turned into blades. You gave a warcry, and rushed the android but, just as you moved your sword into strike you felt something go through your body. You looked down, and saw several wires through your body, all going clean through your chest and out your back. You would not let your death be a cowards, and ran at the android still, sword drawn. Your blade struck it along its body, catching it unaware, though the effect of the strike was all but a thin scratch along the chest. Orkos picked you up by the wires in your body, and threw you into the wall, instantly knocking you unconscious.

File: The Void.jpg (9 KB, 600x338)

9 KB JPG

You woke to darkness, one that was unlike the tangible caves and night of the world: this was infinite and abyssal. You tried to scream or yell, but you could not, your body was not here, it was down there. You looked below you and saw the earth, covered in the light of the moon, with the sun on the opposite side to you. You felt yourself slowly approaching the world, until you were going towards it at speeds indescribable, flying past the moon and the debris of the ancients to enter in a great ball of fire the earth's atmosphere. You moved in smoke and flame towards one of the many oceans of the old world, and filled the horizons with dust and cloud as you came within a few miles of the surface. You felt nothing as you impacted the water, sending a storm across the whole world, letting the planet die as you sunk into the dark waters below.

You woke to darkness, this one, however, was tangible, but still not of the world. You saw fog appear around you, then you saw the vision of your dead soldiers and ones that had been dead for many thousands of years. Then you saw it: the great throne of your god, and atop it he sat, watching you as you prostrated yourself before him. The god spoke: "You have failed many times Longshot. I have no patience for failure." Mashuk shifted forwards in his towering throne, "but all men fail, and yours is most interesting. Though you have now met your fate at the hands of the Orkos, it is not the end for you. You have fought bravely for me, and so I shall reward you with another chance, though this does not come with a price of its own: you will be returned once more to the world but, in turn, your soul shall be mine, and your freedom is forfeit:"
>Agree to the terms
>You will never be a slave again. God or no god, you only serve yourself

>>4114311
>Agree to the terms
In the end, it was all worthless.

>>4114316
Mashuk smiled, and leaned back in his throne as you began to sink into the thick fog layer beneath you. You again were in darkness, until a great spike of pain awoke you, opening your eyes to the Orkos, who was just about to skin you. You tried to move, but the fact that you were upside down suspended by a wire made this quite difficult. You grabbed the knife at your boot and began cutting it, while the Orkos watched from afar, somewhat impressed or surprised by your resurrection. You managed to cut the wires, and fell on you ass on the ground, getting up slowly from the painful experience. You lifted up your garments and saw ten ugly scars in your chest where the wires used to be, and saw at your wrists and ankles thin cuts, made to pull off your skin like an animal. You saw that you were still in the room that you were killed in, and the sword you had dropped was on the opposite side of it to you, with the android in the middle. The Orkos jumped down, and again prepared to impale you with wires, and you drew your large knife to meet it. You felt the power of Mashuk within you, but what gift he gave you was uncertain:
>Gain mastery of long-ranged weapons
>Become godlike with a sword
>Gain a high pain tolerance
>The speed of a wolf, and the vision of one too (night vision)
>The strength of Mashuk
>Primal rage
>The reflexes of a cat, making climbing and maneuvering instinctual to you
>The ability to feel in the vibrations of the earth to ascertain where and what things are (knows when something is behind you, or preparing to shoot you from a mile away)
>The ability to communicate with some animals and animalistic things telepathically

Choose one

>>4115380
>Gain mastery of long-ranged weapons

>>4115405
You held the knife in a loose position, and prepared to throw it as soon as the android opened his defense. Just as you were closing in to attack, you heard the yelling of your men, who were currently trying to open the door. You jumped away from the Orkos, and rolled towards the door, putting in the key before it was able to properly react. As the doors slowly opened, the android slunk back into the darkness, somehow disappearing in one of the rooms corners. You saw Hildimar and the other soldiers rush into the room, all surprised that you were still alive on the other side. You told them that the Orkos was still in the room, and they all went into fighting positions. You had Hildimar hand you some rifle ammo (you had run out during when you were in the lair), and you aimed your gun right at where you thought the demon was. You shot your bullet with great precision, hitting something metallic, and revealing the Orkos to everyone once its invisibility faded. The demon let out an ear-splitting scream, that made all your men drop their weapons and grab their ears, and it climbed along the ceiling, and out of the room to the caverns.

When you showed your men the key you found on the skeleton outside, the men reacted as if it was made of solid gold. The militia told you that the key you held in your hand was an heirloom passed down from lord to their heir in the old dynasty of Black-Hands-Deal. With this heirloom, you had all the proof you needed for a legitimate rule, and all the soldiers agreed that you were destined to find it. This was as far as the lord made it, and going any further into the underworld would be both dangerous, and now without reason other than curiosity:
>It is time to go back, and recuperate
>We must go further, surely beyond these doors lie secrets unheard of
>Or write in

>>4115825
>We must go further, surely beyond these doors lie secrets unheard of
Why did the lord come here in the first place? Only one way to find out!

>>4116003
You went to the next gate, and unlocked it with the key now hung around your neck, with your men following close behind. The doors slowly opened to another room the exact same as the one you were in. Again you opened gates, but this time the doors opened to what looked like an endless corridor. When you entered, ancient lights turned on above you, one by one illuminating the great room until you saw the other side. You had your soldiers all pile into the large space, and went to the gates on the other side, putting in the key once more to further delve into the underworld.

The next room was large, bigger than Black-Hands-Deal in its entirety. When the lights turned on in the giant room, they revealed something both amazing, and terrifying: hundreds of dormant Orkos, all lined up like soldiers ready for war. Your men were silent, and as you walked down to the stairs on the side of the room (the entrance was at an elevated position) they began to talk of the army of the dead, and the doom that this power would bring to whatever side apposed it. You walked to the Orkos, and saw that they were a lesser version of the one that hunted you, though they were still far superior to any man in combat.

As you walked down the lines of the androids, your men slowly followed. Once you finally made it to the other side of the room, the doors opened automatically, revealing a room just as large as the one you were in on the other side. Once the lights turned on in the next room, you saw bombs, guns, vehicles, ancient armor, and even a few nuclear missiles. As you looked over the weaponry, you felt something at the back of your head. You turned around and saw Hildimar with a gun pointed right at you. Your soldiers were all behind him as he said: "I have been talking to your soldiers Longshot, and we've decided that this weaponry is not to be wielded by mortals, especially not a waster. You have taken us into the underworld, and going any further will surely mean death for us all." You looked to your soldiers, who were all looking down to avoid your gaze, with two of the gladiators coming to take your weapons off you:
>Try to reason with your soldiers, agreeing to return them to their homes now that you know what secrets this place has
>Try to fight them off, and run further into the underworld to evade them (roll 1d100)
>Allow yourself to be taken, letting them decide your fate
>Or write in

Rolled 79 (1d100)

>>4116220
>Try to fight them off, and run further into the underworld to evade them (roll 1d100)
Fuckung rebels. We come all this way, pay so much in blood and tears, and now they want to give it up because they're afraid of what they don't understand? If they're willing to point a gun at us they won't be convinced by words.

Here is an idea, a large group of nearby orkos activate and tell them to put down their weapons?

Rolled 66 (1d100)

>>4116220
>Try to fight them off, and run further into the underworld to evade them (roll 1d100)
We're so close! We have lost so many people and nearly died so many times to get here and I absolutely refuse to let a bunch of superstitious cowards stop us.
RNGesus, don't fail me now!

Rolled 58 - 30 (1d100 - 30)

>>4116236
>>4116443
>>4116744
66 -50 (Iron armor, master swordsman, master rifleman, superior melee weapon, superior ranged weapon, inhuman accuracy, and the intervention of Mashuk [-20]) = 16

Enemy gets -30 (Severe moral damage from being in the underworld [+10], iron armor, outnumber you 60 to 1 [-30], and a gun pointed at your head)

>>4117295
You watched the two men slowly approach you, and waited for them to drop their guns to disarm you, jumping on one of them and putting them between you and your rebel troops. You held your knife to his neck, and said: "let me go, and all your men will live." Hildimar ordered the men to lower their weapons, and waited for you to let go of the hostage before giving chase. You ran down the hallways of weaponry and storage, and weaved between the isles to increase the distance between you and your troops. As you came to a door to another room, five or so soldiers were waiting for you. You disarmed the first man that ran at you, and threw his sword into the shoulder of the next one that attacked. You drew your knife, and faced down the last three armed men, stabbing through one of the men's wrists when he dared strike at you, throwing him at another rebel to put him temporarily out of the fight, now left with one soldier, who had hardly any time to react as you threw your knife right into his leg, making him fall down in pain, though his scream alerted all the other troops. You drew your rifle, and had all the soldiers stand to the side as you unlocked the door, and slid in the small gap that the slowly opening doors left, hearing Hildimar yell: "GET THAT KEY!!!" Before the gate finally closed.

The inside of the room lit up, and to your surprise, it was a small side room, with ancient quarters and rooms for eating. You looked for doors leading out of the room, and found one that there was a hallway that went around the large storage rooms, with smaller rooms being attached at every hundred or so meters. You traveled between the rooms till you came to the back of the weapons storage room, sneaking to where there was a gate, larger than all the others before, which must hide even more secrets. You were sure that the secret hallways would be able to get you back to the entrance or the androids, but the next room was surely where the greatest secrets presided:
>Go back to the android room, and escape the base for now
>Go even further, though the opening of the large gate would alert your men to where you were (roll 1d100)
>Stay hidden in the weapons room for a while, and outfit yourself in the ancients technology, including setting up traps (could be found by the rebels)
>Or write in

(you cant control the androids or the advanced weaponry of the base, you need to find the control room and understand the ancients runes first)

>>4117435
>Stay hidden in the weapons room for a while, and outfit yourself in the ancients technology, including setting up traps (could be found by the rebels)
We need to get some proper gear first. Then, we can make a fighting retreat into the control room.

>>4117461
You snuck through the corridors, and found the guns all hung up on racks, and grabbed holsters, bullet belts, machine guns, pistols, knives, bombs and grenades, and finally a machete in case you lost your sword. In the armor isle, you dropped your iron armor and dawned a kevlar vest with steel plates, a full face steel helmet, steel and kevlar limb protection, and a large backpack for storing anything else useful. Lastly, you found a laser scope for your sniper rifle, some night-vision goggles, and a set of military clothes and cammo gear that you put in the backpack. As you prepared to leave the weapons room, you saw patrolling troops around you, leaving you no option but to fight your way out of here:
>Fight through them, and try to go further into the underworld
>Fight through them, and try to go back to the android room
>Fight them here and now, taking them all out one by one
>Or write in

Roll 1d100

Rolled 63 (1d100)

>>4117785
>Fight through them, and try to go further into the underworld

Rolled 39 - 25 (1d100 - 25)

>>4117802
63 -55 (Kevlar and steel full armor [-20], master swordsman, master rifleman, superior melee weapon, superior ranged weapon, explosives, element of surprise, and inhuman accuracy) = 8

Enemy gets -25 (Severe moral damage from being in the underworld [+10], iron armor, and outnumber you 60 to 1 [-30])

>>4117822
8 vs 14 = close victory

You snuck to where some soldiers were patrolling, and knocked one of them out with the but of your pistol, aiming the handgun at the other ones that saw you. You tied them up, and had them go with you to the gate, where you began to unlock it after gagging them. Before you could run in though, another patrol spotted you, with the soldiers yelling out for everyone else to attack. You crouched down and took out the men with impeccable accuracy, using a muffler so the sound was minimal. While you pulled out the key and jumped into the next room, you shot down the troops that were running in and shooting back, taking out as many as you could before the doors closed in front of you. Your armor was hit once or twice, but the bullets bounced off harmlessly.

When the lights turned on in the new room, you saw what it was: the control room. A hundred or so ancient computers surrounded a large in-built screen on the opposite side to the door, with many of the devices turning on their power when you walked in. You looked at the computers and struggled to read what was on the screen, as well as what was on the writing device in front of it. The ancient ruins were like the writings of the wastelands, but different enough to not fully understand. You managed to hit the enter button, and found that the giant screen turned on in response. On the screen was splayed out many writings, with graphs and images that belonged to a different time. You were sure you could turn on the androids here, but you didn't know how. As you were struggling to go through the different menus on the computer, you came across a strange file. From what you were able to read, the file talked of another site hidden far, far to the north, and within it was something called 'Zorm,' which also happened to be the name of Mashuk's sword. You memorized the directions, and then you further searched the computer, finding a few different options, with one being the activation of the androids. You did as the instructions stated, and from one of the security cameras you saw all the robots look up, and stand up straight:
>Kill the rebels
>Kill the rebels, apart from Hildimar
>Capture the rebels
>Leave the rebels trapped in the room
>Or write in

>>4117857
>Capture the rebels
They get one chance.
And if they fail -- at least they'll be administered justice under the eyes of Mashuk.

>>4117857
>Capture the rebels
If we're absolutely sure that we can control the androids in the long term to keep the rebels in check. Otherwise, I vote for:
>Kill the rebels
If we can't control the androids in the long term, we're going to have to divert the effort required to keep watch over the rebels while we also try to get out of the underworld single-handedly while also trying to evade the Orkos.

>>4117862
>>4118205
As you went through the commands of the androids, an alert showed up, informing you of detected intruders (the rebels). You saw that there were options on how to deal with the rebels, and commanded your new army to capture all of the soldiers they could find, with all of the Orkos turning towards the room behind them as soon as you entered the order. You watched as the robots swarmed every last one of your troops before they were even able to yell, and how they silently disarmed any one that was able to raise a gun or weapon to them. The androids gathered all the soldiers together and, tied up in wires, they put them in the center of the room. When the demons finished their duty, they returned to their positions in the android room, and stood back in formation. You spent over two hours struggling to understand the commands and how to control the androids, but you came to the conclusion that you would need to bring in some scholar or translator for the ancient's runes and technology to be able to harness this weapon. Just as you were about to leave, you found something interesting out: the controls to the Orkos outside. You found its location and deactivated it, freeing this canyon from possible hostiles.

You did not have the ability to escort all of the rebels on your own back to Deaths-Head, and so with the canyons now traversable, you brought Hildimar with his hands tied up back to your camp, so as to show the remaining soldiers there what happened to the troops you had with you. When you got to the camp, however, it was abandoned, and your truck was taken also. You were stranded here, at the mouth of the black canyons with hostile rebels itching to get out of their bonds:
>Follow the tracks of the truck into the desert
>Stay here for a while, and try to convince Hildimar and your troops to stop their mutiny (unlikely)
>Travel on foot back to Black-Hands-Deal (you were not able to use the vehicles in the underworld, with most of them just being deconstructed, spare parts, out of fuel, or unable to fit through the canyon valley)
>Or write in

You can also decide to either kill the troops, set them free, or execute them

>>4119480
>Stay here for a while, and try to convince Hildimar and your troops to stop their mutiny (unlikely)
If we don't deal with them now, they'll pull some shit with the androids when we leave. After that's done we can get the Deaths-Head.

>>4119614
You decided to go back to the underworld, and moved all the soldiers out of the military base to where the camp used to be, having them rest and talk freely, though you still kept their bonds on for now. Hildimar still did not wish to talk to you, and many of the soldiers were too ashamed of their mutiny and failure to apprehend you to even engage in talk. As the days went on the food and water supplies dwindled, and soon the soldiers were too desperate to get out of the canyons not to negotiate with you. You the more eager ones unbound, and set up a separated camp for them where they got greater rations and drinks, making the other rebels unhappy, and making many of them negotiate too. You could never again rely on the loyalty of these men, you were not used to soft skins and their turncoat ways.

Just as you were breaking in the men, you discovered some unusual lumps in the outer desert. When you dug up where the lumps were, you found the dead soldiers that had waited for you here, with some mutants buried alongside them. This probably meant that your truck was in the hands of some thieving cannibals, and they had gotten away with murdering your remaining loyal soldiers:
>Track down these mutants, and take them out
>The truck will be found another time (don't need to roll 1d100)
>Send your soldiers that had come back to your side
>Go after these mutants, with the unbound soldiers at your side
>Track down the mutants, and have all the soldiers come with you, so as to avoid any escaping

Roll 1d100

Rolled 95 (1d100)

>>4119680
>Track down the mutants, and have all the soldiers come with you, so as to avoid any escaping

Rolled 38 (1d100)

>>4119680
>Go after these mutants, with the unbound soldiers at your side
We have the androids to keep an eye on the bound soldiers in the base. If we bring them with us, they can still try to escape once the fighting starts and we won't have the androids to help recapture them.

Rolled 1 (1d2)

>>4119681 (1)
>>4120171 (2)
Rolling for consensus

Rolled 37 - 50 (1d100 - 50)

>>4121043
Still gonna use the 38 instead of the 95

38 -45 (Kevlar and steel full armor [-20], master swordsman, insobordinate captive rebels [+10], master rifleman, superior melee weapon, superior ranged weapon, explosives, element of surprise, and inhuman accuracy) = -7

Enemy gets -50 (Iron armor, deaths-head, mutant wolves, flamethrowers, fortified position, turncoat rebels that might join their side, and outnumber you 40 to 1 [-20])

>>4121058
-7 vs -13 = Really close defeat

You weren't happy with this new information, and decided to lead your mutineers across the desert to find your truck, which was the key to getting out of here. You marched without stopping, and unlike when your men were loyal, you punished those who lagged in the walking by making them human mules, and those who talked by making them march in front with you. You were not kind to those who tried not so long ago to murder you, but you were able to stop yourself from beating those who disobeyed you to death for the duration of the march. As you reached where the enemy camp was positioned, you observed an enemy force almost as large as your rebels, who were all looking as forward to getting out of here as you. You decided that you would leave the few soldiers that had gone back to your side to watch over the others, having no other choice but to trust them.

When you approached the tents, you saw that Deaths-Head was in the center, and in between, you and your truck were many soldiers armed with the weapons of the soldiers they had killed, with some wielding guns and even wearing iron armor. You pulled the pin off some of the grenades you had brought with you, and threw them where the enemies clustered most, with the ensuing chaos allowing you to ready your machine gun, standing in the open to spray the scrambling crowd. You first shot down the wolves that were running towards you, then you took out the positioned gunmen at your flanks, finally running out of ammo in your magazine as you pulled out two pistols from your belt, taking out the melee troops that had closed the distance to you. When you ran out of ammo on the pistols, you threw some grenades to the enemy while you reloaded, again spraying the cannibals with lead, though this time you were conservative with your ammo.

As you paved a way to the truck, you heard a shot from behind, and felt a bullet hit you in your calf. You turned around and saw Hildimar and the other rebels, some being the ones who had promised to go back to your side, all preferring to side with cannibals than you. How could you have let yourself trust these softskins? You jumped for cover, and felt bullets bounce off your armor as you hid behind a fortification, now under suppressing fire as enemies closed in on both sides:
>Run for the truck
>Stand and fight
>Run for the canyons
>Run for Black-Hands-Deal (you weren't that far off at this point)

Roll 1d100

Your running out of lives, and Mashuk might not be so kind when you see him again

>>4121094
Seeya quest. Maybe I'll resume you in the future. For now, the players have left, and I have little choice but to call you dead.

Rest in peace