But the rewards are primarily moral. My fellow Vault dwellers are a useless, ineffectual bunch, and presumably the reason I get all these crazy assignments (aside from being the player character) is because I'm the only person who can actually get shit done.
However, my new goal is completely open-ended - find out what's causing all these mutants to appear and put a stop to it. I don't have a lot to go on. In fact, what I have is virtually nothing. No one in the Vault knows anything, and most of the people I've encountered on the outside completely failed to notice the problem.
In fact, the only mutants I ever saw were in Necropolis, so that seems as good a place as any to start. I head back and talk to the lead mutant.
Now, obviously, this is just an opening gambit. I'll probably have to do some clever manipulation to get the information out of him. It's the beginning of a long and difficult road . . .
Or he could just instantly transport me to the penultimate boss. That works too. I have no idea where I am or how I got there, but at least I'm face to face with the source of the evil mutants (who, honestly, I have not yet witnessed being particularly bad, but I'm sure it happens all the time off-screen).
Naturally, I have to play a game of twenty questions to learn the game's backstory.
But it's not too onerous. The mutant has a very soothing voice, and the actual background of his faction isn't too terribly complicated. There's a virus that induces a full-body mutation, transforming ordinary humans into creatures with super-human strength, endurance, and longevity. However, because it was released in the early stages of the war, humans on the surface have managed to develop an immunity. Thus the super mutants need access to original, pre-war humans in order to propagate their kind and expand their power over the world.
To this end, I am repeatedly punched in the stomach, in the hopes that I will give up the location of Vault 13. Of course, I tell Lou Tenant to fuck off, but it is not a decision that goes well for me.
My death was instantaneous. I'm talking deep into negative hit points with a single shot. Clearly, I am not nearly tough enough to face these enemies. Which leaves me with just one option - wander aimlessly around the wasteland fighting random monsters and doing inexplicable favors for strangers until I build up enough experience to fight effectively.
My first stop is the Hub.
It's a charming little town filled with aloof caravan drivers.
And armed police on every streetcorner.
I do eventually find a major NPC to talk to.
Though the quest he gives me is kind of ridiculous. If I'm being blown apart by super mutants, what sort of hope do I have against a Death Claw? Best case scenario, I get clawed to death. It's another thing to put near the bottom of my to-do list.
After further wandering, I come across a familiar sounding name.
Bob's Iguana Bits. If you recall from my early adventures in Junktown, Bob is in cahoots with Dr Morbid to sell human flesh disguised as Iguana meat. This simultaneously manages to be unethical, a major danger to public health, and also bizarrely inefficient. Surely, iguana is obtainable with less risk and expense than corpse meat transported halfway across the map.
I do what any traveling hero would do and confront him.
He doesn't bother denying it, and in the end winds up paying me off, to the tune of 200 bottlecaps a week. I accept because there doesn't appear to be any other way out of this conversation, but it's a baffling move on Bob's part. Now, in addition to all the other major flaws with his little scheme, he also has to fork over a significant amount of cash just to keep the whole thing quiet (though I don't know who I would report him to, in any event). He should really just accept what the universe is trying to tell him and get into a more honest line of work.
I get a nice chunk of xp out of this, so I can't entirely complain. But it's not nearly enough to make me super-mutant ready. I think I'm going to have to start being more aggressive in my pursuit of sidequests.
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