The Iron Dogs - Tales From the Road
Prologue
The ancient cable car rattled and jolted as it made its dark and unpleasant journey downwards towards Sump City. The occupants of the car, the Orlock gang known as Iron Dogs, sat sullenly and silently, avoiding each other’s gazes, quietly contemplating the mess they were in. A young Greenhorne who had recently had the misfortune to join the gang, considered his fate.
He joined the gang a short while back. He remembered being presented to Snake, Iron Dogs Road Captain. A grizzly looking man with graying hair, a wicked looking stub gun and an augumented arm. “My name is Lyd…” Snake cut the sentence short. “Boy” he snarled. “You will be called Boy from now on. The Iron Dogs got no time for pretty names.” A tall, overbearing Arms Master in a black leather waistcoat and sporting a combat shotgun chuckled, “Nice. Another great Naming, Snake”. He looked down at Boy. “Roight fella, follow me”, he barked and marched Boy out of the room.The name stuck.
A month ago, the Iron Dogs were working the Great Ash Road escorting sludge barges across the wastes, fighting off pirates and earning a pretty penny. Snake had a knack for getting the best escort duties and leading the gang into many successful deliveries. But then something happened No-one knows exactly what, but there were rumours. A bar brawl, a disagreement, some cross words between Snake and some higher authority and before we knew it the Iron Dogs had been “encouraged” to lead an expedition into Sump City to get a foothold in the area in the name of House Orlock. And so here we are. The Iron Dogs, committed to seek our fortune and heading down into who knows what…
Chapter 1. The Mines.
The gang eventually found a settlement to call home and fortified it the best they could. Snake then sent out scouting parties to get a lay of the land. Reports came in of an abandoned mine nearby. A great place to claim and set up and start earning some cash. Snake gathered the gang and set off.
Not for the first time, Boy wondered what he had done to upset Snake. They had both sprinted to cover and were waiting for their moment. Behind them the Road Sergant Roadblock had let lose some frag grenades and cheered as two of the Van Saars were thrown into the air, dangerously close to a gaping pit. The cheers were cut short as their foes got up, dusted themselves down and shot at an unseen target. A scream followed by silence told Boy that the Arms Master was the target and the silence meant that their left flank was compromised. Snake shoved Boy forward “over there!” he yelled and pointed at a gap in a wall, “I bet their leader is behind there. If we cut him out the picture they’ll all fold”. They both leapt forward, avoiding gunfire. There was a figure ahead of them. “Geddhim!” Snake ran forward, dragging Boy along with him. It wasn’t their leader, but Snake knocked him down with one punch of his Servo Claw. Then Boy realized what his purpose was as he was hit in the back by multiple shots. As his vision blurred and faded he saw Snake standing over him, snarling defiantly…
Boy woke a while later, back in their settlement in a makeshift hospital. He was hurt but recovering. Around him lay others in a similar position. The gang had been hit hard and lost the area. Worse, one of the crazy Wreckers, Jaina, had been killed in action. Boy had a vague memory of her jumping up onto a gantry and wondered what her fate had been. The rest of the gang had been hit pretty badly too, but Ironhide, the Arms Master had taken it the worst. He had been humiliated in battle; taken down easily and he was not taking it well. Snake and most of the others were recovering, licking their wounds.
Suddenly Roadblock burst into the hospital. “Snake” he grunted, “ Eschers nearby, trying to take control of that Narco Den we had our eyes on”. Snake sat up and winced. He slid back into a prone position. “Take what bodies we have left”. He locked eyes with Roadblock. “Be cautious, but make me proud. Roadblock nodded and left. Boy lay there, thankful that he had avoided this battle.
Chapter 2 – Narcos
Fully recovered, Boy stood by the entrance of their settlement looking out into the grim darkness for the party who had been sent to intercept the Eschers. One by one they returned, looking a bit sheepish. Roadblock was the last to arrive. He had a big grin on his face, in stark contrast to the rest of the gang. As he approached, Roadblock slapped his grenade launcher. “Ol betsy did me proud” he exclaimed. “took em out one by one, BOOM BOOM!” Boy jumped nervously at the booms. “but then poor ol Betsy jammed and that bunch of wusses”, hejabbed a thumb in the direction of the gang members who had returned early” buggered off. We ‘ad em. We could have ‘ad em.” Roadblock headed off to find Snake to regale him with the tale of the territory he could have, but didn’t, win. As Boy went to shut the heavy door of the main entrance of their settlement a hive scummer sidled into view. “A proposition for you guv’na” he called. “An invitation to a pit fight. Bring your best fighter. And by invitation I means you gotta be there”. Boy relayed this information to the gang. Snake looked like he was about to volunteer himself but Ironhide, still reeling from his previous humiliation, step forward. “I need this Snake” he growled, “let me volunteer”. Snake reluctantly agreed…
Chapter 3 - Pitfights
The beers were flowing at the newly acquired drinking hole. Celebrations and much back slapping were happening with Ironhide in the middle of it all. Surviving the pit fight, staying well clear of that hulking brute as he did what it appears Goliaths do best, and then getting in there and finishing him off. Rumour had it that Ironhide struck a bargain with the Goliath to work together to take the others out, and he was smart enough to get the hell out the way knowing full well he would get a fist to the head soon as look at him. And now they own this bar. Somehow Boy was having to do bar duty, having run the previous owners out of town. A pit fighter was leaning at the bar, clearly trying to keep up with the bar antics of the Orlocks, but failing miserably. “Fzz Wzzz gar flurgle” he mumbled and collapsed. A cheer erupted “Great investment there Snake” laughed Ironhide. “he will rake in a pretty penny at the fights. We might need to keep him away from here though”.
Roadblock was talking quietly to some hive scummer who had ventured into the bar. He mentioned Snake over and Boy overheard them talking. “A couple of thems Goliaths aren’t far away near some tunnel entrances. I reckon we can ambush them, get ourselves some sweet kills and take them down a peg. They’ve been taking over the place, we can’t have it.”. Snake agreed. “IRON DOGS” he yelled. “SUIT UP, WE ARE GOING TO WAR!” a cheer rose through the bar, everyone started leaving. The pit fighter, prone on the floor, stirred. Boy chuckled as he ran past, checking his stub gun was loaded, “Stay down Snatch, save yer energy for the pits”.
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