The horse stopped near the edge of the borders of the river. The help he recorded from the Reeds was of great us on getting here, past the hideous ruins and many monsters of the swamp. And the damned crater! Gods knew that was dangerous. Yandel and his group were not afraid though. They were here to discover, find new technologies and bestiaries, develop a new land that had joined them and integrate it, and bring peace and prosperity to the realm. Or at least that's what we've been told. In truth, they were all anxious about being in a land completely different to their own, with this so called 'radiation' around which could turn people dead, or into the disgusting being that Luwin had messaged them about. They had seen a savage, animalistic version earlier in the morning, and put it down with their bodyguard's sword. Yandel would have looked to write a new book that would top even 'The World of Ice and Fire' by documenting what was happening in this new land.
His fellow maesters included Coleman, former Maester of Jon Arryn looking for new purpose in life, Cressen from Dragonstone, who had been sent on orders of its Lord Stannis Baratheon, Tybald- a scared nervous Old man from the Dreadfort and even Theomore of Lannisport. It appeared the opportunities of a new land and the beings within it had drawn maesters of many professions together on this journey. Of course, such people were not fighters, and so some guards had been sent to supervise them from the Citadel, along with a small division of gold cloaks to make sure they kept on line from the crown. Already a royal expeditionary force was sent northwards to see if this area had any threats to the kingdom, but this one would be in the name of knowledge and discovery. A group of settlers outside a building could be seen by the maesters at this point. The building was made entirely out of metal and must have stood over 100 feet tall. It was thin in frame and had dishes in it. Yandel went to ask the settlers what it was.
"That old thing? It's supposed to have been a satellite relay before the war. They broadcast signals from different radios and frequencies around the region. With the right equipment, you can even do your own one. Why do you ask"
Cressen stepped in- "we've been sent by orders from the Citadel to investigate this new land. You have have seen two large parties going through your land, with us-"
The other local interrupted, this woman clearly less educated. "Ah saw sum ya friends in carriage three weeks back going through ah land. Next thing you know, a freakinf huge one has gone around, killin ghouls, mirelurks, raiders, that kind of shit ya know? We hope you don't kill us, eh?" Now Coleman responded. "Can any of you explain what these signals and broadcasting are? We're awfully confused." The settler man pointed to his decide he was carrying.
"This is a radio, which we use to pick up signals." He turned it on with a button and blurred out noise and voices came out. The pitch was hard to hear, and many of the maesters put their hands on their ears in response. "You can tune it to particular frequencies by twisting the notch." The voice became clearer in noise now. It sounded like an insecure young man trying hard to entertain his listeners. He then twisted it again to reveal something else. "Diamond City radio kind f sucks right now with that Travis running the show. How about some classical?" This music was relaxing and clearly using some kinds of string instruments, if he could see any.
"This must be some sort of sorcery!" Cried out Tybald. "How can a box produce the voices of men and instrument otherwise, and change it at will. This is dark arts, brothers!" Gods this is embarrassing, Yandel thought as the wretch drivelled on.
The settler laughed at this accusation. "No magic here. This is technology built my man for entertainment, and now communication that's instant. Better than some scrolls and that bird you primitives are using?" He smiled again. The man seemed arrogant to say the very least, but his knowledge was useful. "This used lots of tiny copper wires surrounded by plastic and steel with a bolt going through. Managing the currents and getting them right can be tricky at first, but as a former scavenger, I know my stuff fortunately. Sorry, I never told you my name, it's Mitchell. And this is my sister, Gloria. What are your names?"
"We are Maesters sent from the Citadel of Oldtown. I am Yandel, he is Coleman-" he pointed. "He is Tybald, he is Theomore, and he is Cressen. And the guard's name is Jonathor. We came to see and explore new elements of your world. It is clear that your technology is vastly beyond anything we have in our world, so we are interested to see. You said that your people can master electricity in devices? Is that like lightning in a reduced form?"
Mitchell scratched his head. "Well, pa..." he said with some level of snobbery, something he clearly didn't have much experience with given his youthful appearance of only twenty and eight or so, "the use of wires like this allowed us to channel its power and use it in all sorts of things. These radios, street lights, vehicles, these broadcasting towers, phones, even ships and cars, you name it! Even after the apocalypse, electronic technology takes up a huge aspect of our lives. And if this spreads, it'll take up your lives and that of your descendents. Here's a walky talky. It's like a radio but allows you to talk to each other directly over great distances. You still need to maintain a frequency, or else you can end up contacting people you really don't want to contact. Hope this helps." He handed some strange tubes with small holes to the maesters. "Remember, they run on batteries, so you may need to go and buy some if you ever need more. Also, turn on that relay using the terminal there. It'll enhance your signals and grant you new ones too. A safe bet at this point." Yandel smiled at the man, saying "thank you for your kindness. Farewell to you and your sister on your journey." The two departed, and the party headed for the relay. It was on the top of a hill and was useful. It said "Radio tower 3SM-U81" on a sign just outside it. The coast seemed clear to go until some horrible things came up from some cattle corpses.
They were like mosquitoes that existed far south in Dorne and the southern Stormlands and Reach, but they were much bigger-the size of a small eagle in fact! There must have been three of them as they prepared to swarm around. Jonathor swung his sword at one and cut it in half, while another attempted to bite into his armour, and seemed to fail. However, he soon let out a yelp of pain as the bug's abdomen began to swell with blood, and Jonathor became increasingly pale and unable to swing his sword. It's draining the life out of him, Yandel thought. He grabbed a dagger and stabbed it in the bug's head, causing it to let go and start to fly around erratically, before collapsing on the ground. He stomped on its head just to make sure it was gone. He turned to his comrades and saw that Tybald had been downed by two of the bugs, with his life essence already fading fast. The goldcloaks in their thick armour were protected from the bug's attacks, but at the same time were too slow to hit them accurately. Picking up the wheezing Jonathor's sword, Yandel charged at the beast closest to him and stabbed it in the chest, causing it to try and escape. It soon collapsed and died though. The final beast was dragged by the other maesters by the legs, until it frantically pulled its own legs off trying to retreat, having only two of its original four now. It was nevertheless too quick for them to reach. They turned back to Tybald.
"I'm not sure I can make it, I'm afraid. Too much blood lost. I thought leeches were bad, but that made leaches seem like a breeze against a mighty storm...deteriorating,...I'm not sure what to feel." He breathed in and out as intensely as he could. Why couldn't one of these 'doctors' be nearby?
"You can do this, you've still got years to live, things to discover, and a mission to do." Cressen tried to assure him. "You're not as useless as you think, you've helped us document so much." It was true, Tybald had always been the one noting down the sights that had been seen travelling through the swamps. The various species of mirelurks, the giant 'bloatflies', the scavengers and local communities, even providing a few pictures of some 'robots' that had been seen, particularly the Protectrons and Mr. Handy's that were used by caravans he saw by the riversides as they entered the drier land. The notes would be preserved for years to come, and go towards their 'Wastelander's Guide' they were all planning to participate in.
Tybald looked directly at Yandel now. "Go, the Gods call me to their heavens, and they've put us here for a reason. Continue where I... started, for we could... do... unimaginable good with all this... information. No...more poverty...no more magic... no more lack of...communication, and no more games of thrones. Just... let them remember who I was." He smiled with as much effort as he could. "Promise me, Yandel!" he exclaimed before he started choking for the good of about twenty seconds, before he finally let go of life. Yandel had a tear in his eye. He wasn't as old as the rest of them, and yet here he was, dead before them. He sighed.
Coleman found the courage to speak. "He had a point. We've been sent here by the Citadel themselves to find out new information about the monsters terrorizing our people and the lunatics with weapons that shoot fire. We've found more out then we could ever have hoped. Let's not use this as a chance to give up. It's not what he would want. We're here to document this land and find new things, and that's exactly what we'll do. Is that clear?" The others nodded in unison, though Yandel could see that Jonathor was more hesitant, although this could just be him trying to regain himself after the torture of those giant mosquitoes. He could see a bed there, with materials for more beds in their packhorse. Two terminals were present, one for the tower itself clearly and the other for some strange tube, looking like a cubbard. They went over to the terminal with their walky talky and checked the frequency which was fortunately stated at the bottom of the screen and copied down. He saw two options on the screen. One to activate the signal and the other to investigate a journal. Out of curiosity, Yandel navigated using the directional buttons to select the journal option. He saw buttons that showed each of hte letters and punctuation he knew, as well as many other symbols he did not understand. He looked through the journals to see information, but it appears to have been written by people all long dead. The calender in this world claims the year is 2281 rather than from 298 as they had known.
"Perhaps this world was from the future?" he asked Coleman.
"Doubtful, these lands and their layout are alien to us. This is another world with its own time and history. Can you find a way to activate the signals?"
Yandel got to it. He went back and activated the signal. The tower moved on its own, as if it were some giant waking itself up. Suddenly, several signals were now available, and the ones that were already so were now much stronger than before. One of the messages sounded like an emergency. "Perhaps we should go over and help these people?" he asked the others. They were hesitant, but ultimately agreed. The messages repeated themselves, which were unusual, but perhaps it was due to their technology being greatly improved. They also saw next to it a terminal claiming that a 'protectron' was in the coffin-like structure waiting for activation. They tried getting on but only found a mess of random numbers and letters in its place. Jonathor tried to smash the case open with a small axe he had, but all it did was dent the thick glass.
"Very well," Coleman said. "We should go to wherever this signal is taking us." He gave one of the 'walkie talkies' to Cressen and told him to inform them if anything happened while he stayed at the station.
As the group journeyed east they found an empty settlement where the signal lead. The sign said 'Jamaica Plain' which was unusual, as they knew of no such place before. The area looked like a fight had broken out, as there were dead bodies everywhere. Perhaps the mysterious 'Sole Survivor' had visited here in the past? Yandel could see the bodies were a mixture of human and ghoul, with the body of a strange robot too. Inside it's headpiece appeared to be...
"A human brain? What sort of monsters would do this to a fellow human being? Even the most savage men I've had not resorted to this. Removing a man's brain and forcing him to be a slave once again? Barbaric!" The others expressed similar disbelief. One goldcloak exclaimed"There's another one here, only the brain is missing. Someone must have took it!" Another said- "perhaps we should go inside and investigate?" They prepared to go inside until one of them caught something strange at the corner of their eye. Theomore gestured to make sure the others stayed behind the edge, except for some goldcloaks and Jonathor he called to his side. What he saw was stranger than ever before.
When they came around, they saw what looked like one of the savage raiders they had long avoided and been taught to fear. These were like technologically upgraded wildlings, except they were addicted to all sorts of terrible substances that would enhance the physical state but destroy the mental state of that using them, according to their interview with a travelling doctor known as Weathers earlier in their journey. But this one, while a tall man of six feet and four inches and with a deadly dagger in his hand-easily capable of killing all the maesters, and apparently a threat to the guards too, was still and silent. He smiled. "Welcome, are you lost here?" he asked with a look of pure malevolence. These could have been Brave Companions or men of Gregor Clegane by the look on their faces, but they had more stripped down gear, and guns in their holster. There were about five of them. Yet not one of them moved to fight. Behind them lay a vat full of disembodied brains seemingly collected by these raiders for some malevolent purpose, while next to it was a cage full of feral ghouls, who were incapable of getting out at this point. The maesters including Yandel were speechless. "Our new friend would be interested in seeing you. We thought we could wipe him out, but he's pretty convincing really." Behind the leader of the gang stepped a familiar face.
"Isn't it nice to see fellow Westerosi here in this wretched place? The new company can be so bothersome sometimes, but these men are more welcoming than most to my field of work."
"Qyburn? What are you doing here?" Yandel exclaimed. He had not seen the man in years, since before he was expelled for his hideous works that should not be spoken, or even thought of, lest it drive men into madness. It looks like it was too late for the raiders, as savage as they were.
"I went with Beric Dondarrion's expedition into the Wasteland. Tywin Lannister used Casterly Rock's gold reserves to hire my new allies, the Brave Companions to come here and fight for the expedition to pacify the region. But whereas they saw a threat. I saw opportunity. No Westerosi laws are here, it is true. People would tear each other apart for scraps of food, or to defend themselves from vicious beasts. Radiation can turn men like you and me into... these things." He pointed to the cage full of ghouls. "I wish to study these kinds of processes-what can make ordinary men no better than wildlings, and what has created the monstrous bestiary that live here. Technology is important and all that, but the states of being interest me far more. We have so much to learn from them, but they have so much to learn from us."
The female raider to his right spoke, one who had a huge scar on her face, along with black marks on the left side of her neck. "He's shown us states of being that we can't get from no highs or killings, we don't just kill at random or to pillage. He's shown us a real way of life." They were clearly in some euphoric state. Yandel quickly realised they all had black markings around their neck, and many of them appeared to have scars for injuries that should have been fatal, but somehow werent.
Qyburn spoke once more. "Would you care to join us, my former brothers? There's plenty of room in our arrangement for more." His smile sent shivers down their spine.
Before they knew it, they were running as fast as they could. Even the Goldcloaks and Jonathor couldn't keep up with them as these silver-armored raiders he had followed him with great precision. These were far more organised and coordinated than any natural ones, without the whole drug infested nonsense that they normally had. They were also unnaturally fast and deadly. The former leader took out a shotgun and blasted a goldcloak down with no effort while still running. Theomore split from the others down an ally, and was thus followed by a remaining raider. Coleman got out the talking device and called. "Cressen, you fool, are you there? We're being chased by savages that Qyburn has seduced. You hear me? The freak is thriving in this new world!" though he didn't get a reply back.
They found themselves cornered by the tech raiders, who stood in uniform formation with perfect, unnatural synchronization that was not seen in nature. Soon at their sides, some dogs that appeared to have human brains latched on via the technology of these technically fluent raiders appeared next to them. One was parroting "kill. kill. kill" as it stalked towards them. The raider leader said "you could have joined us in the great game, used all your skills to bring us together in the Fuzz. But you couldn't swallow ya pride, could ya? Now prepare to-" the head exploded. Within a split second, all of the raiders and the talking dogs were downed by a hale of incredibly fast fire, with the holes literally burning through them and setting them on fire. They all lay dead now. They looked above them and saw a woman with a huge looking gun far larger than the others, along with some guards. She said "come with me if you want to live." They did.
Following some running over a distance, they climbed the stairs of an abandoned building, passed some giant beetles or roaches, and found themselves on the roof with this woman and her guards.
"You guys looked like you were in a tight squeeze here. Name's Fahrenheit, and I'm in charge of the town of Goodneighbour now my boss Hancock left to go North with Nathan. You know anything of them?"
The maesters shook their head, though Yandel said that he had heard the name Nathan in passing from a man named Macready down near the Twins.
"Nice to know. Since you guys are new around here, and not warlike savages like many of these 'Westerosi' are, we'd like you to settle in our town for the time being. You won't regret it!" Around this time, just two goldcloaks returned, with Jonathor being carried by them. "He's been hit, he needs help soon."
Fahrenheit got out a strangely large syringe and stuck it into Jonathor's injured area. incredibly, the injuries healed rapidly, in just a few seconds. The gunshot wounds, the knife wounds and even his previous lack of blood seemed to disappear.
"A miracle." one of the men cried as they all marvelled at this rapid healing.
Fahrenheit than turned to them. "Well, it looks like you guys will be staying after all. You clearly need us to live around here." She smiled and started to lead them on the way.
Hopefully, we will find out much new information here, Yandel thought. Maesters had no lands of their own and no wife or children, but in such an alien place, they might as well be kings.