162

Read to everyone:

A flickering blue glow against the horizon catches your attention. You can barely make it out against the purpling sky, until it is joined by a second blue glow, and then a third blue. More join until a full dozen can be seen.

In unison, the glows bob and rotate, doubling, before they begin to move in your direction. You recognize them now: Scrappers, probably a dozen of them. They pass between you and the glow of Mother’s Watch, cutting you off from a quick escape.

You’re beginning to wonder if you’ve been spotted, when you hear a high-pitched whine. One pair of blue eyes flashes to red, then another, and the rest almost at once. They’ve seen you and are heading in your direction.

You can’t take on a dozen Scrappers. Your only choice is to try to lose them in the nearby trees. The treeline is close, just past a few loose boulders you can duck behind.

All party members make a perception check against Hard difficulty. Anyone who fails falls in an unmarked hole between the rocks, taking Light damage.

Otherwise, even characters who notice the hole decide it’s probably safer to get out of the Scrapper’s line of sight. Everyone gets down into the cave, backing away from the ledge and into shadow. You can hear the high-pitched pulse of the Scrappers’ scanning components firing one after another. Scrappers walk by the hole, but seem unable to detect you.

Continue with entry 173.