Rachel: Wasteland Barbarian Queen #3 (Part 2)

The Uncommon Commons (Part 2)

Rachel awoke to shouting outside the window. Alone, connected to bags of shaman elixirs, she pulled the needles out of her flesh and sat up. Her talisman told her four days had passed while the fever burned through her.

Donning her armour and weapon, both of which had been cleaned and repaired, she made her way to stairs, and then outside. Her eyes widened as she gazed upon a figure she recognized.

“CROK! As my father before me faced the AntAgonist, so I now face her daughter!”

A man she had not met summoned her urgently back from the door. For the moment content to observe as armoured knights traded taunts with the AntAgonizer, for so she had named herself with vehemence and volume, Rachel spoke with him.

The man was Roe, called Uncle by many. He was concerned, having recognized her as the daughter of Femme-Ra from her gaments. He wanted no further trouble from the likes of those now doing battle, for he also knew of them from the chroniclers and scribes of the order of Hubris.

Crow had vouched for her, and Roe made it plain that there was work to be had in ridding Canterbury Commons of the menace that now imperiled it. Rachel readily agreed.

Following her ancestral foe back to her hidden lair, Rachel made short work of the ants commanded by the fiend. Confronting the AntAgonizer on her throne, the battle was brutal, but swift. The burning from her adversarie's poisoned blade told her that a lovely new scar would grace her thigh once it healed. She claimed the dagger and armour of the AntAgonizer as trophies, and sat to rest.

A strange fire began to spark within her as Rachel sat upon the throne. This was a feeling she would not soon forget.



Returning, Rachel made her way to the fortress of the one called the Mechanist. His knights gave her no quarter. The strange wizardly magic that gave them life arced most prettily across her blade as she brought them an honorable death.

The Mechanist, his work done, returned to the town to make amends. Never again would Canterbury Commons suffer the depredations of raiders or wizards, for the Mechanist would see to it that she was well defended.

A final offer was made to the Barbarian. She saw the potential in the merchants, and bought herself a partnership in their business. Roe named her a Merchant Princess. The wearing of a title fanned the flames the throne had kindled a bit. Never again would Rachel feel quite right without the weight of a crown atop her head. But, O Princess, that is a story for another time.

After settling her affairs and obtaining a map of the traders' routes, Rachel set forth alone from Canterbury Commons to make the wastes safer for those who were now under her protection. As the sun set behind her, she knew without looking back, in her heart of hearts, that she had found a new home.

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(This is where  my Fallout 3 died and took my save games with it. Everything past this point is fiction, pure and simple, based on Fallout 3, but all in my head. :D )