Today we reap the crops we sow.
Today we bring bread to the hungry.
Today we shelter the weak.
Greetings Comrade!
Welcome, esteemed wanderer. You have accessed portion one of this trial. The Hands of Athena have chosen you worthy of joining our struggle. This is the first step to applying to The Partisans of Arete, 1st Chasseurs Regiment. Further information on the area of operation of the chasseurs can be found below. We wish you luck in the struggles of our people, wanderer.
SURVIVAL DIFFICULTY:
Class 4
- {$one}
- {$two}
- {$three}
Description
Level 218 is a complex underground network of dank, dark tunnels and bunker rooms, mainly accessed via aboveground complexes and structures. Most surfaces found within 218 have been vandalized with various graffiti left by various vagrants and scum. Regardless of this, “Dead Man’s Mile” is an easy trade route between the B.N.T.G.’s secure levels. It should be noted that the level also acts as a hub for the vile–those who have been exiled from other forms of society. We as chasseurs have the rightful duty to clear this level of lowlifes and disrupt the actions of the B.N.T.G. whenever possible.
The approximate distance of most tunnels winding throughout Dead Man’s Mile ranges between three to five miles at the longest, featuring occasional rooms or chambers acting as junctions or bases for the lowlifes that reside within the moist, decrepit passages of Level 218. The complexes of graffiti-covered bunkers can be accessed via tunnels found on the isolated structures above. Most of the time, these interiors are littered with junk, vandalized, or seem like they are on the verge of collapse. These abandoned bunkers and tunnels are composed of a similar concrete and steel as the rest of the subterranean portion. Being above ground, these portions are surrounded by a thick overgrowth of trees, bushes, and vines. Those who have attempted to travel into these woods are immediately taken to Level 990.
Our Mission as Chasseurs
As a member of the First Chasseur Regiment, you will be required to undergo a training period of approximately three weeks in which you will become acquainted with Level 218 and its nuances. Afterwards, you will be placed into the appropriate squad with the necessary gear to carry out your task. Once incorporated, you will be sent on patrols of your designated quadrant once every two days. The purpose of these patrols is to maintain order as well as security, and disrupt the B.N.T.G.’s trade by any means possible.
Those who are deemed skilled or important enough among you will be designated as team leaders or placed as guards within above-ground portions of the level, along with any outposts present within Dead Man’s Mile itself. Interactions between members of other groups within Level 218 are forbidden or limited depending on the situation at hand. When it comes to members of the M.E.G. specifically, they are under an immediate capture and detainment order.1
Those conducting active missions within Dead Man’s Mile are on a monthly rotation. Upon recruitment, Quartermaster Yerevan will provide members with a schedule along with their gear. This will either be an A or B schedule, meaning those assigned will either be working Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, or Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. Work on Sunday, the usual break day, is only done by the underperforming members of squads.
Notable Presences
Within Level 218, there are a variety of other factions present among us. Our main opponent, however, is the B.N.T.G., who primarily traverse the level for their trade caravans. They maintain four above-ground bases; Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, and Delta. These serve as their access points to Levels 11, 1, 2, and 10 respectively. It should also be noted that the B.N.T.G. also maintains Subterranean Outpost Echo at the junction of the tunnels connecting these levels. Despite many attempts, we at the U.E.C. have been unable to gain full control of Subterranean Outpost Echo.
Entities such as Crawlers and Death Rats inhabit the tunnels of Dead Man’s Mile, though nothing proves as deadly as the outcasts who reside within the level. Given the complexity of the tunnel networks within Level 218, it has become a home to those who have been exiled or booted from other forms of normal civilization. These disgusting fiends often gather in small, mostly unorganized groups and settlements. Some even go as far as raiding outposts set up by us or the B.N.T.G. The elimination of these groups is our primary objective alongside disrupting trade.
These aforementioned outcast groups can be read about below:
Group Alias: The Gully Runners
Leader: Jock "The Hawk" Mason
Noted Activity:
Members affiliated with The Gully Runners have been seen and documented raiding caravans of traders moving throughout Dead Man’s Mile. Members will often kill traders or take them hostage for ransom. On rare occasions, members of The Gully Runners have attempted to assault Forward Operations Base Freyer (with little success). This, along with the location in which most attacks happen, give us an approximate location of the main base of operations for this group, though scouts have been unable to get deep enough to verify.
Other notable activities include setting up makeshift checkpoints to shake down and demand payment from caravans, and the execution of captured wanderers and other people who might come across them. The Gully Runners are possibly one of the most complex bands of fiends within 218, having between 30-40 members in their ranks.
Group Alias: None, as of yet. We call them “addicts” for now.
Leader: Wally Mayweather (presumably).
Noted Activity:
Members of the “addicts” are as advertised. They are a sizable number of people who have banded together to do whatever they can to satisfy an almost feral addiction. These scum are noted to act aggressively towards other people outside their social circle. It is unknown what causes these aggressive symptoms, though leftover bottles of some substance resembling a mix of Aurolac and Royal Rations give a clue to the substance they use; its effects causing rabid aggression. Aside from their feral nature, these addicts are pushovers, and easy to deal with, boasting a few scattered communities of junkies numbering in the low 60s or high 50s.
Group Alias: The Sticky Bunch
Leader: "Sticky Ricky"
Noted Activity:
A group of self-proclaimed “taggers” who frequent Level 218 to graffiti it further. They aren’t quite unified and operate more like a band of harmless punks within Dead Man’s Mile. There is an unknown amount of them who frequent the level, though no one is quite sure which levels they enter through. It is assumed that they are responsible for a good portion of the graffiti seen within the level.
The only member we know for certain is around is someone calling themselves “Sticky Ricky”, who has been known to leave their tag graffitied on posters of propaganda that we have attempted setting up. Ricky’s tagging can also be seen on the occasional B.N.T.G. signs, obscuring the directions posted on them. All attempts to capture Sticky Ricky so far have proven unsuccessful.
Group Alias: M.E.G. Outcasts
Leader: Senior Scribe Dunlan
Noted Activity:
After eliminating M.E.G. Base “Fortitude” within Level 218, we were made aware of M.E.G. outcasts who reside somewhere deep within the complex of tunnels. Documents recovered from Base Fortitude detail how exiled members from various departments across various levels organized and moved to Level 218. This means that the M.E.G.'s presence within Level 218–while not official anymore–still remains in the form of their rejects. As of 10/1/2023, we have yet to discover and destroy the remainder of this presence. Records of the number of outcasts remain unclear.
We of the U.E.C.’s First Chasseur Regiment operate a total of three major bases within the whole of Level 218. Two of which are underground “Forward Operating Bases” (F.O.B. for short) under the names “Tyr” and “Freyer”. They consist of a sustained force of approximately fifty personnel altogether, and are stocked with the necessary supplies to rearm, resupply, and refresh for excursions into the dangerous and sometimes tight spaces of the level.
The F.O.B.s are in turn commanded by our sole above-ground base, “Yimir”, acting as the command hub for all regimental forces, and an access point to Level 76. Our superior, Senior Commander Melin Servuki, is often at their post coordinating operations, though any request for a meeting must go through members of high command. An armory of various weapons is kept stocked at Firebase Yimir, along with proper barracks for the comfort of troops being rotated out from operations.
History of Engagements
Members of our great chasseur regiment have been active on Level 218 since the year 2021, although the presence of our enemies has persisted for a longer period of time. In our time within the level, we of the First Chasseur Regiment have worked to keep the level clean. This includes the total removal and resistance of all official M.E.G. presence within Dead Man’s Mile. From the year 2021 up until the late fall of 2022, we narrowly claimed victory over the M.E.G. in the battle for base solitude within the tunnels.
Currently, we chasseurs continue to cleanse the tunnels of miscellaneous riffraff and raiders within the level. We have held against all odds during every attack those fiends have launched, and are in the early stages of preparing assaults on formidable B.N.T.G. outposts within the tunnels. This shall mark the beginning of a shift of objectives from simple disruption, to full-on resistance against those who seek to sow their seeds of corruption in the purity of our lands.
Besides plans to deal with the grave threat of the treacherous traders, there is the matter of resisting and mopping up the lesser M.E.G. presence within Level 218. As mentioned prior, the presence of M.E.G. outcasts cannot be ignored. Yet again, it is our duty to wage a defensive campaign united against the enemies of humanity; our purpose is to shed blood and make sure our enemies do not prevail. The entity puppets of the M.E.G. have no right to slowly muddle the definitions and goals of humanity.
Access Points and Exits
Level 218 can be accessed through many of the aforementioned points. The only official way of accessing to join the U.E.C.’s First Chasseur Regiment will be through a few random drainage canals which can randomly appear within Level 76.
Other access points unsanctioned by the U.E.C., and out of our control, would be random sewer grates within Level 11, and doors found on Levels 1 and 2, along with specific bunkers within Level 10. Wanderers who happen to appear within Firebase Yimir are subject to detainment and questioning.
Leaving Dead Man’s Mile is as simple as walking into the forests in the above-ground sections if you dare enter Level 990. Additionally, the U.E.C. has secured its own exit to Level 502 via Firebase Yimir. However, the B.N.T.G.’s own bases serve as stable access points between the levels on which they trade within. Those who get lost deep within Dead Man’s Mile often get spit out into Level 215 or are never heard from again.
Tons of thanks to stellate for helping me get the U.E.C. characterization correct.
~ RoseMonsignor
All images used within this article are my own, and are registered under Creative Commons.