S1C5: The Vine of Hope

Greetings from the Sea of Many

Our efforts have paid off.

To begin mining out the Roots, we needed to gather enough Miner’s Grace to supply a nearly 14,000-body crew.

We found just enough to make the journey underground. We had to use manual mining and drilling equipment to break through the rocks and soil while avoiding detection.

We began mining out all of the caverns down to the core of the dome.

When we had just given up hope, we found an artificial water spring that was left by the designers of the dome. Water flooded the eastern-most canyon.

From there, we were able to build piping and tunnels to fill the other canyons.

The underground of the Roots is filled with fresh drinking water.

We can quench the thirst of Dionea and our population now, thanks to your decisions.

That is all that matters.

Dionea is in stable conditions, but time will tell if her condition improves.

We are asking you all to keep this a secret from the other factions, as the Roots will become a prime target for our rivals.

This has come with a ginormous cost.

Rivers End has fallen. The Underworld Collective fully took it over despite the valiant efforts of the skeleton crew we left to fight back against them. We eventually had to call them back while we still could to build the pipes.

The Underworld Collective has now threatened to shut off our water. While this will still be a setback, it will not impact us as much. However, keep in mind that we still need to act like it will affect us heavily.

Additionally, the Governed has invaded the exterior of Overwatch, but they have yet to set foot in the building itself. Our forces in Overwatch have done excellently in repelling every single one of their advances.

Now, we have quite a few options to return to the fight.

Atlas would be a prime target and get the Governed off our backs, but that would mean sending a lot of our forces into a wood chipper. The Governed will not give it up easily, but it might distract them long enough to loosen their grip on Overwatch or even Jeritopia.

Strengthening our defences in Overwatch would relieve some tension from the building’s defences. If we were able to take that back the tower, that would mean that our supply line between the Crates and the Roots is no longer severed. However, this would require us to take our eye off of Rivers End, which might make the other factions suspicious that we aren’t as desperate.

Rivers End would be a majorly strategic target. If we recapture the water plant, we can sneak the Seeds of Dionea into the water supply and increase our recruitment. The Underworld Collective will fight hard for it, but we may be able to take it if we hunker down and focus on it. This would likely mean leaving Overwatch to its fate.

Jeritopia would be a great target as it is vulnerable while it is under construction. It would be good to repair it to its previous state. However, the effort and time it would take to rebuild will leave it vulnerable to recapture.

May the Lady of Vines guide your hand to make the right decision.

The Teeth of Dionea