Months had passed since ODTA's first war. The seasons had begun to change drastically. Illinois was known for its bipolar weather, but more known for its harsh winters. Rain and sleet fell without warning on the town as they went about business as usual. The Spirit had been getting laws and rules into order for the town as the town's newly appointed Sheriff, he had his hands full. Alexander became a full fledged warrior, bringing back food and other scavenged goods.
ODTA was thriving as the seasons went by. Buildings and new places were being reclaimed an an astonishing rate. They now had over 90% of the DTA colonized and rebuilt. The Two-Rivers Alliance had been benefiting the clans well. They had plenty of trade, and new materials were being discovered at a steady rate. They'd meet once every month to make sure things between the clans was holding up. The multitude of ruins surrounding the DTA was incredible.
Most of the things above valley-level, had been wiped off the map, flattened and reduced to ash. There they'd find the most mutants, human and non-human mutants. They were considered hostile, and to be killed on sight. Every party that traveled into the Mutant Highlands, had to take a different path home every time to avoid becoming predictable.
In the Mutant Highlands, there was plenty of metal, old vehicles, burnt down stores, and plenty of Mutants. They had made their nest in the Walmart Supercenter. Bodies and gore littered the area, and nobody dared to get close. The stench alone was enough to kill a man, and the screams of the crucified humans there would make your blood curdle. The Mutants owned what was the northernmost corner of Ottawa, and were expanded all the way to the former towns of Earlville and Harding.
Due east of ODTA, was the former town of Marseilles, it was divided up to equal parts amongst different clans. However, they weren't alone as they did have some people up on the hill, they called themselves, "The Followers of the Second Dawn". They worshipped the atomic bombs that leveled the country, and were very much a killer cult. They sought to bring down the "holy fire" and cleanse the earth once again. Most people tried to stay away from them, as they were simply crazy cultists with a death wish.
Even further East was the Doomsday preppers of Seneca. They kept to themselves and had no reason to get involved with anyone outside their area. They had bunkers and plenty of defenses to keep people away from the area. They keep a radio station up and running to keep tabs on the other people in the area.
Most places surrounding Ottawa had people finally emerging and taking back what was theirs.
However, due north in former city of Aurora, the city had been overrun with zombie-like creatures, "Skattlkin" that attacked anything onsite. They had no intelligence but in a horde, could massacre even the most defendable places.
As each of the different places settled in, snow began to fall, it was late November but, it was well earned....