no man's sea

[groundrules]

Avast ye — sprawling til 18 June is part I of the Storm at Sea travel arc, which doubles as a test drive. Participants don’t need an invite to reserve or apply over 10-17 June.

Try to label if you’re a test drive tourist or an old timer — and don’t hesitate to leave an OOC note to opt out of random NPC piraaaaaaaargh interaction. Test drivers can post both log and network prompts. Have fun!

NO MAN’S SEA

---

DEEP WATERS | SON OF A BISCUIT EATER | MOLLYWICK | | THE CROSSING | NOTES

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AHOY! SCALLYWAGS

Departing Ke-Waihu, the existing party joins paranoid pirate king, turned stalwart saint Samuel Vane — the feared Quicksilver Sam — aboard the Pariah.

Test drivers awaken anguishing at sea, floating on rafts, or on minuscule patches of deserted land. They are collected by two pirates and the recalcitrant sorceress Karsa — who supplies translation and communication devices. She explains the newcomers were summoned into the land of Akhuras by warring undead factions. Karsa’s master, the elusive Merchant, ferries newcomers east to beacons hoped to return them home. He has secured them passage on the pirate vessel Queen Zanyra of ’Wet Rope’ Caladan Kreil, an associate of Quicksilver Sam.

The Pariah and Zanyra meet at sea, a day’s travel away from Ke-Waihu:

■ Characters overhear that Quicksilver Sam seeks to reach the haunted Crossing Seas and ‘settle an old score.’ Long-term ally Caladan Kreil supports his cause.

■ The two vessels make daily supply and crew exchanges by rowboat. The Pariah’s passengers must give the passcode: flaunted like gold to board the Queen Zanyra. Staff of the Queen Zanyra must speak the words before the blind man to access the Pariah. Forget your passcode and fall at the mercy of whoever patrols the decks!

■ Tasks await all passengers: diligently clean and polish decks, climb tall masts to sew torn sails, banish a preposterous number of seagulls, fish, read post or… dubious novels to sailors, count loot, guard the decks, clean cannons or serve as boat lure for shark fishing. Medics and cooks can practise their natural trades, while musicians and entertainers should amuse the crew.

■ By all means, grab thematic garments from crew coffers. Also available: daggers, swords and rare pistols.

■ Characters may notice both ship crews are spirited, but grow weary when Quicksilver Sam fitfully orders his five on-call priests to carry out protection rites, or to ‘exorcise’ evil from random staff — through ineffective bitter potions, shrill chants and requests to sit in unusual luck-incurring poses, or to commit some mundane, repetitive task. Let’s bore the devil away.

■ Treat senior crew with respect: some pirates are equally drunk on rum and fleetingly authority and reward perceived slights with a 24h-stay in the brig. These fine accommodations fit two and annul powers while there. No dinner.


■ Sleep where you can: hammocks and rotting mattresses can be found in great common halls beneath decks. The sick and women (naturally, ill omens at sea) can share the four private cabins of each ship. Sumeragi Subaru has his own cabin aboard the Pariah.

■ Each night, expect drinking beneath the halls and a pirate’s greatest hobby: gambling. Conmen might lure you into an ‘innocent game’ that sinks you deep into debt, winning your valuables, favours, or kidney!

■ Ladies are afforded a wide, begrudging berth and some authority over the crew.

■ Accommodations: fresh potions are readily available to ward off sea sickness, and magically resilient oranges are on hand to counter scurvy. As woe would have it, the long-serving Mr. Ishmael has passed, and his earthly remains have been retained aboard the Pariah for Kaneki Ken. Viktor receives a leashed emotional support albatross — a large, loud but docile bird that flies above him counter-current to balance him, whenever the ship’s sway threatens his footing.

OBJECTIVES

■ Discover why good Quicksilver Sam is intent on his haunted travels. The captain declines audiences, but try to get information from the two crews.

■ Please share the information gained via network…!

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THAT SON OF A BISCUIT EATER

Trouble starts to brew, within days at sea:

■ Be on the lookout while on watch duty: on a handful of occasions, new faces appear aboard. They fail to offer the passcode — and attempt to injure characters, throw them overboard, or to enter the captains’ lodgings. Sound the alarm or seize intruders!

■ After interrogating an infiltrator, Caladan Kreil sends word that the assailants hail from the Concord, a war vessel of the Dawns’ Reach Trade Company that is pursuing the pirate ships at distance under the command of Maximilian Hawk. A credit to his name, Wet Rope Caladan has the spy hanged.

■ Prepare to get drafted for double watch duty, as both Caladan Kreil and Quicksilver Sam bolster defences. Tensions escalate, with pirate crew questioning the loyalties of newer recruits.

■ A few days later, at dawns, the silent, swift and massive Concord approaches close enough to fire its cannons at both ships and send vicious militia to climb aboard. Defend your ship!

■ The Concord withdraws by midday, after lightly damaging its opponents. Help with repairs and enjoy some rum — you’ve survived your first sea scuffle!

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MOLLYWICK

Just short of entering the Crossing, where the seas are dark and highly opaque, the Queen Zanyra and Pariah encounter a stretch of vibrant, lushly forested land.

■ Both vessels send crew over for a few hours, with captains urging quick incursions. Pair up to collect berries, scant mushrooms and sweet water. Curiously, no animals are found.

■ Veteran sailors say this is the Neverflight isle of myth, where sea kings have buried their treasures. Pirates share legendary coordinates of long lost loot, archived as riddles or poems. Grab a shovel and a-digging you go!

■ …ah, but don’t linger too long. What pranksters your sailor friends are. Within hours of the island’s appearance, the earth beneath your feet crumbles and quakes, and the land starts to sink. Evacuate or call for help to get out of here — as the great white whale Mollywick submerges in the waters with the Neverflight island it carries on its back. Hopefully, you don’t go under with them.

■ If you’ve threaded out a treasure dig, drop a line to receive some especially deplorable loot. You deserve it.

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THE CROSSING

The Pariah and Queen Zanyra — frequently chained together to avoid separation — creep into the Crossing : a stretch of eerily silent waters, dark and volatile.

■

■ Slowly, a thick, nearly impregnable fog dawns during the day, covering the sun and leaving the skies a desolate slate. Dreadful storms spark at night.

■ Strange, talking carps jump on board, offering to tell you your future. Caution: they only make bad luck readings (request yours) that turn true. They appear wherever their target flees and are exceptionally annoying, until either the moon rises, or you apply the superstitious cure of throwing salt on them.

■ Nightmares haunt you — your own, or glimpsed memories of ships crashing, sinking, falling to storm. Note: only your character suffers these memories/nightmares, but everyone else can experience their exhausted grumpiness, come morning.

■ Be wary, when pairing to cross over to the other pirate ship: you may find another rowboat beside yours, its sailor begging for an oar or ladle. If you give him one, he shovels water into your boat with inhuman speed — desert your vessel and swim quickly to a pirate ship, before undead hands pull you into the sea.

■ While alone on deck, characters might hear sweet, coaxing voices that urge them to walk the plank into the water. Break your brethren from this spell, or watch them fall into the arms of man-eating mermaids.

■ Now and then, the ships are shaken by long, whips of something lashing from the depths.

■ Pirates become increasingly skittish and on edge. Priests perform countless protection rites and exorcisms on both ships.

■ At night, a handful of undead men climb aboard. They lack awareness and are in a clear state of discomposure, looking to catch the living and drown them. With toothless, rotting mouths, some rasp, This is kinder.

■ As you officially enter the Crossing, beams of light erupt in the horizon, showing the distant silhouettes of several ghost ships.

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NOTES

TEST DRIVE QUESTIONS

OLD-TIMER QUESTIONS

Comments

mo ran | 2ha/dumb husky and his white cat shizun | tourist

[inkfire]

i. ahoy, scallywags

[ It's inevitable that Mo Ran's loose grasp of respect for authority lands him in the brig. Even as he'd run his mouth off at the crew member he'd been talking to, he'd known he was going to get tossed into prison.

It hadn't stayed his tongue, of course. And really, the brig isn't too bad. There's the potential for some company and it's not like he'll starve— ]

What do you mean, no dinner? [ That news, delivered as the pirate shoves him into the brig, gets received with a welling of anger, annoyance flashing in his eyes before he manages to control his expression. ] I just cracked a joke, it doesn't mean I should starve.

[ With no response, or relaxing of the rules, he slumps down against the bars, feeling petulant, arms crossed over his chest, pouting. ] Some hospitality they're displaying.

[ His bad mood disappears fairly easily, however; within minutes, he's looking for a distraction, digging through the pockets of his new, black coat (a fine replacement for his robes) for a lock pick. Or, failing that, something to keep his hands busy. ]

ii. mollywick

Treasure? [ Despite the fact that he's a grown man, one who has responsibilities and has spent years working to be an upright citizen, Mo Ran still feels like a kid sometimes, and the idea of hunting for lost treasure appeals more than he cares to admit. ] Do we get to keep the loot?

[ After some bargaining and wheedling, Mo Ran has a... map? He thinks it's a map, some lines hastily scribbled down on a scrap of paper that he thinks are meant to lead him to some treasure. He studies it for a minute or two, trying to puzzle out the clues, then folds the paper and shoves it into his pocket. When he finally looks around, it's to ask a question that will hopefully lead him in the right direction: ] Have you seen two crossed trees?

iii. the crossing

[ During the day, Mo Ran throws the carps back into the sea. It seems kind to them, even if one of them warns him not to, and then reappears to bother him again. And again. And again. Eventually, he gives in, just to get the damn fish to stop talking to him. (And he throws it back into the sea.)

But the night is different. Nightmares are no stranger to Mo Ran, and most of the ones he has here are actually better than the usual. Still, the dreams of ships crashing and sinking, when mixed with memories of his past life, are unsettling enough to keep him awake, seeking out quiet corners on the crowded ships. A few nights find him clinging to the rails, watching the storms on the horizon. He's abnormally quiet, those nights, but he'll talk to anyone who approaches. ]

iv. wildcard

[ Mo Ran will be around on the ship, helping where he can. He's especially good with manual labor tasks: swabbing the deck, coiling rope, fixing the sails, rowing across to the other ship. Evenings will find him gambling and talking with the pirates, maybe even reading ridiculous books aloud to people. Throw anything at him or let me know if you'd like a specific starter. ]

scallywags | the brig

[sansdoute]

( Would've been the old days, they be hangin'em off the yardarm for running their slack mouths each way like rabid dogs, would be the whip, aye! Would be stones and leaving them to dry for seagulls to pick their eyes, would be something wicked slow, somethin'terrible.

Instead, they're putting them to rest, and second-mate Mr. Eames of the good ship Queen Zanyra has got himself no delusion that this here rascal, they've put him to the long sleep. He'll be snoring, next Mr. Eames wanders, so he keeps his current visitation short, stares at the infidel through the bars and rattles'em a little for show. )

Ye want a floggin', lad? So we trim the fat off you?

( And 'lo, he's unpeeling a bundle of clothes, slow and slower when he bites into a stale biscuit, aggressively staring at the jailed man. Be teaching him manners. )

[inkfire]

[ Hey! That's incredibly rude, eating a terrible biscuit in front of a prisoner. Almost worse than calling him fat. Mo Ran scowls at him, standing his his hands on his hips in the middle of the brig. ]

What fat? [ He flexes his arm, then looks down at his body. ] I'm a healthy size, this is all muscle. What kind of floggings are you doing, flaying people alive?

[ Still, he creeps a little closer, eyeing that biscuit. ]

[sansdoute]

( Is a good biscuit, this, honest and true. Bit stale around'em edges, where the good God lent a watering, but if He sends the wave, and the wave be wrathful, and the beautiful Zanyra, she's washed at the legs, and that's where'em provisions be holding — well, you ask Mr. Eames, not much helping a world where each does what each wants.

And Mr. Eames, he be wantin'his biscuit. Chomping. Grazing. Moaning with the sheer enjoyment of a man watched. Aye, but he's devouring it slow. )

You be looking smug like a kettle fresh sprung tea, ain't nothing wrong with ye. Run yer mouth, we treated you fair, fair'n'honest, is us, is lads of the sea.

[inkfire]

[ That gets a snort and a muttered curse, but Mo Ran's smart enough not to completely antagonize him further. ]

Bet I could make a better biscuit if you let me out. Something that doesn't threaten to break your remaining teeth. [ He's never made anything like that but he'll learn, and quick, if it means getting out of the brig. ]

iv Wildcard!

[wooden_one]

[Chu Wanning hadn't had many occasions to be on ships--let alone ones this big. So to say he was curious would be an understatement. But that sort of curiosity is so...juvenile. He tried to hide it (he wasn't doing a good job of it) as he looked at well, everything.

He had tried on the clothes offered but they were just uncomfortable so for now he's stuck to his white robes as he was observing some ropes and rigging that seemed interesting. The chatter of those working on the deck were a sort of background noise until he heard a voice that made his head turn.

That sounded like Mo Ran...but also didn't entirely sound like him. What he saw was equally confusing because that person very much looked like Mo Ran except Mo Ran is a youth of fifteen and this was a young man.

...a very handsome young man, Chu Wanning begrudgingly admitted but never-the-less he was too confused to process that thought.

He frowned before stalking over and dealing with this the only way he knew how: confrontation.]

You.

[.......and only after he said it did he realize that he had nothing to follow up that with, really. So he just scowled instead.]

shizun

[inkfire]

[ Of all the things Mo Ran expected on the ship, Chu Wanning isn't one of them. When he'd first awoken, one of the things he was distraught about was missing Chu Wanning. But Chu Wanning's appearance was a delight, and Mo Ran gaped at him for a moment, taking in his flowing white robes and beautiful face, until he realized Chu Wanning was scowling.

It just made him grin. After five lonely years, it was nice to have Chu Wanning back, even if the other man was just scowling at him and likely to scold him. ] Shizun! [ He cupped his hands, bowing. ] Had I known you were here with me, I would have come to find you.

[wooden_one]

[It wasn't that Mo Ran had never come to him with such a smile, only that it had been years since that last happened (outside, of course, when he was Xia Sini). That made this meeting all that more strange.

Could this really be Mo Ran? But then why was he so much taller? (Why was he happy to see Chu Wanning?) But if this were some trick why make all these obvious mistakes?

Immediately, he wants to be on guard.

But he's so weak to that grin and a part of him wanted that childlike affection he'd received in the past that a stupid, selfish part of him wanted to indulge in it.

The majority of him though, was still wary. Dreams that are too good are rarely ever real.]

...Mo Ran isn't this old.

[He says it still with the same frown. He does not say, 'Mo Ran would never be so happy to see me in a place he thought I wasn't' because it sounded too pathetic. He is also a little uncertain but that just translates into a deeper frown.]

[inkfire]

But I was the same age yesterday.... [ Mo Ran trails off, looking at Chu Wanning with a puzzled look in his eyes. ] Before I arrived here. When we were in the village.

[ Is it possible that Chu Wanning doesn't remember that? He can't think of why, but it's not the first time Mo Ran has been aware of events that no one else knows. That's a very distinct situation, and he can't think of why it would translate here.

If Chu Wanning were anyone else, he'd think they were lying. But this is Chu Wanning. ] How old do you remember this one?

II. Mollywick

[balancedwire]

[ It's no surprise that one of the newer people are interested in treasure. There's a lot, as it were, out there. Though, as for the question, he gives a bit of a shrug. ]

It's possible that one gets to keep the loot. Whether it's worth anything or not is a whole other story.

[ There was no telling what was or wasn't below them, treasure wise. As for the two crossed trees. Oh, he sees them just fine, but he raises a brow at Mo Ran and crosses his arms. ]

Are you not paying attention?

[inkfire]

[ Those words get a look, along with a raised eyebrow, from Mo Ran, but it doesn't really ruffle him too much, not when he looks around, toward the trees in the vicinity. ] Do you really think the buried treasure is going to be that easy to find? Besides... [ He digs out the paper again to read. ] the line is really two trees crossed, two trees entwined, lovers spot then crash. Whoever wrote this wasn't a good poet.

[ But he does look back to the trees, then the other man. ] Care to go digging?

[balancedwire]

There's no telling, honestly, what will or won't be easy around here.

[ If it was anything like where they'd all left, or where he'd left, then there really was no telling what would or wouldn't happen. What would or wouldn't be all that easy.

He does, however, note the paper that Mo Ran takes out. ]

I was already going to grab some of the things from this isle, so sure. We can go digging.

[inkfire]

What were you planning on grabbing? [ There is some food, so he suspects that, which is smart— Mo Ran's definitely planning on grabbing some of the berries he can find— but there's no telling what else the island holds.

He sets off walking toward the trees, determined to try to figure out where this treasure is. ] Keep up if you want any of the loot.

scallywags | also brig time

[unas]

( she'd already been in the brig when he'd been tossed in there, una taking the time to lounge on the equivalent of the bench in there, not yet having gotten any response from a guard.

so she'd laid back, relaxed, waited out her time. she could only hope pike would rescue her again but this time... it was a weird situation.

but then there's company. one that's having a lot to say )

We're in the brig. It's not meant to be hospitable.

[inkfire]

[ With a sigh, he turns and slumps against the bars, letting his head fall back against one of them as he eyes his company. Truly, having any company is better than being in the brig alone. ]

They shouldn't starve their prisoners. Even some of those terrible old biscuits would be fine.

[ He's maybe a little whiny about it, but then, Mo Ran hates going without food, even if it is something he can easily manage. ]

[unas]

Wait a few hours and then see if they're starving you.

( if they fed their prisoners, which they really should, it was probably at specific times... or just enough to make sure they didn't die. but she didn't expect it would be immediately on arrival )

What did you do?

[inkfire]

A few hours and we'll be all skin and bones. [ Not really, and he's definitely being dramatic; even a day without eating won't bother him. He visibly droops, sliding to the uncomfortable floor, hooking one arm over his knee. ]

I didn't do anything. They just don't like my handsome face. [ He grins at her, a little flirty. ] What about you? Did some nefarious crime get you thrown in here?

iii

[beitangmoran]

[Normally, Moran is one who would let someone who needs a bit of fresh air at night on his own to themselves, because he likes his personal space himself.

But this is a new face, and he's also curious.

He'll leave a bit of distance between them as he approaches the rail to look out to the horizon too.]

... Trouble sleeping?

[inkfire]

[ The sea is loud, something Mo Ran hadn't realized at first: the crash of the waves against the side of the ship, the wind in the sails, the ropes and rigging ringing. He doesn't hear the other man approach until he's there, asking a question. It jerks Mo Ran from his stupor, and he glances to the side. ]

I keep seeing the ship sinking in my dreams. Really unpleasant. [ He grimaces, shuddering slightly. ] Is that what brings you up here?

[beitangmoran]

I don't have a problem sleeping, but I'm not used to being on a ship for such long periods of time. It doesn't agree with my stomach, apparently.

[He does look a little pale, but holding on, and the fresh air is helping.]

I haven't been blessed with a vision from the fish, thankfully. I think they resent that i can do it myself and so they avoid me.

[inkfire]

[ At the mention of the fish, he lets out an aggrieved sigh. ] Every bowl and cup I touched today had holes in it. How is that even possible?

[ It shouldn't have been, and yet he'd been left staring at an empty cup, no matter how many times he filled it. Or attempted to. ] What'd you mean, you can do it yourself? Curse yourself?

The brig

[scrapgege]

[As it happens, the cell is already occupied, but one might be forgiven for not noticing right away. And in the darkness, Mo Ran especially might be forgiven for being surprised at first, given the white robes and long dark hair...

But closer inspection reveals the white robes to be extremely simple in design and a bit frayed around the edges, the face is very youthful and smiling - so, definitely not Chu Wanning. And as for the qi...

anyone sensitive to it can feel that there is a massive amount of it, in a quantity almost too big to even fathom... but that it's also tightly constrained in rather unnatural ways.]

I think if it's just one meal, a strong young man like you can probably endure. You've studied cultivation, haven't you?

[inkfire]

[ After his whining, which Mo Ran knows is undignified and beneath him but it's really not something he can help, he turns to study the other man in the brig, eyes going wide, and sucking in a breath, ready to drop to his knees and beg for forgiveness, until he realizes that no, for as beautiful as he is, this man is not his shizun.

Still, he is pretty, and Mo Ran enjoys the company of pretty people, and he turns a bright smile on the other man. ]

Ah, how did— of course, you can tell. [ It's unsurprising, really. That much power means he has to be somewhat aware of other cultivators. ] I've practiced inedia but I don't like it.

[scrapgege]

Well, you don't have to like it, but I think it's probably best not to antagonize them too much, or they might decide to just leave you there a bit longer... besides, it's not so bad. I've had worse accommodation.

[Honestly, this is pretty cushy for someone who once chilled in a coffin for a hundred years.]

[inkfire]

How did you have worse accommodations? [ That's a little mind-boggling and it shows in his tone and how he eyes Xie Lian. He's far too pretty to have been thrown into a smaller jail than this.

Never mind that Mo Ran is intimately familiar with how terrible living arrangements can be, even for beautiful men, and even if they are spacious. He tries not to think too hard about it, most of the time. ]