westwhere | no man's sea

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no man's sea

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

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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

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I.) Ahoy! Scallywags

[ he can't say that he's particularly happy with these circumstances, but the prospect of finding a way home is stronger than facing the despair of not being home in the first place. being unable to continue working toward a shared dream with his partners, his friends... he has no choice but to keep walking forward at this point. even on a boat.

except...

exhaustion is wearing him down. he knows he looks pale; someone has already handed him an orange to snack on, thinking that tenn is already facing some of the initial stages of scurvy. the weakness, the irritableness. unfortunately, that's just who he is. being directed toward one of the cabins also pisses him off--- he's not part of the infirmed. he can take care of himself.

but knowing he might be able to get some peace and quiet, not be as exposed to the briny air... ? tenn gingerly makes his way toward what he believes is one of those private cabins, resting his forehead against one of the doors with a sigh. ]

II.) That Son of a Biscuit Eater

[ watch duty... what is there to watch for, exactly? unsure what to look for, tenn's been idly staring off into the horizon. sometimes, he allows himself some time to hum one of his songs--- one of his own parts, playing the rest of it in his head. it's a good way to pass the time, though it comes at the disadvantage of making his heart ache. the weight of unfinished business is heavier than the anchors that he's seen both boats hold.

it's the sound of someone approaching from behind that has tenn turn around slowly, mostly out of caution so he doesn't accidentally slip and fall off, but as he's about to ask the unknown face if he can help them with something? they grab onto his shoulders and push, sending him down to the ground with a grunt. ]

What's your problem...?!

[ and then he realizes that he's in real danger when a sword is pointed down at his throat. the boy quickly pats his sides, unsure where he kept the weapon that he picked up prior, but... it's nowhere to be found.

well. heck. ]

III.) Mollywick

[ any chance to get onto dry land, or at least... not-boat land, is a welcome reprieve. especially if it's to do something relatively simple and less dangerous than getting fired at from some war vessel? if he stays still and lets his mind wander, tenn can still hear the sounds of cannons firing, the shattering of wood splintering, and the cries of people being somewhere in the middle.

his hands are shaking. the mushrooms that were in them are now on the ground, and it's all he can do to not collapse down to join them. as tenn crouches down to pick them back up, he realizes that he's not alone--- and he doubles his gathering efforts, hoping to look a little more composed than he did just moments ago.

there's no excuses, only a genuinely shaky and apologetic smile instead as a greeting to whoever has come across him. ]

IV.) The Crossing

[ the sounds of something whipping and lashing somewhere below the ship has kept him awake this time, and the only way to escape it? go out and see exactly how intense the storms have been. it's not that bad--- a little bit of rain and wind doesn't necessarily hurt him. he tells himself that it's fine, that he can deal, and that he will. and maybe he's particularly lucky this time, as things seem particularly muted, even though there's a silence that is almost deafening, there being barely any noise coming from the boat's movement.

again. a sound that comes from his side has him reach for the flintlock pistol tucked into his belt, and he doesn't hesitate to point it at where he thinks his ambusher might be flanking him from--- only to see nothing.

a sigh. his nerves are on edge. maybe he should just retreat back to his little nook and chew on another orange slice or two.

and then? another noise, and he's quick to turn on the balls of his feet, aiming it right in the face of someone who probably doesn't expect it. ]

Ugh. Sorry.

V.) Wildcard

[ pm me or drop me something here... i'll roll with whatever c: ]

( Captain Kreil is a frequent, if distant apparition on his own ship, like a merchant consumed by obsessive regard of his own wares. He walks the decks, trails his fingers where dust drags out empire, verbally applaud men who execute their orders and takes tally of belongings and crew.

His. A world, his own.

Little eludes him. Less would presume to. A young man — straggling, bereft of rest opportunity when Caladan's indications that their new inherited passengers be treated fairly is... an unpleasant sight. He corrects it, sidling near, to nod where the cabins sleep within proximate distance.

Only a few steps more, little trinket. )

I believe, you are best positioned in a bed there, my little friend.

[ he stiffens, bristles for a moment--- before letting that cursory guard down. it's the subtle air of authority, a newly familiar voice that has his shoulders lower and a coolness touch his brow. again, tenn is quite aware of what he probably looks like. what he seems like. a flower with drooping petals, a bird with ruffled and spread feathers? a glass ornament, seemingly fragile and easily shattered? ]

I'm sure others deserve them more than I do.

[ he may not be familiar with the superstitions of the sea, but tenn has seen the wariness given to the women on the boat. he's seen others worse off than him. his fragile constitution is, unfortunately, a constant and something he's been unwilling to work on--- despite his occupation.

tenn pulls himself away from the wall, taking one step... and then immediately crashes back into it. the ship isn't rocking, but he sure is. ]

( It is as if the gracious sky sends down its punishment for the young man's arrogance, and his footing loosens — enough so that Caladan reaches, extending a hand, snagging it on the boy's shoulder. There. For balance, until he recaptures his balance.

And softened, after: )

More of life is chance, than merit. Few are those who deserve what they have. ( Their health, their gold, their fortune. And yet they flaunt such things with formidable impunity. ) You're in the way, my friend. If you swoon.

( Kindly rescue composure, or see yourself in the cabin. )

[ he squeezes his eyes shut. focuses on the stillness around him, on the hand that steadies him, and tenn finds his center. he has to--- he isn't the only one that needs help, he isn't the only fresh face on his boat, and if he can't find his own way? tenn could see himself back in the water, stuck facing whatever might lurk under or on the surface.

and so he breathes. deep in, deep out. ]

... you're not wrong.

[ though, luck is only half of the equation. you get lucky to a point and when that runs out, what's next?

and maybe that thought grounds him further. ]

Thanks. [ not entirely finding his sea legs, but it's a start. ] I don't want to be a burden on you or your shared mission.

( He isn't wrong. Less so than right, more often, and these are odds that favour a man, that raise him.

The boy, at least, seems more appraised of what he can achieve here, and Master Kreil spares him a long, patient look, and a step back thereafter. Let him sort himself, then, if he's so strong. )

Isn't a mission, friend. We're just... ( There's a gentle, purred wheezing, like a whistling half-formed. ) Men at sea. Loving the water, aren't you? Much of it to love.

kujo tenn | idolish7 | tourist

scallywags

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The Crossing

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III

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ii

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i'm sleepy but not enough

i'll try to sleep after this

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ii idk what I'm doing tho

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