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

[ That gets a look. This is stupid. Why can't he just blink in? Now he has to either fight off the guards for a key, or ask to borrow Diego to pick the lock or Allison to rumor their way in, and he'd rather not do that for something he can handle. ]

Well there's some kind of barrier keeping me out. [ Like she'll get it if he says the same thing using slightly different words. ] Apparently they think you have powers they need to contain.

( --it slowly starts to dawn on her.

was this why she was sick, why her immune system hadn't burned out the virus yet? they'd managed to remove her augmentations?

that idea is terrifying even if that's exactly what the illyrian colony had been doing.

it makes her sit up, pulling herself from the bed, walking over to the bars reaching her hand out as if expecting to feel the standard forcefield she was used to. but it wasn't there )

Whatever the barrier is isn't one I'm familiar with. Nor would it fit the level of technology on this ship.

[ Good, she's catching on to why everything here is so goddamn frustrating. Although her reaction makes him wonder if the concept of powers really isn't uncommon to her. ]

No, it wouldn't. [ But nothing is ever easy. ] Which means it's probably warded with magic, and that's... not my area of expertise.

[ He'd be further along trying to understand it, but it's difficult when there's a crisis every other day and he's constantly getting cursed by it. ]

I don't know who they usually keep prisoner, but they're taking more precautions than necessary. I'd avoid getting trapped down here again.

Magic?

( raised eyebrow, though her brain's still playing catch up from the last bit of information so her response isn't quite as sharp as it should be )

Not a bio-dampening field or... is the a permanent or temporary effect?

[ Trust him, he hates that word too, so she's welcome to call it whatever she likes. He starts pacing as he considers the implications. This is going to turn into a lot more trouble for him, but it's the principle of the thing. Locking him of all people out. ]

I don't know. I haven't run across it anywhere else on the ship.

[ On the other hand, it's good that he's finding out they have this now, before they tried to use it against him or his family. He pauses mid-thought to look back at her. ]

Can you feel it?

No. I don't feel anything.

( and the anything was key, it was like something was missing, something that had always been a part of her.

but she's not about to admit that. she doesn't plan on revealing that she's anything other than human )

[ So she believes that he's telling the truth without any other proof. That should be suspicious, but it's not his biggest concern right now. ]

At least it's just the cage itself. [ There's shuffling outside the door and the gruff sound of far off voices. He sighs and inches his way back towards it as he reaches into his belt for a dagger he'd swiped earlier. The amount of weapons sitting out is one thing they've got going for them. ]

I'll be right back.

[ And this time he does disappear in a flash to handle whoever is on the other side. Hopefully someone with a key. He already tried to do this the easy way, so anything that happens is on them. ]

( she's left standing there confused as he disappears. personal transporter? because it couldn't be that he could do that himself and that's what he meant-- that was--

but she doesn't know and instead of standing there for however long it'll be she sits back down )

[ Five returns a while later in another blink, looking disheveled. The dagger is gone, and he's carrying what looks like a battle axe in its place when he approaches again. He frowns more when he sees her sitting instead of somehow working to dismantle the cage from the inside, but makes no comment about it. ]

No key. [ Whoever locked it must be on a lunch break. He moves over to the side with the door and examines the lock. A few good swings should do it. He raises the axe and looks back up at her briefly as he readies to swing. ]

This might get loud.

[ Just so she knows it might draw more attention, but he's prepared for that. Can't be helped. ]

( she gets back up from the bench when she sees him return, gesturing to the lock as she steps closer )

I think I've spotted a part where the lock is weaker, there seems to be some damage to this side.

( a little gesture to it. look, she might not have been dismantling the cage but she's giving him a useful place to hit that will hopefully get them out quicker.

before then nodding, taking a step back so he can hit away )

[ Five lifts an eyebrow at her unexpected tip. He notes where she pointed and readjusts his aim, then nods for her to... step back? But really, his aim is fine and he's stronger than he looks.

It makes a loud bang the first time but doesn't quite do the job. It takes three more consecutive strikes before it finally busts open and he grins triumphantly. So what if it's childish to claim victory over a magic box, he'll take his wins where he can and magic can screw itself.

He brushes his bangs out of his face and throws the lock to the ground so he can yank the door open with a completely composed and normal speed. ]

As I was saying.

( when he'd first hit the lock una had tried not to hope too hard, not certain whether or not she believed that he'd actually be able to break the lock. but after a few hits it does come apart and at his reaction, the door opening she smiles.

and though she steps closer she hesitates at the door before crossing the threshold. it isn't that she doesn't want to be free but stepping out... if her assumption is correct and if being in the brig had been the cause of her illness, why her immune system hadn't been able to rid her of the fever? she knows exactly what'll happen. and having someone see that... it had been hard enough admitting it to m'benga and chapel when she'd wanted to save lives.

even through all of this the fear is on herself, almost forgetting what she's seen from him. he might be able to do something she doesn't understand but it's that lack of understanding that makes her hesitant.

except... he'd come here to free her. so finally, she steps out, looking to him )

Did you bring it?

( they should get somewhere else to look at it and away from the brig but it's good to know )

[ Five wasn't expecting a big reaction, and he schools his expression when he catches her smiling. This was barely any more effort than teleporting in would have been, so it's not a big deal. He obviously breaks locks every day just to stay in shape.

He gives her a quizzical look at her question, glancing at the axe for a moment then back at her. ]

The briefcase? [ Did she see him carrying it in? Although he can appreciate her staying on task. Hardly suspicious when he was the one who brought it up to start with and that was sort of the point of all this. ] I've got it stashed in another room.

[ He sizes her up and does some quick calculations as he debates blinking her right to it. Instead he changes his mind and inclines his head to the door, gesturing with the axe. ]

Come on, I'll take you to it.

( she nods, following him out, offering no comment or other question until they're there. except, and she was right, the walk there isn't quite so smooth.

she'd been walking in step with him, though the heat is easy to feel, the sight of the glow in her hands easier to notice.

una slows her steps a little before pausing, really hoping that he doesn't notice, that as the reaction of her immune system to this virus works-- it's easier to let it flash through her, still in place for the seconds that it takes, the dim space brightening as she lights up.

it's over as quickly as it began. and she's feeling so much better )

[ Five keeps the axe lowered at his side as they make their way out. Even if he had cleared their exit when he'd blinked out before, it might not be long before someone notices they're missing some crew members.

As alert as he is, the odds of him not noticing when the woman he's walking next to suddenly pulsates with light is pretty slim. He tenses and takes a quick step back as he grips the weapon in his hands, not sure if she's being attacked or preparing one of her own. Before he can figure out which, the light fades into nothing.

That... was weird. His mouth hangs open for several seconds, waiting for her to explain or scream in pain or anything more than the reaction she's giving. ]

What just happened?

( there's a little frozen panic in her expression, seeing him watching when her gaze tips back down, trying to think of something quickly. because it's the first time anyone (conscious) has witnessed that-- anyone that wasn't illyrian )

Nothing.

( considering the sheer amount of light, the heat that had come from her and that she looks much better than she'd been exiting that cage-- una's usually a much better liar than that )

I'm fine. Your briefcase?

( she's absolutely just going to try and start walking again )

[ Does she think he's going to shrug that off? Five stops moving as she tries to walk on like dozens of red flags haven't just been waved in front of his face. ]

You were glowing. [ He doesn't need to say that, but he's not letting her pretend it didn't happen. ] You don't look surprised, so it's something you've done before.

[ And why would she lie to him about that? Especially after he just did her a favor. After he chose to tell her about the briefcase. ]

I'm not taking you anywhere until you tell me.

( though una had walked past him, taken a few more steps it's his words and the sincere belief that he really wouldn't move unless she talked to him. and she hates it, hates being backed into a corner.

there really is a consideration of just leaving him, of abandoning the briefcase... but una isn't a quitter and after what he'd seen-- telling him contains it better than ignoring it. and she wants this knowledge contained, kept small )

It's my immune system. ( her wonderfully bio-engineered immune system ) I'd picked up a fever, some contaminant being here. It... burned it out.

( literally burned it out. that's why she glowed. and she stops talking after that, a slightly more intense look (focused, really) of her now not backing down. she told him, she's done. can they go now?

strangely, for how she wants it contained, she doesn't ask him to keep it a secret. perhaps trusting that the knowledge will stay with him. even though he doesn't know why it should )

[ It's the smarter approach on her part. He had made a judgment call about her, and immediately lying about something he'd seen with his own eyes would have shattered any chance of trusting her with the one piece of technology that brought them here.

Even if explanation is lacking, and he can tell that she's still trying to brush past it like it's perfectly normal. Or like she's embarrassed by something he wasn't meant to see. ]

Your immune system. [ A lot of them have powers, but that's a new one on him. He keeps staring at her, still trying to decide if she's telling the truth. ] That must come in handy. Something the cage was blocking?

I assume whatever the barrier was had a bio-dampening effect.

( which is what she'd mentioned inside the cage but it bears repeating again )

Otherwise, I wouldn't have been sick. ( for more than about a minute. about as long as it took for her to burn it out exiting the cage )

[ Five squints a little at that. Of course he remembers her mentioning 'bio-dampening' in place of 'magic', and he'd buy that if it wasn't a rusty cage on a pirate ship. ]

So you could tell. [ He also remembers her saying that she couldn't feel anything when he asked. After a pointed silence, he huffs out a breath and shakes his head. ] You know, most of the people the Merchant picks up have some sort of ability. That's probably what got you here, so there's no point in hiding it from me.

( there's a beat, two-- )

I hide it from everyone. It's necessary to.

( for her or at least for her in her time. she hasn't given him context for why and is almost on a knife edge about it, able to fall either way as to whether she will or not, though una would much prefer not to.

and then shevpauses, changing track )

Are you calling what you did an ability?

( so not a really specific personal transporter )

[ He looks perplexed, but then like he's seriously considering that statement. Sure, they had to hide abilities in Taravast for a time, but Five didn't really experience much prejudice when his power makes it easy to get the last word in. The worst were the necromancers who could sense the mirror inside him and kept trying to operate on him. Are there people who would want to... harvest her blood or something?

So many questions, but he's thrown by what she asks him. ]

Spatial jumping? [ What else could she be talking about? ] Of course. It's not magic, it's just something I can do.

[ Not unlike her glowing immune system, he's guessing. ]

Spatial jumping.

( the repetition is a process, una's never heard of it before, at least not on an individual biological level. and this wouldn't be something her people do: how would it serve them? )

I've never seen it in that way. Without technology.

You have technology that can do that?

[ That's encouraging. She might actually be the right one to look at the briefcase; although spatial jumping is the infinitely less complicated part of the equation. ]

There are other people here who can do something similar, but nobody quite like me. [ He looks at her, considering something... ] Is it the same for you?

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