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

Spock | Star Trek | tourist

[intermingled]

Letters
[ Spock offers to read one man's letters to him shortly after he arrives, but this becomes a string of requests from others until he finds himself in a corner of the galley with a small group of sailors each clamoring for a requested letter or piece of written news to be read aloud. It's when he gets to the latest one that he pauses as his eyes scan over the words. ]

Pardon me, but this is quite pornographic.

Scuffle
[ The ship is under attack before Spock knows what hit them and he scrambles out on deck to help where he can. He may not have a cutlass or pistol, but he does have an uncanny ability to dodge attacks and as the militia men climb over the rail and attack anyone they see, Spock is able to dodge blades and fists, slipping behind one man to give him a nerve pinch and knock him out and then another. He may not be stopping everyone this way, but he's thinning the number of attackers on this area of the deck at least.

Then he sees one of the militia men going for another of the guests on the ship and the best he can do is grab their jacket and yank them out of harm's way. ]

You'll do better if you watch your left.

Mollywick
[ The island is a fascinating place. Spock isn't exactly looking for treasure so much as he's looking to take in the new environment he's now found himself in. He helps to collect some berries, but it isn't long before the island begins to rumble and break apart beneath his feet and the berries in his sack are slung over his shoulder as he bends his knees and tries to take stock of what exactly is happening here. ]

I think we may have to run.

Letters

[winscenario]

[ A tall, random stranger approaches the group, not interested in the letters so much as the man reading them. He's still in uniform gold, stubbornly sticking to it even though he really should have changed by now, and he stays silent up until the point Spock is handed that letter.

Pressing his lips in to suppress a smile, he offers a hand out. ]

Give that to me.

[ He's just gonna take a seat next to him and promptly start reading the letter, not the least bit shy even as he gets to the juicy parts. ]

Wow, you were right. This is very explicit.

[ But on he goes, reading it aloud to a bunch of touch-starving illiterate pirates. This is his life now, apparently. He pauses halfway through to add a— ] How can you even bend like that? [ —or with another interjected— ] Well, now that's just unsanitary. [ —but he diligently finishes the letter, then returns it to one very happy pirate who immediately absconds. Wonder why. ]

Alright, boys, I think that's all for today. [ A collective groan of complaint follows. ] Calm down, calm down. More tomorrow, deal?

[intermingled]

[ Spock is not entirely sure what to make of the man--Captain by the look of his uniform--so he lets the letter leave his grip without any real care for it. That is until the Captain starts to read it and then Spock finds himself sitting there turning greener and greener by the moment and thankful that his beard is likely hiding the worst of it. ]

I believe you just promised to read those men more pornography tomorrow.

[ A raised eyebrow is really all he can muster about that. ]

[winscenario]

[ He shoots the pirates a friendly smile as they all go off on their own business, and finally turns to Spock once they're alone. Easily recognizable, and yet so very different. It's not just the beard that gives away the fact that this Spock won't know who he is. ]

I did. But I don't mind, and you looked like you might explode if you were the one doing it.

[ And indeed, he didn't seem particularly embarrassed to be reading smut aloud. ]

Spock, right?

[ You know, just making sure he's got it right. ]

[intermingled]

I do not believe I would have combusted, Sir.

[ He sits up a little straighter, though. It's not entirely impossible for his name to be known to others who he has not met. Being a Vulcan has the effect of causing him to stand out among his mostly human colleagues. ]

And I do not believe we have been introduced. I am Lieutenant Spock.

[winscenario]

Bit too literal there. [ As per usual. And probably on purpose too. ]

We... have, but haven't. It's a long story, but— the abridged version is that we're from parallel realities. Similar, but not the same. I know you, just not... you.

[ Weird and complicated, but he knows Spock will understand, perhaps all too easily. ]

Captain James T. Kirk. Jim's fine, whenever you get around to feeling comfortable with it. [ It'll take time, he knows. ] Can I ask what year is it for you?

[intermingled]

[ Spock did do that on purpose, but he is not one to point out the humor in it to a superior officer. ]

It is 2258.

[ A pause. ]

There is another version of myself in your parallel reality, Captain? I believe I will have many questions.

[ Number One has long-since trained him out of the need to request or announce a query when he is among humans. ]

letters

[unas]

( there's a gentle laugh as she hears the protest. she'd heard him reading earlier, had needed to make sure it was truly him (if it was her spock) and had remained under shadow lest the pirates view her presence as an omen and scatter. again.

but now she can't help herself, especially not when she does need to talk to him )

Always one for understatement.

( and even without seeing her, hearing that female voice does cause the pirates to get wary and start moving away. especially when she finally steps more into the light )

[intermingled]

Number One.

[ He hands off the dirty letter and steps through the scattering sailors towards. While he's not one for easy smiles, there is just the hint of one playing at his lips when he sees not only a familiar face, but one he trusts so well. Besides, she's seen him smile before.

Stopping an appropriate speaking distance away, he rests his hands behind his back and stands tall. ]

I was not aware you were also here.

[unas]

( the relief that una feels at spock actually recognising her, at knowing who she is and calling her number one is ridiculous, she shouldn't feel so relieved. and yet she does.

it translates only into the smallest of smiles, a nod as she stops before him )

You're the third Starfleet officer that I've found here. ( though the two were a more complicated story ) I hope your treatment's been acceptable.

[intermingled]

Acceptable has varying degrees, but I am unharmed and not currently being mistreated.

[ In other words, it's been a mix of factors, but he's in one piece and looking for the next part of this odd puzzle. ]

I hope yours has, as well. Do we know the other officers here?

[unas]

( sounds like better treatment than she's received given how she's hiding in shadows and scaring off pirates.

though she'd scare pirates by choice if they weren't idiots already )

We don't, though there's a complication. They're officers of the Enterprise though not our Enterprise-- one from a different universe. ( she doesn't know many details of it but enough to corroborate that existence ) Apparently an event in a future caused a catastrophic change in events from what we remember to what became their history.

( a big headache all around )

letters

[sansdoute]

( Mr. Briggs does not frequently lessen himself with voyages below deck, especially during the afternoon hours, when the fumes of drink are guaranteed to rise deep, foolhardy and poisonous.

But then, he is depended on the impart Captain's Vane word and his coin, and this earnest combination of duties propels him in the crew's halls, tutting and politely rolling his eyes, while the Queen Zanyra's latest recruit seemingly encounters the misfortunes of pirate appetites in literature.

Really, now. What did the man expect? )

Yes. How very shocking that base animals can only be trusted to find entertainment and merit in appeasing their instincts.

( Among the crowd the lad has accrued around himself, precisely one sailor twitches, turning to glare in an indication that he has understood either half of Mr. Briggs' pronouncement, or read well into his tone of voice. )

[intermingled]

[ Spock raises an eyebrow. ]

It is true that humans are often ruled by their emotions.

[ Not that Spock feels a drive to defend the public reading of pornography, but he does not approve of dehumanizing the sailors. ]

However, it might have been more logical for his lady friend to send him a drawing rather than a written note if he cannot read it.

[sansdoute]

( There is a moment, ill measured, when Mr. Briggs appears sufficiently at a loss for words that he might take it upon himself to combust.

Only, he opts differently: to find and gaze in the terrible lad's eyes, to hold his glance, to challenge him fairly: )

Many of them have spoiled their eyes on telescopes or drink. ( Both, as it happens, the fine risks that accompany their profession. ) Would you rather have had to describe the picture in granular detail?

( ...Mr. Briggs rather thinks there is a forgiving ambiguity to the written word that having to ad lib a description lacks, formidably. )

[intermingled]

I am a scientist. I do not believe that my own description would have been quite as titillating as yours might be.

[ A raised eyebrow. Humans often wonder if he does things like this on purpose. He does. ]

[sansdoute]

I have no imagination to spare. ( A deep breath that announces he may just as well have completed his sentence there. Only, hastily: ) — on troubled nonsense. Better that we all exercise ourselves in the interest of a safe and expedited journey.

( Farther out, the sudden eruption of howling in the halls signals one of the sailors has done just that — only, aiming his efforts to increase his wealth at the gambling table. Let it be known this is when Mr. Briggs begins to roll his eyes.

He may well never finish. )

A scientist could be of better use assisting with navigation. ( God knows the men tasked with finding north can hardly find their own laces, these days. ) You are likely wasted here.

scuffle

[inthechair]

[Pike did not expect this particular attack, so quickly after he’s found himself on this damn ship. He’s still wobbly, still unsettled, for all that he’s trying to adjust.

He ducks a punch, delivers an uppercut that mostly connects, then finds himself yanked back just in time to avoid a cutlass through the gut. He lands on his ass with a thud. Then scrambles back to his feet.]

Phew, thank you, Spo-

Spock?!

omg hi!

[intermingled]

Hello, Captain.

[ Unflappable as ever, Spock catches a fist as it flies at him and twists it until the man who had thrown the punch is on the ground before turning to offer Pike a familiar raised eyebrow. ]

I was not aware you were here.

Saw all you folk and couldn’t resist, hi!

[inthechair]

[Well, this certainly makes some things easier. Pike jogs from foot to foot and blocks an overhead strike with crossed arms. He grunts, then manages to shove the man’s forearm back before the cutlass in said forearm can bisect him.]

I’ve missed that eyebrow.

Likewise. You been here long?

Yeeees! come have fun. :>

[intermingled]

[ Spock does not voice that the feeling is mutual, but it is and he assumes that Pike will understand that. ]

Five days, three hours and seventeen minutes.

[ He ducks below a blade and sweeps the assailant's legs out from under him. ]

bless!

[inthechair]

[In spite of what Vulcans like to say about themselves, Spock isn't emotionless. It is understood.]

Ah.

Not that long since I last saw you on Enterprise. What's the last thing you remember?

[Pike grunts as a fist slams into his shoulder, then he turns and roundhouse punches the man.]

letters

[chromiums]

[ the tonics tend to help with most of the motion sickness, but there are times where it still takes her out enough to not want to do much moving. after having spent most of the afternoon on more strenuous tasks, she's regulated herself to sorting some of the mail, occasionally having to read some of the letters out loud. an unfamiliar voice catches her attention and she glances over with a raised eyebrow and amused expression when she hears what he says, the side of her mouth quirking as she tries not to laugh. ]

Is it addressed to anyone in particular?

[intermingled]

[ Spock holds out the offending letter. ]

The name appears smudged beyond recognition.

[ And though he's seen other smudges, he truly cannot make out the name through a splotch of water and ink that has spread over part of the page, leaving only sweet nothings and pornography readable. ]

[chromiums]

[ lorna takes the letter gingerly, holding it as solidly as she can with her fingernails just in case it's not just smeared with water and ink. holding it out in front of her, she squints as the lettering, but the penmanship is a little too shaky for her to make it out who it's addressed to. but she can make out enough words to determine that yeah, he's not exaggerating about it being pornographic in nature. ]

Yeah, looks like. [ she considers, then sets the letter aside. ] I couldn't make out who it was from, either.