let's set d o w n some (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
groundrules) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
westwhere2022-07-18 05:54 pm
groundrules) wrote in westwhere2022-07-18 05:54 pm
Entry tags:
- 2ha: chu wanning,
- asoiaf: daenerys targaryen,
- baldur's gate: astarion,
- harry potter: hermione granger,
- kingdom of the wicked: wrath,
- legend of fei: xie yun,
- mo dao zu shi: xiao xingchen,
- oh! my emperor: beitang moran,
- oh! my emperor: su xunxian,
- star trek: jim kirk (aos),
- star trek: leonard mccoy (aos),
- star trek: spock,
- star trek: una,
- storm at sea,
- tian guan ci fu: xie lian,
- umbrella academy: diego,
- umbrella academy: five,
- untamed: lan sizhui,
- warcraft: anduin wrynn,
- warcraft: wrathion,
- word of honor: zhou zishu
storm at sea | part ii
Thar she blows — part II of the Storm at Sea travel arc, lasting until 5 August.
SUMMARY: as allied pirate ships Pariah and Queen Zanyra sail onwards, mad captain Quicksilver Sam uses the artefact of the Dawn’s Reach Trade Company to call out to the notorious power of the haunted Crossing seas. He craves retribution from the crew of his former, drowned ship, the Storm at Sea — which rises up along other sunken vessels, all manned by undead sailors. With them is a vicious kraken. They attack, seeking Quicksilver Sam’s relic. So should you. Some characters dragged underwater reach a deserted dimension where time behaves aberrantly. To survive the two-three-day skirmish, keep your ship afloat and moving, hijack a few other vessels, fend off the undead and kraken, capture Quicksilver’s artefact — and breathe.
SAFE AT WA(TE)R
Quicksilver Sam’s Pariah continues into the black waters of the Crossing seas, escorted by ally Caladan Kreil’s Queen Zanyra and distantly pursued by Maximilian Hawk’s Concord of the Dawn’s Reach Trade Company. Characters can cross between the Queen Zanyra and Pariah by rowboat, until great storms darken the skies. Afterwards, reckless fools can risk their necks in the growling winds and drumming rains and traverse the rattling, thick chain that binds the two ships.
Quicksilver Sam joins the deck of the Pariah with a small box he opens to reveal a cut-out, impeccably preserved and warded human tongue. Once unwarded, the artefact seems to intensify the storms, while Quicksilver shouts out:
”Two years be, when the seas, them… they… broke’n’sundered and… was then. Then, when all of you! All of… all of you dead under the briny deep, you watched, and you plotted, and you… was then! We all broke bread under the black flag, and we were brothers… brothers of the Storm at Sea. Was enough coin in the coffer for everyone, but you, you had the greed in you, thicker than blood of our covenant, or water of any womb! You turned! You put me out to die, and now, look where you are? You lily-livered scurvies, you wake up now, look around you! You put me to sea? Left me to die? Samuel Vane, you thought me, I was for drowning? You look me in the eye, and you tell me so again, because I’m here for you! I’ll be ruin for you, Storm at Sea, I’ll cleave you!”
- ■ The tongue artefact summons up dozens of sunken ships from the Crossing, which take under an hour to fully emerge. They are manned by reanimated sailors — many whom you may have encountered as cored bodies underwater.
■ The Storm at Sea also rises, staffed by Quicksilver Sam’s now revenant crew. The vessel spearheads the undead offensive and approaches the Pariah — leaving her within reach for infiltration. Wei Wuxian will report back after engaging undead first mate Augustus Silvering.
■ The tongue relic also calls up an immense kraken, whose tentacles can be recognised as the ‘coral’ strings that had bound the sunken ships. The kraken is neither living nor dead and composed of the coagulated dark water that characters have previously encountered. Kraken meat is comestible but not seafood. It unexpectedly tastes of succulent white fish, best paired with a Sauvignon blanc and served generously with lemon, rosemary and dill. Do not overcook on the bonfire of your sinking ship.
■ You may end up locked inside cabins or brigs, whether ‘for your safety’ or at the first sign of insubordination against the on-edge captains.
■ You’re in danger as long as you remain within the Crossing seas. To steer the boats, take occasional shifts from exhausted pirates and learn to helm your vessel with navigational help from your companions.
■ (Wisps of) agitated spirits linger in the Crossing — some maliciously seek to push you overboard, while others protect you. Most are petrified. These remaining spirits are more akin to afterthoughts of emotion, which you can calm down, exorcise or ignore.
NAIL’EM TO THE MAST
When you can’t beat’em, try again with a torch, a harpoon and a better attitude:
- ■ The kraken and undead violently attempt to reach the tongue artefact and sink the Pariah, Queen Zanyra and nearby Concord. Your enemies have hardened skins that require extra hacking, but regular weapons still work. Fire is especially efficient.
■ The kraken slams and sweeps its tentacles across the deck to drag ships underwater — do use cannons and primitive explosives.
■ The undead mount rowboats or swim to climb onboard. Fortunately, the storms impede your attackers, earning you respite between fresh assaults. Assume one-two hours' rest between attacks.
■ Extensively touching the living kraken tentacles slowly depletes your stamina and/or magical strength.
■ Consider taking Viktor’s steampunk boat and setting up primitive dynamite to sink these ships before their undead crew can reach you. Beware the storms.
■ You can infiltrate undead ships at any point, but can only commandeer one if you group up to man it.
■ Use diving suits that let you breathe four hours underwater and light up white for alert, red for danger, yellow for the urgent need to return on land and green-blue otherwise.
■ Bad news for the Pariah: on top of the undead, the kraken and the mad pirate, you are dealing with the incensed Hawk and Caladan Kreil, both whom send men to stop Quicksilver Sam’s summons at all costs.
■ Magical communicators are prone to glitches or disruptions amid poor weather conditions.
■ A school of mermaids is drawn to the kraken and the Pariah — warn them off with lights or lure them away with baits of food or blood. Speaking with them reveals they want Quicksilver’s artefact.
■ Those wishing to avoid violence can head to the more distant Concord by rowboat, under a white flag. Maximilian Hawk believes you are refugees aboard the Pariah and Queen Zanyra and will offer sanctuary. The sleek, highly disciplined and martial Concord faces significantly less attack, and you can spend a more peaceful time below deck. Alternatively, pair up to persuade the crew to give up chasing the Pariah, and convince Hawk and first mate Lattimore the ‘ancient power’ pursued by the Dawn’s Reach Trade Company should arguably never be found.
STICKY FINGERS
Moments after his speech, a rattled Quicksilver Sam retreats with the tongue relic in his heavily guarded and magically warded cabin.
- ■ Group up to capture the tongue with minimal damage to ship and crew. Ideally, some characters can distract the guards or attempt to lure Quicksilver out.
■ Helpful tips: despite his questionable sanity, Quicksilver Sam has shown high regard for manners, women and his ship. The pirate guards are loyal, but skittish before the supernatural.
■ During the diversion, lift the wards or forcibly infiltrate the cabin by breaking the door in. Careful, as Quicksilver appears to have purchased a Taravast special — a small caged white owl, which paralyses in place those who meet her gaze. Someone should distract the bird or cover her cage to break her trance.
■ Everyone can hunt, but Five and Wrathion get final joint custody of the tongue. They have decided to ward and box it. This will see the kraken and sinking ships gradually lose power, then submerge within two days. The tongue stays with the duo. Given Kirk’s previous reveal, the group could choose to trade the tongue in with Maximilian Hawk and the Dawn’s Reach Trade Company.
■ If the tongue is ever brought near the heart possessed by Kaneki Ken, the two artefacts will briefly thrum in synchrony.
THE STRANDING
Some characters captured by the kraken’s tentacles and pulled underwater lose consciousness, only to mentally wake up in the dimension of a perfectly silent, deserted and seemingly interminable beach island.
- ■ Characters experience time differently here, shifting between younger and older states every few hours. Up to you whether these changes are mental, physical or both, and whether your character is aware this isn’t their natural form.
■ Several mute, humanoid tar figures roam aimlessly. They largely ignore newcomers, but peacefully stop them from entering the dark sea waters.
■ The island sky is despairingly grey. There are no animals or plants.
■ Characters find they lose more of their memories, the longer they linger — particularly if they start to be politely but incessantly followed by tar figures, which gradually assume their form.
■ You can occasionally find human footsteps and writing in wet beach sand. The writing spells out children’s limericks.
■ Time passes differently on the island — dealer’s choice whether faster or slower than in the real world for your character.
■ Characters can wake up into the real world, if their bodies are rescued from where they’ve sunken underwater, remaining alive for up to two days in the vicinity of the kraken.
■ Characters may initially experience light amnesia and a sense of listlessness and estrangement from their bodies, once they have left the island dimension. This dissipates within a day’s time.
■ You can only reach the island once. Characters can be brought underwater by the kraken without entering the beach dimension.
NPC CONTACT
no subject
Not that this man before him can't be gentle, but humble is not a word that comes to mind, at least not in appearance. Xingchen, still on his knees, circles his arms for a bow.]
Xie-daozhang...?
[Suddenly that form of address doesn't seem quite right. His friend may be a cultivator, but he's also a god. Xingchen hasn't really felt that distinction so clearly until now.]
Ah, right. I found this little poem amusing, but also sad.
no subject
Oh, you can see me?
.... Ah, don't bother too much about... all this. [Vague hand gestures towards all the attire.] I honestly don't even know where it suddenly came from.
[Let him look at the poem instead and then give a small chuckle.]
You're right, it's funny, but why do you find it sad too?
no subject
[And if he stares for a moment too long, can anyone blame him? Xingchen has suspected his friend would be beautiful to some extent, but to actually see him is almost breathtaking.
His husband is exceptionally lucky.]
I do not suspect it will last much longer than a day.
[He has been grafted sight a couple times in the past while in this world, though both times were not exactly as they should have been. And they were temporary. He won't hold his breath for this to be different. He doesn't deserve to be sighted again.
Thankfully the little poem is a good distraction for both of them.]
It's the old man not remembering who he is. I had seen similar before on my travels. Sometimes an elder would forget something other than their own name, but to live to such an age and have all those memories only for them to slip away...
[Xingchen trails off and forcefully shoves his hands into his lap, smiling at Xie Lian.]
It's a silly little rhyme and I'm taking it too seriously.
no subject
Having been alive as long as I have, I can't say I remember everything in very sharp detail but... I hope this never happens to me. All the memories are precious, the good and the bad.
[Thankfully, Xie Lian doesn't seem bothered by the staring. Mostly, he's used to it, so it doesn't really register.]
Do you have any idea of where we are? Or how this place can suddenly give you back your sight and my childhood clothing?
no subject
[The new question finally makes Xingchen tear his gaze away. He glances around the monochrome island, takes in that ever-present silence. He shakes his head.]
I don't know. Maybe we're...dead...
[He looks back to Xie Lian and frowns.]
Or maybe just me. I can't imagine a god dying so easily.
no subject
... But I don't think we're really here either.
[After all...]
This place doesn't even look real. And that big octopus was absorbing qi earlier.
no subject
[Xingchen pushes himself to his feet, suddenly concerned and angered over such a thing. Xie Lian has been nothing but kind and understanding as long as Xingchen has known him. But, then again, he doesn't know him entirely.
He still finds it hard to believe Xie Lian would be cursed for any good reason.]
I didn't notice that about the creature. I don't think it liked fire very much, though. Did you get pulled into the water, as well? That's the last thing I remember.
no subject
[And this time, Xiao-daozhang can for sure sees he means it absolutely.]
There's no need to worry about it. back in my home the person who put the curse on me is dead and I broke them. They just suddenly reappeared when I appeared here, but I'm used to them.
[To get back to the topic of the kraken though...]
I probably was because I lost all of my strength fighting it, and then it grabbed me.
no subject
People would probably say the same thing about Xingchen, but he's committed heinous crimes, too.]
I see. It's been settled in its own time. Mostly.
[He shakes his head and takes a few steps away before turning back.]
We're here now. We should probably search for any kind of answers or way out.
no subject
[Looking around, thought the place is extremely desolate.]
I'm not sure if we can get out on our own. The first step would be to find out bodies, but who knows where they could be?