plot roll | gulliver's travels

[groundrules]

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GULLIVER’S TRAVELS | EIDRIS

The dragons of Eidris remain agitated after Aiva hatches her eggs and her mate Ariste is allegedly wounded by a Minaras reconnaissance ship, the Relint. Outraged, Eidris aristocracy demands satisfaction, but war-wary king Thivar III soothes tempers until Minaras’ involvement is proven. Scouts report the Relint has crashed in the Sibilant Sands wasteland near Serthica, where dragons used to roam and mate. Dragon warlord Cain d’Ubiq organises a three-day flight expedition to recover the Relint, accepting companions.

✘ OBJECTIVE: locate and investigate the Relint.

■ Thirty dragons and riders, led by Cain d’Ubiq, leave once Eidris rises overground at 6:00am. Cain and two of his companions fly martial, fire-breathing dragons.

■ Every dragon rider is given three days of smoked meats for their dragons, food and water supplies for themselves, two blankets, binoculars and climbing hooks and gear. Riders are advised to wear warm full-body clothing and to cover their mouths.

■ Departing Eidris, you learn that you fly in the middle of the sandstorm season, amid deep reddish mists that rapidly exhaust you and vicious whirlwinds prone to unsaddle you. Don’t get lost and catch anyone who falls!

■ Through mental links, riders can sense their dragons are unnerved by the weather and the thought of confronting the Relint. Many transmit image glimpses of the Eidris-Minaras conflict, when dragons frequently battled warships.

■ Dragons are wilful and predatory creatures: try not to slip off when they suddenly pair up to play tag, hunt large birds or chase the flocks of nocturnal peaceful cloud whales.

■ The Sibilant Sands are a long, red, arid and withered stretch of land east of Serthica, littered by fog-drenched peaks and abyssal, sudden canyons. You may experience spells of inexplicable thirst, dizziness and listlessness.

■ Each night, the dragon party alights at watch points — very high plateaus, that host a few man-made caves. Cain d’Ubiq recommends sheltering your dragons. Squeeze in with them, or negotiate warmth with your fellow travellers: the Sibilant Sands are fiercely cold at night, and large fires can alert hungering man-sized hawks.

■ The stormy weather and recent events have left your dragons exceptionally skittish, prone to fits of anguish. Your physical presence — stroking, feeding, or grooming — reassures the dragons, as can your explicit efforts to send them happy, positive feelings. Think. Happy thoughts.

■ At long last, you reach the Relint: a small plane vessel that has crashed and remained stranded at a vast height between two steep cliffs that house several hawk nests.

■ Dragons are too large to fit in the space occupied by the Relint without being seen and attacked by the hawks — but you can leave your mounts behind and ascend with your climbing gear. Beware brutal hawks and storms.

■ Those who finally enter the Relint find no human remains — only two man-sized, straw-filled burlap mannequins, with a puddle of cold dark water at their feet. The mannequin ‘pilot’ wears a crudely painted fox face. The ‘navigator’ has a bear one.

■ Drop a line if your character plans to touch the dark water: you can get information, but please be aware there will be some unpleasant consequences.

■ The ship is very battered, showing Serthica markings: only RELINT remains visible from a distance, from the originally engraved AERIAL HEALING UNIT.

■ Dried blood is smeared on the back of the ship, where a fresh indentation has taken out the Relint’s engine. Any dragon that smells a sample can convey through images this is the blood of Ariste.

■ Grab whatever you need and fly home: the Relint creaks, rattles, and is at all times just about ready to fall.

QUESTIONS

NPC ACCESS: CAIN D'UBIQ

Comments

[groundrules]

Nonsense, it's a great idea!

Cost (excuse the c/p): whatever limb or part of the body that touches the dark water becomes fleetingly 'contaminated': for four-eight hours (your choice), it will feel as if that body part is assailed by hundreds of sharp needles from within. The pain suffered will range from severe discomfort to spells of acute pain that no magic or healing can alleviate. It will feel as if something is inside the body part, stretching it out, filling to assume its shape from within and shifting bones and flesh in the process. This pain fades gradually.

Outwardly, there will be no visible bodily change, and your character will suffer no long-term biological damage as a result of this episode. The brief contamination leaves no sign of possession, although the body part will feel 'death-touched' or reek of death for up to three days, to any necromancer your character encounters, or to anyone sensitive to life and death energies.

Dragons will be greatly reluctant to interact with your character in this contamination period, but you can assume they'll allow (very rocky) transport, if you need a fast getaway.

Please check in and we can adjust the above, if any of it touches on any personal triggers for you — definitely do not want you feeling forced to play out something that makes you uncomfortable.

Gain: Emilia can see a very rattled memory glimpse, torn between instances of awareness and blackout. The viewer seems to lack mobility and the shakiness of its perspective and of the ground beneath suggest it is rolling on the ground. From behind, laughter as an unseen man kicking the viewer asks what in the world they're supposed to do with 'these'? Another joins in, speculating 'Chrichter' has 'lost it,' but the other man is 'welcome to be the one to go and ask him.' The image settles as the viewer stops rolling, showing an empty streak of cement, as dark water starts to leak from the viewer. An immense shadow deepens ahead — as the feet of a dragon come into view, presumably when the great beast lands. Between the creature's howls, Emilia can, with difficulty, hear a new muffled voice — perhaps belonging to the dragon rider — urging the other two men to,'Take care with them. You know he hates them hurt.'