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Adventure #1: The Iceman Cometh.

Posted by SteamRollerFor group 0
SteamRoller
GM, 47 posts
Gearhead
Machinesmith
Sat 10 Jun 2017
at 05:56
  • msg #1

Adventure 1: The Iceman Cometh

Gibraltar had become a crossroads of the Mediterranean Sea. It was a critical link through the Suez Canal between Great Britain and its holdings in Asia. The Rock, one of the Pillars of Hercules, was a prominent landmark.

Morocco was only 8 miles across the Strait of Gibraltar, making it a naval 'choke point'.

It was the first Tuesday in March of 1889, a typical pleasant day, sunny but not too warm, getting a bit cool as the day wound down.

You've made it into The Rendezvous pub before the evening crowd shows up, so service is quick. Built into an old converted tunnel, the ceiling is a brick arch. The bar runs down the middle and small tables are set against the wall.


[OOC: Decide what brings you to Gibraltar... resident, passing through, or visiting (friends, relatives or as a tourist).]
Brie O'Malley
player, 5 posts
Fri 23 Jun 2017
at 02:25
  • msg #2

Adventure 1: The Iceman Cometh

Brie had wandered into the Rendezvous pub to just get a cold drink. She had her bags with her and set them in the corner and sat as she looked around the room. She liked to have a lay of the land per say. She looked to see what kind of people where in there and what they spoke. She had been paid to come her to do a job but it had fallen though and now she was here with nothing to do and was wondering if she should find any work.

She was dressed in her white bustier with a light shawl over her shoulders. She had on a long dark skirt with her boots on. yay, she was not the most modest person but she liked to show off and liked attention, depending on what she was doing of course. After a while, she would take out her tarot cards and start playing with them to see if she draws any attention. she started laying out the cards to tell her fortune, she hoped was good but who knew if lady luck was with her or not.
Grimsby H. Baskerville
player, 4 posts
Sat 24 Jun 2017
at 02:17
  • msg #3

Adventure 1: The Iceman Cometh

In reply to Brie O'Malley (msg # 2):

Grimsby H. Baskerville entered the Rendevous cautiously, as he entered almost anywhere. Officially, he was still on medical leave "with permission from a paternal government to improve" his health after the shattered arm he had suffered defending the Potentate of Karaaksbaagu ---to whose Martian court he had been accredited as Resident -- from a Ground Cleanser assassin who resented the Potentate's submission to the British. However, on or off duty, he always took care.

Having scanned the room and seen no visible enemies -- most of his were either on Mars, or dead, or both -- he made his way to the bar and ordered a half-pint of bitter --in these parts it would be lukewarm, but all he wanted was something wet, a habitual desire after his years in the arid Martian climate -- and prepared to seek out his usual spot, against a wall, with a good view of the door.

It happened that the most suitable seat was at a table next to that occupied by a handsome young woman playing what at first he supposed to be Patience, since she was playing alone.
As he drew closer, he recognized that the cards she was using were Tarot, not a conventional deck. He had seen them used a few times on the Continent, but never by a British woman such as she appeared to be: her fiery hair clearly set her apart from most of the local folk.

Driven by his ever-present fascination with the outre, he ventured a punctilious bow and and asked, "Pardon, miss. May I ask what led you to take up such an unusual form of cartomancy?"

His bronzed features and the keen eyes above his sweeping mustache contrasted sharply with his conventional dark suit, but he seemed respectable enough that his motives in making the inquiry would not be distrusted by a single lady.
Brie O'Malley
player, 7 posts
Sat 24 Jun 2017
at 02:34
  • msg #4

Adventure 1: The Iceman Cometh

"Oh, please join me sir. I learned a little fortune telling when I got myself lost in the wilds of Scotland. Its not like a like a city girl like me would know what a bog is" she says with a smile and a slight Irish accent. she was glad for some company and who knew, maybe he would know of some work but maybe not.

"My name is Brie O'Malley, nice to meet you. would you like your fortune told?" she scoops up the cards and start shuffling them like she was a pro.
Grimsby H. Baskerville
player, 5 posts
Sat 24 Jun 2017
at 02:45
  • msg #5

Adventure 1: The Iceman Cometh

In reply to Brie O'Malley (msg # 4):

Grimsby smiled a little grimly and replied, "The last time someone invited me to a ritual of that sort, it was a Martian Worm Priest who wanted to read his future in my entrails, but I settled the question with a shot to his skull. I daresay your method would be a great deal more agreeable for both parties." He seated himself and looked on expectantly as she shuffled.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:46, Sat 24 June 2017.
Brie O'Malley
player, 8 posts
Sat 24 Jun 2017
at 04:51
  • msg #6

Adventure 1: The Iceman Cometh

"I have to admit, I have never tried to read entrails before and I agree this is far more agreeable to the person. I dare say, I am probably a little better looking then the Martian also. I would love to go to Mars. I have just traveled around the Mediterranean a bit. I love the warm weather here" she looks him over as she starts to lay out the cards.
Joseph Rudyard Hunnisett
player, 3 posts
Navy Captain (Ret)
Wandering Explorer
Sat 24 Jun 2017
at 05:23
  • msg #7

Adventure 1: The Iceman Cometh

In reply to Grimsby H. Baskerville (msg # 5):

A young gentleman steps into the cool dimness of The Rendezvous, pauses a moment as he removes a pair of small, dark-lensed glasses from his warm-brown eyes, then steps over to the nearest section of the bar which runs down the center of the room.

Of obvious European ancestry, the young gentleman is of moderate height, just a little shy of six-foot, with good bearing. His chestnut-colored hair is in good trim, though perhaps just a bit too long for current fashion, being of two-or-three centimeters length on top, parted on the left, shorter on the sides - though not by much - trimmed abouve the ears, with a long taper on the neck. A groomed chevron-style mustache rests on his upper lip, but his clean-shaven cheeks show the pale blush of the recently barbered.

He wears no hat or gloves, and his skin bears the heavy tan of someone who spends a great deal of time in the out of doors, nor is he carrying a walking stick, but he is tidily dressed in a pale blue ditto suit - frock coat open over a matching waistcoat and similar color trousers. The shirt is a daring light lavender, with a black satin bow tie, tied in the style popular in America, sometimes called a 'Kentucky Colonel'; wide bows and long tails. The shoes are a black leather, square-toed in the current fashion, but of a matte nature, rather than the popular glossy.

Though he is impeccably dressed, anyone with an eye for gentlemen's fashion would note that the young gentleman's suit is of a cut that was in fashion almost ten years ago.

Also, as the young gentleman walks the few steps to the bar, the well-travelled Grimsby might notice a hint of a rolling gait in the young man's walk, but it is so slight, it might have been several years since the young gentleman had walked the deck of a sea vessel.

As the young gentleman walks past Grimsby and Brie, they catch a hint of cigar smoke, as well something under that, something distinct ... moth balls.

"A mint julep, if you please." the young gentleman orders upon gaining the attention of the barkeep. He has a firm tenor, with just a bit of a soft drawl - likely from the American South, perhaps Texas, "Bourbon. Kentucky bourbon, if you have it."

His order placed, the young gentleman looks around the chamber, giving both Brie and Grimsby a warm smile, before his gaze passes on.
Felicity Van Horn
player, 5 posts
The American
Sat 24 Jun 2017
at 12:32
  • msg #8

Adventure 1: The Iceman Cometh

"Hol-ee shit!" came a voice from deeper in the bar. The figure had been slouched over the bar and a tumbler filled with brown. But looking up from beneath the brim of the wide hat was a young woman, tipping back her drink and shooting a hard glare down the bar. Sand still flecked the skin of her cheeks.  "That sounds like the drink of a gussied up city boy."

Her chin tips up, taking down the last swallows of her drink before slamming down the glass. It rattles against the counter as she pushes herself to her feet. The metal parts of her boots rattle as she stalks down the bar toward the man in the Kentucky tie. But by the time she's reached him, her tough-guy act has played itself out. Her glare has been replaced by a wide grin. The only sign of force a perhaps-too-hard punch to Joseph's shoulder.

"'Bourbon. Kentucky bourbon, if you have it'," she mocks, a line she's clearly familiar with. Throwing herself onto a stool next to him. If he had an accent, her's was only thicker. Twanging and rural, dropping her 'gs' as lightly as a tumbleweed. "What's got you wanderin' the desert lookin' for mint juleps like this was some sorta goddamn horse race? Maybe just figurin' out where it is you woke up this mornin'? You may wanna try that order again, they only speak some kinda pigmalian French or somethin' round here. Like New Orleans 'cept if everyone was polite. So I guess it's a bit better than New Orleans.

"But what the fuck are you doin' wanderin' round these parts?"
Joseph Rudyard Hunnisett
player, 4 posts
Navy Captain (Ret)
Wandering Explorer
Sat 24 Jun 2017
at 13:16
  • msg #9

Adventure 1: The Iceman Cometh

In reply to Felicity Van Horn (msg # 8):

The young gentleman had turned to look towards the voice when she called out, for he had, of course, immediately recognized it.

"I shall have you know, Miss," he responds in an educated tone, despite the slight Texas drawl, "that a Mint Julep - with Bourbon - predates its adoption by the Racing Set in Kentucky. And it is important to specify the base alcohol, for a Julep may also be made with Cognac, gin, or sparkling wine."

He finally grinned, "And it is the best drink for a proper Southern Gentleman, such as myself, to enjoy in weather such as this."

As the Stetson-wearing young woman sat down next to him, he leaned in and lowered his voice,

"I advise never again saying that the locals speak any kind of French, Miss." he says in a cautionary tone, "Gibraltar has belonged to Britain for almost two centuries - these folks speak English. What you are probably referring to is a local Andalusian-based dialect of Spanish, which many of the locals also speak, called Llanito..." what he says sounds like 'Ya-neeto', "And they speak Spanish because Gibraltar is a peninsula on the southwest coast of Spain."

He lowers his voice a bit more, "But, even though I speak Spanish, I can't make heads nor tails of what they're saying."

Finally he sits back on his stool and gives a warm smile, offering his ungloved hand,

"Hello Felicity, it's been a long time. How's your Father? Still trying to convince folks that his Pennsylvania accent is really a West Texas drawl?"
Grimsby H. Baskerville
player, 6 posts
Sun 25 Jun 2017
at 03:46
  • msg #10

Adventure 1: The Iceman Cometh

In reply to Joseph Rudyard Hunnisett (msg # 9):

Grimsby H. glances up briefly at the rather noisy encounter between the two obvious Americans, but as neither of them appears to be about to draw a six-shooter, he shrugs slightly and offers Miss O'Malley a sympathetic look intended to invite her to share his reserved distaste for such exuberance.

However, he simply continues his conversation with her without interruption, saying "Indeed, you are far better looking than the late priest --like most of the Worm Cult, he was a High Martian, which made him barbaric even by Martian standards, almost subhuman in appearance as well as behavior.

If you do visit Mars, I would recommend staying within the bounds of the British colony, so that you are unlikely to meet creatures of his sort. The climate is warm and dry by day, but cold at night, not unlike parts of Castile to the north of us here, I understand, though as I am only passing through Gibraltar I have not explored that region myself."

Brie O'Malley
player, 11 posts
Sun 25 Jun 2017
at 03:57
  • msg #11

Adventure 1: The Iceman Cometh

She looks over at the Americans and thinks that is another place she would love to go and visit. she looks back to Grimsby "I love to travel and would actually love to go to America and Mars. Now if I did go there, as in Mars, I probably would like to meet some of the barbarians, it would be exciting I am sure" she says as she lays out the cards "I do see you are traveling, but is it with an urgency?" she says looking at Grimsby
Felicity Van Horn
player, 6 posts
The American
Sun 25 Jun 2017
at 15:29
  • msg #12

Re: Adventure 1: The Iceman Cometh

Joseph Rudyard Hunnisett:
Finally he sits back on his stool and gives a warm smile, offering his ungloved hand,

"Hello Felicity, it's been a long time. How's your Father? Still trying to convince folks that his Pennsylvania accent is really a West Texas drawl?"


Felicity isn't wearing gloves- though she's got a thick pair of leather work gloves tucked into her belt. So there's no need for that before she grabs Joseph's hand for an exuberant, forceful shake. It's followed by a hard thump on the back, before she slings herself onto the nearest stool. Knuckles cracking on the bar twice for the bartenders attention as he began muddling leaves.

"Hey, his' on me, got that? And how's about some of that Kentucky bourbon in a glass without that other shit?"
she turned back, giving the would-be colonel another grin.

"As for Daddy? Eh, he's got just about everyone fooled... 'Till he goes asking for a canteen of 'woder'. But what's got you all dudded up?"
Joseph Rudyard Hunnisett
player, 6 posts
Navy Captain (Ret)
Wandering Explorer
Mon 26 Jun 2017
at 00:33
  • msg #13

Re: Adventure 1: The Iceman Cometh

In reply to Felicity Van Horn (msg # 12):

"If you will recall those cotillions in Dallas that your father made you attend as a young Debutante, this..." Joseph indicates his suit, "Is how civilized people dress, when they are enjoying..." Joseph makes an expansive gesture with both hands, indicating not just the bar, but all of Gibraltar beyond it, "The fruits of civilization."

Joseph smirks as he rests his hands on the bar, "Actually, I spent the last three months tramping all over Spanish Sahara - that's on the northwest coast of Africa, south of Morocco, just a few hundred miles from here - playing escort for a bunch of Castilian Professors who were convinced they'd found some old Roman records indicating the location of a lost Roman city down there. I was in Castile at the time, and somehow they heard that I'd learned some Arabic when I was down in German East Africa a couple years back."

Joseph shrugs, "I tried to tell them that the Swahili spoken down there only shared a few loan words with the Berber spoken in Morocco, but they said it would be fine. I think they just thought that they were hiring an American Gunslinger *snort* like I'm any kind of quickdraw artist!"

"So, Miss Felicity, what brings you to Gibraltar, of all places?" Joseph asks, "I recall you had spoken of travelling, back when I was with your outfit, but I never thought you'd ever, actually, leave Texas. It's the only place in the world where anyone will put up with half the crap you pull!" he finished with a mischievous gleam in his eye.
Grimsby H. Baskerville
player, 7 posts
Mon 26 Jun 2017
at 02:15
  • msg #14

Adventure 1: The Iceman Cometh

In reply to Brie O'Malley (msg # 11):

Grimsby smiles more mildly than before and replies, "In the past, most of my travels have been very urgent, but as it happens, I am now enjoying an enforced liberty until Her Majesty's Government deems me sufficiently recovered to return to duty, so my present journey is more in search of health than any particular geographical destination."
Brie O'Malley
player, 12 posts
Mon 26 Jun 2017
at 02:29
  • msg #15

Adventure 1: The Iceman Cometh

Brie grins "I see you taking a beautiful young woman to dinner and telling her of your travels. So what do you think?" she says looking at him inquisitively.  "You are searching for a place to relax? Personally I am between work. She was glad to meet another person from England. She had been all over and dealt with so many people who were less then savory.
Felicity Van Horn
player, 7 posts
The American
Tue 27 Jun 2017
at 00:30
  • msg #16

Re: Adventure 1: The Iceman Cometh

Joseph Rudyard Hunnisett:
"So, Miss Felicity, what brings you to Gibraltar, of all places?" Joseph asks, "I recall you had spoken of travelling, back when I was with your outfit, but I never thought you'd ever, actually, leave Texas. It's the only place in the world where anyone will put up with half the crap you pull!" he finished with a mischievous gleam in his eye.


As Joseph tells his tale, Felicity listens. Elbow on the bar, fingers circling her glass when it arrives. Giving her liquor a swirl before shooting back a swift swallow. "How anyone would mistake you for a gunslinger... How many of them made it back to Spain?" she injects into his story with a laugh and another gulp of bourbon.

"But as for my crap? Well, wouldn't you know it? Turns out, ain't no amount of crap you can pull in this life won't be forgiven for 'round about ten dollars. Least that seems to be the goin' rate," her glass emptied, Felicity knocked the bar top again. Fingers circling in the universal indication of 'another round'. Stetson tipped back on her head, sleeves rolled up past her elbows. She does carry a pistol strapped tight against her waist- where a real rider carries their gun.

"I'm headin' where you just came through. Got myself a list that starts towards antelope, ends close to zebra, and a list of museums Daddy promised a favor to. Not even to speak of the old place in Philidelphia."
Grimsby H. Baskerville
player, 8 posts
Tue 27 Jun 2017
at 01:59
  • msg #17

Adventure 1: The Iceman Cometh

In reply to Brie O'Malley (msg # 15):

Grimsby suppressed any surprise he might feel that a respectable young woman would offer such a suggestion to a near-stranger ---after all, he had already told her he thought her very good-looking, which might have been taken as an invitation -- and said, "As it happens, I am free for dinner this evening, so your prediction might very well come true, if you choose to make it so.. ."
Brie O'Malley
player, 13 posts
Tue 27 Jun 2017
at 02:05
  • msg #18

Adventure 1: The Iceman Cometh

Brie grins "Well of course I am right. The cards never lie, they might get the whole truth but give a hints. But I would be honored to go to dinner with you. As a woman traveling alone, I love to meet people to have dinner with and talk too" she says as she sips her drink.
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