Nym looks around, apparently unsatsfied with the idea that the voice is coming from the telescope, which she absently stuffs back into her pocket. She finally spots the ropes and lets out a little "Oh!" of surprise, standing up and going to the nearest one to peer up it.

"Oh, hello, invisible rope-person!" she calls. "Um. You're invisible. I mean, well, the ropes seem to sort of...disappear...and I can't see you. Um. Whoever you are. Um. So...um...why do we need to climb the ropes? Is a bad thing going to happen? I don't know if I'm any good at climbing..."

She eyes the rope speculatively, as though trying to work out the exact physical movements that might be required to climb something that doesn't have steps or rungs.

Pretty sure we haven't had to climb any ropes so far, anyway...

"Am I?" comes the reply to Meri's observation and Nym's comment. There seems to be more one sided conferring, along the lines of 'am I' and 'can you see me' and 'I can see me, why can't she' before the voice returns.

"I wish I could say that if you climb up here you'd be invisible too, bu apparently that's not how it works. Apparently..."

There was a brief pause for more one sided conversation regarding being sure they were invisible at all, but the voice reurned again.

"Yes, so unfortunately that's not how it works, so even if you come up here, we're all in a spot of dangerand quite visible. But up here, I believe you will be in far less danger. As for the ropes... well, they're tied off quite well up here, and they seem to be quite helpful in regards to climbing, so I think you should be alright."
[Secret to Meri:
Nym will indeed feel that there is something magical about the ropes,and almost welcoming. ]

The rope was indeed very solid, and did not give one inch to Meri's pulling upon it. [Secret to Meri: The moment Meri started climbing on it, she could feel her hands locked to it.However, the moment she wanted to let go, her hand released instantly. Also, the rope seemed to stiffen remarkably well at every section that she was against, as if to ensure she had the easiest climb possible.

The rope appears to be enchanted to make it very easy to climb up, to the point that you can't actually fall from it unless you actively thought about letting go.]

Meri frowned slightly at the voices.  Then she looked back down at the people on the ground.
"Ok, everyone follow us up the ropes, just in case."

With that she resumed climbing.
"And this better not be a trap or another god sticking their nose in.  I'm starting to run low on forgiveness" she muttered in a voice probably not quite low enough to go unheard...


OOC: Going up to the invisible-not-invisible place then :)
This message was last edited by the player at 18:15, Thu 16 Aug 2018.

Nym peers around curiously.

"Hmm, I wonder what's so dangerous that it's better for us to follow some weird voice up a rope to somewhere we can't even see..." she muses. "Well, maybe they'll have somewhere nice to sleep, at least. I'm pretty tired..."

With a final shrug, she awkwardly trie to grab the rope and jump up it at the same time, in order to start climbing at as high a point as possible. Ryn just stays clinging to her shoulders, not really having the build for climbing ropes in her current shape.

Athletics for climbing a rope then, I suppose...hmm, 14 (8+6). Not terrible, at least...

What indeed...

[Secret to Nym: The moment Nym grabs the rope, she finds that it instantly holds on to her hands. The moment though she wants it to let go, it then lets go. It feels as if the magic of the rope is to keep the climber safe, and aid them in climbing no mater what. That seems to include adhering to a climber's hands and legs so they cannot slip, and also the rope itself stiffens as Nym climbs so the rope does not vibrate and shift too much as she shimmies upwards on that section.]

A climb roll is a good idea in general and Meri was very brave in starting a climb without a roll, leaving it to my whim, but in his case you only need one if you try to do anything above the norm - like trying to twist this way and that when half way up, so start rushing upwards, etc. At least, for now... :p I'll recall theroll if it becomes necessary...

The rope is both sturdy enough and soft enough, combined with its unusual magic, to ensure the climb upwards it not too onerous. Removing the threat of falling in order to take a moment's rest certainly helps.

Down below, the rest of the group start to mutter regarding Meri's call to climb. Farren barely hesitates, grabbing the rope as if to test his hidden muscle memory, then discovers the odd secret of the rope himself. He shifts a little, and then makes good time on the rope. "If you want to stay down there you can. I, for one, think it safer to follow these two. No matter what's up there." He seems to take pity on those below, especially those injured, and then yells down, "it seems enchanted. You don't seem to be able to fall from it. That should make things easier." However, he does not stay around to help anyone else up.

Once the 'top' of the rope is reached by the two mages, it becomes clear that there is a hazy atmosphere, some form of illusion. The mists of it simply swirl around Nym and Meri's head, as if to welcome them and include them. A few surprised gasps below seem to confirm that both Meri and Nym have disappeared from view.

However, what is revealed more than takes up focus. Beyond the illusion, and providing the shelter from rain below, is a large, wooden hull. It seems exactly the sort of hull that would be associated with a large sailing ship, and the railings visible above, and the hull stretching out back across the woods, and the pointed keel, do not seem to contradict this notion. What a ship is doing floating above the woods, and being invisible form the ground, would appear to be very good questions to ask the unknown voice above.

"Ho there... (no there I said.... as in go and greet our guests coming on the other side. Yes, you.) Ho there!" Finally, a large, nautical hat appears over the railing above. A large face follows, with a fancy beard enhanching the open, smiling face. "Well met! Please, keep climbing and welcome aboard! My crew and I can help you up..."

Over at the other rail, [Secret to Meri: o][Secret to Nym: a less vocal face appears to look down at Nym. The head is bald, the face of a young-ish male. His features seem human, but there is an odd stretch to them, as if several times removed there had been elves in his ancestry. He gives a professional nod, as if one craftsman to another. He appears to be dressed in some oddly shimmering robes, catching the light in odd ways. O]ne or two odd faces then appear over the rail looking down on Nym. These are oddly twisted and mishapen, but in a familiar way. It seems as if these creatures are also Gromins, like the ones the mages had encountered on the bridge at Blackwood. However, these seems far more curious and friendly, and their garb was more leather breeches and aprons. They had one thing in common with the two Nym and Meri had previously encountered. "Hadar," they all whispered to each other, nodding[Secret to Nym: , and drawing a brief worried look from the non-elvish human].

Feel free to climb up to the bannister and sayhello to your odd new friends. And yes, this isa flying ship. No, it's not a 'flying ship' as in a ship-like flying vessel, when you get to the top you will see it appears to be a normal looking ship that is nevertheless somehow floating around.

"Um. Hello!" says Nym with a mixture of confusion, cheerfulness, and curiosity as she pulls herself up onto the ship and looks around. "Well, this is...well, I've never seen something like this before. Wow, a boaty-thing that can fly! I'm sure that's much more interesting than just floating around on the water. But I suppose boty-things float on water because they're boaty-shaped. But if you don't have to worry about floating on water because you can fly instead, I wonder why it's still boaty-shaped?"

She seems to be half talking to herself but then looks down at the gnome-like fellows.

"Oh, yes, so, um...well, I mean, this is nice of you to come and pick us up. We were all on our way to...um...one of those towns. Five-Shields or Three-Swords or something. We just came from Blackwood. But we just stopped for a rest. Um. Your boaty-thing looks very nice but I think we might have to go back down again. Because I don't know if we'll all fit up here and I'm sure the wagons and the horsies won't..."

Meri pulled herself up, noticeably tensing slightly at the sight of the strange creatures.
She focused on the bearded man for now, reaching back to grip her staff but not drawing it out yet.

"Well, now that I'm up here, is there any chance you'll tell me why you seemed so eager for us to join you?" she asked, watching his every move warily.


OOC: Hmm, guessing this is "The Captain" from the cast list? :)

...maybe.... :D

The Captain, now both could see him in the torches and lanterns of the very normal looking ship's deck, was quite large in stature. His enormous hair greying red hair was revealed when he swept his rather ornate Captain's hat from his head as he bowed to Meri. "Captain Carrass Bartholomews, at your service, and welcome aboard The Seacutter. Well, now The Skycutter I suppose. Yes, she was once a normal seagoing vessel, but well, the sky is like the sea, isn't it? Aha, except it is easier to effect repairs!"

The man laughed at his own jest, then for some reason paused for a moment, as if the comment had struck too close to home.

The Captain cleared his throat, and for some reason kept his hat in his large digits, wringing it with the greatest of care. "As to your cargo and mighty steeds - and the need for you to join me - I have some terrible, yet unbelieveable news. And we have no time to spare for getting to know each other nor tarry I ask that you trust me at my word."

The Captain swept a not unknindly face, lined with concern, to Meri and then Nym. "Now, what I am about to say will see like madness, folly, completely unbelieveable. But, well, I hope that ... well, that where you are standing, might already seem so impossible and strange that you will believe me."

The Captain took a deep breath, then looked to each mage solemnly, and in turn once more. "You see, with my very own eyes, I have seen a mortal terror beyond reckoning. We must flee, all of us, and pray to the Gods for their clemency in our flight. You see...this land seem plagued with a demon from children's tales. Yet very real, and very dangerous. You must trust me when I say we are all in gravest danger. For a Dragon - yes A DRAGON I said - terrorises the sky!"


You both must have seen that coming, right? :D

So, yeah, feel free to react to this completely unbelievable news regarding this completely unbelievable monster that he claims to have seen :p

Oh no, <gasp>, a dragon?! Oh no, whatever shall we do? :O

Nym seems to freeze for a moment, blinks several times, then sems to recover and looks at the captain. She lets out a giggle.

"Ohh, dragon. Yes..." she says. "He's all gone now, don't worry. I think maybe he got bored. No more dragon, anyway...so how does your ship fly? Well, I mean, magic, obviously. But I mean, how come it didn't fly before? Did you get some magic thingy that makes it fly now? Did it crash and you fixed it to make it magic because of bumping into things in the sea? I'm sure there's much less stuff to crash into in the sky...well, as long as you don't fly too low and start bumping into trees and buildings and very tall people, I suppose. Just...birds and things, yes? But hopefully they would just move over a bit so you didn't hit them..."

Yes, yes, no disintegrated dragons around here, he got bored and wandered off without you noticing. So anyway, about this absolutely-any-other-subject-matter...

Meri stared at him for a moment, as if trying to work out if he was making a joke or not.
She glanced past him to Nym as she made her own particular explanation, then looked back at the Captain.

"Blue thing?  Really big?  Teeth and claws?  Breathing lightning?  Yeah, the warning is a bit late.  But it won't be a problem any more, like she said it 'went away'."
She leaned a little closer to the Captain.
"Went away permanently, if you know what I mean" she added in a low voice, then drew back again.

"Thanks for the warning anyway" she remarked, before turning her attention to the ship.  "Interesting enchantment this.  Hadn't really thought of myself as the sailing type, but if I was I'd build something like this to travel the world in."
She released her grip on the staff and reached out for the rail, running her hand over it and looking thoughtful.


OOC: Meri's and Nym's thoughts here: Dragon?  Oh yeah, we've seen one of those.  It's gone now.  Nice ship you got here, how does it work? :)


[Private to The Altweaver: Trying an Arcana roll to see if Meri can figure out how it works.  She can never resist an interesting enchantment.  Might be her only real weakness :)
28 (14 + 14)]

Lol, yup, dragon's gone, nice ship, be a shame if anything happened to it, who owns it again...? Us? Woohooh! :p

Nym's casual dismissal caught The Captain wrong footed, and Meri's further explanation earned a reciprocal look as if Meri was joking. [Secret to Meri: For some reason t][Secret to Nym: T]he Captain looked across towards [Secret to Nym: the shimmering robed man who had helped Nym up. The man seemed to just smiles and nods, as if confirming something. "I told you the rescue would be worthwhile," he said enigmatically, then giving a small bow-like nod to Nym and Meri.

In the full light of the lanterns around, it became clear that the man's robe were made of somestrange, shimmering material. It seemed to be a mix of gold and black cloth, interlaced to create what should be a middle colour. However, the silkiness of the robe caught the light in an odd way, and with each movement the robe instead looked red when it caught the light.

So you know Red Dwarf? You know how, expecially in series 3 / series 4 Rimmer's outfit is actually one colour, but catched the light and looks a different colour? It's that sort of effect. Also, yes, that means it's black and gold and red all over... So, you know, maybe something to do with your mysterious patron.... 
][Secret to Meri: some of the gnomins close to Nym, who were standing around looking mesmerised by Nym.]

The Captain turned back aroudn to the two, after a moment put back on his hat, took a moment to stare off vacantly while ansentmindedly straightening it, and thenfinally snapped out of it. He clapped his hands loudly and smiled. "Well, thenthat is that. I suppose we do have the time to rescue everything. Or leave you alone with an apology for the intrusion..."

The Captain lookedhesitant again, but shrugged it off and gave a warm smile as he saw the interest in his ship the two mages showed.

"Ah, yes, she's a fine ship. Been in my family since my grandfather as captain, but he and probably more of my family manned her decks before that." The Captain joined Meri at the rail to also give it a fond pat. He looked out to the sky outside, a smile on his face despite the rain, and while speaking ot the wind, was clearly addressing both the mages.

"She'd not really seen the best of days recently, if I am honest. Not kept more than a few of the original crew still in pay. And it is hard to make repairs on a ship that you can't even put in dry dock because... well, all these things cost money. And then my friend over there..." The Captain waved his hand in the direction of [Secret to Nym: the shimmering robed man ][Secret to Meri: one of the gnomins by Nym, not quite making it clear which one], "appeared, telling me that he had a way to turn my fortunes around, if I could just prepare for it. Well, we did, and then three weeks ago, suddenly The Seacutter did not just need to cut the sea anymore!"

He turned with a smile on his face, looking across to Nym. "Indeed! No need to fear for shallow waters nor pirates nor heavy cargos anymore! I'd still have kept her more to the waters, to avoid the birds and...well, bigger things now I know about them... but apparently there is one of the greatest contests of wizardry touring the various towns just now. Showing her off at Threeshields of Fivespears could see us go to the Seven Cities for a grand prize, I am sure! And then... well, and then The Seacutter will be restoredto her former glory, as a trading ship without equal!"

The Captain then turned to Meri. "As to how it works and so forth... well, that's more my friend's area. Hard enough to get my head around how to make it go where I want it too. I'm sure he could show you the... I suppose the boiler room? Engine room? I'm not sure what it's called..."
[Private to Meri:
Something this complex would need more of a skill challenge, and Meri able to poke around for a while. Which, of course, might just persuade you to stay on board :D Certainly that first Arcana check would count as a first success, and at a Hard DC too. Meri would be able to tell that, in general, there doesn't feel like there is just one enchantment going on here. Whateveris fundamentally allowing the ship to float though would need to be powerful, very powerful. This isn't a magically constructed craft with runes and magically-conductive materials, built to float from the lightest materials. This is a soldily built heavy ship made to float with no obvious alterations. Also, whatever was being done, it seems that The Shadow's initial release three weeks ago has once again raised its head. It cannot be a co-incidence that something so powerful was made to work at the same time a large magical wave washed outwards.

Also, from the general mumbling and fussing, it would seem that the Gnomins are possibly using small magicall effects to help steer and guide the ship around. Meri would note that there are a couple of normal humans moving around, at the moment not doing much. The main sails are perhaps also used tocatch the wind and help with movmement, but obviously not right now with a storm brewing - the ship is a little more vulnerable than on the water to catching the wind the wrong way, it seems :)]
This message was last edited by the player at 20:55, Sun 19 Aug 2018.

Oh, I thought the shiny-robed guy was the captain, I got confused. So there's another guy who's the captain, okay :).
Also...patron? What, are we warlocks now? ;)

Nym looks between the captain and the robed man in fascination.

"Ooh, so you just used some magic to make the ship go all floaty? Floaty-boaty...hee hee...oh, I mean floaty in the sky...because of course it would have been floating before. Just...in the sea. Because it's a boat. Ship. Thingy. Hmm. Seacutter? Can you actually cut water? I thought it just sort of...moves out of the way. Imagine if you had a blade so sharp you could cut water in half! That would be...oh, good idea..."

This last part is aimed at Ryn, who has made some chattery noises into Nym's ear. Nym bends down enough to allow Ryn to hop down, and the crazily-furred creature starts wandering around the deck, looking and sniffing around at everything.

"Anyway..." Nym attempts to continue. "Umm...where was I? Oh, shippy-boaty things. And water-cutting. With sharp thingys. Hmm...I suppose you'd have to be careful you didn't accidentally crash into someone - it might hurt. Well, it might hurt anyway, but...hmm, do you know, I don't think I've ever been on a thing like this before. I mean, not a flying one. I mean, of course I haven't been on a flying one, but I haven't been on a not-flying one either. But I've heard of the sea. The big, big water that goes on forever. I've just not been there...well, not yet. But I bet it's pretty to look at..."

I figure that Nym probably hasn't been to the coast yet. I mean, I don't know the layout of this country but oceans haven't been mentioned yet and while Nym has travelled to plenty of places I just imagine that so far they've all been inland. I don't imagine she's seen anything bigger than a moderately-sized lake so far.

OOC: For some reason I didn't notice the shiny-robed guy.  Just the Captain and the little weird guys.


"Three weeks ago?"
Meri had pulled down her goggles again and was examining the ship through one of the smaller secondary lenses which added an oddly glittering appearance to her eye when seen through it.  Whatever she was seeing had made her interest deepen, although with a noticeable frown as if something was off.

"Yeah, I'd imagine it probably wouldn't have worked at any other time" she added, raising the goggles again and peering thoughtfully at the Captain's friend.  "A unique combination of special circumstances and good timing."

She looked back at the Captain.
"We were originally headed to Fivespears via Thirdgate on that wagon down there.  Though its owner seems to have abandoned it and run off now.  What would you want in exchange for a ride for us all?"


OOC: May as well see if we can hitch a lift for everyone on here :)

[Private to The Altweaver: Just to check, has Geekaar running off also depowered those magic bells, or is their effect permanently tied to Meri now?  (Unless she can offload them onto some poor sap who doesn't know what they are!) :)

Also can't seem to see any mention of shiny-robed guy so guessing that was a PM to Nym.  If Meri can see him too, what colour is his robe?  (Just in case, hehe)]

@Nym: Yeah, The Captain was on Meri's side helping her up, and the shimmering robed man was on your side helping you up, as well as a couple of he various Gnomins taking some interest in you.

@Meri: No idea what robed man you mean, there's no robed men around. So, which one of the two Gnomins the captain pointed to do you think is the Captain's friend?

>: D

[Private to Meri: Any shimmering robed man you may think you saw mentioned yesterday night is in your imaigination, and not due to my poor typing and rechecking. The fact I edited the previous post also means nothing and not me being sneaky. :p]


The Captain nodded. "Indeed, the sea is a majestic place. And this fine ship can indeed cut through Merora's wildest wilderness, but it is sewn back together behind the bough as if byits own magic. Ah, the wonder of the blue ocean. But I was.. well, advised that maybe going inland might be better to start with, to keep a low profile, and also it was the easiest way to get to one of the festivals. Ah, with the prizes from there, I can reach the seas abutting the Seven Cities, and perhaps start afresh!"

The Captain looked around to Meri. "Well, I would be honoured to help anyone who was in need. And... well, I think I owe you the debt, if that ridiculous sky horse has been vanquished, never to harrass my ship again. But...if you are offering..."

The Captain leans forwards conspiratorially, and looks almot embarrassed to bespeaking the words in front of the rest. "I mean, my friends and the ... well, the mongrelfolk...are doing a wonderful job, glad to have them along. But, well, I would be...happier...if perhaps someone else could reassure me... I mean my men... of their superstition that this fine vessel is not going to run out of magicand fall. And also, well, my newer crew members are doing a fine job with steering, but, well, if there is any way to...co-ordinate the steering, or make some form of reliable steering, I would also be very grateful. That gratitude not limited to ferrying your wagons, nor contingent up it, but... well, I would be grateful."

Translation: Magical flying ship is terrifying and might stop at any time! Tell me it isn't so! And is being steered by little Gnomins doing weird little magical stuff. Help!


Farren chose that moment to appear over the rail, and seemed to have at least caught the end of the conversation. "No one else seemed overly keen on coming up yet, they're mostly trying to fgiure out how to secure the woundd to the ropes. If this boat can be lowered to the ground it might help get everyone on board. Fivespears or Thirdgate sounds wonderful. I wouldn't worry about the wagons, Geekaar's followers don't seem to be."

[Secret to Nym: Farren gave the shimmering robed man a very cool, unfriendly gaze, and it was matched in kind. ]Farren turned to The Captain and gave a breezy smile.

"Ship," muttered The Capltain, seemingly put out by the lack of wonder exhibited by Farren.

[Secret to Nym: The shimmering robed man turned a deliberate shoulder to Farren, and smiled to Nym, though also speaking across to Meri. "I think you both understand what magic might power this ship. And I would be happy to show you the locus of it. You may understand that this meeting has not quite been left to chance, although it was never certain either. Please, I have not introduced myself. My name is Tybur, and I have waited a lifetime for these days to come. To meet some such as yourselves."]

[Private to Nym: For some reason, Nym would almost get a sense of ... hunger... from the odd robed man. He seemsa littl too eager :) ]

Nym tilts her head in curiosity at the one who has introduced himself as Tybur.

"Ourselves?" she asks. "You mean all of us? Me and Meri and Ryn and Farren and...and all the other people down there?"

She gestures vaguely over the side, in the direction from which she'd climbed up.

"Or you just mean...those of us up here now? Or something? Why? What's so interesting about us? Waiting a lifetime seems like...well, a long wait. Unless your lifetime's been really short so far. Unless you meant someone else's lifetime, and you've lived a really long time compared to some other people even though you don't look all that old...well, I mean, I don't think you do..."

She peers more closely at him, apparently trying to work out whether or not he counts as "old".

[Private to GM: Hmm, I'm guessing that was my Passive Insight that picked up this guy's "hunger", or whatever it is. Gonna make an "active" Insight roll, then, to see if I can figure anything out...okay so that's a 21 (9+12). Glad my skill is so high because that wasn't a great roll :D. Also, hmm, wondering if I should roll Arcana, Nature, or both to try and figure out more about what he actually is, meaning his race or if he has any magical aspect to his nature, stuff like that. Could be a fellow changeling for all I know (well, in as much as Nym has the body of a changeling, at least ;)). So,um...Nature is 15 (5+10), Arcana is 23 (13+10) :).]

I have a funny feeling all may soon become clear..ish. Maybe? Who knows.

[Secret to Meri:
To Meri, it looked as if Nym was just suddenly speaking to thin air for no good reason. ]

Farren looked down briefly over the rail, yelling down, "It's all alright. It's just a big invisible boat. Well, invisible bdown there. We're all fine."

Farren then walked over to Nym[Secret to Nym:  and Tybur]. "I think he just means the two of you," he said looking to Meri then Nym. Farren gave a very cold gaze to[Secret to Meri:  nothing][Secret to Nym: Tybur, and Tybur gave him an equally cold look in return. Neither seemed entirely clear on the reason for the emnity, if Farren's slightly amused quizzical flavour was anything to go by, but clearly there was no love lost between these two otherwise strangers].

[Secret to Nym: Tybur turned back to Nym, giving Nym his full attention for the moment. He gave an odd little smile. It is true, I am very often mistaken in my age. But needless to say, it has been a long lifetime. I service or something that could have just been my descent in to madness. But no, you, and your friend here-" and a that, the man briefly gave a warm look across to Meri, "  have been hinted at in riddle, poems, and the many, many ravings of madmen. But now if the time when The One makes Himself known, and those touched by His hand find themselves drawn towards each other, whether they know it or not."

He gave a small little laugh and smile, and looked over to Meri with the same smile. Farren's face had long since fallen at the odd words to being about as antagonistic as when the mages had first seen the man. Though this time, Farren's uncomfortable ire was clearly directed at Tybur. The Captain seemed charmingly confused. Meri seemed...

I think I'll let Meri tell you how she is herself :D]

[Private to Nym: Magic wise, the man definitely radiates an aura of being a fellow mage, or someone magical. Though his magic tastes, or however Nym would perceive it, dusty. Old, but not ancient. The hunger is in some ways not hard to pin down, but in some ways it is. Clearly, he is very eager to have found you, and clearly the reason is something very important. So a little 'hunger' is fine. However, the just seems to be something to the cast of his face that seems build for hunger. As if he is permenantly focused and driven, and he is used to getting his way and going after what he wants. He seems to be very much a normal boring humanoid, unlike even Farren. Though it's hard to shake the feeling that perhaps if he's a mage, he maybe able to change his shake. More importantly, his age is really hard to determine. He seemed young enough - early 20s, not that Nym would know. But his eyes and something about his features just feel at odds with that. As if he is older than he appears.]

[Secret to Meri: However, while this was going on, Meri could feel the very, very faint stirrings of The Itch at the front of her head again. Doing nothing more, it seemed, thanletting her know it's presence. However, what was a touchmore annoying was something new. There was now a faint buzzing, as if a fly was moving around. It wasn't consistent, it came briefly then went just as briefly, making it hard to pin down what had caused it. Or if anything other than The Itch had caused it at all.


Yeah, no idea who this Tybur is... I think Nym (the player) is going a little insane :p]
This message was last edited by the player at 17:19, Tue 21 Aug 2018.

Nym maintains an expression of polite interest at Tybur's explanation, staring at him as he pours forth a sequence of words in response to her enquiries.

"Oh." she says eventually. "Well...that's...good? Err...which One? Whose hand? Is there...some kind of...er...big grabby thing looking for us?"

She looks around and up at the sky, as though expecting a giant hand to descend and start reaching for or poking at the group. For now she shows no particular reaction to the interactions between Tybur and Farren, perhaps due to her tendency to focus on one thing at a time, even if said focus has a tendency to shift abruptly at times.

[Private to GM: Doesn't happen to have a green gemstone wedged in his chest, does he? ;)

(If you don't get that, never mind - DragonLance reference)]

Meri frowned slightly, looking at Nym, raising a hand to scratch her head.
Then she narrowed her eyes, as if something had just occurred to her.

Shaking her head, she looked to Farren, then addressed the Captain again.
"Well, I agreed to escort my friend here to Fivespears, so if that offer is just for two of us, we may as well continue by road."

She glanced briefly in Nym's direction.
"I'd be interested to know more about your friend though, I presume he's the one my other friend there is speaking with?  As a magical crafter myself, it might be interesting to know where I can speak with some like-minded people, especially ones with the skill to create something like this.  I think I could learn a lot from him, about a current project I have in mind.  Where did you meet him?"


OOC: Totally not subtly fishing for information or anything...  :)
This message was last edited by the player at 17:07, Wed 22 Aug 2018.

You're totally not, and of course there's totally nothing bad that can happen because of it :D

[Private to Nym: Yeah, I get the reference now you state where it comes from. Though isn't Breem, or whatever his name was again, more placid until the very end? Oh, just realised, maybe thewhole 'releasing thr sister thing was an influence for the Theron and his sister arc in the old DM.com game!]

[Secret to Nym: Tybur looked as if he was eiher being tested, or being mocked. "Not a literal hand, but... the metaphorical hand of the Master. The ... The Giver..."

He said it quietly, as if afraid to go too much further around the others. "The only thing looking for you appears to have been the Dragon. Bethasus the Bold, it termed itself in common. It left us alone as beneath its notice, so it said, but I do not believe it was really in charge of its own drives."

Tybur then looked across to Meri, apparently hearing her conversation with The Cptain across the deck perfectly. "I would gladly teach you all that I could, but I think you too have the same power that I could wield. Perhaps I am the one who could learn from you..."]

[Secret to Meri: As Meri tried to speak her way around the strangeness, it sppeared that The Itch woke up. As soon as she actively tried to focus even her thoughts and discussions on The Captain's mysterious friend, The Itch grew and greated an irritating pain, forcing her last words through gritted teeth. The buzzing in her ears still happened, but it really was a secondary concern now.
]
The Captain waved away any thought of him just ferrying the two mages. "It would be my honour to ferry any who wish to travel with you. Your friend, your company below. I... I will set the lads and lasses to trying to land this boat... THIS SHIP!... yes, land her and see how we can accomodate your wagons and horses. A little tricky without a pier, but we shall set to it!" The Captain did not appear to notice any discomfort in Meri, too busy giving Farren an unnoticed dark look for The Captain's own slip. He simply moved his gaze to look across [Secret to Meri: in the general direction of nothing - just the same nothing Nym and Farren were happy to address. ][Secret to Nym: in the direction of Tybur.] "Oh yes, he has been quite the blessing. He came to me, well, it feels like barely a month ago, perhaps longer? I was... awake early, and taking some breakfast in the local tavern. A little too early, hadn't slept well, was still a little bleary headed. Didn't quite appreciate what he was saying, to be honest. But later, when I was...feeling better... he was still around and explained that he knew of my ship, and my reputation, and that both of us had been what we were looking for."

The Captain waved a general hand in that direction. "Probably the details better come from him, yes."[Secret to Nym:  Tybur looked to Meri eagerly, a large smile on his face ready to take on her questions.  ]

Nym leans a little closer, eyes wide in curiosity.

"Ooh, what Master?" she asks. "Who's the Giver? Is it one of the gods? I haven't met any of those. I mean...they're gods. They're far too busy doing god-stuff, aren't they? I wouldn't want to disturb any of them..."

Ryn, meanwhile, seems to be curiously nosing around the gnome-like creatures, looking around and sniffing at them.

[Private to GM: Berem, aka the Everman or Green Gemstone Man, yes. I was thinking more for the "looks young but his eyes are much older" part of the description.]

Nym's question seemed to provoke a response from another direction.
"I suspect we've already met his Master" called out Meri, who had raised a hand to her head and was wincing noticeably as if suffering some sort of headache.  "Remember when we were in the tree then somewhere else?"

She closed her eyes for a moment, seemingly recovering her composure, and spoke up again.
"Also, can you tell him to stop messing with my head or I'll blast him off the ship?!"


OOC: Yep, Meri's patience is getting a little too shortened lately to keep up the pretence...  :)

[Secret to Nym: Tybur seemed very confused and alarmed by Nym's own confusion. Hearing Meri address him, he looked around. "A... a tree? That... does not sound correct...." He briefly looked to Nym. "But you have the aura of one... I would swear..."

Tybur then seemed to notice Meri was in pain, and had a whole new confusion regarding Meri's next statement. "I... I assure you, I am doing nothing." He walked across to Meri with his arms raised in a placatory gesture. "If I can help you...?" However, something seemed to be 'off' with Meri's reaction to Tybur's movements, or rather her lack of reaction. She was not looking nor reacting to him coming closer. He seemed to notice, and waved one hand to try and break where her gaze was actually looking. There was no still reaction. "I... what is wrong? Are you blinded? Perhaps I can he-"
]
[Secret to Meri: The Itch had eased to almost nothing with Meri's harsh words, but then suddenly both it and the buzzing came back, growing swiftly and alarmingly in intensity. They were almost overpowering, build to some crescendo that would threaten to black Meri out...

And then, suddenly both were gone in a flash of red light.

The second thing Meri noticed, after the flash of light, was the figure. A reasonably normal looking man, youngish but bald and with an odd face. He was human, but there was a slight pull to the features that hinted at elvish ancestry many generations back. Or, perhaps more correctly, Eladrin ancestry. Perhaps it was this that made him feel slightly older, somehow, than his human youth stated. He appeared out of nowhere, or rather it appeared that The Itch or something else was now content to let her see the man. One hint at why it may have stopped her was the man's robes he wore. They were made of some odd thread, with a silky sheen. They appeared to be alternating gold and black threads, bound together. But in the lantern light, the flapping robes kept flashing red when they caught the light, a brilliant red where the light was strongest, to a dull red shimmer in the shadows.

If you've seen Series 3 and 4 of Red Dwarf, then Rimmer had uniforms that were one colour, but caught the light to look a different colour. It's that sort of effect. So, you know, robes of black and gold, but the light makes them look red all over :p

The first thing Meri noticed was that the man  - clearly Tybur - had been reaching towards her, perhaps in a gesture of concern. Except the red flash that had awoken her senses again had been angry fire that exploded around that arm.
]
Tybur has been in the middle of speaking, but the talk turned in to a scream. A scream that did not feel, entirely, human. His hand and arm were briefly covered in a bright red fire where he had tried to reach out to Meri, not even making it to a foot of her. The hand and arm quickly withered and blacked to a twisted claw.

The man jumped back, his features twisted in pain, fear, confusion, and anger. He glared at his hand then Meri. "What... how? That felt like..." The man's jump had been odd, managing to land a little too far back than would have been expected. He jumped again, jumping away from Meri, Nym, The Captain, and the deck. He covered in the air, and revealed that his robe had been of two parts, the top lair more of a cloak. The cloak flapped in the air, giving the feel of a pair of wings. Out of the direct lantern light, and more in the blue of the sky, the gold of his robe seemed more greenish, the black lighter, perhaps a blue, and the sheen was now muted to a purple undulating on its surface.

He looked to the group, and hissed. His teeth were visible, and they appeared a little more fanglike than anyone might have noticed before. He cradled his arm, apparently uncaring at deflying gravity. "Not possible!"was all he snarled, and with a final malevolent look he darted out in to the rain and night, disappearing quickly.

There was an odd moment of quiet.

"A vampire," said Farren to himself, "Maybe that's what was setting me on edge." He seemed quite unconcerned with the turn of events.

"Vampire," echoed The Captain, clearly taking it all in with the calm of someone not really taking it in at all. "I suppose you never know."

He then looked around the ship, as if realising something. He cleared his throat. "To me, really, he was always just...the one who made the ship go forwards. Up. Down. Generally moved it around the most." There was a pause. "Huh." He said finally.


Lol, so, umm, whoknows what was happening there. Anyway, nasty man has gone now, so everyone can see the same things and everything's fine and not confusing now. Whew. :D


Just to explain, while clearly the Gnomins will be doing some small magics to steer the ship, The Captain'swords seem to imply that this 'Tybur' was the one who was controlling the propulsion. At least it wasn't bound to his direct will, so the ship is still floating happily right now! Anyway, so you have either just inherited a cool ship to figure out, or inherited a sad Captain and some new friends to walk to Thirdgate with :p

OOC: Hmm, that was unexpected...  (O.o)


Despite her brief flare of temper, Meri seemed more surprised than anyone at the sudden transformation of the man.
After he had gone, she looked down at herself, raising her hands to examine them then looked at Farren.
"What happened there?  I don't think I was carrying anything that could have done that."

She glanced in the direction he had gone then back at Farren.
"That itching.  The mental barrier I told you about before, I think he was the cause of it.  I couldn't even look at him until that happened, just speaking about him took a huge effort."

Her gaze moved to the Captain then, seemingly deciding to put that aside for now.
"Well, I suppose we need to find a way to make the ship move again then" she remarked.  "You spoke of an engine room?  Can I see it?"


[Private to The Altweaver: OOC: Trying an Arcana check to see if Meri has any idea of how she apparently managed to toast that guy's arm without doing anything...  26 (12 + 14)
Then will see if we can get the ship going without him :)]

Nym looks a little startled at the spectacle, looking between Tybur and Meri as the altercation takes place. When the creature known as Tybur then reveals a pair of wings and flies angrily away, she merely tilts her head in curiosity, looking over at Meri for a few more moments.

"Well..." she says. "That was a thing. Hmm..."

She then seems to lose interest in the matter and looks instead to what Ryn is doing, nosing around the gnomins. She approaches one at random.

"Hello!" she says cheerfully. "So, you help fly this ship, do you?"

[Private to GM: Well, that was certainly an interesting little altercation. I wonder if it might have anything to do with a certain Wish that was secretly made not so long ago...]

Lol, I'm glad two of the tropist things (flying ships and vampires) can still surprise you :)

Sorry, I did mean to have something about Ryn checking out the Gnoimins before, but I got distracted. I can just fill it it now as Nym seems the same things.

The Gnomins have been also distracted by the strange sights, and by the lack of need for sterring currently. When Ryn had been investigating them, a few more bsides the two watching Nym had come over. One had tried to brief Ryn, putting out its hand to sniff. A second had pulled some equal sized thin sticks out of a pocket somewhere, and was labouriously - at a respectful distance - placing the sticks side by side and moving each in turn, in a convuluted method of apparently measuring Ryn's height, width, and length. Its fellow Gnomin in the way, and the inexact nature of measuring something several feet away, made it keep recounting. The fact it had itshands full and counting in any way mark the results seemed to also hamper it, as the Gnomin couldn't apparently recall more than one number at a time, chanting it under its breath.

Meanwhile, the other pair of Gnomins looking to Nym waved in greeting. One gave a breathless 'Harar!' and giggled. The other waved back, imitaing Nym's hand movements precisely, then saying "Hello!" in a reasonable approximation of her voice. The Gnomin seemed to be considering Nym, as if it didn't understand Nym's words, but finally spoke in a far more croakier voice that should it had merely been thinking deeply about the question.

"No!" it said. "Not fly! But yes! We help!" The Gnomin nodded, then its companion - who seemed to want to impress Nym, whispered something in to the talker's ear. The original Gnomin continied to speak. "We bump! Bump ship! Man makes ship go forward, we bump it when wind bumps it, so it keep going forward. Man wants to go left, we bump right. Man wants to go right, we bump it right. By going left. With bumping!"

The accent of the Gnomin was odd to place, as if it had assembled each word from perhaps a different conversation with someone else. The croaking voice at least made it seem somewhat even in terms of speech, but it was clear it was perhaps too precisely imitating the intonations and accents of the person it had learned from, rather than understanding accents and intonations itself.

New friends! Gnomin friends who don't attack you this time! :) Though to be fair, you did let one go last time, and were respectful to the other one in burying them. Who knows if that has any affect on anything in the long term, or short term :p

Farren allowed himself to look slightly perplexed too, though he did not seem too convinced regarding Meri's second comment about the strange man being the cause of any of Meri's woes. "The blast seemed to be a reaction more than anything else. Perhaps something to do with him more than to do with you? Or perhaps not. Similarly though, maybe your barrier was a reaction to him, not caused by him? He did not seem to be in control of too much there. Though, he did seem to be saying things to Nym that were... odd. I assume you heard what he was saying, even if you couldn't look at him directly?"


The Captain seemed to be glad of being pulled back in to any conversation. "An engine room? Oh, yes, indeed! We have a sort of engine room now. Just down the stairs over there. Ah.. hmm, Tybur wanted it always locked, for, well, for some reason. Hmm." He looked embarrassed, and then to the departed vampire with concern. "Assume he took the kepy with him..."

The Captain then slapped his thigh. "Aha, no, I'm no fool! I do recall having Stiles make a duplicate for the lock! Yes. Where did I put it now..." The Captain wanders off, presumably towards either his cabin or in search of Stiles.

Basically the Captain has wandered off if you want to speak with Farren for a moment. Of course, you can follow the Captain, or now you know how to get below decks, getting to the engine room yourself should be easy given the ease of tracking such a powerful magical source to its origin. After all, Meri has ways of getting through locked door :D