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10:34, 28th March 2024 (GMT+0)

Gnashrip in the Audience.

Posted by BenFor group 0
Ben
GM, 49 posts
Your Master of Ceremonies
Sat 10 Nov 2018
at 17:37
  • msg #1

Gnashrip in the Audience

The second day of performance...

Phileas adopted a slight change of story, to make sure it was a "crowd pleaser' with the Orcs, despite going into the crude and violent entertainment that Orcs seemed to enjoy.  He started the show early enough to allow for plenty of day left afterwards, and stretched out the show to allow for Orcs who might otherwise not be interested to gather after hearing about it.

Cambete, fortunately, is a very small town, and the venue was an open one- anyone could wander over and look.

And yes, the mere inclusion of Orc characters drew every Orc in Cambete.  Naturally, many of them came expecting to be insulted, ready to shout and throw things and if necessary, attack the performers to defend Orcish honor.  They react to the positive portrayal of Orcs with a range of emotions.  Some Orcs seem proud.  Some seem confused. ("Why would they do that?")  Some seem suspicious.

Midway through the show, after one particular Orc has arrived a little late (and went with "confused" as his reaction) whispers are passed among the performers, eventually reaching Alayna and Lindon by way of Celeste Argentos.

"That one.  That's Gnashrip.  Watch him, he's the one to follow."

Gnashrip doesn't have the grizzled veteran warrior look of Pugnant.  He does not wear battle-trophies and an assortment of weapons like the most important Orcs do even on the least dangerous occasions.  He has his armor, tough reinforced black leather covered in black metal scales.  But it doesn't show the beatings of many battles.

The Orc lifespan is a subject of much debate.  How long CAN they live is an entirely different question from how long DO they live.  Generally, given their love of fighting, their lives are short.  That gives the elder leaders great respect- they have been in many fights over their lives and obviously haven't died.  So in relation to the typical Orc, Gnashrip does not look young.  Most Orcs are young.  But he is definitely not in the "experienced leader" age, not by many years.

Still, a few other Orcs with him seem to act as if he was someone important.
Aria
player, 7 posts
Music is all around us.
We only have to listen.
Sat 10 Nov 2018
at 19:33
  • msg #2

Gnashrip in the Audience

Aria had practiced furiously, going over each line and enunciating each word carefully. Orcish was not an easy language to pronounce and even harder to sing. The very fact she was even proficient in it was a testament to her studious nature. Her origins had made her interested in the orcs as a people and learning their language had been an obvious step in understanding their unusual culture. Now, her hard work and dedication would be put to the test.

To say the young woman was nervous would have been an understatement. Dressed up in such a way to look like an orc and not be insulting had put the show's costumers to the test. Judging by the reactions of the gathered onlookers, orc and non-orc alike, it was at least a modest success. With the skill of a virtuoso performer, Aria sang and danced as the script proscribed. Pouring her heart and soul into the performance, she doubled her efforts when Gnarshrip finally made his appearance.

OOC
Singing and dancing perform checks.

14:30, Today: Aria rolled 27 using 1d20+14.  Perform Dance.
14:30, Today: Aria rolled 29 using 1d20+18.  Perform Sing.

Tahra
player, 36 posts
Sat 10 Nov 2018
at 20:25
  • msg #3

Gnashrip in the Audience

Tahra plays her supporting acting and singing roles in a way that helps others shine.
Nwofia Barandi
player, 31 posts
Acrobat, Actress and
A Living Surprise
Sun 11 Nov 2018
at 20:19
  • msg #4

Gnashrip in the Audience

Nwofia can't act as such.  If she tries to memories a script, it comes out in Mandinka, so, she has a non-speaking role where she plays the part of a servant.  She tries her best to stay in character while using her dancing skills to make a show of it, and to help others shine.  While she may have gone out of character in places, when she did so, it was funny.

20:18, Today: Nwofia Barandi rolled 9 using 1d20+7.  Disguise (remain in character) .
20:17, Today: Nwofia Barandi rolled 28 using 1d20+9.  Perform Showmanship.
20:17, Today: Nwofia Barandi rolled 18 using 1d20+9.  Perform Dance.


Lindon Laru
player, 20 posts
Mon 12 Nov 2018
at 02:08
  • msg #5

Gnashrip in the Audience

In the background, Lindon punctuated the action with drums, cymbals, and gong.  The orcs seemed to like it loud.

OOC: Lindon Laru rolled 21 using 1d20+8.  Percussion accompaniment.
Alayna
player, 41 posts
Half Elf Equestrian
Comely and young
Mon 12 Nov 2018
at 18:48
  • msg #6

Gnashrip in the Audience

Alayna performed a stepped down  version of her riding skills, leading to the big show for the orcs.  Once done, she changed, wearing a version of her black bodysuit with a slim dress over it, her long hair pulled back into a braid. Like Tahra, she backs up singing and dancing, often playing the nymph in being in the background and only adding to the story as needed.  Truly, her sweet soprano was hardly useful for singing orcish!

With the arrival of Gnashrip, she worked her way to the sides, acting more the spectator.  However, she kept her eye on the orc, waiting to see what he would do when he left.
Ben
GM, 50 posts
Your Master of Ceremonies
Fri 16 Nov 2018
at 01:26
  • msg #7

Gnashrip in the Audience

Most of the eyes present were on Aria...

Some were on Ghashrip.

The Orc seems somewhat puzzled.  Out of his element.  Fights, challenges, dominance, those are easy things for an Orc to understand.  What were the performers trying to do?  They weren't insulting Orcs, but it...

Gnashrip gave an uncomfortable shiver, and looked down at the ground.  Something was happening, he knew, and he didn't understand.

When the show ended, he avoided the other Orcs, and headed for a narrow, tight alley behind the markets.  He wasn't lost, that was evident:  he moved quickly and purposely.


Back in the forum, Phileas understood what was going on.  He asked Aria and Marcos for a little encore performance, the better to help those who were following Gnashrip leave without drawing attention.

If there was one thing the performers could do, it was to draw attention when they needed to.
Aria
player, 8 posts
Music is all around us.
We only have to listen.
Sat 17 Nov 2018
at 00:57
  • msg #8

Gnashrip in the Audience

"I will give you a distraction," Aria whispered quietly to Phileas as she pulled out her lute and walked back on stage.

Nodding to one of the helpers in a pre-arranged fashion, Aria smiled as the young boy rushed out with a small stool. The young woman sat down and strummed thoughtfully for a few seconds, her slender hand quickly tuning the fine instrument. Taking a deep breath, she began to play a soft tune that reverberated among the gathered throng. Her lithe fingers danced across the strings as the sound crescendoed to a staccato pause, before once more giving voice to a melodious song. This time, however, she sung in the celestial tongue and the heavenly lyrics, coupled with the masterful plucking, captivated both heart and soul.

OOC
Sing and play the lute.

19:54, Today: Aria rolled 35 using 1d20+16 with rolls of 19.  Perform Lute.
19:54, Today: Aria rolled 26 using 1d20+18 with rolls of 8.  Perform Sing.

Tahra
player, 37 posts
Sat 17 Nov 2018
at 01:32
  • msg #9

Gnashrip in the Audience

Perhaps unnoticed, a bat flitters hither and yon...but yon toward the way Gnashrip want.
Alayna
player, 42 posts
Half Elf Equestrian
Comely and young
Sat 17 Nov 2018
at 01:33
  • msg #10

Gnashrip in the Audience

Once he moved, Alayna ducked into the shadows, slipped her dress over her head, leaving herself fully in a black bodysuit (and nothing else). She pulled a black cap over her head from the dress, then tucked her braid in the back of the suit to hide the silvery hair. Once done, she slipped into other shadows, following as carefully and silently as possible.
Lindon Laru
player, 21 posts
Sat 17 Nov 2018
at 02:31
  • msg #11

Gnashrip in the Audience

Lindon listened intently to Aria's performance and wondered what the lyrics meant.
Ben
GM, 51 posts
Your Master of Ceremonies
Mon 19 Nov 2018
at 03:26
  • msg #12

Gnashrip in the Audience

Aria's singing has a peculiar effect on Orcs.  They don't like it.  They don't understand the words, and it's not the quality of her voice or the music, they just... don't like it.

Sages have long pondered the way the Infernal and Celestial languages work on the mind.  Somehow, mere words carry things far beyond their meanings.  It's better understood with Infernal, because it is much the same with most languages that have Bad Words.  In all cases of Bad Words, it's never the pure meaning of the word that carries power, because every Bad Word has a sterile, clinical counterpart that describes the exact same thing or action, but isn't considered obscene.  There is something beyond the meaning that makes the word Bad.

The Infernal language is full of them.

The Celestial language has something harder to understand.  Words that have the exact opposite effect of obscenities.  Words that carry something higher and better than their mere definition would suggest.  Good Words.

And just as an upright and pious person might not stick around to listen to song filled with obscenity, so Orcs do not like to listen to Good Words.  They don't even have to understand them.  They don't like to listen to them.

But the reaction is certainly enough to cover Alayna's departure.  She tracks Gnashrip, and it's clear he's going out of the town!  He knows an old breach in the wall, created during one of the battles and never repaired, but hidden by a run down hut and some boards.  He moves the boards, and slips through.  He didn't stop to pick up any supplies, so the Orc is probably not going far.

Meanwhile, Lindon listens... and wonders if he wasn't supposed to be going along to "cover" Alayna.  Who is now alone.   Except for a bat.
Lindon Laru
player, 22 posts
Mon 19 Nov 2018
at 23:46
  • msg #13

Gnashrip in the Audience

Lindon wondered if the orc they were supposed to be shadowing had shown up yet.  His position with the other accompaniment instruments wasn't great for scanning the crowd.  In any case, he was sure Alayna would get his attention if she saw him first.
Alayna
player, 43 posts
Half Elf Equestrian
Comely and young
Mon 19 Nov 2018
at 23:54
  • msg #14

Gnashrip in the Audience

Alayna was many things... lithe, athletic, nimble, somewhat empathic and loving to her horse and friends.  And, she was very young, innocent and quite naive. So she continued on her path, only her small dagger at her hip (left side, parallel to her leg) for protection, secure that no one could see her, and that someone was likely following her.  To be honest, she had never met an infernal.  So following Gnashrip with the knowledge he was meeting one caused her far less worry than it should have.

As it was, confident in her abilities, the teenager worked her way silently from shadow to shadow, following the Orc.
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