In reply to Tristan (msg # 46):

....hmmm...a choice...

a fine jacket...or a shell...

‘That’s supposed to be worth a year of my life?  What do the jacket and shell do?”

In reply to Tristan (msg # 48):

The blob seems confused.  ...well.  The jacket will keep you warm...and they both look pretty...

tell you what...if you win...you can have both of them...

Tristan makes his apologies but then leaves, heading back to the surface.

In reply to Tristan (msg # 50):

As you come up to the surface, you are suddenly you again.  Skinny arms and legs.  Wet hair.  Sputtering and thrashing, trying to stay afloat.

You can hear Uncle roaring in laughter as someone grabs you and starts to pull you.

"Well well.  We got a big fish didn't we?"

Uncle sounds like he's fit to bust a gut.  Collin finishes dragging you on board  As you finish coughing up sea water, you can see the sailors all gathered at the other end of the boat, trying to act like they can't see what's going on but unable to help staring at you.

"Well well.  How did you like under the sea?  Did you meet a new friend?"

Tristan decides to be honest, although he realizes this may turn out to be a mistake.  “I loved it at first.  But then I ran into that… thing… and you wouldn’t help me.  I went with it to its home and it tried to trick me into losing a year of my life.  I hope I never go there again.” He glares angrily.  “Master.”

In reply to Tristan (msg # 52):

Uncle listens attentively then says nothing, studying you.

He glances at the sailors gathered at the back of the boat.  "I'm not paying good coin to watch you not work, am I?"

They suddenly move, staring anywhere but at you or the rest of Uncle's group.

Uncle kneels down so he is looking at you face to face.

"Listen Tristan.  As I told you, there is magic in the world.  And sometimes it is dangerous.  And sometimes it is frightening.  But it is always wonderful.

"What you met was like the place you got those boots.  You know them as Fae.

"The Fae are mysterious beings.  They laugh at us as we weep and bled.  And sometimes they help we when we need no help.  But they are wonderful as well.  My teachings are tied to the Fae.  You will met more of them.  They will try to trick you.  You must be wiser than they are.  If you are, you can take from them instead of the other way around.

"You have to be brave.  Do you think you can do that?"

"Yes, but why can't I be prepared?  I don't want to mess up if I don't have to." The boy tries to swallow his anger, but it's not easy.

He is beginning to wonder whether he's dealing with Uncle Master, or Nephew Master.

In reply to Tristan (msg # 54):

"Sometimes there is no "prepared".  Some situations, you never quite know what's going to happen.  With Magic it's even more so.  And the Fae...even more than that.

"I won't stand by and let my apprentice get taken from me.  You don't need to worry about that."

You think he's smiling at you when he says that.  You can't be sure.  A cloud is crossing over the moon and Uncle's face is lost in shadow as he says it.

"But you must be willing to think for yourself.  Has anyone ever stood beside you before now?  Did your family ever say "Go on Tristan. Go after it.  We're right behind you?" Hmm?

"I'm saying I will be right behind you.  Do you understand Tristan?  I will teach you what you need to know.  And you will work to become powerful enough to stand on your own.

"Doesn't that sound good?"

“Yes, master,” he says curtly.  But he looks down while he says it.

He is confident that he will be on his own soon enough, left to fend for himself.  He only hopes he knows enough about this magic stuff by that time to survive.

"Ha! You'll learn I'm right."

He leaves you alone after that.

The rest of the boat ride goes by with silence between you two.  Collin tries to cheer you up by pointing out the birds circling overhead or the shapes the various clouds take. But you notice he never meets your eye.  He takes friendly enough, but he never looks you at you squarely.  Isaac and Ferko avoid you for the most part, other than giving you crusty hard bread and grilled fish twice a day.

When one of the sailors cries that they see land, the mood on the ship visibly perks up.  The sailors throw themselves into their job, perhaps excited at the prospect of getting rid of the lot of you.  Master seems amused.

The shore that rolls up is a green one.  The land is hilly and covered in a lush covering of grass.  The boat pulls close to shore and stops.  Ferko talks to Master for a moment and then suddenly leaps overboard.  You watch the man swim to shore, taking the distance as easy as if he were walking to church on Sunday.

About an hour later, he returns, this time rowing a boat.  He pulls up alongside.  Isaac is speaking to the Captain and Master walks past you, tapping you lightly on the shoulder.

"Come along.  We're almost home."

The four of you join Ferko on the boat.  Your luggage is passed over to you and the ship you came in on leaves you quickly.  You can see a few of the sailors peer at you all, making the sign of the cross as they pull away.

Ferko and Collin take to the oars and pull towards the shore.

There's a small hut on shore.  Collin drags the boat into it as an old man speaks to Master.  The old man looks you over, chuckles, and gives you a bow.

"Well come ta Cliffheart young mas'r."

You climb up a small hill.  As you come over the top, you see three stones.  Or rather pillars.  They are clearly not natural.  Someone cut them to shape and put them here, balancing them on end like that.  A rather robust looking woman is seated near them, wearing leather armor, a large vicious looking hammer by her feet.

She calls out to your group, waving.  Collin whistles back obviously happy to see her.

Master stops and points at the stones.  "These...are our cathach.  They are what make our home a home.  And none can take it from us."

You've noticed over the past couple of days that both Master and Collin's accents have changed.  They don't sound...English anymore.  They still speak the same language. But they sound funny.

Master pulls you towards him.  "From here, until I tell you, you must stay close to me.  You are not to speak unless I give you leave to.  Do you understand?"

He waits for you to nod and then gestures.  Suddenly, there's a large wooden wall runnign across the bottom of the hill.  A pallisade just suddenly appears.

"I greet you Tristan.  You are well come to Cliffheart."

I'll give you a chance to react.  And then we'll go inside your new home away from home.  Thanks

Tristan's head feels like a blur.  The old man calling him young master was especially confusing.  He had never been called that before.  The robust woman attired like a warrior was also disconcerting... this wasn't how he was accustomed to seeing women.

But all he could do was obey Uncle Master and nod humbly and keep his mouth shut.  He'd had more than enough danger already, and the way the men on the boat had avoided looking at him seemed to imply he would soon face far more.

So he quietly stays with his master and does as he's told.

Master leads you around to a gate in the pallisade.  Men in leather armor call out greetings and shout for someone else to open the gate.  You scuttle after Master as he strides through the gate like he owns it.

Beyond is a village.  Lots of huts of varying size and quality cluster around a large square.  In the center of the square is a large bell made of wood, easily bigger than you are.

There are people all over.  Some wearing the leather armor but most dressed like farmers and wives like you're used to.  There's one woman carrying a black duck in her arms.  Behind her totter along a row of ducklings, each one a different brilliant shade then the rest.

Most of the people give short bows towards Master.  They all look at you, but it's as much with curiosity as it is with the fear you're getting used to when people look at you.

Ignoring them all, Master strides up to the bell, reaches out a finger, and flicks the bell.

BOOOOOOONNNG

Master turns to you as the echoes of the bell ring throughout the village.

"Remember.  Stay with me.  Say nothing unless I tell you to speak.  Once you are recognized, you will be safe here.  Keep up."

With that he turns and strides towards a long hall just off the square.  Collin waves at you as you scurry after him.

It does not seem Collin or Ferko or Isaac are coming.

In reply to The Founder's Ghost (msg # 59):

The inside of the hall is surprisingly cool.  With the season, you would expect it to be muggy and uncomfortable.  It's not. It's like in early spring or autumn, when Mother would keep the doors open so the pleasant breeze could whistle through the cottage.

The hall is maybe the biggest building you've seen.  It didn't seem this large on the outside. But it looks much larger once you are in.  There are long tables set along the walls and a big pit to hold a fire.

Part of the hall is raised at one end.  Large wooden chairs ring this platform, small tables beside each chair.

Master strides over to one and motions for you to stand in front of him as he takes one of the chairs.

A woman scurries over and bows to both of you.  "Well come Master!  So glad you're back an' safe.  Would ya like some mead?  What about for the boy?  I think we just baked up some bread."

Master nudges you.  "You may answer her."

"Fresh baked bread?  That would be great!" Tristan really smiles for the first time in a long time.  At last, something he could easily understand.  So, he presses his luck just a little.  "Is there soup with real meat in it?"

In reply to Tristan (msg # 61):

The woman blinks, as if surprised.  "Sorry.  No meat for this meal."

She leans closer and gives you a conspiratorial whisper.  "But...how about some cheese and an egg?"

Your meal is served and you barely have time to start wolfing it down when people begin to arrive.

A man and a woman arrive.  The man is short and squat.  His beard hangs down to his belly and his hair is the color of steel.

The woman is tall and lanky.  Her hair is tied back in a long pony tail.  Her skin has an odd greenish tinge to it and you think her hands are webbed.

Turns out they are.  While the man glances at you and then takes a seat on the other side of the platform, the woman marches over towards the two of you and stops. She bends at her waist and sticks her face right in front of yours.

"Careful.." Master says, you think to her and not you.  This time.

She waves a hand dismissively.  "Why should I care if you want to bring another mouth to feed.  Not my problem. You.  What's your name?"

Tristan glances up at his master, in effect asking permission to repond.

Although he maintains an air of seriousness, he is giddy.  All of this is making him feel like a prince!

In reply to Tristan (msg # 63):

Master is slower to respond this time.  Before he looks at you, he tells the woman,  "Don't think about trying to claim his name.  I've already started opening his arts."

She barks a laugh. "You're always so suspicous.  I told you.  I want no more moths to feed."  She looks back at you.  "Well?"

Master nods, giving you permission.  "Go ahead and introduce yourself if they ask you."

“My name is Tristan.  And I am a farmer’s boy, not a moth.”

Looking at her, he realizes he has no desire to be claimed by her whatsoever.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:58, Tue 07 Mar 2023.

In reply to Tristan (msg # 65):

Sorry.  Meant to say "mouths" and didn't notice the typo.  It works one way or the other though.

The woman throws back her head and cackles.  A loud, grating sound that reminds you of tree limbs scratching across the roof when the wind blew hard.

She stops suddenly and glances at Master.  "Coscrach...I don't mind much. But there's English in his voice.  Could you not find a proper lad from the island?"  She shrugs.  "Well.  You're the one who has to deal with Faisgia.  Not me."

"Is he here now?"

She shakes her head.  "No.  He's still on his wander."</aqua>  She looks down at you.  "I am Black Ann.  Mind your manners with me boy, and we'll get along famously."

She wanders off to one of the other chairs.

Master...who's apparently really named "Coscrach"...chuckles.  <aqua>"She likes you.  The last apprentice who she met ended up being used for fertilizer for her flower bushes."

Two more men arrive.  One is as big as a blacksmith. The other is a lanky man who sort of shuffles as if he was older than he appears and keeps mumbling to himself.

As they take their seats, Master stands.

"Greetings.  I have returned.  And I'll keep this short so we can all get back to our business.

"This..." He grabs you by the shoulder and pulls you forward.  The four others all study you as if you were of interest.  "...is Tristan.  He's mine.  I've already started opening his arts.  If any lay hands on him, well....You know how I get."

"Wie ist es damit," says the mumbling man.  You have no idea what that means, but he says it.  Then in proper talk though with a rather odd accent he says, "I need handz in mah lahb. Mahbe I zhould take him in, ya?"

Master laughs.  "Don't try that Bonisagus snatch shite with me.  He's as dumb as a pile a' pig shite and smells as bad too.  You'll get no use a' him."

The others laugh.  The big man stands.  "I've got irons heatin'.  Well come Tristan.  Mind your manners round my smithy."

And with that, the others all stand and shuffle off.

Master laughs.  "Well aren't they tickled to meet you?"

He pulls on you.  "Come.  Let me show you where you'll sleep."

And that will lead us to the close of Tristan's first storyline.  We're going to skip ahead a couple of years and advance him.  But if it's alright, let's start on that Thursday.  I need to figure a few things out before we proceed.

Questions?

None so far.  Looking forward to continuing.

Is it really a good idea to jump ahead, though?  I certainly wouldn’t mind playing through every aspect of his training.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:14, Thu 09 Mar 2023.

In reply to Tristan (msg # 67):

That would take forever.  And it's outside the norms for even an apprentice game.

If you want, we can roleplay out Coscrach opening your arts up.  Like we did with fire and the other one.  Your call.

Yeah, let’s do that.  I’d rather not skip ahead any more quickly than necessary.

In reply to Tristan (msg # 69):

Usually, even in an apprentice game, the opening of the arts isn't roleplayed.  Or it's more a dry "read the book" kind of experience.  I did it this way to make things a bit more interesting.  We can certainly continue.

Thus far, you would have had the following arts opened (a score of 0 in them):

Terram, Aquam, Animal, Muto, Ignem.

Any requests for which one you want to do next?

Master...you guess you should call him Master Coscrach now...leads you out of the hall and towards a cluster of huts across the square.

These huts are larger then the ones around them.  Better kept too.  He stops before one that's easily twice the size of your family's.

"This is my sanctum.  Give me your hand," he says, stopping before the doorway of the building.  He grabs your hand and, before you realize it, draws a small knife across your palm.

"Don't flinch."  He pulls your palm towards the threshold and forces you to wipe your hand on the lintel.  He mutters something, then drops your hand, making a few odd gestures.

"I am Coscrach.  This is my home.  None may enter, but I give you leave.  Enter and be well come."

He opens the door and nods for you to go first.  "Let's get some salve on that cut.  And get you settled."

The door opens into a grand looking front room.  There's a large round table with five chairs, a hearth with a cheery looking fire roaring in it, and a tapestry on the wall.  The tapestry is partially gray.  The other side of it seems to depict a woman surrounded by five men, each of whom hold a basket filled with fruits.

There are three doors off this room.  A ladder leads up to a loft.

Coscrach pulls you to the table and gives you a rag to clean off the blood.  He comes back with a small jar filled with an odd looking mud.  "This is good for wounds.  It will heal you up quickly."

The cut has already stopped bleeding.

"So?  What questions are bubbling in that little head of yours about everything that just happened?"

For whatever reason, the cut hadn’t bothered Tristan much.  He’s experienced far worse injuries, and was rapidly getting used to the unexpected.  It seemed to be the rule in this place.

“Why did that woman say I wasn’t a proper lad?  What’s her problem?  I don’t think I like her, Master Coscrach.”

He gazes at the cut.  Could a wound be a door?  Did knowledge always carry the threat of injury with it?

“Will I always get to live here?” He asks instead.  “I never thought I’d be in a place like this.  You must feel like a king, master.”

OOC: Perhaps animal?