The Ship

[Kolava]

Twighlight had just begun to retreat behind the mountains, and the true chill of night set over the foggy kingdom like a blanket. Peasants set down thier plows and brought animals into the barn, artisans closed shop, and travelers chose an Inn for the night. All was quiet in the wintery valley, even in the main room of the Castle's keep, where some of the kingdom's elite drank thier first ales with only light conversation.

At the docks, however, was a different story. Sailors, a lot normally considered loud and restless, were lined up along the edge of a pier gaping in awe at what lay before them. A galley, with sails fully spread, was approaching the docks. Its deck was almost bare, and its rigging flapped silently in the foggy air; whatever had set the ship on its course had left the deck long ago.

A watchman shouted through cupped hands until his voice was hoarse, but no reply came from the laternless vessel as it rushed closer and closer to the shallower dock area. Smaller inhabited vessels that were anchored nearby began to echo the watchman's cries in the hope of sparing thier ships from collision, but these cries soon turned to panic. Luckily, the cry reached the edge of the castle while the ship was still a ways off, but the main hall was found empty and the port guards were lost for ways to react. One way or another the ship would stop, but "one way" was the very undesirable meshing of wooden planks that would devastate all on the pier and sink the massive galley along with any explanation for its actions.

((This is an open s/l, but please be sure your contribution is worthwhile and furthers the effect of the greater s/l. This isn't a chat, so a post should do a lot, but make sure not to do too much by yourself before others get a chance to enter the scene))

[Kolava]

{{Perhaps I wasn't clear on my intentions with this relatively new form of post. These boards "Post Role Playing" were intended for long back and forth RPs on the medium of the message board. This is my humble attempt at starting one, but seeing as how it is the first, I think I should set some guidelines. These are not hard "rules", just a few suggestions to get everyone down the right path}}

• You only control your character: The enviroment, if not described by the DM (I will use this term for simplicities sake to describe myself, the organiser) cannot be interacted with. Does this mean you can't open a door if I haven't mentioned a doorknob or order around guards if I haven't described them? No. Common sense will prevail in all cases; if your character would be able to do it, then go ahead. This guideline is only to remind you not to start DMing on your own and describing new rooms as you open them.
• Know when to end: A proper chat post can be flowing and linked to the ones before it and after it. This is not so with board posts. Every action should be large (but see above) and self contained, starting and stopping with a tangible bit of progress.
• Keep in mind the pace of the story: If your post only has your character walking across the room, then you have the wrong pace. If we work like that, the story will crawl along for 100 pages without going anywhere. Try to describe your character's actions in a semi-summary style, as if standing back a moment to have perspective. Example: A character pours himself wine and thinks about his troubles while considering what the noise in the next room is. He rises and (go wild with description here) moves to the doorway to investigate. He then responds to what is said. (see next)
• Prepare for time distortions: No, I'm not warning you about my crazy s/l...I'm talking about actions that will flow past and around each other, never really able to take place at once. It is an inherent flaw to this system, but I think we can manage. Try to react to what has already been posted as if it is happening in the middle of your post, and open windows for those who will post after you.

[Cherise]

(( Oh, I'm just going to try to play along with this. xD If it doesn't turn out how you wanted it to be Kolava, just pretend my post was never there, all right? ))

Among one of the many sofas within the main hall, a slumbering form (and a heap of woolen blankets) rested peacefully. However, with the hoarse, panicked cries soon reaching the main hall in a faint, dismal plea for help, the figure could only crack open those eyes as she had been awakened from her previous slumber.

For a few breathless moments she would lie, quieting her breathing as if omittal of these inhalations would bring comprehension of the cries. Alas, she would soon determine that the screams were not part of a nightmare, and she was very, very much awake.

The heap of blankets soon graced the floor beside the wan hearth, as she tore quietly about the main hall, slipping on appropriate items of apparel in a clumsy sort of way, as she was still feeble with sleep.

However, she was not an entire dim wit, and she would be sure to rouse another sleeping form quietly, and whisper the turn of events from what she knew.

With that, she made her way out of the castle, and tore across the slightly frosted fields in the direction of the cries, the docks coming nearer and nearer into view, and the volume of the frenzied cries increasing.

Once reaching the dock, she was entirely out of breath, but a questioning shout was shot to the crew, in curiousity of what was happening, and hopefully loud enough to penetrate their own furious cries...

[Kolava]

{{that was perfect}}

[r a i n e]

((Here goes nothin', no? Don't hurt me if you don't agree, I'll gladly change my post, character, or whatever later.))


At the bow of the ship stood a form. There was a wide-brimmed hat atop their head and tattered clothing in shades of crimsons and browns. An impish smirk danced upon their lips as they watched with an amused glint to their eye from under the wide brim of the hat.

And all the while they were there, knowing all along that any one person could pull anything to stop the damned ship at any moment, yet none had done so yet.

The large galley inched closer and closer to the oncoming docks, yet the form never moved a muscle, looking too much like a decoration to be determined a human from this distance.

[Lady Desari]

(ok here it goes)

::standing at the window in her room, her head laid against the glass, she closed her eyes for a moment. Frantic screams penetrating the haziness of her mind, her eyes snapped open. She moved swiftly to the chair and gathered her cloak and sword,strapping the sword to her hip and fastening the cloak around her shoulders, she opened the door to her room and flew down the stairs.

Now outside, she ran to the dock, her booted feet crunching over the fresh fallen snow. Seeing Cherise, she skidded to a halt next to her, as Cherise screamed out her question. Her hands on her knees taking in gulps of air, she slowly straightened up, squinting her eyes, she saw a figure on on the ship, standing perfectly still, almost as if rooted to the spot. Glancing over to Cherise, her voice came out in in a breathless whisper:: We have to do something....

[Kolava]

{{That was a nice contribution, Raine, but my intention with the first rule was pretty straightforwards. You don't have to play Raine if you don't want, but you certainly can't play the mysterious pilot of the ship. Try viewing this as a diceless adventure with me as the DM; I have my own elaborate plan for this storyline. Also, don't overestimate the importance of the galley. It was just a plot hook to get the character's attentions.}}

[r a i n e]

((Never said it was the ship's master, Rob. I started RPing on discussion boards, so I'm not necissarily new to this. I know that it's your RPG and that you've got a plot for it, I wouldn't be *that* ignorant. But if you'd rather my character not be one of the people on the ship, then I'll delete my post and try again.))

[Cherise]

She had been standing upon the shoreline, the dock a few yards off and drifting in the ebon water, breakers crashing against the crudely worked wood.
She would give a slight gaze to Desari, before giving a nod of assent. Thus, the succubus would immediately run towards the dock in the shortest route, which required her to splash though the water, the many layers of silken skirts soon clinging to her legs from the action.
Once she hoisted herself up onto the dock (and prevented herself from falling, as the frenzied sailors, were running about and nearly shoved her off of the dock a few times by accident), those eyes of aureate would begin to scrutinize the horizon. Of course, it did not take much for the succubus to notice that there was a large vessel, heading full speed, and ready to collide into the other boats and docks.
Her soft gaze would turn to Desari, and even though her words were soft, they were wrung with concern.
"What should we do?"...

[Lady Desari]

::she ran with Cherise to the docks, the cold water seeping into her breeches, she undid her cloak and let it drift into the water as it was weighed her down. Splashing thru the waves, she hauled her self up on the dock next to Cherise and watched the ship coming closer to them. If something was not done the ship would crash and all hell would break loose. A sailor ran into her and she grabbed his arm, she tried to find out how many were on the ship and so on. The panic in is eyes spooked her for a moment when he suddenly yanked away from her and ran down the dock. No answers were forthcoming from the crew. Looking over to Cherise, her eyes filled with concern as well, she nodded to her:: We have to alert the castle...If it rams the docks we are in serious trouble...We also need to find out if anyone is in the boats docked and make sure that everyone is out of harm's way...I don't think we can stop it from crashing...