Slipfang: Sevenstones

[Morkskittar]

Alfred spoke to the self-assembling ship again, this time in BrasstongueBrasstongue + Sharps Roll: 3, 4, 6., the language of merchants, marketeers, and contracts. This seemed to have an effect on the ship that Alfred's earlier pleas did not.

"Fix... me. Make me... whole. Better. Bigger. Dangerous. Then we... deal... again. We sail."

Despite its words, Alfred noticed that Pieter had begun cannibalizing his platform again. It yanked one of the four posts that held the platform up, and part of said platform - along with Alfred's favorite pile of junk - toppled into the waves, where it begun to be dragged to the still-growing "ship," which continued to resemble a loose collection of salvage in the rough shape of a ship.

Amusingly, the ship's bite, a simple crawler mechanism made from rusted parts, was currently located on top of the ship, while its engine... wait, was that an engine? While Alfred's appraising eye evaluated the makeshift crawler bite and the lack of a solid hull, Ham's attention was arrested by something else. The ship had no mechanical engine; it simply did not have the scrap parts necessary to make one. However, it was dragging a components to itself that Ham, as an alchemist, did recognize: a chemical compressor, of the type found in some ships, that could be fed... well, anything organic, but usually fruits, nuts and leaves, and which could then power a bite.

Ham knew enough alchemy to know that the compressor itself needed a careful cocktail of ingredients to get started properly; fortunately, those ingredients could be found readily available if one knew where to look. If they chose, they could help start the ship's engine.

Helena, watching from the Slipfang with fascination, noted that other ghostly figures, invisible still to the others, were emerging from the leaves; these were ghosts of ardent, gau, ektus, and mothryn, all beginning to help "Pieter" put itself together. Perished crew, no doubt.

OOC

Now that introductions have been made, a choice awaits you:

• Fix Pieter: Alfred can take a Rattle test + Edge to give Pieter some structural integrity and put the bite on right and/or Ham can take a Concoct + Tides test to get the chemical compressor started. Maybe this will earn you a lifelong ghost ship friend!
• Half-Fix Pieter: Maybe you will only fix one of Pieter's problems. Maybe you will fix him, but sabotage him as well. Earn a friend maybe, but also hold a key to taking them out if they prove a threat later. Take the above tests, but using Veils, Teeth, or Iron instead, and Cut the highest result.
• Abandon/Flee from Pieter: Pieter has made zero promises about not abducting Alfred, or the Slipfang's crew for that matter. Is it wise to make a potentially uncontrollable ghost-ship stronger? You could flee, and leave Pieter to continue making itself... poorly.
• Kill Pieter: Maybe Pieter is too dangerous to be left here. You could run them over again and try to so thoroughly crush its hopes that it does not try to rebuild itself. Helena could be useful here, as she can see that there are ghosts other than that of the ship at work here as well.

There is no wrong choice. There are only fun consequences. :)

[Ratty Gnawtail]

Alfred watched his favourite pile of treasure of potential sink beneath the treeline and put a gloved hand to his face. "Suninaboxsuninaboxsuninabox," he muttered aloud in quick succession in an effort to not be gripped by anger.

 

"'Pieter', that was very rude," he said after a moment and withdrew his hand. "But yes, I will aid you how I can."

 

He withdrew some of his tools and regarded his two mechanical companions. "Wattson? I do not think I need to say it, but punch core 333. Cecily? Also activate punch core 333 with punch core 332, reactivate defence protocols on the usual punch core 895."

 

"'Pieter'? If you could slow down your rebuilding efforts and let me across I can guide your pieces, improve your structural integrity, and relocate your bite in a more optimum position. Wattson and Cecily will be aiding in this, do not dare try to asimilate them or any such deal will be null and I will reactivate their defence protocols."

 

A sliver of a smile stretched across Alfred's face. This was quite a tricky puzzle to solve, one that he wasn't sure he could do with ease let alone success. But he would try nonetheless.

 

As soon as 'Pieter' slowed its rebuilding efforts and gave Alfred and co. a path to it's form, Alfred set about reinforcing and rebuilding pieces into a more coherent structure. Wattson buzzed about assisting and fastening pieces himself whilst Cecily used her metal legs to lift and bend pieces of wreckage to better fit the shape of the ship under Alfred's steady eye markings. They then took a look at the bite and with a slight tut, the trio lowered it into a better position and got to work attaching it properly. All the time Alfred contemplated how much this was like the puzzle game his family would play back at Hissk's Folly when he was young. His father would sometimes bring them shattered pieces of amber and he and his siblings would attempt to piece it back together and make it whole again. Sometimes they would do it.

 

OOC: It looked like we're more or less agreed to fix Pieter up, so I am going ahead with it. Alfred is going to go for a normal repair, using sharps as his edge to reflect how he is trying to envision this as a large puzzle to be put back together and be solved with Wattson and Cecily assisting to increase the impact and for the added flavour.

Edit: Well then, that was a roll! 😛

Edited March 10 by Ratty Gnawtail (see edit history)

[Passione]

"Pieter has some friends with him? Right now?" They scan the horizon for more apparitions and machinery.

There seems to be only one growing writhing mass to contend with. 'That's a relief! If this is one of those slipscars than can move around, maybe this Pieter could take its spiritual core or anchor away from here. Odds are Pieter would take the others with him.'

At first, Ham questions whether it is safe to wave-walk with all the flying debris. Fortunately, Alfred was able to convince the ghost to simmer down. Afraid to see the pontoon implode under its own weight, Ham implores the three to pack up what they can and squeamishly swings back to the Slipfang.

They rush down below deck and ransack the galley for materials. Something caught their attention back there. Pieter doesn't seem to have anything powering its corporeal form. If Pieter was to be a full-fledged ship, he could at least have that compressor to fuel those long crawlers.

While they toil to get the belly of the beast started, something nags Ham at the back of their mind. They worry about which came first, the ghosts or the workshop, what could possibly be beneath these waves.

 

 

Concoct 3 + Tides

Ham also voices the opinion that the ghost ship would benefit from a change his bite into a maw. A mouth for his stomach, so to speak.

 

 

 

 

[Morkskittar]

After a moment of hesitation, Pieter's work on themselves slowed, and half of the physical ship fell apart, having been held together by sheer force of spectral will, and not by anything typically used to hold a ship together. "Fix... me?" Pieter's disembodied voice sounded almost plaintive.

Alfred did not hesitate. He grabbed his tools, and followed by his floating skull-drone, Wattson, jumped down onto the rustling waves and got to work. Cecily, the spider-cannon, crept to the edge of the increasingly unstable platform and locked her weapon on Pieter, just in case he got up to any funny business.

Ham hesitated a moment, and then got to work to help their new... acquaintance?... repair a talking ghost ghost shipwreck. At least it wasn't a hornet hivemind.

Ham got to work on the chemical compressor they found, while Alfred and Wattson worked on the rest of the ship, piecing together a hull and then decks from assorted flotsam. Kryk T'k came out from the Slipfang to try and hurry them along, but to their surprise Ham was enjoying the alchemical challenge of restarting the chemical engine, and Alfred was completely lost in their own world.

Helena, for their part, kept an eye on the two "ghost ships" she saw circling farther away, and called out 'helpful' tips to Alfred as he worked whenever the ketra's designs did not match the ghostly image that only she could see.

Day turned to dusk, and Ham and Helena (and Kryk T'k) were astonished at how quickly Alfred worked; he nearly put the old ironbound who had helped them build the Slipfang to shame. As night fell, Alfred stepped back and moved to get back onto his platform... only to discover that his platform was gone. After a moment of shocked alarm, Ham explained that Alfred had incorporated all of his platform, and all of his leftover materials, into Pieter.

Alfred hadn't noticed.

Helena shone the Slipfang's chemical spotlight down on Pieter, revealing a very ramshackle, cobbled-together wave-faring vessel, that nonetheless looked like it would survive on the seas of green. Ham crawled past Pieter's bite and finished installing the engine, and then crawled back out; just in time, too, for in his rattle-madness Alfred had transformed Pieter's crawling bite into a maw with prehensile teeth. The maw clamped shut just as Ham jumped out. The gau hurried back to the Slipfang, where Cecily was already perched, cannon still trained on Pieter.

"Ghost ships incoming," Helena said casually, swinging her anchor.

Alfred (and Wattson) were still on the waves, and looked on the direction the corsair pointed. Ham did as well, and the slipscar's strength flared. All of them could see a pair of ships, one flying the flags of the Pirate Queen of Sarkosa and the other tattered blankets whose emblems were no longer recognizable, heading straight towards them, crewed by specters.

But Pieter was now crewed by specters as well. The ghost ship, made real, demonstrated that not only were its teeth prehensile, but its entire bite was. Pieter took a bite out of a pile of the leftover pieces Alfred had left on the treetops, as well as the treetops themselves, and roared to life. As the slipscar slid over the entire area, they could all see the rotting ghosts running along Pieter's length, the ship's ghostly form having melded to its physical form.

Pieter lurched forward and then turned, presenting its side to the oncoming ships. Jealous of their companion's physicality... but with the slipscar strengthening, they were obtaining their own physicality.

Pieter's crew let loose a broadside, letting loose a storm of cannonball and shrapnel that shredded the attackers. Pieter then curved around again and consumed the fallen ghost ships, before heading back toward the Slipfang.

Alfred paused a moment to grab some scrapHam, Helena, and Alfred have all acquired some salvage, and the ship will be able to add extra additions worth 2 Stakes at Sevenstones!, and then allowed himself to be hauled up onto the Slipfang's deck. He watched as Pieter approached them at speed, and then it slowed. To their horror and slight amazement, Pieter's mouth shuddered in time with its words, which rang with confidence. "We will grow. We have not forgotten. We will make you proud, to become a ship worthy of you."

Despite themselves, Alfred and Ham both smiled. They had done something good, it seemed. They had brought something new into this world, together.

"And then we will come for you." A chill traveled between Ham, Alfred, and Helena. With that, Pieter pulled themselves along the treetops by their prehensile maw, dragging their bulk at speed around the Slipfang and away to the north.

The crew watched it vanish into the dawning light.

Kryk T'k brought the reverie. "Well done, yes? But we have an ill friend below. Let us make haste, onward."

Alfred looked at where their platform had once been, now incorporated into the bulk of Pieter. He had nowhere left to go, and two strange mechanical children to take care of.

OOC

Congratulations, you now have a mawship child roaming the seas trying to make itself worthy of kidnapping you! A tracker has been added to the ship sheet; one day, Pieter will return to you to show off its achievements... and try to make you its own.

The Slipfang is now sitting in the middle of the sea, Alfred's platform now gone. It is time to carry on to Sevenstones! As per usual, you all need to take a role during the journey:

• At the Helm (Required): Cut a path (1 box), Forge ahead (2 boxes, allowing you to reach Sevenstones after a brief encounter that will give you little warning to prepare), or Weigh anchor (pause for a bit and have a montage).

• On Watch (Required): Keep a lookout for opportunities and dangers. Roll a d6.

• Tend the Engine (Optional): Be ready in case something goes wrong to give the ship extra help or boosts.

• Cartographize (Optional): Add another box to K's chart of Krevimar's Ruin.

• Weatherwatch (Optional): Keep an eye on that pesky weather.

• Create (Optional): Make a gadget or potion using the standard creation rules by combining two resources and taking the appropriate test.

• Mindcatcher Growth (Optional): Help your weird plant grow bigger!

Kryk T'k can't pilot, but anyone else can. :)

 

[Abalon]

"I... don't really like the sound of this, I'll be honest" Helena awkwardly chuckles as Pieter floats away "Either way, welcome aboard, Alfred! Nice getting more crew on this journey!"

She waves at the new arrival before deftly jumping back into the crow's nest, keeping an eye out for more ghost ships or any other troubles

OOC

Welp that was pretty concerning. Let's hope it works out

Keep Watch

[Ratty Gnawtail]

Alfred began to laugh even as his mantle tendrils crackled with bio-electricity as Pieter sailed off into the distance. “Hah!” he shouted after a moment, uncaring if the ghost ship even heard him or not, “Well do not expect me to bow out without a fight when that day comes!”

 

He shook with mirth and electrical discharge for a few moments more as the sun began to rise. He stopped and surveyed the remnants (or lack thereof) of his temporary home and gave a shrug to Wattson and Cecily before turning to the others of the Slipfang.

 

“Erm, thank you. Helena was it? I like your anchor, almost like a Wattson but maybe less sass?” He glanced at Wattson who seemed to be as pouting as a floating skull could pout, “I meant uniqueness, old friend.”

 

As the Itzenko (that Alfred soon learnt was called Kryk T'k) spoke of the need to make haste, Alfred quickly scurried below deck to store his meagre belongings away (glad that Wattson seemingly had the thought to retrieve his clothes trunk from Pieter), deciding to set up shop in the cargo hold until the crew of the Slipfang and he came to a proper arrangement about sleeping quarters and the like (besides, at the moment Alfred figured it would be best to not get too close to the others after all this excitement of the last few hours.)

 

He cordially greeted each of the undercrew engineers, sharing a few rattlehand jokes and stories and getting a brief tour of the workings of the ship. Wattson meanwhile buzzed around making tea in the galley which anyone bar apparently Alfred found barely drinkable. Cecily elsewhere had settled down amongst Alfred’s belongings and seemed to have entered into a sleep mode.

 

“I must say that I am impressed. Whichever shipwright built this fine vessel was a master of their craft.” He commented to Ham as he appeared back on top deck as the vessel tore through the green at breakneck speed.

 

He was quiet for another long moment, gloved hands clenching and unclenching before he spoke again to anyone willing to answer. “I erm, never did ask. Where are we going and what is the purpose or I guess goals of this crew?”

 

Later on as the ship continued its journey, Alfred found his eyes wandering to the treetops as an idea began to ferment in his mind. He snapped a gloved finger (with a lot less dramatic sound and flare as one could expect) and hurried down below as it came to him. Taking up his tools and the sawprow teeth and length of chain he had retrieved from Pieter’s building he began to frantically work even as the ship lurched up and down as it surged through the verdant seas.

 

OOC: Alfred will do the Create Action (Sharps + Rattle) to attempt to combine his sawprow teeth and length of chain into a grappling hook. Whether his roll succeeds or not, can the resulting temp aspect tool be put into the ship’s inventory so anyone can requisition it for an encounter?

[Passione]

Ham is not built for this. All the death-defying they've done has placed a vice to their core. Every fiber of their being seem to be knotted and gnarled, but at least luck seem to be on their side. With posture that is all wrong, Ham mans the helm.

 

-

 

"Oh. We are looking for the Bloom... The Tyrant's Bloom. So far, we've ruled out what is east of Karaxes' Range and the Stranglewood." Noticing that they might have overshared, Ham lets the adrenaline run its course, unclenches their digits, and breathes deeper.

"It's only been the Shudder but these things are best nipped in the bud. Everyone has their own reasons but we are looking for it all the same."

Ham lets the moment linger, thinking of their injured friend.

Before Alfred leaves, Ham lobs one more thought his way. "One of the ghost ships Pieter shunt back to the slip seemed to have flown the banner of the snail. Perhaps folks from Sarkosa can help." Ham breezes past the possibility of stopping by Sevenstones but if there is any hope of getting K seen by a professional soon, he has to face his past.

 

 

I would like to Forge Ahead.

 

 

 

 

[Ratty Gnawtail]

Alfred mused upon Ham's words. "A ship of purpose, great purpose. Yes, that is good. Very good."

 

He rested his gloved hands upon a side railing and peered into the treeline below.

 

"Maybe that is where my purpose lies. Maybe. Perhaps that is where my cure lies. Many variables but potential. Yes..."

 

His eyemarkings flickered with thought at Ham's next idea. "Hmm, they say when you sup with a pirate make sure you have a long handled spoon...or something to that effect. Apologies if anyone on this crew are or were of a piratical persuasion, but in my experience they are not the most trustworthy bunch, and this is coming from someone who has dealt with a lot of merchants and traders. Information though, we might be able to get that. Stories and the like. Perhaps find out what happened there and how those three ships came to fight and die. Maybe even discover who 'Pieter' really was. Find a weakness maybe? Hmm...whether or not they help us, that is an idea, Ham."

[Morkskittar]

 

[X]-[X]-[X]-[X]-[X]

Arrival at Sevenstones

Helena – On Watch (Order)

Hisjam – At the Helm (Forging Ahead)

Kryk T'k – Giving Alfred the Tour

Helena – Creation (Grappling Hook)

 

Krevimar's Ruin Cartography: [X]-[X]-[ ]-[ ]-[ ]

Mindcatcher Growth: [ ]-[ ]-[ ]

 

---

The Slipfang sets sail away from where Alfred's platform had once stood, away from the slipscar and sunken ship graveyard that had spawned the ghost-ships, and onward toward Sevenstones. Ham, Kryk T'k, and Helena were all in something of a hurry to get care for their fallen friend K, and Alfred no longer had anywhere to be, and soon fell into the rhythm of life on the waves with his new crew.

Kryk T'k took the initiative in "showing the newcomer around" the ship, but Alfred soon learned that this meant the itzenko, always carried by their living fur, did not trust them and was keeping an eye on them. Alfred found himself more friendly with the undercrewWhom we still need to come up with some details about. XD, who were fascinated by Wattson and Cecily, and Ham, who was quite genial despite their appearance. Helena fell somewhere between Kryk T'k and Ham; not overly trusting like the gau, but not overly paranoid like the itzenko.

Over the next few days, Alfred learned much about the ship, and some about its crew. He learned, with some surprise, about how the crew had built it themselves (with a littlelot of help from a mysterious ironbound), and that the Slipfang even had a sister ship, the Argos, which was taking a northerly route around Mordun's Maw. Alfred learned this after asking about the skappbeetle hive, and was the first to point out that one of the messenger beetles had returned with a note from the Argos; specifically, from the philosophical ironbound tempest Atus.

Atus' Message

Message to the Slipfang.

I am sorry to hear of your troubles my friends. The news about K and Duo is disheartening. If you need us, you knew you can call us at any time and we will come. If you meet a submersible ship called the Firefly, mention the Argos, they will probably help you. The parts of the Cuda beast has become most of our cargo to Angler's Spire, where I hope to make good trade and make improvements to the Argos, possibly to make the ship a submersible. I feel our next port is Inkspill, but we shall see if that is where our journey takes us. Tharr seems like he wants to visit the pirates for some reason that escapes me. The weather in this part of the wildsea remains depressingly mild, so unlike the beautiful storm under which we all met. Wishing K a speedy recovery, I remain your good friend, Atus.

Below the message, Atus has sketched Tharr and Park surrounded by dead squirrels, a Spring Fox looking sleepy and well fed, and Tolliver perched upon the Lightning rail keeping watch.

---

Several days out from Alfred's former home, Helena spotted a small cluster of wooden homes built haphazardly on the surface of the sea. On the off chance that they might be able to offer Helena medical care, Ham steered the ship near to them, remembering to slow down to avoid crushing their homes like Kryk T'k had crushed Pieter MKI.

The six houses perched on the treetops were home to a small community of wanderers who were delighted to see fellow travelers. They had no aid to offer K, but invited the crew to join them for a meal and to share tales and stories. After some hesitancy, the crew acquiesced, and they spent the night anchored by the village, trading stories and song.

The Slipfang's crew parted ways with the wanderers as dawn broke, roaring off southward again, and all of their spirits were liftedHam and Helena's Mire has been cleared..

On this second leg of the journey, now comfortable with the ship, Alfred began work on a grappling hook. The end result was an overly large, unwieldy, heavy hook that might not become unstuck from whatever it grappled, but it would at least be usable once. He showed it to the others; Kryk T'k was unimpressed, but Helena, Ham, and the undercrew were appreciative. Alfred stored it on a hook in the cargo hold for anyone to use.

The days continued to pass as Ham drove the ship almost as fast as the itzenko had, and Kryk T'k almost warmed up to Alfred.

---

Sevenstones snuck up on them; had Helena not been playing with one of the spectral slinks on the starboard rail as her eyes scanned the horizon, they might have sailed on by. As it was, the only clue their corsair saw was a thin line of smoke in the distance. Out on the sea, smoke meant fire, and fire almost always meant a port with enough stone to be able to burn wood safely. In their haste, the Slipfang had wandered off course, and they had nearly sailed right on by their destination. With Helena's alert, the Slipfang curved around to make port.

Twilight approached as they circled the port, trying to ascertain which of the seven clustered spits was home to the docks. They eventually stopped at a watch-tower jutting out from the trees to get directions, and headed over to Cloven Cobble. It was then that Helena finally counted the number of spits, and remarked to the crew that Sevenstones should really be Sixstones.

"Looks like they lost a spit to the Shudder," commented Kryk T'k.

Ham and Helena ultimately negotiated a berth on a wooden pier sticking out from the southernmost spit, Cloven Cobble, as night began to fall. In the darkness, they could not see much of the port, but Helena described what she had seen on watch to the others.

Sevenstones

Sevenstones is a collection of sevensix large pieces of earth and stone churned up by the waves and connected by a system of semi-permanent wooden structures. It is the center of the Archaeosalvager's Union, and is ruled by a complex network of committees. Sevenstones is the port to visit if you need help identifying ancient artifacts or to learn about the history of Old Krevimar.

The port of Sevenstones now only has six stones, one of the stones having been pulled back beneath the thrash by the recent Shudder. The six stones Helena noticed as they sailed around looking for a berth are as follows:

• Cloven Cobble: This is actually two chunks of stone that are nestled right next to each other. One of these chunks is home to the docks district, which remains full of furtive movement and eyes in the shadows, and the other hosts a market. The market is currently quiet, as it is night, but there is still activity there, with firefly lights illuminating the stalls still selling goods.
• Lesser Cobble: To the north of Cloven Cobble, Lesser Cobble is a mass of earth and soil home to a ramshackle collection of wooden structures, and did not look very appealing. However, the strong scent of spices and herbs wreathed the ship as it sailed by.
• Old Cobble: A collection of broken ruins linked by roots and dirt to the north and east of Lesser Cobble, this spit looks like the risen ruin the crew (sans Alfred) had encountered previously, though much larger and covered with scaffolding and clearly new structures of metal and wood built over and on top of it.
• Greater Cobble: The largest (by far) of the spits, Greater Cobble lay to the east and slightly south of Old Cobble. It reminded Helena of Verdurance from afar, with grand stone buildings seated atop a slab of rock and soil. Helena caught glimpses of gardens nestled among the stone, and it was from a building at this spit's center that the smoke was rising from. Several imposing buildings that nearly put Verdurance's to shame were visible here. Helena marked this as the political center of the port.
• Drunken Cobble: To the south and east of Great Cobble, and the farthest from the others, is a mass of old ruins, dirt, and stone tilted upward at an outrageous angle. At first Helena thought this was a result of the Shudder, but then she noticed that the stone and wood buildings on its slope were clearly built with that steep incline in mind. Colorful flags flew from these buildings, and as they sailed by it the sounds of voices raised in song, accompanied by drums and other instruments, tantalized their ears.
• Brass Cobble: South and west of Drunken Cobble lies not a stone, but the twisted and charred remnants of a massive piece of machinery that immediately caught Alfred's attention. If he were to guess, Brass Cobble was once the hand of a mechanical giant, ravaged by the wildsea to be almost unrecognizable. Flashes of light and the sound of hammers on metal seemed to be an omnipresent fixture of this spit.

There is a large space in the middle of these spits, which form a rough circle. It seems likely that the missing "cobbleThe aptly named Middle Cobble, if you were wondering." once lay at the center of the others. This theory is supported by Helena sighting a large amount of debris in this area.

Once they were firmly anchored and tied up (not that the leaves were likely to drag the Slipfang out to sea), the crew plotted their next moves. Night had fallen, and the port was mostly asleep, save for some possibly less-than-honest activity in the market and docks. Helena, Ham, and Kryk T'k all got an unsettled vibe from the activity taking place around them in the dark docks, but Alfred simply saw a new place without very many people out and about.

OOC

Welcome to Sevenstones! It is currently night-time, so most of the port is closed down. You all can take a night-time Montage before sleeping, with each player taking one of the following actions:

Create

The night is dark and full of strangers. It is best to venture out in the daylight. However, you may as well make use of the hours before bed by making something new.

Combine any two resources you currently have (specimen, salvage, whisper, or chart) to create temporary Aspects for yourself or others, the qualities of which depend on the resources used. Each Aspect will be used up forever when its track is filled.

Use Concoct (and any two resources) to make a potion.

Use Cook (and two specimens) to make a full meal.

Use Craft (and two salvage) to make equipment.

Results: 6: Good Aspect related to resources used. 4–5: Aspect has downsides or is not quite right. 1–3: Aspect gives no benefits.

Acquire Resource

You stick close to the ship or range further afield to see if you can pick up anything useful.

Roll a number of D6 equal to the relevant skill plus one for any of the listed possible edges if you have it (remember that you only ever can use one Edge at a time), or else simply choose the default "Conflict" option (no risk, but no chance of getting a good resource either).

Results: 6: Gain good resource; 4–5: Gain sub-par resource; 1–3: Gain no resource.

Like with character creation, you can briefly describe the resource you are looking for or its characteristics, or if you prefer you can leave it up the GM. If you want to use an Edge that is not listed, make your case in your post; Edges typically just add flavor to an action. :)

---

Visit the Night Bazaar (Outwit, Sway)

The market is mostly empty now, but a few soft-spoken bazaarines still peddle their wares in the shadows beneath the stars.

Take a Sway/Outwit + Iron (drive a hard bargain)/Sharps (use your wits to haggle with the vendor)/Veils (leave the vendor bewildered after a series of verbal feints and dodges) test to acquire a single Salvage, Specimen, or Chart. A Disaster! will lead to an unsavory market encounter.

---

Gather (Harvest, Hack)

There is always bounty to be had if you know where to look. A quick hop over the rail and you can probably find something useful in the churned-up foliage near the docks.

Take a Harvest/Hack + Instinct (follow your nose)/Tides (use your botanical knowledge) test to acquire a single plant-based Specimen from the wilds around Cloven Cobble.

---

Scavenge (Scavenge)

Ships always drop interesting scrap when they pass by, and there are sure to be interesting gadgets left behind by passing crews in the docks.

Take a Scavenge + Veils (don't let anyone else see what you found)/Tides (you know what is valuable and what is not) test to acquire any single Salvage.

---

Listen (Sense, Study)

The quiet night air makes it easy to overhear things not meant for your ears. Or whatever it is gau have instead of ears.

Take a Sense + Veils test to eavesdrop and acquire any single Whisper. The Edge for this test is non-negotiable. ;)

Explore

The best time to explore is when everyone else is sleeping. You leave the safety of your ship and range further afield.

This is an open-ended action; if you want to explore the city, describe what you're doing, what you're looking for, and how you're doing it. This is a good way to get to know Sevenstones before you go have more adventures in the morning.

You must select which Cobble your character is exploring; because there are only a few hours left before bedtime, you can only explore Cloven Cobble, Lesser Cobble, Drunken Cobble, or Brass Cobble (the other two are too far to comfortably get to tonight, as they require lots of traveling over wooden planking in the dark).

Recover

The night is long, and so is your face. You'd better sleep off your worries; exploring can wait until tomorrow.

Consume a single resource and take an appropriate skill test to clear a mark from an Aspect.

• Heal (Tend, Concoct, Cook) using a specimen to clear a mark from a trait or animal.
• Repair (Rattle, Study, Concoct) using a salvage to clear a mark from equipment or mechanical objects.
• Relax (skill depends on character, but often social skills) using a whisper to clear a mark from a Mire.

Results: 6: Clear 2 marks. 4–5: Clear 1 mark. 1–3: Add one mark. On a twist, the resource is not consumed. You may choose to automatically take the conflict (4–5) result to avoid risking doing more damage.

You can also begin a longer-term project or tend to the Mindcatcher to help it grow.

After this night-time montage, you will have another Montage in the morning to kick-start your adventure in Sevenstones.

[Ratty Gnawtail]

“Ah, looks to be nice and quiet out there. I think I will have a wander around what shops are still open, best bargains are often to be had at the end of the day and all that...”

 

Alfred stretches his back and then heads below decks, quickly closing the portal to the cargo hold and changing his rattlehand tunic for his more dapper trading suit. Form fitting waistcoat, trousers, shoes and gloves with a slight insulated sheen to them. Finally he attaches a series of lenses on insulated wires to his knotted hair tendrils and positions them so his eye markings could drift between them for better analysis of any product he should gaze upon (Scrutineer Eyepiece.) He then re-emerges and giving Cecily an order to stay put, goes out into the night with Wattson floating beside him. (Reasoning that taking a walking cannon with him might turn a few too many heads and spoil any deals.)

 

He moves further into the Cloven Cobble towards the markets, noting the feeling of being watched from the shadows. He lets a smile creep across his face and concentrates for a moment, feeling a spark of electricity crackle within his be-gloved fingers before continuing onwards.

 

“Well Wattson, the night is cool and is singing our song I think,” he quietly comments to the bobbing skull who gives a similarly quiet and muted beep back.

 

The night market is mostly deserted bar a few firefly lantern lit stalls and Alfred scans across them to find a suitable vendor. Finally spotting one that seems to be reliable if maybe a little shady, he wanders over and engages the trader in a shrewd and disarming manner talking about the settlement and trade of late. His words seem to seep into the shadows as he speaks more and more in Brass Tongue cant as the duel of trade begins in earnest. His eye markings move and drift between lenses as he scans the items for sale and his words silkily turn into trader thrusts and parries, seeking an item of worth at a suitable price but hopefully leaving the trader with the belief that both parties were successful. Wattson drifts nearby, seemingly wary and ready to act in defence if something goes wrong.

 

OOC: Visit the Night Bazaar: Outwit + Veils (with maybe a bonus for Brasstongue, Scrutineer Eyepiece, and I believe Shrewd Marketeer turning any conflicts into triumphs?) Ideally seeking interesting salvage, maybe something that can help him start his leviathan killing lightning cannon?

[Passione]

'Cure?' Ham is a taken aback. They found something that made sense this past week. They seem to have more things in common with their new acquaintance. A pity they can't wrap their head around gears and gizmos.

"Don't worry about it. No offense taken. Just trying to make sense of that uh,... whole scenario. I acknowledge that we do not have the full picture. Say. Did Pieter say something about his friends? He didn't seem quite friendly with the other ships that manifested. Carolina, no, Cassandra. I believe you aren't in the best of terms but, who is she? Is she a ghost too? Did she display any tendency to freebooting?"

 

---

 

We appreciate your concern. I will remember Duo as a lifesaving odd duck from the moment we met them, to the moment they left. May they find what they are looking for. K, on the otherhand, is still unresponsive, but it looks like she might pull through.

Thank you for the tip-off about the Firefly.

In all endeavors, the mark of excellence.
- Hisjam Skithiryx

Ham theorycrafts about seals and bites while formulating a response to the Argos. Then again, having only read about it, perhaps building and crewing a submersible is more tenable than what they've been told. Inkspill, jealous visit library. poring over tomes would have been a fun exercise. Or an excuse to loaf around and savor stable ground.

 

---

 

Nothing quite like the warmth of community to nourish the soul. A warm meal and a long hug goes a long way towards easing a troubled psyche. While they are grateful for the little community, Ham realizes they can't help but feel envious. Are they truly looking forward to visiting the walled cobble?

 

---

 

It is far too late in the night to rock the boat with news of the red honey and slipwise mawship. The report can wait. Ham spends the night tending on K and the Mindcatcher.

 

 

 

OOC

 

I'd like for Ham to tend the Mindcatcher.

 

 

[Ratty Gnawtail]

OOC: Mini flashback to answer Ham's questions

 

IC: Alfred's facial features remain impassive apart from his eye markings that seem to betray a sense of confusion.

 

"Cassandra?...What do you mean Cassa-oh...oh... Sally? I assume you mean Sally? She was my previous outrider/skiff. I gave her a measure of sentience and she decided to abandon me...seems to be a theme... As I recall saying, I believe she might have wanted to be called Cassandra. Not that she ever actually spoke to me, just a feeling I suppose. To my knowledge, she was not related to Pieter or that slip. Speaking of 'Pieter', he never quite specified any details about these 'others' or any friends. Very vague and all that. So as far as Sally and Pieter are concerned, I know as much as you, Ham."

[Morkskittar]

Sevenstones Montage: Night Arrival

Helena – To Be Determined

Hisjam – Tending the Mindcatcher

Kryk T'k – Visiting Drunken Cobble

Helena – Shopping at the Midnight Bazaar

Duo – Getting Bearings, To Be Determined

---

Ham, not wanting to stray too far from the ship while darkness still reigned, instead turned their attention to the curious plant they had salvaged from the risen ruin that had claimed Duo and made K comatose. The entire crew had avoided spending too much time near it (and Alfred had been warned away from it), everyone wanting to keep their minds intact. Under the cover of night, Ham decided to try and make the plant grow; the implications of a plant able to arrest attention like it did were intriguing, and the alchemist wondered if the effect was chemical, visual, or something else entirely. Maybe a mesmer would be able to tell us. Remembering their previous long stare at the thing, Ham focuses only on the leaves and not the mesmerizing petals. Ham knows enough about tending to plants (a side effect of his alchemical persuasion) to realize that the Mindcatcher needs sustenance; it is looking rather wilted. Unusually for a world built so far above the ground, the plant is potted in soil, and not directly growing from a tree. Ham thus deduces the soil likely needs refreshing with essential nutrients. A quick nip down belowdecks to his standard alchemical supply kit allows him to scrounge up a wide array of fertilizing agents he hopes will be effective. He mixes them into the soil, still assiduously avoiding staring at the flowers, and then leaves the plant to do with his offering what it willOne box has been marked on the Mindcatcher Growth track..

As Ham finishes up and prepares to go check on K, he sees Alfred head out from the ship, and tells him to be careful. Alfred assures the gau that Wattson will protect him and makes the short travel over to the market Helena had spotted. The market was quiet and mostly empty, with only a few stalls not closed down scattered across an impressive stretch of space. Alfred judged that this market would be very active come dawn. Now, he and Wattson enjoyed the relative quiet as they criss-crossed from stall to stall. After his first encounter with a shady tzelicrae trying to sell him what was obviously a wooden sculpture of an etheromagnetometer painted a bronze color, Alfred began scrutinizing everything he saw with his eyepiece, and quickly discovered that half of the vendors were scammers and the other half were selling things that would make a daylight shopper flee in terror.

Alfred stopped at a large stall of the latter type. The proprietor, one "Jonas P. Hawthark," was an elderly ardent perched on a rickety stool, eyes a complete milky white. A crow sat on each shoulder, one watching Alfred suspiciously, while the other fed a constant stream of cawwing noises into the old man's ear. This ardent had an interesting and bizarre assortment of parts on display, unlike anything the ketra had seen anywhere. They lacked the flashy show of the other stalls, but there was something genuine about the goods here. The watchful crow spoke once Alfred had been there for two or three minutes. "Nice skull there. He for sale?"

Alfred, startled, responded in the negative in BrasstongueBonus for Brasstongue: + 1 Die. Roll: 6. So very successful. :P. The crow switched seamlessly to this new tongue. "Shame. You have a good eye to have stopped here. Not taken by flashiness. Not that there's anything wrong with that."

Alfred and the crow ended up in a longer-than-anticipated discussion about parts and weapons, and Alfred carefully steered the conversation into the question of unusual weapons, and the crow let slip that someone had dredged up a "superconductive tube." Alfred pushed on this point, and after several minutes the talking crow snapped to the ardent. "Go on, get the nice man the tube."

The ardent creaked to his feet, bent under a table, and then with surprising strength, placed a length of seemingly ordinary iron piping on the table. "I see the lightning that dances in you. Touch the tube." Alfred hesitated, suddenly unsure, but then dove ahead and touched it with an ungloved hand. The tube actually jumped off the table, visibly amplifying and radiating Alfred's own energies, and left a scorch mark on the tablecloth. "Now you must buy the cloth too, eh?" Alfred, despite himself, was intrigued, but managed to talk the crow down to a very favorable deal; just a small bunch of scrap Alfred had picked up and an explanation of Wattson's inner workings for the tube. He carried it back to the Slipfang very carefully, held in insulated gloves. A dangerous weapon, or a useful tool, this pipingA new piece of Salvage has been added to Alfred's inventory. could be.

No one was on deck when Alfred returned, but when he descended belowdecks he found Helena still there and Ham brewing something for K. Kryk T'k had apparently gone off to visit Drunken Cobble, having "sensed" something interesting there. Alfred showed them the tube when asked, but they did not press him much on it, and he wrapped it up carefully and stashed it away in the cargo hold, far from his bunk. He then returned to the other two, and they all jumped as they heard a door creak open from the private crew quarters, followed by footsteps.

Helena was on her feet, anchor in hand, while Alfred felt a surge of power dance across his mantle as a small (literal) jolt of fear struck him. Ham got to their feet, not as wary as the other two but ready to face whatever had infiltrated their ship.

From around the corner leading to their quarters, out of the darkness and into the light, stepped a walking humanoid made of bandages mostly covered by a two-colored cloak, one side ochre with half a sun, the other indigo with half a moon. Where a face should be was a mask, one side laughing, the other grimacing.

Alfred actually stumbled back against the wall in shock at such a fearsome sight, while Helena and Ham looked suddenly very cheerful.

It was Duo, reassembled, back from the dead, though missing their former mechanical arm.

OOC

Surprise! :) TheObsoleteMan has returned to us, and with him, so has Duo. Your internally conflicted spider hivemind-friend is back on your crew. As a result, I won't be putting out another ad for now; four is an excellent number of players. :)

We're now in a strange Scene/Montage state. Helena (and now Duo) can still take a Montage Action of some kind, and everyone can say hello to Duo in a reunion scene if they wish (or for Alfred, a first-meeting scene), who has returned to themselves after drawing the hornet hivemind away from their crew. He's spent a long journey reassembling the pieces of his mind while locked in his room.

 

[TheObsoleteMan]

That which dreams cannot truly be dead...

The being that had been Duo wondered about the validity of such a statement. How could we know that the dead do not dream? They certainly moved and talked and infested the world at every turn. They had seen this, felt it, been touched by it. So who was to say that the dead could not dream?

And so--as was their custom--they argued among themselves. But they found it was a hollow argument, superficial, bereft of any true insight. Why could they not formulate their ideas? What was this fog that obscured their own mind from themselves?

Indeed, why were they considering such an idea in the first place?

It was with great difficulty that they searched their memory for the answer. They swam through the misty depths of their own subconscious. What a strange feeling, to find your own mind(s) such a desolate and alien place. What had happened to them? What had happened to their mind(s)?

Then, among the mists, they heard voices. No, echoes of voices, of things said hours ago, or days, or years. Was that Ham? Helena? Was K crying out in pain? Was Kryk T'k shouting at him not to go? Was that their own voice(s), calling out to someone--something--in the darkness, daring them to face them?

Flashes of light erupted from within the fog. Duo recoiled as if blinded, shimmering afterimages swimming in their vision--a great ruin, grasping vines, vicious flying creatures.

And they felt the mind. A legion made one. Like them, but so unlike them. A twisted mirror image, born in some unnatural crucible, spiraling out of control. It called to them, but they dared not answer.

Darkness came for them again.

Why had they dreamed such things? Why were they pondering their dreams while still asleep?

That which has died can only dream of life...

Another thought came unbidden to their mind. Was this their own thought, or a Whisper, worming its way into their subconscious? Why was death so prevalent in their thoughts?

They fumbled for what had been lost in the fog. The echoes, the afterimages, the thoughts... yes. These were Duo's thoughts. They belonged to them. The pieces began to fall into place--what had happened to them made clearer as the fog receded. But their mind(s) was/were still weak. Where once they spun their webs of the consciousness out into the vast and teeming ether with ease, now they could hardly cling to their own cognition.

They needed more minds to share.

With every ounce of strength, they reached out to find their place in the waking world. A familiar aura radiated back at them--the Slipfang. That comfortable, formidable beast, with its own quiet consciousness that slumbered just beneath the surface of the hull. Those faithful crewmembers--Ham, Helena, K, Kryk T'k. And someone else, someone new. And something that made them recoil, draw back into themselves, before venturing more carefully out once more.

They reached beyond the confines of the Slipfang. They sang the song of their ancestors into the leaves and limbs as their ship sliced deftly through them. And the call was answered--younglings and elders alike; plump and striped older brother; lithe and jet black little sister; uncle, with his great hairy body and ponderous gait; auntie with her shimmering belly and glistening webs; grandma and grandpa and all the cousins they could muster.

Each and all heard the song. Not all of them came. Not all of them were ready. But those that were clambered aboard the Slipfang, breaching the tiniest gaps or leaping aboard as it passed in the night. They came and they listened. Duo touched their minds, led them to their own conclusions, let them find their own sapience amid the riotous cacophony of life in the Wildsea. And those that did were given a choice.

Join them, or seek their own way.

And so Duo's mind(s) grew stronger. They wove their web--in the world of metaphors and in the world of the senses--cocooning themselves in their silk, soft and strong. There, they pieced together the remnants of their mind(s). What Duo had been was gone. But what remained grew strong once more.

That which dreams itself alive again can never truly die...

Duo awoke.

The Slipfang rocked gently beneath them, like a gentle ardent mother tending a baby's cradle. They looked around their room, where remnants of webs hung everywhere. Their body, such as was left, was now wreathed in their silk, clad only in what few scraps of cloth and tarp they had scrounged from the ship. But before them lay their cloak--no longer stitched together from disparate pieces, but woven from their silk, light and glittering.

They gingerly stood on new legs, their body now hunched and quadrupedal. Still weak, they donned the cloak and went to their door. As it creaked open, they heard the shuffling of feet as someone--or several someones--came to investigate. For a brief moment, they were frightened, shaken, wanting to retreat into that cocoon they had emerged from once more.

But then they saw them. Their crew. Their friends.

"Ham? Helena? We... how glad our hearts to see you again!"

Duo had returned. They weren't certain how or what exactly they had come back from. But they were. And their friends were. They all were.

Edited March 25 by TheObsoleteMan (see edit history)

[Ratty Gnawtail]

The freshly made mug of tea falls from Alfred’s twitching gloved fingers as he stumbles back from the strange apparition, shock mixed with a dosage of fear sending jolts of electricity down his back. The mug bounces once...twice but fortunately not smashing as the hot leaf juice escapes from its prison to silently seep swiftly through the floor planks.

 

Wattson having continued following Alfred tilts slightly as it observes the silken bandaged figure before giving what sounds almost like a resigned beep and drifts down to recover the mug and begin brewing Alfred a replacement drink.

 

Alfred glances at the others, half expecting for them to be similarly shocked and ready to fight off this invader, but instead sees a different sort of shock split into joy appear on Helena’s face and Ham’s posture. The bandaged figure speaks then, to Alfred’s hearing it almost sounds like two voices at once or maybe more or maybe less. He is not sure he could quite tell. The masked face seems to be looking everywhere and yet nowhere as it turns about and regards the trio.

 

“I...” Alfred stammers and mutters a mantra to try and calm down, “Who is this person?”