rp thread [Round 6] A Shrouded Place

[BladeofOblivion]

Kor awoke in darkness, laid on a bed of waxy wood, damp on the inside. A few shafts of dim light peeked through boards above, interrupted by the occasional creak of movement with an accompanying shadow blocking the light. The whole room gently rocked side-to-side over the waves, and what could be made out suggested that he was currently located in a ship's bilges. Damage was still notable, but some limited self-repair had already occurred during standby using some nearby metals. The ceiling was too low to stand and Kor was not yet sure if he could stabilize properly anyway. Observing his surroundings, he found little of note but the shadowed form of Robert the Builder - a muscular blond, bearded human man who nevertheless had clearly seen better days, now stripped to his skivvies. Some of his wounds had healed a little, most looked like they had since become infected in this damp environment without proper treatment.

At Kor's first sign of movement his head jerked, and he tried to mutter something, obviously in pain. "...Machine. Can you...ugh. Can you speak?", he managed to get out in a trade tongue.

Edited March 19 by BladeofOblivion (see edit history)

[Jadetarem]

"I am Kor. I can speak." In fact, they'd have to hit him again to get him to shut up. The Omega, even in their new form, had no mouths to gag, though Kor had no intention of volunteering that information.

Robert the Builder. Kor knew him only by reputation and by his personal loss to the raider. He had nonetheless accumulated more in the way of forces and fortifications than Joseph - another leader he had 'defeated' without personal engagement.

And now he was on a vessel, almost certainly out over open water. Salt water at that. Where had the fog raiders come from? What were their aims? The Omega elected to voice these questions to his fellow captive. "Who was the third party at the battle? Can they control the fog, or do they time their attacks with a meteorological precision unavailable to the rest of the ring's realms?"

[BladeofOblivion]

Robert painedly shook his head, though at least seemed a little relieved to have someone to speak to - that he could understand. "Couldn't tell you. We sallied out at the first sight of the attack, but the fog concealed their numbers - and we weren't ready for their magic. The village was in flames before they landed and by the time we realized we needed to fall back to the fortress, yours were on the other side." He coughed. "Damn frail, human body. You saved my life, you know. Thanks for that, for what little it's worth now. It sounded really angry. The Gillman in charge, I mean. You really hurt it. I don't understand their talk, not well, but they had us both kicked pretty hard and dumped down here while they went and got them some poultice for their eye." He stopped speaking, as there was some movement above. But it soon passed.

"I'm not starving yet, so it can't have been more than a day. But everything hurts and it's hard to tell."

If Kor's chronometer readings were correct, he had been in standby for ten hours.

[Jadetarem]

"Ten hours." Kor clarified, again seeing no point in keeping secrets from Robert. "Automatic repair is not yet complete, though it is progressing."

With that, Kor was out of noteworthy things to say, at least about their current predicament. Attempting to escape without fully healing would just provoke the gillmen into greater security precautions, and if he wasn't careful, he might damage the boat, or even light it aflame - both fatal if they were, as he suspected, on the open sea.

But there were always alternative topics. "Your people... were not initially receptive to our proposals. We did not understand at the time, and then Still Lake made the decision for force-integration. But time is abundant now. Why reject security and uplift?"

[BladeofOblivion]

"We thought we were secure.", he answers simply, a little sadly. "I was an adventurer in my younger days. I learned to build good walls. I came back and trained them with the hammer and spear, and I stood in front of them with my own strength. Back then regular bandits were all we had to worry about. Besides, we'd gotten used to machines rolling through telling us we could be friends if we did favors for them." He forces himself to sit up, angling his back on the wall to make the process easier so he could get a better look at Kor. "Why is this...integration so important?"

[Jadetarem]

"The world is constructed. This the Omega know. How and why, we do not know. But there are two possibilities." Kor paused, entirely for effect. "Either it was built by one or more of the species living upon it, or it was not. In the first case, then the knowledge was lost, and those living upon it can be provably greater than they are. More importantly, they can solve problems that occur on the ring directly as a matter of course and survival. Three moons exploded recently. Celestial calamity is not outside the realm of possibility."

"Alternatively, it was constructed by some other, higher species - and if that is the case, then we are at best their idle project, and at worst subject to the whims of a force we cannot hope to contest until such a time as we can equal them in knowledge and might. The Omega do not distinguish between one species and another beyond academic interest. They are all inhabitants of the ring, and must all be brought forward. Progress in civilization, in technology, in society... it is a matter of life and death. Ours and yours. That is our belief, and it informs our every decision. It is our suspicion, though we have less evidence of this, that we do not have limitless time to accomplish this goal."

"So... integration, by the word or by the sword. Such is our way."

[BladeofOblivion]

"It was hard to miss.", he conceded, regarding the moons. "That's a lot to take in, and sounds like a long view. I can understand a long view, even if not with such...scope. I built walls so that my grandchildren might be safe from the weather, not...that. So...you think these raiders might have mastered part of the world itself?" He sounded surprisingly credulous.

[Jadetarem]

"We will soon find out." With that, Kor lapsed into silence.

[BladeofOblivion]

Robert does too, ruminating as he grimaces. Seconds turn to minutes, then to hours again. Darkness falls, until eventually a faint glow comes from above along with footsteps - someone opens the hatch, coming down. A very short man, barely over a meter in height, bearded, tattooed, and bald atop his head. He's carrying a lantern, and bag of what smells of moldy grain. Animal feed?

"How's the bilges tonight, heh?" he asks in a heavily accented but surprisingly understandable rendition of trade tongue. Robert doesn't seem to understand him, but glares. "Just remembered ye were down here. Won't fetch much of a price in Cryin' Coves if'n ya starve, though that scrapheap might."

[Jadetarem]

Kor remained completely motionless. In fact, he had been motionless the whole time. He made no effort to interact with the bald man, hoping Robert would catch on to his attempts to appear inactive.

[BladeofOblivion]

The pirate failed to notice, and Robert did not give him away. He simply stared, disgust warring with pragmatism on his face as he did not reply; whether he did not understand the pirate or did not wish to give him the satisfaction, Kor could not be certain. The dwarf eventually grew tired of the staring contest and threw some of the foul grain at the injured commander, who did not strike back. Seemingly bored, the newcomer tossed the bag to the ground and made to leave.

[Jadetarem]

Kor allowed the diminutive sailor to leave. With the hatch shut, Kor's 'face' lit up again. "Valuable information, assuming he was telling the truth."

[BladeofOblivion]

The hatch clicked shut, and as the foe walked away with his lantern the bilges returned to darkness.

"What, that I've been confused for a hen?" Robert whispered back, finally betraying a little anger and humiliation at this treatment now that the target wasn't here to see it. "Or...do you actually know what he said? How do you figure?" He wipes the mess of grain from his face and body.

[Jadetarem]

"He spoke in a trade tongue known to the Omega. The pirate confessed, in mocking and sarcastic fashion, to negligence in your care, and heavily implied that we are bound for a place called 'Crying Coves,' where we are apparently to be sold. I for scrap, and you, presumably, into slavery." Despite the heinous nature of the described treatment, Kor's tone is more thoughtful than outraged. "Hm. I have no knowledge of our captors beyond what they came to our shores with, but if they retreated with the full remnants of their forces, then they are still a flotilla with several viable ships, each full of combat-ready pirates. Even if we were to overpower them, I do not believe we could make a successful escape - a single errant shot could sink us in the middle of the ocean, and we do not know where we are - fatal in a foreign sea."

Another pause. "However, upon arrival and sale at the Crying Coves, we will be handed to slavers and salvagers, far less accustomed to battle. It would behoove us not to become broken, literally or metaphorically, which means staging an escape from the Coves themselves and not the point beyond. I can attain the element of surprise by revealing my active state at an opportune moment, but the chance of success increases if you join me."

The blue face tracked across Robert's form. "Your wounds begin to fester. I can sterilize them, though the process will be exceedingly painful. Worse, it will reveal that I am capable of movement and indeed wielding the elemental fire again. Is there anything in here that we could use to fashion rudimentary clothing for you?"

 

Edited July 8, 2023 by Jadetarem (see edit history)

[BladeofOblivion]

Robert grimaces, but slowly nods, eyes shooting to the bag of grain silhouetted in the darkness. "Yes, that...could work. I've seen it done. And you beat that Gillman. Together..." He reaches for the bag of meal and dumps it out, starting to tear strips. "This grain is wretched. Maybe poison."