The Cliffs of Insanity
From FiranMUX
The Liberator Trireme - Main Deck
The deck of this trireme is made of solid planks of wood, carefully
crafted together to be seaworthy, though like all decks on vessels
such as this, they require constant scrubbing to keep clean. The sides
of the ship have been freshly painted with a variety of colourful
symbols, one for each clan, one for the Republic, and one for the
liberated city of Ellish. In the farground, the figurehead of an angry
Zin can be seen at the front of the vessel, seemingly made of solid
gold, with eyes of finest sapphire. A skeleton crew exists below deck,
but they are under orders not to interact with any of the 'newcomers'.
They are here strictly to man the oars.
Contents:
Mamoon
Srenni
Zutani
Aeryk
Sabria
amphora
yarrow tea
6 meat
Black Hex, the large hound
Obvious exits:
Cliffs of Insanity <CI> Below Deck <BD> Officer's Quarters <OQ>
Sabria is lounging on the deck. Yes, she's trying to tan or grow freckles. She'd prefer to grow freckles but she's likely burning instead of either.
Zutani is lingering at the amphora, nibbling on some bisque. At the name of the cliff, she just shakes her head and walks towards a crate to sit for the duration of the trip there.
"Oh. Delightful." Aeryk is positioned next to the railing, his fingers clutched onto the railing with a touch of uncertainty. Stupid numbness, residual as it is. Still, he's perched close to the edge and staring ahead with every appearance of interest.
Davonos, who was already dark to start with, is looking somewhat darker, but not noticably so. He leans against the railing near Aeryk, frowning faintly out at the water. "Sounds like a nice place."
"It's quite nice," Mamoon delivers deadpan, spinning around a bit. "Oh no, seems one of the captain's officers is seasick. Still though, we need an anti-captain. Last one got the boot." He squints at the non-aligned. "Who is it gonna be?"
Cliffs of Insanity? Oh my. Srenni strides over to Aeryk, tipping her hat to him. "Stormborn. How are you?" She scans the three crew members, pressing her lips together.
"I will put myself up for it," says Davonos after a moment, dark eyes still narrowed at the horizon. "Seeing as Gem-Booty is not present."
"I am well, if still suffering some light after-effects of last night's revelry. And how are you, Runagate?" These pleasantries passed, Aeryk turns his attention to the deck rather to the water. He nods at Davonos. "Good."
"Ah. About the same," Srenni replies, watching the other three. She nods and murmurs something to Aeryk after Davonos volunteers.
Aeryk murmurs back readily, his arms folding, hands unlatched from the railing. Zutani isn't volunteering for the anti-captain's position. She gives a nod to Davonos when he speaks up for the position.
"The Dull Hatchet is the only volunteer?" Mamoon seems contended by this, and he nods his head gruffly. "Then you'll pick your first team-mate. There's only one officer on deck so you only get one pick to start."
Sabria hears things and lazily stands up and stretches. She nods as Davanos goes for the anti-captain.
The boat, meanwhile, anchors at the side of a rather large islet - well, as large as such a tiny island can be - but most of its size is... Upward. A huge expanse of cliff-face can be seen, dominating the foreground.
Aeryk lets his breath out as he looks up. "Alas." That's all he has to say. *Firan* "Stabbing Sabs," says Davonos after a moment, and he finally pushes away from the railing to draw in a deep breath and squint at the others.
Zutani looks up to the cliff and up some more. "Oh my," she says softly, her eyes widening. *Firan*
"Stabby, go join the hatchet. Fitting in a way, I think." Mamoon nods, squinting at Srenni. "Captain, who will you take on your team?"
Sabria nods and then heads over to Davanos as he's picked her.
Srenni lofts a brow. "It need not be even, then?" She questions, glancing over at Aeryk and the -- lack of Marsalos and Gemma both. *Firan*
Mamoon squints, as if only now having counted the number of pirates on board. He scratches his head in a senile way before, "Hmm. I guess you're right. Small teams, ain't they? Well lass, you sit out." He nods to Flint. "Unless somebody shows up late, see?" *Firan*
Without another word, he tumbles out.
The Cliffs of Insanity Island
The dramatic entrance to this island is a 100 foot bluff, the slick
rock wall a deep hue of red. There are handholds and footholds to
climb, but it doesn't look easy - as the cliff gets higher, the
handholds are fewer. the footholds thinner. Yet the top, the top
appears smooth, almost as a flat plain, full of grasses and soft sand.
There are holes dug here and there, as the small animals living on
this island are fond of digging and burrowing. It is a large island,
and all the ways on are treacherous. By night, the light is dim,
making it even more difficult to navigate the cliff.
Mamoon surveys the vast cliff ahead of them, anchored as they are at the very bottom of the island's impressive surface. "You will be climbing this gigantic cliff - and it will be no easy task! The key lays ahead in a rodent hole at the top, and the chest is a mere few yards away - it is simple... If you can make it up!" He grins, almost malevolently, before adding. "There are three levels of difficulty here. First, make it up the easy part. OOC: Both teams will roll twice and pose once, muscle+climbing at 6, 20 successes needed." *Firan*
Mamoon says "When I say go! Get ready!" *Firan*
"I do object to this excessive amount of cliffs," Aeryk states half under his breath, flexes his fingers, and steels himself.
Zutani quietly stands there and watch with her gaze moving towards the cliff every so often.
Davonos eyes the cliffs. He does not look very happy about them, and his shoulders are still a little sore from the last round of them, if his slow attempt at a stretch is any indication.
Sabria nods as she gets ready. "Next time, I bring a griffon." *Firan*
Mamoon says "GO!" *Firan*
"Well, we'd better get up quickly, then," SRenni replies dryly to Aeryk. She's the only non-pilot climbing, isn't she?
"That would be nice," Davonos echoes Sabria, and then he is climbing.
@check muscle + climbing at 6 Ren's team: 13 succs Davy's team: 5 succs
"I intend to. Would that we'd had time for that climbing lesson." And up Aeryk goes.
Well, when I said climbing, what I meant was Davonos gets about a foot off the ground, loses his grip, and falls on his butt. Grumbling to himself, he pushes up after that, and puts some effort into it, hustling to make up for his somewhat uninspiring start.
Perhaps Aeryk's terribly discouraging performance the other day fuels his performance today. He's hand over handing himself up the cliff with strong arms, his fingers finding holds and hauling the rest of him up, and again, and again. Really, remarkably well, surprisingly. He's even allowing himself a tight smile through his concentration.
Sabria is climbing but not as fast as the other team. She's trying to be careful as it's a long way down.
Srenni /launches/ herself up that cliff. If the night before weren't a display of her climbing skills, this certainly is. She does not call back to Aeryk -- or ahead, as he passes her slightly. Instead she keeps her jaw set, an occasional grunt making its way out as she hauls herself up.
The captain's team, both members, shoot ahead of the opposition from the outset. But the climbing gets much harder later on, and this is still just the first leg of this gigantic journey upward.
@check muscle + climbing at 6 Ren's team: 13+8=21 succs Davy's team: 5+7=12 succs
Sabria is still slowly moving up the cliff. It's slow going as she looks for the safest way up.
Davonos continues on at a steadier pace, keeping his head down as much as he can so that he doesn't have to stare up at Aeryk and Srenni's butts up above. He is mostly quiet for now, save for the scrabble and scatter of bits of disturbed rock skating down the portion of the cliff he's already scaled.
Aeryk is now keeping pace with his captain, hand over hand. He shoots far ahead in the first stretch, and then moderates himself to something more careful. The smile has faded. It's a long way down and he's not trained at all for this. Not that this is stopping him. Onward.
The captain and her first mate have crested the first portion of the cliff, and so their journey will get harder - and the failures will hurt more, as it is a longer way down. You'll be doing endurance+climbing at 8, 10 successes needed. 2 rolls and a pose. 2nd team, you have 8 more successes to go to meet them.
Srenni gets a little caught up somewhere along the way, but she frees herself again and continues to fly up the face of the cliff. They're ripping up this cliff face.
@check muscle + climbing at 6 Davy's team: 12+7=19 succs @check endurance + climbing at 8 Ren's team: 9 succs
"Nearly...to the next part," Davonos grunts over at Sabria, one eye squinted against a bit of dust kicked down from above. "All of this climbing is very unfortunate."
Sabria keeps busy climbing and gets a bit further this time than she had been.
Srenni continues to fly up the cliff. To a point. And then she's stuck again. She ends up having to move /sideways/ across the cliff face, nearly missing the foothold and then climbing up again. A little slower.
Aeryk crawls on ahead, his ascent almost as confident and regular as the last one, for all that he's very aware of the increased risk. His fingers are possessed by luck, finding chinks in the rock even as Aeryk draws a serious sweat. A little further.
@check muscle + climbing at 6 Davy's team: 19+4=23 succs @check endurance + climbing at 8 Ren's team: 9+2=11 succs
The next bit of the cliff-face before Srenni and her mate is a hard one to slog - the fingers are doubtless alternately burning and numb, and the sheer absence of hand-holds makes this whole venture an exercise of mental strength, rather than physical. Still, the bluff is just ahead... Willpower+Climbing at 9, 10 successes.
Srenni struggles. Really. She chose the wrong path up the cliff face, and this makes her reverse or go to the side before heading back up. To the point that the person she is supposed to be /teaching/ is surpassing her. Good thing her body was already numb from the whiskey, at least, eyes staring up the rest of the cliff-face.
Davonos forces his way on up without slowing down /too/ much. He grunts, already breaking a bit of a sweat himself, and hefts himself on to the next level of difficulty.
Aeryk has managed to make it this far. And well. But as he looks up and high up, at that, with the typical handholds gone, and his arms tired and lax at his sides, he draws out a laugh. "I really, really wish we had managed that lesson." *Firan*
Sabria looks to the next part of the cliff and then to Davonos. "Ready?" *Firan*
@check endurance + climbing at 8 Davy's team: 4 succs @check willpower + climbing at 9 Ren's team: 2 succs
Aeryk's palms flatten against the cliff-face, but he can't seem to make it further than that. He doesn't fall. This is the extent of his accomplishment.
"Yes," says Davonos after a moment taken to crane his head back up at the cliff face. "We cannot just stay here, after all." It takes him a moment to find a place to start up -- perhaps a moment too long, but then he's moving, legs still providing most of his power.
Srenni hesitates at first. Who wouldn't? Not quite as long as Aeryk, though, as she slowly begins to pull herself up. Is she sane? Perhaps not.
Sabria keeps her climbing and does what she can to move closer to the summit. "I. Hate. Climbing." *Firan*
@check endurance + climbing at 8 Davy's team: 4+2=6 succs @check willpower + climbing at 9 Ren's team: 2+2=4 succs
Aeryk's palm crawls upward. And then his other. And inch by inch, inch by further inch, he ascends. Toes of his boots are pushing against the face, his fingers are clenched. He regulates his breath tight. A little further.
Srenni inches up that cliff. ALMOST THERE. Not really! Maybe...nearly half way. Don't look down. She grits her teeth and groans as she pulls herself up. Slowly.
Sabria finds a spot where she's not going any further. She frowns and grits her teeth and tries once more.
Aeryk does whisper-hiss a quick prayer as he clings to the side of the mountain.
Mamoon stares up at the group, now looking like a much tinier man far down on the beach. "Meet ya up there! I know a shortcut." He cackles at himself, and runs off - shortly after to appear at the cliff's top, peering over. *Firan*
"Why the feck didn't we look for anything?" Srenni manages to grunt out to Aeryk. Oh. Praying. Good idea. She hisses a prayer at the rock in front of her.
Davonos keeps on making steady progress, until...he doesn't. He reaches a difficult patch, and just looks a little blank for a minute before he tries to edge sideways until a better position. "I am...not a fan of climbing either." He scowls when Mamoon cackles. SCOWLS. *Firan*
@check endurance + climbing at 8 Davy's team: 6+3=9 succs @check willpower + climbing at 9 Ren's team: 4+0=4 succs
Davonos is going sideways for a good amount of time before he finally finds another grip to jam his hand into, and pushes one step upwards. Then another. "Nearly there." *Firan*
Oh my. Seems whoever it was didn't like that prayer. Not. At. All. Srenni loses her grip and slides down the face! She digs her fingers and toes in, and eventually stops, though a bad bruise is appearing on her forearm. But she is silent, below Aeryk.
"Captain!" Aeryk barks, far as he can bark, being rather short of breath at the moment. He can only mark her still moving below him obliquely, but that has to be enough. He inches a little bit further up. But only a little.
Davonos freezes a bit when Srenni goes scraping down the side, eyes round until she catches hold again, and he forces himself to focus.
@check endurance + climbing at 8 Davy's team: 9+2=11 succs @check willpower + climbing at 9 Ren's team: 4+3=7 succs
After -- trying to regain her composure, Srenni starts inching up the cliff face again. She manages to breath out, "I'm fine, Stormborn. Keep going." Her body shakes slightly with the effort to scale the wall.
Sabria gets to the top of this part and takes a breath momentarily. "More climbing." She frowns and asks "Are you ok, Captain?" *Firan* Despite going approximately nowhere, Davonos manages to make it to the third leg shortly after Sabria does. Panting heavily now, he swallows against the dust in his throat and tries to steel himself for the next leg. "We have made it this far."
Aeryk inches a little further, as if spurred on by the reassurance of the permission. Not much further. "I think - I believe. The top." He means that they must be close. His breath is coming cramped now. *Firan*
@check willpower + climbing at 9 Ren's team: 7+1=8 succs Davy's team: 2 succs
Aeryk can't go any further. His fingers are white-tense against the rock, his feet are frozen against the stone, and he's still breathing hard. In a moment.
Davonos gets his hands in there, and pushes up a bit slowly, and also a bit shakily, teeth grit and brows knit. He has fallen back into silence.
Mamoon yawns. "Get up here, ya lazy city-slickers!" *Firan*
Sabria moves slowly across this part of the rock. Just don't look down. Oh wait, she's a pilot so she's not scared of heights.
Srenni stops, to take a breather. That bruise is really starting to bother her, and she closes her eyes. When she opens them, she does /not/ look down. She is /not/ a pilot, even if she's been flown to drop-off points before. And then, slowly, she begins pulling herself up again.
@check willpower + climbing at 9 Ren's team: 8+2=10 succs Davy's team: 2+1=3 succs
Slow and steady. Davonos the City Slicker makes limited progress. Very limited.
Sabria appears to be stuck and needs to move forward. She holds off on praying as she knows the teammate isn't likely to be asking Lady Uf for help.
Once the leading pair make it up to the top of the bluff, they notice that it is peppered with all sorts of rodent holes. Mamoon shouts too-loudly, "Ya ain't done yet! Find the key!" He points to the holes. Lovely! Perception + Attention at 8, 1 roll per round. 10 needed. Each round/person is a new rat-hole.
Aeryk plants his palms, takes in a deeper breath, and makes his way up the rest of the cliff face. He hardly knows how, everything diluted through his exhaustion-numbed senses. Numbed enough that he slips and bangs his body hard against the cliff-face, and has to almost mindlessly crawl up that portion again. Okay.
Srenni pullllls herself up. And over the cliffside. And she lies near it, for a moment, before peeking over the edge for Aeryk. "I'm up!" She calls and -- damn, he's slipping. "Just a little further!" She's shaking slightly from the effort, muscles sore. Oh, key. *Firan*
@check willpower + climbing at 9 Davy's team: 3+4=7 succs @check perception + attention at 8 Ren's team: 4 succs
Aeryk manages the last up-haul and wheezes through his nose before he finds his feet and takes in the new situation. "All right." He tackles rat-hole the first, peering in, scuffing in with the flats of his fingers. It's a bit clumsy, but efficient enough. Still catching breath. *Firan*
Srenni stumbles a little towards the holes, legs trying to wake up, and then she falls to her knees. Easier that way, anyhow. Here keykeykey. She feels around one hole after another.
Sabria keeps climbing slowly. "The bad part is after we get up. ----- have to get down." *Firan*
Davonos grimaces, and pushes up once, and then twice, hands gripping hard at the rock, only to find that he's temporarily run out of grips to climb with.
@check willpower + climbing at 9 Davy's team: 7+4=11 succs @check perception + attention at 8 Ren's team: 4-1=3 succs
Aeryk sticks in his hand, only to have a rat scurry up his arm and bite him heartily in the neck before leaping away. "Uf above, my luck is running a bit dry," he mutters, not concealing an edge of pain. Oh. It's probably more than an edge. *Firan*
Srenni roots around the holes. Or. Maybe she doesn't. She squeezes her eyes shut, rubbing her arm, and then back to looking. And then distracted by Aeryk getting /bitten/. Great.
Sabria makes it to the top of the mountain. She blinks as she sees all the holes and starts checking the holes. Her eyes narrow to see if she can tell which ones are inhabited. "These rodents don't have monkey pox fever -- they?" *Firan*
Mamoon shrugs.
Davonos finally gets over. FINALLY. Sweaty and smeared with dust, Davonos pants and gasps a little, but is quick to smother it when he sees how close the others still are. He is a Hydran and all. "I hope not. I do not care for diseased animals." *Firan*
@check perception + attention at 8 Ren's team: 3+3=6 succs Davy's team: 3 succs
Sabria moves to check one of the holes and frowns. "Nope, no key." She then moves to another hole a bit tired as she has spent all that time climbing. *Firan*
Srenni looks up as the others catch up, and that spurs her to check holes again. Just a little faster. "Come on /key/," she murmurs, ignoring the pain in her limbs. *Firan*
Aeryk is a little less excited to jut his hand into holes, now, but we do what must be done. Aeryk does wince one eye shut as his fingers clutch, again, around nothing.
Davonos follows Srenni's example and hits his knees to jam his hand down into a rat hole. "One day a volcano. The next, rat burrows." *Firan*
@check perception + attention at 8 Ren's team: 6+4=10 succs Davy's team: 3+4=7 succs
With key in hand, the goal is clear - the team must race toward the chest some yards away. Willpower+Agility at 8, 10 successes. 1 roll per round.
Davonos is not moving very quickly at all. There is something unsavory about being up to your elbow in a rat's home, perhaps. But he jams his hand down into another burrow all the same, only to find nothing.
Blood is trickling with slow persistence down Aeryk's neck, which is a rather off-putting state of being. But then Aeryk's fingers find purchase, and it isn't on fur. He draws his hand out and holds the key up. "Captain!" And he starts off at a dart.
Srenni keeps checking holes at the pace she was going. Luckily, no rats have found her appetizing. "Good /job/, Stormborn." He found the key! She -- drags herself to her feet. And it's time to run towards the chest. Hopefully. *Firan*
Sabria hears they have a key and keeps checking. There is usually more than one. "Don't step in a -----" *Firan*
@check perception + attention at 8 Davy's team: 7+3=10 succs @check willpower + agility at 8 Ren's team: 4 succs
The spirit is willing, the flesh is totally and completely worn out. As Srenni darts ahead, Aeryk trips and face-plants. He'll scramble back up in a moment.
Srenni tears down the -- whatever they're running across. A beach? A field? Who cares? RUN RUNAGATE RUN.
"Got it," says Davonos gruffly, who has finally gotten into it, and has his left hand down one hole and his right groping about another when he finally rolls back up onto his heels and straightens. "Come on!" And...he takes off running, with a lot of ground to cover in Srenni's wake.
It's a flat plateau filled with rodent-holes.
Sabria starts to look and hears that Dav has it. "Careful." She dodges a hole or two as she starts to run. *Firan*
A flat plateau filled with rodent-holes, then! Somehow, Srenni doesn't trip in any of them!
@check willpower + agility at 8 Ren's team: 4+5=9 succs Davy's team: 3 succs
Aeryk finds his feet and finds them with gusto. He rushes behind his captain with all intent of closing the distance to her, and increasing the distance from the competitors.
Srenni realizes there are holes in the ground! Someone behind her mentioned to be careful and she looked down. This, perhaps, slows her down. Just a little. Almost there!
Davonos bounds off, leaping over holes when he encounters them. Covered in sweaty grit and breathing hard, it has to be mostly willpower driving him on at this point.
Sabria is dumb enough to not watch and steps in a hole or on top of a burrow but she doesn't fall. She gris her teeth and tries to move her foot out of the dirt.
@check willpower + agility at 8 Ren's team: 9+0=9 succs Davy's team: 3+2=5 succs
Sabria gets to a slow start still and manages to get a little closer. "Come on, we can do this." She tries to encourage Dav. *Firan*
Spirit, willing, flesh, totally worn out. Aeryk may have ceased face-planting, but he's come to an exhausted, if apologetic, stop behind Srenni. Wheeze. Wheeze. /Further/ wheeze.
Davonos slows a bit when his breathing peters into a wheeze, and he nearly catches a boot tip into a hole. "Yes," he agrees with Sabria, voice hoarse. "We will get there." *Firan*
Srenni ...stumbles. Seriously. IT'S SO CLOSE. And her body just... does not want to move anymore. "NO!" Is she alright? In the head? "Keep moving!" *Firan*
@check willpower + agility at 8 Ren's team: 9+0=9 succs Davy's team: 5+6=11 succs
Nope. Srenni's body does not want to move. Despite her orders to move.
Aeryk makes an attempt at pushing himself forward again. And falls. Just - plops.
With a final burst of speed, Sabria manages to cover a little more ground. She's nearly at the chest.
Davonos likewise bolts ahead at Sabria's side, their joint encouragement apparently being of some benefit to both of their spirits. How special!
Mamoon watches with excitement as... Is that the opposition team pulling off a win? "Captain Ren's reign is over! Give up the hat, give up the hat! And the immunity that comes with it, aye. Good fight though, good fight. I bet that climb was tough." He snickers. *Firan*
Srenni drags herself back to her feet. Out of a hole. And pulls the hat from her head, holding it towards Davonos. She doesn't...seem particularly upset about /that/. More about her /body/ giving up.
Aeryk pulls himself, filthy, wounded, and failed to a kneeling position. He, also, does not seem upset, glarey, or otherwise aggressive toward the opposition. He does seem self-disappointed, but the sag on his shoulders could be due to accumulated injury and pushing himself well beyond expected capacities.
Mamoon whispers instructions to Davonos and pulls away.
Sabria is at the chest but her aqua eyes turn to scan the plateau. She frowns and heads toward the other two, taking bandages from her backpack. "I can not heal people, ---- animals." *Firan*
Srenni murmurs something to Davonos as she passes over the hat, then goes to -- sit. Joining Aeryk on the ground. "Good run, Stormborn. Apologies for letting you down." *Firan*
"No, the apologies are mine," Aeryk states, low, as he accepts the bandages from Sabria with a rather limp nod. "I was not prepared for the climb. Had I been better prepared, you and I would have been less exhausted at the end." With that, he takes an edge of the bandage between his teeth and pulls the cloth taut before applying it.
Davonos is slow to speak, apparently at little stunned at this turn of events. He nods very slowly when Mamoon speaks to him, and his eyes go to Srenni, and then to the ground. "Ren will be my first officer. As for the other...Stormborn." *Firan*
Mamoon tells everyone blithely, "Captain Dull Hatchet will select two officers..." He nods to the choices. "Those two. And now that's your new leadership. The rest of you are up for the vote." *Firan*
Mamoon adds, "And you're the only ones who /can/ vote. So pick. From among the four who are left. *Firan*
Sabria turns to listen to Davonos and just nods as she listens.
The breastplate must swing off to allow for bandage application, but there it is, and here's his breastplate resecured. Aeryk takes a still ragged breath. "I am - honored."
Zutani snuck up using Mamoon's shortcut. Since she's sitting out of this event, she has no intentions of climbing that monstrosity. None whatsoever. Reaching the top, she walks over to the others. "Do I have to vote as well?" she asks. *Firan*
Mamoon nods to Zutani. "You do. Whisper it to me." He points at Sabria too. *Firan*
Sabria seems reluctant as it appears Sabria does not wish to make this vote. She seems rather torn by it.
Mamoon stamps his foot impatiently.
Srenni rubs at her arms, then blinks up at Davonos. Huh. No stay below deck for her still. "Thank you, Captain," she offers gruffly, voice slightly strained. "I will serve you as well I can." *Firan*
Mamoon gasps in feigned-shock. "A TIE! Which means the officers and captain get to cast their ballot. One was thrown for Stabbing Sabs, and the other for Mad Mars the Magenta Malestrom. For whom will you three vote?" *Firan*
Still breathing quite hard himself, Davonos looks...very odd with a pirate hat sitting on his head over the dirty cyan and white of his leather armor. He nods to Srenni and Aeryk, and lifts a hand to rub what dirt he can off of his face, only to hesitate a little at Mamoon's words.
Srenni drags herself back up to her feet, and strides over to Mamoon, strength and dignity slowly coming back. She murmurs something to pirate, then goes back to stand by Davonos, her captain.
Aeryk glances at Sabria, his expression taking on that quiet, weighing aspect. He murmurs to Srenni, and then to Davonos.
This murmur finished, Aeryk approaches Mamoon with hesitant, pain hitched strides.
A few quick, quiet words are exchanged with Srenni and Aeryk, and Davonos frowns to himself. Then he too approaches Mamoon, not looking entirely happy with himself as he moves.
Mamoon waits, staring at Davonos. When he hears the result he announces solemnly, "With four votes total, the pirate who will be returning home tonight is Stabbin' Sabs. With only one vote, Mad Mars is safe, as are the rest with 0. I am sad to see you go, Stabby. I have enjoyed your presence here." *Firan*
Sabria nods to Mamoon. "I enjoyed being here." She looks to Davonos, "Would you like the healing supplies I have -- Mad Mars can heal the ---------" *Firan*
Mamoon moves a few paces away from the spot where the chest lays, and there one can see the steep path downward. But they have not yet opened the prize, and so he pauses, watching.
Aeryk bows a slight, uncomfortable bow in Sabria's direction. "I will also miss your presence, Stabbin'. If the griffons will be glad for your return. I am sorry." *Firan*
"That would be kind of you," says Davonos, who nods to Sabria and steps forward to whisper something to her, still frowning faintly to himself. "I will see that he gets them."
Sabria looks to Aeryk and then grins, "It -- no hard feelings. I do need to get home to -- cubs. I spent too much time apart from them -- the war." She then looks, "There -- no hard feelings at all and I wish you all the luck." *Firan*
Zutani gives Sabria an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry," she says sincerely. "It was good to have met you. Safe trip back to Anarinuell." *Firan*
"Good work, Stabbin' Sabs," Srenni calls over, her hand combing through her short black hair. Her head is uncovered, for once, and no hairpins to be seen.
"I - could I ask a small favor of you?" Aeryk's usual classist aloof manner is dampened by the embarrassment of being at all responsible for the woman's leaving. "If you could - inform Commander Tagda of where I am when you return? I quite neglected to. She is probably quite wrathful."
Sabria ahems before nodding, "You are ------ --- is --- I am no longer in the air ------ - will send a message -- inform her." *Firan*
The look on Davonos's face when he collects the healing supplies and turns away to move back for the chest is very distinctly one of naked guilt, while he thinks no one is looking. But once the supplies are tucked away, he takes the key, and kneels next to the chest.
Aeryk cants his head and notes, quietly, "I did not quite - catch all of that. I am sorry. I do know you are not of the Air Force and it is rather out of your way. But I much appreciate it. I will return to my duties post haste when I return." *Firan*
Sabria nods "Commander ----- is why I left the air force." *Firan*
"Ah." That is quiet and simple from Aeryk. "Well. If she is wrathful, it will be with me, not you." With that, he's turning his attention to the chest, initially obliquely - and then directly. "That is - sub-stantial. Rather."
Sabria turns and looks at the chest. Her mouth falls open as she's never seen that kind of stenis before in all of her life. "Even a tenth of that would feed my cubs for months." *Firan*
Mamoon grunts at the contents of the chest and then makes his way back down the road toward the ship.
Sabria looks around once more to see if there are any birds before she takes the canoe back home.
Davonos straightens to peer down into the chest with a look that is simultaneously appreciative and quite blank. He is going to have to do math. Then he looks back up to Sabria, draws in a deep breath, and sets to scooping them up to take them back up onto the ship.
Aeryk folds his hands behind his back, watching Sabria - watching.
There appears to be a grouse on the path leading out...
Once the stenis are collected, Davonos straightens and also watches, guilt shifting over into curiosity.
Sabria moves over and looks at the grouse. She studies it for a few minutes and decides to try to domesticate it.
Sabria gets grouse to come to her. It flies through the area, eventually perching on Sabria's shoulder.
Aeryk has canted his head just a little farther to mark the bird with a quiet, if not excessive, fascination, the same quiet fascination accorded for all birds - and as the grouse lands on Sabria's shoulder, he smiles.
Sabria is a happy Uffian as she manages to get the bird to come perch on her shoulder. "I think I am ready to go home now." She looks to the bird, "Do you wish -- see the ----- We have a river or two if you wish to hunt fish." *Firan*
Srenni, too, watches after Sabria. But she remains near Davonos, waiting to see whatever it is he intends to do. She murmurs, "Interesting." But otherwise she waits. *Firan*
Mamoon leads Sabria down the long path toward home. "Everyone else come back to the ship as well. It gets... Bitey up here at night." *Firan*
Davonos looks relieved more than anything when the bird lands on her shoulder. "Very," he echoes Srenni, voice low in its earnest fascination. But then he turns to follow Mamoon. He's had enough pain for one day. *Firan*
"I would prefer to avoid further bites - a fine bird, Sabria," Aeryk finally voices as he draws back toward the officer contingent.
The Liberator Trireme - Main Deck
The deck of this trireme is made of solid planks of wood, carefully
crafted together to be seaworthy, though like all decks on vessels
such as this, they require constant scrubbing to keep clean. The sides
of the ship have been freshly painted with a variety of colourful
symbols, one for each clan, one for the Republic, and one for the
liberated city of Ellish. In the farground, the figurehead of an angry
Zin can be seen at the front of the vessel, seemingly made of solid
gold, with eyes of finest sapphire. A skeleton crew exists below deck,
but they are under orders not to interact with any of the 'newcomers'.
They are here strictly to man the oars.
Aeryk fiddles with the flaps of his backpack and fiddles within, only to quickly discover he brought no bandages. Hello a bit more self-disgust. Ah well. Heal fast.
Zutani goes pick up a cup of yarrow tea for herself and goes over to sit down at the crate to study the cliff from the ship. Better view from here or something.
As Sabria loads herself into the canoe and is lowered down into the ocean, on her way home, Mamoon smiles wistfully at her, and then moves on his way into the shadows whence he came earlier tonight.
Davonos ducks quickly on into the officer's quarters, and further beyond that to relieve himself of the stenis before he returns.
Srenni leans on the railing, exhaling slowly. Rest. "Captain. Have you any rules for the crew?" she asks quietly. She'd had ones about no-fighting and such, afterall. *Firan*
Zutani sips her tea as she looks between Srenni and Davonos.
Aeryk double-checks his chest. It is still there. He settles by the railing, then, flexing his fingers in and out, in and out. At least he's finally breathing near normally.
"I...ah." Davonos opens his mouth, and closes it again. "Your rules were good ones, though I do not mind fighting so long as it is for a good reason, and both parties are sober. I would also like everyone to stay alert, if that makes sense. Stay well fed, and keep your weapons within reach, if you brought them."
Aeryk clears his throat from the edge and slants the wannest of half-smiles. "Runagate. I really - must obtain the climbing instruction from you." *Firan*
Srenni dips a nod to Davonos, replying, "Understood." And then she murmurs something to the newly-minted captain. Her eyebrows climb her forehead at Aeryk's address. A faint grin makes its way across her face briefly, and she rubs at her arms for a moment. Wake up. "Alright. There's the rigging, perhaps -- or the cliff again." What a dark joke. *Firan*
