[RPG] Sword and Sorcery Play-by-Post

[CJC]

(I'm handing control of KATRIEN to @mrz84 . If Zataka is the stalwart shield, let Katrien be your sword. She's an Aasimar pirate proficient in the scimitar. She's been sailing all of her life, and she's currently working for a rich client on the other side of the sea. She was hired to 'intercept' a shipment so that her client could write it off as an insurance loss.)

GM Text Here, why did they become pirates?

"We started as shipping merchants. I was determined to spare the girl her father's fate, so I refused to let her join the navy. But she's a spirited lass. It started innocently enough; sometimes clients would want us to transport cargo without a shipping manifest, particularly if they were moving valuable goods. But that quickly devolved into smuggling. We became a fence for thieves on the coast. Then one day... it was autumn, I think... we found a derelict ship drifting in the water. Katrien saw no harm in scavenging it for supplies. Then she found the map."
He shakes his head.
"No, that story's long and painful. Maybe I'll tell you someday."

GM TEXT HERE "what did she find that would alarm even a dragon like herself."

Three giant teeth, shattered, sticking out of the side of the boat. Each is easily as large as a cannon. The boat itself is torn to shreds, just like all of the others. Claw marks adorn the sides of the ship, big enough to imply the hand that made them is as large as a ship itself. A single silver scale, roughly as tall as Cecette, sits in the sand like a flag.
There are also footprints in the sand. They appear ampibian in nature, as large as a man's, and there are literally hundreds of them.

[CJC]

(GameMaster Veto)

Vetoed Item (in @Tamamo 's Post):

Spoiler: show

And then Cecette and I hear this D'Arsonius does as well.
"ALL DRAGONS COME TO ME! AND CECETTE BRING ME GRANBERIA ALIVE! AND MAKE SURE SHE HAS THE SACRED FANG! TONIGHT WE DINE IN HELL AND SHALL DECLARE WAR AGAINST D'ARSONIUS ONCE AND FOR ALL!"
A triumphant roar is heard across the world. And me and Cecette look at each other. "I think she is trying to either kill us, or actually make a deal with us."

Mean while in another dimension... "this is just tiamats heads talking to herself"
"Cecette has broken one of our commandments. RED"
"Yes, she must be punished. BLACK"
"Shall we send him WHITE?"
"No, that is not necessary GREEN, I see this ending tragically."
"Oh my WHITE! You're foresight is quite remarkable, that is why your a master of Divination."
"Want me to turn you into a ice block RED"
"No please don't! I just got new earrings too."
"Too bad."
the red head is frozen and slams against the ground.
"Idiot"
"Why do you hate her so much WHITE."
"Cause she turns this place into a raging inferno BLUE that's why, why don't you talk more often?"
"Cause I'm the quiet type. Wait this presence... Why are you here traitor."
"BECAUSE I DECIDED TO GIVE QUEENIE AN APPLE"
D'Arsonius tosses Queenie an apple which she vaporizes.
"You have guts showing your presence. What do you want?"
"I want to know if you still have my left eye, I want it back."
"And in return?"
"The one who released me dies."
"No Deal"
"Wrong Answer Bitch."
D'Arsonius grapples the necks and squeezes them between his arm.
"Who's your Daddy?"
"Your choking us, please release..."
"Who's your Daddy!"
D'Arsonius! I'm a bitch and D'Arsonius is my daddy.
"That's right. Drinking all that dragon blood made me twice as powerful as you. Could you imagine how easy it would be to break your neck"
"RELEASE ME NOW!"
"Fine..."
"He releases her and she drops to the floor breathing heavily."
"I'll be back for the eye later. I'm going to visit Orcus I think, he says he can control me with his magic. I think not."
"That dragon, needs to be dealt with, I shall not be treated as his play thing any longer."
"It's time to Declare War my sisters."

Tiamat is now LOCKED

Reason:
Dragons are humanoid in their own dimension.
As such, Tiamat (if present) would be a five-member council of the Big Fish, rather than a single organism.
Additionally--and spoilers here--D'Arsonius was working for them.

The ones that are occupying this dimension are refugees. It is the variation of physics between dimension that changes their appearance, and it is the fact that energy from the "dragon" dimension is more potent than that of this dimension that makes them so powerful. It also forces them to 'shed' some of that energy when they first pass through a tear, which is what causes the 'rehatching'.
What makes Dragonkin so deplored is that they are the children of dragons conceived and born in THIS dimension; without the energy of their home reality they are barely recognizable to their parents. This is why they are so despised, but also why they do not possess or require pearls.
As for the big fish calling out to all dragons, that isn't likely. They're only marginally aware of this dimension and most of the dragons currently occupying the world the game is set in are HIDING from the Big Fish and their regime.

So no go on this half of the post. The first part is fine, though.

[mrz84]

[From post 443] Zataka's observations and opinions.
Whatever did such horrible damage to the ship is not something we wish to trifle with, let alone encounter. Whatever did this will however pose the biggest threat to our survival from leaving this place.
I suggest we'd best try to avoid this beast for now.

[After leaving the harrowing discovery behind us] I sense an immense holy power. While the others return to camp, I make way to the source, ever cautious of the leviathan.

[mrz84]

[Response 1] If what you say is true, then we must act quickly before that happens.

[Response 2] It was no Demon Lord, though with the power he possessed it might as well have been one. The gods of my world themselves intervened before the battle went further. Had they not, I might not be here now and the terrifying power he possessed would have been turned to other worlds besides my own. Still, that is in the past. We must do what we can before its too late.

[After the hobgoblin] I rush back to the others as quickly as possible to warn them of what I have learned.

[TheDarkOne]

Sancireph:
I offer to accompany Zataka and whatever crew members choose to join him in search of supplies. I suggest we start by seeing is we can salvage anything from the crates in the wrecked ships...those that are intact, anyway. I ask Goldleaf if he will be coming, but he seems still too fatigued by the use of his staff. I suppose this might be why he doesn't use its power very often.

Goldleaf:
I hate to stay behind, but I am still weak from expending the energy to activate the staff. Unknown to anyone but me, the white light is only one of the staff's powers ((OOC: More of what staff can do may be revealed as the story progresses)). The last time I activated the staff, it took me a full 24 hours to recover my strength. I try to see if there is anything I can do to help the others who have stayed behind.
@Tamamo : Goldleaf overhears the conversation and believes that the cook's theory might have some merit. However, as Darkspace magic is not his specialty, he would not be the mage to try it.

EDIT: Sorry, posted this before I'd read through all pages, so this might be a little behind. I'll post an update once I get back up to speed.

[TheDarkOne]

Sancireph:
I agree to accompany Granberia and Zataka, in order to keep an eye on Cecette--despite everything that has happened I still do not trust her. I will stay close to her whenever possible, and at the first sign of any deception she will find my blades at her throat.

Goldleaf:
Still fatigued from using the staff, I lie down on any available bunk and try to sleep.

[CJC]

(Okay, this week has been a little crazy and I think it's left everybody just a touch sore. It was not my intention to aggravate anyone; I simply became confused because more happened than I expected. At the players' request, we will fast-forward to dusk back at the ship.)

==================================================
Rule Clarification:

ACTION: Game Pace
To avoid confusion in the future (particularly for the game master), please keep the following in mind:

1.) I am much more likely to miss a call to insert text at the center of a post than I am at the end of a post.

This doesn't mean I'm not reading your posts. By the contrary, I read every post during the week and then I read it again as I am writing the update.
Unfortunately when I'm sorting through the posts the second time, I frequently forget that there was information necessary in the post (as I take it as a whole).
As such, I encourage players to place a call for Game Master text at the end of a post, so that I can respond through action tennis instead of waiting until an update. This will benefit you as well, as the information you receive could influence how you wish the characters to react.
(As it is unfair for me to make this request without making a similar concession, there will no longer be calls for "Act Medias Res". Instead, when a scene requires additional clarification I will write in a flashback in the current update, which you may respond to just as any other scenario.)

2.) I read posts twice. If the post changes between my first and second reading I will become very muddled.

At the moment I realize there's no way for you as the players to know whether or not I have read a post. Starting with this update, I will edit the word (Read) into the bottom of posts I have examined already (as I have the unholy moderator power to do so).
I kindly ask that if you see this text at the bottom of one of your posts, please refrain from editing that post. I have likely already starting brainstorming what will happen and such an edit will confuse me.
(As a concession on my part to make this fair, I will not edit updates or Game Master responses at all once posted. I will--in my best effort--ensure that the update covers everything it needs to before it is posted. If I forget something, well, then it's a bummer on me; I'll try to fill it in later with action tennis.)

3.) I might need time to come up with a viable retort. Likewise, other players may need time to construct a response. Please refrain from double-posting.

When characters were distinguished by post it was okay to respond multiple times in a row. Since it has now been popularized to post actions for all of a player's characters simultaneously, I ask that before posting a second round of actions you allow at least one other player (or the game-master) to post. This may give you more material for your second post and may even change your plans completely.
(To make an equal sacrifice, I will refrain from surprise updates from here on out. Updates will only occur on the weekend, likely on a Friday or Saturday night. There will be no more Sunday or Tuesday updates interrupting the player interaction.)

==================================================

(Character limit exceeded, update will be in the next post)

[CJC]

@Tamamo @mrz84 @TheDarkOne

=====
@Search Party (Granberia, Cecette, Zataka, Katrien, and Sancireph)
Dusk falls over the grim ship graveyard known as GRAVEBLOSSOM GROTTO. One by one, the search party returns to the shattered remains of the KATRIEN'S GLORY.
With the sharply crossing shadows of the ship's tattered ruin dancing on the deck, the devastation of the explosion is even more apparent. You enter the cabin.
Each unloads their burden of salvaged supplies:
A few crab traps
A barrel of salted meats (What happened to the other one?)
Blood samples and a giant silver scale from some sea monster (yet to be identified)
A box of harpoons
A net
Some questionable weeds which look poisonous
and a music box, which is locked and seems to be retaining water.

=====
@Defense Party (Rose, Wallace, Goldleaf, and Jons)
During the course of the day, the defense party shared stories while working to salvage the remaining cannons. Thankfully Jons, the CANNONEER, was one of the crew to wash up and be rescued by the captain that morning.
Unfortunately there is no black powder left to actually load the cannons. Wallace--the one-armed chef--insists that simply setting them up outside the captain's cabin might be enough to scare off any other scavengers that could be lurking in this place. He also asserts that he can make more black powder if the ingredients can be salvaged from another wreck. He recommends that be a priority with the next day's search.
With the remaining portion of the day you gather blankets and potato sacks to use as pillows and bedrolls, since everyone will have to sleep in Katrien's cabin (it is the only fully intact portion of the ship).
The search party returns after a long day with a modest haul, but they bring grim news. The ship they searched was torn to pieces by some giant sea monster, and there's evidence of some kind of population of amphibious beings in the grotto. There was no direct encounter with these creatures, but the prints were fresh considering their location near the water.
Rose agrees to stand the night watch, since she is rested from the day and doesn't require much sleep.

=====
@Everyone
After a long day in this salty tropical prison, you've worked up quite an appetite. Wallace cooks some of the salted meat from the barrel and rations a portion to everyone. It's a little sparse considering all of the work you've done for the day. He also takes small amounts of the meat and baits the crab traps with them, tossing them into the water behind the KATRIEN'S GLORY.
You are free to ask for another portion if you wish, but be warned it might come with a lecture. Wallace seems prepared to have to stay here for an extended period of time, and his rationing will gradually sap your strength unless you can convince him supplies will become more plentiful.

=====
@Tamamo
Granberia,
You ask Cecette if she was able to discern anything from the teeth and the scale.
"Beats me. As far as I can tell it's a dragon scale, but I've never seen one that big. I certainly wasn't that big. But don't worry about it. As long as we stay near the center of the island, we should be fine."
As you sleep you have a flashback, standing on the spire with the princess. D'Arsonius is wrapped around the building. His scales are even more massive than the one you found on the beach. They're great tower shields of steel plating his body.
Odd... you don't remember being on the spire with the Princess. You were in the courtyard with her. You also note that D'Arsonius' eyes weren't red at the time... they were green. Was he not a vampire when he attacked?
You start to get a headache. Then you recall that many of the 'true' dragons borrowed magical practices from this reality. MATH MAGIC has the capacity to alter small details like this. Could he be casting even contained in the remaining pearls? Perhaps this is even how you came to drop them in the fight.
You are filled with a worrying sensation, as if a web of illusions is slowly snaring you.
Suddenly, Rose bursts into the room. It is just before dawn, and she is rambling about lurking frogs or some such thing. She insists on a call to arms.
You're still tired.
Will you fight?

Rose,
The dark of this ship graveyard is comforting to you. It has been quite a while since you've been to a place so tropical. Audamar is unseasonably cold year-round and Red's palace is frequently stormy, even when it is warm.
Strange, there's an ache when you think about her. Familiar, but not agonizing. Have you already begun to heal?
You look out into the grotto and watch as the various flowers bloom. Many of them seem to be nocturnal in nature, emitting gentle light from their petals and twisting towards the moon as they move. You turn your gaze upward.
The moon. Since the spirit of the hunt was torn from your body it hasn't had the same power. You used to draw such inspiration from the moonlight. Now, it is little more than a mirror, reflecting the harsh light of the sun and giving your skin a slight rash. You draw the cloak of darkness around you for protection.
Unfortunate, however, is the quiet. No crickets. No birds. This place really is a graveyard in the center of the ocean.
You take a sip from the blood sample Granberia collected earlier in the day. Suddenly, you feel as if you see something moving in the distance. You convince yourself it was just a shadow, adjusting to the changing light of the night.
Another sip. This time you feel something different. You look down at your hands and notice that you can see every vein in your body. You can watch the blood making its circuits in the arterial tubes, transporting the darkness of vampirism throughout your system. You blink, and your vision returns to normal.
You have absorbed powers such as these from other vampires in your travels, but this one's new. Could it be from the blood of the sea monster? But... you can tell it isn't vampire blood. So what is the cause of this?
More shifting in the dark. This time you are sure it is not an illusion. Focusing on your new sense, you see the throbbing hearts of hundreds of bodies, roughly the size of men, inching forward two by two towards your position.
You run inside to alert the others that an attack is imminent.
You've been standing watch all night. Still, you are invigorated by the power of the mysterious blood.
Will you fight?

=====
@mrz84
Zataka,
You're particularly frustrated about the rationing, since it was you who thought ahead to bring the barrels of salted meat in the first place. Still, you do your best to fall asleep despite the uncomfortable conditions of the situation, as you would be loathe to repeat another Audamar battle of ogres.
As you sleep, you dream of your wife Milani. Her amulet has been protecting you and it is the only memento of her you've brought on your journey. How long has it been since you were together? You wonder if perhaps your pursuit of the dark lord across dimensions has been foolish. Perhaps you should return home, so that you can be with her. Shaking your head, you strengthen your resolve. There's no guarantee your opponent hasn't fled into the multiverse, and if you were to abandon your pursuit he could easily return to your world and wreak vengeance on those who designed his defeat.
Your thoughts drift to the pendant. Earlier, before the fight with the two-headed dragon, it had frozen to your chest. But it was more than that.
It had frozen INTO your chest. Your sternum was turning to ice. You're no magician but you wonder if this is the bizarre physics of this dimension slowly seeping into your body. Could you be transforming into some sort of ELEMENTAL? If so, why did D'Arsonius's body counteract the process? Could it be because he, too, is a dimensional traveler? The idea fills you with concern; it would mean you need to hunt other dimension-walkers to retain your physical integrity. What's worse, the very magic you channel and the very magic which protects you might be accelerating the process.
You do not have more time to ponder this, however, as Rose bursts into the room. She's talking about an army of frog people encroaching on the ship.
It is nearly dawn, and you feel somewhat rested.
Will you fight?

Katrien did not sleep during the night, as she worried for her remaining crew and wanted to protect them. She may fight, but she is exhausted.
Will she fight?

=====
@TheDarkOne
Sancireph,
Cecette was a perfect lady during the scavenging. She even risked her life swimming into the wrecked crab boat for supplies. Still, you can't help but get a bad vibe from her. She feels much like Telivar... there's something about her mannerisms that feel duplicitous.
Still... you were SORT OF wrong about Telivar, since it was his squirmy assistant who was growing the Wraithwood tree. But you want to be sure, so you wait until Cecette is asleep before you pick a bedroll and rest for the night.
You have a bizarre dream while you rest. You're standing next to a bath tub, filled with soapy bubbles and toy ships. Looking closely at them, you can see they are model ships... perfectly to scale. One looks like the crab boat you searched during the day. Actually... it has the same damage, too.
Before the dream can continue, you are awakened by the vampire ROSE, who storms in shouting about an army of frog men at your doorstep.
It is nearly dawn. Since you waited until Cecette was asleep before you went to bedroll, and since your REM was interrupted, you are still quite tired.
Will you fight?

Goldleaf,
You settle down on some of the bedding you prepared earlier in the day and begin to meditate, hoping that it will lead to a more restful sleep. The food has helped your fatigue in the use of the staff, but you are still feeling somewhat drained. You fall asleep easily, though. In fact, as far as you can tell you are the first to do so.
As you sleep, you dream about your staff. More specifically, you fixate on its origin. It is a memento from your teacher, the one who first showed you how to scry. You recall being warned that magic is a funny thing and branching into other fields would take years of practice. You've had such struggles in your approach to DARKSPACE, but when you attempted GOURMAND magic it came to you quite easily. Are there certain branches of magic which are easier to master in tandem than others? It could be like language. Magic is, after all, a language of the universe. In that case, similar magics could be classified into MAGIC FAMILIES. You wonder if someone has researched this in the past, and you resolve that the next time you're in civilization you'll seek the answer.
Your staff flashes and you are instantly awakened. You can sense danger nearby. Grabbing a bucket of water you make an ice mirror (as you frequently do) and you see the amphibious faces of some kind of frog men, dressed in the garb of sailors and wielding harpoons. Just as you are about to warn everyone of your vision, ROSE the VAMPIRE bursts into the cabin and shouts about the approaching attack.
It's nice to know your staff will warn you of such danger, but you wonder if you can't train to give it more advance notice.
You feel well rested.
Will you fight?

=====

EDIT: Oops, formatting error (I forgot mentions delete a line break). Nothing was changed in the text.

[Tamamo]

Granberia
I have a conversation with cecette, asking her why she is hanging with me which she tells me she doesn't know herself. I explain that the reason I saved her is that I have fallen for her, and force myself on her. At first she resist, but eventually accepts my advances explaining that we must keep our relationship a secret and eventually elope away from the others to spare them from Tiamats wrath, she may be just a council of 5 members in the Dragon Dimension, but she has many contacts both Western and Qin Dragons. She further explains that she didn't want to scare Zataka but the scale we found is an aquatic dragon most likely do to it being slimely. We enter the cabin and join the others.

@TheDarkOne
Opportunity "Since you're keeping an eye on CECETTE"
------
You may choose to spy on the scene above but it may have negative consequences if you get caught. "Game Master determines if I catch you"
-----
After awaking from my nightmare in a bloody sweat Cecette glances over at me and asks me if I am alright?
"No, I won't be until I know he's been destroyed."

I look over at Zataka after hearing the news from Rose.
"I hope you've been practicing your sword magic like I recommended. We've got so much wood on this island from wrecked ships we're gonna have one hell of a party together you and me. Shall we go and give them a taste of the good old flame and wood meal combo at our new location?" I say with a wink.

@mrz84
Action Tennis
------
Does Zataka decide to come and join my cookout?
-----


Rose
I don't like this I tell myself barely keeping myself from falling over, I take to my mist form and head back silently to the camp to warn the other's of my discovery and that the blood sample has seemed to have negative and positive effects on me somehow and needs to be tossed. I fall down and hit my head, passing out, when I come to I am in a cot with a chair next to me. The others except those truly concerned have left at this point.

Wallace: "You look worst for ware. Care for a drink?"
I smile at him.
W:"Are you trying to turn yourself into a vampire or perhaps a dhampir?"
"We need to purify your blood Rose, if we don't you will turn to dust."
"Alright, but don't blame me if I accidentally turn you into an undead abomination like me."
I move his arm towards my mouth and bite my fangs into it letting the blood flow into my mouth. He winces as I drink 12 fluid ounces.
Rose:"Thanks, been a while since I had something from the vein."
"You can choose if you turn or not?"
R:"Yup, it was an accidental discovery actually. If my will power is high enough I can prevent the venom from entering your body."
W:"You are a very interesting girl Rose, you know that."
I giggle at the complement.
R:"So are you, I mean an interesting man."
W:"Thanks, I think. Get some sleep. I'll watch after you girl."
I smile at him and dose off, and have a dream.

GM Text Boxes
-----
What do I dream about?

Rose,
As you dream, you find yourself walking through a forest. You see a man. He is vaguely familiar but you cannot recognize his face. He is far ahead of you, barely a shadow in the dusk of the trees. As you run, your boots clog up with mud, forbidding you to keep pace with the man.
You try to focus on him and get a better view. He is a not a stranger, but rather a phantom from your past. As far as you can tell, the figure is that of your father.
As you stare at him you note that the silhouette is twisting, reshaping, until he takes the form of Wallace the chef. It's odd how a simple act of kindness can place someone in a family role.
You try to reach him, but you cannot keep pace. Looking down, you see that it is not mud which is globbing up on your boots, but clotting blood. It draws you down in a vortex. You reach out to Wallace but he continues onward into the woods, until his silhouette merges with the darkness.
As the pool of blood envelops you you jolt awake, terrified.

-----


@CJC Just to let you know my plans for Wallace is for him to become a father figure for rose not a romantic one. We already played the twilight saga route through Lady Carmilla Von Redmon who has developed a Yandere complex because of me turning my back on her. Also Lime boxes are for you to fill in. Also check the pink text and make sure you approve of me doing that. :)

@Tamamo: I figured as much, since he's also working as a paternal influence for Katrien.

I added notes to keep track of who was talking for when I write the update (these notes are in lime).
I'll quote the green sections of this post in action tennis, and I'll edit the responses into this post after I have written them.

(Read 10-10-15)
-C

[TheDarkOne]

Sancireph,:
I draw mt blades and rush out of the cabin. I size up the situtation, judging their numbers against ours (those of who choose to fight) quickly before deciding on a plan of attack.

Goldleaf:
Now back up to full strength, I gather up my staff and head out of the cabin. My spells are fresh in my mind and I know a few that are very effective against amphibians like these frogmen. I also have one other option--not magic, but is only to be used as a last resort (will be mentioned if and when it is needed).

GM text needed for Sancireph's observations.

Sancireph,
You quickly assess the battlefield. There are roughly fifteen frogmen in sight, approaching slowly and utilizing the ruined ship scrap as cover. They look like a scouting party; no doubt they noticed the arrival of the Katrien's Glory in the grotto the previous day and they are assessing the threat.
A show of force may be more effective than a slaughter here... it would convince them you are a threat and might make them more cautious in the future. ...Or, they'll decide you're too dangerous a rival and send a massive attack force next time.
You note that each is wielding roughly identical equipment. They are unarmored, wearing only sailors clothes they likely scavenged from other ships. It's also unlikely they have any magical force to speak of, as you'd suspect a wizard would dress differently from the others. There's something about magic users that draws them to gaudy blue moons, after all. Zataka makes a good point, though. They could very easily have more forces hiding below the surface of the water.
So... a demonstration or a slaughter? Which would be the better approach?

(Read 10-10-15)
-C