I WANT YOU TO JOIN ME IN A MYSTERY RESCUE MISSION!

[om_nom_namur]

[Sometime around mid-month, a text message goes out to the general public.]

WANTED

Adventurers strong enough to brave the high seas
Doctors, healers, and those inclined to render aid to the suffering
A worthy crew
Explorers
Those inclined to solve mysteries

Interested Parties Report to The Maelstrom at Fayren Harbor
Anchor Weighs at Dawn June 20

*~*~*~*

[Dawn at the Docks - June 20]

[In spite of the early hour, Fayren Harbor is bustling with activity as the darkness thins. Fishermen who've been out all night rush to bring their fresh catch to the market, while others who will be out all day race to be the first out to sea, and first to the best fishing spots. At the far end of the harbor an enormous clipper towers above the everyday ships, drawing a crowd of gawpers who, after being yelled at a few times by the workers hurriedly trying to load her, have the decency to stand back and let those who look to be on official business move freely. At the top of the gangplank a man with a clipboard hurriedly checks lists and directs those bringing cargo aboard, while an oversized, burly man with blue skin and shark features watches, balancing in a crouch on top of the rail. Though he isn't saying much, there's an air of authority about him. For any wishing to enlist, the fishman would seem a good person to talk to.]

[Fair Winds - June 20-21]

[When the supplies for the expedition are loaded and the tide is nearing its peak, Namur hollers for all hands to gather on deck for a quick briefing, the sun beginning to crest the horizon and make the sails glow as he speaks.]

A'ight y'all, thank y' for answerin' the call t' come an' help. We got a whole colony a folks that's gone missin', an' I ain't gonna lie, I ain't got any idea what we's gonna be in for once we reach the island. No one's been able t' get there since they gone, or at the very least ain't no one bothered comin' back, an' folks is worried they mighta met a dreadful end if y' catch my drift. This voyage's gonna be dangerous, but I know we's up t' the challenge. Whatever quarrels y' got with each other, leave 'em on these shores, cuz from now on 'til we make it back we's all on the same team, workin' for the same goal. Watch each other's back, keep each other safe. If we do that, there ain't nothin' that's gonna keep us from hittin' our target.

When we get there, there might be folk that's sick, or maybe they don't want us botherin' 'em, or maybe somethin's already botherin' 'em an' they'll need our help gettin' rid a the pest. We done our best t' have somethin' ready for everthin' we could think of, but that don't mean we thought a everthin', so look sharp an' keep yer wits 'boutcha! Any kinda weird shit make sure t' report it t' somebody, preferably me or one a my kin. Enchantments an' curses ain't outta the question here, so if y' see somethin' strange, say somethin'. Easy as that.

Meantime, I 'xpect all them that knows their knots t' make theirselves useful gettin' this ol' girl t' run. The rest a y's gonna make yerselves useful in the galley, keepin' shit clean, an' learnin' the ropes. Don't wanna hear no bitchin' 'bout chores, we's all gonna be doin' 'em, so don't even start! Don't be stealin' each other's shit, an' definitely don't be showin' yerself for a shitty traitor. Them's the rules! Don't like 'em, get yer ass off the ship!

All that said now, let's get this baby out t' sea 'fore we lose our tide!

[There's plenty to do, both in getting the Maelstrom away, and in keeping her plunging dauntless through the open waters. Keeping sails trim, keeping the decks clean, keeping the crew fed. And plenty of opportunities to get to know the other members of the crew a little better. Namur will encourage those that don't know how to sail to learn from someone who does. It'd be a shame if all the experienced sailors became incapacitated without passing on at least the basics.]

[The Storm - June 22]

[There'd been some good cloud cover the day they set out from Fayren, enough to mottle the sea with sun and shade and provide a strong wind to speed their rescue mission. But the further from shore they ventured, the thicker the clouds became, and soon the experienced sailors would likely find themselves watching the sky with trepidation. Distant thunder rolls over the waves, until suddenly and without warning the wind abruptly shifts direction, and the distant storm bears down on the clipper with astonishing ferocity. Namur screams to be heard above the wind whistling through the shrouds.]

ALL HANDS ON DECK! GET YER ASSES TIED T' THE SHIP AN' GET THEM SAILS STOWED NOW! THIS AIN'T A JOKE OR REQUEST!

Comments

[om_nom_namur]

[Lord of the Sea, Ted's locked up tighter than the boys down in Impel Down, and really that's saying something. But saying something rarely helps, these days, so Namur just grunts and lays his jaw on the edge of the crow's nest. He doesn't know what to say, but he did promise he'd be there when Ted hit rock bottom. Since Namur doesn't really know if Ted's sunk that low he settles for just being there regardless, wordless but present. If Ted can't handle the silence, he can break it himself.]

[youfool]

[Not rock bottom; not yet. He thinks that'll come later, perhaps after some revelation from and about the world.

Now isn't so bad, if only because there's a small glimmer of hope that things may not go the worst way. That he won't have to become a complete outcast to the world. That this wouldn't be among the last times he could freely speak to another, face-to-face. Lord, he hopes not, for he's certainly not taking much advantage.

It is Ted, after all. He'll always wish to talk. But talk is dangerous, and what sort of wretch would he be to endanger another? He's done far too much of that.

The silence stretched further, and he was surprised that Namur was still there. Had everyone...no, some still waked and walked on deck. Surely they'd make for livelier conversation. Why doesn't he go to them? Through flawless deduction, Ted figures Namur wants to say something of his own, lacking only invitation.]

...All's well on your end?

[om_nom_namur]

Well 'nuff.

[He chuckles.]

Miss this a hell of a lot more'n I realized. Ain't got any idea what's on the other side a glass, but it does get old bein' stuck in the fishbowl. Think 's all like what we saw 'fore, when the barriers went down? A whole world a desolation? Or's that jus' here, an' there's more out there? Like folk that's real an' not...

[Namur scrubs his hand over the back of his head, getting a headache.]

Think I'm gettin' my worlds confused. I's 'bout t' call these'ns robots, but they's differnt from before, I think. Or if they is then they programmed 'em better. Ain't nobody said nothin' ever 'bout a buncha blokes called Flamines, aye? Weirdass lookin' dudes obsessed with masks? Or CERES?

[youfool]

Mostly the former; perhaps a little of the latter.

[Given what, or rather, who's outside, worldwide ruin isn't incredible. But the spirits said their world was the most successful "of its kind", implying there were other greenhouses of life in a globe of death. Solemn thought.

Ted found it a little strange that, thinking the NPCs unreal, Namur would take the trouble to retrieve them. Did he just want the excuse to sail? Not so unusual if so.

He shook his head.]

Not that I've heard, unless another's past is like yours. Seems all particular to your history.

[om_nom_namur]

[Namur grumbles a bit under his breath, resettling his head on his arms.]

Well, that's hopeful, then. Wound up gettin' sprung from that fishbowl once, but the planet was poisonous an' 'bout killed us all after a few days. 'Magine slowly chokin' on yer own air cuz y' can't get quite 'nuff a it. Water weren't no better. Made a the wrong shit, or somethin'. Tch!

[He waves a hand.]

Good riddance t' that shit. Only good thing come outta that place's meetin' Rip.

[youfool]

[Lying at the base of the crow's nest in the middle of the night, Ted's glad their eyes don't meet, lest they betray a sentiment like "agree to disagree." That sounded so scant. Man spends who knows how long in a world, and the only positive thing about it is one single person? That he's currently cheating on with another, no less. He hopes that's exaggeration.]

You've probably said before,

[And it's troubling he can't remember; his head's usually clearer than this.]

but what was the point of all that, again? They wanted you to save their world, or something grand like that? Were your efforts successful?

[If anything's stranger than themselves in Genessia, it's how so many come with memories of having done something eerily like this before; some combination of tourism and altruism.]

Lord knows what masks had to do with it.

[Though they remind him of the carnival and all its association.]

[om_nom_namur]

[It was just that shitty a place. And he's not cheating, their relationship is just different from selfish humans' ability to understand. Lord of the Sea.]

Save all the universes in existence, but mostly theirs, aye. Said them masky shits'd destroyed everwhere else but Tellus, an' they made digital copies a us t' help fight 'em. Bastard robot deleted me once. So I flipped him off an' laughed at him while my body disappeared. Was funny cuz he acted all high an' mighty like none a us could touch him but I caught a nerve, sheheheh! Woke up a bit later, somebody'd seen fit t' code me up 'gain. So here I am! Code or a body or... Hell if I know. Don't know how it all shook out either. Genessia scooped me up 'fore I could find out.

Think the masks was so the Flamines would talk t' us. Think Ceres weren't on the up an' up if y' catch what I'm divin' at. Sometimes I wonder if folks figured out too much so they shut us down a spell an' put us on a new server or some shit an' that's all this is. More secure so there's less glitchin' an' less info gettin' out.

But maybe not. Maybe that whole bit 'bout the Flamines ain't happened yet. Or maybe they's full a whaleshit an' they ain't destroyed everthin' after all. I'unno.

Why y' askin'?

[youfool]

[If "different" meant "wrong", Ted would be the devil. Once he hears that explanation, Ted finally gets back into the practice of laughter. Not much of one; it could've been mistaken for coughing. But the proffered reason is so gargantuan and absurd, he couldn't do otherwise.]

Hah. Haha. Was that all? Well, we yet draw breath. Seems it worked out.

[And here he thought his own dreams of saving the world were melodramatic. These Flamines or CERES or whomever wanted to save not just the universe, but every universe in existence. The ones out of existence, presumably, could pound sand. Though he knows Namur's sincere, he can't believe it. It's too much. That momentary comedic trill ended, he subsides back into his usual quiet.]

Just...looking for parallels and patterns. Can't find any too significant.

[Similarities, sure. Being a savior armed or composed of artificiality. Nothing he can use though.]