The Unknown: A Game of Fear, Ignorance, and Adventure

[Kaboose the Moose]

"That was most certainly odd!" Raven spoke as his eyes followed the painted elf's form till it disappeared below deck. The explorers were on edge, one did not have to be a mage to make such an observation. The death of Feron, followed by the the theft of Mark's personal items were clear indicators that someone on board had a will against the expedition or at least it's participants.

Raven pondered about a ship wide search. It certainly was the best approach to find the stolen item, but as the dwarf Alexis pointed out, there was no guarantee that the thief would have stashed the loot in his room or even on board the ship. He stroked his beard in a thoughtful manner before speaking up,


"I have no objections to a ship wide search, but I must insist that either myself or Captain Grummond be allowed to search my own room. The reason, in case you were wondering, is because it is quite evident that someone here does not value the sense of personal property. As such I will be quite uncomfortable at the thought of such a person going through my personal items." he paused to adjust his hat

"I honestly doubt if a ship wide search would even be possible right now given that there are those who do not consent to it. As far as my opinion goes I suggest you report this incident to the captain so that he will be made aware of the situation and appropriate action can be taken. Besides, once the captain issues an order you would have to be a fool to not heed it"

 

[Saskwach]

Jonas sighed with great frustration. Leading men into battle was never this hard. Oh, for a score or Merdalan men-at-arms. A simple suggestion to calm the crew had resulted in more accusations and counter-accusations. It seemed he was on an expedition with a company as willful as asses. This was all taking precious time, the time he needed elsewhere...

"Enough! Raven, I thank you for that kind offer. Your room will be searched second by me, with you overseeing my every move. I'm sure one hand isn't hard to follow for a man such as you."

Jonas grimaced, and met Raven's eye for a moment.

"My room will be the first. Anyone may accompany me - as many as can see from outside the door. Raven will search and I will oversee. We will repeat this process - an impartial searcher and the cabin's owner observing - until we get to the bottom of this. I hope the fairness of the search will inspire trust in those who value their privacy so highly."

With that, he traipsed off downwards, to his cabin. There were several people in tow. His room wasn't far, but then nothing was on a ship. He entered, opened the door wide, and nodded at Raven.

"Your move, master magician."

 

[Kaboose the Moose]

Raven stood besides the door frame and peered into the small cabin for a second before speaking to Jonas.

"I am hardly qualified to search people's rooms but if this is indeed you choice then I shall assist you, but know that I can only assess the room and it's contents from what I see or what I am made to see. Magic would not help me locate concealed items that I have had no contact with, so do not judge my conclusion as a final word"

He paused to look at the crowd behind him and then back at Jonas,

"So if there are no objections, master Jonas, would lead the way into the cabin?"

The pair stepped into the small wooden quarters that each explorer was given, the room was no bigger than his own, it even had the same layout as his. Raven began by first making a visual sweep of the room, identifying places where someone could stash something in secret. As he made his rounds one fact was becoming apparent; if someone had indeed decided on housing the stolen item in ones own room then they would be hard pressed to find a suitable place to stash and retrieve said item no matter how small it was, for the rooms were almost bare for any discernible hiding spots. The walls were smooth, the space between the floorboards were too small to stash and retrieve a picture, there were no evident compartments concealed anywhere that could be seen with the naked eye. There was nothing stored under Jonas's bunk except for his luggage bags, and the only other items in the room were the porthole which opened out to sea, a chest and a small table on the near wall and a sink on the far wall.

Raven looked at Jonas, "I'm going to have to go through your luggage and the chest" he said.
Jonas nodded and hovered over the mage as he began carefully unpacking the bags. Nothing out of the ordinary was found. Raven moved onto the chest as Jonas unlocked it. Books, letters and other personal items were all that he managed to find from within the trunk, nothing that remotely looked like a portrait of Mark's wife.

Raven finally stood up, it had taken over 45 minutes but there was nothing more that this room was going to tell him. Not unless he had to tear the walls and floor apart splinter by splinter, but he doubted that Grummond or the crew would agree to that approach. Raven sighed as he and Jonas made his way out of the room to the waiting crowd.

"The room is clean, I could not find any evidence that portraits or anything that Mark described had ever been stashed in the room, if it somehow was, it's not there now!. Still, I do not expect my word to carry weight, which is why I suggest that a senior member of the crew or at least someone assigned by a senior member of the crew, conduct the search. Right now, I cannot yield anything definitive unless I was asked to pull the ship apart. Something I would not recommend doing while sill on open waters"

Raven stretched his limbs suddenly, "All that searching has made me hungry. I'm going to head down to the galley and grab myself an apple or two. If you need me again, you'll know where to find me!" he bowed and waved goodbye to the explorers as he walked off.

"Oh an by the way!" he paused mid step and spun around. "Perhaps some of us saw or heard something that might be of value to this investigation?. We were quick to form alibis and accusations but none of us took the time to ask the other if they saw or heard anything suspicious during or before the attack. Just a suggestion is all!" with that he nodded again and stepped onto the main deck away from the explorers.

 

[Caimekaze]

"Might I ask why you do not wish for your room to be searched?"

"My room is my only piece of privacy on this ship. I do not wish that to be intruded on. I know this casts me in a suspicious light, a fact that I regret, but there really is nothing I can do about it. I can not allow you to search my room."

The boy followed the searchers below the deck, admiring Raven's talented observational skills. When the man returned to the deck, Keil chose to follow him.

"That was rather impressive. You have quite the eye for detail. I noticed before when you saw that the man was missing a finger. Is it magic, or something else?" The boy chuckled a little, at something that wouldn't be apparent to an observer. "I have always had a... knack for spotting things others miss. Maybe you are just like me?"

 

[Zemalac]

"Heave, and ho!"

The final pirate body sailed over the rail like a battered sack, falling limply to the water below. Deslock brushed his hands off on his coat and turned to the sailor he had been working with. They gave each other professional nods, the sailor spat over the rail, and then they went about their own business.

Deslock joined the captain at the ship's wheel, where Grummond had just managed to get all the blood off the woodwork.

"There we go," said the captain, looking at the wheel with a satisfied air. "Looking good as new."

"It's a bit darker than before, isn't it?" Deslock asked, peering at the wood. "I don't think those bloodstains are going to come out."

"Who cares?" Grummond said, tossing the rag he'd been using to the deck. "As long as I can grip it without my hands slipping on pirate blood everything is fine."

They stopped talking for a moment, gazing out over the water at the far banks of the river.

"Next time we're not taking the Ferios," Grummond said finally.

"Come on," Deslock replied. "We didn't even lose anyone."

"Yes, we did, "Grummond corrected him. "One of my sailors lost a leg to a flayer bolt. Not much use to me now, is he? Now I have to give him a bag of casualty pay and put him off in Tyb and find a replacement for him as well as poor Feron."

Deslock shrugged. "No plan is perfect," was all he said.

The deadline for secret actions has now passed. I'll be running them for the rest of today and possibly Monday--I don't think I'll be home tomorrow, so this may take a little longer than expected.

RE: Searches: You have something of a choice to make. If you want to have players search players' rooms, like Raven just did with Jonas, that will take longer but be more thorough. If you have an NPC search through everyone's rooms--say, Deslock or someone--that will be a lot faster but be much less thorough. Either way don't just tell me what you decide, roleplay the decision.

 

[Flying-Emu]

Disregard.

 

[Kaboose the Moose]

The wind swirled about to greet him as he stepped onto the main deck, the cloth sails and the fore staysail bulged as they caught the rushing air which propelled the mighty ship along the river at a reasonably fast pace. The pirate corpses on the deck had been disposed of by Deslock and the crew, in fact if it wasn't for the occasional bloodstains and scorch marks that were scattered throughout, no one would guess that a bloody battle had ensued just moments ago.

Raven paused to stare off into the horizon; the Ferios was calm and silent on its journey, the shoreline of the pirate islands had faded into the background and only clear waters loomed ahead, far off into the distance he could see smoke rising into the sky, the smoke from houses, from civilization. Undoubtedly Tyb was nearby but not near enough for the everyone on board.

"That was rather impressive. You have quite the eye for detail. I noticed before when you saw that the man was missing a finger. Is it magic, or something else?"

Raven turned to find Keil standing behind him.

"Master Keil!, this is indeed a surprise" the wizard began with a genuine look of shock on his face

"I would have expected you to take more of an active interest with the search on this ship considering how rapidly unsafe things seem to be getting. Then again you have made your reasons clear and I am not one to judge, but it seems odd that you are hampering the process to what is essentially your own safety. Is there by any chance anything you are not telling us Master Keil?. I do not expect you to answer that right away but if you know of something...anything regarding the mysterious activities on board, it would be of great use to the crew and the others.

Well anyway, until you decide I shall answer your question" he said looking at the man straight in his eyes.

"My observational skills are not greater than anyone else's on board this ship, it has nothing to do with magic whatsoever. It is just calculated observation. I have spent much my youth wanting to be an explorer and an archeologist so I used to bury myself with the principles of scientific study; observing, interpreting data, drawing up inferences at a very early age. My skills were only complimented when I found myself at the academy learning magic but that set of skills goes hand in hand with that of observation, they are by no means controlled by one another.

Magic is only the medium through which I can chose to act, it does not hold sway on all my actions. Does this answer you master Keil?"

 

[Dragonearl]

Alexis watched Keil follow Raven out the crew quarter deck. Something about Keil didn't sit right with him. He seems awfully agitated and I only saw him for a brief moment on the deck Alexis made a mental note to question Keil later.

Perhaps some of us saw or heard something that might be of value to this investigation?. We were quick to form alibis and accusations but none of us took the time to ask the other if they saw or heard anything suspicious during or before the attack. Just a suggestion is all!

Raven's words rang in Alexis's mind, "That mage is right, personally, I didn't really notice anything odd happening. Well, maybe not odd but I didn't recall seeing Jakob at all during the whole fight with the pirates and that guy Keil, he showed up pretty late I think!" Alexis looked at the people around him before walking up to Mareck.

"Well if rooms are going to be searched I'd rather have a dwarf search mine rather than let an elf or a human go nuts in my room, what say you friend?"

 

[Zombie_Fish]

"Well if rooms are going to be searched I'd rather have a dwarf search mine rather than let an elf or a human go nuts in my room, what say you friend?"

Mareck turned to Alexis. This was a statement he considered for a few seconds, before deciding it justified a response from him. He paused for a few more seconds, thinking about what to say before answering the question.

"Well, personally, I wouldn't want anyone searching my room anyway, but if I have to have my room searched, I want it to be from someone I can trust. And I probably trust the dwarves on this ship more than anyone else, especially the elves." He said, glancing at those around him.

"Also, I would like myself to be in the room during the search. I don't want to risk any stealing from my cabin, not even if one of my own kind searches it." He turned to Alexis.

"What do you think about that suggestion?"

 

[Flying-Emu]

Spoiler: You'll have to excuse me but...

I haven't been posting because I feel that I have little to contribute. Do not think I have abandoned you all.

 

[Caimekaze]

"Is there by any chance something you're not telling us, Master Keil?"

Keil chuckled. "You could say that. But then, does not everyone have their secrets? Mine are very personal. They are not related to the expedition, nor the current affairs, so I do not want anyone to know them.
Hence, I do not want anyone in my room.

Besides, something bothers me about Mark's story. Who would deliberately steal only the picture of his wife? From what I have heard, his room was trashed and a picture stolen. What would that accomplish? The vandal accomplished his job, I assumed. Room trashed and message scrawled. If he was to steal something, why not steal something more fiscally valuable?

These are just thoughts that I've been dwelling over. There could be more, or less, to this story than we know."

He sighed in frustration.

"I do not like this invasion of people's privacy."

The boy slumped a little. He quickly recovered, looking back up at the mage with a grin. "Thank you for clearing up about your searching talent. It is rather similar to my own, I have decided. Note taken in regards to the magic. It is a tool you use, not you."

With that parting word, Keil bowed, turned and headed back downstairs.

 

[Saskwach]

Jonas, even flushed with success, was already tired of this constant bickering. Could it really be this tiring, though?

"Who else will assent to having their room searched?" he called out, in a desperate attempt to carry forth the one proactive solution he could think of.

 

[Shapsters]

"You guys can search my room as much as you like! Go on in, search what you like." Derlan threw his hands in the air, "But I get to choose who searches my room, I don't want just anybody searching my room alright? I say I want that kid to do it, he seems plenty trustworthy, wont steal anything."

Derlan began looking around the deck for the boy, but he could not find him.

 

[Zemalac]

Deslock, now that he was paying attention to the conversation on the deck, was surprised at what he was hearing.

"Who else will assent to having their room searched?"

He descended to the deck without bothering to use the stairs, landing with a solid thud on the planking.

"So," he said, striding over to the largest collection of people, "what's all this about searching rooms?"

And so the paranoia begins. Dammit. I was hoping to get through one expedition without some bastard of a thief ruining it for everyone.

 

[Dastardos]

"Search my room, I don't give two fucks its already been searched and everything taken."

 

[MasterSqueak]

"Who else will assent to having their room searched?"

Marneus spoke up.

"I will allow my room to be searched as long as I may supervise it. Mark may search it himself if he wishes."

Deslock had noticed the conversation by this point, and joined it himself.

"So, what's all this about searching rooms?"

Marneus turned to Deslock, and told the story once again.

"During the battle, someone broke into Mark's room, drew a threat on the wall, and stole his possessions, his only picture of his wife among them."

 

[Saskwach]

Spoiler: Whoops

I hate to say it, but this room searching idea, whatever its worth, is bogging things down. Can we simply agree that the people who assented will have their rooms searched?

 

[Dragonrabbit]

Spoiler: Agreed

Yeah, room searches are killing everything. I suggest we follow what someone suggested earlier, have an NPC do it to those who allow it, then Dastardos reports.

Also, if anyone couldn't tell, stay out of Reeko's room. That is all.

 

[Kaboose the Moose]

Spoiler: Or...

Not to turn this into a OOC page but I think this would go down a whole lot faster if Dastardos just got a NPC and did the search himself (he is entitled to it after all). That way he can report if he finds anything in anyone's room, OR, we let the crew NPCs take care of the searches.

Spoiler: Oh and...

Congratz Zem!, you have created a game where everyone is so fracking paranoid that even in OOC they don't want rooms searched.

I just know your cackling somewhere in a corner plotting our demise, your evil that way!

 

[Dastardos]

Spoiler: Yeah

I'm bored of the room searching dialogue. I'm up for what Skarin suggested, and have Mark and another NPC search rooms and then Zemalac PM me saying what I found in each room, then let me report it to you.