Game #18 “fruit moon and open waves”

Well been a done good day here on backport, I do quite love the warmer climate of the shell, and the fruit moon festival, little less my style but that’s just fine. Me and Jared went down to the dock yards and after asking some Ardent folks working on a few outriders we went and found this bigger guy, real tall Ardent, he be named Balador, well Jared did himself a bit of the talk and we got our cargo of mushroom traded in for a repair on the saws of the ship and he got a good deal of engine parts for us to trade with as well for more cargo on the journey, plus a good bit of scratch to be spending, he went off and I stayed behind to do some talk with thems and all the others round the docks. I told him bout all the stories and seasons I had been on the sea, the things I have seen and done and well I do darn say just how much life I have lived, and we talk for a good few hours, him not much to speaker type but the listening one and he eventually liked me enough he offered myself a deal I say, told me to talk to the boys and get some work done on the ship, so I spent the lot of the time work helping them, we got some more walls put in the rooms, made our rooms individual and added some nice furnishing and the like, real good, and while it was pricey, cost me all the scratch I had in my pockets, I still think we got a good deal. But that’s just what my day was about, see the rest of the crew they got up to stuff that’s for sure, way more than my ol self saw. They say when they went into the main area they got covered in colored die and the like, Thari in a light blue, Nori got some orange on her, Slick with a deep red and captain Jared in a bit of green. Seems part the tradition I well think, but as for what they all did done do, Thari spoke to a Tzelicrae women who make wind chines and other sound makers, so she spent a good deal and make her own set of em, providing such a nice gentle sound on the ship. She also brought these nice colorful flowers onto the ship, blue ones with yellow like spots, they is making a nice glow at night, and she also got these cute white ones, I heard they call them messenger trumpets, strange name for a flower but I don’t make names, I just use em. As for Chef Nori, they went out looking for more food, talked to a Ardent who made this thick stir-fry Sause, they have not used it yet but oh it smelled nice just from the jar, real excited for that. She also got some mushrooms, the kind that Thari wanted for a tort, but the mushrooms was not the special bit, they say it was an Ektus who sold em, ok normal enough, but that an eight legged pink tentacle thingy was the one handing em out, called an “aktopus” or some sorts, I mean you always find strange things on the sea, even when you been out it for a while like me. They also shared this with me, they got the bark of the marwahra tree, to take the tea that Nori likes, trying to redeem themselves I think, I get it, they a good cook, but it makes me a good deal to forget how they wasted those beautiful mushrooms, I digress. Slick went out and on the hunt for bones, its odd I feel like he may be a wanting what he don’t have, and yeah I get it I don’t have “bones” myself much either but he really don’t have bones, well else the ones in his collection. Before that he got this mask, it looked like a slice of that red Mellon, kinda cool like but not as nice as the smile one he had, then he went to a Ketra bone exchange, which I heard about these and even been in one a few dozen seasons ago. It’s a deep and cultural thing, to take a bone of another into your self or to give a bone away, but he talked with a nice blue Ketra and got a few pointy teeth and he gave away one of his nice carving, shame to see it ago but those teeth do look quite fine. Jared didn’t buy as much, he played some games on the grassy patch, we seldom get to enjoy a steady and nonmoving grassy ground so I get the appeal to be simple. Also Roho and Blau got went to the bone exchange and just talked up, but Jawn did get some soap, good to use for cleaning and the like.

Now those thing were just the prelude to the main show style, they had a race, a running of the panthers as it was called. So a good race with, they said about two dozen people in the running, well two dozen people and to massive six legged panthers, and in my time, long before Jared I did fight those at one point, back when I was with my first crew and I still had that ol shot to my name before it all went down, but that’s the old days, these are new times. So back to what was said, they started off the race and you know it, Jared and Thari both smart ones, Jared used his rope talents to move along and pull himself, Thari did the same with her chains, a little more destructive but still good. But they also told me this Gau was kinda dog shaped and he was running fast alongside them, not all us can change our bodies like that but good are the ones that can. Slick was at the head of the main pack of runners, various Ektus, Ardent, Gau and the like. Nori, not much bult for speed decided to stay on the side and watch. They keep running, Jared still fast and steady with his ropes, Gau Dog close at his side, and by him a Mothryn using a glider like device was catching up in speed. Thari had been slowed down as one poor target with her chain and it tore the wood clean off a stand near by, Slick, who played to his strengths just pushed some people down in the crowd, not getting any more forward but setting others back. They continue to tumble forward, a flower-deer joins in mid race and runs alongside this Slender Ektus, Jared swings and with a pretty flourish gets the flying mothryn with his ropes, dragging them across the finish line as jumps high, Gau Dog a close second. Thari getting trampled a bit by her smaller size just goes over the crowd and runs on top of them to get to the finish, Slick while he does finish well, goes back for more of a challenge, he wanted something real, so he runs back and goes for the panther its self, two of thems at the end, and one had just torn a Ardent in half, said it was a gory mess of a thing, but that don’t stop Slick from getting in close and just going to punch the brute, so he goes up and Nori says that while the beast tried to spin slick around instead slick spun it around on to its stomach, then slick helped get the panther back into its cage at the finish line. The other tenders got the second panther and it all worked out. I do just wish I had seen this race, seemed like a grand old time. Jared won us a large carry of bananas which free cargo is always very nice, and the Gau got a good deal of apples which he gave away, take the charity, all nice to see another one of us doing the seas work out there. They group relaxed a bit into the night, Nori brought back from fruit wraps for me which was kind of them, they didn’t make dinner that night cause the rest got all kinda food stuff at the festival. And I worked on continuing to help a bit of the redecorating the ship. I heard Thari trying to sing up the song baled to a sad one, think its bought the guy who died.

Well next sunrise we set out onto the sea, towards Great tree, that big ol tree settlement now I been there a few times, and yes even up in the tree tops and the upper layers a bit. Slick was working on making more bone carving, guess he saw just how much his art skills be useful for, A group of tree walking Tzelicrae on sticks passed us, Jared saw em and so did I but I guess Slick were a bit preoccupied. But else that it’s a nice day, I work to do some adjustments and fixing of the boat, just little things to make it nicer, its really starting to feel like ours again. Nori and Thari were working in the kitchen again, trying hard to get the Tort, and they got it, it tastes nice but Thari seemed to be putting on a face, I don’t think they made the perfect one yet. I went to bade myself to sleep. Spring is loving the flowers and the space, running cute little circles and just smelling all the new stuff, such a nice little guy.

Dawn again, Jared manned the helm good like, Slick watched out and was able to see the threat ahead of time, he saw a couple of wings, large beast things but we cant tell much them, slowing us down a bit and alerting the whole of the ship we get ready, and good we did. I stayed below deck and kept us on course, engines happy and the like. Above they fought, Nori manned the lightning rail during the battle, Slick, Jared and Thari all were fighting around. Nori opened with a blast into the trees, revealing the face of one, called a gryphon, a large bird lion thing, strange creatures they is, and scary the lot of them. But, slick then came with his rock hammer and threw a shard at one, pissing it off. Two of the gryphons head onto deck and the fight breaks out, The lightning rail seems to only much disturb the feathers on the beasts, hurting them but not an outright kill, Nori and Jared got attacked, Jared uses his rope power to tie one up and keep it immobile, Nori having spring jump in the way of the claws and take some of it, oh the things we do to protect those we love. Thari attacks with her ghost sword at a close one, two more come out from the trees and now four gryphons are on deck, a mighty fight for any crew but these are some tough young guns. Slick comes up and hammers one gryphons head clean into the deck, getting its hard beak stuck in the wood. Nori also hits back with her cooking clever, slice and dice, a shower of feathers sprung out. Thari gets attacked by one from the air, picked up and started to be carried away, damaged antenna but Jared uses some rope to get her down without further harm. Nori screams at the one in the air “Down!” in a powerful voice, and the gryphons come crashing into the deck, seeming earth bound now, and charges straight at them. It misses as Thari moves around the lightning rail with ease to block the two near them. Slick continues to beat the one up near him, knocking it leg in despite its protect it is still stuck in the deck. The one beak stuck in tries to pull its self out and its claws get stuck, trapped by the very ship it tried to go for at this point, silly fool of a thing I say. Slick is thrown off balance a bit, I hearing the loud clattering and sounds at this point. Thari uses his sword to jump over the beak stuck one, getting it hurt a bit, her sword stuck in but them moving on its own will back to her, magical I hear. The one that was tied up breaks out and flies away before it can be begotten, screaming on its way out, a loud piercing pitch. Thari goes under the one stuck, slicing its underbelly and bring it closer yet to death. Nori stabs the one near like them, her tools doing a good work to try and save the meat quality. Slick hits a gryphon near him and Jared does the same, Jared using his rope skills jumps around the deck into better position and Slick follows up, trading places in a like. I hear this weird, distorted voice “No…” as they all say on of the gryphons said a word in low-sour, I am worried but it runs off and leaves, and the other ones follows suit. The last one on board, trapped in the deck, with Thari underneath, Nori comes along and with a quick squire kills its last force, dropping down in death, and on top of Thari they end this beast problem. But looking quite beat up themselves. Once Jared takes the wheel again the Ketra come and start to help tend the wounds, Spring is first priority as he has a gash and is missing some fur, the evening is spent getting into a workable state so they can continue to heal over the next few days. Nori gets her antenna fixed but also comes out onto deck with me for a bit to take in the air. Nori cooks up a simple soup, but something warm and easy is what we needed.

Next day, well we got stuck. So I was on break getting a snack when Jared said “I think I can skip over this” and a moment later said some vulgar things I wont be writing here, we could in fact not skip over it, a loud boom came with it, some explosion, which, don’t often come from the sea. The waves had a dent in them, and at the end of the hole was a bomb or something, it was just scraps and a dent in our copper now but something happened. We were stuck least of all, so we spent a good couple hours moving stuff to the aft side of the ship to try and balance out the weight. I helped a bit, but old age aint much for moving so Jared asked If I had some luck in me, I thought well sure I know what the sea like, when it spits at you, you go and apologize back, nothing wrong with feeding the sea I just think it wants something with a little more sting. So I went up, and yes got my secret flame kit, and I lit those short sticks I have, like incense but faster, and its crazy I know but if you let um burn all the way down, even to your fingers and just take a little burn yourself, it always works for me. Well Nori was poking around and saw me bouts doing this, I reckon them aint the most pleased with my wisdom, cant blame them but I have been on the sea far longer then you have even been awakened so I think I know myself and these here waves. We take till noon time ish, but with a jolt of the saw prow we manage to get out of the rut, and continue onward, also spotting some rain, which then turns green and into Crezzerin rain we just decide that instead of Jared pulling an all-nighter and dayer we will just cut the losses and take a day hit. The rain aint bad, we stay above the waves and just moved stuff as best we could, the deck is a lot more rough but that gives it character I think, a ship aint proper until its been through its first acid rain. And those impressive filters also worked, we got a good bout of fresh water from it all. Dinner was some gryphon giblets, nice and fatty I say, Nori said they was saving the better cuts for later.

Next day we fought this rainbow mantid, oh it was an impressive beast of a thing, the massive bug guy with a rare rainbow tint to the wings. But before that we encounter a large long rock ledge, and Jared said, “lets do this, summer sault” so with a wild set of working, both me and him, and the announcement to hold on, we rotated above and over this rock ledge, easily saving an hour or two, wow it was fun, the Ketra don’t seem to like it as much but they to young to know it’s a missing and yeah a few things fell loose but it can all be fixed. The mantid fight, yeah that was a scary one, Thari was transfixed at first before it started to attack and bolt around, one wing is blown off and Thari catches is, pretty trophy thing, Slick tries to hit but far to fast and he hits the railing instead. The mantid goes and like a blur it moves, attacking and pushing, I darn well thought slick was going to go over the edge, Jared avoids the brunt but still gets hit. Thari hits in her face, Slick finishes the beast soon with a definitive pound and its head goes flying into the sea. Later in the day as the crew is relaxing, Slick goes and talks to the Ketra, not a physical heal but more of the mind, I know my fair share of this, they be asking you odd questions but it gets you to think well. Chef Nori and Thari try again to make the tort, the first batch is fine, but a bit same like as the last one, Nori for their forth time makes it and this time, this time its perfect. Jared got the extra less pretty bits and I had just a tasting and wow, Nori did make it perfect here. Nori took it to Thari and they darn well spent the night and into the deep night talking, both the two of them looking better and rested. Slick saying how there is “Strength in community” I agree, a deep power in the bounds we forge, yeah it’s a tough word out there but someone has to live in it, but that doesn’t mean you have to do it alone.

Dawn rises, Jared already early at the helm he thinks he can see some unique waves to surf on, something to have a bit of fun “degree of rotation” he says, let him drive fun for I say, no harm in it all. Also one of my little drawing I made, just on a scratch of paper, the ship but with these little wheels around it, sorta like a steering wheel but outside. Thari gives it a look and with a faint whisper says “You know you want to be alive” and low and behold, the prophet herself made miracles like this, the little ship drawing leaves the paper and becomes real. The whole crew looks at it and Jared places it right beside the helm as a token of the ship, its really magical here, the last crew me and Jared were one was so much more work based, this one, we are friends here, real people that I don’t just get scratch to work with. We approach Great tree and Jared instructs me to help hide some stuff, so me and the Ketra work to put things into our hidden spaces, just make the load a bit lighter is all. Later Nori, Thari and Blau play a little card game here, “best 37” real fun, but they done use all the rules I learned, but they aint ready for those yet. We pulled into port, and it was empty but I can see movement in the tree above so they will join us in time. for now I used the opportunity of being at dock. I snuck out in the night and got some side rope, I built a few shelves and some ropework to keep things a little more in place when we go crazy stunts with the ship, I don’t want to many more broken things. Well in the morning I am sure we will be greeted and who know what waits, wonder how much the tree has changed in the seasons from last I have been here.

~Old Jym.

Game #19 “Journeys end”

It’s be a hard time, writing this here in journal, sadness falls the crew here over what came to pass, but that I leave for the end. You don’t start with the wain of these things. We were stopped up at Great Tree, a massive tall shank that you see only a few of across the waves, and it’s a unique place cause it aint he same tree type as the ironwood that makes up most of what we traverse on, its bigger, older and ancient to it. The morning comes and it looks like folks noticed us down here so we got some port authorities here, it’s a Tzelicrae that is dock master, he looks around at the cargo and either takes a half barrel of water or some of the engine parts, we opt for the water cause we can fetch that when it be rain like on the sea. So they go back and call up for this big platform to come down, its big and old rope craft thing that transports it down, sturdy and well holding I say. We roll up our engine parts, the bananas and one barrel of water on the platform and this Ektus guy says two of us can come up. Thari jumps at the opportunity and I manage to go along, I was searching for something at the time. The others are left down to man the area, get the trade port tax paid for and deal with the things of it all. Me and Thari head up, and on the way right up I talk to her a bit, I was asking, prying a bit but still, asked “how did you die” she talks about how she don’t remember it all like, but the call of doing deeper into the waves and down into the sink and even below to the drown” those deep and dark layers, I mine self never been deeper then the tangle, and that was to much for me, it’s a world where the sky calls to me and I quite honestly don’t like it if I can’t see the sun or stars. She also was saying how “nobody is supposed to go down that deep but everyone wants to” and I guess in a way I can agree, I don’t want to go down there, but I want to know what is down there, what lies at the bottom of the sea, what do these waves cover? It’s an odd line of thought, one not much for the branches of this mighty tree. When we get up this yellow Ketra comes for a looking at us and says he can handle our trade with cargo, he asks what we be wanting and Thari takes a moment to remember so I, doing what’s I want say “I want a gun” in the proud and stative way, my words sometimes have a bit of power to them so I hope to use this. Thari, and the crew seemed to have different plans for the cargo, they buy an observation post and a good number of shark fruit crates. I go off on my own to see if I can get that gun, and Thari goes to find some stuff of her own. Now don’t let this leave the paper deer reader, and I hope to take this, and many other deadly secrets to my fungal grave, and I aint happy with what I did but I did it. I went a looking for the more shade parts of the tree, were one can get more things outside of normal, stumbled on done the person I was looking for, an arms dealer. So I go into his shop, look around a bit and ask out for him to show me a weapon of his. Once he got a good gun that I liked the look of I pretended to give it a look over and when we started to talk of how much it would be costing, well I flicked my wrist, put a bullet in one chamber and pointed it at the Ardent’s head, finger on trigger. Thought we could sort of a price that way, after a tense minute and he agreed I stowed off and made myself a bit lost. I know how these places are, their aint any law and I don’t plan to come back for a least a season or two, and that is if I last that long anyways. So I got what I wanted, only price paid is in my soul, but the sea doesn’t see so easily up in the tall skies. I meet back with Thari and she tells me about what she got to, she went to this shop called Klair’s and looked around at some jewelers and things, but didn’t like none of it, and the Arden who owned it gave a bad feeling, stares of judgment passes. She also says how she went into the branch ally shops (just where I was, hope she didn’t see me) and how she got a nice bark map. And I do say, its good, its got a rough idea of here and the next area over, not to scale with distance between but a map of the foxloft to our east. Now how she got it, well she was talking to the Ardent and asked what his favorite place was and with some intentional words of hers she managed to embarrass the man by being real direct and asking that his favorite place was the companionship place, or in other words were one can buy sex from others. always Thari with these funny stories of how she be getting things. Now she asked me about the gun obviously so I used the story that I had thought up, how I bet my leather jacket and won the gun in a game of high steaks Issaron 21, its like find 37 but more ruthless, and I told her some lite details so I think she bought it. When the two of us come back to the ship I see they are almost finished with the observation tower, didn’t think it was that long but that crew worked fast. And Jared told me some Tzelicrae went and fixed up the side armor of the ship as well, so that’s good for the voyage. Also they said how they spent a good few hours playing a real long game, a mix of find 37, multi round save face and dice, classy and fun. The Ketra win but the real time was fun. Once they finished up the platform we went off, we make a half day of progress over to high seat and it’s a lite rain so we get another barrel of water which is very good, value is value. Thari works with the Ketra that evening to do something with the flower, combining them together to make a new kind. Nori cooks us up a nice hot gryphon stirfry, with that nice sauce. Also I was playing around a bit with the gun and Jared just had to bring up “the bathtub incident” like, Its been three seasons no need to drag my mistakes into this new crew.

Everyday the sun rises, and someone doesn’t live to see the next dawn. I have only seen this a few times in my life on the sea, but today I witness it again. The started as a fine looking out, Jared at the helm piloting the ship as we went forth, Slick on the new watch tower. He heard is coming before it was seen, a loud engine crack and the sound of a ship coming at us, when it surfaced we say the other ship. A smaller vessel of sorts, flexible and aged, having spent a lot of time in the thrash slowly being taken apart by the sea as it goes, and aboard it was an ironbound, sword pointed out and towards us. Jared told Roho to take the wheel while me and him went on top. The five of us were there, waiting for this ship to near closer to us, Thari opens with the lightning rail to try and hit its mulcher, causing I to veer in course and not be right at us, it responds back and lugs a massive bolder at us, the bolder comes crashing at the observation platform and sadly we loose what we so recently got. The fight goes on, the lightning rail is aimed at the cargo crane, striking it and a few ferrets group, seems they had rig ferrets helping them. My trigger finger is itching to shoot a man down, but they arnt in good range yet. The other ship goes in reverse, and comes crashing into us, Jared issues a command to drop anchor and some of the damage is negated but still a good dent in the hull. Jared then uses his rope powers to try and push the captain off the front of the boat, the captain goes over but rig fetters come crawling up the ropes onto the ship, which Jared gets out of the way. The three other Ironbound come at us, they built of these old wind bags which make noise when they move about, coming at us with speed and sound they rush up. I give my best to shoot down the ironbound fighting the captain but my gun only skims, and the barrel bursts, guess I only have three shots. Slick trips the one coming for him, and one comes at Jared as well, the third close behind. Jared managed to weave out of the way but not without his ropes being cut. Nori leans in and uses their cleaver to hit one, then a quick parry of its attack back and the two are locked in combat, until Nori gets the upper edge and kills it with a lucky slash of their cleaver.  The captain, which was over the side and flung into the sea, come over the edge of the ship and is back, a little beat up but not dead yet. the captain goes and hits at Slick, doing an impressive job and hitting with a spiked peg leg of his, causing the skin to puncture and some of his inner spiders to come out. One of the others throws a ferret at Thari, who picks up a ferret and throws it back, the two ferrets collide mid air and bounce off, causing them to fight and the ferrets are out. The captain ironbound I get behind, and its on the ground in a grapple with Slick, shoot it twice and only one barrel explodes, the wheezing gas bag is dead. Two still stand here, Jared near one and one with Slick. The ferrets now have started to fight each other in a large group and they go over into the sea. The ironbound near Jared slices out with its scythe and almost gets his neck but Jared weaves out of the way and puts him overboard, and sees his falls and die. Last one standing is strike clean flat with Slicks hammer and its pipes bent and busted. The ship still purrs with an engine working so we go over to take a lot at it, the trebuchet is broken and the crane beyond repair. The ferrets leave only the nest behind. Jared searches crew quarters and find little but a handful of scratch. Slick dislodges a gear so the engine isn’t powering the saws anymore. It’s a mighty engine, a nine cycle old chemical compressor. Nori, an ironbound finds that they are a little able to understand the spirit of the ship. The humming of the still beating engine like the heart of a man. They can hear that it wants to continue, but not for any reason but the movement of moving its self. Thari, an odd connection to the ships life. Mawships I calls them heard, when, like an ironbound a while ship comes alive with spirit. Reading the humming and movements of the ship a desire is felt, to rest. To go down deep and be put to rest. Thari too was called in this was, to go down deep. I don’t know the exact words said down there but they come back and shout over to me and Jared that the ship wants to go down, to the basin, and that Thari wants to take the ship there. To put a mawship to rest is a noble goal, and she too seeks the depts but the sadness in this is immense. Before she sails out we make our finalities. Her and Nori go and make the tea, from that oh so special bark that Nori bought in Backport. The tea, oh how things can bring back memories. She says that the tea almost makes her feel the most alive she has in a while, yet to with that life she feels all the more called to the basin below. We all hand off gifts. Slicks a necklace of sharkteeth and some of his spider husk skin. Jared, a navigational map, so she knows were to come to with home. She gives away her bolt of Fabric to slick and Jared the two colorful wings, telling them to make the ship alive and bright. Wrapping a few things up she gets on the other ship, the gear put back into place, wheel repaired out and ready to sail. Nori tells her, “its great how someone dead can make the ship so alive, we will miss you” a few moth tears start to flow but the journey must be made off. I shout it out that “it’s a long way down to the sea, but its not to long for you, the journey takes us were it wants. Long crossings to you” my words stemming out with power and desire and safety. Jared in turn says “may you be protected from the wraith of the sea and have closing destiny” parts of the flexible hull bend and curve to form a sort of ceiling around the area, a make spot for seals or protecting. The three Ketra bow and say “may the sea be on your side”. Ak’thari takes helm of the ship and goes into the thrash, riding the ship now named the “restful end” into the waves. Emotions are low for the day, none us can do much. I heard Jared humming that shanty she made the first day we were on the sea this season. Ak’thari isn’t dead yet, but I have never met anyone who comes back from that, may the sea take you where it bades. To mourn is to love, to be mourned is to be loved.

~Old Jym

Music for the Wildsea

Calm Waves https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NvftPSb5Xtw

Banjo 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x0r64WouVqQ

Banjo 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OH0bPI-V8Ps

Wildsea 1 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XuGQFSWSC5E

Wildsea 2 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X68gn7qIaNc

Journey https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hUXf1TDEuFM

Reef https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_9-TYg3nmQ

Back port https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dxvej27d8N0

Great tree https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sHA_4wfQhE8

*the track for when Thari dies is “Wildsea 2” at 24:57