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+---- Thread: you could take it either way in the end (/showthread.php?tid=9727)
you could take it either way in the end - Flora - 07-06-2024
Eyes widening as things go wrong very quickly, Flora very nearly reaches out to take the wheel as the captain darts away. Luckily for them all, she's quickly shouldered from her position by someone with a good deal more experience, leaving the Doubletake to step uncertainly towards the stern as Jack barks his orders.
[say]'Oh shit.'[/say] The queen murmurs unhelpfully, no longer quite as confident as she had been when they were still high above the cliffs.
Not wanting to necessarily call Jack out or otherwise take his attention, Flora moved a touch closer—within 30ft she thought—and thought both as loudly as she could but also as gently, Can I do anything?
RE: you could take it either way in the end - Jack - 07-06-2024
Oh shit is right, and hopefully Flora can forgive the captain for giving all of his attention on his ship, his crew and their surroundings for the moment, especially as they descend into somewhere a great deal more misty and dangerous. [say]"That'll do,"[/say] Jack calls out in a clipped tone, wanting very much to keep them above the tree line in case anything should jump out or up at them.
As for Flora, Jack is already preparing, evidently, to go overboard and look for crew and cargo himself, and he gives her a curt nod. [say]"Hold the fort here. They'll listen to you. If I ain't back in thirty minutes, fuck off outta here."[/say] His crew are likely dead from the fall unless they've been lucky(?) enough to land in the water, so his priority is the cargo.
Clambering over the rail with a rope in hand, he nods for some of his men to start lowering him down.
RE: you could take it either way in the end - Flora - 07-06-2024
[say]"Wh—!"[/say] She'd meant, like, getting him a rope or letting him take her invisibility ring, not manning the fucking ship and maybe abandoning him to his fate. But then he's already hauling himself over the side and the look of annoyed but determined steel in his gaze is enough to stop her from finishing her sentence.
Her mind, of course, loudly wants to yell out for him, and so it's with a stiffening of her entire body that Flora trots a few steps in the opposite direction that the captain might not have to suffer the orange-tinged panic of her thoughts.
[say]"Listen up! The second he gets back on board we're getting the fuck out of here, yes?"[/say] The crew, those left anyway, glance nervously at one another. [say]"Well? Get ready to make that happen!"[/say]
RE: you could take it either way in the end - Jack - 07-06-2024
Jack shouldn't be chuckling to himself as he hears - not even with his magic, but with his own two ears - Flora bark orders at his hapless crew. But fuck it - they listen, and while there are a number of occasions where he'd balk at the thought of them taking instruction from someone else, this isn't one of them. In the meantime, having created a loop with the rope to brace his foot into, the captain is lowered quite quickly down below the treeline and into the thick mists.
From there he leaves the rope to dangle, using his air magic to soften his landing as he jumps the last few feet. Already hating it, the captain resists the urge to call out to anyone and instead broadens the range of his magic, listening out for the thoughts of his crew or (he hopes not, but it might still be true) any friends of the Family that might be lurking around.
RE: you could take it either way in the end - Serendipity - 07-06-2024
Moving cautiously through the shadowy undergrowth of the Oerwoud, you suddenly feel a chill. Almost imperceptible against the dark foliage, Void Vipers slither toward you with deadly intent. Their slender bodies and void-touched presence make them nearly invisible until it’s too late. They entwine around your limbs, their touch spreading an unnatural coldness. You must fend off these void-infused serpents before their venomous presence overwhelms you.
As the Oerwoud has been taken over by the Family, remaining in this area will be dangerous as the flora/fauna will continue to grow increasingly hostile toward you (unless you're a Friend of the Family). Remaining in this thread for a prolonged period of time will likely trigger a KQ.
You’ve encountered Void Vipers. This counts as a common creature encounter for the purposes of levelling, but does not count as a Random Event for levelling or MP. There will be no further admin/re intervention. If you choose to follow this creature, you do so at your own risk, however, just having it in this thread is enough to satisfy your levelling requirements.
Void Vipers (Common): Once inquisitive Hanging Snakes, touched by the void, transform into Void Vipers. Their slender bodies now bear patterns that seem to absorb light, making them almost imperceptible in the shadowy depths of the woods. Instead of curiously exploring, they now slither with a purpose, seeking to entwine themselves around unsuspecting wanderers and imbuing them with a void-touched presence.
RE: you could take it either way in the end - Flora - 07-06-2024
The crew is working as quickly as they can under Flora's watchful aqua stare (she doesn't really know what she's looking at or for, but she certainly knows how to appear as if she does). No one is singing or joking; they hadn't even before this mishap, but now with their captain somewhere below in the fog no one seemed willing to do much more than bark a few curt words and only if it was strictly necessary.
With no real way to gauge the time, Flora tried to calm her breathing and use that as a rough indicator of how many seconds were ticking on by. Her heart was thundering even so and despite the way she was forcing herself to inhale and exhale on a rough schedule, it still felt like an eternity had passed.
Come on Jack. Nothing down there is worth dying over..
RE: you could take it either way in the end - Jack - 07-06-2024
Sure sure, Flora, but here's the fucking thing, okay.
After almost being strangled to death by void vipers very recently, this is a fucking nightmare come to life, and perhaps Jack spends and inordinate amount of time peeling away the vipers and receiving a nasty few bites as a result, not to mention a fresh set of bruises around one arm from their attempts to squeeze the life out of him.
Luckily, by the time he's frozen them to death, he's also come across the crate of cargo and the broken platform. And he's found one of the crew, but unfortunately the other has been, uh... crushed. By said platform. Yikes.
Either way, it's with what feels like only seconds to spare that the captain limps back to the rope, yanking on it a few times and bellowing up for them to cast a few other lines over for them to tie the crate, and themselves, and get the fuck out of here.
RE: you could take it either way in the end - Flora - 07-06-2024
Okay, but 1. Flora was there for that and you survived and 2. It isn't like she knows what the fuck is happening below. Besides, if you think about it, the vipers probably enjoy it and isn't that kind of your thing?
Anyways.
A few members of the crew are trying to gather up the courage to suggest to Flora that they ought to, you know, save themselves? especially because the sun was going to rise soon rendering the Ark completely fucked until the next evening. Having a fairly good idea what it was they were going to say as they shared glanced between themselves, Flora folded her arms across her chest and determinedly turned away, thinking all manner of lurid and salacious thoughts in the hopes it would hasten the captain's blood flow and get him fucking moving.
Whether this has any bearing on the sudden jerking of the rope the Doubletake hardly cares. [say]"Bring him the fuck up."[/say] She snaps, peering down over the railing to see Jack in one piece, if not a little worse for wear. [say]"Doubletime, or whatever it is you lot say."[/say]
RE: you could take it either way in the end - Jack - 07-06-2024
Doubletime is good enough, as it happens, and the crew immediately jump into action. Add in that the captain is perfectly capable of tying his own knots this time, and he, the crew member (who is battered and traumatised from the dreadful death he'd witnessed, and the pinch to Jack's eyes says he's well aware) and the crate are soon hauled back on deck.
Leaving the men to deal with that, Jack straightens out his shirt and wipes the sweat from his brow, before offering Flora a brief nod. [say]"Fuck that place,"[/say] he tells her simply, offering her a pat on the ass for good measure and climbing back up to the quarterdeck to steer them the fuck out of the Oerwood.
For good, this time. At least until the great purple nonsense that has overtaken it gets gone.
~FIN