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Welcome to the world of Fortuna, a land of fantastic proportions. This is an original fantasy roleplay that takes place in a world developed over nearly a decade of work and collaboration. We aim to encourage all participants to have a hand in the stories of the characters here, and the world around them. Your choices are key - so make them with pride. You decide who wins the wars, you decide who becomes King, the world is ours, and together we will bring it to life!
Post by Leigh Haskell on Dec 8, 2016 9:41:04 GMT -7
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[attr="class","underwavesheader"]Long After Sunset 1st of The Winter Storm
[attr="class","waveshsubtitle"]The Defiled Grail, 300 Miles off the Coast of Aissic
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[attr="class","wavesundtext"] The weeks when The Defiled Grail didn't touch land, the times when the ship was loaded with supplies and they had no need nor reason to make land -- these were Leigh's favourite. She grew accustomed to the waves, and how they moved without pattern or reason. She grew accustomed to the salt in the air, and how her skin sucked it in smelled permanently of sea. She loved sitting up deck at dusk, watching the sea consume the sun. Some of the newer recruits tended to get sick after too long a time on the water, and complained about how they were away from land for so long. Some of her crewmates would coddle them, rub their backs as they threw their sick into the waters, promised they'd make land soon - that they'd talk to the captain about finding an island to offer a break... Leigh would tell them they needed to suck it up. Get inoculated. This was life as a pirate. Life on the lawless seas. Life when setting a single toe on land was risking your neck.
Tonight, she would glare down any complaints, because tonight was a night of excitement. It was the first of The Winter Storm - ships would be passing into Aissic each and every day. They would be slow with bulky steel hulls - protections against Glacier Fangs - easy pickings for the speedy Grail. The best part, was that many of the ships carried nobles, valuables, along with useful trade goods. It was the season of giving for them - and the season of taking for the Grail. They knew just how to celebrate.
Each year the first of the Winter Storm would be a party on board the Grail and her small fleet. Most would cross onto the mother ship, bringing their own stock of the good booze and food on board. The captain would join them for a raucous feast, and then leave the crew to enjoy the party all night. It was long past the feast, but the party continued. The bards among them played instruments, the cooks had prepared some additional food to keep them going to late, the gamblers gambled, and the rest did... Well, whatever they did.
For Leigh, tonight meant playing liar's dice with a few of the fellow crew. They didn't bet gold, however, rather - interesting items, information, or favours. Most had already bowed out, not having anything left to bet. Leigh had won a couple of trinkets, but more importantly - a couple of those who had quit owed her favours for the year. The only two left playing were Wight - who she didn't particularly like, but who she respected, from having done several infiltration jobs with him - and one of the more recently acquired crew members, an attractive, tough satyr who had just joined the game. Wight had invited her, and either wanted to bed her, or take advantage of a newbie in a game he knew him and Leigh were evenly matched in. Leigh didn't mind. She wouldn't take the same advantage, wanting the newbie to play long enough to get to know her. In this round, they were playing for a secret. The winner of the round would demand a question. The losers would spill.
The three shook their cups and slammed them down on the table. Leigh was first. She peeked under her cup and made idle conversation -- "So, Kali, tell me... What did a satyr from the feywild do to get involved in cage-fighting, hm?" Leigh quirked a brow and observed the other two looking at their hands, trying to glean what she could with a suave smile. "Gambling debt?"
Leigh smiled as she looked under her old cup one more time, memorizing the faces. As she looked, she twisted her hook mindlessly into the surface of the table. Her dice had been won in an earlier round tonight, and were dragon bone - at least, that's what the bum had said. She was pretty sure they were plain deerbone like most - the mate she had won it from was a bullshitter. "Two twos," She claimed, placing her cup back down, and grabbing her other, which was filled with a three finger pour of straight rum. The good stuff they had stolen during the Winter Storm last year.
OOC Note: Click for a link to how Liar's Dice works. And I just rolled my dice using random.org's dice roller. You don't need to publicize what you've rolled of course... I've just marked mine on a sheet of paper.
Kali only knew of the Aissic festival of peace because the crew had been going on about it since she'd stepped aboard the ship. She had never paid attention to the outside world when she was in the feywild, and when she had left and ended up in Muerte she had been only focused on fighting, not about learning the finer details of culture across the countries. From what she heard though, it was a damn foolish event just asking to be robbed blind, which was of course exactly what the Defiled Grail planned to do. Must be why the SSPB wanted to get rid of pirates so badly.
It seemed she joined at a good time though, because with the start of the Winter Storm came a great party on board their ship. That was good, because Kali needed something to do. The sea was fine, the water was very.. watery, all very interesting, but they had made it pretty clear when she joined that she couldn't go starting fights with the entire crew for fun so Kali was feeling a little... wound up. They'd been on the sea for a while now, which was fine enough for her because the rocking of the ship didn't bother her stomach like some of the others, but it did mean that she was surrounded by people she was supposed to, in general, not beat the shit out of. Not unless they asked for it of course. And if maybe she had goaded one of the useless cabin boys into one measly little fistfight and let him get a few good hits for fun before knocking him out, nobody had to know but her. And well, him.
There had been a feast for all the crew, and Kali drank more than she ate by far. All the activity, all the people around laughing and talking and drinking, had her more wound up than usual and today drinking was helping to dull the fire but kept the coals burning white hot. She knew by the end of the night she would have to find someone strong, someone who could really do some damage, and get some sweet release. She could practically feel her hands around their throat, or theirs around hers, and she had stabbed the prongs of her fork into her leg at the thought. Yes, by the end of the night she would show someone exactly what sins of the flesh she was most interested in.
After the feast the party had continued and so too did her drinking. She charmed, using words and not magic, a mostly full bottle of whiskey from one of the crew members from another ship and drank the lot of it while watching some of the others play some sort of dice game. She had never seen it before but figured she probably got the gist of it from watching, and when the one with strange hair who she heard some call 'Wight' had told her she should join the fun she decided it might be interesting. She didn't have any items to bet, and she didn't like the idea of owing favours, but this round was on secrets and she had enough of those to go around.
She followed along with shaking the cup and slamming it on the table, and glancing under it like she'd seen everyone else doing. She took note of the numbers and then turned her attention to Leigh, who she had spoken to a few times since joining the ship but still didn't know much about. Besides that she was missing a hand of course, which gave Kali a kind of thrill to think about. None of her injuries had been permanent like that. Yes, she had many scars and some had taken a long time to heal, but the idea of losing a hand was simultaneously extremely exciting and also worrisome. She needed both of her hands to do what she wanted to do, but maybe losing a different part of her. An ear, sliced at the head, or her tail, ripped from her body. One of her horns maybe, twisted and mangled from a fight... She dug her fingernails into her left arm, feeling pinpricks of beautiful pain as they broke through the skin. Leigh was asking her a question.
The woman asked how she got herself into cage fighting in the first place, and suggested it was perhaps a gambling debt. Kali knew this round was for secrets to the winner, but decided this one she would answer for free. She looked into Leigh's black-powdered eyes and smirked and when she spoke it was slow, measured, almost sensual. "My first day in Muerte I was cornered by a gang and beaten to within an inch of my life. They left me to die on the streets, broken and bloody. I liked it so much, I decided to make a living of it. Two sixes."
Post by Leigh Haskell on Dec 8, 2016 16:30:09 GMT -7
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[attr="class","wavesundtext"] Leigh quirked her brows at Kali's answer, first at the fact that she gave it so freely - then at the interest it held. She didn't know if she was telling the truth, as she had yet to decide if Kali was a bullshitter, naive, or simply didn't give a single shit... But she had to admit, true or not, it made her smile. Humour was always pleasant to her, even if she herself was far from riotous. Her lips turned up at their ends ever so slightly, and she permitted a small scoff of a chuckle.
As she quieted, she licked the chap off her lips, and bit the lower with great purpose, her shrouded eyes glinting at Kali. Her voice was husky as she teased the newbie, "What are we playing secrets for, then? Why not... Up the ante? We try to play nice with the newbies... But I'm sure we can bring it up a few notches for a 'special' case like yourself. ...Whaddya think, Wight?"
Post by Maldrem "Wight" on Dec 8, 2016 23:02:08 GMT -7
A game? Secrets? I love those!
M aldrem normally kept his tail wrapped around his waist, but relaxed as he was right now, he had it unrestrained, swishing back and forth behind him with interest. He'd been with the Grail for going on six years now, and every year's celebration on the 1st of the Winter Storm was always quite the treat. His shipmates, across the entire Grail's fleet, would gather for a night of celebration on the waves, lots of people would be getting drunk off of their asses (which was always immensely entertaining), and there were a great deal of lowered inhibitions all around, which was especially nice for him.
Maldrem made it a general habit to try and invite his fellow pirates to bed as infrequently as possible - not because it was an undesirable prospect, no sir! But rather because he had to spend just about every day with these people, and if he started carving through them one conquest at a time, then he'd be out of unscrewed crew mates before long! Not that he was particularly averse to sleeping with the same person twice, but still, he wanted to keep as many new encounters in his back pocket as possible. So he preferred to space them out, build up to them, choose a target and work them up to the idea of heading to his cabin with him gradually. And he usually reserved the engagement for special occasions.
Special occasions like tonight, for example! It had only now been a matter of deciding who the lucky person would be. He'd figured maybe he could figure it out by playing Liars Dice. He was quite fond of the game, and also pretty good at it, as his was a difficult bluff to read (and sometimes he'd tell an obvious lie to make himself lose on purpose, depending on... what was bet...). He had been joined early on by Leigh, someone he was somewhat familiar with but who he always felt a little cold around, like she radiated chill. He didn't mind it too much, as he wasn't really her type anyway. Several others had joined the game as well, but as it went on, Maldrem had started to get more concerned with the idea of winning than actually finding a partner for the evening.
Leigh had a way of bringing that out in him.
But things had really gotten interesting when, after several players had dropped out, he had noticed Kali, one of their newbies, and invited her to join. Liars Dice was always a fun opportunity to learn more about people, and Kali was definitely someone he wanted to know more about. Leigh had wasted no time in getting Kali talking. In fact, she gave up secrets so easily that Leigh had even suggested changing the bets, and Maldrem's tail perked up and swished around at the idea.
"I think you may be onto the right track, there, Leigh," he replied with a bouncy tone, flashing them both a bright grin. "What exactly did you have in mind, my friend?" He and Leigh were not friends. Leigh wasn't really anyone's friend. But for right now, they could pretend to be. Maldrem briefly flicked his cup up, glancing at his dice for the first time, then set it back down. "I'll raise it to four sixes, by the way."
Kali wasn't sure what to make of this 'Wight' guy. He was upbeat, almost chipper, and his smiles were bright and cheerful. Odd duck, that one. Leigh suggested upping the ante, bringing it up a few notches for a 'special case' like her but Kali was still in the past, replaying in her mind the way the woman had bit her lip and thinking about how much fun it would be to make that lip bleed. Leigh had said that they usually tried to play nice with newbies, and Kali smirked at that, her eyes still focussed on the other woman's lips. "I don't play nice," she replied.
It was at this point that Wight asked what Leigh had in mind, and Kali wondered if he was on a different wavelength than the rest of them. Would he be interested in the new stakes? Kali didn't care one way or another for secrets, and she hadn't joined the game to win. She'd joined it for fun, but maybe not the kind of fun Wight would probably like. When he raised it to four sixes she frowned. In what she had learned from the game, you could only go up and up, so the next call would have to be at least five of one number. With only three people playing, that was edging on dangerous territory. If Leigh wasn't called out on this next one, Kali would probably be out on hers. Which was actually just fine for her. Sometimes losing was half the fun.
Post by Leigh Haskell on Dec 9, 2016 10:43:06 GMT -7
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[attr="class","wavesundtext"] Four sixes? Leigh had to keep herself from scoffing. She was almost certain he was lying, he did it often enough... Not that it mattered. She didn't want Wight's secrets. She wanted Kali's. Kali who was staring at Leigh's lips as she responded to the teasing, Kali who had a certain something that Leigh often liked in her women, but didn't often get. Too often did her bed find blushing brides of boneless nobles, pillow princesses with long nails. She liked the way Kali's eyes flashed.
"Easy," She didn't quite smile, but she looked as cheery as Leigh could get. She snagged her bottle of rum from the floor with her hook, catching the rope she'd tied around it when the captain had tossed it her way. Made it easier to use when you only had one hand, and she was pretty good at knots. She uncorked the thing with her teeth and spit the cork out, allowing it to barrel across the floor and nudge the hand of a passed out cabin boy. "Secrets are worthless, you can get em from anyone so long as you ply em right... Nice words, warm hands --" She poured some rum into Kali's cup, filling it once more, "Strong booze." She switched the bottle to her real hand and pulled it back, taking a deep swig.
"I say we take advantage of the night. Time to trade in risks. Favours, challenges -- blows," As she said the last word she lodged her hook into the wooden table, the sharp edge digging in, "Enough betting words. I say we bet actions." She pulled her hook back, shavings from the wood cropping up around the edge as it scraped through. Her eyes were on Kali... Though as she nudged her cup her eyes went between the two of them. She smirked as she made her claim: "Five threes."
Post by Maldrem "Wight" on Dec 9, 2016 12:07:26 GMT -7
Why does she always have to take that extra step into unhinged...
"Well you're obviously lying," Maldrem remarked casually, cradling his chin in one palm while his other hand's fingers drummed at his overturned cup. He released an exaggerated yawn. "But I was more interested in the secrets. When you suggested upping the stakes, I guess I was picturing something more... exciting. But I'm in too good a mood for challenges, and this pretty face can't abide a blow. And honestly, I don't think you'd dig the sort of favor I have in mind," he explained, tossing a smirk in at the end.
He leaned back in his seat and flicked the hoop on his right horn thoughtfully. "You know, I've decided. We can't go changing the rules in the middle of a round now, Leigh! That's poor form, poor form. So let's see those dice of yours and find out if you owe me a secret, then we can move on to the bets you're more interested in."
He tossed a glance at Kali after saying his piece, interested to see if he could get a read on her thoughts on the matter. She'd seemed intrigued, excited even, when Leigh mentioned betting risks, favors, and blows, but she seemed marginally less impressed now that Maldrem insisted on keeping their bet for secrets till the end of the round. Ahhh, the ladies aboard the vessel tonight must have been bloodthirsty indeed! And it seemed clear to Maldrem that he was potentially getting in the way of something charged they might like to get started between them. He hated being a third wheel, but he did love winning. The latter won out over the former for the time being. But once the round was over, if things started moving in the direction with these two that it looked like it was going to, Maldrem would happily step back and just watch from the sidelines. And if it got violent instead, well, he'd watch that too.
Post by Leigh Haskell on Dec 9, 2016 12:44:12 GMT -7
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[attr="class","wavesundtext"] Leigh happily took her cup off. The dice read 2. 3. 3. 1. 3. As 1 was a wild, she had four. If there was a single other three or one under Wight or Kali's cups, Wight would owe them a secret. Leigh considered what she might ask of him. Honestly, she wasn't interested enough in him to care. Perhaps she'd permit Kali to ask the question - but then, she might ask something Leigh already knew.
"I didn't intend to change the stakes of the round, Wight," Her smirk turned her words almost into a snarl, "I was proposing a more interesting game entirely."
She waited to see the remaining dice, confident there would be a single "3" or a single "1" shown on the other ten dice. Wight would lose... And just as the game would turn interesting. If he dared stick around, she considered the kinds of things she might want to see him do as the game progressed. Perhaps prick his skin and then have him go for a swim, see if it was true that in water blood traveled faster than light,
Leigh said secrets were worthless because you could get them from anyone if you knew how, and as both a fighter and enchanter Kali could agree there were lots of ways of making people talk, but that didn't mean secrets were useless, necessarily. She supposed it depended on the secret, but that meant the worth of it couldn't be determined after it was already out of the bag. Leigh poured some of her drink into Kali's cup, using her hooked hand to do so, and then took a swig of it herself. Kali knocked back her own cup, always one to accept another drink. The fire in her was creeping back up, and Leigh was only fanning it. She knew it was on purpose, and it was working.
When Leigh's hook dug into the table, Kali's eyelids fluttered and dug her fingernails into the spot on her leg where the fork tongs had bitten earlier. When she pulled the hook back, slicing the wood on the table as she did so, Kali had to stay her hand from doing the same, but her eyes followed the movement hungrily.
Leigh called five three's and Wight immediately called her out, though went on to explain that he personally liked secrets and his pretty face couldn't 'abide' a blow. Kali's gaze went to the face in question and immediately pictured how satisfying it would feel to prove him wrong, to show his pretty face exactly how much it could take. But she didn't know what the man would consider more exciting, if it wasn't what Leigh had said. She supposed everyone had their own tastes for excitement. He said then that they couldn't change the rules in the middle of a round, and would see about making some changes once he found out if he was right to call her bluff.
When Leigh revealed that under her cup she already had most of her call, though Kali didn't know that 1's were wild as she had really only just begun picking up the game, Kali glanced back at Wight to see his reaction. Leigh said she wouldn't change the stakes of the round but was suggesting 'a more interesting game entirely', which Kali personally liked the sound of. She dared Wight to prove her call wrong, and Kali knew that everyone had to show their cups once a bluff was called so she removed her cup and revealed her dice. 4, 6, 5, 6, 1. She didn't know it yet, but that 1 gave Leigh the win.
Post by Maldrem "Wight" on Dec 9, 2016 20:20:44 GMT -7
A Dangerous Game to Play
M aldrem's own former crew, the members of The Soundless Bell, knew damn well that he was a shameless cheater when it suited him to be. And if any of them were around, instead of off partying elsewhere like he was sure they were, they might have even been generous enough to warn the people at the table about it at the beginning of the night.
Now, Maldrem enjoyed winning, yes, and he had spent most of tonight doing that as legitimately as possible. But now was just one of those times.
Kali had not been very discreet earlier, when she glanced at her dice. She lifted her cup just a bit too high, and Maldrem had taken careful note of the presence of that '1', seated closer to her than Leigh had been. Those were always dangerous. And when Leigh lifted her cup to reveal her dice, his sharp eyes quickly assessed the presence of her own wilds, giving her 4/5 of her call. Maldrem reacted without a visible tell, waving his hand under the table as Kali lifted her cup, and the '1' displayed on her dice face became a '2' the instant it had been exposed. He wondered if Kali had committed her dice to memory, if she might find it odd that one of her dice had seemingly changed faces.
If she didn't question it, he'd make sure she got to have the fun here.
Maldrem smiled while lifting his own cup for Leigh, revealing a 5, 6, 2, 5, and another 1 - which of course, he'd made look like a 2 before revealing it.
He whistled. "Had me sweatin' there for a moment, you almost had it with just your dice alone," he said, but his expression was just one of satisfaction. "So I guess that makes you the loser, Leigh. But you know, I'm not really sure what I wanna know from you... Kali, any ideas?" he asked, tossing her a playful look.
He met her eyes, and wondered if she could read his intentions, or if she had even noticed what had happened at all. Either she hadn't committed her own dice to memory, and may have just been mildly confused by the presence of a '2' instead of a '1', or she had certainly noticed and was maybe putting the pieces together that Maldrem was responsible for it. Would she let it slide for an opportunity to question Leigh? Or would she spoil it?
If she did, he'd probably just laugh it off and excuse himself from the game. He wasn't scared of Leigh. Yeah, she could probably beat him to a pulp, but only if she could catch him. And there were other crew mates aboard who wouldn't recommend tangling with Wight. Especially if he was in a bad enough mood to give you scurvy.
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