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The Redsea Saga - Episode One.
- Thread starter The Barbarian
- Start date
laclongquan
Arcane
Oh look, a new page... still wednesday. dang!
Tigranes
Arcane
- Joined
- Jan 8, 2009
- Messages
- 10,350
Stay Inside. While in most RPG situations we always want to pick doing something as opposed to nothing, given the Barbarian has been a fairly involved narrator so far, we can't assume that we won't be missing out on info or happenings by leaving our room, where we're expected to be.
In addition, we have no reason to expect that loitering around the settlement will allow us to pick up any new info about our target - I don't think we have any hints on whether he's well known by anybody at all (though Elias surely knows something). At best we'll pick up some lore, at worst we'll get ourselves into even more trouble.
In addition, we have no reason to expect that loitering around the settlement will allow us to pick up any new info about our target - I don't think we have any hints on whether he's well known by anybody at all (though Elias surely knows something). At best we'll pick up some lore, at worst we'll get ourselves into even more trouble.
Esquilax
Arcane
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2010
- Messages
- 4,833
Tigranes said:
Good arguments. No reason to believe that staying in won't provide us info on Elias. This is a bar ffs, I'm sure that there will be enough people in there to provide us some background on the world. Will flip-flop to staying in. Too bad that the EXPLORE option is so popular that it's pretty much a foregone conclusion at this point.
I totally agree that we have to stop thinking about this as a regular RPG, with you on that 100%. We have to inhabit the skin of the character and make decisions according to who they are. You don't get any reloads with this shit.
GarfunkeL
Racism Expert
Explore
ironyuri
Guest
I don't know what standards you have in Melbourne, but it is 2pm in Perth and there is no update here. I demand an update.
The Barbarian
Liturgist
The update will be out today. Later today, yes, but definitely today. 
ironyuri
Guest
The Barbarian said:The update will be out today. Later today, yes, but definitely today.
I had to pass an entire morning shift on campus without your verbosity, BRObarian. I will forgive you this time. Next time, however, I will drive your women and children before me as their wails carry on the wind.
golgepapaz
Augur
The Barbarian said:The update will be out today. Later today, yes, but definitely today.
if your location is correct it might have been tomorrow already today, You know ,time zones and shit, Yo.
SoupNazi
Guest
The Barbarian
Liturgist
Update Five (Episode One)
***
You leave the Murderhole wordlessly. The air inside is heavy - miasmic - and you want no further part of it. Something is happening to you, but you cannot put it into words. It is clear, however, that every day it is getting easier to lash out; to strike, to wound, to maim ... to kill? The combat that just took place could have perhaps been avoided. There were defusive methods you could have employed - training that could have been put to good use. But you were becoming ambivalent to the inability of those who would hound you to see your real face.
Clint Mansell - Two Weeks and Counting
Almost subconsciously, you shake your head and stalk down the nearest corridor. Outside the cantina it is even darker. So little moonlight seeps into Iris. Mostly through cracks and dents in the walls and ceiling. You wonder how old this place really is. Slowly, detail comes into focus as your head clears. Your analytical side kicks in. The inhabitants of this pit are a wired, wary lot. Very few individuals scamper around in the night. All that you see are small clumps of benighted humanity. Invariably, they eye you as you pass by. Most are sizing you up. They seem lean and hungry. But, it appears that your reputation precedes you, and few are willing to even establish eye contact. The man with the needler passeth; make way ye who are wise. Inwardly, you laugh.
Your travels take you some distance from the cantina. It feels as if you have crossed kilometres of winding corridors, but your directional sense tells you that they not only wind, but loop. Eventually, however, you realise that you are being watched. Not by some ragtag band of miscreants intent of bleeding you somewhere out of the way; no, this was clearly a professional. To have eluded your attention for so long required true skill in the art of shadowing. This individual had been on your tail for some time. There is little doubt that he is Elias' man. Likely there to make sure that you keep your part of the bargain. You wonder if he had seen or heard what had happened in the Murderhole. With a grimace, you continue on your way.
***
Up ahead there is quite an opening and what seems to be a commotion. Within a minute, you find yourself in a wide open space. A clear night sky hangs above. Below, some sort of communal area bustles with activity. Quickly, you determine that this must be the centre of the closed complex; Iris' hub. An area of commercial interest and communal interaction - if this place had such a thing as a 'community'. There is a gathered crowd off to one side. It is where the lion's share of the noise emanates from. They seem to be watching an organised fight. You decide to observe for a moment and to take stock. In the middle of the crowd, two men are engaged in a death grapple. Both are bleeding profusely. You notice that one's eye is hanging out of its socket. Quite grotesque. The men pull away from each other, and a series of blows are exchanged. The crowd bays.
You watch as various items change hands between spectators and what must be bookies. The man with the dangling eyeball breathes heavily and slowly, as the fight settles into a lull. The other man, whose neck is badly lacerated, winces. They are both stocky and well built. Brawlers to the bone. Once again, they begin to grapple. The lacerated man takes charge, this time, and grips his badly wounded opponent by the hair, pulling back and down. With his other hand, he takes the detached eyeball and yanks on it, as hard as he can. An inhuman screech pierces the howls of the crowd. The stricken combatant doubles over - a terminal error. Almost instantly, the lacerated gladiator is upon him once again. The wailing quickly stops, to be replaced by a gurgling sound, as he puts his now-dying opponent into a choke hold and wraps his legs around the other man's waist.
After thirty seconds or so of struggle, the fight is over and the dead man is pulled away. Glee and bitter disappointment now pervade the scene, as a small group of cronies foist the winner onto their backs in celebration, and the punters survey their luck. You turn away from the savagery. As you wander around, blending in with the milling throng as much as possible, you cannot help but to notice the many consequences of Confederate inattention on this planet. In one area of the hub, naked, broken women are being sold to the highest bidder. In another, a bearded old man with a xylophone ribcage begs passers-by for a crumb of anything they can spare. He grips a vicious looking guard a little too firmly, and a savage reprisal follows. A barrage of kicks leaves him battered and wheezing. You doubt he will survive the night.
'Blood, mahn. Nothin' quite like it.'
You turn with a start, only to find your shadow there. He is a man of indeterminate age and dark skin. Goggles cover his eyes and dreadlocks obscure much of the rest of his face. There is something wry in his voice. For a moment, your hand hovers over the needler under your duster. But only for a moment.
'You have been following me for some time.'
'Yah, mahn.' he answers.
'Do you work for Elias?'
'Naw, mahn.'
His coyness begin to bug you. Nonetheless, your tone stays even. 'In that case, why have you been following me?'
'Leraje wants to know what you intend here, mahn.'
Your eyes narrow. 'And who is this... Leraje?'
'Leraje is Leraje, mahn. You are speaking to Leraje.' Hearing this, you smile.
'You are Leraje? Fine, then. I intend to leave this place, Leraje.'
The dreadlocked man looks at you for a time. 'And where does a Justice of the Peace go on Redsea, mahn?'
Your blood freezes and the world suddenly stands very still. How does he know? 'What do you mean?
Leraje is motionless. 'You know what Leraje means, lawman. Why are you here?'
You consider your options carefully. If you struck now, you could probably kill this person instantly. But you know nothing about him. Perhaps he is not as alone as he seems. There are too many variables, too many uncertainties.
'I am no lawman.'
Leraje guffaws. 'Mebbe, mahn, mebbe. You people don' often come down on falling stars. Usually, you prefer softer landings in softer places. But, whatever you are, you were a lawman. So, lawman or no, what are you doing here?' Luckily, his voice is too low to be heard by the people nearest to you.
Your voice is even quieter. 'You know nothing, Leraje. And whatever you think you know, you better forget.'
He is still smiling at you. 'Don' worry, mahn. Leraje is very forgetful. But a lil' birdie told him you hunt for a mahn named "Rivera". Is this true, lawman?'
***
Do you... lie?
OR
Do you... tell the truth?
OR
Do you... attack Leraje?
***
You leave the Murderhole wordlessly. The air inside is heavy - miasmic - and you want no further part of it. Something is happening to you, but you cannot put it into words. It is clear, however, that every day it is getting easier to lash out; to strike, to wound, to maim ... to kill? The combat that just took place could have perhaps been avoided. There were defusive methods you could have employed - training that could have been put to good use. But you were becoming ambivalent to the inability of those who would hound you to see your real face.
Clint Mansell - Two Weeks and Counting
Almost subconsciously, you shake your head and stalk down the nearest corridor. Outside the cantina it is even darker. So little moonlight seeps into Iris. Mostly through cracks and dents in the walls and ceiling. You wonder how old this place really is. Slowly, detail comes into focus as your head clears. Your analytical side kicks in. The inhabitants of this pit are a wired, wary lot. Very few individuals scamper around in the night. All that you see are small clumps of benighted humanity. Invariably, they eye you as you pass by. Most are sizing you up. They seem lean and hungry. But, it appears that your reputation precedes you, and few are willing to even establish eye contact. The man with the needler passeth; make way ye who are wise. Inwardly, you laugh.
Your travels take you some distance from the cantina. It feels as if you have crossed kilometres of winding corridors, but your directional sense tells you that they not only wind, but loop. Eventually, however, you realise that you are being watched. Not by some ragtag band of miscreants intent of bleeding you somewhere out of the way; no, this was clearly a professional. To have eluded your attention for so long required true skill in the art of shadowing. This individual had been on your tail for some time. There is little doubt that he is Elias' man. Likely there to make sure that you keep your part of the bargain. You wonder if he had seen or heard what had happened in the Murderhole. With a grimace, you continue on your way.
***
Up ahead there is quite an opening and what seems to be a commotion. Within a minute, you find yourself in a wide open space. A clear night sky hangs above. Below, some sort of communal area bustles with activity. Quickly, you determine that this must be the centre of the closed complex; Iris' hub. An area of commercial interest and communal interaction - if this place had such a thing as a 'community'. There is a gathered crowd off to one side. It is where the lion's share of the noise emanates from. They seem to be watching an organised fight. You decide to observe for a moment and to take stock. In the middle of the crowd, two men are engaged in a death grapple. Both are bleeding profusely. You notice that one's eye is hanging out of its socket. Quite grotesque. The men pull away from each other, and a series of blows are exchanged. The crowd bays.
You watch as various items change hands between spectators and what must be bookies. The man with the dangling eyeball breathes heavily and slowly, as the fight settles into a lull. The other man, whose neck is badly lacerated, winces. They are both stocky and well built. Brawlers to the bone. Once again, they begin to grapple. The lacerated man takes charge, this time, and grips his badly wounded opponent by the hair, pulling back and down. With his other hand, he takes the detached eyeball and yanks on it, as hard as he can. An inhuman screech pierces the howls of the crowd. The stricken combatant doubles over - a terminal error. Almost instantly, the lacerated gladiator is upon him once again. The wailing quickly stops, to be replaced by a gurgling sound, as he puts his now-dying opponent into a choke hold and wraps his legs around the other man's waist.
After thirty seconds or so of struggle, the fight is over and the dead man is pulled away. Glee and bitter disappointment now pervade the scene, as a small group of cronies foist the winner onto their backs in celebration, and the punters survey their luck. You turn away from the savagery. As you wander around, blending in with the milling throng as much as possible, you cannot help but to notice the many consequences of Confederate inattention on this planet. In one area of the hub, naked, broken women are being sold to the highest bidder. In another, a bearded old man with a xylophone ribcage begs passers-by for a crumb of anything they can spare. He grips a vicious looking guard a little too firmly, and a savage reprisal follows. A barrage of kicks leaves him battered and wheezing. You doubt he will survive the night.
'Blood, mahn. Nothin' quite like it.'
You turn with a start, only to find your shadow there. He is a man of indeterminate age and dark skin. Goggles cover his eyes and dreadlocks obscure much of the rest of his face. There is something wry in his voice. For a moment, your hand hovers over the needler under your duster. But only for a moment.
'You have been following me for some time.'
'Yah, mahn.' he answers.
'Do you work for Elias?'
'Naw, mahn.'
His coyness begin to bug you. Nonetheless, your tone stays even. 'In that case, why have you been following me?'
'Leraje wants to know what you intend here, mahn.'
Your eyes narrow. 'And who is this... Leraje?'
'Leraje is Leraje, mahn. You are speaking to Leraje.' Hearing this, you smile.
'You are Leraje? Fine, then. I intend to leave this place, Leraje.'
The dreadlocked man looks at you for a time. 'And where does a Justice of the Peace go on Redsea, mahn?'
Your blood freezes and the world suddenly stands very still. How does he know? 'What do you mean?
Leraje is motionless. 'You know what Leraje means, lawman. Why are you here?'
You consider your options carefully. If you struck now, you could probably kill this person instantly. But you know nothing about him. Perhaps he is not as alone as he seems. There are too many variables, too many uncertainties.
'I am no lawman.'
Leraje guffaws. 'Mebbe, mahn, mebbe. You people don' often come down on falling stars. Usually, you prefer softer landings in softer places. But, whatever you are, you were a lawman. So, lawman or no, what are you doing here?' Luckily, his voice is too low to be heard by the people nearest to you.
Your voice is even quieter. 'You know nothing, Leraje. And whatever you think you know, you better forget.'
He is still smiling at you. 'Don' worry, mahn. Leraje is very forgetful. But a lil' birdie told him you hunt for a mahn named "Rivera". Is this true, lawman?'
***
Do you... lie?
OR
Do you... tell the truth?
OR
Do you... attack Leraje?
SoupNazi
Guest
Gotta tell the truth. This guy already knows enough to harm us; if he wanted to, he'd have spilled the beans to the likes of Elias or someone else long ago. Right now he seems like someone who in fact might want to help us, perhaps another companion.
Interesting. We know nothing about this man, he's got some skills. He knows what we are and doesn't seem intimidated. Lying seems like an idiotic idea.
So, we either kill him or tell him the truth.
I vote for the latter.
Tell the truth
If he wished to harm us, he'd already done so, or at least tried to. He's curious, he's standing within our reach, if he does something stupid when we acknowledge his question, we can silence him. As it is, he might know what we thought we needed Elias to tell us. If this Leraje can tell us something about Rivera, I'd much rather do business with him than Elias. We need intel.
So, we either kill him or tell him the truth.
I vote for the latter.
Tell the truth
If he wished to harm us, he'd already done so, or at least tried to. He's curious, he's standing within our reach, if he does something stupid when we acknowledge his question, we can silence him. As it is, he might know what we thought we needed Elias to tell us. If this Leraje can tell us something about Rivera, I'd much rather do business with him than Elias. We need intel.
anus_pounder
Arcane
Locue said:
Uh-oh. When we're in such agreement here at the 'dex, that's usually when things go horribly wrong... M: 
anus_pounder
Arcane
We're 7 pages in, its time for some fail.
eklektyk
Erudite
Locue said:
Esquilax
Arcane
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2010
- Messages
- 4,833
Our hero doesn't seem like the kind of man who's skilled at lying and getting his way verbally. He doesn't talk much, and he's already to help two people further their own agendas already. I just don't think our PC is a good enough liar to really convince this guy. Plus, it's a dead end that closes the door on future interaction.
However, we gotta wash our hands of this Kindra and Elias bullshit. I don't want to see either of them again if I can help it. The risks are there, but I think we should TELL THE TRUTH. If Leraje were out to kill us, he wouldn't have been brazen enough to start asking us questions if he knows about our background; he would have simply killed us while he was tailing us and avoided all those risks altogether. I think that this is just the guy we need to get out of this shithole and wash our hands of this Kindra and Elias drama. They'll be pissed, and Elias might come after us because we foolishly agreed to aid him, but fuck'em.
And also, Leraje seems like a p. cool guy.
However, we gotta wash our hands of this Kindra and Elias bullshit. I don't want to see either of them again if I can help it. The risks are there, but I think we should TELL THE TRUTH. If Leraje were out to kill us, he wouldn't have been brazen enough to start asking us questions if he knows about our background; he would have simply killed us while he was tailing us and avoided all those risks altogether. I think that this is just the guy we need to get out of this shithole and wash our hands of this Kindra and Elias drama. They'll be pissed, and Elias might come after us because we foolishly agreed to aid him, but fuck'em.
And also, Leraje seems like a p. cool guy.
Gosh, you're all pussies.
C!
C!
Esquilax
Arcane
- Joined
- Dec 7, 2010
- Messages
- 4,833
Crooked Bee said:
A woman calling me a pussy. I feel emasculated.
We went out here to explore and find info and useful people that would allow us to follow up on leads and not have to deal with Kindra and Elias' bullshit. I've voted the same as you in favour of EXTREME choices, because I felt that those fit our character best and were the best way to find our man.
Now we've encountered a guy who very likely isn't a threat; you figure in a place like this, someone suspects you're a cop, they just kill you. They aren't going to bother asking questions along the way. Leraje knows our PC is a cop, so if he wanted him dead, he simply would have killed him while tailing him.
Now, if Leraje doesn't want to kill us, then clearly he wants something else. I think that the more likely answer is that Leraje is either a rival of Elias', or perhaps a stranded soldier with military experience. In any case, I think that we should take this risk, since it's the best chance we're gonna get to avoid this bullshit with Kindra and Elias. Killing him doesn't further our goals or our position (we get nothing out of it), but talking to this guy could go a long way. I think it's a calculated risk that will pay off.
ironyuri
Guest
Fuck it, tell the truth, bros.
Honesty is the best policy.
Also, Barbarian, I know it was well into Sunday Perth time when you made this update! A barely forgiveable offence. Fucking Melbournians and your shilly shallying.
Honesty is the best policy.
Also, Barbarian, I know it was well into Sunday Perth time when you made this update! A barely forgiveable offence. Fucking Melbournians and your shilly shallying.
Esquilax said:Crooked Bee said:
A woman calling me a pussy. I feel emasculated.
We went out here to explore and find info and useful people that would allow us to follow up on leads and not have to deal with Kindra and Elias' bullshit. I've voted the same as you in favour of EXTREME choices, because I felt that those fit our character best and were the best way to find our man.
Now we've encountered a guy who very likely isn't a threat; you figure in a place like this, someone suspects you're a cop, they just kill you. They aren't going to bother asking questions along the way. Leraje knows our PC is a cop, so if he wanted him dead, he simply would have killed him while tailing him.
Now, if Leraje doesn't want to kill us, then clearly he wants something else. I think that the more likely answer is that Leraje is either a rival of Elias', or perhaps a stranded soldier with military experience. In any case, I think that we should take this risk, since it's the best chance we're gonna get to avoid this bullshit with Kindra and Elias. Killing him doesn't further our goals or our position (we get nothing out of it), but talking to this guy could go a long way. I think it's a calculated risk that will pay off.
I know, I know.
And still, I vote C. I wanna be chaotic evil.
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