Parallel Lines

[DEFCON 1]

As he watches Sorren and then Vel go up the stairs to the upper deck, Massif turns to face Digger.

'I'm with you, Digger. I know what it's like to live under the idea of being one thing then all of a sudden having things change on you and you become something else. I grew up from childhood believing I would one day join my family on the front lines, defending my clan from others who would do us wrong. But then my father decided that I'd be better served being hired out to House Deneith as an extra axe, so that the clan could bring in extra monies. Thus, I got pulled out of my home and have been wandering around for months now, being something I'm not used to being.'

He grimmaces with the thought of what he currently is.

'The only difference between us is... you got to make a choice as to whom you've become. I wasn't so lucky.'

His eyes flash back to the stairs where he last saw both of the other men disappear from sight.

'And don't worry about that Sorren guy... I think he sees only what he wants to see. He'll see you for whom you are soon enough. But I'll see you as you want to be seen. A builder? An artificer? Works for me. That's what you are. Digger The Constructionist...'

And he gives the warforged an uncharacteristic smile.

 

[Badger]

While Digger was uncertain if his facial features would allow him to express irony, he was very capable of feeling it internally.

And how would you see Digger the Constructionist if you knew he gained his freedom by killing to achieve it...

Looking down at Massif, Digger shrugged his shoulders imitating the action of the warm bloods as best he could.

'In the end, is not perception in many ways reality? The world will move on as it must Massif, and if there is one thing I have learned it is that if we are not careful, the world will move on without us. You must be careful that this does not happen to you, as if it does, you will become nothing but a mere shade of yourself in its passing. Little more than a specter who always wonders why they were left behind while others were not.'

Wondering if the dwarven warm blood could understand the meaning behind his words, Digger stopped talking fearing he would sound foolish to the man.

Many will not understand how you see the world Digger...keep it simple and true...it is the best way...

'Shall we see the deck above Massif?'

 

[ShaggySpellsword]

Systar watches and listens, especially intrested in the exchange between Massif, Sorren, and Digger. After Sorren heads above-decks, Systar goes to his pack, pulls out his head-wrap, and ties his mask to his belt, listening to Digger and Massif's conversation. As he is putting on his head-wrap, a thought strikes Systar and he does not hesitate to speak it.

'Digger the Constructionist, you are in a truly unique position that I envy. True, you do not have the benefeit I have, the stories of a truly great ancestor to guide your actions, to guide the story of your life. I live as Kelaerys Thousand-Stings would have lived in hopes of making something of his spirit eternal: he is a hero from the first days of my people's independance. He is one amongst the heroes who made a place for my people in this world. But this advantage you have my friend: YOU shall be amongst the heroes of the Warforged race. It is you the Warforged of the future will remember, yours is the story that will be told. You have a path to blaze and, lest my ears deceive me, you have the will to walk this path and become a hero unto your people. The songs they will make of you Digger the Constructionist...oh the songs!'

Systar becons to Digger and the others still below-decks to follow before taking his bow and bounding up the stairs to see the deck of the airship.

And one day...the songs they will sing of me and MY quest as well!

 

[Zweischneid]

Staring out at the blue sky and the miniature landscape rolling by below the ship, Celebren quickly finds his anger dissipating.

No use in holding a grudge I guess. Likely as not, this journey will turn out to be no more than some quiet and peaceful days of sailing in the sky. Why spoil that all by worrying about that stupid dwarf?

Rolling his head and shoulders to relax himself, Celebrens gaze turns back towards the ship and its crew, intriqued by the similarities and differences of sailing an Airship compared to a regular one.

I wonder where those people got all those dark notions about being set up by the shipowner and dangerous freights being locked up in the cargo hold. Clearly noone would misuse such a splendid ship for some hazardous crime. Or would they?

Shaking his head with nervous laughter, the half elf scolds himself in hushed tones.
'This is what its coming too eh? Your already turning paranoid like the rest of them.'

Better get those foul thoughs out of your mind quickly, the half elf reasons with himself.

Loosening his tense muscles once more with a short breathing exercise he lets his blue eyes wander the deck for a few idle sailors to talk to.
'Ahoy there' he greets, walking over to join them. 'a splendid day today, is it not?'

--------------------------------------------​

Ooc:
Assuming there are crewmembers willing and able to talk a moment, Celebren will try to engage them in a casual conversation and politely make some inquiries about (1.) the ships cargo and (2.) the shipowner.

((Gather Information = 16 + 2 = 18))

If you want to play out the conversation, just ignore the dice...

 

[Eluvan]

Those who climb up to the deck come up to find themselves on what is, in fact, surprisingly similar to the deck of a ship in many ways, even down to the mast and rigging. You rather suspect that at some point this vessel may truly have been a seafaring ship that has been converted into an airship. In fact from where you stand you cannot see over the chest-high barriers at the edge of the ship and so the only hint that you are not aboard a perfectly ordinary boat is the great ring of elemental fire that arcs high over the ship. It crackles and roars quite loudly, though the noise is partially carried away by the wind so that by the time it reaches you it sounds distant and faint. Straight ahead of you as you come up the stairs is a door, perhaps 20 feet over the deck, which clearly leads into the captain's cabin, built into the raised stern of the ship. On either side of the cabin, and thus at the extreme port and starboard edges of the ship, are staircases that lead up to the stern.((hope I've got all my nautical terminology right...)).

There are a few deckhands going about their business around the ship, some of whom give you a friendly nod or passing greeting and some of whom simply ignore you. Celebren, you manage to engage a couple of the crew in conversation for a few minutes and manage to drop subtly leading questions. The crew are not completely sure about the cargo, although from what they say it seems they usually do not enquire too deeply, seeing no reason to do so. The bulk of it consists of a pile of crates, which none of them find at all unusual. It is standard practice that any additional small, delicate items for transportation are held by the captain and there might be a few such items - there often are. The captain, it seems, is very well liked amongst the crew and they'll not hear a word against her. It seems she has a somewhat dubious past, and it is very obvious that she is a privateer with no house affiliations. You have to be very careful when talking about the captain not to make the wrong sort of intimations, for it seems obvious that she is not entirely on the level and the crew do not take kindly to anything they might see as an accusation. ((Impetus lies with you - if you want to roleplay something out, that's fine, if you roll then I'll give you a summary as above))

Anybody looking over the edge of the ship can see the lands of Aundair slowly slipping away beneath them. At the moment you seem to be travelling over a small town, though none of you can guess which one. Far below you, if you squint, you can pick out the townspeople going about their business, looking from up here for all the world like a colony of insects busily working to some incomprehensible purpose. About two hundred feet away from the ship, a flock of birds flies along, clearly puzzled by the ship as they match their pace to it quite well and fly consistently along side. From this distance none of you can make out what kind of birds they might be, and you do not recognise their cries, which are quite harsh and deep. That isn't particularly surprising though, given that none of you are native to Aundair.

 

[DEFCON 1]

The harsh cries of the birds off the side of the airship reverberate through Massif's ears. He goes over and climbs the right-hand side staircase to the top of the stern, so that he can look out over the edge to the lands below, as well as look back to all the crew and fellow party members below him.

This is ridiculous. Why do I do this? Making enemies all over again, eh you stupid dwarf? Maybe the human is right... maybe I need to stop worrying about myself and instead keep my mind and heart ready. You ARE a warrior for Host's sake... why don't you start acting like one?

Deciding that perhaps it IS in fact time to take a pro-active stance, even if he doesn't truly believe it's necessary, Massif calls out to some of his fellow guards.

'This is a good ship, my fellows! Lots of quality vantage points. Are any of you experts in the bow? If so, you may want to come up here and check this area out... I think you'll find it most helpful in finding quality shot.'

He takes quick glance to his left as he sees a number of ropes tied off to the rail and strung up to the masts above him.

'If any one you have any nautical experience, you'll probably be able to take advantage of the ropes to move up there' ...he point to the mast above, 'and get some REALLY good shots.'

Massif moves back to the staircase and begins his descent from the stern to the deck, then wanders over to the door of the captain's quarters.

'I think my best position is right here. Quiet honestly my one strong suit is taking a pounding, so I can defend this door for quite a while if someone was to attempt to break in. This would give our archers... Systar, would that be you?... and perhaps Digger and Vel as well?... time to peg anyone off from above. Sorren, you look as though you have skill with your blade... perhaps your best place might be guarding the door to below-decks? And Celebren, from the looks of things you seem to have a bit of speed about you... so your skills might be best for covering everywhere else. With your speed you probably can move around the cargo here... plus get below decks to help out the wizard below... Samea, was it?'

He glances back to the door leading below-decks as he realizes she is the only one of the group who did not make the journey up here to the top deck. He then realizes even more surprisingly that he in fact just took a position of so-called leadership as he gave some suggestions as to where the group might best be if something were to happen. This takes him aback, as all along he's been telling himself that he never wanted a position like that. But once the time came to work out some tactical stategy, he fell into it more easily that he would have suspected.

Hmm... well father, looks like you raised me well. Hopefully someday I'll be able to use what you've taught me about combat to help our family, rather than a random employer such as this...

And with that, he pulls the waraxe from his belt, and begin working on some practice swings while staying in front of the captain's door.

 

[Zweischneid]

'... thats really amazing! ... But how does the vessel handle stormy weather? ... Wouldn't a strong gale or a mighty drench turn it off the course? ... How'd you cut a tight turn with that thing anyways and how fast can you make a dive or a steep soar anyways? ... '

Chatting curiously with the crew, Celebren hardly noticed the rest of the hired guard enter the deck until he hears his name shouted amidships.

.. Celebren, from the looks of things you seem to have a bit of speed about you... so your skills might be best for covering everywhere else. With your speed you probably can move around the cargo here... plus get below decks to help out the wizard below... Samea, was it?'

Oh great, now he's set on turning me into his messenger boy. *sigh* Well, but that was to be expected anyways I suppose.
He certainly is right at setting up some strategy incase we'd really need to defend the crew and he did have the courtesy to learn my name after all.

'I guess thats my call.' he says, turning back to the crew while pointing at the commanding dwarf. 'Say, has one of you sailed this route with Captain .... ? Uh.. forgot his name.' Anyways, did ya sail this course before? Might be useful to know what threats we may be facing in these waters.. er, sorry.. these parts, so we can prepare accordingly?'

Lingering a few moments longer for some answers and good byes, the half-elf is still reluctant to join the rest of the hired mercenaries in their planning, even though he knows well enough that his duty on the ship is far more important than any personal grudges.

'By the Sword of Dorn, what kind of strange birds are those?'

 

[Badger]

Digger's eyes took in the ship with an approving look, and while he had never worked with wood heavily, he knew that the time and effort it took in making this ship had to be great.

What it must have been like to see this ship take flight for the first time. The skill it must have taken...the efforts among both those who work with the arcane and the physical...truly impressive indeed.

When Digger heard Massif mention his name among the ranks of the archers, Digger nodded his head and accepted his role silently.

'If that is the role where I can be of the most assistance, then I will do my best.

 

[Sorren]

Sorren stood looking over the edge of the rail, seemingly lost in thought. There was quiet a view up here, not unlike the view from some of Sharn's towers. He turned away from it to survey the deck. Where would be the best place to take defensive position? In front of the cabin maybe....what is that dwarf rambling about now?

Sorren, you look as though you have skill with your blade... perhaps your best place might be guarding the door to below-decks?

Sorren grinned slightly and nodded. Evidently Massif had decided to actually work for his coin, and in fact, shared Sorren's own idea. Not a problem, as his next thought for a post was indeed the passage to the below decks. It seemed the two of them shared the same tactical foresight.

He moved away from the rail and scanned the crew. For a second time, he drew upon the Will of his second soul, and touched the minds of those he could see, delicatly probing for dark intent that would mark their own soul blackened. [Detect Evil]

((Regardless of what he learns...))

He turned away from the crew and approached Massif before taking up his post. So what convinced you? You decide your life was worth fighting for, or did you just want to take my post? He added another grin at the end to show the dwarf that he was teasing.

 

[DEFCON 1]

So what convinced you? You decide your life was worth fighting for, or did you just want to take my post?

The quick word and grin from Sorren takes Massif aback for a split-second, as he wasn't expecting such a direct response from anyone, let alone the strange human that he's already had words with. And to be honest, the fact that he was teasing goes completely over the dwarf's head as he stammers the beginning of a response.

'Huh? What? No, I uh... what...'

Before responding in a biting and defensive manner (as he is made incredibly uncomfortable with the face-to-face dialogue), Massif shuts his mouth to take a second or two to process the information that has just passed between the two of them. Feeling a bit like Digger for the moment (where the risk of confusing each other's emotions and feelings seemed quite likely), he decides to file everything away and just answer simply and honestly... and hopefully give a response that Sorren is okay with.

'The ship... it's... well, we're here. Instinct kicked in.'

He takes a second to look directly into Sorren's eyes to divine his attitude, and basically comes away with the feeling that he's ready to put the past behind them as they are now relating on a warrior-to-warrior level.

'I... do not have a problem switching posts if you believe you would be better suited to guard the cabins. Atlhough I do know that I am not the most adept at navigating the narrow stairways throughout the ship. I fear I might run the risk of being too slow should something occur below decks.'

Massif shrugs his shoulders and glances around at the movement on deck.

'As you originally offered the idea of taking up posts, I will defer to your call in this matter. I put myself under your command.'

And with that, he delivers a rather serious bow of the head to Sorren... and it's obvious that the dwarf is being sincere.