The Lost Sea: Lovecraftian Naval RP - Thread 2 - Games

"Fascinating," said Lars. He eyed Therasmus with a neutral expression, although his eyes betrayed him and showed a hint of curiosity. "Would you mind if I record any information you could tell me of the Abyss?" --- Jäger grunted and pointed at the targets. "I don't like to force you but I will if your intention is to bicker. If you keep this up I'll turn you over to Fallensteller." He nodded at her. "Engage the targets at your own pace. Slow and steady shots. No commenting. You wilm focus on the task."

After finding Kass and explaining to him what was going on, Ephraim and the kobold headed for the cargo elevator and began going down. The destitute group quickly took notice of that, and Isidora cheered on the elevator, as if her waving led to this. Arriving down, Ephraim and Kass were faced with the familiar homeless Cattans they had met, who were waving at them in varying levels of excitement, with the two responding with their own waves. Ephraim eyed down the two unknowns, and since he suspected that they were the reason why the furry vagabonds were here, he approached them. Through Kass, he first asked whether the two unfamiliar figures knew the human Gren, and followed up by asking why they were here.

Mesahri didn't know what else to say to Kojo as he began to fade away. It was sad- if she was the very last of Kojo's descendants, then why had he waited so long to speak with her? If only he had appeared to her a day earlier, maybe all this peril could have been avoided. Or maybe he simply couldn't see the future any more than she could, and didn't know that Fallensteller would force servitude upon her. Whatever the reason, he now looked upon the last of his legacy with a strange mixture of hope and pity, and care which transcended centuries. "[In that case... thank you... thank you for your guidance,]" Mesahri said, glancing at the ground between her toes. "[I hope this won't be the last time we speak,]" she added, and when she looked up, Kojo had gone. Barely a moment had passed before she was awoken by a terrible shriek. --- "Everyone stay exactly where you are," Fallensteller ordered in a calm, assuring voice. "The experiment is over." There was a whimpering nearby, an anemic officer clutching his head with both hands, crying into the crooks of his arms. Another lay on the floor, clutching the leg of one of the cots, unconscious. Dr. Keseberg was standing where he had been, his legs and arms all pinned together as if he were scared to reach an inch into the oppressive darkness on all sides. Fallensteller reminded herself that she was the only one who could see, and even then, in such a deprived room, it was difficult to tell blood from ink, and the dead from those merely in shock. There was one woman she was sure was awake; she was laying on her side, holding her wrist where the sacrificial gash was still trickling blood through a rag, her eyes darting about the room in blind terror. Thinking back to when they had been on the bridge earlier that day, she recognized her as Officer Taube, Director of Material Provisions under the ship's Quartermaster. "Miss Taube, darling..." Fallensteller cooed, "you're still with us; it seems the Lord has a plan for you after all. Does that seem so unreasonable? What lengths I've gone through to show you the power of servitude, the providence of our Master. If I ask you to serve Him, will you say yes this time?" "Y-yes," Taube answered. Nodding her head. "Yes! Sh-show me His mercy!" she said, tears streaming down her cheeks. Fallensteller watched the Necrolan crawl across the floor toward Officer Taube and smiled. "It's coming, my dear. It's coming..." --- Mesahri almost fell off the ceiling, she was so startled. "[What was that?]" she said. There were a number of voices in the room. Bitara was in the same corner where she had been, but now Chiri and Eicho were there as well. "[What was that?]" Chiri repeated. One by one, they dropped from their perch and landed gracefully on the deck below. Mesahri scooped her hat off the ground as they scampered along toward the doorway into the pump room, from which they could climb a staircase to the next floor above. They chattered idly, mainly about what they thought they had heard, until Mesahri remembered the dream she had just awoken from. But now, standing in a crowded hall with panicked sailors bumping past them in a confused rush, the other bats didn't seem prepared to hear about the foreboding message she had been given. At least, that's what Mesahri told herself as the words seemed to hang in her throat. She looked about, eventually spotting Lt. Pawlitzki and a few of his riflemen trotting along. She wasn't keen on speaking to him, knowing what sort of trouble he represented, but at least she knew his name. "Lieutenant!" she called out, and Pawlitzky spotted and beckoned her over. "Officer," Pawlitzky greeted gruffly as they hustled along toward the hospital, "we're not sure exactly what happened in there but it could be either very good or very bad." "Okay, well-" Mesahri started to say when Pawlitzky practically grabbed her by the arm and dragged her along with a squad of Raum's servants, all headed for the hospital.

After talking with the Admiral, Vunor had made it ashore and made his way to his cliffside tent to be alone for the evening. He placed his staff and equipment away on the other side of the interior to get ready to sleep. Before doing so however, he lit a stick of incense and recited a prayer, holding it between his palms before placing it in a bowl of sand to stand for the night. He laid himself down on his side and watched the incense burn ever so slowly as he began to drift off. Some time passed before he finally closed his eyes and began his rest. --- "I speak your language fine, human." Nita replied towards the disheveled man in front of her. "We seek adventure and wish to join your airship upon which you reside." --- Dobbs leaned in forward onto the table, pondering for a moment. "I've already lost at least a few men from these... 'voices' that play tricks upon the mind of sailors. Is there any way to counter-act, or at least slow the progression, of these kind of things?" he asked Mannfred before quickly looking over to Lonstray. "Apart from lobotomies or electric shocks."

Therasmus hums to himself, putting up several of the books in their proper place with his psychic ability before swapping them out for some new ones. "Certainly. Much of it is indescribable but you are free to record anything I have told you or will continue to tell you." he states. "It won't exactly be a comprehensive guide that would aid any expeditionary work, but some armament is better than no armament, yes?"

Ephraim just nodded a few times towards Nita, looked back at the destitute group of Cattans, and then back again at Nita. "Alright then. With permission from First Officer Luna von Strauss, to whom I will bring you all to, from this moment onward you are all crew members of the Eisenstrasse," he stated, before doing a little stretch and yawn. He appeared less disheveled than he did tired, having clearly not had enough sleep these days. The Cattan vagabonds looked at one another in confusion after Kass repeated what Ephraim said to them, as though they didn't believe it was that easy. "Everyone to the cargo elevator then," Ephraim said, motioning them to follow him towards it.

Cattapoli, Blitzwave Yarah looked visibly flustered at Jager's remarks, but said nothing as she turned her attention back to the targets. Why her? Why was she the one to be summoned to deal with this nonsense? He wasn't even using her for her purpose, which while that was a great relief, it was still confusing. There were plenty of other demons out there more suitable and enthusiastic for these kind of exploits. She preferred to be bundled up in silk, drinking wine and watching the players act their hearts out on stage. Shalo was an annoying and cruel bitch, but at least there was some fun to be had on the off days. The demon's aim wasn't terrible, though it wasn't much better than average. Pretty good for a first timer, all things considered. Her grouping was average and she managed to keep most shots center mass. "There, are you happy now?" She asked with a huff, setting the empty gun on the range table next to them. Cattapoli, Zuflucht The Necrolan inched across the ground until it was beside Officer Taube. Since the woman was on her side, her back was facing the sentient tome, so it had crawled its way towards her head. A small grey tendril snaked its way out from beneath the book from between its pages. It had a distinct needle point end, giving it the appearance of a mosquito's tail combined with the body of a worm. The tendril seemed to examine the woman for a second before it plunged itself into the back of her neck, and shortly afterwards the interior of the translucent tendril turned red. It was drinking her blood. All Officer Taube would feel is a little prick at the back of the neck, though she would quickly realize that her entire body was paralyzed. She couldn't move a muscle. The longer the book drank from her body, the colder she felt. It was like she was trapped in a snowstorm in only a nightgown. It was unclear how long the book would feed like this, and it was possible it would simply suck her dry if not stopped. Cattapoli, Revenant "Well, that would depend on the sources of these voices. Some physical entities, such as sirens or mermaids, can easily be stopped through the consumption of certain herbs or minor wards. Ghosts and phantoms are a little trickier, but blood or salt runes should ward them off. Demons can be warded against in a similar way as well. However, if these voices don't seem to have an identifiable source, then its possible they are coming from the spirits and magic trapped within the air. This place is a graveyard. Every inch of it. But if these shattered spirits are causing the voices - which they often are - then there is little that can be done. They are almost undetectable, physically and through magical means. The best way I can suggest to deal with these is to put up typical wards - scarring yourself with crosses may help, wearing a blood cross more often, carrying a vial of salt around the neck, things like that may help. Even constructing a totem and believing in it may work, or use an already existing lucky charm. Most assuredly, lobotomies and electric shocks do not have any affect," Mannfred explained, frowning at Lonstray as he finished speaking.

Nita didn't need to wait another moment and quickly entered the elevator, and beckoned everyone with an impatient gleefulness to get on as well. --- Lonstray gave a look that mixed both confusion and annoyance to both towards the Admiral and the Vice Admial and shot up in his seat. "W-what? How preposterous! I would never resort to lobotomies if that is what you're implying! The Academy disallowed the practice of that decades ago for good reason. My methods have nothing to do with that..." he sputtered out before slowly sitting back down. "...electro-shock therapy is only in the most severe of cases back home too." he muttered in an upset tone as he looked down and twiddled his thumbs.

Stalking across the darkened room, Fallensteller approached Taube, kneeling down so that she could look deep into the woman's pleading eyes. For a moment, she strongly considered taking her book back and letting Taube keep her life. The officer had witnessed the absolute horror of non-compliance through the inhumane experimentation on, and the resulting death of, Lt. Weber, and would surely obey. Her pained expression practically screamed her readiness to embrace the Lord... But the others, Fallensteller thought, the bleeders who'll come with the next batch of conversions, what will convince them? She knew that, regardless of the opportunity the experiment gave to test her powers, losing Weber and Pfeiffer was a terrible price which could not be repeatedly emulated. She gently stroked Taube's hair as the younger woman approached her untimely death. "You will serve a higher purpose," she assured her, "after your passing. You will be perfect, and without a second thought... Cherished by your shepherd, and our Master, the Lord. So don't be afraid, and embrace our love." Fallensteller waited until she was certain Taube was dead before scooping the Necrolan off the floor. Flipping the tome open once more, she concentrated on Taube with an almost motherly love. One more ritual would be performed, to prove the meaning of eternal service. --- Outside the hospital entrance, Pawlitzki and a crowd of officers and sailors were arrested by the appearance of the doorway. The doors, built of sturdy wood and each containing a grid of windows, we're entirely opaque and impossibly dark; it was as if nothing existed on the other side. Frost was collecting on the surfaces and dripping ice hung from the brass door handles. "Everyone, stay back!" Pawlitzki demanded. "When these doors are opened, only a few of us will go in. Those going with me already know who they are." The Lieutenant watched as the crowd shrunk away, leaving only the faithful up close. He nodded. "Now, of those who aren't entering, I want every unarmed person to vacate the area. Things could get dangerous very quickly and if you're not ready for a fight then you're just a liability..." Pawlitzki seemed to be buying time as he ordered the others around, and Mesahri didn't blame him. She looked into the eerie void behind the glass and wondered what awful thing had happened, or was still happening, within.

"Cease fire." shouted Váradi, waving to the storm trooper standing inside the firing range. He ceased, lowering his weapon and flipping the safety on. So far, the submachine gun had performed beautifully. Von Strauss knew what she was doing. As silence filled the firing range for the time being, he finished scribbling data and information down on a sheet of paper, marked with formal Pracht designs and insignia. The report that Krantz had asked for. Basic paperwork, which he had filled out countless times during the war as after action reports. Soon enough, he was finished. He signed off on it, before slipping the clipboard under his arm. He motioned the storm trooper over, then instructed him to take it to the Armorer. "I need one hundred of those made before we get to Nadesh, do you understand?" he asked, to which the soldier responded with a salute. He waved his hand, dismissing the man, and the trooper wandered off to the armory next door. The conversions would take time, and he ordered twice as many as was needed. It was likely that they could offer the SMGs to Fontaine and his bunch for some shotguns, and they had plenty of spare pistols in the event that more were needed. Now the question was if the tanks were ready to go. Two of their tanks would be used during the battle at the cardinal's palace. The other two would be assisting the other groups. The engines would need a good checkup, fuel would need to be topped off, ammunition stocked...easily done over the next few days. He'd worry about it after the trial tomorrow. He proceeded out of the firing range, moving through the armory and barracks. He only paused once, outside of Krantz's quarters to slip the clipboard into a slot on the wall reserved for urgent crew reports. From there, he went back to the barracks to his own quarters. He himself needed to get ready for the next day. He'd need to be refreshed if he were to be the officer that the Empire demanded. One far better than Krantz himself. Yet again Váradi went to bed without the mark on his head, forgetting about it as he laid down to sleep. --------- Von Strauss smiled as she watched the group below the Eisenstrasse move towards and aboard the cargo elevator. New recruits! Wonderful! She wondered who the new ones were, and if they could be of any use to her. She had considered drafting followers to assist her, much like Fallensteller was likely doing on her own ship. Like minded individuals that would enjoy walking the path of chaos alongside her. She grinned at the thought. Still, she didn't dwell on it long. She still wanted to ask Veritas about the war and his past! She hoped she could do it later, whenever she finally went to sleep, unless he had prior engagements. Gods are always so busy, just like humans and other mortal creatures!

Ephraim, Kass, Nita, Kitta and the Destitute Cattans all entered the cargo elevator and went up. The homeless group was chatting amongst itself, with Kass listening in somewhat. Ephraim thought about perhaps engaging with the two unfamiliar Cattans, especially as they seemingly spoke Gren, but he just kept doing stretches, thinking that it wouldn't be necessary as they'd introduce themselves to Von Strauss anyway. The elevator arrived up, and Ephraim and Kass led the newcomers to the bridge, where the First Officer was waiting.

Tobeys expression remained sceptically scolding. He took note of Neustadts body language, which seemed different from her voice and eyes. It seems whatever Fallensteller sat in motion has grown drastically out of hand. I can not hope to be of any assistance to her now. Blast it, I can't even utilize the power stored in the tear. He grimaced as he thought about the gruelingly slow progress of his own research. But Neustadt was a lost cause. Doubtfully Doctor Marsh could be of any further assistance, and the black tome, all though commendably well documented and organized, had not contained anything but purely encyclopedic contents. "Very well." Tobey finally proclaimed, "I shall not keep you against your will." He turned and walked out the doorway, stopping at Bennetts side, "Take her back to the Zuflucht:" Bennett nodded and walked up to Neustadt, "Come on then." he said as he gently pushed her out of the cell and towards the top deck. Barns had made his way ahead of the group to ready the skiff, but Neustadt began feeling more and more boxed in as Bennett fished along various crewmen to escort her. Only Norton and Jonesey were familiar to her, while the rest were a small group of 4 men and a additional woman, all carrying a varying assortments of daggers, cutlasses and pistols. The only deviation was Norton, from whos belt dangled a fearsome nightstick, it'sworn surface covered in bumps and darkened patches. As the group filed into the skiff, everybody except Norton and Bennett seemed to be eyeing the young engineer suspiciously as the vessel began tugging along towards the Zuflucht. --- Tobey entered the bridge with a calm stride and turned to Reginald and Ben, "Sorry to keep you waiting, Mister Fontaine. My errand ran a little longer than I had anticipated." he said as he walked towards the door to his quarters at the back of the bridge. He motioned for Reginald to follow as he casually dismissed Ben. Upon entering his room he took out too glasses and opened a small cabinet in his desk. "Is colonial brandy to your taste or do you prefer Columbias celebrated Kantuckett bourbon?

"I suppose that my taste is more patriotic than most." Reginald answered "But I wont say no to the brandy. It's been a while and I do need the variety." The thought of the brandy reminded him of his dream earlier today. Odd that he would even think of it this soon and now of all times. He pushed the memory aside in the back of his mind.

Von Strauss awaited the group, standing near the observation windows till she saw them entering the lower bridge. She quickly strolled over, a smile on her face. "Welcome aboard the Eisenstrasse! My name is Luna von Strauss. I am the first officer aboard this vessel, serving directly under Captain Krantz." she said, greeting them all as she folded her arms behind her back.

Nita took a moment to observe the woman in front of her as she spoke. It really couldn't have been THAT easy to get on board. she thought to herself as she gave a small smile in return to von Strauss. She bowed slightly forward, as was customary in her society when introducing herself. "Greetings, Officer Strauss. I am Nita, of Clan Ironhide. With me is my good friend, Kitta, as well as Isidora and her company." she spoke in Gren while motioning her hand to each of the others that followed her on board. "We are honored to be here."

Von Strauss nodded, before glancing to Ephraim. "I imagine you're wondering why it was easy enough to get onboard this time as compared to last time." she said, looking to the group from before behind Nita and Kitta. She looked back to Nita. "Well, I saw you coming through the observation window, and decided to ask Ephraim to bring you aboard. I want to offer you all the chance to join the crew of the Eisenstrasse. We have more than enough room, and we could use the extra hands."

Well, that certainly was VERY easy... Nita thought to herself once more, half surprised and half confused. She turned to the others with her. "[The woman is already offering us positions on board to join the crew. Must be my charming personality.]" she said with a smile in her native language as translation. She turned back to von Strauss quickly. "Thank you for this generous opportunity. We accept. Is there any... specifics as to what positions we are working as?" she replied back to von Strauss in Gren once more.

"Thank you for this generous opportunity. We accept. Is there any... specifics as to what positions we are working as?" "At the moment, just ordinary crewmembers. Helping me and the others keep this airship operational and in the air. Unless any of you have combat experience and wish to be a soldier." said Von Strauss. "Soldiers obviously being the ones that defend the ship, or are sent out to fight battles and kill things. They'll get special training from the third in command, Sándor Váradi." She paused for a moment, remembering that some of then didn't know Gren. "We will teach our language to those that don't understand Gren, as well. We could use your help along with Kass, my Kobold friend here, in doing so. It will make work and communication far more easy."

Nita relayed the information as best she could back to the others, including the offer to learn Gren, before turning back to face von Strauss once more. "Does killing some nutjob cultists count as combat experience?"

"Does killing some nutjob cultists count as combat experience?" "In a way, yes." said Von Strauss, with a smirk. "Though I was refering more to experience as a guard or a warrior. Still, if you wish, you can enlist as a soldier."

"I suppose it will take a bit for us to get settled in and decide where we want to be. Although, by soldier does that mean I'd have to use those weird weapons of yours? My method of fighting is... different to say the least." Nita asked inquisitively. Perhaps I can distinguish myself with what I have learned from all these years. she thought to herself.

"I suppose it will take a bit for us to get settled in and decide where we want to be. Although, by soldier does that mean I'd have to use those weird weapons of yours? My method of fighting is... different to say the least." "Yes, you'll be trained how to use a firearm like the other soldiers. If it gets in the way of how you normally fight, we have smaller firearms that you can use in the event you need them." said Von Strauss. She was curious as to what the girl meant by different. She'd just have to wait and see, it seemed.

"Excellent," said Lars. He started to scribble down notes in an empty notebook. "What can you tell me about the different creatures which reside within the Abyss? For example, are there only variants of demons or are there other creatures as well?" --- Jäger stared at Yarah for a moment. At this point he was starting to get annoyed. "Yes, we're done." The two of them then started to walk, leaving Stefan to clean the weapons left on the table. After walking back to the conference room for Yarah to get changed Jäger marched over to the bridge with his servant in tow. Jäger sat down with Yarah remaining at his side. "Communications, I want a new nessage to be sent to the Eye of Horus. Tell Captain Fontaine that I'm interested in his special weapons." The communications operator nodded and relayed the message. Jäger sighed and drummed his fingers against the armrests of his chair.

"Yes, you'll be trained how to use a firearm like the other soldiers. If it gets in the way of how you normally fight, we have smaller firearms that you can use in the event you need them." "Oh, um, okay..." Nita said nervously. She had been acquainted with guns when she had her little scuffle with the cultists alongside Spaghetti and Jack, and decided she didn't like them very much. But if having to wield one of them meant being on board the ship, then she would have to deal with it. "I suppose we should know where we're going to sleep. It is getting late."

"I suppose we should know where we're going to sleep. It is getting late." "Yes. Ephraim, please show them to the barracks. Lets keep them near the Kobolds, that way everyone isn't scattered about." she said, nodding and looking to Ephraim. "We'll get started tomorrow morning with training and Gren lessons."

Ephraim at least now knew the names of these two, Nita Ironhide and friend Kitta, and they at least knew his forename. Kass similarly relayed the information to the destitute group as Nita was, and the mention of guard experience led to Isidora poking Thaddaios with her elbow, to his annoyance. Soon, the meeting was done and he was asked to bring the new recruits to the Barracks. He nodded back at Von Strauss, and spoke aloud: "Alright, everyone follow me then," he said, as he motioned them to do so.

Therasmus begins to drum his fingers across a page of one of his floating books, giving the question some consideration. "The term 'demon' seems to be quite a widespread classification for those that reside in this realm. From what I've gathered it would seem that most anything not of this world, aside from divine beings, are referred to as demons. While I am not exactly an expert on the creatures that reside in the Abyss or was able to catalog them, I can say that I did encounter quite the variety. Humanoids, beasts, and unfathomable beings are just a few of many different types of creature you'd come across in the Abyss." he explains.

Nita followed after Ephraim to her accommodations on the vessel, eager to get some sleep. Soon enough, Nita and the others found themselves in the barracks, and she eyed some of the bunks that were seemingly available. She planted herself at one of the bunks, waving over to Kitta to take the one above her while she herself would take the one below. After unpacking and setting aside her replacement staff, she laid herself down. Kitta by this point had done so already and mostly everybody else was doing the same. This wasn't like the beds she was normally used to, but still she found it relatively easy to drift off into sleep as she closed her eyes. --- After talking a bit longer, the meeting between the Admiral and Dobbs as the three men journeyed back to the Dawnbreaker to retire for the evening. Ackermann was escorted back to his quarters while Lonstray stamped off, still upset over the accusation of barbaric practices. Dobbs entered his quarters, but rather than sleep, he picked up a violin from the corner of the room and began to softly play it and lost himself in sonata as he a particular favorite song of his. As he played, his mind filled in the gaps for the rest of the orchestra, and it felt like as if he was listening to the Albionian Provincial Orchestra back home. A beautiful tune, it was. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7rxl5KsPjs For a time, he played, using music to calm his mind. For the first time in a while since he entered the sea, he felt at peace. Perhaps this was his way to stave off madness which he so feared. An escape from the ever so dark reality. But, as all things do, the song came to an end with a final note. After he finished the song, he sighed and put the violin back. He took the time he needed to remove his arm, his clothes, and to put on his nightwear before finally entering bed and closing his eyes to sleep with a soft smile on his face.

It wasn't long after the group ventured back to the barracks that Von Strauss herself decided to retire for the night. She placed one of the bridge officers in charge of things, before venturing back to her quarters. It was the same routine as before, stepping over items that had been scattered about as she ventured around the room. She changed into her sleeping attire before finally collapsing in bed.

Ephraim and Kass brought the new recruits to the Barracks, and while he would make a comment or two about the space, he largely left Kass to be their guide at this point, considering the kobolds being near. He once more welcomed them aboard, before excusing himself and letting Kass handle the rest until they all went to bed. The destitute group joined Nita and Kitta and, after taking their personal weapons out and leaving them near, headed off to bed as well. Despite his yawning and stretching, Ephraim didn't exactly feel that tired yet, so he compelled himself to just go around the ship's communal areas, to see if anyone needed any help. He'd surely be tired after that, enough to get him to go to bed.