Gravestones and Smokestacks RP thread

[Nigel Wetherby]

"Very well," Aven concluded, fingering the collar of his shirt and straightening his jacket and shirt, such disorderlyness grated at him like sandpaper, and her refused to be made dull by such idle sloppinesses.
"Good sir, if you could kindly make port in the italian Villaige of Cicagne, I shall fetch your map and point it out straight away."

Aven and the captain vanished into the captain's quarters, the neat young man and the large, grizzled captain standing as staunch differences to eachother as the door closed behind them.

The low pink sun flashed its blinding light off the dark blue surface of the ocean as dawn approached and the Nebuchadnezzur approached the humble town of Cicagne.

[Stella Gaslight]

Nina slept deeply and when she woke it was hard for her to move. With an effort like climbing a mountain she sat up and swung her legs over the side.  She cursed her hag ridden state while the crows tried to coax her back in to bed. Nina would not let them, she hated being stuck in bed.  It reminded her of when she had first lost her eyes.  Everyone was so nice and careful about mentioning it, they were so gentle like they were afraid she would brake.  She had been wrapped up in so many layers of protection she couldn't feel the world.  Nina walked slowly down the hall, leaning heavily on the wall.  She paused to look out a port hole at the sunny morning and was shocked when a strange face looked back at her.  It was translucent and blue  it seemed inquisitive and friendly but Nina still let out a small scream of shock. 

[Vancouver Air Privateer]

The ironclad had just docked at the small Italian town. Kemp was helping the crew moor the boat and was already starting to help load supplies. He felt like he needed the work to keep him busy. Though he was quite fit and fairly tall, he wasn't nearly as musclebound as the hefty sailors and he surprised many of them by carrying and doing what seemed like twice the amount they were. His curse did have some advantages.

He was inside and about to head out for another load when he heard Nina's scream. Instantly thinking that the shadow thing was back he rushed towards the location of the noise. He banged on her door, asking hurriedly if she was alright.

[Stella Gaslight]

The blue faced creature looked concerned.  It was vaguely human formed with a small sleek body and rather large eyes.  It tuned it's head to look at her in confusion, that is when she saw the gill slits in the neck.  Realization dawned on her this was the creature known as the sea angel.  they were odd humanoids that were said to help worthy ships through storms but pull unworthy ones in to the depths.  Nina had never heard of them being so near the shallows, their preferred place was out in the depths.  Perhaps it was lost or needed help.  Kemp's banging pulled her from her pondering.   She opened the door calmly and smiled. "Please come in Mr Kemp We have a rather rare visitor. it think it may be lost."  The blue face smiled at Kemp as well as if to welcome him.  Nina wobbled over to her bed, legs shaking from the excursion of standing so long.  "I think the sea angel means us no harm but I have no idea why it would be so close to a human town."  Her stomach growled and nina realised how very hungry she was.

[Nigel Wetherby]

Drawn by the screams of the seemingly imperilled Nina, Aven joined Kemp and Nina at the scene, clutching his cartridge-launcher and preparing to engage whatever horrid beast had risen from the depths. The serenity of the scene made itself known to him almost immediately as he holstered his gun and retreived his notepad. He went to work scribbling observations as he approached the aquatic creature.

"CLionae Sapiens..." Aven breathed in admiration, sketching the creature's smiling face at the bottom of his already observation-loaded slip of paper.

The sea angel's blue skin glimmered like soft glass amid the sea, its features were smooth and almost hauntingly flawless. A trail of tentacles bobbed carelessly in the water beneath it. A single red orb at its center glowed and pulsed, sending veins of reddish light through its body.

"A female by the looks of it, note the thinner, sleeker jawline." His words bore a soft, warm regard for the creature, who bobbed like a serene bouey beside their ship.

The local dockhand waved down the captain, offering to tie down the boat to the dock. The old captain, jaded to the seas wonderments headed off to settle business with the dockhand and assure that their boat would remain unstolen.

[Vancouver Air Privateer]

Kemp stared fascinated at the strange visitor from the depths. Things like this tended to avoid humans as best they could. He slowly cracked open the porthole.

"Clio is it?" he asked, smiling. He gently held out his hand, the sea angel gently brushing the edge of her fingers across it. "Are you lost, my fair lass?"

To his surprise, the sea angel pulled herself up with shocking agility. With even greater flexibility, she shot her lithe figure through the large porthole, sliding across the floor and then pulling her damp form up. Sea angels were able to survive outside of the water, as long as they were damp, which their skin was good at holding, pulling moisture in from the very atmosphere.

The creature from the waves wrapped her arms around him, staring at him in what seemed to be fascination. She gave a small series of shrill squeaks and squeals.

"Heh." murmured Kemp, a bit unsure how to handle the situation. "I, ah, figure she can sense my... ahem... fishiness, so to speak. Eh, maybe you should maybe slip back into the ocean - you're rather dampening poor Ms. Nina's cabin."

[Nigel Wetherby]

"Fascinating!" Aven declared, continuing to scribble on his gradually filling notebook. "It appears that she's fully aware of your Icthyocanthropy, and is drawn to it!"
His pencil had become worn down, its lead made flat and dulled by the furious scribbling.

"This is cause for further study." He breathed with fascination. "Mister kemp, Might I suggest you take your new friend to the sea and attempt to commune with her, sea creature to sea creature, so to speak?"

He ran to his room, returning moments later with a water-proof vellum of paper and some waxen pencils. "If you could, write down any peculiarities or discoveries in these papers, this may be the cusp of a breakthrough in trans-human communications!"
Excitement guided his movements, as his every step became infused with a composed vigor, though Aven did his best to keep such blatant behavior under wraps.

"As for me, I will see if I can fetch us the parts we will need, as well as a place to rest for the night. The smell of the luminous oils will eventually air out, but until then, I think everyone might do well with a domicile that does not reek of bitter almond and seaweed."

[Stella Gaslight]

The birds watched the sea angel enter with interest.  It was not often they met beings like her. The sea angel tugged on Kemp's hand and looked at the door of the room in confusion.   "I think she wants you to go with her.  I think she doesn't understand how the door works." The sea angel was making an odd sound like whale song.  The birds liked it and tried to repeat the sounds but their bodies were not made for such things.  Nina laced up her boots hands shaking a little with the effort.  First thing she was going to do was find a breakfast that didn't smell like fish and eat plenty. 

[Vancouver Air Privateer]

Kemp was a bit put off by Aven's sudden prodding and note scribbling. He especially didn't like his open words.

"Look here!" he said, definitely angry, acting much more so to cover up his other feelings.

"I ain't no damn sea creature! Is that all you've been considering me so far? And object of damn study?! A walking fish? I came along as I wanted to be honest help and work!"

Kemp looked near ready to strike Aven. His fist slammed hard against the wall instead. He followed this up by tossing Aven's pencils and papers back at him.

"I didn't damn choose to be like this! To have this! You think I... I asked those damn... ah, to hell with it."

He sighed, but still looked to be simmering.

"You're right. You're right, I am just a damn sea beast. I'd just appreciate it if you didn't trouble yourself to remind me."

He exited the room, walking at a fast pace down the hall and leaving the ship. He skipped down off the dock and kept walking, taking to the beach. Course it made sense that a sea creature would feel best near the sea.

---

Clio had watched Kemp's outburst with a look more of concern than fear or surprise. Only his exit seemed to get a reaction from her. She let out some high, plaintive notes, moving to the door, then back. She clasped her small, damp hands around Nina's, attempting to pull her out of the room, looking back at her and making noises as if asking for something.

[Nigel Wetherby]

Aven could not help but feel sorry for such assanine behavior. Kemps outburst had once more reminded the young man of just how confusing people were. At least creatures were easier to analyze, but humans were always so dynamic and varying, it was always so confusing. They had fears and sadness and anger and sensitivities.
He tried to shake away his confusion by reviewing his notes as he headed towards what looked like the marketplace. The scent of flowers, herbs, and wine wafting on the spiced spring air.

The square of the little city was marked by a fountain of black stone, at its center was an example of eldricht beuty, much like that which had entered their boat.
A banner hung from the town steeple, written in blue letters was "giorno degli angeli" Day of the Angels.

"Odd..." Aven remarked to himself before entering a small, simply-built inn. The innkeeper, a woman who's face resembled a depressed walnut greeted him with a toothless smile and took his coin with no questions asked. Aven found all this hospitality rather unusual, as he had grown up in walled cities and massive capitals his entire life. Concrete buildings of militant splendor were nowhere to be found here, only meager houses and buildings of stone, loam, and wood.

"Excuse me," Aven asked in his best italian, his accent loathsome. "What exactly is the day of the angels?"

"Ahhh! It is the day we give offerings to the children of the sea in thanks for a bountiful fishing year."

"Give thanks?" Small town, Underwater humanoids, odd rituals, this seemed familiar...

"Si, We give our best catches, the biggest fishes and our best wines and fruits to the sea in thanks for our prosperity and protection."

"Protection? From what?"

"You do not know?" The old lady nodded, realising he was not indeed from around here.

"You would not be interested in the ramlings of an old woman, eh?" She shrugged away the question with a wrinkled smile. "Go ahead and celebrate, young man! Perhaps buy some nice sweets for a sweet heart eh?" She laughed like a choking man and Aven took his leave, pondering just what a tiny fishing villaige would need to be protected from.

[Stella Gaslight]

"You are all right now don't worry.  We can go find him."  Nina patted Clio's head like a child.  She was very cool and smooth to the touch.  Demos sat on her shoulder crooning at the sea angel,  Nina could not tell if he was actually trying to communicate or just making a racket as he loved so much to do.  Their progress out of the ship was was slow and steady.  Nina tired out quickly but she was suborn and kept going regardless.  The docks were surprisingly empty but she could hear music from the village.  She turned to go in to town but Clio made another urgent sound and stated tugging her in the direction of a small pristine beach. "Yes we can go there."  They picked their way along the rocky shore.  It was much warmer here and the sunlight poured over them.  Nina worried about the sea angel drying out but those fears were dealt with when Clio wandered out in to the shallows giving herself a bath like a bird.  There was a small wooden structure just a little bit up the beach like a small chicken coop on stilts.  Curious and sure the angel was safe she wandered over to it and sat down on a rock.  It seemed to be some sort of shrine full of little trinkets, Nina wondered who it was for.

[Vancouver Air Privateer]

"Well."

Kemp was sitting on a rock, watching the little shrine and seeing Nina as she stepped into view. He kept her in the corner of his eye but was mostly focused on the ocean.

"I guess she can even smell my taint all the way out here." he mused. He sighed.

"So, come to drag me back?" he said. "Aven need to get me to talk to some trout for him? Chat to a carp? Parley with a perch?"

He gave a small, bitter laugh, gently rubbing the tight leather strap on his arm that even then was digging sharp silver spikes into his veins. Amazing that there was such a thin strap holding it all back. He sighed again.

"Yeah, yeah. Figure it was wrong to get all steamed. He's right, anyhow. Can't find no way to deny I'm a monster so might as well not try."

[Stella Gaslight]

Nina sighed boys could be so temperamental.  "If you are a monster I am too."  She swept her hair out of her eyes to show the full scaring there.  "Besides Aven didn't send me the sea angel did, she insisted we come here.  You upset her when you stormed off.  I don't know if she can feel your inner fishiness or she just likes the way you look but either way she is very interested in you.  It wont do you any harm to talk to the lady that is so infatuated with you."  Nina smiled and so did the angel as she saw Kemp standing there.  Clio beckoned wanting him to come down to the water's edge.  Nina made little shooing motions at Kemp.  Boys could be so silly.

[Nigel Wetherby]

The captain of the Nebudchanezzur and those of his crew not too badly wounded by the prior skirmish  worked tirelessly examining and fixing what problems arose from the actions of the shadow-parasite. A few young crewmen had left the ironclad some hours ago to fetch parts, but had yet to return, they eventually returned, unable to walk in a straight line, and clutching a bottle or two of rich red wine in each hand, yerlling out festivities in their native languages.
The captain scratched his head, wondering what might cause such rambunctious behavior, but after being poured a small glass of the wine, he had realised what it was that had brought his men to such a state.

Some hours later, the entire crew of the ironclad found themselves in a state of wine-fueled revelry, their slurred songs of bawdy wenches and scotsmen with ribbons tied 'round lord knows what rose high into the air, sailing on their alchahol-scented breaths.

The distant sea did stir that day, a rippling wake skimmed across the still, silvery waters near Cicagne. Beneath the still blue of the sea, a great shape lumberd and writhed towards the tiny island.

Aven entered the cool waters of the beach, passing a smiling Nina, which caused him to feel just a small tinge of suspicion. He silently hoped that no more of the shadow creature remained inside her. Clio turned to the young monster hunter and let out a series of wary clicks, not liking the way this one smelled. To Clio, Aven smelled of predators and bad smelling chemichals.

"Mister Kemp, I am very sorry for my previous assanine behavior, and I have brought a bit of a peace offering."

He held out a wooden box, he opened it to reveal the sheepskin interior, which supported a black steel revolver.

"This is all I could think of getting you, everything else sold at this festival was innapropriately fish shaped.

[Vancouver Air Privateer]

Kemp blinked. The gift was definitely appreciated - he hadn't expected Aven to have been able to find something so appropriate... or useful.

He took it, holding it up to feel the weight, looking it over. He placed it back in the box as he started to notice Clio's clicking.

"Thanks." he said, simply but meaningfully. "Mostly my fault for just being... short tempered." He shook Aven's hand, not really knowing anything else to do.

He then walked down to near the water, standing in the shallows, the water just below his proofed boots.

"Well, my lass. How fares it?" Looking her over, she was really quite beautiful. In the standard way of course, but also in a more... ethereal way. To some people it would be even frightening or unnerving, but to Kemp it was more fascinating. It was a wildness that the civilized world had lost long ago. But he still felt it tugging at parts of his soul - the oldness, both dark and brilliant.

[Stella Gaslight]

Clio looked more playful and at home in the water.  She splashed him gently letting out an amused sound.  Then she turned him around to face the sea and pointed to a cliff doted with holes.  She lived there in the depths safe from predators and devastating currents.  Her whole world had been made up of those strange luminescent caves and the waters until she had felt The Nebuchadnezzar cross above bringing with it a strange  harmony that lured her from her home to seek it out. That sound filled her head now and she wanted to know all about it. Clio tried to tell him this but was unsure he understood.

Nina was enjoying the sun when she caught Demos trying to eat the fruit that had been left by the strange effigy.  "Demos shoo, you know that isn't for you."  He pouted and she got her first clear look in the shrine.  One figure was in blue and while clay and was obviously suposed to be a sea angel.  It was a slightly crude but friendly looking figure but there was something else in there, something that made her uneasy.  It looked like a clump of driftwood at first but then she could start making out limbs.  Nina's skin crawled.  "Aven I think you better have a look at this."  She did not like the look of it one bit.

[Nigel Wetherby]

Aven heard Nina's request and walked to her side, not entirely sure what could cause her such distress.
" I do not wish to offend, but I fail to see what you find so unnerving, miss Nina. It is simply an effigy of a sea angel, judging by the style, its ancient greek, I would wager that it is of athenian make, note the high attention to detail."
His eyes admirably examined the details of the little statue, he could see why it was that Kemp seemed to like their lnew friend Clio, but then his eye began to wander to the opposite end of the shrine.

A great chill crossed his being at the sight of the effigy. It did not match the sea angel scupture at all. The Angel had been coated in an early glaze, giving it a glassy sheen, but this statue seemed carved from black stone. Aven's eyes began to lose their focus, his hand seemed to move on its own accord as it reached for the statue, his thin, white fingers caressing the cold stone of the statue's surface.
His lucidity returned after a second or so of touching the cool statue's surface.

"I-it must be some sort of secondary diety to them, A hades to their Zeus, A loki to their Odin. Judging by the detail they...they..."
Aven's eyes rolled into the back into his head. He stumbled backward before falling to the sand, unconcious and ummobile save for the occaisonal twitch. He began to whisper and mumble, occaisonally speaking words that were most definately not english.

[Stella Gaslight]

Nina was down next to him on the sand as quick as her body would let her.  She lifted him up as best she could and gave him a little shake. "Aven, Aven wake up!" It did nothing.  She sighed he was not going to be happy with her for this but she had to get him back to earth.  She slapped his cheek and then pulled her had away.  For a moment there it felt like her hand was tingling with some sort of force but she brushed it off as nerves.  If she could have seen the odd way her birds looked at her she mat not have so readily dismissed it.  Aven let out a confused moan and squinted up at her.  "Are you all right?"  Nina asked.

[Nigel Wetherby]

 "GAH!" Aven snapped quickly to reality, his eyes wide open as his dream dissapated like a morning mist. His sight, though still not fully restored, throbbed with an eery redness, flashes the ocean, just beneath the surface appeared for a millisecond before vanishing from his mind's meye.
His cheek stung with a red mark shaped much like Nina's hand.

"D-did you smack me?" He seemed as if he could barely beleive the young blind girl could hit so hard. Demos cawed with what Aven could swear was an avian laugh.

"You shut your beak, you damnable pheasant. Or I'll take four and twenty of you and your family and stuff you in a pie."
He stroked the red mark on his cheek and turned once more to the shrine to the odd, malformed statue.
"I don't think that's driftwood..."

[Stella Gaslight]

Nina blushed with embarrassment, she truely hadn't meant to hit him so hard but after the ordeal with the shadow demon she panicked a little bit.  "Demos hush."   She gave him a frown and he bowed his head. "Sorry about that."  She helped Aven up off the sand and brushed off his back feeling partly responsible. Then she peered in the darkness of the shrine. "I don't know what that thing is but I don't like it."  Nina glanced out to sea where Kemp and the sea angel seemed to be getting along well.  "If you are still keen to know about that thing we should ask in town.  The offerings are fresh and they must come from somewhere."

[Vancouver Air Privateer]

"Hmm." replied Kemp. "I can't quite make out what she says, but she seems to want me to head towards those cliffs. They're sheer though... right into the water. Though I suppose for her there's probably something right down under there."

He paused.

"I could go down there... if changed." The suggestion made him uncomfortable. He looked at the effigy, then quickly looked away. God, but he'd have sworn that thing had moved. He poked around a little in the shrine, pushing the thing back into the shadows. Most of this other stuff was drawings or little statuettes of sea angels. He pulled out a small print that looked a bit familiar. A bit lurid. It looked to be a woman, chained naked to a rock. She was recoiling from the water, where there was the suggestion of some sort of sea monster.

"Ah, a Doré." he said. He looked at Nina and Aven. "What? I know some art. I just liked his illustrations for Don Quixote... what? Hey, I'm no scholar but I don't mind me a book now and again. Anyways, can't see why this is here."

He noticed something else and pulled it out. It was another print. A similar situation, but he noted the woman was different than Andromeda. Plus, here, she looked to be being carried out of harm's way by a vague figure... but which looked suspiciously like Clio.

"Huh. Well, you can make what you want of those." he said, handing them to Aven. "Well, are you two going to town? I mean... I get the feeling I should try following Clio. Though... ah... I hope there's no fishermen around or nothing..."

[Stella Gaslight]

Nina smiled and Clio looked rather confused about why he would ever want to leave the warm comforting waves.  "If you go be careful.  They worship her kind so I think she could get you out of trouble with the locals but who knows what lies under the waves.  If you run in to trouble down there I don't know how we could help you."  The thought of being trapped under all that water gave her a little shiver.  "Aven and I can go to town for now perhaps they can tell us about the shrine but if not we can at least have a dry place and something to eat when you get back from your adventure."

[Nigel Wetherby]

"I have a feeling the best place to look would be the chapel. They probably have the answers. And if not, we can consult the library..."
Aven turned to Kemp, a look of stern approval on his face.
"You alone posess abilities no one aboard our ship does, your skills are highly valued, especially now. Any information could be vital to our survival...We aren't sure what is going on, but it seems like the doing of monsters..."

He looked once more to the odd transcripts. "The signs seem to be all here, offerings, an earthly connection via sapient sealife, crude effigies. Whatever is here has them afraid, and it is my duty as an Eizenhartz to figure out just what it is!"
He extended his finger dramatically into the air before heading off to the chapel, leaving a confused Clio, Kemp, and Nina behind.

[Stella Gaslight]

"Well while he is off investigating the mysteries of the universe I am going to go investigate some breakfast.  I am going to entrust Clio to your care.  I am sure she will be safe with you around." Nina smiled and Clio beckoned for Kemp to come back in to the water. Looking at her with the sun sparkling off her wet skin Nina could see why they were called angels.  Clio was lovely and translucent, her kind must have bee seen as some sort lovely apparition out on the deep sea.  Nina grabbed a large piece of driftwood and used it to help her work her way up the sandy slope and in to the outskirts of the village.  There was music in the air and the smell of cooking food that made her stomach grumble.  There were fresh flowers and ribbons everywhere and everyone seemed to be so friendly.  The locals waved to her as she ambled along. This felt more like a a sight seeing trip than being on the hunt for a dangerous thief.  The center of town was a stone square lined with tiny shops and a large worn but well loved looking church at one end.  All around the square there were little stalls and shops selling all sorts of food and trinkets.  Nina did not understand Italian but it was easy to figure out what the sellers were hawking for the most part.  She found a small outdoor cafe filled with the smell of rich coffee and food.  She sat down at a table with a happy sigh, placed her order and sat back to watch the festivities.

[Lothar Erfinder]

Otto sat on the chapel steps, and oiled his hand thoughtfully. With the money for the repair job on the church-bell's gear train, he might be able to get passage on a ship leaving the town. On the other hand, he'd been meaning to try a new modification to his prosthesis, and he'd need to buy some parts. It would mean a few extra days in town, and he'd have to find work, but someone always needed something fixed...

He sighed, put his rag away, and flexed his brass fingers. The hand hadn't locked up since he'd repaired it a week ago, but he hadn't put it to too much strain yet, and was eager to see how the patch-work would hold up. The fine motor skills were good, as evidenced by the tidy repair job not twenty minutes ago, but he hadn't had occasion to perform any heavy lifting yet.

He looked around at the town, and grimaced. There was an air of something... well, unpleasant about the place. It wasn't the people, or the buildings, or the day, which was bright and sunny, but something unnerving, like it wasn't quite real somehow. He'd noticed it even more near the wharf, whatever it was, and had been avoiding the shore since, which was problematic, since he planned to leaf by ship, if he could. But maybe he shouldn't sell the mule just yet. Perhaps riding out of here was the best plan, continuing on to the next fishing village...

God only knew why this place unnerved him, but he'd come out of enough bad places to know he wasn't imagining things.