[Taocow PBEM] Chapter II - Of War and Prophecy

Aaron Clausen mightymartianca at alberni.net
Mon Nov 15 13:05:50 PST 2004


> [Bongo]
> Bongo takes off his own hat and places it over his chest as a somber
> look of  his own spreads across his muzzle.   "Bon voyage, old man.
> Here's hoping you  can finally find peace on the other side."
> [/Bongo]

> [Arden]
> With a smile on his face, he motions towards the below-deck area.
> "This gentle soul is right. Lets head down towards the rooms and get
> some rest for a bit, and see what happens once we dock."
> [/Arden]

> [Kyle]
> Kyle glances accross the deck as if deciding something.  He then
> looks at his companions.  "Looks like we have some business to attend
> to. I suggest  we ask Lady Frost how she wants to farewell our
> friend."
> 
> As the Orc finishes talking Kyle smiles and turns again to his
> friends.  "Hey look a house Orc.  How can I get one." Kyle walks of
> laughing.
> [/Kyle]

[GM]
The orc gives Kyle an ugly look. "Me no pet!  Me fierce and tough!  No
like armored man who says that!"  He turns and heads below decks.
[/GM]

> [Alex]
> Alex straightens up slowly while looking at St. Pierre. She smiles a
> faint  smile at him, "Life has sure been intersting with him," seeming
> to pay no attention to the Medic. She then turns to the medic, "Do
> believe that there is a god? Many of the families around the area I
> was born were very devout but the Coalition always taught that there
> were no gods just monsters." She pauses for a few minutes, "I don't
> think he would mind being buried in water. Does someone know a
> prayer?"
> [/Alex]

[GM]
The medic looks sadly at Alex.  "I've met a few beings that claimed to
be gods, but generally they seemed more interested in souls still
attached to bodies than to souls that had departed them.  If there is
a higher being, I hope he gives those that have suffered a good and
kindly place."

The medic shakes his head.  "As to the Coalition, hatred runs in the
veins of their leaders just as surely as blood.  I would not look to
them for truth, only lies and fear."

He places a hand on Alex's shoulder.  "We don't have a full-time
chaplain onboard.  The captain usually does the service if one of the
crew dies, but maybe you and your companions would rather do that
yourselves.  I'll warrant one of them is a Cyberknight.  Perhaps he can
think of some kindly things to say.
[/GM]

> [Bongo]
> As the rather exuberant orc comes up and addresses the group, Bongo
> looks at  him quizzically as he replaces his hat.   Noticing his
> rather leery reaction to Rod, he leans over and mutters, "I think you
> spooked him, buddy..."

> He shrugs his shoulders. "Well, if the skipper says it's a special
> day then let's hope the beer's just as good as it is 20 years from
> now," he quips with a slight grin.   "I could do with a hot shower
> and a chance to dry out my gear... and try to replace the armor that
> just got sizzled..." he grimaces at the thought of the gaping hole in
> his backplate -- and even though he hasn't checked, he figures his
> duster is probably in need of replacement too.
> [/Bongo]

[GM]
Lady Frost and Osiris leave the bridge and rejoin their companions.  The
captain can be seen staring out the window at Lady Frost, an odd look
in his eyes.
[/GM]

[Lady Frost]
"I wonder what this is all about." she says half to herself.  She stoops
down and picks up K'zul's remains.  "This will have be tended to
correctly." she says simply.  Looking over at St. Pierre, she remembers
first meeting him, liberating him from a Chi-town prison.  "Another
friend gone..." she murmurs, and says no more.
[/Lady Frost]

[GM]
St. Pierre's body is gently lifted on to a stretcher by the medic and
one of the sailors.  "We will tend to your friend until all of you can
decide what should be done."

"I wonder why the captain would have a feast at a sad time like this?"
the medic can be heard mumbling under his breath, but departs with
St. Pierre's body before anyone can ask him anything.

Grom leads the company below decks, turning back to keep a suspicious
eye on Rod and Kyle ever few steps.  Soon they are three decks below
and in a narrow passageway, pipes and wiring along the ceiling.  There
are several doors, one of which Arden recognizes as his own quarters.
Grom turns, counts heads.  "Cabin's for two." he chuckles.  "Ladies
together?" he asks, looking at Lady Frost and Alex.  "Yes yes yes." he
laughs, almost as if he's talking to himself.

He flings open the doors, revealing three rooms with bunkbeds, a closet,
a table with two chairs and a small portable computer.  "Waterfall
and..." Grom seems searching for words, "place for doing other things
at end of hall." he almost seems to blush.  "Must go!  Arden show you
rest!"  With that the orc runs off at an amazingly quick lope.

Even as the company look in their rooms, there is a shudder which must
be the engines.  The ship is under way again, heading, apparently, for
Ireland.

The company is given an hour to shower and clean up, and then Phaeton
knocks on their doors, dressed in jet-black clothes and a long, black
leather coat.  "The banquet is about to begin." he says.  "You are
asked not to bear weapons, but I have had a vision, and though the
evil is not clear to me, I fear something will happen.  If you have
small weapons, easily concealable, then bring them."  He pulls his coat
aside, revealing a the hilt and pommel of a blade tucked into his boot.
Strange runes that faintly glow can be seen on the handle.

"Be cautious." he hisses, showing more emotion than the company has seen
him yet.  "I cannot speak plainly with you yet, but soon we must meet
in private."  Phaeton gives Arden a long, piercing look, and then turns,
beckoning the company to follow.

The company is lead up two decks and through a finely carven wooden
door.  On the other side is a small but ornately decorated room.  A
long table fills the room, and the captain and some officers are already
there, drinking freely from bottles of cognac.

The captain rises, and bows to Lady Frost and Alex, and reaches out and
shakes everyone else's hand.  "Sit down!" he says jovially, his thick
Scottish accent somewhat slurred.  "May I introduce my officers."

He starts with a somewhat plain-faced woman, looking uncomfortable in
a officer's dress uniform, her hands still showing the signs of recent
work on machiner, streaks of grease still there despite obviously
fierce scrubbing.  "This is Janitha Zelam, our engineer." the captain
says.  Next is a lizard man of a race not quite identifiable.  He has
three black eyes and a long, red tongue.  "That is Baktoraz, our
navigator.  And Phaeton, of course, you have met already."

The captain claps his hands and in short order a large roasted turkey
with all the trimmings is served.  It is a delicious-looking meal, and
the server moves around, filling in each wine glass.  It is then that
they notice that the server has a rather large, elegant ring with a
carving a dragon on it.  To Arden it doesn't mean anything, and for
a moment the others can't place it either.

Then it leaps into their heads.  This is the same symbol that was
found on that box back in the sewers beneath Old Chicago, the one
with the letters QDB on the top, that contained old vials of penicillin,
morphine and rubbing alcohol, not to mention a digital camera and an old
journal with the name "Quinton David Barnabas" on it.  The memory of the
box leaps into their heads.
[/GM]






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