[EVENT] THE FOG COMES - Ship's Return

[khuimods]

Characters: ALL
Date: July 10
Location: Aifaran Harbour
Situation: The Narrakra has returned, but those aboard are not the same as when they left...
Warnings/Rating: Creepy descriptions of things?


The night of the Narrakra's return, fog poured into Aifaran's harbour. It was thick, soupy and cloying in the summer heat, swirling and shifting with every change in the air, but never dissipating. Many Dreamfolk may feel heavy tension in the air, an eerie stillness about the night that seems unnervingly familiar. But beyond the occasional, inexplicable power outage, nothing seems to be otherwise amiss.

The Narrakra limps into the dockyard port on a single engine in the early hours of the 10th, steering itself erratically toward the nearest berth. The dock workers, having not expected to see a Sentry ship sliding out of the pea-soup fog, are quick to raise the alarm, which is hurriedly passed to a runner to bring to the nearest Sentry outpost. Heavy pylons keep the Narrakra from outright running into the dock itself, as the engine sputters and dies, leaving the ship without steering.

The ship itself is in poor condition, metal hull dented and scarred as if it had been in combat with some great sea beast. Deep gouges, like something had hurled sharp points into the metal sides and pulled, some even deep enough that glimpses of the hull's structural support can be seen. In other places on the exterior, what appears to be an advanced stage of corrosion and rust have affected sections of the ship, but not in any uniform way. A handrail might be corroded to the point of the metal disintegrating at a touch, but the stairwell next to it still gleaming as if it had just been put into place.

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OOC Notes: This is the culmination event for the Ships in the Night plot that's been ongoing for the last few months, although the outcome will play into future metaplot. Characters can witness the Narrakra's not-so-triumphant return at the docks, speculate on where it's been and what could have caused its disappearance, question the crew (if they can get past the Sentry), or sneak aboard the ship to do some reconnaissance and potentially find things...

Links: OOC Questions | On The Docks | The Survivors | Sneaking Aboard

Comments

Questions

[khuimods]

Questions about the Ship's Return event can be asked here.

Eitria!

[afoolsgold]

I would like for the Fool to sit down with Eitria and talk to her about her experiences, but would prefer it to be something that could be threaded out with other players' characters. Would it be possible for me to get a summary of what she would tell him?

Re: Eitria!

[khuimods]

The NPCs are available for threading, either one on one or in a group thread! We'd prefer that players discover information this way rather than through a summary, since the information revealed will largely depend on what questions are asked.

Re: Questions

[iseeall]

ALSO, another question other than Leo looking at the rust and grime, will anything actually happen if he touches the fungus with his hands?

Re: Questions

[khuimods]

The mushrooms are fairly toxic and contact with skin will cause a rash. Ingesting any of the fungal matter or breathing in the spores will also cause disorientation or minor - major hallucinations depending on how long one is exposed to them.

the Narrakra itself

[afoolsgold]

okay so Kit and Rutile are exploring the Narrakra! We have some questions and would like a little guidance from our very gracious mods with how to proceed.

We'd like to know:

- rough layout of the ship (also what make - is it a steamship? i get the vibe it's something like a steamship, tech levels are still vague)
- especially interesting things to find
- what kinds of things can be collected as samples

is there a specific direction we should be having our characters explore to uncover plot-relevant info?

thank you!!

Re: the Narrakra itself

[khuimods]

-It's a medium-sized military vessel, probably analogous to something like the Bob Hope Class cargo ships, so while not the biggest ship in the fleet it's still pretty big and in precarious shape, making a thorough top-to-bottom search by one or two individuals impossible in the narrow timeframe they have.
-It's fairly standard in layout. There's three decks - top level consists of the captain's quarters and the bridge. Second level is the cabins, recreational area and mess hall, and the third lower deck contains the engine room and cargo bay. The machinery is what you'd see throughout Aifaran albeit a bit more advanced because this is (was) a top-of-the-line Sentry vessel. What they would see is a mixture of magic, biology and tech (notably the work of the Muin and Kedanese engineers), but the keen eye may recognize Chihuelan tech mixed in. Like the rest of the Narrakra, it would be in a sorry state of disrepair.
-The fungus, insect carapaces, and rust can be taken as samples. There's also that carcass on the lower deck. Depending on where Kit and Rutile explore, there may be other samples that the crew have gathered.

There is no specific direction your characters need to go beyond what intrigues you. They'll only have time to explore one - two areas thoroughly before the Sentry wises up and gives everyone onboard the boot however.

[afoolsgold]

okay, this is helpful!! Kit and Rutile are currently on the lower deck, in that case, in the room with the carcass and all the insect carapaces. Is this in the engine room or the cargo bay, or in a different room entirely?

once they enter the engine room or the cargo bay will we receive a mod tag?

[khuimods]

It would be somewhere between the cargo bay and engine room (closer to the engine room).

We'll keep an eye on Kit and Rutile's thread and give you a mod tag when they get where you want them to go.

the fungus again!

[rutility]

Hi! I know Xar got an answer about the hallucinatory effects of the fungus, so my question is building off of that. Rutile's definitely taking samples of the fungus due to who they are as a person, so some logistics:

1. Rutile's wearing gloves, and also doesn't have skin, so I assume they're safe from dermal toxicity
2. ... They don't breathe? So I'm presuming they'll be safe from the spores as well
3. However, I imagine it's possible for this stuff to cling to their clothing, possibly putting others in danger depending on the potency.

Mostly I just want to make sure these assumptions are correct. If they are unfair, I'm happy to make the concession that "it's a magic fungus and all bets are off" (I don't want Rutile to get away with something they shouldn't).

Re: the fungus again!

[khuimods]

1 & 2) That'd be correct!

3) Secondary transfer can certainly be a thing, although the spores will begin to lose potency once they're removed from their habitat, so they'll be most transferable while Rutile is on the ship and in the hours following their leaving, and lose all potency by, say, 12-16 hours after the initial contact.