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Dragonflight Pern Captain
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 Posted: Tue May 15, 2012 6:43 pm
Deleting posts will result in your character being removed from the game.IN THE DARKNESS LURKING
As one of those who have shown courage and strength among your peers, you have been selected to prove your worth by dealing with
a feral wher locals have been complaining about. Feral whers are dangerous, unpredictable, and deadly - as a first assignment, your
discretion and tactics, as well as courage, will be assessed. Bonded Whers have been provided to assist. You may take only one of
the following with you: a knife, a metal pole (as tall as you), a weighted net, a flash rock, or a length of rope.
PARTICIPANTS
Linea (Thal)
Sasar (Dizzy)
Careesi (chesire) Feral whers are the stuff of nightmares for many. They’re vicious, wild, and unpredictable…. And one’s been plaguing the farmland in the valley at the base of the mountain Benden Weyr calls home. Raiding the livestock at night, the feral wher’s proven more then a match for the local farmers and the task has fallen to you as your initiation. It is shortly after dark when you arrive at the farm with nothing but the starlight and an occasional lantern to see by.
A lone man stands in the shadows near the barn and he waves you over, the glowbasket at his feet underlighting his sharp, handsome features. In the darkness behind, you hear the shuffling of feet and soft murmurs of handlers’ words that indicate at least one Wher has been housed in the barn awaiting your arrival. When he lifts the lamp, the light reveals his face completely and one eye is sewn shut, the livid scars that cover it evidence enough of the cause. Indeed, half his otherwise handsome face is ruined, burned and scarred by some horrific accident you can only guess at as he grunts, “This way.”
Following him into the barn reveals four large whers, two browns, a blue, and a bronze. The blue is unnaturally large, nearly equal its brown kin in girth and shoulder height, its tail thumping against the ground in irritation at being cooped up when there were things to do. Each of the Whers sensed it, and each of them wanted to be off. The first Brown swung his head and stared at the group, his silence as disturbing as the noise the huffing blue was making while the second shouldered the side of his stall and caused a rain of dirt to cascade down on apprentices and blue alike. The Bronze, proud and barrel-chested, covered in scars like his master, whuffed and nosed at the once-handsome man as he came close. Turning then, he set the basket at his feet once more and cleared his throat, waiting only half a moment before continuing, “Keep your voices low, the lights lower. We hunt a feral wher tonight. The Riders are useless in the dark, useless in anything but the air and so it falls to us to safeguard this land. Blood will be spilled tonight, though I cannot say it will not be yours. You will accompany me in this task, though I provide support only – the deed must be done by you and you alone. There are tools on that bench, select something, and then choose a wher. Introduce yourselves, prepare. We are off as soon as you have done so.” He fell silent then, one hand on the bronze, his face turning to look out the door to the stars beyond, letting the shadows hide his mangled face.Important Stuff Instructions: In your first post of the Guided ORP, post in bold at the top left, which item you selected – the importance will come in later. In your opening post, and throughout your posts in the ORP, reflect on the training your character has had – how their traits have influenced their experience, what they’ve learned, and where they came from before being recruited. Remember to interact! This is a guided ORP, meaning a staff member will post a guiding/prompting post and give OOC instructions as to what to do if there is anything special to do. The quality of your posts and effort to interact with other players will be noted and influence your review score, so keep this in mind. Throughout the ORP, the Staff will include a 1d10 roll – this is important. Participants may roll THREE TIMES MAX between staff posts but you may post as often as you like. The staff will respond to the RP as well as the quality of the rolls. To accumulate your review score simple do the following:-Roll 1d10 each post. -> If it is HIGHER than the STAFF NUMBER, you are doing well at the task at hand. -> If it is LOWER than the STAFF NUMBER, you are doing poorly at the task at hand. -> If it is the SAME as the STAFF NUMBER, gain double the rolled points because you discovered/found something interesting. -Add up each roll you make, and keep a rolling tally. When the game closes, your total will be your Review Score + your Effort Score (as judged by staff members, it is worth 25 points). -Special Events will occur in the game, specific circumstances will effect game play and be particular to that event.
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Posted: Tue May 15, 2012 7:25 pm
Weighted Net
The darkness didn't bother him. Miner by trade he was used to low light situations and his eyes adjusted with little difficulty. He could see the crags in the Handler's face even before the glows illuminated their severity. Sasar had already given his companions a once over, doubting their ability to handle such a dangerous job. Women, weyrfolk by the looks of them. He glared at the handlers back as they entered the barn. Why would they be interested in becoming Wher Handlers? Didn't they have their high and mighty dragons?
The smell of the whers was the first thing he noticed. He'd smelled it before in the caves but being in the close presence of four of them it really hit home. He inhaled deeply, the sooner he got used to it the sooner he'd stop smelling it. Sasar gave them a cursory glance before allowing himself to be directed to the bench of tools. Unsatisfactory...most of them didn't look like they'd stop a trundlebug let alone a feral wher. He bent down and lifted the net, feeling the weight of it and immediately knowing that was the one for him. The women probably wouldn't even be able to lift it on their own let alone throw it.
Weapon chosen he tucked it into his belt and turned his attention back to the beasts waiting for them. This is what he'd been trained to do. Two of them where fidgeting with irritation, not well behaved in his mind. Sasar settled on the first Brown, rumbling deep in his heavy chest as he approached the wher. He showed no fear of the beast but respected it's power. Still, his presence was one of control. If this wher wanted to work he would work for Sasar, not the other way around.
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Posted: Tue May 15, 2012 9:34 pm
Length of rope
Careesi listened intently to the man talk as she made her way into the barn behind him. She made sure to pay attention to every word he spoke, making sure that she didn't miss any bit of information that she might need. Tonight would be her chance to prove herself, to show everyone that she was ready for any task that might be given to her. When the man mentioned the table, her eyes immediately located it and she walked over to examine the objects. There were several different tools, each of them looked to serve a different purpose. Carefully, Careesi trailed her fingers across the knife first. She hesitated just a moment before moving on to grasp the length of rope in her hand. This would very likely be the best tool for her, she could already think of several uses for the rope. Selection in hand, the brown haired woman looked towards the whers.
She had always found it rather amazing how much smaller they were in comparison to the dragons. The thought of dragons made her want to laugh. Who needed them? What sort of work did they really do anyway? Sure they might be important, but wasn't it the whers who really got their hands dirty? They were never afraid to do the tasks that the riders seemed to deem beneath them. Careesi's blue eyes hovered over each of the Weyrs, studying them as she had the items on the table. Color had never particularly mattered much to Careesi, her mother and father had taught her better than that. She had known several of her peers to consider their status better than others simply because they had impressed a bronze. However, that didn't mean that someone with a blue or a green was worth any less did it? No, she hadn't ever thought so.
For a minute, her eyes hovered over the large blue who appeared to be rather unhappy that they were standing around instead of talking. Now THAT was a wher. Careesi grinned at the blue, he certainly reminded her a lot of herself, always looking to get work done and hardly ever slacking off. He would certainly make a fine partner wouldn't he? Careesi turned back to the man who had led them in here. No one else had appeared to pick a wher yet and she knew there wasn't any more time to waste. Not sure if they were supposed to pick in any particular order, the woman simply decided to act first. "What about that blue one there?" She whispered, keeping her voice low as he had asked. "I like him." She told the man quite certainly.
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SkieBorne rolled 1 10-sided dice:
2
Total: 2 (1-10)
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Posted: Tue May 15, 2012 10:45 pm
The man waited around for a moment, watching as the candidates selected their equipment with interest. It was different every initiation... how would they fare this time around?
The male apprentice approached the sharp-eyed brown with a decision made almost as swiftly as the woman had chosen the blue... leaving the second brown to the last candidate. He watched Linea a moment before moving on too quickly to let anyone sit idle. "Introduce yourself, woman. I'm not the wher, gain his respect. Whers aren't like dragons - they aren't behold to a single person." He scoffed as if this were obvious then thumped the bronze on the neck and padded out of the barn, lantern in hand.
The blue's head came up as Careesi approached, those whirling orange-red eyes fixing on her as he tilted his head and growled low in his throat. The handler beside him was a proud looking woman with hair frizzled and frayed from long hours working and few hours bathing. She smiled and shoved the beast in the shoulder, "Hey there. You're to help her Kazzisk. Reach your hand out, let him have a sniff of ye."
The brown Sasar approached, however, remained silent, tensing as he drew alongside, responding to the man's tightly controlled emotions. They could smell fear easily enough and he held little on him... experimentally, the brown jostled the apprentice with a hip bump and rustle of his wings. The handler responsible for him, however, smacked him on the nose in response, "This is Tyrisk, he's quiet but observant... think of a coiled spring. Be careful which direction you point him." It was all the handler said as he stepped back and smacked the rump, sending the brown off with the apprentice.
The second brown, the uppity one, snorted and squared his shoulders to stare down Linea as she approached. Introduced as Gaisk, he seemed to be reluctant to deal with this new apprentice.
Shaking his head, Bronze's handler clicked while his wher rumbled and Tyrisk and Kazzisk hurried out the doors ahead of their partners. The bronze tossed his head in irritation at their loligagging about as his handler spoke, "Fan out, search for the Wher. It strikes shortly after sunset, likely for its waking meal. Pay attention to your Whers." With that, he gestured at the pastureland before them and ushered them onward, "Whistle if you find it, the Whers will know."
===============
SPECIAL EVENT: The search has begun. Roll 1d10 with each post and compare to the one rolled in this post to gauge your progress. The surroundings are farmland, feel free to define and describe as you go - there is no set map. Additionally, Kazzisk, Tyrisk, and Gaisk are now under their respective partners' control. They have no defined personality beyond the introductory descriptions so feel free to play them as you interpret them.
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Spicy Dizaster rolled 1 10-sided dice:
8
Total: 8 (1-10)
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Posted: Tue May 15, 2012 11:22 pm
Weighted Net
Score: 8
Sasar saw the wher's weight shift and braced himself. The solidly built Journeyman was only forced to widen his stance as the wher got rough with him. He may not have been the oldest but he was the largest man his family had produced in generations. The tawny haired man looked like a stone wall. No doubt he'd never been bullied by his brothers. He grunted at their impact and growled in response. "Tyrisk." Sasar nodded to the brown's handler and moved to the wher's head, holding the back of his hand out for him to smell. "You're working with ME tonight got it? I won't tolerate games or 'testing'. We've got a hard job to do."
Tyrisk didn't respond in any audible way but Sasar got the distinct feeling of a grudging acceptance...for now. That was enough for him. The wher would learn soon enough if he crossed Sasar. He watched as Tyrisk trotted out of the barn ahead of him. This would be a different sort of challenge. Sasar was trained in auditory signals and wher communication, but the restriction to silence severely limited his abilities. He caught up to the brown outside and placed his left hand behind the wher's headknob. They would have to use their cues sparingly and only for the most direct of signals. Till then he would keep physical and visual contact with the beast.
Sasar nodded to the bronze Handler and turned himself and Tyrisk towards the south entering the woods a dozen or so feet before following it's edge around the perimeter of the farm. His left hand guided Tyrisk and himself while his right rested on the net in his belt. Sasar kept one eye on the forest around them and another on Tyrisk, on alert for any change in either.
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CheshireKttty rolled 1 10-sided dice:
8
Total: 8 (1-10)
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Posted: Tue May 15, 2012 11:28 pm
- and once again sorry about deleting the last post... i'm a derp >.> -
Length of rope
Score: 8
Careesi cursed herself silently as the man spoke. Of course she should have walked up to the wher and greeted him. Hadn't her father taught her that? Oh well, no sense dwelling on stupid mistakes. Instead, she would simply remember not to repeat them. Carefully, Careesi made her way over to the wher, noting the red-orange eyes. What had her father told her about the eyes? She knew that they changed color depending on their mood, hell everyone knew that. But what did the different colors mean? If she remembered correctly, each color could have several different meanings. Either the wher was feeling alarmed or perhaps he was eager to get to work? She hoped it was the latter.
"Hey there big guy, you ready to do some work?" She spoke quietly as she reached her hand out, allowing the wher to sniff her. The wher sniffed her, appearing satisfied, or at least not biting off her hand, he looked as if he was ready to get to work. "Come on then." She whispered to him as she set out to find this wher.
Quietly, Careesi stepped out of the barn following closely behind Kazzisk. She wasn't sure which direction to head exactly, but with Kazzisk in the lead she decided it might be best to follow him, perhaps he might have some sort of idea as to where this wher would be. After all, hadn't they been told to listen to their whers? At least it was some place to start. With Kazzisk headed to the north, Careesi continued to follow, only ever a step or two behind him.
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Spicy Dizaster rolled 1 10-sided dice:
6
Total: 6 (1-10)
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Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 9:50 am
Weighted Net
Score: 14
As he moved further from the barn the sounds of the women and their whers faded away. He still kept Tyrisk and himself arcing around the farm but they moved deeper into the trees. If the wild wher was going to be found their best bet was catching it on it's way in for another kill. If they caught it before it fed it would be weaker for hunger but also more vicious. He'd have to be careful.
Sasar never doubted himself though. His training had been rushed and condensed but the Handlers believed he was ready. Sasar breathed slowly and quietly, his heart calm within his chest. Tyrisk was also silent, the brown's head swayed back and forth as they hunted.
A rustling brought them both to a halt, frozen mid step both pairs of eyes fixed on a shadow between the trees. He gave a soft chirp, an odd noise for such a large man. Tyrisk glanced at him once but hunkered down and with achingly slow steps, stalked towards the noise.
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SkieBorne rolled 1 10-sided dice:
1
Total: 1 (1-10)
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Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 11:18 am
The bronze noted each going their separate ways to the north and south, choosing to continue forward between the candidates, closer to each should support be needed. No tracks in the but those of the farm... and in the distance, hunkered down in the center of their pen, were a few runners, their heat signatures clear against the cool of the ground.
In the area Sasar and Tyrisk were searching, the snap and crackle of leaves to the side was accompanied by a heavy foot fall... the shadow paused and looked over its shoulder at them, eyes flashing in the starlight before it bleated nervously and the wild grazer dashed off deeper into the woods. In it's place, however, the foot print of a wher could be seen, cool and old and pointed towards the farm... a few more tracks lead back deeper into the trees, beckoning the pair forward.
Where Kazzisk and Careesi tread the ground was thick and sticky with mud, threatening to get them stuck if they were not careful. The squelching of their steps could not be helped but so too did it preserve tracks and drag marks... for in the mud not too far from where they started was a depression in the ground, like a body dragged, stained red from a previous kill. The white bones of a slain herdbeast shone in the starlight the bushes to the side. Perhaps the feral wher dragged its meals only a short distance?
======
SPECIAL EVENT: roll 1d10. For dizzy, rolling well means the tracks are easily seen and don't die out a few steps in, if you choose to follow them - conversely, rolling poor = they become impossible to discern a few steps in. For chesire, rolling well = the carcass still has a good amount of meat on it, if not, it's been devoured quite completely. For anyone else note yet posted, the roll determines the quality of your finds as you continue searching.
Rolls made after this apply only to the special event described here.
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Spicy Dizaster rolled 1 10-sided dice:
4
Total: 4 (1-10)
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Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 12:03 pm
Weighted Net
Score: 18
Tyrisk tensed, his muscles rippling under the thick hide. Sasar knew he'd had the right idea. It was almost alarming how easily he'd found the wher. In the trees though he couldn't get a clear shot with the net before the wher had darted away. For such a large creature it moved faster than he could have expected. In the dark Sasar lost sight of it quickly. He gave Tyrisk the signal to follow swiftly, letting the wher's better night vision and heat sense guide them.
Tyrisk paused where the wild wher had been spotted and snuffled at the ground, turning back to Sasar and twitching his snout towards what he'd found. Sasar knelt beside him, fingers brushing the old print. Tracking wasn't his strong point, footprints didn't stick around long in the mines. He was farm bred though. He at least knew that animals tended to use the same trails, following the path of least resistance. The wher already knew they were there so he didn't hesitate in chirping and grunting at Tyrisk, pointing at the tracks as they went deeper into the dark forest. He kept his voice low. "Bespeak the bronze. Tell him we saw the wher and are on it's trail. We'll whistle when he's caught."
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Spicy Dizaster rolled 1 10-sided dice:
3
Total: 3 (1-10)
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Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 12:11 pm
Weighted Net
Score: 21
The tracks were old and the dry ground hadn't accepted anything fresher over them. Sasar found them difficult to follow as he had to search under the fallen mast. Their progress was unacceptably slow. He raised his eyes from the ground and scanned the trees again, looking for any hint of the wher's passing.
Tyrisk's nose twitched as he smelled the air, his head swaying side to side. He could catch hints of it but nothing strong enough to be considered fresh. No outward signs of agitation betrayed him though. The brown was just as still and silent as he'd been when Sasar had first scene him.
Sasar could detect nothing he recognized as a sign and so bent back down to the last track he'd seen. He led the way, moving in the opposite direction of the tracks, searching for the next ones.
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Spicy Dizaster rolled 1 10-sided dice:
8
Total: 8 (1-10)
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Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 2:14 pm
Weighted Net
Score: 29
Sasar heard the bleat again, this time a lot closer. Sasar rushed towards it and leapt into a small clearing, empty except for a trail of fresh prints and tufts of what appeared to be fur. The prints he didn't recognize but it certainly wasn't a wher. Sasar's face burned in humiliation, glad no one had been around to see.
Tyrisk pushed his way into the clearing calmly, giving Sasar an insolent mocking stare. He whuffed disdainfully at the miner. "You knew it wasn't the wher." Sasar accused, feeling his blood pressure rise. Tyrisk's eyes whirled with a flash of green, his only response. Sasar's face grew redder. "Did you tell them we were after the wher?!" Tyrisk shook his head. Even he didn't want the others seeing their shame.
Sasar growled, grabbing the browns jaw with one hand and turning his head roughly to face him. "I told you no games!" Tyrisk hissed in startlement, yanking his head away. Both man and wher glared at each other, both refusing to accept dominance by the other. Tyrisk broke it first glancing aside but not without a whirl of red. Sasar pointed back in the direction they came. "Take us back to the wher tracks. We'll need to keep hunting for it's lair."
Thankfully Tyrisk was able to sniff out the tracks again as the path widened out and the layer of forest mast thinned. Nearby a creek burbled and the ground before them looked like it had been flooded more than once in the past. The tracks were deep but still old and dry.
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CheshireKttty rolled 1 10-sided dice:
4
Total: 4 (1-10)
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Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 6:36 pm
Length of Rope
Score: 12
Careesi had continued North just behind Kazzisk, paying careful attention for any sign of change in her wher. As the pair moved through the muck her footsteps squelched rather loudly. She only hoped that the footsteps wouldn't be loud enough to attract any unwanted visitors. Even if she was on the hunt for the wher, she was hoping to have the advantage by surprising it. Not the other way around.
Calling Kazzisk to a halt, Careesi bent down to examine the mud around her. It looked as if something had dragged a rather large animal through the muck. Perhaps it had been the wher with a fresh kill? If this was the case, then the wher might still be around some where. It might be best to try to catch it while it was still eating. She hoped that it would be too distracted by its kill to notice her. She also supposed that the tracks could be old and the wher long gone. Either way, however, she figured it was worth a look.
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CheshireKttty rolled 1 10-sided dice:
2
Total: 2 (1-10)
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Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 6:45 pm
Length of Rope
Score: 14
Careesi followed the tracks as long as she could. Here and there they would start to fade away and she would have to spend a few moments trying to find them again. Finally, however, the woman happened upon the carcass and let out a groan as she took it in. It certainly did appear to be a wher kill, yet it was not a fresh one. She couldn't tell exactly how old it was, but she doubted that the wher was still anywhere near her.
"Well then." She spoke softly to Kazzisk, mainly for her own comfort. "What do you think we should do now? It doesn't appear it'll be too near to here." She told him. Kazzisk gave her an irritated look and moved his tail about in agitation, making it clear that he was ready to continue on. "Okay, okay." She smiled at the wher's eagerness. "Let's get going then. Maybe we can spot some sort of clue as to where the wher might be. It still might not be too far from here." She nodded to the wher and the pair set off once more.
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Posted: Wed May 16, 2012 7:00 pm
Length of Rope
Score: 14
The woman and the wher searched the area for any clues as to where the wher might have gone. There were a few tracks here and there, but none of them ever went very far before disappearing without a trace. More determined than ever to show everyone that she could handle this task, Careesi finally picked what appeared to be a fairly recent set of tracks and followed them. Eventually these tracks too appeared to disappear but the woman kept on moving, determined to find her quarry.
She wasn't sure how long or how far she traveled before she noticed a change in Kazzisk. There was something about the way the wher was acting. Before he had certainly been alert and willing to work, yet now it was as if he were even more focused at the task at hand. Careesi called the wher to a stop and got a good look at him. "Hey you, are you onto something?" She asked him quietly. The wher gave her a rather odd look that she was unable to identify and then moved forward once more, urging her to follow him. Hoping that perhaps he had caught sign of the wher, Careesi continued to follow Kazzisk.
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