Talakor, his usually mobile face oddly serious, stared at the distant horizon in the late hours of the afternoon. His hand rested on the back of his dolphin partner, Otto, as he tread water off the coast of Southern. The pair was only two days into their sevenday-long shore patrol, but the tension that was infecting all those who lived along the shore had passed on to Tal in the first day.
It wasn't easy, waiting for the other shoe to drop. The weather was beautiful-- if stiflingly hot-- but Tal had heard the rumors coming from the other dolphineers and native-born Southerners about what extra hot weather meant in the South. For a dolphineer who took his Craft seriously (in sharp contrast to everything else in his life, which he was decidedly flippant about), those rumors registered as near-fact with Tal. He had worked for several sevendays with his ear turned toward the river, waiting for a warning. When he had been told he would be working shore patrol, Tal knew that he was going to spend the sevenday on his guard. Apparently, it had been a wise precaution.
He looked at the horizon mistrustfully. The haze Talakor was seeing hadn't been there a few hours earlier, and, even though the sun shone bright and hot over them, the sight of any change after weeks of constant weather was enough to put him on alert. He wouldn't potentially play fast and loose with lives.
It wasn't that Talakor was nervous, exactly... but he did want to see what the other shore patrolling dolphineers thought before he dismissed the faint cloud cover.
"Hey, Otto." His dolphin partner tilted one shiny, button-black eye toward him. "Call Nomah over to us. I want to talk to Felix."
Otto clicked an agreement, stuck his head fully underwater, and sang out the series of clicks and squeals that would roughly translate to a summons from one dolphin to another.
Posted: Sun Apr 07, 2013 5:56 pm
Luckily, Felix and Nomah weren't that far away in their own patrol, nor were they currently involved in one of their own private games. Like Tal and Otto, Felix had had a foreboding feeling for the past few sevendays. His patrols had been subdued, and even his social life had suffered his distraction with his job. Southern weather was dissimilar enough to the northern shores of Malvren and his nerves were on edge, searching for something that might not be there.
Nomah slowed and stopped in the water, silent as Otto's message was received. He ducked his head under the surface and squealed back something along the lines of 'coming!' Felix grabbed Nomah's dorsal fin and took a deep breath as the dolphin immediately dove beneath the surface, his brows forming a small line. There'd been no real urgency in Nomah's reply but already he was pulling them at full speed. "Who?" Felix asked when their heads broke the surface for a breath.
Nomah took them back under, powerful kicks of his tail pulling the pair swiftly to the other dolphineer's location.
Otto confirmed to Talakor. The young man nodded, looking down the shore in the direction he knew Felix's patrol to be in. There was another dolphineer on patrol-- even though they only patrolled a particular area along the coast near the mouth of the river that fed Trine's lakes, there was the need for at least three Trine dolphineers on shore patrol at any given time-- but Tal knew that Felix was close enough and he was one of the Journeyman with whom Tal spent a fair amount of time. He'd call him in first; if it seemed that Felix shared his discomfort, Tal would call in the other dolphineer he knew was on patrol.
He looked back to the horizon, uncertain if the gloom had grown or if his mind was playing tricks on him.
Otto's sudden squeal of welcome snapped Tal's attention back to his immediate surroundings and he watched Nomah drag Felix the rest of the way to him. At least that hadn't taken too long.
"Felix," Tal greeted briefly. He jerked his chin at the horizon as he returned his gaze to it. "What do you make of that?"
Posted: Sun Apr 07, 2013 6:33 pm
Nomah chattered and clicked right back at Otto, pulling them right up alongside them before breaking. "Tal. What's up?" Felix flicked his hair back and twisted in the water to look in the direction indicated.
He sucked on his lip ring, eyeing the darkening horizon. He had barely noticed the bank of grey from his previous position. "Maybe a squall? Trine's due for some wet by now." It was so far out... would it even hit shore? "It'd be a nice break. I didn't think I could get any darker after moving here."
"Looks like a mess is brewing out there doesn't it." It was more a statement than a question. A breeze had picked up again, welcome in the still heat of the afternoon. It cooled the droplets of water than ran down his face from his 'stripe' as Jordan had labeled it so long ago.
Tal, who had grown up on the shore, was frowning. He'd seen bad weather before, but he doubted it would live up to a really bad Southern storm. Felix's words confirmed his own concerns. It did look like a squall-- or, rather, it was beginning to look that way, and rather quickly, too.
"We're going to feel a lot darker if that is a storm." The breeze swept across Tal, chilling him, and he sank lower in the water to protect himself from it. "We aren't due for Thread yet, and doesn't look at all like it now." It had, at first, and Tal had had a bad moment where he'd wondered if they were going to get caught out in an unexpected Fall, but he'd dismissed that idea by now. It wasn't moving the same way Fall did, and it distinctly looked like darkening clouds now. "It has to be clouds. Dark ones."
He stared at them for a moment more before making up his mind. "I think we should call in whoever else is on patrol this sevenday. Someone's going to have to check with the wild pod, and whoever is down-shore is closest. They'll get there more quickly than either of us." Tal pulled his eyes away from the clouds. "It could be nothing, but if that's as bad as everyone's been saying it's going to be, I'd rather not take any chances."
And if it was a fast oncoming storm, they might not have much time to waffle over making decisions about it.
Posted: Sun Apr 07, 2013 7:00 pm
Felix nodded in agreement. If it did hit shore the rain would be welcome but it'd get dark real fast. Already he could see changes in the building clouds. He hadn't even suspected Thread. It wasn't due after all. "I'll have Nomah call them and ask them to get in contact with the wild pod."
Felix reached out to where Nomah floated nearby, listening to the dolphineers. "You got all that?" Nomah bobbed his head and once again sank underwater, clicking out a rapid sequence to their third partner.
When Ulir and Vikkik go to meet the wild pod, roll 1d10 EACH (a total of 2d10) for your dolphineer and dolphin. If either of your characters rolls higher than a 5, it means you understand the warning the dolphins are trying to give and may check the spoiler cut tag below. If both of them roll lower than a 5, check the second spoiler tag.
5 and up:
The wild dolphins are in a tizzy, chattering at breakneck speed. Thankfully, amidst their squeals and clicks, you are able to discern an answer to your inquiry as one or two dolphins discern your purpose.
one squeals.
another adds.
The first dolphin picks up the talk again.
His message delivered, the dolphin tail walks across the water, chittering, and dives in amidst his podmates. The warning was given with anxiety as much as excitement; this is information that your fellow shore patrolmen are going to need to know about immediately so that you can pass on the alarm as quickly as possible.
4 and under:
The wild dolphins are in a tizzy, chattering at breakneck speed. Unfortunately, their preoccupation with whatever has excited them makes it difficult, if not impossible, to understand what they are talking about. You'll have to call one of the other dolphineers over to see if they can translate.
Ulir was very wary today. Being a dutiful Dolphineer, he had been out all day and, having seen the suspicious squall, immediately started doing the usual checking.
Vikkik popped his head out of the water. "I think we have trouble!" he said, chittering with distaste. He didn't like trouble. It wasn't good... and it distracted from him. Even worse.
Ulir nodded. He had guessed that part. "Lets go take a look, then."
Vikkik bobbed. "Wild pod. That way."
Ulir took his offered fin and they went after the wild pod that Vikkik had noticed, but they were travelling too fast. How rude. Vik tried to listen in. "Can't tell. Talking too fast." He chirped unhappily. Ugh. He knew he looked bad now.
Ulir frowned. "Fast?" he listened. "Doesn't sound good, Vik. Lets call the others."
Vikkik sunk a little. But, in the end, saving face and looking good was less important than doing their job. By a strand of seaweed.
Vik popped his head above water. "There. I did it. he said, a little sulkily. Ulir Nodded as he treaded water, watching the nasty looking squall with trepidation.
Tal received the message via Otto and looked faintly annoyed for a moment, then took a deep breath that never quite made it out as a sigh. He looked over at Felix.
"I'm heading over. You may want to come; maybe one of us can make something out of whatever the dolphins are saying."
He latched onto his dolphin partner and let himself be towed at breakneck speed toward the pod and the dolphineer who called for them; Otto seemed to sense Tal's desire to get everything done in a speedy manner.
When he arrived, Tal saw what the problem was. Excitement was certainly not uncommon in dolphins, but this level of it was unusual. He hoped-- vainly, he was sure-- that someone was just having a baby.
Tal glanced at Ulir and gave him a nod, but jumped right into the problem. "Hey, guys, care to slow down and tell us what's going on?" Tal asked, grinning at them as if Southern might not be on the verge of danger.
----
As if a second party asking the question clued the dolphins in that they weren't being entirely coherent, a few of the dolphins did bother to slow down for him. Both he and Otto heard their message loud and clear-- and maybe the others finally did as well. Tal's face was tight and not at all like his usual self now.
"A storm." He glanced at Felix, then met Ulir's eyes. "We need to warn the Holds, the Weyr." His gaze darted to the steadily darkening horizon. That was moving fast; impossibly fast. "We'll pass the message down the line. It'll get there faster that way. We'd never make it the full length of the river in time, not if we're going to warn Holds as well."
Tal looked to Felix. "Nomah's fast. Get back to the river and start the message. We don't have time to waste." His eyes, nervous as well as defiant, returned to the horizon beyond the squeeing dolphins.
Posted: Tue Apr 09, 2013 4:12 pm
This will be the first test of the river-length dolphineer warning system!
Dizzy_Kat - Roll 1d20 with your next post. This is the number which the dolphineer at the first river post must match or beat in order to hear your message clearly.
First Post Dolphineer - When you pass the message along, you do not have to roll a die. However, you have two chances to roll 1d20 (in separate posts) to beat the number rolled by Dizzy_Kat in order to hear the message Felix and Nomah are passing on. Add one to the result of your second roll if you fail the first. All subsequent dolphineers - Roll 1d20 with your post and use the following list to determine how clearly you hear the message. You will have TWO opportunities to receive the message. If you fail your first roll, add +1 to whatever your second roll is in an attempt to successfully receive and pass on the message. Results: 1-10: The message is garbled, either due to the distance between posts, some outside interference, or you and your dolphin's own unfamiliarity with dolphin code. You must request the post repeat the message for you. 11-15: It's difficult to understand entirely, but you understand that the message is a warning of an incoming storm and you need to warn the Holds and Weyrs to batten the hatches before it arrives. 16-20: The post before you has clearly passed on the message and you pick it up with little trouble. A dangerous storm is rapidly approaching Southern and all Holds and the Weyr need to begin securing their homes with all available help in order to safely weather it out. Livelihoods-- or just lives-- may depend on the message making it where it needs to go in time.
SHOULD YOU FAIL BOTH ROLLS: The dolphineer who failed the check has to go to the previous post, get the update in person, and return to their post before passing the message along to the next post or-- if you are the last post before the Weyr-- rushing to the Weyr to deliver the message. When this happens, the mule will roll 2d20. The dolphineer who has to make the mad rush downriver has three chances to roll 1d20. The total of all three rolls must exceed whatever total number the mule rolls in the warning post in order for the message to reach the Weyr in time.
Right now the participants in Task 2 are: Xanha and Ajax Zenai and Razz Rikki and Phro Kala and Matthew
You may post in any order to pass on the message. Just remember that whoever posts first is closest to the shore, and subsequent posters are ever further inland.
Mule reserves the right to post some NPCs in between player rolls or toss a hitch into the plans to make things interesting, should she so choose.
Participants will have two days to get the message back to the Weyr. Should the rolls fail entirely before then (both the double-try and the back-up system), it will trigger a mule post (and Task 3, along with some bad tidings for everyone). Should all rolls be sound in two days time, the message will have reached the Weyr successfully.
Task 2 is now OPEN. If the rolls fail earlier than the two day mark, or all participants roll their Task 2 dice in the first day, the event will move on. Roleplay IS allowed between rolls, once a message has been passed along by a character.
Felix and Nomah followed right on Otto's tail as the second pair of dolphineers went to investigate the chaos among the wild pods.
Felix's mouth flattened into a serious line as the message finally came through. In the time it had taken them to swim the relatively short distance, the storm had grown further. Felix almost fancied he could see the clouds moving even at that distance. "Right. Nomah!" The cheerful laid back Felix was gone as the young man switched into action mode. If this was bad enough to upset the wild dolphins it was going to wreak havoc wherever it touched shore.
If it hit a settlement... unprepared lives could be lost.
So near to the pods, Nomah began to bob with unease, the young dolphin picking up their words better than the humans. He swum in a quick circle around Felix, turning around and trusting his partner to grab on before he was off, flying through the water towards the first post.
When he was near enough he made a piercing warning squeal and cried his message through the water. Hopefully it'd be heard. Maybe he was a bit of an alarmist, but hopefully that would get the message through.
(Lol, have fun getting a higher roll that that /sohard)
Xanha's voice was quiet from where she lounged on the pier, watching her dolphin play a fierce game of chase with the companion of one of her counterparts. The dolphins didn't seem to notice the sky the way their current human audience did, but that was how it went. Humans watched above the water, dolphins below it. It was part of their partnership.
But when Ajax breached on his side directly next to Xanha, splashing her and then popping vertical out of the water again to fix his human companion with one eye, chattering loudly, she started. "Jax - what -"
"Storm coming. Nomah say baaaaaad," the dolphin answered, chattering loudly to his dolphin companion a moment after. The game was forgotten, both young males screeching and bobbing with equal parts excitement and trepidation. This was a big job - which raised the stakes and made the game more interesting. "Warn others here!"
"Shards -" Xanha hissed, jumping up. "Ajax, start the relay, let me go -" and she was already off, moving to alert her human companions at the shoreline relay station while her dolphin sent the message further afield.
Razz had just gone after a fish when he heard the sounds of a message, and he stopped to listen. It wasn't as clear as he would like, and he sent back a message of his own.
He stuck his head out, and squeed at Zenai. "Tell everyone to be still. Message unclear. Felt important."
He ducked back into the water, trusting his partner, and waiting for a response.
This time the warning was clearer, enough that the dolphin could understand the meaning, and Razz rose up from the water, squeeing at his partner. "Trouble. Big Storm. Coming Fast. Warn! Important!"
He ducked back down in the water.
"Shards." The dolphineer hated storms, and if the dolphins said that it was coming fast, then it was. Storms down here could show up in an instant, and he was glad that they had at least a brief amount of warning.
Now, luck with them, they'd be able to pass on the message down the coast, to warn as many people as they could.
"Go?" Zenai nodded, moving next to Razz, and grabbing a hold of his fin.
He motioned towards one of the others. "Razz and I are going to pass on the message. There's a big storm coming and we need to start warning people!" He grinned brightly as a runner darted off. "Let's go!" The dolphin took off through the water, repeating the message as he went. It would be a little while before they reached the next patrol, but he knew that the sonar might be able to reach them sooner. And the sooner, the better.
The quick response of the dolphineers gave all on Southern the advantage. There were some snags hit along the way as messages became garbled between posts, but in the end the warning moved fairly swiftly along the river. Only a dragon would have been faster. The issues were noted by the dolphineers who experienced them so that they could later report in to their MasterDolphineer, but they were pushed to the side for now.
With the message out of their hands, it was time to begin aiding the individual Holds with their tasks. With a storm that was said to be moving quickly-- as the darkening sky indicated-- every pair of hands would be an asset to the Holders. The dolphineers on the river and shore aided the nearest Holds, while those left at the Weyr were left to batten the hatches on their Hall and warn the Weyrleader, so that they could begin sending dragons to the inland Holds with the warning.
The dolphineers away from the Weyr devoted themselves to beaching and securing boats, rounding up animals and children, bracing windows, and storing goods and materials that were outdoors. Though their aid was welcomed by the desperate Holders, time was against them-- and everyone knew it.
OOC: Since all of the participants who chose to roll succeeded by at least the second roll, the message DID make it successfully downriver to the Weyr. One hour has passed by the time it completes its journey, however, bringing the storm that much closer to shore.
Task 3 has now begun.
This is the OPEN portion of our event. There is no posting order and this is where you will be able to do all of your interacting and roleplay to show off your characters. For those of you who are interested in the dolphin prizes, this is your chance! Show me who your characters are by interacting with each other, NPCs, and me!
You must choose whether or not your dolphineer goes back to the Weyr to lend aid, or whether they select a river- or seaside Hold. As the prompt above mentions, you will be aiding in tasks such as beaching/securing boats, bracing windows and doors, and getting items indoors that would potentially blow about (just to name a few).
Mechanics: In order to complete a task, each character must roll 1d20 and accept the roll with a variety of results. Each character is allowed TWO chances to complete a task (meaning you may roll 1d20 twice, in separate posts), but if you fail both rolls you have damaged whatever you were working on rather than assisting with it and must move on to another task.
If you are performing a task in the water (such as getting boats off the river and onto land), don't forget to have your dolphin help if possible! This will had a +2 to whatever roll you get, as your partner is lending you assistance.
Results: 1-9: I don't... You've never done this before, have you? Your lack of skill is so obvious as to be dangerous to others around you. It's a wonder you didn't break something. ... You didn't, did you? 10-15: All right, not bad. You needed a lot of help, but you did contribute to the effort, albeit with questionable results. 16-18: Very nicely done! Either from past experience, luck, or because it's your twentieth task today, you pulled that off without a hitch. You clearly have the hang of this. 19-20: Critical hit! Not only did you aid in the first try, you were the most pivotal person in the task. The Holders/Weyrfolk are impressed with your skill and are exceedingly thankful to have you around.
Reply
