From: Paul, Brett Subject: Bamf [19] Time to get ready for our next gig Dana, up the tree, watches the boats as they depart from the main ship. They reach the shores to the north and to the southwest in just over an hour, and drag the boat onto the beach. From there, she watches as they disperse into the woods to the south and to the east, effectively disappearing from your view. The main ship sits in silence in the swamp ahead. Dana does not seem to be able to form her eyes to work like an owl, and after about an hour and a half, she feels that she can't maintain her hold on the tree the way she had been up to that point, and climbs down. This is shortly after when the creatures disembarked and walked into the woods. Saif and John plan to take the first watch while the rest of you attempt to catch up on your sleep. While he is on watch, John recites a poem he wrote quickly, in an attempt to block the undead from your camp. Saif watches as a small bush directly in front of John changes upon the last syllable of John's poem. After some bending and cracking, it looks like a formidable blackened steel mesh with sharp spikes on one side and smooth on the side where John is sitting. Adjacent bushes are unaffected, however. The changed bush is definitely solid, strong, and sharp like iron or steel. The altered bush stays that way for the duration of Saif and John's watch. During that time, Saif also attempts a few things, but none of them seem to have any sort of effect on the world around him, except for a brief moment when he swears he was listening to Dana's snoring as though his ear were to her nose. John wakes Brady and Greg for the second watch. While they are awake, they hold a quiet discussion. The bush remains changed through this watch and on. During their watch, Greg once again hears something coming through the woods. He looks in the direction where he heard the sound from and sees a man, shambling weakly along. A smell of death briefly assaults his senses. He looks to Brady, wondering if he should wake the others. Looking closely around, you only see the one man, and as you look at him, he falls to his knees. He takes a couple more tentative steps while on his knees, then collapses forward into the ground with a groan. After a few moments of watching, the man does not move. The two go out and check on him. The smell is terrible. The man is dead, and it would appear that he's been dead for weeks. His flesh is falling away from his bones, and parts of his skin are infested with maggots. His clothes are plain, though they have holes in them. He is not wearing anything on his feet. [At this point, I assume you take measures to either remove the body or make it so that the smell emanating from the body does not spread or affect the others in the camp.] The rest of the night and the rest of the watches pass uneventfully. Towards morning, before dawn, the ship's bell tolls, waking you all as it echoes all around you. As you watch, you see the smaller boats being lifted into place on the tall ship. Then, the tall ship lifts itself from the muck and water, turning left (southward) and flies up to 25' off the ground as it travels south towards, over and beyond the trees. Some of you fall back to sleep after it leaves the area. Once the sun comes up and everyone wakes, you feel rested, though not fully yet. The bush that was altered in the morning is still altered. Upon closer examination in the light, you discover that the metal is rather thin, and the overall structure is light and somewhat smaller than the original bush. [Good morning, everyone. Where to?] - Brett ---------- From: gdinkelm@ccs.lmco.com[SMTP:gdinkelm@ccs.lmco.com] Subject: Re: Bamf [19] Time to get ready for our next gig > From Brett_Paul@kne.com Fri Aug 8 16:00:43 1997 > Dana does not seem to be able to form her eyes to work like an owl, and > after about an hour and a half, she feels that she can't maintain her > hold on the tree the way she had been up to that point, and climbs down. > This is shortly after when the creatures disembarked and walked into > the woods. Hmm, you may only be able to produce one effect at a time. Or your affinity to mammals may be stronger than that to avians... > John wakes Brady and Greg for the second watch. While they are awake, > they hold a quiet discussion. The bush remains changed through this > watch and on. Nice bush, John. You do that? > During their watch, Greg once again hears something coming through the > woods. He looks in the direction where he heard the sound from and sees > a man, shambling weakly along. A smell of death briefly assaults his > senses. He looks to Brady, wondering if he should wake the others. > Looking closely around, you only see the one man, and as you look at > him, he falls to his knees. He takes a couple more tentative steps > while on his knees, then collapses forward into the ground with a groan. > > After a few moments of watching, the man does not move. The two go out > and check on him. The smell is terrible. The man is dead, and it would > appear that he's been dead for weeks. His flesh is falling away from > his bones, and parts of his skin are infested with maggots. His clothes > are plain, though they have holes in them. He is not wearing anything > on his feet. > > [At this point, I assume you take measures to either remove the body or > make it so that the smell emanating from the body does not spread or > affect the others in the camp.] Let's move the body away, but I'm not going to let my skin touch that nastiness. Leaves, or anything else will be fine, I think to keep from actually touching this, In the morning, though, I want to see if he's got any possessions on his body. In the meantime, Brady, do you want to say some words over the poor soul? > > The rest of the night and the rest of the watches pass uneventfully. > Towards morning, before dawn, the ship's bell tolls, waking you all as > it echoes all around you. As you watch, you see the smaller boats being > lifted into place on the tall ship. Then, the tall ship lifts itself > from the muck and water, turning left (southward) and flies up to 25' > off the ground as it travels south towards, over and beyond the trees. > I guess that's it until tonight. Survived another night with the ghost ship. :( Do we notice a name on the ship? > Some of you fall back to sleep after it leaves the area. Once the sun > comes up and everyone wakes, you feel rested, though not fully yet. The > bush that was altered in the morning is still altered. Upon closer > examination in the light, you discover that the metal is rather thin, > and the overall structure is light and somewhat smaller than the > original bush. Nice poem, John. Does anyone have any paper and writing utensil that John can hold onto. That way anytime the mood strikes him, he can write down what comes to mind and not have to worry about forgetting it. So what now? Do we want to continue the way we're going? Or head to what looked like a city on the landmass to the Northeast? The boat looks like it should survive the trip, right? Greg ---------- From: John D. Proulx[SMTP:dewelar@ix.netcom.com] Subject: Re: Bamf [19] Time to get ready for our next gig Greg Thomas Dinkelman wrote: > Nice bush, John. You do that? 'So it would seem. It wasn't quite what I had in mind, but given what I said, it's logical.' > Nice poem, John. Does anyone have any paper and writing utensil that John can > hold onto. That way anytime the mood strikes him, he can write down what comes > to mind and not have to worry about forgetting it. John pulls his pad and pen out. 'Don't worry, I've got it covered. I just haven't had much opportunity to think lately (gee, I wonder why?). Besides, this is the first real hard evidence I've had that my poetry actually _does_ something.' > So what now? Do we want to continue the way we're going? Or head to what > looked like a city on the landmass to the Northeast? The boat looks like it > should survive the trip, right? I say we head for the city. At least that way, we'll have some idea of whether there are _living_ humans/humanoids/life forms with which we can communicate. Regarding the bush: is it small enough to be portable? If so, it might be usable as a makeshift weapon or shield. John Proulx ---------- From: Saif[SMTP:saif@xmission.com] Subject: Re: Bamf [19] Time to get ready for our next gig > The altered bush stays that way for the duration of Saif and John's > watch. During that time, Saif also attempts a few things, but none of > them seem to have any sort of effect on the world around him, except for > a brief moment when he swears he was listening to Dana's snoring as > though his ear were to her nose. Saif looks a little perturbed by his lack of progress, but he files this information away and spends the rest of his watch thinking of what he might do differently. > lifted into place on the tall ship. Then, the tall ship lifts itself > from the muck and water, turning left (southward) and flies up to 25' > off the ground as it travels south towards, over and beyond the trees. > [Good morning, everyone. Where to?] Saif sighs happily when the ship leaves. "I'm not sure what worked, but somebody must have done something that hid us. So, where to now? I would rather not return to the beach, since that might put us back within range of the ghost ship. How about we try and find that town we were able to see off to the (south-west?)? From there we should be able to find out what the surrounding geography is like." Saif ---------- From: gdinkelm@ccs.lmco.com[SMTP:gdinkelm@ccs.lmco.com] Subject: Re: Bamf [19] Textbooks "Does anyone have one with them that I might borrow?" Greg ---------- From: Saif[SMTP:saif@xmission.com] Subject: Re: Bamf [19] Textbooks > "Does anyone have one with them that I might borrow?" "I have one for a college-level genetics course. Pedigree analysis, population genetics, tetrad analysis, it's all there." Saif ---------- From: Adequis@aol.com[SMTP:Adequis@aol.com] Subject: Re: Bamf [19] Time to get ready for our next gig I say a last rite over the dead body that night and the next morning after the body is searched for clues and possessions, I will purify it with Holy water, and dig atleast a shallow grave to bury the recently departed. "To bad he didn't lay down right away, he might have had a better funeral with people he knew." "Cool bush is right!, can you make me a rifle, pistol, or anything else? :-)" "Or how about a poem about some unlicensed thermonuclear accelerators?" "Just wondering...." "Did anybody dream about freshman classes? Just wondering." "The town off to the South west looks like it is on this same land mass, so I think that is where we should go. We don't have to sail anywhere, just walk." I pray and thank God for protecting us through the night. I Take out some of my tube straping, and a few carabiners. I will first make a belt out of some of the straping, then seathing the 'biners in tube and hooking a few together a distance apart, I will attempt to make a usable scabbard for this sword I am carrying around. I figure it will be easier to carry that way. "Well, should we head for town or not?" Brady ---------- From: Marshall T. Vandegrift Subject: Re: Bamf [19] Time to get ready for our next gig (OOC: Sorry I've been so quiet lately. I'm still (half) here though.) "I'm all for heading toward the town. I do think that we should check it out carefully before barging in. John, neat bush! Do you think you could do that every night?" As we walk along I'll try to keep up a steady breeze blowing from the sea, past us, and toward the town. I'd also like to try (again) getting atuned to how the area is naturally and watching to see if it changes. Marshall T. Vandegrift (mailto:marsh@intrlink.com) ---------- From: Paul, Brett Subject: Bamf [19] Where to? >Where did we have towns identified? The land mass to the NE, right, and another to the SW past the bog? That's right. The one to the SW seems to be either closer or larger. - Brett ---------- From: gdinkelm@ccs.lmco.com[SMTP:gdinkelm@ccs.lmco.com] Subject: Re: Bamf [19] Where to? To the SW. Marshall's our point man. I'm going to have to use swamp water to wash the dirt from my face and hair, but I've got short hair, and I know to exhale while I'm washing. Brady should go next after he gets that sword wrapped up a bit. I'll go with Brady. The most important thing to do is make sure we're well rested. Looks like our evenings have been exciting--if we need to sleep almost to noon to get rested, so be it. Once we get close to the city, say a quarter mile away, we should probably send someone in to scout the area. I would say Saif and Marshall--Marshall's the quickest and can get back to the rest if there's an emergency and Saif can do a little mind reading. Maybe Dana should go, too. Who do we have that is dressed 'period?' Just a quick recon, maybe 15-20 minutes, to try to figure out if we're going to fit in with the crowd at all. While they do that, I want to start reading the genetics text to try to figure some things out. Hate to split the group up, but a group of 7 of us wandering out from the bog might provoke too much suspicion. Greg ---------- From: Paul, Brett Subject: RE: Bamf [19] Where to? >To the SW. Marshall's our point man. I'm going to have to use swamp water to >wash the dirt from my face and hair, but I've got short hair, and I know to exhale >while I'm washing. That should smell good. >Brady should go next after he gets that sword wrapped up a bit. I'll go with >Brady. Ok, so Marshall, then Brady & Greg, then ___ ___ ___ ___ (Saif, Jeff, Dana, John? All together or paired or spread out?) >Once we get close to the city, say a quarter mile away, we should probably send >someone in to scout the area. I would say Saif and Marshall--Marshall's the >quickest and can get back to the rest if there's an emergency and Saif can do a >little mind reading. Maybe Dana should go, too. Who do we have that is dressed >'period?' iirc, nobody is really dressed out that way. Cassandra wanted to be, but her involvement (or lack thereof) cut that idea short. >Just a quick recon, maybe 15-20 minutes, to try to figure out if we're going to fit >in with the crowd at all. While they do that, I want to start reading the >genetics text to try to figure some things out. >Hate to split the group up, but a group of 7 of us wandering out from the bog might >provoke too much suspicion. I understand. - Brett ---------- From: gdinkelm@ccs.lmco.com[SMTP:gdinkelm@ccs.lmco.com] Subject: RE: Bamf [19] Where to? > From Brett_Paul@kne.com Tue Aug 12 14:49:30 1997 > >To the SW. Marshall's our point man. I'm going to have to use swamp water > >to wash the dirt from my face and hair, but I've got short hair, and I know > >to exhale while I'm washing. > > That should smell good. Better than looking like the wild man of Borneo...If we hit some cleaner water, I'll wipe up with that. My hair, though, isn't really long enough to develop any kind of nasty smell. > >Brady should go next after he gets that sword wrapped up a bit. I'll go with > >Brady. > > Ok, so Marshall, then Brady & Greg, then ___ ___ ___ ___ > (Saif, Jeff, Dana, John? All together or paired or spread out?) John and Dana, Saif and Jeff. > >Once we get close to the city, say a quarter mile away, we should probably > >send someone in to scout the area. I would say Saif and Marshall--Marshall's > >the quickest and can get back to the rest if there's an emergency and Saif > >can do a little mind reading. Maybe Dana should go, too. Who do we have > >that is dressed 'period?' I thought one of the guys used some of the clothes at the house... > iirc, nobody is really dressed out that way. Cassandra wanted to be, > but her involvement (or lack thereof) cut that idea short. > > >Just a quick recon, maybe 15-20 minutes, to try to figure out if we're going > >to fit in with the crowd at all. While they do that, I want to start reading > >the > >genetics text to try to figure some things out. > > > >Hate to split the group up, but a group of 7 of us wandering out from the bog > >might provoke too much suspicion. > > I understand. Hopefully, if they get caught by the local police force, Saif will be able to get some kind of telepathic message out to us. I'll definitely suggest it before he leaves. > Any other questions/comments/suggestions? I won't be able to get the > post out until probably after 6 tonight. That should about do it. Greg ---------- From: Paul, Brett Subject: RE: Bamf [19] Where to? > >Once we get close to the city, say a quarter mile away, we should probably > >send someone in to scout the area. I would say Saif and Marshall--Marshall's > >the quickest and can get back to the rest if there's an emergency and Saif > >can do a little mind reading. Maybe Dana should go, too. Do you want to tell the rest of the group about this plan or shall I in the post? It'll be the first post utilizing a leader, so it should be pretty significant. > >Who do we have that is dressed 'period?' > I thought one of the guys used some of the clothes at the house... Actually, Brady and Jeff and I think Dana all grabbed clothes to take with them. If anyone else did, that's fine. I don't remember any others. >Hopefully, if they get caught by the local police force, Saif will be able to >get some kind of telepathic message out to us. I'll definitely suggest it >before he leaves. - Brett