Three days have passed, and the reconnaissance has gone well. There's now a clear picture of the area in which the ship has crashed. To the east lie mountains, populated by dragons and their servants. They're powerful, and should probably be avoided.

To the west and north lie entire kingdoms of people like the King; you now know that he's a child, and that the adults of his kind look somewhat more real. They don't seem to have much in the way of magic, and it looks like there's a great deal of political turmoil among and within the kingdoms, verging on open warfare in places.

To the south lie uncultivated lands containing the ruins of towns and castles. The ruins look to be hundreds of years old, but the border between that uncultivated area and the kingdoms east of it is very clearly delineated, which seems strange.

The ship will take more magic than is currently available to repair, but a start could be made by removing some of the good cut stone from ruins to the south. Efforts to contact local authorities were broken off when it became clear that there are wars starting. Efforts to contact a global defence force like your own, by magic, have received peculiar results; there are apparently several groups claiming precedence under the names of "The Defenders", "The New Crimson Empire", "The Eight", and "The Revenant Gods".

The question asked of the King about how he could be served and who his enemies are got a confused and unclear response, and the child fell asleep soon after. In the days since, he's been telling people to let him think, and sometimes marching people in circles and lines, which is an entertainment that he doesn't seem to tire of.

Now, however, there's a more immediate concern. Someone has apparently shown the King how to extend his voice throughout the ship from the bridge, and his high-pitched tones echo around you, "I've changed my mind. You can stop the marching - I want you to take over the world and make me King of Everything!".

[Poll #1333726]

As usual, if you want to do something that's not in the options, comment below.
The last few hours have been chaotic. Some people moved out to find and intercept the "big boy", and others seemed to interpret the orders of the King in different ways. The end result has been that the other boy has been found and brought back to the ship - and he doesn't seem all that much bigger - and while there has certainly been discomfort for him, he has also provided a lot of information.

A few things have become clear. First and foremost, this is not your world. Or perhaps it is, but if so, you've jumped forward in time by a huge amount, so that all the civilisations, all the kingdoms and empires, are forgotten, and most of you look like monsters to the people of this time. Even a great many of the gods have changed. The only thing that seems unchanged is the language of the dragons, which many of you use for spellcasting. The other boy understands a few words of this, and confirms it's still the province of dragons and spellcasters. You're familiar with timejump magic; you've used it before on operations, but this is beyond anything you've experienced.

Your ship, now that some of the logistics people have had time to look at it, has crash-landed in an uncultivated valley. It's at a slight angle, but the decks are nearly level, and it's possible to use it as a base until it can be repaired - although what it'll take to repair it will take some work in itself. To the locals, the stone ship probably looks like a streamlined castle.

The King, though, is going to be a problem. He is currently engaged in making members of the group march in lines and circles, and let him try to lift and use their weapons. Nobody is at all clear how he came to be recognised by the spells as King, and things are not helped by the older boy's confusion about things as basic as the time of year; he thinks it should be wintertime, when it's plainly around Midsummer. The King now seems to have forgotten completely about the other boy.

There seems to be a consensus that some investigation of the area and situation is necessary.

[Poll #1302615]

If any of you have specific questions for the King or the other boy, leave them in comments below.
There's a babble of noise - some people assuring the creature that as it's their king, they can't possibly hurt it, some casting defensive spells, and some standing still. The creature begins to look less apprehensive.

"Will you do what I say?", it asks. There's reassurance from several members of the group that indeed, they will, and an expression of something like glee crosses its face. It turns, spinning on its heel, and points, away across the landscape. "There's a big boy out there, and he hurt me. Make him hurt!"

[Poll #1258446]
This is the project formerly known as So, It Begins. It now has a proper name, for reasons you'll see below. My apologies for the long gap; new jobs will do that.

The creature stares, mouth still open, for a few seconds. Defensive spells go up, weapons and offensive spells are readied, and a few people step forward with the intention to speak. Then the creature says, in a language that is unfamiliar, but words that are all too clear, and it says "Don't hurt me!"

There's a moment of clear, perfect silence. And then you're filled with a steady, pulsing rage, that anyone, anywhere, would considering hurting your King and Master. For it's perfectly clear that this creature, unfamiliar, small, and strange as it is, is your King, and you are compelled to obey it. The anger is familiar, though. You've had it all the years you've worked for the King, and while it burns, it's good to have it back.

[Poll #1249637]
gothwalk: (holbord)
( Jul. 18th, 2008 09:13 pm)
There's a sudden blaze of daylight, and one wall, some distance away, swings down to form a ramp. Sunlight pours in, illuminating the stone chambers. It's not clear if someone opened it, or it happened automatically.

However, standing at the end of the ramp, where it reaches the ground, is a peculiar creature. It's humanoid, dressed in plain, undyed linen clothes. It's too small to be an elf, and its features are too smooth to be really human. Its mouth is open in an expression that could be astonishment or naked aggression - you can't really tell.

[Poll #1225838]

(Feel free to email me if you'd like to do something secret)
gothwalk: (holbord)
( Jul. 7th, 2008 10:01 pm)
In the growing light, you can see other people - other creatures - around you. Each of them is fastened by strapping and buckles into niches in the stone walls of the passageways. You do recognise some of them as allies, but others are unknown to you. Some are moving, some look to still be unconscious. It's time, you feel, to do something, to serve your King in some way.

Do you:

[Poll #1219412]
gothwalk: (holbord)
( Jun. 28th, 2008 09:24 pm)
The voice continues, "Alright, so I'm not the Commander, but I don't know where she is, or if she's still alive. We'll settle who's in charge here in a short while. In the meantime, can we have some light?"

Someone incants, and light creeps into existence, just a glimmer, but enough to show you your surroundings. The space you are in is made of stone, but shaped by tools. You're in one carved niche in a corridor or passageway, along with your tools and weapons, and around you, you can see the outlines of people in others. Some of them are of shapes that seem unfamiliar, until you realise that you don't know what is familiar, and look down at yourself.

[Poll #1212822]
gothwalk: (holbord)
( Jun. 10th, 2008 04:30 pm)
There is darkness, pain, and a growing sensation that something has gone very, very wrong. You're just not sure what. You remember that you're a Legionnaire, that you serve the King - and you know what you can do. They must really have drummed that into you, though, because you can't remember a damn thing otherwise, not even your name.

There's movement around you - other people waking up too? - and then there's a man's voice that reaches down into your guts, and pulls you to attention. "For the King!" it roars, "Legionnaires! We've crashed, we have memory problems. Call out your section, and we can start sorting things out!"

[Poll #1202642]
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