Flavius looks very serious.
"I should risk Sapt's ire? He has you out here to learn to do this. Besides, if you and I are to do this, my life will depend to some degree on your ability to handle the boat."
--M. J. Young
Ahmetia Travels to Ruritania
(257 posts) (2 voices)-
Fri Oct 8 2010 11:49 pm #
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"Well, I meant both oars, but it is better to see if we can find a blind spot then for me to practice."
Sat Oct 9 2010 5:17 am # -
I don't see a persuasion score on your sheet. Thoughts on how persuasive you are?
--M. J. Young
Mon Oct 11 2010 1:32 am # -
((To be honest, between my lack of sales ability at my job and my track record for persuading my few friends, I'd say I'm about average at persuading people.))
Mon Oct 11 2010 4:55 am # -
Honest is good, and I assume you're honest all the time, since there's neither much fun nor much advantage in lying about your abilities in the game.
"We're not going to launch our plan tonight--and good thing, since you obviously need more practice with those oars. Get control of the boat, and we'll be fine."
The more flustered, you are still having trouble getting the boat under control. He waits patiently.
--M. J. Young
Tue Oct 12 2010 3:30 am # -
I'm most likely taking as much time as I can with it to try and keep from getting to flustered.
Tue Oct 12 2010 4:32 pm # -
You calm yourself, stow the oars for a moment, take a deep breath, and then get back to rowing. This time you get control of the boat and put it exactly where you want it.
"There's a girl," Flavius encourages. "You've got it now. Yes, I think from right here they would not be able to see us--there are no windows this side of the tower, we're too close to the base to be seen from the parapet, and the view from the other tower is blocked by this one. So if we're seen to vanish into this secluded spot, probably no one will notice if one of us slips into the water and swims around to the opening.
"We'll want to come here often, though, so they tire of watching us when we do. For the moment, let's sit a bit, make them think we're enjoying our rare moment of privacy.
"So, how did your friend wind up Michelle's prisoner?"
--M. J. Young
Wed Oct 13 2010 6:38 am # -
"She wound up not coming to the coronation with me. Michelle used that to send someone after her. Since then, she's been locked away here."
Wed Oct 13 2010 12:51 pm # -
Almost absently he grunts acknowledgment of your statement as he scans the walls more thoroughly. "So, was she sick or something, that she didn't come to your coronation? Or--maybe I'm prying. Sorry."
--M. J. Young
Thu Oct 14 2010 2:49 am # -
"Not at all, she just couldn't wake up, couldn't blame her, after the late night we had together after such a day."
Thu Oct 14 2010 3:35 am # -
"Oh," he says.
"Well, they say you are quite able to drink nearly anyone under the table. There are circles in which that's an admirable quality."
--M. J. Young
Thu Oct 14 2010 11:56 pm # -
"There is something to be said for being able to withstand yourself against that much drinking I suppose."
Fri Oct 15 2010 2:24 am # -
"You don't sound convinced." He smiles. He's not exactly teasing you, but he does seem to find humor in your response.
--M. J. Young
Sat Oct 16 2010 2:03 am # -
"I can't imagine many you'd have to out drink..."
Sat Oct 16 2010 5:11 am # -
"Perhaps. On the other hand, I've heard that there are some diplomats, particularly among the Germans, who make a point of shall we say improving their bargaining position by being able to hold their liquor better than those with whom they are negotiating. I don't guess anyone can keep a clear head when they've had more than a few drinks, but if you can keep a clearer head than everyone else in the room you're more likely to get everyone to agree to terms that favor you.
"So perhaps your majesty has an edge for negotiating with the Germans. From the rumors in Prussia, that might be an advantage."
--M. J. Young
Sun Oct 17 2010 8:15 pm # -
I'm likely chuckling while saying, "So I suppose it is a good thing then."
Mon Oct 18 2010 4:03 am # -
He is laughing as well.
"Indeed. You are well qualified to negotiate with the Germans--and perhaps, too, with the Italians and the Greeks, if you hold your wine as well as your beer."
As the laughter fades, he says, "All right, we should probably find our way to shore. After all, we want them to think we're stealing a hidden kiss, not surveying defensive weaknesses.
I suspect the suggestion that you might be stealing a kiss with the prince is raising a bit of blush in your cheeks. Mercifully his gaze is averted at the moment.
--M. J. Young
Wed Oct 20 2010 2:02 am # -
I'll probably just be moving back to shore.
Wed Oct 20 2010 3:08 am # -
After the boating practice you get the swimming practice. Even in the full-body bathing suit, Flavius has a very attractive form.
--M. J. Young
Thu Oct 21 2010 12:33 am # -
"Are you a strong swimmer Flavius?"
Thu Oct 21 2010 3:28 am # -
"Oh, not an Olympic contender, certainly, but I could manage to swim from the shore to the castle and back. I wouldn't be unseen, of course, but I wouldn't be exhausted, either. You?"
--M. J. Young
Thu Oct 21 2010 11:54 pm # -
"I'm a very weak swimmer, I'll be lucky if I made it to the castle and back before the day and half the night was lost."
Fri Oct 22 2010 6:23 am # -
He puts on a mock seriousness.
"As bad as that, huh? I guess it's good we have this boat."
He will laugh if you do.
--M. J. Young
Sat Oct 23 2010 2:20 am # -
I laugh a little, "If floating were the same as swimming, I would be good at it..."
Sat Oct 23 2010 5:08 am # -
"Hey, floating is the bigger half of the battle," he says. "As long as you can keep your head above water, you will stay alive. The other part is moving, but if you can float and move at all, you can swim a mile eventually.
"Let's see what you can do in the water here," he concludes.
He gives you some basic instruction--opening your eyes under water, doing a crawl stroke with your arms and turning your head to catch a breath under your armpit (which is covered by the full-cloth full-body bathing suit, which is really very modest despite being somewhat formfitting when wet, but makes swimming more difficult for several reasons). He also tries to get you to flutterkick, which he says is usually the fastest kick.
As he works with you, he often places his hands on you--one on your belly and one on your back to stabilize you. His touch is exciting, and it takes some effort for you to focus on what you are doing.
--M. J. Young
Sun Oct 24 2010 8:24 pm # -
At UberCon:
After swimming, we head back to the lodge where after sending the servant to bed, when it is decided to bluntly tell the prince Rudolphia is who Michelle was keeping in her castle. He reacted not as well as I thought, but it could have been worse. He agreed to help anyway he could in the rescue of the queen. I was trained in climbing to be able to get to the drawbridge while Flavius rescues the queen.
We stage the rescue in early September, which by that time the was quite a bit of whispers about my changes from the queen, mostly on how I didn't drink and how I was learning to cook from the chief. Flavius and I rowed, well, Flavius rowed, to the blind spot when he went ahead and grappled the rope over the wall. Then I splashed into the water but had a fairly easy time climbing the rope.
I was originally going to head to the drawbridge, but after hearing I scream, I decided to go investigate. I found (I think his name was Robert) with a bloody dagger, Michelle's body on the floor, and Antoinette by Michelle's body in distress. I drew my sword to which he said "Not today (or was it this time) your majesty" before leaping from a two story window into the lake.
At that point I head back to lower the draw bridge. (Another name I forgot) tried to intercept me but I managed to sprint to the level to lower the drawbridge before he held a sword for a while before Flavius showed up with a barely conscious Rudolphia and his sword. He surrendered and that was the end of that. We're spending a few days at the lodge so Rudolphia can recover and it is easier to have us switch. I asked for a some money and clothing so I could travel away from there.
I forgot to give you back the character sheet, this is what we changed:
1@10 Cooking T 1@2
2@1 Use Bow T 2@1
1@6 Operate Small Boat T3@1
1@9 Use Large Hand-Carried Explosive-Driven Slug Thrower T 6@1 (Winchester, Shotgun)
1@6 Use Small Hand-Carried Explosive-Driven Slug Thrower T 6@1 (Colt Revolver)
1@9 Swimming B 1@2
1@6 Ride Horse B3@0 (English tack)
1@7 Sport Fencing B 7@1
1@8 Climbing B 1@3Mon Nov 8 2010 4:13 am # -
I did not want the character sheet back, so that's not a problem. Thanks for the update.
The man who escaped was Rupert of Hentzau.
In the aftermath, you learn that Antoinette was in love with Michelle, and Michelle seemed to care for her but was avoiding any relationship in the hope that she could marry Flavius and so cement her claim to the throne. Rupert attempted to rape Antoinette, and Michelle heard the scream and responded, getting into a fight with Rupert in which Rupert fatally stabbed Michelle. You arrived as the dust was settling, and not certain about your abilities (or who might be behind you) Rupert made his escape.
It takes about two weeks for Rudolpha to recover, during which time Flavius spends a significant amount of time at her bedside. You make a few brief trips to Strelsau to manage state business on behalf of the queen, but mostly you stay at the lodge.
The queen personally thanks you, and praises your success at being a better queen than she would have been. She does not promise to give up alcohol entirely, but notes that a sober queen is a better ruler, as you have demonstrated. You return her ring to her.
As she is sufficiently recovered to return to her duties in Strelsau, she embraces you and thanks you again. Freida thanks you and speaks of how much she will miss you. Sapt and Flavius are going to ride with you to the French border, and are giving you five thousand francs to cover your expenses, along with a Ruritanian passport. What name do you want on the passport?
--M. J. Young
Wed Nov 10 2010 3:23 am # -
Likely I'll keep the name Ahmetia Campbell.
Wed Nov 10 2010 5:03 am # -
Frieda wonders whether a Scottish name will seem strange on a Ruritanian passport, but Sapt suggests that she should explain that she is the daughter of a Scottish gentleman who married a distant cousin of the king, and so she has the look of a Ruritanian and the name of a Scot.
Ruritania touches France just south of Belgium. Goodbyes are said at the border, beyond which you will have to travel unescorted. Any thoughts where you will go from here? (Feel free to look at a map.)
--M. J. Young
Thu Nov 11 2010 6:40 am # -
I'll probably head into France, I'm hoping that I'll find a job better in France even if it's just a street performer, likely taking the train to Paris and make use of my modern maps of Paris, there's bound to be numerous roads that are right vs wrong.
Thu Nov 11 2010 7:03 am # -
You'll have been given a horse for the journey, and that means you'll be sore but will move quickly. The conventional logic would be to head for Paris, because it's the capital and major city of the country, but there are plenty of places to be in France. Saying that you'll head into France when you're standing on the border is a bit like saying that you'll head into New York when you reach the border at the north end of Route 17 in New Jersey--big place, lots of places you could go, from making a tight right across the Tappan Zee into the City to heading up the Thruway to Albany, to continuing up the Northway into the Adirondacks or cutting left toward Buffalo and Rochester and Syracuse, to hundreds of places from Lake Placid to Poughkeepsie--well, you get the idea.
So, where in France would you like to go?
--M. J. Young
Fri Nov 12 2010 3:17 am # -
Paris would probably be the better option because I don't know how long 5,000 francs could last me and Paris would probably be the best place to find work if I needed it.
Fri Nov 12 2010 5:44 am # -
You could probably find adequate room and board for four to five francs a day, assuming that a boarding house is satisfactory. It's almost twice that in the better part of Paris, and it will be more to stay in a hotel and eat at a restaurant, but unless you spend it on expensive clothes or other luxuries, you've got enough to last a couple years.
I should probably mention that along with the horse and appropriate tack, you have a Winchester rifle, a Colt .45 revolver, and a saber, gifts from Sapt. I should also ask whether there is anything else you would have wanted to take from Ruritania, since they would certainly have asked and probably given whatever you requested.
--M. J. Young
Sun Nov 14 2010 3:10 am # -
There'd be nothing else I can think of.
Sun Nov 14 2010 3:54 am # -
Speaking of room and board, as you emerge from the woods onto a dirt road you recognize that it is getting late in the day. A horse won't make it to Paris tonight, but there are bound to be inns along a road so near the international border. On the other hand, there is plenty of woods for camping.
--M. J. Young
Tue Nov 16 2010 4:38 am # -
I'll probably go with the inn since I didn't bring anything with me for camping.
Tue Nov 16 2010 4:41 am # -
You turn the horse southwest, the direction of the heart of France, and start looking for a place to stay. You pass a farm, the buildings back from the road perhaps as much as a mile, surrounded by fields. As the evening gloom approaches, it begins to rain--lightly at first, but a chill autumn evening rain.
There is another farmhouse a mile off the road on the opposite side, and as yet no sign of a village or inn in the gathering gloom.
--M. J. Young
Tue Nov 16 2010 5:43 pm # -
I'll probably ask them where the nearest inn is, and if it's too far, I'll take to take cover till the rain lets up, don't want to catch a sickly death outside.
Tue Nov 16 2010 5:52 pm # -
You take the drive to the front door and knock.
A moment later, an elderly man opens the door, holding a candle in a glass lamp.
"Bon soir," he says. "Comment est-ce que je peux vous aider?"
--or something like that.
--M. J. Young
Thu Nov 18 2010 2:32 am # -
Shoot, I only know enough french to say my name and that I'm short. "Oh, I'm sorry to bother you this late, do you happen to know any English?"
Thu Nov 18 2010 3:28 am # -
"Oh, bon soir--I mean, good evening. You are not English; American? I have not been to America, but my cousin, he lives there and writes to me. His father, my uncle, lives in England, and I have visited a few times.
"How can I help you?"
--M. J. Young
Thu Nov 18 2010 5:34 pm # -
"Do you know if there is an inn near by? I'm a bit lost and hard to see in the rain."
Thu Nov 18 2010 5:35 pm # -
"Mais non, sacre bleu! That is, please do me the honor of being our guest tonight. We have space for your horse in the barn, and a spare bedroom as good as you would get at the inn. My wife's cooking, well, it is not Parisian cuisine but it is good food, a hearty stew. And it will save you an hour's ride in the rain--well, half an hour, at least. Come in, dry yourself, my son will see to your horse, and you can tell us of your journeys over a bowl of hot stew and a glass of fine wine. Yes?"
--M. J. Young
Fri Nov 19 2010 10:31 pm # -
"If I wont be trouble at all, I would like that." I'm carefully dismounting from my horse at this point.
Fri Nov 19 2010 10:37 pm # -
"Trouble? Kindness is always trouble, or it wouldn't be kindness. I would be more considered if I turned a pretty young lady away to the weather and the road when I could offer her food and shelter for the night. Etienne?" he calls this last, and a young boy about twelve comes in response. They talk in French, and then your host says, "This is Etienne, my son--you would say Steven in English, I think, but he would not recognize that name. He will take your horse to the barn and get it hay and grain, and rub it down for you. Come, Marie will get you warm stew and coffee--or should it be tea?--while I get you a place to sleep. Marie?" he calls, and the rest is in French. Then he returns his attention to you. "Her English is not so good, but she will understand simple things. Once your room is ready, you can give me news of your travels, yes?"
He draws you into the front room and offers to take whatever you are wearing or carrying that you would not take to the table. "I am afraid we have no toilette, so you will want to use the outhouse out back, but you can get water in the sink in the kitchen. I am Marc--Marc and Marie, easy, non?"
He leads you into the kitchen, where there is indeed a large sink with a hand pump, along with a wood stove and a woman a few years younger than your host who is already ladling stew into a bowl. It smells of garlic and onion and probably pork, potatoes, carrots, and celery in a rich brown sauce.
--M. J. Young
Sun Nov 21 2010 10:26 pm #
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