Fantasy The Game Keeper's Island RP thread

[Disco]

You awaken within your dream surrounded by pitch darkness and impossible cold to chill your skin. Every direction you look there is nothingness. Yet the ominous presence of the void collapses around and constricts you. Despite your attempts to wake, there is no escape.

A shrouded figure shimmers within the shadows. His silky and serene voice smooth the stress.

"Welcome child." He greets, his warmth filling you.

"Will you play my game?" He asks, his curiosity reaching to you.

"'Tis is not for the faint of heart; nor the weak of mind; nor the ill of strength." He warns, his concern shrouding you.

"But great power, wealth, and pleasure greet my champions." He promises, his generosity beckoning you.

You and three others accept the Game Keeper's challenge and awaken on the shores of an unknown island. The sand beautifully glistens off the shores of the beach. The greens of palm and forest offer prosperity. But it doesn't take a genius to know that danger lurks behind every corner.​

 

[Disco]

You and three others accept the Game Keeper's challenge and awaken on the shores of an unknown island. The sand beautifully glistens off the shores of the beach. The greens of palm and forest offer prosperity. But it doesn't take a genius to know that danger lurks behind every corner.

​

The island you awake on is something of true beauty. The sands sparkle brilliantly in the light of the morning sun. The excessive green deeper into the island boasts a proud forest of palm. The ocean water in which the heroes lay just on the shore of glimmers with promise of open seas and prosperity; the kind that pushes man to explore and conquer. Peaking from the far north lies the most impressive feat of the island. Something no magic nor man could sculpt. No, this was something only the unyielding power of nature could bring. A towering mountain that would put giants to shame, with a white smoke crawling out the top like ants from their hill.

A mighty volcano, not yet erupted but certainly ready.

The heroes will find themselves on the shore of the beach. Washed up like ship wrecked sailors. Had their dreams brought them here? Or was the dream a mere illusion to shelter the trauma of crashing out in sea? The heroes lay bare. Nothing but the clothes on their backs and not even shoes to fully complete the outfit. No weapons nor shields. Here lay four stripped barren misfits. A hulking Varl filled with lies. A mischievous Elf bent on greed. An unfulfilled Hafling. And a lonely, burdened human. Not even the lowliest of mercenary bands would take them on as meat shields. Which makes their coming trials all the more interesting.

Within the hand of the Elf holds something he certainly did not bring with him. A message in a barnacle ridden bottle. Fitting for heroes stranded on an island.

​

OOC: @Jazimon @The Spider @Kwillz @Somnium

 

[spacepanda]

<p><a href="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2016_01/paw3.jpg.9a46b9d41b9fa185c357191a19bd6fb1.jpg" class="ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image"><img data-fileid="98310" src="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2016_01/paw3.jpg.9a46b9d41b9fa185c357191a19bd6fb1.jpg" class="ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed" alt=""></a></p> Brynja Hjördísdóttir<p><a href="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2016_01/paw4.jpg.8ea13bb00c3de53f989b5e88847be4e6.jpg" class="ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image"><img data-fileid="98311" src="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2016_01/paw4.jpg.8ea13bb00c3de53f989b5e88847be4e6.jpg" class="ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed" alt=""></a></p>

"Ugh!" Brynja groaned as she awakened from her deep slumber, aware only of a bright red she could see through her closed eyelids and a hot burning sensation throughout her body. Fire, was her first thought as she quickly jumped up, scanning her clan's campsite for raging flames.


Except... she wasn't at camp.


Brynja blinked once, twice, then thrice, using the back of her hand to wipe of the trail of saliva that had been traveling from her mouth down her chin during her rest. Her temples pounded; she was no doubt very hungover from the previous night's festivities, and looking down she realized that she wore only her simple night clothes... and she had been resting in water. A damp tunic and a very soaked pair of trousers were all she had to her name as she searched through her pockets for a clue, anything, that could describe what she was seeing right now.


She had only heard of places like this in stories from the south, only seen drawn pictures of lands like these in books she wasn't intelligent enough to understand. Sand. Everywhere. And the heat. The sun burned brighter and hotter here than she ever thought possible. It was so hot here that even the mountain in the distance seemed to be burning in the heat, white smoke rising from it constantly. Where was she? How did she get here?


She turned her gaze to the ocean before her, the dark teal waves crashing onto the shore as they had been crashing partially on her only moments before. She had never seen the like. No lake she had ever been to was this large. It seemed to last an eternity. This wasn't the first time she had found herself so inebriated she couldn't remember where she was, but this was still an entirely foreign experience.


Scratching her head she attempted to remember how she could have arrived at such a land, but could only vaguely recall total darkness and... a man? Turning around with a mind to head inland, she suddenly fell forward, landing back into the water with a large splash. It seems she had tripped over something or... someone?


And that's when she noticed for the first time she wasn't alone.

 

[Kwillz]

The gentle noises of tides brushing against the shore brings Kit back into consciousness. She slowly blinked open, quickly squinting back as sunshine slipped through her eyes. Kit found herself laying face up and as her eyes adjusted and she looked up at the blue sky, clouds lightly scattered above her. She felt the damp earth below her move easily below her as she moved. She looked to her left and saw the white sand and waves coming against the shore.


What is this place?... She thought to herself, still lying in the wet sand. She couldn't figure out how she had gotten here. Maybe...short term memory? But since when was there a beach nearby--


Her thoughts were interrupted by a force hitting her right side. The apparent cause of the force then fell with a very large thud, falling into the water of an upcoming wave. The splash it made made Kit sit up quickly as water flew into her face. She coughed and spit up the salt water, then searched at what had bumped into her. A humanoid figure lay in the water next to her. The person however was more more than twice her size and had huge horns coming out of her head.


A Varl...? How could a Varl be here? In this kind of place and climate?


Kit stood up slowly and approached the female Varl face-down in the water. She had never faced a Varl before, since their kind usually kept to themselves in the mountains. She began to reach for her shield, in case this stranger would do anything sudden, but she found it wasn't there.. Her morning star was missing as well and soon she realized her heavy armor was replaced with a simple tunic, now dampened and wet.


She panickedly checked around her neck for her holy symbol. Gods please let it still be there... She prayed silently. But it wasn't there either. Kit let out a heavy sigh. Everything was gone. It seemed like she would need to do this on her own.


"Um...hello?" She addressed to the Varl in the water. She looked around to see if anyone else was around. Nearby were two other humanoid figures in the sand. They were both about the same size, one with much sharper ears.


So a Varl, an elf, and a human...okay then...


(@Jazimon)

 

[The Spider]

“I only drink the most fond of wines. I do not allow myself to become a drunken fool, especially in front of those whom I've just swindled. I will simply sleep until the sounds of waves and the caw of gulls ceases.”


“I was no where near the ocean, nor the beach, nor was I on a boat when I had laid my head to rest the night before. I am not near the ocean, and therefore, I am dreaming.”


“If I open my eyes and see the same sand that I feel between my fingers, well, I wouldn't want to be the person who sounds like they're standing right next to me...”




Zakri reluctantly opened his right eye, since his left eye laid flat on the sand. He saw the incredibly tall personage, with horns on its head, or something like that, and another figure albeit his height perhaps. He saw the sun blazing so incredibly brightly, he had to almost bite his tongue to keep himself from hissing. He so incredibly hated waking up to the unbridled brightness of the morning sun, and this was significantly worse since he would usually sleep within the confines of the trees, inside his carriage, with curtains pulled over the windows, but now the only thing between him and the sun was the air.


The elf lifted his head to verify that he wasn't going mad, but was in fact not where he was when he went to bed. Though his left eye was mostly covered by his hair, which was now mashed with damp sand, he could still see that he was not one whole mile away from palm trees. His head dropped.





“I'm not mad, but I am going to go mad... I sure hope there's a knife in my boot...”


He tucked his knees under his torso, trying to be inconspicuous as to not let the strangers notice his being awake, but he didn't need to feel at his ankle to realize his feet were bare.


“Bugger.” his throat scratched out the curse at his misfortune. He remembered having his regular evening glass of elderberry wine, and going to bed as he always did while he was on his routine visit to the capital city that he made three times a year. His dream was boring and involved a man offering him something, which he remembers adamantly refusing. And yet he still finds himself waking up and going into a panic.


Before anyone knew it, there was only a cloud of sand where Zakri Wolf-rival once was, as he had quickly leapt up and ran towards the trees to shelter him from the sun, and to hopefully not let the strangers get to him first. But as quickly as he had created his cover, he had face planted on the sand where he lay, as he had just tripped and almost rolled his ankle on a bottle.


“There goes that idea...” he thought to himself, as he was sure everyone had seen as well as heard that blunder. He reached to the bottle and uncorked it, to find a piece of paper.


“The second I'm done reading this, since I nearly broke my foot, I need to find shelter so those vagabonds don't get a hold of me.”
​

 

[spacepanda]

<p><a href="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2016_01/paw3.jpg.e6dd51398ab25d4a36f2c3523344fb20.jpg" class="ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image"><img data-fileid="98797" src="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2016_01/paw3.jpg.e6dd51398ab25d4a36f2c3523344fb20.jpg" class="ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed" alt=""></a></p>Brynja Hjördísdóttir<p><a href="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2016_01/paw4.jpg.429fe4bd6c3aeb143a6cb710dd9971d7.jpg" class="ipsAttachLink ipsAttachLink_image"><img data-fileid="98798" src="<fileStore.core_Attachment>/monthly_2016_01/paw4.jpg.429fe4bd6c3aeb143a6cb710dd9971d7.jpg" class="ipsImage ipsImage_thumbnailed" alt=""></a></p>

Brynja began sputtering in the water, graduating to a full cough as she stood quickly, her face visage of utter confusion. Why is this water so damned salty, she thought to herself, completely puzzled. What was the point of living in such a hot climate if the water was undrinkable?


"Hey," she responded to the halfling once her coughing fit had ceased. "Crazy night, yeah?" She added nonchalantly, examining her nails as though she knew exactly why they were all here. She obviously hadn't a clue, but the others didn't need to know that. She would just go along with whatever they told her. It was likely that she simply had gotten far too intoxicated and agreed to some small adventure. Nothing out of the ordinary, she attempted to convince herself.


Scratching her head she eyed the ocean again. The sheer size of it alone was enough to induce a small amount of panic within her, and concentrating once more she attempted to recall the previous night. Let's see, she pondered, I was shield-sledding with Igor, and then-


Hearing a murmur from one of two others who still lay on the sand she quickly turned her head... just in time to witness the elf attempt to take off full speed only to trip and fall flat on his face. The varl couldn't help herself and despite the odd situation in which she now found herself in a deep throaty laugh now escaped her.

 

[Somnium]

Nathanael felt the warmth of the sun on his skin. The crying of the seagulls bothered him, he wanted to sleep just a little longer. It took some seconds before he realized that he should neither hear seagulls nor feel the sun. He immediately opened his eyes and saw sand, sunshine, water. A beach.


"What...?" he muttered as he stood up and looked around. "Where...?"


Then, Nath realized he was not alone. Not far from him stood two people with another laying on the ground.


Where am I? He thought to himself. The last thing Nath remembered was reading a book in the library.


Suddenly a dire suspicion came to his mind. Did he...? No, it was impossible. He did not touch a cup of wine in ages. Also, there was no pain, no headache, nothing. Yet, it was the same feeling as back then, his mind was void of any memory. It was a blurr of vague ideas, shadows and fragments. The sweet embrace of oblivion. However, not the work of alcohol this time. Obviously something else was at work here.


Magic could be involved. Powerful magic. Hundreds of thoughts started racing through his mind, questions and answers chasing each other and eventually vanishing. Nath looked down on himself. His coat was gone, so were all his belongings but the very clothes that were covering his body.


They didn't even have the courtesy of leaving me my shoes. But who and why?


He was asking questions he could not answer on his own, so Nath slipped his hands into his pockets as he always did when he was thinking and turned to the questions he could answer. He looked at the others. An Elf, a Varl and a halfling. A truly odd group of people.


I would certainly remember if I went on a late night boat trip with a giant Varl, would I not?


Then, without wasting more time, he approached the strangers.


"I assume I am not the only one who does not remember what happened?" He asked.

 

[Disco]

"He reached to the bottle and uncorked it, to find a piece of paper."

The paper would have a clear inscription able to be read by the Elf, Zakri. The note itself is written in an elegant and established cursive font oft used by noblemen.


The note reads a remarkable warning immediately to the Elf as far game and clear instruction as to what is to come:

"Welcome to my game. This island is my arena, my test, and my home.
If you wish to live, then you will play my game as asked.


I will be blunt and honest, not many have survived and your chances are slim.


Four will become one as you fight for survival.

Fittingly enough there are four artifacts on this island: Courage within the Pits of Fear, Strength within the Temple of Frailty, Perspective within the Halls of Ignorance, and Heroism within my final challenge. Collecting all will reward the heroes with freedom, wealth, and perhaps something more valuable than you could even imagine.

The four of you will find your old belongings and possibly greater tools of convenience and destruction during your quest. You will also find many dangers and horrors to face. If you want my to take my advice then dwell upon the island some. Explore what you can find. Learn from the mistakes of the heroes before you. Mind the your time, however. You will find the island while peaceful during the day, becomes increasingly violent during the hours of dark. Make or find shelter before the horrors of my island crawl from the depths.

Good luck."

 

[The Spider]

“Bah!” Wolf-Rival barked, dropped the parchment, ignored the pain in his ankle, picked up the glass bottle and stormed off towards the center of the island.


“I can survive in this. I'm sure a friend will come looking for me soon when I don't arrive at my next destination.”


he thought, though doubt hung on the back of his mind, like a weight of reality keeping him from floating away into blissful ignorance, and reminding him that nobody would think to look on a remote volcanic island.


His bare feet puffed the sand about as he stomped somewhat like a grumpy child. He definitely wasn't going to be able to run at the moment because of his ankle, but his fool hardy bad attitude he had kept him from fearing the other three on the island he had caught sight of so far.


“I've fought those things before – practically expected me to fear it based on its size.”


He lied to himself about the Varl.


He stepped into tall grass and felt the small twigs mix into the sand, as he noted the change in scenery.


The forest of palm trees was dark as the long and wide leaves blotted out so much of the sunlight, it was cooling and refreshing to Zakri's skin. He immediately set off to find supplies he would need to make shelter and protect himself. He definitely needed to eat at some point and find drinkable water, but he was far too paranoid at the moment to think of that.


“First thing I need to do is find a rock to fashion into either an ax or a knife, both for cutting to make ropes and for stabbing anyone who comes too close to me.”


He stomped through the long and thick blades of grass growing beneath the sand as he searched for a rock. He was sure to find one the closer he got to the mountain in the distance. He grumbled and scowled as if he were a disgruntled old man, looking through the snarled mess of sand matted hair that was in front of his eyes. Truly, Zakri was not sure of what he was doing.


It took him a few short and frustrated moments but then decided that he had a blade in his hand all along. His eyes gleamed at the glass bottle, and he wrapped his hand around the mouth of the bottle from which he removed the parchment. He then wound up and gave it a mighty strike against the widest part of the palm tree trunk next to him. Instantly shards and shivers of glass flew through the air with sparkles and twinkles like deadly pieces of pixie dust. His salesman's smile showed the approval of his decision. Obviously not the first choice for living in the wilderness, but one long piece of glass stayed on the neck of the bottle, so he had something with which to cut.


“Now, I have the upper hand in case one of them decides they think they're in charge.”

 

[Kwillz]

Kit looked at the Varl slightly confused. "Last night? I actually can't seem to recall anything that happened before ending up here with you.."


Hearing a voice coming from close to them, Kit turned her head to look. The elf had woken up and began to make an escape towards the jungle resting next to the beach they had been left on. Kit was about the open her mouth to speak to him when the elf trip and landed face first into the sand. She heard the Varl let out a deep laugh as he did.


"Hey, are you alright?" Kit tried to call out. But the elf got up and with an even more panicked expression, ran into the cluster of trees. Though that didn't look too bad, Kit knew a slip like that could do something harmful. Maybe sprain a toe or something or the like. Kit didn't decide to go after him, and turned to see the human male awake and standing before them. He couldn't remember anything either.


"You'd be correct to assume that sir." Kit said to the human. "I woke up on this island without warning."


She looked back toward the direction the elf ran off in.


"What was he in such a rush for?" She said talking about the elf, "Do you think he knows anything about this place?"





@Jazimon @Somnium