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Asher Check out the ships; Hang out with sailors to learn cool rumours; Pray for fortune at a mosque or synagogue. Chatrapati fucked around with this message at 19:08 on Oct 12, 2017 |
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Oct 12, 2017 19:03
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| # ? Apr 25, 2024 09:28 |
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I'm closing the tally now, and an update will be coming soon. And it looks like we're diving headfirst into mysticism here. Going to be a helluva ride. "Mentor" Brahim Al-Magrebi - |||| Youssef Khan - | Jacob Wrigley - Lazaro - | Asher - ||| Rolf from Turin - | Actions in Agadir Search for local mystics - |||| Search for local legends - |||| Spend time in drug dens - ||| Check out ships - ||| Acquire and read ibn Battuta's Travels - | Know the local sailors - ||| Find leads and stories about your father - | Learn self-defense - || Get involved with a woman - | Learn Leadership Skills - || Learn Persuasion - | Foment a revolt in Iberia - | Pray for a fortune - |
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Oct 13, 2017 20:58
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Magic pirates gently caress yeah! Flying ship here we come.
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Oct 13, 2017 21:05
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I mean we make the crew think it's flying yeah, but that's all the magic we need to rob EVERYONE of EVERYTHING. That and a fuckton of salvia.
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Oct 14, 2017 02:26
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 Ascetics, Hermetics, heretics, and the odd dervish. These men were the mystics you found in Agadir. Many of these mystics knew that their knowledge was tolerated at best, and maligned at worst. The unlucky ones kept to themselves most of the time, but would meet about every month or so. Sometimes at a souq; or at a hammam if the sufi had some say. And not everybody attended. Brahim did what he could; he assuaged their apprehensions and nobody objected to your attendance. It turned out that he knew a couple of the mystics. And over time you knew them as well. They taught you a little of what they knew. Astrology, alchemy, and aspects of the religions that made up the cabal. Brahim would bolster what they spoke of with knowledge of his own: medicine, history, and science. But none of what they taught thought was the magic you’re sure they knew. You waited and waited, but they spoke very little about the arts you wanted to know. Only one person seemed willing to sate your desire for knowledge. His name was Hermes. He showed you scrolls of esoterica, and records from magi of old. When he offered to teach you more, you accepted without hesitation. It turned out he knew more than just magic. You smoked cannabis and drank coffee whenever you meet with Hermes. The law frowned upon khamr, intoxicants of any kind, but you considered them harmless. Brahim did too, to an extent. But Hermes would push newer stuff to you. He found his magic through alcohol, opium from the far east, and whatever smugglers could lift from the Spanish. Over time you began to know the dens of iniquity, and the dealers. Then one day Hermes decided it was time to conduct one of the rituals in his scrolls. He gathered a couple friends, and had you be the center of the ritual. He said you were new, compared to his other colleagues. You were told to drink something they brewed, and at the last drop your head felt swimmy. They told you to strip down to your loincloth and lie down, which you did. Hermes and three others drew a circle around you with strange inscriptions. The rest simply chanted in a low voice as they lit five pyres. Then the four joined in the chanting and paced around you. The air reeked of incense. And one of the chanters splashed sheep’s blood on you. What happened next would be burned into your memories. The room began to darken even with the pyres, and your head felt split in twain. In the pain and haze you could make out another person who wasn’t part of the ritual. Someone not quite human. (Warning: MAY BE NSFW)  An impish smile creeps on the figure’s face, but she did nothing. The smoke began to shroud the room and people, and you found it hard to breathe. You had to get up, to get some air. The smoke started to clear.  And you saw Agadir. Beneath your feet. It was the dead of night, and you could see a dark Spanish ship taking port. “Spare no-one.” You hear in the wind. Then men in dark clothes scurried out of the ship like rats. And they moved fast. They went for the drug dens and markets. You could hear shouts, screams, and gunshot, and then the men leave. The city stayed silent as this happened again and again. Fear and shock drove you to leave but you could not move. Then more smoke, and you were back with Hermes and the others. The room was silent, and reeking of incense. Nobody seemed to have noticed you waking up. You moved to the nearest basin of water. You took a long drink to soothe the dryness in your throat. And as you put the basin down, you saw a face in the water’s reflection. You could see your face, but to the left you saw a blue face with blood-red eyes staring back. A quick turn of your head however showed nothing behind you. But you saw your own body back at the circle. You only had a few seconds to comprehend the body before the same dark clothed men barged in. The mystics took notice and tried to get away. They jumped through a window while the dark men took shots at them. The rest ransacked the place for anything valuable. One man with blond hair and a stout face walked towards your body, eyeing it. Disgust was plain on his face. He stared for a few seconds before drawing a knife. You hear him say, “You better appreciate this you heathen.” And then he plunged the knife into your body. You woke up, and your right hand clutched your chest. You felt around for a wound, but there was none. Hermes and the others stop their incantations and gather around you. They asked you questions from your health, how you felt, and if you felt any different. After the ritual, you wanted little to do with Hermes and his colleagues. And you stopped drinking coffee for a week. You went back to Brahim and his cabal, but focused more on the ships that came and went; find work under one of them. That didn’t stop him from taking you aside. You didn’t even say anything about the ritual, yet he knew. Or at least knew enough. He told you that he sensed something wrong in you; how you looked bewitched and befuddled. You didn’t quite see why Brahim was bothered, but he was. He insisted on performing a cleansing ritual to correct something wrong with your qareen. You had a vague idea what a qareen is; a personal jinn that tempts you to do evil. But you don’t understand how something would be wrong with such a creature. Maybe it became more evil? Do you want to undergo Brahim’s cleansing ritual? 1) Yes. 2) No. Most ships flew the Saadi flag, and many of the sailors look like they came from the Sus valley, same as you. But that didn’t mean the seas belonged to Morocco. What sailors you talked with spoke of seeing Spanish ships further west hunting whales. And nobody wanted to deal with either. You found work that let you grow your sea legs. The knowledge that your father passed onto you had finally be put to use. But as you worked from ship to ship, your dreams grew more vivid. The black ship and murderous crew would return again to pillage and burn. In some versions you fought back, only to be shot down with a pistol to the stomach, or a knife to your throat. Other times some mystic would sell the others out, name others as dealers, and he’d include your name. But in other dreams you ran away from Agadir. No person chased you, but fire did. A living fire that sprung from nowhere and blazed a trail after you. You told Brahim about the dream you had and his face grew serious. He told you, “We have to leave soon.” *-*-*-* You kept a finger on the pulse of Agadir. The city was getting tense; Marrakech called for more and more people to build great works and join their military up north. Portuguese ships and men flocked to their base in Tangier. The Ottomans eyed Morocco with a dangerous interest. In the midst of all this, Hermes had vanished. His friends have no idea where he went, and they assumed you had a clue. You have a bad feeling about this.  You cultivated your connection with any and every seafarer you could find, and you found at least three possibilities. Some options better than others. Join a naval expedition would be easy enough; so would a trading mission, or a complete idiot with a ship; or maybe just buying the next wagon out of Agadir and wait for the dust to settle. No matter what though, Brahim had left for the markets to buy anything and everything for the voyage. How are you getting out of Agadir? i) A local galley; the captain was looking for some able hands for an expedition south to Songhai and beyond. The whole ship and crew looks legitimate though, there wasn’t much space. ii) An Ottoman galley; the man in charge appears to be a merchant and heard of you from your friend Ajwad. You ask what kind of work he has, and he doesn’t answer; you ask him if it’s legit, and he says, “Yes and no.” He also tells you that their destination is far east. The ship is large enough to pack a personal stash, and maybe a passenger. iii) A Spanish galleon; you ask the man how he got it, and he just said he found it and it’s his. You have good reason to suspect he does not have the numbers to maintain a ship as large as this one. You also think he’s in way over his head, whatever he’s in. iv) A horse and cart; they’re cheap enough to get, but there really ain’t much extra to pack along. The next city over, Taroudant would be within a few days. v) You’re not going anywhere.  In seven days you and Brahim were supposed to leave. You would have enough time to finish whatever affairs you have, and make acquisitions of your own. As the days went by Brahim bought up plenty of food and water; he made sure nobody would go hungry. It also appeared that he had purchased something for you to keep; said that he thought it would come in handy. What did Brahim give you? A) Evil Eye Talisman - It protects against curses and evil omens directed at you, and reflects them back to the caster. B) Old Box Lantern - The lantern was built to trap jinn and evil spirits by its firelight. C) Grey Parrot - The previous owner said that it was from Africa, and it was elusive; shows up when it wants to. Much smarter than it looks and has a very good memory D) Strange Doll - A smuggler from the New World found that doll. It looks strangely like you... E) Haunting Flute - It plays music that stirs your soul and raptures all who listen to its music. You spent a while learning songs, but you found that people listen to you more after the flute’s hum. F) Jeweled Dagger - The blade is sharp with a brass handle and a large gem embedded at the hilt. It changes color depending on the mood of an area; good for determining hostilities. G) Foreign Statue - Comes from the far east and represents and old woman in robes. The merchant swears keeping it close would protect you in travel. Such an item however is viewed as forbidden to any Muslim. H) Old Compass - It works well enough but the needle turns strangely sometimes. It’s supposed to direct you to where you need to be. I) Tarot Deck - You find it blasphemous, but you find its pictures insightful (Will regard as a free question to the storyteller during downtime.) J) Write-In AnAnonymousIdiot fucked around with this message at 01:42 on Oct 27, 2017 |
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Oct 27, 2017 01:37
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No - Was going to say yes but let's let it ride and see what happens for a bit. iv - Think it might be more interesting to see more of the local cities before we sail away. C - Grey parrots are awesome rude birds. super sweet best pal fucked around with this message at 01:56 on Oct 27, 2017 |
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Oct 27, 2017 01:48
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super sweet best pal posted:No - Was going to say yes but let's let it ride and see what happens for a bit. Okay.
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Oct 27, 2017 01:58
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No Cleansing. - Better powers and a pretty lady-genie side kick. (III) Spanish Galleon - It's run by an idiot and it's huge. We should make it ours. Plus, the East sounds interesting (Unless we can get to the Carribean!) (E) Haunting Flute - Being a mystic is easier when you can make people listen to you.
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Oct 27, 2017 02:01
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no iii C Squawk!
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Oct 27, 2017 02:26
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D, evil magical doll for our potentially evil magical girlfriend
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Oct 27, 2017 03:57
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2) No. Being possessed by a spirit, evil or otherwise is surely a path to power! Besides, you all saw the same picture and nothing that looked that good could be bad! No opinion on #2 for the moment. C) Grey Parrot As long as we don't give it a stupid pun for a name.
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Oct 27, 2017 04:51
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1: Yes ii) An Ottoman galley H) Old Compass
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Oct 27, 2017 05:17
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Yes iii - Spanish Galleon C - good birdie
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Oct 27, 2017 12:25
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1: No iii - Spanish Galleon. If the dude's WAY in over his head we can always ASSUME DIRECT CONTROL C - we can teach it swears from every language we encounter. BAAWWK my mother was a virtuous woman you pig-eating son of a whore BAAAWWK Sharmouta want a cracker. Yes I am advocating calling the parrot Slut Hexenritter fucked around with this message at 21:48 on Oct 27, 2017 |
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Oct 27, 2017 21:46
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B iv C I want us to be a lovable rear end in a top hat with a smack talking parrot. Sign me up.
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Oct 28, 2017 02:37
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Diogines posted:2) No. Being possessed by a spirit, evil or otherwise is surely a path to power! Besides, you all saw the same picture and nothing that looked that good could be bad! Christopher Squawkenn. This, grey parrots are tremendously entertaining assholes. Outrail fucked around with this message at 21:56 on Oct 29, 2017 |
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Oct 29, 2017 21:49
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Here's a brief tally on the votes so far: Ritual? Yes : || No : |||||||| Ship? Local Ship : Ottoman Ship : | Spanish Galleon : |||| Horse & Cart : ||| Staying put : Item? Talisman : Lantern : Parrot : |||||||| Doll :| Flute : | Dagger : Statue : Compass : | Tarot : RandomPaul: I got your vote for the item, but you can also make a vote for the other two choices.
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Oct 31, 2017 00:59
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Aww yeah, 
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Oct 31, 2017 02:31
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also Squawks McKenzie for the bird's name
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Oct 31, 2017 04:50
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NO. We will roll. 5d4 to determine the number of letters in our bird's name.
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Nov 1, 2017 04:51
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Hercule Parrot
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Nov 1, 2017 08:24
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super sweet best pal posted:Hercule Parrot Oh man. 
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Nov 1, 2017 08:33
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super sweet best pal posted:Hercule Parrot Very clever.
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Nov 1, 2017 22:34
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| # ? Apr 25, 2024 09:28 |
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super sweet best pal posted:Hercule Parrot 
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Nov 3, 2017 00:47
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