Alone on a wide wide sea.

[abidinglaw]

[For some time now one node on the Journal network has been broadcasting an anonymous patch of sky broken only occasionally by the pacing back and forth of a quaking, sea-soaked man. His hair is matted and bedraggled, his arms are wrapped around his shoulders to conserve what little warmth he has. Occasionally there are sounds of a voice straining

Comments

1/?

[lists_to_port]

[Jack has made a questionably comfortable bed of sawdust practice dummies stacked in a corner of the barracks and has just settled in top of them for a nap--the place has been relatively quiet since the battle dome arrived--when a familiar voice emanates from the journal sprawled open nearby.]

2/?

[lists_to_port]

[Well that's the voice of a dead man, isn't it just. Buggering journal.]

3/?

[lists_to_port]

[Madness. Perhaps Bonesy'll give me more of his pills.]

4/?

[lists_to_port]

[voice]

[thedicearecast]

[It's less the man that catches Amelia's attention first, and more the sounds coming from that journal entry. As someone from a desert who has never seen or heard the ocean, the sound of water moving like that is fascinating. But nice though it is, whoever the man is keeps speaking, in what largely comes off as nonsense. Amelia figures out pretty quickly that this is a new person--not that it's hard to tell.

When he actually speaks to the journal (and by extension, the network), she lets out a sigh. Might as well not leave him lost any longer.]

It's ridiculous, but it's not fantasy. Everything that's happening is real.

[abidinglaw]

That .. goes without saying.

[For all the certainty of his words, his tone is doubtful. He is, after all, talking to a book.]

[thedicearecast]

If you just believe me like that, you really might be crazy.

[Amelia's tone is rather flat as she says this.]

People I trust completely told me about where I was when I first got here, and I still had trouble accepting it. I'm a complete stranger to you.

[abidinglaw]

You mistake me, madam.

[Since the voice that he is hearing is female the gendered word comes naturally to his lips. Old habits.]

For something to happen, it must surely be real. Likewise for something to be real it must necessarily be happening.

My apologies, what exactly is going on?

[Voice]

[fallenambitions]

[... What on earth was this man babbling about? From the video, this man didn't seem quite sane in appearance. Either the man lost his mind or was new and didn't quite grasp the concept of the journal just.]

Is that an attempt to sound like a recording?

[abidinglaw]

Excuse me?

No.

Sorry, I had thought that I was...

[He looks around the book while he talks and pauses, certain he'll find someone standing and watching him. No such person shows themselves of course. Quite rude of them.]

Alone.

Where are you?

[fallenambitions]

You recited where I could possibly be. If I'm not there, try the journal.

[abidinglaw]

[There are very few places for a man to hide on the beach short of digging themselves a hole in the sand and Norrington has been walking over the sand all day without tripping over the concealed limbs of spies. Exhausting all other possible options in a very short time he is left with no choice but to do as he is advised and consult the journal - whereupon he finds a face gazing back at him like a reflection in a lady's hand-mirror. Alarmingly, though, the fact is not his own. First his hands raise to touch the contours of his own face. Finding nothing amiss, he peers at the animated image in the book in an most undignified manner.]

...Extraordinary.

[Voice]

[mountain_sage]

[The indirect musings make it difficult for Saleh to tell if the man needs help.]

Do you need assistance?

[abidinglaw]

Thank you, yes. Have you heard any rumors of a ship with a fanged mouth at its stern? It would be an ancient vessel - alive with barnacles and bedecked with weeds. Tell me, has it been sighted in these waters?

[mountain_sage]

I'm sorry...there hadn't been any ships in this world. In fact, the ocean is only a recent addition to this enclosure as of some months ago.

[abidinglaw]

Excuse me -- your people only recently discovered the sea?

[Strange: they speak English well enough.]

[ action ]

[slaying]

[ so, luceti has a bar. it's a pretty fab bar, if you ask buffy. but maybe you don't want to ask her about the bar. maybe you just want to ask her about the fastest way to get a drink. that's okay too. ]

Re: [ action ]

[abidinglaw]

Excuse me - madam? Excuse me.

[slaying]

[ buffy turns with a certainly friendly smile on her face. she's been getting all kinds of new feathers in today -- and to address her so formally? she can only assume this man is one too. not to mention -- she doesn't recognize him. ]

Hello! Need anything?

[abidinglaw]

Something... smooth.

[He's had enough harsh surprises for one day - more than enough.]

Thank you.

[He takes a seat at the bar and sits straight-backed. He may be here a while -- he has a lot to think about.]