escordvi | « test sail »

Entry tags:

« test sail »

Welcome to the first Test Drive Meme for

escordvi! Anyone can participate in the test drive, regardless of invite eligibility. Just keep in mind that only those who have received invitations from the mods can actually reserve on August 25th and apply on September 1st. Our Interest Check can be found here.

For your toplevel, please include the following: Character Name | Canon | Armada Choice. If undecided, put "Undecided" for the Armada.

For everyone's convenience, TDM threads can be carried over in game if you wish! If you are still unsure which armada to place your character, you can play it a bit loose and vague in the TDM and make retroactive changes if you carryover the threads. We'll have more armada focused prompts in the opening log in September. The log itself is set to cover the next two weeks, until the end of the month. Characters will appear at random intervals during this time rather than all at once, so players have some more flexibility on how much more adjusted they are for someone else.

IMPORTANT REMINDER FOR MAGIC USERS!! All magic abilities will be "sealed" until characters get their tattoo from the Inkwave parlor in Eltrut. That means no magic on the starter ships before docking.

We do require TDM threads for samples for our application!

If you have any question about the TDM, comment here. If you have questions about the game in general, please comment to the Game Info.

TOPLEVEL DIRECTORY (Updated August 28)

STARTER SHIPS: ORIENTATION

There are two ships that serve as starting ships for each armada: Stormbringer for the Corsairs, and Royal Fortune for the Paladins. There are various ways new arrivals—or riftfarers as they will be called, among other creative names—will appear on or by these ships.

🚪 Random room. It could be empty, filled with crates or supplies; down in the hull where the livestock are kept; have the luck to awaken in a bed...or the misfortune of that bed already occupied; somewhere in the kitchens; in the bathroom—any room! Now let's hope the doors can open or someone may have to try and ask for help. Or jump through the porthole if there is one and it's above water.
⛵ On deck. If not in the ship itself, another possible spot to wake up to is somewhere on the maindeck. If they're lucky, they're on the deck itself. More unfortunate souls may find themselves caught in the sails or netting, the crow's nest, or on the top of the masts. Someone should be able to help, right? Or catch.
🌊 In the water. The most unlucky sods will find themselves appearing in mid-air just past the ship and plummeting straight into the water. Good news, there's always someone on the look out for such a thing and calls for help to throw a lifesaver get the rowboat will be made. Are there sharks? Well... ...Are there?

However the new riftfarers arrive, they will be poorly clothed, practically rags or loose uniforms depending on the ship. Fortunately, veteran crewmates will guide them, escorting them to a room with a strange typewriter in it. After typing their name, the typewriter will magically continue and type by itself at a fast pace until it dings and rolls out the paper. This paper will have the following information:

• Name and Shellphone ID (journalname)
• Armada (Corsair or Paladin, will match the starter ship)
• Cabin Number for their personal cabin on the starter ship
• Apartment Address for their personal address at their base armada location
• A basic map of the starting locations in Eltrut, including written directions (continued in the Eltrut section)
• A basic map of where they can find a chest with their original clothes and belongings (this will be different for every person and will be anywhere either on the starter ship or on Eltrut—players can be creative here).

After that, the crewmate will do their best to explain the basics of how they got here, what's going on, and what they'll need to do to live in Escordvi while they are here, giving them a small leather pouch with money. They will be reaching Eltrut soon, so the crewmate will suggest they look around, meet the others who have arrived. Even from their distance, they will be able to see the giant sea turtle that serves as Eltrut's leviathan.

ELTRUT: FIRST GLIMPSE

After reaching the port of Eltrut, several birdfolk will appear and happily greet all the new arrivals from both starter ships. Here it doesn't matter which side they are affiliated with, as long as they keep those swords and weapons sheathed and not pointed at each other's throats. The birdfolk will even act as guides, showing them the main places they should visit and give them a visitor's map to help guide them.

🐚 Microshell. The first stop that is encouraged will be Microshell, the main store to acquire their own personal Shellphone. The paper they received on their starter ship will have their ID and the staff at the store will set them up, explaining how the device and the network works.
✒️ Inkwave, Tattoo Parlor. The next stop is Inkwave, a tattoo parlor run by a very burly but friendly octopus, Knistej. Here everyone receives their own unique magic tattoo, allowing anyone to cast specific single element spells and other magic. Note: tattoos are required before anyone will be able to use their original magical abilities.
📜 MANTA office. The final stop is the MANTA office, where all the request, mission, and task notices are posted. Each armada has their own branch office for armada specific notices as well. A great place to find jobs to earn some cash so they don't stay a hobo forever.

It's a lot to take in for sure, with the port city bustling with all walks of life. Not only do they have both armadas mingling with each other, there are different races and species from all over Escordvi gathered here. It's not just humans, which many riftfarers always seem to be surprised about. There are also plenty of veteran riftfarers who will gladly give some advice and even share stories of their world. Maybe some are familiar.

After finding their belongings, exploring the town, and meeting other people, being able to just sit back and enjoy a drink and warm meal will be in order. While there are plenty of places to choose from, the Minstrel and Cask will be the top recommended tavern for all newcomers to visit at least once. Great drinks, great food, and can learn a lot from the patrons or meet more people.

Of course, as expected of a highly popular tavern, it's not always peaceful. A man will ask travelers what they want to do with their life. Clearly drunk, he only accepts answers that hint at wanting to find riches. If told this he will give out a treasure map. But if told anything else, he'll put up a fight, hoping to deliver a black eye. Those who do receive the map will be sorely disappointed—it will lead them down a long, winding, circuitous path around town and end at a random outhouse, likely occupied and certainly stinking to high heavens. There's likely some kind of moral here, but at some point, others who have been duped will return to the tavern to sling their fists around.

Looks like another tavern brawl for the night.

QUESTS

For those who want to try their hand at some quests, there are a few that would do well for newcomers. Teaming up is of course encouraged, no matter what the affiliation. You can assume they acquired some kind of ship for the quests out at sea, either the starter ship or some other ship heading out there.

Spicy Squid Eating Challenge

Eltrut Port

There is a traveling food ship (think food truck but on the water) that has been going around challenging ships to their extraordinary Hornswaggle's Spicy Squid Eating Challenge. If participants can scarf down a prepared three-pound bowl of exceptionally spicy ghost pepper squid and rice, they will win their meal for free as well as a crate of dried spicy squid for their ship's stores. If participants fail, they will have to pay for the meal and the crate.

...Careful, are some of the squid tentacles still moving?

Coral Reef Snacks

Eltrut

Rumour has it that certain types of coral reefs contain unique properties that can make you more alluring to the one you desire, but no one is sure what the side effects are. Test this out by trying to crunch into chunks of coral reef pieces to see if there are any added effects on your body. Hopefully, they don't ruin your teeth in the meantime.

Oh, and you have to find the correct coral reef too! Red chunks seem to make you more affectionate towards others, while blue chunks seem to make you more volatile towards others. Eaters, beware!

Giant Sea Slugs

Starter Ships

Giant sea slugs tend to only attack ships if they feel threatened but are otherwise peaceful creatures. They're about the size of a large wild cat. They also secrete a slime that contains strong disinfectant properties. This thick slime is highly sought after for its ability to heal wounds cleanly, so kill them and collect as much slime as possible.

Killer Sharkgulls

Eltrut port and ships

Seagulls can be a pain to most ships. Yet, seagulls that have evolved to be violently carnivorous can be even worse. These new birds, effectively named sharkgulls, have been seen attacking ships and ports alike. They are big enough to eat small children in one gulp or will do their best to eat full-grown humans after they've ripped them to bite-sized shreds. Beware and kill them before they can kill you!

Siren's Serenade

Out at Sea

A merchant's ship has crashed upon an outcropping of rocks after being lured in by a group of rogue sirens. These captivating creatures possess the power to ensnare their prey with their enchanting voices, luring unsuspecting souls into the depths to meet the grim fate of drowning.

Search for the missing ship and help rescue the captive sailors before it's too late! You will be supplied with special earplugs to muffle out the siren's voices so be careful to keep your ears effectively plugged. You don't want to succumb to the siren's bloodlust yourself.

Any sailors or rescuers affected by the siren's song can be treated with a harpy's potion that can reverse the song's effect. Or tie up the afflicted for twenty-four hours to wait out the effects.

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Either that or I'm just too magnificent of a bastard to die.

[ there's definitely something there though. ]

Well, should we ever return, I'll have to make it a point to find you and we could fix that little problem.

[Better to assume that returning home would happen eventually. There was no sense in being a defeatist about it after all. He rolled onto his side, simply so that he could do the same thing Astarion was; admiring the view. Reverie would come eventually but until then, he didn't want to miss out on a single thing.]

Where were you, exactly, when you were taken? The Underdark, you'd said?

[ Much as he may will it, Xenk can't last forever. He's able to go without breathing on most days, but with how loud his blood sings and how wonderful it feels to have Astarion moan against him, Xenk can't stay in control.

Xenk isn't perfect. He's fallible just as the rest of the world. But it isn't even the moaning or the friction, which feels incredible and it's driving all the blood in his body to his gut, where he's sure Astarion can hear it.

No, it's the soothing touch. The gentle reassurance. The kindness that Xenk saw in Astarion. The safety of that touch, and the promise it brings, is what takes Xenk over the edge. He comes with a groan that escapes him, torn from him like a shot. All that heat and pleasure erupts in what feels like a century, white hot nothingness filling his mind as he grips Astarion closer to him, holding him against him as the orgasm takes him—the force of his grip tightening in an involuntary gesture.

He'd let go in a moment. Likely even apologize. But for the few blessed seconds that it lasts, Xenk holds on for dear life. It's the most alive he's felt in his entire life. ]

[ Definitely a mood killer. He's happy to move on, that kind of talk just makes him want to go out and take down some evil-doers. ]

All bards can sing, but not all who sing are bards.

[ He enjoyed that. He loves circular phrases. ]

I'd like that.

[ they'd definitely be a force back home, spending any amount of time together. ]

Ah, no. We'd finished our business in the Underdark and had just made it back to Baldur's Gate.

[ meaning he was that much closer to solving his own problems--it was that much harder to be here now, knowing he couldn't. ]

And now I'm here, waiting to commit acts of piracy, it seems.

[ he's not tired now so much as quite thirsty--he'd been able to pick off a couple rats on the boat but that wasn't much and sex involves a lot of moving around of blood! He's definitely going to need a meal before sleeping but he can sneak out eventually for that.

Though it does sort of occur to him that he ... doesn't really know what you do at this point? Do people just sit here talking like this? Wild. ]

I'm going to say it's singing, because you would not have just said all bards can sing if you didn't like them.

[ And while he's seen innuendo fly every which way over Xenk's head, Alucard wonders if the circular phrase wouldn't be considered wordplay to him. ]

I don't see why the two have to be mutually exclusive.

[ Alucard leans to just give him the lightest bump with his shoulder before returning to his own personal space. ]

You should consider getting a cat. They're quite good at listening to troubles and keeping secrets.

Why should he take issue with a victim seeking justice for the crime committed against him?

[ He says that like it's a given, but we all know it's not. Xenk is just, you know, devoted. Though talk of Szass Tam sobers up any sass he may have had planned (yeah, that was his idea of sass up there.) ]

It would be suicide to attempt to storm the halls of Thaymount, as it is now. The lich's might only grows, and any who perish to his forces become more fodder for his undead legion.

[ He sounds real disappointed with this. Enough that he's too busy talking and brooding to help with the chest. ]

I should hope to one day find a group of adventurerers strong enough to face his legion. Or perhaps to find a magical item capable of traversing through his undead horde without arousing suspicion. To end his curse... without reversing its effects, anyone who has ever lived in Thay, myself included, will die. It would be a great loss regardless of how the tale concludes, but I have yet to find an answer that will save more lives than it harms.

Well and good enough, the less time anyone spends down there, the better.

[He was sticking with his assessment of the place being a miserable hole in the ground, no amount of light up mushrooms was going to change that for him.]

Exciting, isn't it? Not being kidnapped of course, but the piracy. I know that you'd plenty of business to attend to at home, so with any luck perhaps your stay here will be short-lived, but until then if nothing else you won't be bored.

I must say, I've shared my bed with some fascinating people and beings before. But never a vampire.

[Just tossed out there right at the end, as casual and as easy as you please as the drow gave a long, languid stretch.]

[ unfortunately, that just sours him -- you can't point out his problems!! That's Too Much ]

I don't have any troubles, remember? I get everything I want.

I never said everything...

[ He protests, crossing his arms. ]

[ Shit.

He should've been more careful with his fangs after all. He didn't even have the pleasure of biting him and the jig is, nevertheless, quite up! He does consider laughing and asking him what he means, but they both damn well know that's a lie. They'd had their mouths all over each other and Jarlaxle had been biting his neck like that.

Fuck. ]

I don't really make a habit of telling people.

[ He probably shouldn't say that either. If it was really important to him, Jarlaxle would have something to hold against him.

Some vampire he is! Can't keep secrets can't properly threaten someone! ]

[ Damn, you caught him in his own lie. Xenk really does think he doesn't like wordplay, but the truth is... he just only likes his own.

But he also wasn't lying on purpose so this seems negligible. The fact is that Alucard double wins? Kind of? ]

Incorrect. I dislike my own singing, but I have met many a bard whose songs have caught my ear... my dislike of bards was meant to be the lie, however. I enjoy their company, as they are a hopeful sort.

[ In other words, he's fessing up to messing it up, so this round ends on a technicality. He had to fess up, he's a paladin. ]

[ Xenk's grip tightens and then intensify of it makes warmth pool in Astarion's gut. He's not above enjoying those kinds of things, and certainly not when it was coupled with Xenk coming undone.

He opens his eyes, looking up at him to watch his face, to see those beautiful reactions for himself. He dutifully stays with him, sucking and coaxing him through that orgasm. Giving him all that he can to make sure Xenk has enough as he rides it out. ]

Most things, then. I don't need a cat, and I certainly don't need anyone to tell my "troubles" to.

[ I don't think the repeated, insistent denial is helping his case. ]

Why indeed? My primary source for how a god should behave is none other than Lolth, you must understand. I'm well aware there are plenty of others, far different than she, but if one were to find themselves even accidentally transgressing against her, their lives would be both short and unpleasant. It's strange to imagine another deity acting otherwise.

[He's not hauling that chest out anyway, he'll get dressed right here in this hole. The lid is open and that's all that matters! Xenk talks, and he pulls his things on, which may very well take just as long as the paladin's exposition, he's got a lot of stuff.]

I can see why you'd opt to take a more careful approach. A vexing problem to be sure; the simplest solution would see countless dead which leaves you with naught but less direct options. It would perhaps be better to make sure that you can reverse that curse first, before you consider slipping past his defenses. After all, why fight a legion if you don't have to at all?

And of course, for the sake of avoiding more pointless death. Have you found a way to reverse it?

[Shirt, leather armor, pants, boots, hat, eyepatch... so many rings and earrings and necklaces, there's a lot of jingling going on in there.]

[ Alas, like all things but his life, the bliss must eventually end. Xenk's orgasm leaves him in a few quick breaths, and Xenk is too spent and overwhelmed to even remember he doesn't need to breathe. He opens his eyes and takes the room in around them, like he's seeing it all for the first time.

He sags against Astarion's hold, the hand in his hair drifting down in an attempt to feel more of his skin, perhaps catch some more of that fleeting spark that pumps the blood so easily through his body now, where it's often so sluggish outside of battle. His deft hands feel clumsy like this, his hips still shaking with the exertion, yet he still runs those fingers over the tip of one of Astarion's ears. ]

May I kiss you?

[ Hasn't even gotten his cock free and he's already trying to kiss him, this is bad, guys. ]

I can understand why, I imagine it might be something of a mood killer for other, less interesting folk.

You needn't worry about me telling anyone, if you're concerned about it. I certainly take no issue, after all you refrained from biting me.

[He may have chowed down on someone else, he may have drained multiple people since he got here for all Jarlaxle knew. But they weren't him so....]

Your secret is safe with me, I simply found it an enlightening experience. Like the copper dragons, for instance. Also equally enlightening.

[ The touch to his ear sends a shiver down his spine, but Astarion nods all the same and eases himself off of Xenk. Slowly, since he knows he will miss it.

He stands and leans up to kiss him, a gentle kiss this time, but letting Xenk taste himself on his lips. ]

[ With the initial panic subsiding, he finds himself hearing the other words he'd missed while he was too busy worrying -- fascinating and enlightening. The comparison to the dragons. Emotions bubble to the surface, recalling other times where he'd been found out only to be treated like he was so interesting; people who wanted to be bitten like it was some kind of fun kink.

Color runs to the tips of his ears again, but he's not just embarrassed this time. That's there too, of course, from being found out. But he's also a little indignant over the commentary and the comparisons. ]

It was just sex, no different than you'd have with anyone else.

[ really should have gone out the window when he had the chance!! ]

I kept my fangs to myself! I didn't even try to bite you.

[ Alucard pinches the bridge of his nose, right between the eyes. It's definitely no longer because of his magic predicament. ]

It was a joke, Astarion. You're right, how awful of me.

Edited (I'm good at html) 2023-09-01 06:40 (UTC)

Ah. Certainly in comparison, Tyr would seem almost merciful.

[ Which is to say, Tyr is merciless. But in a just way! As are most gods. Lolth is well-known for being ruthless, so Xenk isn't surprised to hear those rumors confirmed. He continues. ]

Thay was not without it's flaws by any means, but to doom us all would only yield success to Szass Tam's foul efforts. Saving my people and taking his army from him would be ideal, but I have yet to find anything that is capable of reversing the Beckoning Death.

[ Yeah, he's easily distracted by exposition. Good call on this one, Jarlaxle. ]

[ Alucard's smile is a little bemused. ]

I've never come across this sort of scenario before. I suppose we should both drink.

[ He raises his tankard to tap against Xenk's before doing just that. ]

The short thing was good. You're a quick study.

Edited 2023-09-01 06:44 (UTC)

Well, it wasn't funny.

[ Alucard is just being a normal regular person and Astarion is out here being weird but oh look he can pick up his cash money now what fortuitous timing. ]

[ He does miss it. The moment Astarion eases off, Xenk makes a noise almost like a whine. It's undignified. Unseemly. He finds he doesn't mind so much, with Astarion here.

He trusts him.

Xenk lays an arm over Astarion's shoulder, holding him close and leaning into that kiss. It's gentle and soft—this time Xenk seeks to taste every drop of himself on Astarion's mouth and lips. An odd flavor to be sure, but one he finds he does not mind sharing with the vampire spawn. ]

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Page 135 of 190

« test sail »

STARTER SHIPS: ORIENTATION

ELTRUT: FIRST GLIMPSE

QUESTS

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject