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Rhys

Finding out what might help with sea sickness was relatively easy. Though there weren’t any people on the crew who suffered from it (as working on a ship would be a pretty awful career choice for someone who grew sick from the motion), there were a few recommendations. One crew member suggested a stiff drink, though Rhys didn’t lend much credence to that suggestion. The two that he took more seriously were peppermint oil, and ginger, in the form of the root or the tea. A brief conversation with the chef revealed that men don’t drink tea, so he had to settle for the root.

He could have paid for the ginger root, but Rhys was more keen on offering himself to take a position around the ship to earn it. It didn’t waste his wages, and allowed him to stay busy. Since he had asked the cook, he ended up working in the kitchens, cleaning pots and helping ration their food for the journey. Rhys wasn’t a pro in the kitchen, but it was a good experience, and he was small enough to stay out of the way of the rather rotund cook the majority of the time.

Rhys delivered the ginger to Amos when he had finished, unsure if it was something that the man had already tried. “I don’t know much about ginger, but it was recommended by some of the crew. They said you can grind it into tea, or just cut off slivers and eat it.” He gave a small shrug, unsure how sound the advice was. There was about a tablespoon of ginger in the hunk that Rhys got, and after passing it off to Amos, he reminded the man to let him know if he needed any more, or anything else. If Amos questioned his kindness, Rhys’ response would be simple. “Keeping you alive and healthy now keeps us all alive and healthy later. You are arguably the most important person in the crew.”

The next few days on the ship passed rather calmly. Rhys stayed busy, moving around and learning the things he could. He liked how…different the ship was. Everything was new, even though some of the things were old, and the people…well they hardly looked twice at him. Rhys heard about the issue with the mast a little while after it transpired. He had been taking care of his own business at the time, and so wasn’t present when they lowered the mast and evaluated the tiny fractures along its length.

It was, however, a good excuse for them to make a quick stop in another city, and they would have a few days here. Rhys, for one, didn’t require getting a room off of the ship, and didn’t mind sleeping there while they maintained port. During the better days, he wandered to the shops, looking at the various trinkets. The armor didn’t catch his interest much, and would have surely slowed him down. Neither did the boots, but mostly because his feet were rather small, and the boots he had now fit fine. There were a few foods he considered spoiling himself with, and one or two trinkets he debated purchasing, though he saved those for the later days, to give himself time to consider his options. He had more gold provided to him for this trip than he had seen in his entire life, and though a part of him wanted to go out and have a grand time, he knew that would penalize him greatly later.
@WarriorbulbIt's all good, everyone is getting into the swing of things, it seems. RP talk amongst characters can be PM or in the thread. It is up to you. I went to PM because I felt like it would bog down the thread to have a bunch of back and forths in there, but you do what feels right to you.

When I inquired earlier, I don't remember anyone having a problem with PMs being used, so pick who you'd like to talk to and go for it!
I intend to post again to follow up regarding Amos, but I was hoping to hear something concrete from @deltav regarding possession of the crew NPCs.
@DeltaV I really liked the style you used, giving us each something to build off of for our post, and things our characters would be inclined to notice. I agree that we should try to stick to the same period between yours. I asked if I should take mine down until people want to do the 1 week-in posts. Like, we all do a round 2 days in, and then we all do a round 1 week in, etc. If that is preferred, I am happy to pull mine down for a little while. I think as long as we all put roughly when it is taking place, that would be helpful too.

And like @Shorticus said, let us know which NPCs are open for us, or which you prefer to play. For example when Eve goes to talk to the captain, should she just handle the back and forth or is that with you? When Rhys is going to look for a crew member to ask about sea sickness, should I write what he can find, or do you want to handle that? You can always have some NPCs that are you and others that are open, just let us know here or maybe make an NPC post in the Character section with who is in control of each major NPC/category of NPC.
Hmm... In retrospect I can see how posting something a week in may not have been the most considerate of me and consistentcies purpose. I could see us all labeling our posts with days in, that way we know what order they happen in. Or we can do a larger pause on day 2, allow for posts, and then another one 1 week in, etc. I could see us playing it out a few ways, depends on what @DeltaV says. :)
Amos and Rhys- 1 week on boat

Rhys didn’t think he would take to the boat well. He knew that was one of the less pleasant parts of this whole journey. In the woods, he could feign needing to go off to his own place to do things like relieve himself. But on a ship, it was sufficiently more difficult. He made it work, however, keeping odd hours and waiting for others to pass before going. His body would never match what he knew he was meant to be, but this the most free he had been in a long time. It wasn’t like at home, where everyone looked at him sideways for wanting to be a certain way. Here, he was accepted—even if it was only because they didn’t know.

It took a few days for him to get used to the movements of the ship and its occupants. He found himself fascinated by the position of lookout, the person who climbed the ropes like they were as solid as the earth, and perched atop the ship, swaying in the breeze. There were two or three responsible for the duty, taking shifts, but they were all built similarly to Rhys. They were taller, but thin and lanky as well. It was something that he might be able to do, one day. Right now he had a mission, but he wouldn’t mind learning more about how to watch for dangers on the sea.

Though he didn’t pay much attention to the rest of the crew, he found himself rather interested in the various knots that were used on different parts of the ship. As a trapper, he occasionally used knots in the forest, but for very different purposes. Though the men were more keen on playing cards and drinking, he found that a few were willing to show him some of the knots, if it meant passing off some work to him as well. Rhys didn’t mind, it kept him busy, and he liked to learn.

He was taught the secure double overhand knot, which he recognized to be almost the same as a poacher’s knot he learned some time ago. That one he picked up quickly, and he moved on to another. One knot that he thought was particularly interesting was called a butterfly loop. It allowed for a loop in the middle of a rope that could hold weight, and pulling on the ends didn’t loosen it.

Rhys usually tried to depart from the room in the morning, since Amos usually sat in there and worked on his…whatever it was, but about a week in he found himself staying in the bunk as well. The weather was a bit dreary, and the deck was crowded, so he sat on the small bed, working with a small section of rope given to him by one of the crew. He sat quietly for a while before it occurred to him that Amos wasn’t really working on anything at the moment. As a matter of fact, he didn’t look terribly well. “Amos…are you okay?” Rhys asked after a while. They hadn’t really spoken much, apart from initial introductions and such. He had spoken with most of the others even less. He saw when Amos stitched some guy’s head after he got hurt, and found it rather interesting. The man seemed quite skilled, and he was glad to have the man on the journey. Consequently, seeing him ill was far from reassuring.

The sea wasn't kind to Amos, or his stomach. He had spent a lifetime on solid land. To have it ripped away from him for such a while was bound to wretch his stomach, but so far he had managed not to embarrass himself by a spilling his lunch over the balcony. Not just yet. In the meantime, he managed to hone his skills on a stomach-easing brew, but his typical recipes seemed to be rendered inert by the salt in the air. It was a grueling process to see which ingredient needed less than the others to account for the sea, and the man with the injured head was a great mental break from the process.

As he took one of his breaks and focused on calming his stomach, he heard Rhys' voice cut through the ambient sounds of the sea below them. Amos hadn't talked much to any of the other passengers, and hearing one of them was still a rare occurrence. Especially to reach out in kindness. Amos wasn't surprised it was Rhys, though. Out of the other passengers, he seemed the most open.

"It's just the sea," Amos said, sitting up and working once again at the concoction ahead of him. He only had a few more tries to get it right before he'd need to start conserving his resources. "I'm trying to fix it in a way I know how to...but, even alchemy has it's limits."

Amos turned his head and gave Rhys a smile. "What about you? You take to the sea well?"

Rhys lowered the knot into his lap and gave the man his full attention as Amos went on about his salves…or something. He didn’t entirely understand, and he didn’t expect Amos to launch into a tutorial. “Apparently.” Rhys replied with a nod. “I’ve never been on the sea. There were lots of rumors where I grew up that buying passage on a ship was really buying your own way into slavery, so I stayed away.” He explained. “But the view on deck is beautiful, when the weather isn’t dreary. And the knots are similar to ones I know for trapping.” He holds up the rope he had been messing with briefly as an example.

“So…what drove you to take this journey?” Rhys asked. “Looking for new herbs to make salves and things?” He was mostly making the suggestion in jest, but he was genuinely curious about the other man.

Amos nodded at Rhys' answer. He seemed...happy, in a way. Not that talks of slavery could ever be. No...it was body language. Rhys stuck him as someone willing to open up, and for that reason, Amos was appreciative--if, a bit hesitant.

"It's a much better knot than I could do," Amos said lightly as Rhys held up his handiwork to him. But as the conversation steered to his reasons aboard this ship--his reasons on this very crew, in fact--Amos could help but think of a time long past. The blurred memories of a once cherished bride, long faded by time.

Amos tried not to think of these things. And so Amos provided his inquirer with a half-truth: "New herbs would be great, but the money could go to some great use. I'm looking to establish a permanent shop to work among my things, maybe...help a few people along the way."

"And what about yourself?" Amos asked, "We both don't seem to look the part of treasure-hunters, I would assume."

As he awaited his response, Amos poured a green substance from his mortar, helping it move into the main mixing bowl with his pestle.

Rhys got the feeling that Amos…wasn’t being completely genuine in his reasons, but those were his own, just as Rhys’ reasons were his. “I’m not sure…Answers?” Rhys said it in a questioning tone, because he wasn’t really sure what drove him here. He grew silent for a minute, fumbling a bit to undo and redo the knot as he thought about it.

“My brother….” He began the subject hard for him to share. “He left home, going west, looking for answers. He always thought there was more out there. I don’t expect to find him. But… I think I would like to find the answers he sought.” Rhys said.

He wasn’t sure if it made any sense to the other man, but it didn’t have to. They just needed to both be vested in keeping the other alive. It might not go both ways, but he certainly wanted to keep the alchemist alive through the journey. And the first step to that was possibly relieving his sea sickness. “Would you like me to ask the crew if they have anything they know of to help with your sea sickness?” Rhys asked, hopping off of the bed. He felt like he needed some fresh air, despite the dreary weather.

Amos finished the last of his mixing as Rhys finished his own answer. As a man living in solitude for so long, he was surprised as how candid his traveling partner had managed to be, and felt a tinge of disappointment within himself for not being able to do so as quickly.

"Well," he said, setting down his tools. Further action proved to be of little use in this case, "I do certainly hope you find your answers." He watched as Rhys moved to leave, offering to ask around for help.

"I'd be very grateful," Amos said, "thanks for offering."

He felt compelled to say more, but held his tongue for now. The journey had just begun, and it may be best to remember that not every man or woman aboard the ship appreciated further pestering.

Rhys nodded to Amos and grabbed the rope of the bed as well. “Course!” He smiled brightly for a moment and went over to the door. “After all, keeping you healthy now will keep us all healthy later.” He said. Rhys walked out of the room and went up to the deck, looking for someone to ask about sea sickness. He thought he heard someone mention the other day that ginger was used, but he wasn’t sure if that was true, or if they even had any on the ship.
@DeltaV I may not play group games terribly often, but I definitely haven't seen a style like that. I like it! So I might PM some of the other people for conversing purposes, and then put them together in a post, assuming other people as glued to the guild as I am.
haha that is true. He is unchallenged... I guess. :P
Sounds good. We can always just pretend he was stoic and agreed with our plans. Question is, who is going to step forth as the leader of the group? :)
In terms of IC posting, we are just waiting on @Shorticus, yea?

I'm totally patient, I swear, I just wanted to touch base. It seems like the rest of the party is basically in agreement about the path to take...
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