In Olympus...

In a reflecting pool of water, images of a group of washed up people are seen on a beach shore. Around the pool are the gods, in shadow, yet their faint outline can clearly be seen. Above the reflecting pool, a voice from the beginning of time, a time before Gaia herself, calls out, booming louder than the thunderbolt of Zeus.

"The time of prophecy...and heroes has come again! You must now look in...find judgement...find what is to come! Athena, step forward. Your strategic mind will be useful in the evaluation of these heroes...Ares, step forward as well, to be counterbalance, for your flare of savage wonder...LOOK IN!" 

With a crackling shockwave, the voice and the power behind it faded away. Yet both Athena and Ares stepped forward and looked down into the reflecting pool of water.

"What do you think of these people Athena?"

"Well, Poseidon failed to kill them as Zeus command, causing Poseidon some trouble...Which does bring me joy...Yet looking at them I see, just mortals...something Poseidon should have been able to handle easily."

"Yet if Poseidon could not handle this simple task, perhaps he did so on purpose?"
Athena lifted an eyebrow to her brother's question. "Like I said, they don't look like much. Still it is our job to test these mortals. What say you?"

On the Beach...

As the sun raises, it begins to heat the skin of some of our heroes. The cool, salty water flows back and forth. Bring bits of broken wood from the ship, sails, useless and smashed cargo and people alike litter the shore. Some of the light hits the tops of the trees some distance ahead. Sand and red craggy rock dot the beach with strange metal veins of ore that catch the sun. Smells of salt water, pollen from the cypress tress hit you, as well as the smell of sentiment from the rocks and sand.

OOC: The only living people are your fellow players. A few dead sailor do litter the shore. Your characters are unaware you are being watch by gods. All you know is that you are luck to be alive.
This message was last edited by the GM at 06:29, Tue 24 Jan 2023.

There had been no sight at all of Cassandra before the shipwreck. She'd not been present for meals, or 'taking exercise', or any of the normal rituals of ship travel.

She was awoken by the licking of what looked to be a large dog/wolf that was licking her awake in the 'come on you've been asleep too long' way that dogs do. "What ... huh" were the intelligent words she used as she awoke.

There was a perhaps understandable scared look in her eyes as she looked around and hugged the feral looking dog for protection. Who were these people? What were they like? Many of them looked imposing and scary
This message was last edited by the player at 06:54, Tue 24 Jan 2023.

Aboard the ship Anstice spent most of her time supporting with keeping food and water stores proper with gifts from her goddess, acting to support the ships healers, or fishing to praise her goddess with the glory of some sort of hunt...

As Anstice comes to she rises slowly feeling the chill of wet body. She prays softly to Artemis thanking her goddess of her safety. Looking up at her eagle soaring above leaving her free to look around at the others. The defneive posture of Cassandra has her moving to her aid," "Are you alright young one?

It looked at first as though Cassandra was going to run for it when Anstice approached. There was fear and worry in her eyes. Something about the priestess's mannerisms, dress or perhaps over hearing her prayers kept her from actually fleeing

"No... no I'm not alright" she said hugging her wolf a little more "I was kidnapped. Bound. Taken from my sisters to be a slave. I've not left my woods since... You're not one of the slavers are you?" a hand left the dog to point at the holy symbol around Anstice's neck "You don't look like a slaver"
This message was last edited by the player at 10:04, Tue 24 Jan 2023.

Coughing into wakefulness Aetius managed to resist the urge to retch at the taste of saltwater in his mouth, leaning to his side to spit what he could still out before wiping his face with one hand and opening his eyes to regard the surroundings. Straightening with a certain stiffness he got to his feet, pausing once he was upright to check the weapons at his waist were still there. Once assured he at least had some tools to defend himself with he moved to the nearest body to check it for any signs of life, turning them over carefully. Finding no indication on a brief examination he shook his head and moved to the next, continuing across the beach to examine the assorted prone forms for survivors.

He did pause for a moment at the sight of those already moving, raising his hand in greeting and calling across to the two women, "Well thank the gods at least I'm not the only one who made it through that." He did not move any closer to them, still checking for any others who had survived the wreck, but it was a relief that he did not seem to be alone at least.

Having a voice the Muses would be proud of displayed nearly each night aboard ship more than paid for his ride as far as the captain had been concerned. He wasn't yet a big enough persona to raise everyone else's ticket prices though. Some might remember the Bard with the Dancing Spider. It was clearly no earthly spider between its scintillating carapace, being nearly a foot tall and three across. There had been many who were kind of terrified of it at first.

'Mal' helped set aside their fears with dramatic sonet that, told a version of the story of Arachne. A beautiful weaver who had a humble devotion to Athena. A priestess was jealous of a young man that loved Arachne. She killed Arachne in the temple. The young man would not love the priestess after what she had done and killing one so devoted estranged her also from her goddess. She went away. The young man entered in and collected the weaver woman and wrapped her in her own hair with a crude but loving weave. Athena took pity on him and her devotee. Changing the woman in a cocoon to a beautiful spider to allow her soul to continue devotion.

He would give no straight answers to questions about his spider being that woman, or if the story were true. He treats the spider like a loving dog though... it returned his affection and even seemed to drink from a skin he keeps and could sometimes be seen weaving its silk on a small loom, carefully rolling finished cloth beyond the loom or even responding somewhat to common tongue from other people.

"Oh, watery Tartarus! That was... Bad!" his voice was still overly wet and included much spitting. He looked at the water skin he took off his belt. It was not the bright purple one the spider drank from. Rinse with a sip, then spit. After a sip he actually swallowed he offered it around. His spider, Arachne, was likely only a bit smaller than the wolf was wrapped about his chest like a reversed backpack it was unmoving and its colors not so bright now.

Yngvar woke up on the beach when a young man rolled him over out of the sand. Luckily he wasn't in the water or he'd have drowned. He blinked his eyes several times. It had cost his last gold piece for transit on the ship, now he was beached and broke.

He got to his feet and checked his belongings, his pack was even still on his back, thank Selene his books were waterproof! He had his dagger and his staff. "Thank you for waking me, it is daylight!"

Yngvar then started checking bodies too, the ones that were dead, he robbed, they didn't need it anymore, the living would need it. Perhaps he would find other weapons and gold. He needed a bow, a short bow or a crossbow would do. So would a short sword or a rapier!

"Anyone know where we are? I don't. My name is Yngvar."

Garvarius felt the warm sun on his skin, it felt good and slowly he opened his eyes. Moving his black wet hair out of his face, he began to look around. Obviously, his career as a sailor was not going well. The saltwater falling out his mouth made his tongue dry, and he desired a nice skin of wine. Noticing he still had his weapons, but no wine, he cursed Poseidon under his breath and got up.

He stretched almost like a cat, as he began to wake his heavily muscle frame. Under black mane of hair, his fiery green eyes looked around. Noticing a man looting the broken mangled frame of what was the captain, a small smile crossed this face. "Guess it's going to be hard to get paid from a dead man. Yngvar... I am Garvarius."
This message was last edited by the player at 15:11, Tue 24 Jan 2023.

Despite the fact that Theoros had been using the ship as transport for his next mercenary job, he had not acted like the loud and boisterous thug that most would assume those in his chosen profession. He was withdrawn, almost...fearful of interacting with the other passengers. Not aloof or arrogant, unwilling to lower himself to socialize with the others, but more like a person who was uncomfortable in the company of people. When down in the hold, he was quite friendly and empathetic towards the animals that were being held. Especially his personal steed, Astera. She was a beautiful white-colored Arravani mare, who was clearly loyal and tough. When the wild storm had begun swamping the ship, Theoros had actually broken into the hold, and freed all of the animals from their bondage, hoping that they could survive, before leading Astera onto the bucking and splintering deck, grabbing a large empty barrel, and leaping into the maelstrom of Poseidon's fury.

That was the last thing Theoros remembered before the darkness took him.

But eventually, light began stabbing into his closed eyes, and he slowly became aware of the waves lapping at his legs, and the sand beneath his back. But when he felt his head gently pushed to the side by a familiar fuzzy muzzle, his eyes finally opened. His calloused hand rose up from the sand, and warmly patted the side of the horse's face.

"I'm alright girl. We have escaped the ire of the sea god..." he grunted with a slight chuckle.

Or were they? Other voices were beginning to drift into his waterlogged ears. Once he realized what those sounds were, he suddenly sprang to his feet with the speed of a trapped jungle cat. Instinctively, his hands fell to the hilts of his weapons, but after blinking out the salt and sand from his eyes, he realized that the voices belonged to other survivors from the ship, like him.

"Is anyone injured? I am no Hippocratic physician, but I know something of battlefield medicine. I am Theoros of Phthiotis," Theoros rumbled, which was the most he had spoken to anyone during their entire voyage.

Apparently the current emergency has loosened his tongue somewhat.

In reply to Garvarius (msg # 8):

"No, the dead don't pay their tabs, we can split up what we find so everyone has a little. Greetings Theoros, Garvarius, I am Yngvar, . . from Delphi. He continues to look for clothing, weapons, or anything useful. Including waterskins and wineskins. He loots everyone he finds that is dead, his fingers practiced. "We need to get everything that is useful, it does the dead no good, but could keep us alive."

Relieved to find one of those prone was still alive Aetuius offered Yngvar a hand as the man got to his feet before moving on to more, shifting his direction to avoid checking any the other man moved to. He frowned slightly when he saw the fellow searching the dead for belongings but did not remark on it, given it was likely something they should do anyway once all the survivors were identified. Instead he pressed on, as more of those prone forms levered themselves upright.

To Yngvar's question of where they were he offered a one-shouldered shrug, "No idea, would need to get a better look at the surroundings to be able to even take a guess. The tides could have taken us anywhere." The various offered names got a brief nod of greeting followed by, "Aetius. Not the best of ways to meet to be sure but at least we're alive to do so." Looking down at the latest body he was examining he shook his head, "Unlike this poor soul." Pulling his hands back he straightened and continued with the morbid exploration.

As Yngvar remarked on taking what they could find he nodded briefly in agreement, "We'll also likely want to see if anything washed ashore from the ship or is close enough that we can retrieve it before the tide goes out. Even if we're near somewhere we can reach on foot we might still have some distance to travel."
This message was last edited by the player at 20:15, Tue 24 Jan 2023.

"Yup, we could be on a deserted island, or there could be a booming metropolis over the hill. We should do what we can to survive if we are alone though. Get any useful clothes from the ship too and we'll need to find food and water."

As Cassandra speaks drawing her full attention to the other women Anstrice's mannerism change slightly, less dealing with a scared child, more dealing with a minor diety, "I am not amoung those who took you from you home. I am a Preistess of Artemis. You have your duties to nature any man would take you from that place are an enemy."

"I'm Malvolo, though calling me Mal will do. Don't drink from my purple skin, that might kill you. It is just for helping me make medicine and relieving pressure from Arachne here..." He said, lovingly running a hand down the monstrous spider on his chest and belly. She tapped his boot and made what might be a rolling motion with the foremost legs. He smiled and offered, "I plan to start looking around. With some significant landmarks or tonight with stars I'll at least be able to tell if we are far removed from civilization.

"T..thank you" Cassandra looked to be a little less scared with the Priestess word's.

"Do you think they are safe?" she looked over her Wolf to the large number of dangerous looking people clad in armour with lots of weapons showing. A stark contrast to herself who had an eating knife at her belt and that was about it. "I see they are looking around and" she gave a little shudder "despoiling the dead"

Yngvar, having exceptional hearing, usually, heard what the girl said about 'despoiling the dead' and he had to reply. "That is the point my dear, they ARE dead, they have no need of items, food, water, weapons, coins. We, being alive, for now, have need of those items, for now. Without said items, we might die, then we'd be dead. Do you want to be dead? I don't. I want to live for a VERY long time." he said to her in a voice loud enough to be heard, but not yelling. "I could use a shortbow or crossbow and or a shortsword or rapier if anyone finds such. We might all get a bow if we find them, or make them if someone knows how, we may need to hunt to eat. I'm a very good cook, so if we find meat and vegetables, we won't starve."

"Survival should be our primary concern. In the short term we need shelter, food, water, security, and medicine. The sea can provide some nourishment, but I'd rather have a larger pool of resources to pull from. And we will need water very shortly, for I assume many of you are parched from that swim in the salt. And we don't know where we are, or if there any hostile inhabitants or monsters in this place. If you will all excuse me, I'm going to take a quick look around..." Theoros said in the quite, deep voice of his, half-agreeing with the general sentiment Yngvar had expressed when taking the belongings from the dead.

Without another word, he deftly mounted his white horse, and began a fast, general circling of their location, just to see what features of dangers he could notice.

OOC Mechanics
16:22, Today: Theoros rolled 26 using 1d20+6. Listen.
16:22, Today: Theoros rolled 24 using 1d20+6. Spot.