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INDEX

===============

SUMMARY

  • Status: Chapter VII - Intermissions
  • Participating members
    • Drunknok
  • Participating vessels
    • Cranky Parrot, Nipper
  • Point of start: Elizabethville
  • Characters
    • WTC Operator Aryana "Pip" Irving
    • Gunnery Sergeant Gerard "Old One Eye" Wilton and his "Black Squad" of the WTC Marines
    • Captain Cassidy Riley and the crew of the "Cranky Parrot"
    • Wesbert Thaum
  • Troops
    • "Black Squad", 1 Platoon (10 WTC Marines)

==========================================

 

Dramatis personae:

Spoiler

WTC Operator Aryana "Pip" Irving and Gunnery Sergeant Gerard "Old One Eye" Wilton

t00eJ1s.jpg

Aryana „Pip“ Irving, born on Terraversa to a fisherman and his wife. During the civil war that followed the death of King Harln of Mardier, Aryana lost both her parents at a young age – an incident that left her scarred at body and mind. Now orphaned, she had to fight for survival in these harsh days. Aryana ended up working as a „shipboy“ on a pirateship, where she served different captains and slowly worked her way up through the ranks. It was during these years she got the nickname „Pip“, even though its origins have been forgotten.

It was during an engagement with the WTC Icarus Returning that Aryana got captured and given the choice to join the WTC or be „hanged by the neck until dead“. Taking the obvious option, and being a deadly fighter with the sabre as well as the handgun, she soon found her talents to be of great use for the WTC, quickly rising through the ranks.

Now being a WTC Operator, Aryanas first major assignment is an expedition to find land in the North – a mission she will not let fail under any circumstances!

 

Gunnery Sergeant Gerard "Old One Eye" Wilton, second son of a wealthy family in Belson, Gerard Wilton was sent to the military school of Corringtons Royal Army when he was eight years old. Despite never rising above the rank of gunnery sergeant, „Old One Eye“ has served with dedication for over 40 years. During the infamous Juniper Wars he fought side by side with Captain Mesabi, who later somehow persuaded him to join the WTC.

Being the minifig with the longest military experience in the WTC, „Old One Eye“ was entrusted with training the WTC Marine Corp. Picking the best (or worst?) of the recruits and putting them under his personal command, he has formed the „Black Squad“, a group of misfits that could only ever shine in an environment like the WTC.

 

"Black Squad" of the WTC Marines

36yPfbU.jpg

Left to right: Lewis "Doc" Hutchinson, Er "Giant" Wang, Patty "Ice" Cannon

Lewis "Doc" Hutchinson, born and raised in the northern regions of Corrington, studied medicine at Belson before moving to the colonies for unknown reasons. His medical expertise earned him the nickname "Doc", and he is second-in-command of Black Squad.

Er "Giant" Wang, first mockingly called "Giant" for his dwarfen stature when he joined the WTC. Over time it turned out he had the stamina of at least two men, and by now he is called "Giant" with respect. Er is the second son of immigrants from the Gerlo Empire. He has an unhealthy obsession for explosives.

Patty "Ice" Cannon, nicknamed "Ice" for the ruthless behaviour towards her previous lovers. Apart from that she is a very charming personality, and an expert shooter.

 

p2FitYg.jpg

Left to right: William "Jolly" Burke, William "Classy" Palmer, William "Scar" Hare

(this trio is also sometimes called "The three Williams" for being close friends and often getting into trouble together)

William "Jolly" Burke .

William "Classy" Palmer .

William "Scar" Hare .

 

QHODlQ9.jpg

Left to right: Peter "Wolf" Stump, Billy "Ghoul" Gohl, Edward "Ed-Ed" Edwards

Peter "Wolf" Stump served in the Royal Army for years. He stayed for the free food and accomodation – not to mention the many opportunities to shoot others. He left when the food got worse, the quarters more crowded and the shooting much less frequent. Damned be peace! The WTC offered Peter a room of his own, as much roasted horse as he wanted (hint: a lot), and even more targets. Named „Wolf“ for his abundant body hair, Peter is an expert marksman and „Black Squads“ sharpshooter.

Billy "Ghoul" Gohl got his nickname from the tendency to linger around harbour areas at nighttime and frightening strangers with making spooky noises from the dark. While this got him kicked out of many settlements, he quickly became friends with WTC Marines after arriving in Mesabi Landing – they shared his „sense of humour“. Now Billy serves the WTC, his old habit having become a weekly ritual for all of „Black Squad“.

Edward "Ed-Ed" Edwards was born and raised in the midlands of Corrington. Edward is not the brightest candle on the chandelier, with „Ed-Ed“ being his response to everything. When given clear orders he is a diligent worker and stubborn fighter though. Combined with his complete lack of morals he is a valuable member of „Black Squad“.

 

Captain Cassidy Riley and the crew of the "Cranky Parrot"

5ixwRe9.jpg

Left to right: Cassidy Riley, Caesar "Sarge" Connelly, Bertrand Hicks, Mannie

Cassidy Riley is the captain of the "Cranky Parrot", and has sailed under Eslandolan colours until recently. For his service during the latest war with Mardier he was promised a considerable amount of dubloons and a bigger ship - none of which were delivered when the dust had settled (something about an additional clause in the fineprint on page 37). Desillusioned, he took his ship and crew, to take on the jobs he could get elsewhere. Mesabi Landing became Rileys port of choice, for the opportunities it offered for somebody like him. The WTC soon had become a frequent customer - for Captain Riley never asks questions he does not want to hear the answer to. So far, the WTC has kept its promises and paid well enough, but only time will tell how this relation continues.

Caesar "Sarge" Connelly served under Captain Riley for as long as both can remember. Without any military background, Caesar insists to be called "Sarge". He once heroically saved seven kittens from a burning barn, while ignoring the horses and cattle. He and most of the WTC Marines have one thing in common: they all love roasted horse meat!

Bertrand Hicks only ever worked for Captain Riley to support his family of a wife and eight daughters. He hates his life. 

Mannie was born with a stump for a leg. Fortunately, thanks to modern technology, this was corrected. He keeps a flask in the peg leg, along with a knife, a small bottle of rum and some cheese. 

 

Wesbert Thaum

HOUmpAD.jpg

Found on a small island a few days north of Serentia near a shipwreck, not much is know about Wesbert Thaum yet. He can produce a rum-like alcoholic beverage from sea algae and... who knows what.

 

Edited by Drunknok

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Northbound, out of the port of Elizabethville and on the open sea sailed the "Cranky Parrot":

AM1JMVS.jpg

 

The ships supplies had been refreshed in Elizabethville, and the adventure had now started properly. On board, WTC Operator Aryana Irving, called "Pip", remembered the day some weeks ago, when a letter from Count Mesabi reached Mesabi Landing:

 

Mission is going fine, but don't tell Agnes. Can't tell where we are right now, letter might be intercepted. Heard about a reward for finding land north of Serentia. Send Old One Eye. Make it so!

 

With Mordo having other important duties, it fell to Aryana to organise the mission. She decided to kill two birds with one stone, and not only send Gerard "Old One Eye" Wilton and the infamous "Black Squad" - the heaviest drinkers of Mesabi Landing, and propably all the Prio Sea - out of town before any Corrington snoopers arrived, but also get rid of any possibly incriminating material. So "Black Squad" was called into action...

kO0XvdR.jpg

 

... while Captain Riley oversaw the "Cranky Parrot" loaded with many an ominous content:

xlPiE2o.jpg

 

Mordo discussed the situation with Pip and Old One Eye: "Listen here. I have never heard of them before, but the Royal Society of Navigation and Discovery apparently has set up a considerable reward for anybody finding habitable land north of Serentia. The Counts orders are clear. You two will lead the expedition, the Cranky Parrot will first set course to Elizabethville. Try to make some deals on Lacryma, I hear they have lots of horses - and please behave! Get some last supplies there, then set sails for the open sea and head north. You will take some messenger pigeons with you, but only use them in case of emergency, or once you find land."

lCqhk26.jpg

 

So once everything was stored, the "Cranky Parrot" - modified to carry a smaller boat for landing operations and expeditions -  left the harbour of Mesabi Landing:

G566PmV.jpg

 

iqgmJWn.jpgsQDNQOc.jpg

 

Back on the open sea nobody knew wait waited for them, only that they were... northbound.

AM1JMVS.jpg

 

=================================================================================================

 

Some more pictures under the spoilertag, especially the messenger pigeon and some more harbour shots:

Spoiler

EOzKXVO.jpg

QuqZngX.jpg

 

And the harbour scene I based the microbuild on (including my Fort Argavia build):

nuqYVyB.jpg

Edited by Drunknok
Spelling.

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I was going to comment on this earlier but you still had the “do not reply” status.

Nice job on the micro builds and I’m looking forward to watching how this turns out!

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Very nice @Drunknok! I can't wait to see where this takes you. The microbuilds are great, and I can't wait to see more of them. Good luck on your voyage!

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@Drunknok

As your ship sails north, there are mutinous mutters aboard the Cranky Parrot  amongst the soldiers. Due to oversight by the provisioner, there is no rum in those strange boxes. Instead, they are all full of explosives. To make matters worse, as your ship passes a small island, a terrible wind rips through the sails and smashes the mast into the deck. The Cranky Parrot is crippled. (Don't worry, there's a big chance the ship might survive) As the soldiers move closer to a mutiny, the high ranking officers need to make a decision. 

  • "Batten down the hatches! Gather the crew below-decks and attempt to weather the storm."
  • "Gather the crew! The mutiny is our most pressing concern, make sure the crew is on our side before considering out next steps!" (You'll need two builds for this, one dealing with the mutineers and one with the crew of the Parrot making their next moves.)
  • "Abandon ship! If we make our way to the island, we might just be able to survive the journey and return to the Parrot after the storm passes."

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@TheCubbScout and maybe @Bregir or somebody else from The Powers That Be can help too?

Just a couple of questions, since this is my first AMCRA:

  1. Which of those actions relate to which option as per the AMRCA rules ("break off"/"safe"/"risky"/"well planned")?
  2. With other AMCRA outcomes I often have read things like "the build must show..." - are there any conditions on the required builds here?
  3. I do not understand the logic behind the "abandon ship" option: a ship without crew will either sink in  storm or be driven to god-knows-where (and how is the crew then able to get back to it?). So this option does not make any sense to me. The first option is similar: how can a ship weather a storm with all of the crew detained below deck?

 

I already have an idea to solve this situation, but some clarification on the points above would be appreciated. Thanks in advance!

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@Drunknok

  1. That is up to you to decide, really. We are opening up for less rigid options in the aMRCA, mainly to make it more open for players. If you want to do some elaborate planning for any of the options, you can do that. Some of them will be inherently risky, or you may indicate that you take a risky choice.
  2. Your build must somehow show the option you take. Sometimes, there will be specific requirements, but for this specific one, the options are already a bit locked, so we did not want to limit you too much. Whether you do it by microship, vignette, grand build, a series of smaller builds, is all up to you this turn.
  3. There will not always be logic in the options. But it is up to you to create that logic. They could batten down the hatches under anchor, heave to under storm sails, or just rush below. Perhaps next turn will see you driven far off course, leading to new adventures? You never know. Similarly, you may set the anchor and go to shore for safety of the crew. How will that find the ship next turn? No one knows. Yet :pir-wink:

The aMRCA is very much up to you - your reactions will define what happens, although we will play in some events and outcomes. Good luck in your adventures! :pir-blush:

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Chapter I - An unexpected diversion

 

The journey to the north had just started a few days ago. One thing was wrong though: somebody had forgotten to bring the rum. The rum was gone! Captain Riley could not care less, but the members of "Black Squad" were more than a little bit upset. Even some mutinous mumbling made the rounds...

Real disaster struck though, when close to a small island a storm rose and broke the "Cranky Parrots" mast! Decisions had to be made, or the whole mission would end right here in the middle of nowhere...

9xxukOo.jpg

 

You can say what you want about the drunkards of "Black Squad", but in the times of need they hold together and do their job like there is no tomorrow! Towing the "Cranky Parrot" towards the island nearby was the most important issue, for only there the ship could be saved and repaired. And so Old One Eye oversaw this important matter, with "Classy" on rowing duty:

ITGjMmJ.jpg

 

Old One Eye moaned: "Row, you son of a gun. And sing us something!" And so he sang:

djcbBv2.jpg

"Row, row, row yer boat,

gently 'cross the sea.

Mock the queen and rock the scene,

this is WTC!"

 

Slowly they approached the small island, which seemed to offer nothing but some bushes and a few palm trees, and a shipwreck on the beaches:

b1EynKG.jpg

 

Once they had reached the island, everybody made sure to gt the "Cranky Parrot" safely on shore, recover and dry the sails and salvage whatever possible:

uuRg512.jpg.JcFrrVK.jpg

tEaOWqg.jpg

 

With the most important work done for the moment, Pip and Old One Eye went to inspect the shipwreck on the other side of the island, only to be surprised by finding somebody sleeping - and smelling of rum:

0ZfVoaG.jpg

 

Old One Eye could not help but shout out in frustration: "HOW DARE YOU SLEEP WITH SOME RUM AROUND WHEN WE ARE STRANDED IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHWERE??!!!"

 

The stranger leaped up, terrified and confused... and legged it.

udAtNZu.jpg

 

The commotion did not go unnoticed though, and the WTC Marines darted across the island. "Rum?" ... "What, where?" ... "I heard it first, get out of my way!" ... IT - IS - MINE!"

ws7ZTng.jpg

 

The stranger had fled atop of the shipwreck, and all of "Black Squad" eyed him with more than a little madness in their eyes. "The rum? Where is the rum? Gives us the rum! Or we will shoot you!"

Tmbns5x.jpg

 

The reply came, with a voice still shivering, but regaining confidence with every word: "There is no rum here, I am sorry to say so. You might mistake the smell for an invention of mine, a brew I have discovered a while ago. Made from algae, it is as potent as rum, tasting maybe even better I have to admit. I have only two bottles left though..."

9DpFdTJ.jpg

 

"SHOOT HIM!" came the chorus from the crowd.

But the stranger replied, with a firm voice: "Yeah shoot me now... and then what? Two bottles, for all of you, then what? I know how to make more, but I can not do so when being dead..."

 

... and an outcry came from a voice nearby: "NOBODY SHOOTS!"

HOUmpAD.jpg0n261uk.jpg

 

The rest is, as they say, history. The stranger introduced himself as Wesbert Thaum, without going into detail about how he had stranded on this forsaken island. He made a deal with the WTC: he supplied them with as much of his drink as needed, and they took him along for the rest of their expedition.

The mast of the wrecked ship turned out to be a suitable replacement for the one on the "Cranky Parrot", so after some more work and modifications on the ship - supported by plenty of Mr. Thaums wonderful drink, which also stopped any further mutinous spirits among the crew - the "Cranky Parrot" could once again head for the open sea...

YllXkTH.jpg.s9bRidc.jpg

pnW8dDL.jpg.1HwQ3RH.jpg

w2x0w2Y.jpg.uWyDe5S.jpg

 

 

... northbound.

tCV6ygJ.jpg

 

======================================================================================================

 

After a one-month hiatus, this is the continuation of my AMCRA.

On 31.1.2018 at 9:48 PM, TheCubbScout said:

@Drunknok

As your ship sails north, there are mutinous mutters aboard the Cranky Parrot  amongst the soldiers. Due to oversight by the provisioner, there is no rum in those strange boxes. Instead, they are all full of explosives. To make matters worse, as your ship passes a small island, a terrible wind rips through the sails and smashes the mast into the deck. The Cranky Parrot is crippled. (Don't worry, there's a big chance the ship might survive) As the soldiers move closer to a mutiny, the high ranking officers need to make a decision. 

  • "Batten down the hatches! Gather the crew below-decks and attempt to weather the storm."
  • "Gather the crew! The mutiny is our most pressing concern, make sure the crew is on our side before considering out next steps!" (You'll need two builds for this, one dealing with the mutineers and one with the crew of the Parrot making their next moves.)
  • "Abandon ship! If we make our way to the island, we might just be able to survive the journey and return to the Parrot after the storm passes."

In terms of the options given, I chose "Gather the crew!", with the mutiny being dealt with on the island, and their next moves being the repair of the ship and heading back to the open sea again. The island scenes shown are based on a common base with mildly varied scenery, but there is also the micro build of the island. I consider this to be a fair interpretation of "two builds".

 

At this point in time it is still a WIP, but I am in the progress of writing backstories for all characters involved (only 16... :pir_wacko:), which I hope to have done by the time the next AMCRA deadline is around.

 

I hope @Professor Thaum is happy with the introduction of his characters twin brother. He has of course full veto rights in all future actions of Wesbert Thaum. He will receive some more background in the next chapter.

 

As always, C&C are appreciated.

Edited by Drunknok

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Amusing story, the small island is well built, so do the sea waves, nice photos too, I especially like the one showing the charge of WTC marines... to the rum.:laugh:

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Excellent Continuation of your story @Drunknok, your microbuilds continue to be fantastic, as are your regular builds for this story. The story is well written, and I can't wait to see where your adventure goes. :thumbup:

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@Drunknok

The island on which the convenient distiller had been found was on no charts, and was probably just the top of a small reef. Weather conditions and damaged chronometers had made it impossible to get an exact fix of its location, but the mission for the expedition was clear. Northwards! To glory! (And a small matter of a monetary reward...)

After days, even weeks going north with no land in sight, and the clouds over Serentia long left behind, the crew was once more growing restless (although the algea brew did make it a very comfortable restlessness...). There was no birds circling, no reefs, no cloud formations indicating land. Only nautical mile after nautical mile of open sea too deep for the leadsman to call anything but "No bottom with this line", even when wielding an extended deep sea line.

Old one eye and Pip watched the crew grow somewhat apathetic, and the mood had dropped significantly as Sarge called from the masthead.

"Deck there! I think I see land!"

In the middle of the open sea was what appeared to be an island. It was no more than 100 yards across and had a rounded shape, as if it was the top of a sphere floating deep in the water. There was no vegetation growing, and no apparent fauna, and the soil was strangely dark.

But it was land! As they sought anchorage, however, no holding was found. All around the island, the sea was deep.

While the Cranky Parrot lay to, One Eye's squad landed on the island and started searching it. It was as barren as it had looked, but after a few moments of scavenging, they found a wealth of glimmering stones. Half the party brought the stones to the landing, while the others continued their search, only moments after stumbling upon several curious fossils and oddly light minerals.

As they all gathered on the beach with their findings, a spout of water from the centre of the island, as if from a giant pocket of air emptying, sprayed them all, and the ground started shaking. They felt the island slowly starting to sink below them!

There would only be time to save either the glimmering stones or the scientific samples - This  was the time to think fast!

  • Science pays no bills!
    To hell with those bloody trinkets - save the precious stones, which are bound to be worth a fortune at any port!
    Show the crew loading (or stowing) the precious stones on board the boat or the cranky parrot.
  • THIS! IS! CORRINGTON!
    We are no mere Eslandian profiteers! The fossils and minerals must be brought before the Royal Society, as they will surely be of great scientific importance!
    Show detail build(s) of the fossils and/or minerals and make a short description of the prime specimens.

But where do we go next?

  • We have come to find land, and find land we must! (And there is a bounty to collect too...)
  • There are no signs of land and hasn't been for weeks. Time is now ripe for giving up on this wild goose chase and head south! We have precious stones to sell/scientific specimens to deliver!

(You must specify in what direction the expedition continues from here.)

One build required to continue, but more encouraged.

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Chapter II - This is no moon island

 

After what felt like weeks, there was still no land in sight. Nothing on the horizon, no birds to be seen, the ocean deep and cold. So it came as quite a surprise when a small island showed up in front of the "Cranky Parrot" seemingly out of nowhere: the view was clear, so how did this one get overlooked until now?

 

For the crew it mattered not, for now there was something to do! Pip, Old One Eye and some of the WTC Marines took the boat to land on the island for a first look:

PHQmM6D.jpg

 

They soon landed on an unusually flat and strangely shaped island. Some would say it was roughly 100 yards across - but the WTC did not use such weird measurements, and none of the group cared anyway.

nLcJOeI.jpg

 

While searching the island, Jolly and Scar found some glittering gemstones at its far side, while Giant stumbled upon some fossils near its centre:

784SCB6.jpg.CnwGykh.jpg

 

The brought their findings back to the boat. Old One Eye mumbled: "Interesting. We will bring both back to the ship, but that will take some while. Who knows what those stones are worth back home? I am also pretty confident we can sell these fossils for a nice profit to some stupid scientist of the Crown."

fsZjA9q.jpg

 

Suddenly the ground started shaking...

A shout came from Jolly near the middle of the island: "Woah!"

CJLH4NT.jpg

 

A giant fountain of water rose into the sky, while the whole island started to sink into the waters. There was no other choice than to jump onto the boat - with nothing but the fossils and one of the gemstones. Whatever else there was left, it quickly disappeared below the waves:

8u5jTIe.jpg

 

"Eh, what about all those gems? We just lost a fortune!" moaned Giant.

"You don't know th,." replied Pip, "who knows what they where worth? It could be nothing. And we still have this... whatever it is. We will just douple its price!"

 

Old One Eye stared into the distance with his remaining eye: "This was but another interruption of our mission. We will continue northwards. Let that crazy scientist have a look at these fossils if he wants to, then store them safely. Set sails again as soon as possible!"

MlZGxBw.jpg

 

===

 

Back on the "Cranky Parrot", Wesbert Thaum was indeed very curious about the fossils, for he had never seen anything like this one. It seemed to be some creature of the deep sea, with overlapping horn plates for protection. Small teeth suggested a carnivorous lifestyle.

42aNz3y.jpg.z6krBoK.jpg

aWmSgNB.jpg.mCp6hEj.jpg

 

==================================================================================

 

I chose to save the fossils/minerals instead of the gemstones, while heading further north.

One more picture of the "island" without any minifigs:

ENnHK5E.jpg

 

As always, C&C are appreciated.

Edited by Drunknok

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Nice whale Drunkok, and nice continuation of your story. Keep up the good work. 

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Nice take on the turn of events, Drunknok - I was imagining something less whale and more Tintin on the floating meteor, but this works well too! ;) And now for the business end of things:

@Drunknok

Heading further north, there were still no signs of land. Nothing. Just the clear blue seas. From time to time, schools of whales could be seen spouting in the distance. As the Cranky Parrot continued northwards, the whale sightings became more frequent.

At sunset one day, the look-out had something different to report, though.

"Ship sighted!" the call came. "Off the larboard bow"

As they moved to intercept, the look-out called down once more. "She seems to be all adrift - sails hanging limp." he shouted, before adding: "She's a whaler, sir, class 4."

Boarding the vessel, the crew found the whole whaling crew reduced to whitened skeletons. The holds held full sets of whaling equipment, including two whaling boats. Additionally, whale oil and whale bone worth 100 dbs was found barrelled up. (100 dbs added to treasury) Obviously, the crew had had a few good catches before falling sick.

In the captain's cabin, they found logs and charts. Investigating them revealed that the vessel was a Nameran whaler named "Nipper", and that the crew had died of food poisoning from a bad barrel of (ill-) preserved pork. It had been long enough since the last entry that the Nipper would now be a lawful prize. Further, the charts showed no land for hundreds of miles, although obviously, Nameran whalers had been plying these plentiful whaling grounds for years.

The crew of the Cranky Parrot now had some choices to make.

First of all, what to do with the whaler?

a) Secure the vessel.

The crews will be spread out thin, but the black squad can help shore up the crews. It will be tough going, but one does not simply leave a class 4 vessel adrift.

Build the class 4 whaler including the whaling equipment.

(Class 4 whaler added to the expedition, under Drunknok's ownership. Stats: R5, M2, F2, C3, $5, H1) Both vessels get a temporary BoBS-card setting crew value at 0 to be removed at next Corlander port of call)

b) Loot the vessel

Secure anything of value aboard and scuttle the vessel as a watery grave for its crews.

No specific building requirements.

(Additional 100 dbs added to treasury.)

Secondly, what do we do next? The success of this may be affected by whether the whaler is secured or not.

a) Whaling? That sounds profitable - perhaps the WTC should get into whaling? We have all the equipment now. (And perhaps a whaling ship...)

Show some aspect of whaling.

b) Weren't we going north? Those whalers surely haven't surveyed the area proper - there will surely be land!

Show some aspect of preparation for further exploration. Could be navigation, rationing of supplies, or similar.

c) Now is the time to cash in. Let us head back south.

One build required to progress. Building requirements from different choices can be combined into the same build. Feel free to ask any questions.

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Interesting development. Most of all I am impressed with how fast it came this time! @Bregir: please relay my thanks to the AMCRA team, great work once again, and much quicker than expected. Well done! :thumbup:

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Chapter III - Further North (?)

 

The journey northwards had gone on for a long while now. Temperatures were dropping every day, just last week the "Cranky Parrot" had passed some small sheets of floating ice. The sea had become full of fish - much to the joy of the crew, some fresh food again! - and whales had become a common sight.

 

One evening, Mr.Thaum had just fed the parrot some of his infamous drink, he shouted out: "Ship sighted!"

Captain Riley grabbed a telescope and checked...

bEullag.jpg.0ZZLbiy.jpg

 

... "Quite a big one, could be a class 4. I can make out no living crew, she seems to be drifting..." the Captain noted "... and under Nameren colours."

mm1mVbr.jpg.Af0hmtM.jpg

 

Since Captain Riley had already spotted a skeleton from afar, it was decided to get close and enter the ship. Pip gave the orders to Black Squad: "Listen here, I do not want any surprises. Check that thing front to back, top mast to keel - if anything moves, you shoot first!"

 

The last part of the order turned out to be unnecessary though...

Every last member of the previous crew had long been dead:

From the bridge...

aQ1NupR.jpg

 

... to the main deck...

HZUtFj7.jpg

 

... not a single living soul had remained.

2SDNcYG.jpg

 

The ship had been a whaler, for on the lower deck all the equipment necessary to hunt whales was found. Going by the barrels full of whale oil and crates filled with whale bones, the hunt must have been very successful - not that the hunters could tell the tale anymore.

4gPwEnv.jpg.KOCFw0r.jpg

 

Meanwhile, in the captains cabin, Old One Eye reported to Pip: "Checked the logs we are standing aboard the Nameren whaler "Nipper". As for the crew, those damn fools ate some rotten meat by accident. All died from food poisoning. Their last position was about 50 miles west from here, right in the middle of nowhere. The maps show no land hundreds of miles near our current location. I would not trust a Nameren as far as I can throw him, but if there was anything nearby I am sure they would have charted it. So what now?"

QEL2nES.jpg

 

Pip replied: "Well, I do not want to freeze to death, and sure as hell we will not hunt for whales! Let the men trim the sails for now, we will decide this tomorrow."

 

==========

 

The next morning, an iceberg with some seals on it drifted by the "Nipper"s larboard side.

lp3zPCk.jpg

 

"I think we could all use a hearty breakfast." Pip commented, "Jolly, jump over and get 'em!"

And so he did...

Umh9hyD.jpg.0kw1nnE.jpg

 

The ovens previously used to cook the whale oil proved to be more than adequate to prepare seals. "It tastes like chicken..."

oZiZNlu.jpg.GrtJkgD.jpg

 

With full bellies (and a good remaining supply of roasted seal) the decision between Pip, Old One Eye and Captain Riley had come to the following decision: they would keep the "Nipper", and sail both ships to the East from now on. With no land nearby, trusting the Namerens maps to the West (since that is were they came from) and minimal chance for success in the North, there was still hope for the best eastwards. They "Cranky Parrot" would be manned by its crew, the "Nipper" was sailed by the WTC Marines of Black Squad.

ls5lxdS.jpg

 

Together, both ships were now... eastbound.

 

====================================================================================

 

I chose "Secure the vessel" and "Weren't we going north? ...". From the current position the course has been set to the East.

If there are any questions, please just ask. For more pictures of the "Nipper", check its own thread here.

 

As always, C&C are appreciated.

Edited by Drunknok

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Behold! For in a dramatic change of events our heroes are persued by a white-haired monstrosity of the north!

Spoiler

ozNuNzP.jpg

 

One day I will stop this joke... but not today! :pir-grin:

 

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@Drunknok

The crew of the cranky parrot continued to sail east. Days became weeks, and weeks became months. But after 2 months of clear weather, their fortunes changed. A great squall appeared from the west, and hit them fast. The waves tossed them, and heavily damaged both ships, as their crews were spread to thin to man both ships. The storm lasted for a week, and the pounding rain swept the decks, washing their maps and navigational tools overboard.  When the storm ended, they found themselves adrift once more, and very low on supplies. Their heading was completely a mystery to them.

By some blessing, a tropical island appeared on the horizon. With no other options, the expedition took to the rowboats, and set out for the island. Landing, they found debris  from the storm. Half of a ship lay upended on the beach. Various barrels and bottles littered the sand. A small dock section seemed to have been ripped from somewhere, and had ended there. A whale skeleton sat higher up on the beach. An abandoned house washed from some far away port was partially buried in a dune. Sea lions sat sunning on the sand as well.

Regrouping, the expedition was faced with options for how to proceed. 

Repair the Ships!: Show your expedition harvesting wood, and repairing the ships. (You will need to do this before you can set sail again.) (1 build required)

Explore the Beach!: Show your expedition exploring the debris on the beach, and showing their finds. (Will become unavailable after this turn, as the debris will be washed out to sea. 1 build required)

Find our Heading!: The expedition is Nowhere  near the North of Serentia, and is completely lost. (This may reveal where the expedition has landed, or at least clues to it's location. 1 build required.)

Into the Jungle!: Show your expedition entering the interior of the island.  (1 build required)

You may pick 2 of the options this turn. 1 required to progress.

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@Mesabi

Another great choice of options, and a nice write-up. Good work, please relay my thanks to the team! :thumbup:

Edited by Drunknok

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Chapter IV - The Great Unknown

 

Another storm had hit the expedition, another time the WTC prevailed. Though battered by the elements, both ships were still afloat. The Cranky Parrot had taken only little damage, due to her strenghtened hull after the previous repairs. She would need some work to sail properly again, but was still able to take the Nipper in tow for those last miles towards an unknown island nearby. A natural bay, surrounded by high cliffs, provided a safe haven for the necessary repairs.

 

Due to the storm, all the navigational instruments and maps had been lost, so finding clues to their current location was paramount. Maybe the debris spread out over the beach had some answers. Pip and Old One Eye stood with some of Black Squad at the shore. They were surrounded by driftwood, a wrecked ship, and something that looked like bones from a giant sea creature.

dN9mory.jpg

 

Pip commanded: "Guys, go find me some nice shinies here. Among all this junk there must be some valuables! I spotted some sea lions from the ship: those will be good food, so shoot some. Or club them to death, whatever. If anything else moves: shoot it! And have a good look at any crate, barrel and chest - we can use pretty much everthing in our situation. As for the wreckage: you should take whatever wood is suitable for repairing our ships. Each strong plank counts! Now off you go, and get everything to the ships before it is washed away by the next tide!"

DV0Udlt.jpg

 

And off they went! The beach had some curious things to offer.

A shipwreck had been washed up, together with some damp maps. Once dried, those could give a clue to the position of this island?

8kFcf3y.jpg

 

Further down the beach, parts of a wooden dock were partly burrowed by sand already. Around it some chests, barrels and bottles were spread, some of them broken, some intact.

PNaAxSD.jpg.vpC3VYL.jpg

 

=====

 

At the same time, Captain Riley stood near a tub full of water, bushes and palmtrees around him. Close by stood Wesbert Thaum, putting a piece of driftwood with a piece of metal attached - both taken from the beach - into to water.

"See Mr. Captain, this is science in action! We had to get a bit into the jungle, so the wind from the sea does not disturb my little device here."

"But what does it do?" asked Captain Riley, midly annoyed.

jpcbgF6.jpg

 

Thaum chuckled. "Once the water comes to a rest, the iron needle will align itself according to the position of the northern pole. See, this is an improvised compass! When we know where north is, we can observe the stars and deduce our position combining both."

OpxuCc1.jpg

 

=========================================================================

 

Choosing "Explore the beach!" and "Find our heading".

 

Some more beach and jungle:

b8Pt4QF.jpg

smeE5gZ.jpg

 

As always, C&C are appreciated.

 

Edited by Drunknok

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