Printable Version of Topic
Click here to view this topic in its original format
Celtic Radio Community > RPG - The Playground! > Guardians Campaign


Posted by: WizardofOwls 11-Mar-2005, 12:36 PM
Still haven't heard anything more from VetteGal and BoggleBoy on how their characters are coming, but I'd really like to get started with this.

If anyone wants to join in, please do, however there are a few rules. First, please read my two previous threads dealing with the Guardians Campaign before writing anything. Second, even though you can go ahead and get started posting without it, please post a character description ASAP. Third, while you may feel free to describe what your character does, and how he or she joins in, please leave all major plot developments to me. I have a definite plot for this game and don't want to have it hijacked! smile.gif For instance, if I introduce a major bad guy, you may describe HOW you attack him, but damage done and how it affects the villain are up to me.

Anyway, here goes...

EPISODE 1
The Quick and...

The key turned easily in the lock as Erin O'Donnell closed up for the night. It had been a busy night. Friday nights usually were, but thonight had been especially so. Words and Music was a British-style pub located in Withers Market, an open air mall in the heart of downtown Wytheville. Live performances of Celtic and Bluegrass music were the heart of the pub's business, especially on Friday nights and tonight had been one of the busiest ever. The concert by Thom Blackman, her friend and mentor, had started at 8:00 pm, and had not ended until almost 1:00 am. It had deifinitely been a long night, but it had been worth it. She had made almost $300 in tips alone tonight. It would come in handy indeed, she thought.

She had decided to walk home tonight, instead of calling a cab as usual. Despite being mid-autumn, it was relatively warm, and she needed some fresh air. She checked her pocket to make sure the canister of pepper spray she had recently purchased was still there and checked her neck for the silver whistle she kept on a leather thong around her neck. Both were in their places.

The walk would be really nice, especially since she intended to take a short cut through Elizabeth Brown Park. The park was a heavily wooded area in the heart of the small city. Designed as a scaled-down version of New York City's Central Park, it had a small steam running through it, and a small wooden bridge that crossed it. Lovers often had their pictures taken while standing on that bridge, and more than one wedding had occurred there as well.

The park was beautiful, even this late at night. The smell of fallen leaves filled the air as a warm breeze stirred them around her feet. Her thoughts were a million miles away though. She was thinking about her mentor, Thom Blackman, and how much he had done for her. She had moved to Viriginia from her native Ireland at the age of 19 and had been living with her mentor ever since. He provided her with room and board as well as giving her lessons on the tin whistle. As a world-renowned performer on that instrument, she had considered herself lucky to be able to receive personal insruction from him and had jumped at the chance to come to America to learn at his feet. She was also a student at Wytheville University, having won a scholarship in Music Studies there.

Thom's house was just on the other side of the park on Church Street. He had left shortly after ending the concert and had offered Erin a ride home, but she enjoyed these late night walks in the park, and so had turned him down. It was now almost 2:00, and she new it wouldn't take long to get home.

Her feet made hollow echoes as she crossed the wooden bridge. She tossled and kicked the piles of leaves as she passed. There were lots of streert lights scattered throguhout the park, which provided her with a sense of security as she made her way along, though there were patches of darkness between the lights.

It was while she was in one of these patches of darkness that she first heard the sound. She was't sure at first if she had really heard it, or if it were the rustling of leaves. She stopped and pretended as though she needed to catch her breath. Her ears strained to hear any trace of sound.

There. There it was again. And the wind had stopped blowing, so she knew she couldnt blame it on anything natural. Someone was following her. She thought about running to the next street light, but was afraid it would just startle her pursuer into more hasty action, so she started to walk along again at her usual pace.

There it was agian, and this time it was closer. Fear overcame her, and she began to jog. Her heart felt like it was about to beat out of her chest. Only a few more yards and she would be within one of the patches of light where she might have a chance of getting a good look at her pursuer. She tried to look over her shoulder to see what she was running from, and what she saw made here blood run cold. She saw two eye-shaped patches of red light not far behind.

She didn't know what was following her, but whatever it was, it wasn't human.

She felt like her heart was going to beat out of her chest as she finllay took her first step into the circle of light provided by the street light. Immediately she whirled about, hoping to get a good look at whatever it was that had been pursuing her.

But the darkness was silent.

She tried to hold her breath, straining to see if she could hear anything, but all she could hear was the sound of her own heartbeat, like a bass drum, booming as it pumped blood and adrenaline through her veins.

It seemed like forever. She strained her eyes looking for any sign of movement in the darkness, but the light from the lamp above had stolen her night sight. She couldn't see a thing. Her fingers were coiled tightly around the can of pepper spray in her pocket.

Suddenly she caught movement out of the corner of her to her left. She darted her glance in that direction and was stunned by what she saw.

It was just outside the circle of light. It stood on its hind legs like a human, and indeed it seemed to be shaped like a human child, but no human child had ever looked like this. It appeared to be made entirely out of darkness. There was no color whatsoever to the creature, other than its eyes which seemed to glow like hot coals in a fire. Its face had absolutley no features other than those eyes.

And they were staring intently at her.

And that was when she noticed that the creature was not alone. There was one more set of eyes just behind and to the left of the creature. And then the two were three. Then four.

She had no idea where they were coming from, jsut seeming to appear out of nowhere as though born form the darkness. But soon there were ten. And all were completely still. And as silent as the grave.

A sharp sound off to her right made her jump. She quickly turned to see what had made the sound.

Thats it for now! Anyone care to jump in? smile.gif



Posted by: WizardofOwls 29-Mar-2005, 10:31 PM
Well, it appears that no one is interested in joining in my game! I will introduce a second character and perhaps finish it as a story. If anyone wants to jump in, feel free to do so at any time. And by the way, the character I am introducing this time, Jonathan Crow-eyes, is up for grabs and may be taken over by someone else if you'd like!

Episode 2

Jonathan Crow-eyes was Dreaming again. It was the third time this week he'd had the Flying Dream and he was finally learning how to control this strange, feathered body. He knew he was only Dreaming, but somehow it all seemed so real. The wind in his feathers, the taste of the corn as he pierced each kernel with his beak, every sensation felt so much more real than any dream he'd ever had before. And he was loving every minute of it. He wheeled and soared on the wings of the wind, banking and climbing, then diving to rise again.

In the real world, Jonathan was a mechanic. And a good one too. He was 100% Native American, born and raised on the Wolf Creek Indian Reservation, just north of the city of Wytheville. His long, straight hair was as blue-black as the feathers of his name sake, and his nose, though not overly long, had a decidedly beak-like hook to it. He was tall, well-built, and considered handsome by the ladies of his tribe. Many had vied for his affections, but Jonathan wasn't interested in settling down just yet. At the young age of 24, he figured he would have plenty of time to worry about settling down later.

Jonathan owned his own garage on the reservation which he had inherited from his grandfather when he died just over a year back. And while he was not rich, his reputation as an excellent mechanic insured that he had a steady flow of business. Even some of the Anglos from the city would come up to have their cars worked on at his garage, which was just fine with him. The more the merrier.

Jonathan was a Wakani, and proud of his heritage. The Wakani were a very secretive tribe of Native Americans who had at one time inhabited the caverns below the city of Wytheville. Referred to as the Undercity these days, no one outside of his tribe had ever visited the city and lived. Jonathan had never known why his people had left the city, how they had survived down there, or why they had lived there to begin with. Only the tribal elders knew, and they weren't telling. The Wakani had integrated themselves with other local tribes and had remained undiscovered until only about 10 years ago. And now that their secret was out, the publicity was becoming a real bother. But it brought new business to his garage, so he couldn't complain too much.

It was about a month ago that he had the first Dream. These were not just dreams. They just seemed too real to be normal dreams. And then there were the Dreams of his grandfather. Michael Talldeer had been a village elder, and he had taught Jonathan everything he knew about mechanics. Just before he died, he had even begun training him in the ways of Shamanism. And his death had not stopped the lessons. It had only postponed them. Now his Dreams alternated every other night. One night he was flying, the next sitting at the camp fire with his grandfather learning of his people's ways. And Jonathan was soaking up every moment of it.

But tonight seemed different somehow. Typically in his Flying Dreams he had a companion. A strong, athletic old crow who taught Jonathan by example. And he seemed so wise. But tonight he was alone. And something else seemed strange about the Dreaming tonight. There was a feeling he couldn't name, a strange desire to be Somewhere Else.

So Jonathan just started flying. He had no idea where he was being pulled or why he was going, he just knew he needed to be Somewhere Else. As he flew, the sun began to sink beneath the horizon. That was not unusual here. Though typical real-world crows slept at night, here in the Dreaming he had found he could fly any time, day or night.

He had flown in the darkness before and had had little trouble. Even though crows did not have night sight, the earth in the Dreaming just seemed to glow beneath him, making navigation a breeze. So he just continued flying. It seemed he had flown forever when suddenly all light was extinguished. He was engulfed in sheer, total darkness. And for a moment panic set in. He was high above the earth in an unfamiliar body. What if he started flying too low and hit the ground? What if he ran into a tall tree or hill?

He tried to regain control over his thoughts and emotions. Think logically. Panic won't help, it will just make things worse. Just keep flying at an even level. Maybe this darkness won't last long.

But then again, it seemed like it had already lasted forever. He had heard once that if you died in a dream, you would die in real-life too. He really didn?t want to find out whether or not it was true. If only he could just wake up...

Suddenly up ahead, he thought he saw something. As he drew closer he realized it was light. A small ball of it in the midst of the darkness. He flew toward it, not knowing what it was. At least it was something to aim for.

As he drew closer, he saw that it was a street light. In its light stood a young lady he had never seen before. She seemed oddly frightened and was clinging to the light as though it were providing her with shelter. He tried to fly closer to see if he could see what was wrong.

And suddenly he felt himself falling. Once again, he panicked. It was as though his wings had just stopped working. He was falling fast.

And then he hit the ground.

-------------------------------------------------------------

A sharp sound off to her right made Erin jump. She quickly turned to see what had made the sound. She was stunned by what she saw. A full-grown man appeared out of nothingness and fell 5 feet to the ground in front of her.

Frightened, she made her way slowly over to him, desperately trying to keep an eye on both him and the dark shadow-shapes. They seemed just as startled at the man's sudden appearance as she was. A small group of them had made their way over near his body, still remaining outside the circle of light, but getting as close as they could.

As she neared, she could see that he appeared unconscious. He was breathing, at least. He was a Native American, and very handsome, she thought. He was wearing nothing but a pair of pajama pants. How odd.

Erin didn't know what to do. She was frightened and alone. And now he was here. She couldn't just let him lay there, not knowing for sure what was wrong with him. He could be badly injured. Or worse, he could be dying. Gingerly she reached out a trembling hand and tried to shake him.

Okay, I'll end it there. Anybody want to play Jonathan? smile.gif Let me know what you think of the "story" so far...

Posted by: maggiemahone1 30-Mar-2005, 09:25 PM
Allen, I don't want to play Jonathan, but I do want to say you have quite an imagination and I like your story. Leaves me wondering, what's going to happen next. Personally, I think you should just keep writing this story and forget the game! Only my opinion, mind ya!' biggrin.gif I'll be waiting to see what happens next when Jonathan wakes up and sees the fair lass from Ireland at his side! biggrin.gif

maggiemahone1

Posted by: WizardofOwls 12-Apr-2005, 07:44 PM
By the way, for anyone who may be following my game/story, here is a picture of one of the things for you...

Powered by Invision Power Board (http://www.invisionboard.com)
© Invision Power Services (http://www.invisionpower.com)