In the Heart of Anvard (My Kingdom For a Horse): Free RP

[Mozart the Meerkitten]

OOC: lol this reminds me of a time when I had to say how far to back a hay wagon into a barn and I kept getting it wrong.

IC: Flower tries to remeber the names and directions, but thankfully nothing seems to be happening around the ship.

'Wonder how long it'll be till we get to the sea. I've only seen the sea once, then barely.' she thinks.

[Copperfox]

~ ~ Actually, Flower HAS seen the sea before: on the very first day she made the mail flight with Retaw. They were carrying a letter to the wealthy merchant called Squire Spalik, who proved friendly. This should come to Flower's mind once she hears what Woefulgut will now say.


"If we had more hands aboard, we would be able to hoist more sail, and make it to the seaport maybe as quickly as tomorrow sunrise. As it is, we're not moving very much faster than the river's own flow, so I would guess our arrival at the ocean as no sooner than tomorrow night. I wish we could identify someone influential who was more helpful than that toad Arlis, who could provide us at least two or three more sailors to handle this ship on the open sea."

[Mozart the Meerkitten]

Originally Posted by Copperfox

~ ~ Actually, Flower HAS seen the sea before: on the very first day she made the mail flight with Retaw. They were carrying a letter to the wealthy merchant called Squire Spalik, who proved friendly. This should come to Flower's mind once she hears what Woefulgut will now say.

OOC: sorry, I'm a bit absent minded today. I edited my before post.

IC: 'Ok good news; I get on the one ship thats headed back to Narnia. Bad news; we're going slower than a loaded rowboat on the Great River thats going against the flow.' thinks Flower, but the image of a loaded rowboat trying to go aganist the flow of a river makes her giggle.

[Copperfox]

A moment later, the wind direction shifted so that it was coming from straight behind them. "Running before the wind is simpler than tacking and reaching," remarked the Marshwiggle Captain. "Gareth! We'll take a small chance, and unfurl the topsails--just for as long as we have the wind astern."

The few men on board performed the procedure of unrolling the topsails from their yardarms and securing them in the open position, catching additional wind. Soon the "Forlorn Hope" had visibly increased its speed.

[Mozart the Meerkitten]

'Yes!' Flower's mind screamed. A small smile begins to form on the kitten's face.
"Middy here I come!" she whispered.

[Copperfox]

When sail-handling allowed it, a crewman asked Flower to come to where Woefulgut still stood handling the steering oar. "Friend Cat," said the Marshwiggle, "I suppose it is too much to hope for that you might have made some friends in the seaport during the short while that you were assisting that Gryphon to deliver mail?"


(The answer should be yes, the prosperous merchant Squire Spalik.)

[Mozart the Meerkitten]

Originally Posted by Copperfox

When sail-handling allowed it, a crewman asked Flower to come to where Woefulgut still stood handling the steering oar. "Friend Cat," said the Marshwiggle, "I suppose it is too much to hope for that you might have made some friends in the seaport during the short while that you were assisting that Gryphon to deliver mail?"


(The answer should be yes, the prosperous merchant Squire Spalik.)

OOC: Flower never told anyone on the ship about the mail delivery with Retaw as I recall......

[Copperfox]

~ ~ But Woefulgut had time to speak with locals before his attempt to ask help from Steward Arlis, and the novelty of the new mail service was being talked about all over Anvard from its outset. The owner of the Northaway Inn saw to that from day one, in order to increase business; and Retaw never made a secret of his taking off with a mail pouch.

[Mozart the Meerkitten]

OOC: mkay. by the way, is it logical for some of Flowers friends to be looking for her by now?

IC: 'Firstly how did anyone find out I took part in the mail delivery? And second of all....' Flower thinks to her zig-zagish mail route.

"In fact I guess we did." she says aloud, "Why do you ask?"

[Copperfox]

~ ~ The fact of a Cat being in the activity with the Gryphon is another thing which was never kept secret. Pindra, Goewyn and the one daughter of Goewyn's who is old enough to know the difference, would certainly wonder what had become of Flower. But however slowly this RP is going for us, for the characters it has been less than eight hours since Flower would have seen her human friends at the inn; and they would be aware of the go-it-alone tendencies of cats.


"The reason I speak of this," Captain Woefulgut explained, "Is that we desperately need more sailors. Counting myself and the two brothers who joined us today, we have only seven men to handle everything on board. There could be weather conditions on the way back north which would require every effort all seven of us can make to keep the ship steady; but we can't all stay awake twenty-four hours a day for three or four days in a row. If you know anyone of any influence in the port, someone who isn't under the thumb of that pig Arlis, he might be able to find us two or three new volunteers--enough men to give us TWO shifts for the trip."