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Kara offers Pequod a wide, charming smile.
"So it is, so it is! I have heard tales of you, Mighty Pequod. You are a hunter of the great blue expanse beyond peer."
She watches Solomon put forth the marked stone for Pequod's perusal, and eyes the Spirit - keenly watching to see his reaction.
Blaze kept quiet, waiting to see the boat’s reaction to the stone
Pequod looks down at the tossed stone and grins. “Oh, I know exactly who the Harbor Wolves were,” he says. As the ship’s figurehead peers down, the ship changes slightly, wooden exterior changing to metal, the ship shrinking slightly, then turning back to metal.
Scratching it’s head with the hook of it’s harpoon, Pequod continues, “The Uratha had made bonds with an Imkul (Wind Spirit) called Mighty Gust. But their totem disappeared shortly after their Dartmouth house folded over them.
'They used to say you could tell a good Captain if he kept his ship free of vermin. Was it you who kept the Beshilu from this place? Or do you know who did?'
The Ship Spirit grins at Solomon’s question. “No, it was not I. This building has protection.” Using his long harpoon as a pointer, Pequod indicates a series of sigils glowing in muted blue light on the walls of the building. (OOC: A Int+ Occult roll would provide more information)
Kara peers curiously at the sigils around the warehouse. It's not her area of expertise, but it doesn't hurt to know a little bit. Information is power, since a lack of information leads to a very poor story indeed!
The Cahalith moves over to one of them and kneels down before it, fingertips grazing along the surface near it; not quite touching the sigil itself.
While Kara observes the sigil, a thought strikes her.
"Pequod...if I may ask a question...." She thinks back to some of the dreams that began to trouble her on her way to New Bedford. "Do you know what threats the Harbour Wolves faced aside from the Beshilu."
Spoiler: OOC
Intelligence 2 + Occult 1 (dream specialization obviously doesn't apply.
[roll0]
Blaze took a look at the Sigils:
Spoilerint + occult [roll0]
9 again: [roll1]
Juno seems a bit stung from the encounter with the mighty Sky hunter, and remains quiet at first in the presence of the Mighty Pequod. She follows his pointing to the sigils and squints at them for a moment before looking back his way.
Great Spirit Pequod, would you honor me with an answer or two? What were the Harbor Wolves talking about, planning to do before they...disappeared? Can you help us figure out what befell them from anything they last shared with you?"
Spoiler: OOC/Rolls
...Oh wait, I have occult too!
Not very good, but still:
[roll0]
Spirit waves rock the boat spirit on its moors, creating echoing groans through the building.
To Kara, the sigil appears to be an Uratha symbol of warding. Both Juno and Iago recognize the use of cedar wood in the construction of the sigils, and that the symbols are unique to the Bone Shadow tribe. But Blaze is able to recognize that these are symbols of territorial warding, and pick up on the urine used to bind these sigils of warding. The Uratha who made these was a very skilled Ithauer.
Pequod responds to Kara’s question, “I am sorry, but I am only aware of what occurs within the confines of this building. The wards that protect this place keep me trapped within this space. They were very focused on the Beshilu before they never returned.”
To Juno’s second question (OOC: I believe the above answer hits Juno’s first question), “Their base was tunneled under, and collapsed into the ground. They were swallowed up by the rotted earth and the abominations that dwelled below.”
Solomon nods 'King Sky Hunter told us something similar. How long has it been since you left this place?' He gestured to the echoing warehouse around them.
Blaze
“Definitely very powerful wards,” Blaze commented, “whoever set them up knew what they were doing...”
Pequod responds to Solomon’s question, “It has been too long. The Harbor Wolves trapped me in here over a year ago.”
The spirit then turns to Blaze and responds, “Very. The Harbor Wolves were a powerful pack of Binders.”
Blaze
“Why did they trap you in here?” Blaze asked.
The spirit’s eyes suddenly begin to glow a soft yellow color, as if two candles were set into the figurehead’s sockets. “They kept me here as a guardian of this building. They bound me to my home so that it would be a haven for... them”. The spirit’s voice booms as it speaks, echoing throughout the warehouse.
Blaze
Blaze scratched an itch on his neck.
“What, against your will? And they just left you here when they moved to a new headquarters? That doesn’t seem too polite,” Blaze replied, “do you want to get out?”
'How did you learn of their fate?' said Solomon quietly ' And guardian against what exactly? I mean no disrespect but surely a spirit capable of overcoming wards you are not would likewise be proof against your power, considerable as it may be' his eyes narrowed to slits.
Spoiler: OOCHow long has it been since the Harbour Fangs put out the call for help?
Kara was frowning softly as she listened to Pequod's story. There was something not quite right, and it was niggling at the back of her mind like an itch she just couldn't scratch.
Eventually, she found the courage to ask. "Just to....clarify....when you say the Harbour Wolves bound you here to make it safe for them, you meant the Harbour Wolves themselves, right? Not something or someone else? And if they had such strong wards and affinity for Spirits, how didn't they notice what was going wrong in this place?" The last bit may be more of a rhetorical question.
“It is not uncommon for your kind to view my kind as things to be dealt with, or even tools. I was viewed by The Harbor Wolves as a useful asset, and was thus ensconced in this place”, Pequod responds, its words shaking the walls of the shipyard. The ship spirit pauses for a moment before saying in a low voice. “Yes. I long to be free.”Quote:
Blaze scratched an itch on his neck.
“What, against your will? And they just left you here when they moved to a new headquarters? That doesn’t seem too polite,” Blaze replied, “do you want to get out?”
The figurehead grins, and for the first time there is a look of mischievousness or perhaps malice in the spirit’s glowing eyes. “Uratha have returned to this place since the Harbor Wolves first disappeared,” Pequod says, its rueful smile growing.Quote:
'How did you learn of their fate?' said Solomon quietly ' And guardian against what exactly? I mean no disrespect but surely a spirit capable of overcoming wards you are not would likewise be proof against your power, considerable as it may be' his eyes narrowed to slits.
“I have guarded this place against the rise of Spirits. The wards prevent other Spirits from entering this place, but we are birthed by Essence, and Spirits naturally arise in this warehouse regularly. This was the Harbor Wolves’ store house. This building is filled with powerful tools and items of importance. I was bound to this place to keep these objects safe. This is why the building remains safe.” The ship spirit puffs its chest out proudly with this, handling its harpoon with two hands. “This has kept me alive, despite my imprisonment.”
Kara’s question causes the ship spirit to burst out in bitter laughter, its wooden lips peeling back to show pearly vicious natural teeth. “Your kind is powerful, but not always the wisest. They saw the rising Hosts, but were too slow in action. By the time they realized how bad things had become, the Beshilu had already layed and closed their trap. Though I am certain your pack will act with more caution, knowing just what is in store.” The spirit’s wicked grin does not depart as it speaks this last thought.Quote:
Eventually, she found the courage to ask. "Just to....clarify....when you say the Harbour Wolves bound you here to make it safe for them, you meant the Harbour Wolves themselves, right? Not something or someone else? And if they had such strong wards and affinity for Spirits, how didn't they notice what was going wrong in this place?" The last bit may be more of a rhetorical question.
Kara looked around in the warehouse with a small frown.
Powerful items, kept here?
"Are the objects you were set to guard still here, or did someone else....other Uratha come to take them?" She didn't remember seeing anything out of the ordinary - but Kara was admittedly a bit distracted by the onset of Kuruth/
“Yes,” Pequod responds, “I have done my job.”
Spoiler: OOC:If you go back to the description of the factory space in The Flesh, the warehouse is filled with boxes.
'How many packs of Uratha have been here before us? If you were freed, what would you do?'
Blaze pondered what he knew about these tyoes of spirits, or even this specific spirit: whether they were prone to maliciousness, whether they would keep their word if given.
He didn’t like the idea of binding a spirit against its will, but it was possible their predecessors did that for a very good reason and he was cautious about messing with things he didn’t fully understand.
If there was a way for him to free the spirit and get it to continue guarding the warehouse of its own will, perhaps in exchange for something...
Spoilerbenno please roll for me in secret so I don’t know how well I do, no wp.
The figurehead puffs out its wooden chest and says proudly, "I have existed for nearly two hundred years, maybe more. I have existed as long as this city's heart has. I have seen packs of Uratha come and go more times than I can count!" In response to Solomon's second Pequod says, "I would hunt. I would take my rightful place in the order of my people. I would explore again, see these lands of mine!" There is a hint of hopefulness in the spirit's response, almost a hunger.
Blaze
“If we break down the wards, will you help us get rid of the rat spirit infestation?” Blaze asked.
"I can't imagine being tied up in one place like this for so long...." Kara shakes her head, and glances to her Pack with a frown. "If we can find some way of ensuring that Pequod will not hinder us, then I am all for finding a way to break him loose. It would, admittedly, be nice to have extra protection if we plan on calling this place home - but I'm not convinced the wards left by the Harbour Wolves would suit our purpose, y'know?
'They suit mine Kara, if they keep Shaka away from here.' It was odd to feel empathy for a spirit, yet this one had been more cordial than most. It was strange to hear Kara speak so. For Solomon's Tribe staying within one's territory for years was perfectly normal. A reminder of the gulfs that exist even between packmates. He looked up into the burning eyes of the figurehead with a dawning sadness 'Are the wards imprisoning you here the same that repel the Rat Hosts? Can we break one spell without breaking the other?'
The ship spirits grimaces at Solomon’s words, its wooden face becoming a rictus mask of malice. “The wards that keep me in equally keep unwanted spirits out. I will not deny this.”
Then Pequod turns back to Blaze and says, “But I promise if freed, that I will do what is in my power to assist the in your battle with The Beshilu.” And with this, the spirit’s grin returns, only this is slightly more rueful, almost sinister in comparison to before.
Blaze
“Please give us time to discuss amongst ourselves,” Blaze replied.
“Okay everyone, huddle up,” he said to the others, motioning them to come together.
“I’m not a big fan of trapping spirits, but he might be here for a reason, I say we extract a promise for him to help us out for a period of time or until we say his job is done, and he needs to let the other spirits in the area know we set him free, and he’ll do nothing to intentionally cause us harm for the same time period,” he whispered, “what do y’all think, any other ideas?”
Juno narrows her eyes at hearing that other uratha have been in this place since the Harbor Wolves met their demise.
Who are the other wolves who've come here after the Harbor wolves? did they identify themselves?" she's cut short from grilling the ghost for further info by Blaze's imploring, but sticks around for an answer at least.
"While I know something about beingtrapped, she starts, looking around the warehouse with newfound suspicion, "I'm not sure it's safe for us to release this spirit --yet. The fact we're not swimming in a sea of rats speaks to the protective wards here and we're still partly blind to what's really going on here. Also,while we can guess that Knowlton or some of his pack came here I'm a little bothered by his tone. We don't know who else has been in here."
Juno raised some wonderful points, and Kara was really starting to let her curiosity simmer in her gut. She'd love to take a peek through some of the boxes in the fleshy world to see what was so important the Harbour Wolves would bind a powerful spirit to watch over?
"I'd be curious to see what it is that Pequod is watching over, y'know? But I don't think he'd be the type to let us take a peek while he's still supposedly guarding this place." Kara rubs the bridge of her nose and sighs.
"I also agree with Juno. We'd need some sorta guarantee he's not gonna turn that harpoon on us. I don't feel like being a kebab tonight."