Here's Chapter 1 - Part 2 !
So far, this game mechanic seems to be working. Soon, I'll start bringing in health points and statistic-based battles. People on the waiting list, you'll be called upon after Part 3 so get ready
STORYZaliphone tensed, a pang of annoyance flaring within him. He did not have time for this and any unwanted attention could never be good. There was no choice; the man was closing in rapidly. He decided to take action and slapped him across the face in an attempt to disarm the knife that was in his hand. The man reeled backwards, stumbling on a rock.
Picking himself up, he bellowed a cry of rage and ran once again towards the group. This time, Mary Cow ran to meet him, aiming a kick towards the knife-wielding hand. Unfortunately, Mary Cow only measured 1 metre 35 and her kick connected with the assailant’s knee. The man howled in pain as his leg buckled under the force of the blow. Alex Starfade quickly leapt in and wrenched the knife from the man’s grip. Suddenly, Mary Cow unsheathed a hench sword that she kept hidden in her well-conditioned beard.
“You call that a knife?” she growled, menacingly.
The man looked up and laughed. “Run back home, little girl, this is no place for you,” and he launched himself once more, snatching the knife back from Alex Starfade.
“There is no reasoning with this man,” came the calm voice of Arjahn Mjakhim. “He is inebriated and will not settle with logical reasoning.” A light seemed to flicker from the light-blue goggles set in his mask. He grabbed Mary Cow by the beard and threw her out of harm’s way before drawing one of his strange, metallic looking revolvers from his belt.
“You’ll want to put that knife down and walk away,” he hissed, the sight of his gun firmly fixed towards the man’s forehead. “You cannot even begin to fathom the sort of pain I can cause you, even whilst your testicles are slowly being drained of all fluids and cartilage before your very eyes.”
“There’s no cartilage in one’s testicles,” pointed out Alex Starfade.
“Shut up,” retorted Arjahn Mjakhim, the lights behind his near-opaque goggles flaring once more.
The man took no heed of this warning and was nearly upon Arjahn Mjakhim. Mary Cow shot back into the fight, head-butting the man in the knee that she hadn’t already injured. With both knees out of action, the man fell to the ground and moved no more.
“We should get out of here,” said Zaliphone, looking around. “That amount of noise could attract the authorities.”
“I think that you are entirely right, also it is not good that we seem to have killed a man,” bellowed Alex Starfade, in his usual, loud self.
The door of the bar slammed open and the four companions spun around, tensing for another attack.
“I saw everything!” it was the bartender. “I saw what you did to that man.” Arjahn Mjakhim reached for his gun. “More importantly,” continued the old man, “I saw what that man wanted to do to you. I recommend you get out of here as quickly as possible. I’ll make sure his injuries are tended to. He’s nearly always drunk so he won’t remember any of this. Go!”
“We thank you,” said Arjahn Mjakhim, bowing his head and relieved that he would not be forced to shoot this drunkard.
***
An hour later, the four had reached the airstrip and were boarding an airship.
“Are you sure we don’t need tickets?” asked Mary Cow.
“For the tenth time, no!” replied Zaliphone. “I know the captain; he’s an old friend.”
“And that’s why we’re climbing in through a window?” she replied.
Zaliphone ignored her and looked around. He had seen a layout of the ship and vaguely knew which direction to take. “We’re first going to find my friend on the observation deck, then you are all free to do what you want, the trip will take more than a day.”
“Screw that,” said Alex Starfade as the ship began to vibrate heavily. “This ship’s about to take off and I don’t want to be near a window. Terrible airsickness…”
“And I’m not staying around just to meet some friend of yours,” added Mary Cow. “This is your idea, so you just let us know when you have more of a notion of what we’re doing and when.”
With that, both Alex Starfade and Mary Cow walked off towards the centre of the ship.
Zaliphone sighed. This was going to be harder than he expected. He turned to look out of a window and saw the setting sun. “Another day survived,” he thought dryly to himself.
The airship took off, and Zaliphone watched the ground fall further and further away. He noticed that Arjahn Mjakhim was still there, also looking out of a window, in total silence.
“Anything on your mind?” he asked the tall, masked man. Arjahn Mjakhim said nothing, and continued to stare out of the window. Deciding not to bother him in case he was quick to anger, Zaliphone went off to find the man he had planned to meet.
Arjahn Mjakhim stood there on his own for quite some time, not moving or saying a word. Then, to himself, he muttered, “Just one thing, Zaliphone. You said we were going towards the capital. This ship is heading east. What are you hiding…”
Zaliphone decides to disarm the man by slapping him in the face. Mary Cow decides to disarm the man by kicking him in the hand. She's too short and only reaches the knee. The man runs back towards them and Arjahn Mjakhim points a gun at him to threaten him. The man's drunk so doesn't really care until Mary Cow head-butts him in the other knee. He falls the the barman comes out of his bar to tell them to run.
They reach the airship. Mary Cow and Alex Starfade decide to go off and explore. Zaliphone goes off to find someone he was planning to meet and Arjahn Mjakhim notices that the ship is not going in the direction Zaliphone said it would.
None yet.
DECISIONS
First of all, here are the places available to you in the big airship.
Central hub, with a bar (food & drink), a weapons shop, a hair salon and a "massage" parlour.
Observation deck on the underside of the ship
Several corridors of rooms for people with tickets.
Captain's quarters (restricted access)
Several bathrooms (gender-specific access)
Command centre (restricted access) with engine room, navigation room, and front deck (where the captain hangs out to give orders)
A small hangar for supplies
Zaliphone -
You're looking for your contact. Where do you go ?
Arjahn Mjakhim -
You're suspicious as to why Zaliphone would lie about where the ship is headed. What do you do ?
Mary 'Moo' Cow -
You're exploring the ship, where do you go ?
Alex Starfade -
You're exploring the ship, where do you go ?
