Maerquin Barnight
The Maerquin ALV was short and sweet. None of the attending people were interested in stretching the proceedings very far, and the stuff that needed to be discussed was discussed politely and swiftly. A nice self-regulating body of adults, I may conclude, but what else did I expect of one of the most adult groups of live roleplayers I know?
It was certainly an eye-opener to see the budget and financial status of a larp-group. I was very glad to see "unexpected expenditures" and "long-lasting materiel" back on the balance sheet and budget. If you have financial reserves for these things, it's a good thing.
After the ALV it was time for the Barnight, a short evening filled with roleplay in a bar. As soon as we were all dressed, I asked Victor and Theodoor to join me outside so we could discuss how we had traveled from Wateringen to the Vriesbergen. Victor had taken a while to recover from the wounds he had received in that dreadful battle in Wateringen, but was all better now.
Soon enough, we arrived in the Vriesbergen at a Dwarven inn. Inside the room was bustling with festivities as Bertram and Gertrude Rotsblokschouder had been married for a hundred years.
The travelers lined up to greet the happy couple's grandmother Tilda, who was sitting in a corner of the room near the bar. The old dwarf was charmed by Marianne, and so were the people (both dwarves and humans) around her.
Marianne is not partial to dwarves, but is shy in crowds and dwarves are notoriously loud. Theodoor, Victor and Marianne took a seat near the fireplace, and we draped our traveling cloaks on the table.
As more dwarves shuffled inside, greeted old friends and started quaffing beer, Victor suggested I would make a lovely parchment to commemorate the occasion as a gift to the bride and groom. We spoke to the old priest that had married the dwarves a century ago, and I started writing carefully, losing myself in my craft and forgetting all around me.
I was just waiting for the ink of the first bit to dry, when a vision washed over everyone present in the inn. A man in plain clothes, ranting and raving. He called us idiots and asked us if we thought we could 'just' fix the Panteon. He called us some more bad names, and then the view changed. I saw a large rock fly through the night sky, and it collided with a large, blue-green sphere. The man himself cried out in pain as it struck, and then the earth shook and we snapped out of the vision. Outside a large boulder had fallen from the sky, and smaller pieces of stone had crashed through the walls and windows inside the inn. One piece lay smouldering on the floor, and dwarves and humans thrashed to extinguish the hot piece of rock before it would set the floor on fire.
Theodoor and Victor went on to see to some business (after Victor had brought me a cup of tea as he is known to do), and I continued my writing. I dug up a small booklet from my writing chest, and copied the prophecy of a piece of stone into my book. I also wrote the letter to Theodoor in it, as I am fairly sure that it came from our God. I wrote down the vision we had as well, and signed it with the date and place.
Word trickled inside that Dinea had been restored to the Pantheon as well, though it hadn't been so after Wateringen.
An hour or so later the men rejoined me, and suddenly there was a commotion outside. A mangled beast pressed up against the window, his nails scratching the glass and his breath misting it. I covered my mouth with my hand to stifle a scream, and all the dwarves save grandma Tilda ran outside to kill it, along with Hugo and Aurelia of Ranaa.
A little while later we shifted to a different seat, farther away from the windows and the fireplace that held Aurelia's flaming sword, because more monsters had appeared. More monsters had come and some of the dwarves had tried to dissect it in order to find out what kind of beast it was. The dwarves had sung songs, and continued quaffing beer. The noise level in the inn was rising steadily, and my headache had gotten worse to the point that something snapped.
I cradled my head in my arms and rocked in my seat. The noise only got worse, words and power trying to claw its way out of my skull. A wimper escaped my lips and I realised I was speaking softly.
"...the storm ...wind howls ...in the closet ...you smell of fish ...go scrub the floors ...and the trapdoor is bolted shut ...wind is howling ...alone in the closet...never alone..."
One of the women, a human that had been sitting next to Tilda, scooted in the seat opposite me, with her back to the table, and tried to comfort me, though my mind reared at her unfamiliarity.
"...you smell of fish ...go away, go awaaaay... it's bolted, it's shut ...the voice in my heart ...red, so red ... leave me alone ...you're never alone..."
"What is she saying?" the woman asked, and I felt someone bend over me, gel-stiffened hair brushing my head. Theodoor put an arm around my shoulders, and I leaned into his familiar touch, the power of our God flowing through his arm. He was quiet and comforting, trying to discern what I said. After a while, he suggested to the woman she would leave me alone for a while, and when she finally left I quieted down. I opened my eyes carefully, squinting at the light, and asked if she was gone.
Carefully I recovered from my fit, and after a while we softly started talking.
Theodoor spoke of things of his past, and his strong voice soothed me. He spoke of what happened to Constanze with the Sons of Darkness, and concluded that sometimes, there are people you wouldn't want so meet again. I assured him that I thought that what they taught me at the orphanage had been for my own good, to prepare me for anything the world could throw at me, and that I was sure Norbert did mean well.
"I think he means well for himself, and not for you necessarily." Theodoor said drily. "Victor doesn't seem to be so worried for your well-being."
"Victor worries far too much, but is dismayed he cannot help me better." I replied. "He is truly a brother to me."
"How long have you known him?" Theodoor asked.
I smiled. "For a long time. I first met him when I was trying to steal a painting from the dining hall and hang it in the washroom. I was standing on top of a chair, holding this huge painting, and I knew if I would move, I would fall because it was so heavy! He stepped up and helped me. We were caught, and it was the worst beating I ever had - I still carry the scars of that lashing on my back."
Theodoor urged me to seek out Jinni, a priestess of Sheldindra and one of the Healers of the Temple of the Blue moon, and I did so, shyly asking her if she could help me with my headaches while Theodoor spoke to Victor. Jinni carefully felt my skull, the lymph nodes in my jaw, looked into my eyes and then concluded there was nothing physically wrong with me.
"Perhaps you should try and take notice when these kinds of attacks happen. It could be an allergy?"
I told Victor and Theodoor what Jinni had found - nothing - and then the night was drawing to a close. It was late and the next day would hold a long journey through the Vriesbergen, so we went to bed.
-----
It was a fun night, with lots of interesting things happening. Dinea's restoration to the Panteon caused some cynical looks on my end ("huh, that was easy.").
The whole Ritalin-fit ("pulling a River") makes Marianne slightly more emo than I can handle her. I hope this situation is resolved quickly, but I doubt the boys will figure it out. I'll have to discuss this with René and Anita, to see how to work the situation. I've got an idea or two myself, but I'll need to discuss it.
Amazingly, Marianne, shy, pretty, pink Marianne, is liked by all. I could feel Tilda (Anita) and her companion played by Madelon beaming at me, even if I did avoid meeting their eyes. Same with Gertrude (Magda) and Bertram (Eelco) when I presented the gift.
I have no special powers, no control, no dominance, but still I bring two men to my heels. The Admiral, who plays Theodoor, e-mailed me to say he had fun, even if he was 'just' in the employ of Marianne. Like he's my servant, instead of the other way around!
Women must have this strange, enchanting power, especially if they're shy and dressed in pinks, but I must say I'm not privy to the Divine Secrets of the Sisterhood in downtime. I think my own plan of being demure in order to be protected might be backfiring.
Perhaps I shall have to re-educate Victor and Theodoor, but that is a plan for a different time.
It was certainly an eye-opener to see the budget and financial status of a larp-group. I was very glad to see "unexpected expenditures" and "long-lasting materiel" back on the balance sheet and budget. If you have financial reserves for these things, it's a good thing.
After the ALV it was time for the Barnight, a short evening filled with roleplay in a bar. As soon as we were all dressed, I asked Victor and Theodoor to join me outside so we could discuss how we had traveled from Wateringen to the Vriesbergen. Victor had taken a while to recover from the wounds he had received in that dreadful battle in Wateringen, but was all better now.
Soon enough, we arrived in the Vriesbergen at a Dwarven inn. Inside the room was bustling with festivities as Bertram and Gertrude Rotsblokschouder had been married for a hundred years.
The travelers lined up to greet the happy couple's grandmother Tilda, who was sitting in a corner of the room near the bar. The old dwarf was charmed by Marianne, and so were the people (both dwarves and humans) around her.
Marianne is not partial to dwarves, but is shy in crowds and dwarves are notoriously loud. Theodoor, Victor and Marianne took a seat near the fireplace, and we draped our traveling cloaks on the table.
As more dwarves shuffled inside, greeted old friends and started quaffing beer, Victor suggested I would make a lovely parchment to commemorate the occasion as a gift to the bride and groom. We spoke to the old priest that had married the dwarves a century ago, and I started writing carefully, losing myself in my craft and forgetting all around me.
I was just waiting for the ink of the first bit to dry, when a vision washed over everyone present in the inn. A man in plain clothes, ranting and raving. He called us idiots and asked us if we thought we could 'just' fix the Panteon. He called us some more bad names, and then the view changed. I saw a large rock fly through the night sky, and it collided with a large, blue-green sphere. The man himself cried out in pain as it struck, and then the earth shook and we snapped out of the vision. Outside a large boulder had fallen from the sky, and smaller pieces of stone had crashed through the walls and windows inside the inn. One piece lay smouldering on the floor, and dwarves and humans thrashed to extinguish the hot piece of rock before it would set the floor on fire.
Theodoor and Victor went on to see to some business (after Victor had brought me a cup of tea as he is known to do), and I continued my writing. I dug up a small booklet from my writing chest, and copied the prophecy of a piece of stone into my book. I also wrote the letter to Theodoor in it, as I am fairly sure that it came from our God. I wrote down the vision we had as well, and signed it with the date and place.
Word trickled inside that Dinea had been restored to the Pantheon as well, though it hadn't been so after Wateringen.
An hour or so later the men rejoined me, and suddenly there was a commotion outside. A mangled beast pressed up against the window, his nails scratching the glass and his breath misting it. I covered my mouth with my hand to stifle a scream, and all the dwarves save grandma Tilda ran outside to kill it, along with Hugo and Aurelia of Ranaa.
A little while later we shifted to a different seat, farther away from the windows and the fireplace that held Aurelia's flaming sword, because more monsters had appeared. More monsters had come and some of the dwarves had tried to dissect it in order to find out what kind of beast it was. The dwarves had sung songs, and continued quaffing beer. The noise level in the inn was rising steadily, and my headache had gotten worse to the point that something snapped.
I cradled my head in my arms and rocked in my seat. The noise only got worse, words and power trying to claw its way out of my skull. A wimper escaped my lips and I realised I was speaking softly.
"...the storm ...wind howls ...in the closet ...you smell of fish ...go scrub the floors ...and the trapdoor is bolted shut ...wind is howling ...alone in the closet...never alone..."
One of the women, a human that had been sitting next to Tilda, scooted in the seat opposite me, with her back to the table, and tried to comfort me, though my mind reared at her unfamiliarity.
"...you smell of fish ...go away, go awaaaay... it's bolted, it's shut ...the voice in my heart ...red, so red ... leave me alone ...you're never alone..."
"What is she saying?" the woman asked, and I felt someone bend over me, gel-stiffened hair brushing my head. Theodoor put an arm around my shoulders, and I leaned into his familiar touch, the power of our God flowing through his arm. He was quiet and comforting, trying to discern what I said. After a while, he suggested to the woman she would leave me alone for a while, and when she finally left I quieted down. I opened my eyes carefully, squinting at the light, and asked if she was gone.
Carefully I recovered from my fit, and after a while we softly started talking.
Theodoor spoke of things of his past, and his strong voice soothed me. He spoke of what happened to Constanze with the Sons of Darkness, and concluded that sometimes, there are people you wouldn't want so meet again. I assured him that I thought that what they taught me at the orphanage had been for my own good, to prepare me for anything the world could throw at me, and that I was sure Norbert did mean well.
"I think he means well for himself, and not for you necessarily." Theodoor said drily. "Victor doesn't seem to be so worried for your well-being."
"Victor worries far too much, but is dismayed he cannot help me better." I replied. "He is truly a brother to me."
"How long have you known him?" Theodoor asked.
I smiled. "For a long time. I first met him when I was trying to steal a painting from the dining hall and hang it in the washroom. I was standing on top of a chair, holding this huge painting, and I knew if I would move, I would fall because it was so heavy! He stepped up and helped me. We were caught, and it was the worst beating I ever had - I still carry the scars of that lashing on my back."
Theodoor urged me to seek out Jinni, a priestess of Sheldindra and one of the Healers of the Temple of the Blue moon, and I did so, shyly asking her if she could help me with my headaches while Theodoor spoke to Victor. Jinni carefully felt my skull, the lymph nodes in my jaw, looked into my eyes and then concluded there was nothing physically wrong with me.
"Perhaps you should try and take notice when these kinds of attacks happen. It could be an allergy?"
I told Victor and Theodoor what Jinni had found - nothing - and then the night was drawing to a close. It was late and the next day would hold a long journey through the Vriesbergen, so we went to bed.
-----
It was a fun night, with lots of interesting things happening. Dinea's restoration to the Panteon caused some cynical looks on my end ("huh, that was easy.").
The whole Ritalin-fit ("pulling a River") makes Marianne slightly more emo than I can handle her. I hope this situation is resolved quickly, but I doubt the boys will figure it out. I'll have to discuss this with René and Anita, to see how to work the situation. I've got an idea or two myself, but I'll need to discuss it.
Amazingly, Marianne, shy, pretty, pink Marianne, is liked by all. I could feel Tilda (Anita) and her companion played by Madelon beaming at me, even if I did avoid meeting their eyes. Same with Gertrude (Magda) and Bertram (Eelco) when I presented the gift.
I have no special powers, no control, no dominance, but still I bring two men to my heels. The Admiral, who plays Theodoor, e-mailed me to say he had fun, even if he was 'just' in the employ of Marianne. Like he's my servant, instead of the other way around!
Women must have this strange, enchanting power, especially if they're shy and dressed in pinks, but I must say I'm not privy to the Divine Secrets of the Sisterhood in downtime. I think my own plan of being demure in order to be protected might be backfiring.
Perhaps I shall have to re-educate Victor and Theodoor, but that is a plan for a different time.