New Island Breezes RPG Story Thread

[Foxee]

Okay, I'm assuming that our original story thread is corrupted in some way so we'll just go on from my last post here in this thread. If you are unclear about something please PM me or ask in the affairs thread. If you had posted after this...please re-post. Sorry for the inconvenience.

Currently: Vans have stopped at the house, lights went out as they pulled up, everyone is being shown to their rooms by lamplight or flashlight. Some characters are in their rooms, some have yet to get there, and Adam is unloading household supplies.

PAULA WALKED by Conrad’s room. The door was still halfway open, drawing her eyes, and she saw the man on the floor, muttering to himself. He didn’t sound happy. She hesitated as he popped a couple of pills then leaned into the room, hand on the doorknob when he went to the window.

“Are you all right?” She asked


"WHERE SHOULD I place these, madam?"

Jean-Marie looked up from her work to see a diminutive Asian man, heavily laden with familiar packages.

“Put them there,” she replied, pointing to a long counter near the pantry, “Finally, someone who helps!” she commented and returned to preparing the serving dishes. “The rest of them only show up to beg for snacks.”


ANYA HEARD the babble of voices from downstairs, doors opening and closing, busy sounds of habitation. She paused, the light material of a blue dress soft in her fingers, and crowded close to the closet door, closing her eyes and crinkling the material in her hand.

[seigfried007]

Adam nodded quickly and set the packages onto the counter before returning to the van to finish the job now that he knew where the boxes went. Shouldn't take long, he thought. Certainly, he would be able to run a comb through his hair and a towel over the rest of him before dinner at eight o'clock and still get theese boxes put away.

He might even get to eat tonight.

[Darn Dame]

“I wonder where everyone is.” Marissa thought aloud.

Curious by nature, and since she was the first downstairs, she decided to mosey around a little bit. She lifted her brass candleholder and began to travel down one of the halls. Not too soon after, she recognized the young Asian man from the plane. His arms were piled high with what looked like boxes they had loaded from the plane into the vans. She was surprised at his apparent strength and he briskly and adeptly maneuvered his way down the dark hall. She followed after him as quickly as the candle flame would allow.

Oh my gosh that smells good! her stomach grumbed in agreement.

Marissa couldn't identify the savory aromas that danced in the room but her tastse buds cried out for a chance to taste the fare that created such a mouth watering fragrance. She swallowed her enthusiasm before it dribbled down her chin.

Marissa noticed a rather large woman there. For an obese woman, she moved with the ease and the grace of a ballerina. She was hovering over several serving platters and grumbling about the lack of assitance from the new staff. The slender Asian boy was busy placing the boxes of supplies in the pantry. A wave of guilt washed over her.


I should have offered to help carry in the boxes earlier!


Marissa stepped further into the room.

“Hi, I’m Marissa. I’m one of the new employees. Can I help with something?” she smiled in greeting.

[Faustling]

The plan was simple. A few glasses of whiskey to calm down and then a quick brush to hide the smell. Bruce sat down on his bed and opened his backpack. Besides spare clothes and some minor necessities, such as a tooth brush, it contained a bottle of his favorite drink.

Zipping directly from the bottle Bruce tried to calm down and get a good grasp of his current situation. The weather sucked, wasn't much to do about that. The job and the circumstances around it were suspicious, he'd work on that. He was getting a little drunk, that was good. All in all, things could have been worse.

Two more glasses and a visit to the bathroom for peeing and brushing later Bruce headed down again to rejoin the others. As a true master he'd calculated his level of intoxication perfectly. Drunk enough to feel good, sober enough to avoid walking into stuff. That could've been embarrassing.

[IvanTiger118]

'Are you alright?" a female voice said behind him.

He spun around quickly, trying to make out the figure standing in the darkened doorway. The candle in the woman's hands, flickered casting eerie shadows in the room. He took a step forward, finally recognizing the driver of the van. "I'm fine," he said. He patted his right leg. "Just an old injury returning."

[Cold Twilight]

Jingla cast a quick glance around the room, noting smudged white walls, the soft gleam of brass shining through a layer of dust, and two more fine rugs. One was beside the bed, clearly for keeping the feet off the cold wooden floor in the mornings, and the other was under a desk chair. She wheeled her bags over next to the door she figured was for the closet, then opened the other door. A bathroom. Good. She glanced quickly at the mirror, but could only see a faint outline in the darkness. Shrugging, she rinsed her hands at the sink, then moved back into the room.
Dusty. It smelled dusty. Not a bad scent, mind, just...unwelcome after the fresh rain. That reminded her of the window. Smiling, she stepped across to it and eased it open a crack. That should freshen things up. A gust of wind laden with a line of rain whipped through and she laughed, spinning with the wind as it sped around the room.

Jingla reached the door to her room, still chuckling a little, and slipped into the hall. She remembered those boxes in the vans. She didn't need to clean up, and unpacking could wait. She'd help unload. She hurried toward the stairs, passing several rooms and two people talking in the doorway of one of them. The woman's voice sounded like one of the van drivers. She hesitated as she passed them, wondering if she should ask about where the boxes went, then shook her head and went on downstairs. It was too obvious where the boxes should go.

She slipped silently across the empty hall and out the front door, then across to the first van. The doors were wide open, and she frowned for a moment before remembering that on an island, there weren't likely to be many thieves. Well, not many that could get away with it. Reaching inside, she pulled out two boxes she recognized as being for a kitchen, and turned to go back inside.

[alanmt]

Chad had spoken to the man across the hall, but it was a girl who answered, sounding surprised, behind him. He turned to her and shook her outstretched hand.

"Hi, I'm Chad." He flashed her a smile. She seemed a little distracted.

"Quite a first night we're having, huh?" he commented. "Bumpy plane ride, wild storm, power outage, dark spooky house . . . ."

[crazed scribe]

Mari went red, embarassed that she'd thought Chad was talking to her. She had only just come out of her room how could she have known? She noticed he was smiling, hopefully he wouldn't hold it against her.

"yeah, I'm betting on either an explosion next or the house collapses," she replied smiling.

[Foxee]

JEAN-MARIE’S HANDS FLEW, adding garnishes and other finishing touches. She jumped a little when a voice interrupted her reverie.

“Hi, I’m Marissa. I’m one of the new employees. Can I help with something?”

The younger woman had an earnest, hungry look in her hazel eyes. Jean-Marie took in the baggy clothing and the ponytail with a swift glance.

“Tai!” she called and the gangly brown-skinned boy appeared in the doorway from the dining room looking curiously at Marissa.

“Yes, Mamer?” It was a conglomeration of “Ma’am” and “Mother”, Tai’s special name for Jean-Marie.

“Take Marissa to help finish setting the table. You know where the things are.” She made a shooing motion at them both, “Now scoot!”



PAULA GAVE CONRAD an understanding smile and a nod, one hand on the doorknob the other on the doorframe.

“I see,” And she did. If the man hadn’t just had a flashback then she had never seen military men whose exploits haunted them. She also understood that very few of them wanted to talk about their experiences.

“See you downstairs.” She said, and pulled his door gently shut.

Turning away Paula headed toward the stairway, ignoring a few dimly seen people conversing down the hall.

Only a few steps later she paused, sniffing.

A trace of a pungent smell eddied for a moment, familiar from the van. She stared holes in the door to the cowboy’s room before continuing on her way.

[seigfried007]

With unearthly silence and alacarity, Adam finished stocking the pantry of house goods and rushed up the line of fellow newcomers to what he had presumed would be the floor housing all of them... to find a large room waiting in dusty welcome. Certainly this was too well furnished and a waste of space for such a small servant as himself, but there was not much time left to ready himself for dinner so he hurriedly changed from his sopping khakis into the dark suit with tails that his former employer had reserved for special occasions. After combing his hair, he used a towel to soak up the water on the floor, his brows furrowed as he vowed to return and do a better job cleaning this place and making it guest-worthy... and to launder the towel.

Not precisely refreshed but trying to seem so, he eagerly set himself to helping in the kitchen.

[alanmt]

Chad laughed.

"Let's hope you're wrong, Maria!" he said. "I don't think it would be too fun to sleep out in this storm."

He saw one of the drivers down the hall, moving toward the stairway.

"Well, we don't want to keep our new employer waiting, do we?" he asked the other two, gesturing down the hall. "Shall we?"

[Cold Twilight]

Jingla hurried into the kitchen with the last of the boxes, finding one a woman putting the final touches on a very well-presented meal that smelled simply delicious, and nodded to her. Best not to disturb a good cook. She set the boxes down in the pantry just beyond and hesitated. She didn't know enough about how the cook wanted things organized to really put anything away, and she didn't know how much time she had before dinner, but from the looks of it, she'd better hurry.

A quick snap of her sleeves and brush across her boots put her in order, and she stepped back into the kitchen, waiting until the woman was between jobs. "I beg your pardon, but can you tell me where to find the dining room?"

[Foxee]

Jean-Marie held out a tureen of Roma tomato soup to the newcomer and nodded toward the dining room door.

"That way. Take this in and get yourself seated."

[Cold Twilight]

Jingla nodded, carefully took hold of the tureen and followed the indicated direction. Coming out into the dining room, she glanced around the candlelit room, then spotted an empty space near the head of the table for the tureen. (unless there's a sideboard?) She headed for it, noting one or two other silhouettes from other people in the room. A two men, two women, and herself. Where were the others?

Well, it wasn't her concern at the moment. She set the soup down and chose a seat toward the middle of the table.

[Blossom]

A little while later Hayley was once again bent in front of the mirror on her dressing table, giving herself a quick once-over before she went down for dinner. Her tshirt and shorts had been exchanged for a soft, pale green knit sweater and a pair of black jeans, and she had attempted to hide her fatigue with a touch of cover-up and mascara. Her wild chestnut curls, still damp from the rain, had been pulled back into a low ponytail.

It’ll do, was the verdict. Straightening up, Hayley turned round and surveyed her room. Her suitcase lay open on the bed, clothes slightly rumpled but otherwise neat, discarded shorts and tshirt on the duvet beside it. Glancing at her watch, which told her it was 7:45 and ten minutes till dinner, she decided she’d have to unpack later.

Opening her door, she caught a whiff of a familiar tantalising smell that was wafting through the hallway. Smells like Jean-Marie’s cooking is as delicious as ever, she thought, happily anticipating the coming meal.

Thinking of the Thompsons’ cook made her remember that the lab she had set up while last here had been on the other side of the kitchen. She wondered if it was still there, or if Anya had had it dismantled. I hope not … It would be annoying to have to set everything up again.

Ten minutes should be enough time to check. Starting down the corridor, Hayley suddenly realised Paula was ahead of her, walking towards the staircase. Perhaps she would know …

“Paula,” she called, quickening her pace to catch up with the bodyguard, “Hey, I don’t suppose you know if my lab from last time is still there?”