Continued from Part 3 (Read from the beginning Here if you’ve missed the earlier parts)
So I was now a merchant, with a base in a remote outpost.
In Gor there is a very rigid caste hierarchy system, each with associated colours that are worn by people to identify them. In my case being born of a Tavern Keeper father, that made me of Merchant caste,which has the colours white & gold. I decided if I was going to do this,the red dress would have to go and I’d have to adopt my caste colours.
My first step would have to be re-establish contact with groups and individuals that had passed through the tavern and already knew (and so wouldn’t shoot me on sight). Gor is not a very safe place for a lone woman.
This would have to start with Dani’s camp nearby to see which of my tavern workers Bodi had been able to retrieve and deliver there, since doing this on my own would be far from practical and a Free woman without servants would be very unusual.
Bodi had been able to find five people, four females (Dove,Lips,Mara,Shirin)and the single male (Nemo) I had acquired not long before the fire. However only four were present at the camp. Bodi found out that Mara,unbeknown to me, had been asleep upstairs in the tavern! Fortunately she had also made it out but lost her way in the dark and wandered for a time before finding her way to the Ikeri camp after I had been taken from there by bodi. I would have to collect her from the ikeri camp.
So I made a list of who I had to visit after Dani and packed up my trade samples.
I had prepared some sample barrels of drink as gifts for the groups I would be visiting, with my new trading symbol instead of the tarn bird of the tavern.
First I headed back to the Ikeri camp in my new Merchant clothing, including a hooded veil. Veils were not often worn in the North,despite being mandatory in the South, but I wanted to disguise my identity to some degree for the time being.
I arrived at the Ikeri camp and was let in by Mara, who did not recognize me in my current guise, but I was apparently a Free merchant wanting to trade. Inside the gates I removed my veil and Mara nearly fainted with surprise. First she was pleased to see me, it had been over a month since bodi took my prone body away in a boat, she did not know if I had survived. That quickly turned to fear which I was not expecting, it turned out she liked living with the Ikeri and didn’t want to be taken from there. So I spoke to Sky.
The feeling was apparently mutual, they liked having her there, she was a nice girl and a good worker, so it was agreed she would stay there under their care and protection.
I had decided it would be useful to have someone in these parts that could keep me updated on local affairs, for example I wouldn’t want to be bringing goods to trade into the area if there was a conflict between locals.
So my next visit would be to the Sheku to the south-west. I knew one of the former Shekinah Arani, Tara Freckleface, had gone there after the Forest Moon incident. So it would be safe for me to approach and would be welcomed.
Start RP log:
Tara: Tal, Ava *smiles
Kristin: yes tal again. you just missed Cally. she went comatose
Ava: Tara!
Ava: Tal indeed!
Ava: can I come in?
Ava smiles and hugs her friend
Tara hugs my old lovingly
Ava: good to see you in so long
Tara: If you have a weapon, just drop it near the gate inside, dear. But we welcome
Ava drops her whip to the foloor outside and steps in
Tara: Be seated my friend *smiles*
Ava: thankyou
Ava opens her backpack and takes out a container that was occupying most of it’s space and hands it to tara
Ava: I may no longer have a tavern, but my new role as a merchant will still involve drink..a sample
Tara smiles and pulls Ava close, half in her lap, but then she sees a containerd offered to me…”For me? I’m surprised”
Ava smiles waiting for tara to recognize the embelem on the barrel
Ava: I chose that for my mark
Ava: in red instead of black
Ani: will you go trade Kristin?
Tara: Oh dear!! You’re spoiling me, or this tribe, Ava… paga… It’s very welcome, we’re running as bit short nowadays. Thank you very much
Tara looks sad “No tavern any more? how come?
Ava: it burned
Tara: You mean the tavern at Elation?
Ava: the tavern burned and i fell in the river, but I have other friends and was cared for while I was sick, so now I have gone from tavern keeper to merchant
Ava: you recognize the mark I presume?
Ava: I thought it apropriate
Tara: The white and gold matches beautiful with you sis *smiles
Ava smiles “thankyou”
Tara: Yes, I recognize the mark on the barrel, I will try not to notice it.
Tara: It has bad remembrances
Tara: But paga is unpolitic hehe
Ava: ah, but in red it is my symbol of defiance
Ava grins
Tara: In that case I apologize
Ava: it is fine
Ava: you all seem quite settled now
Tara: Yes, I am… I have found a home, an own hut sharing with my sis Jess *blushes* and thanks to the Goddess no responsabilities, just an huntress… the only thing which worries me is that I might be expecting…
Ava gasps “Oh..my! That is not good!” Rumages in her bag “you want some slave wine to fix that?
Tara: Too late, I fear, but thanks… slave wine does not make undone a pregnancy, it only prevents it
Tara: I have been raped by a wild Tuchuk… it was awful
Ava: I used to give it to my girls regularly, never had to deal with the after
Ava looks over at footsteps “Tal Cally”
Cally: smiles Tal Ava
Cally: nice to see you here
Cally: tal tara
Tara: Tal, my En! I suppose you know Ava?
Ava: I brought a small gift, a small barrel of my brand of paga
Cally: smiles……how nice …thank you
Cally: so what news from your travels Ava…..I see a massive outlaw fort is being built in Three Moon Valley? “
Ava: I would not know
Ava: I visited the ikeri recently but didn’t explore any further there
Cally: Nods…an unusual tribe
Tara: I saw that bunker too…
Ava: unfortunately on my first visit, forest moon raided them while I was there. So they now know I survived my fall into the river, which is unfortunate
Tara: Ikerei you visited? You know Prinven? She’s manufacturer of wonderful perfumes. A merchant should be interested!
Ava: I do know her, I did not have time to talk trade on my second visit, I was there to check up on some property that I hoped they had found.
Ava: My girl, mara, was still in the tavern
Ava: she ran from the fire and to the ikeri camp
Ava: they saw my collar on her and took her in
Tara: And sis you find her?
Ava: so she is well and making herself useful, so I have my own eyes and ears in that part of gor now
Ava: she was terrified when I arrived, thought I would take her away from there. But it serves my purposes beter that she stay
Tara looks at the tribe flag and shivers at the strong breeze from the west, then answers Ava: “Ikerei are good people generally… “
Ava: Sky pulled me out of the river..so yes!
Tara nods has it been clarified how the fire originated?
Ava: I am now setting up my merchant business in a northern outpost
Peyton shouts: arrows flying……..we’re being attacked
Ava blushes “errr..the fire was my fault”
Tara: Well, I certainly will visit you, buying some beads and mirrors *giggles
Ava groans at the sound of arrows “I haven’t missed that sound “
Tara shouts: ATTACK!!
End RP Log
As you can see the camp was attacked while I was there. So since I’m appalling at combat, I stayed out the way, but rather than sit idle, I played paramedic. The GM system allows for players to “bandage” each other, restore their hit points, so I ran back and forth along the wall bandaging people when they got critical. This was well appreciated, they said they’d probably have lost if I hadn’t been bandaging. Half an hours good deed would be remembered in the future no doubt.
I look at my list of contacts to visit and pondered where to go next .. Continued in Part 5
Continued from part 2 (Read from the beginning Here)
Ava asks a little unsure having only been to the place once before “Is this Dani’s camp?”
Akashana looks over the fire to Ava.. “Dani is EN here” she states simply and kicks the thigh of Bay a little annoyed he is still kneeling and not serving the visitors
Ava sighs with relief now knowing where she is and she is safe
While I slept bodi worked to find my tavern workers and have them brought to the camp, so that their service would help compensate the panthers for my residence in their camp. The one you will hear most of is a girl by the name of “Lips”, who proved to be the most loyal during this journey.
I woke occasionally during this time, one time of note was when a healer came to the camp and examined me.
I was unable to find an rp log for this, however I did find the healers prescription for treatment:
Lady Ava has an amoebic infection from being submerged in the river recently. There is not much we can do except build her bodies defences up and help her purge the infection. Here is what I want her to have.
1. She needs plenty of fresh clean water and or tea. Cherry Bark and cinnamon bark in particular.. Mint tea if her stomach get upset
2. Feed her plenty of fruits and melons. Cherries in particular.
3. Leaving her a mild antibiotic to take twice a day..
4. No cheese, but mildly spices suls and lean meats in small amounts.
Make sure everyone follows this. I will check on her as well.
Thank you
Sigmond Jones, Physician
This “sickness” was deliberate story element that allowed me to take a break of about a month from sl Gor to consider what I would do next. It was a year to the day between placing my new tavern building and sending out the Tavern Fire rp notecard.
Towards the end of this period of sickness Dani’s band moved their camp (the SIM closed). I felt perhaps it was time to try life in a gorean city…
Start rp log:Ava stirs as she hears footsteps in the hut
Ava turns over and looks up “Lips?”
Lips greetings my Mistress Ava: Is something wrong? I heard a lot of noise in the camp Lips “Mistress, the panthers are moving their camp, we have to leave, your sister left a note”Ava sits up startled “they’re moving? We must leave! ” sways a little at the sudden movement and looks about her
Lips hold Mistress by her hand and helped her in getting up “Mistress is there anything you want to take with you” Ava passes the blanket covering her to the girl “quickly bundle up my good clothes and things into this and the bottle of water”
Lips takes up the blanket and started bundling things up “Mistress where will we go?”
Ava takes the note from the girl as she picks things up and reads through it “Ah bodi says she has found somewhere for me to go and paid a months rent for me in advance! It appears to be a city,called Skargill, judging by the map.”
Ava pulls on her boots grateful they have had time to dry out and are in a better state than her red dress
Ava looks at the map again “I’ve not heard of it, but I’m sure a captain will have. Lets get to the dock”
Lips picks up the luggage and follows Mistress
Ava looks about the camp sad to be leaving the place that has sheltered her and heads to the gate and the dock
Ava: which way to the dock girl? I don’t remember my way in
Ava stumbles slightly on the log bridge, unsteady on her feet still after her sickness
Ava eventually finds her way to a dock and shows the captain the map of where she wants to go End of rp log.
Ava steps off the boat followed by her girl,Lips, and heads to the town gate. She tries the door but it doesn’t budge so she rings the bell and a slavegirl appears and lets them in.
Start rp log: Ava: Tal, my name is Ava. My sister has rented a house here for me, I have a map of where it is
Janet [Janetstar]: Greetings Misstress
Ava: Ah there you are my girl
Lips: Greetings Sister
Janet [Janetstar]: Greetings Karijra
Ava: My name is Ava, this is my girl by the name of Lips. I have traveled far from the forests, I believe there is High Caste housing here? Could you show me the way?
Janet [Janetstar]: Yes Misstress we do have a few did you rent the House over by the Long Hall Mistress
Ava: I believe that’s what my sister said in her note yes
Janet [Janetstar]: this one that is open
Janet [Janetstar]: i can show you your sister home
Ava: I had to cross a bridge to get to it, further from here
Janet [Janetstar]: yes misstress
Janet [Janetstar]: i can show you your sister home
Janet [Janetstar]: this is your sister home
Ava pushes open the door and looks around
Ava: She seems to have found a nice place for me to finish my recovery
Lips follows Mistress inside the house
Ava: Well lips, looks like this will be home for a while
Lips: Yes, my Mistress
Ava: Looks awfully bare, but I’m sure we can make ot habitable
Lips “yes my Mistress
End rp log
However this turned out to be a complete waste of time. The very next day I logged back in to find an empty sim. It became apparent (after some rather strong words with one of the owners that was there),that while I’d been sleeping (in real-life, not the rp) the owners of this brand new sim had a major fall-out and were closing the place!
So evidently Ava wasn’t destined for city life and retraced her steps to follow Dani’s band to their new camp.
The next morning Ava awakes to a rumbling in the city then sudden eerie silence, something is clearly very wrong. She quickly dresses, glad that the slaves have been able to repair her favourite dress and won’t have to wear the scraps of clothing the panther girls had been kind enough to loan her. She steps out the door of the house to a horrific scene of emptiness. Very few buildings remain standing and those that are,are mostly in ruins. She takes a final look around, glad she had sent Lips elsewhere the night before. She scoops up her few remaining possessions and runs toward the dock,hoping it intact and a ship is still there.
As she approaches she sees the ship that brought her just the day before preparing to cast off. She calls rp them “Tal! Wait! I need passage!” The captain looks at her for a moment seemingly not recognizing her in her much better attire then recognizes the fur cloak she had still draped over her shoulders and answers, “yes Lady where do you wish to go this time? Was this not your destination? ”
Ava takes a step into the boat to better address him “yes, this was the place I was given directions to,but as you can see,it’s not fit for anybody to occupy, let alone a Free woman. Since I have no alternative destination available to me I need you to return me to the dock where you collected me yesterday. Hopefully from there I can find a tracker to help me find the camp the panthers moved to.” Ava holds up a silver tarn disk she had liberated from one of the houses on her way to the dock “I’m sure this will cover your inconvenience captain”,she places it on the rail next to him and without another word heads to the sheltered part of the deck, leaving the captain and crew to their jobs.
Arriving back at Dani’s old camp,Ava uses her rather rusty tracking skills learnt from the panthers to follow the departing band, who hadn’t made much attempt to hide their path. She follows it to another dock..
On arrival at the docks where Dani’s band had apparently landed,I see a stone building across a rope bridge,clearly some kind of outpost or trading station. Perhaps city life wasn’t for Ava, but such a place would definitely have more comfortable beds than furs on the floor in a tent or hut.
I approach the gate cautiously now dressed once again in her repaired red dress, that will probably need replacing at some point soon. I did not however make it as far as the bridge, I met a Free man and his slave on the path.
While I was exchanging simple pleasantries with him a huntress emerged from the trees leading a kajira, which was to my surprise my First girl from my old tavern! Knowing that the panther band would have taken my other tavern workers with them to their new camp, I decided that despite how it pained me, to let the huntress keep her.
I then went somewhat dejectedly to sit on the dock to consider my options. I resolved that I’d had enough of tavern life and that having been born into Merchant caste family, I could use the contacts I made while running the tavern, combined with the stash of coin I had hidden a short distance from the tavern, to take up the trading way of life. I looked at the nearby outpost and got to my feet and headed for the gate.
When I entered the outpost the only person in sight was a lone kajira. I enquired of her owner who was apparently the head slaver there. I then had the girl show me around housing she knew may be vacant that I could occupy for my trade business. The third property she showed me seemed suitable and vacant, so I decided I would ask the head merchant for this one. As the girl and I returned to the town square a man arrived and introduced himself as the Tavern Keeper. Being in official position in the village he was able to accept me as Merchant on behalf of the Head Merchant and allow me to move into the house I liked. It appeared I would now indeed become a merchant!
There’s a little more to come before the end of this tale in the next part:
She stands there a moment in shock, when another loud roar sounds from the tavern as the other barrels catch fire. She instinctively takes a step back and falls into the dark river and is carried away by the fast current. Before she loses consciousness from the cold she thanks the Priest-Kings she’d sent her girls to help at another tavern the night before and hopes an ikeri sentry from their vantage point above the tavern had seen her fall.
Only the Priest-Kings know where,when, or even if Lady Ava will wash up on a river bank somewhere.
I was overwhelmed by the responses to Ava’s plight, apparently I was more popular than I thought.
I picked the most plausible ones and planned a storyline to incorporate two of them. The immediate next step was sensibly to the nearest neighboring band,the Ikeri.
it was late in the night …all seem quiet in ikerei forest ..but the attention of Sky is attracted by a strong glow coming from the tavern of elation
Sky approach on the border of the camp et see the tavern in fire .
She quick think about her new friend Ava is in trouble
She hurries to cross the river to see more closely what is happening, she see big fire all the tavern burning …Sky try to look in and yell Ava…Ava!!!! are you here !!!…no answer to his call
Sadly she walk around and see a form on the ground in the deep night …she come closer and find Ava lifeless .
She take her in arms …give some slap to make her regain consciousness….but she cant ….
Ava !!! wake up !!! sigh
Sky do not know what to do … Prin the shaman is on a trip and he has to take a decision, she can’t leave Ava here.
If the Forest Moon find her she will be in danger …she wraps Ava in her coat so she does not get cold….
She considers putting Ava in a boat to send her away from these lands but is uncertain if she would survive the cold, so decides to bring her into the camp.
She whistles to one of her sisters and together they move Ava inside and put her where she will be safe and warm.
She knows that Forest Moon might send people looking for her friend, after the tavern burning, so she instructs her sisters not to let any know that Ava is there except for Ava’s sister by blood, Bodi.
(Sky Valerian, En of the Ikeri)
Bodi retrieved my prone body from the ikeri camp having seen shreds of my distinctive red dress nearby and correctly summised where I had gone or been taken.
Bodi took me to the camp of Dani in the remote Northern forest.
I had become ill from my time in cold water so was barely conscious during the journey and arrival at the camp.
Start RP Log:
Bodi pulls Ava out of the boat
Bodi: drags Ava up the slope
[03:06:37] Danis Band Camp Gate shouts: BodicaPagan Resident knocks loudly at the door ♫
Bodi shouts: can some one help me
Akashana draws her bow and sends an arrow towarsd the strangers to pin it in the wood very close to them..”WHAT YOU WNAT STRANGER!”
GM 4.69 ~ Akashana Resident hit you with ArrowS1 X-Blood [by LR] Elite 5.03 (20%) – strike type: arrow~direct ~
((Yes, they shot at the sick woman…!!))
Bodi shouts: i have my sister ava , she know dani , i was asked to bring her here
Bodi: my sister ava is ill she needs a healer ,she was in the river her tavern burnt down , ikeri said to bring her here
Akashana walks up “how sick? is it Bazi Plague?
Bodi: no not contagious , she must have hit her head in the river ,Bodi: she coughs myust be the water in her lungs. Can you let us in , i need to get her warm by a fire. Please!
Akashana “very well you can leave her there and go back to the village” looks suspiciously at the strangers “I will have a slave warm her”
Bay [Bailey Kerang] looked passed his Mistress her legs seeing the two Mistresses. He didn’t speak as he didn’t wish to interrupt the free as they were talking knowing his Mistress would not be pleased if he did.
Bodi: please let me stay till she is well, dani had a trade deal, i can carry this on
Bodi: i will leave as soon as she regains conscious , my name is bodi ava sister by blood sobs
Akashana looks at the unconscious woman.. “very well..” she taps Bay on the backside.. “go fetch me the Mistresses bow mine” directs him towards Bodi.. “you dont object to giving me your bow then?”
Bodi sighs and hands her bow over
Bay [Bailey Kerang]: Yes my Mistress he said as he crawled towards the Mistresses
Bodi: be careful with that bow , boy i say it very valuble
Bay [Bailey Kerang] opened his hands to receive the bows so he could take them back to his Mistress. He nods to the Mistress as she told him to be careful “Yes Mistress i will be careful with it” he said and smiled at her as he crawled back to his Mistress to hand her the bows.
Bay [Bailey Kerang] crawled back to his Mistress and handed her the bow ” My Mistress , this is the bow the Mistress gave me ” he said and presented her the bow.
Akashana now walks up slips her drawn bow on her shoulder and “be welcome at our fire then.. “BAY! carefully carry the hurt Mistress inside and warm her by the fire HAR TA dont you she she is hurt!” she sanps impatiently at him as she takes the visitors bow from him
Bodi wipse ava face and looks toward the huntress, she need help please
[03:18:07] Danis Band Camp Gate opened by Akashana Resident Ⓜ
Bay [Bailey Kerang] nods his head to his Mistress as he stood up carefully laid the seemingly injured Mistress down on the floor letting her rest her back against a treestump
Ava groans slightly but does not wake
Bodi pulls ava towards the heat of the fire , she needs warm dry clothes , her is still wet from river , maybe a blanket, some warm soup perhaps, i will feed her
Akashana Keeps an eye on the Male slave.. then walks over to the hurt Ava.. “BAY! why are you still kneeling get the blanket and some soup!”
Liz: tal akashana
Liz: greetings travelers
Akashana smiles as she looks at Liz.. “tal Liz this is Bodi a friend of DAni and her Sister both are under the protection of the camp
Bay [Bailey Kerang] nods his head to her ” Yes my Mistress ” he said and stood up greeting Mistress Liz “greetings Mistress’ he said and went over to the mainhut to get a blanket , some clothes and some soup
Liz: hi Bay
Bodi: Tal Huntresses, I am Bodi , sister to Ava Here ,
Liz: I always think travelers are trouble, you are lucky i did not greet you. But I am new here and i an glad to see you are friends
Bodi: i was working in the zima tavern as tavern keeper , i heard my sister was in trouble, so i came to the land elation , ignor the small one who spaeaks of trouble, the ikeri told me to bring her here,
Bay [Bailey Kerang] rushed back to the campfire and was slightly out of breath. He kneels down besides bodi and had some clothes and a blanket in his hands and offered it to the Mistress. “Mistress I brought you some dry clothes and a blanket as requested. The soup i will get after this Mistress”
Bodi: nods help me undress her and put her in warm blanket , then we get the soup in her
Akashana turns as Eyota comes up “greetings Elderly Respected Eyota” she says with a smirk
Bay [Bailey Kerang] nods as he came closer “Yes Mistress” he said as he placed the clothes on the log next to him and the blanket on top. He went close to Ava as he helped undressing her , she was actually quite pretty, He piled up the wet clothes on another log and tried to hide his manparts between his legs to avoid any natural reactions to be seen.
Bay [Bailey Kerang]: Greetings Mistress
Bodi takes the soup and helps ava feed , noting the watmth coming back in to her body, ” Tal There i am Bodi sister to Ava, rubbing her arms and legs to get more warmth
єуσтα [aileen Rang] stuck out her tongue at Akashana “You make me sound like a withered old hag.” she’d chuckle teasingly and shook her head. Nonetheless, she’d soon wave to the rest and waved a hand at everyone around, “Well a passed out woman by the fire being undressed. Sounds about the right way to start the morning.” she’d sigh, “What happened exactly? And who is..” she’d point to Bodi, “Ah Ava? Like the tavern owner who trades with us?”
Ava groans slightly as she is moved and feels something warm in her mouth. Vaguely registering the scent of bodi’s cheap perfume she guesses it’s safe and swallows
Bodi is happy to see some change in ava gives more soup , well she coming too food always did that for her
Bay [Bailey Kerang] watched closely as the Mistress covered Mistress Ava up and fed her some soup. She seemed to have it all under control so Bay went back to his Mistress to kneel at her side.
Bodi turns to the new comer , is there a healer here who can check her over?
ʏᴀɴᴀ sʜᴇᴘᴀʀᴅ ᴛʜᴇ ᴜɴᴛᴏᴜᴄʜᴀʙʟᴇ [Johana Haystack] entered the firepit, saw the crowd and saluts to everyone “Tal there sister, slut, im looking for my daughter leona, ooh for those that doesnt know me, Im Leona’s evil Mom” saluts again and continue shuffling her way to Leona’s hut, where she hides….
Akashana turns to look as a huntress comes to the fire.. “Tal” she says and smacks Bay upside the head for no particular reason
Bay [Bailey Kerang] grits his teeth as he was suddenly smacked on his head and looked at his Mistress to see what he did wrong this time
Bay [Bailey Kerang] looked at his Mistress ” Can i perhaps serve you anything my Mistress ? It was a long day for you after all ” he asked her.
єуσтα [aileen Rang] shook her head in the negative as the woman asked her about a healer, “Unfortunately, our healer Julie has been out for some time. I would say the alternative would be to bring her to the healer, Ethan, in the outpost. However, were not on good terms right now. But a panther camp really isn’t the best place for proper medical care.” her chest fell as she’d sigh and she’d move to sit on the log beside Ava. In a cursory glance, she’d peruse her features and tried to determine her ailment, “I would say your best bet is to sail her off to Mirkwood. There’s a healer’s house gsAkashana nods.. “some Larma Bay and warmed Wine Bay”
Bodi cringe at these words, ” there is more to the tail , she is also fugitive from some lands and is wanted by ermm some , they blame her for burning down the tavern, is is needed a safe place to stay , too
Bay [Bailey Kerang] gave his Mistress a warm smile ” Yes my Mistress, Larma and warmed wine it is my Mistress ” he said and stood up to go to the kitchen area so he could prepare her food and drink
Ava lifts her head groggily, looks up and sees the legs of panther girls
Ava murmurs “where am I?”
Akashana: ?me Slave Outpost 5 she syas as the woman asks
Bodi drys her dress next to the fire , ” AVA i say loud , i brought you here with the map i was given , do you remember what happened
єуσтα [aileen Rang] rose a brow at Bodi and shook her head as she’d whisper a soft laugh, “You shouldn’t go around telling us that she’s a wanted woman. If there’s a bounty on her head, I am sure some of my Sisters would want to sell her off to the highest bidder.” she’d look at Akashana and just grinned widely. But her expression sobered soon and she’d look back to Bodi. “She may stay here under the understanding that I am not responsible for her life. And, like I said, I don’t have a medic who can tend to her now. So it’s hard to say whether or not she’ll pull through.”
Ava gasps” *slave* outpost?” and drops her head as the weariness overcomes her again
Akashana began to look over the pretty bow that Bodi had gieven her.. “this is a nice Bow i will swap it with you!” she declares to Bodi
Bay [Bailey Kerang] finally made it to the kitchen area and looked around to see what he needed. His Mistress asked for some larma and warmed wine and looked around for a plate. He found a perfect bowl instead and knew it would be better suitable for the larma and made sure it was clean and in perfect condition. Then taking a goblet from the shelves he inspected it for cracks or possible chips that came off. Bay smiled pleased as he so none and carefully polished it clean with a repcloth. Then as he looked in the kitchen he found some Sa – Tarna wine which was perfect for warmed wine and poored some in the kettle he had found and started to warm it over the fire. Bay had to be careful with the fire as he was naked and didn’t wish to turn his manpart into a hotdog so he maneuvered in a bit of a strange way but it would get the job done.
Bodi listens to the words of the Huntress, and is relieved she offer to give safety to her sister, turning to the huntress she first met, No it is very valuable, and has new gut on it and i am used to it, but i have and ava have coin let me check her her purse , i look in her clothes
Akashana would lift her chin in agreement. “coin will do fine, payment includes the warmth of the fire the protection of the camp and complimentary use and obedience of camp slaves”
Bay [Bailey Kerang] softly sang a song to himself , an old sailors song he had learned a long time ago as he did his very best for his beautiful Mistress. While the wine was warming he peeled some fresh larma’s and pulled it apart. He then carefully aranged the larma pieces in the bowl and smiled pleased at his work before placing the bowl on the serving tray. Bay then looked at the wine and made sure it was the perfect temperature as he only wanted the best for his Mistress. Bay was pleased and filled up the goblet with the warmed Sa-tarna wine and filled it up till just below the rim. Then placing the goblet on the serving tray as well and make his way back to his Mistress. He had to lift the tray a bit higher as usual to not hang his man part on the tray as that would be a big no no to his Mistress. So carefully he walked back to his Mistress so he could serve her.
Ava half registering the conversation she hears the word “protection” and relaxes presuming bodi has taken her someone safe
Bodi looks in the clothes of ava, finding a purse, takes 1 silvercoin , and holds up , when she able i will leave i found canoe i left on the bank , feeds ava more soup, i thinks she is waking up, when she does i will go , and leave her to your safe place , i have trade if you need things like metal
Bay [Bailey Kerang] finally made it back safely and placed the serving tray on the floor as he kneels down in front of his Mistress. Bay picked up the bowl with the larma up first and offered it to his Mistress with his head and eyes lowered respectfully. ” My Mistress may i offer you some of the finest larma i could find for you. I already peeled it and prepared it for your convenience my Mistress. I hope you will enjoy it my Mistress” he said and waited for her to take the bowl so he could serve her the warmed Sa-Tarna wine as well
Ava feels the spoon again at her mouth and takes some more
Ava rolls over and leans against the log and looks about her still very daze
Akashana “nods” and lifts her hand for the Silver coin “toss the coin over Lady” Reached to takes some Larma and sucks on one slice.. then place the sucked out skin back on the tray and reached for the warm wine.. “If you wish a slave to refresh you before you travel back Bodi.. the man here will do as you command” she lifts away the drink and directs Bay to offer service
Ava takes in her surrroundings through blurry eyes
Bodi nods i will have some warm wine and perhaps ava will too, , i hope to be on my way , hides my feather in my hair ,
Ava asks a little unsure having only been to the place once before “Is this Dani’s camp?”
Akashana looks over the fire to Ava.. “Dani is EN here” she states simply and kicks the thigh of Bay a little annoyed he is still kneeling and not serving the visitors
Ava sighs with relief now knowing where she is and she is safe
End of RP Log.
My distinctive red dress was ruined from the water and the rough journey and I was given some spare clothing that the panthers had acquired from somewhere and moved into a hut to recuperate.
Wait and see what is in store for Ava when she wakes..in part 3
In August 2016 a friend by the name of Empathy persuaded me to come visit a Gorean sim with her. I was extremely hesitant and wary, the little I had heard of “Gor” wasn’t very positive. So I grabbed some cheap suitable attire (cringeworthy on reflection) and went along. I was introduced to a group of “Panthers”, which I am later to understand as a shortening of “panther girls”. Women that have fled the male dominated society of Gor in favour of a life in the forests, called so because they often wear skins of the forest panthers.
They seemed very friendly and welcoming (despite the bows and knives they all carried) inviting me into their camp. This was the band known as the Sha’Kar Arani tribe, led by a woman named Mari.
I visited a few times over the following weeks and was made a junior member of the tribe.
I spent a bit of time there, learning how things ran, until I got in my first fight. I was with another member of the band not far from the camp when a guy turns up, she exchanged some minor insults with him but he appeared to have been leaving. Somehow an arrow was fired and things escalated rapidly, ending up with both of us bound and being led to his home.
I should clarify here that these sims use a combat system called Gor Meter,or GM for short. Once you have received a number of hits from compatible weapons you’re “unconscious” and your avatar drops to the floor and you are unable to move. You can then be bound and led on a leash. So when I say “being led” it was exactly that, no choice in the matter.
This was a real potential deal breaker for me, I found it a very unpleasant experience. So I started spending less time in the camp and more in the dock safe zone.
After being in sl gor a few months (approximately November 2016) Mari could see I wasn’t enjoying being a Panther, so she came to me with a proposal. She asked me if I would like to take over running of the tavern, since it was currently without a Keeper, I jumped at the chance.
At this point in writing this post I had a major case of de-ja-vu and realised I’d written a very similar piece in 2017 for the Gazzette of Gor blog and used that to revise some of this account.
I then wrote up the beginnings of a backstory for Ava’s presence in the forest:
Raised as a tavern keepers daughter in the city, I fled a unsuitable match and was found by a tribe of panthers as a teenager. I learned their ways but when the chance presented itself to take on a disused tavern I seized it with both hands, abandoning the primitive Panther life. Opting for a safer and more comfortable life than a panther camp.
A couple of months went by after taking the position the En(Mari) and Tor (like a tribe tutor) came by and said they had a gift for me. The En gave me a Huna feather, making me full member of the tribe, not for the usual reason however. Normally a cub is made a panther after demonstrating skill in combat or such like during a raid, which in my role as tavern keeper I didn’t participate. I was bestowed the feather for showing dedication and enhancing the general roleplay (rp) experience for everyone. It deeply warmed my heart, I had not expected it, I had just taken on the role with sincerity and enthusiasm. For the most important of reason in SL, it was fun!
Around February 2017 the Sha ‘Kar Arani disbanded. This wasn’t such a disaster as it might have been. If I recall correcry it took just a few days for a new tribe to rise from the ashes; The Shekinah Arani.
I was proud to be one of the 6 founding members of this new tribe. So much so that I wanted to celebrate it by making a tribe tattoo for the members. I took the Phoenix emblem and made it into such. There were discussions of size and location on the body, but the final decision was on the thigh:
The next month, on 17th March 2017 I replaced the small simple tavern with new larger two-story building. This allowed a lot more people to fit inside improving roleplay considerably. The number of visitors inside the tavern went from occasionally double figures to 30-40 visitors a day.
Having invested in this new building and settled into the role,some more appropriate clothing was in order. In my former attire of leathers and cloaks I had been mistaken for a panther on a couple of occasions in the old tavern. I needed something distinctive that set me apart and made it quite clear who was in charge there.
The quiver of throwing knives I had worn before was stowed under the bar for when traveling afar. A coiled whip hung from a thong on my hip instead,the simple presence of which was sufficient deterrent for most would be troublemakers. For those that it wasn’t..I had a set of stocks.
There had always been other buildings around the tavern location. A blacksmith’s forge, a healers hut and similar. Some extra buildings that people could use for accommodation were added and the area became a small village outpost.
The docks of sl gor sims are always safe-zones, allowing for people to arrive safely if their intention was only rp. This safe zone was extended to encompass this outpost village, making the area roleplay only.
There was an article written about this significant change published on the gazzette of gor blog,which you can read HERE and I recommend you do. It is a great example of rp in the tavern and I really wish I had more examples.
Since the tavern was going so well I wanted to add something to the RP, a little realism when buying food,drinks and accommodation in the tavern for example. I came up with the idea of a coin system. There are existing trade and bartering systems such as G&S, but these seemed over complicated for what I wanted to achieve. So I made some coins with the tavern name on one side and my name on the other.
I distributed some of these among the locals to try out the principle, as well as leaving some scattered across the sim, but there wasn’t sufficient interest and I didn’t have an infrastructure to back it up.
Also as part of this same idea for increasing RP, I made my own Elation Tavern branded barrels and casks of drinks to trade. These containers were scripted for realism with different ones containing different numbers of drinks. They would also notify me when they were empty so I could RP another visit. These clearly didn’t catch on either, since I never received any “container empty ” type messages from the samples I gave out.
Given the number of storylines running through this time period I did consider posting the rp’s. However given just 5 minutes of chat could generate several pages of text, a morning of rp would be a tedious read!
However I’m now regretting that choice, since it leaves large gaps in this tale for the time period in which I was most active. Perhaps I shall post those later if I can find records.
In the first weeks of December 2017 it was agreed rather quickly(in an hour according to this post , but I’m unsure of the exact timescale), that Shekinah Arani would be merging with a tribe called Forest Moon.
Rather than recounting all the events here, I will just say that I wasn’t too happy about the situation and made me feelings well known,perhaps excessively so. Bodi wrote an article about the merger which you can read here.
Several of the founding members of the Shekinah Arani tribe moved on to different places in the following weeks. I remained as the tavern keeper, however I created a tribe flag with the name Last of the Shekinah and adopted that title occasionally. It was meant mostly humorously while conveying how I felt, not everyone found it amusing.
I felt that summed up the situation, I was one of the last of the founding members. Others just left quietly, but when I’m upset, that is not me. Perhaps I over reacted, having invested too much emotional attachment into this tribe that had been going about a year.
Having recently re-read the chat logs of this time, I think I have some answers for questions raised at the time. I was asked several times, how come despite not living in the tribe camp, but in the tavern for at least a year, why was I so hung-up on the Shekinah Arani name, when others were not?
I didn’t have an answer at the time, but now I think the answer is actually in the question. It was exactly because I hadn’t lived there that I held it so preciously. I still had the proud glow of being a member of a tribe I’d been a founder of. Despite being just across a sim from the camp, I wasn’t close enough to be aware of possible discontent or other negative issues. So I was as proud of the tribe as I was at the time of founding, naive to any issues that may have existed prior to the merger with Forest Moon.
Despite this change of the tribe, in the larger scheme of things it really didn’t change too much. I remained as the tavern keeper of Elation,rp continued at the tavern, but numbers began to dwindle.
Life in Gor drifted along, locals came and went. I helped out my friend and former tribe sister,Bodi,who had left and was trying to run a tavern elsewhere, since custom had slowed down at my own.
This became known to my tribe and was considered a betrayal,rather than just helping Bodi out, because the place was near the Zima panther camp. This actually made me consider moving there, since I don’t appreciate being thought of as a traitor, but I stayed out of loyalty. At least I would have, but the decision was taken out of my hands, I was removed from the group.
I had already written the beginning of a roleplay storyline for this situation if it arose and here it is:
Ava sits at a table in the darkened empty tavern. Nursing a bowl of paga, having long lost track of how many it was, as she tries to drown the accumulation of recent and past hurts, betrayals, accusations, insults and slights from all corners of her life. She puts it to the side, or tries to, not noticing the bowl fall from table and spill it’s nearly full contents across the floor. The trickling liquid reaches the base of a full barrel of the potent drink.
Ava picks up a candelabra of three candles and heads to the back stairs up to her room. As she bumps into the door frame on her way out, one of the candles falls loose and lands on the wooden floor amongst the liquid. It doesn’t register what is happening to Ava until she hears a roar and a flash of heat and light and she is thrown from the building out the back door.
Ava staggers across to the safety of the river bank. She stands there a moment in shock, when another loud roar sounds from the tavern as the other barrels catch fire. She instinctively takes a step back and falls into the dark river and is carried away by the fast current. Before she loses consciousness from the cold she thanks the Priest-Kings she’d sent her girls to help at another tavern the night before and hopes an ikeri sentry from their vantage point above the tavern had seen her fall.
Only the Priest-Kings know where,when, or even if Lady Ava will wash up on a river bank somewhere.
I sent this in a notecard to every En,band leader or significantly active player that I knew in SL Gor. In the hope that someone would show interest in continuing the story. I was overwhelmed by the response.
Update note: This location is no longer as described. I don’t know how long ago that happened.
Having been reading a few SL blogs lately I was inspired to write something. After seeing this post by SL Bliss I decided to go and check out the sim she used for her background. I arrived at the photo location in the middle of the desert and began to explore. Having come across several “Danger” signs that I found myself approaching from the wrong side, I went in search of some kind of intended arrival point. After a rather long run through the desert (flying is disabled and there are four sims), I found what appeared to be a main inhabited area. A building on one side contained a vendor for a “Spice Scanner” and a machine for apparently trading in what you found for medical packs and such. Combined with the Danger signs it became clear there was some kind of damage system in place on the sims. Across from this was what appeared to be residential or commercial buildings, but I decided to try out the shuttle parked outside before exploring it. The shuttle took me on a rather bumpy ride (standard sl automated transport style) up to a space station. There are a number of different landing decks, a control room and a lounge bar up there.
Back on the ground I acquired myself a Spice Scanner from the vendor and after finding a couple of pieces of “Araxes Ore” a local inhabitant arrived and offered me a tour of the adjacent buildings. The large collection of buildings I had seen make up the “Two Cities”, Old and New. The Old city is located in a collection of caves in the sandstone cliffs with a small market and some shops, a ramp leads up to the New city. This New city is much larger and on multiple levels which may take some time to explore properly.
Old Town
New City
In the opposite direction to the cities is the entrance into the sand dunes From the vendor in the entrance I got a notecard, giving me various bits of information including:
If you stay on this path, you will arrive at the Araxes Desert FreePort in several days. At the FreePort you will find: Landing Docks for people wishing to engage in duty-free trade Local Merchants at the docks and on the path to Haven Haven Bar – a place of rest and respite Companion House – a place of rest, respite and companioning The Enclave – a village with housing available Entry to the Path to / thru the Deep Desert
So I followed the path which was not entirely empty …
Arriving at the FreePort there’s plenty to explore As you can see from the last snapshot, the desert is extensive,you can enter it by walking to the rear of the Haven club, be wary on your explorations!