Play date: November 3, 2013
Game date: June 29, EY218
Location: iLanga system, uBuntu, the town of kwaMbonambi
Previous events: the Grob are popular and the crew met Bishop's parents
It's odd to be on such a dry planet eating grapefruit in a greenhouse but the citrus is refreshing and everyone happily munches in silence for a while. Then, with a deep breath, Bishop starts to tell his mother, kheThiwe, about Warden Whang, his girlfriend. He talks for a while about how she's hot, attractive, smart, attractive, hot, successful, and attractive, but eventually comes around to mentioning how hot she is... and her visit to uBuntu and how she somehow became a Dreamer. His mother's never heard of a non-uBuntan becoming a Dreamer, but Chig being a Dreamer as well shows that it's possible. As for Chig's Dreams always being about death and ruins... well, everyone's Dreams are different, sometimes radically so.
Bishop brings up Chig's Dreams and the Dreams of a cursed island up north. kheThiwe knows about a supposedly cursed island in the north ocean but not any details. Bishop's mom is much more interested by the fact that Bishop let slip that he's a Dreamer too and insists that he tells his father about this! Bishop's lack of Dreaming was always a disappointment to his father and it's put a wall between them that she's happy to see removed.
As they head back to the house Bishop tells kheThiwe that they've come back to uBuntu to head to this cursed island and see why it's been featuring so prominently in Chig's Dreams. Oh, and to see his family again, of course! He'd like to take his youngest sister Ntombinazile and his father, an experienced Dreamer, to uLundi. His sister will grow from the experience, though she won't come to the island given the potentially obvious danger.
Walking through kwaMbonambi it's obvious that Mobise is occupied with setting up an area for her talk, bossing her people around as they hang banners and the like. Back at the house Bishop gets his mother, his crew, Seo, and the Grob together and goes to talk to his father. He can't find Malcolm, who is currently occupied riding his motorcycle at high speeds up out of the valley with Ntombinazile hanging on the back, shouting with joy and exhorting him to go faster or do wheelies. Or both!
lanGalibalele is sitting in a chair in the backyard, looking at the picturesque cliff wall in the "evening" light and having a drink. When he notices Bishop and the size of his son's entourage he arches an eyebrow and comments that something important must be going on. He takes Bishop's claim to now be a Dreamer as an empty claim and insists that Bishop prove it by Dreaming with him right now. Bishop agrees and also manages to get Chig included in the Dream-off to show that non-humans can also Dream.
The three of them sit and focus, soon falling into the Dreaming. Everyone else initially watches with great interest but as time drags on they start to get bored. In the Dreams, on the other hand, it's all very interesting. Both Bishop and Chig manage to greatly impress lanGalibalele, who is ecstatic that his son's a Dreamer and fascinated that an alien also has the gift. Bishop explains that Chig is likely the only Grob that's ever Dreamed given that the Grob considered Chig insane, as the facial tattoos attest.
When Bishop explains the plan to go up north to the cursed island lanGalibalele glances at his wife and after reading her look agrees to come along. He's also heard of the island, isiQhingibi, and although he hasn't heard any details knows that its reputation is somehow deserved among Dreamers. He's not going to let his son face dangerous Dreams alone!
It's late and Mobise still needs to do her dog and pony show, so they'll only be able to leave the next day. lanGalibalele packs and so -- once she's back -- does Ntombinazile, thrilled to be heading to the big city with her big brother. Malcolm passes the time experimenting with some of the local teas and manages to come up with a spectacular mixture. While everyone else is occupied one way or another Bishop gets cornered by his other sister, Nqobile. She's furious to find out that he's a Dreamer now and sees it as a personal affront. She accuses him of swanning back into town to steal the love of their father without working for it while she's been practicing Dreaming and studying for hours a day. Bishop lets her vent at him for a while -- in his opinion she's always been the uptight and overly serious type -- and nothing is actually resolved when she stomps out of the room.
Later that night Mobise's heart's not in it in front of such a small crowd but the aliens still get a good reaction. Everyone gets to bed early and is ready to go early the next day.
June 30, EY218
The drive back to the maglev is much more comfortable with cushions inside the truck. As per Mobise's orders the train's been waiting for them and they're shortly on their way. There are a few stops over the next few days at minor cities to let Mobise show off the Grob but nothing out of the ordinary happens with the exception of lanGalibalele being his son's best friend for the whole trip. Bishop finds his father's sudden change towards him creepy but deals with it as best he can. His sister Ntombinazile spends as much time as possible with her head outside the train's window enjoying the wind and trying to climb up on the roof, something everyone but she agrees is a terrible idea.
August 5, EY218
It's late afternoon when the maglev finally pulls into uLundi. With a population of over sixty thousand it's the largest city on the planet by a fair margin and the buildings are larger than any the Hummingbird's crew has seen here. The city's bisected by the great river thuKela - many ornate bridges connect the two halves -- and runs back along the canyon the river makes and also up onto the flat surface above the canyon. This far north the light from either sun is at a raking enough angle that the canyon is actually fairly dark at night and the temperature is cooler than elsewhere.
After five days on the train everyone's ready to get off and get moving. The first order of business is to see the matriarch. Grob bundled up, everyone walks in a tight group that gets some stares due to the number of foreigners but as always on uBuntu there's no trouble. The oddest thing is the graffiti here and there, always in pink, saying things like "sex is not the enemy" or "temptation waits" or "you look so fine". There's also faintly-pink evidence of other, removed, commentary. Bishop glances at the graffiti with a slightly longing look.
Busiswe Dhlami is in her mid-sixties and that age doesn't go well with the scanty amount of clothing that she wears, according to Bishop. Everyone else might agree, but Bishop is the loudest about it later once out of her earshot. The two matriarchs' conversation is a variation on the theme that's been going on since amaThemba: the Grobs impress everyone, Mobise goes on about how they should be revealed to the whole city and she should be front and centre when that happens, the two matriarchs negotiate. Dhlami isn't the friendliest of people and Mobise isn't the easiest person to get along with. Dhlami also doesn't seem too interested in roiling the city but eventually gives in. She'll get the word out about the event that evening and let it happen in the city's main public space but won't make attendance mandatory.
Once free of the battling matriarchs the group splits up. Seo and the Grob stay at the matriarch's place. Bishop heads off to find a boat that will take them to the island. With the apparent curse of the island it's probably best if he goes on his own so no one dilutes his charm with superstitious sailors. uBuntu doesn't have a maritime culture so there aren't any passenger ships; he spends some time wandering the pier looking at the algae-harvesting and crustacean-fishing ships -- or, rather, at their crews -- until he makes his decision and approaches a ship called The Diatom. Her captain, Niabulo, is roughly Bishop's age, roughly as attractive as Bishop, and well-dressed, though in clothes that are appropriate for working on a ship, i.e. not white.
The two of them hit it off pretty well and Niabulo's not afraid to go to the island, especially if the aliens of legend will be on board. It's a three-day trip to isiQhingibi and quarters will be cramped: with a total crew of four there won't be enough space for everyone in the cabins. Bishop's certain that something can be arranged and finalizes the deal. He'll arrange for food and other supplies himself and the ship will leave in the morning. The two shake on a deal.
Bishop's father spends some time showing Ntombinazile the city. It's her first time here and it's been a while for him too. They enjoy themselves and are in a good mood by the end of the day.
Jillian, always the exciting and social one, goes to the city's library to see if she can find out anything about isiQhingibi, the mysterious island of stupid death. The library isn't of the highest quality and largely empty, so she gets to monopolize the librarian and finds a fair bit about... nothing. The island is indeed officially called isiQhingibi and there's a map that shows the island's location but not any details; the island itself is a blank circle. A search through the stacks finds a suspicious lack of information as well. Jillian's suspicious that an island with a notable reputation would have so little written about it but the librarian tells her in hushed tones that the island truly is reputed to be cursed and who wants to go there if that's the case?
Realizing that she's not going to get anything else about the island she asks the librarian about the graffiti. Everyone knows it's from Rosey Shlimann's people; Shlimann lives with a harem or something on a ranch called uKuala on the outskirts of town and is, in the librarian's opinion, a slut. Jillian's not too interested in following up on this person; she thanks the librarian and leaves.
Malcolm and Volkova decide to go drinking. Wandering around they come across a four-metre-tall statue in the city centre to kaMalandela, "the first to Dream". It doesn't mean anything to them and they keep looking, finding a decent enough bar called the "Pink Ivory" with an unobtrusive live band. uBuntan music is something new to them but they enjoy its polyphonic nature. While there they mostly keep to themselves and keep their inebriation in control. On their way back to the matriarch's house Malcolm rents out rooms at an inn (called "sKukuza") by the maglev station whose owner is friendly and who he instinctively trusts to take care of Bishop's sister while the rest of them are risking death.
That evening everyone does their bit to keep the crowds at Mobise's event in check, but the crowd by and large fails to appear. Perhaps one in eight citizens shows up and Mobise is furious afterwards; she rages for a while but it's obvious to the crew's relief that she's done with them. Her mission to spread the word of her greatness and link her name to that of the aliens has been completed as best she is able and it's time for her to head home. With a curt goodbye she and her entourage take their leave; they'll be taking the maglev south the next day.
Relieved to be rid of Mobise everyone else goes to sKukuza for the night.
August 6, EY218
Ntombinazile's not happy to be left at the inn the next morning but that was part of the deal. Everyone else goes to the docks with all their weapons in various shapeless bags but without Malcolm's motorcycle. The Diatom is waiting for them and ready to cast off. The supplies that Bishop has ordered have already been delivered and stowed. After the Grob are revealed to the duly impressed crew it's time to go. After days of traveling on a jerking maglev and bouncing truck the ship's as smooth as silk in comparison and no one feels the least bit nauseous, which is a relief.
The Diatom's usual job is fishing and algae harvesting and there's no way to avoid that smell, though no one notices it after a short while.There are two sets of quarters on the ship, one a captain's quarters with two small rooms and the other with three cramped bunks. Jillian and Volkova take the captain's quarters and Bishop and his father take the crew quarters, assuring that Bishop will have some uncomfortable nights with his newly overly-friendly father. Niabulo and his crew will sleep in some makeshift tents on the foredeck; Seo and the Grob will also sleep on the deck in a dogpile, one that Malcolm decides to join in.
Over what should be a three-day trip everyone keeps themselves busy in various ways. Bishop tries to stay away from his father as much as possible. Jillian learns about dead reckoning from Niabulo: compasses don't work here and they're soon out of sight of any landmarks. She finds Niabulo to be standoffish at first but he warms up to the Hummingbird's crew... especially Seo, who he seems to have a bit of a thing for. It's not the best choice, though, as she's pretty firmly lodged in the Grob mindset. Malcolm works at learning how to pilot the boat and tries to add a new vehicular skill to his repertoire. This works much better than his attempt to make tea out of the algae that forms some of the diet on board, an experiment that's quickly dumped astern. Volkova examines the engine -- all human engineering, no alien technology -- and loudly improves it with Khnuta. All in all everyone enjoys the trip.
August 9, EY218
Niabulo said that it would be a three-day trip and so it is: it's almost midnight when they see the point of the island appear over the horizon. It doesn't look especially deadly or stupid...
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Bishop's Bedpost Notch Count: 0 (running total: 17)
Jillian's Bedpost Notch Count: 0 (and she prefers it that way)
Malcolm's Bedpost Notch Count: 0 (running total: 4)
Volkova's Bedpost Notch Count: 0 (running total: 3)