A girl's drowning! Help!
The following scene happens at the end of the morning, when the sausages are beginning to finely grill everywhere on the quays and spread the wonderful smell of the Curry-Bean pork (and the black fumes of its lard!) more or less everywhere in the air…
The events
At the highest of the fair, while everybody's hanging around on the main quay of Chedham, Poerava falls into the water and starts drowning. A Roll against « Perception + Won't Get Nabbed! » is done in secrecy by the Game Master for each of the Players' Characters and… let's get started!
To those whose Roll fails, they will only become aware of something and be able to do something as they'll hear the high screams of some young ones who witness the scene; alternatively, they may see that somebody probably fell into the harbour's waters without seeing anything more.
Those who get a successful Roll clearly saw a figure push Poerava in the water. They can react and jump ahead, for instance, to give help to the cute girl or, if they prefer, race after the mysterious aggressor… or do nothing but that would be quite bad for the Scenario!
Those who achieve even a Critical Success will have seen that Poerava and her aggressor talked to each other shortly before the event but they will not see at all that she is simulating a drowning. At any rate, Poerava seemed to worry about nothing, even it seems she even she had quite a quiet talk with the other person…
The Players' Characters have, purposedly all or almost all, the rare and even somewhat forbidden (for the circumstances of the Yellow Lizard'S Island) Skill to swim and though Poerava be quite a strange girl after all, many a young boy of the island would dream of a gentle thankful kiss from her… Do not push, there'll be enough for everyone… or not!
For those who would be too cautious to jump immediately in the water after her and would rather carefully witness the scene before they react, a new Critical Success against « Perception + Won't Get Nabbed! » would bring them to some doubt whether Poerava would not be simulating. Well, that said, how to be sure that she is only pretending?… Or even worse: a young brainless of the island, himself not able to swim but burning for the thankful kiss, jumps into water and starts to drown for real!
This is now up to you, friend Game Master, to manage the scene, the reactions which follow it, etc. At any rate, the veiled figure take instantly her leave and to run after is yet an other of the available options left to the Players' Characters… If they react quickly enough though!
Running after the young boy
Successfully running after the young veiled boy assumes different Rolls according to the selected options by the pursuers: trying to run a sprint after him to catch up with him before he disappears in an alley is not easy and can only succeed with a Critical Success to a Roll versus « Nimbleness + Balance / Acrobatics ». A Normal Success allows for following him without being able to catch up with him.
The young boy further runs and escape to the exit of Chedham and the road leading to the land in the middle of the island. A the main crossing, where the road divides between the direction of Nice Borrough and that of the Chapel of the Rock and the Governor's Mansion, he takes the latter, then that of the chapel. To catch up with him at that moment, a Roll is required versus « Constitution + Balance / Acrobatics » in Opposition to that of the young boy. One Roll is done at each step on the route (exit of the town, crossing of the roads, chapel, etc.). Two Successes in a row or one Critical Success and the young boy is taken. Invertedly, the young boy can escape and get out of sight by hiding in the forest if the same conditions apply to him (two Successes in a row or one Critical Success).
The hunt can go on in the woods above the Chapel. At that moment, the ground becoming more uneven and bushy, a single Roll becomes enough to lose the pursuers but two successful Rolls remain necessary to catch up with the runaway…
If one of the pursuers manages to catch up with the young boy, this one will not attempt too fiercely to defend himself. He'll collapse rather quickly and turn to the opponent an intimidating glance of defiance but, if one rushes him a bit or even only if one orders him to remove his scarf, that comedy will quickly come to an end and the pursuers will have the surprise to see unveil… a girl of whom the chestnut hair will elegantly unknot: after an instant of doubt comes the astonishment for this face is not often to be seen on the island and each one will recognise Elorria, the Governor's daughter! (« Delightful bewilderment »…)
To get an explanation from her then, the will to question her and a Roll versus « Got a Nerve! + Intimidation » in Opposition to « Got a Nerve! + Intimidation » of Elorria shall be necessary. She'll then reveal (or not!) to the pursuers that Poerava very well can swim and that she asked to push her in water. She'll add that she didn't want that but that Poerava insisted, explaining it was only to make « a good joke ». Poerava also asked her to pass them a message, even if she does not like to do that: « The fireworks tonight will be magnificient when viewed from the Chapel of the Rock, you know? » Elorria herself does not see in which respect that could be a joke and she does not understand the message (At least, she does pretend she doesn't clearly see here a daring attempt to date boys and blush… - Adapt the reason if you have no boy in your Players' Characters' group, dear friend Game Master) but she knows nothing more and that's the point! Poerava didn't reveal her plan at all, which contributes even more to her worry…
Rescuing Poerava
For those who jump into the water, be they nabbed or not by the show of Poerava, first of all, a little Roll versus « Nimbleness + Shark Feeding » will have to do in order to approach her since, while pretending to drown by shaking her arms frantically, she moved away from the quay in the direction of the Pier of the Barracks. Some watch at the scene with curiosity but the crowd does not seem to follow the move of Poerava for the time being.
In case of Failure, the « rescuer » does not manage to reach Poerava. He must roll anew or move back to the quay of which he couldn't really move away… With a Critical Failure, the situation gets much more complicated since the « rescuer » himself starts drowning!… If really he doesn't manage the situation anymore, Poerava will finally come back to him, now swimming, and bring him back to the quay, showing by that how bad she could actually swim… An explanation will be necessary for sure but she will stand on that she only wanted to make a « good » joke. However, the now known fact that the official friend of Elorria can swim may become an issue for her and for the Governor himself, given the implicite interdiction to learn swimming on the island… That's the reason why Poerava will only intervene if nobody else is in position to help or already jumped in the water.
If everything runs according to her plan, that is, one or two rescuers manage to catch her, she'll continue to move frantically like a person who really would be drowning. Even telling her to stop the show will not change her attitude. Thus, a new Roll versus « Nimbleness + Shark Feeding » is necessary to bring her under control, then a Roll versus « Constitution + Shark Feeding » to bring her back to the pier, which is now the closest safe point. (The Rolls can be done as Coordinated Actions if the rescuers are two but beyond that, additional persons cannot really help, on the contrary!)
The idle onlookers start then to closen to the pier to help the rescuers. For Poerava time is running. As soon as her rescuers drop them on the shore at the foot of the pier, she turns her face and whisper to them: « The fireworks shall be magnificient from over there tonight! » (Showing the Chapel of the Rock with her finger.)
After that, she'll jump forward, put her head in the water, then sit up straight and spit as someone who would already have swallowed water from drowning. At that moment, it is impossible to try to tell her anything more because the crowd of onlookers joined and will carry every wet one to dry up - or rather be smoked - close to the barbecues on the quay.
Discussions and gossip are for sure already whispering all around. Especially about the young veiled boy. For sure some will even guess right by saying he was actually the Governor's daughter in disguise but if one asks for good reasons to believe them, they would probably have none… Concernant le The fact the Players' Characters' showed an ability to swim will not appear as the number one topic because everyone is at first quite happy enough that the Cubanita could be saved…
A bit of explanation…
After a good hour, one can consider that the event has been forgotten by the rumour and its carriers, at least temporarily and except if the potential pursuers of the young boy bring him forcefully back to the town or come back pretending to know that it was Elorria. Then, the gossip will have way enough room to unleash and roam around until the evening, when the Governor will come for his speech. He will have been informed of the situation by Gomez Garcia in between and those who actively played a role in the scene will surely have been questioned while Poerava will have been taken back to the Governor's Mansion, quite probably not for a lecture about plants and their properties…
It is likely that she'll also be kept secure in the Mansion until the evening, when, thanks to her parrot Ernesto-Ribeiro or to Elorria, she'll be free again. She'll never let know the deep reasons which brought her to do that what she did and she'll do everything to honour the date she gave her rescuers…
Friend Game Master, it is now up to you to weave the story from those threads as it will flow, depending on the actions of the Players' Characters, their degree of difficulty and still… the results of some Rolls here and there for the fun!
Actually, Poerava made up the crazy whole stuff as a test to identify some persons able to swim on that island where it is forbidden. She prepared for the evening date a next test for those who, in her view, succeeded at the first step. She planned equally to give a second try to those who would have followed the young boy for they would thus have proved how perceptive they can be… That is the reason why Elorria also has a message ready about the Chapel of the Rock and the fireworks to admire from there.