abidinglaw | Alone on a wide wide sea.

[For some time now one node on the Journal network has been broadcasting an anonymous patch of sky broken only occasionally by the pacing back and forth of a quaking, sea-soaked man. His hair is matted and bedraggled, his arms are wrapped around his shoulders to conserve what little warmth he has. Occasionally there are sounds of a voice straining in physical exertion or cursing, or joyous laughter. Otherwise the sea dominates the audible side of the broadcast. Lapping, crashing, rushing water, rhythmic as a heart beat.

More rarely still, the man sits in the sand with the book at his feet, flicking through and reading. Throughout the day he makes his way through the guide, a selection of entries, a smattering of all that the curious book has to offer. It is a work of fiction, he knows this, but it is evidence of human life. It is a distraction from the cold.

By chance, however much he deviates, his journal always eventually ends up on the page required to broadcast video. It is by chance, too, that the journal picks up a selection of his musings - decisions on which tree along the beach would make the most suitable shelter, theories on the subject of nautical headings and snatches of naval protocol.

It is around mid-day that he addresses the journal directly. Sitting again with the book at his feet, he speaks out of a desire to hear the steady, authoritative tone of a voice in control.]

It was under the section on communication.. yes.. 'If you are reading this, then you have already discovered the journals.' Now, some superstitious nonsense, but ... Ah yes, 'if you want to set up meetings, pass a greeting or call for help.' Here we are. Now... No. As I expected. Nothing more than a string of ridiculous fantasies. Damn.

ooc: SO! Hi! Grab his attention at any time in his rambling failed-fire-building beach-stranding antics, or later at the bar post-retrieval. It's all fair game as far as I'm concerned.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Don't worry. It'll wear off.

I hardly expect it will.

Just how much of the nonsense in this book can I expect to encounter?

Most of it, sooner or later.

Wonderful.

[He says, in a tone that makes his ire all too transparent.]

Could be worse.

The maxim of fools and beggars; it could always be worse.

[Derek just snorts at that]

Well, if you deign to decide to ask for help, just ask. Til then, good luck.

[A pause, but Norrington doesn't hang up. After a few moments of considering his options he replies;]

What manner of help are you offering?

I can tell you what I know about this place, which isn't much. If you're looking for escape though, we're both out of luck. If there's something else, ask.

There is a village nearby - I would like to make sight of it before nightfall.

...Got any landmarks I can go off of?

I have surveyed the beach and the mountains all morning, and I assure you there is nothing to recommend any dune or incline over any other.

There should be an entrance to a tunnel somewhere in the cliffs. Follow that.

[Derek is not aware of the supposedly present teleportation device.]

And you can give me no more information than that, I take it.

[Somewhere in the cliffs. Well, it's an improvement on his previous understanding of the matter - that he'd be hunting through the mountains for an anonymous cave.]

Well, I thank you all the same.

Unless you can give me some sort of landmark, yeah. If I tell you to walk north when you should be going south to get to the tunnel, all that will happen is that you'll keep walking until you run into the barrier wall.

[Huh. He had said the same thing to Captain Jack Sparrow himself - albeit in reverse.

Another thing occurs to the Admiral, too. While refusing to offer advice may relieve this man of responsibility should Norrington get lost -- the James Norrington is in no better position to direct his own feet than Derek would have been. He is back to square one, and the duration spent in conversation might have been better applied in seeking out the pirate's "magical" path.]

Understood.

I will look for this cave in the cliff-side at once.

[There is what sounds like an exasperated sigh before Derek speaks again.]

Look at the pages of your book. I'll draw you what I know.

[And soon enough, there is indeed a fairly detailed map of the oceanside and the cliff wall. Several points are circled, with notations made of what the landmarks look like at those points.]

If you can find any of those landmarks, you'll know where you are. From that point, just follow the cliffs towards the tunnel, which is here. That's about the best I can do for you.

[It is much more than he had expected -- and more, too, than he had imagined possible. Just how the map was communicated to him he cannot begin to guess, but there it is on his journal page as clear as if he'd drawn it out himself.]

I...

I am in your debt.

[Relief seeps through the cracks in his hard exterior. His voice, typically monotonous, shifts momentarily in pitch to take on a tone of gratitude. However it was conveyed to him, he has no doubt that this map will be exceedingly helpful.]

No problem. and you're welcome. First day tends to be disorientating for everyone, and you have the added bad luck of having been dumped on the other side of the mountains from the village.

Take your time and stay out of the sun; there's not many fresh water sources on that side, and they're hard to find.

Alone on a wide wide sea.

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