IC Story Thread: Ch.1,Ad.2 - The Far Reach

Cirion bravely rushes forward to restrain the apparition, but finds himself lurching into, essentially, thin air... He finds no physical presence to restrain!

However, he does find that touching where the ghost should be is like reaching into a vat of freezing water! It's form is so cold that it hurts!

Conversely tho, it seems like the ghost does also feel something, or anticipates feeling something, as the visage grits it's teeth and moves his body in such a way that it looks prepared to wrestle with the Gondorian lad...

And at the young man's words, the sailor simply shakes his head angrily and hollers, "Noo0OO!"

Then he lunges at Duinhir, whom his eyes have been fixed upon since the Dunedain initiated conversation...

As the apparition passes through the shaft of light shining in from the cargo hatch, he seems to disappear - to everyone except Turil, who can see the ghostly visage the whole time - but he does reappear, when he passes into shadow again where you all stand, before the door to fore-room.

The attack from the apparition comes suddenly and Duinhir tries his best to dodge the strike. But he is too slow to react. The strike hits him and he feels a cold creeping up from the wound.

Then he strikes a blow of his own on the ghost. A desperate dash of the sword.

Both Turil and Duinhir's blades pass through the apparition, and although neither feels any physical contact or effect to it - the blades seemingly contacted nothing but air, the ghost does throw out an arm in defense and winces as if he experiences or perhaps just expects to experience pain as the blades pass through him.

But the blades leave no apparent damage or change to the ghosts form, so it's hard to know if the attacks actually did any harm to it...

...

When the ghost lunges at Duinhir, and he fails to avoid it's advance, it seems to move into the same space the Ranger inhabits and mirrors the physical position in which his body is positioned for his own defense. In that Duinhir's body is now enveloped in the ghostly body of the apparition... and not only does Duinhir feel the onset of a deathly cold, but he also feels... as though his throat begins to fill with water!

With the boundaries of the ghost intermingling with his friend and ally, Eothain tries to reason with it, instead of perhaps risking further attack in which he could harm Duinhir.

And as he speaks to it, the apparition isn't persuaded to pursue the coins. However, certain words do seem to trigger more of a reaction. Alone... Allies... the light...

And as the struggle continues, so does Eothain's recollection of elements from the ghost stories...

Commonly in the stories such entities are often bound to a location that bears significance to them or sometimes an item; like the site of their burial or something they're buried with, or place of their death or a particularly sentimental thing they carried at that time, or even where their misdeed was done or an implement of it. And sometimes they are just bound in the depths of black and cursed lands.

Cirion is able to pull Duinihir free of the apparition's form! And his sensation of drowning ceases...As Duinhir is pulled from the ghost, it grasps up into the air like he's trying to climb a ladder or perhaps swim, and a word... or a name? ... croaks from his throat like a last gasp, "Marta!!"

But quickly it refocuses on you all. This time it's Eothain... the apparition makes a motion as if it's going to grab a board from the shelving lining the walls. And although the board does not come away on any physical grip, it does fly from its mounting at the Rider of Rohan!

Duinhir can tell the ghost isn't exactly coherent. It doesn't seem like it really understands it's own situation. And it seems to be in near constant pain or torment. And although the ghost and it's torment seem legitimately connected to a boat or the sea - the man certainly looks like a weathered sailor, and there are the elements of drowning, and swimming that have been witnessed - it doesn't feel like this is the "right" place for it to be.

It seems likely this ghost has somehow been taken from the place it "belongs" and is now somehow trapped or bound here.