Sailing Away RPG

[Boromir88]

Rory was as much torn between Sondo and Falco as the other hobbits, maybe even more so than the others. He realized that so far the trip has been a disaster, only one problem after the next, and with Sondo taking on that responsibility of leader, he needs to be held responsible. Rory also realized that in those moments of trouble it was Sondo who pulled everyone together to get them out of it. That is what you call being a good leader, Rory thought, being able to get your crew through the rough waters...that is what Sondo did.

Rory's thought shifted over to Falco's. If I do go home, I'm only going to get in trouble. Falco is promising adventure and fortune, and saying if you go with Sondo, you will only be punished and humiliated. Falco was offering a grand thing, adventure...what the hobbits set out to do in the first place. All hope of adventure had left Rory, he soon found himself shouting out amongst the clammer making sure he was heard, "I don't know about you, but if we do go home, yes we all will be whipped and punished, but better then prancing off to certain death!" He turned to Sondo, "I go home with you on one condition. Ever since this adventure started you made yourself leader, ignoring our demands to pull over and rest, or to not fight the rapids. To me, good leadership also means listening to your crew, and not running things like a dictator, which is what you've done. If you can promise that you will consider, or even accept, our advice, then I will join you. If not I go with Falco."

[Kitanna]

"I think you're making a mistake. But go or stay, it's your choice." Sondo said to Falco.

Marroc had found the others and was wishing now he was still lost. They were so divided now. Falco was accusing Sondo of being a bad leader and Marroc couldn't see it. Sondo didn't control the weather, it wasn't his fault the rain had picked up. No, none of them had seen that rock. It was as much their fault the raft crashed as it was Sondo's.

"Come with me or go with Sondo, but make up your mind quickly. I can't wait until night." Falco said. Marroc was looking around, some of the hobbits were actually considering following Falco to Sarn Ford.

Well Marroc would not go. No, he owned it to Sondo to stay. He didn't care if he was punished for leaving. Who knows what will happen on the way to Sarn Ford, he thought.

Now Rory was giving Sondo an ultimatum. Either Sondo listen better to their suggestions or he went with Falco. Upset and frustrated with everyone's disloyalty to Sondo Marroc spoke up. "We can't blame Sondo for all our misfortunes. He can't control everything little thing that happens, especially the weather. He was not the one who made it rain so hard yesterday. We shouldn't abandon him because of these misfortunes, we shouldn't break up at all. I will not leave Sondo, even if that means being whipped when I get back. I owe it to him to stay." Marroc took a step closer to Sondo and Bingo.

[Firefoot]

Sondo looked over Rory appraisingly. His temper was up, and listening to the talk swirl about him was making him worried. Some, like Bingo and Marroc, were clearly with him, but others, most notably Reggie, were set on going to Sarn Ford with Falco. This would never do! He had to keep them together, one way or another. And yet... Rory's comments stung, a little. So now he was a dictator?

"Is that what you think?" asked Sondo hotly. But he did not give Rory a chance to answer before going on. "Well, I suppose a dictator is better than 'can't lead.'" He laughed shortly, humorlessly. "As for hearing your opinions, I've always been open to that. And if it makes good sense, I'll agree. But all anyone does is complain or yell." He shrugged. His pride, already wounded, refused to let him give any more than that. "We need to stick together, Rory, which is what I want. But, blast, Falco's got everyone taking sides! It's senseless!" He hoped he had Rory won over, but Rory was not his biggest concern. He had little hope that he would win Falco over, but he would go down fighting, and maybe, just maybe, Sondo would persuade the rest of them to come with him.

"Falco," he said. "You still have not explained one thing. Just how do you plan on getting supplies at Sarn Ford? Not steal, you claim. But even if you do have money, don't you think that word will have reached Sarn Ford that we've all gone missing? Don't you think that you'll be stopped and sent home? And I daresay, I'd like to be there when you explain how it is that only a handful of you made it to Sarn Ford.

"And as for adventure," he continued, directing the comment toward the whole group though it was said as if to Falco, "Perhaps you misunderstand my intent. Just because we head northward does not mean the end of adventure. Plans are flexible - if things are going well, it may well be that we decide to strike out eastward and come home from a more round-about way. I'm sure that there is some kind of adventure out there, no matter what direction we head." He shrugged again, but there was a light in his eyes and a touch of passion in his voice. The idea of possibly going eastward eventually delighted him. Truth be told, he wanted to go home no more than did Falco, if for different reasons - he could take a whipping, if that's what it came down to, but he did not want to go back to the confines of Brandy Hall. "You think that I'm slinking home defeated. But I'm not. If there is adventure out there to be found, I will find it - but not by heading out blindly. There are people who die in adventures, too, you know - I'm not going to be one of them."

[Nurumaiel]

Sondo's argument made sense, though, of course, the part about dying in adventures was all rot. Nobody was going to die, whether they went north, south, east, or west. Aside from the dying bit, though, it was reasonable, and believeable. They could still have adventure on the way home, especially if they went slightly eastwards. But rather than reconcile Falco to returning home, it irked him more. What if the other boys saw the sense in what Sondo was saying and he gained more supporters? And Falco was a stubborn lad. He had set his mind on going south. South he would go.

Maybe they would be sent home from Sarn Ford, maybe they wouldn't. Falco's cousin who lived there would be willing to lend them supplies, and he wasn't a very bad sort of fellow... maybe he'd sympathise with them. And they could have the adventure they'd planned for.

Falco set his lips in a firm line. He would not give in. He would not. He contrived to make his face one of contempt and superiority, and considered that sufficient answer to Sondo's words. He said nothing.

[Crystal Heart]

Samuel just stood and watched. No one had really noticed that he was there and now there was a huge fight over who should lead. Yes, it was true that they had had two accidents since the beginning of this journey, but that didn't necessarily mean that Sondo was a bad leader. The first accident wasn't even Sondo's fault. It had been entirely Samuel's and everyone knew it. Besides, a rock in the river is no one's fault. It wasn't as if Sondo had placed it there on purpose.

He just stood and watched, unable to bring up any words. He was so unsure of how to even come into the topic. He was the blunt one most of the time, but since his realization that he was far more then just plainly blunt he just didn't want to step on anyones toes. He wanted to be a part of the team, but the team was now falling apart.

"Perhaps we should have a vote on who should be our new leader. But before we do allow me to speak. If you are going to blame the two accidents on Sondo then let's just stop and think a second. The first was purely my fault. We all know it and we don't have to go there. The apologizes have been said and everything else. Second, what did you except? It's a river. Did all of you think that Sondo would have known the entire lay of the river? Think about this people. Just because we lost our raft on a rock doesn't mean anything. And it defiantely does not mean that Sondo is a bad leader. What is wrong with you all? The sign of any danger and you want to point fingers?! We are suppose to be a group, a team in this journey. Yet you all want to just ditch this endeavor! What did you except this would be all about? Of course it is dangerous! Of course we are taking a risk! But that is what this journey is all about! Adventure! Danger! Excitement! If you can't take this then no leader will be good enough for you. Just think about that as you alienate Sondo. IF IT WASN'T FOR HIM NONE OF US WOULD HAVE STARTED OUT ON THE BIGGEST ADVENTURE OF OUR LIVES!"

Finished with what he had to say, he sat down next to a tree and crossed his arms.

"I have said my peace. It is your decision what you want to decide. It doesn't matter, but my decision is that Sondo is the best and I will follow him wherever he leads."

[Nurumaiel]

Sondo was the best?

Tears of frustration leapt into Falco's eyes before he could stop them. He averted his face from the group. He would not let them see those tears. He would never let them see those tears.

Sondo was the best. It was always the same. Everything they did back home revolved around that fact. Sondo was the best. He should be our leader. Was Falco never right? He strived so hard to do something worthy of admiration. He wanted to be a leader like Sondo was. But whenever he came up with something, even if it was a good idea, it was considered a bad, bad idea if it opposed what Sondo wanted. Because Sondo was the best.

They always said Sondo was the best! What about the time they had been sailing their wooden boats in the river? They had worked so hard to make those little boats, and then Sondo had wanted to sail them in the rougher part of the river where there were more rapids. It would be more exciting, he had said. Falco had adored that little boat he owned. His older brother had helped him make it. He had tried to protest that the rapids might harm the boats, but the boys had all turned against him. Sondo was their leader, they said. He knew what he was doing. He was always right. He was the best. We'll do what he says. And the boats had been pounded on the rocks. Falco's had been battered and beaten until at last it disappeared into the wild tumult of water.

All because Sondo was the best.

They never listened to him. They never would. He would have to follow all his life, whether the plan be good or bad. He could never lead. He could never win admiration from the boys. Sondo was the best. Sondo was the best. Sondo was always the best.

Falco whirled to the group, brushing at his eyes and struggling to keep his voice even and free of breaking. "I'm leaving now," he said. "If anyone is coming with me, come along now. If you're not... go home with Sondo."

After all, Falco added bitterly to himself, Sondo was the best.

[Encaitare]

Reggie watched everyone stepping towards Sondo, and felt uneasy. He wondered if perhaps they knew something he didn't, wondered if perhaps it wouldn't be so bad an idea to just join the rest of them. But, then it would seem like he was just giving in to the majority, which was not what he wanted either. He wanted fun and adventures; he wanted to go somewhere he had never been before.

Bingo's last words to him had not helped. He was being so kind to him, perhaps kinder than Reggie deserved. I'll still be here and ready to help, he had said. But that wasn't what he was supposed to say! He should have said, Yes, Reggie, you are a child -- you're my little brother and you're coming with me, and that's final. Then Reggie would have had every reason to be resentful, and part ways without regret. But that wouldn't have been like Bingo at all, anyway. He thought he had seen a glimpse of hurt in his brother's eyes as he turned away, and he felt sorry about it -- but he didn't want to be sorry! What did he have to be sorry for? For wanting to do something on his own for once?

Really struggling within himself, Reggie felt as though he might begin to cry. This was absolutely unthinkable; it would only prove that he was still some sort of baby.

"I'm leaving now," Falco was saying, his voice sounding a little strange. "If anyone is coming with me, come along now. If you're not... go home with Sondo." Reggie looked at the other boys. They all stayed where they were. Bingo would not meet his eyes.

In frustration, Reggie turned quickly and joined Falco. They began to leave the others. I will not look back, Reggie thought. I will not, I must not...

But he did. Bingo was still looking at the ground.