Scupper and the Saltjacks (02)

This is Not Disney’s Neverland

Preface

“The boys on the island vary, of course, in numbers, according as they get killed and so on; and when they seem to be growing up, which is against the rules, Peter thins them out.” - Peter and Wendy by J. M. Barrie.

I’ve been waffling back and forth about how to handle this setting and the delicate issue of having “The Lost Boys” as possible enemies. Neverland as imagined by J.M. Barrie was dangerous and fatal. There are several interesting theories about the symbolism of the book and to what level was Pan a hero, a villain, or an innocent child.

In my uneducated opinion Pan was a sociopath and reading the original Peter and Wendy was creepy A.F. The book is also fascinating, controversial, magical with a Guillermo Del Toro-type dark tone, a “reflection of its time”, chock full of racist tropes, and has small humans murdering large humans while the large humans try to murder them back.

Neverland: A Fantasy Role-Playing Setting by Andrew Kolb (for 5E) avoids the racist tropes by using a tribe of Ents instead of Native Americans. He also tones down the small human demise by explaining that the instant before death, Queen Mab will magically transport them to the Fae realm of Elphame. If the situation allows, the child will dramatically portray their death scene first. But it can be a dark setting as everything on the island has attack powers and stat blocks. I imagine playing this around the kitchen table is a quite different experience to reading it as a story.

I don’t go into details when it happens, but I do want to warn anyone who is concerned about this topic that some small humans do go to Elphame.

Tools: Sundered Isles, Flint and Vox Profunda by ManAlone. Neverland: A Fantasy Role-Playing Setting by Andrew Kolb

The Island

Scupper becomes a player character. Stats: Edge – 3, Heart – 2, Iron – 2, Shadow – 1, Wits – 1.

Assets:

Combat Bot (Saltjacks) Strike +1; Clash +1 Momentum on hit.

Navigator. Set a Course, choose one: +2 Momentum on strong hit or +1 Forward. On Strong Hit with Match, mark progress track 1 tick.

Gunner. Chose before rolling strike – Pin them down = +1 Momentum and +1 Forward on hit. Make them Hurt = Mark progress on hit.

Ten-day of the Second Hatching Gull.

Local date.

(Spark: Transform – Corruption – Peaceful – Cargo)

Scupper hopes the spiders know what they're doing. They sure act like they do. They’ve taken the cocoon down and six of the seven are acting as pallbearers.

‘Seven’ is recognizable with the red handprint on their head. Though now it looks more like fur than blood.

Scupper thinks, they are all just standing there looking at me, so maybe they don’t know what they’re doing.

“Are you following me now?” Scupper asks.

Is that a nod? I think that’s a nod.

She looks to Herald, “Do you have any ideas?”

They both look around. From their vantage point they can’t see much of the island, just the freaky skull island offshore. Scupper walks over to the edge of the cliffs to peer down. Below a flock of bright pink birds with long legs like pink sticks, long curving necks, and hooked bills are flocked on the beach. They are using their bills to dig through the sand just within the reach of the water, sifting the sand and finding breakfast. Scupper has never seen such birds before.

“What do you think? Do we climb down to the beach or climb up to the top of the cliffs?” she asks Herald.

(1-50 down, 51-100 up. 68. Up.)

“Up.” Herald decides. “We can get a better view of things the higher we go.”

(Flint: Drawing a quest from the fate draw deck. 9 of Swords. “The Waking Widow”. Name one of your character’s fears. Have them face it or part of it. Scupper is afraid the Doomvale is just her, not an outside entity.)

Scupper and Herald climb the trail back up to the top of the cliffs. The spiders follow and they make for a strange funeral procession. These cliffs are much higher and steeper than the ones on Oblivion. It takes them an hour to reach the top.

From there, they have a better view of the island that is most definitely not Oblivion.

Scupper wonders, I don’t suppose we can hope the Stardust is still out there somewhere. Is Alvaro Thompson here or back on Oblivion?

They see a great deal of jungle to the South or what they think of as South. The coast on their side looks like it turns to wetlands before curving out of sight. To the right are plains and mountains. The largest peak of the mountains rises into the clouds. The clouds seem to cling there in an unnatural way. Herald points and Scupper sees a tower about a mile away and they start walking towards it.

When they get close enough, they see a boy standing on top of the tower. The tower is made of grey stone about thirty feet tall and topped with crenellations. The boy on top was standing with each foot on a crenellation, apparently unafraid of the drop. Below the boy on the wall are three more boys attempting to climb up the side. As they climb, they are also attempting to knock each other off. Just when the boys are about to reach the top, two yellow lights flew out from the tower and knocked the boys off the wall. Two hit the ground with audible sounds of complaint but the third turned into a mass of flowers and leaves that quickly blew away. The boy on top laughed hysterically, holding his stomach and pointing at the two on the ground.

Before Scupper and Herald could reach them, the two who had fallen were already up and attempting to climb the wall again. They looked at each other in disbelief.

Scupper said, “What the hell?”

“Is that a body?” a voice said behind them.

They turned to see the boy from the top of the tower standing next to the spiders trying to get a better look at the cocoon. ‘Seven’ had put themselves in his way.

The boy was filthy, his hair a mat of everything to be found on the island. They couldn’t tell exactly what he was wearing. It looked like he had rolled in glue and then ran through a hedge.

“How did you get down here?” Scupper asked. She checked to see that it was the same boy from top of the wall. It was.

The boy ignored the question.

“These spiders are different. They’re not from the island.” He observed.

Seven chittered at him angerly.

“Fine! Fine! I won’t touch.” He said backing up.

“Wait. You can understand what it said?” Scupper asked.

“Of course. You don’t? That’s dumb.” the boy responded dismissively, “Of course now I see they’re not real spiders at all. But the language isn’t that different from the real ones.”

“Can you tell me where we are?” Scupper asked.

“Yep.” The boy replied, but then didn’t. He addressed Seven instead, “How did your friend die?”

The construct chittered and waived its forelimbs.

“Ew! That’s disgusting.” The boy said with glee. He then mimed a death scene of having his throat ripped out. When he was almost finished, the two other boys arrived, and he decided to do it again for them.

“Hi! Hello!” Scupper waved her arms trying to get their attention. The two new boys were dressed like cavemen, but with worse sewing skills.

(Compel + Iron. 6 v 1,4. Strong Hit)

“If someone doesn’t start answering some questions, I’m gonna start knocking some heads together.” Scupper yelled.

The two in the fur ran to Scupper and started hugging her around the waist, mumbling into her shirt how sorry they were. The boy wearing a hedge looked disgusted with them.

“Where are we? And who are you?” Scupper repeated, trying to pry off a boy with a snot bubble.

“We’re in the ‘in-between’. We’re where the stories begin but never end. We’re the ones who fell through the cracks. We’re the unfound.” Hedge boy said mysteriously.

Snot-bubble looked up at Scupper and said, “I’m Nibs. I’m nine.”

The other one said, “I’m Hustle. I’m ten.”

“And you?” Scupper asked the obvious ringleader. He looked about twelve.

“Think you’ll get me to talk?” his voice suddenly sounding exactly like a grown man with a strange accent. “Not me copper! See? I’m no rat!”

With that he literally flew up into the air and off towards the plains.

Nibs said, “He’s either ‘Boss’, or ‘Captain’, or ‘King of the Hill’. It depends on the game.”

Herald manages to extract the one called Hustle and ask, “Does this place have a name?”

Hustle nods, “Yes, but no one remembers what it is anymore. Boss says, ‘why does it need a name when we’re already here’.”

Hustle looks at Herald’s leg, already distracted. “Is your leg metal?”

“Nibs, can you talk to spiders?” Scupper asks. He shakes his head, no.

“Do you live in the tower over there?”

He giggles, “No one lives in the tower.” His tone implying that was a silly suggestion.

Scupper sighs and looks to Herald. “Well? Do we check it out?”

Herald shrugs, “Sure, why not.”

(Does Nibs warn Scupper? 50/50 18. Yes)

As Scupper and Herald turn to leave the boys, Nibs calls out, “Don’t knock! It’s rude!”

Nibs and Hustle start running in the direction that ‘Boss’ flew.

“Are we going to ignore that we just watched a kid fly?” Herald asked.

“I have seen so much weirdness recently, I’m not sure what is real anymore. I’m leaning towards Malaria fever-dream at the moment.”

Herald looks back at the kids disappearing into the tall grass. “Should we have let them run off like that?” she wonders.

“Kids run around all over on my island. Didn’t you?” Scupper replied.

“I ran around a city until I could apprentice to a ship’s carpenter. Cities might be full of monsters, but at least there aren’t any snakes.” Herald shudders.

The arrived at the tower. Its windows and door faced out to the ocean.

Remembering Nibs advice, Scupper called out, “Hello? Is there anyone at home?”

(Do they get an answer? 50/50. 84. No.)

“There has to be someone home. I swear we’re being watched,” Herald said.

Scupper yelled louder, “Hello! I’m sorry to bother, but we need some help. Can you tell us where we are?”

(Compel + Heart. 3 v 2, 3. Weak Hit. Spark: Hide – Fellowship – Peaceful – Symbol. Card draw from Vox Profunda: 3 Hearts – the Caregiver, empathy.)

The front door opens with a loud sigh. A voice from inside begrudgingly calls, “Come in, come in.”

They enter a tidy room that is combined kitchen, dining, and sitting room. The aroma of baked goods and stew make their mouth water.

They don’t see anyone, but the voice says, “Go ahead and sit at the table. I can tell that one of you is about to faint with hunger.”

They sit at the table where there are already two bowls of steaming stew and warm fresh bread. Herald doesn’t need a second invitation before spooning stew into her mouth. With her first bite she is moaning with pleasure.

The spiders carry their cocoon into the sitting area. Scupper knows she keeps thinking cocoon instead of Morwen, but she’s not ready for that yet.

“How about you dears?” the voice asks. Scupper can’t tell where the voice is coming from.

Seven chitters.

“You can put her on the settee if you like, luv.” The voice responded.

With that the spiders placed their bundle on the ‘settee’. Scupper had never seen a bench so padded with cushions and cloth.

“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be rude, but where are you?” Scupper asks into the air.

Seven chitters. Herald looks at Scupper with an expression that was clear, DO NOT MESS THIS UP FOR ME.

“I know dear,” the voice responded to Seven. “Humans, well adult humans, can be a bit slow.”

Scupper could feel the attention shift from Seven to her.

“I’m all around you, dear,” As the voice spoke, the cupboard doors fanned open and shut, a fire lit in the fireplace, and some lamps lit before blowing out again.

“I’m the tower.”