The New World

[The Corsair]

"I am indeed dutch. I have some skill in metalworking. Factories kept me out of the house so I enjoy the work. I am something of a cook but I must say I have had little practice."

He caught a glimpse of Alex's boarding pass.

"Alex, it appears we are sharing a cabin. No doubt we will be quite familiar with each other by the end of the voyage. We will have to see who the other inhabitants of our living space are."

They all moved past the guards as they neared the ticket checkers. A small patch of silence fell over them as they avoided drawing attention to themselves as most of them had had to do for a while now it seemed.

[Arx Nimbus]

Arx decided to stick with the small group but decided to remain silent as to maintain a general mysterious label.
[I'm going to a party with my brother that nobody told me about? So, yeah. Thanks guys, good roleplaying. Be back later.]

[Vancouver Air Privateer]

Cenek's eyes lit up at the talk of metalworking.

"Ah, metalworker, indeed? Why, that is just the sort of man I would be looking for!" he said, delighted. "You see, I plan to start selling steam engines, then moving on from there... my problem is, I am more of a... ah... theoretical practitioner. I have many designs that will work, I have had been told, but not the experience to make them. We must talk business on the trip! Oh, and, ah... do you have any plans for accommodations in New York? I am simply curious, of course."

[Rosalia]

Rosie walked passed the ticket checkers and looked around, utterly confused.

"I hate to ask this, but could one of you please escort me to my cabin? I have no idea where to go. I have never been on a ship before." She asked sheepishly.
Good going Rosie, congratulations on being a independent woman. She thought

She hated to interrupt, she found metalworking interesting, and she was taught never to interrupt men who were talking.

[The Corsair]

"In New York? I guess I'll get work and live where I can until I can afford my own accommodations. I would be delighted to talk business. I have never had entrepreneurial opportunities so I would love to be a part of such a thing."

The line shuffled a bit, it was the first shuffle he had noticed since talking with the strangers. he boarded and found Rosalia waiting on the other side.

"I am happy to escort such a lady as yourself."

Once the others had entered he spoke again.

"Shall we arrange to meet this evening? I daresay some companionship would go a long way on this voyage."

[Rosalia]

"Yes. It would. Thank you very much." She sighed a sigh of relief. She began to think running away was a bad thing. She really had no one to meet her in New York. Well, she knew of people there, but they had no idea she was on her way. She wasn't lying about wanting to become a teacher. She thought it was a noble profession.

As she shuffled forward, she patted the pocked she had sewn into her skirt to hide the revolver. She was pleased with her handiwork, she did not think anyone could see that she was hiding anything.

[The Sammy]

"Whilst we are on the subject of locating rooms," Julius said having finished his scrutiny of the newest arrivals "I haven't yet been on a ship this size so can anyone point me in the right direction?"
He had been relieved as the guards went by without pause, his crimes not great enough to warrant any serious punishment except an almost undefined time in jail or a fine greater than he could pay. Thinking about it any fine was greater than he could pay.

[The Corsair]

"Has anyone of us been on a ship this size?" He said plainly as he turned and headed of with Rosalia. They could all find each other later.

After a silent minute of walking around the ship's various passageways toward what seemed to be the area of Rosalia's cabin he decided to engage in a conversation.

"What kind of pistol are you carrying? You have been compulsively rubbing the same spot on your skirt this whole time."

[Man of Steam]

"Alex, it appears we are sharing a cabin. No doubt we will be quite familiar with each other by the end of the voyage. We will have to see who the other inhabitants of our living space are." Said Falko.
"Splendid,I will be glad to share with a man like you, perhaps you can teach me some dutch! And as for why I am going to America, one of my ambitions in life is to be an actor, and with my parents dead, I decided to travel to America to make a name for my self, plus my mother told me before she passed a way that i have an uncle there who can help me."

[Lyca]

Voices, varied in accent and timbre but all seemingly jubilant nonetheless, drifted up to the young woman. Leaning against the smooth wall of the cabin, she was well placed to hear the snatches of conversation that fluttered in through the crack in her (none too well built) cabin door. She sighed; she would have to fix that. Noise going out could be as easily heard as voices coming in.
"Happy to escort... lady as..." "..you, very much..."
Crossing to the bed, she bagan to unpack her luggage, stowing the more innocuous items away in the small dresser she had been provided with for the durataion of the voyage. She was glad she had chosen to rent her own cabin: a large luxury on such a crowded ship, but the invaluable privacy it provided justified the extra expense.
Having put away her clothing and other sundries, she gathered the small bundle remaining; she would have to find a place more secure for this; she would not risk its discovery by a clumsy burglar or curious maid. Hitching her skirt, she bent to tighten the leather strap around her calf which held the small, silver knife to her leg. She straightened herself, and checked her reflection once more in the silvered mirror above her small enamel basin.
"Innocous enough", she decided. She had previously questioned her decision to appear as a woman on the voyage; a young scruffy boy would have been far more unremarkable, and she had assumed the role many times before. But no: she could not have rented a single cabin under such a persona without drawing undue attention, and she needed the space.
Nodding her head imperceptibly, she turned on her heel and strode out of the cabin, in the corridors beyond.

[Alexis Voltaire]

"Whilst we are on the subject of locating rooms," Julius said having finished his scrutiny of the newest arrivals "I haven't yet been on a ship this size so can anyone point me in the right direction?"

"I've traveled on airships before, but never a ship like this. They seem to be laid out in a similar manner though, I could probably point you in the right direction." Luke said to Julius, glancing at his own boarding pass and then to Julius's. "Looks like we're in the same section in any case. Should be in this direction..." He said as he started down one of the
passageways.

[MWBailey]

Short-handled axe , hammer, and bill hanging from the baldric of the bag in which he carried the rest of his tools and a clean shirt, along with a scant few other items, Fergus O'Flaherty, called 'Chalky' by his friends on account of the white hairs among the blonde ones on his head, stood on deck with his ticket in hand. He'd struggled aboard, crowding with the others up the gangplank, and now stood, looking at his ticket. A member of the crew, a man with too much to do and showing the signs of it, whom another crewman had addressed as 'Bos'un,' directed him toward the 'steerage' class of cabins. When he arrived at 'his' cabin,  he was the first so to do, and he divested himself of his bag and sat on one of the two bunks that sat against opposite walls. Before long, other people began to show up. Steerage was the best he could afford, and still have a little money left over for contingencies; for the lower price and lesser derain on his funds, he figured he could put up with a cabinfull of bedmates, at least until they made to the American port...New York, the harried clerk had said.

Since he'd lost the smithy, and the farm as well to a greedy English Landlord who wanted the land for grazing and didn't care about turning a family out to bring that about, Fergus and his mother and younger sister had had to take to the highroad. Da and Maggie had died of influenza a year before, and Deirdre's husband and baby as well, before anyone thought to tell them they needed to burn everything the sick people had been lying on or had touched. All they had done was to lay the baby down on Da's sickbed after he was dead and buried -- and the baby caught it, the husband caught it from the baby, and they both died. Deirdre, Mum, and Fergus had all caught it, but miraculously had survived, helped by the Parish Priest who had finally rememkbered that vital bit about burning the bedclothes and othe rthings. then, with very little clothing to their names, no curtains, no bedding, and an eviction from the landlord, They had loaded all they still owned and set out for dublin, and hopefully gainful employment for Fergus and Deirdre.

Somehow Deirdre, Fergus and Mum had kept going 'til they reached Dublin, barrow, anvil, bellows and all -- and then Mum had collapsed. Their meagre supply of money ran out, and Fergus was forced to sell forge, bellows, anvil and all but a couple of hammers and a pair of tongs, to buy food and remedies to keep their Mum alive. Mum recovered, briefly, but then had a relapse and died, her fifty years of hardship and disappointment finally catching up with her.

His sister, Deirdre, had been insistent. "We can't support th'; both've us 'ere, Ferg," She had said. "'Tis better that we part company and each pay our own to Americky. " She had  been working as a chambermaid in an upscale hotel near the swanky end of town, and had been saving diligently. He consoled himself with that thought. Of all of the brood, Deirdre was the pluckiest; she'd do well, he was sure of it.

'Dree' had finally packed what little she still owned and took the money that Fergus had had to nearly force and threaten her into accepting, and then moved out of their meager lodgings and disappeared into the swirl and bustle of wintertime Dublin; both had agreed to look for one another in America. That had been four years ago, and now, after having relocated to Bristol and learned and plied the trade of a carpenter for a local contracting builder using both the new-learned trade and his smithing skills to make nails, screws, hinges and the like, he had managed to get his master's blessing to move on, save enough to buy passage on this ship and, if he were careful with his funds, keep him until he managed to get out out into the areas where an Irish-born smith and carpenter would be welcomed.  

He strolled over to the porthole, opened it, And looked out over the dock below.

[The Sammy]

"Thank you sir, it's good to know someone who has done this before. I've been so busy on land I've never had the time, let alone the will, to go to the air. If you don't mind me asking, where did you travel before?"

[Rosalia]

Rosie was alone now in her cabin, she didn't know who else would be in it with her, and she certainly wasn't going to be alone. She couldn't afford that luxury. The kind sir who escorted her had already left and, although they hadn't talked much, she desperately longed for company again. 

[The Corsair]

Having escorted Rose he had a slightly better understanding of the ship's layout and labeling system so finding his own cabin wasn't too difficult. He entered the cabin and lay out on the bed, slightly relieved that he was aboard. There was no way he could be caught once they left port and that would only be a couple of hours wait.

He noticed Alex hadn't arrived yet. He also noticed 2 other beds. The cabins in this section were obviously 4 man cabins. He wondered slightly at who the 2 other inhabitants of the room were but he figured it was pointless worrying. Besides, they could simply avoid being in the cabin outside of sleeping hours should they not wish to socialise with it's other members.

As he lay, he soon found himself missing the company of Rose and the others. It hadn't been long since he had left home, but he had adjusted to the lack of company and, having had a taste of it again, he realised he missed it.

He decided to wait for a short while before heading back to her cabin so as to not interrupt her unpacking or changing. He passed that time by wandering around the ship's passageways. After about half an hour of moving past passengers searching for their rooms, often seeming to be in a state of panic, he found himself outside her cabin again. He knocked hesitantly...

[Man of Steam]

Finding his way to his cabin, and seeing no one inside, Alex walked in, and lied down on his bed. Looking around the room, he noticed
Falko's bag on the bed next to him.
"probably chasing after that girl" he muttered to himself, as he reached into his bag and pulled out his journal.
The journal was a simple leather book, and Alex intended to use it to write about his trip.
"dear journal" he began to write.
"today is the day where I begin my voyage to the U.S, I have already met several new companions, and they are all people whom I hope I shall be friends with for a while. If only mom and dad could see me know." Finished the entry, he signed it, and put the journal back in his bag.
"well, I'm going to best stuck on this ship for a while,might as well get to know it better" he said, as he got up and walked out of the room.

[Rosalia]

Rosie jumped up at the knocking on the door, mostly out of fright. Her heart pounded and her hand flew to the revolver. Before she went to answer the door she tried to calm herself down, for all she knew it could be her cabinmate.

She strolled cautiously to the door and looked through the peephole. It was Falko. With a smile she opened the door, "Oh hello there, you gave me a fright."

[Alexis Voltaire]

"A number of places. I visited some of Europe and Cairo on the way to India a few years ago, and I spent almost two years in Delhi and surrounding area working for various local papers, before I had to return to London. My father was only too happy to be rid of me while I was gone, I'm afraid. I never really fit in with his idea of proper society."

[The Sammy]

"I think a lot of people here don't fit into their 'proper society' through choice or not... But then why fit in? Surely a little divergence is a good thing? Anyway, I ramble... This room seems to have the same number on it."
The room wasn't exactly luxurious, but it would do. There were four simple bunks with a tiny cabinet set into the wall beside each. Under the bottom bunk on each side of the room were four draw, presumably to hold things bigger than the cabinet would allow.
"Charming... absolutely charming. Still, it's a bed and it isn't wet so I think this will do nicely."

[The Corsair]

"I never thought of myself as a scary person." He said with a warm smile that perfectly conveyed the playfulness of the statement.

"Would you accompany me on a walk around the ship? Perhaps we can locate some of the open decks and where we will be eating. I would enjoy the company." He asked, maintaining his smile.

[Rosalia]

"Well, I wasn't expecting any visitors. But yes, that seems like a good idea. I wouldn't want to get lost and none of my cabinmates have shown yet." She said, breathing a silent sigh of relief.

She took his arm and let him lead her out of her cabin.

"Wait," She said stopping. She ran back to her cabin and grabbed her late mother's shawl, "It might get cold."

[MWBailey]

Fergus rested for a bit in the cabin, enjoying the sensation of not having the toolbag dangling from his shoulder. When he felt rested enough, he got up, donned his coat and hat and the toolbag once more, diagonally from left shoulder to right hip, and settled axe and hammer on the strap. HE then exited the cabin, adn wentg to join some of the other passengers on the deck to get a last glimpse fo home before they set off for the land across the water.

He stood at the rail, and after the ship blew its whistles and the whale-like craft had begun to rise into the air, he headed toward the steerage saloon, which he had passed through when boarding. "When's the next meal bein' served, mister?" he asked the steward on duty.

[Man of Steam]

Alex wandered on deck, to catch a last glimpse of the land he was leaving behind.
"Goodbye England!" he shouted at the top of his lungs, feeling glad to have finally made the first step on his journey.

[Rosalia]

Rosie looked up at the shout of "Goodbye England!". The coast was fleeting fast. There was no going back now, she felt a little sad but extremely proud of herself. She never thought that she would get this far, and she did. She smirked and muttered, "Take that father dear", under her breath.

[The Corsair]

He heard his companion mutter something as the stood on the deck to watch the town of Bristol slowly disappear.
"Pardon?"