I raced back down the stairs and off towards the wall! I couldn't wait to meet them! Anyone would've thought this would be a usual way to act considering the dramatic lack of social interaction I've had since I was dropped off here 27 days ago, but it was mostly so I could finally get to the bottom of this mysterious land! I approached the gate, expectedting to hear voices, the sounds of equipment being moved... But nothing. There was no sound at all, except the sound of the water lapping at the boat's edge! I opened the gate, and was met with a wall of sand! I was incredibly confused, but with a bit of effort, I managed to shift enough to get past. What I saw confused me; the boat was here, but the crew wasn't, and it seemed as though the boat had crashed!
The boat had approached too fast and dredged up lots of sand - which was now piled against the wall - whilst getting itself beached! The good thing was it had stopped short of the wall; no damage done! I called out quite loudly to see if anyone was aboard, or close by. But nothing. Silence. Not a single voice or noise responded. I edged around the piled sand and was about to step onto the pier to gain entry to the boat when I noticed it wasn't there! The pier had simply vanished; the strut posts were just about visible underneath the water! I was completely confused as to where it had gone, until I saw black markings along the side of the boat. I couldn't be sure, but it looked like there had been a fire. Maybe when the boat had approached, it was travelling with enough speed to set the pier on fire by rubbing quickly alongside it! I couldn't be sure, but I know the crew of the boat wouldn't disembark and then burn the only way back onto it! Also, I think they would've been more careful with the landing too! Where were they?
Utterly confused, I quickly returned to the house and fetched some wooden planks to craft a makeshift pier to get onto the boat! As for the crew, I didn't know where they were! Maybe they had seen the lack of a pier and decided to go to sleep until it was day! A long shot if I had every heard one, but at that point, I was willing to believe anything. Within ten minutes or so, I had erected a very basic platform with which to gain access to the boat.
I carefully made my way onto the boat, making sure not to make any sudden movements in case there was something unwanted here! Before heading inside, I went around the edge of the boat to see if anyone was standing on the far side. But nothing. I made a complete circuit of the outside of the boat but no-one was there. I headed inside onto the "Main deck" and looked around, all the while calling out to the crew! Once again, the only response was the lapping of the waves and the occasional creak of the boat as it rocked slightly backwards and forwards. I checked every room on the boat; the galley, the recreation room, the bridge and the supply room, but nothing. No-one. I suddenly approached the crew's quarters, and once again I was met with a room void of human life!
The crew was nowhere to be found on the boat! I couldn't gain access to the engine room, but juding by the size of the boat, I don't think the whole crew could fit in it anyway! I looked around the crew's quarters, and noticed that there were signs that someone had been here recently; opened unbookmarked books lay open on a few pillows, a cold cup of - what I could only assume to be - tea lying on chest of drawers next to a bed. Some of the drawers contained clothing - both male and female - whilst the others either held nothing or some personal affects. I looked around closely for any form of diary or PDA that one of the crew may have been using, but nothing. I went back into the supply room and checked each of the chests that was in there. But each chest only contained items it was labelled with; food, equipment, tools, transport... weapons. There was masses of equipment! Easily enough to suggest a five man crew minimum! So where were they?
I theorised that they may have gone exploring, but they had left a lot of equipment back on the boat, including survival gear, and official HoN Co. grade tactical armour! Makes my iron armour look like a sack of crap, but it was left behind! Maybe they had just gone to do some preliminary searches... maybe to get the lay of the land! I tried to think of any other reason why they might not be here, but in the dark recess of my mind, one idea hung on; maybe they had disappeared!
I went back upstairs and looked around the recreation room; nothing out of place or to suggest the crew leaving in a hurry. But the galley was another story altogether! There wre cookery books all over the place and one of the stoves was still on low. I put the mess of books down to the collision with the beach, but the stove! Now that was mysterious. It made that little dark idea creep a little further into the foreground, and I suddenly became aware that this might be the more accurate explanation, even if it did defy Occam's Razor! I left and went up onto the upper deck where the navigation bridge was and noticed nothing unusual either... Except the disturbing lack of human life! A few panels were still lit, and apparently the engine was still running. Although I think the boat may have run out of fuel, as there was no actual noise of the engine to be heard!
The naviagation panels were accurate: they had arrived! The meterological reports didn't show anything sinister for miles so it was unlikely they had been thrown overboard! I was about to go back down to the outside when I noticed a small, black book perched on top of the controls. Picking it up, I noticed it was a small calender/diary which came with a small pen, which was currently missing! Opening the diary I went straight to the latest entry, but it merely stated coordinates, data and that they were "on course...". I decided to take it with me, and headed off the boat, hoping to meet one of the crew as I left. But nothing. I then remembered that there had been flares in one of the supply crates down below, so I went and retrieved a handful. Going back outside, I fired one of the flares high into the air, in the hopes that I would attract the attention of the crew. As is obvious, I was still going along with the theory that they had gone off to do some preliminary sweeps of the area. Leaving it at that, I returned to the house, ensuring the gate was left open. I would wait until later tonight to check again, and if not, I would lock it for security's sake!
In the mean time I decided to regrow my forest to ensure I had a decent supply of wood, just in case they turned up and there was a need of it! So I spent all day planting trees, forcing them to grow and ensuring that they were brightly illuminated. I plan to put a path between them at some point, but that might not happen if my flare actually caught their attention. If there is any attention to be caught!
Syeonyx signing off
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