Maid of Marvels
Lurking with Intent
- Joined
- Jul 30, 2001
- Posts
- 5,184
Discovery of gold on Bonanza Creek, a tributary of the Klondike River on 17 August 1896, by George and Kate Carmack and their Tagish First Nation friends Dawson Charlie and Skookum Jim, marked the beginning of what is often considered the world's greatest gold rush. The Klondike Gold Rush only lasted until 1899, but its legacy changed the Yukon forever.
"Neither law nor order prevailed, honest persons had no protection from the gang of rascals who plied their nefarious trade," wrote mounted police officer Sam Steele, describing the scene at the base of the treacherous Chilkoot Pass the following spring when over 100,000 men and women arrived in the Yukon. "Might was right; murder, robbery, and petty theft were common occurences."
Avalanches, drownings, typhoid, spinal meningitis and scurvy claimed many lives. Of the tens of thousands who actually made it to the Bonanza, only a handful found fortunes.
Fascination with the discovery of gold lives on in the imagination of every person possessing the spirit of adventure.
Join us in the fictional town of Carmack, located at the confluence of the Klondike and Yukon Rivers. With an influx of over 40,000 people a month, the "town" was more a city -- with an opera house, theaters and at its heart the building where most of our story will take place: a gambling house/saloon/hotel called the Aurora Borealis.
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THE PLAYERS: *Updated*
Lou Service (Maid of Marvels): Owner of the Aurora Borealis, Lou also owns a sawmill and has six mining properties with sixteen men working each claim.
James Masterton (Tibvo): A well-educated Englishman (judging from the accent and mannerisms) in his 30s, he has apparently come to America to make a new life for himself in the 'Land of the Free'.
However, he soon finds that life in the West is not easy, as his rescuer can attest to when he is found (hopefully) half-dead just outside town.
Tad Meriwether (Graybread): 18 year old run away farm boy from Pennsylvania. 6’ 1”, 220 lbs of lean muscle, and broad shoulders. Blue eyes, sandy blonde hair, and the beginnings of a beard. English descent.
Shy, keeping to himself most of the time. Not well educated, but only because he’s not had the chance. Intelligent and a quick learner. Will do anything to earn his way. Helped his father and two younger brothers work the farm, but longed for adventure. Managed to save up $5.00, packed all his belongings, ran away in the middle of the night, and headed for the Yukon.
Rafe Salee (ariosto): Gambler, montebank, pimp and con man...another words an upstanding citizen of Carmack. He has a percentage interest in the 'Aurora' and a string of lusty Fancy Ladies whose amorous abilities and frontier alure have emptied the pockets of many a roughneck and hardcase.
At 48 Rafe is feeling the bite of age, but his dark slender good looks, graying hair and devastating smile still can charm the gold from a skinflint and the knickers off a spinster.
One thing though... Rafe is more than he seems and has a dark and looming secret that may just catch up with him one day... stay tuned.
Tonsillitis Jones (Tonsillitis): A small man with an unusual tendency toward cleanliness, I have long, scraggly hair a hoarse voice. I come into Carmack perty regular, and frequent the Aurora, but I'm never seen with any of Lou's "girls". His claim is just upriver from Lars Linquist, a quiet Swede who never says or does much. He never takes credit or asks for it.
Frenchie Silverheels (Miss Behavin'): She was born Abigail Holbrook (shudder) but Frenchie sounds tres chic, n'est pas?
Lusty, busty and tres jolie, Frenchie left her past behind and created a whole new life for herself in the Yukon. Straight from Paris (Okay, Paris, Texas--but who's quibbling?), she's one of Miss Lou's best girls, stashing the cash while keeping herself in eau de cologne and designer dresses from Paree.
Anna DeSilva (Messalina): Not suited to life as one of the 'girls', Miss Lou had been more than understanding and took Anna under her wing, offering a job as chambermaid. She had quickly proven her worth when the cook had fallen ill and now she ran the kitchen as well as overseeing the housekeeping and the staff Miss Lou employed 'behind the scenes'
Hank "Bull" Garvin (Yoc ODubhthaigh): In his youth, he was known as the Bull due to his size and his stamina. Well liked and respected, he now helps run the bar of the Aurora as well as acting as muscle when it is needed.
For almost a year, he had a very heated and passionate affair with the Aurora's owner, Lou, which they both thoroughly enjoyed. So it did come as a shock when she broke it off shortly after James Masterton turned up. Good naturedly, he accepted Lou's decision and just carried on with his life, even electing to stay on at the Aurora.
Unbeknownst to Lou though, he has not accepted their breakup at all. He knows that the thing with the Brit is only going to be shortlived until she becomes tired of him and come to realise what she is missing with him.
In any event, he is determined to get her back, anyway possible. So far, he has been biding his time.
Superintendent Thor Gunderson, NWMP (Thor's Hammer): In command of NWMP Headquarters based at Fort Belcher, he is responsible for 31 detachments of NWMP (approx. 285 men) and 200 militia (Yukon Field Force) who were brought in to assist the NWMP in guarding prisoners, banks and gold shipments.
Nathaniel (Nate) Tansden (such_a_bad_man): Age: 27 Height: 6'2" Weight: 196 Hair: brown Eyes: brown
When he looked at the reposting orders in his hands, Nate couldn't believe it. He was being moved from the mountains outside of Vancouver for the wintery wastes of the Yukon. He didn't know what he did, but he wished he could ask for forgiveness right now. He would have his hands full in a lawless area like that. He knew what was what and who was who in his patrol area. He'd have to begin all over again. He hoped that he wouldn't be the only man up there to keep order. He may not keep the motto of the NWMP alive in such a wild area. But, he had his orders. He knew that people up there would need his help. Luckily, he had no family to move with him and no wife to keep an eye on. He doesn't know too much about the people up in the north, but he's not sure if he wants to begin his search for a wife there.
Harry Dougan (stalwartone): Dougan is a product of the times. His parents had been practically wiped out by the realities of the war between the Hudson's Bay Company and the Northwestern Company, their dreams of easy wealth working a trading post destroyed by the "scorched earth" policy in the fur trading industry. They managed to muddle through, but their financial situation never rose to a level above the most meager of living.
He himself has attempted every type of industry open to one of his skills and background. Land speculation was a potential until various arguments between the Canadian territories managed to eat his investments. Trail blazing in the high mountains looked good until other methods of transport made mule trains obsolete. Preaching the Good Word made some money for a month or so, but conflicting faiths of the European, Indian, and Hawaiian settlers chased him out of the area. Bounty hunting had possibilities, but too few bounties were actually being paid from too many government groups. The transcontinental railroad through Canada looked promising, but privatization of most of the work near the end meant no money was being paid out past the initial sign up bonus.
Word of the strikes to the north caught his attention, and he slipped away from the minimal branchline work, taking his tools with him as compensation for the lost wages.
************************************
The OOC will be kept alive to discuss issues and plot developments related to the playing thread. OOC and Casting Call: Aurora Borealis
Looking for prospectors, Mounties (they moved into the Yukon Territory in 1894), gamblers, percentage girls, entrepreneurs (the mark-up was a 600% profit!). You name it and you can probably play it.
We would like to see a nice combination of veteran writers and newcomers as well. No part is too large or too small. Please post your characters in the OOC for consideration.
"Neither law nor order prevailed, honest persons had no protection from the gang of rascals who plied their nefarious trade," wrote mounted police officer Sam Steele, describing the scene at the base of the treacherous Chilkoot Pass the following spring when over 100,000 men and women arrived in the Yukon. "Might was right; murder, robbery, and petty theft were common occurences."
Avalanches, drownings, typhoid, spinal meningitis and scurvy claimed many lives. Of the tens of thousands who actually made it to the Bonanza, only a handful found fortunes.
Fascination with the discovery of gold lives on in the imagination of every person possessing the spirit of adventure.
Join us in the fictional town of Carmack, located at the confluence of the Klondike and Yukon Rivers. With an influx of over 40,000 people a month, the "town" was more a city -- with an opera house, theaters and at its heart the building where most of our story will take place: a gambling house/saloon/hotel called the Aurora Borealis.
************************************
THE PLAYERS: *Updated*
Lou Service (Maid of Marvels): Owner of the Aurora Borealis, Lou also owns a sawmill and has six mining properties with sixteen men working each claim.
James Masterton (Tibvo): A well-educated Englishman (judging from the accent and mannerisms) in his 30s, he has apparently come to America to make a new life for himself in the 'Land of the Free'.
However, he soon finds that life in the West is not easy, as his rescuer can attest to when he is found (hopefully) half-dead just outside town.
Tad Meriwether (Graybread): 18 year old run away farm boy from Pennsylvania. 6’ 1”, 220 lbs of lean muscle, and broad shoulders. Blue eyes, sandy blonde hair, and the beginnings of a beard. English descent.
Shy, keeping to himself most of the time. Not well educated, but only because he’s not had the chance. Intelligent and a quick learner. Will do anything to earn his way. Helped his father and two younger brothers work the farm, but longed for adventure. Managed to save up $5.00, packed all his belongings, ran away in the middle of the night, and headed for the Yukon.
Rafe Salee (ariosto): Gambler, montebank, pimp and con man...another words an upstanding citizen of Carmack. He has a percentage interest in the 'Aurora' and a string of lusty Fancy Ladies whose amorous abilities and frontier alure have emptied the pockets of many a roughneck and hardcase.
At 48 Rafe is feeling the bite of age, but his dark slender good looks, graying hair and devastating smile still can charm the gold from a skinflint and the knickers off a spinster.
One thing though... Rafe is more than he seems and has a dark and looming secret that may just catch up with him one day... stay tuned.
Tonsillitis Jones (Tonsillitis): A small man with an unusual tendency toward cleanliness, I have long, scraggly hair a hoarse voice. I come into Carmack perty regular, and frequent the Aurora, but I'm never seen with any of Lou's "girls". His claim is just upriver from Lars Linquist, a quiet Swede who never says or does much. He never takes credit or asks for it.
Frenchie Silverheels (Miss Behavin'): She was born Abigail Holbrook (shudder) but Frenchie sounds tres chic, n'est pas?
Lusty, busty and tres jolie, Frenchie left her past behind and created a whole new life for herself in the Yukon. Straight from Paris (Okay, Paris, Texas--but who's quibbling?), she's one of Miss Lou's best girls, stashing the cash while keeping herself in eau de cologne and designer dresses from Paree.
Anna DeSilva (Messalina): Not suited to life as one of the 'girls', Miss Lou had been more than understanding and took Anna under her wing, offering a job as chambermaid. She had quickly proven her worth when the cook had fallen ill and now she ran the kitchen as well as overseeing the housekeeping and the staff Miss Lou employed 'behind the scenes'
Hank "Bull" Garvin (Yoc ODubhthaigh): In his youth, he was known as the Bull due to his size and his stamina. Well liked and respected, he now helps run the bar of the Aurora as well as acting as muscle when it is needed.
For almost a year, he had a very heated and passionate affair with the Aurora's owner, Lou, which they both thoroughly enjoyed. So it did come as a shock when she broke it off shortly after James Masterton turned up. Good naturedly, he accepted Lou's decision and just carried on with his life, even electing to stay on at the Aurora.
Unbeknownst to Lou though, he has not accepted their breakup at all. He knows that the thing with the Brit is only going to be shortlived until she becomes tired of him and come to realise what she is missing with him.
In any event, he is determined to get her back, anyway possible. So far, he has been biding his time.
Superintendent Thor Gunderson, NWMP (Thor's Hammer): In command of NWMP Headquarters based at Fort Belcher, he is responsible for 31 detachments of NWMP (approx. 285 men) and 200 militia (Yukon Field Force) who were brought in to assist the NWMP in guarding prisoners, banks and gold shipments.
Nathaniel (Nate) Tansden (such_a_bad_man): Age: 27 Height: 6'2" Weight: 196 Hair: brown Eyes: brown
When he looked at the reposting orders in his hands, Nate couldn't believe it. He was being moved from the mountains outside of Vancouver for the wintery wastes of the Yukon. He didn't know what he did, but he wished he could ask for forgiveness right now. He would have his hands full in a lawless area like that. He knew what was what and who was who in his patrol area. He'd have to begin all over again. He hoped that he wouldn't be the only man up there to keep order. He may not keep the motto of the NWMP alive in such a wild area. But, he had his orders. He knew that people up there would need his help. Luckily, he had no family to move with him and no wife to keep an eye on. He doesn't know too much about the people up in the north, but he's not sure if he wants to begin his search for a wife there.
Harry Dougan (stalwartone): Dougan is a product of the times. His parents had been practically wiped out by the realities of the war between the Hudson's Bay Company and the Northwestern Company, their dreams of easy wealth working a trading post destroyed by the "scorched earth" policy in the fur trading industry. They managed to muddle through, but their financial situation never rose to a level above the most meager of living.
He himself has attempted every type of industry open to one of his skills and background. Land speculation was a potential until various arguments between the Canadian territories managed to eat his investments. Trail blazing in the high mountains looked good until other methods of transport made mule trains obsolete. Preaching the Good Word made some money for a month or so, but conflicting faiths of the European, Indian, and Hawaiian settlers chased him out of the area. Bounty hunting had possibilities, but too few bounties were actually being paid from too many government groups. The transcontinental railroad through Canada looked promising, but privatization of most of the work near the end meant no money was being paid out past the initial sign up bonus.
Word of the strikes to the north caught his attention, and he slipped away from the minimal branchline work, taking his tools with him as compensation for the lost wages.
************************************
The OOC will be kept alive to discuss issues and plot developments related to the playing thread. OOC and Casting Call: Aurora Borealis
Looking for prospectors, Mounties (they moved into the Yukon Territory in 1894), gamblers, percentage girls, entrepreneurs (the mark-up was a 600% profit!). You name it and you can probably play it.
We would like to see a nice combination of veteran writers and newcomers as well. No part is too large or too small. Please post your characters in the OOC for consideration.
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