• Published 8th Mar 2013
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Forge World: The Full Metal Fantasy Role Playing Game - shenadri



The mane six discover the joy of good old fashion pen and paper rpgs as they team up together on an epic quests within the "Forge World!"

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7: Spike's Campaign- Portside Plunder

Forge World: The Full Metal Fantasy Role Playing Game

By: Zelkova48

Chapter 7: Portside Plunder

* * *

The sights and sounds of the nearby ocean could be seen and heard as our favorite heroes were nearing the city of Starboard Port, home to various trade ships all over Metallos as well as the girl’s only ticket to getting to black pearl cove. As the train begins to slow down after one whole day of travel, our sleepy heroes began to stir as the loud whistle of the train woke everyone up from their night of restful slumber.

As the girls and the Thanites exited from the train, they were greeted with the invigorating smell of the crisp salt air and the energetic sprawl of Starboard port’s citizens out and about with their business. Merchants were busy selling their wares, workers and engines were constructing warships and carriers by the dockyard, and the town drunk was on the corner of main street with his wooden mug and a smile on his face.

“Starboard port” said Twilight “The second biggest port in all of Metallos, second only to the entire country of Divided Golderan itself” she explained “This is our next stop, we’re gonna have to head over to the dockyard and see if we can find a ship that’ll take us all the way to Black Pearl Cove”

“Say, where is the dockyard anyway?” Elusive asked.

* * *

“Alright, you girls know the drill” said Spike “This is a pretty big city, so roll me your perception” all of the girls took their color coded D20’s and rolled like how they normally would. With a couple of clatters, the various dices finally stopped and reveal their numbers to everyone.

“Dang it! I got a one” said Rainbow Dash “This is bogus, I demand a reroll!”

“Sorry, Rainbow Dash. No rerolls” said Spike and he turned back to his booklet “What about everyone else?”

“Same here, Ah got a one too” said Applejack as she nudged her die.

“I got a two” said Pinkie with a shaky grin.

“Um... I-I got a five” said Fluttershy.

“I rolled a nine” said Rarity as she twirled her hair around.

“I rolled a... one as well” Twilight sighed dejectedly.

“Wow, this has got to be your worse roll yet” said Spike as he tried to restrain himself from breaking out into laughter “The number was ten, Rarity was the closest but you all failed to see anything that would lead you to the dockyards”

“Well, what does that mean for our characters?” Applejack asked

“It means that all of you big bad mercenaries have glass doorknobs for eyeballs, also, you all got lost as well” Said Spike with a little chuckle “Anywho...”

* * *

“Grr... zis place is way too crowded!” L’ Orange shouted “How ze heck did we even end up in this alleyway!”

“Hey! I wasn’t the one who suggested that we take a shortcut down here!” Twilight replied “I told you all that we should’ve made a left turn over on market street, but noooooo! Lora over here decided that it was a good idea to cut across town through this seedy looking alleyway after talking to those street kids! Wait a minute...”

* * *

“Heh heh heh... make me another perception roll everyone” said Spike with a mischievous grin on his face. The girls rolled again, only this time they actually got numbers that were all past fifteen.

“Whoo! Alright! We all pass fifteen! What do we win?” Pinkie Pie asked, her eyes were practically brimming with sparkles.

“Nothing” said Spike as he tried his hardest to keep a straight face, but a small grin managed to find it’s way onto his face regardless.

“What? Then what was the point of doing that perception roll?” Twilight asked.

“You all took notice to something very important once your character mentioned street kids, Twilight...” said Spike as everyone looked at him with a perplexed expression “You all learned that they were more than just some tramps out on the street... they were all pickpockets” a wave of realization washed over everyone when what he meant “You all check your wallets and you find out that you all lost twenty pieces of gold...”

* * *

“Huh, I thought my coin purse felt a little light” said Butterfly “Although a bit of charity never hurts” a warm smile formed on Butterfly’s face “I do hope they get something to eat...”

“Aye, you have a heart of gold there lassy” said Tiny “We need more people like you in the world”

“To Tartarus with charity! Those street urchins just ran off with all of my money!” Rainbow shouted as she shook on her empty wallet, only for lint and dust bunnies to fall out.

“Really? You only had twenty gold pieces?” Elusive asked “ Why Ah thought Skyterrors got paid more than that”

“Well, actually it was like fifteen gold piece... but that’s besides the point! Repairs for special Skyterror armor and purchases for blasting pike heads don’t come cheap, Elusive!” Rainbow shouted “Grr... when I get my hooves on those brats...”

“Now is not the time to vent out all of your frustration on little kids, Rainbow” said Twilight “Let’s just retrace our steps and do everything again from the top” she suggested.

“Hey, isn’t that the dockyard over there?” Soul Catcher pointed out as he pulled out from beside Elusive. Almost as if it were a sign from the dark goddess herself, Soul Catcher pointed on over to a nearby lamp post with a bulletin board that clearly stated:

DOCKYARDS →

“Huh, good eye there darling” said Elusive as Soul Catcher returned to her side again “Welp, problem solved. Ah’d say we should be heading off now, shouldn’t we? Uh... girls?” she asked, but no one aside from Captain Pinkie and the Thanites, including Butterfly, responded. If anything, L’Orange, Twilight Sparkplug, and Rainbow Blast had their eyes locked onto the bulletin board with a dumbstruck expression on their faces. To them, the sign said:

OVER HERE, IDIOTS

“Oh! For the love of... can someone help me with this?” said Elusive.

“Aye, I got this” Tiny walked on over and picked up L’Orange and Twilight Sparkplug while Elusive and Captain Pinkie had to carry Rainbow Blast “How long do you think they’re gonna stay like this?”

“I think we can just slap them back to reality when we reach the dockyard“ Captain Pinkie suggested “It’s always worked for my crewmates whenever something like this happens to them”

* * *

“Seriously? You’re going to slap us back into reality?” Applejack said with a hint of skepticism in her voice.

“Technically, she is allowed to do that. There aren’t many restrictions to a role playing game” said Spike as he flipped through his booklet “If you want to do it, Pinkie. I’m gonna have to make you roll for it. It’s just a formality, plus I just want to flavor text the heck out of that if you roll high enough” he chuckled “If you want to slap your friends senseless in the face, then roll me your strength”

“Alright, I’ll do it!” Pinkie shouted as she threw her die onto the table. A couple of clatters later, it landed to reveal the number nineteen “Yay! Nineteen! Did I pass?” she asked.

“It wasn’t really about if you passed a number, but since you rolled a 19...” Spike looked through his little booklet “You slapped you friends with enough force to dislocate their jaws”

“Whoo! Alright!” Pinkie exclaimed before she turned face Twilight and slapped her right in the side of her cheek with a loud:

THWACK!

“OW! Pinkie! You didn’t actually had to actually slap me you know!” Twilight fumed as she rubbed her reddish cheek.

“Why not? It makes things more interesting in a role playing game!” Spike said before bursting out into uncontrollable laughter “Bwuhahahahaha! Anyway, I’m sure there are two other ponies who have to be slapped in the face” Pinkie’s grin somehow defied all logic and doubled in length as her head turned to a terrified looking Applejack and Rainbow Dash.

“Hey girls... come a little closer why dontcha?” she asked eerily as her two victims slowly backed away from fear.

“Pinkie, girl, don’t you do it now. Don’t you, just stop right where you are. Pinkie! PINKIE!” Applejack failed to convince the pink party pony to stop and simply copied what Rainbow Dash did. They both ran away from Pinkie like their lives depended on it. They all ran around the library for a good couple minutes but to no avail. Even with Applejack’s endurance, and Rainbow Dash’s flying, their faces all met Pinkie’s overexcitable hoof eventually.

THWACK! THWACK!

“Okay, now that that’s out of the way, why don’t we head back to the issue at hand” Spike said nonchalantly, while avoiding the glares that he was receiving from his peers. Rarity and Fluttershy did their best to stifle their chuckles and chortles after seeing the the bright contrast of red on the cheeks of all of their friends who fell victim to Pinkie Pie’s excitable nature.

“You’re all enjoying this, aren’t you?” Applejack asked flatly as she rubbed on her cheeks.

“I just want to say that this is the best game I have ever played!” Rarity said with a smug grin.

“Um... I didn’t enjoy it... much” Fluttershy hid behind her mane, but her little smile was still very much evident on her face.

“Just continue, Spike” said Twilight “And I just want to set up so house rules before you start. No. More. Slapping!”

“Fine, fine. I’ll allow it” said Spike “Anywho...”

* * *

“Ouch! Was the slapping really necessary, Captain?” Twilight Sparkplug complained “You could’ve just shook me until I came back to my senses you know?”

“Well where’s the fun in that?” Captain Pinkie replied with a mischievous grin “Anyway, we’re here at the dockyard. So how the heck are we suppose to find a boat that’s willing to go all the way to Black Pearl Cove? I heard that almost every ship crew who had the guts to take the job all ended up having their rib cage turned into a hat rack by the local pirates”

“Eeeeeew, gross!” both Soul Catcher and Heart Stopper exclaimed.

“What’s so gross about a hat rack?” Captain Pinkie asked.

“I believe they’re referring to the fact that it was made out of someone’s rib cages” said Plague “As much as I like the ooey gooey parts of biology, I don’t think it’s healthy to be talking about blood and guts to some of the children after witnessing their parents die before them. For now, let’s just focus on trying to find a way back to the flats”

“Hey, look!” Rainbow Blast pointed to a group of scraggly looking sailors “Maybe those guys might know a way to the cove. Let’s talk to them” everyone nodded accordingly and walked on over to speak with the sailors while the Thanites stayed back with Butterfly.

The small group of sailors that they were approaching were each of a different race. One was a changeling, another was a pegasus, and the last one was, oddly, a minotaur. Each of them were wearing the basic sailor’s outfit of the Protectorate of Rubinelle, complete with the cap and uniform in white with red trimming.

All of them were on a quaint little lunch break. Just as the changeling was about to take a bite into his mushroom and lettuce sandwich (which was made with love) he noticed the girls approaching him.

“Ahoy there, what can I do for you fine ladies” said the changeling.

“Um, hi. My name is Twilight Sparkplug, and I was wondering if you know if any ships are about to head on over to Black Pearl Cove” she asked. The changeling and the pegasus raised their eyebrow suspiciously.

“And why would you want to find a ship to a place like that?” the changeling asked “You all don’t look like the gambling type, plus I’m pretty sure one of you have at least heard about what happened to some of the crew members that go there”

“Yeah, they all got their rib cages turned into a hat rack” said the Pegasus.

“Um... okay. We’re mercs on a mission, we just have to the cove, that’s all” said Rainbow Blast “Now can you think of any ships that might be heading over there?” the changeling and the pegasus pondered over her question for a bit.

“If you go down all the way to the ends of the docks, I’m sure you’ll find a transport ship from the U.S.S.R. that might take some extra passengers with them. I hear that they’re looking for some extra protection with their precious cargo and could use some mercs like yourselves” the changeling offered “We’ll send word to the crew to notify them that you’re coming”

“Zank you for ze help. We’ll be on our way zen” said L’Orange as the group waved good bye to the sailors. As the group made their way on over to the transport ship, they couldn’t help but feel as if they were being watched...

* * *

“Alrighty then, so you girls feel some sort of strange presence as you make your way on over to the ship. What do you want to do about it?” Spike asked.

“Ah say we ignore it” said Applejack “It’s probably nothing anyway. Besides, after botching the last roll, I’m afraid something terrible might happen if we fail again”

“Well, it’s your choice if you don't want to roll” said Spike “Any other takers?” he asked

“Uh... I think I’m gonna stick with Applejack’s plan. Let’s just get to the ship and get outta town before we draw more suspicion to ourselves” said Rainbow Dash.

“Okay, anyone else? This is your last chance, you might even spot something helpful during your mission if you can roll high enough” said Spike as everyone else shook their head “Okay then, don’t say that I didn’t warn you” Spike muttered beneath his breath.

* * *

“Sooooo... this is the transport ship” said Captain Pinkie “It looks kinda... kinda...”

“Dangerous?” said Rainbow Blast.

“Old?” Twilight added.

“Smelly?” said L’Orange as she clamped her nose.

“Repulsive?” said Elusive with a low belch “Oh! Just threw up in mah mouth a little. Blech!”

“Life threatening?” said Butterfly as she stared at the ship with a dumbstruck expression.

“How about all of the above?” said Tiny.

The ship that they were staring at before them was something out of a horror story, as in, it was basically a giant screaming metal death trap.

For starters, the damned thing looked about as rickety as Granny Smith without her hip replacement. The grime and all of the nasty looking algae were caked on so thick that you have scrape it off with a sword, if only it wasn’t the glue that held the boat together. Lastly, there were more hole on the sides of the ship than a sea sponge. Only a person with suicidal tendencies would willingly make a trip on such an atrocious affront to the shipbuilding world.

Sadly, this will be the ship that our heroes will have to board if they ever want to see the Thanites return home safely as well as getting their paychecks.

“Just think about the money, Blast. Just keep thinking about the money...” Rainbow kept repeating to herself as she started to mentally form a will in her head “If I die, all of my worldly possession will go to my pet turtle, Tank

“Lets... lets just go find the captain and see if he’ll let us onboard” Butterfly suggested, much to everyone’s dismay “Plague, Tiny, Soul Catcher, Heart Stopper, you all wait here while my allies and I go talk to the captain” Tiny nodded in approval and had the kids pull away from Elusive as they stood by his side.

“ *Sigh* we have GOT to get a pay raise on this mission once we’re done...” said Twilight as everyone reluctantly made their way onto the ship. The creaks and rattle of the ship made everyone feel on edge, but they all steeled themselves even as they all broke out in a cold sweat. Maybe bullets and stab wounds wouldn’t kill them, but an accident regarding a transport ship is the most likely way they see it now. Eventually, they all found their way towards the captain’s quarters.

“Ah! Hello there!” the door swung open to reveal a posh looking unicorn in a stuffy looking suit “Word around the dock is that you mercenaries are thinking about hitching a ride with us, is that right?” he asked.

“Uh... yes, we are” L’Orange hesitantly replied.

“Good! Very good!” the unicorn exclaimed “We could use a couple of strong mercenaries like you!”

“Really now? L’Orange replied.

“Of course! The last mercenary crew that we hired all died horribly as they were all tortured slowly and had their rib cages turned into a hat rack!” the unicorn stated as a matter o’ factly. All of the girls collectively gulped upon hearing more about the previous mercenaries died and the whole rib cage getting turned into a hat rack thing...

* * *

“Whoa, whoa, whoa! Time out!” Twilight exclaimed “This running gag is getting way too graphic for us, Spike! I don’t want to hear about how victims got their rib cages turned into a hat rack!”

“Well, why not? This is just how the world of Metallos is, I am merely building on the lore. And besides, you’ve all been handling this pretty well. Especially with Fluttershy’s character getting shot in the shoulder or when Applejack turned that one dog’s head in raspberry jam” said Spike.

“That’s because I was being polite!” said Twilight “Heck, I’m still a little shaky about Fluttershy’s character eating that one dog’s soul! Just thinking about that sends shivers down my spine” she shuddered upon the memory.

“Oh, come on. Is that what you’re worried about?” said Spike “ * Sigh* does anyone else feel the same way about this?” he asked.

“Eh... not really” Rainbow Dash said with a scratch of her head “I mean it was a little surprising to see Fluttershy play the Thanite but... I mean it’s her choice. Besides, she been an awesome Thanite so far! Even if she did eat someone’s soul, heck, that soul might come in handy later when you think about it”

“I think it’s nice to see her step out of her comfort zone, even if it is just for a game” said Rarity “She is, after all, acting like the misunderstood individual who uses her dark powers and investigative skills to help those in need”

“Ah don’t really mind. So long as my character is kicking butt, then Ah’m alright with it” Applejack replied nonchalantly with a shrug of her shoulders.

“I’ve always wanted to be friends with a dead raising sorceress lady!” Pinkie exclaimed “And now it looks like I am friends with one!”

“Pinkie, you want to be friends with everyone” Rainbow retorted.

“Huh, good point” said Pinkie.

“See, Twilight, everyone else is fine with it. You’re just overreacting” said Spike “This is what you get when you read all of the ghost and horror novels at night. Now if you don’t mind me continuing your story...”

* * *

“Ah, yes. You see, there is a terrible pirate that roams the outskirts of Black Pearl Cove who goes by the name of Captain Raleigh Ironjaw. He’s the head of the Ripper Armada” said the unicorn “He is one of the seven legendary pirates of Black Pearl Cove, right next to Graybeard of course”

“What!? So you want us to defend you against Raleigh Ironjaw!?” Captain Pinkie shouted.

“Of course not” the unicorn dismissed with a wave “The odds of running into him are practically slim to none. If anything, we’ll probably run into some of his scout ships if we aren’t careful. You’re just going to be insurance in case we do run into any trouble. And in the end, you and your friends will be getting a free trip to Black Pearl Cove”

“Assuming we all survive, that is...” Elusive muttered beneath her breath.

“Now if you would be as so kind as to sign the legal waiver...” the unicorn pulled out a sheet of parchment “...then you can be on your way to the cove within the next hour”

“Fine, gimme that thing” Twilight took the waiver and signed everyone’s name onto it.

“Wonderful!” the unicorn exclaimed “You’re all set! see you in exactly one hour!” he said as all the girls left the quarter.

“Well, that was easy” said Butterfly “What should be do while we wait” she asked. Almost on cue, everyone’s stomach began to growl all at once. It was a no brainer what the answer was “Um... how about we all get something to eat?” she suggested. Everyone nodded accordingly, they haven’t had anything to east since they all narrowly survived their first encounter with the Broken Wands guild. Some food would be most wonderful now.

“So... who’s gonna pay for the food?” Rainbow asked “We all just got robbed earlier, remember?”

“Uh...”

* * *

“No way, nuh uh. My character’s broke as heck” said Rainbow “Someone else has got to pay”

“I’m not gonna pay for food” said Twilight “I’m saving up to upgrade T. Sentinel”

“Ah need to pay for ammo later” said Applejack “Fighting is expensive work, and bullets don’t come cheap”

“What are you talking about?” said Spike “It only cost like three pieces of gold for enough blasting powder, bullets, and casing to make five cartridges for your rifle”

“Shh... she doesn’t know that” said Applejack.

“Well, why don’t you all just roll to see who pays” said Spike “The one with the Lowest number has to pay for your imaginary meals so that your character’s don’t starve to death. Dash can’t roll because she doesn’t have any more money left”

“Alright, I’m fine with that” said Rarity as everyone rolled their dices. With another clatter of the dice, only one pony was forced to pony up the dough.

“Darn!” Pinkie exclaimed “I got a three”

“What are you so worried about? You’re practically the richest out of all of us!” said Dash.

* * *

One in game hour later

While the Captain was the one who had to pay for all of the meals, including the Thanites, she was so stingy about her gold that she managed to find some cheap food down by the local tavern of the dockyard. While the food was surprisingly delicious (and mostly vegetarian) for bar food, they all had to eat outside as to avoid the testosterone filled atmosphere of the bar and all of it’s sailor patrons. Also, there were pole dancers on the center stage, and no one wanted to have to explain to the kids about what pole dancers were without it feeling incredibly awkward.

“Miss, Elusive? What’s a pole dancer?” young Soul Catcher asked.

“Yeah, what is it?” Heart Stopper asked as well.

“Uh... w-well, ya see kids...” Elusive fumbled with her words as she somehow became even redder than she already was..

You see what I mean? Awk-ward.

* * *

“I-I can’t say this! It’s far too embarrassing!” Rarity exclaimed.

“You don't have to say anything since you’re a spy” said Spike “just roll me deception and I’ll laugh uncontrollably at how you’re gonna answer to them” said Spike with a chuckle.

“Fine, I’ll roll. But how the heck do you even know what a pole dancer was anyway?” Rarity asked with an accusing glare.

“I don't, I overheard it from a couple of guys over by the quills and sofa shop. I'm still trying to figure out what the heck it means" said Spike.

"What? Who did you hear that from?" Twilight asked with a concern.

"I think it was Thunderlane and Caramel" said Spike

"Ugh, remind me to scold them later for talking about that around a baby dragon" said Twilight.

"Okay, I rolled a seventeen. What happens?" Rarity asked

“Whatever you said to them, they believe” Spike simply replied “So, what do you tell those kids?” Spike asked.

* * *

“They’re street ballerinas!” Elusive graciously lied through her teeth “Yes! That’s the truth and Ah’m most definitely not lying to you young kids” she cracked a shaky grin.

“Aye, nice save there, lassy. Heh heh” Tiny complemented with a hearty chuckle.

All the time that everyone was laughing about how flustered the aristocrat spy was, they were all rudely interrupted by the appearance of the rather large silver carriage that was noisily strolling down the street.

It was a fancy looking carriage, with mirror like metallic plating and solid gold trimmings. However, what separated the carriage itself from the average types was that it was built like a tank. The metallic plating was shaped and welded to make it look like an armored carrier. On top of all that, the were two small cannons on the front of the carriage and a large gun mounted on top of it.

“Oh my, what on earth is that?” Plague asked “It doesn't look like any carriage I’ve ever seen before”

“I think I’ve seen something like that before when I was still working for the Silverus military” said Rainbow Blast “I just can’t put my hoof on it. Come on, what was it...”

* * *

“Okay, this one’s simple. Just roll me your perception, or anything else you girls have that might help in identifying what that weird carriage is” said Spike

“Um... I have my investigative skills” said Fluttershy “Can I use that?”

“Yeah, I also have something called engineering” said Twilight “It only seems logical to use in this situation”

“Hmm, alright. I’ll allow it” said Spike. Dices were rolled once again and the numbers that show will determine the fate of the world. Just kidding, only if they can tell what’s so special about the carriage.

“Oh, I got a sixteen!” Twilight exclaimed.

“Dang, rolled a three” Applejack said dejectedly.

“Everyone else rolled lower than a ten, what about you, Fluttershy?” Pinkie Pie asked.

“I-I rolled a... twenty” Fluttershy quietly stated.

“Ooh, that’s great!” said Spike “Okay, let’s see here, Twilight and Fluttershy were the only ones who were able to tell what makes this carriage so special. Fluttershy, however, noted a key detail about it that Twilight failed to catch...”

* * *

“Say, isn’t that a Silverus war carriage?” said Twilight with a gleam in her eye “I’ve always wanted to see how one in real life! Oh, this is great!” she exclaimed as her inner mechanik began to free itself “Look at how great the craftsmanship is! The way the metal is worked, the way how all of the rivets are exactly five centimeters from each other! It is an absolute masterpiece!” she oozed as she stared at the mechanical marvel “I just wish I knew what that gun was up there, it’s so strange looking”

“Hmm, from the looks of it, I deduce that it’s the prototype gatling gun that Rubinelle was developing as a birthday present for the czar’s wife as a birthday present” said Butterfly as her highly trained sense of deduction and keen observation skills kicked into full gear “There’s no doubt about. The multi barreled design, the large caliber bullets, the crank with the belt fed mechanism; this is indeed the prototype gatling gun. This is the Murder

“The Murder? What kind of name is that?” Captain Pinkie asked.

“The Czar named it after his wife” said Butterfly “Her full name is Murder Antoinette XV

* * *

“I still think Murder is a weird name” said Pinkie.

“I think it couldn’t be more fitting for a belt fed death machine” said Spike.

“Still, the czar’s wife’s first name is Murder. It just sounds so... off” said Twilight.

“There’s a joke to her name you know?” said Spike as he flipped open his rulebook to the image of a griffon with midnight black feathers and red eyes wearing a regal gown “This is Czar Talon’s wife”

“Huh, she looks kind of like a... Oh! I get it now! She looks like a... so her name is like... ah, I get it” Twilight giggled “That is pretty clever when you think about it”

“See, I knew you would get it” said Spike “Anyway...”

* * *

“Wow, I never thought we would get ze privilege to see such a weapon” said L’Orange “Wait, If it’s a prototype, then what's it doing out here in broad daylight?” she asked with a scratch of her head “Shouldn't it be in a top secret facility or an armory somewhere?”

“I believe that when all of the gunsmiths and engineers were hired by the Czar to make the weapon, the prototype’s design must’ve gotten leaked and was sold off in the black market for a profit” said Butterfly “That one there is either an official mass produced model of the military, or a black market replica. I assume that it’s a official model given how it’s on a war carriage”

“Um... I-I have a q-question” Rainbow asked rather fearfully.

“Oh come now, Rainbow. There’s nothing to be afraid about” said Butterfly “Now, what did you what to ask?”

“WHY IS THE GATLING GUN POINTED AT US!” Rainbow shouted just at the exact moment they were fired upon.

DAKKA! DAKKA! DAKKA! DAKKA! DAKKA! DAKKA! DAKKA! DAKKA! DAKKA!

Author's Note:

I thinking about revising the second chapter in my spare time, in the mean time I hope y'all enjoy the chapter