A Longing For The Sea

[Arin-Skylis]

Arin leaned herself against the railings on deck, looking out across the sparkling blue waters. Elendhel's southern coastline stretched out before her on either side. If she turned around and looked out beyond the buildings of the town she would see the looming Dimien mountains and even a glimpse of the treetops of her home in Moonshade.

But it was not that way that her attentions were focused today. There had been little activity for a ranger to concern herself with as of late and Arin had felt the call of the sea once more. Her ship was not so large that she could not crew it alone, and she seriously considered it despite the sheer amount of work required of her to do so.

With a sigh, she turned her back on the waters, lifted her head for a moment to watch a flock of gulls pass overhead and then Lent herself against the railing again. This time she was looking out upon the town.

How could she leave? Her duty as a ranger was to protect these lands. To protect her home, and to protect the town. Not in such times could she abandon them.

Little word had reached her of any kind of trouble as of late. She found herself wondering what, if anything, other rangers had found. She knew there were a great many of them south of the mountains and not just elf folk, but men too. The problem was that it was difficult to find a ranger, they normally found you. Being skilled in concealment and knowing the land like no others, they were hard to track and very few had permanent homes. She was seldom at her home or on her ship herself.

The town bell tolled in midday.

The throng of people in the town would only increase despite the midday sun. The steady hum of the towns occupants milling about their business filled the air.

Arin made up her mind. This evening, she would seek out any rangers of the land. It was time they spoke.

[Zoltan]

An old man walked down the docks, with seven children in his wake. His staff with the crescent moon and pearls dangling from threads attached to it, beat down on the wood in a steady rythm. He kept a steady pace, slow enough so his young audience of boys and girls who craved storytelling could kep up.
As the old man removed a leaf from his white, long beard, his voice boomed out over all other talk at the seaside.
"One day, long ago, dawn broke without any light to speak of. A wave, miles high, blocked out the sun," the old man beat his staff down harder than before and a girl screamed softly by the sudden halt as another boy walked up against the storyteller.
"Apologies, Zoltan," he said sheepishly.
"It matters not," Zoltan chuckled and dramatically pointed at the sea, "there it was. A mass of water, the tide retreated. Guardsmen ran towards the docks and as soon as their minds caught up with what was happening, scurried of twice as fast as they'd come.
"As the craven turned and fled, the brave took up his fishing net," the apothecary left his growing crowd puzzled with this rhyme. He continued walking, lowering his arm and straightening his hat.
"Indeed, friends. Fishermen, humble as any, hurried towards their boats, that were getting sucked into the wave with the tide. The women and children they left behind waited ashore, calling them daft and dumb. Yet I call them wise."
Seagulls took to the air, somewhere off the coast. Their cries carried faintly on the wind. Zoltan immitated the sound.
"These sounds might well be the last those fishermen ever heard. Their boats, for they could hardly be called ships, returned broken and empty. Empty deck, empty holds.
"The wave was the 'guise of an enraged Saltdragon. A wave he'd summoned was to conceal her from the eyes of those who thought her existence stuff of legends. She'd be better off, if she didn't exist.
"The wave diminished as the fishermen rushed up to meet it, drawn to it, plunging headfirst in it. When it reached the coast, it no remarkable wave any longer.
"The fish in the fishermen's holds had satiated the Saltdragon's hunger. No men washed up ashore with what was left of their boats, only wood and sail. Mourned they were, but honoured as well."
Zoltan sighed and turned to his audience of seven youngsters and smiled.
"What learn we from this lovely lore?" he asked.
"That courage can withstand the greatest challenge?" a small boy ventured, actually raising his hand is if he were in class.
"No," Zoltan replied, "not in this case. It was not courage that saved our town then, it was the fish in the holds, which meant as much as the courage the fishermen brought up.
"The lesson is: We all fight, with the weapons we can master."

[Arin-Skylis]

Arin heard a voice on the beeze, a voice that was familiar, and carried itself lost in a tale. She smiled to herself. The old man was at his story telling again. A man who could not remember the time of day and yet could regale tales like no other.

She took up from her position and strode across the deck, leaning herself against the opposite railing, and looked down upon the dock. It seemed to her a strange gaggle when she let her eyes rest upon Zoltan and his band of followers, each one enraptured by his words. Not wanting to break his tale, she was content to become a listener herself, standing there in the midday sun, the sea breeze cooling its warm rays.

The fable wound to a halt and Arin was quick to interject her own thoughts on it's conclusion.

"A strange tale to weave to such as young as those, Zoltan friend. But one with a solid lesson nonetheless." She called out from above. "But hear this. It's said a man may master any weapon, given enough time..." She paused momentarily with a glint in her eye. "Of course, an Elf can master any weapon in half the time."

[Zoltan]

Zoltan turned slowly to Arin's voice, looking slightly op at the elf on deck. He seemed angry, in some defiant way.
"If you presume to win in a game of wits, Lady Arin-Skylis," he said the words mockingly, "you had best have a library hidden somewhere on your person."
He paused for a minute. The authority he'd had in his voice had been startling. The children kept quiet but as the old man turned around and winked, they smiled.
Arin will have seen the smiles, the apothecary thought to himself.
"Raise your voices, brothers," he roared suddenly and cheerfully, "and hail a friend, who's been around much longer than any man I know," he said and added, "including myself."
He laughed briefly and looked up at the elven woman.
"Knowledge, my dear old companion, and wisdom are as fire and water, an elf and a dark elf."

[Arin-Skylis]

"Then you take the knowledge and I'll take the wisdom, we can switch if we get tired!" she laughed. "Or perhaps you'd like it the other way around?" She added as she leapt over the railing and landed lightly on the cobbstone dockside.

With a wave and a smile at the rabble of children, she turned her attention back to Zoltan, this time giving him a proper greeting. "Vedui' il'er! Well met, Zoltan friend. How are things in the wisdom and knowledge game?"

(OCC: How much Elvish can Zoltan speak/Understand? Say if there were things that shouldn't be disscussed infront of children...Would he be able to follow her words?)

[Zoltan]

"I'll gladly accept knowledge, in order to destill wisdom from it," Zoltan said, limping forward towards Arin. The long walk was beginning to wear on him.
"Well met indeed, though my profession is hardly a game," Zoltan laughed, "you wouldn't know by the looks of me, nor does my behaviour state anything else. One must laugh, so that he may never be consumed by the seriousness of his work."
After a brief cough, the old man frowned. The children had been awfully quiet, he suddenly realised. Most were staring at the ship from whence had been looking out over sea.
Zoltan turned one's face to Arin and the boy blushed. As well he should have! Forgetting his manners like that!
"Hello, miss," the boy managed to stammer.

(Zoltan would understand the elfin language, but not speak it)

[Arin-Skylis]

Arin smiled warmly at the child and then cast her eyes over the other youngsters once more. "Greetings child! I see your eyes blaze with joy at the sight of my wonderful ship!" she said, tapping the side, as though somehow trying to prove it's worth with this gesture alone. "Why don't you try out your sea legs and take your friends aboard for a closer look? My kinsman will show you around no doubt! That is of course, if your minder will allow such a thing."

She turned her eyes on Zoltan once more and slipped into the Elvish tongue. "There are things we must speak of, but I wish not to put fear into the children with talk of danger abroad."She paused, "I do not mean to cause alarm with these words, be aware there is no immediate cause for concern"she added thoughtfully, lest the old man panic or some such thing. She had noticed his limp and motioned for him to sit upon the packing crates beside her vessel as the children grew excited around her.

She could not help but feel joy, despite her want to speak of more serious matters. After all, she had been telling the truth, all was quiet in the surrounding lands. Nothing had she heard of any dark creatures or beasts. And that was her main worry. It felt like the quiet before a storm. She allowed herself a half-sigh, barely audible. It always seemed to feel like the calm before the storm these days. She found herself wishing the storm would come and go so she could relax once more.

[Zoltan]

"You may enter the ship, little ones, if so you wish," Zoltan said formally, a bit shaken by Arin's words and small sigh. The old man sat down on the crates as the children rushed onto the Silver Shadow.
"Whatever you know, 'tmust be a secret source where you heard it, for I've heard naught of peril. You must not bear fearful anticipation alone, my dear."
Zoltan exaggerated. It seemed as though the old man was worried as well, but he clearly thought that arin's worries were more substantial.
Aldorm might not be enough, the apothecary thought to himself, if trouble befalls us again, like at the goblin raid, only our ailing king could aid us.
As the old man shifted on the crate, a very small bundle of dried leaves fell from a hidden pocket in his sleeve. He didn't notice. He'd propably already taken too much from his other sleeve, only there he hid the seeds. The effects severely tested his endurance, hence the limp.

[Makazo]

Mak sighed as he took a sip of his chilled mead. He'd 'borrowed' the glass from the tavern, it being such a nice day and all, he couldn't stand to stay inside. He'd been in Aldorm two days, and it had already been much calmer an entrance than the first time he had shown up in the city. Indeed, nothing felt the same as it had, calmer, more serene.

After his escapades in the south, he thought it felt nice. But then again, after running for your life for months on end, being able to stroll along the docks, listening to the sea and sipping a nice cold one seemed like heaven.

He wasn't paying attention when he rounded a corner, coming within view of a magnificent ship. While not huge, the craftsmanship was unique and perfect as his eyes could tell.

Some sound drew his attention from the masts, to see a figure bent over the rail, speaking to someone on the docks he couldn't see. Her face was obscured by her hair, but Mak could tell one thing from her figure. He knew where the ship got its features, for its owner was quite unique, and from this angle, quite perfect.

Calmly wiping the sweat from his brow, and taking another long gulp of bitter mead, Mak strolled around the stacks of crates to get a better look at his prey, looking for all intent purposes as the predator he was. His footsteps were precise, his eyes keenly watching every twitch of his prey's muscles as she swayed on the rocking deck of the ship...

Then out of nowhere, seated on a crate in front of him was the one person he didn't expect to see. It was the old apothecary that had 'helped' him last time he was in aldorm. The aged, and probably senile Zoltan was sitting, babbling to himself.

Mak couldn't help but let out a groan.