The Ship
General Summary
Not much after that, we went to find Jduji to inform him of, as Dinu put it, 'Master Erol's final request'. It wasn't too hard to find him. His and Zbedi's heated conversation was no match for the thin walls of the mages' quarters.
After a knock, both fell quiet and bid us enter. Zbedi greeted us while Jduji sat sucking on his teeth. He looked like he'd swallowed a vial of tar. I found myself for once being glad I was so low on the mages' totem pole here.
"So, do what do we owe the pleasure?" Zbedi said, her voice making it very clear this was no pleasure. The others shuffled behind me. Davina seemed to move closer to the door.
"Yes, well..." I started, "When Master Erol passed, he requested us return to the council to inform them of the attack, and our role in stopping it."
Zbedi frowned, "Errol mentioned this?"
"Yes, on the night he passed," I nodded, biting back the urge to ask if she'd not overheard it. Now was not the time for cat fighting.
I continued, as she silently studied me, "He informed us it would be our choice, and we've now decided we would follow his wishes."
"That is strange..." She finally said, a skeptical frown forming on her face, "And very inconvenient. We are already so short on manpower, and the whole ordeal you've left us with the Sau..."
I bit my tongue at that point. If it weren't for the Razor, we'd be paying them even more. I glanced to Jduji. He was glowering at her.
Dinu cut through, "Master Erol was pretty insistent that this was very important."
"I'm sure he was," Zbedi fixed her gaze on Dinu, "But there's no way he could have anticipated the turn things have taken."
"Now, now, Zbedi," Jduji finally spoke, "I'm sure Master Erol had his reasons for this, and after all he did... Ain't it the least we can do to honour his final wish?" He looked to myself and the others, "We owe Erol one... But when you guys do get back home, tell them that we could use reinforcements, soon."
Seems it's fully decided then.
"Of course, and thank you," I gave a small bow.
"Well," Zbedi pursed her lips, "Do as you will, but we will offer minimal provisions. We don't have much to spare."
A door opened, while Zbedi continued, "The next supply ship is coming tomorrow. It's not a full on galley, but it will do if this is really of the essence. There will only be enough supplies to get you home, so don't think about making this a personal cruise-"
"Would there be room for one more?" Ya'Rubu's voice broke through Zbedi's speech. She glared at him, but he didn't seem to care. He sat crosslegged by the bookshelf, rocking away.
"See, it's getting so very dull here, I would really like to return too..." He explained when Zbedi didn't respond.
"Right, well that's everything...?" Zbedi looked to me. Oh. Right. I'd almost forgotten. "Well, there is also the matter of..." I trailed off, looking to Ya'Rubu for a moment. Was he planning on telling them if we hadn't? I shook the thought off and started over, "We've been having some strange dreams. Shared ones. I don't remember much, but it seems we have a spy." I reached in my belt and pulled the totem out. It left my hands black and sticky, "We found these beneath our pillows." Jduji leaned forward, eyebrows raised, "Lemme see that." I handed it to him, and watched as he took it, frowned, and not even a second later, said, "I don't know what this is." Zbedi sighed and rolled her eyes, "Oh, give it here." She took it from him, and frowned as well. I expected her to say she didn't know of it either, but- "I know exactly what this is," She said, frown turning to what looked like apprehension, "This is a fetish of the red eyes..." "Why would they leave this for you?" Her gaze turned sharp at me, "Why did you not tell us sooner? Not only are you leaving us shorthanded, but now we have to deal with spies and exiled mages running about!" I bowed my head slightly, and hated myself for it. We only just learned of their existence! I tried to keep my tone neutral, "To be entirely fair, we didn't quite have the time, nor the knowledge of what we were dealing with until this morning. Then, there was the portal, the death of master Erol, the Sau... This really was the first chance we had to say something..." I left out that I had almost forgotten to mention it. "I see." Zbedi clicked her tongue, "Well. You haven't earned any brownie points." "I wasn't..." I bit my tongue, scowling. "Of course you weren't," She smiled tightly. "Come now," Jduji stood up, waving his hands, "They have their reasons for not getting here sooner." "I do apologise for not sharing it sooner, as well," From behind me, Dinu bowed, "But we did share it with Ya'Rubu, right?" He looked to Ya'Rubu. "Mmm," Ya'Rubu hummed, then continued as if he'd not heard Dinu, "I would really like to go with. You see, I'm so bored here." Jduji looked to be considering it now. "Well, if we do have red eyes spying on us, Ya'Rubu," Zbedi spoke, "We'll need someone who knows of them around here. So no, you may not leave." He deflated, and said nothing as he slunk out of the room. It did not pass me how strange it was that she knew of this incredibly secretive splinter group of Nurehetic mages. Maybe my assessment of her purely as a social climber was wrong... Or maybe I somehow missed the lesson on Nurehetic splinter groups in my studies. Regardless, I would have to look into these Red Eyes in the libraries back home. I'm sure a book would be more enlightening than talking to Ya'Rubu was, at least... I found my spirit rising at the thought of libraries filled with unknown-to-me knowledge, My mind spiralled to home as we said goodbye for the night, and went our own way to prepare.
I returned to my quarters. There really wasn't much to pack. I'd be wearing my travel clothes and my casting crystal, so that just left my nice clothes, my night clothes, my washing set, my spellbook, my notebook, my old beaten up copy of children's fables, the homunculous in the flask, swaddled tightly between the borrowed curtains... I let my mind drift back home as I packed. I wondered what my master would think about all this? I hope he understands why I want to keep this to myself. He knows how hard it can be to prove oneself... And a great discovery like this would go far and beyond proving my worth to the council, to everyone. No more biting my tongue to people like Zbedi, or being assumed to be a servant. I could be someone people care to know... I gathered the various books I'd borrowed, placing them by the door. I'd return them before dinner. I am getting ahead of myself. First, I - we, need to find these pillars. I feel we've left our godly patron waiting too long. But where to even start? We have two leads, neither of which I'm particularly partial to. Master Erol said the council and the Quarum knew of these portals, and they might be help in finding the pillars... Then there's Gaudema. The exiled mage who associates with Red Eyes. I know, a sane person would go to the council over the latter any day, but... I roughly gathered my notes and stuffed them inside my bag. I could sort them out later... I could sort these thoughts out later. Then I noticed, the paper I found in the Ildhuat Soher had fallen from my bag. I'd completely forgotten. That would have been right before the portal. So much happened, I can't completely blame myself for forgetting it. I sighed. It probably was nothing, but I placed it within my spellbook again. I did still want to know what it said. It would have to wait, though. I closed my bag and left it by the door. I hesitated, making sure I hadn't forgotten anything, then grabbed the books I needed to return.
All the books in their places, I went to find Jduji again, to say a proper goodbye. I gave him my best wishes, and told him in an appropriately jovial manner not to bite Zbedi's head off, despite how tempting she might make the prospect, at times. I got a laugh in return. I tried to find Ya'Rubu again before dinner, but he'd vanished once more. I'd hoped he might be able to create a dreaming totem to contact us should we need to be contacted... Some part of me was glad I never found him, despite how practical having a form of long range communication would be. The thought of sleeping with another strange magic totem beneath my head was not appealing.
Dinner was the typically flavourless affair it always was, eaten together one last time, and then I returned to my quarters to rest for the journey. I changed to my night clothes, and wrote a short letter detailing my request for Ya'Rubu. He hadn't shown for dinner, much to my annoyance. The homunculus danced in its flask as I wrote. It seemed to like the heat of the candle lights. A set in response from its creation? I'd keep that in mind. If I couldn't find the dream mage come the morning, I'd leave the letter in his quarters.
As the next day's dawn broke, the provision boat docked. I dressed, ate quick meal, and did a final Ya'Rubu search. Unsurprisingly, he was nowhere to be seen. I grabbed my bag, slipped my letter under his door, and headed to the docks. Much of the town came to see us off... Or maybe it was just excitement at provisions. Regardless, we made our ways on board, and a part of me felt a definite relief to be leaving. Another part felt an empty sadness. I did not watch the outpost as we left. I set my things up in the belly of the ship, then returned atop the deck to watch the sea.
[About two weeks of various monotonous entries detailing Rianemi's day and observations on the sea, weather, and the homunculus.]
I hated being cooped up below deck. It smelled like unwashed cattle. I worried by the time we'd reached land, I'd never get the smell out of my things. I put away my studies and returned to my usual spot atop the deck. I stood listening to the water, watching the waves and the sunset for some time. I would have for even longer had Davina not shouted. I looked up, annoyed, but then in our heads, her voice rang out, "Guys, we have company!" It didn't take a second for the crew to scramble, voices raising. Dinu and Octaviu ran to join us. I looked to where Davina pointed. Another boat, approaching ours. Before I could react, a lound thunk reverberated through the boat, and the deck shook. Another thunk, and I saw it- several ropes tying our ship to theirs. Pirates? I hesitated. Dinu reacted right away as the men started climbing the ropes to our ship. He reached forward, creating a torrent of fire that shot from his hands and onto one of the men. He yelped, and fell into the water. The rope burned for a moment but died out quickly. Octaviu followed up, using a sling -my sling?- to chuck rocks at the remaining men. More fell to the water as he ran to climb the mast. Davina blocked the rope, and bashed anyone who came too close with her shield.
Right. I pulled myself together, and began casting, swirling my hands and intoning. The water below slowly rose like a tendril at my command, swirling between our ships. The water tendril broke free from the ocean, slowly turning a sickly green as it formed into a ball over the ropes. It bubbled, and sizzling drops fell from it. I paused for effect, making sure everyone of the pirates saw what was coming. "You've picked the wrong ship," I yelled in Draksi, "Leave us now, or else!" I let go, and the ball of acid rained down on the ropes, and the men on them. They screamed as the acid ate through their clothes and the rope. Lucky for them, their pain didn't last, as the rope snapped and dumped them into the sea. The remaining pirates looked panicked, and started pulling back. I allowed myself a confidence smile. I didn't hold it for long. One of our men called out, pointing to a man in the water. He held some sort of hand ballista, and trained it on the boat. I was planning to have the ocean steal his ballista, but I didn't get a chance. The captain shouted. There were more on the pirate's ship. Hand ones, and bigger. They pointed at us. They weren't done yet, it seemed. Dinu flung magic bolts at the ones onboard. Two went down, but the third accidentally fired. It hit the mast. I didn't get a chance to see if it hit Octaviu, but I didn't need to. I heard him fall as a stone in water, and let out a groan. Alive, then. I looked right back as several crossbow bolts shot passed me, and into Dinu. He fell to a knee. The ship was pulling further away. Now I was angry. I dropped my spell, and pulled a stronger one. I skipped all the showboating, and created an even larger ball of acid, hurling it at the receding ship. I could feel it hit one of the remaining men. Dinu grunted, and I saw the Razor's veins blacken as he pulled the bolts free. He stood up, and his wounds closed. Octaviu bounced up soon after, and hurled more stones at the ship. He looked pleased with himself, managing to hit it from so far away. I looked to the ship again. It was getting too far... But then, in the dark, I saw a sparking. Cannons. "Get the ship moving!" I called out, though I didn't need to. The crew had seen it as well, if the frantic screaming was anything to go by. Our men worked to turn the ship, and I called the water and helped with the currents, changing them to pull us further away from the ship. And then, an explosion went off, and a huge splash of water splashed the ship. I dropped my spell for a moment in surprise. The cannon fire had barely missed us.
"Hey!" Davina called to one of the deckhands fumbling with a crossbow, "Let me use that!" She did not fumble with it, and fired several shots off at the retreating ship. I didn't look to see if they connected, if that was even possible to see. I pushed the currents as hard as I could. The crew pushed the ship. Davina and Octaviu kept firing. It looked like we'd about make it... But then the ship flashed, and a moment later, an explosion hit our ship. The deck shook, and tilted. We'd been hit. I dropped my hold of the ocean, ran below deck. It had breached the ship, and we were taking on water. I commanded it out, but it was too much for one person. Davina called that we were heading for the rocky land in the distance, and to hold on. I did, as well as I could. Several crew members helped bail the water I couldn't keep out, but we do couldn't as fast as we needed.
Eventually, I started breaking the water down as it came down to its base components, but it still wasn't enough. When the water had reached my waist, we retreated to the top deck.
Eventually, I started breaking the water down as it came down to its base components, but it still wasn't enough. When the water had reached my waist, we retreated to the top deck.
We just managed to hit land on an isle. The ship was a lost cause, half submerged on the rocky outcroppings. We waded to shore, and I fell on the beach, exhausted.
"Right, well that's everything...?" Zbedi looked to me. Oh. Right. I'd almost forgotten. "Well, there is also the matter of..." I trailed off, looking to Ya'Rubu for a moment. Was he planning on telling them if we hadn't? I shook the thought off and started over, "We've been having some strange dreams. Shared ones. I don't remember much, but it seems we have a spy." I reached in my belt and pulled the totem out. It left my hands black and sticky, "We found these beneath our pillows." Jduji leaned forward, eyebrows raised, "Lemme see that." I handed it to him, and watched as he took it, frowned, and not even a second later, said, "I don't know what this is." Zbedi sighed and rolled her eyes, "Oh, give it here." She took it from him, and frowned as well. I expected her to say she didn't know of it either, but- "I know exactly what this is," She said, frown turning to what looked like apprehension, "This is a fetish of the red eyes..." "Why would they leave this for you?" Her gaze turned sharp at me, "Why did you not tell us sooner? Not only are you leaving us shorthanded, but now we have to deal with spies and exiled mages running about!" I bowed my head slightly, and hated myself for it. We only just learned of their existence! I tried to keep my tone neutral, "To be entirely fair, we didn't quite have the time, nor the knowledge of what we were dealing with until this morning. Then, there was the portal, the death of master Erol, the Sau... This really was the first chance we had to say something..." I left out that I had almost forgotten to mention it. "I see." Zbedi clicked her tongue, "Well. You haven't earned any brownie points." "I wasn't..." I bit my tongue, scowling. "Of course you weren't," She smiled tightly. "Come now," Jduji stood up, waving his hands, "They have their reasons for not getting here sooner." "I do apologise for not sharing it sooner, as well," From behind me, Dinu bowed, "But we did share it with Ya'Rubu, right?" He looked to Ya'Rubu. "Mmm," Ya'Rubu hummed, then continued as if he'd not heard Dinu, "I would really like to go with. You see, I'm so bored here." Jduji looked to be considering it now. "Well, if we do have red eyes spying on us, Ya'Rubu," Zbedi spoke, "We'll need someone who knows of them around here. So no, you may not leave." He deflated, and said nothing as he slunk out of the room. It did not pass me how strange it was that she knew of this incredibly secretive splinter group of Nurehetic mages. Maybe my assessment of her purely as a social climber was wrong... Or maybe I somehow missed the lesson on Nurehetic splinter groups in my studies. Regardless, I would have to look into these Red Eyes in the libraries back home. I'm sure a book would be more enlightening than talking to Ya'Rubu was, at least... I found my spirit rising at the thought of libraries filled with unknown-to-me knowledge, My mind spiralled to home as we said goodbye for the night, and went our own way to prepare.
I returned to my quarters. There really wasn't much to pack. I'd be wearing my travel clothes and my casting crystal, so that just left my nice clothes, my night clothes, my washing set, my spellbook, my notebook, my old beaten up copy of children's fables, the homunculous in the flask, swaddled tightly between the borrowed curtains... I let my mind drift back home as I packed. I wondered what my master would think about all this? I hope he understands why I want to keep this to myself. He knows how hard it can be to prove oneself... And a great discovery like this would go far and beyond proving my worth to the council, to everyone. No more biting my tongue to people like Zbedi, or being assumed to be a servant. I could be someone people care to know... I gathered the various books I'd borrowed, placing them by the door. I'd return them before dinner. I am getting ahead of myself. First, I - we, need to find these pillars. I feel we've left our godly patron waiting too long. But where to even start? We have two leads, neither of which I'm particularly partial to. Master Erol said the council and the Quarum knew of these portals, and they might be help in finding the pillars... Then there's Gaudema. The exiled mage who associates with Red Eyes. I know, a sane person would go to the council over the latter any day, but... I roughly gathered my notes and stuffed them inside my bag. I could sort them out later... I could sort these thoughts out later. Then I noticed, the paper I found in the Ildhuat Soher had fallen from my bag. I'd completely forgotten. That would have been right before the portal. So much happened, I can't completely blame myself for forgetting it. I sighed. It probably was nothing, but I placed it within my spellbook again. I did still want to know what it said. It would have to wait, though. I closed my bag and left it by the door. I hesitated, making sure I hadn't forgotten anything, then grabbed the books I needed to return.
All the books in their places, I went to find Jduji again, to say a proper goodbye. I gave him my best wishes, and told him in an appropriately jovial manner not to bite Zbedi's head off, despite how tempting she might make the prospect, at times. I got a laugh in return. I tried to find Ya'Rubu again before dinner, but he'd vanished once more. I'd hoped he might be able to create a dreaming totem to contact us should we need to be contacted... Some part of me was glad I never found him, despite how practical having a form of long range communication would be. The thought of sleeping with another strange magic totem beneath my head was not appealing.
Dinner was the typically flavourless affair it always was, eaten together one last time, and then I returned to my quarters to rest for the journey. I changed to my night clothes, and wrote a short letter detailing my request for Ya'Rubu. He hadn't shown for dinner, much to my annoyance. The homunculus danced in its flask as I wrote. It seemed to like the heat of the candle lights. A set in response from its creation? I'd keep that in mind. If I couldn't find the dream mage come the morning, I'd leave the letter in his quarters.
As the next day's dawn broke, the provision boat docked. I dressed, ate quick meal, and did a final Ya'Rubu search. Unsurprisingly, he was nowhere to be seen. I grabbed my bag, slipped my letter under his door, and headed to the docks. Much of the town came to see us off... Or maybe it was just excitement at provisions. Regardless, we made our ways on board, and a part of me felt a definite relief to be leaving. Another part felt an empty sadness. I did not watch the outpost as we left. I set my things up in the belly of the ship, then returned atop the deck to watch the sea.
[About two weeks of various monotonous entries detailing Rianemi's day and observations on the sea, weather, and the homunculus.]
I hated being cooped up below deck. It smelled like unwashed cattle. I worried by the time we'd reached land, I'd never get the smell out of my things. I put away my studies and returned to my usual spot atop the deck. I stood listening to the water, watching the waves and the sunset for some time. I would have for even longer had Davina not shouted. I looked up, annoyed, but then in our heads, her voice rang out, "Guys, we have company!" It didn't take a second for the crew to scramble, voices raising. Dinu and Octaviu ran to join us. I looked to where Davina pointed. Another boat, approaching ours. Before I could react, a lound thunk reverberated through the boat, and the deck shook. Another thunk, and I saw it- several ropes tying our ship to theirs. Pirates? I hesitated. Dinu reacted right away as the men started climbing the ropes to our ship. He reached forward, creating a torrent of fire that shot from his hands and onto one of the men. He yelped, and fell into the water. The rope burned for a moment but died out quickly. Octaviu followed up, using a sling -my sling?- to chuck rocks at the remaining men. More fell to the water as he ran to climb the mast. Davina blocked the rope, and bashed anyone who came too close with her shield.
Right. I pulled myself together, and began casting, swirling my hands and intoning. The water below slowly rose like a tendril at my command, swirling between our ships. The water tendril broke free from the ocean, slowly turning a sickly green as it formed into a ball over the ropes. It bubbled, and sizzling drops fell from it. I paused for effect, making sure everyone of the pirates saw what was coming. "You've picked the wrong ship," I yelled in Draksi, "Leave us now, or else!" I let go, and the ball of acid rained down on the ropes, and the men on them. They screamed as the acid ate through their clothes and the rope. Lucky for them, their pain didn't last, as the rope snapped and dumped them into the sea. The remaining pirates looked panicked, and started pulling back. I allowed myself a confidence smile. I didn't hold it for long. One of our men called out, pointing to a man in the water. He held some sort of hand ballista, and trained it on the boat. I was planning to have the ocean steal his ballista, but I didn't get a chance. The captain shouted. There were more on the pirate's ship. Hand ones, and bigger. They pointed at us. They weren't done yet, it seemed. Dinu flung magic bolts at the ones onboard. Two went down, but the third accidentally fired. It hit the mast. I didn't get a chance to see if it hit Octaviu, but I didn't need to. I heard him fall as a stone in water, and let out a groan. Alive, then. I looked right back as several crossbow bolts shot passed me, and into Dinu. He fell to a knee. The ship was pulling further away. Now I was angry. I dropped my spell, and pulled a stronger one. I skipped all the showboating, and created an even larger ball of acid, hurling it at the receding ship. I could feel it hit one of the remaining men. Dinu grunted, and I saw the Razor's veins blacken as he pulled the bolts free. He stood up, and his wounds closed. Octaviu bounced up soon after, and hurled more stones at the ship. He looked pleased with himself, managing to hit it from so far away. I looked to the ship again. It was getting too far... But then, in the dark, I saw a sparking. Cannons. "Get the ship moving!" I called out, though I didn't need to. The crew had seen it as well, if the frantic screaming was anything to go by. Our men worked to turn the ship, and I called the water and helped with the currents, changing them to pull us further away from the ship. And then, an explosion went off, and a huge splash of water splashed the ship. I dropped my spell for a moment in surprise. The cannon fire had barely missed us.
"Hey!" Davina called to one of the deckhands fumbling with a crossbow, "Let me use that!" She did not fumble with it, and fired several shots off at the retreating ship. I didn't look to see if they connected, if that was even possible to see. I pushed the currents as hard as I could. The crew pushed the ship. Davina and Octaviu kept firing. It looked like we'd about make it... But then the ship flashed, and a moment later, an explosion hit our ship. The deck shook, and tilted. We'd been hit. I dropped my hold of the ocean, ran below deck. It had breached the ship, and we were taking on water. I commanded it out, but it was too much for one person. Davina called that we were heading for the rocky land in the distance, and to hold on. I did, as well as I could. Several crew members helped bail the water I couldn't keep out, but we do couldn't as fast as we needed.
Eventually, I started breaking the water down as it came down to its base components, but it still wasn't enough. When the water had reached my waist, we retreated to the top deck.
Eventually, I started breaking the water down as it came down to its base components, but it still wasn't enough. When the water had reached my waist, we retreated to the top deck.
We just managed to hit land on an isle. The ship was a lost cause, half submerged on the rocky outcroppings. We waded to shore, and I fell on the beach, exhausted.
Report Date
08 Nov 2024
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