Business before Leisure (Auldwin, Erik, Open)

[Cassidy Undertow]

OOCSorry this was so delayed my computer kicked the bucket so I had to post this from my phone until I can fix my computer tomorrow. Sorry for any misspellings I'll remedy them as soon as my computer is back up.

Timestamp: 38th day of Fall, 511 AV Cassidy grinned as the strip of land on the horizon quickly grew into cliffs. It had been years since she'd last been in Riverfall, only a little girl then. Now, Cassidy was a woman and was prepared to have some fun, maybe cause a little trouble. At the first sight of the great waterfall, Cassidy pushed aside her mischevious thoughts, a smart woman always put business first. As much as this destination was for fun, it was triply more for business. A few months back Cassidy had heard that the Akalak would save slaves and send them to whevever they wished to go, even across the sea. Cassidy wanted that contract, to be a captain in the employ of a governing body would chaff but the mizas would be worth the indignation. After the last unfortunate gamble involving silk trading Cassidy was back to square one with only Tide Herald and 100 mizas to her name; that needed to be changed. Readjusting the boom, Cassidy began to straight her her course and line up her bow with the docks ahead. Pulling safely into one of the smaller docks, She looked around to locate Erik and assure he was on course. After tying up Tide Herald she retreated into her cabin to remove her eyepatch; she'd spent considerable amounts of time with it off when Erik wasn't looking. She had managed to even the strange tan line that usually ran across her face, to anyone who didnt know her well the eypatch would look like remainder from a lost fight. In truth, the eyepatch covered up a working eye that had severely poorer eyesight than her right eye. The only way someone would know this weakness though is if they looked at her eyes close enough to notice one pupil more dilated than the other, otherwise with her tan line gone she looked normal. Taking a moment to tighten her corset as best as she could and pull on her freshly polished black boots, she almost looked respectable. "Well that's as good as it gets" she muttered to herself before returning on deck. She hopped up onto her railing and surveyed the dock. She couldn't see much from her low vantage point or with her impaired vision, but she did manage to catch a glimpse of her objective; the dockmaster's office. She jumped down from the Tide Herald but waited on the dock for Erik. Hopefully, business would go smoothly and she could relax; a Svefra is intitled to a little fun in a city full of men the color of the sea!

[Erik Windsea]

Erik had actually never been to Riverfall, though he had heard stories of the blue men that lived there. Unlike his fellow sailor Erik let out a shout of excitement as the waterfall came into view. His initial thoughts where house amazing it was, and then if it would be possible to jump off it. With that in mind he followed Cassidy’s lead and pull his own ship. ‘Gale’s Burden’ into one of the smaller docks nearby where he had seen Cassidy dock. He quickly tied everything down under the watchful eyes of Squall, the small bird let out a squawk every time he skipped a knot or rushed with anything. Once finished with the boat he jumped over the railing and landed with a thud. After sailing for so long he paused soon after taking his first few steps on the dock. It felt strange to be on land, even if he was still above water. The feeling passed quickly and Erik waltzed towards Cassidy, a goofy grin spreading across his face and his hands already behind his head. “So my fearsome pirate, where are we off to next?” He couldn’t help but notice that her eye patch was missing. Even though Erik had known Cassidy for quite some time, he still wasn’t quite used to seeing her without it. The few times he had seen her without it on at sea she ended up replacing it very quickly.

[Auldwin]

Auldwin often traveled the very outer most edges of the Cyphrus region, it was all a part of slowly but surely dedicating the various plains, shores, crossroads, landmarks, and settlements to memory. That sort of thing took time, but it was amazing how much of the stuff one had when they were dead. Five years had past, and still Auldwin found himself pausing in order to remember all of the mundane tasks he no longer had to participate in, further granting himself more time. What of hygiene? Gone. What of hunger and thirst? Gone. What of natural bodily functions? Gone. No body, no bodily functions. With all that time you had to find something to do, or go mad. Auldwin wasn't about to lose himself to the madness of death, but it was a hard fought battle. Death was one of those things that never let you forget its presence. Every moment of every day the Ghost was reminded of just how lifeless he was. Sometimes he found himself becoming more Ghost than his consciousness would have liked, and for that reason he strove to keep himself Materialized when he held the strength and the desire to do so. This was one such day, although his Materialization was far from perfect. Even with all his concentration he looked much like a runny painting with fraying edges, so flawed from his original form. He walked and was solid like a real man, but Materialization was not his thing. Soulmist Projection, however, was. Utilizing the gaseous stuff that now composed his body was something of a dedicated art form that gave him cause for a focus in improvement. It allowed him to interact with material objects. Doing it covertly was something of a science. It took timing and practice. And subjects. You needed willing or unwilling subjects. Two Svefra were perfect, it was always better to go after the non-natives. Less allies to potentially get into Auldwin's way. First he would have to stalk the pair of sea-goers from a distance. Get an idea of their movement and plans. Then he could test out a few of his newer abilities, as well as his precision involving them.

[Cassidy Undertow]

Cassidy laughed when Erik caught up to her and winked with her left eye to emphasize the lack of an eye patch. "Well before we begin the pillaging, plundering and raping of innocents. I thought we might want to try to pick up some passengers and cargo. With winter closing in we need to get headed west or soon the eastern winds will make it very tough to sail that way. So first business, then after that how about we get down to drinking the town dry?" She sauntered down the docks toward the dockmaster's office, believing she looked like a good business prospect but instead looking fully the Svefra sailor that she really was. Upon reaching the dockmaster, she quickly accosted the attentions of a clerk. Paying her docking fee and signing in the Tide Herald with sketchy penmanship. She looked briefly at the words, they were some of the few she was literate in. Numbers should could write all day but she'd only bothered to learn to write and read useful words. She promptly informed the clerk that her ship was looking to take on passengers and to inform any who inquire to find her at her ship before noon anytime in the next two weeks. To emphasize her point she dropped 3 extra gold mizas in with her docking payment. Leaving the building before the clerk had any chance to argue or accept her small bribe. Don't give them a chance to say no, then maybe they'll accept the bribe as natural or their good nature will make them feel obligated to comply . It was a gamble but if it worked out it'd be well worth it. Stepping back onto the open dock, she began looking through the crowd for a target. Someone to give her directions which given her complete lack of direction without her compass would need to be extensive.

[Erik Windsea]

Erik laughed, following Cassidy towards the dock master‘s office. Watching Cassidy pay her fees he felt the uneasiness of paying with mizas. After traveling with her for so long he had somewhat gotten used to it, but today was just one of those days. Once Cassidy was done Erik approached the clerk and payed his own fees. The clerk gestured to the paper where Cassidy had signed in her ship. Erik grinned back sheepishly and shook his head. “Sorry, I can‘t write. My ships name is ‘Gale‘s Burden‘” The clerk gave him a dirty look before quickly signing in the ship. As a Svefra he had never learned to read and write, what use could writing be on the sea? Though the way the clerk had made it seem it was a big deal was beginning to make Erik rethink his choice to avoid reading and writing. Leaving the office he stopped next to Cassidy. Erik glanced around, not seeing anything interesting he leaned against the wall to wait and see what she was looking for. This was the usual way it worked with them. Cassidy took care of whatever business they had and Erik sat around looking cool, as well as making sure his cutlass was in plain view whenever they got in trouble. For whatever reason most people backed off at the sight of the curved blade, especially when it was in the hands of a Svefra like Erik.

[Auldwin]

Auldwin stood within the crowd, and interestingly enough some of the goes actually stepped around him, as if he took up space and had mass. With his Materialization in effect, he did at the very least appear solid, though a quick test of his 'solidity' would result in feeling not fabric or flesh, but the uneasy prickling of his Soulmist attempting its best to achieve a coherent shape. Everywhere he looked in Riverfall there were men, mainly large men of varying skin colors. The few women that existed were Human, as were most of the non-Akalak men. The docking area had the largest diversity, usually due to folks like the Svefra tying up their crafts for a time. Svefra were good allies to have for a Ghost, or rather, for this Ghost. He had quite a few goals to achieve, mainly finding and dispatching that which had ripped his body away from him so many years ago. Svefra met many people during their travels, and as far as intelligence went in determining such things seemed like an easy bet. Auldwin eyed Cassidy and her companion for a moment. She seemed to have a solid level of confidence. The Ghost could only assume the blonde haired man was with her, he possessed an easy going attitude. Now it was time to determine just how open their minds were. Erik would find the Ghost standing next to him, leaning against the same wall. The Svefra wouldn't have heard him walk up, as Ghosts didn't walk. He wouldn't have even seen him, as Blinking was instantaneous, although somewhat unsettling to watch directly. Auldwin had found over time that when Blinking, the living had a tendency to rationalize his appearance, usually simply deciding they had missed something, or hadn't been paying attention. Or perhaps that he had walked up on their blind side. "Hello kid." Auldwin said to Erik, although his eyes stayed straight ahead, looking out toward the crowd. It was always important to keep your existence somewhat covert as a Ghost, you never knew what kind of unstable folks might be in the crowd. "I hear you and your lass are looking for passengers. Where's that boat of yours go?" Auldwin queried in common. The Ghost did speed a smattering of Flatava due to being near the Sea and the ports so often, but not enough to generate any type of passable sentences.

[Erik Windsea]

Erik was content to pass the time by watching the passing ships. Some of them were coming into dock while others where undocking, though his quiet watching would soon be interrupted. The sound of a voice made him tilt his head to see where it was coming from. Seeing Auldwin suddenly next to him Erik jumped back. His first thought brought his hand to his blade's hilt, yet as it registered that Auldwin had asked where they we going Erik grinned sheepishly before regaining his composure. “Scared me there for a second, I didn't see you there.” He glanced at Cassidy, who was still searching the crowd for someone with directions. He looked back to Auldwin and shrugged. He spoke first in Fratava before realizing that the man had spoken in common. He paused, trying to think of a way to reply in common. “I do not know. She knows. I can ask her for you?” He pointed towards Cassidy as he spoke. Even though Auldwin hadn’t shown any aggression Erik still couldn’t shake the creepy feeling he received whenever he looked at him, not only that but he couldn’t bring his eyes to his face or stare for very long.

OOCAnyone else having problems previewing their post?

[Cassidy Undertow]

Cassidy turned to address the situation. She’d been watching the crowd and so hadn’t really seen anything unusual about a man being next to them. Glancing at Erik, she understood that something was off but as of yet wasn’t sure what. She noticed he’d asked her in common and replied as such, her Common had an accent and she spoke haltingly but the words were correct at least. “We are staying in port for two weeks, and then we go west. We are headed for Alvadas, unless we find a. . .” she struggled for a moment trying to translate ‘contract’ from Fratava to Common, finally she settled on a different but similar word. “A job, that says we must go to a different place.” She was just turning back to look out at the crowd when something caught the edge of vision. She couldn’t explain what she’d seen only that it had been something irregular about the man; she turned back and studied him. “You said ‘passengers’ right? If you are looking for passage we’ve got plenty of room yet for a few people.” Cassidy couldn’t place what was odd about him so finally she slid into Fratava and spoke briefly to Erik, “Something is off Erik.”

[Auldwin]

"Hmm, yes if you would." Auldwin said in kind to the young blonde man. Their apparent age difference was probably a bit over a decade, the man himself looking somewhere in his thirty's, although his true age was probably obscured with his gruff facial hair and unsettling overall visage. So far so good it seemed. Now and again Auldwin's image would flicker, waver, or otherwise do something that a typically solid person wouldn't do. Keeping perfect cohesion was near impossible it seemed, at least until he had more practice. When the woman showed up, Auldwin made it obvious he was looking her over, from head to foot. The Svefra certainly grew some tall lasses. "Oh, you're the captain then? Excellent, west is perfect. I suspect then you'll be passing by...Black Rock?" he mentioned, not all that casually. Black Rock was exactly the place he was looking to head toward. A somewhat secluded place dedicated to the Goddess Dira herself. It was well known for having the largest concentration of Ghosts, potentially in all of Mizahar. Auldwin didn't speak perfect Fratava. He didn't even speak passable Fratava. The only thing he could understand when she spoke was that she was talking about him. He raised a hand up in front of his mouth and cleared his throat, quite the accomplishment as these days he had no throat to clear, "I take it my coming with you won't be a problem then, very good. This place...Riverfall, gets a bit tiring after a while. Tell me then madam Captain, what is the name of your vessel?" he asked. It was a harmless question. Or was it? Such things were good information to have. Especially if you were going to say, Possess someone.

[Erik Windsea]

Still slightly uncomfortable with Auldwin’s sudden appearance Eric edged his way towards Cassidy as they spoke. “My ship is the Gale‘s Burden…Cassidy‘s is Tide‘s Herald.” Eric’s common was a bit rushed, he didn’t speak it properly and he had to stop to thin about how to phrase everything. Staring at Auldwin he noticed that he seemed to flicker in and out of view. Since there was a lot of people moving around he placed it on the fact that he wasn’t concentrating very well on the man. At the mention of Black Rock a shiver went down his spine. “I don‘t know about this guy Cassidy. Like you said he just seems…not right. And isn‘t Black Rock suppose to be haunted?” There was a genuine look of worry in Eric’s eyes as he turned towards Cassidy, even though he was beginning to think not taking Auldwin would be safer, he knew just as well as Cassidy that they were going to be in need of money soon.

OOCSorry about the gap in posting, things have been a bit hectic here.