An Unexpected Turn of Events (Open)

by **Tara** on January 3rd, 2012, 3:47 am

Tara narrowed her eyes and looked at the net. It was a good plan but she wasn’t entirely sure how the would get the thing underwater. Tara was about to speak when Colin dashed back underneath. She huffed for a moment, irritated that he had left everything up to her but got over that quite quickly. Now was not the time for things like that. She picked up the large net and hauled to the side of the ship and flung it over the side, in the same way she had seen fishermen do near the ports while testing their nets. Tara tied it to the rails of the boat and tugged it, making sure it was secure and turned round and walked back to where Colin had disappeared. ”I put the net out the side, you go some sort of plan to lure that thing underwater?” she inquired, still not sure if his plan would work.

She sighed and followed Colin into the dark, wide amber eyes blinking as they accustomed to the lack of light. She dug around the crates and bags, trying to find something useful. She could not smell any meat, just pickled vegetables and something rotting. She let out a groan and sat on the crate, shooting Colin a questioning glance. ”So, what’d your plan exactly?” she asked, picking up a rotting piece of fruit and tossing it from hand to hand. ”You think it likes fruit salad?” she said, her tone light and humorous.

by **Colin Oliver** on January 3rd, 2012, 4:28 am

“Tie a rope around this sack and throw it over the edge.”

“Gods and Goddesses guide me. If this doesn’t work, I’ll be so very, very unhappy.”

by **Tara** on January 3rd, 2012, 1:41 pm

Tara cringed a little as the warm, metallic smell began to fill the room. She swallowed hard and shook it off, trying to focus on the task she had been given. She took a long rope with was dumped in the corner and brought it over. She tied the end of the rope around the top of the sack. She tugged on it a couple times, to make sure it would not undo when they threw it overboard. Suddenly a high pitched, feral scream echoed through the ship, the vibrations rocking it slightly. Tara blinked and then hurried back to dragging the sack up onto the main deck of the ship.

She groaned a little as she picked the sack up and ran onto the deck, where she dragged it across the floor and hoisted it up onto the rails. She took a couple breaths and looked out to sea. Her eyes widened in shock as she looked around, struggling to pinpoint the creature. That’s when she saw it. It had swum deep into the ocean and then propelled itself back up again, leaping up into the air. It had quite obviously been aiming for the ship but had missed it’s target. Tara rushed to seize the opportunity. She pushed the sack overboard, just in front of the net. It turned the sea a deep red shade as the blood wafted into the water, diluting itself and spreading around the depths. Tara saw the pale green scales of the huge creature disappear underneath the boat and then reappear again, glinting in the sunlight which had gotten stronger.

Then suddenly the boat lurched forward and coming to a stop, accompanied by another feral screech. Tara looked at the net, which had broken off the side of the boat. She just about saw it sinking and the tail of the sea-monster rose up out of the sea and then back into it again, sinking into the depths. Tara looked at it for a moment, confirming that the creature was not about to rise once again from the depths and then turned around, sinking down into a sitting position with her back leaning against the rails. She let out a sigh of relief. ”Your plan worked.” she said breathlessly, plainly stating the obvious.

by **Colin Oliver** on January 3rd, 2012, 7:05 pm

“Your plan worked.”

“Thanks to you.”

“You know what direction that thing went in. We need to move away from it.”

“You steer. I’ll get us moving.”

by **Tara** on January 4th, 2012, 2:53 pm

Tara nodded and hauled herself off the ground. She ran up to the ship’s wheel and turned it, sending the ship lurching around and moving in the opposite direction that the creature sank. It would be out of the net and up to the surface again soon so they had to get as far away from it as possible. Tara kept her hands on the wheel as the boat moved further and further away from the place where the sea-monster fell, and there was no sign of it returned to the surface of the water. This confused Tara a little but she let it go, just being thankful that they both managed to get away unharmed.

She was just satisfied with that thought when she heard a distant roar ring out into the ocean and a large creature leap out of the sea. It was far away now though, with no idea where the ship was or what direction it had headed in. It eventually gave up and sunk down into the sea, where it would wait for the next ship to pass it by. Tara let out a breath and leaned forward, resting her elbows on the wheel. ”Dumb fish” she chuckled and sauntered away from the wheel. They were quite far away from the creature and still moving forward, so there was no need to worry anymore. Tara walked onto the main deck and leaned against a tall mast. ”Well, I can’t say I’ve ever done that before.” she said, looking away into the distance.

by **Colin Oliver** on January 5th, 2012, 2:29 am

Colin nodded in agreement,
"It's not everyday that you deal with a giant sea-snake of death." another thought flashed through Colin's head, "It's not everyday that you deal with an onset of amnesia and a girl you know nothing about." Colin couldn't help but wonder what exactly had brought the two of them together. And then it dawned on him, this was a lucid dream.

"Are you real?" Colin asked, with a sudden intensity. He had often heard of such experiences from drunkards in the taverns, where they talked about meeting other people cities away. He also knew that all dreams, lucid or regular, had to come to an end. Desperate to know if Tara did indeed exist, since all signs pointed to this being the truth, Colin asked again, "Who are you, outside of all this?"

He hoped that the sudden realization that he was dreaming wouldn't wake him up. He didn't want the girl, the boat, and the sea to disappear just yet.

OOCSorry about the short reply

by **Tara** on January 5th, 2012, 2:40 am

Tara looked at Colin with a look of disbelief, as if he had just asked her whether the sun was yellow or not. She considered the question for a moment, before going into a different train of thought. It made her wonder whether it was Colin’s dream or her own, and who invaded in whose dream. She shook away the thought. It confused and slightly bored her, so she went on to answer Colin’s newest question. ”Well, I’m Tara as I told you earlier. I’m a thief, arsonist and murderer on the run from the Syliran knights.” she said, quite bluntly and so truthful that it sounded like a lie.

She didn’t delve into the topic or let it expand in the conversation. It was a long story, to be honest, and one she didn’t want to tell. In fact, the only reason she’d told him was because there was still a possibility that he was a figment of her imagination, a dream-creation. Usually she wouldn’t have been quite so honest. It seemed easier to be truthful here, maybe because it seemed surreal, being on a ship in the middle of the sea talking to a man she’d never seen before and having just escaped a giant sea-monster. It made everything she said seem, well, not as bad. Not as serious.

by **Colin Oliver** on January 5th, 2012, 10:20 pm

Colin couldn't help the laugh that burst out of him, "You actually got on the bad side of those awful bullies?" As a merchant, Colin had had his own fair share of run-ins with the knights. But that was before he discovered the Great Bazaar. Now he sold his goods for a fair price and got to keep his profit instead of donating it to the 'upholders of justice'. "You really are something, Tara."

Thief and arsonist? Colin could believe that. Her small frame and amazing balance would make any act of larceny simple. And anyone could be an arsonist. But murderer? Frankly, the tiny girl standing in front of him seemed far from capable of killing someone. Then again, Colin wasn't going to get on her bad side just to prove things. He was of the opinion that all women had a tiny killer inside them just waiting to be given the chance to maim.

"Well, in case you were wondering. I'm a simple merchant from Wind Reach. And I'm in Syliras at the moment.Well, at least my real body is. I have no idea where we are now." With every detail mentioned about the world outside, Colin could sense his attachment to the dream slowly disappear. In fact, the gash along his arm had already healed.

by **Tara** on January 5th, 2012, 11:24 pm

Tara nodded and then looked around. Her vision was becoming blurry. She blinked a couple times, trying to refocus but it didn’t seem to be working. She decided she’d let it be and attempt to continue with the conversation, though she found it hard to concentrate. ”I was in Syliras a little while ago, but then I left. But who knows, maybe we’ll run into each other sometime.” she said, her sentence finishing in an almost inaudible whisper. Then she fell; only she didn’t land on the hard wooden floor of the ship they were on. She kept falling until she landed in the sea with a loud splash and a spray of white foam. She could feel the water around her in the beginning but eventually everything started to fade away, her body and senses becoming completely numb…

Tara awoke with a start, her back aching. She was in a cold sweat and panting heavily. She shook her head, letting her black hair fall out of their knots and rubbed the sleep from her eyes. She blinked a couple times, readjusting to her surroundings before she remember where she was. She was no longer in the ship on the strange sea but in a tree in the Wildlands of Sylira. She heard the familiar sounds of birds in the trees and Iona the horse grazing below. The dream was growing foggy and hard to remember. There was a few major details that stuck fast in her mind though, and that was the strange human named Colin and the things he said. Everything else seemed to be a distant blur of faraway memories…

by **Colin Oliver** on January 7th, 2012, 5:47 pm

Colin tried to focus, but he could feel his senses continually dulling. The tug of the world outside the dream was pulling him into wakefulness and he knew that in a few seconds the dream would end. He listened to Tara's words, but they got quieter by the second. Soon he couldn't even see the floor. A dense white fog began to obscure everything and he felt the dream dissipate. It was like watching smoke from a blown-out candle slowly vanish.

Colin woke up in his booth in the Great Bazaar. He had dozed off from a full stomach and a busy day of sale. Leaning back in his chair and stretching, Colin yawned. Suddenly, he remembered the dream and quickly pulled his arm down, instinctively looking for a gash. The dream had been so vivid that he actually expected to see the wound. Colin shook his head, trying to clear his head and think straight. He smiled when he remembered the ship, the sea monster, and Tara. Standing up and getting his blood flowing again, Colin walked out of his booth, replaying the dream in his mind. It really had been fun.