[Flashback] Sailing Lessons, Part 2 (Completed)

by **Daske Baggywrinkle** on February 7th, 2012, 10:04 pm

Timestamp: 18 Fall 511
Location: Suvan Sea, near Riverfall
Note: This story began in Riverfall, with Sailing Lessons Part 1
Note: Anyone is welcome to join if you can figure out how to work yourself in.

Daske became aware of the rocking motion of the boat and the sound of water rushing past the bulkhead. I'm at sea, he thought to himself. I'm finally on a boat at sea. But whose boat? He opened his eyes and found himself staring at a low wooden ceiling. He tried to sit up, but stopped immediately.

“Ow!” he cried in Pavi. "Dammit, that hurts!" He looked at this left hand, which was wrapped in cloth. Blood was seeping through it. He remembered one of the bounty hunters stabbing him in the hand. He gingerly tried again and got himself into a sitting position. His right thigh was also wrapped in cloth and also had blood seeping through. He moved his leg a bit and was rewarded with a sharp pain as the cloth pulled against dried blood.

He was in the V-berth. He could see the main cabin area and the companion way leading to the cockpit. Sunlight was shining in from the companion way. The boat was listing over to one side, which he found alarming. He didn't see any people. Two Svefra, a woman and a man. They rescued me from bounty hunters. This boat must belong to one of them. But where are they? He heard footsteps above him and realized that someone must be on deck at the bow of the boat.

“Hello!” he called out, switching to Common. “Anybody home?”

The boat suddenly lurched, leveled out for a moment, and then listed over the other way. Daske felt a moment of panic. Are we going to capsize?, he wondered.

Sailing Note :

OOC :

by **Alexis Whitewave** on February 8th, 2012, 8:11 pm

While Daske was unconscious, a couple things had happen which he was not currently aware of. Alexis and Jargon had brought Daske to her own ship, where Alexis had waited with him for a while. After it was clear he would not wake up within the bell Jargon had gone to his ship. The two casinors had sailed out of the harbor and onto open sea within the hour and once it appeared they were far enough from shore and the danger of bounty hunters they had set their sails low and drifted with the tide, so they could go from ship to ship without worry of direction or steering. If something happened the two casinors were close enough and she could walked across the plank she had laid between the boats and do whatever is needed.

It was early morning when Daske awoke, and Alexis had fallen asleep leaning up against the rails. She had previously been trying to catch a couple fish to eat with a net she snatched off some unlucky sailor while she was in Riverfall and had drifted off while she was waiting. She awoke with a start when she heard a man’s confused and somewhat panicked yelling. It took her a moment or two to figure out where exactly she was when the memories of last night flooded back. She stood up with a groan, thoroughly regretting getting herself into this situation though it was only a few minutes before her usual sarcastic grin was planted back on her face.

She walked purposefully down to where the disconcerted Daske was looking around anxiously. ”We’re not capsizing any time soon.” she said with a smirk and a greeting gesture. ”Good morning, Daske. Remember me?”

by **Daske Baggywrinkle** on February 16th, 2012, 4:25 am

Like an angel come to carry him home, she floated gracefully into the V-berth. And smirked at him. Which kinda ruined the whole illusion. But he did indeed remember her.

“Yeah,” he said. “Alexis, I think?” She nodded. She had done her hair in a long braid and had it tied up around her head so that it looked almost like a tiara.

“Help me get these bandages off,” he said. “Let's see what the damage is.”

She gently unwrapped the bandage around his leg while he pulled the bandage off his hand. His palm had a gouge in it that was still seeping blood, but it didn't look like it was very deep. He flexed his fingers. “Ow!” he said. “That hurts.” He flexed it again, more gently this time. “I have feeling in my fingers and thumb, and everything seems to be working alright, so I guess there's no serious damage. Just another scar to add to the collection.”

The wound on his leg was a more serious matter. The dagger had made a slice about six inches long and maybe an inch deep. It had mostly stopped bleeding, but it was an ugly looking open wound. It was going to need stitches. “Damn,” he said under his breath. “That's gonna hurt.”

He glanced around the cabin. “Where's my bag?” he demanded. “There should be a sewing kit in it. I'm gonna have to sew this up somehow. And get me some hot water and some rags. I gotta clean it out or it'll get infected.”

He looked up at her, blue eyes meeting blue eyes, and said grudgingly, “I suppose I owe you my thanks. You probably saved my life.” He frowned and rubbed his index finger along the ragged scar on his right cheek. “But you had no right to take me away from Riverfall. I have business to finish there. As soon as I get these cuts taken care of, you're gonna take me back. Okay?”

by **Alexis Whitewave** on February 16th, 2012, 6:16 pm

"You're bag's upstairs, I'll run up and get it in a second." Alexis said, turning away. She looked back at him a little suspiciously before saying "Don't move" curtly. She went up the stairs and onto her deck where she found Lynn.

The wary dog had been snoozing on the wooden floor, her marbled gold and black fur glistening in the golden sunlight. The dog was small, and obviously only a few months old. Alexis patted the dog gently, waking the creature up. She sent the dog down into the room where Daske lay with a few words of warning. Despite Alexis' usually hospitable nature, that man had obviously been wanted for something and had a high price on his head. She had no quarrel yet with the man, and she wasn't about to turn in one of her kind but she wasn't about to trust him either. Either way, Lynn would not be able to do much more but warn Alexis if something happened.

She drifted off into her own cabin where she picked up Daske's bag, which had been slightly hidden under a disarray of other things. Alexis' room was messy and unorganized, but somehow Alexis always managed to find whatever she needed. As she came out she grabbed a bucket and tied a rope to it, the threw it over the edge to get some sea water. She hauled it back up and then returned to Daske's temporary residence.

"Would take to long to get some water heated up." she said, handing Daske his bag, the bucket and some rags she'd picked up along the way. "Use that stuff first and I'll bring you some hot water when it's ready." she added with a smile. The man seemed somewhat disorientated.

She headed off to leave the room before turning back with an inquisitive expression. "We have a lot to talk about, by the way, and until you explain why there's a price on your head you ain't getting off this ship." she said before turning away, not bothered to listen to any argument the man was sure to have.

She headed upstairs and into her small galley, which consisted of a little oil stove and a wooden pantry, which was filled with stolen spices and any non-perishable foods she happened to pick up. The pantry went halfway up the wall and also served as a counter top, where Alexis prepared whatever she could. There were a couple pots hanging over the stove and some knives and eating utensils stored in a small drawer near the bottom of the pantry. She also stored her fresh water in here, which appeared to be recently stocked from her trip to Riverfall.

She got a potful of water and placed it on the stove, then she fiddled with the knobs and buttons until she managed to turn the thing on. Alexis was, quite obviously, not a very good cook. There she waited, for nearly half a bell, for the old stove to heat up the water. She turned it down once she thought it was ready and picked up the pot carefully. Carefully she carried it into Daske's room, albeit scalding herself once or twice but only a little, and placed it beside the bed. "Now, you've quite a bit to explain so you may as well start now." she said with a smirk and a raised eyebrow as she sat down and crossed her legs.

by **Daske Baggywrinkle** on February 17th, 2012, 3:27 am

“Crap,” he muttered in Pavi. “Another nosy woman.” Then he set about cleaning out his wounds as best he could with cold salt water.

“As you guessed,” he said while he worked. “Those two men were bounty hunters.” He carefully pulled open the wound on his leg enough to run water through it. “Damn!” He shouted. “That hurts like hell.” He clenched his teeth and continued until he had thoroughly irrigated it. Then he pulled out his sewing kit and began threading a needle.

“A few weeks ago I was a slave. Owned by a wealthy and powerful Drykas family. The Drykas do not generally treat their slaves badly. But my master was a cruel man. My father and my mother, both Svefra, died on his orders. My mother's death especially was not a good death.”

He pushed the needle through one flap of the sliced skin on his leg, pulling it the thread until the knot he had tied in it was snugged against the skin. He visibly grimaced as he did this. Then he pushed it through the other flap and pulled until the two flaps were tied tightly together. He did this ten more times, moving slowly along the cut, until he had stitched the entire length of the wound together. He had to stopped several times to close his eyes and take deep breaths. Then he tied off the end and cut the thread. He was sweating and his hands were trembling.

“So,” he said. “That's how you clean and stitch a wound.”

He rewrapped the leg, tore the end lengthwise and tied a knot around the bandage. Satisfied that it was secure, he began cleaning the wound on his hand.

“There came a day when I knew I could not stay in my master's Pavilion any longer. While he was away, I sneaked into his tent and stole some gold and a sword. I was leaving when his son, a man about my age, wandered into the tent and saw me. 'Thief,' he cried and came at me with his sword.

“I have limited experience with a sword and he was a expert. So by all rights he should have killed me then and there. But he was drunk. He tripped as he came toward me and fell flat on his face. As he pulled himself to his feet, I ran him through with his father's sword. Then I fled.”

Daske was done cleaning the wound on his hand. “Could you wrap and tie this for me? I don't think I can do it one-handed.”

“Anyway, I guess my master put a bounty on my head and put out the word that he wanted me back alive. If you hadn't intervened, I'd be on my way back to Endrykas right now.”

He pulled himself off the bed and walked gingerly out into the main cabin. His leg hurt but he could walk on it. His hand would be pretty useless for a while, but it would heal.

“I was in Riverfall trying to buy a boat. I had just closed a deal on an old Casinor, too. That's why I need to get back there. I need that boat.”

“So, what's your story?”

“Oh, nice dog by the way.”

by **Alexis Whitewave** on February 17th, 2012, 6:40 am

Alexis listened, wide-eyed, unsure whether to pity the man or fear him. "You killed a man who was down, vulnerable and weakened, and then impaled him with his father’s sword.” she summarized numbly, before drawing her eyes up from her neglected fingernails to meet the man’s blue eyes.

She took in a deep breath and took a few moments to contemplate. Alexis, while she talked and threatened big, was truly against harming another soul unless necessary for the protection of yourself or an innocent. Had she saved an innocent victim, one running from an abusive slaver driver or had she saved a ruthless killer, who killed a man who was not even about his senses. She ran a hand through her sandy blonde hair. ”You will get your Casinor.” she stated slowly, not quite sure of what she was saying. ”But I’m not bringing you back to Riverfall, neither am I strolling onto the streets.” she finished slowly with a raised brow.

”The Casinor is dock, ain’t it? With Jargon and your co-operation, taking it out to sea without causing a stir will be a piece of cake. I am a Whitewave, am I not?” she summed up the plan vaguely, anticipating it more the more she talked about it. It had always sent thrills down her spine to practice the tradition she was brought up into.

She was broken out of her vague planning when asked her own story. ”It’s not a very interesting one, to be honest. Came to visit my bitch of a mother and she gave me a bloody dog.” Alexis summed up with a nod towards the small dog dozing in the corner having served little purpose in guarding Daske. ”Not that I don’t like Lynn, she’s a gorgeous dog and will grow up to be very useful. However I don’t appreciate being bribed.” she snarled, an obvious distaste shining in her aqua-blue eyes. She was not bothered to go into details if Daske had other, more important things to be doing.

by **Daske Baggywrinkle** on February 17th, 2012, 11:21 pm

Daske was feeling a little guilty about how rudely he had been treating Alexis. She was, after all, just trying to help him. And she most likely had saved his life. And she was a Svefra, supposedly one of his own kind. So he swallowed his pride and made an attempt at an apology.

“Listen, I'm sorry about being so rude to you. I was ten days without food before I reached Riverfall. I'm trying to buy a boat and I get grabbed by those bounty hunters. And cut up pretty bad. And ...” He stopped abruptly. “But there's no excuse for being rude to someone who's trying to be a friend. I really do appreciate what you have done for me.”

They had moved out of the cabin and on to the deck of the small sailing vessel. A similar boat was tied up alongside Alexis' boat. He supposed it belonged to the man who had jumped into the fight, although he didn't see the man anywhere. He looked around Alexis' boat and realized he actually recognized pretty much everything he saw. The boat was almost exactly the same as the boat he was trying to buy from Gert, although it looked newer and cleaner. He supposed there weren't a whole lot of variations possible with a small boat. They probably all had the same basic equipment.

“Say,” he turned his attention back to the patient young woman. “I don't suppose you'd be willing to teach me how to sail?” Then he looked looked down at his feet. “You see, I don't actually know how to sail a boat. I'd never even seen one before yesterday. And apparently there's more to it than I thought.”

He looked up at her and waited.

by **Alexis Whitewave** on February 18th, 2012, 10:08 pm

Alexis raised her eyebrows, having never before heard of a svefra who couldn't sail let alone who'd never seen one. "Well, it shouldn't be too hard if a small child is able to learn it..." she murmured, trying to think back to when she learned. How had her elder sister, Iliana, managed to teach her? Alexis was always an independent soul and never really taught anyone how to do anything... However, Daske didn't have to know that.

Alexis walked up to the wheel and turned back to Daske. "Right then, this is the wheel, those are the sails and that's the deck. I'm pretty sure I don't need to go through the names of anything else." Alexis said, motioning towards the various parts of the ship. She barely knew the parts of the casinor, so she figured he didn't need to either. You could sail a ship as long as you knew how, the rest was just unneeded information.

"You steer the ship with the wheel. It moves the rudder underneath the ship. Although, knowledge of the wind and tides it a bit more important." she said, walking down the length of the ship. "The more you sail and explore the more you'll know about tides, that part is more or less a work-in-progress all the time and can't really be taught... I'm sure you can mark on a map as you go, if you find that helpful." she continued, sitting down on a small crate. She patted the wood beside her, inviting him to sit as well. "Sailing against the tide slows you down by days, but sometimes it's inevitable really. Then there's the sails. Turning them in certain ways changes how the wind blows against them... " she continued, not entirely sure how to explain it. She had learned this part simply fro watching and experience. "I'm not entirely sure how to explain that one... Ask Jargon" she said with a grin.

by **Daske Baggywrinkle** on February 19th, 2012, 1:36 am

OOC :

Six bells later they were close hauled in a 20 knot wind. The starboard gunnels were in the water and spray was flying over that side into the cockpit. The boat was hard heeled at about twenty degrees to starboard. The wind had kicked up six foot waves, which were crashing over the bow as the boat dived into them, throwing water clear back to the cockpit. Daske was at the helm. He was scared spitless. And he was having the time of his life.

“Ready to come about!” Shouted Daske into the wind.

“Ready!” Shouted Alexis.

Daske turned the boat hard to port, which forced the bow to turn into the wind. If it stayed there for more than a few seconds, the boat would quickly come to a stand still. But the boat's forward momentum carried it through the no-go zone and on to a close hauled starboard tack. The boat immediately heeled over to port. The boom came swinging across, but Daske had anticipated that and had hold of the mainsheet to control its transit from port tack to starboard tack. The jib flailed wildly in the wind until Alexis expertly pulled it over to the port side and secured the port side jib sheet. She looked back at Daske and grinned. He grinned back.

In a few short hours Alexis had taught him the basics of sailing: How to raise and lower the sails, how to steer the boat to the various points of sail, how to tack, how to jibe (a much more challenging maneuver than tacking), how to bring the boat to a stop by turning it into the wind, and how to get it moving again by letting it fall off from the wind. And how to heave-to, which is a maneuver in which the boat remains pretty much stationary even in a strong wind. All that he had NOT learned was how to make anchor and how to raise anchor, and how to approach and leave a dock. The latter he was going to have to learn on the fly.

“What say we go get you a boat of your own?” asked Alexis.

“You mean just sail into Riverfall and take it?”

“Sure. Why not? It's your boat, isn't it?”

“Well, kinda.”

“What do you mean 'kinda'?”

“Well,” said Daske. “Gert and I agreed on the price and shook hands on it, but the transfer of ownership papers haven't been signed yet and I haven't actually paid her anything for it. That was supposed to happen last night, but you know how that turned out.”

He thought about it for a few moments. “I guess we should just take the boat. I'll find some way to pay her later.” He paused again, then seemed to make a decision. “Let's do it!”

by **Alexis Whitewave** on February 19th, 2012, 3:43 am

Alexis shot a curious look towards Daska but soon replaced it with a mischievous grin. "Right then, let's get going!" she said and headed towards the wheel. She took a quick glance at the compass which lay on the floor beside the wheel. She took hold of the wheel and turned the ship sharply around to the left, back to the Riverfall port that they had left. They had sailed away from it a good bit, however so it would be a little while until they reached the bustling harbor. Jargon's ship followed suite, albeit a little messily.

"I doubt you'll get around to paying whoever you're 'buying' this ship from." she said after a few minutes of silence. She looked towards the bow, hoping to see land. She came up empty handed though, however there was a few ships sailing within her view, which meant they were getting close enough.

OOCSorry for the short post.

[Flashback] Sailing Lessons, Part 2 (Completed)

[Flashback] Sailing Lessons, Part 2 (Completed)

[Flashback] Sailing Lessons, Part 2 (Open)

[Flashback] Sailing Lessons, Part 2 (Open)

[Flashback] Sailing Lessons, Part 2 (Open)

[Flashback] Sailing Lessons, Part 2 (Open)

[Flashback] Sailing Lessons, Part 2 (Open)

[Flashback] Sailing Lessons, Part 2 (Open)

[Flashback] Sailing Lessons, Part 2 (Open)

[Flashback] Sailing Lessons, Part 2 (Open)

[Flashback] Sailing Lessons, Part 2 (Open)

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