Season of Fall, Day 64, 512 AV
Sweat beaded on Avari's brow in the cool evening air as she prowled about the edges of Zeltiva's docks, now and then pausing to crouch behind a mooring stanchion or a large coil of rope before moving along. The shadows were lengthening and the sky above was darkening into a velvety blue-violet, though the hazy grey mist rising off the cool waters of the bay obscured the emerging stars from view and rendered the outlines of buildings, ships, and people vague and indistinct. Even sounds seemed to be muffled by the mist, especially this far out on the docks. The rhythm of the water lapping against the ships' sides was a low, musical murmur, and the usually harsh, brisk exchanges between sailors and dock laborers was softened into a distant, sibilant susurrus.
Veiled in coils of mist, Avari squinted through the silvery murk to fix her eyes on the ships moored at the famous long piers. By now, she had lived long enough in Zeltiva and haunted the docks so constantly that she had learned to tell apart the different ships and recognize familiar vessels that made regular berth at Zeltiva's harbor.
She had learned another thing about these ships too: when darkness fell, most sailors liked to swagger into the city, looking for a tankard of kelp beer and a good time. At night, the ships were lightly guarded, if at all, and the sailors who stayed aboard were generally a lazy, drunken lot. While by day, they might be a capable and cohesive crew, by night these sailors were nothing that a stealthy, cunning thief like Avari should fear.
The Konti had been watching one ship in particular for the last few days, a lean, trim merchant's sloop with a winged woman for its figurehead. This one caught her attention when the crew started unloading small crates marked "Fragile" onto the cargon wagons. After that, Avari had followed its sailors, bought them drinks at the Kelp Bar, challenged some of them at dice, and gradually winkled out the story of their valuable cargo -- glasswork from some place called Wind Reach, rice wine and crystal jewelry from Lhavit -- for which their captain was conducting furious negotiations that would make them all rich men. However, the sailors all agreed, the captain was keeping the best pieces of jewelry for himself in his cabin, presumably as presents for a woman.
After a long summer sequestered mostly within her cabin, for fear of catching the epidemic that spread like wildfire across the city, the thought of jewels locked aboard the ship was too tantalizing for Avari.
Now, she carefully rose back onto her feet and stalked forward a few more steps, pausing now and then to listen for dock laborers as she approached the lean sloop. Even after nightfall, the docks were as busy as ever, for ships could arrive at any time of day or night. She heard the heavy footfalls just in time and flew to hide behind a tower of discarded crates. Her heart was pounding in a way she had long missed, pounding with anxiety and excitement and the thrill of risking her life on a gamble for greater riches.
Only when the laborer's footfalls had faded entirely away did Avari dare to move again. The veils of fog parted around her as she tiptoed quietly across the pier toward the merchant's sloop. Cautiously, she climbed up the gangplank, listening carefully for sounds from within the ship. It seemed everything was quiet inside. Putting one hand in front of her, she began feeling for the walls of a cabin or wheel room, while her other hand carefully slipped a lock-pick out of a cloak pocket.
If she'd dared, Avari would have rubbed her hands together gleefully and laughed aloud. This was going to be so easy.
Just as the thought crossed her mind, though, a hatch opened almost directly before her feet on the deck. She scrambled backward, her booted feet scrabbling on the slippery wood planks, as a dark, grimy man's face poked out of the hatch and stared directly at her. Though the mists swirled around her, it would have been impossible to miss the slender figure all in black standing not two feet away from him, looking both furtive and frightened, holding a thin metal lock-pick in one hand.
"And just who might you be? Eh?" the sailor demanded angrily, in a voice that probably woke every snoring sailor within a hundred feet.
Inwardly furious that pure chance had thwarted her thievery, Avari responded by slowly backing away.
To punctuate his question, the man swiped out with one hand and grabbed her ankle, squeezing it so tightly that she could have sworn the bones were grinding together. At that point, she broke her silence and screamed, high and piercing, at the unexpected pain. For good measure, the sailor gave her ankle a fierce yank, and the world swung up and around Avari dizzyingly as she lost her balance and landed hard on her back, knocking her head against the wooden deck so that she briefly staw stars.
"What do you think you're doing here, eh?" the sailor grunted, climbing out of the hatch and standing above her, so terrifying tall. He raised his voice until the Konti swore it could probably be heard on the other side of Zeltiva. "Mates! Get up on the main deck. Looks like we've caught ourselves a little thief. Hehehe."
Even to Avari's half-dazed mind, that final chuckle sounded far too ominous for her liking.
Sweat beaded on Avari's brow in the cool evening air as she prowled about the edges of Zeltiva's docks, now and then pausing to crouch behind a mooring stanchion or a large coil of rope before moving along. The shadows were lengthening and the sky above was darkening into a velvety blue-violet, though the hazy grey mist rising off the cool waters of the bay obscured the emerging stars from view and rendered the outlines of buildings, ships, and people vague and indistinct. Even sounds seemed to be muffled by the mist, especially this far out on the docks. The rhythm of the water lapping against the ships' sides was a low, musical murmur, and the usually harsh, brisk exchanges between sailors and dock laborers was softened into a distant, sibilant susurrus.
Veiled in coils of mist, Avari squinted through the silvery murk to fix her eyes on the ships moored at the famous long piers. By now, she had lived long enough in Zeltiva and haunted the docks so constantly that she had learned to tell apart the different ships and recognize familiar vessels that made regular berth at Zeltiva's harbor.
She had learned another thing about these ships too: when darkness fell, most sailors liked to swagger into the city, looking for a tankard of kelp beer and a good time. At night, the ships were lightly guarded, if at all, and the sailors who stayed aboard were generally a lazy, drunken lot. While by day, they might be a capable and cohesive crew, by night these sailors were nothing that a stealthy, cunning thief like Avari should fear.
The Konti had been watching one ship in particular for the last few days, a lean, trim merchant's sloop with a winged woman for its figurehead. This one caught her attention when the crew started unloading small crates marked "Fragile" onto the cargon wagons. After that, Avari had followed its sailors, bought them drinks at the Kelp Bar, challenged some of them at dice, and gradually winkled out the story of their valuable cargo -- glasswork from some place called Wind Reach, rice wine and crystal jewelry from Lhavit -- for which their captain was conducting furious negotiations that would make them all rich men. However, the sailors all agreed, the captain was keeping the best pieces of jewelry for himself in his cabin, presumably as presents for a woman.
After a long summer sequestered mostly within her cabin, for fear of catching the epidemic that spread like wildfire across the city, the thought of jewels locked aboard the ship was too tantalizing for Avari.
Now, she carefully rose back onto her feet and stalked forward a few more steps, pausing now and then to listen for dock laborers as she approached the lean sloop. Even after nightfall, the docks were as busy as ever, for ships could arrive at any time of day or night. She heard the heavy footfalls just in time and flew to hide behind a tower of discarded crates. Her heart was pounding in a way she had long missed, pounding with anxiety and excitement and the thrill of risking her life on a gamble for greater riches.
Only when the laborer's footfalls had faded entirely away did Avari dare to move again. The veils of fog parted around her as she tiptoed quietly across the pier toward the merchant's sloop. Cautiously, she climbed up the gangplank, listening carefully for sounds from within the ship. It seemed everything was quiet inside. Putting one hand in front of her, she began feeling for the walls of a cabin or wheel room, while her other hand carefully slipped a lock-pick out of a cloak pocket.
If she'd dared, Avari would have rubbed her hands together gleefully and laughed aloud. This was going to be so easy.
Just as the thought crossed her mind, though, a hatch opened almost directly before her feet on the deck. She scrambled backward, her booted feet scrabbling on the slippery wood planks, as a dark, grimy man's face poked out of the hatch and stared directly at her. Though the mists swirled around her, it would have been impossible to miss the slender figure all in black standing not two feet away from him, looking both furtive and frightened, holding a thin metal lock-pick in one hand.
"And just who might you be? Eh?" the sailor demanded angrily, in a voice that probably woke every snoring sailor within a hundred feet.
Inwardly furious that pure chance had thwarted her thievery, Avari responded by slowly backing away.
To punctuate his question, the man swiped out with one hand and grabbed her ankle, squeezing it so tightly that she could have sworn the bones were grinding together. At that point, she broke her silence and screamed, high and piercing, at the unexpected pain. For good measure, the sailor gave her ankle a fierce yank, and the world swung up and around Avari dizzyingly as she lost her balance and landed hard on her back, knocking her head against the wooden deck so that she briefly staw stars.
"What do you think you're doing here, eh?" the sailor grunted, climbing out of the hatch and standing above her, so terrifying tall. He raised his voice until the Konti swore it could probably be heard on the other side of Zeltiva. "Mates! Get up on the main deck. Looks like we've caught ourselves a little thief. Hehehe."
Even to Avari's half-dazed mind, that final chuckle sounded far too ominous for her liking.
