Across the Northern Seas (closed)

by **Alea Davenport** on August 30th, 2013, 3:00 am

Alea knew she shouldn't waste time with pithy banter, given that this was pretty much a life or death situation, but she couldn't help it. Upon being falsely accused she yelled back, "No, I'm just sane enough not to murder the entire crew! Guess being a petching mage really does make you crazy!" Not her best work, but really, what did he expect? She didn't really have time to craft the perfect one-liner.

Talking was probably a mistake, since he could use the sound of her voice to swat blindly at her. She flinched and ducked, blocking his first attack with her forearm. The sound of reinforcements made her a little bolder, and as it became clear that the mage did not know how to use real weapons, she became more annoyed than afraid. For some reason, he wasn't using his fire anymore, and instead of questioning it, she just thanked Priskil that he'd forgotten about that particular weapon. She decided she'd better do something before he remembered.

On his next attack, she dodged it with a stealthy step sideways. Without her making noise, the mage must have assumed she hadn't moved, because he kept attacking at the same place. Given how slow and clumsy his swings were, it wasn't difficult for Alea to grab hold of the stick at the end of a swing. Stepping back in front of the mage for better leverage, she jabbed the pole forward with the full force of her hostility, hoping to catch the mage in the chest or otherwise vulnerable area. Then she yanked it back just as hard, hoping to either gain control of it entirely, or at least pull him off balance. If he failed to let go, she could repeat the tactic all day, but as soon as he lost his grip, she pulled the pole back and swung it at him from the side.

by **Svasra** on September 17th, 2013, 1:01 am

With the noise of the door finally giving way to whatever the men threw at it, and the rattle of Alea's voice, Varmar let out an brute screech. It was the only response he would give the woman, and his bloodshot eyes blinked rapidly as they tried to ignore the burning sensation to track Alea down. His swats grew with a heavier force, teeth bared with effort and anger, his mouth moving with mumbled curses no one but he could make out.

As the two continued their dance, Alea stepping to the side, and his failing energy left Varmar to lamely swing his pole in her vague direction. Frustration was fuel to his fury though, and the temptation of using more of his already taxed djed was an insistent prospect to an already broken mind. It wasn't until he felt the pole catch in her hands did it finally snap. The jab to his stomach winded him, but the resilient reimancer held on with a guttural moan, spread his res over the wood of the pole.

It was obvious something was going wrong though. Blood was beginning to seep from his squinted eyes, and trickle from his nose. The res that leaked threateningly towards Alea was not flowing smoothly, jerking, leaving over himself, and towards Alea, ends randomly burst into the signature red flame. "Kill," he whispered, and his eyes focused on Alea who tugged the pole repetitively, though now he had enough sense to stay out of the range it jabbed back. "Murder," his voice rose slightly as he spoke, "Experiment." Here, Varmar grinned, showing teeth lightly coated in blood that was dripping from his gumline. "It is all the same, little girl." The pole lit in fire, and Varmar fell back, landing heavily on his side.

Though the pole was solely in her possession, Alea found herself grasping not the sturdy wood that it was previously, but a dry piece of wood rapidly taking hold of the flames. Dropping it with a cry, Alea took a wise step backwards.

For a moment it was only Alea, the burning rod, and Varmar, shuddering slightly where he lay. With a loud bang, and splinters of wood flying inwards, the door finally gave in, and sailors poured into the hold. "What in the petch is going on?" the Captain spat as he entered, eyes raking the room for answers. Landing on the fire that still guttered at Alea's feet, he yelled, men surging forwards as they saw the same, extinguishing it with cloth, feet, and panicked yelps.

More surrounded the woman who stood in the midst of it all, the only conscious one with a dead woman still in her holding cell, and a bleeding man mere feet away. The candlestick was ripped from her grasp, and men seized her arms, tight and furious. "Explain yourself!" was yelled at her from multiple angles and people until one bellow from the Captain silenced them all. He ambled forwards until he stood in front of Alea, a glower looking down at the woman, obviously waiting.

by **Alea Davenport** on September 17th, 2013, 1:25 am

Alea was briefly indignant at all of the hands grabbing her, especially since she was still sore about almost being set on fire. She held it in however, because she knew what this looked like, and it was important to her safety that she dispel any false assumptions as quickly as possible. Unable to point accusingly, she merely nodded toward the now-unconscious man. "It was him! He's a mage. A crazy mage! He was shooting fire everywhere, out of his hands! He k--killed Tamas." Her voice caught, her fear and grief and regret finally catching up with her now that the adrenaline was wearing off.

A wave of exhaustion passed over her, and she slumped back against the hands holding her. She mostly just wanted to leave the brig and forget this whole thing ever happened, but something made her keep talking. Captain might want the whole story, after all. "He was talking about poisoning the sailor's food, but I threw the poison at his face instead. Um... and... I'm not sure but, I think he might have been searching... um...searching T-Tamas... for something. But I dunno what he was looking for..." Her voice trailed off as she momentarily lost the energy even to speak.

It was starting to hit her now. She had seem Tamas die. She had been five feet away--she could have died, but Tamas died instead, all because mages existed in the world, mages with their insanity. Even if she could have convinced him not to go through with his crazy plan, she never would have done so fast enough to stop him using his horrible magics. No one should have that kind of power; it completely upset the balance, made it impossible to function in a community...

Her thoughts were starting to spiral into deliriousness. She hoped the Captain was done questioning her. She wasn't sure how much more of this day she could stand.

by **Svasra** on September 17th, 2013, 2:02 am

The rage of the sailors subsided as Alea mumbled almost incoherently. Captain Kreuger Coolwater's dark expression settled into a frown as he watched the young woman, alarm passing over his expression to hear of the death of one of the crew. A cry and muffled voices of comfort confirmed it only a breath later, sobs giving a chill to the already tense aura. The captain only glanced at the bleeding man on the floor with a twist of revolt, waving for him to be tied up, though his men were cautious to approach. "Sir," one said quietly as a few brave (or foolhardy) souls crept close with a length of rope. "He's already dead."

The captain seemed to age a few years as he passed a hand over his face, looking once from Alea to the man on the ground; the corpse, now. He seemed to struggle to take the word of the weakened woman before him after she had already caused trouble within the ship. Who was to say she was not the mage who set the pole alight? The cries of a few crewmembers was growing as their sorrow seemed untamed by the others that tried to offer comfort. "Get them out of here, and take ... take her body too," he said sharply, watching sailors leap up to follow his bidding.

The keening grew once they were outside of the brig, wavering on the air as he looked over at Alea. "Set her down, it looks like she'll pass out. Let's move the body." More shuffling and Alea was eased gently on the ground. "Careful, she said she spilled poison on him. Shirts off to wrap your hands to lift him, and burn them afterwards. Right? Go."

In the shuffle of moving the dead Varmar, a small object went unnoticed and was kicked towards Alea where it bumped into her hand as it rested to steady herself against the floor. No one else seemed to have noticed it, and as the men leave Alea is given a brief opportunity to take the object if she desires, or leave it for one of them to find. With a look downwards, casual to not draw attention, the small object is revealed as a bracelet, of small sharp figures, barely discernible in the dark. They are a pearly white, and a small graze over their tips show just how pointed they are.

The captain and Alea were left alone with only a couple sailor that loitered near-by, methodically cleaning the space though it was obvious their minds were elsewhere. "Alea, was it? Though it appears so strongly against your case, since it looks like he bust you out of her cell, and you are the only one that seems to be of any consciousness within the midst of the dead .... I can only hope you tell the truth. I suppose we will never really know what went on here, but it will be your conscience that lies heavy with the corpse of one of my sailors," the captain said slowly, glancing at Alea as he finished. His eyes glowed with suspicion and obvious distrust, but the man said nothing more.

by **Alea Davenport** on September 17th, 2013, 2:28 am

Alea was grateful for the chance to sit. She pulled her knees up against her head, taking deep breaths and trying to separate herself from the grieving and bustle around her. Her eyes flicked downward as the object bumped her, and before she could think to make a decision, her hand had already closed around it. White, sharp...teeth maybe? Was this what the mage had been searching for? What was so special about it? What if it was magic? Its last two owners were dead... so if it was magic it was probably cursed. And if it belonged to Tamas, even if it wasn't cursed on its own, Alea would probably be cursed for stealing it...

As much as part of her wanted to keep the trinket, the rest of her was too horrified. The Captain's words hurt worst of all. Alea did not kill Tamas, but if she hadn't picked that fight, Tamas would never have been in the position to die. Alea struggled with whether to blame herself or not, changing her mind with each rock of the ship. It stung that she told the truth and yet she still wasn't worthy of trust. Normally, she wouldn't care about anyone's opinion of her, but...someone had died. It felt...dishonorable to leave things so unresolved.

"Captain," she said, her voice weak at first. She coughed and tried again. "Captain, I think someone dropped this," she said, holding out the bracelet. "I'm not sure what it is, but it might belong to one of the sailors...?" She trailed off uncertainly. With her luck, she would now be accused of stealing on top of murder.

by **Svasra** on September 17th, 2013, 2:48 am

The silence that blanketed the brig was tense and solemn, a few sailors casting furtive glances at the woman, a few of the eyes seemingly disagreeing with the harsh words the man spoke. Even so, no one dared defend Alea, and they all bustled in their meandering little ways. It wasn't until Alea's voice broke the silence did attention once more return to her, the captain looking down where she sat with a narrowed gaze. "To the sailors?" he echoed, leaning down slightly to peer at the object.

The bracelet had an air to it, something off about the way the figures glittered pristinely in the wavering light of whatever candles the sailors had managed to light in the wait. "I have never seen such a thing before," he scoffed, shaking his head. "Keep it, such a thing would not be welcome on my ship," the captain continued with shrug of his broad shoulders. Silence prevailed once more as Kreuger diverted his attention, paying little heed to the woman at his side.

When a few sailors returned, Alea was hoisted up and led to one of the bunks, practically shoved in towards the bed as the door snapped smartly closed. By the noise of voices muttering outside, it becomes apparent a guard was suddenly necessary for the rest of the travel.

by **Svasra** on September 17th, 2013, 3:09 am

-20th of Summer, 512 AV-

With the winds creaking the wood, and rain making it seem like the boat was drowning rather than floating, the passengers were once more confined within the rocking hull of the boat as it tossed midst the waves like a small toy. The sails slapped in the breeze until the sailors brought them down, only a vague yell when the winds would suddenly deaden brought any evidence anyone was alive above, since their words were lost within the screeching wind moments afterwards.

The foreboding tenor of the night huddled people deep in their rooms, rumours of the crazed events within the brig isolating Alea far more sufficiently than the guard posted at her door did. Followed everywhere, and watched every move, it was obvious though the captain seemed to begin to trust her side, it was for everyone else's peace of mind as well that the woman was watched. Alea spent most of her days in her room, left to do as she wished, interrupted only for meals and some water.

The storm brought a barrage of panic and nauseated stomachs, the scent beginning to soak into the very wood itself as the waves continued to defy gravity, plowing into the ship until it sailed more sideways than forwards. Unlike the first storm that latest what seemed like years, this one was over once the night was through. It gave way to a sparkling heaven and still water.

The ship was in ragged shape though, and the crew came to an agreement to turn to shore, identifying themselves close to the Spires. It was a small detour, and though many took such bumps along the road as signs, a few hoped to see what happened to the city of Denval.

-23rd of Summer, 512 AV-

The ship slowly creaked into the dock of the wooded homeland of the Jamoura. These furred friends south of Avanthal were curious, kind, and gentle to the passengers that scampered off, puking in the grass, laying on the ground, dropping to pray to some vague god.

Alea came last, led by the crew, the captain's shadow cast in front of her as he walked silently behind her. "Good-bye, Alea," was all he said as she was nudged off the dock towards the great trees. His voice sounded final, and dark. Though he looked at her passively, the slight narrow in his gaze gave an impression quite opposite of welcome.

This journey was over, but for Alea, many more were just about to begin.

-End-

by **Lullaby** on November 28th, 2013, 4:23 am

Alea Davenport :

Experience:

Lores:

Other:

Notes

Whew! I am so sorry about the wait for this grade! I think everything is fairly straight forward, but you can always PM me for clarification if needed. Awesome work, as I've come to see is usual for you, and I really enjoy reading Alea's perspective. I look forward to grading more of your threads in the future, and I hope you will return to Avanthal one day!

A quiet song to soothe the heart

If you have any questions or concerns regarding your grade, please send me a PM and we can figure it out.