Open Why Throw Your Life Away?

[Liminal]

Cadcus:

Despite her name, Charm wasn't easily charmed. Too many people had wanted something from her -- her prestige, her power, her money, her legendary family name. It was one of the reasons that her friends had tended to be Kena's old friends -- people she knew she could trust. "Life is full of warnings, but you don't get anywhere if you heed all of them. Trust me, Darva itself is a giant block of warning, and I'm going there anyway." She smiled a bit at that, showing the tips of her teeth. The rest of what the Ethaefal said, despite his slightly oily attempts to ingratiate himself, seemed straightforward enough. Who, after all, had less to lose than one of the forsaken? To throw away a life that had already been cast aside by a deity was almost the most fitting choice. "I like cats," was Charm's first reply. "Not on account of themselves really, but on account of the fact that life on a ship makes one loathe rats, and the enemy of my enemy must be treated as a friend, no?" Again, the hint of a smile crossed her lips. "The gods create storms of suffering. That's what they do, but we can't very well sit at home and cry about it, can we? Meet me at the docks on the seventy-fifth, and bring with you the gear that you'll need. I'm happy to have you." She stood, retrieving a sheet of paper from atop the mantle. "This is a contract for the voyage," she said. "It entitles you to a share of anything that we might find, and holds my estate not liable should you not return. If you'll sign this, it will be official."

[Cadicus]

Cadicus grinned in victory. The kitten comment had cinched the deal. All throughout Cadicus' speech, Charm had spouted idioms and proverbs to make her seem wiser than she really was. In Cadicus' experience, however, wiseness was always an illusion; something people put on, just like the Ethaefal put on his grin and his charm. It helped them get what they wanted. But still. Charm had what she wanted, and Cadicus, what he wanted. He stood, dwarfing the adventurer, taking the contract from the woman. Barely giving it a second glance, he signed the parchment, leaning against the bookcase, his signature showy and pretentious: something he did not use very often. To him, word of mouth was as good as ink, and ink could be ignored. "Signed. My life is yours for the next while. Let us hope the gods throw whatever suffering they have at us, eh?" His laughter had a cold steel undertone. Bitterness at the heavens ran rife in Cadicus' being. "I will see you, my fair lady, at the docks. Seventy fifth." Bowing with a flourish, he took her wrinkled hand and kissed it. Winking, he turned and strolled out the door, his cape flicking out behind him, as grandiose as Cadicus' act. But it had gotten him what he wanted.

[Lucas Arias]

„Oh? It does?“ Lucas cast another glance at the books as Charm informed him that the University library owned nearly all of them, and then he shrugged his shoulders. „It would be more fun to read them in Charm’s house than in the University library. The librarian hates me. I don’t have any idea why. Maybe she doesn’t want me to look for the library ghost.“

„I know that you are no Kena“, he informed her. „You are Charm, and that’s good enough for me. I’m glad that you think I have the right kind of spirit. I’ll be there on the seventy-fifth.“ He wondered what kind of gear he would need for such a trip. He’d probably have to go shopping.

He accepted the contract from Charm and read it, furrowing his brow as he did so. „So if I die, my parents won’t get anything?“ he asked, and then he shrugged his shoulders. He didn’t really care about his parents since they had forced him to become a squire.

„Alright“, he said and signed the contract. „I don’t plan on dying anyway.“

[Ayatah]

"Your people killed my sister's best friend."

Ayatah had never been particularly good at history. To her, the murders fulfilled by Myrians were a symbol of their strength - with no single event standing out to her personally. The question was answered by an almost casual shrug of her shoulders, ”you sister’s best friend had stepped into the home of my people. If someone invaded your house, you might attack them, too.”

"I can't hold you responsible, and you're here in Zeltiva after all, which speaks to some other motivation in your life. But tell me, Myrian -- why should I trust you? Not to stay alive, or to survive; your people are noted for that. But to take you on as a member of the crew. Can you tell me?"

”My loyalty lies with my Goddess, my people and my family.”[/b] She spoke earnestly, ”so long as it is not them that we battle against, I have no reason to turn against you.”

She paused.

”Plus, I am only half Myrian. My father was Eypharian.” Despite the years she had ignored and even denied her father’s people, Ayatah had quickly learnt that the opinions of Zeltivan’s seemed to change when she mentioned that she was Mixed-blood. They usually regarded her less of a savage, and more of a… mystery. Though she was not sure which she favoured.

|| Ayatah's speech || Ayatah's thoughts || Others' speech ||

[Liminal]

Ayatah:

Charm frowned, and something close to anger clouded her brow. "If someone landed in Zeltiva and didn't do anything except try and get a few barrels of water, I most certainly wouldn't attack them." Nonetheless, Charm listened to the rest of Ayatah's words. It took her a few seconds after the other woman was done speaking to answer. "I don't imagine we'll be fighting against your people, your family, or your deity. I don't even know if we'll be fighting at all. But it's hard to believe that we'll find any of those things on Darva." She also shrugged. All things considered, she would have preferred not to have a Myrian on the voyage, but a good captain learns to make the best of what she can get. In her younger days, she would have refused, but on this last voyage, who knew what would be useful? "I've been many times to Ahnatep," was her response to the revelation of Ayatah's Eypharian blood. "It's a beautiful city." "At any rate, if you'd like to come, I'll have you. Meet me at the docks on the seventy-fifth, and bring with you the gear that you'll need." She stood, retrieving a sheet of paper from atop the mantle. "This is a contract for the voyage," she said. "It entitles you to a share of anything that we might find, and holds my estate not liable should you not return. If you'll sign this, it will be official."

[Liminal]

Hadrian:

Charm nodded in agreement. Hadrian's description of his skills matched what she had heard of him. "If you have the time before the 75th to make a pair of those amulets, that would be excellent. I have no idea what the rest of the voyage will bring, or what I might need, but communication is always good." She drummed her fingers on the arm of her chair. "What's the going price for that sort of thing?"