Closed [Klet's Tower] Anchorage

[Languish]

25th of Spring, 517 AV

"Aye! Land, ho!"

Bull sat up straight from his spot behind the wheel, snorting as he started awake. "Land?" He asked sleepily.

"Land!" Kid nearly screamed, sliding down from his perch on top of the sail. His face glowed with excitement beneath the deep circles of exhaustion under his eyes. "Right up there over the prow wall. There's a big old light tower-"

"Lighthouse." Bull corrected.

"Yeah, yeah, lighthouse. It's on a really rocky beach, so it might be a hard anchoring, but I think we can do it if we get all hands." Kid spoke quickly, already glancing about in search of their companions.

Bull stood up, groaning as he did so. "Alright, Kid. Call 'em out."

Kid straightened up and threw his head back, shouting, "All hands on deck! Turn to anchoring!"

Bull clapped him on the back in congratulations, nearly knocking the child over. "Good work, lad. Now let's get us in there. Go on up to the nest and tell me what you see."

As Kid and Bull navigated the boat, the others would have time to gather their things, pull the steeds up from the storage area, and prepare for landing. When finally the boat began to grind on the rocks, the anchor was dropped, and the crew was given to unboard. A long ramp was extended from the boat, allowing them to make it to the shore with minimal wading. Kid led the way, skipping down the ramp gleefully and splashing through the ankle-deep water in barefeet.

"We're here, adventurers!" He cheered, kicking up pebbles on the beach. "Let's set up camp. We got a few long days ahead of us."

[Sayana]

Sayana was staring off into the vast ocean, strangely pensive as she thought about the journey ahead. Soon they would be finishing up the sea travel portion only to continue on by land. How far inland the fallen star might be, it was impossible to tell, but she suspected they would have enough supplies for the trip. Otherwise it would be one hell of a journey getting back and having to live off the land in the process.

The ocean water glittered with the bright sun and her hands cupped her chin as the barge rocked upon the waves. With the shout from the young one, Kid, the Eypharian stood up and looked in the direction he was pointing. There was something. She swiftly crossed the ship to the other side for a better view. Sure enough, there was a distant green smudge against the horizon. Everywhere else it was a straight and crisp line where the sky met the sea, but as they sailed towards the land it became more and more distinct that they were in fact seeing land.

The young lad called out saying something about a light tower. Curious, Sayana watched as he slid down from the crow’s nest and in turn, she decided to go up to see for herself. Using the thick rope netting that hung from the mast, she clambered up and then put her feet and hands on the metal rungs as she neared the crow’s nest. The mast swayed slightly in the wind and against the strength of the huge white sail, and she kept her grip strong until she swung her legs over to the platform way up in the air.

Syna shone brightly upon the waves and when she faced the direction of the green smudge of land, it had become more than just that. The shoreline looked rocky yet there was the outline of a tower. The top looked a little different, and Sayana wasn’t exactly sure what made it a ‘light tower’, but there it stood strong and tall made out of stone.

For several chimes, the Eypharian stayed up there watching as they approached the shore. The rocking of the ship was certainly more noticeable but it wasn’t her first time on top the crow’s nest.

As Kid and Bull asked for more hands on deck, she kindly obliged and clambered down the mast to lend a hand. Or a few hands. At their instruction, she tied and untied ropes, pulling and hooking them to different places to help steer the ship in towards the land. Some of the sails needed to be rolled up if they were going to properly anchor, and she helped out while climbing upon the netting as necessary.

She didn’t see Clyde helping out with the sails and ropes, but she had the impression that manual labor was not the type of thing that interested the mage. She wouldn’t be surprised if he was below deck gathering his magical supplies.

After she was done with the sails, she gave an extra few hands on the anchor then watched as they let down a long plank. It was time for her to gather her belongings. There had been little to unpack, as most of her equipment was for the land travel, and soon she was ready with a few bags and her horse on a lead. She went first, splashing into the shallows with her gear and having asked Kid to hold her horse. Then she came back to gently coax her horse down the plank and to shore.

They were really here. They had made it.

[Sayana]

For one who had frequently used the labors of others, ethically or unethically, it might have seemed strange the vigor in which she went about unloading the ship. There was much to unload, not just personal belongings like clothing but equipment such as tents, cookware, and tarps. Not to mention all the food rations that had been brought. Surprisingly, even a city such as Sahova could supply the living with travel rations.

“Oy! Kid! Pass me that big rucksack.”

“Coming right up lady!”

The sailor slang had rubbed off on her over the journey and she slung the heavy sack onto her back with a clatter of metal pots and pans. Clearly the contents of the bag. Stepping into the frigid water she waded the last several yards to shore. To the left was the lone stone tower. The lighthouse. She wondered if anyone lived in it, or used to live in it. But no one had emerged or approached the group.

With most of the supplies and equipment on shore, Sayana took it upon herself to see the lay of the land. Besides, Stardust needed a good run after being cooped up onboard the ship.

Sayana gave a whistle to her horse. When the mare didn’t come immediately, she followed up a soft hypnotic suggestion embedded in another whistle. Come to me Stardust. Come to your master.

The horse stopped its grazing and trotted eagerly towards Sayana. The Eypharian quickly saddled up the horse and mounted the stark white mare before setting off. However, not without first eliciting a sense of pleasure and loyalty from the horse, using more of her hypnotic djed. Although these proddings of her horse’s mind had become routine for her magically speaking, the constant conditioning was a means to continually train the mare to be quick to respond to her every desire and command.

The rocky terrain could prove treacherous, so she took it slow until they were inland enough for normal stable ground. Trees grew here and there, but mostly it was low lying vegetation that could handle the rocky soils. Leaning into a trot, she scouted out the surrounding area seeking a few things: a good source of water, a place to set up tent, and a source of firewood.

Wood was for the most part plentiful. Despite the few trees, there were enough fallen logs and old branches to supply a fire. There ground by the shore was too rocky to comfortably set up tent and the pegs would be a challenge. Even with Clyde’s help with tent pegs, it would be uncomfortable at best sleeping on the large slabs of rock. But further inland the ground gave way to plants and real soil. But she still hadn’t found a source of water.

Reining in Stardust for a moment, she scanned the landscape. There were hills off to one side and a little into the distance. They had their fair share of trees but also large rocky cliffs that would be difficult to climb. In the immediate vicinity there was a lot of low lying shrubs, dry and grass-like similar to the prairies of Sahova. However, as she looked into the distance she a faint ‘line’ of trees breaking the uniformity of the landscape. Even though it was a small lead to go off of, the irregularity of the vegetation was enough for her to investigate.

[Sayana]

Spurring her horse onwards, she set out at a trot. Hooves trampled down low lying shrubs and she looked ahead as the shoreline curved inwards. As she neared the winding line of trees, she slowed down for a moment, even reining in her horse to a complete halt. That’s when she heard it, a soft babble of water that was unique against the consistent waves against the shore.

With renewed energy she led her mount forwards to the destination ahead. Sure enough, the land parted to give way to a large stream. It wasn’t any massive river but it was certainly large enough to supply the party with water. She watched as the waves of the ocean struck against the currents of the stream, causing a swirling mix of water. Following the bank upstream, she noted the various trees growing near the source of water compared to the dry landscape elsewhere. She would have to remember such signs in future.

The Eypharian dismounted a sufficient distance from the mouth of the stream, not wanting to gather water that had been contaminated by the salty sea, and retrieved two waterskins. She also led Stardust to the edge of the bank to drink as she filled up the skins. The water was cool yet refreshing, and she drank her fair share before refilling the skin.

As Sayana remounted her horse, she idly wondered if trees always grew taller by a water source or if sometimes a river stunted their growth in a thick forest. Yet it was not time for such queries and instead she struck off at a quick trot back the way she came.

The ship could easily be seen at a distance and it was no trouble finding her way back. Stardust slowed down as the terrain became more rocky and Sayana didn’t push her horse. Once within earshot, she saw that the ship had been fully unloaded.

“Kid, Bull! There’s a stream nearby to restock your water supplies. I gather you’ll stay the night?”

More than that, she couldn’t say. She doubted the two sailors would traverse the thick forest. They were sea worthy, no doubt, but they weren’t the ones who had signed up to find and retrieve the star.

“Aye, we’ll stay the night. Make sure nothing got forgotten and see you adventurers off. We’ll leave with the tide on the morrow.” Bull answered. “Show us this stream of yours.”

A momentary grimace flickered over her face at the word ‘adventurers’. It was a rather naïve term for them. However, with the opportunity to present her findings, Sayana smiled and helped load up the horses to lead the way.

[Sayana]

Sayana loaded up Stardust as much as she could with supplies before setting off to the stream. The Eypharian walked alongside her mount, realizing it was further than expected, at least on foot. Yet as they hiked through the low lying shrubs, Syna beating down upon them, they soon reached the stream she had scouted out earlier.

The gurgling of the water announced their arrival and Sayana also spotted a calm reedy pond just off the main stream. They unloaded the horses and Bull bent down to the water’s edge to scoop up a handful. “Cool and fresh. We’ll have no problem filling up here.”

Sayana took out the bundled up tent she’d be using and found a flat place to lay it out. She started by hammering in stakes to hold it in place and then went about fitting the poles into a frame. It had been a while since she had last set up a tent, but the process soon came back to her after a few mismatched poles. Once the fabric was secure on the frame, she hefted it up, using all six arms to hold it in place.

Pleased at her work, she headed off to the pond that she had spotted earlier. While she didn’t trust the stagnant water for drinking, she did come across some cattails growing in the calm pool. Grasping them hard, she pulled them up and cut the stems as necessary. The fluff of the tips would make good padding for a pillow or some easy tinder to get a spark lit.

While she was at the pond, she came across another find. Fauxsil. The leafy reed grew in multitudes within the same vicinity of the cattails. With one pair of hands, she collected the cattails and with another pair she began snapping off long leaves of fauxsil. Tentatively she nibbled at one of the smaller leaves and smiled at the refreshing, if slightly bitter taste.

By the time she returned, someone had already started a small fire. She snapped off a couple of branches along the way and tossed them onto the pile of kindling beside the flames.

“Anyone for a snack?” Sayana asked and passed around the fauxsil to those who were interested.

Water, shelter, a fire, a bit of food…

The Eypharian took a seat on a log and began plucking the fluff from the cattails. Slowly began to fill a small cloth bag. If she had more time, she might have considered trying to fish in the stream, but after all their preparations, Syna was starting to set. Bull and Kid departed for a short while to properly anchor and secure the ship.

When they returned, Sayana was all too happy to tell wild stories about how they were going to track down and capture the star, and what they would find when they actually reached it. Of course, Clyde would be trying to adamantly explain that it was a ‘not-star’, meanwhile as the coals of the fire died down, she ended the tale with a giant boulder bursting into a million fire flies.

It was in that moment in which she really did wonder whether she was an adventurer that the stories spoke of. To brave the wilds questing for something no one had ever seen before… Hah! True adventurers would have to worry about getting a good night’s sleep, right? Yet as she got ready to tuck in for the night, she was certainly looking forwards to a night with Clyde, and this time on solid ground once more.