Finding Freedom [IC]

[BelGareth]

First course, we'll Dine together

The ship rocked back and forth, those of you who had sailed before were used to it, others, who had overcome their land legs had adapted. But there were always those who never could quite get over seeing the horizon bob up and down like a undulating snakes backside.

It was no different on this journey, the Albetrosz had departed the city of Brenard, on it's way south to the Prison Islands to sell some cargo, it was normal for such trading vessels to take on passengers to supplement their income, and it created a nice naval highway for those who had the coin. Most ships stayed to the coast, fearing the deepwater, not knowing what laid beyond it.

Unfortunately, the Albetrosz was caught up in a storm, just as it crossed the Swelling Gulf, the deepest part of the journey, which whipped it up and took it far out to the unexplored seas.

So this morning, there were more people vomiting than usual, more of them were scared or anxious, most knew, if you lost sight of land, it was almost impossible to find it again, the last ship to come back from the deep sea was years ago, and few survived.

The storm had ejected the ship late in it's afterbirth, pushing it through the great waves that slapped against the deck with a wrath of destructive intent, the ship held up though, and bore the sea's anger with stoic ungiving mood of a hunk wood. The sails were tattered, sailors were hanging from several booms trying to stitch it back together as best they can. The ship gently rocked in the smooth waves, and creaked and groaned as it slowly settled back to it's normal shape. The captain looked grim, and there were hushed conversations with his first mate. A general mood of a certain macabre destination hung over those on board.

It was a week at sea when land was sighted, everyone ran to deck, eager to see their homeland, but it was immediately obvious that this was not what they were expecting, it seemed off, something about the land bespoke of an alien danger, of a hunger that wanted to reach out and gobble you all up.

Strange alien birds flew above you as you sailed for land, at first a longboat was sent, and those on board waited in sweaty trepidation as to whether or not they could join them. A shot was heard on the beach, and the rest of the longboats were hoisted down, and the remainder of the crew and passengers were dropped down into the strange waters, leaving behind a skeleton crew, as was the common practice.

It was halfway to the shore when the ship was destroyed.

Well, eaten was more accurate, several of you watching the open sea witnessed, as a titanic mouth, easily the size and width of the ship, emerged from the depths and burst through the ship like a giant parasite emerging from someones chest. The ship sank in two sections, both quickly taking on water and bobbing slightly as the under pull sucked both under.

At first, everyone was in shock, what could that have been? Why, where how? To many questions, the Captain, used to strange situations more than most rallied the rowers and barked out orders, sending you once again towards the shore, he turned to regard his lost ship with a stoic grimace, as if a part of him was lost, never to be regained.

His longboat was the first to be eaten, another titanic wurm smashed through it, annihilating the entire boat, and sending rowers, passengers and the captain like a load of flotsam in a storm.

Boat after boat, people drowned, you managed to take some on board, but eventually, your's was the only longboat to make it ashore.

Looking back, you can see dozens, if not hundreds of people swimming, floating on wood, or trying to stay atop the surface. But as you watch, each one is sucked under, like pimentos from an olive, something was dining on those in the sea, and its hunger knew no satisfaction.

[Iceseer]

Seeing what just happened I puked partially out of weakness and partially out of the unforgivable sea and just what happened. We need to come up with what we need and delegate who does what.Look Anyone of you girls have any ideas?

[Smeagol]

Alessan Rolfe felt insensitive looking back at the waters, as the swath of red from sailors' blood and in particular, how the light hit it at just the right angle, was beautiful in some sense from an artistic standpoint.

Accustomed to sailing, he had met his share of harsh storms on many such journeys - his artistic commission carried him to many different lands. However, none of that had prepared him for this devastation.

He was surprised that someone could speak in such a direct and unaffected way, and looked to the individual who broke this silence.

Delegate? And we're all being referred to as girls, are we? I'd say we have quite a bit more to talk about before we start re-enacting scenes from Lord of the Flies, yes? For starters, where in the world (or some other world) are we, and what the hell was it that just ate half the crew?

I'd be more inclined to get as far away from the shore as possible, for now.

Alessan looks around at his surroundings, for some sort of cover, and for any gear that may have washed up with them.

[Ramsus]

Hazel does not respond to the question as she is too busy hiding behind her luggage as if it were a shield and crying her eyes out in terror and sadness and generally just being overwhelmed. She'd held it together up till now, putting on a brave face and trying not to let the fear get to her for the last few days. But when the giant monster ate the ship her resolve slowly crumbled away the closer they got to land and once out of immediate danger her emotions just flooded out.

[2D8HP]

Awakened in the crows nest by a lurch

Talisker Stòrm (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=21870047#post21870047)

finds the ship listing at an extreme angle.

The ship is sinking!

Climbing down quickly, and in a haze, he can barely understand any of the shouts as he rushes to the longboats.

Pulling a few survivors out of the water he rows for land and helps to pull the boat ashore.

He turns his eyes to the sea and see's a nightmare, then he the contents of his stomach come up and out.

Feeling faint, he says: "We've got to find water", then he passes out.

[Iceseer]

I was literally just referring to the females of the party due to how I know some females can complain if I ask both parties at the same time. Yes delegates to essentially oversee each part of the operation as it is smarter to have us split up depending on our abillities. Now does anyone besides me think that drinking from the ocean is a bad idea and have any idea to get a fresh supply of water. Oh yeah now guys do you have any ideas what we need to get to survive?

[DoctorGlock]

'Feck.'

Not the words Cathal had hoped to make landfall with. Of course, this wasn't his home in the Emerald Isles was it?

'****eFeck.'

That was added as he realized that most of his belongings were now in the sea. With the wurms. And he wasn't a swimmer. And he sure as hell could never master the Name of water. Heart was always in the wrong place for that one. A sudden realization flickered across his eyes as a hand snapped down to his belt where it was met by a comforting jingle. Ah. That was important. Didn't matter if the rest was all in Davy Jones' locker, so long as he had them...

'Sodding try that on dry land, yeh whores,' he spits towards the sea in a thick brogue.

The whole situation was embarrassing. A master Namer, defeated by a storm of all things. And Wind was the first Name he'd mastered too.

The storm was too strong. I was too drunk. I was distracted by the time of year. Excuses, and threadbare ones at that. Ye done fecked it all up. Well, sodden robes and chainmail meant he wasn't risking what was left of his ass to play hero.

Cathal lurched to his feet with a grunt, leaning heavily on his staff as he limped down the beach. Not time for recriminations now. Clear your mind. Focus on the task at hand. He stood a moment and Listened, hearing the echoes of the world around, attuning himself to the world's whisper here. Stone was always a bit trickier than wind. It required more stability. But he could just about hear it hum on the edges of perception.

Good. Now see the bastards try to take a whack at him.

Cathal joined the others as the conversation started.

'Three days,' he spits. 'Three days without water. Three weeks without food. Kills ye dead. Shelter next, because god's blind arse wouldn't know what lives on this ****erock but of course it's probably hungry. Fire too-- most things out there don't want to come close.'

He scowls at the display of sobbing, puking and unconsciousness. 'Anyone have any of their crap intact?'

[Iceseer]

Got a bag of yeast a bag of sugar a frying pan and well that was all I could grab before leaving. We will need more though.

[WindStruck]

Eahlidun didn't have a good time on the ship. Overall, it was a relatively small, fixed area to be confined to on a mysterious sea of unknowns. Death. The pixie was certainly out of his element here. The insides of the Albetrosz were much too cramped for his liking, as was with just about any other ship. The rocking was something he was completely unused to as well. So Eahlidun preferred staying outside, whenever possible.

As the only fey passenger on this ship in the crew's recollection, he couldn't help but feel a certain tension on the boat. There were no families here. There were only sailors filled with piss and bile from a hard life and superstitions. He wouldn't be surprised if they all blamed the storm and the monster on him. There was just one child on this ship. All alone. And just a few young adults.

Admittedly, the best parts were when he hung out in the crows nest talking to a fellow. At least when he wasn't passed out drunk. Talisker was his name. But when the storm came, Eahlidun didn't even want to be outside in it either. He would be blown away and drown for sure!

When the sea monster struck, it was an appalling sight which then turned into a terrifying experience. Eahlidun cloaked himself in a veil and took to the air as longboats started being crushed. Amid the shouts and screams, he tried to find a spare rope to pull someone along to shore with, only for the person and all they floated on to be suddenly sucked under. Were it not for his tougher skin, he'd have a bad rope burn...

This was a nightmare. Everyone around was dying, and there wasn't a damn thing he could do about it! Why was this happening?? It was probably the third or fourth time Eahlidun asked himself that question on this journey. With a last ditch effort, he tried to help push the final boat to shore. As did the men rowing. No one even spared the thought of a gentle landing, as the longboat careened from shallow water to skidding along sand, abruptly stopping.

The men, a couple women, and a girl all scrambled out as fast as humanly possible, and some folk already started bickering. His new baker friend didn't seem to be the most eloquent of speakers.

Eahlidun felt sick to his stomach too from witnessing the gore and pure adrenaline rush, but he managed to at least keep his composure up to the point where he wouldn't hurl. But any and all fighting had to stop now. The fairy appeared next to Alessan and said, "He's right! Whatever that thing is, we still might not be safe here!"

He never did manage to get the artist's name. But he knew Hazel's. He flew up to her and put a hand on each shoulder. "It's going to be fine," he assured her. Though technically he didn't know for sure, he felt really confident things would be ok.. provided they got to safety. "C'mon Hazel, just a little further!"

Truthfully, he was having a really hard time keeping it together himself. Were it not for his age and his sheer optimism, he may have been in tears just like her.

[Ramsus]

At Eahlidun touch and gentle prodding Hazel half stops crying. It's at least mostly silent now as she nods and begins pulling her luggage along, following the pixie, though barely really seeing where she was going. She probably wouldn't have even managed that much composure if it wasn't for the times Sir Kerghan instructed her on the necessity of being able to act without hesitation in dangerous circumstances.

[WindStruck]

Eahlidun gently took the girl's hand and led her... well crap, come to think of it, he had been so focused on the horrors of the sea, he hadn't really looked at the land since he'd been up close.

Where the ocean waves finally stopped, making a damp boundary of sand, there was about forty feet or so distance to the other side of the beach. The sand almost imperceptibly inclined upward until the other side. There, the ground sharply rose like a steep hill, comprised of much more soil than sand, mostly covered with splotches of grass and tiny shrubs. No particularly easy way up. But it wasn't impossible either.

It didn't matter anyway. Eahlidun was pretty certain that once they got that far away from the ocean, that thing, whatever it was, wouldn't be able to reach them. He simply went where it looked like it might be easiest to climb up.

[PeacefulOak]

The trip had been a disquieting time for Annikai. Though her captor had been a gentleman, his style of speech and his mannerisms, nevermind the strange mechanical nature of the vessel on which they travelled, had rubbed the tribal leader the wrong way. Instead of passing the days at sea conversing with her captor she sang. She sang the songs of her people, of the spirits of air and water, the spirits of bird and fish. She had wailed and called, lamenting her absence from her peoplel and their loss, their betrayal. She had despaired that she would never again feel the spirits of nature against her skin.

For all that, she could still hear whispers of spirits from without the ship, though their words had been odd. Something about the dialect was.... different. They listened though! With strange focus, too. She complained of her torments, and a torrent of rain and water assaulted the ship. She asked about the fish and fowl of this new land, and those very creatures leapt to the surface, assaulting the ship and the passengers.

Her steps are light as she makes her way from the wreck of the longboat and onto the shore, digging her bare feet into the sand. A leather ceremonial dress adorns her dancer's body, with matching leather bands at her arms and thighs decorated with tattered feathers. She listens as the strangely dressed folk speak of needing water, food, and shelter... and she nods in a satisfied manner. This is her role and responsibility, her calling and her path, to seek the intercission of the spirits to protect her people.

Not that these look much like my people.... but they have need. Let me call then to the spirits.... perhaps they will hear me beter from here!



"Worry not, children. I shall ask of the spirits, that your needs be met." Her voice is soft but commanding of attention. Closing her ears and her eyes, she begins to dance in the sand, her feet tracing an ancient pattern into the ground. A soft song-chant drifts from her lips as she dances, a song of ancient language and deep resonant tones that sound odd coming from the young woman's mouth. The song beseeches the aid of the ancient spirits of stream and water.

[DoctorGlock]

'Piss to that. Won't get far,' Cathal answers Stane. His eyes narrow as he scans the horizon then an unpleasant smile breaks across his ravaged face. 'But food won't be a problem if you can wrangle up some water.'

Those birds might not be familiar. But there were a lot of them. And some were quite large.

The air here was still and sullen, warm and oppressive. Cathal let the feeling of roll about his tongue for a moment, tasting the sylables, attuning them to the world here. Yes, he had them...

Cathal thrust his staff upwards with swift bark of command, and impossible echoes that could not come from any human throat, all drowned out by the answering gale, smashing directly down from the skies, shattering wings and hurling birds against the rocks around. Instantaneous, it fell like a hammer blow, and was gone before the echoes of the Name had vanished. He called the wind, and it answered.

He steadied himself on the staff for a moment while the dizziness passed. Naming always came at a cost, but he was a master. It's why everyone had always come to him... no, he shook that thought off before opening his good eye again.

'You'll need a bigger sack.'

[BelGareth]

As you all depart the longboat, so to do the men who were rowing, mostly crew members, but 3 of them were warriors, rapiers, longswords and other manner of blades upon their hips, all three were wearing leather armor with stitched metal plates, they had lost there helmets in the panic, but regained their composure as one of them scowled and surveyed the area.

"Aight, we'll need those things afore long, so best get to it!" he barks out, the other two nodding, apparently accepting his sudden leadership without a word. The rest of the crew, 5 other men, nodded and took it in stride, while one man was still sitting in the boat, silently watching his crew mates being sucked under in shock.

They watched as Cathal smashed several birds against the rocks with the wind "Impressive mate, we'll need yer talent more often I'm sure o'it." he says with a tinge of respect for you ability.

Even so, your Truenaming wasn't what you expected. It worked, yes, but not as it should have, the gust you spoke into existence was not as strong as it should have been, nor focused. It was as if the land here was resisting you. Something you are familiar with, new lands can sometimes take on a subtle accent, one you will have to get used to, in the mean time, you would need to be careful who knows what could happen here if you said the wrong word incorrectly.

Annikai was separate from the group, and her communion was much less obvious, gaining no attention from the debarking men. At first, you plunged your mind into the spirit world, and smiled as you sensed the spirits, but, things were....alien, they didn't respond to you like on the ship, not even the whisper of one. They were different here, not even cousins, and you would have to do some more investigatory work to see why. Which of course, required lots of incense, smoke, and time. none of which you had at the moment.

The Leader, a strong man with a large physique and a scar across his right eye down to his left cheek began ordering the men around "Gather what gear we can mates, I'm sure something survived, or if'n not, we might be able ta make good use o'it!" the men nodded and went about moving down the beach gathering what they thought could be used and what had washed up on shore.

Not a single man even touched the surf, too afraid to enter the water even a little bit.

He turned to regard you all with a lifted eyebrow "THAT MEANS YOU ALL TOO!" he yells with a tone of authority.

[Iceseer]

He begins to work dutifully and seems to be content knowing that the items that washed up on shore might be of some use. He sees wet lumber burlap and a soggy map, but nothing that he seemed useful to eat or drink besides a barrel of wine that he saw had a crack on the side and a soggy bag of flour. Knowimg the burlap didn't have any real use at the moment he took the burlap and tried to plug the crack.

[WindStruck]

Eahlidun disappeared in the blink of an eye and left Hazel briefly to go back to try and find stuff that may have been washed up. He flew a ways down the beach and began searching, also keeping a weary eye out to the waves and listening... he didn't think it was a good idea for anyone being right near the water, though he thought if he was undetectable and not even touching the ground, a nasty monster wouldn't jump out of the sea and eat him. As for the others who began to obey this man's barking orders... he hoped they would be alright. The better to get this over with quickly and help.

When it comes to ship wrecks, not much actually floats, as many objects are far too dense. There was some flotsam starting to wash up on shore, but it appeared all but worthless except as scraps for burning. Actually, Eahlidun thought he could make some good use of it for whittling things, so he threw some bits of wood further onto the beach quickly.

"Look!" Eahlidun said, appearing and pointing at some wooden objects bobbing up and down in the ocean.

What actually caught the pixie's attention were barrels and chests that were floating. That must be where the real valuable things on this ship might be. Obviously the captain or perhaps the merchants who requested these goods' transportation wanted the containers sealed and able to float in the event of a loss or .. some kind of catastrophic wreckage such as this.

"It looks like there is stuff way out there! But..."

So far, pieces of scrap wood was all Eahlidun seemed to find, and these barrels seemed more promising. But they were still quite a ways from the shore... and as the last of the people clinging for dear life were sucked under the waves a thought formed in Eahlidun's mind: how would they be able to retrieve them without being eaten?

[Smeagol]

Alessan, unphased by the order and already having been in the act of collecting supplies, merely raised an eyebrow in return at the suggestion.

We will need to seek cover as well. There may be far worse creatures on land than we faced at sea. Whatever foul place it is that we have discovered, we need to make the best of what we have to survive.

Do we have any idea where we may be, based on the direction we were heading prior to the... unfortunate events?

[2D8HP]

Hearing the shouting

Talisker Stòrm (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=21870047#post21870047)

comes to, looks out and says "Those barrels can hold rainwater!", then he holds his knife in his teeth, and dives into the water, and swims to the floating barrels.

[WindStruck]

Eahlidun couldn't believe his eyes. He thought Talisker to be a braggart, someone he assumed embellished his tales of bravery a lot. Which was fine, he supposed. Humans and other mortal alike were often prone to lie, and he liked his character nonetheless.

Still, seeing the man dive into the water with a knife in his teeth, it took away all doubt. And instead, now Eahlidun felt overwhelming worry.

"Talisker, wait!! There's - there's a monster out there!!"

He still couldn't believe it. Was the man that drunk? Had he not seen the ship be split in two and all the other men die out there? The pixie stared wide-eyed out to the water, mouth open, he looked to everyone and back out to sea.

What were they going to do??

[Smeagol]

Alessan watches on, initially horrified, but further reflection makes him see it differently.

I do suppose that's one less mouth to feed if he becomes fish food as well.

[Ramsus]

Hazel stares at Alessan, horrified of his words slightly more than she is at Talisker's behavior.

[DeltaK]

Everyone was so focused on getting off of the longboat and making it to shore that they completed missed a large bearded man still sitting in the boat, staring forwards. Right as one of the other survivors jumped back into the water, Allen finally had a thought enter into his shocked mind. As everyone turned to stare at Talisker, Allen jumped up and yelled out, "My wares!" Allen runs to the far end of the boat and stares at turbulent sea that once held the ship. "I'm ruined!"

[2D8HP]

Talisker Stòrm (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=21870047#post21870047)

Prays to"The Lady", She-who-shall-not-be-named... The 'Million-to-One' Chance - and all of the other chances as well... The One who will desert you when you need Her the most - and sometimes She might not...

"Please-oh-please-oh-please-oh-please."

And hums this music:


https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AdIpoE2LEps

[PeacefulOak]

"My dance, my ceremony is my help, oaf! I speak to the spirits, for the spirits, and through the spirits. I am the intercession, the leader of the faithful, and the guide of all those who value the old ways." Annika stamps her foot angrily, disturbing the image that her dance had inscribed in the sand. She turns and stomps towards the shoreline, picking up any soothe stones and bright shells as she goes.

[Iceseer]

Not really understanding what she said I try to stop her and say Now I might come off as rude but it's a moronic idea to get close to the shore and nobody can really save that Dumb Donkey but I don't want another to be hurt.

[DoctorGlock]

'My talents here are just as likely to kill the man as draw him back, and I've nae deathwish to go in after him,' Cathal states. 'Aye well, I've seen men oft do suicidal things through trauma, eavery company always looses a few that way. Might as well round up supplies.'

With that, Cathal turns back towards the beach to see what he can find in the wreckage. Tools were key. Pots. Anything that could hold water or boil it.

[BelGareth]

Talisker jumps into the ocean and begins swimming, looking for the barrels, he makes good way, however, he immediately notices several wakes in the water signaling something was coming directly at him, several somethings.

Everyone on shore can also see this, Talisker didn't have to run far to get deep enough water as the beach seems to drop of relatively close, and so you all can see very clearly what is happening.

The scarred man merely scowls, a part of him was ok with it, he didn't know the man and it was one less mouth to feed, and who needed careless risk takers such as that when you were trying to survive? But something else, something that was barely an ember at the moment flared brightly, if only for a moment, even after all the death and mortality around him, it was still hard to see someone die.

[WindStruck]

Eahlidun takes off his hat, fidgeting with it along the rims as he watches the things in the water closing in on Talisker. He sighed. The damned fool. Part of him felt heartbroken for the doom about to come to a new friend. But another part was frustrated and angry.

Perhaps because there was seemingly nothing he could do... or the bloody gory senseless violence of it all...

Quickly, he turned back to the others, approaching Hazel and trying to lead her to turn around. "Don't watch," is all he could say.

[Ramsus]

Hazel is all too happy to do as instructed and turns away and claps her hands over her ears for fear of what she might hear in the next few moments.

[2D8HP]

Seeing the wakes coming towards him

Talisker Stòrm (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=21870047#post21870047)

Tries to get back to the beach as fast as he can

Panting for breath at first, as he spits out the last of the seawater, he curls up into a ball, sobbing

"So much lost"

[BelGareth]

Talisker notices the incoming wakes towards his direction, and almost too late, stops in the water, stalling his forward momentum, and vainly trying to reverse it.

He heads back to shore with a look of terror upon his face, his eyes maddened by what they may have seen.

As he reaches few feet from shore, a tentacle reaches from beneath the waves and tries to grab him as he stumbles upon shore, trying to get out of the sea. It rakes him on the back, sending him stumbling, but ultimately out of the water.

Lying their, his back is torn open, almost to the bone, the tentacle seems to linger for a moment, and then sucks back down to the deep from where it came.

[WindStruck]

When the man turned around, a glint of optimism now inhabited Eahlidun's expression. Looking at the wakes and Talisker swimming... He was going to make it! Or so he hoped, anyway.

Just as it seemed he'd get off scotfree, one of those terrible tentacles whipped him in the back. For an instant, one could notice blood and little bits of flesh sprayed into the air. Then the man collapsed, the gaping wound already beginning to bleed profusely.

That did it. Eahlidun shut his eyes and tried to stand there next to Hazel, almost wobbling, at the point of hurling now, so close. Deep breaths. He's going to be fine, I'm fine...

He muttered, "I still wouldn't look..."

[DoctorGlock]

Cathal looked on grimly. A wound like that, with no medical supplies? It would have been kinder to let the beasts finish him. At least it would be quick. That would fester, a lingering, feverish death that could last weeks if the man was unlucky.

'That will get infected,' was all he said. He glanced through whatever he had gathered up. There was a vodka in there, 90 proof. Still not likely strong enough. He drew his sword and lay the blade in the burning coals of one of the fires the surviving sailors had kindled on the beach.

Not enough by far. And he was no medic. Nay. He could only kill, he thought ruefully, never prevent death. Absently a hand went up to touch the ring hanging by a chain around his neck.

[Ramsus]

"What?" Hazel asks, taking her hands away from her ears, having only been able to tell that Eahlidun was speaking.

[WindStruck]

The pixie looked up at Hazel, looking nauseated and distraught and said, "He.. he made it back but..."

He didn't even know what to tell her anymore. Should he describe it in all the gory detail? That seemed like quite a bad idea. But he started to feel like he couldn't just keep saying to not look...

"He's been hurt badly," he finished.

Eahlidun looked around the beach at all the others and said with a raised voice so they could all hear, "Is anyone here a skilled surgeon?"

He tried to shake off his anxiety by focusing on doing something that might help. From inside his tunic he drew an old hemp sack that didn't look like it had much of anything in it and began rummaging through it. C'mon, gauze, extra cloth, anything??

[Ramsus]

"Oh." Hazel replies, somewhat worried. Still after a moment she hesitantly winds up looking. She flinches a bit at what she sees, though she knows that in battles there will be worse sights. But she herself still hasn't seen all that much in the way of serious injuries until just recently.

Hazel notices the others didn't manage to get many of their supplies from the ship, but the pixie is asking for a surgeon. She knows she has a sewing kit with threads and needles in her luggage and she begins rummaging around for them until she finds them in case someone says something affirmative to the pixie's question.

((It's also worth noting that since her luggage is almost entirely clothes, there is of course cloth in there. Assuming you're cool with ripping up Hazel's clothes.))

[2D8HP]

Talisker Stòrm (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=21870047#post21870047)

Panting for breath at first, as he spits out the last of the seawater, he craws further from the water, sobbing

"So much lost"

[DoctorGlock]

The land might not respond well to him, not yet, but always with him were old friends, of sorts. Cathal focused again. The wind here was not his. Nor was the stone. He breathed in. Then out. In. Out.

But that was. His wind, always, paltry though it was. In. Out. This time with more force, like a bellows, and the flames began to roar hotter. Again. A whispered word between each breath, an urging of command. One lungful at a time he claimed the wind and it's Name. Small, small enough to not risk much. The flames were roaring now, a white hot pit in which the blade of his sword began to glow a sullen red.

Fire Namers had it so much easier.

[BelGareth]

As Cathal bewitched the fires to awaken, and he heated up the sword, one of the guards looked on in wide eyed shock, he had not seen a namer before, heard of them, yes, but not seen one. It was...of putting, and the guard mutely made the sign of the aquila, warding of evil spirits by invoking the king-God almighty.

As the others on the beach came back to look at the debacle, the one in charge hastened through the sand, spraying those nearby with grit and and alike. He narrowed his eyes and scowled.

"Nah, we need to boil some water, now!" he barked out some commands, mostly to those guards already under the authority he now firmly reigned in, ordering for some seawater in a pot, bandages, to be put on the wound, and some in the pot, a utensil to pull them out and other things.

It wasn't long before he had a pile of bloody rags stemming the blood from the mans, back but, as well, a pot of boiling water, with rags in it as well, which he pulled one out, at a time, wrung it, let it cool a bit, and placed on the wound. He did this a few more times, careful not to burn Talisker, lest he make it worse, he then wrapped the man tight, keeping the cooked rags on his back, secure.

He wiped his face and sighed after working on him. "You'll have to be watched, any sign o'fever, and you're done for." he said grimly.

The others, sent to forage, were returning. Someone found a barrel of rum intact. Others found a bale of cotton, wet as the ocean, but still in tact, Some of things were clothing, a few kitchen knives, several weapons, bows, and swords mostly, though, arrows were another problem.

The sun waned over head, and beat down upon you with considerable force, it must have been near midday when you came upon the shore, the sun was now past its zenith and moving.

There was a tree line to the our right, facing away from the water. The trees seemed alien and strange, but trees nonetheless. To your left was a rocky outcrop that seemed to stretch further in land, turning into a scabland, and straight forward was the sandy berm, overlooking the sandy grassy plain that stretched off inland, the one Annikai had stared at.

[WindStruck]

Eahlidun couldn't find much useful in his bag in the way of healing supplies (apart from his spare clothes) but he did have an ample supply of wood to provide for the fire which boiled water. Since it was all going to be burned, he tried to pick some of the lower-quality pieces. There was plenty of that, more than he even realized he picked up over the years.

He said to the leader, "Thank you for helping my friend. Especially after what he did. I think he won't be such a liability when he sobers up. May I ask your name?"

[BelGareth]

The man regards the fey with an almost sneer. He hid it well, holding back what you could obviously see as mistrust.

"Thlaskin, I was the captain of the Men-At-Arms on board o' the Albetrosz, who might you be elf?"

[WindStruck]

Eli smiled at being called an elf. Sure, he was mistrustful, but that was common. But what better way to dispel such doubts than providing a positive foot forward?

The pixie doffed his hat and flourished with a bow grandiosely. "Well met, Thlaskin. I am glad to see you keeping these fine men together. 'Tis a shame I never got to know a lot of you better until now. As for me, I am called Eahlidun the Blue or also known as Blue Ellie. Perhaps you have heard of me?"

[PeacefulOak]

Annikai ignored the commotion, the fool who had swam to his doom could live or die on his own without her assistance. For now, she needed to find the voice of this land, its nature, so that she could fill her purpose.

"...or I could seek the Old Way..." her face takes on a pensive cast. "Not yet, I think. There has been enough blood spilled for the moment." Her small pouch filled with shells and stones of the shore, she thinks back to her lessons so many years ago.

Casting a glance towards the mouthy commander, she strides gracefully towards the plains. As she walks she ducks down here and there, gathering a flower here, a stone there, keeping her eyes peeled for long strait reeds or sticks.

[BelGareth]

The commander frowns at the comment, opens his mouth, but suddenly changes his mind, shaking his and waving his hand "I aint got no time for the likes of you." he says dismissively.

Annikai, ignoring the group, heads out on her own, and almost stumbles across some water bubbling out of the ground, it doesn't stay long, enough time to fill a small rocky basin, and then flow back through some unseen crack, but it keeps coming, and looks to be very clean.

[Ramsus]

Hazel had just found her sewing kit and was about to ask him if it would be helpful when Eli spoke up. After the commander's dismissive response though she's too intimidated/put off to say anything to him. So she just winds up holding it there in her hand for a few seconds before putting it back and closing up her luggage again.

[PeacefulOak]

Finding the hidden spring is a truly fortuitous moment. The slender girl steps a careful and intentional step, her feet tracing a crescent on the surface of the ground before she gracefully drops to her knees next to the water. She cups her hands and dips them just below the surface, lifting the clear sparkling liquid to her lips and first sipping then drinking deep of the liquid. A broad smile spreads across her face, and she reaches into her pouch, pulling out a small spiral shell she had found on the beach.

Softly, she whispers a few words of the Old Speech ("Thank you spirits for this gift, please accept mine in return.") and pushes the tip of the shell into the palm of her left hand until it draws blood. Holding it over the pool, she squeezes until 7 drops slip down into the pool. She watches carefully as the drops spread and are pulled downwards, swiftly disappearing. Smiling again, this time softly and contentedly, she rises and bows her head. "Well met, old ones."

Turning, she looks back to the rest. Her raised voice carries easily over the distance. "I have found fresh water here. Come, give thanks and fill your skins and bottles." She waves high to ensure that she is seen.

[Iceseer]

Yes but is it safe to drink? We should probably cook it just to be safe. He hurries to see the stream of water which may save them from a quick death.

[WindStruck]

Eahlidun is at first confused but then disappointed. His slender eyebrows furl and he frowns, turning away from the man. He didn't know what he might have done to upset him, or what "his likes" may have done, but it still seemed the man had very little regard for the pixie.

He sighed and simply tried to assess the rest of the situation. It seemed all the other people were just about finishing up with whatever salvaging they could. And as for those barrels Eli saw, there was no way he was going to fly out there, even while invisible. That... thing, whatever it was, could probably do the same to him or worse if it managed to grab him.

Talisker lied in a daze on the ground, the bandages seeming to hold for now, Hazel was milling about.. and that other strange woman, where did she go off to? Well, strange was a relative term. From the glimpses he got of her behavior, it seemed she practiced old ways of worshiping. It went back to long before he was alive, prayers to things which were older than even his people...

Seemed she had went further inland and was waving, yelling about water! Eahlidun flew over to also check it out. He'd be sure to get in on all the new discoveries!

"Hm. Are you sure it's not sea water?" he asked with much interest. He'd run across a number of natural springs himself over his adventuring days and living amongst the forest, though this particular pattern intrigued him. The fact that it was so close to the ocean, and that it seemed to go in and out rhythmically, much like the waves crashing in and out.. it made him wonder if the same force was in fact what caused the water to bubble out and then recede. And if it was the same force, that would mean it was the same water.

[Ramsus]

Hazel also follows after the others investigating the water, pulling her luggage along with her, though mostly because she didn't want to risk being separated from the group. She'd been taught that being alone in an unknown area with nobody to watch your back was very poor strategy. She'd also heard of the boiling water to make it safe idea and nodded when she heard the other person voice the thought, though likely nobody was actually looking at her to notice this.

Since everyone else was focused on the water, the injured man, or the ocean and it's monsters, she kept her eyes to the woods to make sure there weren't any territorial animals they were upsetting. Or people. If other people had seen their crash and come to help it would be a good thing to keep an eye out for them so that they weren't missed.

[WindStruck]

Eahlidun takes a moment to dig out a small, wooden cup from his bag and scoops some of the water up as it bubbled up again. He tasted it and nodded with a sturgeon face that quickly became a smile.

"Well it's not salt water. It tastes pretty refreshing, too!"

He looked over to Stane, his baker friend and said, "...well as long as people aren't carelessly throwing their waste into the water, I think it would be fine. Then again... this land is strange. You never know, do ya?"

While on one hand Eli was optimistically positive the water was perfectly fine, he couldn't help but concede in his mind that boiling it would make it even safer.

[BelGareth]

The water does indeed seem to be fresh, and after everyone realizes this, all partake, drinking their fill.

As you all relax a little, the sound of the waves and your belly full, drowsiness takes over some of the other survivors, and its not long before several are asleep.

Not a few minutes go by, when you hear the *CAW* of a large bird, a few seconds go by as another *CAW*, but this one seems closer.

Any who are still awake can see something flying above, but they seem to be getting closer?

[2D8HP]

Talisker Stòrm (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=21870047#post21870047)

Does his best to look lively so that crows or buzzards don't decide to make him their meal.

[WindStruck]

Eahlidun looked up. His senses were sharp, so he distinctly heard the birds, but their calls were unfamiliar, as was their shape in the sky.

Still, the sight of birds was nice. He liked birds. Surely these ones would go on to wherever they were flying to. Or maybe they'd be curious and get closer?

[Ramsus]

Hazel had fallen asleep, slumped over her luggage, but reawakens at the cawing. Drowsily she lets out a, "Nnnn?" and looks up to see what's making the noise.

[PeacefulOak]

Annikai had not lain idle after leading the survivors to fresh water. She knew her role and responsibilities as priestess and provider, as the channel between the mortal and the natural. Her palm throbbed as she laid out her treasures, pulsing in time with the sussurus of the waves on the shore and with the steady heartbeat of the land itself. Slowly she began to sway in time with that beat, her hands touching and arranging the items before her. The shells went back into her pouch, as did the sea-stones. A long thick reed, tough and sturdy, she sets to one side. An assortment of flowers and local plants she sets to the other side. Left before her are several chalky nodes of stone, and one round smooth piece of granite.

Her swaying had stopped, and in motions so swift and sure that those watching could hardly track the individual actions she began to strike the hammer stone, the granite, against the nodes. Large flakes fell free, revealing dark black stone within. Soon, as others were drifting to sleep in the warm afternoon air, she had crafted a number of stone tools including a rough knife, several more delicate blades, a bore, a scraper, and a final piece that was strange, almost triangular in shape. That piece, she affixed to the reed, splitting it at one end with her blade and binding it with her woven hair.

Her eyes fell on the swimmer, the man who had braved the ocean to find them more supplies. That he had failed was immaterial, for he had a strong heart. She gathered a portion of the herbs and a small amount of fresh water in a pan. Chopping it fiercely, she watched as the water discolored with the blood of the plant. A firm press of her thumb into her palm reopened the wound and she let three drops of blood join the mixture, chanting quietly in a very different language than she had before. I know I promised, mother... but this land is strange and I cannot yet wait for the spirits to accept me. He will have to suffice for now. not waiting further, she had gathered the soggy mess of plants and water with her shawl and had bound it to the back of the wounded man, her grip allowing for no struggle.

At the first caw her head had snapped up, and she gathered her supplies back into her pouch. At the second she rose, light on her dancers feet, her reed held loose in her left hand. "Demons or spirits, I wonder? Or just birds? Anyone know how to use a sling?" She quickly tears a strip from her skirt and pulls out a sea-smoothed stone, ready to defend or hunt.

[WindStruck]

"A sling?" Eahlidun asked, a little perturbed till it clicked. "Oh! No, not really. Never really done that, I'm probably way too small. I'm alright with bows, though. You think these birds will be trouble?"

He peered up into the sky suspiciously, but back at Annikai even moreso. Why would a bunch of birds attack them?

[PeacefulOak]

"There is no way of knowing, little sprite. Better to be ready and prepared."

As she speaks she keeps her gaze switching between watching the sky for signs of any threat, and glancing down at her patient to see if there is any change. Surely this place is not beyond His reach... may the gift of my blood draw his favor and speed this one's recovery.

[Ramsus]

"I-I am also better... with bows." Hazel reports somewhere between timid and sleepy.

[WindStruck]

"Oh, is that so?" the pixie asks with a peculiar, jovial interest.

He took his bag out and began to dig through it. "Hmm, I know I've got one in here somewhere..." he muttered to himself. Seemed he was shuffling some things around in there, but produced nothing yet.

[Ramsus]

"Uh huh." Hazel responds with an affirmative nod. "Sir Kerghan Reide of the Bonebridge taught me." she continues, with another nod at her own words. "You do not need to look through your bag for one to me Mr. Pixie. He'll lend me his if I need it."

[2D8HP]

Annikai she had gathered the soggy mess of plants and water with her shawl and had bound it to the back of the wounded man, her grip allowing for no struggle.m.


Talisker Stòrm (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=21870047#post21870047)

Whispers

Thank you