[hider=Prologue]
It wasn't often she became excited. However upon seeing the small parchment wrapped box rested at the base of an oak tree: she could hardly contain herself. Hastily taking hold and harboring the package beneath her cloak, she maneuvered back the less travelled way to her more permanent residence. That being a rather spacious section beneath a rich fellows home. A crawl space, if you would.

Like a furtive pygmy, she sat her rear on the cool dirt and withdrew the hood from her face, taking the time to draw some hair away from her eyes as well. If the contents were what she believed them to be, she would require the additional sight.

Tentative hands gently freed the knotted twine before drawing back the flaps of parchment. Within sat a rather ornate wooden chest. Beautiful molding on the edges and a wonderful glossy sheen to the chestnut brown. A large green jewel sat dead center on the lid. This chest contained no latches, nor a hinge to open as it would appear. However upon placing her hand against the jewel, it separated it to two halves.

Within was a single envelop, sealed with ocean blue wax in a crest she was unfamiliar with. Beside the envelope, was a similarly ornate ring. A signer ring if the similarities between it and the wax crest were of any indication. Like a poor man seeing gold for the first time, she took a few minutes to examine the ring. She even tried it on a couple times, committing it's intricacies to detail and admiring the beauty in its golden, jewel encrusted glory.

Afterwards, she gently opened the letter and began reading it's hand-quiled contents.

[center][i]To the Lady in Waiting Sephanim.

You bless our comoany with honour for coming to us with your humble request first. We graciously accept the opportunity to assist such a pure young maiden in retaining her life and will offer our ship, the Lady Estalia for your one time use.[/i][/center]

She could hardly contain a brilliant smile which spread across her face. This was it, she had finally been given a ticket to her freedom! She had been waiting for so long for something to finally come through, and this finally did it. She had only briefly stopped reading to enjoy the feeling of stress relief, only for it all to return as she herself returned to the writings. A mix of anxiety, curiosity and concern started brewing within.

[center][i] However:
The captain has obstinately stated that you will not be permitted to sail with him, unless you sleep within his quarters. Precisely why is unknown to us, however as a captain he holds considerable weight in the handling of cargo, regardless of how precious - Or in your case prestigious - it may be. You sailing time will be immediately after reading this letter, you may find the captain at the docks. If you do not arrive wit..-[/i][/center]

The paper suddenly burst into flames. The remaining tidbit was unnecessary to her. She was leaving today right this moment. She had nothing to pack so she had already made it out to the street, walking hurriedly to the docks.

However what intentions did the Captain have with her in his quarters? Perhaps it was simply to garauntee her safety? She knew how rowdy men at sea got, especially when it came to young women. For them the women didn't even need to be good looking, just had to have a wet p-

She bumped into a man while lost in her thoughts, apologizing before jogging along her previous path...

She just hoped the captain wasn't an old lech.


Upon reaching the docks, she was greeted by large burly men who asked for identification. With feigned elegance, she held out one ivory hand which held the signer ring from the wooden chest. With a surprising amount of delicacy, the red-skinned goliath she had been speaking to removed the ring from her with two pickle sized fingers. Afterwards, they all bowed in varying degrees of competency.

"We'll do wit' auhr loif ta getcha ta-dat awhland m'lady." One stated in a questionable level of English. He gently moved to the side and gestured for her to board, all hands following behind her like a escort of slightly smelly security guards.

While the deck hands prepared to ship to depart, she took a moment to admire the coast. It was quite beautiful with the smell of brine and lightly sodden wood, the sight of a descending sun against clear blue skies. Even the ambient drone of people conversing and bartering, the hustle bustle of the coastal market stalls; all added a sense of peace to the scene. However it was doubtful to last long, if those crusaders pounding onwards around the corner had anything to say about it.


Within an hour they departed, and she was introduced to the Captain she would be sleeping in the same room with for a week. All the bad scenarios she had held within her head occurred at once. He was tall but fat with a great pube-like beard in gray. He reeked like decaying fish, leered at her whenever he believed she wasn't looking and had long, sorry fingernails and hands. At least his English was understandable, but she was not looking forwards to sleeping near him. Something that did catch her eye through the brief introductory journey through the ship, was the map. While it was actually just a piece of stretched hide and some charcoal, it could still be called a map by any cartographer. Without a legend, the symbols were a mystery to her. But she got an idea of the general shape of where she was. Large squares were dotted along the coasts of some areas, one near the lower left was beside a line that was positioned out at sea. In fact, these lines seemed to be places in strategic areas all around the entire island. In the ocean, were occasional squiggles and jagged teeth like marks. What any of the symbols meant was unknown. However a large arrow pointed towards the main island on the east side, between two smaller land masses. The interior was lined with squiggles and teeth but it held a large black checkmark...


The next week was sleepless. She had tried to threaten, insult and persuade the Captain but his ominous eyes always peered out at her from his bed. Thankfully, he grew tired of watching her all night and passed out, giving her a few nervous hours of sleep every now and then. At least he didn't try to wake her while she was awake... Was she really rationalizing the creep?

A sudden choir of "Land Ho!" Broke the silence abruptly. Clambering from the captain's quarters she peered around the horizon as her eyes adjusted. Indeed, there around two o'clock was a - relatively - large landmass. She supposed this was where she was going to enter, however those giant spear like rocks juttjng out and about where far from placating. If that was supposed to be how she'd make land the- All form of rational thought instantly went out the window.

Coming from behind her, the Captain violently slapped her ass loud enough that she was sure the hands still sleeping woke up. The sound probably bounced off the island and notified all it's inhabitants of what happened. Or at least, that was what it felt like anyway. She inadvertently yelped, like a small dog being kicked only to place both hands on her buttocks and glare daggers of shock and anger at the Captain who merely chortled. 

"We've got the raft ready, get on and get going Missy. I'd like to have ya 'round but I'm under order. Y'll go through the docks here. No light houses to spot you coming in." He shrugged, continuing to walk forwards past her like nothing had happened. It took her a good handful of minutes, but she regained her composure. Unfortunately now with a sore bum.

The raft he was referring to was known by the deck hands as a "Suicide Raft". Mostly because it was so hastily put together with scrap bits it was a wonder how it even floated. But also because it was off balance, more so with a person so it tended to go wherever the current directed it. Settling into the hoisted craft, the burly hands lowered her down into the water while saying farewell.
[/hider]

[center][h2] Landfall: Eastern Coast?[/h2][/center]
Her eyes cracked open, shutting closed before she abruptly sat up and rubbed them furiously. Actual sand had gotten in her green orbs, and now caused pain that she tried to remove with her hands. This actually only got more sand in her eyes until she wiped her hands on her clothes and cleaned her eyes out properly.

With a sigh of relief, she looked around where she was, wincing as pain shot through her entire body from her feet up. She sucked in a noise, looking over herself first instead of the area. On the outside she was fine, her clothes were soaked with salty water and already had begun chafing. She'd have to wash soon to avoid a full body rash. The pain originated from dozens of deep tissue bruises that ranged in varying stages of severity. Some purple, some blue, some black. Every point of pressure or movement sent pangs of pain and discomfort through her small frame.

Now that a self diagnosis was done, she looked around... A beach. A white sand beach. She looked towards the ocean. Massive teeth like jutting rock formations, and their dangerous shale brothers slightly beneath the waters surface. The smell of salt water and hot sand reached her senses, as well as the annoying screeches of seagulls. Accompanying this, was the smell of herself in water logged leather. This was neither pleasing or disgusting. It just made the area smell of old steer.

Shards and splinters of what was her raft lined the beach, some still flowing back and forth with the waves. She tried to remember what had happened...
She left the Lady Estalia in a smaller craft, carried on as she was told between the island away from the rocks... Then a current took hold of the boat... She scowled. Everything became fuzzy from there. Yet none of that mattered, she was on the island and she was [i]alive[/i]. She had made it out alive, and nobody would chase her any longer. A smile crept up on her face as she marveled at this fact. Even the pain in her body ebbed away. Until she tried to stand up that was.

Like an old man getting up from a warm bath, she slowly but surely crept up to her feet using every object and item at her disposal to assist her wobbling limbs. With a slight dusting of herself, she tried to gather her bearings. If what the map said was true, a city rested up to the north, and some other sort of gathering to the south. The names of either she couldn't recal. All she really needed right at this moment was a wash basin. She could survive in a wood if the town's wouldn't allow her entry. A breeze and the looming rumble of thunder prompted her to look skyward.

Indeed, it would most likely rain very soon. The clouded were heading west if the wind indicated anything. An east wind would have been shrouded by the small rock face which sectioned off the beach from main land. A single sandy path some distance away lead up onto grass. Without wasting any more time, she began to move towards said path, planning out a southern route along the coast. If she happened to get caught in a rain, it would at least wash some of the salt water off and besides, she had been boiling under the sun while passed out anyway. She could use some cooling off.

The maps those pirates made must have been wrong however. The West held large mountains which stretched around towards the north. To the direct north, was a wooded area and what she believed to be a river. She couldn't see all that far however, as the trees grew too thick. In fact, the only path was to the south. Through a thin section of land between the mountains and the sea. It was well traveled for sure. Which made sense in a way. To the north was that city, and she would have to cross a river to reach it. One much wider than that which she was close to. So south it was, walking along the coast and already beginning to feel the rain hit her cloak hood.

By the time she got near what looked like city walls, a nice general rain had started up. It was enough to soak her through after walking for so long, chilling and removing the salt clinging to her body. That latter was of great relief. Both chafing and the tightness of her akin had started irritating her to the extreme. Upon nearing the main entrance however, she was halted by a man shouting something. The scent of slightly old blood hit her nose. At one point there had been a slaughter here. How long ago was unknown. The man repeated his order, this time actually detectable.

"Halt! State your name, your business and if you have information regarding the slaughter th-" He was cut off by a large rumble of thunder. But she could fill in the blanks.
Her name, she needed a name..  Nobody knew her real name, but now wasn't a good time to start spreading it around. When one had a name, you could track them. Fake names meant harder to be tracked. Just like those pirates, she was no Lady in Waiting, nor was her name... Whatever she had told them. Regardless, she needed another one here right now. And a story to go with it.

"Alli." She shouted back. Short for Alibi, ironic. "I was out foraging for honey and I got lost. Mother always told me to follow the coast if I got lost because I'll always eventually find somewhere." She said all at once, taking a few steps closer so the guard and her could converse easier. She lightened her voice and gave it a bit more naivety than usual to make a child-like facade more believable. "Then the rain came and now I don't know what to do." She sniffled, actually having to rather than just faking. She was cold, that was a bit of truth. She had also purposely not answered the man's final question. Not only was it beyond her "characters" realm of comprehension

The guard seemed to stumble. Why he was alone may have been because of a few things. The most prominent was likely the attack he had mentioned. Had one attack crippled their forces? "W-what am I?" She asked, paling when the answer returned.

"Elsen." Such a thing couldn't be possible. That was on the western coast almost. How could she have walked past two major settlements? It was impossible. Something must be wrong. She remembered the name seeing as how it was the only legible one on the pirate's map. So how exactly did she get... When she woke up, there weren't two smaller islands out towards the horizon. Somehow, either by current or during the events while she was trying to land: she had moved to the southern part of the island. It was almost mind boggling how something like this could happen. Still, it may prove useful if she was close to the rather large coastal town.

With a slight inhale she began to start spinning a story that the guard would believe.