[center][h1]A while ago...[/h1][/center] [center][img]https://i.postimg.cc/90NXg60h/sdheader.png[/img][/center][center][h3]...Feat. [color=DC143C][b][s]Cynwaer[/s] Cynric[/b][/color][/h3] [color=1E90FF][b]Time[/b]:[/color] Evening [color=1E90FF][b]Location[/b]:[/color] Tavern Exterior [color=1E90FF][b]Interactions[/b]:[/color] [color=1E90FF][b]Mentions[/b]:[/color] [color=1E90FF][b]Appearance:[/b][/color] [url=https://i.postimg.cc/Fzw1wZ8n/alkalinestingray-Portrait-of-a-South-east-Asian-Chinese-sailor-52c337e9-3211-44db-8828-5fdc1044bd39.png]Sjan-dehk[/url] [color=1E90FF][b]Attire[/b]:[/color] [url=https://i.postimg.cc/0QCZ6rQj/alkalinestingray-Watercolour-painting-of-an-outfit-for-a-male-s-312f5cf8-c1fd-4b90-8f64-d292f9b1da7f.png]Sjan-dehk[/url] [color=1E90FF][b]Equipment:[/b][/color] [hider] Sjan-dehk: [color=1E90FF]Lamellar Cuirass and Tassets Conical, woven hat Two single-edged swords Four pistols (Two on hip, two on lower back) Breech-loading Rifle[/color] [/hider] [/center] They hadn’t walked far from the firing range when the sound of raised voices reached Sjan-dehk’s ears. He paid it little heed at first. After all, arguments were to cities as creaks were to ships—nothing more than ambient noise. Harmless and easily ignored until, of course, they stopped being so. But as they continued down the bustling street—weaving through the evening crowd and passing well-stocking shops, makeshift stalls under awnings, and lively cafes—one of the voices started to sound familiar. A little [i]too[/i] familiar. The louder, gruffer voice was undoubtedly that of a Caesonian man. Traces of a brogue not unlike Cynric’s coloured his speech, though nowhere near as prominently. Not that it mattered; frayed nerves, pure anger, and sheer volume turned most of his words into a muddled roar. Sjan-dehk wasn’t particularly interested in what he had to say, anyway. It was the other voice, the one the man was trying to yell into submission, that had drawn his notice. Higher-pitched, insistent yet light, and clearly belonging to a young girl, that other voice carried the tell-tale signs of a Viserjantan trying to speak Caesonian. Namely, it sounded like Sjan-dehk—with awkward starts, misused words, sudden stops, and mispronunciations—whenever he tried his hand at the language, albeit with markedly less fluency. He’d heard that exact same sing-song cadence enough times on [i]Sada Kurau[/i]’s decks that he’d recognise it anywhere, regardless of language. It could only belong to one person. Still, he hoped against hope that his suspicions were wrong. Turning the next corner, however, quickly proved just how not wrong they were. If anything, he hadn’t been suspicious [i]enough[/i]. Just a little further up ahead, and clustered in front of the closed doors and dark windows of a tavern, were four youths, all of them distinctly Viserjantan—their teak-toned complexions, their night-dark hair, and their styles of clothing were dead giveaways. Two of them—two girls—were strangers to Sjan-dehk; they had to be from [i]Sudah[/i]’s crew, he thought. The others, however, he knew. There was Yasawen, with his hair pulled into a tail high atop his head, wearing his usual flowing, pale-grey, and impractical robes. The boy seemed to be trying to defuse the situation, to no avail. And standing right beside him was the person causing the situation in the first place, and also the owner of the voice that’d caught Sjan-dehk’s attention—Inshahri. Her hair, gathered into two long tails, swished and swayed as she confronted the four Caesonian men blocking the tavern’s entrance. Though she was easily half the size of any of them, she still matched them shout for shout, and even seemed to be wearing them down with her relentless energy. [color=DC143C]“Huh,”[/color] was all Cynric said at first. He tilted his chin towards the scene. [color=DC143C]“Those yer people, Cap’n?”[/color] Sjan-dehk clenched his jaw. It seemed rest would have to wait. [color=1E90FF]“Yes,”[/color] he replied. [color=1E90FF]“They are. Some.”[/color] He looked to his left, at Iyen. The Sudhrayarn seemed more amused than anything else, and met his gaze with a little grin. Her eyes turned to the scene, then back to him, and she shrugged. Sjan-dehk merely kept his half-tired, half-vexed expression. [color=1E90FF]“You’re coming with me,”[/color] he said. [color=1E90FF][i]“I’ll deal with Yasa and Shahri, but I need someone from[/i] Sudah [i]to handle the other two.”[/i][/color] [color=228B22][i]“Me?”[/i][/color] Iyen asked with mock surprise, pressing a hand to her chest. [color=228B22][i]“Oh my, Captain, I think you’ve got me mistaken for someone with actual rank and authority. I’m just one of Lady Adiyan’s personal guards.”[/i][/color] [color=1E90FF][i]“And that alone gives you more authority than I’ll ever have over anyone from[/i] Sudah[i],”[/i][/color] Sjan-dehk retorted, his tone making it clear that he wasn’t in the mood for an argument. Iyen chuckled quietly, but nodded and said nothing more. He took one step forward, then abruptly stopped when he remembered that he still had ten or so fully-armed men from [i]Sada Kurau[/i]’s Seaborne company following him. Frustrated as he was with the two youths, he didn’t want to give them any more of a scare than was absolutely necessary. Well, he didn’t want to scare Yasawen, at least. He doubted Inshahri would care. He glanced over his shoulder. [color=1E90FF][i]“Sergeant Dahsahn,”[/i][/color] he called out. [color=1E90FF][i]“Keep the men here.”[/i][/color] Dahsahn—a man whose face managed to look youthful, grizzled, fresh, and worn all at once—gave a nod in response. [color=B0E0E6][i]“You got it, Captain,”[/i][/color] he said and offered a brief salute, his right fist over his chest. Sjan-dehk turned to Cynric. [color=1E90FF]“Please wait. I must handle this. Apologies.”[/color] [color=DC143C]“Ah, nae worries, Cap’n,”[/color] Cynric replied. [color=DC143C]“We all ‘ave our own troublesome fellas, aye we dae. Dae’n worry about me. Ye can take yer time. I know that’s what I’d wan’tae dae.”[/color] Only then did Sjan-dehk make his way towards the tavern, Iyen keeping pace beside him. As the two drew closer, he noticed the small crowd that’d gathered—curious onlookers standing in a loose semicircle, each peeking over one another’s shoulders whilst keeping their distance. Ignoring the guarded looks and muted whispers directed at them, Sjan-dehk pushed his way through the small audience. His ears caught parts of the altercation, and not long after that, he could see it for himself. [color=F5DEB3]“Once again, you daft bitch, we’re fuckin’ closed! Closed! Fuck off!”[/color] It was clear from the Caesonian man’s voice that this wasn’t the first time he’d said such a thing. He was a rather large man, thickly-built, and with an imposing face dominated by a heavy brow. [color=98FB98]“No, no, no, you lie!”[/color] Inshahri’s response was quick, almost as if she’d been through this exchange several times and knew on instinct just what to say. She shook her head, her hair flying about wildly. [color=98FB98]“You lie! I can feel magic. Magic! Inside! So not closed!”[/color] Behind her, Yasawen stood ill-at-ease, nervousness painted all over him, from his face, to the way he kept shifting his weight from foot to foot. [color=FFFF00][i]“Inshahri, stop,”[/i][/color] he pleaded. [color=FFFF00][i]“Just let it go. There’s people watching us and we’re not even supposed to be ashore! The Captain’s going to hear about this and then we’re going to get into a lot of trouble!”[/i][/color] That was when Sjan-dehk cleared his throat. [color=1E90FF][i]“So you do know you’re in the wrong,”[/i][/color] he said drily. [color=1E90FF][i]“That’s a good start, but it also makes me wonder what made you choose to go against my orders to begin with.”[/i][/color] Yasawen yelped, a short, sharp cry that mixed fear and surprise in equal measure. Beyond that, however, he gave no response—he just stood frozen, unable to even turn and look at Sjan-dehk. Instead, it was one of the girls from Sudah who spoke up. Redness tinted her cheeks, and her round eyes darted left, then up, then right, then down—at everything [i]but[/i] him. She ran her fingers along the looped braids on either side of her head as she spoke. [color=FF91FA][i]“O-Oh, Captain! I-I mean, sir—No, I mean, my lord—”[/i][/color] [color=1E90FF][i]“How many more ranks are you going to give me?”[/i][/color] Sjan-dehk interrupted, his tone perhaps a little sharper than he’d intended. The girl recoiled visibly. He sighed. [color=1E90FF][i]“Captain or Sjan-dehk will do. Who’re you?”[/i][/color] The girl nodded. [color=FF91FA][i]“O-Okay, Captain Sjan-dehk,”[/i][/color] she said. [color=FF91FA][i]“My, um, my name is—”[/i][/color] She was interrupted once more, this time by Iyen. The Sudhrayarn’s wide grin made her look as if she was a cat toying with its prey. [color=228B22][i]“You’re Hasehnya, aren’t you? Yasawen’s senior.”[/i][/color] A look of surprise spread over the girl’s face, but then she nodded, her feet trying to rub holes into the ground. Iyen’s gaze didn’t linger on her, and she turned to the other girl from [i]Sudah[/i]. [color=228B22][i]“And you must be Tehwasang,”[/i][/color] she concluded. As with Hasehnya, surprise coloured Tehwasang’s features—clearly, neither of them had expected Iyen to recognise them—but she recovered much faster than her friend. [color=DEB887][i]“That’s me,”[/i][/color] she said, her voice brimming with exuberance, almost as if she was proud to be caught. Black ink lined her upturned eyes, flowing from the corners like little wings. Unlike Hasehnya, she allowed her long hair to flow freely. [color=DEB887][i]“But you can just call me Tehwa, Captain Sjan-dehk, and…”[/i][/color] She turned to Iyen, head cocked slightly. [color=DEB887][i]“...Guard Iyen?”[/i][/color] Iyen ignored her, folding her arms and looking sideways at Sjan-dehk. [color=228B22][i]“Arcanists, both of them.”[/i][/color] Four arcanists. Ashore. Making a scene in front of a tavern for all of Caesonia to see. Sjan-dehk wanted to scream, but he settled for rubbing the bridge of his nose and breathing in deeply. This evening was turning out to be quite a mess. And worse than that, a mess [i]he[/i] now had to clean up. He turned his steely gaze on Yasawen, then Inshahri. [color=1E90FF][i]“So,”[/i][/color] he began, addressing the boy. [color=1E90FF][i]“An explanation would be nice.”[/i][/color] At last, Yasawen looked at him. Or at least, he tried to—his nervous eyes wandered everywhere before he decided to just stare at the dirt between his feet. [color=FFFF00][i]“It…It was Shahri’s idea,”[/i][/color] he mumbled. Sjan-dehk huffed, and he carried on, his voice jumping a few pitches higher. [color=FFFF00][i]“S–Sorry, Captain! S–Shahri just wanted a night ashore before…Before the new rule went into force. I–I tried to stop her, I really did! But she got away, and so I–I followed her to make sure she didn’t get herself into trouble…”[/i][/color] He glanced at Inshahri, who seemed far too engrossed with her argument to pay Sjan-dehk any heed. [color=FFFF00][i]“Not too much trouble, I–I mean.”[/i][/color] Sjan-dehk shifted his attention to Hasehnya and Tehwasang. [color=1E90FF][i]“And the two of you? Same reason?”[/i][/color] [color=FF91FA][i]“What?”[/i][/color] Hasehnya looked genuinely shocked, her voice suddenly loud. The redness in her face deepened as she continued. [color=FF91FA][i]“I–We–I mean, Tehwa and I didn’t know anything about that! W-We had permission from Captain Kaizahn to stay ashore until sunset! A-And we were going to return, really! But we ran into Shahri at the pier and she said she had your permission to stay out a-and said we could join her, so…So we did.”[/i][/color] Tehwasang covered her mouth with a hand and giggled. [color=DEB887][i]“And you actually believed that?”[/i][/color] It took no small amount of willpower for Sjan-dehk to resist the urge to beckon Dahsahn and his men over, and have them haul these wayward arcanists back to their ships. For almost every waking hour of the past three days, he’d had to endure endless meetings and mountains of paperwork. Ploughing through them had been an agonising affair, but he’d kept the bulk of his grumbles to himself. After all, there’d been a very good reason for his efforts. Although his report on the banquet had been brief, it’d still caused a stir within Viserjantan leadership. News of an active witch-hunt—one ruthless enough to persecute even the Caesonian Queen—demanded action. And—his personal misgivings aside—Sjan-dehk had to give credit to everyone else who’d been part of the discussions for taking swift action. They’d come to a majority consensus during their very first meeting, on the very first day—all arcanists were to be confined to ships until a better solution could be found. Then, in true Commonwealth fashion, the remaining two days had been dedicated to drafting, reviewing, critiquing, and inevitably re-drafting the regulations to ensure that every possible loophole had been closed. Unfortunately, none of that accounted for someone like Inshahri. Sjan-dehk and the rest of the Viserjantan leaders could’ve spent a full [i]month[/i] refining and revising the regulations, and Inshahri would’ve still ignored them as easily as she breathed. But irritated as Sjan-dehk was with her, he couldn’t bring himself to feel properly angry. Being confined to a ship was considered a [i]punishment[/i] by sailors—Jafin ones included. And while being trapped aboard a ship like [i]Sudah[/i], which had been built with comfort in mind, might be bearable, being limited to the four decks of a frigate like [i]Sada Kurau[/i] must’ve been like torture for youths like Inshahri and Yasawen. Neither had even served aboard a warship before, as far as Sjan-dehk knew. And so, when he finally called out to Inshahri, his voice didn’t have as much of a bite as he’d planned, and instead carried more of an older brother’s sternness. [color=1E90FF][i]“Inshahri.”[/i][/color] Rather than her, it was the Caesonian man with whom she was arguing who answered him. A pair of pale, bluish-green eyes glared at him from over Inshahri’s shoulder. [color=F5DEB3]“Oi, this bitch belong to you? Get her out of here before I decide to stop playin’ nice.”[/color] Sjan-dehk bristled. [color=1E90FF]“You will not speak of her that way,”[/color] he said, jaw set and eyes narrowed. [color=1E90FF]“And I am not speaking to you. You will wait.”[/color] Inshahri spun around, relief in her smile and hope in her eyes. [color=98FB98][i]“Captain!”[/i][/color] The joy in her voice almost made Sjan-dehk feel bad about having to discipline her later. She stepped closer and looked up at him. [color=98FB98][i]“Please, you have to help me! There’s bad magic in there! Really, really bad magic!”[/i][/color] She jabbed a finger toward the tavern, then glared at the Caesonians standing in front of the door. [color=98FB98][i]“I can hear it! It’s terrible, terrible music and we have to do something! Please, explain it to them!”[/i][/color] Sjan-dehk met her gaze with one brow raised. [color=1E90FF][i]“Inshahri, you’re not even supposed to be here,”[/i][/color] he started, voice dry and words measured. [color=1E90FF][i]“What makes you think I’m going to help you?”[/i][/color] Genuine distress came over Inshahri’s face, and she tugged at his sleeve. [color=98FB98][i]“Please, Captain! I-I, um I know I did wrong, but please just help me? I promise I won’t do anything like this again! And I’ll accept whatever punishment you want to give!”[/i][/color] The right thing to do, Sjan-dehk knew, was to ignore her pleas, apologise to the Caesonians, and drag her back to [i]Sada Kurau[/i]—by force, if need be. But there was something about her insistence, about the hint of desperation running under it, that gave him pause. Inshahri had never been the type to confront obstacles like this, and though she’d asked him for things and favours before, she’d never [i]begged[/i] for them. Perhaps there really was something worth looking into here. [color=1E90FF][i]“Fine,”[/i][/color] he said. Inshahri let out a little cheer. [color=1E90FF][i]“But only this once, alright?”[/i][/color] Sjan-dehk shifted his attention to the Caesonian man, his face hardening into the visage of a battle-tested captain. [color=1E90FF]“She says there is something wrong here—”[/color] [color=F5DEB3]“And I’m sayin’ she’s a fuckin’ idiot.”[/color] The man didn’t let him finish. [color=F5DEB3]“Tavern’s closed. That’s it. Fuck off.”[/color] [color=1E90FF]“Do not interrupt me,”[/color] Sjan-dehk said. He folded his arms. [color=1E90FF]“If it is closed, then just let her see. Maybe open the door for a while. Let her look through a window. Then she will know it is closed, and then it will be easy for me to take her away. That is simple, yes?”[/color] [color=F5DEB3]“No fuckin’ chance.”[/color] The man’s reply came without hesitation. [color=F5DEB3]“Get her out of my sight [i]now[/i], or things’ll get real messy real fuckin’ quick.”[/color] [color=1E90FF]“Why no?”[/color] Sjan-dehk asked. [color=1E90FF]“You have something to hide?”[/color] Beside him, Inshahri nodded vigorously. [color=98FB98]“Yes, yes! Hiding! They are hiding some…Something.”[/color] [color=F5DEB3]“Shut your fuckin’ gobs, both of you,”[/color] the man snapped. He shot Inshahri a dirty look. [color=F5DEB3]“Especially [i]you[/i], you mad bitch. You want to accuse us of witchcraft? [i]Witch-fuckin’-craft[/i]? Then either get some fuckin’ proof get the fuck out of here.”[/color] [color=98FB98]“Okay!”[/color] Inshahri said. [color=98FB98]“I get proof!”[/color] Before Sjan-dehk could stop her, she darted forward. The man shouted, a sound halfway between a growl and a roar. His hand reached for a wooden handle jutting out from his belt. It could’ve been part of a knife; it could’ve been part of a truncheon—it wouldn’t have mattered to Sjan-dehk either way. He only knew that he had to act. [color=1E90FF][i]“Yasa!”[/i][/color] he shouted for the boy even as he grabbed Inshahri’s shoulder and pulled her back, pushing her towards [i]Sada Kurau[/i]’s other arcanist. [color=1E90FF][i]“Take her!”[/i][/color] Yasawen yelled something in response, but his words were lost amidst the panicked clamour of the crowd, the cold hiss of steel against leather, and the clatter of approaching footsteps. Sjan-dehk paid little heed to all those sounds, and drove his fist into the man’s face. It struck his nose with a wet, sickening crunch. The man staggered back several steps, a pained scream bursting from his lips. Sjan-dehk gave him no time to recover and closed the distance with practiced ease. Fabric rustled as he landed an open-palmed strike to the man’s jaw, followed by an elbow to his temple. [color=F5DEB3]“Fuck you—”[/color] The man managed to growl despite the blood pouring from his ruined nose. Sjan-dehk didn’t reply, his lips twitching into the ghost of a smirk as he planted a foot on the man’s chest with enough force to send him sprawling. The man hit the cobblestones hard, the air rushing from his lungs in a wheeze. Even so, he retained enough of his senses to draw his weapon—a knife with a wicked, serrated blade. His tenacity was impressive, Sjan-dehk had to admit, but not his speed. Before the blade’s point could clear its sheath, Sjan-dehk had already pulled his pistol out and levelled its muzzle at the man’s head. [color=1E90FF]“Do not try,”[/color] he said flatly.