The Arrival(1)
The waves broke against the prow of the
Verrus-Mund as it continued it westward trajectory. The ship gently rocked on favorable tides as the cloud piercing mountains of Ialdia's coast became visible in the hazy distance. A whistle broke the relative silence as the crewman in the crows nest signaled the arrival of the distant land.
"peaks ahead captain!" Came the excited cry from the crows nest. Deckhands scrambled at the news, swinging on shipborne ropes to various locations on the multiple decks. Large-armed men tied off ropes and pulled lines all with the singular purpose of making landfall. From the helm at the aft of the vessel, captain Vrund Sapphrene oversaw the trajectory of the ship, which was controlled by helmsman Vhire Reck, a human in his mid-forties with ruffled gold-brown hair and a sun-scarred complexion. He yelled orders in every direction, his booming voice carrying out over his massive ship and down through the decks. The smaller vessels that accompanied the
Verrus Mund stirred with motion as well as the captain's voice carried over the crash of waves against oaken hull. He started his way down the steps on either side of the helmsman's platform toward the main deck. His long braided ebony beard swaying in the oceanic winds. His presence was undeniable regardless of his Dwarven stature. Although most of the crew stood at least two heads higher than him, they all gave their respect as he passed with curt expressions of "Captain" or "Ironhull". He made his way to the crew deck just before the prow and opened the main door.
Inside was a Scael dressed in fitted leather with a cobalt robe tossed over his shoulders. The Scael was sprawled out over a desk, shifting through parchments amidst a teetering rise of tomes on either side. One would fall as the ship swayed to either side, but the Scael would pick it up and place it back upon the stack without ever looking away from the scrawled runes that so entranced him.
"Shri-Rah." Vrund called in his deep booming voice. The Scael did not respond, still shifting through his parchments. "
Shri-Rah" Vrund snapped, barely raising his voice a fraction, but still managing to fill the room with his indomitable presence. The Scael made a queer half-yelp-half-screech noise as he was startled from his reverie.
"Captain!" The Scael croaked suddenly as he turned to face Vrund. "Why must you sneak up on me while I work." Shri-Rah took the moment to bundle up the discarded parchments and place them back upon the desk.
"I've been standing here for a time, watching you shamble across your damnable scripts with no regard for the turning of the waters." Vrund crossed the room with caution, managing to avoid nearly all the tomes strewn across the carpeted ground, although he could not avoid them all. His boot came down upon a large, red-leather bound book with a
crunch that sent a hissing up from Shri-Rah.
"Careful you stoneskull!" He screeched as he swept the tome up and placed it on the desk with his parchments. "This is a account of the ancient's expansion across the eastern re-"
"I do not care what it is" Vrund interrupted. "we are preparing to make landfall. Have the passengers been made ready for departure?" Vrund nudged the tomes in his way to the sides of the room, clearing a path back to the door.
"Well uhg- no-" Shri-Rah began before being cut-off once again.
"See to it then, I want the lot of you ready no more than half a hand-span after we moor. I have no intention of succumbing to this land's curse. Remember, we don't have immunity like your lot." Shri-Rah picked up his lot of bundled parchment and turned to catch Vrund before he left the room.
"Can't you have one of the others do it? Terram, perhaps, or Mord?" The Scael shifted uncomfortably, the scales down the back of his neck
click-clacked as he shook a fly off.
"No, because Terram and Mord are making themselves usefull bringing my ships into dock with the rest of the crew. Do something productive and go see the colonists are ready before we hit the dock." Vrund opened the door back onto the deck and slammed it hard behind him. The
boom of the heavy wooden door smacking shut nearly made Shri-Rah drop his bundle. He hissed disappointedly, sounding nearly like a human sigh, before turning back to the desk and opening the top drawer. He withdrew a golden parchment with a broken blue-wax seal of a crossed sword and goldberry branch, and laid it flat on the desktop. The list held the names of all those sanctioned to embark to the lands of Ialdia along with a short description for each of them. There were nearly sixty names or so, his and Vriis-Nar's included among them. The
Verrus Mund held fourteen of the colonists, while the rest were spread amongst the smaller ships. The first on the list was his name.
Shri-Rah Scriivesg-Denah
followed by
Head of investigative study on all lost and decrepit civilizations of Ialdia.
He felt that the description was rather vague considering his vast range of knowledge outside simply decrepit civilizations, but it held a sturdy title none the less. Below his name was his partner's
Vriis-Nar Scal-Varris
Head of magical theory and guildmaster of Scine-Tinith, the blue order of magical application and all artifacts considered magical.
He felt like perhaps that title was more descriptive than his, but then again there was more to say.. His mind trailed off as he thought of Vriis-Nar and her flowing blue robes and shining, imbued leather-breastplate. His Cal-bonded, or his wife in the human tongue. He wasn't sure where she was now, most likely she was off questioning the passengers about dialects and magical ability, as she was aught to do. Shri-Rah skimmed his way down the list, finding the twelve other colonists that were aboard the
Verrus Mund. The names he was looking for were marked to the left with a deep blue ink.
Aerathanis Dwin'raesh
Shani Dark-star
Vultog {no surname}
Linara Samachi
Emric Auberon-Hamish
Rickon Viitala
Devika Ah'sur
Roland Arryhill
Youn barlai
Emmeric Marcure
Luched {no surname}
Yvaine Rinaldi
The list was interesting. There were a number of hybrids aboard, and also a number of names he recognized. Men and women of both positive and negative repute. And a wide variety of races and mixes. individually they seemed interesting enough, but all on the same vessel they seemed a vastly different group of people. Shri-Rah found that odd. He tapped the parchment on each name, his claw
clacking against the desk underneath as he memorized each one. Then he tucked it into a pocket in his shoulder robe and opened the door to the lower deck stairs, which was to the left of the main deck door. Then he went down to meet with the crew that he would be living with for as long as he still lived.
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