Fantasy The Sundering Star

[TheLoyalAcorn]

Emily smiled sadly trailing after the girl speaking. "I made a deal with Hastur to let me stay here. He told me Addir would leave this land soon since he didn't care for me." A victorious smile reached her lips. "Even gods can be wrong y'know."

Addir was in full alert as he took off to the hut. He sprinted faster than most men even as his short legs pumped up and down as he flew across the beach his feet throwing sand in the air as he ran.

Emily sadly shook her head as she looked at the running dwarf. "Addir hated saving people when he was first came here. He said it was a waste of our time and profits. Now, I see him everyday patrol the beach like a sentinel on a wall." Emily's voice cracked near the end as she cleared her throat acting like she somehow got something stuck in her throat.

 

[Felis]

Marguerite had barely had time to worry about Calista's cough (it really didn't sound very encouraging, but who was she to know?), when Morinia smacked the dwarf over the head, the dwarf in turn smacked Calista of all people, and then a gust of wind seemed to ripple around Morinia alone. Marguerite first gaped in disbelief and confusion, then closed her mouth with a shrug. It wasn't the craziest part of her stay in Savos so far. Probably.

"Um. Pleased to meet you, too," she murmured and gave the other man standing a little aside a nod as well. The man then lifted Calista up, who began protesting and kicking him. "I think he's trying to help?" she suggested. In truth, Marguerite herself was exhausted enough that she wouldn't have minded being carried up to the hut, and was amazed that Calista even had the energy left to spare to think about walking when she possibly was the worst off of them all, judging by the latest of the dwarf's reactions to her.

Then Calista's other remark hit her. "Octopus monsters?" Marguerite exclaimed, prompting another dry cough. "I think I saw something in the water, but..." She shuddered. She didn't want to think too deeply about what exactly had grabbed her bag instead of her. Focusing on putting one foot in front of the other was a more rewarding line of action right now.

 

[Meme Machine]

As Calista was set down, she regained her balance and looked to Emily. As she spoke of gods being wrong, Calista nodded in agreement. “The god my people worshiped was not a god at all. It was a monster; a creature of evil.” She didn’t elaborate, and her tone said she didn’t want to.

Calista watched as the dwarf sprinted away, towards the hut. She made a move to follow, but everything started going dark. She watched the ground, and didn’t remember falling at all. But at some point she had, and was now on the ground in a coughing fit, some blood splattering onto the sand. She couldn’t even hear what the ghost was saying at this point, everything was spinning.

As she stopped coughing, and closed her eyes, Calista reached a hand up. “Ok, maybe I do need some help.” She seriously hoped that Verena or Marguerite would help her, instead of the person she had never met.

 

[RoninN7]

Leon watched as Calista seemed to hold herself steady while speaking to one of her friends. It was then that the seemingly inevitable happened and she collapsed onto the ground, spitting blood. Sometimes honor isn't worth your health. Despite his thoughts, Leon kept quiet and simply stepped next to Calista's collapsed body. He looked down at her with an expressionless face for a moment, allowing his gaze to say what he was thinking while keeping quiet.

Once he felt that Calista had gotten the message, Leon backed away and watched from a distance. He said he wouldn't help her and he wouldn't go back on his word but it didn't mean he wanted her to bleed out there.

 

[Felis]

Marguerite heard a thump and looked up and ahead to see Calista on the ground, coughing up blood and weakly raising a hand. That wasn't good. Calista's lung problems seemed to be worse than she had thought at first. No wonder the dwarf had seemed so agitated; hopefully, he had an idea how to actually heal this, though.

Marguerite made an effort catch up to Calista and knelt down beside her. "Are you okay?" she asked reflexively, even though it was obvious that wasn't the case. "Here, I'm not the strongest person around, but you can lean on me for what it's worth," she offered, then looked over her shoulder. Marguerite wasn't sure if she could support Calista's full weight, but if Morinia pitched in as well, they should be able to get her to the hut without major problems.

 

[Verena]

Calista protested and her helper was smart enough to let her down before losing a kneecap. For a moment, the necromancer stood firmly on her feet and Verena thought that she would be able to walk on her own. She was wrong. When Calista fell, Marguerite was the first at her side. Verena wasn’t far behind. Only when she got close did she truly notice the blood stains on her chin and cheek. “Oh no…” Verena quickly ran a finger over the edge of Calista’s mouth to catch a small drop, then rubbed it with her thumb. The blood was thick and sticky but of a light color. Calista wasn’t beyond saving but she was extremely dehydrated and Verena assumed that salt water had gotten into her lungs.

“Hold on, Calista. You’re gonna be fine.” Verena assured her and herself as well. She took Calista’s limp arm and placed it around her shoulders, then wrapped her arm around the thin waist and lifted her from the ground with a loud groan. Verena herself hadn’t entirely recovered but she was more willing to drop from exhaustion at the hut than leave the necromancer out here.

Step by step, they neared the top of the hill. At that point, Verena was already breathing heavily and was in a foul mood. Concern was practically written on her face. “Out of the way, you lucky bastards!”, she cursed at the few survivors standing in their path and kicked the door to the hut open, entering immediately and carefully laying Calista down on the first bed she could see. Verena then immediately started rummaging around for water. The hut smelled of ale but the dwarf surely had something non-alcoholic to drink as well.

 

[TheLoyalAcorn]

The door banged open to dramatic effect revealing three exhausted woman one of which was in dire straights. Gunther couldn't help but jump and yelp as he was stiring a strong meaty soup that was in the center of the room. Addir had came moments before explaining the situation by a mix of smacks pointing and of course more smacks. Of course, Gunther assumed it was just to make more food as Addir ran about in a flurry of motion after smacking Gunther enough to cause a mild headache.

Addir had a pallet of blankets on the ground and reached out to take ahold of her as Verena saw the roughly made bed he had created. His rough hands went to strip Calista of her wet and sandy clothes. He noticed a few of the survivors begin to eye the young woman the moment he began to disrobe her. Fury in his eyes at taking advantage of the situation, Addir grabbed the ladle out of Gunther's hand and with a mix of smacks, glares and throwing of various items. Addir chased the men out before returning to his task.

Gunther ran around the hut yelling out "oh dear oh dear much worse than I thought". He grabbed herbs, a pestle and mortar and hastily began the creation of the healing potion. Addir meanwhile walked around Calista with ladle in hand like it was his spear randomly pointing at other people in the hut if he caught them looking at the woman who was now bundled like cordwood with more blankets than perhaps would be necessary.

Gunther finished the potion and before he could say anything Addir had taken it and slowly nurtured the wounded woman forcing her to drink small sips lest he smack her with his soup covered ladle. Gunther looked at the new survivors. His voice was tender almost fatherly with a small smidge of dwarven accent. The way he spoke no doubt gave evidence of his scholarly pursuits in Kvass "I fear your friend is in dangerous straights. I only know so much healing magic. Are any of you versed in Salieri's light? Perhaps Hasoi's mercy? Anything that could help?" As he spoke, he grabbed an ladle and heaped the stew into bowls and presented it to the party. A tankard of tea was presented along with the stew.

 

[Meme Machine]

Calista’s eyes were closed, but she could sense the men’s above her, annoyance and an ‘I told you so’ attitude radiating off of him. She ignored him, and heard Verena and Marguerite around her, before she felt herself being lifted off the ground. Her vision and consciousness kept going in and out, in and out, as she took heavy breaths. She could feel Marguerite and Verena around her, both still weak themselves, and murmured small ‘thank you’s.

Her vision went out for a moment, and the next thing she knew she was on a cot wrapped in a flurry of blankets. Calista groaned, a headache making its way to her skull. No doubt from how many times she had been hit that day. She curled further into the blankets, and looked up. Addir had taken something from another dwarf, and was now trying to feed the drink to her. She took small sips, and hummed when she found it was actually ok.

She caught a few people looking at her strangely, and not in a way that she liked. She glared dangerously at them, though with her being sick she doubted it looked very intimidating. As she looked down, Calista’s eyes went wide as she saw the blankets were pretty much all she had.

“Ok,” She croaked, her voice scratchy and dead sounding, before looking around for Marguerite or Verena. “Where are my clothes? I swear, I was dressed like five seconds ago.” She didn’t seem embarrassed by the fact, more just annoyed that she might have been out for that long. She stuffed her arm under the blankets, trying to hide the marking of death on her forearm. She didn’t want anyone to see that.

 

[RoninN7]

Leon watched carefully as they picked Calista up and followed closely behind. Whoever these people were, it was clear to him that they cared about each other on some level. He kept a close eye on the two women as Calista supported her weight on them. Leon could see that she was dying quickly; he didn't need to be a healer to see that fact. As they walked in, Leon immediately took note of the alarm in the dwarf's companion's eyes and he leaned against a wall. Once the man began stripping the clothes off of Calista, Leon looked around to see some of the survivors' eyes and he felt a certain anger building within him.

Cowards willing to take advantage of someone who can't fight back... It seemed as though the dwarf also took notice of this as he began his characteristic smacking to scare them off. Once the other survivors were out, Leon took a step out the door and pulled out his dirk. "Don't even think about coming back in," he said with a cold expression and a colder voice before walking back in. Once inside, Leon heard as the dwarf began complaining and asking around for healing spells. Leon's eye narrowed for a moment and he began to think as he sheathed his dirk once more.

When Calista tried to speak, Leon made a sound that sounded almost like hissing. "Quiet, girl, you're dying." With that, Leon walked over to a drawer and pulled a piece of paper with a quill and pen. He thought back to his mother and everything she taught him; all that magic that he couldn't perform but knew the symbols and incantations for. In about a minute, Leon had drawn seven symbols on the piece of paper and he walked over to the dwarf and placed the paper in front of him. "My mother used to draw these symbols for people in a similar position to heal them." He said this with his usual expression and tone, but with a sense of urgency to his voice. "Draw them yourself somewhere to activate them, I'm not a magic-user."

 

[TheLoyalAcorn]

For a moment Addir looked confused and befuddled by the runes. The ghost of Emily laid a hand on Addir's should and whispered into his ear. His confusion lifted a brief few seconds afterward. He didn't do as the man said immediately instead recognizing the symbols as the basic but obscure Kvitovian language of the healers of Kvitovia. It took him a moment to realize what was needed to use the spell.

It wasn't advanced for Kvitovia, but anywhere else this would be an expensive spell to learn. He rummaged around for a wand before he grabbed a knife and carved those same symbols into the ladle. With a wave over the girl with the ladle, the concentration of magic into the runes a fine mist fell over the girl.

It didn't take long for the magic to work as her eyes grew heavy, and she drifted into a slumber. Her breathing eased a little, but it was meant to work like this. The boy had given him the runes needed to make a healing wand it had appeared. He looked at Gunther who waddled over to test the result with his own magical diagnosis.

"She is in a deep slumber... she is drawing on the magic from around her. I believe she will awaken after a day and night. She would've been healed sooner if we had an adequent wand." Gunther's eyes shot to Addir who only responded with a thrown ladle nailing the other in the eye causing him to fall in pain and curses. Addir then pointed at all of the party to leave the hut including Guther this time threatening them with the very same knife he used to carve the symbols into the ladle. Gunther meaning and groaning immediately complied while sputtering out. "It would be best if we left lest Addir slays us all"

 

[Felis]

The path up to the hut seemed to be kilometers long and steep as a mountain climb, and Marguerite felt she was carrying that mountain on her shoulders, rather than propping up Calista. By the time Verena kicked the door, she was gasping for air and black dots were dancing in front of her eyes. Once they had put Calista down on a cot, Marguerite flopped down on the floor and couldn't do much more than try and regain her breath. Archery once a week, it turned out, was not the best preparation for high intensity workouts after swimming for your life.

She only shook her head tiredly when the second dwarf asked them for healing magic. If she were in a storybook, then surely this would have been the opportune moment for Marguerite's powers to present themselves and save the day. But the truth was, she still had to remind herself that magic was real every time she saw someone cast it. Even if she had any potential, she wouldn't know how to go about tapping into it. She did accept the bowl of stew, though.

The black-clothed man from earlier drew some... runes? Marguerite supposed, as she couldn't see the paper, and handed it to the grumpier of the dwarfs. Despite his cold demeanor, he was quite going out of his way to help Calista. In her exhaustion, she couldn't find it in her to be suspicious of that, though. Maybe he was just kinder than he looked.

Whatever magic symbols had been on that paper, though, they seemed to work, going by what the dwarf said. Marguerite also had to agree that she didn't want to find out what Addir would do with a knife if he felt annoyed, given that he smacked and tossed things at people at the slightest provocation. She hurried to put her bowl on the nearest table and head outside with everyone else who knew to avoid Addir's wrath.

"Thank you very much for your help," she said once they were out of the door, then turned to see if Crow (to make use of her subpar nicknaming skills again) was there to address him with her gratitude as well. These people were the first in Savos whom they had met and hadn't tried to harm them (well, aside from Addir's smacks) or drag them into some conflict, so the least she could do was show some manners, Marguerite reasoned.

 

[Meme Machine]

Calista felt the pain worsen after she drank the soup, the taste turning sour in her mouth. She coughed again, feeling the water and blood bubble into her throat. She could make out a few ghosts, Emily included, and the living around her. She yawned slightly, and felt really sleepy, if she was honest. As she closed her eyes, she saw Addir writing various things, but she couldn’t tell what they were, as she drifted off into the magic induced sleep.

 

[Verena]

Verena quickly stepped aside and into the closest corner when the two dwarves went to work, trying to stay out of their way as much as possible. They seemed to know what they were doing far better than her. She didn’t fail to notice the hungry looks of the men that were practically piling around the door to catch a glimpse of a naked female body. Verena felt an urge to throw a knife through the gap in the door and right into someone’s eye but restrained herself, especially at the sight of food and water being prepared for the three of them.

She shook her head at the mention of healing magic and took the bowl and tankard with a quick ‘thank you kindly’. The only thing the Serpent could offer Calista was a quick and rather painless death. Instead of smelling and testing the beverage and stew for poison like she always did, Verena simply gulped both down quickly, immediately feeling a lot more energized afterward. She could probably drink more of the herbal goodness but decided against asking. Too much water at the same time after dehydration wasn’t the way to go about it. She simply wiper her mouth with the back of her hand and watched as the man clad in black helped the mean looking but actually very kind dwarf sorcerer with some runes. The spell seemed to have worked and Calista already started looking somewhat better. At least now she was asleep and breathing easy.

Verena couldn’t help but wonder why the man was so eager to help. Looking like the way he did, he didn’t exactly strike her as the caring type. Some random girl dying wasn’t his problem. He could just as well be staying out with the rest of the sailors outside, enjoying better company and good dwarven ale. It’s what she would have done if she didn’t know Calista. And if he was somehow lovestruck by the necromancer, his expression would have changed significantly at seeing her like this. Unless, of course, he was gay… Her thoughts were interrupted when the two dwarves got in a bit of a squabble and all of them were quickly shown to the door. Verena didn’t object to that. She was either going to leave willingly or thrown out by another gust of wind.

When they were out the door, Verena could see that many of the sailors were still looking towards them, as if expecting a sick and nearly dying girl to go prancing out the door like a siren straight out of a fairy tale. The Serpent used this to convey a small but apparently needed message. She waited for all to be out in the open before drawing her saber and scratching a line into the ground before the door. A friendly, almost seductive smile had appeared on her face. “Cross this line and you get to deal with me.” Her tone was collected and clear now that her throat wasn’t dry anymore and there was a spark in her eye. Verena never made empty threats. “And by that I mean getting your balls chopped off and fed to you. Any volunteers?” She waited a second before sheathing her saber. Verena then casually strolled over to the newcomer and stood before him with her arms crossed. Her companions had already made their names rather clear, Calista even addressing Verena by her real name, which was more than a little irritating. It was only fair that she knew the man’s name as well. “So, who do I thank for this kindness?”

 

[Meme Machine]

——————

Calista’s eyes opened, staring up at a wooden ceiling, a pale white painted on it. She groaned, sitting up and looking around for where she was. Wasn’t she at the hut....? With the dwarfs? What happened. Calista dragged a hand down her face, and blinked a few times to clear the sleep out of her face. As she turned to look around, she noticed everything was clean and pristine. Where was she?

The door that she hadn’t noticed opened, and in stepped..... oh no. A man, tall and stocky, with an angry disposition and black hair to match. Clean and kept, the man seemed like a business man in the wrong clothes. A slight beard adorned his face, and his feet were bare. Hami.

What was he doing here? He was dead! Calista’s eyes widened, and she opened her mouth in confusion. She looked down, and saw she was dressed in black and red clothes. “Calista.” Hami said, his voice deep and rumbling. Calista jumped, and stood at attention, her hands tight by her sides. “Today’s the day. You know what we’re going to do today. Are you excited?” The man asked, smiling slightly. The smile was supposed to hold warmth, but it didn’t work.

“Yes sir.” Liar. Calista hated her work. Why was she here? She burned this place to the ground. “Who.... um. Who is...” She murmured, tightening her fists. Did they send her back in time? Is this a dream? What was happening?

“The young girl we found in the woods, and the old man. The Kithin shall feast well tonight.” The man replied readily, as if he wasn’t talking about murdering innocent people. God, what was wrong with him?

Calista reluctantly followed Hami outside, to see many woman and men, dressed in white. One was dressed in a purple robe, the nuns bowing as he passed. The two travelers stuck out like a sore thumb. Dressed in worn clothes and materials, they were smiling and dancing with the nuns. Calista couldn’t help but feel like her red and black clothes themselves should be a warning to run, if her grimace didn’t say anything.

She tried to think back on what had happened. Did she travel back? Was the dwarfs, the running, Verena, Marguerite..... was that all a Dream? Or was this the dream. Calista couldn’t tell.

A bell ringing dragged Calista out of her dream suddenly, and she looked to the broken church, chipped painting and fallen stairs contrasting form the pristine homes around it. The nuns laughed in glee, the white flowers in their arms and red ones in their hair bouncing happily. The two travelers followed them willingly, as the preachers simply smiled and led them into the church.

Calista followed close to Hami, and closed her eyes from a moment. But something forced her eyes back open, and the scene transitioned to an arena. A massive place, with seats filled up to the brim with the nuns. Calista watched as the preacher in the purple robe stood at the podium, and gave his final words on the practice and happiness that the ‘ritual’ would bring them.

The woman and man were brought into the arena, smiling nervously. The man was brought before Hami, while the woman was brought before Calista. She seemed so terrified. Calista smiled reassuringly, and gestured to the priest. He brought a thick, black liquid in front of them. Writing a strange symbol on their foreheads, the same one on Calista’s own arm, the people fell asleep, collapsing on the ground in a trance. Calista got on her knees about the woman, and took the small knife out of her pocket. “Have mercy on her” She whispered, before striking the woman in her eyes.

The scene shifted, to when the the woman and man were awake once more. Blood poured from their tear ducks, preventing them from crying. Calista bit her tongue to hold back a sob of her own; tears shed inside the arena was forbidden. Of course, all of the nuns outside the arena were sobbing in joy, happiness at their new friends being sacrificed. Calista had to smile in happiness, even at the sight of them hung upside down on a massive wooden symbol. It was horrible. All the blood was scaring her slightly, as she couldn’t see their ghosts yet. All that pain must be horrible. She backed away as the nuns dried their tears, and came forward with the white flowers. They dipped them to the ground, and stained them red.

Calista shivered, closing her eyes, before opening them and realizing she was outside again. The body’s of the woman and the man were being dragged to the edge of the woods and thrown, the howls and shrieks of the Krithin prominent in the woods. Calista looked down, her hands stained with blood. Her skin looked red. She looked back up, and heard a noise behind her. As she looked, she saw Hami. He was closest thing she had to a father, and yet he was also the thing she was most scared of.

“Now, they are blessed. But not in the same way as you are, Calista. You are blessed by being a child of the Kithin. They are blessed by being a sacrifice to it.” Calista bit her lip, and resisted pulling away. She hated this.

“I know.”

And it repeated. Every month, without fail. 168 times. 336 different people.

 

[RoninN7]

Leon leaned back against the wall as the dwarf went to work on his ladle, carving the symbols into it. Once that was done, the dwarf cast his spell. It was somewhat faint, but Leon could see that there was a change in Calista's condition. For the moment, it appeared as though she had stabilized and was no longer in danger of dying. The mist that had formed around her as a result of the spell briefly reminded Leon of his mother. Thinking back, Leon could, for a moment, remember her face, her voice, her insistence on him learning magic. More than anything, however, he remembered her disappearance.

His thoughts were interrupted when the dwarf seemed to be trying to get them all to leave. It was an odd sight for Leon, who wasn't quite sure whether he felt threatened or confused. He simply turned and walked out without bothering to pay any mind to the dwarves. After he stepped out, Leon moved toward one of the walls when he heard a voice. It was a female's voice and she was expressing her gratitude, which somewhat surprised Leon.

He turned his head slightly to look at her, catching a glimpse of one of Calista's companions. Leon simply nodded toward her before saying something briefly. "It's good she didn't die." With that, Leon went over to sit on a nearby rock and pulled out his dirk, which he began twirling around in his hand. For a moment, Leon was distracted by the hooded woman's display of violence and her threats, but he quickly forgot all about her and went back to thinking. It wasn't very long that Leon was able to think because another voice rang out near him.

Leon looked up to see Morinia standing there and asking him for his name. He narrowed his eye for a moment, thinking about how much he wanted to say to her without even knowing her. It did occur to him that he already knew two of their names, which finally prompted him to speak up in response. "Leon."

 

[Verena]

Verena tilted her head a bit as the man shared his name, still staring in his one good eye. It was a bad habit that her mentor never managed to uproot. “Lion? You strike me more as a wolf.” She said and took a seat on the ground with her legs crossed just about an arm’s reach from him. “An intelligent, collected and opportunistic killer. Aside from our shared love for dark hoods, blades and damaged eyes, I’d say we’re quite alike.” Verena looked away for a moment to search the ground and pick up a rather flat looking rock about the size of her palm. With her other hand, she reached into the back of her coat and drew her dagger. A quick rub against the moist fabric made the rock usable enough so she began removing the salt and at the same time sharpening her tool of death. “While I’m grateful for what you did back there, I also know that people like us don’t make donations. If gold and gems are what tickles your fancy, you’ll have to wait until we reach New Salieri.” While Verena wasn’t particularly trustful of strange men offering their help, she would be a fool to turn down the opportunity of having a healer at their side.

 

[Felis]

Marguerite sat down on the ground, leaning against the wall of the house. After what seemed like the first meal in ages, her exhaustion felt more manageable, but that also meant she could fully appreciate her lack of possessions now. Marguerite regarded her feet, now only covered by thin, dirty socks. If only she still had her bag... Yes, her sneakers would draw attention here, but it had to be better than walking miles and miles barefoot. And beyond that, she had lost her keys, her ID card, her phone... Her old life was all but gone without a trace now.

Well, at least they all weren't dying right now, Marguerite supposed.

When she saw Morinia swiping her dagger with a stone, she remembered the knives Morinia had lent her. At least those were still there - it would have been the icing on the cake if she had lost that borrowed item, too - but the salt water couldn't have been good for them. Marguerite picked up a flat stone herself and moved closer to Morinia and Leon.

"Can you show me how to do that?" she asked Morinia. Marguerite didn't feel entirely completely comfortable butting into their (if somewhat one-sided) conversation, but maybe it was for the best. Leon certainly didn't look like a man to selflessly go out of his way to help others, but whatever his motive, he had helped them. Perhaps the best way to have him keep helping was not to probe too deeply.

"Since you mentioned New Salieri - would any of you know where we are now, approximately?" Marguerite went on, addressing both of them. "Or do we have a map, perh-" She suddenly recalled the enchanted parchment Raebyrn had given them. Had Calista last held it or Morinia? Did they lose it at sea? And even if they hadn't - would it still be usable after being drenched? If her last link home (or at least to someone who could send her home) was gone...

Marguerite found herself staring wide-eyed at Morinia and turned away, shaking her head. "Euh, right. Forget the last part," she said, nodding in the direction of the sea. Any normal map wouldn't be readable after that shipwreck, in any case.

 

[Verena]

It took Verena a moment to realize Marguerite was talking to her. She stopped what she was doing and turned towards her with an expression of disbelief written on her face. In her mind, this was an absolute basic knowledge and she almost commented on the other’s lack of such, but then she remembered Marguerite wasn’t from around here. She was an outsider in every possible sense. Carrying weapons, even decorative ones, and caring for them didn’t seem to be part of her understanding of the world. With that, Verena’s features softened. “Of course. Sit.”, she told her and patted the ground beside her. “First you need a smooth, flat stone that is harder than the metal you’re working with.”, she explained and picked up another piece of rock from the ground, similar to the one she was holding, handing it to Marguerite. “You dust it off, wet it and just start sliding your blade across it at a low angle. Make sure you do both sides. And watch your fingers.” Verena went back to her own blade and turned her attention to Marguerite. While she hadn’t forgotten about Leon, she wanted to make sure her companion kept her fingers intact. “No clue but the dwarves certainly will.”, she shrugged. They weren’t going anywhere until Calista felt better anyways. Verena was hoping to acquire some horses for them as soon as possible though, even if that meant leaving the two girls on their own for a day or two. “And the map is still with Calista. I suppose the magic that courses through it kept it from getting destroyed.”

 

[RoninN7]

Leon couldn't help but be intrigued by this individual; there weren't many people who would talk to Leon so much willingly. The woman's comment about him being a wolf was quite amusing. If Leon wasn't so reserved all the time, he might've even chuckled at it. What was even more surprising was the fact that she believed that the two of them were quite similar; that certainly wasn't something Leon heard every day. "Give it some time, and then tell me if you still think we're alike." Despite his words, Leon's tone had finally grown warmer; it certainly wasn't friendly, but it sounded more indifferent than cold. If anything was clear about Leon, it was that he needed to work on his "people skills." He paid no mind to how close she sat next to him, as he continued to move around his dirk. "I'm patient enough," he replied as she mentioned how he'd have to wait until New Salieri for gold. Leon wouldn't reveal his true purpose or the fact that simply following them would net him a lot of gold. Another girl approached them and began talking to Morinia. She seemed lost and rather clueless if Leon was being honest. It was somewhat amusing to see how she wanted to learn how to sharpen a blade; it was even more amusing to see Morinia become a friendly teacher at the girl's request. "We should be closer to New Salieri than before, but the storm disoriented me so you'd have to check a map for that." It was then that Morinia mentioned something about a magical map, which piqued Leon's interest. He briefly turned his head toward both of them, stopping the dirk's spin and catching it by the hilt. "You have a map?"

 

[Felis]

"Just start sliding your blade across it" - Marguerite had a feeling it couldn't be quite as easy as that, but she nodded and began following Morinia's instructions with slow, cautious motions, trusting that Morinia would speak up if she was doing it wrong to an extent that would ruin the blade. After a while, Marguerite found the exercise actually helped her take her mind off her losses and problems. Repeating the same movement over and over was almost meditative.

"Good to know," she said when Morinia mentioned their map, though she couldn't help but glance in Leon's direction as well. If it had been just an enchanted map, that would have been one thing, but his sudden spike of interest made Marguerite inclined to think he might get too interested in the artifact and disappear with their only (and miraculously still intact) means of communication with Raebyrn. That she considered Leon helpful and didn't believe he meant harm to them in the foreseeable future didn't quite mean she put it past him to steal from them if it came down to it. Of course, Marguerite was the one who had mentioned maps in the first place, so if anything happened, it would be her own fault.

"Apparently we still do," she answered Leon's question. "Though admittedly, going by the last time I looked at it, you might say it's a bit... off, in a way. Odd, at the very least." How could she even properly describe the ominous design Calista's magic had conjured up?

 

[Verena]

“No pressure. Just a few rubs are plenty for these small blades.”, Verena corrected her student at one point and then nodded in approval, both happy of how quickly Marguerite caught on and a little proud of herself for being a good teacher. Then she turned her attention back to Leon. He seemed calmer now, certainly was more open to talk. His interest in a magical map was quite understandable. Who wouldn’t want a magical map anyways? However, seeing the condition it was currently in, Verena would feel sorry for anyone other than Calista unlucky enough to try and touch it.

“Odd is one word for it. Ever since our friend in the hut enchanted… or cursed it, it’s become quite menacing.”, she explained and pointed at the hut with her dagger before sheathing it and drawing her saber to repeat the cleaning procedure. “Who knows what would happen if someone else was to touch it. Will have to find an unwilling subject down the line to test it on.”

 

[Meme Machine]

Calista groaned, trying hard to clear her eyes of the blurriness plaguing he senses. After just a few moments, her senses cleared, and she sat straight up to note her surroundings. It was the dwarfs cabin...... so, it was a dream, wasn’t it? Calista took a massive sigh of relief, held a hand to her head. She couldn’t tell if the pounding was from her almost drowning and dying of water log or from that dwarf dude slapping her. She tried to stand, leaning on the wall for support, but closed her eyes as the room spun slightly.

She couldn’t see Verena or Marguerite (mostly because her eyes were closed, but she hadn’t seen her to begin with) but she thought she heard some voices outside. Soon as the room stops spinning, I’ll go check she thought.

 

[TheLoyalAcorn]

Addir saw the young woman stir. During the short time of silence, Addir had time to put a new cauldron on the fire and put the old near the door. He filled the new smaller cauldron with a soup filled with vegetables, spices, herbs and a thick slab of meat. Most men after a shipwreck needed a strong stew, but this poor lass needed anything in her body. He would be lucky if he could get her to choke down the broth alone.

The pallet Addir had created would do a poor job to prop the lass up. With a final vindicated stir of a task well done, Addir went to the sea chest and grabbed a spare bundle of blankets Gunter had recently seen together based off the lack of sand. He placed the bundle near the lass careful not to wake her. He then peaked his head out and pointed to the girl using the whetstone on a small throwing knife. Her state was well.... what one would expect from a shipwrecked victim.

Addir motioned for her alone to come forward after snapping his fingers a few times. She was the lowest threat from an obvious Venn'darian raider and the Kvassian guttersnipe. It would also be the most welcoming sight to the awakening girl since the other two had very very.... obvious and unappealing facial wounds.
_____
As if it was planned, Gunther had finished feeding the sailors their first bowl. Surprisingly, many had.... returned their soup to their bowl.... Gunther as Addir had ushered the scholar in the building had entered and left the hut barely able carry the damn cauldron. His... Robust belly less than helpful in this endeavor.

"Uh erma ahem Excuse me! Could I trouble you Master Sailor and Missus Sailor to help me?" A hearty laugh rang out "it seems like my old chain mail is giving me trouble again!" A hearty slap to his robust belly and a miniature earthquake shaking his shirt for a brief moment showed how unfit the dwarf was.

"Perhaps you will find some friends during these trying times" a dark solemn look over casted the dwarves smile as he looked at the two heartbroken the two had lost friends in the sea. The pitiful fat dwarf stood with a look of hope on his eyes for help, but the hut still laid open to those who wished see Calistia.

Spoiler

Roll 1d20 to see if you recognize anyone from the crew if you join Gunther
1-6 you recognize no one
7-12 you recognize a crew member due to their position and are on friendly terms
13-16 crew members you recognize embrace you with open arms
17-19 A crew member is sticking to the shadows... A green Serpent is tattooed on his scalp (Verena), intricate tattoos cover the crew members body... wait the pattern almost looks like the ones on your own body (Leon)
20 Critical Success = PM me you essentially gain an NPC

 

[Felis]

Marguerite started grinning despite herself at Morinia's last remark. Finding an unwilling test subject, huh? It sounded almost like something some of her teachers in school would have said when calling upon a student to answer a question. She did feel a little sorry for whoever would have to eventually touch the map, though. Marguerite didn't know enough about magic to even guess at what would happen, but if it was possible to become cursed from it...

Still absorbed in her inexpert blade cleaning, it took Marguerite a few snaps to figure out they were directed at her. Then she realized which dwarf was waiting for her and jumped up with a start. She could already almost feel herself getting smacked on the head when she'd duck through the doorway. Still, Marguerite took a few more moments to properly stow away the knives before she entered the hut with an apologetic smile. Even Addir's temper wasn't worth creating an argument over her treatment of borrowed items.

"Euh, so what can I do for you?" Marguerite asked once inside, looking around the place. She couldn't think of why she of all people would be helpful for... well, most things around here. She could sweep the floor or help with cooking if it came down to it, but... Oh! Her gaze stopped at Calista, who, half awake, was trying to sit up. Marguerite's face lit up. "Is she better now? Calista, how are you feeling?" she tried addressing her companion directly.

 

[Meme Machine]

Calista groaned as loud noises bombarded her senses. She looked to where the source was, but found that instead of having to tell it to go away, she smiled in relief. Marguerite.

“Oh thank god. I thought I was back on my world.” She said, her smile falling as her stomach made a noise like a growl. The girl felt like she was hungry, but at the same time she was nauseous. She saw the dwarf next to the girl, and slightly flinched. “Your not gonna hit me for getting up, right?” She said as she stood fully, a slight grin breaking onto her face.