The Captain makes a hand motion and the crew lowers their weapons. "Kuleta jiwe familia, ili tuweze kupata ukweli*" she snaps out and a crew member runs off. "You claim to be Clan, you claim that this one," she nods her head toward Tassira "You claim that this one wearing an Alenkine ring is a sister. We have a magic stone, when a family member touches it glows with the white of truth, it will do nothing if you are not. It will do nothing."
The crew member quickly returns and hands a red round stone shaped much like a golf ball to the Captain. "Hold out you hands palms cupped together as if to scoop water I will drop the stone into it and we will see if there is the light of kinship or the emptiness of liars"
Trying in vain to steady her breathing, Tassira cups her hands together and holds them out.
Calm down... just calm down... everything will be okay...
I'm doomed. I'm sodding doomed.
The Captain drops the stone into Tassira's hand. A soft golden glow spreads out to a 10 foot radius as soon as the stone touches Tassira's head. "You're telling the truth. Everyone put down your weapons."
The Captain wipes her face with one hand. "Lady Arean is coming then. We didn't hear from her yesterday it's put us all on edge. Come sit, I'll have refreshments brought and we can talk."
Tassira breathes a sigh of relief.
"Well, no autopsy, no foul." She says, trying to calm down. "We kind of got held up doing research in the Great Library." She follows the captain over to a nearby seat.
"I'll send word to Captain Zova Maridun of The Silver Princess that the Lady Arean's sister and her family will need passage to Varde today" The Captain looks at a crew woman and she dashes for the gangplank. "These are dangerous times and we do what we must to protect our family"
"Excellent. I am glad we could get all that sorted Turning to the other Shall we be off then"
Tassira simply nods. "H-hopefully without any further complications, yes."
She turns to the captain, her voice still shaky.
"U-um, I don't mean to pry, but... I, er, got the impression that House Alenkine is a rather... um... sensitive topic with you. May I inquire as to why that is?"
She braces herself for the captain's reaction.
Vigar lets out a breath he's holding, he certainly did not fancy his chances with that number of crossbows. Puttting down the packs, he looks forward to hearing the captain's explanation.
"Hm. We seem to be in quite the predicament here.
Marrovak bares his teeth, just to be safe.
"We're kin cousin, don't be afraid to ask questions, but maybe don't wear an Alenkine signet again when coming aboard one our ships until we know you better either." Captain Maridun sighs "An Alenkine prince broke his promise to marry a Maridun princess. It will take some time before we trust the unsupported word of an Alenkine again. It's only been a few hundred years so it will be a while yet."
Tassira folds her hands, purposefully covering the hand wearing the Alenkine signet ring.
She nods.
"That must've been an extremely serious crime to have strained relations between the Mindurians & House Alenkine this badly... did they at least try to make amends?"
I have a feeling that I know the answer already...
Tassira tries to remember the specifics of the crime and its repercussions.
Vigar in response, turn his ring inwards so that it's signet does not show.
Showing their packs, "With your permission captain, I would like to have your leave to stow our packs on board the ship. I could also place them in our respective cabins if you would have someone to show me the way." Gesturing to Tassira and Rowan. "My friends here might be able to make more sense on what is happening and thus better positioned to answer any other questions. They're both asute scholars and libarians. Myself I'm a cook and if you need my services, I could make my way down to the mess."
The conflict only came to an end when Rubini of House Alenkine, son of Keto the II and later Rubini the I brought in six legions to force an end to the fighting. The Maridun Queens feud with House Alenkine started then, not because of the conflict being forcibly ended but because of Rubini’s rejection of a Maridun princess for wife. A rejection they have yet to forget or forgive.
The Mariduns (name can be used for the city and the family of the Queens) are a matriarchal family. Any male marrying into the family takes the wife’s last name. Calling the Mariduns a family is a bit of a misnomer as it is more of a clan. Anyone of the blood can succeed to the throne of the city upon the death of the previous Queen provided the applicant can meet the qualifications; The two most important of those qualifications being female and an Oracle.
When the magical backlash that ended the Great War caused the deaths of all Maridun oracles, there was no one qualified to take the throne and another Horse Lord clan took over the city. The Mariduns split into two factions. The first faction changed their name to Mindurian in settled on the other side the Blue River near Herzag where they stopped working with horses as they no longer considered themselves worthy and started working with other animals. The second faction kept the name Maridun but took to the water and called themselves the seabourne. Upon adulthood every daughter of this faction must vow to never sleep on land until a Maridun Oracle Queen holds the throne of the city again. Both factions have changed in the 200 of years from their forbears as the land Mindurians have assimilated more to their neighbors’ customs and values, while the sea living Mariduns have adapted to the life on the water quite successfully.
Both groups await the coming of a female Maridun/Mindurian Oracle who can retake the throne of Maridun but they have developed disagreements over the years at what other qualities such a candidate must possess.
The Alenkines have not apologized, and in fact most do not even know of the event. If there is such a thing as an official Alenkine position on the event it is that there was never a formal engagement and so Rubini the I did nothing wrong.
"Well I am glad that is all sorted out with only a few pointy objects, Vigar we will be boarding that ship over there"
Krag points towards the sister ship.
"Captain it seems we will be travelling on the other ship, I bid thee farewell and safe journey."
The Captain speaks gently in
Tassira's eyes widen.
"Oh. We're on the wrong ship."
She promptly gets up to leave.
"Thank you for your time, Captain." She says, putting her ring hand in her pocket.
When she pulls her hand out, the ring is no longer on her finger.
"Indeed we are, Arean will be along shortly Captain with five of our cousins, they will likely be unaware of your anger towards the Alenkines. Please do not judge them to harshly if they have similar rings on their fingers. There is no ill intent behind it. They wear gifts freely given, with little knowledge of what it truly means."
with a bow Krag makes his way to the other ship.
"So I suppose we must be leaving?"
I've never understood these games of words and families...
Rowan doesn't hesitate to leave at the mention of being on the wrong ship. He has enough of this one. He turns the ring around on his finger, but he doesn't take it off.
Vigar snaps off a quick salute.
Ex-Legionare I'm afraid. I thank you however for pointing me the right direction perhaps you could signal them that we are coming abroad to avoid any other misunderstandings? Tensions are high enough already I think. My companions and I with your permission, will proceed on to our correct ship for our passage.
Following Krag, Vigar turns and follows Krag towards the other ship.
Your arrival on The Silver Princess is much less dramatic. It's Captain, Zova Maridun, warned of your coming by Captain Shari, welcomes you warmly as Clan, and more importanly without sharp ended items pointed at you. Not to say that there isn't a little drama ...
"No! No! No! You can't treat me like this. I am an Avergnon! I paid for a first class cabin for myself! I shall have it! I demand to speak to the Captain! When my father hears about this your ship, your fleet will never dock in the Selentine Empire Again!" A woman of Kelish ancestery accends to the middle of the deck yelling at the woman who must be the first mate or purser who follows her up from below. The yeller is wearing an expensive dress of brightly colored silks. Light flashes off the gold earings in her ears as she shakes her head and from the silver bracelets on her wrists as waves her arms widely about. "The Captain, I demand to speak to the Captain!" As she stomps her foot to the ground a tinkle from a little bell can be heard.
The woman, who is her mid twenties, storms over to where you are talking to the Captain. Only to pause when she gets a good look at your group. Visibly controling herself she says "Hello Tassira", and with a bit of frost in her voice "Rowan." A thought seems to occur to her "This is your fault isn't it!" She hisses out. "Captain I don't know what the sheep farmer has been telling you but he couldn't afford a first class cabin all to himself if he sold the family farm!"
And with that Cerene Avergnon, wizard, honors scholar, recent graduate of the Advanced School of Magics, and, as she never lets anyone forget, 10th in line for the Selentine throne has made her entrance as she likes to do, with every eye on her.
Oh please, not her again. I thought I was done with her...
"Sheep farmer? I'll have you know before I was a scholar, I was a blacksmith apprentice. Granted, we did make many things for sheep farmers, but that's irrelevant. I'm a Scholar same as you, only I didn't have to buy my way in and I got a researchship at the Great Library coming out the gate! Over you, I might add..."
Cerene whips her head back to the captain so fast that her waist length black hair that she wears in a braid actually hits Rowan in the chest. "See he admits himself. He works with livestock! Can't you smell the stech of the barnyard from him!
Captain Zova, in her sixties with grey hair, "You shall calm down right now CeCe, or I'll put you over my knee and spank you like I did the last time you pulled something like this around me or have you forgotten who I am." Cerene starts to open her mouth again and the Captain gives her a look, and her mouth snaps shut.
"I'm very sorry but we're not built to carry many passengers. We only have the two first class cabins but they will sleep four apiece. You can all have a place in them if you're willing to share."
"This is a short voyage it will only take a little over a day and half to get to Varde so it will not be for long. What do you think?"
Vigar looks as the rather churlish woman comes out, his ire risen at her dismissive tone of both Rowan and Tassira. She doens't look all that much to him in his opinion. Her manner brings to mind posing nobles whose posturing amounted to nothing in the field but would rather brag about 'supposed' accomplishments.
"Rowan, would you care to introduce to us this charming lady?" stressing out the charming bit a bit longer.
"It may do us some good to know whom we are addressing after all one of such apparent exquisite manners and breeding should be properly introduced."
"Oh yes, Rowan. Explain to me why this wordgamer knows you."
"Oh I'd introduce you, but I'd hate to deny her the pleasure of rattling off her many titles. Frosty B+##!, High Brat of the Imperium, 10th in class."
Tassira walks over to Captain Zova, only barely acknowledging Cerene's presence.
"The first-class cabins will be fine if we share, Captain."
Just ignore her. She's just desperate for attention. Being 10th in line for a throne that will likely never be hers does that to people.
She puts a hand in her pocket, preparing to slip her Alenkine signet ring on again.
"I'll be fine on deck, just show me where I can stow my armour. There is a bottle of brandy with my name on it. Any care to join me?"
Krag pulls out a brown bottle with a label that has started to fade and waves in the direction of the others.
"Most places feel like first class after a few sips of this stuff, madam would you care to join me?" He says to Rowan's Frenemy.
"It was not I who started this. But we need the ship and I don't imagine she would get another, so I guess we will just have to be stuck with her for the next day and a half. Krag, how much alcohol do you have in that bag? I have a feeling that I'll need a lot of it to survive her highness."
Krag shakes his bag *clink clink*
"Maybe a few. *grin*
Vigar shrugs at the interplay not knowing who Rowan's new friend is though by his words, maybe friend may not be an appropriate term.
"I would join you for a drink but I suppose I should see what the kitchen holds. I would see about making something to eat later for everyone helping the ship's cook. Having no knowledge of all of you prior to this. I would like to know all of you better."
Rowan spends the remainder of the voyage avoiding Cerene, as hard as that may be on a ship. Every time they see each other, its at least a few minutes of verbal sparring along the same party lines. Rowan says Cerene is a stuck up, high born b~*%# who has to buy her way into success. Cerene says Rowan is a common, no money, sheep herder/farmer/fisherman/etc mundane that smells bad who has no place in academia. Sometimes, however, it goes beyond that and they argue for hours about politics, science, magic, etc. Loudly and heatedly.
From what you have been able to gather from Rowan is that they have had an intense rivalry ever since Cerene learned that he was both doing better than her and had no magic, title, or money. At least according to him . Before that they were fairly amicable, even good friends, until it changed suddenly. Oddly enough, he doesn't bare much ill will toward her. This has been their routine for so long that it just sort of happens, and he enjoys the more heady arguments.
Twice spells are cast, once resulting in Rowan sleeping in his food at the dinner table, the other in him running around on deck and on fire.
Tassira goes out of her way to defuse the worst of the conflicts between Cerene & Rowan, but tends to see them as symptomatic of something else.
Really, according to her reasoning, if you really hated someone, you wouldn't even acknowledge the other person exists. You'd endeavor to keep that person at arms length, not frequently engage them in debates.
Add Rowan's & Cerene's history together and it all leads to her conclusion...
Their debates aren't symptomatic of hate. It's foreplay.
She kept it to herself, though, lest she give Rowan & Cerene a common foe.
Still, there was another matter...
During the night, before Cerene returns to their cabin, Tassira tries to talk to Kariel.
"Um... Kariel? Do you have a minute?"
Vigar stiffles a chuckle. It seems Rowan and Cerene has an interesting history indeed. The sight of the normally calm Rowan running around in panic after being set on fire was great entertainment but he wasn't going to tell Rowan that.
Vigar volunteers to help out in the kitchen.
Krag is good, he will pretty much be drunk the whole journey.
Tassira smiles, then takes a seat at the foot of her bed.
"Well... back at the Library, at the will reading, I kind of fiddled with my ring and fell asleep."
She shifts on the bed, crossing her legs. A small blush is starting to creep across her features.
"Rowan told me that you were very... um, insistent that I sleep."
Her hands start wringing together slightly, as if she doesn't realize she's doing it.
"Er, not t-that I'm complaining about you being like that; I mean, i-it was very pleasant, you know, to be able to get a good night's sleep." She takes a breath.
"I guess my question is: why were you intent on me sleeping?"
Tassira nods, then stands up from the bed, looking out the cabin window at the night sky.
She turns back to you.
"All my life, storms have preceded my worst dreams. Some were... more unpleasant than others."
Her hand slips into her pocket, pulling out her Alenkine signet ring and putting it on.
"...do you still have problems sleeping?"
Tassira starts rubbing her signet ring.
"Well, whenever a storm comes, I... have dreams about the Cataclysm. That I'm flying above the armies clashing below, as if the storm itself is a part of me." She says.
"The most vivid one I had was when I was eight years old. The next morning, at breakfast, I reached out for a spoon and accidentally cast a Color Spray spell into Daddy's face." She cringes. Evidently the memory isn't a happy one.
"No one was hurt, but that casting frightened me. What if it was something else, like Burning Hands?" She looks up at you. "That's why storms bother me so much; because the most memorable dreams that come with them tend to grant me magic that I don't know how to use."
Vigar finding nothing much to do on the ship finds the only other occupants on the ship besides them, the Li family.
Speaking to Li Fong, the assumed patriach, Vigar attempts to strike up a conversation.
"Greetings, I am Vigar Savage, former legionare, may I have the pleasure of making your acquaintance? I find it helps to pass the time aboard this ship."
He settles back to see if the Lis will respond.
Tassira smiles and takes your hand, shaking it.
"Deal."
Mr. Li, a slightly built man in his fifties, nods his head to Vigor "Li Fong, formerly of 57th Frontier Legion, currently humble merchant." He points to the other side of the deck where a woman and teenage girl of Tien decent stand looking at the sea. "My wife Indah, and our daughter Hiriako. A distant cousing died in Varde. He owned a few small businesses we're going there to take them over. We stopped at the Isle so that my daughter could visit the Library."
He smiles "So, enough about me, former legionnaire, what about you?"
"Greetings Li Fong of the 57th. I'm from the 204th. I'm on a journey frankly with family I never expected to have. I'm still trying to get over the fact I have family. It's complicated truly. I'm a fairly accomplished cook though."
Looking at the small family.
"Don't wish to pry so much but what kind of small business are you taking over, could be useful to know should I someday need your services." Looking at their daughter, he smiles " The library was excellent, did you find it to your taste?"