The gulls beckoned him back out to sea, but a royal father's summons couldn't be ignored. As the drum beat out the slow pace into the grotto Volodar didn't look ahead but behind out into the open waters. It wasn't that he was displeased to make a trip home, but rather he wished he had brought more with him. He'd only taken a single whaling vessel, and he'd brought the sea's vengeance down upon it. While most reaving and pirating was done for the Storm Father, his family, the city and then profit; whaling ships were different. The sea demanded those who sought to harm her gentle children must be sought out, and drowned in her vengeance. So most of the whalers were dead or drowned leaving only a half dozen to bring home with their cargo.
With a sudden quick change the drums ordered the oars to a halt as they drifted into place. With a grimace the sea elf turned, as he scanned the vast grotto which had served as their harbor all the way back to the great flood, and the blessing. Slaves still hollowed out new areas for the growing cities below, long tunnels wide enough for the largest of vessels nestled deep into the mountains heart. It was as secure and hidden away, a great blessing of the sea.
Floating through the water the crew gathered to the deck to watch the walls of the grotto swallow the ship as they traveled down the left tunnel. The water flowed in an endless circle here, pushing any ship that came into it's flow through the left tunnel and out the right in the end. Only a handful would remain below to pull them out when they reached their city's harbor. It was maintained by priestess of the moon, but in truth the young prince was unaware of how. He was simply thankful it existed. He had enough mysteries of his own to solve. First among them of course was why he was called home so soon after leaving.
The soft step of his first mate fell in next to him his eyes weighed with the question, but the silence of the temple was too taboo to break. Nothing sounded in these tunnels but the flow of water and air. It was a holy silence, and that was not to be befouled with questions.
Still they would come. As the third oldest city of seven the wait wasn't near as long as it could be, less then an hour. It was the price for making harbor under what had once been a great mountain range. There was simply only so much you could carve out space wise until you had to move on to the next great cave. Even supported the structures had limits. The first city governed the building of harbors and handled their planning. The docking fees made their coffers fat, but they took all the risk too. If the mountain ever crumbled within the tunnels into the city would be blocked and if it collapsed completely the city below would be destroyed. The reward had left them with with the largest coffers of all seven cities though, and influence aplenty. The city couldn't deny you from the temple, but they could deny you use of the harbors within.
Finally though the great opening for Mlartlar appeared and a single strike of the drum set the rowers to pulling them away from the current. It was only when the ship emerged completely into the harbor that sound seemed to return as the crew took a collective breath. Suddenly the sound of a busy harbor hit them as the crew began to speak amongst themselves. They were as sour as their Captain to return with so little in tow. A good merchant ship or a raid would have netted more without the sea's vengeance to dispense. They were already itching to leave and they hadn't even docked yet. The deep grumbling grunt to his side said it all. No one could refuse the call of a King, not even a reaver. They didn't have to like it though.
((OOC: Hola, just kinda fleshing out over here trying to figure things out first post and all. Any issues ... please lemme know!))
With a sudden quick change the drums ordered the oars to a halt as they drifted into place. With a grimace the sea elf turned, as he scanned the vast grotto which had served as their harbor all the way back to the great flood, and the blessing. Slaves still hollowed out new areas for the growing cities below, long tunnels wide enough for the largest of vessels nestled deep into the mountains heart. It was as secure and hidden away, a great blessing of the sea.
Floating through the water the crew gathered to the deck to watch the walls of the grotto swallow the ship as they traveled down the left tunnel. The water flowed in an endless circle here, pushing any ship that came into it's flow through the left tunnel and out the right in the end. Only a handful would remain below to pull them out when they reached their city's harbor. It was maintained by priestess of the moon, but in truth the young prince was unaware of how. He was simply thankful it existed. He had enough mysteries of his own to solve. First among them of course was why he was called home so soon after leaving.
The soft step of his first mate fell in next to him his eyes weighed with the question, but the silence of the temple was too taboo to break. Nothing sounded in these tunnels but the flow of water and air. It was a holy silence, and that was not to be befouled with questions.
Still they would come. As the third oldest city of seven the wait wasn't near as long as it could be, less then an hour. It was the price for making harbor under what had once been a great mountain range. There was simply only so much you could carve out space wise until you had to move on to the next great cave. Even supported the structures had limits. The first city governed the building of harbors and handled their planning. The docking fees made their coffers fat, but they took all the risk too. If the mountain ever crumbled within the tunnels into the city would be blocked and if it collapsed completely the city below would be destroyed. The reward had left them with with the largest coffers of all seven cities though, and influence aplenty. The city couldn't deny you from the temple, but they could deny you use of the harbors within.
Finally though the great opening for Mlartlar appeared and a single strike of the drum set the rowers to pulling them away from the current. It was only when the ship emerged completely into the harbor that sound seemed to return as the crew took a collective breath. Suddenly the sound of a busy harbor hit them as the crew began to speak amongst themselves. They were as sour as their Captain to return with so little in tow. A good merchant ship or a raid would have netted more without the sea's vengeance to dispense. They were already itching to leave and they hadn't even docked yet. The deep grumbling grunt to his side said it all. No one could refuse the call of a King, not even a reaver. They didn't have to like it though.
((OOC: Hola, just kinda fleshing out over here trying to figure things out first post and all. Any issues ... please lemme know!))