Open Chronicles No Going Back

[Sapphire]

Sapphire wasn't suspecting such a horrible feeling of dread once she'd arrived at the edge of the blightlands. Standing on the north-east coast, the girl looked out to sea, wondering what lay waiting for her in the tundra. Her gut told her to turn around. Seeing the caps of ice off in the distance, Sapphire could sense nothing but ill fate waiting in Eretjva.

The young girl felt she hadn't much choice in the matter. This sense of dread was the main reason she'd decided on the tundra in the first place. No one would follow her there, and it would be easy to avoid contact with people. She wouldn't be able to hurt anyone, and there wouldn't be as many people who could hurt her. Clenching her fists, Sapphire took a deep breath, and suppressed the dread best she could.

She sat on a raised bank of earth that had a good view of the shoreline. There were a few boats moored by the sea, some sailors and fishermen preparing to head out for the day. She'd gain safe passage with one of them, probably. She wasn't in any rush. The girl figured she could enjoy her last day on the mainland before she set off into what looked like frozen hell.

 

[Djana Mahin]

Upon one of those moored ships sat Djana.

It was, or at one point had been, a galleon belonging to the Allirian Navy. Now it served as a merchant's vessel for the North Liad Trading Company.

Djana had made her way aboard the vessel as she had so many other places; by talking. The Captain of the ship was a loyal man, an adherent to an old northern religion which was still popular in some places. Djana had of course simply lied and told him she was a fellow practitioner. That, coupled with her beauty and a bit of persuasion had seen to him practically giving her the ship.

She'd denied him of course, and had simply settled for his cabin.

"No no Edgar, you've been far too kind already." She gestured to the man. "Passage is enough. You can continue your journey after."

Djana patted the man's hand.

She had never told him exactly why she needed to get to the Tundra, nor would she. It was something that only she needed to know.

 

[Quoril]

Walking slowly as to take in the environment surrounding him, Quoril headed towards the harbor. He was hoping to book passage on a vessel to Eretjva with goal of procuring an isil fish which is found only off the tundra's coast. It is said that, when combined with the seed of a bitterberry, reduces the effects of many kinds of mentally manipulative magic. Quoril, having never made this particular potion, was eager to get his hands on the needed materials.

Quoril saw a nervous looking girl quietly sitting on a small bank of earth as he approached the docks, but decided to leave her alone for the time being as he didn't want to bother her. Instead he headed for the closest dock and try to catch some lunch before speaking to any of the fishermen. Retrieving the rudimentary fishing pole that was sticking out of his backpack he fumbled around in a side pocket looking for something to use as bait. Finding a dried berry, Quoril affixed it to the hook and threw the line out into the sea. Before long the pole jerked violently and he quickly reeled the fish in. After using a magic spell to cook the fish he sat down to eat on a large stone nearby, and watched the ships going in and out of the port.

 

[Sapphire]

Sapphire made brief eye contact with the cloaked elf, watching as he made his way down to shore, fetching a pole before he began fishing. She felt as though this part of the world hung on fisheries like a man at the gallows. She'd never fished herself, her hometown more geared towards woodcutting and hunting. She considered trying to learn. After all, she'd probably have to try and fish at the tundra, if fish could even survive in the waters out there.
Making her way to the shore, Sapphire pulled her hood well over her face. While she was sure she'd dodged her pursuers, she couldn't get careless in her moment of escape. She looked down at her garbs. She still wore the travelling gear she'd brought from home, but it had become worn and dirty. She looked like a lowly peasant, but her appearance wasn't important right now. She needed to find a boat.
After trying a few of the smaller boats with no success, Sapphire looked to the largest on shore. It looked like a warship, capable of withstanding tremendous collisions. Surely it was going where she needed to.
"I'm looking for safe passage to the tundra", she told one of the men who was loading gear onto the boat. He directed her to the captain of the ship, a man with a certain confused look to his face. He took Sapphire's gold, somewhat disorientated. Thinking little of it, the girl moved to the edge of the main deck, feeling a little more confident that she'd committed to her decision.

 

[Djana Mahin]

Djana sat calmly within the Captains cabin.

The man had left her for the evening, apparently going to speak with some folk who desired passage upon the ship. She didn't particularly care of course, the Vessel was large enough to fit a hundred people on board with no particular concern.

Nor had she ever shied away from others.

Still, she did wish that he would just unmoore the ship and get them on their way. The Great Lord had patience, but only up to a point. Her mission needed to be completed, otherwise she would suffer the consequences. A frown twitched at her lips at the thought, but she wiped it away with a sip of tea.

Best not to think about that.

 

[Grim]

While stumbling drunk past the captain's quarters the Half-orc's saddle nose twitched as he caught sent of perfume. The delicious aroma was orgasmic to the mercenary's sense for he had spent some time aboard this galleon where his nostrils had been bombarded daily by the smell of sweaty unwashed sailors. It hasn't been long since Grim was in the company of a woman and knew just by the smell of the perfume that this female was of class. Not of the variety he had spent with last night during shore leave.

"Captain always gets the best!" Grim murmbled to himself, his charcoal black eyes staring at the cabin's door while he swayed. His devious mind was imaging what goods awaited beyond, what treasure has the captain hidden in his quarters? He moved closer to the door, trying ever so hard to be silent in his movements. His keen sense of smell could only pick up the perfumed delight and his ears could only hear one occupant moving about. Maybe the captain is a nice man and lets his best men have a turn at his whore? He thought to himself as he gripped the door knob.

Grim opened the door and to his awe he was not disappointed. The captain has great taste. The woman within, brunette, curvy in the right and beyond gorgeous. She must be costing him a small fortune. "Captain says I can have a turn!" His deep resonating voice slurred with intoxication as his large form entered through the doorway, trying to lie is way into her breaches giving the impression that this is on the captains coin. Little did Grim know that this woman was not a bought and paid for whore.

 

[Sapphire]

The odor of a drunken orc roused Sapphire from thought. Swaying from side to side, the behemoth made his way for the captain's quarters, mumbling inaudibly to himself. Small for an orc, he still towered over most other crew members, and it was rare that Sapphire saw such a large figure. She began to approach him, careful to move slowly so as not to be noticed. As the orc disappeared inside the cabin, the girl crept up towards the door, swearing under her breath as the wooden decking creaked under her boots.
When she came to the door, the girl inched it open a crack, not daring to look inside but instead propping her back against the wall that shouldered the door, keeping a keen ear pressed near the opening. Sapphire had nothing against drunkards, but she was damned if she was going to let this orc cause trouble and prevent the ship from setting sail

 

[Djana Mahin]

Sad as it was, Djana had experienced this sort of thing before.

She was an extremely beautiful woman whom most men coveted. It was a situation that happened at least once when surrounded by the uncouth, and she had a number of ways to deal with it. A knife strapped to her thigh, a kind word to turn them away, or even the Weaving magics the Great Lord granted her.

Here though? Here there was an entirely different, yet similarly effective method that she could utilize.

They were on a ship, she was an honored guest, and the Captain had most certainly not brought her aboard to act as some sort of whore.

So in a single heartbeat her expression shifted from calm and collected to complete and utter horror. Plump lips parted, eyes widened, and suddenly the woman let out a blood curdling screech that reverberated not just within the cabin, but out to the ship beyond. "HELP HELP!"

Her voice carried more than it should have as she scrambled out of the chair and to the back of the room.

"THIS MAN IS TRYING TO ASSAULT ME!" In a near instant she heard the sound of dozens of boots running towards the Captain's cabin.

 

[Sapphire]

"Ah shit."
Men charged down the deck, and Sapphire slipped away just before they managed to reach the captain's door. She walked around the perimeter of the deck, ensuring nobody thought she had any part in what was happening in the quarters. Just what had the orc done? Who was the lady in the captain's quarters? His wife? Questions flew in the girl's mind, and she allowed curiosity to get the better of her. Making her way back towards the cabin doors, now crowded by men, Sapphire tried to get a look at what was going on inside. One man at the back of the crowd pushed her away.
"Out of 'ere girl, this is no place for you".
Sapphire daggered him with her eyes, glad she hadn't managed to break any of his bones.

 

[Quoril]

After finishing his light lunch, Quoril decided to head down to the ships to get passage to the tundra. On his way there he noticed the girl he had seen earlier standing on what seemed to be a repurposed warship with her back pressed on the wall of cabin. She looked like she trying to hear what was going on inside.

Quoril's curiosity had been piqued, so he quickly and quietly made his way onto the ship, and stood against the other side of the door. He could hear a male voice coming from inside. Quoril tried shooting the strange girl a look that said 'whats going on?' But she must've been to focused on what was going on to notice. Leaning over, he peeked through the small window near his head. The very first thing Quoril noticed was a strikingly beautiful woman sitting on a chair. It took every bit of his will to tear his eyes away. Still in awe of the woman inside, he backed away from the window. What was the girl so worried about? Did she have some sort of beef with the woman? He couldn't imagine anybody having problem with such a beauty.

It took a minute for Quoril to regain his composure. Then he realized that there had been somebody else in the room too. Quickly gazing through the window again, his blood suddenly ran cold. There was an orc inside. An orc. Quoril had only had one other encounter with an orc, and that was enough to scare him cor life. He thrust his hand into a small pocket in his backpack, searching for the small phials of sleeping potion he had made earlier. Finding one, Quoril removed his hand from the pouch and frantically tried to get the girl's attention.

 

[Sapphire]

She wasn't sure what to make of the hysterical elf.

Once she'd backed away from the crowd of crew members by the door, Sapphire had noticed the elven fisher from the beach trying to get her attention. He held a vial that contained what looked like some kind of elixir. Sapphire was far from an alchemist, so she couldn't even begin to guess what the bottle contained. "Can I help you?", she asked, keeping her eye on the door to see if the commotion would settle down. The Captain was pushing through the crowd, frantically demanding entry to his quarters.Glad to see him in one piece, the girl returned her attention to the elf. "What's in the bottle?"

 

[Quoril]

"It's a sleeping potion I was going to throw in the orc's face if he tried anything, but the whole situation looks to be under control. I'm sorry if I startled you. I tend to overreact, and go into a sort of panicky defensive state when I see an orc. Its the main reason I try to avoid the Blightlands," Quoril said a little sheepishly.

"I'm Quoril, by the way. I'm on my way to the tundra to catch a certain fish. My alchemist friend told me that I could use its scales to make a potion that reduces the effects of mental magic."

"Isn't it dangerous a girl to be travelling alone by herself?" he asked concerned. "Are you searching for something too or are you going for another reason?"

 

[Grim]

The woman screamed in horror at the half-orc's advance, scrambling from the chair she sat up to her feet and to the back of the room. This was not the first time a woman had shrieked at him. Wasn't the first time a woman had turn down his advance either. It only brought upon a tusked grin as he pulled for his dagger. Nor was this the first time he had preyed upon the unwilling. Grim was accustom to having to take what he wanted and today it was either going to be her body or her death.

"Resisting will only get you......" His ears perked as boots could be heard echoing down the corridor. The woman's call for help seemed to have been answered. Such a disturbance between predator and prey would of been a deal breaker. This was usually where frustration and fear would of taken hold and a hasty retreat would of been in order. For Grim, this was more of a turn on then the potenial feast before him. Was only one thing in this world that surpassed the pleasure of woman and that was killing. There was nothing more pure in life than violence itself. She may have called for help, but to Grim..... all she did was ring the dinner bell and Grim was starving for the kill.

His tusked grin turned to a toothy, troubling smile. Turning on his heels he dashed for the door. A human sailor of medium build was the first through the door. Grimarim pounced upon him with panther like reflexes, gripping his entire face with a meaty paw and cracking the back of his skull upon the wooden door-frame behind. The moist and rigid sound of skull shattering upon wood rippled through the room and down the corridor. The sailor made no verbal noise in his limpless state of death, dropping to the ground with a thud while his killer stepped over him and through the open door.

Battle was chaos, no matter how small or how big it was. Grim had one advantage, anyone and everyone was now enemy and swift death he would bring to those he could grasp. The captain and his sailors may have the numbers but they have cornered a beast, and this beast was not going down with out a fight. With Grim stepping out into the corridor he had brought war with him, letting off a mighty roar. First human fleshy face that met with his large fist was the Captain's and he dropped like a sack of shit crumpling to the floor. A ginger haired large set man, the cook Grim recognized with his dirty apron, was next. He swung his large cleaver as if the halfbreed was swine to the slaughter. Grim reached out and quickly gripped the cook's weapon hand with his orcish strength and savagely eviscerating him with practice precision and speed. The cook would fall to the side trying to hold his innards in the best he could.

 

[Quoril]

A sudden roar caused the conversation between the girl and the elf to come to an abrupt stop. The orc burst through the doorway and charged into the corridor. Quoril saw him punch a man and eviscerate another.

The elf started panicking again, and immediately started searching his backpack for more sleeping potions. Somehow the orc hadn't noticed him or the girl, but he wasn't going to take any chances. His hand closed around two more, and he felt some relief. Shaking the phials, he slowly crept up closer to the orc and the group of sailors. Quoril really hoped 3 doses of sleeping potion would be enough to incapacitate the orc. Compared to the big ones he had seen on his way to the coast, this one seemed a bit smaller. After shaking the potions again for good measure, Quoril rolled all three of them across the floor and through the orc's legs. He then turned and ran like hell back down the corridor to stand near the mysterious girl. The elf heard the phials explode as the pent up pressure became too much for the thin glass, and saw a silvery cloud billow up around the group of people fighting. Since there was no guarantee that the potions would be enough to knock out the orc, Quoril formed a dense knife of ice created out of the damp air around him, prepared to die fighting.

 

[Djana Mahin]

Djana was by this point as calm as could be...at least on the inside.

She'd never really been all that concerned about being touched, after all the Great Lord would never allow such a thing, but she had to keep up appearances. In order to survive the rest of this trip she had to play the innocent girl that was being attacked by an orcish brute.

Thankfully, the man was making the task easy. "EEEEEEEEEE!"

Her voice was a screech as the half-orc began to fight every man in his way.

She quickly grabbed the chair in front of her, pulling it back and using it as a sort of defensive barricade as she tucked herself into the nearby corner. Djana forced her entire body to shiver and shake, her eyes were wide open, her lips parted in an expression of abject horror.

She was but an innocent girl in need of protection from a thuggish brute.

 

[Sapphire]

The elf threw the vials into the cabin, three in total. Once they'd disappeared from view, Sapphire noticed a thin veil of what looked like mist drift from the cabin. Looking more closely, she could see some of the crew mates falling to the floor. Had he poisoned them? Or was he telling the truth, and he'd sent them to sleep? Sapphire glared at the elf with daggered eyes. Realising she was going to have to get involved, the girl pulled the hood from her shoulders, wrapping the cloth around her mouth and nose.
Honestly, she had no clue what she was doing. She wouldn't have been able to drag the captain out of the cabin without breaking him, Sapphire knew that much, but.... She needed the captain alive, and if eliminating the threat made the possibility of that more likely, then she had to hope it would suffice.
The girl tightened the cloth around her face, drawing a blade and moving inside the cabin. As she moved, she pushed men aside as they passed out, before she came to the large orc. He stood amongst unconscious crew-mates. Some had been taken down by Quoril, others by the orc himself. Somewhere beyond him, the screaming woman persisted. Sapphire's voice was muffled through the makeshift mask, and her head felt a bit light. The captain had been floored, and didn't look in the best of ways. Sapphire splayed her hand towards the captain, eyeing the orc furiously
"What's all this about?"

 

[Quoril]

After seeing the glare the girl had giving him, the elf was suddenly more afraid of her than any creature he had come across. He also realised how much danger he might have just put the girl and the woman inside the room in. "What was i thinking?" Quoril muttered to himself. If anything he'd probably just pisssd the orc off even more.

Quickly covering his face, he followed the girl into the smoky room. The elf saw the men around him swaying and falling over asleep. Now that the sailors were knocked out, the two were prime targets. Quoril tightened his grip on his knife. The world spun for a brief moment. The sustained magic used to keep the blade together was starting to take its toll. He quickly shook his head clear and resumed following the girl. The elf was sure that she was going to blame him for all of this if they made it out alive, and he was ready to take full responsibility for his idiotic actions. Just as Quoril reached the girl, he heard her say "what's all this about?" He internally questioned her choice of announcing their presence to the orc.

 

[Djana Mahin]

(Grim Messaged me and told him he'll be on LOA and that he'll be starting a new char after this one as he's not feeling Grim)

Perhaps there would be no regret after all.

Djana had all but sequestered herself into the corner of the room, pulling the cardigan she had been wearing over her face to block away that strange smoke that had all pulled filled the doorway. The Orc was ravenous, practically foaming at the mouth now.

Her reaction had spurned him, pushed him into an odd sort of madness that even she had not expected. He stood forward, raged, and then suddenly took in a deep whiff of the smoke within the room. A twitch ran across his features, he bucked, and then there was a loud thump as he fell onto the floor.

For a moment the Cultist stayed quiet, then she quickly spoke again. "OH THANK GOODNESS!"

She played up a voice of innocence, her face washing over with relief, her entire body shaking as though surging with adrenaline and fear.

 

[Quoril]

Quoril's plan had worked. It had actually worked! The elf sat down right where he was and heaved a huge sigh of relief as he dissipated his weapon. The stress and magic drain had taken a lot out of him.

After taking a moment to make sure the two women were alright, Quoril eaned back against the nearest wall and closed his eyes. As he drifted off to sleep, he knew that he would have to make it a point to apologize for his stupid actions later.

 

[Sapphire]

Sapphire didn't get much of an answer from the furious orc, who fell to the ground, taking a terrible blow to the head. Clearly he wouldn't be recovering from that any time soon. She supposed it served him well, as the girl looked to the traumatised woman who sat in the corner. She didn't want to begin to guess what the orc was demanding of her.
She didn't get a chance to tell Quoril to bugger off, as the elf passed out just as he asked if she was alright. She didn't need someone looking after her, even if Quoril had proven resourceful enough to take out the orc. Fortunately he didn't take as bad a fall as the orc had, and he would be among the men that the remaining crew fished out of the captain's quarters. She looked to the woman, as the gas began to pour out of the room.
"You should get some air. And erm, as far away from that as possible". She pointed to the orc on the floor, and turned to head back onto the main deck.

 

[Djana Mahin]

Djana nodded a bit too eagerly. "Of course, of course."

Her voice was as hasty as a church mouse.

A part of her was of course still putting on an act, but the truth was she did want to get out of that room. The Orc was asleep now, but who knew what would happen when the thing woke up. The creature had been in a rage, and Djana didn't want to be in it's sight when it woke.

The weaving could sooth a raging beast, but she didn't want to explain that particular ability to anyone present.

With three quick steps she reached the only other two who were still standing. Daintily she stepped over the unconscious orc, pattin the Elf's cheek. "Thank you."

The words sounded genuine. Sounded.

 

[Sapphire]

The woman was a little enthusiastic for Sapphire's liking. It was understandable that she was so hyper-active; such a situation would do that to a person. However, the journey thusfar, along with the gas that was making her drowsier as time went on, had left her exhausted. Strangely, the energetic woman who trotted out of the captain's quarters was even more draining.

Emerging into fresh air did something to clear her head. Drawing the cloth from her face, Sapphire took a deep breath, opening her eyes widely and stretching out her arms. Feeling some bit of energy flooding around her system again, Sapphire joined those who were still conscious. As the crew tightened cloth around their own faces, they started on dragging out those who'd passed out, leaving herself, Djana and a few passengers standing outside.

 

[Quoril]

The vicious orc turned to Quoril and roared. "What have we got here?" he bellowed picking the elf and shaking him. "There's nothing that a little forest rat like you could do to me. You must have a screw loose if you even considered trying!" The brute then threw Quoril against the wall, and put the woman and girl each under an arm. The alchemist could hear them screaming for help as the orc carried them out of the room.

Quoril awoke with a start. At first he wasn't sure if what he had just experienced was a dream or if it had really happened. Looking around him he was comforted to see that the two women and most of the sailors were okay. The elf surmised that he was carried out to the main deck after passing out in the captains quarters. He slowly got up and made his way to the women, determined to apologize for his dangerous actions.

 

[Djana Mahin]

Djana had been brought a seat.

It seemed that the rest of the sailors on the ship were positively aghast at what their fellow had done, and thus sought to comfort her. It was a pleasant ordeal really, just a few 'sorry's', some 'apologies my Lady', and half a dozen other ways of saying they regretted what had happened.

The Cultist took it all in stride of course, considering it all just par for the course. None of them would see it of course, and every time another one of them came over to her she would fan herself and simply nod her head.

In truth though, she found all of this rather annoying.

Her only goal when boarding this ship had been to reach the Tundra's. The Great Lord had given her a mission, and she intended on completing it. His servants there required her attention and this...mess just slowed things down.

It irked her.

 

[Sapphire]

Sapphire raised an eyebrow as the lady who Quoril rescued was brought to a seat. One by one crew members came her way, expressing apologies and inquiring into her well-being. She was given no such treatment. Potentially the only other woman on board, she got no more than a couple of head nods from some of the sailors as they got back to work. Not that it surprised her, of course. She may as well have been a stowaway, and judging by the other woman's clothes, she was either a lady or some wealthy noble. Pampered, sheltered, defenseless.

Sapphire had things rough, but the girl took pride in relying solely on herself for survival. Having others care for your every move, having everything done for you... was that really living?

Wrapping her cloak around her shoulders once more, she watched Quoril emerge from the quarters. Grudgingly, she supposed she was glad the elf was okay. Things may have not gone so smoothly without him, even if he had left her with a sore head.