Private Tales Upriver

[Eislyn Gray]

Geelyn shifted nervously, giving the others a glimpse of the struggling princess’ dance with that dress. Hips swayed and form stretched and wobbled as Eislyn got the confounded thing over her head. New shift and corset were on but they didn’t leave much to the imagination with the backlight of the fire.

Blonde-haired head finally popped free, arms in their proper sleeves. Fingers yanked the fabric down so it finally covered those legs of hers. Geelyn shifted to block the doorway again.

Ahhhh. She already felt much better. Still cold but not as bone chilling cold. No more teeth chattering. Looking over her shoulder at the half-orc’s back, she dug that vial of liquid free from her bodice. Going to the rum bottles, she put a drop of the liquid quickly into the bottles within reach. The vial went back inside her dress.

She’d been lucky not to lose it in the earlier swim. One good thing about tight corsets she supposed. The vial was a gift from a sultan from one of her earlier negotiations. A certain amount would leave a dragon out for days. With the minuscule amount she used, she imagined she’d have a good twelve hours to explore the city on her own and, potentially, escape if they all happened to take a swig from one of those rum bottles.

The girl sat back by the fire, calling. “All finished.”

 

[Rayth Keirn]

Eislyn would never know that a soft sound from behind her was Geelyn giving Rayth a gentle slap to the side of the head. He had turned and craned for a look almost as soon as caught her shadow dancing against the wall. His back was flat against the outside of the house long before she called out. He should have kept watching to catch her nefarious activities instead of snatching a glance at bare legs.

Bare feet padded back across the floor softly. His soaked trousers still clung to his form, but were starting to dry. Rayth kept an eye on fashion, which was a subject of much amusement among the crew, but he also kept to practical fabrics. The Paragon had been involved in many engagements and you didn't always make it across when boarding.

He slipped his scabbard from his belt and laid his sword on the bare tiles beside him as he moved back into the warmth of the fire. Rayth could never get too attached to one sword either. If it was a choice between drowning and buying a new sword...you killed someone with a club and took their sword.

"Better?" he asked Eislyn. He suspected she would try and slip away, but certainly did not expect the subterfuge she had prepared.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

The girl had a strong spirit and a clever mind. Some would call those endearing qualities. Others would find them rather annoying.

With legs curled beneath her and brush in hand, with damp blonde-hair over one shoulder she nodded to Rayth, eyes tracking up to the man. "Much." The shivering tremble in her tone was all but gone. Fingers were trembling less as they methodically went up and down her hair, trying to tease and ease out the tangles. The soft glow of the fire made her skin seem not as pale as it had been before. Warmed her skin.

Then, a very un-lady like thing happened.

Her stomach grumbled.

Throat cleared. "Ahem. Do you have any food in the supplies you brought?" She realized with a start that she hadn't eaten anything since being taken. And near-drowning was certainly raising her appetite. Chin tilted to the bedrolls in the corner. "Are we to use those tonight?"

She wasn't certain if there were actually four or only three.

 

[Rayth Keirn]

"Well, I didn't have a spare four-poster to row over I'm afraid m'lady," Rayth mused. There was no venom in his words and he shot her a sideways smile. In truth he didn't want to tease until her company became insufferable. It was actually quite nice to have someone to talk to about books.

There were no plates either, so Rayth went to the tightly bound bags of food and opened them one by one. They would need to be tightly sealed again to avoid attracting any small rodents that might have claimed this settlement for their own. They could be unusually sized in this part of the river lands.

"Dried meat and biscuits?" he offered. "There is a ration of cheese but thought we would save that..."

 

[Eislyn Gray]

Lips twitched.

"Ye two could always share," Geelyn smirked and the dwarf muttered something, taking another swig of his already two-thirds empty rum bottle.

Eislyn tried not to let her eyes widen more than they already were and found her gaze suddenly fixated on the fire and not Rayth's face. Or Geelyn's.

"A meal fit for a queen," she smiled. Anything at this point sounded like a feast. And she was being serious. Leaning over, she took one of the bottles of water and popped the lid. Verdant eyes finally lifted to Rayth, accepting the offered food.

"If you had to choose one, what would be your favorite book?"

She was genuinely curious.

 

[Rayth Keirn]

"Oh, interesting," mused Rayth. He padded back towards her and dropped a pair of biscuits and long strip of dried and salted beef into her lap. No one had brought cutlery or plates either.

"Iroe's sonnets," he replied. This was perhaps giving a little too much away, he immediately decided. It could definitely give Geelyn ammunition of Eislyn knew them well enough.

The works were a collection of sonnets said to represent different aspects of man. There was an exquisitely worded depiction of a heroic struggle over beast, but there was also a lot of romantic poetry in them.

"Did you want one of the bed rolls to throw over your lap to save the dress?" he offered.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

It was an interesting response. Rayth reminded her of a diamond. He had many different faces and angles. He surprised her and she found it refreshing. Of course, the princess would never admit as much, especially not to him. She had to wonder if they'd met in different circumstances if they would've become friends.

"It would be the sturdiest napkin I've ever used," she responded with amusement. It was Grindig who walked one over to her. Setting her brush aside, she took up one of the biscuits with both hands and took a bite, preparing to school her features.

But it wasn't completely horrible. Dry. But not horrible.

She'd had worse. Swallowing the bite, she began rehearsing one of the sonnets.

"Remember me when I am gone away,

Gone far away into the silent land;

When you can no more hold me by the hand,

Nor I half turn to go yet turning stay.

Remember me when no more day by day

You tell me of our future that you plann’d:

Only remember me; you understand

It will be late to counsel then or pray.

Yet if you should forget me for a while

And afterwards remember, do not grieve:

For if the darkness and corruption leave

A vestige of the thoughts that once I had,

Better by far you should forget and smile

Than that you should remember and be sad."

 

[Rayth Keirn]

Rayth grunted as a boot struck his shoulder.

"Ow!" he declared. As Geelyn walked past she might have thought she was giving him a gentle nudge with her shoe. The half-orc didn't do gentle.

"You were staring," she declared, stepping past and gathering some food for herself. She normally ate half as much as Rayth did again.

Rayth didn't contradict that because he knew full well that he had been. He kept his gaze on Geelyn if only to avoid Eislyn's. He had been entirely lost in the lilt of her voice that drew forth distant memories.

"You understand that as second mate I am in charge here, yes?" he asked Geelyn.

The half-orc shrugged. "If you say so."

 

[Eislyn Gray]

Thoughtfulness and amusement etched briefly over her features. Again, she found herself enjoying their company. And perhaps she’d enjoy it more under different circumstances. In a way, they were all prisoners in this hidden camp. For now.

Stranded.

She finished off the biscuit and began nibbling on the dried meat. Fingers wiped delicately on the bedroll across her lap. Verdant gaze broke from Rayth’s face and went back to the fire before glancing at each of them in turn.

“How long have you all been employed by the Captain?”

She was sure it was long enough not to double cross each other. Like, if she were to offer one of them a better deal. Just like the captain.

 

[Rayth Keirn]

"Two years."

"Five years."

"Too many years."

Replies came in quick succession from the dwarf, the half-orc and the human. They neatly ranked themselves in most to least likely to accept a better offer. Unfortunately the ranking of most to least ambitious was the complete opposite.

Rayth held his feet towards the fire. His toes had started to tingle. The shivering had mostly come to a stop now and he actually felt a pleasant warmth across his chest. Hopefully the unpleasantness was over and the rest of the nights could be spent in tedium.

"And how many years have you been allowed out of your home?" he asked.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

A single blonde brow arched at Rayth. “Not long enough.” Heart ached when her thoughts turned toward home. Not because she missed the iron fortress. Or her father. Because she missed her sister. All that could’ve been.

But would never be.

It was too painful to think about going back. Her father claimed she was running away. Eislyn liked to think she was running toward something else.

Munching on the meat, she stood and shook out the bedroll, then knelt back on the tile to smooth it flat and out. “Do you think your captain would hire someone like me?” Pink lips twitched at one corner. “And I’m assuming we’re all to bunk down together?”

Brindin belched loudly and dropped the empty bottle of rum. Most of the ones left had the drug in it. Eislyn had three nights to try and escape. Three nights until the supposed return of the Paragon. No doubt her men had started a proper search and alerted the authorities of her absence.

 

[Rayth Keirn]

There was an interesting little bit of information. It struck a chord with Rayth too. In his own mind it would be worse than death to return home and be subject to his family's wishes. Rayth had always cared more about his own plight than the hardship many suffered.

"We'll all be sleeping in this room, yes. Though I will be taking first watch," he said. Rayth stuffed a piece of biscuit in his mouth and unrolled his bedding. Brindin had already unrolled his own and tucked himself in. Rayth made the mistake of washing down the dry biscuit with a swig of rum.

"So what's back home that you're glad to be away from?" he asked. Rayth pulled over a broken chair, hoping it would take his weight so he could sit more comfortably by the fire through his shift.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

Eislyn eased herself into the borrowed bedroll. The tiled-ground was hard beneath her hips. Reminded her of camping along the spine. At least with the first, it wasn't as cold as that. Blanket came up to her waist. On one side with damp hair fanning behind her head, verdant eyes tracked up to Rayth.

Looked like Geelyn was also settling in, taking up twice the space as the others.

"Where I'm from can be...rather stifling. With antiquated ways and practices. However, it's not so much the things I'm glad to be away from. It's more so the peop-things that aren't there anymore." She caught herself. A very real yawn left her mouth, though, her sleepy eyes didn't miss the sip from that rum bottle Rayth took. Head was cradled by the crook of her arm and suddenly the tiredness she felt ebbed a little back.

She'd have to stay awake if she wanted to take advantage of this.

"You don't happen to be looking for a career change and new boss? And if you'd like to look at some of my books, they're in the top part of my case. You're welcome to them."

 

[Rayth Keirn]

"If anyone on the ship was likely to be swayed by such an offer then they wouldn't have been offered a string," Rayth said.

"They also would be off ship before it came back fer us," Geelyn added.

Rayth nodded at that. He had already gone to find a book. If he had one wish that could be fulfilled before he departed this world it would be for the Paragon's adventures to make it into a book. A play would be even better, then more than just the upper class would get to enjoy it. Of course it would be set on the Paragon, but it would mostly be about him.

"Haven't read this," he declared, taking up watch on his rickety chair. "You might as well get some sleep now."

 

[Eislyn Gray]

"I like that one," the princess yawned, eyes closing. "Talks about the legend of the floating city. One day, I'd like to see it." Lips turned into a soft smile. "If it's real."

Brinnin was already snoring softly. Eislyn couldn't really tell if Geelyn was sleeping but the half-orcs eyes had closed after that comment to Rayth. Forcing herself to relax, she found she couldn't really fight sleep. She was exhausted. She just hoped she wouldn't sleep past her window of opportunity.

Wake-up Eislyn. Wake-up soon.

 

[Rayth Keirn]

Rayth had always thought tales of the floating city were fanciful. He adored fanciful stories and so hoped one day he could discover if it was true. The practicality of that quest was another matter. How could they explore every part of the sky for a floating city? Perhaps this book would have real clues dressed up in fiction.

Rayth was only through the first few pages when he felt his head become heavy. It bobbed down towards the book with startling speed. His eyes widened and he sat bolt upright.

"What?" he asked, before his head slumped forwards and he fell asleep.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

What

Eislyn's eyes twitched as she tried to push free from her dream.

'Please, sneak me out. I have to try and save her.'

'Are you mad?! If your father found out he'd hunt me down like a dog.'

'I can promise you nothing will come to you if we get caught. Please. I'll pay you. Anything.'

'Be careful what you're after, Princess. You can't trust folk out there. The world isn't what you think it is.'

Heart pounded in her chest and her eyes snapped open. The fire had grown dim. She sat up and eased the blanket off. Geelyn and Brinnin were snoring away. Verdant gaze tracked to Rayth. His chin rested heavily on his chest. Standing slowly, she went to her trunk and eased it open, taking out a pair of boots.

Her slippers wouldn't be very practical.

Pulling out a small satchel, she quickly put in some of those biscuits and water. But she couldn't be greedy. Any of the others could wake up at any moment. Moving slowly and quietly, she made it to the door, half freezing over Brinnin as he shifted in his sleep.

Holding her breath, she continued on when he settled and made it out the open doorway. Instead going back the way they'd come in, she turned left. She wanted to see if she could find a path down to that abandoned rowboat she'd seen from their journey in. Free-hand brushed across the iron bangle around one wrist.

It was a nervous habit.

 

[Rayth Keirn]

She was afforded a good twenty minute headstart. Rayth slowly lifted his chin off his chest and rubbed some dribble from his chin. Giving his head a shake he found his mind was slow to clear.

He could hear the other two snoring. If he woke Geelyn now then no one would know he had fallen asleep on his watch. Rayth let his eyes adjust to the dim glow of the fire.

They definitely would know that he had fallen asleep. Rayth moved to Brin in a bit of panic. The dwarf would not be roused. He had to shake Geelyn, which led to a her hand snaking out to take his throat on a vice like grip.

She let go of him with a shrug as if nothing had happened. Rayth leaned away, rubbing at his throat.

"Thought it was Brin to...where's the girl?"

"Gone. I can't wake Brin."

"What? I've seen him drink twice that and..."

"I know," Rayth replied, hands up for calm. The worry in his eyes didn't seem to be for Eislyn making an escape. "You think she's really a diplomat?" he asked. His forehead was throbbing.

"What else would she fucking be?"

"Assassin."

 

[Eislyn Gray]

Seemed like perpetual night in the cave. The only light source came from a glowing moss-like substance high above on the cavern walls. When Eislyn glanced up, she thought she saw moving shapes but could never quite make it out. Probably just a trick of the distance. Her tired eyes might be making things up.

Boots crunched softly on the rocky-floors. Many of the houses she passed were like the one she’d been staying in. Most worse off. Walls missing. Sagging roofs. Or no roofs. There was one shop with some abandoned equipment. Looked like a smithery. The Captain had been right. There were an abundant places for her to hide. But she knew they wouldn’t give up until finding her.

And she did not want to be strapped to the mast.

Coming round a row of old stables, she spied a stairway that lead back down to the water. Once down, she’d be exposed to the moon shaped bay of the settlement. But it was a risk she was willing to take. Seemed like this was the right spot.

 

[Rayth Keirn]

"Look, you search her case and I'll go looking for her," Rayth said. His trousers were still damp. On changing shift he had planned to put them by the fire.

"Shouldn't we both go?" Geelyn asked.

"Come help once you've given it a thorough search," Rayth confirmed. "It would take an entire crew a week to find the secret way. I don't think she's swimming out either."

Geelyn nodded, took two steps towards the case and stumbled. She dropped to one knee before the case, swollowing loudly and fumbling with the catch.

"What about the whole...assassin thing?" Geelyn asked.

Rayth grunted. Perhaps this was just a case of some dodgy rum. Eislyn could have slit their throats whilst they slept. It surprised him that she hadn't. He supposed if she murdered them and couldn't escape her life was going to be difficult once the Paragon returned.

He calmed his nerves with a slow breath and left the small building, keeping one hand on the hilt of his sword.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

She stepped carefully down the steep and slick stone-stairs cut from rock. They dropped quickly and lead down to a small rock platform. Lips pursed as the view opened up. She could see across the water and back to where they'd docked. Where she'd fallen in. And if she angled her body right, she could see just a hint of the cleft in the rock that hinted at the way out.

Turning around, she walked further onto the platform.

Had she gotten this wrong? Was the boat somewhere else? Edging the corner, she saw it. Tucked against the rock-cleft and partially turned over. It was smaller than the one they'd taken in. Probably meant for two to three people and no luggage of a princess.

Hands rubbed together and she took up one side. Had to turn it over. Taking a breath and heaving, it barely budged as wood crunched against stone.

"Son of a troll's mother," she grunted.

 

[Rayth Keirn]

The floor kept shifting beneath his feet. He had woken before the drug had worn off and was still woozy. Rayth had to brace against a rotting wooden fence. When he realised that it was between him and a sheer drop off the path he regretted placing his weight against such a fragile barrier.

Standing tall, he tried to take deep, slow breathes. Over the sound of water cascading down from above he could hear the wind wailing as it was forced through the narrow ravine. Rayth steadied himself, forcing the ground to stay still beneath his feet. Or at least down to a motion he could walk with.

It was sheer luck that from this position he could see down to the natural dock. Rayth leaned forwards despite it only moving his eyes a few centimeters closer to her small, distant form.

"What are you doing down there?" he muttered to himself, turning to find the path back down.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

Strain painted her face as she put both hands beneath the side of the small boat. Legs planted further apart.

'C'mon Eisy Eis. You can do it. Come find me.' Hannah's voice hissed in her ears. In her memories.

With a curl of her biceps, strain with her back and legs, the princess heaved. The rowboat wobbled, groaned, and then thumped as it rolled right-side up. Breathing hard, one arm wiped across her brow as she stumbled over to the back of her boat. Verdant gaze tracked the opposite bank. But she didn't see any movement. Hands pushed against the back as she began tipping toward the end of the dock.

Just. Had. To. Get. It. Into the. Water.

Sqhhhhhlllccchhheeeeeeeeeee

Wood groaned against rocky surface.

She hadn't seen any major damage other than the cost of time along the edges. She'd have to get it into the water to see if there were any major holes.

 

[Rayth Keirn]

Rayth very quietly made his way down to the path. The problem was that as soon as he started down the winding way down to the water he would be perfectly visible to Eislyn.

Hearing the sound of wood scraping on rocks he stepped out from between two crumbling houses and started to make his way down towards the water. He could see her now. She was pushing the old rotting rowing boat towards the water.

Rayth didn't want to run. He suspected he would slip and do himself harm. With an urgent gait he walked swiftly down the path. He was struck by a dilemma as he went. He could lay the accusation at her feet and she would likely claim ignorance. He could also pretend that he was simply annoyed at himself for falling asleep on the job. The second notion amused him. If only because he would find her reaction fascinating.

Such a conversation was entirely dependent on how many holes the boat had, how quickly she spotted him coming down the path and quite what she would try and do next.

 

[Eislyn Gray]

Well, Eislyn was certainly determined to get that boat on the water. Splinters bit into her palms and with one final heave, the vessel slid in with a ker-SPLAAASSHHH. Kneeling on the rocky surface, she took a moment to catch her breath. One hand remaining on the side of the boat so it didn’t float away.

It was a small miracle that it didn’t immediately sink. There was only one oar, though. Lifting the folds of her dress in one hand, she stepped carefully into the vessel. Taking up the oars at the bottom, she turned seeing Rayth.

A very un princess-like word left her mouth.

“Damn.”

Could almost hear her mother’s tut-tut of disapproval.

Gripping the oar with both hands, she lifted one end, going to push off the dock. Only, the tip slipped and what was meant to be a hard thrust away turned into Eislyn stumbling and the rowboat meandering away. Very slowly. Centimeters fast.

“Damn.”

And there it was again.