The Forgotten Voyage

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Novapierce

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Original poster
It was in the middle of the night, stars blanketing the skies with a few puffs of clouds that obscured the moon from up above as a calm sea was graced with presence of a pleasant looking passenger vessel. The ship was on the voyage to a land that had had once been considered a fable, a place filled with danger, riches, and unexplored regions ripe for the would be adventurer. On the vessel, a few unsavory looking characters along with a skeleton like crew of workers that held the ship together during the moonlit hours. Many that didn't work were those seeking fortune, others were scientists, sent by different nations to see if the land was habitable, and some where mercenaries sent to make sure the voyagers stayed in line and didn't get themselves killed on such a trip. Either way, the ship was weeks before landing on the sought after shore and whether they liked it or not, they had to share the space.

As far as the ship went, it was a decent sized vessel, able to house 30 crew men, the captain, and 40 other guests comfortably. It had 3 decks, the lower deck meant for housing and eating, the middle deck meant for entertainment for the crew and the guests, and the higher deck meant to maintain the ship. The middle deck contained the barracks, brig, dining hall and cargo holds. The barracks, though small were rather cozy, holding 4 bunks for the crewmen. The brig, more or less a large cage situated in the back was held by three locks and sealed down to the inner workings of the ship with metal bolts, thick rope, and an incantation or two by a mages of different origin. As for the dining hall, it was rather large but basic in nature. Able to hold 40 people at a time, the most space was taken up by benches and tables made of wood that were very sturdy, able to seat the heartiest of men or beast-men. The middle deck, was the most frequently visited area. Filled with many distractions for the voyagers, it was a place for mingling, bartering, or in many cases, fighting. Meant originally for the crewmen who needed to blow a little steam, there was one area of the middle deck reinforced to provide a place for combat. It made it so any disputes with any man, women, beast-man or otherwise would be settled by a quick brawl. No weapons are allowed and no killing of any opponent. Those who broke the by laws of the ship's arena would be dealt in turn for there transgressions (eye for an eye rule). Out side of the arena, there was the bazzar for any merchants that were aboard that needed to set up shop as well as a few side rooms needed for anyone that was doing research or rituals deemed safe for the passengers.

Of the many people aboard, One was awake, wandering the upper deck as the crewmen went about tending to the sails and cleaned the deck. He was a young looking male of beast-man descent. He had brown sunkissed skin, gray and white hair that went down to the small of his back, able to somewhat hide the gray wolf ears that showed at the top of his head. His yellow eyes that peered through the star lit night and small fangs that showed from his mouth just slightly, he licking the tips of them occasionally as he thought of the dinner he had some time ago. He wore a black and dark brown jacket, worn from constant use and combat. His shirt underneath a deep blue with gold colored cloth running down the front. His pants were a lighter brown with pockets that ran down the side and a holster for two daggers on he left hip and a Cutlass at his right. He wore bindings on his ankles but left his feet bare, they looking close to paws with claws instead of nails. At the back, a wolf's tail swayed lazily in the breeze as he looked about, He now turning to the crew as he wondered how much longer would he have to drift with these people he was hired to guard, "God if feels like it's been weeks..." he says as he stretches, his hands against the ship's railing as he thought of the coin he was promised for his services, "I'd better get every scent those bastards promised me..." he growled as he looked back up to the sky, able to see a crescent moon shine on the slow moving vessel. His name was Avonin Malbreth, and his job was to lead the guards that had sworn loyalty to the captain back in the dock town Cannabree. Not usually one for doing explorations, he was fresh from a his time at the Royal Navel Academy meant to train sailors enlisted in the high King's Naval Armada. With no signs of war or any disputes with far off countries, Avonin was stationed for this expedition, something he had thought would be exciting, but after 2 weeks, he was hoping for at least some form of action.
 
Akai couldn't sleep. She was starting to become restless even though she loved adventures such as these. She just wanted to get there already and begin her research. Promises of some form of hidden magic in the fabled land had made her eager to join the others aboard the ship. However, the trip seemed to be endless.

Rolling over in her bed for what seemed like the millionth time, she finally decided to abandon attempts to sleep and go for a walk. She slipped into her dark leather boots and went over to the oak desk on the other side of her small but comfortable stateroom. Her notebook lay open to a middle page, filled with strange runes and formulas she was trying to figure out. Sighing, she closed the book, took her key, and left the room.

It was, needless to say, a beautiful night; there were many of these out on the open ocean. Akai went over to the railing and leaned on it, looking up, her dark brown eyes reflecting the bright moonlight. Her auburn hair always looked dark in the night time and radiant in the sun, falling just below her shoulders onto her dark grey tunic. She put her hands up to her neck and felt for the silver pendant her father had given her before he went to war. He never returned; that had been 16 years ago, and she had never taken the pendant off once. She frowned and rested her arms on the railing, thinking to herself "This is going to be a long, long trip..."

That was when she looked to her left and saw him.
 
Avonin, finally fed up with waiting was three seconds from just slamming his head into the railing of ship when Akai made her way up to the top deck. He gripped the railing as tightly as he could and just hit his hand on the railing. No need to make it look like the captain's head guard was nuts. He tail wrapped about him snugly as he turned about to see the fellow traveler at the opposite railing he letting his golden eyes scan her over. She wasn't a battle hardened maiden, she lacked the walk and stance for it. Nor was she a merchant, she neither had rand trinkets dangling from a lavish looking garb like the high end merchants, nor was she peddling her wares some time ago when he walked the bazzar earlier that day. 'Another random traveler I suppose...' he thought as he made his way over towards her, he thinking she would be a far better distraction than testing the durability of the ship's railing.

"Lovely night isn't it...?" called out the beast-man as he made his way over, the weapons at his side glimmering slightly in the little light that was made by the moon and stars. From what he wore to what he was geared it was clear he was with the king's armada, even to her. He placed his hands on the railing next to her and looked out into the vastness of the sea, "So...what brings you on this little trip...vacation? Research? Soul searching?" he asked in a calm but pleasant voice, hoping that she would be more conversation than the burly men he was used to shouting orders at.
 
Akai smiled warmly at the man, or beast, or… she wasn't quite sure what he was. A bit of both it seemed. But she liked him already. "Yes, it is beautiful out here. Sometimes I'm thankful I can't sleep, else I'd never see the stars in their full beauty."

Turning back out to face the serene waters, she sighed. "I travel for research; I study magic. I have heard tales of an ancient cave or temple where an old and powerful magic was used somewhere in this fabled land. I do not know much more about it, but there was nothing keeping me from leaving my home… if you could even call it that. So here I am. How about yourself?" She didn't turn, but looked sideways at him, smirking slightly. "Are you going to fight a war?"
 
Avonin shook his head and continued to looked into the vast darkness, "No, not fighting a war...but I'd rather do that than sit here at sea doing nothing..." His tail unwravled and he sighed, "I'm here by order of the high king to lead the guards on board. I'm to keep the peace, stop any rabble, extinguish any mutiny...and so on and so on." he said in a rather lax tone. "I was hoping that the land we are to come across would be filled with something to break boring era of peace we've been used to for the past five years. Whether it's an enemy to overthrow, monsters on the horizon or a treasure to be found...just...something would be nice..."

He walked back out into the open of the deck, sidestepping one of the works as he hauled a large bundle of rope, " I'm no mage, but I know a little of the arts...just enough to keep myself alive...that's all we soldiers need. And, I am no researcher...I study fighting, tactics, all that military stuff...what sort of magic or lore do you think we shall come across Mrs...?" He asked trying to get her name as he placed his hand on the handle of his cutless, he able to see what looked like the sun on the horizon, 'Really...I stayed up ALL NIGHT? Damn...'.
 
"Forgive me! In my sleepless state I've forgotten my manners. The name is Akai. And yourself?" She nodded cordially, then added, "And it's 'Miss'". She gave him a friendly wink, and turned back to the darkness. "Well, I'm hoping to find long lost information about a curse. While my father was away at war, our village was raided by bandits. Leading the bandits was a witch, or sorceress, or something. I never had the chance to see her. But she placed a curse on every house in our village. It affected my mother and younger sister, and it slowly ate at them from the inside. For some reason, it didn't touch me. It was awful to watch them die that way, and ever since then, I've wanted to learn a way to counter this magic so I can rid the world of it. Well, maybe that is a little bold of me... but I at least want to learn about it. Years later, at a local tavern, I overheard some travelers saying that the curse originated in a fabled land. When I heard this ship was sailing there, I jumped all over it..." Akai trailed off. "I know a bit of magic myself; I always aspired to become a wizard, or whatever, but I never got the chance to be an apprentice. I study in my spare time, but it's very hard. I'm just hoping to learn more about magic from this journey, and maybe one day be strong enough to fight against all the evil..." She laughed hopelessly, wishfully, and shook her head. Glancing toward the eastern horizon, she saw the first sparks of light. "Well now that I've bored you to death, how much longer do you think we've got on this ship?"
 
"Hmm...good question..." he said as he wheeled about, able to flag down one of the workers, "Hey, how much longer we got?" "Meh, I'd say a little over three weeks Lieutenant Malbreth." Avonin then sighed heavily, "Oh man....I thought it would be two weeks tops... This totally blows...." he said as h showed jsut how young he was. Despite the rugged look to him, he was no older than 24, basiclly a kid with a sword and a descent position. "But...that curse you were talking about. I had heard about it while in the academy...in fact we all heard stuff like that...but I was no more than 5 during the war. My Ol' man couldn't fight so he made the weapons. My mom was a high ranking officer, mage division. Taught me all about magic how to use it on the fly." he said as he held out his hand and forced a little of the energy in his body and sent it going towards his hand, then clenching hsi fist as an aura surrounded it. "Only thing is, our kind has a hard time with it, so we can't use it that much. We gotta rely on our physical abilities the most..." he said as he unclenched his fist and the magic dissipated. "In fact, you might know her, she is one of the High Wizards at the Carlia University. She specialized in Elemental Magic...mostly fire and Lighting." he said with a warm smile, "You might know her by her more famous name, Mistress Fire-Fang." he said with a smile, he looking to the ever rising sun, it making the world about them turn from the bleak darkness to a little dark blue in the greater sky and light yellows as the sun shown on the horizon, "They said she was so good in the battle field, she'd make it seems as if her enemies were stuck on surface of a star, burning them to cinders....Oh....sorry, kinda went on a tagent there..." he said with a chuckle, "So...umm...breakfast will be ready in a few...care to join me?" he said with a grin.
 
In a corner between cabin and rail, in one of the darker shadows left before dawn returned brightness to the sea, Treven Haelos watched the exchange in silence, save for a scoff at the beast-man's estimated time their journey would remain. He shfited against the wall as the sun's red rays began to reach like long-nailed fingers across the deck, crossing one booted ankle behind the other. Those feet in many different boots had walked many long miles on marches in his time in the military, in its time the Drishnackh Empire had stretched from the sea to the mountains and partially surrounded the desert provinces as well, and the short-sword by his side had reaped much blood in those battles. There were few miles of land he had not trod upon, and when his journeys with the armies so very many years ago had ended in dishonour, he turned his thoughts to the seas.

If it had taken only five weeks to reach this fabled isle, the place would have been populated, nay, grown even into an empire depending on the minds behind it, no, Trevin had seen the store-rooms, and his shrewd mind deduced that this journey would see at least a few new moons before they moored in their destined port.

Not that this bothered him, there was just as much for him to gain here on the ship as there would be on land. Though a century ago he had proudly called himself soldier, Trevin Haelos now preferred the term "Opportunist."

The hooded cloak that mostly covered his plain jerkin and trousers held many pockets on the inside, not for a peddlers goods, but for the implements of his own trade. Most worn were a deck of playing cards, and a bag of dice, rolled off of so many tables and counters and stumps and pillows and floorboards that the marks were beginning to wear off of some of them. The cards, though used more, were replaced when they showed any sign of mark or wear - couldn't have someone thinking he was a cheat.

The thought brought a smirk to his thin face as he brushed the hood back and let the dawn fall over him, showing hair that could have been mistaken to be black in the moonlight to in reality be a dim purple shade, cut choppily as if it had once been in a ponytail, sheared off at the back, but still longer in front. The color a dead givaway of his "savage" dark elf heritage even if the ears, as long as his hand from heel to fingertip, didn't.

It was nice to be able to show his heritage, instead of relying on hats and crude dyes to masquirade as human. Dark Elves, though an empire centuries ago, had lost their final stand, and now were a scattered, savage race, devolved from their former glory into criminals living in tents and caves in rags and furs. That isn't to say that in general, they were feared, or scorned, the free world now paid about as much attention to a dark elf as they would to ants crossing their path. Too backward to be mages, too weakened to be soldiers, too poor to be merchants, they were becoming forgotten in the shadows of a new and brighter age. Forgotten, but not gone, not yet. When backed into a corner anything - even a savage beast, becomes inventive, and Trevin had never claimed to be the exception to any rule. He was on this ship for the same reason anyone else was - whether for their own or someone elses sake, every last person on this ship was doing what they had to to get a step up.

Trevin Haelos was no exception, though at the present what he was more interested in was breakfast, and he left the wall, following the other two in hope of food.
 
"Yes, of course I know the name! I always wanted to attend the university, but never had the time or money..." She trailed off. Fascinated by his small display of magic, she looked up at him. "I would love to join you for breakfast." Following him down to the dining hall, she could have sworn there was a small rustling behind her; but when she turned, all she saw was shadows cast from the rising sun. She shrugged and turned to hurry behind Avonin, wondering if the journey was beginning to make her crazy.
 
Ephire Swone stared at the godforsaken sludge they called food with distaste. It was brownish grey in color, and it's ingredients were unknown. He knew already it would taste terrible, just as every meal he had eaten on this ship had. Ephire slid his plate to one side and rested his head on the table, trying to block out the noise of conversation and gluttony. As he did so he caught a whiff of his own scent, and wondered how long it had been since he had properly bathed. Days? Weeks? They all merged together at sea.

He could not even begin to remember when his journey started. He remembered the details quite vividly however. He was in the vice of a strong slumber when the ghost of his sister woke him. She told him he needed to go to the docks and board a ship. She told him to seek out a woman, but would not tell him her name. She told him that he would sense her. And then she vanished. Keen not to anger his fallen sister, he boarded the ship. Yet weeks had passed and he was no closer to his goal.

A migraine shot through his head, interrupting his thoughts. The pain was near unbearable, and it was getting worse. He put his hands to his head, flicking his shoulder length black hair from his face, and rubbed the sides of his head. He sought after a reason for this pain. Dehydration? Sleep Deprivation? No, this was a different pain, unlike any he had felt before. He looked up and saw a woman. As she moved closer, the pain grew more intense. He had never seen her before, but he felt a connection. Was this the woman his sister had told him about? Before long, he realised he was staring, and averted his eyes. That Beast-Man she was with looked dangerous, so he didn't want to cause anger to either of them any reason for anger. He grabbed his plate and started eating, praying neither of them had caught his stare.
 
Avonin nodded to his company and lead her down into the dining hall where he was, for the lack of a better word, slapped in the face with how horrid the smell was, "AUGH!! What the hell is he cooking...or rather failing to cook..." he growled as he put his hand to his noes and tried to block out the putrid smell. The beast-man then went ahead of the others, going straight to the back as he looked to the cook, "Just what the hell is this crap you're trying to pass out as food!?" he said as his small fangs bared in anger. The Cook, an half Elf pushed off Avonin and barked back, "Don't you dare lay your hands on me as if you know more of cooking than I You manger mutt! I'll have you know, this is the breakfast of a true seaman. It's a pudding made of bread, seaweed, minced fish and a little salt and pepper. Sticks to the ribs." He said as he dusted off the apron he had on. "Now quite your complaining Lieutenant, you know how we are feeding for both the crew and the passengers. Dinner will be far better I assure you but this meal is captain's orders." The cook then huffed and went back to stirring the cauldron that Avonin had butted in on.

Avonin just growled as he walked back out to the galley, he getting two bowl and not saying much else till he got back to Akai, "I know it looks bad but that damned half ling says it's better than starving to death...and that it's good for us..." he said with a sigh as he found a table for them to sit at, away from the the usual crewmen and military types. "To think...we've only been at sea for the better part of two weeks...I thought we had enough for at least two months." he grumbled as he took a spoon to the food he had been given and took a bite. It was extremely salty at first but the bread made it bearable.
 
Trevin slipped into the dining hall behind the wolf-man and scientist woman, the smell of breakfast assaulted his nose and he would have gagged if he wasn't used to it by now.

Dishing up a plate of what the cook was apparently passing off as pudding, he scanned the mess and selected a seat across from a sailor who appeared to be suffering a headache, judging by how he held his head. He didn't bother to ask if the seat was taken, as one might in a dining hall on land. Most people on the ship had settled into their particular spots in the mess, or on deck if they overflowed from it, but Trevin never sat in the same place twice; mostly for the same reason he never stayed in a given town for much longer than a month, if that.

"Sea getting into your head?" he asked, offering conversation in a lower voice so as not to agitate the other man's pain. The 'pudding' wasn't as bad as it smelled, he thought, shovelling a spoonful into his mouth. A bit over-salty perhaps, and the bread was stale, but such was to be expected.
 
It took until the Dark Elf spoke that Ephire noticed he had company. A Dark Elf isn't the best of company, and he'd prefer someone of a better social standing; however, a Dark Elf seemed the best he was going to get. Besides, he needed something to get his mind off the pain.
"You could say that, although this god awful food doesn't help!" he whined, still not free of his regal upbringings, no matter how hard he tried.

One thing he would try to be free of, at least for the sake of company, was his father's ingrained racism. For as Ephire's forefathers had fought in the great war, they had past down stories to their offspring that villainised the the Dark Elves. A lifetime forcefed xenophobia is hard to shake, but shake it he would. For after all it is the winners of the war, no matter how villianous their actions are, that are made the heroes. And human's were notoriously known for changing the facts for the betterment of their own.

Putting this aside however, Ephire struck up conversation with the Elf. "So what brings you to this vessel? Surely it can't be the food! You Dark Elves haven't sunk down to that level yet!" he said, feigning laughter. Truth was, as he was speaking he was also watching the lady from before, the one causing the migraines. He was till piecing together the puzzle his sister left to him. And he would solve it. He owed her that much.
 
Trevin opted to ignore the last word of the stranger's speech, offering instead a toothsome grin "The same which brings anyone on this ship, man." he said "Whether for their own or for the sake of some other person, religion, or country, every last soul aboard is on for fame and fortune; me I'll settle for the fortune, if you follow me."

"And what of yourself? he asked, shovelling another mouthful of the poor breakfast into his sharp-toothed jaws, "Adventure? Discovery? Science? Boredom?"
 
Avonin managed to gulp down the horrid tasting stuff and got up from his seat, he looking to the one that had been his company for the morning. "Well, can't spend the rest of my time in the galley...as much as I'd love to be here..." he said in a sarcastic tone as he checked to make sure that his weapons were strapped to his side. He then nodded to Akai and made his way out towards the middle deck's side, he greeted by a few of the crewmen who saluted in his passing. "At ease..." he said as he passed by and made his usual trek to the arena. He sighed as he was getting too used to the usual trend. He hoped that today he'd at least get someone who was a descent fighter.

As he made his way to the rear of the middle deck where the arena was located, he had to pass through the inner ship bazaar. He walked passed a few merchants showing off there wares, small gatherings of people at a tea shop drinking different strong tasting drinks and smoking from community hookahs, dancers that flitted about the front of there shop, enticing a few of the men on board to visit there little entertainment area, and at the last stretch a place to make bets for the upcoming fights. As he made his way down, a few of the dancers trotted his way and giggled, "Oh come on Lieutenant...you owe us that sit down already...it's been forever since you beat that bully of a deckhand who tried to take my sister away..." she crooned in his ear. He chuckled as he took her hand that hand been on his shoulder and turned her about, "Heh, I would darling, but I'm a busy guy. Perhaps after the match I'll stop by to make sure no one tries anything." he said as he chuckled. She laughed as he danced her back to her spot and winked his way as he continued to go to the arena entrance, "I'll hold you to that navy boy!"

Once outside the arena he looked to the cast iron doors that held the practice room. He started to remove his jacket as he opened it and made his way to one of the training dummies, taking off his weapon's belt and shirt, revealing that his body was lean but built in the right areas, a patch of fur that ran over the middle of his chest and stopped at his abs, and a tribal style wolf tattoo on his left arm. He popped his neck and hands as he let out a low growl, he looking to the dummy and rushed at it, going into a flurry of strikes and slams that would rock a normal man to the core. The sounds of his fists and legs striking the dummy resounded throughout the room and slightly outside of it.
 
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