Post by Traveller on Jan 27, 2017 4:15:32 GMT -5
A light mist covered the tops of the trees, a white blanket weaving among the trunks and skimming across the ground, making it precarious for anyone who didn't watch their steps and keep a watchful eye of their surroundings, lest they walk into a tree. It was a normal sight for the early mornings of the Illusia kingdom, at least in this area.
What was a less than normal sight, however, was the ship docked in a watery alcove, hidden by wines and the wispy branches of giant willow trees. Ferns and crawlers added that extra layer of coverage, and the fog hid the ship to the point that it just blended in with the shadows and dark shapes.
How had that ship got there? Had it been bogged or crashed ashore? Was it a ghost ship? The short answer was: No. The long answer, after a hectic, exhausting rescue mission with endless fights and shocks, a small crew of pirates had escaped their captors, the Marines, by sailing upriver. Slipping away unseen in the chaos, there were now settled in said watery alcove roughly between the Illusia Capitol to their South-South West and Mallia Town to their North. B-4, the base they had escaped from, was to their East.
It had been several days, and things had settled down. At least, the manhunt had been called off and, by the gossip from the town that Alexandra had visited, it seemed like their ruse had worked. The Marines had believed that the group had retreated to the wide open sea, and had sent out search parties in vain to hunt them down. Patrols of the surrounding area had been set up, and there had been a few close calls, but luckily they had escaped discovery and capture. It was the fifth day since they had began hiding out, and they had spent those days resting and recovering from their ordeal.
Alexandra was sitting on the sail yard, leaning against the mast, a book on broken bones and physiotherapy in her lap, staring blankly into the mist. Her thoughts full of the past few days. Zen was mostly asleep, only awake to eat, bathe and do some light -very light- exercises out on the deck, in the sunlight, to keep him healthy. Grem's hand was healing already, and she had been working with him to regain movement in his fingers. Simple stretches and the like, and had kept an eye on him to make sure he didn't do anything wrong with that damaged hand. It was driving him crazy, she thinks, because he couldn't do his usual jobs as a butler, but she just had to keep reminding him.
"Better to wait for recovery, than be crippled for life," and considering he only had one hand, he had restrained himself. Mostly.
Her Captain, Eden, was arguably the best off of the crew. The worst he got was a light fracture, everything else was just cuts and bruises that barely slowed him down. And after a long rest and a lot of food and water, he was fine. The redhead had managed to not only keep him from blowing their cover, but also to reconstruct the doors of the ship so they were big enough to fit Grem. The young swordswoman had wrapped the job up as a training exercise, and the young man had jumped to it.
Eden, and his new little animal friend, were exploring. They were staying close, doing a bit of hunting and fishing, and only with her permission and some serious training on stealth. Now, at least, the boy could get passed the average patrol team unnoticed. But she had expressively forbidden him from going into town.
It was too risky, as the Captain he was easier to notice, he had been seen by most of the base so they knew his face. Word was out to look out for short boys matching Zens and Edens description, An extremely tall and pale Fishman with one arm, and a redheaded swordswoman.
Alexandra placed a hand on her dark locks, which she had dyed using the blackberries that grew throughout the forest and waterways. She had taken out her braids, as much as it pained her, they were a source of cultural pride and achievement within her community, but they were too much of a giveaway. She let her hair completely down, had changed out of her usual clothes into a soft green summer dress and sandals, and even taken off her sword and shield, and added a touch of make-up to hide her freckles and make her look a little different. All in all, she looked like a completely different. Just another random civilian.
Eden and her had argued about it, about her going into town to get supplies and information. He had tried to use her own argument against her, that they were looking for them and would know them, but when she came back with her hair dyed and clothes changed, looking like a young woman instead of a trained warrior, he had been forced to concede. Besides, it was a necessary risk. If they didn't get new supplies soon, they would run out, and that includes medical supplies. Which without, Zen would be at risk of infection and illness.
That had been three days ago. Now they were nearly fully resupplied. She had been careful, buying a random mix of what they needed, along with a bunch of things they didn't need. Miscellaneous items like a world-globe lamp or a set of bedside tables, this was to keep the Marines off their scent in case they were keeping tabs on what was bought in what amounts. It also allowed her to get news and gossip of the on-goings of the Navy base, which had been mixed at first but things had cleared up.
The mob that the monster had kept the fight going long after they left, and while the head-honcho and his top lacky's had escaped, half of his forces were not so lucky. Some break outs had been managed lately, but again, nothing big like her own rescue. Things were calming down.
Sighing, the redhead closed her book. She wasn't going to get any further. It looked as though Alexandra was going to be the resident medic until they found a proper doctor, or someone learned medicine. Her experience in first-aid has helped immensely, but she had also taken the time to brush-up on some more advanced practices. Focusing on broken bones, damaged joints and severed limbs.
In the past five days, which was the total number of days they had been in this Kingdom, Alexandra had barely slept. Between taking care of Zen, keeping Eden from causing too much trouble and blowing their cover, working with Grem and her constant trips to get supplies and information... She sighed, another day or two and she would need to rest properly or her own health would begin to deteriorate. And they simply couldn't afford that.
Rubbing at her eyes, she did another mental check-list. They nearly had everything. Just a few more odds and ends, things that Grem needed for his butler-ing. A few odds and ends for Eden, most of which she simply didn't question, and requests from Zen. At least, when he was awake and coherent. Alexandra had already gotten most of what she needed.
They were low on funds. As the red haired -now black haired- woman had been using their own money to further keep the eyes of the Navy turned away from them. But now, they were nearly ready to leave. Now, they just needed one more big thing. Something that was incredibly expensive and hard to get, and if they did get it the whole operation would be risky and long. But if it worked, the payout would be well worth it. Now, they just needed to get it.
Zens new arm.
What was a less than normal sight, however, was the ship docked in a watery alcove, hidden by wines and the wispy branches of giant willow trees. Ferns and crawlers added that extra layer of coverage, and the fog hid the ship to the point that it just blended in with the shadows and dark shapes.
How had that ship got there? Had it been bogged or crashed ashore? Was it a ghost ship? The short answer was: No. The long answer, after a hectic, exhausting rescue mission with endless fights and shocks, a small crew of pirates had escaped their captors, the Marines, by sailing upriver. Slipping away unseen in the chaos, there were now settled in said watery alcove roughly between the Illusia Capitol to their South-South West and Mallia Town to their North. B-4, the base they had escaped from, was to their East.
It had been several days, and things had settled down. At least, the manhunt had been called off and, by the gossip from the town that Alexandra had visited, it seemed like their ruse had worked. The Marines had believed that the group had retreated to the wide open sea, and had sent out search parties in vain to hunt them down. Patrols of the surrounding area had been set up, and there had been a few close calls, but luckily they had escaped discovery and capture. It was the fifth day since they had began hiding out, and they had spent those days resting and recovering from their ordeal.
Alexandra was sitting on the sail yard, leaning against the mast, a book on broken bones and physiotherapy in her lap, staring blankly into the mist. Her thoughts full of the past few days. Zen was mostly asleep, only awake to eat, bathe and do some light -very light- exercises out on the deck, in the sunlight, to keep him healthy. Grem's hand was healing already, and she had been working with him to regain movement in his fingers. Simple stretches and the like, and had kept an eye on him to make sure he didn't do anything wrong with that damaged hand. It was driving him crazy, she thinks, because he couldn't do his usual jobs as a butler, but she just had to keep reminding him.
"Better to wait for recovery, than be crippled for life," and considering he only had one hand, he had restrained himself. Mostly.
Her Captain, Eden, was arguably the best off of the crew. The worst he got was a light fracture, everything else was just cuts and bruises that barely slowed him down. And after a long rest and a lot of food and water, he was fine. The redhead had managed to not only keep him from blowing their cover, but also to reconstruct the doors of the ship so they were big enough to fit Grem. The young swordswoman had wrapped the job up as a training exercise, and the young man had jumped to it.
Eden, and his new little animal friend, were exploring. They were staying close, doing a bit of hunting and fishing, and only with her permission and some serious training on stealth. Now, at least, the boy could get passed the average patrol team unnoticed. But she had expressively forbidden him from going into town.
It was too risky, as the Captain he was easier to notice, he had been seen by most of the base so they knew his face. Word was out to look out for short boys matching Zens and Edens description, An extremely tall and pale Fishman with one arm, and a redheaded swordswoman.
Alexandra placed a hand on her dark locks, which she had dyed using the blackberries that grew throughout the forest and waterways. She had taken out her braids, as much as it pained her, they were a source of cultural pride and achievement within her community, but they were too much of a giveaway. She let her hair completely down, had changed out of her usual clothes into a soft green summer dress and sandals, and even taken off her sword and shield, and added a touch of make-up to hide her freckles and make her look a little different. All in all, she looked like a completely different. Just another random civilian.
Eden and her had argued about it, about her going into town to get supplies and information. He had tried to use her own argument against her, that they were looking for them and would know them, but when she came back with her hair dyed and clothes changed, looking like a young woman instead of a trained warrior, he had been forced to concede. Besides, it was a necessary risk. If they didn't get new supplies soon, they would run out, and that includes medical supplies. Which without, Zen would be at risk of infection and illness.
That had been three days ago. Now they were nearly fully resupplied. She had been careful, buying a random mix of what they needed, along with a bunch of things they didn't need. Miscellaneous items like a world-globe lamp or a set of bedside tables, this was to keep the Marines off their scent in case they were keeping tabs on what was bought in what amounts. It also allowed her to get news and gossip of the on-goings of the Navy base, which had been mixed at first but things had cleared up.
The mob that the monster had kept the fight going long after they left, and while the head-honcho and his top lacky's had escaped, half of his forces were not so lucky. Some break outs had been managed lately, but again, nothing big like her own rescue. Things were calming down.
Sighing, the redhead closed her book. She wasn't going to get any further. It looked as though Alexandra was going to be the resident medic until they found a proper doctor, or someone learned medicine. Her experience in first-aid has helped immensely, but she had also taken the time to brush-up on some more advanced practices. Focusing on broken bones, damaged joints and severed limbs.
In the past five days, which was the total number of days they had been in this Kingdom, Alexandra had barely slept. Between taking care of Zen, keeping Eden from causing too much trouble and blowing their cover, working with Grem and her constant trips to get supplies and information... She sighed, another day or two and she would need to rest properly or her own health would begin to deteriorate. And they simply couldn't afford that.
Rubbing at her eyes, she did another mental check-list. They nearly had everything. Just a few more odds and ends, things that Grem needed for his butler-ing. A few odds and ends for Eden, most of which she simply didn't question, and requests from Zen. At least, when he was awake and coherent. Alexandra had already gotten most of what she needed.
They were low on funds. As the red haired -now black haired- woman had been using their own money to further keep the eyes of the Navy turned away from them. But now, they were nearly ready to leave. Now, they just needed one more big thing. Something that was incredibly expensive and hard to get, and if they did get it the whole operation would be risky and long. But if it worked, the payout would be well worth it. Now, they just needed to get it.
Zens new arm.