10 Fall, 509
Incoming ships to Zeltiva's docks had gotten the Sailors' Quarter abuzz. The arrival of merchant ships meant the more well-off citizenry could spare their palate of seafood for a few more nights, and the workshops could offload some of their handiwork for more coin. Of special interest to Ariane, however, were the drunken sailors who spun tall tales from time to time. She and her mother Xenia often stopped by the docks specifically for this sort of thing, though Ariane had decided to come alone today. She had to promise to relay any interesting tidbits back to her mother, but it was pretty easy to get permission to head off. She waited attentively until she could get one of the sailors to come over and indulge her in storytime. The sailor she'd waved over this time was especially off his rocker, barely able to walk, yet miraculously speaking clearly. That was a very good thing, because otherwise Ariane might have been left wondering if she'd really heard "Runeterra" instead of "Valterra". Still, the plot was obviously contrived - a nexus thingy that revives someone from death just like that? Simply absurd!
Ariane bade the sailor farewell - after helping him to a seat - and then, still smiling about what she'd heard, caught a glimpse of a boy out the corner of her eye. Normally this glimpse wouldn't have borne mention, but she noticed just enough of him to register that one, his head was bowed downward, and two, he was simply sitting on the dock, facing out toward the sea. She turned back to take a closer look, and realized that he looked downtrodden. She couldn't analyze much further than this, owing at least partially to having never met the kid before, but she figured he could use someone to talk to. Besides, what's the worst that could happen?
"Hey! Name's Ariane." She held out a hand to the boy, seemingly in an offer to help him up. "I haven't seen you around before. Who're you? Are you from around here? If you're not, I'd be more than willing to show you around. Point out the one restaurant in the entire city, take you past the snobby bureaucratic machine, that sort of thing." She waited expectantly for a response, still feeling cheerful and not exactly thinking about how bad the boy's history could really be.
Incoming ships to Zeltiva's docks had gotten the Sailors' Quarter abuzz. The arrival of merchant ships meant the more well-off citizenry could spare their palate of seafood for a few more nights, and the workshops could offload some of their handiwork for more coin. Of special interest to Ariane, however, were the drunken sailors who spun tall tales from time to time. She and her mother Xenia often stopped by the docks specifically for this sort of thing, though Ariane had decided to come alone today. She had to promise to relay any interesting tidbits back to her mother, but it was pretty easy to get permission to head off. She waited attentively until she could get one of the sailors to come over and indulge her in storytime. The sailor she'd waved over this time was especially off his rocker, barely able to walk, yet miraculously speaking clearly. That was a very good thing, because otherwise Ariane might have been left wondering if she'd really heard "Runeterra" instead of "Valterra". Still, the plot was obviously contrived - a nexus thingy that revives someone from death just like that? Simply absurd!
Ariane bade the sailor farewell - after helping him to a seat - and then, still smiling about what she'd heard, caught a glimpse of a boy out the corner of her eye. Normally this glimpse wouldn't have borne mention, but she noticed just enough of him to register that one, his head was bowed downward, and two, he was simply sitting on the dock, facing out toward the sea. She turned back to take a closer look, and realized that he looked downtrodden. She couldn't analyze much further than this, owing at least partially to having never met the kid before, but she figured he could use someone to talk to. Besides, what's the worst that could happen?
"Hey! Name's Ariane." She held out a hand to the boy, seemingly in an offer to help him up. "I haven't seen you around before. Who're you? Are you from around here? If you're not, I'd be more than willing to show you around. Point out the one restaurant in the entire city, take you past the snobby bureaucratic machine, that sort of thing." She waited expectantly for a response, still feeling cheerful and not exactly thinking about how bad the boy's history could really be.
