(Flashback) Learning over a drink (solo)

[Faylon Kwanda]

47th of Spring, 509AV [Days after his arrival in Zeltiva Faylon had found himself helping around the docks. He wasn’t a sailor, or a dock worker, but his enthusiasm won him several friends and more experienced men willing to teach him a bit or at least give him the time of day by directing him to haul various items from one location or another as a labourer. Faylon was also known for the time he spent in the Kelp Bar amongst those who worked on the docks and his victory in a brawl over Ector had earned him some accolades as a man who was good in a brawl if nothing else. His motives weren’t entirely pure though, Faylon wanted to know as much about Zeltiva as he could and he had learned a few things in the short time he’d been there, he was a quest for information so this may as well have been as much research as anything else.] [It was on one such night in Zeltiva, after labouring on the docks, that Faylon sat on a small fishing boat alongside a man he had befriended known simply as Jameson. Jameson was a Fisherman now but he had served as a sailor on a merchant vessel or two in his younger days and he was experienced enough to know what was what which made him an invaluable source of information. Both he and Faylon had been acquainted for days by now and as they sat, sharing a few mugs of Kelp Beer, they shared in small talk with one another. [“Good thing you came along when you did Lad. Its been nice to have an extra pair of hands these past few days.”...Jameson had begun though Faylon refuted by replying...”It’s nothing. I’m happy to help. Keeps me busy.” Jameson only laughed at Faylon but he was being serious and soon the two were sharing another drink of the Kelp Beer in their glasses. Faylon had learned to moderate his intake a bit better since the first night and the hang over that had followed him the morning after but the Kelp Beer, which he had started acquiring a taste for, did knock him flat a bit if he wasn’t careful.] [Maybe it was wrong of him but as they drank Faylon had caught the eyes of Jameson and channelling his djed through his gaze as the men looked at one another he would have said...”Would you tell me about the city? I want to know more about Zeltiva.”...it could be that Faylon didn’t need to influence Jameson with Hypnotism but he was still new here and he wanted to make sure that the man didn’t take his interest the wrong way. He’d apply his Hypnotic gaze on Jameson in the most subtle way possible so that the man wouldn’t even know the difference while the both of them were sharing a drink and then before long Jameson was agreeing with a nod of his head. Perhaps he would have told Faylon regardless but he had been bolstered just that much due to the preternatural influence that had slowly crept through his mind and helped to manipulate his actions.] [Smiling, Faylon didn’t let on what he had done as he took another drink of the Kelp Beer, he would begin by asking...”Well I’d like to know about the docks for starters. What can you tell me about them?”...to which Jameson would give a bit of a laugh before beginning...”You are new lad that’s a fact. Ok, well these are the docks of Zeltiva. This is what you’d know as one of the smaller piers. There are twenty of them and on the average day you’ll everything from fishing boats to smaller merchant vessels here and everything from cargo to people off loading into and out of Zeltiva.”...there was a pause when he took a drink of his Kelp Beer before continuing on...”Cargo is offloaded quickly and people don’t have to wait to get into the city as you’d well know seeing as how you arrived here not long ago. There are also the larger piers, of which there are four, that handle larger ships with crews of a hundred or more. You’ll see it all as very efficient.” ...Jameson, a native of Zeltiva, was typically proud of the ingenuity of his people and Faylon, nodding as he listened would find what he was being told educational. It might have been common knowledge to a seasoned native of Zeltiva but it didn’t hurt to know more if you were a newcomer.] [As he sat and drank another swallow of his Kelp Beer Faylon would then go on by asking...”What about the Shipyard?”...it was something he had heard was unique and Mizahar and as Jameson answered his question he would soon hear it again...”Oh yes! Well there’s nothing like it anywhere else in the world lad. This is all the harbour you see, well part of it, the docks and everything else. The Shipyard occupies the largest part of the harbour and goes on for miles though. You’ll not find better ships anywhere else and that is one of the reasons why.”...clearly Jameson was passionate about everything that went on here and as he continued it wasn’t hard to see why...”Lad, Zeltiva is the Lord of the Ocean, we make ships and we live off the waves and our ships are at least three times as good as anything anyone else could ever claim to have built. You’ll not find a single more reliable vessel than one built here.”...when he finished saying that Jameson was clearly nodding his head with pride.] [One thing Faylon had taken away from this already, besides the basics, was just how much of a role the harbour played as if it wasn’t already obvious. Nodding his head he saw that the glass Jameson had been drinking from was empty and reached across to pour him a little more from a bottle that sat between the both of them on the railing of the ship they were not leaning into. When he had refilled Jameson’s glass Faylon would go on by asking...”That’s all very impressive but who controls all of this?”...which almost caused Jameson to choke on the beer he had started to drink before he answered...”Gods! Well alright, I suppose I can’t hold it against you for still have so much dirt behind your ears.”...then, wiping his mouth, he would go on explaining what was what hear on the docks of Zeltiva...”The Sailor’s Guild runs everything on the docks. Pretty much everyone who crews a boat is a member and if they aren’t they usually become one soon. You see the guild represents everyone here in the harbour. It’s chaired by a seven man Administrative Committee. They make a lot of important decisions and look after all of our well being.”...an Administrative Committee, interesting was the first thing that came to Faylon’s mind, before Faylon could say anything Jameson was adding to that though... ”Now if you want to get more personable it would be Veraline Kendrick that runs these docks but she’s a member of the guild same as everyone else. Her counterpart is a man by the name of Ethan Wayfarer who takes care of the Shipyard, never met the man myself.” ...and then there was more drinking to be had.] [It was still an earlier night and Faylon had more to ask but for the moment he thought he could just enjoy another drink of Kelp Beer while rolling everything he had been told around in the back of his mind. A lot of what Jameson had told him was helpful and he’d need to keep it in mind for the future to be certain.]

[Faylon Kwanda]

[When Faylon and Jameson had stayed quiet long enough they’d turn back to one another and begin their conversation again. It was easy to get lost in the stars or the scenery of the harbour over the later hours and even though Faylon did appreciated it he knew it wasn’t the same for him as it was for Jameson who likely suffered from a bit of a nostalgic feeling at the moment. Looking back towards the old fisherman though Faylon smiled again, taking another sip of his drink, before deciding how to proceed further with their conversation. It was likely that any effect the hypnotism had on Jameson was wearing off now and Faylon wouldn’t risk it being discovered by attempting to apply it again in such short order so from here on out it would be simple back and forth.] [There was still a lot that Faylon wanted to know about Zeltiva and while he knew Jameson didn’t have all the answers he was still an invaluable source of information to anyone who decided to listen to him. “Does the Guild of Sailors control Zeltiva?”...he couldn’t help but ask the question though the way Jameson’s face soured a bit hearing it he’d think that he might have struck a bit of a sore spot before the man started talking...”Well they should but they aren’t the only real power in Zeltiva. You have that board of directors up in the university too. If you ask me the lot of them should stick to their books since the docks are what do most of the work here in the city.”...clearly Jameson, and likely many other Zeltivans, felt that true power should rest in the Sailor’s Guild alone but it was divided at the moment. Zeltiva was also known as a city of higher education after all.] [Faylon was somewhat confused though, he had heard from travellers when he was still in Denval that someone with the title of Lord of Council was the main figure in Zeltiva but that was all and clearly these folk had been misinformed, he thought over everything and then asked...”What about the Lord of Council; I’ve heard that title being brandied around a few times.” When he had said the term Lord of Council he could almost feel Jameson’s eyes roll in his head before the man, shrugging his shoulders, acquiesced and told him more...”Well think what you want but the power of Zeltiva is divided between the Guild and the University. That Lord of Council you’re talking about is really just a pretty face for foreigners like you Faylon. We can’t hold it against you though.”...Jameson meant foreigners that didn’t know any better of course. Frowning at the thought that he was just another of the droning foreigners that knew little of Zeltiva Faylon could however console himself with the knowledge that he was learning now and wouldn’t soon make the same mistake twice.] [Drinking the last of his Kelp Beer Faylon would wipe his mouth with his hand. He thought about asking Jameson about the University but besides telling him where it was, which Faylon already knew, it didn’t appear he would be of much assistance in that matter. It would have been like asking a scholar how to crew a fishing boat when his only experience was rhetoric. Anything Jameson could say about the university likely wouldn’t have helped a lot. “You’ve been in Zeltiva a long time Jameson. Anything you ever consider strange happen?”...it was as good a question as any but Jameson remained tight lipped for a few moments, thinking while he sipped his own drink, and then he would remark...”Well there’s always the Wright Manor.”...the landmark causing an ominous silence to come between both men who then traded looks as though it were a ghost story.] [Eventually it was Faylon who broke the silence seeing as he knew well the legend of Kenabelle Wright coming from Denval and all as he did...”Oh yes. I know of Kenabelle Wright. Renowned explorer. Discovered Denval.”...which brought about a nod or two from Jameson before he went on by saying...”That’s right. She disappeared a long time ago. Dead I suppose. Anyways her Manor is still there and from what I’ve been told still taken care of. Strange if you ask me.”...that seems to be all Jameson knew about the subject though so Faylon would let it rest without another word.] [Both men heard some singing then, a drunken sailor wandering the docks on his way back to his ship, and watched him as he staggered in one direction and then another on a course that would have been difficult to follow unless a person had an eye for the random. Faylon himself chuckled thinking that he wasn’t altogether unlike that days ago and silently hoped the man wouldn’t discover the same sort of headache when he woke up in the morning.]

[Faylon Kwanda]

[Now that they had been talking for awhile Faylon could feel the night start to drive on, even though he’d stopped drinking the Kelp Beer his mind had started to become a little foggy, but Jameson seemed none the worse for wear likely due to being an old hand at such things but Faylon felt as though their conversation was slowly coming to a closes. Eyes wandered the docks from where the fishing boat they were both on had been berthed and stretched out across the multitude of other vessels and even at this late hour there were still some coming in but that was nothing new in Zeltiva. Once already Faylon had seen the docks busier at night then during the day and that made him wonder about other things, illegal activities and the like.] [When Faylon got up the nerve to ask Jameson about such things he’d try to approach the subject subtly not wanting to offend the man’s pride...”Zeltiva is a marvellous city. Do you think anything underhanded ever goes on here? Things that people look the other way on.”...he wasn’t sure how Jameson would react but it seemed the man was altogether neutral on the subject when he answered...”You’d have to be a fool to think that everything happening on the docks went into the books. What’s important is that it all looks good on paper and keeps running like a well banded wheel.”...and nodding Faylon could see the wisdom in that.] [Knowing that there likely was some illegal activity in Zeltiva didn’t put Faylon off. It was hard to believe everyone could be forthright in a metropolis such as this which dwarfed a town such as Denval by at least ten times or more than that. Nodding his head Faylon did miss Denval, he had roots there, but he felt as though he could do something important in Zeltiva one day and even become an important figure here but that would all be in the future and not now. He’d come to Zeltiva to study at the University and learn of the world outside of Denval and as of yet he had still not set foot in the University itself even if he had been making acquaintances and learning of things on the docks of Zeltiva. He had time though. Maybe he would wait until the next season, Summer, before actually making his way to the University. There was nothing wrong with labouring on the docks for now.] [His mind had begun to drift back to the Wright Manor that he and Jameson had touched on briefly and he wondered just what the fate of Kenabelle Wright could have been. Dismissing his own ideas for the moment he would need to look through books and records to see what more he could discover as certainly there must have been a log of some sort somewhere. “What kind of work do you have in mind for tomorrow?”...Faylon would finally ask before Jameson replied with a bit of a yawn...”Well Lad I planned to take the boat out to do some fishing. You can come if you like, I could use your hands to help pull in my nets. Sleep here tonight and we’ll talk it over in the morning.”...that seemed to be the end of their conversation as Jameson would finish off his Kelp Beer and head off to his cabin to get some rest.] [Left alone with his own thoughts Faylon decided it couldn’t hurt to help on the boat tomorrow or around the dock. Most men would let you sleep on their boat if you proved you were a decent labourer. Nobody liked a lazy man though. If nothing else Faylon could claim that he wasn’t lazy though and being in a little better than average shape didn’t hurt either seeing as how it meant he was able to lug around larger boxes or crates. Moving cargo helped keep him in shape so the man really didn’t mind.] [Before he went to bed Faylon would settle into his nightly routine. Well his routine when he hadn’t made himself too drunk to forget anyways. Push ups came first and they were done in three sets with a minimum of twenty repetitions each. Sit ups followed and were likewise three sets of twenty repetitions each. Nothing that stressed the body to much but Faylon wanted to keep in shape and ensure that he could tone and sculpt himself to a degree that would see him at a level of physicality at least slightly above that of the average man. He ate well, worked hard on the docks and exercised like this to ensure his physique wouldn’t start to fade and leave him with a pot belly.] [Once Faylon had finished doing the sets and repetitions he’d have leapt up onto his feet and begun bobbing back and forth. Popping out a combination of jabs as he did this. One, two. One, two, three. He was a competent enough Boxer now that he knew all of the basics and a few advanced techniques but repetition didn’t mean that learning stopped. Faylon was always learning to shoot his punches faster and to move lighter on the balls of his feet. He started to go beyond simple combinations when he strained and mixed jabbing with hooks, crosses and uppercuts. The learning curve was to remember that no matter how much you knew you could always get a little better as long as you trained and tested yourself that much more. A fact he kept in mind always.] [Bobbing and weaving. Leaning backwards and to the sides in rapid succession as though he were dodging blows aimed at his head. Using his arms to block high and then lower, across his midsection, he would bend at the knees to present a smaller target. It was the half crouch, or middle ground, which in terms of boxing was a half way point neither fully offense or defence. Working on the defence by circling slowly, remaining light on his feet, Faylon would finally end and settle in for the night.] [He found a hammock on the deck of the ship. It was cold and the wind blowing in from the bay was definitely one of the main reasons for it but Faylon would live. He’d find his cloak, made of a wolf’s pelt, before he slept and draw it up over himself as he dozed off. His mind still processing everything he had learned from talking with Jameson as he slept.]

[Oracle]

Name: Faylon Kwanda

XP Award:

• Hypnotism +1
• Interrogation +3
• Body Building +1

Lore:

• Zeltiva - Docks (basic)
• Zeltiva - Shipyard (basic)
• The Pride of the Native Zeltivian
• Zeltiva - Sailor's Guild (basic)
• Zeltiva - A City Divided

Notes: Seems you really understand what the city is all about. Great thread.


If you have any concerns with this please PM me and let me know.

A.S. Oracle