Closed The High Seas: They Call To Me

[Rhylund Vauler]

78 Fall AV The old, boot-worn dais of the Stallion's Rear rested once again beneath the feet of the young bard as he stood plucking idly at his lute. The day was calm and the tavern's guests were relatively sparse compared to the evening prior. Most would be toiling away at what the city of Syliras considered to be real jobs. The song drifting lazily across the bar's interior seemed to stand in opposition to the notion of what Rhylund thought to be a damning fate of manual labor. The very thought gave his shoulders a small shudder as he continued to play. His green-eyes lulled half open, just shy of being weary enough from the many ale filled nights since arriving to drift fully closed. The song was simple in its elegance, and maintaining its tempo─fit properly for providing background atmosphere─could be maintained with only half a mind. He knew he needed to put this place behind him. Fear of work, or fear of routine, seemed to gnaw at the edges of mind. Wanderlust, his old master had named it. An insatiable urge to keep moving from place to place. Always, the end seemed just over the horizon. The next bed could be the last: the next table could hold the rest of his meals. However, once a man with this condition removed his boots and hung his hat, he knew once more that something greater still lay waiting to be discovered. His fingers continued to make their rounds across the metallic strings that laced his lute, and his thoughts began to drift. Old stories told by old men had begun to unwind themselves. The faceless heroes, with their names etched into the folds of history, began to fade and his own face─his own name─had begun to replace them. His lips cracked into small grin at the foolish idea. A bard's place was to sing the feats of others. The storyteller had no need to risk his own life for brash acts of heroism. The musician had no need for a sword and buckler to win the favor of a beautiful woman. And, yet... The song voiced its final measure and silence shook Rhylund from his misplaced musings. No applause, and none were needed. He was here for himself today: never a moment wasted that could be spent perfecting his art, nor an opportunity passed to earn spare coin for when the drinks were not free. His grin grew at that final thought─at the Stallion, the performer's drinks were always free. His instrument found itself slung across his back as he hopped down from the dais and made his way over to the bar. The few patrons affluent enough to avoid the day's labor could surely wait the time it to took to finish an ale for their entertainment. And, if the chimes had rung enough to permit them to find solace in a mug, then so too was it enough for him. A bar stool came to hold his weight as he signaled one of the working tavern girls for a drink. He still did not know her name, and he was fairly certain that she did not know his. No reason, he thought to himself, to find something to fret worth staying for.

[Coral Redtide]

The streets were alive with sound and there were people all about this morning. Cora grinned as she walked through the town and looked at everyone. It was the reason she visited land; to share in the fun that others had. The sea was wonderful, but lately it had been lonely. She had been traveling for months now, without a pod. The animals of the sea and her dolphin tavan could make the time pass quickly, but it was no substitute for the fun sentient humanoids could have. Cora’s primary reason for visiting today was to party with the locals, she enjoyed a good time as much as any Svefra. Although most of these people did not appear to be having fun in this city, they were busy at work; running errands, selling items or whatever else gave them coin at the end of the day. So, Cora scanned the buildings for a tavern; taverns were always full of live. The doors of a nearby tavern swung open and two people walked out looking thoroughly plastered. They stumbled as they walked and were leaning on each other for support to stay upright. They were speaking to one another although their words were drowned out by their own laughter. Cora watched them for a moment and then laughed. She had no idea what they were laughing about but laughter was very contagious, and hopefully so would the fun of this tavern. Smiling she pushed open the doors and entered. The atmosphere of the room was quieter than one would expect from a tavern. It must have been due to the time of day, but there were not as many here as she would expect. The patrons, who were here, seemed to be enjoying themselves; there was laughter and drinking at a few of the tables. One man sitting at a table near the door gave her an odd look as though he had never seen someone dressed in such brightly colorful attire, but most of the patrons just ignored her. They were to intent on their own conversations to notice a new person walk through the door. Her multi colors scarves hung off of her belt adorning the skirt of her dress, and her necklaces made noise as she walked and the glass beads and sea shells banged against each other. Cora walked up to the bar and rested on hand on the countertop as she stood waiting for someone to take her order. It did not take long for the barkeep to come over and take her order. “Ale,” she said and soon a mug of ale was placed before her and the price was given. Cora saw little value in using metal coins as items to barter; it was one of the many strange things those who lived on land did. She pulled a necklace of seashells over her head and untied the rope that held it together. Once untied, she held the strand of shells and pulled off several shells on the end. The fifth shell she took off was a small but beautiful blue shell that she had picked up on the beaches of Eyktol years ago. Cora believed it worth the price of an ale. She put the other shells back onto the rope and slid the blue shell across the counter, “For the ale,” she said as she reached out to grab the mug.

[Rhylund Vauler]

Inaudible music swirled within the confines of Rhylund's mind as he stared down into a mug of brown ale. His finger tips drummed lightly against the side of the container, causing small bubbles to drift up from the murky depths through his liquid courage. That was exactly what was going to be needed to talk to the girl who had just sat two stools to his left. At first, it was the violent clash of brightly dyed clothes that caught his eyes. But once his greens touched that disarrayed rainbow, it was the shape of her face and the way her hair hung down across her shoulders that kept them there. The bard lifted his mug to take a drink: external stimulus being all that could reign in his quarry that tip-toed the line of open staring. The thick flavor with a subtle bite that slid across his tongue was enough to send his gaze away and towards the ceiling. He heard the single word that left her lips, and a woman who liked her ale─while cutting the figure she did, no less─was someone to step lightly around. The voice debate rolled back and forth between two, imaginary versions of himself. Did he offer to buy her a drink? Or did he save himself the coin and the embarrassment? To live, or survive, that is the ques- His thoughts were silenced as a single click sounded, announcing the arrival of a brilliantly bright-blue shell being placed upon the counter. His brow raised and he could feel his lips part to draw a slighted breath: never one for world possesions, Rhylund's own awe in the object left him speechless. His eyes flicked from the shell to the bar tender, before sliding to the woman back to the shell. Hesitation seemed to shape the man's features─he was never good at telling anything outside what sort of song a man could stand to here─and, casual expectation graced the woman's. "Uh," Rhylund cleared his throat after sliding over to occupy the seat next to the woman. "If I may?" He gave the bartender a node as he reached into his pocket and placed two silver mizas besides the shell. His own gaze touched the man's behind the bar, "you know us artists, paying much too much, for something pretty." A tilt of his head sent a crooked smile towards the woman before he could sense it forming. "If I may buy her drink instead? I think I've taken a liking to that shell." His right hand gestured to the small, blue trinket as his shoulder gave a shrug. The barkeep turned to see to another corner of the bar once Rhylund gently plucked the shell from the counter. He sat the prize between his right thumb and forefinger, spinning it slowly to give it a closer look. "Beautiful..." Another moment was spent admiring the object before he turned back to the woman on his left. "And, the shell is lovely as well." He closed his mouth with a polite smile before biting his tongue: the amount of ale needed for shameless flirting had not quite been requisitioned by inhibitions. The young bard quickly recovered before extending his hand towards the newcomer. "Rhylund Vauler, musician." The momentum finally began to kick in as he offered a quick wink before raising his glass in a silent toast, followed by a drink.

[Coral Redtide]

Her fingers barely wrapped around the mug of her ale when she heard a noise that signified uncertainty. She turned her and saw a man move over to the chair near her. Cora looked at the man as he exchanged brief conversation with the bartender. Her eyes caught on the loot resting on his back and she smiled. It had been a while since she had enjoyed a good song sung by anyone other than the Otani and months since she had been able to enjoy music with others. Music had a way of lifting ones spirits and no party could be complete without it. The words he had said to the barkeep struck her as odd. Was he implying that she was paying too much for the ale, or he too much for the shell? Most likely it was the latter. The further inland she went the less appreciation people had for the beauty of the ocean. Cora shrugged at the man who took the coins; the seashell truly was the better deal. Once the fee for the ale had been settled, Cora brought the mug to her lips and took a sip. She peered at the man who had just acquired the blue shell. She watched as he looks a long moment to admire the wonders of the shell. Light bounced off the shell as he turned it. She shook her head in agreement when he proclaimed the item beautiful and quietly said, “Yes, it is. ” This man had fine taste, far better than the barkeep. The next words that left his mouth caused her to grin and give a soft laugh. So, it was not the item’s beauty at all that spurred him into buying it. She spared a glance towards the barkeep obviously wondering if he would have refused her item of trade. Before she could voice words the question the man introduced himself. Coral turned her head for a moment as if shy when he winked at her, but when she turned back to look at him she looked directly into his eyes showing that any hint of shyness was feigned. She grinned at him, took his offered hand, shaking it and gave a short pleased laugh, “Coral Redtide. ” After joining in the silent toast she glanced at his loot once more and said laced in an accent that showed this was not her native language, “A musician! That is a… ” her face looked lost in thought for a moment as she searched for brain for the way to say admirable in the common language, but the word was not coming to her. “..an.. ” Coral sighed in frustration that she did not know the word. “It must be nice to be a musician. Bringing happiness to others with your songs. I have traveled to many places on my ship and enjoy listening to the songs of different lands. What are the songs of this land, Rhylund? ” Coral knew her words were neither as fluent nor elegant as if she had spoken them in Fratava, but it was the best she could do. “This is my first time at Syliras, ” she explained and then added as a second thought, “Do you live here…I mean…are you from Syliras? ”

[Rhylund Vauler]

"Coral Redtide," he repeated, with a smile of his own. He could feel his eyes want to both flee, and lose themselves in hers as she shook his hand. Another sip of ale was taken before the mug was returned to the counter top. It had not been so obvious when she stated her name, but now that the words had a chance to leave her lips in longer strings, her accent became unavoidably pronounced. Rhylund turned his head to hide the crooked angle of his grin and he resisted the urge to bite his bottom lip, once she gave a small, exasperated sigh at her own struggle with the common tongue. It was impossibly adorable. "No, Coral... Cora! May I call you Cora?" He paused to bring his mug back for another drink. "I am not from Syliras. I haven't been here long..." His words trailed off as he watched a couple stand up from their table then move out through the door. "...too long." The bard suddenly remembered her comments on his profession and turned his head back with a wide smile. "It is nice, to be able to travel and perform. But, I don't sing." He gave a playful shake of the head. "My favorite songs are the ones without words: gives a little bit of freedom to the listener, you know? Seems impossible that a wordless song can mean the same thing to more than one man or woman." He took another sip then inclined his head a little closer, "So, it's sort of like... if I play in a room with thirty people, I get to play thirty different songs all at once." Rhylund leaned back and studied his mug, "But, it is nice. It's nice to travel--you must know what that is like..." Her words clicked again within his mind. "...to travel with your very own ship." He did his best to keep the revelation to himself while sipping casually at his ale. "At any rate, where are you from, Cora? That accent," he angled his head, causing his eyes to take a sly tilt as they slid to touch her face. "It's a pleasant one. But, I don't recognize it."

[Coral Redtide]

Coral listened to the bard speak about his choice of songs and her eyes looked upon him with a twinge of excitement in them. There was a smile and a quick nod of her head to show she approved, before she took another sip of her ale. She had never thought about songs without words before in the way Rhylund had just mentioned. She thought it was a very poetic and wonderful way to look at it. She wanted to tell the bard that playing thirty different songs at once fasnicated her, intrigued her and sounded like an amazing and notion that so few would comprehend. She wanted to sum it all up into one word. There was a word accompanied by a hand gesture and facial expression in Fratava that would accurately express her thought. She did not know the word in common, if it even existed. This language was so confined and restricted in its vocabulary. She did not know how these people could do with so few ajectives and adverbs. As she was thinking about what to say; the musician spoke again. Cora shook her head slightly and said, "The accent. It is not from a city or a place of land. Fravata is the language I learned a child. Your language was taught to me four years ago, but... Cora gave a small shrug, " I have never had to use it this often before, until now." Her pod had always spoken Fravata to one another, and never utilized Common as a second language. Going back to the question he had asked she said, "Fravata can be found anywhere the sea touches the land." There was a small frown that followed; that was not exactly what she meant. "It travels," she shook her head again. "My people. The language. The Svefra have brought our language to every spot on the water or land that we visited - traded with. None can tell where it", without realizing it she slipped into her native language, "originated. Lia said it was invented upon the Suvan itself." Cora looked embarrased when she realized her last phrase was spoken in Fravata. " Sorry, she muttered stared down into her mug. Looking up again she said, Started. None can tell where it started. " "I am from the Sea, there is no city I can call my home; nor would I want to. I do not know how anyone can live without the Sea, the Ocean, and Laviku. It is... " She gave a shudder at the thought of being cut off from water. "Yes, it is nice to visit other lands. Visit only. Never stay. The water calls me back if I am gone to long." She eyed the young man who liked to travel perhaps as much as her and said after a moment, "You travel...on land?...With an animal?" The facial expression she made said that she did not think much of that form of travel. A ship was the only way to travel, not upon some four legged beast.

[Rhylund Vauler]

Fascinating. Every bit of her: from the way she spoke to the way she struggled to speak─it was like watching a poet in a grapple with her own creativity. The way each word formed was unique, and the way she slipped off into her native language left him envious. There must have been something she said that he could never know: everyone thinks in words, it is just the way it is. He wanted her words to be his own, and he wanted to see the world through the colored lens that was her own perception. "It must be so beautiful to see the world through two tongues." His voice came close to startling him and his mug raised to deliver a drink and suppress the frown that seized his lips. Rhylund cleared his throat, "Anywhere the sea touches the land." He turned a smile along with the quote he repeated. "I think that is a wonderful way to describe something that travels across an ocean." He resisted the urge to reach out for her when she apologized into her mug. Bless taverns: the company they keep. He couldn't help but laugh at her last question. Not at her, simply at the way she expressed her open disapproval and how his own followed suit. "No, not an animal. I came here from Alvadas on the sea," He took a moment to study her. "But not with your people. Oh, but now that I've met you, I wish it was." Another sip and a small pause failed to create distance between them. "I think... oh, I don't know. I hope this does not offend you: I know I know nothing of the sea compared to you." His grin spoke volumes of adoration. "But─if I may be so bold─I think it calls me too. I've never slept so well, and the smell of salt and air mingling with one another..." Ale, always more ale. Morale: "I don't call any city my home either." He fell a little for the way the light caught her hair and refracted in her eyes. "I need to leave soon," he confessed. "I get this... this itch. Between my shoulder blades, behind my eyes─in the corner of my mind─I get this itch and the only thing that makes it go away is a city vanishing behind me. I used to travel with a bard, and he taught me all I know. We always traveled by sea when possible: he loved it, and I never understood why." His eyes narrowed with revelation and sincerity. "But, I think you do."

[Coral Redtide]

When he complimented her choice of words, Cora smiled at him with a smile that was so genuinly true and yet unintentional. She did not think she should be smiling this joyously for such a compliment although no one had ever told her before that she held any skill in using Common. She looked at the man for a moment seeing the sincerity in his own words and very pleased. Pleased that her skills in the language were approving, pleased that he approved of her choice of words. Was that odd to be pleased that someone else liked her words? No, what were words for, if not for the listener? She already knew her own thoughts, her words were to convey a mesage and an emotion across to the listener. Her own laughter followed his, but hers was one of happiness mixed with relief when he said he came here via water. There were only so many times she could discuss the value of a ship verses a horse with these land races. Ships were superior in every way. Cora drank from her mug and grinned at him as she listened to him talk of his love for the sea and question whether it was real. She made no attempt to hid her amusement when he asked if it offended her. As he continued to talk her eyes caught site of the mark on the right side of his neck. Rhaus. She knew a few Svefra followers of Rhaus; such a fun Gnosis to follow. "Yes," she said when he had finished speaking, "I can not tell you why....I mean...words can not. I do not know how to tell you in words why I love the Sea. It is a feeling, an emotion. Without the water, I am incomplete ....missing something, a part of me. Coral looked at Rhylund and shruged not sure if he really understood. "'itch'", she said with a frown as if she didn't understand that word completly, "I feel it as well. I will not stay here long. The Sea calls me back." Without a second thought or hesitation Cora said, "You could come with me. I could show you why the Sea calls to me. Coral was not one to deny the glory of the Ocean to anyone. She wanted all to see Laviku's creation. If only more people would be willing to travel the sea. She had taken on passangers before and it was normally enjoyable to have another's company and traveling with a bard sounded exciting. She loved music as much as an Svefra, perphaps more. Live was boring without music, song and dancing. "Although..", she said with a playful smile, "nothing is free." . She may not know the value of money but she did know how to barter and trade for tasks, besides most people were suspicious if they got something for free. She glaced at his lute with a smile and said, "Music, I would like to hear you play. When on my ship. And..." she took another sip of her ale and watched to see his reaction, if he would want to accompany her on a journey. Raising her glass in a mock toast she laughed and said playfully, "and rum!... for the trip. With a good drink, and fine music, no one can not love the sea."