Quest The Brigantine Exploration [L'orlei, Aunalee]

[L'orlei]

Pulling in the mooring was.. much more difficult that L'orlei thought it would be. She was not the most physically strong of the konti, spending most of her life with plants and medicines rather than heavy lifting, but neither was she the dainty girl many non-Konti thought her to be. She may not have been as strong, but she still heaved with all her might to bring in the thick rope, not minding at all as her hands and clothes got wet in the process. The physical exertion was refreshing, and when it was done L'orlei had a swig of her own water before joining the other women back in their seat. "That wasn't so bad," she muttered to no one in particular, watching as the Svefra went about the rest of their tasks. As a Konti, L'orlei had spent plenty of time in or on the water, but rarely had she ever ventured far off the coast as they were about to do. She wondered how much different the water might be. She had heard of waves as tall as ships, yet somehow still gentle enough to just float over. She had heard of the whales and sharks and other great sea creatures that lived in Laviku's domain. It was true she had seen dolphin, and even a few whale off the coast, but L'orlei had never been so far out as to be in their territory. And the creatures of the sea also seemed to flock to the Svefra. It was all very fascinating. There wasn't much else that L'orlei could do while she wait, so she simply took to watching the waves go by, waiting for them to arrive at their destination. She wondered how deep it would be, and what sort of treasures they might find. What exactly were the svefra looking for, anyway? L'orlei wasn't sure, but she was glad to offer her help.

[Traverse]

L'orlei

The wind caught the sails of the Svefra fishing vessel once they were pulled down, and almost instantaneously the ship began shifting out towards the bay, a whole procession of Konti and Svefra ships ahead and behind Makutsi's Skimmer.

"The wind is own our side, a good omen for today." Klye called over the deck to Konti and crew alike. A rough cheer went up from the Chillwaters as the motley procession headed out over the water. A cool breeze swept over the deck, and Saffron leaned over the railing by L'orlei, gazing out into the peaceful waters around the island. "You sail often?"

Ki'toka, Xy'liana

Aboard one of the Konti vessels, a magnificent craft with the bow in the shape of great stag, sat two Konti that had made their way to the docks at an earlier time. The ship, called Syna's Grace was near the head of the pack, following the ship in which the Lia of the Chillwaters was aboard, guiding the miniature fleet towards the site of the sunken vessel.

The captain of Ki'toka and Xy'liana's vessel was a tall and serene healer of the Opal Order by the name of Kiari. As they sailed she stepped out onto the deck.

"First of all, I want to thank all of you for volunteering, The Chillwater Pod have been gracious guests upon Mura, and it is the least we can do to aid them in trying to retrieve a bit of what they have lost in the Djed Storm. When we arrive at the ship site we will send out a collection of divers. The first part of our investigation will be to simply gauge the condition of the ship. Then we will begin a more thorough exploration and begin retrieving any objects below. The Svefra's tavan will act as scouts and guides, as the porpoises now the precise location of the ship..." She paused a moment trying to think if there was anymore information for the time being.

Meanwhile, Klye finished a similar speech aboard Makutsi's Skimmer.

"...We've been told the waters around Mura are some of the safest around, we are not worried, and our tavan will warn us in plenty of time if there is any trouble. Above all we refuse to put you lovely ladies in danger, so no heroics, aight?"

Satisfied with his speech, Klye turned back towards the bow of the ship. "Not much longer now!"

[Ki'toka]

20th of Spring, 513 AV The Brigantine Exploration Ki'toka's covered her mouth with her hand as a yawn forced its way past her lips, her head shaking in a small attempt to wake herself up a little more. She had no idea how much sleep she actually managed to get last night, her body had been so worked up with nervous excitement that she'd asked Nel'fi to wake her up early, on the off chance she over slept. If it hadn't been for the older Konti woman waking her this morning, Ki'toka would have probably slept all the way until the noon bell as she hadn't fallen asleep until only a few bells before dawn. Once she was awake though, it hadn't taken much for that excitement to come back. She was dressed and ready in record time and leaving the little beach bungalow that she lived in with the other Konti. She showed up at the docks just as the sun was starting to peek up across the water, leaving the docks still pretty dark. It wasn't hard for her to find the ship she'd been assigned though. Syna's Grace was a beautiful ship, one that Ki'toka had not gotten around to drawing yet, but she knew it. It was easy to pick out among the other ships that were along the dock. Making her way to the ship, she quickly stowed away her backpack, which held one of her drawing books and some ink, away near where she would seat herself so she'd have the best view point for a good picture. Other than what she'd brought with her for her drawing needs, Ki'toka only had the clothes on her back and Nel'fi's Suvai. The older Konti woman had insisted she take the weapon, just on the off chance something happened. She'd shown her how to hold it properly and, well, basically, try to stick the pointy ends in whoever might attack her. Other than what she was shown the night before, Ki'toka had no idea how to properly use the weapon, and felt awkward walking around with it attached to her hip. She'd helped out along the docks where she could, carrying this, fetching that, holding this outta the way. She'd been on boats before, but she'd only sailed out onto the open sea once before, and that had been when she was a lot younger and she couldn't remember the trip as she'd been sickly at the time. When it was time to depart, she made her way back to Syna's Grace and took her seat. Her drawing book was out and open in her lap before they even left the dock. As everyone settled into place, she scanned the deck and found what she wanted to draw. Two Konti women were near the bow of the ship, the antlers of the stag raising up proudly behind the woman. The looks on their faces was one of excitement, a feeling she felt radiating inside herself. So as they glided through the water, following a few ships that were ahead of them, Ki'toka alternated from looking up at the women and down at her book, quickly drawing a rough sketch of the scene. She'd add the fine details after she got the base down. "Have you seen anyone you want to draw yet?" She absentmindedly asks the Konti beside her, her native Kontinese flowing from her lips. Xy'liana had been Ki'toka's first friend, having met the woman when they were both only five years of age. Before she heard an answer from Xy'liana though, Kiari started talking and Ki'toka looked up from her drawing to listen. She nodded her head a few times then when they called out that they were almost there, she turned her head back down to her drawing, drawing in elaborite lettering just below the base drawing of her picture, she wrote 'Aboard Syna's Grace'. Once the base for the wording was finished, she closed the book and stuffed all her drawing supplies away in her bag, secured it and stuffed it out of the way.

[L'orlei]

L'orlei waited contently as they sailed out into the blue ocean, her eyes scanning the waters around them in search of the Svefra "tavan" that she knew were swimming beneath the waves. To have such a connection with the creatures of the sea must be wonderful. Laviku must truly love the seafaring people to gift them with such a thing. L'orlei had heard of the occasional Konti bearing Laviku's gift, but she had never really met anyone like the Svefra. When Saffron came over and asked her question, L'orlei shook her head slighly, still gazing out over the open waters. A smile spread across her face when she saw a dolphin leap out of the water, assuming it was one of the tavan, before she runed and answered the Svefra woman. "Not like this," she replied, hoping she wouldn't fumble her common before the conversation was over. "Only close to the beach. I never needed to come this far." L'orlei had little knowledge of what lay beyond the shores of Mura. She knew there was a land to the west called Sylira, and there was a city called Nyka, where most of the sailors she did business with came from, or at least, where they were headed too. And there was Zeltiva, another popular place among the sailors. But beyond that, L'orlei had only heard vague rumors of other places. She didn't even know what lay in the waters a few miles off the coast. Were there other islands she had never heard of, or was Mura alone in the sea? Really, it was all a mystery to the konti. "Do you like it? Sailing from place to place? You must have seen a lot."

[Traverse]

L'orlei

Saffron smiled at the Konti's question. "Sailing's in our blood. We may not have gills like you, but any true Svefra would die without the sea beneath or beside them." The lean woman gazed out at the sapphire waves lapping roughly against the sides of their boat as they skimmed the Ocean's surface.

"We've seen much, though I'd like to think you can never see everything, even in a hundred lifetimes, it always keeps us on the move." Her smile boradened then. "But, Mura? Place as beautiful as that makes a girl want to settle down, even if just for a couple chimes to think about it. Maybe I could get as pretty as you women if I stayed for a while." She chuckled and then fell back into a comfortable silence with L'orlei, blue eyes carefully tracking their progress.

-----

Another bell and the ships began to slow. Sails were lowered and anchors thrown down, as the propoises birthed near Konti and Svefra ship alike, tittering excitedly to their companions. It spoke of safe waters, and that the fleet had arrived at their destination. The water rippled in the constant breeze running across the ocean, but the waters were still and clear. Somewhere far below them lurked the wreckage that they sought, down in murky depths that only the porpoises has penetrated.

"A Konti from each vessel and we should have this scouted out nicely." Klye remarked as he stepped from behind the helm.

As L'orlei and Ki'toka watched they could see sisters from other vessels slipping into the water, porpoises curiously nuzzling their aquatic partners, preparing for the preliminary dive. Calls from the bows of ship across to their neighbors confirmed Klye's comment that eight of the seafaring women, one ship apiece would be journeying down ito investigate the sunken brigantine.

oocFeel free to be the volunteer for your boat and hop in the water, you can play with the porpoises or begin diving down if you'd like and I'll begin laying out the underwater scene for you! If you want to stay aboard that's fine too!

[Ki'toka]

20th of Spring, 513 AV The Brigantine Exploration Ki'toka sat quietly in her seat for the remainder of the trip, her drawing book safely stowed away so it wouldn't get lost in the ocean. When they finally arrived, she jumped up, eager to help get things ready, then she heard the call for volunteers. This had been what Ki'toka was most excited about. Swimming in the ocean where others hadn't seen before. Catching Kiari's gaze, the older Konti gave a nod of her head and Ki'toka jumped with excitement. Stepping up to the edge of the boat, she brushed her fingers over the Suvai at her hip one more time, checking to see how secure it was before she dove into the water head first. With her eyes closed, she sunk down deeper, holding her breath as she pretended she were like the Svefra who couldn't breath under the water. After a few chimes, her lungs started to burn and she took in a deep breath through the gills on her neck. Spinning herself around in the water, she kicked her way back up to the surface. Two of the Svefra porpoises swam up to meet her and Ki'toka laughed as she rubbed her hands on both of their heads. "Are you guys as excited as I am?" She asked the animals. As the other Konti started to disappear under the surface, Ki'toka gave each of the porpoise another pat on the head before she too went under again. The webbing between her fingers and toes made swimming easy and after catching a playful look in a different porpoise, Ki'toka raced the younger animal deeper and deeper into the dark depths. If the other Konti kept pace with her or fell back she didn't notice. As she went deeper and deeper, the darker and colder it got. Ki'toka had dressed in white, hoping that the light fabric would make it easier for the other Konti to spot her. But with bare feet, her arms exposed up to the shoulder and the fabric overall being thin, Ki'toka could feel goosebumps starting to form along her skin, but it didn't slow her down at all.

[L'orlei]

L'orlei didn't mind the silence that followed after Sapphire answered her question. It was a comfortable silence, not an awkward one. If the konti had responded, it likely would have been an awkward response anyway, so spending the rest of the trip in peaceful silence worked out well for her. When they finally arrived, at first L'orlei wondered how they knew where they were. The water around them looked no different than anywhere else.. but then L'orlei remembered all the porpoise in the water, and realized they must have been the ones to alert the Svefra. When a call for volunteers went out, L'orlei surprised herself by shooting her hand straight up. Her eyes widened as she stared at her own hand, but when she was addressed, she surprised herself again. "I'll go!" L'orlei was not the best swimmer in the world, but like all of her kind, she was just as suited to water as she was land. She had the same webbed fingers, toes, and gills as any konti, and while she might not have been an incredibly strong swimmer, she held no fear of the water itself. L'orlei quickly dropped down into the water, taking in a deep, refreshing breath of sea before surfacing and looking around. As she tread water, one of the porpoise came up to look at her. L'orlei smiled, patting it on the head. It must be amazing to be able to communicate with them, she thought, and L'orlei wondered if one day Laviku might see her fit to bestow that gift upon her. When the other konti started diving, L'orlei dove with them. She was a bit nervous, having never been so far out to sea or so deep, but if the other konti were okay with it then she knew there was nothing to worry about. Besides, there were all sorts of amazing plants and animals on the bottom of the sea that she wanted to look at! If she could collect some samples while she helped investigate the ship, then the trip would be more than worth it. Even if she couldn't, it was still an experience worth having.

[Traverse]

The porpoises were always excited to see new faces, and chittered excitedly among the strange fish women that would be making the voyage down with them. Sleek black bodies punctuated by unique spots and strips of white or speckled noses served as the only markers to differentiate the smaller cousins of dolphins, and suddenly all of their dark forms shifted to beneath the water.

At first, no shape would be visible to either Ki'toka or L'orlei. The water grew darker, and colder as they dived down with their sisters and aquatic companions, but it remained a deep undulating blue that seemed to be marred by nothing save a few scurrying schools of fish and the occassional bed of kelp.

Their eyes slowly would adjust to the darker waters, and as they did another world quite separate from the one they left behind would reveal itself.

Some distance below them lay a white sand bed interspersed with coral and large rocks, sea plants waving in the ocean currents and turtles swimming lazily along the bottom like cows. While the water was far too deep for their Svefra companions to traverse, it was clear that this section of ocean was not as cavernous as Laviku's realm could be.

The porpoises formed almost an arrowhead formation pointing the Konti towards their destination: A massive vessel split open like a sack of grain upon a giant rock pillar.

Half of the ship had fallen to the ocean floor, hundreds of yards below its other half which was suspended upon the spire of rock, one remaining mast, rotted and covered with sea plants standing as a last memory of the greatness the Brigantine must have once held.

The closer they got the more details could be seen of the ship. It had obviously once been quite the magnificent craft, and had a prow whose wooden octopus still remained largely intact, large tentacles crawling over the bow. Whatever the ship had been called was lost with the half sunken into darkness below. What could be seen of the deck was covered with barnicles and collections of brain coral, and a few of the porpoises disappeared inside the hollowed out remains only to dash outward excitedly, flipping over themselves in the water.

The eight Konti women began to draw together, and an older female whose white blond hair was held in a net to prevent its freedom in the water, floated gracefully amidst the circle that slowly formed around her.

As Ki'toka and L'orlei drew into the throng she began to speak. It was slow, but clear, the waves of sound pushing through the jumbled atoms of the water to reach their ears, Kontinese sounding nearly perfect beneath the waves. Her name echoed faintly in L'orlei's mind: M'iati.

"Four will go above deck and into the first section of the ship, the rest will explore the cargo hold. We will leave the other half for now. This is just a prelimnary run. See if there are any chests, or remains that might be worth hauling up. Just a bell of time for now and we'll re-surface."

Both Ki'toka and L'orlei were joined with two other females for the exploration of the rather massive, yet halved hold. With a glance L'orlei identified Ki'toka's name as well as Hysen and Ty'liss.

As they drew close to the gaping hole that led into the cargo hold, an explosion of silver squid flew like birds, tiny tentacles propelling them out and away, disturbed by the Konti.

It was dark within, and any objects found would have to be shifted (if they were light enough) in order to reveal their identity. Most objects were covered with the textured barnacles, and some were even fastened to the ship istelf by the tiny crustacea.

OOCAlright! So feel free to roam around. You can discover things freely, sealed chests, barnacle ridden barrels, rusted out weapons, just keep it reasonable! Feel free to utilize Hysen and Ty'liss as well as well as the porpoises, who are all there to help!

Once you've amassed a small collection, or think you've written about a bells worth of material, leave a little ooc note and we can bring the treasures up! Please keep containers on the closed side until surfacing, when I can tell you what you found!

[L'orlei]

The descent was eerie as they sunk further and further into the dark bowels of Laviku's realm. Had she been alone, L'orlei likely would have been terrified, but seven of her sisters and a handful of wonderful porpoise were with her, giving L'orlei the courage she needed to continue onward. It wasn't as if she would drown, but the sea was not always a friendly place, and if she had been alone it was quite possible she could have found herself in a dire situation. After a while she could make out the shape of the ship, or half of it at least. She also noticed the other konti gathering, and L'orlei was quick to join them, not wanting to miss out on anything that was said. The names of everyone sang out in her head, but L'orlei tried to ignore them as she listened to what M'iati had to say. It wasn't much, but it was direction, and afterwords she was grouped with three other konti, Ki'toka, Hysen and Ty'liss. She was not familiar with any of them, personally, but they were all daughters of Avalis and L'orlei would do her best to work as part of the team. The four of them headed down to the cargo hold, accompanied by a few of the porpoise who were clicking away as they scouted ahead of the small group. They would be able to locate things much better than the konti, but they did not have the hands to bring it all back up. One of the porpoise swam up to L'orlei, clicking excitedly before flipping over and swimming back in. Smiling, L'orlei swam after it, doing her best but unable to keep up with the speedy water creature. Webbed hands or not, no konti could out swim one of the porpoises. She caught up soon enough though, having to feel about more than see what she was doing. The porpoise was nosing at something, a large shape which L'orlei could not quite make out in the darkness. She swam over and began feeling around. Whatever it was was large and covered in soft, slimy algae. She thought it might be a chest, but after a moment, L'orlei realized it was just a bench. She chuckled inwardly.. the porpoise were smart, but they were animals and did not know what was valuable and what wasn't. "Thank you, but this isn't what we are looking for, dear." OOCI'll wait and see what you post before I have L'orlei find anything.

[L'orlei]

L'orlei continued her search for objects of value, either feeling about in the dark, or with the help of the friendly porpoise who swam around her. There were times when she could see, when the sun managed to penetrate the murky depths, and there were times when she was in almost utter darkness. It was really creepy, actually. After a while L'orlei spotted something shiny and swam over to it. Unable to tell exactly what it was, she ran a hand over it's surface to get a better idea. It was large, and flat, and circular. Probably a mirror or something of the sort. L'orlei exited the ship, swimming over to the pile the other konti were building and deposited her item before heading back to the ship. After a few more chimes of searching, L'orlei heard a call from one of the other konti. "Hey, can somebody come help me with this!? It's too heavy for me to move on my own." It was Ty'liss, and she was busy struggling with a large, box-like, object.. probably a large chest. L'orlei quickly swam over and began feeling around the box for a good handhold. Eventually she settled for just grabbing the bottom on the opposite side that Ty'liss was on and trying to lift. Quickly she discovered that it was indeed heavy, even for something underwater, but together the two konti were able to get it off of the ship and over to the pile where the rest of the stuff was being gathered. "Thank's for the help," Ty'liss commented, to which L'orlei only nodded. The bell was almost up, but L'orlei decided to make one more quick swim back into the ship. She found a small room, one that was probably a passenger's quarters or something of the sort, and began digging around inside. Eventually she found a small box, what was possibly a jewelry box, or something else designed to keep small trinkets inside. Deciding against opening it under water in the dark where whatever was inside could spill out and float away, L'orlei simply took the box back to the pile, and added it to the rest, and just in time, because right when she got back, M'iati announced that it was time to resurface.