Quest The Brigantine Exploration [L'orlei, Aunalee]

[Traverse]

The pile of collected debris sat upon an outreaching spire of rock, porpoises circling around the goods, batting lighter objects with their noses. One empty barrel had been dislodged from the upper deck and the mammals had made a merry game of chasing it up to the surface, nosing and playing with the sealed container, until the game grew boring.

A few more chests, some in better looking condition than others had been brought from the cargo hold, with lighter objects having been retrieved from the higher floors. A rusted and barnacle ridden brazier stood in the middle of the pile like an ancient sentinel, and a massive mirror stood next to it, though its surface was far from reflective. Crates and other barrels began piling up, and M'iati nodded as her sisters gathered around her.

"It seems there was quite a lot on this Brigantine, and surely there is more farther below. We shall re-surface now to explain the situation to our guests, and if there are any objects you feel are light enough to bring with you, feel free. The larger objects will be pulled up by the Svefra, with a few of our sister's staying here to guide the hooks and ropes."

It seemed as if one of the pairs of Konti who had gone with M'iati already knew they were going to be doing this task, and stayed behind as their sister's swam up to the surface.

During their short dive the little fleet of vessels had moved to be nearly directly over the ruins of the Brigantine, and as soon as one's head broke through the waves, the sounds of gear, ropes, and shifting metal could be heard as the Svefra prepared to haul up their goods.

When they surfaced, M'iati immediately moved to the Lia's ship, perhaps going to discuss the situation. Eager blue eyes watched the Konti with interest, and questions were shouted across from every bow.

"Whaddya find down there?"

"Hope there aren't any sharks."

"Wish I had a pair of gills."

"You wouldn't know what to do with em if you had em"

"Please say you found chests heaping with gold mizas!"

Despite the overall jocular nature of the Svefra, some had sterner expressions, and a more serious sense of curiosity. The lighter crates and barrels began to be hauled on board as two Svefra vessels began lowering grappling hooks down toward the cliff where the Konti waited to send up heavier cargo.

Saffron was peering over the bough of the ship, and caught sight of L'orlei, waving vigorously. "Find any good treasure down their, sister?"

Perhaps she liked the way the Konti addressed each other to refer to L'orlei as such.

[L'orlei]

L'orlei listened carefully and then nodded when the instructions were completed. She surveyed the pile of treasure, deciding to take the small box with her that she had most recently found. After a moment of consideration she grabbed the mirror she had found as well. She did not want it to break during the ascent, and being swished around with all the other heavy objects was sure to do just that. With both objects in hand, L'orlei kicked with her feet and began her return to the surface. The closer she got, the better she could see, and she could tell that the box was indeed a jewelry box of some sort, with a little latch and a tiny lock that was mostly rusted, but still held the lid closed. By the time she reached the surface M'iati was already on her way to go speak with the Lia. L'orlei wasn't entirely sure what to do, or if she was supposed to take her treasure to a specific location. There were many excited Svefra shouting at them, but one of them in particular stood out. It was Saffron, and just like the rest of them, she wanted to know what the Konti had found. L'orlei swam back over to the boat and held the objects up for Saffron to take before climbing aboard the ship herself, with the help of the Svefra. Her clothes were dripping wet, but L'orlei barely noticed it. Wet clothes were hardly a concern to the konti, who spent much of her life in the water anyway, but she hoped nobody else would mind that she was dripping all over the deck. "I think that's a jewelry box, and then there is the mirror. We also found a big chest down there, and a lot of other stuff, but that's being hauled up in the net." L'orlei pointed at the box, noting once more the small lock. It's time under the water had weakened it severely, but it still held the lid shut. It was a small lock, though, and she was fairly certain it could be pried open easily. "I bet I could break that off with my knife, if you want to see what's inside."

[Traverse]

Saffron eyed the box hungrily, studying the barnacle covered surface as L'orlei explained the beginnings of their finds with her.

"Going to be a busy day then, I suppose, lots of things to find down there."

Even as L'orlei suggested using her knife, Saffron seemed to have one in her hand, scraping away a few of the barnacles to show a faded symbol, worn and rotted atop the box. She peered at it a moment beofre jamming the tip of her blade into the lock and wrenching at the metal. There was a long moment of the female Svefra struggling with the strain of the action and no physical evidence of it actually doing anything, then with a crunching of rust and a wet pop, the lock separated and dropped down to the deck, bouncing once before resting near L'orlei's foot.

Making a big show of slowly opening the box, tilting it toward L'orlei, as she was the one who had found it, Saffron pried open the lid. Desptie the sealed nature of the box it was clear that liquid had worked its way in over the years. What had once been silver chains were brown, and several broke in Saffron's fingers as she lifted them up. A few pieces of pendant seemed salvageable, and it seemed they were religious jewelry for they contained the shape of Laviku's trident, Caiyha's Triskelion, as well as a Seer's Lily. Saffron rubbed at the rust with her thumb on one round pendant with a shark fin upon it, her face a mixture of curiosity and relative disappointment.

A call went up from M'iati calling the Konti back to the see, but Saffron put a hand on L'orlei's shoulder. "Wait, I have an idea."

Taking the tip of her knife the Svefra lodged it between what had once been a soft cushioned padding and the wood on the outside of the box. Wedging the blade firmly in between the two substances she pried at the small crevice there, and her efforts were rewarded with a creaking of wood, the top container holding the pendants popping out of place to reveal a cache below.

"By Laviku's beard, look at it!"

Several Svefra came around the two of them to 'oooh' and 'ahh' over the discovery. A necklace and matching ring lay in the bottom of the box, this layer protected by oiled leather that had prevented water from seeping into the box. The necklack was a silver chain just like the others, but its pendant was a crashing wave, the details of the wave made from carved sapphires, moonstones making the foam of the structure. The ring had a similar motif set into a thick steel band, and as Saffron gingerly lifted the necklace, as if afraid it might crumble like the rusted chains, she turned it over to reveal a carved name upon the back.

"Gretchen Chillwater..." She murmured. No one seemed to recall the name, but it was clearly a valuable find, and L'orlei found more than a few people clapping her on the back and saying her praises.

"Sisters!" A soothing voice called down from the water. Their summons. Excitement thrilled through the Svefra, if they had found such a piece on their first go, what other things could lie below the dark waters?

Well, they were going to find out.

Once L'orlei joined her fellows, she saw that several of them were floating beside wooden crates. M'iati gestured to the wooden boxes, then directly to L'orlei.

"Thanks to the discovery of our resident herbalist L'orlei of the aptly dubbed 'Priskil Weed' We have the perfect opportunity to light our way down in the depths of the ocean, something to help mark where we've been as we continue to explore, as well as light our way. There is little danger from the animals below, but we still do not want to unduly disturb any creatures that could cause us harm out of fear if nothing else, and the stability of the ship is questionable at best. So now we journey down to the lower half. For this trip we shall spend three bells before re-surfacing and you will join together in pairs to better spread out among the wreckage."

M'iati opened the crates, revealing that the Priskil Weed had been contained in glass orbs filled with water for easy carrying and placement. By themselves the orbs would sink to the ocean floor. She doled out six of them per individual, providing mesh bags in order to easily hold the smooth objects and then proceeded to pair up the remaining Konti. Ki'toka and L'orlei were grouped together before the Konti dipped beneath the surface just as the massive mirror was being hauled to the surface of the water.

Once again the porpoises eagerly accompanied their new Konti friends, surging in front of them as they headed towards the lower half of the Brigantine.

oocAlright Ki'toka, feel free to join us! Once you guys post next I'll give you the general description of the other half of the ship so you can begin finding some treasure! L'orlei, I hope its okay I utilized your Priskil Weed, it seemed the perfect fit.

[L'orlei]

L'orlei too was disappointed with the find when it appeared to only be rusted and crumbling silver, but before she could go back to the water Saffron stopped her, and much to everyone's delight, they discovered a secret cache beneath the box. The name Gretchen Chillwater meant nothing to her, she was not a woman L'orlei had met before, or at least not that the Konti could remember. But the Svefra seemed please with the find none the less. L'orlei was happy to have helped them retain a piece of their past, even if it was a small one. "Happy to help," she replied in common to all the praise. Soon enough she was called back into the water, and L'orlei dove off the ship to join the other Konti. She could not help but smile when the Priskilweed was revealed, and it's purpose explained. L'orlei had envisioned just that for the luminous seaweed when she had inadvertantly discovered the plant, and she was glad to see it being put to good use. She wouldn't have found it without the help of one of the Chillwaters anyway. They were going to go deeper, and for longer. L'orlei was glad to have the orbs when they were passed to her, recalling how dark it had been just in the first half of the ship. The lower half would be even darker, and they would need the light to navigate it. As soon as the dive began, L'orlei too sunk beneath the waves, heading down into the deep. OOCI really need to finish that thread I linked, that way I have proof she discovered the weed, lol.

[Traverse]

oocEven though Miat'i says to go in pairs I'm going to have you go solo this round and pair you up with an NPC soon due to our lack of PC buddies with you.

The darkness encroached around the Konti much faster this time as they dove into the inky depths below the upper half of the brigantine. one porpoise seemed to enjoy keeping pace with L'orlei and Ki'toka, twirling around them in circles if they seemed to move too slow.

The top half of the Brigantine, suspended upon its rocky spire, was mostly intact, even if the stability of the ship was questionable. The bottom half which slowly became illuminated as a dozen priskilweed were dropped down to guide the Konti in the depths, was split open like a ripe fruit on a hot day. bits of wood were strewn in a large radius around a collection of large debris that showed the epicenter of where the half had originally split apart. A large half rotted mast lay across a large section of intact ship, but most was scattered around along the sea bed.

The Konti pairs silently split up to go over the large space as thoroughly as possible. Ki'toka and L'orlei found themselves beginning at a plank with part of the ship's name still upon it. It would not be so easy finding objects now, for they could be exposed or beneath the sand. Their porpoise nosed L'orlei playfully, and both Konti headed off in two different directions along to floor to see if they could find anything.

OOCBeachcoming at the bottom of the ocean! Feel free to be creative with what you find, it can be soggy barrels, chests, an anchor, maybe even gems, and you can utilize the porpoise as well to see if he spots anything L'orlei can't, have fun!

[L'orlei]

The water felt cool and refreshing as the konti sunk back below the waves and descended toward the ocean floor. It was rare that L'orlei went so deep, rarer still that she even went out so far from the shore. Like all konti, L'orlei was a natural swimmer and loved the water, but rarely did she venture out into the murky depths as she found herself doing now. She was thankful for the glowing priskilweed, she would have been blind without it. The bottom half of the ship slowly came into view, materializing at the bottom of the ocean on an expanse of sand and seaweed. It was not in good condition, from what the konti could tell, split in two with debris scattered across the ocean floor. After a moment of surveying the scene from afar, L'orlei and the other konti split up and went in search of treasure. The healer started with the ocean floor around the ship, figuring that everybody else would be busy inside the ship and there wouldn't be much space. For a while her search proved unfruitful. There was stuff to be found, for sure, but none of it worth the trouble of hauling back to the net to be brought to the surface. There were plenty of broken barrels and crates, their contents long since gone. Most likely they contained food or liquid, either of which would have been taken by the sea quickly enough. L'orlei did come across an old chest filled with soggy clothes, but from the looks of them the salt and creatures of the sea had done too much damage to make them worth saving. A click from the porpoise and a nudge in the rib turned L'orlei's attention from the soggy clothes. The porpoise was swimming in circles, trying to get L'orlei to pay attention. Once she did, it quickly swam off to a location beyond the range of L'orlei's light, and away from the ship. Frowning, L'orlei followed with hesitation. she did not like the thought of venturing so far from the other konti, but she doubted the creature would lead her away without reason. After a moment she caught up, the porpoise was swimming in circles above a mound of sand and something pointing out of it. L'orlei glanced back the way she had come, unable to see the ship anymore, though she could make out the lights of the other konti. She was curious though, and so she set to digging away at the sand. Quickly it was revealed that the object sticking up from the sand was a chest, not incredibly large, but a chest nonetheless. After a few chimes L'orlei had it unearthed, and set it on the sand in front of her. It had a lock, but it was rusted beyond any usefulness and a slight tug broke it free. Holding up her light, L'orlei pried against the rusty hinges of the chest until it popped open. Her eyes glittered with surprise. The chest was filled with coins and gems which sparkled gently in the light of the priskilweed. Smiling, L'orlei knew the Svefra would be pleased, and she gathered up the chest, turning to make her way back to the ship.

[Traverse]

Moss, barnacles and weeds were stuck around the gems and mizas, some succumbing to the slow degradation of the sea floor, yet they were all there, and nothing a bit of cleaning couldn't fix up. The trip up to the surface was harder going with the heavy object in L'orlei's arms, but it still took only a few chimes to reach the surface of the water. Other Konti that had found sealed containers or water logged artifacts surfaced with her. One had a largely rusted, but still in tact globe, others had chests they couldn't pry open beneath the depths. The wooden figurehead on the prow of the ship was also being brought up, four Konti working on each end of the wooden sculpture. L'orlei could make out the figure of a beautiful woman, but it almost looked as if her body changed to be made from tentacles instead of feet...

It was an entirely different ship that L'orlei surface next too, but the Svefra there threw down a rope ladder, a separate series of ropes being dropped down for her to set the chest in much like a cradle to be dragged up separately. L'orlei had the option of coming aboard or going back down into the depths, which the porpoise from before seemed to encourage with squeaks and clicks, diving under the water and jumping it out of it as he swam circles around her.

L'orlei could hear oohs and ahs from aboard the vessel when the chest was hauled over the railing and opened, a few cheers going up as people shouted from ship to ship.

oocContinue searching or chill with Svefra, either one is fine!