Solo A Splash of Intrigue

[Sayana]

Summer 47, 515 AV - Great Harbor

It was fearsomely hot. And it certainly didn’t help that Sayana’s stomach was starting to swell with the babe. She was cranky, tired, and mostly just wanted to get out of the heat. It wasn’t desert heat either. It was hot, sweaty and humid heat. The Eypharian was perhaps a little curt with Aren when she left her apartment but it was probably just as well that she promised to go cool off somewhere. Both literally and figuratively.

At first she considered the quaint little hotsprings in the forest just outside the walls. But she didn’t want to go someplace hot. She wanted to go somewhere cool… like the sea. Of course. The dancer headed in the direction of the harbor and a smile formed on her lips as the salty tang reached her nose and she could hear the crash of waves upon the shore.

But she was not alone in her idea. Children, adults, even stern looking knights had gathered at the harbor and the beach to strip off some layers and take a cool swim. As much as the waves crashed against the rocky shore, children splashed in the water and shrieked as they played. Her son would be like that someday. He’d play all manner of games as he grew up and bring smiles to people’s faces.

Sayana approached the shore and slipped off her boots before wading into the shallows. Her skirt was hardly appropriate for swimming in as the waves brushed up against it and it floated in a circle about her, but she was too hot to care. When the water was up to her thighs she leapt forwards into the waves and felt the shockingly cool water surround her. She was able to swim for a chime or two before having to put her feet back down on the ground but she was getting better, slowly. At least she wasn’t so scared of the water. Her high and mid arms pushed outwards at the water, while her lows paddled beneath her, staying completely submerged. All the while her feet kicked gently and the cool water was a relief to the unbearable heat. She also felt lighter, or at least her lower back didn’t feel strained at all.

She’d have to do this more often.

[Sayana]

Sayana puttered about in the shallows. For each wave there was also an undercurrent that sucked at her legs and she didn’t want to go too far out if she wasn’t sure she could make it back in. She flipped onto her back to try floating, and what greeted her was the refreshing feel of her hair getting completely wet. As she looked up at the clear blue sky and the bright Syna above, she realized that what she was missing was a friend. Even as she thought this, she flipped onto her stomach to swim some more and then spotted a familiar figure on one of the docks. Was that… was that really him?

The Eypharian stood up in the shallows and made it back to the shore to put on her boots. As she approached the man, she chuckled at the oddity of seeing him sitting on the edge of the dock with a fishing line. “Alexus! It’s been a while.” Sayana greeted as she sat down next to him, still dripping from her swim.

“It has, it has,” he replied with a nod yet sounding a little distracted. “Your baby is doing well? And your wedding is well on its way?” He asked. It was always a little disconcerting how much he knew, especially when he didn’t try to hide it. “Yes on both accounts,” the Eypharian replied. “What brings you here?”

“Fishing,” he stated blandly and when Sayana raised an eyebrow he continued. “And people watching.” Sayana gave a grin at the second answer and then proceeded to make a grab for his fishing line. With a quick pull, the empty hook was in sight and she gave a laugh at the ruse. “Fishing with no bait? Even I know you won’t get very far with that.”

Alexus scowled at her comment and promptly flicked the fishing line out of her grasp, and back into the water. “Oh come on, don’t be like that,” Sayana chided and got to her feet. “How about I show you around, talk to some of the sailors, and maybe even get some real fishing lessons so you can do things properly,” she said as she held out a hand to help him up. “They might have some interesting things to say…” She added with one last attempt to persuade him. With a twitch of his lip, Alexus finally relented and took her offered hand.

[Sayana]

“So there’s the Broken Casket down that way, and the Spinning Coin further along over there,” Sayana said as she pointed in the direction of the two hang out places near the harbor. “I know,” he stated simply. “I’ve been to both.”

“Oh.” So much for a guided tour. “But I can still show you around on the docks. I met some of the Svefra here last Spring.” Sayana continued brightly. “So yeah, lots of ships along the piers. I think many of them are knight ships since the knights are into everything, but lots of merchants too. And of course Svefra.” The Eypharian chattered away as she led him down one of the longer docks. When she spotted some obvious looking Svefra, Sayana called out to them, “Oi! Any of you know a man named Gavin? Gavin Deep-something? I helped him out last Spring and I could use a small favor in return.”

There was a slight hesitation but Sayana put on a charming smile and soon she was led to the sailor’s ship with Alexus in tow. “Gavin, my good man. No merchants bothering you and your ship?” Sayana asked brightly to the Svefra. “No, not since a certain man got arrested last Spring. What can I do for you?” He replied with a smirk at the mention of said man. “Do you know how to fish? My friend and I were hoping to learn.” “What Svefra doesn’t know how to fish?” Gavin answered incredulously. “Give me a tick and meet me at the end of the dock.”

Sayana grinned at the sailor’s good nature and beckoned to Alexus to follow her. Soon after they arrived at the end of the dock, Gavin appeared with two fishing rods, a net, and two buckets – one empty and one that was small and filled with worms. “So, first you string up your rod. Put the string through this loop, that loop, and make sure your hook is attached securely.” Gavin explained as he demonstrated for Sayana on his own rod. Curiously, she followed his procedure though some of the holes were hard to get the string through. She made a couple of tight knots on the hook to be sure it was snug and not going to fall off.

“Next, you want to get yourself some bait. Worms work quite well.” The Svefra grabbed one and pierced it on the hook. Alexus frowned a bit but then followed suit. Then Sayana took one of the wiggling creatures and eyed it before attaching it to the hook. “And lastly, cast it out and wait. If you feel a tug then give it a good yank and get the fish in the bucket or at least use the net to help you.” Gavin finished as he gave a long cast of his line to demonstrate.

When Sayana tried, it probably wasn’t even half as far but she hoped it wouldn’t make a huge difference. “If you catch anything, feel free to take it home or I’ll happily take it and have fish for supper,” the Svefra spoke cheerily as he packed up his own rod to return to his ship.

[Sayana]

“So what sort of people watching have you been doing?” Sayana asked her friend. “A much better job at it when I was closer to the shore,” Alexus replied pointedly. “Oh come now, don’t be like that. You’re not still upset with me, are you?” Sayana asked and then carried on in attempt to prompt him for more information. “So, lots of people at the beach, did you learn anything from that? It’s hot. It’s not surprising that they came.”

“The city is prosperous and peaceful. There are a lot of knights about, but that’s because they aren’t needed elsewhere.” Alexus explained, not entirely sure how much he wanted to tell her but oddly glad of a chance for conversation. “And the street widening and renovations to shops? Yes, Syliras is doing rather well.”

Sayana nodded her head. The latter was rather obvious. The knighthood was also doing well since it had the funding to pay for such projects. Except with wider streets it meant there was less space for shops and apartments. Would they build another tier on one of the districts to compensate? Still, wider streets meant easier trade especially for those with carts and wagons rather than ships.

“And your friend Gavin is doing quite well,” Alexus added. “Why do you say that?” The Eypharian asked quickly. There was a long pause from the masseuse as if wondering how much he should really reveal but then he eventually replied, “He had some of the latest Zeltivan fashions. Trends aren’t usually cheap.”

Sayana stared out into the water as she thought about the information. So far there hadn’t been much activity from her fishing rod, and it made sense to use it as a decoy to subtly watch people. She turned to look at some of the ships. Some were bright and cheery with various personal touches to them while others were quite bare and sometimes carried a harpoon or two. Then she noticed the flags with the classic Windoak design. Of course, the ones that were bare and empty were that of the knights. Did they even patrol the seas? Perhaps, but clearly they preferred their horses to the open water. If someone ever decided to disable their ships in some fashion, holes or something more, it could prove quite the disaster.

Suddenly there was a tug on her line, and she first reacted with annoyance as if it got caught on something. Except, no, there was a fish! Snapping out of her thoughts, Sayana gave a strong tug of her fishing pole. There was another pull, and she jerked it up more fiercely. But only to pull the hook out of the water empty.

“Didn’t get it.” With a frustrated sigh she brought it back in to load it with another worm. Ready once more, she flung the hook back into the sea hoping for another catch.

[Sayana]

The afternoon carried on like that. Sayana took turns pointing out various things she noticed and trying to pry out more information from Alexus. The second time there was a tug on her line, she managed to yank it sharply back. To her glee, she saw a fish attached to the hook. But by the time she was able to reel it in, it had managed to slip away. Trying not to focus too much on her dismal results, she attached another worm and cast out the line again.

The sound of clattering could be heard on one of the ships and Sayana glanced over to see a pair of boys fighting with wooden swords. One was clearly a Svefra and the other probably just an ordinary human. Their laughs and squeals were rather contagious and Sayana was almost tempted to join them. In a couple of chimes she saw a pair of knights walking down the dock towards them. Just as they approached, there was a cry and Sayana’s eyes darted over to see one of the two little boys fall over the side of the ship.

Even before the splash she was trying to get to her feet, yet Alexus grabbed her arm. “Wait,” he said with an oddly firm tone. She frowned, and could see that she wasn’t the only one wanting to save the boy. The two knights were already rushing to the ship and stripping themselves of armour that might weight them down. Suddenly there was much louder splash as a full-grown Svefra plunged into the water and swam to the child spluttering in the waves. With smooth grace he took hold of the boy and brought him to safety, hauling him out of the water and onto the dock.

Sayana watched as the boy was soon brought a blanket and one of the knights soothed and calmed him. It was the human boy who had fallen in, and by the way the knight was coddling him, it looked like they might have been related. A father and son? Regardless, there was much relief and thanks to Svefra man.

“I think it was staged,” Alexus spoke softly under his breath. “What?” Sayana replied with surprise. “It was timed too perfectly. Just as the knights were arriving so they could see it all. And that knight is no ordinary one. He’s high up in the ranks.” Alexus explained yet kept his voice low.

The svefra child could have been the son of the svefra man. Maybe they planned it together? But why go through the trouble of making a child fall into the water just to save him…? Oh. It had been a ploy to gain the knight’s favor. An exercise in a heroic deed. Planned, staged, yet still heroic. And the knights had been in their armor and would have surely sunk if they had simply jumped in right away. It did make a great deal of sense, but could it have simply been a child’s error while playing a game? Sayana wondered why Alexus didn’t immediately try to report it, but then remembered how he was and how he rarely gave information for free. But why was he telling her all this? Was he simply lonely or did he have an ulterior motive?

[Sayana]

As she watched the child get taken away with his knightly father, Sayana felt another tug on her fishing line. This time, she was much quicker to react. With a sharp tug up with her pole, she managed to get the fish up into the air. “I got it! I got it!” She cried out as it flopped about and she managed to reel it in. Getting it into the bucket was a different story, but after several tries with it still flopping about, she managed to plop it into the bucket, hook and all.

“Want to call it a day?” Sayana asked as she began packing up the fishing gear. She was met with a shrug as Alexus got to his feet. Despite accepting the lesson, he hadn’t seemed nearly as interested in learning to fish. “Here, I’ll take these back to Gavin,” she said and then cocked her head curiously at him. “You’re… you’re all red.” “What? Oh, petch.” Alexus replied curtly as he looked at the redness covering his arms and legs, and surely his face. “Sunburn.”

“That’s all from Syna?” Sayana asked with a laugh. “Wait wait, I might have something back at my apartment that might help with burns. Want to come back with me? It won’t be any trouble and it’s on your way back to the Soothing Waters.” Alexus looked at her suspiciously for a moment but then nodded.

The Eypharian returned the fishing supplies to Gavin as well as the fish she had caught and thanked him for being able to borrow it all. She then led the way back to her apartment. As they neared, she wondered if Aren was home and what he would think of her bringing Alexus back like this. So instead of taking him all the way back to her apartment, she gestured for Alexus to stay back a couple of corridors down. “I’ll be right back.”

She carefully made her way onwards, taking quiet steps as she turned one more corner and reached her door. Slowly, she opened the door ajar and peered in. No, it didn’t seem like the Akalak was home. Quickly she went to get her Rhinedale ash from the medicine box she had. She poured it into a cup and mixed in some water till it formed a runny paste. Quietly she rushed back to where she had left Alexus, though she probably didn’t need to be stealthy on the way back.

“Here, this should help soothe it,” she explained as she started dabbing the paste onto his arms and face. She made sure it covered all his red skin and that she didn’t get any in his eyes. “There, the least I could do.”

[Sayana]

When they were ready to part ways, Alexus thanked her and began walking through the winding corridors of the citadel. Sayana hesitated, but then began following after him once she was far enough away to stay out of sight. In the corridors it was easy to hide but also easy to lose him. She tried to keep her footsteps light and peered around each corner before proceeding forwards. It helped when she could hear the scuff of his feet upon the floor or the faint sound of footsteps but once or twice she had to pick between two corridors and figure out which he had gone down.

Fortunately he was merely walking, and she could step lightly and quickly to follow after him if she began to lose him. Once he turned sharply around and she had to jump back behind the corner she had been standing near.

At last he reached a door. Was this where he lived? Yet he knocked and a woman opened it. She looked quite like him and Sayana wondered if they were related. Brother and sister? Cousins?

“There was a svefra hoping to gain favor with the knighthood and a couple new love affairs of little import except to their spouses.” Alexus began. “There was also a new shipwright in town hoping to make a boat load with all the extra wood that is now available. If you’ll excuse the pun. And then there was this lovely young lady who thought it prudent to follow me.” He hadn’t changed his tone in the slightest, but Sayana’s heart caught in her throat from her hiding spot.

“I’m sure she’ll learn better manners next time,” the woman at the door spoke calmly. “Come in Alexus.”

When the door closed, Sayana scowled. He had known all along or at least picked up on it soon enough. She wondered if his words were even true regarding the other topics she hadn’t known about. While she could have approached to try to listen at the door, she knew her game was up and it was time to go home. Still, she had learned where he resided, or at least where his sister did.

[Devi]

Your Grades have arrived! Sayana Skills: Swimming: 2 Fishing: 4 Persuasion: 1 Interrogation: 1 Intelligence: 3 Herbalism: 1 Medicine: 1 Stealth: 2 Lores: Intelligence: Judging prosperity Intelligence: Tailing a person Comments: How intriguing. I wonder what Alexus really picked up on... Let me know if you have any questions and don't forget to edit your post in the Grade Request Thread. Happy Writing!