Solo I See the Sea

[Crylon Stonecraft]

5 Winter 519 It was not often Crylon visited the shore. The open sea, the curving waves, to him it was a open hungry maw to pull him in should he grow too close. He knew at some level it was safe, he had even dipped his toes in a few times, but going in deep enough to go over his waist... Even the thought of it as he walked along the shore in his pants with bare feet and chest was enough to bring a shiver to his spine. Nothing to do with winter, seeing as winter had seemed to never truly strike here as Crylon knew well enough. However Kelski had mentioned a house of sorts which functioned as both hold for boats and housing above, and so he needed to examine the land before he could ponder such a design. Where would it be best to place it? What would be needed to support it? Such things needed to be pondered. Though perhaps his own experience in Ravok with their floating houses would be of use here in designing such a thing. He started at the living docks nearest to the Meraki's Demesne, and headed upshore away from Zeltiva. Perhaps, Crylon reasoned to himself, it would work better if he had a better understanding of ground structures and things. Or... Geology, he supposed, not ground buildings but the lay of the land and how it worked. Which he supposed was Geology. Or perhaps something else as well? He was unsure. Well if nothing else he knew buildings, what they needed and how they were supported, and he supposed that would have to suffice. That and physical observation from walking along the beach. For a chime or two he did not see much. One bit of beach looked rather similar to another. It was perhaps his third chime walking along inspecting the land when he noticed something... Something sticking up out of the sand, partly submerged underwater and partly sticking out. And then another wave would break and come in to shore and cover it, only for the water to settle and the thing to appear visible again. Crylon took a few steps closer, getting close enough that the waves coming into shore were lapping over his feet. It was small. And then he froze. It was a tiny statue. A small form. But it was also... His mind returned to Sunberth, when he had fallen in the river and nearly drowned during the race... It was the same statue he had seen in the waters there. Was this statue following him? Crylon was unsure, but if his memory served this was the exact same statue... Which had seemingly flown out of the river in Sunberth, made its way down the coast, and came to settle here right where he was. “Izurdin give me strength...” Crylon muttered in the Isur tongue. Clearly, he realized, some kind of magic was at work. Or a deity. Or both. But either way, this statue was following him, and there was no reason to try and avoid it. From his experience that would not work, and clearly if it had followed him from Sunberth he could not so easily escape it. In truth he had not run from it, Crylon reasoned, he had simply forgotten about it what with nearly drowning again. Taking a few steps further out into the water, deep enough to come up to his ankles when the water was low and calf when higher from a wave breaking, Crylon bent and picked up the small statuette. For a moment nothing happened. And then it seemed to shudder in his hand. Then all at once it stopped being a statue, and it was a tiny person less than a foot tall in his hand. It looked wet, beyond the sea water over its flesh which clearly was wet, but it also looked wet. Then it spoke, stretching its tiny arms which were just above the top of his hand, and letting out a groan as if he had just awoken. Then he seemed to notice Crylon. "Well hello good sir. I am Tideon Wavemoon, follower of Laviku, The Sea King, lord of the ocean and seas and all therein. You can call me Tide if you like. Would you like to build a boat?" WC: 722

[Crylon Stonecraft]

Crylon almost dropped the figure in surprise, not expecting it to spring to life. As it was he hurriedly took several steps back to shore and swiftly placed the figure on the sand. He had expected something to be odd about it, some odd trait or nature or expectation, but not for sure that it would be alive! “What? Who did... What are you?” The small figure smiled, or at least turned up his face which was the best Crylon could tell from the small form, and looked up at the Isur above him. "Ah yes, you do seem rather blue, perhaps not enough air? You did find me in the water. Yes, take deep breaths now, that will sort itself quite quickly. And as I said, call me Tide. I worship Laviku, The Sea King, ruler of the great waters and all that fall within, of the Otoni and his children and all other manner of sea creatures both small and large." Crylon frowned, confused by the statue becoming alive along with what he said. Laviku? “Blue? Always this color. Asking... What you are? And what want?” He was having a bit of trouble understanding the tiny figure seeing as he seemed to have a habit for fanciful fluffy speech. He could get it, but it took longer to understand than the more basic common than he was used to. "Oh dear, we did get off on the incorrect footing now dd we not? Ah yes, well as I said, Laviku, he is my God. He created me to extend his reach, to convey his message and greatness so that more might come to worship him. You have been chosen, or so it would seem, to be my partner. I will work with you, aid you as I can, and in turn I will bring you and others to Laviku and his glory and might. As shall you, or so I hope. You aren't one of those sea haters are you?" “I... Not sea person, land person. Make things. Houses. Buildings. Things. Not much like for deep water. Not swimmer.” The small figure let out a huff of air- did it need to breath?-flopping down on the sand of the beach. "Oh dear, Laviku does test me so... Saddling me with a blue human who does not like the sea. Not even a sailor or something maybe? Fishing? No... Well..." Suddenly the figure perked up, hopping back to his feet far underfoot. "No matter. It would not be a trial if it were too easy. How about this. I shall be your comrade, your confidant, I shall help you in what ways I can. I will also give you what guidance and advice I can. You in turn will keep an open mind, so that I can show you the wonders and glory of Laviku. And each day, you must give a true prayer to Laviku. No lipservice, a true heartfelt prayer to him. That is all that is required. Deal?" Crylon looked at the tiny figure, uncertain of what was going on. But if for some reason this tiny figure who followed some deity was bonded to him in some capacity... It seemed simple enough. Gain help and information, and in turn show respect and give a single daily prayer to the god... “Is accept. Single prayer on daily, not disrespect... Laviku. And you give aid in turn.” With that the deal seemed sealed, and the small verbose figure had once more grown excited. "Well then, if you are not for sailing, but like to build, how about we build that boat then? Its not so different from a house, only it floats rather than sitting on the ground." WC: 621

[Crylon Stonecraft]

After Crylon agreed to the tiny figures request, he took the tiny figured onto his shoulder and began walking along the beach. Tide considered several ideas as Crylon walked, finally deciding a small canoe of sorts would be best. "A simple hollowed out log, small for my size, for a first try. I will show you the way to begin with. Better to start simple. But the concept should scale up nicely. Then we can try some other designs. But this for starters." Crylon nodded, not really understanding what the man meant but getting the concept of the crafting at its basic tenets. A log, hollowed out on top and solid on the sides. A small vessel of sorts, not too dynamic in terms of cutting through the water, but then it was a rather simple thing. Some driftwood seemed good enough for a first attempt, they did not expect the thing to last or to be too fancy and so the poorer material would work fine. Another few chimes walking along and they found a small bit of driftwood that had washed up on shore. A smallish log broken off from a tree at both ends, likely a part of a larger tree but no where near the trunk. But wide enough that the tiny being could fit in, seeing as it was a bit less than a foot wide. Grabbing the wood with his Isurian arm, Crylon dragged it onto shore and to a drier spot. His workshop would be a nice flat spot of land not too far from the water, but far enough that the current tide's water did not come up to them. No risk of getting wet again, at least till the tide came in and rose. "Right, so how do you want to carve it? Do you have the tools for carving?" It was then Crylon remembered he had left all of his stuff back in his room. He had not expected to make anything, only to go out and appraise the land. But, he thought to himself, as an Isur he always had one tool at hand. Quite literally, he smiled to himself. “I am tool. Am Isur. Special arm, not just for show. Can shape wood, simple ways least for what doing, with just special arm.” The tiny figure did not argue with Crylon, simply waiting to watch what he could do and beginning to give directions. "Start with a shallow depression along the top, just enough to get a difference from the rounded top side. And work it along the length, stopping an inch or so before the end." Crylon nodded, holding the log still with one hand and applying his other hand fingers first into the wood. Like the log was made of clay the wood molded and shifted, flexing from the pressure. Tide frowned and looked on with curious attention, but did not question it at all. He was after all, by all appearances, a tiny stone statue given life and sentience by his patron god. Using his nails Crylon tried to scrape, pulling off the top layer of bark to reveal the wood within by pushing his fingers nails first across the top. This served to peel off the layer quite well. Another few passes and he had the bark off along the top almost arcing over the sides and to the point where Tide had indicated he should stop. With that done Tide directed him to deepen the hole he had cut. Crylon returned his hand to the wood, working more with his fingers again rather than the nails to pull out chunks of the woods guts. WC: 611

[Crylon Stonecraft]

After the initial layer was done, Tide climbed on top and examined the work so far. "Its a bit lopsided, a bit too much weight shifted to one side rather than equally, but it should suffice. I mean its just wood, wood floats right?" Crylon opened his mouth and began to reply, only to decide against it and respond with a shrug. It either worked or it did not, but he supposed if it did not he would learn just as much about what to do and what not to do as he would by succeeding. With that Tide hopped down and began giving directions again, pointing at parts of the log as he did. He seemed to have quite quickly grasped how Crylon's Isur arm worked and how it could be used for making the tiny boat. "You want nice even strokes, its all got to balance or it won't stay stable. The weight here is a bit much, perhaps carve out some more here and add it to here. Yes, there. No, not that much, a bit less. And over here..." Crylon followed his directions as best he could, but he was no skilled shipwright. He had sailed but the once, and that had been calm seas and nothing much needing doing. The deeper they got into the log, the harder the work became. Not for Crylon's special Isur arm, but the rest of him. It was a true strain on his endurance, as he strained to bend and hold and shift. His back ached from the angle of his bending over the wood. His other arm ached from holding and moving the wood. They grew tired and sluggish, while his one special arm powered away unerringly so long as his full attention was on it. In some manner, his work was like playing in wet mud to dig a hole. He could shape the sides, move things up and along and out of the way, out of the center. Or he could grab a wad as it reached its peak moving upward, and pull it out to go with the other excess bits. And he kept at it. He was an Isur, he was hardy, he could endure the few bells it would take to complete the work. He kept at it till he had a nice hollow segment in the middle of the log, a inch or so layer between the bottom and the hole and the sides and the edges of the hole. "Right, I think that will do it. A decent enough first work. Not quite meant for the sea, but I think it will do for a first work. Though I would have preferred it to be a bit more symmetrical." Crylon smiled, understanding his words here in terms of craftmanship much more than he had his more general words on the sea and boats. But still, he had learned something of making a ship even if only a little one. It was a first step, more important he thought for being taken than the result. His one arm hanging exhausted at his side, Crylon rose and worked out some kinks as he stood. Then he used his special arm to drag the canoe as Tide had called it to the edge of the water. Another foot, and the edge of the waves coming in lapped across the bottom. Another and it was in a bit of shallow water even when the water was low. Tide sat on his shoulder, watching from above. Then the two of them watched and waited as Crylon gave the canoe a single push out to sea. At first nothing happened beyond a small slow shudder towards the deeper water. Then it began to pick up speed, smashing into a small wave. The water came in and the canoe drifted back, and then the tide pulled back out and the canoe fell outward. Into deeper water. Another wave in and out, and the canoe surged up a wave and fluidly fell down the other side. “It floating. Is work?” "Well, Crylon, the real test is when..." As the small figure spoke another wave came in, smashing into the side of the canoe as it had turned in the last waves wake. It juddered and began to tilt, and then tilt some more, and then... It rolled onto its side. Water rushed into the newly cut cavity, and the canoe turned more. And more water rushed in. Within but a few moments the canoe was full of water, and it was quickly sinking below the surface of the water. Then another wave crashed in and crossed the top, and when it was gone the canoe had vanished from sight. Crylon let out a nervous single laugh, before breaking into a longer one. Tide joined him, glad apparently that they had finished their work and Crylon was not too saddened by his failure. "Well, at least I didn't offer to sail on the first one, or you'd have to retrieve me. Maybe the next one, eh? Or better yes, the one after that... Yes, perhaps a bit safer." WC: 858

[Alric Lysane]

Your Grades Crylon Stonecraft Skills Carpentry – 2 Interrogation – 1 Shipbuilding – 2 Socialization – 2 Lores Laviku: God Of The Seas Laviku’s Charge: A Prayer A Day Shipbuilding: Balanced & Even Hull Shipbuilding: Need To Protect Against Capsize Tideon Wavemoon: Laviku’s Servant Tideon Wavemoon: Magical Statue