Convergence - (Samheen 22nd, MT, Open)

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Amica
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Post by Amica »

So he would help. And why would he do this? Because he believed her words of the coming war with Dragon Kind? Because he held respect for the black cloth of the tribus negri? Or because her form pleased him and he would see more of her? Amica was curious to know what gave Jack Farrell to resign himself with her, but whatever had given him to do so, she could not deny the almost knee-shaking, heart stopping relief she felt when he had agreed to join their cause. And he had done so with but only four words, as plain-spoken and direct as any of the People of the Sands.

Amica let her relief show upon her face, her smile spreading and radiating over her face like the coming dawn. "I wonder if your heart tells you that my cause is just, Jack Farrell? Your help will save many lives, and it will give me great advantage over Dragon of Wind when I am to face her," she said, the gratitude plain in her voice. She would not admit to Jack Farrell that her battle with Aeis would undoubtedly end in her own death as well...whatever hopes he might have beyond this adventure were sadly unlikely...but the young shaman did not dwell upon this, for she had not yet accepted this fate as her own, either. She would find a way, and she would defeat Aeis. And if fate were kind, she would live.

"I do not know where in the mountains Dragon of Wind is to be found, but that is not the task of this flying machine. It need only take us to the Dragon Keep, where we might purchase animals to ride north along them and chase her down," she said, obviously ignoring countless details along the way, such as the Talisman between her breasts that would make tracking Aeis' captive, the Peshawgo, rather easy. "To do this, I and my colleague must hide aboard Flying Machine and remain when it rises to depart. If Flying Machine will not land in the mountains at Dragon Keep, then we will force it to do so without harm," she said, a process that required nothing more than a strong showing of powerful magics. "There we will depart and leave Sky Captain to continue his journey while we continue our hunt on foot. I will do what I can to hide your assistance to us, Jack Farrell, so your name will not hold dishonor and Sky Captain will not regret you with bitterness."
Jack Farrell
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Post by Jack Farrell »

"Good." Jack spoke, he owed much to Badar and Rezon, they had offered him a great opportunity and he would honour his commitment to Badar as far as he was able. It was not like the Merchant truely needed him on the ship, Badar was merely doing the lad a favour and Jack knew it.

"I do not hide the fact that I am torn between my loyalty to my employers and aiding you Ami. I do not want any of the crew hurt nor the cargo damaged, let me make that painfully clear." Jacks face was grim on that matter. He did not realy know whether he could stop her from killing Rezon or indeed himself but Sorcerers needed time to get their thoughts together and Jack could be brutally swift. He hoped that the implied threat of his Falchion would be enough to convince Amica that he was not completely impotent.

"But you have my word that I will aid you to the best of my ability for as long as it takes." Jack knew this was potentially one of the greatest undertakings he would ever make - he would prove a slave's worth.

"If you intend to secret yourself aboard the vessel it is probably best for you to hide amongst the cargo. I am not sure how you will get aboard without being seen. Rezon will most likely perform a check on the hold before take-off to secure the load. I doubt I would be asked to do it, he owns the ship and it seems he is the type to do a lot of the work himself. Perhaps you could hide in a crate or something, or turn his eyes another way. Is your husband another fabrication or are you traveling alone? Two will be harder to hide than one."
Amica
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Post by Amica »

"There will be two," she responded instantly, moving back such that she could just see the airship, inspecting it casually. "The other is not my husband, but his quest is the same," she added. Strangely enough, the customs of her people were somewhat more complex when it came to marriage and clan, and the term 'marriage' did not translate perfectly anyway. Marriages were often seen from those of the same sex as well as multiple marriages, though they were not common. The Ceremony of Marriage was not unlike the Ceremony of Friendship, both very sincere and meaningful to one's status among the People and both very meaningful in the way of family, clan, and tribe. T'Kil was not her husband yet, by any standard, and while his attentions to her had given her to know great pleasure and to moan and scream his name, taking lovers was also not an uncommon occurence among the People, both for men and for women.

And how far have I come to think in such terms? thought Amica with an inward smile. When she had fled her people weeks...perhaps months...ago, she had been an untouched virgin, both in mind and in body. Things had changed dramatically for her, and even now she knew some inner turmoil between the touch of T'Kil, a man she respected and adored and would forever serve so long as he lived and one that knew the craft of pleasing women well, and the touch of the Peshawgo, the dragon wild, animal, and passionate, his routinely painful coitus with her always leaving her breathless and excited as much from fear as from any great pleasure. Blinking away her memories of the two mean...no, the man and the dragon...she had taken to her bed, Amica returned her focus to the task at hand.

"If I will have time to properly hide us among the goods carried in this Machine, I will not be found by this Sky Captain," she said, knowing the man as Rezon now. Already Amica could imagine the amusement she would find aboard huddled with T'Kil in the dark, a situation he would undoubtedly not find as amusing as she, but one to which he would submit all the same. "It is your help I must have to get aboard. Sky Captain goes to drink with his friends at this tavern...this Crying Dragon, does he not? If you can give the workers here to know distraction and to leave the vessel unattended for a short span, I and my companion might spirit ourselves aboard Flying Machine and hide within."

"Take this coin, and offer them all drinks as reward for their task completed..." she withdrew a gold crown, a fortune in wealth and a fair price for such a window of opportunity "...but you must be certain that you see me here with my companion before you provide this diversion. He is not far, and will join me once I am alone. We will wait until you have completed your loadings and we will watch for your laborers to depart."
Jack Farrell
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Post by Jack Farrell »

Jack nodded. A simple plan, and simple plans were often the most effective. He smiled - buying a round of drinks was well within his abilities.

"Very well Amica Tempestasis, we have an accord." He extended one hand in acceptence of a formal agreement. "I will head back to the ship and help load the goods then retire to the Dragon taking everyone with me." He laughed, moments ago he had envisioned magical flame purging the airship of its crew, this was so much more agreeable to him.

"It would be wisest I feel if we do not make contact again till Dragon keep. Make sure you stock up on water and food as I do not know how long the journey will take. Its 8 days by caravan with favourable ground so Id reckon if we leave tomorrow we wont arrive before the end of the 24th at least. You will have to make yourself comfortable. Me making regular trips to the hold with bread and a latreen might cause suspicion."

Jack's mouth twisted, trying to think of any eventualites - they had precious little time to plan this.

"I will feign innocence when or if you reveal yourself. If you need to land the vessel by force then take me as a hostage. If you can, sneak off and I will join you later. People go missing even in fortresses." Jack wracked himself - his cover story was just plain ignorance, they established a proceedure for landing the vessel. Some show of magic and a subtle threat should be enough plus them taking him for safe keeping, obviously to be released once the airship was away. Jack could not think of anything else.

"Unless you have any other concerns?" he proffered, this Amica was a canny one and she was more likely to think from different angles than he.

Jack felt elated. This was going to be exciting at the very least and an opportunity unlike anything else in the world. Dragons were beings of great power and their hoards were legendary. Quite aside from being able to do the human race a favour - that being his prime incentive - and being able to spend some time with this enigma of a girl, the prospect of a little treasure stirred something. Jack smiled.
Amica
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Post by Amica »

It had gone well, and she had been right to share her knowledge with him. He had offered her a new plan in which violence or hardship would be avoided, a plan that would protect the lives of the guarrdi and see them safely to the mountains in only two days by his estimation. The only concern she heard was his immediate offer to accompany her on the ground after they arrived, an offer that was touching and brave but one that she could not accept from him without his understanding of what would happen.

"I have no more concerns, Jack Farrell, save your own safety," responded Amica with a grateful smile. Reaching out, she clasped his hand in hers...she had left her right hand clear for such a gesture...her touch warm and electric. "I have asked much of you already, and you have promised me all that I could wish. I would not ask you to leave your Flying Machine and join us in our quest, for in it lies death and hardship. I will not refuse you this right should your heart demand that your path lies with ours, but you must know that I do not foresee our survival from this battle. We will not survive our attack upon Aeis, and I do not wish you to share in a fate that you are not bound by honor or duty to accept."

"I hope you will consider upon this, but I will not speak with you of it now, for such a decision is one that must be made after some time for contemplation. If you would indeed join us in our battle, then you will follow us into the mountains, and I will see your determination in your eyes and your heart. If you choose to stay among your kind, then you will live on, content to know that you have done a great thing to help us in our quest, and for that you will have my gratitude forever," she declared, rising up to kiss him lightly upon the cheek before she would back away and leave him to rejoin his crew.

(OOC: Exit Amica stage left, back to this thread, I think)
Last edited by Amica on Thu Sep 22, 2005 4:55 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Jack Farrell
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Post by Jack Farrell »

Jack smiled at the kiss, who wouldnt? He watched the Girl leave, his mind filled with a myriiad of different thoughts. He shook his head and turned away.

It was time to return to the ship and help load the ship, or supervise, or at least watch or something. He was not really sure what a cabin boy was meant to do - fetch drinks? He smiled and upped his pace - he did not want to be gone too long, he owed Badar a good service at least he reflected.

Paying precious little attention to the work, Jack mulled thoughts over in his head. It wasnt meditation but it was reflection. How to kill a dragon? Certainly no blade or weapon would harm something of such vast size and power. He was not sure how powerful Amica's magic was - but he doubted she could front a Dragon, this would be a thing done with stealth and cunning then. Ulitmately Jack was not sure what assistance he could be, being neither a powerful mage nor a warrior of any great prowess. His hand strayed to the chain at his wrist.

Jack stirred and watched the men load, lending assistance where neccesary.Tonite was time to find a tutor.
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Post by Guest »

Jack was helpful through the morning and early afternoon. Rezon kept him close and taught him the layout of the ship, the hierarchy of the officers and some of the basic tasks he'd be performing. These mostly involved fetching meals and washing clothes but Rezon promised to teach the boy some basics of map reading and navigation as well. Rezon knew the value of good help and because of that, would not want to waste Jack's talents on menial labor, at least the whole trip.

It was toward the end of the afternoon and the sun was setting against the dunes to the West. Even for traitors and thieves, the purple and orange brushstokes of a sunset were beautiful. Even a busy man like Rezon had time to appreciate the simplicity of the beauty. He was smiling and relaxed when he found Jack toward the end of the day.

"Jack, my boy," he said with a huff, drawling out the words with his Western Kingdom accent.

"Looks like you had a good idea. Thank you again for ridding us of that pesky nomad. Those tribesman can be strange and that one was a shaman, worse than the rest I hear. We'll be safer without her aboard.'

He sighed again and leaned over the railing where Jack had been finishing his latest task of swabbing the deck.

"Put the mop up for the night, Jack. I'm heading in to town and you're welcome to join me. I'm heading back to the Dragon and catch some sleep before we leave. I suggest you do the same."

OOC: Jack, please post your response and then continue here. You will arrive just after the soldiers in the next thread.
Jack Farrell
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Post by Jack Farrell »

Jack stowed the Mop, throwing out the soiled water. He had nodded as Rezon thanked him for getting rid of Amica, he hoped her mysterious reappearance would not soil that impression.

"Today has been a good day Captain." Jack smiled, stretching. "What do you say to a night cap at the Dragon?" Jack posed the question casually. "I came into a little money through Badar, it would be only right that I repay both his and your generosity. Perhaps a round for the crew?" Jack was careful not to say rounds, after all, he was not sure how far Amica's gold would go and he doubted Rezon wanted to fly with an addled crew.

He was not sure what he would say but Jack had tried his best. The rest was up to Amica now.

Jack stretched himself. He was used to menial labour, he had done it for most of his life and he had a physique to show for it. Even so, knots still gnawed at his shoulder blades. He stretched to try and sort them out. As he walked he wondered about Itha, his horse, wondered how she was faring in Badar's capable hands. He smiled. Things were looking Good.
Last edited by Jack Farrell on Mon Sep 26, 2005 11:35 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Guest »

~fin
Morg
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Post by Morg »

Skilled :)
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