ROLEPLAY HQ - devils-gate

reddeR 27-Nov-21 01:27 PM

@Livewire

reddeR 27-Nov-21 01:46 PM

Feylin Aludior BOT 27-Nov-21 01:46 PM

I stalked away from the tavern, more irritated than discouraged. I'd heard the rumors, and if somebody knows rumors about a man, then somebody knows how to find him. I had a description of his ship, and I didn't care if he was rumored to be a pirate. What mattered was that he was going through the gate. He wouldn't be going without me. I hoist my bag up on my shoulder and head toward the dock. After being kicked out of yet another tavern for my prying questions, I decided to change tactics. Hundreds of ships fill the sound, more than the port was built to accommodate. Many are just at anchor on the water. I hope the one I'm looking for is at the dock. It would be tricky to try and row, or swim, out to a ship. I don't have to search long before I see a ship matching the description I'd overheard. I don't hesitate to scale the ladder up the side and pull myself onto the deck. I look around curiously, wondering if anybody is here. I'm sure the crew is at a tavern somewhere, but the captain might be around. That's fine with me, it's the captain I want to speak with. When nobody appears to question my presence, I entertain myself just looking at things. The rigging is fascinating, and unbelievably complex. There are barrels on deck, but they are mostly empty. At least the ones I peer into are. I don't go below decks, and I'm tempted to check the cabin, but I avoid it as well. I don't want to be caught in the Captain's room. Still, after some time with no sign of anybody else, I give in to temptation and try the door. It opens easily, and I slip through quickly, carefully closing the door behind me.

Livewire 27-Nov-21 02:17 PM

A captain’s ship was his home. His protection. His refuge, and his freedom. Any captain worth his salt took good care of his vessel, and I’m no different. I’ve never truly been a model citizen, but I’m certainly a model pirate. For as long as I can remember I’ve been at sea. I’ve grown up on the move. And by this point I’ve become quite the sea dog. I was pouring over my maps in my chart room, making preparations for my latest and arguably most important voyage. To go where few dared to tread. Through the Devil’s Gate. The legends had kept me up for years, and now I would realize the dream. Or die trying. After a great deal of work I left the chart room and moved towards my private quarters. I expected no one to be in there. No one ever went near my quarters. So imagine my surprise when I walked in and saw a woman in there. One that I hadn’t brought there myself. “What are you doing here, woman?!?” I said in a booming voice, arms folded over my chest and eyes narrowed into a sharp expression.

@reddeR

Feylin Aludior BOT 27-Nov-21 02:55 PM

I jump, startled, and whirl to face the person yelling at me. My hands tremble, and my throat is dry, but when I speak my voice is calm and steady, giving away none of the fear I feel at this man bursting in on me trespassing in his private quarters. "I am looking for the captain of this ship." I say, facing him down boldly. I will not cower under a man's gaze, my own mother taught me to never fear the wrath of a man, or he would take advantage.

reddeR 27-Nov-21 02:55 PM

@Livewire

Livewire 27-Nov-21 03:21 PM

I stare at the woman for a good few seconds, sizing her up. Her posture is shaky but her tone is not. It’s a strange mix. “Well then you’ll be glad to know that you’re looking right at him. I don’t appreciate people being in my private quarters without permission. State your name and business here.” I keep a firm stance, but my expression softens ever so slightly.

@reddeR

Feylin Aludior BOT 27-Nov-21 03:35 PM

I observe this man who claims to be the captain of this ship. I don't knkwnwhat I expected a pirate captain to look like. He seems like any other captain I've seen. "You are the captain?" I ask skeptically, "you are the captain sailing for the gate before they select envoys?" I ask bluntly.

reddeR 27-Nov-21 03:36 PM

@Livewire

Livewire 27-Nov-21 04:02 PM

I can note the woman’s skepticism in her voice. My pride takes offence but I keep my temper levelheaded. “The one and only, sunshine. Now I say again: state your name and business. I won’t ask again,” I say, a slight edge in my voice. Despite being calm I am not some pushover. I’m a pirate through and through, and if this woman didn’t believe it I’d be sure to remind her of that fact. I wouldn’t tolerate disrespect repeatedly. Especially on my ship. (edited)

@reddeR

Feylin Aludior BOT 27-Nov-21 04:07 PM

I don't have a choice. I have to believe this man, and not being on this ship when it goes through the gate isn't an option. I steel myself, deciding how best to make my proposal. "What will it take to be on this ship when it goes through the gate, Captain?" I ask. Everything has a price, and I have an offer I know you can't refuse.

reddeR 27-Nov-21 04:07 PM

@Livewire

Livewire 27-Nov-21 04:42 PM

I was starting to get annoyed with this woman not answering completely. Obviously she didn’t want me to know her name. But that made me want to know it more. Any smart captain knows his crew well. And besides I’m not going to be denied. If she had a notorious reputation I would need to know it. “Depends whether you’re joining as a crew mate or a simple traveller. For a start, give me your name and your interest in the gates. I’ve already asked you three times. Are you deaf?” I speak a little more forcefully, taking a few steps towards her. I have no problem flinging her off my ship into the water if she doesn’t listen. She was getting on my nerves at this point. As far as captains go I was being saint like right now. Most pirates would have tossed the woman overboard or locked her away. Or worse.

@reddeR

Feylin Aludior BOT 27-Nov-21 04:53 PM

I stand my ground, looking up at you as you approach, but refusing to be cowed. "I will join in whatever capacity you see fit. I offer a priceless artifact to assist in accomplishing your goal, the only map to the gate." I sound confident, a confidence I don't really feel. My training holds true, and for that I'm grateful. This man is my last chance to succeed, and to many people are counting on my success for me to back down just because he tried to scare me.

reddeR 27-Nov-21 04:53 PM

@Livewire

Livewire 29-Nov-21 05:10 PM

Clearly this woman wasn’t going to give me a name. She had been here only five minutes and I was already tiring of her presence. “Priceless artifact? Well unless you have proof that’s not keeping you aboard this ship. As far as your capacity, I have no need for a pretty face on this voyage. So unless you have any sailing, fighting, medical, or navigating skills you will be getting dumped back out onto the boardwalk. And since you haven’t given me a name and have been waisting my time your title will be ‘hourglass.’ Now speak or you’re getting cast out.” The name sounds complimentary but the fact remains that as far as I’m concerned she’s a tool at the moment. So far one that serves no purpose other than to take up space. Why I don’t throw her overboard is anyone’s guess but since she has seen fit to waste my time and disrespect me by not complying, I will show her disrespect in naming her after a common object to be watched and used as needed.

@reddeR

Feylin Aludior BOT 29-Nov-21 05:25 PM

I frown, bristling at the name. "I have the only map to the gate, captain. They have blocked international waters, keeping the exact location from being known." I pull the bag from my shoulder and remove a metal scroll tube with an intricate lock. The tube is obviously a relic, but seems to be in perfect working order. I unlock the tube with no trouble and gently shake out the parchment inside. It had been stored in a cold box, and the metal tube protected it from light damage, but it was obviously very old. "Do you have a map table?" I ask, then add, "I apprenticed under 3 different master navigators. I'm not a complete waste of space, Captain.

reddeR 29-Nov-21 05:25 PM

@Livewire

Livewire 01-Dec-21 02:50 PM

While I try my best to hide it, the slight raise in my brow and widening of my eyes gives away my surprise. Maps to the gate are all but legend. I had been planning to attempt the voyage without one, but only after months of planning. And here this woman was, with no name that had one. In response to her request I pull over a map table i had been using, brushing the scrolls off of it, leaving the smooth wooden surface clear for her. "Right here," I say, my only response as I watch her with focus, waiting to see the map for myself. If this was not a lie, I would be thoroughly impressed. Perhaps even enough to allow her to sail with us with no question. But two bothered me. What could she possibly want with the gates? And how could she have come into possession of a map thought to not exist?

@reddeR

Feylin Aludior BOT 01-Dec-21 02:58 PM

"I should have gloves for this..." I mutter as I carefully unroll the stiff, britle scroll. Pieces flake off as it crackles quietly. Once it's unfurled, the handdrawn map is easy enough to read, if you understand ancient empirical Kay script. "This is the original map, drawn by Kay Empire naval officers showing the location of the gate prior to it vanishing for a thousand years. This has been passed down through the Aludior family for that many generations." I say, admiring the still fresh-looking inks on the parchment. "It's a priceless heirloom."

reddeR 01-Dec-21 02:58 PM

@Livewire

Livewire 02-Dec-21 02:42 PM

I wince at the dire condition of the map, unable to take his eyes off of it though. Mercifully it stays in largely one piece. "I can see that," I say in a dreamlike tone, walking over to the table and staring at the map, taking in every detail as if it will spontaneously burst into flame or shrivel into dust at any moment. "The Aludior family....I've heard of them. Are you one of their heirs?" I ask, glancing at her curiously.

@reddeR

Feylin Aludior BOT 02-Dec-21 03:05 PM

I shift uncomfortably and clear my throat. I wasn't sure if it would help or hurt, in this situation, but I wouldn't lie. I just didn't want to give more information than I had to. Still, as soon as you learned my name, there would be no way to deny it. "I'm Feylin Aludior, the last of the Kay empirical family line." I carefully roll the map, wincing as it crackles more, and slip it back into the metal puzzle lock tube that protects it from light damage. "I have studied navigation, Captain, and charting. I can transfer this map to a chart, if I have the right instruments and a clean chart. But if I'm going to do it, it will have to be soon. The map isn't going to last much longer before time destroys it."

reddeR 02-Dec-21 03:05 PM

@Livewire

Livewire 02-Dec-21 05:41 PM

At the reveal of her name, I can't help but look at her in shock, mouth slightly agape while I process the revelation. "Now it makes sense why you didn't want to give your name. I'll get you all the materials you need to recreate the map, but why does a woman of your status seek to travel to the gates? And with a notorious pirate no less?" I raise an eyebrow at her, wanting to understand the game she's playing. If she wanted, surely she could have went by herself, or with a small fleet of her own. Why the secrecy? Why the risk?

@reddeR

Feylin Aludior BOT 02-Dec-21 06:00 PM

"I don't exist, Captain. I'm the Last in a long line of emperors without an empire. Kay lasted less than a hundred years after that dowry was taken by pirates. The very people who had promised an alliance refused without it, and delighted in slowly taxing trade, imposing tarrifs, and slowly destroying anything Kay had left." Anger flashes in my warm, caramel colored eyes, but I quickly return to the dignified mask befitting the heir of an empire. After all, I remind myself, Kay Empire hasn't been much on anybodies mind. He probably knew the name from studies in school, and assumed... "I'm not a woman of any status, Captain. Not...really. Kay Empire doesn't exist, except in the hearts of those who remain loyal." Loyalty only lasted so long, and a thousand years is longer than anyone could have dreamed, to still have Kay loyalists.