Help Wanted

[Anonymous]

Brae leaned back and stretched his arms above his head, yawning wolfishly. All around him the market place was bustling, and he watched with interest as a young boy wrestled to get a chicken out of a box without loosing his hand. He glanced down at the ships register, noting a few posts that would still had to be filled. It was mid afternoon, so he still had time, but judging by those he had signed on that morning - large monosylabic men who knew everything about ropes and nothing about anything else - his chances of finding a navigator, medic or mage were slim.

He ran his hands through his blue/grey hair and blinked in the sunlight. What he wanted more than anything was a nap on deck, followed by a cold ale, but most of his crew had departed after an extremely well financed delivery had been completed, and they were off to enjoy the spoils. He needed a crew. And he was the Captain.

The boy with the chickens tripped over the boxes and sent several of the birds sprawling, all squarking loudly. One particularly adventurous bird decided to attack the boy directly, and Brae laughed heartedly as the youth took off down the square, his master yelling after him to clear up the mess.

Brae watched one of the chickens head over to his makeshift table (several barrels sporting the ships register and a quill) and he leaned down, attempting to grab the bird. It screeched loudly and flapped it's wings, so he gave it a boot in the direction of the stall and resigned to having to buy his own dinner that night. Besides, he didn't have a cook.

He glanced around the market, his keen eyes trying to spot a potential crew member out of the crowd. Somewhere out there he was sure there was someone to fill at least one of his available posts.

[Anonymous]

"Hey, wake up, lad. We're here."

Emer felt a hand grasp her shoulder, shaking her gently and waking her from her sleep. But even so, she already knew they had reached their destination without even having to open her eyes. The scent of the sea salt in the air made it clear that they were finally in Cerenis, and for once, the wagon she had been riding in had stopped.

Emer sat up on the hard wooden bench, stretching her body and blinking the sleep from her turquoise eyes, and then smiled as she took in her first glimpse of the busy port.

"I reckon this is your first time here?"

She reluctantly tore her eyes away from the city and turned towards the wagon's driver, an aging but kindly merchant. Still smiling, she replied, "Yes, I've never been here before and I must say, I would never have been able to get here so quickly if it wasn't for you. I can't tell you enough how much the ride means to me. Here, let me pay you..."

Emer then reached into one of her pockets and pulled out two gold coins, but the merchant man waved them away. "No need to pay me. Your company was enjoyment enough during such a lonely trip. Besides, I have a feeling you may need that gold more than I do."

So with that, Emer pocketed her gold once again and thanked the man again and again until he waved her off, too, grinning and shaking his head. When the merchant left to sell his wares, Emer went back to admiring the busy port, taking in the clear blue sky and the radiant afternoon sun and the hustle and bustle of the marketplace. Shifting her backpack on her shoulders, Emer threaded her way through the crowds, occasionally looking at what the other merchants were selling with mild interest.

That is, until a chicken flew past her, nearly smacking her in the face as she ducked just in time. However, before she could react, a young boy ran straight into her, bowling her over and into a nearby crowd. Several women cried out in alarm and even a few merchants complained of being disrupted while making their sales as Emer got back to her feet, rubbing her sore backside. Glancing around, she saw the boy that had run into her dashing away into the distance, chasing after the chicken. She sighed. No use in going after him, then.

She apologized to the disturbed crowd around her and, feeling the urge to disappear on the spot, decided to find more open space, preferably without chickens.

And then, as she looked around, she saw the glint of silver hair shining in the sunlight. It was a man, sitting amidst several barrels with scrolls of paper, a quill, and some ink. Was he another merchant? She couldn't see what he was selling. Perhaps he was selling the paper and ink? He didn't seem to have very much, but Emer was in need of more ink, as her own ink bottle was nearly empty. She had been slowly adding to her map of Serendipity, drawing in various details and cities and villages, as well as roads and pathways.

"Hello, there," she said. "I couldn't help but wonder...are you selling ink?"

[Anonymous]

Brae tore his gaze from a group of young ladies and found himself staring at a young lad, skinny and dressed in reasonable finery. His eyes twinkled at the boy's question, and he shook his head. "There might be more money in it if I was" he said, his voice heavy in mock sadness. He needed to get back to work, but the boy was a welcome distraction.

"What would a lad like you be wanting ink for? A letter to your sweetheart perhaps?" he smiled, wondering where the boy's family was. A nobel was not a rare sight in Cerenis, they often came to inspect their ships or lands. Brae assumed the boy had wandered away from his father. He glanced around, seeing if he could spot anyone dressed similar, but his eyes met only the regular ruffians and city folk going about their business.

[Anonymous]

As usual, Emer was mistaken for being a young boy. It wasn't the first time, and she couldn't blame him. In fact, the more the man believed she was a boy, the better for her. Often in her travels, she found that she was treated more as an independent when she was mistaken for being a boy than when she was seen as a young woman.

In any event, Emer was slightly disappointed that the man was not selling ink. She'd have to go somewhere else to find some. But when the man asked why she was in need of ink, she immediately grinned.

"Actually, I'm working on a bit of a project. It's something I've wanted to do my entire life and it's nearly complete," she explained, unshouldering her backpack and rummaging through it before pulling out a large and worn scroll. She unrolled it and flattened it out over the top of the barrels, covering the man's work. "It's a map of Serendipity, the entire country. Er...well, almost, anyway. I've been traveling over the past few months, adding to the map as I go along. The only places left to map is the area around Cerenis."

And, indeed, there was a gap in the map along the east coast where Cerenis and its surrounding territories would have been. Otherwise, the map was drawn in exquisite detail. Emer had drawn in tiny trees for forests, mountains where there were mountains, little stars marking the existence of towns and villages and larger stars for the cities, the largest of all belonging to that of Arca. Roads and trails were drawn and labeled, as were rivers and streams. And in the bottom-right corner was an elaborately drawn compass rose.

Emer was quite proud of it, for she had never completed a map this extensive before, and she had spent many hours measuring out relative distances and inking all the details. Still smiling, Emer rolled up the map again, tying it close with a piece of twine.

"I'd like to finish it but I've run out of ink, you see," she continued with a sigh. And as she took back her map, she noticed the man's own paper -  a list, it seemed, of names. "What's this? Are people signing up for something?"

[Anonymous]

Brae ran his eyes over the map and was impressed by what he saw. The detail was extravagant, something he normally saw in a master cartographer. The boy was either brilliant, or lying. It was possible that the boy was an apprentice, sent to fetch inks for his master and claiming the work to be his own, but Brae was not one to jump to conclusions. Too many times he had seen youth ignored, and from his own past he knew there was more to people than met the eye.

"It's nice work" he said, not giving away too much of his opinions of the map. "Although talents such as these would be better spent on uncharted territories". He watched as the map was wrapped up and put away with care. The boy certainly had a love for his work, something Brae found a valuable trait in others.

Brae smilled at the boys interest in the register. "Aye. A sign up sheet. Though not for the faint hearted." He leaned back and pulled out his pipe, taking the time to pack it with a heavy brown tobacco.

"For all those interested in joining the crew of the 'Segura'". With an incline of his head, he gestured behind him, where the 'Segura' was docked at the end of the pier. Several of the new crew members were loading the ship with provisions, barrels of gunpowder and spare sails. She was an impressive sight, still taking Brae by suprise some mornings, a beautiful and well maintained vessel.

He lit his pipe and puffed away, examining the boy thoughtfully.

((OOC: In case you want to see, here's a link to the profile of the 'Segura', so you know what you're looking at!  :D

//http://www.spiritsoftheearth.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=37100#37100))

[Anonymous]

Emer was slightly disappointed. 'It's nice work,' was all the man had to say. She supposed she was simply used to raving compliments about her map-drawing skills from her younger sister, and those maps had been crude compared to the one of Serendipity she had just shown another person for the first time. She resisted the urge to heave a crestfallen sigh. Perhaps she was no good, after all...

But then all thoughts of her map flew out of her mind as the silver-haired man nodded towards a very fine ship docked by a pier. She shielded her eyes from the sunlight as a pair of gulls soared by overhead, and stared at the magnificent ship. Her father owned a number of trading ships and Emer had quite a number of chances to see them, but only a select few, she thought, matched up to the Segura.

Grinning, she turned back to the silver-haired man, who was watching her reaction closely. "She's a magnificent ship. Beautiful!" she exclaimed.

And turning back to look at the Segura, Emer's eyes shone with a new spark for adventure. What a fitting way to end her journey across the country! It was as if everything was falling together perfectly before her eyes. When Emer had set out to travel Serendipity to map the country's lands, she had no idea what she would have done after the map was completed. But now that it was nearly finished, an adventure across the mighty seas would do perfectly.

Once again, she turned back to the man, who was still sitting quietly by his barrels, scrolls, and ink.

"The name's Emer," she said, introducing herself by one of her middle names. Nareida was a name far too feminine to be believable. "And I'd be interested in joining the crew of the Segura. It's just as you said, isn't it? My talents could be put to better use on uncharted territories. Now, I know you might not think all that highly of my mapping abilities, but I can also navigate quite well - day or night. And I'd gladly put in my fair share of the work. Just give me the chance, and I can show you what I can do! Are you willing to accept me?"