Mappin' Some Routes

[stelmarisa]

It was quiet in the garden of the inn. At this time of year, even though it was not yet cold, many patrons preferred to sit inside, indulging themselves over food, wine and chatter. That suited Elias Stubb just fine. He had commandeered a whole bench to himself, covering it with scrolls and books.

He had already been here for some time, sketching out routes onto an old map of the coastline. He frowned as he worked, sucking at the end of his pen. He was totally immersed in his work, oblivious to anyone around him.

[Winters-Feather]

The chill didn't bother Cat-Eye Chris much. The nights out at sea were harsher than this little chit of a thing. It felt natural, having a breeze in his hair. Much more natural than the sun, which seemed to be almost foreign, now. They had been at harbor long enough for him to get his sleeping patterns switched, but soon enough he knew that was going to change again. It was irksome, but the man didn't mind much. He looked at the building ahead of him. It was a small, run down building with a bunch of children playing in the front yard. They were screaming and playing and laughing, but the man only watched with a solemn expression. He didn't approach it, but simply watched from a distance from underneath a tree.

He had stood there for a while as his mind wandered off of its own before the sound of approaching horses disrupted them. Chris turned to find a pair of uniformed men ride up the road. The pirate scoffed before shoving a hat on his head to help conceal his face. He knew what business they were here for, and grimly felt sorry for whatever lad they had come to take away. He calmly walked down the road back towards the inn, humming a lively ditty. It was... interesting to be home again.

Not quite in the mood for boozing or picking up women just yet, the man found himself allured to the more quiet and serene garden. He found Elias pondering over his maps yet again. He quietly walked over to his friend and looked over his shoulder. He seemed to be busy sketching out routes.
"That map's old," he observed, the light from the sun dancing in both of his eyes, both his good and the one made of glass.
When his attention fell on the books, Chris couldn't help but to smile.
"Surely you're not reading them all now," he pointed out.

[stelmarisa]

Tongue sticking out in concentration, Elias was taken by surprise as he heard his friend's voice behind him. Years at sea had taught him not to show that he had been caught off gaurd, though, and it was with a measured patience that he put his pen down, and looked up at Chris.

"I could be reading them all," he said, mock-defensively. "I'm a very fast reader you know. It's what makes me so intellectually superior."
Laughing, he stood up to clap Chris on the shoulder, pleased to see his ship-mate. "Cat-Eye! Good to see you, my friend. But what brings you here? I didn't think quiet family inns were your thing."

Gesturing to the bench, he sat back down, picking up the map he had been looking at. "It is old, yes. But look, it's one of the best representations of the Serendipity coastline I've ever seen. It's so detailed!" He was warming to his topic, pointing out the intricacies of the map.

[Winters-Feather]

"Of course," Chris replied smoothly to Elias' jest and shrugged at the  comment about quiet family inns. It was true they usually weren't; children were too curious about his glass eye, the booze usually wasn't as great, and it was harder to get a lay with a girl if her folks were around.
"Ran into some military man," he explained, "Didn't want to be recognized."
The man gave a knowing grinned as Elias passionately described the map. It was just like the navigator to become so enthralled with his work that he brought it with him all over the place.
"Let me see," Chris muttered, peering closely at the map.

His companion was right; it was a beauty.
Whoever drew it took great pains to both accurately and artistically mimic the landscape on paper. Lines, numbers, and labels made it easy to determine how far away things were from each other. It was almost as if the thing were alive, with rolling hills, parlous coves, and crashing waves. There was even markings where tribes of sirens and mermaids were said to have nested.
Chris frowned.
"Where'd you get it?" he asked, "I've never seen the likes of it before."

[stelmarisa]

Elias nodded knowingly as Chris explained about the soldiers. It made a lot of sense - no one who spent their time on a pirate ship wanted to be anywhere near the military, even if they weren't actually breaking the law at that moment. Being recognised was always dangerous.

"Me neither." He touched the map lovingly. It was a real rarity to find something so detailed - especially because it seemed to be so old.

"It was in a little bookshop in Arca. Gods know what it was doing in there... it must have been made by someone who knew the coast inside out. It doesn't have a signature, or anything." He turned the parchment over carefully to show Chris the lack of markings.

"Unusual. I wish I could draw a map like this... it's amazing, isn't it?"

[Winters-Feather]

OOC: I meant Navy not military. my bad XD
IC:

Chris quirked an eyebrow at this piece of information.
"Arca?" he repeated, just as bemused.
That couldn't be right- something as useful as this shouldn't have been in such an obscure location as a small bookshop. Actually, the man was a little surprised that even Elias had found it, but his companion had a knack for such things, so it should have been expected.
Chris scratched at his shaven chin as he observed the unmarked parchment.
"Yeah, amazing," he muttered, distracted.
Something struck him ill about this map. An artisan would have defiantly marked it. Such a beauty would have been the prize of the royal navy. Maybe it was pure speculation, but...

 He narrowed his keen gray eyes as his observed it before cautiously looking around them to make sure no body was looking. The man dropped to his knees and focused on the map, keeping it firmly upside down.
"Cover me," he gruffly ordered as he began to use his magical eye.
The map was covered in a soft glow. It was old, so the magic was faint, but it was there, drawing elegant lines and curves...
"It's got a signature, all right," he announced.
Chris gave a triumphant grin as he turned to his friend. He firmly placed a hand on Elias' shoulder.
"Quick, where's your room?" he asked, a passion blazing in his eyes.
Suddenly, he realized what that sounded like, and quickly drew back.
"We must record everything. I don't know what that map is, but it's special."

[stelmarisa]

((Whoops, sorry, I misunderstood!))

Elias went to take the map back, a little annoyed that Chris didn't seem to be as awed by the artifact as he was. Maybe he went a little overboard in his reverence for maps and charts, but surely even an eye as unskilled as Chris's could see how unusual and beautiful this was. Reaching out for it, he was stopped by the look in Chris' eyes.

"What?" he asked suspiciously, but followed instructions and kept a look out for intruders. A naturally trusting man, Elias couldn't help but think this was all a bit silly. It was clearly just a map. An unusual one, but...

"What?" He repeated himself at this new announcement. He grinned at Chris's unintentional double-entendre, but knew better than to tease him about it.

"Fine, come on." He stood and quickly gathered his books, leading Chris to his room. It was on the first floor, and little bigger than a closet, but it offered privacy, at least. Shutting the door behind them, he turned to Chris, arms folded.

"What's going on?"

[Winters-Feather]

OOC: Nah, it's alright. that was my error originally, not yours. :P
IC:
Chris gave Elias a stern glare as he grinned at his mistake, but gave a firm nod as Elias instructed him to follow him.
"Right," he agreed, helping the man gather his stuff. Chris was amazed how much he was able to carry all in one go; there were so many books and papers. How'd he get it all out into the garden?
It didn't take long for them to get to humble boarding room. Chris didn't respond to his friend's confusion until he had set everything on the bed.

He unrolled the map and set it on the empty desk.
"I figured it would have some unusual properties if it was unmarked and stashed away in some book store," Chris explained as he tapped his right temple, "It was just a hunch, a mere theory, but I used my magic to examine it."
He punched his friend playfully on the shoulder.
"There was a signature, a sort of emblem," he continued with excitement, "And a route of sorts... written some how in magic! Whoever made this map obviously wanted that route to be a secret. Did that book keeper store owner ever tell you who was the original owner of the map? The writing is faded though, the map's so old... Curses!"

The man swore as he frantically looked around the room.
"Parchment! And ink... We need to chart this secret route and replicate that picture."

[stelmarisa]

Elias frowned suspiciously as Chris talked about his magic, clearly getting excited about whatever he had seen.
"Are you sure?" He eyed him carefully, pulling the map back over to him. "I think it's just a normal map, mate. You're getting drunk off that power of yours."

He was teasing of course, but he couldn't help but be skeptical. At the same time, the idea that the parchment might be a map-within-a-map was too intriguing to ignore.

"No, she didn't know anything about it. Apparently some guy in a veil dropped it off... which she thought was weird, but he didn't hang around to answer questions. What do you think it's a route to?" Elias could feel himself getting excited now.
"Is it another map? Maybe it's to somewhere entirely new! That no one knows about!"

He broke off suddenly and started scrabbling amongst his papers, finally holding one out to Chris. "Here, I've already copied most of the map onto this! Will this help?"

[Winters-Feather]

"Harr harr," Chris dully replied at the jab at his magic, though he couldn't suppress an amused grin. He nodded, encouraged by Elias' information. A man in a veil... No real identity and seemed to be in a bit of a hurry... Well, that did put a damper on things. It would be almost impossible to find him, though Chris doubted that was even necessary. For now, they needed to know what was on the map.
"I don't know," he replied to his friend's eager question as to what the artifact might be telling them.
"Not yet."

The man waited patiently for his friend to look through his papers. He flinched at the thought of the mess they were making. It was hard to think  or focus in such a clutter, but he tried to heed it no mind for now. Chris gave his friend a gracious smile.
"Brilliant. It'll do," he replied as he spread out the map right next to the much older one.
Thankfully, the inn provided a small inkwell and a quill in the corner of the desk, so Chris made himself comfortable in the chair and took a deep breath before using his magic again.

"I suggest you go and get yourself something to drink or clean up this god awful mess,"  Chris suggested, "This is going to take a while..."
Carefully, Chris began to sketch the route provided on the ancient map onto Elias' replica. IT was hard to, for some of the lines and notes were faded, leaving behind faint traces of magic. Chris grunted as he worked, sometimes letting out cries of frustration as he tried to copy some of the complicated notes. Sometimes he paused to just stare closely at the damned thing or turn it at odd angles. It didn't help that the notes weren't written in Common, but an older language that looked like gibberish to him. Maybe Elias knew it, but Chris figured he was just going to have to ask him after.

After what had been close to  forty minutes, Chris finally put down the quill and tilted his head back. The man had broken into a sweat and he was panting.  His magic wasn't supposed to be used for so long of a stretch at one go, and it was making him feel like he had a hang over.
"I'm still not done," he grimly said, "There's still the cursed drawings on the back, but that'll take even longer if   I want to do it properly."
The man groaned as he rose to his feet. He stumbled clumsily for a few steps before regaining his balance.  
"What do you make of the map, Elias?" he asked as he stretched out his arms.

[stelmarisa]

Elias nodded sagely as Chris settled down to start the long process, but didn't actually take his advice. Elias was always happiest surrounded by a mess of papers and books, when he could look something up at a second's notice and immerse himself in the smell of parchments. He settled himself on the bed and within a few minutes was buried deep in his books.

After what seemed to him only a few minutes, he heard Chris put down his pen, and looked up. He had been lost in a book about navigation and still had a head full of stars, constellations, and sun positions when Chris spoke. It took him a minute to remember where he was, and what they were doing.

"Hmm?" He closed the book and stood up lazily, meandering over to the desk. He stared at the map for a minute or two as he felt the excitement bubbling back up inside him.

"Very nice!" he remarked. "But what does it all mean?"

[Winters-Feather]

Chris frowned at his friend's question, a little discouraged.
"I was hoping you would tell me," he replied, looking at his effort.
He had drawn out an incomplete route that seemed to lead to a seemingly unreachable cove. At least, that was what he was starting to deduct, because there were also routes that lead to other places.  There was also all of that accursed writing... Were they directions? Clues? However, it seemed that the map was... incomplete, some how. There really was no clear final destination. Oh, there was a definite path leading towards the cove, but if that was the case, then why where the other routes involved? It was a faint distinction, but some of them felt newer than the others.
Only one thing seemed clear to the pirate at the moment.

"Whoever drew this was searching for something," he said as his eyes laid upon the messy bed.
His brow furrowed in mild disgust.
"But what?" he asked as he shook his head.
I am in need of a drink, he thought, his throat parched.

[stelmarisa]

Intrigued, Elias came closer to the map, holding it close to his face. "These notes... they aren't in Common," he said, stating the obvious. "I know this language - a little -... but this is an odd way of writing it. Almost like shorthand. I don't know how to read it." He frowned for a moment, then his eyes lit up again.

"Yes I do! It's in one of these books..." Hurrying back to the bed he pulled out a very old tome, the cover almost falling off as he carried it over to the desk. Flipping through it he quickly found what he was looking for, a fold-out spread of characters. It looked incomprehensible at first sight, but as Elias pulled forwards a blank piece of parchment and pen he explained: "This is a shorthand cipher... many of the old languages can be encoded fairly easily if you know how to distort the characters... and if you have the right book, you can set it back to rights. It shouldn't be hard. Now shush, let me work."

He fell to ignoring Chris as he worked, looking from map to book as he painstakingly began to translate the first of the notes. It was only ten minutes later that he looked up, excitement bubbling in his eyes.

"It's a riddle! You're right, they were looking for something... but it couldn't have been easy. Look, the first clue is written into the map." He read aloud:

"In Sands as Pale as the Ghost
A Text in Which you are Engrossed
This Tale will teach you of my Prize
Told only to the Wisest Eyes."

He bounced a little in his seat. "Let's go find it!"

[Winters-Feather]

As expected, Elias knew the language. Expecting nothing less of him, Chris solemnly nodded as he watched his companion scurry around the bed room  until he found an old and falling apart book. Curious, Chris stood behind Elias' chair, examining the text over his shoulder.
"A code," he muttered.
That old map was just full of surprises. The pirate smiled knowingly as his friend actually shushed him. Hadn't he had done something similar, just then?
Taking this as an opportunity to get that drink he so direly needed, Chris quietly turned around and left the room without so much of a good bye.

He returned with two giant mugs of beer a few minutes later. Elias was still pondering over the code, so Chris took  care to place his mug on the desk where he wouldn't knock it over. Taking a swing out of his own cup, Chris settled himself on the bed and began to neatly pile the books on the bed  by subject out of habit.
The man almost jumped when his friend addressed him, again.
He listened carefully to the riddle with a frown. A 'prize' was defiantly most intriguing, but whose prize was it? What was this prize? And what tale?

The man placed his mug on the night table before approaching the desk, again.
"I'm not chasing after some unknown prize from a riddle before we set some things straight, first," he gruffly replied as he took the quill and a spare piece of parchment.
He picked up the ancient map and flipped it over. He had been meaning to spend more time coping the strange symbol, but now wasn't the time to do so. Instead, he quickly blocked out the shapes, only taking greater care to accurately copy the initials which seemed to be set in the same characters as the code. Once that was done, Chris' ink-ridden finger  pointed to his copy.

"In the upper corner is a dragon in the sky. There's the sun, see?," he explained as he pointed to each of the figures in his sketch, "On the  bottom seems to be ocean waves and in the lower left corner is some sort of figure coming out of the sea. Right here in the middle is the signature. Do any of your books have information about this?"

[stelmarisa]

Elias' face fell as Chris - sensibly - put a halt to his over-excited eagerness. Fuelled by his discovery of the riddle, he had completely forgotten about the signature that Chris had found on the back. He settled to one side as his friend began to work, sipping at his beer while he studied the cipher in his book.

He leaned over as Chris began to explain the picture, his brow furrowing in concentration. "No..." he eventually said, disappointed.
"I've never seen anything like that before - and I don't know what that figure is meant to represent." He shrugged, chewing on his lip as he gazed at the image.

"Maybe the pictue is explained in this mysterious 'text' from the riddle?"

[Winters-Feather]

Chris was a little disappointed that his friend didn't know what the figure was. He had been hoping he would have had an inkling, but the pirate supposed that it couldn't be helped.
"I see," he muttered, shrugging at Elias' suggestion.
"Depends what the rest of the riddle says," he said tapping the parchment.
The man stared hard at the replica map and pointed at the 'starting' point, where all the lines seemed to branch off at once. Conveniently, it was within the outer walls of the town and on the shores of the beaches.

Chris fell silent for a few moments as he pondered on the map.
"Well, one thing is for  sure," he finally said as he jabbed at it.
"We can start here as soon as possible. Correct?"
He turned to his friend and gave him a smile full of mischief. This was the stuff from the stories told at the orphanage, and they were going to live it!

[stelmarisa]

Elias nodded solemnly, gazing at the lines of the riddle that he had so far transcribed. He would be willing to bet that there would be no further clues in the rest of the writing. It reminded him of a child's 'treasure hunt', where each location would reveal further clues. He could figure out the rest of the map's writing soon though - perhaps there would be more advice within it.

"What's that?" He looked up at Chris as he spoke, frowning as the other man jabbed at the map. His frown quickly changed to a grin though, matching Chris's, as he continued to speak. Elias clapped him on the shoulder, delighted that his friend had caught on to his excitement.

"Yes! Let's go find the book!"

[Winters-Feather]

Chris gave a quick nod.
"Right," he said, "Let's delay no further. Though..."
The man's eyes turned towards the mug of half dranked beer that still stood on the desk. Chris pointed towards the brew with a stern look on his face as he stared coldly at Elias.
"Are you going to finish that?" he asked.
Even if the brew wasn't as fine as it was in some other pubs in the town, a decent brew ought not to be wasted in the priate's practical eye. He had paid a good copper for it!

[stelmarisa]

Elias laughed as his gaze followed Chris'.
"Of course I am!"
He had completely forgotten about his half-drunk beer in his excitement, and he knew his friend would see wasting good alcohol as a mortal insult. Picking the mug up, he drank half of what was left in one smooth motion, sighing with pleasure. He wasn't much of a beer aficionado - he was always perfectly content with the stuff that others might turn their noses up at.

"Whereabouts on the beach do we have to look?" Finishing the drink in a gulp he picked up the map, eyeing it as he placed the now-empty mug back on the desk.

[Winters-Feather]

Chris nodded in satisfiement at the empty beer mug.
The man opened the door of Elias room to allow his friend to pass through, taking care to lock it after him.
"Mind yourself and grab the map," he promptly ordered, his rank taking the better of him.
The man jilted his head out towards the north eastern direction.
"There's a little cave by the rocks of the shore that is only approachable during the low tide," he explained.

He hadn't had to look at the map long enough to realize where that was. As a child, he was scowled many a time for trying to explore the area. He had succedded once, but then got stuck until the next low tide. If he was correct, the high tide would be approaching in another hour or so; they had to hurry.