Seven Seas [ZX-MetalMonster and nikaanuk]

[ZX-MetalMonster]

Elijah knew so little about ships that he simply accepted what the other man told him and interpreted it as something impressive only because of his tone of voice. The mention of speed made the mage think of something different though and he began to wonder how comfortable he could possibly be on a ship.

 

-"Different things. I use to control water very well but I haven't tried that in years." He explained and continued reluctantly. "I think I'll need some practice before I can do anything serious."

[nikaanuk]

Tori watched the dark figure for a moment. "Is it all? I.... don't mean to offence you but they say that you can kill people with a spell and control the winds and shield the ship.... is it all true?" He asked, a hint of the boyish wonder in his voice again.

[ZX-MetalMonster]

Elijah frowned and gave the other man a glare that could easily go unnoticed. He'd always thought his powers were impressive so it annoyed him that he was being asked for more.

 

-"I can cast spels that can hurt someone badly enough to kill them and I'm sure it's possible for me to control the wind but I would need time to learn." He explained. "I just can't do much with fire."

[nikaanuk]

"That's good, we are very carefull with fire" Tori said and turned towards the end of docks. "Let's go" he said and started to walk, swinging a little but except that going very confidently.

 

He was used to the fact that his ground was moving so now it was almost easier to walk than it was before. Also the fact that after all he managed to find a mage made him feel much better. Now he was almost humming under his breath and when they retrned on the street, he adjused the coat and looked at the mage from time to time, making sure he is still there.

[ZX-MetalMonster]

Elijah was still uncertain if he should help the other man, he human seemed to had gotten a hang of staying on his feet despite swaying a bit but still didn't look too stable. After a few minutes of his though, Elijah wasn't as concerned and looked around as they headed towards the ship. He was still afraid he would run into the men who, he was sure, were still looking for him.

 

When he noticed the other man glancing back at him he returned the gaze and studied him more careful. He considered it interesting, or rather foolish that he hadn't been asked to do something to prove that he was a mage. Though he was rusty and obviously not what the other expected, he wasn't trying to trick him but someone could had.

[nikaanuk]

They stopped at the dark shape moving slowly at one of the quays. "This is her" Tori said quietly. "You'll see her better when the sun rises" he added and walked towards the rope ladder still hanging from the board. "Come on then" he started to climb. In few hearbeats he was up.

[ZX-MetalMonster]

Elijah observed the ship even though it was nothing but a large shadow in the dark and by the time he looked back at the other man he was almost done climbing. The mage couldn't climb as quickly and was a bit reluctant a she did so, he was beginning to have doubts about living on a ship even though he didn't have much of a choice. Water was the element he was most familiar with but constantly being surrounded by it and in danger of drowning if certain events occurred scared him.

 

By the time he finished climbing he was apparently a bit spooked by the things he'd just thought about and he looked at the other man silently almost as though waiting for him to say something to assure him he wouldn't die the way he just imagined.

[nikaanuk]

"I don't have place for you yet" Tori realised suddenly. "But for now you can stay in my cabin." He walked to the stern and downstairs under the deck to his cabin. He didn't have much light there, but he quickly found his way around and lighted a small lantern. It made the room a bit brighter.

 

"You can use the bed, if you like" he said. "I don't mind." He nodded towards the smaller bench where he sometimes to slept as a cabin boy. "I'll be fine there" he added.

 

Feeling a little nervous, he looked at the man. "What is your name exactly?"

[ZX-MetalMonster]

Elijah followed close behind his new captain and was a bit worried he would easily get lost on the ship because he knew nothing about it's construction. It also made him feel uneasy to know he would be sharing his living space with the other man, even if just for a while.

 

-"Elijah, though I prefer you call me Eliot." He explained shortly hoping the other would take the advice and not use the more old fashioned for of his name. He studied the room, or at least what he could see of it in the dim light and slowly walked to the bed to sit down.

 

-"Do you have any food?" The mage asked quietly, almost embarrassed to ask for anything but was too hungry to be prideful. He was actually looking forward to freely using his magic here and wanted to try what the other man had mentioned before however there was little he could do when being out on the streets left him exhausted.

[nikaanuk]

"Of course!" He jumped to the table. There was plate left there, with some meat, onions and even a piece of bread.

He handed it to the man and turned back to the table to pour some wine into the cup. "I will show you the ship and the crew tomorrow." He added and gave it to Eliot as well. "They will be trying to prove you so better prepare for this. I mean... They never saw a mage before probably and you are a stranger." He shrugged.

 

He took off the coat and sat down to take off shoes, it wasn't easy and he finally gave up.

[ZX-MetalMonster]

Elijah brightened up as soon as he was given the food and he would had surely hugged the other man if he didn't get busy eating right away. He was a bit unsure about the wine and wondered if he was expected to always be in a semi drunk state on the ship but took the glass without question and drank gladly too.

 

-"I'll try to be impressive but I hope they don't have such big expectation as you." The mage commented and considered staying up just so he could see how many of his old 'tricks' he could pull off after so many years. Still he felt tired and though he would have at least a bit of time in the morning before he was presented to these men.

[nikaanuk]

Tori laughed and got up, still in his shoes and walked to the table to pour next cup of wine and drank it. "I don't know what they expect. We will see in the morning. You better go to sleep soon. We will leave tomorrow."

He took the coat, went to the small bench under the window, lied down and covered his shoulders. In a heartbeat he was asleep, snorring lightly.

[ZX-MetalMonster]

It made Elijah a bit nervous to find out they would leave so soon but he convinced himself it was only because he disliked so many changes. He got up and returned the plate and glass on the table, after which he walked closer to the other man who was now sleeping and observed him curiously. Now that the room fell quiet he felt awkward but could at least think about things more clearly and making sense of everything helped him to assure himself things would turn out right. After a few minutes he returned to the bed and lied down but it was a while before he fell asleep.

[nikaanuk]

Luka came to the captain's cabin at the sunrise. He did frown seeing a stranger in his bed but he was very well aware that late Captain Colter liked sometimes to use the young cabin boy when the sailing took too long and he was in a need of a woman. Maybe the young man liked to have someone in his bed, it was not Luka's thing to ask.

He came to the captain and shook his shoulder, the young man smelled with rum but that was not new for boatswain either.

Captain jerked away once touched. He frowned seeing Luka.

 

"What's going on?" he asked trying to sit up. Luka walked to the table to pour him a cup of wine and handed it to him.

 

"The men are waiting for the orders. Are we set sail today?"

 

Captain drank his wine and it cleared his mind a little. He ran his hand over his face. "Yes. We are. And you can tell them that I have the mage as I promised."

 

Luka looked at the man sleeping in the bed but did not ask the question. Maybe, if he had found the mage he can be a good captain afer all. With only a nod the boatswain left.

[ZX-MetalMonster]

Sunrise use to be too early for Elijah even when he'd had his own home, so it was nearly impossible for him to get up at that time now after wandering through the city for days. The other men in the room didn't bother him one bit either and he didn't even shift or make a sound while they spoke. Now that he was finally on a bed again and not somewhere on the grass things around him didn't bother him as much.

 

The mage still looked dishelved with both his clothing and his dark hair still in a mess, making himself look presentable wasn't something he'd even thought of the previous night. He also hadn't bothered to take anything off so now he was very warm under multiple layers of clothing and that only made it more unlikely that he would wake up on his own.

[nikaanuk]

Tori got up to see if there's some food left but it looked like the man was really hungry yesterday. The captain murmured to himself unhappy and drank more wine instead.

He ran his hand through his hair and went out on the deck, to see his men already in motion. He walked to the bridge the fresh air waking him up.

They eyed him curiously, warily, he didn't blame them. Knowing now how hard it was to find a mage he was surprised he managed. And he wasn't even sure if he is the real one... Well, if not they will both die, everyone dies in the end.

He looked at Luka coming to him.

 

"How are we?"

 

"Fine. Where are we going?"

 

Tori considered it for a moment. They needed to find gold and let the people have some fun, use some life, be happy that they have the mage now.

 

"Let's sail East. I feel we should slaughter one of their cows and then stop at Five Fingers to have some fun."

 

On the East was the Kingdom of Dume they were all merchants and their great galleons were always fat with gold and goods.

 

Luka nodded with understanding and turned to the people to bark orders. Tori looked at the sail and smiled to himself. Even if he dies, he dies happily.

[ZX-MetalMonster]

Some time later when Elijah did wake up he looked around right away searching for someone familiar but found himself alone in the room. Despite knowing he would get use to this place soon for now he felt directionless and uneasy without another person to explain what he was suppose to do. He sat at the edge of the bed for a long moment before getting up with a sigh and taking a few steps around while trying to recall all the spells he'd learned long ago. When he was younger he'd been proud of his ability but after hiding it for so long and also hearing what people expected of him he was unsure of himself. To an extent he knew he wasn't nearly the best mage the other man could have found and regretted loosing so much time and not becoming what he'd hoped for, still thinking of this did him no good.

 

With another sigh he turned to the door and headed outside but faltered once he was actually there. He stood in place, analyzing his surroundings now that he could see the ship clearly in daylight and after a minute continued walking just to get a better view of a few things.

[nikaanuk]

The ship was sailing now in full sun, the people bustled with the work, two sails were blown by wind and the ship was moving fast, rolling against the waves.

Luka noticed the mage as soon as he stepped out of the cabin. He gave him few minutes to look around and just before one of the unshaved, shaggy men could come to him, he walked towards him, watching him carefully.

 

"Morning" he said slowly. "My name is Luka, I am boatswain on the Golden Maiden."

[ZX-MetalMonster]

Elijah wasn't very happy that someone approached him right away and didn't bother to hide his frown from the stranger. He wished he could walk around and see what he wanted to without anyone even noticing him, as if he were invisible.

-"I don't know what that means." He said honestly and didn't seem very embarrassed by his ignorance. "Nice to meet you any way." The mage added but didn't sound very friendly as he was still suspicious of very much everyone.

-"Where is your captain?" He asked as he searched for the man with his gaze and had some trouble finding him in the new environment.

[nikaanuk]

"That means if captain gives an order I make sure that this bunch of dogs will do this. I am here to keep the order" Luka explained and the nodded towards the bridge behind mage's back. "Where he's supposed to be. You can join him. I suppose." He shrugged and turned to the men to make sure that they are doing what they are supposed to do.

He didn't need to be liked, it wasn't his job here.

[ZX-MetalMonster]

Elijah nodded slightly and walked away to look for the only person he planed to be pleasant to. Though he'd been unfriendly with Luka he actually didn't think anything bad about him but was just being very cautious. He was so nervous to be noticed in a crowd again that he was sure they would have to fish someone out of the water if they came to close to him.

 

He seemed confused and a bit lost as he moved around the ship, watching everything and everyone carefully but at least his eyes weren't set in the vicious glare he'd used to ward off strangers back in the city.

[nikaanuk]

Tori looked around and notices Luka. When the man caught his eyes, he pointed towards the mage walking around the ship. The captain nodded and smiled to himself. He left him for some time so he could look around but then joined him, in trousers and once white shirt only, looking very much like everyone here, just a lot younger.

 

"How do you like her? Isn't she beautiful?"

[ZX-MetalMonster]

Elijah didn't notice the captain until he spoke up and jumped a bit before relaxing and turning to him with a very faint smile.

-"She's big, that's what I've noticed the most." He commented and wondered how much the other man liked her and what the mage was allowed to say without upsetting anyone.

-"It feels strange even to stand in place though." He added with a note of annoyance evident in his voice. He was referring to how it felt like everything was moving at every moment.

[nikaanuk]

Tori laughed and nodded. "I know, but you'll get used to it. For us it is strange when the ground under your feel don't move. It's like you're trapped. Here you are always in a move, they can never catch you."

He moved closer to the mage.

"I hope you can really do magic because I promised my men a dangerous raid" he added more quiet so only the mage could hear him.

He was aware of people watching them but he knew very well that Luka won't let them do anything, no one could control them as good as Luka did.

[ZX-MetalMonster]

Elijah wasn't sure if he preferred to get use to being on the ship and was ready to forget the feeling of stable ground under him. He understood he would spend most of his time here now but doubted he would be too happy about that after some time.

 

When the other man explained what he was planing to do it made the mage almost furious. "Didn't I tell you I need practice first!?" He tried to yell without being overheard and drawing attention to them.

-"I've never fought a damn ship, I've obviously never even been on one." He tried to explain and make it clear to the captain what was upsetting him so much.