Thread: Another Life (Cheshire Smirk & darkangel76)

There should be some rendered soft-tallow in your quarters. Work a small amount if it into the leather of the spear's haft and the shield strap. You'll also find a rack in the quarters for the weapons. Feel free to linger in my quarters until you wish to sleep. It sounded as if they had moved below deck just in time. The deck above was being pounded ruthlessly by driving rain and heavy gusts of wind were battering and buffeting the ship, making what had previously been something of a quiet voyage much more turbulent. Sudden storms were the norm for the unpredictable northern sea and the sudden change in weather did not disconcert Vallios in the least. In his years of sea-travel he'd seen this vessel weather storms that would shatter other ships and terrify even the hardiest of seafarers. How would Amarylis react to the sudden change though? Would she find the now violent heaving and bobbing of stormy seas nauseating like most first-time voyagers did? Vallios hoped not, he really did not feel like having to deal with cleaning up vomit for several hours. The first room belonged to Arzale and was sparsely furnished, nothing more than a bed set with heavy fur blankets, a rack for his weapons and that was really about it. Arzale racked his bladed gauntlets, removed his armor then settled down on his bed. Beneath the armor he wore a simple leather tunic and hide leggings, both with fur backings. After a moment or two he leaned over and began searching around beneath the bed, resurfacing only when he'd retrieved a mandolin. The fruits of a past raid, Arzale had been intrigued by the instrument when he found it and spent many of his nights on ship learning to play the instrument. After all, there wasn't much to do on ship and a warrior couldn't spend every waking moment practicing the forms! Fingers worked the strings with practiced ease and surprising skill, a soft lilting tune filling the joined chambers. Stringed instruments were rare and highly prized among the Sunderfangs, music was one of the few soft things the tribe held any form of appreciation for. It was something that the elderly, the young, even the maimed could lend aid to and something that kept the mind off any troubles that could not be dealt with. Hopefully Amarylis knew how to properly treat leather. However it would not be hard to teach her if she did not, and such a lesson was quite important. If Arzale had access to a grinding stone he'd be sharpening his gauntlets, but such things were on the other ships. Eleven more nights they would spend at sea before finally docking at Vaern, the massive Sunderfang keep built centuries ago. Vaern dominated the Shardscatter Gulf, holding dominion over the only usable port on the northern continent. Thirty years had been spent crafting the looming structure, and it had stood for over three hundred years as the Sunderfang seat of power and dominion. The keep housed the majority of the Sunderfang tribe, held their forges and mess halls, their larders and personal chambers. Vaern's sprawling expanse was truly a sight to behold, and few Southern-bloods knew that such a structure existed. Most simply assumed the Sunderfangs were a roaming tribe of savages that somehow managed to slap warships together willy-nilly.