And so it seemed that the distant Captain that wanted none of the attention of the party garnered plenty of it. And each and every pair of eyes that watched her would find her staring back. Her eyes, impossibly dark, seemed to have something stirring within them, despite not moving a bit. At Lavana, she even tipped her hat following the gaze. But only one person in the entire party seemed to get anything worthwhile out of the woman.
She leapt effortlessly from the gangplank, and any nearby might notice that she did so without even a hint of sound, and strode right up to the woman who'd earned her efforts. Kura. Captain Lioveh approached her openly, without hostility, making no attempt to conceal her approach. Upon arriving, her face was devoid of emotion, flat. But as she began to speak, Kura, with all of her social dealings, would be able to see something else on her visage. Worry.
"Please remove your bird from my ship. I believe an agreement was made that none were to board my ship unattended. Is the council reneging on our agreement?"
Her accent was thick, but her tone was clearly annoyed. But still, worry. Worry abound. She had a proud, prominent nose, deep, furrowed brows, and thick lips that were pulled into a stressed line. She made no threat on Speck's life, and yet it seemed to hang there, unspoken.
"I have brought respect to your harbor. I demand the same."
And while several at the party, or least many of those who seemed insistent on staring at the captain, kept right on with their nosiness, many turned back to the festivities. After all, there was nothing exciting about politics or business or whatever it was going on between a captain and a council woman. There was some minor hubbub over the wooden goods crafted by Vega. The terms 'raw talent' and 'boldness' were tossed about between a couple merchants who were there also trying to sell their goods.
Tek Dela Norsariqin was not so open with his opinion. He stared at the goods she'd presented to him. Then he'd selected exactly one, a small container, rough hewn outside, smooth as silk inside. The merchants hadn't mentioned a word over this particular item. He ran his fingers over every crevice. Then uttered one word,
"Lovely." He pulled out a sack of coins, more than any reasonable person might expect for such a thing, and paid Vega.
Later though, the man that Vega accused of lying became sheepish.
"Th-that's just what they told me. I joined up in Almund with those other guys." He excused himself from the presence of the only slightly intimidating redhead. And the party continued onward.
Until a woman's scream from across the way rang out, loud and blood curdling. People looked but only those closest to the shadowed alley saw anything. They were quick to point out that the Lotharro man had followed one of the town's young women into the darkness. But beyond that no one knew, and many were looking around for someone other than themselves to go investigate it. To those in the know, that particular alley was a dead end between a warehouse and some apartments. The problem though, was that it had a plethora of doors, eight in all.
Those that looked into the disturbance would find the alley empty. Of the eight doors, six were on the right with the apartments, three of which were left unlocked, with a fourth slightly opened. One the left, both doors were locked, but one had light shining out from underneath it, flickering shadows out, showing movement within.
The onlookers pushed and shoved to get a better view of the alley. Merchants and cooks that had benefitted from the event decided that now was the time to pack up. No more would get sold after such an occurrence. Wagons and carts began to depart down various streets, a few of the crew of the ship's women hiked the gangplank back onto the ship. And it seemed that the party was coming to a decisive end.
And yet...
A few people began to notice their friends were missing. Many of them shrugged it off, chalking it up to them leaving early or having found a lover for the night. It was odd, but not completely unheard of for them. Nothing to worry about. Some of them even hoped that the missing friends were getting lucky. Everyone could use a warm body on a cold night such as this.
Especially Lavana and Max.
For even prior to the scream, the two could feel a certain lethargy working over them. Easily mistaken for the alcohol kicking in. Neither of them were strangers to drinking after all. But it never shook. And as the woman screamed, it intensified to the point that even moving began to feel as if moving through thick and heavy snow. And speech was impossible through a tongue that seemed to weigh a hundred pounds. And as the crowd frothed at the forefront of the investigation, the last thing either of them noticed was a hand on the smalls of their backs before darkness took them.
Max awoke first, likely thanks to the Silviria. She couldn't see anything. There was a tight cloth around her eyes. Her wrists were bound behind her back painfully, her ankles as well. She was wrapped up in what felt like a burlap sack. She could hear voices, male voices,
"...he did his job perfectly."
"Aye. I can't wait to get one wit' it."
Max would feel herself slung about, slamming hard into something. It felt like wood. Very solid wood.
Lavana was not faring any better, for she was in the exact same situation. Same problems, different bag. And it seemed a sack of something heavy had just been tossed atop her, stirring her awake. Both women's tongues were beginning to regain motion. But that wasn't the only movement. They both could feel themselves being moved, a rocking motion. Slow, but steady.
! | Message from: Aegis |
Congratulations! You've all earned bonus questions based on choices made in the last round. Once again, answers will either be truthful or withheld for sake of plate. However, there's one big caveat in this round. Your questions shall be answered in private. I can't stop you from sharing, but in the spirit of fun, I do ask that you keep them to yourself. And please, if able, try to use your answers in your next post.
Kura - Unlocked 3 Questions
Vega - Unlocked 2 Questions
Max - Unlocked 2 Questions
Sephira - Unlocked 1 Question
Lavana - Unlocked 1 Question.
I will post again on Saturday, Feb 17. If everyone posts before then, I may reply earlier. |