35th of Ashan 720
Kisaik arrived sometime after deciding that things in Desnind were just beginning to settle down. His essence traveled the vast, Idalos spanning network of plants. Through some strange passage, and a twist of direction, Kisaik knew where he was going next. It was somewhere in Melrath, a place he'd been before and remembered with fondness. Yet, instead of ending up in the less vegetated city of Raellia, he was pulled off far shy of that beautiful city. Instead, he found himself near the shores of a lake, spinning out of the bark of a nearby birch tree.
He shook his head, trying to regain his balance. With a swift glance around, and feeling a slight chill in the air, Kisaik pulled his Cavani cloak around his shoulders, to ward off the wind. His fine clothes, while warm enough, were letting in too much cold air for his liking.
It was dark outside, and windy as was mentioned. The deep sunless season of Cylus seemed not too distant a memory, in this setting. If he was being honest with himself, and often it was his custom, he was a bit frightened to be so along in this large land. Yet, as ever when he felt afraid and hopeless, he kissed his orange fairy ring, for the courage it imparted.
He saw a sea to the south, an inland sea! With sandy shores at the edges of the tremendous watery body. He approached it with interest, wanting to test the water, to see how cold it might be. He dipped his little arm in, and was shocked to find it nearly freezing. "Ow, unacceptable!"
Having determined that he would not be able to swim this sea, he set about forming a plan, for how to get to the other side. He could see well enough the lamp lights and a strange structure there. He wished to explore!
Thus, as ever, he entered the wood north of the sea. For a tunawa, almost everything one could need could be found in a wood. There could be found materials for crafting, animals for friending, bugs and berries for eating, and many other purposes besides. Why, Kisaik didn't get five meters into the woodland, when he chanced to spy a hare on its hind legs, staring at him.
It was nearlyl two feet tall, and Kisaik almost dared to think that it might be Rabu! But it was not, as he saw as he got closer. It was an ordinary hare, sniffing its nose at him. Kisaik channeled his deep kinship with animals, using clarion call to make himself understood to this animal.
"Hullo, handsome beast! Why, I almost mistook you for my precious Rabu. You'd like him, he enjoys the company of rabbits..."
The hare turned its head on its neck, and gave him a strange look, while Kisaik continued to talk to it, "Say, you haven't left any droppings around, have you? I could use some to make some pine tar adhesive!"
The hare chirped, and at that moment, Kisaik saw a few hare droppings rolling down the incline toward him. He swiftly picked them up, shoving them into his domain bag when he had them in hand. Unfortunately, this spooked the hare, and it darted off, leaving Kisaik alone again. But his purpose was satisfied, and he had what he needed to make what he would.
Kisaik put on his captain's cap, and from the cap pulled a kit of above average quality shipwright's tools. They were sized to Kisaik, of course. He wouldn't be building man-sized galleons anytime soon! But it was good enough for a raft .
So, the next task was to gather twigs, leaves, and some bark. He knocked on each sapling he took budding leaves from, and scraped some bark off the fallen branches of a nearby birch. Twig after twig, bark layered upon bark and leaves sandwiched between them all. Ataja did the lion's share of the carrying of these materials, using her viny appendages to do so.
Kisaik tipped his captain's hat to her, and winked, "Capital work there, Ataja. Keep it up!" He smiled , tossing another few materials her way, which she grabbed out of the air without complaint.
After about half a break of gathering, he felt he had all he needed to make a raft, and a leafy oar to push it along. All he needed now, was to use his chemistry and alchemy knowledge to perform a bit of hedge wizardry.
He had his own alchemy kit which he kept in his domain bag, and so didn't need to switch from his captain's hat. In the mortar and pestle, he ground up the hare droppings with some pin pitch that he'd gathered from various trees. A small amount of either. Once they were ground into powder, he added some water from the lake. Little by little, with a bit of elbow grease he was able to mash it all together. He needed to create friction to heat them , so they'd bond and form an adhesive with which to line the various components of the raft.
Another break, and the glue was prepared. By now the sun was coming up to bless his efforts. He smiled at those bright and warm beams, allowing them to gladden his heart. He was already feeling far less alone and frightened than he had in the breaks before, which he'd spent in twilight.
First, he laid down the strip of bark that he'd selected for the bottom hull of the raft. Then he placed twigs, all of them, sidewise in order to flatten the curled birch bark. Once this was done, he began applying the adhesive to those twigs. In order to roll the twigs and making sure they were holding fast against the bark, he used leaves to cover them, and protect his own limbs from getting glued down. Once that layer was done, he repeated the process with another sheet of birch bark.
Another break, the sun was growing higher and less orange by the minute. He'd have to work fast if he wanted his glue to adhere . But now he had the two sides of the raft constructed. Emptying the rest of the glue onto the leafy layer that would make up the middle of the raft, he slid the halves together, one over the other, forming what humans might call a sandwich.
Besides the raft being done, he had a suitable branch with evergreen leaves at the end of it, which he would use as an oar of sorts, to sweep himself along.
He sat on the banks of the sea, and looked out across the way. The lights were of course not as visible as they had been, but he saw the smoke plumes that indicated there were human dwellings there. He held his hands over his green, gleaming eyes, looking off into that distance. He wanted to go there, not just out of curiosity, but out of concern. This was the very place he'd met Ashan, and he wanted to be sure that the other friends he'd made in Svariella village were safe and sound. Of course, he didn't believe he'd meet Ashan there again, but it'd be a fine thing if he did!
Kisaik breathed in and out, letting the smokey air fill his sap with the warmth that those hearths promised. Then, he stood up, and went to check on his work. Thankfully, it seemed to be holding together quite nicely. It's coverings didn't budge no matter how much he tried to peel them off. That was a good sign!
So, without much more waiting, he began pulling the raft along toward the banks of the Svariella Seas. He moved around the raft, and began pushing once he got to the water. And with a final heave, the raft was off into the current. Kisaik did a running leap onto the raft, oar in hand, and began pedaling the water with gusto.
The waves did much of the moving for him, however, and he found the current was taking him along. It was almost heedless of his attempts to steer with the oar. The waters caused his raft to drift, further along, and away from those human settlements in Svariella.
He was facing in the opposite direction he was going, and no matter how hard he tried to beat the water with his makeshift oar, he could not change directions. So, exasperated, Kisaik sat down on the raft, and just allowed it to take him where it would. He lapped at the waters with his oar, not making a serious effort. He was able to at least keep it facing straight so he didn't find himself drifting in the opposite direction he was looking.
Yet, his trip via the sea wasn't going long, before he bumped into... something. He hopped to his feet when he heard it, and then crept over toward the edge of the raft, wondering what he'd see...
Continued Here...
