Residue of Sorrow

Arren lets out a small sigh at Miyako's flash of irritation, not happy that he has missed the hint, and resigned to the fact that this "vacation" is shaping up to feel remarkably similar to everyday work.

He looks at Bryn as he explains the mechanics of building a believable cover story and smiles faintly. "I'll bow to your knowledge of the matter, of course." Inwardly, he tells himself that he's entering an area where he lacks the needed expertise, and that he's going to have to do his best to keep up with these two.

Since he doesn't have any other questions for the Commandant-on-leave, he replies with a "No", and simply listens as they finish their conversation. Once she leaves, he turns to Bryn.

"Since we won't be able to carry as much as we could with the carriage, we should make sure we don't leave behind anything that might come in handy." He shrugs lightly. "I know we're not exactly heading into the desert, and we can always buy things in Pohja if we need to. But if we can avoid spending the coin, all the better."

(OOC: This is just to say that I've updated Arren's inventory to reflect what he’s carrying and what he's leaving at home, in case you want to check, @Volcano.)

Miyako had already risen from her stool, ready to walk away, but paused for a rather long moment before replying to Bryn's question. "I'm no longer a commanding officer, and you proposed I pose as your assistant. Think of something appropriate." She turns around, but pauses for a moment again. "But I am not old enough to be called 'Ma'am'." And finally, she leaves.

((You have the rest of the day to prepare or do anything else you can think of, but I'll push ahead a little.))

The following night is clear, but cold. Arren thinks it could snow if it happens to rain. Wouldn't be strange for the season either. For Bryn, who's used to Levicka's slightly warmer climate, it feels colder than he's used to at this time of the year. They do get snow in Levicka, but never so early into winter (OOC: It is sometime around what would be late November). But with the clear sky, there's no rain to freeze. Instead, a moderate wind blows outside, and anyone in some kind of shelter can be thankful for the walls that surround them. It would be quite unpleasant to sleep outside, but thankfully, there are no homeless people in Pyorre.

It is the kind of night where staying in your warm bed, under a thick and cosy blanket, is any man's dream. And yet, some unfortunate souls find themselves outside, wondering what other choices they could have made to change the course their life took just enough that, on this night, they'd sleep in a warm bed. Some of these are soldiers who drew the short end of the stick and got the night shift to patrol empty streets. Others are sailors preparing their ship for its final journey before winter. The work keeps them warm, but it is a rather cold comfort.

Some time before dawn, next to the ship but out of the porters' way, stand three figures who, whether expressing it in words or keeping the thoughts to themselves, wonder if the journey couldn't have begun a couple of hours later, when the sun would share some of its warmth with the land. The shortest of the three, a woman in a thick wool coat, was wondering to herself whether the choice to avoid the warmer fur coat was justified after all. Having already discussed their cover story idea ((fill in any additional details if you'd like)), they're mostly left with waiting to be called on board. 

"That damned D-Drow must be freezing in that f-fancy boat he got on," Miyako states after a few moments of silence. "If only he d-didn't like winter so much, I'd feel sorry for him. Six days or so, the captain said, until we reach our destination. Much shorter than his journey."

Once the loading of the ship is complete, the three are called to board. It is primarily a boat made for transporting goods, but every ship needs a crew, and with sufficient pay, Miyako secured three cots for Arren, Bryn and herself. There is only one room for them and all twelve sailors, however, and very little privacy on the ship. Since they're not trusted to perform well, nobody asks Bryn or Arren for any help. Formally, they're supposed to help defend the ship in case of an attack, but they notice there are no cannons, the sailors don't carry weapons with them, and in general, the threat isn't taken seriously, if at all. Either pirates are uncommon, or they migrated to warmer seas for the winter.

Food is served every morning, noon and evening. The meals consist of nutritious and preservable food, with taste clearly receiving little to no thought at all. Water and small rations of rum are served with each meal. The sailors seem to favour the alcohol, though it is not enough to interrupt their work. Miyako avoids the rum altogether, to the sailors' great disappointment. It seems they had some hopes from her, being the only woman on the ship, but they quickly learned to expect nothing.

With nothing to do during this time, Miyako spends most of the days above deck, looking into the sea. At first, the ship sails downriver, but once it reaches the open sea, it travels somewhat parallel to the coast. There's a significant distance to the shore, but land can be seen on occasion, just at the horizon. Miyako, however, looks to the other side. Besides that, even on vacation, it seems some of her usual habits didn't go away. Even with very little to do, she eats little - although more than she used to - and sleeps less than most other Humans on deck. Bryn, in his trance, would notice that she wakes up when sunlight enters the room, which might be later than dawn since the cots are inside the ship and there are no windows.  This causes her to rise later, but she goes to sleep later too, pacing on the top deck during the night, unable to sleep.

The sea isn't always calm, but thankfully, the ship is never caught in a serious storm. There's rain sometimes, and big waves on occasion, but the crew manages to handle the ship expertly.

Please describe, in detail or as briefly as you like, your activities on the ship. You may interact with anything/anyone you want, but we'll reach Pohja once you're ready to move on. Also, please make a Constitution saving throw. For a result below 10, you are seasick for 10-X days, where X is the result of your check (it won't have much of an effect, probably, but just for fun).

The night before departing, Arren is in his room preparing his backpack. As he won't be able to carry as many things as when they had the horses and carriage, he carefully checks what he is going to take with him and what he is going to leave behind. As such, he won't be bringing larger items such as his bow and arrows, but also some smaller ones, like his military promotion papers. He doesn't want to be identified as a Katton soldier in Pohja.

Arren does unroll the papers, though, just to look at them and reminisce for a while about all the years it took him to reach the position he now holds.

As he does, a folded paper that he barely remembered having slips onto his lap. When he opens it and sees what it is, he decides it is probably best if Samira keeps it. So he goes to find her, probably in the kitchen, perhaps enjoying a warm drink late at night.

"I found this," he says. "I must have mixed it in with my papers at some point."

He unfolds it, taking one last look before handing it to her. It is a carefully drawn picture of a three or four-year-old Arren standing in front of what he assumes was their home when they still lived in Etanna. The wandering artist who drew it must have been quite skilled, as both the building and the child are rendered in rich detail.

Arren, whose doesn't usually speak with his mother on their life before coming to Pyorre, smiles faintly this time.

"I don't remember much from that time. But I do remember liking the house. The tiles, in particular. The geometric patterns, the colors. They were beautiful." A pause. A pause. It seems he is about to add something else, but then he changes his mind and finishes, "You keep it, yes? I have to travel light, anyway."

In the docks the next morning, the Half-Elf tries his best to ignore the cold. But this only lasts for a while, after which he begins pacing, and even jumping a little or rubbing his hands to get his body temperature up. At times, he just stands watching the boat with interest. This is his first time traveling by boat, and though he imagines it will end up being a boring journey, he is also a bit excited about it. If he can, he wants to learn a bit about how ships are manned. Probably not by participating directly, but at least by observing how the crew works.

At one point, perhaps to forget about the cold or simply because he is trying to make this journey feel different from their usual work days, he hums quietly:

"Merry of soul, they sailed on a day over the sea to ... Pohja..."

He stops there as he realizes the last word that he changed from the original tune does not rhyme at all.

Later, to Miyako's remark, he comments, "That damned Drow must be all too happy that he doesn't have to get up this early never again to care about the cold." He smiles a little, wondering how Walnuts must faring right now.

Arren's idea of learning how a ship functions does not survive very long. The first few minutes aboard are spent looking around with genuine curiosity. He watches the sailors work, and studies the ropes and rigging, trying to figure out their use. But soon after the ship leaves the river and makes it to the sea, the deck seems to shift beneath his feet in a way that feels ... unnatural.

He stops. Waits. Decides he is fine. Takes three more steps, and discovers that he is, in fact, not fine.

The next four days (OOC: rolled a 1+5 = 6) prove that, while Arren may be able to stand his ground against cave bears, young women transformed into killing machines and crazed Bogie Elves, his body draws a firm line at boats sailing the seas. He would laugh at the irony that this might make sense given his desertic origins, were it not for the fact that he is constantly tossing and turning in his bedroll, wishing for the nightmare to be over.

Once the worst of the seasickness passes, he's glad to join the others to finally eat a bit. And though he's tempted to try the rum, the fresh reminder of how his stomach felt the last days makes him reconsider. 

Other than that, he spends the rest of the days in quiet tranquility, rechecking their cover story with Bryn, observing the crew at work, occasionally strolling across the deck, and even trying to find a spot where he can stretch and exercise if possible. If he happens to notice one of those nights when Miyako seems unable to sleep, he will quietly ask, "Can't sleep?" if only to break the silence.

If he fully regains his appetite before reaching Pohja, he will attempt to improve the food somewhat, as he brought along the seasonings he bought in Ersta. He first tries them on his own food, and if he deems it an improvement, he will offer to do the same for his companions—and even for any of the crew sitting nearby.

(ooc: we did say DC 10 to improve the food's flavor, right? Without modifiers, since Arren doesn't have proficiency with Cook's Utensils. I have failed the roll - 9 - but it would succeed if Tactical Mind is allowed)