Suan 14, Arc 716th
Stepping off from the wooden planks of the creaking ship, sight, sound and smell bombarded the young man who greeted the city with a smile. The black cobblestone of the port singed his toes while overhead, like white paint on a blue canvas, gulls sung coarsely and impatiently for the fishing boats to return. Down the streets the smell of baking bread and exotic spices battled with the salt and fish of the sea, creating a rich cascade of colourful fragrances that tumbled around him, tempting him further inward.
The man took a deep inhale and shut his eyes, taking it all in. Then, suddenly animated, he whipped around, held his hand above his head as a call for attention, and boomed in the direction of the sailors on 'his' ship.
"Gentlemen, this is where I leave you. It has been a true privilege sailing with you these past weeks; I'm sure you've felt likewise..."
He looked closer to see the faces of the shipmen. All were haggard and tired faces that listened to the over-enthusiastic nitwit with great effort and little interest. After a brief but damning pause with no reply, the boy continued with the same amount of vigour as before.
"...Regardless, comrades, it was always going to be this way. I'll be sure to call on you again if I should desire the same top-notch three week voyage of stale biscuits and whatever the hell a starboard is. And if you never hear from me again, just remember: I probably died happy."
And with that, the traveller turned on his heels and strode away. And a moment later, the ship crew were back to busy work on their vessel, one or two of them muttering things like: "What was his name again?" and "There goes another bloody musician."
Keseik was enthralled, as he always is with new places, and it took him a while of aimless wandering through the proud buildings and among the frantic people before he reached for his map. Beside him stood his beloved horse, Saxon who for a horse he was fairly small and rather odd looking. He had dun colourings with a golden-brown body and an auburn mane, legs and muzzle, but his pelt from head to toe was ragged and matted like an old carpet. But Kes loved him, and he loved Kes, and they had been together from the beginning of their journey.
Kes brushed back his own tangled mop of dark hair and looked puzzlingly at the map with two eager blue eyes. "Hmm... Where to first, Sax?" He said, holding the map out in front of the clueless animal. Thinking it was food, Saxon nuzzled the paper hopefully, only to snort in disgust at the lack of anything edible, and turned away. Kes looked at where the horse had nosed. " 'The Pelican' ", he read aloud, "A tavern. Typical. Ah well, got nothing better to do."
And so the two traversed the busy streets in search of The Pelican Inn.
Stepping off from the wooden planks of the creaking ship, sight, sound and smell bombarded the young man who greeted the city with a smile. The black cobblestone of the port singed his toes while overhead, like white paint on a blue canvas, gulls sung coarsely and impatiently for the fishing boats to return. Down the streets the smell of baking bread and exotic spices battled with the salt and fish of the sea, creating a rich cascade of colourful fragrances that tumbled around him, tempting him further inward.
The man took a deep inhale and shut his eyes, taking it all in. Then, suddenly animated, he whipped around, held his hand above his head as a call for attention, and boomed in the direction of the sailors on 'his' ship.
"Gentlemen, this is where I leave you. It has been a true privilege sailing with you these past weeks; I'm sure you've felt likewise..."
He looked closer to see the faces of the shipmen. All were haggard and tired faces that listened to the over-enthusiastic nitwit with great effort and little interest. After a brief but damning pause with no reply, the boy continued with the same amount of vigour as before.
"...Regardless, comrades, it was always going to be this way. I'll be sure to call on you again if I should desire the same top-notch three week voyage of stale biscuits and whatever the hell a starboard is. And if you never hear from me again, just remember: I probably died happy."
And with that, the traveller turned on his heels and strode away. And a moment later, the ship crew were back to busy work on their vessel, one or two of them muttering things like: "What was his name again?" and "There goes another bloody musician."
Keseik was enthralled, as he always is with new places, and it took him a while of aimless wandering through the proud buildings and among the frantic people before he reached for his map. Beside him stood his beloved horse, Saxon who for a horse he was fairly small and rather odd looking. He had dun colourings with a golden-brown body and an auburn mane, legs and muzzle, but his pelt from head to toe was ragged and matted like an old carpet. But Kes loved him, and he loved Kes, and they had been together from the beginning of their journey.
Kes brushed back his own tangled mop of dark hair and looked puzzlingly at the map with two eager blue eyes. "Hmm... Where to first, Sax?" He said, holding the map out in front of the clueless animal. Thinking it was food, Saxon nuzzled the paper hopefully, only to snort in disgust at the lack of anything edible, and turned away. Kes looked at where the horse had nosed. " 'The Pelican' ", he read aloud, "A tavern. Typical. Ah well, got nothing better to do."
And so the two traversed the busy streets in search of The Pelican Inn.