Scalvoris Pirate Attacks
Elisabeth was restless.
Traveling always inserted something of an edge into the woman’s demeanor, although it had never been clear to her why. Perhaps because sleep never came as quickly or easily away from her bed or wrapped within Balthazar’s arms. Her thoughts were often with the place she now happily called home. Haven and Elisabeth were intimately intertwined in what some would say were surprising ways. Everywhere she looked, fingerprints from her arcs there were present, and she couldn’t say that about anything else in Idalos. Besides Balthazar, maybe, but those were more subtle indicators.
A late-night walk always calmed her mind when home, but that night was only a stark reminder that she wasn’t in Haven. Hopetoun was lovely in its own way – every place had its charms – but it wasn’t home.
That thought brought her back to a situation that had occurred early in her stewardship of the settlement. Then situated on the northwest coast of Faldrass, it had become clear to her that the fledgling settlement needed to relocate. The hows and whys weren’t crucial for the current context, but Elisabeth remembered struggling with the idea of not being in the place Balthazar had chosen for their home.
Since then, the idea of ‘home’ had changed somewhat. Balthazar was home, which didn’t lessen her affinity for the settlement and its people. They were ‘home’ too, just in a different way.
A comment came from Fastia, who was walking with her, interrupting her thoughts. “You are quiet tonight. Something wrong?”
A quick shake of the head. “No, just reflective. I find the quiet moments lend themselves well to such.”
The pair had arrived in Hopetoun earlier in the trial. The quick journey was simply to get the Ithecal acclimated to Faldrass and introduce her to Darius. As well, Elisabeth felt the more that she visited Hopetoun and tried to forge bonds between it and Haven, the better.
Soon after, they decided to retire for the evening, resting up for what most likely would be a full day of activity. Then again, what day wasn’t? Relaxing ones had seemed to become increasingly scarce.
Relentless was the work of a leader. She wasn’t opposed to the rigorous demands, but some trials felt like Balthazar was far more suited to such. Either that, or he didn’t allow the weight placed on him to show. She felt the world could see the strain upon her, even though she knew that was not true. Long gone were the days when she questioned the near-constant state of unusual experiences. It was more a matter of ensuring the balance between those and one’s ‘normal’ life. In Treasuring the small moments like lying in bed with Balthazar and appreciating what those trills represented. Walking quietly with a friend or playing with Fastia’s boys back in Haven. All those moments, along with the potentially world-ending ones, helped make Elisabeth who she was; there was gratitude for that.
As she so often did before bed when traveling, Elisabeth organized her pack. It was a habit born of knowing she could be called upon at a moment’s notice, so having everything ready and not strewn out everywhere was a good thing.
As she located the bundle of echo scrolls, she noted one indicating a message. More often than not, Balthazar was the culprit, but his scroll remained silent this time.
It was Vega’s – the Joy Scroll.
Quirking an eyebrow, Elisabeth quickly opened the scroll and read the contents. What was contained there elicited a very immediate reaction from the leader, now well-conditioned to move rapidly and efficiently despite growing concern, putting her honed discipline to work.
Swiftly, she moved out of her room and knocked on Fastia’s, speaking through the door. “Fastia, something’s come up.” What more was there to say? The words spoken would be enough to alert the Ithecal, prompting her to come to Elisabeth’s room for further details, which hopefully the young mage would have sooner rather than later – wasting further time on additional words was unnecessary].
Vega wasn’t one to panic, so the message was alarming on several levels, but Elisabeth’s first thoughts centered around one key phrase: “Check your shorelines.”
Haven was situated right on a shoreline.
Launching into action, several things were done quickly. First, the Haven snow globe was retrieved from her pack. The gift from Saoire allowed Elisabeth to look at the settlement from afar, hopefully giving her an idea of whatever might be going on there, if anything.
Glancing into the snow globe, Elisabeth tried to discern whatever it had to tell her while simultaneously grabbing the echo scrolls that linked her to Vega, Balthazar, Nia, Balder, and Faith, setting them down on a nearby desk. Whatever information she gleaned from the snow globe, if anything, would be passed along but first, directives.
To Nia and Balder, the same message –
“Check the shoreline. Word from Sweetwine has large ships approaching the settlement there. Watching snow globe now. Report back with any information you have ASAP.” She knew Balder would immediately alert Silk, Ronan, and Lore – they knew their jobs. Nia was a night owl and likely would coordinate with Balder if he didn’t find her first. People knew what to do; she just needed to have faith in that.
Elisabeth knew she needed to hurry, understanding that she and Fastia themselves needed to find Darius and ascertain Hopetoun’s situation. Still, things needed to happen before she could do that. Receiving a message from Vega thrust upon her the responsibility to pass along the warning to anyone she could, and as such, messages needed to be written.
Quickly, a message to Balthazar.
“Heard from Vega. Big ships are approaching her settlement in Sweetwine. She’s concerned. Almund ok? Checking in with Haven now. Will keep you updated. Stay safe – E”
One more to Faith.
“Heard from the settlement in Sweetwine. Big unknown ships are approaching their location. Vega is not one to panic and is concerned. Am in Hopetoun – ascertaining the situation here and in Haven now. Not sure where you are but wanted to pass along the information – Elisabeth.”
A reply to Vega would have to wait until she knew something more concrete. Replying for the sake of answering did no one any good and wasted time and resources.
In the middle of writing the Balthazar and Faith, Fastia arrived at Elisabeth’s room, looking perplexed but calm. The young mage immediately explained where she was at in her information-gathering.
“I’ve heard from Vega, a leader of a settlement in Sweetwine. She says large unknown ships are approaching her location there, and she’s concerned. I know Vega. For her to send such a message means she’s concerned. She wants everyone to check the shorelines and check-in.”
Glancing at the snow globe and scrolls, sapphire eyes returned to the Ithecal. “This is an enchanted snow globe – a gift from Saoire. It allows me to see Haven, so I’m checking to see if anything is amiss. I’ve also sent messages to Nia and Balder. Haven is in a vulnerable position if coastlines are in peril.”
Fastia took the information in stride. “You would think Faldrass would be safe, considering it’s home to an Immortal and an Induk.”
The logic held for Elisabeth, but then again, the ships approaching Sweetsong went against it. “Yes, but there is an Induk in Sweetwine, too, which doesn’t seem to be impacting anything. Not to mention that the settlement leader is a champion of Xiur and has Cassion as a father-in-law. All bets seem to be off. No matter, we will figure it out.”
Grabbing the Nia, Balder, Balthazar, Joy and Faith scrolls, snow globe, and pack, Elisabeth led Fastia out of the Inn. They needed to find Darius and fast. Hopetoun was potentially in trouble and trills mattered. Until she had news about Haven, her attention was focused there.
OOC Notes
Elisabeth is doing the following:
- Checking the Saoire Snow Globe for information on Haven's status
- Sending echo scroll messages to Haven via Nia/Balder (Elisabeth has a leadership capstone that might apply here - (The Delegation Expectation The Delegation Expectation (Leadership)
Elisabeth’s experience with the Haven settlement has helped hone her into a practical, positive leader. Through projects such as constructing the clam farm in Haven and working with others on the planning and building of Munny Farm, Elisabeth has honed several different aspects involved with the leadership of people, earning her a positive, wide-spread reputation.
While being hands-on is something Elisabeth is known for, there are times when she needs to delegate specific jobs to others, empowering individuals to exercise autonomy in dealing with an aspect of a task that she is involved in. When delegating, Elisabeth can inspire an npc/pc to operate at one skill level above their current stage, and it applies to any one skill relevant to the task.
This capstone only applies to one skill for one npc/pc per thread. It does not apply to groups.
Elisabeth must personally give the task to the pc/npc, although her presence is not required. She needs to have a direct method of instructing the npc/pc (echo scroll, for example). Communication must be direct and understandable, as per echo scroll or direct communication, as though through speaking. ) - Sending an echo scroll message to Balthazar
- Sending an echo scroll message to Faith
- Leaving Inn to ascertain Hopetoun's status and find Darius
