21 Vhalar 723
It was the twenty first of Vhalar and despite the cold cycle, Balthazar found himself aboard a ship called The Dreadful Guppy. He was on the ship to protect them if any pirates felt bold. Normally he'd have assigned a few Black Cat's to the ship but The Dreadful Guppy was carrying a lot of expensive cargo from Port Diablo to Scalvoris Town which would be disseminated through a few dozen different shops. A group vote decided that it would be easier to put Balthazar on the ship than to try and have four of them protect against a crew of pirates given the value of the cargo on the ship. Balthazar didn't mind. He was working a job that would potentially allow him to let some of his frustration loose against pirates or raiders. Robin, Lyanna, and Croft were running the Black Cats in his absence but 'running' was a loose term.
While he was away they would take in contracts but make no official decisions until he could be reached. To his benefit, he had attuned to the Black Cat's headquarters so that he could project his senses to the entire building if he needed to transmit a message. It was easier than he thought it would be but that happened when you spent most of your time inside a building. He'd become familiar with the frequency of rooms slowly without really focusing on it so when he attempted to fully attune to the building, it was a simple task. Nothing compared to when he had attuned to the entirety of Scalvoris Town. None of that mattered in the moment but it was what made Balthazar feel comfortable enough to go out on the voyage to protect The Dreadful Guppy.
He had lost enough already. He would not allow himself to lose the friends who helped him through everything else. He was sitting in the cabin that he was sharing, his legs crossed and his hammock at his back. His body was on the ship but his mind and his senses were far, far away.Project - Projection is an expert level technique and only available with an active Frequency. While before, active Frequencies needed to be examined at the source, Project allows an Attuner to fall into a meditative trance and project their senses out to that active Frequency. Once connected, the Attuner can gain information about the object, place, or person they’ve Attuned to through their notes and gain an impression (as through Omnivision) about the area around what is Attuned to. Due to the limitation of consciousness, Projection targets start rather small (objects and people) and only grow to locations as an Attuner progresses in power. Many Attuners tend to use this ability to keep an eye on loved ones, places of importance, or even to spy. Sound, including voices, can be heard when the mage has Attuned. He could sense Robin and Lyanna standing oddly close to each other just inside one of the Black Cat offices. He heard Croft grumbling about reports with Miss Ironside at the entrance. She was politely listening while going over recruitment candidates. Someone opened the door to the cabin on the ship and Balthazar pulled all his senses back to where his body was sitting. His glowing blue eyes opened and a small shimmer spread down the etheric cracks like tears as the magic stopped.
It was just Mindy. He was certain her name wasn't actually Mindy but that was what everyone on the crew called her and she'd done him no wrong so he didn't spend his time trying to unravel the name. She wasn't the captain of the ship but she seemed to have a close relationship with her. Mindy was the first mate and she was sharing her cabin with Balthazar. Since she was responsible for tracking cargo and the crew, they had agreed it would be better to share a room. His memory and her organization made for an effective system of tracking everything they were moving for the various merchants.
"Has the sun set?" Balthazar asked, unaware of how long he'd been in his meditative trance watching over the Black Cats.
"Almost but, nah just yet. I came to change- Hector tripped and ruined this shirt." Mindy said with a gesture towards her clearly soaked, and probably stained, shirt. Balthazar would have assumed it from appearances but whenever he came out of the trance it took a trill or so for all his senses to settle around him again.
"I'll go check on things." Balthazar said as he quickly stood and moved towards the door.
Mindy didn't get in the way but she did mumble something that, to an extent bothered Balthazar. She'd said, "Who'd mind if you stayed?"
He was back on the deck in a matter of trills, unwilling to engage with such comments so blatantly directed his way. Ever since Elisabeth had disappeared that sort of thing had been happening more frequently than Balthazar liked. He didn't understand it. He didn't think of himself as appealing to most people- at least not in that way. Especially people outside of Yaralon. Yet a few of the letter's they'd received at the headquarters this season had been surprisingly flirtatious. Arcs ago he might have enjoyed the attention but now he almost despised it. It felt like Edasha herself was sending agents to torment and mock him. Love was wonderful but it hurt when it was lost. Sorrow. Vri really did have all his bases covered. Ignoring what Mindy thought she said without being heard, Balthazar moved across the deck to the port side of the ship and glanced out at the sea.
If he focused he could bridge the entire distance between Scalvoris Town and Almund. It would take time but none of the travel would have been needed. It would have been a safer way to move things. Nothing easier was ever truly better though. He'd need a stable spot to open both portals and while that was simple for moving a person, it was difficult for moving shipments. Maybe that was one of the things that caused him to avoid the industry. Maybe it was just too... plain for someone like him. A member of the crew, a younger man named Wen, leaned against the railing beside Balthazar. "Any pirates in the distance?" He asked, almost as if he was hoping for a fight.
"It isn't dark yet, you can see that there aren't." Balthazar pointed out without looking towards Wen. He kept his eyes on the horizon, only averting them towards the water when the sun came too close to his mutated view.
"Yeah but I heard you were special." The boy said, " 'heard you could see whole cities away?"
"It's not that simple and it wouldn't help with this." Balthazar said in a dry tone. Wen, seeming dissatisfied, pushed off of the railing and stared at Balthazar for a few trills before walking away. Balthazar took a deep breath and looked to the railing beside him where Fuego, his forged diri, sat.
I should have brought Robin. Balthazar thought to his diri.
You could make more friends. Fuego thought back.
This is work. I don't want to make friends with people who are paying me to be here.
Don't you pay Robin?
Robin came to me before we had the company. It's different.
I don't understand.
Understand what?
Nels. Why do they matter? Isn't it just metal?
Let's not get into this right now. Balthazar pushed off the railing and turned towards the ship itself. On the surface you'd have no idea that it was a trading vessel apart from the rather large hull where they were storing all their cargo. The crew cleaned and worked hard through the whole trial but only a few actually knew anything about what they were holding. Balthazar was, out of necessity, included in that small group. The rest of them were just sailors and for some reason, Balthazar had a sinking feeling that the people on the ship would become a bigger problem than anything external.
