Fantasy RPG Forum - Standing Trials

“So you saying whaling has been harder these days, aye?” Emerit called across the waters at Ade as they pulled off the coast. She decided to take one of those random jobs with a few of the fishers who have been struggling to catch the large beasts. Not only because it was her nature to fish and it was something she was brought up to do, but also because of the things she's been hearing said in Havardr.

“Aye, aye!” Ade called back, focusing on manoeuvring the vessel with little space for conversation. Ade would lead their small expedition, spearheading the small fleet, hoping to catch a sign of a spray. Emerit was with one of the young lads in a different boat, leaving her sloop bobbing in peace. It was not made to fish for whales and Em did not want to risk losing it.

“Aye, it has. They’ve just not really swum around.” The lad next to her seconded pulling a rope as Emerit joined.

“Any idea why? Would it be this rotting thing I’ve heard about?” The Biqaj woman asked, curiosity sneaking into her hues. The lad shrugged, but turned pensive for a moment. She first heard the news from Tunga and found it hard to believe. Fortune would not leave Havardr just like that, would it?

“Dunno, really. Like, there was one on the shore a while back. Dead and yeah...rotting away. But t'was it.” He shrugged again and moved along the vessel. “It’s just we haven’t seen many, ya know? So it’s hard to tell.” For a kid quite a few arcs younger than Emerit, he was quite level-headed much like many others. Life in Havardr was not easy, especially in whaling. So one better grow up fast and face possible death each trial on the sea, or make way for those who were not whusses.

Emerit nodded in response and looked to the horizon. If what Tunga told her was true, then it would be disastrous for Havardr, turning it from a crucial settlement in Scalvoris into nothing but a meagre fishing village. No wonder she felt tension in the city wherever she went. It has been on everybody’s mind and each time boats would sail out, people would be looking to them with hope, praying to Immortals that this...this time they would drag a fat bastard to the shore.

“Well, let’s go then and catch ourselves one, aye?” Emerit walked to the young lad and smacked his shoulder, giving him a wide smile of confidence.

They’ve been on the sea for a few breaks now. Looking out over the waves, trying to spot a spray or a swell on the surface that would be just a bit too smooth as the whale’s back would press against the final border between water and air. The men were getting both grumpy and anxious. It was without a doubt that the current shortage of the large beasts was putting strain on everyone moral as well as the city itself.

Emerit huffed. She stood by the bow, eyes scanning the waters. So much so the constant reflections of the light were giving her a headache.

“You know, maybe what Peeter says about Linca is right.” The young lad said suddenly, punctuating the long moment of silence with defeat. He was level headed earlier, but with each passing moment that spelled failure for their small expedition, he was losing his hope. Quite rapidly by now.

“Maybe he is a bag of beans of a leader and instead of sending us out here for whale that just aren't he should, I don't know...do something..." The boy flicked the end of a rope and it weakly hit the deck, much like his resolve.

“Peeter? What’s got Peeter to do with this?” Emerit asked. Peeter was a grumpy old sod. Nobody liked him and he had nothing but venom on his tongue. So it did not surprise Emerit to hear his name brought up. “Did he say our whales are rotten?” Squaring herself towards the boy, he looked up at her and nodded.

"He saw them like we did. And more apparently when he went out to whale." The lad added, shrugging. Wrecked bastard that Peeter. Immortals be damned and Chrien should drown the jock. Although, it did not really make sense why would one of their own spread this poison to pretty much destabilize the city... At that moment, a message got carried in shouts from boat to boat.

“Ahoy! We’re turning back! There be no catch this trial!” So it appeared, Havardr was truly lost if even its toughest man could not see a task to an end. The boy stood up with a resigned sigh, only to be resolutely stopped by Em’s palm on the inside of his shoulder. She waved her hand at the boat next to them.

“Nay! Tell Ade to stay a bit longer! We no pussies and it’s still too early!”

“Nay! It’s decided!”

“You feckin tell him Elrich or I’ll spear your balls to the deck!” Emerit would have none of it. She did not remember the men of Havardr being so...beaten by circumstances. Perhaps times were tough, alright, but they were the men the town depended on. If they didn’t give it all they’ve got, they could as well stop whaling altogether. She refused to believe that they have fallen that low. And without waiting for Ade’s response, she squeezed the boys shoulder and turned to face him. Her eyes a brilliant blue like the sea itself with stark cold determination.

“Lay forward, kid,” Emerit said, letting the lad go to execute her part of the job.

“I don’t think this is…” A wave hit the bow fiercely making the boy jolt. Emerit was already at work making it clear what seven arcs of lone sailing do to a Biqaj. She would have none of his nor the other men's whining. And in this way, the boy was quietly coerced into cooperation. Together they manipulated the boat so that they glided over the next wave with a bit more ease. Giving the lad a wide smile, her eyes shone brilliantly with excitement, but also a victory. They have detached from the rest of the fleet and sailed further into the open water where the waves were just a tad bit larger and the air slightly more crispier.

“You were sayin’, lass?” She teased him, casting a look over her shoulder where the others tried to catch up albeit reluctantly. It’d be a lie to say the Emerit was not slightly worried about the boats (a lie she was most certainly going to appropriate later). They were not built for venturing this far and the young Biqaj knew she was pushing them to their limit, putting others in danger as well...but hey ho! What was life without a bit of excitement. Moreover, they all came out here knowing that this might be their last sight of the world.

“Peel your eyes to the sea, kid! There ain't no whale behind us,” Emerit then scolded the lad, forcefully turning him away from gazing back. “There, goddamnit. You’re a whaler. Not a crybaby. I’d like to think…” Giving him a slightly push the boy nearly went overboard, trying to keep balance as they went over another wave.

“Oye! The heck you doin’, Em? You wants to kills us?” She could hear Ade’s angered voice over the waters as he leveled with their boat.

“Nay! But you’s grown soft and don’t have the balls to do what it takes to catch!” She shouted back with confidence that could have been seen as arrogance. The heck she knew?! She was gone for arcs. She did not put her two nels in to keep the citizens alive!

So the stakes were high. If no whale would swim by for them to hunt, she would be laughed at when returning to shore. Or scolded. Or both. She'd be shamed and maybe even shunned. For sure, she couldn’t have that and so she was determined to stay however long it'd take, be it night if it may! By she was not going back ashore until she'd hook a fat bastard to her boat.

The following bits dragged painfully as the boats bobbed on the unforgiving sea far from the shore. They could still see the yurts in the distance, but they were small dots like beads decorating the vibrant colors of Ymiden's season. And when she thought that even fortune and the Immortals have abandoned her she saw it. Caught by a chance more than anything, there was a spray.

“A spray!” Emerit hollered, finger pointing sharply off to their left. She didn’t know if it was the first or the last, but she knew that the fleet had only a few moments at best to race to that location and spear the bloody bastard before it would dive back deep into the waters.

“Lay forward!” Everyone began shouting as the race ensued. Hearts were pumping, adrenaline rising. At this point it did not matter who led their expedition, anyone first there to harpoon the whale would be a step closer to a success. If only the darned sea wasn’t swelling like a pregnant woman’s belly.

“Keep the course,” Emerit hurled at the lad, rushing to the bow, grabbing a harpoon on the way. Three of the fleet’s boats were ahead - Emerit’s, Ade’s and another one. They all scanned the blues below and for a trill, fear gripped onto their heart for they could not see a thing.

“Half breach!” The lad on her boat shouted suddenly. Immortals were on their side after all! The whale has decided to partly leap out of the water. By its size it was a youngling - naive and inexperienced. Curious too which would be its undoing. Yet despite its immediate fate, it brandished its beauty in the sun. Emerit found it breathtaking. Such a massive creature with such a raw power in its body...

But all good things must die. She darted her harpoon through the air, releasing a mighty roar of effort. All the others did the same as by that time the fleet was back together.

“Bone!” Echoed from ship to ship, dropping their chance on successful hooking as the fishermen were retrieving their harpoons that missed the target or did not pierce.

“Hit!” Ade shouted and seconds later: “Hit!” Emerit joined pulling on the rope to securing. It was only a few moments before the magnificent beast dropped back into the water, the thick blood began pouring. A trill later, and they would have all been doomed.

“Ride to side and hook it in!” Now came the struggle and the most dangerous part of the whole job. The time when the whale had to be weakened enough so it wouldn’t turtle the boats that had it on rope. It was the most gruesome part as well as they had to drained it of enough blood so it would struggle when dragged back to shore.

All around Emerit shouting ensued. It looked like frantic chaos, but everyone knew what they were doing. Hence the shouting. Open communication was the first rule of safety, otherwise the whale would slip, or tug and throw them all to their icy deaths.

The animal, young and inexperienced, had little chance to react. By the time it felt the danger and realized that death was on its doorstep, it was swimming in its own blood. In desperation and fright, it attempted on one last jolt downwards into the safety of the black waters. Alas it only gave the whalers’ boats a forward impetus, causing the harpoons in its body to twist and turn and tear on the flesh. Its howl a cry for help at Vri's doorstep.

The fight was over. They have caught themselves a whale.

It felt like majority of the town has gathered on the shore. People were cheering, celebrating! They have finally caught a whale! Many came to congratulate, grabbing on the hands, slapping on the shoulders. For a moment the town stopped to witness that their livelihood was not threatened, that there was still hope. Even more so, that their whales did not seem to be afflicted with some sort of supernatural rot.

Emerit was laughing on the side with a small group of men and women, talking about the expedition when Ade approached, firmly taking hold of her shoulder and turning her around. He did not care that she was mid-sentence because there was something he wanted to say.

“Em, you bloody knocker. For a few trills I thoughts you was gonna kill us.” He started, but it was not a stern reprimand. Instead, there was relieved smile wrinkling his face up like a dried plum. “I guess we has grown soft after the few incidents where we lost some good lads… But hey!” The old man slapped her hard across the other shoulder to surely leave a mark. “We has caughts ourselves a whale!” To that, the crowd cheered and Emerit gave one of her most dazzling smiles ever.

This was how it felt to be back home. Not what feckin Tunga and Sonja have been doing. No. This was the warmth of welcome, the appreciation of actions, the acceptance that even if she was about to make a mistake, she would be given a chance.

“Aye, Ade. Just grow a pair again and you mights as well get to my level.” Emerit jested, earning a noogie from the mountain of a man. Moments later, Ade mobilized all of them again, taking a lead to command the crew to start working away on the whale. The crowd also started to thin as everyone had their jobs to attend to and no one could spend the day marvelling at a miracle. But one thing was for sure, everyone would be progressing through their day feeling somewhat lighter.

Emerit herself joined the crew she whaled with. It was time for her to get bloodied, grappling with a specifically modified axe to skin the beast.
Breaks later, having washed the grime off of her forearms, she had a message boy come to tell her that Linca sent for her. She completely forgot about their town’s leader, a family friend to her and her now gone parents. She could have made him wait after she’s cleaned the whale smell off her skin, but then, she wanted that to be the final ritual of the day. So instead of delaying, Emerit made her way to the right yurt.

“Ay Emerit! Look at you, lass.” He exclaimed when she entered, getting up from his chair, throwing his arms wide. Linca was unlike the rest. He spoke more like an educated individual. There was less slang and mispronunciation in his speech and he held himself well. He still had rough hands of a fisher, but rose to his position justly and through equal hard work.

“Linca! So you finally show your face, hey?” She responded, coming to hold his hand at his thumb as they both half embraced to slap each other’s back.

“Well, I have to. I heard Ade’s story on what you did today. The whole town is talkin’! So I decided to stop my town business and bring you here.” He said with a wide, honest smile. Where others might have taken that statement wrong, Emerit took it as an opportunity to poke fun back at the man, disregarding the fact that he was now to be given due respect because of his position.

“Oh, your grace. How honoured I is.” Pulling off the best accent of their region, Emerit executed a wobbly bow. They both laughed. Linca knew Emerit’s father from back when they used to fish together and apparently, he was one of the first to see the twins born. Not that Em would remember, but somehow this created a connection for her and she always enjoyed this man’s company.

“So sit, sit. There is a few things I wanted to say to you as well actually.” Linca encouraged the young Biqaj before descending back into the chair himself.

“So like I said, Ade told me about the expedition on the sea today and I wanted to personally thank you, Em. That rumour,” shaking his head, Linca chuckled, “it was destabilizing Havardr. Not only were people starting to worry and that was affecting the peace in the streets, but other towns were beginning to question me which did not make things easier. Also, I guess our whalers just got afraid. You know, after the past season or two we’ve had a series of nasty accidents, losing a lot of men to the profession. My guess is that it caused extreme caution, especially among the young ones. And who knows, maybe even the whales got smarter and started swimming right on the boundary where they knew our whalers would not dare to cross.” Linca shrugged. There were a lot of possibilities and explanations. Many that he has rehearsed himself during sleepless nights Did any of them matter now? Not much since the case has been cracked and closed.

“I mean, if whales have gone farther out,” Emerit responded, thinking for a moment, “why not build better boats? Sturdier ones with contraptions for harpoon release and hooks on the sides or stuffs. One with proper railings too so that if a whale gets pissy and yanks the boat, our men don’t go flying over like dazed dancers?” It was not a groundbreaking idea. Emerit was not a genius, but this seemed almost too logical for her, something that should have been common sense. Linca knew that too, but perhaps he was too absorbed in keep appearances and other matters going that he has neglected the very core of their town. Or maybe he didn't. Who the feck cared anyways. It wasn't like Emerit would be around long enough to see. She knew eventually, she'd get the itches and leave again. But either way, Linca nodded. He knew that could be a solution. It would open up a wider territory for fishing and whaling, meaning they could hunt more, produce more and strengthen their economy.

“Yea... Yeah, that would work. But what sort of boats?” He looked at her curiously as if she held the answer.

“Well, I don’t know.” Emerit responded, shrugging and throwing her hands to the side. On one hand, she wanted to see her birth town flourish, but on the other hand, it was not her problem. “I’m no boatbuilder, Linca. Hire someone. Pay ‘em with the money you collect. Invest in our whaling. Make sure our men don’t grow soft again! Actually...” At that, she leaned forward and pointed a finger at him, part in a clear recommendation, part in judgement. “Get off your arse here and go fish with your people once in a while. You might learn a thing or two yourself, you know.”
The night was dark with storm clouds obscuring even the brightest of the stars. Not many citizens were walking down the streets as they were all bracing for a potential storm. At the end of the trials, they all lived in simple yurts. Nasty storms could have quite the nasty consequences. But no one would abandon the construction even at the face of a disaster. Oh well...one day, all would be levelled and perhaps then these people would learn of the usefulness of stone.

Emerit’s hair was still wet from the cleansing. Her soul felt lighter. She paid her homage to U’frek, did her ritual prayers and was now on her way back to the sloop, her humble accommodation. Unfortunately, Sonja was strongly against hosting Emerit and that was the last straw in their friendship. From then on, Emerit was set on avoiding the woman.

Then, as the young sailor was drawn into her own thoughts, out of nowhere, she was violently shoved the side, her feet getting knocked up from underneath her. It was so sudden, she could hardly react before she was smacked onto the ground, breath getting stuck in her throat for a moment or two. Pain shot throughout her body, originating in her back and Emerit tried to shout, either in pain or defiance. But she was already muffled by a thick hand, knee weighing down on her chest, knife edge pressed against her throat.

“You be’er not feckin meddle in thin’s, lass.” A growl came into her ear. Her eyes were the purest silver of fear. Despite being gone for so long, daring the fate and getting in more than one sticky situation, it rarely happened to Emerit that someone would attack her out of blue, let alone bring her so close to death threats. But even more than that, what shocked her the most was the person that was committing this act.

“You does any’ing like tis again. I’ll slit yer throat...outsider.” Peeter spat on the ground next to her, punctuating his words with the pressure of the knige rising, digging into her skin and as it was drawn away, slitting it open slightly on the side. It stung, much like what Emerit imagined men felt like when they cut themselves while shaving. She winced in pain, not daring to wiggle even after the bastard pushed himself off and walked away as if nothing has happened. It was hard to tell if it was the fear, the pain from the cut, or the pain from the words that kept her frozen in place.

Just what the heck was he involved in…?