< Skyla Prelude 2 | Campaign Logs | Skyla Prelude 4 >
SKYLA PRELUDE 3
Lerri takes a bit of bread from Skyla, after Balthasar leaves, as she always does -- the Officer always gives her a good bit of bread, and the young girl shares as much as Lerri will accept with the older woman... On the ship, after all, food isn't quite as plentiful as it was in the Citadel.
Lerri "I'm not sure you should trust that one," she notes, softly, in your native tongue. She's gotten good at it.
Skyla{G} "Me neither.. but he gives me food, and teaches me... that's more than anyone else has done.."
Lerri "I'm sure he wants something out of you," she notes. "None of these people give things freely."
Skyla{G} "I have nothing..."
Lerri "They are worse than Sepki's Family," she notes, referring to a myth shared among both your tribes -- Sepki, a powerful monster from beyond the bounds of creation, who along with his family crave and desire all things, parting with nothing and constantly clawing for more and more.
Lerri "That has not stopped them from taking more, however," she notes. Which...is true. Even when you thought you had nothing, they found more to take -- a brand on your shoulder, friends you'd gotten used to (you miss Janna...). So many things.
Skyla{G} shivers a little, "But he's nicer than... than the rest." she scratches a little at the brand on her shoulder.
Lerri "Well, he gives us food. Just take care; I do not trust his plans."
Lerri eats her little bit of bread...
Lerri ::Almost a full season later, after the boat. You find yourself taken abovedecks, yourself. The sun stings a bit, you having only seen it a tiny bit, during a bit of exercise every morning and occasionally through a window.::
Lerri ::A bird flies overheard, singing happily, but its beautiful noise is drowned out by the sound of a busy port that you find yourself in. The Slave Driver tugs a bit at your chains, getting your attention...::
Skyla{G} blinks and looks obediently at the Slave Driver, "Yes sir?"
Trader`Meddan ::The slave driver just growls a bit, and half-directs/half-pushes you over toward one edge of the book where a fairly large friendly-seeming man in nice clothes is talking to a smaller wiry man with sandy red hair and skin the color of taffy...::
Trader`Meddan "This is the girl, yes?"
Captain`Naida "Indeed; I trust she's acceptable?"
Balthasar , off in the background somewhere, meets your gaze a bit -- giving you a reassuring smile and a nod that, somehow, somewhat calms you...
Skyla{G} stands, looking at the man cautiously. Her gaze is solemn and slightly disconcerting
Trader`Meddan "Yes, I believe she shall. Here is the price, as discussed,"
Trader`Meddan hands the larger better-garbed man a sack, that jingles, and smiles over at you.
Trader`Meddan leans down a bit, on his knees.
Trader`Meddan "Why hello there; I am Meddan Anatoshi, of Chiaroscuro. Who might you be?"
Trader`Meddan ::The Captain just looks on, somewhat amused.::
Skyla{G} "I'm Skyla, Sir. Or I was."
Trader`Meddan "Skyla; that is a pretty name. We will be going for a little trip, and for this trip," he says, removing the clasps on your legs and idly discarding them. "You will be a good little girl, yes?"
Trader`Meddan ::You have a strong feeling that you should, and can, trust this man.::
Skyla{G} blinks and looks down at her legs, then back up at him, smiling slightly, "I will be good, sir."
Trader`Meddan "Good," he says, smiling, taking your hand -- still chained -- and walking down the gangplank with you onto the dock...
Skyla{} trots at his heels
Trader`Meddan ::Once your well away from the docks, he pulls you idly to one side, and leans down to address you again...::
Trader`Meddan "Now, Skyla, if you promise not to try to run away I will remove the restraints on your hands as well. But you must promise. I have paid a large amount of money to help you, on the advice of my friend Balthasar, and if you run away neither I nor my family will be able to eat."
Trader`Meddan "I am going to take you to a small village, and there is a man there who will take you in. He will treat you well, and you will hopefully like him. But please, do not be trying to escape until we get there?"
Trader`Meddan smiles you a smile.
Skyla{} frowns, and considers this
Skyla{} "I... I promise... sir.."
Trader`Meddan smiles, and twinks your nose a bit, and nods.
Trader`Meddan "I will hold you to that. I trust to your honor, young Skyla."
Trader`Meddan unlocks your restraints, and hangs them on his belt.
Trader`Meddan then stands up, and looks down at you with a smile.
Skyla{} feels the momentary urge to flee, then closes her eyes and wills herself to stay. Her word binds her as tightly as the chains did: she cannot run.
Trader`Meddan ::The Trader, Meddan Anatoshi, of Chiaroscuro, is a good man and he takes good care of you. That night, you eat a fine meal at a Tavern, and sleep upon a small mat on the floor (more comfortable, indeed, than you've been in months...::
Trader`Meddan ::The next morning, you start your travel, which Anatoshi tells you will take about two weeks. The road you travel is not an easy one, but it is safe enough, leading from village to village. Sometimes you sleep outdoors, othertimes you sleep in a inne or at a small merchants stop.::
Trader`Meddan ::You mostly spend your days sitting on Anatoshi's small wagon, and one of the reasons the travel is so slow is because your new friend stops //all the time// to sell things and buy other things.::
Trader`Meddan ::Eventually, about two weeks after you first made your promise...::
Skyla{} finds herself almost enjoying this trip, reveling in the small luxuries she was denied in the pens
Trader`Meddan points, finally, to the village down at the end of the hill where the large river you'd been following for the past two weeks...which he'd told you was named the Sarine.
Trader`Meddan "That is Nulam; it will be your new home. Unless you decide to run away, of course."
Skyla{} "Will they be nice to me, sir?"
Trader`Meddan doesn't stop the wagon, pulled by Nakatoshi, his Donkey as he tells you this.
Trader`Meddan "They are good people in Nulam," he notes. "I think you would like it there, and that the people there would treat you well. Especially the one to whom I intend to sell you to."
Trader`Meddan has not, at all, beat around the bush -- he gave up a LOT of money on you, and you have seen just how hand to mouth he lives. If he doesn't get back the money he paid to buy you, that will have more or less personally bankrupted him.
Trader`Meddan doesn't usually deal in slaves.
Skyla{} looks a little scared, clutching the side of the wagon. "Why are you doing this, sir?"
Trader`Meddan stops Nakatoshi, lightly, and glances over at you...
Trader`Meddan "Why am I doing what, young Skyla?"
Skyla{} "H...helping me change my..path? Sir?"
Trader`Meddan "I am helping you because Balthasar asked me to. He is a great man, and I owe him much. There is little I would not do, that he could ask of me."
Trader`Meddan "I am glad that it has worked out so well, thus far. You are quite the travelling companion."
Trader`Meddan "I am only sorry that we could not do more. I would, if it were only myself, free you. However, I could not make that sacrifice for my wife or my own two beautiful daughters."
Skyla{} "Who is Balthasar, sir? I mean.. I know he's the man that helped me, but.. who IS he?"
Trader`Meddan laughs a bit, smiling! He does that a lot.
Trader`Meddan "Aaah, that is a question to be asked. Who, indeed? I am afraid I cannot completely answer that -- he is a man, but a man above many others."
Trader`Meddan "In the end, I only know that he is my friend."
Trader`Meddan "That is enough."
Trader`Meddan "Is it not for you as well?"
Trader`Meddan pats you lightly, showing a bit of affection. Something else you've also missed.
Trader`Meddan ::You're kinda going to miss this strange man.::
Skyla{} "No..sir... I.. I want to know more about him." she ducks her head, "I'm sorry, sir."
Trader`Meddan "Well, I am sure you will have your chance. He stops by here quite often."
Skyla{} "Will you... stop by here too?"
Trader`Meddan "Hopefully you will come to know him, and accept him, as I have."
Trader`Meddan "Of course. Every other year, I pass through here."
Skyla{} sniffles a little, "I'm afraid, sir... I want to go home.."
Trader`Meddan nods, and starts the Donkey forward again, as he gets a far off look in his eyes.
Trader`Meddan "Yes. This is something I am wishing as well."
Trader`Meddan --
Trader`Meddan ::Maybe 40 minutes later, you arrive within the small village. It is not as large as most of the villages you have passed so far, only a small number of tiny buildings -- one big one -- centered on a small docks, and surrounded by a fair amount of farms. You pass right through the town, Anatoshi stopping a bit to sell some wares and chat with friends as he always does. Then, eventually...::
Trader`Meddan ::The small building, unlike most of the others, is somewhat worn and sooty. Thick black smoke pours of the chimney, and the entire place has a somewhat .. intoxicating .. air that captures your attention in some fashion. There's something familiar here.::
Trader`Meddan knocks on the door.
Skyla{} has stopped crying by now, though her eyes are a little red. Trader Meddan had cleaned up her face a bit, and she hovers near his knees, trying to be brave.
Trader`Meddan "Jhord," he calls out, "Come and get your door! Jhord!"
Jhord opens the door, finally, a massive muscular man who seems maybe in his 50s with slightly graying hair and gray eyes that sparkle with inner fire. He's sooty, covered in black, wearing only a short 'skirt' of leather and a pair of thick gloves. He's probably the strongest man you've ever seen!
Jhord glances at Anatoshi, then down at you...
Jhord ::You're almost frightened...::
Jhord then smiles, bends down a bit, and plays at your cheek with his sooty hands.
Jhord "Why who are you, young lady?"
Jhord ::...but you just can't be. There's something about him.::
Skyla{} clings to Trader Meddan's leg. "I'm..Skyla, Sir." she smiles tentatively.
Jhord just smiles back, and glances back up at Anatoshi.
Jhord ::Anatoshi:: "Could you go back to the Wagon and play for a bit, Skyla?"
Jhord ::Anatoshi:: "It will all be okay, I promise."
Skyla{} "Yes sir," she dashes back to the wagon to hide, peering over the edge again.
Jhord ::Jhord and Anatoshi spend about 10 minutes talking, alternatively intently and occasionally expressively. At a few points, Jhord gets angry, but not very much and not really directed at Anatoshi. Then, eventually...::
Jhord walks over toward the Wagon, and gives you a weak smile, trying to appear harmless.
Jhord "So," he says, shyly. "I hear that I'm supposed to buy ya. Is that what you want, girl?"
Skyla{} looks up at him with big blue eyes, "Trader Meddan said you'd be nice to me, sir." she doesn't exactly answer the question, as she doesn't want to be bought - or sold - by anyone.
Jhord "I don't much like the idea of buying anybody. Especially not a little girl like you," he notes, softly. "But your friend Trader Meddan, he told me what he did, and I'm thinking that I shouldn't punish a deed like that."
Jhord "He also says your fairly good with your hands."
Skyla{} "He said his family needed you to.. to b..buy me. To eat." she looks down, "I used to make things, for my family."
Jhord "Do you think you'd like workin' at a forge?"
Skyla{} "What's a forge?" she adds belatedly, "Sir"
Jhord "That's where you melt down metal, build things with it - all kinds of things."
Jhord ::O Oooh?; you know what that is! You'd always been curious about metalworking!!::
Skyla{} "Oh, a firaga! I saw one that the smith in the far village used to make things with. Horse-shoes, and plates, and lots of things."
Jhord "Yes, one of those -- that's pretty much what I do. I'm fairly good at it, but I'm getting old."
Jhord smiles a bit.
Skyla{} "You don't look old, sir." she stares at him.
Jhord "Aaah, your too kind -- but I 'ssure ya, I'm feelin' pretty old."
Jhord "In any event, let me tell you what I'm thinking..."
Jhord "See, I don't much need a slave -- but like I said, a good deed deserves a nice reward. I might just be willing to buy your freedom from your friend the Trader, but I can't quite afford to do it just for its own sake."
Jhord "However, while I don't need no slave, I //could// use an Apprentice."
Jhord "Now, you're about the right age for an Apprentice -- and I have a feelin' you got the Spark."
Jhord "An Apprentice term, that's usually about 10 years. You'd stay here, live with me, and I'd take care o' ya. Food, drink, bed, all the things a growin' girl like yourself needs. And I'd teach you smithin'."
Jhord "You'd help me out around the Smithy, as ye can, small things at first and then on some of the bigger things.
Skyla{} stares at him, unbelieving. "You're.. why... " she blinks. "You mean.. I could be free again?"
Jhord And once your education's done, you'd be free of your apprenticeship, and free to do what'cha wish."
Jhord "Does that sound like an acceptable deal to ye?"
Jhord ::You THINK you understood MOST of what he said...::
Jhord just nods at your question...
Skyla{} starts to cry, and soon she's wrapped around his leg, with her face buried in the leather 'skirt' he's wearing
Jhord grins a bit.
Jhord "Is that a yes, girl?"
Skyla{} "Y..yes.. I promise I'll be good!"
Jhord just nods and smiles. He pats you on the head.
Jhord "I'm sure ye will be, girl. I'm sure you will."
Jhord ::Fade out...::
Jhord glances lightly at Skyla, now a heavily-built 14 year old girl with long teal hair and -- really -- a somewhat stubborn demeanor that she claims she gets from her "dad".
Jhord then glances at the large branding iron Skyla had made last night.
Jhord "Are you sure you wish to do this, girl? It's gonna hurt. A lot."
Jhord ::You weren't a slave; you hadn't been one for a long time.::
Skyla "Hurt a lot the first time, but this time it's my choice."
Jhord ::Jhord gave you your papers, proving yourself free, a long time ago.::
Jhord ::He hadn't re-branded you though. You still bore a slaves mark, not a free womans mark.::
Jhord still looks dubious.
Skyla "I NEED to do this," she insists. "This.." she touches the scar, "This isn't me, not anymore."
Jhord just nods... Slowly. He doesn't like it, but he can accept that it's something you need to do.
Jhord ...still, he has to try, one last time. You're more to him than just an Apprentice.
Jhord "You know this won't change anything. Not really. Slaves escape, and re-brand themselves all the time. Like it or not, that scar is there for good."
Skyla "I don't care." she says stubbornly, "This is real. I have the papers, and now I need this. It..." she scowls and lifts the branding iron from where it rests, "I don't need to remember how I got here. Remembering my time with you is enough. Why would I want to be reminded? ...
Skyla "And.. the looks... no. not even that.. when they see it, they *don't even look at me.* It's like I'm not a real person. I'm sick of it! I'm a free woman, and this...this SCAR.. if you don't help me, I'll do it myself."
Jhord just smiles a bit.
Jhord "I swear; I sometimes think you /do/ get your stubbornness from me."
Jhord "And your reasonings' good, at least. Long as you accept the other, I'll let you do this. Long as it's for you, not those close-minded fools at the faire."
Jhord ::The locals, after all, never gave you trouble.::
Skyla laughs, "I've gotten everything else from you, Dad." she sobers a little, "And it is for me. The rest can go rot in a vat of cat piss for all I care!"
Jhord just nods then, and puts the brand in the fire...
Jhord ::Not that long afterwards, there's a scream...but not, entirely at least, of pain.::
Jhord --fade out--
< Skyla Prelude 2 | Campaign Logs | Skyla Prelude 4 >
Stryck Wiki