03-19-2016, 10:36 AM
The Sage awoke with a start, then remembered his location. He stretched, and tried to work loose the cramps. He had only a small space to work in, and the light was intentionally poor, lest it be noticed by the crew. They had been sailing for what he felt must have been almost two weeks by now, and the Sage was finding his hiding place quite stiffling. Using Omnilium, he had constructed a fake wall, designed to look like the actual back of the ship where he currently was. There were a few barrels in here with him, and he had summoned some phosphorescent fungi from his homeland as a light source. When he had found them in the catacombs of the Capital they had always been pretty, but he now found their light irritatingly impotent. The sage had made trips by sea only once or twice before, and the conditions had been much better than this.
The Lexistone had provided him with material to study, but he still vastly preferred a book to this other form. Putting away the stone, he glanced up at the pale mushrooms again. He wondered about the reserves of his new-found power. Creating the wall definitely felt like it had drained him, as had everything he had summoned thus far. Yet, he felt... fuller than he had in the nexus, even before leaving Coasta Del Sol.
Are you the one giving me this power Omni? I can see no other source, since you yourself assured me of your current supremacy in this place. If that is the case, I wonder what you will be wanting in return...
The Sage moved over to the barrel and pulled out another of the loaves he had summoned. He was getting tired of the rather bland food. He supposed the quality of the food reflected on his own lack of imagination more than anything else, but this fact only served to make him more irritable. He bit into the loaf and returned to the spot he had decided was the comfiest, although he was using the term very relatively.
He sat back down and for lack of a better option, opened the journal once again. He was making very little progress in deciphering much of the language. He was fairly certain that this word was actually a phrase of some sort, but he possessed no means of deciphering the actual way to pronounce the term without knowing the rest of the language. He would need to find someone that knew the language in the book, but that would be virtually pot-luck in this place. The writer may even have taken the secret of his language to the grave.
There was some sort of commotion going on in the rest of the galley. The sage tried to listen in as well as he could without making noise. There sounded like there was some kind of argument happening inside. Suddenly there was a sharp crack as a blade struck through the boards separating the sage's hiding place from the rest of the ship. The Sage fell back instinctively. He heard an exclamation from the other side, and the shouting got more intense. The wood was still mostly intact, but the Sage caught snippets of the conversation on the other side.
“...Hole in the freakin' Boat! You idiot!” one of the voices shouted. The blade was wrenched free, leaving a hole big enough that the Sage could probably fit his hand through.
“ And do you see any water coming out? Eh? Lookit! I was right! There is somethin' back here!”
The first voice seemed much more hesitant, higher-pitched than the average sailor by far. “We'd better tell the cap'n about this Topps, she ain't gonna like it...” The second voice cut in almost immediately, thicker and sounding exactly like the average sailor.
“Use yer noggin Vic, what if this is the captain's doing? Maybe she's got some treasure hidden down here? She'd get us keel-hauled quicker than you can say Davy Jones! Now quit yer whining and help me!” There was a pause, and then another crack as the hatchet struck through the planks again. The Sage slid himself into a corner, and reviewed his options.
He clearly had no chance of prevailing by combat, not to mention he knew very little about the actual intentions of the ship's crew. It wouldn't do to attack a ship full of curious merchants, though the speculations of the two crewmen thus far did not give him very high hopes for the ship's moral caliber. That meant he would need to try and stay out of sight if possible. The hesitant one, Vic, was now helping to dismantle the wall, and the summoned wood was quickly splintering under their combined efforts. There was not nearly enough time to summon something. It seemed he would have to play this off with only his wits. Well, let's see if we can make a starting impression. he thought, and began to extract the wall himself. He was gratified to hear the muffled surprise from those outside. He continued to extract the wall, making sure it was a noticeable from the outside as possible that something was going on.
The Sage stopped before fully extracting, and gave the weakened boards a sharp snap with his dueling cane. The weakened wood gave way, suddenly bursting outward into the face of the surprised sailors. The Sage stood there, expectantly, in the soft blue light of the fungi. “Were you looking for me?” He asked, and took some pleasure in the looks of uncertainty that passed between his discoverers. And now we begin the dance...
“...Imma go tell the captain 'bout this...” Vic said after a pause, and scampered back up the ladder. The Sage regarded the lone sailor that remained in the galley with him. He was clearly not part of a uniformed company, and he regarded the Sage shrewdly, sizing him up. He didn't seem to find anything particularly noteworthy in the appearance, as his formerly very defensive posture took on a more commanding stance. That display just now didn't work on this one, the Sage noted, but then, he's not the one relaying the situation to the captain, so that's less important.
“Making sure I don't vanish?” The Sage said off-handedly, and the sailor the other one had called Topps, snorted. “That would be difficult to explain to the Captain, wouldn't it Topps.”
“You can jus' shut up for a moment pal. And we'll see about explaining things to the Captain now won't we.” Topps said with a grin. The Sage nodded, not surprised with this kind of a response.
“And what would your captain say if I told her about your little escapade to begin with? putting holes in boats isn't something to undertake lightly.” he phrased the question simply as if genuinely curious of the outcome.
“Nothin' light about stowaways bucko, the Captain'll drum that into yer skull soon enough.” the sailor leaned back against a wooden beam and began to pick his teeth with a small dirk.“Might not be the only thing gets driven in.”A crude attempt at a threat, the Sage felt, but he supposed the pirate hadn't had a lot of time to think about it.
“And as she tortures me to learn my secrets, will I be keeping yours?” The Sage said, arching one eyebrow for full mysterious effect. Topps didn't say anything, but he did stop picking his teeth. “I'm not a naval expert, but I believe theft is not something highly prized in a crew member. What if I was to tell your captain the real reason you were tearing holes in her boat?”
To his credit, the pirate did not give much indication that he was concerned, and the Sage knew that this string was a very thin one to pull on, nevertheless he had few options. Any port in a storm. That's an appropriately maritime saying isn't it?
“...And I know the word of a stowaway isn't something to be taken too much to heart. But how are you felling about the loyalty of your pal Vic just now?” Ah, the dart of the eyes towards the hatch was telling, now he was getting somewhere. “When I call your loyalty into question, clearly your captain will turn to Vic for a second opinion. Now you are welcome to gamble that Vic is your buddy, and will have your back. But I wouldn't want to be caught lying to my captain, and Vic struck me as a rather smart fellow.” The pirate hadn't told him to be quiet yet, and they were taking a good amount of time up on deck to prepare, he had a chance to make this work.
“I am quite certain that you can... confirm the bond between yourself and Vic, and make sure he's there to back you up, the question becomes if I give you enough time.” Topps eyes narrowed in preparation for the inevitable next part of the conversation. The Sage didn't have a better alternative though, so he just plowed ahead, “I have no want to be tortured. It will likely still happen, I am captured by pirates, but as a courtesy to those with things to do... I could be persuaded to try and delay my own fate for as long as possible.”
Topps grunted and re-sheathed the knife, “And what is it you would be wanting of me in return for your... courtesy.” he said, spitting the last word out with distaste. The Sage just smiled.
The Lexistone had provided him with material to study, but he still vastly preferred a book to this other form. Putting away the stone, he glanced up at the pale mushrooms again. He wondered about the reserves of his new-found power. Creating the wall definitely felt like it had drained him, as had everything he had summoned thus far. Yet, he felt... fuller than he had in the nexus, even before leaving Coasta Del Sol.
Are you the one giving me this power Omni? I can see no other source, since you yourself assured me of your current supremacy in this place. If that is the case, I wonder what you will be wanting in return...
The Sage moved over to the barrel and pulled out another of the loaves he had summoned. He was getting tired of the rather bland food. He supposed the quality of the food reflected on his own lack of imagination more than anything else, but this fact only served to make him more irritable. He bit into the loaf and returned to the spot he had decided was the comfiest, although he was using the term very relatively.
He sat back down and for lack of a better option, opened the journal once again. He was making very little progress in deciphering much of the language. He was fairly certain that this word was actually a phrase of some sort, but he possessed no means of deciphering the actual way to pronounce the term without knowing the rest of the language. He would need to find someone that knew the language in the book, but that would be virtually pot-luck in this place. The writer may even have taken the secret of his language to the grave.
There was some sort of commotion going on in the rest of the galley. The sage tried to listen in as well as he could without making noise. There sounded like there was some kind of argument happening inside. Suddenly there was a sharp crack as a blade struck through the boards separating the sage's hiding place from the rest of the ship. The Sage fell back instinctively. He heard an exclamation from the other side, and the shouting got more intense. The wood was still mostly intact, but the Sage caught snippets of the conversation on the other side.
“...Hole in the freakin' Boat! You idiot!” one of the voices shouted. The blade was wrenched free, leaving a hole big enough that the Sage could probably fit his hand through.
“ And do you see any water coming out? Eh? Lookit! I was right! There is somethin' back here!”
The first voice seemed much more hesitant, higher-pitched than the average sailor by far. “We'd better tell the cap'n about this Topps, she ain't gonna like it...” The second voice cut in almost immediately, thicker and sounding exactly like the average sailor.
“Use yer noggin Vic, what if this is the captain's doing? Maybe she's got some treasure hidden down here? She'd get us keel-hauled quicker than you can say Davy Jones! Now quit yer whining and help me!” There was a pause, and then another crack as the hatchet struck through the planks again. The Sage slid himself into a corner, and reviewed his options.
He clearly had no chance of prevailing by combat, not to mention he knew very little about the actual intentions of the ship's crew. It wouldn't do to attack a ship full of curious merchants, though the speculations of the two crewmen thus far did not give him very high hopes for the ship's moral caliber. That meant he would need to try and stay out of sight if possible. The hesitant one, Vic, was now helping to dismantle the wall, and the summoned wood was quickly splintering under their combined efforts. There was not nearly enough time to summon something. It seemed he would have to play this off with only his wits. Well, let's see if we can make a starting impression. he thought, and began to extract the wall himself. He was gratified to hear the muffled surprise from those outside. He continued to extract the wall, making sure it was a noticeable from the outside as possible that something was going on.
The Sage stopped before fully extracting, and gave the weakened boards a sharp snap with his dueling cane. The weakened wood gave way, suddenly bursting outward into the face of the surprised sailors. The Sage stood there, expectantly, in the soft blue light of the fungi. “Were you looking for me?” He asked, and took some pleasure in the looks of uncertainty that passed between his discoverers. And now we begin the dance...
“...Imma go tell the captain 'bout this...” Vic said after a pause, and scampered back up the ladder. The Sage regarded the lone sailor that remained in the galley with him. He was clearly not part of a uniformed company, and he regarded the Sage shrewdly, sizing him up. He didn't seem to find anything particularly noteworthy in the appearance, as his formerly very defensive posture took on a more commanding stance. That display just now didn't work on this one, the Sage noted, but then, he's not the one relaying the situation to the captain, so that's less important.
“Making sure I don't vanish?” The Sage said off-handedly, and the sailor the other one had called Topps, snorted. “That would be difficult to explain to the Captain, wouldn't it Topps.”
“You can jus' shut up for a moment pal. And we'll see about explaining things to the Captain now won't we.” Topps said with a grin. The Sage nodded, not surprised with this kind of a response.
“And what would your captain say if I told her about your little escapade to begin with? putting holes in boats isn't something to undertake lightly.” he phrased the question simply as if genuinely curious of the outcome.
“Nothin' light about stowaways bucko, the Captain'll drum that into yer skull soon enough.” the sailor leaned back against a wooden beam and began to pick his teeth with a small dirk.“Might not be the only thing gets driven in.”A crude attempt at a threat, the Sage felt, but he supposed the pirate hadn't had a lot of time to think about it.
“And as she tortures me to learn my secrets, will I be keeping yours?” The Sage said, arching one eyebrow for full mysterious effect. Topps didn't say anything, but he did stop picking his teeth. “I'm not a naval expert, but I believe theft is not something highly prized in a crew member. What if I was to tell your captain the real reason you were tearing holes in her boat?”
To his credit, the pirate did not give much indication that he was concerned, and the Sage knew that this string was a very thin one to pull on, nevertheless he had few options. Any port in a storm. That's an appropriately maritime saying isn't it?
“...And I know the word of a stowaway isn't something to be taken too much to heart. But how are you felling about the loyalty of your pal Vic just now?” Ah, the dart of the eyes towards the hatch was telling, now he was getting somewhere. “When I call your loyalty into question, clearly your captain will turn to Vic for a second opinion. Now you are welcome to gamble that Vic is your buddy, and will have your back. But I wouldn't want to be caught lying to my captain, and Vic struck me as a rather smart fellow.” The pirate hadn't told him to be quiet yet, and they were taking a good amount of time up on deck to prepare, he had a chance to make this work.
“I am quite certain that you can... confirm the bond between yourself and Vic, and make sure he's there to back you up, the question becomes if I give you enough time.” Topps eyes narrowed in preparation for the inevitable next part of the conversation. The Sage didn't have a better alternative though, so he just plowed ahead, “I have no want to be tortured. It will likely still happen, I am captured by pirates, but as a courtesy to those with things to do... I could be persuaded to try and delay my own fate for as long as possible.”
Topps grunted and re-sheathed the knife, “And what is it you would be wanting of me in return for your... courtesy.” he said, spitting the last word out with distaste. The Sage just smiled.
If history is to become legend, it first must be recorded.