Land Ho! (open)

[HG]

It was another three days before the wind picked up which was welcome news to the crew and the Expedition. The next few days went smooth as a dragon's oiled hide. Even Nevarre felt a sudden hope for the future despite his usual pessimism. It was on a lovley morning when the wind was flowing high and fast that he noticed a bit of beige in the distance. Was that what he thought it was? Oh Faranth! Let it be so! The youth walked away from the edge of the ship which had been his home for most the voyage. Best to have the sea handy when he did not feel well and best to stay away from the people aboard who had immediately taken a disliking to him.

There was no time to waste, he went to find the Captain. The man was found near the front of the ship conversing with another sailor about the map and where the shore should be and how long it would take to get there. "Excuse me. The shore is in view..." He said above the noise of the wind and softly crashing waves. The Captain took out a long eyepiece which was unusual to the young Holder. He had never seen the likes of it before and probably never would again.

"The young Holder is right. LAND HO!!!" The Captain shouted clearly so that all the sailor's could hear. The Captain immediately pushed the man at the helm out of the way as he took to steering the ship toward the bit of beige in the distance. As for Nevarre he walked away to watch the shore grow nearer and nearer. He would be happy when he set foot on land again. Make no mistake he would be the first to kiss the ground and never leave it again. He knew that he did not belong at sea.

The other Expedition members would have heard the Captain's call so he decided not to go and tell them himself. Why should he tell any of them anything? They were a rude and unhelpful lot if one asked him. Especially the girls who had decided to hate him from the beginning of the mission as if his existence alone was enough to be so disliked. Once on shore he would not be so easy to walk over. He would not be half delirious from not being able to keep down food and water and he would sleep well at night. They would see how strong and capable he really was. And they would be sorry for taking advantage of his sea sickness.

He was smiling as he thought, the first real smile he had since coming aboard. They were closer to the mission's end. The Southern Continent was almost within their grasp. It would not be too hard to find the dragonriders. After all dragons were huge according to the Harper tales. Larger than any Wher he could assume. The only thing he worried about was how people were going to take the heat without the sea breezes and what they would do if they came across a real danger.

[firethorne]

The three days of no wind and a stationary boat had taken it’s toll on Koldyn. He had paced where he could, attempting to stay out of the sailor’s way, and fidgeted constantly. For one, it was disconcerting to be at the mercy of the ocean, especially since the holder was used to being in charge and getting his way. Secondly, he had no idea how long they would be stuck, and any longer sitting there stymied he was certain the expedition members were going to start killing each other. A rift had formed between most of the holders and crafters, as if they were mortal enemies, and it was hard to get anything done while overly-cocky women and dim-glowed men refused to listen to good, common sense.

How hard could it possibly be to believe that he, Nevarre, and he supposed Quintre were raised as leaders and were obviously the logical choices to guide the mission? Sighing from his spot at the railing near the back of the ship, watching the endless blue pass behind them, Koldyn felt frustration at the whole sharding quest, and more so at the others. Of course, his fellow holder, Nevarre, had been sick nearly the entire journey, and it would be easier for the two of them to coordinate and keep everyone in line once they reached land. By some miracle, Kol had taken to the sea with ridiculous ease, having no trouble with the swaying movement.

Straightening, the young holder rolled his shoulders and stretched his arms, deciding to go look for his ‘co-leader’. Nevarre was the only one he felt he could really talk to. As he turned, the beautiful, blessed cry of the captain sounded out, and the boy felt a sudden energy, sprinting to the front of the ship. Of course, the other holder was already there, staring at the distance and watching the gorgeous, stunning land coming closer. It might have been nothing more than a line of brown hovering over the endless blue, but Fall, Fog, and Fire, he would take it!

“Looks like we made it.” Koldyn said by way of the greeting, looking at the other holder from the corner of his eye. “By the Egg, we are at the Southern Continent.”

For a moment, all the young man did was stare, then clearing his throat, the boy turned fully towards Nevarre, keeping his voice low. “I know as well as you do this journey hasn’t gone how either of us planned so far.” Amber eyes dark and serious, Koldyn leaned forward, confiding things in the other holder he would tell no one else. “We both know you haven’t been in your prime, and it’s hard to keep this lot in line with only one of us able to think clearly.” Yes, the Igen was very perceptive, and if given the right, shrewd theorist at his side, the pair would be hard to resist. “When we get to the South, things are going to change, aren’t they?” There was a steel to the holder’s stance, a resolute set to his face that clearly stated Kol was tired of being walked on. In the South, they couldn’t afford to make any mistakes.

[Marnark]

Rolgar has been sitting on a bench bolted to the deck near the cabin, taking notes on parchment with a charcoal stick. One might think it was rather silly, to take notes, on what he'd been doing. But it was better than being bored, and on top of that Rolgar was a meticulous Healer. He kept notes on everything. What the weather was like on the day, who had gotten sick, how badly, where they'd spent their time before and after getting sick, and what he'd given them to treat it. It was a massive myriad of notes he was keeping, in a stack of parchments that were tightly sewn together along one edge, almost like a tome. But it was no book. Just notes. Charcoal sticks were easy to work with, when there was no stable surface for an inkpot.

When the resounding call of land being sighted rang across the decks, Rolgar leapt to his feet quickly, parchments gripped in one hand. It was a good thing they were sewn together, otherwise he might have lost half of them to the breeze. "Oh, happy day." He said, almost inaudibly before heading for the front of the boat. Simply because that was the logical place to go to see where they were going.

Unsurprisingly, the two young holder lads were there already, apparently conspiring already. Without any ado at all, he walked right up beside the pair of them, and grabbed the railing with his free hand, charcoal and parchments in the other hand. For a moment he was silent, before turning his dark eyes upon the other two. Letting go of the rail, he clapped Nevarre on the shoulder in congratulations, before walking away again.

Land. It was something to be looked forward to. But at the moment it was just a fuzzy line and would stay so for many a candlemark yet to come. Stopping a few paces away, he flipped through his pages again to the next open place, where he happily noted that land was in sight, what day it was, and what the weather was like, where Rukbat sat in the sky.

Land ho!

[Yuu Kanduet]

Jerezen sat in the same piling of ropes he had been gracing every time he cam up on deck. For some reason the ropes were more comfortable then those hard benches or the warping deck. The apprentice harper was finally adding on to the final touches of his remade draft of the piece that had been lost days before. Grinning, Jerezen sprinkled some sand on the wet ink to help it dry and stood up to stretch.

As his back popped and relaxed, Jerezen heard the captain's cry of land. Gathering his articles, Jerezen tucked them in his shoulder bag and walked over to see. Jerezen didn't go to the railing. Leaning over that chunk of wood would not help him see the land mass, and besides, it was taken.

After he had gotten an eye-full of his soon to be adventure, Jerezen turned and headed back to his rope piling. He needed to read the historic accounts of the natural hazards and dangerous predators. It wouldn't do to have the entire expedition wiped out from a forgotten disease or wild beast.

Flipping through his leaflets, Jerezen finally settled on one that described the dangers on thorns. They would get lodged in a foot and cause horrible fevers and bouts of sickness. Getting comfy, Jerezen got ready for a pleasant afternoon of research and history lessons.

[kaemi]

A rush of chatter circled around the Galley, exciting the workers as well as the diners. When the news finally reached Essabellona, by way of a young boy, she bit her lip excitedly and had to force herself to continue to chop. Thankfully, the main cook had taken a liking to the girl, and happened to catch her expression when the boy relayed the latest buzz on deck. "Go on, Essa dear, and then later you may bring back word of what all the folk on deck are saying. I expect full description!" the cook told her as she shooed her out of the Galley. When Essa tried to protest, Cook only said, "You've been here for candlemarks already, and you're not even on staff. Go." And so she left, sticking her head up on deck to judge the crowd before rising fully.

Her hand reached up, as per instinct, to let down the hair that had been pulled up for her work. It whipped a little in the wind around her, but not enough to make her keep it up. The wind rustling her hair was slightly comforting, after all, and it covered up some of the fishy-salty air that made her nauseous. Nothing she could really do for the rocking of the boat, so even the barricade of her hair between her nose and the sea breeze would help her keep her midday meal inside of her stomach. Taking a deep breath of hair-air, Essabellona approached the deck railing. There were quite a few people gathered so she took no issue in shouldering her way in to catch a glimpse of the land mass they were approaching. It was a shadow against the horizon, a blobbish shadow, but it was something.

Shells, she had missed the land. The solid feeling beneath her feet. The clean, earthy smells. None of the mushy, wet smells that accompanied the ocean, or the constant rocking... back... and forth... and back... and forth. Essa pushed off from the edge of the deck, knowing that if she didn't sit down, she would be keeling over the edge instead of merely looking. So the girl steadied herself, walked a few feet to stay out of everyone's way, and sat heavily. It took a few minutes before she realized that she wasn't alone in sitting on the deck.

However, it seemed that the boy was absorbed in his studies. For a moment, Essa thought that maybe she wouldn't interrupt him. Then another wave rocked the boat, and nausea washed over her. Eager for a distraction- any distraction- she lifted her head and offered her hand. "I'm Essabellona-- Essa," the girl greeted with a smile on her face.

[HG]

There it was, the Southern Continent. His destiny, whatever that may be, lay across that sandy beach before them. Although they would not reach it for many candlemarks his heart had lightened considerably. Nevarre felt before he heard someone approaching from behind him. Koldyn's voice was a welcome sound as far as he was concerned. The other Holder seemed to understand him fairly well and despite not being himself for most of the sea voyage, Koldyn had stuck with him.

"I can not wait to be on land again." His smile came easily to his now gaunt looking face. Nevarre's cheeks had hollowed out from inability to keep much food down. He did not care for himself much at the moment. The sea was definately not the place for him so the sooner he got off this ship the better. He would not let the South so defeat him as the sea had. Maybe it was better for the others that he had not been himself thus far. They had no reason to follow him yet. Oh but they would. In time they would be begging him to lead and guide them through the jungles of the South.

His lips turned upward once more into a smile, although this was no normal happy smile. Nevarre looked like he was plotting something in his mind that would bode ill for anyone who crossed him. "Things will be different." He said speaking conspiratorially with Koldyn. "The first night in the jungle will be enough for most of them to at least feel better about staying together. Our combined knowledge will help them through till we find the dragonriders and at that point they will desperately need our help. We are diplomats, something none of them could even attempt to be. We know how to negotiate terms and we know the will of our fathers in this matter."

Rolgar approached them just as he had finished what was being said. Thankfully he had not kept going. He rather doubted that Rolgar would find their conversation at all to his liking. Even as he turned his head to greet the healer he had already turned from the railing and clasped Nevarre's shoulder. Now that the Healer was gone he thought it best to change the subject to one any of the Expedition Members could hear. In the back of his mind thoughts had already begun to form about the future on the Southern continent. Nevarre was sure that the dragonriders would not be too happy to see them but being a natural pessimist it seemed he saw the negative in every situation even and especially ones that had not yet occurred. "So how long do you think till we reach the shore?" He asked casually and loud enough for anyone to hear. He hoped they would be there before dark. That would be miserable, trying to pull into the shore at night.

[shinachan23]

It still seemed to boggle Senyrae's mind that they had been on this boat for more than two sevendays. With the sting of the salt air and unsteady rocking of the boat at almost every inopportune moment, she had a relatively hard time keeping her lunch in her stomach for the past few days. She was definitely looking forward to dry land. If they happened to reach it any time soon.

Sighing , she was walking into the kitchens to see if there was anything left to eat when the word began to spread around. Perking her ears, she listened in on one of the cooks speaking to another.

"Did you hear? They say that they've seen land!"

Land. Land! There was land! With a quick breath and sudden jump to her walk, she ran her way up the stairs to the deck.

Sure enough, there was a tiny expanse of green coming into her line of vision. Running onto the handrailing to get a closer look, she couldn't hold back her gasp of excitement. They had made it! They had finally made it! And now, all they had to do was find the dragonriders. The dream she had held onto didn't seem like a dream anymore. It was now becoming a reality. Senyrae never felt as giddy as she had at that moment, and she didn't even feel spite as she looked to Nevarre on her right.

"For once, you actually did something right, Nevarre." Him being co-leader did have its faults in its own right, but now it didn't feel like an annoying thorn pricking her side as it had once before. And now, she could actually thank Nevarre for getting them through this. She gripped the rails tighter, anxious to jump and run on actual grass. She had never felt a greater urge then to jump off the boast and swim to shore, better that then waste anymore time here.

[Marnark]

Rolgar looked back at the people at the rail at the question of how long it might be. Turning his gaze back to the fuzzy line on the horizon, he contemplated it for a moment. He was no seaman, that was for sure. But he did have a pretty good estimates for distances, having done a good bit of traveling before this expedition had ever set said. "It depends. If that is any size of land mass and not just an island, the winds should be blowing off the sea and onto shore. Which would mean favorable winds to get there. Given that there are no hills at sea, that is probably about seven or eight miles away. We might make it before dark. If we don't, we should probably put down anchor and wait until morning to make the final approach. So that we don't risk running aground or worse, wandering back out to sea." He commented. "But for an accurate estimate, you should probably ask the Captain." He pointed out, using the charcoal stick in his hand to gesture with.

A few more notes were jotted down quickly, before his attention was stolen again, this time by Cemar joining up and stopping to stand near to Rolgar, thumbs hooked in the top of his trousers. "So we didn't die at sea after all?" He asked, even though he never was such a pessimist as that.

"I wish I could say no. But I withhold judgment; we're not on land yet. Anything could happen." Rolgar answered. "If I was you, I'd be making myself useful." he stated, with a touch of sting. No, he hadn't quite forgiven his unruly nephew for jumping overboard in a storm, yet.

Cemar looked over at him for a moment before returning his gaze to the horizon. "Like you are?"

"These notes are quite important, and I know I've explained the principle to you before." Rolgar retorted, even knowing that Cemar was baiting him. Cemar was not stupid, he knew sharding good and well how important notes were. Especially on an expedition such as this.

[Yuu Kanduet]

Jerezen looked up as a shadow fell across his page and and a voice intruded in his thought. Above him stood one of the holder girls that had come along for the ride. She looked a little green in the face, and Jerezen was briefly fearful of her vomiting on him. Patting the ropes next to him in an invitation to sit, Jerezen wanted her off her feet and less likely to spill her guts.

"Greetings Essa, I am Jerezen the apprentice harper."

Setting his papers down and out of the danger-zone, Jerezen tucked a leg under him and leaned back against the cool wood behind him.

"What can I help you with?"

[kaemi]

Accepting the invitation, Essa settled next the boy- Jerezen. Ropes were, surprisingly, comfortable, as she had found. You learned strange things when you were on a boat, never able to come onto deck and stand around without getting sick. She brushed her hair over her shoulder before looking back at the harper. “Good to meet you,” she told him with a smile, as he set his papers away and leaned back. He looked as though he was getting comfortable, which was why she was surprised at his question.

“Oh... nothing, really. I was just feeling a bit queasy and needed to get off my feet.” She paused for a moment, her eyes landing on the papers he had lay down. “But actually- are those on Southern vegetation?” Essabellona gestured towards said papers. She had been interested in what they were bound to find upon reaching the South. It was supposed to be much warmer than the North, and there was supposed to be a myriad of different planst and animals.

It was going to be the adventure of a lifetime, and the holdgirl couldn't wait. And when (not if, but when) they found the dragonriders... well, that would be something, now wouldn't it? For yet another time, Essa thanked Faranth that she had been offered the chance to join the Expedition group.

[Yuu Kanduet]

Jerezen modded at the girl's question.

"They are more focused on the dangers of the plants and their treatments, but I have papers that focus on the actual vegetation. I also have papers on the animals both dangerous and harmless. The dangerous far outweigh the harmless though. Southern is actually just one big death-trap for the ill-prepared. That's why I am here. I have the historic records that will keep everyone safe. I have memorized many of them. That doesn't mean I know everything. So much information was lost when the Holds left the South."

Picking up his bag, Jerezen rifled through his papers until he found the pack he was looking for. They were bound together by a cord, but it was obvious that they were individual leaflets.

"I have already copied this information on some of the local plants. You may barrow it if you can guarantee you'll take good care of it."

[kaemi]

"How do you have all of this?" Essabellona asked curiously as Jerezen tried to find whatever he was looking for in the pack. She had asked around before they left, and no one had been able to give her any information. They were very ill-prepared for this trip, but they would make it. They had to make it. Which made this information all the more valuable- they didn't want to lose anyone on their journey. "It's more than anyone else has, from what I've heard. So I'd be very thankful if you'd just let me look at it."

Essa understood the need for the expedition. She understood that Thread was coming, and she understood that they had no way to protect themselves from it. It was common knowledge that the only ones that could help them, that could keep them from being thoroughly decimated, would be the dragonriders. And she also understood that no one knew exactly where the dragonriders were, so they needed as much knowledge as they could find to keep them alive; safe from the perils of the jungle continent while they searched for their protection from the parasitic Thread.

Smiling at Jerezen, she nodded. "I'll make sure it gets back to you in the same condition. I would just rather not die from eating something I shouldn't have while we're all trying to find protection from the thing that will kill us all. And if I know about some of the basic vegetation, then maybe you and I can keep the others alive, as well. Or at least try." In truth, she was more optimistic than she was talking, but Essabellona knew better than some may think the dangers they were facing. She just thought they could survive them.