Chapter 17: Family Time
Cooler air blowing in through the open porthole signals the arrival of the end of the day. Inman’s fingers run through Nevil’s hair as she lay by his side, a leg cast over his thigh, her head on his chest. The fresh air passes over the couple and eases the heat they had created together. The arrival of noises of dinner preparation and happenings outside their cabin door, arouse the resting pair. We have to get up. I wish we had more time.
Nevil groans, "we have to get up don't we." Inman kisses the top of Nevil's head. "Yes, but we can pick up from here later if you wish," he assures Nevil before extracting himself from her side. Nevil rolls over on her back, cooling, as she watches Inman climb out of bed and begin to search for his pants. There is never enough time.
Inman smiles, as he runs a comb through his hair, watching Nevil sprawled atop the sheets. "Many hands make light work my love." Nevil groans again. Inman coaxes, "I can work on whatever dinner workings are taking shape. I'm sure a large kettle of nightcap would be well received." Nevil's eyes perk up. "And there is probably time to hang one of your new loungers," he adds with a sly smile, as he tucks his shirt. "Alright, I'm coming," she relents. Inman leans over Nevil’s naked form, kissing her softly, and he slips with discretion out the door and into the galley.
Nevil dresses, brushes and loosely ties her hair, grabs her pouch, and opens the door to the galley. She finds Sorrow, elbow deep in a large stew pot, his tail loose and curled behind him. Is that what he looks like when tired? The smell of searing meat and garlic permeates the room. Cirilli stands on a stool, looking into the depths of the pot, and seasoning its contents. Inman is chopping vegetables and potatoes.
"Did you sleep well?" Cirilli asks, stepping down from the stool. Nevil smiles, looking at Inman, who gestures behind Cirilli’s back to follow along. Nevil plays along, "Yes... a quick nap was... invigorating." Sorrow drops the spoon in the pot. His amused look is quickly chased away with curses. Inman inserts his opinion, "you ladies should prepare for continued relaxation. We have it covered here."
"Cirilli, I could use some help putting some of our new furniture together," Nevil offers as she sets a large kettle on the stove to heat.
"You mean our new loungers?" Cirilli asks with excitement.
Nevil nods, "Yes, go pull out one of our new hammocks, a mattress, and one coil of rope. I'll be there in a minute." Nevil measures out a strong brew of nightcap, figuring that most everyone would like a relaxant after their afternoon’s work.
Vasilya stirred as sounds from the common area reached him. He could smell the light scent of lavender and chamomile from the lotion he had used as a massage oil. He ran his hand along Atalaya’s arm, loving the fact that she was sleeping with him. He reflected on the fact that it was getting easier for him to tell when she was asleep. Calls to the sailing crew could be heard coming through the open porthole.
Easing away from Atalaya, he looked around for his clothes, finding them tossed onto the floor nearby. Getting dressed, he began searching for Atalaya’s brush, finally finding it in her backpack.
Returning to the bed, he eased back onto it and started brushing her hair. He worked slowly to release the tangles he had caused by releasing the binding on it earlier and waited for the process to awaken Atalaya.
Atalaya slowly returned to consciousness, enjoying the feeling of Vaz’s hands on her head and the gentle pulling of the brush through her hair. Turning on her side and lifting herself onto one elbow she looked at him and then glanced at herself. “One of us is dressed inappropriately.”
“You are fine, Iubet. Sit up now, and I can get behind you. I need to brush out the rest of your hair. It is time to get up though. I hear the others moving around and it is getting dark. It’s time for dinner, I think.” As soon as he had moved behind her, Vaz continued to brush her hair. When the tangles were smoothed, he began braiding her hair.
“Are you ready to talk about what happened out there this afternoon?” he asked as he braided.
“What happened? Nothing happened today. I had a couple sparring bouts with Nevil, helped with Cirilli’s lesson and worked on my katas, and then ‘played’ with Inman as I worked on remembering some of the two sword katas,” she related, still somewhat sleepily. “He said it was alright to play with him since Nevil was playing with Sorrow.” She looked ready to fall asleep again as Vasilya gently rubbed his thumb in small circles along the muscles at the base of her head.
“You still haven’t told me how you were able to do all that,” Vasilya replied.
“I am a ranger. It’s how I was trained. It’s hard work to be a ranger. Most of us work alone too. If we don’t have the energy to fight off an attacker, just because we already were in a fight or had been traveling through the wilderness all day, we get killed.” She stretches a bit. “That feels so good. Maybe we could skip dinner?”
“Nope. You used a lot of calories today. You are eating. Do I need to get Nevil in here to explain why you need to eat?”
Atalaya’s eyes widened. “No. No you don’t. I’m getting up. See, I’m already sitting.” Atalaya pulled away from Vaz’s hands and swung her legs over the edge of the bed. “So, what happened to my clean clothes?”
Vasilya handed them to her from the corner where he had placed them when he began the massage earlier. “Here, you get dressed, I’m going to see what is going on out there. If I stay in here, I’m just going to be taking off everything you try to put on.” Kissing the top of her head, he sneaked out before Atalaya could react to his outrageous statement.
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Cirilli pulled out the items Nevil had requested and ran back to the galley, “I’m ready. I got everything you asked for. What do we do next?”
Seeing Vasilya enter the room, she ran to him, grabbed his hand and started pulling him over to the supplies she had gathered. “Nevil is going to set up the hanging couches. Isn’t that great?”
Vasilya looked a little taken back by her energy, but smiled and said, “It will be great. Show me what you two are doing.”
Nevil approaches with a steaming cup in her hand, she sees Cirilli and Boz. "Good, now we can get this going. Boz, there is some nightcap in the kettle, be warned it's strong tonight." I thought about asking Atalaya if I could offer some to Cirilli, but she doesn't appear to be overly sore.
Nevil sits her cup to cool on the table and walks to where Cirilli is sitting. "Cirilli, lay the hammocks out and stuff the mattresses in so they are square in the corners. These are the kind that sit with flat bottoms, so it should be pretty easy to tell where things go." Nevil picks up the coil of rope and begins a six strand braid to thicken the cord. Near the end the six strands split into two three strand braids which after about another foot ends in a looped terminus.
"Alright Cirilli, Boz, this is the part I need help with. Cirilli, you get to climb us like a ladder. We need you to slip this braided end over the cross beam," Nevil explains as she points, "there and there." Nevil demonstrates with the braid, "then pull it through this loop."
Boz stands under the attachment point, close to Nevil, who squats offering Cirilli her knee and shoulder as steps to climb to Boz's shoulder. Cirilli wobbles awkwardly at first but adapts quickly.
Inman approaches the table with dishes, turning the corner to find the human pyramid at work. He shakes his head in disbelief and returns to the Galley.
After the ropes are anchored, Nevil tests each one by hanging on it. Then it was a simple matter of balancing the hammock at the appropriate height and slipping the ends of the loops around the rings on the hammock.
Nevil fetches her tea, sipping it slowly, and then turns to Cirilli, "try it.”
Atalaya makes her way out of the cabin in her tunic and trousers. Stopping by the growing armory she finds her gambeson and takes it with her hoping to get Inman to clean it for her again. She heads towards the galley, the meat and garlic smells drawing her towards the stove. Seeing the teapot on the table she diverts toward it and lifts it to see if it is full. Finding it full, she pours a cup, immediately realizing that it is nightcap. Sipping it, she raises an eyebrow at its strength, and then takes another drink. Continuing to take small sips, she makes her way over to Nevil and the others as Cirilli gleefully jumps into the hanging couch. Rocking her body as if it were a swing, she tries to rock it.
Cirilli easily manages to get a reasonable swing going on the couch. It is lopsided and awkward, but she looks very pleased with herself and flops down to watch the ceiling sway. Nevil and Boz grin watching her. Well, that's not exactly what I had in mind. Perhaps we can make her a rope swing like a bosun's chair. Inman comes out of the galley with table settings. Inman smiles watching Cirilli as he places them around the table.
Atalaya steps up to Nevil. “You brewed your nightcap strong tonight. “Are you okay? Did we wear you out this afternoon?”
Nevil watches Atalaya approach with a cup of nightcap. Well, today is just full of surprises. "I did, but more for ease of sharing. I didn't want to have to make multiple pots. Everyone worked hard today."
Inman walks to the gathering group. Not breaking the conversation, Inman reaches for and takes Atalaya’s armor. He examines it then waves a hand over, cleaning and refreshing the fabric padding.
Nevil continues, “It's a general soreness now.” She looks to Inman, “we worked out our biggest aches earlier.” Inman smiles and turns to pour himself a cup of tea.
Nevil asks directly, "But, if I did what you did today, I would be crawling on the floor. Have you always been able to do that?" Boz inserts himself, "No, it's new." Atalaya eyes glare at Boz mid sip of tea.
“Vaz, what are you saying?” Atalaya looks at him a little perplexed. “We just talked about this. This is how I was trained. I’ll admit that it’s been quite a while since I have practiced that long, but when we were training, we often trained for the whole morning or afternoon.” Looking at both Vasilya and Nevil, “Really, I only fought two bouts today. The rest was either helping you with Cirilli or katas. And while I did both shortsword and longsword katas, I only did half of what I would normally do for each.”
Boz looked firm at Atalaya, then looked at Nevil and Inman. Not wanting to push the point, he added, "we are just worried, Iubet."
Nevil notes the concern from Boz. She sips tea, as Atalaya changes topics.
“Well, I have more of the bruise cream if you need it. And some massage oil that is great for sore muscles.” Turning to Cirilli, Atalaya asks, “How are you feeling? If you are sore, we have things to help with that. You didn’t take any direct hits, so you shouldn’t need the bruise cream, but the oil will help sore muscles. You did a lot of work with your sword arm and with your legs today.”
“Well, my right arm is a little sore. But I am okay,” Cirilli claims after a moment of thought.
Atalaya glances at Nevil, winks and then says, “Then come with me. We will massage your arms and back and then, if Nevil will fix you a cup of her nightcap that is half strength, rather than double strength, I think that you should be ready for whatever tomorrow will bring.”
When Cirilli doesn’t immediately move to leave the hanging couch, Atalaya gestures her over. Cirilli, seeing that Atalaya is not buying her claim of being okay, jumps down and heads for her.
Atalaya steers her toward the stern cabins. In the cabin she pulls over a chair to the bed. Placing one of the slightly damp towels on the bed she turns back to Cirilli. “Have you gotten a massage after training with Joan or at the Greenleaf's?”
At Cirilli’s solemn head shake, Atalaya smiles. “Well, you are going to like this. Take off your tunic and any small clothes you are wearing on your upper body and then lie down on the towel.” Atalaya walks away and rummages in the chest, gathering the oil and another towel. She listens for Cirilli’s compliance, but keeps her gaze in the chest, giving Cirilli her privacy. “Lie face down, she clarifies when she hears Cirilli moving. I forgot to say that.”
When she hears Cirilli lie down, she returns to the bedside, places the towel on the chair and gets on the bed. “I’m just going to get on the other side of you,” she explains to Cirilli, carefully moving around her. Holding the container where Cirilli can smell it, she explains, “Lavender oil is good for many things, helping to relieve pain being one of them. The same for chamomile oils. These are usually easily obtained and when added to an oil base, they can be very therapeutic. Sometimes I add other things to it, depending on what I can find. But harvesting the essential oils can be time consuming and takes a lot of the plant materials. I usually look for what can be bought.”
“I’m going to pour a little of this onto my hands to warm it up, and then I will work it into your muscles. If I find muscles that feel tight, I’m going to try to loosen them. That will also help to decrease pain. I want you to think about how much your muscles hurt as I am working. No pain is a zero. Terrible unbearable pain is a ten. Moderate pain is a five to six. First, what do you think your overall pain level is right now?”
Cirilli thinks for a moment. “I’m not sure. Maybe a four or five. It’s worse in my sword arm, especially at the shoulder and upper arm. Everything else is probably a two or three.”
“Good. One of the things a ranger, actually any warrior, needs to be able to do is to judge their own body’s status after a workout or fight. And to know what it needs to repair itself.” Atalaya rubs the oil into her hands. “I'm starting now. If while I am working you feel a spot where the pain goes up beyond a four you need to tell me. When I work on your shoulder, you let me know if the pain goes up at all. I may need to just apply the oil there and not work on any of the muscles.” She starts by smoothing the warmed oil over Cirilli’s back and down on her arms, moving very carefully over her right shoulder and upper arm. Then she begins a gentle massage to her back. Looking for knots and trying to work them out. A couple of times Cirilli indicates that an area is very painful. Atalaya changes the type of stroke in that area and lightens up until she gets the muscles in that area to relax.
After getting the back relaxed Atalaya briefly works on Cirilli's left arm, not finding much to do there as Cirilli had not used a shield during practice today. Turning finally to the right arm, she started near the elbow, working carefully, for the arm was sore and the muscles knotted. Noting that Cirilli wasn’t able to tolerate very much touch to the arm, she said, “Okay, this arm needs work, but not now. I’m going to just be sure that it is well covered in oil. Then later after dinner and after Nevil’s nightcap has had a chance to work, I’ll try again.”
As Cirilli starts to push up Atalaya says, “No, wait just a moment.” She climbs off the bed and picks up the towel. “I’m going to wipe off the excess oil and then leave this on your back. Let me put the oil away and then I’ll leave and you can get dressed again. Join us when you are ready. Dinner should be ready.”
Atalaya puts the oil away and leaves the room. Shaking out her shoulders and hands, she makes her way back to the table, feels her cup and takes it to the stove to add a bit more hot water to it.
Nevil looks at her and asks, “Too strong?”
Atalaya shakes her head, “Too cold.” She lets the liquids mix and takes a drink. “Will you make up a cup at half the strength you usually make for Cirilli after dinner? Her shoulder is hurting her more than she is letting on. I need her to be more relaxed to be able to effectively loosen those muscles.”
Inman and Sorrow had set the table and served a simple but hearty vegetable and beef stew. Cheese, bread, and fruit also trimmed the table along with beverages of various kinds. Sorrow and Inman worked together to check on the captain, bringing him a bowl of stew, a slice of bread, and a cup of water. "We will be back in a bit to let you stretch your legs and freshen up," said Inman before closing the door.
Atalaya and Cirilli joined the others at the table, arriving after the start of the meal. Cirilli sniffed deeply as the stew was passed to her. She scooped a good sized portion and tasted it, her eyes on Sorrow. Breaking into a smile she praised him saying, “This is good, Sorrow! You didn’t mess up my spices.”
Sorrow looked around the table to see all people either laughing softly to themselves, or trying valiantly not to laugh and failing. Inman spoke up saying, “Hey, what about me. I supervised after you left for your spa treatment.”
Cirilli broke into a grin too and blushed slightly. “Sorry, Sorrow. That didn’t come out right. The stew is good.”
The tone for the meal set, there was a lot of good natured bantering and joking during the meal. Atalaya looked around smiling to herself. Family. This is nice. It'll be even better when we finish refurnishing the ship to make it more comfortable.
As the meal comes to an end, Nevil nods and hands Atalaya a cup of tea, the normally reddish brown color of nightcap is lighter and the bottom of the cup can be seen. "I'm still not sure how you feel about this. Sometimes you seem concerned with its use, and sometimes you don't appear to think twice.”
“I think that it is a tool, like any other healing preparation. To be used when needed for a specific purpose. Today we had a really long practice and while I took a lot of breaks they were short ones.” She looks over at Vasilya, “Vaz is learning how to give a good massage. He’s trusting himself to use more pressure and to reach some of the deeper muscles. But tonight that wasn’t enough. The nightcap will help. And if I give him a massage tonight, perhaps I can get another one from him.
“As for Cirilli,” and now she has a pensive look, “She needs a lot of work around her shoulder and arm, but she hasn’t been exposed to massage before. And I hesitated to apply the pressure she needed just now. I still don’t know much about what she went through in Parabor, but I don’t want to do anything to impede the trust that is forming between us. And quite frankly I didn’t want to be the one to cause her more pain. So, nightcap to help relax the muscles and perhaps decrease her apprehensions a bit, and then I can try a massage again.
A strange look crosses Atalaya’s face. “By the goddesses, that sounded just like one of my mother’s lectures to her students. I’m sorry. She pauses for a moment. “ What I should have said is that I have nothing against using nightcap when it is needed and appropriate. My personal preference is to try other things first, but that is my preference.
A rather large smirk drew across Nevil's face, "I'm sorry I didn't mean to manifest your mother. I was really just teasing you a little."
“Hmm, maybe I just needed to justify my use of nightcap with Cirilli to myself,” Atalaya says after pondering Nevil’s response.
Tasting the tea to determine its strength, and approving it, Atalaya hands the cup to Cirilli. “Here, this is nightcap. It’s going to help relax you and then we can see if there is anything more that I can do for your shoulder. Drink it down and then maybe have a little fruit to clean the taste away, if you don’t like it.
Cirilli looks at the cup and sniffs it and takes a small taste of it, making a face.
“Just drink it down and then have a couple of your favorite pieces of fruit. It’s an acquired taste.”
Cirilli takes a deep breath, stares into the cup and takes a sip. Her face screwed up in distaste. Atalaya places her hand over Cirilli’s to prevent her from drinking more. “Just a minute. Let’s try this.” She goes to the galley, retrieves the sugar bowl and a clean spoon and comes back. After adding a heaping spoonful of sugar, she hands the cup back. “Try it now. See if you can finish it.”
Cirilli takes another small taste and then finishes the cup. “Why didn’t you put the sugar in to begin with? That’s much better.”
“Because I was hoping to save you from my vices. Have you noticed how much sugar I put in my coffee? And the amount of cream or milk I add if I can get any? It’s really not good for me, but… well, that’s the way I started drinking it and I’ll go back to it every time. I was older when I started drinking different teas, and while I might add a little sugar to some of them, I don’t overdo it like I do with the coffee. It’s because I started drinking them without adding anything to them. Probably because I was saving the sugar for my coffee, but… well …” She laughs at herself. “Besides, too much sugar makes it harder to tell exactly what is in the different herbal teas, and those are my favorites.
Atalaya turns to Sorrow, “Are you willing to play for us while I wait for for Cirilli’s nightcap to take effect?”
Sorrow grins, "It would be my pleasure." He stands from the table, leaning to gather bowls. Nevil reaches for his hand, "I can get these." Sorrow pauses with a smile and then goes to his berth to gather his instrument. He comes back to sit at the table. He sips his tea again and begins to test and adjust strings while Nevil clears the table and picks up dinner.
As Sorrow begins to play, Inman and Boz check on the captain and usher him on deck to stretch his legs and watch the sun set. Sorrow plays a few light hearted and springy tunes.
Atalaya encourages Cirilli to climb into the new hammock couch and sits next to her as Sorrow plays. She watches as Cirilli enjoys Sorrow’s songs, joining in frequently with the ones she knows. Her voice, although untrained, is joyful and Atalaya enjoys listening to her try to harmonize with Sorrow. As the nightcap begins to take effect, Atalaya catches Sorrow’s eye between songs. “I heard bits and pieces of you singing one of the Gwaeron Saga Ballads on the trip to Briarwood. Will you play another of them?”
Sorrow nods and thinks for a moment. Picking up his instrument again, he fiddles with the tuning knobs. Finally picking a ballad, he starts the song that tells the story of Gwaeron’s first meeting and adventure with Mielikki.
Atalaya smiles at his choice and sits with Cirilli, enjoying the opening verses. With the quieter and more melodic music, she feels Cirilli relaxing as she listens to Sorrow. Taking her hand she starts to gently massage it, slowly working her way up the forearm. Finding the knots formed as Cirilli grasped and controlled her sword during the kata work that afternoon, she was able to ease them away. An occasional frown would briefly cross Cirilli’s face when Atalaya first encountered a tight spot, but she didn’t move out of Atalaya’s hold or indicate any other distress as Atalaya continued to slowly work her way up Cirilli’s arm.
Sliding the sleeve of Cirilli’s tunic up, she began to work on her biceps and triceps. Sorrow, watching what Atalaya was doing, seamlessly moved into another ballad as he finished the one about Gwaeron. Atalaya half listened to it while she worked, but Cirilli seemed familiar with this one and would softly join Sorrow during the choruses.
The work here was more difficult and Cirilli flinched frequently, but didn’t pull away from Atalaya. Atalaya decreased the amount of pressure she was using even more, but continued to work on the arm.
After Boz and Inman returned Skarne to his room, they joined the others, listening to Sorrow. Vasilya made his way to the hammock and settled himself next to Cirilli, watching Atalaya as she ministered to her ward.
As she finished, having worked through the tunic to reach the muscles around her shoulder blade, Cirilli was nodding off. Atalaya cuddled her close for another song. As the song ended she asked, her voice low and soothing, “You ready for bed, ‘Daughter of my Heart’?”
Vasilya, seeing Cirilli nod, gathered her up into his arms, carefully got off the hammock and carried her to her room.
Chapter 18: Evening Wind Down
When he returned, he made his way to the galley, filled a cup with Nevil’s nightcap and diluted it slightly. He handed it to Atalaya before getting back on the couch. Once he was settled, Atalaya tried to hand the cup back to him. “No, that is for you,” he replied. “Drink,” he added when she just looked at the cup. “Please Atalaya. Drink.”
Vasilya looked over to Nevil. “It’s time to talk about what Cirilli shared this afternoon. She needs to know this.”
Nevil is sitting on the table's bench with her back to the table. She has a coil of rope on the floor and is working the next set of braided couch ropes. She pauses looking up, "Yes, I was waiting for a good time." Inman starts to stuff the mattress in the next hammock. Nevil looks to Atalaya, "there is not a lot to tell. Other than Cirilli started talking about her torments while you were working with Inman today. She was concerned that Inman might hit you as part of his instruction. I asked if that was something she had seen a lot of. She confided that there were several heavy handed adults in Parabor. The worst being the cultists. Apparently it was pervasive. She also expressed how she trusts us and is feeling safer." Inman finished and sat next to Nevil waiting for her braid to be completed.
Nevil adds, "So, the news is not the content of her talk, but that she is starting to talk." Nevil works the braids again while listening for the response of the others.
Sorrow begins practicing the song requested by Nevil that includes the Harper message.
Atalaya, her eyes starting to harden, looked at Vasilya and then at Nevil, waiting for either one to add to what Nevil had just related. Her hand unconsciously moved towards her side searching for the sword that she wasn’t wearing. Vaz reached his hand out and guided her other hand with the still full cup of nightcap to her mouth. “Drink,” he persisted. “And be easy,” he added as he observed her hand movement. “There aren’t any foes to fight in this room.”
Sighing, she finally accepted a sip of the tea. Maintaining her grasp on the cup, she eased herself off the couch and walked over to Nevil. Placing the cup on the table she sat down next to her. “Tell me. What was going on in that village.” Finally her eyes softened again. “Tell me what we are going to have to undo.” Her eyes darted over to Inman. “And why would she think Inman would hit me during kata instruction? We had just taught her the first kata for shortsword fighting. She wasn’t hit during that.”
Nevil busied her hands braiding the rope, using her knees to anchor the strand, as she explained, "I can only tell you what she said in generalities." Even though Nevil's hands were working, it's clear she has already given this a lot of thought. She looks up periodically, to read Atalaya’s face, "it is better to see it not as what we have to undo, but what we have to build. She has to learn to trust in people, understanding that the world can be different, it's just going to take time. But she's on the right path for that."
Nevil looks up, "Why Inman? The easy answer is we have made promises to her. He has not." She looks back at her hand work. "Or perhaps male teachers specifically hold the worst memories. I can't answer that."
When Nevil completed the next braided rope, Inman took the end and used his mage hand to easily attach it to the ceiling beam. It was arranged perpendicular to the first and nearby. Nevil playfully scoffed, "and you just let us climb all over each for the last sets..." Inman shrugged, "you guys were already doing a great job. And it was a team building exercise."
Nevil turns back to Atalaya, "I know it's hard to hear. But this is actually good news. She's talking." Nevil measures three lengths of rope on her arm and cuts them to length. She folds them each in half, leaving three loops at the top, and begins to braid the last rope for the second couch.
“Yes, it is good that she is talking. We have been waiting for that. At least I have. So, she expects instruction to involve her being hit? No wonder she had such a hard time with her initial meditation lesson. She doesn’t seem to expect that during her weapon instruction. As you said, you have made a lot of promises with regard to your teaching of her. And I think that we can thank Joan and the Greenleafs for providing a base of appropriate training for you to work off of.”
“Absolutely,” Nevil replies, “they have done a really good job in a short time.”
Atalaya searches through her memories of the town. I don’t remember there being a school house in Parabor. That means the schooling she got was most likely provided by the priests and priestesses of Merrika and/or Chauntea. I can’t believe that they would have been hitting the students.”
“Well she said she liked school at first, but as the priests were replaced it got rough,” Nevil explained. “Any idea how much schooling she completed? Can she read and write?”
“I…I don’t know. It never came up.” Atalaya looked taken back. “How could I not know something as basic as that?”
“Wait, you said that the priests were replaced? Replaced by the cultists? … So we know that her relationship with her parents wasn’t very good. That the cultists replaced the priestesses of Merrika and abused the children in the school. … And that she is now starting to talk about it.”
Atalaya thought about what she had just been told. So now we need to continue to be a safe place for her to talk, whenever she is ready to. And to be very careful to show her appropriate respect, both to her and to each other. And how to have fun. From what she has said to me, I don’t think her parents ever did that with her. She turned to Nevil, “Do you have any other training games like your ‘Protect the Princess’ game?”
Nevil finished another braided rope and handed it to Inman who completed the second hanging couch while discussions continued.
Nevil nodded, listening to Atalaya, "I completely agree. Anything that reinforces the idea that this life is different now will help. We are already doing that pretty well, I think."
Nevil squeezes her sore hands and continues, "she did miss her childhood. Replicating one while on the path of an adventurer will be challenging. But I agree she needs time to play.” Nevil playfully grins, “we may have to dust off our inner child to bring that out of her. For kids her age, there are the obvious family games, cards, chess, hide and seek.” Nevil considers, “when I was her age, and living with the innkeeper, we played knights and knaves (a derivation of assassin) and werewolf (aka mafia). Of course there is good old fashioned role-playing of princesses, wizards, or house.”
Inman flops on the second couch and pats the seat next to himself looking at Nevil. Nevil sits beside him and gets comfortable. Inman grins with satisfaction and adds, "A good game of assassin could be a lot of fun. I imagine Sorrow and Boz would be really good at that game." Nevil nods, "but we would have to put rules on it for ship life."
Nevil looks to Atalaya, "What about you? What did your family do for fun?”
Atalaya smiles as she thinks back as she takes a few sips of the nightcap. “My favorite game with my father was Hide and Seek. At first it was just the two of us who played it, but as my brother got older he was included. By the time my sister joined in, I was emulating my father’s role of hiding with the expectation of allowing myself to be found and searching without “seeing” her hiding places. But, my father and I continued to ‘play’ the game out in the woods. I realize now, it became a tracking and stealthing exercise. Learning how to follow his tracks to find him and to try to hide without leaving any trail myself. Eventually, we only played this when either my Aunt Kalusa or Uncle Rhys and his wolf Clearwater were there to provide backup to the searcher. There were times during that when Gwaeron helped me find the trail again. We were ‘playing’ at that level of the game when I was around Cirilli’s age. When I started formal training at Oleascoa that was a training exercise we often did in groups.”
“Other things we did for fun? Hmm, well, I was always encouraged to draw. And in the evening we would sing or tell stories. Sometimes my mother or father would start a story and then stop at an exciting part and someone else would have to continue the story until they got to a good place to pass it to the next person.”
“We would take walks in the woods or go to the swimming hole and swim and play in there. We had lots of water fights and races. Do you know that watermelons will float when tossed into the water? My mother would grease the watermelon and we would divide up into teams. This was a game we often played when my Aunt Kalusa and her family came to visit. Sometimes it was family against family. Sometimes it was the girls against the boys or even adults versus the children.”
“Once Quaeth and Erendril were old enough we played lots of pretend. It was even more fun when Talina and Lorsan were with us. Lots of saving the High Forest from the orcs and goblins, searching for treasure and the like.”
“My father devised an archery game for me when I was learning. He set up a series of targets. Each a little further than the one before in an arc around me. I had to shoot at each target until I hit it and then move on to the next target in order while my father counted down from a set number. Depending on what my last hit was I would earn a prize. When we started he would count down from 100. As I got better the starting number was lowered. Or the targets were moved farther back or became smaller. It was a good game. Even when my cousins played too, you were rewarded for your own skill. We each earned our own rewards. And we all got very good with our accuracy when using the short bow. That same exercise was used when I was grown enough to start learning to use the longbow, but without the rewards. By then I was old enough to want to develop the skills and didn’t need the rewards.”
“When my father wasn’t there, sometimes we would play cards in the evenings. Crazy Eights and Dirty Eights was always fun. We played other things too; Canasta, and Rummy were some of them. We had a couple of games too. I liked Mancala and Starstone checkers. Starstone checkers was fun because we could all play it together.” (i.e. Chinese Checkers)
Atalaya looked down at her now empty cup. I didn’t plan on drinking all of that. “So, I have ideas for training ‘games’ when we get on land, but not so much for onboard. Anyone else have some ideas?”
Putting the cup down on the table she asked Nevil, “Don’t you want to try out your new couch?” Atalaya got up and made her way back onto the original couch with Vasilya.
Perhaps Nevil was quiet when she jumped onto the second couch next to Inman. Perhaps the Nightcap was having an unusual effect for Atalaya. But when Atalaya turned around she found Nevil already lounging with Inman, the couch still slightly swinging from the additional weight.
Inman added, "perhaps we should try them all and see what she likes? It wouldn't be hard to get some simple rainy day games." Nevil picks up her feet and tucks them under herself. She starts to relax as Inman kicks the floor to rock the couch. Nevil closes her eyes and offers, "Well, let's not overwhelm her. We also need to be careful not to over plan her days. Some quiet time is good for the soul.”
“That's true, Nevil. So, I can look for some games in Blue Haven while we are looking for books and whatever else we want or need for the trip from there to Candlekeep. I don’t remember seeing much on the map south of Blue Haven until Baldur's Gate.
Vasilya looks at the others and says, “You could try asking her what she likes to do for fun, you know. She and her friends built that tree house. What did they do while they were up there?”
Nevil laughs and opens her eyes to look at Boz, "we must all be tired to have neglected that point. You are absolutely correct we are going to need Cirilli's input." Nevil surveys her friends. Then speaking loud enough for Sorrow to hear, "I haven't had a good game of chess in years and Atalaya is right, Blue Haven is a good opportunity to stock up on recreation items."
Sorrow pauses mid-phrase of tune and turns an intrigued eye to a grinning Nevil and Inman. Inman asks, looking to Boz and Atalaya, "anyone else play?"
Atalaya laughs at Inman’s question. “Not me. Ivar is the chess player in our group while I was with The Master. She looks at Vasilya, “How about you Vaz? I don’t think I’ve seen you playing chess. Do you?”
"Only between what Sorrow and Seraphina have shown me and what I have picked up from watching Ivar play. I'm not good at it. But I'm willing to give it a try."
Nevil comments, "Speaking of Blue Haven, if we don’t make port in the next few hours, the best time to make acquaintance with our contacts will have passed.”
Atalaya speaks up, “Then we wait and head into town tomorrow. Inman can drop off our involuntary guest with his friends here, we can explore the town and check out the taverns to pick where you would like to try to make contact. Look for some books and have dinner and let Sorrow play wherever you choose as the best spot to try.”
Her gaze turns to Boz. “After that last cup, I’m not sure that I’m up to going into town tonight, even if we make it there soon enough. I’m pretty happy where I am right now. And Cirilli has already headed to bed. I’m thinking that is a good place for her to remain tonight.”
Nevil sighed, "Oh, good. I'm glad we agree. because the more I sit here, the more I don't want to move."
Nevil considers and speaks softly, "about our guest... What is the plan? Do we give him to the constabulary or one of our known ‘factions’ ?”
“I don’t really want to move either,” says Atalaya. “These hanging couches were a wonderful idea, Nevil. I’m looking forward to having the floor finished.” Atalaya enjoys the slight rocking of the couch that Boz maintains.
Eventually Atalaya responds to Nevil’s earlier question. “Would either of your factions be able to appropriately contain our guest once we turn him over? The constabulary doesn’t seem to be doing a very good job of maintaining their hold on the pirate captains.” She pauses for just a moment as she thinks about Captain Hawk, and then tries to frame her question. “If we turn him over to the Harpers, what would happen next? What would the War Wizards make of him? Would either or both of these groups just hand him over to the constabulary?”
Nevil considered, "well I suppose it is a matter of who you trust to transfer him into the hands of the uncorrupted law of the Crown. The Harpers would probably squeeze him for information on slaver and smuggling activity or any knowledge of corrupted officials. Then given the nature of the threat, they would likely transfer him to someone trusted representing the law. To my knowledge we are not exactly set up for incarceration and it's too dangerous to hold him." She leans her head back to looking over her brow to see Inman's face, Would the War Wizards do anything different?”
"They would most likely extract all the info they deemed needed out of him by any means necessary." Inman raises an eyebrow. "So basically, probably not."
As Inman finished talking, Sorrow picked up his fiddle and placed it in its case. “It’s time for me to turn in,” he stated as he headed towards his room. “I’ll see you in the morning.” Looking at Nevil and Inman he adds, “And I have the song’s changes down pat now. We can deliver your message whenever you like after we get to port.”
After several moments of quiet, with just the creaking of the freshly braided ropes, Nevil's eyes fell heavy. She fought her way back to attention. Willing herself to rise with a groan, "I'm falling asleep. These couches are dangerous." Extending a hand, asking for Inman to follow, "We shall see you in the morning."
Atalaya mumbles a sleepy, “Good night. Until the morning then,” as she watches them leave.
After readying for bed, Nevil slipped under the sheet to a content and grinning Inman. “Shall we pick-up where we left off?" He asked. Nevil sighed with deep release, "Yes." She lay with her head on his shoulder, cradled in his arm, a leg draped over his thigh. "All evening, I wanted to be back here." She added. Inman kissed the top of her head, "Well here we are." Nevil closed her eyes, listening to Inman's regular breath and fell fast into dreams.
Vaz watched Inman and Nevil make their way to the galley and heard the door to their cabin close. Turning to Atalaya, his hand caressing her face, he said, “I believe Nevil has the right of it. It’s late and while this couch is comfortable, I think I would prefer the privacy of our cabin. Let’s straighten things up in here and then…” he gently nipped her ear, “then I’m putting you to bed, ‘Laya.”
Atalaya stretched and, opening her eyes, sighed, “You’re right of course.” Standing up and carefully making her way around the opening in the floor she headed back to the tables and picked up the various cups left on the table and took them into the galley.
Vasilya picked up the scattered rope pieces and tools and put them into the storage room. He trimmed the lanterns and left just enough light in the common room to allow for safe movement through the area. As he looked around for anything else that needed to be done he watched Atalaya make her way easily through the darkened room to Cirilli’s door.
Atalaya quietly opened Cirilli’s door. Seeing her ward curled up in her blanket in the hammock strung across the far end of the room, she smiled and breathed a silent blessing for a restful sleep and for the strength and courage to tackle whatever life brought her. When her hand completed making Mielikki’s holy sign she added a quiet “Peace be with you, ‘Daughter of my Heart’.” She closed the door as quietly as she had opened it.
Backing away from the door, she took Vasilya’s hand in hers and they walked together towards their cabin. Stopping outside the prisoner’s room Atalaya listened for any sounds indicating that he was not asleep and checked to be sure that the nails locking the door were in place. Not noticing anything amiss, she continued to the cabin.
Once in the room, Vasilya pulled Atalaya into his arms and holds her closely. “Come Iubet. It’s time for bed.”
“Just a moment, love. I need to make some Goodberries tonight. I haven’t used any of my magical energy today. I should be able to make quite a few tonight. And who knows what the new day will bring.” Atalaya got out the pouch she keeps her Goodberries in and pulled out the small sprig of mistletoe that she kept in the pouch. Holding it in her hand and centering to reach deep into the earth she softly breathed an elven phrase. Her fingers made a plucking motion and she watched as 32 Goodberries materialize in the pouch. Goddess, I hope we are not going to need all of those tomorrow. Atalaya tied the pouch shut and placed it with her belt on the desk.
Smiling at Vasilya, she got ready for bed quickly and joined him. Relaxed from his earlier massage and all the nightcap she had consumed that evening she melted into his embrace as she drifted off to sleep.
Chapter 19: Cirilli
Cirilli relaxed in Vasilya’s arms as he picked her up and carried her to her room. Her body felt ‘floaty’ and she was aware of how much better her shoulder and arm felt once Atalaya had finished her massage. She still wasn't quite sure how Atalaya had managed that. Yes, the massaging of her hand felt good, but once she started moving into her arm, there were points where the rubbing had been a little painful, never anything to pull away from but still a bit uncomfortable. But then the pain would almost melt away and she would feel better. Her shoulder had hurt a lot by the end of the practice. Who knew that holding her sword still while Nevil explained something or corrected her position would hurt this much afterwards.
It wasn’t very many steps from the lounger to her hammock, and too soon she felt Vasilya placing her on the hammock. Her eyes opened with the change of position. The room was dark. The only light shone through the open door from the room behind them. Vasilya pulled off her boots and stowed them in the chest. Taking the blanket that was folded at the foot of the hammock, he pulled it over her and opened the porthole to let the evening breeze into the room. “Sleep well my Little Warrior.” He leaned down and his lips pressed a light kiss on her forehead. “Until the morning, ‘Daughter of My Heart’,” he added.
Cirilli watched as he left, closing the door behind him. Sleepily she pondered the meaning of ‘Daughter of My Heart.’ I’m going to have to ask Atalaya just what that means. She and Boz use it almost like a name. Cirilli lay on her hammock, watching the clouds move across the stars through her porthole as she thought about her day.
Cirilli pulled her blanket around her and curled up watching the clouds blow past the stars. With swords flashing through kata patterns she fell asleep.
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