The Evelyn Gryphon
Karkus
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The warmth of the sun felt like a scorching fire today; The clear skies meant there was no cloud cover, and the world seemed so bright and colourful, like an oversaturated photograph. Days like this make me wish I could just bask in the sun and tan; my skin carried a pale blue pallor to it, made me look like a cold cadaver, which technically, I am. I was enjoying my sightseeing until I spotted a seagull fly past me, at eye-level. A horrible reminder. My legs felt weak for a moment; for a brief second I believed I might collapse onto the deck of the ship, a deep
breath helped me to steady my legs and stride forwards a few feet to the steel railing that flanked the deck of the vessel. Just as I expected, I could see the ocean below the ship. Hundreds of feet below the ship. I hated flying.
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Byron
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The Evelyn Gryphon was her name, a beautiful vessel. My vessel. I cared for her as much as I cared for my crew, and my crew cared for her just as much. It made me happy to be a man of many professions; trader, captain and (if the occasion called for it) musician.
Today was as great as any other day; not a cloud in sight and the wind blowing the way we travelled, we'd be arriving at our destination hours ahead of schedule; the men had been working hard, and deserved a few hours of time on land before they took to the skies again. The crew were happy, and so, as their captain, I should also be; but no matter how good the weather was or how much my crew were in high spirits, I felt uneasy. The reason was clear to me, and I could see the reason standing on the deck of the Evelyn Gryphon, just a few dozen feet from me.
The reason for my discomfort was a short, pale and frail looking man, with a gaunt face and unkempt hair hidden beneath the shadow cast by a large straw hat. His frailty was something of my assumption, he never made so much as a sound when he walked along the deck; as if there were no weight to the man at all; yet I had never clearly seen his body, he covered himself with a ragged grey shawl, loose fitted trousers and a jet black overcoat. His choice of outfit was as odd as his general appearance.
My helmsman Rahdesh tapped my shoulder lightly "Still worried about that traveller?"
I nodded, and he continued to speak.
"He hasn't caused any trouble at all in the two days he's spent aboard, sure he looks odd, but he hasn't done anything strange, besides, he pays well"
I nod again, responding this time "Yes, he did pay well, didn't even attempt to haggle, he just gladly paid my asking price, didn't mind that he would have to stay with the crew either, just asked if he could bring his luggage aboard and paid up" I rest a finger on my bottom lip for a second " and yet he seems strange. He's done nothing wrong; all he's done is simply exist, and I feel like there I must be wary of him.
Rahdesh paused for a moment before he started to make his way back to the wheel "We'll be docking at Vina in a few hours cap'n; get some rest. I'll keep an eye on your favourite traveller for a while" yet again, I gave Rahdesh a nod, he was one of the few people I felt comfortable having look after my ship for me.
Already the sun was getting closer to setting, and a pale orange tinge cast onto the door of my quarters as I entered, the room was unlit, besides the shafts of sunlight that came flooding through the windows. I rummaged through my bedside cabinet until I found my flint and firesteel; then took a seat on my bedside and lay a candle on my knee, striking the flint against steel until the candle lit. It was light now, but I'd rather not have to rummage in the dark once I woke up; so I set the candle atop a cast iron dish on my bedside, unbuckled my belt and laid my pistol on my bedside too; before drifting, slowly, into sleep.
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Karkus
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It felt like I had just stood there for a century, looking off into the distance as the sun set on the horizon; as the sun had sank out of view, I decided to make my way back into the crew quarters; the once warm breeze had turned into a cold wind that nipped at my skin, and I lost any sense of comfort that I'd previously felt, I could see perfectly in the dark, and superstition of ghosts and terrors of the night didn't worry me either. But still, darkness always felt eerie; though perhaps the quietness of the ship contributed to this unsettling feeling; the Grypon certainly wasn't silent. Muffled footsteps and the faint sound of the crew chattering amongst another and arguing over something could be heard below. But it all sounded distant. Like I was alone. Secluded from the others in the dead of night.
I was admittedly restless to arrive at Vina, I had missed the hustle and bustle of the city more than I thought possible; my last contract had me tracking a Lord's wife under suspicion she had been meeting with a lowborn lover of hers. The suspicion was justified when I found the two howling like wolves in a woodcutters shack off in the woods, With a few of the Lord's personal knight-servants accompanying me to escort the lovers back to his manor; the job was a bore and I hated the countryside; but I had very little in the ways of both job offers and finance, so I didn't have much of a choice.
I call myself a detective; a private detective; but I've pretty much just spent all my time being hired by upper-class folk to catch their loved ones in the act of cheating. Nothing adventurous or exciting; it didn't pay that well either. Last week, a message came for me, a nobleman from Vina was worried about his wife; she'd seemed cold to him as of late, her manners had degraded a little, and more than once servants were incapable of finding her within the ground of the manor in the dead of night. The man had offered me a pay so large I feared I might not be strong enough to carry my coincides after receiving it; of course I accepted his job, and here I was. Aboard an airship on my way to Vina to meet the noble myself.
I would have a long day ahead of me when I arrived at Vina; so I made my way to the crew quarters quickly, wrapped my shawl around me right and began to fall asleep on the rough straw mattress.
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It was dark still when the Gryphon came to port; the air a little less chilly, and the silence before I slept now overpowered by yelling crewmen and skydock workers. The captain of the Gryphon, Byron had yelled me awake, along with a few deckhands. The moment I took hold of my luggage I was promptly shoved off the vessel and onto the docks, without a speck of fanfare or a hearty farewell. I'd at least expect that for the price I paid to travel.
The docks were nothing special, dingy in fact. Perhaps it was the darkness. Broken only by the glass-cased lanterns that lit the docks and streets ahead; or it could be the musky smell of sweat, smoke and unknown excrement that carried in the icy air. The smell was no surprise, the docks were a few feet above a stream of runoff from Vina's sewage system; and the crewman of these airships spent most of their time doing physical labour; many also shared a common lack of interest in personal hygiene. Luckily I didn't have to remain in this horrid place for long; I'd been told to find one of the noble's employees at a tailors nearby; low class, but a better place to meet than a a tavern or brothel. If my memory serves me correctly, the tailor went by the name of Weaver's Wonderful Formalwear. I'd never been to Vina before, but the city was renowned for it's size and the fact that it served as one of the greatest centres for trade in the world.
Luckily it didn't take me too long to find the decrepit looking store. Asking around with the dock workers had helped a lot, and so did a copper ring or two. I gave the store a quick once-over; the myriad of clothing in the front window looked quite garish, although the stitching appeared better than to be expected. The same front window that harboured the ugly attire looked stained and unclean, somewhat murky. The front doorknob reminded me of a battered bronze helmet, covered in dents from large to small. Taking in a lung full of musky, rank air, I stepped inside.
The smell of poverty was overpowered now by the thick reek of tobacco; it clung to my nostrils and nearly made my eyes water. I couldn't help but think that I'd preferred the smell of shit over this.
"Oh my oh my, aren't you a little early dearest?" A smooth voice called out as their head popped up out from a dressing room to one side of the store I'd entered. Their face looked almost skeletal, skin almost as pale as even mine, the bones and contours of their face were easily seen below their stretched looking skin; yet their face was horridly colourful; bright red lips and just as bright hair and eyelashes were nothing if not unnerving.
The skeletal frame vanished behind the dressing room curtains, a singular bony finger poked out from the curtain, curling as if to call me forth. Like an inquisitive fool, I followed.