~ Di~
Three days later and the crew came to a seaport city. Where there was once a sea of green there now was sand and before them the actual sea. Di hated the oceans, her body detested sea water, and she hated the idea of what lurked in the deep sea.
The city was so unlike Difavose in looks, but the consensus of people was not. Thankfully. Traveling cities and villages were often marked by trade routes and that meant plenty of different type of people, just like in Difavose. She could see more than a few fae around. This allowed her some safety in keeping her hair tied up, ear tips proudly showing.
The buildings here were all white. No splashes of color except in the stalls for sellers, and the ocean, but they were immense. Unlike Difavose, this city was home to many-roomed buildings; where she was used to cottages and small inns there were complex multi-family homes and the largest inn she had ever seen. It must have had a hundred rooms.
It was there that she, Po, and Treth sat, in the bar accompanying the inn. The others had gone off to store the horses and cart, as well as find new transportation that gave Di a slight yet constant chill in her stomach -- joining a ship crew.
Di said nothing and simply watched the surrounding crowds, as they sat at a table. Po nursed a water, feet dangling as much as Treth's from the ground. She made sure to sit closer to Po, doing her best to ignore the dwarf's beady eyes dart around the room. His greenish skin almost seemed to darken since they'd begun their travels. It was more of a sickening dark green now.
She looked away. Everywhere people talked and squished past each other. It seemed this was a lounging city as well as a trading port because among the sellers were those in leisure clothing. She'd never seen this many travelers, not on quests. She could hardly fathom the idea of traveling with nothing to prove -- no prophecy to unveil. They came for fun.
Finally, Matis found them in the center of the bar. He was alone and seemed to have dropped their packs with the others, as he was empty-handed in his approach. Di's stomach curdled.
"There you are!" He made a huge smile at the little trio. "Let's go! The ship leaves in three hours and I know you want to see the living quarters."
Di took his guiding hand and grabbed Po's as they jumped off the bar stools and waded through the crowd. She could feel the heat of the bodies pushing against them but held on to both hands tightly. Treth could not be seen, but perhaps that was a good thing. Until they made it out of the inn and in the middle of a crowded street when it seemed he was right behind Po all along. Shame.
The ship they walked up to was like any other. Large, brown, and teeming with people coming and going. The crew had a lot to bring up it seemed. Matis squeezed her hand. She squeezed harder. He led them down the dock and up the bridge onto the boat. Once again her stomach curdled and she wondered how uncomfortable could she be? First, a dwarf and now open seas travel, as if Matis could have found the perfect prophecy to put her through.
Di was careful to walk around the working men as they carried what looked like barrels of supplies and luggage. The boat slightly swayed under her feet, making her stomach turn again, a chill going up her spine. Matis led them through the middle until they reached a stairwell that led to several rooms squashed under the first floor of the boat; it seemed they were managing about four to a room, although she could hardly guess how. It seemed Matis paid for her and him to have their own room, though it was half the size of the others, and right next to a similar-sized one for the prince. The rest of their squad had a room across the way.
Di eyed the small space. It only had enough room for a twin-sized bed and their packs with a foot of walking space between. It, like the rest of the ship, smelled horrendous. She'd nearly gagged walking in, as the smell of sweat, wood, seawater, and fish overcame her, along with the feeling of claustrophobia. She swayed. Matis caught her arm and helped her to sit on the tiny bed, the other hand carefully pushing her waist down as she went.
"My dear!" He looked startled as he spoke. "Are you alright?"
"I'm not meant for the sea, Husband. You've known this," She sighed but allowed a small smile on her face. "It will take me a long time to get acquainted with this... Entire thing. The sea, the boat, the small spaces... I'm meant for roaming plains in moonlight."
He grimaced, then nodded, "I understand. I... I'm sorry for making you endure this, but I promise it's the only way!"
Di chuckled. She patted his hand before laying down.
"Perhaps just some water, and rest," She said. She heard his grunt in response and closed her eyes, trying to quell constant nausea that only seemed to worsen the longer her eyes were open.
~Matis~
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After setting the jug of water on the floor by Di, Matis decided to leave her alone. The trip seemed to make things worse between them, and he was not in the way of fighting his wife. He found himself, and his fellow quest-mates, below in the mess hall, with a gaggle of crew loitering around. The hall itself wasn't much besides a set of tables and some hammocks on the walls for more men to sleep, as he'd expected to see in any ship. Or not see. He almost chuckled to himself, thinking of how dark it was, with only candles lighting the tables and a few along the walls.
He and his group sat right in the middle of the tables, ship crew on either side. Matis and Quo shared a smile, as they watched some play a card game known as Briggs in Difavose, although it was probably called something else at sea.
"How much for a couple of lads to join?" Quo fingered a gold coin, somehow making it shine in the dark hall. One of the men snatched it and grinned toothily. He handed Quo and Matis six cards each, making sure to place them face down so not to see them. Matis quickly picked them up. An elf, two queens, a bard, and two peasants. Not great, but nothing he couldn't work with...
"Par," a man further down said, throwing his cards at the table. The next parred, but the one after asked for a new card exchange. It went this way for each player. Quo traded in a card, making Matis the last player. He stared at his hand, trying to ignore the stares of his crew and the ship crew playing around him. He could switch the bard and hope for another peasant but that didn't make for a winning hand, just a better one. If he traded the elf he was truly gambling, but trading a peasant could be beneficial. The likelihood for either the bard or peasant exchange was low considering there were only seventy-two cards in the deck and now eight players left. The other cards, including discarded, were continuously shuffled back together to create worse odds for each new player.
"Git on!" The dark man who'd allowed them to join remarked. Matis smiled and handed him a card. He looked again. It wasn't a losing hand... Matis kept his face square as each player unveiled his set while looking at previous sets to compare. Quo set his hand and Matis, as well as other men, hissed through his teeth. One swore loudly. Quo always won! Somehow, someway, the man was given the gift of luck it seemed.
Matis lamely put his hand face-up, showing he also lost, although if they were placing he would be second.
"Thas cheatin' that is!" One of the men threw his cup at the table and stormed off.
"Gentlemen, gentlemen!" Quo smiled toothily and took the pile of money, "Another round shall we? I'm only lucky, and luck can get a man so far."
"One more," the dealer replied, giving everyone else a look to see if they'd join in or not. Most returned. Some stayed to watch, but others just left to find other games, without lucky princes or first guards. Matis nodded and took a new deal. He looked over at their questing crew; they were in their own conversation. Good. It would be hard to live up to his prestige as an ethical man and leader while gambling his time away on a boat with strangers.
~Po~
The young man watched his superiors play a game he couldn't begin to understand, and tried to listen to the other men talk stories again. His father never allowed stories to invade his studies, not even the bedtime ones from nannies and maids; his only knowledge of them was from his friends back home. They told the worst ones. He hardly ever got to hear about adventures like Yrtle. The other boys only liked to tell the scary ones and ones about girls' bums. He enjoyed listening to Long Boar and Waterwell argue and disrupt each other through the adventures they discussed.
"Alright boys, it's time to pick one more story before it's off to bed with ya!" Long Boar smirked. The boy sighed. He wished he was only a little older to stay up and drink like a real man. Being under sixteen meant he was still carted to bed unless it was for a night watch, which he was hardly allowed to do, only on the safest nights with clear skies and open clearings that even he couldn't miss an intruder.
He thought for a little bit.
"Well, since we're at sea and all, can you tell me of Corban the Seafarer?" The men had mentioned Corban more than a few times and it was itching him to know the story. He'd yet to hear of a sea adventure.
"Oho!" Long Boar rejoiced with a belly-filled laugh. "This can only be told in song!"
"Now you've done it!" Waterwell pretended to throw his empty mug at the boy. "Long Boar over here sings good as any old maid from the High Prestian Church."
The boy drank the last of his water and waited with anticipation. Long Boar ran a hand through his hair, downed his ale, and burped extremely loud before smiling widely again. He started with a high-pitched whistle.
"An old maid once told me, a story to be told. Just listen this once, and watch what unfolds.
"He lived at port, he worked night and day,
That was until, his wife ran away." Long Boar winked at Po. "And so it began, the tale of Corban!
"Corban the myth, Corban the legend
The man of perils and travels destined.
"Corban the man, Corban the pirate
The man of fair fights and many a riot!
"He went out to sea, with as many as twenty
And searched high and low, yet never found Jenny.
"He found quest after quest, and fulfilled each new travel, yet poor Pirate Corban only found battle.
"Corban the myth, Corban the legend
The man of perils and travels destined.
"Corban the man, Corban the pirate
The man of fair fights and many a riot!"
A hollering went through the room, as more men both quieted down and began singing along. The boy started to become nervous again, seeing the others slosh their drinks and dance like fools. He'd seen his fair share of evil drunks.
"He defeated the Coolots and Westreen and Fairies,
He found ancient crowns and rings and the Golden Canary!
"With every new win, the lad come unstoppable,
It was said to win 'gainst Corban was nearly impossible.
"Corban the myth, Corban the legend
The man of perils and travels destined.
"Corban the man, Corban the pirate
The man of fair fights and many a riot!" A great hush went across the room. Slowly a rattle started. No, a thumping. The boy looked around and noticed men stomping in unison, building to the final verses.
"He left Gorre for the sea, and set a sail for nowhere,
And Jenny was found! In the king merman's lair.
"She laughed, and she laughed, oh Jenny with mirth,
So he cut off her tail, right up to the girth."
It seemed the song ended because that set nearly the entire room into laughter. The boy saw only the high prince and his guard not joining in.