(M) Voyage of the Storm Breaker (P)

[SikstaSlathalin]

Lord Winterblade's eyes had gone unfocused again as the wine took a little hold of him and his walks down memory lane continued, but this little stroll was cut short by the sound of approaching feet, clawed ones at that staying the urge to grab Firestorm besides him he looked up and smiled at the Argonian and Khajiit women as they approached his little table.
"Indeed so lassie, back when I was young enough to stare off and not fall asleep." He laughed softly getting to his feet towering over the young women.
"Yes, actually there is a contract here, that every crewmember needs to sign before we can begin." He said this loud enough for the Elves that had just arrived two Altmer and a Bosmer to hear. He pulled five sheets of paper out from the desk's drawer and handed them to the new arrivals before placing five quills and two inkwells on the desk between them.
"Here you all go, it's a pretty simple wee contract. In it there is what our mission is, what myself and the Officer's promise and what you can expect from us, and what is expected from you." He points to the small paragraph at the top of the page and reads it aloud.
"Our mission is simple, we are contracted by High King Ulfric to create an detailed and perfectly up-to-date map of Tamriel and the areas around it. This will require at least three years of sailing, and an untold amount of days exploring on land mapping everything out. It will be dangerous and there is no guarantee everyone will survive but if you have the courage an ambition the rewards will be great." With the mission statement read he moved on to the Ship Officers' promise he points to the first little dot and read it off for everyone the others following suit.

• "The Officers promise to treat everyone fairly despite, age, sex, race, past, allegiances, or feelings towards High King Ulfric, the Stormcloaks, or Nords in general."
• "We promise to give everyone an equal share in any treasure or loot we come across."
• "You will be paid for a minimum of three years with this contract, but you will continued to be paid until the voyage is done or if you wish to leave after your contract is up."
• "You will be given credit for every contribution you give towards the ship, crew, and/or our quest in general."
• "The Officers will do their best to insure everyone is healthy, well-fed, and kept alive for however long possible."
• "If worst comes to worst I will personally make sure your remains are returned to your family if you so wish and all your equipment will go with you unless you wish to donate it somewhere or sell it. In which case the gold will be sent to wherever you wish it to be sent to."
• "And lastly we will do our best to make sure everyone is treated fairly by everyone else. Racism and prejudice will not be tolerated aboard this vessel."

He finished up the Ship's promise looking each of his new crew in the eyes gauging their feelings on what was said. He pointed his finger at the lines emblazoned with his name, his first mate Mirida's, the Blacksmith Daimus Morvayn then a blank line for the recruits to sign.

He moved onto the bottom of the contract where the Officer's expectations of the crew were he pointed to the dots once more rattling them off.

• "As a member of this crew you will be expected to show loyalty to the Officers and to the crew as a whole."
• "You will be expected to take care of not only yourselves but each other. We'll be together for a long while and letting your shipmate get injured because you don't like them will not be tolerated."
• "You are each given a lockable sea chest to hold your valuables, take care of it and the key because you will not be given another."
• "Just like in any Guild there are a few things you cannot do and will be punished for it. No stealing from each other and no killing or fighting with each other."
• "Do your best to remain clean and disease free, it's a big ship but it's still a ship and any disease will spread like wildfire from prow to stern."
• "Be civil in any land we make berth in, we are representatives of Skyrim and High King Ulfric despite how we personally feel about it."
• "Despite what land we're in this is a Skyrim vessel, and we are all subject to the laws of Skyrim."
• "Be civil with each other, any problems can be brought to the Officers and we will help."
• "You are responsible for telling the Officers any problems you are having. We can't help if we don't know and we won't be babysitting you."
• "Men and women have separate quarters and you are expected to respect that boundary. Relations won't be stopped but nothing unwelcome or criminal will be allowed."
• "We are explorers not pirates. While we won't back down from a fight we can win, but we will not go looting ships or hunting down personal vendettas. Any crime you commit either on shore or while at sea you will be held responsible for and given over to the authorities."
• "While alcohol is allowed drugs like Skooma are not, and even with alcohol take it in moderation. Being hung over won't save you from first morning watch duty."

He finished the last of the reading and pointed at single blank line for everyone to sign.
"Once everyone has signed you may go aboard and pick out your trunks and bunks. Once everyone is settled in we can head back on up to Solitude and join in on the celebration of Mid-Year." He smiled leaning back waiting for them to sign.

[Raindrop]

¨

Mirida was standing with close range from Daimus having talked trash of casual conversation earlier and it was recently that it became obvious that those that just walked the harbor was signing up on this ship. Mirida was looking forward to drilling them all into a respectable shape.

Except those that was standing next to Allester, they had a sailor experienced crew aboard and of course that was the crew that kind of came along with the ship as they know it from inside out.
Either way that felt irrelevant at the moment, what did catch her eye though was that the crew did seem... Rather foreign, not that she was too bothered but it did stir tension into the air around her.

[StormyNyte]

Khinada offered a warm smile to the captain, but his slight resistance to grab for his blade did not go unnoticed to her. He was a Nord, and like so many other Nords she had encountered in the past, he probably disliked her kind too. Be that as it may, she was not about to let the man’s personal feelings dissuade her from what could very well be the biggest adventure of her life. Taking one of the offered contracts, she read over it herself as he read it aloud.

She smirked slightly as they went down the list, but her demeanor wavered a little when she read over the part about if the worst should come. It was difficult at best to track down a caravan on the move when you really needed to, it was nearly impossible to find one just to get something back to them. Her ears twitched, making the golden rings clink softly against one another. She glanced over to the Argonian woman beside her, wondering if her family was just as difficult to track. Turning her attention back to the contract, she continued to follow his reading.

The personal chests peeked her interest, but she put the thought out of her mind. Chances were that if anything happened to disappear, she would likely be the first one they blamed. She highly doubted the part about relations would be a problem, but the part about Skooma not being aloud almost made her frown. She did have two bottles of Skooma with her, but she was by no means addicted, it was more for recreational use than anything. But what they didn’t know wouldn’t hurt them, so she kept silent.

With a resolute nod, she reached for a quill, dipped it into the ink pot, and made her mark on the paper. Handing Lord Winterblade the contract back, she gave a genuine smile. “Khinada is most excited for this venture, she thanks you for this most wonderful opportunity.” That said, she made her way onto the ship, nodding to the Dunmer blacksmith as he watched them board, giving his strange armor an appraising look, before making her way below deck to claim a spot.

[StormWolf]

Too many people. . .

It had been a long time since Starkad had left the bleak walls of his ancestral home - more than a whole season. Mid-Year had snuck upon him like a dagger in the night, the festivities of the people of Solitude filling the very air with energy. Taking in a breath through his nose, Starkad could smell the fresh baked sweet rolls and the scent of warm honey on the wind. The mead hall was close. Starkad had half a mind to stop by and grab a crate of fresh mead for the journey, but decided against it.

Even though it was only mid-year, the air so far north was a nipping cold, and colder days were coming as winter drew closer and closer. Starkad Long-Fang scanned the crowded streets with his icy, penetrating eyes, remaining cautious and distrustful of nearly everyone he set eyes upon. Pulling up the wolf fur-lined hood of his traveling cloak, the towering Nord shrugged into the leather straps of his pack. Sitting around and watching the people mill about was not going to get him to the docks any faster, and he was no rogue, so slipping through the congested crowd was out of the question. Starkad, as usual, would be forced to take a less-subtle course of action. Following the smell of salt on the air, Starkad proceeded towards the Solitude harbor, shoving people out of his way with enough force to set most off their balance. Some belligerent, drunk individuals confronted Starkad about his plowing through the crowd, but most were deterred after the Nord's baleful stare all but burned a hole through their skull. One fool-hardy individual threw a punch at Starkad's stomach. The fool was left with a broken hand and a black eye as Starkad continued his march to the harbor at a purposeful pace.

Pausing to look over the docks, Starkad scanned his surroundings again with the trained diligence of a soldier and the keen eye of an apex predator. He was no stranger to the kind of scum that was oft found thriving on the docks of Skyrim. Ever since the defeat of the Empire and the slow alienation of the East Empire Trading Company, freebooters and bootleggers had been able to capitalize on the lax monitoring of shipments. While he may be removed from the world in his fortress, he kept a close eye on all he could see, and Starkad took a great notice of growing skooma imports. His Stormcloak days were over, though. No longer the paragon soldier or figure of the law. Starkad was not even viewed as a true son of Skyrim by most of his race anymore, due to his choice of romance. While it vexed him, his care of other people's thoughts towards him were insignificant to his worries for Zha'raji.

Never had she sent a letter so dire and desperate, and never one coded. To take such caution, she must truly be in a great deal of peril. After five months, she came back to him for help when she needed it most. It meant something. . . or at least Starkad hoped it did. Finally, Starkad's icy eyes settled on a growing crowd outside a particularly large vessel. Most sailing crews would be out enjoying the Mid-Year Festival, and as far as Starkad knew, there was only one that was recruiting during such festivities. Descending the stone and wood stairs to the main dock, Starkad approached the growing crowd, his approach heralded by the heavy thud of his feet upon the wood planks. Coming up to the rear of the group, Starkad easily stood over most others signing up. Locking eyes with the man in charge, Starkad pulled back his hood. His hair was like that of liquid gold, two braids hanging from his temples, the rest of his wild mane tied back. The scars were highly visible against Starkad's pale skin and thick beard. While some may not view Starkad as a son of Skyrim politically or socially, he looked every bit the part, even having thin iron chains woven into his braids.

"It has been a while, Lord-Captain. . ." Starkad said in a deep tone, chilly as the night's breeze.

[Jacogos]

Argonian, Khajiit, Altmer, Bosmer... another Altmer... An ironic absence of Imperials. I wonder why... Daimus mused, peering over the faces gathered before the Captain. He was blathering on about the contract they were supposed to sign... Had he known that the man would put him into a position of authority, he might've denied Mirida's offer even with the debt. He was nowhere near a people person. Especially this kind of people...

And then there was one more, a massive man by any standard. Daimus barely had to hear his speech or see his face before he named the man a Nord; the man's carriage and build could possibly belong to an orc, but no sane Orsimer would wear those skins. None that he had met, in any case.

The man certainly made his presence known, speaking to the Captain like an old friend. Not another one... With any luck, this Nord was a better smith than he, and Daimus could be on his merry way by sunset. He couldn't be so lucky.

"All we missing is a Redguard, an Orc, a Breton, and an Imperial..." Daimus muttered, eying the two Altmer with particular disdain. Nords he could deal with; if they didn't say nothin' to ya, then there was no problem. Altmer had that bloody air of superiority about them; it didn't matter if they said anything to you, their looks said it all. One of them didn't appear too awful, at least; the girl looked a scared mess, more likely to break into tears than bite your head off. The man looked a little older than he and looked every bit a mage even without the familiar to name him. He might be a problem...

Next was the two creatures. Khajiit were thieves; everyone knew that. This one had that particular glint in her eyes that told him she might try something if given the chance. He would walk carefully around her. The Argonian was polite, another woman. He had never met enough of them to make a good judgement on the race, so he'd be watchful of her all the same. Both were of an age with him, if he was any judge of looks. He'd rather not look much longer at them, so he moved on.

Lastly, the Bosmer. Wood Elves were one of the few races he didn't just dislike outright, so he was rather happy to have at least one on board. The man had a dark look to him, though he seemed to try and hide it with his stance. He'd be one to watch out for in a fight, behind the three Nords. Daimus nodded mentally and returned his gaze to the Captain, who was finishing up his speech. Now they signed, and they'd all go check their stuff, and Daimus would have some time to himself for all of a few hours.

Just the way I like it... he thought with a faint smirk.

[Zenteer]

"W..w..w...w…what…ki…ki…kind of cr...creature is this, sir..??" The female elf questioned Arorn nervously, she looked like she was about to pass out.

Arorn gave a reassuring smile as they strolled near Lord Winterblade’s desk. “Don’t worry about Dagger, he’s a good Wolf Familiar. He won’t hurt you, unless you plan on attacking me.” Dagger trailed behind Arorn, panting happily. Arorn swapped his attention to Lord Winterblade as he began speaking, and started scratching Dagger behind his ears.
He listened to Lord Winterblade about the contract while he surveyed the crew. A few of the assembled were Nords and like all Nords were big, brawny, and looked like they could squish your head open with their bare hands. There was also a Khajit, Arorn never really liked the Khajits. They were mostly thieve, skooma dealers, and basically a nuisance. Arorn had met many Khajits in his life and most of them were thieves. Actually, all of them might have been thieves. He did randomly lose his golden ring near that Khajit Caravan, never did find it….. Most of the time they were deterred by his conjurations next to him. Most of them generally think it’s a bad idea to attempt to pickpocket someone with a Dremora Lord with a giant greatsword strapped to his back. Arorn broke of his studying to return his gaze back to Lord Winterblade as he was finishing up his speech. Most of the rules seemed reasonable enough, it was also fairly simple, don't kill each other, don't beat each other up, don't steal, etc. Basic common sense stuff.

Arorn halted scratching Dagger’s ears as he scrutinized the parchment that he was given for a while. As he completed his scrutiny he dipped his pen into the ink and signed his mark. Dagger wandered off slightly as Arorn was signing. He came toward an Leather-Armored Argonian. He glanced up her odd reptilian face and cocked his head curiously.

[StormyNyte]

Once below deck, Khinada quickly set about choosing her bunk. She settled on the one farthest to the back, preferring to sleep with her back to a wall instead of to someone who was quite frankly a stranger to her, especially a stranger who potentially disliked her. She sat on the edge of the bunk for a moment, testing the rushes it was stuffed with while she let her eyes wander over the ship's interior. The lighting was dim and the air slightly musty, but it was tolerable. It would have to be tolerable for such a long journey.

Bringing her attention back to her own area, she moved from her bunk to kneel in front of her sea chest. Taking the old brass key from where it lay on top of the lid, she leaned in to examine the lock. It was an old design and probably wouldn't take much effort to pick if she wanted to, but in such confined space it would be best for her if she resisted the urge to snoop. Giving a huff of a laugh, she unlocked the chest and began to unpack her things. If they were going to get to go back for the festivities, she wanted as much room in her pack as possible for anything she decided she might need extra.

With a quick glance to the stairs to make sure no one was coming below deck yet, she withdrew her two bottles of Skooma and laid them flat in the bottom of the chest, covering them over with the spare clothes she brought with her. Once that was safely packed, she set about unpacking the day's picked items. Two gold rings, a jade and onyx circlet which would fetch a nice price, a small amethyst, a small sum of gold, and a rather odd looking small gem that she'd never seen before. It was a strange purplish-pink iridescent stone, possibly one of those soul stones she had heard about, but she had never actually seen before.

Once all those were packed away, she pulled out the bottle of mead, uncorked it and took a long draw, before recorking it and packing it into the chest as well. She packed her weapons away next, along with her potions, poisons, alchemy ingredients, and half eaten loaf of bread until all she still carried was her empty satchel and the gold in her coin purse which she kept in an inside pocket of her tunic. Once she finished, she closed and locked the chest, slipping the key into the same pocket, and made her way back on deck. Once back outside, she took a deep breath, savoring the salty air as she moved to lean against the ship's railing.

Her tail twitched as she watched the rest of the group, ears perked as she waited for the others to board and get settled. Letting her gaze drift back toward the Dunmer, she chanced at conversation. "Khinada is relieved to see that this voyage will have a capable blacksmith on hand. There will surely be much adventure to be had, best to not let one's weapons grow dull, yes?" She half expected the smith to ignore her, but if they were all going to be on this journey together she would have to try.

[Lord Tully]

As more an more people filed onto the docks in search of a place aboard The Storm Breaker, Shava began to feel a bit more at ease. The Argonian took comfort in being part of a larger whole, it brought her back to being part of the Imperial Legion, and while some may have preferred a smaller crew, more was indeed merrier in Shava's mind, so long as there was room for everyone.

Shava listened closely as Lord Winterblade read of the contract, it was much as she expected, neat and to the point, with reminders of all the obvious rules just to make sure everything was covered. With few surprises in the contract Shava took the reading as a chance to size up the rest of the crew, while she had expected Nords to turn up, as well as a Khajiit, they always seemed to find themselves in every kind of adventure, Shava was surprised by the number of Elves present. Two Altmer, a Bosmer and a Dunmer, for all the Stormcloak's efforts to drive these peoples out of Skyrim they seemed surprisingly undeterred in their intentions of joining this venture.

When Lord Winterblade finished reading the contract, Shava stepped forward, and signed her name to the contract placed in front of her. She had come a long way to do this, and Shava was determined to see it through to the end. She turned to go up to the ship when she found a wolf sitting on the dock starring at her, it was clearly not a normal wolf, she had seen enough of those to be able to tell, but she did not know exactly what kind it was. As the beast tilted its head as looked Shava simply stared straight back into its eyes, "What do you want?" she asked, Shava would not have been entirely surprised if the wolf was capable of answering, but did not really expect it to.

[Rayne7]

Graesin barely listened to what Winterblade said, instead studying his new shipmates with unconcealed interest as he sized them up. It seemed everyone was doing the same thing he was; figuring out who was what. The big Nord who showed up was of little interest to him; a stormcloak that knew the captain. Aside from that he was big, strong, and well-armed. But so had been several who had tried to kill him.

The Khajit was also of little interest; having nothing worth stealing that he wouldn't immediately notice, he didn't expect trouble from that direction. Especially since they'd be sharing the same ship, making hiding evidence all but impossible, and if anything of his was taken, he'd sink the ship to find it. That was one thing he didn't tolerate: people messing with his property. He'd lost everything he owned once before, and he'd worked hard to get it back. He'd killed more people than he cared to think about for taking everything away from him before, and it wouldn't happen again without them taking his life.

The argonian wasn't a problem either. The woman seemed amiable enough, and while he might not trust her, he wouldn't consider her his greatest threat on this voyage. While she might be a good fighter, she struck him as being if not trustworthy at least she would be friendly. Of all of those so far, he didn't truly consider them either as a threat nor people he needed to be overly concerned about.

It was the mages that he was wary of; they tended to do well at hiding their loyalties and intentions, and their powers were always impossible to gauge, ranging from non-threatening to extremely dangerous. As someone who had spent time at the mercy of a mage, he had an automatic distrust for anyone who could use magic and always kept an eye on them. As such, the Altmer and the Dunmer were of particular interest; even the younger one whose inexperience was in itself a danger, calling into question her ability to control her magic if she'd even begun to tap into the inheritance of her blood.

The entire assessment took the time for the captain to finish speaking. Looking over the document, he signed the piece of paper with one thing in mind; when things turned into a fiery storm unleashed, paper burns. He'd keep the agreement as far as anyone else did towards him. Otherwise, he'd do unto them the same they did unto him. It was as simple as that. As soon as the paper was signed, he looked to Winterblade.

"Mind if I take the Crow's Nest? I'm not much for celebrations."

[TsukiHime]

Sovia listen the rules with blank face, that is really so many rules and she hope that doesnt have to remember all of it. She sign the paper with shaking hand. she look at the people who comes and join, she hope she can do well and not troubling anybody.

Sovia hold her staff tightly, "will i ever be alright in here.??" ask glace to herself. She look at all races and it seem this adventure really something exciting to them and sovia doesnt understand that. She seems to notice that some of them has dislike for each other, she see khajits and she also know about what can they do. They like to steal and Sovia doesnt really matter with it because she doesnt have anything to be stole, well.. except her life that is.

With all the tenshion of dislikes she feel around her, she sighs "why cant they introduce each other first.. then get to know each other..??" ask glace to her self. Sovia think maybe because they have bitter past that they cant really trust anymore.