Lendri was wandering around the docks in Rihad, trying not to worry too much that he'd lost track of where the ship was, and consequently where Teldryn was, and that he had to be back at the ship in a half hour, or it would leave for Anvil without him.
"I should probably start panicking now. Or at least soon."
He climbed a stack of crates to see better over the teeming crowd. Seagulls wheeled and called overhead in the blue sky, while traders and sailors swarmed over the boardwalk below. It was beautifully warm. Being back in a warm place felt even better than he'd remembered it. The bay bristled with masts, but with the sails down, he couldn't tell which boat was the one he needed to find. He turned around, looking down the shore in the other direction, but all the boats looked the same at that distance. He turned back, considering asking someone, despite his imperfect grasp of the language.
"Lendri!" The crates rattled. He glanced down and smiled.
"Oh, hey Teldryn."
"Quit twirling around up there and get back to the ship."
"I couldn't find it." Teldryn was rushing off almost before he could jump down. Lendri hurried after him,
"And by the way, some messenger came by the ship wanting to give you a letter. The captain asked around and that's when I realized you were gone."
"I was going for a walk. I got lost. I was trying to get back, honest."
"What were you thinking, the ship is all the way on the other side of the dock, we'll be lucky if they don't throw our stuff on the shore and leave. We'll be lucky if they throw our stuff on the shore at all, instead of just leaving with it! Come on, run."
On the docks with so much going on, no one really paid much mind to the two elves running by, but that also meant they had to dodge around carts, conversations, and others frantically trying to catch their own ships. The tide was turning, going out, and most of the ships were leaving. The next ebb tide would be at midnight, and few captains wanted to sail in the dark.
In the end, it turned out Teldyrn and Lendri, at least, need not have worried. One of the other passengers, a noble from Cyrodill, had purchased a horse who was proving very averse to the idea of going up a gangplank, which was proving a difficult truth for the noble to digest. Lendri leaned over the ship's rail with a few other passengers and crewmen, watching standoff. The captain was standing by, looking frustrated.
"I'm sorry, Lord Ennius, but I can't force that animal onto the ship. And I won't risk any of my crew trying. I can get a man from one of my land-based trade operations to bring it to Anvil."
"That stallion cost me 3000 septims, and that's not even counting the inflation for the exchange rate. I am a very important man, Captain Azansur, and I wont stand to have my property mistreated. Taken along on a caravan, indeed! I paid for transport on this ship, and at the time you said the fee included storage of my belongings."
"I said storage within reason. A horse isn't within reason. Not to mention I don't usually accept passengers' animals on my ship."
"When the sea gets choppy it will slide around and end up turning somersaults all over the deck anyway," Lendri commented. His remark fell rather awkwardly into a lull in the conversation, and he moved back, hiding partly behind the burly shoulder of a nearby Orc.
Despite this, Lord Ennius glanced up and and managed to pick him out among the others, and shoot him a disapproving look.
The captain took this moment to make another point."Horses aren't very easy to transport by ship. They have to be kept in hobbles and blinders most of the way. They make a mess. They grow unhealthy for want of exercise. They're not meant for sea travel!"
"I'm not giving this beast to your caravan so it can be used as a pack animal!"
"Are we going to wait all day for this whining?" Muttered an Imperial woman, turning away from the rail in disgust.
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timeasmymeasure
2
Date: 2014-01-20 09:22 am (UTC)Lendri was wandering around the docks in Rihad, trying not to worry too much that he'd lost track of where the ship was, and consequently where Teldryn was, and that he had to be back at the ship in a half hour, or it would leave for Anvil without him.
"I should probably start panicking now. Or at least soon."
He climbed a stack of crates to see better over the teeming crowd. Seagulls wheeled and called overhead in the blue sky, while traders and sailors swarmed over the boardwalk below. It was beautifully warm. Being back in a warm place felt even better than he'd remembered it. The bay bristled with masts, but with the sails down, he couldn't tell which boat was the one he needed to find. He turned around, looking down the shore in the other direction, but all the boats looked the same at that distance. He turned back, considering asking someone, despite his imperfect grasp of the language.
"Lendri!" The crates rattled. He glanced down and smiled.
"Oh, hey Teldryn."
"Quit twirling around up there and get back to the ship."
"I couldn't find it." Teldryn was rushing off almost before he could jump down. Lendri hurried after him,
"And by the way, some messenger came by the ship wanting to give you a letter. The captain asked around and that's when I realized you were gone."
"I was going for a walk. I got lost. I was trying to get back, honest."
"What were you thinking, the ship is all the way on the other side of the dock, we'll be lucky if they don't throw our stuff on the shore and leave. We'll be lucky if they throw our stuff on the shore at all, instead of just leaving with it! Come on, run."
On the docks with so much going on, no one really paid much mind to the two elves running by, but that also meant they had to dodge around carts, conversations, and others frantically trying to catch their own ships. The tide was turning, going out, and most of the ships were leaving. The next ebb tide would be at midnight, and few captains wanted to sail in the dark.
In the end, it turned out Teldyrn and Lendri, at least, need not have worried. One of the other passengers, a noble from Cyrodill, had purchased a horse who was proving very averse to the idea of going up a gangplank, which was proving a difficult truth for the noble to digest. Lendri leaned over the ship's rail with a few other passengers and crewmen, watching standoff. The captain was standing by, looking frustrated.
"I'm sorry, Lord Ennius, but I can't force that animal onto the ship. And I won't risk any of my crew trying. I can get a man from one of my land-based trade operations to bring it to Anvil."
"That stallion cost me 3000 septims, and that's not even counting the inflation for the exchange rate. I am a very important man, Captain Azansur, and I wont stand to have my property mistreated. Taken along on a caravan, indeed! I paid for transport on this ship, and at the time you said the fee included storage of my belongings."
"I said storage within reason. A horse isn't within reason. Not to mention I don't usually accept passengers' animals on my ship."
"When the sea gets choppy it will slide around and end up turning somersaults all over the deck anyway," Lendri commented. His remark fell rather awkwardly into a lull in the conversation, and he moved back, hiding partly behind the burly shoulder of a nearby Orc.
Despite this, Lord Ennius glanced up and and managed to pick him out among the others, and shoot him a disapproving look.
The captain took this moment to make another point."Horses aren't very easy to transport by ship. They have to be kept in hobbles and blinders most of the way. They make a mess. They grow unhealthy for want of exercise. They're not meant for sea travel!"
"I'm not giving this beast to your caravan so it can be used as a pack animal!"
"Are we going to wait all day for this whining?" Muttered an Imperial woman, turning away from the rail in disgust.