The Minstrel

Waves in the Dark

 Each board groaned under his feet aboard the Korvinsfald so severely, Killian could have closed his eyes and imagined he had never left the pier. Though after a few moments on the longship, he actually wished he hadn't. Though they didn't slacken their work for long, the newcomer's presence in their territory provoked glances and snickers from the Dwarven sailors enough to make Killian grit his teeth. Thorian had hastily volunteered to guide his uncle on a brief tour of the ship, to which Durgan consented on the condition they would be accompanied by his first mate.

This first mate was a gruff Dwarf by the name of Rulger Ogbart, the same fire-bearded Dwarf who had spoken to Durgan regarding the opening downstairs. He greeted Killian by a short once-over with his eyes, and beckoned the pair to follow him with the end of a short blunderbuss he'd equipped.

"We ain't have many travelers board the Korvinsfald, so count yerself lucky - an without a coin from yer purse no less."

Heading for the stern of the vessel, the trio made their way to a wide staircase. Killian hadn't heard much of what Rulger had said, as his eyes were glued to the bound bundle they passed just a number of steps away from. Carefully they descended to the dim and humid depths onto a deck that appeared to double as both general storage and bunking. This, of course, Killian was left to ascertain for himself, as Rulger spoke mainly of the various rules aboard the vessel. These consisted primarily of the things Killian could not do, of which there were many.

He was not allowed to look through anything in the cargo hold. He was not allowed to distract the crew from their work. And he was absolutely not allowed to wander about the ship once they had set off. Surprisingly, the rules were lax in terms of his interaction once he had taken his seat, wherever that would be. Growing evermore anxious about this observation, Killian inquired about his own lodgings, to which Rulger only responded with a grin that was too wide to be genuine. It was then that they descended further into depths that turned from dim to dark, and humid to sweltering heat.

Killian stopped just past the foot of the stairs. He attempted to will his legs to move forward, but fear kept him rooted in place. Having been raised in the Isles, Orcs were a common sight, though Killian had only seen them in passing. Now he was faced with row after row of the massive and monstrous creatures; dozens of them seated with their backs to their guests, as if members of a pious congregation. Rulger strode forth down the central aisle in between the benches, which were packed with the living cargo like sardines in a can. Though each of the Orcs was easily three times the size of the first mate, not one of them looked up as he passed them. In fact, those that had an arm or a foot even slightly into the aisle quickly pulled the limbs close to their person as they heard the Dwarf's approach. It was only through Thorian's encouragement - and his annoyment with it - that Killian was able to continue.

Rulger paid the slaves no attention and continued gabbing on, though about what Killian could not figure, as he was altogether too busy keeping himself at as much a distance from the creatures as possible. His attention was only focused back upon the Dwarf once he had realized they had come to a standstill.

"This here's yer stop, bard. Do as ye please so long's ye abide by the rules."

Killian looked dumbly first at Rulger, before turning his attention to the direction in which he gestured. A narrow, rickety bench the same as the other two-dozen aboard the ship sat just to his right. A long oar handle jutted out of the inside of the hull, at chest height to the lone, sullen Orc who sat chained to his place. The only difference between this bench and all the others is that this one had a single open space.

"You there!" Rulger thundered to the slave. "Meet our guest. He'll be joinin' us for some of our journey, so make certain to be hospitable, swine." The Orc only sagged his shoulders further to the floor, dully staring ahead.