Convergence

The Adventure Begins

Crimsyn rested her chin on her crossed arms, staring over the railing into the endless waves. A few loose strands of her red hair blew in front of her eyes, and she exhaled, somewhere between frustrated and bored. This was day three on the water. 

The ointment she'd been wearing to prevent seasickness had been doing its job, but it could not prevent the boredom from coming on in full force. It also appeared to be preventing the rest of the people on the ship from interacting with her, a sort of people-repellent. Normally, this would suit her just fine, but currently only made her situation worse. 

The breeze blew through again then, wafting the fish and brine scent past her nose. She closed her eyes, dreaming instead of the cinnamon and honey scones she had run out of yesterday. The breeze changed, growing warm, and she imagined the bakery, almost as if she were there. In fact, she frowned slightly, eyes still closed, as the scent on the air changed, and she could actually smell the honey-cinnamon scones as if they were just coming out of the oven.

The railing beneath her arms vanished, her eyes flashed open as the floor changed, too. Her feet landed on solid ground rather than the wooden planks of the ship. Indeed, the warm smell of the baked goods grew stronger and she spun in a slow circle, taking in the bakery shop she didn't recognize. 

A young halfling woman of tan skin and short brown hair hopped up on a stool behind the counter and said, "Oh, hello! I'm sorry, I didn't see you come in. What can I get you?"

Crimsyn peered over her shoulder, expecting that she'd dozed off and that all of this was a dream. None of her adventuring party were there, she stood alone in the shop. She turned back to the halfling, who waited expectantly. "Uh, do you have any cinnamon-honey scones?"

The halfling smirked. "You're in luck, I've just pulled a tray out of the ovens. How many would you like?" 

"As many as you have." Crimsyn answered eagerly. She looked down at her feet, stepping back and forth on one and the other, testing the solid ground. She let a gleeful laugh escape her lips, being away from the gods-forsaken ship. "I'm sorry, can you tell me again the name of this bakery?" She asked as she exchanged coin for the beloved baked goods. 

"This here is Lina's Baked Goods. I'm not Lina though, she's in Lithian." The halfling answered. "I'm Direlley." She stuck out a flour-covered hand to Crimsyn, who shook it happily. 

"Crimsyn. Nice to meet you, Direlley." 

"What an interesting name. You're new here, right? I haven't seen you before." Direlley leaned forward, resting an elbow on the counter, unknowingly getting flour on her cheek. 

"Something like that. I need to get going, thanks for the pastries!" Crimsyn turned to leave, and then turned back. "Hey, actually, is there an Inn you can recommend?" 

Direlley looked Crimsyn over and frowned. "Try the Fractured Claw. They're alright. Across the square, big sign, you can't miss it." 

Crimsyn nodded, opening the door. "Thanks again!" she called, stepping into the street, and onward toward the Inn. 

***

In another place, another woman stood at the entrance to a cave. Asteria, a human woman with blond hair piled into a messy bun on top of her head, held a torch and stared at her companions, who were seriously considering adopting a tortle to join their party of adventurers. Asteria closed her eyes in frustration, imagining the deaths of all of them while trying to protect this apparently helpless new person. She thought through her surroundings, through the land she found herself in, where so many things she had counted as fact were thrown into question. The warrior in her knew that there was no sense in dreaming of turning back time to when everything had been straight-forward. The dreamer in her quietly pondered what could be different, if she could see her fifteen-year-old self and give her some warning.