The ship soared through the clouds like a snake slithering through grass. Jare spun the wheel of the Yafutoman ship as though it were second nature to him.
"You know," he began to comment, "This ship is more manuevarable than anything i've ever seen. And how you've gotten it to fly above the clouds is quite an accomplishment."
"Just a standard Yafutoman fishing ship", she replied.
"Something tells me that this isn't so 'standard'", Jare said jokingly, motioning to the nearby weapons panel, which stood out like a looper, due to it's miscolorations, and sloppy installation.
"Well, if a fisherman's going to go exploring, she has to be well equipped for the unknown", Tilara responded, "But anyways, where are we going, guide?"
"The nearest port is Nasrad".
"That sounds like our destination then!", she cut him off.
"But, Nasrad was recently destroyed in a Valuan attack." he continued.
"Valuans? Well, you'll tell me about them later." the Yafutoman said, deciding it would be best to pick a destination before proceeding with a history lesson. "So then, where should we go?"
"There are a few more ports under the red moon", he wondered, "Maramba is probably the closest one".
"Maramba? sounds like a plan, take us there, guide." she said, in the same joking tone as before.
"Alright", he agreed, as he turned the wheel to head northwest, "But, your ship will be kind of conspicuous, not to mention you yourself".
The hours passed as the ship sailed on towards the village of Maramba. Inside the bridge, Jare explained to Tilara the brief history of Arcadia. She listened intently as he went on and on about Valua, Nasr, and the Blue Rogues. She seemed most interested in a man named Domingo, a simple explorer and treasure hunter.
Finally, Jare noticed the flaming volcanoes which outlined the sub-continent that Maramba rested on. "Alright, Maramba's shortly ahead. We should decrease altitude to seem less obvious", he suggested.
"Take us down, then", Tilara commanded.
As the ship descended from the clouds towards the traffic of Maramba, it was as though a moon had fallen down upon Arcadia. Every ship stopped to get a look at the odd design of the Yafutoman vessel.
"You know, we'll probably get offered a LOT of money for this ship", Jare commented.
"Here?" she questioned, motioning at the small port of Maramba.
"No, but at some point we should head to one of the civilian ship yards, and there we will probably get offers", Jare replied. "I'm taking us into the left most dock".
The ship slowed down as it approached the wood outcropping. A small crowd gathered to watch the foreign ship.
"Is this what you meant by conspicuous?", Tilara questioned, watching the crowd form.
"Ah, yes", Jare confessed, "Well, we should get ready to disembark", he added as he walked out onto the deck.
As the ship grew closer, and slowed even more, Jare threw a bundle of rope to the pier, and moments later, jumped onto the pier himself. He tied the vessel down, while the crowd looked on. As the ship stopped, Tilara came out onto deck, and jumped onto the wood outcropping. The crowd gazed on in amazement at the Yafutoman. Tilara was a little embarassed, to say the least.
"Go on! nothing to see here!" Jare shouted at the crowd, noticing the foreigner's discomfort with the crowd. They did what he commanded, and went about their work.
"So, um, guide", she started to say to Jare, "What do we do now?"
"It's getting late", he admitted, looking at the setting sun, "We should probably spend the night here. Tomorrow morning we can get supplies, and head out to Sailor's Island, or the Nasr Merchant Docks".
"Sounds like a good idea", the Yafutoman said, "Is it safe to leave the ship docked like that?"
"Yes", he assured her, "No one would steal a ship off of the docks. Besides, I think everyone would be too scared to touch your ship".
"Well then, where do we spend the night?" she questioned.
"There's an Inn in town", he said, pointing to the large door at the top of the stairs.
"Well guide, lead the way", she demanded, motioning towards the stairs.
The short walk from the docks to the Inn was almost too much for the foreginer. She was used to cool, moist, windy air. The dry hotness of the red moon was almost unberable.
"Is it going to be like this through the entire kingdom of Nasr?" Tilara protested.
"The red moonstones have the power of fire, and heat", Jare started to point out, "So, yes, this entire area is quite hot. Is it too much for the Yafutoman princess?", he added jokingly.
She was too exhausted and hot to respond. Jare held the door open for Tilara, and followed in shortly behind her.
"It's just as hot in here as it is outside", Tilara protested, after first stepping into the Inn.
"Well, that's Maramba for you", the Innkeeper added, from behind the desk. "Will you two be staying the night?"
Tilara could barely sleep in the Maramba bed. It was too high off the ground, and she was scared she would fall out. The temperature had decreased since the night came, but the red moon still heated up the desert, and the air was still too dry for her liking. After what seemed like hours of tossing and turning, she got up and decided to go for a walk. Her companion in this journey was sleeping soundly, he seemed content to be sleeping in a bed at all. She remembered how they had met, how he had been shipwrecked. For how long, he didn't say, but she imagined he hadn't slept in a real bed for a few days at least. She slipped on her shoes, and headed outside their room.
As she walked through the darkened corridors of the Maramba Inn, she thought about all that had happened, and why she was out here. She remembered it all so clearly. How her father had become lost at sea when she was only 11, and how she vowed one day to find him. The arguments with her brother. Her request to Lord Mikado to explore along the dark rift and beyond, and how he denied her access to a ship capable of such a job. How she became a fisher, to mask her true intentions. How she almost begged the legendary Ryu-Kan to help her. And how she one day just slipped away. That was only yesterday, she packed up like she was just going on another fishing expedition, but instead slipped across to the other side of the world.
As she stepped outside into the empty streets of the small village, she noticed that the sun would soon rise. She remembered what her father once said to her, "I will one day will see the sun rise against all 6 of the moons". While she had come to terms with her father's disapearance, and assumed death long ago, but she felt she should still honor her father's live. She walked to the edge of the town, and leaned against a railing to do one thing her father had never done; watch the sun rise against the red moon.
"You know," he began to comment, "This ship is more manuevarable than anything i've ever seen. And how you've gotten it to fly above the clouds is quite an accomplishment."
"Just a standard Yafutoman fishing ship", she replied.
"Something tells me that this isn't so 'standard'", Jare said jokingly, motioning to the nearby weapons panel, which stood out like a looper, due to it's miscolorations, and sloppy installation.
"Well, if a fisherman's going to go exploring, she has to be well equipped for the unknown", Tilara responded, "But anyways, where are we going, guide?"
"The nearest port is Nasrad".
"That sounds like our destination then!", she cut him off.
"But, Nasrad was recently destroyed in a Valuan attack." he continued.
"Valuans? Well, you'll tell me about them later." the Yafutoman said, deciding it would be best to pick a destination before proceeding with a history lesson. "So then, where should we go?"
"There are a few more ports under the red moon", he wondered, "Maramba is probably the closest one".
"Maramba? sounds like a plan, take us there, guide." she said, in the same joking tone as before.
"Alright", he agreed, as he turned the wheel to head northwest, "But, your ship will be kind of conspicuous, not to mention you yourself".
The hours passed as the ship sailed on towards the village of Maramba. Inside the bridge, Jare explained to Tilara the brief history of Arcadia. She listened intently as he went on and on about Valua, Nasr, and the Blue Rogues. She seemed most interested in a man named Domingo, a simple explorer and treasure hunter.
Finally, Jare noticed the flaming volcanoes which outlined the sub-continent that Maramba rested on. "Alright, Maramba's shortly ahead. We should decrease altitude to seem less obvious", he suggested.
"Take us down, then", Tilara commanded.
As the ship descended from the clouds towards the traffic of Maramba, it was as though a moon had fallen down upon Arcadia. Every ship stopped to get a look at the odd design of the Yafutoman vessel.
"You know, we'll probably get offered a LOT of money for this ship", Jare commented.
"Here?" she questioned, motioning at the small port of Maramba.
"No, but at some point we should head to one of the civilian ship yards, and there we will probably get offers", Jare replied. "I'm taking us into the left most dock".
The ship slowed down as it approached the wood outcropping. A small crowd gathered to watch the foreign ship.
"Is this what you meant by conspicuous?", Tilara questioned, watching the crowd form.
"Ah, yes", Jare confessed, "Well, we should get ready to disembark", he added as he walked out onto the deck.
As the ship grew closer, and slowed even more, Jare threw a bundle of rope to the pier, and moments later, jumped onto the pier himself. He tied the vessel down, while the crowd looked on. As the ship stopped, Tilara came out onto deck, and jumped onto the wood outcropping. The crowd gazed on in amazement at the Yafutoman. Tilara was a little embarassed, to say the least.
"Go on! nothing to see here!" Jare shouted at the crowd, noticing the foreigner's discomfort with the crowd. They did what he commanded, and went about their work.
"So, um, guide", she started to say to Jare, "What do we do now?"
"It's getting late", he admitted, looking at the setting sun, "We should probably spend the night here. Tomorrow morning we can get supplies, and head out to Sailor's Island, or the Nasr Merchant Docks".
"Sounds like a good idea", the Yafutoman said, "Is it safe to leave the ship docked like that?"
"Yes", he assured her, "No one would steal a ship off of the docks. Besides, I think everyone would be too scared to touch your ship".
"Well then, where do we spend the night?" she questioned.
"There's an Inn in town", he said, pointing to the large door at the top of the stairs.
"Well guide, lead the way", she demanded, motioning towards the stairs.
The short walk from the docks to the Inn was almost too much for the foreginer. She was used to cool, moist, windy air. The dry hotness of the red moon was almost unberable.
"Is it going to be like this through the entire kingdom of Nasr?" Tilara protested.
"The red moonstones have the power of fire, and heat", Jare started to point out, "So, yes, this entire area is quite hot. Is it too much for the Yafutoman princess?", he added jokingly.
She was too exhausted and hot to respond. Jare held the door open for Tilara, and followed in shortly behind her.
"It's just as hot in here as it is outside", Tilara protested, after first stepping into the Inn.
"Well, that's Maramba for you", the Innkeeper added, from behind the desk. "Will you two be staying the night?"
Tilara could barely sleep in the Maramba bed. It was too high off the ground, and she was scared she would fall out. The temperature had decreased since the night came, but the red moon still heated up the desert, and the air was still too dry for her liking. After what seemed like hours of tossing and turning, she got up and decided to go for a walk. Her companion in this journey was sleeping soundly, he seemed content to be sleeping in a bed at all. She remembered how they had met, how he had been shipwrecked. For how long, he didn't say, but she imagined he hadn't slept in a real bed for a few days at least. She slipped on her shoes, and headed outside their room.
As she walked through the darkened corridors of the Maramba Inn, she thought about all that had happened, and why she was out here. She remembered it all so clearly. How her father had become lost at sea when she was only 11, and how she vowed one day to find him. The arguments with her brother. Her request to Lord Mikado to explore along the dark rift and beyond, and how he denied her access to a ship capable of such a job. How she became a fisher, to mask her true intentions. How she almost begged the legendary Ryu-Kan to help her. And how she one day just slipped away. That was only yesterday, she packed up like she was just going on another fishing expedition, but instead slipped across to the other side of the world.
As she stepped outside into the empty streets of the small village, she noticed that the sun would soon rise. She remembered what her father once said to her, "I will one day will see the sun rise against all 6 of the moons". While she had come to terms with her father's disapearance, and assumed death long ago, but she felt she should still honor her father's live. She walked to the edge of the town, and leaned against a railing to do one thing her father had never done; watch the sun rise against the red moon.