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Rose · Visitor Joined: 06 May 2006 Posts: 3

Approaching the Magincian Harbor Master, Rose was almost immediately annoyed that the man didn’t look up from his work. Out of habit she palmed a few reagents, to ensure his attention, but thought better of it, seeing the guards patrolling the docks. She coughed loudly, and the man glanced up from his stack of paperwork, his gaze drawn down from her face to focus upon her other attributes. She smiled to her self; all men were the same, their minds so easily distracted. “I’m looking for a ship, who’s Captain can be trusted…” not raising his eyes, the Harbor Master, waved towards the many ships lying at anchor, “Take your pick”, he mumbled. Reaching into her bag, Rose withdrew a large pouch of coins, making sure it jingled noticeably, I need someone who can be discrete.” Still not looking her in the eyes, he swiftly took the offered bribe, “If’n its discretion you be a want’n, try Jon Silverthorn, of the Black Crowe.” Rose turned and walked away, still feeling the mans eyes upon her as she left.

Rose looked over her letter one last time before, before handing it to the waiting messenger to deliver.

Captain Silverthorn,

I have a cargo that I need to be loaded in Magincia and delivered to Yew, I have been assured you are known for your discretion. If you are interested, we can meet and discuss terms.

Rose

Jon Silverthorne · Visitor Joined: 17 Jan 2005 Posts: 19

Having just finished delivering a load of goods to Maginica from Moonglow, Jon was swimming in the harbor and scrapping the barnacles off the shadow iron hull Sairon was so gracious to donate to his craft. The messenger boy approached leerily after hearing warnings from the harbor master about the man. Jon startled the lad half out of his wits when he hopped up onto the dock out of the water right in front of him. Without a word the boy quickly handed the message to Jon and started to leave. Jon silently grabbed his arm and held him in place as he read. " I Wish you to return the message", he said in a deep voice and handed the boy 20 gold coins. The boy nodded and Jon let his arm go. He sat eyeing the ship while he waited for the man to pen his response. He had never seen a ship like this before with a iron hull and large for and aft crossbows.

Lady Rose,

I am always interested in work that pays. Name your time and place and I shall be there. I have sent a black crow in a cage along with this missive. Send your response with it and no other.

Jon Silverthorne

He handed the boy the letter and sent him on his way with the bird. He chuckled to himself amused that there were so many women in the shipping business these days.

Rose · Visitor Joined: 06 May 2006 Posts: 3

Rose looked at the caged bird with distaste, she briefly toyed with the idea of frying it with a lighting bolt and sending the message back on its animated corpse, then changed her mind. She needed Silverthorne’s help, so best not to unnecessarily aggravate him….. yet.

Captain Silverthorne,

If it meets with your schedule, I would meet with you Monday evening, the tenth hour after highsun, on the Magincia docks. You will know me when you see me.

Rose

Opening the door, she reached into the cage quickly, and grabbed the bird by the neck, squeezing it until it stopped its struggles. It was an easy job to attach the message to the nearly lifeless birds leg. Rose then placed the unconscious bird back into its cage, and set the cage upon the windowsill, with the door still open. She knew when it came to, that it would seek out its master. After a quick glance about the room to assure things were in there place, she headed downstairs for an ale and a bit of fun.

Jon Silverthorne · Visitor Joined: 17 Jan 2005 Posts: 19

Jon occupied his time cleaning out the hold of The Black Crow while waiting for Rose to arrive. As he glanced at his timepiece, a strange and quite attractive woman approached. She asked if his name was Jon and when he nodded she introduced herself. He took stock of her blonde hair, blue eyes and other well-defined features. He then took some stools off the deck of The Crow and offered her a seat and an ale from the galley as they got down to business. “I heard you are a man known to be discrete in shipping matters,” she stated. Jon just nodded. “I have some goods that need to be brought from here to where I tell you, can you handle that?” Rose asked. Again Jon nodded and asked what kind of goods would need to be transported. She seemed agitated and asked why he needed to know. “First of all lass, she be my ship, and second, if I am to deliver this shipment knowing what it is will help me navigate as I will know who or what patrols to avoid” Jon said with a stern look on his face. She nodded in understanding and produced a sample of what was to be in the crates. A smirk crossed his face as he realized she was as dangerous as she was beautiful. “So what will you charge for your services?” she asked. Jon told her five thousand gold plus expenses. “Very well, but so you know I will be accompanying my cargo.” She stated quite abruptly as she set the empty ale bottle on the dock. As she bent down Jon couldn’t help but admire her ampleness and then he noticed an amulet slip out from it. More accurately it was half of an amulet. The sight jolted Jon back to reality, as he knew he had seen that jewel before. “I will be in touch when we are to leave, tell no one of this meeting or your destination.” Rose said. Jon nodded and as she took her leave he watched her graceful walk down the dock.

When Rose was out of sight Jon ran back into his quarters on The Black Crow and began rummaging like a madman through all sorts of treasures and trinkets he had come across in his years at sea. After a brief search Jon found what he was looking for. The amulet that looked like the one he had seen in the cleavage. He studied it very closely this time and the face seemed to have a map while there appeared to be an inscription on the back. His mind raced at all the possibilities but he knew he would need to see the other half to make anything of it. When he had her at sea he would confront this mystery and see if these two amulets were of a match set.

Rose sent word to Jon and arrived right behind her messenger with her cargo in tow. Jon had just enough time to put his half of the amulet in his pocket as she rode up. He loaded the crates on board The Black Crow and the two set off. Once out of the port of Maginica and safely out to sea Jon asked, “where are we headed too milady?” “Head toward Yew” she said coldly. He nodded, let the wind fill a full sail and turned toward their destination. The two made light conversation and she eventually asked him if he knew where Britannia Prison was. There was a long pause and Jon’s eyes narrowed. She could tell by his reaction he did and said “That is where you will put me ashore”.

The journey was almost complete when Jon dropped the sail. “Why are we stopping?” Rose Scowled. He walked over to her, ran his finger along her neck pulling lightly on the small chain that brought the amulet up from its hiding place. Jon could see by the look on her face she was tossed between embarrassment and anger and asked, “Where did you come by this?” She explained that it was a family heirloom according to her father and she took it off his body after she had killed him. Jon smirked, reached into his pocket and pulled out his half. Her eyes widened as it came into view and she asked where he got his half. He told her about a battle with a sea serpent and pulling it from the belly of the slain beast. A shiver ran down his spine and something came over him as he joined the two halves to reveal the complete map. As the two stood smiling over this revelation, Jon pulled her close and kissed her passionately. She pulled back, smacked him and smoothed her robe. Before either could say a word she lunged back at him almost taking him to the deck and returned his advance with even greater amorousness. Jon pulled back after a moment and asked if she thought they should follow the map. Rose looked up to meet his gaze with a new softness in her eyes and nodded, “but first we must deliver my cargo”. He smiled and put the Black Crow back under way and before long they were docked behind Britannia Prison unloading and unloading the crates.

Special thanks to Isk for the artwork.

Rose · Visitor Joined: 06 May 2006 Posts: 3

As they stacked the crates ashore from the hold of the Black Crow, and waited for the porters who would carry the cargo to is final destination, Rose thought back over the voyage from Magincia. It had been a mostly uneventful trip, other than the emotions that had over taken both Captain Silverthorne and herself when they had united the two halves of the amulet. She felt uneasy about what had happened, it wasn’t that he was an unattractive man, or that she didn’t enjoy pleasure, but it was the fact that she felt so compelled to react to his advance, against her better judgment, it was almost as if she was being controlled. She had never thought the amulet; she had carried as a memento of a turning point in her life, was anything other than benign, now it seemed it had some unknown power that was activated then the two halves were joined.

She abandoned her reflection, as the bushes parted, and several Elves silently approached. A large male, apparently the groups leader approached and bowed deeply, he addressed her in a soft musical voice, “Master Jusae has sent us to assist you.” Rose said nothing, just pointed to the crated, and impatiently waited for them to shoulder the load. When they were ready, she curtly told the groups leader, “Get going, we will follow behind.” The walk through the woodlands was not a long one, and a short time later, they entered the magical gate that lead to the elven city of Heartwood.

Master Jusae carefully inspected each bow, as it was unpacked, “These are truly wondrous examples of human technology!” he proclaimed with visible delight. Rose nodded, “Maginicia is home to some of the finest of human bowyers and fletchers, it is not often I can offer such quality workmanship. With these Repeating Crossbows your troops will be able to darken the sky with bolts as they rain down death upon your enemies, and a single bolt from one of these Heavy Crossbows will drop the most heavily armored Knight.” The inspection being completed, Master Jusae turned to Rose, “One hundred twenty-five Repeating and the same number of Heavy Crossbows?” Rose merely nodded. “Here is the payment as agreed”, Jusae stated, as he handed Rose a large bag containing gold and several magical items. Knowing him to be honest from previous dealings, Rose didn’t even bother to check the gold, she sketched a bow, “Let me know if there is anything you need in the future”, she remarked before turning to leave. Rose nodded to Jon, who had waited for her to finish her business, “Lets find a tavern well away from here, I need something strong to wash the taste of this place away.”

The two of them sat in a dark and secluded corner of the run down tavern enjoying their second round of drinks, the establishments few other patrons and most of the staff steered clear of the pair. Rose pushed a sack of gold across the table towards Jon, “Five thousand as agreed”, she smiled, mostly to herself, knowing the majority of what she had earned still remained within her pack. A deft flick of the wrist, and Jon made the pouch of gold, which had moments before sat upon the table, disappear. Reaching into his pouch, he withdrew his half of the amulet and laid it upon the table, “Shall we?” he ask, an obvious leer upon his face, as he waited for Rose to react. Rose slowly withdrew her piece of the amulet and placed it upon the table, being careful not to touch the pieces together. As before, she was assailed with an overwhelming feeling of lust, but being prepared for it this time, she was able to maintain her composure. Jon bent over to scrutinize the halves of the amulet, “It’s a map, that be certain.” Pointing to the amulet he added, “I’m sure I know this stretch of coastline, but I need to consult my charts to be sure.”

Sometime later the pair stood upon the deck of the Black Crow, comparing the engraved image upon the amulets halves to one of Jon’s many charts. “It’s not a far journey by sea, and would save us a long dusty ride”, Jon stated. Rose nodded in agreement, and as the man strode off, yelling orders to the crew, she continued to look at the map. Picking up her half of the amulet, she noticed that the feelings he had experienced before were gone, perhaps it had something to do with Jon’s proximity. She was mildly surprised to notice that on the back of the amulet there were glowing magic symbols that had never been there before, as she moved the halves farther apart, the symbols faded, until they were once again invisible. Rose muttered to herself, “Most interesting.”

As promised, the voyage was short, and once again Rose found herself pushing through the heavy brush of the untamed forest, struggling to reach their unknown goal. Slowly the forest faded into foothills, and then into mountains. The pair doggedly pushed on navigating the canyons and arroyos of the badlands, the going was difficult, many times it was necessary to backtrack and start over, as one passage or another proved to be a dead end. Finally they stood before portal in the mountainside, inside was a small room containing a pentagram etched into the floor, and nothing else. Puzzled, both Jon and Rose began to search for a secret door, as Rose searched along one wall, her foot broke the protective circle of the ward and she found herself standing alone in a natural passageway, a moment later she was joined by Jon.

Rose looked at Jon, “It seems that our journey, is not at an end after all”, he just nodded and they began to explore the passage way before them. The passage twisted and turned, many projections from both the floor and ceiling made travel difficult. Turning a corner sometime later they were greeted with a wondrous sight, the cavern ahead held a small city, many buildings, walkways, fountains and bridges could be seen from their vantage point. Looking to Jon, Rose smiled weakly, “It seems that our map wasn’t to some treasure after all, but to this, which I believe is Wind, the legendary city of Mages.” They explored the city for a long time, getting to know what it had to offer, and marveling at its sights. Looking at the sign over the door ahead of then, Rose smiled, “It looks like we found an Inn. She entered followed by Jon, and while he was looking the place over, Rose spoke at length with the Innkeeper. Turning to Jon, Rose reached under her robe to caress the amulet that hung from her neck, “We’re in luck, they have a room available, but just one, I hope you don’t mind sharing a bed”, she added with a seductive smile.