Onslaught & the Vadeli Part 1
Renna Gennassdotter winced as her baggage thumped heavily into the side of the cog. "Careful you oafs!" She yelled. The sailors shrugged and grinned at her with the wearying insolence so common in these outlander folk. The men in particular had no understanding of the good fortune they had, being in the presence of a woman of breeding.
The Norramor was a large cog, built for cargo, built to tap into the wealth that streamed along the trade routes to the East. Her captain, a foul smelling barbaric soul called Odrough was owner aboard as well as her skipper. He was a large man, build for battle and plunder. He reeked of the sea as if it were embedded in his bones. As she walked up the gang plank, he grinned a black toothed smile at Renna. "Everything all right Doctor?" He asked, eyeing her up as he did so. She looked pretty damn good in that white robe, he thought.
Renna ignored that and launched into a blistering verbal assault "No it is not! I've never been so rudely treated in all my days as a Doctor! Your men are incorrigable and crude. They offer no deference even though it is my due. This has to stop Captain, I demand the respect due my station!" She fixed him with her best glower as she locked eyes fiercely with him.
He wasn't impressed. "This is a Handra ship Doctor. My men are a hard lot but you'll get no trouble as long as you understand that neither me nor me men are of your own people. Maybe things are different in New Crystal City but out there." he pointed out to sea. "We ride the waves, brave the terrors and taste the salt. We ain't lapdogs The only fear we acknowledge is the power of Magasta and his kin and that ain't a light power ma'am,. No it isn't." He turned away without a by your leave and began bellowing orders in some form of sea patois. His men responded with easy efficiency and ropes began to be cast from the sides of the ship as the last of the cargo came aboard.
Renna stood fuming. When she realised that she looked slightly foolish standing alone on the gangplank she carried on onto the ship to find her quarters. It would be along voyage to Handra and her sponsors had paid for the best to keep her happy. Handra was growing fast and a recent plague had convinced enough of the wealthy merchants there that a private Doctor was a good idea. Of course, Renna saw it as an ideal chance to show them the Ways of Chalana Arroy and to civilise them with the mores and beliefs of Esrolia. Well, thats what she'd thought in New Crystal City when she accepted the post as Chief Doctor of the new Handra Hospital. After meeting Captain Odrough and his Handran crew, she wasn't so sure.
By the time she'd finished unpacking she felt movement and looked outside. The ship was underway and was just clearing the jetty. She took a long look at the sprawl of Nochet, a final look. Thats when she noticed the commotion by the waterfront fishing boats.
Martin Laurie
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