Fantasy RPG Forum - Standing Trials

"I'm not as confident as you are that this thing won't sink!" Josef declared as he cautiously stepped into the rowboat, which rocked slightly in the water as it was forced to bear the man's weight.

"Don't be foolish, Da," chuckled Darius, who had been holding the boat as steady as he could manage, before he too clambered aboard. "You can't talk about Ma like that!"

Both Baer boys laughed at the jest, for the rowboat had some history. It had originally been Josef's, before he'd gifted it to his son in the midst of a grief that only widows and widowers could understand. Darius had repaired it and named it the Lady Jean in memory of his mother.

This meant that it was, in a sense, a family outing that they were embarking on as Darius took hold of the oars and eased the boat off the sand and out into the Hollow Sea. They followed the coast, making small talk as they approached the docks.

"So," Josef probed, "what is it you wanted to show me?"

"You'll see."

"You know we could have walked to the docks," came a bemused reply.

"I know," Darius chuckled, "but I'm trying to be dramatic. You'll love her when you see her."

A few nights earlier, Darius had - quite beyond his own expectations - won, of all things, a ship and a crew to sail it. Josef knew his son had had a good night, for he had not returned home until the following trial, but when he had asked Darius if he'd won anything, the younger Baer had insisted on showing, rather than telling.

And show he did, for as they rounded a small headland and began to catch sight of the buildings closest to the water's edge, they also saw some of the vessels that were anchored alongside some of the longer piers. Darius said nothing at first, simply steering his rowboat towards one such vessel.

The brig stood out among the other ships, as such designs were not commonly seen in Scalvoris Town. The outline of the large hull was impossible to miss, and the sails had been lowered so that the two square-rigged masts and the lines attached to them appeared to form a giant nautical skeleton. The high quality of the brig's construction was clear to see, even from a distance, and as Darius had his back towards it as he rowed, he was able to his father's changing expressions as the older Baer began to realise what was happening.

"Is that--"

"Aye." Darius nodded.

"She's beautiful," Josef marvelled, his voice dropping to little more than a whisper.

"See?" Darius grinned. "I knew you'd love her!"

The brig towered over the Lady Jean as the smaller vessel pulled close. The masts looked so tall, as though they might pierce the very sky itself, and the silhouette of a head leaned over the side.

"Who goes there?" called a male voice from above, and the father and son in the small rowboat took a moment to look at each other.

"Darius Baer!" the younger Baer yelled back, the slightest hint of a grin pulling at one side of his mouth as he watched for his father's reaction.

"Cap'n comin' aboard!" came the reply, and the cry was echoed by other sailors on the brig's deck who could not be seen from the rowboat.

Darius' grin grew into a smile as Josef cocked a grey eyebrow at the sailor's cry.

"Captain?" the father mouthed, somewhat confused but clearly impressed.

Darius didn't have time to respond before a rope ladder descended, its wooden rungs clattering against the hull of the larger ship, until its length settled just above the water. The bearded blond pulled his oars into the Lady Jean and carefully stood, before slowly reaching out for a rung. Grabbing hold of one of them, he gently pulled on it, which drew the rowboat closer to the larger vessel.

"I know you thought Ma might sink," Darius grinned, unable to hide how proud he was of himself, "but this beauty definitely won't!"

Josef chuckled at the jest, though he was not capable of swallowing his surprise.

"How in all of Idalos did you acquire this, lad?"

Darius guffawed. His father was rarely caught so off guard, and the sight of him sitting on one of the thwarts of the rowboat as his son stood, still gripping the ladder.

"It's from the scavenger hunt, Da."

"I knew you'd won something, lad," Josef replied with a shake of his head, "but this...this is something special."

Darius grinned as he reached a hand out for his father, who took it, carefully pulling himself up to his feet. The elder Baer stepped towards his son, making his way over the central thwart and, as Darius steadied the Lady Jean from losing its balance, he clapped the younger man on the shoulder before he grabbed hold of the ladder.

You've done me proud, lad," Josef grinned. "Ma, too."

With that, Darius' father began to climb the rope ladder. The brig's captain remained in the rowboat for a few moments, watching the other man's ascent. Josef Baer had not been at sea for a few arcs, but Darius realised that the old fellow had lost none of his skills. He might not have been as young and fit as he had once been, but his experience showed.

Reaching underneath the nearest thwart, Darius pulled out a coil of rope and he promptly tied one end to the rope ladder. The other end was already tied to a loophole at the rowboat's bow.

He looked up once more. He had followed his father in so many ways. They had similar personalities, and were both passionate about woodworking and the sea. And then, as he took hold of the ladder and stepped onto the bottom rung, he followed his father one more time.

Darius strained as he followed his father up the rope ladder. The old man was making it look far easier than it actually was, while the younger Baer took some time to find his rhythm. Eventually, after a few awkward moments of getting himself twisted around and having to push himself off the side of the hull, he realised that it might be best to turn the ladder so that he could climb up both sides. Each side was used for the corresponding hand and foot, and although it meant that side of the ladder was against his chest, it stopped the wild swinging and twisting and enabled him to make the ascent, eventually hauling himself over the side.

"Cap'n on deck!"

The cry was echoed across the ship as the sailors carried the announcement to one another.

Darius brushed down his clothing, before looking up to find that his father was, of course, waiting for him. As was Astra Miawynn, the half-biqaj first mate that Darius had only met a couple of trials earlier. She had a smirk on her face, her blue-green eyes betraying her amusement as she crossed her arms in front of her.

"I see you've changed your outfit," the brunette quipped. "You look more like a ship captain already."

Darius looked down at his attire: leather boots, leggings and a loose tunic with a leather vest, and a pair of leather gloves. It was much more suitable appropriate clothing for sailing than his previous outfit, when he'd worn his father's suit and fine shoes after a night that had involved too much alcohol.

The half-biqaj brunette's comment caused Josef to send a confused look in the direction of his son, who awkwardly attempted to avoid it.

"Lad, did you...did you climb aboard a ship, wearing my suit?"

Darius' guilty expression immediately gave him away.

"That explains the scuffed shoes," Josef muttered to himself.

As his father turned away to marvel at the ship, Darius returned his gaze to Astra. He realised that the woman had a certain beauty about her that he hadn't noticed in Yeva's presence. That wasn't to say one woman was more attractive than the other, necessarily; merely that a hungover Darius had paid more attention to the brig than its crew during his first visit.

Not that it mattered, of course. Yeva was just a friend with whom he shared something of a sibling bond, and Astra was one of the crew on his ship.

"So," the first mate said to Darius as she closed the distance between them, "do you want to take her out, Captain? Show the old man what she's capable of?"

Darius looked at his father, who was staring up at the masts, and wondered if he had journeyed on a brig before. Then he turned and looked back over the side of the ship towards the dock, taking note of where the surface of the water was lapping at the piles of the dock.

"Aye, the tide is in," Darius nodded, feeling himself straighten at his growing sense of authority. "Let's take her out."

As Astra nodded, seemingly satisfied with his assessment of the water levels, she turned away and began yelling instructions to the rest of the crew.

"You heard the captain! We're taking her out...!"

Darius, meanwhile, caught a glimpse of his father's proud expression before casting his eyes out to sea, and his crew busied themselves with readying the vessel to cast off.