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Post by Neravarine on May 1, 2010 19:01:04 GMT -5
It was quiet out today... Calm and serene... A slight mist hovered above the still, salty waters as they lapped gently against the wooden hull of the ship that was just about to drop anchor near the docks of Seyda Neen. The haunting sounds of the swamp land of the Bitter Coast echoed on the horizon in this land that was both haunting and beautiful.
The captain, a grizzled old imperial with a slightly sun burned face, brown eyes, and thinning gray hair, which was wispy as it swayed in the sea breeze, stood near the front of the boat, eyes narrowed thoughtfully as he watched the small port town of Seyda Neen get closer... The lighthouse serving as a beacon as it glowed ominously from afar.
"Lower the sails, prepare the anchor, we are about to hit land." The captain stated to a crew mate, who nodded, and then shouted orders to the other men as they scrambled to prepare loosening the white sails of the ship.
The captain then turned to one young man who was swabbing the deck with a mop. "You... Wake up our passenger below... Tell her we made it to Morrowind and we will be docking soon... She is on her own after that."
Indeed, the captain wasn't one to normally transport people, he transported trade goods. But the female khajiit calmly stated her price for a quick way to Morrowind... She didn't really say her reasons... Morrowind wasn't exactly the most wanted places to go for khajiits, but she was firm, and the captain couldn't complain. After all, septims were septims, and it really wasn't his business anyway.
The young man, who looked to be a red guard, nodded nervously, dropping his mop as he ran a dark tanned hand through his wiry black hair and walked away. The young red guard's brown eyes glanced down at a wooden trap door on the deck, and the man opened it with a creak as he descended into the dark bowels of the ship.
The smell here was musty, and the sounds of the wood gently creaking were constant. The young man slowly made his way through past stacked goods that were in crates and barrels, till he reached the sleeping quarters in this dark place. Here, several rope hammocks were attached to the wall from both sides... One particular hammock was filled with a lumpy figure buried under covers... But he could see the pointed ears and tail that peeked out from below.
The young crewman gently poked the sleeping form with his finger. "Excuse me ma'am. Mighty sorry to disturb you, but the captain wanted me to tell you we reached Morrowind and are about to dock at Seyda Neen. Captain wants you to get your personal items ready as well as your identity papers when we reach the dock..."
OOC: Helpful guide Septims- currency... In gold, copper, and silver coins Seyda Neen- Small port town in the Bitter Coast region of Morrowind.(Check map on this site to see where your character is at.)
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Post by starwaver on May 1, 2010 19:34:22 GMT -5
Lunara slowly opened one of her eyes, mummbling at the sight of the young crewman and opened the other with a low growl. "Don't poke me." The female khajiit spoke, her words half harsh and half asleep. She blicked her forest green eyes a few times, making sure she knew where she was before saying,"Give me a few mins, I will join you once I'm ready."
It had been only a few days since she found out about her real mother and now was her chance to find her, or at least find out what happened to her.
OOC: It's going to take awhile.
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Post by Neravarine on May 1, 2010 19:59:05 GMT -5
OOC:Of course, thats understandable.
The red guard gulped slightly at the sight of the green elliptical eyes, and stuttered quickly, "Of course. I'll go tell the captain your getting ready." He informed quickly before turning away and climbing back up the hatch door.
The red guard walked quickly across the deck as men around him were setting down the sails. They were practically against the docks now, and a few men were hopping across on the dock, tying and securing ropes to the wooden docks.
"Captain, she is alert and getting ready." The red guard informed as he met with the grizzled old imperial. The captain momentarily glanced at the young red guard and nodded. "The lass is on her own now. She needs to take her furry butt off my vessel. I don't normally transport people." The imperial strolled across the dock after those words and directed a few crew men, who heaved over the huge anchor. With a tremendous splash, the ship shifted slightly, and then was still.
It was secure, and soon after, an imperial guard wearing steel armor with a broadsword at his hip, met the captain. "Greetings... Your name?" The imperial guard asked.
"Captain Gregory... Or Greg for short." The captain stated.
"What's your cargo?" the guard asked as he took out a quill pen and parchment.
"Spices... Hides... And a few weapons..." The captain stated.
The guard wrote it down, and his blue eyes met the captain's brown ones through his enclosed steel helm. "Anything else?" The guard asked.
"A female khajiit passenger who isn't part of the crew. I don't normally transport people, but she has identification papers." The captain said, somewhat nervously.
The guard was silent a while before his blue eyes went back down to his parchment and continued writing. "Make sure she knows she needs to go the Census and Excise Offices near the end of the dock and gets checked in before she goes anywhere." The guard warned. "You don't want to be suspected of smuggling people... The fact she is a khajiit can make it look like your smuggling illegally captured slaves."
"I know." The captain stated neutrally.
The guard nodded before his steel boots clicked away, back on the dock and vanished into the port town.
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Post by starwaver on May 1, 2010 21:09:07 GMT -5
Lunara was almost done, sighing low as she gathered her things with a lash of her golden tail. She slipped on her clothes, turning her head a few times to make sure no one was looking and huffed. She then put on her Cape, a light red cape given to her by Saber, her friend. Glancing back, she put on a light brown belt and put her dagger into a slot on her belt.
While she was doing this, she was able to pick up a clicking sounds from the deck and then the sounds of people talking. Her black tipped ears moved back and fourth, her eyes closed and was holding on to one of her arrows with one light brown paw.
After what seemed like an hour, the talking had finally faded and the clicking sound started again. Lunara put her arrow back into a long quiver and strapped it across her chest, then pick up her bow in her right paw. The female khajiit looked around the area, her green eyes focused before turning and climbed up the hatch door.
The light wasn't that bright as the female khajiit ascended onto the deck, her ears flatted alittle at the sight of the crewmen but said nothing and walked toward the Captain.
"Well, I thank you. And you need not worry about the papers." Lunara nodded, her voice calm and at ease. She looked over to where the clicking had when and smiled alittle."And who were you talking to? All that clicking noise would scare any creature away, Except the big ones." She added, looking at the Captain again with her ears flicking back.
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Post by Neravarine on May 1, 2010 23:08:41 GMT -5
"I was talking to the guards who looked just about ready to slap me in irons..." The captain mumbled as his brown eyes shifted over to the female khajiit. "Last time I bring any passengers aboard my merchant vessel lass. Thats for sure."
The grizzled old imperial couldn't help grinning through his gray beard though. "To be honest, you weren't any trouble lass. You certainly kept my men on their toes, and you were quiet and stayed out of the way. Can't find no fault there with a land lubber."
The captain's face then grew grave. "Just make sure you head over to the Census and Excise Office... That big stone building over there." The captain stated as he pointed at a tall, two story stone brick building at the end of the docks. "Because to be honest lass," The captain said. "I really don't want to go to jail again by being blamed for a smuggler, people or otherwise... I put that bad youth behind me nearly 20 years ago."
The captain grinned again, and extended a hand to shake, though his brown eyes were grave. "Whatever you came here for... You take care... This isn't Cyrodil... Okay?"
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Post by starwaver on May 3, 2010 16:46:34 GMT -5
Lunara smiled at what the Captain said, which was true, she never did bother anyone and she learned that from Saber himself. But as the Captain told her about the Excise Office, she followed his hand to the tall stone building and almost growled at the sight of it.
"A khajiit told me about that building, not a very pleasent place." The young Khajiit huffed, gripping her bow even tighter then normal and turned her sight back to the Captain with a flick of her tail. She smiled again, seeing the Captain extend his hand and extended her paw to shake his.
"I will. My friend had told me some things about this place, so I will be wary of where I step." She spoke with a nod, letting go of the captain's hand and turned to the path ahead of her. "Has anyone told you, that your a kind man? Because you are to me." She added, walking off the captain's boat with a wave of her left paw and headed torwards the stone building.
The building was indeed tall, but not welcoming in anyway and as she approced it, she felt as if she was being watched by hungry eyes and had to keep alert with every step she took.
The captain and Saber were right about one thing, this is not Cyrodil and seemed dead with hate. Lunara reached the door of the place, lashing her golden tail once before opening it with her left paw. Who will she meet? For now, she was just on alert.
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Post by Neravarine on May 3, 2010 20:20:20 GMT -5
The captain's expression visibly softened somewhat as he watched the female khajiit pad away toward the large, two story stone building across the docks. When the captain turned around to face the crewmen, none of them were working, just standing there, grinning stupidly at him.
The captain's face contorted and he snarled, "What are you looking at bilge rats? Get back to work or I make you scrape barnacles off with the slaughterfish!"
In front of the Excise Building, as the door was opened up, Lunara found herself in a comfortable, seemingly office like room.It was square, not too large, but more than enough space for the three people, including Lunara herself that was present. The inner walls of the building were stone, with a wooden floor that was covered in a slightly dull red carpet that may have been beautiful when it was first moved there.
On the far right corner was a stone brick fire place, which made the room toasty, and almost soothingly comfortable. The low light from the fire flickered off the surfaces of all that was present, and the shadows danced in the far corners of the room. Next to the fire place was a boom shelf full of documents and papers, giving the room a smell which contained a mix of paper and ink along with the burning wood of the fire.
At the back of the room, was a circular cherrywood desk. On it, there were about as many documents and books as the book shelf itself... A small wax candle provided light for documents to be written on. Next to the desk there was a wooden door.
Two other people were present... The same imperial guard that talked to the captain was leaning casually against the other wooden door on the other side of the room. Seated at the desk was a breton, though one could not tell the difference between a breton and an imperial before you heard their accents.
The breton was using his quill pen, and signing off on several documents. His gaunt, aged face was shadowed in the fire, but his green eyes sparkled with intelligence and determination one would think would normally dull with age. His head was mainly shaved, except for the crown of white hair that wrapped around his bald spot, a hair style usually popular with imperial monks.
The breton heard the door open at the end of the room and gave a sigh, muttering what may be interpreted as, "Just when I was getting things done..."
The man's amusement wasn't any better when he saw it was a khajiit interrupting his work. But then the look in his green turned to mildly thoughtful and he tilted his head at Lunara, before turning to the icy eyed guard, who never stopped staring at the female khajiit as soon as she came in.
The guard simply glanced at the aged breton and nodded.
The breton smiled easily, though his green eyes were slightly impatient. "Ah..." He stated in a rich accent. "I believe we have been expecting you. Were you the listed traveler on a Mister Captain Gregory's merchant ship?"
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Post by starwaver on May 3, 2010 22:31:01 GMT -5
Lunara stared at the guard, meet his icy gaze with her own and flicked her black tipped ears back.
The room was indeed nice, but that was not good enough to let her guard down and shifted her gaze to the breton, who spoke to her in an half welcoming and half amused tone. The female Khajiit glanced at the guard before speaking.
"Yes, I am. I have the papers that you need from me." Lunara pulled out a roll of papers from her belt, wrapped up in a bow of rope with her left paw and held it out for the breton to see. Her tail waved side to side and her ears flicked back once more as she watched the two with wary green eyes.
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Post by Neravarine on May 4, 2010 16:50:51 GMT -5
The breton snorted with amusement as he narrowed his green eyes at the contents of the document in the candle light. "Easy dear. I'm only to be scared of in tax day." The breton chortled, clearly amused at his own dry joke. After a pause through reading the papers, the breton, without looking from the document asked, "Your name is Lunara. Age 17. Born in Cyrodil. No known mother. Your father was a khajiit named Saber correct?" The breton asked.
Of course, not all of that was true. But it was official in the documents, and indeed, a month ago, Lunara would believe it herself. But there was no point in telling the breton the truth anyway. It would just be harder to get back in Morrowind that way.
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Post by starwaver on May 7, 2010 18:51:07 GMT -5
/I don't want to take any chances./ Lunara thought, her tail shifting from one side to the other with her ears still aleat to the most slightest movement and nodded.
"Yes, that's correct." The female khajiit spoke calmly, looking at the breton with steady green eyes. She didn't want to say the true, not here anyway and not to these two. She silently waited to hear what he would say next, wondering about her mother.
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Post by Neravarine on May 7, 2010 19:06:41 GMT -5
"It also says your an adventurer. A man, er, excuse me, woman for hire. I assume you have heard tales of Morrowind's many treasures and such, and are hoping to become part of that." The breton went on as he examined the papers.
The green eyes met the female khajiit's. "Is that also correct?"
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Post by starwaver on May 8, 2010 18:38:59 GMT -5
"That is Correct." Lunara replied, nodding before looking at her bow with a smile."I have heard many tales of Morrowind during my travels and since things were slow, I desideed to come here and do business."
The female Khajiit examained her bow, smooth and strong to the point. She would have to find a place to do business anyway and that enough, is hard to do. Smiling, she turned her sight back to the breton and nodded with her ears flicking back, still alert.
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Post by Neravarine on May 10, 2010 19:31:14 GMT -5
The breton nodded slowly, before he took a large, wax stamp and sealed the documents. He then took out another piece of paper, and stamped it as well. He then passed the paper to Lunara from across the wooden table, also passing along his quil pen.
"Just sign your name if you can," The breton stated, "And you will have your papers for Morrowind. If you want, I can keep your identity papers here, as Imperial Law states, and make sure they don't fall in the wrong hands."
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Post by starwaver on May 13, 2010 19:54:22 GMT -5
Lunara picked up the quil pen and signed on the dotted line with grace. Once done, she passed the pen and the paper back to the breton with a nod, flicking her spotted tail.
"Yes, you can keep them. It's better here then somewhere else." The female Khajiit spoke, glancing at the guard before looking at the breton again with a smile.
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Post by Neravarine on May 13, 2010 20:15:31 GMT -5
The breton nodded as he took the document, putting it on the desk to his left so he could store it later. The imperial guard pulled a small key, and unlocked the door behind him, stepping back for Lunara to go through.
The breton grinned. "Your free to do what you want now... Within legal boundaries of course." He informed as he folded his hands neatly on the desk, contemplating her silently. After a short pause, the breton finally said, "You know... If you just came back from that boat, I bet you don't have a lot of money on you."
The breton glanced at some other documents as he informed, "It would be nothing official... Just an odd job... But I have a man. An imperial agent by the name of Processus Vitellius. He is a tax collector you see... And recently, they were due... But he hasn't come back. He wasn't very popular, and I'm worried someone made a foolish decision and offed him. Though it's nothing official, since we can't find the body. I bet it's on the out skirting wilderness... The murderer hoping the scavengers and swamp would erase evidence. He only disappeared three days ago, so there is still hope. Seyda Neen is a small port town. The murderer... If there is one, is still most likely here. If you need leads, ask around town. I would normally send the guards, but apparently, they are dealing with smugglers..."
The young imperial guard and the breton exchanged annoyed eye contact.
Then they turned to their work. "Anyway..." The breton went on. "It's your choice to look around. If you do find the tax report and the money on him, bring it back here please."
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