// Backstory. No metagaming please.
Perle closed her eyes to enjoy the fading sea breeze upon her face, red curls lifted from shoulders, as the ship pulled into Baldur's Gate harbor. Finally her long journey was over. Finally it had begun.
The young priestess, fresh off her initiation at the Battering Wave in Tsurlagol in the Sea of Fallen Stars, had meant to arrive before First Tide. Winter's last gasp had waylaid those plans. Today Umberlee was calm, and Priestess Perle Wynn hoped to keep it that way. She hefted a small sack over her left shoulder and walked with purpose down the gangplank.
Sailors offered their obedience to her as she passed, or cursed her approach as they turned their backs. A smile tugged at her pink lips but her determined gaze did not waiver. The doomed were and ever would be.
Her first tribute came from a leader of the Halls of Inner Light, a handful of gems in exchange for information. She regarded the offering in meticulous detail and recorded the man's name and nature of tribute in a weathered notebook that never left her side. In coming weeks and months the book would fill with names and tribute taken, but also of the doomed who spurned Umberlee and her herald above the waves.
Wavecaller Perle Wynn
-
Xorena
- Posts: 725
- Joined: Wed Mar 30, 2016 8:21 am
- Location: East Coast US
-
Xorena
- Posts: 725
- Joined: Wed Mar 30, 2016 8:21 am
- Location: East Coast US
Re: Wavecaller Perle Wynn
An urgent letter to the Seawolf Captain, via messenger boy
To: Captain Karn aboard the Seawolf marked URGENT
From: Priestess Perle Wynn
The letter is written on a plain piece of paper, the left edge ragged as if ripped from a bound volume. A small pinch of sand remains in the envelope after the letter is removed.
Dear Captain,
It seems the services of a Priestess of Umberlee are in great demand. I am obligated to let you know of another offer I've received. In truth I had pursued this commission for more than two weeks, and the captain only just responded to me tonight. He is to set sail tomorrow, as you are.
Do know that if I accept your offer, I have valuable insight on another mission that runs in direct competition with yours. If you do indeed win my services I shall share all I know for the benefit of the Seawolf. I advise you to consider your words carefully.
He has offered to pay me 200 gold to bless his ship, and he offers me 50 gold per day while aboard. He also offered a private room, as befitting a Priestess of Umberlee.
Do not bother writing back, as I am making my way to the Seawolf to discuss terms with you. Should your offer fail, I plan to collect my things and disembark.
Priestess Perle Wynn
To: Captain Karn aboard the Seawolf marked URGENT
From: Priestess Perle Wynn
The letter is written on a plain piece of paper, the left edge ragged as if ripped from a bound volume. A small pinch of sand remains in the envelope after the letter is removed.
Dear Captain,
It seems the services of a Priestess of Umberlee are in great demand. I am obligated to let you know of another offer I've received. In truth I had pursued this commission for more than two weeks, and the captain only just responded to me tonight. He is to set sail tomorrow, as you are.
Do know that if I accept your offer, I have valuable insight on another mission that runs in direct competition with yours. If you do indeed win my services I shall share all I know for the benefit of the Seawolf. I advise you to consider your words carefully.
He has offered to pay me 200 gold to bless his ship, and he offers me 50 gold per day while aboard. He also offered a private room, as befitting a Priestess of Umberlee.
Do not bother writing back, as I am making my way to the Seawolf to discuss terms with you. Should your offer fail, I plan to collect my things and disembark.
Priestess Perle Wynn
-
Xorena
- Posts: 725
- Joined: Wed Mar 30, 2016 8:21 am
- Location: East Coast US
Re: Wavecaller Perle Wynn
Perle had traveled to Roaringshore as fast as she could, but the trip had given her time to think. Why had that other captain given in to her demands so easily? He didn't even counter her request for 200 gold to bless the Siren's Desire — and he paid her up front. Clearly it was a well-financed expedition, but Perle was interested in far more than money.
No, Perle wanted to be Umberlee's voice above the waves. Would the post aboard the Siren's Desire accomplish that? She had let the gold blind her to her mission. Now Perle wasn't so sure.
As she disembarked from the ferry at Roaringshore, instead of turning toward the Seawolf, she walked to the shore and stepped in the cold surf. Perle waded in until the saltwater came to her calves and knelt, the backs of her hands touching the water's surface. She cast Commune.
“Umberlee, guide me to the right captain and crew. Both seek riches in Selune’s Bracelet. But I seek to honor You, Queen of the Depths, and bring all to fear and revere you."
She didn't really expect a reply.
"Is Captain Karn worthy of you?" Perle asked.
A pause... then a murmur like a breaker on the shore.
Her eyes flew open with a start and Perle gasped.
“Do you wish my service aboard the Seawolf more than aboard the Siren’s Desire?”
"SEAWOLF," the wave sighed.
Perle asked a few more questions and stood, overwhelmed with the experience. She'd swallow her pride and serve Captain Karn aboard the 'wolf until the Queen of the Depths wished otherwise.
--
Perle climbs the ladder onto the deck of the Seawolf, a little out of breath with her vestments clinging to her legs. Perle leaves sand and drips of saltwater as she walks, her boots squishing with every step.
She scans the deck with her sea-green eyes.
“Priestess Perle Wynn requesting permission to come aboard,” she says in a clear voice. “I seek an audience with Captain Karn.”
Perle’s eyes flick to the bosun, then to the approaching captain. Her heart hammers in her chest as she looked up at his grim visage, her eyes wide with a fiery zeal.
“Captain,” she bows and casts her gaze downward. “I accept your terms and request a position aboard this ship.
“But it is more than my request, Captain, for I have communed with Umberlee herself,” her fingers brush against her soaked vestments, dislodging more sand onto the deck.
“The Queen of the Depths wishes me aboard the Seawolf,” she says, her eyes meeting his.
--
After a rough introduction to the Seawolf's captain and her crew, Priestess Perle Wynn descends below decks to inspect her quarters. She raises an eyebrow at the accommodations — a simple hammock with no privacy — but voices no objections.
Later Perle returns with several bundles containing things she believes she will need on the mission: a fine suit of armor, a curious blue book, a sewing kit, her journal, a small notebook and her trident.
No, Perle wanted to be Umberlee's voice above the waves. Would the post aboard the Siren's Desire accomplish that? She had let the gold blind her to her mission. Now Perle wasn't so sure.
As she disembarked from the ferry at Roaringshore, instead of turning toward the Seawolf, she walked to the shore and stepped in the cold surf. Perle waded in until the saltwater came to her calves and knelt, the backs of her hands touching the water's surface. She cast Commune.
“Umberlee, guide me to the right captain and crew. Both seek riches in Selune’s Bracelet. But I seek to honor You, Queen of the Depths, and bring all to fear and revere you."
She didn't really expect a reply.
"Is Captain Karn worthy of you?" Perle asked.
A pause... then a murmur like a breaker on the shore.
Her eyes flew open with a start and Perle gasped.
“Do you wish my service aboard the Seawolf more than aboard the Siren’s Desire?”
"SEAWOLF," the wave sighed.
Perle asked a few more questions and stood, overwhelmed with the experience. She'd swallow her pride and serve Captain Karn aboard the 'wolf until the Queen of the Depths wished otherwise.
--
Perle climbs the ladder onto the deck of the Seawolf, a little out of breath with her vestments clinging to her legs. Perle leaves sand and drips of saltwater as she walks, her boots squishing with every step.
She scans the deck with her sea-green eyes.
“Priestess Perle Wynn requesting permission to come aboard,” she says in a clear voice. “I seek an audience with Captain Karn.”
Perle’s eyes flick to the bosun, then to the approaching captain. Her heart hammers in her chest as she looked up at his grim visage, her eyes wide with a fiery zeal.
“Captain,” she bows and casts her gaze downward. “I accept your terms and request a position aboard this ship.
“But it is more than my request, Captain, for I have communed with Umberlee herself,” her fingers brush against her soaked vestments, dislodging more sand onto the deck.
“The Queen of the Depths wishes me aboard the Seawolf,” she says, her eyes meeting his.
--
After a rough introduction to the Seawolf's captain and her crew, Priestess Perle Wynn descends below decks to inspect her quarters. She raises an eyebrow at the accommodations — a simple hammock with no privacy — but voices no objections.
Later Perle returns with several bundles containing things she believes she will need on the mission: a fine suit of armor, a curious blue book, a sewing kit, her journal, a small notebook and her trident.
-
Xorena
- Posts: 725
- Joined: Wed Mar 30, 2016 8:21 am
- Location: East Coast US
Re: Wavecaller Perle Wynn
// Cross-posted from Rumors of Ulgoth's Beard.
A small group from the notorious pirate ship Seawolf is seen sailing into the islands off of Ulgoths Beard. A small number of the crew disembarks, looking to use its fresh spring waters to reprovision before a voyage to Selune's Bracelet. The half dozen adventurers quickly fill the barrels.
The group moves to another side of the island, where Priestess of Umberlee Perle Wynn gives a rousing speech to the crew and performs a sacrament before their fateful voyage.
Priestess Perle is dressed in the traditional ceremonial trappings of a priestess of her faith, including a skin-tight garment as though she's wrapped in seaweed. Her fur cloak is reminiscent of foam-capped waves.
Perle wades into the surf to mid-calf and begins her ceremony.
"O Umberlee! Thy sea is so great and our ship is so small. Hear our fervent prayers and allow the Seawolf and her crew to trespass on your domain!"
"This day we submit our swords and sorcery to your will. The Seawolf is your vessel, Queen of the Depths. All will see our banner and tremble before it, for we are your wrath above the waves."
"Umberlee demands a reaping. We gather today to offer a sacrifice."
Perle draws a curved dagger from her belt. If it were larger it might resemble a sickle.
"Do I have a volunteer?" the priestess says to the small crowd.
A shadowy figure steps forward. Perle smiles cunningly and gestures to a space in front of her, where the waves lap at the shoreline.
Perle turns to another member of the crew. "Bind her hands, for all are helpless atop Her raging seas."
The man steps forward and binds the woman's wrists behind her back.
"Kneel before me to show your submission to the goddess, for even the strongest pillar cannot withstand Her breaking waves."
The drowess kneels.
The priestess bends a the waist and places a finger beneath the woman's chin, tilting it up until they see eye-to-eye. They exchange whispers.
Perle then raises her dagger high in the air, the blade glinting off of the setting sun.
"Her Blood Sea spills over the Sword Coast. Let us add our own to Her briny deep and fill the rest with our enemies' "
The drowess, kneeling before the priestess does not flinch as Perle drives the dagger toward her neck. Crew members tense. The captain reaches for his axe.
Just before it plunges deep, the blade stops. Perle deftly nicks the woman's throat, drawing blood from a superficial wound. It pools in the well of the drowess' throat and cascades down her chest. Perle plucks a bit of seaweed from the surf and applies it to the wound. From a small pouch at her waist, Perle removes a pinch of sand, and drifts it over the woman's head in reverence. When complete, she motions for the drowess to rise.
Others step forward to take the woman's place, enduring the same rite as the first.
Captain Karn steps forward.
"Let's give the Bitch a taste of the bounty of blood we're about to bequeath unto her."
Perle grins at his words as he lowers his doublet's collar, taking a knee before Perle. She locks eyes with his and plunges the dagger toward his throat. It stops short, and she nicks the base of his throat. Blood flows down his chest. She places a piece of seaweed on the cut, and reaches for the sand in the small pouch.
She takes a generous handful of sand — far more than she used for the others — and takes more time to bless the captain with it, closing her eyes and saying a prayer to Umberlee. When the rite is over, he stands.
"O Queen of the Depths, let us become the shrieking wind and monstrous waves, the breakers upon dangerous shoals. Let us become your righteous wrath! Any who cross the Seawolf and her crew will cross the vengeful deeps."
"Let the widows wail and fatherless children cry themselves to sleep, for the Seawolf is the herald of mourning."
"Umberlee’s mighty currents will drag the unworthy below — for She demands a reaping, and Her beasts of the deep will grow fat from their suffering."
"Fill the Seawolf with the riches of the land, and our tribute will flow in your honor."
"With Umberlee’s favor, Her oceans swell beneath us and our hold fills with Her treasures. Our tide rises, brothers and sisters! Let us seize what is ours!"
Perle breathes hard at the end of her sermon, her eyes bright with zeal.
Captain Karn draws his axe, bellowing forth an exultant howl as Perle finishes her sermon. His eye similarly filled with a dark fervor. "Woe betide those who cross the Seawolf! For riches and blood!"
"For riches and blood!" echo the crew.
"Henceforth, one share of whatever we pillage will be offered as tribute to the Bitch of the depths," Captain Karn said. "We feed her pets with the carcasses of our foes and sate her thirst with their gold."
A small group from the notorious pirate ship Seawolf is seen sailing into the islands off of Ulgoths Beard. A small number of the crew disembarks, looking to use its fresh spring waters to reprovision before a voyage to Selune's Bracelet. The half dozen adventurers quickly fill the barrels.
The group moves to another side of the island, where Priestess of Umberlee Perle Wynn gives a rousing speech to the crew and performs a sacrament before their fateful voyage.
Priestess Perle is dressed in the traditional ceremonial trappings of a priestess of her faith, including a skin-tight garment as though she's wrapped in seaweed. Her fur cloak is reminiscent of foam-capped waves.
Perle wades into the surf to mid-calf and begins her ceremony.
"O Umberlee! Thy sea is so great and our ship is so small. Hear our fervent prayers and allow the Seawolf and her crew to trespass on your domain!"
"This day we submit our swords and sorcery to your will. The Seawolf is your vessel, Queen of the Depths. All will see our banner and tremble before it, for we are your wrath above the waves."
"Umberlee demands a reaping. We gather today to offer a sacrifice."
Perle draws a curved dagger from her belt. If it were larger it might resemble a sickle.
"Do I have a volunteer?" the priestess says to the small crowd.
A shadowy figure steps forward. Perle smiles cunningly and gestures to a space in front of her, where the waves lap at the shoreline.
Perle turns to another member of the crew. "Bind her hands, for all are helpless atop Her raging seas."
The man steps forward and binds the woman's wrists behind her back.
"Kneel before me to show your submission to the goddess, for even the strongest pillar cannot withstand Her breaking waves."
The drowess kneels.
The priestess bends a the waist and places a finger beneath the woman's chin, tilting it up until they see eye-to-eye. They exchange whispers.
Perle then raises her dagger high in the air, the blade glinting off of the setting sun.
"Her Blood Sea spills over the Sword Coast. Let us add our own to Her briny deep and fill the rest with our enemies' "
The drowess, kneeling before the priestess does not flinch as Perle drives the dagger toward her neck. Crew members tense. The captain reaches for his axe.
Just before it plunges deep, the blade stops. Perle deftly nicks the woman's throat, drawing blood from a superficial wound. It pools in the well of the drowess' throat and cascades down her chest. Perle plucks a bit of seaweed from the surf and applies it to the wound. From a small pouch at her waist, Perle removes a pinch of sand, and drifts it over the woman's head in reverence. When complete, she motions for the drowess to rise.
Others step forward to take the woman's place, enduring the same rite as the first.
Captain Karn steps forward.
"Let's give the Bitch a taste of the bounty of blood we're about to bequeath unto her."
Perle grins at his words as he lowers his doublet's collar, taking a knee before Perle. She locks eyes with his and plunges the dagger toward his throat. It stops short, and she nicks the base of his throat. Blood flows down his chest. She places a piece of seaweed on the cut, and reaches for the sand in the small pouch.
She takes a generous handful of sand — far more than she used for the others — and takes more time to bless the captain with it, closing her eyes and saying a prayer to Umberlee. When the rite is over, he stands.
"O Queen of the Depths, let us become the shrieking wind and monstrous waves, the breakers upon dangerous shoals. Let us become your righteous wrath! Any who cross the Seawolf and her crew will cross the vengeful deeps."
"Let the widows wail and fatherless children cry themselves to sleep, for the Seawolf is the herald of mourning."
"Umberlee’s mighty currents will drag the unworthy below — for She demands a reaping, and Her beasts of the deep will grow fat from their suffering."
"Fill the Seawolf with the riches of the land, and our tribute will flow in your honor."
"With Umberlee’s favor, Her oceans swell beneath us and our hold fills with Her treasures. Our tide rises, brothers and sisters! Let us seize what is ours!"
Perle breathes hard at the end of her sermon, her eyes bright with zeal.
Captain Karn draws his axe, bellowing forth an exultant howl as Perle finishes her sermon. His eye similarly filled with a dark fervor. "Woe betide those who cross the Seawolf! For riches and blood!"
"For riches and blood!" echo the crew.
"Henceforth, one share of whatever we pillage will be offered as tribute to the Bitch of the depths," Captain Karn said. "We feed her pets with the carcasses of our foes and sate her thirst with their gold."
-
Xorena
- Posts: 725
- Joined: Wed Mar 30, 2016 8:21 am
- Location: East Coast US
Re: Wavecaller Perle Wynn
// Post compiled from Perle's logs. NPC actions were controlled by a DM. Quotes from other players came from them. Most of this is from logs and was typed in real time. Apologies for grammar. No metagaming.
Perle’s snarl turned to a shocked grin as Captain Karn’s knife strained against Grayhair’s throat.
"Make no move, or he bleeds like a stuck pig." He snarls at Grayhair’s crew. "Your captain has unfinished business with my Queen."
"All yours, priestess." He shoves him aside towards Perle, then bows to the remainder of his crew. "My sincerest apologies, but none defies Umberlee."
At the captain’s word, she upends the tightly woven sack and spills its contents in the sand. It includes a pile of clothes, several long marlinspikes, a mallet and several leather straps. Perle hastily removes her armor in front of the group and dons the skin-tight uniform of a Priestess of Umberlee.
Perle walks up to Grayhair, smiles and places a hand on his cheek, who looks at her with a brow raised.
“Captain Jonas Grayhair, the Queen of the Depths has found you wanting. I, Priestess Perle Wynn, Dread Wavecaller and herald of Umberlee, hereby sentence you to die.”
Perle turns to the crowd, a dark fervor in her sea-green eyes.
“There are consequences for those who do not follow Umberlee’s path. She demands a reaping, and tonight She starts from the ranks of the doomed!”
Perle gestures to the marlinspikes and the straps, looking to Awn. “Pin Grayhair to the sands, for all are helpless atop Her raging seas.”
Awn takes a leather strap and fastens it around Captain Grayhair’s neck. He doesn’t protest as he is led to an area below the high tide mark.
“I will now read a passage from the Book of the Waves.” She picks up a moist blue tome, her fingers tracing the sharkskin cover as she unlatches the kelp fasteners. She flips it open to a specific page and places her finger upon its leathery pages.
“Let those who curse the Queen of the Depths curse the day, for they are prepared to rouse the aboleth, the kraken and Her drowned dead.”
“And then the sailors became afraid, and every man cried to Umberlee, and they threw their cargo into the sea,” she reads. “But time had stopped for doomed men. Their widows wailed. Her seas leapt upon the shore in furious anger, and their cities were no more.”
Perle closed the book and turned to Grayhair’s captured crew. “Kneel now and embrace the Queen’s capricious nature!”
"There is no point fighting against Umberlee's wrath,” Grayhair said loudly, and they reluctantly kneel.
Perle supervises Awn’s work with a scowl. “Awn, do pound the marlinspikes in deeper. And tie the binds tight. Umberlee demands a reaping.”
Perle's eyes take a distant cast, she breathes through her mouth and savors the moment. As Awn binds Grayhair, she starts filling the mesh bag with sand from around him.
She picks up another handful of sand from the beach and drifts it slowly over his prostrate body. Once Awn has completed staking him to the beach, Perle stands to his side, her hands on her hips and a triumphant smile on her face. She looks down at Grayhair.
“Speak your last words to the waves, captain” she says the last word derisively. “And say hello to Kevros for me.”
"Last words... It was fun while it lasted,” Grayhair said.
Perle takes a seat on a nearby rock. The waves creep closer as the tide rises, slowly embracing him. Grayhair is slowly being covered under water, coughing the sea water out every so often.
Perle closes her eyes and listens to the waves and his coughing.
"Embrace her sweet saltwater, Jonas," she says from her perch, her eyes tracing the distant horizon. "Feel Umberlee's watery embrace."
He gasps for air desperately one last time, then is entirely submerged.
As Grayhair gasps his last, Perle wades into the surf, looking down at his body. The advancing tide forces her to return to shore, a scowl forming on her determined face. Perle collects her things and heads back to the outpost. She boards the Seawolf with wobbly legs, and drops her equipment and sand-filled bag on the deck.
---
That night aboard the Seawolf, Perle woke from her hammock with a start. Puffy red eyes darted about the ship’s interior in a panic. Did she drown the placid and accepting Captain Grayhair — or was it Kevros, his cruel smirk haunting her from his watery grave? The faces seemed the same in her dream. Those who slept nearby may have heard Perle crying in her sleep, moaning names and phrases.
“Kevros, leave me alone!”
She left her hammock and donned her wolf-fur cloak, clutching it around her shoulders against the breeze. Walking to the front of the ship, Perle surveyed the sea spread out before her — Umberlee’s domain, vast and deep. She groped for the rail with a shaking hand, sighed and closed her eyes, then staggered to the starboard side and threw up over the rail.
Wiping her mouth with the edge of her hand, Perle stood straight. The darkness hid her red-faced shame, the sea spray, her own salty tears.
Perle’s snarl turned to a shocked grin as Captain Karn’s knife strained against Grayhair’s throat.
"Make no move, or he bleeds like a stuck pig." He snarls at Grayhair’s crew. "Your captain has unfinished business with my Queen."
"All yours, priestess." He shoves him aside towards Perle, then bows to the remainder of his crew. "My sincerest apologies, but none defies Umberlee."
At the captain’s word, she upends the tightly woven sack and spills its contents in the sand. It includes a pile of clothes, several long marlinspikes, a mallet and several leather straps. Perle hastily removes her armor in front of the group and dons the skin-tight uniform of a Priestess of Umberlee.
Perle walks up to Grayhair, smiles and places a hand on his cheek, who looks at her with a brow raised.
“Captain Jonas Grayhair, the Queen of the Depths has found you wanting. I, Priestess Perle Wynn, Dread Wavecaller and herald of Umberlee, hereby sentence you to die.”
Perle turns to the crowd, a dark fervor in her sea-green eyes.
“There are consequences for those who do not follow Umberlee’s path. She demands a reaping, and tonight She starts from the ranks of the doomed!”
Perle gestures to the marlinspikes and the straps, looking to Awn. “Pin Grayhair to the sands, for all are helpless atop Her raging seas.”
Awn takes a leather strap and fastens it around Captain Grayhair’s neck. He doesn’t protest as he is led to an area below the high tide mark.
“I will now read a passage from the Book of the Waves.” She picks up a moist blue tome, her fingers tracing the sharkskin cover as she unlatches the kelp fasteners. She flips it open to a specific page and places her finger upon its leathery pages.
“Let those who curse the Queen of the Depths curse the day, for they are prepared to rouse the aboleth, the kraken and Her drowned dead.”
“And then the sailors became afraid, and every man cried to Umberlee, and they threw their cargo into the sea,” she reads. “But time had stopped for doomed men. Their widows wailed. Her seas leapt upon the shore in furious anger, and their cities were no more.”
Perle closed the book and turned to Grayhair’s captured crew. “Kneel now and embrace the Queen’s capricious nature!”
"There is no point fighting against Umberlee's wrath,” Grayhair said loudly, and they reluctantly kneel.
Perle supervises Awn’s work with a scowl. “Awn, do pound the marlinspikes in deeper. And tie the binds tight. Umberlee demands a reaping.”
Perle's eyes take a distant cast, she breathes through her mouth and savors the moment. As Awn binds Grayhair, she starts filling the mesh bag with sand from around him.
She picks up another handful of sand from the beach and drifts it slowly over his prostrate body. Once Awn has completed staking him to the beach, Perle stands to his side, her hands on her hips and a triumphant smile on her face. She looks down at Grayhair.
“Speak your last words to the waves, captain” she says the last word derisively. “And say hello to Kevros for me.”
"Last words... It was fun while it lasted,” Grayhair said.
Perle takes a seat on a nearby rock. The waves creep closer as the tide rises, slowly embracing him. Grayhair is slowly being covered under water, coughing the sea water out every so often.
Perle closes her eyes and listens to the waves and his coughing.
"Embrace her sweet saltwater, Jonas," she says from her perch, her eyes tracing the distant horizon. "Feel Umberlee's watery embrace."
He gasps for air desperately one last time, then is entirely submerged.
As Grayhair gasps his last, Perle wades into the surf, looking down at his body. The advancing tide forces her to return to shore, a scowl forming on her determined face. Perle collects her things and heads back to the outpost. She boards the Seawolf with wobbly legs, and drops her equipment and sand-filled bag on the deck.
---
That night aboard the Seawolf, Perle woke from her hammock with a start. Puffy red eyes darted about the ship’s interior in a panic. Did she drown the placid and accepting Captain Grayhair — or was it Kevros, his cruel smirk haunting her from his watery grave? The faces seemed the same in her dream. Those who slept nearby may have heard Perle crying in her sleep, moaning names and phrases.
“Kevros, leave me alone!”
She left her hammock and donned her wolf-fur cloak, clutching it around her shoulders against the breeze. Walking to the front of the ship, Perle surveyed the sea spread out before her — Umberlee’s domain, vast and deep. She groped for the rail with a shaking hand, sighed and closed her eyes, then staggered to the starboard side and threw up over the rail.
Wiping her mouth with the edge of her hand, Perle stood straight. The darkness hid her red-faced shame, the sea spray, her own salty tears.
-
Xorena
- Posts: 725
- Joined: Wed Mar 30, 2016 8:21 am
- Location: East Coast US
Re: Wavecaller Perle Wynn
// The actions aboard the Spirited Storm occur here: viewtopic.php?f=17&t=59339
-
Xorena
- Posts: 725
- Joined: Wed Mar 30, 2016 8:21 am
- Location: East Coast US
Re: Wavecaller Perle Wynn
Perle sat in stunned silence as the Captain’s foot sent feline flying in the officer’s lounge, and the wizard winced in pain. A week’s worth of work undone by the Captain’s impulsive kick.
Lovely.
Perle had spent the better part of a tenday scouring the Trade Way for any wizard worthy. Light on details but long on promises, none seemed swayed by her words. Only Vicanti counted a trip to the Seawolf as worth his time.
The crew seemed to like him, even the captain as he pushed the man into the chair with a wolfish grin and ordered he be plied with liquor. Mara looked ready to claim another victim. Then came the kick, and there Vicanti went teleporting away.
Perle’s mind was in a haze for the rest of the day, only responding to direct questions or nodding when it might be appropriate. The captain collapsed on the couch in a drunken stupor, a wet snore emanating from his lips at regular intervals. Perle ascended to the Seawolf’s deck just as the sky opened, fat drops pounding on weathered wood like a drumbeat, weather matching her mood. Perle sighed as a few tears of frustration leaked out, grateful for sea-storm’s cloak.
The rain calmed and finally stopped. Perle took a seat on the steps and removed a salt-stained notebook from her pack, drawing a small pencil from its spine.
Captain Karn,
We must talk at your earliest convenience on a number of important matters.
~ DW Perle
Tucking in edges of crinkled paper, Perle formed a small pouch and included a small pinch of sand. Tiptoeing back to the lower decks and into the officer’s lounge, Perle slid the note inside the flap of the slumbering captain’s red leather doublet.
She withdrew as quietly as she could, back up the stairs and onto the deck. Sighing in bitter disappointment, the Dread Wavecaller ordered a longboat to take her ashore.
Lovely.
Perle had spent the better part of a tenday scouring the Trade Way for any wizard worthy. Light on details but long on promises, none seemed swayed by her words. Only Vicanti counted a trip to the Seawolf as worth his time.
The crew seemed to like him, even the captain as he pushed the man into the chair with a wolfish grin and ordered he be plied with liquor. Mara looked ready to claim another victim. Then came the kick, and there Vicanti went teleporting away.
Perle’s mind was in a haze for the rest of the day, only responding to direct questions or nodding when it might be appropriate. The captain collapsed on the couch in a drunken stupor, a wet snore emanating from his lips at regular intervals. Perle ascended to the Seawolf’s deck just as the sky opened, fat drops pounding on weathered wood like a drumbeat, weather matching her mood. Perle sighed as a few tears of frustration leaked out, grateful for sea-storm’s cloak.
The rain calmed and finally stopped. Perle took a seat on the steps and removed a salt-stained notebook from her pack, drawing a small pencil from its spine.
Captain Karn,
We must talk at your earliest convenience on a number of important matters.
~ DW Perle
Tucking in edges of crinkled paper, Perle formed a small pouch and included a small pinch of sand. Tiptoeing back to the lower decks and into the officer’s lounge, Perle slid the note inside the flap of the slumbering captain’s red leather doublet.
She withdrew as quietly as she could, back up the stairs and onto the deck. Sighing in bitter disappointment, the Dread Wavecaller ordered a longboat to take her ashore.
-
Xorena
- Posts: 725
- Joined: Wed Mar 30, 2016 8:21 am
- Location: East Coast US
Re: Wavecaller Perle Wynn
The Dread Wavecaller and her captain charted their next course at the Broken Goblet over cups of ale and rum.
"Captain, the last time I communed with Umberlee she ordered me aboardship," Priestess Perle Wynn said. "Perhaps it's time I communed with the Sea Queen again"
From the top of the stairs a man yelled: "Yaaargh! There be no point in speakin' to that Sea Bitch!"
Perle swiveled toward the sound with a scowl: "You must have extraordinary hearing, mate. The captain and I were having a private conversation." She rolled her shoulders and placed her mug on the counter.
The man, oblivious to Karn's towering bulk, stood next to them at the bar, Perle's gaze as as cold as the Sea Queen's depths. Her hand rested on the hilt of her curved dueling knife.
The man turned to Karn, "Ye stand between a man and his drink?"
With a wolfish grin, Karn set a hand on Morty's shoulder, "Hear that, Pike? Man wants a drink!” then to the man, “ 'ave a seat, mate. Round's on me, yeah?" Karn ushered Morty down to sit on a chair.
“Huh? Aye, thank ye!” said the man.
Karn fixed his blue eye on the bartender, “Pike, give us the bottle.”
Perle’s annoyance shifted to glee as she watched her captain manipulate this rube. Slowly she edged to his other side and flashed a dazzling smile at the unfortunate sailor. Karn slid his arm around the man’s neck and forced him into a headlock. Gesturing to the bottle, Karn said "Priestess, give this man all he can drink."
“How dare you insult Umberlee?” Perle fumed. She grabbed the bottle from the table and yanked the cork out with her teeth, upending it into his gaping mouth.
"Keep his nostrils shut, aye make sure nothing spills out. I paid for this wine, depths damnit."
Perle adjusted her grip on the bottle, closing his nostrils as her captain commanded. She pinned him and whispered, "Depths' embrace, 'mate'. Umberlee will reap from the ranks of the doomed. Looks like you're next"
Karn released the man when he began to turn a shade of purple. His head fell to the counter, wine spilling from his nose and mouth.
“Had enough lad? Now apologize to the lady.”
Perle grabbed the now-empty bottle and smashed it against the table. A wicked shard remained, gleaming in the Goblet’s dim light. Perle held it in front of his face as he fixed her with a baleful glare.
“Like that, is it?” Perle said, her voice dripping malice. "Women love scars, little man. Surely you will need all the help you can get."
"Shank him in the privy, don't bloody the counter priestess,” Karn said.
Perle grinned at the captain and grabbed the man by the cloak to drag him to the head. "Come along, you heard the captain. Pike doesn't want your blood on his counter."
“What're ye gonna do..? Shank me..? Ha! Bet ye couldn't take me on by yerself!” Morty coughs up more wine.
With her free hand, Perle issues a resounding slap, "How DARE you insult my queen! Apologize at once. Fall to your knees and beg Her forgiveness!"
“Let 'er apologize first! She killed me crew in a storm! Damn!”
"Insulting Umberlee in front of Her Dread Wavecaller will not get you on the Queen’s good side," her gaze turns dark. She places a hand on the man's shoulder and presses down. Several heartbeats passed.
“Tell ye what, I'll apologize t' yer goddess. Maybe it be our own damn fault we died!” Morty said.
"Sailors must pay tribute and pray. Captains must have a priest bless the ship. Without these protections you are doomed,” Perle snarled. "Kneel and beg forgiveness."
The man complied, and Perle’s strawberry brow lofted in slight surprise. She crossed her arms across her chest, awaiting apology, like a prayer, from supplicant’s lips.
“Sea Bitch. May ye always be a cruel mistress! Let yer trident puncture me ol' heart. I beg yer forgiveness fer trespassin' me, but perhaps it was we that did not honor you! We were young a'n foolish! I wish t' sail upon yer beauty agin!” Morty prayed.
The young priestess’ eyes gleamed in the dim light, a smile tugged from her pink lips. "There is hope for you yet, sailor." she motioned him to rise and held out her hand, palm up. "What tribute have you for a Priestess of Umberlee this day?"
The man searched through his bag. Loose horns, skulls shoved out of the way. He grasped a shiny emerald and handed it to Perle. He also gave her a name, which she recorded along with his tribute in the notebook that never left her side.
"Captain, the last time I communed with Umberlee she ordered me aboardship," Priestess Perle Wynn said. "Perhaps it's time I communed with the Sea Queen again"
From the top of the stairs a man yelled: "Yaaargh! There be no point in speakin' to that Sea Bitch!"
Perle swiveled toward the sound with a scowl: "You must have extraordinary hearing, mate. The captain and I were having a private conversation." She rolled her shoulders and placed her mug on the counter.
The man, oblivious to Karn's towering bulk, stood next to them at the bar, Perle's gaze as as cold as the Sea Queen's depths. Her hand rested on the hilt of her curved dueling knife.
The man turned to Karn, "Ye stand between a man and his drink?"
With a wolfish grin, Karn set a hand on Morty's shoulder, "Hear that, Pike? Man wants a drink!” then to the man, “ 'ave a seat, mate. Round's on me, yeah?" Karn ushered Morty down to sit on a chair.
“Huh? Aye, thank ye!” said the man.
Karn fixed his blue eye on the bartender, “Pike, give us the bottle.”
Perle’s annoyance shifted to glee as she watched her captain manipulate this rube. Slowly she edged to his other side and flashed a dazzling smile at the unfortunate sailor. Karn slid his arm around the man’s neck and forced him into a headlock. Gesturing to the bottle, Karn said "Priestess, give this man all he can drink."
“How dare you insult Umberlee?” Perle fumed. She grabbed the bottle from the table and yanked the cork out with her teeth, upending it into his gaping mouth.
"Keep his nostrils shut, aye make sure nothing spills out. I paid for this wine, depths damnit."
Perle adjusted her grip on the bottle, closing his nostrils as her captain commanded. She pinned him and whispered, "Depths' embrace, 'mate'. Umberlee will reap from the ranks of the doomed. Looks like you're next"
Karn released the man when he began to turn a shade of purple. His head fell to the counter, wine spilling from his nose and mouth.
“Had enough lad? Now apologize to the lady.”
Perle grabbed the now-empty bottle and smashed it against the table. A wicked shard remained, gleaming in the Goblet’s dim light. Perle held it in front of his face as he fixed her with a baleful glare.
“Like that, is it?” Perle said, her voice dripping malice. "Women love scars, little man. Surely you will need all the help you can get."
"Shank him in the privy, don't bloody the counter priestess,” Karn said.
Perle grinned at the captain and grabbed the man by the cloak to drag him to the head. "Come along, you heard the captain. Pike doesn't want your blood on his counter."
“What're ye gonna do..? Shank me..? Ha! Bet ye couldn't take me on by yerself!” Morty coughs up more wine.
With her free hand, Perle issues a resounding slap, "How DARE you insult my queen! Apologize at once. Fall to your knees and beg Her forgiveness!"
“Let 'er apologize first! She killed me crew in a storm! Damn!”
"Insulting Umberlee in front of Her Dread Wavecaller will not get you on the Queen’s good side," her gaze turns dark. She places a hand on the man's shoulder and presses down. Several heartbeats passed.
“Tell ye what, I'll apologize t' yer goddess. Maybe it be our own damn fault we died!” Morty said.
"Sailors must pay tribute and pray. Captains must have a priest bless the ship. Without these protections you are doomed,” Perle snarled. "Kneel and beg forgiveness."
The man complied, and Perle’s strawberry brow lofted in slight surprise. She crossed her arms across her chest, awaiting apology, like a prayer, from supplicant’s lips.
“Sea Bitch. May ye always be a cruel mistress! Let yer trident puncture me ol' heart. I beg yer forgiveness fer trespassin' me, but perhaps it was we that did not honor you! We were young a'n foolish! I wish t' sail upon yer beauty agin!” Morty prayed.
The young priestess’ eyes gleamed in the dim light, a smile tugged from her pink lips. "There is hope for you yet, sailor." she motioned him to rise and held out her hand, palm up. "What tribute have you for a Priestess of Umberlee this day?"
The man searched through his bag. Loose horns, skulls shoved out of the way. He grasped a shiny emerald and handed it to Perle. He also gave her a name, which she recorded along with his tribute in the notebook that never left her side.
-
Xorena
- Posts: 725
- Joined: Wed Mar 30, 2016 8:21 am
- Location: East Coast US
Re: Wavecaller Perle Wynn
// From Perle's first mission with the Seawolf
Perle left the captain's quarters with a new prize around her neck and a bright smile on her face. She could hardly believe it had worked. How had nobody seen her?
Only Awn had come close. All Perle had to do was offer some pleasantry and move to the mainmast crow's nest and let Awn drink herself into a stupor.
The usual joy Perle felt of her perch was overshadowed by her task ahead. The Captain's dire warning left no doubt what would happen if she were seen: "If you are caught sabotaging our ship, then I'll have to try you by the code." In short, Perle was a nervous wreck.
Most importantly, Perle knew she must gain Captain Karn’s trust if she was to fulfill Umberlee’s command — this was her chance to show him what she was made of. Perle’s heart hammered in her chest as she looked to the Gaviota and back to the Seawolf, judging the distance and angle of her spell cast. Time seemed to slow. A subtle nod from the captain and she let it fly. Flaywind Burst tore the sails to shreds.
Even the quibble over Captain Salazar’s amulet with the godloather Roger Flint did not weigh down her buoyant step as she ascended from below decks. Perle wasn’t after riches. She had a higher calling, and she had all the evidence she needed that she was a valued member of the crew — Captain Karn’s fearsome smile of approval and his token around her neck.
Perle ascended the rigging and set to repair what she had torn asunder.
Perle left the captain's quarters with a new prize around her neck and a bright smile on her face. She could hardly believe it had worked. How had nobody seen her?
Only Awn had come close. All Perle had to do was offer some pleasantry and move to the mainmast crow's nest and let Awn drink herself into a stupor.
The usual joy Perle felt of her perch was overshadowed by her task ahead. The Captain's dire warning left no doubt what would happen if she were seen: "If you are caught sabotaging our ship, then I'll have to try you by the code." In short, Perle was a nervous wreck.
Most importantly, Perle knew she must gain Captain Karn’s trust if she was to fulfill Umberlee’s command — this was her chance to show him what she was made of. Perle’s heart hammered in her chest as she looked to the Gaviota and back to the Seawolf, judging the distance and angle of her spell cast. Time seemed to slow. A subtle nod from the captain and she let it fly. Flaywind Burst tore the sails to shreds.
Even the quibble over Captain Salazar’s amulet with the godloather Roger Flint did not weigh down her buoyant step as she ascended from below decks. Perle wasn’t after riches. She had a higher calling, and she had all the evidence she needed that she was a valued member of the crew — Captain Karn’s fearsome smile of approval and his token around her neck.
Perle ascended the rigging and set to repair what she had torn asunder.
-
Xorena
- Posts: 725
- Joined: Wed Mar 30, 2016 8:21 am
- Location: East Coast US
Re: Wavecaller Perle Wynn
Perle awoke from a deep slumber as the capstan loosed the Seawolf’s anchor into Roaringshore Bay with rattle of chain and splash of water.
Donning her leathers and cloak, the priestess moved to the officer’s lounge with a large, leather-bound journal and carefully ripped out a page: “Dear Captain Karn …” she began. Penning this letter had been a long time coming, but after surviving Talos’ storm, with whirlpools and tornadoes raging around the Seawolf, Perle felt pushed to action.
She had poured all her faith into her prayers as the Destroyer rained his furious bolts onto the deck and to her captain, but her goddess didn’t answer. Not until the last minute.
Perle closed her eyes and sighed, transported back to the terrifying scene in her mind’s eye.
--
Captain Karn shouted to her over the gale, his eye fixed on the twin tornadoes ahead: "Priestess, can you make them part long enough for us to glide through?"
"Yes captain!" Perle shouted.
She lashed herself to the mast as water coursed over the deck, sweeping some off their feet. Her first attempt interrupted by bucking waves, she regrouped and cast control weather. In Aquan she began to pray:
"Umberlee, spare the Seawolf your terrible fury! Guide us across your ocean deep, for we are your faithful servants."
As the twisters churned and the waves towered ever higher, a massive thump from below rolled the Seawolf toward its starboard side: A huge serpent. She focused her prayers to the beast, the hissing burble of her Aquan reverie ripped from her lips by the screaming gale:
"You demand a reaping, O Great Queen. Your beasts of the deep will feed and the Seawolf will be your herald of mourning!"
Offerings of meat and gems satisfied the serpent, and it returned to Her unfathomable depths.
Perle gripped the rail as the seaspray coursed over her, plastering her red hair to her skull. Her eyes gleamed with determination and fervor, the priestess’ face cast in a fierce rictus of the goddess she serves and loves. Perle lofted her trident high and continued her Aquan benedictions.
By the barest margin, the twin tornadoes parted and the Seawolf slipped precariously between the whirlpools as utter chaos and destruction raged around them.
--
Her writing hand twitched as she struggled to put words to paper. Perle recalled the words of a poet warrior she at times confided in:
“And a ship's captain, no less, blessed with a woman of the sea's Queen, young and vibrant and convicted. A man might not know better fortune, so wherefore his carelessness?
“Whatever you offer, Perle Wynn, whatever your charm, whatever your guile, whatever strong hearts you tempt and sway to his cause and yours, a man, he was, before he knew you, a man who is called captain, who has pushed his bow and grasped his highest rung — and it’s his strength he'll always love most.”
Her sea-green eyes clear, Perle crushed the paper in her hands and let it fall to the floor, an unreadable expression on her face.
Others filed into the room as dawn lurched toward noon. She selected a bottle of expensive Westhaven Ruby from the cabinet and poured herself a glass. Perle became lost in thought as the Seawolf swayed gently in the bay, an occasional sip and a nod when addressed by a crew member.
A smile quirked at lips now stained red. She chuckled into her glass as she remembered her first meeting with Karn and Mara on the dock at Roaringshore. She had been so naïve. She was still. Perle realized she was no closer to the end of her holy quest than when she boarded the Seawolf for the first time so many tendays ago.
Before she chose a captain Perle had beseeched Umberlee’s guidance. To her great surprise the Queen of the Depths responded, Her voice whispered in the breaking waves of Roaringshore. The waves sighed, no opinion on the fierce captain — but Umberlee clearly desired items in Selune’s Bracelet and the goddess ordered the young priestess aboard the Seawolf to get them.
Since then, Perle had done everything she could to elevate her captain and the Seawolf’s profile, praying it would be enough to carry her to the destination she sought. Staring into the middle distance and with the benefit of hindsight, Perle huffed.
Normally Perle cherished this exquisite vintage, a wine she often shared with Captain Karn as they charted the Seawolf’s next course together in his private quarters. But the wine had lost its intoxicating scent, its sweet nectar now bitter on her tongue. Still, she filled her glass to the brim with the red liquid and gripped it in her right hand.
She had once asked Karn to train her so she could defend herself. But he insisted she had all the tools she needed at her disposal: Wiles and faith. Karn’s words echoed in her head: "Be treacherous like the seas; tempestuous when opportune, but calm when outnumbered. We all have to swallow our pride sometimes."
“Tempestuous when opportune,” she drawled quietly to the glass as she lofted it in a toast with a sly smile, her green eyes sparkling.
No. The Dread Wavecaller would not swallow her pride. Not today.
Cradling the brimming glass in her right palm, she stood and threw it as hard as she could at the wall near the door. It shattered into a thousand pieces, the shards tinkling to the floor. Wine ran down the wall in red rivulets to puddle on the floorboards. The journal crashed into a nearby bunk as Perle cleared the table in front of her with the swipe of an arm.
She planted both hands on the lacquered table with a thump, her fingers splayed. Perle’s narrowed gaze behind strawberry lashes swept the small room until all shocked eyes locked on the furious priestess.
“I came here to serve Umberlee, a fit ship and a strong captain. Instead I get a scheming bastard who demands I rupture our own sails with Flaywind Burst so our crew has no choice but to butcher the Gaviota’s crew? I was so blind, Karn, but I see it all now. Piracy is one thing, but I will not support a puppeteer.”
Perle’s voice climbed like a King Tide, dripping with malice. Her cheeks flushed with rage, her eyes spitting sparks. The priestess pointed for emphasis.
“He is no captain! He’s a doomed cur, incapable of even dealing with a fledgling wizard or his own Quartermaster in a constructive manner!”
“Instead Karn wields deception and threats against the crew to achieve his own ambitions? He plays us all for fools in his ridiculous quest for vengeance.”
“You are not worth my time and presence!”
With a white-knuckled fist, Perle gripped the gold chain hanging from her neck, a reward from Captain Karn for her pivotal role in the Gaviota deception. From it dangled an old runic amulet hewn and carved by the Rethgaardian dwarves of Ruathym from a single gold ingot.
It would bedeck her sun-kissed neckline no longer. With a yank, the links parted and she threw the amulet across the table in disgust. Perle moved to leave the lounge, her right hand on the pommel of her dueling knife.
“You can rot on the Seawolf for all I care. I’m leaving.”
Donning her leathers and cloak, the priestess moved to the officer’s lounge with a large, leather-bound journal and carefully ripped out a page: “Dear Captain Karn …” she began. Penning this letter had been a long time coming, but after surviving Talos’ storm, with whirlpools and tornadoes raging around the Seawolf, Perle felt pushed to action.
She had poured all her faith into her prayers as the Destroyer rained his furious bolts onto the deck and to her captain, but her goddess didn’t answer. Not until the last minute.
Perle closed her eyes and sighed, transported back to the terrifying scene in her mind’s eye.
--
Captain Karn shouted to her over the gale, his eye fixed on the twin tornadoes ahead: "Priestess, can you make them part long enough for us to glide through?"
"Yes captain!" Perle shouted.
She lashed herself to the mast as water coursed over the deck, sweeping some off their feet. Her first attempt interrupted by bucking waves, she regrouped and cast control weather. In Aquan she began to pray:
"Umberlee, spare the Seawolf your terrible fury! Guide us across your ocean deep, for we are your faithful servants."
As the twisters churned and the waves towered ever higher, a massive thump from below rolled the Seawolf toward its starboard side: A huge serpent. She focused her prayers to the beast, the hissing burble of her Aquan reverie ripped from her lips by the screaming gale:
"You demand a reaping, O Great Queen. Your beasts of the deep will feed and the Seawolf will be your herald of mourning!"
Offerings of meat and gems satisfied the serpent, and it returned to Her unfathomable depths.
Perle gripped the rail as the seaspray coursed over her, plastering her red hair to her skull. Her eyes gleamed with determination and fervor, the priestess’ face cast in a fierce rictus of the goddess she serves and loves. Perle lofted her trident high and continued her Aquan benedictions.
By the barest margin, the twin tornadoes parted and the Seawolf slipped precariously between the whirlpools as utter chaos and destruction raged around them.
--
Her writing hand twitched as she struggled to put words to paper. Perle recalled the words of a poet warrior she at times confided in:
“And a ship's captain, no less, blessed with a woman of the sea's Queen, young and vibrant and convicted. A man might not know better fortune, so wherefore his carelessness?
“Whatever you offer, Perle Wynn, whatever your charm, whatever your guile, whatever strong hearts you tempt and sway to his cause and yours, a man, he was, before he knew you, a man who is called captain, who has pushed his bow and grasped his highest rung — and it’s his strength he'll always love most.”
Her sea-green eyes clear, Perle crushed the paper in her hands and let it fall to the floor, an unreadable expression on her face.
Others filed into the room as dawn lurched toward noon. She selected a bottle of expensive Westhaven Ruby from the cabinet and poured herself a glass. Perle became lost in thought as the Seawolf swayed gently in the bay, an occasional sip and a nod when addressed by a crew member.
A smile quirked at lips now stained red. She chuckled into her glass as she remembered her first meeting with Karn and Mara on the dock at Roaringshore. She had been so naïve. She was still. Perle realized she was no closer to the end of her holy quest than when she boarded the Seawolf for the first time so many tendays ago.
Before she chose a captain Perle had beseeched Umberlee’s guidance. To her great surprise the Queen of the Depths responded, Her voice whispered in the breaking waves of Roaringshore. The waves sighed, no opinion on the fierce captain — but Umberlee clearly desired items in Selune’s Bracelet and the goddess ordered the young priestess aboard the Seawolf to get them.
Since then, Perle had done everything she could to elevate her captain and the Seawolf’s profile, praying it would be enough to carry her to the destination she sought. Staring into the middle distance and with the benefit of hindsight, Perle huffed.
Normally Perle cherished this exquisite vintage, a wine she often shared with Captain Karn as they charted the Seawolf’s next course together in his private quarters. But the wine had lost its intoxicating scent, its sweet nectar now bitter on her tongue. Still, she filled her glass to the brim with the red liquid and gripped it in her right hand.
She had once asked Karn to train her so she could defend herself. But he insisted she had all the tools she needed at her disposal: Wiles and faith. Karn’s words echoed in her head: "Be treacherous like the seas; tempestuous when opportune, but calm when outnumbered. We all have to swallow our pride sometimes."
“Tempestuous when opportune,” she drawled quietly to the glass as she lofted it in a toast with a sly smile, her green eyes sparkling.
No. The Dread Wavecaller would not swallow her pride. Not today.
Cradling the brimming glass in her right palm, she stood and threw it as hard as she could at the wall near the door. It shattered into a thousand pieces, the shards tinkling to the floor. Wine ran down the wall in red rivulets to puddle on the floorboards. The journal crashed into a nearby bunk as Perle cleared the table in front of her with the swipe of an arm.
She planted both hands on the lacquered table with a thump, her fingers splayed. Perle’s narrowed gaze behind strawberry lashes swept the small room until all shocked eyes locked on the furious priestess.
“I came here to serve Umberlee, a fit ship and a strong captain. Instead I get a scheming bastard who demands I rupture our own sails with Flaywind Burst so our crew has no choice but to butcher the Gaviota’s crew? I was so blind, Karn, but I see it all now. Piracy is one thing, but I will not support a puppeteer.”
Perle’s voice climbed like a King Tide, dripping with malice. Her cheeks flushed with rage, her eyes spitting sparks. The priestess pointed for emphasis.
“He is no captain! He’s a doomed cur, incapable of even dealing with a fledgling wizard or his own Quartermaster in a constructive manner!”
“Instead Karn wields deception and threats against the crew to achieve his own ambitions? He plays us all for fools in his ridiculous quest for vengeance.”
“You are not worth my time and presence!”
With a white-knuckled fist, Perle gripped the gold chain hanging from her neck, a reward from Captain Karn for her pivotal role in the Gaviota deception. From it dangled an old runic amulet hewn and carved by the Rethgaardian dwarves of Ruathym from a single gold ingot.
It would bedeck her sun-kissed neckline no longer. With a yank, the links parted and she threw the amulet across the table in disgust. Perle moved to leave the lounge, her right hand on the pommel of her dueling knife.
“You can rot on the Seawolf for all I care. I’m leaving.”
-
Xorena
- Posts: 725
- Joined: Wed Mar 30, 2016 8:21 am
- Location: East Coast US
Re: Wavecaller Perle Wynn
Perle slid down the forearm of the mighty black dragon, her feet meeting shore once more in the pirate haven.
She shielded her face with an outstretched arm as wind from dragon's wings buffeted her, lifting sand from strand in a burning mist. As she watched the druid fly away she felt a sense of deep wonderment. That she was even alive must be a testament to Umberlee's will, she was sure of it.
After her furious confession in the officers' lounge of the Seawolf, the captain aimed to bathe the deck in her blood, Umberlant or no.
Perle walked toward the ferryman on the dock and grasped a handful of coins from her purse. She thrust it into the man's shocked hands, coins and a gem spilling from his outstretched palms.
"Take me to Baldur's Gate at once." Perle barked, an eye on the wounded Seawolf.
The only evidence of her passing was a brilliant green emerald at rest on the weathered dock, glinting in the setting sun.
She shielded her face with an outstretched arm as wind from dragon's wings buffeted her, lifting sand from strand in a burning mist. As she watched the druid fly away she felt a sense of deep wonderment. That she was even alive must be a testament to Umberlee's will, she was sure of it.
After her furious confession in the officers' lounge of the Seawolf, the captain aimed to bathe the deck in her blood, Umberlant or no.
Perle walked toward the ferryman on the dock and grasped a handful of coins from her purse. She thrust it into the man's shocked hands, coins and a gem spilling from his outstretched palms.
"Take me to Baldur's Gate at once." Perle barked, an eye on the wounded Seawolf.
The only evidence of her passing was a brilliant green emerald at rest on the weathered dock, glinting in the setting sun.
-
Xorena
- Posts: 725
- Joined: Wed Mar 30, 2016 8:21 am
- Location: East Coast US
Re: Wavecaller Perle Wynn
“^Urphohahoo”
She didn’t even flinch as the ship’s surgeon removed each stitch. Perle had endured much worse in the weeks since Kevros’ first attack mere tendays ago.
“You’ll bear the scar the rest of your life, Perle, but otherwise it’s healed nicely,” the surgeon said as he snipped another thread, tugging it away along with a tiny bit of skin. “At least it’s not on your pretty face, yeah?”
The man smiled at his joke, so Perle smiled along with him. The puckered pink tissue outlined in twin crimson dots where stitches once held it together traced her shoulder blade in a ragged crescent. It was easy enough to cover up. Fewer questions that way.
Perle shrugged her tunic back onto her shoulder and steeled herself for the walk above deck. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she rested her hand on the hatch above her. She opened her sea-green eyes and affected a countenance of bored indifference. The young woman lifted the hatch and stepped into the sun.
Though she didn’t see him, Perle knew Kevros was watching. He always was these days. He watched her sleep. He watched her dress, his cruel gaze creeping over her body like a slick oily film. It was a wonder the first mate got anything done at all, but the Albatross’ captain favored him and that was that.
She had tried fighting Kevros. That’s where the scar came from. He was a great hulk of a man, his biceps bigger than one of her thighs, he once remarked. Perle had tried avoiding him, but how on a ship at sea? The tiny kingdom was ruled by few and she was one of her subjects.
Kevros employed a campaign of fear and distraction. He often whispered “strawberry” as she passed, a smirk on his face every time her green eyes flashed angrily back at him. So now, she tried bored indifference. Perle didn’t want to give him the satisfaction of her anger or her pain any longer. Kevros would take both anyway in dark corners in the coming months.
---
Perle had taken to climbing the rigging to escape. She used her considerable sewing skills to mend the sails, a task nobody could refuse her if they wanted a fit and fast ship. Only there would she allow angry tears to leak from her eyes as she cursed Kevros under her breath.
After one storm she ascended the rigging. Her feet firmly on the swaying foot rope, she concentrated on a rip in the top foresail. As was her habit she prayed aloud to Umberlee to kill Kevros.
“Sweep Kevros from the deck with a great wave. Your beasts of the deep would feast for days,” she said aloud. She blinked away tears of rage.
A great gale of laughter erupted from beneath her, and a familiar mocking voice followed. “You think the Sea Bitch cares about you?” Perle had been so focused on her task she hadn’t noticed another climbing the rigging below. She squeezed her eyelids shut and endured his taunts as her cheeks flushed with shame and anger.
Later that night, Perle approached the priest’s private quarters and rapped her knuckles on the thick wooden door. Few ventured here, for Umberlee was a vengeful and cruel goddess. Some thought gaining the attention of a priest would draw the Bitch Queen’s cold gaze as well. But what could Umberlee do to Perle that she had not already endured at Kevros’ hands?
The door opened with a loud creak. A flickering ray of candlelight emerged followed by the piercing gaze of the ship’s priest: Dread Tide Vozim Ven. Perle’s jaw set stubbornly as she looked up at the man. For a few heartbeats she locked eyes with the wizened priest, twin pools of deep blue stared back.
Finally the man nodded. With a grunt and a smile tugging at his lips, Vozim stepped aside and motioned her into his cramped quarters. Save the day she revived on the deck three years before, Perle had no occasion to address the priest in his private quarters. Dread Tide Ven had taught her Umberlee’s ways since, and she had shown some promise.
“I am ready to learn the Deep Tongue,” she said. Aquan was a notoriously difficult language to learn, the hissing tongue not unlike a flowing stream or the surf caressing the sand at low tide. A misplaced syllable could spell disaster if said in prayer.
The priest nodded and turned to a small stack of books secured by a strap. “I figured you would soon.” From it he removed a wrapped bundle and handed it to the young woman. She folded back its cloth wrapping. The book’s blue sharkskin cover glistened with moisture.
Perle’s hand trembled as she unhinged the kelp fastener and opened its damp cover: The Book of the Waves, a holy book of Umberlee if there ever was one. But Perle had reason beyond mere faith to want to learn this language. Few speak it. Any prayers to the goddess overheard would remain cloaked in waves’ whispers.
As she flipped to the first page Vozim placed a staying hand on the book. “If you’re to read from the Book of the Waves, start with the most important word: The name of our great goddess, Umberlee.”
A deeply tanned hand pointed to the first word on the page. He recited it, the hissing murmur filling his room like a swelling tide. His blonde eyebrows then lofted at the woman, bidding her repeat the flowing syllables.
She examined the page, and soundlessly mouthed the word. The priest offered a rare smile of encouragement. She nodded back, and from her mouth a swelling tide filled the room.
“^Urphohahoo”