The Rain in Palk

With a bow, Oscairo disappeared, not giving Morn time for further goodbyes.

Sighing with apprehension, Morn slowly walked down the dock and climbed the ladder up onto the ship. Remembering Oscairo's words, he entered the captain's quarters and found a map table. On it lay a small metal weight in the shape of a boat.

After a moment, Morn rested the figurine on a large region named Llairbylge. This was the region the island of Palk drifted within. Once he arrived, he would be able to find the island relatively easily simply by sailing towards the nearest large star. Every great island was towed by a Dweller, and every dweller is represented by a star. The star would only be visible from within the region, and it would act as a guide to the island.

When he placed down the ship figurine, he heard the ship's anchor rising, then felt the ship begin to move. He quickly stepped out from the captain's quarters back onto the deck. He watched as Oscairo's island grew further.

Several minutes later, he felt a strange sensation as if he had passed through a wall of slime. After the sensation passed, he could no longer see Oscairo's island, as if it had disappeared. He suddenly had the feeling that he wouldn't be returning to the island for a long, long time.

After observing the boat sail itself for several minutes, watching the sails raise, lower, and turn, watching the wheel spin back and forth, he satisfied his curiosity. Morn then returned to the captain's quarters and sat in a comfortable padded chair. He began to plan his next moves.

"From now on, at least for the time being, I am no longer Morning the Harvester. Now, I am Rain the Traveller. Like Oscairo said, my ability will probably give rise to horror stories in whatever town I visit on Palk. To keep up appearances, I'll have to act differently."

Morn shifted in his chair, fidgeting with a pen from the captain's desk as he pondered.

"Rain the Traveller has to be ferocious, but I also have to not instantly provoke anyone I encounter. I should try to walk a fine line between terrifying and approachable… perhaps I can treat the innocent with care, and be harsh only to those I hunt? Yes, that would be fine. If this 'faith' that Oscairo mentioned is truly important, then I would have both the fearful belief of pirates from horror stories, and the hopeful belief from the innocent, particularly if I save slaves and other victims of the pirates."

Morn grew excited at this line of thought, sitting upright in his chair as he imagined it.

"Rain will be the saviour of the innocent and the punisher of the guilty, like this, I can show the authorities that I mean no harm, while still gaining both bounty money and potentially the Vaihn hearts of other Leviathans. Most of all, I don't have to hurt any more innocent people…"

With a plan in mind, Morn began to study a map of Palk, trying to find an ideal location to come ashore. After a while, he landed on a location known as 'Teir-Valloh' a small town built on a protruding cliffside at the opposite end of Palk's capital city, Oseir City.

He picked this town for several reasons. First, it would be farthest from the fearsome Legion of the Hand in Oseir City, the small army led by Palk's Lord, the Hand. If he began hunting pirates closer to Oseir, he wouldn't have a chance to escape before the might of the Marauder legion fell on him. Additionally, the town was built upon a cliff, making it difficult for ships to dock near it.

For others, this would be an issue- but Morn could simply dismiss his ship and climb the cliffside. This meant that if he needed to escape quickly, he could simply repel down the cliff and summon his boat- while his pursuers would have to rush over a kilometre to the nearest bay to board their own ships to give chase. Finally, the lack of a port would also add mystery to his sudden arrival, perhaps adding to future myths of 'Rain the Traveller.'

With nothing else to do, Morn began to explore the rest of the ship. The ship consisted of the main deck with the captain's cabin at the stern and the steering wheel atop the cabin. At the bow of the ship there were two ballistas with sealed chests next to them containing a myriad of bolts.

Below the main deck was a smaller area with enough hammocks for a small crew to sleep, and a separate room for higher ranking members. Finally, the last deck held crucial supplies like food, a self-refilling arcane water tank, and other necessities.

After exploring the ship, Morn lay down in a hammock on the second floor of the ship, awaiting his arrival in Llairbylge. While he lay, he practised emitting his Vaihniir in a controlled manner. He wanted to be able to release a small amount of the fog, so as to stealthily cause a target to hallucinate, rather than just emitting the Vaihniir from all of his pores and flooding the area. Like this, it would be easier to surprise his targets in the future.

After several hours, Morn finally succeeded. He was able to emit a small thread of the fog, controlling its spread with a decent level of precision. Although a single thread was all his concentration could handle at the moment, he figured that with more time and practise, he would be able to control much more.

***

Tyrvoh city, formerly known as Teir-Valloh, Palk. The 34th of Fara, year 498 of the Malsatan Modern Calendar. Near midnight.

A man in a frayed black robe, face hidden in the deep folds of a hooded cape crudely stitched at his collar, stopped outside the building. The man looked up at a sign hanging above the door. The sign rather arrogantly stated 'Tyrvoh's Finest Pub and Inn.' Noticing the bending wooden planks and sagging porch roof, the man snorted in disdain.

After taking a deep breath, the man tightened the strap of his over the shoulder pack and pushed his way past the door into the pub.

A bell chimed as he stepped in, alerting the patrons of the pub who's eyes all swung to the door, evaluating the newcomer. In the span of a few blinks, the patrons came to the same conclusion, 'A traveller… perhaps an Ocean Crawler?"

His robes, long boots, and caped hood, distinctly from different regions of Malsata, gave him away as a traveller. Their second assumption, of Morn being an Ocean Crawler, was purely speculation. An Ocean Crawler used to be a brand of mercenary of sorts, someone who would travel the Oceans alone, hunting bounties and Levjottun.

A famous example would be Merrick Moreau, a man who single handedly hunted the 11 Marauders centuries ago, after Oscairo had abandoned Palk. The man had made history, then disappeared into myth. Nowadays, Ocean Crawler more generally refers to any mercenary of unknown origin whose loyalties don't lie with any one Great Island. Most pirates with bounties exceeding one Ral were extremely wary of Ocean Crawlers, of course, the pirates at this pub were no exception.

Choosing to ignore the nervous stares of the patrons, the man strolled casually to the bar and took a seat at the corner closest to the door. After a moment spent reading the drink board, the man waved the bartender over.

"A glass of Oseir water, and some beef stew."

Oseir Water was a common name for a type of Mead brewed in Palk's capital city, Oseir. It had very low alcohol content and was naturally sparkling. Its name came from the fact that most Oseir natives preferred a glass of the mead with their meals, making it as common as water. The drink became so common in Oseir that even children would have it with their food due to its fruity and sweet taste.

The bartender looked at the hooded man and held out his hand, palm upward.

"That'll be 6 short lint, if you want a big bowl of stew, it'll be 8. Are you perhaps looking for lodging upstairs, sir? A night here costs a line. For every night you pay up front, we'll cut the price by 2 short lint. If you stay 5 nights or longer, we'll give you a free meal and drink each day."

The man dug around in a pouch at his waist. After a moment, he withdrew a small black metal rod, roughly as long as half a thumb. Two lines were marked along its length. Each line represented 10 Short Lint, which were also colloquially known as dot, due to the single dot marked on a short lint.

A dot was the smallest currency. 100 Dot, or 10 Lines, makes up a Lint. 100 Lint or 10 Silver Lines makes up a Spiral. Aside from the marks on their surface, the currency was also differentiated by colour. Dots and lines are black, a lint is red, silver lines are silver, and a spiral is golden.

With a wince hidden by his hood, the man handed two line to the bartender and spoke in a low tone:

"There's eight dots for the drink and a big bowl of stew, and one line for the night."

The bartender nodded and handed the man 2 dots from a locked box bolted to the counter, then went about preparing the order. After a few minutes, the man returned with a bowl and a mug, setting them down in front of the man. After giving the man his food, the bartender retrieved a heavy book from somewhere below the counter as well as a charcoal pen.

"What should I call you, sir? For the Inn registry, I mean."

After several moments passed in silence, the man spoke again. Though he couldn't see past the man's large hood, the bartender heard a hint of a smile on the man's voice.

"You may call me Rain."

After providing his name, the man ate voraciously, finishing his food within a few short minutes. After finishing off his mead and wiping his mouth with a cloth, he donned a black wooden mask and walked to a corner of the room by the stairway. Of course, this man was Morn, attempting to immerse himself in his identity as Rain, a mysterious traveller. Finding a seat at an unoccupied table, he began to observe the room. Many patrons attempted to ignore the unsettling stare of the man, but few succeeded.

Mentally, Morn was pouring over a list of faces in his head, comparing them to the patrons of the pub. After a minute, he recognized a group of three sitting at a table in the middle of the room. If he recalled correctly, their bounties added up to just over 3 silver line. Though not much, as far as bounties went, it would suffice for now. His wallet was running dry, and he'd need quite a bit more in the coming days…