Chapter Text
The Etrean Sea, estimated 7 or fewer hours since The Scoundrel's Bounty was sunk
"Do we really have to make another supply run to our guys at Isle of Vigils? We just gave them freshly forged weapons last week!" The Etrean guardsmen cracks his back and leans against the main mast of the frigate.
The other guardsmen next to him sighs, clearly thinking the same thing. "Well, you know how Evengarde is when it comes to training his Vigils, I've heard he's so harsh during training that most of the weapons the apprentices use get chipped or broken if they aren't holding it near perfectly. Let's just hurry up with this current shipment, then we can be on our way."
The vessel keeps sailing until eventually passing by the remains of a destroyed ship.
"What happened here...?"
"That's a galleon, isn't it?"
Several guardsmen were curious about the ship until the Etrean Soldier in charge-it's a simple job, so having someone of higher ranking oversee the shipment would've been a waste-of the shipment approached the port side to take a look at the mess in the water. He was going to call it a day and report the sighting once they finished the delivery, but the soldier couldn't help but notice a foot sticking out from under a sail floating, which upon further inspection, was actually covering a makeshift raft. The Etrean soldier quickly began ordering the guardsmen on the deck to recover the raft for potential survivors.
Amelia's eyes shift open, half-expecting to be in the depths or in The Central Authority's hands, but instead she sees the sunset hitting her eyes from a nearby window, then looks around the room, is this an Inn? The Felinor thinks. She sits up in the bed-which in all honesty is more akin to a sleeping bag-and runs a hand through her hair, it feels uncomfortable since it was soaked in saltwater prior to being recovered. Amelia puts her other hand on her face and runs it along her left upper cheek to the other, feeling a long scab across that area before wincing as she thinks back to the cannonball that tore through her flimsy metal wall, the shrapnel following it probably nicked her, but the adrenaline likely made it unnoticeable until now, that's gonna leave a scar, isn't it?
The Felinor's eyes widen as she quickly remembers that Serendi was with her and scrambles to make sure the Etrean was safe. She searches each room until eventually seeing her crewmate and friend-they're all family to me, aren't they?-resting quietly in a bed. She kneels down and looks her over, making sure she wasn't injured during the attack, before standing up again once she was satisfied with the assessment made, Orlandeau had told her that making sure the crew is doing well is his top priority, so she'll do her best to look after who she can until they meet again.
She climbs down a ladder from the second floor of the Inn and looks around, seeing two Etrean guards on each end of the long room, I'm glad I checked outside through the window, I'd be waking up Serendi and bolting out of here if it weren't for the fact that I saw Etrean guards. An Etrean in a blue traveler cloak sees Amelia and waves, boasting an egotistical smile. "It seems one of you finally woke up, no need to thank us."
The Lynx Felinor looks at him a bit weirdly. "Uh... okay, I guess...?"
The Etrean lets go of the smile. "Relax, I'm just pulling your leg. I'm Trenti, a shipment boat found you and your friend on its way to Isle of Vigils and the Etrean soldier captaining the crew decided that you two should be brought to Etris after the delivery was completed. You should consider yourselves lucky neither of you got any drowner sickness, I heard it's hard to shake off once you've got it."
Amelia looks down at her hands for a moment, recalling the splinters she had gotten, which seem to have been removed while she was unconscious. "Did the boat... happen to find anybody else...?" Her mind quickly flashes back to when she and Serendi got knocked off the ship, and didn't see any sign of Filigree or Mr. Quarters.
Trenti rubs the back of his head, his expression already giving the answer. "Unfortunately, no, nobody had seen anything else besides you two..."
"I... I understand, thank you for letting me know..." She holds back a somber expression before looking back towards the ladder she came down from. "Will my friend be fine if I leave her here for the time being?"
The Etrean thinks for a moment after hearing Amelia's question, who is likely wanting to stray from the topic of the rest of the crew's fates. "Yeah, she should be fine here, the cost to stay at the Inn is pretty cheap, and she can always collect some wood for our campfires in exchange for a few notes if she needs 'em. Just let me know where you plan on going so that your friend isn't stuck wondering where you are, but I'll probably have to fill her in on how she ended up here first."
Amelia thanks Trenti for his generosity and willingness to help before walking out of the Inn, hoping to stop the shaking she has only just now noticed, because for once in her life-ignoring Serendi since she's out cold-she is effectively alone and separated from the rest of the crew.
Amelia found herself wandering Etris, she couldn't bring herself to fully process things, so distracting herself was the next best thing.
The Felinor easily found that Etris felt surprisingly lonely, the guards around looked a bit too... stiff? Amelia is sure that outside of guarding, they might be friendly and whatnot, but they don't seem to allow themselves room to relax at all, almost to a concerning degree. She also quickly found that the civilians also seemed to be quite isolating, with only a few people giving small talk, although that Lance Leshi guy was quite the character...
Amelia was gonna call it quits and head back to the Inn when she saw a Vesperian leaning against the white tree in the center of the town, cleaning his greatsword, he didn't look like he was from around here, let alone this luminant, especially considering his attire, which seemed to be a white and gray outfit (she wasn't going to bother figuring out what stuff he was wearing, it looked a little too fancy and complicated for her to care). The Lynx Felinor decided to approach him, she hasn't been able to gleam any new or useful information (although she might visit that librarian again, she always did like stories) from Etris' populace, so maybe info from an outsider would help her figure out where to start.
Amelia approached the Vesperian, but it seems he beat her to the punch and started the conversation upon spotting her. "Ah, hello there, who might you be?"
The Felinor seemed a bit caught off guard, having been the one expecting to start off, but when she realized she hadn't spoken for a few seconds she shook her head. "Sorry, my name's Amelia, you don't look like you're from around here, at least in terms of appearance."
"I'm Polis, and I could say the same about you, Felinors aren't seen in this luminant often." The Vesperian had stopped cleaning and brought his index finger and thumb to his chin, clearly thinking. "I am a Justicar, I'm following the Path as I deem necessary for myself."
Amelia tilted her head a bit in curiosity. "The Path?" Out of everything Orlandeau had taught her about, whatever Polis was talking about must've not been one of them.
Polis let a drawn out sigh escape from behind his mask, as if he just heard someone ask him if the sky is blue. "It is a code that every Justicar is told to live by, we are taught to interpret it to how we see fit, if you asked two separate Justicar how they interpret the Path, you'll get a different answer from both, all any of us can hope is that we've chosen the correct path..."
Amelia finds herself scratching her head, both from how dry her scalp had gotten from the dried up saltwater, and from slight confusion. "Well, if you're taught to view the Path in a way that fits for you, then how can it be incorrect?"
The Vesperian finds himself in pause, processing each word before letting out a soft chuckle. "That, is a very good question." Polis tosses something towards Amelia, who briefly scrambles to catch it, when she opens her hand, she sees a gold ring. "Most of the folk around here see me as a sign of grim tides, so they don't talk to me, think of that ring as a gift for giving me the time of day, I won't mind if you sell it or not."
The Felinor looks at the ring for a few more moments, pocketing it soon after, she then waves him goodbye before walking away. She may not be interested in the Path, but something about her talk with him had given her motivation. Sure she could sit by Serendi's side until she wakes up, but she seemed safe here, and she had to find the others.
She had to find Orlandeau.
