A New Wind Blows

Writers: Len
Date Posted: 13th February 2015

Characters: L'fael
Description: Lafael sets out early to the Seacraft Hall, forgetting there's a hurricane coming
Location: Seacraft Hall, Sunstone Seahold
Date: month 11, day 21 of Turn 7
Notes: Mentioned: Relik, Taril

The wind slapped into Lafael's face, making him smile. The taint of the sea was heavy in the breeze on this morning. The tropical trees bend in a strong wind coming off from the ocean. It was even strong enough that a few of his steps went off to one side of the path that he was walking on, the one that went between the Hold and the Seacraft Hall. After last night's Threadfall, the evening meal had been uncommonly good, with enough fresh fish that even a lowly drudge very much out of favour with his Lord was able to get enough to eat.

As nice as last evening had been, the day that had preceded it had been terrible. Lafael had had to clean all the Hold, then there was the Fall and he had to help the groundcrews with supplies and what not. And the voices in his head had been even worse than normal during that Fall, Faranth only knew why. By the time the Fall was over he was ready to crawl into his corner of the kitchen and fall asleep.

Ever since he had met Taril and then Relik, all Lafael had thought about was becoming free through escaping to one of the ships. But there had been no one interested in his plight at the Hold, no doubt they had heard about what had happened between him and the Lord of the Hold. So that only left the Craft Hall as his only means to escape the bounds of being a drudge.

Lafael stumbled in the dark of the morning. It should have been lighter by now, he couldn't understand what exactly was going on. Only...didn't someone just yesterday mentioned something about a hurricane coming? Was it supposed to be tomorrow?

Or...was it today?

Lafael started walking a bit faster on the empty road, looking over his shoulder nervously until he realized that a hurricane wouldn't be coming from the same direction as Thread. No, dummy, he thought to himself, it would be coming from his left, towards the sea.

He looked that way. What he saw made his heart drop into his stomach. The skies over the ocean were nothing but a boiling black mass of angry clouds.

"Oh, crap." Now why did he_never_listen or even look around before doing something? It had been too easy, this getting away from the hold before dawn had broken. He should have known there was a reason everyone was so quiet this morning. There was a reason the runner beasts and what not were not going out this morning, the bloody hurricane was coming!

Being bare footed, Lafael couldn't run down the road, it would simply be too dangerous. Even if he had shoes, he wouldn't have been able to run fast on his bad ankle. It was one thing to be forced to walk through a bit of rain and wind, it was quite another to lay out in it for hours, exposed, should he re-injure his ankle.

At least the trees were most distinctly not bending in the wind yet. So there was time. He jogged around the curve of the road and in the distance there were smoke stacks. So the Hall wasn't so far away that he was in danger. Lafael slowed to a walk again, taking a deep breath in relief. This might not be so bad, after all. There was no way he could get there, talk to the man in charge of the Hall about cabin boy postings and get back to the Hold before the hurricane. He would have to stay.

A happy grin tugged the corners of Lafael's mouth.

Let the others worry about the hurricane!

He had just met his savior.

Last updated on the February 18th 2015

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A New Wind Blows