Hiding in Plain Sight

Writers: Miriah, Paula
Date Posted: 16th January 2013

Characters: J'ackt, Mernsom
Description: Jenackt arrives at EFH
Location: Emerald Falls Hold
Date: month 12, day 4 of Turn 6

J'ackt

The sight of Emerald Falls proper sent a wave of anxious nausea right
into the pit of Jenackt's stomach. It curdled deep and threatened to
empty his stomach of the meager breakfast he had eaten. He didn't like
admitting fear, but he felt as though he was walking directly into a
wild wher's den. He tried to comfort himself and tell himself that
they'd not be expecting him to be here, but it didn't cease the
gnawing anxiety that increased with every step forward.

He checked his clothes again, frowning slightly at the slightly baggy
fit. As he had gotten closer, he had filched a drying outfit from a
nearby cothold and while they were in far better repair than what he
had before, they were obviously made for a man with a larger girth.
But it was clean and not covered in mends, so a better choice. His
leather pack was obviously old, and so was the tattered scabbard at
his side, but he hadn't wanted to risk leaving anything behind in a
hiding spot. Just in case.

Every muscle was tense as he took his first steps into the Hold, and
his knuckles whitened around the strap of his pack. He had no clue as
to where to go. Where in the blazes….he scratched his head and flicked
his gaze about, then paled as he saw what was obviously a guard.
Cursing under his breath, Jenackt kept his head down and very quietly
ducked between two buildings. Idiot! Sharding, threaded idiot! Why had
he come here? He rubbed his brow and leaned against the building with
a groan. Idiot.

Mernsom was not having a good day. His head hurt and the last night in tavern had gone for a long. He didn't feel like working, and instead slipped away, taking a refuge in shaded alley between two buildings.
He pulled a hipflask and took a sip. Ah, that made him feel better.

At the sight of someone else coming into the alley, Jenackt tensed and his hand
tightened on the hilt of his sword. Eyes narrowed as he watched from the shadows.
He watched as the man took a drink from a flask and slowly relaxed. A drunkard.
His lip curled in disdain, but the thought came to him that a drunk wouldn't
exactly be of the right mind to notice him. He stepped out of the shadows and
cleared his throat.

"Shardit!" the dockhand cursed, startled. "You nearly made me wet my trousers!" he peered at the figure.

"Sorry." Jenackt wasn't really; he actually found it rather humorous. He flicked his gaze
over the man. "Can you tell me where the riverboats dock?"

"Nope, today's river boat already left this morning, and the one due for tomorrow is delayed when they hit underwater log. Nobody knows when they'll arrive. There's just the barge from Black River hold," Mernsom answered. He always had been talkative fellow.

Cursing under his breath, Jenackt ran a hand over his short cropped hair, then pinched the
bridge of his nose. "What's the passage fees and where is the next one going?"

"Next one continues to Black Rock hold, and there's one to Field Meadows. but they don't take passangers," Mernsom replied. "I don't know about fees, you have to ask from the dock master." He took a second look. The boy looked eeringly familiar. Like he was supposed to know him. "Do I know you? You look kind of familiar."

"Black Rock Hold...how far is it? Would they allow someone to work off fees? I..."
Jenackt's shoulders jerked stiffly as his eyes met the other man's and then his gaze was
cold and narrow as his fingers flicked to the sword at his side. "I doubt it. I know
very few people here."

"Far enough, at the foot hills of the Barrier Range," Mernsom replied with a gesture towards south. "It's mostly just miners going there," he continued. "Nothing there but mountains and ovines...and the hold's prison mines."

"Bloody, shaffing son of a..." Jenackt's jaw twitched as he resisted the urge to punch
the stone wall beside him. He exhaled slowly and ran a hand though his hair, tugging at
the short, now reddish, strands. It was a gesture that he had inherited from his father and
one that was unconscious, but oddly one that soothed him. "What about going north?"

That gesture seemed awfully familiar and Mernsom frowned. "Sorry, until Needlethorn's hull is repaired, there's no boats leaving Emerald Falls hold to that direction," he replied the question.

Cursing again, Jenackt scowled then noticed the other man's frown. "What?"

"I used to have a cousin who did that, that hair tugging thing," the dock hand replied.

Immediately Jenackt dropped his hand from his head and stiffened. "And?" He
turned his head away, his profile to the man as he glanced out of the alley,
wondering if the guards still patrolled near by. He didn't want to be too obvious about
avoiding them, but shards, taking the chance coming here was bad enough. He
hadn't thought about there not being a ship to take him and staying here for
any length of time would be risky. But going back to that little alcove was
decidedly not an option. He was trapped and he hated it.

"You do resemble him," Mernsom said thoughtfully. Then he shrugged. "But he's dead and I presume his family is too."

Still trapped in thought about what he exactly was going to do, Jenackt's
attention was elsewhere. "Really. And who was this cousin of yours?" his voice
was distant as he tried to recall any place of shelter that he may have
passed in his journey here.

"Jenasom. We practically grew up together. He was my best dringking buddy," Mernsom actually had tears in his eyes and he sighed deeply. The emotions made him reach for his flask and he emptied it in one go.

His reaction was immediate. Jenackt surged forward and knocked the flask out of the other man's hand and grabbed his shirt. "Jenasom?" Blue eyes flaring with a mixture of confusion and pain, Jenackt made to shake the man and couldn't help but blurt out his question. "You knew my father? He was from here?"

"Hey, that was my drink!" Mernsom's first reaction was to reach after the flask. When Jenackt started to shake him, he tried weakly to slap him off. "Of course I did! Hands off me!"

Shaking hands releasing the man, Jenackt stepped back and ran his fingers over his face. His expression was one of lost confusion as he took
in the revelation that the drunk had given him. His father had been from Emerald Falls. He should have guessed...he had just assumed otherwise.

Mernsom's brains were sometimes slow to catch up but they did catch up. "Your father? Flaming ashes! You're little Jena! Last time I saw you you were just knee height!"

Jenackt started at the nickname he had completely forgotten about. He'd not been called that since before his mother had..."You knew me? I lived here?"

"Sure I did. Although you were too young to remember me. I can even point the cot you were born in," Mernsom replied and stared the young man. "What's happened to your hair? It looks weird."

Thinking quickly, Jenackt had to make a quick decision. "If you were friends with my father, then help me.I need to get on a boat as soon as possible and
get away from here. To go north. Anywhere but here." He didn't bother answering about his hair, feeling as though the question wasn't overly important; he was more concerned with the fact that maybe, just maybe, he had help.

"Anything for a relative, although I can't change into a boat when there isn't one. But I do know a place you can hole in for few days. When your dad and I were brats, we had this secret place. We even built a tree house. Well, that's has fallen down long since, but the hollow tree trunk is still there. I know, I keep my stash there, so my wife won't find it and throw it away. Always nagging about me drinking, she is." Mernsom gave the boy a wink.

"Take me there." Jenackt breathed a sigh of relief, the tension in his shoulders easing just a little. "Please."

"This way, boy," Mernsom said and wrapped an arm around his shoulders. He was completely forgetting he was supposed to be working.

Last updated on the January 29th 2013

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Hiding in Plain Sight