When the Ship Comes In

Writers: AL, Chelle, Jelena
Date Posted: 25th September 2013

Characters: Relik, Aini, Herlis
Description: The Southern Star arrives at the Seacraft Hall and Relik and Aini welcome Herlis and his family in.
Location: Seacraft Hall
Date: month 3, day 12 of Turn 7
Notes: Mentioned: Korkary

Herlis took in a deep breath, taking in the scent of the dock as his men
finished up docking the Southern Star. The water was calm and the wind low,
so for once he was alright with a longer stop. He needed to get the kids
settled in and his men could use a rest as well. His children were still
bellow decks and Herlis prized himself lucky he'd found one of his crew
members to be so great with the kids, or he would have spent a lot more
time worrying over the past journey. When the ship was securely fastened,
he made his way for the docks, jumping onto the pier with ease as he waited
for the inevitable welcoming committee.

He had known about what time to expect the ship and then Korkary had let
him know they'd gotten in. So Relik had made his way down with Aini in tow.
His eyes scanned the crowd when he spotted Herlis. Of course he had met the
man a few times and he was grateful to be working with him. Herlis was just
the sort of man he had in mind.

She had been told of the new Sea Captain's arrival and that he had three
children. His wife was dead and they were left without their biological
mother. While fostering was not that uncommon, it was still more common to
see a mother take care of her children when she wasn't of the Blood or in
the Weyr as a rider. It was particularly heartbreaking to hear of such
young children losing their mother.

The headwoman was silent as she followed the Hallmaster to the dock and
when he stopped, so did she. It was obvious who they were greeting and she
offered the Captain a small but polite smile and a tilt of her head.

"Master Relik," Herlis greeted the Hallmaster seriously, extending his hand
first to him, then turning to Aini. "Headwoman."

Relik gave it a firm shake, turning it slightly before releasing. "Calm
waters I hope?" he gave the usual query. "And welcome. Are you hungry
Herlis? I'd love to talk with you over dinner if so."

"Well met." Aini greeted and then nodded again, this time in affirmation
of the Hallmaster's words. "We have food ready and waiting if you desire
to partake."

"Calm waters indeed," Herlis nodded. "I could eat, but if you want to talk
business, it might be better to get my children settled in first."
Discussing Hall affairs with three young, energetic children at the table
was a recipe for a headache, Herlis knew.

"I've got someone ready and willing to take them right now, as requested"
Aini had chosen a woman she knew she could trust and didn't have any other
kids to attend to so all the focus would be on Herlis'. "And I assume they
would be hungry as well."

"Thank you," Herlis nodded. "I will go get them and then we can talk over
dinner." With that, he briskly turned around to fetch his children. He
would have a good talk with this foster mother later, but he trusted Relik
- and thus Aini by proxy - to make sure his kids were well taken care of.

~*~

Sitting there at the table, Relik was glad of the meal. Aini had put out
what they could manage given the limited supplies they were still working
with. As people arrived, though, they would need more and he understood
that. Once he got some trading and crafting begun, they would have no
problem getting what they needed. "So Herlis, I know you received my
messages. What do you think?"

Herlis tucked in hungrily, savoring the meal after so long a journey. He
really had to get around to getting a new cook, but it wasn't like the
current one was doing anything wrong per se. When he was spoken to he
looked up from his ponderings. "Looks promising, what you're building
here," he nodded seriously. "I like your ideas, if there's any way I can
help, I will gladly do so."

Help was definitely needed. A lot had been done, but there was a lot more
yet to do. Aini knew that the sort of help Herlis spoke of, however, would
not be the sort of help she herself coordinated.

"You're going to be me for them on the water," Relik told him. As soon as
they had their first group of apprentices, the youngsters would go through
their classes here before going out to sea. "Before they're ready though,
it'll be business as usual for the most part."

Herlis nodded. "My men can be good teachers, as long as you make sure to
weed out the... unsuitable lads before they come aboard."

"What would you deem unsuitable?" Aini knew what her late husband's
standards had been, and she was curious as to how they compared with the
new Captain's.

"Unable to take orders, no sea-legs, lack of common sense," Herlis
shrugged, he could keep going, but he figured they got the picture.

Aini nodded slowly. She figured as much, but it was good to know if there
was anything specific that the captain was looking for rather than
overarching issues, such as Herlis had listed. "I'll keep my eyes open
among the young ones and let you know if I spy any potentials."

"Now your crew won't always be our boys. There may be some from the Holds
that don't want to take proper lessons. You know the sort. Those you can
choose with your own discretion of course." Relik was quite familiar with
that sort of seaman.

"That is just fine," Herlis agreed. "We can handle inexperience or
youthfulness, as long as they have enough commitment to life at sea."

?Wonderful. We can have a more detailed conversation tomorrow. I'll let you
enjoy your meal now. Sure you're hungry.? Relik was glad that Herlis had
decided to be his sea arm. The man was a good sailor and would be a good
teacher for the boys certainly.

Last updated on the October 5th 2013

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When the Ship Comes In