2019-06-23: Hunting a Relic
- Log: Hunting a Relic
- Cast: Talise Gianfair, Layna Manydays, Seraph Lanval
- Where: Great Spiran Sea
- Date: June 23, 2019
- Summary: En route back from the boondocks of Spira, Talise and friends discuss the Relic of Althena - and her parents' killer, the Hellion known only as Joe Clark.
==============================<* Great Spiran Sea *>============================== The Spiran archipelago is, unsurprisingly, composed of a series of islands. One is large, some are fairly big, the rest are quite small. Travel between the islands is accomplished by a series of small, local ferry runs between Spira's major seaports. Each of these ferries is pretty much like the rest - a large two-masted brig equipped with a pair of paddle wheels that allow the vessel to run on chocobo power whenever the wind is low. Because all of the ferries are basically the same, this is the one you're on. Whatever one that is. Wherever it's going. You're on it. BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fGoSAJeVwg8
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
The ferry ride back to the populated parts of Spira was a thoughtful one for Talise.
There aren't many people aboard, and it's later in the evening, giving Talise some peace. She's found herself a spot at the bow of the ferry, resting her hands on the rail. She's got her sword and lute slung over her shoulder but hasn't bothered with her armour. There's no need here. The sea breeze tousles through her hair.
She hasn't had much to say on the ride back; indeed, she's been downright subdued, for someone normally so effusive. She's just looking out over the horizon, her eyes distant and her expression heavy, as if she's sunk deep into some spiral of thought.
After a moment, she absently flicks her wrist, skipping a stone across the water. The ferry rapidly leaves it behind before she can tell if it skips very far at all.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Layna doesn't blame Talise for her thoughtful silence. After what she's been through, it's no surprise. And so, for a time, she gave her her space - she probably needed it, after all.
But there's a time for everything, and so eventually Layna emerges from the cabin onto the bow, watching Talise for a moment as she skips a stone across the water.
"That was a good throw, there." Layna comments, moving to lean up against the railing nearby.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
Lanval's tried to lighten the mood on the way back by sharing that bottle of port from the Lunabelle, but circumstances as they are... even he's been around long enough to know when a mortal is sad to the point that even a simple amusement is beyond providing an immediate remedy and relief. This goes double... no, way more than double, maybe even octuple... when it's one you could call without reservation as maybe one's closest confidant among them.
Lanval follows about ten seconds after Layna. His trademark wobbling and stumbling about is less pronounced when on a ship, as though being on something that floats atop water with its own natural unsteady motions does the opposite for him, coming out to meet both Seers of Water together.
He doesn't come all the way up to the railing, since that tends to be the sort of thing that sees him go overboard. He's water, that's just what he does - so he comes up behind the both of them and sits down, quietly. Even suppressing the usual giggles and chortles that just tends to naturally follow him merely existing.
He doesn't interrupt, yet.
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
The sea air tugs at the hem and sleeves of Talise's tunic and the cuffs of her shorts. She doesn't feel much else at first.
Then Layna comes strolling up. The big swordswoman starts a bit with surprise, blinking quickly as if to try and bring herself into focus as she looks up at the older pirate. "Oh. Oh, uh. Thanks. Captain Goldhand taught me how to skip it real far."
While she seems to be aware that Lanval's there, even glancing back towards the Seraph, she doesn't really say much, just looking back out over the water again. For a moment, she's quiet, seeming to withdraw into thought again.
Then she loudly clears her throat. "...Sorry. Had a lot on my mind," she admits with a small, apologetic smile.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Layna notices Lanval following her - she doesn't say anything to him right away, but the fact that he was there was reassuring.
"Did he now?" Layna remarks with a raised eyebrow. Talise apologizes and Layna shakes her head, responding to her smile with one of her own.
"...'Spose that's to be expected, considering." Layna replies, glancing back out to sea. She's quiet for a moment longer before glancing back to Talise.
"...How're you holdin' up?" She asks.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
The Water Seraph has seen moments like this for centuries. With how transient mortal lives are, it's easy for his kind to go 'yeah, been there, seen that, nothing new, it'll pass, eventually you don't notice.' It is part of the distance that exists between his kind and those of a more corporeal nature that can make crossing that threshold of empathy difficult.
...
"Rememberin' 'em by the good thingsh they showed ya... taught ya..." Lanval smiles gently, if still sort of dumb-looking as ever as he rises up and - despite the aforementioned risks inherent - draws closer behind them. "...It'sh good ta dwell on the good of the time ya shared."
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
"Yeah. He was a pretty talented guy. Smarter than a lot of people give pirates credit for." Talise smiles crookedly towards Layna, canting her head to one side and raking her fingers through her hair. "Probably how he made it so far in life."
Layna has the million-dollar question, though. With a sigh, Talise looks back out over the water. "Better than I thought I would be, but not great. I mean... how do you process mercy-killing the parents you haven't seen for ten years?"
She closes her hand around the rail, tightening her grip and setting her jaw. "At least now I have a couple of things to try for."
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
"I believe it." Layna says, chuckling good-naturedly as Talise comments on Captain Goldhand's talents. "Seemed like a singular fellow, he did. Woulda liked to meet him someday."
She nods quietly, though, as Talise answers her question. Talise had a good question of her own, and it unfortunately wasn't one she had an answer for.
Layna glances back as Lanval breaks his silence, cracking a bit of a sad smile as he gives his advice.
"...Aye. I'd drink to that." She says with a nod, then looks back to Talise.
"Oh? What's that?" She asks, curious.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
How do you process that? That's something Lanval can say for sure he's never had happen, nor seen happen. A hand goes to his chin, stroking away at that waterfall-like beard of his. He can't downplay the horror or shock of having to deal with any of that.
"...Even sho," he starts at last, "that look... even through all of that, they were truly happy fer gettin' ta shee you again," he says. The tranquility that overcame them as they allowed themselves to be seen off, cleansed of the Malevolence that bound them there.
He leaves that inquiry about the things to try for to Layna.
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
A faint smile tugs at Talise's lips. "You and him would've gotten along great. You remind me of him, in some ways."
As Lanval weighs in, the swordwoman nods and lowers her head. "...Yeah. At least we could help them find peace."
She grimaces. "Which leads me to the next thing," she says as she turns to rest her hip on the ferry rail, her hand falling near it.
"They came out here looking for a clue to the whereabouts of whatever this Relic of Althena is. If it's here, I want to find that clue. I have no idea where to start, but it's possible we can figure out how to follow their trail."
Tightening her grip again, Talise clicks her teeth together. "...And if that means we cross paths with whoever Joe Clark is, so much the better. He did this to my family and he's going to get his when I find him."
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
"In all the good ways, I hope!" Layna replies, with another good-natured chuckle. She glances toward Lanval as he speaks, offering a nod.
"...Aye. They got to see the person you've become - an' I'm sure they were proud of it." Layna agrees with a nod, then looks toward Talise as she turns.
Talise discusses her goal - to track down whatever clue they find as to the whereabouts of this 'Relic of Althena'.
"Aye, I've been thinkin' 'bout it too. Whatever it is and whoever he is, I think it's better that we get to it before he does." She says, with a nod of agreement. "I'm with you on this one - all the way."
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
"Mmm... if it'sh shomethin' important... ya would think their name would come up more," Lanval muses. Althena's name is - was - unknown to these parts until the Guard came. Even though the people here clearly bear her Blessing as the source of their sorcery, within the same elemental expressions and limitations. He wouldn't know where to start.
He closes his eyes as Talise's anger starts to shine through. The anger is righteous, for what they did to her family. Strong emotions...
"'m with Layna on that--" he stops, and has a laugh at his expense. "Aw, what am I shayin'... 'm with all of ya on that!" Even if he's in a hurry to find some way to deal with Obsession and return to Filgaia - preferrably in this order - even he's curious about what this Relic of Althena is.
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
"Definitely." Talise nods firmly back to Layna. "You've both got the same character. You do right by your crew and you don't go for the blood-and-guts stuff. I liked that about him and I liked it about you."
She leans back against the rail, her bottom coming to rest as she crosses her arms under her chest. Pushing her tongue into her cheek, she nods back to Layna. "...Well. We know what he is: A Hellion. But we don't know much other than that. I mean, other than the fact that he must be looking for the Relic too."
She scratches lightly at one of her cheekstripes, inhaling, then letting it out to bring her anger down. "...I'm not sure what the Relic is," she admits. "It must be something powerful, for a Hellion to be fixated on it. But I've never heard about it. I wonder what its nature is. Maybe some artifact Althena hid away at the dawn of time."
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Layna can't help but smile a little. It wasn't easy, keeping to those ideals in this trade.
"Well, I do my best, I do." She replies.
But then there's the matter of the relic, and 'Joe Clark', as well.
"...Aye." She says, with a nod of a agreement. A powerful Hellion, she figures, if he was able to take down the Lunabelle and her crew. She doesn't voice this thought aloud, however, instead frowning as Lanval comments on the Relic.
"...Aye, I can't say I've heard of such a thing, either." She says with a nod, then glances over toward Talise. "But if the Goddess herself hid it, like you suggest...well, I figure she of all people'd be pretty good at keepin' secrets."
Wouldn't be the first or last time.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
"Mmmm... well, I shupposhe if ya had ta hide shomethin'... 'n not have it be found... puttin' it where no one knowsh what it ish, or itsh value... ain't that bad an idea." What's different from throwing it away like garbage... is not a thought that crosses what passes for a mind in Seraphim anatomy. Such as a thing applies to them.
He feels easier as Talise catches her building anger and releases it with that meditative exhaling that he sort of does it too by proxy. Breathing feels nice.
"Mmm... shtill." Lanval straightens out as best as he's going to be able to, and then... he's up against the railing. That usually precedes physical comedy or an inconvenience.
By will, he holds steady, resting up a short ways from where Talise reclines against the railing. He's got his back up there too, in some form of solidarity, as the sea breeze passes through him.
"However powerful that one might shound..." He must mean that 'Joe Clark' fellow. "Yer a shtrong one. And I ain't talkin' 'bout thoshe armsh..." He smiles some. It's a difficult subject to broach.
"Ya held true ta helpin' the people of the Lunabelle out, even for all the anguish that brought." Anguish to a level of initimacy he can never possibly know - the closest he could think of that might have elicited that for him is long dead and gone.
"For all the thingsh that 'Joe Clark' might be a problem about... I don't think them bein' shtrong ish gonna be near the top of that lisht."
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
Talise shrugs one shoulder. "I'd say it's weird that we'd never heard of it, but as we know, Althena likes to keep secrets. We didn't, for example, know about Dragonmaster Alex marrying that Luna woman, or her maybe being from the Vile Tribe or whatever weird situation is going on there."
Lanval gets a wry smile from her, though it fades after a moment as she looks out over the water again. "Whoever Joe Clark is seems to have been trying to find this Relic for a long time. Mom and Dad implied he was old, and so was his longing. Whatever it is must've been something amazing."
She grimaces. "Either that or it's the delusions of a Hellion as mindless as the Nameless Lord. Who knows. Either way, Joe Clark will have to pay for his crime."
Talise's eyes dart towards Layna. "Spira doesn't seem to have much of an Althena tradition. I wonder why Joe Clark would tell them to go here, then?"
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
"That's a good point." Layna comments, as Lanval suggests that putting it where someone has no idea what it is is a good way to hide something.
"Hah, aye." Layna agrees, as Talise mentions Althena's secrets.
They discuss Joe Clark...but Lanval, too, talks about how strong Talise is. Layna cracks a smile and nods in agreement, but doesn't say anything else. Instead, she considers Talise's question.
"...Hm, well...there's always been tales of hidden treasure in the mythical land o' Spira. Maybe he looked everywhere else, with that long lifespan o' his, an' figured that it had to be here. ...Or maybe he had some other reasons." Layna shrugs. "We might not know 'til we find 'im - if 'e's in an answering mood."
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
Althena's ways are mysterious, indeed. From where Lanval rests, he takes his drinking gourd and has himself a contemplative sip at the mention. Why she'd even think it's a good idea to see to the dislodging of those Lords of the Land - at least in his case - when it seems the Boundary has been breached a few times over by now.
"...The thing 'bout Spira," Lanval mentions as he lowers the gourd from his face, "it ain't eashy fer Malevolence ta do itsh thing. Pyreflies and Malevolence jusht don't mix." He's seen them keep one another at bay at Mushroom Rock Road. "I've sheen Hellions... but they all look like they're from the resht of Lunar. Shooo," Lanval rubs at his chin again, one eye half-lidded as he looks out towards the ocean. "Unlessh he'sh really good at keepin' it in and hidin' himshelf... he'll shtick out like a shore thumb."
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
"Or maybe someone else found Spira long before we did and whatever mom and dad were looking for was lost here with them," Talise muses, tapping a finger against her cheek and tilting her head back. "It could be a lot of things. Captain Goldhand suggested that whatever they were seeking came here and was lost...."
With a curious blink towards Lanval, Talise arches her eyebrows. "Yeah, I saw some Hellions not long after the battle with Sin, too. I wonder what's up with that."
She shifts against the rail and sighs. "Remember that conversation we had with Ragnell?" she asks. "I mean, leaving aside that Ragnell betrayed us all. But I can't help but think about the fact that Ghaleon didn't care about Malevolence within the Boundary. And it makes me think back to whether Althena is really all there, or if what the Guard is doing is somehow bringing the Malevolence along."
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Layna considers Talise's musings for a moment.
"...Maybe you're right." She says, then shrugs. "...We've got a lot of 'maybes' on our plate, but nothing concrete yet...least we've got some things to look into, I guess."
Lanval has a good point about Hellions, though. Layna nods. She remembers this being mentioned before...but she hadn't thought about that until he mentioned them just now.
Talise brings up the conversation with Ragnell, then.
"I wouldn't put it past 'em - maybe not out of outright malice, but ignorance, at the very least." She replies. "From what I know 'bout Malevolence...suppressin' people is just going to make it worse."
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
"All of 'em were from Glenwood... pretty shure," Lanval remarks. He, understandably, doesn't have the greatest grasp of Glenwood's nuances due to thinking of it as some sort of scary hellish Malevolent wasteland equivalent for the better part of five hundred years. (Northern Seraphim born within the Boundary can be bad about this sort of thing.) They were wearing red and he kinda-sorta remembers seeing the colors and images from the times he traveled with Fox Company down there. From when he was a total baby and would not leave his bottle vessel.
A five-hundred-year-old baby.
Ragnell proves a difficult subject to broach, for the kindness she had shown him - and others! - up until she tried to kill the Love of Filgaia and the rest of the planet with it. "Mmm... well, I don't think all of the Guard know they're bringin' that along with 'em," he concurs with Layna, "but I haven't found anyone from Spira shufferin' from exposhure yet."
Small comforts - but Talise inspired him to act on handling what they can do right now, and helping contain any Malevolence that might somehow get enough power to corrupt is well within their means.
"Mmmm... they're gonna do what they're gonna," Lanval leans forwards... and slouches onto his seat, leaning forward so that he doesn't just plain flop or flow past the railing into the water. The water has so many pyreflies in it.
It's harmless to the touch but he doesn't want to be the first to discover what happens if pyreflies decide they want to turn into a Fiend while he's standing around in them!!
"Can't shay I know their deshign, in the end," another sip from the gourd.
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
"Right. They've outlawed a lot of the things people use to relieve stress, and now Hellions are showing up here just as Althena's army is coming in. That can't be a coincidence." Talise grimaces. "Somehow Malevolence never made it to Spira, and yet now it is. And somehow the Guard got here, too. Something weird is up and I don't like it."
Folding her arms loosely across her body, Talise shifts a heel back to hook one of the rails of the ferry they're on. When Lanval weighs in, she arches her eyebrows a little. "They may not be doing it consciously. It's possible that if Althena is corrupted, she may not even realize she is."
Lanval's caution is noted. Talise watches him a moment, then looks back towards the shore, sighing a little.
"We've got some things to chase, in any case. And... if nothing else, I've had closure."
Painfully. But there it is.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
"Aye." Layna agrees with a nod toward Talise, and a glance toward Lanval as he remarks that they were from Glenwood. Were they from the Hyland-Rolance war, or another one...? If so, that was a long time for a Hellion to wait.
Lanval says they'll do what they do, and that he doesn't know their design. Layna shrugs.
"I just hope it doesn't make things worse here. They're already starting to get riled up, I hear. It's bad enough that people have Sin to contend with." She comments.
She looks toward Talise, then, and nods quietly.
"Closure...sometimes, that's all you can ask for." She says.
Closure... Layna frowns, just slightly.
<Pose Tracker> Seraph Lanval has posed.
Closure... after so many years wondering, with all the likely outcomes for their way of life, they got a definitive answer. It wasn't a happy answer. The ending proved bittersweet, heartfelt as it is, as a family and the ship's crew came together to finally be released from their torment and come find their rest in death.
Lanval rummages around his person as it goes quiet, and sullen, to an understanding of the emotional weight on Talise's heart...
...and produces that as-of-yet unopened bottle of port he took from the liquor cabinet, holding it up as a suggestion with a little smile.
"To the Lunabelle?" He asks.
<Pose Tracker> Talise Gianfair has posed.
"I think it already has. I wouldn't be shocked if they tried to just outright attack something big soon." Talise scratches her cheek again, grimacing. "They seem to have gotten pretty damn mad after the failure to beat Sin...."
And, she leaves unsaid, the death of Ghaleon. It affected her more than she's letting on.
When Lanval pulls the bottle out, Talise blinks a couple of times, momentarily surprised. But it passes to a small, satisfied little smile.
"To the Lunabelle," she agrees. "And to a bunch of good sailors getting the rest they deserve."
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
"I wouldn't put it past them, either." Layna says, shaking her head with a sigh. But soon, Lanval brings things back around to a better, though sombre subject by drawing out the bottle of port he'd found.
"...Aye. To the Lunabelle." Layna agrees with a nod.