"Quietharm Brings News" Log Date: 2/8/02 Log Cast: Quietharm, Vardeus Log Intro: Following an attack of a giant sea monster upon his vessel, Vardeus, Captain of the Vraeyan ship _Windrider_, has been found along with his cabin boy Maerro by the Raft Elves. The discovery of these strange Tall Ones that have appeared upon their beach has baffled the elves greatly -- and has caused grave concern among more than one of the tribe as well, for more than one of their number has had direct experience with the all-too-frequent hostility of the Tall Ones that live upon the mainland where the other elf tribes dwell. Nevertheless, the Wolfrider Raven who has come to live among the Rafters has taken the strange humans into the shelter of her tent... And Vardeus, his awareness blurred by pain and exhaustion, has only thus far registered little of the oddity of his benefactors. That Maerro is alive, he has gratefully discovered as the boy diligently looks after him. But the Captain is still wounded and weak, and unknowing of the fate of any of the rest of his crew. Until, that is, another of the strange Little People comes to him with news of what _she_ has discovered about two of his crewmates.... ---------- Raven's Tent(#6222J) A simple tent of supple leathers that can easily be set up on land or on a raft. It is large enough for three elves to sleep comfortably under it's protective cover. Contents: Quietharm Quietharm slips inside the tent from the outside, pulling the flap away just enough so the bright light floods the small enclosure a brief second before dimming again. Her eyes widen at the formidable size of this human, but she is urgent in her purpose here, and intimidation had no place at the moment. Scuttling over to one side of the large male, she taps his shoulder lightly, before speaking in his tongue with an unstable dialect. "Var-dee-us?" He stirs, slowly, reluctantly, as if sleep has a heavy pull upon him. He _is_ big, this Tall One, but thankfully in his illness he has been too weak to try to leave Raven's tent. Most of the time since he and the other humans were sighted upon their great strange raft-thing he has spent in slumber, sometimes rumbling to himself in his alien words. Today, though... he stirs. And his eyes come halfway open, groggy... but alert. And more, as he realizes that a face he does not recognize is over him, and its owner has spoken something that sounds like his name. "((Wha... who are you?))" The light from outside strikes him, then, and unthinkingly he squints against the glare of the day, stiffly lifting up a hand to try to shield his eyes. With the daylight slanting into the tent, the big human's face is better seen: the heavier facefur that seems to have swiftly claimed his jaw in the last day or two. An improved color beneath his tan, though he is still too thin, and drawn about the eyes... and the eyes themselves, blue as the Vastdeep. Quietharm Standing at a lithe 4'7", she has livid, almond shaped eyes of a dark amber. She is fine featured, with elegant eyebrows high above the eyes, and high cheekbones which give off an aire of dignity. A light, translucent webbing goes a little past the first knuckle between her fingers. Her ears are smaller than that of a normal elf, and naturally scalloped. Shiny, mahogany hair is to mid-back and unbound, with a few errant strands of hair falling about her face. Deeply bronzed skin of an almost golden hue marks her ancestory. Abandoning the common dressing style of her sea home, Quietharm has now opted for a rough, tawny outfit made of animal hide. The same pelt is used for a halter style top down to the boots. Quite eclectic, it is form fitting and free of any loose garmet that would hinder movement. A string of blue shells entwines about her neck. Carrying: Knife Quietharm moves into an upright kneeling position, most of her weight sitting back on her heels. Large brown eyes take in this stranger that is so alike in complexion and attire, however beraggled, to the ones she had been taking care of on Dancer Beach. Concerned, she inclines her head a few degrees to one side, gesturing towards the entrance to the tent with one hand. In a voice that is clear yet broken in the human's tongue, she exclaims, "Kephizza and Volneck! Others, search for Var-dee-us and Maeroo!" Pausing to think through her next sentence in this difficult language, she points to herself. "Quietharm. Quietharm search and see. Others from Big Raft Break search-see for Var-dee-us and Maeroo!" Hastily, she scans your features for any sign of recognition that you may have at her words. They weren't the best, but she had been trying hard to pick up and learn whatever words she might through Kephissa's infrequent lessons. As sleep gives up its hold on his consciousness with the greatest of reluctance, Vardeus blinks several times in bemusement -- first, as he realizes that this strange small maiden looks like the _other_ one, the even smaller one, who has come to tend him before now. Eyes gone wide in his haggard face, he stares first at her ears, then at the four-fingered hand with which she gestures outside... and only after a few moments do her _words_ sink in as well as his appearance. And certain words in particular -- words that he recognizes as _names of his crew_. "((Skyfather! Kephissa and Valnek are alive?! Where -- Maerro!!))" Galvanized, the big human tries to surge up from where he lies, though his will overruns his body's still depleted strength, and a sharp hiss escapes him as his ribs protest the sudden movement. Quietharm starts at the human's sudden lurch forward, and she reacts by leaning over and pressing her palm to his slick forehead. "Rest..no." She didn't take in some of his outburst, although a few select words stuck out as familliar. Biting her lower lip lightly, she puts gently pressure at your temple, urging you to lay back down. "Kephizza and Volneck rest. Others eat rabbit and Kerab from Quietharm." A slight sigh escapes her lips. "Var-dee-us and Maerro rest." The latter statement was a demand, although not an extremely imposing one. Leaning back on her heels once more, she lets her hand fall to her side helplessly. The human presses a muscled forearm to his chest, grimacing as if perhaps something pains him there, but the small hand that touches his sweat-sheened brow gets his attention. So does its owner's entreaty, however awkward her Vraeyan might be. Relief to hear familiar albeit fractured words of his own tongue warring in him with increasing astonishment at this stranger's appearance, Vardeus lets himself be coaxed back down -- but his sea-blue stare remains upon the she-elf. "((Who... _what_... are you?))" he rasps, slumping down again on the furs that Raven uses to line her tent. He takes up a great deal of its space, this big human. "((You understand me...?))" Quietharm furrows her brow, taking in every single uttered syllable with great concentration. Again, she is only able to make out so many words, the rest of the meaning lost to her. Struggling to form a coherent idea out of her own restrictions, she plants a sincere hand to her chest and says, "Quietharm. Quietharm from Big Sea <> sunk Big Raft." One word in elfin, as she did not know it in Vardeus' native tongue. Still, she seemed to have a vague idea of what had happened to the humans and how they arrived here. Despite the blatant lack of space and her own fight to erect a bridge of this language barrier, the elf is undeterred. "Quietharm know little. Rest, yes..." The tones were smooth and dulcet, asking for no large waste of strength on the male's part. Quiet-harm? What kind of a name is Quiet-harm? Vardeus's own brow crinkles up -- but another word in the she-elf's stumbling sentences grabs onto his awareness with greater force than the strange name she gives herself. Color abruptly washes out from under his tan as Vardeus struggles to sit up again in alarm. "((Sunk?!))" he groans hoarsely, as if the word has given him pain to go with whatever hurt he's taken in his chest. "((My ship has sunk?!))" As the man is roused to another stress induced fit, Quietharm holds up her hands peaceably. "Sunk, yes. Kephizza said Big Raft break. Big Raft sunk in Big Sea." Shaking her head and curling her lower lip in frustration, the smaller female forces a small smile, perhaps to lessen the impact of the revelation to the man. Whether this would do any good was a thing for the High Ones to speculate upon. She glances around with interest. "Where Maerroo?" Big Raft. Those words barely graze Vardeus' consciousness, as it dimly occurs to him that this must be how this strange small maiden thinks of the _Windrider_... _My ship is sunk?_ From the look of him, he should absolutely be remaining lying down, but the human sits halfway up again, leaning heavily upon one of his big hands. Anxiously, he looks about this way and that as he realizes he does not in fact _know_ where the boy is. "((I don't know,))" he rumbles, worried. "((The lad brought me water... some kind of fruit, I think... I fell asleep...))" This last comes out of him a bit softer, sheepish-sounding, and hasty before he starts to try to move again. Quietharm makes a short, chiding sound that may have been just a protest to his actions, or an actual word in elfin. Whatever it was, she was again leaning over his midsection, small four-fingered, webbed hands on his shoulders. Pushing him backwards, which would really have no effect if he actually resisted it in comparison to the two's strengths, she retaliates with her previous entreaty. "Quietharm search for Maeroo. Var-dee-us -Rest-." Shaking her head with obvious disapproval at the man, she draws back to plant her hands on hips. "No Rest, Var-dee-us hurt like Volneck." As soon as she said it, she wished she could take it back. No need to hint to the human in his state that his comrades were in just as bad of a situation. Fortunately for Quietharm, Vardeus is in no shape to struggle against even her delicate pushing. He slumps backwards, but as she's feared, her words seem to slice through him. "((Others,))" he croaks, gaze riveted upon her, full to brimming with desperation. "((Kephissa. Valnek. _More_? Others? Like me?))" Quietharm nods quickly, trying to quell Vardeus' fears as easily as they rushed to the forefront. "Yes, Kephizza and Volneck. Others safe. No worry." Pausing to run a shaky hand through her mahogany-hued hair, Quietharm flicks a troubled gaze over to the flap of the tent. "Quietharm help others. Quietharm help Var-dee-us and Maerroo. Rest. Sleep." Soothingly, she repeats simply, "No worry." With that, she slumps against the cool leather wall of the small tent, the side molding a bit to the form of her back. This was definitely not easy in any respect, and soon she would have to return to Kephissa and Valnek. Just -where- did these strange humans come from besides somewhere from out on the Vastdeep? If he were an elf, perhaps the expression he wears might be that of one whose bond-friend has just died... but he is a human. Immense frustration flooding his face, he sags back with a weariness to match Quietharm's own; his body is trembling, but now his mind is thoroughly alert. _Sleep_? She has just told him his ship has sunk and she wants him to _sleep_? It's all he can do to admit that he's not capable of standing -- or if he could somehow manage to make it to his feet unaided, staying there for very long. But if he cannot go to see himself-- Shaking his disheveled head, he rasps out swiftly, "((Not Kephissa and Valnek. _Others_. Have you seen _others_? _Like_ Kephissa and Valnek? Like _me_?))" Quietharm gazes down at the human, sorrow evident in her murky expression. She shakes her head slowly, mournfully. "No. No others. Just Var-dee-us, Maeroo, Kephizza and Volneck. Quietharm will search and see. Quietharm help." Oh, but if she could wipe that look of complete despair from his face! She didn't wish this upon their kind, and although they did resemble the feared local humans, they were not that at all in dress and mannerisms. They deserved better, all of them. Clasping her hands so tightly in her lap that the knuckles turn white from lack of blood, Quietharm mirrors the human's anguish to her own. Since when did she come to care for the humans so much? There were just so many unanswered questions hanging in the air...too many. Dread courses coldly through the human now, and for a moment, his mind goes utterly blank as the import of what the strange little maiden has said hits him. _My ship is gone... my crew..._ are the only words that form in his consciousness, in the midst of a wash of absolute despondence. Only one corner of his mind resists it, an unconscious instinct to try to gain command of the situation -- but that part of him, the part that lets him command the loyalty of his crewmates even in the face of battle or storm, seems immensely difficult to reach. Only as if from a great distance does he hear his own voice urging, "((Please... tell them... tell them I'm here. Maerro and Vardeus, here. Tell them.))" Quietharm nods, a faint ghost of a smile creasing her lips as Vardeus fades from consciousness. "Quietharm will. Quietharm will go to Kephizza and Volneck. Var-dee-us and Maerro safe. Others safe. Rest." Patting the strange human on the shoulder, she backs out of the tent in small increments, relieved to see him easing up. As the man blanks out, the small she-elf is slipping out like a phantom. Pulling the flap of the tent aside, she hesitates with a last scruntiny at the ailing human. After that, there is only the breeze nipping and playing at the leather flap where she had been just seconds before. It is with only a vague, chilled relief that Vardeus registers that the little maiden is taking her leave... because truth be told, he isn't sure he can bear for anyone to be around him right now. Not when what he's just been told makes him want to weep. To find a deep, dark hole and huddle in it, and pull it in after him. To walk out into the waves and not come back. _The Windrider's... gone... only four of us left... Skyfather... my fault, all my fault..._ His expression grows stoic and set as Quietharm slips out, only his azure eyes betraying his misery; even those, however, grow unseeing, and finally close again in abject despair when he is surrounded by nothing but breeze and light and shadow and silence. [End log.]