Home

Lily looks out into the ocean the mists sprays her skin bringing a much need cool to her sweaty brow. She couldn’t help but think about her family back home. Did her uncle lay her mother to rest in her favorite dress? Did her brother find peace after the fateful night that caused her to flee to coast?

Heavy feet push against the deck boards behind her. The low deep voice of her friend Kapil a Bran’al who lost his tail in a fight with pirates in the south sea. His large three fingered hand comes to rest on her shoulder. “You seem deep in thought want to share?”

“I was just thinking of home. For the longest time I just wanted to escape to live a life of adventure. But now all I want is to know if my family are doing ok.”

“We are due shore leave once we reach Oshireth perhaps you should take some time and go see them. I don’t think you’ve taken leave sense you joined our crew 5 years ago. We don’t have any jobs for a couple months, this job was a big hall. I myself may take the time to start my own family with Hulan.”

“I haven’t told you why I really left home,” Lily says as a stream of tears make their way down her cheeks.

“I figured you’d tell me when you were ready. Besides everyone knew that you were being chased by those three men on the docs.”

“Why didn’t anyone say something?”

“Because we all have something, we’re running from that’s why we became crew on this vessel. She’s named the Soul Catcher because we all needed somewhere to go. No matter what you decide Lily this will always be your home.”

With that Kapil made his way to the lower decks. The sun had now begun its decent swirls of red and purple danced in the evening sky. Feeling like everything would be ok for the first-time sense running away to the sea Capitan Lily smiled then went to her quarters for a night’s rest.

Booking Passage

Lily's boot hit the red oak planks of the dock, the smell of spices, and mingling colorful peoples from all over Thar'con run this way and that. Some arriving as trade envoys, some looking for work, some looking to leave. Kapil steps beside Lily and says, "don't forget no matter what we are always your family." He gives her a gentle hug then heads off to the farm district where he will spend all his shore leave in the arms of his wife.

She clutches her fist in resolve then heads to the stage coach office. The old man at the window is bald with thick eye glasses. He wears a simple shirt and vest with a silver pocket watch with the words, "love Margret."

"May I help you young lady." He had to be at least ninety, but his eyes and mannerisms where kind. Other workers went about their tasks behind him. one a kid maybe ten years old was sweeping the floor.

"I would like to purchase passage to Culera."

"Right that be...let me get my book. Normally I would know it off the top of my head, but alas I'm not as young as I used to be. The old man pulled out a large very dusty leather bound book. It contained names of towns she hadn't even known exited. "Aha here it is, that will ten gold for a one way ticket or twenty gold for a two way ticket."

"I'll take a two way ticket I might not be staying long."

"Family problems?"

"Let's just say a girl needs to have options," she says with a smirk.

"Well I hope you find what your looking for. The couch will leave in an hour."

Lily would miss being at sea. The smell of salt spray, seagulls barking, fishing off the side of their ship, the sway of her hammock while the soul catcher glided through the water. Her chest was tight with excitement and fear. Excitement because she couldn't wait to see her brother and uncle. Fear because she would have to face her father and all the anger that comes with that reunion.

The journey

The trek home was uneventful no bandits seeking to rob the people traveling the road, no zerp war bands burning down villages. The eastern side of the empire had always been less civil than the rest. Lily shared this long ride with three other passengers. A young couple who couldn't be more than twenty one. He is wearing the government robes of an Armister in training. The dark green robes are new with not even a single stain, he keeps fidgeting with the embroidered gold stallion that sits over the heart. His wife is in a simple traveling gown with a plunging neck line, the sleeves have swirling leaf's that around the shoulders then fade once they get to the breast.

The wife had striking features with golden blonde hair, her lips were small and painted bright red. A color chosen by someone who had either just gotten married or, someone who wanted to be seen. Her body frame was petite, and she was about five foot. Her husband had dark brown hair and eyes. He had a some what tall frame maybe about six and a half feet. An odd parring to say the least, but it take all kinds to make it a world worth living in.

The third was a middle aged man with a chocolate three piece suit made from silk. He has a tattoo of serpent on his neck that it seems he has made great effort to hide. Lily started to feel like this had been a mistake, that she should have stayed at the ship. She began to rack her brain about the tattoo it seemed so familiar. The apophony hit her like a brick to the head. Its the same tattoo that her father has, all the members of the gang he belongs to have it.

"So what take you to Culera?" she says to the man is the suit.

"An old friend," he says curtly.

The you couple seem pleased that Lily has begun the conversation sense they haven't talked except for when they picked seats. "My husband starts his new position as assistant Armister."

"I just graduated last month and have been waiting for an assignment. What about you?"

"I've been away at sea for some time, I received a letter that my mother had passed while I was away. this was simply when I could get home."

The young woman reaches forward with a concerned look and places her hand on Lily's knee. "We are so sorry to hear that I lost my parents when I was young." The young woman's sleeve pulled back while her arm was extended reveals the serpent tattoo. Lilly keeps her eyes focused on the woman's face. "Thank you that means a lot."

Lily began to put the pieces together some how her father knew she was returning. Now his gang was coming to finish the job they had failed when she was twelve, to kill her for standing up to him and his abuse. Her heart began to race like the galloping horses that pull the carriage she rides in. She was armed only with her pistol and the knife in her left boot.

Six shots, that's all she had to get out of this cart. there are three inside with her and assuming the driver was in on it, one outside. Which means she wouldn't have time to reload after her gun was empty. She always kept her gun on her right hip for a faster draw time. This wouldn't be the first time she killed, but it was the first time she would strike before being provoked.

Lily took a measured breath then drew firing her gun at lightning speed. The first bullet hit the man in the silk suit entering his nasal cavity in an upward arc, blowing bits of brain and scull fragments into the felt lining of the couch. The second bullet struck the pretending Armister the neck lacerating the artery on his right side. Blood poured out like a fountain into the girls left eye blinding her temporarily.

The girl to her credit didn't fight she just leapt from the from the stage couch onto the road. The couch itself then came to a halt. The young woman screamed out to the driver, "she knows shoot her." bullets started flying through in every direction so Lily pulled the body of the man in silk on top of her as a shield. She counted every shot, six shots later she moved to see through one of the holes in the couch wall. She could see the couch drivers eye who was trying to reload his gun. "There you are." she said to her self as she raised her own pistol firing her third bullet striking the driver in just above the eyebrow.

The woman at this point now took off running. Lily stepped out took aim and fired two shot that strike the woman in the back. Lily calming walks over her as she claws at the ground trying to pull herself through the tall grass. Lily flips her over with her blood soaked boot looks her in the eyes and says, "You should have just let me kill him it would have been less painful." Then puts her last bullet in the woman's head. The life drains from her eyes, the ground drinks her blood, and Lilly takes all her valuable's.

Revenge is best served unexpectedly

After taking all the money and valuables from the couch Lily unhitched one of the horses and road to her destination, and destiny to kill her father the meanest man she had ever known. She was going to kill the one who drove her from home, the one who had kept her mother in fear.

Rain beat down on the old two story house, several servants scurry about in the darkened hallways. It's stone exterior is crumbling with entire sections beginning to fall off. Lightning crawled across the sky giving the shadows life. Florince' sat is chare staring into the fire of his hearth. Flames danced as if beckoning him to them.

"Hello father," a woman's voice said startling him from his trance.

"You. They failed me again I should have killed you my self all those years ago!"

"You can chastise them when you get to hell." kaboom! her pistol let lose it's deadly spray of bullets that left very little of his heart. Lily then set about burning the house to the ground she wouldn't be staying after all. The few servants that didn't run at the sound of gun fire fled from the house burning. The sea beaconed to her knowing that authorities would be looking for a woman in sailors clothing she grabbed servants clothing on her way out, and tossed gun.

Next she sent the horse out into the rain hoping it would draw most of the attention, which it did. Making her way to the river that ran to the south this would keep her sent down, and being a strong swimmer she could move quickly. Her trek back to the cost was cold, slow and didn't include much food other than what she could forage. Her muscles being fatigued, her skin feeling a bit on the slimy side having not changed cloths in weeks, Lily finally made it back to Oshireth. She methodically worked her way to The Soul Catcher. Once there she washed, changed, took time to grieve the lose of her family. She would never return Culera.