The Arrival

[session 7 ] 06.11.2023
 
The Arrival
 
The next night is smoother sailing, quite literally. I don’t know why I care about it, but I would prefer if my new friends (and Rusalka) enjoyed their time on ship, although after some bad weather and surprise violence, I doubt it has been a good journey for any of them.
 
Last night, I promised the barkeep Ned I could deliver a letter to his friend at Spindrift Keep, and I intend to keep my promises. I meet him next morning quite early in the morning, after working out and going to see the sun rise. I’ve missed that, seeing the sun slowly creep over the horizon and colour the ink-blank ocean with its rays of red and gold. Whoever says the ocean is just blue has not seen it at its prettiest, or at its most dangerous. As I head back in, I stop by the galley where Ned asked to meet me, and he’s already waiting for me. He hands me a sealed letter that’s heavy enough for me to tell that it contains more than just merely a letter, from the sound of it probably a necklace or a bracelet of some sort. He gives me a name, Carlisle, head of the kitchen or butlers or.. Something along the lines. I should be on the lookout for a brunet half-elf, shorter than me. Though that doesn’t narrow it down all that much.
 
As we disembark, I kind of feel like cattle, all of us just waiting to be let out. At least the deck is open and the skies are clear. No clouds in sight. But I’m still jittery with restless energy, I should be rigging right now, or doing literally anything to help with the docking. Instead I’m back in my passenger role, and I can only wait with the others. Rusalka tells me to quit it with my foot tapping and general squirming, but the restlessness doesn’t leave me. I know I annoy those around me, but I cannot help with the pacing, waiting is the hardest part for me.
 
Finally, after an eternity, we set foot on solid ground. We’re actually not at the castle island yet, since the closest harbour is on a larger island. We have to take a smaller boat to get to the pier, the waters too shallow for a barque of the Lord’s size. At least I get to help with the rowing. We thank the crew member and get our stuff, and I already miss the open sea. The beach here is somewhat rocky, the sand more pebbly than anything else. It kind of reminds me of Kit’s Shoal, but still different. It’s warm though, a lot warmer than in Stillwater or even Stone Harbour, which I greatly appreciate. A lot greener, too. It does feel like I’m on vacation.
 
There should be a narrow isthmus connecting the main island with Spindrift, but we don’t have to walk the entire way, someone’s gonna send a carriage for us. I don’t know if this is merely courtesy of Lady Adei or something extended to all of the guests, but we don’t have to wait for long. Our carriage is, as it arrives, is far fancier than what we had in Stillwater. This one actually has doors, and little gold filigrees on each of its corners. The large, thin wheels like they ought to be rickety on such a rocky road, but as we climb in, it’s actually quite smooth going. The cart driver is an older human fellow, someone named Clifford, or Cliff. He seems to know a lot about the place, so we ask him mundane questions about the place, how often the tide comes and swallows the land bridge, how often the Ladies of the house host such an event, etcetera. How long until we get there.
 
After a while, someone notices an island in the distance. Which shouldn’t be there, I’ve looked at the map. There should not be an island in that area, unless the map I saw was drawn incomplete. However, as it looms quite low in the horizon, I have a hunch it might be similar to the isthmus, only visible during low tide.
 
The journey takes slightly longer than I had anticipated, and I think I might have fallen asleep at some point. I wake up when the carriage comes to a halt, and hope that I haven’t been snoring. As we collect our luggage (Rusalka makes me carry hers and says it’s because we have to each play our roles), we finally see the castle and its grounds. All around us, nobles and servants alike are also stepping out of their carriages and there’s quite a lot of hustling and bustling. We’re in front of the large gardens, and ahead of us is a man standing on something, so that he looks two heads taller than anyone else on the yard. He welcomes us to Spindrift Castle for the duration of next week, as the Ladies Haniver have invited all sorts of powerful and up-and-coming names, both of noble birth as well as successful merchants, to spend the week with them celebrating everyone’s accolades. And as if that’s not enough, they also wish to celebrate the hard-working servants, and shall have a feast to honour them, too. I squint my eyes at that, never have I heard that a noble of any sort would wish to put their servants on a pedestal. But perhaps I’m wrong, and these people truly are as kind as they claim to be.
 
I wave to Belinda in the crowd, and she waves back. There’s too many people between us, so I can’t go and tell her hi, but since we’re going to the same place, I’m sure we’ll meet each other again. A servant offers to take our belongings to bring them to our (Luciano and Rusalka’s) quarters, but we all agree that me, Eira and Kazys can carry them, although none of us are too happy about it.
 
A butler or servant of some sort shows us our lodgings, we walk through the well-kept garden and towards the main entrance of the castle, its doors at least twice as tall as I am, made of heavy, reinforced wood. They’re kept open now that there’s so many people coming in at once, and we’re shown to a westward wing of the castle. The huge windows let in the evening sun rays, painting everything in warm hues. Oddly, the walls are not bare stone or even wood panelling, but intricate white and blue porcelain tile with hand-painted sceneries spanning across tiles. It’s all very intricate and surely expensive. I try not to let our bags clank against the floor too much, as I feel that would be .. not appreciated in such an elevated atmosphere. Eventually, we’re given a room key to large, spacey quarters with tall, open windows that let in the sea air and make the sheer curtains move with the wind. There’s a pretty little table setup next to the window, and an adjoining balcony. The thing is … there is only one bed in the room, and I can see both Rusalka and Luciano tense up. They try to tell the servant-butler that there has been a severe misunderstanding, and that they would require two separate beds, as they are not intimate. The servant apologises, and tells them they shall try to fix the situation to the best of their abilities. Curiously, I eye Luciano from head to toe. I mean, he’s clearly rich and influential, and he’s certainly not bad looking, even with the veil that he’s not once taken off. Although a little snobbish, he seems relatively kind, from what I’ve seen of his character so far. Rusalka could definitely do much worse, and I wiggle my eyebrows at her. She makes a face at me, and I drop the topic.
 
Next to the main quarters, there’s a modest door that opens to our (the servants) quarters. At least each of us gets to have their own bed and clean linens, even though the beds are far narrower and I doubt I’m short enough to sleep in mine without getting a back ache, but it’ll do. The air smells of lavender, it’s clean and neat but nothing grandiose.
 
We head down to enjoy dinner on our first night here, the servants promise to deliver us another bed for the main suite. I feel a little off-kilter here, seeing that there’s more than one piece of cutlery set even for a simple dinner. I think Rusalka feels the same, but they’re far better at hiding it. And I suppose, curious to learn. I chat with Belinda for a while, and she agrees, something’s off. She mentions how the castle is quite poorly lit at night, but it might be better to discuss things when less eyes are looking, and shares that she’s staying at the Servants’ quarters, a separate wing of the castle with its own yard and entrance through the gardens, and that I should come see her after dark. I agree to meet with her later, and we part ways.