#K'Sirr

[lovecraftian-druid]

Pactborn VI

“You ready to do some treasure hunting today, kiddo?” 

K’Sirr’s voice broke Ka’l’s concentration as she stared absentmindedly at a pod of blue whales swimming along the surface of the Rocsanee Ocean, their blowholes spewing water like great geysers.

Ka’l never fully understood the liking K’Sirr had taken to her. Perhaps it had to do with feeling responsible for her after inviting her to join his crew; or maybe it was because she was so much younger than any of his other shipmen; or possibly that he felt a kinship based on their mutual love for sailing; some even speculated that it was because of her relation to a famous admiral of the Felgran Fleet. Whatever the case, it was no surprise to the rest of the crew when Ka’l quickly rose through the ranks. It was even less surprising when K’Sirr - after only seven months aboard the Sea Wolf - invited her along on a Trover quest, a type of hunt for great treasure hoards. Lore of these massive bounties were usually only learned about within the Trovers Guild, a group of pirates whose life’s work was to discover legendary riches and wondrous items. 

The young pirate pocketed her compass as she made her way to the side of the ship that housed the utility boats: there, two other Trovers perched on crates, preparing for the dive ahead of them. One of them - a blue dragonborn sorcerer by the name of Zandynn - sat cutting a small reed into pieces in preparation for a ritual spell while the other (Candid, a roguish tiefling) fitted her many daggers into her belt. As K’Sirr arrived on the scene, a lumpy roughspun sack clutched tightly in one hand, he looked expectantly at Ka’l: “Aren’t you missing something?” He smiled a toothy grin as he lifted the weighted bag in his hand, and Ka’l realized that the others also had similar sacks waiting on the deck next to their feet.

“Oh, uh, no, I didn’t think I’d need one - I’m a pretty strong swimmer,” Ka’l stammered, trying her best to speak with confidence.

The three of them chuckled wryly before Zandynn spoke: “Little lady, the way we’re traveling, you won’t need to swim.”

“It’s Ka’l,” K’Sirr corrected him with a sidelong glance, “she prefers Ka’l, so that’s what you can call her.” Zandynn rolled his eyes as he commenced his casting of the ritual spell, and K’Sirr turned his focus back to Ka’l, winking at her as he lifted the lid of a nearby barrel to retrieve one more bag that - as she learned upon inspecting it - was filled with a single large rock. He handed it to her and explained, “You’ll tie this to your waist to keep your body from trying to float back up to the surface.”

Ka’l gave a nod of understanding and began tying off a neat square knot about her mid-drift while Zandynn finished his incantations. She wasn’t expecting the odd sensation of the set of arcane gills that suddenly formed along the sides of her neck as he finished the casting of the spell with a somatic flourish, and it took her a moment to realize that she could still breathe air normally as she ran her fingers over the foreign bodily addition. Her eyes widened as she turned to face Zandynn: “this is amazing!” she gushed, genuinely.

K’Sirr smiled proudly and stepped to the edge of the ship, motioning for the dinghy to be run out for the small group. “With that, I believe we should be ready to depart - Gahjeel, you’re in command while I’m away!” he hollered up to the black tabaxi as he lept gracefully into the small boat. Ka’l and the others followed, and as they rowed out towards some shoals, Ka’l continued to play with her strange new gills.

The two shipmates carried on a lighthearted conversation as Ka’l watched K’Sirr, his eyes pressed shut in concentration as he twirled a forked twig around with his thumb and forefinger, all the while humming a tune under his breath. Ka’l always marveled at the use of magic and was so impressed by K’Sirr and those with whom he associated: she hoped to one day be able to achieve the same arcane wonders these folks were able to accomplish.

Lost in thought over what it must be like to cast such incredible magic, Ka’l jumped a little when K’Sirr declared loudly, “Here! Stop!”

The rare and elusive Necklace of Fireballs: K’Sirr and his crew had been seeking this treasure for the last few months now, since before Ka’l had joined the Sea Wolf. Now, thanks to a reliable tip and a handy divination spell, they were merely a dive away from having it within their grasp.

The others situated their things securely in the small boat as Ka'l dropped the anchor and peered down into the waters below: the shallows afforded her a view of what looked to be large shoals of multicolored coral growing all shapes and sizes. The dinghy began to rock a little, and Ka'l turned to see the others holding their stone-filled bags, ready to take the plunge. Ka'l followed suit, gathering up the rough sack in her arms.

"Are we ready?" K'Sirr asked, making brief eye contact with each member. Nods gave him the affirmation he needed, and he looked at Ka'l with an ornery twinkle in his eye as he patted her on the back. "After you, my dear."

Eager to impress her captain and establish some credibility among her crew, Ka'l scrambled to her feet in the wobbly boat as it swayed unsteadily. Without hesitation, she pulled the stone close to her chest and made an attempt at jumping overboard - this exciting milestone quickly developed into a bit of an embarrassing one though as her toe caught the lip of the dinghy, throwing the boat off-balance (to the gasping surprise of the others) and sending her splashing torso-first against the surface of the water before sinking deeper, her stone having knocked some of the wind from her now-waterbreathing lungs.

As bubbles floated with urgency from her mouth rising rapidly towards the light of day above, Ka'l opened her eyes to behold the beautiful underwater world she had just entered: schools of fish flitted in and out of reef croppings while small crustaceans skimmed the currents for tasty food particles; a neon-colored parrotfish crunched its hard beak down on some faded coral as a eel lunged from within its kelpy hiding place to catch its prey.

Enraptured by this tropical wonderland, she took a moment to explore the tiny reef. It wasn't until she felt something aggressively ram into her followed by a sharp, piercing pain that she realized something was wrong - as the water around her plumed with crimson clouds of her own blood, Ka'l twisted at her hips to find her thigh locked down upon by the jaws of a hungry tiger shark, seemingly drawn by the sound of her loud dive. More bubbles escaped her mouth as she tried to scream for help, flailing violently in an attempt to tear herself free of its razor-sharp teeth. With her hands extended before her, pushing with all her might against the creature's sandpaper-like snout, Ka'l felt a surge of arcane power course through her panicked body. 

Something happened in that moment of terror: something Ka’l would ever forget, something that would change her life forever. As she felt her body begin to go into shock, the blood pumping loud within her ears, two golden slitted eyes flashed within her mind, sending her body into overdrive. With her hand pressed against the shark’s face, her eyes shot open again as her hand released an unbridled beam of crackling turquoise energy: as the eldritch blast struck the creature in the face, it sent a shock wave of force rippling through the water between them, swirling the streams of bloodied water billowing through the reef. 

The shark - surprised and perturbed - released its hold on Ka’l as it felt itself pushed back a bit from the force; however, this was not enough to frighten it away. With resolved bloodlust, the shark circled back for another attack. Her head still swimming with adrenaline, confusion, and blood loss, Ka’l looked on in absolute horror as the massive beast swam hard in her direction. As the rock tied about her waist began to sink her like a stone, she was able to see the familiar form of her captain standing at the bottom of the shoal’s sandy floor - with one hand extended, she watched as K’Sirr pointed up at the tiger shark and conjured a great sphere of yellow gas right in front of its path. The shark, writhing and reeling as the stinking cloud’s poison assaulted its hypersensitive sense of smell, began thrashing in the water, mingling the red of the blood with the yellow of the gas in a beautiful disaster of brilliant orange for a moment before it turned and swam off at full speed. 

Taking the opportunity to act without risk of attack, K’Sirr cut the rope that tethered his weight and swam with haste towards Ka’l. Pulling her into his arms, he pressed his calico hand firmly against her leg, humming a tender ballad as he comforted her. Ka’l felt the warmth return to her body as the wound slowly closed up. As her eyes regained focus, she tried her best to form the words “thank you” through the water.

Pointing to the noxious cloud of stench that was beginning to thin as the sea cycled the current about, K’Sirr did his best to communicate to her that time was of the essence. 

Ka’l scanned the watery depths for Zandynn and Candid: she saw them striding towards them, kicking up small bits of sand as they moved. Candid appeared to be sheathing two of her daggers as they walked - it looked as though they had not fully escaped without an encounter of their own. 

K’Sirr waved them closer, pulling the forked twig from his pocket and casting his locating spell once more after fetching his weight stone. Like a divining rod moving in response to hidden water, K’Sirr concentrated as his material component began leading him in the direction of his prize. Ka’l and the others followed closely, looking about in all directions out of a well-founded fear for what else might be lurking in the waters around them. 

After only a minute, Ka’l noticed that K’Sirr’s pace had quickened as he followed the path bestowed by his spell. Nearly beelining towards an embankment of fuchsia coralline, K’Sirr stashed his component and dropped to all fours, digging in the silty sand at the base of the coral and fan-like seaweeds. Ka’l joined in, shoulder to shoulder with him as she dug. Dirt and soggy debris littered the water around them as they clawed at the loose ground while Candid and Zandynn stood watch like sentinels. 

Ka’l felt the contagious excitement of the hunt creep up on her as they scooped more and more sand aside - tossing a glance in his direction, she saw the boyish look of absolute joy on K’Sirr’s face as he dug for the long-awaited treasure. Plunging her cupped hands into the granulated floor with renewed enthusiasm, she felt her nails scrape against something hard and metallic. She paused, her head spinning like a swivel to lock dilated eyes with K’Sirr in unspoken amazement. Sinking their fists deep into the sand, they groped about to find a pair of round anchor-chainlink handles. With a few struggled heaves, Ka’l helped K’Sirr dislodge the chest from beneath the seafloor. 

Stepping forward from his post, Zandynn put his face close to the lock that dangled from the chest, its metal crusty with rust and barnacles, as he spoke a muffled incantation. At the last punctuation of the spell, the padlock slid down, unlocked, as it dangled loose at the front of the chest. Wiggling its corroded loop free, K’Sirr slowly and almost reverently lifted the lid of the iron trunk.

Ka’l had never seen so much gold in all her life. 

Candid and Zandynn moved in, discarding the stones from their sacks and replacing them instead with fistfuls of coins, while K’Sirr - unconcerned with the monetary treasure - sifted through the riches for his trophy. Finding the necklace, he held it up to his own chest for a moment as if to mockingly model it to Ka’l as he brimmed with exuberance from ear to ear. He delicately draped the piece of jewelry into his chest pocket (careful not to jostle its eight magma-colored beads too roughly) before reaching back into the iron box to retrieve a single ruby gemstone along with a simple gold chain, its middle links slightly damaged. Pulling two lodestones from his pouch, his wild jade-colored eyes met Ka’l’s as he touched the stones against the chain and the gem, causing them to fuse into one. 

With a circular motion of his index finger, K’Sirr had Ka’l turn around so that he could gift her his creation: a beautiful maang tikka which he helped fit to her forehead. Ka’l pawed at the piece of jewelry - she wasn’t usually much for wearing any sort of ornamentation, but she could sense already that this item would hold much sentimental value to her for years to come. 

At long last pleased with his find, K’Sirr motioned for the group to wrap up their adventure. Excited to return with her own plunder, Ka’l emptied her bag of its rock as well and quickly shoveled the remaining gold and gemstones into the woven sack. Zandynn and Candid gave her a pat on the back and a sincere thumbs-up as they tied off the openings of their stuffed bags.

With a hard push off the ground and several propelling kicks, Ka’l swam upwards towards the glistening fractal rays of sunlight; and for the first time since joining the crew, she finally felt like she belonged.

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Sorry for the delay in posting: I had a terrible case of the flu last week and just COULDN’T.

If you enjoyed this chapter of Ka’l Bahriin’s story, please be sure to read the previous five chapters of her series, Pactborn.

Ye Olde Taglist: @serenewrites​, @mayvinwrites​

If you’d like to be included in the taglist, send me a message. :)

[lovecraftian-druid]

Pactborn V

The clear, ringing sound of eight bells echoed out across the cool air hovering above the Turquoise Waves as midnight brought the moons to their highest point in the sky that evening. Putting out his pipe prematurely at the sound, a scruffy half-orc midshipman straightened from his leaning position against a mast, pulled his jacket tighter across his chest, and made for the top of the stairs to fetch his relief.  “Bahriin!” You’re on watch!” he hollered down below deck.

Startled and exhausted, Ka’l rose from her hammock, staggering for the first few paces as she woke up and regained her balance. Scratching the sleep from her eyes as she searched about for her sandals, the fifteen-year-old groggily made for the main deck to take second watch for the third night in a row. The slight chill in the air was a welcomed aid to staying awake as she was passed the lantern, its warmth too kind to do anything more than make her want to fall back asleep.

As a way to keep her mind occupied, she unfolded her green fleece over her lap, rubbing one of the corners of it between her forefinger and thumb as she practiced the newest piece of magic she had recently realized she could cast: whispering the incantations, she swallowed back tears as she produced a minor illusion of Jida's smiling face, jolly with its deep-set wrinkles, just the way she remembered it. She practiced in this way for an hour or more, looking up every few minutes at first to scan the waters from up in her crow's nest; however, she eventually became so focused in her practices that she didn't notice the air grow thick with fog…or the ship that silently floated ever closer to the Golden Afternoon.

Ka'l felt her concentration disturbed as the sound of three bells brought her mind back to the task at hand: keeping an eye on the waters. With the jarring realization that the mist had swept in upon them, she fumbled for her telescope and felt her heart beating in her temples as she scanned the horizon, cursing under her breath at her accidental negligence.

There are times one genuinely hopes or prays for the best in a stressful situation, and then there are times when one already knows that the worst is about to come, no matter how much supplication they offer up to otherworldly entities: the latter is exactly what Ka’l was experiencing at that moment as her brass eyeglass fell upon the tattered sails that bore the face of a crudely-painted canine amid azure waves. Her heart jumped up into her suddenly dry throat as she realized what was about to take place, knowing there was nothing she could do now to stop it - she leapt from the crow’s nest, partly riding down the soggy wooden pole before latching onto a rope to swing the rest of the way to the deck as she yelled at the top of her lungs, “PIRATES! PIRATES OFF THE STARBOARD SIDE! BEAT TO QUARTERS!”

Tripping over her own feet as she ran, head racing, Ka’l desperately rang the deck’s bell, summoning all hands to the main deck.  As a few sailors surfaced from below, she watched as the ship sailed ever closer into range, ignoring any effort to provide a suitable berth for safe passage around them. Standing at the helm, with one boot casually perched against the rail as he leaned out over the front of the boat, a calico-furred tabaxi eyed the merchant vessel with visible hunger. Ka’l watched with dread as he raised a curved blade in the air - holding in there for a moment or two - before lowering it in her ship’s direction as he shouted, “Lock it down!”

Stunned by what she was witnessing, Ka’l stood there, immovable, as the light from three fireballs glistened as distance tangerine reflections in her eyes before something rock-solid blindsided her, sending her slim frame skittering along the deck. Disoriented and alarmed, she rolled over to meet Mica’s gaze, his grey-brown skin tough as gravel matched his commanding tone as he motioned and yelled for her to stay down. He had not yet finished his last word before - boom! boom! boom! - the blazing balls of fire crashed into the sides of the ship, scorching a hole right through the hold and incinerating one of the masts’ sails.

Debris rained down from above, some of it still burning hot with flames, as Ka’l covered her head in fear, still prone from Mica’s heroic tackle. As she lifted her head to assess the damage, her eyes took in the all too efficient havoc that was being wrought upon the Golden Afternoon: mages of substantial abilities flew in from the pirate ship as though they had wings; others appeared out of thin air upon the deck, carrying others with them though a dimension-like door; the remaining swashbucklers swung from long tethered ropes from one ship to the other, effortlessly boarding the now smoldering vessel as her ill-equipped sailors tried in vain to defend themselves.

Lost in a moment of despair, Ka’l did not notice until she reached her hand out to grab Mica’s that the young genasi boy was not moving. “M--Mica?” Ka’l stuttered, convinced that her eyes had deceived her. “Mica, c’mon, we need to get out of here...please, grab my hand…” She tried to pull in out from under the splintered piece of mast that had fallen in the initial chaos, but she was unable to pull him from beneath. Wiping the soot from her face, she crouched low, covering him from the torso up with the green fleece, its warmth no longer needed as the ship sweated with high-burning flames.

Ka’l darted between one-on-one battles that were taking place, calling as she ran, “Darja! Darja! Where are you?!” Escaping below deck, she found him, wet with fearful perspiration and muttering pointless positivities to himself as he rocked back and forth in his velvet-upholstered chair. “They’re taking the ship! Why aren’t you up there with us?” Ka’l rebuked, her voice catching a bit in escalating anguish. “We need you right now! Get upstairs!” Her skin hot with anger, Ka’l felt a foreign sensation rising up within her as a darkness - not yet unearthed - welled inside her, ready to explode like a geyser.  She felt the daggers her eyes threw at Darja as he quickly stood to his feet, seemingly more shaken by her sudden change of aura than by the situation at hand. It was strange, but Ka’l sensed as though she had a literal shroud of darkness surrounding her at that moment, unsure of what would happen if she didn’t pull herself together.

“I--I--I understand, I’ll make my way up to see if I can reason with their captain,” Darja stammered, knocking over several items on his desk as his hands fumbled about, seeking guidance for a path while his eyes remained locked on Ka’l, “perhaps we can come to some sort of a parlay...I’ll be off now,” he trailed off, backing away towards the ladder in an effort to keep a visual on the young Ghaanian.

Taking but a moment to steady herself, Ka’l scaled the ladder shortly after.  Noticing that the brief battle aboard the deck had come to a stand-still, she scanned the crowd of pirates and sailors until she locked eyes on that which she sought: the calico-furred pirate. He dressed neatly yet informally, but there was no mistaking him for anything other than the ship’s captain - he had a certain air to him, a swagger in his step, a cool and calm tone in his voice. “Greetings, all: I know the hour is late, so I won’t keep you long - my name is K’Sirr, captain of the Sea Wolf. I’m sure we all want to head back to our warm beds or, I don’t know, put out some fires perhaps; but before we move on to more exciting things, I must have a word with your captain…” He gave a pause, his green eyes scanning the audience for anyone who might step forward, before adding, “Come, come now, don’t be shy, we truly don’t want anyone to get hurt - we simply need to arrange for some goods to be exchanged.”

Ka’l could tell that her breathing had leveled out, and for that she was thankful. She stayed ducked behind a small panel, peering out to get a view on the crew: to the best of her knowledge, everyone was there and alive, save for Mica and Darja. Sliding around to the opposite side, she craned her neck as far as she dared to check for any stow-aways near the deck closet - sure enough, too plump to wedge himself inside and be able to close the door, Darja stood, trembling, hunched awkwardly in the small cubby space. Her ears steaming with rage, Ka’l could have sworn she heard a low, silky voice in her head saying, “Why should he get to hide from fate?” Without more than a second thought, Ka’l felt her hands waving and arching in sharp staccato motions as she conjured up a translucent arcane hand, oddly shaped like a tiger’s claw. Raising her right hand to her face, she thrust her fist into the open area in front of her and swatted at the air, watching her mage hand do the same as it opened the door, causing Darja to spill out onto the ground with a loud thud.

K’Sirr’s feline eyes dilated as his head turned in a flash to zero in on Darja’s stout form, now floundering to right himself amid the buckets and mops that tumbled out with him. His eyes locked onto a set of leather boots as he slowly turned his gaze upwards at the tabaxi man towering over him. “Am I to presume that you are the captain of this fine vessel?” purred K’Sirr, his words thick with sarcasm. Darja’s jaw hung open as he stammered, looking as though he could wet himself at any moment: this gave Ka’l a satisfaction she had not realized she craved.

Then it happened - whether it was an attempt at flight or a foolish desire to fight, Darja pulled from his vest a small dagger and lunged for the pirate’s chest; K’Sirr, however, was quick to react and his kukri streaked out just in time, causing Darja to inadvertently spear himself on it as he tried to rush the calico tabaxi man. A little surprised himself, K’Sirr held him there for a moment before withdrawing his sword. “What a shame,” he commented softly, sounding genuinely disappointed as he wiped his blade off on a handkerchief he produced from one of his pockets, “I was really hoping to avoid anyone getting seriously hurt tonight…”

Ka’l hardly had time to react as the pirate captain’s eyes shot in her direction, meeting hers and causing her to jump. She tried unsuccessfully to dock behind some crates, knowing full well that she had been spotted. Still, she heard the captain call out to his men, “Take only what we need, leave the rest and tend to the wounded…” he trailed off for a moment before continuing at a louder volume, “so sorry about the mess, all - we’ll be out of your hair as quickly as possible.” Ka’l held her breath as she heard the steady-paced foot falls of the tabaxi’s boots. Bracing for the worst, she pulled her knees up close to her chest and waited for the inevitable. There was a second of stillness before K’Sirr’s gentle voice met her ears: “Come on now, you’re tougher than this,” were his first words to her. She looked up to finally meet his gaze - his eyes were kindly but wild, a creature seeking only excitement and adventure. He extended his hand out towards hers as he continued, “I saw you earlier, before this all began - you would have stared down three fireballs if it hadn’t been for that lad who pushed you out of the way.” He let a stifled chuckle slip at the memory, but Ka’l felt her anger flare with a monstrous passion.

“You killed him...you said you didn’t want to hurt anyone, but you killed him, he’s dead...he tried to save me, and now he’s dead....” Ka’l bit back tears as the words spilled from her mouth - she was without fear in this moment, unconcerned of her own safety and mindful only of the injustice dealt to her closest friend aboard the ship.

K’Sirr’s facial features shifted once more to that of great concern. Ka’l heard him call over his shoulder in the direction of one of his men as they hauled a large sack from the hold: “I need you to send for Sasha at once, GO.” He got down on one knee as he spoke two words very softly - “Show me.”

Ka’l got to her feet and led him to the fallen mast. She pulled back the fleece blanket to reveal the young boy, still pinned beneath the weight of the wooden pole.  A half-elf woman with upwards of ten small hoop earrings in each ear came rushing over to K’Sirr’s side then dropped to her knees once she laid eyes on the boy.  Her hands moved swiftly and deftly; Ka’l watched on in amazement as the woman pressed her fingers to his neck and announced, “He’s still alive, but he’s barely breathing - I’ll do my best.” Clutching a serpentine amulet that dangled loosely from around her neck, the half-elf pirate whispered a prayer as a wave of positive energy washed over Mica, and Ka’l sighed in relief when she heard him take a large gasp of air.

Finally able to move, Mica weakly leaned out toward Ka’l as she fell into his arms for a tight embrace. Ka’l hardly heard the woman as she got to her feet to make for the pirate ship. She turned to express her gratitude but saw only K’Sirr standing there with his arms crossed in front of himself, happy to see that the boy had pulled through. Low but still meaningful, Ka’l produced a quick “thanks” and extended her hand for a shake. The tabaxi pirate obliged her and placed his other hand over hers as they shook.

Bending his head to meet Ka’l’s averted gaze, he asked, “What are you doing here with these sailors? I sense you want something more from the sea, and I can teach you how to get it - what say you? Fancy an extended tour aboard the Sea Wolf? You’ll see places you never knew existed and become rich beyond your wildest dreams...we need only find the treasures this world has hidden for us to seek after.” He waited for a reply, but no words came from Ka’l as she stood there, staring off into nothingness as white smoke from extinguished flames mingled with the fog. “Well, can’t say I didn’t offer...it was nice to meet you…” His voice trailed off, anticipating a name to be given. No answer came. “Okay, I’ll leave you to it then,” he finished and turned to leave, walking back towards the gang planks that had been dropped to bridge the two ships.

Ka’l stood there, her mind clouded with indecision. Rich beyond your wildest dreams...what if? What if she could lay up enough gold to return home, move Jido, Jida, and Mama to Felgra to be closer to Papa’s fleet, help purchase a beautiful house? But how could she justify becoming one of the very things that Papa and his men fight so hard to combat?

K’Sirr boarded his vessel, assuming his position near the wheel as the rest of his crew made preparations to set sail again while the few remaining stragglers finished dragging their plunder up into their ship. He pulled a cold sum of sea breeze into his lungs, satisfied with his crew’s haul, when he felt a tap on his shoulder: turning his head, his eyes fell on Ka’l, her two different-colored eyes welling with tears. “It’s Ka’l...my name is Ka’l…” she blurted out as she choked back her emotions, still unsure of her decision.

“Ka’l...is that short for Ka’lya?” he asked, unable to hide a grin. She glanced down and to the side with a frustrated nod. “Alright,” K’Sirr resumed, “well, I’ll call you Ka’l since that’s what you seem to prefer - now what do you say we go find some treasure?”

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Thanks again for any and all who take the time to read - as the backstory of Ka’l Bahriin progresses towards a natural cliffhanger, I’ll be gearing up to introduce another PC next, so stay tuned.  If you’d like to be added to the taglist for these installments, let me know.

Ye Olde Taglist: @serenewrites​, @mayvinwrites​