The cold north winds

"Name?" came the command-like question from the surly captain.

"Does it matter?" my retort came a little sharper than intended but it was early and already hotter than a forge.

"Only if you want to board my vessel, northerner." The look in his eyes told me right away that he enjoyed this situation nearly
as much as I. Not much escapes my notice I'm just that oblivious. Heard a Zingaran philosopher describe me that way once. Never did find out for sure what it meant.

"Ah..." I stalled while thinking back to remember if I was in any trouble in these islands. Nope. Not yet.
"Call me Rylar. How much for a trip up north?"

"Well, Rylar, that all depends on how far you are wishing to travel and how much more trouble you are going to give me!" the grizzled old man quipped.

"Cimmeria, that's where I'm heading and you'll get no trouble from me." Unless you try to sell me into slavery, I thought to myself. Had just about enough of that for one lifetime. Hah, could have been two lifetimes since I still can not remember my past beyond a week or so.

"Well I don't usually travel that far north this time of year...or any time of year for that matter. Not a fan of the Vanir." muttered the captain while he nervously rubbed the scar running down his jaw.
"I happen to be running up the Thunder River and can take you up the Shirki river just north of Aquilonia. You should be able to find some caravans up in those parts. Provided you can pay of course. You can...pay...can't you?" asked the captain with a glimmer of hope in his eyes.

"I have a little coin but I'll be glad to work my passage as well." I answered hoping that the promise of some money was better than nothing.

"Oh-ho! That's just perfect....no money, eh, big surprise. And food and water, will you be needing that as well?! Of course you will, how silly of me. You do realize that this
ship is for trade not for pleasure cruising, right?!" the captain growled out as his face grew darker with his anger.

"No mistaking the purpose of this ship, that's for certain. The way I see it you're heading up some dangerous areas with your precious cargo and could probably use a healer on board with a strong back to row or split pirate skulls...if I'm mistaken then I'll just be on my way." I answered while grabbing my pack from the deck silently praying for my pitch to work. It was a long swim from the Barachan Isles to the Zingaran coast, especially with a club strapped to your back.

"Fine, fine but you work, eat and sleep with the crew and leave the paying guests alone!" sighed the captain while his shoulders dropped in resignation.

(( I'll add more to this as I go. Rylar is a Cimmerian Bear Shaman and is in search of the rest of his missing past

Thanks for inviting me into this alliance, I'm looking forward to learning more about RP and have loved the other backstories and events listed. ))

Hehe, I like the way you write.. hopefully we see you in game more often, welcome to the guild!

You're too kind. I need to learn more and you all have so many good stories and ideas. Can see there is a lot to learn and I can't wait.

Thank you again for the invite into the Sealladh Alliance. Haven't had much chance lately to get in game but have been trying to catch up on the rich and
very cool history of this group! Really proud of what you were doing on Cimmeria.

You mentioned that you wanted to know which RP Concepts interested us. I'm drawn to the Praetorian Guard which may not be relevant on the current server. Also interested in the Philosopher's group even though Rylar has not seen enough of the world nor would he be as educated as the other members but he would be happy to learn from the experiences and wisdom of the other members. Also very intrigued by the Tulsi Brew Crew. Love seeing all these great ideas around and I love that particular bar.

Thanks again,

Rylar

The praetorian guard is still relevant for RP reasons.