Wide Open Sea - Yarti/Snakestone/Fanar-Child/Fannah-Child

A thought occurred to me as I lay in bed this morning. My back against Snake’s chest, a sheet tucked up under my chin, I stared toward the wardrobe side of the room. Just to the right of my head lay my little rudimentary garden. Some plants that the kids that bought for me as a gift some time ago. “Rare plants” from Morrowind, they were told but they were just weeds. I think I made mention of it in my journal at the time. I glanced toward those plants and the sun beaming through the rafters caught them in a particular way. I thought about fields of that grass. That though lead to another, the kids frolicking in that field. A warmer place. A little vacation. We already owed them a trip to Hammerfell once they were old enough for the journey, this would be but a taste. I thought to have Snake contact Darfin. We could go out to sea like we had done a few times in the past, then before returning to port, a slight detour to the east. It was summer, those lands would warm this time of year. The northwest coast of Morrowind. We could make landing, visit the closest town, just explore a little in the safety of a town. A much better idea than crossing the border on foot. The thought of going back that way made me sick at my stomach. It would be different if we were further north. I rolled over, intent to wake Snake and share my idea but he was already awake. Our eyes made contact, breath hastened. We had our time beneath the tousled sheets then I began my chores for the day, the passion of the morning wiping the idea from my mind.

Though as the morning went on, the thought slowly crept back into my mind, until I found myself subconsciously preparing for the trip. I had lined up a set of outfits for each of us and a full pack of supplies by the time I caught myself. I brought the news to Snake and the kids after breakfast and by midday, Snake had wrote to Darfin with the request. A few weeks passed, as expected. He was not an easy man to find. He could be at any coastal city from High Rock to far east of Morrowind. On another ordinary morning, a courier knocked at the door with our reply. By lunch of that day, we were already on carriage bound to Solitude.

We arrived in fair weather. The kids enjoyed the carriage ride. Every landmark was a new experience, no matter how many times we had passed through this way. From the carriage down to the dock, Fannah hummed the entire way. Once she spotted Darfin’s boat she was ecstatic. She ran ahead and stood at the edge of the pier waving to him as he moved the boat into position. We gathered around her, trying our hardest to contain her outbursts before boarding. Snake, with outstretched arms called out to him. Wishing him goodmorning and asking how the trip had been. Darfin himself stood up on the upper level, a relaxed posture, guiding the ship as though it were an extension of himself. They spoke for some time before things were settled enough for us to cross over. The kids went first, never leaving my grip until they were safely footed. Then Snake, then myself by the grace of his strong hand.

And so we set out. The kids were none the wiser, they thought it just another fishing trip, a week at sea then a joyous return to Solitude, certainly followed by visits to the shops. They had already been discussing it in hushed voices. The detour would truly be a surprise. They found their favorite spot in front of the cookpot and waited for Darfin to get us out to sea so he could sit and tell them more of his fishy tales. Snake enjoyed his company just as much. He was really the closest thing to a father figure in his life, these little trips were prime bonding experiences for them and only served to strengthen an already strong friendship. On the wide open sea, Fanar peered over the side and down into the swirling depths. His eyes transfixed, darting back and forth at movement beneath us. Schools of fish and the like. Fannah joined him but hers was not of mere curiosity, she wanted to catch them. Her little fingers came tugging at the seams of Darfin’s tunic, followed by her sweetest words and most pleading of expressions. Before long, he had disappeared into the cabin and returned with a handful of fishing rods and a tin of bait. He and Snake took to one side and cast into the abyss and in no time at all, dinner had came to us. Fannah stood at Snake’s side the entire time, cheering him on and proclaiming that “Fanar would never be that good at fishing”. She said it several times, always delivering a sharp glare in his direction as she said it. But this was their special trip and discipline would have to wait. Her words stung him, I could see his special day worsening by the minute and intervened. Fanar and I found a shady spot on the other side of the ship and stood together and talked. A few minutes of hugging, words of encouragement, and most importantly, combing of fingers through his hair, he soon calmed down and together we made way to the cookpot and started work on dinner. Snake, Darfin and Fannah celebrated the catch as Fanar and I tended to the meal. Darfin carried a variety of foreign spices, that and the assortment of fish they managed to catch made for an interesting enough meal. And so came sunset, bellies full, the kids exhausted everything of interest on the lower level and ascended the stairs to the upper deck. Darfin manned the wheel as they toyed with his navigational maps. I found myself in Snake’s arms out on the bow of the ship. I held him until the sun above us waned, the signal to prepare the beds. Snake and I retreated to the cabin, laid out two bedrolls, and put fresh sheets on the actual bed. Fanar would have the bed if I had my way, but in all likelihood Fannah would demand it as soon as she saw it. Anticipating as much, I took great care in making the bedrolls as comfortable as possible. The job done, I cracked open the door and called the kids to bed. Fannah dove into the bed screeching “Mine!” as Fanar sulked toward the bedroll in the corner. Shuffling his sheets and pillow, he discovered a candy I had hidden for him. His rare smile was a welcome thing. Darfin had lent us the cabin for the duration of the trip. He would hold watch on the upper deck and sleep under the moonlight. The next few days repeated much the same as we made good time eastward. A fair bit away from the coast, but not far enough north to run into ice flow. We kept the kids occupied as best we could. When they asked where we were, we would give them a location far west of actuality. As far as they knew, we were already en-route back to Solitude on those the last few days of the journey. Thinking Solitude on the horizon, Fannah’s attitude began it’s inevitable shift. Out of her arose her best behavior, so she could have her choice at the shops. We knew her tricks all too well. The kids got along well from that point onward. Lending to that, the decks and ocean itself had grown quite boring. Toward the end, they spent most of their time indoors, making up games or rummaging through Darfin’s things.

The big day. The kids rose before us and scampered about the room. After a small cold breakfast, I unlocked the door so they could dash out to the deck, expecting to see Solitude in the distance. Much to their surprise, they instead saw sheer cliffs topped with mushrooms, taller than any building they had ever seen. Their eyes grew wide, mouth agape. You would think they had woken into a dream land. Fanar, the more studious of the twins put two and two together and asked why we were in Morrowind. “I thought you would like to see it” I said, again brushing his hair. My eyes narrowed, lifting my arm I pointed out into the distance. “Does that grass look familiar?” He shook his head then darted off. The two of them threw themselves against the railing of the starboard side, taking in as much of the view as they could muster. Far off, we spotted a small coastal town. Massive fungal pods dotted a dreary dirt path through the town center. Off to one end lie a boarding platform of some sort, intended for some beast of travel I imagined. Darfin knew the town well and assured us we could find a room to rent for a few days if we so wanted. We pulled alongside the dock and disembarked. The happy family stood in a line just off of the dock, peering out into strange lands.