Sea (AoA)

Ranulfe had left San d'Oria not a moment too soon. He was still smoldering over that kid in the Southern section of the city when he checked in with his comrades at the Consortium. They had warned him against leaving their docks; Unlike in Bastok where the Muskies would do their best to track down and arrest (or at least hold) the members of the Tenshodo, the Consortium on San d'Oria was on a pretty steady relationship with the Knights. As long as the Consortium at least looked like they were minding their own business in the ports of the city, the Knights wouldn't hassle them too much. It was strange to see the two classes chatting and laughing with each other.

Ranulfe had ignored the wisdom heeded by Jorget, the man he was directed to by Tsurai.

"Don't stray too far from the docks. I know yer' boat won't be arrivin' until later in the day, but trus' me; Ya don't wanna get caught up drinkin' rotgut with the woodsmen guild or worse, fin' yerself strung up by a Knight. We're on pretty good terms with 'em but yer new aroun' here and they'll smell it. Ya don't wanna get busted for somethin' ya didn't do, 'specially since none o' yer fellows'll be aroun' to bus' ya outta the clink, if they put ya there."

Jorget, for all his fancy sounding name, was just as rough around the edges as the rest of the Tenshodo. For a Consortium fellow, he certainly felt like he came from the slums of Bastok.

Against the grain, Ranulfe had left the docks. He ran into some kid, said something that was offensive to the guy and they squared off verbally. It wasn't one of his best moments, not by a longshot.

This was what he was looking for, though. This was his break, this was his way out. Things had fallen apart at home with not only his parent but also now with his sisters. Ceecee had thrown a good one before they left, and even days after the fact his cheek hurt with the bruise.

Ranulfe remembered all the times he had taken care of his sisters when they were younger, all the times he was looked up to.

"Onii-chan will save us from the monsters!"

"Onii-chan will save us from the Turtles!"

"Onii-chan's not afraid of them!"

"He's our Onii-chan, mister!"

That was before he had badmouthed his cur of father, before his sisters had said they were responsible for Mom's death. That was before the world took such a grim angle. Before then, he felt that at least he had his sisters to be close to, to take care of and protect. They didn't need him anymore. If that weird guy from the Empire was going to do anything, his sisters wouldn't need him there to get hacked up.

The boat that would be leaving San d'Oria was in poor shape. The vessels the Tenshodo (and the Consortium) used were often gotten by illicit means and not all of those who found themselves as captains had the money necessary to keep a ship afloat. This one had arrived in dreary shape but it had arrived. The weather was reportedly fair for the next few days, and the trip to his destination wouldn't take longer than a night or three.

Ranulfe settled into his spot under decks. It wasn't supposed to house more than the crew of a particularly-ill-mannered Seadog and even though Tsurai had pulled strings to get Ranulfe this far that didn't mean the captain had to be pleased with the fact his ship had a stranger on board. The crew didn't seem thrilled, the captain didn't seem thrilled. Ranulfe felt like... Well, like he suspected the Galka used to feel. It was a hostile environment but he was okay with that. It just meant the feelings he had left in Bastok and now San d'Oria were sticking with him.

The ship escaped from the docks of San d'Oria in the middle of the night. Its destination was the fabled Tenshodo stronghold of Norg, hub of smuggling and communication with the Ephramadian empire, thorn in the side of law and order the world over. It would be a place for a nobody like him to become a nobody with a purpose. His destiny, or whatever parts of his future constituted his destiny, awaited him.