User:Arlo
General Information
Name: Arlo Wrassesmith
Titles: Right Hand of The Scourge, Shark, Secretary of Valhalla, Member of the School of the Wolf, Member of the House of Leather and Steel
Pronouns: They/He
Species: Kelpie
Realm: Kaer Morhen
Unit: School of the Wolf
Started fighting in 2024
Events attended
- Field of Bones XIII
- Northland's Mind the Goblins
- Gathering of the Clans XII: A Fistful of Boffers
- Breach on Belletyn
- Armageddon XXII
- EclipseX
Gallery
(photos will be added once I figure out how to embed them :D)
Arlo's Song
Life lived on the surface
The water always calling to me
The river the puddles the streams
I want to go down and where I can’t see
The bottom where the light won’t reach
Feel the sand shift beneath my feet
As I walk to the place
I was always meant to be
I give in
and give in
and give in again
The urge to dismember
their bodies to rend
I’ll drag them under to drown
It’s time to start over
Find a new way of life
Leave the past behind me
I’ll move on this time
Found a place to call home
But I’m scared it won’t last
The water always calls
And finds me too fast
Let the cold be my grave, someday
But for now my escape, this day
The screams are muted with my ears full of silt
Blood in the water by my hands shall be spilt
Nothing you can do to stop me now
As I drag you under to drown
The world against you
Fight with all your might
A crew to protect
And a reason to survive
I’ll give into the waves
As they scream my name
Promising me strength
And the safety of what’s mine
Hurt your enemies kelpie
Crush them beneath your hooves
When you finally die
You’ll be my soldier to use
I promise my loyalty to the sea
She gives my strength and I give her my leave
And when the day finally comes
And it’s my time to dive down
She’ll come take my hands and
Drag me under to drown
Lore
Arlo grew up where the Buina and Gwenllech rivers crossed. Their parents found them abandoned when they were young near the edge of the water. They didn’t know where Arlo had come from but felt compassion towards this infant with hooves instead of feet, wrapped in seaweed, sleeping on the shore and decided to take them in. Arlo became part of the family and was proud to use their parents last name of ‘Wrassesmith’. Once they had grown a bit spent their days foraging and fishing with their father and learning fiber crafts from their mother in the evening. They always felt a strange draw to the water that they didn’t see shared by the rest of their family. For all their longing, they couldn’t understand why so they spent their days listless around the river’s edge, picking small plants they found and catching fish. Due to their nature, they had few friends but didn’t mind. They learned whatever they could about the world around them, spending many an hour studying the plants they grew and fish they caught. They had a garden packed with vegetables which they tended to with their brother, traveling to town to sell whatever they had excess of. Eventually their parents informed them of their past, neither of them were quite sure what they were but suspected they were some sort of fae. In order to keep them safe, their mother made modified boots to cover their hooves for whenever they would leave home. It was a simple life but Arlo loved it. Unfortunately for them, peace could never last. News of monsters was spreading quickly with stories of villages and homesteads being devastated by horrendous attacks. They saw the people in Daevon and Vattweir living in fear of what may come and they saw their family struggling to keep brave faces in the face of this new danger. They didn’t know what they could do until one day, they crossed paths with a traveling Witcher in Daevon. They didn’t catch his name and didn’t offer theirs but meeting him helped them figure out what they wanted to do with their life and how they could protect the world they love.
The best way they could protect the people they cared about was to learn how to fight for them. While it was one of the hardest decisions they had to make thus far, they knew that it was their time to venture out into the world and try and make a difference. They had heard tales of a place where mythical heroes had been trained and so they decided they needed to go to Kaer Morhen. They traveled to Daevon, intent on finding the Witcher they had met before. He was apprehensive about bringing a child to the valley but Arlo’s will was steadfast and he accepted the duty of bringing them along. They traveled by land, trekking across the plains and tree filled hills. They camped out every night with Arlo setting up a tent and making a smokeless fire while the Witcher hunted small prey for them to eat. Small monsters crossed their path but the warrior took care of them, instructing Arlo on some techniques on how to defeat their enemies. They found a rhythm of traveling and surviving together. One dull day of travel through the woods, they heard a cracking in the bushes behind them. A basilisk rushed out of the woods, snapping at Arlo’s ankles but missing by a hair. The Witcher pulled out his sword and sliced underneath the basilisk’s neck, hitting the weakest patch of skin he could reach. It reared back, screeching in pain and swiping at the warrior with its claws. He jumped back to avoid it, his quick reflexes coming in handy but the basilisk’s claws caught his sword and flung it out of his hands. He drew a quick sign in the air, a glowing field enveloping him, leaving the monster to slash at the air unable to reach him. Arlo pulled out their dagger with shaking hands and dashed in front of the basilisk as it reared up to attach the Witcher’s shield again. They stabbed into its stomach and dragged the blade up as high as they could reach, pulling it out of the creature’s torso with a wet tear. The basilisk stumbled backwards, a half-hearted shriek pulled out of its throat before it collapsed. The Witcher stood, the shield falling away as he picked up his sword. Arlo and the Witcher cut away fillets of meat from the basilisk and decided to set up camp further down the trail in order not to draw the attention of more creatures due to the blood. They started a small fire and cooked the meat they had gathered. Arlo was proud, they had defended the warrior and won. Though they didn’t exchange many words with the Witcher, they thought he may have been proud of them too, offering Arlo a weary smile as they enjoyed their feast. The presence of a basilisk meant they were close to their destination and while the journey had been long and difficult, they made it to the stronghold in one piece.
Arlo was brought down the Witcher’s trail and into Kaer Morhen, the School of the Wolf, introduced by the Witcher that had brought them there. They had no interest in becoming a Witcher themself but knew the Witchers there to be the most skilled in combat in all the lands so they made their case and asked to be taught how to fight. The Witchers were wary but willing to teach. Once Arlo had found a place to sleep the warrior left them, wishing them luck on their journey and returning to his own. Arlo spent some time training at Kaer Morhen with any Witchers and travelers that they could muster the courage to approach, learning what they could from whoever passed through. It was there that they made their first blade, only passable in its make but sturdy enough to fulfill its duty. They were gifted a shield by a fellow trainee at the School of the Wolf, Fodder, who was a Witcher in training at the time but officially became a Witcher not long after. They met many whose names would drift through their mind till the end of their days and quite a few who they’d see time and time again through the years.
While at Kaer Morhen, they ate with many others who had come to train and through this discovered an odd habit of theirs. No matter how bad the food or horrendous the drink, if any was left at the end of the night they would stay out late in order to finish it. They didn’t want things to go to waste and they were willing to pay the meager toll to prevent that. This did little to benefit them aside from earning them strange glances from the resident Witchers but they did it nonetheless. They enjoyed feeling like they were helping and being known for something other than strange or even worse, forgettable. Someday they would learn that they weren’t forgettable and all of these Witchers were wonderfully strange in their own ways but until that day came, they would sit with their nerves.
One day, they met a Witcher at the School of the Wolf by the name of Jericho. They quickly became friends, with Jericho becoming one of the people they trusted the most and one of the only people they were comfortable enough around to share the happenings of their life with. While he hadn’t shared with them his whole story, they understood that he was hesitant to trust people which left them surprised but glad to be one of those lucky few. They didn’t know it yet but Jericho would become someone they could trust and depend on to have their back in the battles to come. Arlo worked hard to keep their true nature hidden but didn’t want to live like this, being cloaked in secrecy and falsehoods was never how they wanted to spend their days. Jericho was the first person to see the seaweed in their hair and though he questioned it, he waited until they were away from the rest of the Witchers to ask about it. Arlo was scared to reveal their strangeness but knew they could trust him. They explained their hooves and the seaweed that never stopped growing. He didn’t have the answer to what they were but didn’t care about their differences. They were grateful to not have lost a friend and felt more secure in themself after telling him.
After working hard to learn how these Witchers fought, they left the stronghold, armed with new weapons and the knowledge on how to use them. They would continue to travel with Jericho, to aid him in battle and to fight by his side. While they would continue to learn for the rest of their days, they knew enough to start the duty they had sworn themself to many months ago and now had a compatriot by their side as they set out into their new life.
As they passed through their hometown for what would be the last time for a while, they saw the traveling Witcher that had brought them to Kaer Morhen. He was more beaten down now, having survived a lifetime of battles but stood at the front of a crowd and shared some of his stories. They were just relieved he was still alive and surrounded by people who he had helped and inspired. Arlo didn’t know if he would recognize them, now with their hooves revealed and the seaweed in their hair grown out, but they waited for him to finish his story so they could push to the front of the crowd and speak to him nonetheless. He smiled at them when they approached, his weariness evident in the lines of his face. Arlo knew somewhere within themself that this would be the last time they’d see him so they thanked him for all he had done and though he may not have recognized them, he wished them well on their journey.
They continued on their trek towards the sea, intending to join Jericho on his way back to his ship. They stopped in Aedd Gynvael for the night and Arlo stayed resting in the tavern as Jericho went out on a job. They spent their time pursuing the sparse collection of books there, trying to find anything they could on fae. They found a book tucked in a corner of the bookshelf titled ‘Myths of Faefolk’ and had just as they cracked it open as they saw Jericho re-enter the building. Much to their surprise, he came back with a farmboy in tow. Arlo slipped the book into their satchel and hurried over to their companion and the stranger beside him. He was introduced as Drachen and looked like he had witnessed horrifying things, downtrodden and exhausted. It took a few days of traveling but eventually Drachen left the corpse-like state he had entered soon after they settled in at the tavern, relaxing and eventually cracking a smile. Arlo didn’t know it yet but they had met some of their closest friends.
Over the next few years, the three of them grew closer as they traveled towards the sea and Arlo made the decision to stay with their new compatriots, they wanted adventure and by hell they got it. Jericho bought a massive ship in the river port of Beauclair with the money he had saved up and named it The Scourge. They joined Jericho on his ship as his First Mate and right hand with plans to travel to the Skellige Isles, a group of islands that Jericho used to call home.
While on the ship they fought sea monsters of all shapes and sizes with tools that they had never before seen but learned quickly how to use. Arlo was prepared to be shunned by the crew for their unusual features but they seemed to be much more concerned about Jericho to spare a second thought for their hooves. The crew was wary of their captain at first, unsure how to feel about a Witcher, but he earned their trust through the battles they fought against the vicious creatures in the seas they sailed upon. Though it took time, they became a steadfast and loyal crew,
One day while walking through a town The Scourge had stopped in to restock, they noticed someone strange. Their head was down with a cloak shrouding their face but they noticed their amphibian-like features, reminiscent of some fae they had read about before, and decided to take a risk. They had so many questions about where they came from and what they were so they needed to ask, unsure of when they would get another opportunity to talk to someone like them. Arlo approached, asking their name and asking nervously if they were like them, a fae. Their name was Ash, a frog, and they told Arlo exactly what they needed to hear. Ash explained the Seelie and Unseelie courts and simmering resentments towards the other, fae who could bewitch others with promises and sweet words, hags lurking in the forests, and frogs with their intriguing rituals. Most importantly, they were told of creatures of water like them, with hooves the same as theirs; Kelpies.
After this revelation Arlo realized something mildly more concerning, they have never been in any other form than their strange hominoid one. According to legends in the book they had obtained, they should be able to turn into a horse and drag prey down to the depths. This murderous intent was never an urge they had felt before but the desire to be something else had always led them through life. It drove them to meet the Witchers, to work to become a warrior, to join Jericho’s crew, to leave who they were behind and to become who they wanted to be. The thought that they could physically become another version of themself was too enticing to resist. They were going to try, no matter how long it took they wanted to know this side of themself and gods be damned the effort would be worth it.
One slow day on The Scourge they started looking inwards, trying to find any sign, any hint that they could change into something different from what they were in that moment. They caught it, a lingering feeling of something ancient curling in the back of their mind. They held steadfast, pulling it into the light and as they did they felt their form change. Their spine warped and twisted into a new shape, limbs elongating and their hands converging into hooves. They reared their head, unsure how to move this new body but feeling at home within it. To any outsiders they would just see a horse standing in Arlo’s quarters, proud and strong. It took a while but they would eventually become able to switch fluidly between their human and equine forms, enjoying the ability to change as they wished. They saved the form that left them a pile of kelp as an extra escape route in case things ever truly went to shit aboard The Scourge during one of many of their daring quests. Having control over themself gave them a newfound strength, allowing them to move without fear knowing full well no matter what happened no one could take this from them.
They had many guests upon this ship they called home. One of them was a Witcher by the name of Rint who had once pulled Jericho from the waves and brought him to Kaer Morhen. He had a magic repelling shield that quite frankly Arlo hated with every fiber of their being. The first time he came upon the ship he came with his shield in hand as he didn’t know that Arlo was fae. This caused them to feel nauseous as he approached the ship, fall over when he boarded, and melt into a pile of seaweed when he got too close. The rest of the crew gathered them up and dumped them into a bucket for safekeeping until he covered the shield, reducing its power enough for them to return to their human form. They felt no animosity towards him but could’ve done without learning what being sea-sick felt like.
Another guest was an orc who walked with a confident stride, someone whose power radiated off her and who seemed to know it. They were dressed as though they were prepared to fight but they seemed to hold no animosity towards the crew. Jericho seemed surprised to see them there but welcomed them anyways and introduced them to the crew as the crone queen of the Unseelie Fae, an unexpected face to see on their ship. Turns out that they were familiar with Jericho and had claimed The Scourge as part of their fleet if ever they would need to go to war. They had killed things most people wouldn’t dare dream up so despite their trepidation, the crew’s trust in their captain won over and they welcomed the Queen heartily.
They visited all manner of locations with and without the rest of their crew. While Arlo loved their life above The Scourge once in a while they needed to venture out on their own and make new allies and enemies of their own. They once took a journey to the Northern Steppes in hopes to gain a fistful of boffers. Pirate life paid quite well but having the chance to develop their individual skills as a warrior wasn’t an opportunity they wanted to pass up. While visiting, Arlo made a near fatal error. Having been assigned a quest to retrieve the hat of a fearsome pirate captain in exchange for coin, they tracked him down to where he spoke with his entourage. Their approach was quick and quiet, allowing them to snatch his hat from his head and flee as fast as their feet could carry them. They turned as they ran and saw him drawing his axe in rebuttal, only increasing their need to run, quickly depositing the hat at the Kinky Cactus for their reward before bolting away. They later met Magnus again and apologized, expressing their remorse and fear for their wellbeing though after some conversation they reached a peaceful resolution.
They attempted to fulfil another bounty but this individual was guarded by four wizards who challenged anyone who approached to a magical game of summoning objects; rock, paper, and scissors, to determine the victor. In order to claim this bounty all four wizards must be defeated in succession before challenging the leader. The first wizard was disarmed without a hitch but unfortunately the others were not so easy to beat. This left Arlo listless as they had failed at this task and had to walk away in shame, joining the leagues who had tried and failed before them.
They visited another gathering by the name of Armageddon and this one they arrived at with the majority of the crew of The Scourge by their side. They helped when they could to keep things running smoothly and to improve the experience of their friends, hoping to give a little of the aid they had received themself back. The rains came harsh and unforgiving but they and their comrades worked to make the best of a dismal situation, sharing tents and resources in order to keep everyone dry.
One day at Kaer Morhen’s honor circle, Arlo received an award known as ‘Great Expectations’. They worried about not being able to live up to who the elders thought they could someday become but the braid didn’t feel like pressure. It felt like encouragement, a promise that they would continue to grow, change, and improve throughout their life. Without Kaer Morhen they could have seen themself floating through their days, lost with nothing to tie them down and a wanting for something they could never have. They felt lucky to be there in that moment and to get a kiss from the man they loved. They were with friends, their forged family, and they were safe.
On The Scourge, Arlo became adept at their daily tasks, fulfilling the role assigned to them to the best of their ability. They warded off the stress and pressure their position gave them by throwing themself into their work. When they needed to destress and the ship was stationary they would jump off the top deck and swim down as deep as they could, letting the air in their lungs run out before opening their gills. They would float there for a while just breathing and being, their hooves just above the bottom of the sea before returning to the deck. The crew wondered why they always seemed to end up sopping wet but they decided it best not to comment on their soggy state. They found that acting in ways that felt natural despite the strangeness of these activities led to them being able to relax, even though it made them feel more distant from their humanity. They were trying to be themself, to figure out what they needed to do to feel right in their skin but they didn’t know what they could do aside from following their instincts and hoping they didn’t lead them astray.
Arlo was proud of their work, though it took them a while to figure out how to do it. Thankfully Jericho was a good captain and taught them their tasks well so they could instruct the crew and oversee their work. While Arlo wasn’t the most familiar with boats, they had plenty of time on the open sea to acquaint themself. Thankfully it was easy to see damage whenever it started accruing so they could get to work on fixing it with a few other members of the crew. While they caught on to the running and maintenance of the ship quickly there were a few other requirements they fell short on. They were never good at speaking loudly and their voice always got caught in their throat before anyone else could hear them. In order to improve as a first mate, Arlo needed to figure out how to make other people hear them and mainly to figure out how a ship of this size even functioned. The crew helped them, some more experienced than others, to speak up and command them in Jericho’s stead. They were a part of The Scourge now, and they were no longer alone.
Their room on The Scourge was small but comfortable, much nicer than the barracks most of the crew shared, full of hammocks that swung to and fro with the rocking of the ship. In their room, they had the bucket they woke up in after a particularly unpleasant encounter with Rint’s shield placed beside their door for easy access in case a problem like that arose again. They had a small simple bed draped in soft blankets, a stuffed black cat atop them, with their name carved into the headboard to stake this place as theirs. The walls were largely unadorned aside from a few papers with drawings on them and a simple stained rug covered the hard wooden boards of the floor. A chest sat tucked under their bed full of clothing and a few trinkets with a beat up desk and a small chair crammed into the corner of their room. The drawers nearly overflowed with various crafting supplies they had gathered over the years with books stacked in piles on top of the desk. The paint on its edges was chipping away revealing paler layers beneath but they had recoated it by hand so they couldn’t bear to replace it. Overall the room wasn’t large or lavish by any means but it was enough space for them and those who occasionally joined them in it and Arlo was proud to call it their home.
Despite their many comforts, they were always hungry. No matter how many fish they caught or plants they ate they always felt like they needed something more filling. It disturbed their sleep and made their hands shaky as they trained to fight. They had an inkling of what this feeling was stemming from, they’d read about human-eating fae in the book they had taken from a tavern many years ago but they refused to be one. They had been raised by humans and couldn’t bear the thought of consuming them even though the hunger they were stuck with grew every day. One day The Scourge was hired to take care of a crew of pirates who had been committing despicable acts across the Great Sea, leaving terror in every town they crossed through. Though these scum may have been human, they were still monsters so The Scourge set out to enact justice. Their journey led them past the Sedna Spiral, forcing them to carefully maneuver around its dangerous wrath. After a few days of sailing they saw it; smoke. It mostly obscured the ship docked in the harbor of a small seaside town called Attre but it was impossible to mistake with a skull and crossbones on its tattered and patchy flag flying high in the sky. The ship started launching cannonballs at them, most missing but one hitting solidly above the waterline. The members of the crew working below-deck rushed to patch the hole before a wave could fill the ship with water. Jericho called not to launch the cannons, he wanted as little damage to Attre as possible. Drachen and the other sharpshooters gathered bows and arrows and posted at the cannonports, shooting as many pirates as they could while The Scourge pulled into port. Half the crew loaded out the gangway and charged forth with swords and shields in hand, Jericho leading the way onto the pirate’s ship with Mairenn by his side, her hatred of pirates burning as brightly as his own. Drachen continued to instruct the archers on taking down all the pirates they could from inside The Scourge while Arlo and Alaric led two smaller groups of their crew into the town, intent on finding any pirates still in the town and removing them from it. They quickly found the town hall, unmarred by the small fires around town with scared people gathered within. After reassuring the townsfolk that they would be safe, Arlo and Alaric split up, their groups moving quickly and quietly, clearing the surrounding area of pirates and moving any wayward townsfolk they found to the town hall. Arlo sent the rest of their group to put out as many fires as they could, drawing up water from the well and dousing the flames. Arlo searched inside the houses in order to lead whoever was left to relative safety. In one house they found a pirate. This pirate was rifling through a family’s belongings with the parents and their two children clumped in the corner, their backs pressed against the far wall of their home. Arlo didn’t hesitate, they walked up behind the pirate and slit their throat. The family picked up their children, running quickly out through the front door. Arlo was left with the body of the pirate slumped over the chest they had been plundering. Something about it smelled.. delectable. Their mouth started watering as they looked down at the corpse. They saw their own saliva drip onto what had once been a person and they felt that familiar hunger grow stronger. They felt terrible. Hunger clawed at their ribs as bile rose up their throat, forcing them to turn away as they retched in the corner of what had once been someone’s home, a safe place that they had defiled with blood and gore and their own sickness. Arlo looked back at the carcass, at the temptation stronger than they had ever faced before. They stumbled towards it, kneeling down beside it and looking at what they had done. The knife was still in their hand but they set it down on the ground beside them. They wouldn’t need it for this task. With one hand they shoved their meal off the chest it had collapsed on, revealing their killing mark. They were weary from their work and could barely sink their teeth in at first but they couldn’t deny themself this feast.
Arlo used their newfound ability to strengthen themself, able to fight with the fortitude they used to have when they were younger. Their bones felt sturdier and their joints held up to any strain that would have left them bedridden or stuck on the ship before. While they still felt some guilt, they didn’t want to give up feeling comfortable in their existence for the first time in forever. They laid out rules for themself, making sure that they could still trust themself around their human compatriots. They would never kill an innocent, they were determined to follow this rule even at the expense of their own life. They would save the meat that they had taken from some terrible foes and dry it so when they needed to be reliable they could pull themself together at any time. They didn’t want to squander this ‘gift’ if one could even call it that. They still felt sick to think about it but despite that sickness, their desire to be useful outweighed their guilt. They wanted to find themself but until they could do that, they were going to help as much as they could.
Eventually, The Scourge docked as close to Kaer Morhen as they could. It was time for Jericho and Arlo to visit the place they had spent years training. A new high elder had been appointed, Fen of Kaedwen, with four other elders working closely beside him to improve Kaer Morhen to the best of their ability. After some introductions, the crew settled in to spend a few days there picking up jobs and catching up with what they had missed around the stronghold. The crew dispersed to all corners of the stronghold to attend to various tasks and reunite with old companions, it would be a while till they would be able to visit again. Arlo met someone by the name of Rint, the one who had pulled Jericho from the sea. When they found him, he was forging Zweihanders, masterfully crafted, beautifully balanced, and powerful two handed weapons. Arlo saw them and knew they had to have one. They rummaged through their pockets, coming up short on gold. They were incredibly lucky that Rint was so understanding so they made a deal. Arlo could have one of these beautiful swords and they would repay Rint as soon as they could, they would take care of this blade to the best of their ability and find him again someday to repay him.
While they were as close to Arlo’s home as they had been in many years, they decided to visit their family. They wanted to know how they had fared over the years though they couldn’t quite say how many years it had been, time had slipped for them while they were traveling with the warrior. All they hoped was that their family was well, times had been tough when they set out for Kaer Morhen with monsters hunting the lands around their home. Their parents could both swing axes around if need be and around the time they left their brother had begun to experiment with metal scraps and gunpowder, they were fairly certain he’d be fine. No matter how much faith they had in their family, doubt of their safety still lingered in their mind. These thoughts and nerves continued to flow through their mind as they swam through the river, surfacing when the fenceline of their old home came into their view. They shook the water off and approached their home, hunching their shoulders in as though they were trying to make themself smaller. As they entered the house though, they realized there was no point in trying to pretend they were who they used to be. They were alone. They crept through the halls, trying to be quiet as though not to disturb the dust. Their old room was dark, curtains drawn and all the candles gone. They looked at the trinkets they had meticulously gathered throughout their life, picking the most important ones up and organizing them gently inside the pouch on their belt. Heading outside, they looked around their childhood garden, the plants they used to meticulously tend to turned wild and overgrown after years of neglect. They thought back to how they were when they were young, confused as to what they were but content, happy even. They didn’t know how to feel now. They had changed, that much was certain, but they couldn’t tell if it was for better or for worse. They felt more like themself now even though they had to hurt other people to achieve that strength. They had needed to leave their family behind, lose friends along the way, and turn into who they were meant to be.
Since the house was abandoned they decided to make their way into town, donning a cloak so as not to scare the locals. The quiet bustle of the town hadn’t changed though the town itself had grown in size. The streets were no longer dirt but instead now paved with cobbled stone, buildings taller than they were before. Arlo hoped to find their brother as they had no clue where their parents could have gone. They checked the places Arlo and their brother had always visited when they were young, the food stalls having been replaced with new ones and the library all but transformed into an unknown place. They felt lost in this place. So, doing whatever any reasonable person would do, they decided to head to the tavern. Someone had to know him, he couldn’t be gone. Entering in, the place was full of the quiet din of conversation, three people sitting quietly at the bar with the noise coming from the folks sitting at the booths along the walls. Glancing over the faces of the people relaxing and talking, Arlo didn’t recognize a single soul so they made their way to the bar. They sat down at random, glancing at the other folks at the bar when they saw him, older but still clearly their brother. They sat down beside him. He was quiet at first, avoiding speaking to them so Arlo decided to start sharing where they had been and what they had done in the many years they’d been apart. They started telling the tales of the places they had been and the fights they had won. They weren’t sure what they said that clicked but he started warming up to them, asking questions and even sharing a few stories of his own. Arlo knew they had changed but they wanted to get to know who their brother was now. He was running a smithing shop, bending rings into chainmail for soldiers and using a forge he had created to create weapons of new and deadly make. Bombs were his specialty but he had learned how to make much more than that. He forged steel into blades of many lengths, sturdy armor that would hold up against any threat it would face, and made crossbows though they were rarely requested. They knew they’d have to leave again soon, their brother knew it too but that was alright. They had reconnected and knew for a fact now that he’d be okay, something that they had worried about for so long.
They returned to The Scourge and with their mind at ease, settled back into life at sea. During long weeks on the water between jobs Arlo needed something to do. They quickly became restless in between periods of hard work on the ship and decided that it was time to pick up pastimes in order to prevent themself from losing their sanity to the rocking of the sea. They would speak with the crew and captain when everyone had time but their hands were always moving even when they were laying in bed, trying to convince their mind to calm enough for sleep to claim them. They started with reading, something they had enjoyed throughout their whole life but had set aside in order to pursue their swordsmanship. They borrowed books from anyone on the ship who would let them, offering the few books they had with them for others to read as well. Arlo had picked these up from their childhood home though they intended to purchase more when the chance arose. These books were varied in their content but they all had a special place on their shelf; one of poetry with their favorites marked with scraps of fabric sewn to the pages, one full of pictures and colorful art with a story winding between the images, and a final one with an inscription from their father’s father, a message of love from a scholar before he was lost. They trusted the crew enough to return their precious books just as the crew trusted them to return the ones they borrowed. It was a lovely bit of equilibrium that brought them joy during the long days at sea.