A Burden to Bare (Sjel)

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Styrke finished closed a book about traveling; the fifth one he had read this week alone. Styrke has been waiting for this moment all his life, but now...he felt nervous and scared. Being an expedition leader...wasn't as exciting as he thought it'd be. But, the Jarl had entrusted him with this responsibility, and there was no way he could ever waste such an opportunity. So, he pushed his feelings of anxiousness down. If he was going to be a great expedition leader like his father, he had to be brave.

Having already selected her own picks to be on the crew, the the decision of who would fill the remaining spaces was up to Styrke. He had so many Caribou to choose from, so many he knew and trusted... But, there was one choice he already had decided.

Sjel Jernsdottar. Ship engineer, member of a family his own is in debt to, and childhood friend. Not only was she one of the best engineers in the village (at least in Styrke's opinion), she was a close friend of his that he's trust his life to. Not to mention, after her father saved Styrke's own father's life on an expedition years ago, the Kenhet family was now indebted to her's. Though he would hope it wouldn't come down to having to save Sjel's life to repay the debt, Styrke hoped that perhaps taking her with him on the expedition would lead to event that would allow him to repay the debt.

Standing up and walking out of his home, Styrke pondered where she may be. It was only for a moment though, as he quickly remembered how she often spent a lot of her time down by the docks. Making his way down to the docks, Styrke admired the autumn sunset. Fall was a beautiful but short lived time of the year in Trottheim, as it did not take long for the leaves to fall, and then the snow soon after. But, in this brief period of time, Styrke could enjoy the transition from summer to winter while it lasted.

Once he reached the docks, Styrke looked around at the Caribou busily moving about. Many of them were preparing for the expedition, loading equipment into the ship that Styrke would soon be commanding. Spotting Sjel, Styrke trotted over to her. "Sjel? I need to have a word with you."

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Sjel stared out upon the water in front of them. For so long, she had looked at this same bank from either this spot or one near it. She would dream about building ships that could embark from here to anywhere in the world. Once, she had even thought of ships that could go even father than that. As she had grown older, she had contributed to sea faring vessels and had watched those creations leave. Now she was an adult, a voting member of the community. Things would begin to change for her as she would be entrusted to larger proportions of each project.

The water offered them more than a way out, however. She did not loathe their community. These waters also provided fish and she was told they helped with the weather in some way. She never really understood that part and had little patience for the explanation. She had no envy of those who had been born with gifts requiring such studies.

Lost in thought, she didn't notice her friend approach her until he spoke up. The two of them had gotten into their fair share of local adventures, at least as often as he could be torn away from reading. He father had cemented a bond between their families when he had saved the life of Kenhet. While she had worried such a debt might be bothersome, it had yet to cause any problems. ”Oh, Styrke, yeah sure,” she agreed, having no reason to deny him. She didn't know what this talk could be about, but she could stare at the water any time.

”What's going on? Nothing too bad, right?” She asked, doing her best not to jump to any conclusions. She was a lover of stories, so her mind could easily find ways to fill in the gaps if she let it. Styrke didn't seem to be in a dismal mood, so she didn't believe she had any reason to worry. Still, if things were casual, he probably wouldn't have approached her in the way that he had.