The Artisan and The Half Elf

We had finally boarded a ship from Lakefoss to Veilfall, a big, old merchant ship that had been making that trip and back every few weeks for a good dozen years, the sailors tell me. Most of them had worked on the ship for a hex of years or more, but no one had been with it from it's maiden voyage, except for the captain, of course. A thin but hardy nu'elven man that seemed to be in his late 50s, he wouldn't speak much, save yelling out orders, but would answer unceremoniously if spoken to, his face was covered in small, but numerous scars that went from the top of his bald head to some uncertain point below his neck as they disappeared underneath a well-kept linen shirt.

It was nearly daybreak when the ship set sail, but we had been on it since the previous afternoon, watching the crew make preparations for the trip. It made me feel rather guilty to be sitting doing nothing as the sailors moved around dragging crates in and out the vessel, but they didn't seem to need help, even when offered the only answer I got was a somewhat annoyed "No need, we're doing fine", it didn't make me feel less guilty.

But then I realized something that did lessened that burden, but laid down another one, one of mystery. A quiet figure, also sitting on the other side of the deck under a thick, dark, woolen cloak that covered whoever was under it from head to toe, seemingly uninvolved in the crew's hard work. I decided that once the trip had started I would approach them if they remained as still as before, and so they did, then so I did.

"Good morning", I said, waving and softly smiling and soon as I was within earshot of the figure.

A disarming and charismatic "To you as well", followed by a gentle smile was the unexpected but welcoming response I got from who I now could see was an old half-elven lady, wearing the marks of what seemed like a century old life, coupled with the jewelry I could only guess was a gift from her travelling ancestry.

"You don't seem to part of the crew", I said in a questioning tone.

"That's because I'm not" the lady quickly answered starring with a playful smirk, "and neither are you", she added.

"Is the boredom that clear?"

"No, your hands revealed you"

"Oh, so you're a palm reader!?", I asked, looking back to all the stories my mother used to tell me about the half-elves. But she let out a soft chuckle after hearing my question, leaving me puzzled as to what could have amused her.

"That I am, but it doesn't take a palm reader to see your hands don't belong to a sailor"

"Well, I could be a commander of some sort"

She paused for a moment.

"For that you lack the eyes, dear"

I held my protests, even though I didn't fully understand what she meant by that, she seemed sure of what she said.

"Well, what do you think I am, then?"

She starred at me from top to bottom, observing every detail, then stopped for a moment to assess what she had seen.

"You're posh, but not posh enough to get a proper cabin in a proper ship. You wear noble clothes, but no colors of any family in Lakefoss or Veilfall, or any family I know for that matter, so you either made or stole your own fortune, most likely the former. You have strong hands and long fingers, but they're both smooth as a baby's backside, so probably an artist. Your skin is too well kept for a glazier; you don't wear enough jewelry for a goldsmith; not posh enough for a stone mason; I'd say you're either a painter or a ceramist."

With that said she reached for my right hand for a closer look.

"The stuff under your nails is quite colorful, dear. I'd say you're a painter tending to guild business in Veilfall, or another taken city."

Then she looked at me with a playful smile.

"How close am I?" she asked expectantly.

"Quite close, eerily so, even."

I was still shocked at how much she guessed right from a simple look.

"Only quite?" she added.

"Well, this residue under my nails is from glazes. I'm actually a ceramist. But I do work with painting pottery a lot more than making it. As for the rest, you hit every nail."

"Oh, well. I must be getting sloppy, should have thought of that. But you never can get everything right every time." she said in a disappointed tone.

"Don't be too hard on yourself, that was the best fortune telling I've seen." I answered, trying to get her hopes up.

"Oh, dear, no. That wasn't fortune telling, that was just a silly game. You don't need a third eye to see what I saw, just a sharp one."

[unfinished draft]