Lelith discreetly approached the inn owner and whispered something, he whispered back with a shrug of his shoulders. Lelith looked pensive before she heard Rumble's words and acquiesced. She went to bring the mounts out of the stables and put their belongings back on the cart along with her companions. Additionally, she stepped behind the cart for a moment, her clothes shifted as she portrayed Lady Aleesia once more. "I'll speak to our good Captain."
The groom brought the mounts up from the stables. They looked good; manes and fur had been combed, hooves cleaned, saddles oiled for the road. The animals were in good spirits like they had eaten and rested well.
With the 3 gold pieces having been exchanged, and last minute pleasantries as well, the party was free to depart for the port. It was indeed jumping this morning. An early morning fog was rising off the Fantasia River, but there was something clinging to it as well. Smoke. Something was smoking in the harbor, and further investigation upon nearing the docks revealed that one of the ships, smaller than the Scorpion, was smoking and part of the foredeck had been damaged. It was black, and crews were working to spread buckets of water over the smoldering wood.
"How far up river were they when they ran?" A voice asked. It sounded like Olrod.
"They chased us until near midnight, then we skirmished, then rolled toward the port. Maybe four, five hours? Hard to say exactly. They went back toward the coast when they realized they'd bit off more than they could chew."
Captain Saewulf had his dozen sailors running about the deck of the Scorpion already. They were hauling ballistas out from under the deck, and two were assembling a small trebuchet on the bow. Another sailor was making trips from a nearby warehouse with a handcart, and was taking shielded planks up to hang over the sides of the ship for armor. There was a pile of stuff on the main deck where the ship was disassembling the fishing equipment.
"You get this down to Olrod and make sure he signs it, you hear?" Alwyne says as he hands a rolled piece of paper and a small purse of coins to one of his deck hands. He seemed agitated, and the more agitated he was the more his sea-speech tried to poke through. He resorted to talking to himself as the sailor busied off. "Try an' make a livin' other'an makin' yer beard gray an' the blasted problems come lookin' for ye."
"You get this down to Olrod and make sure he signs it, you hear?" Alwyne says as he hands a rolled piece of paper and a small purse of coins to one of his deck hands. He seemed agitated, and the more agitated he was the more his sea-speech tried to poke through. He resorted to talking to himself as the sailor busied off. "Try an' make a livin' other'an makin' yer beard gray an' the blasted problems come lookin' for ye."
Lelith decided to make her approach with a worried smile. This didn't really bode well for their trip up the river... "Greetings, Captain Alwyne. Is everything alright?"
Rum jumps down from the cart and wanders over to the person explaining what had happened.
”Greetings friend. I don’t mean to intrude, but do I understand correctly you were attacked by a ship that headed off towards the coast? To God’s Eye? You see we are looking for passage in that direction so it may impact us”, he asks politely, motioning towards the scorpion as he mentioned their passage.
"Eh? Right fine, Miss...I forgot your name." Alwyne says. He looks disheveled and busy. "Gotta get this ol' warhorse ready to sail. The Beagle was attacked down river last night. Didn't see what were, as you imagine out thar in the dark. But Olrod, he's asked me to gather a crew and go deal with it. We knew it was comin', damn troubles out at sea, now in the river. Oy', world's a mess nowdays."
___
"That's right." One of the sailors said as he was handing buckets of water up the gangplank, helping the line that was chaining water up and down the Beagle. "We were attacked this side of the Eye. Not sure by what. Dark as pitch out there last night."
The sailor looked back toward the Scorpion.
"Ol' Seawolf is going after whatever buggers did this." The sailor said with a smirk. "Bad business for them, I'd reckon. They don't call him Seawolf for no reason, and they didn't name that ship the Scorpion for being a right fine pleasure barge."
"Eh? Right fine, Miss...I forgot your name." Alwyne says. He looks disheveled and busy. "Gotta get this ol' warhorse ready to sail. The Beagle was attacked down river last night. Didn't see what were, as you imagine out thar in the dark. But Olrod, he's asked me to gather a crew and go deal with it. We knew it was comin', damn troubles out at sea, now in the river. Oy', world's a mess nowdays."
"You can just call me miss or lady if you prefer," Lelith replied, it did save her a lot of trouble. "And the world is always a mess. It's just a new one for each generation. Myself and mine companions are capable people. Perhaps, in exchange for our help, you would allow us passage along the way to God's Eye? It is on the way. And you might need the help."
Greko approaches with the amulet swaying over the top of his robe as he lurches over walking with the help of his walking stick waiting to speak and aid the harbor master and captain
Seeing that his party had a good grip on the negotiating and information-gathering side of things, Ro elected to assist the sailors. He looked for a gap in the chain of sailors passing water buckets and ran over, "I'll help you out." Without waiting for a response, the elf-dwarf joins the chain and begins passing along buckets of water.
"World's ne'er been a mess like this." Alwyne says, writing off her words. He's more interested in his ship than talking, clearly. "Still, I dunno if you want to do this, capable or not. This is nas'y business, you understand."
He pointed at a sailor up on deck.
"Clean! Get below deck as soon as possible and bring up the black sails. I want 'em hoisted! An' bring up Stinger too!"
He turned back to Lelith.
"You need to have a real conversation with your people, Miss. There's gonna be blood, and lots o' it. An...by the Tetrea..."
He trailed off. Two things happened simultaneously. First, the crowd noticed AURYN hanging around Greko's neck. People began to gather and murmur amongst themselves. 'The Empress', 'AURYN', 'heroes', 'we're saved'. That, of course, is when Alwyne saw AURYN.
"Maiden's Mercy, but ifin I ever." Alwyne said, running his fingers through his hair. "Miss, who are you people, and what are ye about?"
__________
"Much obliged." One of the sailors says, handing a bucket of water to Ro as they continue to pass it up the chain.
"No sir, not pirates." The other sailor tells Rum. "I mean, yeah, there was something big as a boat in the river at one point chasin' them, but there was all these little jumpin' bastards everywhere, I understand, and then they set the Beagle on fire trying to get everyone to jump overboard! Barely got the fire out before they had to."
Greko smiles before speaking up "Hello, I am Greko the Green. Keeper of the Faron Woods. We are 1 of 3 bands of emissaries from the empress to help rid the world of the various evils that plague the land. We would be happy to aid you for a ride on your ship if that is acceptable?"
"World's ne'er been a mess like this." Alwyne says, writing off her words. He's more interested in his ship than talking, clearly. "Still, I dunno if you want to do this, capable or not. This is nas'y business, you understand."
He pointed at a sailor up on deck.
"Clean! Get below deck as soon as possible and bring up the black sails. I want 'em hoisted! An' bring up Stinger too!"
He turned back to Lelith.
"You need to have a real conversation with your people, Miss. There's gonna be blood, and lots o' it. An...by the Tetrea..."
He trailed off. Two things happened simultaneously. First, the crowd noticed AURYN hanging around Greko's neck. People began to gather and murmur amongst themselves. 'The Empress', 'AURYN', 'heroes', 'we're saved'. That, of course, is when Alwyne saw AURYN.
"Maiden's Mercy, but ifin I ever." Alwyne said, running his fingers through his hair. "Miss, who are you people, and what are ye about?"
Lelith looked a bit annoyed, they didn't need that much attention. She expected the enemy to have ears and eyes everywhere, the Empress summoning heroes to 'save the world' was no secret. The whereabouts of said 'heroes', however, were unknown. Until now. As soon as they reach Hylia, they'll have to expect quite a reception unless the enemy was truly foolish. "What we are about, is getting to God's Eye. And then Hylia, as soon as possible. Which you promised to arrange with us the following day. My companions are ready to brave whatever monstrosity lurks down the river. Even if they are not, they have little choice as you already know now. Our task is of utmost priority. Now, would you have us, Captain Alwyne? I am trusting you with my life and that of my companions while we are aboard that ship. The harbourmaster says there is no better Captain in Fantasia than you and I think what lies down the river will be overcome; you did not live this long without acquiring the skills and wisdom that would allow you to sail the waters and come back time and time again."
Rum listens to the sailor speak as he continues to pass buckets along, but is a bit unsure by what they are saying. Something the size of a boat but not a boat, little jumping things setting fire to the boat, it was all very strange.
"Were you there on the Beagle when it happened?", he asks wondering if this was second hand knowledge. "It would be good to talk to someone who was if you weren't, because it doesn't make much sense to me right now".
Alwyne is surprised by Greko, the appearance of AURYN, and the bold words of the old Lizardfolk as he offers their assistance to the crew of the Scorpion. It's clear by the way that old Saewulf looks from Greko, to Lelith, and back to Greko that he originally thought he had been talking to master and servant, but now realizes they're a team or partnership of some sort.
"That is very kind of ye, mister...mister...I must apologize to you." He says, looking from Greko and back to Lelith. "I haven't paid attention to any of yer names."
The crowd continues to gawk at AURYN, the state of reverence is clear, like the people around Greko are having a religious experience or witnessing a miracle.
"I've never seen it before."
"The Empress, she has us in her heart."
"AURYN shall restore..."
Saewulf heard all this, and then looked rather displeased.
"I never promised no such thing." He said, correcting Lelith. "I said be here this morning with a payment proposal an' where you wanted to go but gods be damned I didn't know ye'd be showin' up with the friggin' AURYN! I know you two are sayin' you're ready to fight, but are ye really? I'm half a crew shor' an' my biggest weapon is broke, and they say this thing is twenty feet tall and there's little bouncy bastards with it an' you want me to take ye along when ye won't even tell me who you are? Honeyed words don't go far when you're hidin' who ye are."
Alwyne suddenly looked mad, and turned around, watching his sailors scramble about as they bolted down the ballistas.
________
"I was." The sailor said to Rum, answering the question. "Ain't much sense to make I don't guess. There was something big in the river, and then someone said there were little things with it, and then it swept up Ruben and Mateo and ate them..."
Greko smiles at the captain and speaks a little louder for people to hear. "We do need a ride to God's Eye so we may find a ride to Hylia in the name of the empress. She has tasked us with helping the realm from the dangers you speak of. We can bypass the danger if you feel it would be too dangerous for your crew, ship, and us. Would you be able to do take us to God's Eye? We have cargo that would also need to be escorted for our long trip across the sea."
Rum nods solemnly. "I am sorry to hear about your compatriots, that sounds horrifying. Something must be done if there is a large beast terrorising the river, please excuse me", he says and slips out of the bucket chain, waving to Ro so he knew he was going.
He sees Lelith and Greko still in talks with the captain of the Scorpion and leaves them to it, heading back to the cart to update the others with what he heard.
"It seems the boat there, the Beagle, was set upon by a large beast as it returned to port. Apparently by cover of darkness, I did not glean whether natural or not, the beast attacked aided by smaller creatures which jumped around and tried to set fire to the boat. At least two sailors were swept overboard and eaten!", he says to Yam, Tuto and Ro (if he returns as well).
"Agreeing passage on the Scorpion could also mean tackling this beast, and whilst not our primary quest, I feel these folk need our help".
Saewulf heard all this, and then looked rather displeased.
"I never promised no such thing." He said, correcting Lelith. "I said be here this morning with a payment proposal an' where you wanted to go but gods be damned I didn't know ye'd be showin' up with the friggin' AURYN! I know you two are sayin' you're ready to fight, but are ye really? I'm half a crew shor' an' my biggest weapon is broke, and they say this thing is twenty feet tall and there's little bouncy bastards with it an' you want me to take ye along when ye won't even tell me who you are? Honeyed words don't go far when you're hidin' who ye are."
Alwyne suddenly looked mad, and turned around, watching his sailors scramble about as they bolted down the ballistas.
"You made no direct promise, indeed. You merely acquiesced to the possibility by giving me some form of hope and suggesting that you'd agree to it should our gold be sufficient enough the following morning or a 'payment proposal' as you say." Lelith looked annoyed by the Captain's dodgy behaviour. "I had already been open enough about our destination, God's Eye. And should the Gods give us any fortune, further toward Hylia. I had presented myself as well, you merely do not remember my name nor that of my companions."
"I had thought we could do this discreetly without revealing to the world where we are going." Lelith glanced pointedly toward Greko. "Captain, we have an enemy that threatens the safety of the world. Are you really going to blame us for not wishing to divulge our whereabouts to just anyone? Please, be reasonable. The least we could do for taking us aboard the boat is help you and if we cannot even deal with a local threat... How can we hope to deal with the threat that looms over the entirety of Hyboria?"
Ro hands off one last bucket through the chain before following Rum's lead. Ro listens to Rum's retelling of the sailor's story, "It is unfortunate that lives have been lost, I am in favor of helping the good people here if it doesn't cause us to deviate too much from our original goal. Mayhaps as we travel aboard the Scorpion, we will run into the beasts and can offer our aid in dealing with them."
Ro takes a glance over to Lelith and Greko, and sees the crowd gathering around the duo. He hears voices in the crowd shouting things about heroes and the AURYN. "I wonder how things are going on the negotiating end." Ro breaks off from Rum's group and makes his way through the crowd of people.
Moments later, Ro finds his way to Lelith and Greko as they speak to Saewulf. Seeing that Lelith was currently preoccupied with persuading the captain, Ro puts a hand softly on Greko's shoulder to make him aware of his presence. Ro then whispers to Greko, "How are things going on this end? Have we secured passage to God's Eye? And what's with the crowd of peo-"Ro cuts his last question short as he sees the AURYN hanging freely from Greko's neck, the answer to his last question was clear, "Ah I see, the crowd is no surprise then."
Greko smiles at Ro appreciating the support turns to face them and whispers quietly to Ro
"Yes, I thought that maybe the captain seeing the Auryn would temper Lelith's words but it seemed to have made her more....angsty. It is hard to tell with her. I tried to be polite and tactful with the captain but it seemed to anger her"
Ro looks at Lelith and Saewulf, although he was not present for whatever conversation the two had he could see the discontent on both of their faces. Ro then turned to look at the crowd. So many people were watching him. So many. Too many. Ro's face grows pale for a moment before a voice chimes in, "Hey, get yourself together Ro. Now ain't the time to chicken out, you got a job to do right?" It was Kazek, the sentient book strapped to Ro's waist and he was right. The group needed to get to Hylia in due haste, and every moment wasted here was more time for Blix to make his way to the Lord of Darkness.
The elf-dwarf took a deep breath to compose himself, color returning to his face as he puts on his practiced smile. Ro then joins into Leltih's and Saewulf's conversation with a calm voice, "Excuse me, I'm sorry for butting into the conversation. I am a companion to the lizardfolk and madam here. As it has become aware to all, we have been handpicked by the Childlike Empress, herself, to take care of a rather grave matter in Hylia. We have come here from the Ivory Tower in hopes of seeking passage across the sea. I've been informed that you are willing to strike a deal with our group to take us to God's Eye, but I see now that the situation has changed." Ro says as he glances at the smoking boat and Saewulf's men arming the Scorpion to the teeth. "Initially, we planned to offer you coin in exchange for board on your ship, but I see that what you need most right now isn't coin but able bodies. I would make this deal with you: take us to God's Eye, as I assume was your original destination before last night's incident, and in exchange our group offers you the aid of Hyboria's finest. I assure you that our aid is worth more than what coin can do for you in the apparent battle to come."
Lelith discreetly approached the inn owner and whispered something, he whispered back with a shrug of his shoulders. Lelith looked pensive before she heard Rumble's words and acquiesced. She went to bring the mounts out of the stables and put their belongings back on the cart along with her companions. Additionally, she stepped behind the cart for a moment, her clothes shifted as she portrayed Lady Aleesia once more. "I'll speak to our good Captain."
The groom brought the mounts up from the stables. They looked good; manes and fur had been combed, hooves cleaned, saddles oiled for the road. The animals were in good spirits like they had eaten and rested well.
With the 3 gold pieces having been exchanged, and last minute pleasantries as well, the party was free to depart for the port. It was indeed jumping this morning. An early morning fog was rising off the Fantasia River, but there was something clinging to it as well. Smoke. Something was smoking in the harbor, and further investigation upon nearing the docks revealed that one of the ships, smaller than the Scorpion, was smoking and part of the foredeck had been damaged. It was black, and crews were working to spread buckets of water over the smoldering wood.
"How far up river were they when they ran?" A voice asked. It sounded like Olrod.
"They chased us until near midnight, then we skirmished, then rolled toward the port. Maybe four, five hours? Hard to say exactly. They went back toward the coast when they realized they'd bit off more than they could chew."
Captain Saewulf had his dozen sailors running about the deck of the Scorpion already. They were hauling ballistas out from under the deck, and two were assembling a small trebuchet on the bow. Another sailor was making trips from a nearby warehouse with a handcart, and was taking shielded planks up to hang over the sides of the ship for armor. There was a pile of stuff on the main deck where the ship was disassembling the fishing equipment.
"You get this down to Olrod and make sure he signs it, you hear?" Alwyne says as he hands a rolled piece of paper and a small purse of coins to one of his deck hands. He seemed agitated, and the more agitated he was the more his sea-speech tried to poke through. He resorted to talking to himself as the sailor busied off. "Try an' make a livin' other'an makin' yer beard gray an' the blasted problems come lookin' for ye."
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
Lelith decided to make her approach with a worried smile. This didn't really bode well for their trip up the river... "Greetings, Captain Alwyne. Is everything alright?"
Rum jumps down from the cart and wanders over to the person explaining what had happened.
”Greetings friend. I don’t mean to intrude, but do I understand correctly you were attacked by a ship that headed off towards the coast? To God’s Eye? You see we are looking for passage in that direction so it may impact us”, he asks politely, motioning towards the scorpion as he mentioned their passage.
”Of course it may also be we can help”, he adds.
"Eh? Right fine, Miss...I forgot your name." Alwyne says. He looks disheveled and busy. "Gotta get this ol' warhorse ready to sail. The Beagle was attacked down river last night. Didn't see what were, as you imagine out thar in the dark. But Olrod, he's asked me to gather a crew and go deal with it. We knew it was comin', damn troubles out at sea, now in the river. Oy', world's a mess nowdays."
___
"That's right." One of the sailors said as he was handing buckets of water up the gangplank, helping the line that was chaining water up and down the Beagle. "We were attacked this side of the Eye. Not sure by what. Dark as pitch out there last night."
The sailor looked back toward the Scorpion.
"Ol' Seawolf is going after whatever buggers did this." The sailor said with a smirk. "Bad business for them, I'd reckon. They don't call him Seawolf for no reason, and they didn't name that ship the Scorpion for being a right fine pleasure barge."
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
"You can just call me miss or lady if you prefer," Lelith replied, it did save her a lot of trouble. "And the world is always a mess. It's just a new one for each generation. Myself and mine companions are capable people. Perhaps, in exchange for our help, you would allow us passage along the way to God's Eye? It is on the way. And you might need the help."
Greko approaches with the amulet swaying over the top of his robe as he lurches over walking with the help of his walking stick waiting to speak and aid the harbor master and captain
Seeing that his party had a good grip on the negotiating and information-gathering side of things, Ro elected to assist the sailors. He looked for a gap in the chain of sailors passing water buckets and ran over, "I'll help you out." Without waiting for a response, the elf-dwarf joins the chain and begins passing along buckets of water.
Ro Aleron (Ro the Red) -> Illithid, Wizard 8 (Chronugist) // AURYN
Rum narrows his eyes in thought. "Dark as pitch you say. Is that usual or perhaps a tactic of these pirates, some magic effect?".
Seeing Ro join the bucket line he steps in himself next to the sailor he is talking to, so as to carry on the conversation.
"World's ne'er been a mess like this." Alwyne says, writing off her words. He's more interested in his ship than talking, clearly. "Still, I dunno if you want to do this, capable or not. This is nas'y business, you understand."
He pointed at a sailor up on deck.
"Clean! Get below deck as soon as possible and bring up the black sails. I want 'em hoisted! An' bring up Stinger too!"
He turned back to Lelith.
"You need to have a real conversation with your people, Miss. There's gonna be blood, and lots o' it. An...by the Tetrea..."
He trailed off. Two things happened simultaneously. First, the crowd noticed AURYN hanging around Greko's neck. People began to gather and murmur amongst themselves. 'The Empress', 'AURYN', 'heroes', 'we're saved'. That, of course, is when Alwyne saw AURYN.
"Maiden's Mercy, but ifin I ever." Alwyne said, running his fingers through his hair. "Miss, who are you people, and what are ye about?"
__________
"Much obliged." One of the sailors says, handing a bucket of water to Ro as they continue to pass it up the chain.
"No sir, not pirates." The other sailor tells Rum. "I mean, yeah, there was something big as a boat in the river at one point chasin' them, but there was all these little jumpin' bastards everywhere, I understand, and then they set the Beagle on fire trying to get everyone to jump overboard! Barely got the fire out before they had to."
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
Greko smiles before speaking up "Hello, I am Greko the Green. Keeper of the Faron Woods. We are 1 of 3 bands of emissaries from the empress to help rid the world of the various evils that plague the land. We would be happy to aid you for a ride on your ship if that is acceptable?"
Lelith looked a bit annoyed, they didn't need that much attention. She expected the enemy to have ears and eyes everywhere, the Empress summoning heroes to 'save the world' was no secret. The whereabouts of said 'heroes', however, were unknown. Until now. As soon as they reach Hylia, they'll have to expect quite a reception unless the enemy was truly foolish. "What we are about, is getting to God's Eye. And then Hylia, as soon as possible. Which you promised to arrange with us the following day. My companions are ready to brave whatever monstrosity lurks down the river. Even if they are not, they have little choice as you already know now. Our task is of utmost priority. Now, would you have us, Captain Alwyne? I am trusting you with my life and that of my companions while we are aboard that ship. The harbourmaster says there is no better Captain in Fantasia than you and I think what lies down the river will be overcome; you did not live this long without acquiring the skills and wisdom that would allow you to sail the waters and come back time and time again."
Rum listens to the sailor speak as he continues to pass buckets along, but is a bit unsure by what they are saying. Something the size of a boat but not a boat, little jumping things setting fire to the boat, it was all very strange.
"Were you there on the Beagle when it happened?", he asks wondering if this was second hand knowledge. "It would be good to talk to someone who was if you weren't, because it doesn't make much sense to me right now".
Alwyne is surprised by Greko, the appearance of AURYN, and the bold words of the old Lizardfolk as he offers their assistance to the crew of the Scorpion. It's clear by the way that old Saewulf looks from Greko, to Lelith, and back to Greko that he originally thought he had been talking to master and servant, but now realizes they're a team or partnership of some sort.
"That is very kind of ye, mister...mister...I must apologize to you." He says, looking from Greko and back to Lelith. "I haven't paid attention to any of yer names."
The crowd continues to gawk at AURYN, the state of reverence is clear, like the people around Greko are having a religious experience or witnessing a miracle.
"I've never seen it before."
"The Empress, she has us in her heart."
"AURYN shall restore..."
Saewulf heard all this, and then looked rather displeased.
"I never promised no such thing." He said, correcting Lelith. "I said be here this morning with a payment proposal an' where you wanted to go but gods be damned I didn't know ye'd be showin' up with the friggin' AURYN! I know you two are sayin' you're ready to fight, but are ye really? I'm half a crew shor' an' my biggest weapon is broke, and they say this thing is twenty feet tall and there's little bouncy bastards with it an' you want me to take ye along when ye won't even tell me who you are? Honeyed words don't go far when you're hidin' who ye are."
Alwyne suddenly looked mad, and turned around, watching his sailors scramble about as they bolted down the ballistas.
________
"I was." The sailor said to Rum, answering the question. "Ain't much sense to make I don't guess. There was something big in the river, and then someone said there were little things with it, and then it swept up Ruben and Mateo and ate them..."
He trailed off after that and got quiet.
DM of AURYN: The Measure of Devotion - Escape from New York
Greko smiles at the captain and speaks a little louder for people to hear. "We do need a ride to God's Eye so we may find a ride to Hylia in the name of the empress. She has tasked us with helping the realm from the dangers you speak of. We can bypass the danger if you feel it would be too dangerous for your crew, ship, and us. Would you be able to do take us to God's Eye? We have cargo that would also need to be escorted for our long trip across the sea."
Rum nods solemnly. "I am sorry to hear about your compatriots, that sounds horrifying. Something must be done if there is a large beast terrorising the river, please excuse me", he says and slips out of the bucket chain, waving to Ro so he knew he was going.
He sees Lelith and Greko still in talks with the captain of the Scorpion and leaves them to it, heading back to the cart to update the others with what he heard.
"It seems the boat there, the Beagle, was set upon by a large beast as it returned to port. Apparently by cover of darkness, I did not glean whether natural or not, the beast attacked aided by smaller creatures which jumped around and tried to set fire to the boat. At least two sailors were swept overboard and eaten!", he says to Yam, Tuto and Ro (if he returns as well).
"Agreeing passage on the Scorpion could also mean tackling this beast, and whilst not our primary quest, I feel these folk need our help".
"You made no direct promise, indeed. You merely acquiesced to the possibility by giving me some form of hope and suggesting that you'd agree to it should our gold be sufficient enough the following morning or a 'payment proposal' as you say." Lelith looked annoyed by the Captain's dodgy behaviour. "I had already been open enough about our destination, God's Eye. And should the Gods give us any fortune, further toward Hylia. I had presented myself as well, you merely do not remember my name nor that of my companions."
"I had thought we could do this discreetly without revealing to the world where we are going." Lelith glanced pointedly toward Greko. "Captain, we have an enemy that threatens the safety of the world. Are you really going to blame us for not wishing to divulge our whereabouts to just anyone? Please, be reasonable. The least we could do for taking us aboard the boat is help you and if we cannot even deal with a local threat... How can we hope to deal with the threat that looms over the entirety of Hyboria?"
Ro hands off one last bucket through the chain before following Rum's lead. Ro listens to Rum's retelling of the sailor's story, "It is unfortunate that lives have been lost, I am in favor of helping the good people here if it doesn't cause us to deviate too much from our original goal. Mayhaps as we travel aboard the Scorpion, we will run into the beasts and can offer our aid in dealing with them."
Ro takes a glance over to Lelith and Greko, and sees the crowd gathering around the duo. He hears voices in the crowd shouting things about heroes and the AURYN. "I wonder how things are going on the negotiating end." Ro breaks off from Rum's group and makes his way through the crowd of people.
Moments later, Ro finds his way to Lelith and Greko as they speak to Saewulf. Seeing that Lelith was currently preoccupied with persuading the captain, Ro puts a hand softly on Greko's shoulder to make him aware of his presence. Ro then whispers to Greko, "How are things going on this end? Have we secured passage to God's Eye? And what's with the crowd of peo-" Ro cuts his last question short as he sees the AURYN hanging freely from Greko's neck, the answer to his last question was clear, "Ah I see, the crowd is no surprise then."
Ro Aleron (Ro the Red) -> Illithid, Wizard 8 (Chronugist) // AURYN
Greko smiles at Ro appreciating the support turns to face them and whispers quietly to Ro
"Yes, I thought that maybe the captain seeing the Auryn would temper Lelith's words but it seemed to have made her more....angsty. It is hard to tell with her. I tried to be polite and tactful with the captain but it seemed to anger her"
Greko says with a shrug
Ro looks at Lelith and Saewulf, although he was not present for whatever conversation the two had he could see the discontent on both of their faces. Ro then turned to look at the crowd. So many people were watching him. So many. Too many. Ro's face grows pale for a moment before a voice chimes in, "Hey, get yourself together Ro. Now ain't the time to chicken out, you got a job to do right?" It was Kazek, the sentient book strapped to Ro's waist and he was right. The group needed to get to Hylia in due haste, and every moment wasted here was more time for Blix to make his way to the Lord of Darkness.
The elf-dwarf took a deep breath to compose himself, color returning to his face as he puts on his practiced smile. Ro then joins into Leltih's and Saewulf's conversation with a calm voice, "Excuse me, I'm sorry for butting into the conversation. I am a companion to the lizardfolk and madam here. As it has become aware to all, we have been handpicked by the Childlike Empress, herself, to take care of a rather grave matter in Hylia. We have come here from the Ivory Tower in hopes of seeking passage across the sea. I've been informed that you are willing to strike a deal with our group to take us to God's Eye, but I see now that the situation has changed." Ro says as he glances at the smoking boat and Saewulf's men arming the Scorpion to the teeth. "Initially, we planned to offer you coin in exchange for board on your ship, but I see that what you need most right now isn't coin but able bodies. I would make this deal with you: take us to God's Eye, as I assume was your original destination before last night's incident, and in exchange our group offers you the aid of Hyboria's finest. I assure you that our aid is worth more than what coin can do for you in the apparent battle to come."
Ro Aleron (Ro the Red) -> Illithid, Wizard 8 (Chronugist) // AURYN