Long after the stranger is gone, Tanis' dark brown eyes continue to stare at the door through which he had departed, as if down into a dark well.

For once, the brooding ranger has no wry comment or anecdotal gallows humor.  Finally he swallows and looks away, his own drink forgotten.

(OOC:  ready to move on.)

Night falls, and you make your way to the harbour to execute the ambush on the drow skiff meant to be coming in any moment now, although when you arrive, there’s no sign of it on the tumultuous horizon, or any visuals on the mercenary guild member you expected to be here to complete the deal, which is strange, as you’d think they’d want to be somewhat visible to assure their trade partner can make it to them. Overall, aside from the crashing waves, things are far more quiet and desolate then you expected. Maybe too much so…

Warrick grips his crossbow handle in nervous anticipation, so much so he finds himself constantly needing to strech his arms as they seem to be cramping. Perhaps we were given bad or partial information about this job. Certainly too quiet, artificially quiet it feels. Warrick wants to call it off but refuses to be the first to throw in the towel this time.

"Maybe they were tipped off that we were here snooping around," Zifni whispers to his companions, his intense eyes and sharp ears searching for any signs of movement.

Tanis grunts.  His low mutter is philosophical as usual as he takes in the feeling of the docks.

"Night like this...  Makes a man wonder who's the ambusher and who's the one being ambushed, yeah?"

The ranger does a slow 360, peering through the storm and gloom for unexpected watchers in the spots he had picked out on their initial reconnaissance.

Perception:  13

Thamul stays at his chosen spot, waiting for what's gonna happen.

The party lingers in anticipation, unsure of what's to come, and Tanis peers about him, scanning every corner around. At first he can't see anything of note, but then spots something that sends chills down even his spine: the moonlit shadows of figures pressed up behind crates stretched out along the sodden cobbles, all around, and he counts about seven in total. Before he can get the words out to raise the alarm of an ambush, he's interrupted by the clinking of metal. Out from behind a large crate to the west, a tall, slender figure steps forth, wearing a luxurious purple rain cloak fastened with a large gold chain set with rubies, which knocks again the expensive necklace and medallions he wears below as he steps out from his hiding place. The brim of his hood covers his eyes, but a lock of light blonde hair hangs down the bridge of his nose, and his smile is fully visible. Amused, he says 'Well, well, well, didn't think anyone would actually pick up and follow that rumour we sent floating around. Seems a decent catch though; five in total, and seem to be the adventuring sort.' He sniffs and mutters 'Thought you'd come here to thwart our dark deal like some sort of gang of heroes, or are you just here with the more realistic ambitions of nabbing the payload for yourself? Well, your reasoning matters not...weapons, wands and spellbooks sell finely, so you're an ideal troupe to have caught.' He waves a hand, and you notice the other bandits of the unknown mercenary guild that set you up have crawled out of their hiding places, although they seem much less put together than their ringleader. The man in question is now stepping backwards into the cover of the sea mist and nighttime gloom, giving his goons a parting instruction to 'not pierce the armour and keep the blades intact.' You'd make chase, but fear the thieves would be on you before you'd get a chance to catch up to the individual. Your best option now seems to be to fight your way out of this mess. Investigation, interrogation, and sweet revenge can come later.

Roll for initiative!

[I've put Selene on the map though I'm not entirely sure if her player is still that active. In the case that they're not, I'll bot her for this battle before looking at what to do. Colours remain the same from last battle, so Thamul Blue, Warrick Orange, Tanis Green, Zifni Light Blue and Selene Red]

Initiative: 22