Kiven stands in the camp out of earshot of the ship's crew and says "that's the 'ship' ?"  "I retract my previous estimates, Mr. Jack, we are most definitely going to sink.  She's half submerged already!"

  Jesla eyes Kiven and Eya before answering.  " It's passed down through my family.  As far back as I know anyways.  One day when I was younger I got really angry.  I felt myself changing into a tiger.  It was  hard to control at first.  It's easy to give free reign to the beast within. I've got a level of control now.  I only transform when I'm angry.  It only lasts a short amount of time.  It is counted a blessing amongst my people.  We are one with nature and it's wrath.  " She looks away thoughtfully as they mention magical augmentation.  " Hmm... that might be worth a chance.  It would be to glorify Gorum after all.  I would still be the sword of the Lord in Iron.  " 

  Seeing the ship she grins.  " This is a decent ship.  It is made for sailing in shallow waters.  It will do us well once we take it for our own.  " 

   She is in her disguise now and stares at the captain. Jesla speaks softly to Respar.  " It's your turn now.  " 

Respar thanks Eya for her kind words about his ability to lie.  "Yes, I can sometimes say that day is night with a straight face and make it plausible."

As the ship approaches the shore, Respar makes sure he is in disguise.  When the captain approaches and speaks, he replies almost as tersely, "We are.  But I don't think with what you have on board you can hold us and our cargo.  Is some of that just ballast you'll dump so we can load up?"

Odenkirk eyes Respar up and down, "Everything on board is either needed for the trip or a part of your cargo. You want to lighten it you're going to have to dump some of those big shields yourself. But don't worry, The Frosthamar can handle it, she's the finest vessel you're likely to set foot on in your lifetimes. I have space for all of you with room to spare, including the big lug back there." He waves in Grumblejack's direction.

"Speaking of which, no one mentioned an ogre to me, I'll tell you right now that if he causes trouble he's going over the side."

"Now, do you have my money, or should I just sail off and claim the goods as compensation for wasting my time?"

Martha elegantly steps her way forward and looks to the man with soulless icy blue eyes. She addresses him in a calm tone that's probably a little creepy, "You must be Captain Kargeld Odenkirk. My name is Martha Rose. Do not fret my dear, we have your money right here."

With a twist of her wrist, a spectral hand appears and changes the pattern on the iron chest to the draconic symbol for greed. She opens the chest just long enough to show him the coin from afar, then closes it back and utters another phrase in draconic. Her eyes flare with arcane power and a hiss is heard as the chest locks back. 

"See? Your payment is safely locked away. You shall be duly rewarded after we have made our shipment fully and successfully. Oh and, I would strongly recommend that you do not try to open the chest. I will know." She smiles an unnerving smile towards the man. 

Rickard pursed his lips, then said, "You can always leave, but touch our goods without permission and your crew will need a new captain.  But yes, we have your coin.  Just a moment."  He walked over to where their gear was assembled with the cargo and picked up the chest.  He waved a hand over it, and muttered in soft tones that no one else could hear.  He manipulated the locking mechanism to create the rune, as Thorn had demonstrated, then opened it and carried it back to Odenkirk.  He showed him the coin.  "See, but do not touch."

Once the man nodded he locked it again, making sure the captain could not see how that was done, then once more ran a hand over it, murmuring in Celestial, "None may open save I."  Then he turned to Jesla's disguised form.  "You're our maritime expert.  Will she hold us and our cargo?"

  She studies the ship with a calculating eye.  " It will be fine for our needs.  It can take us on with no problems.  Win a race against any type of pursuer? That won't happen with this type of load.  " She looks at the captain with her wrinkled face.  " Hello captain.  I'm Johanna.   I hope that we won't be in you or your crew's way.  I trust that we will all make goid traveling companions.  " She smiles at him revealing a lot of missing teeth. 

As the boat draws close Kiven asks the party "where is my stateroom?"  Once the Captain is in close he shuts up, but does scoff when he refers to the Frosthamar as " the finest vessel you're likely to set foot on".

The disguised elf and his white bow board the ship with the others but Kiven stays quiet, just eyeing the Captain and crew.  He does not avoid eye contact as that may raise suspicion, but he does maintain a cold demeanor.  If asked he will reply that his name is Tymon, but he does not offer it to anyone otherwise.

Odenkirk's face sours as the gold is locked away from him, and he stares hard at Kiven when he scoffs about his ship, but he says nothing, grits his teeth, and waves you all onboard.

Not including the captain, eight men crew the ship, rugged sailors who work together with practiced efficiency. Swiftly, cargo is shifted to make a seating area for Grumblejack near the center of the boat, where he is encouraged to remain. Space is found for the rest of your gear swiftly enough. The sailors use long poles to back out of the bay, and turn to catch the wind and begin the journey north. By the time the sun rises, the ship is well on its way.

There are cramped spaces below deck for hammocks and additional storage, but unless the weather is foul most of the men prefer sleeping above deck anyways.

Eya walks around the ship making small talk with the various crew. She asks them how long they've been sailing, what their respective roles are, and random sailing-specific questions. She shadows the navigator of the boat the most, doing her best to learn the tricks of the trade. She takes a very academic approach to learning. Every half hour or so, she makes note of the direction they are going at that point in time using her compass, some parchment, and ink. At night she draws the placements of the brightest stars. She is constantly referring to maps and attempting to estimate the general location of the boat on the seas over time.

She has Grumblejack guard the chest or at the very least stay near it. She takes some time to check up on him too, "How are you feeling Grumblejack? I know the motion of a boat can be very strange if you aren't used to it.

She also meets up with Kiven to see how he's handling boating, "Are you enjoying the sailing?"

  Jesla finds a spot out of the way on the ship and watches the crew work to get an idea of their ability.  They seemed competent and none of them seemed new to sailing.   She remains humble and deferential to the crew.  Inside however is a different story.  

   She keeps in check a simmering hatred for these traitors.  Jesla has to stop her hand from going to her sword many times.  Watching them work, she plots out the order she will  kill them in and the manner of each.  

The only thing that really gives her solace is being on the ocean again.  It gives her a great feeling of freedom.  

Kiven finds a comfortable spot, relatively speaking, near the the bow of the Frosthamar and watches ahead, at least some of the time, figuring that is something and elven archer would do in their job as a mercenary.  He hopes to speak to no one, save perhaps his new Knot mates, but does take comfort in the company of his bow and several books he brought along covering subjects such as enchantment, the Nine Hells, anatomy and military tactics.  The time he spends reading does betray the notion of 'Tymon the elven scout' but he cares little for that concern in favor of his academics.

When 'Martha' comes to say hello the elf glares up at her and replies "yes, it's a splendid raft, isn't it?"  "I can almost read without vomiting as she is tossed about like a leaf in a gale!  Interestingly enough I do find that if I watch the shore line for a few minutes both my mind and stomach are settled and I can manage a few more pages before I am required to repeat the process. Such things are mentioned in this book and, since you are not as dim as the others, demon woman, you might appreciate the section on mental acuity, equilibrium, and other such subjects less visible to the common butcher than blood, bile and bone."  At the mention of butcher The Price glances back in the direction he last saw Jesla.  "Anyhow, what was it you wanted, Martha?"

Rickard tries to stay out of the way.  But having been aboard sailing vessels before has a base understanding of things, and decides it is now time to really pay attention.  He watches the men deal with the sails, the rigging, the tiller...he hopes that if things go as planned, he will be able to assist in the handling of the vessel.  He is willing to ask a few of the crew a question or two.

The next few days go by rather smoothly, Odenkirk is a surly, blustering man, but there's no question he belongs in charge of this ship and this crew. He largely ignores the Nessus Knot, and based on what you can tell he has told his men to do the same.

The ship keeps to an erratic schedule, dashing through some stretches of water at night, meandering along by day in others. Odenkirk seems to know the Mitran patrols like the back of his hand, what to avoid, and when to avoid them. On one occasion a small Mitran ship approaches, Odenkirk bids everyone to stand down, and for someone to throw a tarp over Grumblejack and keep him quiet. A few words and coins are exchanged, and the ship moves off without inspecting the cargo. The captain grins and says afterwards, "There's no getting through this area without being spotted, but if you pass through on the right days, well, lets just say that knowing which of them are going to be out here is a good idea."

The next evening, the temperature plummets, snow begins to swirl downwards, and ice starts to form on the rigging. Odenkirk calls for lanterns to be lit. The big man is frowning, "I didn't hear this coming on the winds, this isn't natural, keep an eye out for trouble men!"

Eya replies to Kiven, "Devil. It's devil woman. And I just came by because the only other person I can have an intelligent conversation with on this damn raft is Grumblejack. Glad to see you aren't too seasick though. A book on mental acuity you say? Interesting. May I borrow that book for a night?"

--

As the icy winds swirl, Eya calmly stays alert and scans the snow to see if its magical. 

  Jesla spends a lot of time by Grumblejack hoping that seasickness doesn't impede him too much in what is to come.   As the air grows cold and snow begins to fall she has an uncertain look upon her face.   " Grumbles, this might be a good sign for us. This is definitely disturbing the crew.  Whatever it is, be ready.   " She says this in a very quiet voice.   Her hand balls up in a fist as she observes the strange weather trying to make sense of it coming in now.   

Eya whispers to Kiven, "Top of the mast." She loads her crossbow and readies to shoot as soon as he does. 

Regarding demon versus devil, Kiven dismissively says "that's what I said."  "It's merely an elementary book on anatomy, but I decided that if I'm going to have to rely on something as crude as archery I should apply at least some acumen and target vital organs, joints, ligaments and the like.  At least it is less barbaric than the blade or maul, I suppose.  I still need a number of volumes on the various creatures of this island for my studies."  At that Kiven snaps the book shut and hands it to Eya, but just then there is a sudden chill and the snow starts to fall.  He puts the book in her hand but does not let go of his end of it.  As she mentions the top of the mast he whispers "indeed, no such magic escapes me" and eyes his bow before looking at Eya once more.

The disguised elf releases the book and turns slightly to face the bow of the ship once more, back to the mast.  He slowly picks up his bow and the arrow he had set with it, whispering a word of elven and nocking the projectile.  Suddenly the elf spins, muttering another word and releasing an icy bolt with a shadowy black trail behind it.  He announced aloud "something watches from the mast!"

Attack: 9

Weapon damage: 2

Snowball damage: 12

Initiative: 24

Shortly after Kiven fires, Eya shoots her readied bolt as well towards the invisible figure. 

   While peering all around seeking out the cause of the sudden cold Jesla hears Kiven call out.   " Grumblejack, be ready.  " She unsheathes her great sword since she is unable to see anything. "  It might jump down to us.  " Jesla wants to shift into her feline form  with its better senses but doesn't dare yet. She waits with blade bared for any enemy to approach.