Jambiya allows Erric his space. Then she will step up, bouncing her slim green self right up to the bosun, extending a hand (to shake), "It is so good to meet you, Bosun Grout! Captain Ebokk has said glowing things about you. My name is Jambiya Seldom-Kettlegrip, I love your ship!" Then she goes on to the unnamed sailor, "Hi, I'm Jambiya," and she holds her hand out to him with a genuine smile. She feels great about how cleanly she just skipped aboard this great floating castle!

To Maldorn, the bosun gives the slightest of neck twitches which might serve as a nod. The sailor frowns at Sagitta, noticing the snake for the first time, and opens his mouth as if he is about to say something, but then after a quick slide of the eyes to his furry superior, he closes his jaw and simply grunts a welcome to the old man.

Both sailors watch Erric with hard stares. The bosun's face remains unreadable, but the sailor's softens and even looks a bit impressed ... or is it humor he's showing? Finally, the sailor replies, "Below deck," after a quick cough. An unconscious wave of the arm indicates an opening in the deck where stairs lead downward.

When Jambiya bounds forward, the bosun's face clouds over even more. He squints down at the little goblin girl, but does not extend an arm to shake. Instead, he looks at Ebokk, but says nothing. She finally gives up and moves toward the sailor, who takes a step backward and looks at her hand with something akin to fear. He looks at the bosun, then Ebokk, then back at the hand, then at Erric and back to the hand.

"She's not going to bite, lad," Ebokk says jovially, clearly not understanding the man's hesitancy ... or having seen the graceful gal in combat.

The sailor slowly extends an arm and touches Jambiya's fingers for a second before withdrawing his limb. "S ... Scrub," he stammers. He is clearly restraining himself from wiping his hand on his breeches.

"Attaboy!" the dwarf calls. He then turns and smiles at Anafrey expectantly.

Jambiya blinks confusedly after the whole interaction. In her sheltered existence, she’s never met anyone who didn’t like her. She looks a little crestfallen, but brightens when Scrub agrees to touch her. She smiles at him as Anafrey does whatever she does, then goes with the group belowdecks.

“We go in this hole?” she asks as she hops in.

"Anafrey," she says, waving a hand dismissively at the sailors and bosun before she continues rubbing her temples as she makes her way below decks. 

"Wonderful," Ebokk says. He looks at Bosun Grout. "Can we set off in this rain, Bosun? I'd love to get underway."

Bosun Grout nods, dropping his arms to his sides and looking more stoic than stern. "We can use the oars to get out of the cove and then lower the sails."

Ebokk rubs his palms together. "Excellent. What can we do?"

Bosun lowers his brow a bit and looks hard at the dwarf. "Do you remember what I taught you on the way here concerning the wheel?"

Ebokk stops rubbing his palms together and lets a fleeting moment of fear alter his features before he once again looks excited and brave. He gives the big man a nod. "You want me to man the wheel?"

"I'll instruct the oars to push us aft. In the center of the cove, you'll need to turn us around. I'll know where we are, so we can react to your direction. Once we're straight, we'll put on speed to push us past the breakers and into open water."

Ebokk nods again. He then looks at Erric and Maldorn. "Would you like to help at the oars?"

While the males are discussing boat things, Jambiya and Anafrey head below deck. They descend the steep stairs fore into the dimly lit lower deck. Ahead is a small hallway with three doors: one to port, one to starboard, and one straight ahead at the end of the hall. Other than what appears to be three smallish chambers, the lower deck is completely open. Six short benches — presumably for oarsmen — line the two walls, barrels and crates are stacked in the center, and what might be a common area is aft. Three more human males are milling about, looking curious and a bit wary. One looks seasoned with a head of wispy hair, leathery skin, and stooped shoulders. He gives a nod to Anafrey, and, after a pause, does the same to Jambiya. The other two are both short and stout gingers. They resemble each other a great deal, except one has a hook for a right hand, which he uses to clean out an ear. Other than that strange movement, the twins simply look at the two new females without any kind of welcome.

As the two females are getting their bearings, the door at the end of the hallway opens and Eilikasys steps out. Looking into the tiny chamber beyond, Jambiya and Anafrey can see it is the head. The gnome has draped her cloak over one arm, and her long, gray hair is now piled up into a tidy bun on the top of her head. She doesn't pause when she notices the other two females, but walks to the starboard door and opens it. She steps inside, but then takes a step backward and looks at the females. "Bosun Grout and Ebokk share the captain's quarters up on deck. Those three, along with the one who lowered the plank will sleep with the cargo." She motions behind her at the other door. "You'll be cramped in there together, but it'll be better to have a place to get away from the stares. The old man and the halfling can sleep on deck or down here with the others. Let me know when it's time to eat." With that, she steps into the chamber and closes the door.

Anafrey looks from the gnomish woman's closed door to Jambiya, her head finally clearing some. Her eyes wide with surprise. "Well... shall we see what we're in for?" She says to Jambiya and shuffles over to the door to their room, a bit uneasy on her feet aboard the vessel. 

Asked about the oars, Erric replies with alacrity, "I'd love to help!"

He flies down the stairs to the benches with the oars and sits down. saying hello to the three men with a friendly wave. "I'm Erric, and Bosun Grout sent me down here on an important mission to row some oars!" He looks at the long handles. "These must be them!"

Settling down way too early but fortunately ineffectually, he begins pushing the oars (which I assume are locked or at least drawn into the ship out of the water), trying to hide some high-pitched straining sounds. (Deception: 22)

As Anafrey and Jambiya have their fore interaction with Eilikasys, he leans toward the centerline and waves at them giddily. "Look! I'm helping!"

Later, as he realizes that the oars aren't really moving, and after any reaction or nonreaction from the three crewmen happen, he'll just sit there, staring off into the middle distance with a smile on his face. "I hope we get to sleep in hammocks," he says to himself, but loud enough for the others to hear.

Anafrey finds the door unlocked. She pushes the thin door open into a roughly five-by-five compartment with a built-in bunk at thigh level which fills half the compartment and a shelf mounted to the wall near the head of the bunk. On the wall opposite the bed (right at the level to knock out the huntress's eyes if she's not careful) and above the bunk are two lines of hooks for clothes and equipment. The bunk's mattress is covered in a scratchy-looking blanket. There is no pillow. On the far wall is a porthole. On one side of the porthole is an oval framed painting of a cloud with three lightning bolts on a gray background. Hanging from the center of the ceiling swings an unlit lantern.

“This looks cozy,” Jambiya comments as she pushes past Anafrey into the small room. “I call top bunk!” She hangs her backpack on one of the hooks and clambers up to the top bunk, careful not to bang her head on the low ceiling.

Anafrey looks at Erric rolling her eyes and then grunts as Jambiya pushes past her. She carefully edges around the eye level hooks and puts up her wet cloak and pack, laying her shield on the bed. She sits and pulls a flask out from under her shoulder and curses under her breath finding the flask empty. "This... is going to be a long ride." She says to no one in particular.

Jambiya pokes her head over to look at Anafrey. "I hope so. I don't think I want to go back to Seldom Spring for a good long time. I've got a whole world to see, on my own." She bites her lip a moment. "I mean, with you and the guys, just... not with my Popses."

"What should we do now? Did I hear Ebokk asking if we could leave now? I'm going back outside." She hops down off the bunk and, fetching her witchy stick, she heads topside. As she passes Erric she smiles at him. "I'm going to go back up to the... top floor. I've never seen a town get smaller and smaller until it disappears!"

OOC: Sorry I wasn't clear. There is no "top bunk". It's just the lower bunk with nothing above it (except for the hooks on the wall).

OOC > Wait, only one bunk? For the two of us? Retcon!!!

“This looks cozy,” Jambiya comments as she pushes past Anafrey into the small room. “I call top... huh.” She hangs her backpack on one of the hooks and looks around. "We'll sort it out later, maybe we can sleep in shifts? Do they do that on boats?"

Anafrey says, "This... is going to be a long ride."

Jambiya nods at Anafrey's statement. "I hope so. I don't think I want to go back to Seldom Spring for a good long time. I've got a whole world to see, on my own." She bites her lip a moment. "I mean, with you and the guys, just... not with my Popses."

"What should we do now? Did I hear Ebokk asking if we could leave now? I'm going back outside." Fetching her witchy stick, she heads topside. As she passes Erric she smiles at him. "I'm going to go back up to the... top floor. I've never seen a town get smaller and smaller until it disappears!"

Maldorn agrees to man the oars alongside Erric with a nod, which seems to be the standard mode of communication on the boat. He follows the halfling downstairs and looks apologetic following each of the bard’s excited decisions. The old man knows no better, but is wise enough to realize Erric is not being too effective.

As Maldorn is more casually following Erric below, he overhears Bosun Grout say, "Raise the anchor and cast off the ropes, then come below. We'll need all hands to get us out of the cove." The hunter looks over his shoulder and sees Ebokk climbing a ladder up the quarterdeck wall to the top, where he can see the wheel. The bosun is marching toward the stairs and Scrub is hurrying toward the plank. As Maldorn is stepping onto the lower deck, Jambiya is entering through a door fore and port as Anafrey looks in with what might be mismay. He turns and follows the sounds of Erric to the open area behind the stairs, looking apologetic following each of the bard's excited decisions.

As the heavy footfalls of Bosun Grout's descent resound, the older sailor and the twins stop gawking and stand a little straighter, watching their superior. The big man jumps the last few steps, landing with a bang, and turns to walk starboard. "Oars," he says simply, and the three crew members immediately scramble one to a bench. In a patient tone, the bosun explains to Maldorn and Erric what they will need to do to embark and what orders he will give. He has them sit on the bench "behind" the others and on opposite sides so they can watch the sailors in front of them. Once Scrub scrambles down and takes a seat, the work begins.

OOC: Jambiya is going up on deck. What is Anafrey doing?

After staring out of the door to their room for a few minutes, contemplating her life choices, Anafrey curses under her breath, takes up her cloak and pulls the cowl over her head, stomping up the stairs to keep an eye on Jambiya.

(Are the oars just comically oversized for a halfling? Not that this will prevent Erric from trying to row, I'm just trying to get a picture in my mind.)

(Also what was the crew's reaction to Erric's arrival?)

OOC: Let's just say Erric has to use his legs a lot more than any of the other sailors.

Through a series of commands given by Bosun Grout (with Maldorn and Erric watching intently and mimicking as best they can), the ship is oared first in reverse, turned, then steered toward open waters. Jambiya, who is braving the rain to watch the goings on from on deck (along with the pouting Anafrey), marvels as the small community of Mantrelle does, in fact, shrink. Unfortunately, the rain makes the effect hard to see clearly, as the buildings and surrounding landscape turn gray and lose their contrast before the distance could do its full work. Looking ahead, some land masses are becoming more visible. Reaching in from the grayness left and right are two peninsulas with a wide mouth between. Ebokk looks much more relaxed now that the ship is moving forward instead of in reverse. The closer the ship gets to the space between the peninsulas, the more Jambiya can see a line of white extending from one side to the other. She can clearly hear Bosun Grout's rhythmic commands keeping the oars working together, despite his husky voice. The little goblin girl begins to feel a sense of anticipation as they near the growing line of white.

Jambiya and Anafrey, make either a nature or history check.

Anafrey splits her attention between the shifting deck of the boat and watching to make sure Jambiya doesn't fall over the side rail, but as she watches Jambiya watching she can't help but ponder the line in the distance. She squints to see if she can make it out any better against the sheets of rain.

nature : 6