Cien ruffles his feathers. "Who's the bird here, Ms. Short Hair?" he squawks, sticking his beak in the air. "I like bacon! Hell, anybody who's tasted bacon likes bacon, no matter how much their "digestive systems can't handle the grease". Never stopped you humanoids from consuming the stuff!"

Jill looks at Allynna. "He is kind of rude." Then she turns to the rest of the party. "So, did anyone else get a boon during the night, or was it just Mademoiselle Allynna?"

Misha's eyes went wide at the remarks from Cien, and she gasped loudly inwardly, in surprise. Not using the air she inhaled to talk, she promptly let out a loud burp in it's obvious direction, and nodded in approval. "Ok, enough of rude theeng with weengs, time to go!"

THE LOW LANTERN

The Low Lantern was in the Lower City just south of Elfsong Tavern. The Low Lantern was an aging, three-masted merchant ship permanently docked on the east side of the harbor. Far past the point of being seaworthy, the vessel was converted into a tavern and gambling house that is open all day and night. Fog obscures the Low Lantern until you get within a hundred feet of it, whereupon its tall masts and creaking bulk come into view. The converted ship has rigging but no sails, and is anchored to the wharf by thick chains. A wooden staircase climbs from the wharf’s edge to the main deck. A lantern at the bow casts an eerie green light to signify that the tavern is open for business.

L1 - THE MAIN DECK

The main deck of the old ship features wooden steps that climb to the forecastle and aftcastle, and another set of stairs descending into the ship. A padlocked wooden hatch fitted with windows acts as a skylight for the deck below — the tavern proper, visible through the hatch’s glass panes. Four dead seagulls lie on the deck and two ravens squawk at you from the crow’s nest, a forty-foot climb up the ship’s rigging.

Allynna looks amused. "He's certainly different than I expected."

Cien squawks. "Don't ask stupid person questions if you don't want stupid person answers."

Allynna rolls her eyes. "Be nice."

At the ship, Allynna's face turns grave again. "This isn't pretty. Shall we?"

Jill points up at the ravens up in the crow's nest. "Those are my kind of birds. Cunning. Fearsome. And admittedly, black is my sort of color." With that, Jill leads the team down to L5

Earlier

Depressed and glum as always, Persephone ate her cold boring breakfast mush alone in the corner.  Content to eat in silence, away from everyone else, she appeared to studiously be taking notes on a piece of parchment that was completely filled with impossibly small handwriting. Periodically looking up and gazing into the distance, she appeared lost in thought.

Now

Suddenly appearing from behind Yoska’s wide girth, Persephone whispers to the rest of the group: “I’ve got a sneaking feeling that we’re being watched. As Mortlock said, his brother Thurstwell has imp spies thoughout the city. They probably already know what we look like.”  As she says “spies,” she gives Allynna’s new bird friend the stink eye.

She'll then proceed to board the docked ship, all the while looking all around for spies who might be sneaking glances at the group (Perception: 7).

Cien ruffles his feathers again. "Your friends are rude," he tells Allynna.

Allynna frowns. "They're usually much nicer than this, I'm sorry," she tells him.

Meep studied the bird quietly as they approached the ship, following after Jill and keeping a hand firmly placed on her pouch as she keeps a careful eye out for anyone majorly suspicious. 

Perception: 6 

Jill looks back at Amelia as she heads down the stairs. "So tell me Madame Hiriart, when you were my age, did you see yourself fighting against infernal conspiracies and keeping watch over children?"

 L5 - TAPROOM AND GAMBLING HALL

This appears to be the busiest and noisiest part of the ship, and it reeks of sweat, cheap ale, rotting timbers, and old vomit. Three bouncers position themselves so they can see everything that happens here. The tavern is lit by hanging oil lanterns and whatever natural light slips through the glass hatch and the ship’s grimy portholes. Those portholes are 1½ feet in diameter, with rusty latches on the inside that hold them shut.

“Well met!" says an attractive woman at the bar. She has a small crab perched on her shoulder. "My name is Laraelra Thundreth, but folks around here call me the Captain. If you’re thirsting for a beverage or looking to gamble, you’ve come to the right place, but watch your step. Things can get pretty messy around here.”

As they're walking down the stairs, Persephone lets out a noticeable chuckle at Jill's comment about age...and whispers under her breath "Kids these days..."

To the barkeep: "Top o' the morning to ye, Captain lass.  Is Amrik around?  We've got a business proposition to discuss."

Meep blinks as she looks around, leaving in to whisper to whoever is closest to her (Perhaps Yoska because he's tall and she hides behind tall people). 

"This place is very sketchy. The people are very sketchy. Best to keep an eye out...." 

She keeps her eagle eyes open for andly danger. 

Nok Nok can't take his eyes off the crab. It creeps him out. He glares at it, waiting for it to do something truly evil. Other than that, he perks up at the mention of two of his favorite things: drinks and messes. To Meep, he nods. "Sketchy indeed."

“Nope,” Amelia deadpans plainly. “Expected myself to have kicked the bucket at your age, but I’m still here, some buncha years later.” She ruffles Corrin’s hair, the tiefling having been keeping near her mama as instructed before. “With this lil squirt keepin’ me on my toes.”

Jill looks back at Amelia. " Hmm. Your life must have been an interesting one. It still is, I suppose. I am sure that you can imagine that I myself expected to have 'kicked the bucket' a few times by now, but I am still here. It appears that we are both survivors." Jill gives Amelia a respectful nod.

The barkeep directs you all to area L6 at the mention of Amrik.

L6 - TAVERN LOUNGE

This tavern lounge fills an entire deck and is lit by oil lanterns hanging from the 8-foot-high ceiling by 1-foot-long chains. The windowless deck contains a bar, couches, coffee tables, and tables where patrons can socialize and gamble. Three of Laraelra’s bouncers stand in plain view across the deck. Amrik Vanthampur has turned a pair of couches and a coffee table near the aft wall into his personal office, it seems. He is about thirty-three-year-old, devilishly handsome in a sinister sort of way, and is sitting alone on the starboard couch at the moment, his feet on the table and his eyes on the room. The port couch is open for clients and he has two bodyguards guarding him at the moment: A spined devil, perches on the back of Amrik’s couch, and Vhaltus, a sleepy-eyed human with red hair in a ponytail. They sit at the closest end of the bar.

At the sight of the spined devil, Misha 14 gasps loudly, bristles violently, and immediately latches into her armor. She is mere moments away from charging to it and smashing it's ugly face in until it is nothing but powder.

Jill puts a hand on Misha's chest. "Patience, mon ami. Let's not do something irrational. A fight at this moment would not be in our benefit."

Allynna tenses slightly. Gargauth?

Hmm...big and nasty? Stay away from the spines.

Aren't you a font of useful information.

Allynna nods at Jill and stays towards the back, praying Amrik doesn't recognize her, as she didn't think to cast a disguise before entering.

"My, my!" Amrik shifts his position on the couch. "What in the Nine Hells do we have here? Customers perhaps? Please come, sit down."  Without taking it's eyes off of Misha, the spined devil leans and whispers something into Amrik's ear. "Ho ho! You don't say. Now I am truly intrigued. Such an honor to meet an actual living Prime from Acheron. A beautiful, powerful specimen, truly, the rumors and gossip are indeed true! You will have to forgive the devil, of course."

Misha's jaw was so tight Jill could hear teeth grinding.

"Come, come!" Amrik continued. "Let us put our animosity aside, wrangle your attack dog, and lets discuss business. Are you here for a loan perhaps?"

Nok Nok looks from the spiny devil thing to his enraged companion and back again. "Uh oh," he mutters, quickly reaching into his oversized pack and tossing a handful of powdered iron at Misha while drawing on Jubi's powers. "Just in case."

Protection from Evil and Good