Arnald whistles and Sly comes swooping in overhead. He circles the group and Arnald points to the sleeping man. Sly flies over and lands on the man's shoulder and start pecking at his head.

OOC: LOL Poor guy.

"Who! Huh? Wha?" the old man snaps awake at the flurry of activity. Wiping drool from his mouth, he looks up in shock. When Ola states the party's purpose, his surprise turns to a frown so deep it appears etched in his face.

"Bah! Good enough for me. That'll be one gold piece from each o' you," he grumbles. He stands, his back stooped with age, holding a hand out expectantly.

Just to be sure, Uragum says, "I'll give ya two if you show us your wings and fairy us across."  He holds up two trying to be convincing. 

Zelra laughs aloud, once at the old man and again at Uragum, before giving the man a gold piece. "Oh my gods..."

"Does Master Igan know you're charging his employees to cross?" Sylyra asks, a bit of a threat in his tone.

"Does seem a bit odd to be charging us so much when we're on official business."

The old man stares at Sylyra silently for a few seconds. "...Yes."

Then he stares at Arnald. "...Yes."

He collects the coin from Zelra, and then both of Uragum's. "Yes, that's what I said, I'm going to ferry you across. I just need the rest of your friends to pay up."

Seeing the man take both pieces of gold.  Uragum smiled assuming the man had agreed to the deal by taking his money.

The man did not look that smart to truly scam people, though the price was ... strangely high. Ola payed as well but added a couple questions with the coin: "How long do you work here, Karst? Heard anything strange about the Keep lately? Or may be you know more about the time before the beacon was set there?" After all, the man was old, he might remember something others do not.

Sylyra hands over a dragon, and pays attention to where the old man puts the gold. He also asks, "How will we return? Will you wait for us?"

Arnald reluctantly hands over a single gold piece.

Seeing the man take both of Uragum's coin, she raises a brow with a smirk on her face. "Come on, now. Show the big guy your wings. You took the extra coin, after all."

"Yes, yes, this ain't a one way trip unless you want it to be," the ferryman answers Sylyra.

He places the coins into a pocket on his shoddy clothing and steps aboard the ferry. The boat is small but sturdy, moving to the end of its rope when he steps in. He picks up a long pole attached to its side, standing it up so that it dips into the water, though it still towers well above his height.

He taps it up and down a few times, saying, "This right here is our wings. Helps keep the boat steady through the current. It's dangerous, you know...many a fool tries to swim to Thorn Island, 'cause it looks close, but then they lose their brains on the rocks. Step on board, we'll be across in a few minutes."

While he waits for the party to board, he answers Ola, "I keep well clear of the House's business. If I were cut out for a nobleman's business I wouldn't be spending my days waiting for someone bored enough to ferry to the island. I do know Darvag, Shandra, and Rorin, though. Last I spoke to 'em was yesterday; seemed in good health, but I'm not one for chit-chat. Didn't ask 'em about their business, they didn't ask me about mine."

OOC: Removed 1 gp from each character's inventory and 2 gp from Uragum's.

As everyone loads onto the boat, Arnald sends Sly to scout the other side.

Sly perception: 19

Zelra pats Uragum on the back. "Sorry to break it to you, Uragum, but he's a ferryman not a fairy man. It's spelt F-E-R-R-Y man. A ferryman just means someone who transports people across bodies of water." She chuckles before climbing on board.

 The names mentioned did not tell Ola anything - she never heard them, but it did not look re-assuring that man ignored half the questions. She tried once more: "So, you know nothing about the Keep, the Islan, the place itself? No legends, no rumours?"

"Well, my gram used to tell me the island was full of dead spirits, but I've never seen no spirits, and I've been ferrying people across this channel for as long as I can remember. Granted, I don't remember much, mind you, but there's as much chance of dead spirits being on that island as there is me remembering 'em," the old man rattles.

"Hop on now, I want to get back to my nap," he finishes, scratching absentmindedly at his leg.

Sylyra steps onto the ferry, as graceful as ever. "What about Grim?" he asks. "When was the last time you saw him?"

"Grim?" The old man scratches his head and furrows his brows. "Can't say I know him. Got an unfortunate name, though," he shrugs, tapping the pole up and down in the water impatiently.