The smell of the salty air makes Thistle suddenly very homesick and she wonders how her family is faring while she is away.

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The day is a peaceful one; the air feels particularly chilly upon the boat as you coarse through the waters with speed.  From below deck, you can hear the occasional footsteps of the crew moving about, carrying on with menial tasks.  Up on the deck, once clear of any land, the sea stretches on grey and misted, the sun rarely peaking through any clouds.  At one point later in the day, you see some sea creatures swimming along the boat just beneath the waves, but after a few minutes they disappear.

Seeing the sea creatures and assuming we are going to have at least one good long rest before landing at our destination, Sanjay would have cast Speak With Animals to try and make contact with the sea creatures. Really, he would have just been saying hi and trying to make some new friends. He would have asked, at some point, if there were any malevolent ships that had passed through. 

 

For Sanjay:

Joe, ever talkative, looks around the table.  "Food no good?" he asks.

Sanjay digs in. "Delicious," he says, smiling. 

Senine throws him a thumbs up, already half finished with hers.

"Food's great," Thistle agrees. "So, Joe, how long have you been a sailor? What made you choose this lifestyle?"

Alminar smiles in response to Joe's inquiry about the food. He's not really interested in hearing Joe's life story, but would listen if it were being told. Being at sea again brings back unpleasant memories for Alminar, and he feels a bit unnerved.

The Captain continues to eat quietly, along with his crew. All except for Joe.

"Oh, I don't know if you'd call me a Sailor.  I'm a bit of a Rogue, to be right. But this is my team," he gestures around his side of the table, "and we, on occasion, manage this ship and help Elro.  Glassblades move around a bit, you know?  I don't mind the ship...   But enough about me.  I want to hear about all of you.  How'd you end up here?" he asks.

"Well, I traveled from Port Demali to come to Uthodurn. I plan on studying under one of the Dwarven craftsmasters there. I figured I could bring some of what I learn there back home and add some of that flair to the things my family makes to sell to travelers. But...I get easily distracted and there's so much more out there in the world. Don't get me wrong, Port Demali is great and everything, but I was always jealous of the stories that some of the travelers told about their expeditions." Thistle smiles as she speaks, poking around her food with a utensil. "I'm actually really interested in relics and learning more about magic. I can't do any of it myself, but it's all really interesting to me. I spend too much of my spare time reading about that kinda stuff. So having the opportunity to go to a place with the amount of history Eiselcross does is really more than I could have dreamed of, even if the circumstances for going is pretty sucky."

"Well now, that's pretty interesting.  Seems like you're doing good work along the way,"  Joe says as he offers Senine more food.  "Perhaps your discoveries will lead to... oh, I don't know, new technologies or something."  He smiles, and turns to Salem.  "What about you Ma'am?"

Salem looks up and thinks for a moment, "Well I guess you could say I ran from my home. I actually came from the Wastes of Xhorhas." 

"I came from Bisaft Isle," Sanjay says after Salem speaks. "I left thinking that I was looking for adventure, but you might say that I was running away, as well." He then looks down, pondering his past.

"I sort of come from all over." Alminar says. "My family always enjoyed travel and adventure. I'm sort of buying time and keeping busy while I figure out what to do now that most of them are gone." He pauses to let the horrible memory of that Yeti pass. "But I'm excited at the opportunity to help others through this adventure."

Senine nods thanks to Joe for the second helping, tucking into it with as much gusto as the first, though maintaining good manners despite how quickly she ate, as she listens to everybody speak.

"Wow," says Joe.  "We've got quite a group.  And you?" he asks, looking at Senine.  "How'd you join this group?"

“I was in town. Heard Elro ask for help.” Senine replies after a moment to swallow her food.

Joe's eyes linger on Senine for a moment, then he passes bread around the table.  As he hands the basket over to Sanjay, the ship suddenly rocks hard, hit by something from outside.  Food goes flying, dishes crash to the floor, and some of you lose your seats.  Thistle and Alminar are prone, as well as the Captain and another crew member you have yet to officially meet.

Then all is quiet.  After a moment Sanjay, Thistle, and Senine can hear a rushing sound; something large moving quickly through water nearby.

Salem looked down at those who had fallen out of their seats, "What just happened?" She stood up and waited, trying to listen as everything went quiet.

”Something big, moving in the water,” Senine says, “C’mon, let’s get out on deck.”

Thistle scrambles to her feet and follows Senine towards the deck.