Xander smiles as the girl walks away slightly bemused. He was not quite sure what to make of her and as an extension the ship she was on. "One thing is certain though it is not merely a pleasure ship." he thought. He had a whole speech rehearsed in head and her abruptness left him without anyone to tell it to. Dangers of being a chosen of Mela things don't always go as you plan. "Glad I learned to improvise." He waits quietly for the captain to finish.
This message was last edited by the player at 22:41, Fri 28 Nov 2008.

Once he has finished with the Harbormaster, Amonth waves over Bosun Harune. "It would seem we are clear to enjoy the port's delites. Standard firewatch and guards, shore leave for the rest as you see fit."

Looking out over the gangplank at the waiting man Amonth waves to him to come aboard. "Kiana tells me you wanted to talk to us? "

Xander waves back walking over to the ship then up the gang plank. "Yes." He responds smiling a little and looking around the ship. "My name is Xander Lucian and I'm a craftsman of modest skill.  Your ship is one of the finest I've ever seen certainly finer than any they will let me work on in this city."

Darel stayed back, listening distantly to the conversation. He smiled upon hearing the man's introduction - what makes him think the captain will let him work on his ship?

As the blue haired newcomer speaks Amonth looks him over more carefully trying to take his measure. How he stands, his clothing, the condition of his hands-the callouses and scars tell a tale. Smiling and nodding at Xander's words.
"True, the Folly is as fine a ship as I have ever sailed. Done in the Western fashion, though with a Northern sensability. She is a treat to sail. So you are a shipbuilder? A craftsman? Where where you trained and in what styles? "
With a slight smile and a wave at himself,
"I do have some skill myself, though my choice of media is metal and crystal for the most part."

Xander nods amiably "She is indeed. I'm something of a craftsmen. I would like to build ships but my circumstances deny me most opportunities. You see here it is the women who are the craftsmen and men who are the sailors.  Its not that I dislike sailing on the contrary but I've always had a passion for crafting. I am mostly self taught as few are willing to teach me. I'm looked down upon as a man not just doing a woman's job but wanting to do it." He frowns and looks back at the town.  "Still I'm a fair hand at working with about anything that grows. I can make fair clothes, patch a hull, and other things. I'm also a fair hand in a fight and.." He trails off suddenly. "But I'm getting ahead of myself. Please excuse me. What brings you to our fine city and if you excuse my boldness would you be in need of an extra hand?"

"If nothing else, we will have need of someone who knows the local ways and to guide us about the island. What say we start with that and go from there? If you do well I think we can find a place for you. Does that sound of intrest to you?"
Looking at the crew and ship for a moment he then looks back to Xander.
"Our first need will be lodgings. After that we will need to run several trips. The Realm Embasy, the Guild's local Hall, a few other things. "

"I believe I can help you with that captain." He bows. "So on a ship like this you must have had plenty of adventures sailing these pirate infested waters." Xander's face changes to a look of rage for a split second at the word pirate but it is gone so fast you may have been imagining it.

Now that the harbormaster is done breathing down Amonth's neck, at least for now, the Captain and others can disembark at their leisure. It seems the excitement of the moment has started to fade, and many of the spectators have run off to return to their various chores and duties. Certainly there would be rumors circling, though, and word passed on from mouth to mouth about the Helkar's Folly and its exotic crew.

Lodging is simple enough to find, depending of course on the quality desired. One assumes that a man with Amonth's means would desire the best. After some scouting about, Xander finds his newfound crew a clean, spacious and comfortable inn located in an ideal location, a reasonable distance from various important city establishments: the Realm Embassy, the Western Trade Alliance chapter, the Guild Hall of Seahaven, the Mariner's Academy and so forth. The women running the Ocean Mist Inn are hospitable as well as discreet, and are accustomed to accomodating for Dragon-blooded -- particularly those from the Realm, with the Embassy so near.

---

OOC: Tomorrow evening/night (in Eastern U.S. time) we'll start skipping forward, so ... last call to post what you'll be up to in the next four game days (8th-12th Ascending Water).

The Cobalt crew will be looking into finding crafter-sailors, so, that will likely be your hook in that respect.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:15, Mon 22 Dec 2008.

[OOC: Darel will relax for a few days, all the while observing the activity of the nearby embassy, and gauging any Dynast in the inn.]

Kiana was suspicious of men, due to her past experiences--but given that she was one of the few women on the crew, it made it difficult for her to trust just anyone.  As such, Xander was treated as she would treat anyone new--coldly, but politely.  She wasn't some young thing to woo, and if pressed upon, she was always very quick to show them the error in their thinking.

After the formalities were done with, and after Xander was given a temporary token of admission into the crew, Kiana would inspect their lodging, and then afterwards she would simply being to wander the city.  She was more than capable of taking care of herself (as the Captain would well know from her crafting prowess alone).  She tired of the sea and loved the earth passionately due to her aspect--so the girl would simply walk the earth and watch the people.

And sometimes, envy them for their simple lives.

Xander shows them around the town answering their questions and and genrally being helpful. He treats them all with respect listening when they talk and giving his oppinion. He notices Kiana's coldness but ignores it. He treats her like he treats the rest of the crew letting her have her distance if thats what she wants.  After awhile he'll start asking questions about the crew. First talking about his own family and asking about theirs. He'll tell them a bit about being a craftsman in this city where it is the women who craft and ask them about their adventures.  Whenever a chance arises he ask about the captain or Kiana or Darel trying to piece together who they are and what they've been doing though its always under the guise of wanting to know about their adventures. It helps that he is honestly curios about them andlongs for a little adventure of his own.

Four days pass peacefully for the four Outcastes. Kiana finds that no one disturbs her on her quiet walks through the street, as it's much more ordinary for women to be walking freely on land than on ship. Xander, too, has ample time to ask after the crew members' adventures, or simply relax.

He does find out that Amonth is deeply interested in exploring the ruins of the West, as that is primarily what he spends his time researching. The captain of the Folly is a scholar as well as a crafter, and knows well of the pelagials -- the hideously mutated half-human, half manatees that scavenge the bottom of the sea and control one of the largest undersea domains, the City of the Shining Reefs. Of the City itself he knows no exact location, but reading and cross referencing various documents makes clear to him the location of two or three supposedly abandoned pelagial outposts.

One is of greatest interest to him -- known by the name of Black Rock Chasm -- being the site where a group of explorers from the Realm mysteriously vanished. Led by a savant by the name of Cynis Megara, she has apparently disappeared beneath the sea never to return. None have attempted an excavation since.

As for mercantile interests, again, Amonth discovers the great desire for metals and ores in the city. He knows that most any pelagial outpost would likely provide a surplus of ore, would he and whatever team he gathers survive to excavate it. Another, perhaps less dangerous option is Tofanis, one of the smaller, peaceful islands of the Wavecrest Archipelago -- he has heard that the sailors there have brought black jade samples to market in the last year or so.
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:16, Mon 12 Jan 2009.

Darel keeps an eye on the Embassy, but finds very little activity of interest about. It seems that the Realm's eye is straying more and more from its distant satrapies, particularly after disasters such as the Battle of Futile Blood and the Battle of Mishaka. The Bull of the North and the Mask of Winters are much closer threats, compared to a nation of island heathens.

Similarly, Wavecrest itself is more concerned about the Coral Archipelago than any of the threats to or power struggles in the Realm. The Emissaries of Perfect Water are still a minority, after all, and have had more success with smaller island nations, who have much less to lose. The Feathered One is mostly concerned with keeping a low profile on the Realm's radar until the Empress's successor is readily apparent. As for the people of Seahaven, they seem content to be ignored, and look alarmed at the very idea that they could one day earn the ire of the Realm by declaring freedom.

In terms of the succession, though, Darel does hear a few snippets of information from local Dynasts and related individuals. Right now, as far as he can tell, the most likely candidates are Mnemon and Cainan (the Embassy, of course, tends to favor Mnemon, as the presiding satrap is also of House Mnemon). They've still a puppet regent on the throne in the meantime, some fool of House Tepet, and the Sesus and V'neef are rumored to be arranging for a suitable successor as well.

Other than the secular Dynasts Darel observes, there is also the enduring presence of the Immaculate Order. The natives seem much more vocal and unhappy about the Immaculate minority than the Realm as a whole, as they continue to preach against the heresy of venerating the volcano gods -- and in turn rouse the ire of those very gods, causing them to demand greater numbers of human sacrifice.
This message was last edited by the GM at 07:45, Thu 04 Dec 2008.

Finally, on the 12th day of Ascending Water, the captain and crew of the Helkar's Folly hear some rather exciting -- but confusingly reported -- news coming from the Seahaven harbor.

Some claim it is an assault upon Seahaven by Coral pirates with a massive vessel with three masts and six First Age cannons, or some other similarly exaggerated number. Others insist that a retinue of powerful Dynasts have just entered port and are being intercepted by First Captain Buruku himself on behalf of the Feathered One. And a few speak vaguely of an organization called "Cobalt", who come in goodwill and have defended one of Seahaven's own vessels against corsair attack.

Two facts are constant despite the wildly varying interpretations: one, the newcomers have sailed in with a First Age vessel among their number, and two, they number several Dragon-blooded in their ranks. Xander in particular feels something of a sense of deja vu, for just four days previously it was the Folly everyone talked about, prompting his desire to join its rather untalkative crew. Now, apparently, a new and apparently impressive force has arrived on the horizon... for what end, no one can say for sure.

Will Amonth, Darel, Kiana and Xander want to see for themselves, or mind their own business some more?

---

OOC: Whew, finally. It was wordy because I wanted to incorporate everything people were searching for, and make it involved enough to have taken four days to discover.
This message was last edited by the GM at 08:07, Thu 04 Dec 2008.

Xander excuses himself and slips out to see the ship. After four days of people not talking to him he's begaining to distrust his first instinct. He disregarded most of the rumors but if there was even a small chance there was a first age ship he was not going to miss it.

Darel sulked in a corner of an inn near the embassy. The Realm's infolding was good news - in a way, but even he had to admit that it had had some role in curbing down Lintha influence.

That was when he heard the news of the ship sporting First Age weaponry. Worthy of consideration, especially if there are more where she came from...

Immediately, he set off to meet Captain Amonth, and discuss this possibility with him. Certainly, a connoisseur of First Age antiques and treasures would relish the opportunity to study it.

Standing in front of a table spread with charts old and current Amonth writes a few notes in a journal. Carefully rolling up and storing the maps and charts he returns tham to the shelves where he got them. Deciding that he has done enough for the morning and is hungry he starts to head out to see what looks good at the corner foodstall whan he sees Darel heading his way. Pausing he waits to see what the other Outcast needs of him since he looks concerned.

The city was peaceful enough, and for that Kiana was thankful.  It wasn't so long ago that she had left her home in a blind flight of fear.  Now within the the safety of Sea Haven, she wandered the streets alone (whenever she could get away from the rest of the crew, and with Blackblade's blessing.)

She walked the streets complacently, stopping at a few shops to admire some of the more finer works that the men and women of Sea Haven made.  Some of them were works she could easily mimic, while others were precious bits of art that would be more at home in her Mother's chambers than the shops they were housed in.  Eventually, after hours of browsing, she eventually realized that the peaceful feeling she had was not reproduced by the shop keepers (as they had little patience for the constant window shopping) and decided to return to the ship.

Along the way she heard the rumors of the ships coming into Harbor--and the irrational fear of her troubled past clutched her heart in a death grip.  Mother has given chase!  She thought, and began toward the captain's room in the inn, and provided it wasn't barred shut, she would slam the door open, her eyes wild with fear that Amonth has not seen since he first found her weeks ago.

"She has followed us!"  She all but shouted, her eyes darting too and fro, quiet possibly mad.

Darel accosted Amonth: "Hello Captain, have you heard the news? A flotilla of corsairs or somesuch has arrived in Seahaven, and it is rumored some of them have First Age weaponry... I figured you would be interested in contacting them, work out an arrangement, and perhaps glean some clues on where to look for more First Age magitech..."

As Kiana comes rushing up Amonth can easyly see that something has disturbes her. Her normally cool and reserved aspect is no more and she looks to be close to panic.
"Slow down Kiana, slow down. Who's followed us? What has happened to upset you so?
While he is trying to calm Kiana, Darel's arrival is almost unnoticed until he speaks up.
"A flotilla? Armed with First Age weaponry? Is this what has you upset Kiana? Do you know who they are?
Shaking his head and trying to make sense of it all Amonth comes to a decision.
"All right, I think we need to investigate this flotilla. If there is a problem we need to know right away, if there is not, well if half of what you have said is true I would want to be checking them out anyway."

"I would think so..." Darel winked. "In the meantime... Are you all right, Kiana? You should sit down and take a drink. Do you wish to stay here while we investigate?"

Despite how far she had ran, she was not out of breath, such was her endurance.  And though her shoulders were not raising and falling with the effort of the run, her eyes were still very much ablaze with the fear that was slowly slipping out of her veins.  Oh, it was still there, make no doubt, but her sense of self reason kicked in.  After all, they didn't know who she was, only what she had told them--and while she was in no hurry to admit she had not been completely honest with them, she certainly had some explaining to do here, didn't she?

"I...no.  I don't.  I thought..." She paused to gather her thoughts (catch her breath?).  "I was being foolish, Captain.  I'm sorry."  She said slowly, looking back and fourth between the two.  "I just had a bad feeling is all.  I thought, for a moment, that something was catching up to me.  Silliness."

She really did feel silly now, standing here with the two men, away from the rumors and the uneasy feeling in her stomach when she heard the stories.

"I'll come with you to examine the ships, if you would like."  She said.

"Then let us go," Darel whispered, walking quietly out of Helkar's Folly.

OOC: Closing thread now, continue in "Chapter 2, Phase 1 - Seahaven, Wavecrest".