19th of Ascending Water, RY 768
Early Morning

The day of the Cobalt Alliance's departure dawns clear and promising. Now the members of the Alliance convene on the deck of the Spring Dryad II, still docked at Seahaven harbor beside the Hammerhead and the Marlena. Tageru has completed his training, and he joins Zeru, Treon, Lasuri and Jadira aboard the flagship vessel.

Among all the chores Jadira accomplished, she and Lasuri also took the time to search for a crafter to replace the departed Platinum Dove. As Amonth seems to have decided to strike out on his own, they find another candidate in Isole Kareth, a pale and dark-haired man who exudes a strange aura of grim melancholy. Nonetheless, he is quiet and polite enough, and proves to be more than sufficient at his craft for the Alliance's purposes.

This is Kareth's first time meeting the crew and officers he will soon be working with. It's also an opportunity to see the Spring Dryad up close, but unlike the others present, it isn't the first time he's ever seen a vessel of that make. [Private to Isole Kareth: The Seventh Legion had several such vessels in their fleet, and you have memories of working with them during your training as a magitech engineer. Oddly, you find the Dryad in particular quite familiar. Looking at the ship's paddlewheels, you see almost immediately that they are damaged. You remember having worked on a vessel similar to this one back in the Lookshy hangars.] If Kiana or Darel choose to stay on with the Alliance, they too will join the others on board. Neither of them have seen Xander for some time, and wonder whether he has found another ship to seek his fortune with.

The next course of action appears to be -- to decide on a next course of action. They may proceed to An-Teng as previously planned, amidst reports of heightened and more aggressive Lintha activity. They could head further westward, following the news of a Dynastic savant disappearing beneath the waves in search of a great treasure. They could sail toward the spirit court of Fakharu to meet with the Emissaries of Perfect Water, with Darel along as their guide. Or switch plans and head further North, towards the Neck and Coral and the sinister presence of Skullstone.

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OOC: Though I'm giving you a choice here, there will also be more immediate events, as I've found just giving people random stuff to decide on doesn't lead to much progress. For now, just post and discuss amongst each other.

You could consider any or all of the above goals, though, even split up to accomplish them.

[Private to Xander Lucian, Peleps Zeru: OK, since Xander were absent for a while, we can either assume he managed to speak with Zeru later on and get passage on the Marlena (if Zeru doesn't mind). Otherwise Xander could have stowed away on the Dryad or approached the Cobalt Alliance directly, hoping to make himself useful with the artifact he recently won. Let me know what you decide.]

Kareth eyes the Drayad in his cool manner.  When these two had approached him, he had been quietly earning a living, trying to figure out how he would complete either of his two self-apointed tasks.  However, both the prospect of chasing a savant or traveling to Skullstone seemed to be good starting points.  As he examins the ship, he takes not of the obvious damage to it.  He felt that he should have no problems fixing the broken paddle wheel.  "I would much prefer to either head towards Skullstone or to look for this savant and this treasure you mentioned,"  Kareth said in his deep voice.  He then turned to the Captain and asked, "However, I assume before we go anywhere, I'll need to set about some basic repairs?"
This message was last edited by the player at 21:04, Mon 12 Jan 2009.

"Thanks again for bringing your expertise to us - that's really appreciated." Lasuri responds, also turning towards the Dryad with a contemplative eye. "She's been in better shape before, that's for sure. But then, she's been doing nothing but running since she's been freed, so that's not too surprising." He turns back towards Kareth, and smiles once more.

"That's something we've been wanting to work on for a while. We've just found a workshop for that purpose, if you're interested in checking it. Although we'll have to see whether or not the timing's right to make another stop - some of the rumors we might choose to chases seem rather time-sensitive. Basic repairs are at your discretion, of course - just let me know what you'll need and I'll try to arrange for you to get it."

"As for destination... We'll see what the other captains have to say, but I'm inclined to think like you, myself. Original idea was to sail through to An-Teng, but well... Life on the sea's pretty unpredictable, and a lot of times you have to adapt your plans to the coming tides. So looking for the savant or heading north's what I'm thinking about, myself."

Darel, closely followed by his neomah (shape-shifted into an ordinary, if attractive, woman) and their luggage carrier, stood before the gangplank. "Permission to come aboard, captain?" he hailed Leomaris.

"Well... the repairs are a little worse than just basic, actually," Jadira says almost apologetically. "At least... if you're talking about the paddlewheels. To be honest, they've not worked at all since --" She pauses suddenly, giving Kareth a bit of a wary glance, then amends, "Well, since we acquired the ship."

"Our last crafter informed us we would actually need the aid of a workshop as well as extra material to bring them back to working order. Now we have a crafter, and the workshop is a couple days sailing from here--but we've no material. The closest equivalent we could find in the West would probably be black jade, or one of the exotic materials of the far West."

"The Black Rock Chasm... where that savant, Megara disappeared... is likely a black jade vein. That'd mean more underwater spelunking though," the armswoman says warningly, knowing not everyone was fond of that.

Jadira pauses when Darel shows up, smiling down at him and the female companion whom she'd not yet met, and raises an hand in greeting. She hopes Kiana would show up as well.

Kareth nods slightly.  "Workshops are always helpful.  Tools aren't an absolute necessity seeing as I have a viable alternative," he says as he raises his arm from under his black cloak.  It becomes plainly visible to all that he has some sort of metal contraption grafted into his forearms.  As the cloak fell back, a very small essence cannon, in a holster on his hip came into view as well.  This essence cannon had a hearthstone sitting in a setting on the stock.  "I'll go examine the paddles closer and see if anything is pressing.  I'll give a list of materials which will be needed to preform the repairs after that," Kareth finished in his deep, almost remorse voice.
This message was last edited by the player at 21:04, Mon 12 Jan 2009.

"I'm up for just about anything captain..." Zeru says looking relaxed. "I honestly have no preference as to port. I'll second whatever decision the Captain stands by."

Treon nodded his greeting to Kareth.  "Treon Fireblade," he said by way of introduction to the other fire aspect, taking note of his strange arms and the weapon. A nice piece, even if I don't much hold with guns, he thought.

"Darel," he said, as the man came aboard.  "I must apologise for missing your meal a week ago," he said with nod.

"I would like to investigate these rumours of more aggressive Lintha activity, although that is not a task for one ship," he said, acknowledging that he would need the co-operation of all.  The news of the Dynast who had vanished concerned him too. That could so easily be Keiko ...  "If people do not wish to do that, and it could all be over by the time we get there, then I would prefer to investigate after the Dynastic expedition."

Tageru climbs aboard the Dryad and nods to his crewmates as a greeting. He looks at the new folk around and then turns to the captain and takes him to the side to have a private talk with him.

"Captain Leomaris, I don't mean to be rude or anything, but who are these new people on board? I've been away for a week and I didn't realize there would be people joining us. They aren't Buruku's men, are they?"

He looks at the newcomers with a bit of suspicion. "If they are causing any trouble, you know you can count on my support in defending our freedoms, right?"

He looks at the Water Aspect with what seems to be anger in his eyes and a deep frown. But, then again, the only times he doesn't look like that is when he's asleep, so it might not mean a lot. The Wood aspect looks at the man with the essence-cannon again, as if sizing him up before a fight, but then turns away, so as not to be rude.

"Also, if we're going to An-Teng, we'll need to stock up on supplies, since there are no islands between the southernmost island of Wavecrest and the landmass of An-Teng for thousands of miles. I think I have a part of the solution." he says and takes a small wooden box out of his pocket. He opens it to reveal a small pearl-like stone, only almost completely transparent. "It's a Clearwater Pearl. It should be enough for emergency water supplies, in case we run out. With this, we can drink seawater safely."

He puts the box back into his pocket and then looks at the captain, waiting for the answer.

"Thank you, Tageru," Jadira interjects, letting Lasuri handle the questions directly addressed to him, as is appropriate. To the newcomers, she certainly does not seem surprised at Tageru's rather brusque attitude, speaking in calm and measured tones. "The pearl will help greatly. As for other supplies, I have taken care of that already. Do not worry, this is not the first time we have sailed toward An-Teng, we are familiar with the logistics involved."

Addressing the others as a whole, the first mate continues, "We can always prioritize what ought to be done. I think that investigating the rumor would be closest... other than that, we need a consensus as to whether we will go northward or southward next, since whichever direction we go will mean we will not head the other way for several weeks, maybe months."

Shaking his head at Tageru's interjection, Lasuri continued to smile, as if not really bothered by the monk's attitude - or at least seeing the truth behind it.

"Ah, no worries to be had, mister Tageru. They are new allies of the Alliance - and no, none of them are Buruku's men. Just travelers like us passing through Wavecrest. This is Mister Darel and Mister Kareth, who have chosen to lend a hand to our cause." He smiles, then turns away momentarily. He would not tell more about the new arrivals than they would feel comfortable saying about themselves, and so he lets them step up and introduce themselves further should they want to. "Thanks for your concern and loyalty, Mister Tageru. However, these people are now sailing under the Alliance flag, and are to be treated as such."

"And to all our new arrivals, this is Mister Tageru. He is a member of the Alliance and has been stationed on the Dryad for some time now. Over there is mister Zeru, captain of the Black Marlena, and Mister Treon, captain of the Hammerhead, the two other vessels sailing under the Alliance flag." He smiles once more, then gestures towards Darel. "Oh, you can come right in, mister Darel! This is likely going to be your home at least for a little while, so please don't feel held back. That goes for all the rest of you as well." he says, gesturing to Kareth.
This message was last edited by the player at 18:03, Fri 09 Jan 2009.

Tageru bows to the captain slightly and then to the newcomers, as the captain introduces them. "As you say, Captain. If they are indeed our allies, then I shall try to make them feel as welcome as any other member. I know I might not be very good at it...", Tageru says and pauses for a moment, like he's feeling a bit unpleasant, "but I'll try.

As for our future paths, I cast my vote for An-Teng, and for more reasons than one. First of all, I don't feel comfortable going to a shadowland. I'm sure I don't need to explain why. Also, as a Wood aspect, I found it more uncomfortable than the others I went with the last time. Maybe it has something to do with the Dragon's blessing that's been given to me, but I don't know, and I'd rather not check. Of course, if you all decide we should head north, I'll follow, but my vote is clear.

Also, I have a...personal reason for wanting to travel to An-Teng. I understand it might be a bit selfish of me to ask such a thing for such reasons, but I assure you, it's the lesser of the two motives."