Kareth's attention being torn back to the matter at hand, nods his consent towards the first mate of the Dryad.  "I will try and have the ships repaired as soon as possible, Lady Jadira."

"I'm all for the bold new adventure, but my crew has been weakened considerably. A third of my unit is out of commission." Zeru says, his voice almost tired. "I would rather have my crew in working order before we race to an artifact that is likely to draw the ire of the Lintha, on top of the ire we've already drawn."

Zeru clams up after he said his piece, his face holding a weary look. He is certainly not one for meetings, not the least with the navy. His posture is still relaxed, he feels it necessary to show them that he has not a care in the world.

"There's not a huge rush," Hirdu clarifies, after giving the Navy Captains an odd lock. He isn't all that fond of the military sticking its nose into his business, either, but figures it probably won't last long. "Like I said, the Seven-Day Island only appears on Saturnday, and most likely at the end of the month. So the next day we could head there would be the 28th. 6 days from now."

"In the meantime, our esteemed Wavecrest Navy escort could always bring us to one of the nearby peaceful isles for a rest, eh?" He grins widely at Irongall and Fairwind.

"That... can be arranged," Captain Irongall says grudgingly, and Fairwind nods tersely. Though stunned by the prospect of following the Alliance, it's not for any animosity towards them, but for the sudden effect on Fairwind's schedule. The somewhat younger Captain's expression has since smoothed out into a more contemplative one.

---

OOC: We'll move toward a few days' timeskip once I get a feeling people have talked out what needs talking. I figure it'll happen by the end of the week/maybe start of next. At that point you'll get a chance to spend xp, do repairs and whatever else needs to be arranged. (Also if you have any private conversations you want to play out, you can request a mini thread via PM.)
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:29, Thu 05 Mar 2009.

"Don't worry, Mister Zeru. While planning our next course of action is definitely a priority, the safety of the people of Cobalt is my first concern. I wouldn't endanger your crew by rushing into things. Besides, headbutting danger is not my style." He smiles warmly to his fellow captain and friend. "You'll be the one monitoring your crew's condition, and I'll listen to anything you say and recommend when it comes to their well being and safety."

"As for one of your own accompanying us... Well, that's not for me to decide, really. After all, you're well in your right to have us followed in your waters if you wish to, and if you mistrust us enough. As Miss Thornbloom said, we have nothing to hide, so I have no real objections to it, as long as it doesn't endanger my comrades and crew." He turns towards Fairwind, and nods with an expression akin to an apologetic look, a smile forming on his features. "My sympathies on your new assignment, my friend."

He pauses, then looks at the faces around him. "Seems to me like we've pretty much went around everything, so I think we should cut this short here, with all due respect. It's been a long and difficult day for everyone I'm sure, and some rest and quiet is likely to be in order for everyone. Unless someone has something that hasn't been addressed, I'd suggest we break this off here and all return to our activities."

"I second that notion. We're all in need of some food and rest, and I'll have to check on the patients at least once more before I turn in for the night." Stifling a yawn, Jadira rises from her chair and stretches out a hand for Hirdu, then Xander to shake. "Well, for what it's worth, Captain Hirdu, Xander Lucian... Welcome to the Cobalt Alliance."

Her genuine smile almost chases away the weariness in her face for a moment.

"I suggest we stay put for tonight and resume travel in the morning. I assume you will be the one escorting us to the nearest friendly port," Jadira remarks, her expression sobering as she nods to Captain Fairwind. Six days would be plenty of time to rest up, and better to do so at a safer location than floating in the middle of the ocean.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:19, Sun 08 Mar 2009.

"That's right," Fairwind says, nodding to Jadira. "As excited I am to be spending more time with you folks, my men need rest as much as yours do." Though his tone is wry, it isn't resentful, either. He'd been looking forward to returning home, is all.

"We will be off, then," pronounces Captain Irongall. He starts to leave, with Fairwind close behind, then pauses suddenly in his steps. "I will say this, I am strict but not unfair. At the least I will report that the Cobalt Alliance aided us against the Lintha. But that will not immediately win you immunity to our laws or the concerns of our populace."

"Good day, Captain Leomaris." The two Wavecrest Navy captains depart to join their own respective vessels.

Hirdu accepts Jadira's handshake heartily, clasping her hand in both of his. "Believe me, Lady, and Captain," he nods to Lasuri, "You won't regret this. I can only hope I'll live long enough to repay you and your people for helping us."

23rd-28th Day of Ascending Water, RY 768
Rest period

As agreed on the day before, Captain Irongall departs for Wavecrest to make report on the battle with the Lintha. Fairwind, sailing the assault trireme Falchion, leads the Spring Dryad II, the Black Marlena and the Hirdu's Ambition toward the nearby port of Auragik. As with many small Western islands, the people of Auragik are largely fishermen, though their specialty appears to be shellfish, which produce for them everything from fresh food, to nacre, to cultivated pearl, to special medicinal extracts.

As an island officially under Wavecrest dominion, the people of Auragik don't have much of a say in refusing the presence of the Navy ship or its accompanying entourage. Fairwind disembarks first to speak with the older man that appears to serve as their port authority, and after an exchange words followed by signatures and stamps, the Wavecrest Navy and Cobalt Alliance are allowed to dock.

Not everyone on Auragik is unhappy with their presence on the isle. Many are concerned with safety following reports of Lintha activity, and welcome the extra protection that ships geared for battle can offer. Taverns and other businesses on the shorefront thrive with men on shore leave. The problem is mostly one of resources: providing enough beds, food and entertainment for their sudden deluge of visitors, as well as medical aid for the wounded. There are now and then misbehaving Navy seamen, as well, who cause trouble for their superior officer by getting embarrassingly in trouble while drunk or lusty.

Until the morning of the 28th -- when Hirdu claims the next chance to find the Seven-Day Island will arise -- the members of the Cobalt Alliance are free to do with their time as they please. They should be able to find most basic resources and help they may need on the islet, though some money or persuasion may be involved.

---

OOC: Please start to detail how you spend the next 5 and a half days. [Private to Kiana Makohgn; Lasuri Leomaris: I'll open a thread for your private conversation, too.]

Once the meeting ended, Kareth immediately recruits his men to conduct repairs.  Fortunately, the last few days on boats had given him much time examine their construction.  Unfortunately, his bracers would be almost useless for this endeavor.  He did think that between the various ships he would be able to scrounge enough tools to get the repairs done.  What was most needed were saws and hammers with the occasional wrench, lever, or pully system.  He took solace in the fact that most likely, whatever materials were not on hand for the various repairs would be easily obtained (through purchase or otherwise) at the local ship yard.

After examining the relative damage, Kareth opts to work on the Dryad first.  She had, after all, suffered more damage.  Fortunately even though the demon had managed to do much damage to the ship, none of it was overly difficult to repair.  Many lesser ships would have been destroyed by what had happened, but she was a good ship.  The cracked boards are easily replaced, and while all the damage to the frame is more difficult to repair, it was not so difficult that it kept him from finishing before the sun set.

When the fleet reaches port the next day, Kareth turns his attention to the Marlena.  He chuckles to himself as he boards the vessel with the Captain's permission, for he remembers Zeru's comments about the ship.  However, he proceeds to go about repairing her wounds as well he is able.  Kareth finds himself, strangely enough, at peace with doing ship repairs.  It had not been his forte back in Lookshy, but out here on the ocean, he felt a smile sense of pride in what he was doing.  The repairs went slower than the day before even though the damage to the Marlena had been less extensive.  The damage happened to be in hard to reach places on the ship and it took Kareth ultimately working late into the evenings to finish them.  At the end of the second day, he fell asleep, totally exhausted from his work and slow healing wound.

On the second day in port, Kareth turns his attention towards the newest addition to the Cobalt fleet.  He had purposefully put Hirdu's Ambition off to last as he did not know for how long it would remain with the Alliance.  A ship who's name describes the ambition of its captain might, by its nature, be unreliable.  However, he tries his best to restore the ship.  Unfortunately, the damage resembled the damage on the Marlena more than the Dryad and he was forced, once again to work late into the night.

Third day in port, Kareth offers his services to Captain Fairwind and sees to their repairs.   He was fairly certain that the captain had already seen to his own repairs but it did not hurt to make the offer.

After the repairs were complete everyday, he then turned his attention towards a most dire matter: rest.  It would take Kareth several days to recover from his wounds completely.  Fortunately though, rest did not mean being idle.  While he lay in bed, Kareth spent much time simply pondering his occult knowledge and the properties of mirrors.  He had heard of a boon from the Air Dragon which allows one see spirits in reflective surfaces.  Kareth had been been able to put in several hours after finishing the work on the Dryad.  The next days had not left him with much free time and Kareth had only been able to work on developing the charm during the small water breaks he took, the break for his midday meal, and the hour between finishing the repairs and collapsing from exhaustion.  He had been fortunate that his repairs on the navy ship had not taken as long as the previous two boats and he spent his entire evening working on developing his new power.  Finally, late into the night he succeeded.  Where many people would have celebrated with victorious shouts and laughter, Kareth simple smiled and rewarded himself with some much needed rest.

On their last day in the town, Kareth finally left his room and found a local glassblower and a local smith.  He purchased a small piece of  malleable metal from the smith and some glass from the glassblower.  He then rented the glassblower’s workshop, formed tools of solidified essence using his bracers, and set about making a pair of lenses .   These lenses were not normal though.  Instead, using the bracers, he coated them in an almost impossibly thin layer of metal.  The end result was such that when exposed to bright light on one side and dim light on the other, the lenses would show a reflective surface on the side exposed to the bright light.  However, the surface exposed to the dim lighting would be mostly transparent.  The concept was often referred to as being a see-through mirror or a one-way mirror.   Kareth then set these special lenses into frames which were designed to hug his face very tightly.  A small lip extended from the frames back towards the face of the wearer to shield bright light from that side of the lenses.  When Kareth was finished he smiled a smile which sent shivers down the spine of the glassblower who had been watching him.  “These glasses should provide enough of a reflective surface to see spirits with as long as I’m using my new trick,” he thought to himself.

After all this was finished, Kareth made his way back towards the Dryad.

[Private to GM: I'm using my XP to buy the Spirt Detecting Mirror Technique and up my Craft (Wood) to 3.  since craft is favored, it should be 3 in time to do repairs.  Buying 1 sux on all craft roll using second excellency.


Craft lenses: 5 sux (used bracers)

Repair rolls
       Navy: 5 sux
   Ambition: 2 sux
    Marlena: 2 sux
      Dryad: 5 sux

unsure about bonuses I get from assistants.  That really depends on who's helping.

Isole Kareth rolled 1 success using 5d10... with rolls of 4,8,1,3,6. craft lens.
Isole Kareth rolled 4 successes using 5d10... with rolls of 9,4,7,9,8. repair navy.
Isole Kareth rolled 1 success using 5d10... with rolls of 4,7,5,2,2. repair Ambition.
Isole Kareth rolled 1 success using 5d10... with rolls of 9,2,3,3,3. repair Marlena.
Isole Kareth rolled 3 successes using 5d10... with rolls of 7,6,6,4,10. repair Dryad. ]
This message was last edited by the player at 01:43, Thu 12 Mar 2009.

Jadira spends a significant part of her rest period aiding the wounded at sickbay, developing further skill and ingenuity in the medical disciplines. She pays particular attention to cleanliness, making sure that their injuries are not becoming infected and are healing normally.

Interested in one day learning more about crafting her native element, Jadira uses part of the day to observe Kareth as he arranges for ship repairs. She finds herself impressed with his skill, and now and then asks the dour man questions about the processes and calculations he uses, how he decides the best type of wood to use, and so forth. If she feels she is being too disruptive in the repair process, though, she backs off and simply watches.

When the Wood Aspect goes ashore, she does a customary resupplying of essential goods, especially bandages, medical supplies, fresh water and food. They hadn't been at sea very long, but it's always a good idea to stock up whenever one can.

Jadira also takes the time to go through the gear stripped from the Lintha the Alliance had defeated. (Would any of it be salvageable for use or sale, or as components for other crafting projects?) Even more important are the live Lintha they managed to get hold of -- these, she decides, ought to be returned to and dealt with by the Navy. So she resolves to speak with Captain Fairwind about this matter as soon as possible, unless some of her colleagues on the Dryad have some reason to protest that move.

Zeru spends part of his rest period ashore. He also for the first time offers his assistance in purchasing supplies, and selling anything. He had been taught how to deal with salesmen while aboard the Marianna's ghost, and the nature of bartering had interested him in the academy. It also reminded him of stealing, as getting good deals is often akin to grifting.

He is fascinated by cooking, and decides he wants to learn. He looks at chefs, learning their technique. He has had an idea and one he would like to achieve. So he watches chefs cook, gets any recipes he can, and practices often.

He also asks for help in areas of essence manipulation from Jadira or Tageru. He had heard of some alchemies, and essence manipulation techniques that could speed the healing of normal humans. He was curious about these techniques and wondered if he could apply them in cooking.

He interacts little with Captain Fairwind, keeping mostly to the alliance unless approached by the man personally. He was navy after all, and old habits die hard. He communes often with the Marlena thanking her for her blessings in the battle and trying to learn more about her. Like why she is so vengeful.

The days of rest pass peacefully.

Kareth's repairs go well enough, particularly with the Dryad and, apparently without trying, the Navy ship as well. The Marlena and the Ambition take a couple more days each, filling up his entire five days (and that of his assistants) with overtime repair work. With the help of his bracers, though, he is able to craft his special one-way mirrored glasses in the space of a few hours. The glassblower is utterly baffled as to why Kareth would design such a thing, but watches him closely anyway, as the Fire Aspect's attention to detail is impressive. [Private to Isole Kareth: here's what I've been doing with mundane repairs... You still roll as if for crafting (meaning you need to get a total success equal to Resource rating of what you're repairing) but the time interval is reduced (large objects like a ship are usually week interval, so for repairs it's a day interval). You rolled enough right off the bat for Dryad and Falchion but the others you rolled about half what you needed, so I just ruled you needed more time for those, and worked overtime to fit it within the 5 days. Your assistants also gave you a -1 difficulty (for a group of 5).]

Jadira has no problem getting the supplies she needs. Among the Lintha's leavings (pooled with those found on the Ambition, with Hirdu's blessing) she finds 20 exceptional quality auhzian blades, which are something of a curved sword with a hook at the end, larger than a normal hook sword. They also have armor, 20 fine quality buff jackets. The Lintha subofficer Hirdu captured had apparently had jade equipment on her, but for the moment he has kept it, offering it only to Zeru should he wish it: a suit of black jade lamellar, and the thorn whip, made of a green jade alloy. He has kept her sword for himself, though.

Captain Fairwind considers the prospect of taking on the Lintha prisoners. He actually looks surprised Jadira came straight to him about it. In the end he decides to take all of the prisoners in the Dryad's hold and transfer them to the Falchion (which, in any case, has plenty more manpower for guarding them). He does not hide the fact from the Cobalt Alliance that when they return back to Wavecrest, the demon scourge will most definitely be publicly executed.

Hirdu, however, does not give up his prisoner. Lintha Dara-Said Sister Kizil remains, for whatever reason, locked up in the bowels of the Ambition. Whatever plans he has for Kizil, he has told no one, and only Zeru is actually certain she is imprisoned there.

In between helping Jadira with resupplying, learning what he can from Auragik's local chefs, and spending time with his crew, Zeru spends some quality time with the spirit of the Black Marlena. Marlena, questioned about her vengefulness, speaks sharply of a betrayal in her life that caused her great strife. She still seems a little reluctant to tell the entire story, but she mentions that spirits are often bound by oaths and protocol, and she had once bent the rules for a man who did not uphold his part of the bargain. Ever since then she has harbored a powerful rage for those who are not true to their word.

As for Zeru's crewmen, Curran and Sunden are able to return and rest on board the Marlena after a few days, but they most certainly cannot be subjected to any strenuous work for at least a couple weeks.

---

OOC: I'll give a little more time for people to get things done. I'm sorry to delay the new thread a bit more but I don't want to rush Kiana/Lasuri. :)

During one of Jadira's excursions with Zeru, she notices him paying attention to the chefs, misunderstanding his interest in them. "Considering hiring a cook on the Marlena?" she asks him, during one of those times.

The thought of recruiting on Auragik has crossed her mind, but the people there appear entirely too peaceful to subject to the dangers they would soon face. Better to wait until a longer stop-off, she figures.

Considering the Lintha's gear, she decides to hold onto it for now. Who would dare buy Lintha armaments, anyway? Probably better to keep them around to be recycled for other crafting projects, should anyone need them... though the blades are particularly high quality. Noting this, she brings them to Kareth during some period of mutual free time. "I wonder if you might have time -- not now, the ship repairs take first priority -- to re-work these blades into another shape, but of equal quality? I don't think any one of our men will want to wield them if the shape is associated too strongly with the Lintha."

Zeru whilst walking with Jadira smiles when she asks about a cook for the Marlena. "I can't rightly hire myself, Miss Thornbloom. I suppose I could, but the pay is horrible." He chuckles at his own joke. "To be honest, I'm quite intrigued by the art of cooking personally. It wasn't something I got a chance to see much on the Marianna's Ghost, too busy with chores and all. I haven't had any training in the fine arts... only the practical ones."

He jots some notes down in a small notebook he's taken to carrying. And Coral rests on his shoulder, lounging lazily. "I do have a question for you though. You and Tageru are great healers, and I have heard rumors of potions and healers that can help a normal person heal like one of the Dragon Blessed. Is there truth in this?"

Kareth had actually been relatively pleased to have the help of Jadira and more than happy to the help of the first mate with the repairs.  He showed it by frowning instead of frowning and glaring.  When she mentioned him reworking the blades, he thought about it some and then said "I am not overly skilled at being a smith.  However, I did develop some skill with it.  I can rework the blades but they likely won't be as good a weapon as they are now."

As he spoke, he absent mindedly raised his hands to the wound on his chest.  It still had not healed completely and it this had played no small part in causing the ship repairs to go slower.  Before he did anything with the blades, he would have to wait several days for it all to heal and he doubts he would be free of pain by the time they set sail.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:56, Thu 12 Mar 2009.

To Zeru:

"Ah, the Marianna's Ghost... Your father's ship, right? Peleps Kaizoku is well known in the West." Jadira makes no comment about whether that fame is a good or bad thing. Instead she answers Zeru's question. "I have heard of such a potion, but I am not knowledgeable in its creation. That requires some instruction in the thaumaturgical art of Alchemy."

She thinks a bit longer and remembers the name of the alchemical concoction. "Hero's Recovery, that's what it's called. I admit, it would be quite useful to learn how to brew it myself, but I've not had the time to do so, as my duties are quite spread out... being the first mate, the armsmaster and the purser takes a lot of time," the Wood Aspect says ruefully.

"Are you worried about your crewmen? We can go into market and see if an alchemist might be selling such a potion... or is willing to teach us the Procedure."

To Kareth:

Jadira notes the slightly less glowering expression and thinks bemusedly, does that mean he likes me now? She brings Kareth a sample of the auhzian blade and its distinctive hooked shape, to give him a better idea of what she is asking. "Mostly, I think it is the tip you would have to rework. It would be better if the weapons could retain quality, but a little bit of loss would be understandable."

"In any case, you don't need to think about it too hard just yet. We won't need it for our next excursion. It's more a future project consideration, as I hate to have anything on board go to waste."

"Well seeing as my duties are to my crew and my ship, there aren't too many of them. I'd be more than willing to help with your duites as purser. I've watched the snake oil salesmen since I was 10, I've gotten quite good at it." Zeru offers, with a slight embarrassment.

"As for the Hero's Recovery It'd be a pleasure to see if we can find one in the Market." He bows lightly, so as not to unbalance Coral, and sweeps his arm in an "after you" manner.

Kareth thinks for a momenth and then replies, "I noticed a forge on the Ambition.  Once I have the time and have fully recovered, I will certainly look into what your request, Madam Thornbloom."

"Thank you kindly, Kareth. You've already done plenty for us, I appreciate it." Jadira gives the engineer a warm and genuine smile before moving off to take care of business.

The Wood Aspect chuckles at Zeru's gentlemanly gesture and starts leading the way back to the Auragik market for what had to be the third time. "All right... when we get there, I'll look for an alchemist or thaumaturgist selling wares, and inspect the products he or she has. Once we find something worth buying -- if we do, I'll let you do all the haggling."

Jadira and Zeru proceed to Auragik's open market. It is not vastly different from any other Western island market the Cobalt Alliance members have seen. It is, of course, much smaller than that of Seahaven. Nonetheless, it is bustling in miniature, with many of the stalls devoted to selling products of the local shellfish catch.

Abalone are particularly common in the area, but there are also all other kinds. Oysters, clams, crabs of all colors and sizes, scallops and of course, fish. Of the jewelry, art and talismans offered are pearls and shells and bits of coral, tiles and carved wooden boxes decorated in nacre, wooden and soapstone carvings, and other hand-made items. Finally there are the extracts, many touted to be have beneficial medicinal properties -- others are poisonous, but Jadira sees none of that selling openly. (If she were to inquire, though...)

Among the most popular items are ormer shells. Hawkers make sure to speak very prominently about them whenever the rare visitor to the island comes by. They can apparently be used to 'trap' songs and stories recited into them. Some are sold with stories and songs already 'recorded' but others are virgin, freshly harvested, for somewhat higher price.

Jadira is able to find a local thaumaturge's shop, not on an open table but inside a rather cramped and pungent smelling room. The woman at the counter is a grumpy old crone hunched on a stool, with all but her face and hands wrapped in a dark blue woolen cloak. She doesn't speak much, rather communicating in ornery grunts, head motions and hand gestures. But it does seem she has the potion they are looking for, and then some.

---

OOC: Jadira/Zeru, we won't dwell on this long, so let's do some rolls... [Private to Jadira Thornbloom; Peleps Zeru: at this shop you'll find Hero's Recovery, as well as Blood Staunching Compress, Draught of Blessed Respite and Wound Cleansing Unguent. However you won't be able to buy in huge quantities, there is no more than 10 of each.

Jadira, roll Perc or Int+Occult to determine these items are genuine and of good quality. Zeru, roll Cha+Bureaucracy to haggle on price and quantity of said healing items.]

Kareth, Xander, Kiana, Lasuri and Tageru, if you've got any training or business (market or otherwise) left to do on Auragik please detail it here. I'll be summarizing and moving past the rest period by the weekend.

Jadira checks the medicines the old woman is selling to make sure they are what they are labeled to be. She is able to determine they are of safe, even decent quality.

Zeru, oddly enough, finds himself tonguetwisted and unable to haggle with this obstinate old woman. In fact she insists on exorbitant prices until Jadira steps in and helps smooth things over with her friendly, charismatic demeanor. The old woman reduces her prices -- slightly -- but insists she is selling to the "nice girl" rather than Zeru whom she seems to think is uncouth. Or maybe she's just a cat-hater?

All in all they are able to come away with five doses/uses each of Hero's Recovery, Blood Staunching Compress, Draught of Blessed Respite and Wound Cleansing Unguent... though Jadira is certain they could have gotten much more for the price she paid (which would have been significant if not for the fact the Cobalt Alliance's coffers are far from suffering).

Jadira decides she probably ought not to push it -- but she does try to put down some extra coin to persuade the ornery old woman to sell them the Hero's Recovery procedure. "We're visitors," she explains with a smile, "we have no intention of stealing any of your business. In fact we will be going back at sea very soon, and you'll not have to see us again! And you'd prefer this over ending up drafted to make potions for those nasty burly military folk, wouldn't you?"

"You don't even have to write it down for me. Just tell me the recipe and I'll be off. Getting good coin for a few words of help can't be a bad thing, can it?" [Private to GM: I'll spend a WP on this, too. Man.. I have no bureaucracy. ;.;]

Failing that, Jadira will bow out gracefully, return to the market and see about buying herself one of those ormer shells before heading back to the Dryad. Maybe it'd have some use, or at least serve as an amusing novelty at sea.

After the debacle with the old woman Zeru would be sighing... "I suppose that didn't make a very good impression on my haggling skills did it?"

"Mau"

"Oh yeah, you think you could have done better!"

"Mau!"

"Well..." he sighs again. "Sadly that works all to often, you manipulative little ratcatcher."

Tageru spent the resting time in meditation and some light training. He tried to appear more... friendly to the crew and his Dragon-Blooded peers by initiating smalltalk and by telling a tale or two in the evenings. It's painfully obvious that he's neither used to nor good at that sort of things, but he tries his best, and he actually managed to smile once or twice in a non-creepy manner.

A few times when he was telling a particularly interesting tale or speaking in a very moving manner, his body began to glow with an emerald light, and his eyes shone with the same green brilliance seen many times before.

He tried to talk to some of the crew, and even the Wavecrest people, but his unpleasant demeanor made his attempts at possible friendships mostly futile. He tried to find a sparring partner in Kiana, to fill some time and to keep in shape, since his skills were, thankfully, not needed at this moment.

[Private to Storyteller: OOC: I learn Performance Excellency, that's what the green glow was about. :D Also, I try to slowly overcome my Disturbing flaw, but that goal is still a LONG, LONG way away... :)

Besides, it's fun being an asocial idiot for a change. I always play some social characters with good social Attributes and skills, this makes for a nice change...]

At the Auragik market, Jadira does manage to score her Hero's Recovery recipe, though at significant cost. (It turns out money is the best persuasion for this particular woman.) The formula is not an expensive one, in actuality, though Jadira does spend as much as she might have for a suit of exceptional mundane armor. She decides it's worth the cost, as it still isn't enough of a dent in her funds to matter.

Back on board the Dryad, Tageru's attempts at chatting and tale-telling develop into a novelty amusement among the crew. They aren't quite sure what he's doing or why, but he at least gets them to pay attention -- if only because what he's doing is so woefully uncharacteristic of what they expect of him. Now and then he does get some applause. It probably helps that he has had plenty of experience traveling already, and many tales to tell as an Immaculate on the Wyld Hunt.

"Don't take it too hard, Zeru," Jadira says when she comes out of the old thaumaturgist's shop. "That woman was definitely trying to stiff us."

"Anyway, it looks like we might be able to brew ourselves more of this potion later. Ugh, but I need to make sure I return to get the reagents... Never mind! I'll find a different vendor for that."

Jadira distributes the healing items to Zeru, enough to help the recovery of his own crew. She decides he needs it more, as he only has the five, while the Dryad has nearly 40.

"That should be all. Take care of yourself, Zeru, and Coral!" She smiles at the kitten, to include her, and heads back to the Dryad to check on her patients again. Next on her priorities, of course, is getting some more well-deserved rest... with Lasuri, if she can.