The harbour is not crouded, though there are a few ships docked.  Most are two- or three-masted vessels, though one, named Porpoise, has only a single mast, and bears three huge wheels, mounted at the sides and stern.

The flags at the mastheads are in a variety of colours and designs.  The ship whose flag bears the arms of Amber does not sit at the dock, like the others, but instead rides at anchor about fifty yards out in the harbour.  She is larger than the others, but built for speed, with three masts, and a relatively narrow hull.

There are arbalests mounted along the rail, and her steel-tipped ramming prow is flanked by a pair of glaring eyes, painted just above waterline.

Clearly a warship

The name, Unicorn's Wrath can be seen on her side.

While the ship itself may not be at the dock, there is a dinghy tied up nearby, watched over by two men whose tunics bear the same white unicorn as the warship's flag.  Both are armed.

"We assumed as much," Aaron bespoke of the ship at anchor, crossing his arms over his chest as he paused to gaze upon it. "Doesn't bode well for our future prospects."

"Oh?"  Morgan begged enlightenment. "Amber is not fallen, if they've a warship here."

 

Banglen-Yp appeared to almost end up with this group by chance as she seemed sad and quiet all along as the group split up and they reached the port.

She looked over at the ship as the other began to talk about it and suddenly sat up straight in her back and smiled broadly.

•• Ship •• We • go • with • the • ship ••

It sounded like half a exclamation and half a question.  Bouncing up and down where she sat she appeared as giddy as a schoolgirl with a secret no one else knew yet, except with her physique it was pretty obvious she was not a schoolgirl.

•• Sai•ling • ship ••

She bounced some more, possibly becoming a distraction to some of the people around.

 

Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the presence of several large panthers, and the... enthusiastic reaction... of certain members of the group, it doesnt take long for the guards by the dinghy to notice the strangers who are studying the warship with such keen interest.

One of them steps forward, a crossbow held pointed skywards, in that overly casual manner which generally denotes a high degree of poorly-disguised readiness.  He halts, well out of blade reach, and enquires in a cheerful tone, "Can we help you, at all, ladies and gentlemen?  I'm afraid that if you're hoping to see His Highness, even from a distance, then you're out of luck, just now."

Dorian notes the man's approach, which is not lax. Good, he thinks. "No," he says. "We have no business with His Highness that we are aware of. Information, perhaps--we have been away for a long time, and we seek to return to Amber. Can you tell of the state of things in Amber, perchance?"
This message was last edited by the player at 14:44, Mon 23 Apr 2007.

"Things are right enough in Amber, since you ask." the guard replies, though a moment later the other chimes in, "Aye, now they are."

The first guard gives him a sour look, "Well, since you've told them that much, do you want to carry on, Jer, or shall I, since I'm in command here, technically."  The one called Jer shrugs, and spits over the side of the dock, before stepping back to his original position.

"There's been some sort of problem up at the palace, or so we heard.  Had a lot of people upset for a while.  Shipping kept getting attacked too, and the fleet was always in the wrong place to stop it.  It was bad for a while, but things seem to be calming down a bit now."

"I heard that the land routes were opened again, just before we sailed."

"Yes, I heard that too." the, so far, unnamed guard adds, with a sigh.  "All in all, I think you've picked a good time to decide to go home."

"What nature did these attacks take?" Aaron asked pointedly. He needed details.

He knew full well that their primary concern once they hit Amber would be to discover the traitor within the city itself, but he needed to know the movements of Harbonah's forces, and whether Amber's most recent plight was due to those movements.

Because once they found the traitor, they'd be back in the thick of things again. Exactly where Aaron wanted to be.

Morgan brightens further at this report. "If the land routes are open, we can save a lot of time."

Glancing at the guards, he adds hastily, "Nothing wrong with ships, mind. They're just a bit ... slow." Searching, he can't find another word to describe it.

Carefully not eyeing Banglen's bouncing attributes, he pauses, realizing he may have stuck his foot in it another way. "Though I imagine everyone could have some fun going for a swim."

Tahirah finds herself standing a bit back from everyone else, turned out towards the water, staring out to sea.

Sea.

She'd read the word.  She supposes somewhere in the back of her mind she knew it meant, `an awful lot of water', but actually looking out at it...she feels dizzy.  Vaguely, she catches a stray comment from Morgan, preferring to travel by land.  Some news about attacks, which surely is important to know, but she feels distant.  Lost.  Almost mesmerized.

She watches another wave wash towards the city, its primal force first blunted, then broken, by the shape of the harbor and the interruptions of the docks.  It fades away; a form that stood out for a moment, absorbed back into the whole, slipping back under the next one...each one seemed wholly destroyed by the protections in place, but she knew that in time, the water was winning.

Another ripple washes up, breaks apart, fades away.  The constant white-noise of the water's movement flows through her ears, the sounds of the city, even the nearby conversation, fading into it.

How can they be concerned about mere wars, in the face of this?

"Afraid you'd have to ask somebody from the palace, if you want details.  We spend most of our time at sea, or standing guard at foreign docks.  There's been a couple of ships taken by pirates, of late, but that happens from time to time."

"Storms too, I heard." Jer adds, "Which doesn't happen that often.  Ships of Amber are usually blessed with good weather."

"Do you want to come here talk to them, Jer?  Then I could stand well back and do nothing all day, for a change."

Jer shakes his head, and the other, so far unnamed, turns back to the strangers.  Sorry about that.  Yes, some ships have been lost, and there are rumours about storms, but nothing confirmed."

"Anyway, as I said, if you want to know more about what's happening in the city, itself, and at the palace, you'll need to ask one of the others when they come back.  If you're lucky, one of them might be able to give you more information."

"Pirates and storms," Dorian notes. Samhain had its share of pirates, with so much of life depending on the sea. Most governments had maintained strong navies, though. He glances at Aaron and Morgan. "Sounds easy enough. Would you mind a few questions? I thirst for knowledge having been away. I don't suppose you have any recommendations about the fastest travel to Amber, and, pardon our ignorance for being away so long, when you say His Highness, would that still be King Random or have things changed since I last saw set foot in Amber? Finally, have you any news of Princess Fiona, perhaps?"

He knew that such questions would reveal more about the party than he might normally, but he felt sure anyone looking for them would already know of their arrival. The inference that they might have connection to the Royal Family of Amber might loosen lips--or tighten them.

In the end, they would only remember talking about the weather.

 

Seemingly ignorant of what effect her enthusiasm might have had, Banglen-Yp stopped bouncing but kept grinning like a fool, or nearly so, eyes shining as she watched the ship and the sea, trying to take it all in.

Ideas sprouted in her mind, ideas not commonly found with most people, and she once more was in the presence of the Screen.  If she did hear anything of what was being said she did not show it.

Meanwhile her little friend the kitten relaxed again as the bouncing subsided and he retracted his claws, that has dug in as deep as the as of yet tiny hooks were capable off.  At the same time he was quite pleased that he managed to cheer her up, even if she now spend her time staring at something else other than him at the moment.  Sensing that it was a good and safe time he began to wash, putting straight his slightly ruffled fur once more.