The tavern is not far from the dock where the swan boat has landed.

As the party leaves the tavern to look upon the mythological ship they immediately see who is on board. Balthazar, A'Kos. Loukas, Brother Finnegan, Onfim and an older stranger.

Those on the swan ship can sea a good portion of the crew of the Heart of Oak heading their way.

Once Oleg realizes who it is in the swan boat he raises his hand in a salute and calls out..."Did you find that which you seek already?"

"Good Morning!" the monk calls to the boats passengers. "Are you friends of Oleg? I've been travelling upriver with him, though his boat has far less down than yours."

A'kos ruminates over the up then down.  He waves and offers a friendly wave to the folk from the Heart of Oak, and waits patiently to disembark from the boat.

When they finally dock, Loukas approaches Oleg with a laugh and hug, "If we'd be bloated old men surrounded by empty casks and the remains of meals past rather than the strapping warriors and seekers we are, eh?

"Now, if you're talking about that other 'thing', no. Not yet, but..."

Turning around and waving Pelles over, "How, sir, please permit me to introduce you to the finest seaman on the Black Sea. Oleg, meet Master Pelles, he knows where we need to go and as it turns out it's going to require a ship to get us there. The Gods have brought us back to Heart of Oak, Captain Oleg!"

He looks around and the others from Oleg's crew whom he has not yet met, "And it looks like you've got a hardy crew together. Need a few more rowers?"

Oleg bows his head towards the older man and says..."Well met Pelles."

Oleg points to Rudolfus and says...Rudolfus is one of our new crewmen...a christian monl, priest and sometime mage if I understand his calling correctly.. THere are a few others whoa re new to the crew as well but for the most part we have the same crew youa re used to seeing and yes, we can always use a few more hands at the oars."

He looks at his old sailing companions then at the old man and says..."We returned early from delivering Dobrynya home and were going to do a little raiding but this sounds jsut as good. Where are we headed and do we hve any time to rest here in Kiev before we leave?"

He looks at Rudulfus and gives him a short, careful nod, "Well met. I am Loukas Ouranus, Brother of Veles."

Turning back to Oleg, "Ah, I am glad to hear Dobrynya has made it home. Well done! Our intention was to present ourselves at the Palace, but depart as soon as possible otherwise."

"I might be persuaded to throw axes again, if anyone's interested," said A'kos as he leads Storm's Wind down from the forecastle of the old man's swan ship.  "I gave the gambeson I won to Jaleh, the four winds protect her, so I need something for formal occasions."

Oleg nods his head and says..."Fine, we can leave tomorrow morning then. THat should give you time to vivist Vladimir int he palace and for use to get ourselves stocked up for a trip south. Will we be stopping in Khorsun on our way past?"

So this was the Heart of Oak? Thorn had heard much of it recently, and it was most interesting to see the ship at last. He had heard of it first some years back, from a fellow countryman who went by the name Conn of Skye, and while he had not expected to ever encounter the vessel he knew that fate often had surprises in store. He smiled and nodded to all the new acquaintances, and waited for an introduction.

Ulfr has a broad smile plastered on his face, clearly happy to see old crewmates.  These were folk who always had someplace interesting to go and do!

Loukas reaches over and grabs Ulfr's shoulder affectionately in a strong grip, "It ain't us, my friend, it's the 'Heart of Oak', eh?"

Noting Thorn he kicks himself, "Oh, yes, come over here, Singer. Friends, this is Thorn beloved by ladies and tolerated by everyone else!"

Turning back to Oleg, "Aye, Captain, we'll be travelling to Arabia, so a quick stop at Khorun will permit us to check in with Miroslav as well as make sure we've got the best supply and water."

Heinrich grins, seeing the crewmates he was just getting to know before they split up. He arches an eyebrow and says, "Arabia?"

"I'll be checking in on Jaleh in Khorsun, as well," said A'kos.

Loukas gives A'kos a sympathetic nod kicking himself for forgetting the obvious and turns to Heinrich with a sort of relief smiling in recognition, "Ah, good to see you, old man! We can discuss details later, but, yes, that's the direction we'll be heading."

Onfim steps off the boat and onto the dock. He nods his head in greeting to the crew of the Heart of Oak..."I am Onfim, linguist, scholar and jack of many trades. it is a pleasure to finally meet all of you."

Onfim looks to be a man in his early 40's or perhaps older. His hair is a salt and pepper black. He is wearing a leather jack i=and is armed with a simple arming sword.

Pelles steps forward smiling broadly, almost maniacally..."Yes, to Damascus to encounter the Mad Arab!"

He bows deeply and introduces himself..."I am Pelles!"

Heinrich grins and says, "I guess I will continue to get farther from home. And who is this mad Arab?"

When Pelles speaks the Mad Arab's name Loukas is reminded that those who are mythic, and possibly immortal, have a rather different perspective things. Stepping forward he speaks with the hope of interrupting Pelles further, "We have a good deal to accomplish before we can leave, Heinrich, and discussing our work here in public probably isn't the thing we should be doing. We shall explain to everyone tomorrow morn before we depart. Until then, enjoy the day and we look forward to sailing with you tomorrow!"

"I have heard much of the City of Jasmine. I will be glad to come along."

Upon the response from Loukas, Heinrich nods his head and stays quiet, looking to see if anyone needs assistance unloading here.

Balthazar sets up a lounge chair on deck.  All his possessions are aboard, and he is ready to set sail.

Finnegan goes up and down to the crow's nest, swings around the ship, and has a marvelous time.  Every possible deck duty he enthusiastically performs, saying, "Ahoy matey" in his Irish accent.