The captain gave the haggard group a look a of pity. "Aye! There's always room for friends, go ahead and get on board before the rest of ya collapse. Plenty o' free bunks below deck, and don't worry, I know you folks are good for it, and if not, I offer very good interest rates on debts." At least one crew member with a crate jeered at him from the ship, apparently disagreeing. "Ahaha... er, anyhow, we'll cast off as soon as the last of the cargo is aboard."

The ship was large and sturdy looking. A large plank led up from the sand to the side. The deck seemed to be clean, except for a small sticky red puddle of something that a  sailor was mopping up near the storage hold. Below deck there were plenty of hammocks suspended securely against the rafters. Blankets were piled to the side, a few had a few odds and ends inside, indicating someone was using them, but most to the back seemed to be unused. The lower deck was dark, but oil lanterns were hung to the walls.

The captain was truly a sight for sore eyes, and the catfolk offered him a large grin, genuine even though the underlying fatigue showed on her expression. Though generally. . .opposed. . .to any sort of sea-related experience, after their harrowing adventure she was willing to sleep just about anywhere.

The hedonistic cat caught sight of Feliph and winked. Well, maybe not just anywhere.

As they were led inside, Tath found herself a hammock near one of the corners, unshouldering her pack and her gear, a sheathed knife the only weapon on her by the time she was finished. Easing into the cat's cradle with feline grace, she glanced at each of her companions.

"So, my friends! Time to actually rest, yeah?" Another shameless wink towards the newest of the group.

Lan took a hammock next to Tath's and got comfortable, laying his bow with his things.  "'Rest' is a relative term," the half-elf mused bitterly, offering the catfolk a wry smile, having noticed the way she regarded Feliph.  Glancing over the rest of the group, Lan drew in a deep breath and stretched his arms and shoulders.

After thanking the captain, Feliph had scooted Hamilton off herself, then made her way onto the boat with the others. She appreciated their speed in making their way to the bunks; she was weary to the bone.

She was tired enough that she was about to sleep one way or the other, but she figured she could at least take a stab at the arrangements they'd wound up missing back at the castle. She gave Tath a slightly unsteady smile in response to her wink and her pronouncement, and said "Oh, goodness, yes... Mind if I join you?"

Kerath was looking for the kitchen, because he was starving, he prefers eat first and sleep later. He was enjoying the calm time on the ship.
This message was last edited by the player at 15:41, Thu 03 Sept 2015.

Zigor hissed at the light at the end of the tunnel. "Tch, and so the sun rises again, I had to join the one group of thieves that refuses to skulk around at a reasonable hour. Mayhaps I ought to have joined some talking bats instead." He and the few left capable of moving their weary bodies helped those who could not to the room with the cots, this time a bit more gently than sacks of flour since there were no mysterious noises of impending doom.

"Ah, I can already feel my joints seizing up. If my vessel become naught but rust by the end of this trip, please don't leave me on this ship. I don't want that smuggler to sell me as a curio."

The catfolk grinned, stretching out in her hammock and patting her chest as she looked out from her little haven towards Feliph. "It's no Noble's four-poster bed, but I think we can make do." She chuckled, shifting to make a little bit of room for Feliph. "Besides, I sleep soooo much better when I have something cute to cuddle."

Well, she didn't exactly say no.

Lan had to stop himself from chuckling mid-stretch when Tath replied to the girl.  Relaxing finally, the halfling sprawled across one of the hammocks and covered his eyes with the crook of his arm.  He wondered what awaited them in Galdcavern, simultaneously musing once again on the warnings of the fortune teller in Grhinat.

After Kerath puts Eve on a warm and soft place where she could rest and recover at all, he try to think on the next move of the group. Which road they could take,  he really don't know, and to be honest with his self, that won't be a problem, at last for the moment.

The ship is soon loaded with the mystery cargo and departs. The ship rocks gently, tempting the weary bandits to sleep. Many hours go by, and the rocking of the cloth cradling the passengers swings to a pendulum's pace. Drops of water dance between the boards above, flying down to meet the resting travelers. It's now dark, no stars nor moon, just flashes of lightning preceding the boom of its thunder. The rafters creak slightly, the floor's balance shifts, another night of storm, this time while in the middle of the sea.

The poison has cleared completely from everyone affected, around 11 hours has passed. Much of the crew is sleeping in the other bunks closer to the door.
This message was last edited by the GM at 18:33, Sat 12 Sept 2015.

Lan'elli shifted in his hammock, growling in protest against the noise.  He resented how sharp his half-elven hearing was in times like these.  With a low grumble, Lan slid from his hammock and made his way through the belly of the ship.  He had no trouble seeing, another "gift" of his heritage, but he had no sea legs.  The undulating boat tossed him aside every now and then, forcing him to think harder about where he was going and how he was getting there.  He finally pressed his weight against the hull and stared blankly out of a porthole, though he could see nothing through the heavy rainfall.  It was blackness beyond the circular portal.

The half-elf heaved a sigh, glancing around briefly before returning to his vigil.

Eve sat up after hours of fitful rest. She looked around the ship and sighed. Part of her memory told her this was right yet she had no memory of stepping foot on the ship. Kerath She thought as she let a half smile creep across her lips. She could see Lan at the port hole and feel the storm moving the ship. She stood up almost silently and stretched her legs. She moved across the lower deck, past many sleeping crew members. She longed for fresh air, no matter the cost of being out in the darkened weather. "Lan," she whispered across the darkness, "coming?" She asked as she grabbed one of the crew members cloaks.

Feliph smiled at Tath's comments, but didn't manage to blush this time; she was just too tired, and the bed was too appealing for hesitation about sharing it with the feline woman. So she climbed in, resting lightly against her, and was asleep almost instantly. Hamilton curled up at the foot of the wooden column that the hammock was affixed to.

She woke up some time later feeling much better, although now she was awake and aware enough to feel a bit self-conscious about sleeping next to Tath. Two people sharing a hammock didn't exactly encourage separation. Still, she was warm enough, and comfortable, so she just smiled to herself and closed her eyes again, resting for a while longer.

For a moment, it seemed as if Lan hadn't heard Eve.  He sighed, still trying to spot something past the rain, "Couldn't sleep.  I guess you couldn't either?"  Normally, Lan couldn't have cared less what Eve thought: she was an elf, and Lan - despite his being half-elf himself - had no love for the elves.  But she was different.  She didn't carry herself like other elves did.  She didn't look down on others just because they were of a "lesser" race.  Something about that knowledge eked a begrudged respect from Lan for Eve.  He wondered exactly what her stake with this group really was.

He let his question go unanswered, as if he'd meant it rhetorically, and said, "Come on, you've been sick.  Even if you can't sleep, you ought to at least lie down.  I don't think we'll be getting much more rest once we get back on track."  He turned and ushered her back towards the hammocks, not really giving her much of a choice in the matter.  Besides, he was suddenly much more tired.

Eve sighed as she let Lan lead her. She hated being trapped below deck. If the rocking and noise was not enough to make one want to escape, the smell of the crew was. She groaned as she moved back into her hammock. There was no light to read her newest belonging- the book from the castle. She had little to do and boredom was wearing on her. She was not tired- she had decided she had slept enough. "If I must lay here in complete darkness would it be a bother if I played a sailors lullaby or a rivers tune?" She did not need light for that, playing music came almost too naturally for her. She could feel her instrument almost begging to be played under her touch. She could see a flash of lightening outside. Part of her had her mind set to play no matter what the half elf said and part of her doubted he had a true ear for music anyways. Her fingers traced her belongings in her bag gently.

Lan waved a hand in dismissal as he found his way back to his own hammock.  "Wouldn't bother me any," he murmured.  He lay in his hammock, though sleep would not find him.  He fingered the grainy texture on his unstrung bow as he lay there, reminiscing on past visits to Galdcavern, though it had been long enough ago that he was certain he wouldn't remember his way around.  Cities had a way of changing between visits.  The half-elf clicked his tongue and pulled his blanket over his shoulders.

Eve slowly played a gentle lullaby that seemed to flow with the sea. The tune was that of a traveler, the song telling her the story once more. The man traveling to find his escape from his dark prison, his captors evil spell, she drifted in and out of focus of the true story while she played the song. Greta had told it to her many times while teaching her to play. Somewhere in the middle of the song she changed almost seamlessly into the song her mother had taught her. I rarely mattered what she played- it always came back to the tale of elf. Once it had been her favorite- almost like a love story that ended tragically.

Hard ground, loose sand, a peasant's quarters, even a Noble's bed Tath had the pleasure of sleeping in. The hammock was no different than the rest, and though cramped and wobbly on the ship, it was no less comfortable with their cute new companion nestled in her arms. Light vibrations emanated from her chest - the lightest of purrs - As she slipped into slumber. Sleep was infinitely more comfortable with the warmth of a companion next to you, and Tath's smile accounted for that. It was a quaint, simple smile with the barest hint of her small fangs peeking out of her lips. One free of mischief, or flirtation, or playful teasing. She was in a state of bliss. . .or at least one of contentment.

She was able to get quite a restful slumber in when Feliph woke up. Those of the roguish quality would prefer to sleep with one eye open, though alas that was nigh impossible. Instead, Tath was a naturally light sleeper, and the idle purr emanating in her throat died out as the girl woke up. She didn't open her eyes, instead preferring other senses - sense of balance, hearing, scent - to work out what was going on, if anything. After a moment's consideration, the catfolk wrapped her arms around Feliph, giving her a squeeze of affection before relaxing once more into slumber.

A duo of sailors stepped in from above deck. Their rain-soaked oilcloth cloaks wet the steps as they took them off.
"Blimey! I've never seen a storm like that 'round these parts this time o' year. I swear it's unnatural." The elder of the two said loudly, squeezing water from his greying beard.

"Ulp- you can, urgh, say that again. N-never felt sicker, this boat's trashing around like an eel in a net." A rather large sailor mutters between gulps, obviously holding back vomiting.

"That's just 'cause you've been drinking on the job again! Hahaha!" The elder pats the large man firmly on the back, sending him stumbling drunkenly forward. "Now go wake up the next shift."

"Dun, don't- urgh... touch... blll..." The sick sailor stumbles forward in the dark room, right past the other sailors, towards the group of passengers in the back. It sounded like he was just about to throw-up.

Feliph felt Tath squeeze her affectionately as she drifted back off, and her sleepy smile widened just a little before she fell asleep again. Normally the prospect of being snuggled up to the cat girl would have been a more awakening prospect, just because the niceness of it would be mixed with social anxiety. But here, as worn out as she was, she was able to enjoy the warmth and closeness without worrying about whether she could sleep.

Some time later, Hamilton's ears pricked up as he detected a possible intruder, and he opened one eye. He'd gotten at least somewhat used to Feliph's companions, but there was a definite, unfamiliar human smell coming his way. He gave a little grumble to himself at first, but as it kept getting nearer he opened his eyes, then gave a quiet, but definite bark of warning.

"Mm-- huh?" Feliph said sleepily as she woke up. She'd trusted Hamilton's guarding instincts for too long to sleep through his warning, even though the situation seemed fairly safe. She tried to get her bearings in the dark as she said "What's up, Hammy?"

Eve's melody was cut short by the sound of the dog's bark. She set the instrument aside and slipped quietly out of her hammock. She had no reason to be alarmed- yet. She had heard the sailors come down only a few seconds before, nothing about it strange to her- seeing as they were on a ship. Not as strange as the last group they had met on this adventure. Eve smiled as she picked up the cloak she had managed to grab- what was only an hours or so ago- and slipped it on. She looked at Feliph and Hamilton, "What's going on?" She whispered through the cold dark air.

The drunk sailor stumbled back a bit upon hearing the dog bark. He then unleashed his own bellowing noise along with the contents of his stomach.

At the very least it was enough to make him vomit on the floor rather than all over the passengers, but the sound and the smell quickly woke several other sailors.
"UGH, did a landlubber heave again?"
"Someone get a mop..."
"I'm tryin ta sleep! Shut up!"

Unknown voices filled the dark until the elder sailor approached his friend with a blindingly bright lantern. The bent down and started dragging him away. "Sorry about that folks, I'll have that cleaned right quick! " The man said a bit too loud, then shouted to the other sailors. "OY, next shift get up topside already. We're getting soaked up there, and the winds are kicking up."

Afterwards the man cleaned up the mess as well he could with just a mop and the night continued on with dripping water, snoring sailors, and lingering smells.

The sun rose some hours later, and a bell rang up topside. Several sailors got up and started shuffling out. It seemed it was breakfast time for the day shift. It was still raining heavily.
This message was last edited by the GM at 02:08, Thu 15 Oct 2015.

Ever the light sleeper, an eye slipped open, cat-like gaze following the dog as Feliph was roused by him. A perk of the catfolk being nightvision, the rogue merely watched the event play out, biting down on her lip in amusement. At least it wasn't her, or the girl nestled in her arms heaving up their contents (yet). Seeing no cause to alarm the others, whether they be roused or not, Tath's eyes slipped closed once more, hands. . .wandering along Feliph as she shifted very subtly, masking her movements as nothing more mid-sleep restlessness.