Over the rails Rosa goes, hair flashing behind her.  The second of the rowboats has enough room for Murleena, Rosa, Moft, and Light.  Murleena's ears still hear the beastman roaring below, storming through the corners of the ship and quickly heading upwards.  As the ship crew continues to reel, the rowboat pulls away from the "Twelfth Beacon".

Murleena goes to look in the satchel, but a loud, ringing whistle echoes across the water.  It lasts a moment, caught especially by those with sharp hearing but heard enough by everyone.  Then it's followed by several other, sharp sounds, similar to the first.  The head priest, on the shore, watches Rosa's group go, lowering something from his mouth.

There's silence from the ship, and then more sounds - clanging, thumping, as people on the craft appear to change tasks.

Whichever the case, Murleena sees the tall cloaked priest on deck again, watching them go... and then returning to th rest with a grunt.  His chase, abandoned.

One of the villagers watch them for a moment, cursing under his breath.  "Good riddance to them."

--

It isn't long before the villagers are on the Darkmaiden's Dance.  As the dark-sailed ship begins to pull away, the sky was beginning to lighten.  And as the sun rises, the ship was well on its way to the town of Faq U.

Murleena, settling down, checks the satchel.  Inside is a collection of items: tightly bound bookframe holding in numerous pages, some seem loose.  There is also a wax-sealed scroll case, a tiny thin wooden case as big as the back of a hand, some kind of fabric
 and a big circular ornate bronze plate with a face on it - it has sapphires for eyes!  Nice.

--

Once they dock at Faq U, there is a loud cheer from the nearby villagers.  Farisha hugs Light's arm.  "Thanks so much.  You'll always have friends here."

Villagers embrace, others (like Wilk) bring alcohol and supplies.  The crew would have plenty to celebrate as Rosa sets their next destination...
This message was last updated by the GM at 03:32, Fri 03 Feb 2023.

When they are all aboard and the ship is heading off at full sail, Rosa lets out a hearty cheer. "Well done everybody, well done! Is everybody all right? Did we get everybody?" She goes around to all the rescued villagers, shakes their hands and learns their names, and makes sure they are all ok.

Afterwards, when she has a free moment, she talks to Murleena and asks, "So what little fish did you catch? What got that other cat so pissed off? Do you mind if I have a look?" She's most interested in the bound-book and the scroll.

Rosa tells the crew (and passengers) that they'll be spending the night in Faqu. It's party time! They'll resume their journey to Doghelm on the morning tide.

Tylluan sequesters himself in his cabin once they return to their ship, not wanting any of the rescued hostages to intrude into the space he PAID for. I suppose I should be happy this sordid mess is over with, so we can resume our journey, but I don't know what I feel. Anger at those idiot priests for causing this inconvenience, yes. Annoyance at the Captain for arbitrarily involving us when we could have simply sailed away, possibly. But I also feel a sense of... satisfaction... for rescuing those poor islanders, whose boring lives were most likely enlivened by this incident, though not in the way they wanted, I'm sure. Is... Is this conflicted feeling normal for other people?

The gurgling of his stomach interrupts his uncharacteristic bout of introspection and he sighs. "Yes. Thank you for reminding me of what truly matters; my comfort and satisfaction." He fluffs his feathers and shakes vigorously, before leaving his cabin and going in search of something to quell his hunger.

When they reach Faq U, Tylluan avails himself of the villagers good will and hospitality to sample as many culinary delights as he possibly can. After all, I deserve a little adulation, considering I was instrumental in helping these poor people escape and reunite with their loved ones.

In reply to Tylluan (msg # 3):

Once aboard the Darkmaiden's Dance, Light shrugs off his weariness and helps as best he can to temporarily accommodate the people rescued as well as re-open his Galley for a late night celebration feed in case any of them need something in their bellies after the ordeal.

He throws in oil, spices, rice and a variety of vegetables he got from the Faq U Market, noting that he will need to go and restock once again before they leave. He checks with the various villagers, shipmates and guests in case they have any special dietary concerns he need be aware of, keeping the Galley open until everyone is sated before gathering bowls and such for tidying up.

'We did good, Captain. Somehow our ingredients came together and made a recipe for success.' he says of the rescue.

The first thing she pulls out of the satchel is the bronze plate, then holds it up. "Face plate! Has gems for eyes, should be worth a pretty penny!" Then she holds up the book. "Odd book, some loose pages." The next thing she held up was a scroll case, which she would shake carefully first to see if there was something in it. "Scroll case." She dangles some fabric. "Cloth." She would examine the tiny wooden case to make sure it's not trapped or locked, if it's not she'll open it. "And this case."

Rosa glances at the plate but she thinks it's ugly. "Yeah, some noble would probably pay a fair bit for that." She's more interested in the book and scroll. She slowly pulls the book towards her, ready to pull her hand away in case the cat pounces on it. She then opens it and takes a look. "What's that cloth? A rag, or wrapping, or a nice scarf? Is it pretty?"

It was good that Rosa was ready to pull her hand because Murleena did in fact strike. A clawed hand landing on the book with a feline quickness. She then looked towards Rosa a moment considering. "The cloth is some kind of fabric, beyond that I do not know much about it. Purhaps one of the villagers could help with what it is." She said with a chilling calm. "And before you get grabby, purhaps it would be best to ask to look, yes?"

The piece of fabric might be some kind of hankerchief, but it's too big.  It's gray, and has a tiny sewn trim followed by a thin row of tiny shapes, all sewn in white threads.

The ornate plate looks ugly, and from Rosa's eye has some wear on it.  It's been cleaned and polished over the wear, and looks like some kind of square decoration.  Kind of like a relief, only... transportable.

The scrollcase hasn't been opened, the seal unbroken with a symbol melted onto the wax.  The case itself looks to have had wax used to seal the enclosure water-tightly shut.

---

The villagers seem more than happy to greet her - "Yeh, yeh, they gathered us in that hold and, they grabbed Farisha-"  "An' Ned."  "-and Ned, and headed up abovedeck.  It's a brave thing you did... getting us.  And getting them too."  Hands are shaken.  Cheers are met.  And the villagers head off the deck... and return home.

The welcome is warm... and relieved.  There are couples crying and holding each other, and people talking and milling about the harbor.  Moft looks off over the crowd, nodding a bit, and reaching up to pat Light's arm in thanks.

The only celebrity of the hour that reaches as much attention as Rosa does is Tylluan.  Villagers are waving to the owl-man from the crowd, others shouting to bring alcohol, fish, fruit, whatever they can get.  "Get food and drink on the ready!  We'll make a party of it!"

---

The winds roll over Faq U's shores, making a 'shore fire pit' unlikely.  Instead, among the mounds further inland, beyond the market and taller buildings, is a small cleared park.  Here, shallower mounds were well-suited for climbing and sitting, and among the shallow grass and sparse trees, a large fire pit and a number of old wood 'seats and tables' have been gathered.

This little festival ground was going to be crowded.  With Rosa's crew, with the rescued, with townsfolk, with the 'various others' who occupied with Darkmaiden's Dance?

The only question is... the wait!  They arrived in the morning, and that left time to gather, cook, and talk...

As loved ones got caught up, people were hanging up colorful scarves and fabrics, preparing quickly for the late afternoon bash.

"I did ask," Rosa says, her eyes narrowing as she stares at Murleena. "We share any loot on this ship. It's how we pay our way. I'm not claiming it as mine. I just want to have a look at it. Do you have a problem with that?" She again reaches out for the book.

Rosa enjoys the attention she gets from the crowd, but she accepts the praise graciously and doesn't try to milk it. She's glad Tylluan is also getting his fair share of praise; she figures he'll like that, and his help was quite invaluable. She wonders if she can get him drunk tonight.

Rosa is tired by mid-morning, so she heads back to the ship to catch up on her sleep.

Tylluan basks in the attention of the villagers, settling himself in a comfortable spot and allowing them to bring food and drink for him. He does his best to quell his gurgling stomach by picking up whole fish in his beak, tossing his head back, and swallowing them. I am SO hungry. I can't really taste what I'm eating this way, but I'll slow down to savor other dishes once my stomach stops complaining.

"Yes, yes. I was quite happy to help your people escape from those terrible priests," he trills, pausing for a moment in his eating. "Why yes, I will have more of that delicious fish, thank you."

In between talking and eating, Tylluan uses his special drinking vessel to down whatever offering they pour inside. With his rudimentary sense of taste, he can't really tell if these libations are of good quality or not. There is only "fruity", "hoppy" or "malty" and the taste of alcohol.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:55, Fri 15 July 2022.

Murleena cocks her head for a moment, considering. Then finally she speaks. "Murleena supposes you did." Then she pauses a moment, before going on. "Okay, you can look at the book. Move closer, we will both look at it. Two sets of eyes are better than one."