In reply to Tylluan (msg # 3):

Light hears the voices and dons his head covering to conceal his cyborg features before going up on deck to see what all the hubbub is about.

He thought the voice sounded familiar, there before him next to some kind of Catfolk was the earthfoot halfling with the dog head, replete in almost full plate he had met briefly in Welk's.

'Moft? What brings you to The Darkmaiden's Dance? Wait... Kidnapping?'

He looks to the one with the doggo warrior.
'Murleena, huh?'

He looked to the Captain and heard her out. It was true that Tylluan had 'first dibs', and none of them really knew much of anything about Moft other than a brief encounter with him in the bar while Light was looking for drinks to restock the ship's stores with.

Still, the thought of leaving someone in danger when they might be able to do something about it -even if only to give them transportation to and from- made him feel a bit sad.

The large island villager crossed his arms but looked in Ty's direction waiting to see which fork in the road the owl man would take.

"Well...  That's for this one and that one to talk about than. I'm just a set of hired eyes, since mine can see in the darkness better than any." She stated matter of factly as she thumbed towards Moft, then pointed towards the Owl-man.

Moft, the little knight, takes half a glance at Light Vessel.  But his eyes pull away and he looks to Rosa.

"But... you are the only ship that can leave the harbor!  There's no one else that can catch that thing!"  Moft scurries over to the ship, waving his arms.  "The town... can cover your supplies, but those... those clerics!"  He took a moment to calm himself, his fist bumping against the side of the boat lightly.

"They came when the sun was coming down.  We thought they were getting supplies, but they were taking people.  They took the elder who runs the fruit market, the diver and all his wares, others besides.  By the time people realized there was a kidnapping, the ship had already left.  We don't even know why they did it, the cowards acted in hiding."

He looks over to Murleena.  "Can you get up their ship, see where it might have gone?  Before it gets too far away!"

Tylluan listens impassively as the earthfoot frantically explains what has him so agitated. Those priests again. This is the second time they have annoyed me. I am very close to becoming angry. He fluffs out his feathers and sinks his beak down to his breast as he thinks. What sort of god do these fools serve, that allows them to act in such an inconsiderate manner? Still, this is no business of mine. Even less so, since I am leaving this island. The fate of its people means nothing to me.

He raises his head and focuses on the small knight, intending to assert his prior claim on the ship's services, but hesitates. Still... these priests have inconvenienced me. Why shouldn't I do the same to them in kind? It will teach them to be more well-mannered. Also, we may go somewhere interesting. The only reason I chose Doghelm to begin with was because it was the destination of that ship, the Tempest. One unknown destination is as good as another, as long as I don't have to pay further.

He blinks his eyes and turns to Rosa. "Captain? Perhaps... Perhaps we should assist them. I am in no hurry to reach my destination, as long as there are no additional fees." He glances at the catgirl and mentally chuckles. "Can see in darkness better than any"? How amusing. She has obviously never met my people.

"I can Moft. Watch, and see why I am known as the Shadowcat." She then takes a few steps back into the shadows of some nearby crates, and in an instant is simply gone in a swirl of shadow.

[OOC: So she will shadow step to the crows nest. Then scan for the ship in question.]
This message was last edited by the player at 22:10, Sun 09 Jan 2022.

In reply to Murleena (msg # 10):

Upon hearing that they've taken Farisha, Light's nostrils flare, and his brow creases.

'Sounds like someone needs to respect their elders better.'

He didn't want to risk discovery, but people were in trouble, the kind he and the Darkmaiden's Dance crew and passengers could likely get them out of.

When the cat woman vanishes, he starts looking around.

Rosa looks from Tylluan to Light to see what they think. She's glad that Tylluan isn't quite as selfish as he seems, and even Light thinks chasing down a heavily armed ship is the right thing to do.

She turns back to the two newcomers, but before she can give them permission to come aboard the cat says she can get on the ship, then vanishes. Startled, Rosa looks around, then up, and spots the cat up on the crow's nest. She calls out, "Hey cat, next time wait for permission to come aboard, or risk getting thrown overboard!" She shakes her head and gestures for Hugh & Dolph to lower the gangplank for Moft the Dog.

When he's aboard, Rosa says, "I saw where they were going; I watched them leave. At first they were going south-east, but then when they were almost out of sight they turned northwards. Also you should know they've got cannon. We don't, but we do have some other tricks up our sleeves. Still, this is going to be dangerous."

She turns and addresses the crew. "Ok people, looks like we're going to have to finish dinner later. Light, cast us off; Hugh & Dolph, get that sail up. Cat, you stay up there and make sure we're not going to hit anything in the dark." She wets her finger and sticks it in the air. "Not much wind, but enough to get going. It'll pick up when we're out of the harbour." She heads to the sterncastle and takes the helm.

"I have a name ear's! Call me Murleena, Shadowcat, or Shadow! Not CAT! Or I swear I will call you ears until the day YOU die. And good luck throwing me overboard EARS." She stated flatly, displaying claws, tapping the railing of the crows nest. "And lastly, HE'S my boss as he hired, not you."

Crew snap to business, readying the ship to go.

"Thank you!  Thank you, ma'a- captain!"  Moft scurries aboard on his smaller legs, going up the offered gangplank.  "Well, be nice up there!  We can't afford to offend the captain, the situation is not good!"

Moft heaves himself up, looking over to Tylluan briefly in surprise.  But his focus is on Rosa again.  "Um, yes.  They have cannons?  I saw they had some defenses, but... it sounds more dangerous than I thought."  He balls his fist up, but looks back to Rosa.

"That's good!  What you said about where they went, I mean.  Er... Murleena!"  Moft starts shouting upwards.  "Murleena!  Look northward!  It sounds like they are circling 'round Faq U's island!"

The ship slowly moves out from harbor, beginning a journey after a troublesome enemy...

"Offend the Captain! Ear's called me a cat as if I'm some four legged pet!" She growled out. "How would you feel if she called you dog Moft? I'm not even that rude! I have at least that amount of manners!"

She mutters something to herself, then begin's looking northward. "Circling around to where though, is there a cove on that side of the island they could hole up in? Or another island up there that's unused by Faq U's people?" It was obvious she was not from here.

Tylluan watches the byplay between the others, having said what was needed. He stares up at the catgirl up in the crow's nest for a moment and clicks his beak sharply. So impetuous. Even I know that a captain's word is law on the seas. He turns around and walks back toward the galley. "Now that things are decided, I am going to finish my food. If you need my assistance, you know where I will be, yes?"

Back inside, he takes up where he left off, fastidiously picking up food in his beak, before tossing back his head and swallowing it. The Captain was not lying. Her cook is very good.

Rosa throws up her arms in surrender. "My apologies, Murleena, but know this; I am the captain. If you can't accept that then get off now while the shore is still in sight!" She sees Tylluan head back into the galley and wonders if she should have sent the owl up into the crows-nest instead of the pussy cat. She sighs; it's going to be a long journey. She concentrates on getting out of port, alternating between manning the helm and helping Hugh & Dolph with the rigging.

In a free moment, she says to Moft, "That's very nice armour, Moft, but you best be careful whilst  aboard a ship. I don't want to go swimming after you!" She chuckles. "You and your sharp-clawed friend can bunk bellow decks. There are some free hammocks down there. It's obvious which ones are Hugh & Dolph's." She looks to the horizon, and asks him, "So, what do you know about these priests? Have you encountered them before? They have a fire-powered ship. I wonder if they have any other tricks up their sleeves?"

Moft just grunts at Murleena, but Rosa's answer supercedes anything he was going to say.  He let out a brief laugh, finally, at Rosa's jab.  "Yes.  Well, I'll keep aboard."

He glances over at her, still looking stiff... angry.  But he was thumping his hand on the side of the ship.  "...Neh, I'm afraid not.  Welk did, some, Farisha a bit, I think.  They're out from Damasto, aren't they?"  He scowled a bit to himself, then he looked over at Rosa.

"Fire-ships, you say?  Welk said something of that.  They burn things to move.  Dangerous to use, but they move with great strength.  ...the ones he heard about were used by the military, in Damasto.  The priests... I don't think they were a part of them?  They are sometimes seen in Zamgree, even the Belkas and Tronkset too."

From above, Murleena can begin to make out the waters.  The dim moonlight was not much help, but looking northward... she can make out a sails of a ship moving northwards indeed.  It's come around alongside the island, moving steady.  It's not straight-due north, but it's hard to tell where at this angle.

But now the pursuit was on...

She mutters something about respect under her breath, but leaves it at that.

After a few moments of watching the northern horizon she watches the other ship for a moment, then looks down towards the others puts two claws between her lips and whistles to get their attention. She then points towards the ship.

In reply to Murleena (msg # 19):

Light watches the two women's personalities clash, and raises an eyebrow.

He was tempted to say something, but the Captain seemed to have everything in hand, and Tylluan was headed back to the Galley to finish his meal.

Light didn't like leaving the Galley unattended with strangers in it, much less anyone else bar maybe the Captain.

The catgirl could do some kind of relocation trick... Possibly magic or some kind of wild martial art technique? Rather than reassure Light, it made him a bit more wary of her. Especially if she made it a habit of popping up uninvited willy nilly.

Rosa looks up when Murleena whistles and gives her a wave. She jumps on the railing on the stern-castle to get some extra height, then holding a rope in one hand and her spyglass in the other, she looks in the direction that Murleena was pointing. She's expecting smoke to be billowing out from the priests' ship, but she doesn't know how it works. Maybe it's just running on sails now?

Now that they're out of the harbour, Rosa changes to the black sails. Hugh, Dolph and her spend a good 15 minutes rigging the sails and getting their angle right to maximise the effect of the wind. Their speed really picks up when they round the headland and feel the full force of the ocean winds.  She wonders though if it is enough to catch the priests' vessel. If they're just running on sails now then Rosa feels they might just have a chance to catch them. But what will they do once they have caught up with them? What can they do against a ship armed with cannon?

Taking a careful look, Rosa saw... not much.  It was night, and dark.  The moon was hidden in the clouds.  It took a good while, Rosa searching.  Finally, though, there was enough moonlight to see a hint of maroon.  The maroon sails were barely visible in what moonlight there was.  It wasn't much...

But it was something.

The black smoke wasn't visible anymore, and Rosa didn't see anything but the sails.  With her ship, the Darkmaiden's Dance, she -could- catch up.  But as she thought, what would it mean next?

Using the shadows in the crows nest, and then shadow stepping into them and out of some shadows on the deck. "...if you can get me close somehow Captain, I can get on there without them knowing. Depending on how they have them shackled, I could pick the locks and have them in the drink for you to pick up before they are the wiser."
This message was last edited by the player at 06:27, Wed 12 Jan 2022.

Timing is everything when looking through a spyglass when you are on a ship. You bring up the spyglass just as you are cresting the wave, then you lower it and hold on tightly to the rope as the ship drops down into the trough. Finally she manages to catch sight of the ship's sails. It's not much, but it's enough. She jumps down and puts away the spyglass. She adjusts their course by a degree and calls out for Hugh & Dolph to tighten some ropes and loosen some others.

Rosa hides her surprise when Murleena steps out from the shadows. She likes her idea and asks, "How close? If my plan works I'll be able to sail us right up behind them without them seeing us."

"About fifty five feet or so." She said with a simple nod as she continued to look over the captains shoulder towards the other ship. "If we can't get that close, purrhaps your owl friend might be able to get me a bit closer if need be, and I can use the shadow of his wings to step through."

In reply to Murleena (msg # 25):

Meanwhile, in the Galley, Light is watching as Tylluan finishes his meal and starts putting some of the leftover stir fry into a bowl for himself to eat.

He sets aside a few bamboo cups and a bottle of some clear water as well as a small bottle and starts to fill one of the cups with the water, before putting ten drops from the small bottle into it, then looking to Tylluan.

'Would you like some flavored water to wash it down with?'

'There are other options of course, though if The Dance is going into a potential skirmish it might pay to keep a clear head.'

Rosa says, "Fifty five feet? That's about the length of the ship. That's close." She considers Murleena's suggestion and nods. "Tylluan isn't my friend, I only met him today; but perhaps we can convince him to fly you over to the other ship? Let's go below and ask him." She gets Hugh to take the helm and Dolph to keep watch from the crows-nest, and she asks Moft to join them in the galley. She's starting to feel peckish again. Hopefully Light hasn't cleared the table yet.

As she enters the galley, she bows and says, "My apologies, Light, for upsetting dinner. We're on our way now though and we've got hours before we catch them. It's time to discuss how we are going to do this. My plan is that we sneak up behind them and catch them by surprise."

As she picks at some food, Rosa asks Light Vessel, "Light, when we get closer, can you create a shield of darkness in front of us to block their view of us?"

She then asks Tylluan, "I know you are just a passenger, but perhaps you can lend a … wing? When we are close, could you fly Murleena over to their ship. You don't have to get too close." She refrains from saying just how close. "Murleena can then shadow jump onto their ship."

"Meanwhile, the rest of us sail right up behind them, grapple their stern and board them, while Hugh & Dolph stay behind to man our ship."

"Sounds like a plan?"

"Once I shadow step to their ship, while you guys are doing your thing, that should give me enough of a cover to shadow meld and then go below decks to find the prisoner's and free them." She said with a nod. She was giving out her two main abilities to people she did not know, but to her this was a situation that warranted it.

Then she looked towards Tylluan. "I would not ask for this from you, and I am sure the Captain would not either, if it didn't have a good chance of working. We truly need your help in this."
This message was last edited by the player at 06:10, Thu 13 Jan 2022.

Tylluan finishes his meal and settles into himself with a sigh. "That was a delicious meal. My compliments to you," he says to Light. He blinks his eyes at the question. "Flavored... water? Do you mean tinctures? Or like when sailors squeeze lemons or limes into water to ward off scurvy? If it's something else, I will try it. Put some in a shallow bowl for me, so I can drink."

When Rosa and Murleena walk in, Tylluan is scooping liquid out of a bowl with his beak. He leans his head back, allowing it to slide down his throat. He pauses and stares at the two. Of course they need my help. Unless I have missed something, no one else on this ship can fly. Especially at night. He clicks his beak while he thinks. "These priests have been most disagreeable. I will not allow such an insult to stand. Yes, I will help. In fact, I am best suited for what you want. I am nocturnal. My plummage will blend in with the darkness. And I, like the rest of my people, fly silently, once I am on the wing. Unless they have some means of seeing in the dark, they will not see me."

In reply to Tylluan (msg # 29):

Light is already prepping more bowls and cutlery for the Captain and the others, happy to have seats filled ready to sample more of his cooking.

'Captain... What happens when you do get there? They may be kidnappers, but that doesn't mean we can just kill them for it. Even self defense doesn't need to end in a body count, right?'

'Plus, if they were sent by someone else, who's to say there won't be more of these High Light priests coming back to do it all over again once this lot is gone? Maybe we should find out what they're after and destroy or take it away so that Faqu is no longer in danger. Which works better if they have members of their group survive to pass that on to whoever sent them so they have no reason to return there anymore.'

He looks at Murleena.
'Are you any good at being sneaky?' He didn't want to assume just because she reminded him of a cat that she was adept at it, even if she could teleport or what have you.

'We should at least find out specifically what it is that they're after, so that we can fit any future plans around what to do to stop these guys.'