[Quest] Dead in the Water

[Aluria]

"Captain Riarnal is waiting for all applicants in the main cabin."

The man pointed towards a cabin whereas the door was left open. She raised an eyebrow, but nevertheless she slipped into the corridor in which was the pathway towards it. She heaved a sigh of relief, thankful that the man hadn't said anything of her youthful figure. She took steady, careful steps towards the door, the worst of it not over. She promised herself she would be strong, especially after already being on an expedition with Sable and Alexis. With this in mind, she straightened herself, chastising her awkward nervousness. She felt a hand place itself on her shoulder, and on impulse, she almost turned around and shoved the person over. However, seeing the person, she almost squealed with delight. It was Sable! Was she going too? She wondered. She hit herself in the head. Of course she is, you idiot. She also shuddered. She wondered what would have happened when she pushed Sable over--not that she could. "Long time no see," she paused. "If there's trouble, you run. And buck up a little." Aluria gave her a wary smile. "Hello, Sable," she greeted as she walked through the door. She was almost completely at ease, now that Sable was here. However, all relief was washed away when she saw the people there. The closest she was wary of, not really scared. The one that really intimidated her was the one sitting on the chair, trying to grab the attention. An obvious Akalak, with rugged Azure skin, and a strange, mysterious and frightening aura. She almost shivered.

"I'm Liandra, an explorer of all the seas from here to Charbosi. And I'm not volunteering. You need someone like me, and I'm going on this voyage." She almost jumped when this was said. She gaped at the Charoda, not exactly admiring her blue skin, but was awed by her passion and bold statement. “I’m Lia Sable, just a humble volunteer with a Svefran network and various pertinent skills." Of course, Lia was playing it humble, but she still looked like she had a better chance of going on than the Charoda. Not that she had anything to say about it, because she obviously had a small chance of getting on. However, gathering the adequate confidence from the two introductions, she said, "My name is Aluria Redtide. I'd also like to accompany you on this journey, with some experience, at your service..."

[Trident]

A low guffaw escaped Gristole's lips when they heard Liandra's bold announcement, but a raised blue hand silenced any words the mercenary might have uttered. Riarnal's features, once frightening and imposing, were settling into a thoughtful countenance that he wore even as Sable and Aluria spoke. Only when the little girl had finished did he finally speak.

"A Charoda and two Svefra...yes, I can see how you might be helpful." he mused.

"What? You can't possssibly think about accepting them!" Sydar immediately hissed in protest. "They are just women, and ssscrawny onesss at that!"

"Well, I like them." the woman said, smiling, as if that was all that mattered.

Riarnal silenced them with another wave of his hand. "This is not either of your decision to make." he hissed. "It is mine, and don't you forget it. If you don't listen to me, you won't see a single coin!" Sydar leaned back in defeat, while the woman was as composed as ever, smiling her mysterious smile.

"Now then..." the Akalak turned back around. "Liandra, Sable, Aluria...I will make no pretenses about this. I need more ships, because the opponent we are going up against will be formidable - whoever it is took out a fully-loaded sloop. And, the applicants I've had thus far are disappointing, to say the least." he paused there, to give the other three arranged around the table a glowering look.

Riarnal continued; "So, while I will accept you, know that there will be a sizable possibility you won't make it out alive. You are all expected to fight - even you, Charoda. Though I don't expect much from you." it was not an insult, merely an observation about Charodaen pacifism. "I expect you, Liandra, to be able to provide your own transport...but do either of you Svefra women have a boat? You'll need transport were we're going..."

"Now then...well, actually, before we go any further, do any of you have any questions?"

[Liandra]

Liandra ignored the comments from the woman and the child of Siku. After all, things here didn't work like they did back home. There was no equality. There was just the boss. And the boss here meant business. And he'd just accepted them. Liandra chuckled inwardly at his comment toward her. While she couldn't fight by any means, she did have other means of taking care of problems, and not all of them involved running away. He asked her to provide her own transportation, and she was glad. She was hoping to bring Kylayia along anyways, after all, it was always nice to have a true ally on your side, no matter what you were doing. She hadn't any idea what she'd volunteered to actually do. She knew what she could do, but not sure as to how she could apply to what they needed. She needed more information as to what they were up against. Improvising was always necessary, but prudent planning was always good too. Her curiosity, and her nature to survive, forced her to ask. "What do we actually know happened to the other ships? We've all heard the rumors, but I need to know everything you know about what happened. How many men were lost? What was left behind? And most importantly, what's your plan? You wouldn't have accepted us if we hadn't fit into it, so where exactly do we come in?" She was surprised at her forwardness and confidence. Both were not like herself. Life among Svefra had clearly rubbed off on her.

[Sable Baggywrinkle]

Sable held no such compunctions about acknowledging the two differing opinions regarding Riarnal’s decision. Blue eyes snapped to Sydar, the Svefra clearly sizing him up with bland boredom. He could be relied on to underestimate them, she would bet, and would probably be pretty predictable about it. That was just fine for the squirrely woman. The mysterious lady, though, got a lopsided smile and a wink before she could even think of controlling herself. Well, now there were two women who held Sable’s interest. This foolish trip would have some rewards after all. And that left Gristole. But watching him when he wasn’t giving anything away wouldn’t help one bit. A brief frown flashed across Sable’s countenance as the Charoda spoke again. Hashing over past events could wait for the dull and boring—blue hues jumped to the mysterious woman—well, possibly dull and boring sail. “I’ve got a Casinor that can fit another four crewmembers, if you can find the men for it,” she offered, moving into the room and finding herself a seat around the table to sink into. She wasn’t going to make the man address one group around him and another huddled like rabbits by the door. Speaking of…Aluria hadn’t had a ship last time they’d spoke, and Liandra hadn’t exactly responded. “Or if either of these two need a deck to crash on.” ”Where exactly is it that ‘we’re going’, Captain?” As far as she could tell, no one had any sort of lead regarding who or what could be held responsible for the disappearances, much less where they might be. Imagination sparking, she wondered if Alvide had procured something he shouldn’t have, knew exactly what was going on, but kept it a secret for some reason. Wild speculation shot off in search of some reason the merchant had been targeted and why, like he’d stolen some artifacts that belonged to Laviku’s champion, or perhaps…no, no, focus. Focus. The particulars of the past attacks she couldn’t care less about, but if this was some endeavor to keep Alvide from getting what he deserved, that was a great reason to walk right out the door. She would wait to ask such questions until after he'd filled them in, if it seemed like something didn't fit right. Sable was more than willing to track down Alvide’s shipping schedule and routes and wander on by to pick up empty vessels.

[Aluria]

"A Charoda and two Svefra...yes, I can see how you might be helpful."

Aluria was shocked to here that he, the captain, thought that she might have been useful. Far from beaming with pride, she was actually even more worried. If the captain had such high expectations of her, how would she live up to those expectations? Unless he somehow knew that she was a mediocre cook and even less experienced in the art of Medicine, she didn't have anything that she could do for the crew. She didn't have much confidence in her cooking skills, and her medicine skills wouldn't exactly save lives.

"What? You can't possssibly think about accepting them! They are just women, and ssscrawny onesss at that!"

Aluria narrowed her eyes at this comment. Yes, she wasn't useful, and yes, she was scrawny. But the fact that he was judging them because they were women was simply blasphemy. Her brows furrowed in anger, and the fiery passion in her eyes began to form. She was more than determined to prove this man wrong, even if she didn't have much to do about it. After coolly thinking over her flawed logic, she calmed herself down, but she was still furious. However, she kept a straight face, and remembered that she could easily be kicked out if she exploded into a fit of rage.

"Well, I like them."

Aluria grinned. At least somebody appreciated her being there, unlike the one she was just staring daggers at. The woman seemed cool and calm, and her mysterious aura continued to attract Aluria. She was like a model older sister, the sister she never had. However, she was older than her, so she remained respectful.

She hadn't had any questions to ask, so Aluria stayed quiet. She vowed silently to herself that throughout this whole voyage, she was going to remain respectful, useful, and calm. She wasn't going to run for cover when she was in danger, like her previous experience aboard the Sparkle.

[Trident]

Riarnal grinned at Liandra unexpectedly. It displayed a wide row of pearly white teeth, shocking when set against his dark lips and even darker lips. "Now that's a Charoda with some petching balls!" he said, looking at the others. Despite (or perhaps because of it) his rude vocabulary, it seemed that Riarnal was actually pleased. "We lost six ships in total. Two were trading ships, working down the company's usual shipping route. The first came from Riverfall and was heading to Zeltiva. It's...remains...were discovered by a local Svefra pod of which Alvide has traded with before. It was they who first told us of what was happening to our ships, but we dismissed the attack as a lucky hit-and-run by pirates. But when the second ship was attacked only a short distance away from the first, it raised alarm bells." Riarnal raised his bushy eyebrows here. "The fourth and fifth were taken in quick succession, which only made the tension worse. After the fifth, Alvide tasked me with dealing with whatever was ambushing our ship in the area, so I sent out a sloop loaded with two ballista and fifty of our finest men to deal with it. I would have gone myself, but I had to deal with...other matters." As Sable had deducted, Gristole had not done or said anything during the entire span of their conversation. He had just stood there twirling his knife in one hand with the indifferent air of a man not looking towards the present, but to the future instead. Here, however, he stirred and looked towards Riarnal. A frown scarred his craggy countenance. The Akalak seemed not to notice, as he continued onward after a second or so; "That ship was lost as well. We haven't had time to go out and inspect it yet - but more to that later. You asked what was left behind? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Of course, the ships were still there, but the crew? Each and everyone of them disappeared. Not a single body was found. And that is the strangest part, the part that links all the crimes together." Riarnal paused for a moment to let this settle in. After another moment or so, he turned to Sable, changing tact in a second. "I'm glad to here you have a ship. As this one remained silent," he jutted out a finger towards Aluria, "I expect she'll travel with you. The Charoda as well, when she's not swimming. And-" "Me." the woman said brightly, stepping forward. "I'd like to travel with them, too. I have no other method of transport, after all." Riarnal frowned. "Then how did you get onto the Flotilla, Kelzia?...Gah, nevermind. Fine, that's fine." The woman, Kelzia, beamed at Aluria, Sable, and Liandra, winking to signify they'd talk later. Probably on Sable's ship. "But, onto my plan, as you both put it." Riarnal continued, "The reason I asked you about your ships is that my plan is to travel in our respective vessels to the sloop, which by coincidence was attacked only a couple dozen miles from here. Once we arrive, we will investigate the ship for any clues. If that proves fruitless, we will sail around the area in search. Judging by the sloop, it's almost guaranteed we'll run into something." The azure face was grim. "Anything else?"

[Liandra]

Liandra was surprised at the sheer amount of ships that had been lost. She had thought the rumors were exaggerations, but it turned out that the situation was worse. Much worse. All the ships and crews had been soundly defeated, no bodies left behind. Her first thoughts went to the Myrian savages on the coast. But she doubted the ship sailed near enough, most captains weren't foolish enough. So her main suspect were some sort of slavers. But why leave perfectly good ships behind? None of it was really adding up. She decided to keep the fact that she would be aided by Kylayia to herself. He would be able to keep up with the ship, at least without her in tow. She knew that it was always good to have a strong backup plan. Her, Aluria, Sable, and this mysterious woman, Kelzia would all be traveling together. The plan seemed sound, although she was surprised that he was bringing so few. She made a weak attempt of a smile at the group and meekly said, "So when do we leave?"

[Sable Baggywrinkle]

Leaning back in her chair, Sable’s attentive expression melted into intrigued anticipation as a certain tattood redhead announced her travel intentions. Grumpy smelly men or a ship full of attractive, intriguing women? Win. Well, Liandra seemed quite capable of becoming a grumpy smelly woman, but that would probably be amusing in its own way, as well. Serious types usually could be. Kelzia’s wink received a cheerfully lopsided smile in return before the blond acknowledged Riarnal’s decisions with a light nod. But back to business. Lots of ships lost, Riarnal had something more important than a bunch of lost ships to attend to, Gristole didn’t like that, and they were relying on luck to bring out the force responsible. Seemed like a solid expedition. The sense remained that Alvide had messed with something he shouldn’t have, but that didn’t outweigh all the fun that was to be had. Lips curling at Liandra’s faint smile, she grinned in support of the question. She wasn’t sure if he was preparing to dismiss them or not, but a plan for the unexpected seemed nice. “And in the event we meet whatever it is before we get to the sloop and don’t have time to discuss tactics, how do you want us to react to a threat? Run away and regroup, take a stand, bribe it with candy?” That last could have been unwarrantedly light hearted, but it was a reference to diplomacy. And she had a bag of the most delightful salt water taffy waiting in her cabin. Nobody would turn that down. And could she get away with positioning her ship far enough from Riarnal’s not to get targeted should a massive squid erupt to suck the living morsels from his vessel?

[Aluria]

"Anything else?"

"No, not really, not anything in particular," she muttered under her breath. She instead turned her gaze to observe. Ignoring everybody else's conversation, she walked and leaned a wall and stood there, eyeing everybody's movements. She was eager to get off the ship and move to Sable's casinor. This ship made her feel quite uneasy, a feeling that she had never really enjoyed. For one thing, the men going on this 'adventure' were intimidating as well as strange.

She didn't exactly listen to Liandra's question, but Sable's question did cause her to raise an eyebrow.

“And in the event we meet whatever it is before we get to the sloop and don’t have time to discuss tactics, how do you want us to react to a threat? Run away and regroup, take a stand, bribe it with candy?”

... is what she had said. She assumed that she assumed that there would probably be a giant squid waiting in the middle of the ocean. She nearly fell over with laughter at the thought of bribing it; certainly the squid didn't want to be interrupted during a feast. If anything, Aluria thought that it might have made it even angrier.

Aluria suddenly made a strange gesture; she clutched her breast that was over her heart. She suddenly felt ill, and had a very bad feeling about the whole thing. Even though Sable might have a blast, she was suddenly very wary of the strange people that she met today, even the woman that smiled when nobody else had. She felt insecure around them, there was something about them...

She looked up and hoped that nobody had seen what just happened. She straightened herself, and stood at attention.

[Trident]

A hand, warm and tender, settled upon Aluria's shoulder. A glance upwards would reveal it's owner to be the fiery-haired woman Kelzia, who had moved ever so slightly to stand next to the young Svefra girl. Her smile, kind now, held no trace of reproach or disdain. Instead it was gentle and prodding, the smile one gave another to fill them with confidence. Have strength, little one. it almost seemed to say. Nobody else seemed to have noticed Aluria's gesture or Kelzia's sign of reassurance. All eyes were on Riarnal, whose hand played on an midnight-blue chin in something akin to thoughtfulness. At long last, he said, "If we meet it beforehand, attack it with everything you got," he shrugged in a very useless sort of way, "And hopefully the rest of us will be around to help you." "I think that's it. I think it is time to set out now. All of you, return to your ships and prepare yourself to depart. We shall leave in approximately two chimes. Does that work for everyone here?..." A quick snap of his neck had him looking around for assent. "...Good. You are dismissed." The chair scraped back and then, Riarnal was gone. The rest of them glanced around at each other, and then began filing out of the room. *** Two chimes and several odd bells later, Kelzia gasped in anticipation. "There it is!" she shouted back to Liandra, Aluria, and Sable. They all stood on the deck of the former's ship, the redheaded woman standing at the prow. "The Southern Star has pulled out and is making headway." And so it was; the fluyt was pulling away from the Flotilla, a sight readily apparent on the casinor. Another beat, and the ship next to it - Laviku's Bane - began to follow. Kelzia laughed and turned towards the other three women. An errant hand reached up to brush the reddish locks from her face as she approached them breathlessly. "I'd say that's our cue!" she grinned.