Timestamp: 70th of Spring, 519 A.V.
Kelski was glad Gilthas and Ebon at least had decided to come with her on the search for a ship to hire out of Sunberth to take her and the rest of her group to Zeltiva. The Midnight Gem would safely be tucked away in its seed before she left in a day or two - depending upon when the ship they hired would leave - and the house otherwise was completely ready to go. Crates lay everywhere. The stable was packed. And soon wagons would be hired to haul their personal stuff to the port. After that, it was just a matter of leaving. But first, there was the business of finding a good reliable captain and hiring passage.
While Kelski had sailed a good deal, mostly with Svefra, she never once had arranged her own passage. Ebon hadn't either, though he was good with business and was often great at negotiations. It was Gilthas, however, that had experience hiring ships. And so he took the trio of them straight down to the harbormaster where they politely inquired after a ship. The harbormaster was quite helpful, giving them a list of ships that would pass through, one of which was currently in port offloading a sizeable cargo. So they headed in that direction to see if they could come across the captain.
The Waveraider was a big Brigantine, one they could not miss. Finding the captain, after they looked over the ship was another matter altogether. The Drunken Fish, luckily, was nearby and they started there. Captain Parvel Absalin was at the tavern, luckily, not drinking like they had suspected but instead conducting business in one large set of corner tables like it was his actual office. There were others waiting to book passage as well, so the trio sat down at nearby tables, ordered drinks, and waited for their turn in line. Once Parvel Absalin had no one else in front of him, the trio stood up, approached and he nodded them to have a seat.
Introductions were made around the table, and Gilthas got around to business. "I want to move my entire lab, household, and my somewhat significant collection of animals to Mathew's Bay area... somewhere south of Zeltiva. This young lady here is a Jewelcrafter and has an entire household, a shop, and a barns worth of items to move plus three horses. Together we have approximately ten tons of good and somewhere in the neighborhood of nine people to book as passengers. Plus we have to offload on the coast, not at Zeltiva. Kelski is a Kelvic and will be scouting a location for the eventual landing that will have an easy beach access." He said frankly.
Kelski had more to add. "I want private cabins for my people. I want the horses in comfortable shipping stalls. And I realize offloading not at a port is sometimes an issue, but can you successfully ferry in things like a wagon and cart to shore without cranes?" Kelski asked, curious.
The Captain snorted. "We have hoists on board The Waveraider. We just sling the animals over the side if they are the size of horses. They can all swim and usually have no issues if they are healthy and well cared for swimming themselves to shore. Wagon's float. We can also dissemble them to get them to shore. We successfully offload lumber and things like that without a dock. If its a tight or long trip in, we'll dissemble. I have crew that can do that or put them back together. We also take the help of mages, if they are along. Mages can often assist unloads like keeping things afloat, solidifying water to get larger items in... that sort of thing. It makes the crew uneasy, but they will tolerate it if the unload looks difficult. I will charge more for an unload off port. It's a hundred gold mizas for the trouble. If we stop at Zeltiva first, before we offload you, then we can hire a barge from Zeltiva if this is still in Matthew's Bay and the weather is good. We can then hoist to the barge and then the barge can run it to shore. Usually we will just tie off the barge to The Waveraider if the location is close to the city.... I have several contracts for this in Zeltiva. Being a major hub port city makes this work well." He says, nodding to them.
"Barges are also a good way to get your city shopping done if you live out in the country. They can ferry lumber, supplies, and anything else you might need out into the wilderness as long as its along the coastline." He added helpfully, making notations.
"As to private cabins, that will cost you extra. You care for your own animals. My people are too busy sailing the ship.' The Captain said, his eyes narrowing. "The fare should cover private cabins, and we'd be glad to care for our own animals. I'll gladly pay the extra fee for non-port unloading. That's very reasonable." Kelski said, negotiating.
The Captain nodded, looking thoughtful. "We have a deal. Let me write up you a contract and I need to see your manifest." He said, pulling out a sheet of parchment and filling it out. Kelski pulled out her manifest and handed it to him. He looked it over, signed it, and handed it to another man who quickly began to copy it. Gilthas did the same.
