Encounter on the high seas - RPLOG
Participants
Date
13/9/476
Log
Early in the morning on the docks, away from the parts where locals are reduced to trapping seagulls for the pot, and more towards the cleaner areas where Sweetwater harbours much of its navy when it's not out at sea. Sailors crawl all over, making last-minute adjustments and repairs to sails and rigging, while naval mages look over the spells intended to stabilise the ships. The entire waterfront is a bustle of activity, punctuated by short bursts of calm as the arrival of new hands is awaited.
Shirokami wanders down the pier, tail hanging low behind him as he gazes about at the area, his ears twitching as he nods to himself a moment. He was covered in soot upon his white fur, clearly having been at the forges not long ago, wearing his blacksmiths garbs
Selena shivers slightly as she meanders along the beach, heading down the pier after a brief few moments of hesitation. A few beings are acknowledges with friendly nods; having been aquainted at some point. Living in the Maritime district has its perks.
Shirokami is among those beings, Selena offering a wave to the wolf and tilting her head slightly as though looking for something or someone. "Well, hello Shirokami." She greets, tone perhaps a little more formal than usual. One might pass it as being uncomfortable.
Far down the docks, a lion patiently waits for his prey. A predator must be patient, dignified, and graceful in his profession. In his hand is a slapped together fishing pole with its hook sunk straight into the water and awaiting any fish that may be foolish enough to take a nibble. As for its owner, he displays such steel resolve and trickery by creating an ILLUSION of being asleep. Yes, quite an illusion indeed. Perhaps he convinced himself too much due to the sheer power of it, for eventually the pole slips out of his hand and directly into the water, making a loud splash that jolts Dio awake!
"Where? Who?" He rapidly looks around and springs to his feet, searching for who may have disturbed him in his amazing act. How did the other activity not wake the slumbering fool up? A selective sleeper perhaps. Rubbing a bit at his eyes and taking a moment to lament the loss of his pole, Dio makes his way towards Selena and Shirokami and gives them a friendly wave. "'ello lad 'n' lass," he yawns, looking over the water. "Busy day, ain't it?"
As preparations continue, the small group of Freeswords - the small group included - grows somewhat, enough to warrant a petty officer stepping off one of the ships to address everyone, a water-clanned turtle who looks more sullen than he should as he looks over the motley crew.
"Is that all we've got today, then? Well, I suppose it's better than nothing. Your job today, to put it simply, is to be bait. We've outfitted one of our ships to pass her off as a merchant vessel, colours and all, and it's with this that we're going to lure those troublemakers out - or at least that's the plan command came up with. Don't worry, we'll have a couple of ships tailing you at all times, despite the fog that's out at sea at the moment. My boys will do most of the actual sailing work - not that we don't mind you helping out if you're able - but what we do need is for you to be able to fight, if need be. Any questions?"
Shirokami looks up and nods to the turtle a moment " Well, we'll do what we can, I am certain. At least, as much as possible where we are able.
We will not dissapoint." he looks to Selena and nods to her, tilting his head a bit " Well, is something wrong? Seems you are a bit different from our last encounters. How have you beem?" he smiles a bit to her
Selena chuckle quietly at the lion's antics before collecting herself and coughing politely into a hand. "I do have a name, Dio. I'd appreciate it if you used it." She replies, an ear flicking back in the sea breeze. "...I don't even remember the last time I was at sea, beyond it ending badly. You could say I'm a little on edge. What about you two? have you been on a boat before?" She queries, the turtle's orders being met with a stifled sigh that nevertheless becomes aparrent. "That's easy enough. I'm not particularly fond of being called 'bait', but... Well, it's not difficult to look harmless." She replies, tapping a foot against the wood of the pier. "I suppose I'll see if I can't do something about the fog when we're closer to it. It looks thick enough from here."
That said, the wolfess glances at the ships in port, the back to the turtle. "Is part of the plan telling us which of these we're being loaded onto? You're not exactly the only beings here today."
The poor little lion was just waking up from a day's worth of hard fishing, and suddenly he's blasted by a dangerous job. Still rubbing his eyes, he looks towards the turtle with an incredulous look, almost feeling like he's dreaming. Or perhaps it was a nightmare? Physical labor... "Ah yeah, of course lad. We're master baiters over 'ere, ya can trust us to get the job done, and well. Where's our ship we'll be using?"
The lion looks back towards the group and thinks back to his other sea exploits. "Been awhile, Lass Selena," he chuckles. "I usually like to stay in-land as much as possible, but sometimes a few jobs in decades past 'ave called fer it."
"Yes," the turtle replies in answer to Selena's question. "It's that one over there."
He points to a sleek vessel some way down the pier, already being readied to be put out to sea. "Perfect for the job, really - we confiscated her from a bunch of smugglers a few days back and refitted her a little, so she's perfect for the job. Of course, instead of contraband, her hold's full of surprises this time." He pauses a moment. "It's a bit odd, really, for activity to pick up at this time of year - the bastards are usually most active when there're better sailing conditions - but who can say what drives a being to do that sort of thing for a living? In any case, good luck to the lot of you. We'll be following behind."
Shirokami looks from Selena, to the turtle and the boat he mentions before nodding, then turns to Selena " Well, a few times.. But not many. I stay on the road mostly. I do enjoy the breeze and the scents it brings however. It's refreshing." he begins heading towards the ship, tail flicking a bit behind him
Selena nods, quirking an eyebrow. "Funny. That wouldn't happen to be the one that we almost beached by the lighthouse, would it?" She asks, then shakes her head. "The bad weather lately made food more expensive. Cliffside halted exports for the time being, so there's a lot more crown in smuggling than there usually would be. I'm not surprised it's started early, but a lot of them don't have any other option to make that money." The wolfess takes a brief moment to consider Shirokami's position, ultimately shrugging as she moves for the vessel; "I've spent more time studying than I have at sea. I don't regret it."
"Indeed, wolfess lass Selena," Dio nods and agrees. "A bit o' a food crises brings about good times fer some smugglin'. Now then!" The lion claps his hands together once to emit a loud clapping noise that echos amongst the air and briefly rubs them together. "I think I'm ready to sail the seas once more! Put some smugglers out o' commotion an' all that fun stuff." With a little jig and stretch to prepare himself for the incoming physical activity, the lion makes his way for the indicated boat and hops aboard.
