The great Expedition I - RPLOG
Participants
Date
28/12/479
Log
"The "Dawn of the Waves", is looking for bodyguards and crew for a privately funded expedition into thus far unexplored parts of Promise. Please report to First Mate Erika Dustwing in her office in the harbor, if you are interested." That was all the note on the board of the Freeswords and on the walls of several other taverns and inns across town said.
The office building is little more than a small rented room with a door to the street, but it is pretty easy to find, despite its rather quiet location on the edge of the harbor area of the city.
Rixo tended to prefer land routes and walking solitary on her journies throughout the land, but sometimes different wasn't too bad. A knock at the door heralds her arrival before she lets herself in, stretching out and offering a wave all at once. "This the place for the voyage?"
Ssen makes no effort to hide the excitment in her gait, every step springing the moth forwards with gusto. She can't wait, an adventure! a giod one! no muckibg around sandy holes with dead badgers, exploration! fame! fortune! She flutters her wings while looking up at the door in awe, stealing her teeny welf before swinging the door open, stepping in after the panda quietly.
Peter is all dressed up for work, metal plates etched with runes strapped securely over thick and scarred leather. His fluffy tail bounces behind him as he slinks into the door as well, wrinkling his nose at the familiar faces
Fenris carries few possessions with him, aside from his long coat and whatever treasures it hides, along with a silvery otter golem that scampers along at his feet. His exposed arms sport several heavy, silver colored rings at his wrists, elbows and biceps etched with complex mathemagic. He slips in quietly after the others and looks around the office. It had been a long time since he had last signed on with a ship's crew.
The inside of the building is what you would expect from something rented for only a short period of time, a desk, a chair, no decorations on the walls, some candles and maps, and a clever clan bat in her early thirties. Miss Duskwing looks up from the map she was going over as Rixo steps in. "It is." She eyes the panda up and down for a moment. "Crew of guard?" Before she can get an answer, three more people step in, who get the same question.
"I suppose so," Rixo says, offering a little shrug. "I'm not much of a sailor, so I doubt I'd be helpful with much else. I am just looking for adventure, really. To see if I'll recognize any of the places, or to enjoy new places if not."
Ssen inclines her head backwards at Fenris and Peter, giving Fenris a wave and Peter an encouraging thumbs up before she starts glancing around. She blinks up at the bat, answering the question with a vague gesture at the boomerangs stored on her arms, hoping the mime would go down easily.
"Crew," Fenris says with an affable smile, "I'm one of the best ship's cooks in any port, if you will have me." Which is funny, coming from a being as large and apparently battle ready as the tiger is.
The bat nods at Fenris and Rixo, and after a moment of raised eyebrows, at Ssen. "Trip is expected to last two months, but because we are heading out to explore, we can not be sure. Pay is 25 crown per month for crew and 65 crown per month for guards. We will leave the harbor in two days at sunrise. Any questions?" The bat drones the information and questions, obviously having had to repeat them quite a few times already.
"Gives me time enough to pack, I suppose," Rixo says, setting her hands on her hips. "Looks like we're going adventuring together again, Fenris. Our paths seem intertwined. Just as well. You make for a pretty fair companion on the road. Though it seems we'll not be encountering many roads this time, being at sea."
Ssen stares back at Erika, unblinkinh for the whole period, flapping her wings once pointedly at the end of the exchange. She nods firmly and noticably at each point raised to confirm her understanding. The small being closes her eyes and cants her head, chittering loudly and excitedly, a real adventure!
Fenris gives the bat a lazy salute and a dazzling smile. "Whatever you say, Captain," he says, not seeming the least bit bothered by the pay discrepancy. People are usually at least a little curious when he claims to be anything but muscle for hire, but it seems that the bat has had a long day already. It's a wonder that he didn't have to prove anything to be hired on as cook. With the difference in pay, most beings were probably signing on as guards. "Always a pleasure, Rixo," Fenris says to the red panda, "I certainly do my best."
The tiger gives one more lazy salute, then turns to the door. "Come on, Kawa," he says, apparently to his golem, "We've got a few things to take care of."
The bat shakes her head. "Only the first mate, you will meet the captain once we are ready to leave port." With that said, there is little more to do for the trio than to pack their things and get ready for the adventure that lies before them.
Two days later, the "Dawn of the Waves" is ready to set sail. It is clear why they decided to hire extra crew for this trip. The ship is a large, three masted galleon that likely takes several dozen beings to operate properly. Erika is standing near the gangway, armed with a list and a quill, checking off the names of the beings that board the vessel.
Having dressed herself in robe of light, black cloth with a high collar, Rixo was indeed present at the scheduled time. Her luggage slung over her back with a pair of straps, though there wasn't a large amount of it. Enough for an appropriate length of travel, though. She stands wordlessly at the end of the plank, glancing around.
Ssen rushes up to the ship with just as much exhuberant energy as when she first approached the office as she nears the ship. Her whole body bristles childishly at the sight of the ship and the bat, she only speeds up upon having the ship fall into her sight. The moth wears a long, flowy coat and some shorts and not much besides, carrying with her some warmer clothes in a little burlap bag. She scoots up to familiar bat and raises both her arms infront of the...whatever genus a bat is.
Fenris looks. . . different. Not unrecognizably so. Just a little different. A little softer around the edges maybe? It must be the wardrobe change.
The tiger has left behind his outlandish Creator uniform in favor of a short leather vest, trimmed in some sort of long fur. It leaves his fluffy chest and thick torso on display. His heavy belt holds on loose, canvas trousers tucked into dark boots and his little golem scampers along with him.
"Fenris," he says to the bat, "Ship's Cook at your service."
The bat checks off the names on the list. "Yes, yes. I hope you cook better than the last one." She shudders. Looking down at the energetic moth she nods at her. "Please board the ship, there are not many left to come, so we will leave soon." She still sounds annoyed at her task, but less so than two days ago. "I am sure the captain wants to hold a little speech before we do."
"Fenris is a fair cook. I can vouche for that," Rixo says, glancing over her shoulder. "Don't make me regret those words, hmm?" She adjusts the strap of her bag and makes her way up onto the ship proper, exhaling as she goes. "Hopefully this will be entertaining!"
Ssen clearly has had no experience of being on such a tremendous vessel, slipping past the Bat to wander out into the middle of the ship, spinning aroubd to take it all in. Her little antenea twitch and she smiles up at the nearest crew members she can find. She looks a bit...out of place.
"I expect that I am better than PASSING!" Fenris says playfully, shouldering a small rucksack and walking up the gangplank, his little golem following after. The big tiger saunters easily along the deck and slips below, walking as if he knew the place back and front already. And maybe he did. After all, a good cook doesn't let someone else choose his ingredients.
After a short while, he returns, sans rucksack and golem, with a little smile on his face to await the captain's arrival.
The captain is already giving his speech, as the three arrive on the main deck. He is a slightly overweight walrus with graying hair and a broken tusk. "We will be the first to explore the waters we are headed for, and, with luck, the land they will lead us to. I am confident that both the veterans of this proud ship and the new hires will lead us to great discoveries and riches. Now find yourself a place to sleep, if you haven't yet, and get ready to set sail, if you belong to the crew." It would seem that the largest part of the speech was missed by the two fighters and the cook, as well as the last few hires that arrived after them, as well as the bat who has now boarded the ship as well, and withdraws the gangplank with the help of a burly ox.
Ssen barely listens to the captain, she's too busy staring at the aluring cup thing on the top of the ship. That would be her domain! The moth wastes no time in delving below decks to lay claim to a dark little corner before coming back up to the deck. She locates tge nice Bat lady and, whether or not she's busy, disturbs her by tapping her arm and pointing up at the crow's nest with literally no explination of actions or intent
"Yes, may fortune favour us in our trip!" Rixo says, making her way below the deck to find a place to set her things, and to sleep, later. Though right now, sleep was hardly something on her mind.
Fenris has already claimed his space in the galley and checked over the supplies and joins in with the crew to cheer the captain, if only to show willing, since he missed the speech. The burly tiger then sets about helping where he can with launch preparations, though there is little for him, as the cook, to really do just now. There would be potatoes for peeling and meals to prepare later. Mostly, he just gets out of the way, leaning against a railing to watch the launch.
The bat is busy with one of her lists as Ssen reaches up to her arm and looks sideways, then down, to locate the moth. "The crow's nest? What about it?" She squints, then coughs. "I am sorry, that is a position better suited to someone who, ehm, can talk. You can just explore the ship for now." As the bat finishes, the ship's sails are being set and anchor raised, allowing the galleon to slowly pick up speed and leave the harbor.
Rixo gets her bag squared away by her bunk, her swords kept strapped to her belt. Then, she sets about wandering below the decks, largely just trying to familiarize herself with where everything is before she returns topside, herself, to look out over the awaiting sea. "Ship voyages still make me uneasy."
Ssen raises a hand, mask shifting as she opens her mouth to argue but a quick glance to the side later and the Moth is staring down at her feet in disapointment. She looks almost heartbroken as she sulks up to near the prow of the ship. She stands there quietly, staring out into the harbour as the ship shudders to life. It would be hers, dammit, one day
Fenris looks over at Rixo with a smile, folding his arms across his fluffy chest. "I figure that the sea has already done me as much damage as it can," he says, though he does not really clarify, "All she can do now is kill me or let me be, otherwise it'll just be the same old tune." The tiger looks around at the rest of the ship's crewman with interest, watching them raise the anchor at set the sails. "But then," he says, "It has been a few years since I was last on a ship like this. Maybe she's come up with some new tricks." The tiger saunters over to the First Mate. "I'd ask the captain," he says, "But I figure that is more your job until we're introduced. When are the officers going to want their dinner?"
Erika looks up for yet another distraction, a more important one this time though. "Ah. Seven. Every day. Six and seven for the crew, in two shifts. Is that all?" She is already back to her list and scribbling stuff with her quill, while the ship leaves the harbor and heads for the open sea. A warthog chuckles at Rixo in the meantime. "Not often on the open sea, eh? Your one of the guards they hired then?"
The expedition has been going on for a dreadfully boring two weeks now, with little more than the open sea to rest the eyes on. Today promises no difference from this, except for some dreadfully dark clouds on the horizon, right in the direction the galleon is headed.
Rixo didn't mind the trip too much, despite her land preference, having largely kept to herself and with her nose in a book. It helped keep her mind off the sea, at least. And not that there was much to 'guard' from out here. Hopefully it would stay that way.
Fenris is sitting at the aft of the ship with a fishing pole in hand, trolling for something to augment the unfortunately bland fare that comes with ocean travel. He has been fairly successful so far, able to make fine fare for the officers' table and pretty passable stuff for everyone else. The burly tiger has fallen into the role of ship's cook quite well over the past few weeks and ingrained himself with the crew. He hums a little sea chanty to himself while he fishes.
The ship continues on its course, towards the dark clouds, as Fenris spots a large wall of fog that seems to be catching up with the ship rather quickly. Not much longer and the vessel will be sandwiched between two kinds of bad weather.
It would be unfortunate, to be sure, but Rixo was oblivious to it for the time being. She was still down in her bunk, not reading this time, but stretching and polishing her weapons. She did not fear much in the way of damage befalling them, but the upkeep was just about ritual to her at this point, and she was nothing, if not a Being of ritual practice.
Fenris frowns at the approaching fog bank, looking between the fog and the sails and noting the storm ahead. He rubs his chin and considers the wind. "Don't like the looks of that," he says, mostly to himself, reeling in his line, "What's the word from above?" he calls out to the crows nest, looking back out to the fog.
"Doesn't look good" Comes the call back from the crow's nest. The pig in it squints into the fog, but before he can see it, it is too late, two smaller ships have caught up with the galleon and are letting lose a barrage of warning shots, before a voice, amplified by air magic, booms over the decks. "Surrender your ship and goods now, and your lives will be spared, refuse and we will take them by force." The ships are build for speed, but decently armed and are flying black sails, as well as black flags, with the skull of some kind of rodent over crossed sabers. Different guards and crew members exchange worried looks, the former readying their weapons.
