To the Southern Continent

[Graybeard]

[OOC: OK, new thread, picking up some hours, or perhaps a day, after the Good Ship Lollipop set sail from Lorrel...]

Elke gave Loklier and the low-level goons a rather pro-forma chewing-out for losing Jamie and the catgirl, then sent them on their way. However, nobody involved was particularly fooled. If she'd really been unhappy about what had happened, her displeasure would have been considerably more ... emphatic.

I owe John big-time for this one, she thought as she closed the office door behind her visitors, now retreating with their tails between their legs. And there's still a week of juice left in the tracking gadget in Jamie, if the excrement really hits the rotary oscillator. But for now, I have other things to worry about.

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[OOC: For more on the guy that follows here, check his descriptions in both the NPC Gallery and the wiki. Note that although his spoken word has a severe lisp -- draw your own conclusions from that -- his thoughts do not. /OOC:]

From a carefully-concealed anchorage on the southwestern coast of Farrel, far enough from Port Lorrel to escape attention yet not so far as to make an interception impossible, a very unusual small boat sallied forth.

Keyes was still shaking his head over Mr. Stagpoole's instructions to him. Surveillance at sea was a very different proposition than in a harbor. Even if you knew exactly where a ship was going -- and he'd had doubts about the reliability of what his boss had communicated on that count -- actually intercepting them on open water was no easy thing. "Don't worry about that," Mr. Stagpoole had said. "I'll be in touch from time to time to vector you in, if it comes to that." Keyes had known better than to ask questions as to exactly how that was going to be achieved...

He's a good boss, he pays well, and I'm not going to risk getting him pissed off at me, the half elf thought as he steered the boat into open water before starting a speed run.

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Meanwhile, on the Clark, the crew was rapidly coming to the realization that some passengers were more trouble than they were worth. A lot more trouble.

[Jack Rothwell]

"Yo-ho yo-ho a pirates life for me..."

"Shut up Wedge." Rigby stomped around the deck at his usual pace, barking orders, chewing out lazy sailors out and generally preventing the operation from falling apart. They'd made good time, the Southern Continent wasn't a quick trip by any stretch of imagination, but at least it was reasonably safe in terms of weather and marauders trying to take their cargo. And what a weird cargo it was, if the hyperactive teen and her furball friend weren't enough cause for concern (not to mention the added insult that he'd been so scared of the kobold clawing his throat out he'd forgotten to ask them to pay their way), there were a few other passengers who were definately giving off a vibe that didn't bear prying into. As the short, balding Captain wiped a handkerchief across his brow he thanked the stars that he was sensible enough to stick to what he knew.

Tamina, on the other hand, was having the time of her life. Now she finally had the chance to roam around a ship at sea (as opposed to the previous journey where she'd been locked in a cage for all of it) she was taking great delight in using the craft as a climbing frame. She'd come close to causing an accident that morning by sneaking up on an unsuspecting sailor in the crow's nest and whispering 'boo' into his ear. If the kobold hadn't grabbed the man's ankle as he tried to escape the boys on deck would've been mopping up his remains by now.

"Piiiii-rates liiiife for meeeee!"

"Oh Luminosita's nethers! You've set her off you dumb bastard!" The Captain face-palmed and wheeled around, heading for his quarters, marked by the double doors at the foot of the stairs leading to the wheel. "I'm getting lunch. Call me if there are any more disasters."

[Sareth]

"Oh.. Dear... Gawwwwwwwwwd..." Jamie whined. One might attribute this to the fact that Tamina was singing the same song for the umpteenth time. However, this would rapidly be understood to not be the source of her complaint by simply regarding the fact that the teenager was hanging a very green skinned face over the railing and staring at the water below. "Somebody kill me. Please."

The ship took a lurch, as ships are want to do, and Jamie got a particularly alarmed expression. "Buwaaaah..." she responded. The ship then gave a second lurch. She clenched her teeth, clenched her eyes even further, hung her head low over the railings, and then proceeded to mar the paint on the side of the ship with the morning's breakfast.

Behind her, in a makeshift swing hanging from part of the rigging, Nera giggled, laughed, and noisily filled her diaper. The sound of this caused Jamie to slump against the railing, dangling from it by her armpits. "Ooooooooooohgaaaaaaaaaaaawd."

[Jack Rothwell]

"Theeeeeeeey something and something and don't give a fu-"

Tamina suddenly stopped singing the tune she'd picked up from one of Rigby's underlings (although some of the lyrics were clearly a little sketchy) and looked over at 'Jay-me', her new friend and rescuer. She slid down a length of rope while making a mewling noise in sympathy at the girl's suffering, then padded over with predatory grace, taking a moment a waggle her tounge clownishly at the baby they'd brought with them. Nera brought out the maternal instincts that were rooted strongly in her kind, the fact that the child was human and not a kobold didn't really make much difference.

"You k, Jay?"

The teenager didn't respond, unless heaving violently over the side of The Clark was any kind of reply.

"Sea sick." She muttered. "Feel bad. I can fix! Umm... think."

She tried to fix a reassuring smile on her face (one that had far too many pointy teeth in it to be really reassuring) as she began weaving her paw-like cuticules in a way that marked she was weaving a spell.

"Ahh... umm... talta, enos, berka..." She clicked her tounge off the roof of her mouth. "Veese!"

A mild yellow glow poured out of the kobold and surrounded the retching girl for a moment, specifically around her head and stomach. It wasn't a spell Tamina had much practise with, generally her people had pretty sturdy stomachs, which was a necessity when it came to surviving the learning curve of eating the wrong animal. She'd gotten it right at least, usually a miscast was followed by something creatively horrible happening to the expelled bodily fluids that involved slimy, creeping horrors and much shrieking and stabbing with pointy sticks to fix it.

A moment later the glow subsided. Tamina placed a gentle hand on the other girl's shoulder.

"Feel better?"

[Graybeard]

"Keyeth," the half-elf mariner said, somewhat unnecessarily, as he answered the crystal ball; there was only one person who could be making this call, after all.

"It's me," Mr. Stagpoole said, equally unnecessarily, but he liked his hired man and didn't want to embarrass him. "They're making a course of about 200 degrees out of Lorrel. That should make it easy for you to plot an intercept. Come to about 220 or so and you'll be on them in an hour. Remember, submerge as soon as you have them in sight. We want this to be covert."

"Yeth, thir," Keyes lisped, and twisted the wheel very slightly as his employer broke the connection without further ado.

[Sareth]

"Bleaaaaaach!" Jamie made a sour face as she stood up. "I have a horrible taste in my mouth and I... Heeeeeey! My stomach isn't complaining!" She grinned. "What did you do?" She did a little dance, then made another face. "Phew! What is that smell?"

Nera began to complain from the makeshift swing.

"Oh, right... Guess we'd better do something about that, huh?" Jamie swept Nera up and dashed back to the cabin she was sharing with Tamina to fish around for diapers.

****

"She WHAT?"

Jasmine, meanwhile, had landed and discovered that her daughter had left but a few hours ahead of her, headed for the Southern Continent. The older woman had taken it less than well. Her screech had probably been heard a mile away. The echoes were still dying out when she leaned over the bar and pulled Anderson to his tiptoes. "How?"

"By ship! The Clark!"

Jasmine scowled and dropped Anderson back to his feet. She turned and stomped out of the bar.

"Jamie! I swear, when I get my hands on you, girl..." She turned and stomped towards the docks, shouting at the top of her lungs, her face red and her eyes shooting lightning. "Which of you has the fastest ship heading to the Southern Continent here?"

Dozens of hands all pointed at everyone else's ships.

"... Right."

[Jack Rothwell]

Back at Port Lorrel, Robin Loklier was walking down a quiet street towards the modest house he owned, floating somewhere between pissed off and relieved. Hearing harsh words from Elke for his failure to retrieve the kobold and the teenager hadn't been pleasant but at least his boss hadn't ordered him executed, now the day was his the business-minded member of the Eisenfaust was looking forward to getting home and putting his feet up, and maybe drink away the anger he felt at being given such a difficult task in the first place.

The paranoia he'd been feeling earlier at least had evaporated. He'd remembered watching the pair he'd been chasing board a ship followed by far too many men to make a capture in the realm of possibility and having the sinking certainty, the CERTAINTY, that Alec Fredriel would hold Robin personally responsible for losing his cargo. Ridiculous of coure, Alec had a well-developed business sense and wouldn't do anything to put his relationship with the Eisenfaust in jeopardy.

The key turned in the lock with a little sticking as usual. Robin pushed his way inside and immediately sought the tea pot. He walked into the small kitchen and filled it up. He reached into a cupboard and retrieved his favourite mug.

"Put one on for me while you're at it."

Robin shrieked and dropped the cup he'd been holding, pottery shards sprayed the floorboards. He spun around to see Gabriel Avaris framed in the doorway with a faint smile playing on his lips. Gabriel Averis; Alec's right hand man. The cold eyes above the grin told him what the ex-militia captain was really thinking.

"Gabriel." He managed. "What are you doing here?"

The man's response was a chuckle with actually contained some geniune amusement. "Don't be so bloody naive Robin."

Robin fought to keep the tremor out of his voice and, with some pride, succeeded.

"Be serious. If you off me you'll bring the Eisenfaust down on your heads."

Gabriel shurgged. "Don't worry about it."

"What do you-"

That was all apparently, before Robin could get another word out the younger man's arm swung in an arc from behind him and came up holding a compact crossbow. The merchant just had time to feel an instant of dawning horror before the bolt left its holder, cut through the air and punched neatly into his chest.

For a moment Robin stayed on his feet, making a shallow gasping noise, transfixed by the black feathers at the end of the thing lodged in his heart. It wasn't an act he could keep up; a second later his eyes rolled up and he collapsed.

Gabriel simply stood there and watched the scene dispassionately, the coldness never leaving his eyes, then he went to Robin's prone body and checked his pulse.

"The Gods hate a fuck-up." He muttered.

On the counter, the kettle finished boiling.

[Graybeard]

"I tee dem," Keyes reported back. Actually, all he could see were the ship's masts, the hull still being below the horizon, but that was enough. There was so little maritime traffic out here in the middle of the ocean that there could be no doubt what he was teeing, ah, seeing. How did Mr. Stagpoole know where this ship could be found? Keyes decided he didn't want to know.

"Good," his employer answered. "Remember, stay out of sight. It's not supposed to be a fast ship, you can make as good time submerged as they can sailing with the wind. And you are not to make contact with them, just watch."

"Yet, tir." He broke the connection and prepared to dive to periscope depth.

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Elke was out on the dock behind the warehouse, checking on a certain shipment bound for Kiyoka (nothing too exciting, but a certain Tsuirakuan warlord/arch-mage wanted it delivered ... discreetly), when an underling came running. "Elke! There's trouble!"

Of course there is, Elke thought, swearing under her breath. That's all my life is any more, is trouble. She headed back into the warehouse.

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Far away, three other travelers were heading for a very non-public warp gate.

[Jack Rothwell]

"Has Robin been dealt with?"

The voice coming through the device was fuzzy, it usually was in the middle of the city, still clear enough for Gabriel to recognise the voice coming from blubbery jowls that could only belong to Alec fredriel. Gabriel squinted at the orb in his hand and replied.

"As instructed, sir."

"And the body?"

"Tied with rocks and sent for a swim."

"Excellent work, Gabriel."

"Thank you sir. His house was left looking like he went packing for a vacation. It should throw off the scent of his employers."

Gabriel didn't fully believe that was true, but, what the hell, he'd done what the fat bastard had asked him and he was leaving town momentarily anyway.

"Well, with that unfortunate business out of the way we can focus and reacquiring my stolen property."

"As you wish, sir. We have the ship's name and course. I'll be able to begin the chase in an hour or so."

"See that you do Gabriel. And expect to be paid handsomely on your return."

There it was, his real motivation for working with the owner of The Red Rose.

"Understood sir." Gabriel put the communcation orb back in his pocket and walked out the alley into dazzling sunshine.

[Swift]

Another beautiful day under the sun for his quest to find something that he can't quite remember to... what was it again? Anyway, Rick got a ticket for crossing to the souther continent. Some guy gave it to him because he won some funny game with cards. Poor guy... who where he again? Ho well, nothing to matter. Rick ask around to know what the ticket does and was directed to a boat.

There where all sort of people on the boat and when he gave the ticket to someone asking for it they gave him a room! They also said something about giving him food! Wow, how can someone not be more happy!

[OOC : Hello, here's the introduction of ( viewtopic.php?f=32&t=396&start=170#p15020 ) Rick "the village idiot". Hope we get a good ride.]