Fergie shares everything he knows about Undines
As the navigator, Eldon Zamborini needs to plot the evasive course Gray Fergie wants to take to Drowning Rock.
Online dice roller is not working here I got a 6 +11=17 so I did plot the course.
The Salty Flagon leaves Port Peril on the evening tide, to arrive at Drowning Rock three days later, after full dark, in a driving rain. Captain Jerrell decides to anchor off-shore for the night rather than trying to dock immediately, as the dock area here is not well lit. A storm watch is set, but other than that the crew is sent to rest as the weather has been bad all day.
The morning dawns lighter, though no more clear. When it is as light as it is going to get, Jerrell takes the ship on into the port and docks at a little distance from the nearest ship.
"Fergie, you take a couple people and go into town. Try to find out where the Undines live and what places they frequent. Report back - take a runner with you - but then go on to the Undine area and ask some questions. Tactfully. I'm going to stroll around to see who's in port, and whether this town actually has a portmaster."
I give the two water-breathing potions I whipped up on the trip to drowning Rock to Fergie and tell him to keep them safe. I also tell him I am available for use on his search for the Undines since I speak fluent Aquan. I suggest we should take somebody that can intimidate others easily and suggest talking with Lilibeth, since she seems quite intimidating to most while she is carrying her great sword. I can translate but am not great at convincing people to cooperate. A half drawn great sword does wonders in that area. "You can get more cooperation from folks with weapon and a smile than with a smile alone"
Fergie considers Eldon's thoughts Sound advice my friend, and aye so shall it be, Lilibeth please talk to the Capn for a bit, I need you at your most intimidatin' He smiles
Fergie and Lilabeth and Eldon leave for the city
We should check out the areas near the docks, it seems likely Undines would live nearer to the ocean
On the way to port Lilabeth breaks the crew up into groups of 4-5 and tests them on their ability with their chosen weapon. After assessing each member, Lilabeth then puts them in groups of 4-5 based on their skill level. She also makes note of which members are already proficient with piercing weapons. She works all of the crew on drills with piercing weapons noting which ones appear most proficient. She will recommend these for going on the mission.
Lilabeth stares at Fergie for a bit, unsmiling. She turns to go find Pierce before they leave the ship. As she walks away she smiles slightly to herself.
In addition to knowing that the undines are likely to live close to the water, Gray Fergie also knows that they are not the type of people who would be impressed by having folks asking after them all over town. "Hey, a ship is in dock and the crew has been asking about undines in all the taverns" is likely to make the undines hostile, if you are even able to find them at all. Narrowing your search and then asking one or two people, is likely to bring you more success.
By the time you all are out of the small commercial area around the dock - the area of warehouses and ship suppliers - you are far enough from the water that it seems unlikely the undines live in that area of town. East of the main docks is the area where the fishing boats put in, and there are some shanties in that direction. The town of Drowning Rock also runs from the docks west along the coast. The houses in that area are smaller than those further inland and look as if they are buffeted by the frequent storms.
Gray Fergie starts off towards the shanty towns, primarily looking not asking for Undines.
Eldon, I'm not looking for you to be my translator. I want you to observe and if we do meet and ask info from Undines and they start talking in their native tongue I don't want them to know we know what they are saying
That's fine, they probably don't want to talk with me anyway. We'll probably have the best luck down close to the water in the shanty town. I imagine these folks are probably into smuggling and other questionable enterprises and want to stay out of the view of the local authorities.
Eldon keeps his eyes open for watchers and followers once they get into to rougher areas of the port.
There are indeed some unsavory types in the shanty town, but you don't see any undines - mostly humans, a couple half-orcs, a cranky-looking tengu. The tengu and one human are apparently working to repair a damaged fishing boat. One half-orc seems to be mending a net very slowly, while keeping a watchful eye out for something. He observes you very keenly as you go by.
Perhaps trying the area west of the docks will be more useful.
Lilabeth scans the area, her face serious. Her sword is strapped to her back, but easily at hand. She is looking for anything out of place.
It looks like we should probably go back to the west, guys. No reason to get into an altercation with a bunch of thug-headed half-orcs.
Sounds good to me. I don't need to get into a fight today.
To the west of the port is an area of small houses interspersed with a few shops. They are obviously battered by the frequent storms, but are well-built as opposed to the shanties to the east. Many have carvings over the doors and windows as decoration - swirling curves, not symmetrical but in pleasing patterns. Some of them appear to have been painted at one time but the paint has mostly been scoured off by the storms. (This afternoon's weather is what would be considered a moderate rain anywhere else, but since there is very little wind the people of Drowning Rock seem to think it merely damp.)
This area of houses is definitely inhabited by some undines; not a lot of people are out in the rain, but the ones that are have the distinctive blue skin tones and hair color of undines, along with the fin-like ears (which you can see as they either have their hair very short or pulled back) and webbed hands and feet.
Are there any signs or other clues in Undine that I can read.
I will do my best to not look intimidating until I'm needed to be.
Lilabeth doesn't exactly smile, but does try to put a neutral expression on her face.
1d20 = 7 +3 =10 from online dice roller
I have found that the dice roller here is the opposite of random.
In the swirled carvings you notice words in Aquan. One house evidently has someone who makes clothes, while another reads "magic." Aquan has a lot of words that describe water and its various states, but not common ones for "seamstress" or "sorcerer."
Well we have found them. Shall we go talk to the clothier and the magic user? We may even find more waterbreathing potions
As long as you're doing the talking we should do well. If we need to talk in Aquan I can do that, but I would rather they not know I speak it until it is needed. Let's find a likely looking feller and chat.
There does not seem to be anyone in the building marked "magic"; the shutters are tightly closed, the door is shut, and there is no sign of anyone around. The clothes seller, on the other hand, is obviously present. There is a wooden awning up protecting the window from the rain and the inner shutters are partly open; you can see light inside. As you approach an undine woman comes out, jingling a bell which must be above the door, and walks the other direction down the street.
We walk in to the shop
The door opens in, and a bell jingles as you enter. The "shop" inside appears to be merely the front room of a small house. There is a door in the wall opposite where you enter, and a ladder in the back corner leads to a square hole up to the area under the roof. A table along the wall to your right holds pieces of fabric--some cut out in odd shapes--along with a long scissors, chalk, and several other sewing tools.
A smaller table stands perpendicular to the wall at your left and a bright lantern on the wall above it adds to the light of the larger one hanging from the center of the ceiling. Here an undine woman sits plying a needle, some type of brown garment spilling from the table into her lap. She looks up when the bell rings, sets her needle into the fabric, and rises to greet you.
"Can I help you?" she asks in a lilting voice. "If you want to buy clothing, you should know that I make items to order but I don't have anything ready-made. There is another shop further into town that sells garments that might suit you."
I bow to the woman deeply
My shipmates and I are looking for a set of clothing. not ready made bit made to order and designed specifically for shipborne wear. Weather resistant and also reminiscent of each other but not uniforms per se
The undine looks at the three of you a little skeptically. "So, you want something similar, to show that you're all on the same ship, but not uniforms. Do I understand you correctly? Do you want the clothing in a particular color? How do you usually dress aboard ship?"
Evidently you are silver-tongued today, and custom has been slow, because you are able to get her chatting and have plenty of time for a conversation.
That is correct milady. I think grey with some nice color to offset it as trim. I got it! A different color trim for each of us. I'd like blue for my trim, red for Lilabeth, and Green for Eldon.
To be honest we usually dress in whats to hand, I personally have bought clothes in many colors and from many cultures, so just anything you can do to make them stylish and functional onboard would be great
The seamstress replies, "My styles are mostly close-fitting, but I could make them a little looser for you and the sleeves and legs could be as long or as short as you want. I'll need to take measurements of each of you. If you would please take it in turn to stand on this stool." She pulls a foot-high stool out from under a table and places it rather near the well-lit table, then steps to the ladder at the back and calls up to someone there. A few seconds later an undine girl of about 12 years climbs quickly down the ladder and falls in behind the woman.
"I am called Serrass, and this is my apprentice Ahrriss." Serrass draws out the 's' and 'r' sounds, and with the rise and fall of her voice you think you can almost hear the roll and hiss of waves on the sand.
I am Rory and I am very pleased to meet you
He bows again and kisses her hand, each knuckle in turn
Grey Fergie almost never introduces himself as Rory.
I am Lilabeth. And I think something more along the line of purple rather than red would suit me better.
She eyes Fergie as she steps on the stool. She mutters under her breath I'm a pirate, damn it, not some soldier.
She smiles sweetly at the woman and girl.
Serrass smiles slightly and draws back her hand slowly. "Pleased to meet you, Rorry, and you also, Lilabeth." She acknowledges Eldon's introduction as well. The stool on which Lilabeth stands is wide enough to be almost a small platform, so her footing is secure. When she is set, the undine draws out a sturdy ribbon marked in units.
"Forgive me for any perceived impropriety. Detailed measurements are needed for a correct and comfortable fit." The seamstress proceeds to apply her measuring ribbon to nearly every part of Lilabeth's person, including some that might raise her eyebrows. As she goes, she calls out the measurements to her apprentice, who notes them down on a slate. In between, she asks questions to try to relieve any awkwardness, such as, what ship are you all from, and, will you be in town long. Fergie jumps in to answer most of her questions and by the end of the first set of measurements she and Fergie are chatting in a friendly manner with occasional interjections from Eldon and Lilabeth.
"Very well, mistress, I am quite finished with you. If you would step down, I can continue next with Master Eldon."
I will step forward and allow myself to be measured. I am watching to see how the undine breath under water. See if I can identify where the gill slits are. I am also checking out the shop to see if there is anything odd in the shop that may show anything about sunken treasure or a trophy from a sunken ship.
As Serrass measures Eldon, she talks a little about the town of Drowning Rock. Evidently it has over 500 people, about 75 of whom are undines. They have some advantage over the humans in kelp farming and harvesting the clam fields, but not so much that there has been any conflict. A casual remark by Gray Fergie, that he thought the Salty Flagon was in danger during the storm last night, has the woman pooh-poohing his worries.
"You don't need to worry; the water here is much quieter than the sea near Drenchport. They have many ships go down there - merchants, mostly, but even the occasional pirate. Here we lose only one or two ships a year; most are able to make it into the harbor. The times they don't are usually because someone has attacked them and damaged the ship, not because the storms took them down.
"Pirates don't usually attack merchants very close to Tempest Cay; they know the Master of Gales won't want others picking off prizes obviously headed to his island. Once in a while, though, someone comes hunting pirates and then we may see some action. Two years ago the Naughty Nan ducked into the harbor right ahead of a Chelish ship, who knew better than to look for welcome here. Last year there was the Blue Buzzard that tried the same thing but didn't make it; a Rahadoumi warship fired on her and sank her just on the west side of the island. The captain of that ship was some relative of my neighbor's aunt, so she heard about it when some fishermen pulled him out of the water. He died before they could get him to a healer, though, and I suppose his whole crew had been lost as there was no one to claim his body but my neighbor's aunt.
"He was a bit of a hero around here for a while - Captain Rorronet, his name was. Would have been more of a hero if he had lived, of course. I heard later he had tweaked the nose of the Rahadoumi by stealing an entire shipment from their precious mint and making off with it, and the haul was never found, even though the Rahadoums took his ship. Who knows where it might be now? I did see a couple clam harvesters last summer with some shiny foreign coins, though, so perhaps the crew just scattered the coins on the seabed along the whole west side of the island.
"Master Eldon, thank you for your patience. If you'll step down now, it will be Rorry's turn for my ribbon."
Having had a fairly close look, Eldon thinks he has identified gill slits in the side of the neck. They look a little small to him, so he wonders if there might not be more somewhere else. They are closed, of course, so perhaps that is why they appear small. Nothing in the shop suggests anything about a sunken ship.
Lilabeth listens as Sarrass talks, making mental notes. She also glances around the shop, looking at the fabric. She considers having a dress made of some nice aqua material, but some new shirts would be more practical. She fingers the aqua material, enjoying the feel of it. Her ears perk up at the mention of the Blue Buzzard.
Rory steps up on the stool
As he is closer to her he will try to discern if she is undine with the trace of fey.
Careful now If I like this I may have to become a returning customer
He winks at her
This is the most relaxed and least rigid Lilabeth and even Eldon have ever seen Grey Fergie
Rory then continues
If I like this too much I may have to have a complete wardrobe
He smiles at her
Lilabeth moves over to some lavender material and considers having a shirt made of it to go under her purple frock coat. A much more practical purchase than a dress however much she'd like to have one to wear for Pierce. In all honesty she had enough money to buy both if she really wanted. Still, there were bits of armor and maybe new weapons to buy if she saved her money. Decisions, decisions, decisions.
Serrass gives a tolerant smile for Gray Fergie’s bold comments while her assistant pulls another slate from a wooden box under the larger worktable. Just as the seamstress is about to begin measuring, the door's bell rings and a tall, broad-shouldered undine man walks in. His skin is turquoise green, with darker green hair. He is dressed in a simple pair of close-fitting brown trousers and a sleeveless beige shirt with a V-neck.
Serrass had turned toward the door with a polite smile on her face, but it droops a little when she sees the man. She mutters, “Excuse me,” and walks quickly toward him.
“Karsh. As you can see, I have customers. They will be here some time yet; could you come back later?” Serrass speaks quietly, but as there is no other noise in the room, her voice can be clearly heard.
The undine man sweeps his gaze around the room, taking in Lilabeth and Eldon and glowering at Gray Fergie. Then he turns his attention back to the seamstress. He does not seem to lower his voice. “I told you this morning that I want you to come out on the boat with me this afternoon.”
“And I told you this morning that I would not be able to come. I have commissions to finish, and now I have new customers as well,” Serrass says patiently.
“But I need someone to help with the nets!”
“Then you need to hire someone. I won’t be going out on your boat with you.”
“But you said you enjoyed yourself last time!” The man sounds almost accusatory.
“Yes, I had a good time the one day I was on your boat. But you weren’t working that day; you invited me to come for a sail to relax for a while, and even then you asked me to make lunch for your crew. Having a good time once doesn’t mean I’m ready to join up! Now I need to get back to my customers, who are being very patient.” Serrass turns to walk back to the center of the room, and Karsh grabs her upper arm before she steps away.
“I hope you realize that when we are married, you won’t have time for being a shopkeeper. Between cooking for the crew and looking after a family your time will be taken up, so enjoy your little shop for now but I think you should stop taking on new customers.” The undine man glares again at Gray Fergie.
“I don’t recall any such thing being settled between us, Karsh!” The seamstress’s cheeks are almost purple. “I think you should leave – now!” She yanks her arm away and marches over to the stool.
Serrass smiles at Fergie, though he thinks she may also have her teeth gritted. “Your arm, please, Rorry?” she says sweetly. The undine measure his wrist and then his upper arm. “Arms out, please.” She reaches around Fergie from the front, rather than the side as she had done with Lilabeth and Eldon, and her head almost rests on his chest. Serrass calls out the measurement to her apprentice and then steps back a little. "Now your leg, please.”
As Serrass bends to wrap the ribbon around Fergie’s thigh (just as she did for the others), Karsh yanks the door open. The bell rings violently and then he slams his way out. The undine woman pauses a moment in her work and lets out a deep breath, then finishes measuring Fergie’s leg and straightens up.
“I’m very sorry you had to hear that. No one wants to be an observer to that sort of situation. I’ll be just another minute, and then we’ll be finished.”
Fergie smiles back at Serrass
He turns and makes sure that he drops his social face just long enough to convey silently to Karsh that if any trouble starts Karsh will be the first to die. All that communicated in just one emotionless look and then the look disappears.
"Serrass, you have no need to be sorry. He does.
And I sincerely hope we won't be finished, for a long time to come"
Fergie whispers so just Serrass could hear Had I thought he would hurt you, or that you could not handle him, his head would not be still attached to his body milady.
Rory looks at her thoughtfully, she has already won his respect, and he surprises himself by really meaning what he said.
Fergie looks meaningfully at Eldon and Lillabeth, letting them know he thinks their odds of getting jumped just skyrocketed
Eldon, having served with Fergie, knows it took an immense amount of strength of will for Fergie not to have killed Karsh for the way he treated a woman, and he can see that Fergie expects a fight and can he be looking forward to it?
Now before we were interrupted you were saying?
Fergie smiles and waits for her to continue talking about the treasure, although part of his mind is on other thoughts
"I thought you were saying something about ordering an entire wardrobe?" Serrass gives Fergie a teasing smile and starts measuring again, beginning with his neck this time. " Oh, you mean before that? I was talking about Captain Rorronet and his treasure, which was never found. Some say he passed it off to another ship while out at sea, and then just acted as a decoy while the other ship hid everything. Others say he sank a Rahadoumi ship but never actually got the coins, which is why no one ever found them. If the coins were lost west of the island, a person would have to pick them out from in between the clams - a tedious task if there ever was one. Step down, please, and then I'll show you all a sample of the fabric I have in mind."
Serrass goes to her long table and produces a folded pile of a sturdy gray cloth. "This would be the base, and then I would trim them in different colors, as requested. I need a little more information about the preferred fit for each of you and a payment of one gold piece apiece for the outfits, and you can be on your way."
Rory reaches out and lifts her chin up until they are almost lips to lips. He looks into her eyes and can almost see the sea
"Yes I did say I needed a wardrobe, and it would make the perfect excuse to see you again Serrass"
He does not smile as he is serious about seeing her again
Rory takes out a small sack of coins
"Here is 20 pieces of gold for the outfits for me and my friends and another few for me for my new wardrobe. You can count it if you'd like"
Fergie looks at the cloth and gives a few comments about his preferred fit and mentions if Serrass has a better idea about the fit he'd let her use her artistry
When all is said and done he asks
"Is there a back way out of here? I don't as a rule duck fights, but if you fancy Karsh, I'd not like to be th one to take his head"
"I have another idea. Why don't we go out front and offer to help Karsh with his nets. We might learn some more about the island and we don't really have anything to do today. And if needed, I can take his head off rather quickly." She tilts her head in the direction of her sword. Her look says she wouldn't have any qualms whatsoever about taking Karsh out.
"We might generate some goodwill by offering to help as well."
Lilabeth turns to Serrass. "My role on the ship is primarily as a fighter so I need clothes to fit that allow me to move freely in combat. I do like to dress up when in port, usually," she indicates her choice of work clothes for today,"so I would also like to pay for a dress shirt out of that lavender material over there. I think it will go nicely with my purple frock coat. And I like the aqua fabric as well, but I don't think a dress is really practical at this time."
Lilabeth sighs and turns to eye the aqua material one last time as she pulls a gold coin out of her pouch to pay for her shirt.
"There is no great hurry for these. We have some repairs to make to our ship so we plan to be here for a bit, but you never know with us sea folk. The tide could call us at any time." She smiles at Serrass as she hands her the coin.