She flicks the lower part of a crab claw at him with her middle finger and says, "The splinters your gonna get from humpin the bunghole in the keg after you polish it off, jackass! Now beat it while I'm still in a friendly mood."
The whoops of the other sailors at the implication that their friend has a tiny pecker turns the man's face red. "Why you lousy bi–"
A hand thick with muscles claps the mouthy sailor on his shoulder so hard that he soaks his breeches in beer when he flinches.
"Careful there boy," Alton says, a predatory gleam in his eyes, "I can swab the deck with you one-handed and half-asleep and she landed me a shiner when she couldn't even walk straight. Unless you want to be putting all your pay into gold teeth, you should probably pick an easier fight."
He takes one of the now half-empty tankards away from the man and points at the beer on the deck. "Now swab that mess up and go hassle the figurehead before Mavato breaks your jaw."
As the lewd sailor slinks away, tail between his legs, the first mate pours the rest of the tankard out and then takes a seat opposite the two of you. "Need to stay here and make sure that lout does his job. Mavato, nice job on the sheets today, interested in signing on as part of the crew? I–" he hesitates, "we could use a few more good sailors like you."
Priyya nods thanks politely when Alton handles the crewman. She was debating a far less pleasant method of handling the rude lout which could have compromised her cover. "Please sit, Alton. And thank you for handling that fellow. I was deciding whether me twisting his ear like a truant school-boy would have gone over well with your Captain."
Priyya enjoys dinner with Aerys and Alton, always keeping to light and pleasant subjects.
Later that evening, Priyya catches Aerys alone in her cabin. She ceremoniously returns the epic. "Thanks. I've really enjoyed reading it. I hope you keep working on it and you better let me read it when its all finished! Consider me fairly paid for the healing." Sarah changes gears, sitting down. "So, how is my favorite ex-patient doing? Any desire for booze? Any issues?"
Lureene thinks to herself, while the chatty Sasha heads updeck for seconds. Well, she is very undisciplined in thought and deed, maybe she was rejected by her mother's assassin guild. That is certainly possible. Still, I do not believe she is actively working as such. I am curious to know more of her mother...how to broach this delicately. She sighs, I think she is a good person deep down, and I like her a lot. Why do I have to be so deceptive with her?
"Sooo...Sash, did you feel like talking about your mother at all, or your father? I know it has to be tough when your mother treats you badly, and it might help if you talk about it. That's what Momma always tells me."
Later, she asks "Sooo...what do you think of the Captain's new heartthrob? He certainly fell for her hook, line, and sinker!"
"My parents?" Sasha stops eating for a moment, and grows quiet.
"Well, I never knew my dad. I always just figured my mom killed him. As for my mom," she shrugs, "well she kills people. I don't think that she actually enjoys it though. It's kinda like she sees it like how some folks see going to church or going to work. Just a job to her. She doesn't care if it's poison, a slip in the bath, or a knife in the dark. She always said it was just the end results that mattered and if you have to have a big fight then it's probably because you didn't do you research."
Sasha rolls her eyes and has a long sip of wine. "That's so stupid though. Why would you even want to kill someone if you don't even get to enjoy the thrill of a fight? Yeah, you can end up dead I guess, but that's the risk of living! I'd say it's better to really get out there and live for a little while than to have a long boring life with no scars to show for it!"
She sighs and looks down into her glass, foot dancing as she sits, lost in thought.
"Anyway, my great-grandmom and her sister, what's that, a great-great aunt? Anyway they're both really great fighters. Well, my great-great aunt still is, my great-grandmom got killed not too long ago."
She finishes off the rest of her wine in a big gulp and laughs tossing her hands in the air. "Who sends an assassin to do a kidnapping anyway? That's just stupid! Guess she figured since she was in the area that it would save time. I bet her sister's going to be piiiiissed when I tell her — gonna make her look bad. Kinda wondering if I should just skip out and just go hunting in the jungle instead. The last thing I need is that old sour-puss wearing my ass out! "
Sasha shudders at the thought, and mumbles to herself, "With my luck, if I blow it off, it'll end up being twice as bad if I don't. Sh1t, I hope she doesn't try and force me into this. Fu<k if I want to just dissolve if I get killed!"
When the conversation changes to Captain Kovack and Ieana, Sasha's mood improves. "Well good on him! Everybody needs some tail from time to time, right?"
Mal chokes on his food, but tries to play it off like he got a bite of something spicy.
"You ok? Here," Sasha refills Andre's glass, "better wash that down there!"
Lureene finishes her meal, somehow. Mal notes that what she has learned has left her feeling a bit queasy.
”Yeah, Sash, we all certainly need to get some tail. I am glad the Captain has found someone to keep him company. Ohhh, excuse me, Sash, I think. That last batch of food did not agree with me. Andre, could you take me back to our cabin, and also please tell Sarah I need some medicine.”
Once Andre has escorted her to the cabin, she whispers to him, ”See if Momma can see me too, please.”
Later, in the cabin, she reveals all she had learned from her mind reading.
”Now what…”
”Yeah, Sash, we all certainly need to get some tail. I am glad the Captain has found someone to keep him company. Ohhh, excuse me, Sash, I think. That last batch of food did not agree with me. Andre, could you take me back to our cabin, and also please tell Sarah I need some medicine.”
"Aww man, I hope those crab legs weren't bad." She stands up to give Ellie a hug, "Go get some rest and we can talk more later. Nitey nite!"
Mal paces back and forth in the cabin, his movements looking much more like a caged animal than you've seen in days.
"I'll go ahead and restate what I did the last time we spoke of this issue. It would make all our hides that much safer if we saw the last of her… whatever it takes to do so." He shakes his head, "As much as she might not like her family, she seems to still have some strong connections to them, and that can only improve the chances of a run-in with their organization."
"Hmm, so does that mean we should toss Lureene overboard too?" When Mal looks at her, she continues, "Well obviously even though El doesn't like her family, there's still some connections there. We wouldn't want her mother causing any problems for us now, would we?"
It doesn't take a genius to figure out that Alis is not amused by the idea of murdering someone simply because of who their relations are.
Mal doesn't shy from Alis's snarky tone, though he's careful to keep his voice quiet, "I don't remember having to fight off Lureene's mother on two separate occasions recently where she was trying to assassinate or kidnap one of us. If that were the case, then I might have to take that option seriously. Especially since it looks like the girl's mom might have recently chopped off her finger... meaning she might know exactly where she is. I don't like the idea of the group knowing where we are."
Alis likewise keeps her voice down and her tone level. "I appreciate your concern and your sense of priorities. Honestly, I do. However, I'm not about to go authorizing preemptive counter assassinations against a woman who is looking for an out. If we sink down to their level, we are no better than they are which casts a taint over everything we do."
"Also, when you sink down to someone else's level, they will just beat you with experience. Something else you're forgetting is that Sasha's mother would actually have to know who we are for that to make any difference. Right now we should assume that our destination is known. In fact, my ruse is based on that. I pretty much ensured it was public knowledge."
"Now then, you're a hunter. Do you traipse all over a vast area looking for prey if you know that it has to walk down a particular trail, or do you wait to ambush it on your own terms?"
"Another thing to consider is what if we want to become the hunters. We located the Tar Dogs by trailing one of them back to their hideout. Dafar and its environs are much more expansive than Dunwaar..."
Lureene watches the quiet banter back and forth between Mal and Alis. Her emotions are conflicting, between disappointment, anger, and resignation.
Once they have finished talking, Lureene speaks up quietly, her voice close to tears, ”I agree with Momma, we cannot stoop to their level. I am not a killer. If I was, then I would be no better than my Mother. Plus, I get the impression she does not want to follow down that path.”
She pauses to collect her thoughts, and continues, ”From what I learned, she is being sent to Darfar to contact the sister to inform her of the death of her sister. A glorified messenger, if you will. We can use this against her. We are forewarned now, so let’s see how we can make this work for us.”
As she finishes up, she brushes several tears out of her eyes, and lapses into silence.
Sense Motive Checks:
Priyya leans against the wall thinking carefully before tendering her opinion. "I'm forced to agree with Lisa - Ellie's parentage is questionable and we have to throw her ass off the boat. Sorry, Andre, you'll have to find yourself another bride."
Priyya tries to hide her smile with only moderate success. She shrugs, "OK, I really think there is more to be gained by finding out as much as we can about Sasha's family business. If we know the players and their whereabouts maybe we can get the jump on them. Also, given how flighty the girl is... we have to consider the possibility that her family may be having her watched right now."
Alis laugh's at Priyya's joke knowing that it is directed as much against her as it is against 'Ellie'. "Well played, you rogue!"
Seeing Lureene's conflicting emotions written all over her face, she sits next to her and gives her a hug. "It's ok, just let it out, El..."
" Also, given how flighty the girl is... we have to consider the possibility that her family may be having her watched right now."
Mal points a thick finger at Priyya, accentuating her point with a 'exactly what I was thinking' look.
"I know you all think me heartless for entertaining eliminating the girl. I don't take it lightly. We've seen how long their reach is. We've seen how intricate their plans are. We've seen how effective they can be at gathering information. This girl, at the very least, could be an unwitting source of information for them. If there are other options, I'm all ears. But I've been tasked with protecting this group and its mission; leaving a potential exploitable asset in play to our opponents just seems careless... really it seems self-destructive."
Lureene returns the hug, speaking up quietly, her voice close to tears, ”Momma, I…I was just hoping Sasha would not be tied up with her! Now, I might have to hurt her, or even kill her! And for what, just because of who her mother happened to be? It’s not fair, Momma, its just not fair.” She looks up sniffling, her tears making her face a makeup-smeared mess. ”I like her, she could be, she is a good friend. I…I don’t get a chance to make many friends.”
"I know you all think me heartless for entertaining eliminating the girl..."
Priyya smiles, "You're not heartless, merely pragmatic."
"Pragmatic, up to a point perhaps." Alis sighs and strokes Lureene's hair. "Look, I know this situation isn't to your liking. I'm not thrilled about it either. However, you're approaching from from a day-to-day survival mindset. We aren't simply killing monsters out in the middle of the Dæmonshade. There are long-term consequences to consider here, some tactical, some moral."
She looks up sniffling, her tears making her face a makeup-smeared mess. "I like her, she could be, she is a good friend."
Priyya looks... appalled. "A friend? Friends help you move; True friends help you move bodies. Which has she done for you? You've had a couple dinners and a bath with this girl and she's your lifelong companion, now? You better get your priorities straight, girl. This isn't a stray cat you found in the street."
"I... I don’t get a chance to make many friends."
"Well, there's a ringing endorsement of Lisa, Andre, and myself - you know - the people who have gone to the effort to keep you alive. Thanks so much." Priyya walks out, fuming.
Priyya looks... appalled. "A friend? Friends help you move; True friends help you move bodies. Which has she done for you? You've had a couple dinners and a bath with this girl and she's your lifelong companion, now? You better get your priorities straight, girl. This isn't a stray cat you found in the street."
"I never said she was a lifelong companion, and I know she is not perfect, I know all too well that is the case, but what is wrong with just trying to make a friend? Maybe help her in some way."
"Well, there's a ringing endorsement of Lisa, Andre, and myself - you know - the people who have gone to the effort to keep you alive. Thanks so much." Priyya walks out, fuming.
Lureene watches her go a little stunned. She looks up into Alis' eyes, "I never meant to imply she was not my friend. I know ALL of you are true friends to me, I just wonder if I will ever meet another stranger I meet who is not trying to kill us."
Mal watches Darkmane leave, knowing better than to get in her way. "Maybe I'm getting ahead of myself. We don't even know if the girl is being watched."
He looks between the two women remaining in the room, "I've heard that some magics can be used to see and watch someone from afar. My instructor said he knew the trick of it, but I haven't studied it yet. Do you know what such magic would require? And is there any way to detect it if it is being employed on the girl?"
Lureene relaxes in Alis' embrace, and feels a wave of drowsiness run through her body.. On hearing Mal's question, she recalls her arcane studies.
After a moment, she responds quietly "Yes, Andre, she can be scryed and at any time. I can tell you it does require a powerful spellcaster to cast the spell, and the spell only lasts for minutes. But, they can see all around the person being scried."
She pauses, then continues with a note of urgency, "If you have a body part of the person you are scrying, a lock of hair, a nail, a finger, then it is nearly impossible to resist the spell."
She sighs, "There are spells out there that can block the scrying, but I do not know such spells, as those spells are beyond my knowledge."
"There are also spells that can allow you to detect scrying attempts, but those are just as complex as the ones that block scrying. That being said it's irrelevant. Let's say someone is in fact keeping tabs on Sasha. Let's also say that she's an unwitting plant. Now, how do you catch a predator if you don't know where they are?"
"You'd have to place some bait for them right? If Sasha is that bait and you off her or something, then you've just taken that bait. She's high-strung yes, but nothing that would make someone just decide to murder her out-of-hand. She's also a halfway decent fighter as I've observed from her footwork. It would someone with more motive and determination to take her out than a mere thief."
"If you kill her in the middle of the sea and she is being watched, the person scrying upon her could conclude that someone on-board must have had one damned good reason to do so. Congrats, you'll have just given away our course, the ship on which we're traveling and our intended ports of call. Also any resources now tied up by our decoys are suddenly freed."
"Meanwhile, what have we gained — peace and quiet? More likely a suspicious crew and unwanted scrutiny..."
"So you think she's bait? Placed here to draw us out of our hiding place? That either means whoever placed the bait made one hell of a lucky guess, and just happened to pick this boat or there's bait on every boat headed from Malatesta to Light's End?"
"I think more likely she's not a spy or bait, but - like she says - is headed down there on an errand to deliver a message. If this is the case and she's being scried, it's likely because our enemy knows she and we share an end destination and know that we might have taken precautions to hide our travels. Meaning she's likely a backup or 'just in case' precaution on their parts."
"Also, I wasn't exactly suggesting i walk into her room and kill her, leaving an obvious trail that led back to us. If we decided to take her out - and remove the possibiilty of us being one accident or slip-up away from discovery - then we'd need to do it in a way that was plausibly an accident or something. Either way, not my area of expertise. I'm a hunter… not an assassin… and i think as such."
"Plus, if I was willing to murder for some simple peace and quiet, I'd have quite a bit more blood on my claws." He grins wickedly at both of the remaining girls in the room.
Lureene smiles wickedly at her ‘husband’, ”Now, sweetie, you know you like it when I make noises, especially in your ear!” She chuckles throatily.
In a more serious tone, she continues, ”I think our best option is to bide our time, and see what else we can learn from her. Like Momma says, we know a little, but if we are to turn this to our advantage, we need to gain as much information as we can learn from her.”
Alis gets a good laugh at Mal's joke. "I think a cat needs to make a catch first before it can make a kill, 'Dre."
"In all seriousness, I'm not sure if she's a plant or not. I suppose I could do a reading on it, but since we're talking in– oh, what's the word for it...," she snaps her finger, " hypotheticals– I responded in kind."
"As for her being sent to deliver a message," she frowns in thought, "haven't they already demonstrated the means to communicate magically over distances? If that's a capability they have then sending the girl is a waste of time when a sending spell could do the job. Just like when big sister sent you to meet with us, the only reason to take that approach rather than using a sending was because your presence was actually required."
Past, Present, Future: What is happening with Sasha Nevah?
On a whim, Alis fishes out her Tarot deck to perform a reading. After doing so, she looks up and asks, "El, didn't you say that Sasha was worried about getting sucked into their machinations by her great-great aunt? I'd say there's a good chance that that is exactly what their plan is. She may very well be walking into a trap..."
Lureene thinks about the results from Alis’ reading. She starts to put a strand of hair into her mouth again, only catching herself at the last moment. ”Well, they certainly have shown the capability of using people like they were pawns in a giant game of chess. That would also explain why Sash had her finger cut off, to put the fear of her aunt into her.”
She leans back into her bunk, and continues, ”We could turn this to our advantage, if we are careful. The only problem I can see is at some point honesty will need to come into play. I do want to help her though.”
Mal nods at the two women, seeing that the conversation is moving into a planning stage. He looks towards the door, "I'm going to go check on Darkmane and Little Sister."
Mal finds Darkmane and Little Sister sitting side-by-side on a private spot of deck overlooking the water. The wardog's fierce glare ensuring their privacy from crew and other passengers.
Sarah looks tired but she musters a smile for Andre. "Coming to see if I've killed anyone yet?"
Mal smiles, "Well, the least I can do is clean up the gore after one of your famous killings… i mean a sailor could slip and bump an elbow or something." His eyes bounce between Priyya and Talvyra. "i don't know if I should be happy or jealous that she takes so well to you. I used to be the only two-legs she liked."
He stops by them, thick arms resting on a railing as he takes in their view, "But that's not what I came out here for. We need to finish that conversation you walked out on. Your opinion is valued."
"I don't think you need to be jealous... I bribe your girl shamelessly to tolerate my presence."
"...We need to finish that conversation you walked out on. Your opinion is valued."
Sarah blushes and drops her head slightly, clearly shamed. "Sorry about that. I should have stayed. There is only so much... well... lets say our objectives differ. I'm far more concerned with keeping our asses safe than cozying up to a girl who could accidentally or purposefully rain destruction down on our heads. Making 'gal pals' comes quite a bit further down on my list of 'to dos'. In fact, it isn't even ON my list. Thank you for reminding me of my duty... and for lending me your sister. She's a good listener." Priyya stands, ready to head back below decks.
As Priyya stands Mal mutters, "Believe me I understand where you're coming from. And no shame in walking away before you murder one of your teammates. I call it self-control. Apparently it's a mark of maturity." He gives Little Sister a pat on the head, signing to her to guard the room when they get next to it.
"Apparently it's a mark of maturity."
'Sarah' gives him her patented middle-aged-woman-flinty-eyed look, "Is that a fancy way of saying I'm old, you young pup!"
When they rejoin the group, she seems in considerably better humor.
Alis winks when Sarah re-enters the room. "You still have that golden glow about you, so I'm guessing that the sharks will go hungry tonight, hmm? Alright, to review..."
Sarah, uncharacteristically, sticks her tongue out. "Glow? Perhaps I'm pregnant..."
After the recap, Priyya says, "So, are you suggesting we should try to walk this girl out of the 'trap' which should widen the rift with her family and ultimately attempt to bring her to our side? Gain her as an..." She was going to say 'asset' but seeing the look on Lureene's face, she opts for something that might pass for warm and fuzzy, "...acquaintance."
Lureene responds ”We could certainly do that, but I would be careful. Sasha could be scried on without her knowledge at any time, so we need to make certain she is going to commit herself to our cause. She is rather…flighty.” This last part was said with an absolutely straight face.
"Winning additional allies is a best-case, preventing an enemy from getting stronger is equally important," Alis says thoughtfully. "Even if we should prove unable to help her, at the very least, it would be helpful to trail her so that we might gain some inkling as to where the Coil is located. Also, it might not hurt to get a snippet of her hair in case we ourselves should need to scry upon her later. Although from what we've seen the actual members of their order use magic to mask themselves against detection..."
Lureene nods in agreement to Alis' suggestion, then notices her pile of clothes she had changed out of earlier after her training bout with Sasha. Rummaging through the pile of sweaty clothes, she runs her hands over them until she finds what she is looking for: a long strand of reddish hued hair clinging to the blouse fabric. She plucks it from the fabric, and hands it over to Alis, "Problem solved."
She then notes the pile of clothes still has a fragrance to them, so she waves her hand over them and murmers a magical phrase, the stench and grime removed instantly. Folding up the clothes neatly, she puts them back into the chest.
"I really need to be more neat in the future," she remarks to no one in particular.
As Alis glares at Lureene's handling of her favorite pair of black leather pants, the sound of distant thunder can be heard. "You better not have stretched those out, daughter..."
The White Pearl lurches and Lureene clings to her bunk bracing her hands against the ceiling as the ship experiences a moment of freefall. It is immediately followed by a pair of thuds as both Mal and Priyya are thrown from their beds to the floor beneath them!
"Son of a–" Outside your cabin, you hear I stiffled curse followed by the sound of Alis shouting and kicking at the door. "HEY, OPEN THE DOOR, PLEASE!!!"
Being more awake than her startled friends, Lureene hops down, checks to ensure her hairpin is still in, then opens the door. Standing in the cargo hold, completely drenched, is Alis with a line of bowls balanced up one arm, and a copper kettle in the other. Behind her, Talvyra is enterprising upon a sizable portion of ham sliding about the floor.
"Well, there's no ham for breakfast now I guess," 'Lisa' says pushing past her 'daughter' into your room, "but I managed to keep the porridge and tea water from falling. Captain Kovack just has the crew deploy a drogue to keep us pointed into the waves. It's downright nasty top-side!"
Reflex Saves DC 10
For no fewer than 3 days, a violent spring tempest batters the White Pearl, heavy winds and breaking waves forcing her to sail with only bare poles and a storm jib.
During this time, while you are all stuck below deck reading, playing cards, or the like, Alis comments, "You know, this might be an ideal time to question that prisoner. With all the background noise, there's a good chance it will cover up his answers unless he starts yelling. Sarah, if you could volunteer to get his food and to check-in on him, that should give you a chance to get your spell off. Sound good?"
Lureene spends her time staying below decks, alternately keeping Sasha (with Andre hovering nearby) company, and fighting off seasickness. Sometimes she is successful in that, but most of the time, she spends huddled in her bunk, trying not to add to the misery of her companions.
Once Alis mentions the prisoner, her face picks up some semblance of life. Everyone can see she has something to take her mind off of her stomach. ”Yes, Momma, I can certainly help out as well.”