Noticing Mazatl's raised eyebrow but not wanting to interrupt the people figuring out where the werewolves were, Aifric leans toward Mazatl and whispers, "I know. It's hard to believe, but I swear it looked just like a shark."
The other eyebrow followed along, as she smiled slowly to him. "Amazing."
Mazatl and Chaney both offer gentle prompting to the quiet were-fox girl. She glances back and forth between them and concentrates hard.
Suddenly it came back to you in a flash. You know the place, Athena, in fact you actually have been in that specific room before, at Ringwald's. The stable boy, Millfoil, there wanted to get in your pants, you remember distinctly now. He took you back to that old, unused storeroom under a pretext to try and get you alone.
Svog Kos, you swim too close to the merfolk as your mind wanders. All three of them whirl around in the water to face you. They don't take any hostile actions, but they stare at you hard, grasping their weapons, and you see the mer-people signing to one another carefully in the water. What do you do?
Meanwhile, above the boat, Feustus swoops behind the windows next to the captain's cabin to get a better look. Beyond the windows, you see a lavish cabin with a comfortable-looking red divan, upon which a voluptuous female reclines. You also catch a glimpse of a man in a hat and a long black coat, listening to the younger crewman from the crow's nest.
The man in the coat dismisses the crewman and sits at his desk, appearing to compose a letter or write something down.
"Ringwald's cups look more like it, we should start there." she left out why she knew that.
You don't see it anywhere. You don't recall seeing it being picked up, but it must've been retrieved by Tremblay.
"Ohhh, Ringwald's.... Is that the place with the (insert trivial bit of info that would help the group)? I think I remember because I was expecting rings to be on the walls. But there wasn't any rings, just that (insert)."
"Ohhh, Ringwald's.... Is that the place where the ceiling in the back room has that service hatch to the roof? I think I remember because I was expecting rings to be on the walls. But there wasn't any rings in the back room, just that hatch. And it ain't round or nothing like a ring, kind of square like the ceiling tiles. Heck, I wouldn't even have noticed it if I hadn't got bored listening to ... well, I don't even remember what everybody was talking about. It was supposed to be a party, but I don't think talking about serious stuff counts as a party, do you? Fun talk, that's a party! But anyway, I was just looking around the room while the others was talking about something serious, and I noticed that one tile had more of an outline around it than the others, so naturally I just stood up and poked it with my spear like anybody would. That hatch popped open, and a little ladder slid down on a rail. Somebody really smart rigged that up; I bet a dwarf. Boy, everybody sure quit talking when I did that! I was surprised, too, and I thought maybe it was a mystery! But it just went up to the flat part of the roof. Nothing much up there. You can look over the side and see the alley behind the tavern that leads to the stable."
Between Aifric and Athena, you're able to piece together a good bit of knowledge about Ringwald's and the surrounding area. It's almost dawn; the sun is turning the fluffy clouds on the horizon a mix of orange and pink hues. What do you do?
Athena goes silent during Aifric's speech and onces it's over if no one speaks for a short time she would suggest heading to Ringwald's if they were open now.
"Maybe. But... shouldn't we maybe wait for the others? And what do we do when we find them..?"
You recall seeing five of them sitting around the table playing cards, + Wilson on his knees in the other room.
Svog will turn around, just like feeling threatened and leaving the area of the predator. Maybe those merfolks knew something, they were guards underwater or just some curious explorers...
Svog will swim around the ships, looking for a ships called the Phoenix.
"I remember thinking how funny it would be if somebody dropped a skunk down that hatch, but I didn't have no skunk. And they was my friends, so I wouldn't do that, but it sure would be funny! Especially if they couldn't get out of that room! But I wouldn't do that to my friends even if I did have a skunk." Aifric's face darkens as he thought about Kazuya's death. "Bad werewolves, though... yeah, I'd throw a skunk on them. Too bad I still don't have no skunks." He looks at Mazatl, who was nicer to him than he thought she would be when he was talking about that cup he once found. He asks her, "What else do you think we could we throw down there?"
"Could drop an elemental in. Or grow some vines through the ground in a few key places. I could probably coax plants to hold a door shut as well, if I had time to figure it out properly... If there really is a hatch on the roof, and they know about it... then we can seal off the doors, and they'll come up top to us, one at a time, until they figure out what's going on..."
She seems to pause for a moment to think. "We could also drop other things in, I'm sure... but I'm not really the right person to ask for that, sorry. My only real claim to fame is making things grow." She looks to the others, smiling slightly, head canted in an unspoken question.
Svog Kos, the merpeople watch you carefully as you swim away, but make no move to pursue. The other ships in the harbor are named the Triumphant and the Smiler. You think you've probably learned all you can for now, unless you get any creative ideas, but you file away what the merfolk said for later.
Feustus, the buxom woman gets up from where she was reclining on the divan and moves to open the window to the cabin! You're in danger of being spotted, what do you do?
On the horizon, the dawn is slowly approaching, and everything is growing steadily easier to see in the rapidly increasing morning light.
I return to the inn.
"So we know where they meet, or at least where they are now. We also know what they look like. Have any of us seen them before?"
.
"Good news. We know they are not on the ship. I believe it is time to send our would-be-rulers armory to the bottom. Shall we?"
Before leaving the tower Chaney finds a broken bit of plank about a foot long.
"One moment, the others might have seen them..
.
With a word the dirt and grime adorning the broken plank organizes itself into clear images of the now human killers. The wizard's eyes flash red and the grime combusts, permanently burning the killers faces into the pale wood.
"We're going to go ahead and pretend your magic doesn't have a palpable degree of creepiness for now." Mazatl offers Chaney a slight smile. "What do you have in mind for sinking a ship? Were I more capable with other elements, I would likely be more capable in assaulting a ship, but as it stands... pulling at it with kelp or is probably the best I could manage.
Feustus, as you swoop high over the harbor, your sharp eyes catch sight of your companions conversing at the top of the lighthouse.
To the lighthouse then.
One of the werewolves - the short one, with the good nose - has looked familiar to you and it's been bothering you for a few moments, Chaney. You think you recall seeing someone like him in town before...but exactly where eludes you. For what it's worth, you think it's likely that he's a local to Magna Gracia, if he's triggering such memory responses in you.
Your sense of irritation translates into your spellcasting. You force the Weave to your will, but it slips away as soon as you stop focusing on it, like a loose thread being pulled from the sweater of your mind.
I will return to the lighthouse to see if they are still there, if not I will go to the inn.
In the lighthouse if I see a werewolf I will leave and go to the inn.
To the lighthouse then.
Svog Kos, looking a little wet, arrives on foot at the lighthouse entrance just moments after Feustus arrives.
His walking stick tapping the stairs as they decent the tower Chaney answers the half-elf.
"Our blood is turgid with the spending of a demon prince and you find my parlor tricks disturbing? The ability of the mind to bend itself to circumstance continues to amaze me. And as for the ship? Well there is more than one way to skin a cat my dear. For one ships are made of wood." Here Chaney's voice fills with cold implacable anger. "Wood burns."
If need be I can sacrifice some of my collection to actually do the deed
"Festus, Svog, excellent timing. We know the wolfmen are not on the ship. More than that we have the likeness of some of them." Here the black clad wizard hands the burnt board to the closer of the two. "Do you recognize any of them? I have seen the youngest or someone much like him before. Where exactly escapes me, but I will dredge the memory out eventually."
"What have you learned?" he asks the returned scouts.
"We have to ensure that they are the enemy, before we act hastily, though. Yes, wood burns, but so do innocents." She stated calmly.
I have seen the captain. She had written a letter. She was moving to the window when I left. So, she might have sent it some how. I then describe the captain as best I can remember.
"Hi guys, I didn't found too much, they were some merfolks around so I had to be careful. I didn't understand very much but they were talking something about phoenix, secret, south. Does it ring a bell for any of you?" Svog says to the others and he tries to squeeze his close to get them dry.
"We have to ensure that they are the enemy, before we act hastily, though. Yes, wood burns, but so do innocents." She stated calmly.
"Of course. We must be sure as to the cargo as well."
The wizards thoughts betray his reasonable words
'They are soldiers, they die. It is what they are for. If they value their lives most of the crew should be able to escape.'
"Merfolk?" Athena spoke with quiet interest as she lookk at Svog expectantly.
Aifric tags along, trying to pay attention, but words like "turgid" bounce around in his head, creating a pretty but confusing pattern. He doesn't think he's going to get to put a spear in the face of a bad werewolf anytime soon.
"Either way. Morning will arrive soon... and each of us requires rest and nourishment. I feel it wise that we fulfill our obligations to ourselves, then return to finish what we started later tonight. Perhaps, if we're lucky, the sky will make our attempts simpler tonight. For now... it grows brighter every moment. Thoughts?"
It will be cramped, but I am willing to offer my house as a place to rest. Just don't get to nosy.
"I was going to head home... but wisdom dictates that such a path may lead to waking up covered in fur. And not my own."
Aifric does not know the phrase "charnel house" any more than he knows the word "turgid," yet a charnel house is what he imagines when he thinks about staying with Feustus. "Yeahhhhh," he says, "I wouldn't want to put you out. Thanks for the offer, though." He shivers involuntarily as he continues, "When and where are we meeting back up?"
Mazatl is talking in riddles. He leans closer to her and asks, "Whose fur? Do you live with somebody? I didn't know that." Bonobos ... well, everybody knows what bonobos like to do at the drop of a pin, so he totally gets it... if that's what she's talking about. But he's not really certain what she meant. Life is very puzzling for Aifric.
Mazatl looks to Aifric, shaking her head slowly. The same smile from before on her face. "Truly amazing."
"They are like fish people, they live underwater and talk with a weird sign language. Luckily they thought I was a shark just doing minding his things and didn't bother me." Svog answers to Athena, he tries his best to replicate the movements of the merfolk talking.
Athena seemed interested in the Merfolk and if not for her distaste of water she would have likely gone to explore them but instead she settled for going to her home when they were done.
processing the humint.
... talking something about phoenix, secret, south. Does it ring a bell for any of you?"
and
"...describe the captain as best I can remember"
-------------------
"...return to finish what we started later tonight.."
"Possibly wise but there is a risk. They know something is going on. the more time we give them the more they can prepare. I at least am well rested and prepared to assay the ship. I suggest we return Festus to his aerial scouting we need to know how many people are on deck and how alert they seem. Are they waiting for us or do we still have surprise. In the meantime the rest of us will find a boat and head for the ship. Awaiting our final decision on Festus's intelligence."
Chaney's mind analyzes the possibilities of the three innocuous words that Svog Kos recited. The lands to the southern peninsula were once the seat of civilization. The road leading south once led to the capital, and now this Ultimus character is saying that it should once again. Meanwhile, south across the waters of the harbor is the Alastacian Sea, across which are the mysterious and rarely-contacted countries of the southern continent...
Without knowing the context of the words, however, you have no idea what they mean specifically. You think it likely that "phoenix" is being used as a code word to refer to someone or something else other than the actual bird, which does exist but (as you say) would have little contact with merfolk.
As for this female captain, you know of folktales that speak of lady ship captains that could charm the angry oceans of legend, but who this particular captain is is anyone's guess.